How Loving-Kindness Grows Through Mindfulness | Ven. Aluthgamgoda Gnanaweera Thero | Nihada Arana

මුල් සිංහල වීඩියෝව සඳහා Play කරන්න

How Loving-Kindness Grows Through Mindfulness | Ven. Aluthgamgoda Gnanaweera Thero | Nihada Arana 

When we were describing the divine abidings (Brahma Vihāra), we said we would discuss how, as we practice this meditation and cultivate mindfulness (sati), these four divine abidings develop. In that discussion, I believe we spent about two days on the topic of loving-kindness (mettā). The last question that was asked was whether loving-kindness and love are one and the same, or if they are two different things. This is what we were meant to discuss in the last sermon we had. So, I thought we could continue our discussion from that point today. In that last sermon, I think those who were present will remember, we explained that what is called loving-kindness is not the same as love. This is because love has a characteristic of immaturity. We say that where there is love, there is a nature of immaturity; we say it has a certain worldly quality. Many people see this love as being connected to a worldly, coarse nature—what we might call a base, coarse quality that tends toward the lower chakras. Therefore, this state of love cannot be equated with loving-kindness (mettā). Because of that worldly scent it carries, we mentioned at the end that if one's love matures, at some point that mature stage of love can give rise to the feeling of loving-kindness.

So, what is the nature of love when it transforms into loving-kindness, and what is its nature when it becomes a worldly attachment? We described this a little on the last occasion we met. We explained that if love travels to a lower chakra—meaning if it descends—the love that arises in us quickly turns into an urgent need to make it a relationship. We want to make that person ours. The moment it becomes "ours," the quality of loving-kindness is no more. The qualities inherent in loving-kindness die the moment that feeling of love turns into a relationship with someone. This is because even if there is no connection, the moment it becomes a relationship, that characteristic of fear is present within it. This means the fear of "will I lose my address," so to speak. Because it has become a relationship, the sense of self (mamatva) fully enters into it. Fear is what continues in that sense of self. This means that a feeling of fear is always present within that person's inner world. And with that fear, a whole set of defilements (kilesa) begins to emerge: suspicion, jealousy, competition. At that point, it is truly a karmic burden. From that point on, it is a hell (apāya). From that point on, it has absolutely no connection to loving-kindness. What it possesses is an immaturity. They are what we would call very "infantile" people—very shallow, very worldly. This means they have no depth, no spirituality, and not a trace of the fragrance of loving-kindness. After some time in such a relationship, what we truly understand is the thought, "When will I be free of this?" This is because a feeling of being trapped and confined starts to grow inside. The other person holds on, and that grasp is one where their humanity has fallen to a lower level out of love. That affection has ultimately descended to an animalistic level, a beastly nature.

Once it reaches that animalistic level, the other party realizes they are trapped. They feel a heavy, constricted feeling. Now, how can this person be let go? Because this person is trying to drive them mad. They try to kill, they try to die—there is so much madness. Then, a deep sense of guilt arises in the person on this side, thinking, "If this person dies because of me..." They need to get away from this person somehow, to leave them. But leaving incurs a great sense of guilt. If this person does something to themselves, it feels like it will be a problem for me. However, they need to escape. This means this connection is not working out. The next step, after that love has turned into a relationship, is that life becomes infuriating. That person starts to feel this way not just with that one individual, but with everyone. Because their whole search was for love. They went in search of love in life, and in the end, they found themselves trapped in a prison. Along with that trapped feeling, the love they desired has now become a prison for them. Eventually, the pressure and stress from that person begin to be released onto those around them. They get furious over the smallest things. They get angry over trivial matters. Just a slight clash of words is enough. They get easily offended by the slightest thing. That is, the feeling of not receiving the love they were searching for transforms into the energy of aversion (dvesha). That is why these energies can never be killed. If that energy does not receive what it needs, it begins to transform into another energy. This means energy never dies; it just changes its form.

Think about it. If someone with sexual desire suppresses that desire and observes precepts, holding it in more than necessary, anger will definitely arise from within that ascetic life. Why? Because lust (kāma) is being forcefully blocked. If they do not transform that energy through meditation (bhāvanā), through mindfulness (sati), it will start to cause fury. However, if it is transformed through meditation, that energy begins to become divine. That energy starts to move into a different field of feeling. So, what I am trying to explain here is a brief summary of the last sermon. That was the point we ended on: love is an energy. If meditation is added to love, it starts to emit the fragrance of loving-kindness (mettā). Imagine the feeling of loving-kindness starting to arise. However, if meditation is not added to that affection and love, and one does not become meditative, it inevitably turns into an attachment. It becomes a relationship. Before long, it becomes repulsive, and a feeling of being trapped arises. Then it turns into aversion. After that, the person officially tries to flee. They don't want to see them anymore. Why? It's suffocating. A very constricted feeling begins to emerge. Then it's like, "When will I be free of this?" People might say, "Oh, why did you do that?" But only the one who has experienced it knows the torment they feel. So they look for a way to escape. That is one side of love. That is one aspect.

However, at some point, with the love and affection one feels, if I go into silence, into solitude, into seclusion, the fragrance of loving-kindness (mettā) will automatically begin to flow from it. If meditation is a flower, loving-kindness is the fragrance that comes from it. If love does not flow from within you, that meditation is flawed. If, as I continue my meditation, love does not flow and spread from my hands like this, then that meditation is merely a form of absorption (jhāna). It is not something that aids in liberation (moksha). It is just a state where the mind is fixed and confined to an object; you cannot even call it meditation. So, if the mind is cornered into an object, it gradually dies; it becomes dry inside. This means they are on the wrong track. I know that can also be a form of meditation, but that is not what we are talking about here. What happens is that if one goes down that path and gets stuck in it, that is it. It becomes a state where you just wither away. That meditation just makes us dry. That is why, if you practice meditation without proper instructions from a teacher, you might end up in that dry stage. After 10 or 20 years, it can be impossible to get out of that dry state. It's like becoming firewood, completely dried up.

