Day 5 -2022 10 Day June Retreat - MN 38 Dependent Origination -Intro

But what the Buddha taught is what's known as rebirth. There is a difference. Rebirth is not about the reincarnation of an individual self that continues on from one lifetime to the other. Rebirth is the arising and passing away of individual consciousnesses in every moment. When you experience infinite consciousness, when you go into jhana 6 and experience the realm of infinite consciousness, this is what you are seeing, the arising and passing away of individual consciousnesses. Now that consciousness ceases right after it arises. It's not like it continues on through that same life. Which means even from one life to the next, what's arising is a new consciousness that comes to be, and then it descends into the nama-rupa, and a new consciousness arises after that.

It's not the same consciousness. So we'll understand this more with a further explanation in the Sutta. Several bhikkhus, having heard about this, went to the bhikkhu Sati and asked him, Friend Sati, is it true that such a pernicious view has arisen in you? Exactly so, friends. That's a really interesting way of responding. Is it true you have this pernicious view? Yeah, yeah, I do have that pernicious view. As I understand the Dhamma taught by the Blessed One, it is this same consciousness that runs and wanders through the round of rebirths, not another. Then those bhikkhus, desiring to detach him from that pernicious view, pressed and questioned and cross-questioned him. Thus: Friend Sati, do not say so.

Do not misrepresent the Blessed One. It is not good to misrepresent the Blessed One. The Blessed One would not speak thus, for in many ways the Blessed One has stated consciousness to be dependently arisen, since without a condition there is no origination of consciousness. Yet, although pressed and questioned and cross-questioned by those bhikkhus in this way, the bhikkhu Sati, son of a fisherman, still obstinately adhered to that pernicious view and continued to insist upon it.

Since the bhikkhus were unable to detach him from that pernicious view, they went to the Blessed One and, after paying homage to him, they sat down at one side and told him all that had occurred, adding, Venerable Sir, since we could not detach the bhikkhu Sati, son of a fisherman, from his pernicious view, we have reported this matter to the Blessed One.

Then the Blessed One addressed a certain bhikkhu thus: Come, bhikkhu, tell the bhikkhu Sati, son of a fisherman, in my name, that the teacher calls him. Yes, Venerable Sir. He replied, and he went to the bhikkhu Sati and told him, The teacher calls you, friend Sati. Yes, friend, he replied. And he went to the Blessed One, and after paying homage to him, sat down at one side. The Blessed One then asked him, Sati, is it true that the following pernicious view has arisen in you? As I understand the Dhamma taught by the Blessed One, it is this same consciousness that runs and wanders through the round of rebirths, not another.

Exactly so, Venerable Sir. As I understand the Dhamma taught by the Blessed One, it is this same consciousness that runs and wanders through the round of rebirths, not another. What is that consciousness, Sati? Venerable Sir, it is that which speaks and feels and experiences here and there the result of good and bad actions. This is a view from certain traditions in ancient India. He says that consciousness is that which speaks and feels and experiences here and there, the result of good and bad actions.

In the Upanishads, it talks about the Atman. And what it says there is that the Atman is the hearer behind the hearer, the speaker behind the speaker, the taster behind the taster. Basically, it is that Atman that experiences the feeling, the vedana. It is that Atman that speaks, none other. And so there's a lot of very intricate ideas about this. It is this core essence, Atman, that is the doer, the eternal doer.

And it is this Atman that experiences the effects of past karma, the good and bad actions. And so over time in the Upanishads, the Atman has been known as so many different things. And it's been equated with consciousness. It's called Satchitananda. Satchitananda means that which is existent, Sat, Chit, which is conscious or aware, and Ananda, which is blissful.

So it is this eternal awareness that is always pervasive, imperishable, and not subject to change. And it is the source of happiness. So Sati has this view that consciousness, as he understands it, awareness as he understands it, is this Atman. That which speaks and feels and experiences the karma of past actions. Misguided man, misguided man. Not a good term when the Buddha says it to you. Misguided man means you foolish moron. To whom have you ever known me to teach the Dhamma in that way? Misguided man, have I not stated in many ways consciousness to be dependently arisen, since without a condition there is no origination of consciousness.

But you, misguided man, have misrepresented us by your wrong grasp and injured yourself and stored up much demerit, for this will lead to your harm and suffering for a long time. Why is that? Because he has wrong view. When you have wrong view, it can lead to wrong intentions. It can lead you to identifying with the mind and body, causing you to have wrong speech and wrong action, wrong livelihood even. So in other words, having the wrong view can lead to the rest of the wrong path, the rest of the wrong path. That is to say, all of those things that do not lead to Nibbana. All of those things that do not lead to freedom of the mind, to the unconditioned.

Then the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus thus: Bhikkhus, what do you think? Has this bhikkhu Sati, son of a fisherman, kindled even a spark of wisdom in this Dhamma and discipline? How could he, Venerable Sir? No, Venerable Sir. When this was said, the bhikkhu Sati, son of a fisherman, sat silent, dismayed, with shoulders drooping and head down, glum and without response.

