Majjhima Nikāya # 70

At Kiṭāgiri

Kiṭāgiri Sutta

14-Oct-06

Bhante Vimalaramsi

Dhammasukha Meditation Center

SK: If you study here, time will, disappear.

BV: There are a bunch of rules in the vinaya, that are attested, or made because of these two monks that I’m going to be talking about today. And they did all kind of weird things, I mean, they didn’t become monks they just stayed laymen and put monk's clothes on and they had girls dancing on their robes and they were clapping and they were breaking all kinds of rules and . . So -

MN: 1. THUS HAVE I HEARD. On one occasion the Blessed One was wandering in the Kāsi country together with a large Sangha of bhikkhus. There he addressed the bhikkhus thus:

2. "Bhikkhus, I abstain from eating at night. By so doing, I am free from illness and affliction, and I enjoy health, strength, and a comfortable abiding. Come, bhikkhus, abstain from eating at night. By so doing, you too will be free from illness and affliction, and you will enjoy health, strength, and a comfortable abiding." "Yes, venerable sir," they replied.

3. Then, as the Blessed One was wandering by stages in the Kasi country, he eventually arrived at a Kāsi town called Kīṭāgiri. There he lived in this Kāsi town, Kīṭāgiri.

4. Now on that occasion the bhikkhus named Assaji and Punabbasuka were residing at Kīṭāgiri. Then a number of bhikkhus went and told them: "Friends, the Blessed One and the Sangha of bhikkhus now abstain from eating at night. By so doing, they are free from illness and affliction, and they enjoy health, strength, and a comfortable abiding. Come, friends, abstain from eating at night. By so doing, you too will be free from illness and affliction, and you will enjoy health, strength, and a comfortable abiding."

BV: One of the things that happens, when you start to get a cold, what monks will do, is only eat rice soup. I mean really watery, watery rice soup, or, they’ll stop eating all together, and fast. And this is the fastest way to get over these kind of things. In this country, that is not practiced. (Laughs) So, as a result, a lot of people, they get a cold, and it’ll last for two weeks. But when you fast, then all of the enzymes that go into digesting your stomach, after a day and a half, they start going through your system, and it starts attacking all of the toxins and that sort of thing, and that’s one of the reasons why fasts make people feel better, because of the enzymes going through their system. But first these enzymes start attacking bacteria and viruses that aren’t supposed to be there, so that’s why it helps to overcome colds.

When I first got to Washington, D.C., I was staying with a lady in Missouri, and she had had this flu of some sort, and she had it for two months. And she just flat wouldn’t take care of her body, and then she’d collapse every now and then, I mean every third or fourth day she’d be up doing and working and all of this and then all of a sudden she didn’t have any more energy and she would stop. Now, as it turns out, I got that, from her, and I had to go to Washington, D.C., and because I couldn’t just relax and do nothing, I wound up getting that cold pretty heavily, the flu. So as soon as I got to Washington, D.C., which is about three days later, what I did was just started taking vitamin C, and echanasia, and sleep, and rest, and in three days, it was over. So, when we’re talking about not eating at night, and you remain healthy actually, if you do that, your body stays nicely healthy and you’re not so prone to colds and that sort of thing.

U Silinanda used to like to tell people that he fasted eighteen hours a day, but it’s every day. When I first started taking care of him, I couldn’t believe the amount of rice I saw one person eat. I’d never been around, you know, you always had a little dab of rice and that was it, and he had a bowl full, and he ate that every day, that was . . . he ate some curries, something to put on it, but mostly it was rice.

Anyway

MN: Repeats {. Come, friends, abstain from eating at night. By so doing, you too will be free from illness and affliction, and you will enjoy health, strength, and a comfortable abiding."}

When this was said, the bhikkhus Assaji and Punabbasuka told those bhikkhus: "Friends, we eat in the evening, in the morning, and in the day outside the proper time. By so doing, we are free from illness and affliction, and we enjoy health, strength, and a comfortable abiding. Why should we abandon [a benefit] visible here and now to pursue [a benefit to be achieved] at a future time? We shall eat in the evening, in the morning, and in the day outside the proper time."

5. Since the bhikkhus were unable to convince the bhikkhus Assaji and Punabbasuka, they went to the Blessed One. After paying homage to him, they sat down at one side and told him all that had occurred, adding: "Venerable sir, since we were unable to convince the bhikkhus Assaji and Punabbasuka, we have reported this matter to the Blessed One."

