Enjoy the Solitude that Comes with Developing Mindfulness | Ven. Aluthgamgoda Gnanaweera Thero | Nihada Arana
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Enjoy the Solitude that Comes with Developing Mindfulness | Ven. Aluthgamgoda Gnanaweera Thero | Nihada Arana
...what kind of situation have I gotten myself into? My mind is still not done experiencing those other things. I haven't experienced this yet. I'd like to experience that a little more. If I had a bit more of that, it would have been nice. At that moment, you realize they are not experiencing this solitude. They are not savoring this solitary life. This is what the Buddha says. That's how you can find out. Then that person starts to feel that every task in the monastery is like a job. When we go to a job, we don't go with enthusiasm, right? We love the holidays so we can sleep in as much as we want. From that itself, you can find out. That person... they have to get up and walk around maybe a thousand times. Go from here, come from there. It's like herding cattle. From that alone, you can tell this is not bringing delight. Inside, it's like herding cattle for them, like a punishment. They have to get up for everything. There's a sermon. Then after that, they realize their duties for the day. Right, my duties are there. Okay, the morning duty is done. Okay, now it's time to go for the sermon. "Take the phone." Okay, they go for that too. That duty is also done. It's like when I finish my job, there's a sense of relief, "Phew, it's over." Ah, their happiness comes after it's over. "Okay, that's done too. Okay, that job is also done." This means there is an internal pressure. They are enduring a lot of pressure. And then, after that, the doctor... the doctor then, they start getting gastritis. Now the back starts hurting. They start getting loose motions. Inevitably, after that, they start having stomach problems. All sorts of strange illnesses start appearing. Take careful note of what I'm saying and see. You get loose motions when your mind has previously shown an aversion to that task. Like when we didn't want to go to school, we'd get a stomach ache. The stomach hurts. Oh, that pressure... that pressure immediately affects the bowels. It starts coming from that pressure. It starts coming from that. Then you know they are not delighting in it (abhiramana). They are not enjoying it. They don't like it. So for that incident, it's a pressure for them, a stress. And with that stress, it starts as gastritis, then back pain, then stomach problems, then chest pain. Definitely, if you look closely, none of you have that many illnesses. No one gets sick like this. This is a strange world. When you look at the number of illnesses these monks get after becoming monks... But if you tell them to go play ball, there's nothing wrong. When they go to the pitch... if there's a chance to go somewhere they like... none of these things are in the body. The stomach doesn't run, the legs don't hurt, the back doesn't hurt. Nothing. That's when you realize: I am not delighting in this solitude (suññāgāra). I am not enjoying this solitude. Because I don't enjoy that solitude, this is a pressure for me. This is a stress for me. Look, when you go to a sermon you like, you're right on time. If you don't like it, you try to pass the time and come a little late... for the things you have to do, you're just on time. Somehow, just seeing that is enough to know. This means I don't delight in that sermon. Because I don't delight in it, I look for every excuse. "Can't I go today? Can I make an excuse?" If I have to go, it's just to show my face for a little while, so I come a little late, sit down, get up... "Okay, okay, I've reported for duty." They feel this is like a job, like some karma. This is what the Buddha says: Are you living a life of such pressure? "Please don't," the Buddha says. Don't pay off karma. Is this monkhood something you delight in (abhiramana) from day one, or not?
In the end, we have lived this life by suffering. That's why I said when you see the faces of some monks, you feel "Oh my." You feel like "Phew." You feel a bit angry even with that venerable sir for making you a monk. "What did you do to me?" This means that person has not savored the solitude. What is the vibe of monkhood? What is this state of being a renunciant (pabbajita)? They don't have that yet. Their mind is in the forest, but their head is in the city. Their head is with a crowd of people. Their head is in attachment. That's not the joy. That means, I feel this sentence fits perfectly. As mindfulness (sati) is established, a strange joy comes. For example, this venerable sir came in the morning and told me... asking to go to that place... I think that venerable sir said not to come. "Okay, whatever," he said. That lady, isn't she there? Is it the men, who is it? They come and tell me. "Oh my, what a waste to be born as a woman." Then what else... "Oh my, what is this," they keep saying. So I'm thinking, "Oh my, this person has been sitting in front of me for years, what have they heard today?" There isn't even a handful of mindfulness (sati). Mindfulness... that's why I said that day... don't look for that profound ultimate truth. There is the story of simple mindfulness. The word mindfulness (sati) is not yet defined internally. Mindfulness (sati) is never about "Wow! Oh my god, I got to be a monk. I get to be ordained. If only I could hear it for one day." Now for them, the nature of that mindfulness is... because they don't know mindfulness, that person goes searching for those things, belittling simple mindfulness. They don't yet know simple mindfulness internally. That mindfulness... that's what we say. That is what we say is the ultimate truth (paramārtha). First, define this simple mindfulness. This simple state of being is where the profundity lies. The simplest thing, we think, "Oh my, I've practiced mindfulness for so many years." Oh, if you've practiced mindfulness, it will be reflected in that life. Mindfulness is simple. It's simply there. Everyone has it. Even when I feel passion (rāga), I have the mindfulness to know it. Even when I walk, it's mindfulness. What they say... it's not like learning some big program. Mindfulness is... there are no words on those big boards. Even if you just walk, it's mindfulness. If you eat, it's mindfulness. If you sleep, it's mindfulness. Even if you get angry, it's mindfulness. Mindfulness is... it seems like, "Is this some Indian thing?" But that's what I say, to give it... to lose that is... you can tell when the words come. "I don't know." After being here for years. There's that Zen story. As he is about to leave the teacher, he says, "You didn't teach me the profound teaching." Then he goes. He asks what he did. "You offered me food and told me to wash the bowl." And then, he becomes enlightened. That means, the profoundest thing is in that simple mindfulness. The deepest thing is in the simplest place. That's when we... until we go... what we did... what I felt when he said those words was, "Goodness, what is he doing sitting in front, has he been scraping coconuts? If you go to the kitchen and scrape coconuts, it's more valuable." That means, when you say you don't understand simple, plain mindfulness (sati)... the nature of mindfulness is... mindfulness has a happy nature towards everything. Everything has a joyful acceptance. It doesn't choose anything. In everything, there is the same smile, the same contentment. That means, that person looks and thinks, "Okay, so I didn't get big things. The things that happened are enough. Oh, this is more than enough. This much is more than enough. This much that I felt is enough. I got this monkhood, I got a place like this, I got a..."
