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Okay, so I guess we can start. 
Tonight I am going to talk about

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lay people and Buddhism. 
What is, how the Buddha looks at

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lay people and Buddhism, lay 
Buddhists, how they interact 

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with the monastic community, how
they ideally practice. 

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The reason for this is because I
gave a talk on the importance of

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monasticism a while ago. 
So now I want to balance it out 

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by also talking about the lay 
side of things as well. 

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After I talked about 
monasticism, some people thought

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it was too much emphasis on 
monasticism, I thought maybe 

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it's nice to kind of balance 
things out a little bit. 

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It's always a good thing to do, 
I think. 

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But the reason why I did focus 
on monasticism before was simply

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because that sometimes 
monasticism may not be valued 

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perhaps in the Western world. 
People think that monasticism is

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just some kind of ancient 
tradition that can be discarded.

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Monasticism is the bath water 
rather than the baby, so check 

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out the dirty bath water, and 
we'll keep the baby, like the 

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pure Dhamma or whatever. 
So that was really the reason 

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why I talked about that. 
But of course when you talk 

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about one topic, you always give
a one-sided idea of things. 

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So for that reason I think it's 
important to talk about the lay 

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side of Buddhism as well. 
Especially since obviously lay 

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Buddhism is much larger as well 
than monastic Buddhism. 

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Monastic Buddhism is only a tiny
percentage of lay Buddhists in 

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this world. 
Look at this Buddhist society 

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here, I don't know how many 
members we have now, 2,000, 

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3,000, 4,000 members or 
something. 

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It's a kind of large Buddhist 
society. 

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And many more people who are not
officially members, but are kind

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of members by heart almost. 
They kind of belong to this 

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Buddhist society. 
And the number of monastics we 

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have here is maybe altogether 
counted up 40, 40 plus 

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monastics. 
So like 1% or something like 

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that. 
Obviously it matters enormously,

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the lay side of Buddhism. 
And one of the things that I 

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have always found when it comes 
to lay people, and one of the 

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things that I found interesting 
is that as a monk I'm often 

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inspired by some of the lay 
people and how well they 

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practice and how they live their
lives. 

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It's actually amazing, I think, 
you know, very often it looks to

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me that a lot of lay people far 
more inspiring than some of the 

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monastics I know. 
Isn't that kind of interesting? 

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And the reason for that of 
course is that as always there's

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only a small subset of people 
who really take the practice 

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seriously. 
But if you have a lay person who

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really practices seriously, we 
have some very serious 

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practitioners here in the 
Buddhist society of Western 

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Australia, they are much better,
much more wiser than the vast 

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majority of monastics who do not
take the practice of Buddhism 

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seriously. 
So often I think, wow, these lay

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people, they are amazing, how do
they do it? 

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Juggling their job, juggling 
their family lives, and still 

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practice in the Buddhist path so
well, it's difficult enough to 

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be a monk for goodness sake, how
do they do this in lay life? 

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Wow, I'm really awe-inspired. 
And it's true, there's actually 

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a lot of truth to that, when I 
see all the goodness and the 

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kindness, the depth of 
meditation sometimes that lay 

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people have, it's really kind of
inspiring. 

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So for that reason, I think it 
is important to consider how we 

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can make the most out of 
practice as lay people and how 

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we should interact with the 
monastic community. 

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And one of the first things is 
just to start with the basics, 

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and of course the basic idea if 
you go to a traditional Buddhist

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country, one of the basic kind 
of relationships between the 

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monastic community and the lay 
people, and it actually is a 

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very important relationship, is 
the idea that monastics normally

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tend to be like the spiritual 
teachers, and lay people will 

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often give material support to 
the monastics. 

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That is a very kind of limited 
view of Buddhism, there's much 

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more to it than that, but that 
is like the basic kind of view. 

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And because basically Buddhism 
would not be able to survive 

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without both of these things, 
monastic community only survives

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because of the generosity of lay
people, so for that reason it's 

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actually a very important part 
of the relationship between 

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monastics and lay people. 
Without all of these parts 

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Buddhism wouldn't survive. 
The Buddha talks about the four 

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parissa, parissa means like an 
assembly or a congregation or a 

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grouping of people, and of 
course the four parissa's are 

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the bhikkhus, the monks, the 
nuns, and the laymen and the 

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laywomen. 
These are the four groupings, 

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the four assemblies in Buddhism.
And according to the Buddha, 

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Buddhism is only complete if all
those four assemblies are in 

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existence, all four assemblies 
are there, all of them are kind 

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of doing their part to keep 
Buddhism going. 

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And one of the most basic ideas 
is this idea of lay people 

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supporting monastics and 
monastics kind of giving 

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teaching in return. 
Sometimes people think that's 

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unfair, monks they kind of just 
sit there and lay people kind of

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give them food and you know, 
that's a bit unfair, what about,

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shouldn't there be more to it 
than that? 

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And that's kind of the point, 
this is just the beginning, 

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there is much more to it than 
that, but it's already a very 

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useful starting point. 
I think sometimes we 

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underestimate the actual 
delight, the beauty of that 

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interaction between lay people 
and monastics. 

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If you think about it in the 
right way, it actually is very 

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nice and a very beautiful thing 
here. 

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I must admit when I stay in our 
monastery and I see all the 

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people coming every day here, 
and every day we have maybe, I 

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don't know, it's very rare to 
have less than 20 people coming 

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to the meal time at Bodhinyana 
Monastery. 

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Sometimes 100 people, 200 
people, and it's just so 

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beautiful to see people driving 
all that way here, cooking food 

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from early in the morning, 
bringing it to the monks, and 

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then Ajahn Brahm telling a few 
jokes, a bit of Dhamma perhaps, 

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have you been to Bodhinyana 
Monastery at the meal time? 

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You know what it's like, and 
people are enjoying themselves, 

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they are relaxing, they are 
having a good time, a little bit

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of Dhamma and a little bit of 
everything coming together, and 

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it's actually a very positive 
and wholesome and beautiful 

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occasion. 
So some of these traditional 

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things actually have a lot of 
importance, a lot of beauty in 

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them that is very easy to 
forget, even though they are 

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just the foundations of the 
path, they are still very 

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beautiful in so many ways. 
And you would be surprised I 

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think, if you knew how some of 
the people in this Buddha 

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society, what they do and how 
they live and the things they 

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have done in the Buddha society.
We just had before here Dennis 

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Shepherd, he is our president, 
and he has been part of the 

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Buddha society here for, I don't
know, long before I became a 

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member of this Buddha society, 
I've only been here for 25 

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years, that's nothing compared 
to some of these other people. 

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And Dennis Shepherd has been 
around forever, and he is like 

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everyone's grandfather in the 
Buddha society. 

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Are you hiding away somewhere 
Dennis? 

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Anyway, it doesn't matter, you 
can be there at the back 

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somewhere. 
It's such a wonderful thing to 

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have a person like that, who is 
always stable, always reliable, 

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always puts the Dhamma first, 
always speaks in the right way, 

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and kind of supports everybody, 
he upholds this Buddha society, 

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he has put half of his life into
this blooming Buddha society. 

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What a wonderful thing that is, 
to have people like that who 

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support the society so much. 
I'm talking about Dennis now 

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simply because he happens to be 
our current president, and 

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because it is a wonderful 
service, not only here, but many

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other people do as well. 
So this is just one example, one

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of the other examples which 
comes to mind because it's such 

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a beautiful example of the idea 
of generosity. 

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This is one of the ladies in 
this Buddha society who a while 

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ago, a few months ago, she 
decided to sell all her jewelry,

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sell all her jewelry so she 
could give a donation to the 

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Buddha society. 
The thing is that many of these 

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people, they are not super 
wealthy or anything like that, 

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they are just ordinary people, 
and to be able to support the 

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Buddha society, their building 
programs, whatever it is, they 

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are willing to sell all their 
jewelry and then give the 

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donations to the Buddha society.
So inspiring, so beautiful when 

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you hear things like that, isn't
that marvelous? 

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It's like giving up something 
which is very dear to you to 

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kind of further the aims of 
Buddhism right here in 

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Australia. 
It's just so, I find it 

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personally so inspiring and 
marvelous it makes me kind of up

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my game a little bit when I hear
other people act in this way 

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because it's such a beautiful 
thing to do. 

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So this is the kind of things 
that you find right here, and I 

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know lots and lots of stories 
like this here in the Buddha 

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society, this is giving you a 
kind of basic idea of what 

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happens and how this Buddha 
society works, things that many 

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of you will never have seen 
simply because you haven't got 

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that overview that you have as a
monk and you see kind of 

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everybody the way they live. 
So it's not to be said for this 

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traditional way of doing things,
the connection between the lay 

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community and the monastic 
community. 

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But as I said, it goes much, 
much beyond that. 

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And one of the interesting kind 
of functions of the lay people, 

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functions, I don't know if you 
want to be function, one of the 

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interesting functions of the lay
Buddhist community is to serve 

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as a check on the monastics. 
And this is the idea here, and 

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this is something that goes way 
back, all the way back to the 

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time of the Buddha, the idea 
here is that the lay community, 

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basically they observe the 
monastics and they understand 

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where support should be given 
and where support should not be 

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given. 
And through that, it actually is

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the case that lay people have an
incredible power over Buddhism, 

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over the Sangha, over the 
monastics, over the whole thing,

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you're actually in a very 
powerful position. 

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You may not feel very powerful, 
most of us don't feel very 

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powerful, we'll just do our 
little bit and we'll see what 

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happens, but actually it's a 
very powerful position, because 

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if you withhold your support, 
well the Sangha doesn't really 

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function anymore. 
And that is a very important 

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safety mechanism in Buddhism. 
Why? 

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Because there's always a 
tendency, if you are too 

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independent or whatever, there's
always a tendency for the dark 

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forces in the human mind, the 
defilements, the greed, the 

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anger, the delusion, these kind 
of things, there's a tendency 

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for these things to take over. 
And you see this in monasticism,

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you see this in the world, you 
see this everywhere. 

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And one of the ways of 
counteracting that is for lay 

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people to channel their support 
in a wise way where they know 

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that Buddhism, or at least they 
have some inkling that Buddhism 

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is practised in the right way. 
It's very powerful, you have all

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this power, are you aware of 
that? 

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Sometimes you don't know how 
much power you have, in fact in 

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00:11:44,670 --> 00:11:48,920
one way it could be said that 
lay people have more power than 

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the monastics. 
What can you do as monastics? 

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You can't do very much, you can 
sit here and give a talk and I 

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could maybe tell you off and 
never be invited again, that's 

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pretty much how far my power 
goes, I'm not very powerful at 

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all. 
The one power that monks have, 

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00:12:01,921 --> 00:12:05,588
which is interesting, I will 
tell you this power now because 

202
00:12:05,588 --> 00:12:08,922
we're talking about power. 
And the one power that you have 

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00:12:08,922 --> 00:12:15,120
as a monk or as a nun is called 
the overturning the bowl power. 

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Have you heard about that power?
This is the power if you have a 

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00:12:17,898 --> 00:12:20,370
monk. 
If the lay people start to 

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00:12:20,370 --> 00:12:25,122
criticise Buddhism in a bad way,
in the wrong way, then what you 

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00:12:25,122 --> 00:12:29,620
can do is you can refuse to 
accept alms from those lay 

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people. 
It's called, the name is a 

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00:12:31,835 --> 00:12:35,720
symbol, it's to overturn the 
bowl, you don't actually receive

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00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:39,120
alms. 
This is really as far as the 

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monks' power go. 
Does that sound scary to anyone?

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00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:45,987
Yeah, overturn the bowl? 
If you are a traditional 

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00:12:45,987 --> 00:12:49,520
Buddhist, actually this is 
pretty scary, this is really, 

214
00:12:49,520 --> 00:12:51,321
really scary. 
It may not sound very scary if 

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00:12:51,321 --> 00:12:53,570
you are kind of new to Buddhism,
you overturn the bowl, what's 

216
00:12:53,570 --> 00:12:56,320
the big deal? 
Please, carry on. 

