Day 9 May 4 Upanisa Sutta -Transcendental Arising

NAMMU ATASA BUKUVATO VARAHATO SAMMA SAMBUDDASA NAMMU ATASA BUKUVATO VARAHATO. Today we are going to discuss the Transcendental Dependent Origination. This is the Upanisa Sutta, that is Samyutta Nikaya 12.23. And here Bhikkhu Bodhi translates it as proximate cause. At Savati, Bhikkhus, I say that the destruction of the taints is for one who knows and sees, not for one who does not know and does not see.

He says, because I say that the destruction of the taints is for one who knows and sees, not for one who does not know and see. For one who knows what? For one who sees what? Does the destruction of the taints come about? What do you think they know and see? Dependent origination. Such is form, such its origin, such its passing away. Such is feeling, such is its origin, such its passing away.

Such is perception, such its origin, such its passing away. Such are formations, such are its origins, such are its passing away. Or they're passing away. Such is consciousness, such its origin, such its passing away. It is for one who knows thus, for one who sees thus, that the destruction of the taints comes about. But that describes the five aggregates. Form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness.

But we're saying that one who sees dependent origination. So is there a difference here? When the arahant sees dependent origination, does he see craving, clinging, and becoming? Does he see ignorance? But he sees formations, he sees consciousness, he sees mentality, materiality, and what's in mentality, materiality. Contact, feeling, perception, intention, attention. And then he sees the sixth sense basis, contact, feeling.

In essence, when we're talking about these links, they are also the five aggregates or the processes of the five aggregates. It is for one who knows thus, for one who sees thus, that the destruction of the taints comes about. I say, Bhikkhus, that the knowledge of destruction in regard to destruction has a proximate cause. It does not lack a proximate cause. And what is the proximate cause for the knowledge of destruction? It should be said, liberation. Vimuti. Once you have the cessation of perception, feeling, and consciousness,

you come out of it, you touch the nirvana element, you make contact with the unconditioned, and the mind is liberated, because there's no craving there. The mind is liberated from the taints. I say, Bhikkhus, that liberation, too, has a proximate cause. It does not lack a proximate cause. And what is the proximate cause for liberation? It should be said, dispassion. Dispassion is that attitude of the mind that sees things as they are and has no inclination to them one way or the other. Not even any identification with them.

There's equanimity, there's disenchantment, and there's dispassion. Equanimity is seeing things as they really are, without getting pulled by craving or aversion or experiences that are pleasant or unpleasant. Disenchantment is where you've seen this before, whether it's formations that are arising, and you don't get caught up in them anymore. And from there is dispassion. Disenchantment is where you notice there is a hindrance, but you no longer get caught up in it.

And dispassion is that attitude of the mind that is basically not affected by anything at all, good, bad, or indifferent. So equanimity is the ability to see that. Disenchantment is the mind that doesn't ignore, but just becomes, okay, here it is, sees through it, doesn't get caught up in it. And dispassion is that part of the mind, or that arises, where the attitude is continued. So there's equanimity, and then disenchantment, which is equanimity squared, and dispassion, which is equanimity cubed. So it's a deeper, much more profound form of equanimity.

Let's say you have your favorite meal. And you're really looking forward to it. And you go and you eat your favorite meal. The chef made it specially for you. And then when you're done, the chef says, well, we have seconds. Would you like seconds? And you say, okay. If there's craving in you, you'll say, yeah, I feel like it, even if you're full. And you eat that, but it's not as pleasurable as the first time. And you try to finish that plate.

And then the chef says, I have a third portion for you. Would you like that? And you think about it for a minute and you say, okay, fine. As soon as you take a bite, you don't want any more of it. You've seen it, been there, done that. No longer interested in it. So there's a sense of when you see so many formations that come up when you're in neither perception nor non-perception, and it takes you away from quiet mind. How do you respond? Do you get caught up in that storm of formations?

Or does your mind say, okay, I've seen this before. I won't get caught up in it. That ability to do that is disenchantment. It's a mind that is just very, very translucent. It just moves through things, doesn't get caught up in them. Nothing sticks in the mind. Mind is like Teflon. If you try to put anything, it just glides right through.