"...virtuous friend (kalyāṇa mitta)." That's it. To cry and whine about what you don't have is unmindfulness (asathiya). That simple thing is what I said. Either they don't know mindfulness (sati). They think mindfulness is some kind of concentration (samādhi). That's why I said, that's why... defining that simple thing properly... the simplest thing is not simple. That is the greatest thing there is. That's why it is said, no matter how many great suttas or great Abhidhamma we discuss, if the concept of mindfulness (sati) is not defined, there is no point in that person talking. It has no meaning. There is no meaning, right? The simplest thing is the deepest thing, and that is the simplest thing. The simplest thing is right there, and the deepest thing is there too. If a single dot changes, the whole word changes. The whole... that person, that world... that's what I... it seems to me, just like mindfulness, the Buddha is saying here, "Look, since you have become a monk, are you experiencing this solitude more and more, or are you crying for something you haven't received?" "Oh, I didn't get to experience that, I didn't get that." It's the same with mindfulness. I see that these two statements have the same definition. Both these sentences, even if you try to analyze mindfulness, I see that this is what the Buddha has said. He has talked about mindfulness itself. For a monk, without coming more and more and more into it, nothing will happen just by learning something. How mindful are you becoming? And after becoming mindful, you realize... if you look at the face of a mindful person, if you look at their life, they have a different kind of divine nature. For that person, if they look at anything... for them, the city is the same, the forest is the same. That means, for them, getting is the same as not getting. They are extremely happy about not getting. That is a great thing. So that's what I... "I am aware of that not-getting. I am happy about not-getting." I know. It's good. They say not getting is better than getting because I don't have to carry a lot of data in my head. Not having data, not getting, is good. That's even better. More is good, less is also good. That's it. That quality is there in mindfulness. Mindfulness has that very simple nature, a very simple touch. It's just... it's just like that... that pleasantness is what mindfulness has. Mindfulness has a pleasant, rustic nature by its very character. In its very nature... that means... that person... they are both the king and the farmer. The little song... they are the king themselves. That's why I say, you all should define this correctly. Otherwise, even if you listen to sermons for another 10 years, you'll say again, "What a waste, I didn't get my share there. I didn't get this. Oh, what a terrible thing happened, that happened, this happened. Oh my." That means, that's how you kick the gem. You don't see it. You cry with craving for something far away. But you don't see at all that you are kicking this gem right here. That means, having received all this, my whole life has been about scratching an itch for something that never was. Crying for something that never was. There is no respect for the value of what I have received. No gratitude for anything. No reverence for anything. That is what is called being ungrateful. That is what is called unmindfulness (asathiya). That is what is meant by not delighting in this solitude (suññāgāra). Because you don't delight in it, you have your head in some other place and think something will be gained when something happens there. When you go there... after going there... "Oh, what a waste, the place I left," you say, and then you struggle to go back there again. So what can be done about that? That is the nature of unmindfulness. That means, the lack of mindfulness. So this is it.
This is what the Buddha is telling us here. "Look, are you happy with this life you have received, or are you making plans for some other place, are new proliferations (papañca) starting again?" A proliferation (papañca) means another place, another thing. That's it, right? You search and search for something. Even if you grasp Nibbāna and cling to it (maññanā), that too is searching again, a proliferation. Are you proliferating again? Is it craving, views, and conceit (taṇhā, diṭṭhi, māna) again, or is it that... what mindfulness shows us... if we have mindfulness, if we have awareness, we understand what this is. That doesn't mean that suffering cannot come. But the person with mindfulness laughs even while crying through suffering. That means, that's how much they... they know about mindfulness. They know problems come, pain comes, suffering comes. But what is there? There is a strange joy even in looking at that suffering. So even if they suffer, they look at that suffering... because mindfulness has started to grow in them. When we say mindfulness, don't take it as you venerable sirs, we, I, are holding on to some body or something. That's just a small technique given to bring forth that mindfulness, isn't it? Just a small... some of you here, I think, don't even know the method that was given to start mindfulness. When you say you are being mindful, they give a small technique to grasp that moment, right? A few small techniques. Some don't even know that and are in a tangle. Mindfulness is not something like that. That is just a support. A person who is in that state of mindfulness has a nature of complete perfection in the moment they are in. They are completely in that moment. They live that moment to the fullest. They live that moment to the maximum. Apart from that, they don't have that craving to be imperfect or perfect about something else. That itself is the Nibbāna they experience. That itself is the lightness they experience. That's why it is said... a person who knows mindfulness is extremely grateful for everything. The moment they say, "Oh, I didn't get that, I didn't get this," you feel like, "Oh my." Then they are in hell. They are not delighting in this solitude (suññākāra). There is no happiness in this solitude; their head is in some other place. There is no happiness in this moment. That means the awareness is not inside. So I say, understand that well. In this life, in this solitary life you are living... if this table has become a duty for you, then understand that. That means this is a burden to you. Or, if you are here planning for some other place, if there is a plan for somewhere else with your mind in that other place, then inevitably, there will be pressure there too. You suffer here, and in the end, you have neither this nor that. In the end, it's only pressure. The pressure just keeps building and building. In the end, what you held is gone, where you stood is gone, and only the pressure remains. That's what happens in the end. Only pressure remains for us in the end. So, because of that, try to see as much as possible, in the life we lead, how mindful we are. But the point is to be smiling. That doesn't mean, as we said in the previous sermon... This solitude (suññākāra)... this practice, this spiritual journey of cultivating mindfulness... this path we are on is not a heavy thing. It's a very simple way, very simple, but we are happy. We are laughing heartily and also cultivating mindfulness. What is heard is heard. You don't have to create and search for these 10 things separately. What is heard is heard. There is a state of complete contentment within everything that is heard. What is heard...
...and borne, there is utmost contentment with what nature has given me. As we go on this journey, we have to understand. But if this happiness comes from this meaning, it is not delighting in solitude (suññāgāre abhiramati). We said that yesterday too. I am engrossed in the pleasure of work (kammārāmatā), the pleasure of company (bhassārāmatā), the pleasure of association (gaṇasaṅgaṇikārāmatā), the pleasure of sleep (niddārāmatā) - if I am happy because I am caught in these four, that is not a solitary-like practice. That is not experiencing this solitude. Now, the pleasure of work (kammārāmatā) means that now we, having become monks like this, are practicing, doing walking meditation, sitting meditation. While doing this practice, if we plan in our head to increase our activities, then that person, even though they are here, does not accept the state of emptiness within. It is difficult for them to delight in that solitude (suññāgāra). So, they go for various plans. Just recently, on the poya day, after the sermon, photos were taken and posted on Facebook the next day. Then, I think it was yesterday or the day before, I can't remember. The day before, I called that venerable person and asked, "Why are you doing such meaningless things?" Just to show that a sermon happened here, taking photos from all four sides, this photo, that photo... It is more important than that... pleasure in work (kammārāmatā) means starting to do things that are meaningless, devoid of purpose, empty of purpose (attha-suñña). It's just meaningless, crazy work. "It's okay, we monks are doing a meritorious deed. Then others will be encouraged to become monks." But this... "Look at the beautiful views here," taking photos to attract people from the surroundings... what's the point? It's meaningless work. There is no purpose. Just doing something for the sake of doing it. Just because you are there, you feel like taking a photo and posting it. You feel like posting that. Things like that just come to your head, worldly things with no purpose, no meaning. That is what the Buddha says, "Karma..." you can't be in that solitude, can you? I'm not saying you should be lazy. If you do something, consider its benefit. The Buddha says to do something beneficial. Just to pass the time... in between, picking up a camera and taking photos... just because... like a woman does before going to a wedding, on her way out of the house, she takes a photo of her saree. And after going there, she posts another photo. "I don't understand," you say. What is the meaning of this nonsense we are doing? What market craze do we need? Do we need attention, like a woman posting a photo of her saree, saying, "Look, today I'm wearing an elephant saree"? What use is that to us? They just post a picture. So, you have to see, am I wasting time like that inside this? That is... I don't like to do these... meditations. I don't like to do walking meditation, don't like to do sitting meditation. Or I don't like to listen to a Dhamma talk. I don't like to write about the Dhamma. Just... put on some song or something. Or take a photogenic-like photo with a camera and sing that. I say, please, that's it. That means... you are not savoring this solitude inside. You are not doing anything to enhance this solitude. Just a lot of false activities (kammanta). Now, that doesn't mean you shouldn't do any work. Even if we do something, what is its benefit to this place? Considering the benefit, no matter how hard you work, it is not pleasure in work (kammārāmatā). It is something beneficial. For oneself and for others, to practice the Dhamma. That's why I said, if he's going to post it, that's fine...
