132: Retreat Dhamma Talk 27: Bhavana (Mental Culture)

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Namo tasamado rahmato samma sambudasa nammo tasam bhagamado rahato samma sambudasa namo tasam bhagamato rahado samma sambudasa retreat series dhamato number twenty seven buddhism as the three main pillars dana sila bhavana generosity morality and mental development or mental culture dana generosity giving charity sila morality precepts of various levels and bhavana bhavana has two aspects samataphavana see mental concentration using mental concentration and developing the mind and vipassana buvelap bhavana using insight and you develop the the mind or culture the mind and in these two samatha bhavana and vipassana bhavana the first one doesn't take you to the end of the road and of the journey but the second one insight mental development or mental culture will take you to your destination which we call it nibbana the cessation of all mental and physical suffering. Our practice is more concerned with the second type of mental culture or mental development, bhavana. So when we say bhavana, we are talking about vipassana bhavana, mental culture and mental development. And here words are used based on the context, some have a deeper meaning, some have a lesser degree of significance, some have a very superficial sense, they use it. But one needs to know a certain words, a certain concept of words need in a very precise way. This one is a very significant term for the Buddhist. That is bhavana. All the kusala that you have developed in the past and still at this moment you still keep on developing is bhavana. So there is another word comes in, kusala. What is kusala? You need to know that with clarity. Kusala is uh you can say it's good or goodness, wholesome or wholesomeness or moral. Good, wholesome, and moral. That is kusala. Not good, evil, unwholesome, and immoral. That is akusala, kusala and kusala. So one must understand what kusala is. So when we say what we have, okay, what we have acquired, what we have practiced, what we have accumulated, all the kusala means, all the goodness, wholesomeness, and moral that we have developed, and still we keep on developing at this moment. Keep on multiplying at this moment, keep on spreading and expanding at this moment. That is bhavana. So Kusala must know precisely now bhavana in terms of insight bhavana, one must know precisely. The Buddha said in your nature of self, okay, whatever that you say, in your nature of self, in the nature of a being, this kusala dhamma, okay, kusala dhamma must be developing, multiplying, spreading all the time. That's uh one of the things instructed to us by the Buddha. In the nature of self, in yourself, this wholesomeness, goodness, and moral nature must be developed constantly, consistently, all the time. It must be in it in this nature of self. Must keep on developing. So this is the Bhavana Dhamma. Now another word, Dhamma. Dhamma is used in many different senses based on the situation or context that where we use. One way of understanding this Dhamma is the all natural phenomenon in this universe, all physical natural phenomenon in this universe is the mart. All mental phenomenon in this universe is dhamak. In other words, everything can be quite and associated with the word dhamma, all phenomenon, all processes. That's the map. That's one way of using the word dhamak or dhamar, d-h a r-m-a. Sanskrit dhamma in Pali. So in here, Dhamma, you are developing this bhavana, mental development, the right translation, the word the coin is mental development, mental culture. You are developing your mind, you are culturing your mind. So this bhavana. So this one, this kusala must be developing at all times. Developing, expanding, multiplying, spreading all the time. Now we say this kusala is a big wide range. Everything, goodness, wholesomeness is covered. So we must know more precisely in the context of Vipassana Bhavana. What is this bhavana? What is this dhamma that one must be developing all the time? That dhamma one must be developing all the time is eightfold noble path. The dhamma that must be developing all the time. In other words, you must keep on developing, multiplying, spreading. Eightfold noble path all the time. Now you have a very clear understanding about what end when we stated the word bhavana. That's bhavana. And when you understand with clarity, it makes more sense to do things. In other words, simply just arm waving all the goodness, all the wholesomeness, all the morals. They are all included. This eightfold noble path is the precise Dhamma that one must be developing all the time. So in here, one must be developing all the time. In a practical sense, what do you do? What you're doing is you are observing. We are practicing Satipatthana Vipassana, full foundation of mindfulness. We are observing, what are we observing? We are all observing all objects that are arising and passing away at the present moment. So there are ordinary objects arising all the time. Ordinary objects, mundane objects, everyday objects, whatever we are doing. Simple ordinary objects arising all the time. And also there are very boring objects, very unexciting objects. Exciting objects, unique objects also arising all the time. All sorts of objects, ordinary, boring, and exciting, of any nature arising all the time. One must observe. Why are you observing? The reason you're observing is because you want to know exactly what it is. You want to know exactly what it is. That's why you are observing. Sometime you will use the word observing. Sometime you will use the word noting. Noting, observing, observing, noting. Okay? Noting means it is regard, recording. Exactly as it happened, as facts. Nothing more, nothing less. That's why I also use the word noting, observing. Why