I say, Bhikkhus, that dispassion too has a proximate cause. It does not lack a proximate cause. And what is the proximate cause for dispassion? It should be said, the knowledge and vision of things as they really are. This comes from the Pali statement, yatha bhuta jnana dassanam. Yatha bhuta is things as they really are. Jnana is knowledge, dassanam is a vision. And that's just a very long-winded way of saying equanimity.

Basically, you're seeing things as they are, without getting caught up. Equanimity is this deep balance of mind that arises or happens because you see that everything is empty of self. Nothing is worth holding on to. And so everything is seen in a very balanced way. And so there's no projection of this is pleasant, there's no projection of this is unpleasant, and therefore it affects me. It's just seeing things as they are, without any filter, any kind of concepts or conceptualizations in the mind, without any conceit there of what it should be or what it shouldn't be.

I say, Bhikkhus, that the knowledge and vision of things as they really are too has a proximate cause. It does not lack a proximate cause. And what is the proximate cause for the knowledge and vision of things as they really are? It should be said, collectedness, samadhi. Now, as we progress, we're going to see how the factors of enlightenment, the seven factors of enlightenment, are intertwined with the transcendental dependent origination.

So, collectedness. Collectedness is that mind that is collected around an object. We look at the object, and we don't become the object. Neither does the object belong to us. It's just an object, and the attention is like a satellite that orbits around the object. It just stays around it, doesn't cling to it, doesn't become it. I say, Bhikkhus, that collectedness, too, has a proximate cause. It does not lack a proximate cause. And what is the proximate cause for collectedness?

It should be said, happiness. Now this is the word they use, but the word is really sukha. Sukha is comfort in the body. It is ease in the body. Everything is very comfortable. This happens in the first jhana, the second jhana, the third jhana. You experience this sukha. I say, Bhikkhus, that happiness too has a proximate cause. It does not lack a proximate cause. And what is the proximate cause for happiness?

It should be said tranquility. So, this is the tranquility factor. We had knowledge and vision of things as they are, which is the equanimity factor. Then we had the collectedness factor. Now we have the tranquility factor. That tranquility factor arises because of joy. Now, when we use the six Rs, we're also activating the seven enlightenment factors. When you're recognizing, you have mindfulness there, you have investigation of states because you're discerning that your mind is distracted.

You're discerning that the mind is no longer collected. When you release, you're making the right amount of energy, the right amount of effort. And then when you relax, you're also having the tranquility factor. Then when you smile, or come back to the smile, you have the joy factor. And then when you come back to your object of meditation, you have the collectedness factor. And the equanimity is pervasive because you are seeing things as they are.

You're not getting caught up in them. You're not trying to push or pull or do anything with the hindrance. You're just seeing it as it actually is and letting it go. I say, Bhikkhus, that tranquility too has a proximate cause and does not lack a proximate cause. And what is the proximate cause for tranquility? It should be said, joy, the joy factor.

So what's interesting is we see that joy leads to tranquility. But when we're doing the six R's, we're doing the relax step first, and then we activate the joy from the re-smile step. But there's no difference between first doing joy or first doing tranquility. They are interconnected. When you are tranquil, you feel that natural gladness. You feel that natural happiness. You feel that natural joy. When your mind is relaxed and your body is relaxed, you're open to experiencing joy. And when you feel joy, your mind and body are naturally relaxed, tranquil.

I say, Bhikkhus, that joy too has a proximate cause. It does not lack a proximate cause. And what is the proximate cause for joy? It should be said, gladness. So this word gladness comes from the Pali word pamojja. That is the joy of the Dhamma. When you get introduced to the Dhamma, when you get introduced to the practice, there is this energy that comes up. That experience of energy vitalizes the mind and body. So you're making the right effort and you are intending upon, or inclining towards, Nibbana. And because of that, there is this lightness to the mind. When you smile and you walk around, there's a lightness to the mind. You have the joy of the Dhamma.

This is gladness. So Pamoja is not the word itself, Pamoja. It's not a generic word for joy. It's specifically the joy of the Dhamma? No. Pamoja can be used in different contexts, but within this we're talking about the joy of having seen the Dhamma or having been introduced to the Dhamma, Pamoja. I say bhikkhus. So here with Pamoja, what's happening is now you have the energy factor here.

So you have seen for yourself that here is the Dhamma, and you bring up the energy factor to make an effort, and you are motivated, inclined towards the Dhamma because of that gladness. I say bhikkhus, that gladness too has a proximate cause. It does not lack a proximate cause. And what is the proximate cause for gladness? It should be said, faith.

