Day 9 May Retreat AN 10.2 'After the Retreat' with Delson Armstrong

So today we're going to read from Anguttara Nikaya 10.2. This is called Chetana, or Volition. And this is going to be for what you do after retreat, because you've been doing this all retreat long anyway. So now you will understand how this whole process works. So far, we've been talking about dependent origination and the path and so on and so forth.

But there is one aspect of dependent origination that we haven't covered, which is really, the dependent origination is 23 links. We've covered 12 links, which lead to suffering. Now we're covering another 11 links, which lead to the cessation of suffering. Bhikkhus, for a virtuous person, one whose behavior is virtuous, no volition need be exerted. Let non-regret arise in me.

It is natural that non-regret arises in a virtuous person, one whose behavior is virtuous. The path actually starts with suffering, dukkha, because it is through suffering that a being has two choices: either they continue in confusion by trying to numb that suffering, trying to numb that pain with alcohol or drugs or internet or games or whatever it might be, just distracting the senses, using the senses which become a source of pain by identifying with them, by craving for them, craving for their experiences

or having aversion when something painful arises. When this happens, then, as we know, craving arises, clinging arises, becoming arises, birth of action arises, and then suffering, the whole mass of suffering. But there is another path that a person takes, one that comes from samvega. Samvega means dismay, or you could say spiritual urgency; that is another word for it, another term for it. Samvega arises when you see that there is suffering, but there must be a way out of the suffering.

So you don't try to numb it. You don't try to ignore it. You acknowledge that here is the suffering. There must be a way out of it. And so this is known as the search, the search for the end of suffering. Dependent upon that, what arises is two things in tandem. There is faith that arises. That is an openness to explore a path that ends suffering. So you search for something that leads to the end of suffering.

That can be signing up for a retreat. That could be searching on YouTube. That could be whatever way it comes up. Some people read a book and see, oh, this is interesting, I want to know more. Some people are introduced to the Dhamma in different ways. But however they are introduced, they have an openness to learn, a willingness to learn. This is the faith. That faith, that saddha, as it's known in Pali, is the openness to explore what it is that the Buddha said, explore what it is that the Dhamma is all about, and to explore a Sangha, a community that they can explore with.

In tandem with that, one is introduced to what is known as the precepts, to Sila. So that is virtue, that is keeping the precepts. You are introduced to the precepts, and then you make a commitment to take those precepts. You take them, and you make a commitment to keep those precepts, and as you do so you refrain from harming and killing intentionally.

You refrain from taking what is not given. You refrain from sexual misconduct. You refrain from false speech. You refrain from indulging in intoxicants. When you do so, every time you make a choice to refrain from these habits, from these non-virtuous things, you are reconditioning the mind to incline towards that which is virtuous by keeping those precepts. As you do that, what happens? The mind becomes less agitated.

The mind becomes less agitated because it no longer feels guilt or remorse. Whenever you break a precept, there is mental activity that arises in the form of, I shouldn't have done that, or why did I do that? It's a remorse that comes up. So here the Buddha is saying, for the virtuous person, one whose behavior is virtuous, there is no need for them to say, let non-regret arise in me.

So there is an intention to keep the precepts. So when he says there's no volition needed to be exerted, it means that there's nothing you have to do beyond keeping the precepts, because the supporting condition of keeping the precepts creates for you in there that mind that has no regret, non-regret. A mind that doesn't get agitated. A mind that doesn't become restless and remorseful.

For one without regret, no volition need be exerted. Let joy arise in me. It is natural that joy arises in one without regret. Think about that. When the mind is free of guilt, free of remorse, free of restlessness, the mind feels happy. So this joy that they're talking about is pamojja. And that pamojja is the gladness that arises when you are introduced to the Dhamma.

So when you are introduced to the Dhamma, the mind is naturally uplifted. The mind feels naturally energetic. So when the mind is rid of that guilt, rid of the agitation, then what naturally arises is a happy mind, a mind that is free, the conscience that is free from regret. So when he says for one without regret no volition need be exerted, let joy arise in me, it means don't look for the joy, don't look for the gladness, it will arise naturally. You make the effort, you make the intention of keeping the precepts, therefore the non-regret is there. The mind naturally is peaceful, and when the mind is naturally peaceful, there is gladness that arises, because the mind feels happy that it's able to keep the precepts.

