CUTTING OFF THE STREAM
FOLLOW THE NOBLE EIGHTFOLD PATH WITH WISDOM
FOLLOW THE NOBLE EIGHTFOLD PATH WITH WISDOM
When a Dharma follower realizes that he has been a slave of craving, he must try hard to develop wisdom for his mind to achieve knowledge and acuity in order to encounter defilements and cravings and to get rid of them. To develop wisdom is to pave the way toward the Noble Eightfold Path and to advance along it with a wise and well-rounded mind regarding all compounded things. The Lord Buddha laid down this Path as the foundation of practice for Buddhists to go straight to the Noble Fruition. The Path consists of Right View, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration. These are for Buddhists to practise. The Path is for each individual to follow. Each has to build up his own Noble Eightfold Path.
The Noble Eightfold Path starts with the important first factor, Right View, on which the other factors are based. Right View is wisdom itself. One needs wisdom in Dharma practice. The Noble Eightfold Path is the master plan from which each person must build his own path. It is like a beautiful house, which you must build for yourself if you would like one. By following the same design and plan you will get a house of your own that looks like the one you want. Building the Noble Eightfold Path within you is just like that.
The Noble Eightfold Path has been the route of those who have reached Nirvana. Therefore they are examples for us to follow. If we construct the same path as theirs and get on our own path, we can also reach the goal. To build the path for the mind, we must have wisdom as the tool to keep the mind on the right track. If the mind travels by itself, its journey will be just like the one before. Wisdom is the light of the journey to direct the mind along the right track. The old route of the mind is full of danger and harm. Even though we have been born and died in that same old route for so many lives, we are still going nowhere but recycling births and deaths in the same old places. So, let us build a new route for the mind by using wisdom and Right View, the real view of the Truth. Contemplation of the Truth is the mind's new route which it has never used before. It is going against the natural mental stream. It is the opposite direction to what the mind is accustomed. Before, the mind used to drift along the stream. Now wisdom is leading the mind to cut away from the stream.
Although it is something totally alien to the mind, we must try because there is a chance to reach the shore if we escape from the stream. If we let ourselves drift along as before, there is no way of getting to the shore at all.
Only wisdom can turn the mind backward, against desire and craving. The mind that does not have the right mentor or leader is blind and does not know how to get away from harm and danger. From now on we must contemplate, reflect and discern diligently. It is impossible to have wisdom right away at the start of practice. Through frequent practice, the mind gradually develops wisdom, knowing and seeing things according to the guidance of wisdom. It is impossible to move along the Noble Eightfold Path smoothly, because this is an unfamiliar path. It is like a child learning how to walk. He falls and stumbles, but soon he can walk just like a grown-up. The mind has been used to sensual pleasures for a long time. But now to make the mind reject them, one must use wisdom to teach the mind fully, to know the bad consequences of pleasure with visual, aural, olfactory, gustatory and tactile sensations all the time. In the past the mind used to delight in all these sensory pleasures. Of the five sources of sensual pleasure, rupa is the most important because it unifies the four other sources, sound, smell, taste and tactile sensations. So if there is no body, the other sensation has no place to exist. The body is the origin of sensual pleasures. The mind feels love and pleasure and is attached to self because of the body. Animals are deluded because of the body. All attachments originate from the body. The mind recycles in the wheel of rebirth because of attachment to the body. Therefore it is important that one must use wisdom to contemplate the body, to explore the truth about the body and to let the mind know and see the truth of the body in order to detach itself from it. Wisdom analyzes the body and separates it into parts, e.g., hair, body hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, tendons, bones. Each part is given a supposed name. No part is really ours. All parts are together as a compound of conditioned things for the mind to reside in temporarily only. The resultant body is under the rule of the Three Characteristics. Even though the formed body looks as if it were self, it is no exception of the rule of the Three Characteristics. Self is the misunderstanding of the mind about the body, and wisdom must teach the mind about the Truth. It is like a teacher who must be patient in teaching students to read and write, until they can do so by themselves. To teach the mind, mindfulness and wisdom always have to control it. Whatever the mind encounters, inside or outside, near or far, fine or coarse, it must be contemplated until its true nature is clear to the mind. Any compounded thought must be destroyed or overcome by wisdom until the old understanding is replaced and the mind has proper insight. This is the development of Right View and the provision for development of the Noble Eightfold Path in oneself.
