BV: … actually a rather long discourse. It's probably going to be in two parts.

MN:
1. THUS HAVE I HEARD. On one occasion the Blessed One was living at Rājagaha in the Bamboo Grove, the Squirrels’ Sanctuary.

BV: I bet that was a real joy to live there. These squirrels everywhere and getting into things, and oh boy great fun.

MN:
2. Now on that occasion a number of well-known wanderers were staying at the Peacocks' Sanctuary, the wanderers' park— that is, Annabhāra, Varadhara, and the wanderer Sakuludāyin, as well as other well-known wanderers.

BV: Just well known wanderers. They give these names and I don't really see it as necessary.

MN:
3. Then, when it was morning, the Blessed One dressed, and taking his bowl and outer robe, went into Rājagaha for alms. Then he thought: "It is still too early to wander for alms in Rājagaha. Suppose I went to the wanderer Sakuludāyin in the Peacocks' Sanctuary, the wanderers' park."
4. Then the Blessed One went to the Peacocks' Sanctuary, the wanderers' park. Now on that occasion the wanderer Sakuludāyin was seated with a large assembly of wanderers who were making an uproar, loudly and noisily talking many kinds of pointless talk, such as talk of kings, robbers, ministers, armies, dangers, battles, food, drink, clothing, beds, garlands, perfumes, relatives, vehicles, villages, towns, cities, countries, women, heroes, streets, wells, the dead, trifles, the origin of the world, the origin of the sea, [2] whether things are so or are not so. Then the wanderer Sakuludāyin saw the Blessed One coming in the distance. Seeing him, he quieted his own assembly thus: "Sirs, be quiet; sirs, make no noise. Here comes the recluse Gotama. This venerable one likes quiet and commends quiet. Perhaps if he finds our assembly a quiet one, he will think to join us." Then the wanderers became silent.

BV: Depending on the country that you're in, you can be in monasteries where monks are talking (loudly) very loudly and they talk like this all the time. (whispering) Drives me crazy. And sometimes you have to share sleeping quarters with three or four monks and they get together and they start talking like that. And it's kind of rude to be a visiting monk and walk up to them and say "Actually, I'm trying to study and if you could talk a little bit quieter, that would be of benefit". But I had to do it and it was a difficult thing. But they just get used to speaking in that way and don't even notice that they're doing that.

MN:
5. The Blessed One went to the wanderer Sakuludāyin, who said to him: "Let the Blessed One come, venerable sir! Welcome to the Blessed One! It is long since the Blessed One found an opportunity to come here. Let the Blessed One be seated; this seat is ready."
The Blessed One sat down on the seat made ready, and the wanderer Sakuludāyin took a low seat and sat down at one side.

BV: Now, that's kind of important thing if he would have taken a seat that was the same level, he would have said that my wisdom is the same as yours and we're equals. But when he took a lower seat he acknowledged the Buddha as the teacher.

MN:
When he had done so, the Blessed One asked him: "For what discussion are you sitting together here now, Udāyin? And what was your discussion that was interrupted?"

BV: They don't want to talk about that, really.

TT: 4:57

MN:
6. "Venerable sir, let be the discussion for which we are now sitting together here. The Blessed One can well hear about it later. In recent days, venerable sir, when recluses and brahmins of various sects have been gathering together and sitting together in the debating hall, this topic has arisen: 'It is a gain for the people of Anga and Magadha, it is a great gain for the people of Anga and Magadha that these recluses and brahmins, heads of orders, heads of groups, teachers of groups, well-known and famous founders of sects regarded by many as saints, have come to spend the Rains at Rājagaha. There is this Pūraṇa Kassapa, the head of an order, the head of a group, the teacher of a group, the well-known and famous founder of a sect regarded by many as a saint: he has come to spend the Rains at Rājagaha. There is also this Makkhali Gosāla...this Ajita

BV: I'm not going to go through all these names. I hate them. And the…

MN:
Kesakambalin...this Pakudha Kaccāyana...this Sañjaya Belaṭṭhiputta...this Nigaṇṭha Nataputta,

BV: He's the head of the Jain order and he is still very highly thought of now.

