All:  Thanks for follow us as we experimented with the idea of making a blog for Bhante G.  He has decided that supporting a blog is too much right now, so I will be taking it down in a few days.

However, there will be frequent additions to Bhante’s Dhamma talks, and talks from other Bhavana Society teachers.  We are posting all of our talks on Dharma Seed.  Come visit us frequently at http://bhavana.dharmaseed.org/ to get all the new Dhamma talks!

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The entire teachings of the Buddha pivot around this topic. After forty-five years service to humanity, the Buddha said “Bhikkhus, I have taught you all these years only four words.” Another place he said: “Bhikkhus, I have taught you everything without keeping any secret.” He picked up some leaves in the forest and asked which is more, the leaves in my hand or the leaves in this forest. The Bhikkhus said the leaves in your hand compared to the leaves in the forest, are very insignificant. The forest has more leaves than you have in your hand.

When you look at these statements, they appear to be contradictory. The one when he said he taught only four words and another place he said he taught everything without a secret. Another place he said what I have taught you is like the leaves in my hand and what I have not taught you is like the leaves in the jungle.

There is no contradiction. It means we have to know the four words which are only in Pali, not in English. They are dukkha, samudaya, nirodha, magga. In English they mean suffering, cause of suffering, end of suffering, and the path leading to the end of suffering. This is all he taught. When you look at Buddhist literature you see a whole jungle. It is very difficult for people to sort out this jungle and get these four words. People get confused. Today it is almost impossible for many people to know what Buddha really taught. So many things are there in the name of the Buddha’s teaching.

If anything you read in the name of Buddhism, if they don’t fit these four words which is the central teaching, you can cast them aside without any problem. The word dukkha has been translated into unsatisfactoriness because the word suffering is so unpalatable. The moment you hear the word you suffer. You don’t like to hear even the word, yet alone understanding it.

These words have been give in another four words to indicate their function. That is (four Pali words) complete, perfect understanding, complete abandonment, perfect realization, and perfect practice. You can start with any of them. Perfect understanding is understanding our predicament, our problem, our unsatisfactoriness. People do not understand it. They try to pretend that it doesn’t exist, to sweep it under the rug. They say it is not true - life is rosy, beautiful, pleasant, satisfactory. There is no suffering. That is how people cheat themselves, hide the truth, pretend they don’t have suffering. That is why they continue to stay in samsara. Buddha has outlined this suffering a very few words and they encompass everything that pertains to suffering.

When he saw the three signs before he left home he realized the depth of suffering. The three signs he saw are old age, sickness, and death. That is not an eye-opener for many people because we can forget it. Old age happens to some people, not to us. We never grow old. Sickness, some people fall sick, we don’t fall sick. Some die, we don’t die. People can pretend that way. Siddhartha saw these things from his childhood. It has been pictured in books that when he saw an old man he began to tremble, to wonder what is this as if he was a very stupid person who doesn’t know anything. He was a born genius. He did not have to see this old man to understand the truth of life. He knew that life is changing. From childhood he knew the difference between him and his father. His father was big, old and he was young, small. He must have seen many leaves on trees - some are old and some are young. He must have seen all this and one tiny thing would have been enough to trigger the wisdom, knowledge that he had cultivated in samsara.

That was not the first time he realized the problem of suffering. When he saw the sick man that was not the only time he realized that people fall sick. From his childhood he realized this. Although he kept away from all this he realized all this. That was not a secret for him. When he saw this in his trip to the city this brought him very striking moment to decide to do something about it.

When he attained enlightenment, in his first sermon he outlined it. He said to the five bhikkhus, birth is suffering. Suffering to whom? to the mother, baby, or society? Actually it is suffering to everybody. Every child is born not with a big smile. Everyone is born with a big cry. That cry can be heard all over the world. That cry continues until the person dies. Sometimes it is loud, sometimes it is smoldering inside. That cry is a cry for so much food, clothes, medicine, papers, vehicles, roads, houses, money, and so many problems. We all have that cry even right now, inside. Every problem in the world today and in the future depends on birth, on that cry. See what has happened to the world? Everything is polluted - air, water, population expanding, fighting all over the world, all kinds of sickness. Just imagine all the things we experienced just today because of the birth of all of us. Billions of people were born and billions of problems have been brought into the world. Everyone hears this cry.

When you think of it, you say I don’t want to be born again. This life is enough. That is called not to get what one wants. Not getting what one wants is suffering. To get what one wants also is suffering. These are the two tragics in our life, both are suffering. Buddha outlined what is meant by not getting what one wants. You don’t get a good job, live in a good neighborhood, good house and car, you want to get these things but you don’t get them, so you suffer. That is superficial. Even a child can understand.

A deep meaning of not getting what one wants (Pali quote) means - all intelligent, educated, grown up adult, thinking and understanding the problems that they have lived, the person thinks I don’t need any more life. This is enough. I have gone through hell in this life. I don’t want anymore life. This is enough. That is a very earnest wish. Buddha said by wishing so you cannot stop it. You are trapped. You cannot stop next birth. Why? By wishing you have not eliminated what causes the next life. By the time you think this, you have laid the foundation for the next life already. Whether you like it or not you are caught in it. Just imagine that keeps nagging, you cannot get out of it. That is the suffering of not getting what you want and getting what you don’t want. You don’t want to be reborn but you get it.

You may ask why should I get what I don’t want? It is not just. I always end up getting what I don’t want. You created this. You prepared yourself. Next thing is (Pali) when we are born we are growing. We start with one cell and end up with three trillion cells. We think that is enough. I don’t want to grow. It is part of the deal. You made an agreement. You are growing. You ask a child how old he is. He may be close to five and he will say five years old. He wants to be an adult and has this growing anxiety. This growing anxiety doesn’t end when the child grows up and becomes an adult. Once he comes to a certain age, he wants to stop it. He cannot stop it. He has initiated that process and it goes on and on. Growth itself is not painful. What happens to the mind when we think of growth makes us painful. It is not the appearance of old age that is painful or the growing process itself is not painful. When we think of it, that thought is painful. Why? Because the growth takes us somewhere. Brings us in one direction and we begin to anticipate what is going to happen. That is another thing we don’t want. (Pali) We get a shock - people die. I will die. That thought is so shocking. If there is anything we can do to stop it, we will do it. People spend money to stop death, growth. Not just plastic surgery but they do many things other than that to stop growing and die.

We were all born with a one-way ticket and there is no recourse. We keep going in that direction because things are impermanent. Things means our aggregates are impermanent. So this impermanence is built into the system. They are permanently impermanent. Only permanent thing is impermanence. Therefore we keep going in that direction. When we see there is no way to stop it we feel very very unsatisfied.

Is it true? How can you say suffering is in Sri Lanka, Africa, India, etc. not here in Australia, Melbourne, or American, New York. Suffering is everywhere. When you think of it, it is so frightening - that’s why people say Buddhism is pessimistic. Buddhism speaks the truth. Buddha did not stop there. He said we must understand this as adults, accept and understand it. When animals have these things, they are always anxious and they are in misery. They don’t know anything about it. We don’t want to be like that. We want to be intelligent, adult, matured responsible human beings so we say, yes it is there. We don’t want to run away from it. We want to face it and then what?

We try to find out why do we suffer? What is the cause? Buddha found out the reason. That is our craving, clinging, grasping - four types. People don’t like to say desire is the cause of suffering because that is what created all these things. Desire is the creator. Desire can create things in any way you want. We create things for this life and for the next life. Desire is so powerful it can create things for many many many lives. Craving can create repeated becoming.

For this life everything that we use today in the name of civilization is the creation of our desire. We like comfort, pleasant experience which leads to search, craving. When we have good feeling we have craving for it. When we have craving we do research. How much research have you done into many things? This is caused by desire. As a result of research you find so many things and you decide which to accept and to reject. When you get it, you become stingy and want to protect it. In this very life, because of safeguard insurance, we fight using weapons, words, and physical fight. That is one aspect of desire. It doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy certain things. For instance, in the name of civilization we have developed so many things, all modern facilities. Millions of things we have created around us because of our desire. This never reduces our desire, brings one single moment of true peace or happiness. It is all superficial, temporary peace and happiness.

On the other hand, because of desire - there are four types of clinging. Sensual pleasures results in the wish to be born here and there. On the one hand when we think of the problems in this life we don’t want to be reborn. On the other hand when we think of the pleasure we enjoy in one life we want repeat it, to be born again and again. You want to be reborn with a certain person in the next life. How many times have you made that vow? This is why Buddha said once you enjoy something, you want to repeat it. That is the nature of desire. So, that creates both in this life and the next. That is not the suffering caused by desire. Suffering caused by desire is losing what you get. The pleasure you enjoy is not faithful to you. That pleasure will turn back to you, it goes away, impermanent. That impermanent pleasure you want to hold onto but it disappears. That person who you want to live with forever, betrays you and eventually becomes your enemy.

When you don’t want it, you cannot get away from it. After some time you want it, and again the same thing happens. Therefore there is no permanent happiness in anything we enjoy. Desire deceives us and asks us to repeat it. That is called sensual desire.

Second we hold onto certain views, ideas. They end in pain and suffering. We have a desire for repeated birth. No matter where we are born we will end up with the same problems, impermanence and therefore unsatisfactoriness.

Then ignorance, we cling to our ignorance because of our desire. That ends up with enormous amount of problems here and in the future. When we say desire is the cause of suffering people will say no. Desire is the cause of pleasure. Is the desire totally unpleasant, unwanted? No. There are certain desires we want to cultivate. Such as the desire to develop our insight, to gain jhanas, to free ourselves from psychic irritations, to be happy all the time. That desire is called wholesome desire and that is the desire to be desireless. We want to cultivate that. Unwholesome desires are the cause of all our pain, suffering.

Third truth is the truth of the end of suffering. The end of suffering necessarily is the end of this desire. If desire is the cause of suffering and the end of suffering is the end of desire. Very simply. That is what is called nibbana. Ni means absence - ana means craving.

… Understanding of the first truth, understanding of the second truth, understanding of the third truth, understanding of the fourth truth. That is right understanding. It is true to say that Buddha taught the middle path. It is true to say also, that the Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths. Whether you say the Four Noble Truths or the Middle Path, it is the same. Why? In the Middle Path the Four Noble Truths are included. That is called knowledge, absence of ignorance. What is ignorance? Not knowing the Four Noble Truths is ignorance. Not knowing dukkha, not knowing its cause, not knowing its end, not knowing the path leading to the end is ignorance. What is knowledge? Knowledge is knowing these four things.