...it's okay, make a Dhamma video and post it. Then, for the person who listens, there is something in it. To practice mindfulness or to be solitary. Then it's not just a photo. It should have a different message from us too. We need to separate those two things. Otherwise, it's a waste. We are not valuing this solitude again. We are not valuing the practice inside here. We are not valuing this table. What we are valuing is... the time-wasting activities that people outside do, we do a little of that too. Then the Buddha says that is a kind of pleasure in work (kammārāmatā). That is just false activity. That is... to destroy that solitude... because you don't have the strength to face the loneliness, the work you do to kill that loneliness is pleasure in work (kammārāmatā). So, we need to know this. Now, if we are happy with such things, that is not delighting in solitude (suññāgāra). Because of this... without that purpose... we can create another world here if we have a camera and a phone. So, taking that and creating something, we laugh and say, "We are very happy here," watching funny videos on Facebook, watching videos... watching a movie at night, watching a movie in the morning... "Oh my, we are delighting in this immensely," they might say, but they are delighting in monkhood. The smell... they are well-versed in the arts. So, this is not delighting in it, is it? It's the sensual objects, isn't it? It's the sensual concepts... to make them beautiful... That's why I say, without these words, we might misunderstand. What is the Blessed One saying? We delight in this solitude, this loneliness. We turn this into a sublime solitude. After that... pleasure in work (kammārāmatā)... after that, he says pleasure in association (gaṇa-saṅgaṇikārāmatā). That means... have you seen how some are attached to a group? Now, when we were doing this sermon, that dog, Dobby, came and was here. We think, "Oh, due to his past merit, he has come to listen to the Dhamma," but he is afraid of being alone. Even though he doesn't understand, he needs to go near the group and sit. That is pleasure in association (gaṇa-saṅgaran). You need to talk... it's just like being in the pack. Now, they don't get lonely... so that's why the dogs, no matter how much you chase them, they are drawn to people. They can't be alone in the temple. That's the nature of dogs. Look, monkeys are never alone, right? Unless one is thrown out of the pack, they have a tendency to stay with the pack. That means... they don't need to talk. Now, the dog doesn't understand, right? Dobby doesn't understand what is being said. But he needs to be in this vibe, to come near, to be within sight. "Okay, okay," just to feel that. That... that is the characteristic of pleasure in association (gaṇa-saṅgharikārāma). That means, they just like to be with the group, they like to be where the group is. And that... they don't even need to talk. Just like that, when he said pleasure in association (gaṇa-saṅkārāma), you don't even need to talk. Even without talking, they are like dogs. Just... in what they see... if they are not, it's very difficult. It's like they're crazy, their head is confused. They don't feel that flavor. They don't understand that flavor. So that's why it is said, even if we are happy because we are caught in that pleasure of association (gaṇa-saṅghanikārāma), that is not what the Buddha means by delighting in solitude (suññāgāra). This delighting in solitude (suññāgāre abhiramati) is not about going there. These are the things... that's why the Buddha... now, we... as I said yesterday... the Cūḷasuññata and Mahāsuññata suttas, we will discuss them a bit...
Let's look at it tomorrow. The Buddha himself finds fault. "There are many monks in this Saṅgha. They are laughing while wearing their robes." The Buddha says, "Ānanda, there is something wrong here. This is not a spiritual happiness they are having. What is inside this laughter is that this group has formed a pack, and like a school team, there is that fun in it." That is not what is meant by delighting (abhiravati). What the Buddha is saying is happening here is that... just like a school team, when a group is formed, that... that is the happiness they have. Let's discuss it in detail tomorrow. The Buddha beautifully shows it. He says, "They are caught in this pleasure of association (gaṇa-saṅghanikārāma)." This group has grown large. Now, when this group is here, that person doesn't feel it. There is a large group. Then... it's like... there's no problem. Then, it's like the dog Dobby. It doesn't matter if he's on the side. He's just there, the group is there, no problem. You can be in a chill mood. The Buddha says that is not it. That is pleasure of association (gaṇa-saṅghanikārāma). Being in pleasure of association (gaṇa-saṅghanikārāma) is not what is meant by delighting in solitude (suññāgāre abhiramati). It is not valuing solitude. It is not experiencing solitude. That's why I say, then... then... the next thing is pleasure of talk (bhassārāmatā). Pleasure of talk (bhassārāmatā) means that at all times, they either need to chat, need to talk, need to message. For that person, that solitude is very difficult. Solitude is extremely difficult. It's like... with the phone... now someone says... now let's say... now sometimes monks come and say, "Now I'm not going to talk to anyone. I've blocked my phone. I've deleted everything, blocked everything." It lasts for a few days, and then on the other side... "Venerable sir, he is messaging me," they say. So I wonder, "He told me he had finished everything, he wouldn't talk anymore, nothing." Then on the other side... "But he is talking to me." That's when I realize... pleasure of talk (bhassārāmatā) is not the issue; it's what's inside. That is not a life that delights in solitude. It's just a lie. On an impulse, in a moment of anger, he said something, but later, when the mind is in solitude, it cannot delight in solitude. So he unblocks again. He smiles a little as he walks. Then he says, "Look, during this time, I didn't talk much, I didn't talk at all." No, it's that same pleasure of talk (bhassārāmatā). Just... on impulse, he did something, but he is not delighting in solitude. That... that is... the Buddha says... just like that, delighting in solitude (suññāgāre)... on an impulse, he came and then set it aside. Then later, he tries to make a connection again. That's what is called pleasure of talk (bhassārāmatā). Because it's difficult to be in solitude. Because it's difficult to delight in solitude, he goes back to pleasure of talk. Again and again... then it's like... he has no backbone. Like a creeper, like a vine creeper, he has no backbone. No strength. "The word you gave... at least be honest." "I gave a lion's roar." Even for that pride, be honest. "Ah, that wretched nature again." The nature of having no spine. "Oh, that lack of strength in you comes out, and then you misbehave again." So, just like that, in pleasure of talk... the story is not just about physical meeting and talking. Somehow, that connection... again, through a message or a call, somehow... that... with that, the solitude inside is erased, right? The loneliness that is felt inside, that solitary nature...
...is erased. It can't be a delight, can it? After going into pleasure of talk (bhassārāme). That's why the Buddha says, "Look, that's why you..." with this pleasure of talk... when you lie like this... "I delight in solitude," you say, but it's a lie. It's like... those officials... going out secretly late at night or early in the morning and messaging someone, and then coming here and acting as if you didn't talk to anyone. Going out secretly and doing something else. Then... then we say... that person is more into pleasure of talk (bhassārāmayata). The story is more about the nature of pleasure of talk. That's why we told some people in the past... even if it's the Dhamma, what I... we said sometime back... even if it's that... let's talk about what we talk about here. Otherwise, they start again with this "Dhamma" thing, going to different places... and because they can't build a good mind inside, that can be found out well. Take good note of this I'm saying. Look at a meditation center and see who is the most eloquent person. The one who meditates the least is the one who talks the most. A person who... can't come forward... "Come, come, this is how it is, this is how it is," they say. That means, that person, with that weakness, is afraid of the solitude here. So people think, "Oh, that monk is an amazing person." But I... I've seen... I say, "Wait, you come and see for another month or two. This person won't be here. They'll start some issue and leave." Because the one who talks a lot is the one who can't stay in solitude. The people who actually meditate, the people who actually do the work, talk very little. They say what is necessary, they state what is necessary, that's it. So the newcomers think they are useless. The newcomers are greeted by... "Oh, these are the big shots." When they come, they are taken care of, everything is done by them. Understand that well. So the newcomers are deceived. The person who doesn't meditate at all is seen as the one with the most Dhamma knowledge. The newcomers can't figure it out, can they? They are like the big brother there. The workers... they... to show themselves as important... they do things quietly. If you ask, they will do a task if given. They are not the "go-getters". They don't jump to give service. They don't jump to do service. But if they are given a task, they do it to the best of their ability. At that time, if they are told to give meditation instructions or to talk, there is no issue. Those who can't bear the solitude, who can't bear it... they grab someone, or a tree, or go up there, or go here. They grab something and increase the pleasure of talk (bhassārāmatā). "Aram, do these things," and then... because the newcomer is also having a hard time. As soon as they come, that person also likes the other person. But after a few days... "Oh my, this person is not like what he said. When you see the practical reality..." Then when that newcomer stays for a few days, they are told, "Oh, this person is a fake." The words are like the Buddha statue itself. Why? Because of the problem with his pleasure of talk (bhassārāmatā), he can't stay alone. After hearing things from here, when he goes outside, it's difficult. So that too... that too is not it. Mindfulness... that's why I said, mindfulness has not been defined. He doesn't have a good grasp of mindfulness yet. He has learned something and is holding onto it as mindfulness. Or he is taking what I said... what I say as something else, something he imagined, and he has gone with it. The sign that mindfulness is growing is that one's inner being becomes silent. For mindfulness to be well established, that person knows how much energy it takes to utter a word. Unnecessary words are not spoken.