Then, knowing this, the Blessed One told him, misguided man, you will be recognized by your own pernicious view. And he is, 2600 years later. Here we are talking about him. I shall question the bhikkhus on this matter. Then the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus thus: Bhikkhus, do you understand the Dhamma taught by me as this bhikkhu Sati, son of a fisherman, does when he misrepresents us by his wrong grasp and injures himself and stores up much demerit?

With a question like that, what would you answer? No, Venerable Sir. For in many discourses the Blessed One has stated consciousness to be dependently arisen, since without condition there is no origination of consciousness. Good bhikkhus, it is good that you understand the Dhamma taught by me thus, for in many ways I have stated consciousness to be dependently arisen, since without a condition there is no origination of consciousness.

But this bhikkhu Sati, son of a fisherman, misrepresents us by his wrong grasp and injures himself and stores up much demerit, for this will lead to the harm and suffering of this misguided man for a long time. Bhikkhus, consciousness is reckoned by the particular condition dependent upon which it arises. Listen carefully. When consciousness arises dependent on the I and forms, I don't know what's up with that, I think I'll be fine. Okay, now listen carefully.

When consciousness arises dependent on the body and tangibles, it is reckoned as body consciousness. When consciousness arises dependent on the mind and mind objects, it is reckoned as mind consciousness. So this consciousness that we're talking about is the eye consciousness, the ear consciousness, the nose consciousness, the tongue consciousness, the body consciousness, and mind consciousness. Consciousness arises dependent upon the joining of certain things, that is to say, when the eye meets with form, when the light hits the form and meets with the eye, there is eye consciousness that arises.

And when that eye consciousness arises, the three constitute what's known as eye contact. Same with the ear, with the nose, with the tongue, with the body, and with the mind. Whatever it is you're doing right now when you're listening to me, there is sound waves coming in. Right through my voice they're hitting the ear. Now with that there is contact between the ear and the sound waves. Dependent upon that there is an awareness of that experience, an awareness of the ear and an awareness of that sound. This awareness is what he's talking about.

That is dependently arisen. These three, the ear, the sound, and the ear consciousness, constitute ear contact. So consciousness here is reckoned, as he says, by whatever it is that arises. It's dependent upon a condition that arises. That's the only way you are aware of something. You're aware of something when there is the joining of the six sense bases with their objects.

If that was not the case, there would not be any contact. There would not be any feeling. And tied to that feeling, there won't be any perception. Remember yesterday we were talking about feeling and perception. Feeling being the experience that is felt, any experience that's there, and perception being that which recognizes that experience, that labels that experience. Tied to it is also the awareness of that experience.

So if there was no contact, then there would not be any consciousness. If a person was blind, their eyes don't work. There could still be light hitting their eyes, but if the eye is dysfunctional, if it's non-functional, then there is no eye consciousness there. So if somebody was blind, that would happen. If somebody was deaf, if the sound hits their ears but they are deaf, even if there is the sound, the ear does not make contact with that sound. It doesn't receive it, and so because these two don't join together, there is no ear consciousness dependent upon it. So we'll go further. Just as fire is reckoned by this particular condition on which it burns: when fire burns dependent on logs, it is reckoned as a log fire.

When fire burns dependent on faggots, it is reckoned as a faggot fire. When fire burns dependent on grass, it is reckoned as a grass fire. When fire burns dependent on cow dung, it is reckoned as a cow dung fire. When fire burns dependent on chafe, it is reckoned as a chafe fire. When fire burns dependent on rubbish, it is reckoned as a rubbish fire. So too, consciousness is reckoned by the particular condition dependent on which it arises.

When consciousness arises dependent on the eye and forms, it is reckoned as eye consciousness. So, eye consciousness, because it arises dependent upon the forms making contact with the eye. It is your consciousness when the sound makes contact with the ear, and these two, and then they give rise to the ear consciousness, or to the eye consciousness. If neither of them were there, or one of them were not there, there would not be any of that sensory consciousness.

So the idea even of this consciousness that is eternal, this idea of a consciousness that speaks and feels and is an Atman who goes from one place to the other, from one existence to the other, that's still rooted in an experience of the mind. So when people say there was an experience of non-duality where I became one with everything, an experience where I realized that I am Atman, a real realization that it is Brahman, all things are, you know, one and the same, how is that experienced? Where is that experience coming from? It's a mental object.

It makes contact with the mind and there is this experience, there is mind consciousness. So for you to even reckon that, for you to even see that it's dependent upon the mind, if it's dependent on something, when you take away the causes and conditions which give rise to it, then that experience is no longer there. So how can that be considered to be the self? How can that be considered to be permanent? How can that be considered to be imperishable? That experience only when you mix contact you have that experience, but if that's the case then anything that's dependently arisen we understand to be impermanent, subject to change

When consciousness arises dependent on the body and tangibles, it is reckoned as body consciousness. When consciousness arises dependent on the mind and mind objects, it is reckoned as mind consciousness. Is this when we do the questionnaire? No. Because do you see this has come to be? Yes, venerable sir. Because do you see its origination occurs with that as nutriment? Yes, venerable sir. Because do you see with the cessation of that nutriment, what has come to be is subject to cessation? Yes, venerable sir. Bhikkhus, does doubt arise when one is uncertain thus, has this come to be?

