1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,600 The Noble Eightfold Path Okay, so let's continue where we left 2 00:00:09,600 --> 00:00:14,310 off yesterday morning. We're looking at Right View, the 3 00:00:14,310 --> 00:00:17,000 first factor of the Noble Eightfold Path. 4 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:22,572 We have looked at one aspect of Right View, which is the higher 5 00:00:22,572 --> 00:00:25,000 aspect, the knowledge of the Four Noble Truths. 6 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:28,824 And now we will look at what you might call the more ordinary 7 00:00:28,824 --> 00:00:33,112 aspect of Right View, the Right View which is more approachable, 8 00:00:33,112 --> 00:00:37,638 more understandable, because it is basically the way the Buddha 9 00:00:37,638 --> 00:00:42,500 taught ordinary people before you realised the Dhamma in a 10 00:00:42,500 --> 00:00:46,574 more personal sense. And this little passage is taken 11 00:00:46,574 --> 00:00:52,000 from a sutta called the Brahmins of Sala, Madhyamanikaya 41. 12 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:55,000 Hopefully you should find it there. 13 00:00:55,000 --> 00:01:07,000 And it is about Right View. MN 41, the Brahmins of Sala. 14 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:10,787 This is quite a nice sutta. This particular sutta is about 15 00:01:10,787 --> 00:01:16,000 what is known as the Ten Courses of Wholesome and Ten Courses of 16 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:18,925 Unwholesome Actions. And it's basically where the 17 00:01:18,925 --> 00:01:23,600 Buddha sets out what is morality in Buddhism in a very detailed 18 00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:25,000 way. In ten courses. 19 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:28,000 According to ten factors. Three, bodily action. 20 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:32,000 Four, verbal action. And three, mental action. 21 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:37,000 And the Right View comes under mental action, or mental, if you 22 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:43,286 like, virtue or morality. So this is from that particular 23 00:01:43,286 --> 00:01:47,335 sutta. And this is how the Buddha 24 00:01:47,335 --> 00:01:51,002 describes Right View. So this person who was acting in 25 00:01:51,002 --> 00:01:58,386 a moral way, he has Right View. There is what is given, and what 26 00:01:58,386 --> 00:02:03,000 is offered, and what is sacrificed. 27 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:07,000 There is fruit and result of good and bad actions. 28 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:10,000 There is this world and the other world. 29 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:15,429 There is mother and father. There are beings who are reborn 30 00:02:15,429 --> 00:02:18,275 spontaneously. There are good and virtuous 31 00:02:18,275 --> 00:02:22,752 recluses and Brahmins in the world realized by direct 32 00:02:22,752 --> 00:02:28,000 knowledge and declare this world and the other world. 33 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:36,000 So that is right view. And so what does this mean? 34 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:40,620 The first thing to recognize about this idea of right view is 35 00:02:40,620 --> 00:02:45,232 that it's not really either you have right view or you have 36 00:02:45,232 --> 00:02:48,668 wrong view. Often right view itself is a 37 00:02:48,668 --> 00:02:51,670 very flexible idea. It's something you can develop, 38 00:02:51,670 --> 00:02:55,335 something that can change over time, something that can kind of 39 00:02:55,335 --> 00:02:59,254 move in the right direction. And you never really have, as I 40 00:02:59,254 --> 00:03:02,790 mentioned last time, you never really have the full right view, 41 00:03:02,790 --> 00:03:06,000 the full understanding until you see the Dhamma for yourself. 42 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:09,000 That is when really right view becomes established. 43 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:12,312 And in the meantime you have like what you might call an 44 00:03:12,312 --> 00:03:15,624 approximate right view or a view that is leaning in the right 45 00:03:15,624 --> 00:03:17,000 direction, which is roughly there. 46 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:18,500 So the idea of understanding right view is that it's not just 47 00:03:18,500 --> 00:03:20,000 about the right view. It's about the right view. 48 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:23,752 It's actually to kind of make that right view become a little 49 00:03:23,752 --> 00:03:27,000 bit more right, right? So you develop this right view. 50 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:30,667 You reflect on these things. What do these things actually 51 00:03:30,667 --> 00:03:33,471 mean? And as you reflect on them, as 52 00:03:33,471 --> 00:03:36,648 you understand them, that right view becomes more firmly 53 00:03:36,648 --> 00:03:39,250 established. It's more like a continuum of 54 00:03:39,250 --> 00:03:41,896 right view. It's not like, yes, I believe, 55 00:03:41,896 --> 00:03:46,000 yes, rebirth makes sense to me or it doesn't make sense to me. 56 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:49,000 It's more like what are the implications of rebirth? 57 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:51,000 What does this actually mean for me? 58 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:54,000 What are the effects of rebirth on my practice? 59 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:59,220 What does this outlook actually entail in terms of how I think 60 00:03:59,220 --> 00:04:04,000 about the world and what I should do about it afterwards? 61 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:10,000 So there is this continuum of right view, more or less right. 62 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:12,668 So please look at it that way. It's something to be developed, 63 00:04:12,668 --> 00:04:15,848 something to be changed. And because right view is the 64 00:04:15,848 --> 00:04:18,778 first factor of the Noble Eightfold Path, then obviously 65 00:04:18,778 --> 00:04:23,057 if we develop that, if we strengthen that, if we really 66 00:04:23,057 --> 00:04:27,548 understand what is going on, that will have an impact for the 67 00:04:27,548 --> 00:04:31,250 rest of the practice. Because each factor leads to the 68 00:04:31,250 --> 00:04:34,224 next one. The more strong, the more 69 00:04:34,224 --> 00:04:38,800 established right view is, the more automatic is the process of 70 00:04:38,800 --> 00:04:42,000 practicing the rest of the Noble Eightfold Path. 71 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:45,286 So for that reason, I want to spend a bit of time on this and 72 00:04:45,286 --> 00:04:47,000 to get some more detailed understanding. 73 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:52,125 So let's have a quick look at this first of all, and then we 74 00:04:52,125 --> 00:04:57,000 will go into the details. So you have right view, right? 75 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:01,400 Undistorted vision. Again, the idea here is that 76 00:05:01,400 --> 00:05:05,000 right view is the view which accords with reality. 77 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:07,000 This is how the world actually works. 78 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:10,000 It's not just a dogma. You have to believe this. 79 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:13,000 This is what I tell you. You must believe this. 80 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:16,667 It is actually in accordance with the view that accords with 81 00:05:16,667 --> 00:05:19,548 reality. And if you don't have a view 82 00:05:19,548 --> 00:05:23,100 that accords with reality, of course, it is going to be 83 00:05:23,100 --> 00:05:26,574 problematic for you. If you have a distorted way, 84 00:05:26,574 --> 00:05:31,092 looking at the world in a distorted way, you are not going 85 00:05:31,092 --> 00:05:35,334 to be able to act upon reality. You are going to be acting upon 86 00:05:35,334 --> 00:05:39,000 a fantasy. It's a bit like with the 87 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:42,334 scientific progress. You start to be able to control 88 00:05:42,334 --> 00:05:45,667 the world. You start to be able to use your 89 00:05:45,667 --> 00:05:49,858 understanding to create devices, to create technology, to use 90 00:05:49,858 --> 00:05:54,144 that understanding in a way whereby you can control things 91 00:05:54,144 --> 00:05:57,224 around you. If you don't understand things 92 00:05:57,224 --> 00:06:00,500 according to scientific principles, then you cannot 93 00:06:00,500 --> 00:06:04,600 exert that control over nature. And in the same way, if you have 94 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:07,403 right view, then you can actually practice in such a way 95 00:06:07,403 --> 00:06:11,000 that it leads to your happiness, because you understand reality. 96 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:14,250 If you don't understand reality, you can't even understand what 97 00:06:14,250 --> 00:06:16,000 is going to lead to your happiness. 98 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:19,668 And what isn't. So the basic understanding is 99 00:06:19,668 --> 00:06:23,858 just like in science. It is essential to be able to do 100 00:06:23,858 --> 00:06:26,000 things which are to your benefit. 101 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:30,334 Otherwise, you won't be able to act in a way that is beneficial 102 00:06:30,334 --> 00:06:34,600 for yourself and for other people and anybody else for that 103 00:06:34,600 --> 00:06:45,000 matter. Okay. 104 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:49,000 So the content of this right view. 105 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:56,000 Just skip the first one, go to the second one here. 106 00:06:56,000 --> 00:07:01,000 There is fruit and result of good and bad actions. 107 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:05,000 So this is basically about what in Buddhism is known as kamma, 108 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:09,000 or the laws of kamma. The idea that whatever you do, 109 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:11,500 and it's not just whatever you do, it's whatever you do in a 110 00:07:11,500 --> 00:07:14,000 certain way, whatever you have an intention to do. 111 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:16,000 Intention is a crucial aspect of kamma. 112 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:19,000 And intention can be varied. Right? 113 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:22,000 But what you do intentionally have results. 114 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:27,200 And this is kind of one of the basic understandings of how the 115 00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:30,000 world works, which is essential to grasp. 116 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:33,637 And importantly, it is often conjoined with the next one 117 00:07:33,637 --> 00:07:36,800 here. There is this world and there is 118 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:39,766 the other world. And what this basically means is 119 00:07:39,766 --> 00:07:43,000 that life does not come to an end in this life. 120 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:45,000 But there is another world afterwards. 121 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:49,000 There is a continuity after this life comes to an end. 122 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:52,000 This is the idea of rebirth that is being spoken of here. 123 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:55,000 And these two things in combination are very powerful. 124 00:07:55,000 --> 00:08:00,000 The idea that there is rebirth and there is result of actions. 