1. Meditation
” Meditation means “
Meditation is trying to change your mind. From a bad mind to a good mind, From a low quality mind to a high quality mind, right mind, good mind, Adopting a righteous mind, making the effort, developing the mind is called meditation.
Meditation is mental work. It’s not the physical work, It is not the work of the senses. The focus does not produce the meditation. The mind is meditation.
I’ll talk a little about focus here. What is focus? What can be known directly by the mind, Being recognized what is known is called attention or senses.
A person has six senses. Try putting your hands together ••• you know your hands are touching, Why do you know?
What the mind is doing? Being conscious and mindfulness, you know because you’re mindful. Can the mind move the hand from the mindfulness position to the leg? Got it. This movement is mind. It is with this mind that you focus. If you know that you are paying attention, you know your mind.
Knowing of the sense is called the mind. There are two types of meditation: the senses and the mind. The focus is not the main thing. Mind is important. The senses are already in it’s nature. Only the mind knows.
You don’t need to develop your senses. We have to develop our mindfulness, diligence, concentration, understanding. So it is more important to develop the mental state than the focus. Sitting and concentrating on something; Can you say that you are being meditating mindfully? You haven’t received it yet. It can only be called attention.
Now… be careful.
What if this mindful mind turns out to be an unjust mind? effort, careful mind It is also necessary to be fair in working mind. It is also necessary to be virtuous.
If you strive with an unrighteous mind (unwholesome mind) it will not reach the stage of meditation. You will reach the stage of meditation if you strive with the mind of righteousness (the mind of merit).
Desire If you want to be and strive hard, you strive with greed(Loba). If you work with a feeling of dissatisfaction, you work with anger(Dosa). If you do what you think without knowing it properly, you are trying to do it in ignorance(Moha).
So, understanding, not to exert effort with passions. You will have knowledge. Then the stage of meditation will be reached.
There are three types of Knowledge which means that knowledge of learning, thinking (analysing) and understanding.
Mindfulness alone is not enough. There is what The Buddha preached about mindfulness and clear comprehension. Therefore, in meditation, you will have knowledge of learning and thinking.
True understanding and insight into Vipassana will arise when one possesses sufficient knowledge.
So the first thing is to have knowledge of learning. It must be right. Full and complete. Therefore, to have knowledge of learning, we have to listen to Dhamma talk, read appropriate Dhamma books, asked, We have to discuss. Then we have to think and make an effort to practise meditation.
For example….if we are going to do important things, we must think carefully and we’ll know how to avoid mistakes.. That’s the use of understanding. It is also an effort to use the understanding.
So, should we think about meditation? Shouldn’t you think? You should not think thoughts that increase greed and your anger. But you should think about how you are trying and practice meditation.
There are two types of meditation.
(1) Trying to calm down the mind(Samatha meditation).
(2) the mind to know the truth, Trying to gain insight knowledge of (Vipassana Ñnana).
A person who tries to be still and calm down has to pay attention to the senses. A person who tries to be develope insight knowledge has to pay attention to his meditation mind.
There are two types of mentality that attention and noting mind. Which is important? Noting mind is more important. The mind wants to be develope vipassana insight, but if there is greed, anger, and ignorance in the observing mind, will it be develop vipassana insight?
Due to the senses he who is knowledgeable develop mindfulness, concentration and wisdom. Because of their senses those who are weak in knowledge increases greed, anger Ignorance.
Which one of the two senses is better? the contemplating sense of the air coming out of the nose(Anapana) or the contemplating sense of the arising and falling movement of the abdomen.?
No sense(object) is better. Attention is attention(the sense is the sense.). Same thing. Assuming it’s better, you are addicted.
Without this focus, you would not be able to function. No more effort. If you want to see the attention that you think is good, you are going to be greedy. If you don’t see the attention you think is good, you will be angry. Thinking that it is good is also ignorance.
Do you have to increase your focus/sense? Do you have to cultivate mindfulness? The focus is already there. Mindfulness should be developed. Mindfulness is on the side of the mind.
The lack of the right understanding, the right effort, the right concentration, the insight knowledge and faith, we must develop ourselves to strengthen those right things. It is called the practicing meditation.
