So why can't the Citta accept this truth?

Venerable Acariya Maha Boowa ~Nanasampanno
Wat Pa Baan Taad
23 Jul, 1979

Translated: Achaan Sudchaad

"... all that is left is just coolness that will last forever. This is Acaliko, timeless.
... the timeless Citta and the timeless Dhamma. They are one and the same thing. Once one has arrived at this stage, both the Citta and the Dhamma are one and the same thing. One can either call it the Citta or the Dhamma for there won't be any contradiction. All that is necessary is for the Kilesas ... to disappear from the heart ..."

So why can't the Citta accept this truth?

The diseases of the heart are chronic. They can easily flame up and it is very hard to curb them. So as we gradually correct and remedy these diseases we should at least try to get some calm in the process so that the Citta can be cool and peaceful.

We must therefore focus our attention on the truth and Dhamma of the Lord Buddha. In every text, the Lord told us to take care of and restrain the Citta and the six sense organs. When the internal organs come into contact with the external sense objects like the forms, sounds, smells, tastes and tactile objects, one should not delight in them.

Listen. The Lord said that we should not take delight in them. We must take this to heart. The Dhamma has been well taught and what it teaches has no mistake in it. It teaches that we should not take delight in the forms, sounds, smells, tastes and tactile objects when they come into contact with the eye, ear, nose, tongue and body. And how can we practice so that we don't take delight in these things? We need to have discipline and control and investigate to prevent the Citta from taking delight in them or having aversion for them or else we cannot be called practitioners. We must constantly concentrate on taking care of the Citta, for this is the way of the practitioner; one who takes care of his heart.

Apart from taking care of the Citta, one must also nourish it. This nourishment is the calming of the Citta or the calming of the heart, providing the heart with coolness and peace. Then we must also investigate in the way of Pa~n~na for the purpose of uprooting those harmful things inside the heart. This is the way of giving nourishment to the heart by our diligent effort in our various modes of exertion. These are all ways of nourishing our heart.

I was a young Bhikkhu once possessed with all sorts of Kilesas. This I have never forgotten. I don't remember much about the Dukkha that I experienced as a lay person but I remember very well the Dukkha that arose in my heart as a Bhikkhu and this experience of Dukkha taught me a very good lesson. When I was studying the texts, all the Kilesas, Tanha and Asava never seemed to appear or become apparent. But when I began to practice, all of these Kilesas, Tanha and Asava, seemed to come up out of nowhere. They really gave me a strong fight and I had to struggle with them with all that I had.

During the days of my practice I could never gain any ease and comfort while doing nothing. This is part of my temperament. What ever I do I really commit myself to and the determination that I had for Dhamma was not just mere determination. I was determined for the Dhamma of deliverance from Dukkha and this determination was firmly embedded inside my heart. Before I even took up the practice of the Sasana Dhamma I was already convinced that it is possible to attain to the Magga, Phala and Nibbana. There was no doubt in these because I had a strong belief in the Magga, Phala and Nibbana, though I was not totally certain of my convictions.

But when I went to Tan Achaan Mun and heard his Dhamma I was then totally convinced and believed in the Magga, Phala and Nibbana totally to one hundred percent of an ordinary mans possible faith. All of my doubts about the Magga, Phala and Nibbana had been dispelled because the Venerable Achaan Mun had shown me them in every respect and so my determination was total, without having anything to bring it down.

As it was like that, my exertion and diligent effort were at their maximum so when I took up the practice I really concentrated on my work of Bhavana so that I could get to see the marvels of the Citta again. I had experienced this only three times in all the time that I had spent studying the texts and I was really determined to master and take hold of this Citta. I would not retreat but struggled with the Kilesas that had been ruling over the heart for so long. I had to do it to the utmost of my ability by putting my life at stake. Therefore, my exertion had to be very intense and I had to experience a lot of Dukkha and hardship.

But the Dukkha that arises from one's exertions is similar to the Dukkha that a boxer experiences in the ring. He doesn't pay much attention to it because he is being very careful and on his guard and is totally committed in his effort to knock down the opposition so he is hardly bothered by this Dukkha. It was the same way with me. I forgot all about this Dukkha, the Dukkha that arose from my exertions, and did not even think about it. This was because my exertion was very intense and I was constantly fighting and fighting.

So please listen well and take this to heart. All of us have the Kilesas within us and we have been carrying them with us for countless lives. It is my conviction that as long as the Citta is still possessed with Avicca inside it, it will always continue on to take up new birth and then die again and again. I believe in this conviction firmly and nobody in the whole universe, in the entire three worlds, could ever come and contradict this belief, because I strongly believe that when one dies then one also takes up birth. This is what I believe and I have found verification of it as I have practised and attained to the more subtle Dhamma. I could see the cause of it, the source of birth, ageing, sickness and death. What is this cause?

It is the same old cause that functioned in the past and this is Avicca Pariya Sankhaara, ignorance conditions the arising of Sankhaara. It cannot be anything else but this. We have all experienced Dukkha so we should not see anything good in this world but the Dhamma. It is only the Dhamma, the teaching of the Lord Buddha, that can uplift us from Dukkha through our exertion in applying this Dhamma, using it to help and uplift ourselves. Please don't ever imagine that you can find any marvel or rarity from anything in this world to the extent where you totally forget about your exertion, the truth and Dhamma, and turning this truth and Dhamma, which is the most supreme, into something useless or worthless by seeing those things that have no worth or value as the real essence. This is a misperception and is the understanding which follows the commands of the Kilesas which we have always followed in the past without being aware of it.

