Somehow, the Citta is Not Above Training

Venerable Acariya Maha Boowa ~Nanasampanno
Wat Pa Baan Taad
June 22, 1979
Translated: Achaan Sudchaad

"...We all come from different places and so we are of different personalities but we have to try to blend together, living together like one particular organ, one body..."

Somehow, the Citta is Not Above Training

All of you who come here for instruction please be earnest. Be really determind in your practice. I am trying my best to give you the instructions to the utmost of my ability. Sometimes in my instructions I cover everything that I know and sometimes I only touch on a few points. In short, I have never hidden anything from you. Whatever I know I have tried to bring out to you, the way I practiced and how difficult and hard it was. I always bring it out an let you know about it so that I can show you as an example. It is not something brought out to show off.

In the ways of coping with the Kilesas you have to be heavy handed when it is the time to be heavy handed or else you will not be able even to scratch the Kilesas. There are times during which you can take it lightly but there are also times when you have to commit your full effort, when you arrive at the point when everything that you have must be thrown into it. Such a time will come and it will happen within your heart, and you will know it within yourself.

One who uses his thinking ability and judgement will come to the time when he finds that the situation requires that he cannot retreat but can only go forward; either he will lose his life or he will realise the truth. This he will know for himself. I myself experienced this. I never thought that I would become a teacher, teaching you. Looking back at the past at my stupidity and the restlessness of my Citta I never thought that I would be in such a position. But somehow the Citta is not above training. It can be trained. When the Citta becomes very wild you have to be heavy handed. You have to cut down in every respect. You have to cut down your food but you have to intensify your exertion. You have to discipline yourself in every respect. When the body becomes very oppressive to the Citta then you have to cut down by fasting. This is the way of training yourself.

Sometimes, even when the body is not oppressive to the Citta and the Citta still becomes wild you must intensify your effort and your investigation so that you can identify the Kilesas and get rid of them. At such a time when you are forced to commit yourself wholeheartedly then you will come to experience the result of your wisdom and mindfulness. I myself am of coarse temperament and I could not practice lightly but when I had to practice very heavy handedly I came to the result. That is why I can attest to you that in times of stress when one is driven into a corner one can come out of it. One will not always be ignorant. During such a time when one is driven into a corner one is forced to use one's mind to think of a way out. And when you are forced to think of a way out then wisdom can arise from this thinking.

It is the same when one is surrounded by the Kilesas. One is forced to think of a way out of the situation and Sati Pa~n~na will then be utilised and will lead you out of the mess. When you can come up with Sati Pa~n~na to cope with the Kilesas that surround you then these Kilesas surrounding you will dissolve, leaving you in a state of calm. At such a time you will gain confidence in your ability, in your wisdom and mindfulness that is capable of destroying the Kilesas. Something like this you will be able to recall without having to try to commit it to memory. The result that arises from this kind of strenuous exertion will impress itself on your hearts and you will never forget it. This is why I want you all to use Pa~n~na. You should not try to wait until you have established Samadhi before you use Pa~n~na. When you are developing calm you have to commit your effort thoroughly into calming the Citta. The Kilesas are in the Citta and so is Sati Pa~n~na so there is no reason why Sati Pa~n~na cannot get rid of the Kilesas and destroy them so that the Citta can calm down.

If you do this with determination then the state of calm cannot slip from your grasp and the Citta will definitely calm down. You must not let the Citta lead you astray but rather you must use your own power to coerce it into calm. When you want to be calm you have to be earnest in observing the Citta because the Citta is the cause that keeps itself from calming down by thinking of all sorts of things. This imagining, in turn, creates mental pictures which fool us. There is not a single moment in which the Citta does not conceive of these various images. So we have to focus on the Citta and observe it at this point. If we observe the Citta we will know it and when we know it we can then follow it to see where it is leading us.

No matter how fast the Citta is, mindfulness will be just as quick and then the Citta will not be able to escape the watchfulness of mindfulness. You will then eventually be able to get the Citta to calm down. This is the way of calming the Citta. In the beginning stages of practice calming the Citta can be quite tedious and difficult but you should not consider this to be an obstacle. At the time when one is about to pass away, the Dukkha will be very severe especially for one who does not have any Dhamma in his heart. Such a man does not have any mindfulness and wisdom and he will be entirely engulfed by Dukkha Vedana. But one who has Dhamma has to be strong and firm and face up to the difficulty of this final moment.

