MN 4 'Fear and Dread" Sunday Sutta Series with Delson Armstrong

Hello everyone. I am going to be doing Majjhima Nikaya number four today. We're going to go through that, and this is called the Bhaya Bhairava Sutta, Fear and Dread. Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was living at Savatthi in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Park. Then the Brahmin Janussoni went to the Blessed One and exchanged greetings with him. When this courteous and amiable talk was finished, he sat down at one side and said, "Master Gautama, when clansmen have gone forth from the home life into homelessness out of faith in Master Gautama, do they have Master Gautama for their leader, their helper and their guide, and do these people follow the example of Master Gautama?" "That is so, Brahmin. That is so. When clansmen have gone forth from the home life into homelessness out of faith in me, they have me for their leader, their helper and their guide, and these people follow my example."

I think this was February of 2024. I had gone to meet with a student in Bombay, and he also invited a monk who had come into the city just for a few days, but he lives in the forest. He lives in the wild jungles. As the story goes, he actually radiates metta according to his own training, according to the training he's received, but apparently his method is so strong that any animal that comes near him doesn't touch him. The story goes that apparently tigers have also been around him, and they don't harm him, they don't do anything. So I don't know how true that story is. Obviously you know how these things start. People will say one thing, it leads to another. But it's interesting nonetheless. My point is, when you're in places like deep dark forests and jungles, when you're in the caves, when you're up in the mountains

it is hard to endure. It's difficult to endure, and seclusion is hard to practise, because of all kinds of creatures around that could be there. It's hard to enjoy solitude. You never know who's there, who's not there. And it says, "One would think the jungle must rob one of his mind if he has no collectedness." There is a bhikkhu that I know who told me about this, that when a monk goes out into seclusion, into solitude, he must come back to the monastery once a day at least, to do his chores, to make sure that he's not going insane, so that the others can keep an eye on him. So just because you go into the remote jungle thickets doesn't mean that you're going to be safe. A lot of people do that, and they come back worst for it. That is so, brahmin. That is so. "Remote jungle thicket resting places in the forest are hard to endure, seclusion is hard to practise, and it is hard to enjoy solitude."

"One would think the jungles must rob a bhikkhu of his mind if he has no concentration, if he has no Samadhi." What does Samadhi actually mean? Samadhi here actually means even-mindedness, mind that is still. Samadhi is even, and Dhi is buddhi for the mind. So the mind is still, is balanced, is even, composed. Before my enlightenment, while I was still only an unenlightened Bodhisatta, I too considered thus: "Remote jungle thicket resting places in the forest are hard to endure. The jungles must rob a bhikkhu of his mind if he has no concentration."

What does this mean? Unpurified bodily conduct: that means breaking the precepts, specifically stealing, sensual misconduct, and killing. This is bodily misconduct, unpurified bodily conduct. So if he has unpurified bodily conduct, there can arise fear and dread. Why is that? You may have heard me, or at some point in the past, Bhante Vimalaramsi talk about this as well.

That there is a connection between the five precepts and the five hindrances. And I literally just got back from a three-day workshop with the Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies at the University of Mumbai. And there, on the first day, I gave this talk on the connection between the five precepts and the five hindrances. The hindrances that arise are the old karma, the vipaka, the fruition, the fruit of old karma that we produced in the past.

So if we broke a precept, such as killing another living being or harming another living being, there is ill will in our intention. And thereby the ill will is concentrated in our mind. It is strengthened in our mind. It's cultivated in our mind. And therefore, what will we experience as a result of that? Fear and dread, or hatred, ill will?

When we break the precept of taking what is not given, that actually gives rise to restlessness, restlessness and remorse. So when we meditate, at some point the strength of that particular intention gives rise to the fruition of the vipaka, as it's known in Pali, of the hindrance of restlessness. When we break the precept of sensual misconduct, or sexual misconduct, there's a lot of sensual craving in there, kamacchanda. And this sensual craving then gives rise to a hindrance in the future when we're meditating.

When we lie, we gossip, we say things that we know to be untrue as true, and so on and so forth. Then we sow doubt in others and in ourselves. And when we mistrust or distrust, we can't trust others. And so we have doubt. We're not sure of what particular wholesome or unwholesome state is there in our mind.

