Day 4 2022 MN 139 Exposition of Non-Conflict - What is Beneficial

I'm going to be reading from Majjhima Nikaya 139. This is the Aranavibhanga Sutta, the Exposition of Non-Conflict. Thus have I heard, on one occasion the Blessed One was living at Savatthi in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Park. There the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus thus, Bhikkhus. Venerable Sir, they replied. The Blessed One said this, Bhikkhus, I shall teach you an exposition of non-conflict.

What does it mean when he says the pursuit of sensual pleasures? In a couple of suttas, the Buddha says that it is not the sensual pleasures themselves that is the problem. The issue is the craving for sensual pleasures. In other words, you have good food, you have a good climate, you have good conditions, all of these things are apparent.

But how do you take them to be? Do you see them as being me, mine, and myself, and therefore grasp onto them? Impersonal. They arose because of a series of causes and conditions. Everything that you experience through, or everything you experience in this world, I should say, is through the six sense bases. You see through your eyes, you hear through your ears, you smell through your nose, you taste through your tongue, you feel through your body, temperature, climate, heat, cold, whatever it might be. And you think through your mind.

These are all sensual experiences, sensations. So how do these experiences happen? They are conditioned. They are conditioned by what? Conditioned by contact. What is contact? When the eye sees something, when the eye makes contact with the form and color, object enters into the retina, and then there is the feeling of seeing. Likewise with the ears, and the nose, and the tongue, and the body, and the mind. There are the internal sense bases, which are the eyes, the ears, the nose, the tongue, the body, and the mind.

And there is the external: the form or color, the sound, the smell, the taste, the tangibles, and the thoughts. When these two, the internal and external, connect, that connection is contact. That contact, that phassa, that gives rise to vedana, that is, feeling. Now, feeling can be pleasant or painful or neutral. If it's a pleasant feeling, there's nothing wrong in of itself.

It's just a very pleasant feeling, a pleasant sensation. But what happens? When you see that sensual experience, when you taste good food, when you see a wonderful sight, when you hear good music, when you smell something very fragrant, it's all pleasant. But then what happens? Now you want more of it. That is the craving. Now you say, I have to pursue this. I have to own this. This is me. This is mine. This is myself.

On the flip side of that, we talk about aversion in relation to sensual experiences. You see something that you don't like. You hear something you don't like. While you're meditating, people keep opening and closing the doors. It gets distracting. People cough, or they're clearing their throats, or they're walking up and down, or maybe you hear the lawnmower, or whatever it might be.

That distracts you. And what happens? The distraction in of itself is not the issue here. It's how you react to it. How do you respond to it? And so that is the aversion in relation to the sensual experience. So the pursuit of that, which is linked to desires, sensual desire, that's sensual cravings, or aversion. So what is sensual desire? What is aversion?

It's your response, your reaction to that situation. When your mind becomes a servant of sensual experiences, by craving for this or that, by identifying with this or that, by not wanting, pushing away this or that, then you experience suffering. Then it is beset by suffering, by vexation. So that's why the Buddha says that it is unbeneficial to do this. So how do you let go of that? How do you deal with that?

The 6R's. You recognize that there's craving or there's aversion in relation to sensual experience. You release your mind from that. You relax the mind and body. Relax the tightness and tension associated with that craving or with that aversion. Come back to the smile. Keep your mind uplifted. And return back to your object. Now, the 6R's aren't just for meditation.

Formal sitting meditation or walking meditation. The 6R's can be used anywhere and everywhere. At any time you notice that craving arises. Anytime you notice that aversion arises. Let's say you're standing in line and you're waiting for some fried rice. Right? And there's no fried rice available. How do you respond? How do you react? Do you get upset?

Yeah. Do you say, oh, I was really looking forward to that fried rice. It's no longer there? Or do you say, okay, no big deal? So the pursuit of that, the fried rice, isn't the problem. It's your craving for the fried rice. Your expectation of, I'm going to have fried rice, and it's no longer there. So how do you know if there's craving in your mind? One of the ways to understand if there's craving in your mind is if there is an object there and you really like that object and somebody takes away that object, how do you respond? Do you get upset by it? Do you get irritated by it? Then that means you have an attachment to it.

You have clinging to it. You're identifying with it. Desires, the pursuit of sensual experiences linked to the desire or to the aversion or to the identification. That is what is unbeneficial. That is what is ignoble. So whenever you notice that irritation in the mind, whenever you notice that there's some kind of frustration, when you notice there's some kind of clinging or craving, you notice it, you recognize it, you release your attention to it. Relax.

Re-smile, and return back to a wholesome object. That wholesome object can be loving kindness, or it can be compassion, or it can be empathetic joy, or it can be equanimity, or it can be quiet mind, whatever that might be. So disengagement from the pursuit, that disengagement, that is using the 6R's. Pursuit of self-mortification, painful, ignoble, and unbeneficial, is a state beset by suffering, vexation, despair, and fever, and it is the wrong way.

