Day 7 8 Fold Path- Japan Retreat Dec 2023

So tonight we will talk about the Eightfold Path. The Eightfold Path is the fourth noble truth. It is the way leading to the cessation of suffering. And by following the Eightfold Path, we live a very balanced lifestyle. So the Eightfold Path is not just the prescription by the Buddha for the cessation of suffering, ultimate suffering, that is the suffering of that's inherent in existence, but also suffering on a moment-to-moment level. So what are the factors of the Eightfold Path? Right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right collectedness. When we talk about right view at the very basic level, right view is understanding what is wholesome and what is not wholesome, what is wholesome, what is unwholesome.

Once you understand what is right view and what is wrong view, what is right intention, what is wrong intention, what is right speech, wrong speech, and so on, then you have some fundamental understanding of right view. And then there are more layers to right view. There is the mundane level of right view, which has to do with having a mindset that is conducive for the practice. When you talk about the word view, ditthi, that is a perspective, that is a level of understanding and world view. The worldview that you are adopting with right view is the view that there is meaning in the things that we do, that there is no such thing as a meaningless existence.

Everything that we do has an effect. Perhaps it's immediate or it takes time for that effect to show through. Every intention that we have, whether that is mental, verbal, or physical, has some kind of repercussion. There is meaning in giving. There is meaning in what is offered. There's meaning in what is sacrificed. So again this is all part of the understanding of the basics of karma. If your mindset is rooted in the wholesome then your actions will be wholesome. If your mindset is rooted in the unwholesome then your actions will be unwholesome. If your intentions are wholesome then that means the formations that conditioned it are also wholesome. And those formations that are wholesome were conditioned by prior intentions, prior contact with the world in which we decided to act in a wholesome manner.

Every time you make the decision to be wholesome, you are affecting the next arising of formations, which then condition the next arising of your intention. This is also the basis for karma. Then the mundane right view also refers to there is mother and there is father, which means that we owe a debt of gratitude to our parents. No matter how terrible we think that they were, no matter how awful we think they were. Not that we condone any kind of abuse from them. But we have that basic level of gratitude that, yeah, they brought us into this world so that we have the potential to experience for ourselves Nibbana and the total cessation of suffering.

We have the potential to experience full awakening thanks to them. So having that understanding, we should let go of any kind of grudges, any kind of resentment, any kind of mind states that cause us difficult relationships with our parents. Because we should see that they are who they are. That is their karma. We can't do anything about it. But how we choose to respond, how we choose to react, is our karma. So there is mother and there is father. This is the understanding. There is spontaneous rebirth. This is another aspect of it. So what is spontaneous rebirth? This understanding is that there is no what is known as antarabhava. Although it is mentioned in some of the suttas, antarabhava, a lot of times it's interpreted as an intermediate level or intermediate gap between one lifetime and the next.

But if we look at it from the scope of dependent origination, then it is immediate. There is one life here, that life dissolves, and immediately there is another life. All of the other explanations of the bardo and so on and so forth, they are all happening at the level of the mind of the person who is passing away. So there is no intermediate sort of space. If there were, it would be shown in the cosmology, right? But it's not there. So spontaneous rebirth is here from lifetime to lifetime, but spontaneous rebirth also refers to our day-to-day experience. Everything that we are experiencing, we are experiencing the arising and passing away of different kinds of consciousnesses: eye consciousness, ear consciousness, nose consciousness, tongue consciousness, body consciousness, mind consciousness. They're all happening. It seems like they're all happening simultaneously, but they're happening at differing rates of arising and passing away to create a seamless experience of this simulation that we live in.

That simulation that we live in, the interface of that simulation is this mind and body. That's it. So how do we deal with it? What do we do with it? All we see is that actually there is no control here. Allow things to be as they are, whether it's in the meditation or whether it's in any kind of experience that we're having, mundane experience. All of that has no control, no bearing on what we intend. Because we can intend only so much, but in terms of the effects of what could happen, that we are not in control of. This is why I keep emphasizing, stop thinking about the outcome.

Let go of what the intended effect of the meditation should be. And just be present and available to what arises in every moment. Then, finally, the mundane level of right view talks about there are those Brahmins and teachers who have experienced the path for themselves and are able to speak from some level of experience. And so due respect should be given to them. What does that due respect mean? It's not just empty veneration or bowing and all of these other things. It's just acknowledging that it is possible, right? A true person of the Dhamma doesn't care about veneration, doesn't care about ceremony, doesn't care about rites and rituals, doesn't care about, oh, he didn't respect me, he didn't bow to me, she didn't say this, she didn't do that.

No, all of that is unnecessary for the mind that is free of all craving. So what is the purpose of that? It is to acknowledge that what this person has achieved is possible. And therefore, we are being open to listening to what that person has to say and then internalizing it for our own experience. The super mundane level of right view is the understanding of the four noble truths. Every time you become aware of the four noble truths in every given moment, you have right view. Every time you're able to recognize suffering, whether that suffering is dukkha in that moment or clinging or craving or being, every time you recognize an intention towards the unwholesome and you let go of that, in other words you abandon the undue attention to that, and you experience a cessation of that suffering, you experience a cessation of that dukkha. You experience a cessation of that clinging, of that being, of that craving.

You experience the cessation of identifying with the feeling. Every time you see that, by letting go, by using what? The Eightfold Path. The heart of which is right effort. And what is right effort? Six R's or four R's or whatever you want to call it. But right effort allows you to go from wrong view to right view, wrong intention to right intention, and so on and so forth. So every time you're able to recognize this and utilize right effort, you are practicing or applying the four noble truths in that situation. What are the four noble truths? The first noble truth is of dukkha, suffering. The second noble truth is of tanha, or craving, the samudaya, the arising of suffering. Suffering arises due to craving, craving here being the abbreviated form of the links of dependent origination that cause suffering: craving, clinging, being, birth, action, underlying tendencies, and so on. And then the third noble truth is nirodha.

