Greetings, this morning you guys attended Dhamma teachings in the temple and here you all are again in the afternoon. This kind of Dhamma is just words to communicate understanding. Genuine Dhamma lies in the coffin. That is the real Dhamma. It teaches the cycle of life: birth, aging, suffering, and ultimately, death. Luang Pho has known Auntie Nhong for 49 years, since 1975. We were born in the same year but she’s not physically healthy. When she was in high school she was diagnosed with a brain tumor and had removal surgery. She hasn’t been strong physically ever since. But her mind’s foundation is good and quite peaceful, rarely getting angry. Most of the time she was calm. She complains softly when dissatisfied. In her final years, she regularly attended Dhamma teaching sessions at the temple every weekend. When the mind is interested in and frequently listens to Dhamma, the mind will be engaged in Dhamma. As a result, practicing meditation won’t be difficult.
Auntie Nong’s is very mindful. Although she doesn’t really know how to talk and communicate, her mind is at ease. She is so mindful that sometimes we can’t even compete in this regard. As she’s dying, she lies down on the bed and still reaches out to grab a pillow for support. If we are to die, we must complete the course, resting our head on the pillow properly. This is an example of mindfulness. This kind of mindfulness cannot be wished for; it must be practiced. Now, Auntie Nong is teaching us Dhamma. Everyone’s life progresses towards death step by step. No one can escape. Some people are sitting together in the morning, and by late morning, they’ve already passed away. In the past, Luang Pho has also seen this. In a forest temple, Luang Pho is practicing meditation on a mountain. The kitchen was on the hillside. After the cook finished cooking, she would serve others. When everyone finished eating and separated, the cook would then start to eat. However, the food got stuck in her throat. She choked on her food and died. She was just seen in the morning, and by late morning she was gone.
We must promptly accumulate merits, by giving, preserving the precepts, and practicing meditation
The Buddha compared our lives’ fragility to clay pots. Most older people knew what clay pots were, but today’s generation are unfamiliar with them. A clay pot breaks with even the slightest impact. Just like the alms bowl, in ancient times it was made of clay. One had to handle it with mindfulness; if held carelessly, it would break. Life is similarly fragile and easy to perish. Once we inhale and fail to exhale, we die. If we fail to inhale, we die. If the weather is too hot or cold, we die like Auntie Hong. With today’s heat, if it’s too hot one of five aggregates (Khanda) – ‘physical form (Rupa)’ disintegrates. The ‘physical form (Rupa)’s can be defined as a state that can disintegrate. For example, due to heat and cold. That’s the definition of ‘physical form (Rupa)’. Similar to our body, if it’s too hot or cold, we will die. Our bodies are not durable at all.
Most people are careless. They don’t think that they will die soon; they think, “I won’t die today” or “I won’t die this year.” As a result, they indulge in worldly pleasures day by day. But when death approaches, they start to panic. There are many examples at the temple. As death draws near, they rush to see Luang Pho, seeking for Dhamma. Oh, why seek Dhamma now when you’re already on the verge of death? Why not seek it when you’re healthy? Seeking Dhamma when death is imminent is like a shipwrecked person asking for swimming lessons after falling into the water. It’s too late. Therefore, if we want to prepare for death, we must start by training our minds. If our minds are good, no matter how we die, it’ll be a good death. If not, no matter how we die, it won’t be a good death. No one can help us. Speaking of good death, when we come to see Luang Pho and the moment our minds are filled with faith, our minds will be wholesome. Think of that when facing death and we will have a good death. However, if our minds are accustomed to evil, bad visions will emerge.
Some people like to kill chickens and slit their throats. Every day they slaughter one by one and take their friends out to get drunk. Then, they are back to slaughtering the chickens and don’t even slaughter them themselves. They made their workers do it for them. When death approaches, vision of the chicken emerges. If their dhamma teachers happen to be there when they are dying, the dhamma teachers will extend compassion and extend loving kindness to them. This helps them escape from being reincarnated in the next life as animals, advancing them a bit in rank to become Asuras. Animals are the lowest realm. So, some people who want to be reincarnated as dogs or foreign dog breeds should take note. Animal creatures are the lowest realm because they are made of delusion (Moha). So, don’t set our mind on becoming an animal. This old dying person didn’t intend to become a chicken, but the vision of the chicken appears. Because the old person had made merit with a Dhamma teacher, 7 but not with Luang Pho, the Dhamma teacher from the forest temple just happened to visit his house. The Dhamma teacher extended love and compassion and the vision of the chicken vanished.
