Nibbana Curriculum

Be careful how you live. Unexpectedly, tragic events like mass shootings can happen. We don’t know what will happen or when it will happen, so we ought to live a careful life. Violence is common these days. In the developed countries that I’ve visited, cities have both safe areas and dangerous neighborhoods and the whole country is like this. People engage in violence because they are drifting away from religion, away from dhamma and so their minds are demented.

To become famous, someone assassinated the president so that his name would be recorded in history. These kinds of people are common, not just in Thailand. Not so long ago, there was a demented sergeant. This is copycat behavior. In society without dhamma and a spiritual anchor, people do as they please, like animals, without reason. Animals are better, since they only fight or hurt others either when they are hungry, during mating season, or if they are hurt – they have reasons. They don’t fight without a reason or to become famous.

What happened saddens people when they hear about it. On the one hand, those victims, adults and children, are to be pitied – all of a sudden, they were killed. Because we have loving-kindness and compassion, we feel sorry for them, which is normal for Buddhists. If we take a deeper look, it was just the danger of the cycle of rebirth. We do no harm, and then one day a mad man comes for you. The cycle of rebirth is indeed very terrifying. There is no security.

Each of us wants security and certainty in life. We try to do everything – work hard, save money – in the hopes of attaining life security but there isn’t any. Currencies can suddenly depreciate, and we lose our money. Families had many children in the past so that they would help with the farm-work; people lived in big families. These days, if you have many children you can’t afford to raise them. When children grow up, they can hardly make a living. So, there is no such thing as having children for life security, like in the past. There is no security in life or in properties. An example of assets is, we have built a beautiful house, and when there is a flood, it damages the house.

In the cycle of rebirth, nothing lasts forever, nothing is certain. Then, why do we still enjoy life in this cycle? Why don’t we find the way to break free from this terrible world? As for the method to break free from this bad world, the Buddha already taught us in details how to practice to develop our mind by means of morality, Samadhi, and wisdom. If we know the practice principles, to relinquish mental clinging to the world – to be free from suffering – will not be too difficult.

A few days ago, I taught monks here. As it is approaching the end of the rains’ retreat, and some of them will leave monkhood, I gave them a summary of my teachings – the practice principles. On the subject of morality, the Vinaya (rules of conduct) is the foundation of the practice. Lay people must keep the five precepts. For monks, I told them that after leaving monkhood, they must keep the five precepts. In fact, monks also have to keep the five precepts – keeping the 227 precepts while forgetting to keep the five precepts would be failure. The five precepts are most important. Once we have morality, it’s time to develop our mind. Morality governs our body and speech to be proper. Samadhi and wisdom help us develop our mind.

The first task is to awaken self-awareness

To put it simply, regarding mental development tasks, which include Samadhi and wisdom, I summarized them into 3 tasks that we need to put into practice. First, practice to gain awareness of yourself (body/mind), i.e. self-awareness. I am not making this up – the Buddha taught this and it is recorded in the Sutra. To develop wholesome qualities or virtues he viewed self-awareness as being more important than anything else. People in the world don’t have self-awareness – very few people have it. Mostly, people do things driven by defilements, craving, or instinct – just like animals.

We need to develop self-awareness – this is the starting point. Without self-awareness, we can’t practice, nor can we develop our mind. I’ve been talking about this for a long time that people in the world are lost – not many people have self-awareness and are not awake. Most people are only physically awake, but their minds are asleep – they’re dreaming, they’re lost in a world of dreams and thoughts, all day and night – they can’t wake up! Therefore, to develop the mind, firstly, we must wake ourselves up – must obtain awakened awareness.

The easy method to wake ourselves up is to practice object meditation – use the object that we’re comfortable with and be aware of our own mind. For example, when we breathe out, feel it; when we breathe in, feel it. Recite ‘Buddho,’ ‘Buddho,’ ‘Buddho,’ etc. and be aware. Be aware of what? Be aware of our own mind. When we breathe in and out, when we breathe in and recite ‘Bud’ and breathe out and recite ‘Dho,’ when we stand, walk, sit, lie down, move, stay still – practice object meditation first and then be aware of the mind – this is the tactic of awakened awareness. The tactic is that we must practice object meditation, using the object that we’re skilled at and keep being aware of our own mind.

