Our Lord Buddha Who Enters the Young Mind - 01 | Thiththagalle Anandasiri Thero

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Our Lord Buddha Who Enters the Young Mind - 01 | Thiththagalle Anandasiri Thero

You see, you haven't been taught about the mind from the beginning, from the basics. Today, this was arranged to teach the basics. What I am teaching you now, anyone you know will be able to learn and understand this. Now, this here is a Bo tree. What is a Bo tree? Normally, what is a Bo tree? It is said that the Bo tree is what gave support to the Buddha when he attained enlightenment. Actually, it didn't give support. There was a large Bo tree nearby. Many who seek the truth have explored the truth near that tree. So, when the Lord Buddha became the Buddha, this tree was used as a symbol. That he attained enlightenment near it. Alright? So, what we are trying to teach you is, what did the Lord Buddha realize? When we also realize that Dhamma, what happens? Mental problems disappear forever. What is it? That is what the Bo tree represents: enlightenment. However, what do those who haven't properly understood the Buddha's message, the Buddha's Dhamma, do now at this Bo tree? They go to this Bo tree and ask for everything. "Help me pass my exams," "Make me a doctor," "Do this for me," "Cure my illness," "Get rid of my misfortunes." They ask for everything. The Lord Buddha attained enlightenment when he let go of everything he possessed. The place of letting go is what is symbolized by the Bo tree. So, those who have taken refuge in the Lord Buddha ask for everything, as if it were a magic tree. They go and say, "Help me pass the exam." That is what is happening. But we have a great culture connected with the Bo tree from time immemorial. A culture. Now, you all have heard general sermons. So, what is fundamental to the Buddha's Dhamma? What is the root of it? Yes, those are correct. The three characteristics of existence (Trilakshana). That's not what I am asking. What is the starting point? Why do we preach to people? The Lord Buddha has preached. What is it about? It is about the mind. Why is the sermon given? It is based on the mind. It teaches people about the mind. Whose mind does it teach about? It teaches about one's own mind. That is what has been taught. So, the Lord Buddha's message is about the human mind, isn't it?

Now, if we were to be silent for a brief moment, just for a brief moment, try to be silent without thinking about anything. Can we do it or not? We can. We can be silent for a brief moment. At that time, we don't know our name, we don't know if we are male or female. We don't know if we are a monk or a king. No one knows, right? In that moment, we all become what? Equal. We are equal, aren't we? Let's be silent for a moment. Nothing is thought, right? There is nothing. At that time, there is no distinction of whether we are a man or a woman. There is no issue of being lay or ordained. There is nothing. That means we are equal. But if we start to think about something, what happens? Then I think, "I am a monk. This is me. This is my mother. This is me. I have passed this many exams." Like that, how many things can we think of? An infinite amount can be thought. So, the problem is, when we go to our original nature, when we are not proliferating thoughts, when we are not thinking, we have no problems at all. Do we? All problems begin from where? From starting to think. When what starts? A thought. This means, although you could stay like that for a short while, you can't continue for long because you are used to it. What happens? Thoughts come. It's not that you think, but what? Thoughts arise. And then what is thought of? "What will happen to my future? That happened, this happened." That's what is thought of. And after that, what happens? After that, stress, depression, anxiety. No peace at all. Big, small, that person is developed, this person is poor, this person is rich... a lot of stories like that come up.

Now, if we could remain in that original state, in our childhood, in that early age, we don't know, right? In our childhood, we don't know who we are. If someone calls us by a name, we assume it's us. If they call another name, we don't say, "That's not it." A small child doesn't know their name until it's taught to them. They don't know. If you tell them, let's say "Siyathu," they will think that's it. They don't know if it's valuable or not. They don't know if it's worthless or not. It is irrelevant to them. Isn't it? Back then, there was more peace. There was no depression at all. But now, as we get a little older, and older, and older, we put knowledge from this external environment into our heads, and after that, there is no escape for man. No peace. So now, to go in search of this peace again, what must be done? No matter how much money people have, there is no such peace. If there were, rich people wouldn't need to listen to sermons. Even if a person has 100 great degrees, they have no peace. If they did, educated people with great degrees wouldn't have mental problems. Would they? So where must we go? We must go backward again. Going backward means going to a state where we have no value for ourselves. Where we have no fear about our future. Where things that happened in the past don't matter. "Who is that person? Who is this person?" Even the Lord Buddha is irrelevant to us. If you tell a small child about the Lord Buddha, will they take it as a big deal? They might even urinate on a statue. Right? If they are near a statue, they will do that, then they might bathe it, feed it, and do everything. Have you seen? After doing that, do they come and think, "Oh, I have committed a sin?" There is no such remorse. Nor is there great joy in offering flowers. Isn't it? It is when we go back that we find what is truly beautiful.