There is a story of a woman who built a temple for a Zen master and offered him meals for 20 years. Then, wanting to see his spiritual progress, she told her maid who delivered the food, "Go and tell him that you have feelings for him." When she did, the master supposedly said, "My inner world is now like a piece of dead wood; I feel nothing of the sort." The maid went back and told the woman who had built and offered the temple what he had said. The woman, realizing he had fallen into such a dangerous state after 20 years, went and set fire to the temple. That was the result of building a temple and supporting his meditation for 20 years. The track had gone completely off in the other direction. Mindfulness went towards concentration (samādhi). If that happens, one might meditate for six, seven, maybe even ten hours. Their posture might not even move. But the sublime quality of meditation does not arise. Somewhere, the meditation object was not properly understood. Or else, they assumed their own path was the path to liberation. They went on their own imagined path, doing something they called meditation.

So, look closely. This loving-kindness (mettā) cannot be obtained by meditating in such a way. If loving-kindness is a fragrance, it is something that arises as the flower blooms. But ultimately, the fragrance does not even belong to the flower. In the same way, we can never grasp this loving-kindness with words alone. Loving-kindness is a certain mental state, something like a fragrance that anyone near it can feel. It can be felt. No matter how many words I use, I could sit here from morning till night, but that is not it. It's possible that this remains only words. However, the mind can become unified with words. If you take one word and contemplate it from morning till night, saying it over and over, then that is not the quality we are talking about; that is a form of agreement. Take any word and repeat it for hours, for instance "anicca, anicca" (impermanence), the mind will become unified. That is not loving-kindness. That is not what comes from meditation; if you arrive at that state, it's quite meaningless. Taking a mantra and murmuring it over and over can unify the mind well. It can be centered. But that is not the story of meditation. That is the story of concentration (samādhi). It is a way of bringing a certain mental factor to the forefront—the factor of one-pointedness (ekaggatā). Many people now say that this and meditation are the same thing. They are two different things. They are two different lines.

So, if one's meditation is correct, if the meditation is a flower, loving-kindness is something that comes automatically, like a fragrance from the flower. It cannot be generated. If mindfulness (sati) is correct, loving-kindness is effortless. If mindfulness is the flower, the fragrance that comes from it is loving-kindness. Without mindfulness, if concentration (samādhi) comes first, sometimes, as mentioned, one might end up feeling nothing, becoming empty and dry. When that state of loving-kindness, that feeling of loving-kindness, arises within, that person can never create a relationship from that point on. Because, to start an affair and enter into a relationship, one must kill that loving-kindness. It cannot be done with loving-kindness. Therefore, that fragrance of loving-kindness cannot be confined to a boundary. When a flower emits its fragrance, we cannot confine it to my room, can we? It spreads and drifts everywhere. In the same way, if one day the quality of "my loving-kindness" arises, that person will never initiate an attachment. For them, not doing so is not difficult. It's impossible for them to do it from within. This means that my level of love has not yet transformed into loving-kindness. It is still at the level of love—a worldly level. It is not the quality of loving-kindness that is present.

Once you arrive at that quality of loving-kindness, you realize that you are giving a response to this whole existence; that is the feeling. It is as if you are celebrating life with the entirety of existence. When we go to celebrate, we mentally frame a picture, don't we? We focus on a particular person. In loving-kindness, that picture fades. It's like my whole being begins to vibrate with the entirety of existence. It feels like I am breathing together with the whole of existence. It feels as if I am connected to this whole existence. When that state of loving-kindness is felt within, there is no feeling of aversion. As it develops, there is a quality of growth. Attachment, on the other hand, brings a quality of becoming more tired and trapped day by day. It's a constricting feeling day by day. If I have attained the quality of loving-kindness, then day by day, this feeling will begin to swell through every vein. It starts to grow. It moves towards expansion. Attachment moves towards fatigue, burden, and confinement. It is from there that one realizes, "I have gone astray. I thought this was loving-kindness, but what I am doing is lust (rāga)." Because the characteristics of lust and loving-kindness are somewhat similar. However, we think we are practicing loving-kindness towards this person. But if that is the case, a feeling of confinement should not be felt. Instead, a feeling of freedom should be felt, growing day by day.

So, those who have developed this state of loving-kindness will never enter into a worldly bond. They don't join because they cannot do such a thing. Their love has expanded to a 100, a 360-degree angle. So how can they confine and trap it within the two pillars of precepts? But that 360-degree perspective exists. When that 360-degree love matures, does one then do it for all things? Yes, that 360-degree quality is also present for those two. When the other person thinks, "You don't love me anymore," that is because the love for the whole has matured into loving-kindness. So, when speaking about the nature of my loving-kindness, I felt like mentioning this. Yesterday and the day before, just sitting around in the evening and night, I recalled a little from Osho's life and his words.