When we breathe in and recite ‘Bud’ and breathe out and recite ‘Dho’, if the mind escapes to think, be aware that “now the mind is lost in the world of thoughts”, then the mind will awaken – the mind will gain awareness, i.e. it will awaken and be aware of body and mind. People without self-awareness means even though they have a body, they are not aware of the body, and similarly they are not aware of their own mind. For those with awareness, regarding the body, they are aware of their body, and regarding the mind, they are aware of their mind. But we can’t simply order the mind at every single moment to not forget the body and to not forget the mind – we can’t do that. No one can order the mind to have awareness at all times. We need to train for it.

Therefore, practice object meditation, and when the mind is lost in thought, be aware of it, and when the mind is lost in focusing, be aware of it. People without awareness can be categorized into two groups. Those in the first group are lost in the world of thoughts and dreams. They only physically awaken, but their minds are dreaming all the time. At night, we sleep and dream. Sometimes we don’t know what we dream about and sometimes we know. While we are awake, the mind escapes to dream. Only the body is awake; the mind escapes to daydream. Sometimes, we know what we dream about – we know what we think about. Sometimes, we don’t know what it is about – the mind is just absent-minded, lost in thought, just like when we sleep and in dream-state.

The other group is different – they are not lost in the world of thoughts and dreams, but they are lost in focusing. I told monks here that when we’re lost in thought, we say ‘lost in thought,’ but when we’re focusing, don’t say ‘focusing’ – let’s call it ‘lost in focusing.’ Because when we’re focusing, we’re also lost. So, there are ‘lost in thought’ and ‘lost in focusing.’ Therefore, practice object meditation, when the mind is lost in thought, be aware of it, and when the mind is lost in focusing, be aware of it. Mind being lost in thought means it keeps wandering out from object to object; it keeps drifting away – sometimes, we know what we think about and at other times we don’t. When the mind is lost in focusing, it will slip away and focus on that one object – just be aware that the mind is lost in focusing.

Close to 100% of practitioners… Well, I didn’t want to be blunt. To be perfectly blunt, almost all of them, more than 99.9%, when they think about practicing, every single one of them focuses, as they want to see clearly. When they’re lost in thought, despite having a body, they forget their body, and despite having a mind, they forget their mind. When they’re lost in focusing, only one object remains. If they’re watching the breath, they’re only aware of the breath, forgetting thoughts and everything else. So, they’re lost. Watching abdomen, they forget the whole world, and are aware of only the abdomen. Therefore, the mind can’t awaken. However, the mind can awaken if we’re aware of the mind.

So, practice object meditation, when the mind is lost in thought, be aware of it, and when the mind is lost in focusing, be aware of it. The moment we’re aware of the mind, the mind will awaken automatically – for a moment. The mind will awaken for one moment, and then it will be lost again – lost in thought or lost in focusing. Then, just be aware of it again. When it’s lost again, be aware of it again, over and over. Most practitioners practice for calmness, and neglect mindfulness and wisdom – they neglect the important things. If we meditate for calmness, we will focus and focus, and won’t get anything much out of it. Rather, it feels uncomfortable, it’s arduous, and we won’t be calm. For meditation, we need mindfulness and wisdom. Let mindfulness cognize the restless mind – when the mind drifts to think, be aware of it, and when the mind slips to focus, be aware of it. Practicing in this way, our efforts won’t go to waste.

We practice not to gain calmness, but to develop correct mindfulness and Samadhi. Mostly, people aim for calmness – that’s a mistake that almost 100% of them make. Therefore, practice object meditation, and when the mind is not calm, be aware that it’s not calm. We will see that the mind oscillates back and forth – be mindful of it. No need to order it to be calm – just be aware of it. The mind stirs and escapes to think, be aware of it. It wants this and that, be aware of it. Then, continue with our sitting meditation. If the mind stirs again, be aware of it again. Or if the mind slips to focus, be aware of it. The mind focuses because it craves – it craves to know, to see, to be, to get, to be good – but we’re not aware of the craving.