Dhamma must always oppose the Kilesas because the Kilesas always oppose the Dhamma. For this reason we must accumulate and develop Sati Pa~n~na so that we have enough of it to combat the Kilesas. Not a single type of Kilesa can surpass Sati Pa~n~na, Sata and Viriya. You must be firm and tough because you are a Bhikkhu. Be earnest and resolute. Don't be weak or discouraged. Both discouragement and weakness are the Kilesas. They are not the Dhamma. This is not the way of Dhamma and this way of thinking is not in line with Dhamma. This kind of thinking is on the side of Samudaya, which will cause more Kilesas to afflict us with more Dukkha, thus creating more discouragement within us. The result that we seek will never appear and it will be contrary to our purpose and intention and our determination for Dhamma. The Kilesas are always permeating and hiding within us so we cannot be off guard, because as soon as we are off guard they will hit us. Remember this point well because the Kilesas are always waiting. As soon as Sati Pa~n~na is off guard, the Kilesas will emerge. As soon as we are off guard, Sankhaara will begin to concoct.

As far as Sa~n~naa is concerned it is a lot more subtle than Sankhaara. When Sankhaara concocts it stirs suddenly but Sa~n~naa doesn't stir at all. As one establishes the Khandhas to become still and one begins to observe to see which Khandha will arise first, Sa~n~naa Khandha will slowly permeate out like ink permeating across a piece of blotting paper. It slowly flows out until it creates a picture, a mental image, and then it will cause Sankhaara to begin to concoct up the various stories following the image that has been created. All of these pictures or images that are created by the Sa~n~naa all come out by themselves. Sa~n~naa draws up the images by itself and then Sankhaara takes hold of these images and begins to concoct up the various concepts and stories around them. This is how it happens when we are off our guard.

If it is hard, we should endure it. We should not be concerned about these difficulties. As practitioners we should never be bothered by the hardships that arise from our exertion. The Lord Buddha went before us and he experienced all sorts of hardships and difficulties so when he taught the world the Dhamma he selected and refined the teaching and came up with the Majjhima Patipada, the middle way of practice. This is the shortest and most direct way. Please follow this path no matter how difficult or easy it may be for this is the shortest and most direct way to go. Let us not be concerned with the hardship for if we tread the roundabout ways we may eventually get lost and not reach our destination. We must hold on to this path. We must make our heart brave and courageous. Be tactful and versatile and watch out for the Kilesas for they will whisper to us right inside the Citta.

Please don't ever think that the Kilesas are anywhere else but right inside the Citta. In the scriptures and palm leaves there are only to be found the names of the Kilesas or of Dhamma or of greed, hatred and delusion and all the various kinds of Kilesas. Be it in the book of the discourses or the discipline or the Abhidhamma, they only contain names. They only contain the names of Dhamma and the names of all sorts of Kilesas, Tanha and Asava, that manifest themselves inside the heart of all sentient beings.

The Lord Buddha expounded and pointed to the heart. A few years after he had passed away the Dhamma was collected and put into the scriptures so that it could be used as a signpost pointing out the way. We then study these texts and become attached to them by taking up the knowledge that we have committed into memory as our own knowledge. One thinks that one is wise and discerning although the Kilesas are constantly consuming consuming one's heart and burning it worse than an erupting volcano. Such is the way when we commit things into memory. It can only increase the Kilesas by letting us think that now we know the truth and that we are very wise from doing a lot of studying. This is the wrong way of learning. The correct way of learning is to learn about the name of the Kilesas, Tanha and Asava, and the technique and method of coping and correcting and getting rid of these Kilesas, Tanha and Asava. Then we must take up this learning and apply it inside our hearts, for this is where all the Kilesas, Tanha and Asava, are.

Where are lustful desire, hatred and anger, if they are not found within the heart? They are found in the heart and this is where they exhibit or manifest themselves. Where are craving and ambitions? The texts or the scriptures never exhibit the greed, hatred and delusion, for us to see. But all of these things truly exhibit themselves right within our hearts. It is right here so we must turn around and hit right at this point. The Kilesas are found right here. Don't look in the scriptures for that is merely a compass, pointing towards the heart. I am not speaking in contempt. There are both the internal and external Dhammas. The texts are merely the external Dhamma which serves as a compass or a signpost pointing back towards the heart so that we can practice and develop this heart. That is really the message of the texts. Don't turn into worms eating up the paper. Let's do it at this point because this is where the Lord Buddha attained to his enlightenment.

Be courageous and joyful. In your practice you must have Sati and Pa~n~na, mindfulness and wisdom, as the most important things. In your exertion, Sati is foremost. It is the basic ground. Even in the beginning stages of practice you must depend on Sati as your basic ground and when you begin to investigate with Pa~n~na you must also depend on Sati. That is why Sati is always necessary. That is why the Lord said that Sati is always needed in every circumstance. The Lord said all circumstances. There are no exceptions at all. Whatever you do, whether it is the internal or external work, you must always have mindfulness. You really must try to develop your Sati. Don't be interested in or pay attention to other things. Don't ever have the idea that the forms, sounds, smells, tastes and tactile objects, or other people, are harmful to us. They are merely the creations or concoctions of the heart that create images and pictures to fool us and bother and disturb our hearts. The one who really stirs up trouble is the heart itself. It is the heart that creates all sorts of troubling affairs.