So, because of that, as you understand more and more about the mind, you will truly go to that fundamental state. But, from the state you are in now, if you don't listen to this Dhamma, or even if you listen but don't understand it and move forward, no matter how much wealth you earn, no matter how much education you get, there is no peace. Now, it's not right for me to mention the name. You saw, we started this program with you because of that sir. Now that sir is 50 years old. But we didn't see him in a state of peace. He wasn't, was he? He is very good at music. But that means, he has more education and knowledge than you, and more than many singers in Sri Lanka. But what is lacking? It's not something that was lost because of music. It became his whole life. It's not just for him. Many people of that age are like that. Aren't they? That age... I just reminded you of that because, you too are learning music and will go to that age. When you get to that age, if you don't know this Dhamma, you will be just like that. You might have money. Your children might go to a good school. But you will have no peace at all. I took that example because it is from your own field. Then we saw yesterday, didn't we, what happened in Medirigiriya? They went to a musical show and destroyed four crores worth of equipment. Now those people are crying and talking. That means what? There is no peace. So, when people move forward without knowing this Dhamma, they have no peace. They may have houses, they may have vehicles. Those things might get lost too. Whatever happens, the mind has no freedom. What happens? The mind has no freedom. If people's minds became free just by having money, then no one would ever need to listen to this Dhamma. Money solves a certain set of problems. But it does not provide mental freedom. What? It does not provide mental freedom. Education solves a certain set of problems. But it does not provide mental freedom. That is why people with PhDs have come here crying. Right? Even at this moment, when this discussion is put on the internet, people with double PhDs could be listening while having great problems. Couldn't they?

So, what I am trying to say is, if you understand this point in your life, whether you have things or not, whether you receive things or not, you will be able to live happily wherever you are. Why is that? Is being born in a hut made of coconut leaves a problem for a small child? Is it a problem for them? I mean, a one-year-old child doesn't ask, "Why didn't you become successful?" They don't ask that. Why? It is not an obstacle to their happiness. But when you grow up in that same house, you ask, "Mom and Dad, why didn't you become successful?" Why? Because you have acquired knowledge. If that external environment didn't exist, you would never ask such a thing. It is in relation to the other environment that you ask later on. Isn't it? Even if a small child is born in a royal palace, that is not a problem for them either. So, I am taking the example of a small child because that is where we were happiest.

Now you have reached your youth, and slowly, slowly, slowly you have become impure. Like my two friends who just left said. Their father's ego, the ego that fathers have, the ego their mother has... they too are now afraid, saying that when they get to that age, they will also become like that. So I said, it's not just you, we also become like that. Just because we became monks, it doesn't mean we just stay put; our ego also increases. But if you don't understand this Dhamma, it will happen anyway. What they thought of asking me was perfectly correct. Because when you reach that point, we think just like them, there is no big difference. Today, you think that because your parents raised you, they know more than you. That only increases with time; it does not decrease. It only increases. It does not decrease. So we are also going in the opposite direction. So when we get to that age, we will be the same. There are no two ways about it. That means our ego increases. But what this Dhamma shows is about our mind. Now, your mother and father don't learn about your mind, do they? Do they learn? No. They learn how to grapple with life. Right? They learn in a great hurry. They don't understand how their own mind works. How it decreases, how it increases, how it falls; they don't understand. They don't have time for that. In the time you have here for another two years or so, you can use your mindfulness and this knowledge being given to you to learn a lot about your own mind. That is more valuable than a degree. I will never strive to get a degree. Why? It is of no use to me. Because I know how to keep the mind happy. Whether things are lost or gained, it doesn't get disturbed. There is a secret to it. There is a secret in it. So that is the Dhamma the Lord Buddha realized.

Therefore, each person's life is different. So, it is useless to look at this Dhamma through this person or that person. Through whom should you look? You must look through your own mind. What is taught here is how your own mind works. Right? So, the basic thing about this mind, the very first thing we must understand when we consider the mind, is that the mind is not something that can be seen. It is not a visible phenomenon. Now, we can see, right? For something that is not visible, we can at least put a sensor or something down the throat and see the things inside. By inserting a camera. But there is still no way to see the mind like that. Is there? No one in the world has yet created a device to see someone else's mind. Alright? But we know that we see. You can see me, and I can see you. Right? When we say we see, what does that mean? It means our mind is working. If someone here fell asleep, they wouldn't see, right? Because their mind is not working at that time. That is to say, the mind that sees is not working. The eye-consciousness (chakku-vinnana) is not working. When we say we hear, we are talking about the mind working. If you were in some other thought, you wouldn't hear what is being said here. That means your mind is not working for this purpose. So this thing called the mind—seeing, hearing, feeling a taste—this is what we are talking about. Even if said in a different way, it is about the mind. To feel a taste, a mind is also needed. When you are in another thought, you don't even remember what you ate. That means that mind has not arisen powerfully. So what does it mean to think? That is also the arising of the mind. The mind is born. What happens? So this seeing, hearing, feeling, touching... all of this is the mind. What is it? The mind. Now, some people don't even know that seeing is the mind. That a mind is born. They don't have such knowledge. So for us, seeing is the mind. Hearing is the mind. Feeling is the mind.