MN:
the head of an order, the head of a group, the teacher of a group, [3] the well-known and famous founder of a sect regarded by many as a saint: he too has come to spend the Rains at Rājagaha. There is also this recluse Gotama, the head of an order, the head of a group, the teacher of a group, the well-known and famous founder of a sect regarded by many as a saint: he too has come to spend the Rains at Rājagaha. Now among these worthy recluses and brahmins, heads of orders...regarded by many as saints, who is honoured, respected, revered, and venerated by his disciples? And how, honouring and respecting him, do they live in dependence on him?'
"Thereupon some said

BV: … these different people …

MN: {'This Pūraṇa Kassapa is the head of an order…} regarded by many as a saint, yet he is not honoured, respected, revered, and venerated by his disciples, nor do his disciples live in dependence on him, honouring and respecting him. Once Pūraṇa Kassapa was teaching his Dhamma to an assembly of several hundred followers. Then a certain disciple of his made a noise thus: "Sirs, do not ask Pūraṇa Kassapa this question. He does not know that. We know that. Ask us that question. We will answer that for you, sirs." It happened that Pūraṇa Kassapa did not get his way, though he waved his arms and wailed: "Be quiet, sirs, make no noise, sirs. They are not asking you, sirs. They are asking us. We will answer them." Indeed, many of his disciples left him after refuting his doctrine thus: "You do not understand this Dhamma and Discipline. I Understand this Dhamma and Discipline. How could you Understand this Dhamma and Discipline? Your way is wrong. My way is right. I am consistent. You are inconsistent. What should have been said first, you said last. What should have been said last, you said first. What you had so carefully thought up has been turned inside out. Your doctrine is refuted. You are proved wrong. Go and learn better, or disentangle yourself if you can!" Thus Pūraṇa Kassapa is not honoured, respected, revered, and venerated by his disciples, nor do his disciples live in dependence on him, honouring and respecting him. Indeed, he is scorned by the scorn shown to his Dhamma.' [4]

TT: 10:07

BV: That's really ballsy to do something like that. And so it was said and they go through all of the other teachers including the Nigaṇṭha Nātaputta.

MN:
{"And some said this: 'This Makkhali Gosālathis Ajita Kesakambalinthis Pakudha Kaccāyanathis Sañjaya Belaṭṭhiputtathis Nigaṇṭha Nātaputta is the head of an order}…[but he] is not honoured, respected, revered, and venerated by his disciples, nor do his disciples live in dependence on him, honouring and respecting him. Indeed, he is scorned by the scorn shown to his Dhamma.'
"And some said this: 'This recluse Gotama is the head of an order, the head of a group, the teacher of a group, the well-known and famous founder of a sect regarded by many as a saint. He is honoured, respected, revered, and venerated by his disciples, and his disciples live in dependence on him, honouring and respecting him. Once the recluse Gotama was teaching his Dhamma to an assembly of several hundred followers and there a certain disciple of his cleared his throat. Thereupon one of his companions in the holy life nudged him with his knee [to indicate]: [5] "Be quiet, venerable sir, make no noise; the Blessed One, the Teacher, is teaching us the Dhamma." When the recluse Gotama is teaching the Dhamma to an assembly of several hundred followers, on that occasion there is no sound of his disciples' coughing or clearing their throats. For then that large assembly is poised in expectancy: "Let us hear the Dhamma the Blessed One is about to teach." Just as though a man were at a crossroads pressing out pure honey and a large group of people were poised in expectancy, so too, when the recluse Gotama is teaching the Dhamma to an assembly of several hundred followers, on that occasion there is no sound of his disciples' coughing or clearing their throats. For then that large assembly is poised in expectancy: "Let us hear the Dhamma the Blessed One is about to teach." And even those disciples of his who fall out with their companions in the holy life and abandon the training to return to the low life—even they praise the Master and the Dhamma and the Sangha; they blame themselves instead of others, saying: "We were unlucky, we have little merit; for though we went forth into homelessness in such a well-proclaimed Dhamma, we were unable to live the perfect and pure holy life for the rest of our lives." Having become monastery attendants or lay followers, they undertake and observe the five precepts. Thus the recluse Gotama is honoured, respected, revered, and venerated by his disciples, and his disciples live in dependence on him, honouring and respecting him.'"