Yes, Venerable Sir. Bhikkhus, does doubt arise when one is uncertain thus, does its origination occur with that as nutriment? Yes, Venerable Sir. Bhikkhus, when does doubt arise when one is uncertain thus, with the cessation of that nutriment is what has come to be subject to cessation? Yes, venerable sir. So we're looking at the general questionnaire on being. What he's saying is, because do you see that this has come to be? In other words, do you understand dependent arising with this as nutriment that comes to be? And they say yes. What about this, do you see with the cessation of that nutriment what has come to be is subject to cessation? Yes. Then he says, would there be doubt if someone is uncertain about this?

If someone has uncertainty about the idea that from this cause arises this condition or this experience? Yes, if they have uncertainty about this, there will be doubt. If they have uncertainty about the cessation of an experience, there will be doubt. So how is doubt abandoned? Bhikkhus, is doubt abandoned in one who sees it as it actually is with proper wisdom thus? This has come to be. Yes, Venerable Sir. Bhikkhus, is doubt abandoned in one who sees as it actually is with proper wisdom thus? Its origination occurs with that as nutriment. Yes, Venerable Sir. Bhikkhus, is doubt abandoned in one who sees as it actually is with proper wisdom thus, with the cessation of that nutriment, what has come to be is subject to cessation?

Yes, Venerable Sir. So what he's talking about is there something has come to be. There is an experience that's come to be. If you know the nutriment of that experience and understand it arose dependent upon that nutriment, then would you have any doubt about that? You won't have any uncertainty about that. You understand with proper wisdom thus. When he says, in one who sees as it actually is with proper wisdom thus.

To see things as they actually are means to see things as dependently arisen. Every experience that you have is conditioned by another component. Every experience you're having right now is all conditioned, conditioned by contact, conditioned by some kind of nutriment. When you understand it as it actually is, then you understand when there is the cessation of that nutriment, of that source, then there is the cessation of that experience. Bhikkhus, are you thus free from doubt here? This has come to be. Yes, venerable sir. Bhikkhus, are you thus free from doubt here? Its origination occurs with that as nutriment. Yes, Venerable Sir. Bhikkhus, are you thus free from doubt here? With the cessation of that nutriment, what has come to be is subject to cessation.

What is the Dhamma? The Dhamma is the understanding of dependent origination. What is the clinging to the Dhamma? Clinging to the understanding of dependent origination. Once you understand dependent origination, don't make that a view that becomes a source of attachment, that you become attached to. The understanding of dependent origination frees your mind. It liberates you from all craving, it liberates you from all identification, it liberates you from ignorance.

So when you see things with proper wisdom thus, fine, you're seeing them, but don't hold on to the idea of dependent origination as you see it. See that it's arising as it arises, passes as it passes. But if you hold on to it and if you identify with that view, there's still some work to be done, because the clinging to that still gives rise to some kind of a desire to be something, a desire to be someone, the desire for existence, the craving for existence. When you let go of that view, then there are no standpoints, there are no adherences, there's nothing that the mind clings to. When the mind lets go completely with no clinging at all, then it is fully liberated.

So the simile of the raft here is the understanding that you use the raft to get from one side to the other. That raft is the Eightfold Path. That raft is the view, the right view that arises and is established by your understanding, experiential understanding of dependent origination. That happens when you have cessation of perception, feeling, and consciousness. You come out and you start to see everything is dependently arisen because of certain experiences you have.

Once you start to see that, then you completely let go of any attachment to something. That gets you to the experience of freedom of mind. Once you have that, are you going to continue to hold on to that view? Are you going to just stay in that freedom of mind? Right? Now that view is there. Now that view is established.

It is irreversible in so far as your experience is concerned. Your experience will confirm for you what is going on. Your experience will verify for you the understanding of right view, but once you have that, you don't, just like the raft, you don't carry the raft. Once you get to the far shore, you leave it behind and continue being on the far shore. Now, that doesn't mean that you abandon the Eightfold Path, for example. It means that you understand the Eightfold Path as being conditioned, that leads you to an experience of the unconditioned, as it were.

So you don't get hung up on the Eightfold Path. It becomes a part of your experience. So you have right intention all the time. You have right speech all the time. You have right action all the time. You have right livelihood all the time. You have right effort all the time. You have right mindfulness all the time, and you have right concentration all the time. But you're not attached to it. You don't try to overthink it, you don't try to become conceited about it. Bhikkhus, purified and bright as this view is, that is the understanding of dependent origination, if you do not adhere to it, cherish it, treasure it, and treat it as a possession, would you then understand that the Dhamma has been taught as similar to a raft, being for the purpose of crossing over, not for the purpose of grasping? Yes, venerable sir.

Because there are these four kinds of nutriment for the maintenance of beings that have already come to be and for the support of those about to come to be. What for? They are physical food as nutriment, gross or subtle, contact as the second, mental volition as the third, and consciousness as the fourth. Now, Bhikkhus, these four kinds of nutriment have what as their source, what as their origin? From what are they born and produced? These four kinds of nutriment have craving as their source, craving as their origin. They are born and produced from craving. And this craving has what as its source? Craving has feeling as its source. And this feeling has what as its source?

