Day 10 June Retreat - Metta Sutta - Karaniya Sutta SN 1.8

All right, today we are going to talk a little bit about metta and how to bring it up into your daily practice now that you go off of retreat. Oh, this is 1.8, the Karaniya Metta Sutta, loving kindness or metta sutta. So this is the Sutta Nipata, which is a small section of the Minor Discourses. The Minor Discourses haven't all been translated yet, because if they were, it would take an entire bookshelf. No, not yet.

Anyway, 1.8, loving kindness. This is what should be done by one skilled in the good. Having made the breakthrough to that peaceful state, he should be able, upright, and very upright, amenable to advice, and gentle, without arrogance. By the way, this is all in verse, this whole thing. It's a very short verse, Sutta. So, the first verse says, skilled in the good.

That means one skilled in the wholesome. One who develops the wholesome. I think you should do the back story of this. What is the back story of this? You should do the back story. Here you go, dude. No, there were some monks. And they were in a grove and the devas living in the trees, the tree spirits, were not happy that there were monks there. This was their space. And so they would make all kinds of noise and racket and try to scare the monks away. And the short story, basically the Buddha came and said, we need to send love and kindness to the spirits. And when the spirits started to get that, And instead of frustration, they calmed down, everybody calmed down, and everybody would happily never act.

So that is the backstory. Yes, that's right. And so, with that backstory, this is the Buddha telling these monks what should be done. This is what should be done by one skilled in the good. What is being skilled in the good? Keeps and maintains their precepts. You see, you cannot start with loving kindness until you actually know what is right and wrong. You understand what is wholesome and unwholesome.

And you understand what are the precepts, the five basic precepts. This is what you've been doing all throughout retreat. You've been taking eight precepts, but the five basic precepts is the minimum that you should take off retreat. Make a commitment not to kill people or living beings. Make a commitment not to harm living beings with any kind of malintent. Make a commitment to not take what is not given. To refrain from taking what is not given.

So when you go out there, don't go out seeking for this or that. Don't go trying to get this or that when it's not given. When you go out there, keep your precept of sexual and sensual misconduct right, which means pay attention, be aware, be mindful, observe how your mind's attention moves from one thing to the other. If it has craving when you have an experience like seeing a chocolate chip cookie or hearing a disturbing sound or whatever it might be, don't get caught up in it. And then sexual misconduct, of course, is not to get caught up in this whole process of cheating and causing others to cheat and so on and so forth.

And indulging in intoxicants. Don't indulge in any intoxicants. So when you go off retreat, don't go into the fridge and grab that cold can of beer. Don't go seeking all of these different indulgences. Pay attention to what it is that you consume in general. That's not just food but also through the other six sense bases. Pay attention to what's going on with your mind in relation to this.

Pay attention to the craving that might arise, or the sloth and torpor, or the restlessness that might arise. So keeping the precepts are the bare minimum when you get off retreat. Keeping the precepts maintains that wholesome state of mind that you've cultivated here on the retreat. So that means that as long as you keep the precepts, your mind will continue to be sharper, clearer over time.

And you'll start to be more attentive. You'll start to be more mindful. Your mind will become more collected. And you'll have deeper clarity into the jhanas. So far as you've been progressing through this retreat, you've been going through the jhanas and they've gone by very fast. You haven't had time to really explore each territory of each jhana. So when you get off retreat, you can do that because your mind remains wholesome. Your mind remains purified by pure intentions of keeping the precepts. So this is the bare minimum to do. state, what is the breakthrough to that peaceful state?

Having abandoned the five hindrances by letting go of the five hindrances, your mind remains in relief. From that relief, there arises the joy that's there in the first jhana. So the breakthrough to that peaceful state is one way of understanding this. When you recognize the hindrances and you let go of them, not just in the meditation, but in your daily life. Notice when the mind is agitated with sensual craving, agitated by aversion, agitated by restlessness, by doubt, or gets dulled through sloth and torpor.