And then we have breaking the precept of intoxicants. Even if you are having an intoxicant that causes you to be energised in that few hours, whatever it is, the next day you wake up with some kind of a hangover. Your mind is dull and slow and doesn't want to do anything. And so you have the hindrance of sloth and torpor.

And this continuously doing these kinds of things that break the precepts results in these hindrances. So the Buddha says, "I resort to remote jungle thicket resting places in the forest as one of the noble ones, as an arya, one who has developed the practice, the paramitas, to the point where one has awakened." But the funny thing here is, he's not awakened yet, he's a Bodhisatta. So when he says noble ones here, really we say, for example, arya means somebody who has gotten at least stream entry. So maybe he is saying this in a different context. Maybe someone has some comments on this, but we'll discuss that later. If you do, seeing in myself this purity of bodily conduct, I found great solace in dwelling in the forest. I consider thus: whenever recluses or brahmins are unpurified in verbal conduct, unpurified in mental conduct. What does it mean, unpurified in verbal conduct? So that means telling lies, divisive speech, harsh speech, malicious speech, unnecessary speech, speech that you produce without the THINK acronym: is it the right time, is it honest, what is the intention, is it necessary, and can you say it with kindness?

And unpurified in mental conduct, there are thoughts of ill will, there is wrong view. This is what we mean by unpurified in mental conduct. Unpurified in livelihood: are we doing something, or is the mind creating this agitation, because there has been work or trade or career that causes harm to others and to oneself? Resort to remote jungle thicket resting places in the forest, they evoke unwholesome fear and dread. But I am purified in verbal conduct, in mental conduct, in livelihood. I resort to remote jungle thicket resting places in the forest as one of the noble ones with livelihood purified.

"Seeing in myself this purity of different kinds of conduct and livelihood, I found great solace in dwelling in the forest." So if you want to go into the forest and do that kind of practice, keep the sila. Sila is so important. In this workshop, the first day, all I talked about was sila. Everybody says, "Yeah, yeah, I get it, okay, I have to be a good person, I have to be morally upright," and all that. "All right, let's get to the samadhi, let's get to the jhanas."

No, hold your horses. Sila is of the utmost importance. People just relegate it to, "Okay, yeah, I need to be an ethical person," but it's much more than that. What does sila actually mean? Sila means foundation. It's the bedrock of the practice. Sila and dana, right? So there's sila, samadhi and panya. That's, um, ethics or kindness, and samadhi, even-mindedness, the practice of meditation, and panya, wisdom. Or dana, sila and bhavana, or I think it's dana, bhavana and panya. Either way, dana is generosity. Are you generous with your time? Are you generous with your knowledge? You're generous with resources. Are you generous with your smile? The highest generosity you can give is dhamma dana.

Can you do that? Can you help another person with their practice, as per how you understand money and all these other things? If you give, it's well and good. Yeah, it's good to give shelter, it's good to give clothes, it's good to give food, and it helps people. We talk about it from the perspective of giving to bhikkhus and bhikkhunis, and there are many different ways in which the mind is purified because of it. But even just giving time, being there for a person, is generosity.

Maybe they just need somebody to listen to them. Maybe they just need someone who can sit with them in silence and know that they can just be with them. That also is a practice of generosity. When you do this, what is that doing? You're creating an inventory of the goodness that you can recognize. This is what's known as the recollection of your virtues. That's a great starting point for metta practice, for brahmavihara practice. This is what I gave at the workshop. I said, if you've been generous, and if you've been kind, and if you've been

somebody who keeps the precepts, you can look back on that, recognize the goodness in you, and naturally loving kindness will flow. I consider thus: whenever recluses or brahmins are covetous and full of lust, I am uncovetous. In other words, because of my moral upstanding, because of my conduct being cultivated, because my mind is free of any kind of greed, I don't covet for things.

