Day 9- Retreat June 2022 MN 117 Eight Fold Path with Delson Armstrong

Today we are going to be talking about the path, the eightfold path, and what that constitutes. I'll be reading from Majjhima Nikaya 117, Maha Chattarisaka Sutta, the Great Forty. Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was living at Savatthi in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Park. There he addressed the Bhikkhus thus: Bhikkhus. Venerable Sir, they replied. The Blessed One said this: Bhikkhus, I shall teach you noble right collectedness with its supports and its requisites.

Listen and attend closely to what I shall say. Yes, Venerable Sir, the Bhikkhus replied. The Blessed One said this: What, Bhikkhus, is noble right collectedness with its supports and its requisites? In other words, what is it that supports right meditation, right collectedness, samma samadhi? That is right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, and right mindfulness.

Unification of mind equipped with these seven factors is called noble right collectedness with its supports and its requisites. So, unification of mind, that is a non-dispersed attention. You need an attention that is undistracted for you to get into a collected state of mind. And what does that mean, an undistracted mind? Staying with one single object, but not becoming one-pointed.

So an undispersed attention means a mind that orbits around its object of meditation. It doesn't get distracted in the sense that even if there are thoughts in the background, that mind will be aware of it, but it's still with its object of meditation. Still with loving kindness, or joy, or equanimity, or quiet mind, or compassion, whatever it might be.

And when it gets distracted, it means that now the mind is paying attention to all of those thoughts in the background, and now they come to the foreground. Now the mind is no longer with its object of meditation. So to be with your object of meditation means you are aware of it. You're resting your awareness on it, feeling it.

And there might be thoughts coming and going. There might be little whispers of thoughts here and there, coming and going. But that's okay. This constitutes right samadhi. This constitutes right collectedness. Then, bhikkhus, right view comes first. And how does right view come first? One understands wrong view as wrong view, and right view as right view.

This is one's right view. So at the very forefront of it, right, at the very basic level, right view is knowing what is wrong and what is right. There's no doubt, no perplexity about what is right or what is wrong. How do you get there? We'll talk about that. And what, bhikkhus, is wrong view? This is wrong view: there is nothing given, nothing offered, nothing sacrificed.

There is right view that is affected by the taints, partaking of merit, ripening in the acquisitions. And there is right view that is noble, without the taints, super mundane, a factor of the path. And what, bhikkhus, is right view that is affected by the taints, partaking of merit, ripening in the acquisitions? There is what is given, and what is offered, and what is sacrificed.

This is the mundane right view. And at the very heart of that is the understanding of karma: understanding of action and consequence. Understanding that wholesome states of mind lead to wholesome consequences, and unwholesome states of mind lead to unwholesome consequences. So it is your intention and your action, mentally, verbally, and physically, that lead to a corresponding effect.

When he talks about things like that, what is given and what is offered and what is sacrificed, that is merit. There is an understanding that there is merit to be acquired. Merit to be acquired by listening to a Dhamma talk. Merit to be acquired by giving to the monastics. Merit to be acquired by being generous in general. And so on and so forth.

So there is meaning in giving. There is meaning in being generous. When he talks about, like I said, there is fruit and result of good and bad actions, here he's talking about karma. There is an effect to all of the actions that you produce with intention, and there is a result of it. There is action and consequence.

There is this world and the other world. Pretty much most belief systems have some kind of concept like this: that there is this world, and there might be a heaven; there is this world, and there might be a hell. There is this world and another world present. That's a very basic understanding of that. There is mother and father.

We have a responsibility to our parents, no matter what kind of parents they've been, what they've done, good, bad, or indifferent. Because the very basic understanding of this is that we have gratitude for our parents, who provided the opportunity for an existence in this life, and the opportunity to experience Nibbana, an opportunity to understand the Four Noble Truths.

That very basic thing: that there is gratitude for one's parents. There are beings who are reborn spontaneously. This is the understanding that there is no such thing as an antarabhava. Antarabhava means an intermediate state between one life and the other. Sometimes people will say that that's the bardos, and stuff like that, that we talked about yesterday, the bardos of mental happening just before the arising of the next life. Because if you were to assume an antarabhava, if you were to assume that there was an intermediate state, then that would be another realm of existence. So here the understanding is that beings are reborn spontaneously. As soon as one being dies, there is another being coming to be in a different existence. It happens like that.

There are in the world good and virtuous recluses and brahmins who have realized for themselves by direct knowledge and declare this world and the other world. So here there is this openness and willingness to say that there are people who have walked the path and understand the path, that the Dhamma is still present, because there are these people still present. And so you may go to them, you may go learn from them, you may go discuss the Dhamma with them, and so on. But in essence this is really talking about the idea that there is still the possibility of attainments: people who have attained to a certain understanding, people who have attained to a certain kind of wisdom, and so on. This is the right view affected by the taints, partaking of merit, ripening in the acquisitions, meaning this is the mundane right view, because it's affected by the taints of sensual desire, the taint of wanting to be something, and the taint of ignorance.