He says there are these four kinds of nutriment, four kinds of nourishment, four kinds of fuel. For the maintenance of beings that have already come to be, that is beings who are here right now. And for the support of those about to come to be. Now, that can mean two things. That is to say, beings that have passed on and are about to be born into the next existence, or beings, that is to say, beings in the form of those about to be physically born. They have these four nutriments.

Food, physical food, gross or subtle. So food, as we understand it, is the nourishment that we need for our bodies to continue, right? So that can be gross or subtle. Gross food is food that we eat in terms of here on this earth plane. Subtle is the subtle food of the devas. So even the devas have certain kinds of food that they eat.

So then that's one kind of nutriment. The second kind of nutriment is contact. So we know contact to be that which is the eye meeting with form, the ear meeting with sound. The nose meeting with fragrance. The tongue meeting with taste. The body meeting with some kind of touch, a tangible. It can be air pressure, the wind, or whatever it might be. The heat, right, or the cold.

And then we see the mind meets with a mental object. When you're meditating, your mind meets with the mental object of loving-kindness. And there is mind consciousness there. So through contact, you have feeling, you have perception. Through contact also, there can arise consciousness because the consciousness, that is the initial contact between the eye and form, gives rise to eye consciousness. How does eye consciousness arise? Or rather, consciousness in general arises dependent upon formations.

So formations, we'll talk about in more detail later, but formations are the carriers for karma. So contact gives rise to formations, which gives rise to a consciousness, which then gives rise to mentality materiality, which then gives rise to the six sense spaces, which gives rise to contact. So it actually loops over and then experiences, is experienced through feeling and perception. This is the second nutriment. The third nutriment is mental volition.

So with mental volition, that is an intention to do something, an inclination towards something. That gives rise to consciousness because it's through intentions that formations flow and that give rise to some kind of a consciousness. It is through intention karma arises. It is through contact intention arises, mental volition arises, and then it is through intention that karma comes to be, and that karma is whatever experience you're having, whatever action it is you take in mind, body, and speech. And then the fourth nutriment is consciousness itself, awareness.

Now this consciousness is understood in two ways, but they mean the same thing. That is the micro level of the arising and passing away of sensory consciousnesses. That is to say the arising and passing away of eye consciousnesses, ear consciousnesses, nose consciousnesses, tongue consciousnesses, body consciousnesses, and mind consciousnesses. And then there is the consciousness that descends into the nama-rupa. That is the mentality, materiality.

So dependent upon consciousness, nama-rupa arises. And for the maintenance of that nama-rupa, you need food. That is the physical food. So these are the four kinds of nutriment. But then he says, they have a source as well, and that is craving. What is craving? Craving is either the identification with an experience, the wanting of more of it, so the grasping towards it, or the resisting of it, the aversion towards it, against it.

That is one kind of craving. There is the craving for existence or the craving for non-existence. It's the craving that causes the mind to look at something and say, I want to possess that. It's the craving that causes the mind to see something and say, I am that. It's the craving that causes the mind to experience something and say, I don't want that. Behind all of that is this sense of I, the sense of me, mine, or myself.

When you identify with something, craving arises. When the craving arises, it can give rise to further contact. That contact, remember, is dependent upon the sixth sense bases, which are in the mentality materiality, which is dependent upon consciousness, which is dependent upon formations, which are driven through by intention. So if your intention is rooted in craving, it will give rise to formations rooted in craving, consciousness rooted in craving, nama-rupa rooted in craving, sixfold bases rooted in craving, and contact rooted in craving. And so the feeling that arises,

With birth as condition, aging and death comes to be. With habitual tendencies as condition, birth comes to be. So it was said. Now, Bhikkhus, does birth have habitual tendencies as condition or not? Or how do you take it in this case? With clinging as condition, habitual tendencies come to be. So it was said. Now, Bhikkhus, does this habitual tendency have clinging as condition or not? Or how do you take it in this case? Habitual tendency has clinging as condition, but as we take it in this case, with clinging as condition, habitual tendency comes to be. With craving as condition, clinging comes to be. So it was said. Now, Bhikkhus, does clinging have craving as a condition or not?

Or how do you take it in this case? Clinging has craving as a condition of your own soul. That's what we take in this case. With craving as a condition, clinging comes to be. With feeling as condition, craving comes to be. So it was said. Now, Bhikkhus, does craving have feeling as condition or not? Or how do you take it in this case?

With contact as condition, feeling comes to be. So it was said. Now, Bhikkhus, does feeling have contact as condition or not? Or how do you take it in this case? With the six-fold base as condition, contact comes to be. So it was said. Now, Bhikkhus, does contact have the six-fold base as condition or not? Or how do you take it in this case?

With mentality, materiality as condition, the sixfold base comes to be, so it was said. Now, Bhikkhus, does the sixfold base have mentality, materiality as condition, or how do you take it in this case? With consciousness as condition, mentality, materiality comes to be. So it was said. Now, Bhikkhus, does mentality, materiality have consciousness as condition or not? Or how do you take it in this case?