When you recognize this, release the attention from that, relax the tightness and tension, something wholesome, come back to what it is that you're doing in the present moment, you start to sharpen your mindfulness. You continue to develop the practice. You continue to activate the enlightenment factors that allow you to get into that peaceful state. Those states include the joy of jhana. Those states include the equanimity of the fourth jhana and tranquility and so on. You make right effort every time you apply the right effort, that is the 6R's. You have mindfulness, which leads to collectedness, which leads to a mind ripe for jhana. He should be able, upright and very upright, amenable to advice and gentle, without arrogance. He should be able, meaning your mind has to be clear.

Your mind has to have the capacity to get to jhana, unagitated. Your mind has to be able to remain clarified, purified of hindrances, upright, very upright. What does that mean? That means to be disciplined. Be accountable to yourself. mind. So that includes understanding the consequences of breaking the precepts. If I break the precepts, my mind can become agitated.

This is one way a mind becomes agitated. Understand the consequences of that and let go of any attachment to breaking the precepts. Let go of any intention to break the precepts. So you are taking accountability for yourself. You are upright, and you are accountable to your own mind. You understand the consequences of what happens if you are not following the precepts. Amenable to advice and gentle without arrogance. Amenable to advice.

This is listening to the Dhamma. Amenable to advice. Listening to what somebody who has practiced has to say. Keep your mind closed. If you keep your ears closed, that causes the mind to not penetrate the Dhamma. Because there might be something that someone knows that can help you with your practice. Be open, be friendly. Treat everyone as a teacher.

Treat everyone as a guide. Treat everyone like they're an arahant already. Always show a sense of gratitude, a sense of generosity, a sense of happiness, a sense of wanting the best for the other person. And so you are open to taking advice from that person, open to feedback, whatever that kind of feedback is, especially with relation to the Dhamma and meditation.

And gentle. Don't get upset by things. Be soft in your heart. Be soft in your speech. Be soft in your actions. Be gentle. When you get off retreat tomorrow and you go to wherever it is that you're going, whether you're driving or whether you're taking a plane or whatever it might be, especially when you're going to get on a flight, when you go to the airport, what happens? You get into the hustle and bustle of everything that's going on.

And then you stand in line to check in and notice what's going on. Is the mind rough and coarse and impatient while it's on the line to check in? Or is it with loving kindness? Is it patient? And then when you approach the person at the check-in counter, send them loving kindness. Be gentle. They're meeting with so many people, with such long hours, on a daily basis.

And more often than not, they're met with people who are not kind, who might be rude, who might be pushy. But if you send loving kindness to them, we can see how their attitude changes. If you use loving and kind words, loving and kind gestures, loving and kind intentions, notice how they reflect that back to you. And it's not just there. It works anywhere. A person for the first time, have the intention, look in their eyes and send them loving kindness.

They'll immediately feel different. They'll feel a shift. They'll want to help you. They'll want to be open to what you have to say. And so, whatever it might be, if you see a person suffering, send them loving kindness. Send them compassion. Wish them to be free of that suffering. If you see that somebody is successful at something, don't be jealous of it. Don't be envious of it.

Have mudita for them. Celebrate in their success. Be happy for them. If people are irritating you, if people are agitating you, or circumstances are agitating you, notice that. Recognize that. Let that go. Bring back the smile and stay with equanimity, balanced. So when we have impatience, how do we develop patience? Have equanimity. Six are. Six are the impatience. Six are. Six are the impatience. Let go of that and develop equanimity.

Because the equanimity, the equanimous mind, doesn't get pulled in this direction or the other. It's here, completely here in the present moment. And without arrogance. Arrogance here has different kinds of connotations. Presuming that you are better than that person. Presuming that you know more than the other person. Presuming that you have better skills. Presuming that nobody has to tell you what to do. Presumption. Presumption causes a lot of mistakes. Arrogance causes a lot of mistakes.

Always be open to learn things. Always be open to see what people have to say. This is very practical, mundane life advice. But when you go around, and let's say you are at a boardroom meeting, or you're sitting around with people, and they have a brainstorming session, sure, you can chime in. And they might want to know everybody's input. Open to be the last person to speak.