Nirodha doesn't just mean this special state of the cessation of perception, feeling and consciousness. Every time you let go of craving, every time you relax clinging, every time you let go of being, you are experiencing nirodha in that moment by utilizing the four R's or the six R's. That's the fourth noble truth. So how do you perfect right view? You fully understand all aspects of suffering. You fully abandon all causes and conditions for that suffering. You totally, completely realize nibbana, the total cessation of suffering, and you perfect the cultivation of the Eightfold Path, whereby the Eightfold Path becomes your norm. It becomes the operating system of your mind. So this is the super mundane right view.

What is right intention? There are three components to right intention. Nekkhamma, which is renunciation, non-ill will, and non-cruelty. When we say renunciation, what do we mean by that? Do we mean that we go forth into the homeless life and become a bhikkhu or bhikkhuni? Maybe, but that's not necessary. Renunciation means renunciation of the ego, renunciation of the sense of self, renunciation of this is me, this is mine, this is myself. So every time you are outcome driven in your meditation, every time you want a certain way or experience in the meditation, you don't have right intention. Because you have a sense of self tied to the meditation. But if you let go and allow the mind to settle into the meditation, allow things to be as they are, you are renouncing in those moments the me, mine, or myself.

And you're allowing things to be. This is the true meaning of renunciation. And it is facilitated through the cultivation of equanimity. What is equanimity? Equanimity is seeing things as they actually are without getting caught up in them one way or the other. If it's a pleasant experience, you only note, okay, it's a pleasant experience, but you don't get excited by it, you don't identify with it. If it's an unpleasant experience, you say, okay, it's painful here, but you don't get caught up in it, you don't say, I don't like this. If it's a neutral experience, you say, okay, it's neutral, but you don't identify with it and say, this is my experience. So through the cultivation of equanimity, forget about what equanimity feels like. Forget about that. Equanimity is feeling calm and tranquil and balanced and all of that. True equanimity is about being disengaged with everything that is happening. How do you do that? By mindfulness. Through mindfulness, through the recognition of the present moment in every single

circumstance when you have that, then equanimity prevails. Equanimity arises on its own. There's nothing you need to do. Just being available without attaching a sense of self to it is the beginning of equanimity. So forget about how it feels. See what's happening in your mind in relation to the present moment. Am I taking this present moment personally, or am I allowing things to be as they are and seeing them for what they actually are, which is dependently arisen, therefore impermanent? Therefore, if I hold on to it, that is the cause of suffering. Therefore, it is not to be taken as me, mine, or myself. Then we have non-ill will. What is non-ill will? Not having aversion towards anyone. Not being irritated by anyone.

Not being frustrated by a situation. Right? Not being angered by anything. Non-ill will. This is cultivated through the practice of loving-kindness. Again, forget about what loving-kindness is supposed to feel like. What is the fruit of loving-kindness? Not being averse towards any situation. Allowing the situation to be as it is. If it's a painful or unpleasant situation, not letting your mind get angered by it. Not letting your mind get irritated by it. Not letting your mind want to change the situation. Just allowing things to be as they are. This is non-ill will, cultivated through loving-kindness. And then we have non-cruelty.

What is cruelty? Cruelty is adding to another being's suffering. Right? Cruelty means that we recognize that another being is suffering, and instead of easing away from that, and letting them be in their suffering and wishing that they were free of that suffering, helping them out of that suffering, we only add to their suffering. How does this happen? A very mundane example of that is somebody gets angry at you, and they start shouting at you and criticizing you. What is your first reaction to it? You become defensive. You say, that's not me, right? And then you lash back. In lashing back, you're not recognizing that the other person is suffering. Because the reason that they are getting angry, the reason they're becoming critical, is because they are feeling some inherent suffering.

And for us to only lash back at them is adding to their suffering. So, the cultivation of compassion, the recognition of suffering in another being, and being available to soothe them from that suffering. If they get angry at you, what is the way to deal with that? Do you get angry at them? Or do you realize that they're suffering? Let go of your own anger and try to de-escalate the situation and try to bring peace to their minds. This happens through the cultivation of compassion. Then we have right speech. Right speech means abstaining from speech that is divisive, that is abusive, that is harmful, that is false, that is gossip, that is unnecessary. What is divisive speech?

You hear one thing here, you hear another thing there, and you say, this person said this to you, and this person said this about you. And you start to create a myth. Abusive speech and harmful speech. You bring down a person's morale through your speech. You criticize them in a deconstructive manner, in a destructive manner. You call them all kinds of names and things like that. What is gossip? Talking about a person, which you may know to be true or untrue. But how do you know if it's gossip? If whatever it is that you're saying about that person to someone else, and if that person were in the room, would you say it? If you would not say it, then there's your answer.

It's gossip. You just need to continue the grapevine, right? You just need to let people know what you've heard about this person. But imagine that person being in the room. How would they feel? Unnecessary speech. What is unnecessary speech? Oh, did you see the game last night? Did you see that guy score? Did you hear what happened to this and so-and-so celebrity? Did you hear they broke up with them? Did you hear what happened on the news the other day? All of these things are unnecessary speech. So the Buddha talked about it as talk of kings and politics, and this land and that land, and so on. Unnecessary speech. It just causes further restlessness in your mind.

So there's a good acronym that you can use to understand right speech, and that is THINK. T-H-I-N-K. To think before you speak. T is for timeliness. Is it the right time to say what it is that you want to say? Sometimes it's not the right time. Sometimes you might speak out of turn, and so it's not the right time. H is for honesty. Do you know what you're going to say is true? And if you don't know, you could say, I'm not sure if this is true or not, but this is what has been told to me.