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00:12:56,320 --> 00:12:59,570
But if you are a traditional 
Buddhist, this is kind of a 

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00:12:59,570 --> 00:13:02,195
really serious business. 
And one of the interesting 

219
00:13:02,195 --> 00:13:07,854
instances of this, was in Burma 
recently, when the military was 

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00:13:07,854 --> 00:13:11,806
still in charge in Myanmar, and 
while they were in charge, they 

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00:13:11,806 --> 00:13:15,521
did all kind of bad things, like
the military in power maybe 

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00:13:15,521 --> 00:13:18,520
tends to do. 
And on one occasion, the sangha,

223
00:13:18,520 --> 00:13:22,270
the monastic community decided 
we need to do something with the

224
00:13:22,270 --> 00:13:25,521
military so they don't oppress 
everyone, don't oppress the 

225
00:13:25,521 --> 00:13:28,235
sangha so much. 
So they decided to overturn the 

226
00:13:28,235 --> 00:13:30,520
bowl towards the military 
regime. 

227
00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:34,435
And that was like massive in 
Burma, it was really a big, big 

228
00:13:34,435 --> 00:13:36,387
thing. 
And the military was extremely 

229
00:13:36,387 --> 00:13:38,720
upset. 
Why? 

230
00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:42,220
Because it kind of takes away 
the opportunity to support the 

231
00:13:42,220 --> 00:13:45,220
sangha, which is that very 
mechanism between lay people and

232
00:13:45,220 --> 00:13:48,720
monasticism that makes the whole
thing function. 

233
00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:52,276
Once you take that way, they 
feel that the function has been 

234
00:13:52,276 --> 00:13:55,864
taken away, the ability to make 
good kamma, to make good merit 

235
00:13:55,864 --> 00:13:58,720
has been destroyed when that 
happens. 

236
00:13:58,720 --> 00:14:00,720
That is really where it comes 
from. 

237
00:14:00,720 --> 00:14:04,054
But this is pretty much the only
power you have as a monk over 

238
00:14:04,054 --> 00:14:07,387
the lay people. 
Not all that much perhaps, but 

239
00:14:07,387 --> 00:14:12,220
very interesting. 
So as lay people, you have this 

240
00:14:12,220 --> 00:14:15,832
power. 
And if you look at the history 

241
00:14:15,832 --> 00:14:19,520
of Buddhism, and it goes back a 
long, long way, all the way back

242
00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:24,610
to the time of the Buddha, the 
way that this was used, and the 

243
00:14:24,610 --> 00:14:28,864
idea of course is to purify 
Buddhism, and you will hold 

244
00:14:28,864 --> 00:14:31,720
support when Buddhism isn't 
practiced properly. 

245
00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:35,720
And this goes back a long way. 
One of the interesting stories 

246
00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:38,320
that touch on this is the story 
of what is often called the 

247
00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:43,920
first council in Buddhism. 
Council, these are historical 

248
00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:48,320
events that are recorded in the 
Pali or the ancient Buddhist 

249
00:14:48,320 --> 00:14:50,435
scriptures. 
And these were when the monastic

250
00:14:50,435 --> 00:14:54,320
community would come together to
recite the teachings of the 

251
00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:59,388
Buddha. 
And this story is told, and it's

252
00:14:59,388 --> 00:15:01,720
a very famous and well known 
story. 

253
00:15:01,720 --> 00:15:08,720
And this story is about soon 
after the Buddha passed away, 

254
00:15:08,720 --> 00:15:13,220
people wanted to ensure that 
Buddhism survived for the 

255
00:15:13,220 --> 00:15:15,595
future. 
One of those very significant 

256
00:15:15,595 --> 00:15:18,720
and important things that 
Buddhism was to survive. 

257
00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:22,220
And the monastic community felt 
that it was its job, its 

258
00:15:22,220 --> 00:15:25,720
purpose, to ensure the survival 
of Buddhism. 

259
00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:30,220
So all these monks, especially 
the monks who were kind of in 

260
00:15:30,220 --> 00:15:33,055
charge of this chanting 
business, they all came together

261
00:15:33,055 --> 00:15:36,720
and they recited these teachings
of the Buddha. 

262
00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:39,292
And this is how we actually 
still have the Buddhist 

263
00:15:39,292 --> 00:15:42,388
teachings in the present day, 
because of that sort of 

264
00:15:42,388 --> 00:15:45,720
accumulation of the sutas of the
early discourses of the Buddha 

265
00:15:45,720 --> 00:15:49,150
from the very beginning. 
The Buddha laid down the 

266
00:15:49,150 --> 00:15:51,720
foundation work, and said, you 
should come together frequently 

267
00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:55,904
to recite these texts. 
And as you do that, they will be

268
00:15:55,904 --> 00:15:58,388
kept for posterity. 
And the problems, the faults 

269
00:15:58,388 --> 00:16:02,054
will be weeded out because you 
come together and chant these 

270
00:16:02,054 --> 00:16:04,720
texts together, or you recite 
them together. 

271
00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:08,864
So it's very interesting, 
already that's very powerful and

272
00:16:08,864 --> 00:16:12,387
very interesting because it 
tells us a lot about Buddhist 

273
00:16:12,387 --> 00:16:15,450
history. 
And the ability we had to 

274
00:16:15,450 --> 00:16:19,720
actually keep these scriptures 
intact over the millennia, over 

275
00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:23,720
the centuries, going from one 
culture to the next one. 

276
00:16:23,720 --> 00:16:27,220
But the interesting thing 
happened at this particular 

277
00:16:27,220 --> 00:16:28,920
council. 
And what happened was that after

278
00:16:28,920 --> 00:16:32,720
all the kind of reciting of the 
scripture was finished, 

279
00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:37,055
Venerable Ananda, he pipes up. 
Venerable Ananda was the 

280
00:16:37,055 --> 00:16:40,720
right-hand disciple of the 
Buddha, and he had been there 

281
00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:44,720
throughout the last 20 years of 
the Buddha's life. 

282
00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:47,864
He had retained all of the 
scriptures, all of the Buddha's 

283
00:16:47,864 --> 00:16:50,435
scriptures in mind. 
He must have had a phenomenal 

284
00:16:50,435 --> 00:16:53,520
memory. 
That's why he was in charge of 

285
00:16:53,520 --> 00:16:56,387
reciting these things. 
So after everything has been 

286
00:16:56,387 --> 00:17:00,520
finished, he pipes up and says, 
well, after the Buddha told me 

287
00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:05,472
before he passed away that you 
are allowed to give up all the 

288
00:17:05,472 --> 00:17:09,095
minor training rules. 
And the monks look at him, are 

289
00:17:09,095 --> 00:17:11,720
you sure? 
What are you talking about? 

290
00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:14,490
The Buddha said you are allowed 
to give up all the training 

291
00:17:14,490 --> 00:17:16,970
rules. 
And the Buddha said, yeah, not 

292
00:17:16,970 --> 00:17:20,119
the Buddha, but the Buddha said,
yeah, he said we can give up all

293
00:17:20,119 --> 00:17:22,720
the training rules. 
So what does that mean? 

294
00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:26,222
All the minor training rules. 
And what it means, if you know 

295
00:17:26,222 --> 00:17:29,904
the difference between major and
minor rules, it means that you 

296
00:17:29,904 --> 00:17:34,336
keep, the monks have 227 
so-called rules, this is kind of

297
00:17:34,336 --> 00:17:36,721
one set of rules, kind of the 
major rules, whatever you want 

298
00:17:36,721 --> 00:17:41,415
to call them, 227 rules, these 
are divided up into serious 

299
00:17:41,415 --> 00:17:46,388
important rules and minor rules.
The important rules, number 

300
00:17:46,388 --> 00:17:50,720
exactly 17, the last 210 are 
called minor rules. 

301
00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:53,720
So it can be very tempting to 
chuck out all those minor rules,

302
00:17:53,720 --> 00:17:59,322
we get rid of about, what is it,
90%, over 90% of the rules is 

303
00:17:59,322 --> 00:18:01,720
kind of boom, gone in one kind 
of go. 

304
00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:04,920
Makes life very simple. 
If you have somebody, it's very 

305
00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:07,820
tempting to say that. 
If the nuns, it's a very similar

306
00:18:07,820 --> 00:18:10,276
kind of percentage, the nuns 
have actually more rules than 

307
00:18:10,276 --> 00:18:14,472
the monks, it's 310 rules, but 
the serious rules again, only 

308
00:18:14,472 --> 00:18:20,165
number about 25, so again, it's 
over, less than 10% would 

309
00:18:20,165 --> 00:18:22,645
remain. 
Imagine the temptation to chuck 

310
00:18:22,645 --> 00:18:25,720
them all out, if the Buddha said
that. 

311
00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:27,720
But what actually happened is 
interesting. 

312
00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:31,720
What happened was that the 
sangha, first of all they asked,

313
00:18:31,720 --> 00:18:35,720
do you know exactly what the 
Buddha meant by minor rules? 

314
00:18:35,720 --> 00:18:39,056
I said, no, I don't really know.
It should have been obvious, you

315
00:18:39,056 --> 00:18:41,498
would have thought everyone 
would have been able to agree on

316
00:18:41,498 --> 00:18:44,390
that, but somehow they couldn't 
even agree on what were the 

317
00:18:44,390 --> 00:18:47,720
minor and the major rules. 
And then Venerable Mahakassapa, 

318
00:18:47,720 --> 00:18:54,165
one of the most famous monks at 
that time in the sangha, he 

319
00:18:54,165 --> 00:18:59,260
said, well, if we abandon all 
these rules, the Buddha has just

320
00:18:59,260 --> 00:19:03,336
passed away, and soon as the 
Buddha passes away, we abandon 

321
00:19:03,336 --> 00:19:06,720
all these rules, what are the 
lay people going to say? 

322
00:19:06,720 --> 00:19:10,150
The lay people know our rules, 
they know what we are supposed 

323
00:19:10,150 --> 00:19:13,490
to do, and if as soon as the 
Buddha passes away, we give them

324
00:19:13,490 --> 00:19:17,720
up, they are going to say, you 
dodgy monks, you scallywags, 

325
00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:20,720
here you are, your master has 
just gone, and the first thing 

326
00:19:20,720 --> 00:19:22,720
you do is to abandon all your 
rules. 

327
00:19:22,720 --> 00:19:25,780
Away with you, we don't want to 
have anything more to do with 

328
00:19:25,780 --> 00:19:28,820
you, you dodgy monks. 
This is what the lay people are 

329
00:19:28,820 --> 00:19:31,780
going to say. 
So they decided, basically out 

330
00:19:31,780 --> 00:19:36,309
of knowing how the lay community
would react to abandoning the 

331
00:19:36,309 --> 00:19:40,568
rules, they decided to keep all 
the monastic rules as a 

332
00:19:40,568 --> 00:19:44,220
consequence of that. 
So that was an opportunity 

333
00:19:44,220 --> 00:19:46,389
missed. 
That's bad, all those rules 

334
00:19:46,389 --> 00:19:49,470
could have been chucked out, 
that's terrible, and now missed 

335
00:19:49,470 --> 00:19:52,470
opportunity, now we are stuck 
with all these rules, so we have

336
00:19:52,470 --> 00:19:55,220
to live up to them. 
Anyway, so we can probably deal 

337
00:19:55,220 --> 00:19:57,645
with that. 
But very fascinating, and it 

338
00:19:57,645 --> 00:20:02,500
shows you that from the very 
early times, the lay people knew

339
00:20:02,500 --> 00:20:06,486
the rules of the monastics. 
I would also advise you to 

340
00:20:06,486 --> 00:20:09,426
educate yourself a little bit 
about the rules of the 

341
00:20:09,426 --> 00:20:13,388
monastics, because if you do, 
you will be able to tell which 

342
00:20:13,388 --> 00:20:16,260
monastics are living properly 
and which ones are not. 

343
00:20:16,260 --> 00:20:19,970
So if you see like a married 
monastic, wait a minute, is that

344
00:20:19,970 --> 00:20:21,720
right? 
Are you allowed to be married 

345
00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:25,120
according to the rules? 
Maybe not, but if you don't 

346
00:20:25,120 --> 00:20:29,074
know, read the rules, and it 
will be pretty clear that being 

347
00:20:29,074 --> 00:20:31,720
married is not the ideal 
situation for a monastic. 