I don't live in a scarcity mindset. My mind is content. Contentment is key here. Others may live with a mind of ill will and intentions of hate, but I have a mind of loving kindness. If I develop loving kindness, how can there be ill will or hatred? Others are overcome by sloth and torpor, but I am without sloth and torpor, because I haven't indulged in intoxicants. I haven't overindulged my senses to create dullness of mind. Others are overcome with restlessness and unpeaceful in mind. I have a peaceful mind, because I'm not all about take, take, take. My mind is freeing and content. Others may be overcome with uncertain and doubting

I have gone beyond doubt, because I don't lie. I don't deal in falsehoods, and so I have trust in myself, trust in the states of mind that are present. My dhamma vichaya, investigation of states, is strong. Others are given to self-praise and disparagement of others. I am not given to self-praise and disparagement of others. Now we're talking about other aspects, now listen carefully. Self-praise and disparagement of others, what is this? This is conceit, comparing myself with another. I am better, and I deserve this because I'm better, and that person, you know, is this way, in that way. These things come about very insidiously, sometimes, and we have to watch for it. Others may be subject to alarm and terror, but I am free from trepidation.

I have good equanimity. I develop my equanimity so that any kind of alarm or whatever doesn't disturb my mind. When I was coming back from the workshop today, the people there were celebrating something, some event, and over there there were balloons. Sometimes the balloons would pop, and people would get worried, they would get anxious, they would react. But the people who have some level of equanimity, it passes right through them. They just continue on with what they're doing, because they've developed good equanimity.

Others are desirous of gain, honor, and renown. What are you going to do with that? Gain, honor, and renown. What does it mean in the long run? A week after you die and everybody's going on with their life, nobody cares. Let alone, you know, a hundred years from now, nobody's going to remember your name. It doesn't have any value. It's only for the ego and self. The Bodhisatta says, I'm not desirous of gain, honor, and renown. I have few wishes. I'm just content with what's happening right here, right now. Others are lazy and wanting in energy. I am energetic

Why? Because I develop my energy. I balance my energy. I know what's the right time to sleep, and how much to sleep. I know what's the right time to do some walking practice, and how much walking practice to do. I know what to do if I'm experiencing laziness. Maybe I take a quick nap, maybe I walk backwards, and so on and so forth. Others are unmindful and not fully aware. I am established in mindfulness.

So I use something like the Satipatthana. What are the Satipatthana? The four foundations of mindfulness. There is Kaya Upasana, there is Vedana Upasana, Chitta Upasana, and Dhamma Upasana. Kaya Upasana is mindfulness of the body. Use different things like the breath, or awareness of the elements of the body, awareness of the different parts of the body, awareness of the recollection, the awareness that this body is going to die, and seeing that process in the mind. Vedana Upasana is noticing feelings. Is it a pleasant feeling, unpleasant feeling, is it a neutral feeling? Is it a worldly feeling? Is it a mental feeling, or chitta?

The mind states: is my mind exalted and spacious? Is it constricted and full of desire or greed, hatred and delusion? Is my mind experiencing jhana or not experiencing jhana? And Dhamma Upasana: are the hindrances present or not present? Are the enlightenment factors present or not present? Am I aware of the Four Noble Truths in this moment? You know, these different principles, or different parts of the mind, really, different qualities of the mind, you can say. Phenomenal. These different aspects of Satipatthana are not saying that you have to do it in this order.

It's saying that they are anchors. Just as a ship might be here and there in the ocean, and it might be going in many different directions because of the rough ocean waves, or it's just swaying in one direction. That's how the mind is. The mind can be like that: not geared in the here and now, not attuned to the present.

But as soon as I use an anchor, the ship drops the anchor, and it stays relatively in place. As soon as I use one of these foundations of mindfulness, my mind is anchored to that, and now I'm here, and now I have sati sampajanna. Sati is remembering to observe where the attention is, and sampajanna is knowing where the attention is. So I'm here and now, and I'm aware of what my mind is doing in the here and now. Others are unconcentrated or uncollected, with straying minds. I am possessed of collectedness, of samadhi.

How do you bring samadhi? In order for you to experience samadhi, you need sukha. Your body needs to be relaxed. Bodily formations need to be tranquilized. Your body needs to experience stillness. When your body is not tired, your body is loose and relaxed, and your mind follows suit and is relaxed and still. But for your body to be relaxed, you need a mind that is uplifted, right? But for that, first you need relaxation, so that the body experiences sukha. So you need passaddhi for that sukha. That passaddhi comes about when the mind feels joy, piti, and that piti comes about when you have pamojja, relief, the recognition that my mind is free of the hindrances. It's like carrying a big backpack full of heavy books and walking around for an hour, and as soon as you take the backpack off, you feel relief.