As a result, that old person’s mind became evil ghost (Asura) instead. Asuras are terribly ugly, even worse than hungry ghosts (Preta). Hungry ghosts look beautiful when compared with Asura. There are various levels of hungry ghosts; some ghosts have very beautiful forms. There are many monks who are reincarnated as hungry ghosts. If a monk was virtuous but had some greed at the time of death, for example, the monk might wander into the forest craving and seeking food. Even though the monk has practiced meditation all his life, but only at that moment of death when he becomes hungry, he reincarnates as a hungry ghost. However, the hungry ghosts will have a form that is beautiful, radiant and shining. But they are still hungry. This is why the mind at the moment of death is extremely important.
Once that old person becomes Asura, his descendants make merit for him. When his descendants, who are meditation practitioners like us, make merit and invite their father to receive merits, dogs howl in the background. I don’t know why people who write ghost stories like to include dog howling but in reality, the dog really did howl. I’ve encountered dogs howling many times. Dogs howled and emitted a foul smell that filled the entire house. The descendants and children who invited their father to receive the merit loved their father very much but when they smelled the foul odor, they got scared and quickly told their father that he doesn’t need to worry and doesn’t need to come and see them. They will send merits to where the father is. This is human love, loving each other greatly. However, when their loved ones pass away, they’re afraid for them to visit, so they wish for them to rest in peace.
There is nothing certain in life, so we must promptly and diligently accumulate merits. We must give, preserve the precepts, and practice meditation. If we give but don’t practice meditation, then most of us won’t be able to discern that the act of giving is not actually sacrificial. Giving often stems from expectations and defilements for specific outcomes. This type of merit is mixed with sin; We will not attain 100% merit and traces of greed sneaks in. This kind of merit remains incomplete and imperfect. If we seek to amass merit and cultivate goodness, then we must engage in acts of merit with a genuine and pure heart. How do we make merits with a genuine and pure heart? Through sincere sacrifice without expectations and defilements for specific outcomes. Some people do merit and expect benefits and personal gain in return resulting in a miniscule accumulation of merit because the mind is greedy. The important thing about making merit is that it doesn’t necessarily involve spending money.
Merit can be achieved in 10 ways. When we see and support someone who’s doing good deeds, we accumulate merit. If it is Veyyavacca (spending effort for the benefits of others), then it is also considered merit. Extending assistance to those doing good deeds, even without spending money, also generates merit. The only type of merit that requires money is giving objects; it involves donating material possessions. However, most forms of merit don’t require spending money, we simply need to understand how to make merit. When we feel joy in other’s good deeds, that’s merit. Contributing to beneficial projects for the wider community is also a merit. Hence, even those without money can make merit, whereas the rich often focus solely on material spending and seeking publicity through newspaper and social media coverage. Such forms of merit are constrained and imperfect. Therefore, when we perform good deeds with genuine intentions, the merit obtained is far greater.
More significant than giving is upholding the precepts. Giving has various levels. Acts of material generosity is the lowest form of giving. For example, donating blood or one’s own body surpasses donating money in terms of merit received. It’s easy to donate money, but some people are afraid to donate blood. Their fear of pain, sickness, and death prevents them from doing so. Therefore, those who can sacrifice their own flesh and blood will receive a more profound level of merit. The highest form of merit is giving Dhamma. But in order to give Dhamma, we, ourselves must possess Dhamma. If we don’t truly understand the essence of Dhamma, we aren’t truly giving Dhamma. Some people buy and distribute Dhamma books, and claim it’s a giving of Dhamma. It’s essentially a material offering rather than a profound sharing of Dhamma. What they’re providing is material objects. So, if we want to give Dhamma to others, we ourselves must possess Dhamma. Then, when we give Dhamma to others, we must not expect anything in return. In doing so, we can accumulate significant merit.