Just understand that right view here is the basic right view that you start with on this practice. Remember, in the very beginning of this retreat, we were talking about the six different types of wrong views. Just to understand where you are in your mindset: do you subscribe to any of those views? And if you do, do you let go of them and come to the right view? This mundane right view allows you then to practice the Dhamma, allows you to have right intention, allows you to have a mindset geared towards practicing the Dhamma. That's the very basic of it, the very practical aspect of it. And so it is still affected by someone on the path, somebody who is beginning on the path.

So somebody beginning on the path will still have the taints. They will still have sensual desire, will still have some kind of craving for existence, will still have some kind of ignorance of the Four Noble Truths, in the sense that they will still have lack of mindfulness. Partaking of merit and ripening in the acquisitions: this is karmically effective right view. In other words, even if you have this right view, you are not yet an arahant. An arahant is one who no longer produces new karma.

So this kind of right view can still produce karma, because there is an identification with that view. There is still a clinging to that right view. And what, bhikkhus, is right view that is noble, taintless, super mundane, a factor of the path? The wisdom, the faculty of wisdom, the power of wisdom, the investigation of states, the enlightenment factor, the path factor of right view in one whose mind is noble, whose mind is taintless, who possesses the noble path and is developing the noble path. This is right view that is noble, taintless, super mundane, a factor of the path. So this right view that is noble means one who has attained stream entry, one who has become a noble one.

Taintless means one who has become an arahant. So anyone who has entered the stream possesses this super mundane right view. And eventually, the perfected right view that is taintless, that has no more clinging to that right view, that right view becomes automatic in such a mind. And it possesses wisdom. That wisdom is the understanding of the impersonal nature of all things.

Because you have seen for yourself how the links of dependent origination arise. The faculty of wisdom and the power of wisdom: the faculty of wisdom is that mind factor that allows you to possess the power or energy of wisdom. And so that allows you to have the investigation of states enlightenment factor. When it says investigation of states, there can be in the mind this idea that one has to actively investigate, one has to actively analyze, one has to actively contemplate, one has to actively reflect.

But another way of looking at this, the effective way of looking at this, is that it really means to understand things as they are. When you recognize that you are distracted, as I said, you bring up mindfulness and this investigation of states, because you are aware that the mind is distracted, and you know that the mind is distracted.

So this understanding is to mindfulness what perception is to feeling. What does that mean? Feeling is the experience that you're having: pleasant, painful, or neutral. The labeling of what that feeling is, is perception. The recognition of what the quality of that feeling is, is perception. In the same way, mindfulness is the awareness of the mind's attention having moved from one object to the other. The fact that it is distracted, or the knowledge or knowing, the perception, that it is distracted, is the investigation of states.

So I call this understanding that the mind is distracted. So it happens automatically. You don't need to actively do it. You just have to be aware, be attentive, and know that the mind is distracted, and then bring it back with right effort, and so on. And so the path factor of right view in one whose mind is noble, one who has let go of certain fetters from stream entry onwards, whose mind is taintless, that is to say, one who is an arahant, who possesses the noble path, meaning now they are following the noble path.

They are continuously developing the path. So, one who is developing the path or one who has perfected the path. This is right view that is noble, taintless, super mundane, a factor of the path. When you have this, you are not producing any karma. When you have this right view, when you practice this right view, that means you are actively 6R-ing, you are actively being aware when the mind becomes distracted. When you have this right view, it does not lead to any kind of clinging. Instead, it allows you to let go, allows you to see things as they are, and let go of any craving, let go of any clinging.

One makes an effort to abandon wrong view and to enter upon right view. This is one's right effort. How do you go from the wrong view to right view? You 6R it. You recognize that here is present a wrong view, and you let go of that and come to the right view. Mindfully, one abandons wrong view. Mindfully, one enters upon and abides in right view. This is one's right mindfulness. What does that mean? You recognize that there was wrong view, and you mindfully, meaning you 6R, gently pay attention to what's going on

and abandon that wrong view. This is right mindfulness. Thus these three states run and circle around right view. That is right view in terms of what is wrong view and right view, right effort in terms of the 6R's, and right mindfulness in terms of being attentive to what you are doing. Therein, bhikkhus, right view comes first. And how does right view come first? One understands wrong intention as wrong intention, and right intention as right intention. This is one's right view, the basic right view. And what, bhikkhus, is wrong intention? The intention of sensual desire, the intention of ill will, the intention of cruelty. This is wrong intention: sensual desire, grabbing on to things, whether you have craving for them or aversion against them.

When you're meditating and you hear somebody walking around, you hear some kind of a disturbance outside, the wrong intention there is to grab on to that experience and say, I hate that. Why is this person walking around? Why is this person doing this or that? That's the wrong intention. That's holding onto the experience of the ears. Or a fly lands onto your hand, or it starts buzzing around and starts creeping and crawling on your hand.

