" Insight Meditation on The Middle Way "
{ The Dhamma talk, given by the Most
Venerable Kaba Aye Sayadaw
Aggamahã Saddhamma Jotikadhaja Bhaddanta Paññãdipa
at a ceremony of the Sayadaw's 78th birthday. }
(Date=March the 4th, 2001, Place=Singapore)
The Buddha's teaching (Buddha Desanã) is originally based on the Middle Way. The Buddha Himself was awakened in the Four Noble Truths and fully enlightened only by following and treading the path of the Middle Way.
The path is very simple, practical, applicable and relevant to each and every one of us. You can apply in your daily life and will enjoy your work and activities you do every day.
You will be happy and comfortable if you can go on the Middle Way. You usually feel unhappy and uncomfortable unless you are in accord with the principles of the Middle Way.
For instance, If you feel either, too hungry or too full, too cold or too hot, too sleepless or too much sleep, too overwork or too less work and so on and so forth.
So here you will have to balance yourself with the principles just on the Middle Way; walk along the Middle Way; Keep it up with you all the time; live up to your daily life and try to apply it to all activities in your day to day life.
There is no discrimination of class, colour, faith or religion. The path is human principle, universal truth and righteous law for our life. You do not need to find for the happiness of life and rely outside on the unseen, unnatural Heavenly Power or Brahma, Creator or God, but truly within yourself - your own Mind and Body.
The Middle Way is open to all for freedom of thoughts and guides you towards par-excellent way of blissful peace and happiness of your life. The path only shows the true way avoiding two wrong conceptions, that is, two extremes, the one is enjoyment in sensual pleasures and another self- mortification or torturing oneself in pain.
The first extreme indulgence in sensual pleasures usually makes one low, vulgar, worldly, unworthy and unprofitable. The second extreme self-mortification makes one painful, unprofitable and unworthy. These two, in fact, retard the development of mind purification. If one is going on either in the wrong right side or in the wrong left side one can never be liberated from the sufferings of life in Samsara.
The original source of these two extremes is due to two defilements of ignorance (Avijjã) and craving (Tanhã) which are opposite to concentration (samatha or samãdhi) and insight meditation (vipassanã). So they are called one-sided or too extreme (anta). So long as one is deluded by ignorance and attached to craving he cannot be liberated from the cycle of sufferings in Samsara.
When you can see and understand that the real original source of suffering is only due to these two defilements, you will have to dispel them through the practice of concentration and insight meditation. The former can eliminate craving and the latter ignorance. . In actuality, suffering arises only due to these two defilements and you can develop your mind towards the attainment of enlightenment by realizing intrinsic nature of mind and body (nãma and rûpa). From this very stage, you can go on from stage to stage up to the stage of "discerning the superior knowledge of Noble Truth (saccã) or Enlightened Wisdom."
The benefits of the Path is enormous and immeasurable for both the physical and spiritual life so long as you can utilize it and apply the Path regularly to everything you do in a systematic and proper way. You will see yourself the wonderful experience and the real blissful peace and happiness in your life. But you always need to be mindful of yourself that you should keep up your mind with constant awareness of the word’’ Middle Way, Middle Way." whatever you do anything or any activity. It is neither pleasure nor pain. So you are free from greed craving, attachment inclining on one side, and you also cannot have any feeling for agitation, ill-will and mental distress on the other. Thus your are only between the balanced equilibrium of the mind. It is indeed a golden path for your life.
Regarding the middle way, there are two kinds of aspect, e.g. for theoretical aspect, you will have to study or acquire knowledge from books and from other teachers. If you study the scriptures of the Buddha Desanã, you learn there are eight factors in the path deseribed in the following order:
1.Right Understanding,
2.Right Thought,
3.Right Speech,
4.Rigth Action,
5.Right Livelihood,
6.Right Effort,
7.Right Mindfulness,
8.Right Concentration.