Contemplation with wisdom is very important, because it is the basic step towards knowing and seeing the truth of the mind. As the mind knows and sees things according to the Truth, this kind of wisdom is given a new name, 'pannanana," the wisdom of knowing and seeing things according to the Truth. When it can must use the right wisdom to teach the mind, this is the strategy for those who are the dandhabhinna type, who have to practise with difficulty and take time before they know and see the Truth, as opposed to the khippabhiiina type, who can practise very quickly. So one must use wisdom to train the mind. Let the mind know circumspectly about compounded things, both outside and inside. The internal compounded conditions are especially difficult to understand, because they are mostly very subtle. Nevertheless one must identify rough, medium and fine states of internal mental activity. They are mental associations which are the tools of defilement, craving and ignorance. They can compose, make up, modify and expand things under the command of defilement and craving. They exist in the mind.That is why this existence called sarikharacit {sarikhara = compounded thought or condition ; cit = mind). Whichever way the mind is directed by defilement and craving, sarikhara associates things in that direction. Its work depends on memories and imaginings just like an engineer's work relies on equipment. If the mind craves for love and pleasure, sarikhara works to satisfy the mind in loving and pleasurable ways. If hatred is the case, then it works in that direction.
When sarikhara works, it associates with imaginings. If there is no imaginings, sarikhara cannot work. If there is imagining but sarikhara does not work, nothing happens also. Sarikhara is like a cook: imaginings are like food ingredients; and craving is like an eater. If there is a cook but there are no raw
know and see all conditions according to the Truth thoroughly , panhanana evolves into vipassananana, perfect knowledge or transcendent wisdom. Therefore Dharma followers must get started with their ordinary wisdom in alignment with Right View and Right Thought and develop it by contemplation until the mind knows and sees the harm and danger of birth, aging, illness and death and the harm and danger of sensual pleasures, and finds the way to detach itself from them, as stated in the Pali:
'Nibbanagamanani maggam khippameva visodhaye' meaning, One must hurry to cut short the way to Nirvana by moving from one goal to the next, which will be seen clearly.*
'Pannayattham vipassaf/'means 'Only wisdom can lead to the true nature of Dharma'. 'Pannaya parisujjhati' means 'Only one who has wisdom can be purified.' Therefore wisdom is a very important thing, and it is an individual's responsibility to develop his own wisdom. It is not something that comes automatically. Do not misunderstand that vipassananana would occur in a completely calm mind. There are different levels of wisdom and different levels of understanding of Right View; rough, medium, and refine.
The Noble Eightfold Path starts with the important first factor, Right View, on which the other factors are based. Right View is wisdom itself. One needs wisdom in Dharma practice. The Noble Eightfold Path is the master plan from which each person must build his own path. It is like a beautiful house, which you must build for yourself if you would like one. By following the same design and plan you will get a house of your own that looks like the one you want. Building the Noble Eightfold Path within you is just like that.
The Noble Eightfold Path has been the route of those who have reached Nirvana. Therefore they are examples for us to follow. If we construct the same path as theirs and get on our own path, we can also reach the goal. To build the path for the mind, we must have wisdom as the tool to keep the mind on the right track. If the mind travels by itself, its journey will be just like the one before. Wisdom is the light of the journey to direct the mind along the right track. The old route of the mind is full of danger and harm. Even though we have been born and died in that same old route for so many lives, we are still going nowhere but recycling births and deaths in the same old places. So, let us build a new route for the mind by using wisdom and Right View, the real view of the Truth. Contemplation of the Truth is the mind's new route which it has never used before. It is going against the natural mental stream. It is the opposite direction to what the mind is accustomed. Before, the mind used to drift along the stream. Now wisdom is leading the mind to cut away from the stream.
Although it is something totally alien to the mind, we must try because there is a chance to reach the shore if we escape from the stream. If we let ourselves drift along as before, there is no way of getting to the shore at all.