The Kilesas are strong so we cannot be weak. We must be strong too. Usually the case is that the Kilesas are always strong and we always tend to be weak. We cannot be like this. We must be equally strong and once we have some calm we should investigate. We should not remain doing nothing but instead must come up with some means of wisdom. Sometimes even Pa~n~na can calm down the Citta. This is what we call "Pa~n~na develops Samadhi". It is not that Samadhi can only be developed by training to be calm. The calm that arises by training with Pa~n~na can make one very courageous and much more so than with the way of just establishing calm only.

I really want to see you experience this Dhamma that I have talked to you about. What I have said to you is from my own practical experience and I have not added anything to it. This is exactly how it was. I am showing you the results that I've experienced within my own heart. It is the truth that is now within my heart and I am telling you just this truth and nothing more. Be really earnest and really commit yourself in the practice. Don't ever speculate about where Magga, Phala and Nibbana are. Just observe and focus your attention on the one who is in a state of confusion because this is the one who hides the Magga, Phala and Nibbana from you.

It is you thoughts, imagination and confusion [which] are the thorns that are obstructing you from attaining the Magga, Phala and Nibbana. You have to calm the Citta. Once the Citta is calmed down, happiness will arise which is the living testimony to yourselves. Once you have emerged from this state of calm you should investigate. You must investigate the Dhatu (physical) Khandha. Look at it clearly. It is constantly with you. Why can't you see the truth of it? This body is merely a piece of skin that wraps up the bones but we tend to look at it as a human being, as a person, as something beautiful and as something lasting. But we are merely being fooled by this imagination. For the natural truth of this body is Aniccam, Dukkham and Anatta. It is a cemetery. It is the same for anybody in the world.

We have to investigate to see according to this truth and then we will be in accordance with Dhamma. The imagination and fabrication that this body is something lasting is really the affair and way of the Kilesas. If we believe in Dhamma then we must not believe in the Kilesas. We have to investigate and analize to see the truth against the way of the Kilesas. Then we can get to see the truth of this body, that this body is not "I" or "mine", that it is not Sukkham, Nittham or Atta. It is not happiness, permanant, or a self. It is truly Aniccam, Dukkham and Anatta, impermanant, suffering and not self. Get to see it clearly. Investigate earnestly.

You have to try and experience some calm as a practitioner and especially so as a Bhikkhu. One really wasts one's birth as a human being if one cannot experience some of the Santi Dhamma all the way up to Vimmuti and Nibbana. It is really a shame. Don't speculate about the Magga, Phala and Nibbana because this is just the speculation of the Kilesas. We should take the Dhamma which teaches us at the heart. It is at the heart that we should look. The Kilesas are in the heart and the means of overcoming the Kilesas are also in the heart, right in here. Where are the four noble truths? Where is Dukkha? The Dukkha of the body and the Dukkha of the heart are already evidently within ourselves. We are the ones who are responsible for it.

Why then can we not see the truth of Dukkha? And what is it that causes this Dukkha to arise and consume our hearts? What is it if it is not the Kilesas which the Lord called Samudaya, the cause of Dukkha? It is the cause of Dukkha and it is within the heart. What is the means of discerning this Samudaya if not by the means of Sati Pa~n~na? We can always see the Kilesas and the cause of Dukkha within our hearts with Sati Pa~n~na. We must not speculate but must dig into our hearts because the truth is right here. When it is time to use Pa~n~na we must use it. We can use it. Otherwise the Lord Buddha would not have taught us to do so.

Some of the Savakas had to struggle just like we are doing now. We can see this from the texts. There is the example of the Venerable Tulapandika who could not memorize a particular verse for four months. His brother got very disappointed with him. When they were invited to go into people's home for Dana with the Lord Buddha leading the company his brother did not invite him along because he considered him very low. Because of this the Venerable Tulapandika became very depressed, so he took the opportunity to investigate Dhamma using his Sati and Pa~n~na and finally attained and realized Dhamma, right on that very day. When the Lord Buddha reached the house he mentioned that not all the Bhikkhus had come yet and told someone to go and fetch the Bhikkhu that had not yet arrived. The Venerable Tulapandika, in addition to his attainment to Dhamma, had also attained the supernatural power of being capable of creating an thousand images of himself. So when the person arrived at the monastery he met many many Tulapandikas, all over the monastery and did not know which one to invite. He returned to the Lord Buddha and told him about this. The Lord instructed him to return to the monastery and ask the first Tulapandika that he saw and grasp him by the robe. When he did this all the others disappeared. The Lord Buddha already knew that the Venerable Tulapandika had attained to Dhamma due to his brother disciplining him by not inviting him to go to the house with the rest of the Bhikkhus. His brother did this with reason and the Lord Buddha did not reprimand him for it. His brother was also an Arahant.