Right? Or you're maybe giving a very important examination, and your mind is kind of stressed, intense, but as soon as you've done the exam, you're done. Now everything is out of your mind and you're in relief. That's the pamojja. That pamojja leads to the piti. The mind is uplifted with the realization that my mind is free of hindrances. That's that relief, and with that relief my mind feels uplifted. With that uplifted mind, my mind, my body feels tranquil and experiences sukha, and then my mind can be immersed. My mind can be collected, composed.

Seeing in myself this possession of wisdom, I found great solace in dwelling in the forest. What is this wisdom? This wisdom is sammaditthi, right view: clearing your perspective on what is what, what is wholesome and what is unwholesome. That is the beginning of wisdom: acquiring mundane right view, that there is meaning in what is given, meaning in what is sacrifice, meaning in what is offered, that there is some kind of experience you get when you give. There's meaning in this process, as opposed to the nihilists who say there is no meaning. You see, when we talk about right view from this perspective, you know, I'm borrowing this from Ajahn Sona, who talked about this. He said it's like a psychological relief, to paraphrase him. When you have the right perspective, your mind feels psychologically secure, to some extent, that you can rely upon the understanding that there is meaning to life, there is meaning to what I do in my life, that there is action and consequence, karma and vipaka. There is mother and father. What does that mean? That I came into this existence

in this human existence, thanks to my mother and father. Those were the causes and conditions that led to my birth. So for that I'm grateful, because I have this existence, which allows me to have the potential to experience nibbana in this very life. That there is this world and the other. For those who think that means that there are other worlds out there, that's okay to think about, but it's not something you can necessarily prove until you see for yourself. But we can look at it from this perspective: that there is this world, this fathom-long body with its eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and the body, the skin, and so on. That is this world. The world that we are experiencing is being received through these physical sense bases and then interpreted by the mind, while there may be objective consensus reality outside,

how we perceive and take that is dependent upon these senses, and that's the world that we create. But there is the other world. The other world is the world of meditation, when our mind is in samadhi and we have metta, and then we experience the jhanas. That is super mundane, that is another kind of world. So there is this world and the other, and that there are recluses, brahmins, and guides, and teachers who have walked this path and can show one how this path works.

That's a wonderful thing in this day and age, if we have that. That gives some level of, as I said, psychological comfort. Having that right view, then you can come into right intention. And these two constitute wisdom, noble wisdom. Arya Panna, or Arya Panya, Noble Wisdom. And eventually, as we cultivate this, this will turn into super mundane Noble Wisdom, that is to say, super mundane Right View, which is the understanding of the Four Noble Truths.

So when you have this, what is there to be afraid of? What is there to be agitated about? The more you practice in this way, the more the mind becomes free of unnecessary baggage. The world out there is the world out there. But if you really want to do some serious work, work on yourself. Work on your mind.

Whether that has an effect on the world outside or not, that's secondary. The best we can do right now is to work on ourselves, work on our own minds, because with a mind that has samadhi, a mind that has wisdom that shines through in our words, in our thoughts and in our deeds, might have a small ripple effect, but it's something I consider. Thus there are the specially auspicious nights of the 14th, the 15th and the 8th of the fortnight. Now what if on such nights as these I were to dwell in such awe-inspiring, horrifying abodes as orchard shrines, woodland shrines and tree shrines? Perhaps I might encounter that fear and dread, and later on, on such specially auspicious nights

any little rustle, that's just the nature of the mind. The brain is always in survival mode. In those cases, anything could be a danger. Anything could be acting upon me as prey. Something could be hunting me. This is a result of our evolution. What now, if this is the fear and dread coming? I thought, why do I dwell always expecting fear and dread? What if I subdue that fear and dread while keeping the same posture that I am in when it comes upon me? So in other words, why don't I just stay with that fear and dread and let it pass through? I don't have to give it any concern. I don't have to give it any attention.

I can focus on equanimity and tranquility, and I will just sit here come what may. Maybe it's a ghost, maybe it's a ghoul, maybe it's nothing, maybe it's just the wind, but regardless of what it is, I will use the equanimity that I have as my practice and as my refuge, and if there's actually danger, I'll know. I can see for myself. While I walked, the fear and dread came upon me. I stood. I neither stood nor sat nor lay down till I had subdued that fear and dread. While I stood, the fear and dread came upon me. I neither walked nor sat nor lay down till I had subdued that fear and dread. While I sat, the fear and dread came upon me. I neither walked nor stood nor lay down till I had subdued that fear and dread. While I lay down, the fear and dread came upon me. I neither walked nor stood nor sat down till I had subdued that fear and dread.