In the Pali language, the mind is called consciousness (vinnana). What is it? Consciousness (vinnana). In Sinhala, we say mind (hitha). In the Pali language, it is also called manasa. Manasa. There are about ten names for it. It's called hada. So, based on a particular incident related to it, there are ten such names. In Sinhala, we say hitha, and in English, it's called mind. So, what does this mind do? What does the mind do? It thinks. What else does it do? As I just said, it sees, it hears, it feels, it tastes, it smells odors, it feels touch. All of that is what? The mind. So the Lord Buddha has given names for this. What is it? The act of seeing, we call eye-consciousness (chakku-vinnana). What is it? Chakku. Chakku means eye. Vinnana means mind/consciousness. The mind that arises in the eye, what does the eye-consciousness (chakku-vinnana) do? It sees forms. What does it do? It sees forms. Now, to see a form, that eye-consciousness must arise. A blind person does not have eye-consciousness. Therefore, they cannot see forms. They have eyes, don't they? Even though they have eyes, the mind does not arise. A blind person has eyes. But even though the eye is there, the mind does not arise in the eye. If the mind does not arise in the eye, if the eye-consciousness (chakku-vinnana) does not arise, they cannot see color. There is a science to it; I will draw it and show you on a board when there is one, how the image falls and the mind arises. For now, just hearing this is enough.

Then, for the ear-consciousness (sota-vinnana) to arise... Sota means ear. What? In the Pali language, sota means ear. In Sinhala, we say kana. Vinnana means mind. So, if the mind does not arise in the ear, sound cannot be heard. What did I say? Sound cannot be heard. That means a mind must arise in the ear to hear sound. That is why there must be people in whom the mind does not arise in the ear; they cannot hear sounds. Even if a bomb explodes, they cannot hear it. So, the mind has a function. What does it have? The name is given according to that function. The function of seeing forms is called eye-consciousness (chakku-vinnana). The one for hearing sounds is called ear-consciousness (sota-vinnana). The one for knowing smells and fragrances is called... ghana means nose. If the mind does not arise there, smells and fragrances are not felt. Even for us, if there is a fragrance here but we are in another thought, we don't sense it, do we? That means which mind did not arise? The nose-consciousness (ghana-vinnana) did not arise.

So, in that way, the names given to the mind in Buddhism are based on its duty. Based on what? Its duty. So the mind has many such duties. It has many tasks it performs. One is seeing forms, hearing sounds, and beyond that, knowing smells and fragrances. Then, tasting food. What is it? Tasting. That is called tongue-consciousness (jivha-vinnana). Now, this body is also structured in a way for that mind to arise. That can be taught later. It's not such a big deal. It's not a major thing. In the body, there is a place created for the eye-consciousness (chakku-vinnana) to arise. If that place is not there, it cannot arise. That means it needs an environment. What happens? Now where does our mind arise? From the soles of the feet upwards, from the top of the head downwards, it is this body. Your mind arises only within that space, from your soles upwards and from the top of your head downwards. Beyond that, your mind does not arise anywhere else. Understood? It does not arise in this Bo tree, in this Bo leaf, or on this ground. Where does it arise? When you place your foot on the ground, it arises there. If you touch this, it arises here. That is where it is felt. So the mind arises only within this.

After that, if we take the eye-consciousness (chakku-vinnana) that sees forms, the mind that arises in the eye, it does not create mental problems. What? It cannot create mental problems. All it can do is grasp the color. It will never create mental problems for you. The mind in the ear that hears sound also does not create mental... it hears and then it ceases. It does its job and it ceases. That's all. When a drum is beaten, when a drum is struck, a sound comes, and what happens to that sound? It disappears. That is all that happens from it. Similarly, we cannot deal with those things; no one can. That means it neither creates mental lightness for us nor does it create mental unrest. Its duty is just that much. The mind that tastes is also the same. So let's put those few minds aside. That is, although they perform a duty, they do not cause us suffering. What it did in childhood was to experience taste; today too, that mind experiences taste. What it did in childhood was to hear sound; today too, it hears sound. What it did in childhood was to smell scents; it does the same today. In childhood, when we put our hand in water, we felt the cold and warmth. Today it does the same.

Then who creates these mental problems for us? Which mind? Just by looking at a form, you don't get a mental problem, do you? It can happen. That eye-consciousness (chakku-vinnana) arises and ceases with great speed. Alright? Mental problems are not created by it. For mental problems to arise, when we are contemplating from all directions... When what? When contemplating. When contemplating, many thoughts arise. I was actually thinking of bringing a small whiteboard here. So, it is from those mind-moments that... you have never been stressed in your eye, have you? Where does the stress occur? The head, here in the chest, places like that. So, although there are many such minds, and we learn about them for our knowledge, what is more important to us is the world of contemplation. What world? The world of contemplation is what is important to us. Why? Because that is what makes us happy or sad, that is what creates a heaven or a hell. Right now, if someone is contemplating, and if it brings them sorrow and dissatisfaction, then their world is a hell. What is it? A hell. So, through those contemplating thoughts, where has it taken them? It has taken them to hell. Now if someone is happy, peaceful, and calm, it is a heavenly world. Now, where has their mind taken them?