I is for intention. What is the intention behind what you want to say? Is it a wholesome intention or is it an unwholesome intention? Is it to bring people up or is it to bring people down? What is the intention? N is for necessity. Is it necessary for you to say what you have to say? Is it for their benefit, or your benefit, or the benefit of both?

And K is kindness. Can you infuse whatever it is you're going to say with kindness? I had a question about this where somebody said, what if we have to reprimand someone? What if we have to scold our children? What if we have to give a talking to our employees? I said, you can shout at them, you can be stern with them, but can you do it with loving-kindness? Because the speech can be harsh, but it can also be beneficial. The speech could sound harsh, the speech can sound ironic, the speech can sound sarcastic, but it's getting through to the person. And the intention behind it is not to harm the person. The intention behind it is to motivate them to come out of whatever it is, their procrastination or their bad behavior or whatever it might be.

In fact, you will see in the suttas some examples of the Buddha using what seems to be harsh speech. He calls Sati, son of a fisherman, a misguided man, which is a very tame translation of what it actually is. Because in the Pali, it comes from the word moghapurisa, which means, you stupid fool. And then there are other times where a monk will speak out of turn and the Buddha will reprimand him. So it's not being abusive. It's trying to identify the problem in a way that brings immediate attention.

to the situation, and then later on, out of compassion, the Buddha explains what he's saying and what he's doing, and then tries to correct that person's understanding. So think before you speak. What is the intention? Is it an intention to bring someone up or is it an intention to bring them down? That's the kindness part. The kindness is if you can do it in a way that can create some value in their mind in relation to the Dhamma, or at least in relation to them not continuing that bad behavior, then that is an action of kindness. That is an act of kindness.

Then we have right action or right behavior, and this is essentially following the precepts. Right? So that means abstaining from killing or harming living beings, abstaining from taking what is not given, abstaining from sexual or sensual misconduct. Right? So when we talk about lying, abstaining from lying is of course part of right speech. Now, it doesn't talk about abstaining from intoxicants in right action, but it is implied if you want to have right mindfulness. So what does it mean, abstaining from killing and harming living beings? It means, what is your intention? You do not want to kill or harm any living being, right? Because it cultivates an intention of ill will, which then later on translates into the hindrance of ill will in your meditation. Abstaining from taking what is not given is not about just stealing. It's abstaining from taking attention away from someone, abstaining from taking undue credit where credit is not due, abstaining from all kinds of taking of things. It's not just possessions, but it can be other things, because that cultivates a hindrance of restlessness. Abstaining from sexual or sensual

misconduct. What is sexual misconduct? Sexual misconduct is essentially cheating on your partner. It doesn't matter if it's a same-sex partner, if you are in a throuple, if you are polyamorous, whatever it is, as long as you are not cheating on your partner or partners. That is what is important. Or that you are making others cheat on their partners by having an affair with them or whatever it is. Sensual misconduct is in the pursuit of something that you desire through one of the five physical sense spaces. You break the other precepts. And what does this do? This cultivates sensual craving in you.

And so the hindrance of sensual craving becomes strong. Abstaining from lying, of course, that's part of right speech. But what does that mean, abstaining from lying? Why? Abstaining from false speech, because the more you intend to deceive others, the more doubtful you become of others. Because if you can deceive others, then others can deceive you, and you become doubtful of others, and you become doubtful of yourself, and that results in doubt of what is true and untrue, what is wholesome and unwholesome, and this cultivates the hindrance of doubt. And finally, though it's not mentioned in right action, we talk about abstaining from taking in or indulging in

intoxicants. So what does this mean? What do we talk about when we say intoxicants? It really refers to alcohol, but it also refers to anything that pulls our attention away and makes us obsessed by it. That could be binge-watching a show on Netflix, or, you know, surfing the internet for hours and hours, or reading a book for hours and hours and getting caught up in it. So you're overindulging the sense basis to such an extent that it creates want. It creates sloth and torpor. How do you feel after you binge-watch a show?

You feel exhausted. You feel tired. And that is sloth and torpor. Now, there are benefits to keeping the precepts, which I'll talk about tomorrow. But one of the main benefits is that it starts to diminish the hindrances in your mind. But there are certain kinds of effects that are beyond that, that you get from keeping these five hindrances. Then we have right livelihood or right lifestyle. And that is all about not dealing in any kind of career, employment, business, or trade that causes harm to yourself or to other beings. So in the Sutta, it talks about not indulging in any kind of trade or not taking up a trade that deals in the selling of weapons, the selling of alcohol, the selling of poisons, in human trafficking, and in the slaughter of animals for the purpose of meat, but also animal sacrifice.

So that fifth one about meat, right? That's always an interesting one because everyone asks, well, then what about us eating meat? So that is referring to really monastics. So for monastics, when they are offered meat for their alms, it should be made sure that they did not see or hear the animal being killed, nor was the animal killed especially for them for the purpose of meat, nor should they suspect that this meat was from killing an animal specifically for them. So this is the understanding. So right livelihood for lay people is not indulging in any of these traits that cause harm to yourself or to others.

For monastics, it's a little bit more than that because it's about not being diverted in other situations like astrology and palmistry and all of these things. Not that the Buddha is saying that they're wrong livelihood in the sense that they are wrong, but that they are ineffective for monastics, because why do they become monastics? For the purpose of the holy life to be achieved, which is the fruit of which is nibbana. So anything that takes you away from that as a monastic is wrong livelihood. And then we come to right effort. So now we have sila, samadhi and panya. So sila is the bedrock of the Dhamma, is the bedrock of the practice. It quite literally means foundation in Pali. So sila is basically right speech, right action and right

livelihood. Samadhi is right effort, right mindfulness and right collectedness. So when we talk about right effort, there are four components to right effort. The preventing of the arising of unarisen unwholesome states. Essentially, every time you recognize a hindrance arising, you stop the momentum of potential hindrances from arising in that moment. That's it. Just as you notice that you were distracted, it stops the entire momentum. You don't have to do anything further. The second right effort is to abandon already arisen unwholesome states. So the hindrance is present in your mind, whatever that hindrance is. By relaxing, by letting go, you are abandoning that arisen unwholesome state.