Don't be arrogant and say, all right, I'll tell you what I think we should do. You might look stupid in the end. But if you wait and let other people come into the conversation, allow them to give their inputs, you learn from what they're saying and you can add on to it. You're able to actually then have good clarity on what people are thinking and then be able to provide something that's beneficial, be able to provide something that's useful.

These little things, these little actions, these little ways of developing speech in a beneficial and harmonious manner have a great effect on the mind. Every time you're able to 6R, these things like arrogance and jealousy and anger and irritation, their antidotes through the Brahmaviharas. Every time you do that, it translates to a better meditation. And every time you have a good meditation, it translates to a better day. It translates to better living situations with whatever it is that you're dealing with.

He should be content and easily supported. Don't have so many demands. Whatever is given to you, accept that with a mind imbued with loving-kindness. This doesn't mean that when you're in the lay life, you can't go out seeking things. This doesn't mean you can't go out looking for this or that. What it means is understand what your requirements are in life. Understand what your needs are in this life. And see if you can fulfill those and be content in that.

Anything beyond that is just extra. It's just perks. It's just like living off the interest of your karmic bank balance to provide yourself what you require, what you need. Be content with everything that's provided and easily supported. Again, that means not to make so many demands. If you are dependent on someone, if you are dependent on people, be encouraging to them. Be somebody who's easily supported, somebody who has few needs, somebody who help surround somebody who is mindful of what people are providing and being grateful through not just your intentions in terms of your mind and mindset, but through your speech and through your actions as well. Be easily supported. A few duties and a frugal way of living.

A few duties. Don't get caught up in all of these things that you have to do. Moment, then whatever has to be done in the next moment will be done in the next moment. Oftentimes this life is lived in such a way that: once I get here, I'm going to then do this; once I do this, I'm going to go do that; once I have that, I'll go get that; once I have that, then I'm going to go acquire this thing; and then I'll die. That's all life has become for many, many beings, right? I have to get to the best high school as I can. Once I'm in the best high school, then I have to get the best grades so I can get to the best college.

Once I have the best grades in college, then I can get the best job that I can get. Once I have the best job, I'm going to open up my own business. Once I open my own business, I'm going to go and settle down and get married. Once I get married, I'm going to have kids. Now that I have kids, I'm going to get a house. But I see that person has a bigger house than I do, so I'm going to now do something else. Get a bigger house, I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that. All of these things, where does that get you? It creates all of this agitation in the mind, creates all of this trouble in the mind. And then on a micro level, when you have work, it's like if I get this done then I'm going to get that done. Once I get this and I have to do this, then I have to do that. Fine, have a to-do list. Do whatever it is that you have to do.

But don't get caught up in what it is that you have to do. Just be alert. Be attentive. Be aware of what it is you're doing right now. Once you're done with that, do the other thing. And yeah, if it helps, stop creating all of these task lists for yourself. Taking on all of this work for yourself. Unnecessarily.

And then thereby creating all of this stress to yourself. Suffering for yourself. So start to prioritize what's important in your life and have few duties and a frugal way of living. Now for the monastics, that's basically meaning the same thing, which is do the certain things that are required in the day, but be attentive to what it is that you became a monk for or a nun for, and be frugal in whatever it is that you're doing. Be frugal in whatever it is that you're receiving.

Don't be having so many kinds of demands and attachments and all of these ideas of what it should be or it shouldn't be. Let go of the idea of what it should be or what it shouldn't be. Accept the present moment as it is. This is one way of being frugal in your mind. Accept things as they are. You're satisfied right there and then. You have contentment right there and then.

Of peaceful faculties and judicious. Peaceful faculties. Peaceful mind. That's in essence what it means. A peaceful mind. Not getting caught up in the distractions of the other sense bases. Being observant. Being mindful. Notice how the mind gets distracted and bring it back. And notice the relief that is experienced when you're 6R. That's how you have peaceful faculties.

There's a lot of energy in craving. There's a lot of energy wasted in craving. There's a lot of energy wasted in anger, in ill will, in irritation. But if you recognize those things, and you let go, then all of that energy drain that could have happened is also let go. You conserve your energy. Your faculties are peaceful. You have more energy because of that.