125 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:05,078 Because what it means is that your future experience of a 126 00:08:05,078 --> 00:08:09,000 future world will depend on your actions in this life. 127 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:13,000 So that, you know, you cannot always be in this world. 128 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:15,000 There are all kinds of experiences. 129 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:17,000 And this is kind of one of the things here. 130 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:19,000 It is not just limited to human rebirth. 131 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:24,000 It is bad enough to be reborn in difficult straits in this life. 132 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:28,001 But it can get much worse than that according to this outlook 133 00:08:28,001 --> 00:08:33,333 of the world. And one way to make sense of 134 00:08:33,333 --> 00:08:35,155 this idea. I know that sometimes people 135 00:08:35,155 --> 00:08:37,446 find this idea of rebirth in different realms, like deva 136 00:08:37,446 --> 00:08:39,000 realms and all this kind of stuff. 137 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:42,250 They find it hard to, at least when you are new to Buddhism, it 138 00:08:42,250 --> 00:08:46,000 is hard to make sense of that. But one way of looking at it, 139 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:49,500 which makes it quite easy to understand, is the idea that 140 00:08:49,500 --> 00:08:54,445 within the human realm there is a certain kind of variety, a 141 00:08:54,445 --> 00:08:58,000 certain span of experience that you can have. 142 00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:02,334 You can have from the most kind of poor person born in the very 143 00:09:02,334 --> 00:09:05,858 simple circumstances, uneducated, you know, maybe very 144 00:09:05,858 --> 00:09:09,144 difficult life, to the kind of most educated and kind of living 145 00:09:09,144 --> 00:09:13,334 in a wealthy life, and then you have a very simple life, in good 146 00:09:13,334 --> 00:09:15,911 circumstances. There is a certain span in terms 147 00:09:15,911 --> 00:09:19,625 of happiness and suffering that you can have within the human 148 00:09:19,625 --> 00:09:22,445 realm. Now, these other realms, all 149 00:09:22,445 --> 00:09:26,000 they really do is they increase that span. 150 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:29,000 So this is kind of the limits of the human realm. 151 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:32,250 And by adding these other realms, you just increase in the 152 00:09:32,250 --> 00:09:35,400 span the possibilities for experiencing happiness and 153 00:09:35,400 --> 00:09:38,000 suffering. So if you get reborn in a kind 154 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:40,778 of a heavenly realm, it is not different from being a human, 155 00:09:40,778 --> 00:09:43,334 really. It is just that your ability to 156 00:09:43,334 --> 00:09:46,000 experience happiness is much, much greater. 157 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:49,819 You experience more happiness, more, you know, all the good 158 00:09:49,819 --> 00:09:53,002 things that you can experience in this life, all those good 159 00:09:53,002 --> 00:09:57,000 things, you experience more of them, whatever that might be. 160 00:09:57,000 --> 00:09:59,000 And the same thing with a lower realm. 161 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:01,750 A lower realm, again, is not different from the human realm, 162 00:10:01,750 --> 00:10:04,000 really, except that you experience even more suffering 163 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:07,000 than you can ordinarily experience as a human. 164 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:09,500 So it is just an expanding of the possibilities of happiness 165 00:10:09,500 --> 00:10:12,000 and suffering. That is really all it is. 166 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:15,500 Apart from that, it is just you, basically, continuing in these 167 00:10:15,500 --> 00:10:19,112 realms. And that is, I think, quite a 168 00:10:19,112 --> 00:10:23,000 helpful way of understanding what these realms are all about. 169 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:27,000 So this is part of the Buddhist outlook, right? 170 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:31,000 This is how the Buddha says the world functions in this way. 171 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:35,000 So what about these other things here, then? 172 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:39,000 There is what is given, what is offered, what is sacrificed. 173 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:43,919 What does that mean? And it means it is in the 174 00:10:43,919 --> 00:10:48,300 context of kamma and rebirth that we have seen just now, it 175 00:10:48,300 --> 00:10:51,910 is in that context that this must be understood, because this 176 00:10:51,910 --> 00:10:56,000 right view here is basically about kamma and rebirth. 177 00:10:56,000 --> 00:11:00,600 So it means that you can give things, and it has results, 178 00:11:00,600 --> 00:11:02,000 right? It matters. 179 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:04,000 When you give, it has kammic results. 180 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:07,000 Obviously, it is beneficial for the person you are giving to, 181 00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:12,112 but even more important, it is really about your own personal 182 00:11:12,112 --> 00:11:14,430 spiritual path. Because it is about your 183 00:11:14,430 --> 00:11:17,800 personal path, it has results. When you give, it gives you 184 00:11:17,800 --> 00:11:21,000 something back in return. This is what it means. 185 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:23,000 So giving is an important thing here. 186 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:27,667 And what is interesting here is that it is singled out in this 187 00:11:27,667 --> 00:11:30,184 way. It is actually mentioned as a 188 00:11:30,184 --> 00:11:34,500 separate factor of right view. And that obviously is very 189 00:11:34,500 --> 00:11:36,638 significant. It doesn't just say that there 190 00:11:36,638 --> 00:11:40,001 is good and bad actions, it specifically says that there is 191 00:11:40,001 --> 00:11:45,000 such a thing as giving, as sacrificing, as offering things. 192 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:49,700 So what that means, the reason why it is singled out in this 193 00:11:49,700 --> 00:11:53,335 way, is obviously because generosity then is a very 194 00:11:53,335 --> 00:11:56,000 important part of the spiritual path. 195 00:11:56,000 --> 00:12:00,002 This ability to be helpful, to be generous, to offer of 196 00:12:00,002 --> 00:12:04,500 yourself in whatever way it is. Often it would mean material 197 00:12:04,500 --> 00:12:07,364 support, but it can mean any kind of generosity really, where 198 00:12:07,364 --> 00:12:11,000 you are giving of yourself in one way or another. 199 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:14,668 It is fascinating, isn't it, that this is actually singled 200 00:12:14,668 --> 00:12:17,334 out in this way. And you find also other places 201 00:12:17,334 --> 00:12:21,600 in the suttas a similar kind of emphasis on this idea of 202 00:12:21,600 --> 00:12:24,334 generosity. It is often said to be the 203 00:12:24,334 --> 00:12:28,600 foundation stone, the basic factor of good actions that kind 204 00:12:28,600 --> 00:12:31,000 of lead you onwards on the Buddhist path. 205 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:35,167 So because of that, because it is singled out in this way, keep 206 00:12:35,167 --> 00:12:37,000 that in mind, remember that. This is a very important part 207 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:41,000 and something that really everybody should develop in the 208 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:45,500 spiritual practice as much as possible, to be generous and 209 00:12:45,500 --> 00:12:50,000 kind in this way. And this is how I regard myself 210 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:52,000 when I come here to teach a retreat. 211 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:55,000 I try to regard it as an act of generosity. 212 00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:57,000 I don't really expect anything in return. 213 00:12:57,000 --> 00:13:00,144 I just do it because I hopefully, it will have some 214 00:13:00,144 --> 00:13:03,625 good results, right? It will be of benefit to both 215 00:13:03,625 --> 00:13:06,000 myself and also to other people hopefully. 216 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:11,000 So this is how important it is that it actually is singled out 217 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:14,000 as a separate factor of right view. 218 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:19,668 And then you have, just further down, just after the Buddha says 219 00:13:19,668 --> 00:13:22,500 there is this world, there is the other world, you have 220 00:13:22,500 --> 00:13:24,000 another one which is interesting, right? 221 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:28,667 Which is a similar kind of idea. There is mother, there is 222 00:13:28,667 --> 00:13:30,667 father. There is mother, there is 223 00:13:30,667 --> 00:13:33,286 father. So again, when you read that, it 224 00:13:33,286 --> 00:13:35,000 kind of doesn't really stand out. 225 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:39,000 It doesn't really mean, it doesn't seem to mean very much. 226 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:43,000 But again, because the context, the context here is about kamma, 227 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:47,001 is about the first factor of the spiritual path, about how to 228 00:13:47,001 --> 00:13:50,250 move towards awakening. Because of that, it means that 229 00:13:50,250 --> 00:13:53,858 the fact that there is mother and father are very significant 230 00:13:53,858 --> 00:13:58,500 in the kamma context and in the context of practicing towards 231 00:13:58,500 --> 00:14:01,668 awakening. So the actions that we do 232 00:14:01,668 --> 00:14:05,000 towards our parents have a very significant meaning. 233 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:07,000 They have a very powerful spiritual effect. 234 00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:09,000 That's basically what it means, right? 235 00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:14,429 And once you understand that, you understand that it is so 236 00:14:14,429 --> 00:14:19,300 important that if you're going to practice this path fully, if 237 00:14:19,300 --> 00:14:22,667 you're going to expect to get the good results in meditation 238 00:14:22,667 --> 00:14:26,446 practice, in terms of insight and understanding, then the 239 00:14:26,446 --> 00:14:29,000 relationship that we have with our parents is one of the 240 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:33,334 factors that we have to factor in on this path, that we have to 241 00:14:33,334 --> 00:14:37,250 deal with. I won't say anything more about 242 00:14:37,250 --> 00:14:39,715 that now. I'll talk more about that later 243 00:14:39,715 --> 00:14:43,000 on. And I recognize that people have 244 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:45,000 different relationships with their parents. 245 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:47,000 Some have difficult relationships. 246 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:50,911 Some have better relationships. But the point is that we can 247 00:14:50,911 --> 00:14:53,715 always do something, right? We can't maybe not make it 248 00:14:53,715 --> 00:14:57,667 perfect, but we can always do something to move in the right 249 00:14:57,667 --> 00:14:59,500 direction. So again, very interesting that 250 00:14:59,500 --> 00:15:02,000 this is mentioned like this, in this way here. 251 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:06,000 And it fits with what you see in other places, in the suttas. 