MN 5 Unblemished - Sunday Sutta Series with Delson Armstrong

Herein, the person with a blemish who does not understand as it actually is thus, I have a blemish in myself, is called the inferior of these two persons with a blemish. Here in the person with no blemish who understands it as it actually is thus, I have no blemish, is called the inferior of these two persons with no blemish. Here in the person with no blemish who does not understand it as it actually is thus, I have no blemish, is called the inferior of these two persons with no blemish. Here in the person with no blemish who understands it as it actually is thus, I have no blemish, is called the superior of these two persons with no blemish.

a blemish with a mind that is defiled. So let's stop here and understand what he's talking about. So he will explain what he means by blemish. Blemish here is basically somebody who has, let's say, broken a precept, done something naughty, and hasn't, let's say, fessed up to it, owned up to it, and said, okay, this is what I did. I'll try better next time. can be very insidious these kinds of so-called blemishes you know um you know one one glass of wine won't harm anyone you know it's just a glass of wine or oh you know uh just a white lie to kind of you know make them feel better i won't you know i won't do anything else beyond that but then these things creep up they can creep up and uh the mind can the mind can become

It can become festered with it. The mind can start to feel bogged down by it. And, as we know, when we break a precept, it has a possibility of causing a certain hindrance because of the intention behind breaking that precept. So if somebody doesn't understand that what they did may have been a blemish, been something that causes one self-harm and the other harm, and they don't realize that this is what Sariputta says, it can be expected that he will not arouse zeal. He will not have the enthusiasm, the, what they call this, aditana adishtana, which is like the resolve to make an effort and to instigate energy, to arouse the energy to abandon. What do we do to abandon? We 6R's. So anytime you hear this, he does not arouse zeal, make an effort, or instigate energy, anything of that nature. It sounds very much like, right, we have the four right efforts. The first is he prevents the arising of unarisen unwholesome states.

And when we say the word prevent, there can be a connotation that, oh, we're making an effort to push against, you know, we're going to just prevent anything from happening. But it's as simple as recognizing a hindrance to the present. Recognizing, oh, I did this, something I shouldn't have. Just recognizing that. By doing that, you're stopping the rest of the series of thoughts. That's how you prevent the unarisen unwholesome states from arising.

And then you make an effort to abandon. You drop it like it's hot, right? That means you release and you relax. That's the second right effort: to abandon the already arisen unwholesome state. In this case, it could be a hindrance. In this case, it could be the intention to further break that precept. Whatever it is, you abandon that intention. You abandon that desire. That creating, you abandon that sloth and torpor. You abandon whatever it is that continues that process.

And then he makes an effort to generate a wholesome experience, a wholesome state of mind. That could be loving kindness, that could be equanimity, that could be stillness, that could be anything. Anything. Anything that is free of lust, hatred, and delusion is said to be wholesome. In some smaller, more detailed contexts, it could be referring to the enlightenment factors. But in a broader way, it's looking at things that are free of greed, hatred, and delusion. So if somebody has done something that they shouldn't have, but they don't understand that this is what has happened, or they ignore it, then they won't make the right effort. They won't make the effort to abandon that.

And that's why Sariputta says that such a person could just pass away with these kinds of lust, hatred, and delusion in the mind, percolating in the mind as formations, and then that can take hold through the consciousness, and the mind is defiled. So he uses a simile here. He says, suppose a bronze dish were brought from a shop or a smithy, covered with dirt and stains, and the owners neither used it nor had it cleaned, but put it away in a dusty corner. Would the bronze dish thus get more defiled and stained later on?

come to a space or a state that is free of any kind of craving and generate something that can be used as an object generate something that i can infuse with my word and intentions and so on whether that's the brahma viharas or anything else that is wholesome and keep that going and so he will make that effort to abandon that blemish and it says he will die without lust hate and delusion in this case if he goes as far as you know becoming fully awakened then obviously he will die without any lust hatred and delusion without blemish without with a mind that is undefiled no more defilements no more kilesas, no more anusayas or samyojinas, no more underlying tendencies or fetters.

You know, all of these things are without blemish. You know, there's no one in none of the upekileses. There's no, you know, conceit. There's no desire to be better than another person. There's no rivalry. There's no stubbornness. There's no greed. There's no pride. There's no any of these different defilements in the mind. And so here in a person is without any blemish.

But he doesn't understand as it actually is thus, I have no blemish in myself. So it could be expected that he will give attention to the sign of the beautiful. Now, when we say beautiful here, we're not talking about the fourth jhana. We're just saying something that is pleasing to the eye, pleasing to the ear, pleasing to the nose, pleasing to the tongue, the body, the mind. So in this case, what we're saying is, it could be something that we see that's pleasant, and we have a pleasant experience.