And so you are judicious. You're more mindful. The more energy you have, the more mindful you are, the more attentive you are. The more mindful you are, the more attentive you are, the more energy you have. See how it works? In Buddhism, there's always these interdependencies. Joy leads to tranquility. Tranquility leads to joy. Having energy leads to more mindfulness. Having more mindfulness leads to more energy.

So how does mindfulness begin? Start with the intention of seeing things as they are. When you sit down for your practice, just sit. Just sit. Close your eyes. Observe what's going on in the mind. Let go of any hindrances that you might find. Six of them. Bring your attention to something that's wholesome. Bring up the loving kindness. Stay with that loving kindness.

It really is that simple. Now you know for yourself, now you've seen it for yourself. Now you understand it for yourself. Families. This is a specific instruction to monastics, but it can also be applied in lay life. Courteous. One should always be courteous, whether they are a monk, a nun, lay person, whatever it might be. What does it mean to be courteous? It means to be respectful. What does it mean to be respectful? Respecting a person's time, respecting a person's efforts, respecting a person's presence.

Acknowledging the good in them, being happy for them, being appreciative of them. And it's as simple as the smile. Wherever you go out now, after the retreat, make it a point to smile at someone. Make it a point to send loving kindness to that person. Ask them how their day is going. Ask them, is everything good? Who care about them.

Even if they're strangers. You know, when you go to the cashier, ask them how they're doing. Day after day, they're just basically doing the same thing. And not a lot of people are like paying attention to what they feel. Not a lot of people are paying attention to, you know, what their day is like. Make it a point to be happy. Make it a point to be uplifted. Make it a point to make them happy. Make it a point to make them uplifted.

You are going to stand out in their day, and they're going to be happy because of that. Wherever you go, make people happy. Be courteous. Be respectful. Without greed when among families. For the monastics, this means that you aren't paying attention to one family over the other because they have the best curry, you know, they have the best food. So you always go to that family to get your alms. Be equal amongst everyone.

Don't have judgments about people. Now, among families, for you guys in the lay life, how many judgments do you have about your friends and family and your brothers and sisters? Your father and mother, your son or your daughter, aunts and uncles. How many kinds of judgments do you have? All of these kinds of concepts you have about people around you.

Let go of that. Now you have the tools. Now you know what it is, loving kindness. Now you know what joy is. Now you know what equanimity is. Now you know what compassion is. So every time you recognize that there's a judgment about this person, about that person, you can recognize it. You can let it go. Bring up loving kindness. Bring up whatever is required in that moment.

He should not do anything, however slight, because of which other wise people might criticize him. He should not do anything, however slight, however minor, Because of which other wise people, meaning because of which people might criticize him. So the idea here is you are in a monastic community for the monks and the nuns. Be aware that you have to set an example for others. Be aware that there are those who are elder than you who are watching you, who are observing you. that you are doing, make sure that it is in alignment with the Vinaya.

Whether it's 227 precepts or the 311 precepts. For you guys, it's very easy. It's only five precepts. And keeping your precepts allows you to be uplifted, like I said. But because you don't judge other people, people don't judge you either. Knowing who you are or what you are and all these other things, they might have prejudices about what you might be or what you might not be, and so on. But that doesn't matter. That's all their ideas. You are not responsible. Remember this: you're not responsible for how people think about you. You're only responsible for your own actions, for your own thoughts, for your own speech. If that's all you're responsible for, then that's very easy.

You're not here to satisfy anybody else. If you're a good person, if you're wholesome, that translates into wholesome actions. And people see that. And most people have a tendency to reciprocate that, to give that back, to be wholesome to you. Out there in the world, set an example for people. Not because you have to show them that you know this technique, or you're practicing TWIM, or now you're a Dhamma follower, or whatever it might be. Set an example so that you inspire people.

So people look up to you. People say, oh, okay, that's how I should be. When you inspire people, then people will look to you and say, that you're doing then you have an opportunity to tell them this is what I'm doing if you want to. And now he starts and he says, may all beings be happy and secure, may they be inwardly happy. Whatever living beings there are, whether frail or firm, without omission, those that are long or short, those that are large, middling, short, fine or gross.