BV: Nice, huh?

MN:
7. "But, Udāyin, how many qualities do you see in me because of which my disciples honour, respect, revere, and venerate me, and live in dependence on me, honouring and respecting me?"
8. "Venerable sir, I see five qualities in the Blessed One because of which his disciples honour, respect, revere, and venerate him, and live in dependence on him, honouring and respecting him. What are the five? First, venerable sir, the Blessed One eats little and commends eating little; this I see as the first quality of the Blessed One because of which his disciples honour, respect, revere, and venerate him, and live in dependence on him, honouring and respecting him. [6] Again, venerable sir, the Blessed One is content with any kind of robe and commends contentment with any kind of robe; this I see as the second quality of the Blessed One...Again, venerable sir, the Blessed One is content with any kind of almsfood and commends contentment with any kind of almsfood; this I see as the third quality of the Blessed One...Again, venerable sir, the Blessed One is content with any kind of resting place and commends contentment with any kind of resting place; this I see as the fourth quality of the Blessed One...Again, venerable sir, the Blessed One is secluded and commends seclusion; this I see as the fifth quality of the Blessed One...Venerable sir, these are the five qualities I see in the Blessed One because of which his disciples honour, respect, revere, and venerate him, and live in dependence on him, honouring and respecting him."
9. "Suppose, Udāyin, my disciples honoured, respected, revered, and venerated me, and lived in dependence on me, honouring and respecting me, with the thought: 'The recluse Gotama eats little and commends eating little.' Now there are disciples of mine who live on a cupful or half a cupful of food, a bilva fruit's or half a bilva fruit's quantity of food, [7] while I sometimes eat the full contents of my almsbowl or even more.

TT:16:31

BV: That's a big bowl that holds lot of food.

MN:
So if my disciples honoured me...with the thought: 'The recluse Gotama eats little and commends eating little,’ then those disciples of mine who live on a cupful of food...should not honour, respect, revere, and venerate me for this quality, nor should they live in dependence on me, honouring and respecting me.

BV: The Buddha would sometimes eat a very large quantity of food so that the person offering the food would make more merit. So he's doing it out of compassion. He wasn't doing it because his tongue wanted it or his stomach really wanted that much.

MN:
"Suppose, Udāyin, my disciples honoured, respected, revered, and venerated me, and lived in dependence on me, honouring and respecting me, with the thought: 'The recluse Gotama is content with any kind of robe and commends contentment with any kind of robe.' Now there are disciples of mine who are refuse-rag wearers, wearers of coarse robes; they collect rags from the charnel ground, rubbish heaps, or shops, make them into patched robes, and wear them. But I sometimes wear robes given by householders, robes so fine that pumpkin hair is coarse in comparison. So if my disciples honoured me with the thought: The recluse Gotama is content with any kind of robe and commends contentment with any kind of robe,’ then those disciples of mine who are refuse-rag wearers, wearers of coarse robes should not honour, respect, revere, and venerate me for this quality, nor should they live in dependence on me, honouring and respecting me.
"Suppose, Udāyin, my disciples honoured, respected, revered, and venerated me, and lived in dependence on me, honouring and respecting me, with the thought: 'The recluse Gotama is content with any kind of almsfood and commends contentment with any kind of almsfood.' Now there are disciples of mine who are almsfood eaters, who go on unbroken almsround from house to house, who delight in gathering their food; when they have entered among the houses they will not consent even when invited to sit down. But I sometimes eat on invitation meals of choice rice [8] and many sauces and curries. So if my disciples honoured me…with the thought: The recluse Gotama is content with any kind of almsfood and commends contentment with any kind of almsfood,' then those disciples of mine who are almsfood eaters…should not honour, respect, revere, and venerate me for this quality, nor should they live in dependence on me, honouring and respecting me.