348
00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:34,720
A little bit dodgy as they say 
here. 

349
00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:38,472
But there are more, many, many 
rules like that, rules like for 

350
00:20:38,472 --> 00:20:41,436
example, use of money. 
Monastics shouldn't really be 

351
00:20:41,436 --> 00:20:45,292
using money, and monastics 
should have a very pure 

352
00:20:45,292 --> 00:20:48,220
morality. 
Monastics should ideally be an 

353
00:20:48,220 --> 00:20:50,911
example. 
If you see monks who have an 

354
00:20:50,911 --> 00:20:54,659
immoral kind of conduct, or nuns
for that matter, then of course 

355
00:20:54,659 --> 00:20:58,720
it is a bad idea, it is not the 
way it should be. 

356
00:20:58,720 --> 00:21:03,096
So this is how you can tell, and
it's important to be a little 

357
00:21:03,096 --> 00:21:06,420
bit educated about what the 
monks and nuns can and cannot 

358
00:21:06,420 --> 00:21:10,250
do, and this is the way it was 
all the way back to the time of 

359
00:21:10,250 --> 00:21:12,619
the Buddha. 
And if you are a good monk and a

360
00:21:12,619 --> 00:21:14,720
good nun, you don't really have 
much to fear anyway. 

361
00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:18,720
And it helps Buddhism to steer 
in the right direction. 

362
00:21:18,720 --> 00:21:23,054
It helps people to give support 
where support really is due, and

363
00:21:23,054 --> 00:21:27,387
to take away sometimes support 
from where it is not so good to 

364
00:21:27,387 --> 00:21:29,665
support. 
One of the other interesting 

365
00:21:29,665 --> 00:21:33,944
things, now that we talk about 
the very exciting topic of 

366
00:21:33,944 --> 00:21:38,720
monastic rules, is that right? 
Very exciting. 

367
00:21:38,720 --> 00:21:43,864
Actually, anyway, whatever. 
One of the interesting things is

368
00:21:43,864 --> 00:21:46,720
how these monastic rules were 
actually laid down. 

369
00:21:46,720 --> 00:21:50,486
How did they come to be? 
And one of the most important 

370
00:21:50,486 --> 00:21:54,149
ways that the monastic rules 
came to be, were laid down, was 

371
00:21:54,149 --> 00:21:56,720
because of complaints by lay 
people. 

372
00:21:56,720 --> 00:21:59,388
Lay people would go to the 
Buddha and say, Oh, Venerable 

373
00:21:59,388 --> 00:22:02,720
Sir, Bhante, Master, these monks
of yours, they are hopeless, 

374
00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:05,920
they are just messing around. 
And the Buddha said, Oh yeah, 

375
00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:08,036
you have a point. 
So he would call the monks and 

376
00:22:08,036 --> 00:22:09,720
say, Is it true that you are 
doing this? 

377
00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:11,720
Okay, rule, okay, let down a 
rule. 

378
00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:15,720
This is how the majority of 
monastic rules came about. 

379
00:22:15,720 --> 00:22:19,720
Lay people complaining about the
monks and also about the nuns, 

380
00:22:19,720 --> 00:22:22,720
which is interesting, and the 
Buddha took that seriously. 

381
00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:27,266
So if you have complaints about 
the monastic community, it is 

382
00:22:27,266 --> 00:22:29,720
okay to bring it up, that's what
it means. 

383
00:22:29,720 --> 00:22:33,160
It is okay to deal with it, 
because then again, sometimes 

384
00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:37,345
you can actually weed out some 
of the problems in the monastic 

385
00:22:37,345 --> 00:22:39,864
community. 
So this is a very important 

386
00:22:39,864 --> 00:22:42,720
relationship between the monks 
and the lay community. 

387
00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:46,720
This is how we keep Buddhism 
pure for the future. 

388
00:22:46,720 --> 00:22:50,435
This is how we avoid going down 
the path of all kinds of 

389
00:22:50,435 --> 00:22:53,720
defilements and problems of 
corruption of Buddhism. 

390
00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:56,720
And there is so much corruption 
in Buddhism around the world, 

391
00:22:56,720 --> 00:23:00,956
but to minimize that, these are 
the kind of procedures that are 

392
00:23:00,956 --> 00:23:05,450
useful to keep in mind. 
But this is really only the 

393
00:23:05,450 --> 00:23:08,812
beginning of the relationship 
between, this is really about 

394
00:23:08,812 --> 00:23:11,920
the relationship between monks 
and lay people, but the lay 

395
00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:14,720
people's practice goes way, way 
beyond this. 

396
00:23:14,720 --> 00:23:18,106
And one of the most interesting 
passages that talks about the 

397
00:23:18,106 --> 00:23:22,292
four assemblies and talks about 
the practice of lay people, is 

398
00:23:22,292 --> 00:23:25,720
found in the famous 
Mahaparinibbana Sutta. 

399
00:23:25,720 --> 00:23:28,799
This is the Sutta that our 
president and the shepherd 

400
00:23:28,799 --> 00:23:32,387
mentioned just before, which we 
are going to talk about on 

401
00:23:32,387 --> 00:23:34,222
Sunday. 
This is like a preview, a little

402
00:23:34,222 --> 00:23:37,520
bit of a preview of that Sutta. 
So if this really excites you, 

403
00:23:37,520 --> 00:23:40,220
please come on Sunday. 
If it doesn't excite you, then 

404
00:23:40,220 --> 00:23:45,220
no need to come on Sunday. 
So what this Sutta is about, the

405
00:23:45,220 --> 00:23:48,904
Mahaparinibbana, that literally 
means the greater discourse on 

406
00:23:48,904 --> 00:23:53,720
the Buddha's passing away, or 
something like that. 

407
00:23:53,720 --> 00:23:57,722
And it is about the last days of
the Buddha, the Buddha travels 

408
00:23:57,722 --> 00:24:01,970
across India, and he knows that 
he is nearing his final days, he

409
00:24:01,970 --> 00:24:05,470
is getting very old and kind of 
fragile and all of these kind of

410
00:24:05,470 --> 00:24:08,492
things, just like everyone gets 
old, same kind of thing 

411
00:24:08,492 --> 00:24:11,358
happening to the Buddha. 
And because he knows that his 

412
00:24:11,358 --> 00:24:14,720
end is coming very close, it is 
a very powerful emotional Sutta.

413
00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:18,105
You can imagine the Buddha is 
about to pass away here, the 

414
00:24:18,105 --> 00:24:21,952
greatest spiritual genius in 
human history is about to pass 

415
00:24:21,952 --> 00:24:24,085
away here. 
Imagine what that feels like, 

416
00:24:24,085 --> 00:24:27,970
you are around at this time. 
It is difficult enough to lose 

417
00:24:27,970 --> 00:24:31,935
loved ones, but imagine if you 
are a monk or lay person, the 

418
00:24:31,935 --> 00:24:34,720
Buddha has looked after you all 
this time, and is about to die. 

419
00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:37,720
It is a very, very powerful 
moment. 

420
00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:40,292
And because it is so powerful, 
the Buddha realizes he has to 

421
00:24:40,292 --> 00:24:44,888
lay down the rules and the 
future for the monastics and the

422
00:24:44,888 --> 00:24:47,904
lay community. 
And one of these encounters, and

423
00:24:47,904 --> 00:24:51,260
this is probably slightly 
mythical, but the content, the 

424
00:24:51,260 --> 00:24:54,720
kind of Dhamma content is still,
I think, interesting. 

425
00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:58,720
And this is the meeting between 
Buddha and Mara. 

426
00:24:58,720 --> 00:25:01,720
Mara is like the tempter figure 
in Buddhism. 

427
00:25:01,720 --> 00:25:05,220
Mara is the one who wants you to
indulge in the world, so you 

428
00:25:05,220 --> 00:25:07,720
can't get liberated and all of 
these kind of things. 

429
00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:11,620
Mara is mostly the psychological
thing inside, the tempter inside

430
00:25:11,620 --> 00:25:14,722
that draws you in the wrong 
direction, towards arguments and

431
00:25:14,722 --> 00:25:17,720
ill will and all of these kind 
of things. 

432
00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:22,266
So there is this conversation 
between this Mara and the 

433
00:25:22,266 --> 00:25:25,268
Buddha. 
And Mara comes to the Buddha and

434
00:25:25,268 --> 00:25:29,268
says to the Buddha, Well, 
Venerable Sir, when we first met

435
00:25:29,268 --> 00:25:33,294
a long time ago, when I was 
trying to distract you while you

436
00:25:33,294 --> 00:25:36,970
were trying to get enlightened, 
this is one of Mara's most 

437
00:25:36,970 --> 00:25:40,387
important functions, to distract
the Buddha to be before his 

438
00:25:40,387 --> 00:25:42,904
awakening. 
This is kind of one of the main 

439
00:25:42,904 --> 00:25:46,345
functions of Mara. 
So at that time, soon after your

440
00:25:46,345 --> 00:25:51,720
awakening, you said to me that I
begged you to please pass away, 

441
00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:55,388
because I didn't want to have 
Buddhas around, because Buddhas 

442
00:25:55,388 --> 00:25:58,720
kind of destroy my plans of 
keeping people in samsara. 

443
00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:00,720
I don't really like Buddhas very
much, Maras. 

444
00:26:00,720 --> 00:26:03,720
Maras and Buddhas are kind of 
opposite forces in the world. 

445
00:26:03,720 --> 00:26:06,720
So Mara, please pass away 
straight away, please, please, 

446
00:26:06,720 --> 00:26:09,720
you are destroying my plan to 
control humanity. 

447
00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:12,720
The Buddha says, sorry, I'm not 
going to pass away. 

448
00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:16,720
I'm going to pass away until 
four things are in place. 

449
00:26:16,720 --> 00:26:20,720
And these four things are to 
have a strong monk's community, 

450
00:26:20,720 --> 00:26:25,470
a strong nun's community, a 
strong layman's community, a 

451
00:26:25,470 --> 00:26:29,995
strong laywomen's community. 
When these four communities are 

452
00:26:29,995 --> 00:26:35,120
strong, then I will pass away. 
And in this Maha Pandibbana suit

453
00:26:35,120 --> 00:26:38,720
I'm talking about now, Mara 
comes to the Buddha and says, 

454
00:26:38,720 --> 00:26:41,720
Well, now all of these 
communities are strong. 

455
00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:44,720
Please, time for you to pass 
away. 

456
00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:47,720
Mara never gives up. 
This is the thing about Mara, 

457
00:26:47,720 --> 00:26:50,420
really tenacious, just like 
defilements, tend not to give 

458
00:26:50,420 --> 00:26:52,720
up. 
Same thing with Mara. 

459
00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:54,720
So the Buddha says, you have a 
point, actually. 

460
00:26:54,720 --> 00:26:57,720
Now all the four assemblies are 
really strong. 

461
00:26:57,720 --> 00:27:00,720
So what does it mean that the 
four assemblies are strong? 

462
00:27:00,720 --> 00:27:03,720
What does it mean that the 
laymen and laywomen are strong? 

463
00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:07,780
And this is quite fascinating. 
What it means is, first of all, 

464
00:27:07,780 --> 00:27:10,720
that you have a good grasp of 
the Buddhist teachings. 

465
00:27:10,720 --> 00:27:13,176
You have listened to the 
Buddhist teachings, you have 

466
00:27:13,176 --> 00:27:16,184
understood them, you have 
penetrated them by view so you 

467
00:27:16,184 --> 00:27:19,720
know what is going on. 
This is the first thing. 