People ask him questions about his life, and in response, he explains his feelings, his experience of life, just as he feels it. He says, "This is how I feel." As I was reading that book, I felt it was as if I were reading the words of someone who has truly felt loving-kindness (mettā). That's why I will share a little of it. Let's see the answers he gives to the questions asked of him. As I was reading it, I started to feel the characteristics of someone in whom the quality of loving-kindness has arisen. There's a question asked of him. The name of the chapter is, "Osho on His Own Life." It contains a few questions from a dialogue about his life. I haven't read all of it yet. I've only properly read a few pages that I have noted down. I will share some of those notes. They ask him, "Who are you?" The first question is, "Who are you?" Osho says, "I am an ordinary human being. I am one who is concerned about your saviors, future prophets, messengers of God, and various other failed plans. These people live in a world of illusion, not in their own true sensitivity. What can they say about the world with wisdom? At the very least, they are not even ordinary human beings. They are coming from sickness. So, the Pope is the representative of these sick people." He says, "I am an ordinary man without any sickness. I have attained wisdom to be perfectly healthy in my own being, to exist in wholeness. That does not mean I am higher than others. It makes one unique. Therefore, a person who has attained the light of wisdom cannot be fixed into any category; every person who has attained the light of wisdom is unique. When I experienced this myself, it became a blessing in my life." He means that after he attained that wisdom, it became a unique experience for him, and through him, thousands of people received the opportunity to live with blessings and joy.

"I have not created any division or any enmity in humanity. I have not created any fights, cruelty, wars, or violence. I do not represent any religion. But I am religious. I have a religious experience and a responsibility. I exist under my own authority. What is so special about that? Why am I a leader? You tell things to people, and they follow what you say. So why are you the one doing it? Why can't someone else do it? You should ask the people who are here. Because I am not their leader. I have not told them that they are my followers. I have not told them to come here and be with me. That is their business. It is their problem and my responsibility... no, that's not right. It is their problem and their responsibility. I was mistaken. It is their responsibility. I am only responsible for myself. It is enough if I take responsibility only for myself. Why? It is better you ask these people themselves. Now, look at how beautiful those words are. He never, at any time, saw anyone as a follower. This means he never saw them as disciples. He never saw them as devotees. And likewise, he never told anyone to come and be with him. Look at the qualities of loving-kindness (mettā). He never tells anyone to be with him. That is their business, their problem, their responsibility. Their coming and their staying is their issue. It is their responsibility. I only bear responsibility for myself. I only bear the responsibility of my practice."

"I only bear the responsibility for myself. I do not interfere in another's self. Then, see what he says next. They ask, 'Would it be a surprise to you if they said they like to follow you in their own way?'" 'If they follow you, would that be a karma for you?' To that, he replies, 'That amazes even me in a most profound way. It is truly a miracle. I am nobody's leader, yet millions of people think they are my followers.' This is beautiful. If I am not a leader to anyone, then I have no followers. That is loving-kindness (mettā). That is the master. A true master will never have the feeling of having disciples. He has love, but no devotees. He has no disciples at all. That is what he is saying here. It is a great wonder to him. 'It's a miracle to me. For me, who is not a leader to anyone, to feel that I have followers is like magic. It is like something impossible happening.' Then the next question is asked, 'Do you enjoy this reverence?' Meaning, 'Does this respect shown to you, this honor you receive, make you happy? Do you enjoy this?' Osho says, 'No, not at all. I enjoy friendship.' There is the mark of loving-kindness. What we call loving-kindness has this feeling of friendliness. Compassion (karunā) is feeling another's pain. There is no feeling of another's pain here. To say another's... feels wearisome. So here, Osho beautifully says, 'I enjoy friendship.' This is what he is trying to say here—this is loving-kindness. 'I do not enjoy reverence at all.' Because, how can I enjoy it? To enjoy it, one must have a great sense of self-importance. Like a king being worshipped, like the god Sakka. He says it beautifully, 'I don't enjoy such things at all.' This means he doesn't like it when another person diminishes their own humanity.

This means that in the Muslim religion, apart from God, no one else is worshipped; only the truth. Everything else is just a friendship. That is why he says it beautifully, "I do not enjoy this worship at all. It doesn't suit me. What I like, what I enjoy, is friendship. The friendship between us is what I enjoy." Then he says, "In reverence, you place someone higher than yourself. When I show reverence, I place another person above me. I have no ego of that kind in any way. I am not higher than anyone. Nor am I holier than anyone else." So, when this state of loving-kindness is felt, the feeling that arises, this feeling of loving-kindness, when it is felt within us, he beautifully says it—he doesn't say, "I am full of loving-kindness." Osho does not say that. But look at the words. The state that is felt when that quality of loving-kindness is felt... "I am not higher than anyone else. I am not holier than anyone else. I have no special holiness within me." This is like what the Dhamma-prince once said, "If I perceive a flaw in someone, that flaw is first within me. That is why I feel it." This means that I cannot perceive a feeling that is not there. If I feel a certain way about someone, say they are angry, it's because that is present within me. Because I have had that experience myself. Because I cannot understand something that is not within me. So, that is what is being said here. "I am not holier than anyone." But this...

In fact, this gathering that we have between us truly amazes me. If they worship me, they must be in some madness. So what can I do about that? This means I can do nothing about their madness. They must have some madness. He is asked, "You yourself say that you just walk around with them. This means I just live with you all. It doesn't matter to me." Then the next question is asked, "Perhaps you make some mistakes." That is, they ask Osho, "Do you make any mistakes? Do those who have received the light of wisdom make mistakes?" He says, "I make as many mistakes as I can." Now look at how human that state of loving-kindness is. A person who has felt that state of loving-kindness will never try to show a superhuman nature. That itself is their loving-kindness. That is their truth; that is their very "super-mentality." People are always struggling for a superhuman state. But he beautifully says, "I make plenty of mistakes. Plenty of mistakes happen at my hands. That makes me more human. That is good. Then I am just a grain of sand. It reminds me again and again that I am a human being. Otherwise, I might become some superhuman entity. That is the beauty in it." He says he likes that. Because being a human means having human feelings. He feels that he is not a gem among the grains of sand, but just another grain of sand. The feelings that come to others also come to him.