Whether they are seen or unseen. Whether they dwell far or near. Whether they have come to be or will come to be. May all beings be inwardly happy. This is the attitude to have. Wanting to have happiness for everyone. Doesn't matter who they are, what they are. May all beings be happy and secure. May they be inwardly happy.

You're sending it out to all beings in this direction. You're sending it out to all beings in the backward direction, to the right of you and to the left of you. And then when you're sending it out to all beings in the upward direction, if you have a chance, look at all of the different realms that are there on that chart.

So you can visualize that loving-kindness is being sent out to all beings there, to all of the different deva realms, to all of the different brahma-lokas, to all of the different Arupalokas. Send it to all beings in that direction. And then more importantly, send it to all beings below you, below this plane of existence. Send it to all of the hungry ghosts. Send it to all of the animals.

Send it to all of the hellish beings. When's the last time you thought about that? The animals. When's the last time you thought about the hungry ghosts? Or the last time you thought about people in hell, beings in hell. Send loving kindness to them. Send compassion to them. This is one way of doing the practice. All beings, seen or unseen, near or far.

Whether they have come to be or will come to be, doesn't matter whether they are here, they have come to be in this existence or any of the other existences, or they will come to be. That means beings who are about to be born, beings who are dying and about to be born in a different realm. Send loving kindness to all beings indiscriminately.

May all beings be inwardly happy. No one should deceive another, nor despise anyone anywhere. Because of anger and thoughts of aversion, no one should wish suffering for another. No one should deceive another. Deceit and fraud. These are two of the upakilesas, the mental corruptions. This is basically deceiving a person through trickery, through foolery, through whatever it might be, through conning them, through telling lies, through hiding things. Let go of all of those upakilesas, those mental corruptions, nor despise anyone anywhere.

Do you despise anyone anywhere? Do you have anger towards anyone? It doesn't matter who it is, whether you know them or don't know them, whether you've seen them on TV or on the internet, you've read about them on the news, know about them in your own family, know about them in your circle of friends, heard about them. Don't have any kind of ill will towards anybody.

Because of anger and thoughts of aversion, no one should wish suffering for another. This intention to harm arises from ill will, arises from aversion, arises from they did this to me and so I have to do this to them. Understand that those people are suffering as well. Those beings are suffering as well. So what are you doing exactly when you do that? When you return whatever it is that they're giving in terms of anger and abuses and harsh speech and whatever it is, what are you doing when you return it back to them?

You're just adding to the karmic repository. You're just adding to their suffering. You're adding to your own suffering, If people were not suffering, if beings were free of suffering, why would they wish harm on others? If beings are free of suffering, why would they get upset by others? It's only when someone is suffering that they have this anger, this irritation.

So that's a way for them to let go of their suffering. It's not right. Definitely it's not right. It's unwholesome. But why would you react to them in an unwholesome manner? So whether it's your friends or your family, when you see them, you know them to be somebody who is an angry person. You know them to be somebody who is an irritating person. You know them to be somebody who always lashes out. Don't see that. Have the compassion and the capacity to see the suffering behind that.

And if you have to, forgive them. Do the forgiveness practice. Let go of that. The more you do that, the more compassion you have, the more you're able to see the suffering of that person, you're not going to act in the same way. You're not going to react in the same way. karmic repercussions of that. If somebody gets angry at you and you just return the same anger, you're just adding more to yourself in terms of suffering and adding more to them in terms of their suffering. But if you see that as old karma that arises to be experienced and felt in that moment, and you let go of that, let go of identifying with that, let go of any kind of resistance to that, it with love and kindness and compassion.

What are you doing right there and then? When you radiate love and kindness, when you radiate compassion, when you radiate joy, when you radiate equanimity, any karma that arises in that moment seems minuscule. And however it arises, it arises in a way that doesn't cause any harm to you, any irritation to you. When your mind is filled with love and kindness, filled with compassion. This is why the emphasis is stay with loving kindness all throughout the day. Because everything that arises is then responded to from that loving kindness, from that compassion.