252 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:09,000 For those of you who know the Buddhist scriptures a bit more, 253 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:13,000 you know that mother and father are talked about. 254 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:17,000 For example, you can make very extremely bad kamma. 255 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:20,200 And one of the worst kammas you can make is killing your 256 00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:22,715 parents, right? And again, it's the same idea 257 00:15:22,715 --> 00:15:24,800 again. The kamma that we make in 258 00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:28,572 relationship to our parents is very, very powerful and very 259 00:15:28,572 --> 00:15:30,750 strong. And that is why it is mentioned 260 00:15:30,750 --> 00:15:33,000 here at the very beginning of the Noble Eightfold Path. 261 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:37,716 Okay. Then we have, there are beings 262 00:15:37,716 --> 00:15:42,548 who are reborn spontaneously. And this one is the only one 263 00:15:42,548 --> 00:15:47,638 which I think is, I'm not entirely sure why it is included 264 00:15:47,638 --> 00:15:51,572 in Right View. And it is interesting that there 265 00:15:51,572 --> 00:15:56,000 is, in the Chinese, parallel to this sutta, in other words, 266 00:15:56,000 --> 00:15:59,200 parallel to this sutta in other languages, there is a parallel 267 00:15:59,200 --> 00:16:01,000 to this sutta in other languages. 268 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:03,600 And this is the only one. And the only one is the sutta in 269 00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:05,750 other languages. That is the only factor of Right 270 00:16:05,750 --> 00:16:09,000 View is not actually found in those other parallels. 271 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:12,286 So this might be, it's possible this is not so important because 272 00:16:12,286 --> 00:16:16,572 it isn't found in other places. But anyway, what I think it 273 00:16:16,572 --> 00:16:21,625 means is again this idea that when we look at the idea of 274 00:16:21,625 --> 00:16:25,200 rebirth, we are expanding the possibilities of happiness and 275 00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:28,000 suffering here. And if you have a physical body, 276 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:31,000 like in the human realm or the animal realm, there is only so 277 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:33,000 much you can do. You can experience. 278 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:35,000 That body limits you in a certain way. 279 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:38,750 But if you can be reborn spontaneously, like what they 280 00:16:38,750 --> 00:16:41,715 call maybe a mind-made body and these kind of things in 281 00:16:41,715 --> 00:16:45,500 Buddhism, then that spontaneous rebirth, it kind of again, it 282 00:16:45,500 --> 00:16:48,500 expands the possibilities of the experience of happiness and 283 00:16:48,500 --> 00:16:51,334 suffering here. You are no longer limited to the 284 00:16:51,334 --> 00:16:55,500 physical body, but you expand that whole range of 285 00:16:55,500 --> 00:16:58,000 possibilities. That may be what is meant here. 286 00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:01,858 And it allows for types of rebirth, which otherwise would 287 00:17:01,858 --> 00:17:07,000 not be allowed for if you were limited to physical bodies. 288 00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:11,500 And then we have the last one. There are good and virtuous 289 00:17:11,500 --> 00:17:15,500 recluses and Brahmins in the world who have themselves 290 00:17:15,500 --> 00:17:21,500 realized by direct knowledge and declare this world and the other 291 00:17:21,500 --> 00:17:27,000 world. And the point of this is simply 292 00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:32,000 to the idea that there are people in the world who have 293 00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:36,500 practiced more, who have a more profound spiritual insight than 294 00:17:36,500 --> 00:17:40,000 what we have. The idea that there are beings, 295 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:42,890 there are beings like the Buddha perhaps, there are other people 296 00:17:42,890 --> 00:17:46,572 perhaps in the world today who have practiced this path very 297 00:17:46,572 --> 00:17:48,400 profoundly. And you have some idea that this 298 00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:52,456 is the case, this is true. Now if you are going to be on 299 00:17:52,456 --> 00:17:55,364 the Buddhist path and practice, do the Buddhist practice, this 300 00:17:55,364 --> 00:17:59,000 is what it means to have confidence in the Buddha. 301 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:01,000 Confidence in the Buddha's teachings. 302 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:05,500 Confidence that there are areas in the world, noble people, who 303 00:18:05,500 --> 00:18:09,780 have penetrated the same truth that the Buddha himself 304 00:18:09,780 --> 00:18:14,334 penetrated a long time ago. So this is, and this of course 305 00:18:14,334 --> 00:18:18,224 is foundational. Without that, you can't even get 306 00:18:18,224 --> 00:18:23,000 started on the Buddhist path. So because that is foundational, 307 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:26,000 maybe we should look at that one first of all. 308 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:30,000 The translation here is not all that accurate I feel. 309 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:33,858 It says good and virtuous. Recluses and Brahmins, really it 310 00:18:33,858 --> 00:18:38,668 should be recluses and Brahmins who have practiced well and who 311 00:18:38,668 --> 00:18:42,400 have achieved good results would be I think a better way of 312 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:46,334 translating that. But anyway, it's perhaps good 313 00:18:46,334 --> 00:18:48,334 enough. And they declare this world and 314 00:18:48,334 --> 00:18:50,638 the other world. In other words, they know that 315 00:18:50,638 --> 00:18:54,144 this is the case, right? They have direct insight into 316 00:18:54,144 --> 00:18:55,858 these things. And this is really the point 317 00:18:55,858 --> 00:18:58,002 here. There is a knowledge, there is a 318 00:18:58,002 --> 00:19:01,600 basis for this kind of declaring, this kind of right 319 00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:03,000 view. It's not just a random thing. 320 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:06,715 There is a basis for this. So remember what I was saying 321 00:19:06,715 --> 00:19:09,730 before. It is important to kind of 322 00:19:09,730 --> 00:19:12,000 establish this right view, right? 323 00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:15,000 To develop it, to bring it further. 324 00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:19,000 So how do we develop this last aspect of right view here? 325 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:23,500 That there are these people in the world who have understood 326 00:19:23,500 --> 00:19:28,000 more than perhaps we have. How do we develop that? 327 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:32,200 And of course the first thing is to accept that this might be the 328 00:19:32,200 --> 00:19:34,715 case, right? And it really makes very good 329 00:19:34,715 --> 00:19:36,500 sense. Why shouldn't there be people in 330 00:19:36,500 --> 00:19:39,000 the world who have more experience than we have? 331 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:42,572 It's just like anything else. If you want to learn about 332 00:19:42,572 --> 00:19:46,335 medicine, if you want to learn about law, you go to university 333 00:19:46,335 --> 00:19:50,000 and you learn from somebody who knows more about these things. 334 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:53,668 It is ridiculous to think that we can know more than somebody 335 00:19:53,668 --> 00:19:57,250 who is a specialist. And the same thing in the 336 00:19:57,250 --> 00:19:59,750 spiritual path. In the spiritual path it may not 337 00:19:59,750 --> 00:20:03,572 be perhaps quite as obvious as with ordinary learning, but it 338 00:20:03,572 --> 00:20:07,001 is the same thing, right? There are people who have been 339 00:20:07,001 --> 00:20:10,000 practising these things and it goes back for millennia. 340 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:13,000 They've been sitting in the forest peacefully, quietly, 341 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:16,000 contemplating, getting into deep meditations. 342 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:18,770 And it makes good sense that there should be people in the 343 00:20:18,770 --> 00:20:22,000 world who have more understanding than we have. 344 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:24,000 This is kind of the first initial thing. 345 00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:27,400 And that of course, once we get that sense of confidence, that 346 00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:32,000 this is the case, it also leads to a sense of humility, right? 347 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:35,000 There is somebody you can learn from. 348 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:39,334 Indeed, what is interesting, if you read the biography of the 349 00:20:39,334 --> 00:20:42,000 Buddha himself, this is what the Buddha did when he started out. 350 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:44,000 This is before he was the Buddha. 351 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:48,000 He started out and he looked into the world and he said, who 352 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:51,429 can I learn from? Who is there in this world who 353 00:20:51,429 --> 00:20:54,446 has some kind of spiritual understanding, understanding of 354 00:20:54,446 --> 00:20:56,000 life that I can actually learn from? 355 00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:59,000 So he went out and he learned from... 356 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:03,546 There are a couple of people specifically mentioned in the 357 00:21:03,546 --> 00:21:06,000 suttas as the teachers of the Buddha. 358 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:09,334 There's a fellow called Alara Kalama who obviously had very 359 00:21:09,334 --> 00:21:12,400 good meditation. Another person called Uddaka 360 00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:15,000 Ramaputa and they are mentioned specifically. 361 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:18,000 And there seems to also be other people that the Buddha learned 362 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:21,730 from in those days. So the Buddha, who became the 363 00:21:21,730 --> 00:21:26,287 spiritual kind of genius, right, of our age, who started this 364 00:21:26,287 --> 00:21:30,000 whole path of Buddhism, even he started off with teachers. 365 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:32,000 So it makes sense to have a teacher. 366 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:36,250 If you have a teacher, at least they can kind of guide you in 367 00:21:36,250 --> 00:21:38,750 the right direction. You can see what they have to 368 00:21:38,750 --> 00:21:41,000 say and they can, you know, you can... 369 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:44,000 Usually you make much quicker progress if you have somebody 370 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:47,000 who can teach you, who knows what they're talking about, 371 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:50,000 rather than having to try to figure everything out yourself. 372 00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:54,000 So this is like the first obvious thing. 