...from within. Okay, the answer to that will take a little while. That... that... means there is an aversion in our nature to that feeling of solitude. A person with more mindfulness feels that solitude. When we come to an environment like this, we feel it. It doesn't have something like a sensual pleasure for us to experience. When we come to a place like this, when we lose things, we can't bear it. We don't like solitude as much as you think. In that solitude, the ego dies. In solitude, the entire ego disappears and that state of Nibbāna emerges. Before that state of Nibbāna emerges, that person has to die. For people, the personal death in solitude, that death of the person is difficult. They don't feel like enduring it. It's unpleasant. There is no worldly taste in it. Why is that? The pain of the 'I' that has been grasped for so long dissolving comes to the ego. Then... then... but if, in some way, you meet a kalyāṇa mitta, a teacher, and accept that teacher's advice, it's fine. That's why I said, once, when I first went to meditate, I said "Good morning" out of habit. He scolded me terribly, and we were told later. That means, at that moment, he didn't say anything. At that moment, that venerable person just looked at me and glared. So I also glared back at his face; he looked like a demon. Then I looked to see if I had said a wrong word. Is it not good to say good morning from an elder monk? I thought, "We weren't even taught 'don't say that' or anything." To the elder one... I thought... it was later, when I went to have my meditation object checked, that he said what I did at that time was wrong. "For people who are cultivating mindfulness, you don't need to say 'good morning' all the time. You can see it, can't you? Thoughts don't need to be generated. You don't need to say 'good morning'. You can see that the morning is fine, can't you? You don't need to bring it into words, do you? It's not necessary to bring it in." The person who says "La Tzu"... a person came to La Tzu's mountain. That person said... and La Tzu, after coming down, told his disciple, "Tell that foolish person not to come again." That person goes into this solitude, not to savor its taste. In that solitude, at once, the mind that comes... that... Vipassanā... "Why is it like this?" That... the silent emptiness... it doesn't go to that. The inside does not delight in that solitude. Putting words to it, the mind comes and struggles. So, just like that, here too, I... let me recall the few things I've been saying. Just like this, we need to see. If we do not delight in this solitude, if, while cultivating this mindfulness, we do not savor the emptiness felt within, if we do not descend into it, if we do not delight in it, then in this life of solitude, our pleasure of talk (bhassarama) will definitely increase. Some monks go crazy without a phone. They go home, get a phone, and then... look at what they did. Look at what they did right after getting ordained, right after getting the phone. Posting photos here, posting photos there, advertising, thinking who knows what. So if I was ordained, why am I showing the world "I was ordained, look"? The chorus of "sādhu" can't sleep. Why is this happening to us? Why do we need to market so much? That means, either those people... to teach the path... to teach the path, wait a little while, a year or two. Before that, you yourself haven't balanced your solitude yet. You yourself don't know if you can stay in this solitude. Be a little quiet. Be silent for a bit and let the maturity of your inner being develop. That's what needs to happen, but they can't. That... that too, we have to look at...
...my work. Right, so strange. The pleasure of work (kammārāmatā), pleasure of talk (bhassārāmatā), pleasure of association (gaṇa saṅghana), pleasure of sleep (nikā rāmatā)... "I am also in this, please know that. I haven't completely abandoned society," you might say. "Can you see me a little?" That feeling is there when that post is made. Now he doesn't even know. People are looking now, he thinks. That feeling is there. Right, everyone knows that I am here in the world. So, a feeling like that is underneath. That... the immaturity of mindfulness... the mindfulness is not yet mature. Even though mindfulness has come, the experience of mindfulness is still lacking. Regarding the inward mindfulness... that's why I said it. This mindfulness is the root, the middle, and the end of this. What I understand is that mindfulness is the secret. Look, it's said in the Dīgha Nikāya... there is a sutta in the Dīgha Nikāya. I think it's not the Saṅgīti Sutta... after that, there is another one. The Venerable Sāriputta, when he begins, says... in the 31st sutta or in the Dīgha Nikāya... the 30th sutta... the Dasuttara Sutta... the great arahant Sāriputta begins by saying that mindfulness is a Dhamma for all purposes (sabbatthika). "This mindfulness accomplishes everything," he says. Mindfulness, O monks, is a Dhamma for all purposes, a Dhamma that accomplishes everything. The experience of that mindfulness is still lacking. Because the experience of mindfulness is lacking, we still have a little desire to get some attention. But you can't say that's wrong. If that person discusses it with a wrong teacher... after some time, it will be fine. After some time, if that person goes to that teacher and expresses their state with a sense of surrender, and if the teacher says "Okay, go on," then the journey he wants to take is fine. Not that the person asks to do what they want and somehow gets it done. "Is this path I'm on right or wrong?" If he gets his meditation object checked, then the teacher says, "You stop that." But if he has already made a decision and says, "Should I go? Should I do this?" then "Okay, go then... do as you please." Go wherever. That's it. But he has already made his own decision. That's his journey. But I... when I say... I don't think any teacher... then the teacher just gives support. "Go on your journey. We will provide all the help you need." But if that person asks the teacher, "This mindfulness and that..." then a teacher knows that's not how it is. "You're a bit agitated. You're a bit... now... let's stay in solitude for a while. Let's let this settle down more and more within awareness." Then that person comes ready to surrender completely. There... there... he completely... he knows he doesn't know. He knows he is ignorant. He is innocent. He has accepted his ignorance. This thing... then I think that's what's needed there. I'm not saying that as soon as you start, the pleasure of talk (bhassārāmatā) and pleasure of work (kammārāmatā) will disappear, and you will become an arahant at once. That doesn't happen. There are flaws. That means, I too... we too must humbly understand that our experience in mindfulness is still lacking. So, the way I see it, he is always in the position of a disciple. We are going to make decisions from the position of a teacher. So I don't think any teacher would say such a thing. He is the teacher, after all. In no way does he say anything... for his own self... But we must be skilled at becoming a student near a teacher. A teacher doesn't become a teacher by force. Relative to his studenthood, a teacher is created. Does that make sense? A teacher called that doesn't exist anywhere. It's just that his state of being a disciple... even if it's a small thing, a teacher emerges. Do you understand that point? I don't know if you understand what I'm saying. He...
