MN 15 Anumana Sutta Majjhima Series with Delson Armstrong-Admonished by the Buddha

So today, we're going to be going through, oh, you know what, give me one second, I want to make sure. Yeah, okay. Yeah, today we're going to go through Majjama Nikaya 15, and this is called Anumana Sutta, or inference. And it's interesting because this is one of the rare suttas in which you can actually hear or read Mahamoglana teaching.

This is very interesting. So, what do we mean by the word admonish? We're in the middle of a retreat, and it was funny because I admonished everyone on this retreat who is supposed to be on an advanced retreat, a so-called advanced retreat. But I know their minds. None of them have actually really practiced enough to qualify for an advanced retreat.

They somehow feel like they need to come on a retreat, and then they'll say, okay, I will meditate. And then they go out into the world and they lose their consistency. They lose their discipline. So I admonished them, and they took it lightly. They took it in a fun way. They took it in a way that was realizing, okay, yes, they need to do the work, and it's not just about going on practice on retreat and then not doing anything off retreat. So the thing is, to be admonished doesn't mean that a teacher or an elder or someone who is a guide is picking on you just for the sake of picking on you.

Obviously, their bedside manner might not be the way that you expect it to be, and that could just be their personality or whatever it might be. But understand that a true teacher, a true guide, wants the best for you and will do all they can, within limits, to make sure that you are progressing, whatever that level of progress means for you.

But obviously, they're not going to mollycoddle you. They're not going to try to be there every step of the way. But when they see something that's incorrect, or something that needs addressing, they will do it. Now, this is what Maha Moggallana is talking about. He's saying that if there are people who are difficult to admonish, and I've come across some people like that, and they take it very personally, and they take it as an attack, twist words, and think things in their mind that are not really what the intention was or what was said.

So in those situations, what do you do? You just walk away. What's the point of trying to correct? You may try to correct yourself, but there's nothing to correct. If they're not able to understand, you may try to correct their understanding. But at a certain point, you know, it's not really. The person who is "serious" about the practice will do what they can and be open to suggestions, to recommendations, to instructions, and even to criticism.

So, what qualities make him difficult to admonish? Here, a bhikkhu has evil wishes and is dominated by evil wishes. [This is the] quality that makes him difficult to admonish. What does it mean to have evil wishes? Actually, you will see as we progress through this sutta, Maha Moggallana is actually pointing to the sixteen Upakilesas. So one who has evil wishes, the intent that one has is unwholesome, is unkind.

And it's very interesting, because you will see people who are in the spiritual life and they're cloyingly sweet and overly loving and kind and so on. That could be their personality, but generally they're compensating for something, and they're compensating for intentions that are not at all very wholesome. They are dominated by greed, hatred, or delusion, by deception, by all kinds of things. And for that reason, it can be difficult to admonish them.

Here, a bhikkhu lauds himself and disparages others. This is a quality that makes him difficult to admonish. So such a person may be praising their accolades, praising their achievements, praising their levels of attainment, and so on and so forth. And to the point of disparaging others, criticizing others unfairly or putting them down. And this means that such a person is bespotted with conceit.

Because when you try to compare your practice with another person, there's a certain level of insecurity, down to, such a person is insecure. And to admonish them, they take it as an attack on their character or on their personality, when in fact it's not the case. It's more about, hey, maybe you should try this, maybe you should try that. I see this in a way that doesn't really fit with the suttas or fit with practice, so maybe you want to re-look at that. And is overcome by anger.

So anger, what do we mean by anger? When somebody feels like they are being criticized for their character or their personality, there is a spark, a trigger, an immediate reaction that is bubbling up and boiling up from the formations. They may not show it immediately on their face. They may not even say anything, but there is an anger underneath that, and they're overcome by it. When you are overcome by any strong emotion intensely, it is very difficult to be given any kind of instruction, let alone to be able to hear out what other people are saying, because the emotions are so loud. It is completely filtered by that. Again, a bhikkhu is angry and resentful because of anger. Resentment: people may resent you as somebody who attacked their character, somebody who is not looking at your best interests. This is the thing about the, let's say, quote-unquote teacher-student dynamic.

And you need a mature student. You need a teacher, obviously, who's mature enough to deal with these things. But also, we give some accounting for the fact that we're all human. We get upset. We get angry. We get frustrated, both from the teacher's perspective and the student's perspective. So it's not about us trying to hold ourselves up to a gold standard and, when we fail, feeling miserable about it. It's more about noticing when resentment sets in, or any of these qualities set in, that lead us to not be able to take in what can be very good instructions for us, because of anger, stubbornness. Right? Why should I listen to this person?

Why did they say this to me? Why did they do that to me? I am not going to listen to them. I know better. I know what it is. It's interesting on this retreat, I'll give you another example on this retreat and on many retreats, really. You tell somebody certain instructions, and you tell somebody not to do certain instructions.