When the mind is lost in thought, be aware of it,

and when the mind is lost in focusing, be aware of it

– no need to fix it

Therefore, practice object meditation, and be aware of our own mind – when the mind is lost in focusing, be aware of it, and when the mind is lost in thought, be aware of it. When the mind is lost in focusing again, be aware of it again. Keep practicing. Then, the mind will gradually awaken. As soon as we are aware of the mind being lost in thought, the lost-in-thought mind will cease and the Knower Mind will awaken – the Knower Mind will arise. Or when we are aware of the lost-in-focusing mind, the focusing mind won’t go away immediately – unlike the lost-in-thought mind, which will disappear as soon as we’re aware of it. The focusing mind is a good kind of mind – it’s the mind with good intention. Sometimes, when we’re aware of the focusing mind, it won’t go away. This is because we don’t see the root cause of it, which is craving – so don’t crave for it to disappear.

Let’s say our mind has a habit of focusing – it sinks and focuses. In the first instance, be aware that it sinks and focuses. In the second instance, be aware of disliking – be aware that the mind doesn’t like that it is focusing and wants to stop focusing. The moment we’re aware that the mind dislikes the focusing and aware that the mind wants to quit focusing – in that moment the mind will awaken, because we’re aware of the defilement. No matter what object we use for our object meditation, we can’t neglect mindfulness. Otherwise, what we achieve while in sitting meditation aiming for calmness is only delusion. Therefore, practice object meditation and it doesn’t matter whether it’s calm or not – but if it’s calm, be aware of it, and if it’s not calm, be aware of it. Not being calm means the mind wanders off to think. Being calm means the mind sinks and focuses – lost in focusing. The moment we’re aware of the mind being lost in thought or lost in focusing, the true Knower Mind will arise.

Practice a lot, cultivate wisdom, then the mind will gradually become powerful – we will realize this by ourselves. Many listen to my dhamma discourses. Some people who never met me came to see me at the temple and I asked, “Do you know that now your mind has become very powerful?” They said, “Yes. I can feel it.” They can see for themselves whether the mind is powerful or not. But if they’ve never practiced, they won’t know that the mind is powerless, i.e. the mind keeps wandering about – that’s a failure! Or the mind sinks, focuses, and becomes stressed – and they aren’t aware of it. Some people have the habit of focusing. Every day, they focus and focus and their mind carries a great weight, but they aren’t aware that the mind carries weight, that their mind is suffering, because they are used to it. It’s like a person who always carries a heavy weight – every day, wherever he goes, he carries a sack of rice – he doesn’t feel it’s heavy.

For the mind to gradually awaken, then when the mind is lost in thought, be aware of it. When the mind is lost in focusing, be aware of it. Keep being aware of it, repeatedly, then the mind will gradually awaken – it becomes powerful and gets established in awareness, without intention. We don’t intend to make it happen; the mind becomes established and rooted in awareness on its own. We rely on mindfulness to cognize the mind. Practice object meditation continually and be aware of the mind. When the mind is lost in thought, be aware of it. When the mind is lost in focusing, be aware of it. Continually be aware of it, and don’t manipulate it – be aware of it as it is. Then, the mind will gradually become powerful and established – that is, the mind is in Samadhi. I asked many people coming to see me, “Do you know that your mind now isn’t the same as it was? It has awakened. It’s now powerful.” They knew it by themselves that their mind isn’t the same, and that all along in the past they had been thinking that they were proficient, while in fact, their mind wasn’t truly powerful.

Practice object meditation as I’ve taught. When the mind is lost in thought, be aware of it, and when the mind is lost in focusing, be aware of it – no need to fix it. Keep being aware of it, consequently the mind will become powerful, established in awareness, and prominent (without intention). Need to put ‘without intention’ in parentheses. If we intend for the mind to become rooted in awareness, then it’s not real because the mind will immediately focus. This is the first task for self-development, wake up! Establish the mind that is rooted in awareness and have self-awareness, without intention. When the mind becomes powerful and rooted in awareness, then we need to move on to the second task. We don’t want to just keep being calm and still, this is unwise. We don’t want the mind to be rooted in awareness for nothing. The rooted-in-awareness mind is the mind in good Samadhi, but it isn’t our goal. We need to progress to wisdom cultivation.