So when you have that compassion and you realize the other person is suffering, are you going to lash out at them? Treat everybody like they are somebody who is suffering. Because you know what suffering feels like. You know what it feels like to be in suffering. You know what it feels like to be upset by something. You know what it feels like to be betrayed. You know what it feels like to be hurt. You know what it feels like to be in grief. You know what it feels like to be in pain. When somebody reacts in an unwholesome manner, understand that to be their ignorance.

Maybe they do know better, but in that moment they're ignorant. They're like a little kid. And what do you do with little kids? You explain to them, right? You understand that they are ignorant in that moment. And you let it go. And you try to cheer them up. You try to uplift them. So when you understand their suffering in that way, that you have suffered yourself, then you'll know, then you'll understand that just by lashing out at them, I'm causing them suffering, you'll let go of that.

So usually this is understood as the love that a mother has for her child. The love a mother has for her child is that she will always care for that child no matter what they're doing. If it's a little baby who's shouting and screaming and yelling and spitting and kicking them in the shins, whatever it is, sure, in that moment they might be upset, but that's their child. They'll do whatever they can to take care of their child because they see them with loving kindness, seeking the best for their child. In the same way, you can treat everybody like that. Seek the best for everybody, no matter what it is that they're doing. So in one way, you're looking at everybody as arahants.

And how do you protect your mind? Make the effort. Make the commitment. Make the intention to keep the mind without boundaries. Meaning no judgments between me and you. This whole idea of I'm better than you, you're better than me, you're worse off than me, all of these things. Let go of all of that. You're neither better than someone, nor worse off than someone, nor equal to anyone. Go beyond all of that and just see beings as they are. And by doing that, your mind will have loving kindness naturally. So protect your state of mind. Don't allow your state of mind to fall into danger of breaking the precepts.

Don't allow your state of mind to fall into danger of having intentions of ill will and cruelty, of jealousy and envy, of anger and resentment. Protect your mind by using the shield of loving kindness. Whatever it might be. One of the things that you can do is when you get up in the morning, send out loving kindness to all beings.

First thing to do. That's the practice that the Buddha did. It's called Maha Karuna Samapati. It's the greater compassion meditation. Basically, he radiated compassion in all directions to all beings indiscriminately. And he did that for about two hours. That was the start of his practice, his meditation. It's better than a cup of coffee to start the day.

Send out compassion to all beings and see how the mind resonates with all beings all throughout your interactions in the day. See how more attentive you are with living beings. When you radiate compassion in that way, you are protecting your mind in the same way a mother protects her child. The mother wants the best for her child. She'll do everything to protect him. Same way you do that for your mind. Start off with sending out loving kindness, sending out compassion. Start off the day with that. And you're going to notice that you listen to people, better. You're better able to empathize with people.

If you want to be a good teacher, if you want to be a good guide, if you want to be a good mentor, if you want to be a good parent, if you want to be a good, whatever it might be to a person, it starts with listening to them. Listening to them attentively. And if you send loving kindness and compassion to all beings, your mindset that the way your mind is geared towards beings is to actively listen to what they have to say. That's another way of being loving and kind and compassionate, listening to them and so on.

Take the time to listen to people. Take the time to really pay attention to what they have to say. And what that means is take the time to pay attention without having to answer or respond to what they have to say in that moment. Listen completely, fully listen. Don't try to, in the back of your mind, formulate what are you going to say in response to what they're saying. Listen to them fully.

And toward the whole world one should develop loving kindness, a state of mind without boundaries, above, below, across, unconfined, without enmity, without adversaries. What is an adversary? What is an enemy? What is a difficult person? It's a concept in the mind. You are my enemy, and you are my friend. Why? Why did you decide that this person is your enemy? Just a concept. Oh, it's because they did so and so to me. Because they said so and so to me. Or they've always been this way to me.

So you choose to receive what they say to you and then you create this idea that they are your enemy. These are all concepts. Let go of that. Oftentimes you might have a discussion with a person, and suddenly that turns up into an argument. And then when that argument is over, maybe it gets over because you walk away or the other person walks away, or even after it's been resolved, what happens sometimes?