You feel that, that's the bodily sensation. And you have anger and irritation towards that fly. That's the grasping. That's the sensual desire. And so when you have anger and irritation, there is ill will there. And then you want to smack that fly. And so that is cruelty. Right? And what, bhikkhus, is right intention? Right intention, I say, is twofold.

This is right intention that is affected by the taints and ripening in the acquisitions. The intention of renunciation. What does that mean? Renunciation: to let go, to abandon, to abandon craving, to abandon unwholesome states of mind, to let go of aversion, to let go of taking things personally. Every time you 6R, you're cultivating right intention. The intention of non-ill will. Non-ill will. Not having any presence of the single slightest iota of irritation or aversion.

That's cultivated through loving kindness. When you bring up loving-kindness, there is no ill-will there. So every time you bring up loving-kindness, whether it's in the meditation, or whether it's in daily practice, or whether it's when you're met with some kind of situation that troubles you, you're practicing right intention. Non-cruelty, the intention of non-cruelty. This is ahimsa, non-violence.

The intention to not harm another person or being. This is cultivated through compassion. A person comes storming at you, starts arguing with you, starts abusing you, starts getting angry at you. Compassion sees that being and understands that they are suffering. So why would you want to add to their suffering by having the wrong intention to resist them, argue with them, get angry at them, return their abusive speech with abusive speech?

If you have true compassion, you understand that whoever is upset, whoever gets angry, has suffering in them. So you want to alleviate suffering from beings, because that's the motivating factor of compassion: that all beings may be free of suffering. That quality of compassion that you feel in the meditation is this sense of all beings are suffering, so I want them to be free. It is a sense of empathy with all beings, not sympathy, not looking down upon them. Understanding: this person is suffering. I know what it feels like to suffer, so I don't want to add to that suffering. I want to let go of it and help them alleviate that suffering. So when somebody argues with you, what do you do?

Stay silent. Don't give them the chance to add to their karma of continually arguing at things. Or de-escalate the situation. Do something that helps them calm down and come back to a more pleasant, wholesome state of mind. This is non-cruelty. So if you have any attachment to this, if you have any identification with this, if you have any clinging to this, this ripens in the acquisitions. This is affected by the craving to become.

This is affected by ignorance, because you still take things personally. And what, bhikkhus, is right intention that is noble, taintless, super mundane, a factor of the path? That is to say, what is the right intention of a noble one? What is the right intention of a sotapanna, or a sakadagami, or an anagami, or an arahant? What is that which is super-mundane?

The thinking, thought, intention, mental collectedness, mental fixity, directing of mind, verbal formation in one whose mind is noble, whose mind is taintless, who possesses the noble path and is developing the noble path. This is right intention that is noble, a factor of the path. So this is that which does not ripen in the acquisitions. So that is the thinking and thought, the intention and mental collectedness, mental fixity, directing of the mind.

Every time you 6R and you bring the mind's attention back to loving kindness, bring it back to a meditative object, you have this right intention. And your mind becomes collected. Verbal formation. What is that verbal formation? That verbal formation is to speak right speech. To act with right speech. To speak with right speech, meaning you are always being non-abusive.

You're being harmless with your speech. You tell the truth with your speech. You are kind with your speech. And that starts with the right intention of a noble person. So the intention to meditate, the intention to bring the mind to a collectedness, is that right intention that does not ripen in the acquisitions. It is taintless. It doesn't have any sensual desire in it. It doesn't have any craving for being in it. It doesn't have any ignorance in it, because it's dependent upon right mindfulness.

And so one makes an effort to abandon the wrong intention and to enter upon right intention. This is one's right effort. You notice the mind is agitated, angry, upset, holding on to something, non-meditative, unable to focus or concentrate or be collected. And so you recognize, you release your attention, relax the craving and tension in there, come back to the re-smile that is bringing up something wholesome, that's the right intention, and come back to a collectedness, that's also right intention. So you go from the wrong intention

and come to the right intention. Mindfully, one abandons wrong intention. Mindfully, one enters upon and abides in right intention. This is one's right mindfulness. You do this with mindfulness. You do this by observing how your mind goes from a distracted, agitated, ill will, aversive state of mind, and now is directed and comes back to a non-agitated state of mind, to a state of mind with loving kindness and compassion, a state of mind that is collected.

Thus, these three states run and circle around right intention. That is the right view, to know what is wrong intention and what is right intention. The right effort is to go from wrong intention to right intention, and right mindfulness is being aware when one is in wrong intention and when one is in right intention. There, bhikkhus, right view comes first. And how does right view come first?

One understands wrong speech as wrong speech and right speech as right speech. This is one's right view. So the very basic of that is knowing what is the wrong speech and what is the right speech. And what, bhikkhus, is wrong speech? False speech, malicious speech, harsh speech, and gossip. This is wrong speech. What is false speech? Being untruthful, telling lies.

What is malicious speech? Speech meant to harm another person, speech to bring down another person. Harsh speech: using abusive languages, using abusive words to bring down that person. Degrading speech. And gossip: talking about another person, whether you know it to be true or not, in order to say something negative about them. So a way to understand whether you are dealing in gossip about another person is if you were going to talk about that person to someone while they're not in the room, see if you would still talk about that person in the same way if they were present in the room.