The second task is the separation of aggregates, to separate out form and non-form

The second task is the separation of aggregates, to separate out form and non-form. Remember, the first task is to awaken self-awareness; the second task, once the mind is established and rooted in awareness, is to separate out form and non-form. Form – non-form separation is the beginning stages of wisdom cultivation. When the mind is rooted in awareness, wisdom cultivation is not difficult. If the mind isn’t rooted in awareness, we won’t be able to separate between form and non-form. Therefore, without Samadhi, wisdom can’t arise. Form – non-form separation is the beginning level of wisdom.

Therefore, we need to train the mind to attain Samadhi – i.e. the mind is with the body and/or mind, is rooted in awareness, and has self-awareness. When the mind has self-awareness, then observe. Previously, as we meditate, we inhale, exhale, stand, walk, sit, lie down, and are aware of the mind. When breathing, if the mind is lost in thought, we’re aware of it, and if the mind focuses on the breath, we’re aware of it. When standing, walking, sitting, lying down, if the mind is lost in thought, we’re aware of it, and if the mind focuses on the breath, we’re aware of it. Practicing in this way, we will gain self-awareness. After this, we will progress to the second step, i.e. aggregate separation – unlike the previous step, we don’t observe only the mind.

Once the mind is rooted-in-awareness, we sustain this awareness – that ‘the body breathing out’ is what is to be known, that ‘the body breathing in’ is that which is to be known. During walking meditation, some people see that ‘the body walking’ is that which is known. During sitting meditation, some people see that ‘the body sitting’ is that which is known. While lying down, some people see that ‘the body lying down’ is that which is known. While standing, some people see that ‘the body standing’ is that which is known. If the mind is rooted in awareness, it will automatically see it in this way. When I ask, “do you see that the body is that which is known?” and “the body and mind are not the same thing?” If the mind is rooted in awareness, without thinking – we will see that ‘the body’ is that which is known, and that body and mind are not the same thing – i.e. we can separate between form and non-form.

Form is the body; non-form is the mind. Know that it is the exhaling form that is known and not the mind; it is the inhaling form that is known, not the mind. Keep practicing in order to separate them out. Some people can separate even more – such as separating out the various factors within non-form states. Happy feeling and unhappy feeling are non-form. Can you see that happiness is known, that it (happiness) is not the mind? Suffering is known and that it (suffering) is not the mind. Neutral feeling, neither happy nor unhappy, is what is known. It is not the mind. As for the wholesome mind, do you see that all wholesome states, e.g. faith, perseverance in meditation, effort, these are not the mind? Mindfulness, itself, is the mental tool to sense objects and phenomena. Mindfulness is the tool to sense states, it cognizes states, whereas wisdom comprehends states.

Mindfulness, by itself, isn’t the mind. Wisdom isn’t the mind either – this one, among other virtues, is difficult to observe. Why? Because we rarely have it. Therefore, to observe non-form formations, it’s easier to observe unwholesome states, because we have plenty of them. Just observe directly. If we’re hot-tempered, we’ll see that anger isn’t the mind. Anger is known, and it isn’t the mind. If we’re greedy, desiring everything that we see, we’ll notice that greed isn’t the mind but that which is known by the mind. Practice observing in this way, again and again. Then, we will be able to separate them. To separate between form and non-form, we don’t separate between form and feeling, or between form and perception, or between form and formation.

Regarding aggregate separation, we need to separate at least 2 aggregates. If we can see only one aggregate – e.g. only see the body breathing continually – seeing only one aggregate isn’t considered aggregate separation. We must separate at least 2 aggregates, and one of them must be the mind. The mind is the consciousness aggregate – we need to separate it out. If we see the body moving, who is seeing the body moving? Who is seeing the body breathing? The mind is. We must ‘attain the (Knower) mind’ first, i.e. the mind must be rooted in awareness, then it will see that body and mind are separate things. Hence, when we practice Samadhi, we will attain the rooted-in-awareness mind. Then, we will see that the body isn’t the mind, but that which is known. Happy, unhappy, and neutral feelings aren’t the mind, they are known by the mind. Wholesome and unwholesome states are not the mind, they are that which is known.