It is natural that joy arises in one without regret. For one who is joyful, no volition need be exerted. Let rapture arise in me. It is natural that rapture arises in one who is joyful. So now that you feel happy, now you feel uplifted, there is a greater experience that happens, which is the joy, the piti. So here it's understood as rapture. It's translated as rapture.

So that rapture is the piti that you experience. It's the uplifted, energetic feeling. So when the gladness arises, it's not like you have to say, okay, now let joy arise. The joy happens because the right conditions are there. The condition for keeping the precepts leads to the condition of non-regret, which leads to the condition of gladness, which leads to the condition of joy.

For one with a rapturous mind, no volition need be exerted. Let my body be tranquil. It is natural that the body of one with a rapturous mind is tranquil. The mind is happy, the mind is joyful, and how is the body? The body is free of tension, free of tightness. The body is relaxed, tranquil. So, this is the tranquility factor you experience.

Before that, you experience the joy factor, the enlightenment factor of joy. So when you keep the precepts, you become more mindful, you become more attentive, because there's less scattered and less dispersal of the attention. The attention becomes clearer, the mind becomes clearer, which means the mindfulness factor arises. Then, because of that, you also have investigation of states. You realize, oh, my mind is free of guilt, that there is no state of guilt, no state of regret, and then the mind becomes happy, and because of that the mind makes more effort, so there arises the enlightenment factor of energy. And then because of that there is the enlightenment factor of joy, and from there there is the enlightenment factor of tranquility. You feel like the body feels very relaxed, very loose, no pain in the body. For one tranquil in body, no volition need be exerted. Let me feel sukha, let me feel pleasure. It is natural that one tranquil in body feels pleasure. So once you become joyful, once you have the piti, the body feels relaxed.

And once the body feels relaxed, it experiences ease in the body, comfort in the body. The body is loose and naturally free-flowing. And so this is the sukha that arises. For one feeling pleasure, or sukha, no volition need be exerted. Let my mind be collected. It is natural that the mind of one feeling pleasure is collected. Now you experience sukha, so the mind becomes more collected. And now you have stabilized the enlightenment factor of collectedness, the enlightenment factor of samadhi.

So now you go into jhana and you experience deeper joy through the factors of joy and sukha, or joy and happiness, or joy and pleasure, in the first jhana and in the second jhana. Then in the third jhana, the joy fades away and you have more sukha. And then you come to the fourth jhana, where the mind is completely collected, fully collected. In the first jhana, the mind is rid of the unwholesome states, free from the hindrances, secluded from sensual pleasures. The mind has vitakka and vicara, the mind has intention and verbalizing, that is the thinking and examining thought. You start off with an image, you start off with wholesome verbalization, whatever it might be.

May I be happy, may I be free, may I have loving kindness, whatever it might be. But then after the first jhana, the second jhana just has the joy and the sukha, the self-confidence and collectedness. There is the joy and the sukha born of collectedness. The vitakka and vicara disappear because now the mind has self-confidence. The mind is flowing in that experience of loving-kindness, for example.

Then the tranquility factor becomes more present in the third jhana. Now there is deeper equanimity, deeper relaxation, deeper sukha, deeper pleasure and comfort and ease in the body. And because of that, the mind is further collected. And for one who is collected, no volition need be exerted. Let me know and see things as they really are. It is natural that one who is collected knows and sees things as they really are.

So, when you become collected, what arises after the collectedness factor? Equanimity. Equanimity is knowing and seeing things as they really are. This is also known as yatha-bhuta-nana-dassana. Yatha-bhuta means reality, things as they are, reality as it is. Nana means knowledge, dassana means vision. So it is the knowledge and vision of things as they are. When you have deep equanimity, your mind doesn't get pulled one way or the other, it's completely balanced. With that balanced mind you see things as they are. There's no filter there. It's just, oh, here is pain, here is pleasure.