So, the next point is that this mind is a very momentary thing. It is the thing in this world that arises and ceases with the greatest speed. What is it? It arises with the greatest speed. It disappears with the greatest speed. That is why no one can grasp it. Its numbers cannot be counted in seconds; in one second, a tremendous number of thoughts can arise. Have you ever felt that way? Have you felt your mind arising and ceasing a hundred million times per second? A hundred thousand times, a thousand times, even twice? Why don't you feel it? The speed is too high. What is high? The speed. Now, because of the speed, if we take an example, there's the fire-wheel. Let's take this very light bulb. You have learned in science, you know there is something called frequency. Fifty hertz per second. There are things like that. That means this bulb turns off and on 50 times per second. But do we see it like that? Why is that? The speed is too high. What is high? The speed is too high. Therefore, what do we see? We don't see any story of it turning on and off. As soon as we switch it on, it's on; as soon as we switch it off, it's off. That's all. Sometimes, the frequency gets disrupted. At such times, we can see it, a quality like it's turning on and off, which means it has slowed down. That's what happens when some bulbs dim. Then we think it is turning on and off. But now we don't see it. Do we? This means when the speed of something is high, its true nature is not seen. What happens? Its reality is not seen.

This Earth is also on a journey. The Earth revolves around the sun. In addition, it rotates on its own axis. We don't see that either, do we? We don't feel it either. We don't see it either. Why? Its speed is also high. Isn't it? But we can see the moon moving. When it gets dark, the new moon comes, the full moon comes, but we still don't see it moving. From that, we just assume, alright, now what is happening? It is moving around the Earth like this. The full moon comes, the new moon comes. The half-moon comes, things like that happen, don't they? From that, we can understand, we understand with our knowledge. We don't see the moon just moving. But the moon is also on a fast journey. The sun and this Earth are too. Because of the high speed of these things, the reality of any of them is not seen. What happens? If by any chance we were to know that the Earth is moving, if we went to the moon, we might have been able to see it a little. Why? We would see it from afar, wouldn't we? Looking at it from the moon. That means if we were outside of it, we could watch it a bit. Likewise, this mind is extremely fast. But even though it is fast, there is a way to slow it down and observe it. When mindfulness (sati) is developed, the mind can be known. What happens to the mind can be known roughly. Alright? So, ordinary people don't develop mindfulness. And they have no understanding of mindfulness. Therefore, for the most part, this thing called the mind is always obscure. Now, because we are talking about this Dhamma today, you are listening to this, but otherwise, there is no point for you in thinking about your mind. Why? You won't earn any money from it. You don't earn money by learning about your mind. If they did, people would learn it. Understood? Now, if there was some postgraduate or graduate degree or something given for learning about the mind somewhere, people would learn it. That's why at the Buddhist and Pali University, monks study the things the Buddha said, because they get a teaching certificate. Otherwise, they wouldn't study. You see?

However, we think about the object that comes to the mind. The one called the mind cannot arise without an object. This is the next word you must learn. None of the Pali words mentioned earlier matter. For the one called the mind to arise, it needs something; it cannot arise on its own. What did I say? For your mind to arise, you either need a form or a sound. Now, you heard this sound. So what? If the mind did not arise in your mind, you would not hear this. That means the mind arises only by grasping onto something else. That is called an object (aramuna). What is it? So people chase after the object. People follow the object that came to the mind with their own mind. But the one called the mind is not apparent. It's just like this. You throw a meat bone to a dog. The bone has no meat on it. Does the dog look at it? Does it check where it came from, or does it grapple with the bone? What happens? What does a dog normally do? It grapples with the bone. That means it doesn't care about the one who threw it. Its greed is too great. Its craving is too great. Its avarice is too great. So it licks the bone. As it keeps licking and licking, what happens? Its stomach doesn't get full. It only gives hardship to its gums. Just like that, we too are accustomed to being like that dog. Our greed and avarice are great. That is why we chase after the object. We have no education or exploration about the mind that grasps it. We never focus on the mind; we focus on the sound. We go in search of the form and color, but we don't care about the mind behind it that knows the color. We are always searching for the taste of this food and that food in this shop and that shop, but just by putting something on the tongue, you don't feel the taste, do you? To feel the taste, what needs to happen? There is a mind. We have no learning about the mind that knows that taste. Throughout their lives, what people always do is let their own minds be tempted by the objects that come to the mind. They are led astray. But they have no understanding whatsoever of the mind.

Go home and call and ask your mother what she has eaten today. She will tell you about the food she had. Ask her what she knows about the mind that knew it. She will say, "Are you crazy?" That's what she will say. Ask about the sounds she heard; she will talk about them. But ask about the mind that knew that sound and see who can tell you. Can they? That means people have a massive lack of understanding about what? About their own mind. About the mind (hitha). What people think about are the things they see, hear, and taste. People contemplate. What do they contemplate? About their children, about the future, about illnesses. They contemplate this and that. Contemplating is the object. With the help of what do they contemplate? Just because there is an object, one cannot contemplate. A mind must arise. What must arise? The object must be given to the mind. When the mind is given the object, then it contemplates that object. "He did this to me, I did this to him, I did that with him," it thinks. But it does not understand the mind that thinks. It doesn't even think of understanding its own mind. Leave aside understanding it. It doesn't even think to understand it.

During the time the Buddha was alive, there was a group of young men about your age. The Buddha was also young. He had just become the Buddha around the age of 35. There was a group of young men from royal families, and they wanted to go on a pleasure trip. You may have heard this story. As they were going, there was one boy who didn't have a wife. So, he hired one for money, just like today. He paid money and brought one. He didn't have one, you see, while all the others did. Just like if you go on a trip now, some might find someone. He got one for the money he had. So they took her and went. On the way, they used intoxicating substances and found a nice pond to bathe in. The whole group was bathing. As they were bathing, that woman had no love for the man who brought her for money. She looked and saw that in those days, clothes were very expensive, the Kasi silks worn by kings and wealthy men, which were very comfortable on the body. She thought, "If I take these clothes and jewelry, I won't have to be for hire like this again for the rest of my life. With anyone." There were no taxis to run. Thinking "the job is done," she, who had eaten well, had not used many intoxicants. The others went, got very drunk, and were bathing. He was bathing too. What does that woman do with all the things? She runs away.