But at that point, our mind can grab on, identify with it. Now, why does he say this? Somebody doesn't have a blemish in themselves. So why would it be that they, when they're not aware of this, will attend to those beautiful signs? Well, one way to understand this is that if they're not aware of this, there is a possibility of falling short in looking at things with lust, with greed. The reason is because if you have the awareness that my mind is pure, and that my mind is stable, and that my mind is free of any of the hindrances, then you will continue to make an effort to maintain that kind of state.

But if you're generally not aware, which means there is lack of mindfulness still, somewhere over there, there's still some level of ignorance, which practically speaking means lack of mindfulness. And as we have understood in the past, that mindfulness is the gatekeeper between any kind of vedana or experience and any kind of tanha or craving. It's the gatekeeper between the two.

Which means that if mindfulness is not present, then there is a possibility for certain anusayas, certain underlying tendencies, to go towards cravings. And so that can happen: that by his doing so, that lust can infect his mind and that he will die with lust, hate, and delusion, with a blemish, with mind defiled. Suppose a bronze dish were brought from a shop or smithy clean and bright, and the owners neither used it nor had it cleaned, but put it in a dusty corner. Would the bronze dish thus get more defiled and more stained later on? Yes, friend. So too, friend. When a person with no blemish does not understand it as it actually is thus.

See, this is also important to understand. Does not understand it as it actually is thus. I don't know what the original Pali is, but I can probably bet you that he's referring to Yoniso Manasikara, or Yatha Bhuta Nana Dassana. Because when we say as it actually is, that's yatha bhuta. And the knowledge and vision of that is jnana and jnana. So this Yoniso Manasikara and Yatha Bhuta Nana Dassana, they are, you can say, synonymous, but they're also linked in some ways. And what is that Yoniso Manasikara? It is right attention, let's say. It is the attention rooted in reality. It's the attention in realizing that whatever I'm experiencing in this moment is conditioned and therefore is impermanent, is inconstant.

Continue to change. And therefore, anything that continues to change can cause suffering, even if it's joyful, because it will go at some point. Therefore, it cannot be seen as me, mine, or myself. And therefore, I have equanimity, which means I see things as they actually are. So if he does not see things as they actually are, that this mind is free of any kind of blemish, then that means he doesn't have enough mindfulness to be aware of what's happening in the present.

For those who think about, okay, how much mindfulness do I have throughout the day? And how much more can I have throughout the day? I think this sutta is indicative of the fact that we should try to make an effort to be mindful all the time. But again, right mindfulness. When we say right mindfulness, it's using any of the foundations of mindfulness as an anchor to bring the mind back to the here and now. is reacting to a situation. You're observing how mind is responding to a specific feeling or how mind is looking at whatever is happening as a sensation in the body or with the hindrance or the enlightenment factor or whatever it is.

It's like matter cognition, cognition of cognition, awareness of awareness. That's the sampajanna, clear comprehension, clear understanding of where our mind is at all times. And if we fail, we fail. That's all fine because we make an effort, continuous effort. Hey, I was not mindful here. Okay, I'll do better next time. I'll try to be more mindful next time.

And in that moment, really these different moments of where we're not clear, but we don't have mindfulness, these are the moments that are the testing grounds, right? That's important to understand. Always try to make some level of effort to be in the here and now. And so if he doesn't understand as it actually is thus, I have no blemish in myself, it can be expected that he will die with a mind that is defiled.

Herein, when a person with no blemish understands it as it actually is thus, I have no blemish in myself. So he's aware that my mind is pure, that my mind is free of any kind of craving in this moment. Make an effort to stay in that as best as possible. Let me try to keep that going as best as possible, so that it can be expected that he will not give attention to the sign of the beautiful. In other words, the attention to the sign of the beautiful is one thing, but the intention of holding on to it, the obsession around it, the craving around it, is another. Attention moves forward. Consciousness, intention is the thing that moves attention.

Right? So in this case, if he doesn't give attention to the sign of the beautiful, doesn't apply wrong attention. He sees that sign or that particular object as something that is mine, as something that is me, as something that is myself. He sees it as something that is permanent when it is actually impermanent. He sees it as something that is joyful or happy when it is actually suffering. Right? And so if he does not do that, to the sign of the beautiful, that by his not doing so, lust will not infect his mind. Because now you're aware, okay, this is not me, not myself. I'm experiencing everything fully. The mind is experiencing everything fully, but without clinging to the sense of I.