When there is ignorance there is confusion. That is another word. Ignorance is called avijja. Confusion is called moha. When we do not know the truth, we build up theories. We come up with all kind of theories. Theories regarding the world, the self. All the theories in the world are based on these two factors. What are the two factors? The belief in self and about the world. These theories confuse us and that is called moha. avijja is one thing, moha is another. Moha is the result of avijja. avijja is not knowing the Four Noble Truths.

The second step of the Noble Eightfold Path is Right Thought. What is Right Thought? Thought of renunciation, generosity, loving kindness, and thought of compassion. Buddha said. If we cultivate these three thoughts, we cultivate right thought. Generosity doesn’t mean giving things to people, somebody. That is a superficial meaning. That has the meaning of generosity but not the complete meaning. Deeper meaning is to let go of any kind of clinging, attachment to anything, material or immaterial. Letting go of any attachment, wiping it out, removing it from our mind, never to return again is called true generosity. That we can gain but not very quickly, very easily. Only when we attain the last stage of enlightenment do we gain that generosity. Every little thing we do in the name of generosity leads to that attainment.

When we practice meditation we develop that. Loving kindness, every time we develop friendliness towards anybody is to cultivate loving kindness. Any time we show our compassion to anybody is to develop our right thought of compassion.

Right speech is speaking truth, to bring people together, gently and kindly and speaking meaningful things. These are four types of right speech. We always put right speech in negative form like abstaining from lying, slander, harsh language and gossip. If we put it in positive terms it means speaking the truth, speaking to bring people together, and speaking gently, softly and meaningful things rather than gossip.

Right action is to live and let live, not killing. Letting others enjoy what they have, abstaining from stealing. Letting others maintain their honor, dignity, respect without hurting them sexually, or observing the principle of dignity within oneself. Sexual activities in a social and legal boundary are acceptable. Celibacy is not mentioned in the Noble Eightfold Path. Why? This path is something anybody can practice. Lay people can practice this path.

Livelihood is abstaining from selling weapons, buying and selling poisons, selling and buying livestock, human beings as slaves, and dealing dishonestly in business. Do business honestly and sincerely. Make profit in a decent way. In some societies businessmen expect everybody, sellers, to mark up their product fifty or seventy-five percent. If somebody marks it up two hundred percent that is dishonest.

Right effort is effort to prevent unwholesome thoughts from arising in mind, effort to overcome such unwholesome thoughts, effort to develop wholesome thoughts arising in the mind, and effort to maintain such wholesome thoughts.

Right mindfulness is mindfulness of the body, feelings, consciousness, and mental activities. Right concentration is defined as the four jhanas.

If you practice this Noble Eigthfold Path you definitely can get rid of all your pain and suffering. That is the guarantee. If you end up with the first truth and say life is suffering, you are dealing with only one quarter and leaving out three quarters of the teaching. You are wrong. A person has to deal with all four logical units. It has a base, a syllogism, steps to complete the logic. All these are together. This is called a logical unit because he has given the premise that life is painful. Then he said why? The second truth. Can we get out of it? Third truth. How is the fourth truth.

We can deal with all these four truths if we practice meditation, following the Noble Eightfold Path. That is why I say this path is the heart of Buddhism. In other words it is meditation. It is the path to be cultivated, developed, meditated. That’s what we do. Meditation doesn’t mean sitting in one place focusing the mind and getting a little bit of concentration and forgetting the world. That is not meditation. That is a very tiny part of meditation. True meditation is the practice of the Noble Eightfold Path. You can see it coming together in practice of our daily life.

This concludes the talk on the Four Noble Truths. This is just the tip of the iceberg. It is just a bird’s eye view. To understand it you must spend forty-five years at least like the Buddha did, or you have to practice meditation for five hundred years, or in this life if you practice meditation honestly, sincerely according to the Mahasatipatthana Sutta for seven years there is a guarantee. If one practices consistently, that individual can gain enlightenment in seven years. Buddha said if you are ardent, honest, and consistent and practice only that, nothing else you can gain enlightenment in seven days. You don’t have to live so many lives to gain enlightenment. In this very life you can attain it.

2011-06-24 Introduction to Meditation Retreat 16:34:43   Venerable Olande Ananda Download Stream  Venerable Olande Ananda leads a five day introduction to meditation retreat for beginners. Introduction to Meditation

This is from the recent intro to meditation retreat held at Bhavana Society this past June.

One quarter of the Buddha’s teaching is based on feeling, which is the first truth that he taught for forty-five years. It is in not understanding this truth that we are leashed to repetition of birth and death in one form or another. To a lesser degree it also is one of the four foundations of mindfulness as outlined by the Buddha in several Suttas. An ordinary person and a more enlightened one differ from each other in their response to feelings. While an ordinary person, for instance, would cling to the pleasant feeling and reject the unpleasant, the more enlightened one neither clings to the pleasant nor rejects the unpleasant. Rather he pays total mindful attention to both and always maintains a balanced mind with regard to both.

All living beings, without any exception, feel. Not very many of them, however, use feeling as a means of gaining deeper insight into the reality of their experience, while avoiding emotional reaction. Human beings who use their mind to think and create are in a very advantageous position. Unfortunately, however, not many human beings use their feelings as a way to develop their humanness or humane qualities. There are many human beings who have not learned to use their unlimited mental capacity and feelings for further development of their mind.

When somebody asks you, “How are you?” You would say “I am fine.” or “I have never felt better.” or “I am O.K. and how about yourself?” or “I don’t feel well today.” or “I have a bit of an upset stomach. “ or “I feel miserable today.” Here you express your feelings but not any particular reason for how you feel. If you were to perform a psychological analysis you would make a distinction between feelings and sensations. In your daily expression, however, you use these two terms indiscriminately. In order to maintain consistency in this article, I, too, therefore, will use the term “feelings” indiscriminately to mean both “feelings” and “sensations.” It may be better to put the difference between these two terms on the back burner until you have completely read this article. I am not trying to make any neurological analysis here of how feeling occurs. My attempt is to point out how feelings should be used as an object of mindfulness training so that you would be able to live with all kinds of feelings without having a nervous breakdown.

Feeling should be used as a mechanism for gaining deeper insight into the reality of feelings. We know from the moment we were born until we breathe our last breath we operate on feelings. Feeling arises from the periphery due to designation contact or from the deep down our own state of mind due to impingement contact. As soon as our senses come in contact with their objects we become conscious of our feelings caused by peripheral contact. Initiated simultaneously with the development of our nervous system, feeling was present even as we were in our mother’s womb. When our mother ate hot food we felt the heat. When she ate cold food we felt the cold. When she was angry we felt her agitation and tension. When she moved we felt her movements. When she sang we heard her singing. When she cried we heard her cry. When she laughed we heard that too. While we may not be able to recall this, nevertheless, we felt all of them.

As soon as we were born we cried not only because we felt sad that we had to leave our mother’s womb, or not only because we thought that if we did not cry that people wouldn’t pay attention to us, but because we felt the change of atmosphere. From the warm, dark and comfortable environment in the mother’s womb we were thrust into the cool, blinding bright light and uncomfortable surroundings with several people around us. We had never experienced this before. From the moment we started our struggle of life as a unicellular being, we have been experiencing feelings. From the moment our nerve cells or neurons began to develop we have been experiencing our feelings. When the feeling pleases us we wish to have more of it and when feeling does not please us we wish to reject it. This is our natural reaction. Our entire search—struggle, achievements, improvement, development, inventions, working hard or not, desire to live or not to live— depends on how we feel. Our search for food, clothing, medicine, shelter, sex, heat, cold, and much more, depends on our feelings. When we feel cold we look for heat. When we feel hungry we look for food. When we want to evacuate we go to a suitable place to fulfill that feeling. We have discovered, manufactured, developed or improved many things because of what we feel. We create and procreate according to our feelings. Even our reasoning began from our feelings. All that we do depends on our feelings. Our reaction to any situation depends on how we feel. After reacting to the situation we may rationalize our reaction. All our emotional reactions depend on how we feel about a situation. Repeated emotional reactions to feelings gradually nourish our ego. When emotional reaction becomes a habit we rationalize our emotional reaction and defend ourselves saying, “I have every right to defend my feelings when somebody hurts my feelings.”

When we begin to learn the universal nature of feelings we begin to train our minds to use it for the benefit of all living beings, rather than becoming selfish. When we learn to train our minds to use feelings as objects of our mental development, we learn more about it and make the full use of it with deeper understanding. When you universalize your feelings you become more mindful about not saying anything to hurt anybody. Nor can you do anything to destroy any living being. All living beings feel the fear of death. Of course, if you ignore others’ feelings, you may justify doing anything. Most of the time your justification does not come with feeling. You rationalize anything if you can ignore others’ feelings. Religious fanatics are well known for this. Some people, while putting their own religions on high pedestals, use abusive or disparaging language to attack people belonging to other religions, because they ignore their feelings.

All these are but a few examples of how much you suffer from your own feelings. If you look at your feelings with understanding, you would not be very upset to see somebody different from you. You won’t get annoyed if someone speaks a language you don’t understand. If you understand the nature of feelings you can listen to somebody’s complaints of pain without yourself complaining. If you don’t understand feelings you may be very obnoxious, arrogant and insulting, and later suffer for this behavior.

When you train yourself to have mindfulness of feelings your whole attitude will change and you will feel more comfortable in noticing differences in the world. Notice your feeling—pleasant, unpleasant or neutral—focus your total attention on it without thinking or saying, “Ah! My head aches,” or “My leg aches,” etc. Unless you pay total attention to your feeling, you won’t know what is behind it. Pay total attention to your own feeling and begin to notice the pleasant feeling behind your unpleasant feeling. Only by giving total attention to something can you notice what is behind that thing. If you have enough patience to observe your feeling, you will also notice that it is changing. You would not notice this change in feeling if you did not pay attention to it. It is your attention, not the word, that brings things to the surface of your mind.