6. Then the Blessed One addressed a certain bhikkhu thus: "Come, bhikkhu, tell the bhikkhus Assaji and Punabbasuka in my name that the Teacher calls them."

"Yes, venerable sir," he replied, and he went to the bhikkhus Assaji and Punabbasuka and told them: "The Teacher calls you, friends."

"Yes, friend," they replied, and they went to the Blessed One, and after paying homage to him, sat down at one side. The Blessed One then said: "Bhikkhus, is it true that when a number of bhikkhus went and told you: 'Friends, the Blessed One and the Sangha now abstain from eating at night. Come, friends, abstain from eating at night,' you told those bhikkhus: 'Friends, we eat in the evening. Why should we abandon [a benefit] visible here and now to pursue [a benefit to be achieved] at a future time? We shall eat in the evening, in the morning, and in the day outside the proper time'?"—"Yes, venerable sir."

"Bhikkhus, have you known me to teach the Dhamma in such a way as this: 'Whatever this person experiences, whether pleasant or painful or neither-painful-nor-pleasant, unwholesome states diminish in him and wholesome states increase'?"— "No, venerable sir."

7. "Bhikkhus, have you not known me to teach the Dhamma in such a way as this: 'Here, when someone feels a certain kind of pleasant feeling, unwholesome states increase in him and wholesome states diminish; but when someone feels another kind of pleasant feeling, unwholesome states diminish in him and wholesome states increase. Here, when someone feels a certain kind of painful feeling, unwholesome states increase in him and wholesome states diminish; but when someone feels another kind of painful feeling, unwholesome states diminish in him and wholesome states increase. Here, when someone feels a certain kind of neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling, unwholesome states increase in him and wholesome states diminish; but when someone feels another kind of neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling, unwholesome states diminish in him and wholesome states increase'?"—"Yes, venerable sir."

8. "Good, bhikkhus. And if it were unknown by me, unseen, unfound, unrealised, uncontacted by wisdom thus: 'Here, when someone feels a certain kind of pleasant feeling, unwholesome states increase in him and wholesome states diminish,' would it be fitting for me, not knowing that, to say: 'Abandon such a kind of pleasant feeling'?"—"No, venerable sir."

"But because it is known by me, seen, found, realised, contacted by wisdom thus: 'Here, when someone feels a certain kind of pleasant feeling, unwholesome states increase in him and wholesome states diminish,' that I therefore say: 'Abandon such a kind of pleasant feeling.'

BV: This is talking about sensual pleasures.

MN: "If it were unknown by me, unseen, unfound, unrealised, uncontacted by wisdom thus: 'Here, when someone feels another kind of pleasant feeling, unwholesome states diminish in him and wholesome states increase,' would it be fitting for me, not knowing that, to say: 'Enter upon and abide in such a kind of pleasant feeling'?"—"No, venerable sir."

"But because it is known by me, seen, found, realised, contacted by wisdom thus: 'Here, when someone feels another kind of pleasant feeling, unwholesome states diminish in him and wholesome states increase,' that I therefore say: 'Enter upon and abide in such a kind of pleasant feeling.'

BV: Joy, happiness, equanimity, those kind of things.

MN: 9. "If it were unknown by me...But because it is known by me...contacted by wisdom thus: 'Here, when someone feels a certain kind of painful feeling, unwholesome states increase in him and wholesome states diminish that I therefore say: 'Abandon such a kind of painful feeling.'

"If it were unknown by me . . . But because it is known by me . . . contacted by wisdom thus: 'Here, when someone feels another kind of painful feeling, unwholesome states diminish in him and wholesome states increase,’ that I therefore say: 'Enter upon and abide in such a kind of painful feeling.'

10. "If it were unknown by me...But because it is known by me...contacted by wisdom thus: 'Here, when someone feels a certain kind of neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling, unwholesome states increase in him and wholesome states diminish,’ that I therefore say: 'Abandon such a kind of neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling.'

BV: That’s indifference.

MN: "If it were unknown by me . . . But because it is known by me contacted by wisdom thus: 'Here, when someone feels another kind of neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling, unwholesome states diminish in him and wholesome states increase,’

BV: Equanimity.

MN: that I therefore say: 'Enter upon and abide in such a kind of neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling.'

11. "Bhikkhus, I do not say of all bhikkhus that they still have work to do with diligence; nor do I say of all bhikkhus that they have no more work to do with diligence.