Therefore, to separate out the body, we need to have the mind as the observer or the Knower. To separate out the feeling aggregate, we must have the mind as the Knower. Some people don’t care to observe the body, can they just go ahead and observe feeling? Yes. That is also aggregate separation because feeling is one of the aggregates, and the mind is another aggregate – so that is considered aggregate separation. Or in the case of wholesome and unwholesome states – we see that both wholesome or unwholesome states which are under the mental-formations aggregate, and the mind are separate. If we can only see the form and wholesomeness or unwholesomeness, this means we can’t separate the aggregates, because we can’t separate out the main one, the mind. The mind is the chief, the head, the principal of all dhamma.

Without the principal, it’s like an army without the commander in chief – it will lose every war; it can’t defeat anyone. The mind is the commander in chief. Therefore, we need to train the commander – to develop the mind until it’s awakened, and then it will have self-awareness. When the mind is awakened, we can then separate the aggregates: form is one part, and the mind is another; or feeling is one part, and the mind is another, or mental-formation is one part, and mind is another part. Practice step by step. That’s enough for the beginning stage – separate the body, separate feeling, separate mental-formation, with the mind as the Knower – these are contemplation of the body (Kāyānupassanā), contemplation of feeling (Vedanānupassanā), and contemplation of mind (Cittānupassanā), respectively. If we can separate them out in this way, without intention, i.e. we don’t ponder, “the body sitting is the known, the mind is the Knower. The body is walking, the form is walking, the non-form is the one that knows.”

Some people just recite this repeatedly, but they lack the heart of the practice – they lack the rooted-in-awareness Knower mind. They just keep pondering – while walking, they recite, “the form is walking, the non-form knows it. The form is sitting; the non-from knows it. The form is breathing out; the non-form knows it.” They just keep reciting and they get nothing out of it, or the most they can get is calmness, because in their practice they are still thinking – they also use conceptual objects in their practice. As a result, they get calmness. Therefore, we need to train the mind to attain self-awareness. Hence, the Buddha said, “I don’t see any other dhamma, except for self-awareness, to be the starting point for the development of other virtues.” Therefore, we need to develop self-awareness.

Some people would like to have self-awareness but don’t know how. They don’t know that the key to this is the mind even as they try to be aware of themselves. For example, when reaching out to grab a glass of water, they move deliberately very slowly and think that that is self-awareness. ‘Oh… it’s been a while (of moving slowly) already, and I still haven’t gotten to drink water.’ That isn’t self-awareness, and nor is it a method of practice. As for the method of practice, who doesn’t have awareness? It’s the mind that doesn’t have awareness. Because it’s either lost in thought, or lost in focusing. When mindfulness cognizes the lost-in-thought mind or the lost-in-focusing mind, we will gain self-awareness – we will be awakened. When we’re awakened, we can then separate the aggregates, such as between form and the mind, between feeling and the mind, between mental formation and the mind.

When we can separate them out, not by thinking, but by ‘feeling’ it, it sees. When the body moves, it sees… not the body – it feels that the body moving isn’t us, but a thing to be known. At first, it sees in this way – it sees things as that which is known. The body is known. Feeling is known. Mental formation is known. At subtler levels, it will see that the mind itself is the known. Who knows the mind? The mind itself knows the mind – the new mind knows the previous mind that has just ceased. Let’s leave this topic for now as it’s too subtle. Just observe that the body is what is known. Feeling – happiness, suffering – is what is known. Wholesome and unwholesome states arising in the mind are what are known. This is the second task.

The final task is wisdom cultivation

The first task is to wake ourselves up. The second task is to separate the aggregates by at least 2 aggregates, and one of them must be the mind. Without the mind, we can’t practice further. Once we can separate the aggregates, then it’s time for the third task – the final task. The final task is wisdom cultivation. To separate the body and the mind, we need Samadhi to give rise to the rooted-in-awareness mind. Then, no matter what mindfulness cognizes, the wisdom of ‘what is known isn’t the mind’ arises. But true wisdom, Vipassana wisdom, will arise in the next step. This is the wisdom that comprehends that all kinds of form and non-form are subject to the Three Characteristics of existence. And at that moment, we will attain a wonderful state.

