Mn 125-Dantabhumi sutta: "Having abandoned these five hindrances, imperfections of awareness that weaken discernment, he remains mindful of the body within the body, ardent, alert, and mindful, subduing greed and distress with reference to the world. He remains mindful of feelings… mind… mental qualities within mental qualities-ardent, alert, and mindful-subduing greed and distress with reference to the world. Just as when the elephant tamer plants a large post in the ground and binds the wilderness elephant to it by the neck in order to break it of its wilderness habits, its wilderness memories and resolves, its distraction, fatigue, and fever over leaving the wilderness, to make it delight in the town and to teach it habits congenial to human beings; in the same way, these four foundations of mindfulness are bindings for the awareness of the disciple of the noble ones, to break him of his household habits, his household memories & resolves, his distraction, fatigue, and fever over leaving the household life, for the culmination of the right method and the realization of Nibbana. Second, third and fourth jhanas: “Then the Tathāgata trains him further: ‘Come, monk, remain contemplating the body within the body(remain contemplating the feeling while feeling-there, remain contemplating the mind while mind-there, remain contemplating the mental quality while mental quality-there), and do not think any thoughts connected with sense desire. ’
Teaching and explaining over and over again takes a lot of time and energy. Thank you, Ajahn for sharing your teachings of the Dhamma over so many videos You know what needs to be taught.
When particular thoughts of renunciation/right direction/right view arise, they remind me of the more general context that endures. When the mind is established on this context, the thoughts themselves and the pressure they exert are seen as secondary and not possible without that enduring, alien context, robbing them of their power. The main effort seems to be maintaining this understanding for longer periods of time, since the forgetfulness on the level of thoughts seems to be quite a potent force to be reckoned with. Making these teachings a priority in my spare time, as well as reading the suttas, helps keep those wholesome recollections plentiful throughout the day when I am tending to other things. Even so, stillness and solitude seem to be absolutely key to develop this to the extent necessary, much more than it has been for the development of restraint on the level of body/speech.
Bhante, at 20:35 here you discuss a puthujjana seeing "self with self", "not-self with self", and "self with not-self". I understand the first two to mean that the puthujjana takes the self for granted (unquestioned,) or intellectualizes not-self (but does not understand it rightly). What would exemplify taking "self with not-self"? If "with not-self" is the peripheral awareness of anatta (hence, "not-self with not-self" is right view,) how can one then have a self view (attavada) with not-self?
In the Simile of the Cook Sutta (SN 47.8), it says that one can practice satipaṭṭhāna rightly, in a way, but still not enter jhāna if one doesn't pick up the sign of one's mind (citta nimitta) In this particular context, would it refer to e.g. discerning the subtler pressures that linger in the background once the obvious things are dealt with, and making sure to include Those in the right order too? It seems sometimes there can be less blatant yet still obstructive things, such as contemplating not out of a real need but out of a subtle restlessness, or some vague aversion to a mild physical discomfort.
sir, could you please answer these questions. 1. Once there is a sense restraint, how can one correctly discern paticca-samuppada and be confident that I am discerning correctly? because the majority of the time, when I try to discern something, then that becomes another phenomenon. I was reading the article on path press, where the teacher explains that thinking that there is body right here and right now is not correctly mindfulness of body since that thought is also another phenomenon. Instead, the body should be discerned simultaneously and in-directly to all the phenomenon. Therefore, could you please tell me what signs and features should make it clear that I am discerning paticca-samuppada and that it not just another phenomenon that will lead to nowhere in practice. Thank you, sir. If there is a sutta that directly answer this question, could you please mention it, and I will try to read it. 2. you have stated that anything with the intention of greed, aversion, or distraction should be avoided. However, duties, even though not related to greed aversion, and intentional distraction, may still feel like you are less present than you should be for mindfulness. could you please give your insight, for example, when you are writing a book, is there any compromise of mindfulness to focus on the writing, even though it is not an unwholesome actions? Thank you!.