And if you feel like that's wrong or uncomfortable to do, then you know you are going to be dealing in gossip. This is wrong speech. And what, bhikkhus, is right speech? Right speech, I say, is twofold. There is right speech that is affected by the taints, partaking of merit, ripening in the acquisitions, and there is right speech that is noble, taintless, super mundane, a factor of the path. And what, bhikkhus, is right speech that is affected by the taints, partaking of merit, ripening in the acquisitions?

Abstinence from false speech. Abstinence from malicious speech. Abstinence from harsh speech. Abstinence from gossip. This is right speech that is affected by the taints, ripening in the acquisitions. Another way of understanding right speech is a practical approach of using the acronym THINK before you speak. T-H-I-N-K. T is for timeliness. Is it the right time to say what you want to say?

H is for honesty. Is what you're going to say true, honest? You know it to be true. I is intention. What is the intention behind what you're going to say? Is it intentionally wholesome or intentionally unwholesome? Is it intentionally cruel or intentionally compassionate? And so on. N is for necessity. Is it necessary for you to say what you're going to say to the other person? Is it beneficial for them? Is it beneficial for them to hear it? And K, kindness. Can you say it with kindness?

This is THINK before you speak. And what, bhikkhus, is right speech that is noble, taintless, super mundane, a factor of the path? The desisting from the four kinds of verbal misconduct, meaning such a mind that is noble, such a mind that is taintless, would automatically not deal with such kind of speech that is abusive, that is harsh, that is malicious, that is false, that deals in gossip. The abstaining, refraining, abstinence from them, in one whose mind is noble, whose mind is taintless, who possesses the noble path and is developing the noble path. This is right speech that is noble, a factor of the path. When you are developing the path, you make an active intention to be in right speech.

So you'll notice if the mind starts to wander and starts to deal in gossip, starts to deal in lies, starts to deal in harsh speech or wants to deal in them, and you let go of it with the 6R's. This is how you develop the right speech. And then when you possess the path, when you have perfected the path, then such a mind that is fully liberated will not deal in slander, will not deal in gossip, will not deal in lies, will not deal in harsh speech, will not deal in malicious speech, automatically. Because they always have the right view and right intention. So one makes an effort to abandon wrong speech and to enter upon right speech.

This is one's right effort. Mindfully, one abandons wrong speech. Mindfully, one enters upon and abides in right speech. This is one's right mindfulness. Thus, these three states run and circle around right speech. That is right view, right effort, and right mindfulness. What is the right view here? Knowing that what you're going to say is wrong speech, and knowing what is the right speech. What is the right effort here? Recognizing there's an intention to commit wrong speech, letting go of that intention, coming back to a wholesome state of mind and using right speech. And what is right mindfulness? Mindfully being aware if the mind is dealing in wholesome speech, unwholesome speech, in the wrong speech, and mindfully guiding the mind back.

That is to say, paying attention, or observing how mind's attention goes towards the unwholesome states that lead to wrong speech, and bringing it back with right effort, and becoming mindful, observing how mind's attention goes from that to the intention to have right speech. There, in Bhikkhu's right view comes first. And how does right view come first? One understands wrong action as wrong action.

And right action as right action. This is one's right view. You know the difference between what is wrong action and what is right action. That's your right view. The basic right view. And what, bhikkhus, is wrong action? Killing living beings. Taking what is not given. And misconduct in sensual pleasures. This is wrong action. Killing living beings. Breaking the first precept.

Taking what is not given. Breaking the second precept. Dealing in misconduct in sensual pleasures. That is the third precept. Breaking the third precept. Sexual misconduct also is part of sensual misconduct. So when we talk about killing living beings, that also includes intentionally harming them. Even in your mind, having the intention to harm them, let go of that. Taking what is not given, that is of course stealing. Taking what is not given in terms of physical possessions. But taking what is not given in terms of seeking things where they're not due. Seeking credit where it's not due.

Seeking attention where it's not due. Trying to vie for things in a way that causes restlessness in the mind. Sensual misconduct. Getting attached to sensual pleasures, whether that is craving for them or having aversion against sensual pain, like being irritated by the fly. And then when you get irritated by the fly and you try to smack it, that's causing you to have further misconduct.

Because now you're intentionally trying to harm that fly. Or you start cursing in your mind towards somebody who's walking around, getting angry at them. And so now you have an intention to harm them with your wrong speech. Or you have mental action to get angry at them. So sensual misconduct is part of this, whether it's having craving for it or aversion for any sensual experience.

Sexual misconduct is related to being faithful, being loyal to your partner. Whatever that relationship is, doesn't matter what kind of relationship it is. Not engaging in adultery in the sense of cheating, not only on your partner, but engaging in such sexual misconduct that causes somebody else to cheat on their partner. It doesn't matter if you are a couple or a throuple or polyamorous, whatever it might be. It doesn't matter. There's sort of a guideline in that relationship, right? Whatever that might be.