Here is comfort, here is so and so. You're just aware of things as they are. And so that means when you're collected, the equanimity naturally arises. You don't have to intend, let there be equanimity. You just have to allow the condition of collectedness to deepen. Just be with it. Having that intention, what naturally arises is deeper equanimity. For one who knows and sees things as they really are, no volition need be exerted. Let me be disenchanted and dispassionate. It is natural that one who knows and sees things as they really are is disenchanted and dispassionate. So once you have the equanimity, this is now the equanimity of the seventh jhana, of nothingness.

That equanimity arose because you saw impermanence, you saw dukkha, and you saw anatta, you saw the emptiness of self at infinite consciousness. That gave rise to equanimity in nothingness. As you continue to deepen that equanimity, that changes to disenchantment. Disenchantment is sometimes translated as revulsion, because the idea is, well, one example would be, we had chocolate cake today. Finally talk about it. It arises exactly so. We had chocolate cake, and we decided to eat one piece of chocolate cake, and that was good, that was great. But let's say craving arose and I said, you know what, let me try one more piece of chocolate cake. You took that, and then craving still continued.

and then somebody offered you a third piece and you said, no, I can't, but you still eat it. By the fourth time, you want to throw up. That wanting to throw up is disenchantment. Why? Because when you experience formations in neither perception or non-perception, you're just like, I've seen this before. I don't want to deal with this anymore. you get sick of it, you get tired of it, you're just like, okay, you're there, whatever, right, it's not indifference, please understand, it's not indifference, it's not apathy, it's not the opposite of equanimity, it's not the enemy of equanimity.

This disenchantment is seeing things as they are and deciding, all right, I'm not going to allow the mind to engage in it. So anything that arises just glides on through in the mind. So that disenchantment is a mind that is like Teflon. It's a non-stick pan. Nothing sticks to it. And then from there comes dispassion. Now, that dispassion comes from the word viraga, which comes from the word vairagya in Sanskrit. Vairagya means detachment, a mind that is above all these things. So now you rise above these formations, so to speak. Now you see them as they are. Don't let them stick into your mind. Don't let them stick to your attention.

So oftentimes, when you are in what's known as the signless collectedness of mind, whatever you're seeing, you're not looking at it. You're looking through it. Meaning you're no longer paying attention to that. You're just seeing things. You're just noticing them, but then not getting caught up in them. So seeing through them means that you are above them. You're no longer attached to them, detached.

You're no longer identifying with them. For one who is disenchanted and dispassionate, no volition need be exerted. Let me realize the knowledge and vision of liberation. It is natural that one who is disenchanted and dispassionate realizes the knowledge and vision of liberation. So there's a few things that happen here in between this process. You have the disenchantment.

That further leads to an attitude of detachment, dispassion. Then that further leads to cessation. There comes a point when you're there in the 8th jhana, or if you're in the signless collectedness of mind, where you're just not looking at anything, not bothered by anything. And eventually, the fuel for your attention, that is to say the objects, the different formations that arise, start to dissipate.

And there's basically no vibrations going on, and they can happen for a long time. Happen for 20 minutes, 30 minutes, an hour, an hour and a half, two hours, three hours, no vibration at all. There can arise boredom because the mind is waiting for something to happen. And then you notice there's the craving. So you let that go. You relax that. Come back to a more balanced mind. Otherwise, the mind feels restlessness. So then you just use tranquility. Relax.

Just put a little microdose of relaxation and watch what happens. And then the mind balances itself. If the mind feels too dull, if the mind has sloth and torpor, just add a little bit more interest, a little bit more joy. And just wait and see what happens. And then you come back. One of the analogies that Karuna and I discussed was the laboratory.

You're like a scientist looking at the different beakers and all these different things. And you put a little bit of this and a little bit of that. You put too much, boom, and you have a mess in the lab. But just little bits, and start observing what happens. Doing so, then your mind becomes balanced. And then when the mind becomes balanced and there is no more identification with this process, the last thing to go, the last formation to go, is a formation of conceit, the sense of I am, the sense of me, mine, and myself.

