To Go Beyond the World | Chachakka Suttaṁ| Thiththagalle Anandasiri Thero

මුල් සිංහල වීඩියෝව සඳහා Play කරන්න

To Go Beyond the World | Chachakka Suttaṁ| Thiththagalle Anandasiri Thero

 

Before we begin today's sermon, we have a few questions that have been asked. Now, when questions are asked on Facebook, I only answer the important ones. We will not waste time on unnecessary things that have been asked.

So, someone named Lakshani has asked, "Venerable Sir, what is a suitable meditation method to begin with?" We explained this last time as well; what's important before starting meditation (bhāvanā) is to arrive at Right View (Sammā Diṭṭhi). Otherwise, there is no issue with meditating. It could be walking meditation (sankamana bhāvanā), recollection of the Buddha's virtues (Buddha guṇa bhāvanā), loving-kindness (mettā), or mindfulness of breathing (ānāpānasati). But even if one does that meditation, for them to have a vision (dassanayak), they must first understand. The Buddha teaches Right View. To understand what Right View is, if you watch the few sermons posted last time and clarify it for yourself, you will be able to come to a noble vision. The Sabbāsava Sutta teaches that what should be abandoned through vision must be abandoned through vision. So, what I have to tell Lakshani is that it would be very good to listen to those sermons, straighten out your view (diṭṭhi) first, and then practice a meditation. After that, there isn't anything else to do; as mindfulness (sati) develops, you will naturally incline towards it. Therefore, if you need to do something before that, there is no issue with doing Ānāpānasati or walking meditation that is available.

Then, Ashvini has asked, "Venerable Sir, just as you say, we draw our own mental images, color them ourselves, and then we ourselves get scared and suffer. I see and notice this happening very well. But it happens again and again. How can I be free from this?"

It is that very understanding. There is nothing new you have to do. First, you understand that the problem is not in the external but in your own mental images. Then, when you take it as 'mine' and suffer, you see with mindfulness and wisdom (sati paññā) that there is a fault here. The problem is not that images are formed, but that you cling (upādānaya) to them as 'yours'. So, along with that, if you listen to this Dhamma and dwell with mindfulness and wisdom, over time, your fear of those mental images will reduce. Your suffering will reduce. Becoming agitated will reduce.

“Someone with a mental problem finds it hard to focus on work because they are focused on the problem. How to overcome this?”. First, this is what you must do. If you have the mental strength to work despite mental issues, first understand the mind. First, listen to this Dhamma well. This is the same young person who is asking this. The mental problem exists because of the images they themselves have created, as they said earlier. So, one must establish mindfulness (sati) right there. When mindfulness is established, those images become alright, and there is no suffering or agitation over them. It is when mindfulness is low that you cannot manage things along with them. So, listen to this Dhamma more and more and increase your mindfulness and wisdom (sati paññā). Then you will be able to do it. That is the shortest answer I can give them.

Next is the question I have, "The saying 'live in the moment,' I have tried this in more than a hundred different ways. But my mind does not realize it. Why is that? Is it because of my karma (kamma)? Or is it due to a lack of wisdom (paññā)?" It's because of neither of those two. The method you are using has a flaw. It's because the way you have understood it is wrong. So, if you are trying more than a hundred times, come and meet me somewhere. Then I can point out the shortcomings in the methods you have used. Before living in the moment, you must understand what this moment is, what the past and the present are. Then you can understand what 'this moment' means. Then you can understand the idea the Buddha expressed about what it means to live in the moment. Therefore, based on your question, it is understood that this is not because of karma. If you had bad karma, you wouldn't be able to listen to this Dhamma, would you? It is because you have good karma that you are able to listen to this sermon. And it is because you have wisdom that the knowledge has arisen that you need to understand this. The issue now is that the method has not been properly clarified.

"Venerable Sir, please explain about the mind frequently wandering." Well, if the mind wanders frequently, you must have many expectations. Reduce your expectations. Then the wandering of the mind will reduce. You must have expectations about many things. Then the mind wanders in all those directions. If you have one, it goes in that direction. If you have two, it goes to both. If you have a hundred, the mind wanders in a hundred directions trying to fulfill them. Therefore, let go of the expectations you have, keep one or two, and live with that. Live for that day; live for that moment. Then the mind's tendency to wander will decrease. Otherwise, you will have to keep a hundred thoughts and try to fulfill them.

"When someone passes away, is it appropriate to offer merits (pin) after a year has gone by?" There is absolutely no problem. Even if 100 years have passed, it is appropriate to share merits. The Lord Buddha mentioned that when King Bimbisāra made an offering, there were relatives who had been waiting for eons to receive the merits. Therefore, it's not about a year; even if a long time has passed, it is an appropriate time to share merits.

"May the Triple Gem bless you, Venerable Sir. Before I go to sleep, I take an object in my mind. The mind runs with it. Even when I see that the mind is going and I stop it, it instantly runs after another object continuously. Because of this, my sleep is disturbed, and time passes. How can I get a peaceful sleep?" Practice loving-kindness meditation (mettā bhāvanā) well. Before you sleep, practice loving-kindness meditation for about half an hour. In two or three weeks, you will be well.

Now, recently we discussed the Kaccānagotta Sutta, the Loka Sutta, and the Sabba Sutta. Today, I hope to deliver a sermon that is very relevant to them. Listen well, understand well. This is the Chachakka Sutta from the Uparipaṇṇāsaka of the Majjhima Nikāya. What Sutta is it? Chachakka. Cha means six. This is a discourse delivered about six sets of six. That is its Sinhala meaning. In Pali, cha is six. Chachakka means sixes, like hitting sixes in the IPL. What the Buddha shows here is that these sixes are constantly being hit. Six sets of six. Alright?

Evaṃ me sutaṁ, ekaṃ samayaṃ bhagavā sāvatthiyaṃ viharati jetavane anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme… This means the Buddha spent most of his time there. That is where he addressed the monks in the assembly hall. The Buddha says, Dhammañca vo, bhikkhave, desissāmi ādikalyāṇaṃ majjhekalyāṇaṃ pariyosānakalyāṇaṃ sātthaṃ sabyañjanaṃ kevalaparipuṇṇaṃ parisuddhaṃ brahmacariyaṃ pakāsessāmi. Taṃ suṇātha, sādhukaṃ manasi karotha, bhāsissāmī’ti. The Buddha says, "Monks, Bhikkhus, I will teach you a doctrine that is beautiful in the beginning (ādi kalyāṇaṃ), beautiful in the middle (majjhe kalyāṇaṃ), and beautiful in the end (pariyosāna kalyāṇaṃ), which means all three—the beginning, middle, and end—are beautiful." Kalyāna means beautiful, with meaning. What is it? It has a meaning. Meaningful, with clear expression (sabyañjana). It is directly stated as completely whole (kevalaparipuṇṇaṃ), pure (parisuddhaṃ), the holy life (brahmacariyaṃ). The holy life means the path to Nibbāna. What is it? "I will proclaim the path to Nibbāna (pakāsessāmi). Listen to it (taṃ suṇātha), pay close attention with wisdom (sādhukaṃ manasi karotha), I shall speak (bhāsissāmi)." "Evaṃ, bhante'ti kho te bhikkhū bhagavato paccassosuṃ. Bhagavā etadavoca."—"Yes, Venerable Sir (Bhante)," the monks replied to the Blessed One.