Before we attain the wonderful state, we need to be able to separate the aggregates out, we need to have self-awareness. When the five aggregates unite, it feels as though ‘this is me’, ‘this is mine’. But when the aggregates are separated out, the truth will be seen that the form is neither ‘me’, nor ‘mine’. The form is what is known. It is not me, nor is it mine. It’s impermanent, suffering, and non-self… and uncontrollable. When we can separate the body from the mind, we won’t have many more tasks left, i.e. we only study the form, not all of the aggregates, there are so many of them, we can’t study them all hence we separate them out.

‘I or me’ can be separated into 5 parts. Each part can be divided further, but let’s not talk about it, as there are so many of them, and it might give you headache. We only need to separate body and mind, feelings and mind, mental formations and mind. If we can do this, we pass the second lesson already. When we practice self-awareness is like being at the elementary school students’ stage. When we can separate form and non-form, is like being at the secondary school students’ stage. Then comes the stage where we can see the Tilakkhaṇa (Three Characteristics of existence) with form demonstrating Tilakkhaṇa, feeling demonstrating Tilakkhaṇa, mental formation demonstrating Tilakkhaṇa, and mind also demonstrating Tilakkhaṇa.

Observe step by step, with the mind being aware of ourselves. When mindfulness cognizes the form, it sees not only the form nor only that the form and the mind are separate things, but it also sees one step deeper. It sees that the form is impermanent, that the form can’t persist as it’s under stress at all times, and that the form isn’t me, nor mine. This means we see the Tilakkhaṇa. With the rooted-in-awareness mind, when mindfulness cognizes feelings of happiness or unhappiness within the body or the mind, in that second lesson as secondary school students, we will see that feelings and mind are separate things. But for university students who have progressed to Vipassana, they will see that feelings of happiness and unhappiness are impermanent, suffering, and non-self, and that the mind that knows feeling is also impermanent, suffering, and non-self – sometimes it knows, sometimes it doesn’t know; sometimes it knows, sometimes it’s lost.

When observing the body, sometimes it is aware of the body, sometimes it’s lost, sometimes it focuses on the body. When observing feeling, sometimes it is aware of feeling, sometimes it’s lost, sometimes it focuses on feeling – the mind sinks to focus – this is because the mind is powerless. If the mind is powerful, it will be the Knower, i.e. it doesn’t think or focus, but it sees the truth that the body is impermanent, suffering, and non-self; that feeling is impermanent, suffering, and non-self, that perception and mental formation – wholesome fabrications, unwholesome fabrications – are impermanent, suffering, and non-self. Later on, it will be seen that the mind is also impermanent, suffering, and non-self. How to observe that the mind is impermanent – sometimes the mind is the Knower, sometimes the thinker; sometimes the Knower, sometimes it’s the focuser – this shows that it’s impermanent.

Whether the mind will know, or think, or focus, we can’t order it. It works on its own, it is non-self (uncontrollable). The Knower mind can’t last forever, soon it will cease. The mind that focuses can’t keep on focusing forever. At some point it will stop focusing. Being unable to last forever is called ‘Dukkha’ (suffering). It can’t last forever. It’s under stress to disintegrate. Therefore, when we can separate the aggregates, we will see that each aggregate is subject to Tilakkhaṇa. Form is subject to Tilakkhaṇa. Feeling is subject to Tilakkhaṇa. Mental formation is subject to Tilakkhaṇa. The mind is also subject to Tilakkhaṇa. Seeing this repeatedly, again and again, one day the Noble Path will occur. If we don’t follow this path, it won’t happen. Most people can’t get past the first step already, because they practice by focusing. They aim for calmness, and make their mind still and calm. They don’t aim for wisdom.

Therefore, every day we must practice formal meditation. We must have a meditation object and keep being aware of our own mind. When the mind is lost in thought, be aware of it. When the mind sinks and becomes lost in focusing, be aware of it. Continue to practice in this way, and we will attain the self-awareness mind, the rooted-in-awareness Knower Mind. When we have self-awareness, then repeatedly observe that the body and the mind are separate things, that feeling and the mind are separate things, that mental formation, wholesome fabrication and unwholesome fabrication, and the mind are separate things. Separate them out. Then we will progress further – once we can separate the aggregates out, we will see that each aggregate is subject to Tilakkhaṇa.