Sadhu! When I think of this body in the body, feeling in the feeling... I think of it as seing them for just that, with mindfulness- so, in regards to the body there are the four major postures; sitting, standing, walking and lying down and so, to see the body in the body one sees these or for example the "lifting/moving/placing" of the arm or foot as one walks. And with feeling, if the feeling is happy (pleasurable) or sad or neutral, it is still seen as just feeling and can be noted either as "sad, sad" or just "feeling, feeling". Here, there are bodily feelings and emotional (states), where the bodily feeling is more simple that the state of let's say fear or perhaps being in love, these states are made up of several things whereas a simple bodily feeling of pain most often a reaction from the body- the dislike of the pain is in the mind. And the same with thoughts, whatever thinking there is be it good thoughts or evil thoughts (ill-will) they are still just thoughts/"thinking". Now with the Dhamma in the Dhamma here it is getting interesting, Dhamma can also mean "realities" and even there is The Buddha Dhamma which is in the realm of the enlightened and then there is the dhamma of an ordinary worldling- here there is difference between beings, individuals, all beings go by their dhamma or their reality- for example, before meeting with The Buddha Dhamma one lived in a reality where The Buddha Dhamma did not exist and was not accessible. Anyway, thank you so much and if the Ven. Bhantes saw this and took the time to read it, that is a great blessing indeed. May all find true freedom from bondage, the liberation from the conceit of "I am".
Bhante, I plan on pursuing ordination within the next year or so. I was born and currently live in the US and, unsurprisingly, I have observed a certain level of material comfort bleed into even the Thai Forest monasteries in this country. It is my intuition that, given my soft upbringing, only rural Thailand or Sri Lanka will provide the correct level of austerity for the training of contentment. Beyond lifestyle choices, though, my alignment with this Theravadin sub-culture of EBT studies and Existential Buddhism that your teaching exemplifies has led me to reconsider whether learning Thai and then heading to Isan is the correct course. It is my understanding that both yourself and Venerable Akincano were ordained in the lineage of Ajahn Chah but eventually moved to Sri Lanka. Should I more seriously consider simply ordaining in Sri Lanka and, perhaps, seeking out those venerables associated with Path Press? Lifestyle choices conducive to the practice are at the forefront of my decision making, but it would be nice to also live in a monastic community whose understanding of the Dhamma is not distorted by all the contemporary misunderstandings that your videos are aimed at ameliorating. Any advice you could give would be most appreciated.
Going straight to Isaan and learning Thai would still not guarantee that you'd be in the environment suitable for practice. Ordaining in SL is not something I'd recommend to people anymore either, give that the main forest monasteries that perform Upasampada started doubling down in last few years in imposing various Burmese meditation methods and policing young monks on what books they read and what teachings they follow. Since such places would be your visa guarantors, they would not so easily let you off the hook to go and do your own thing. So taking all things into consideration, probably the best option for you would be to try and find a SMALLER Dhammayut monastery in US or similar (from what I understand there are number of them around the country), where you could receive Upasampada, keep the Vinaya and become at least initially familiar with the culture, while at the same time be allowed to do your own Sutta study and develop solitude. After the initial period spent in such monastery as a bhikkhu, it will be easier for you to go to either Thailand or SL, BYPASSING mainstream monasteries there, and instead going straight into some smaller unknown forest places that are more suitable for enduring the elements and Dhamma practice.
@@1hullofaguy In California there is Abhayagiri Thai Forest Monastery. However, I haven’t been there. So it might not be very authentic. I only know the website.
Bhante, I have a question : if jhanas are not mystical experiences, then how can they lead to supernormal powers (for example DN 2) and how can their domain be inconceivable (for example AN 4.77 "inconceivable" sutta) ? Thank you for your videos, they are very appreciated.
What is jhana? I feel like the majority of teachers say it is some sort of meditative absorption, but you don't really talk about meditation in any formal way. So does one get to jhana while in seated meditation? Just walking around? How does one know he or she is in jhana? What does it feel like? How do they progress to different jhanas? Like are these things that happen during seated meditation?
I am sorry for very basic question.. when I say body within body.. what is container body? and what body it contains? do you means the container body is the separate self or ego. in other word see the self as container body.? that containes this physicial body. in other word making strong foundation of anatta.
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Mn 125-Dantabhumi sutta:
"Having abandoned these five hindrances, imperfections of awareness that weaken discernment, he remains mindful of the body within the body, ardent, alert, and mindful, subduing greed and distress with reference to the world. He remains mindful of feelings… mind… mental qualities within mental qualities-ardent, alert, and mindful-subduing greed and distress with reference to the world.