Cha ajjhattikāni āyatanāni veditabbāni. The six internal sense bases (āyatanāni) should be realized (veditabbāni). What? The six internal sense bases. What are the internal sense bases? 'Internal' is what one thinks of as oneself. Or rather, this eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind. Eye, ear, nose... that is called internal (ajjhattāni), or spiritual. Alright? Next, the external sense bases (bāhirāni āyatanāni). What is seen by the eye? Form. That is not something inside our body, it's a form. You can see this tissue box here, can't you? What is seen by the eye? Color. What is seen? Color. The color comes and falls on the eye. Now, what I am saying, you don't understand it like this in the ear. A sound is created in the ear, right? If I do this [The monk makes a sound], it is heard. The nose smells fragrances and odors. The tongue feels tastes. The body feels... the warmth and coldness, it's called touch that is felt. What comes to the mind? Objects. Thinking about different things, that becomes the object for the mind. So, this is not talking about the eye itself. It will be explained in a little while. The six internal sense bases must be realized. The six external sense bases must also be realized.

Next, the six classes of consciousness (viññāṇa) must be realized. Which six? The six consciousnesses. What are the six consciousnesses? These people would know since they have listened to Abhidhamma. Seeing a form with the eye is called eye-consciousness (cakkhu-viññāṇa). What consciousness? Eye-consciousness. Ear-consciousness (sota-viññāṇa), nose-consciousness (ghāna-viññāṇa), tongue-consciousness (jivhā-viññāṇa), body-consciousness (kāya-viññāṇa), mind-consciousness (mano-viññāṇa). This can be said in Sinhala as, the mind that arises in the eye. What does that mean? The mind that sees form. If there is no mind, these two are useless. The mind that hears sound. Next, to hear sound, it's called sota, the mind that arises in the ear. The mind that knows smells and fragrances, the mind that knows taste, the mind that knows touch... that six-fold consciousness must also be realized. Mind-consciousness, alright? He says that those six must also be realized.

Next is tiṇṇaṃ saṅgati phasso… the sixfold contact should be realized. Now, these three come together, don't they? The eye, the form, and the mind come together. Then, there's a word for it. What is it? Contact (phassa). If these three do not come together, nothing can be done. Now, sometimes, images fall on our eyes. When you are listening to what I am saying, do you see them? At the moment of listening to this, do you see that? Huh? All the images here are falling on our eyes. This means that even though the eye and form are present, the mind does not arise there, but with the object I am speaking of. Other sounds are falling on the ear. Even though they fall, there is no attention (manasikāra) towards them. Why? The mind does not arise for that. If the mind arises, you can't help it. If it doesn't arise, you don't hear it, even with so many sounds. So, that is the coming together of the three. That too is a natural phenomenon. It is called contact (phassa). What is it? A collision of contact. A union of three. It is only when three unite that you hear. It is only when three unite that you see. It is only when three unite that you smell a fragrance. It is only when three unite that you taste a flavor. It is only when three unite that there is touch. Now, you don't feel that you are sitting while listening to this, do you? But the moment I mention it, you feel it, right? That is the three coming together. What comes together? The body, the touch object, and consciousness (viññāṇa). When consciousness joins, it is felt. The three came together. That is called contact. The Buddha uses a word, what is it? Contact. Now, the six sense bases of contact must also be realized. There are six types of contact, aren't there? Six sets of three-three-three. They must be realized. Now, how many sets of six have been mentioned? What was the first one? Internal. Next? External. Next... six classes of contact... that's three sets of six. Ah, four sets of six. The six consciousnesses. Alright?

Next, the classes of feeling (vedanā kāya) should be realized. Viññāṇapaccaya phasso, vedayitabam phassa paccaya vedanā. Meaning, the six types of feeling must be realized. Now, can you all see a form with the eye and experience it or not? That's what we do watching TV and looking at phones, isn't it? Watching forms with the eye. Huh? What does it mean to listen to songs? Through the ear… if it's a sad song, that feeling… huh? If it's a song like… then it's that. If it's a song that says, "You left me, I can't bear it, I will die," then it's that feeling. If it is just something playing along, then it's that. So, we can watch a form with the eye and experience it. A feeling arises with that form. A feeling arises upon hearing a sound. What is feeling (vedanā)? Experiencing. What does it do? It experiences every moment. You are experiencing at this very moment. Right now, you are not happy listening to the Dhamma, but you are not sad either, are you? But there is an experience that is neither happy nor sad. What is there? An experience that is neither happy nor sad. Now, if we hear about a fly falling into a bowl of food. Does happiness arise upon hearing that? For some, it might. For us, generally, does it? Does sadness arise? No. That is called neutral feeling (majjhattha vedanā). What is it? Neither pleasure nor pain. So, feeling is of three kinds. It is pleasure, pain, and neutral that are called feeling. So, we experience by seeing forms with the eye. We experience by hearing sounds with the ear. We experience by knowing smells and fragrances with the nose. We experience by knowing tastes with the tongue. We experience by taking in touch with the body. We experience by taking objects into the mind. Now, when you are idle, you start daydreaming. Suddenly, you think, "Still no phone call," and suddenly, the future... What feeling is that? Then a call comes. Then, "Oh no, what happened?" Is it pleasure or pain then? Is it a fight? It's suffering again. After a while, they say, "I got you a ring, darling," and show it. Then what? Ah, then it is pleasure again. What is it? Pleasure. So, like that, with the mind… you do it by remembering past events. That is called objects coming to the mind. That's what we do most. That is another object for the mind. So, there are six ways of experiencing. Chayime vedanā kāyā… it happens in six ways. What are the six ways? Because of the coming together of the three, it happens because of the eye. It happens because of the coming together of the ear, sound, and consciousness. So, the Buddha teaches in that way. Now, to explain this in India in the Pali language would be very easy. But you all, although you are Buddhists, have not heard these things and don't know how you experience. You know "I experience," but you don't know how you experience. This is how you experience. Alright? Cha vedanā kāyā…

Next, the six classes of craving (taṇhā) should also be realized. We desire what we experience. What is it? We desire what we experience. Now, let me say this. "I will go to Japan and bring an iPhone for each and every one of you." Then what happens? "I will bring one for everyone at this Bōsevana." Then… while listening to the Dhamma at this moment. Now, why are you smiling? What feeling arose? Yes, a pleasant feeling arose. Now, I haven't even brought it yet. If you really thought I would bring one, what would happen? A desire for it arises. Therefore, a desire is created for what is heard by the ear. A desire is created for what is seen by the eye. Similarly, a desire for what is thought by the mind… Desire is of two types… that is, when it goes to clinging (upādānaya), it becomes of two types. Desire arises. It is with desire that one gets bound. Now, the Buddha doesn't stop here. The Buddha said that the Dhamma is beautiful in the beginning, beautiful in the middle, and beautiful in the end, didn't he? This is the beginning of the sermon on that completely whole Dhamma. So, first, you must understand these six. What are they? The six internal sense bases, the six external sense bases. The six internal sense bases, the six external sense bases, the six consciousnesses. Next, the coming together of the three is called contact. That phenomenon arises. Remember the Pali for it: Tiṇṇaṃ saṅgati phasso. The meeting of the three is contact. That is called the six sense bases of contact. Next, phassa paccayā, as soon as there is contact, there is experience. So, six feelings. It's not six feelings; they can be divided into three, making it 18 types of feeling, 36 types… it can be said in many ways. But here, it says feeling arises in six ways. Alright? Next, desire arises in six ways. What does that mean? It means desire arises through these six sense bases. That's what it means.

