Day 7 2022 July#2 Retreat Mn 109 7-27-22 - The 5 Aggregates

So today we're going to be reading from Majjhima Nikaya 109. Maha Punnama Sutta, the greater discourse on the full moon night. Thus have I heard, on one occasion the Blessed One was living at Savati in the eastern park in the palace of Migara's mother. On that occasion, on the Uposatha day of the 15th, on the full moon night, the Blessed One was seated in the open surrounded by the Sangha of Bhikkhus. Then a certain Bhikkhu rose from his seat, arranged his upper robe on one shoulder, and extending his hands in reverential salutation towards the Blessed One, said to him, Venerable Sir, I would ask the Blessed One about a certain point, if the Blessed One would grant me an answer to my question.

A few days ago, when we were talking about dependent origination, we said that the aggregates really are mind and body, mentality, materiality, because the form aggregate is made up of the four great elements. And then in mentality, you have feeling, you have perception, you have intention through which formations flow, and you have attention through which consciousness flows.

So what are exactly the aggregates? Why are they divided in these particular heaps, as they're known as? In Pali, it's khandha, and in Sanskrit, it is skhandha. So they are heaps. They are categories, piles. And what are they exactly? They are categories of how we experience the world. The way in which we experience the world. They allow us to experience the world in a certain way. The reality that we see around us, we experience around us, through the body itself. The body carries around the sixth sense basis. The sixth sense basis are part of the body, right? The form aggregate. The feeling aggregate allows us to experience all of this through our sixth sense basis.

which is the noting, the knowing that this is what it is. Perception is rooted in memory. When you first experience something, that is the cognizing of that experience, that is the experience. You learn what that experience is, and the next time you have that experience, you perceive it to be that. In school, when you were taught that this is the color red, this is the color blue, this is the color yellow, this is the color white, this is the color green, these are the four seasons, this is what time is when you see the hour hand on this and the minute hand on that and so on. These are the months of the calendar, these are the weeks of the day, these are the days of the week and so on and so forth.

You are taught this and you experience it and now because of your memory you have a perception of what it is. You see that, yes, this is the color red. You say it's the color red because you've been taught that this is the color red. And so from your memory, your mind immediately experiences the color red and notes that is the color red.

When it's thundering outside, when you first experience it, you had no idea what it was. Maybe some of you were taught that it was angels doing battle in heaven or some giant stomping his feet in the clouds or whatever it is. Oh, this is called thunder. And now when you hear the thunder, you immediately recognize, oh, that's thunder, or lightning, when you see lightning.

So that is the perception. That is the ability to know what it is that you have learned, the memory that you experience. The formations aggregate, they're made up of the three, remember? The bodily formations, the verbal formations, the mental formations, allowing us to feel, allowing us to think and examine and speak, allowing us to do bodily actions.

And how do we do any of these things? Through the process of inclination and intention. The consciousness aggregate, that is related to cognizing, aware of what is present. So when you are in jhana, when you are in meditation, you become aware that here is present a hindrance. That is consciousness of that hindrance being present. Knowing what that hindrance is, is the perception of what that hindrance is.

When you are experiencing one of the factors of a jhana, you're experiencing joy come up. You're cognizing, oh here is joy present. Knowing that it is joy, you perceive it as joy. And you are feeling it as joy. Feeling, perception and consciousness. These three circle around each other. This is all you're experiencing, is feeling, perception, and cognition.

You are aware of an experience, you are feeling that experience, and you are perceiving that experience. In other words, you know that there is an experience there, you are having that experience, and you know what that experience is in particular. So these are the categories of how we perceive or how we experience or how we interact with the world. Form or body, feeling, perception, intention or formations, awareness or consciousness, cognition.

Now it says that these aggregates are affected by craving and clinging. We'll talk about that very soon. Saying, Good, Venerable Sir, the Bhikkhu delighted and rejoiced in the Blessed One's words. Then he asked him a further question. But, Venerable Sir, in what are these five aggregates affected by craving and clinging? Rooted. But, Venerable Sir, in what are these five aggregates affected by craving and clinging? Rooted. Affected by craving and clinging are rooted in desire, Bhikkhu. Now that's very interesting. He says that desire, in craving.

So when we talk about the five aggregates, they arose due to some kind of craving. They have a little bit of craving when they arise. Form arose because it's being built up by food. At some point there was a desire and craving for food. You had the food. It starts making up this body. That gives rise to some kind of a feeling. That gives rise to some kind of perception. That gives rise to some kind of an intention.

And that gives rise to some kind of an attention to that. So we talk about the four nutriments, for example. The four nutriments are food. The four nutriments include food. They include craving. They include consciousness. They include formations and feeling and so on. So the four nutriments give rise to these five aggregates one way or the other. So when we talk about the five aggregates affected by craving and clinging, what we're saying is they are affected by craving and clinging in so far as something is concerned when we act a certain way. This is where we're going to get to. The five aggregates, in and of themselves, are impersonal.