These eight factors are again summed up into three stages, namely 1. for morality (sila), 2. for concentration (samãdhi) and 3. for Wisdom (paññã). Here I am going to mention the path from the practical point of view.
The Stage of Morality
(Sila)
"Theoretical Principles of Daily Life"
Right Action here means doing only bodily good deeds which are not harmful and wrong to oneself and to others, such as, dangers, crimes, tortures, inflicts and bodily hurt and other improper ways of troubles and sufferings.
A person of right action therefore must refrain from killing any living being, from stealing, from indulging in sexual misconduct, from taking any intoxicating drinks and drugs. He must also abstain from rude and fearful manners and behaviors of violent strikes, shoots, hurts, transgressions and so on.
Right speech here means speaking only pleasant, virtuous, truthful words. The actual follower of right speech must refrain from telling lies, tricky talks, twisty speeches which give other people much troubles and sufferings, from speaking ill of others, from slandering, from rude and abusive talks, from frivolous and idle gossip and so on.
The speaker must choose only sincere and honest words, with a kind, loving, pleasant, profitable, faultless, wholesome and good will in accord with the Buddha's Teaching. His intention or volition should be very honest and pure without giving anyone the inflicts or conflicts.
Right livelihood here means earning one's living justly, honestly and purely. A person of right livelihood therefore only follows righteous and faultless occupations. He never commits himself in deceit, tricky or fraud in his living, but deals only with the work which is fair, just and profitable and virtuous for himself as well as for others.
In his earning, he avoids trading in arms, dealing in poisons, flesh, intoxicating drinks or drugs and living beings. If a person can follow these principles of morality in his daily life, he is perfectly pure in morality and is also recognized as a morally upright man in his society. Other people around him will pay respect and regard him. And therefore he is, quite fit and relevant and happy in dealing with other fellow beings all the time and enjoys moral virtue of pure life. All people will see him as a civilized gentleman or lady. He or she becomes well known as the crown of the public and enjoys the real blissful peace and happy life. He or she is loved by many who usually give him or her with due bountiful helping hands. He or she is therefore successful and prosperous in all walks of life.
The Stage of Concentration (Samãdhi)
The next three stages on the path have to do primarily with the practice of meditation. The first of the three, right effort is very much important, because without making any effort nothing can be done. It is the root of all achievements and the foundation of all attainments. No one can succeed without effort. Whatever you have to do, you will have to rely only on your effort. Those who succeed are to depend only on their perseverance. But you will have also to balance with tranquillity, otherwise hindrances like overacted exertions or anxious mental states may arise when you make an effort.
So you have to preserve with a persistent effort neither too tight nor too loose. This is the very essence of the Middle Way. Every time, you have to do everything with released and balanced mind being mindfully aware of it. In this way, you will have to walk your way by yourself to solve all problems of life.
Therefore a person of right effort has to live a moral and blameless life by following the four main principles of effort, namely,
1. The effort to prevent evils from arising.
2. The effort to overcome evils which have already arisen.
3. The effort to develop good and meritorious acts which have not yet arisen and
4. The effort to concentrate and reflect frequently on the meritorious acts already arisen or developed.
Right Mindfulness is the most important in the practice of meditation. Mind usually is fleeting very swiftly, it is very difficult to guard and control it. If mind drags you then you will have to follow either good side or evil side. When you go to the evil side you are sure to confront sufferings of life; if you follow the good side you will be happy and enjoy a good way of life.
So long as you cannot control and restrain your mind you are the real victim of your own evil mind. Here is a particular and definite way in the Dhamma of the Buddha without which you can never control it even for a moment. It is nothing, but practice of in-and-out breathing which is the best and only way for all breathing individuals. The technique is very simple and easy for each and every one of us.
You can try by yourself even without a teacher. First sit in a quiet place, keeping your body comfortably upright and relaxed and make your mental note at the nostrils while breathing in and breathing out. The air is touching at the tip of the nose. You will have to notice just on the touch and be mindfully aware of it. If you can go on for some minutes with your normal breathing, you are sure to get some kind of concentration. This is the real practical experience by you. The more you can practice it, the more you will have stronger and stronger concentration.