...if the discipleship is there, even this tree will come and teach him the Dhamma. "The tree teaches" doesn't mean the tree talks. Even the falling of a leaf from the tree becomes a teacher for him. Why? Because of his disciple's mind. Yes, that inability and he is a disciple. When he becomes a disciple, he becomes a teacher. Then he... the teacher... now he, near the teacher... when he becomes the teacher, the teacher quickly falls... the disciple from the teacher... "Right, you are right." Like that... giving that... and becoming a teacher again... that means there are no such fixed teachers and disciples. There is no such person in this. His very nature today is what decides it. That means, "Please, you can be a disciple, don't be a pundit. Don't go to a place you know." So, when the not-knowing becomes evident, the entire nature of things blesses that innocence. That blessing comes to him. That's what I understand here. The point is not about becoming a teacher, a knowledgeable person. It is about going towards innocence. It is discipleship. In discipleship, there is innocence. There is loveliness. Discipleship is never chaotic, never messy. Discipleship means... becoming a disciple who has that discipleship is Nibbāna. The Buddha... he didn't call himself a teacher. He said, "I too have a teacher, the Dhamma." Look, He immediately went into discipleship. So, look... the Buddha became a disciple. If the Buddha became a disciple... Venerable Sāriputta, after going and listening to the Dhamma... look, He went into discipleship. So, why... just think about what I'm saying. Why did the Buddha go and listen to the Dhamma from Sāriputta? Is it because He didn't know? It's not like that. That is the beauty of discipleship. That means, that is... early on, when the Buddha was asked, he had to talk about someone else. When the great arahant Sāriputta went and asked Venerable Mantāniputta about the seven stages of purification... the Rathavinītha Sutta... Venerable Mantāniputta says, "If I had known it was you, Venerable Sāriputta, I wouldn't have been able to utter a word." When he asks about these Dhamma points... look, in the Majjhima Nikāya, the Rathavinītha Sutta... it's in the Upama Vagga... the great arahant Sāriputta says, "I have heard about you, venerable sir. The Buddha has praised you. Could you tell me a little about these seven purifications?" Is he testing him? Is he trying to trick him? It's nothing like that. That is the beauty of this. The nature of this spiritual story... the characteristic of what is called "spiritual" is that it is always in the place of a disciple. So, he always meets teachers. He always meets teachers, he always gets the message. He gets non-stop messages for that message. Why? Because he is always a disciple. So he is always a learner from life. He is never a know-it-all. In every incident, in everything, from everywhere, he has gone into discipleship. So I think that is what is difficult: becoming this disciple. A teacher... we are all trying to be that. We all want to somehow know this and be done with it. To know and quickly create something... no. When you become that innocent person, you are actually in the place of a teacher. But you don't know you are a teacher. You are in discipleship. Whoever thinks he is a teacher, he is a disciple. In reality, he is a disciple. To say he is truly a disciple means...
...he is a teacher. On the other hand, this works... in this spiritual life, it works in a different way. That's why they are... at any time, they are ready to discuss anything with anyone. They have a respectful association with anyone. It's not like... this strange thing... that mindfulness... "Has my mindfulness developed?" That person becomes a disciple with mindfulness. So it is very easy for them to associate with others. Why? Because that person is not a knower, as was said. They are not going to make decisions. That... "What did that venerable nun come and tell me? What did that monk come and say... Leelan, Sarath...?" Because of that, even if he listens to what that monk says, what happens? Even on Zoom, it's not the same. In those words themselves, there is... he doesn't respect... "Is it Kalilananda Sara or Asanka? Who cares?" A disciple is a disciple. For a disciple, there are no special teachers. He is after any person. Only that respect is inside him. Otherwise, "Ah, I came because I had to... I came to listen to Leelanasara." He comes because he has to. Then it comes as a duty. "Don't you have to come on time?" Then nothing happens inside. So the disciple is... he knows... "Who is right, who is wrong? When is this... no." So he is that much of a teacher. So then, for him... the teacher... how can he say a word? Now he has gone, finished. With his decisions, with everything he has... in his decisions, that innocence is dead. Innocence has died. Discipleship has died. So, I think, as much as you can, don't lose that discipleship. Discipleship is what is valuable. Look throughout the Tipiṭaka, you will find such people. The monks themselves come and say, "The Blessed One is the one who knows." Look at the great Sāriputta. He went... this arahant... there is no one as wise as him. After the Buddha, he is the one. Yet, how many Dhamma discussions has he had? Look, going and asking questions from monks... so why is that? Then you will understand that... that nature, that quality... because without that quality, no matter how much knowledge you have, you will fall again. You are still attached to that same knowledge. That means the noble story is not understood. Just... what is it... in that journey to attain something, we are there. What is this spirituality? Now, next it shows... in solitude, we can stay. Pleasure in work (kammārāmatā) was mentioned. Pleasure in association (gaṇa-saṅghanikārāmatā), then pleasure of talk (bhassārāmatā), and then it says pleasure of sleep (niddārāmatā). That means we can stay in a place like this... sleeping in the morning, sleeping in the afternoon, sleeping at night... even when coming to a sermon. That means, when he comes to a sermon, if he feels sleepy, it inevitably means he is not valuing that sermon. It's like... the body is tired... now think, if you work a lot at night... and in the morning sermon, you feel sleepy, that is physical tiredness. Then if he sleeps a little and comes, it's okay. That means... that is physical tiredness. But if we come to the hall for physical tiredness... we feel sleepy. That means the body is tired. Why? If you worked all night or stayed up late... when you come in the morning, your eyes burn a bit. That is not the lack of sleep. That is not that sleep. So for that, he can take a nap before the sermon. But if he feels sleepy while listening to the sermon for no reason... that's because he... he is not savoring that thing. The sermon he is hearing... that's why he just... dozes off. He is not experiencing that. He is not experiencing that sermon. Now, sometimes we have seen, right? We just listen to the sermon. We are just listening. We are just listening...
...we are there, just listening. So, caught in the pleasure of sleep (niddārāma), we are just listening. We are not really listening. It's like at home at night when they play pirit chants. It's like people have seen... have you seen? People fall asleep. Oh, if it's pirit, you can't sleep. In some houses, people play pirit to fall asleep. It's like... that... lullabies... that thing, when it goes on in a rhythm... you just listen. So that's not listening to the Dhamma, is it? In no way is that an inquiry that awakens the inner being. So he came... so that is the pleasure of sleep (niddārāma). It's like... some people yawn during the sermon. They yawn... on this side... they doze off like this. You have to wake them up. "Ah, wake up," and then they wake up again. Again, they doze off a little. Then we know that person is a pleasure-of-sleep person. So, like that... that sleep... even if he comes to the sermon. Whatever he goes to do, it's just... that means he is not experiencing it. That means... what I'm saying again is, it's not physical tiredness. I'm saying this without physical tiredness. It's not like he came after doing a lot of hard work. For some people who don't have the pleasure of sleep, no matter how tired they are, they are active. Whenever you look, they are listening to that sermon. They are in a very fresh state. However you look at them, it means they are awake. So because of that, we need to look. Now, these... Sūnyatā... these... the Buddha says, "When you delight in this solitude (suññākāra)," this solitude means... this... when you say solitude (suññākāra), it suddenly means... not the life we are living, not the monastic life. In monkhood, there is only solitude, isn't it? There is no second person. It is being an individual. "Are you delighting in this?" he asks. So, it doesn't matter if we delight in it. If we have fallen into the four — pleasure of sleep (niddārāmatā), pleasure of talk (bhassārāmatā), pleasure of association (gaṇasaṅghanikārāmatā), pleasure of work (kammārāmatā) — then to say we are savoring this is wrong. It is the very lack of savoring it. The robe is on the body, the monastery is where I stay, but from afar, that's what I'm in. So look, if you go to a temple, you can understand this well. I don't need to put down other monks. But who, look... who is keen on meditation... even if it happens here, look... how much walking and sitting meditation does who do? It's not there. Just... taking that phone and something else... they just pass the time. To pass the time... they do some things... but of the work we do, how much of it is beneficial in a day? I'm not saying you should do something with expectations. The work you do... is it beneficial for this institution? Is it beneficial for your own spiritual journey? Then you yourself will know... "I am in this solitude (suññākāra), but my head is elsewhere. My head is in the world of work, the world of sensual pleasures. I am still savoring that. I still feel the enjoyment there. I'm still struggling to find a tele-drama or a movie as soon as I get a chance." As soon as I get time, I come... not for walking or sitting meditation. Not to listen to a sermon. As soon as I get it... this... that means for him, this is a duty, that is freedom. This... this is the time he does his duty. "Ah, this duty, the sermon duty, I do it. The duty of the daily routine is mine." That's the pressure after that. Then he gets angry with the people there. Why? To fulfill that routine... as much as possible, they cut corners and come at the last second, give the impression that the work is done, and leave. Then he gets angry and scolds them. Why? "You are there," he says. What is this? "You come to show your face for this lie," he says. Then there are conflicts. Then that enmity... then...