Disengagement from the pursuit of self-mortification, painful, ignoble, and unbeneficial, is a state without suffering, vexation, despair, and fever, and it is the right way. So when we talk about self-mortification, what we're saying is, it's a mind that says, I have to be a certain way in order to meditate. I have to sleep only a certain amount of hours. I have to get up at this particular time.

I have to meditate for this long. I have to do my walking meditation for this long. I have to skip breakfast or I have to skip lunch so that I can continue to sit. I have to go on a fast. So, you know, the Buddha had done all of these things to the most extreme levels. Mortification, self-mortification. He went through a process of fasting, very, very extreme bouts of fasting.

He went through a process of only surviving on fruits that fell from the tree, didn't even pluck the fruits from the tree, or on very small grains of rice and so on. He tried all of these different ways, you know, staying awake for a long period of time, using different kinds of practices to hold on to the breath for a long period of time, and all of these things that, you know, just cause a lot of pain to the body.

He tried all of this and realized that this is not the way to awakening. He let go of that. And Sujata gave him that bowl of kheer, of the rice pudding. And then after that, he built up his body. He started to eat certain amounts of food. He started to rest. He got better. He realized that this is not the way. And then he realized, and he recalled the time when he was sitting under the rose apple tree

when he was a kid. And he said, might that be the way to Nibbana? Using that memory, he felt elated. He felt happy. He experienced jhana. He went through the jhanas and then went through the threefold knowledge and experienced Nibbana, experienced arahatship, and became a Buddha. So, when we talk about self-mortification, retreat. Everything in moderation, everything in balance.

And then on a very deep level, it means stop pushing. Don't try so hard. There's a tendency for people when they meditate, you know, when you're radiating in the six directions, for example, sending it out in the different directions, there's a tendency to push it out in each direction. Experiences is this band of tension around the head.

That's a form of self-mortification because you're causing yourself pain in the pursuit of what you think is going to lead to Nibbana. That is unbeneficial. Let go of the need to try so hard. The need to try so hard is a kind of craving. It's a craving for becoming. I have to attain Nibbana on this retreat. I have to do this on this retreat.

When you notice yourself, when you notice your mind doing that, six are it. Let that go. Relax. Keep the mind open. Keep the mind spacious. So that you can notice where your attachments are. You can notice where your points of aversion are. And you can let go of those. And now you start to teach yourself how mind works.

So this is the Noble Eightfold Path. Let's explore this. Let's understand what this is, because this is what you're doing on retreat. You are pursuing the middle way. The path, which is the Noble Eightfold Path. So the first aspect of that is right view. So right view, there are many levels of understanding right view, but at the very basic understanding of right view is action and consequence.

Your actions, mental, verbal, and physical, have consequences. This is karma. You understand that there is a way out of suffering. Maybe you don't fully understand or comprehend what that is, but your mind is willing to see for itself what that is. So that is part of right view. Now, the super mundane right view is the understanding of the four noble truths. What are the four noble truths? In life.

It's not that life is suffering itself, but that there is suffering in life. The second noble truth is that there is a source of the suffering. There is an origin of the suffering. Traditionally, that is understood as craving. But as we explore dependent origination, we'll see there are other components that lead to that suffering. Another form of suffering when you're meditating is what? Distractions.

Hindrances. How do you deal with those? You use the six R's. And so you experience the third noble truth, which is the cessation of suffering, nirodha. And then the fourth noble truth is this, the eightfold path. So I'm going to let you know that whenever you do the six R's, you are actually utilizing the entire eightfold path.

And I'm going to explain how that is. In the case of understanding the Four Noble Truths, when you see that there is a hindrance present in your mind, when you know that there is suffering present in the mind, in the form of that hindrance and distraction, you are seeing for yourself the First Noble Truth. When you release your attention from it, because it is your attention, your attention is like a spotlight.

When the spotlight is there, it will aggravate that situation. So if your attention is on there in the form of resisting that hindrance, in the form of trying to change that hindrance, in the form of pushing that hindrance, or doing anything else except for letting go, you're going to cause yourself more suffering. So you notice the hindrance, that's the first part, knowing there is suffering present.

You abandon the second noble truth, which is the craving, the attention to that. You release your attention from that, and tension, and you experience the third noble truth right there and then. You experience Nirodha. When you relax, you experience a mundane form of Nibbana. Because when you relax, your mind is spacious. Your mind is open. Your mind is free in that moment of greed, hatred, and delusion.

With that mind, then you generate something that's wholesome through the smile, and you return back to your object of meditation. By doing this, you are cultivating the fourth noble truth, which is the Eightfold Path itself. And then you repeat the process anytime you see a distraction happening. Right intention. There are three parts to right intention. There is nekkhama, which is renunciation.

There is non-ill will, and there is non-cruelty. When we talk about renunciation, what we're talking about really is a mind that is content, accepting everything as it is. That is the right intention. Contentment. Letting go. Seeing things as being conditioned, dependently arisen, therefore impermanent, therefore not worth holding on to. Therefore, not to be considered as me, mine, or myself. So every experience that you have, good, bad, or indifferent, pleasant, unpleasant, neutral, all of that is conditioned.