But if you break that guideline, that is sexual misconduct. And what, bhikkhus, is right action? Right action, I say, is twofold. There is right action that is affected by the taints, partaking of merit, ripening in the acquisitions. And there is right action that is noble, taintless, super mundane, a factor of the path. And what, bhikkhus, is right action that is affected by the taints, partaking of merit, ripening in the acquisitions? Abstinence from killing and harming living beings, abstinence from taking what is not given, abstinence from sensual misconduct.

That is right action that is affected by the taints and ripening in the acquisitions. So this kind of right action is basically keeping the precepts. But there can be identification with that process, which ripens in the acquisitions, because you become proud, you become conceited that I am somebody who keeps the precepts. I am somebody who is ethical. I am somebody, that self-righteousness.

If that's there, then you have to let go of that and understand the practical reasons for why you keep precepts, because that leads to clarity of mindfulness, that leads to deeper collectedness, and so on. So you let go of the clinging to that, and that is now turning into a noble right action, and we'll get into what that is.

they're automatically keeping the precepts. They don't have to think about it. It's just automatic, without any clinging or identification with that process. One makes an effort to abandon wrong action and to enter upon right action. This is one's right effort. You notice that you have the intention to harm another living being. So, you recognize that. You release your attention from that. Relax the aversion, the craving, the tightness.

Come back to a smile. Come back to a wholesome state of mind. And let go of that. You notice and recognize that the mind is seeking attention. Seeking credit where credit is not due. Seeking to take something that is not given. You notice the agitation that arises from that. And you release your attention from that. Relax the mind.

Feel the relief in that relaxed state. Once you have a mind that is non-agitated, come back to a wholesome state of mind. Let go of the need for credit. Let go of the need for attention. Let go of the need of having to take what is not given, whether that's physical possessions or whatever it might be. So you're using the 6R's to go from wrong action to right action. You notice that the mind might have an inclination to cheat on someone in a relationship.

You let go of that attention to that thought. You relax any kind of craving that's there. You come back to a wholesome state of mind and you let go of anything. Your mind is now pure and you don't think about that anymore. Or you have some kind of craving. You may be standing in line for some chocolate chip cookies for lunch, for dessert.

Everybody gets one, right? And then you seize one there and then. Somebody takes it, and now you're obsessing over that chocolate chip cookie. Just when the person doesn't see it, you snatch it. What have you done? You've taken what is not given. Your intention, you say, 'Oh, I want that chocolate chip cookie.' So you 6R's, you let go of that intention, and you say, 'Okay, I'll get a chocolate chip cookie another time,' or 'I'll check in the kitchen and ask is there any extra chocolate chip cookie.' But you don't get obsessed over it, and you take what is not given: snatch somebody else's cookie away from them.

Mindfully, one abandons wrong action. Mindfully, one enters upon and dwells in right action. This is one's right mindfulness. You're observing how a mind's attention moves from the intention to commit wrong action to how the mind's attention moves to the intention to have right action, the intention to keep the precepts. Thus, these three states run and circle around right action, that is, right view, right effort, and right mindfulness.

It's an interesting way of looking at it. So traditionally we understand wrong livelihood for the lay people and for the monastics. For the lay people it means not engaging in any trade that deals with poisons, that deals with weapons, that deals with alcohol, that deals with human trafficking, and that deals with meat. So that abstinence from that kind of engagement in business practices that deal with these things is what you have to let go of as a layperson. So if you own a bar, it's time to sell that bar. If you deal with poisons, it's time to let go of that, right? If you're dealing in human trafficking, by all means, please

let go of that. So this is wrong livelihood for the lay people. The wrong livelihood for the monastics is doing anything else except for practicing the Dhamma, anything else except for heading towards arahatship. Why else are you getting into the monastic life, for letting go of all of these things and now you are cultivating sila, samadhi and panya? So when he talks about talking, scheming, hinting, belittling, pursuing gain with gain, he's talking about those aspects of monastic life where they do certain things to manipulate the way in which they gain the requisites,

talking their way into gaining certain kinds of requisites, belittling, scheming, trading your robes for a bowl. Those kinds of things. Pursuing gain with gain. But then there are, like I said, the base arts, reading one's palms, looking into the sky, reading bird droppings, telling the future, all of these things not to do. Even becoming a doctor, by the way, as a monastic, you can't do.

That doesn't mean being a doctor is wrong livelihood. For a monastic, their whole thing is to go towards full awakening. That's it. So anything that distracts them from that, they have to let go of that and come back to what is the true Dhamma. Yeah, getting PhDs. And what, Bhikkhus, is right livelihood? Right livelihood, I say, is twofold.