are we observing? Why are we noting? We are noting and observing to know exactly what it is, to know exactly as it is. That is the reason we are observing and we are noting. Ordinary, boring, exciting, all objects arising, you note, you observe, you note. Why? The key word is why, and the key answer is to know exactly what it is. To know exactly what it is means. In other words, to understand that object. To know that object, to understand that object as it is. That's the reason we are observing. To know, to understand, to understand exactly whatever it is. The word is understand. And if you really look at the one dharma the Buddha taught us. A dharma that one must understand thoroughly and completely. A dharma that one must understand thoroughly and completely. What is that dharma? That dharma is dukkasa, the first noble truth. The first noble truth, dukashasa. The first of the four noble truth, dukkhashasa, is the dharma or the truth that one must thoroughly understand. And in here, what are we doing at the present moment? We are observing the object. Moment to moment to moment. Why are we observing? To know the object, to understand the object. So if you truly know the object, if you truly understand the object, at that moment you are experiencing the first noble truth. You don't have to think about it, you have to figure out about it. If you understand the object you're observing, physical or mental. If you know that object, that means you know the first noble truth to card sisa. The noble truth of suffering. You understand the noble truth of suffering. You experience the noble truth of suffering. With such clarity, you must understand what you are doing. Only then it will inspire you, Father. Otherwise, what? Oh, rising, falling, rising, falling. Ah. But if you truly understand that rising movement and if you truly understand that falling movement, you are experiencing the first noble truth. Dukkha Shisa, the noble truth of suffering. One must understand that way. So whether it is a boring object or an ordinary object or a special kind of object, unique kind of object, doesn't matter. You just observe. You just observe, you just observe. Observing the all these objects to understand, to know. So this observing the object is not a dharma that one is developing or one is multiplying. This observing the object in such a way with precision is to know. This is the Dharma to know. These objects, these physical objects and these mental objects arising. It's the Dharma to know. Not Dharma to develop or dharma to multiply, Dhamma to know. Rising movement, falling movement, lifting movement, pushing movement, dropping movement, stretching movement, bending movement, pains, aches, hard, soft, hot, cold thoughts, whatever arising. What are they? They are Dharma to know. They are Dharma to understand. Because all of them are the noble truth of suffering, dukkha shisa. So don't underestimate this rising movement, this falling movement. Every day it comes, every moment it comes rising, falling, rising, falling, lifting, pushing. It is so simple. These movements, these sensations, these thoughts. And it's so easy, the techniques. Ah, so simple and so easy. Superficially, yes. Now you know the the deeper extent what it is. Now you know this is not only simple and easy, at the same time it is very deep and very profound Dharma. Just simple observation of an object that is arising at the moment is very profound, very deep. But we think it's simple and easy, no big deal. But it is very profound. So don't underestimate the observing of this rising, falling, lifting, pushing, stretching, bending, and so on and so on. And everything, every object, every moment must be known thoroughly and completely. If you don't observe close enough, if you observe from a distance, or if you observe superficially, you will not know them thoroughly and clearly. If you don't observe closely, if you observe superficially, and then if you observe closely, a lot closer, then the objects become clearer. The objects become clearer and sharper. And if you really observe very close, okay, we use the word close and far or not too close. But in other words, it is your moment of observation is so short, the moments of observation become shorter and shorter and shorter. Before what you see in a one-tenth of a second, when you really look deeply, that one-tenth of a second is divided into another ten, one hundredth of a second, you are observing an object at the one hundredth of a second rate. And if you can observe that way, we call it observing closely, penetratively, what you see is you will see stages by stages by stages of all these things, movements and stages. All the lifting and stages, stretching and stages, even the pain in a various intensity, pressure going up and down in stages, with clarity and with sharpness. That's the way one will see. The more you see that way, the more you understand the first noble truth of suffering. That's what it means by sharply, precisely, and clearly. That means you are experiencing the first noble truth in a very deeper way, deeper sense. You don't have to think about it. This is first noble truth, simply experience it, but it is there. We are so much into the intellectual analysis, we like to dissect, we like to figure out, we like to apply logic and so. If you do that, whatever you have, what is it you have? You have the eightfold noble path at that moment. Whatever you have, that eightfold noble path, if you are analyzing it, you lost it. It's gone. Until and unless you experience directly with direct contact, you do not truly know. Any level of your intellectual analysis is simply you wasted the eightfold noble path. The path is gone, the path is wasted. As soon as you think and analyze and figure out, must experience. Only when you