The third right effort is to generate or bring up a wholesome state of mind. That is through the cultivation of the smile. It uplifts your mind, it brings joy to your mind, it brings clarity, it brings presence of mind. And then the fourth right effort is to maintain or to keep that wholesome state going. So when you collect your mind around an object, you are maintaining the attention on something that is wholesome. This is right effort, and so it is through right effort that you are able to go from the wrong factors of the wrong path to the factors of the eightfold path, right? Because when you recognize your mind is going towards wrong view, that's recognizing it, letting go of that, bringing up the right view and maintaining that.

When you notice that you have the wrong intention, you're taking this meditation personally, and you let go of that, and then you allow things to be as they are. You are cultivating right intention and you're continuing with that right intention. When you notice that you have an intention to deceive someone, or intention to spread gossip, or an intention to abuse someone with your words, the intention is there. You recognize it, you let it go, you cultivate the right intention, and you maintain it by acting properly, by using right speech. Likewise for action, likewise for livelihood. This is why right effort is the heart of the practice. And it is the equipment, as it's mentioned in Majjhima Nikaya 43 and 44, actually in 44, if I remember correctly, it is the equipment of samadhi.

It is the equipment for right collectedness. In other words, you need right effort because that takes you to right mindfulness. What is right mindfulness? Seeing body as body, feeling as feeling, mind as mind, mind states as mind states. Not getting caught up in the experience of the body. Just understanding here is body. Not getting caught up in the feeling. Understanding here is the experience of loving kindness, or here is the experience of joy. Not getting caught up in mind. Okay, the mind is in 1st jhana. Okay, fine. Not getting caught up in it. Or mind states, now here is present some kind of enlightenment factor, or here is present some kind of a hindrance, or here is present some kind of realization.

And not getting caught up in it. So right mindfulness is about remembering to observe how mind's attention moves from one object to the other. Metacognition, which is observing the states of mind that are present, and through right effort, letting go of the unwholesome states and cultivating the wholesome states. So right effort and right mindfulness allow you to have right samadhi, samma samadhi, right meditation or right collectedness. So what is samma samadhi? What is right meditation? What is right collectedness? Not becoming one-pointed. The utility of Ekagata is a unified mind. Chitta Ekagata means unified mindset. Your attention remains unified around an object of meditation. So the like or the similar kinds of thought patterns related to loving kindness are present.

But you do not become attached to the feeling of loving kindness. You do not become one with the loving-kindness. You are present, you are aware, and your mind remains naturally collected as a result of letting go. And so the first four jhanas are part of that right samadhi, of that right collectedness. So, here we have now samadhi, right effort, right mindfulness, right collectedness. This gives rise to the cultivation and perfection of panya, or wisdom, or insight, which is constituted by right view and right intention. So, it comes back full circle. Of course, when somebody becomes fully awakened, they have not the eightfold path, they have the tenfold path. Because two more factors are unlocked. It's a Dhamma DLC.

So what are the two factors? There is samma nana and samma vimutti. Samma nana means right knowledge, or right wisdom. What is that right knowledge? The complete comprehension of dependent origination, understanding dependent origination in all its facets. And what is samma vimutti? The ability to enter nibbana whenever you want. That is why when we talk about parinibbana, the parinibbana of the Buddha, the parinibbana of the arahant, what does that mean? Pari means the final nibbana. So all that means is that the Buddha and the arahants were able to enter nibbana at will whenever they wanted. That is the samma vimutti.

So that is nibbana with remainder, and there's nibbana without remainder. Nibbana with remainder is the nibbana of the mind of the arahant or of the Buddha, where it is free from any greed, hatred or delusion. The nibbana without remainder oftentimes is talked about as the parinibbana, but it is also samma vimutti, where the mind is able to let go of the five aggregates and all conditioned experience, to let the mind touch the unconditioned element, the nibbana dhatu. And so that is nibbana without remainder. This is also understood as phala samapatti, the fruition attainment of one who is fully awakened. So these two are available to somebody who is fully awakened: the ability to see dependent origination in all facets, and the ability to experience nibbana at will.

And so all parinibbana means is for the last time the mind enters into nibbana, and that's the extinguishment of the five aggregates right there and then. So the Eightfold Path is not only a prescription, it is a lifestyle. It is a commitment to continue to follow the precepts. It is a commitment to continue to follow the factors of the path for better meditation, clear mindfulness, and ultimately for the liberation of the mind. So once the mind is liberated, what then? Rinse and repeat, because the eightfold path then becomes the norm. It becomes the automatic process in the fully awakened mind, and so that mind is said to be spontaneous. Spontaneous not because it says, okay, let's go bungee jumping now, or let's go skydiving, although it could be, but it doesn't have to be. But when we talk about spontaneity, we're talking about using intuition, the ability to navigate the world and navigate people around you, or with people around you, utilizing the Eightfold Path.