The next time you see that person, the memory of that argument is fresh in your mind. So the way you respond to them is with that argument in mind. So there's a little bit of awkwardness there. There's a little bit of hesitation there. There's a little bit of reluctance there. All of these other things. But if you see the person for who they are, let go of any mental projections. Let go of any idea of what they did in the past, what they said to you in the past, what you said to them in the past. And in that moment, just see that person as a fresh new person.

Whether they're your parent, whether they're your child, whether they're your sibling, whether they're your friend, whatever it is, or your enemy. They're your enemy so long as you decide that they are your enemy. And if they decide you are their enemy, then that's on them. You can't do anything about that. But on your end, from your side, see them as a friend. See them as a person suffering.

And let go of your hatred. Let go of your attachments to being right about this or that, having views about this or that, about that person. Let go of that. Let go of any kind of resentment towards that person and see them for who they are and then respond. When you're able to do that, then the sense of enmity goes away. The sense that that person thinks you as their enemy fades away. And even if it doesn't, it gives you peace of mind.

It gives you stability of mind. It gives you equanimity. Natural, organic equanimity. Whether standing, walking, sitting, or lying down, as long as one is not drowsy, one should resolve on this mindfulness. They call this a divine dwelling here. Whether standing, walking, sitting or lying down. This is about the four postures, right? The different postures. When you have the four foundations of mindfulness.

He talks about mindfulness when you're walking. Mindfulness when you're standing. Mindfulness when you're sitting. Mindfulness when you're lying down. Whatever it is you're doing. It says here, one should resolve on this mindfulness. What does that mean? On this mindfulness. On the mindfulness of loving kindness. On the mindfulness of compassion, on the mindfulness of joy, on the mindfulness of equanimity. What have you guys been doing all retreat?

All day long, meditating, whether walking, whether sitting, whether standing. What has been the instruction to you? Stay with your spiritual friend. Stay with your object. Be mindful of the loving kindness. Be mindful of the compassion. Be mindful of the joy. Be mindful of quiet mind full of equanimity. Stay with it, whatever it is that you're doing. As long as one is not drowsy.

So that means a couple of things here. Obviously, if you haven't had good sleep, if you haven't had enough sleep, take a nap, rest, be practical. But another way of understanding drowsiness is lack of attention. Sloth and torpor means a lack of attention, a lack of continuous attention on your object of meditation. That lack of attention is dependent upon a lack of energy, which is a lack of effort.

You're not putting enough effort to stay with your object of meditation. So when you get off retreat, the goal there will be to radiate loving kindness, radiate compassion, radiate joy, radiate equanimity first thing in the morning. Get up. Keep it going when you brush your teeth. Keep it going when you make coffee. Keep it going when you're having breakfast. Keep it going when you're driving to work. Keep it going when you log into Zoom. Keep it going when you're doing this or that. Keep it going when you're doing your laundry. Keep it going wherever it is what you're doing. And notice when your mind becomes distracted.

That's the mindfulness. Observing how mind's attention moves from one thing to the other. Observe your mind was in loving kindness. Your mind was in compassion. Was in joy, equanimity, but now it's no longer there. Now it's getting distracted by something. So what do you do? You use right effort. Let go of that. When you use right effort, that means you have more energy. You have less sloth and torpor. And eventually that sloth and torpor fades away. And now you are fully, again, mindful of that Brahma Vihara. They call this a divine dwelling here. That's what Brahma Vihara means. The Divine. Brahma is that which is beyond this world.

And dwelling, that's the Vihara. Vihara is the abode, the residence of the Divine, the residence of Brahma, the residence of the otherworldly. Every time you have loving kindness, every time you have joy, every time you have equanimity, you are residing in the Divine. Not taking up any views, possessing good behavior, endowed with vision, having removed greed for sensual pleasures, one never comes back to the bed of a womb.

This is the last stanza in this sutta. That means not taking up any views, not taking up any wrong views. Pay attention to your mindset. Where is it leading you? Is it leading you away from right view or is it leading you towards right view? View is. The understanding of the impersonal nature of everything. The understanding of action and consequence. The understanding of what is wholesome and unwholesome.