This is confidence. Now, it starts off with an open-mindedness to see for yourself the Dhamma, to go and see for yourself. The Dhamma invites one to come and see for oneself. So this faith first starts off as, okay, I see what you're talking about, let me try it. The mind's inclination to be open and to try it is the first, let's say, level of faith or confidence.

But as you then experience Nibbana, that faith then becomes experiential confidence. Because now you have seen for yourself that walking this path leads you to cessation of suffering. And now you have confidence in the Dhamma. That's why the fetter of doubt in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha goes away when you become a stream-enterer. But here, as you're starting out, it's that open-mindedness, the faith to be able to walk the path. To say, okay, let me give this a try.

By the way, faith, in this case, here, it's talking about faith. There's another sutta which mentions, instead of faith, virtue, which is keeping the precepts. So, having a mind that has enough confidence in keeping the precepts. When that is kept, when the precepts are kept, then pamoja arises. When you keep your precepts, you commit to them, there is a natural gladness that arises in the mind. Then that leads to further factors of the transcendental dependent origination.

I'll go into that, Sudha, just so you know what the different things are. Because when you keep the precepts, it also leads to what's known as non-regret. You don't have this energy in the mind that is always restless because you broke a precept, but you are confident in your own capacities because you keep the precepts, and the mind is stabilized in that.

I say bhikkhus, that faith too has a proximate cause. It does not lack a proximate cause. And what is the proximate cause for faith? It should be said, suffering. Dukkha. How is that the case? So when a person experiences suffering, or before I continue with that, think about your own entry into this path. Why did you decide to try this out?

Why did you try to go on YouTube and search for the Dhamma, or whatever it might be? Because at some point there was this unease in the mind. There was this longing to see if there was a way out of the suffering. Suffering leads to two things, can lead to two different things. It can lead to further confusion where one continues the same path, and that's rebirth, right? Insanity, doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result.

And it leads to further confusion. People might numb that suffering through drugs and alcohol, but actually they're just causing themselves more suffering. They might try other things, these very impermanent experiences of joy, very instant joy that they experience, but then once that goes, there's a deeper suffering that arises. And so there's further confusion, or what arises is known as samvega, spiritual urgency, a little dismay. Is this all life is about? Is it just suffering? Is there a way out of the suffering? And so that then leads you to searching on YouTube for something, right, or whatever it might be.

And then you see, oh, this is very interesting, and then you have an open-mindedness to try it out, and that leads to faith, that leads to, okay, let me try this, and then that also leads to you wanting to keep the precepts when you're introduced to that, and then eventually that leads to pamoja, and so on and so forth. I say bhikkhus, that suffering too has a proximate cause. So, we went through the enlightenment factors. We said there's collectedness, when you have the collectedness there. There is equanimity, when you have knowledge and vision of things as they are. There's the tranquility in the link of tranquility.

There's the joy in the piti that's experienced. And then there's the energy that arises. And then from there is that pamoja, that energy to try it out, the effort that you make to try it out. What about the investigation of states? What about mindfulness? The fact that you recognize that you're suffering on this macro level, there's that mindfulness: I'm not satisfied, I'm discontent, I need a way out of this. That is the mindfulness, and the investigation of states is knowing that you are in suffering. Some people have the ignorance that they're even suffering.

I say bhikkhus, that craving too has a proximate cause. It does not lack a proximate cause. And what is the proximate cause for craving? Feeling. For feeling it should be said, contact. For contact? Sixth sense basis. Sixth sense basis? Mentality, materiality. For mentality, materiality? Consciousness. And for consciousness, formations. I say bhikkhus, that formations too have a proximate cause. They do not lack a proximate cause. And what is the proximate cause for formations? Ignorance. Thus bhikkhus, with ignorance as proximate cause, formations come to be. With formations as proximate cause, consciousness comes to be. With consciousness as proximate cause, mentality, materiality. With mentality, materiality as proximate cause, the sixth sense bases. With the sixth sense bases as cause?