And so the spontaneous action, the spontaneous speech, is rooted in right action, rooted in right speech, right? That spontaneity means I notice this is what is going on, and so I am doing or saying or not doing or not saying, as in accordance with what is appropriate to and with that particular situation, what is most beneficial and appropriate for the people around. And it's not coming from any kind of thinking process. It happens when the mind is completely quiet, yet alert and available to the intuitive understanding of existence. Right? So what that means is when the mind becomes quiet, the quiet mind is the womb of

intuition. When the mind becomes quiet and the heart is open, then intuition arises, because in that moment you are able to say exactly what is required, or you're able to do what is exactly required, or maybe not say anything or not do anything. And so for such a mind, for that awakened mind, they don't produce any new karma. So for such a mind, no ignorance is there, but there are formations, there are consciousness, there is mentality, materiality, that's the mind and body, there are six sense bases, there's contact and there's feeling, and perception tied to it, but no more craving, no more clinging, no more becoming, no more birth of new action, and therefore no more new

suffering. So what is replaced by craving, or what is replaced by ignorance, right? You is replacing right, or what is ignorance replaced by? I should say ignorance is replaced by right view, and because of that, any formations that come to be are just carriers of karma, which the mind sees as not me, not mine, not myself. Therefore, with complete mindfulness as the gatekeeper, no new craving can arise, no new clinging can arise, no new being can arise. And so instead of reacting to the experience, there's a response that is rooted in right intention, right speech and right action, and that is the spontaneity that we're talking about, that arises through that intuition. Any questions?

Quick question. Do you mentally intend to make all your speeches right around 45 minutes? No, it's pretty consistent. Oh, and with the unnecessary speech, that one's a little tricky. Because it seems like it reduces kind. I think the way to look at it is when we talk about unnecessary speech, it's any kind of speech that's for the purpose of filling in the silence. I think that's one way to look at it. Yes. It's unavoidable to talk about sports, or unavoidable to talk about politics or the news and things like that, but make sure that you don't get so invested in it. Small talk is fine. Even in the times of the Buddha, you see any of the suttas, they exchange pleasantries, right? So it means how's the weather where you are and what's going on, how's everything in this kingdom or whatever's going on. So there's that exchange, completely fine, but using it because you're uncomfortable with silence. Okay, thanks.

I'm trying to incorporate my understanding from what you said about spontaneity into a new understanding of decision making, and I just wanted to double check if my understanding is correct. So it's really decision making is really like a moment-by-moment action facilitated by intuition that's conditioned by that kind of calm, still mind. So is there such a thing like long-term decision making or strategic planning? Then there's an inclination that this is probably where things are heading, small incremental steps towards that happening in every moment. And when we talk about decision making in terms of making a decision between two choices or a multitude of choices, what we're saying is we're not actually strategically thinking about each one, or even tactically thinking about each one. We're just saying these are the present available choices. I'm going to let that go, and when it comes to me, it'll come to

me. So not thinking about them, not analyzing, not reflecting, not doing anything. This is what is available right now in terms of choices. I'm putting it out to the mind to consider it, but I'm not going to consciously engage in any kind of thinking or analysis. And then when I least expect it, the answer will come about me. So how would a business or organization go about their planning, and what they call conventional or strategic planning? I can understand it will be guided by a set of values, if they, for example, are Buddhists, and then they'll be guided by that. But then how, I guess, what's your comment around that type of planning?

Motivation is, if a business is purely profit driven, then they will do everything they can to make sure that they have profits. So what do they have to look at? Is it in alignment with right livelihood? Is it in alignment with the eightfold path? Is it causing us harm, or causing others harm, in the pursuit of profit? Profit is okay, completely fine. The moment of business, this is the thing: the moment a business becomes fairly profit-driven, then it starts to lose credibility, it starts to lose respect, and eventually it tumbles. But if a business, which is defined by the actions of its components, which are the people that make up that business, the employees, the officers, the board, whatever it is, if they are motivated by other values, as you were talking about.

And those values become long-term goals, right? In pursuit of those long-term goals, which means here's a target. This is what we want to do. And that's the inclination. And by the way, this also applies in meditation. So that's the inclination. That's the goal. But if I keep getting obsessed by the goal, then I can't take the steps that are required for the pursuit of that goal, the accomplishment of that goal. But if I take incremental steps that are defined by the goal, that are with the shadow of the goal on whatever the decisions are, right? And we say, okay, these are the decisions, or these are the possible variable decisions that we could make.

And then we say, okay, what seems the best course of action? And that's where you require, let's say, especially in a business or any organization, a mastermind. Not one person should be taking the decision. It should be given to an elect group of people, whether that's the board or whatever it is, who comes to some kind of consensus, right, that are motivated by that long-arching goal. And then you take the steps necessary for the achievement of that decision, and then profit will come whenever profit comes. That should never be the pure motivation. Now, the reason I'm talking about it in terms of meditation, what is the goal of the meditation? It's Nibbana.

Right? But if you get obsessed by when will I achieve Nibbana, when will I achieve this particular state, then we are only, it's counterintuitive, we are only causing ourselves to hold on to things more and more. But if we know that that's the goal and we let go incrementally, and before we know it, when we least expect it, nirvana happens. And that also means in life, there is a certain life path, let's say, that we want to take, and we are motivated by a certain goal in our personal lives. But if you get obsessed by that continuously, constantly, then it's going to trip us up in the pursuit of that. If you say that is the goal, now here are the decisions, here are the choices.