The act of giving has a wide-reaching and significant impact. If we have the opportunity to do so, then we should. For instance, we don’t possess Dhamma ourselves but we help Dhamma teachers, who we know possess it, give Dhamma to others with pure intentions. We assist Dhamma teachers in their work and support them. Even if we don’t directly give Dhamma to others, supporting Dhamma teachers is also considered a merit. Do you see that giving doesn’t always require money? There are plenty of opportunities to do so.
The next level of merit is upholding precepts. How does upholding the precepts benefit us? Precepts serve as a restraint preventing us from succumbing to our defilements. An example of such defilement is anger, which can erupt violently. As we are about to strike, curse, or even kill, we realize that these acts violate the precepts. We resist and restrain ourselves, refusing from wrongdoing. This is what is called having precepts-it’s a tool for self-restraint, preventing us from committing wrongdoing. Even better is if our precepts serve as a barrier, keeping us from acting on our defilements.
As for practicing meditation, it serves as a tool to restrain our defilements. Meditation has two aspects: one fosters tranquility and calmness, known as Samatha Meditation restraining our defilements not to have power over us. Precepts, in turn, temper our minds, refusing to give in to our defilements. Samadhi that fosters calmness subdues defilements through the power of Samadhi, rendering defilements powerless to dominate our minds. A higher level of meditation is Vipassana Meditation, delving into the roots and core of defilements, uprooting them entirely through profound wisdom and conquering defilements definitively. Thus, the gateway to true purity and liberation lies in wisdom and correct and profound understanding that birth, aging, illness and death are things that can’t be avoided.
Practice your meditation well and Dhamma will protect you
In the past, Luang Pho used to only attend funerals but no other events as Luang Pho disliked them. Attending funerals, the heart gets to contemplate Dhamma. The deceased showed us Dhamma through death. Before dying, some people were wealthy, had high social standing and had lots of possessions. But in the end, there’s nothing that they can take into the afterlife. All that remains is their good and bad deeds. When it’s time to cremate, their descendants read their eulogy. Luang Pho knows the deceased and is a good person. But when Luang Pho listened to the eulogy, Luang Pho barely recognized him as the eulogy was full of exaggerated praise due to tradition. The attendee prays for the dead to go to heaven, but it’s not necessary. As soon as we die, we’re instantly reincarnated. When we die, that’s it. The deceased doesn’t need to wait for us to pray to send them anywhere. Only the deceased’s karma can send him to places. The most prominent karma is from the dead’s own actions. When the livings make merits on the deceased’s behalf, sometimes the deceased receive it, sometimes they don’t. Opportunities for receiving merits aren’t plentiful.
Consider this scenario: Upon our passing, we may be reincarnated as a dog. Even if compassionate gestures, like the pouring of ceremonial water, are extended towards it, the dog remains unaware and unaffected. Even if we were reincarnated as a human, if someone were to make merit on our behalf, we wouldn’t even know. If we were reincarnated as an angel, as soon as we die, we’d ascend to heaven and the angels there would rejoice. The newly arrived angel would say, “After we finish our greetings, I’ll go back to visit relatives and friends in the human realm.” But it’s too late; all relatives and friends on Earth have all passed away. Time on Earth and Heaven differ; the speed varies and the dimensions differ. So, if we were to become an angel, and someone were to make merit on our behalf, we wouldn’t know and won’t receive it. Especially if we became a Brahma, we won’t care about such things, only focusing on serenity and tranquility. Or if we are reincarnated in hell; beings in hell are oblivious, immersed only in suffering. They can’t receive merit.
Those who can truly receive merit include some types of hungry ghosts. They’re called Paradattupajivika Preta. These hungry ghosts are similar to humans. Sometimes in the Northeast, they’re called Bangbod. Have you ever heard of them? Bangbod ghosts like to stay close to Dhamma teachers. There was once a man who attended Luang Pu Tes’s funeral. After the cremation was over, he stayed at the temple for another day. At the temple, he heard the sounds of people leaving, moving out belongings, herding cows and buffaloes. These beings are just like humans, trying to earn a living. The man asked them where they were going. They said they were moving to a new place because there’s no more merit here for them to receive. Once they didn’t receive merit, they fled to where their Dhamma teacher is practicing meditation.