The contact. With contact as cause? With feeling as cause? With craving as cause? With clinging as cause? With habitual tendencies as cause? With birth as cause? That whole mass of suffering. Now let's see how well you guys have been listening. With suffering as cause, faith. With faith as cause, gladness. With gladness as cause, joy. With joy as cause, tranquility. With tranquility as cause, collectedness. With collectedness as cause, equanimity. With equanimity as cause, the knowledge and vision of things as they really are. With the knowledge and vision of things as they really are as cause, disenchantment. With disenchantment as cause, dispassion. With dispassion as cause, liberation. With liberation as cause, the knowledge of the destruction of the taints. Just as bhikkhus, when rain pours down in thick droplets on a mountaintop, the water flows down along the slope and fills the cleft, gullies and creeks.

These being full, fill up the pools. These being full, fill up the lakes. These being full, fill up the rivers. The streams, these being full, fill up the rivers, and these being full fill up the great ocean. So too, with ignorance as cause, formations come to be. With formations as cause, consciousness comes to be. With consciousness as cause, mentality, materiality comes to be. With mentality, materiality as cause, sixth sense bases come to be. With sixth sense bases as cause, contact comes to be. With contact as cause, feeling comes to be. With feeling as cause, craving comes to be. With craving as cause, clinging comes to be. With clinging as cause, habitual tendencies come to be.

With habitual tendencies as cause, birth comes to be. With birth as cause, suffering comes to be. With suffering as cause, faith comes to be. With faith as cause, gladness comes to be. With gladness as cause, joy comes to be. With joy as cause, tranquility comes to be. With tranquility as cause, collectedness comes to be. With collectedness as cause, equanimity comes to be. With equanimity as cause, disenchantment comes to be. With disenchantment as cause, dispassion comes to be. With dispassion as cause, liberation comes to be. With liberation as cause, the knowledge of destruction of the taints. So I'll just read one more sutta, because it'll give you some clarity on why we're talking about keeping the precepts with regards to faith.

Or not necessarily in place of faith, but along with faith. So this is the Book of Tens, Anguttara Nikaya 10.1. Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Savatthi in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Park. Then the Venerable Ananda approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, sat down to one side and said to him, Bhante, what is the purpose and benefit of wholesome, virtuous behaviour?

Ananda, the purpose and benefit of wholesome, virtuous behaviour is non-regret. So keeping the precepts, you have non-regret. You have no restlessness that arises. And what, Bhante, is the purpose and benefit of non-regret? The purpose and benefit of non-regret is joy. And what, Bhante, is the purpose and benefit of joy? Well, when they talk about joy here, really, it's an interesting translation.

And what, Bhante, is the purpose and benefit of collectedness? The purpose and benefit of collectedness is the knowledge and vision of things as they really are. And what, Bhante, is the purpose and benefit of the knowledge and vision of things as they really are? The purpose and benefit of the knowledge and vision of things as they really are is disenchantment and dispassion.

The purpose and benefit of tranquility is collectedness. The purpose and benefit of collectedness is equanimity. The purpose and benefit of equanimity is disenchantment and dispassion. The purpose and benefit of disenchantment and dispassion is liberation. And the purpose of liberation is? Yes. And this is a rinse and repeat process. You 6R's all the way to Arahatship until there's nothing else left to 6R.

Yes, there can be. Somebody has collectedness and then suddenly they lose it, and then they have to go back and come back with tranquility. Or somebody has the joy and then they lose it, so they have to come back and bring up the gladness, and so on. So it is a reversible process in that it's not stabilized yet, but when it becomes stabilized, then there is no going back.

So that imagery that the Buddha uses is really beautiful. The streams, eventually it all fills up, right? So you enter the stream and it fills up, and then you have another attainment and it fills up further and further and further until you have this great ocean of wisdom. There's the ocean of suffering and there's the ocean of wisdom. That ocean of suffering is filled up by dependent origination as we understand it. That is the elaboration of the second noble truth of craving.

But then there is the great ocean of wisdom that arises from the transcendental dependent origination, which is an elaboration, actually, of the fourth Noble Truth. Because the Eightfold Path also is there within the transcendental dependent origination. It's the ability to have right view, that is, to know what is the difference between wrong view and right view, initially.

That lets go of the doubt, and so there is faith. Then you have the right intention to let go and cultivate loving kindness and compassion. And from there, gladness arises. And you keep the precepts, which means you have right speech and you have right action and right livelihood. And then from that gladness, you have the effort to make the right effort to let go of things. And so then from there, there is the joy, there is the collectedness.