If we observe all of the five aggregates as a whole, we can’t really see Tilakkhaṇa. Instead, we will see that one thing arises and another thing ceases, continually, and they whirl, jumble, and intertwine into a mass. We must break this mass down into parts. This mass is called ‘Ghanā – break it down. To break the ‘Ghanā’ down means to separate this mass into parts – i.e. aggregate separation. The mind must be rooted in awareness in order to separate the aggregates out. By studying the text, some people know that the ‘Ghanā’ is must be broken down, but they don’t know how, and they practice nonsense concentration which is a waste of time. If the mind is rooted in awareness, Ghanā will be separated out, and it will be seen that the body is that which is known, and that the body and the mind are separate things. This means Ghanā is already broken down, or the five aggregates are already separated out. Once they are separated out, we can observe. At the stage of Vipassana, we will see that each separate aggregate is subject to Tilakkhaṇa.

Practice correctly, practice sufficiently, be patient

In conclusion, to develop the mind, there are three tasks. First, train the mind to gain self-awareness. Second, separate the aggregates out. Third, observe that each aggregate, each state, is subject to Tilakkhaṇa. Observe repeatedly, and let’s see if we’re so foolish that we can’t achieve any Noble Path and Fruit at all. If by practicing in this manner, we can’t achieve anything in this lifetime, it’ll be easy in our next life. In fact, not everyone will achieve it – I’m not saying that everyone will achieve it in this lifetime. But if we practice persistently, and if we don’t have any serious karmic effect, one day we will achieve it. Therefore, do the three tasks for mind development.

Referring to the text, first task is to develop the right Samadhi, the second task is to develop the beginning level of wisdom, and the third task is to develop Vipassana wisdom. Keep training. If we practice these three tasks and we don’t get anything – this is abnormal. However, some people may not achieve it. There are cases where people practice correctly and enough, but they still don’t achieve it. Some people have Vipāka (karmic effect). For instance, some people did something called ‘Ariyānaṃ upavādakāti’ – i.e. to insult the noble persons. This must not be done, as it’s a heavy karma. Nowadays, we don’t know who is a noble person. We may insult a teacher and it so happens that the teacher is a noble good person. Recently, some people admonished Venerable Luangpu Saeng. I’m not saying that Luangpu Saeng is a noble person. But if he were to be a noble person, those who insulted him would have done ‘Ariyānaṃ upavādakāti’ – there’s no chance for enlightenment for them in this lifetime.

Another group that can’t achieve enlightenment in this lifetime is those who have committed heinous crimes – e.g. matricide, patricide – these people can’t achieve enlightenment in this lifetime. And another group that can’t achieve enlightenment in this lifetime is those who aim for Buddhahood – they can practice and progress up to the point of Vipassana and their mind becomes equanimous towards all kinds of states, but they won’t achieve enlightenment, because they aim for something greater than being a disciple. For other people, ordinary people like us, we’ve never killed our fathers or mothers, and as laymen, we can’t do ‘Saṅghabheda.’ Only monks can do Saṅghabheda i.e. to cause schism in the Monk Order. Laymen can only support monks in causing Saṅghabheda, which is also a serious karma.

Therefore, as we’re not monks, we’ve never killed our father or mother, so we’ve never done three of the major crimes. We’ve never hurt the Buddha. We’ve never killed anyone; thus, we’ve never killed an arahant. Thus, we’ve never done any of the five major crimes. Therefore, we need to watch our mouth. Don’t go insult anyone. If our mind insults other person, then ask for forgiveness. For the five major crimes, we can’t fix it. But for ‘Ariyānaṃ upavādakāti,’ we can ask for forgiveness. They are of different levels. For those who aim for Buddhahood, enlightenment won’t arise as long as they continue to have hope for it. If we are not subject to these constraints, and if we practice correctly and enough, we should achieve something in this lifetime.