There is just the experience going on there. And so he will die without lust, hate, and delusion, with mind undefiled. Just imagine. Really, think about it. In your final moments, don't you want to be clear? Don't you want to have clarity? Don't you want to have clear comprehension? Don't you want to have lucidity? The only way you can have that is by continuously practicing for it. And when you pass on, you will experience, you will experience that awareness at the time of death. And it is possible that you can be free of any of the roots of greed, hatred, and delusion in that moment.

Blemish, blemish is said, friend. But what is this word blemish a term for? Blemish, friend, is a term for the spheres of evil, unwholesome wishes. It is possible that a bhikkhu here might wish, if I commit an offense, let bhikkhus not know that I have committed an offense. And it is possible that the bhikkhus come to know that that bhikkhu has committed an offense. So he is angry and bitter thus. The bhikkhus know I have committed an offense. So in other words, such a person, when they commit the offense, let it not be known that they've committed it. But once people get to know that it's been done, the person will get upset.

The person will have bitterness in their heart. Both of these are blemishes. commit an offense, let the bhikkhus admonish me in private, not in the midst of the sangha. Nobody likes to be told off in public, let alone the bhikkhus. If you did something wrong, it's better to have them tell you that in private. You know, nobody here would want, you know, if you're picking your nose, nobody here wants me to point out, hey, look at this guy, he's picking his nose, you know? So it's like they want to make sure that even if they commit an offense, that anyone who admonishes them does so not in public. But it could be, you know, it is possible that the bhikkhus admonish that bhikkhu in the midst of the sangha, not in private.

It's possible that a bhikkhu here might wish, oh, that the teacher might teach the Dhamma to the bhikkhus by asking a series of questions of me, not of some other bhikkhu. And it's possible that the teacher, in this case, could be the Buddha, could be Sariputta, could be anybody, teaches the Dhamma to the bhikkhus by asking a series of questions of some other bhikkhu, not of that bhikkhu. So he's angry and bitter thus. The teacher teaches the Dhamma to the bhikkhus by asking a series of questions of some other bhikkhu, not of me. Anger and bitterness are both a blemish.

It is possible that a bhikkhu here might wish, oh, that the bhikkhus might enter the village for alms, putting me in the forefront, not some other bhikkhu. Can you believe this? This can happen in the sangha. I was a little bit naive and idealistic to think that it can't, but I have seen it with my own eyes: a certain kind of respect being given to them just because they're wearing the robes.

And that's a sad state of affairs. It was there in the time of the Buddha and it's now here. I'm not going to call out on anyone, but I will say from my experience with the few bhikkhus that I've had, there have been some great people who are, at least in public and in my eye, great representatives of the Dhamma. There have been a lot of naughty ones who just are full of conceit and arrogance and pride.

And they expect a certain kind of respect just because they're wearing the robes. I think it's important in this case for a preceptor. This is why there have been rules in the Vinaya that you stay with the preceptor for five years before you go out teaching on your own, before you do whatever it is that you do out on your own in public, because the preceptor will guide you, the preceptor will admonish you, the preceptor will say, hey, don't do this, this is wrong. There are preceptorless bhikkhus or preceptorless Samaneras who go about representing or misrepresenting the Dhamma. So be careful out there when you listen to certain monks, when you listen to certain people in the robes.

They may not always be representing what the Buddha is saying, whether it's in thoughts, words, or deeds. Anyway, it says here, he might wish that he be at the forefront. And it is possible that the bhikkhus enter the village for alms, putting some other bhikkhu in the forefront, not that bhikkhu. So he is angry and bitter thus. The bhikkhus enter the village for alms, putting some other bhikkhu in the forefront, not me.

The anger and bitterness are both a blemish. It is possible that a bhikkhu here might wish, oh, that I might get the best seat, the best water, the best alms food in the refectory, not some other bhikkhu. And it is possible that some other bhikkhu gets it. It is possible that he might wish, oh, that I might give the blessing after the meal, not some other bhikkhu, because he wants to be seen, he wants to get that merit, or whatever it is. And it is possible that some other bhikkhu gives the blessing. It's possible that a bhikkhu here might wish, oh, that I might teach the Dhamma to the bhikkhus, men lay followers, women lay followers, visiting the monastery, not some other bhikkhu.

And it is possible that some other bhikkhu teaches the Dhamma. It's possible that a bhikkhu here might wish, oh, that the bhikkhus, bhikkhunis, men lay followers, women lay followers, might honor, respect, revere, and venerate me, not some other bhikkhu. And it is possible that they honor some other bhikkhu. It is possible that he might wish, or that I might be the one to get a superior robe, superior alms food, superior resting place, superior medicinal requisites, not some other bhikkhu, who is the one to get superior medicinal requisites, not that bhikkhu. So he is angry and bitter thus. Somebody else is getting superior things, not me.