And at the interview, they'll come in and say, "I actually did the instructions you told me not to, and now I see why you said that." So it's like you can lead the horse to the water, but you can't make them drink it. It's the same thing when you are giving instructions, when you have that dynamic.

You can beat your head up. You can pull your hair out. You can do all kinds of things, but you just leave them to their sense and sensibilities, to their kamma, to seeing the consequences of what happens when you don't listen. Not because you're going to do something, but because they realize for themselves why the guide or the instructor said this or said not to do this.

So the stubbornness that's there is like, I know better. What do you know? I know better. I've done this before. But this is the theme, really, that you should think about in life in general, which is a beginner's mind. Let's not hold on to our accolades. Let's not hold on to our achievements. Let's not hold on to the decades of experience that we have.

Because even a sliver of that can eclipse what could be the shining light of certain instructions that can really take us all the way. So let's have a beginner's mind, right? The beginner's mind is: I'm open to instruction. I'm open to seeing this. I have curiosity. I'm not stuck in my ways. Again, a bhikkhu is angry, and he utters words bordering on anger, certain things that can be unwholesome, or says certain things that have a flavour of aversion in them.

Again, a bhikkhu is reproved, and he resists the reprover, and that could be at a very, very subtle level. As I was saying, we get certain instructions. Sometimes what happens is we are told, oh, this was a great thing that you did, and that was wonderful. This thing that you did here was great, and, oh, wow, that was wonderful. But there's one thing I just wanted to point out, and it's this particular feedback that I have for you. It's constructive criticism, let's say.

But what do we do? We resist it. We can resist it. Stuff is great, but now there's this one blight that we pay attention to. That's the nature of the mind: to find out the things that are not exactly in tune. That's just the nature of the brain, to look out for danger and stuff like that. But being reproved is not dangerous. Being reproved is just, hey, maybe work on this a little bit. But that resistance that comes up is a survival mechanism. Again, a bhikkhu is reproved and he denigrates the reprover. So he will maybe start to criticize the person who's trying to give them instruction. This is a deeper, or let's say more aggressive, form of that resistance to the instruction or to the criticism.

Again, a bhikkhu is reproved and he counter-reproves the reprover. Oh, well, you say I did this and this and that. I didn't do this. What about you? It's a very childish thing to do. You see that in arguments all the time. Oh, well, I did this, but what about when you did that? So now, what are you doing? You're deflecting rather than accepting the criticism.

But when we say accept, it doesn't mean that we approve or we deny. It's just that we're accepting. We're allowing the criticism to be in its own space, in the mind, and then figure out, does it make sense or does it not make sense? That's all. Again, a bhikkhu is reproved and he prevaricates. He leads the talk aside and shows anger, hate, and bitterness. And this is, again, a deeper level of that. Again, a bhikkhu is reproved and he fails to account for his conduct, right? That's another level. It's like not taking accountability.

Well, he did this, and he did that, but I'm perfect and I don't need to do this and I don't need to do that. They don't see what I'm seeing. You know, this is all from the mind that still is in survival mode, hasn't seen through that and hasn't had the level of equanimity to really pay attention to what matters and what doesn't matter. Right? They hold contempt against the person who's giving them instruction or criticism.

They become insolent. They behave and they act out in such a way that they make a fool of themselves. Again, a bhikkhu is envious and avaricious. Such a person can be envious. Why do they know so much and why don't I know more? So this all again stems from insecurity. Again, a bhikkhu is fraudulent and deceitful. What does it mean to be fraudulent and deceitful?

Well, misrepresenting what you know to be true or what you don't know to be true or you know to be false. So you are maybe overclaiming intentionally to make oneself feel better or to make oneself seem superior than others. Or you are deceitful in the sense that you betray someone's trust. You betray someone's trust, you're treacherous.

And again, all this stems from emotional wounds. These things can be counterbalanced with some levels of practice that allow to really go to the deep core. Wounds and forgiveness and, you know, letting go really helps. Wisdom is a wonderful balm for this. Wisdom is a wonderful ointment that heals this. Because if you have a different perspective rooted in wisdom, then you don't take these things so seriously and so personally. And why do we take things so personally?

We take them personally because... There is the I, the me, the mind, the myself in every experience or attached to every experience. And if we just see the words that are coming out of a person's mouth as just sound and just observe the process of hearing that sound and just observe the process of perceiving the sound, in other words, sense of the words, and then notice when the limbic system goes in overdrive and there are these emotions that come up, and then being able to see where resistance arises, where the mind is identifying, and then just letting it go, softening, dropping it.