TT: 20:50

BV: Sometimes when we get invited for meals I've told you that in Malaysia I would be the only monk that they offered a meal to, and there might be forty or fifty different families that are offering the meal and every family has there own dish, at least one. And they put in on a table and they offer the whole table and it's so much food that it intimidates me and I don't eat very much. It's just huge quantities of food. Of course they eat it after I'm done, but that doesn't matter. I mean it's just they offered it to the sangha, and it is some of the best and finest food in the world, mostly because when they're making the food they're making it with love.
There was a time when I was at one monastery and I couldn't go out on alms round. It was in Malaysia and the Muslims really don't like that. They come along and spit in your bowl and things like that, they really don't like it. So we don't go on alms round so there's families that get together and they say on every Monday I'm going to fix you food, every Tuesday, like that. There was one family that they weren't particularly wild about the idea of doing this. They always gave good quality food, but they fixed it without that love and happiness; upset my stomach three times. Every time I ate their food, I couldn't eat the food that they were preparing because they weren't preparing it in the right way. And I had to do something about it, so I got another family to come in, in addition. And it wasn't for the quantity of food, it was just for the quality of the food that they were offering. They weren't fixing it with love. It's just like a rock going in your stomach. If you eat that kind of food very often… And think about MacDonald's or any fast food place, they're there just to make money. They're not there to prepare good food, so they don't. Why do I not want to go to a fast food restaurant? (laughs) Ok, we got through with the alms food.

MN:
"Suppose, Udāyin, my disciples honoured, respected, revered, and venerated me, and lived in dependence on me, honouring and respecting me, with the thought: The recluse Gotama is content with any kind of resting place and commends contentment with any kind of resting place.' Now there are disciples of mine who are tree-root dwellers

BV: That means they literally live at the root of a tree.

MN:
and open-air dwellers,

BV: And that means they don't even use the shade of a tree, and they use their robe for their cover.

MN:
who do not use a roof for eight months [of the year],

BV: Of course, in the Rains retreat they gotta go inside.

MN:
while I sometimes live in gabled mansions plastered within and without, protected against the wind, secured by door bolts, with shuttered windows. So if my disciples honoured me…with the thought: The recluse Gotama is content with any kind of resting place and commends contentment with any kind of resting place,' then those disciples of mine who are tree-root dwellers and open-air dwellers…should not honour, respect, revere, and venerate me for this quality, nor should they live in dependence on me, honouring and respecting me.
"Suppose, Udāyin, my disciples honoured, respected, revered, and venerated me, and lived in dependence on me, honouring and respecting me, with the thought: The recluse Gotama is secluded and commends seclusion.' Now there are disciples of mine who are forest dwellers, dwellers in remote resting places, who live withdrawn in remote jungle-thicket resting places and return to the midst of the Sangha once each half-month for the recitation of the Patimokkha.

TT: 25:41

BV: They still go out on alms round, even living in remote places, but they don't talk.

MN:
But I sometimes live surrounded by bhikkhus and bhikkhunis, by men and women lay followers, by kings and kings' ministers, by other sectarians and their disciples. So if my disciples honoured me…with the thought: The recluse Gotama is secluded and commends seclusion,' [9] then those disciples of mine who are forest dwellers…should not honour, respect, revere, and venerate me for this quality, nor should they live in dependence on me, honouring and respecting me. Thus, Udāyin, it is not because of these five qualities that my disciples honour, respect, revere, and venerate me, and live in dependence on me, honouring and respecting me.
10. "However, Udāyin, there are five other qualities because of which my disciples honour, respect, revere, and venerate me, and live in dependence on me, honouring and respecting me. What are the five?

(I. THE HIGHER VIRTUE)

11. "Here, Udāyin, my disciples esteem me for the higher virtue thus: The recluse Gotama is virtuous, he possesses the supreme aggregate of virtue.' This is the first quality because of which my disciples honour, respect, revere, and venerate me, and live in dependence on me, honouring and respecting me.

BV: When we do the chant on the Buddha and his good qualities, one of his good qualities is that he is perfect in conduct. Now think about that. That means verbal conduct, mental conduct, and bodily conduct. He's perfect.
After the Buddha was around for a little while, he wasn't taking any evening meal, he wasn't taking any morning meal, he was just eating one meal a day, and it was real hot, and they wanted to make sure that he had enough fluids. So, they started thinking "I wonder if he would drink juice in the afternoon?" So they offered it, they didn't ask him, they just put it out and he saw it and he took some. And then they questioned him on that and he said that that was allowable as long as there's no pulp in it. You know, those kind of things. And there are other aspects of that, but I don't want to talk about it right now.