experience you will know and you will understand that. You don't have to think it is dukkha. When you see segment by segment coming and going, coming and going, you are experiencing anitsha. And that rapid succession of passing away is dukkha. And that process which is oppressed by the aniccha, constant state of flux. There's no control. That lack of control is anatta. You don't have to think, you don't have to dissect, you don't have to figure out. Simply experience. That is what you are experiencing. And when you have the maturity, when you reach the maturity, that understanding becomes a part of you, and that moment is called enlightenment. Till then you must keep on accumulating, accumulating, multiplying, multiplying, repeating, repeating, spreading, spreading. Bhavana, bhavana, bhavana. That's all that you are doing. So don't let that intellectual mind take over your process of observation. Then you are on the wrong path. You wasted the eightfold noble part of that moment. One must understand that way. That's why these little things that we are observing, what we think, little thing. This little movement, this little hot cold, this little pain, this little emotion. So simple, so easy. No, they are very profound. They are giving you the direct understanding of the first noble truth. Now you observe these things, you are repeatedly experiencing what need to be known, what need to understand the first noble truth. And in here we have put three in general objects: ordinary object, boring object, and exciting, special, unique objects. So we are in a meditation state. So let's use exactly what the meditation states presents you. We know, we talk, yogis talk. What kind of experiences, what kind of jnanas, what kind of light, what kind of, what kind of what kind of these special things. Those words go faster than internet among the yogis circle. They know. They expect. As soon as they know, they start expecting expectation. Oh, I must experience this, I must experience that. They said they experienced it. And even the person who experienced this, maybe it may not be true. Okay. I've said before, you might experience all the insight levels. But that doesn't mean that you have that insight level. Once in a while you come to the perfect moment, and then you have a little flesh, lightning flesh of that experience. And when the teacher said, You have experienced this and you have experienced that, and you automatically think, I am there, I have this insight. You are far, far, far away. Only when you have the skill to be in that kind of an insight level, more or less at will, or in a very short period of time, you can set into that moment, or you can repeatedly arise that state again and again in many sittings, then you have it. Other than that, it is just a little peek from a little peeping hole looking into the great hall of kingdom or great conference hall. That's it. So don't get too much ego because you have experienced this or experienced that. You must be able to bring it back repeatedly with high frequency. Then you have the skill, then you have that insight. Keep that in mind. But regardless, when people talk, people who don't have that experience or have a peep of the experience, they want it. They want it, they expect it. They are yearning for it, they are looking forward to it. As soon as you have that yearning, looking forward to it, gone are your chants. Your open door is closed. The door is not open anymore, which means you can't step in. Because you have that expectation, you have that hope, you have the yearning for that unique experience, for that special experience. What is that? The yearning, the hope, the wanting. That is, you have craving for it. You have a desire for it. That little you're meditating and you just want to have these, all these special experiences, special insight. You have the yearning for it, you have a desire for it, you have a craving for it. You have an attachment, you cling on to that idea. What is that? That is in Pali Statna. In simple English is craving and attachment. Just a little thought of I want to have this insight, you have opened up a floodgate of craving or attachment. That craving or attachment automatically blocked it. Blocked the door. What is this craving and attachment? Craving and attachment in other words is the second noble truth. The cause of the suffering, samudhya sisa. The cause of the suffering, samudhya sissa. You just have that little yawning, little hope wanting for that little insight. You open up a flood gate of craving. In other words, you open up the gate of the second noble truth. Out of the four, what is it? The cause of suffering. Samudiya Sissa. In simple word, it's dhna. Craving. That is the second noble truth. How do you get that second noble truth? Second noble truth is simply for the yearning, for the hope of wanting to have that little progress in your meditation. The special effect that you heard from other yogis. Second noble truth. And what is this second noble truth? What did the Buddha say it? You must abandon it. Second noble truth must be abandoned. Samudya Sisa. You must abandon it. Why? Because second noble truth is the cause. And the first noble truth is the effect. Second noble truth, craving is the cause. The first noble truth, suffering is the effect. As long as you have this craving, there will be suffering. Craving is the cause. So if you don't want suffering, you must abandon the cause. The cause is second noble truth, the cause of suffering, the na craving. So what do you do? This craving must be abandoned. There are two ways to abandon this craving. Why? Because we want to get rid of the suffering. Two ways of abandoning this second noble truth or the Dharma that must be abandoned. You can put it that way. Two ways. One way is simply