Right? But the problem is the mind takes it personally. Any of these five aggregates, the mind takes them personally. Venerable Sir, is that craving and clinging the same as these five aggregates affected by craving and clinging? Or is the craving and clinging something apart from the five aggregates affected by craving and clinging? Bhikkhu, that craving and clinging is neither the same as these five aggregates affected by craving and clinging, nor is the craving and clinging something apart from the five aggregates affected by craving and clinging.

It is the desire and lust in regard to the five aggregates affected by craving that is the craving and clinging there. It is the desire and lust in regard to the five aggregates. In other words, these five aggregates are just experience, just here. But what happens is the mind looks at that and says, this is me, this is mine, this is myself.

And when it does that, it creates an image of what it thinks the self is. This image of the self is a concept in the mind. And that is what leads to bondage in samsara. Idea of who you think you are. You have an idea of who you think you should be. You have an idea of who you think you will be.

And this is all based in craving, in identification with the five aggregates. And so the desire and the lust in regard to them is taking them personally, seeing them as me, mine, or myself. They are affected by craving and clinging. They are not the same as craving and clinging, nor are they separate from craving and clinging. They become sources of craving and clinging. They become affected by craving and clinging because the mind sees that the mind has a habit over many many many many lifetimes through samsara and many many many iterations within this one life to look at everything and say, oh, this is me, this is mine, this is myself.

When a being, a human being grows up into this world, they're looking at everything and they start collecting ideas and concepts and they start creating an idea of who they think they are based on their experiences. So that sense of self that the mind applies to form, to feeling, to perception, to formations, consciousness, or takes them to be self. That self that mind creates is nothing but a collection.

It's an aggregate in that sense, a collection of various memories and experiences, various associations and ideas, which then create this idea of who I am. It creates this idea of this is who I am. So ask yourselves, who are you? Right? Who am I? Really ask yourself that. Ask that question and write it down. What do you think you are? Who do you think you are?

Right? Who do you think you are? Well, I am. Exactly. Once you start to express yourself, once you start to understand this, then you start to realize, oh, I'm only creating, or the mind is creating, let's say, this image of who I think I am. And then when that image is confronted by words, by actions, by thoughts, that challenge that image, what happens? Resistance.

There's aversion. Or something appeals to that self-image. Then there's craving there. There's a sense of, I want this because it satisfies that image I have about myself. So figure that out. What is your self-image? What is that self-image? And that's where you'll see where the sources of your attachment lie. That's where you'll see where the sources of your aversion lie.

And that's where you'll see where you can start to experience freedom from. What is freedom of mind? What is this vimuthi that we talk about? Cetovimutti, pannavimutti. What is that? That's freedom from craving. Freedom from aversion. Freedom from that image. That constant. I-making, me-making, that conceit, this is who I am. But, Venerable Sir, can there be diversity in the desire and lust regarding these five aggregates affected by clinging?

There can be, Bhikkhu, the Blessed One said. Here, Bhikkhu, someone thinks thus. May my material form be thus in the future. May my feeling be thus in the future. May my perception be thus in the future. May my formations be thus in the future. May my consciousness be thus in the future. Thus there is diversity in the desire and lust regarding these five aggregates affected by craving and clinging.

In other words, you possess a certain kind of body. And you say, I'm not satisfied with this body. You either say, I'm not satisfied with myself, where you regard the body as self. Or you say, I'm not satisfied with my body, where you regard the body as belonging to some kind of a self. And you say, I want to be something else in the future. That I want to be, or I want my body to be a certain way, is a craving. It's a craving for existence, a craving for sensual experience.

Whatever it might be. It is craving. The craving is basically not being satisfied with what is present. Wanting the present moment to be something else than it actually is. Here is the present moment. Here is the present experience. I don't like it this way. That's the aversion. Okay, I like how this is going. I hope it continues.

That's the craving. I am this right now in the present moment. That's the identification. The same applies for feeling. You have a pleasant feeling. You hope this pleasant feeling doesn't go away. May my pleasant feeling continue. May I continue to experience this happiness, this joy. I hope this painful feeling does not continue. I hope in the future it stops.

Or the perception of that pleasant feeling or painful feeling. Or the formations in relation to that. I made a choice now. I hope my choice is different in the future. Now you take the choices to be yourself. This is where the crux of the matter is for everyone here. Who is the one making those choices, right? That's the continuous questioning in the mind. Who is it that makes those choices?

Who does that choice belong to? When you do it that way, you're making that choice personal. You're taking it personally and you're saying, what does that give rise to you? You're saying, I made a terrible choice in the past and now you have remorse for it. You have caused yourself suffering. And then you say, I made a terrible choice now. I hope I don't make the same choice tomorrow.

Or I made a great choice today. I hope I make that same choice tomorrow. How do you know those choices will be the same tomorrow? So you look at those choices and you think, oh, this is me. This is my choice. This choice is myself. This decision I made is myself. But if you really look at it, look at that choice.

How did that choice come about? How did that cause of that choice come about? If you use yoniso manasikara and see, that is, attention rooted in reality, and understand how this choice came to be, you realize that everything is conditioned. Now, the question is, who is the mind that knows that everything is conditioned, right? That's the other question that comes about. Identity.