373 00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:57,001 And the second thing, I would recommend you to do to get a 374 00:21:57,001 --> 00:21:59,800 feeling for this, is to read a little bit of these suttas, 375 00:21:59,800 --> 00:22:02,667 right? To see if it makes any sense to 376 00:22:02,667 --> 00:22:04,200 you. I recommended a book to someone 377 00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:07,000 here the other day called In the Buddha's Words. 378 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:15,000 And this is a translation. This is an anthology of suttas 379 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:17,000 translated by Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi. 380 00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:21,125 And it is a very nice introduction because it is 381 00:22:21,125 --> 00:22:24,000 nicely grouped according to categories, the suttas, 382 00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:27,334 according to themes. And then it is introduced by 383 00:22:27,334 --> 00:22:30,500 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi, who is obviously very knowledgeable 384 00:22:30,500 --> 00:22:34,500 about the suttas, and nice notes at the end to explain what is 385 00:22:34,500 --> 00:22:36,715 going on. Probably one of the best books 386 00:22:36,715 --> 00:22:40,716 available to get you kind of access, get you started with 387 00:22:40,716 --> 00:22:43,556 reading the suttas. And you will find, as with so 388 00:22:43,556 --> 00:22:46,001 many things, sometimes you come across passages that are very 389 00:22:46,001 --> 00:22:49,000 meaningful to you, very powerful to you. 390 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:52,092 And that will be very useful. Then you will read about the 391 00:22:52,092 --> 00:22:55,000 life of the Buddha, right? How did he live? 392 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:57,778 How did he exist? And you start to get a sense of 393 00:22:57,778 --> 00:23:00,250 relationship with this person who lived two and a half 394 00:23:00,250 --> 00:23:04,000 thousand years ago. Was he as wonderful as people 395 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:08,143 make it out sometimes? And gradually, gradually, once 396 00:23:08,143 --> 00:23:11,335 you get the feeling for this, you get this, either you will be 397 00:23:11,335 --> 00:23:13,501 attracted towards the Buddhist teachings because this makes 398 00:23:13,501 --> 00:23:17,334 sense to you, or you will feel that it is not right, or maybe 399 00:23:17,334 --> 00:23:20,000 it isn't for you. And either way is okay. 400 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:22,000 But it is important that you have the information. 401 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:25,600 This is what Buddhism is about. And then at least you can make a 402 00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:27,001 decision, right? Is it right? 403 00:23:27,001 --> 00:23:29,334 Is it wrong? Should I do this? 404 00:23:29,334 --> 00:23:31,750 Shouldn't I? And then this is how you then 405 00:23:31,750 --> 00:23:35,600 gradually gain confidence in the Buddha, or possibly you lose 406 00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:37,900 confidence. But either way, you have to 407 00:23:37,900 --> 00:23:40,000 build it up in this way regardless. 408 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:43,000 This is the first one. So please read the suttas. 409 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:45,750 Please have a look at this. You don't have to read all that 410 00:23:45,750 --> 00:23:47,430 much. Sometimes it is about reading 411 00:23:47,430 --> 00:23:50,000 those things that inspire you, right? 412 00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:53,000 Sometimes if you read everything, it might get too 413 00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:56,184 much or too confusing and you think about too many things at 414 00:23:56,184 --> 00:23:58,715 the same time. Sometimes take maybe one or two 415 00:23:58,715 --> 00:24:04,548 suttas that really work for you. And one of the suttas that I 416 00:24:04,548 --> 00:24:08,800 think is very powerful and I think would be generally useful 417 00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:11,911 to most people is this particular sutta that we are 418 00:24:11,911 --> 00:24:15,000 looking at right now, Madhyamanikaya 41. 419 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:19,000 Because it talks about ethics in a very, very broad sense. 420 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:24,184 And when you read that sutta, it gives you a very broad outline 421 00:24:24,184 --> 00:24:28,250 of ethics in Buddhism. And ethics, of course, is the 422 00:24:28,250 --> 00:24:30,800 foundation stone. I've been talking about this all 423 00:24:30,800 --> 00:24:34,334 the way through now, how important it is to get your 424 00:24:34,334 --> 00:24:39,616 conduct right, to get your habits, your personality, to get 425 00:24:39,616 --> 00:24:43,000 that kind of aligned with the Dhamma in the right way. 426 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:45,000 Then the meditation happens by itself. 427 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:49,000 And this sutta is specifically about that, about ethics. 428 00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:51,335 So I think it's very useful. Sometimes it's good to 429 00:24:51,335 --> 00:24:53,000 concentrate on certain themes, right? 430 00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:56,572 You don't get too much stuff, too much information, which kind 431 00:24:56,572 --> 00:25:00,000 of just is floating around and you can't really... 432 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:05,000 This becomes too much to think about really sometimes. 433 00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:08,778 So this is the first thing. Read suttas and do it in a wise 434 00:25:08,778 --> 00:25:10,638 way. Get an overall picture and then 435 00:25:10,638 --> 00:25:14,000 focus on a few things which are powerful for your practice. 436 00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:17,750 And of course the other thing which is powerful, powerful to 437 00:25:17,750 --> 00:25:22,500 get a sense of the essence and get a feeling for this, is just 438 00:25:22,500 --> 00:25:24,667 sometimes to... You know, you have certain 439 00:25:24,667 --> 00:25:27,000 teachers who you feel you have a certain amount of confidence in 440 00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:31,002 because they embody the values of Buddhism, they embody the 441 00:25:31,002 --> 00:25:34,500 qualities that you're supposed to achieve by practising this 442 00:25:34,500 --> 00:25:36,365 path. So sometimes there will be 443 00:25:36,365 --> 00:25:40,144 people in the world who think, wow, this person really has 444 00:25:40,144 --> 00:25:42,000 these qualities. And then you can... 445 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:45,000 When you see that, it gives you more confidence as well. 446 00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:48,800 And I have no doubt myself that there are people today in this 447 00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:53,600 world who embody these qualities of Buddhism and who have 448 00:25:53,600 --> 00:25:56,668 practised this path in such a way that they have achieved some 449 00:25:56,668 --> 00:25:59,778 of these results, right? And that gives you a sense of it 450 00:25:59,778 --> 00:26:01,715 works. Not just an ancient teaching on 451 00:26:01,715 --> 00:26:05,000 paper, it actually still has an effect in the present day. 452 00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:09,000 And the third way which is you start to see this path as well 453 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:12,750 is when you practise it yourself and you get some of the results, 454 00:26:12,750 --> 00:26:15,500 right? You see that meditation actually 455 00:26:15,500 --> 00:26:18,144 works. You see that ethical conduct 456 00:26:18,144 --> 00:26:21,156 actually works. And when you do that and you 457 00:26:21,156 --> 00:26:25,144 start to kind of extrapolate that into the future, where does 458 00:26:25,144 --> 00:26:27,667 this lead? If I continue practising this 459 00:26:27,667 --> 00:26:30,000 way, what can it actually give rise to? 460 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:33,430 You start to understand that there is a lot of potential in 461 00:26:33,430 --> 00:26:36,310 this path and you start to get the feeling that indeed there 462 00:26:36,310 --> 00:26:39,772 might be people who actually have seen these things in a very 463 00:26:39,772 --> 00:26:44,000 profound and deep sense. So this is what this is about. 464 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:47,078 So it's important to have that. And when you have the sense that 465 00:26:47,078 --> 00:26:51,334 there are beings in the world, in particular the Buddha, who 466 00:26:51,334 --> 00:26:54,715 has seen these things, right? Seen this world, seen the other 467 00:26:54,715 --> 00:26:58,000 world, then what happens at that point? 468 00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:02,000 What happens at that point is that you have a Kalyana Mita. 469 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:06,546 This Pali word, Kalyana Mita, which basically means a good 470 00:27:06,546 --> 00:27:09,730 friend. And the primary good friend in 471 00:27:09,730 --> 00:27:14,000 the world is the Buddha. The Buddha precisely because he 472 00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:17,669 has seen, he has understood. And because he is sometimes 473 00:27:17,669 --> 00:27:20,000 called the eye of the world, right? 474 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:22,911 He has seen. And because he has seen, he is 475 00:27:22,911 --> 00:27:25,750 able to teach you. And that kind of opens your eyes 476 00:27:25,750 --> 00:27:28,715 a little bit as well. Because he is then pointing the 477 00:27:28,715 --> 00:27:31,250 way. While we are fumbling around in 478 00:27:31,250 --> 00:27:34,670 the darkness, it's nice to have somebody with a torch who can 479 00:27:34,670 --> 00:27:37,430 actually show you the way. And that's basically what the 480 00:27:37,430 --> 00:27:39,144 Buddha is. He's got the torch. 481 00:27:39,144 --> 00:27:41,600 He can see. So you kind of take his hand, so 482 00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:45,000 to speak, and he will lead you in the right direction. 483 00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:48,000 So this is what this next Sutta is all about. 484 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:53,000 The next Sutta is called Half the Holy Life. 485 00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:59,275 And this is about the Kalyana Mita and the importance and the 486 00:27:59,275 --> 00:28:04,858 significance of having this good friend who guides you in the 487 00:28:04,858 --> 00:28:10,000 right direction. So this is how this Sutta goes. 488 00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:13,667 Thus have I heard, on one occasion the Blessed One was 489 00:28:13,667 --> 00:28:18,001 dwelling among the Sakhyans, Sakhyans was a clan where the 490 00:28:18,001 --> 00:28:23,500 Buddha was from, where there was a town of the Sakhyans named 491 00:28:23,500 --> 00:28:28,500 Nagaraka. Then the Venerable Ananda 492 00:28:28,500 --> 00:28:31,335 approached the Blessed One. Having approached, he paid 493 00:28:31,335 --> 00:28:35,667 homage to the Blessed One, sat down to one side and said to 494 00:28:35,667 --> 00:28:40,000 him, Venerable Sir, this is half of the Holy Life. 495 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:46,000 That is good friendship, good companionship, good comradeship. 496 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:51,572 Not so, Ananda, not so. This is the entire Holy Life, 497 00:28:51,572 --> 00:28:54,500 Ananda. That is good friendship, good 498 00:28:54,500 --> 00:28:58,800 companionship, good comradeship. When a bhikkhu has a good 499 00:28:58,800 --> 00:29:02,668 friend, a good companion, a good comrade, it is to be expected 500 00:29:02,668 --> 00:29:08,167 that he will develop and cultivate the Noble Eightfold 501 00:29:08,167 --> 00:29:12,000 Path. So I'll just stop there. 