You can see how difficult it was for them as well. But when they strived, they too could attain to the fruit of Dhamma. We are also human beings. Although we might not possess the supernatural powers we at least have the power to discipline and destroy the Kilesas. You must really commit yourselves. Be really serious and earnest. The Magga, Phala and Nibbana are right here within your hearts but you are just sitting there, letting the Kilesas trample all over you. It is really improper for any practitioner not to be able to enjoy the tast of Dhamma.

We tend to let ourselves be dragged along by the Kilesas all the time so we have to be very strict with ourselves. And what is Magga? Magga is Siila, Samaadhi and Pa~n~na. We are already keeping Siila so what is there to talk about but Samaadhi and Pa~n~na? When the heart is not calm what is the reason for this? We know that it is because of the Kilesas, dragging us away, telling us to do this and do that. We must apply our Pa~n~na to calming the Citta or we can do it through the method of Pariakama Bhavana. But if the method of Parikama Bhavana does not calm the Citta then we must apply Pa~n~na to discern the Citta and find out what it is thinking about.

It has been thinking from the first day of our lives, up until today. But what good has this ever done us? We have been deceived by the Kilesas and the images that they creat within our minds. Aren't we tired of this? We get tired of many things but why don't we ever get tired of being fooled and deceived by the Kilesas? If we are really desirous of wisdom then we must use Satti Pa~n~na. We have to ask ourselves what we are thinking about and this is the means of Pa~n~na. At this moment, if we are going to think about anything, then we must think in the way of Dhamma. We have to be really earnest in this and then we will see the result.

The technique and means of Sati Pa~n~na are the devices that will open up the things that have blocked and blinded the Citta and gradually bring up the result of Nirodha. This is true of the development of the Magga. Once the Magga is fully developed then all the Kilesas from the coarsest to the most subtle will all disappear. Sati Pa~n~na can conquer the Kilesas and this is something that we can develop within our hearts and use to subdue the Kilesas. Then the Magga, Phala and Nibbana will be evident within our hearts. Once the Kilesas are vanquished there is no longer any need to ask where Nibbana is. The Arahants themselves never ask about Nibbana. Nibbana is called "Nibbana" only as a sign pointing the way to those who have no knowledge of it.

For example, if we were to put up the name of this monastery at the front of the monastery it would have no significance for us because we already know what Wat Pa Baan Taad is, but to other people who have not come here before it would be important. When they first arrived, they would have to look at the sign and say, "what temple is this?" "Oh, this is Wat Pa Baan Taad. This is what Wat Pa Baan Taad is realy like." One who already lives in the monastery does not have to read the sign, and it is similar with the Magga, Phala and Nibbana. They do not have to read about them. They are not in doubt because they already know within their hearts. The important thing is that all the Kilesas be vanquished for then there will not be any doubt.

And what is Sammuti and Vimmuti? What is the real truth? The term Nibbana is just a name that is Sammuti. What is the nature that is given the name Nibbana if it is not the purified Citta? What else could it be? Get to see it right at this point. Once you have seen it here you will have no doubt. And after you die where will you be? For one who has attained Nibbana, this will not be any problem. It is only the people who have Kilesas who have problems. Wherever they are, they are constantly consumed by the Kilesas. It is not Nibbana that causes the world all it's troubles but the Kilesas. As practitioners you must be earnest.

Really commit yourselves whole-heartedly. May all of you set up the determination to the work of eradicating all the harmful things within your hearts. There has never been a single Arahant so out of his mind that he would ask what the state of purity is or what Nibbana is. All that is necessary is to have one's Citta purified and then everything else will be found right within that purified Citta. As far as the question of the time and place of the Lord Buddha's entry into Nibbana is concerned, including all the countless Buddhas who have arisen before, this will not be any problem at all because the truth will be revealed within one's heart.

Looking right here you will come to understand because it is of the same truth. They merge perfectly together. All of these questions will disappear the instant we attain to the state of purity. Wherever one is, one will always be with the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, right within one's heart. Once the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha have attained to their natural state, they will become the Dhamma Patipo, the Light of Dhamma. They become one whole Dhamma. As far as the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha is concerned this is merely a conventional way of saying it, the Sammuti way, but once it has entered into it's natural state it is just one whole Dhamma.