So, the six sets of six of the Chachakka Sutta. Now let's look at the sermon ahead. "Katamāni cha ajjhattikāni āyatanāni veditabbānī’ti? Cakkhāyatanaṃ…" When it was said, "The six internal sense bases should be realized," on account of what was this said? There is a sense base called the eye. There is a sense base called the ear. There is a sense base called the nose. There are the sense bases of the tongue and body. When it was stated that the internal sense bases should be realized, it was said on account of this. The Buddha says, "I said that the six sense bases should be realized." So, what does it mean to say the six internal sense bases should be realized? The eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind—these six must be realized. Alright? If I explain for the other ones too, using these six, it will take a lot of time, so I won't.

Now, we are trying to understand the eye. The eye is not this visible eye that I am wearing glasses for. Now, this is what it means to understand the eye. Can you see this? There—the eye was born. Can you hear me talking? The eye has ceased. You don't hear while you see. That's what happens. When seeing, you see. When hearing, you hear. Although there are these six sense bases, only one sense base arises at a time. The moment that sense base ceases, the next sense base arises. Who understood that? Raise your hand. Raise it properly. I am asking. You didn't understand? Stand up. What didn't you understand? Now clap your hands. Clap loudly. Ah, now that's over, right? Now you're hearing me talk, aren't you? So, is that thing you heard earlier finished or not? Is it finished or not? I can't hear you. Finished. Now, can you see this water glass? So, it is after that sound you heard has finished that you see this, right? Huh? So, the thing that hears and then ceases is called the ear being born. The thing that sees and then ceases is called the eye being born. The thing that takes in a smell and ceases is called the nose being born. So, there is no permanent nose. The nose is born, and the nose ceases. The nose is not this nose; what is it? That moment of smell. Understood? Now sit down. Did you understand now? Now look again, if there's anyone who didn't understand, raise your hand. This is how every single moment is. Every moment is like that. There—that is what is meant by the eye being born. Now, although it seems to us that there are six permanent sense bases—nose, ear, and so on—it is not like that. There is something that is born and ceases. Before you realize this, you must understand it, shouldn't you? This is the way for all six. It's the same way for all six.

Cha bāhirāni āyatanāni veditabbānī’ti… "The six external sense bases should be realized." On account of what was this said? There is a sense base of form. There is a sense base of sound. Now, the next is the external. For the eye to be born, there must be a form. Without a form, the eye cannot be born. Without a sound, the ear cannot be born. This physical ear is here, but for the ear that hears sound to be born... do you understand? Smells and fragrances... at this moment, we don't smell anything, do we? Check if your hands have any smell. Whether you washed them... Is there? Maybe a piece of fish you ate or something. Understood? So, if there is no smell, the nose-base is not born. If there is no taste, the tongue-base is not born. Look now, your mouth is probably tasteless. If you haven't brushed your teeth. So, if there is no taste, it is not born. If there is no touch, the body-base is not born. When all those five are absent, there is an object, isn't there? Otherwise, the mind-consciousness… the mind arises. This means there is no permanent color that we see. At the moment it arises, it is born; at the moment it ceases, it ceases. There is no permanent sound... there is no permanent eye. There is no permanent sound. There is no permanent nose. A fragrance arises at that moment. So, the external sense bases also do not persist. They arise and cease. They arise in this very moment, at this very time, and they cease at this very time. So, before realizing the six external sense bases, you must see this story from within yourself. Alright? But before that, understand it correctly. There are no six permanent internal sense bases either. But are they non-existent? They arise. And they cease. They arise and cease. This is what happens every single moment. The external six... now, even though these things appear to exist at once, what is it really? It's not like that. The moment it is seen... that's why they say you can't look at the same river twice. You don't see the same lover twice. You see them once. The next time you see is a different color-form.

Now, if this is explained scientifically, this is constantly decaying. This is called carbon decay. What is it? The C-14 test finds the percentage of decay. Understood? So, if you look at this light... there is no permanently existing earth. There is no permanently existing sky. There is no permanently existing sun. What is happening all the time? It is decaying. However, what the Buddha is talking about here is not this decay. That, too, is impermanent anyway. That, too, is not permanent anyway. So, what is this about? This is describing a signal (saññā), a recognition that runs inside this body, from the soles of the feet upwards and from the top of the head downwards. Because to see the impermanence of these things, one must understand that these too are changing. However, even if one understands that these things change, one cannot realize the truth. What cannot be realized? The reality. Now, if I didn't tell you this, you have heard that these things change. Muslims have heard it. They also say Aniccaṃ, Dukkhaṃ. Alright? Scientists also say it. But do they realize the truth? No. By looking at the change in these things, where do scientists finally stop? After discovering the atom. If they had realized the truth, would they create atomic bombs? They break, smash, and shatter things down to their fundamental nature and discover certain radioactive elements. And they end up producing things with them. However, they do see this change. Right? Just because they see it, the truth is not realized. What they create are things that destroy. However, the reality the Buddha saw, he saw it in this way that is being described. What did the Buddha see? He saw it in the way it is being preached in this sermon. Therefore, every one of you can understand that sermon, but there is a language issue, isn't there? So, you must understand properly, either in Sinhala or in Pali, that this is what is being said.

Cha viññāṇakāyā veditabbā. Next, the six classes of consciousness should also be realized. When it was said, on what account was this stated? Dependent on the eye and forms, eye-consciousness arises. The Buddha states this Pali phrase so beautifully... Cakkhuñca paṭicca rūpe ca uppajjati cakkhuviññāṇaṃ... Next, sotañca paṭicca sadde ca uppajjati sotaviññāṇaṃ. Cakkhuñca paṭicca rūpe ca... what is that? Dependent on the eye and form, eye-consciousness (cakkhu-viññāṇa) arises. In Sinhala: due to the eye and a form, eye-consciousness arises. If there is no eye and no form, there is no eye-consciousness. A blind person cannot see forms, can they? They have the physical eye. There is a form. It falls on the eye. But the causes for eye-consciousness to arise are not there. The causes are absent. Now, a deaf person cannot hear sounds, right? There are sounds. Huh? There is a physical ear. But the causes for ear-consciousness (sota-viññāṇa) to arise are not there. However, it is only when all three come together that the ‘eye’ is born. Cakkhuñca paṭicca rūpe ca... cakkhu-viññāṇaṃ. Sotañca paṭicca... sota-viññāṇaṃ. So, imagine this for all six in the same way. What is the consciousness that arises because of that eye and form called? Eye-consciousness. In Sinhala, the consciousness that arises due to those two is called the consciousness born in the eye; cakkhu means eye. Like that.

So, consciousness is of six kinds. What are they? The consciousness that sees forms, the consciousness that knows sounds, the consciousness that knows smells and fragrances, the consciousness that knows tastes... 'to know' is what consciousness does. Next, to know touch and to know mental objects. So, don't confuse the three: knowing, feeling, and recognizing. Then you can understand. What consciousness does is to know. What feeling does is to experience. So, experiencing pleasure and pain... the six consciousnesses... So, the next point is, the consciousness arises because of the eye and the form, doesn't it? Does it remain there, or does it cease right there? Look closely. Now, you can hear what I am saying. Next, you see this wall. So, didn't you see the wall after what you heard ceased? This means the stream of ear-consciousness (sota-viññāṇa) ceases completely for the stream of eye-consciousness (cakkhu-viññāṇa) to arise. When we say eye-consciousness, it's not just one; a stream comes. Many consciousnesses arise. The next one arises only at the very moment the previous one has ceased. This means there is no permanently existing mind. What do you all think? You feel as though the same mind hears, sees, notices, and thinks, right? Look, isn't that what you believe? That you have one mind. Like when there is a mirror, when we go in front of it, we are seen. When this person goes, they are seen. When that person goes, they are seen. If it were like that, then you should be able to know all six things at once. When six people stand before a mirror, all six images are seen at once, aren't they? But we don't have the ability to think like that. We don't have the ability to know all six at once. If you are listening, you listen. If you are looking, you look. Next, if you are thinking, you think. You can't do all six at once. Only one at a time.