12. "I do not say of those bhikkhus who are arahants with taints destroyed, who have lived the holy life, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, reached the true goal, destroyed the fetters of being, and are completely liberated through final knowledge, that they still have work to do with diligence.

BV: He’s talking about an arahat that has experienced the fruition.

MN: Why is that? They have done their work with diligence; they are no more capable of being negligent.

13. "I say of such bhikkhus who are in higher training, whose minds have not yet reached the goal, and who are still aspiring to the supreme security from bondage, that they still have work to do with diligence. Why is that? Because when those venerable ones make use of suitable resting places and associate with good friends and balance their spiritual faculties, they may by realising for themselves with direct knowledge here and now enter upon and abide in that supreme goal of the holy life for the sake of which clansmen rightly go forth from the home life into homelessness. Seeing this fruit of diligence for these bhikkhus, I say that they still have work to do with diligence.

BV: Now, this includes somebody that has the path of arahatship, but not the fruition. If you don’t have the fruition of whatever stage you’re at, then there is no real personality change. There is no cessation of the fetters. There still are taints. This is something that it’s caused an awful lot of confusion among the Theravadian monks, because of the abhidhamma and saying that one part of a javana moment you’re this kind of thing, and the next part of the javana moment, that’s the fruition. And this has also come to be somewhat of a problem because they’re talking about an experience that of attaining nibbana that is not described in the books as being THE experience for attaining nibbana. It’s described in the commentary, as being the way to attain nibbana, and that’s why there’s such a stress on seeing and realizing: anicca, dukkha, and anatta. There’s not a lot of stress on seeing Dependent Origination, and recognizing it, and having that be the experience that you have as the last part of the path before you attain nibbana.

S: ~ commentary ~ ?

BV: Yes. See, Mahasi Sayadaw in his book "The Progress of Insight", he talks about all of the insights that you have, and when he’s talking about the twelfth insight, that is the experience of nibbana. The eleventh insight, the last part of the eleventh insight is seeing anicca three or four times very quickly, and then you have the cessation feeling, or it’s dukkha three or four times, or it’s anatta three or four times, but it’s never seeing Dependent Origination.

Could you get me from Khema the "Samyutta Nikāya" ? And I’ll show you.

Ok, this is number thirteen, "Ascetics and Brahmins" .

SN: II. The Book of Causation (Nidāavagga)
        12. Nidānasaṃyutta
          Part II - Nidānavagga
           II. Nutriment
13 (3) Ascetics and Brahmins (1) {page 542}

At Sāvatthi, "Bhikkhus, those ascetics or brahmins who do not understand aging-and-death, its origin, its cessation, and the way leading to its cessation;

BV: Now that was just the Four Noble Truths that I told you.

SN: who do not understand birth … [habitual tendency] …clinging … craving … feeling … contact … the six sense bases … name-and-form … consciousness … volitional formations, their origin, their cessation, and the way leading to their cessation:

BV: Now notice that we didn’t go to ignorance on this, because you’re getting rid of the ignorance by seeing the Four Noble Truths in each one of these links.

SN: these I do not consider to be ascetics among ascetics or brahmins among brahmins, and these venerable ones do not, by realizing it for themselves with direct knowledge, in this very life enter and dwell in the goal of asceticism or the goal of brahminhood.

BV: That means nibbana.

SN: "But bhikkhus, those ascetics and brahmins who understand aging-and-death, its origin, its cessation, and the way leading to its cessation; who understand birth … volitional formations, their origin, their cessation, and the way leading to their cessation: these I consider to be ascetics among ascetics and brahmins among brahmins, and these venerable ones, by realizing it for themselves with direct knowledge , in this very life enter and dwell in the goal of asceticism and the goal of brahminhood."

BV: That says right there, you got to be able to see Dependent Origination and all of the links, or you don’t attain nibbana. But that’s not the way the venerable Mahasi Sayadaw taught that, because of the Visuddhimagga, because of the lack of understanding that Buddhaghosa had at that time.

(Returns to reading MN 70)

MN: 14. "Bhikkhus, there are seven kinds of persons to be found existing in the world. What seven? They are: one liberated-in-both ways,

BV: "Liberated-in-both ways", it means that they have become an arahat, by going through all of the rūpa jhānas and the arūpa jhānas – liberated in both ways.

MN: one liberated-by-wisdom,

BV: You can have the experience of nibbana by going through the first four jhānas and then the tevijjā, like I was talking about last night, seeing past life times, seeing the passing away and arising of beings, seeing Dependent Origination. This is called "liberated-by-wisdom".