Because an identity, it feels secure. An identity is misperceived as a source of happiness, as a source of security. I know who I am. That gives a sense of security. You go through most of your teenage years trying to figure out who you are. You go through your teenage years and your youth trying to figure out who you are as a person, who you are in terms of your job and your career. Who you are in terms of your relationships, who you are in terms of your choices, your relationship with your parents, and so on and so forth. All of this is mental proliferation that creates suffering in the mind.

So that sense of the mind that says, who am I, or who is making this choice, or who is the one who sees these choices, that comes from that sense of self that wants to hold on to something. And that is the conceit. That's the conceit, the mana, the comparing. That person seems to be a better meditator than I am. Why is that?

That person has all of the money in the world. Why is that? That person has that really big piece of cheesecake. Why is that? That comparing all the time. And where does that comparing come from? So that created self-image is the source of suffering. term apply. Bhikkhu, any kind of material form, whatever, whether past, future or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near, this is the material form aggregate.

Any kind of feeling, whatever, whether past, future or present, internal or external, or subtle inferior or superior far or near this is the feeling aggregate. Any kind of perception whatever, whether past, future or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near, this is the perception aggregate. Any kind of formations whatever, whether past, future or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near. This is the formations aggregate.

Any kind of consciousness whatever, whether past, future or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near. This is the consciousness aggregate. Whether past, future or present, you consider something that happened in the past, one of these aggregates. And you live in the past. Or you compare your present situation to the past, for better or for worse. And that too can be a source of suffering.

Internal or external. So form in terms of not just material form here with the body, but anyone's material form or any material form. This table, or this book, or those trees, or the grass, or the ground, or anything. That's the external. The internal has to do with the body here, internal, and the organs thereof. Gross or subtle.

So the gross is here, the bodily experience, or in terms of a feeling, a bodily feeling, a bodily perception, bodily consciousness. Subtle has to do with the mind. What's happening in relation to the mind. Jhanas, for example. The experience of jhanas. The experience of emotions. The experience of internal pain. Inferior or superior. It could be good or bad. It could be pleasant or unpleasant.

It could be related to this realm or a higher realm, or a lower realm, far or near. It could be any of these experiences, not just in relation to what you're experiencing here, but it could be an experience you're having, or another person is having, you know, 2,000 miles away. All of these are the things related to the aggregates, where the word aggregate applies to them.

So what the Buddha is conveying here is that it's just not about this here. It's not just about my body, or my feeling, or my perception, or my formations, or my awareness. It's everything. All things. All people. All beings. All experiences of all people and all beings. All of those are aggregates. And not only do you create a self-image, you are dependent upon these aggregates, but you create an image of who you think other people are dependent upon their aggregates and your expectation of them or your idea of who you think they are.

And when that doesn't match up, then you have suffering. So this is the mental proliferation that happens in the mind. It projects all of these ideas of what it's supposed to be, or who that person is supposed to be. When you meet a friend after a very long time, you have a certain idea of who they are. If you haven't been in communication with them for some time, whether, let's say, it's your high school or college buddy, and you meet them after, let's say, 15 years, 10, 15 years, maybe even just after three years, you think about them and what comes to mind. All of the memories you had of them together, right? Together with them.

And then those memories create the idea of who you think that person is. And then when you meet them, they're completely different. There's a cognitive dissonance. There's this jarring effect of, oh, I thought I knew this person, but you thought you knew a certain type of person based on your memories of them. But that applies in every moment.

If you hold an image of who you think your mother is, your father is, your brother is, your sister is, your girlfriend is, your boyfriend is, your aunt, your uncle, your enemies, the idea of enemies, where does that come from? Sometimes people inherit enemies. We've always hated those kinds of people. And so we will continue to hate those kinds of people. This is how suffering starts. This is how suffering endures.

So let go of all images, all ideas, all concepts. aggregate, the perception aggregate, the formations aggregate, the consciousness aggregate. The four great elements, Bhikkhu, are the cause and condition for the manifestation of the material form aggregate, the four great elements. The four great elements here are earth, water, air, and fire. Or in other words, we have solid molecules, we have liquid molecules. We have gaseous molecules and we have plasma molecules. Plasma here has to do with fire, with energy, with electricity, electrical activity.

These molecules make up everything that we experience. They make up also the body itself. Aggregate. Contact is the cause and condition for the manifestation of the perception aggregate. Contact is the cause and condition for the manifestation of the formations aggregate. Contact is a very important link here. It's a very important process and faculty. It's through contact that you have an experience.

You're only able to see because the eye and form make contact, and that gives rise to eye feeling. Same with the ears and sound. Same with the nose and smell. Same with the tongue and taste. Same with the body and tangibles. Same with the mind and mind objects. Contact is the key. Once you have contact, you have feeling. You have an experience.

Tied to that experience is a perception of what that experience is. You are seeing this shirt here. And there's light bouncing off of the shirt, hitting your retina, and you see this shirt. You see the color red. Knowing that it's the color red is the perception. So tied to that feeling is perception. And that's why contact is the cause and condition for perception. What about formations?