When that goes away, there is no more fuel for the mind's attention at all. And when there is no more fuel, the attention ceases, mind ceases, and there is the cessation of perception, feeling, and consciousness. There is dukkha-nirodha as well, that is to say, the cessation of suffering completely, because there's no formations arising at that point. In that experience of cessation, the mind is utterly pure, because no conditions arise.

It is understood that the faculties, the sixth sense bases, are completely serene, completely clear. Because when you're out of cessation and you're here listening to me and going about your day, you're picking up all of this input of data, and it's tiring out your eyes, tiring out your ears, tiring out your mind, tiring out all of the sixth sense spaces, because there's these data packets of sensory information.

But in cessation of perception, feeling, and consciousness, those data packets don't make contact and penetrate and become feeling and perception. And so that is why the faculties are serene and clear. Then there is that condition, or we should say the unconditioned, which is to say, now that there is a cessation of all conditions, the mind has no conditions to attach itself to. So when the mind comes out of cessation, when there is a rebooting of the mind, in that first point, there is contact.

And this is the contact with the Nibbana element. This contact is understood to be three things: signless, undirected, and void. It is signless because Nibbana cannot be taken as an object. It is undirected because there is no intention in Nibbana. And it is void because there is no sense of personal self in Nibbana. So in other words, having seen impermanence, you realize that all objects are impermanent; therefore, it is signless. Having realized that intending towards this or that with craving, there arises dukkha; therefore, you see it all as undirected.

And having seen that taking things personally causes suffering, further suffering, you see the emptiness of self of all things, and so that's why it is void. That initial point where the mind comes out of cessation is the point where it makes contact with Nibbana. When it makes contact with Nibbana, there is joy and relief that arise. When there is contact, what does it give rise to?

What does contact give rise to? Feeling, specifically. I know that the other day we talked about, you know, contact is almost always the right answer, right, to everything. But here, specifically, it gives rise to feeling, the feeling of joy and relief. So when you make contact, when the mind makes contact with Nibbana, when Nibbana happens, then the relief and joy come up. That's the feeling.

But as you see that, you also see the links of dependent origination, because that first initial contact, what else does it give rise to? It gives rise to formations. It gives rise to perception. It gives rise to feeling and all these other things. Then the formations that arise next, that you see, when you see the links, you see those formations, they are utterly pure in that time span.

Because they're utterly pure, there's no craving there, there's no identification there, there's no conceit there. But then that gives rise to that consciousness that is non-reflective. Then that consciousness gives rise to the further feeling that here is a feeling of joy and relief. But then what happens? I want that again. How do I experience that again? You identify with that joy and relief.

When you identify with that joy and relief, there is craving for that joy and relief. And so what happens in the next arising of formations? Again, they are fettered by craving. Again, they are fettered by ignorance. Again, they are fettered by identification. Again, they are fettered by conceit. But you let go of something the first time around.

You let go of the belief in a personal self, because now you see this whole process as impersonal. You let go of any doubt in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, because you have seen for yourself, you have walked the path yourself and seen that this leads to Nibbana. Now you're completely sure this is the path. And you don't have any clinging to rites and rituals with the hope that they're going to lead you to Nibbana. You no longer put your faith in rites and rituals. You understand self-effort, the right effort, leads to Nibbana. So you've let go of wrong view, and now right view is established in your mind. But there was still craving, because you saw the joy and really felt, oh wow, I want that again.

So the craving is still there. If at the second attainment the experience happens, then there is again contact with Nibbana. And then what arises, you see the joy, you see the relief, but it's not as vibrant as it was before. Because now you've let go of some amount of sensual craving, some amount of aversion. Having let go of that, the mind doesn't have so much craving for it. It still identifies with it, but still has a little bit of craving. So there's a diminishing of craving and aversion. And at this point, now the mind can identify when craving arises much quicker.