And if it's conditioned, it's impermanent. It's arising and passing away, subject to cessation. So why hold on to it? So nekkhama, renunciation, contentment, understands this process, to be dependently arisen, therefore impermanent, therefore not worth holding on to. Non-ill will, the second part. How do you cultivate that? Through love and kindness, which is exactly what you guys are doing here with the Brahma Viharas.

Non-cruelty. Non-cruelty is non-violence, which is cultivated through compassion. a mind that says, I am friends with everyone. Everyone is a friend of mine. All beings are my friends. And you want the best for them. When you talk about non-cruelty, you understand that all beings are suffering. When you understand that all beings are suffering, you understand what is suffering. So why would you want to inflict more suffering on a being that is suffering?

Through use of cruelty. Through inflicting Harsh speech, harsh actions, harsh intentions. Compassion is understanding that all beings are suffering and wishing them being free from that suffering. This is the third component of right intention. Right speech. So how do you go from the wrong intention to right intention? The wrong intention says, I want this. I want to own this. Or I don't like that. Or I hate that individual. I want to inflict pain on that individual.

How do you go from that to right intention? It's the 6R's. Recognize the wrong intention in your mind. Release your attention from that. Relax. Re-smile. Come back to the right intention and act from there. So now we talk about right speech. From speech that harms, harmful speech, harsh speech, abusive speech, lying, saying things that are untrue, gossip, slander, those kinds of things. We talk about gossip. What is gossip? When you talk about another person, when they're not in the room, when you know you're gossiping about them, you know because if the person was in the room, would you say what you're going to say about them?

If you're not, then you're gossiping. So a very simple way of understanding right speech is through an acronym. Think. T-H-I-N-K. Think before you speak. So the T is for timeliness. Is it the right time to say what you want to say? H is for honesty. Do you know what you're going to say is truth and honest? I is for intention. What is the intention behind what you want to say? Do you have a wholesome intention or do you have an unwholesome intention?

N is for necessity. Is it necessary for you to say what you're going to say for yourself and for the other person? Is it going to be beneficial for them? And K is for kindness. Can you say what you're going to say with kindness? This is really right speech. So you're talking to somebody and you get into a heated debate and eventually you start to want to argue with them and you want to say things to them. That can be wrong speech.

You can recognize you have an intention for wrong speech. Release your attention from that. Relax the mind and body. Come back to the smile. Uplift the mind. And then use right speech. Right action. It's basically keeping the precepts: abstaining from intentionally harming and killing living beings, abstaining from taking what is not given, abstaining from sexual misconduct, abstaining from intoxicants. Of course, it's traditionally not said there, but it's implied, because if you indulge in intoxicants that's going to harm your mind, because it's going to dull your mind and you're not going to be mindful.

So keeping your precepts is basically right action. Now, how do you go from wrong action to right action? The six R's. Notice in your mind that there is an intention for wrong action, an intention to break a precept, an intention to inflict pain and suffering on another individual, an intention for taking what is not given, an intention for having sexual or sensual misconduct.

Notice that. Release your attention from that. Relax. Uplift the mind. Come back to using right speech or right action, rather. Keeping the precepts. Right livelihood. What is right livelihood? Right livelihood is dealing and engaging in trade that does not cause harm to other individuals. That does not cause other individuals to break precepts. So not dealing in trade that deals with certain kinds of things like poisons and weapons and alcohol, human trafficking, deals in the slaughtering of meat and so on. These kinds of activities, you let go of that.

So notice for yourself, your lifestyle. Is it causing pain to yourself and to others? If it is, then you need to make a decision and come to something that is wholesome, harmonious, bright. So notice that. Notice if there's an intention to go into the wrong form of livelihood. Recognize that. Release that. Release your attention to that. Relax. Re-smile. Return to your object.

Whatever that might be. A wholesome state, a wholesome intention to be in right livelihood. And then we talk about right effort. Right effort is, there are four parts to it. Recognizing you have an unwholesome state of mind. Abandoning that unwholesome state of mind. Generating a wholesome state of mind. And maintaining that wholesome state of mind. So how do you recognize you have an unwholesome state of mind? You recognize.

How do you abandon that unwholesome state of mind? You release your attention from it and you relax. How do you generate a wholesome state of mind? You re-smile. And how do you maintain it? Return to a wholesome state of mind, stay with it. So that's your object of meditation. Loving kindness, compassion, equanimity, empathetic joy, whatever that might be. The six R's, as we understand them, is really right effort.

And so, the six R's, or right effort, is really the heart of the Eightfold Path. Because it is through right effort that you go from wrong view to right view. From wrong intention to right intention. From wrong speech to right speech. From wrong action to right action. From wrong livelihood to right livelihood. From wrong mindfulness to right mindfulness, and from wrong collectedness to right collectedness.