MN:
(II. KNOWLEDGE AND VISION)

12. "Again, Udāyin, my disciples esteem me for my excellent knowledge and vision thus: 'When the recluse Gotama says "I know," he truly knows; when he says "I see," he truly sees. The recluse Gotama teaches the Dhamma through direct knowledge, not without direct knowledge; he teaches the Dhamma with a sound basis, not without a sound basis; he teaches the Dhamma in a convincing manner, not in an unconvincing manner.' This is the second quality because of which [10] my disciples honour me...

TT: 29:35

BV: And that's a real important thing. Now, it doesn't mean that you can't teach anybody unless you're an arahat, but it does mean that you have to have good direct experience to be able to understand what he's saying in the suttas. Both of you have gained that pretty well now. So, the whole thing is an awful lot of people they do a lot of meditation and they have direct experience, but they're not following what the suttas say. And that's a problem, it's a big problem because there's an awful lot of people that are getting pointed on the wrong path because of that. So, we go back to what it says about the Dhamma when we recite verses about the excellence of the Dhamma and it is immediately effective.
When I was doing the other practices that I was doing, I spent almost five years finding out what the meditation wasn't, through direct knowledge, before I found out what it was supposed to be. And I listened closely to the dhamma talks, and I had many, many taped dhamma talks I kept listening over and over again trying to grasp all of these little things, but that is not what I would call immediately effective. So, if your practice is not immediately effective, that means you're doing something other than following what the Buddha's teaching because what he teaches works, it works well, and it works very quickly, and you see the effects of it. Now every time you notice that you have a hindrance arise in your mind, now you've been doing this long enough you give it the 6Rs and it fades away. Now, is that immediately effective or what? Or you can do the other practice if you want and push your tongue against the roof of your mouth and crush mind with mind, but there's no fun in that.

MN:
(III. THE HIGHER WISDOM)

13. "Again, Udāyin, my disciples esteem me for the higher wisdom thus: 'The recluse Gotama is wise; he possesses the supreme aggregate of wisdom.

BV: What's that mean?

ST: You understand Dependent Origination

BV: You’ve got it, and the four noble truths. You have to throw that in too.

MN:
It is impossible that he should not foresee the future courses of doctrine or that he should not be able to confute with reasons the current doctrines of others.' What do you think, Udāyin? Would my disciples, knowing and seeing thus, break in and interrupt me?"

BV: Naw, not even close to that.

MN:
—"No, venerable sir."—"I do not expect instruction from my disciples; invariably, it is my disciples who expect instruction from me. This is the third quality because of which my disciples honour me...

(IV. THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS)

14. "Again, Udāyin, when my disciples have met with suffering and become victims of suffering, prey to suffering, they come to me and ask me about the noble truth of suffering. Being asked, I explain to them the noble truth of suffering, and I satisfy their minds with my explanation. They ask me about the noble truth of the origin of suffering...about the noble truth of the cessation of suffering...about the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering. Being asked, I explain to them the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering, and I satisfy their minds with my explanation. This is the fourth quality [11] because of which my disciples honour me...

TT: 35:03

BV: Now we go into a way to develop wholesome states…

MN:
(V. THE WAY TO DEVELOP WHOLESOME STATES)

(I. The Four Foundations of Mindfulness)

15. "Again, Udāyin, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way to develop the four foundations of mindfulness. Here a bhikkhu abides contemplating the body as a body, ardent, fully aware, and mindful, having put away covetousness and grief for the world. He abides contemplating feelings as feelings...He abides contemplating mind as mind...He abides contemplating mind-objects as mind-objects, ardent, fully aware, and mindful, having put away covetousness and grief for the world. And thereby many disciples of mine abide having reached the consummation and perfection of direct knowledge.

(2. The Four Right Kinds of Striving)

16. "Again, Udāyin, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way to develop the four right kinds of striving. Here a bhikkhu awakens zeal for the non-arising of unarisen evil unwholesome states, and he makes effort, arouses energy, exerts his mind, and strives. He awakens zeal for the abandoning of arisen evil unwholesome states...He awakens zeal for the arising of unarisen wholesome states...He awakens zeal for the continuance, non-disappearance, strengthening, increase, and fulfilment by development of arisen wholesome states, and he makes effort, arouses energy, exerts his mind, and strives. And thereby many disciples of mine abide having reached the consummation and perfection of direct knowledge.