With formations as condition, consciousness comes to be. So it was said. Now, Bhikkhus, does consciousness have formations as condition or not? Or how do you take it in this case? With ignorance as condition, formations come to be. So it was said. Now, Bhikkhu, do formations have ignorance as condition or not? Or how do you take it in this case? Thus we take it in this case, with ignorance as condition, formations come to be. Good, Bhikkhu. So you say thus, and I also say thus: when this exists, that comes to be; with the arising of this, that arises. That is, with ignorance as condition, with formations as condition, with consciousness as condition,

With the cessation of birth, the cessation of aging and death, so it was said. Now, bhikkhus, do aging and death cease with the cessation of birth or not? Or how do you take it in this case? Aging and death ceases with the cessation of birth and death of birth. Thus we take it in this case, with the cessation of birth, the cessation of being in death, the curse. With the cessation of habitual tendencies comes the cessation of birth. So it was said, now, monks, does birth cease with the cessation of habitual tendencies or not? Or how do you take it in this case?

With the cessation of clinging comes the cessation of habitual tendencies. So it was said. Now, monks, do habitual tendencies cease with the cessation of clinging or not? Or how do you take it in this case? With the cessation of craving comes the cessation of clinging, so it was said. Now, monks, does clinging cease with the cessation of craving or not, or how do you take it in this case?

With the cessation of feeling comes the cessation of craving, so it was said. Now, monks, does craving cease with the cessation of feeling or not? Or how do you take it in this case? Craving ceases with the cessation of feeling, but thus we take it in this case. With the cessation of contact comes the cessation of feeling, so it was said. Now, monks, does feeling cease with the cessation of contact or not? Or how do you take it in this case?

With the cessation of the sixfold base comes the cessation of contact. So it was said. Now, monks, does contact cease with the cessation of the sixfold base or not? Or how do you take it in this case? With the cessation of mentality-materiality comes the cessation of the sixfold base. So it was said. Now, monks, does the sixfold base cease with the cessation of mentality-materiality, or not? Or how do you take it in this case?

With the cessation of consciousness comes the cessation of mentality-materiality. So it was said. Now, does mentality-materiality cease with the cessation of consciousness or not? Or how do you take it in this case? With the cessation of formations comes the cessation of consciousness. So it was said. Now, monks, does consciousness cease with the cessation of formations or not? Or how do you take it in this case?

With the cessation of ignorance comes the cessation of formations. So it was said. Now, monks, do formations cease with the cessation of ignorance or not? Or how do you take it in this case? Good monks, so you say thus, and I also say thus. When this does not exist, that does not come to be. With the cessation of this, that ceases.

With the cessation of birth, such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering. What we just went through is basically the second and third Noble Truths. The second Noble Truth says that craving is the condition for suffering. So dependent origination, the arising, the origin of this whole mass of suffering is the second Noble Truth. Craving is the short form of this entire understanding of the arising of dependent origination.

The arising of dependent origination is an elaboration of the second Noble Truth. When you saw or you read through the cessation of the conditions in dependent origination, you're talking about the third Noble Truth. With the cessation of craving is the cessation of suffering, nirodha. So, that is the short form of what you just read, and what you just read is an elaboration of the third Noble Truth of the cessation of suffering. That is why, in the first case it says, "Such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering," the second Noble Truth. And in the second case it says, "Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering," is the third Noble Truth.

Because, knowing and seeing in this way, when you say knowing and seeing, the knowledge and vision of something, it's not just the intellectual understanding, it's the experiential understanding, understanding for yourself as it arises, you actually see it. Would you run back to the past? Thus, were we in the past? Were we not in the past? What were we in the past? How were we in the past? Having been what? What did we become in the past?

No, Venerable Sir. Why? Because you understand that the past arose because of a sequence and series of causes and conditions. So, were you in the past? Were you not in the past? What were you in the past? How did you arise in the past? And all of these things don't arise in the mind that understands fully dependent origination, because that mind understands everything as being impersonal. That past is no longer taken as me, mine, or myself. Knowing and seeing in this way, would you run forward into the future? Thus, shall we be in the future? Shall we not be in the future? What shall we be in the future?

Shall we not? How shall we be in the future? Having been what, what shall we become in the future? No, Venerable Sir. Why is that? Because once you understand dependent origination, why are you worried about this sense of self and what it's going to experience in the future? Yes, you'll still have thoughts about planning ahead, doing certain things, all of these other things related to the future. But these are all seen as activities. These are all seen as things to be done for whatever has to be done. But you don't take it personally.

And if you don't take it personally, you won't have any anxiety that arises from it. You won't have any expectations. You won't have any kind of waiting for something to happen. You just understand it will happen if there's a series of causes and conditions, but you don't dwell on that. Knowing and seeing in this way, would you now be inwardly perplexed about the present? Thus: Am I? Am I not? What am I? How am I? Where has this being come from? Where will it go? No, Venerable Sir. Once you fully understand dependent origination, you don't even have a mental standpoint about the present moment and take it personally.