468
00:27:19,720 --> 00:27:24,490
So laypeople understanding the 
Buddhist teachings well is one 

469
00:27:24,490 --> 00:27:28,336
of the kind of fundamental 
things that laypeople should be 

470
00:27:28,336 --> 00:27:32,470
doing according to this. 
At the time of the Buddha, there

471
00:27:32,470 --> 00:27:37,610
would have been such laypeople. 
And if you look at the history 

472
00:27:37,610 --> 00:27:42,472
of Buddhism, some of the most 
interesting sutas, some of the 

473
00:27:42,472 --> 00:27:46,388
most interesting discourses by 
the Buddha were actually handed 

474
00:27:46,388 --> 00:27:49,720
down by laypeople. 
Were you aware of that? 

475
00:27:49,720 --> 00:27:52,720
Because usually when we think 
about the Buddhist discourses, 

476
00:27:52,720 --> 00:27:56,720
they were recited by the 
monastics, handed on by the 

477
00:27:56,720 --> 00:27:59,845
monastics from one generation to
the next one, there is very 

478
00:27:59,845 --> 00:28:04,055
little talk about the laypeople.
But there are a couple of very 

479
00:28:04,055 --> 00:28:07,320
interesting instances in the 
sutas of laypeople handing down 

480
00:28:07,320 --> 00:28:10,639
discourses. 
One of these is where the monks 

481
00:28:10,639 --> 00:28:14,276
are on their rains retreat. 
The rains retreat is a time when

482
00:28:14,276 --> 00:28:16,720
the monks, we have it here at 
Bodhinyana monastery as well, 

483
00:28:16,720 --> 00:28:19,864
they have it at the Dhammasara 
monastery, when the monks stay 

484
00:28:19,864 --> 00:28:22,720
in the monastery. 
We are not supposed to go out. 

485
00:28:22,720 --> 00:28:25,720
But there is some exceptions 
when you actually can go out, 

486
00:28:25,720 --> 00:28:30,722
you can break your rains. 
And one of those exceptions is 

487
00:28:30,722 --> 00:28:34,720
if a layperson knows a sutra, 
knows a discourse by the Buddha,

488
00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:37,620
and they are about to die or 
something, then the layperson 

489
00:28:37,620 --> 00:28:42,120
can send a message to the monk, 
and say, please come and learn 

490
00:28:42,120 --> 00:28:45,720
this sutra from me, so it 
doesn't get lost. 

491
00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:48,388
And then the monks should go to 
that layperson, learn that 

492
00:28:48,388 --> 00:28:51,820
discourse from the layperson, 
and then bring it back, and then

493
00:28:51,820 --> 00:28:56,720
carry it on, and incorporate it 
into the canon, into the 

494
00:28:56,720 --> 00:29:00,294
canonical discourses. 
So this is an example where 

495
00:29:00,294 --> 00:29:05,176
laypeople are basically put on 
the same level as the monks as 

496
00:29:05,176 --> 00:29:08,845
far as remembering the sutras 
are concerned, and taking care 

497
00:29:08,845 --> 00:29:12,720
of Buddhism for the future. 
This is one instance. 

498
00:29:12,720 --> 00:29:16,944
Another instance that is very 
famous, is a whole compilation 

499
00:29:16,944 --> 00:29:19,720
of sutras called the 
Iti-Vuttaka. 

500
00:29:19,720 --> 00:29:22,920
You heard about the Iti-Vuttaka?
Some of you probably have, some 

501
00:29:22,920 --> 00:29:26,220
of you probably have, the 
majority of you haven't, but the

502
00:29:26,220 --> 00:29:29,220
Iti-Vuttaka is a really nice 
collection, full of really short

503
00:29:29,220 --> 00:29:35,007
sutras with a verse, often very 
profound sutras, and there is a 

504
00:29:35,007 --> 00:29:40,720
distinction between the what is 
it, the Apparisesa Nibbana Datu 

505
00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:46,435
and the ordinary Nibbana Datu. 
Okay, don't worry too much about

506
00:29:46,435 --> 00:29:49,720
that, but it's an important 
distinction, and some of these 

507
00:29:49,720 --> 00:29:51,720
really profound sutras are found
in this collection. 

508
00:29:51,720 --> 00:29:55,720
And this collection was 
collected by a laywoman. 

509
00:29:55,720 --> 00:30:00,520
She was around when the Buddha 
was teaching her, and she 

510
00:30:00,520 --> 00:30:03,498
remembered these discourses, and
she made it into a collection, I

511
00:30:03,498 --> 00:30:06,920
suppose, and said to the monks, 
this is the collection, I will 

512
00:30:06,920 --> 00:30:10,054
recite it for you, you carry it 
on, and to the present day, is 

513
00:30:10,054 --> 00:30:13,720
known to have been collected by 
a laywoman from that time. 

514
00:30:13,720 --> 00:30:17,720
Isn't that fascinating? 
And then that was incorporated 

515
00:30:17,720 --> 00:30:21,910
into the body of sutras, and 
basically a laywoman who 

516
00:30:21,910 --> 00:30:26,283
wouldn't normally have had a 
very high status in that 

517
00:30:26,283 --> 00:30:30,054
society, her memory of the 
sutras was put on par with 

518
00:30:30,054 --> 00:30:32,320
everyone else. 
This is the Iti-Vuttaka 

519
00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:34,220
collection. 
So next time you read that, 

520
00:30:34,220 --> 00:30:36,799
remember that, and have a look 
at it, there's some very 

521
00:30:36,799 --> 00:30:40,720
beautiful sutras in there. 
Another example which I find is 

522
00:30:40,720 --> 00:30:44,388
very interesting because it 
inverts the relationship between

523
00:30:44,388 --> 00:30:48,292
laypeople and monastics. 
That is a famous layman called 

524
00:30:48,292 --> 00:30:51,720
Uga, Uga the householder, Uga 
Gahapati in the sutras. 

525
00:30:51,720 --> 00:30:57,720
And Uga Gahapati, he was this 
very, very advanced layperson, 

526
00:30:57,720 --> 00:31:02,132
one day he said to his wives, he
had many wives like they had in 

527
00:31:02,132 --> 00:31:04,970
those days, especially if you 
were wealthy, you would have a 

528
00:31:04,970 --> 00:31:08,008
number of wives, okay, you 
better all leave because I'm not

529
00:31:08,008 --> 00:31:10,720
really interested in married 
life anymore, so just go off and

530
00:31:10,720 --> 00:31:12,720
I will help you find a nice 
husband for you. 

531
00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:15,506
So he sent all his wives away 
and found them nice husbands and

532
00:31:15,506 --> 00:31:18,078
everything, and they all left 
him except for one who wanted to

533
00:31:18,078 --> 00:31:22,456
be with him, even though 
marriage life had changed a lot 

534
00:31:22,456 --> 00:31:25,720
because of his insight into 
these teachings. 

535
00:31:25,720 --> 00:31:28,956
This was Uga the householder, 
and he, Uga the householder, one

536
00:31:28,956 --> 00:31:33,415
day he went to the Buddha, and 
the Buddha said, well, Uga, you 

537
00:31:33,415 --> 00:31:37,944
are kind of an exceptional 
layperson, and we hear that you 

538
00:31:37,944 --> 00:31:41,631
have eight amazing qualities, 
would you like to tell us about 

539
00:31:41,631 --> 00:31:45,415
your eight amazing qualities? 
And Uga said, sure, I will tell 

540
00:31:45,415 --> 00:31:47,720
you about my eight amazing 
qualities. 

541
00:31:47,720 --> 00:31:51,720
And some of those qualities are 
like he was a non-returner, 

542
00:31:51,720 --> 00:31:55,388
non-returner means you're almost
fully enlightened, you're kind 

543
00:31:55,388 --> 00:31:57,720
of on the brink of full 
awakening. 

544
00:31:57,720 --> 00:32:03,259
So basically he was the similar 
kind of wisdom as the monastic 

545
00:32:03,259 --> 00:32:06,720
community, even the pious people
in the monastic community. 

546
00:32:06,720 --> 00:32:09,656
He had full control over his 
meditation, he could go into 

547
00:32:09,656 --> 00:32:12,722
deep states of meditation on a 
finger snap like that, first 

548
00:32:12,722 --> 00:32:15,470
jhana, second jhana, third 
jhana, fourth jhana, whatever 

549
00:32:15,470 --> 00:32:19,222
you want, yeah. 
And there was a number of other 

550
00:32:19,222 --> 00:32:21,166
amazing qualities, I can't 
remember them all, I haven't 

551
00:32:21,166 --> 00:32:24,721
looked this up before I came 
here, this is years ago since I 

552
00:32:24,721 --> 00:32:26,970
read this sutta. 
But the eighth quality was 

553
00:32:26,970 --> 00:32:29,720
always stuck in my mind because 
it was kind of special. 

554
00:32:29,720 --> 00:32:32,970
This is what Uga said, you have 
all these lofty qualities, and 

555
00:32:32,970 --> 00:32:36,630
it comes the eighth quality, and
he says, well, you know, when I 

556
00:32:36,630 --> 00:32:41,182
invite the sangha, the monastic 
community to my house, which I 

557
00:32:41,182 --> 00:32:44,084
do all the time, well first of 
all, I don't discriminate among 

558
00:32:44,084 --> 00:32:47,720
the different monastics, I treat
them all exactly the same, 

559
00:32:47,720 --> 00:32:51,357
regardless of whether they are 
Arahants or they are ordinary 

560
00:32:51,357 --> 00:32:54,470
people or whatever they are, 
even if they are just a junior 

561
00:32:54,470 --> 00:32:58,436
novice, I treat them the same. 
But the second thing is that 

562
00:32:58,436 --> 00:33:02,722
when I invite the monks to my 
house, I ask the monks to teach 

563
00:33:02,722 --> 00:33:04,720
the Dhamma, teach the Buddhist 
teachings. 

564
00:33:04,720 --> 00:33:08,544
And if the monks don't teach me 
the Dhamma, then I teach the 

565
00:33:08,544 --> 00:33:11,436
Dhamma to the monks. 
So he gets up on the high seat, 

566
00:33:11,436 --> 00:33:15,030
teaches the Dhamma to the monks.
And it's that kind of nice, 

567
00:33:15,030 --> 00:33:19,150
yeah, and this kind of inverts 
Buddhism, it turns it around, we

568
00:33:19,150 --> 00:33:22,920
are always used to the monastics
being the teachers, and here you

569
00:33:22,920 --> 00:33:25,720
have a lay person teaching the 
monastics. 

570
00:33:25,720 --> 00:33:29,435
And what that shows you is that 
it is not so important who 

571
00:33:29,435 --> 00:33:32,580
teaches, what it shows you is 
that wherever there is wisdom, 

572
00:33:32,580 --> 00:33:35,568
wherever there is understanding,
wherever there is something 

573
00:33:35,568 --> 00:33:39,720
special, that is where the 
teachings should come from. 

574
00:33:39,720 --> 00:33:43,951
So, first thing, lay people 
should learn the teachings, and 

575
00:33:43,951 --> 00:33:46,260
only when they really learn 
those teachings fully, like they

576
00:33:46,260 --> 00:33:50,845
do here, then they become one of
the four pillars, one of the 

577
00:33:50,845 --> 00:33:52,720
four parices in Buddhist 
society. 

578
00:33:52,720 --> 00:33:57,620
This is the first thing that the
Buddha says, the lay men and lay

579
00:33:57,620 --> 00:33:59,720
women at that time had 
fulfilled. 

580
00:33:59,720 --> 00:34:03,320
Then, once you have learned 
those teachings, the second 

581
00:34:03,320 --> 00:34:07,436
thing is then to apply them. 
You use them and you practice, 

582
00:34:07,436 --> 00:34:09,719
you practice the Dhamma in the 
right way. 

583
00:34:09,719 --> 00:34:13,094
This is called Dhamma Nudamma 
Patti Patti in Pali, Pali, 

584
00:34:13,094 --> 00:34:15,719
practicing the Dhamma in the 
right way. 

585
00:34:15,719 --> 00:34:19,387
This really means that you 
fulfill all the stages of the 

586
00:34:19,387 --> 00:34:23,388
path, all the various factors 
that you have to do, the virtue 

587
00:34:23,388 --> 00:34:27,719
aspect, the meditation aspect, 
but also the wisdom aspect. 

588
00:34:27,719 --> 00:34:31,719
This really means that you have 
become a noble person. 