So, in this way, we need to understand this matter of delighting in solitude (suññāgāra) correctly. That's why... now that's why... these points mentioned in the Dasa Dhamma Sutta... I feel that's why the Buddha says to recollect these things again and again. These 10 points... now, we have been talking about this for more than a month, right? Since the day after the monkhood meritorious deed, we have been talking about these things. These 10 points... the Buddha says... not just for the newly ordained, he says, "O monks, again and again, look at this monastic life and reflect. Are these ten things active within you? If not, quickly establish them." That's what is said here. Here it says... the translation by Sārananda... "Since I am in a place of seclusion, how do I experience seclusion well?" That means, if I am not experiencing it, how do I experience it? Look... otherwise, this becomes a suffering. This monkhood itself becomes karma. This very life becomes a curse. So, in this way, now... we... we understand this. Having understood this, now we have come to a place like this and are establishing mindfulness. But understand well, after coming to a meditation center like this and starting to practice mindfulness with the knowledge of what this mindfulness is, we realize that our inner being starts to become more and more empty. As it starts to become empty, if that emptiness leads to a sublime solitude, then we say, "Ah, that person is delighting in solitude (suññāgāre abhiramati)." But if it becomes a loneliness, then... then what happens to us is, after a few days, we start looking for a substitute. We call it a refuge. We start looking for some refuge, some substitute. Now, as an example, I will say this. When teaching meditation, when teaching about meditation... the very thing taught is... you are given an object to establish mindfulness on, and you look at the object, and the object disappears. Then the teacher tells you, "Now, don't look for the object again. Be aware with that emptiness, stay aware." Then for many people, it's very difficult. "Venerable sir, now I have nothing. I'm just sitting here, I can't see an object. There's no breath, nothing." Did you see? The mind is always searching. The nature of the ignorance on this side is... if ignorance is working, if the personality view (sakkāya-diṭṭhi) is there, if the ego is there, then inevitably, craving is engaged with ignorance. Now, we can't see ignorance, can we? Now, you venerable sirs, even if we are like this, we can't find out if we have ignorance or not. But the sign to find out that ignorance is still working within me is only through craving. The characteristic of craving is always that dissatisfaction, that feeling of "not enough," and the quality of looking to hold onto something. If these two characteristics are there, it means craving is definitely working. The fever of craving and the fear of "not enough"... and always the quality of clinging to some substitute, some refuge. That clinging quality comes because "I" exist in this existence. The personality view (sakkāya-diṭṭhi) is there. Now, is the personality view there or not? We don't have a sign to find that out. So it is from craving that we understand that we still have ignorance. Now, think. The end of ignorance... that suffering means... that burning nature, that flaring up nature... the cause of suffering... suffering is there means craving is working there. It's always looking for some refuge. Looking for a place to hang on. Ah, from there we can note that ignorance is still working inside us from the root. Suffering is there... ignorance means suffering is there. What I'm saying is suffering, right? So suffering is there means there is always that burning quality of a refuge inside. To extinguish that burning...
...clinging. To extinguish the burning, some other place, some other person, a refuge, a substitute—that quality of always searching is there. That searching quality is there means... that means the inside is still burning with the fire of ignorance. The suffering of ignorance... the Buddha... suffering is still working. The cessation of suffering (dukkha-nirodha) has not happened. Because his suffering has not ceased, he cannot just be still due to that suffering. As I said, the pleasure of work (kammārāmatā), pleasure of talk (bhassārāmatā), or else... something... some object... that quality of searching is inside. Ah, from there we realize our situation. So, having understood that, what needs to be done next is not to search for objects. No, there's no use in searching for objects after hearing this. After that, we understand this. That means, I still feel a feverishness inside. I still become a refuge. From a young age, what I did was search for the love of my mother and father. When I grew a little older, a girl, a boy... to erase that feeling of emptiness, that loneliness, that... quality... I did something. Why? Without any object, it feels lonely, like it's on fire, like it's crazy. To quell that, I sought a substitute. A woman, a man... I sought that. Then, after that, that woman or man gets married, and again that same lonely nature comes. To erase that, I had children. I went to look after my grandchildren. So we understand that throughout my life, what I have done is... this... I have not delighted in the solitude that is felt in this emptiness (suññākāra). For the solitude that is felt inside me, without descending into it... that... matter... "Oh, I feel so lonely," things like that... "Shall we go somewhere? Shall we see something?" At all times, his mind... does not delight in that. This loneliness... so look... now we, when we are in this solitude... "What pleasure is this?" you think. No trouble at all. No trouble from mother, no trouble from father. Now look, there is no one for alms. If you go to a temple, see how much work there is. There will be funeral rites, this pirit, that pirit, the donors... after that, the monks have to keep the donors somehow. If those donors are lost, the temple cannot be maintained. To do the work of those donors... for that, we have little freedom of mind. That's it. To run an institution... you too, one day, if you try to run an institution alone, you will understand. When you try to run an institution, how much... those people... you have to keep them. You have to keep the people, make a system, keep the people pleased. If we get angry, that institution cannot be run. How to provide the basic needs for that group? People help for that. For that, how much of that monk's entire time has to be spent going to this donor's house, that donor's house. To the 11 o'clock... house pirit... house... if a donor is sick, he has to go to see them. That monk has no time to meditate or practice. From the morning, think... if there are about thirty people in the village, you have to go to all of them, right? So, but this is how it is. It can also become unnecessary. That is the real story. That too can happen. He too might not really need it. I am not saying this to belittle someone else. Don't listen to what I'm saying and then go and look at him in a demeaning way. Then we... it's like we are elevating ourselves. "We are doing it right, he is not doing it right"... that is even more... now, from what I'm saying, if you take what I'm saying and you... anyone... "Ah, we are doing it right, that monk is not," if you look at it that way, you will get caught in that trap again. Don't go comparing with someone else. Appreciate the benefit of what we have received, without putting someone else down. For us, how much... this monk...