Just as when the elephant tamer plants a large post in the ground and binds the wilderness elephant to it by the neck in order to break it of its wilderness habits, its wilderness memories and resolves, its distraction, fatigue, and fever over leaving the wilderness, to make it delight in the town and to teach it habits congenial to human beings; in the same way, these four foundations of mindfulness are bindings for the awareness of the disciple of the noble ones, to break him of his household habits, his household memories & resolves, his distraction, fatigue, and fever over leaving the household life, for the culmination of the right method and the realization of Nibbana.
Second, third and fourth jhanas: “Then the Tathāgata trains him further: ‘Come, monk, remain contemplating the body within the body(remain contemplating the feeling while feeling-there, remain contemplating the mind while mind-there, remain contemplating the mental quality while mental quality-there), and do not think any thoughts connected with sense desire. ’
Teaching and explaining over and over again takes a lot of time and energy. Thank you, Ajahn for sharing your teachings of the Dhamma over so many videos You know what needs to be taught.
Thank you Ajahn 🙏☸️🙏
This is just great!! I was just hoping for more instructions about fundamentality of mindfulness..! Much much merits Venerables!!😇🙏🏾
When particular thoughts of renunciation/right direction/right view arise, they remind me of the more general context that endures. When the mind is established on this context, the thoughts themselves and the pressure they exert are seen as secondary and not possible without that enduring, alien context, robbing them of their power. The main effort seems to be maintaining this understanding for longer periods of time, since the forgetfulness on the level of thoughts seems to be quite a potent force to be reckoned with. Making these teachings a priority in my spare time, as well as reading the suttas, helps keep those wholesome recollections plentiful throughout the day when I am tending to other things. Even so, stillness and solitude seem to be absolutely key to develop this to the extent necessary, much more than it has been for the development of restraint on the level of body/speech.
Majjhima Nikaya 125... Thank you for this very clear explanation of "body in the body" etc... i haven't heard it explained this way before. 🙏🙏🙏
Bhante, at 20:35 here you discuss a puthujjana seeing "self with self", "not-self with self", and "self with not-self". I understand the first two to mean that the puthujjana takes the self for granted (unquestioned,) or intellectualizes not-self (but does not understand it rightly). What would exemplify taking "self with not-self"? If "with not-self" is the peripheral awareness of anatta (hence, "not-self with not-self" is right view,) how can one then have a self view (attavada) with not-self?
In the Simile of the Cook Sutta (SN 47.8), it says that one can practice satipaṭṭhāna rightly, in a way, but still not enter jhāna if one doesn't pick up the sign of one's mind (citta nimitta)
In this particular context, would it refer to e.g. discerning the subtler pressures that linger in the background once the obvious things are dealt with, and making sure to include Those in the right order too? It seems sometimes there can be less blatant yet still obstructive things, such as contemplating not out of a real need but out of a subtle restlessness, or some vague aversion to a mild physical discomfort.
Yes, exactly. Or even still subtly taking the mind as "mine", out of a simple habit of one's view.
sir, could you please answer these questions.
1. Once there is a sense restraint, how can one correctly discern paticca-samuppada and be confident that I am discerning correctly? because the majority of the time, when I try to discern something, then that becomes another phenomenon.
I was reading the article on path press, where the teacher explains that thinking that there is body right here and right now is not correctly mindfulness of body since that thought is also another phenomenon. Instead, the body should be discerned simultaneously and in-directly to all the phenomenon. Therefore, could you please tell me what signs and features should make it clear that I am discerning paticca-samuppada and that it not just another phenomenon that will lead to nowhere in practice. Thank you, sir. If there is a sutta that directly answer this question, could you please mention it, and I will try to read it.
2. you have stated that anything with the intention of greed, aversion, or distraction should be avoided. However, duties, even though not related to greed aversion, and intentional distraction, may still feel like you are less present than you should be for mindfulness. could you please give your insight, for example, when you are writing a book, is there any compromise of mindfulness to focus on the writing, even though it is not an unwholesome actions?
Thank you!.