Achieving Sotāpanna (stream-enterer) isn’t difficult. It’s not difficult at all. Keep the five precepts well and do as I said: train the mind to attain self-awareness, then separate the aggregates – body is one part, the mind is another part, they are different parts. We just need to see that they are different parts. Having heard of ‘aggregate separation’, some people do it in an astonishing fashion – out of body experience wherein they separate the mind and raise it up and away to look down at the body – this isn’t correct. That is done with the power of Jhana – they separate the mind and send it up in the air. Don’t separate it like that. Use your feelings and feel the separation that the body is one entity and the mind is another entity. But do not separate the mind out of the body. The mind and the body are together, but they are not the same thing.

Just like we can separate, let’s say, we have green soda and red soda. These days we see many of red soda at spirit houses – people offer them red soda. If we’re wise, we’ll know that water has no color – the red color is a contaminant in the water – we can separate them like this. With wisdom, we will be able to separate the aggregates in the same way. For red soda, the red color and the water are together. To separate the aggregates, it will be seen that body, feeling, perception, mental formation, and consciousness are together, but they are separate things. Likewise, water and red color are separate things. Body and mind are together, but they are separate things.

Practice step by step. There is chance to achieve Sotāpanna in this lifetime – it’s not that difficult. Just practice correctly and sufficiently. Be patient. If we’re lazy, we won’t achieve it. This is a summary, just like when students are about to graduate, the monks are about to finish their rains’ retreat so I give a summary. Put it into practice. If you keep focusing on and on, you’ll focus even harder in your next lives – it doesn’t work.

Regarding the mass shooting of children, once it happened, it will happen again – copycat effect. There’s a subject called ‘criminology,’ which states that criminals copy other criminals’ behavior. That’s why I warn you to not be reckless. We didn’t do anything, but when former karmic actions ripen and bear fruit, we will inevitably bear the results. Regarding the incident, the Supreme Patriarch has ordered all temples to chant prayers. Some might think it’s irrelevant. For one thing, chanting prayers calms people’s minds. Listening to it, our mind will become calm, not so anxious. Having no chance to listen to prayers, we can recite ‘Buddho, Buddho,…’ repeatedly – that is prayer.

Keep reciting ‘Buddho,’ and our mind will become calm. Spread our merit all over. We’re Buddhists, so we spread our merit to all beings, including suffering beings, to those who are shot, stabbed and the person shooting and stabbing as well. Indeed, he is the one in big trouble. I heard that all of the bodies of the deceased would be brought to temples for funeral services, except the body of the killer – all temples refuse his body. In fact, Buddhists don’t love or hate anyone like that. The poorest one is the one committing the sin. Those being killed or hurt just had their karmic results ripened. So, we should help alleviate the situation – help people in trouble.

This is the strength of Thailand – in the face of adverse situations, people help each other out. There’re 2-3 things. Don’t share this kind of stories. Don’t talk about it much as it inspires copycat crimes. And train our mind not to be anyone’s enemy, and we’ll be peaceful. Think about other people or animals with loving kindness, friendliness – i.e. with Brahmavihārā (four infinite minds). Mettā (loving kindness) means friendliness towards other people and animals. Karuṇā (compassion) means helping other people or animals in troubles, if we can.

Seeing others’ success or good deeds, we have Muditā (empathetic joy) – that is, to be happy for them. When we see people make merit, and we say, ‘Anumodana.’ Anumodana means ‘I’m happy for you, you do good deeds.’ Therefore, when people do good deeds, we anumodana. When people succeed, we anumodana as well. Seeing millionaires, we anumodana – they must have done very good deeds. If our mind can’t be happy for someone else’s success, seeing others success makes you jealous. If we’re jealous, our mind is fiery. Even if we have Mettā, Karuṇā, Muditā, we can’t lack Upekkhā (equanimity).

Upekkhā means to accept the truth that all beings are owners of their karma, are born of their karma, inherit their karma, and live supported by their karma. Whatever karma they create, whether good or evil, they will inherit. We can’t control karmic effects. Therefore, when we see someone doing bad deeds, don’t be angry or hate them – this is the way of Buddhists. We do no harm to anyone, and we don’t cause our mind trouble. Train ourselves, and if we see anyone in trouble, help them if you can.