You must look at this point. When you have constantly observed and watched this place, you will eventually come to realize that all the troubles that have been created come out from this place. This you will find out for yourself in the heart. Once the heart comes to calm then all the troubles also disappear. During this time the world is not apparent although the world is there because there is nobody to give it a thought, because at this time the knowingness or awareness remains just with itself and it doesn't think up any concepts about anything.

It is likewise with the five Khandhas that are found within ourselves. Once the Citta does not form any concepts about them they become just like any other material that we can see with our eyes. They are like the four elements, the earth, air, water and fire. These things form no concepts within themselves. It is we who form up these concepts and give them names or labels like calling them earth, water, air and fire, that that thing is a mountain, a tree, a man or a woman. We just keep on forming concepts without end. This is the way of building up insanity because there is no mindfulness.

But when the Citta doesn't form up any concepts and is very cautious in watching itself very carefully then there is nothing. It is as if there is nothing there. Then we can really have fun, analyzing and investigating the main cause that creates all the problems inside the heart. But if the Citta still cherishes the various concepts and thoughts about this and that then this is really the work of the Kilesas, pushing us outward. The Kilesas fool us and lead us to go out and become involved with external things rather than being concerned with the internal things. They fool us and lead us to go and chase after shadows. The real Kilesas are found within the heart but we never have the chance to grab at them.

That is why we must concentrate all our effort right at this point. If we cannot pinpoint the spot where the Citta is concocting up the various concepts then we must depend on our Parikama object as our object of attention. Be solely aware of just the Parikama object and nothing else. It can be "Buddho Buddho" or anything else. But the point is to be concentrated only on that particular object. Constantly focus your attention just at this point so that eventually your awareness becomes continuous. Then the flow of the Citta that goes out to the various Aramana will now begin to be drawn back as it cannot withstand the power of discipline and control.

This flow of the Citta will steadily return back to the Citta itself which will then calm down. One will gain coolness and one will be able to see this very clearly. This is one aspect and it is the same way with the investigation with the body. Every piece and part of this body is Asupa and patikula, loathsome and filthy. This is the truth. Our perception and view that runs contrary to Dhamma, the seeing that this body is "I" and "mine", as people and animals, this is precisely the Kilesas.

You must therefore try to investigate and analyze this body in both aspects of patikula (filthiness) and the Dhaatu (elements). And what are the elements? They are the earth, water, air and fire and Mano, which is the heart. You should also investigate that. As far as people are concerned, after they have been born and die, does the body have any value or worth once it becomes a corpse? Is there any value in a dead person? There is none. It cannot even compare with a fish.

When a fish dies, they can take it to the market as with all the other kinds of animals. Every piece and part of them becomes useful after they die because it can be sold in the market. But with people, once they die, their bodies are not useful at all. So, in order to be useful, we must do what we can now while we are still living, especially we who are Bhikkhus. Our duty and work is to cultivate and develop ourselves so that we can release ourselves from the Kilesas and Asavas.

You must therefore exert to your fullest. Be resolute and earnest. In your investigation of death you must investigate so that you can really begin to see the truth of it. In this whole world of Samsara every person, every man, every woman, every animal, must all die. Wherever they may be there is always a cemetery. Even right here, where we are sitting, there is a cemetery for there are all sorts of little animals or organisms that die all over the place. It is just that we never think about it in that way. We don't think about it as a cemetery. We just call it a Sala.

In our bodies there can be found many organisms living inside us, like the germs for instance. They are one form of animal. Inside this body there is nothing that one can call pretty or beautiful. You must investigate and analyze to see according to the truth of the Lord Buddha. The Kilesas tend to see it as something beautiful, as people, as animals, as "I", as "mine". And the attachment to this view, our Upadana, is much more tenaciously fixed than a nail driven into a piece of wood. It cannot be easily dislodged. This is because of the influence of the Kilesas and our misperception of things. We must therefore uproot this misperception which is truly the work of the Kilesas with the Dhamma of the Lord Buddha, using Sati, Pa~n~na, Satta and Viriya. We must get to see it clearly. You have to establish your perception so that you can really see this body passing away because that is really the truth.

So why can't the Citta accept this fact and truth? What is the cause or reason for it? And it is the same way with patikula, it is all over this body. And it is also the truth. It is really that way. So why can't the Citta see it like that? What is the reason? You must therefore probe and examine until you can really see it as such. You must open it up and reveal it with your Sati and Pa~n~na. This work and undertaking is your work and nobody can help you do this work. Your teacher can merely point out the various means and techniques of doing it. In doing this work, you must help yourself. This is what is called Attanonato; when you have heard the instruction from your teacher and learned the various techniques then you must use and apply these techniques in your practice. The benefit that you gain while listening to the discourse of your teacher is that either you will gain calm or you will learn the various techniques and methods of practice but other than that you must help yourselves. This is important.