Suppose you feel depressed. If you pay total attention to this feeling without adding any other emotion to it, you will notice your depression gradually diminishing. Of course, you may make your depression more miserable and even may have manic depression lasting for several days if you become attached to it. Or you can get rid of it very quickly if you learn to accept the reality of change that takes place during every moment of your feeling. Fortunately for you even unpleasant feelings are impermanent.

Suppose you wake up one morning with a terrible headache. Immediately find a reasonably quiet place in your house or apartment and spend some time quietly sitting down, closing your eyes and watching your headache without any presumption or worry, but paying total attention to it. Soon will you notice your headache diminishing slowly. But if you worry about it, you may make your headache worse by adding more tension or pressure to it, because you add another feeling—worry—rather than dealing with just one feeling—headache.

Suppose one night or for several nights in a row you cannot sleep. Following morning you wake up and you feel a little uncomfortable. If you begin to worry about not sleeping you may have more uncomfortable feelings. Now it is this worry, not the sleeplessness that makes you feel greater discomfort. If, on the other hand, you take it easy and don’t worry about not having a good night’s sleep, you feel better. This means that you can use your feelings to make you feel either comfortable or uncomfortable, depending on how you deal with your feelings.

Suppose one day you feel very peaceful, joyful and happy. Look at that feeling as it is and try to pay total attention to it. As long as you feel peaceful, joyful and happy, try to pay total attention to it and let it fade away when it fades away. Don’t try to make it permanent. If that feeling disappears, don’t get upset; simply accept the disappearance. Welcome it as it is. By accepting it you allow yourself to recreate it in your mind at another time. If you worry about its disappearance you won’t permit it to come back. What you are really doing by accepting the disappearance of your pleasant feeling is learning to relax and be comfortable with the change in your own feelings. You cannot force any feeling to stay with you as you wish. It slips away from your grip. The harder you try to keep it with you the quicker it disappears. If you simply accept it as it comes and let it go as it goes away, you maintain your equilibrium and this permits you to relax.

By the same token, if an unpleasant feeling arises in you, don’t try to reject it or push it away prematurely. It takes time for any feeling to go away. You have to cultivate patience with unpleasant feelings as well. If you lose your patience with it, you lose the pleasantness that can follow the unpleasantness, and even magnify it. When you “take it easy”, you make things simple and more comfortable for yourself. Simply pay total attention to your unpleasant feeling. You may have certain unpleasant feelings due to a chemical imbalance in your brain. You must admit that whether you like it or not, things in your body and mind change all the time. If you experience certain unpleasant sensations due to a change in hormone balance, you may prolong the imbalance by worrying or by being impatient. If you relax and pay total attention to the hormone imbalance your mind generates better and more positive hormones to transcend the imbalanced state.

Inadvertently, you cultivate a certain mental attitude towards numerous things and persons. This attitude can cause you pleasant or unpleasant feelings. When you mindfully look at your own state of mind, you will see that it is your own attitude that has created that state of mind which results in one feeling or another. Feeling does not come from the object that you perceive but from your own state or mental attitude. This is why when several people look at the same object they can have several different feelings, several different opinions about the object.

If you mindfully watch your own mind and feelings, you can see very clearly and unequivocally that what you feel is your own creation and that you are totally responsible for it. Mindfully watching the continuous change of your own feelings can make you abstain from emotional reactions and make you see the truth of your own feelings. Mindfulness of feelings will not cause you to think obsessive thoughts or abusive thoughts or harmful thoughts. By unmindful thinking you abuse your mind. The abused mind always generates abusive feelings, which always is painful.

Sometimes the practice of Insight meditation may be interpreted to be a kind of practice which makes the meditator a heartless or indifferent being, like a vegetable without any love and compassion for other living beings. We must remember, however, that the Buddha has strongly advised us to cultivate four sublime states of mind: loving-kindness, compassion, appreciative joy and equanimity. The first of these four is so important that the Buddha said that one who depends entirely upon people for one’s living (i.e. a monk or nun) can repay one’s indebtedness to lay supporters if one practices loving kindness towards all living beings, even for such a short time as a fraction of a second each day. Karaniyametta Sutta says “One should develop this mindfulness which is called divine behavior here” Mindfulness is one of the most important factors in the entire teaching of the Buddha. From the day he attained enlightenment till he passed away at the age of 80, in almost every Dhamma talk he stressed mindfulness. When he equates the practice of loving-kindness with that of mindfulness, we can understand the significance of the practice of loving-kindness in the Buddha’s teaching. The Buddha perfected it for the attainment of Enlightenment and balanced it with wisdom. Even after the attainment of Enlightenment, the very first thing he did every day, was to enter into the attainment of Great Compassion, which is an outcome of the practice of loving-kindness. Then he surveyed the world to see if there were any beings whom he could help to understand Dhamma. These four sublime states of mind are called Brahma Vihara, best behavior or best attitude. The first three of these are strong enough to attain the first three Jhanas and the last to attain the fourth jhana. They are so important in the practice of Vipassana meditation that they are included in the second step of the Noble Eightfold Path. In fact, no concentration is possible without these sublime states of mind because in their absence the mind would be filled with hatred, rigidity, worry, fear, tension and restlessness.

Preliminary to the practice of these noble states of mind is overcoming our hatred, which is a thoughtless way of wasting one’s energy. Hate is compared to boiling water when it is active or jaundice when it is unexpressed. It can destroy your meditation practice and moral training. The hateful person is compared to a half burned log of wood left in a funeral pyre. Both ends of this log are burned and turned to charcoal and the middle is covered with filth. Nobody would like to pick it up for firewood or for any other purpose because it can dirty the hand of the person who handles it. Similarly the hateful person will be avoided by all means, if possible, by everybody.

We must start the practice of loving-kindness with ourselves first. Sometimes some of you may wonder why we have to love ourselves first. Wouldn’t that amount to self love and lead to selfishness? When you investigate your own mind very carefully, however, you will be convinced that there is no one in the whole universe that you love more than yourself. The Buddha said, “Investigating the whole world with my mind never did I find anyone dearer than oneself. Since oneself is dearer than others, one who loves oneself should never harm others” One who does not love oneself can never love another at all. By the same token one who loves oneself will feel the impact of loving-kindness and then can understand how beautiful it is if every heart in the whole world is filled with the same feeling of loving-kindness.

The loving-kindness that we want to cultivate is not an ordinary love as it is understood in everyday application. When you say, “I love such-and-such a person” or “such-and-such a thing”, for instance, what you really mean is that you desire that particular person’s appearance, behavior, ideas, voice, or overall attitude; either towards you in particular or towards life in general. If that person changes the things you like very much in him or her you may decide that you do not love him or her. When your tastes, whims and fancies or that of the other person change, then you would not say “I love so-and-so”. In this love-hate duality you love one and hate another. You love now and hate later. You love when you wish and hate when you wish. You love when everything is smooth and rosy and hate when anything goes wrong with the relationship between you and the other person or thing. If your love changes from time to time, place to place and situation to situation in this fashion then what you call “love” is not true loving-kindness but lust, greed, or desire—not love by any means.

The kind of loving-kindness that we want to cultivate through meditation does not have its opposite or an ulterior motive. Therefore, the love-hate dichotomy does not apply to loving-kindness cultivated through wisdom or mindfulness, for it will never change into hate, as circumstantial changes take place. True loving-kindness is a natural faculty concealed under the heap of greed, hatred and ignorance. Nobody can give it to us. We must find it out within ourselves and cultivate it mindfully. Mindfulness discovers it, cultivates it and maintains it. “I” consciousness [ahankara] dissolves in mindfulness and its place will be taken by loving-kindness free from selfishness.

Because of our selfishness we hate some people. We want to live in certain ways, do certain things in certain ways, perceive things in certain ways; not in any other way. If others do not agree with our views, our ways and our styles, we not only hate them but become entirely so irrational and blind with unmindfulness that we might even deprive them of their right to live.

When you practice loving-kindness you do not get angry if you do not receive any form of favor in return from persons and beings to whom you radiate your loving-kindness, because you have no ulterior motive when you radiate loving-kindness towards them. In this net of loving-kindness not only do you include all beings as they are, but you wish all of them, without any discrimination, to be happy minded. You continue to behave gently and kindly towards all beings, speaking gently and kindly about them in their presence as well as in their absence.

When we meditate, our minds and bodies become naturally, relaxed. Our hindrances dissolve. Our sleepiness and drowsiness, for instance, are replaced by alertness. Doubt is replaced by confidence, hatred by joy, restlessness and worry by happiness. As our resentment is replaced by joy, loving-kindness hidden in our subconscious mind expresses itself, making us more peaceful and happy. In this state of meditation we gain concentration and overcome our greed. We can see how meditation destroys hatred and cultivates loving-kindness, which in turn supports our practice of meditation. Together these two operate in unison, culminating in concentration and insightfulness. Therefore, to pick up one’s own mind wave of loving-kindness one must fine tune oneself through the practice of mindfulness meditation.

Mindful observation of our own individual mental states can make us aware of how some thought waves are harmful, destructive and painful. Others are peaceful and joyful. Then our mind rejects that which is harmful and cultivates that which is peaceful and joyful. We don’t learn this from books or teachers or friends or enemies, but from our own practice and experience. When harmful thoughts arise we learn not to entertain them and when peaceful thoughts arise we let them grow and stay in the mind much longer. This way we learn from our own experience how to think more healthily. This practice conditions our minds to grow loving-kindness. This means that peaceful thought waves appearing in our mind by themselves can be generated at will later on. This practice helps us to comprehend that loving-kindness does grow in the backyard of our own mind. Environmental or circumstantial factors play an important role to cultivate it. No human being could be totally devoid of loving-kindness, no matter how cruel he or she may appear to us. The loving-kindness, concealed in each person’s subconscious mind, should be brought out through the skill of mindfulness.

“Mitra” in Vedic literature and “Mitta” in Pali literature means the sun. The nature of the sun can be called “Maitri” or “Metta”. Maitri or Metta also means friendliness or loving-kindness. Perhaps the reason why loving-kindness is called so is that it generates very warm feeling towards all beings. Like warmth comes from the sun, one who has loving-kindness has a warm heart towards others. Just as the sun shines indiscriminately on any object in the world, “Metta” or “Maitri” pervades all beings without any discrimination. Just as the sun dispels darkness, loving-kindness destroys the darkness of hatred. Just like some objects absorbs sun more than others , some living beings absorb loving-kindness better than others. Those beings who absorb more loving-kindness are the ones who learn to relax because of their Kamma.