589
00:34:31,719 --> 00:34:36,864
There were many noble lay people
at that time, people who had 

590
00:34:36,864 --> 00:34:39,719
fully penetrated this wonderful 
and amazing Buddhist teachings. 

591
00:34:39,719 --> 00:34:41,719
There were lots of them at the 
time of the Buddha. 

592
00:34:41,719 --> 00:34:46,972
This is what this Dhamma Nudamma
Patti Patti refers to, this full

593
00:34:46,972 --> 00:34:51,030
practice of the teachings. 
So you learn the teachings, you 

594
00:34:51,030 --> 00:34:53,719
practice them fully as a lay 
person. 

595
00:34:53,719 --> 00:34:57,720
This is also part of lay life, 
if you want to live it fully. 

596
00:34:57,720 --> 00:35:02,336
This can be done, says the 
Buddha, and ideally it should be

597
00:35:02,336 --> 00:35:04,904
done. 
Then, the next one, once you 

598
00:35:04,904 --> 00:35:08,055
have practiced these teachings 
well, once you know them 

599
00:35:08,055 --> 00:35:11,722
properly, you should teach them.
You should teach them to other 

600
00:35:11,722 --> 00:35:15,056
people, you should make them 
clear, you should analyze them, 

601
00:35:15,056 --> 00:35:19,120
says the Buddha, you should 
bring them out into the open for

602
00:35:19,120 --> 00:35:22,260
other people to understand. 
Lay people should also be 

603
00:35:22,260 --> 00:35:24,720
teachers, lay people should also
do these things. 

604
00:35:24,720 --> 00:35:27,720
It is actually a wonderful thing
to be a teacher. 

605
00:35:27,720 --> 00:35:31,150
One of the things that I 
realized when I started to teach

606
00:35:31,150 --> 00:35:34,720
was that you learn so much from 
being a teacher. 

607
00:35:34,720 --> 00:35:37,720
Being a teacher is this 
wonderful gift to yourself. 

608
00:35:37,720 --> 00:35:41,106
If somebody else is interested 
in listening to what you say, 

609
00:35:41,106 --> 00:35:43,722
that's fine. 
If nobody was here, it would 

610
00:35:43,722 --> 00:35:47,631
probably still be good to teach.
Teach to an empty room, maybe a 

611
00:35:47,631 --> 00:35:50,150
few mice crawling around. 
Is there mice in here? 

612
00:35:50,150 --> 00:35:52,721
Not sure. 
I maybe shouldn't say that in 

613
00:35:52,721 --> 00:35:55,970
case there is. 
It is actually a wonderful thing

614
00:35:55,970 --> 00:35:58,911
to do. 
I think that one of the things 

615
00:35:58,911 --> 00:36:02,388
that we perhaps should do also 
in modern Buddhism, to bring 

616
00:36:02,388 --> 00:36:05,610
back some of these early 
Buddhist ideas, we should 

617
00:36:05,610 --> 00:36:08,720
encourage also lay people to be 
teachers. 

618
00:36:08,720 --> 00:36:11,506
Because it is a beautiful thing 
to be able to do, to teach 

619
00:36:11,506 --> 00:36:14,720
others, and you learn so much 
from that. 

620
00:36:14,720 --> 00:36:18,220
I think in the modern day when 
there is such a vast majority of

621
00:36:18,220 --> 00:36:22,472
lay people compared to the 
monks, sometimes you have to use

622
00:36:22,472 --> 00:36:25,904
your resources wisely. 
You guys, you are all the 

623
00:36:25,904 --> 00:36:28,812
resources of the Buddhist 
society, because you are all 

624
00:36:28,812 --> 00:36:30,720
resources, we are going to use 
you. 

625
00:36:30,720 --> 00:36:33,720
Is that okay? 
Can we do that? 

626
00:36:33,720 --> 00:36:36,720
It is nice to be used sometimes 
if it is in the right way, 

627
00:36:36,720 --> 00:36:39,720
because it is a positive thing 
and a suitable thing. 

628
00:36:39,720 --> 00:36:43,387
So this is another important 
thing that you learn about this 

629
00:36:43,387 --> 00:36:45,904
paris. 
The ability to lay people also 

630
00:36:45,904 --> 00:36:50,720
should be out there teaching, 
also should take part in this. 

631
00:36:50,720 --> 00:36:53,470
The last thing the Buddha says, 
as part of this teaching 

632
00:36:53,470 --> 00:36:56,448
activity, you may be surprised 
to hear this, but the Buddha 

633
00:36:56,448 --> 00:37:00,720
says, you have to be able to 
refute the doctrines of others. 

634
00:37:00,720 --> 00:37:05,721
Can you do that? 
You know how to refute the 

635
00:37:05,721 --> 00:37:08,036
doctrines of others? 
This does not mean that we go 

636
00:37:08,036 --> 00:37:10,812
from door to door and we knock 
and say, what religion, are you 

637
00:37:10,812 --> 00:37:13,266
a Christian? 
Okay, you are a Christian, I am 

638
00:37:13,266 --> 00:37:15,720
going to refute your doctrine. 
It doesn't mean that. 

639
00:37:15,720 --> 00:37:18,260
Are you a Muslim? 
Okay, I am going to refute the 

640
00:37:18,260 --> 00:37:20,970
Islamic doctrine. 
I am going to show you how to be

641
00:37:20,970 --> 00:37:23,008
a good Buddhist. 
That is not what it means, 

642
00:37:23,008 --> 00:37:25,470
obviously, because that creates 
all kinds of problems in the 

643
00:37:25,470 --> 00:37:27,720
world. 
It creates conflict in society. 

644
00:37:27,720 --> 00:37:31,722
What it means is that within the
Buddhist community, we have an 

645
00:37:31,722 --> 00:37:35,720
understanding of the difference 
between Buddhism and other 

646
00:37:35,720 --> 00:37:39,054
teachings. 
We know what it is that makes 

647
00:37:39,054 --> 00:37:41,358
Buddhism special. 
Because you know that, we are 

648
00:37:41,358 --> 00:37:44,500
able, at least within ourselves,
to understand that distinction 

649
00:37:44,500 --> 00:37:49,720
and why Buddhism is different. 
So what is it? 

650
00:37:49,720 --> 00:37:52,720
What is it that makes Buddhism 
different? 

651
00:37:52,720 --> 00:37:55,720
Do you know? 
What is the difference? 

652
00:37:55,720 --> 00:37:58,720
Have you ever considered that 
fully? 

653
00:37:58,720 --> 00:38:01,720
Many people say, all religions 
are the same, we are all heading

654
00:38:01,720 --> 00:38:04,631
in the right way. 
That is a kind of nice, feely, 

655
00:38:04,631 --> 00:38:07,436
feely, it feels good. 
It feels nice to think like 

656
00:38:07,436 --> 00:38:09,720
that, but it is not the full 
picture. 

657
00:38:09,720 --> 00:38:13,720
There is a lot of similarities 
between the world's religions. 

658
00:38:13,720 --> 00:38:17,720
There is a lot of things in the 
area of ethics that are similar,

659
00:38:17,720 --> 00:38:20,720
to love thy neighbour as 
yourself. 

660
00:38:20,720 --> 00:38:25,631
Something like that. 
There is a lot of these things 

661
00:38:25,631 --> 00:38:29,720
that actually are similar in the
world's religions. 

662
00:38:29,720 --> 00:38:32,720
But there also are important 
differences. 

663
00:38:32,720 --> 00:38:35,720
So what is it that is special 
about Buddhism? 

664
00:38:35,720 --> 00:38:40,358
This is kind of interesting. 
There are many, many things that

665
00:38:40,358 --> 00:38:44,720
make Buddhism, in my opinion, 
very unique and special. 

666
00:38:44,720 --> 00:38:48,875
It takes things too often to a 
new level, that you may not find

667
00:38:48,875 --> 00:38:50,720
in other philosophies or other 
areas of life. 

668
00:38:50,720 --> 00:38:53,030
One of the beautiful things 
about Buddhism is the Buddhist 

669
00:38:53,030 --> 00:38:57,149
idea of ethics, which is built 
on natural principles, rather 

670
00:38:57,149 --> 00:39:02,292
than someone laying down a law. 
It is built up from natural 

671
00:39:02,292 --> 00:39:04,520
principles. 
That is such a beautiful thing, 

672
00:39:04,520 --> 00:39:06,794
because it makes sense. 
When you hear about Buddhist 

673
00:39:06,794 --> 00:39:10,085
ethics, if it is taught in the 
right way, if it is well taught,

674
00:39:10,085 --> 00:39:11,720
you think, yeah, this makes 
sense. 

675
00:39:11,720 --> 00:39:14,720
Of course, this is what ethics 
really is about. 

676
00:39:14,720 --> 00:39:17,720
It is based on natural 
principles of when people suffer

677
00:39:17,720 --> 00:39:21,812
and when they don't suffer, 
etc., etc., on the intention of 

678
00:39:21,812 --> 00:39:23,720
the mind and these kinds of 
things. 

679
00:39:23,720 --> 00:39:27,320
This is one area where Buddhism 
is a little bit different, but 

680
00:39:27,320 --> 00:39:31,055
not really completely different,
because most systems of 

681
00:39:31,055 --> 00:39:34,007
philosophy or psychology or 
religion, whatever they have, 

682
00:39:34,007 --> 00:39:38,720
ethics to some extent, sometimes
to a very large extent. 

683
00:39:38,720 --> 00:39:41,220
So the one thing that makes 
Buddhism different from all 

684
00:39:41,220 --> 00:39:44,720
other teachings is the teaching 
of non-self. 

685
00:39:44,720 --> 00:39:47,470
The idea that there is nothing 
inherently existing in the whole

686
00:39:47,470 --> 00:39:49,864
world. 
This is what makes Buddhism 

687
00:39:49,864 --> 00:39:52,220
absolutely unique. 
If you think about the vast 

688
00:39:52,220 --> 00:39:55,220
majority of religions in the 
world, this is precisely the 

689
00:39:55,220 --> 00:39:59,345
ideas that they have. 
They have the idea of a creator 

690
00:39:59,345 --> 00:40:02,720
god, some essence to the 
universe that is always there. 

691
00:40:02,720 --> 00:40:05,720
You find that in Hinduism, you 
find that in all the abhidhams, 

692
00:40:05,720 --> 00:40:09,644
you find that in all the 
abhidhams, you find that in 

693
00:40:09,644 --> 00:40:11,720
Hinduism, you find that in all 
the Abrahamic religions. 

694
00:40:11,720 --> 00:40:15,720
This is something you find 
almost elsewhere, almost 

695
00:40:15,720 --> 00:40:19,470
everywhere else. 
And of course, part of that idea

696
00:40:19,470 --> 00:40:23,345
of an external creator god is 
also the internal idea of a 

697
00:40:23,345 --> 00:40:25,864
soul. 
This permanent essence in the 

698
00:40:25,864 --> 00:40:29,292
human being. 
These are mirror images of each 

699
00:40:29,292 --> 00:40:32,720
other, the external creator god 
and the internal soul inside. 

700
00:40:32,720 --> 00:40:35,720
So this is where Buddhism is 
unique. 

701
00:40:35,720 --> 00:40:39,720
And this is such an important 
thing to understand because the 

702
00:40:39,720 --> 00:40:44,720
tendency in human beings is 
always to lean towards the idea 

703
00:40:44,720 --> 00:40:47,720
of a permanent essence in human 
beings. 

704
00:40:47,720 --> 00:40:53,054
That is what we want to see. 
We want to somehow exist in a 

705
00:40:53,054 --> 00:40:56,993
certain way. 
And because we want to exist, we

706
00:40:56,993 --> 00:40:59,720
tend to see something permanent 
and inherent inside of us. 

707
00:40:59,720 --> 00:41:05,054
And that is what we want to see.
So this is one of the most 

708
00:41:05,054 --> 00:41:08,345
important distinctions. 
So if you ever come into this 

709
00:41:08,345 --> 00:41:11,720
position where you have to 
refute the arguments of others, 

710
00:41:11,720 --> 00:41:15,578
that is the core principle 
whereby Buddhism is different 

711
00:41:15,578 --> 00:41:20,720
from pretty much everything else
you find in the world. 