Really get into it. I really have great concern for all of you and that is why I always have to give you instruction. Although it can be hard on me I try to struggle along. We are living in the world of the Sasana which is the most suitable environment for us to strive in so that we can get rid of Dukkha by means of our exertion. This is our sole duty as Bhikkhus. I try my best to prevent other people from coming to disturb your exertion in your practice because the most vital factor for a practitioner who is striving for the realization and penetration of truth is exertion, having mindfulness in walking Camkama and sitting in Samaadhi Bhavana. This is more important than anything else. I do not see any other work in the world that is more important than the work we are doing. Because of this I could not be led into doing anything else, like building projects that might interrupt the exertion and might ruin this most important work. I only do this extracurricular when it is extremely necessary but if it is not strictly necessary I will not do or allow anyone else to do it.

But I want you to do this work. That is, you should concentrate all of your effort, that you have spent in doing other things, on the work of overcoming and uprooting the Kilesas. When we have many Kilesas in ourselves we experience a lot of Dukkha and this Dukkha is caused by nothing else but the Kilesas right within our hearts. Please really take this to heart and do keep in mind that the intensity of your Dukkha is proportional to the intensity of the Kilesas. There is nothing else that can cause the heart trouble and hardship but the Kilesas. Please listen well and take this to heart and really see the harm of the Kilesas. Then you will be able to exert to your fullest. It is the only way to catch up with the Kilesas, Tanha and Asavas which have been so powerful and domineering for such a long time and have been so for countless Culpas and Culpas.

Are we still willing to go on being born and dying again and again? In these three worlds of existence, who is the one who stands out as the most extraordinary? There is nobody else but the Lord Buddha. He was the first for he had truly discerned and realized the harm of the Kilesas. Apart from him, nobody could perceive this. Nobody could perceive the harm of greed, hatred and delusion. Everyone was obsessed and deluded by them and had to wander in the cycle of birth and death, over and over again, without being able to find anything definite or certain. The only thing that was certain was their Kamma, but what kind of Kamma they had made could not be of any guarantee either because they did not know what they had done or kept an account of the deed.

The Lord Buddha could perceive the harm of greed, hatred and delusion and he exerted to the utmost of his ability, putting his life at stake and striving and struggling against the Kilesas until finally attaining to victory and becoming the greatest teacher in all the world. He attained to the heart of purity and this is the knowledge and realization of the Lord Buddha which differs from the knowledge and realization found in the three worlds. No one else could have attained to this knowledge as the Lord Buddha did in order to cope with and defeat the Kilesas which are harmful to the heart. He then taught us the way of practising. We have all set up our determination to come here and listen to the Dhamma of the Lord Buddha so that we can take it up and practice it.

And it is only we who can practice to the utmost of our ability. You must therefore really commit yourselves to this work. I would really like to see you experience the calm that will arise from your practice of Bhavana. Furthermore I would also like to see you use Pa~n~na in your investigation, following what I have explained to you concerning the internal and external or the investigation of the body. But if you are inclined to investigate the external then you must set up the external object in front of your mind. Whether it is the form of a man or a woman you must take the form that is the most detrimental or inimical [hostile] to you.

In the beginning, if you are not certain of yourself, you should not set up this form too close to you but instead, put it at quite a distance. You must establish this form and make it break down, decompose, go rotten and disperse. Establish it with the vultures and dogs scavenging and devouring this body. Set up as many forms or bodies as you like. Establish all of them so that they appear loathsome, filthy and as a living cemetery. Then you must turn this inwards, into your own body and then compare your own body with those bodies. You have to investigate this again and again and again and again.

You have to coerce the Citta to traverse this path. You must not let it go out to perceive all the pleasant and pretty things for is it really pretty, beautiful or pleasant? Of course not. There is no such thing. This is merely looking for trouble. The Kilesas turn out trouble for us and we tend to believe in them. Where is this pleasantness and beauty? All there is is just a collection of filth. We must look into this filth so we can see it very clearly, following the way that the Lord Buddha described it to us. Really get into it. Then you should bring it closer and closer. When you notice that the Citta has become bold and courageous, move it closer and closer towards you so that you can see it very clearly. Next, you must form up the image of this body and spread the image of Asuppa (loathsomeness) all over it, similar to the way you might pour petrol over something. Then set a match to it and let it go up into flames. This is the technique of Sati Pa~n~na and it is up to each individual to come up with it. They are all the Magga.

Sankhaara is concoction. If it is the Kilesas that influence this concoction of Sankhaara then it falls on the side of Samudaya, the source of Dukkha. But if Sankhaara is influenced to concoct up the truth by Dhamma then it is the means of correcting and overcoming the Kilesas similar to the way one analyzes and investigates the parts of the body in their various aspects of asupa or patikula as a living cemetery and as it decomposes until it eventually breaks down into the four elements of earth, water, air and fire. These Sankharas fall on the side of Magga, the path. This is the means of correcting and uprooting the perception of beauty, of an individual, of people or of animals so that one can see them decompose and break down into the four elements of earth, water, air and fire. How then can one take that perception and have affection for this body? It is merely earth, water, air and fire. It is the same way with a pile of corpses. Does anyone have any affection for these corpses?

When one looks at these corpses there can only be sadness and sorrow, aversion and creepy feelings for them. How then can one see this body as something pleasant and something beautiful? One must investigate this again and again, repeatedly. Sati Pa~n~na must force one to make the Citta tread on this path of investigation, constantly, and then one will be fighting and battling with the Kilesas. If we only investigate in this way occasionally, once in a long while, then it is not possible to consider this to be the work of investigation to combat with the Kilesas. This is useless. This is not the way of exerting for the sake of Dhamma and the truth.