Now, about 50 of them had gone on the trip. When they came out of the water, what happened? They were naked. Their clothes were gone. She had taken them. Even today in Japan, there are places where you can't wear clothes to bathe. You can bathe without clothes, leaving them aside. But if someone takes your clothes while you're gone, you have no clothes. They have such places in Japan, Canada, and Australia. Only at certain places can you bathe like that. Alright? Now, it's a big scene. No clothes. Then what happens? They look like disciples of Nigantha Nataputta. Then what happens is, the Buddha was also in that area at that time. As he was near that pond, a few of them, covering themselves with leaves, were searching for that woman. They are searching. They were drunk. You have heard this story, haven't you? What have you heard? The Bhaddavaggiya princes. They were children of wealthy families. As they were going, they saw the Lord Buddha. They didn't recognize if he was the Buddha or someone else. They asked the Buddha, "Did you see a woman of this appearance who took our clothes and ran away?" What does the Lord Buddha say? What does he say? You tell me. You said you have heard it. "It is of no use asking me about someone else. If you are to ask, what you should ask a person like me is what? Who you are. Do you know yourself? You are asking about this person and that person; do you know about yourself?" he asks.

At that moment, wisdom arose in him. "It's true, I don't even know the woman I brought for rent." He called the others there too. They must have been hanging some leaves or something. So the Buddha asked all of them, "Do you know? You are searching for information about that woman. Do you know your own information? Do you know?" He is asking if you know about your own mind, just like I'm asking you. Do you know? You don't know. "So, when you meet a person like me, you shouldn't be asking for information about some runaway person. What should you ask? Who you are." Who are you? If I ask you, who are you? This was the first meditation topic given right after enlightenment. Who are you? Now, who are you? Those are things given to you by the external environment. If you remove all that, who are you now? Think about it for a moment, without just saying you don't know. Who are you? The names your parents hung on you, the names in those books... your mother didn't bring a new name from Mars. Did she? If you remove all of that, who are you now? Who? Don't try to give me an answer. Go into your own head and see who you are. Can you find it? Who? This was the same problem they had. Now, if they had realized the answer to that profound question, they would have seen, "There is a big problem in the journey we have come on. We have come in ignorance." That group of men understood that. After understanding, the Lord Buddha sat there and taught them about their minds. He taught them for a period just like this. They understood it, and then they decided to become monks. They all belong to one of the first groups of the Buddha's disciples. You see? They didn't go home after that. They realized, "What a foolish journey we have been on all this time. Without knowing who we are, we have taken on what others have given us, and we go around searching for details about others, with no peace at all." Even when you put that information in your head, is there any peace? There isn't. Life gets more and more complicated. The head gets heavier and heavier. Responsibilities increase. Depression increases. Those people had wisdom. After that, they asked the Lord Buddha to teach them.

Now, what I am trying to do for you over these few weeks, in the time we have, is to make you understand who you are. To help you find out for yourself who you are. Truly, these words I am speaking are only a help. You will not understand who you are from words. You cannot understand who you are through words. Since I have no other language, I am teaching like this. There is no language for it. What we are talking about are the objects that come to the mind. A language to teach about the mind has not even been developed. This language is something created by people. People have not created a language to teach about the mind; there is very little data. So, the mind has to be explored through the object. Through what must it be explored? It is through what is felt by our mind that we have to identify who this creature is.

So, one characteristic of this mind, which you already know, is that it does not arise without an object. It needs some object or another. The one called the mind, no matter how powerful it is, it's nothing without an object. You cannot tell me about your mind. But you can tell me about what came to your mind. You can't speak of the mind, but you can speak of what came to the mind. Now, if I ask you, what does it mean to be alive in this world? This is the only thing the mind can do. It can only take an object. What does it do? It takes objects rapidly. The mind moves fast, fast, fast, and for every moment, it needs an object. It needs some object. Even when sleeping, the mind has an object. I will teach you about that later. What kind of object it is in when sleeping. It arises with great speed. From the time you came here, more thoughts have arisen than there are grains of sand on this ground. Right now, your object is my words. Otherwise, you are sitting there. Something. So, when you take my words, if I say "mother," you hear that I said "mother." For the sound "a" to be produced, if we take the sound waves, there is a significant combination with the air coming from the mouth. In that process, your consciousness needs thousands of moments to recognize that object. To recognize the "a" sound. Thousands of ear-consciousnesses (sota-vinnana) must arise to recognize "a." But you don't feel such a thing. You think you grasped it whole, in one go. That is to show you the speed. Understood?