How do you make decisions? How does choice come about? How does intention come about? How do inclinations come about? Only when you have an experience can you make a decision about something. A thought occurs to you, maybe I should go to this place. Now there's an intention to go there. What was that? That thought was a feeling.

Mind made contact with mind object and there was a thought, maybe I should go here. Now there's an intention. There's a choice. Do I go there or do I not go there? You can choose to go there, you can choose not to go there. So choice, every given moment that you have, these choices that are present are arising because of contact.

And through that, you have the formations arising. So now, how does the mental formation arise? Contact gives rise to feeling and perception. In order for that feeling and perception to arise, it requires the mentality factors of feeling and perception, which are dependent upon consciousness, which are dependent upon mental formations. When you see something that you don't like or you see something and you want to express something about that, there's contact and then there's the feeling, the sensation, the experience.

And then you have a choice and you say, I want to say something about this. What happens? arise for you to be able to express and say what it is that you want to say. You feel hungry and you see an apple at the apple tree. You have that experience of seeing the apple tree. And so now what happens? Now you have a choice. I'm hungry so I want to go and eat that apple.

That intention gives rise to bodily formations that allow you to move and walk towards that apple tree so you can pluck it and eat it. So contact here gives rise to intention, gives rise to karma, gives rise to formations, which are the carrier of karma. Mentality, materiality is the cause and condition for the manifestation of the consciousness aggregate.

So we were talking about dependent origination, that we have consciousness, mentality, materiality, but mentality, materiality gives rise to consciousness as well. There is an interdependency there. For mentality, materiality to be present and active, you need consciousness. For consciousness to be experienced, you need mentality, materiality. They are interdependent. They are interwoven. view come to be? Identity view here is Sakayaditi. How does the belief in the personal self come to be? Here, Bhikkhu, an untaught ordinary person who has no regard for the noble ones and is unskilled and undisciplined in their Dhamma, who has no regard for true men and is unskilled and undisciplined in their Dhamma, regards material form as self or self as possessed of material form.

He regards consciousness as self, or as self as possessed of consciousness, or consciousness as in-self, or self as in-consciousness. That is how identity view comes to be. So, when we talk about the five aggregates as self, that's when the mind regards that I am this body. The experience that is there, I am that experience, that feeling. I am that perception.

I am that intention, those formations. I am that consciousness. As being possessed of these five aggregates. We're saying that there is a self that says, this is my body. This is my experience. This is my perception. This is my intention. This is my awareness. So what is it when you say that this is my experience or this is my body?

When you say that, in your mind, think about it. Reflect on this. When you say, this is my body, who are you referring to when you say, this is my body? When you say, this is my feeling, who are you referring to when you say, this is my feeling? When you say, this is my decision, who are you referring to when you say, this is my decision?

That's again, a created idea of some kind of sense of self. belongs to me. This is mine. Or there is the idea that self is in the body. Self is in the feeling itself. Self is in the perception. Self is in the choice, in the intention, in the formation. Self is in the awareness. Or there's the idea that these aggregates are in the self. There is a self and the body is within that self, or the feeling is contained in that self, or the perception is contained in that self, or the intention is contained in that self, or awareness is contained in that self. Again, what is that self?

Is that self just a thought, just an idea, just a concept that comes about, which then you create and say, yeah, I am in that feeling, or that feeling is in me. Isn't that just a thought? Isn't that just an idea, a concept? He does not regard formations as self, or self as possessed of formations, or formations as in-self, or self as in-formations. He does not regard consciousness as self, or self as possessed of consciousness, or consciousness as in-self, or self as in-consciousness. That is how identity view comes to be, or does not come to be, rather. In other words, one understands,

what these five aggregates actually are and does not create a sense of self in relation to these five aggregates. After having thoroughly examined and seen and experienced and understood for oneself with proper wisdom thus, what these aggregates actually are. Now that's what we'll get into. What is the gratification? What is the danger? And what is the escape in the case of material form? What is the gratification?

What is the danger? And what is the escape in the case of feeling? In the case of perception? In the case of formations? In the case of consciousness? The pleasure and joy, bhikkhu, that arise in dependence, that are dependent upon material form, in the case of material form. Material form, listen very carefully, material form is impermanent, suffering, subject to change. This is the danger in the case of material form. The removal of desire and lust, the abandonment of desire and lust for material form. In other words, the craving arising from that material form, or for that material form, or in relation to that material form. The conceit, the identification with that material form, the release from that, the abandoning of that, that is the escape in the case of material form.

Likewise, the pleasure and joy, the happiness that arises dependent on feeling, or dependent on perception, or dependent upon choices or intention, dependent upon awareness. That is the gratification. You have an experience of happiness. You have an experience of joy. You have an experience of pleasure in relation to these aggregates. And you are gratified by that. And you take that personally.

You say, that is my happiness. What happens? As you grow up, you take that for granted and you say, that is the source of happiness. That is the source of joy. This is how I make myself happy. This is how I become happy, is to gratify my senses, is to gratify in relation to the form, in relation to feeling, in relation to ideas.