As a follower of the Tathagatha one must be earnest and resolute. Really commit yourselves to this work. There are many techniques of Pa~n~na that we can come up with. If we can calm the Citta with the means of Sati and Pa~n~na then we must do so. And if we can calm the Citta with the use of the Parikama object then we must use that particular method. If we can calm the Citta down any time we want to, it means that we already know the way of getting the Citta to calm down.

Then you must investigate with Pa~n~na. You must not remain idle or lie clinging to this state of calm. I was addicted to this state of calm before and I have told you this many times so I shall not repeat it again. If one clings to one's Samaadhi then one can only gain just this Samaadhi and one will never be able to progress along the path. But when one begins to develop Pa~n~na then one begins to see all the things that come into contact and are involved with one's self and one can manage to cut them down and get rid of them. Then one can search and dig for them further, struggle with them, cope with them, and eventually destroy them with the means of our Sati and Pa~n~na. This is the way of developing our Sati Pa~n~na to become strong, piercing, bright and sharp. Our mindfulness will be absorbed in this investigation and it is up to each individual practitioner to devise his own different techniques of Sati and Pa~n~na.

What has been elaborated here is only presented in general terms and it is up to each practitioner to come up with the different specific means of coping with his own problem. When one has come up with one's own technique then this becomes one's own possession and you should not let what the teacher has presented to you slip out of your hands and go down the drain for this will be of no benefit to you. You must take what the teacher has given you as your source of investment in your business of practising so that you can come up with more profit. No matter how much one has studied in higher education one cannot help but become the tools of the Kilesas if one doesn't have any Dhamma inside one's heart. The Kilesas can really enjoy using one who has learned a lot and studied a lot. When there is no Dhamma inside the heart of one who has learned and studied a lot and who is an influential person, he can only create a lot of damage and trouble for others and himself, without realizing that he ever does damage to others, although he might realize that he has damaged himself.

This is because one's greed and ambition and delusion in one's power and precision of influence blocks one from seeing this thing and from being aware that one has done wrong to other people. If one has some Dhamma then one must know, why be so greedy? When one dies, one just lies in a coffin. The Bhikkhus come and chant the meritorious Dhamma but once the body has been cremated all that is left is just bones and ashes. So why be obsessed with greed? When one has enough to eat and a place to live that really is enough. Why then be so greedy? Greed never makes people happy. And neither does one's hatred and anger make one happy. It is the same with Raga Tanha, sensual lust. When it arises it really makes people struggle like a dog in heat. Where can any happiness be found? But when all these things disappear then one doesn't grasp or struggle for things, especially when the Citta begins to gradually calm down. Then it will not be grasping at things either. And when one has totally gotten rid of all of these disturbing influences then there will be no grasping or struggling inside one's heart at all. Nothing can disturb or bother one any more.

And this is what the Lord means by freedom. One can then see very clearly that what was harmful to one's self was one's greed, one's delusion, one's hatred and one's sensual lust. They are like heaps of fire or like volcanoes, erupting and burning one's heart constantly. Before, we never saw their harm but now we can see it very clearly. Once one has learned the nature of the Kilesas, Tanha and Asava, and has dispersed and scattered them from within one's heart, then whenever one looks outside and sees other people, one cannot help but understand every action that people take because one now understands that driving force that urges people to do these things because they are of the same nature. The things that people do are usually driven by the Kilesas but they don't realize that. You must therefore try to learn the deceptions and tricks of the Kilesas within your heart. Get to see them very clearly. You must be very careful in observing the heart. Take care of it well.

When greed, hatred and delusion and Raga Tanha arise, please realize that they arise out of the heart because it is the heart that creates them, it is the heart that conjures them up and it is the heart that is always in a state of hunger. You must look at the heart and investigate what it is hungry for. You have to analyze the object of hunger so that the heart will get to know the nature of this object and then loose it's curiosity and hunger for it. For instance, with Rupa or form. One must investigate this form or this body to really see the truth of it, not that it is a man or a woman but that it is just made up of various bodily parts like the hair of the head, the hair of the body, the nails, the teeth, the skin, the flesh and the sinews for example. Apart from that, there is just filth all over the body. How can there be any beauty in it? Then one must decompose the body or set it so that one can see it decompose. When a person dies his body slowly decomposes and becomes rotten and fetid and eventually scatters and disperses into the earth, water, air and fire.

Get the heart to see this very clearly. Then this misperception, this presumption and assumption will steadily become lighter and lighter. It will lessen and lessen. The truth will steadily become more distinct. The truth of Asupa (loathsomeness), patikula (filthiness) and the truth of the four elements of earth, water, air and fire will all become obvious. The truth about the four elements is the truth on a very subtle level. When one has entered into the knowledge of the four elements then one has entered into the subtle truth. Nothing then can bother the Citta. This is the way of correcting the Citta. This is the way of correcting ourselves. We must take good hold of Sati and Pa~n~na. We must not remain idle. We must come up with the various techniques and means and methods that develop us.