The Buddha had cultivated such a powerful loving-kindness that he loved his bitterest enemy, Devadatta, who tried many times to kill him. He loved the highway robber and murderer, Angulimala, who also came to kill him. He loved Dhanapala, an elephant that came to kill him. He loved all of them just the same way he loved his own son, Rahula. When Devadatta died on the way going to see the Buddha, monks asked the Buddha what his future would be. The Buddha said that he would become a silent Buddha in future. That is the kind of loving-kindness, guided by mindfulness, that allows us to live in peace and harmony.

Loving-kindness or Metta cannot be cultivated by mere repetition of words of loving-kindness. Repetition of such a formula is very much like repeating a prescription to a patient in a hospital or a menu to a hungry person in a restaurant. Repeating a list of things will never produce the tangible result of the words in the list. Loving-kindness is something we have to cultivate intentionally in our own minds by ourselves.

Loving-kindness develops through meditation. When the mind is relaxed the meditator is able to forgive and forget any offense committed against him. One can practice Metta through tranquillity (Samatha) meditation. But that is not perpetual because tranquillity achievement can be only temporary. Friendliness cultivated through Vipassana, on the other hand, is perpetual because the effect of Vipassana meditation takes deep root in one’s mind. Vipassana meditation softens the mind, and friendliness, cultivated along with the softening of the mind, will take deep root in the mind.

Vipassana meditators see the impermanence in their forms, feelings, perceptions, mental formations and consciousness. They can compare the changes of these aggregates with those of others. Then they do not see any person or thing to hate. If they ask themselves whom they hate, they may not find any individual to hate. By the same token they may not find any being towards whom they can cultivate loving-kindness, too. All they perceive is the phenomena of continuous flux of events that take place every moment in their own states of affairs and that of others. This enables them to forgive and forget the offenses that other aggregates have committed against them or their friends or relatives. Loving-kindness meditation is the real thing that genuinely develops our noble qualities which can promote peace and happiness. We cannot inculcate loving-kindness in others’ minds. Nor can others give theirs to us. You cannot inculcate loving-kindness in me by force if my Kamma prevents my mind from accepting it. Each one of us must prepare the ground for loving-kindness to grow within our own minds.

Also you must have it within yourself before you teach it to others just like you cannot teach someone a subject if you do not know it yourself first. Suppose you try to teach a subject to others without a having any knowledge of it. You make a fool of yourself. The better you know your subject the better you can teach others. Similarly, the better you train your mind in the discipline of loving-kindness the better you can teach the world how to cultivate it. Of course, you don’t have to wait until all your training and learning are complete to start your teaching. While practicing loving-kindness by yourself you can gain practical experience. You can’t practice it in a vacuum. There should be other living beings for you to work with or work for in order to gain experience. So while receiving your own training in practice of loving-kindness you train others to practice it. While teaching you can learn. While learning you can teach.

Even the Bodhisattas, while working hard for their own salvation, help the world. Their practice helps them to attain enlightenment first so they are able to help the world reach the same goal. If they teach others to practice loving-kindness without practicing it by themselves, they would not attain enlightenment, nor would they be able to help others to practice loving-kindness.

Each and everyone of us must cultivate it by ourselves and for ourselves. You cannot cultivate it for others. Nor can others cultivate it for you. If I promise to save you by practicing loving-kindness by myself and if you do not practice it yourself then only I alone will free my mind from ill-will and I cannot free your mind from those negative states. By the same token, if you cultivate loving-kindness for me and I cultivate it for you, then both of us are practicing it. I should not wait for you to cultivate loving-kindness for me. Neither should you wait for me to cultivate it for you. If you say “Don’t practice loving-kindness by yourself but I will do it for you,” it does not work. Don’t say “How can I cultivate loving-kindness towards so and so who is hating me?” If you hate him/her who hates you, both of you are equal in doing evil. By asking this question what you are saying, in other words is, “How can I be good if others are evil?” Or “How can I avoid committing crimes when others commit crimes?” You practice loving-kindness not because others cultivate it. You want to cultivate it for the reason that others do not cultivate it.

In the final analysis the practice of loving-kindness depends on an individual’s spiritual development and Kamma. Some people’s minds are Kammically so unfortunate that they find it almost impossible even to dream of the effectiveness of loving-kindness let alone practicing it, for their Kamma prevents them from seeing the benefit of loving-kindness. If you teach a class you will notice that each and every student’s performance is not equal. Even identical twins have different performances in a class taught by you. Individuality is the way of expressing one’s own emotional, intellectual, physical and spiritual development conditioned by one’s own Kamma. Not even the Buddha can intervene in some body’s Kamma. We are not created equal, but born different from one another according to our own Kamma which divides beings into superior or inferior qualities. If you do some good Kamma and enjoy its result I cannot steal or take it away from you by force or by friendly means. If I practice loving-kindness for all beings I can clear my mind from hatred. Thus my practice of loving-kindness manifests in my behavior. Beginning the practice of loving-kindness is the beginning of practice of good Kamma, for no good Kamma can be practiced without loving-kindness. Introducing the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, therefore, the Buddha asked meditators to overcome covetousness and hatred for the reason that during the practice of mindfulness the meditator will encounter many problems with both covetousness and hatred. More often than not, people ask, “Can we eliminate other people’s pain, suffering and hatred by cultivating loving-kindness within ourselves?” Even the Buddha is unable to eradicate other people’s pain and suffering by wishing peace and happiness. The Buddha said: “You must work out your own salvation. The Buddhas are teachers.” As individuals have their share of Kamma, each and everyone has to work for their own salvation. If we can eliminate others’ suffering by wishing them to be free from their pain and suffering, then bringing peace and happiness to the whole world is very easy. If this is possible, by the same token, it should also be possible for a vindictive person to destroy all their enemies by wishing them: “Let them be ugly, let them lie in pain, let them have no prosperity, let them not be rich, let them not be famous, let them have no friends and let them, after death, be born in woeful states of existence”. In reality those who make these types of unwholesome wishes themselves can be ugly, in pain, have no prosperity, not be rich, not be famous, have no friends and after death be born in woeful state of existence, because they commit evil Kamma in their own minds by making a wish full of hatred. Evil thoughts have the power of making others ill and good thoughts have the power of making others well. You may wonder, “If there are no beings in the ultimate sense or no self in any sense or if there are beings in conditional sense and if my practice of loving-kindness does not annihilate their pain and suffering because of their own Kamma, why should I cultivate loving-kindness?” You should remember that when your mind is full of evil thoughts or angry thoughts, for instance, you speak very roughly in filthy language, cursing language, slanderous language and falsehood. You talk maliciously. When your mind is full of hatred whatever you see brings you pain; whatever you hear is painful; whatever you smell is unpleasant to you; whatever you eat makes you sick, whatever you touch is unpleasant to your body; and whatever you think is painful. You become vindictive. You always speak ill of others, never see any good in others. You become very critical. You always find faults in others. You never appreciate any good things others do. You can be very jealous all the time. You become very arrogant, ungrateful, mean, very wicked minded. You always think of doing harm to others. You enjoy seeing others in pain, in trouble, in difficulties. You will be very happy to see others fail in their lives. Then your behavior is very offensive to others. You can easily make others sick. Your behavior will be very unpleasant to others. All who are around you will feel sick in their stomach to work with you. They get headaches and stomachaches. They become very nervous to be around you. This is how your unwholesome thought affects others.

If your mind is full of loving-kindness, on the other hand, you will speak gently, kindly, in friendly language. Whatever you see will be a source of happiness to you; whatever you hear is pleasing to your ears. You can taste your food better. Whatever you touch makes you glad. Whatever you smell will be pleasing to your nose. Whatever you think will be very pleasant and peaceful. You would go out of your way to be very helpful to people. You would become very considerate and understanding. You would have great patience. You would be accommodating. You would always speak the truth. You would always wish to please others. You would be ready to forget and forgive people who wronged you. You would always be relaxed. You would not have an unnecessary and nervous giggle, but would have a friendly smile on your face. Then people would love to work with you. They would feel comfortable around you. Their minds also would be very soft and gentle towards you. They would be protective of you. They would not speak ill of you behind your back, but would speak well of you. Their productivity level would increase. Your reputation would increase.

Moreover, you may ask “What is the use of practicing loving-kindness for all living beings by saying: ‘May all beings be happy and secure! May all beings have happy minds! Whatever living beings there may be without exception, weak or strong, long, large, middling, short, subtle, or gross, visible or invisible, living near or far, born or coming to birth—may all beings have happy minds!’ Why should one wish, ‘Let no one deceive another nor despise anyone anywhere. Neither in anger nor ill-will should anyone wish harm to another. As a mother would risk her own life to protect her only child even so towards all living beings one should cultivate a boundless heart’. Why should ‘one cultivate for all the world a heart of boundless loving-kindness, above, below, and across, unobstructed, without hate or enmity. Whether standing, sitting, walking or lying down one should cultivate this mindfulness?’”

Also sometimes people wonder how can we wish our enemies “May my enemy be well, happy and peaceful. May no harm come to them; may no difficulty come to them; may no problem come to them; may they always meet with success. May they also have patience, courage, understanding and determination to meet and overcome inevitable difficulties, problems and failures in life?”

We must remember that we practice loving-kindness for the purification of our own minds, just as we practice meditation for our own attainment of enlightenment. As I practice loving-kindness within myself I can behave in a most friendly manner without biases, prejudices, discrimination or hate. My noble behavior helps me to help the other conditional beings in a most practical manner to reduce their pain and suffering. It is the compassionate people who behave very gently and kindly to make people around them feel comfortable. Compassion is a manifestation of loving-kindness in action, for one who does not have loving-kindness cannot help others. Noble behavior means behaving in a most friendly and most cordial manner. Behavior includes our thought, speech and action. If this triple mode of expression of our behavior is contradictory, then something is wrong in our behavior. Contradictory behavior cannot be noble behavior. If someone speaks of loving-kindness and behaves in a most unkind manner, he/she is hypocritical, not honest.

On the other hand, pragmatically speaking, it is much better to cultivate the noble thought, “May all beings be happy minded” than the thought “I hate him”. The noble thought will definitely express itself in our noble behavior and our spiteful thought will express itself in our evil behavior.