observing, observing, observing, observing, noting, noting, noting, noting. Every object that are arising at the moment. Why? The objects arise. What are these objects? These objects are associated with Kilesa. They have a it can create a desire, pleasant feeling. It can create a aversion, unpleasant feeling. These objects. Whenever there's a pleasantness, what happens? We crave, we like, we want. Whenever there's a aversion, we hate or unpleasant, we hate, we have aversion, we are dissatisfied. Even in meditation, the little noise disturb my concentration. Somebody whisper, dispurb my concentration. Somebody snoring, it disturbed my sleep, I won't be able to meditate next day perfectly. I'll be drowsy. Aversion. All these things arise. So if you are observing the object all the time with precision, right on the dot, precision, precision, precision, what happens is these sensations, pleasant and unpleasantness, you know exactly. And you know the object as it really is. You understand the object. When you understand the object, it does not allow you or make the craving to arise when you understand it. So that observation, again, what it is observing, noting, observing, noting, that keeps second noble truth, not be able to arise, craving not be able to arise. That is the prevention method, the method of prevention you are observing all the time. And whenever you observe every observation, you know the object, you understand the object. That's the key word. When you know, when you understand, in other words, you are with the object from the beginning to the end, without missing a bit, without missing a nanosecond, that means you know and you understand. At that moment, second noble truth cannot arise. The cause cannot arise. When the cause cannot arise, what happens? Suffering will not arise because that's a result. And of course, there are times still aversions arise, desire arises, happiness arises, sadness arises, and so on. Which means all these craving-associated objects take hold of the situation. When they take all of the situation too, you observe that aversion, you observe that craving, you observe that joy, you observe that sadness. In other words, by observing those defilements that are arising, you are curing them with the medicines of observation or noting. That is called curing method. Through that curing method, you abandon craving. Second noble truth. Through the constant and continuous, uninterrupted observation of the objects with pure understanding of the nature is the prevention. Through that prevention, you have abandoned that craving. Two ways of abandonment of the second noble truth. Now let us look at it. What are we all doing? All that we do is we observed. Okay? We observe the object. We observe the object superficially? No. We observe the object with great care and great effort. Why do we need great care and great effort? So that it could be precise. You need a precise aim of the object. And to have the precise aim and to be with the object, you need the great effort. Precise aim and urgent effort. Together, when you put those together, you truly know the object. Observing. And truly know the object means you have understand, you understood the first noble truth. With a precise aim and great effort, you observe the object. At that moment you have stopped craving to arise. Second noble truth. See, such a simple little observation. You have abandoned the second noble truth and you have thoroughly understood the first noble truth. If that is not profound, I don't know what could be. One observation, one noting with precision and correctness. Great aim and great effort. You have abandoned the second noble truth craving and the understood the first noble truth, which is every physical and mental phenomenon that are arising is dukkha sisa, the first noble truth. That's a way to observe. Samadhi is good. And that samadhi need to be figured out a little bit upon reflection later. Is it a samatha samadhi or kanika samadhi, janik samadhi or kanika samadhi, you need to figure out. Because when the samadhi comes and they will report, I can see, I can see, I can experience every thoughts coming and going, every thoughts coming and going. It's a flowing like a river, like a current. All the thoughts and emotions come and go, come and go. And the sensation, physical sensation come and go, come and go. I can see them. They actually and they actually see them. Listen closely to the reporting. Like a flow. Like a flow. It's like a current of water in a stream, in a steep stream current of water. The waters are coming, flowing. And we know these waters are one drop is different from the other intellectually. But when you watch it, they are just one big volume of water flowing continuously. That's what you are seeing. If you really can probe deeply into these droplets of water, some droplets have dirt or mud or sediment in it, some droplets are clear, some droplets have germs in it, some droplets are totally sterile. Many things different. But if you don't have the distinction, you are not on the right path. You know, you see, you see, you know there's no mental defilements, but you cannot drop that the concept of atta under the stage. So one must be able to see stages by stages, piece by piece, with clarity and with precision. One object not connected to the other, the similar objects, one movement to the next movement not connected to the other. With such clarity and precision, if you see that way, only then you are experiencing anatta, non-self. Otherwise, you can eliminate Nicha Duka great, but anatta is tough to shake. That concept cannot be shaken loose quite easily. That's why clarity and precision and sharpness of each or each and every object is critical. That is will be seen if you can apply great and powerful kanika samadhi, moment to