BV: Now, what I'm getting into right now is called the thirty-seven requisites of enlightenment.

MN:
(3. The Four Bases for Spiritual Power)

17. "Again, Udāyin, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way to develop the four bases for spiritual power. Here a bhikkhu develops the basis for spiritual power consisting in concentration due to zeal and determined striving. He develops the basis for spiritual power consisting in concentration due to energy and determined striving. He develops the basis for spiritual power consisting in concentration due to [purity of] mind and determined striving.

BV: When you're staying on your object of meditation, is your mind pure?

MN:
He develops the basis for spiritual power consisting in concentration due to investigation and determined striving. And thereby many disciples of mine abide having reached the consummation and perfection of direct knowledge.

(4. The Five Faculties)

18. "Again, Udāyin, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way to develop the five spiritual faculties. Here [12] a bhikkhu develops the faculty of faith,

BV: This is a word that I would prefer wasn't in the suttas because faith has much different connotation in this country that it does in Asia. Faith here means you gotta believe, no matter what. So, I say "I have a diamond in my hand", do you believe it?

S: ~

BV: Why? Maybe I do and maybe I don't, but if I open up my hand and show you that diamond, and I close my hand again, I say "I have a diamond in my hand", do you believe it?

TT: 40:01

S: ~

BV: Why?

S: ~

BV: That's it, and that's the difference. You're gaining confidence all the time because of your experience with the meditation. And it doesn't have to do with blind faith, you gotta believe, no matter what. There's only one thing that you really need to believe when you start out with Buddhism and that is that everything happens one thing at a time. Then you get to see it.

ST: ~

BV: Well, that doesn't matter. I know you got what I was talking about. Now, they call these the five faculties, and there's one other. We could call it the six faculties, and that is before you gain confidence you have curiosity. You have this dukkha, you wanna see "What can I do to get rid of it?" That's curiosity, but that's not in the sutta, so we don't push that too hard. Ok, so...

MN
 Repeats:{ Here [12] a bhikkhu develops the faculty of faith,} which leads to peace, leads to enlightenment. He develops the faculty of energy...

BV: Once your confidence gets going you naturally have more energy [to] put into your practice. As you have more energy your mindfulness starts to improve. As your mindfulness improves your collectedness improves. Now, the Pali word for this is samādhi. Before the time of the Buddha, the word samādhi was not around. He made this word up. There was a lot of other definitions for one-pointed concentration, a lot of other words for it. But this particular word was made up by the Buddha to describe not one-pointed concentration, but the samatha/vipassana. And he was very specific when he was doing that.

MN:
{the faculty of mindfulness...the faculty of concentration...} the faculty of wisdom, which leads to peace, leads to enlightenment.

BV: What is the faculty of wisdom?

ST: Understanding the Four Noble Truths and Dependent Origination.

BV: Alright! (laughs)

MN:
And thereby many disciples of mine abide having reached the consummation and perfection of direct knowledge.

(5. The Five Powers)

19. "Again, Udāyin, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way to develop the five powers. Here a bhikkhu develops the power of faith, which leads to peace, leads to enlightenment. He develops the power of energy...the power of mindfulness...the power of concentration...the power of wisdom, which leads to peace, leads to enlightenment. And thereby many disciples of mine abide having reached the consummation and perfection of direct knowledge.

BV: Do you want to talk about that for a minute? How are they powers?

ST: ~

BV: The power of confidence becomes unshakeable. It makes it powerful. It means that somebody can come up to you and say "You don't know what you're talking about" but because you have this direct experience so many times, it's not going to cause doubt to arise in you. And it's the same with all of the faculties. You have the experience of getting into jhana, that is a power of your collectedness. Somebody can come along and say "You don't have that experience, no way. You can describe it to me all you want, but that's not it." But it turns into a power when it becomes unshakeable in your own mind. You know that that is right. Ok? Then we have...