We must remember our thoughts are transformed into speech and action in order to bring the expected result. Intention or thought translated into action is capable of producing a positive hormone in our brain. This positive hormone acts as a nutrient and nourishes and strengthens our nerves. When our nerves are positively charged with this positive hormone they become strong. This positive hormone will also be transported throughout our bodies by blood circulation, making our cells very healthy. All healthy nerve cells and blood cells make our body and mind strong and very healthy.

We should always speak and do things with mindfulness of loving-kindness. While speaking of loving-kindness, if you act or speak in a diametrically opposite way you will be reproached by the wise. As mindfulness of loving-kindness develops, our thoughts, words and deeds become gentle, pleasant, meaningful, truthful and beneficial to us as well to others. If our thoughts, words or deeds cause harm to us, to others or to both, then we must ask ourselves whether we are really mindful of loving-kindness.

For all practical purposes, if all of your enemies are well, happy and peaceful, they would not be your enemies. If they are free from problems, pain, suffering, affliction, neurosis, psychosis, psychosomatic, paranoia, fear, tension, anxiety, etc., they would not be your enemies any more. Your practical solution to them being your enemies is to help them to overcome their problems, so you can live in peace and happiness. In fact, if you can, you should fill the minds of all your enemies with loving-kindness and make all of them realize Nibbana, so you can live in peace and happiness. The more they are in neurosis, psychosis, fear, tension, anxiety, etc. the more trouble, pain and suffering they can bring to the world. If you can convert a vicious and wicked person into a holy and saintly person then you perform a miracle that the Buddha permitted us to perform. Let us cultivate adequate wisdom and loving-kindness within ourselves to convert evil minds to saintly minds.

Happiness in Pali is called Sukha, which is used both as a noun meaning “happiness,” “ease,” “bliss,” or “pleasure,” and as an adjective meaning “blissful” or “pleasant.”

To understand precisely the nature of happiness, a brief discussion of the Buddhist analysis of feeling is necessary. Feeling (vedana) is a mental factor present in all types of consciousness, a universal concomitant of experience. It has the characteristic of being felt, the function of experiencing, and as manifestation the gratification of the mental factors. It is invariably said to be born of contact (phassa), which is the coming together (sangati) of a sense object, a sense faculty, and the appropriate type of consciousness. When these three coalesce consciousness makes contact with the object. It experiences the affective quality of the object, and from this experience a feeling arises keyed to the object’s affective quality.

Since contact is of six kinds by way of the six sense faculties, feeling is also of six kinds corresponding to the six kinds of contact from which it is born. There is feeling born of eye-contact, feeling born of ear-contact, feeling born of nose- contact, etc. Feeling is also divided by way of its affective tone either into three or five classes. On the threefold division there is pleasant feeling (sukhavedana), painful feeling (dukkhavedana), and neither pleasant nor painful feeling (adukkhamasukhavedana), i.e. neutral feeling. The pleasant feeling may be subdivided into bodily pleasant feeling (kayika-sukha) called “pleasure” (sukha) and mental pleasant feeling (cetasika-sukha) called “joy” (somanassa). The painful feeling may also be subdivided into bodily painful feeling (kayikadukkha) called “pain” (dukkha) and mental painful feeling (cetasika-dukkha) called “displeasure” (domanassa). In this system of classification the neutral feeling is called “equanimity” (upekkha). Thus on the fivefold division we find the following five types of feeling: pleasure, joy, pain, displeasure, and equanimity. According to the Abhidhamma, pleasure and pain are found only in association with body-consciousness, joy and displeasure only in association with mind-consciousness, and equanimity in association with body mind-consciousness and the other four classes of sense consciousness.

The Buddha enumerates contrasting types of mental happiness: the happiness of the household life and that of monastic life, the happiness of sense pleasures and that of renunciation, happiness with attachments and taints and happiness without attachments and taints, worldly happiness and spiritual happiness, the happiness of concentration and happiness without concentration, Aryan happiness, mental happiness, happiness without joy, happiness of equanimity, happiness not aimed at joy, and happiness aimed at formless object. Happiness associated with the wholesome roots produced by the renunciation of sensual enjoyments is spiritual happiness (niramisasukha) or the happiness of renunciation (nekkhammasukha). The happiness of Jhana is a spiritual happiness born of seclusion from sense pleasures and the hindrances (pavivekasukha). It is also a happiness of concentration (samadhisukha).

There are numerous ways of bringing happiness. “Friends bring happiness when a need has arisen; pleasant is contentment with whatever there might be; merit is pleasant at life’s ending; and pleasant is the destruction of all suffering. Happy it is, in the world, to be a mother, and happy it is to be a father; happy, in the world, is the life of a recluse and happy is the state of Brahman. Happy is age-long virtue and happy is confidence well-established; happy is the gaining of wisdom and happy it is not to do evil. “Happy is the arising of the Awakened Ones; happy is the teaching of the Good Law; happy is the unity of the group and happy is the ascetic life of the united.” [Dh. 194,331-333].

In pursuit of happiness, many people are engaged in sense pleasure or self-indulgence in the extreme. Because of the availability of ample opportunity for people to indulge in sensual pleasure, the human realm is called a plane of sensual pleasure.

As enjoying sensual pleasure is called happiness, to be born as a human being with all the senses complete, is a happy occurrence, for one can experience a very high degree of sense pleasure through the sensory stimuli. He can be happy thinking that he has plenty of wealth, for the very thought “I have enormous wealth”, gives him a secure feeling. This feeling of possessiveness is his happiness [atthisukha]. He can be happy consuming his wealth in any manner he deems secure, entertaining his senses in any manner he wishes, or sharing with his relatives, friends, or giving in charity to whomever he pleases, or saving as much as he pleases, so he can use whenever he or his family member needs [bhogasukha]. He can be happy thinking that he has earned his wealth honestly [anavajjasukha] and he can be happy thinking that he is free from debts. [ananasukha, A.ii.p.69].

For these reasons, happiness has been defined by some as a satisfaction of the will. If you obtain what you have been dreaming, you are said to be happy. Pursuing this definition of happiness, you may do countless things to fulfill your wishes, so you will be happy. You may spend all your time, money, energy, skill and all the opportunities to do your best to make your life happy, or to bring happiness to the lives of your family members, your friends, your relatives, and probably to your country.

Considering the possible variables available for the will to desire, this definition is inadequate. If you will to procure something perishable, changeable, impermanent and subject to slipping away from your grasp, procuring that particular object makes you more unhappy than not procuring it. Or if you obtain something and you have to spend your time, energy, peace, skill even at the risk of your health to protect it, safeguard it, and secure it, then you experience more unhappiness than happiness.

Sariputta echoing the Buddha’s explanation of the sense desire says to his brother monks: “There are, reverend sir, these five strands of sense desire. What five? There are forms, cognized by the eye, longed for, alluring, pleasurable, lovely, bound up with passion and desire. There are sounds cognized by the ear… smells by the nose… tastes by the tongue… contacts, cognized by the touch, longed for alluring, pleasurable, lovely, bound up with passion and desire. These, reverend sir, are the five strands of sense desire; and the happiness, the well-being arising therefrom is called sensuous happiness.”

Generally, people misconstrue the source of happiness. They think by pleasing their insatiable desire they can be happy. They do not realize that the means available to them to please their desires are limited by time and space. When you try to obtain happiness by pleasing unlimited and insatiable desire by means limited by time and space, you end up in frustration and losing whatever little relative happiness you have.

Does wealth really bring happiness? Obviously not, for there are many wealthy people who live miserable lives, unhealthy lives. Does education bring happiness? Apparently not, for there are many well-educated persons who are more unhappy than those who are not educated. Does this mean that the poor and uneducated are happier than the wealthy and educated? No, not at all. Does marrying someone whom you are passionately attached to bring happiness? No. Does divorce make you happy? Apparently not. Does living single bring happiness? No, not at all.

Some people believe that revenge makes them happy. Tit for tat never brings any happiness to anybody, for, in reality, an eye for an eye makes everybody miserable, not happy. It is not by cultivating, but by destroying hate, that happiness grows in our minds. “He who with the rod harms the rodless and harmless, soon will come to one of these states: He will be subject to acute pain, disaster, bodily injury, or even grievous sickness, or loss of mind, or oppression by the kind, or heavy accusation, or loss of relatives, or destruction of wealth, or ravaging fire that will burn his house.” [Dh. vs. 138 - 140]. “He who seeking his own happiness does not torment with the rod beings that are desirous of happiness, obtains happiness in the hereafter.” [Dh. v. 132]. All of us without any exception have within us the root of happiness. It, however, is buried under the heap of our hatred, jealousy, tension, anxiety, worry and many other negative states of mind. In order to find out the root of happiness we have to remove the very root of unhappiness and cultivate and nourish the roots of happiness.

Suppose a person thinks of making himself happy by killing, stealing, committing sexual misconduct, lying and taking intoxicating drinks and drugs causing infatuation and heedlessness, would he really be happy? Certainly he is not happy, for the reason that his mind is confused by what he is doing. How can a man who is full of hatred, greed and delusion be happy? How can a man who kills anyone be happy? The Buddha said:

“To live without anger among the angry is, indeed, happy. To live unafflicted among the afflicted is happy. To live without ambition among the ambitious is happy. To live without possession is a happy life like that of the radiant gods. To live without competition among those who compete is happy, for he “who wins creates an enemy; and unhappy does the defeated sleep. The one who is neither a victor nor the defeated sleeps happily.” [Dh. v. 201] “There is no happiness greater than the perfect calm.” [Dh. 203] “Good is the sight of the Noble Ones; happy always is it to live with them; away from the sight of fools, one would always be happy.” [Dh. 206]. Living with the wise is very comfortable and happy. “A wise man is pleasant to live with as is the company of kinsmen.” [Dh. v. 207].

No matter how long our list of happiness is, we continue to be unhappy, frustrated and suffering without ever being successful in experiencing happiness unless we add the most essential and absolutely necessary item to our list and execute it with diligence. And that item number one in your list of priorities is the purification of mind through the practice of morality, concentration, and wisdom. Whatever else you do without these most essential and absolutely necessary components, you are not going to experience happiness, but just the opposite of it. Happiness is the result of the purification of mind. You will never find happiness in greedy mind, hateful mind or ignorant mind, for these are the very roots of unhappiness, pain and suffering.