It's just like this. Say there are six lights here. Six lights are connected to six circuits. At any one time, only one lights up. One lights up for a minute and goes off, then the next one lights up. That one lights up for a minute and goes off, and the next one lights up. Alright? Now, can you all identify it or not? Can you or not? At this moment, I ask, which bulb is it? Alright? This is one, two, three, four, five, six. Now I ask... it's lit for a minute, right? So, you can say which bulb is lit. I ask, "Which bulb is lit now?" You can give the number, can't you? "The sixth one is lit." Then after that, the first one on this side lights up. "Now the first one is lit." You can answer which one is lit.

Now, I increase the speed of the circuit. Only ten seconds for one bulb to be lit. Now I ask, "The one in this corner is lit. Which one is lighting up now?" Can you say or not? Can you? Or not? All six of you must answer. Huh? Otherwise, you'll get sleepy. Listening to this Dhamma can make one sleepy out of demerit. Alright? If you answer loudly, it shakes you up a bit. Now I say the one in this corner is lit. Alright, so I ask, "Which number is lighting up?" It's only on for 10 seconds. Can you or not? Then it moves to this one. Now, you can answer.

Now, I increase its speed. Now... like the second hand on a clock, if there was one here, we can watch it go tick-tock, can't we? It means, it's possible even for a light that's on for a second. Now I increase it to a fraction of a second. Within a fraction of a second, one lights up and goes off. Now, to you, what is happening with these six bulbs? Huh? It seems like all six are lit. Now can you give an answer? But the circuit still shows that only one is lit in that fraction of a second. Because the speed is high, it seems like all six are lit. You don't see one going off. It actually goes off, but you don't see it going off. Do you understand what I'm saying? I'll slow it down again. I'll say again, one every two seconds. Now can you see? I'll bring it back again to one per hundred-thousandth of a second. Now... it's all over.

It is just like that. You see with your eye, you hear with your ear... but at any one time, only one happens. But these six operate at a rattling pace. Now, you have neither mindfulness nor wisdom. You just look at something you see, thinking "this is mine," and keep contemplating it. Huh? You take what you hear as "mine" and from there you go into the world of proliferation (papañca). One day I will do a sermon on the Madhupiṇḍika Sutta. It explains this very beautifully. So, you wander like that. Now, the Buddha has taught this to us. This is the secret of the universe. Otherwise, without understanding this, a person dies. They think there is one mind and things are always coming to it. That's not what happens. There isn't one mind. What is there? There is a mind that arises at that moment. It is said to be single-momentary (ekakkhāṇikā). We will teach that later from the Abhidhamma. So that is the situation. You all need to understand that.

So, what should be understood from this? There is no permanently arisen form. The form came and was finished. The sound was heard and was finished. The consciousness that knew it was also finished. The contact—the meeting of the three—is contact. So then, there is no contact, is there? All three cease. Contact also ceases. There is no permanent thing called contact. The meeting of the three, tiṇṇaṃ saṅgati phasso, ends right there. The arising of contact is called its origin (samudaya), its ceasing is called its passing away (atthaṅgama). Contact arose, contact ceased. Again, a new contact... three sense bases came into contact, three sense bases ceased. This process occurs. It has been occurring since the time you came into your mother's womb. Understood? We don't need to go that far into things like the life-continuum object (bhavanga arammana). The new people won't understand. Now, the little brother there in the red pants, do you understand what I am saying? Come here to the front. What did you understand? Explain what you understood about the eye.

The eye... it's not this eye. This eye perishes. This eye... when we get old, that's what happens. But that other "eye" perishes at that speed... this eye does not perish at that speed. It is not difficult for us to understand the perishing of this physical eye. From childhood to old age, we understand that it gets worn out. But even a dying old person does not understand that the eye born in the moment ceases. They think, "I am old," meaning this physical body has aged. That's not the reality. The one that is born in the moment also ages. Arising, persisting, ceasing (uppāda, ṭhiti, bhaṅga)—that moment also ages. And it ceases right there. It's a momentary process. What kind of process? The Buddha shows us that we are engaged in a momentary process. Now I am explaining it. Can you understand this for yourself? Or not? When one dwells within oneself with good mindfulness, one understands that this is exactly what is happening. This is not happening because the Buddha said so. It is not happening because Thiththagalle Hamuduruwo is saying so. It is not happening because the great Arahant Sāriputta said so. What is this? This is what is happening. To whom? To the Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim, Catholic, people of other faiths, people of no faith, to every single person. It's the same for animals too. Don't go thinking about animals. Because they never have the mindfulness or wisdom to see this through the Dhamma. Only humans can do it. That is why it is said, "Rare is the human birth" (dullabho manussapaṭilābho). Now, if you bring a dog and keep it here, it won't understand. A dog will just be a dog. So, don't sit here like a dog. Understood? I can see some are sitting like dogs.

Alright, now next, we are trying to understand the six feelings. Because of the eye, the form, and consciousness, contact occurred. Tiṇṇaṃ saṅgati phasso. Phassa paccayā vedanā. It is due to contact itself that feeling arises. If there is no contact, you cannot feel. This means, even if colors fall on this eye, you can't feel. Even if sounds are heard by the ear, you can't feel. The mind must join. The collision that arises when all three come together is called contact. The very moment there is contact, we can do what? Feel. Now, those who have checked the salt in rice... raise your hands if you have checked the salt. Understood? You've checked the salt in rice, right? Ah. By tasting it, what do you do? It is through the feeling that you say, "Ah, the taste is okay," or "the salt is too much or too little." We feel the salt. Then, when singing, to see if it's in tune, we check if that correct 'taste' is there. It's like checking the salt. Alright? So, we feel.

Therefore, what happens? Now, if someone is here but thinking of something else, can they say if something is right or wrong? No. They are feeling something else. So, to feel, you must be with that object. Then you feel. You feel because of contact. Meaning, due to that union of three, contact… phassa paccayā vedanā, you feel. Suddenly someone says, "You're the one who got it, darling!" Then what happens? A feeling arises. So, this feeling arises in the way contact occurs. Understood? Due to contact, you can experience suffering. Due to contact, you can experience pleasure. Otherwise, as I said about the mind, if you just stare at the fan spinning, you won't feel anything special. That's it. Understood? Now, for me, I might see dust on it and an unusual feeling arises. For you all, that feeling won't arise. So, a feeling arises. So, that is feeling. Now, one can feel through the eye, feel through the ear. But it's not said like that; it's phassa paccayā vedanā. Because for it to be contact (phassa), all three must be present. Without contact, one cannot feel. This is not about feeling by looking back. If you are just full of filth, you can sit, but you can't listen to the Dhamma and feel it. So, feeling is of six kinds. Which kinds? Now, we feel by seeing a form with the eye. As we are feeling it, does it remain? Or does it cease right there? It ceases right there. How many things have we felt and have ceased? But we don't understand it that way. Huh? If we understood it that way, we would never have mental problems. If we realized it that way, there would never be mental problems. We would never get depression or stress. But due to delusion (moha) and ignorance (avijjā), we think we can hold on to this. "This is amazing, I must keep this," and we try hard to hold on to the pleasure. But the experience is finished the moment it is seen by the eye. It is finished the moment it is heard by the ear. It is finished the moment the smell is known by the nose. But we, having seen it with the eye, don't let it go to the ear; we take that object and think about it. "It's amazing, amazing, amazing," and for hours, with the mind, mental object, and consciousness, we try to continue the feeling. But it doesn't work. So, that process exists. Now, this is the same for a worldling (puthujjana) and for an Arahant. The Buddha can feel. An Arahant can feel. The difference is from this point onwards. So, the six types of feeling are clear, right? One can feel through all six.