502 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:14,000 So this is about good friendship. 503 00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:17,000 It's interesting here, good friendship, good companionship, 504 00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:20,869 good comradeship, right? It sounds like some kind of term 505 00:29:20,869 --> 00:29:23,000 from the Soviet Union or something like that. 506 00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:30,286 I think Bhikkhu Bodhi was trying to find another word which kind 507 00:29:30,286 --> 00:29:32,274 of sounds like friend, right? So comrade was the only thing he 508 00:29:32,274 --> 00:29:36,000 could come up with. That's why it has it in there. 509 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:39,000 It has nothing to do with communism or anything like that. 510 00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:45,000 So this is interesting, isn't it? 511 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:51,000 Ananda says that this is half of the Holy Life, this idea of good 512 00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:53,365 spiritual friendship. In other words, he understands 513 00:29:53,365 --> 00:29:55,000 that this is really important, right? 514 00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:58,500 It obviously matters a lot. And then the Buddha says, no, 515 00:29:58,500 --> 00:30:03,000 it's not half the Holy Life, it's the entire Holy Life. 516 00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:05,750 And when you read that, you think, is the Buddha being 517 00:30:05,750 --> 00:30:07,667 serious? Is he talking kind of 518 00:30:07,667 --> 00:30:09,502 metaphorically? Is he talking like, well, is he 519 00:30:09,502 --> 00:30:11,000 trying to say it's really, really important? 520 00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:14,000 Surely it doesn't mean that it is the entire Holy Life. 521 00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:17,000 How can it be the entire Holy Life? 522 00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:19,000 And I used to think like that too. 523 00:30:19,000 --> 00:30:22,060 I used to think, you know, you read these things and you kind 524 00:30:22,060 --> 00:30:25,000 of skip over it, and then one day you think, wait a minute, 525 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:27,000 he's actually saying it is the entire Holy Life. 526 00:30:27,000 --> 00:30:30,638 What does that mean? And of course the Buddha, he 527 00:30:30,638 --> 00:30:33,500 doesn't usually mince his words. He doesn't mess around when he 528 00:30:33,500 --> 00:30:36,548 says things. You can be pretty sure it has 529 00:30:36,548 --> 00:30:39,600 some significant meaning, right? So when he says it is the entire 530 00:30:39,600 --> 00:30:44,168 Holy Life, it probably means that it is just that, the entire 531 00:30:44,168 --> 00:30:47,000 Holy Life. So how can that be the case? 532 00:30:47,000 --> 00:30:51,400 And to understand that, and this is the, again, this Buddhist 533 00:30:51,400 --> 00:30:54,500 idea of non-self, right? Because there is, because from 534 00:30:54,500 --> 00:30:58,250 the Buddhist point of view, there is no entity inside which 535 00:30:58,250 --> 00:31:02,336 is permanent, it means that we have no kind of guidance inside 536 00:31:02,336 --> 00:31:06,820 of us which steers us on the path, like a compass which is 537 00:31:06,820 --> 00:31:09,000 always pointing in the right direction. 538 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:12,000 We haven't got that. There is no compass there. 539 00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:15,386 There is nothing there which kind of is solid, which always 540 00:31:15,386 --> 00:31:18,750 is reliable, always going to do what is right and avoid what is 541 00:31:18,750 --> 00:31:20,911 wrong. We don't have, there is no such 542 00:31:20,911 --> 00:31:23,169 thing inside of you. So, you know, the symbol that I 543 00:31:23,169 --> 00:31:27,000 like to use is like, we are in a sense like a ship on the ocean, 544 00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:31,643 a ship which has no engine, which has no sails, which has no 545 00:31:31,643 --> 00:31:35,145 rudder, so you can't steer, you can't kind of go this direction 546 00:31:35,145 --> 00:31:37,750 or that direction. Now a ship which has no steering 547 00:31:37,750 --> 00:31:40,000 mechanism, what happens to that ship? 548 00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:45,300 What happens to it is that it will drift whichever way, either 549 00:31:45,300 --> 00:31:48,000 the currents or the wind will take it, right? 550 00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:51,734 So if the wind comes from the north, the ship will go to the 551 00:31:51,734 --> 00:31:53,750 south. If the wind comes from the west, 552 00:31:53,750 --> 00:31:56,000 the ship will go to the east, etc., etc. 553 00:31:56,000 --> 00:32:00,000 It will drift according to the prevailing conditions, right? 554 00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:05,224 And in a sense, in a very real sense, we are a bit like 555 00:32:05,224 --> 00:32:09,000 rudderless ships in samsara. We are rudderless people. 556 00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:11,000 We have no real steering mechanism. 557 00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:14,440 There is nothing inside of us which naturally points us in 558 00:32:14,440 --> 00:32:16,000 this direction or that direction. 559 00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:19,637 We are rudderless and we drift according to the prevailing 560 00:32:19,637 --> 00:32:21,667 conditions. And what are those prevailing 561 00:32:21,667 --> 00:32:23,669 conditions? They are all the conditioning 562 00:32:23,669 --> 00:32:27,602 that has affected us in this life and is affecting us now and 563 00:32:27,602 --> 00:32:31,200 has affected us from a Buddhist point of view also in past 564 00:32:31,200 --> 00:32:35,000 lives, right? All the conditioning, all the, 565 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:39,000 like conditioning is both internal, and external. 566 00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:42,600 So the conditioning from past lives is now mostly 567 00:32:42,600 --> 00:32:44,669 internalized. Originally it came from outside, 568 00:32:44,669 --> 00:32:47,000 but now it comes from the inside. 569 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:51,144 It is the kind of the habits you have, the way that you have 570 00:32:51,144 --> 00:32:55,924 built up, the sense of identity that you have, all of these 571 00:32:55,924 --> 00:32:59,000 internal things that are driving you in a certain way. 572 00:32:59,000 --> 00:33:00,834 And then there is all the external things in this life, 573 00:33:00,834 --> 00:33:03,000 right? Your upbringing, your schooling, 574 00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:07,600 your parents, your friends, all of these things, your work, 575 00:33:07,600 --> 00:33:10,728 everything in this life that you have experienced, every single 576 00:33:10,728 --> 00:33:14,000 experience will have conditioned you in a certain way. 577 00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:17,000 And that is what we are. We are that conditioning. 578 00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:20,386 We are a sum of all the environment, all the things 579 00:33:20,386 --> 00:33:22,500 around us. That is essentially what we have 580 00:33:22,500 --> 00:33:25,430 become and what we are now. And then there are new 581 00:33:25,430 --> 00:33:28,728 conditions coming and they will then affect us in a certain way, 582 00:33:28,728 --> 00:33:30,430 right? And once you understand that, 583 00:33:30,430 --> 00:33:34,000 that we are just a sum of the conditioning, then of course the 584 00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:37,375 only way that you are going to get on the spiritual path, there 585 00:33:37,375 --> 00:33:42,500 has to be some kind of spark. Something has to trigger that 586 00:33:42,500 --> 00:33:45,000 movement onto the spiritual path. 587 00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:49,000 And that trigger is then the Kalyanamitta. 588 00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:53,456 That is the person who says, the eye of the world, I have seen, I 589 00:33:53,456 --> 00:33:56,000 have understood, I have realized these things. 590 00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:58,400 Listen, right? And then you look at this person 591 00:33:58,400 --> 00:34:01,000 and you say, should I listen or should I not listen? 592 00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:05,668 This is part of our job as a spiritual practitioner, is to 593 00:34:05,668 --> 00:34:09,464 look at those people who are teachers and ask us whether they 594 00:34:09,464 --> 00:34:14,000 are worthy of being followed. Do they have the qualities that 595 00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:17,772 they are, do they have those qualities in their conduct that 596 00:34:17,772 --> 00:34:21,184 they are talking about? Do they have a sense of metta, a 597 00:34:21,184 --> 00:34:24,000 sense of compassion, a sense of kindness, right? 598 00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:26,750 Do they have a lack of these defilements they are talking 599 00:34:26,750 --> 00:34:30,750 about that we should overcome? And then this is how you then 600 00:34:30,750 --> 00:34:33,667 gain confidence in the Buddha. And then you have a 601 00:34:33,667 --> 00:34:35,667 Kalyanamitta. You have a good spiritual 602 00:34:35,667 --> 00:34:37,556 friend. You have a light that shines in 603 00:34:37,556 --> 00:34:40,000 the darkness and shows you the way. 604 00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:45,125 And it is absolutely necessary. Without that, you can't really 605 00:34:45,125 --> 00:34:50,500 make the breakthrough. So this is what this is all 606 00:34:50,500 --> 00:34:54,335 about. And that is why it is 100% of 607 00:34:54,335 --> 00:34:57,430 the spiritual life, right? Because without it, you can't 608 00:34:57,430 --> 00:35:00,000 get anywhere. It is absolutely necessary. 609 00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:03,000 It is the condition that drives you forward. 610 00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:07,572 And it is based on that, that you then practice virtue even 611 00:35:07,572 --> 00:35:10,000 better, that you practice generosity, that you meditate, 612 00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:13,500 that you get insight. It all ultimately comes from 613 00:35:13,500 --> 00:35:16,500 that. And yesterday you were asking 614 00:35:16,500 --> 00:35:22,000 about the last saying of the Buddha, the apamadheta 615 00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:25,000 sampadheta, strive on with heedfulness. 616 00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:29,335 And I said that this idea of apamadha stands at the very 617 00:35:29,335 --> 00:35:32,000 foundation of the Buddhist path. It is one of many things. 618 00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:34,000 And I couldn't remember so many others. 619 00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:36,000 But one of those is kalyanamitta. 620 00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:38,002 Kalyanamitta is another thing which stands as the very 621 00:35:38,002 --> 00:35:40,000 foundation stone of the Buddhist path. 622 00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:42,000 Without that, you can't get started. 623 00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:46,000 Apamadha is another one. Because you have to be heedful, 624 00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:48,800 at the very least you have to be able to listen to those people, 625 00:35:48,800 --> 00:35:51,000 right? Or to take an interest. 