It is the knowledge of truth we experience, not the ignorance of it, that makes us joyful and happy. Experiencing the truth of life is not accidental, but an occurrence taking place every moment in our life, although we may never be ready to accept it. As our wisdom is not sharp enough to welcome the truth of life, we rather look other way or try to pretend that it does not exist or try to run away from it. However, it catches us up by surprise. No matter how hard we try to escape, most certainly, it follows us reminding us of its presence in us all the time. The wise would be delighted knowing it and reflecting on it. The knowledge of the truth that all conditioned things are in a state of flux generates such a deep and profound experience in him that he equates it with nibbanic happiness.

All the dukkha comes to one not from the wise, but from the foolishness or foolish people. Therefore we should not associate with a man with little morality, little concentration and little wisdom, “for the same reason that we most carefully avoid an enraged elephant, a mettlesome horse, a mad bull, or keep away from snakes, from ground cleared of trees, from copeswood, cliffs and crevices, pools and swamps, from plains not fit to stay in and areas not fit to make in. Just as a man of intelligence avoids all these things, so also does he avoid those men who are not fit to associate with and thus he escapes those destructive influences pulling him down again.” [Happiness and Immortality, by P. J. Saher, George Allen and Unwin, Ltd., Ruskins House, Museum Rd., London, p 25. M. I. p.11]

So, the Buddha said: “Our actions are all led by the mind, mind is their master, mind is their maker. If one acts or speaks with a pure state of mind then happiness follows like a shadow that trails constantly behind.” [Dh. v.2.]

Happiness is most certainly generated by the mind free from the factors that oppose it. The very source that generates happiness, is the purified mind, not the impure mind. Repetition of doing good deeds with pure mind is a source of happiness. “If a man does good, let him do it again and again and let him take delight in it; the accumulation of good causes happiness.” [Dh. v. 118]

Generosity makes us happy, for it is always the giver, rather than recipient, who is happy. The recipient is obligated to the giver. One who is obligated to someone is not happy. For this reason the Buddha very wisely made desire analogous to indebtedness. We know when we borrow something from someone, we are not happy until we pay back what we have borrowed. One who gives away his own possessions has no obligation to the recipient. Therefore he is happy. The Buddha said: “The wise man, rejoicing in giving, becomes happy by that in the hereafter.” [Dh. v. 177]

It is by giving up, not obtaining, sense pleasure that one gains happiness. Sense pleasure has more unhappiness. Therefore, “By giving up a little pleasure, if one sees much happiness, the wise man would relinquish that little pleasure in view of the great pleasure.” [Dh. v. 290]

The Buddha reiterated over and over again that he taught only suffering and the end of suffering. It is clear from this teaching of the Buddha that happiness is the total absence of total unhappiness. He is called peerless physician (bhisakko) and the supreme surgeon (sallakatto anuttaro), for he examined our sickness, diagnosed its cause, analyzed the finding, and prescribed a treatment to free us from suffering and affliction and to make us happy.

The Buddha never praised sensual pleasure [kamasukha] as happiness. Instead, he said “One should know how to judge what happiness is; having known how to judge what happiness is, one should be intent on inward happiness.” [M.L. III. 278], “Sukhavinicchayam janna sukhavinicchayam natva ajjhattam sukham anuyunjeyya.” [M.III.230]

“The reason why we are asked not to intent the sense pleasure is because “Whatever is happiness in association with sense-pleasure and intentness on joy that is low, of the villager, of the average man, unaryan, not connected with the goal—this is a thing that has anguish, annoyance, trouble and fret; it is a wrong course. But whatever is happiness in association with sense-pleasures but not intentness on a joy that is low, of the villager, of the average man unaryan, not connected with the goal—this is a thing without anguish, annoyance, trouble or fret; it is the right course.” [ML. III. p. 278. M.iii. pp. 230-231].

This means procuring the desired object or objective to please one’s senses is not considered to be a source of happiness, for it is most obvious that all that one obtains can cause him anxiety and worry, for he has to make sure that these things that he obtained will not be destroyed. He has to secure them, insure them, protect them from natural disasters or human criminals. Therefore, to get what he wants is a tragedy as much as not to get what he wants. He is unhappy until he obtains what he wants and he continues to be unhappy, after he obtained what he wished, by trying to protect it even at the risk of life.

Some people presuppose that they can be happy by upholding, protecting and maintaining their most cherished views, opinions, and ideas by sacrificing their wealth, families, and even the country. They may even sacrifice their lives in the name of their opinions or beliefs which they think make them happy. People from time immemorial all over the world all the time, kill as many as they think necessary to protect their beliefs. The amount of killing to protect material possession, is insignificant compared to the killing going on in the vein of human history in order to protect ideas, opinions and beliefs. Human history is stained with blood of such brutal murders. Nevertheless, no matter how lofty their ideals, opinions, or views may be, all of them without any exception are subject to the law of impermanence. The real happiness comes not by promoting but by giving up opinions, views or ideas, for any pleasure stemming from opinions or ideas or belief can change into displeasure. If a man is happy by simply giving generously his material possession, how happy should he be when he willingly parts with all beliefs and opinions or views which are most difficult to part with. The happiness experienced after liberating oneself from such ideas, opinions and beliefs, is the most blissful happiness. Referring to this kind of happiness, the Buddha said: “Better than sole kingship on earth, better than going to heaven, better than lordship over all the worlds is the fruit of reaching the stream.” (of Enlightenment) [Dh. v. 178]

Pointing out how unhappiness or suffering is causally conditioned the Buddha said in Mahanidana Sutta: “Thus, Ananda, in dependence upon feeling there is craving; in dependence upon craving there is pursuit; in dependence upon pursuit there is gain; in dependence upon gain there is decision- making; in dependence upon decision-making there is desire and lust; in dependence upon desire and lust there is attachment; in dependence upon attachment there is possessiveness; in dependence upon possessiveness there is stinginess; in dependence upon stinginess there is safeguarding; and because of safeguarding, various evil unwholesome phenomena originate—the taking up of clubs and weapons, conflicts, quarrels, and disputes, insulting speech, slander, and falsehoods.” [The Great Discourse on Causation, The Mahanidana Sutta and Its Commentaries, Translated from the Pali by Bhikkhu Bodhi, Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka. pp. 55-56].

It follows, then, that by putting this in reverse order happiness is obtained, for it is from total elimination, complete eradication and total absence of craving that happiness is ensured. No other way can one obtain real happiness; not by faith alone in some unknown power but by realizing the truth face to face.

In the Buddha’s blueprint of happiness there are three stages—moral behavior (sila), concentration (samadhi) and wisdom (panna). The foundation of happiness lies in the practice of moral principles. One does not have to wait until he reaches the end of the tunnel to see the light of happiness, for while being engaged in the path of practicing moral principles, he will certainly have moments of happiness as a fringe benefit. This means happiness comes from living a good moral life, not from immoral life.

“That monk who is perfected in morality sees no danger from any side owing to his being restrained by morality. Just as a duly anointed Khattiya king, having conquered his enemies, by that very fact sees no danger from any side, so the monk, on account of his morality, sees no danger anywhere. He experiences in himself the blameless bliss that comes from maintaining this Aryan morality.” [Thus Have I Heard, The Long Discourses of the Buddha, Translated from Pali by Maurice Walshe, Wisdom Publication, London. p. 100, DN. I. pp.69-70]

Therefore, suppose somebody, realizing the impediments of sensual pleasure, becomes a bhikkhu, a homeless one entirely dependent upon people for his livelihood. He practices principles of wanting less not more, contentment, solitude, perseverance, constant mindfulness, concentration, and cultivates wisdom to free the mind from all defilements. He really and truly enjoys the higher degrees of happiness. This practice leads him to realize the Dhamma and to give up craving, pursuit, gain, decision-making, desire and lust, attachment, possessiveness, stinginess, safeguarding and various evil unwholesome phenomena causing taking up of clubs and weapons, conflicts, quarrels, and disputes, insulting speech, slander and falsehoods. This practice will most certainly bring him an enormous degree of happiness.

When he takes up meditation seriously and overcomes greed, he is happy like a man who has paid his debt; free from ill-will, he is happy like a man who is free from sickness. Free from sleepiness and drowsiness, he is happy like one free from imprisonment. Free from restlessness and worry he is happy like one free from slavery and free from doubts he is happy like one who safely crosses a desert.

And when he knows that these five hindrances have left him, gladness arises in him, from gladness comes delight, from the delight in his mind his body is tranquillized, with a tranquil body he feels joy, and with joy his mind is concentrated. Being thus detached from sense-desires, detached from unwholesome states, he enters and remains in the first Jhana, which is with thinking and pondering, born of detachment, filled with delight and joy. And with this delight and joy born of detachment, he so suffuses, drenches, fills and irradiates his body that there is no spot in his entire body that is untouched by this delight and joy born of detachment.

The Buddha shows that happiness is causally conditioned. It arises in the sequence of conditions issuing in liberation. In this sequence it follows rapture (piti) and tranquility (passaddhi) and happiness (sukha) leads to concentration (samadhi). The Upanisa Sutta says: “Gladness is the supporting condition for rapture; rapture is the supporting condition for tranquility, tranquility for happiness, happiness for concentration.” The commentary explains that gladness (pamojja) represents the initial forms of rapture, (piti) the stronger forms. Tranquility (passaddhi) is the calm that emerges through the subsiding of defilements; the happiness (sukha) to which it leads the commentary calls “the happiness preceding absorption” and the subcommentary “the happiness pertaining to the access to Jhana.” The resulting concentration is the Jhana forming a basis for insight (padakajjhana). From this we can infer that the happiness included in this causal sequence is the nascent Jhana factor of sukha, which begins to emerge in the access stage and reaches full maturity in the actual Jhana itself. But since happiness is always present whenever rapture is present, it follows that happiness must have arisen at the very beginning of the sequence. In the stage bearing its name it only acquires special prominence, not a first appearance. When happiness gains in force, it exercises the function of suppressing its direct opposite, the hindrance of restlessness and worry, which causes unhappiness through its agitating nature.