The middle way, Majjhima, I translate as suitability. This is the suitability of application for the eradication of the Kilesas. If the Kilesas are forceful, then the Majjhima must also be forceful. When the Kilesas become more subtle then the Majjhima must become more subtle and equally so. When the Majjhima surpasses the Kilesas then it is capable of destroying them. When all the Kilesas are destroyed then the Majjhima has no more purpose because the Majjhima Patipada is the means of overcomming the Kilesas and it is also a form of Sammuti. The Kilesas are Sammuti and so is the Majjhima Patipada but the Kilesas are on the entangling side of Sammut while the Majjhima is on the disentangling side.

The four noble truths, Dukkha, Samudaya, Nirodha and Magga, are also Sammuti. Nirodha is the cessation of Dukkha. Once Dukkha has come to a stop then what is the use of seeking for anything more? What is the purpose? At the final moment when Dukkha comes to an end, we will know that it has ceased and once it has come to cessation then what is the use of seeking anything anymore?

It has already passed. But the one who knows the cessation of the Kilesas, this one is not the Sacca Dhamma or the noble truths. This is what we are actually after. If we speak of going after something it is this particular thing. But the one who has attained to this state does not say anything about it at all. He does not say that he takes anything or throws anything away for he has now arrived at the absolute suitability, the natural state of Majjhima, and here we come back to the Majjhima again. This is being in the middle where there is no love and no hatred, just right, proper and appropriate, being contented by itself alone. It is not hungry. To this, nothing is too much or too little. It takes no praises or criticisms because it is full enough in itself. It is fully content by itself.

Concerning the four Magga and the four Phala and Nibbana, if one is not in the practical field, one will always be in doubt about them. But once one has practiced to the ultimate point, one will not be in doubt at all. At the final moment, when the Citta gets rid of Avijja, it is just a single instant. At that instant, this is the time when the Magga merges with the Phala and immediately after that it is described as the Arahantaphala. But in truth this is Nibbana. This is usually called the attainment through the Arahantaphala; the fruit of Arahantship. But as long as the Magga and Phala still function, this cannot be called Nibbana because it is still duality. This is the moment when the Magga approaches the Phala, when the path merges with the fruit.

It is similar to when one walks up the steps of the Sala and places one's foot on the Sala floor while the other foot is still on the step. One has not yet accomplished the goal but when the other foot is lifted and placed on the Sala floor, then right at that instant one has finished and this is what Nibbana is, when it has been realised. But it is also described in the text as the fruit of Arahantship. At that stage, there is no more problem and no more question about it but the Lord Buddha differenciated this state so that those who practice can investigate on their own.

Had the Lord Buddha not differenciated the differences between these things, then those Savakas who had attained Nibbana might have questioned him about it. Why didn't you mention this part? That was the reason that the Lord Buddha, in order to be precise, differenciated these stages into nine, the four paths, the four truths and Nibbana. Then there would not have been any question because the Arahant Savakas had to have passed through all of these stages without any exception. They could not have arrived at Nibbana without passing through all of these stages.

Once one has attained to the ultimate destination, then all these relationships just disappear. When the path merges with the fruit, there is still a relationship and that is why the Lord said that Nirodha must be clearly realised, that one must accomplish Nirodha. Nirodha is the cessation of Dukkha. In our own words, it means that we should try to strive to attain to the cessation of Dukkha. But we tend to interpret the meaning into something totally different to that intended. We tend to become involved with the analysis of how we should make Nirodha clear though the real intention is that we should get rid of the Kilesas.

As soon as we have gotten rid of the Kilesas then Nirodha will become apparent. The truth and what we can remember are two different things. They are like two different worlds. The truth is absolute, while what we can remember or recall tends to change. There is no certainty in memory so we cannot take memory as the standard of measurement of the truth. For instance, if we try to analyse what the Brahmaloka is or what the path and the fruits are, or what Nibbana is, we cannot help but speculate about them. This is because the Citta itself has not attained to the path and fruits but has only commited them into memory.

We merely commit these things to memory like thinking about what Nibbana is and keeping it in our minds. But although the Citta may be able to remember by heart what Nibbana is, the Citta itself is not Nibbana for it is still possessed with the Kilesas, and this is what is meant by memory. Please remember this well. But when the Citta has gradually passed the various stages of truth by way of practice then these things become real. They are truthful. Then our questions and doubts will gradually be eliminated as we progress along.