I really want to see all of you experience the Dhamma for it is within reach, within a hand's reach because it is right within our hearts. The attainment to deliverance from all these things is right within the heart and all the Kilesas are also found right within this heart. The Sati and Pa~n~na, mindfulness and wisdom, that will penetrate and pierce the Kilesas, are also found right within us. But why can't we pierce and penetrate the Kilesas? On the other hand, when the Kilesas want to pierce and penetrate us, they seem to be able to do so very efficiently. When we want to pierce the Kilesas all we can do is to poke at their shadow, not at the real Kilesas themselves. We have always been deceived by the Kilesas to go after something else, other than them. The real Kilesas are right within our hearts. The deceptions are found right within our hearts but the Kilesas that deceive us draw up pictures and images and project them to the outside and fool us so that we go and chase after shadows so we never seem to be able to achieve anything.

We must now turn around to look inside to find where the principle culprit is. It is right within the heart. When one attains to calm it is inside the heart because when the Kilesas are subdued they are subdued within the heart and Sati Pa~n~na, the tools to curb the Kilesas, are also found within the heart. Be really earnest and really get into it. When we have attained some calm it will be possible for us to see clearly what the Citta is like. One will be able to differentiate between the Citta and the Khandhas. Even though it may not be clearly distinct, one will at least see the difference between them.

The calmness, cool-heartedness and brightness of the Citta will become apparent corresponding to the intensity of our exertion in correcting and overcoming the Kilesas. The enormous change in the Citta will come when one begins to investigate with Pa~n~na. The more the Kilesas are being cut off by Pa~n~na the more skilful and adaptable will be the Citta. The condition of the Citta will steadily change and become more and more subtle as we progress in our practice and exertion. All of these are Samutti and when all the things that are involved with the Citta, even the most subtle things like Avijja, have been cut off, the Citta will cease to exhibit any changes. It will now remain stable and unchanging. As we progress in our practice the change will steadily and continuously occur, following the change of the Sammuti Dhamma found within the Citta. There will only be change on the good side and it will become more and more subtle. This is because good is Sammuti and so is evil and so is wholesomeness and unwholesomeness, they are all Sammuti.

When one has come to this subtle level, one will understand this and once one has attained and passed beyond this state, one will become one who has relinquished both good and evil. It means that now one has let go of all Sammuti, both good and evil, the coarse and the subtle. One has now let go totally of all Sammuti. None of this Sammuti is found within the Citta anymore. All that is left is just the natural state of knowingness.

Therefore, I am not very certain about the translation of the Pali verse which translates as "... purify your Citta until it attains to the state of luminosity ..." If it had been translated as "... purify your Citta to the state of purity ..." then I could accept this wholeheartedly. Furthermore, consider the Dhamma which says, "Behold, Bhikkhus, the true original Citta is luminous but the Kilesas act like visitors which make the Citta become dull." The Lord Buddha rarely talked about this true original Citta as the original Citta of the cycle of birth and death. The Lord did not say that the true original Citta is purified and for what reason? This is because the original Citta of any individual has Avijja deeply embedded within it without any exception. That is why the Lord said, "behold, Bhikkhus, the true original Citta is luminous but it was due to the Kilesas that came in" which means that whatever comes into contact with the Citta, the Citta then takes up that Aramana into itself.

This is what is meant by Kilesas coming in as a visitor. The Lord spoke in terms of Sammuti, conventional language. But when one has purified the Citta until reaching the final state of purity, this state of luminosity ceases to be a problem. This is because this state of luminosity which is stated in the Dhammapada must be met with by the practitioner who will come across it when he has arrived at the state of Avijja, or the Avijja Citta. This luminosity or the magnificence of Avijja is the most subtle level of the Kilesa. Avijja is the most clever and most deceptive of the Kilesas. So when one has attained to that state, then the Citta becomes very luminous and very bright. One then becomes deluded in that state of luminosity. This thing is really like a trapping or like a deception. It is only after this luminosity has broken apart that one attains to the state of purity, the purified Citta. This purified Citta doesn't take up any more birth but the luminous Citta will always take up birth. It is always ready to take up birth because this luminosity itself is the source of birth. But once this luminosity has been dispersed, then there is nothing left within the Citta.

During practice, as one progresses to the different stages, at the stage of Samaadhi, there is one form of calm. It has it's own basis and the firmer the Samaadhi of the Citta the firmer will be it's basis or it's foundation. It is not easily shaken by anything and for this reason, Samaadhi is a very good nourishment and nutriment for the Citta. The Citta will not be restless or agitated or hunger for any Aramana because it relies on Samaadhi as it's nourishment. For this reason, the Lord taught that one must investigate in the way of Pa~n~na because now the Citta is full and content. One must take this Citta, which is now full and content with Samaadhi, and put it to work in the way of investigation with Pa~n~na for it will then be able to perform it's function at it's fullest.

It is not like the Citta that is hungry for other things because when it investigates in the way of Pa~n~na it will all turn into Sa~n~naa Aramana, speculation and imagination. The only exception to this is when one is driven into a corner and one has no other means. Then one must use Pa~n~na to do the investigation on some occasions which I have discussed before, in what we call "Pa~n~na Develops Samaadhi". This is when one is restless and agitated and one cannot calm down the Citta. One then has to investigate and find out the cause of this agitation and restlessness. This then becomes a special case, a special occasion.