Right mindfulness here means being aware of what is happening in the present moment. It is the work of noting the process or flow of things; when walking, to be aware of the movements of the body, in observing the breath, to be aware of the sensations of in and out breathing at the nostrils and to notice it to be aware of it without attachment or grasping which inclines to conduce to greed; (lobha) or without condemning (ill-will) and agitation which inclines to conduce to hatred; (Dosa) and without sluggish or dull which inclines to conduce to delusion. (Moha); but just observe the flow or process how it is going on at the present moment. Thus when your mindfulness is well cultivated, it becomes very appropriate and rhythmic for mental balance and relaxation. In this way, your meditation practice is quite in accord with the Teaching in the Dhamma that indicates as the following:
"Majjhimãti samkilittha sukhadukkanam abhãva majjhe bhavãti majjhimã." The Middle Way means that there is no defiled mental states, either pleasant (sukha) or unpleasant (dukkha) and just remains at the middle without inducing any consciousness of greed or ill-will and delusion. "Sãeva nibbãnam patipajjanti etãyãti patipadã, Only by this Middile Way, Nibbãna can be attained and so it is called Way (patipadã). ( Patisam...tha)"
Thus, when you can concentrate your mindful awareness just on the touch at the nostril constantly at every present, you are now on the Middile Way; You have obtained the higher tranquility of mind, you are quite light and alert to some extent, free from defilements or cankers (kilesã). That is, you can enjoy the Blissful Peace and Happiness of Nibbãna for a moment (Tadanga pahãna) and then for some moments or minutes (Vikkhambhana pahãna).
Eventually, when your meditative wisdom has arrived at the final stage where all defilements are completely exhausted, then it is called the utter discarding passions (kilesã). (Sammuccheda pahãna)
Mindfulness indeed brings you the wonderful qualities of serene, poise and equilibrium to the mind keeping it sharply with an alert awakening.
When the meditator can go on along the same practice of meditation, he will be more watchful and aware of each and everything, for instance, whatever he sees he is only to be aware of "seeing, seeing", no further any mental states whether good or bad, or whom he is seeing etc. In the same manner, for hearing, smelling, tasting, touching and thinking, he should mentally notice each one at the present moment. Thus there is no room for any sensual desire, ill will, pleasant or unpleasant, like or dislike craving or disinterestedness, clinging or no attachment. In such a state the meditator is quite mindful and more aware of how his consciousness of an object itself arises and then immediately passes away. The meditator now comes to notice that the first knowing consciousness itself arises and then the second knowing consciousness comes into being again and the continual process of consciousness goes on forever.
In actuality, there is no knower, no personality, no existing entity, no self, no ego, no being, no life. Here he discerns only noting process of mind (nãma pariccheda) is going on nothing more. But the meditator must endeavor to watch every moment of his awareness on all objects of consciousness arisen from seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching and thinking. Eventually, in his meditation practice, the process of consciousness, so-called 'Mind' which is always restless and flitting about now settle down into a more peaceful calm and tranquil state.
The meditator now comes to see only the process of cause and effect and effect and cause of mind-body is going on. A meditator who has attained to that stage is called a minor stream enterer winner who gains ease and firm stand of destiny and thus he is destined only to the higher and better abodes of existence.
When the meditator, with his insight meditative knowledge advances on in his meditation practice, he will become mindfully aware of that: -
(1) The first knowing consciousness and the second are going on in the same process (nãma pariccheda) but they go separately.
(2) Whatever he sees any man, woman, he sees only physical elements or particles, not the personality which are arising and passing away in their own nature discerning the knowledge of (Rupapariccheda ñãna)-discrimination process of physical body. Both these are also called Discerning the knowledge of discrimination of conditional phenomena (Sankhara pariccheda ñãna).
When the meditator goes further along the same insight knowledge, he reaches the stage of wisdom "Right Understanding (Sammãditthi) and Right thought" (Sammã sankappa).