So, it needs an object like this. The only thing the mind can do is take objects. It can't do anything else. Whether you are stressed, depressed, happy, or laughing, that comes from another nature in the mind. The one called the mind... next, I will teach you that the mind needs an object. All it does is know it. Experiencing it, perceiving it, forming intentions, laughing at it, getting stressed over it—that is done by other phenomena in the mind, called mental factors (cetasika dhamma). What are they called? Cetasika. That means there are other states that arise with the mind. The mind takes the object. The nature that experiences that object is called feeling (vedana). I will not teach that today. On another day, I will analyze feeling and explain it. The nature that recognizes it is called perception (sanna). What is it? Perception (sanna). The nature that acts upon that object, the volition to act, is called intention (cetana). Alright? The nature of making the object one-pointed is called concentration (ekaggata). It will take one day to teach each of those. Today, we are teaching the basics about the mind. So, putting those aside, the one called the mind takes an object. What does the one called the mind take? An object. Alright? So, all it does is take that object. Your coming into a mother's womb is the arising of an object in the mind. Your being born from the mother's womb is also the arising of an object in the mind. Your dying is also the arising of an object in the mind. Your hearing a sound is also the coming of an object to the mind. We have a name for the object that comes to the mind when hearing a sound; we call it a sound-object (saddharammana). What do we call it? A sound-object. It comes from sound. When seeing a form, what is it called? A form-object (ruparammana). When knowing a smell, the object of knowing that smell... When knowing a taste, it's called the object of knowing a taste. When knowing a touch, it's called a tangible-object (potthabba), and so on.

So, the mind only takes an object. If you live for, say, 50 years, what has the mind done for all those 50 years? What? It has only taken an object. The mind can do absolutely nothing else. What did I say? That means whether you came here, went home, or are now trying to go to Mars, wherever you go, the mind can only take an object; it can't do anything else. The objects that we take are what appear to us as this vast, expansive life. Now you say you ask about your mother. When I mention "mother," your mother is created in your mind. Now what did the mind do? It took an object through sound. A sound was heard, and through that sound, your mother was created. That mother was created as an object that came to the mind. Throughout your whole life, knowing your mother means only that an object comes to the mind. The mind cannot see the mother. What did I say? The mind cannot see the mother. Many minds are needed to create the mother. The eye gives a color-form of the mother. Then, through that color-form, what happens? It creates the mother. But now there is no color-form, is there? None of your mothers are here now. Now I am giving a sound. I am giving a sound about your mother. Through that sound-form, what does it do to the mother? Many objects come, and... like the fire-wheel I mentioned. There's a ball of fire. I spin it like this. When it's spun, what happens? What do you see? Do you see a ball or a circle? You see a circle. So, when I gave a sound, taking that sound, thousands of other thoughts arise in you like this. Then, the person called "mother" is created for you. The person called "mother" is what? Created.

So, to create the person called "mother" inside the mind, either color helps us, or sound helps us. Or, when she touches us, a memory of our mother can suddenly come when someone else touches us. So those things help. Smells help. But a single thought can never see the mother. Many thoughts can create the mother. What did I say? With the help of many thoughts, the mother can be created. It's like creating a picture using many pencil lines. A single pencil line cannot create a picture. You can create a picture by placing many dots like this. In the same way, this is done with extreme speed. Just imagine how much speed there is. By the time I say it here, the image of your mother has already been created. Those thoughts, like the fire-wheel, are always at only one point at any given moment. But because of the high speed, we see a circle. There is no actual circle. What is a circle, really? It's an optical illusion. What is it called? Seeing a falsehood that isn't really there. In the same way, there is no one called your mother in your mind. The mother is created. But because you have no understanding of the mind, you believe that creation is the mother.

So, this "lover" is also something like that. The two of them were chattering away. You are in your world, and this person is in their world. We, out of our foolishness, think, "This person is with me." That is our foolishness. If not for that foolishness, what would happen? There would be no fun in it. The fun comes from foolishness. Now, when we spin a fire-wheel here, to understand the real story from over there, it takes many more thoughts. That understanding also comes from the mind. Otherwise, if you just stay without thinking anything, you see a circle of fire. And we believe it. So, there is fun in foolishness. Do you understand what I'm saying? Actually, with the help of a few more thoughts, one can look and see what the real story is here. That looking is also done with the mind. The most beautiful thing about this is that one has to learn about the mind using the mind itself.

Because of that, in this world... let's say you take a knife. What does a knife do? It cuts. Right? Can the knife cut itself? With a knife, you can cut a neck, you can perform surgery, you can cut vegetables. You can do anything. Any cutting task is its function. But can it cut itself? It cannot. So that is why understanding this mind is not an easy thing. What the mind does, what is done by the mind, is only to take objects. But to take the mind itself as an object and learn about the mind is like trying to cut a knife with that same knife. What did I say? Do you now understand why people cannot learn this? If you gave a knife the task, "Cut yourself." It cuts carrots, it cuts salt, it cuts necks, it cuts limbs. Now you tell it, "Cut yourself," and what happens? It's not an easy thing to do.