Shwe U Min Sayadawgyi
Translated by Sayadaw Asabhacara
2. Cha Chakka Sutta (1)
Samyutta Nikaya:
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Cha Chakka Sutta, also known as the Discourse on the Six Sets of Six, is a significant teaching found in the Samyutta Nikaya, which is part of the Sutta Pitaka within the Pali Canon. The Pali Canon is the standard scripture collection of the Theravada Buddhist tradition.
In this sutta, the Buddha explains the concept of six sets of six(6×6=36), which are:
1. The Six Internal Sense Bases (also known as six sense organs): These are the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind.
2. The Six External Sense Bases: These are the forms, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile objects, and mental objects that are perceived by the six internal sense bases.
3. The Six Types of Consciousness: These relate to the six sense bases. There’s eye-consciousness (seeing), ear-consciousness (hearing), nose-consciousness (smelling), tongue-consciousness (tasting), body-consciousness (feeling), and mind-consciousness (thinking).
4. The Six Types of Contact: This refers to the contact that occurs when the internal sense base, the external sense base, and the consciousness related to these bases interact. For example, when the eye (internal sense base) sees a form (external sense base), and there is eye-consciousness, eye-contact occurs.(tinnan sangati phasso).
5. The Six Types of Feeling: These are the feelings that arise from the six types of contacts. They can be either pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral.
6. The Six Types of Craving: These are the cravings that arise in relation to the six sense bases.
The Cha Chakka Sutta is significant as it describes the processes that lead to the arising of suffering (dukkha) in accordance with the Buddhist concept of Dependent Origination (Paticca Samuppada). According to this teaching, the interaction of the sense bases leads to contact, which gives rise to feeling, which in turn leads to craving, and ultimately to suffering. This teaching therefore provides a detailed understanding of how suffering arises and how it can be ended by breaking the chain of dependent origination, a key goal of the Buddhist path.
The Cha Chakka Sutta also emphasizes the importance of mindfulness and understanding in dealing with the six sense bases. By understanding the processes described in the sutta and by developing mindfulness of the sense bases, one can reduce craving and thus move towards the cessation of suffering.
Compiled and Translated by
Sayadaw Asabhacara
January 11, 2024
3. Cha Chakka Sutta (2)
Samyutta Nikaya:
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“Tinnan sangati phasso, phassa paccaya vedana, vedana paccaya tanha.” (Dependent Origination – Paticca Sampada)
The phrase above-mentioned is in Pali, the language of the earliest Buddhist scriptures, and it’s part of the teachings on Dependent Origination (Paticca Samuppada) which explain the process by which suffering (dukkha) arises and ceases.
Let’s break down the phrase:
1. “Tinnan sangati phasso” – This translates as “from the coming together of the three, contact arises”. The “three” here refers to a sense organ (for example, the eye), a sense object (for example, a visual form), and the corresponding consciousness (in this case, visual consciousness). When these three come together, contact (phasso) occurs.
2. “Phassa paccaya vedana” – This means “with contact as condition, feeling arises”. After contact occurs between a sense organ and its object, a feeling (vedana) arises. This feeling can be pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral.
3. “Vedana paccaya tanha” – This translates as “with feeling as condition, craving arises”. When we experience a feeling, it gives rise to craving (tanha). If the feeling is pleasant, we crave to have more of it. If it’s unpleasant, we crave to get rid of it. Even neutral feelings can give rise to craving, in the form of craving for things to stay the same.
This series of events is a part of the cycle of Dependent Origination, which in full, details the twelve links that lead to the arising of suffering (dukkha). This teaching is fundamental to Buddhism, as it not only describes how suffering arises, but also how it can cease. By understanding this process, one can work to eliminate craving, and in doing so, achieve the cessation of suffering.
This Cha Chakka Sutta was preached at Jetavana Monastery. The Buddha explains to the assembled monks the Six Sets of Six (6×6=36).
The Commentary (MA.ii.1024f) says that, apart from the sixty monks who became arahants when the Buddha first preached the sutta, on each occasion of its preaching, by the Chief Disciples and by the eighty chief disciples, a like number attained arahantship. In Ceylon, Maliyadeva Thera preached it at sixty different places, and each time sixty monks became arahants. Once, when Tipitaka Culanaga preached it at the Ambilahalavihara, one thousand monks attained to arahantship (MA.ii.1025).
Compiled and Translated by
Sayadaw Asabhacara
January 12, 2024