626 00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:54,288 If you are not even interested, or you have decided that you 627 00:35:54,288 --> 00:35:56,600 want to believe in another religion or whatever, and you 628 00:35:56,600 --> 00:35:59,890 have no time for these recluses or whatever, there is no chance 629 00:35:59,890 --> 00:36:03,000 that you will get anywhere. So apamadha, yoniso manesikara, 630 00:36:03,000 --> 00:36:08,000 is another one. A wise reflection, etc. 631 00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:11,500 Anyway. Okay, so then let's see what 632 00:36:11,500 --> 00:36:15,500 happens then. So, and he says, it is because 633 00:36:15,500 --> 00:36:18,715 of these kalyanamitta that you practice the Noble Eightfold 634 00:36:18,715 --> 00:36:21,625 Path. And then, of course, he gives an 635 00:36:21,625 --> 00:36:25,000 exposition of the Noble Eightfold Path. 636 00:36:25,000 --> 00:36:29,500 And how, Ananda, does a bhikkhu, a monk, who has a good friend, a 637 00:36:29,500 --> 00:36:34,000 good companion, a good comrade, develop and cultivate the Noble 638 00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:38,572 Eightfold Path? Here, Ananda, a bhikkhu develops 639 00:36:38,572 --> 00:36:43,500 right view, which is based on seclusion, dispassion and 640 00:36:43,500 --> 00:36:49,000 cessation, maturing in release. He develops right intention, 641 00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:53,000 right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, 642 00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:58,000 right mindfulness and right stillness, which is based upon 643 00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:02,000 seclusion, dispassion, cessation and maturing in release. 644 00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:05,715 It is in this way, Ananda, that the bhikkhu, who has good 645 00:37:05,715 --> 00:37:10,716 friends, good companions, a good comrade, develops and cultivates 646 00:37:10,716 --> 00:37:17,669 the Noble Eightfold Path. So, here, I'm not sure how much 647 00:37:17,669 --> 00:37:23,144 I should talk about this, because these are very, very 648 00:37:23,144 --> 00:37:26,000 profound aspects of the Noble Eightfold Path. 649 00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:30,334 They have this idea that it is based upon seclusion, dispassion 650 00:37:30,334 --> 00:37:34,000 and cessation. And what this means is that, 651 00:37:34,000 --> 00:37:37,273 basically, your practice of the Noble Eightfold Path, especially 652 00:37:37,273 --> 00:37:40,858 when it comes to the deeper aspects of the path, some degree 653 00:37:40,858 --> 00:37:45,000 of seclusion is required, right? This is why we go on a retreat. 654 00:37:45,000 --> 00:37:48,750 You are secluding yourself a bit from society, secluding yourself 655 00:37:48,750 --> 00:37:53,000 from your ordinary chores of life, getting a little bit away. 656 00:37:53,000 --> 00:37:55,813 And this is one of the reasons why you become a monk or a nun, 657 00:37:55,813 --> 00:37:58,001 right? So you can seclude yourself even 658 00:37:58,001 --> 00:38:00,000 more from society, and you can get away from it. 659 00:38:00,000 --> 00:38:05,668 Where I live, at Bodhinyana Monastery in Perth, every monk 660 00:38:05,668 --> 00:38:10,184 has a little hut in the forest. And from my hut, when I walk on 661 00:38:10,184 --> 00:38:13,000 my walking path, I can't see any other huts. 662 00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:15,667 So it's like I'm completely, a sense of complete seclusion, 663 00:38:15,667 --> 00:38:18,000 right? It's just nature around you. 664 00:38:18,000 --> 00:38:20,858 And that gives you, after a while, it gives you a sense of 665 00:38:20,858 --> 00:38:22,715 peace. It gives you a sense of 666 00:38:22,715 --> 00:38:24,500 distance. And that sense of distance means 667 00:38:24,500 --> 00:38:28,500 you have, you know, you feel a kind of spaciousness, both 668 00:38:28,500 --> 00:38:32,000 internally and externally. And that external seclusion, 669 00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:35,429 being separated from other people around you, then 670 00:38:35,429 --> 00:38:38,900 eventually leads to the internal seclusion, where your mind 671 00:38:38,900 --> 00:38:41,000 starts to become separated from the world. 672 00:38:41,000 --> 00:38:44,668 And particularly, what it becomes separated from is the 673 00:38:44,668 --> 00:38:48,500 five hindrances of meditation, five hindrances that block your 674 00:38:48,500 --> 00:38:53,000 practice in meditation. So seclusion, when it comes to 675 00:38:53,000 --> 00:38:57,125 meditation practice, means the mental seclusion, when the mind 676 00:38:57,125 --> 00:39:01,750 is free from those hindrances. So this is why seclusion is so 677 00:39:01,750 --> 00:39:05,002 important, because it is based on that seclusion that this path 678 00:39:05,002 --> 00:39:07,000 really starts to take off, right? 679 00:39:07,000 --> 00:39:12,750 The hindrances disappear, because you are away from the 680 00:39:12,750 --> 00:39:16,667 worldly phenomena, which tend to give rise to hindrances, rise to 681 00:39:16,667 --> 00:39:19,668 problems, gives rise to desire, gives rise to anger, all these 682 00:39:19,668 --> 00:39:24,335 other kinds of things. And then it is based on 683 00:39:24,335 --> 00:39:28,625 dispersion and cessation. And what this means is that you 684 00:39:28,625 --> 00:39:33,287 are, when you are practicing the Buddhist path, and you are 685 00:39:33,287 --> 00:39:36,334 practicing meditation in particular, things start to fade 686 00:39:36,334 --> 00:39:38,000 away, right? Things start to cease. 687 00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:40,000 This is what happens in meditation practice. 688 00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:43,000 More and more things fade away, they cease. 689 00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:46,334 Things become simpler and simpler in your life, simpler 690 00:39:46,334 --> 00:39:50,000 and simpler in your mind. Things fading away. 691 00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:54,667 And this is the kind of the basis for meditation and for 692 00:39:54,667 --> 00:39:58,000 insight, is this fading away of things. 693 00:39:58,000 --> 00:40:01,000 And this is how the path kind of develops. 694 00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:03,667 And you will get a little bit of experience of that on this 695 00:40:03,667 --> 00:40:07,250 retreat, just a little bit. I mean, this thing goes very, 696 00:40:07,250 --> 00:40:09,715 very deep. This kind of fading away of 697 00:40:09,715 --> 00:40:14,000 things and ceasing of things is a very profound kind of thing, 698 00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:17,200 and it goes deeper and deeper and deeper, until eventually, it 699 00:40:17,200 --> 00:40:21,000 says here, it matures in release. 700 00:40:21,000 --> 00:40:26,000 And release here really is the release from craving. 701 00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:28,000 You don't crave anymore. You cease. 702 00:40:28,000 --> 00:40:31,000 You see that all the phenomena in the world are impermanent. 703 00:40:31,000 --> 00:40:35,000 You can't control them, right? You can't really rely on them. 704 00:40:35,000 --> 00:40:38,000 There is a higher happiness to be had beyond these things. 705 00:40:38,000 --> 00:40:42,000 And when you see that, craving just disappears all by itself. 706 00:40:42,000 --> 00:40:45,334 It is eliminated. And that is the idea of release 707 00:40:45,334 --> 00:40:48,000 or liberation on the Buddhist path. 708 00:40:48,000 --> 00:40:51,000 Anyway, it's getting a bit ahead of us here. 709 00:40:51,000 --> 00:40:54,274 We're kind of... This is towards the very end of 710 00:40:54,274 --> 00:40:56,334 the Noble Eightfold Path, and we're still just dealing with 711 00:40:56,334 --> 00:41:00,250 the first factor. But anyway, since it's there, I 712 00:41:00,250 --> 00:41:03,000 thought it might be nice just to discuss it briefly here. 713 00:41:03,000 --> 00:41:07,000 Okay, then the last part of this sutta. 714 00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:12,668 By the following method too, ānanda, it may be understood how 715 00:41:12,668 --> 00:41:17,000 the entire holy life is good friendship, good companionship, 716 00:41:17,000 --> 00:41:21,625 good comradeship. By relying upon me as a good 717 00:41:21,625 --> 00:41:24,112 friend, here's the Buddha speaking, you rely on the Buddha 718 00:41:24,112 --> 00:41:26,000 as a good friend. The Buddha is the Kalyanamitta, 719 00:41:26,000 --> 00:41:34,000 ānanda, beings subject to birth are freed from birth. 720 00:41:34,000 --> 00:41:38,000 Being subject to old age are freed from old age. 721 00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:42,000 Being subject to death are freed from death. 722 00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:44,667 Being subject to sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure 723 00:41:44,667 --> 00:41:48,000 and despair are freed from sorrow, lamentation, pain, 724 00:41:48,000 --> 00:41:52,500 displeasure and despair. By this method too, ānanda, it 725 00:41:52,500 --> 00:41:57,800 may be understood how the entire holy life is good friendship, 726 00:41:57,800 --> 00:42:02,000 good companionship, good comradeship. 727 00:42:02,000 --> 00:42:06,616 So this is just another way of looking at the Noble Eightfold 728 00:42:06,616 --> 00:42:09,000 Path. The Noble Eightfold Path leads 729 00:42:09,000 --> 00:42:12,430 to the end of suffering. So by practicing the Noble 730 00:42:12,430 --> 00:42:16,400 Eightfold Path and by doing that, it leads you, this 731 00:42:16,400 --> 00:42:19,500 Kalyanamitta leads you eventually to the highest 732 00:42:19,500 --> 00:42:23,858 happiness, the ending of all problems, and the highest 733 00:42:23,858 --> 00:42:28,000 happiness that is possible to attain in this world. 734 00:42:28,000 --> 00:42:31,750 Okay, so there you are. That is the first, just a very 735 00:42:31,750 --> 00:42:36,667 little, short little sutta about what is meant by the idea of 736 00:42:36,667 --> 00:42:40,668 having confidence that there are beings in this world who have 737 00:42:40,668 --> 00:42:44,250 seen something more profound, who understand this world, who 738 00:42:44,250 --> 00:42:47,500 understand the ideas of rebirth and kamma, and who ultimately 739 00:42:47,500 --> 00:42:51,334 understand that there is an awakening beyond ordinary 740 00:42:51,334 --> 00:42:56,000 phenomena, the ordinary world. That is what is meant by that. 741 00:42:56,000 --> 00:42:58,000 So now we have a little bit more time. 742 00:42:58,000 --> 00:43:02,000 Now I want us to look at the next part of this Right View. 743 00:43:02,000 --> 00:43:08,000 And that is the idea of rebirth and how the Buddha talks about 744 00:43:08,000 --> 00:43:11,000 the idea of rebirth in the suttas. 745 00:43:11,000 --> 00:43:16,287 And again, this is perhaps a bit challenging for some people 746 00:43:16,287 --> 00:43:21,400 because it is quite, in the typical Buddha's way, it is 747 00:43:21,400 --> 00:43:23,000 quite direct and quite straight to the point. 748 00:43:23,000 --> 00:43:26,819 And sometimes when we hear things directly for the first 749 00:43:26,819 --> 00:43:30,600 time that we are not used to hearing, it can seem quite 750 00:43:30,600 --> 00:43:32,668 powerful. Anyway, let's see what the 751 00:43:32,668 --> 00:43:36,000 Buddha has to say. This is the sutta called Tears, 752 00:43:36,000 --> 00:43:43,890 Sangyutanikaya 15.3. I am not sure if the sequence 753 00:43:43,890 --> 00:43:47,000 you have is maybe slightly different from what I have. 754 00:43:47,000 --> 00:44:06,200 Sangyutanikaya SN 15.3. So, At Savatthi, Bhikkhus, this 755 00:44:06,200 --> 00:44:10,000 samsara is without discoverable beginning. 756 00:44:10,000 --> 00:44:14,500 The first point is not discerned of beings roaming and wandering 757 00:44:14,500 --> 00:44:20,000 on, hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving. 758 00:44:20,000 --> 00:44:24,572 What do you think, Bhikkhus, which is more, the stream of 759 00:44:24,572 --> 00:44:29,287 tears that you have shed as you have roamed and wandered on 760 00:44:29,287 --> 00:44:33,144 through this long course, weeping and wailing because of 761 00:44:33,144 --> 00:44:37,429 being united with the disagreeable and separated from 762 00:44:37,429 --> 00:44:43,000 the agreeable, this or the water of the four great oceans? 