MN: a body-witness,

BV: A body-witness is somebody that is an anāgāmī, and they may or may not have the attainment of fruition by what it’s talking about here, but it’s just the experience of being an anāgāmī.

MN: one attained-to-view,

BV: This is a person who has become a sakadāgāmī. They’ve attained to this stage by changing their view of how Dependent Origination works, by seeing it clearly in their own mind while they’re listening to a Dhamma talk.

MN: one liberated-by-faith,

BV: Now this is a sotāpanna that has such strong faith that they will automatically, on hearing the Dhamma, their mind will open up and they become a sotāpanna. Doesn’t have anything to do with the actual practice of meditation.

MN: a Dhamma-follower,

BV: This is a person who practices meditation, but their maturity in seeing Dependent Origination is not very strong.

MN: and a faith-follower.

BV: The Dhamma follower and the faith follower are people who have the experience of the path, without having the experience of the fruition.

See how it gets interesting? (Laughs)

BV: So they’re talking about going, just like Sāriputta and Moggallāna both, they went through all of the jhānas and their taints were destroyed by seeing Dependent Origination.

MN: This kind of person is called one liberated-in-both-ways. I do not say of such a bhikkhu that he still has work to do with diligence. Why is that? He has done his work with diligence; he is no more capable of being negligent.

BV: So he’s talking about not only having the path knowledge, but having the fruition knowledge, and that’s one of the things that happened to those guys back then. It happened, pretty, I mean, Ᾱnanda was in, he became an arahat when he wasn’t in one of the four positions – standing, sitting, walking, lying down. He was in between sitting and lying down, and he saw all of the links of Dependent Origination, saw them all again, four times, got the fruition before his head hit the pillow. (Laughs) So that gives you an idea how fast that can occur.

MN: 16. "What kind of person is one liberated-by-wisdom? Here some person does not contact with the body and abide in those liberations that are peaceful and immaterial, transcending forms, but his taints are destroyed by his seeing with wisdom. This kind of person is called one liberated-by-wisdom.

BV: Now this can happen to anyone doing meditation, if they’re in any one of the jhānas, even in the first jhāna. The cessation can arise and then you see the Dependent Origination, and they’re talking here about also having the fruition, so that it’s called liberated-by-wisdom.

MN: I do not say of such a bhikkhu that he still has work to do with diligence. Why is that? He has done his work with diligence; he is no more capable of being negligent.

BV: Think about what it would be like to have a mind that is utterly pure, all the time. You never even had the inclination of having lust or hatred arise in your mind ever again. You never got any headaches, you never had any craving and wanting and liking this and disliking that, your mind would be like a blank computer. There wouldn’t be any preconditions any more. Nice! (Laughs)

MN: 17. "What kind of person is a body-witness? Here some person contacts with the body and abides in those liberations that are peaceful and immaterial, transcending forms, and some of his taints are destroyed by his seeing with wisdom. This kind of person is called a body-witness. I say of such a bhikkhu that he still has work to do with diligence.

BV: Now this can be any one of the lower stages, quite honest, but generally speaking, it’s talking about anāgāmī, but it can be sakadāgāmī, and it can be sotāpanna, too, they can be called body-witness. As long as they have all of the jhānas, and all of the immaterial jhānas, so they have to have all of the rūpa and arūpa jhānas.

MN: {Why is that?} Because when that venerable one makes use of suitable resting places and associates with good friends and balances his spiritual faculties, he may by realising for himself with direct knowledge here and now enter upon and abide in that supreme goal of the holy life for the sake of which clansmen rightly go forth from the home life into homelessness. Seeing this fruit of diligence for such a bhikkhu, I say that he still has work to do with diligence.

18. "What kind of person is one attained-to-view? Here some person does not contact with the body and abide in those liberations that are peaceful and immaterial, transcending forms, but some of his taints are destroyed by his seeing with wisdom, and he has reviewed and examined with wisdom the teachings proclaimed by the Tathāgata. This kind of person is called one attained-to-view.