You don't think, oh, I wonder how I came to be, I wonder how this arose. You don't think, who am I? Right, because now you realize that this sense of self is just arising and passing away. It's arising and passing away, dependent upon causes and conditions. Arising and passing away. There is no sense of self independent of this experience of dependent origination. Now, you can choose to take that whole process of dependent origination personally. And when you do so, you're going to identify with it, and you're going to cause yourself suffering. But if you understand it fully, with proper wisdom, thus: this is not me, this is not mine, this is not myself, because you understand that everything that is dependently arisen is impermanent and therefore liable to cause one's suffering, cause the mind's suffering.

When you see it with proper wisdom, thus as it actually is, then there's no taking of any experience as personal. There's no sense of identity in anything that's happening. When you fully and truly understand this, all experiences are seen as what they actually are, experienced as they arise, but they're not clung to. There is no clinging, there is no grasping. Because, knowing and seeing dependent origination in this way, would you speak thus: 'The teacher is respected by us, we speak as we do out of respect for the teacher'? No, Venerable Sir.

Knowing and seeing in this way, would you speak thus: 'The recluse says this, and we speak thus at the bidding of the recluse'? No, Venerable Sir. Knowing and seeing in this way, would you acknowledge another teacher? No, Venerable Sir. Knowing and seeing in this way, would you return to the observances, tumultuous debates, and auspicious signs of ordinary recluses and Brahmins, taking them as the core of the holy life? No, Venerable Sir. Do you speak only of what you have known, seen, and understood for yourselves?

Yes, venerable sir. In other words, don't take my word for it. See for yourself. Understand for yourself. And don't take it just on an intellectual understanding. See it and understand it as it actually is when it arises. Recognize when the feeling arises. Understand what this feeling is. And it will happen to you naturally. It will happen to you organically as you start to let go of things, as you start to let go of attachments, and you experience the cessation of perception, feeling, and consciousness.

And then when you come out of it and you experience and see the links of dependent origination, when you see the links of dependent origination and understand, 'And this consciousness arose dependent upon contact, dependent upon prior causes and conditions, dependent upon formations,' and so on. When you see it as it actually is, with proper wisdom, thus, then you won't say yes when somebody asks you, do you know dependent origination, just because you understand it intellectually.

You will understand it, and you will say yes because you have experienced it. So you won't be respecting a teacher just out of blind faith. You won't be taking anyone's word for granted, right? You won't just blindly trust what the suttas say. You will actually see for yourself when you go through this whole process. And then when you go back to read the suttas, and then when you go back to listening to the Dhamma talks, a whole new perspective is unlocked. Now you actually understand. Now the code is seen. Now the code is decoded.

And the way to decode that code is through actual experiential wisdom. So then when you see it, there's no doubt about it. There's no perplexity about it you won't have any kinds of attachments as the buddha says to any observances meaning you won't have rights you won't have clinging to rites and rituals with the idea that they will lead you to nibbana because now you have seen it for yourself that this is how this process works that karma works dependent upon prior causes and conditions including you know your prior actions your intentional mental verbal and bodily actions.

Once you understand this, then you understand what's the point of doing these rites and rituals with the idea that they're going to achieve something, that they're going to lead you somewhere. You won't get into tumultuous debates or have to look at the auspicious signs of other people's reckoning. In other words, why would you get yourself into debates? You know for a fact that this is what it is, for your own self, so to speak, in your own understanding, that this is how this process works. Why debate it? Why would you get into debates about that? People will have their own understanding, and that's fine. Why would you get into debates about it? You just have your knowledge and your vision and your understanding, and that is enough. So you won't get caught up in all of these other things. You will have your experience that guides you. Your experience is your teacher. Your experience is your moral compass. That is the right view. That is your conscience. It is your experience that will be the bedrock upon which you continue with this existence.

So don't make dependent origination all about an intellectual understanding. See for yourself, actually experience the Dhamma, and that is dependent upon having right samadhi, right meditation, right collectedness, and that happens through sila, keeping the precepts. So this whole process happens through these series of understandings: keeping the precepts keeps the mind pure, keeps the mind collected, makes it ripe for samadhi. When the mind is deep in that samadhi, it eventually experiences cessation, and then wisdom arises, panya arises. Good, bhikkhus. So you have been guided by me with this Dhamma, which is visible here and now, immediately effective, inviting inspection, onward leading, to be experienced by the wise for themselves.

For it was with reference to here that it has been said, because this Dhamma is visible here and now, immediately effective, inviting inspection, onward leading, to be experienced by the wise for themselves. Now we're going to get into something that is related to the macro level of rebirth, because dependent origination is not about just your experiential understanding here and now. Dependent origination runs its course from lifetime to lifetime, from one existence to another.

So here is what he says. Because the descent of the embryo takes place through the union of three things. Here there is the union of the mother and father, but the mother is not in season and the Gandhaba is not present. In this case, no descent of an embryo takes place. Here there is the union of the mother and father, and the mother is in season, but the Gandhaba is not present. In this case too, no descent of the embryo takes place. But when there is the union of the mother and father, and the mother is in season, and the Gandhaba is present, through the union of these three things, the descent of the embryo takes place.

We're talking about conception. What happens? The conception of, in this case, to simplify, the conception of human life. How does this occur from the context of dependent origination? So you need, obviously, the sperm and the ovum in order for there to be some kind of genetic material. But you also need the Gandhava. What is the Gandhava? So there are different ways of understanding Gandhava. Gandhava is like the Gandharvas, which are these celestial beings in the heavenly planes. But there's also the Gandhava, which is understood as the evolving consciousness, the rebirth-linking consciousness.