So what is right-mindfulness? What is mindfulness? Mindfulness comes from the word sati, which comes from the Sanskrit smriti, which means to remember, to recollect. You're remembering to observe how your mind's attention moves from one object to the other. Whenever you recognize that your mind is distracted, that your mind is no longer on its object. Your mind's attention has moved from the loving kindness or whatever the object is to something else. This is how you utilize right mindfulness.

What about right collectedness? Right collectedness consists of the four jhanas. The first jhana, you have vitaka and vichara. Vitaka is the intention to bring up something wholesome. Vichara is to stay with it, that is thinking and examining thought. So you bring up through verbalizing in your mind, may I be happy, may I be well, may I be filled with loving kindness. Or you bring up a wholesome object, like holding a puppy or an infant in your hands, in your arms.

Or something like gratitude, feeling happy for yourself. You bring up that wholesome image and then you stay with the feeling of loving kindness. This constitutes vitaka and vichara. From there, there arises this feeling of joy. There arises peace and tranquility in the body and in the mind. This is the sukha. The piti is the joy. The sukha is the comfort in the body. And then you have ekagata. That's the unification of mind. Ekagata is not one-pointedness. Ekagata means unification of mind, stays with its object.

It is an attention that is non-dispersed, that stays with its object. Here is the object, here is your attention. It orbits around the object of meditation. That's how it stays there. And when it goes out of orbit, which means now it's getting distracted by something else, you use the six R's to bring it back to orbit. And you stay with it. And then you have unification of mind.

Then in the second jhana, now you have self-confidence. Now your mind knows, I am feeling loving-kindness. I am here with the loving-kindness. So it has let go of the verbalizations. It has let go of the intentionalizing for loving-kindness. And you have joy, and you have comfort in the body, and you have the ekagata. In the third jhana, the joy dissipates and now you have just happiness, just comfort in the body. And then in the fourth jhana, that also goes away and you have total equanimity. It's the purity of mindfulness due to equanimity. Why is that the case? Because when your mind is free of any kind of hindrance, that is the secluded, being secluded from wholesome states, that happens in the first jhana.

It's free of any of the hindrances. But along with that, it has the enlightenment factors. It has the enlightenment factors of mindfulness. It has the enlightenment of mindfulness, of investigation of states, of energy or effort, of joy, of tranquility, of collectedness, and of equanimity. As you progress through the jhanas, you cycle the enlightenment factors, and eventually in the fourth jhana you have mindfulness again due to that equanimity. So you experience these enlightenment factors through the jhanas, and they happen automatically because the causes and conditions are right for them to happen. So the mindfulness there is recognizing that you were distracted, knowing that you were distracted, that the mind is no longer on its object. The investigation of states is: now you're not perplexed that your mind is somewhere here or there.

It is distracted. Releasing your attention from that is using energy, using effort. Relaxing is utilizing the tranquility. Re-smiling is utilizing the joy. Coming back to your object, returning to it, is utilizing collectedness. And then when you repeat that process, you have equanimity. You stay equanimous. So the six R's also activate the enlightenment factors every time you get distracted. So you come back to a jhanic state.

So right collectedness is not about being one-pointed. It's about having collectedness of mind. Letting your mind be open enough to know when there is a hindrance. Or having it open enough so that insights can arise. This is what Sariputta experiences through Majjhima Nikaya 111. This is how he's able to discern. Here is contact, here is feeling, here is perception, here is intention. Now you don't have to do all of that. As you progress deeper and deeper, you'll be able to recognize for yourself these states.

So investigation of states is not about trying to analyze what's going on. It's about discerning that your mind is no longer on its object and coming back. That's it. And so as you cycle through the enlightenment factors, which happen, so there's a linear process, but then they cycle through, you get into deeper and deeper jhanas. And then from the fourth jhana, you have the experience of infinite space, the base of infinite space, the ayatana, the base of infinite space, the base of infinite consciousness, the base of nothingness, and the base of neither perception nor non-perception.

When one says, all those disengaged from the pursuit of self-mortification, painful, ignoble, and unbeneficial, are without suffering, vexation, despair, and fever, and they have entered upon the right way, one thus extols some. So disparaging here is to criticize someone. Extolling here is to praise someone. When one says, all those who have not abandoned the fetter of being, so when we talk about the fetter of being, that is the conceit, that is the bhava, the clinging to becoming, to become this or that. What is one form of desire to become this or that? I want to meditate and be the best meditator possible. I want to be in this jhana. I want to have Nibbana. When your mind gets obsessed over that, has expectations of that, then it has craving for being.

The difference is when you extol, you're extolling a person. You're extolling a being. When you're disparaging, you're criticizing the person. You're making it personal. You're taking it personal. This person doesn't know what they're doing. But if you're teaching only the Dhamma, you're only talking about in terms of mind states. You're not taking into account the person, because the sense of person, the sense of being, changes all the time, as do states.

Teaching only the Dhamma is to say that here is what is said about the Dhamma, not you are doing it this way and you are doing it that way, one person and extolling another, praising another. The process of teaching the Dhamma and learning from the Dhamma is not to take it personally. Just understand it in the form of, here is a state, this is the wrong path. Not that you are following the wrong path or I am following the wrong path or you are following the right path or I am following the right path. It's just, here's the wrong path, here's the right path. Which one does the mind choose? That's it.