Alright, next the Buddha says, Cha taṇhākāyā veditabbāni... The six classes of craving should be realized. Now, the eye, form, and consciousness come together. What happens next? Because of that, contact arises. Phassa paccayā vedanā... and because of feeling... paccaya means 'because of,' 'as a cause.' Alright? Due to a cause. Because of a cause, craving (taṇhā) arises. Craving arises. Now, craving arises in this way. I am telling you how the river of craving flows. What is it? The Ajita Sutta says the river of craving flows. It's a river of craving. Now, you create craving because of the eye. Raise your hand if you have the experience of craving having arisen in you because of the eye. Don't look at others, just answer the question I'm asking you. You desire the forms you see with your eye, don't you? I'm not saying anything strange. This is not something to be understood with great difficulty. If I say this... "Look, here is some delicious food, fragrant with spices. There is fried rice, fruits, cold drinks." The moment you see it, or the moment you hear about it... what happens to the mind? You feel. You feel it. You remember something you ate before and feel it. And as you are feeling, what arises? Desire arises. And then what happens? You check if you have money. No. Then you look to see if someone will buy it for you. No. Then you suffer, thinking you can't just hear about it and eat it. Right?

Now we see in shops, why do they have beautiful signboards? Why do we stop near that shop? It's not just because of hunger. Do we eat only when we are hungry? No. It's to create desire in us. Look, that's what marketing is. What is marketing? To promote their business, they have to create desire inside us. What must be created? Desire. And what can create desire? Through the ear and the eye. So, they create beautiful advertisements. They toss things up, they lick their lips like this... when we see that, we don't even think, desire just arises. Next, it can be created through the ear. They pay celebrities a lot of money to say, "This is the best," and when we hear that, we haven't even seen the product, but desire arises for the mental image. Huh? Then when we go to sweet shops, they give a small piece to taste before you buy. Desire arises. They don't just stop there. They give a small piece, and after you taste it, what next? Then... we can't do that, can we? We'd just eat everything and go. What do others do? They buy it, saying, "I'll give it to our children too." That desire is not just for oneself; it must be extended to the children. And to the husband, and to the neighbor... they buy a whole kilo. The desire first arose for oneself. Now what happens? To do marketing, you have to appeal to all six senses. If you do, what happens? When desire arises in people, they stand in queues. There are some shops... the food is tasty, and people stand in line to eat. Pleasant feeling must be generated. It is for pleasant feeling that desire arises. Desire also arises for painful feeling; that is aversion. If painful feeling is created, people won't go to that shop. But if they desire a pleasant feeling, they go, they order online, they look, they think, they contemplate, right? It's like that.

So now, what we need to take from this... we are not going to the point of clinging (upādāna) that arises from desire. The Buddha stops here. Six kinds of craving. What are the six kinds? He tells us to understand that because of the eye, form, and consciousness, contact arises. Because of contact, one feels. Taking what is felt as a cause, desire arises. Now, what is being said here is not to eliminate desire at once. It is to understand this process. To realize it. (avabodha karaganna). Through whom? Through oneself. Now, when you see something and desire arises, you remember, "This is the Dhamma the Buddha taught. This is what's needed here." When you hear something and desire it, realize it. "This is the Dhamma of the Buddha. This is the process that is occurring."

So, in this way, craving flows through the eye. Craving flows through the ear. It flows like a river. No matter how many forms we are shown, it's never enough. The river of craving flows on. If not from all six, it flows from one of them. At any one time, it flows from one. Now, the four main rivers that start from Sri Pada... what are they? Now, from our six sense bases, how many rivers begin? Six begin. But can those six be stopped? When the sun shines very brightly, a river dries up and disappears. But do these six disappear when the sun shines? When one thing is lacking, the desire increases. It overflows its banks. What overflows? It overflows its banks. Now, as long as it overflows its banks, what happens? We will continue to look at forms. We go somewhere. We listen to sounds that are played. Are we willing to stop this? Now, if I give you all tickets and say we are going to Japan for a holiday... next week. Now, what will happen when you see some images of Japan? Desire arises, right? Then, after going to Japan and coming back, a month later I say, let's go to America. Does it end? Then someone says, "I met Elon Musk, let's arrange to go to Mars." They would only say no to that because of their attachment to this earth. Otherwise, human desire wouldn't end even if it went to the other end of the universe. There is no such end. Alright? The more you go, the more you see, that's all. There is only seeing and hearing. And that, too... that desire never ends. Tiṇṇaṃ saṅgati phasso, phassa paccayā vedanā, vedanā paccayā taṇhā. That's what happens.

Then, as we continue desiring like this, we get finished. Meaning, this physical body, this vehicle, cannot continue looking at these things beyond a certain point. It's like the grandmothers say, "I'm just waiting to go now." It's not just grandmothers; if the roof collapses, we too will have to go. They will go anyway, and we will also go anyway. We think we still have insurance. Alright? If your number is up, you're gone. But we think it's only the grandmothers who are going to go. "She's going anyway," we say. Right? So then, after that, she still has desires. A lot of desires to see things. When a grandmother is dying, she thinks, "Oh, I won't be able to see your graduation." She dies thinking about the things she cannot see. Right? It is not that she dies satisfied after seeing everything. She dies unsatisfied (asantuṭṭha). What is it? She dies unsatisfied.

When one dies unsatisfied, the same thing that happens when you jump from this moment to the next moment is what happens after death. From being here, you see something after hearing, right? You see what is seen. It's a switch. The same thing that happened when you died to the previous moment happens in the next moment. Another sense base arises. What arises? A sense base arises. And you start doing the same thing with it. Let's say there are beings on another planet. It's the same for them. A sense base arises. That is what is called birth (upapatti). So, do birth and death happen after 50 or 60 years? Or in this very moment? In this very moment. In this moment, you are born. In this moment, you cease. To say the eye is born and the eye ceases means you are born and you cease. Because you are the one grasping it as "the eye is me." Yes, you think what is seen is "I." In reality, there is no "me" here. There is a process that works because of desire. One grasps because of ignorance. So, because of that, what happens? Ignorance is here. Desire is here. In the middle is the motor with its coils. Now what happens? When two opposing forces are brought together, what happens? What they teach us in O-Levels as Fleming's left-hand rule and right-hand rule... What did Fleming discover? That things rotate. The Buddha discovered that name-and-form (nāma-rūpa) rotates and cannot be stopped. Fleming discovered it externally, and because of that, motors were born. The Buddha discovered it for the realization of the truth. That's all. The theory goes that when these two are brought together... that's how a motor is spun, by placing two magnets on opposite sides, right? That's what I remember from O-Levels. Understood?