763 00:44:43,000 --> 00:44:48,200 As we understand the Dhamma taught by the Blessed One, 764 00:44:48,200 --> 00:44:52,668 Venerable Sir, the stream of tears that we have shed, as we 765 00:44:52,668 --> 00:44:56,668 have roamed and wandered through this long course, weeping and 766 00:44:56,668 --> 00:45:00,600 wailing because of being united with the disagreeable and 767 00:45:00,600 --> 00:45:05,572 separated from the agreeable, this alone is more than the 768 00:45:05,572 --> 00:45:13,572 water of the four great oceans. So that is pretty strong, isn't 769 00:45:13,572 --> 00:45:18,668 it? And there are a number of suttas 770 00:45:18,668 --> 00:45:25,500 like that in this Dhamma. In this particular part of the 771 00:45:25,500 --> 00:45:28,715 Buddha's word. And there are others which are 772 00:45:28,715 --> 00:45:31,446 perhaps even more graphic, like the amount of blood that you 773 00:45:31,446 --> 00:45:33,000 have shed and this kind of thing. 774 00:45:33,000 --> 00:45:38,001 And the amount of bones that you have piled up after dying so 775 00:45:38,001 --> 00:45:41,848 many times, etc. But let's have a look at this in 776 00:45:41,848 --> 00:45:44,600 a little bit more detail, starting from the beginning 777 00:45:44,600 --> 00:45:48,000 here. So first thing here, Bhikkhus, 778 00:45:48,000 --> 00:45:52,400 this samsara, samsara, is without discoverable beginning 779 00:45:52,400 --> 00:45:55,100 here. So the word samsara is one of 780 00:45:55,100 --> 00:45:59,000 these kind of crucial words in the Buddhist vocabulary. 781 00:45:59,000 --> 00:46:04,000 And samsara is just a word which means like the faring on, the 782 00:46:04,000 --> 00:46:06,334 traveling on. And it basically refers to kind 783 00:46:06,334 --> 00:46:10,000 of the sequence of births and deaths going on and on and on. 784 00:46:10,000 --> 00:46:14,000 This is the meaning of samsara. Traveling on, the moving on, 785 00:46:14,000 --> 00:46:17,334 kind of the endless, restless, moving restlessness, moving from 786 00:46:17,334 --> 00:46:22,572 one life to the next life. Going back and potentially going 787 00:46:22,572 --> 00:46:26,334 forward indefinitely. No clear point of beginning, no 788 00:46:26,334 --> 00:46:30,000 clear point of ending, right? Just moving on. 789 00:46:30,000 --> 00:46:33,715 And once you look at it like that, if you look at only one 790 00:46:33,715 --> 00:46:37,000 life, a single life can seem quite purposeful. 791 00:46:37,000 --> 00:46:41,184 You are here to maybe do a good job and to kind of help society 792 00:46:41,184 --> 00:46:44,500 on in the right direction. You're here perhaps to bring up 793 00:46:44,500 --> 00:46:46,625 your children, if you have children, and to kind of make 794 00:46:46,625 --> 00:46:49,750 them good people, and to kind of make them good people, so they 795 00:46:49,750 --> 00:46:52,750 also kind of bring society forward and bring humanity 796 00:46:52,750 --> 00:46:56,000 forward, and animals and whatever else. 797 00:46:56,000 --> 00:47:00,400 And in this sense, in a single life, life can seem quite 798 00:47:00,400 --> 00:47:02,750 meaningful. But when you start to look at 799 00:47:02,750 --> 00:47:07,002 life in the broader context of life after life, of doing the 800 00:47:07,002 --> 00:47:09,000 same thing again and again, right? 801 00:47:09,000 --> 00:47:11,000 In one life you have done all these things. 802 00:47:11,000 --> 00:47:14,334 You had your education, you had your job, you have been bringing 803 00:47:14,334 --> 00:47:17,000 up children, you've been trying to do good in the world. 804 00:47:17,000 --> 00:47:20,250 And then you die, and then you get reborn, and then you try to 805 00:47:20,250 --> 00:47:22,000 do exactly the same thing again, right? 806 00:47:22,000 --> 00:47:25,715 It's almost as if you've forgotten that you did it in the 807 00:47:25,715 --> 00:47:28,000 past, and now you're doing it again. 808 00:47:28,000 --> 00:47:31,400 And you're not aware of that. And then you do it again and 809 00:47:31,400 --> 00:47:33,000 again and again and again and again, right? 810 00:47:33,000 --> 00:47:36,000 The same thing. And after a while you wonder, 811 00:47:36,000 --> 00:47:39,000 what is the point of all this? It seems so pointless. 812 00:47:39,000 --> 00:47:41,000 And is it really getting somewhere? 813 00:47:41,000 --> 00:47:43,000 But sometimes it's getting somewhere, sometimes it's not. 814 00:47:43,000 --> 00:47:44,800 Sometimes you are helping society, sometimes you're 815 00:47:44,800 --> 00:47:47,400 dragging it down. Sometimes, you know, the world 816 00:47:47,400 --> 00:47:50,092 is kind of going in the right direction, other times the world 817 00:47:50,092 --> 00:47:52,000 might be going in the wrong direction. 818 00:47:52,000 --> 00:47:54,778 So the whole thing, when you look at it in the bigger 819 00:47:54,778 --> 00:47:57,000 picture, it doesn't make so much sense anymore. 820 00:47:57,000 --> 00:48:00,334 There isn't that sense of progress, there isn't that sense 821 00:48:00,334 --> 00:48:03,500 of meaning. And life becomes kind of, sort 822 00:48:03,500 --> 00:48:08,000 of, pointless in a sense, right? It's a terrible thing to say, 823 00:48:08,000 --> 00:48:11,600 but it kind of seems pointless. You are here, you know, the 824 00:48:11,600 --> 00:48:13,000 ordinary life, the ordinary world. 825 00:48:13,000 --> 00:48:15,715 And that is why, I have to admit, that's one of the reasons 826 00:48:15,715 --> 00:48:18,556 why I am here today. I am still a monk after all 827 00:48:18,556 --> 00:48:20,600 these years. One reason is because I feel 828 00:48:20,600 --> 00:48:24,430 that there is a kind of general progress in my practice all the 829 00:48:24,430 --> 00:48:27,000 way through, and that makes it very meaningful. 830 00:48:27,000 --> 00:48:30,500 But the other thing to me, I can't really see anything all 831 00:48:30,500 --> 00:48:33,000 that meaningful to spend my life doing. 832 00:48:33,000 --> 00:48:37,223 Sure, you know, you can do good in the world and all that, and 833 00:48:37,223 --> 00:48:39,000 of course that is what we should do. 834 00:48:39,000 --> 00:48:42,400 But without that bigger spiritual picture, without the 835 00:48:42,400 --> 00:48:46,500 kind of the, some kind of bigger picture to frame it all into, to 836 00:48:46,500 --> 00:48:50,750 make it meaningful, it is actually, to me, it seems quite 837 00:48:50,750 --> 00:48:55,001 pointless, the whole thing. And this is, again, one of the 838 00:48:55,001 --> 00:48:58,000 ideas about samsara, about this idea of rebirth. 839 00:48:58,000 --> 00:49:01,600 Once you start to understand what it actually means, once you 840 00:49:01,600 --> 00:49:05,500 start to understand that you have done this, right, it seems 841 00:49:05,500 --> 00:49:07,000 so important, I've got to get my education. 842 00:49:07,000 --> 00:49:10,000 So you strive at university and you get that education. 843 00:49:10,000 --> 00:49:13,112 It seems so important until you realize that you have done this 844 00:49:13,112 --> 00:49:14,834 a million times before. And it doesn't seem so 845 00:49:14,834 --> 00:49:16,500 important. And it doesn't seem so important 846 00:49:16,500 --> 00:49:19,000 anymore, right? I've got to get that degree. 847 00:49:19,000 --> 00:49:21,000 Suddenly you have had a million degrees before. 848 00:49:21,000 --> 00:49:23,000 It hasn't really gotten you anywhere. 849 00:49:23,000 --> 00:49:26,000 The kind of, okay, you know, so what? 850 00:49:26,000 --> 00:49:28,778 Right? And this is the kind of the big 851 00:49:28,778 --> 00:49:31,625 picture. And this is why the big picture 852 00:49:31,625 --> 00:49:33,875 matters. And it changes your perspective 853 00:49:33,875 --> 00:49:38,000 on this life and what actually is important in this life. 854 00:49:38,000 --> 00:49:42,000 And it turns you into a very new and different direction. 855 00:49:42,000 --> 00:49:45,000 So I'm not saying this to make you depressed or anything. 856 00:49:45,000 --> 00:49:51,335 I'm just saying it because it kind of opens up a new way of 857 00:49:51,335 --> 00:49:54,668 looking at the world, right? Some of the, what is the amazing 858 00:49:54,668 --> 00:49:56,546 thing is some of the happiest people I know, there are these 859 00:49:56,546 --> 00:49:58,000 people who say exactly these kind of things. 860 00:49:58,000 --> 00:50:01,143 Life is just pointless. And then they, ha, ha, ha, laugh 861 00:50:01,143 --> 00:50:07,200 and have a good time, right? And this is, so this is not 862 00:50:07,200 --> 00:50:10,556 anything to make you sad about. It's just to turn you in the 863 00:50:10,556 --> 00:50:13,000 right direction and to think about life in a new way. 864 00:50:13,000 --> 00:50:16,000 So, and this is the second thing here. 865 00:50:16,000 --> 00:50:19,000 Samsara, it is without discoverable beginning. 866 00:50:19,000 --> 00:50:21,000 And this is also quite interesting. 867 00:50:21,000 --> 00:50:25,250 This is the way the, when the Buddha talks about things, he 868 00:50:25,250 --> 00:50:28,500 doesn't talk about things in what you, what is often called 869 00:50:28,500 --> 00:50:31,875 like a metaphysical way. The word metaphysical means like 870 00:50:31,875 --> 00:50:37,668 in a theoretical or doctrinal way without any basis in 871 00:50:37,668 --> 00:50:40,430 experience, right? That's what I mean by 872 00:50:40,430 --> 00:50:43,000 metaphysics here. There's no basis in experience. 873 00:50:43,000 --> 00:50:47,000 It's just an un-experienced, idea or a theory. 874 00:50:47,000 --> 00:50:49,750 So if the Buddha had said that samsara doesn't have any 875 00:50:49,750 --> 00:50:53,000 beginning, that would have been like theoretical. 876 00:50:53,000 --> 00:50:55,000 It's something you can actually never know. 877 00:50:55,000 --> 00:50:58,000 You cannot know whether something has beginning or not 878 00:50:58,000 --> 00:51:00,000 because you can always go back further in time. 879 00:51:00,000 --> 00:51:03,500 But what he says, it has no discoverable beginning, which is 880 00:51:03,500 --> 00:51:07,000 very different because that is based on your own experience. 881 00:51:07,000 --> 00:51:10,000 You know you can go back in time, right? 882 00:51:10,000 --> 00:51:12,000 And this is what the Buddha claimed to have done. 883 00:51:12,000 --> 00:51:16,000 He goes back in time, life before life before life, right? 884 00:51:16,000 --> 00:51:18,000 And there is no beginning. It just goes on. 885 00:51:18,000 --> 00:51:20,000 And of course one of the interesting things the Buddha 886 00:51:20,000 --> 00:51:24,336 saw when he did that, he saw also that the world goes through 887 00:51:24,336 --> 00:51:27,800 cycles as well, right? He talks about the world going 888 00:51:27,800 --> 00:51:31,184 through these enormous cycles, a bit like perhaps the big bang in 889 00:51:31,184 --> 00:51:35,079 the present day and then a kind of a big crunch kind of 890 00:51:35,079 --> 00:51:37,668 following after it. So he saw, and then because he 891 00:51:37,668 --> 00:51:40,715 saw this, he says, well, you know, no matter how far back I 892 00:51:40,715 --> 00:51:44,200 go, no matter how many big bangs I see, no matter how many 893 00:51:44,200 --> 00:51:46,750 millions of life I look backwards, there is no 894 00:51:46,750 --> 00:51:48,820 beginning. It just goes further back, 895 00:51:48,820 --> 00:51:51,000 further back, further back, further back. 896 00:51:51,000 --> 00:51:53,000 There is no discoverable beginning. 897 00:51:53,000 --> 00:51:57,000 And it shows you the Buddha's very pragmatic way, right? 898 00:51:57,000 --> 00:52:01,500 He talks about what he knows. He doesn't just give empty 899 00:52:01,500 --> 00:52:03,667 doctrines. And this is throughout the 900 00:52:03,667 --> 00:52:05,667 suttas. It's always about what is 901 00:52:05,667 --> 00:52:08,000 knowable from the Buddha's point of view. 902 00:52:08,000 --> 00:52:12,000 And this is the thing about, you know, rebirth and life in 903 00:52:12,000 --> 00:52:15,000 different realms, and all this kind of stuff. 