TT: 45:24

MN:
(6. The Seven Enlightenment Factors)

20. "Again, Udāyin, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way to develop the seven enlightenment factors. Here a bhikkhu develops the mindfulness enlightenment factor, which is supported by seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, and results in relinquishment. He develops the investigation-of-states enlightenment factor...the energy enlightenment factor...the

BV: He uses rapture. That's really a word that I don't agree with.

MN:
rapture enlightenment factor...the tranquillity enlightenment factor...the concentration enlightenment factor...the equanimity enlightenment factor, which is supported by seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, and results in relinquishment. And thereby many disciples of mine abide having reached the consummation and perfection of direct knowledge.

BV: The enlightenment factors are really kind of interesting, and I've added a couple more of those too. (laughs) And one is curiosity. You have to want to know how to let go of the suffering in order to see what mindfulness actually is. If you get involved in your suffering, you got no mindfulness because you're not observing, you're reacting, you're not seeing how it works, you're complaining because it's painful. See there is the curiosity and then you start building up your mindfulness and when you do that your energy starts to improve and you start learning how to adjust your energy and that sort of thing.
Your investigation is one of the key aspects of your examination of your experience. Right after that, right after let's see, it's mindfulness investigation of experience, what I would put between there and energy is persistence, and you could also put another "p" word in there called patience. But I tried that and I had people complaining to me because I shouldn't be adding these different things to the seven enlightenment factors and make it nine or ten enlightenment factors. But they're kind of like in quotes. You can think about these too while you're doing it. (laughs) Ok. So far we've gotten twenty-nine right? Now, we have the Eightfold Path. That's makes the thirty-seven.

MN:
(7. The Eightfold Path)

21. "Again, Udāyin, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way to develop the Noble Eightfold Path. Here a bhikkhu develops right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. And thereby many disciples of mine abide having reached the consummation and perfection of direct knowledge.

<<End of text for Part 1>>

TT: 50:01

Bhante Vimalaramsi continues with Question and Answer time

BV: And I think I'm going to quit for today. With that I bid you adieu. (laughs)
Oh, we'll pick it up tomorrow because we get into some other things that we'll probably wind up discussing quite a bit because it goes into all of the psychic abilities, things like that. (laughs) Are you happy with the translation as far as it goes with the little changes that I've made? Is it ok? Ok. Good.

Bhante U Jotika: ~

BV: Loving kindness... when you let a hindrance be, you're accepting the fact that it is there. Ok, that's loving acceptance,) but you don't try to change it, you don't try to make it any different. It's just accepting that it's there and not resisting, not having any dosa arise.

BJ: ~

BV: Then you accept the fact that they go away.

BJ: ~

BV: Yes. We accept the fact that they are there, we don't feed them anymore. See, in this country in particular a lot of people hold on very tight, and I use the word loving acceptance as a way so that they realize that they have to accept the fact that "I stubbed my toe and I broke my toe and there's pain." Not resist the pain, accept the pain. Allow the pain to be there and then radiate loving kindness into it.

BJ: ~

BV: No, no, it's very similar. Yes.

BJ: ~

BV: When you let of that tightness in your head, your mind feels like it does that (gesture). That's what I mean, open up. Letting go of the tightness you feel your brain kind of get bigger and relax. It' feels like expanding a little bit, and actually it is because you have this skin around your brain. It helps keep everything together. Every time there's a thought, that skin tightens a little bit. When you let go of that tightness then it goes back to it's normal shape again. So it's a feeling of opening, a feeling of,

BJ: Clear mind.

BV: Clear, there's clear mind tight after that feeling. Yeah.

BJ: ~

BV: Yes. Not continual relax, relax, relax, only one time, relax. If tightness did not go away, never mind. Smile, come back. Yeah. Your mind will go back to that again. It didn't let go of that tightness right away because there's some attachment, but as you do it over and over, eventually it becomes less and less and then fades away. (laughs)
Ok, let's share some merit then.




Sutta text translation: (C) Bhikkhu Bodhi 1995, 2001. Reprinted from The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya with permission of Wisdom Publications, 199 Elm Street, Somerville, MA 02144 U.S.A, www.wisdompubs.org



Text last edited: 04-Nov-08