Nevertheless, it is this very same excitement causing restlessness and worry that an average person calls happiness. Happiness and excitement do not exist together in the same mind at the same time, for these are diametrically opposite mental factors. As happiness enters the mind through the front door, restlessness and excitement leave the mind through the back door. The excited person’s behavior is quite different from that of a happy person. When someone, for instance, is excited he or she expresses his or her excitement by smiling, laughing, whistling, singing, dancing, kissing, hugging, running, crying or even saying things which he or she would never otherwise say under any circumstance. When the real happiness arises, however, the person does not express anything either verbally or physically, but remains calm, peaceful, composed, and serene, for it is this real happiness that leads his mind to true concentration. As we know, it is not excitement but just the opposite of it that leads the mind to concentration. As the concentrated mind generates sufficient quietness of the mind, instead of expressing any mental agitation, truly happy person sees the truth as it is. The real knowledge of the truth makes a person wise enough to be happy in the deepest sense of the word.

Joy and happiness link together in a very close relationship, so that it may be difficult to distinguish them. Nevertheless the two are not identical states. Happiness always accompanies joy but joy does not always accompany happiness: “Where there is joy there is happiness but where there is happiness there is not necessarily joy. In the third Jhana there is happiness but no joy. Joy, as we noted, belongs to the aggregate of mental formations, happiness to the aggregate of feelings. The Atthasalini explains joy as “delight in the attaining of the desired object” and happiness as “the enjoyment of the taste of what is acquired,” illustrating the difference by means of a vivid simile:

Rapture is like a weary traveler in the desert in summer, who hears of, or sees water or a shady wood. Ease (happiness) is like his enjoying the water or entering the forest shade. For a man who, traveling along the path through a great desert and overcome by the heat, is thirsty and desirous of drink, if he saw a man on the way, would ask, ‘Where is water?’ The other would say, Beyond the wood is a dense forest with a natural lake. Go there, and you will get some’. He, hearing these words, would be glad and delighted, and as he went would see lotus leaves, etc., fallen on the ground and become more glad and delighted. Going onwards, he would see men with wet clothes and hair, hear the sounds of wild fowl and pea-fowl, etc., see the dense forest of green like a net of jewels growing by the edge of the natural lake, he would see the water lily, the lotus, the white lily, etc., growing in the lake, he would see the clear transparent water, he would be all the more glad and delighted, would descend into the natural lake, bathe and drink at pleasure and, his oppression being allayed, he would eat the fibers and stalks of the lilies, adorn himself with the blue lotus, carry on his shoulders the roots of the mandalaka, ascend from the lake, put on his clothes, dry the bathing cloth in the sun, and in the cool shade where the breeze blew ever so gently lay himself down and say: ‘O bliss ! O bliss !’ Thus should this illustration be applied: The time of gladness and delight from when he heard of the natural lake and the dense forest till he saw the water is like rapture having the manner of gladness and delight at the object in view. The time when, after his bath and drink he laid himself down in the cool shade, saying, `O bliss ! O bliss !’, etc., is the sense of ease (happiness) grown strong, established in that mode of enjoying the taste of the object.

Rapture and happiness co-exist in the first Jhana, thence the commentarial simile should not be taken to imply that they are mutually exclusive. Its purport is to suggest that rapture gains prominence before happiness, for which it helps provide a causal foundation.

Describing a meditator’s rapture and happiness the Buddha says: “A monk enters and dwells in the first Jhana. He steeps, drenches, fills and suffuses his body with the rapture and happiness born of seclusion, so that there is no part of his entire body that is not suffused with this rapture and happiness. Just as a skillful bath-attendant or his apprentice might strew bathing powder in a copper basin, sprinkle it again and again with water, and knead it together so that the mass of bathing soap would be pervaded, suffused, and saturated with moisture inside and out yet would not ooze moisture, so a monk steeps, drenches, fills and suffuses his body with the rapture and happiness born of seclusion, so that there is no part of his entire body that is not suffused with this rapture and happiness born of seclusion.”

Again, a monk, with the subsiding of thinking and pondering, by gaining inner tranquillity and oneness of mind, enters and remains in the second Jhana, which is without thinking and pondering, born of concentration, filled with delight and joy. And with this delight and joy born of concentration he so suffuses his body that no spot remains untouched.

Again, a monk with the fading away of delight remains imperturbably mindful and clearly aware, and experiences in himself that joy of which the Noble Ones say: ‘Happy is he who dwells with equanimity and mindfulness’, and he enters and remains in the third Jhana. And with this joy devoid of delight he so suffuses his body that no spot remains untouched.” [Thus Have I Heard: The Long Discourses of the Buddha p.103].

Every form of suffering grows out of mental impulse, consciousness, feeling, greed, clinging, grasping, rebecoming, birth, decay, death, and sickness. Therefore, eliminate them, you will be permanently happy. [Sn. vs. 731-750].

Buddha said just as in the great ocean there is but one taste, the taste of salt, so in his doctrine and discipline there is but one taste, the taste of freedom (vimuttirasa). When someone tastes the taste of freedom from all bondage he experiences real happiness called happiness of calmness (upasamasukha).

It is happiness, as we have already mentioned, that brings peace. Therefor the Buddha has prescribed a very practical way of cultivating loving-kindness which, in turn, brings happiness.

One who practices loving-kindness should wish, “May all beings be happy and secure! May all beings have happy minds! Whatever living beings there may be without exception, weak or strong, long, large, middling, short, subtle, or gross, visible or invisible, living near or far, born or coming to birth—may all beings have happy minds! Let no one deceive another nor despise anyone anywhere. Neither in anger nor ill will should anyone wish harm to another. As a mother would risk her own life to protect her only child, even so towards all living beings one should cultivate a boundless heart. One should cultivate for all the world a heart of boundless loving-kindness, above, below, and across, unobstructed, without hate or enmity. Whether standing, walking, or sitting, lying down or whenever awake, he should develop this mindfulness; this is called divinely dwelling here. Not falling into erroneous views, but virtuous and endowed with vision, removing desire for sensual pleasures, he comes never again to birth in the womb.” [Karaniyametta Sutta, SN.]

One who practices loving-kindness can sleep well and can get up well. He will not have nightmares. He will be pleasant to human beings, pleasant to nonhuman beings. He will be protected by the angels. No enemies will harm him. When he meditates, he gains concentration quickly and if he does not attain enlightenment in this life, he will be reborn in, a higher realm of highest deities.

You must cultivate loving-kindness within yourself first before trying to share it with others, for only when you feel the aforementioned benefits can you share them with others, and it is most conspicuous that you cannot share with others what you do not have within yourself. The technique of cultivating loving- kindness lies in the relaxation technique of meditation. Loving kindness is a universal emotion the root of which lies in every person’s mind. As it is buried under various unwholesome conditioning, most people are unaware of its presence in their minds. Moreover, all kinds of fear, anxiety, tension, worries, etc. keep it repressed. Once they are removed from their minds, loving kindness starts to operate freely, manifesting itself in compassion, appreciative joy and equanimity, all of which are the sources of happiness. Once the hatred is removed from the mind, loving-kindness grows up freely, unhindered by any of its opposites. It is the one who practices loving kindness all the time, who experiences true happiness.

Buddha said just as in the great ocean there is but one taste, the taste of salt, so in his doctrine and discipline there is but one taste, the taste of freedom [vimuttirasa]. When someone tastes the taste of freedom from all bondage he experiences real happiness called happiness of calmness [upasamasukha].

There are two types of happiness—one is experiential [vedayita)] and the other nonexperiential [avedayita]. The latter is considered to be the highest, for it does not change, and the former is placed in a lower degree of happiness, for it changes. The latter is attained after eradicating all the defilements in the mind and the former is attained without destroying them. As long as defilements including hindrances are not destroyed, whatever happiness attained is subject to change.

The highest happiness, of course, is Nibbana [Nibbanam paramam sukham]. Venerable Sariputta, as recorded in the Anguttara Nikaya, says in one of his dialogues: “This nibbana is happiness” [sukham idam avuso nibbanam]. One of the listening monks then asked: “Friend Sariputta, what is then here the happiness that is not felt in this [nibbana]?” [kim pan avuso Sariputta sukham, yad natti vedayitam ti?”] Answering this question Sariputta said: “That very absence of feeling is happiness here.” [etad eva khv avuso sukham, yad ettha natthi vedayitam.]

Nibbanic happiness is not considered to be a feeling [vedana] to experience, for it is feeling that generates desire. For instance, if the feeling happens to be pleasant, desire arises in the mind for obtaining what is felt. All happiness derived from any feeling may turn into unhappiness. If happiness turns into unhappiness, then what we experience is suffering [dukkha]. True happiness is the happiness attained by eliminating dukkha. The cause of suffering should be eliminated totally, completely, never to return again, in order to eliminate suffering. With total annihilation of the cause of suffering, permanent happiness is possible.

The happiness attained by eliminating dukkha. The cause of suffering should be eliminated totally, completely, never to return again, in order to eliminate suffering.

You may have heard that you should be mindful all the time, whether you are at home or in the office, or on the bus or in your car or in somebody else’s car, etc. You may interpret this advice to mean that you should keep your mind focused all the time on your breath. While driving, if you simply keep your mind on the breath you probably will get into some problems, such as losing your attention to your driving or forgetting your driving and you may have an accidents.

Sometimes you may think “to be mindful all the time” means to pay attention only to what ever you are doing at that particular time. This, of course, is what any person who is serious enough in his/her work normally does. An artist, painter, writer, singer, composer, thinking, speaker, shooter, cook, etc. must pay attention to whatever they do at any time they are engaged in their work.

Not only human beings do this. You may have noticed cats paying total attention to their prey in order to catch them without disturbing their prey by making any mistakes. Tigers, lions and crocodiles pay total attention to what they are going to catch. You may have noticed cranes standing on one single spot for a long time to catch a fish. Sheep dogs pay total attention to the movements of sheep so they can run very quickly to direct the herd in the right direction. Unfortunately neither cat, crane, nor sheep dog can remove their greed, lust etc., or cultivate an iota of insight by merely paying total attention to their objects.

Paying attention to whatever you are doing at any time is not going to eliminate your greed, hatred, and ignorance. This, in fact, is exactly what you do in tranquillity meditation or concentration meditation. By paying attention to one thing at a time you cannot get rid of your psychic irritation. You may focus your mind on one single object for fifty years and still your psychic irritation will remain unchanged in your mind. One person may observe all the moral rules. Another may learn all the texts by heart. Someone else may gain concentration. Another may spend his/her entire life in solitude. All of them might think that they can experience supreme liberation from all psychic irritation, which no ordinary person can attain. But none of them can have that experience without destroying all the psychic irritation. Therefore in addition to all they practice they also must remove all their psychic impurities in order to experience the bliss of emancipation from all kinds of pain.