So the Buddha, the Bodhisattva, at that time said, you know what, wherever it comes about, in whatever posture, I'm just going to stay in that space, in one place, and let it pass over me, let it pass through me, and let me develop some tranquility, let me develop some equanimity, to give you some space between the fear and dread and the next thought. You'll be okay.

You'll realize it's just the mind playing its tricks. There are Brahmins, some recluses and Brahmins, who perceive day when it is night and night when it is day. I say that on their part, this is an abiding in delusion, obviously. But I perceive night when it is night and day when it is day. Rightly speaking, were it to be said of anyone, being not subject to delusion, as appeared in the world for the welfare and happiness of many, out of compassion for the world, for the good welfare and happiness of gods and humans, it is of me indeed that, rightly speaking, this should be said.

Delusion can come in many different ways. I know of one guy who never followed instructions and meditated for many hours in the day. And he experienced all kinds of delusions. He was thinking that the trees were talking to him. He was thinking that he didn't know what planet he was on, whatever it is. Just because he was not following instructions.

Nobody in the TWIM community will tell you to sit for that long. It's a bunch of nonsense. When you are ready and able to sit for longer periods of time, you do it in a way that is gradual. I, for one, am not going to tell you to sit for four hours on your first day. Nobody's going to do that.

So if you're not going to follow instructions and you're going to decide, going to sit here for 12 hours, 14 hours, just because somebody else can do it, you're already deluding yourself. Don't understand that delusion comes in many different forms. Delusion can come in the form of conceit. It can come in the form of comparing. It can come in the form of being drunk with power, all these things. But if you can see through that, recognize it, see the emptiness of that, and ground yourself in the practice in sila, most of these people who go and sit for 12 hours, 14 hours a day, have not a care in the world about sila.

The guy I'm talking about, he didn't have any sila at all. I know for a fact, and he met him. He made a mess of things for himself. We don't want to be in that direction. We don't want to do that for ourselves. As long as your sila is good, as long as your sila is strong, you can take refuge in that. Still, I would say meditate as per your comfort. I would recommend that you sit at least an hour a day, 90 minutes, maybe a maximum of two hours a day.

Anything beyond that is usually in a retreat setting, because you're supervised, you're monitored, you're doing interviews. So the person that's monitoring you knows what's going on. If they feel that maybe things are not going well, they'll tell you to take a break. But don't do it yourself unless you have great sila, unless you have good samadhi. Then I would say, but nobody really has the time in the lay life to practice more than two hours a day.

Even when you guys are retired, you have so many things that fill up your schedule. When are you going to practice for more than two hours? Every day. Tireless energy was aroused in me and unremitting mindfulness was established. My body was tranquil and untroubled. My mind was collected and unified. Very important. Tireless energy was aroused in me. So first, I was free of delusion because my mind was strong, or strengthened, in keeping the precepts.

As a result of which, my mind was free of hindrances. Tireless energy was aroused. I was on my path. I am sitting down and I'm going to be doing work. I'm going to be meditating. Yes, we talk about having fun when you're sitting. You're just sitting, and that process will be fun. Unremitting mindfulness was established. I used whatever anchor I could to come back into the present, and because I experienced relief, I experienced some joy and upliftment in the mind. Therefore my body was tranquil and my mind was collected and unified.

Therefore, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, my eyes are closed, my mind is more focused towards my object, secluded from unwholesome states, free of hindrances, I entered upon and abided in the first jhana, which is accompanied by applied and sustained thought, vitakka and vichara. I bring up an object, that's vitakka. Staying with the object, that's vichara. I don't keep starting up the car. Start the car up once, continue going.