When there is death, when there is the dissolution of the body, this is what happens. The body dies, and now there is no consciousness tied to it. But before that consciousness dissipates, it won't dissipate, because if there is craving, that consciousness dissipates, and the craving will then give rise to a certain kind of formation, which gives rise to a certain kind of consciousness.

In other words, when someone is dying, they have this experience in their mental realm. They have an experience of seeing their life before their eyes. Seeing all the wonderful things that might have happened, or having regrets for the things that they might have done in that life. Something that either uplifts them or something that causes them to go downward.

So that can either cause them to have craving for that, saying, I want more of that, I wish I could experience that again, or I don't want more of that. And there arises fear, there arises remorse, there arises regret, there arises anxiety. In either case, this reaction gives rise to certain formations that are rooted in that reaction of craving or aversion or identification, in either case.

Those formations then give rise to a consciousness. That consciousness departs from that old mentality, materiality, from that old mind and body, and descends into a new embryo, descends into a new nama rupa, into a new mentality, materiality. Once that gandhava, that is the consciousness going from one life to the next life, descends into the new mind and body, it dissipates, and a new consciousness arises, and then it passes away, and so on and so forth, as there is the conception of this new being in the womb.

The mother then carries the embryo in her womb for nine or ten months with much anxiety as a heavy burden. Then at the end of nine or ten months, the mother gives birth with much anxiety as a heavy burden. Then, when the child is born, she nourishes it with her own blood. For the mother's breast milk is called blood, the noble one's discipline.

When he grows up and his faculties mature. What does that mean, his faculties mature? When you are an infant, when you are born, there are certain senses that are active, the sense of smell and the sense of taste. So you identify things through smell. You've identified things through the smell of, here is my caretaker, this is somebody who takes care of me, my mother or my father. And then you have the taste of breast milk or whatever it is, and now you identify with that. So now your faculties are starting to mature. When infants look at things, when they're experiencing things, they're not fully able to see color. They're not fully able to see patterns and shapes and things like that. But as perception arises, as they are able to make connections, as their perception of depth arises, and so on, and as they start walking and doing all these other things, the faculties mature. In other words, the sixth sense bases, while they are there, aren't fully being experienced in the way that we as adults would experience them.

So they continue to develop until they become mature as an adult, or really as a toddler. The child plays at such games as toy plows, tipcats, somersaults, toy windmills, toy measures, toy cars, and a toy bow and arrow. When he grows up and his faculties mature still further, the youth enjoys himself, provided, endowed with the five cords of sensual pleasure, with forms cognizable by the eye, sounds cognizable by the ear, odors cognizable by the nose, flavors cognizable by the tongue, tangibles cognizable by the body that are wished for, desired, agreeable and likable, connected with sensual desire and provocative of lust. So as you become older, as you get older, you start to identify with certain things in terms of the five physical sense experiences. Now you start to make up favorites about what you like and what you don't like. You have your favorite TV shows, you have your favorite painting, you have your favorite musical artist, you have your favorite foods, you have your favorite fragrances, you have your favorite blanket that you use, or your favorite chair that you sit in, and so on.

All of these are starting to create some kind of identity, some kind of character. So the craving for these things, the identifying with these things, is the craving. The associating with them, the clinging to them, that is the clinging. That is to say, now you're making up an identity around them by creating favorites about them, creating choices about them, creating decisions around them, creating ideas about what they should be and what they shouldn't be. When people grow up they start to create a certain idea that I am a person who likes this kind of music, I am a person who likes these kinds of tastes. This is the being. These are the habitual tendencies that a person starts to collect, so to speak, or collects around the idea of a person.

When somebody gets caught up and engages in sensual pleasures by identifying with them, by craving for them, there is lack of mindfulness there. Now the mind is unable to observe how attention moves. It gets caught up in the experience. When it gets caught up in the experience, the mind is limited. Limited by what? It is degraded. It is limited.

It is affected. It is obstructed by hindrances. When such a mind is there, he does not understand as it actually is the deliverance of mind and the deliverance by wisdom. In other words, his mind is not rid of the hindrances. It gets caught up by the hindrances. And his mind is not ripe for the rupa jhanas or the arupa jhanas, engaged as he is in favoring and opposing whatever feeling he feels. Favoring and opposing.

Craving and aversion. Clinging to this or that. He delights, whether pleasant or painful or neither painful nor pleasant. He delights in that feeling, welcomes it, and remains holding to it. And as he does so, delight arises in him. That is the craving. Now, delight in feelings is clinging. When he has favoring of certain kinds of sensory experiences, or opposing certain kinds of sensory experiences, that is the delight. And delighting in this or that leads to clinging.

Now, the clinging says, this is my favorite. The clinging says, I don't like this because. Whenever you catch the mind saying, I like this because, that because, that rationalizing, the idea that I like it because of so-and-so, that is the clinging. That is the clinging that associates that with an identity. With clinging as condition, habitual tendencies come to be.