And the larger lesson to be learned here is that mind your own business. Somebody's breaking a precept, that's their problem. If you're keeping your precepts, that's good. That's it. Mind your own business, that's it. Somebody's doing great, good for them. Doesn't matter. Just do what you're doing. Pay attention to your own practice. Pay attention to what it is that you're doing in terms of your mind states. That's it.

And then on an even larger scale, and you'll probably hear about this later as well as we talk about it in the last day, is trying to defend the Dhamma. Don't be Dhamma defenders. You're not here to say, this is my Dhamma and that's your Dhamma. You're right. Or I'm right and you're wrong. All of these things. Let go of all of that. No criticizing.

If you're following the Eightfold Path, that's all you have to do. That's all there is to do. Otherwise, what happens is there is the fetter of being, the fetter of clinging to being, to becoming, to a person. When that happens, that causes suffering. That causes suffering in the form of, I need this, and therefore there's craving. That gives rise to becoming. That gives rise to birth of action. That gives rise to suffering.

Or just identifying with it in and of itself. The clinging to self. Which gives rise to becoming. I am this person. And then from there you act. And what happens? There's renewal of being. There's renewal of karma. You're creating new karma. Which will result at a later stage. In some form of suffering. So coming back to the Sutta here, what we're saying is, don't think about it in terms of, am I doing it right, or are they doing it right, or am I doing it wrong, or are they doing it wrong? What's going on? Is this effective or non-effective? Is this harmonious or disharmonious?

Is this right or wrong? That's it. And then make adjustments, that's all. Mine got distracted. Don't beat yourself up for that. Or, I can't feel the loving-kindness. up for that. Just let go of that. Six are that. and it is the right way, then one teaches only the Dhamma. When one does not say, all those disengaged from the pursuit of self-mortification have entered upon the right way, but instead says, the disengagement is a state without suffering, vexation, despair, and fever, and it is the right way, then one teaches only the Dhamma. When one does not say, all those who have not abandoned the fetter of being have entered upon the wrong way, but says instead, As long as the fetter of being is unabandoned, being too is unabandoned, then one teaches only the Dhamma.

When one does not say, all those who have abandoned the fetter of being have entered upon the right way, but instead says when the fetter of being is abandoned, being also is abandoned, then one teaches only the Dhamma. Not making it personal. Even the Dhamma is impersonal. The way it is taught, the six R's, the twin practice, everything is impersonal.

Don't use them as a way of criticizing yourself or others or of bringing yourself up or praising others. Just see them as tools of understanding to get off of the wheel of samsara, to get off of the wheel of suffering. So it was with reference to this that it was said, one should know what is to extol and what is to disparage.

Odors cognizable by the nose. Flavors cognizable by the tongue. Tangibles cognizable by the body that are wished for, desired, agreeable, and likable, sensual desire and provocative of lust. These are the five cords of sensual pleasures. Now the pleasure and joy that arise dependent on these five cords of sensual pleasure are called sensual pleasures. A filthy pleasure, a coarse pleasure, an ignoble pleasure. I say of this kind of pleasure that it should not be pursued, that it should not be developed, that it should not be cultivated, and that it should be feared.

So really, simply put, what he's saying is, the sensual pleasures that you experience, how do you respond to it? How do you react to it? Don't pursue them. Don't cling on to them. The joy that arises from them, the feeling of happiness that arises from them, they're not worth pursuing, because they are dependent upon the sensual pleasure. As soon as they go away so does the joy and happiness dependent upon them.

But then he said that one should pursue a kind of pleasure within oneself. What's he talking about there? The bliss of renunciation, the bliss of letting go, in other words, the bliss of letting go of unwholesome states, the bliss of letting go of attaching to sensual experiences, the bliss of seclusion, the mind becomes secluded, the mind becomes collected, the bliss of peace, the mind experiences tranquility, the bliss of enlightenment, the mind experiences wisdom. This is what is meant by tranquil wisdom insight meditation.

The tranquility part, that's the collectedness. The feeling of being at peace that happens through the jhanas. The wisdom and insight that arises when you use the six R's and recognize when your mind gets distracted. Now you understand how your mind works. From that arises insight into how your mind works. From that arises wisdom into dependent origination. Thus, that is twin.

I say of this kind of pleasure that it should be pursued, that it should be developed, that it should be cultivated, that it should not be feared. Now, one caveat here. When you're experiencing these different jhanas, don't let the mind grasp onto the different factors of the jhanas. loving-kindness. Don't mistake the tranquility for equanimity, or whatever it might be.

Just observe. It's mind-watching mind. You're just watching a movie. And every time your mind gets distracted from the movie, you're just doing the 6R's. You're watching how all of this plays out. Oh, here's joy. Now there's joy. Oh, here's pleasure. Now there's pleasure. Now there's equanimity. But all the while, your attention should be on the loving-kindness, or on the brahmavihara. Stay with that.