BV: So they can have, the first four jhānas, but not any of the immaterial jhānas, and they can still experience the nibbana, the path knowledge, but they will reflect quite often on how the Dependent Origination works, and this is where we’re talking about, in the other sutta, that one o five, "The Sunakkhatta Sutta", about, you can’t just get sloppy with your practice now. You have to keep going with your practice, you have to not indulge in your sensual pleasures, you have to start seeing them for what they are, because, you’re purifying your mind, every time you let go of the sensual pleasure. Every time you back away from that craving and clinging, and this purifies you mind more and more as you’re going along. So it’s developing that habit of being able to recognize when mind tends towards one of the sense doors, and to let that go and relax, as soon as the feeling arises, either painful or pleasant or neither-painful-nor-pleasant. As you’re able to relax right then, then the craving and clinging don’t arise. If there’s no craving and clinging, there is no emotional response. There is equanimity.

MN: I say of such a bhikkhu that he still has work to do with diligence. Why is that? Because when that venerable one...into homelessness. Seeing this fruit of diligence for such a bhikkhu, I say that he still has work to do with diligence.

19. "What kind of person is one liberated-by-faith? Here some person does not contact with the body and abide in those liberations that are peaceful and immaterial, transcending forms, but some of his taints are destroyed by his seeing with wisdom, and his faith is planted, rooted, and established in the Tathāgata. This kind of person is called one liberated-by-faith.

BV: And it’s not so much faith in the Tathāgata, as it is the faith in the teaching, coming from the Tathāgata, and realizing that: "Hey, this stuff is real." That’s a really big: "Oh wow!" when that happens.

MN: I say of such a bhikkhu that he still has work to do with diligence. Why is that? Because when that venerable one ...into homelessness. Seeing this fruit of diligence for such a bhikkhu, I say that he still has work to do with diligence.

20. "What kind of person is a Dhamma-follower? Here some person does not contact with the body and abide in those liberations that are peaceful and immaterial, transcending forms, and his taints are not yet destroyed by his seeing with wisdom, but those teachings proclaimed by the Tathāgata are accepted by him after reflecting on them sufficiently with wisdom. Furthermore, he has these qualities: the faith faculty, the energy faculty, the mindfulness faculty, the [collectedness] faculty, and the wisdom faculty. This kind of person is called a Dhamma-follower. I say of such a bhikkhu that he still has work to do with diligence. Why is that? Because when that venerable one...into homelessness. Seeing this fruit of diligence for such a bhikkhu, I say that he still has work to do with diligence.

21. "What kind of person is a faith-follower? Here some person does not contact with the body and abide in those liberations that are peaceful and immaterial, transcending forms, and his taints are not yet destroyed by his seeing with wisdom, yet he has sufficient faith in and love for the Tathāgata. Furthermore, he has these qualities: the faith faculty, the energy faculty, the mindfulness faculty, the [collectedness] faculty, and the wisdom faculty. This kind of person is called a faith-follower. I say of such a bhikkhu that he still has work to do with diligence. Why is that? Because when that venerable one makes use of suitable resting places and associates with good friends and balances his spiritual faculties, he may by realising for himself with direct knowledge here and now enter upon and abide in that supreme goal of the holy life for the sake of which clansmen rightly go forth from the home life into homelessness. Seeing this fruit of diligence for such a bhikkhu, I say that he still has work to do with diligence.

22. "Bhikkhus, I do not say that final knowledge is achieved all at once.

BV: BINGO!

MN: On the contrary, final knowledge is achieved by gradual training, by gradual practice, by gradual progress.

23. "And how is final knowledge achieved by gradual training, gradual practice, gradual progress? Here one who has faith [in a teacher] visits him; when he visits him, he pays respect to him; when he pays respect to him, he gives ear; one who gives ear hears the Dhamma; having heard the Dhamma, he memorises it; he examines the meaning of the teachings he has memorised; when he examines their meaning, he gains a reflective acceptance of those teachings; when he has gained a reflective acceptance of those teachings, [enthusiasm] springs up in him; when [enthusiasm] has sprung up, he applies his will; having applied his will, he scrutinises; having scrutinised, he strives; resolutely striving, he realises with the body the supreme truth and sees it by penetrating it with wisdom.

24. "There has not been that faith, bhikkhus, and there has not been that visiting, and there has not been that paying of respect, and there has not been that giving ear, and there has not been that hearing of the Dhamma, and there has not been that memorising of the Dhamma, and there has not been that examination of the meaning, and there has not been that reflective acceptance of the teachings, and there has not been that [enthusiasm], and there has not been that application of will, and there has not been that scrutiny, and there has not been that striving. Bhikkhus, you have lost your way; bhikkhus, you have been practising the wrong way. How far you have strayed, misguided men, from this Dhamma and Discipline!

BV: Long, long way.