So then, it is possible to truly understand what the difference is between one who has attained the light of wisdom and an ordinary human being. There is only a difference in state. There is a difference in mindfulness (sati). Let's see what Osho says. He says, "Besides, it is easier to love a human being than the only son of God. I never use words like 'perfect.' Everything here is very imperfect. It has to be that way. Only for fools like the Pope is everything here imperfect." This means it is filled with humanity. Every single thing is filled with human nature. So that is the beauty in it. There is nothing artificial. Go to Japan, like in India, and see how people bow artificially even before a car passes. It's not from within. It is just created. A very supreme nature is projected, but underneath, they are playing serious games. The Japanese are vicious in their actions. Not in India. If there's an argument, they shout it out right there. It's all over then. They go on their way. Everything is said right there in the middle of the road. So it's not like that. There is no such thing. Within everything that exists here, there is an imperfect quality. A flawed quality. That is the beauty of this. People are alive. This means they are not statues of wax, but statues of clay, because people exist.

So, he says there are people who do not make mistakes—the perfect ones. The demand for perfection, the call to become perfect, is only for fools and idiots. The intelligent might be like that. I don't know for sure. "Yes, I too have some imperfect vision. There are moments when it appears as a simple, pure vision. Yes, there are moments when I think, 'This is it!'" But the intelligent say that these are not in any way signs of a final stop. If you asked me how many times I have said, "This is it, this is the only thing," the next day something even greater will come. So then I say again, "My God, this is it." But as it slowly, slowly and more and more happens, even greater things, even more profound things will occur. I let go of the idea that "this is the only thing." This means we think, "Ah, now it's right. Now I've got it right. Now I've hit the mark." But then that changes again. It changes again. "Oh my, this... I got this 'Rittaganna' right," one says. Then that changes again, and again, and again. So he says that knowing is a process of becoming, but there is no sign of stopping there. It is never perfect. This means this mindfulness (sati) is never a state where you can say, "Ah, now there are no thoughts today. There is no lust." It is never a fixed state. We cannot perfect any of our senses in that way.

The most that can be developed is that faith and wisdom might reach 180 degrees. But it will surely break at 120. Accepting that breaking is what is called a mind that is unshaken by the worldly conditions. That is what is called Arahantship. We cannot make any sense faculty, mental factor, faith, concentration, or wisdom permanent. Not 100%. To accept its impermanence is to be liberated. It is the acceptance. The dream of becoming perfect in imperfection is suffering (dukkha). To accept imperfection is what is called liberation. Right, let's see what Osho's idea is. "Knowing is a process. To me, life is a constant change." He says he understands that the only thing that does not change is change itself. "If you are alive, you change. Everything is changing. But he has allowed for the nature of the one who is mindful. No, I will not change at all." He is not rigid. He might have opinions today, but he allows them to change. That is human nature. "Everything is changing. If you are withered, you do not change." This means if you are a dead corpse, then you will not change again. Many people die around the age of 30. Such people may live physically until they are 50. After their demise, it is just a life lived in demise. "I will live until my last breath." This means he is updating himself spiritually until his last breath. He connects with whatever changes are needed. That is youthfulness. He says, "I live until my last breath. I live until the final breath of my life. I move forward, changing and growing. I am not stuck in any opinion or view. It has no limit. The sky may have a limit, but consciousness has no limit. And this awakened state has no limit."

Then he is asked this question, "Do you engage in meditation for many hours a day?" They ask him, "Osho, how many hours a day do you meditate?" He says, "Meditation for me is something that happens 24 hours a day. It is not a matter of sitting for a couple of hours. For me, meditation happens throughout all 24 hours. Because I am not going to describe it in any detail. Other religions prescribe things like meditation, mindfulness, concentration, and prayer for a few minutes or half an hour. But in my view, that whole idea is foolish." Look, to sit in meditation for half an hour and then to be in a state of non-meditation for the other 23 and a half hours. It is an impossible thing. It's like taking a breath for half an hour, forgetting about it for the rest of the time, and then trying to breathe again tomorrow. This means if someone says, "My meditation is for half an hour," he thinks... that's just half an hour of breathing. What he is trying to say is that if our meditation is growing, we should understand that my awakened state does not break from moment to moment. Even if postures change, thoughts change, feelings change... In the sermons of the late Ven. Ñāṇārāma, he used to say that if your meditation is fragmented like that, you will always be sitting and getting up for the rest of your life. Why would you need to sit? It's already connected to the whole. You just run around like a madman, just going about. It's like breaking firewood.