With rapture and pleasure, born of seclusion, now there is piti and sukha. Piti in the mind, sukha in the body, born of seclusion, because my mind is free and clear of any hindrances. With the stilling of applied and sustained thought, now I have self-confidence. See, I entered upon and abided in the second jhana, which has self-confidence and singleness of mind without applied and sustained thought. The vitakka and vichara cease, that is to say the vacisankhara, the verbal formation, cease at this point, because now I have self-confidence. The energy and attention are flowing, and mind is with metta. It's orbiting perfectly with metta, and so now, due to that collectedness, the piti increases. My body is more comfortable, has more sukha. And then, with the fading away as well of rapture, now that piti goes away. After a while, I experience, I abide in equanimity and mindful and fully aware, still feeling

pleasure with the body. So I still have sukha. I enter upon and abided in the third jhana, on account of which noble ones announced he has a pleasant abiding, who has equanimity and is mindful. The important factors here are mindfulness and equanimity, and sukha. Here my body experiences sukha, but I'm feeling more lightness, or different parts of my body disappear, and maybe I feel like the energy is coming up towards the head, less in the body. With the abandoning of pleasure and pain, and with the previous disappearance of joy and grief, I entered upon and abided in the fourth jhana, which has neither pain nor pleasure and purity of mindfulness due to equanimity. Very important. But with the fourth jhana, what is there? My mind is now purified to such an extent there doesn't have to be piti, doesn't have to be sukha. There is just this purity of mindfulness due to equanimity. What is going on here?

The seven enlightenment factors are cycling through each jhana, until by the fourth jhana I just have purity of mindfulness due to equanimity. Because the mindfulness leads to discernment, the discernment leads to balance and energy. Energy leads to joy. Joy leads to tranquility. Tranquility leads to collectedness. Collectedness leads to equanimity. And then that equanimity further purifies the mindfulness in the next moment. And this continues as a process under the hood of the mind, until there is nothing but this purity of mindfulness due to equanimity.

And so now my mind is completely clear and unwavering, and with this mind I can do so much. I can do a lot. My mind is, as it says, with my collected mind, which was dust purified, bright, unblemished, rid of imperfection, malleable, wieldy, steady, and attained to imperturbability. Imperturbability, that's quite a word. So that word, what does it mean? It doesn't waver.

It remains there. It's not a flickering flame. It's a slow, calm, collected flame. Deep equanimity. And that mind being wieldy, it can go into the formless realms, which are the extension of the fourth jhana. It can go into infinite space, infinite consciousness, nothingness, and neither perception or non-perception, it can go into cessation. But in this case here, the Buddha is saying, he directed it to the knowledge of the recollection of past lives. I recollected my manifold past lives, that is one birth, two birds, three birds, four birds, five birds, 10 birds, 20 birds, 30 birds, 40 birds, 50 birds, 100 birds, 1,000 birds, 100,000 birds.

Many eons of world contraction, many eons of world expansion, many eons of world contraction and expansion. There I was, so named, of such a clan, with such an appearance, such was my nutriment, such my experience of pleasure and pain, such my life term. Passing away from there, I reappeared elsewhere. And there too I was so named, of such a clan, with such an appearance, such was my nutriment, such my experience of pleasure and pain, such my life term. And passing away from there, I reappeared here. Thus with their aspects in particulars I recollected my manifold past lives. This was the first true knowledge attained by me in the first watch of the night. Ignorance was banished and true knowledge arose, darkness was banished and light arose, as happens in one who abides diligent, ardent, and resolute. The first knowledge of past lives. What does that bring? Brings the understanding of dependent origination.

That when this happens, this arises. When this ceases, this ceases. It happens over a myriad of different lives, and that's why ignorance was banished and light arose in the mind, because it happens for one who abides diligent, ardent, and resolute. Somebody of keenness of mind, somebody who's diligent, watchful, aware, mindful, and somebody who's not half-hearted in this practice.

It doesn't mean you need to be strong in your concentration. It means that you should be serious when you do the work of meditation. Be there. Don't do anything else. Oftentimes when people sit, especially beginners, when they sit for practice, the last thing they want to do is meditate. And when their mind is very quiet, the last thing they want is a quiet mind, because our mind and body are used to being overly stimulated. But when you are diligent, ardent, and resolute, ignorance will be banished, light will arise.

I understood how beings pass on according to their actions. Thus: these worthy beings who are ill-conducted in body, speech, and mind, revilers of noble ones, wrong in their views, giving effect to wrong view in their actions, on the dissolution of the body after death have reappeared in a state of deprivation, in a bad destination, in perdition, even in hell.