Here, Bhikkhu, when one speaks hurriedly, one's body grows tired and one's mind becomes excited, one's voice is strained and one's throat becomes hoarse. And the speech of one who speaks hurriedly is indistinct and hard to understand. So you want to speak in an even way. Don't try to get all your words out all at the same time. Take your time with your words. If you have the patience to say what you have to say, people will have the patience to listen to it. And if they don't, then they don't. But don't be so much in a hurry to say what you have to say. Right? Here, bhikkhus, when one speaks unhurriedly, one's body does not grow tired, nor does one's mind become excited.

One's voice is not strained, nor does one's throat become hoarse. And the speech of one who speaks unhurriedly is distinct and easy to understand. So it was with reference to this it was said one should speak unhurriedly, not unhurriedly. One should not insist on local language and one should not override normal usage. So it was said. And with reference to what was this said?

How, bhikkhus, does there come to be insistence on local language and overriding of normal usage? Here, bhikkhus, in different localities, they call the same thing a dish, a bowl, a vessel, a saucer, a pan, a pot, or a basin. Here in the Pali he says the dish is pati, a bowl is patta, a vessel is vitta, a saucer is serava, pan is dharopa, a pot is ponia, and a basin is pisila, meaning the same thing.

Right? Oftentimes, people get into an argument about things. I said this, and you said that. And eventually, at the end of the argument, you guys realize you were saying the same thing. But there was an insistence on, no, the way I was saying it was right. And the way you were saying it was wrong. This gives rise to arguments, misunderstanding.

Right? So, don't get so attached to your words. Don't get so attached to other people's words. Don't get so attached to the way people express themselves or how they express whatever it is that they say. Don't get attached to your own usage of words that it has to be said in this way. Or you hurt me because you said it in that way. Well, they just said it. No big deal.

Right? Think has to be a certain way. That is clinging. That is craving. That is attachment. Let go of that and you will experience peace of mind. You won't be bothered by anything at all. Everything will just flow through you. You won't have any excitement where the mind gets agitated because they said this. But I meant to say it this way and they misunderstood what I said.

So whatever they call it in such and such a locality, without adhering to that expression, one speaks accordingly, thinking, These venerable ones, it seems, are speaking with reference to this. This is how there comes to be non-insistence on local language and non-overriding of normal usage. So it was with reference to this that it was said one should not insist on local language. One should not override normal usage. linked to sensual desires, is a state beset by suffering, despair, vexation, and fever, and it is the wrong way.

Therefore, this is a state with conflict. Why? Because you are in pursuit of something. Now, in that pursuit of that sensual pleasure, you might have sensual misconduct. In the pursuit of that sensual pleasure, you push them away. Let's say you see that fried rice and you're in that line and you push people away and say, I need to get that fried rice. That's conflict.

Because this engagement from the pursuit of enjoyment of one whose pleasure is linked to sensual desires is a state without suffering, despair, and fever, and it is the right way. Therefore, it is a state without conflict. Here, bhikkhus, the pursuit of self-mortification, painful, ignoble, and unbeneficial, is a state beset by suffering, vexation, despair, and fever, and it is the wrong way. Therefore, it is a state with conflict, because it is a state of conflict of the mind.

The mind wants to pursue something that is noble. The mind wants to pursue something that leads to Nibbana. But if you cause the mind to pursue something that is causing self-mortification, then you are in conflict. There's disharmony there. Here, bhikkhus, disengagement from the pursuit of self-mortification, painful, ignoble, and unbeneficial, is a state without suffering, vexation, despair, and fever, and it is the right way. Therefore, it is a state without conflict. Here, bhikkhus, the middle way discovered by the Tathagata avoids both these extremes.

Giving vision, giving knowledge, it leads to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbana. It is a state without suffering, and it is the right way. Therefore, it is a state without conflict. The Eightfold Path is a wonderful way of living. It is a lifestyle. The arahant automatically lives that lifestyle, always has right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right effort, right livelihood, right mindfulness, right collectedness.

It's their nature to be that way. And it's a state without conflict. Having the Eightfold Path and following the Eightfold Path, the mind doesn't produce any further karma. It ceases any old karma that arises. Now, when we talk about dependent origination tomorrow, you'll understand karma arises through dependent origination. The karma we talk about is twofold. There is the karma in terms of activity and action, that which you do in terms of intention, mental intention, in terms of verbalization, in terms of speaking, in terms of physical action, in terms of whatever it is you do with your body.

These are the different kinds of karma. Then there is karma in terms of vipaka, which is the fruition of that karma. And that is known as old karma, punya karma, puna karma. That karma arises through dependent origination and is experienced and felt in vedana, in feeling. If you are following the Eightfold Path, the six R's, then you won't have craving, clinging, becoming, birth of action, and suffering, which means you won't add new karma through craving, clinging, and becoming, and birth of new action. Instead, you let go of that karma. You let karma dissipate. When you are experiencing hindrances in your meditation, that is old karma, because a hindrance arises because at some point your mind became agitated and it broke a precept at some point.