What is being said here, what this Osho is saying, is that he understands he has an awakened state naturally. His awareness is in a natural, effortless state 24 hours a day. But if there is an effortless state of awareness for 24 hours, then he shouldn't feel time. He shouldn't feel sleep. He shouldn't feel time. Because it is only when you fall from the awakened state that you feel time and weariness due to the speed of thoughts. When you fall from awareness, thoughts gather, don't they? Then there is a weight to it. There is that. But the state of awareness... now look closely. If you are properly connected to what is called the awakened state, then what is understood here as meditation, as awareness, is that there is no concept of time, sleep, waking, or death. He says meditation is the becoming of your eternal grace. I don't know, maybe there's a printing error in this book, or maybe this means eternal playfulness. I don't know, in the Hindu religion, they say when one's awareness is well-developed, it becomes a divine play (līlā). I'm not sure if that's what he means. "So my path is also like that; nothing is obstructed by it. For example, I am talking to you now. So my adventure is that while I am talking to you, I am fully aware of what I am saying and to whom I am saying it." This means that even when he speaks, his awareness does not falter. So he says he feels that he... so you can do whatever you like. "Every gesture of my hand"—meaning even if his hand moves like this or that—"it does not move by habit in the slightest." Even if his hand moves from here to there, Osho says his attention does not break at any moment. "Every gesture of my hand is completely mindful. So you can do whatever you like, walk on the street or swim in a lake, and remain aware of that activity. Then you can be in meditation 24 hours a day."

When you are in meditation for 24 hours, all those half-hour meditations become mere toys. He says you are just making a fool of yourself. You just become a fool with those half-hour methods. Then he says... but now, from that, understand well. If he spoke of half-hour methods, if he is mindful, then even the act of sitting and being is a part of that mindfulness. So there's no story of hours. His meditation is a state of being awake. But in that state, he can also be sitting, or walking, or eating. But what he is centered on is the awakened state. So, the state of being awake has no postures. No methods. No special postures. No special methods. So every one of his methods... this means every method he is in is a meditation. Whether you are sitting is a meditation, walking is a meditation, eating is a meditation, even dancing is a meditation—the whole thing is a meditation. Then he is asked, "Can you tell us something about blessings?" "I have been in a state of blessedness for 33 years." This means he says... I think this must be the age when he realized the truth. He says, "I have been in a state of blessedness for 33 years. It is the same period that Jesus lived on earth. Shankara, the venerable Shankaracharya, also lived for about 33 years. Vivekananda also lived for about 33 years. So, for as long as Jesus's lifetime..."

"...I too have been in a state of blessedness. This blessedness means that every moment a person is in an awakened state is a blessing. So he is in a state of 'bless.' He is in a state of blessing. He is in his complete awakened state. Every moment anyone is awake... now, while I am giving this sermon, if you are connected to your awakened state, this entire sermon is a blessing. Truly, these words are not used for you to understand their meaning. It is to enhance the state of being awake. Now, in this talk, there is nothing to understand within the story itself. Throughout this entire hour, if with each and every word you connect to your own awakened state, then this whole sermon is a blessing. If you carry this away [mentally], then it will just be caught in the mind. It will just be analyzed and intellectualized. That is not a blessing; it is a burden. Doubt arises. So that is what he is saying. Now, he has been in this... for years... I think this discussion must have taken place some years after he realized the truth. So he says, 'You ask me what a blessing is. This is the best time. To give an answer to that is almost impossible. But remember that I have said this much: When you come out of the ego, you are gently brought out. This means when you come out of your ego, you are gently brought out of it, out of time and intense pressure. You are brought out of that entire great society. So when the ego is gone, what remains is only the blessing. The moment I close my eyes, it is there. The moment I open my eyes, it is there. When I walk, it walks with me. When I sleep, it sleeps with me. So I am no longer separate from it. I am right here, right now, receiving blessings. That is why I can bless the entire world. My state of being a blesser has not yet become tiresome.'

There, that is the next important point about loving-kindness (mettā). He says some very good points about loving-kindness. Someone asks him a question. 'So why do you share it with the world?' Osho is asked, 'This joy you feel, this blessing you feel, this feeling you have inside you, why do you share it with these people?' This means, 'Why don't you just enjoy it? You are alone.' It means, understand well now, when someone is properly connected to their awakened state, the love that is felt does not need to come out of their room. They can stay in their room for all 24 hours, without anything, and enjoy it. When this happiness is received, when this feeling is received, no one needs to talk about it. No one needs to associate with it. One can just be, savoring it all day long. One can just be, enjoying one's own taste. So he asks, 'Why, instead of just enjoying yourself, now that you have received that 'bless,' that 'grace,' you have become a blessed person. This means the ego has been abandoned, and you have reached that state of sublime experience. You have become a stream of Dhamma. So the questioner asks, 'Why, instead of just enjoying it, why, instead of savoring it, are you sharing it?' To that, he gives a beautiful answer. 'Because when you share it, it increases more and more.' That is what we mentioned in the last sermon. If we receive a spiritual solace, when I go to share it with someone else, it's like water from a spring, the more you give, the more it flows from the well, non-stop. That's what he says. 'Because when you share it, it increases more and more.' It is a kind of surplus creation. There are a few people who are laughing heartily. So by 'surplus,' what I meant was..."

"...to define what I meant. The more you share the joy of your blessing, the more your inner being begins to grow. The amount you share is the amount of joy you receive. That's why we said, 'Do not share your sorrow.' It will then spread. As much as possible, we said in a recent sermon, 'Take your sorrow alone and cry.' Don't share it. But share your joy completely. The amount that is shared will begin to come to this side. So, the amount I give to the other side is what I receive. It comes back double, triple. It's not that people come looking for me and show me love. The very nature of that giving and creating is what is called growth, what is called love, what is called loving-kindness (mettā). The amount you create and give is what you begin to feel. The joy of it is truly what is called the Bodhisattva path. It is called the mind of enlightenment (bodhicitta). So then he tells a story like this: 'The more it begins to grow within you... this is an economy completely different from the one you know. In the normal economy, the science of it is, if you share your money, your money decreases. Worldly life is like that. If you share what you have, it disappears. That's why you don't share. But in this spiritual story, my business is such that...'—he means his business is this spiritual path—'...in that higher economy, the more you share something, the more it begins to flow towards you. The amount you share, flows to you. It is like a well. The more water you draw from the well, the more new water begins to flow into it from all sides. If you stop drawing water from the well, the water can stagnate and become poison.'