So it might actually notice it as the seed of craving or the seed of aversion arise and let go of it. Or if it becomes full-blown craving, it can notice it and let go of it. If the mind gets upset by something, it immediately says, oh, I shouldn't have done that, I better just let that go. Then as you continue this process, so what does that mean? As you continue to do this, you're doing the same thing over and over again, rinsing and repeating, just like you have the cycle of samsara through the links of dependent origination that cause suffering.

You have the wheel of Dhamma through the links of transcendental dependent origination, and you have to keep doing it until you let go of all fetters. So you continue. Rinse and repeat. Keep the precepts, keep the gladness going, keep the meditation going, keep using right effort, keep 6R-ing. And you continue to recognize craving, continue to recognize aversion, keep letting it go, keep letting it go, so that the next time this happens and the mind makes contact with Nibbana, then what arises is not really joy as such, but deeper equanimity.

Now the mind is very balanced, not looking forward to anything. So when the contact arises, you see dependent origination. It's much clearer now. But now you're not so bothered by it. You have more equanimity. And that equanimity becomes stabilized, which means now you don't have the craving for that experience. You don't have the aversion. So then the next arising of formations don't have the craving in them.

They don't have the aversion in them, the greed and the hatred. But there might still be delusion, because the mind says, Oh, I've done it again. And so there's some pride there. There's some conceit. Yeah, I'm here now. I achieved this. I have accomplished this. There's an identification with it. And so that's the conceit, the fetter of conceit that has to be let go of.

So what do you do? Continue to follow the wheel of Dhamma. Continue to keep your precepts, continue to have faith, continue to have gladness, continue to have joy, continue to have tranquility, continue to have sukha, continue to be collected, continue to have equanimity, and continue to 6R anytime that the mind identifies with one or more of the five aggregates. And the more you do it, you're whittling away at that fetter of conceit.

The more you do it, you're whittling away at that fetter of restlessness. The more you do it, you're whittling away at that fetter, the craving for form jhana or the craving for formless jhana. The more you do it, the more your wisdom arises and the more you grind away at the fetter of ignorance. Eventually, when that experience happens again, when you go through that process of seeing things as they are, you have further, deeper disenchantment, you have further, deeper dispassion, then that leads to another cessation experience at some point.

And in that cessation experience, from there, there is contact with Nibbana. Again, that contact is signless, undirected, and empty of self. So anything that arises is pure, pure contact, giving rise to pure formations. But this time around you understand dependent origination completely. Now right view is established. Ignorance is destroyed. So now you don't identify with this process and see it as completely impersonal. So the next arising of formations are still pure.

Now they have been let go. They have been eradicated of any kind of conceit and identification, any craving for bhava, any kind of craving for existence. Now those formations that arise are conditioned by wisdom, conditioned by right view. Right view replaces ignorance. Wisdom replaces ignorance. Therefore the formations that arise are purified by that wisdom, rooted in that wisdom.

Those formations give rise to the non-reflective consciousness, no longer projecting any kind of idea of self onto the experience of nama-rupa, of mentality-materiality, or the sixth sense basis, or contact, feeling. So the contact and feeling that arise are not rooted in any craving, not rooted in any identification. So mind, being utterly non-reflective and clear, sees things as they are all the time, which means it does not take this personally. Any experience, therefore, there won't be new karma in the form of further craving, clinging, becoming, birth of new action, and the whole mass of suffering. Now any formations that arise will always be rooted in

wisdom, and so any karma that arises is just old karma cascading down to be experienced as of feeling. And so that mind, being non-reactive, non-reflective, unestablished, empty of craving, empty of delusion, seeing things as they are, only understands that feeling to be impersonal. Because of that, there is no more fuel for becoming. Birth is destroyed, there is no more renewal of being. What had to be done has been done. The holy life has been lived, and so on.

And so that is why you have the liberation of the mind, the vision that the mind is liberated, and the knowledge that the mind is liberated. That knowledge that arises comes in that form, that stock phrase of the holy life has been lived, and so on. So the knowledge and vision of liberation gives rise to the knowledge of the fact that the taints have been destroyed, the knowledge of the destruction of the taints.