For example, if someone happens to come along and tell us what London is really like, we tend to speculate and draw up images within our mind. But when we ourselves actually go to London, the images that we have drawn up in our mind will totally disappear because the truth of what we see takes their place. All the images that we have drawn up are false and they will have to disappear in the presence of the truth that we see. What is left is just the truth. It is the same with the four paths, four fruits and one Nibbana. We can remember them but we are always doubtful of them. When we have penetrated into them, all our doubts and questions are gradually eliminated for the truth and memory are two different things. They are worlds apart. For this reason, no matter how many Arahants there were in the world, even if it were a million or more, there would not be any questions amongst them or any contradiction.

Similarly, with those who have gone to London, there would not be any contradictions between them because they would all have seen precisely the same thing. Before, we would have questioned, what are the Maggas, what are the Phalas, what [are] the paths and fruits of the Sotapanna? Or the Sakadagammi? Or the Anagammi? Or the Arahant? But as soon as we have practiced and gradually passed through these stages, we will know what they are until we finally arrive at Nibbana.

Once we have arrived at the final Nibbana then there will be no more contradictions because no contradictions could be found. Having arrived at this stage, then all the Sammuti will totally disappear. The Sammuti referes to all the doubts and questions. Once we have entered into the truth, all the doubts and questions must disappear and the Lord called this "Vimmuti", which means freedom. We have been carrying the burden of memory for a long time and it is of no benefit. Why don't we carry the burden of the truth? Why don't we carry the truth and see what it is like and see how heavy it is? Carrying the burden of memory is very tiresome but we don't think that it is heavy. Carry the load of truth and see whether it is heavy or not. See the difference between carrying the load of memory and carrying the load of truth. We have already learned many true memories by studying the various texts. Now let us learn the truth from our practice. Then we can see whether it is the same or different from what we have learned in the texts.

If it is not different, why would the Lord Buddha have taught us to practice? The Lord Buddha taught Pariatti, Pattipatti and Pattiveda which means studying the literature and texts, then the practice and then the attainment to the results. For instance, Pariatti is the studying of the outline of the way like studying from the texts or what we learned from our preceptor on the day of our ordination when he teaches us the five parts of the body, Kesa, Loma, Nakha, Danta and Taco; hair of the head, hair of the body, nails, teeth and skin. We must now take them to apply in our practice by investigating these bodily parts so that we can see the truth of them.

This is what is meant by practice. And when we have realised the truth, then we have come to Pativata, the gradual realization of the truth. It doesn't mean that Pativata, the result, must appear all at one time for actually it will appear steadily. We will begine to realize the truth of these aspects of Dhamma until eventually we will have pulled up all the rootlets of the Kilesas. That is when we will have attained to the full Pativeta, the result. Then all our burdens will be shed. The problems of the Kilesas that have caused us such obstructions will all come to an end, when all the Kilesas which are our enemies have been totally destroyed. Then we will rest in peace. But the victory that we win in the ways of the world is different from the victory that we win in the ways of Dhamma. The Lord Buddha said that no matter how many people we have vanquished in battle, even if it were millions, still we would not be able to find true peace and happiness from it.

That comes from being able to vanquish the Kilesas within our hearts. This is the most supreme, the highest, to conquer one's self. This is the highest victory. This is the highest triumph that one can attain to. Don't we want this kind of victory, the highest? Therefore, all of you must look at your own Kilesas. You must observe them. There are many of you who come to live here and so there is a tendency for the Kilesas to come out. You have to be vary careful and observe them, especially the Kilesa that thinks very highly of itself. This is very important and you have to be very careful of it. We should not take the Kilesas out and exhibit them amongst ourselves but we should take the Dhamma out and live together peacefully. We should always look at each other with respect to Dhamma. We should show loving kindness to one another always. Though we may not be able to look at each other on the good side or on the achievement side since perhaps we haven't achieved anything yet, we should at least look at each other from the basis of Dhamma.

Look in the light of Dhamma. But if there is any virtue achieved then we can also look at each other in that light and praise the virtue of those particular people. Therefore, we should tend to look at each other in the light of Dhamma. We should have loving kindness, Mettaa, for one another and then we shall be able to live with each other in harmony, happiness and peace. We all come from different places and so we are of different personalities but we have to try to blend together, living together like one particular organ, one body.

End of Dessana.