As for good for nothing people, even the hungry ghosts don’t want to be near them. The hungry ghosts keep moving, fleeing, migrating from the good for nothing. There are only a few creatures and souls that can receive our merit. We don’t know when we die, what we will be reincarnated into. For safety, we should make merits. We don’t have to wait for others to make merit on our behalf. We don’t even know whether someone will make merit on our behalf. Even if someone were to do so, we wouldn’t be certain that we can receive it. There’s nothing certain. So, any good deeds whether they are acts of giving, upholding the precepts, and practicing meditation, we should do them as soon as possible. Don’t procrastinate and keep putting them off, or we’ll regret it later. Thus, seize the opportunity to do good deeds promptly, so we won’t have any regrets later.
In current circumstances, the elderlies are not always surrounded by their descendants. Society has changed. The way of making a living has changed. In ancient times, having many descendants meant having a lot of manpower leading to more productivity in farming. Nowadays, it’s not the same. When kids grow up, they go study and work elsewhere after graduation. The elderlies are left behind. Those elderlies who are left behind and don’t know how to practice meditation are pitiful. They wonder when their descendants will come to visit. In today’s society, there’s no need to worry about whether our descendants will visit. Our descendants can’t even survive and take care of themselves properly. How will they manage to come and take care of us? Society changes rapidly. Those who are strong and young still have opportunities to keep moving and survive. As for the elderly, they become burdens and feel useless. Sometimes it’s not that descendants don’t love their parents, but they just have no time and resources to take care of them.
Therefore, let’s prepare ourselves well for old age. Practice meditation well and Dhamma will protect us. When we’re old and have Dhamma in our hearts, people around us will feel calm and be at ease. Especially if we understand Dhamma, we are considered to have many descendants. Some of our biological descendants grow up and move out. But for people that give others Dhamma, which is considered a substantial amount of merit, they have many more ‘descendants’ whose hearts will open and are ready to support us. This is the way of our Buddhist community. Our duty is to practice meditation well. Once we meditate well, we can help others and give them Dhamma. As we give Dhamma, those with precepts and virtue will come to us and we’ll be among them. Life with Dhamma is never lonely. But some people depend on their descendants and never practice meditation. When their children don’t visit, they criticize and blame them. Therefore, a life relying on others for happiness is not truly fulfilling.
Regardless of whether life is good or bad, in the end, we are in this world temporarily. Whether we depart with possessions, or having to wait and receive the merit from others, all results from our actions. Hence, whenever there’s an opportunity to do good, seize it. When there’s an opportunity to uphold precepts, do it. It’s a must. If us Buddhists don’t uphold precepts, don’t even discuss practicing meditation as we won’t be able to perform well. If we struggle to resist defilements that are easy to see, how can we expect to withstand more subtle defilements? We practice meditation to fight against our misconceptions. It’s not easy. The most subtle type of defilement are delusions (Moha). So, when we practice meditation, the ultimate adversary is delusions (Moha) within us, our ignorance and foolishness. If we can’t even withstand these obvious defilements like greed, delusions (Moha) and anger, then how can we confront master-level defilements?
So, we must train ourselves. When there’s an opportunity to give, do so. But remember, giving isn’t just about spending money. If there’s an opportunity to help others with other means, do it. If we see a stray hungry dog and we pity them, feeding it only one meal is still good. But don’t get attached. If we get attached and we die and see visions of the dog, then we might end up reincarnating as that dog’s babies and that’s not good.
In summary, when we attend funerals, the deceased teaches us Dhamma, that birth inevitably leads to death. As we haven’t yet died, we should listen to Dhamma to prepare for death with dignity and wisdom. Pass away like those who have Dhamma teachers guiding them. Unlike those who die in unfavorable circumstances who, after death, relentlessly and miserably ask for others to make merit for them hoping for their support. Ghosts and hungry ghosts have longer lifespans than humans. Suppose we are reincarnated as hungry ghosts and our descendants make merit for us. As time passes, our late descendants pass away but we’re still alive. At that time no one will make merit for us. Then, we’ll become ghosts without kin and relatives. Simply put, their lifespan surpasses that of humans. Therefore, ensuring our own safety is the best option. Today’s Dhamma teaching is brief, lasting about half an hour, without giving blessings, to save time.
Wat Suansantidham
6 April 2024