I'm leaving it up to, you know, people say I leave it up to the universe or whatever, but I'm leaving it up to the mind to decide what it is. I'm not going to consciously engage with it. All I know is this is the goal. Let me see, let the mind see what is the best course of action in the achievement of that goal, and then it'll come in a eureka moment where it's like, that is what you should be doing, that is what I should be doing, and you take that

course of action thank you that's um very helpful i do have another question in relation to intuition um so like for example myself i'm still a beginner on the path and while i'm still training to develop that type of intuition and in in the process how do i sort of trust it because i know some of the intuition is probably while i wish that it actually came up from a very quiet still mind but it may not sometimes there might be a voice coming up and am i mistaken that for oh it's like a wise intuitive you know like um a voice um what are are there any signs or something to look out for to sort of discern that something is like a true wise intuition so there is the intuition and there is the mind that is thinking about this is what i want so intuition never comes from desire intuition is desireless intuition is not motivated by anything intuition is not invested in the goal intuition is just completely independent of any kind of

factors and so whatever that small voice that comes up it is not motivated or it's not desiring something it's just giving you some kind of wise words it's giving you some kind of choice this is the choice to make it's not saying this is the choice to make because of so and so and so it's just this is the choice to make plain and simple okay So, with ignorance, so if all information gets filtered through the gates you talked about earlier, it becomes void of, what was the word I said? Ignorance. Ignorance. So what is ignorance? That's what we should understand. Ignorance comes from the word avidya, which means lack of knowledge, lack of wisdom, lack of understanding.

Practically speaking, what that means is it's a lack of mindfulness. And it's a lack of mindfulness specifically of the Four Noble Truths. So when we have muddled mindfulness, when we don't have clear mindfulness, we're not able to recognize that this is causing us suffering. And we indulge in it, and it causes us further suffering. But if you recognize, oh, every time I take this personally, then it causes craving and so on. If I let go of that, then in that moment I experience the cessation of that craving. So mindfulness is what replaces that ignorance, or deteriorates that ignorance.

Would you consider if people, they sort of take in the gray area of law? For example, they're not breaking it, but they know it's somewhere that's not clearly defined, and they get around the system. Like, is that lying or dishonest? But they're not breaking any laws. Okay, it's like, for example, in the case of tax avoidance, there's a lot of people that try to grow their wealth and then avoid tax, but they're not breaking laws per se. It's like, so, in, but by the values or principles of the Buddha, that would be considered as, yeah, so you work within the confines of what is available to you in terms of tax laws. And if it makes sense, oh okay, up to a certain amount, like, this is how much is taxable, this is not taxable. How do you define that? You use the laws of what is available to you. Hopefully you're right. If you're not, then you face the consequences.

So you use what is available to you. You don't try to evade or go around, you know, so loopholes and things like that. There's nothing wrong with using loopholes. It's all part of the game. So it's not a gray area, it's just what is available to you within the legal system. Thanks. It's a question about karma, and I often hear, and myself, have often seen it as, well, I know that the rule is this, but is there any way that I could be sort of redefined so that I could have it like that? Or was gonna get some kind of special dispensation to not have to follow that rule in this particular case.

But recently what I'm coming to see is, it's sort of like if you were a guide in the Grand Canyon and there's a line there, and if you go over the line, it's gravel, and anyone who steps over the line is gonna go flying off into the cliff and die. So to ask, like, well, is it really that important to not lie or something? It's kind of like saying, is it really not important not to step over that line? And it's like, well, only if you want to live. Or, like, you know, do I really need to floss all my teeth? And it's like, no, no, just the ones you want to keep. So could you speak a little bit about the, because I have this feeling that they're sort of like, I want to be right.

I want to work it in a way that, you know, as opposed to the laws of nature, which we recognize, if I jump off the Empire State Building, I'm going to go. He's going to take hold. Right, yeah. Could you speak to that a little bit, please? So I think to simplify it, it's really about using the five precepts as your guiding mechanism. That is your north star in your journey to life. So if what I'm about to do, does it break any of the five precepts? Or do I have a suspicion that it might be breaking the five precepts? Better not to do it than if you have that suspicion. You know, if you have to bring it up in your mind to think about it, probably best not to do it.

So with regards to karma, we are dealt with a certain kind of pack of cards in this life. And so how do we continue on with that situation? If we try to mitigate that karma through breaking the precepts or doing something outside of what is moral or ethical, then we're only causing ourselves more and more bad karma. So the only way to deal with karma is to face it head on in the present moment with total equanimity and mindfulness. So, if the karma or the karmic consequence is unbeneficial, if it's harmful, and if it's causing us pain and suffering, we have to deal with it. But we have to deal with it in such a way that we don't say, I don't like it.

We say, okay, it is painful. Yeah, okay, fine, I don't like it, but I'm not going to resist it. I'm going to allow things to unfold. I'm going to allow things to be. And then I'm going to allow the mind's equanimity to let it dissipate. And as it dissipates, because our mind is equanimous and quiet, we have an intuitive solution to it. And sometimes the solution is not to do anything, not to react to anything, not to respond. And sometimes it might be to take a step back, or it might be to say something or do something that de-escalates the situation and is in alignment with keeping the precepts. So that's why I'm saying the present moment awareness is really the key to dealing with any experience, because all experience that we're having right now in this moment is a result of past karma.

is a result of past actions and intentions. How we choose to deal with it is going to determine whether new karma is produced or whether that experience comes to fruition and then is dissipated. Thank you. Thank you for starting on the topic of karma. Some tradition talks about purification of karma with some chanting or so not, right? What is the difference between purification of karma and purification of mind? That's one. And two, is it possible to purify karma through chanting or some other hymns? So purification of karma, actually this is what it is. The dissipation of karma is the purification of karma or the mitigation of karma. Total equanimity, total presence of mind, allowing things to be as they are, letting go anytime the mind identifies or attaches a sense of self to it or has aversion or has craving towards it.

That's it. That is what purification of karma is. No other ritual required. Just being present. Okay. The Sam Sutta talks about, this is a different question. The three requirements for a newborn: the father, the mother, and of course then the being entering the womb. I think I read another study that talks about kandaba entering the womb. Can you explain whether, and why, some use kandaba in place of the being? Okay. I thought Gandaba is another ram, right? No, it's not. It's a ram within within the fall, no? Gandaba is a kind of being, but maybe Gandaba means something else in that context. Hmm, I see.