What are the right factors of the right path and what are the wrong factors of the wrong path? What is the right path and what is the wrong path? Having that view, don't take up the wrong views. Don't give in to the view of materialism. Don't give in to the view of nihilism, that nothing matters. Don't give in to the view of eternalism, because that makes you attach to a sense of self that causes conceit, that causes pride, which results in craving and anger and irritation and all of these other unwholesome states of mind.

Letting go of those views, letting go of any kind of wrong view, and ultimately letting go of the attachment to right view as well. Dhamma defender. There's no need for you to defend the Dhamma. If you see that inkling, that tinge to have to defend what it is in relation to the Dhamma, if somebody says something about your practice, if somebody says something about the Dhamma, somebody says something about the Buddha, somebody says something about the Sangha, that's their karma. That's their action. The consequences will be meted out for them through their own intentions.

Let go of any attachment to the Dhamma. Practice the Dhamma. Take care of the Dhamma, and the Dhamma will take care of you. So be attentive to what it is that you're doing, which means possessing good behavior, keeping the precepts. Coming back to that, keeping the precepts. Endowed with vision. What does that mean? Inclined towards Nibbana. Not getting obsessed over, am I going to attain Nibbana, waiting for Nibbana to happen and expecting it to happen.

What are expectations? Karuna, what are expectations? Dukkha. Dukkha under construction. Yes. But what else are expectations? Expectations are meant to never be met. There's never been a time when an expectation has ever been met. Either it's been better than you expected or worse off than you expected. How many times has it been exactly as you expected it to be?

Very rarely. So let go of any and all expectations of how things should be, how things ought to be, or the things that you have to do. So you incline your mind towards Nibbana, and that means keeping the precepts, letting go. The purpose of this practice is the attainment of Nibbana. So long as you continue to let go. So long as you continue to abandon all expectations, all craving, all aversion.

So the purpose will take care of itself so long as you are letting go. Make the effort. Six R's. So long as you're letting go by the six R's, with the six R's, using the six R's, you're on the right path. And if you're on the right path, eventually when you least expect it, it happens. That's why oftentimes when people come out of it, they're like, what was that? Because you completely have no expectation of what was going to happen. And the second time around, it can be more challenging because you know the territory now. And because you know the territory, you're like, oh, just about any second now. So let go of any expectations.

So endowed with vision, inclining the mind with good behavior, keeping the precepts with samadhi, keeping the mind collected, using right effort, having right mindfulness, understanding when mind's attention moves from one thing to the other, and having the mind collected with an object. Greed for sensual pleasures, one never again comes to the bed of a womb. This is really referring to the anagami.

So having removed greed for sensual pleasures. So how do you let go of the aversion? Keep developing and cultivating loving kindness. How do you let go of greed for sensual pleasures? When they arise and let them go. Eventually, the more you walk the path using right effort, using the six R's, that leads you to better and clearer mindfulness, better and clearer ways in which you observe how mind's attention moves from one thing to the other.

And so your mind gets more easily collected, more easily ripe for jhana practice. And as you get into jhana, your mind starts to let go even deeper and deeper experiences. This is what happens. Jhanas are levels of cessation. They keep ceasing coarser and coarser experiences. And let go when you're at that stage in quiet mind, where mind starts to become even quieter, even more still.

Let go of all formations. I am, this is me, this is mine. Let go of that, relax that. And how do you relax that? Let go of any kind of craving for anything whatsoever. So that also translates to letting go of all attachment to sensual pleasures as well. This is the way to becoming an anagami. And so for that reason it says one never again comes back to a womb, because the anagami spontaneously generates into a higher realm.

And then ultimately from there, completely lets go of any potential for any kind of existence in the future, and that is the arahant. So loving-kindness, compassion, joy, equanimity, these are all ways, you to Nibbana. These are all taking you to Nibbana. As you gradually go, progress through each of these stages, they take you through the jhanas and they take you to cessation. They take you to Nibbana, which means they take you to the breaking of the different fetters. So they take you all the way to final awakening, to full awakening. So that's the end of this sutta. All right. Let's share some merit. 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. you