So that is what happens to us. Because of ignorance (avijjā) and craving (taṇhā), the sense bases are generated. After generating them, it doesn't stop. It gives energy back to these two. What is the desire? For the water to be gushed out of the motor. For one's own desire to flow. The river of craving (taṇhā) flows. Ajita asked, what is this world enveloped by? We will discuss the Ajita Sutta later; I have done it before. Let's look ahead. Now that part is clear to you all.

Now the Buddha says something that happens to people. After talking about craving, he says: If anyone were to say, "The eye is my self (attā)," that would not be fitting. Because the arising and the ceasing of the eye are evident. Now, you understood how the eye is born, didn't you? And you understood how it perishes, right? If the arising of something is seen, and also its perishing is seen, then the view that would inevitably be reached is, "My self arises, and my self perishes." Now you all will get this idea if you don't understand this correctly: "My eye is born, my eye ceases." Alright? A person can think like that because they cannot let go of the idea of "I." Before, they thought they saw continuously. Now, having seen this, they might think, "My eye is born, my eye ceases." That is why if someone says the eye is the self, it is not a statement with a rational basis. It is truly not a meaningful statement. Now, someone might say this. It is not a statement made with true understanding; it is not the truth. It has no cause. It's what's called causeless (ahetuka). Like saying cashews are growing when it is not the season for cashews. There's no cause for cashews to grow at that time.

So the Buddha points out, if someone says that this eye which sees and ceases to see is the self—"I see forms, I stop seeing forms"—that is wrong. One cannot say that. It is wrong. What happens? The eye, the form, and the consciousness arise. Tiṇṇaṃ saṅgati phasso, phassa paccayā vedanā, vedanā paccayā taṇhā. Because that process of contact, feeling, and craving occurs, it arises. Next, it ceases. There was an origin (samudaya), it arose; the eye arose, the eye ceased. So, there is absolutely no place here to take anything as "I" or "mine."

Look well, with good mindfulness, at this environment. Now, listen to the external sounds. See what you can hear. Look at this thing. Now you can see this. Now, look at my face. Now, after looking at that... when you do it fast, what happens? Having arisen in one object of attention, you jump to the next object of attention. Then you take in with the ear, take in with the ear... Now, pay attention to how you are seated. Where do you feel the pressure? Now, notice any pain in your back. Let's see... what happens then? That sense base is born and ceases. There is no one there to see it. But we assume in that way. When I mention it, you say, "my back," don't you? Meaning, you are immersed in the feeling, taking it as "mine," and you say, "now it's a little better." The Buddha says that people say, "Feeling arose in me, it ceased in me." They don't understand its origin.

Once when I was in the hospital, there was a monk with kidney disease; both his kidneys were badly damaged. I was attending to him and others in other beds. I thought, this monk is very ill. He is not passing urine. In a few days, he will die. I knew his end was near. So before he goes, I thought I should help this man generate a wholesome thought. What did I do? I went to him... he needed a lot of care. So, I went, stroked the monk's hand, and said... I thought to myself, "You have six temples," not just these six sense bases, but he also had six temples. So I stroked his hand and thought, "May you be well." Immediately, he said, "It is I who have this pain, it is in me that it has ceased! How can you say 'may you be well'?" Do you understand? He had taken it on wholesale. "This calamity has befallen me, it's mine, don't you understand?" That's how he asked. So I thought to myself then and there, it is better to just think "may you die and be gone" than to wish well to sick people without any wisdom.

This is what the Buddha is saying. You all, too, when something happens, when you are sick, you think "I am finished," "I am the one taking medicine." You don't understand. You only understand, "I am the one who has this." You see? He has taken it on wholesale. The body, contact, and consciousness have come together, a feeling has arisen, he has become averse to it, and he has grasped it as his own. Now, there is actual physical pain. Alright? Then, when he watches a movie, he doesn't notice it, does he? He doesn't remember it, right? But having grasped it as his own... an uninstructed worldling (assutavā puthujjana), even after hearing so much Dhamma, if they don't at least bring this to mind and understand, "Isn't this what is happening here?" No. The Blessed One says that one who has not heard this Dhamma, when something happens to the body, they grasp it as their own and suffer mentally far more than the physical pain. His body's sugar level might be 200. His mind's sugar becomes 200,000. When the body is ill, medicine can cure it, can reduce it. But when the mind has grasped it, that doctor can't do anything.

Rūpaṃ attato vadeyya... "If anyone were to say that form is the self, that is not a fitting statement." The arising and ceasing of forms are seen. If the arising and ceasing of something are seen... if something arises, it perishes. There is nothing there to be taken as oneself, is there? The house you have in your home, alright? It perishes. It suddenly gets destroyed. Will we then think of it as "our house"? Will we? A fool might still think, but one should understand, "I had such a house, and it is gone." But we keep thinking it's ours. The Buddha is saying, don't think like that. Even when people die, we still think of them as our own, don't we? Even after our mother passes away, we think, "our mother."

So, there is nothing like that. There is only this process. And next, it is the same for consciousness. Consciousness is knowing. So it goes on like this for all six, saying do not take them as self. To come to that view is not based on reason.

Alright, that part is also said. Now, what if someone says feeling is the self? That feeling is their own. Alright? If someone thinks that what they feel is themselves, is that a fitting statement? Does that statement fit? Now, when you contemplate something and feel it, if you think, "I am feeling it," is that a fitting thought? Is it a fitting statement? Is it based on cause, or is it causeless? Answer loudly.

Now, listen carefully. For lunch today, there is chicken curry. You all won't get it; others will. Alright? There is dhal curry, and then there are many salads and other things. You all might get to lick a little if there are leftovers. Alright, I'll give it if there is any left. Now, you are thinking about that food, and a feeling arises, doesn't it? Is it appropriate to take that feeling as "I"? Why is it not appropriate? There is no such thing. There is no "mine." Due to some sound or form, contact arose. Because of contact, what arose? Feeling arose. Because of feeling, craving arose. Since that process happens on its own, there is no "I." But the Buddha is trying to show that as soon as that process happens, we try to grasp both sides of it—its arising and its ceasing—and he says that is not based on reason. It is the same for craving.

Then the Blessed One says, “ayaṃ kho pana, bhikkhave, sakkāyasamudayagāminī paṭipadā: cakkhuṃ ‘etaṃ mama, esohamasmi, eso me attā’ti samanupassati...” "Monks, this is the path leading to the origin of personality-identity (sakkāya)..." Sakkāya is a name for the five aggregates of clinging (pañcupādānakkhandhā). They arise because of this process: one mistakenly sees the eye as "this is mine, this I am, this is my self." One mistakenly sees forms as "this is mine, this I am, this is my self." One mistakenly sees sounds, and then contact, feeling, and craving with this delusion.

Alright, now the Blessed One is talking about the arising of the five aggregates. What are the five aggregates? What are the five aggregates? Say it loudly. The aggregate of form (rūpakkhandha), the aggregate of feeling (vedanākkhandha)... next, say it loudly. Yes, the aggregates of perception (saññākkhandha), formations (saṅkhārakkhandha), and consciousness (viññāṇakkhandha). Here, form does not mean only the form seen by the eye. A sound is a form. Color-form, sound-form, odor-form, taste-form, tangible-form, and subtle mental-forms. So these forms are there. That is called the aggregate of form (rūpakkhandha). When you see a form with the eye, the aggregate of form is created. Experiencing it is the aggregate of feeling. 'Aggregate' (khandha) means it seems to exist in time and space. Or else it means a heap or a mass. A heap of feelings. A heap of forms. Next, the aggregate of perception—one recognizes it. Then the aggregate of formations and the aggregate of consciousness. That is the five aggregates. Meaning, when we see a form with the eye, a set of five aggregates is born. What is born? There is a form, there is a feeling, there is recognition, volitions are generated. After that, one knows it. The function of eye-consciousness is to know. So, it is correct to say one sees a form with the eye, and it is also correct to say one generates a set of five aggregates. The Pali name for the five aggregates is sakkāya. Sakkāyasamudayagāminī... The five aggregates arise because of this process. Tiṇṇaṃ saṅgati phasso, phassa paccayā vedanā, vedanā paccayā taṇhā. That is the origin of the five aggregates.