712
00:41:20,720 --> 00:41:23,490
So just for your education, I 
thought I might take that into 

713
00:41:23,490 --> 00:41:28,220
it even though it is a little 
bit on the sideline of what we 

714
00:41:28,220 --> 00:41:31,222
are looking at. 
What this shows you is that lay 

715
00:41:31,222 --> 00:41:34,595
people at the time of the Buddha
when the four assemblies were 

716
00:41:34,595 --> 00:41:38,720
really powerfully established, 
they were incredibly erudite. 

717
00:41:38,720 --> 00:41:41,720
These were people who really 
knew what they were doing. 

718
00:41:41,720 --> 00:41:44,720
They practiced the path almost 
all the way to the end. 

719
00:41:44,720 --> 00:41:47,720
They understood the idea of 
non-self, of anatah, anatman. 

720
00:41:47,720 --> 00:41:50,720
They understood these things to 
the core. 

721
00:41:50,720 --> 00:41:56,292
It was remarkable what could be 
done on the Buddhist path by lay

722
00:41:56,292 --> 00:41:58,820
people. 
So that is the example that you 

723
00:41:58,820 --> 00:42:02,720
should all follow. 
This is the inspiration. 

724
00:42:02,720 --> 00:42:07,007
Lay people at that time who were
inspiring were precisely this 

725
00:42:07,007 --> 00:42:10,520
kind of lay people who had these
profound insights and 

726
00:42:10,520 --> 00:42:14,054
understanding on the path. 
Sometimes on the way as you do 

727
00:42:14,054 --> 00:42:17,970
that practice you become maybe a
monastic, some people do, but 

728
00:42:17,970 --> 00:42:21,320
you don't have to, and even if 
you don't have to you still can 

729
00:42:21,320 --> 00:42:23,720
go a long way as a Buddhist lay 
person in this way. 

730
00:42:23,720 --> 00:42:28,388
There are some very inspiring 
examples in the suttas of lay 

731
00:42:28,388 --> 00:42:32,054
people who really had a profound
appreciation of how the Buddhist

732
00:42:32,054 --> 00:42:35,054
path works. 
Just as a precursor, one of the 

733
00:42:35,054 --> 00:42:38,720
inspiring people you can read 
about in the Buddhist discourses

734
00:42:38,720 --> 00:42:43,055
was a layman called 
Anathapindika which some of you 

735
00:42:43,055 --> 00:42:46,220
will have heard about anyway. 
Anathapindika, he was maybe the 

736
00:42:46,220 --> 00:42:49,904
main patron of the Buddha and he
was the first layman to talk 

737
00:42:49,904 --> 00:42:54,220
about the path and he was the 
main patron of the Buddha and he

738
00:42:54,220 --> 00:42:57,320
was the one who built up the 
largest Buddhist monastery in 

739
00:42:57,320 --> 00:43:01,222
India at that time. 
It was found in a place called 

740
00:43:01,222 --> 00:43:03,539
Savatthi, the capital of the 
Kausalya kingdom and he bought 

741
00:43:03,539 --> 00:43:05,720
this large piece of land from a 
prince. 

742
00:43:05,720 --> 00:43:12,539
This was Prince Jeta and because
it was Prince Jeta it was bought

743
00:43:12,539 --> 00:43:14,720
from, this place was called the 
Jeta Vana. 

744
00:43:14,720 --> 00:43:17,720
Jeta Vana means like grove or 
forest or whatever. 

745
00:43:17,720 --> 00:43:21,720
This was the Jeta Grove, bought 
from Prince Jeta at 

746
00:43:21,720 --> 00:43:25,358
Anathapindika's monastery. 
So he bought this monastery and 

747
00:43:25,358 --> 00:43:29,720
it was an incredibly important 
supporter to the Buddha. 

748
00:43:29,720 --> 00:43:33,578
But of course after a while the 
Buddha realised someone like 

749
00:43:33,578 --> 00:43:37,436
that, he needs more teachings 
than just teachings on 

750
00:43:37,436 --> 00:43:40,970
generosity and kindness. 
He already has those pretty much

751
00:43:40,970 --> 00:43:44,345
sorted out. 
So he tells them that you too, 

752
00:43:44,345 --> 00:43:48,720
being, if you are doing things 
in a good way, you should 

753
00:43:48,720 --> 00:43:53,720
sometime go into seclusion and 
enjoy the bliss of seclusion. 

754
00:43:53,720 --> 00:43:59,054
So if you are practising well, 
if you are already doing all the

755
00:43:59,054 --> 00:44:01,864
right things, if you are keeping
the five precepts, if you are 

756
00:44:01,864 --> 00:44:05,292
being kind and compassionate in 
the world, that is the 

757
00:44:05,292 --> 00:44:06,970
foundation. 
The foundation is the place. 

758
00:44:06,970 --> 00:44:10,220
Now when the foundation is in 
place you should use that to 

759
00:44:10,220 --> 00:44:11,720
experience the bliss of 
seclusion. 

760
00:44:11,720 --> 00:44:15,320
The bliss of seclusion is the 
deep states of samadhi that we 

761
00:44:15,320 --> 00:44:17,720
are moving towards when we 
practise meditation practice. 

762
00:44:17,720 --> 00:44:21,720
When you practise meditation in 
the right way, when you are able

763
00:44:21,720 --> 00:44:25,595
to give up the senses and the 
body, give up pretty much the 

764
00:44:25,595 --> 00:44:28,650
entire world outside, the more 
you give that up, the more bliss

765
00:44:28,650 --> 00:44:31,721
you are going to feel. 
Until you feel so much bliss 

766
00:44:31,721 --> 00:44:35,720
that you think I can't take it 
anymore. 

767
00:44:35,720 --> 00:44:38,720
This is the promise of the 
Buddha. 

768
00:44:38,720 --> 00:44:43,388
This is what the Buddha says to 
Antapindika, now is your turn to

769
00:44:43,388 --> 00:44:46,337
feel that profound bliss because
you had earned it through all 

770
00:44:46,337 --> 00:44:50,345
the basic practices of the path.
Now you should be doing the same

771
00:44:50,345 --> 00:44:52,358
thing. 
So remember that, this is there 

772
00:44:52,358 --> 00:44:56,720
for every one of us, every one 
of you to achieve. 

773
00:44:56,720 --> 00:44:59,260
If you are living the 
foundations of the path in the 

774
00:44:59,260 --> 00:45:04,007
right way, we now have beautiful
monasteries here, we have this 

775
00:45:04,007 --> 00:45:07,568
beautiful centre right here, it 
is difficult to achieve that 

776
00:45:07,568 --> 00:45:09,720
powerful bliss here on a Friday 
night. 

777
00:45:09,720 --> 00:45:12,720
Maybe some of you had that 
powerful bliss, I don't know, 

778
00:45:12,720 --> 00:45:16,448
but majority maybe not because 
you are exhausted, more likely 

779
00:45:16,448 --> 00:45:19,720
to fall asleep than to find that
powerful bliss. 

780
00:45:19,720 --> 00:45:25,054
Maybe, whatever. 
But the point is that we have 

781
00:45:25,054 --> 00:45:28,420
the facilities, we have places 
like Jhana Grove, we have the 

782
00:45:28,420 --> 00:45:32,054
monasteries and seclusion now in
the present day means removing 

783
00:45:32,054 --> 00:45:34,720
yourself a little bit from your 
ordinary environment. 

784
00:45:34,720 --> 00:45:38,054
Go to somewhere beautiful and 
peaceful like the Jhana Grove 

785
00:45:38,054 --> 00:45:41,520
Meditation Centre, enjoy at 
least a weekend retreat, perhaps

786
00:45:41,520 --> 00:45:46,357
a longer retreat, and see if you
also can enjoy that bliss of 

787
00:45:46,357 --> 00:45:49,120
seclusion, the seclusion from 
the world outside, which you 

788
00:45:49,120 --> 00:45:53,276
have earned through your hard 
practices of all the foundation 

789
00:45:53,276 --> 00:45:59,292
principles of the Buddhist path.
There is another example in the 

790
00:45:59,292 --> 00:46:03,578
suttas, which I always found 
very inspiring again, and this 

791
00:46:03,578 --> 00:46:08,220
is the example of Visakha. 
Visakha was the Buddha's main 

792
00:46:08,220 --> 00:46:12,420
lay woman disciple, and she was 
obviously very wise and she had 

793
00:46:12,420 --> 00:46:15,720
understood the teachings of the 
Buddha in a really profound way.

794
00:46:15,720 --> 00:46:20,220
And on one particular occasion, 
Visakha went to the Buddha and 

795
00:46:20,220 --> 00:46:25,176
she said to the Buddha, I want 
to do all of these services to 

796
00:46:25,176 --> 00:46:27,568
the Sangha. 
I want to be the one who, when 

797
00:46:27,568 --> 00:46:32,387
there is a sick monk or a sick 
nun, to give a meal to the sick 

798
00:46:32,387 --> 00:46:34,720
people. 
I want to be the one that when 

799
00:46:34,720 --> 00:46:38,007
there are people who look after 
the sick, the upataks, the 

800
00:46:38,007 --> 00:46:42,387
attendants of the sick, I want 
to support the attendants of the

801
00:46:42,387 --> 00:46:44,820
sick. 
When there are new monks or nuns

802
00:46:44,820 --> 00:46:48,951
coming to Savatthi, which was 
the town where she was living, I

803
00:46:48,951 --> 00:46:51,720
want to look after them because 
they want nowhere to get food, 

804
00:46:51,720 --> 00:46:56,970
because they are new. 
If there are monks and nuns 

805
00:46:56,970 --> 00:47:00,720
leaving Savatthi, they don't 
have to eat their last meal, 

806
00:47:00,720 --> 00:47:03,720
they don't have to travel hungry
when they travel. 

807
00:47:03,720 --> 00:47:07,720
I also want to give a supply of 
rice porridge in the morning, 

808
00:47:07,720 --> 00:47:11,720
and also I want to supply 
bathing cloths for the nuns. 

809
00:47:11,720 --> 00:47:17,220
So there was a long list of 
things, and she says to the 

810
00:47:17,220 --> 00:47:22,864
Buddha, please, can you give me 
this boon, can you grant me this

811
00:47:22,864 --> 00:47:26,720
special privilege so I can offer
these things to the Sangha. 

812
00:47:26,720 --> 00:47:29,720
The Buddhas don't give special 
privileges. 

813
00:47:29,720 --> 00:47:32,720
Imagine the Buddha saying that 
to you. 

814
00:47:32,720 --> 00:47:35,720
The Buddha does not grant 
special privileges. 

815
00:47:35,720 --> 00:47:40,820
Okay, then you walk away. 
Do you think the Buddha is scary

816
00:47:40,820 --> 00:47:43,411
or not scary? 
Is he like a teddy bear or is he

817
00:47:43,411 --> 00:47:47,720
more like a stern kind of 
person, like a headmaster? 

818
00:47:47,720 --> 00:47:50,720
Probably the Buddha is not as 
scary as we think in our minds. 

819
00:47:50,720 --> 00:47:56,720
The Buddha is looking at me, I 
have to be careful what I say. 

820
00:47:56,720 --> 00:47:59,720
But the Buddha is probably 
actually quite not so scary. 

821
00:47:59,720 --> 00:48:02,720
So Visakha, she is not so easily
put off. 

822
00:48:02,720 --> 00:48:06,470
So the Buddha asks her, well, 
what benefit do you see that I 

823
00:48:06,470 --> 00:48:08,720
should give you this special 
privilege? 