904 00:52:15,000 --> 00:52:17,858 It is, the Buddha says specifically, I'm teaching this 905 00:52:17,858 --> 00:52:22,000 because I know it, not because I've heard it from somebody else 906 00:52:22,000 --> 00:52:25,000 or it is some kind of theory or whatever. 907 00:52:25,000 --> 00:52:28,500 So this again is a very important part of the Buddha's 908 00:52:28,500 --> 00:52:31,000 teachings. It is experiential. 909 00:52:31,000 --> 00:52:36,001 It is knowable. And then he says, a first point 910 00:52:36,001 --> 00:52:41,000 is not discerned of beings roaming and wandering on, 911 00:52:41,000 --> 00:52:45,000 hindered by ignorance, fettered by craving, right? 912 00:52:45,000 --> 00:52:48,500 There is no first point again. You can't find a beginning to 913 00:52:48,500 --> 00:52:50,715 all this. Buddhism is one of those few 914 00:52:50,715 --> 00:52:53,000 religions where there is no beginning. 915 00:52:53,000 --> 00:52:55,000 There is no point at which the world was created. 916 00:52:55,000 --> 00:52:59,000 It just goes back. And I find that quite a nice way 917 00:52:59,000 --> 00:53:02,001 of looking at things. It's certainly a way that makes 918 00:53:02,001 --> 00:53:06,334 sense to me. Of beings hindered by ignorance, 919 00:53:06,334 --> 00:53:09,000 right? You are in the darkness. 920 00:53:09,000 --> 00:53:11,000 You are ignorant. You can't see. 921 00:53:11,000 --> 00:53:13,500 You are deluded. You don't understand the way the 922 00:53:13,500 --> 00:53:15,715 world is. And because you are in the 923 00:53:15,715 --> 00:53:19,572 darkness, you keep on wandering, wandering, wandering, not really 924 00:53:19,572 --> 00:53:22,750 knowing what you are doing, going from one life to the next 925 00:53:22,750 --> 00:53:26,000 one, not understanding that it is all just suffering. 926 00:53:26,000 --> 00:53:29,500 You are suffering in this life, suffering in the next one, now 927 00:53:29,500 --> 00:53:32,430 here, now there. You don't really know what's 928 00:53:32,430 --> 00:53:34,334 going on. You have this narrow little view 929 00:53:34,334 --> 00:53:37,000 of this life. You don't see the big picture. 930 00:53:37,000 --> 00:53:42,000 And for that reason, you are kind of just wandering on in 931 00:53:42,000 --> 00:53:44,667 darkness. So you are hindered by 932 00:53:44,667 --> 00:53:47,000 ignorance. You can't see because it's dark. 933 00:53:47,000 --> 00:53:50,000 And you are fettered by craving. Craving is what binds you. 934 00:53:50,000 --> 00:53:52,000 That's why you are fettered by craving. 935 00:53:52,000 --> 00:53:55,750 It binds you to rebirth. It binds you to the round of 936 00:53:55,750 --> 00:53:58,500 existence. You get reborn because of 937 00:53:58,500 --> 00:54:01,000 craving. Craving is the driving force 938 00:54:01,000 --> 00:54:04,000 that takes you from one life to the next one. 939 00:54:04,000 --> 00:54:08,334 So you are fettered by craving. It binds you to the round, and 940 00:54:08,334 --> 00:54:11,430 you are hindered by ignorance. And of course, ignorance and 941 00:54:11,430 --> 00:54:15,000 craving, again, are mutually conditioned by each other. 942 00:54:15,000 --> 00:54:17,000 You crave precisely because you are ignorant. 943 00:54:17,000 --> 00:54:20,000 They are also bound to each other. 944 00:54:20,000 --> 00:54:22,858 There's a nice little thing, that one there, this idea of 945 00:54:22,858 --> 00:54:26,000 being hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving. 946 00:54:26,000 --> 00:54:31,000 A powerful little understanding. It's actually a very broad thing 947 00:54:31,000 --> 00:54:34,334 right there. It tells you a lot about the 948 00:54:34,334 --> 00:54:36,000 Buddhist outlook and the Buddhist worldview. 949 00:54:36,000 --> 00:54:42,250 Just those few little words. And then, he goes on to say what 950 00:54:42,250 --> 00:54:44,000 this means. What does it mean? 951 00:54:44,000 --> 00:54:46,000 What actually is it that we are missing? 952 00:54:46,000 --> 00:54:49,000 And one of the things that we don't see is precisely this, 953 00:54:49,000 --> 00:54:54,250 that we have cried more tears than there are waters in the 954 00:54:54,250 --> 00:54:57,000 four oceans. The four oceans in those days 955 00:54:57,000 --> 00:55:00,750 were the oceans around India. So it was a little bit more 956 00:55:00,750 --> 00:55:05,000 limited than the kind of world oceans as we know them now. 957 00:55:05,000 --> 00:55:08,000 But it's roughly the same. It's lots and lots of water. 958 00:55:08,000 --> 00:55:11,000 It doesn't really matter exactly how much it is. 959 00:55:11,000 --> 00:55:16,400 And this is the problem. We don't understand the scope of 960 00:55:16,400 --> 00:55:21,667 suffering in this world. And then the Buddha says, Good, 961 00:55:21,667 --> 00:55:27,000 good bhikkhus. It is good that you understand 962 00:55:27,000 --> 00:55:30,000 the Dhamma taught by me in such a way. 963 00:55:30,000 --> 00:55:33,600 The stream of tears that you have shed as you roamed and 964 00:55:33,600 --> 00:55:37,000 wandered through this long course, weeping and wailing, 965 00:55:37,000 --> 00:55:41,200 because of being united with the disagreeable and separated from 966 00:55:41,200 --> 00:55:46,500 the agreeable, this alone is more than the water in the four 967 00:55:46,500 --> 00:55:49,334 oceans. For a long time bhikkhus, you 968 00:55:49,334 --> 00:55:52,000 have experienced the death of a mother. 969 00:55:52,000 --> 00:55:55,750 As you experience this, weeping and wailing, because of being 970 00:55:55,750 --> 00:55:59,000 united with the disagreeable and separated from the agreeable, 971 00:55:59,000 --> 00:56:03,600 the stream of tears that you have shed is more than the 972 00:56:03,600 --> 00:56:08,334 waters in the four great oceans. For a long time bhikkhus, you 973 00:56:08,334 --> 00:56:12,000 have experienced the death of a father, the death of a brother, 974 00:56:12,000 --> 00:56:16,600 the death of a sister, the death of a son, the death of a 975 00:56:16,600 --> 00:56:21,500 daughter, the loss of relatives, the loss of wealth, the loss of 976 00:56:21,500 --> 00:56:24,000 illness. As you have experienced this, 977 00:56:24,000 --> 00:56:27,667 weeping and wailing, because of being united with the 978 00:56:27,667 --> 00:56:31,125 disagreeable and separated from the agreeable, the streams of 979 00:56:31,125 --> 00:56:36,600 tears that you have shed is more than the water in the four great 980 00:56:36,600 --> 00:56:39,000 oceans. For what reason? 981 00:56:39,000 --> 00:56:44,000 Because bhikkhus, the samsara is without discoverable beginning. 982 00:56:44,000 --> 00:56:47,667 The first point is not discerned of beings roaming and wandering 983 00:56:47,667 --> 00:56:54,000 on, hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving. 984 00:56:54,000 --> 00:56:58,250 It is enough to experience revulsion towards all 985 00:56:58,250 --> 00:57:02,000 formations, enough to become dispassionate towards them, 986 00:57:02,000 --> 00:57:05,000 enough to be liberated from them. 987 00:57:05,000 --> 00:57:08,000 Once you see that, you see the problem. 988 00:57:08,000 --> 00:57:12,250 Once you see the scope of this, once you see what is actually 989 00:57:12,250 --> 00:57:15,000 going on, you get this feeling of enough. 990 00:57:15,000 --> 00:57:19,000 You get repelled by this. This is understanding suffering, 991 00:57:19,000 --> 00:57:23,716 the first noble truth in a much broader sense than you have ever 992 00:57:23,716 --> 00:57:27,000 seen it before. You see this vastness of samsara 993 00:57:27,000 --> 00:57:32,200 now being reborn here, now being reborn somewhere else, now being 994 00:57:32,200 --> 00:57:36,000 an animal perhaps. Going on and on. 995 00:57:36,000 --> 00:57:38,000 And then you get this, oh, enough! 996 00:57:38,000 --> 00:57:42,000 I can't take this anymore. So you get this revulsion. 997 00:57:42,000 --> 00:57:44,000 This is what revulsion means in a very deep sense. 998 00:57:44,000 --> 00:57:48,000 You get repelled by this whole thing called existence. 999 00:57:48,000 --> 00:57:51,000 And you kind of get pushed off the wheel of samsara. 1000 00:57:51,000 --> 00:57:54,000 You had enough. And this is what it means, 1001 00:57:54,000 --> 00:57:57,000 revulsion towards all formations. 1002 00:57:57,000 --> 00:58:01,000 It might mean a terrible translation. 1003 00:58:01,000 --> 00:58:05,667 When you hear the revulsion from all formations, you think, okay, 1004 00:58:05,667 --> 00:58:11,000 to me it doesn't really grab the mind at all. 1005 00:58:11,000 --> 00:58:14,000 Formation, it says here, is the Pali word sankara. 1006 00:58:14,000 --> 00:58:17,000 All conditioned phenomena, right? 1007 00:58:17,000 --> 00:58:19,000 All phenomena of the world basically. 1008 00:58:19,000 --> 00:58:22,858 They're all conditioned. So yet experience, you are 1009 00:58:22,858 --> 00:58:27,000 repelled by all the phenomena of the world basically here. 1010 00:58:27,000 --> 00:58:31,000 Because you see that suffering is inherent in all this. 1011 00:58:31,000 --> 00:58:34,001 And it will continue like this into the future, unless you do 1012 00:58:34,001 --> 00:58:36,667 something about it. And that's why you feel 1013 00:58:36,667 --> 00:58:38,715 repelled. And then when you have that 1014 00:58:38,715 --> 00:58:42,000 sense of being repelled, then you become dispassionate. 1015 00:58:42,000 --> 00:58:45,000 You lose your interest in this world, right? 1016 00:58:45,000 --> 00:58:48,667 There's no interest anymore. Dispassion is the opposite of 1017 00:58:48,667 --> 00:58:52,000 being passionate, of being interested in something. 1018 00:58:52,000 --> 00:58:55,572 So you lose your interest. And when you lose your interest 1019 00:58:55,572 --> 00:58:59,287 completely, and that of course takes a while, but when the 1020 00:58:59,287 --> 00:59:03,000 interest is completely lost, then your craving disappears. 1021 00:59:03,000 --> 00:59:06,000 And craving disappears, and craving disappearing is the same 1022 00:59:06,000 --> 00:59:09,600 as being liberated. Liberation means craving having 1023 00:59:09,600 --> 00:59:14,250 ceased. Because when craving ceases, you 1024 00:59:14,250 --> 00:59:16,000 are no longer going to get reborn. 1025 00:59:16,000 --> 00:59:19,600 Because craving, as I said before, is that which fetters 1026 00:59:19,600 --> 00:59:24,000 you to the round of existence, to the round of birth and death, 1027 00:59:24,000 --> 00:59:28,000 of samsara. So there you are. 1028 00:59:28,000 --> 00:59:34,000 That is the one about the suttas on the stream of tears. 1029 00:59:34,000 --> 00:59:37,000 And it's a very powerful, very powerful sutta. 1030 00:59:37,000 --> 00:59:40,572 And if you kind of, if that sort of thing inspires you, you can 1031 00:59:40,572 --> 00:59:43,715 go to that particular chapter. And there's a number of suttas 1032 00:59:43,715 --> 00:59:46,000 there which talk about this in the same way. 1033 00:59:46,000 --> 00:59:49,668 If you feel it is, if you don't like it, you don't have to read 1034 00:59:49,668 --> 00:59:53,000 that kind of sutta. The point here is that people 1035 00:59:53,000 --> 00:59:55,000 are inspired by different things. 1036 00:59:55,000 --> 00:59:57,000 They find different things interesting. 1037 00:59:57,000 --> 00:59:59,000 So you read those things that interest you. 1038 00:59:59,000 --> 01:00:02,750 Don't just, you know, if you find something really hard to 1039 01:00:02,750 --> 01:00:05,335 read or you don't like it at all, don't force yourself to 1040 01:00:05,335 --> 01:00:08,429 read stuff you don't like. And maybe later on, you can get 1041 01:00:08,429 --> 01:00:10,778 back to it afterwards, once you have digested some of the other 1042 01:00:10,778 --> 01:00:17,400 stuff in the suttas. So that is the Buddha's way of 1043 01:00:17,400 --> 01:00:23,000 explaining rebirth and why. One reason, among many reasons, 1044 01:00:23,000 --> 01:00:28,000 why the idea of rebirth is so powerful and so important. 1045 01:00:28,000 --> 01:00:34,700 And I will stop there because we have been going for just over an 1046 01:00:34,700 --> 01:00:37,500 hour. And we will continue tomorrow 1047 01:00:37,500 --> 01:00:41,500 morning with a little bit more about rebirth and then about 1048 01:00:41,500 --> 01:00:44,667 kamma and the other factors we'll be talking about 1049 01:00:44,667 --> 01:00:45,000 afterwards.