People take great joy and pleasure in discussing ideas, in analyzing ideas. They make that a source of happiness. All of these things, the material form, the feeling, the perception, the intention or formations, and the consciousness. The Buddha says that they are impermanent, suffering, and subject to cessation. If that is the case, then why are you seeking happiness in relation to these things? If you truly understood, if you truly experienced and saw that these things are indeed impermanent, and passing away. Indeed, just giving you suffering. Because even if it's pleasant, it is impermanent and therefore not long-lasting and it will change. The fact that it is painful in of itself is the suffering there. If it's neutral, it doesn't give neither pleasure nor pain, but it gives rise to ignorance because you don't become aware of it.

You have lack of mindfulness. That is another source of suffering. The fact that it is impermanent and subject to change, if you truly saw this, if you truly experienced this, why would you seek any of those aggregates as a source of happiness? Why would you take great joy in trying to find pleasure for the body, in trying to find pleasure through feeling and sensations and experiences, those experiences, in trying to find joy through your choices and decisions, in trying to find joy just through cognizing and being aware of things, internally or externally, whether they're ideas and concepts, whether they are actual tangibles outside of you, outside of the body, as sense objects.

And then the escape, so that's the danger, the fact that they are impermanent, liable to cause suffering, and subject to change. But the removal of desire and lust, the abandonment of desire and lust for these aggregates, this is the escape in the case of those aggregates. What is the removal of the desire and lust? It's the removal of that self-image.

When you let go of that conceit, stop taking things personally, you won't have craving, you won't have aversion, you won't have further identification. That won't give rise to clinging to views, clinging to ideas, clinging to concepts, clinging to sensual pleasures, clinging to self-use, clinging to rites and rituals, which seem to satisfy that sense of self, which seem to aid that sense of self. And then you won't have the becoming into some kind of an existence.

The habitual tendencies in relation to that self-image won't arise. And therefore there won't be a birth of action, personalized action. And that won't give rise to that whole mass of suffering. So letting go of that image of who you think you are, and allowing things to be as they are, that is the beginning of freedom. Venerable Sir, how does one know? How does one see?

So that in regard to this body, with its consciousness and all external signs, there is no eye-making, mind-making, an underlying tendency to conceit. So how do you let go of that sense of, that image of self? How do you let go of that mechanism in the mind that continues to say, this is me, this is mine, this is myself? How do you let go of it? This is not mine. This I am not. This is not myself.

It is when one knows and sees thus that in regard to this, with this body, with its consciousness and all external signs, there is no eye-making, mind-making or underlying tendency to conceit. The mind saying I, me, or mine in relation to any of the five aggregates. Know that to be the beginning of craving. Know that to be the beginning of suffering. Recognize that. Recognize when the mind takes any of this personally. Release your attention from that. Relax. Re-smile. To that space where there is no me, mine, or myself. Experience everything as it actually is. Fully. Completely. But without that sense of I. Without that sense of me. That is where we come to that statement that the Buddha says in the Bahaya Sutta.

In the seeing, there is only the seeing. In the hearing, there is only the hearing. In the feeling, there is only the feeling. In the sensing, there is only the sensing. In the cognizing, there is only the cognizing. When there is no you in that, when there is no you before that, when there is no you after that, just this is the cessation of suffering. In other words, experience everything fully, pleasant, unpleasant, neutral. Just see everything as it actually is by having that experience. But don't add, don't superimpose a sense of self. Don't superimpose the I.

When you recognize, oh, now I'm taking this personally, mind is taking this personally, six are that. Let that go. You are, do you let that go? Create a space. Yes, you 6R. You let that go and create a space. You're using metacognition here. Let go of all self-images and just watch mind doing its thing. You are not the mind.

The mind is not yours. The mind is not self. The mind is a series of processes. The intention to bring up loving kindness arises because of a series of causes and conditions. That gives rise to the experience of loving kindness. But are you saying then that the mind is you that is experiencing the loving kindness? If that's the case, then you're going to take that personally. And when it goes away, what happens?

You feel distraught. You feel disheartened. You have suffering. But if you observe, if there is a sense of just observing mind as it actually is experiencing the loving kindness, if there is a mind experiencing distraction, okay, here is present mind experiencing distraction. Not that I am distracted. I am experiencing distraction. It's just mind is distracted. Observe the mind is distracted. Once you do that, you don't take it personally. And you don't suffer because of that distraction.

When the mind sees it and six R's it, uses the six R's. Observe mind using the six R's to let go of that distraction. So it is the mind that is meditating. It is the mind that is radiating. That is experiencing the factors. It is the mind being distracted. It is the mind using the six R's to let go of that distraction. When you do this, when you have that level of metacognition, it will run so smooth, everything will flow perfectly, because now you're not going to be bogged down by distractions. It's the mind that's bogged down by distractions. You're just observing mind being bogged down by distractions. When you have that level of space between what could be considered as the observer, now we'll get to that part, but first, when you have that space, then you don't take it personally. Then you're just seeing, okay, mind is distracted, no big deal, and there's an intention to 6R, and so mind is 6R, no big deal, back.