The anger and that bitterness are both the blemish. Blemish, friend, is a term for the spheres of these evil, unwholesome wishes. In other words, that I be seen in public in this way, that I not be seen in public in this other way. All these different wishes, driven from the ego, driven from conceit, driven from arrogance, driven from ignorance.

And when they're not met, what happens? Bitterness comes up. Resentment comes up. Oh, why did that guy get it? Why didn't I get it? Right? And so this is the blemish. So he could be somebody who's doing the dhutanga practices. I've seen some bhikkhus who say, oh, we're forest monks and we go out into the forest and we're meditating in caves and all of this stuff. And you see later on, they're walking with a whole entourage of people and they're wanting to be seen in a certain way in the limelight. They're walking and they're taking photos. People are taking photos or videos of people throwing flowers at their feet, and they get that beautifully edited and put it out in public, and all of this other stuff.

They're basically hypocrites. That's what I would say. I'll just call them out and say they're hypocrites, because they're practicing dhutanga. I think that they're being very morally upright and stuff, but inside their heart and their mind is full of all this gunk of trying to be recognized in this way. Still, his fellows in the holy life do not honor, respect, revere and venerate him. Why is that? Because the spheres of these evil, unwholesome wishes are seen and heard to be unabandoned in that venerable one. He still has this desire to have fame and respect and admiration or recognition or whatever it is.

He can be an acceptor of invitations. People invite him to go to this particular place, to this particular house, and he's given all this wonderful food. He could be aware of robes given by householders, very nice, clean, beautiful robes. Yet his fellows in the holy life honor, respect, revere, and venerate him. Why is that? Because the spheres of these evil, unwholesome wishes are seen and heard to be abandoned in that venerable one. So they have made an effort to let go of those unnecessary wishes. And so they may be seen like, okay, this person seems to be living in a very top-notch lifestyle for a bhikkhu, let's say, because he's got the best robes, he's going to different houses for food, he's doing all these things.

When this was said, the Venerable Maha Moggallana said to the Venerable Sariputta: A simile occurs to me, friend Sariputta. State it, friend Moggallana. For alms on that occasion, Samiti the cartwright's son was planing a plank for the Ajivaka Andaputta. Ajivakas are fatalists; this is one of the six views that were going on around the time of the Buddha. One of them is called the Kesakambali, that's the founder, the guy who wears a blanket of hair, human hair. Their idea is everything is already predestined, so there's nothing for us to do.

Your enlightenment is predestined, everything you do is predestined. The son of a former cartwright was standing by, and this thought arose in the Ajivaka Andaputta's mind: Oh, that this Samiti, the cartwright's son, might plane this bend, this twist, this fault out of the plank, so that it could be without bend, twist or fault and come to consist purely of heartwood. Just as this thought came to pass in his mind, so did Samiti, the cartwright's son, plane that bend, that twist, that fault out of that plank. Then the Ajivaka Andaputta, son of a former cartwright, was glad.

And he voiced his gladness thus: He planes just as if he knew my heart with his heart. So too, friend, there are persons who are faithless and have gone forth from the home life into homelessness, not out of faith, but seeking a livelihood, who are fraudulent, deceitful, treacherous, haughty, hollow, personally vain, rough-tongued, loose-spoken, unguarded in their sense faculties, immoderate in eating, undevoted to wakefulness, unconcerned with recluseship, not greatly respectful of training, luxurious, careless, leaders in backsliding, neglectful of seclusion, lazy, wanting in energy, unmindful, not fully aware, unconcentrated, with straying minds, devoid of wisdom, drivellers. The Venerable Sariputta, with his discourse on the Dhamma, he knew my heart with his heart. But there are clansmen who have gone forth out of faith from the home life into homelessness, who are not fraudulent, deceitful, treacherous, haughty, hollow, personally vain, rough-tongued, or loose-spoken, who are guarded in their sense faculties, moderate in eating, devoted to wakefulness, concerned with recluseship, greatly respectful of training, not luxurious or careless, who are keen to avoid backsliding, leaders in seclusion, energetic, resolute, established in mind, fully aware, concentrated, or collected with unified minds, possessing wisdom, not drivellers.

Thus it was that these two great beings rejoiced in each other's good words. That's a very rare ending. You don't see that very often, if at all. Interesting. Okay. May suffering ones be suffering free, and the fear-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 with 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.