Where is this Citta going? One now must begin to investigate and dig into it, not allowing the Citta to go out of the confines of the Kamatana. One must keep on probing, examining and investigating until eventually the Citta calms down, due to the power of Pa~n~na. One will become very bold and courageous from this practice of Pa~n~na that can coerce the Citta to enter into calm. When one withdraws from this calm one feels sublime and majestic and this is one case of Samaadhi.

The reason for discussing this is because it really happens within the field of practice for some people, although it may not happen to others. It happened to me and that is why I have written about it and discussed it. I wrote about my own experiences and there were no fabrications there. That is how it actually happened. It was when the Citta became restless and agitated and when one tried to investigate on any aspect of Dhamma the Citta would not accept it. It kept on going in a different direction. So one had to be tough and strong in trying to discipline the Citta. One has to investigate with Pa~n~na, using it to round up the Citta. This is similar to being in a close encounter or in close combat until the Citta cowers and calms down. This manner of calming the Citta with Pa~n~na can really tame the Citta. When the Citta enters into calm, it enters with boldness. And when it withdraws from the state of calm, it does so with courage and it becomes very grand and magnificent.

This is one special case but generally it is the way of Samaadhi develops Pa~n~na. Samaadhi is the support for Pa~n~na because Samaadhi is a good nourishment for the Citta. It is the support for Pa~n~na that lets that Pa~n~na keep functioning and doing it's work without hungering for other things, so that one's investigation doesn't turn into Sa~n~naa Aramana, speculation and imagination, because the Citta will now perform it's functions as it has been told. And this is the purpose of Samaadhi. It is one form of basis or foundation.

Now when one begins to do a lot of investigation with Pa~n~na this basis of Samaadhi seems to have completely disappeared. But this is not comparable to one who does not have any Samaadhi at all. This is because the Citta's total awareness now revolves around Pa~n~na. The awareness of the Citta doesn't remain with the Citta. It has now come out from the basis or the power base of Samaadhi and now turns to Pa~n~na. So now the basis of Samaadhi that one used to have has totally disappeared. Where does it go? All of it has now gone and concentrated in the way of Pa~n~na because the Citta now does not want to take a rest. So when one want's to enter into calm one must really resist and coerce or force the Citta to come and rest in the state of Samaadhi.

When one has to do this the Citta will indeed enter into the state of Samaadhi but one must really force it to do so. Once the Citta no longer goes against our will it will have to follow our command. This is because the Sati Pa~n~na of this level is capable of controlling the Citta since at this stage there is nothing except the Citta and the functions of the Citta which are Sati and Pa~n~na. There is nothing else to become involved with it. There is nothing that can come and drag away the Citta so when one has to try to coerce the Citta it really means that one has to drag the Citta away from the work that it has been doing. One has to do this dragging away with Pa~n~na so that it can come and rest itself in the state of calm.

I had to control and master the Citta to remain in calmness by using the Parikama object of Buddho, Buddho, Buddho. I haven't forgotten this because I had to repeat it very quickly or else the Citta would go out and do more work. Not that it would have gone out to be immersed in the pleasure of anything. It wouldn't. The Citta had no interest in anything else at all. The Citta at this stage has no interest in anything in the whole universe. It is now totally immersed in the pleasure of doing the investigation with Pa~n~na and that is why at this stage it is called Utacca. That is, it is too engrossed in this investigation and this is one of the higher fetters, the Samutana. For now the Citta has gone overboard instead of resting in the calm of Samaadhi, so as to replenish itself and recuperate and serve as the basis for Pa~n~na, it doesn't do so. But when it gets too exhausted it will eventually have to come and rest in Samaadhi. When it cannot go any further from exhaustion it must take a rest. So when it gets too exhausted and tired to the point when it cannot go on anymore, then it must return and rest in the state of Samaadhi.

After having rested long enough to gain strength and become very light without the burden of the work it will just get right back on to the work very energetically and become wholly concentrated in the work of investigation. At this stage the basis of Samaadhi or the foundation of Samaadhi is no longer there to be found. From my own experience this is what happens. The basis of Samaadhi was there during the time when I concentrated my whole effort on the development of calm and Samaadhi. But then I was not interested in the investigation of Pa~n~na. But when I began to concentrate on my investigation with Pa~n~na then that basis of Samaadhi entirely disappeared.

As far as the state of the luminous Citta is concerned this is not the base of Samaadhi. It is something else. The more Pa~n~na can cleanse the Citta then the more luminous the Citta becomes. When it is the time for it to be empty this emptiness could be seen very clearly. I could see the Citta being empty of everything. Whatever I looked at appeared like a shadow. They were just like shadowy images. Looking at a whole mountain or a solid rock; they just appeared like shadowy images. The greater part of the Citta is empty and it seems that there is no solid rock, just an image of the rock. While walking on the ground it also appears shadowy. The Citta appeared to have penetrated it. It just happened that way.

As far as the body was concerned it was comparable to the globe of a lantern, for inside it was very bright and very clear. This is the emptiness of the base of Samaadhi or the emptiness of the base of the Citta. It does not really feel right to describe it as the emptiness of the base of Samaadhi but when I describe it as the emptiness of the base of the Citta that does feel right. That is, I feel very positive about this description. In the state of Samaadhi, it is also empty but when one begins to focus the Citta on the external things it is not empty anymore. But when it is empty by virtue of the base of the Citta then wherever one looks or focuses the Citta, everything appears to be empty. But it is not empty of itself. When the time comes for the Citta to finish it's work then it has to come back and investigate itself until it becomes totally empty. Before, wherever one looks, one sees everything as empty. But one's self is not empty. One is still carrying the burden. One is still carrying the full load of Avijja and Tanha. Speaking of this Tanha, it is the coarser kind of Tanha. This Tanha or desire that we are speaking of refers to the affection for the intimacy with and the attachment for the brightness and luminosity of the Citta.