Again, a bhikkhu is obstinate and arrogant. He adheres to his own views, holds on to them tenaciously and relinquishes them with difficulty. This is a quality that makes him difficult to admonish. So somebody who is obstinate and arrogant, right? So arrogance means, okay, I'm better than everyone else. I'm cocky. You know, I know things and I'm going to show off and I'm going to be arrogant about it. I'm going to be. The idea of adhering to one's own views means, well, I know what I know, and I know it to be true, even though the suttas say otherwise, or even though there is a perspective that is in alignment with the Dhamma.

You know, one perspective is, for example, there's instructions about holding things too tightly to an object of meditation. I'm going to be focused and I'll be collected. And they hold on to that view. But what about the view of letting go, of being kind to yourself and having softness in your practice? A hard mind leads to a hard character.

A soft mind leads to a soft character. That's what it is. Views and with our practice to the point that we break the mind and make it brittle and completely solid like a rock, that's what's going to show off in our behavior. But the softer we are, the gentler we are, the more flexible we are, the more malleable the mind is, the more open the mind is. So to our behavior.

What qualities make him easy to admonish? So it's the same 16, but the opposite. So here one has no evil wishes and is not dominated by evil wishes. He does not laud himself or disparage others. He is not quick to anger and doesn't allow anger to overcome him. He is not angry or resentful because of anger. He is not stubborn because of anger. He does not utter words bordering on anger.

He does not resist the reprover. He does not denigrate the reprover. He does not counter-reprove the reprover. He is reproved and he does not prevaricate. He is reproved and he does not fail to account for his conduct. He is not contemptuous or insolent. He is not envious or avaricious. He is not fraudulent or deceitful. He is not obstinate or arrogant.

Again, he does not adhere to his own views or hold on to them tenaciously. And he relinquishes them easily. That makes him easy to admonish. Friends, these are called the qualities that make him easy to admonish. Now friends, a bhikkhu ought to infer about himself in the following way. So that's where we talk about anumana. Anumana is interesting. Anumana just means to measure in some ways, but in a positive way. It means to infer, to understand, to see, and to make sense of things.

Likewise with the other things, you know, a bhikkhu who lauds and disparages others, it is displeasing to me, right? One who is angry, somebody who is angry is displeasing to me. displeasing, somebody who is stubborn is displeasing, somebody who utters words bordering on anger, who resists any kind of reproving, who denigrates, who counter-approves, who leaves the talk aside, who shows anger, bitterness, and hate, who fails to be accountable, who is contemptuous or insolent, who is envious or avaricious, who is fraudulent or deceitful, who is obstinate or arrogant, who does not, who adheres to his own views and is difficult to admonish, right? So what does this mean?

Really, what it's saying is, I know what it feels like when this person, any person, acts in these ways. So let me not be this way. Let me not be disagreeable to others. That's the way to look at wholesome and unwholesome. If something irritates me, if something makes me feel bad, that's the fundamental core of wisdom. Right? That is the flip side of the golden rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

That's why we take and keep the precepts. Because we know what we feel like when someone lies to us, cheats us, hits us, speaks ill of us. Someone who is intoxicant and loud and obnoxious in their intoxication. Who breaks things, who is clumsy. Look how our mind judges them. How idiotic they are. So why would we want to be that way?

And why would we want to that out to others. Right? So he says here, he goes through all the others and then finally at the 16th he says, a person who adheres to his own views, holds on to them tenaciously and relinquishes them with difficulty is displeasing and disagreeable to me. If I were to adhere to my own views, hold on to them tenaciously and relinquish them with difficulty, I would be displeasing and disagreeable to others. A bhikkhu who knows this should arouse his mind thus, I shall not adhere to my own views, hold on to them tenaciously, and I shall relinquish them easily.

Fond of ornaments, or on viewing the image of their own face in a clear, bright mirror or in a basin of clear water, sees a smudge or a blemish on it, they make an effort to remove it. But if they see no smudge or blemish on it, they become glad thus. It is a gain for me that it is clean. So too, when one reviews themselves thus, and glad, training day and night in wholesome states.

So there is a practice of noticing these things three times a day throughout the day. How has my behavior been? Have I been upstanding, as in accordance to the Dhamma? Have I stayed wholesome most of the time? Or have I slipped somewhere? When you do this at least three times through the day, that's a wonderful way of reviewing. Am I keeping my precepts?

And if you're not, then you make an effort to do so, right? And some instructions are at least once a day, but usually it's at least three times a day throughout the day. Just as we eat three meals a day, we review three times a day. How has my behavior been throughout this day? In the morning, once in the mid-afternoon, another time in the evening, and maybe before you go to sleep. How have I been?

This is how you practice. This is how you start to recondition the mind. That is what the Venerable Maha Moglana said. The Bhikkhus were satisfied and delighted in the Venerable Moglana's words. 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 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.