Thank you. So you brought up the subject of Grand Canyon, and it reminded me of times when I used to do this sport called canyoneering, which is essentially downclimbing and repelling through these large gashes in the earth, climbing over rocks and stuff. I got this analogy just going, and I want to ask you about it because I feel like it came up. So what would happen is we would get to the edge, we would see ahead, and there'd be a big drop-off. We have no idea how we're going to address it. No idea whatsoever. And you never know until you get up to the edge.

And then the way revealed itself always, right? We either would have to build an anchor or we could see the way to down climb it or help each other to get down that. So it seemed to me like it was always not worrying about what was up there until we got there, right? And having that patience and that kind of faith that we would always be able to do that, and I just wanted to ask you to speak to having patience to see there may be an obstacle but get to it, and faith that there would be a way through in meditation. So patience, what is patience actually? How do we define patience? How do we understand patience, because patience can mean, or some people can take patience to mean, waiting patiently, but waiting is just another word for

craving waiting you know I've said this before all samsara is waiting always just waiting for something or another waiting for the teacher to come and give the talk you're waiting for the person to come next in the interview you're waiting for your food to heat up in the microwave you're waiting for your food you're waiting in line waiting for Godot so that's samsara so patience is essentially not being caught up in where do we have to go just the next step or the next phase is enough so taking it one step at a time and those incremental

steps can invariably lead to the destination which is Nirvana so that's really patience we don't have to look so ahead we don't have to try to look and wait to get there we just focus on the next available step to us focus on the next available step to us so that means again coming back to what's happening here right now what do I need to do right now I mean another example is like when you're hiking or trekking right like if you're trying to focus on what's going to happen 10 meters down the road 100 on the road and you don't realize that there's a loose rock here what's gonna happen danger danger but if you have the patience to notice oh here's a loose rock let me sidestep that right then you can continue on until you get to that next 100 years it seems like a pretty good way to hike and also meditate that's right that's right yeah thank you so this is a meditation question um sometimes when i'm meditating

at first the breath is imperceptible, but then everything gets so quiet that it's perceptible again, and it's almost distracting, and kind of like I can feel it rocking the body. So what do I do about that? The heartbeat too. So these are signs that the mind is getting very, very quiet, like the beginning of the jhanas again. All those things that are happening, these are all signs that the mind is getting very, very quiet. So that means if the mind gets caught up in it or gets disturbed by it, then there's not enough disenchantment. So just cultivate more equanimity prior to disenchantment. There's a cultivation of equanimity. So if it becomes too bothersome, if you can just relax and let go of it and just continue, that's great. But if it becomes too bothersome, then you take it one step back - Okay, okay.

- Meaning you take one level back, which is the equanimity. - Okay. One other specific. Wait, so you said there's quiet mind and still mind; still mind is like upgraded quiet mind? - Yeah. - Okay. - It's quiet mind 2.0. - Okay. So when I'm in one of those, or this just happened, but it kept evolving, and then there was a layer underneath it, but there was like 35 layers. Yeah, yeah. I just kept thinking, like, what do I do? I don't know what you're going to say, but yeah, is there anything I should know about that? See for yourself what happens. But ultimately, yes, in quiet mind there are levels too, there are layers, but those layers are determined by what stuff you need to clean up. So this process of meditation at that level is about cleaning up formations, cleaning up karmic formations, by letting go. Okay, okay.

Is there sometimes a flash in between each level? Like a flash of light? There can be, but that depends on your faculties. If you're able to see that, then that's how your mind interprets that. Okay, that's the next level, or this is the border between one level and the next. Okay, it's just depending on if they're a more visual person or something like that. And some people might feel like a township, like their whole body or their whole mind just feels like that. Yeah. Okay. Interesting. Thank you. Two more questions just came up.

First one is in relation to, I guess, parents, us being indebted to our parents. I think a lot of people prioritize their family, their parents and all that. But at the same time, we try to develop equal metta towards or seeing beings as equal. So when it comes to resource sharing and giving to parents, or potentially giving to anyone because everyone's equal, what's your comment around that? I guess how to sort of approach that, because say for example, if I have a resource, I can prioritize it because I feel indebted to my parents. I can give as much as I can to my parents to meet their goals and needs, as long as wholesome support that, or I can redistribute it in different ways and help, I say, a lot more beings than just parents.

So the Buddha has given some advice about this in Digha Nikaya 31, which is the advice to lay people. And he talks about this interrelationship in society, which is between a teacher and their student, between a bhikkhu and a lay person, between a parent and their child. So the parents' responsibility is to make sure that they have a good education and a good upbringing so that they are contributing to society. And, of course, traditionally speaking, making sure that they have a good life partner and all of these things. But the children's responsibility is to support their parents when their parents can't support themselves. At least this is the traditional understanding, right?

And you still see this now in a lot of Asian cultures, especially in India also, where children support their parents. They still give a portion of their income for the livelihood of their parents. That's a big thing. And I think that should be a non-negotiable. So whatever you have available, you divide it accordingly. And so that also talks about your resources or your income or whatever, where the Buddha says a certain portion is given towards the household, right? Towards your expenses and the maintenance of your own life. A certain portion is given towards saving for a rainy day. And a certain portion is given towards whatever it is that you want. Maybe that new Ferrari, or whatever it is, to enjoy your fruits every little bit.

That's basically it. And along with that, the household expenses could include what you can give to your parents. Right, so it just depends on resource allocation, and that is all depending upon your own lifestyle. Thank you. The second question is in relation to thinking, because my understanding of what you said is that the wise decisions that come up are usually not from a process of thinking. So can you talk about the utility of different types of thinking, for example critical thinking, analytical thinking? I mean, they do have a place. Can you talk to... Yeah, I mean, depending upon which educational system you're in, that's always been a big part of it, right?