One must now investigate at this point. When all of this luminosity has broken up then it becomes truly empty. There is one emptiness of Samaadhi. There is one emptiness of the base of the Citta and there is this ultimate emptiness in which everything is empty, everything external is empty and the Citta itself is empty and the base of the Citta is also empty. All problems have disappeared. Then there is nothing else to investigate and one knows this within oneself. One has no doubt or questions about what Sanditiko is, that is, knowing within oneself and experiencing this within oneself.

Though one might never have known or experienced this before, now one knows and there is no doubt about it. There is no more problem or work to be done and one can see this very clearly. What is there to do anymore? And what is the object of this work? Now there is nothing to come and be involved with the Citta. The Citta now is just merely the Citta. There is no self, animal, people, "I", or "they". They have all disappeared. All forms of Sammuti and the Sammuti Citta are no longer apparent. What else is there to do? One has experienced all the hardship in one's exertion from the beginning to the end. The exertion for the development of Samaadhi is very hard work. It is really hard on the body because one has to abstain from food and sleep and sit for a very long time in Samaadhi.

This is really Dukkha. It was very hard in the development of Samaadhi. And when the Citta had established some basis, it became very hard on the Citta and the more developed the Citta became the more subtle everything got and the harder it was to work. But one is no more concerned about this hardship and difficulty than about the work for the realization for the truth in Dhamma and everything that became involved with the Citta. This hardship was no problem and if one actually exerted to one's utmost ability, one would eventually come to conquer the Citta and accomplish one's work and one's Sati Pa~n~na that has been revolving like a Dhamma Chakka, a wheel of Dhamma, will also lose it's purpose. They all fall into place naturally. One's diligent effort and the application of Sati Pa~n~na that has been so intensified, turning around relentlessly, eventually and naturally stops because there is nothing else to do. There is no more problem to solve. There is nothing to be corrected.

Pa~n~na is used for correcting and clearing away the Kilesas but is there now a single type of Kilesa found within the Citta? If one is certain that there is none, what is there to fight? What is there to cope or struggle with? Can you battle or fight with empty wind? There is an end to the work of Dhamma but as far as the work of the world is concerned there can never be an end to it. From the first day of one's birth there is work to do continuously until the last day of one's life, and even then one has not finished one's work. People die having worry and concern for their job, their work, their friends and their relatives.

There isn't a single Citta that can pass away with Sukato, going to a happy state, without having any worry or desire left. There are only Cittas that die with worry and confusion and that are entangled with all sorts of things. So how can there be any happiness when one goes carrying a burden with oneself? The work that one did before one passed away was not completed and when one passes away someone else will have to take over one's job. This just continues on and on. There isn't a single person in the world who can accomplish his task because as soon as he finishes one job there is a new one coming up all the time. People keep on doing it but are we going to be bold enough to take up this task as well?

Is it possible that we can work in the way of the world and finish it before we die? Can you really be certain that you can finish the work of the world? If you are not certain of this, why don't you take up work that is certain? If you took up the work of a recluse and attained to the end of the holy life, you would really complete and accomplish your task. There wouldn't be a single Kilesa that could revive itself to fight with us. Once it is totally gotten rid of one hundred percent, it is totally gotten rid of forever. From that moment on, one will never have to be in doubt by thinking, could this Kilesa arise again now that I have destroyed all of them?

It will not happen for they have now all been destroyed. It has all disappeared. They have all been truly gotten rid of and from then onwards there is only happiness, ease and comfort. As far as all the anxiety, worry and confusion and all the Kilesas, Tanha and Asava, that used to concern one's heart like an erupting volcano are concerned, they have all disappeared. This volcano of all the fires of Raga, Dosa and Moha has been extinguished by the water of Dhamma. They have been quenched by the water of the Majjhima Patipada, the middle way of practice.

Once the water has been splashed over this fire that has been consuming the heart and has totally extinguished it, all that is left is just coolness that will last forever. This is Acaliko, timeless. The Lord said that this is Acalika Citta and Acalika Dhamma, the timeless Citta and the timeless Dhamma. They are one and the same thing. Once one has arrived at this stage, both the Citta and the Dhamma are one and the same thing. One can either call it the Citta or the Dhamma for there won't be any contradiction. All that is necessary is for the Kilesas that are notorious for their contradiction to disappear from the heart. There will not be any contradiction, nothing to go and contravene anything else. One cannot find anything to contradict one because the Kilesas that contradict Dhamma have all disappeared. Once the Kilesas have been wiped out there is nothing left to contravene and nothing left to serve as a contradiction. One will then be at ease and peaceful.

You see, the work of a Bhikkhu does have an end. You must really get into it. Don't be lackadaisical or grope in the dark like blind men. Don't be unearnest and uncommitted for this is like groping for something when you don't know whether it is an eel or a snake, there will only be uncertainty and doubt.

End of Dessana