moment, super strong, but they pass away along with the object and the next one. Keep that in mind as well. And everything is only one thing, simple and easy. Observe or note the object at the present moment. So in here, we already know. And if you analyze this whole process is observation, okay, we have two noble truths. One thing you will see is this observation, this noting continuously, uninterruptedly. These knowing, understanding must be continuous and interrupted. Those have the eightfold noble path in it. We won't have time to go, it's a separate by itself. In short, you have the three morality. Right action, right speech, and right livelihood. These are the grounded ones. They are not the walking model, they are the base model, they are the foundation model. On that foundation, those are three of the eightfold noble part. The remaining five is called the operating model or walking model. Effort, mindfulness, and concentration. When you're observing, there's effort, when you are observing there's mindfulness, when you can observe continuously one after the other, concentration develop. And at the same time, what are you doing all the time? You are directing and applying your attention towards the object that's arising at the moment. That is the right thought. And when you see it with clarity of that object as it is, that's the right view. There you go. One observation, eightfold noble path is right there. Three foundation and five operating parts are in full swing in one observation. One noting, now you see three noble truths of the four. And when you are observing that object, what's happening? If your mind is precise on the object, if you understand the object, you know the first noble truth. And if you can observe these dukkha sisa or all the mind and matter, mind and matter is dukkha sisa. Dukasisa is mind and matter. If you can observe all these mind and matter that are arising continuously without a break and a gap, you stop the arising of the second noble truth. And when you are operating there, what happens? If there is no arising of the craving or aversion, that means you have no loba and no dosak. In other words, you are in a state of non-greed and non-aversion, non-anger. And at the same time, you know the object with precision. You don't have any delusion or moha. In other words, you have non-greed, non-aversion, and non-delusion. Mental defilements are gone. We know that mental defilements are the ones that is giving us problem, stress, troubles, suffering. Without them, they are not there, which means you have peace. Every moment of your observation, when you have those mental defilements not arising, you are experiencing peace. That moment is peace. Which means you do not have the heat or the fire of lobak, greed. You don't experience the heat from the fire of lobak. You don't experience the heat or the stress from the fire of dosa, anger, and you don't experience the heat or stress from the fire of uncertainty, moha. All these fires are extinguished. All these fires become extinct. Loba fire, dosamaha, moha fire, greed, anger and delusion, the fire, the stress, the suffering of the mental defilements are extinct, extinguished. That extinction of the three stresses and three fire, and the word we call peace, that is nibbana. You are experiencing peace. Whenever we say peace, most of us have the delusion of oh very peaceful, very great, floating up in the cloud number nine. Beautiful. Fantastic, peaceful. As soon as you say fantastic, peaceful, that's craving. Second Noble Truth in operation. So the best we can explain about this peace, what we call nibbana, is you go by a grocery store, you carry two big bags of grocery, you walk back home, which is about 10 minutes, quite heavy. It's really heavy, it's aching, your shoulders hurting. And as soon as you got to your doorstep, you drop that heavy load. At that moment, you feel the abandonment of that pressure, the release from the pressure, the escape and the freedom from the pressure, the burden, the load. That is the closest we can give what this Nippana piece is. You have abandoned the weight, the load of this body, physical body, you have abandoned the weight and the load of the mental body. You abandon the weight and the load and the stress of the physical and mental body. Just like you drop the two grocery heavy bags. That is peace. That's the definition of peace, the closest we can give for nippana. Not floating in the cloud line. That is the fourth noble truth. You actually realized it. So look at it. You simply observed an object with precision. You understand as it is, the first noble truth. While observing, you have abandoned the craving, second noble truth. While observing, you have eightfold noble path in your observation, the fourth noble truth. And then when you are at the precise mode of observing, correct observation, right observation, at that moment you are with peace, the fourth noble truth. One simple observation, the full noble truth. And if you don't call that profound and deep and penetrative, there's nothing in the world you can call it profound. And where does it come from? It all comes from bhavana. Repeatedly observing with precision, with sharpness, clarity, uninterruptedly the physical and mental phenomena. Bhavana. May all of you be able to practice the correct and precise right mental development, mental culture, bhavana, and may you be able to become the possessor of the full noble truth. Where one, the first noble truth needs to be understood, the second noble truth must be abandoned, the third noble truth must be realized, and the fourth noble truth must be developed and experience supreme peace, santik sukkak, as soon as possible. Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu Buddham Bujami Dham Bujami Bujami. Thank you very much.