No big deal. Now here is the crux. Listen carefully. Then is karma done by the not-self effect? In other words, what is that self that experiences karma? Isn't this a question that people have? What is the self that is experiencing the choices? What is the self that is experiencing the intention? What is the self that is experiencing the karma? What is the self that is affected by the deeds that it does?

And so, here's what he says. That's quite the criticism. Misguided man. Obtuse and ignorant. Mind dominated by craving. Thinking he can outstrip the teacher's dispensation. So it seems material form is not self. Feeling is not self. Perception is not self. Formations are not self. Consciousness is not self. What self then will actions done by the not self affect? So, okay, you say that material form is not self. You say feeling is not self. You say perceptions are not self. You say our choices are not self. You say that awareness is not self. So what is that self that is affected by the causes and conditions of those aggregates?

Now, bhikkhus, you have been trained by me through interrogation on various occasions in regard to various things. This is a very cryptic statement that the Buddha says, but what he is referring to is dependent origination. Dependent origination is the mechanism of karma. Who you think you are as the self, as I said, is just a series of ideas and concepts.

It's just a conglomeration. You think that self is. And based on that, you think that you made a choice in the past and now it's affecting you here in the present. But the person that you were in the past is not the same person you are now in the present and will not be the same person that will be there in the future.

Because that self is just an idea. It's just arising through dependent origination. How? Something happens. You make contact with an experience. That contact feeds back to the ignorance. If there is still ignorance present in the mind, in other words, there is lack of mindfulness of the Four Noble Truths. Lack of mindfulness of seeing reality as it actually is. That gives rise to certain intentions and formations that are rooted in conceit. A self so rooted in a self-image that gives rise to a consciousness that's tainted by one of the 16 upakilesas, which we'll go into tomorrow, that gives rise to an experience of mentality materiality, which is then tainted by that craving, which then gives rise to the sixth sense basis, which then experiences that. Now, in that experience, there is already the underlying tendency to conceit, that experience of this is me, this is mine, this is myself.

So in other words, the idea of a self is just corrupted software. It's corrupted programming. It might have been programming useful in the past for survival, but now it's ineffective because it causes suffering. It's software that needs to be updated. That needs to be upgraded. And the way to upgrade that is through the six R's. Recognize every time you take things personally and let go of that. When you do that, you let go of conceit. Let go of the mechanism in the mind that says, this is me. This is mine. This is myself.

So those actions that are done, mental actions, verbal actions, physical actions, whether they were done in the past, whether they're being done now, or they'll be done in the future. They have an effect insofar as when the I is superimposed onto them. In other words, that karma, which is the old karma, remember the old karma is all of that, ignorance, formations, consciousness, mentality, materiality, sixth sense basis, contact, feeling, and perception tied to that. Of that is the stuff that you've inherited because of decisions in the past.

Now, if there's still conceit, if there's still a superimposition of an I to that, then there will be craving. Then there will be aversion. If you let go of the self-image, who is craving? Who is having aversion? Who is identifying? If you let go of the self-image, will craving arise? Craving arises in relation to the idea that this satisfies me, this makes me happy, so I want more of that in order to satisfy that image of self.

Or if it's painful to that image of self, that idea of self, then it says, this is painful to me, I don't like this, it affects that sense of self, and then there is aversion. This is me, this is mine, this is myself. And then what happens? There's clinging in relation to that. So by the time you have that, once you have that self-image and you act from that self-image, then you have new karma.

When you have that self-image, that craving and aversion that arise are an action, an activity that starts in the mind that gives rise to clinging. Associations with the self in relation to rites and rituals, in relation to views, in relation to sensual pleasures, which then give rise to habitual tendencies which make up that sense of self. The habitual tendencies that say that I always act this way when I'm met with this situation. The habitual tendency that says I always react in this way when this person comes to me, with your son or daughter, or when you meet with your brother or sister, when you meet with a friend or an enemy. Already there's all of these percolations of who you think they are, and your habitual reactions, your habitual tendencies arise, giving rise to a certain kind of action related to who you think that person is. So it's not only about the self-image, it's also about the projection of images on others, on other things and other beings.

The sense of being, the word being coming from the word sata or sattva, the definition of that is when the mind takes or identifies with any of the five aggregates personally. When you let go of that, there will not be any craving, there will not be any clinging, there will not be any becoming, there won't be birth of new action, and there won't be that whole mass of suffering.

So that karma that is experienced is just the electricity that runs through the wiring system of dependent origination. You make a certain decision and that's a decision. The moment you take that decision personally, the moment you take that action personally, then there is a sense of self that says, I am taking this personally and is affected by it.

But in reality, that action, that karma, that intention arose because of the previous circulation, the previous arising of dependent origination. Now, the choice therein is a choice to either add to it by continuing to act from that sense of self or realizing that you're taking this personally and letting go of it. No self. The Buddha was asked, is there a self or is there not a self, and he didn't answer in either way. He didn't say that there is a self and he didn't say there is not a self. Instead he said there is dependent origination, that is what cooks up the sense of self. The mechanics of dependent origination, call them anything you want.