Such is this whole mass of suffering. Such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering. Here, Bhikkhus, a Tathagata appears in the world, accomplished, fully enlightened, and he purifies his mind from doubt. Having thus abandoned these five hindrances, imperfections of the mind that weakened wisdom. So what we're talking about is there is a Tathagata. There is a Buddha that arises, and he understands the Four Noble Truths. He rediscovers the path to enlightenment, to awakening. And after that, somebody hears about this. And upon hearing about this, they decide to go into the Holy Life. And going into the Holy Life, they basically abandon any kind of doubt about the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha.

So what they're talking about now is having been purified of the five hindrances, being purified of any kind of craving, sensual craving, purified of any kind of aversion, purified of any kind of restlessness, purified of any kind of sloth and torpor, purified of any kind of doubt. Having thus abandoned these five hindrances, imperfections of the mind that weakened wisdom, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, he enters upon and abides in the first jhana. With the stilling of applied and sustained thought, he enters upon and abides in the second jhana. With the fading away as well of rapture, he enters upon and abides in the third jhana.

With the abandoning of pleasure and pain, he enters upon and abides in the fourth jhana, which has neither pain nor pleasure and purity of mindfulness due to equanimity. This is the deliverance of mind and deliverance by wisdom. Getting into jhanas, the rupajanas and the arupajanas. This is the deliverance of mind, ceto vimuti, and deliverance by wisdom, panya vimuti.

So, what does that mean? He abides mindful. Now he's aware of how his mind's attention moves. He's aware of that. He remembers to observe how mind's attention moves from one thing to the other. And then his mind is immeasurable. There are different ways of understanding an immeasurable mind. An immeasurable mind is that which is liberated because there is no more measuring going on. There is no more conceit going on. There is no more comparing going on. It's immeasurable in the sense that it is emancipated by the brahmaviharas, the immeasurable radiating of loving-kindness,

the immeasurable radiating of compassion, of joy or equanimity. And so he understands as it actually is, the deliverance of mind and the deliverance by wisdom, wherein those evil unwholesome states, the hindrances, cease without remainder. Having thus abandoned favoring and opposing, whatever feeling he feels, whether pleasant or painful, or neither painful nor pleasant, he does not delight in that feeling. Welcome it or remain holding on to it. As he does not do so, delight in feelings ceases in him. With the cessation of his delight comes the cessation of clinging. With the cessation of clinging, the cessation of being or habitual tendencies. With the cessation of habitual tendencies, the cessation of birth. With the cessation of birth, aging and death.

Sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair cease. Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering. So this is talking about somebody who has let go of all craving. Let go of all craving. Deliverance by wisdom, deliverance of mind. Here, there are two ways of understanding it. There is somebody who becomes, or there is a mind that is fully awakened, let's say. Or there is a mind that is fully attentive to what's going on in an experience.

When you recognize there's craving for an experience, or there's aversion in that experience, or there is identification with that experience, what do you do? You're six-armed. You recognize the craving, you recognize the aversion, you recognize the identification. You release your attention from that. You relax the tightness and tension. Come back to the smile, come back to something wholesome, and return to a mind that is wholesome and stay there.

Repeat whenever it arises again. When you do this, when you six are the craving right there and then, when you six are the aversion right there and then, that craving ceases. Because that craving has ceased, there's no possibility of clinging to arise. There's no possibility of habitual tendencies to arise. There is no possibility of birth of action to arise. And there is no possibility of this whole mass of suffering to arise.

So that's what it means to be mindful in the sense of paying attention. Paying attention to how mind is responding to every situation, in every circumstance, in every experience. Being attentive in that way, the mind can recognize if there is craving. When it recognizes craving, it lets go of it. And then, eventually, when the fully awakened mind is there, it is all the time attentive. Because it is all the time attentive, there is no way for craving to arise from it. That mind has fully destroyed craving.

Completely, absolutely. So it always sees what I call attention rooted in reality, yoniso manasikara. What is it attending to? What is it rooted in? In reality, what is that reality? That this experience is conditioned and therefore impermanent, therefore not worth holding on to, and therefore impersonal. Not me, not mine, not myself. When it doesn't hold on to anything, any standpoints, any ideas, any craving, any identification, then there is no ignorance there. Because there is no ignorance there, there are no formations rooted in craving that arise. Because there are formations that are pure, purified of any kind of craving, any kind of conceit, any kind of ignorance. The consciousness, the cognizing of things that arise, are not tainted by, stained by, tinged by any kind of craving, conceit or ignorance.

And therefore, all the experiences through this nama-rupa, through the sixth sense basis, the contact that arises is pure. There is no craving in that contact. Therefore, there is no inclination for seeing any feeling as me, mine, or myself. No identification there. No craving or aversion there. Because the mind is fully aware. Because it has ceased ignorance completely.

Because it's fully aware, how can there be craving? Because it sees things as they are. Seeing things as they are is seeing reality as it is, which is that all reality is conditioned, or all conditioned reality rather, is impermanent and therefore not worth holding on to, and therefore not me, mine or myself. This is an intrinsic understanding, the right view, the wisdom that arises in a fully awakened mind. This is the intrinsic understanding that allows the mind to experience freedom in every moment, relief in every moment.