Sadhu! When I think of this body in the body, feeling in the feeling... I think of it as seing them for just that, with mindfulness- so, in regards to the body there are the four major postures; sitting, standing, walking and lying down and so, to see the body in the body one sees these or for example the "lifting/moving/placing" of the arm or foot as one walks. And with feeling, if the feeling is happy (pleasurable) or sad or neutral, it is still seen as just feeling and can be noted either as "sad, sad" or just "feeling, feeling". Here, there are bodily feelings and emotional (states), where the bodily feeling is more simple that the state of let's say fear or perhaps being in love, these states are made up of several things whereas a simple bodily feeling of pain most often a reaction from the body- the dislike of the pain is in the mind. And the same with thoughts, whatever thinking there is be it good thoughts or evil thoughts (ill-will) they are still just thoughts/"thinking". Now with the Dhamma in the Dhamma here it is getting interesting, Dhamma can also mean "realities" and even there is The Buddha Dhamma which is in the realm of the enlightened and then there is the dhamma of an ordinary worldling- here there is difference between beings, individuals, all beings go by their dhamma or their reality- for example, before meeting with The Buddha Dhamma one lived in a reality where The Buddha Dhamma did not exist and was not accessible. Anyway, thank you so much and if the Ven. Bhantes saw this and took the time to read it, that is a great blessing indeed. May all find true freedom from bondage, the liberation from the conceit of "I am".
Bhante, I plan on pursuing ordination within the next year or so. I was born and currently live in the US and, unsurprisingly, I have observed a certain level of material comfort bleed into even the Thai Forest monasteries in this country. It is my intuition that, given my soft upbringing, only rural Thailand or Sri Lanka will provide the correct level of austerity for the training of contentment. Beyond lifestyle choices, though, my alignment with this Theravadin sub-culture of EBT studies and Existential Buddhism that your teaching exemplifies has led me to reconsider whether learning Thai and then heading to Isan is the correct course. It is my understanding that both yourself and Venerable Akincano were ordained in the lineage of Ajahn Chah but eventually moved to Sri Lanka. Should I more seriously consider simply ordaining in Sri Lanka and, perhaps, seeking out those venerables associated with Path Press? Lifestyle choices conducive to the practice are at the forefront of my decision making, but it would be nice to also live in a monastic community whose understanding of the Dhamma is not distorted by all the contemporary misunderstandings that your videos are aimed at ameliorating. Any advice you could give would be most appreciated.
Going straight to Isaan and learning Thai would still not guarantee that you'd be in the environment suitable for practice. Ordaining in SL is not something I'd recommend to people anymore either, give that the main forest monasteries that perform Upasampada started doubling down in last few years in imposing various Burmese meditation methods and policing young monks on what books they read and what teachings they follow. Since such places would be your visa guarantors, they would not so easily let you off the hook to go and do your own thing.
So taking all things into consideration, probably the best option for you would be to try and find a SMALLER Dhammayut monastery in US or similar (from what I understand there are number of them around the country), where you could receive Upasampada, keep the Vinaya and become at least initially familiar with the culture, while at the same time be allowed to do your own Sutta study and develop solitude.
After the initial period spent in such monastery as a bhikkhu, it will be easier for you to go to either Thailand or SL, BYPASSING mainstream monasteries there, and instead going straight into some smaller unknown forest places that are more suitable for enduring the elements and Dhamma practice.
@@HillsideHermitage Are there dhammayut viharas outside of Thailand other than Thannisaro’s wat metta?
@@1hullofaguy In California there is Abhayagiri Thai Forest Monastery. However, I haven’t been there. So it might not be very authentic. I only know the website.
Bhante, I have a question : if jhanas are not mystical experiences, then how can they lead to supernormal powers (for example DN 2) and how can their domain be inconceivable (for example AN 4.77 "inconceivable" sutta) ? Thank you for your videos, they are very appreciated.
What is jhana? I feel like the majority of teachers say it is some sort of meditative absorption, but you don't really talk about meditation in any formal way. So does one get to jhana while in seated meditation? Just walking around? How does one know he or she is in jhana? What does it feel like? How do they progress to different jhanas? Like are these things that happen during seated meditation?
Check out playlists titled "Jhana Practice" and "Overcoming Sensuality".
I am sorry for very basic question.. when I say body within body.. what is container body? and what body it contains? do you means the container body is the separate self or ego. in other word see the self as container body.? that containes this physicial body. in other word making strong foundation of anatta.
duties such are reading or studying always unwholesome since they re a distraction or can they done wholesomely?
Am I in the world, or is the world in me? 😉
I struggle to understand this guy. I know I can learn from him but it seems to me more words are used than necessary ...
jhana etymologically relates to Islamic Janna?