MN: 25. "Bhikkhus, there is a four-phrased statement, and when it is recited a wise man would quickly understand it.'" I shall recite it to you, bhikkhus. Try to understand it."

"Venerable sir, who are we that we should understand the Dhamma?"

26. "Bhikkhus, even with a teacher who is concerned with material things, an heir to material things, attached to material things, such haggling [by his disciples] would not be proper: 'If we get this, we will do it; if we don't get this, we won't do it'; so what [should be said when the teacher is] the Tathāgata, who is utterly detached from material things?

27. "Bhikkhus, for a faithful disciple who is intent on fathoming the Teacher's Dispensation, it is proper that he conduct himself thus: 'The Blessed One is the Teacher, I am a disciple; the Blessed One knows, I do not know.' For a faithful disciple who is intent on fathoming the Teacher's Dispensation, the Teacher's Dispensation is nourishing and refreshing. For a faithful disciple who is intent on fathoming the Teacher's Dispensation, it is proper that he conduct himself thus: 'Willingly, let only my skin, sinews, and bones remain, and let the flesh and blood dry up on my body, but my energy shall not be relaxed so long as I have not attained what can be attained by manly strength, manly energy, and manly persistence.' For a faithful disciple who is intent on fathoming the Teacher's Dispensation, one of two fruits may be expected: either final knowledge here and now or, if there is a trace of clinging left, non-return."

That is what the Blessed One said. The bhikkhus were satisfied and delighted in the Blessed One's words.

BV: Now what he’s basically saying is, you practice meditation, and you go through the gradual, progress and practice and all of that, you can expect one of two things to happen in your lifetime, but it takes a serious amount of, discipline, and training. You will either become an anāgāmi here and now, or, an arahat, and that’s what he’s saying, that’s what he says in the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta too. It takes a very strong willingness, to see exactly how Dependent Origination works, and let go of a lot of our old habitual tendencies that we’ve been doing for our whole life, or lifetimes as the case may be. We have to be able, and desire, to purify. If you don’t have that desire to purify your mind and it has to be a serious desire, then, your progress in the practice is going to be almost non-existent. It will be there little bit, by little bit, by little bit but it’s never going to really take hold. It takes a strong determination to set your mind towards that liberation. And letting go of the old ways of doing things, and starting to see as clearly as possible when that craving, begins to come up. See that feeling when it comes up and relax and then, WATCH how pure your mind is right after that. And it’s amazing. That space, after you relax, is, pure mind, is what the Mahayana really get off on talking about the Buddha mind. That’s what it is.

I had a teacher, that, he was a talker, and he always waited until, we got done with our noon day meal, and then he would start talking, We didn’t get a chance to go to the bathroom, we didn’t get a chance to clean our bowl, we sat there and listened to him talk. And he would talk for four or five hours, and we couldn’t get up and stretch; we couldn’t move; sit there. And one of the thing, he was great on platitudes, and he was great on repeating himself. And one of the things he said, probably a hundred times in that four or five hour period was: "A thousand Buddhas exist, in one pure thought moment." Boy, did I get tired of hearing that! (Laughs) But the point being, when you let go of the craving, you have that pure thought moment, and you are experiencing, the experience of cessation, at that moment. It doesn’t last very long. It lasts long enough for you to bring that mind back to your object of meditation. But, why is that thought moment pure? Because there’s no identification. It’s an impersonal process and you see it exactly like it is. It’s just this process. You have to see that a whole bunch of times before you realize it. But know that every time you let go, even for that brief moment, that you are experiencing a kind of nibbana. And that nibbana leads to the final liberation, here and now. But the whole thing is, the more you, seriously, go for it, don’t give in to distractions, don’t give in to the sensual desires for this or that, just doing the practice as much as you can while you’re eating, while you’re walking, while you’re going to the bathroom, the more you can do that, the faster your progress becomes. So, I’m going to suggest that you stop reading all together right now, and just do the practice as much as you can, and I think we want to cut down on the amount of speaking during the meal, and that will help your progress too, because you get a chance to see that a little bit more clearly. Ok.

OK, Let’s share some merit then.

May suffering ones, be suffering free

And the fear struck, fearless be

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 . . .

Sutta translations (C) Bhikkhu Bodhi 1995, 2001. All sections of the suttas are Reprinted from The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya or © Bhikkhu Bodhi 2000, The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A translation of the Samyutta Nikaya with permission of Wisdom Publications, 199 Elm Street, Somerville, MA 02144 U.S.A, www.wisdompubs.org

Text last edited: 19-Jul-07