Only wisdom can turn the mind backward, against desire and craving. The mind that does not have the right mentor or leader is blind and does not know how to get away from harm and danger. From now on we must contemplate, reflect and discern diligently. It is impossible to have wisdom right away at the start of practice. Through frequent practice, the mind gradually develops wisdom, knowing and seeing things according to the guidance of wisdom. It is impossible to move along the Noble Eightfold Path smoothly, because this is an unfamiliar path. It is like a child learning how to walk. He falls and stumbles, but soon he can walk just like a grown-up. The mind has been used to sensual pleasures for a long time. But now to make the mind reject them, one must use wisdom to teach the mind fully, to know the bad consequences of pleasure with visual, aural, olfactory, gustatory and tactile sensations all the time. In the past the mind used to delight in all these sensory pleasures. Of the five sources of sensual pleasure, rupa is the most important because it unifies the four other sources, sound, smell, taste and tactile sensations. So if there is no body, the other sensation has no place to exist. The body is the origin of sensual pleasures. The mind feels love and pleasure and is attached to self because of the body. Animals are deluded because of the body. All attachments originate from the body. The mind recycles in the wheel of rebirth because of attachment to the body. Therefore it is important that one must use wisdom to contemplate the body, to explore the truth about the body and to let the mind know and see the truth of the body in order to detach itself from it. Wisdom analyzes the body and separates it into parts, e.g., hair, body hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, tendons, bones. Each part is given a supposed name. No part is really ours. All parts are together as a compound of conditioned things for the mind to reside in temporarily only. The resultant body is under the rule of the Three Characteristics. Even though the formed body looks as if it were self, it is no exception of the rule of the Three Characteristics. Self is the misunderstanding of the mind about the body, and wisdom must teach the mind about the Truth. It is like a teacher who must be patient in teaching students to read and write, until they can do so by themselves. To teach the mind, mindfulness and wisdom always have to control it. Whatever the mind encounters, inside or outside, near or far, fine or coarse, it must be contemplated until its true nature is clear to the mind. Any compounded thought must be destroyed or overcome by wisdom until the old understanding is replaced and the mind has proper insight. This is the development of Right View and the provision for development of the Noble Eightfold Path in oneself.
Contemplation with wisdom is very important, because it is the basic step towards knowing and seeing the truth of the mind. As the mind knows and sees things according to the Truth, this kind of wisdom is given a new name, 'pannanana," the wisdom of knowing and seeing things according to the Truth. When it can must use the right wisdom to teach the mind, this is the strategy for those who are the dandhabhinna type, who have to practise with difficulty and take time before they know and see the Truth, as opposed to the khippabhiiina type, who can practise very quickly. So one must use wisdom to train the mind. Let the mind know circumspectly about compounded things, both outside and inside. The internal compounded conditions are especially difficult to understand, because they are mostly very subtle. Nevertheless one must identify rough, medium and fine states of internal mental activity. They are mental associations which are the tools of defilement, craving and ignorance. They can compose, make up, modify and expand things under the command of defilement and craving. They exist in the mind.That is why this existence called sarikharacit {sarikhara = compounded thought or condition ; cit = mind). Whichever way the mind is directed by defilement and craving, sarikhara associates things in that direction. Its work depends on memories and imaginings just like an engineer's work relies on equipment. If the mind craves for love and pleasure, sarikhara works to satisfy the mind in loving and pleasurable ways. If hatred is the case, then it works in that direction.
When sarikhara works, it associates with imaginings. If there is no imaginings, sarikhara cannot work. If there is imagining but sarikhara does not work, nothing happens also. Sarikhara is like a cook: imaginings are like food ingredients; and craving is like an eater. If there is a cook but there are no raw
know and see all conditions according to the Truth thoroughly , panhanana evolves into vipassananana, perfect knowledge or transcendent wisdom. Therefore Dharma followers must get started with their ordinary wisdom in alignment with Right View and Right Thought and develop it by contemplation until the mind knows and sees the harm and danger of birth, aging, illness and death and the harm and danger of sensual pleasures, and finds the way to detach itself from them, as stated in the Pali:
'Nibbanagamanani maggam khippameva visodhaye' meaning, One must hurry to cut short the way to Nirvana by moving from one goal to the next, which will be seen clearly.*
'Pannayattham vipassaf/'means 'Only wisdom can lead to the true nature of Dharma'. 'Pannaya parisujjhati' means 'Only one who has wisdom can be purified.' Therefore wisdom is a very important thing, and it is an individual's responsibility to develop his own wisdom. It is not something that comes automatically. Do not misunderstand that vipassananana would occur in a completely calm mind. There are different levels of wisdom and different levels of understanding of Right View; rough, medium, and refine.
Phra Acariya Thoon Khippapanno
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