"This is why I called it 'generating a surplus.' I do not share my blessing simply out of compassion. I share my blessing for the simple pleasure of profit." That's what Osho says. This means, "I share this a little to grow my business," he says. "The more I share, the more it starts to increase. The more I go on sharing, the more this increases. It is like a cloud. A large cloud becomes a heavy rain. It has to rain somewhere. Otherwise, it becomes heavy and turns into a troublesome burden. Yes, just as I said, if you don't share the spiritual joy you feel with someone else, if you don't tell someone else the way to that peace, it will stagnate in one place. It will very quickly start to stink. That's possible. Keep it alive. Every day, every day, you must start sharing the spiritual enemy... [correction] spiritual joy you feel. You must keep it alive. To keep it alive, if it is to constantly flow and grow and take root, you must share. I am an imperialist. I do not believe that I have any limits in anything." So I considered these ideas a little. And again, in those ideas that Osho expresses, what I understood was, it was just like the words of a person in whom loving-kindness has grown. This means, for a person who has felt the state of loving-kindness... now let me connect this to mindfulness and briefly explain today how this is felt.

Now, let's assume... I said that no matter how much I try to cultivate this state of loving-kindness, it can never be developed through effort. Loving-kindness does not grow through any effort. However, I am saying this by looking through the lens of mindfulness (sati). When we look through mindfulness, what we are primarily talking about is developing mindfulness. So, when we look through the development of mindfulness, the nature of mindfulness is that it does absolutely nothing. For example, if someone is practicing some kind of meditation method, that is not mindfulness. They are contemplating an object of meditation, thinking, applying the mind. That is not the nature of mindfulness. Mindfulness, at any time, brings a sense of exertion when you are trying to develop something. If I say I am tired after meditating for a while, it means what they have been doing is contemplating something with concentration. So, how does mindfulness arise then? What did it do? It did nothing. So now we must understand correctly. What I am saying is the way this loving-kindness grows through mindfulness. When we cultivate mindfulness in meditation, we do absolutely nothing.

Let's take the sitting posture. Someone who is cultivating mindfulness sits and makes the body very light, and just stays with that lightness. That's all. They are not going to do anything. They allow everything to be felt with that lightness. Now, I am sitting, my body is very relaxed, I have made my body light, and I am feeling that loving quality, that lightness with the body, with great happiness. I am truly enjoying it. As I am enjoying it, don't forget, it's not just the body, but everything that is enjoyed. Now look, I am about to do any meditation. Right, I am enjoying this body. I am enjoying it. I am sitting in this body and savoring it. I close my eyes and savor the taste. While savoring that taste, I also savor the sound of the fan. "Oh, how wonderful, I hear the sound of the fan." Is it two things? Savor everything. Then the birds are chirping. I enjoy it. I do it. I feel it. Then the dogs start barking loudly. So for me, does that... it flows from the celestial sound of the birds' chirping. Sometimes it also flows from the barking of dogs. So I was enjoying that sound. The moment I sat for meditation, dogs started barking all around. So that too, just as I was lightly with this body, just as I enjoyed the chirping of the birds, that too is another form of love in the same way. Another form of affection. If you come to meditation from that angle, you will understand what this meditation we are talking about is.

Now, what we are talking about here is this side of meditation. It is not about blocking out sounds and holding onto a state of concentration. It is a tuning in with everything. So that is the very first step: the acceptance of everything. In the meditation we discuss here, we talk about such a thing. That is, many people, no matter how much I tell them to purify their meditation object, they still think of the meditation I am talking about as some kind of concentration they brought from home. It is not like that. It is not about that at all. Just sit and do nothing. Because if you go to do something called meditation, after a while, you will feel repulsed. You will feel tired. Therefore, there is no need to do anything. Then what is meditation? Through it, we savor this existence. We enjoy this existence, this being. The sound of a dog is one nature of that being. The chirping of birds is one nature of that being. Turn this existence into an experience of savoring. Enjoy this existence. Savor this being. This being comes before me in one form. As heat, as cold, as the sound of a dog, as silence, as noise—in all these various forms, this existence brings itself before me to be savored. To look at it with that feeling, with that sentiment of a delicious meal, is what we call adding loving-kindness to mindfulness. That means looking at everything as an experience to be savored.

So then, if someone asks what we are doing when we sit, we are doing nothing at all. But I am in a state of rest. I am sitting and resting. I am at ease. I am happy with myself, with this body. While being happy with the body, I am also happy with the sound of the dogs. I am happy with the sound of the birds. I let everything be felt. I do not struggle to connect with anything. Nor do I try to push anything away with effort. That very effortlessness is what is called mindfulness (sati). The meditation we do until we reach that state of effortlessness is not mindfulness. It is related to concentration (samādhi). That is called mindfulness. However, that is needed. Now, some of the techniques we did in the past for mindfulness, some of those techniques were... before mindfulness becomes effortless, there were some small, effortful techniques to get there by doing various things. Those were not wrong. But they are not meditation. That is not what we call mindfulness. But I am not saying they are not helpful. In some way, they can help with that initial concentration, like a support. But there is no connection at all with meditation. Because meditation begins with that awakened state. With mindfulness. The state of mindfulness has no object. The state of mindfulness has no right or wrong. The state of mindfulness has no rejection or attainment. It is a complete awakening with each and every state. It is becoming mindfully aware of that state. It is a becoming one with it.