Kamasava is sensual craving. And bhavasava is existential craving, the desire to be in a specific existence. So the destruction of taints, how does that happen, actually? It happens when one sees such is form, such is its origin, such is its passing away. Such are feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness. Such are their origin and such are their passing away. Why?

Because you are directly seeing the anicca, the inconstancy, of these five aggregates, and realizing that having any kind of self attached to them through identification leads to dukkha, and that these aggregates function without any self as such. In other words, they function due to causes and conditions, not to some great self that's out there. We have the realization of anatta. When we have the realization of anatta, my mind has equanimity. When that mind has equanimity, it has this passion disenchantment. When it has disenchantment, which it disengages from the world, disengages from formations, it has this passion, nothing sticks in the mind. And from that there is cessation and vimutti. The mind drops out of samsara and experiences the nibbana dhatu, nibbana dhatu. And therefore, when I experienced this knowledge of the destruction of the taints, I directly knew as it actually is, this is what suffering is. I directly knew as it actually is, this is how suffering arises, this is the origin of suffering. I directly knew as it actually is, this is the cessation of suffering. I directly knew as it actually is, this is the way leading

to the cessation of suffering, that is the Noble Eightfold Path. I directly knew as it actually is, these are the taints. The Four Taints. I directly knew as it actually is, this is the origin of the taints. That is ignorance, lack of mindfulness of the Four Noble Truths. You see, the Four Noble Truths aren't just that. They are a template, a model which you can apply to anything, with regards to the links of dependent origination, with regards to the aggregates.

And so with the taints, the origin of the taints is ignorance. I directly knew as it actually is, this is the cessation of the taints. I directly knew as it actually is, this is the way leading to the cessation of the taints. When I knew and saw thus, my mind was liberated from the taint of sensual desire, from the taint of being, and from the taint of ignorance, which includes wrong view. When it was liberated, there came the knowledge: it is liberated. So the mind experiences

right when you go into nirodha. What happens is: first verbal formations cease at the second jhana, bodily formations cease at the fourth jhana, and mental formations cease at cessation of perception and feeling. Then the mind touches nibbana dhatu. It experiences contact with that which is signless, undirected, and empty, because it has had a direct perception, experiential perception, into anicca, thereby seeing that all objects are not worth holding on to, because they are anicca, they are impermanent.

The direct experiential perception into dukkha, into suffering, sees that any intention that I have will ultimately lead to dukkha one way or the other. So my mind is undirected. Nibbana is undirected. Contact with it is undirected, because I see that there is no controller here. My mind is free from the idea of a self pertaining to any of these aggregates.

And therefore, I have the direct experiential perception of anatta. And when I have this, my mind touches Nibbana, right? Through that process of emptiness. So I have signlessness, undirectedness, and emptiness. Then I see the links of dependent origination, and my mind says, oh, wow. In the Kathavatthu, it actually says that. In the Kathavatthu, there is a discussion about this.

That when one experiences Nibbana, there is this exclamation in the mind: oh, wow. In Pali, it's Aho. And so what's happening there? The mental formations arise to give rise to the perception of dependent origination. Then the bodily formations arise, because now you experience great relief, and you say, oh wow, that's the verbal formations arising. And so there is the knowledge: it is liberated. I directly knew: birth is destroyed, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more coming to any state of being. Why would there be? Because the mind is no longer interested in that. It has seen for itself, directly known for itself, Nibbana.

It is because I see two benefits that I still resort to remote jungle thicket resting places in the forest. I see a pleasant abiding for myself here and now, which is fair enough, to meditate where you want and be in that space. It's pleasant. Why wouldn't you want to be there? And I have compassion for future generations by setting an example. Right, for future generations I have compassion that, oh, Buddha still does it, so I too should do it. Indeed, it is because Master Gautama is an accomplished one, a fully enlightened one, that he has

compassion for future generations. Magnificent Master Gautama, magnificent Master Gautama. Master Gautama has made the Dhamma clear in many ways, as though he were turning upright what had been overthrown, revealing what was hidden, showing the way to one who was lost, or holding up a lamp in the dark for those with eyesight to see forms. I go to Master Gautama for refuge, and to the Dhamma, and to the Sangha of Bhikkhus. From today let Master Gautama remember me as a lay follower who has gone to him for refuge for life.

Here's the merit. May suffering ones be suffering free, and the fear struck 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. Thank you everyone. I'll see you around. Take care.