...what a life we have received. For this solitude, we have received everything. A virtuous friendship (kalyāṇa mitrāśraya)? The Dhamma? The time to meditate? Seclusion? Seclusion doesn't mean the seclusion of being in this room. There is the routine. But we have received a life dedicated to that. A life where we can be devoted to that itself. Think about it. Now we have gotten to stay with these trees and plants all around us. Think about it. If you go to the middle of the town... you can't hear anything. So think about it. Whenever you look from there, you see KFC. You look here, you see Pizza Hut. You look there, you see that. Just... you are drawn in. How much have we received... now you can't see anything. You can't see. You can't see KFC. You can't see anything. You just see some trees and plants. A monkey. No, really. So what a pleasure that is. Think about it. Just think... if we had built this in the middle of the town, you would be drawn in. When you see that... that carnival and that and this... you can't hear... the horn of Mahanama College... you can't hear that music. It's a bit far for us. It's good, there's no disturbance. What a great thing that is. When you are listening with your ears, there is no noise. There is nothing. Ah, if the day comes when you see that as a pleasure. "Oh, how wonderful this is." To see that beauty doesn't mean you have hated the town. If you take it from that extreme, you will get what I'm saying tangled. Don't take it in that sense. But for us, how much... in this life, what a seclusion we have received. So think about it. Now we, mothers and fathers, have left our homes and children and come here. Now we don't have to worry about anyone. For us, nothing... now, look... we are like lions, we are free. We are not going to search for anyone's love. We are not going to search for anyone's affection. So I don't need to worry about anyone. I can be like a lion. Otherwise, like a fox... "Oh, I can't go." That... that came later. "Why don't you talk now? Why are you like this, unlike before? Why are you like this now?" "Ah, why...?" In that solitude, there is a lion-like nature, a majesty. You are not begging anyone. Not because of arrogance. "This is difficult for me, I can't do more than this," there is no such argument. Why? I'm not saying "You all going is the only good thing." "Please, someone, go." If anyone finds out, "Oh, if there is money, let's go." "Let's go." That means, if you want solitude, you come. But even if you come, I have no connection with you. You too have to endure this solitude. If you are coming, come. There is nothing strange. There is solitude. You can't get connected again. If that is difficult... "Oh, I'll give you money for the bus." See, that is not the issue. Why? That is the spiritual strength we have to build. The strength we have built by being monks for so long is that we don't need anyone. I don't need a big place in the physical world to stand out. So I don't need a large crowd surrounding me. I don't need to build a lot of big buildings. I don't need to put big labels in front of my name. Oh, you foolish person. After leaving all this... again... if we are in a pleasure... like that... there is no one to even look at. I feel like I don't even need clothes. It's because there are... people that I have to wear all these clothes and cover myself up like this. There's no one... the few people around can see... if you run out, you can live. You can live. We are human, now...
...it's like being nailed. You can't even take off your robe here. People are watching from there. You can't even take off your robe from here. Isn't it enough now? Isn't it enough to wear this... kit, this blanket kit? How free. Now, what's lost is the only good thing. The life that is worn out is the only good thing. The life that was built up more and more... gets ruined, gets worn out, gets ground to dust. That is what we delight in. Ah, because of that, after going to delight in that, there is no sadness at all. You are in utmost happiness. The little that remains... if that little bit too gets pulverized and turned to dust, that's it. That means there is no anger. But if someone comes for the true... art... "I will do my best to give him food," there is no such thing. He is not going because he is fed up with good things. He doesn't have any anger, he doesn't belittle. He needs company (saṅghanikārāma). He doesn't need anyone else. But if there is anyone in this world who values this solitude... that means he is a person on the Buddha's side. He comes searching for that solitary life, searching for the Buddha. So then we can't say no to him. Why? Because he comes searching for the Buddha. He respects the practice of the Buddha. So then we don't have a private place, do we? Then... "You stay too." Why? The solitude just increases more and more. The loneliness just increases more and more. Enduring that... laughing at that... go on... happily into that solitary life... laugh inside... go on. That is this... story... this... Buddha... "Look at this emptiness (suññākāra)." "Are you delighting in this solitude (suññākāra)?" This solitary life... it becomes like this. That's why now, for us... with a second person inside this... it's useless... Now, for us, now the substitute is myself. I say, "Ah, look at me being a mother." But that person... if the person she is attached to, the phone... or the man she is attached to... if she removes him, then she can't. Then she struggles. That's why we say, you have to laugh without any substitute. You have to smile without any relativity. Now, think... for some reason, I blocked the phone or broke it. After breaking it, I say, "Ah, those who are strong enough to stay for good... now I don't need a phone again. No more blocking. No more anger." My mind... I show my mind, "Even if I die, I will not break that decision again." It's not because of your anger. It's not because I have hatred for you. Why? Because I'm tired of this slavery to this mind. This mind... I always thought like a slave, a bondwoman. Now I show my mind, "I don't need you to live." If you need a man or a woman or an object, but I show myself that nothing like that will happen to me. Ah, then... then I have to show my mind. But it can't be for a day or two. You have to show your mind continuously. "I don't need any substitute." So now, if you left me, or if I left you, I will not change that for any reason again. That loneliness... but it's like this. You need strength for that too. Without that strength, you can't. After two or three days, you become weak again. That... there... that is where the masculine nature needs to be. We have, right? That nature... the female nature, the male nature... is in motherhood, right? It's the same love for everyone. The steadfastness is... the male is the lion. They too can stay without a second. Those two have to go together. I am loving to the whole, like a woman, a mother. But like a lion, I don't need anyone near me. I don't need a second person. I don't need to be near a group. I need to be a lion. That mother and the lion have to come together. That's it, right?
The Sinhalese people have met like that, haven't they? A woman, a mother, and a lion got together. The lion's offspring... that's how the Sinhalese have emerged. The lion's offspring... from the lion king... a lion and a woman. That means a woman who loves everyone, and a solitary lion... the two came together and the Sinhala race has started from the lion's nature. You are... the Sinhala... the drama... starts from the lion king... the Sinhala race... a human woman born from a lion. So then, a Sinhala person... ah, just like that. A Sinhala person. Internally, there is a lion-like nature. After going into that lion-like nature, more and more, when you are drawn to this solitude... it's the only pleasure. That's the only good thing. If someone left you, you will not bring them close again for any reason. If I left something, I don't need it again. There is no such anger. But why is that? I don't need to erase this solitude. My solitude... that is my monkhood now. From me, the monkhood... my life... right, in this way, as I go towards solitude, after that, we have to think about the matter... Now, if it's still inside me... "I am not creating this substitute." That quality... but that is not the original... what is meant by being in solitude is... because we stay without collecting substitutes... we think there is a world with substitutes. While maintaining this mindfulness, while not using a substitute, we have to gradually understand... the next important thing is, without having a substitute... and without having the mentality that "I have substitutes"... if that works here, then... if you say, "I have abandoned the world," then the one who has abandoned becomes great. "I..." Ah, that has to be worn away. Why? Otherwise, again, saying "I am in solitude," pride grows. "I don't need anyone. I don't need anyone," and pride comes again. Without the vision... not having a second person... without the vision... not having a second... because of that, pride comes. Why? Because he thinks there is a world. "I... now, I don't need any man," like that. Then... there is pride... "I am also there, there is a world. I am staying without clinging to the things of the world." Then only craving can't be worn away. Ignorance also has to be worn away with it. Otherwise, you go again and grow in great pride. As I said... now when you hear these words, it's like a big shot scene comes, right? "Right, we don't need anyone." When that big shot scene comes, I'm already caught in the mentality. Again, I think... there is such a world, and in that world, I am staying without clinging. In the world that exists, without clinging or colliding, I am also staying separately. Ah, without seeing that as a fabrication through wisdom, you can't just break craving. In the end, craving, in another sense... the craving for non-existence... on the side... this is working inside. Why? Even though you abandoned that, the craving for non-existence that came from the sense of rejecting existence is there. There, I still exist. There, the personality view (sakkāya-diṭṭhi) is still working. So there, as you stay more and more without a substitute, wisdom has to be added there. Right view also has to come there. Then... now, let's think. Now, if we said... for that story, we say, "You can't build sand castles." When you say you can't build sand castles, we think there are castles, you just can't build them with sand. "You can't build sand castles" means a fabrication called a "castle" cannot be applied. That means, if there was a nature called a "castle," we would think there is a castle, I just can't build it with sand. That analogy was used because you can never build one like that. So, if we understand one day, "You can't build sand castles" doesn't mean...