To put it another way, mindfulness is acceptance. That is how we must define mindfulness. So look how easy meditation is. There is nothing to do. There is only this life to be savored. Every moment is just savored. There is nothing else to it. So look at how simple a thing it is, how easy a thing it is. Because there is nothing to attain. There is nothing to get rid of. Because we are right there where we are. We are here now. So that awakened state is right there. What 'there' means is 'here.' It is not about getting rid of something to attain something else in meditation. There is nowhere to go. You are already there. You just need a teacher to help you recognize that state a little. Just to recognize that you are already there. Believe it. That you are already there. Because if you have faith, and then doubt comes, you will keep running, won't you? Thinking there must be something somewhere, that if I get rid of this, I will get that. It becomes a competition again. Because there is no faith. Doubt is stronger.

So then, at some point, what we do in this meditation is to arrive at this awakened state. If the awareness is correct, the characteristic of mindfulness is the quality of accepting every state. It is being at rest with every state. It is accepting every state as a form of bliss. That means mindfulness inevitably has that awakened state. It has serenity. It has bliss. It accepts every state as a divine state. It becomes silent with every state. It becomes awake with every state. It awakens with that state. Awareness, Serenity, Bliss. If these three are present, we say that person has found the secret. We say they have received the blessing. Because for them, in every life, everywhere, these three—Awareness, Serenity, Bliss—have become their life. If these three have become their life, we say they are blessed. They feel every word that is said without the filter of thoughts. It is felt without language. They do not need words. They do not need to talk this much. Because for them, just seeing the teacher is enough. Just going near them is enough. Sometimes, just hearing their name is enough. They are that connected. They are connected to words only to a small extent, through the mind.

Words are used to stimulate the mind, to shut down the mind. There is no such need. For them, that seeing is more than enough—a person whose awareness is fully transformed. For a person transformed to that awakened state, what they understand is their Awareness, their Bliss, their Serenity. A divine awakened state of silence. That is a loving awakened state. They begin to feel it everywhere. Whether they are near a tree, wherever they go, whatever happens, in every state, in every action, those three begin to flow. Then, in a place of great noise, they feel a wondrous serenity. In the middle of a great battlefield, a fortress of silence... if they apply those three, they will not feel any turmoil. They are in the midst of great turmoil. In proportion to the turmoil, their inner being becomes silent. They are in the midst of a great problem. Truly, the value of this awakened state that we cultivate with such difficulty is understood when such a devastating situation comes into our lives. The inner being shuts down completely and becomes silent. The wound becomes a smile. At that moment, it is understood that we have truly cultivated this mindfulness. When, in the midst of a great problem, a great calamity, a great war, one feels silence, when one feels bliss, when the full awakened state does not waver even for a moment, when there is no fear at all—that kind of feeling, that awakened state...

...as it comes, as it comes, if the awakened state is correct, what flows through it is that divine, loving fragrance. As I said, if meditation is a flower, its fragrance is loving-kindness (mettā). In that same way, that state begins to flow. It begins to spread everywhere. Then, wherever they go, they feel at home. Wherever they go, they are in silence. Wherever they go, they are in a divine experience. Right. If we get this experience, however—I mentioned a point—it cannot be obtained if one goes into concentration (samādhi). Because people who go into concentration get angry quite often. The reason is, when their comfortable zone is disturbed, they get furious. This means they have not been cultivating mindfulness but have been practicing meditation with concentration at the forefront. When there is noise, they say, "I can't be here, this is not right, I'm leaving." They get angry. That is where the meditation goes wrong. Those who go towards the concentration side get angry and can even become murderous. Because for them... they have no gentleness with themselves. They have no gentleness with the world. When they see gentleness, it's as if they've swallowed poison. Look at those who go down the concentration path. Those people who practice that kind of meditation... there is no trace of compassion on their faces. There is no gentleness. They are just scolding something. Because they are harsh with themselves and harsh with the world. They are angry with themselves and with the world, thinking, "Why can't I stay properly in this meditation center?" They are scolding themselves. They are angry at the world.

This means their fragrance does not flow. This means their concentration makes them rigid. They become more and more dry. This means the track has gone off to the other side. A worldly path, a character full of aversion, starts to emerge through that very concentration. Then, for the next 20 or 30 years, they go down that path of aversion. They want to leave this world. They don't like to be with these people. "This set doesn't suit me, none of them." At that point, if they meet a true, good teacher, a teacher who gives them insight meditation (vipassanā), who gives them loving-kindness, the teacher will beautifully tell the student, "Right. Let it come. The fact that you hear that sound means you have mindfulness. The fact that you feel things more subtly than before means your awareness is high." If they meet such a good teacher, a true teacher beautifully turns that soul that was becoming dry towards liberation. Otherwise, the meditation has two sides, and one never knows which way it will go. But if the meditation object is given correctly, if the student has faith in the teacher's words, the teacher says, "The fact that you are more aware of all these things than before means your awareness is increasing. Therefore, mindfulness is the acceptance of every state; it is becoming loving with every state." If they receive this meditation instruction correctly, their meditation, which was heading towards concentration, will start to turn towards the side of truth, the side of awareness. They will begin to respect awareness.