824
00:48:08,720 --> 00:48:12,470
And then Visakha shows her 
understanding of the Dhamma, of 

825
00:48:12,470 --> 00:48:18,320
this Buddhist teaching. 
And she says to the Buddha, if I

826
00:48:18,320 --> 00:48:22,220
am allowed to give all of these 
things, and I hear that a monk 

827
00:48:22,220 --> 00:48:26,387
who has been here to Sabhati, or
a nun who has been here to 

828
00:48:26,387 --> 00:48:29,720
Sabhati, is enlightened, or has 
achieved some state of samadhi, 

829
00:48:29,720 --> 00:48:33,320
or achieved some special 
advancement on the path, then I 

830
00:48:33,320 --> 00:48:37,388
will know that I will have fed 
them, at least when they came 

831
00:48:37,388 --> 00:48:41,720
and when they left, possibly 
also when they were sick. 

832
00:48:41,720 --> 00:48:44,720
Maybe I gave them rice porridge 
in the morning. 

833
00:48:44,720 --> 00:48:47,470
And when I think that I 
supported people who had these 

834
00:48:47,470 --> 00:48:50,720
wonderful attainments of the 
path, I will be joyful. 

835
00:48:50,720 --> 00:48:56,720
And when I am joyful, I will 
feel this rapture inside. 

836
00:48:56,720 --> 00:49:01,436
And when I feel the rapture 
inside, I will feel tranquility,

837
00:49:01,436 --> 00:49:04,721
beautiful, powerful tranquility,
when you really calm down and 

838
00:49:04,721 --> 00:49:08,720
you feel like a rock in your 
meditation practice. 

839
00:49:08,720 --> 00:49:12,413
Then when I feel tranquility, I 
will feel the sukkha, this is a 

840
00:49:12,413 --> 00:49:14,720
Pali word, which means the 
profound happiness on the path. 

841
00:49:14,720 --> 00:49:19,864
I will feel this profound 
sukkha, and when I feel the 

842
00:49:19,864 --> 00:49:23,720
profound sukkha, I will have the
samadhi that arises out of that.

843
00:49:23,720 --> 00:49:26,720
This is what Visakha told the 
Buddha. 

844
00:49:26,720 --> 00:49:31,631
And this is really profound. 
This is actually one of the main

845
00:49:31,631 --> 00:49:35,720
teachings of the Buddha on the 
progress of meditation practice.

846
00:49:35,720 --> 00:49:39,875
If the foundation work is in 
place, if you have practiced in 

847
00:49:39,875 --> 00:49:43,085
the right way, if you have been 
kind, if you have lived with 

848
00:49:43,085 --> 00:49:46,436
kindness and generosity in your 
life, you have had compassion, 

849
00:49:46,436 --> 00:49:49,337
understanding for people, and 
all of these kinds of things, 

850
00:49:49,337 --> 00:49:52,055
eliminated your ill will and 
negativity, this is the result. 

851
00:49:52,055 --> 00:49:56,220
And she understood the result. 
And this is an automatic 

852
00:49:56,220 --> 00:49:58,470
process. 
This is what the Buddha says in 

853
00:49:58,470 --> 00:50:01,085
the suttas, this just happens. 
If the foundation things are 

854
00:50:01,085 --> 00:50:04,388
there, this will happen to you. 
And she had got this. 

855
00:50:04,388 --> 00:50:06,812
And the Buddha says, what did he
say? 

856
00:50:06,812 --> 00:50:08,720
Sadhu? 
I don't think he said Sadhu. 

857
00:50:08,720 --> 00:50:11,720
I can't remember now exactly 
what he said. 

858
00:50:11,720 --> 00:50:14,420
He said, wow, that's really 
amazing that you understand 

859
00:50:14,420 --> 00:50:17,220
this. 
You have really understood these

860
00:50:17,220 --> 00:50:19,721
teachings. 
And of course from that samadhi,

861
00:50:19,721 --> 00:50:23,184
that deep meditation, also comes
the insight that makes you into 

862
00:50:23,184 --> 00:50:26,721
an Aryan, a noble person. 
So the Buddha says, well, what 

863
00:50:26,721 --> 00:50:29,358
can I say? 
If someone has such a deep 

864
00:50:29,358 --> 00:50:33,054
appreciation of what I teach, 
well, I'm going to give you that

865
00:50:33,054 --> 00:50:35,520
special privilege. 
And so Visakha, by proving her 

866
00:50:35,520 --> 00:50:38,631
understanding of the Dhamma, was
able to get this very special 

867
00:50:38,631 --> 00:50:42,054
privilege from the Buddha of 
supporting the Sangha in such a 

868
00:50:42,054 --> 00:50:43,149
profound way. 
Why? 

869
00:50:43,149 --> 00:50:46,970
Well, probably because the 
Buddha knew that she is going to

870
00:50:46,970 --> 00:50:50,055
be a blessing for the Buddhist 
community, lay women, lay men, 

871
00:50:50,055 --> 00:50:53,220
the nuns and the monks. 
Yeah, for everyone, because of 

872
00:50:53,220 --> 00:50:56,720
how she understood the Dhamma. 
So this is how you get things in

873
00:50:56,720 --> 00:51:00,120
the right way here. 
This is how you can see the lay 

874
00:51:00,120 --> 00:51:03,345
community basically does exactly
the same thing as the 

875
00:51:03,345 --> 00:51:05,388
Maha-Vaidya. 
The lay community basically does

876
00:51:05,388 --> 00:51:09,720
exactly the same thing as the 
monastic community. 

877
00:51:09,720 --> 00:51:12,470
There is a little bit of 
difference maybe at the very 

878
00:51:12,470 --> 00:51:15,260
base, at the root of how we 
interact, but beyond that very 

879
00:51:15,260 --> 00:51:18,420
root interaction that we do, 
beyond that, the path is the 

880
00:51:18,420 --> 00:51:20,820
same. 
As a lay person, if you support 

881
00:51:20,820 --> 00:51:24,176
the monastic community, if you 
do it in the right way, like 

882
00:51:24,176 --> 00:51:27,720
Visakha did, it should give you 
a lot of joy and happiness. 

883
00:51:27,720 --> 00:51:31,095
If you practice your sila, your 
virtue in the right way, that 

884
00:51:31,095 --> 00:51:33,720
too will give you joy and 
happiness. 

885
00:51:33,720 --> 00:51:37,660
If I come here and teach in the 
right way, if I don't say too 

886
00:51:37,660 --> 00:51:40,388
much nonsense, then I too might 
get a bit of happiness out of 

887
00:51:40,388 --> 00:51:44,220
teaching, feeling that I am 
supporting others and helping 

888
00:51:44,220 --> 00:51:47,520
people out. 
In this way, we are basically 

889
00:51:47,520 --> 00:51:51,720
doing the same thing but from 
slightly different angles. 

890
00:51:51,720 --> 00:51:55,320
And then we build up the path 
from the bottom and the path 

891
00:51:55,320 --> 00:51:57,720
that happens in the same way for
both lay people and monastics. 

892
00:51:57,720 --> 00:52:02,120
What is interesting, the Buddha 
says in one of the suttas, this 

893
00:52:02,120 --> 00:52:06,054
is one of the discourses called 
the Mahavacca-Gotta Sutta, found

894
00:52:06,054 --> 00:52:10,020
in the Majjhima Middling, saying
it is the Buddha number 73, if 

895
00:52:10,020 --> 00:52:13,920
you want to look it up, the 
Buddha says, there is actually a

896
00:52:13,920 --> 00:52:16,470
fellow called Vachagotta who 
says this, but obviously the 

897
00:52:16,470 --> 00:52:18,720
Buddha agreed and that is why it
is there. 

898
00:52:18,720 --> 00:52:22,250
The Buddha says in there that it
is not just that we have one or 

899
00:52:22,250 --> 00:52:25,720
a few Arahants among the 
monastics, we have many more. 

900
00:52:25,720 --> 00:52:30,387
It is not just that we have one 
or a few highly attained lay 

901
00:52:30,387 --> 00:52:33,390
people, they may not have been 
Arahants, but they were very, 

902
00:52:33,390 --> 00:52:35,470
very close to full 
enlightenment, but we have 

903
00:52:35,470 --> 00:52:38,845
hundreds and hundreds of lay men
and lay women who have attained 

904
00:52:38,845 --> 00:52:42,970
all these beautiful, profound 
states of meditation and 

905
00:52:42,970 --> 00:52:45,631
insight. 
And if it hadn't been the case 

906
00:52:45,631 --> 00:52:49,387
that this was true, if all of 
these lay people had been 

907
00:52:49,387 --> 00:52:53,020
enlightened, if it hadn't been 
the case that this was true, if 

908
00:52:53,020 --> 00:52:56,578
all of these lay people didn't 
attain these things, then the 

909
00:52:56,578 --> 00:52:59,920
Buddhist religion, the Buddhist 
teaching would not have been 

910
00:52:59,920 --> 00:53:01,720
complete, would not have been 
fulfilled. 

911
00:53:01,720 --> 00:53:06,007
This is how you fulfill the 
Buddhist teaching, this is how 

912
00:53:06,007 --> 00:53:09,320
you fulfill the Parishas, this 
is how you fulfill what it means

913
00:53:09,320 --> 00:53:12,820
to be a layman and a laywoman 
and a monk and a nun, by 

914
00:53:12,820 --> 00:53:16,292
attaining these things. 
Without it, it would not be 

915
00:53:16,292 --> 00:53:17,722
complete. 
So remember that. 

916
00:53:17,722 --> 00:53:22,970
If you want to be part of a 
blessing, what it means to be a 

917
00:53:22,970 --> 00:53:27,266
true Buddhist, take this 
practice very seriously, and you

918
00:53:27,266 --> 00:53:30,220
too will be able to attain all 
these wonderful, marvellous 

919
00:53:30,220 --> 00:53:34,358
fruits of the Buddhist path, all
the happiness you ever dreamt 

920
00:53:34,358 --> 00:53:38,220
of, actually far more happiness 
than you can possibly even 

921
00:53:38,220 --> 00:53:40,358
conceive. 
That is what the Buddhist path 

922
00:53:40,358 --> 00:53:44,120
has in store for everyone. 
So if you want to be part of 

923
00:53:44,120 --> 00:53:47,720
this community, then you should 
practice these teachings fully, 

924
00:53:47,720 --> 00:53:51,320
and every one of us will become 
a blessing for ourselves and 

925
00:53:51,320 --> 00:53:56,292
also for everyone else. 
Okay, that is the talk for 

926
00:53:56,292 --> 00:53:59,720
tonight. 
Aum, Aum, Aum. 

927
00:54:04,720 --> 00:54:07,720
Okay, so, wonderful, thank you 
very much. 

928
00:54:07,720 --> 00:54:12,436
Is there any other questions 
from the floor before we go to 

929
00:54:12,436 --> 00:54:15,595
the next session? 
The floor before we go 

930
00:54:15,595 --> 00:54:19,220
interstate and overseas. 
Anyone want to say anything 

931
00:54:19,220 --> 00:54:28,220
here? 
Nobody wants to say anything 

932
00:54:28,220 --> 00:54:29,320
here? 
Okay, good. 

933
00:54:29,320 --> 00:54:31,720
So in that case, you sure, last 
chance? 

934
00:54:31,720 --> 00:54:35,720
Okay, so let's move on to the 
questions from overseas. 

935
00:54:35,720 --> 00:54:41,220
So the first one is from the 
USA, and the question is as 

936
00:54:41,220 --> 00:54:44,345
follows. 
What is the Buddhist way for lay

937
00:54:44,345 --> 00:54:49,095
people to get rid of divisions, 
borders, discrimination, 

938
00:54:49,095 --> 00:54:53,320
judgment, and learn tolerance of
different cultures in the lay 

939
00:54:53,320 --> 00:54:56,920
society? 
So how do lay people get rid of 

940
00:54:56,920 --> 00:55:00,292
these things? 
And there's two answers to that 

941
00:55:00,292 --> 00:55:03,345
question. 
And the first one is that the 

942
00:55:03,345 --> 00:55:06,720
world, remember the world 
outside is out of control. 

943
00:55:06,720 --> 00:55:11,055
Remember that we cannot make the
world outside go according as we

944
00:55:11,055 --> 00:55:15,054
would like to have it. 
If the world outside was, if it 

945
00:55:15,054 --> 00:55:19,054
was possible to control the 
world outside in that way, that 

946
00:55:19,054 --> 00:55:22,722
we could have, get rid of all 
discrimination, all these kind 

947
00:55:22,722 --> 00:55:25,920
of things, it would have 
happened long time ago already, 

948
00:55:25,920 --> 00:55:28,812
because somebody would have 
figured out how to do it. 