There is right livelihood that is affected by taints, partaking of merit, ripening in the acquisitions. And there is right livelihood that is noble, taintless, super mundane, a factor of the path. And what, Bhikkhus, is right livelihood that is affected by taints, partaking of merit, ripening in the acquisitions? Here, because a noble disciple abandons wrong livelihood and gains his living by right livelihood, this is right livelihood that is affected by taints, ripening in the acquisitions. So here it talks about a noble disciple. It could be even a stream-enterer and so on, but they abandon the wrong livelihood. They abandon this whole process of trying to get their requisites in any other way except for when it's the right time to get their requisites, right?

The other thing about that is they abandon the wrong livelihood, and they gain their living by right livelihood. In other words, they do the right thing. They keep their precepts. They continue practicing samadhi. They might go out for alms round or whatever it might be; that's the way to get your food as a monastic. The right livelihood here for a lay person doesn't mean you have to let go of making money and all these other things. It's just that you make sure that you don't deal in things that we were talking about before, things that cause harm to others in one way or the other.

Everything that they do is towards the Dhamma, towards understanding the Dhamma, towards full awakening. And they do this automatically. And so in one who is taintless, one who is an arahant, that right livelihood is pretty much already there. They're doing everything on autopilot. They don't have to think about it. There's no second guessing about it. It's already happening as a result of the way that their mind functions.

So in other words, for the mind of an arahant, their default mode of functioning is always through the Eightfold Path. Their right view will always be right view. Their right intention will always be right intention. Their right speech will always be right speech. Their right action will always be right action. Their right livelihood will always be right livelihood.

And they'll always have right effort. Why? Because they 6R all the way until there's nothing left to 6R anymore. Their mind is in total relief all the time. And so their mind is always observing the attentive mind. Their mind is always aware of everything that arises in any given present moment, and sees everything as conditioned and dependently arisen. Therefore, their mind doesn't hold on to anything at all. It doesn't take anything personally.

And that's because their mind is completely free of any kinds of attachments. Therefore, their mind is always collected. Their mind is always collected wherever they are, not dispersed about thinking this or that. And so, one makes an effort to abandon wrong livelihood and to enter upon right livelihood. This is one's right effort. You recognize when you have an intention to do something that might be constituting wrong livelihood.

You let go of that and come back to an intention to have right livelihood. You're 6R-ing that process of wanting to commit wrong livelihood. Mindfully, one abandons wrong livelihood. Mindfully, one enters upon and dwells in right livelihood. This is one's right mindfulness. Thus, these three states run and circle around right livelihood: that is, right view of what is wrong livelihood and right livelihood, right effort of letting go of wrong livelihood and coming to right livelihood, and right mindfulness of being attentive and paying attention to how the mind's attention moves from the intention to commit wrong livelihood to the intention to have right livelihood. There, Bhikkhus, right view comes first, and how does right view come first? In one of right view, right intention comes into being.

When you have right view, there is right intention. In one of right intention, right speech comes into being. Right intention leads to right speech. In one of right speech, right action comes into being. With the right intention, you also have right speech and right action. In one of right action, right livelihood comes into being. Now that you keep the precepts, you understand that anything that you do that causes you or another to break a precept, you let go of and you come to the right livelihood. In one of right livelihood, right effort comes into being. Now you're able to have right effort all the time, because now you have dealt with the wrong view, brought it up to right view.

Dealt with the wrong intention, brought it to right intention. Dealt with the wrong speech, brought it to right speech. Dealt with the wrong action, brought it to right action. Dealt with the wrong livelihood, and brought it to right livelihood. Using your six R's, using right effort. So right effort is always there. And so in one of right effort, right mindfulness comes into being. When you're 6R-ing, your mindfulness comes into being. You're paying attention, you're observing how mind's attention moves from one thing to the other. In one of right mindfulness, right collectedness comes into being. You 6R your way back to being collected, and this is happening constantly in your practice, right, when you are in samadhi, when you're in bhavana, when you are meditating: right effort, right mindfulness and right collectedness.

These three run around each other. When the right collectedness goes to wrong collectedness, mind becomes distracted. You use right effort. And so now you gain mindfulness and you come back to collectedness. This is a continual process that you're doing in meditation. Right effort, right mindfulness, right collectedness. In one of right collectedness, right knowledge comes into being. In one of right knowledge, right deliverance comes into being.

Thus, Bhikkhus, the path of the disciple in higher training, one training towards arahatship, possesses eight factors. And the arahant possesses ten factors. Now the right collectedness leads to right insight, right knowledge, right wisdom. That wisdom of the four noble truths. The wisdom of the impersonal nature of things. The wisdom of dependent origination. And the mind is delivered.

This happens continuously at each attainment until arahatship. That is to say, when you have right collectedness, you go through the jhanas, then you go into cessation, you have an experience of Nibbana, you see the links of dependent origination, and you let go of the three fetters, in the case of entering the stream. When you have that same experience, continue to rinse and repeat, continue walking the path, getting to right collectedness. Again, you have right wisdom, see the links of dependent origination.