The meditation that was turning rigid and dry will begin to turn completely to the other side. From the moment it turns to the other side, they start to laugh within their meditation when they hear those sounds. A sense of joy arises. Their face becomes bright. Every sound, every noise, every disturbance, even the sound of people shouting... it's like, "Oh, the children are shouting, how nice, what a joy!" With every such state, their inner being starts to vibrate. As it vibrates, there is a point where this state called loving-kindness begins to be felt. This is what starts to happen. Now, let's say we have found a good teacher. We have received meditation instructions from the teacher. The teacher has gradually taught us that meditation is neither an escape nor a rejection. It is becoming one with every state that is felt in this moment. It is an experiencing of every state. After accepting this, as they connect more and more with the awakened state, they feel something like this. What I mean is, after developing a good degree of mindful silence through awareness, the silent, loving quality within that awareness begins to emerge from within. As that state emerges and becomes their nature, they feel... let's say they hear the sound of a bird. They don't think this, okay? The feeling and the hearing of the bird's sound are not a concept, like "they are one." A feeling like that begins to be felt inside. It's as if the sound of the bird has pierced through them.

It's a feeling like the people you see, the trees you see, the chirping of the birds, and the grass are all one. Don't go thinking about what I'm saying. If you think, you can't do it. If you go on thinking, you are in a conceptual view. But at a certain point in that awakened state, as you continue to meditate, the sound of the bird is not something separate from me. It's like, if you take the ocean, whether you take the waves or the whirlpools, they are not separate from the ocean. There are whirlpools in the ocean, there are calm places, there are deep places. All of this is the whole ocean. I am not talking about Nibbāna. I am talking about one's own experience at different stages as one develops this mindfulness. So now, I'm asking, just because a wave moves, the ocean doesn't move, right? Just because a whirlpool goes by, it doesn't mean anything happens to the ocean. A whirlpool is also the ocean. But you can't separate the wave and show the ocean as something different. Because even though we talk about the ocean, after removing everything, there is nothing else to talk about. But to this feeling I'm describing... then it's like I have become all of this. That's not what I'm saying. I, separate from everything, without the waves, without the whirlpools, cannot be shown as a separate ocean.

There, at that point, the limit of language is crossed. We enter an experience that is beyond what can be spoken of with language. After crossing the limit of what can be spoken of with language, what we feel is... rather than a separate me, separate birds, separate trees, separate you, I think the simile used by the Buddha is very effective. The simile of the mother is very effective. The Buddha says that the love a mother has for her child is not what is meant by loving-kindness (mettā); it extends to all. That kind of love... now, for example, the connection a mother has with her child is something that came from her own body. So the mother feels the child as a part of herself. Now look, that is a very strange thing. Even if the child is miles away and in pain, the mother feels it. We cannot imagine how the mother gets that feeling. Perhaps the mother is at home, and I am here. But if I am in some trouble, the mother feels that distress too. The mother somehow gets a sense of it, either through a throbbing in her head or in a dream. We cannot imagine how the mother feels that, how she gets that message. It is my burden that the mother feels. She calls and asks, "What's wrong? Are you in some trouble?"

The bond between a mother and child... it is as if two are bound together, but it is like a part of herself. A child is felt. What I am saying is, as you go deeper into the awakened state of this meditation, we begin to feel a connection with this entire existence at the level a mother feels for her child. We are transformed into the maternal. This means a mother expects nothing. The love of a mother, compared to others... a mother does not expect anything in return. In true motherhood. Yet a mother makes incredible sacrifices. That affection... that kind of affection begins to flow from within that awakened state. It feels as if all these girls are mine, all these boys are mine, all of them are mine. It is from there that her work begins. Her actions, her words... this means a mother is in an incredibly loving place. It is not a feeling of being attached to what is outside. Even if a mother scolds, there is an immense love in that scolding. That loving space is not broken with the child. That one thing... that is what the Buddha said. "Let the inside become like that." When loving-kindness develops, that is what happens.

That is what I said, you cannot 'do' it. As you enter the awakened state and begin to savor everything, this state I'm describing comes to us from within. After that state comes, we cannot just stay on the sidelines. We go out onto the road. We do everything that needs to be done for humanity. Because how can I look away when my child is suffering? A mother cannot look away when her child is crying from hunger. That kind of feeling, when it is there for humanity, that kind of feeling, when it is felt for the whole, a person cannot just sit by with their eyes closed. They cannot bear that feeling inside with their eyes closed. They cannot find peace alone. That is because that feeling... that is what I said. Through meditation, through awareness, through accepting everything, we experience this state. A maternal consciousness. A quality of maternal nature. A mind that has the quality of a mother begins to be felt by us. That is what you call the mind-state of loving-kindness (mettā). As you go on cultivating this mindfulness, this awareness, you become connected to that maternal nature. That maternal nature is not like going around distributing merits saying, "May all beings be well." That is natural. It is not something that is artificially constructed, organized, trying to become someone. Now, a mother does not do things for her child to show off, saying, "Look what I did for my child." It is a natural love that the mother has. A very natural affection. It is not something she developed because someone told her she would go to heaven if she loved her child. It comes from the heart. That is it. It begins to come from within.

After it comes from within, that person does not feel themselves, does not hear themselves. It's a very divine experience. Although it's called an 'experience,' it is not something I am 'experiencing.' It becomes a natural state. That maternal consciousness, that motherhood is good. Let us conclude with that thought.

Original Source (Video):

Title: සතිය තුළින් මෛත්‍රිය වැඩෙන අයුරු - Ven Aluthgamgoda Gnanaweera Thero | නිහඬ අරණ

https://youtu.be/hciTM3AW-5I?si=gMpAUsb_PV63i9Uc

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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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