One sees the eye with the delusion, "this is mine, this is my self." We think, "It is I who see." That is being deluded about the eye. "It is I who see that form." "It was I who saw that, wasn't it?" And "It was I who felt that, I who recognized that, I who knew that." This means... you don't understand it as contact... you don't think "it was I who was contacted." You grasp that eye that saw. Before, you thought it was this physical eye. Now you have understood the other eye, and you take that too as 'mine.'

The Blessed One says these five aggregates come to be. Meaning, one sees form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness with the delusion "this is mine, this I am, this is my self." That is, you all think you can do whatever you want. You have a plan. "My partner should be like this, my body should be like this, my mother should be like this..." We think like that. A sense of self arises with the delusion about every link.

The five aggregates of clinging (pañcupādānakkhandhā) are like this. Now, the five aggregates are form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness. The moment craving arises for the feeling, it turns into the five aggregates of clinging. It becomes aggregates of clinging. What does it become? Aggregates of clinging. An Arahant, who has no craving, generates the five aggregates. For ordinary people, what happens? Precisely because they desire what they see, because they desire what they hear, it is called clinging (upādāna). Clinging means to be bound. What is it? To be bound. The binding is of three types: attachment, aversion, and delusion. You can see the attachment and aversion. The moment we are attached to or averse to what we see with the eye, what happens? The five aggregates of clinging arise. What are they bound to? To nothing other than form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness. The arising of the five aggregates of clinging happens in this way. The ceasing of the five aggregates of clinging happens in the same way. It arises right there, is clung to right there, and ceases right there.

Alright? There is a process of arising, and there is a process of ceasing. So the Buddha says, "Now you understand, don't you? That there is an arising and ceasing here. Is there anything here to be deluded about as 'I' or 'mine'?" No. Understand how that delusion occurs. What does he tell us to understand? You are going somewhere. You fall into a pit. You don't realize it. You come out covered in mud. You go again. You fall into the same pit. You come out covered in mud and bleeding. You go again. So the Buddha says, "There is a pit like this. That pit is grasping things as 'I, mine, myself.' As you walk along, you fall into that pit. You come out covered in mud. You fall into that same pit again." So what do we have to understand? That this mud, these wounds, this trouble is because of this pit. What is it due to? This feeling of "I" and "mine" is this abyss.

When this happens with what is seen by the eye, one does not see its cessation. Therefore, one gets bound. The aggregates of clinging are born. That is the personality-view (sakkāya-diṭṭhi). Contemplating this with wisdom... "Cakkhuñca, bhikkhave, paṭicca rūpe ca uppajjati cakkhuviññāṇaṃ, tiṇṇaṃ saṅgati phasso, phassapaccayā uppajjati vedayitaṃ sukhaṃ vā dukkhaṃ vā adukkhamasukhaṃ vā. So sukhāya vedanāya phuṭṭho samāno abhinandati, abhivadati, ajjhosāya tiṭṭha1ti..." Now he says some beautiful words. One delights in it (abhinandati), one welcomes it (abhivadati), one remains submerged in it (ajjhosāya tiṭṭhati). One sinks into the object, is immersed in the object. Huh? After that, the latent tendency of lust (rāga-anusaya) arises. What arises? Lust. It now gets deposited subtly. It is deposited underneath. It is from that that it comes up again and again. The latent tendency of lust arises. The latent tendency of aversion (paṭigha-anusaya) arises, and the latent tendency of ignorance (avijjā-anusaya) arises. Now, from this point on, if you can understand, understand. If not, it's not necessary. Alright? That is what carries you through saṃsāra.

Next, the Buddha points out... I will give a sermon on this another day... how to practice wise attention (yoniso manasikāra) in a way that the latent tendency of lust is eradicated. How to practice wise attention (yoniso manasikāra) to eradicate the latent tendency of aversion (paṭigha-anusaya), and how to eradicate the latent tendency of ignorance (avijjā-anusaya)... the sutta goes on further. But we are out of time, and I think you all may have reached your capacity to absorb this. That is the Chachakka Sutta, one of the last ten suttas in the Uparipaṇṇāsaka of the Majjhima Nikāya. Alright? So please find it and read it. When I teach next time, you should have read it more than ten times. You should have understood it. You should have looked up the Pali and Sinhala words in a dictionary and translated them. Then I will teach it again.

Now, you all have come here for a different purpose. I'm saying, you all have come here to develop your skill in creating future suffering. These residents here have come trying to eliminate their existing skill in creating suffering. They are two different kinds. The path I have just explained is the very way to generate suffering through the six sense doors. Next, because of the skill these residents have already developed, what happens? They have to try to understand it.

Then what happens? A teaching like this, beautiful in the beginning, middle, and end (ādi-kalyāṇaṃ, majjhe-kalyāṇaṃ, pariyosāna-kalyāṇaṃ)… I can explain the rest of it. The remaining part is also extremely beautiful. It beautifully shows the path to disenchantment (nibbidāya), dispassion (virāgāya), and liberation. It shows how, when one turns away from delighting and welcoming (abhinandati, abhivadati), one leaves saṃsāra behind.

So, these teachings are there. It is because people don't look at them that I have to teach them again and again. These are the things on which one must practice wise attention. So, when monks and yogis come to a place like this, they must understand these things. Otherwise, more and more of those latent tendencies of lust will arise within. After craving, when they get deposited, life comes to an end. When it ends, you receive another set of six sense bases as a "gift." Again, you look and look... Meaning, what happens in this moment and the next moment is exactly what will happen in that way. That's all. Now everyone understands how this moment changes to the next moment, right? You see, it's finished. You hear, it's finished. Again, you see, you hear, it's finished. One of the six bulbs lights up. That's it. Understood? At the moment of death, when the last breath goes, consciousness latches onto another object. This same process has no before or after. There is no intermediate state (antarābhava). An intermediate state is just the arising of another set of six sense bases.

Even one sense base arising is enough. For example, for a person who cannot see, one sense base is finished. But their journey in saṃsāra is not over, is it? That process is not over. For a person who cannot hear, one is finished. So, you don't need all six. Even if one eye arises, that's enough. You look and look, and you're done for. If two arise, it's like two factories, two rivers. That's why there is no escape.

Now, beings like brahmas have suppressed the five strands of sensual pleasure (pañcakāma). So, their desire for forms, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches is suppressed. Right? So, they don't need this body. Huh? They have a subtle body, with an eye and an ear. They can see. There's no weight, no weight in the body. It can be like that. But after that state, which can last for eons, is over, the latent tendencies come to the surface again, and they can be reborn in a pigsty.