...that there is a castle that you can't build with sand. A thing called a castle doesn't apply here. So if there is no castle, there is no one who builds a castle or no one who doesn't build a castle. If there was a castle, then a castle-builder or a castle-abandoner would emerge. If the very idea of a castle is a fabrication (maññanā)... if the very nature of a castle is something that cannot be established, if it is something thought of through mentality, then that is a castle. So, with the thought of a castle, "I who think of a castle" exist. I need to abandon the castle. I need to build the castle. When you take "castle," a castle-builder or a castle-abandoner emerges right there. If what is called a castle is itself ignorance, if it is a proliferation (papañca), a fabricated nature, if it is just a nature that is thought of... ah, when you understand that, when you can't build a castle, the person who went to build the castle must cease. Then I... that's when... what is this true emptiness (suññākāra)? The depth of the emptiness (suññākāra) that the Buddha talks about comes. That is where you go to the level of the path and fruition... that emptiness. Before going there, you have to build the strength to stay without substitutes. While building it, you have to hear that vision. What is that vision? Now, even in the Buddha's time, there were sages, right? They abandoned everything, lived well in the forest, but they didn't attain Nibbāna, did they? Why? Because they were holding onto the meaning of their abandonment. "The house I abandoned, the castle I abandoned, is 'I'." Then, for him, there was a world he abandoned, the physical world. But this world he abandoned... if it is a mentality, a fabrication... if this mentality itself, through this mentality... "this castle, myself, my wife, my..." this is created, is constructed... there is a constructed nature. That means... then "this is me and the castle I abandoned"... if it is a nature constructed by ignorance, if it is a constructed nature, then ignorance is separate, the castle is separate—it's not like that. The level at which you perceive the castle is ignorance. Ah, then, for us, during this time, there is nothing to abandon. Such a story doesn't even apply, with that realization. See, just like that... cultivating that mindfulness, while not collecting substitutes, wisdom has to be added there. Otherwise, it becomes a view. It grows again into a pride. Again, you fall into craving, view, and conceit. "I who have abandoned," and "the world I have abandoned" become permanent. So, his wisdom also needs to be added there. This mindfulness, this wisdom... and at the same time, without searching for any refuge, as he descends more and more into that solitude, he starts to understand. Spontaneously, inside him, spontaneously... he doesn't feel like... like that... posting those photos... like that... inside, inside him, a weight towards seclusion comes. Inside him... to be marketable... like that... to struggle on Facebook... such a thing doesn't come. Inside him... to become a famous person... "Ah, even though we are here like this, I will be patient. In a few more years, I will become something like... a figure that will shake the whole country." That is in the head. When that mindfulness grows... that... that solitude... for some people, that... if he gets that word of rebuke from some teacher, maybe. "Get aside," he says. And when he gets it, it's not anger that comes. When he hears that word, a quality of being corrected comes to him. When he hears that word from his teacher, his trusted teacher... when he, as a disciple, in his mood... when he hears the word, the big story he was building...
...the big story crumbles. It crumbles and he might do it. From what he does, he doesn't even need his name to be there. Unlike before. "You don't have to put my name on it. Don't even write my name underneath." Now, it's not that he doesn't work. He will work for the Sāsana. But even though he does, there is no need for him to know his name, or his picture, or that he did it. He has no need to know. He has developed his mindfulness, and he has done it, but people don't know. "Who did these things? How did these things get built?" There is no one who did it. There is no need to highlight the doer. So much so that the work is done. But the work has been done. That means, it has been done to the highest standard. But nowhere is there... the nature of being highlighted, of emerging from it.
If we develop mindfulness, "Oh, I developed it. This happened to me," even for a small thing, we jump up and down. It's a crazy madness. More and more work has been done for the Sāsana. But who did it? No one knows. But people find peace. People... through the things he has done, people are soothed, their minds are cooled. That tree has grown. From the tree, people eat the fruit, everything is done. But the tree has no feeling. The tree doesn't need to be highlighted. "Look, I grew a big fruit. Look, I produced a fragrant flower." There's no such thing.
That's what is beautiful... the venerable Achaan Chah says. An Arahant is like a great tree. Everyone... some people find shade from it. Some people satisfy their hunger. Some people quench their thirst. All of that happens. But the tree has no feeling whatsoever. The feeling of "I did this," of being highlighted, does not come.
It's just like that. As that mindfulness grows and grows, as you delight in that solitude, his own inner nature is to do what is necessary and be able to stay in the background as much as possible. But the necessary work has been done beautifully. But to circle around that and show off on YouTube, "Look at the work I did," he doesn't need to struggle to show it. The need to show... if someone needs to take it for the Dhamma, he will show it. That is, if someone... now think... if someone says, "No one here can become an Arahant," someone might stand up straight and say, "Look, I did it. You can too." That is to give... not to highlight myself. It is to break the "I can't" that someone might have.
Now, even in the Tipiṭaka, it doesn't say not to declare Arahantship. Even in the Vinaya, you can say it. But you have to look at the purpose. I'm not saying this is for me to be special, or for this person here to have some strength. Apart from that, there is nothing else. Ah, you will understand that for yourself. That need to be highlighted within you starts to wear away. You start to delight in that inner solitude. After developing mindfulness for a while, when maturity comes... as that maturity comes, he doesn't have this "I have to do this. I have to do all this." Whoever did it, if the work is done well, that's enough. It doesn't matter whose name is on it. Whoever... his name... even if you say my name, I feel nothing. The name doesn't grow. If the work is done well, it doesn't matter if my name is put on it. It's the same if your name is put on it. It's the same whether you call it Jesus or Allah. The Buddha's name... even if you put his name, there's a problem. Whatever name is put on it, it's not about the name. If the work is done beautifully, what needs to be read is beautifully read. The name is not an issue. The person is irrelevant. A quality like that comes from within him. That kind of nature is very mature. His mindfulness is well-matured. So he doesn't have big aspirations like that. At that time, he did what was necessary, but that doesn't mean he felt... that mindfulness has developed so much that...
...time is not felt. That means, I don't feel "I have come this far. I need to do these things." That big... plan is not felt at all. At that moment, at that time, for that need... for the need of the people who are there, that thing happens. But through that thing that happens, a large group of people ahead are pacified. But what he has done is only what was needed for that place at that time. He has just been there.
It's not that "I did something like this. I will become a person like this." There is nothing like that. He doesn't even feel it like that. He doesn't even feel that he is there, or that he has done so much, or that he has so much to do. Except for the incident that happens at that time. Why? Because he is in discipleship. As a disciple, at that time, at that time, the things that need to be done are done through his hands. That's all.
Good. Now, we have taken about an hour. Just once. So, a meaning like that... when he says "solitude" (suññākāra)... the way I understand it... when he says "delighting in solitude" (suññāgāre abhiramati), that's what it is. That is what monkhood is. It is this becoming solitary. There is nothing else in monkhood. Good. Then, may all of you have the refuge of the Triple Gem. Sādhu.
Original Source (Video):
Title: සතිය වඩන විට පැමිණෙන හුදෙකලාවත් රස විඳින්න - Ven Aluthgamgoda Gnanaweera Thero | නිහඬ අරණ
https://youtu.be/U8nUlk3A5Rk?si=0nqey-0tMXJ7XX4o
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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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