There's no point in becoming guilty about it. The hindrance arose. The hindrance arose because you made certain choices. Let's say it that way. You made certain choices that were not in alignment, that were not harmonious, that were not in the pursuit of Nibbana, that were not wholesome. That gave rise to a hindrance at some point. That hindrance now is old karma for things that you did in the past, things that you said, thought about, or did in the past. If you had ill will in your mind and you pursued that ill will by harming another individual, now what have you done? You've cultivated that ill will. Therefore, that ill will will arise as a hindrance.

If you pursue sensual pleasures by trying to grab onto them and become determined to have them, then you are cultivating sensual craving. If you have a mind that wants to take what is not given, even if that is credit for something, or seeking attention for something, that agitates the mind. And so you can have restlessness as a hindrance that arises.

If you lie and gossip, you become distrustful. You have no trust in yourself and trust in others. That culminates in the hindrance of doubt. If you pursue intoxicants, indulge in your consumption of things, whether it's music or media or reading or whatever it is, going on Netflix binges, it dulls the mind and now you have sloth and torpor. So these hindrances, they are old karma. Now how do you choose to deal with that old karma? You can crave and have aversion or identify with it, and that causes clinging, becoming, birth of action and suffering. Or you can use the path which ceases that karma, which is using the six R's. You're not six R'ing the hindrance, mind you.

You are using the six R's to let go of your attachment to that hindrance or your aversion towards that hindrance. So that hindrance is present and you release your attention from that. You relax the tightness and tension. You re-smile and you come back to a wholesome state of mind. When you use the six R's in this way, that hindrance dissipates.

Sure, it'll come back again. But this time when it comes back, it will be weaker, because your attention hasn't grasped onto it. Your attention hasn't fueled it to cause further suffering. Rather, it will dissipate and arise, but it will be weaker this time. And then you six R again. And then it'll go away. It might arise another time, but it'll be weaker and weaker and weaker, until it completely dissipates and there is a remainderless fading away of that hindrance.

So using the six R's in this way, you are dealing with karma right there and then. How is karma experienced? Karma is experienced as feeling, as vedana, which means that a hindrance is a feeling. A hindrance is an experience. Anything that you're experiencing is karma. Now you can choose to add to that repository of karma, by having craving for it, clinging to it and becoming it. And then continue to have further bouts of that renewal and that arising of that karma. Or you can choose to see it and not take it personal.

Let go of it and then experience peace right there and then. The mind without craving, mind without any clinging, mind without any becoming, mind without any suffering. And it all starts with just understanding. Okay, here is a pleasant feeling, here is an unpleasant feeling, here is a neutral feeling. How is the mind reacting to it? Noticing how the mind reacts to it, if it is unwholesome, if it is identifying with it, taking it personally, you let go of it, you six R. And in that moment you experience Nibbana, Nirodha.

And therefore you experience the Nirodha of that karma in that moment. That's why it is a state without conflict. Right speech does not result in people becoming offended. Right action does not result in the harm of other beings. Right livelihood does not result in the harm of other beings. All of these aspects of the Eightfold Path do not result in any kind of conflict.

Imagine a life like that. A life without conflict. And fine, you might be surrounded by conflict. He said this, she said that, he did this, he did that, she said this. Why did they do this? Why did they do that? You're bombarded by all of that. But if your mind is pursuing, is cultivating, is developing the Eightfold Path, utilizing the six R's when it's required, then it creates this bubble.

All of that conflict does not penetrate through that bubble. And in fact, using the Eightfold Path, utilizing it in this way, you also dissipate that conflict that's there around you. Just by radiating, sending out loving kindness, by sending out compassion, your words become compassion, your words become loving and kind, and compassionate. And therefore, people around you respond in a like way, in a similar manner.

So this is why it is a state without conflict. Here, bhikkhus, extolling and disparaging and failure to teach only the Dhamma is a state beset by suffering. And it is the wrong way. Therefore, it is a state with conflict. Why? Because when you praise someone, you're comparing. There's conflict there. Comparing is another word for conceit. It comes from the Pali mana, which means to compare, to measure.

I am better than this person, or they are better than me, or this person is doing that, or this person is doing this. I am doing that. I'm worse off than this person is, or I am equal to this person, and all of these other things. That is a state of conflict. So if you let go of identifying with that and just follow the Dhamma for the sake of letting go of suffering, for the sake of understanding suffering and ceasing suffering, that's all you have to do, then you are said to be in a state without conflict, in a state of non-conflict. Not extolling and not disparaging and teaching only the Dhamma is a state without suffering, and it is the right way.

Therefore, this is a state without conflict. Here, bhikkhus, sensual pleasure, a filthy pleasure, a coarse pleasure, an ignoble pleasure, is a state beset by suffering, and it is the wrong way. Therefore, it is a state with conflict. and clinging and becoming, identifying with that sensual pleasure, wanting more and more of it. And in the pursuit of that, there is conflict.