1. In this way, he will reach the first stage of insight knowledge (Vipassana ñãna) and then pass through the following stages of Insight knowledge (Ñãna), this is the real foundation of (Vipassanã ñãna)- that can penetrate into the separation between mind and matter – (Nãmarupa paricchedañãna.)
They are:
2. Insight knowledge or wisdom in the realization of differentiation between cause and effect of mind and matter (Paccaya pariggahañãna).
3. Insight knowledge or wisdom in the realization of seeing, being aware or observing the nature of impermanence (Anicca), suffering (Dukkha) and impersonality (Anatta) of mind and matter (Sammasana ñãna.)
4. Insight knowledge or wisdom in the realization of all process of arising and passing away of mind and matter (Udayavaya ñãna).
5. Insight knowledge or wisdom in the realization of dissolution or destruction of mind and matter (Bhanga ñãna).
6. Insight knowledge or wisdom in the realization of danger or loathsome dreadful conditional states of mind and matter (Bhaya ñãna).
7. Insight knowledge or wisdom in the realization of displeasure, aversion or banefulness of mind and matter (Ãdinava ñãna).
8. Insight knowledge or wisdom in the realization of willing or desire for deliverance (Muccitukamyatã ñãna).
9. Insight knowledge or wisdom in the realization of fully reflection on impermanence, misery and lack of permanent ego or personality, (Patisankhã ñãna).
10. Insight knowledge or wisdom in the realization of equanimity regarding all phenomenal formations of mind and matter (Sankhãrupakkhã ñãna).
11. Insight knowledge or wisdom in the realization of discerning how to attain the Noble Truth (Saccãnuloma ñãna).
12. Insight knowledge or wisdom in the realization of proper adaptation leading towards the first stage of the Path (magga) called (Gotrabhu ñãna).
i.e., The meditator’s mind adapts itself how it will go and pass over from the Nãmarupa phenomenal existence in Samsara towards (Lokuttarã ñãna) the superior awakened knowledge of the Path and Fruition (Magga ñãna Phala ñãna). And then he enters the domain or realm of supramundane level and becomes a genuine Sotãpanna.
When he becomes a Sotãpanna he has discarded and eliminated the wrong self-illusive view (Sakkãya ditthi), doubt about the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha (Vicikicchã) and the superficial futile rites and rituals of hereditary or traditional biases or attachments. (Silabbataparãmãsa) For this reason, he is never destined to go down the four lower woeful planes of existence (Apãya). He is to be reborn only in the upper and better planes of existence.
He has unshakable faith and confidence in the Buddha, in the Dhamma and in the Sangha, he never violates the Five Precepts keeping them very fastened for life. He is called The Noble Holy person or Saint (Ariya Puggala.)
He only has to ascend to other three noble stages of the Path and Fruition till he attains the final Arahathood-the Most Holiest Noble One (Arahanta).
We can say that he is quite fortunate to be born as a human being coming across the dispensation of the Buddha Sãsanã.
The second stage of the Noble one is called the Once Returner (Sakadã gãmi) who has diminished the two lower fetters called sexual desire (Kãma rãga) and ill-will or agitation (Byãpãda).
The third stage of the Noble one is called the Never Returner (Anãgãmi), who has amihilated the five lower fetters mentioned above and the fourth and final stage of the Most Holiest Noble One (Arahanta) has completely and utterly detached the five upper levels of fetters, namely,
1. Desire for fine-material existence (Rupa rãga)
2. Desire for immaterial existence (Arupa rãga)
3. Conceit (Mãna)
4. Restlessness (Uddhacca)
5. Ignorance (Avijjã)
As a final result, he is no longer subject to the cycle of rebirth and death (Samsara). He is absolutely liberated from the sufferings of Samsara and has attained the Supramundane Blissful Peace, Happiness, Higher Wisdom and Enlightenment of Nibbãna.
Sãdhu Sãdhu Sãdhu.