Therefore, the mind can be used to take various things as objects and learn about them. The mind can be used to learn about the moon. The mind can be used to learn about the sun. The mind can be used to learn about other planets. The mind can be used to learn about this person and that person. Learning just means taking an object. When we get to perception (sanna) and so on later, you will understand how it does all that. It will take about 20 weeks to teach that. So for now, you need to get a rough understanding of this mind. The mind's duty is to do that. Now, what am I trying to do? Like cutting a knife with the knife itself, I am trying to make you learn about your own mind using your own mind. That is not an easy thing. Many subjects can be taught by giving the mind an object. Then, all the mind has to do is follow the object being taught and learn more and more and more about it. In that case, the mind is always taking an external object. An external object. Now, I can teach about that jackfruit tree. If I say, "Look at the thorns on the jackfruit," with another thought, you can take that as an object and look at the thorns. You can create the thorns. You can take the color patterns from your eye and create the thorns. When I say look at the leaf, you can take the color patterns of the leaf and create the leaf in your mind. Alright? If I ask you to count the number of ridges on it, you can do that too. You can even count the squirrels on it. But now, if I ask you to investigate the mind that is doing all this work, what happens? Then it gets confusing. The knife analogy is the one. If you give the knife a carrot and tell it to cut, it will cut it smoothly. If you give it salt and tell it to cut, it will cut. If you tell it to cut that person's hand, it will cut. But when you say, "Now cut yourself," what happens? You understand.

Therefore, among the things to be learned in this world, the most difficult teaching is the teaching about the mind. Why is that? It is easy to teach about the object that comes to the mind. That is external to the mind. To make that very mind the object... a thought arises now. You learn about it by making it the object of the next thought. The thought that arises at this moment arises with an object. So, you have to teach by taking the object of the preceding thought. When you are asked to be taught about the mind, what you have to objectify are your past thoughts.

The next nature of the mind is that there is nothing in the world, in the universe, that the mind cannot take as an object. What did I say? The mind can take anything as an object. What can it objectify? Since you all have good eyesight, if I ask you to look at something, you can look at anything. At this moment, within the limits of our hearing, if we are asked to listen, we can listen to any sound that is audible. Right? That means they can be taken. If I told you to objectify your time in school... not just to objectify, but in normal terms, to remember your school. Can you do it or not? You can. That means the mind can also objectify past events. Not just things in the present. Then, if I told you... we don't know what the future will be like after this. If you tell the mind to, can it or can it not? It can. So, within the normal time frame of past, future, and present, it can objectify anything. To objectify means to create. What does it do? It can create what is not actually real. Now, if I told you to objectify how jackfruit will grow on this jackfruit tree this coming year, you all can do it. Then if I could take a picture of it and ask you to describe the image created in each person's mind, what would it be? Is it the same or different? It is different. It is relative to each person. That is, if I ask you to think about the fruits that will grow on this jackfruit tree in the future, you will think. You might not think of the same thing. Some of you might have never even seen fruit on this jackfruit tree while staying here. You will think based on a jackfruit tree you have seen before. But you can think. Because we have heard about it before, we call it creating the future. What do we call it? Creating the future. If I ask about something from your past life, it can think about that too. It can create that too. It can create it by making thoughts arise with great speed. We call that what? Reflecting on the past. If I talk about this sound at this silent moment, this present... it means that the mind has no limit to the objects it can take. It can take an infinite number of objects.

That is what we use for help: we know the past thoughts that have arisen in us and what objects came with them. That is, we don't have an understanding of the mind. But we have an understanding of the object that came to the mind. Using that for help, I will now teach about the mind. Otherwise, if it were about your body, a doctor could teach it. After passing A-levels, they bring a cadaver and teach, "This is the kidney, this is how it is." But this cannot be taught like that. Can your mind be taken out and taught like that? No. However, a certain teaching about the mind can be given through the objects that have come to the mind. For that, the person must be wise. Must be skilled. To understand through that how one's own mind works. When you understand how the mind works, what is the advantage? The one and only advantage is that mental problems do not arise. What problems do not arise? No mental problems whatsoever. Every human being has mental problems because they do not know how the mind works. Because they have no understanding. Whose mind? Now if someone develops a mental problem, is it created by their fellow man? Their mother? Or their mind? If you get stressed, it comes from your mind. If you get stressed, it comes from your mind. It's not from your mother's mind. Do you understand?

So, every human being falls into suffering because they have no understanding of their own mind. So, when this mind is understood, when the mind is explored, when the patterns of the mind are recognized, the biggest advantage is that mental unrest disappears. Today I have taught you a couple of patterns. That is, the one called the mind can only take an object. What did I say? Only an object. What did I say? Now you can see this within yourself. You can either add what I said to your knowledge, or you can see it in your own mind. How do you see it? What? The things that are thought of, that is what is called the object. That's all. Now you are thinking about your mother. Are you really thinking about your mother, or about an object that is coming to your mind? Now, if you are, let's say, friends with someone, we say, "have fun thinking," or "daydream." That's what people do. When love for someone arises, what happens next? We go into a world of thoughts when we are alone. At that moment, are we really thinking about the person we love? Or about the objects that come to our mind? What are we thinking about? Just think about it. Are you getting that pleasure by thinking about that person? Or about the things that come to our mind? Do you remember your first love? You've had a first love. Ah, then you don't have that pleasure anymore. Have you had one? That means you've had a love in your mind. No? Have you had one? Was it here or at home? Here? So, in the beginning, when the object came, what did you feel? Now, if it's old, that daydreaming feeling fades away. Do you understand what daydreaming is? What did you daydream about? That's what is in songs. When they sing songs, they are singing about some sorrow someone had. They sing about some daydream someone had. What did it feel like? Tell me. I'm not asking about the person. The way you felt it. Now I'll tell you. When it first happened to me, I don't remember a single thing that was taught in class. I am someone who usually has a good memory. For a week or two, that's all that was on my mind. You must have had something like that. Only that love is remembered. At that time, we didn't know about this mind. If we knew, we could have analyzed it as just an object. That pleasure that comes from the body... then the person next to me... I wasn't even writing notes then. Just thinking. After that, it takes two or three weeks to come back to the real world. What happens? It takes two or three weeks to come back to the real world. That's why some boys who left here, they hadn't come back to the real world even then. If they go home and come back to the real world, they might feel like they can't stay here. Alright? They don't understand anything called education then. In their mind, they are creating flower gardens, they might have gone and talked... now because there are phones. Back then, it was writing letters. Alright? So, it's like that. It was like being intoxicated.