Like critical thinking, analytical thinking, logical thinking and so on. But they have their place insofar as day-to-day things, like, okay, I need to get this done in a certain amount of time, or I have to analyze these reports or whatever it is. They have that utility. But over-analysis of anything just causes more and more restlessness. It just causes, you know, so that's the problem with most people. They go back to their houses, or they go back home, or they used to, because now we also do work from home, and they bring the workplace to the home, and they're still continuing that process of analysis. So if you have to analyze something, you have to have some critical thinking towards something, do it there, right there and then, and to the best of your ability, six hour before you don't need it. Because thinking itself ultimately causes suffering. It just causes all kinds of restlessness, all kinds of agitation. So a mind that has no thinking at all is a very peaceful mind.

It doesn't mean that you become an idiot. It just means that you become wiser. Thank you. My question might be relating with her question. I think 8.4 is simply understanding is becoming good person, right? And in that case, we might be fooled, tricked, telling false by someone. In that case, by Buddhism thinking, how can we check or find someone telling lies to us? What do you mean? How can you catch someone deceiving us? Yeah, because, if, in general, I might misunderstand, good people, as you said, good people is not just full, it's not full, something like that you said, right? Good people can be fooled, is my thought. Good people can be fooled, can be swindled, generally speaking, and this is just my way of looking at things. If you are somebody who continues to be truthful and honest, you stop hanging out with people who are dishonest just by virtue of being honest.

And that might take time. And yeah, maybe you might be fooled, you might be swindled, but then eventually you learn who to trust and who not to trust. And your group of people that you might stay with, or the organization that you stay with, you might change over time, and you might go to some place which is more honest and more truthful. So the idea is, you can't prevent from being fooled or swindled, but you can learn from it. - I see, thank you very much. - So yeah, I just wanted to follow up on that question. But wouldn't you also say that the more experience with our own tricky minds and all the ways that we deceive ourselves in the neuroses and stuff of a sub-sacresistence, that the more wise we become, the easier it is to see through the deceit of another?

- Yes, yes, I would say that that's a good point. Because you get a certain vibe from a person too, right? Like, you know, okay, this person is not really genuine, or there's something off about the way that they're speaking or behaving with me. And that comes from experience. And that comes from cultivation of the precepts and the cultivation of the Dhamma and so on. Yes. But wisdom can only be cultivated through experience. So, you need both. You need the experience, and then you need the discernment to be like, okay, I'm going to have my radar on and see, is this person actually being forthcoming or not. Thank you. All right. Let's share some of that.

Oh, sir, I didn't. I thought you had a question. No, I didn't. Can I just follow up? Oh, sure. Yeah. So, yeah, I wanted to ask. First of all, so the Ferrari, let's say I want to buy the Ferrari. So my dana allotment, because I would sort of be putting that as a high priority in my life, to what extent is that sort of like the disposable income or whatever segment, and to what extent would it be, okay, family, let's tighten our belts so that we can support this mutually agreed upon thing? Yeah, I think that should be a very important thing to look into, which is we should never try to tighten our own purse in the pursuit of providing dana.

Otherwise, it's not dana. Dana is freely given and comfortably given. I haven't heard that. Thank you. You have a question? Yeah, okay, and then I'll take it back. That's a hot potato mic tonight. Oh, yeah. This is sort of in the context of doing retreats and feeling over time like, oh, this retreat went really well and there's some great outcomes, and this retreat wasn't so great because there weren't so many great outcomes, or whatever. But there does seem to be, over a long period of time, cycles of like, this is the time to really, you know, put on the gas and push, really push forward with hair on fire. And this is the time to kind of sit back and take in the big picture and let things settle.

And just that trust in knowing when to work hard and when to sort of push hard and when to allow it to settle. Could you speak to that? Yeah, especially during retreat, let's say, right? I mean, I think you could see that if you have a retreat model, like where you have 10 days, you have to see what your own, quote unquote, meditation clock looks like. Maybe the first couple of days, you're kind of picking up steam. Maybe towards the middle of the retreat, it's full speed ahead. And so there, it's the hair on fire kind of approach. And as you're settling out from the retreat, maybe it still keeps the momentum going.

Or maybe it starts to sputter out. And now, okay, let me reflect back on the lessons learned and reflect back on the experiences I've had. But that's all dependent upon your own personal experiences in the retreat. And so you find a rhythm that works for you. But generally, I would say, the first couple of days, you need some effort to pick up steam. Yeah. And then maybe by day four, five, and six, it's like, okay, things are doing very great.

And day seven it's okay, and day eight and nine, now your mind's thinking about what do I do off retreat, right? So instead of thinking about what do I do off retreat, you can cultivate, what did I do on retreat? What were the things that I learned, what were the experiences that I had, and maybe that might motivate you to go a little bit more, right? Or it just peters off. Yeah, thank you. This is quite a challenging question. Assuming someone is wealthy, very wealthy, and he's rich enough to buy himself a first-class ticket that costs maybe, you know, I don't know, 30,000 or whatever, not? But on the other hand, $30,000 is a lot of money for charity.

So would you consider that rich man then a fool for spending that $30,000 on a first-class ticket? No. No? That's his choice. Okay. It's only judged by others, right? In that scenario. It's just commonly judged by others. But otherwise, in terms of the Dharma, there's nothing wrong. Absolutely not. I mean, if it's his well-earned money, he has a right to decide how he wants to spend it. Okay. He might spend $30,000 on a ticket, but he might spend $300,000 on a dollar. Okay. No need to feel guilty. No need to feel guilty at all. Thank you. What's the standard rate per cessation?

You have a key, I'll tell you tomorrow. Okay, no, I didn't have anything. So on that note, let's share some merits. May suffering ones be suffering free, and 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 our hearts. May they long protect the Buddha's dispensation. Amen. Thank you.