But this is how it starts. The sense of self, the karma that arises from that sense of self, and the suffering due to that karma. But knowing that, understanding that, you're also able to cease suffering. That's why the Buddha says, he disregards all of these other questions, and he says, I only teach two things: suffering, how does the suffering arise, and the cessation of suffering. How do I let go of the causes and conditions that are causing the mind suffering?

Now, if you want, if it helps for you to say, okay, I am the one who makes these decisions, suit yourself. But, in reality, those decisions that are being made are being dependent, are dependent upon previous choices, previous intentions. Now, if you're going to try to find the first cause of this. Please, be my guest. Look for it. See if you can find it.

This samsara is beginningless. The Buddha tried to find the beginning of this samsara. It's like, if you've ever seen the movie Inception, right? In Inception, they talk about how do you know if you're in a dream? You come into a dream and you don't realize how did you get into that dream? You couldn't find how this dream started. You just were plopped right into that dream in the middle of that situation.

So in the same way, this samsara is a dream. You've just been plopped right into it. Now how do you get out of the matrix? How do you unplug from that? That's the key. Because for many, many, many, many iterations of moments in just this one life, many, many lifetimes, there has been suffering. At some point, the mind, the being in that life says, okay, I've had enough. That's the samvega, the dismay, the dissatisfaction with samsara.

It's not for everyone. Some people like to be in the matrix. Some people like to just continue being in samsara. Okay, that's their choice. But suffering is the beginning to Nibbana. Suffering is the first step, and understanding that the mind is suffering is the first crucial step towards Nibbana. That's the first pre-awakening. Oh, I am suffering. Is there a way out of this suffering?

So the mind, when it tries to calculate who is the self and what is the self, now that's another question that I would ask you and you should ask yourselves. If there is a self and I knew what that self was, does it change anything? Does it make any difference in knowing what exactly that self is? They're still suffering. They're still dukkha.

What have you changed? What has changed? If you figure out and you find out who that self is, maybe all you figure out and find out is that there is a self suffering. But there is still suffering going on. So the key here is to understand the suffering. The cause of that suffering. And understanding the cessation of that suffering.

And what is the path leading to that cessation of suffering? So those are the four noble truths. Understanding suffering, abandoning the source of that suffering, experiencing the cessation of that suffering through cultivation of the path leading to the cessation of suffering. When you do that, you produce no new karma. Because now you have let go of the sense of self, bit by bit by bit.

You produce some wholesome karma. But eventually that wholesome karma also is not identified with, and that too doesn't have any repercussions. Now it is just a cessation of old karma. At that point when the mind is liberated, then it produces no new karma. It's only the cessation of previous karma. Material form, permanent or impermanent? What do you guys think? Is it permanent or impermanent?

Impermanent. Is what is impermanent suffering or happiness? Suffering. Is what is impermanent suffering and subject to change fit to be regarded thus? This is mine. This I am. This is myself. No. What do you think? Is feeling, perception, formations, consciousness, are they permanent or impermanent? Impermanent. Is what is impermanent suffering or happiness? Suffering. Is what is impermanent suffering and subject to change fit to be regarded thus? This is mine, this I am, this is myself.

No. Therefore, bhikkhus, any kind of material form, whether past, future, or present, feeling whatsoever, perception whatsoever, formations whatsoever, consciousness whatsoever, all should be seen as it actually is with proper wisdom. Thus, this is not mine, this I am not, this is not myself. Seeing this, a well-taught noble disciple becomes disenchanted with material form, disenchanted with feeling, disenchanted with perception, disenchanted with formations, disenchanted with consciousness.

Disenchanted. What does that mean? Disenchanted, disenchantment, that comes from the Pali word nibita. It also means revulsion. You've had enough of that. Going back to the example of the cheesecake. I give you a piece of cheesecake. You really like that cheesecake. It's really nice. I say, have another piece of cheesecake. You're kind of satisfied with the first slice of cheesecake, but you said, why not? I'll have another.

You have the second slice of cheesecake, and you enjoy that, but not as well as the first time around. And now you're pretty full. Have another slice of cheesecake. And now you say, okay, maybe I'll try another piece. But you're just doing it to be polite. You don't really want it. So you eat that slice. And finally I say, here, have a fourth one. That's when you say, enough. I am done with this.

In the same way, when you realize what form actually is, what feeling actually is, what perception actually is, what formations actually are. When you realize, when you have had enough of suffering, you've had enough of taking these things personally, then you become disenchanted. You say, that's enough. I'm done with that. In the meditation, when you are in the meditation, you get to a deep level. All of these thoughts come up.

And what happens? You are affected by those thoughts. You are affected by those formations because you take them to be me, mine, or myself. You take your mind to be self and you take the formations the mind is experiencing to be self. And that's why you're causing yourself suffering. That's why the suffering arises. But if you disengage with that and see the mind experiencing the arising of formations being not self, then you become disenchanted with them. Eventually you realize, oh, I've seen this so many times. I've had enough of this.