What is missing in focusing total attention to one single object all the time is wisdom. Your total attention should be coupled with wise attention. What is wise attention? It is attention accompanied by the three wholesome roots. What are the wholesome roots? They are generosity, loving-kindness and wisdom. This means that when you pay attention to something always attempt to pay attention without greed, hatred or delusion, but with the thought of generosity, loving-kindness and wisdom. These three are called wholesome roots; greed, hatred and delusion are called unwholesome roots. Don’t let your mind be affected by unwholesome roots when you pay attention to something. Let the thought of generosity, loving-kindness and wisdom dominate your mind while paying attention to anything.

When you pay attention to pots and pans as you wash, you may not need any loving-kindness, generosity or wisdom towards them. You are cultivating mindfulness not for pots and pans, but for living beings. You should pay attention to any thought regarding yourself, or any other living beings. Have mindful reflection while wearing your clothes, eating your food, drinking your water, talking to someone, listening to sound, seeing an object, and walking or driving.

When you pay total attention with wise consideration or mindful reflection, your greed, hatred and delusion fade away, because in your wise attention generosity, loving-kindness and wisdom are active. Your thoughts of generosity, loving-kindness and wisdom have the power of minimizing your greed, hatred and delusion while you are engaged in any activity. While paying attention to something, without wise consideration or wise attention, you may inadvertently develop greed, hatred and confusion. You may see an object, for instance. That object may happen to be attractive, beautiful or pleasing to your eyes or it may be unattractive. At that time if you do not have wise attention, you may then end up cultivating greed or resentment for the object or you may get utterly confused ideas about the object. Or you may think that the object is permanent instead of realizing that it is impermanent, satisfactory instead of unsatisfactory, or having a self instead of being selfless.

You may then ask how your generous thoughts can get rid of your greedy thoughts, because the greedy thoughts want to cling to the object, or grasp it. When you perceive the object with greed, your mind will cling to it and not open to any thought of letting go of greed. You may not want to take your eyes away from the object. In fact, at that time your mind temporarily becomes blind to any thought of generosity. Even if you wish to let go of the attachment to it you may do so with great reluctance. You may feel that you are generous. But your generosity is only to fulfill your greedy purpose, like gaining something in return, or gaining recognition or becoming famous by being generous. Greed has very strong super glue in it. At the very first contact with the desirable object the mind sticks fast to it. Letting go of that object is as painful as cutting off of a limb or some flesh of your body, and you cannot let go of that object from your mind.

This is where you really need your wise attention. This is where you must learn to see impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and selflessness in the object you are watching. Your wise consideration indicates that neither the object you perceive nor your feeling or sensation regarding the object remains the same even for two consecutive moments. You will not have the same sensation later on. You change, the object you perceive changes. With wise attention you will see that everything is impermanent. This knowledge of impermanence allows you to let go of your resentment. When you see with wisdom that everything that is unsatisfactory is impermanent, then you see the connection between unsatisfactoriness and greed. As you are attached to an impermanent object you will be disappointed with the change of the object that you are so attached to. When you have wise consideration you see that which is impermanent and unsatisfactory is without self.

Then you might think “Ah! Since this object is going to change, I must be quick and smart to take the advantage of this object right now and enjoy myself as quickly as possible before it disappears. Tomorrow it won’t be there”. Here you must remember haste makes waste. If you make a hasty decision and do something foolish, you will regret it later on. Sometimes you are attracted to a person, for instance, and grab hold of him/her without giving much consideration to him/her, and later on you will find many faults in that person. In any such hasty decision there is no mindfulness. You cannot beat the change nor can you stop it by making any foolish attempt.

When your mindfulness is well developed, then even in haste you make a right decision. The only thing that makes sense in rushing to beat impermanence is to step back and check your own mind and see whether or not you make the decision with wise consideration. When you are mindful you will know how to take the advantage of the current moment so that you will not regret it later on. Any mindful decision you make will make you happy and peaceful and never make you regret it later on.

Always remember that mindfulness is the state of mind full of generosity, loving-kindness, and wisdom together with compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity. Any time you pay attention to anything you must ask whether your mind is full of these factors. If not you are not mindful.

When you have generosity in the mind you will let go of any attractive sight, sound, smell, taste, touch and thought without any hesitation. You should certainly recognize them to be attractive in the conventional sense. Know that it is because of their attractiveness that people become attached to them and get involved in them. The deeper they get involved in them the deeper is their suffering. When you have loving-kindness in your mind you will not try to reject any sight, sound, smell, taste, touch and thought if they happen to be unattractive. Mindfully perceive them with the thought of impermanence. When any sight, sound, smell, taste, touch or thought appears to be identical with self, look at it as an unreal concept inculcated in your mind by conditioning through generations of wrong notions and look at it with wisdom.

Mindfulness is not carefulness. It is not smartness. Anybody can be careful and smart. A man walking on a wire three hundred feet above ground is careful. Remember those gymnasts performing all kinds of balancing feats. Numerous daredevils who climb very steep mountains, across rocks, slippery places, rivers, and so on are very careful. Many thieves are very smart and outwit the police. Many drug dealers, bank robbers, criminals are very smart. None of them can be considered to be mindful.

Mindfulness is that state of mind which reflects upon itself not to get caught in greed, hatred and ignorance, which cause suffering to yourself, to others or to both.

When we ask people not to cultivate resentment some people ask us how can you live without resentment? This is the miracle of mindfulness. When you practice mindfulness you can learn to do most difficult things easily. Not becoming resentful, lustful, or confused is very difficult. Through constant training in mindfulness you learn to live without resentment, lust or confusion. Moreover to be mindful is more difficult than to be unmindful, and you learn to do that more difficult one more easily than the easier one. For this reason the Buddha said:

Sukaram sadhuna sadhu - sadhu papena dukkaram

papam papena sukaram - papam ariyena dukkaram.

For the good to do what is good is easy

For the bad to do what is bad is easy

For the bad to do what is good is difficult

For the noble to do what is bad is difficult. (Udana 5.8)

This simply means that which is most difficult at the beginning becomes easy through constant practice.

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2004-09-18 The Meaning Of Dana 61:00    Exploration of the foundation of the Buddha’s teachings—generosity. Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge

What is the use of a raft? It is used for crossing over a vast expanse of water which is difficult otherwise to cross over. The close scrutiny of the application of this simile used by the Buddha in Snake-simile (Alagaddupama) Sutta in Majjhima Nikaya elucidates how skillfully he chose it to illustrate precisely what people, who don’t fully comprehend the meaning of religions, have been doing throughout the history of religion. In this simile the Buddha pointed out that if a man who, after crossing over the vast expanse of water by a raft, were to determine to carry the raft over his shoulders, thinking by doing so he would show his gratitude to the raft for helping him to save his life, he would be foolish.

The simile of snake-catcher used by the Buddha in the aforementioned Sutta is also equally indispensable in illustrating the danger of the wrong grasp of a religion. If a man who does not know how to catch a poisonous snake were to hold the snake either by his body or by his tail he may get bitten by the snake and consequently suffer severe injury or death. The message in these two similes once realized fully would facilitate better understanding of the tension stems from the increase of violence and crime in the name of religion in modern society.

The wrong grasp of religion can lead man to justify his greed, hatred and foolishness. His distorted views, distorted perception and distorted consciousness force him to grasp a religion wrongly and undermine its very foundation, causing more pain and suffering—as does the wrong grasp of the snake.

A wrong grasp of religion can always be a passageway to defeat the very purpose of religion and encourage people to commit atrocities in the name of one’s faith. People sometimes not only cling to religions but naively obey any man or woman who, being a persuasive speaker, may promote and justify violence and unethical practices in the name of religion. By supporting such a person with their time, skill or wealth, they only increase his or her greed and hatred and ignorance. Blinded by religious beliefs they may even try over-zealously to protect their religions not only by inculcating hatred and fear in many of their gullible followers’ minds, but also by advocating even murder in the name of their beliefs.

If a man simply clings to the raft after using it to cross over the ocean, instead of leaving it on the shore for someone else to use it, he will not do the wise thing either. He rather makes the raft a heavy burden on his shoulder. The raft is made out of reeds, sticks, branches and foliage. They are bound by a rope or bark of a tree. Similarly this body is made up of form, feeling, perception, mental formation and consciousness which are bound together by ignorance and desire to make body-mind complexity. Just as this man clings to the raft made up of reeds, sticks, branches and foliage we may cling to the body and mind made up of form, feeling, perception, mental formations and consciousness bound by craving and ignorance. The man clinging to the raft which helped him to cross over the vast expanse of water may continue to carry the burden of the very same raft. Similarly by clinging to our mind-body complexity and our religious beliefs we continue to carry their burden. He remains bound to his raft and we to the mind-body. He is on the shore and we are in Samsara. This body and mind, together with the feelings, perception and mental formations, exist not for clinging but only for gaining knowledge and insight necessary for attaining liberation from Samsara. “Monks,” said the Buddha, “you should let go even (good) teaching, how much more false ones”. Good teaching benefits us only if we use it, just like the raft. No teaching, however good it is, can help us if we simply cling to it. Clinging even to good teaching can cause pain and suffering. Just imagine how much more painful it could be when we cling to bad things! The man who uses a raft to cross over the body of water has to be wise. Similarly one who uses this body-mind complexity to cross over the ocean of Samsara has to be wise. Therefore he will not cling to this body-mind complexity at all. If he does he cannot attain enlightenment.

Clinging to beliefs without practice can also easily make people religious fanatics who seek refuge in violence to resolve problems, for they are totally ignorant of what their religion teaches them. People who are unaware of the message of their religion may live in constant fear of criticism of their religion and wish to protect it by destroying people who have different beliefs. The fear of criticism arises in the mind ill-directed by the ambivalent belief system which cannot vouch for security and actuality. The Buddha said: “Your ill-directed mind can do you more harm than all your enemies in the world together can do”. Similarly, he said: “A well directed mind can do you more good than all your parents, friends and relatives together can do for you”. The real conqueror is not the one who conquers thousands upon thousands of people in a battle field but one who conquers himself.