And now you have weakened craving, sensual craving and aversion. So now you have deliverance again. So first you were delivered from the first three fetters. Then you were delivered from the sensual craving and the aversion, by attenuating it, by weakening it. Then when you become an anagami, you do the whole process again, and then you have right insight, right wisdom. You see again the links of dependent origination, and you let go completely of sensual craving and aversion. And now your mind is delivered from sensual craving,

delivered from aversion completely. And then finally, with regards to the arahat, when you get into arahatship, you walk the path again. You have a deeper understanding of the path this time. And then you go into collectedness, you have cessation, you have the experience of dependent origination that is the right knowledge, the right wisdom, and your mind is delivered from the five higher fetters. And so the arahat possesses fully all ten factors, which means that they have automatically right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right collectedness, and what is the right knowledge that they possess? What is the right deliverance that they possess?

The knowledge that the mind is free from craving, the knowledge that the mind is free from greed, hatred and delusion, and the knowledge that the mind is delivered. Staying here, being all the time delivered, that is right deliverance for the arahat. They don't have to do anything at that point in time, and so they don't produce any karma, because the Buddha says that the noble eightfold path is the way leading to the cessation of any karma. Which means for the arahat, their default mode of functioning is possessed by the eight factors of the eightfold path and possessed of constant right knowledge, wisdom, constant right deliverance, mind free from greed, hatred and delusion. That is automatic. There's no effort to be made there. They're always functioning from there.

Then, Bhikkhus, right view comes first. And how does right view come first? In one of right view, wrong view is abolished. The many evil unwholesome states that originate with wrong view as condition are also abolished, and the many wholesome states that originate with right view as condition come to fulfillment by development. In one of right intention, wrong intention is abolished, and the many evil unwholesome states that originate with wrong intention as condition are also abolished, and the many wholesome states that originate with right intention as condition come to fulfillment by development. In other words, there are the akusala

the ten unwholesome actions, the ten unwholesome states, and there is the ten wholesome states. So with right view, with right intention, you let go of those ten unwholesome and you cultivate the ten wholesome. In one of right speech, wrong speech is abolished. In one of right action, wrong action is abolished. In one of right livelihood, wrong livelihood is abolished.

In one of right effort, wrong effort is abolished. In one of right mindfulness, wrong mindfulness is abolished. In one of right collectedness, wrong collectedness is abolished. So what is wrong effort? Trying too hard, pushing, straining. Anything that is not the 6R's is wrong effort. What is wrong mindfulness? Mindfully walking, mindfully eating, mindfully sitting, mindfully standing, mindfully doing this or that. In other words, paying attention to the steps that you're taking slowly, bit by bit, instead of paying attention to how mind's attention moves from one thing to the other.

What is wrong collectedness? One-pointed concentration. Becoming one-pointed in an object, becoming so focused that you crush mind with mind. That's another part of wrong effort, trying too hard. So right collectedness is keeping your mind's awareness on the object of meditation, having an open awareness so that anything that comes up, whether it's hindrances or insights, they come up and you're aware of them. And so you're practicing right mindfulness when you have that, because you become aware the mind's attention moved from the object to something else. Then you're using the right effort by letting it go and coming back, using the 6R's. In one of right knowledge,

wrong knowledge is abolished. What is wrong knowledge? Not knowing the four noble truths. Ignorance. Holding on to something, taking something as a soul, taking something as a self. In one of right deliverance, wrong deliverance is abolished. What is wrong deliverance? The idea that you have become one with everything and attaching yourself to that. Right? Anything that doesn't deliver you from craving, anything that doesn't deliver you from identification, from aversion.

So wrong deliverance causes the mind to constrict more rather than become more open, to grasp at things more, to construct things more rather than to let go of them and decondition them. And so these states of enlightenment where you become one with the universe, cosmic consciousness, Christ consciousness, Brahman consciousness, all of these ideas of becoming the small self to the large self, or the small self dissolves into the large self, and all of these other things, this is wrong deliverance.

If he censures right intention, then he would honor and praise those recluses and Brahmins who are of wrong intention. If he censures right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right collectedness, right knowledge, right deliverance, then he would honor and praise those recluses and Brahmins who are of wrong speech, wrong action, wrong livelihood, wrong effort, wrong mindfulness, wrong collectedness, wrong knowledge and wrong deliverance.

Why is that? For the fear of blame, attack, and confutation. That is what the Blessed One said. The Bhikkhus were satisfied and delighted in the Blessed One's words. So a couple of things about that. Number one, as monastics, in terms of monasticism, you can only accept what is given to you. Some people eat meat, some people don't eat meat. So you don't have a choice whether you can eat meat or not.

But the idea of this whole thing about meat has been talked about so many times in one way or the other. There's a Sutta called Jivaka Sutta? Is that MN 55? I wonder if I could... I'll just read the whole thing because it's a pretty good Sutta and it's very short. I won't give any commentary because it speaks for itself.

So this is MN 55, Majjhima Nikaya 55, Jivaka Sutta, to Jivaka. Jivaka was the Buddha's physician, by the way. Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was living at Rajagaha in the mango grove of Jivaka Komarabaccha. Then Jivaka went to the Blessed One and after paying homage to him, he sat down at one side and said to the Blessed One, Venerable Sir, I have heard this.