And then you stop caring about any formations that come up. Now the mind doesn't have any stickiness to it. Any formations that arise just glide on through. And the mind becomes like Teflon. It just seeps through you. It just passes through the mind. And eventually the mind becomes completely disenchanted. Becoming disenchanted, one becomes dispassionate. Dispassion. Disengaged with all things. Completely disengaged with thoughts.

Completely disengaged with any form of the meditation. Just seeing things as they are. That gives rise to the disenchantment, which gives rise to dispassion. The dispassion comes from the word vairagya in Pali, or vairagya in Sanskrit, which means detachment. Now you are just completely gone. When you're watching a Netflix series for a long time, eventually you get bored of it. You become disenchanted with it. And now you unplug. You've had enough of that. And now you don't care whether it's on or off.

Or you've been hearing the same thing over and over and over again. Eventually, you become disenchanted. You don't care whether it's there. And now you unplug from that. If it's there or if it's not there, you're not even paying attention to that. You're in this bubble of dispassion. The mind is in a bubble. Whether formations arise or not, it doesn't even care. It doesn't even see it. It's completely detached from that. The mind is liberated.

Finally, the formations, not having the attention as fuel for them to arise, cease, and there is cessation. Now the mind is unconditioned, deconditioned from all conditions. It is in an unconditioned state. When there is contact with Nibbana, for that moment the mind is liberated. If there is no more personalizing, taking it personally, if there is no craving attached to the feeling of relief and joy that is experienced, if there is no conceit there, if there is no more ignorance there, then the mind is still liberated, fully liberated.

When it is liberated, there comes the knowledge. Now the mind reviews and realizes it is liberated. He understands birth is destroyed. The holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There is no more coming to any state of being. Birth is destroyed. The birth of any new karma is no longer going to be present.

Because now that mind is liberated from any self-image. Liberated from any kind of conceit. Liberated from any kind of craving. Liberated from any kind of ignorance. The holy life has been lived. The work has been done. The retreat has been accomplished. Your practice is complete. What had to be done has been done. There is no more coming to any state of being. There are no more habitual tendencies that the mind will react from. Now the mind becomes spontaneous.

Now the mind is not rooted in ignorance, but rooted in wisdom. Formations are not fettered by craving, by clinging, by conceit, by ignorance, by views. Now those formations are pure, purified from all of that. Now those formations just carry forward any old karma. That consciousness is now completely purified. There is no craving in relation to the mentality materiality, in relation to the sixth sense basis. There's no identification in relation to them, in relation to the contact.

And the feeling is seen as it actually is with proper wisdom. Thus, this is not me, this is not mine, this is not myself. Because of that, because there's no more of that self-image, there cannot arise any craving, clinging, becoming, birth of new action, or suffering. So now that liberated mind functions only on wisdom, pure formations, consciousness, mentality, materiality, sixth sense basis, contact and feeling.

Those are the links that are present in that mind. The rest are completely eliminated, completely gone. And that's why no habitual tendencies arise. Now that mind is fully established in right view. Because of that, the mind will always have right intention. Because of that, the mind will always have right speech and right action. Because of that, the mind will always pertain to right livelihood.

Because of that, the mind will always have right effort because it's six art so much that it has nothing left to six art. Because of that, the mind will always be in right mindfulness, always be in right collectedness. And then it will unlock two factors, two additional factors. Right knowledge or right insight, right liberation. It revisits and sees that the mind is liberated and experiences the fruit of that liberation.

And so that mind is constantly, in a sense, in Nibbana. In the sense that that mind is completely free from any kind of craving, any kind of hatred, any kind of delusion. That mind of the Arahant, it responds instead of reacts. And that's why it seems to be spontaneous. Because it understands things as they are and does not respond, or rather react, from habitual tendencies. But it responds in terms of what is required for that situation. Whether there is something to be said or not to be said. And if there is something to be said, what is to be said? In alignment, in concordance with right speech. If there is something to be done or not to be done.

And if there's something to be done, what is to be done in concordance with right action? So that mind actually goes on autopilot. The default mode of functioning is through the Eightfold Path. That becomes the mind's automatic functioning. So now that's the software upgrade. The corrupted software of that self-image has been eradicated and upgraded to the software through the programming of the Eightfold Path.

Facilitated by the six R's. The six R's are the process of upgrading that software. And now that operating system, the mind of the Arahant, is uncorruptible. It's unshakable, irreversible. Because once you have experienced it and seen it for yourself, there's no going back. That is what the Blessed One said. The bhikkhus were satisfied and delighted in the Blessed One's words. Now, while this discourse was being spoken, through not clinging, the minds of 60 bhikkhus were liberated from the taints. Formations like intention as choices.

You cannot make any choice unless you are met with an experience. So for the choices to arise, those are the formations, you need to have contact with something. So the contact also feeds back and it says, formations arise and a certain set of formations arise. Mental formations arise to facilitate the feeling and perception, or verbal formations arise to facilitate the expression of speech, or bodily formations arise to facilitate physical action.

May suffering ones be suffering free. May the fear-struck be fearless. 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.