949
00:55:28,812 --> 00:55:32,388
The whole point of the Buddhist 
path is that the world outside 

950
00:55:32,388 --> 00:55:35,520
is out of control. 
The whole point of the Buddhist 

951
00:55:35,520 --> 00:55:39,420
path is to understand, this is 
one of the main insights of the 

952
00:55:39,420 --> 00:55:43,320
Buddhist, is to understand that 
things are precisely out of 

953
00:55:43,320 --> 00:55:45,970
control. 
Things are precisely 

954
00:55:45,970 --> 00:55:48,820
impermanent. 
You cannot have it the way you 

955
00:55:48,820 --> 00:55:51,631
would like it. 
So when you see that there is 

956
00:55:51,631 --> 00:55:55,720
division in the world, when you 
see that there is wars going on,

957
00:55:55,720 --> 00:55:58,260
when you see that there is all 
kinds of problems happening 

958
00:55:58,260 --> 00:56:03,720
around you, instead of kind of 
despairing too much over that, 

959
00:56:03,720 --> 00:56:08,008
what you should do is you should
say, this is what is to be 

960
00:56:08,008 --> 00:56:09,720
expected, this is the way the 
world goes. 

961
00:56:09,720 --> 00:56:12,720
I will never be able to get rid 
of all these things. 

962
00:56:12,720 --> 00:56:16,336
So the answer is, the answer is 
not that you should stop trying 

963
00:56:16,336 --> 00:56:19,720
to do your best, of course you 
should do your best. 

964
00:56:19,720 --> 00:56:23,020
Of course you should help out, 
because when you help out, you 

965
00:56:23,020 --> 00:56:26,539
are doing something positive and
good for the world, and you will

966
00:56:26,539 --> 00:56:29,578
develop your own practice by 
doing something good, but at the

967
00:56:29,578 --> 00:56:32,435
same time you should remember 
that you will never succeed 

968
00:56:32,435 --> 00:56:34,944
fully. 
You may succeed partially, and 

969
00:56:34,944 --> 00:56:39,054
then having succeeded partially,
it may revert again back to its 

970
00:56:39,054 --> 00:56:41,436
old problems. 
So lower your expectations, 

971
00:56:41,436 --> 00:56:44,595
don't expect anything 
necessarily to happen in the 

972
00:56:44,595 --> 00:56:47,337
world at large. 
If you can help a few people, 

973
00:56:47,337 --> 00:56:50,645
and that can change their life, 
then you have already done 

974
00:56:50,645 --> 00:56:53,720
enormous good for human society 
and for everyone. 

975
00:56:53,720 --> 00:56:56,720
So this is the first part of the
answer. 

976
00:56:56,720 --> 00:57:00,320
Forget about fixing the world, 
the world is inherently 

977
00:57:00,320 --> 00:57:02,470
unfixable. 
You can help a little bit, but 

978
00:57:02,470 --> 00:57:05,720
you cannot fix the world. 
The same old problems return 

979
00:57:05,720 --> 00:57:10,294
again and again and again, and 
it has to be like that, this is 

980
00:57:10,294 --> 00:57:13,970
one of the fundamental 
principles of the Buddhist 

981
00:57:13,970 --> 00:57:16,220
teachings. 
So learn this, and then you 

982
00:57:16,220 --> 00:57:20,220
start to understand a little bit
about what suffering really is 

983
00:57:20,220 --> 00:57:23,056
about. 
The more you get that, the more 

984
00:57:23,056 --> 00:57:25,720
impetus you have to practice 
your spiritual life. 

985
00:57:25,720 --> 00:57:30,220
The other answer to this 
question is that healing 

986
00:57:30,220 --> 00:57:33,292
divisions, very often means 
healing divisions within 

987
00:57:33,292 --> 00:57:35,220
yourself. 
That is the most important 

988
00:57:35,220 --> 00:57:39,120
division that you can heal. 
So you, if you can eliminate 

989
00:57:39,120 --> 00:57:43,292
anger in your heart, if you can 
eliminate discrimination within 

990
00:57:43,292 --> 00:57:46,448
yourself, if you can see all 
beings, suffering beings in this

991
00:57:46,448 --> 00:57:49,387
world, and have compassion for 
everyone, regardless of their 

992
00:57:49,387 --> 00:57:52,920
background, regardless of who 
they are, regardless of age, 

993
00:57:52,920 --> 00:57:56,176
education, gender, whatever it 
might be, then you are doing the

994
00:57:56,176 --> 00:57:58,222
right thing. 
If you can do that in your 

995
00:57:58,222 --> 00:58:01,944
heart, then you are going to 
inspire so many other people to 

996
00:58:01,944 --> 00:58:06,345
do the same thing. 
This is why the Buddha is so 

997
00:58:06,345 --> 00:58:08,589
powerful. 
He was able to eliminate all of 

998
00:58:08,589 --> 00:58:10,720
these defilements and problems 
from his own heart. 

999
00:58:10,720 --> 00:58:15,336
He has inspired people for two 
and a half thousand years after 

1000
00:58:15,336 --> 00:58:17,595
that. 
Countless of beings that have 

1001
00:58:17,595 --> 00:58:20,595
escaped from suffering and 
attained so much happiness 

1002
00:58:20,595 --> 00:58:23,055
because of that. 
Hundreds of millions of 

1003
00:58:23,055 --> 00:58:26,864
Buddhists still around the world
who gain inspiration from the 

1004
00:58:26,864 --> 00:58:30,120
Buddha's teachings. 
Each one of us can be some of 

1005
00:58:30,120 --> 00:58:32,722
that inspiration, follow in the 
Buddha's footsteps and do 

1006
00:58:32,722 --> 00:58:34,720
similar things to what the 
Buddha did. 

1007
00:58:34,720 --> 00:58:37,720
If you can do that, wow, you are
doing really, really well. 

1008
00:58:37,720 --> 00:58:40,720
So that should be the prime 
concern. 

1009
00:58:40,720 --> 00:58:43,720
Eliminate discrimination in your
own heart. 

1010
00:58:43,720 --> 00:58:48,055
Purify yourself. 
That is actually the best way to

1011
00:58:48,055 --> 00:58:51,540
also change the world outside 
because people, I guarantee you,

1012
00:58:51,540 --> 00:58:56,720
they will be inspired by you if 
you can live like that. 

1013
00:58:56,720 --> 00:59:01,995
Okay, second question. 
What is the subtle difference 

1014
00:59:01,995 --> 00:59:06,720
between letting go and letting 
be, especially regarding 

1015
00:59:06,720 --> 00:59:11,720
unpleasant thoughts and painful 
cessations? 

1016
00:59:11,720 --> 00:59:16,856
Well, the difference is that 
letting be is like the initial 

1017
00:59:16,856 --> 00:59:21,388
phase of letting go. 
Letting be means that you don't 

1018
00:59:21,388 --> 00:59:25,500
fight it anymore. 
So if you have unpleasant 

1019
00:59:25,500 --> 00:59:29,944
thoughts and painful cessations,
instead of fighting those 

1020
00:59:29,944 --> 00:59:32,720
unpleasant thoughts, you embrace
them. 

1021
00:59:32,720 --> 00:59:35,922
You say, this is part of me, I 
have these unpleasant thoughts, 

1022
00:59:35,922 --> 00:59:37,644
and it's okay. 
What do I expect? 

1023
00:59:37,644 --> 00:59:39,720
Of course I am not going to be 
perfect. 

1024
00:59:39,720 --> 00:59:42,580
I have been conditioned through 
this life, I have been 

1025
00:59:42,580 --> 00:59:45,220
conditioned in past lives. 
I am going to be imperfect. 

1026
00:59:45,220 --> 00:59:47,720
It's okay if I have this kind of
negative thoughts. 

1027
00:59:47,720 --> 00:59:50,492
And there is something very 
interesting that happens when 

1028
00:59:50,492 --> 00:59:53,876
you think like that because if 
you don't like your unpleasant 

1029
00:59:53,876 --> 00:59:57,876
thoughts, if you push them away,
it is very hard to get insight 

1030
00:59:57,876 --> 01:00:01,944
into them because that pushing 
away, it destroys the neutral 

1031
01:00:01,944 --> 01:00:06,337
ground at which insight happens.
To get insight you have to be 

1032
01:00:06,337 --> 01:00:08,620
neutral, you have to watch 
things without a vested 

1033
01:00:08,620 --> 01:00:11,006
interest. 
But if you push them away, it's 

1034
01:00:11,006 --> 01:00:14,150
as if you have a vested 
interest, the neutral ground has

1035
01:00:14,150 --> 01:00:17,120
been destroyed and for that 
reason, much more difficult to 

1036
01:00:17,120 --> 01:00:19,780
get insight. 
So if you want to have real 

1037
01:00:19,780 --> 01:00:22,720
insight, you actually have to 
have the letting be idea. 

1038
01:00:22,720 --> 01:00:26,276
You let things be. 
You watch all the 

1039
01:00:26,276 --> 01:00:29,420
unpleasantness, wherever is 
going on in your mind, you watch

1040
01:00:29,420 --> 01:00:31,970
that. 
And you start to understand how 

1041
01:00:31,970 --> 01:00:34,722
it arises. 
And once you understand how it 

1042
01:00:34,722 --> 01:00:36,720
arises, the solution becomes 
very obvious. 

1043
01:00:36,720 --> 01:00:41,363
Okay, I am upset with this 
person, why am I upset with this

1044
01:00:41,363 --> 01:00:43,106
person? 
Well actually it's because I am 

1045
01:00:43,106 --> 01:00:44,720
thinking about them in a silly 
way. 

1046
01:00:44,720 --> 01:00:47,832
I think that they are bad, but 
they are not bad, they are just 

1047
01:00:47,832 --> 01:00:50,631
conditioned for goodness sake. 
How can I be angry with all 

1048
01:00:50,631 --> 01:00:54,292
these poor conditioned people 
who are acting against their own

1049
01:00:54,292 --> 01:00:56,864
self-interest? 
I must have compassion for them.

1050
01:00:56,864 --> 01:00:59,720
Letting be allows you insight 
into those things. 

1051
01:00:59,720 --> 01:01:03,720
And then when you have that 
insight, you can let go fully, 

1052
01:01:03,720 --> 01:01:08,336
because the insight is the thing
which shows you the problem very

1053
01:01:08,336 --> 01:01:11,848
clearly and it shows you the 
solution to the problem, and 

1054
01:01:11,848 --> 01:01:16,720
then you let go like that. 
This is how I see you let be. 

1055
01:01:16,720 --> 01:01:19,799
Again, insight, sometimes very 
small, I am not talking about 

1056
01:01:19,799 --> 01:01:22,904
really profound insight, I am 
talking about small everyday 

1057
01:01:22,904 --> 01:01:26,944
insights that everyone can have,
and then it disappears because 

1058
01:01:26,944 --> 01:01:30,540
you understand the causes. 
If you really understand that 

1059
01:01:30,540 --> 01:01:33,220
something is problematic, 
something is suffering, it 

1060
01:01:33,220 --> 01:01:36,720
disappears, bang, like that, and
it's gone. 

1061
01:01:38,720 --> 01:01:45,120
Okay, enough for tonight. 
So let's pay respect to the 

1062
01:01:45,120 --> 01:01:50,720
Buddha, the Ma Sangha. 
Nithyananda. 

1063
01:01:53,720 --> 01:02:10,720
Arahamsa ma sambhudhava bhagavah
buddhah bhagavatah bhavivadhi 

1064
01:02:10,720 --> 01:02:26,054
svakatur bhagavatadhamu dhamma 
namassami suphati panur 

1065
01:02:26,054 --> 01:02:44,720
bhagavatur sabhakatsanghu 
sangham namami suphati panur 

1066
01:02:44,720 --> 01:02:50,720
bhagavatadhamu sangham namami