The Buddha realized that this Dhamma he understood was profound (gambhīra). It is difficult to teach. Now you can understand how difficult it is to explain these things. So many things have to be said to explain this little process happening within you at this moment. But when one realizes this Dhamma from within, one becomes disenchanted (nibbidāya) and is liberated (virāgāya, vimutti). Vimutti means to be freed. To generate the knowledge that one is free (vimuttasmiṃ vimuttamiti ñāṇaṃ hoti). When he was there, he thought, "I cannot teach this; it is a very subtle Dhamma. Beings are always conceptualizing about the past and future. How can I teach something that flashes into being and vanishes in an instant? How can it be taught?" Then, it is said that Sahampati Brahma appeared. In truth, a compassionate thought arose in the Buddha: "If I do not teach this, no matter what else beings do, they cannot get beyond. Whether they meditate, keep precepts, steal, or murder, whatever the hell they do, they cannot get beyond. They will only go to good and bad destinations (sugati, dugati)."

Alright, so he thinks, "Okay, I will teach it." When he looks at the people in the world, he sees it like a lotus pond. In the lotus pond, there are lotuses that will bloom if the sun rises now. There are some that will bloom after many weeks. There are those that are still underwater. He sees the world like a lotus pond. So, he decides, "It is difficult, but I will teach."

Now, when we are going to tell someone something, we look for someone we know, someone we have associated with. The Buddha also had the six sense bases. He got beyond through the six sense bases. He was freed from the craving and clinging of the six sense bases. His memory records showed that Āḷāra Kālāma had been a yogi for a long time. He had developed the formless attainments. These people were not greedy for the five sensual pleasures. When one is greedy for sensual pleasures, it's a bit difficult to teach them. Why? If I tell you all to leave everything and stay here, you can't, can you? Why? Because you are burning with sensual pleasure. It's difficult to stay, isn't it? So, it's difficult to do at once. But those others had given them up. They didn't have that burning. So, it is easy to have this discussion with them. Because the Buddha, as the Bodhisatta Gotama, had also stayed in those hermitages. So, he looked for them. When he looked, news came. Āḷāra Kālāma had passed away a week ago. He would have understood this very quickly because he knew much of this process. But he didn't know the subtle part about "I" and "mine" and the latent tendency of ignorance. If that was explained, he could have seen the Dhamma and become an Arahant.

It's a tragedy. For eons, he won't have another human life. He is born in a realm of formless Brahma worlds where there is mind but no body, no ear to hear the Dhamma. Consciousness just works on the object of that attainment. You can't rouse it. As soon as the last of these six sense bases ceases, the mind grasps the next object. But for that object, a form is not created. If there is no ear, how can one hear? Right? Then, he looked for Uddaka Rāmaputta. He had passed away the previous night. He had intended to teach these two first. Because they had powerful concentration, they had few defilements. This is what they were searching for. But they got stuck there.

Now what to do? Next, who else was striving to find this truth? Not his father, King Suddhodana, in the palace. Who strove? The five ascetics. After a three-month journey on foot, he went to them. Their initial reception was rejection. The first reception for someone who discovers something new in the world is non-acceptance. But when he approached, they couldn't maintain their stance. He addressed them and taught them the Dhamma. In the sutta, it is short. But as he taught, one of them, Aññā Koṇḍañña, understood his wrong practice and Right View arose in him. That's like getting just a 'S' pass. After writing the paper all night long. After that, the others understood. It took three months of teaching them the Three Characteristics (tilakkhaṇa), which is preserved as the Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta, to make them Arahants. He had to teach them anew about the six sense bases, about the world, because they were focused on the external. And so, the Buddha's dispensation (Buddha Sāsana) began.

From there, the Buddha's followers on Instagram gradually increased. Alright? The disciples increased. The Dhamma has come down to this day. It is still the same Dhamma. That sense base of yours is perishing. It perishes, and a new one is born. Perishing, a new one is born. Even if you go back and back and back along that belt, it is just arising and ceasing. Perhaps you have even seen a Buddha in a past life, but you might have been busy learning music. That's all.

So ultimately, no matter how many things there were, they are useless to us now. What is important is the present. The present is not time. It is cause. The cause arises: tiṇṇaṃ saṅgati phasso, phassa paccayā vedā, vedanā paccayā taṇhā. That is the arising (samudaya). The passing away (atthaṅgama) is the ceasing of that. The eye arises, the eye ceases. The color arises, the color ceases. Consciousness arises, consciousness ceases. Contact arises, contact ceases. Feeling arises, feeling ceases. This is called suffering (dukkha). This is how suffering is made. There is no Ranjani or anyone else to suffer. Grasping it is what is called the personality-view (sakkāya-diṭṭhi). The suffering is Ranjani. To say Ranjani suffers. The Buddha teaches to understand that there is no 'Ranjani.' But suffering does arise. Uppajjamānaṃ dukkhaṃ uppajjati, nirujjhamānaṃ nirujjhati. Arising, suffering arises; ceasing, it ceases. So, understand that. How do you understand it? Through wise attention (yoniso manasikāra). Take what is taught and contemplate it, contemplate it from within yourself. Unwise attention is what usually happens.

For example, on TV... you all know, we also make short films now. We shoot pictures. Then we edit them and speed them up. When the stream of electrons hits the TV screen, we see things. We think there is someone there, but there is nothing. There is just a stream, and forms are created. Are the forms really created there, or in our heads? We take that pattern of colors and sounds, and we laugh, we cry, we are heartbroken, we are sad. In reality, none of that is happening. So, what is that called? What are we really seeing? We turn off the lights and sit there crying and laughing. So, we call that madness. What do we call it? Madness. Utter madness. That madness comes from unwise attention. From morning till night, this is all we do.

Amidst this, what are these words that fall upon us? A rain of ambrosia (amā væssak). "The doors to the deathless have been opened" refers to this. If the doors to the deathless are open, you can cross over. If not, you will again watch TV, look at your phone, and spend your time in that same unwise attention. This is the time to understand this, and through disenchantment, dispassion, and liberation, to generate that knowledge. But you are just wasting this precious human opportunity (kṣaṇa-sampatti).

This is not something I made up; this is a discourse of the Blessed One. We can say whether what is in this book is wrong or not. Why? Because when we apply it to ourselves, this is what is happening. If this is happening, then there is no fault in the book. We can apply what is being said, can't we? We don't need to go to the heavens to check. We don't need to go to hell to check. We don't need to see past lives. What do we need to do? Understand it in this moment. This is what is happening at this time. Nothing more than this is happening. In this way, suffering arises. In this way, suffering ceases. This can be seen within oneself. That is why it is called sandiṭṭhika (visible here and now). Therefore, not everything in the books is wrong. Those past stories in the books about flying through the air, we can't imagine them. Huh? We can't fly at this moment. So those things are hard to imagine. But these things can be imagined. Understanding this is more than enough. The great Arahant Sāriputta says, "I don't need to see into others' minds. It is more than enough for me to know my own mind."

Therefore, may you receive the strength, courage, and fortune to understand this. May the blessings of the Triple Gem be with you all. May you be well.

Original Source (Video):

Title: ලෝකයෙන් එතෙර වන්න | ඡ ඡක්ක සුත්තං. | Thithtagalle Anandasiri Thero 

https://youtu.be/f06W94twHu4?si=GV5h0O2zeyIQinAV

Disclaimer

The translations shared on this blog are based on Dhamma sermons originally delivered in Sinhalese. They have been translated into English with the help of AI (ChatGPT & Gemini AI), with the intention of making these teachings more accessible to a broader audience.

Please note that while care has been taken to preserve the meaning and spirit of the original sermons, there may be errors or inaccuracies in translation. These translations are offered in good faith, but they may not fully capture the depth or nuance of the original teachings.

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