From there, there is mental proliferation. Mental proliferation gives rise to taking up of the stick and the sword, as it's talked about in Majjhima Nikaya 18, the Honeyball Sutta. So conflict, when we talk about conflict, it can be just a little bit of a state of unease that arises in the mind. And if you put more attention to that and you have mental proliferation, that gets bigger and bigger and bigger, and then boom.

You're in conflict with other people and that causes wars, it causes destruction. This is how it starts. If you just notice the unease in your own mind and let go of that, you are set to be in a state of non-conflict. pleasures, which gives rise to craving, which gives rise to aversion, which gives rise to ill will, which gives rise to all kinds of things, which gives rise to clinging and becoming. That is beset by the suffering.

But here, bhikkhus, the bliss of renunciation, of letting go, whatever you are experiencing right now, right here, right now, all of that is conditioned. Knowing it to be conditioned, the bliss of having a mind that is free of any kind of craving, the bliss of peace, the bliss of enlightenment, the bliss of having wisdom, seeing things as they actually are, is a state without suffering, and it is the right way.

Therefore, it is a state without conflict. Here, bhikkhus, covert speech that is untrue, incorrect, and unbeneficial is a state beset by suffering. Therefore, this is a state with conflict. Obviously, if you say something that is untrue, something that is unbeneficial, you're going to be in a state of conflict. But that speech, that covert speech that is true, correct, and unbeneficial is a state beset by suffering. That too is a state with conflict.

That speech, which is covert speech that is true, correct, and beneficial, is a state without suffering. Therefore, it is a state without conflict. So that's the speech that you need to have. It should be beneficial. Speak. Whenever you speak, think about that. Is it true? Is it the right time? What is the intention behind it? Is it necessary? Can I say it with kindness?

Here, bhikkhus, overt speech that is true, correct, and beneficial is a state without suffering. Therefore, this is a state without conflict. Here, bhikkhus, the speech of one who speaks hurriedly is a state beset by suffering, vexation, despair, and fear, fever, and it is the wrong way. Therefore, this is a state with conflict. Think about it. When you speak in a hurried manner, people are trying to catch up to whatever it is that you're saying, and they might misinterpret what it is that you're saying. And by doing so, there's a misunderstanding, and there is a state of conflict. without suffering. Therefore, this is a state without conflict. Here, bhikkhus, insistence on local language and overriding of normal usage is a state beset by suffering.

Therefore, this is a state with conflict, insisting that it has to be said in this way, or arguing about how it should be said. That's obviously a state of conflict. Here, bhikkhus, non-insistence on local language, and non-overriding of normal usage, is a state without suffering, vexation, despair, and fever, and it is the right way. Therefore, this is a state without conflict.

Therefore, bhikkhus, you should train yourselves thus. We shall know the state with conflict, and we shall know the state without conflict. And knowing these, we shall enter upon the way without conflict. That is the Eightfold Path. Subuti is a clansman who has entered upon the way without conflict. Subuti was the brother of Anathapindika. Anathapindika was a lay follower of the Buddha who was extremely generous.

And there's a lot of stories about him. But every time you read, the majority of the suttas are based in Anathapindika's park, and his brother Subuti was known to be somebody who was utmost in terms of one without conflict. This is what the Blessed One said. The bhikkhus were satisfied and delighted in the Blessed One's words.

Any questions? Yes? You mentioned mental action. Do you describe what that is? Or maybe even give an example? Mental action is dependent upon intention. So let's say you're thinking about something and then you pursue that line of thinking. That's a mental action. So thinking about when the next meal is or thinking about when the next break is, and then your mind goes there and it's thinking about this, that, or the other. And now you're pursuing, okay, I'm going to do it this way or I'm going to do it that way. Now you're entering into mental proliferation.

And now you're pursuing that. So even the intention to bring up loving kindness, that's a mental action. May I be happy, may I be well, may I be free of suffering, may I be filled with loving kindness, that's a mental action. The bringing up of a wholesome image, that's a mental action. So the way to look at preferences is just that this body has been accustomed to a certain way of doing things, like preferences for certain kinds of weather, preferences for certain kinds of food. That's just the way that this body has been brought up, in the way that it prefers one thing over the other. But the craving happens when you prefer something and then that preference is not met, and how you respond to that is the craving, the agitation. So you have a preference for this, that's okay. But if the preference is not met and then you get upset by that, or you're pursuing that, have it this way, that's the craving right here in this moment. Whatever you're experiencing is a result of past actions

Whatever it is that you're met with, that's all your karma, right? So the Buddha was talking about this in a sutta called the Sivaka Sutta, and he said that there were, at that time, people and brahmins who said that everything is karma. But the Buddha said, inputs that arise. Whatever choices you make results in whatever karma you experience. Now, to say that there is a chance occurrence or there are coincidences within the experience of the Dhamma, there is no such thing as a coincidence. There's no such thing as luck.

In fact, the Buddha talks about it and he says the pursuit of something in the form of it should happen by chance, or the pursuit of it by praying to certain deities and saying that let me get this or that. Anyone who does that doesn't have a true understanding of the Dhamma, because everything is dependent upon karma. It is karma that fuels all of this.