They slaughter living beings for the recluse Gautama. The recluse Gautama knowingly eats meat prepared for him from animals killed for his sake. Venerable Sir, do those who speak thus say what has been said by the Blessed One and not misrepresent him with what is contrary to fact? Do they explain in accordance with the Dhamma in such a way that nothing which provides a ground for censure can be legitimately deduced from their assertions? Jivaka, those who speak thus do not say what has been said by me but misrepresent me with what is untrue and contrary to fact. Jivaka, I say there are three instances in which meat should not be eaten when it is seen, heard or suspected.

That the living being has been slaughtered for oneself. I say that meat should not be eaten in these three instances. I say that there are three instances in which meat may be eaten when it is not seen, not heard, and not suspected that the living being has been slaughtered for oneself. I say that meat may be eaten in these three instances.

When the householder or householder's son serves him with good alms food, he does not think how good that the householder or householder's son serves me with good alms food. If only a householder or a householder's son might serve me with such good alms food in the future. He does not think thus. He eats that alms food without being tied to it, infatuated with it, and utterly committed to it, seeing the danger in it and understanding the escape from it. What do you think, Jivaka? Would that bhikkhu on such an occasion choose for his own affliction or for another's affliction or for the affliction of both?

When that living being experiences pain and grief on being led along with a neck halter, this is the second instance in which he lays up much demerit. When he says, 'Go and slaughter that living being,' this is the third instance in which he lays up much demerit. When that living being experiences pain and grief on being slaughtered, this is the fourth instance in which he lays up much demerit. When he provides the Tathagata or his disciple with food that is not permissible, this is the fifth instance in which he lays up much demerit. Anyone who slaughters a living being for the Tathagata or his disciple

lays up much demerit in these five instances. When this was said, Jivaka said to the blessed one: It is wonderful, venerable sir. It is marvellous. The bhikkhus sustain themselves with permissible food. The bhikkhus sustain themselves with blameless food. Magnificent, venerable sir. Magnificent, venerable sir. From today let the blessed one remember me as a lay follower who has gone to him for refuge for life.

The meat that we eat in the dining hall, for those of us who eat meat, was it specially killed for us? Or did it come from a supermarket, already pre-packaged? Did we suspect that the meat that was there was killed for us? Have you seen it? Have you heard that it was killed for us? Now, when you go to a restaurant and you order lobster, you're definitely going to be having food that is not blameless.

Because you specially select that lobster to be killed for your food. So that's why monks can't eat lobster, for example, right? Or any kind of live seafood, because it's specifically killed for them. But this whole process of meat as it's available in supermarkets and things like that, that is blameless, because it's not specifically killed for that person.

That's the understanding. Now, you can talk about how, well, if you're going to be eating meat, it still continues that process of slaughtering meat and so on, or slaughtering animals for meat, and it propagates the industry, the meat industry, and all of these things. But you're not responsible for that. You're responsible only for the choices that you make. People who kill the animal, and everything that's their responsibility, that's their merit or demerit or whatever it might be. So if you intentionally go and say

I want that cow for my hamburger, and somebody kills it, you're causing that person to kill another living being for your enjoyment of food. Hunting would be bad karma. Absolutely. Hunting for sport. Fishing as well. Hunting and fishing. Yeah, you're more than welcome to do that, but the understanding is, from a karmic standpoint, you're not doing anything wrong so long as you are not causing an individual to kill another living being for the enjoyment of food. Go ahead.

No, I was just basically saying that. So if you're going to be, the karmic standpoint of this, the karmic view of this is basically, you know, you're eating meat that's not specifically killed for the purpose of your food. You're not causing another individual to have to slaughter a being specifically for your food, and you're not seeing or hearing or suspecting that animal to have been killed specifically for you. You know, Devadatta, who was the Buddha's cousin, was jealous of the Buddha, and he became a monk, and he actually created a schism in the Sangha.

And for that, obviously, he experienced terrible karma. But one of the things he said to the Buddha was, we should all be vegetarian. There should be a rule for vegetarianism in the monastic community. And the Buddha said, no. That should not be the case, because you are subsisting on alms food. You're sustaining yourself in dependence on people.

And some people eat meat and some people don't eat meat. You have to just take what is given to you. As long as you suspect that that animal was not killed for you, and so on and so forth, you can accept it. So why would you force your idea of vegetarianism as a monastic community and then make the trouble of people having to cook vegetarian food specially for you?

So the idea here is, no, we're not going to be vegetarians. They're just going to subsist on whatever people can offer. Some people couldn't make vegetables. Some people couldn't buy vegetables. Some people could only subsist on certain things. May suffering ones be suffering free. May the fear-struck be fearless. May the grieving shed all grief. And may all beings find relief. May all beings share this merit that we have thus acquired for the acquisition of all kinds of happiness. May beings inhabiting space and earth, devas and nagas of mighty power, share this merit of ours. May they long protect the Buddha's dispensation. Sadhu, sadhu, sadhu.