So the mindfulness allows the collectedness to arise. And then from that collectedness, you have the equanimity. So you have the tranquility, you have the collectedness, you have the equanimity. And from that equanimity, you have disenchantment, dispassion, and finally, liberation. And the knowledge of the liberation. Yes, exactly. The practice is not just sitting. The practice is being able to use the 6R's every time you need to use the 6R's.

That could be while you're going to the bathroom, or that could be while you're driving to work, that could be while you're having dinner. So it's about being able to have that clarity of mind as soon as you wake up. And so remember what I said at the beginning of this retreat: make it a point to determine that you will wake up with a smile on your face. Notice if you do, actually. And keep that going, and as you keep that going, notice when the smile diminishes, because now you're thinking about this or that, oh, I have to make breakfast, or I have to do this, or I have to do that. And then come back to the 6R's, come back to the smile. And if you're able to, then spring up loving kindness. Start your day, start the very first time you wake up, the first moment, with loving kindness, or compassion if you can do that, like the Buddha had done, which is wake up in the day, do your freshening up, and come back and sit.

Just radiate compassion all throughout your household, and then beyond that, and then beyond that, and beyond that. I've seen it as a great replacement for coffee, but that's just me. It really helps keep the mind alert, really helps keep the mind collected. So, even if it's for half an hour a day when you start, that's just the sitting. You start off your day with the mind that says, okay, I want to smile and I want to keep the smile going, and notice when your mind goes here or there. Every time your mind goes here or there, 6R's, come back, and you're going to notice that throughout the day the mind becomes less and less distracted and more and more collected. And that collectedness isn't just on the feeling of loving kindness, but it's on whatever it is that you're doing, because a lot of times when people are doing something, especially if they're doing out of habit, because, driving, right, sometimes you're driving and you don't realize that you already got your destination

because your mind has been just in all of this thought process. But really center your mind around what's going on. And the way to do that is to have an object like loving-kindness. Then when you are in difficult situations, what do you do? Do you start to become resistant to what's going on, or do you start to relax that and then have equanimity? When that happens, whenever I was telling somebody about this at some point where, whenever you go to the airport, like tomorrow, all of you, most of you are going to go to the airport.

You go to the airport and most people are really grumpy and they're really stressed out and they're really like, I have to get my flight. And then they put that stress out onto the customer service rep, right? And they have to deal with them constantly. But if you can be different and have loving kindness, smile at them, you see a shift. I can tell you from my own experience, you have love and kindness and you send it out to them, and then immediately they're like, oh, how can I help you?

Get great service wherever you go. Yeah, you've got A's seven and you've got B's 57. And so it's just about being able to see where there are opportunities to send out that loving kindness, where there are opportunities to send out that equanimity or that tranquility or that joy or compassion, wherever it's required. Bhante has always talked about when they're at the supermarket or something and they see a kid crying or somebody upset, and you just radiate loving kindness.

And you start to see how things soften around you. It might not happen all the time because there are some people who are not receptive to loving kindness. And that's okay. But at the same time, your mind isn't disturbed by that situation. Your mind is still in loving kindness. When I was in Cambodia, while my family still had their business and everything, you would have these chefs come in bickering and talking about this and that. And he said this and she said that. All of these things. And my dad would have had to manage that. And he would get upset and he would get distraught. And I'd be just sitting there watching TV, and then I would notice this, and I would just send loving kindness, and then they realize, you know what, maybe I overreacted.

I'm really sorry about that. And then you start to see how they're just like, all right, let's go back. Right? So you really see how loving kindness and compassion can make a difference, make a big difference. Might not happen all the time, but that's okay. You just continue practicing, continue radiating. Do you want me to give you some final words before you guys?

My final commandment to you. Go forth. There are these roots of the trees. There are these huts. Meditate, lest you regret. Out of compassion, what a teacher had to do, I have done for you. And the last thing I will leave you with, which I left with in the issue retreat, is if you take care of the Dhamma, the Dhamma will take care of you.

Keep your precepts. Commit to them. Meditate and develop wisdom. That's how you take care of the Dhamma. It's not about preaching it. It's not about doing this or that. Just keep the precepts, keep your practice going, develop wisdom, and the Dhamma will take care of you. Let's share some. Group picture, yes. You want to share some merit now or you want to do it later? Okay.

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. Nam Wathakha.