And so, because of that, one sees the five aggregates as they are. They understand form as it actually is. They understand the source of form. They understand the rising and passing away of form. They understand feeling as it actually is. They see the source, origin, and passing away of feeling. They understand perception as it actually is. They understand the source, the origin, and the passing away of perception. They understand formations as they actually are. They understand the source of these formations. They understand they are dependently arisen. They understand they are impermanent and so on. And likewise for consciousness.

So that mind is always seeing everything as impermanent. So that mind never projects any kind of personal self onto an experience. Seeing things as they are, that is to say, in the seen, there is only the seen. In the heard, there is only the heard. In the cognized, there is only the cognized. When, in seeing that, there is no you there, there is no you before that process, there is no you after that process, there is no projection of self in that process of feeling, there is no superimposition of self after the feeling, there is no superimposition of self when consciousness arises,

then mind holds on to nothing naturally. And so mind is fully liberated. It is natural that one who is disenchanted and dispassionate realizes the knowledge and vision of liberation, thus, because the knowledge and vision of liberation is the purpose and benefit of disenchantment and dispassion. Disenchantment and dispassion are the purpose and benefit of the knowledge and vision of things as they really are. The knowledge and vision of things as they really are is the purpose and benefit of collectedness.

Collectedness is the purpose and benefit of pleasure. Pleasure is the purpose and benefit of tranquility. Tranquility is the purpose and benefit of rapture. Rapture is the purpose and benefit of joy. Joy is the purpose and benefit of non-regret, and non-regret is the purpose and benefit of virtuous behavior. Thus, bhikkhus, one stage flows into the next stage, one stage fills up the next stage, for going from the near shore to the far shore. Afterwards, that's fine. I do want to leave you with a passing word, actually. A couple of things.

Bhante always says, if you take care of the Dhamma, the Dhamma takes care of you. And in my personal experience, that has always been the case. So the one thing you should understand when you get off retreat is to take care of the Dhamma. What does that mean, to take care of the Dhamma? It basically means to follow the path, follow the Dhamma. You can revere the Dhamma all you want. You can show respect for the Dhamma all you want. But what's the point if you don't follow it?

So continue to keep your precepts, continue to practice samadhi, continue to gain insights, continue to see things as they are, and that's how you take care of the Dhamma. And in turn, the Dhamma takes care of you, because every time you radiate loving-kindness, every time you radiate compassion, every time you radiate joy, every time you radiate equanimity, you are purifying your own mind, and anything that arises is seen as it actually is. So you don't get so bothered by it, or you don't get bothered by it at all, which means you don't add to your karmic repository.

That's how the Dhamma takes care of you. And the Dhamma takes care of you by the fact that as you continue to cultivate wholesome states of mind, those become your inclinations. And then when you interact with people and the world around you, the world mirrors your inclinations. When you're happy, the world around you starts to just become happy.

When you have loving-kindness, people respond to you with loving-kindness. When you're compassionate, people understand you. One very, very silly and mundane example of that would be, from my own personal experience, when you go back out into the real world and you go to the airport. It's so busy over there, right? It's so hectic. A lot of things to do. I have to go do this, I have to go through security and this and that.

And then when you go to check in and everything at the counter, the person who checks you and has all has met with all of these people who are just grumpy or they have to get things done or they're just like irritated or impatient. But when I show up to them, they immediately smile and say, how can I help you? Genuinely.

They're happy. Right? And then my whole process just goes smoothly. So the check-in process goes smoothly. The security process goes smoothly. I make jokes with the TSA. The TSA jokes with me. And then I go in and everything else. So that's just one very mundane example. But that's still a very good example. So when you go to the airport tomorrow, radiate loving-kindness. See how things change for you. Every time you do that, the Dhamma will take care of you.

All right. Let's share some merit. May suffering ones be suffering free. May the struck fearless be. May the grieving shed all grief. And may all beings find relief. May all beings share this merit that we have thus acquired for the acquisition of all kinds of happiness. May beings inhabiting space and earth, devas and nagas of mighty power share this merit of ours. May they long protect the Buddha's dispensation. Sadhu, Sadhu, Sadhu. Thank you.