Now I know, I wasn't thinking about the actual person. What was I thinking? I was in a picture I created in my own mind, like in a dream. Alright? Then, some people get into relationships after that. You go into that pleasurable state when you first feel that you like someone. Alright? There are those who go into it even before that. Then suddenly that world shatters. They might have loved 50% and the other person not at all. Then it's a mess. The pleasure increases when it's 100% mutual. After that, you start meeting. In the initial period of meeting, the pleasure increases again. Why? Because in the beginning, whatever you say, it's "okay." If you like pink, I like pink too. If you like rice and curry, I like rice and curry too. That part is okay. As time goes on, it becomes, "Even if you like hibiscus flowers, I can't like hibiscus flowers." Then that pleasure in the mind is over. After that, because the dreams we have, the mind has a deficiency. If the mind thinks now, it can create. The mind does not create the person outside completely as they are. When we create the person we love, how do we create them? We don't create them sweating. If it's a girl, we don't create her other bad qualities. We are the ones who create; it is not them who are becoming this. We have not yet lived with the reality. The information in our head is incomplete. We create a world in our thoughts. But what happens when the information changes? Then we say, "The way I thought about you is not like this." People get disappointed like that. "I didn't think you were like that." Yes. Then things are messed up, and now it's impossible to think in that way again. Back then, we didn't think about their bad traits, things like them defecating or using the toilet; none of that. There is no such creation. Alright? So the real world is not like that, is it? In the real world, all of that happens. Now when you go to objectify those things, what happens to the mind? It feels like moving on to a second one. Why? Because that old pleasure is not there anymore. People go to try new things. Because they can get that old pleasure when things are new. When people live together, that pleasure gets shattered. What happens? That is why they say true lovers never meet even for a day. What happens? If a true lover is to come, it ends the moment they are seen. If they meet, there is no true love. That is why it is said so.

Today we see someone, and we fall in love. They also fall in love. And they never meet again until they die. Then we are always in that world of illusion created by the mind. If you meet, well, you can live together for a week. Then what we imagine and the person outside... what happens? A goddess in the mind turns out to be a demoness. Or the god you thought of turns out to be a demon. Then people find it difficult to balance this mind-world and the outside world. That is why divorces and such things happen so much. Even when people live together, family lives continue because of the children. Not because of the love letters they wrote. Many of them continue out of necessity. So people understand that and get intoxicated and move on. The real story is that. So, that is not the fault of the people either. Because when the mind tries to create the real story, there is no pleasure in it for the mind. I will tell you later about the one who gives that pleasure. It is the feeling (vedana) that arises with the mind that brings that pleasure. I will teach that later. For now, the mind only takes the object. That is its duty.

So, you all need to understand this. It's okay to have such dreams. Before, you didn't have an understanding of the mind, so you didn't understand. Now you can understand that what the mind creates is not pure reality. The mind can never create the absolute truth. What does the mind always create? A world it builds from the objects it has. Will that world ever be equal to the external world?

The conflict between people's mental world and the external world is what is called mental illness. What is mental illness? When there is a clash between people's mental world and the external world... Now, the person you love is always telling you to show them your "live location." So what happens? That means you have to show them even when you go to the toilet. Right? You have to show them even when you are in class. In the first few days of the relationship, you didn't think like that. So what comes now? Does it become a nuisance or not? It's a torment. So what comes then? If you can't do it, they cut their necks, cut their hands and feet, and send pictures of the blood. There are girls who do that too. So what happens then? Is it fun or a torment now? Then both of them get into mental problems. Both become mentally ill. Now it's not love anymore; now what they have is a mental illness that needs treatment. Why? If you don't show them, the illness gets worse. Just think about what I'm saying. So how did that mental illness develop? How did the mental patient develop? They had a certain idea of what it means to be in love. Now the person outside is not that kind of person. So they won't let go of their mental world. And they won't accept the other. They want a person like this, but the person outside is like that. Now, in the conflict between these two, what arises in the mind? A great deal of unpleasant objects arise. Rejection. That is also an object, that is also a mind. And that unpleasantness is also given by another mind. That is its importance. That opposition is shown by two mind-pits. Another generation of thoughts arises. And that generation of thoughts has more fire. It burns, it burns the chest. It burns the head. The blood element in the body speeds up. Understood? This is all the mind. It's very strange. With the minds that arise, what happens is, it feels like being in the Avici great hell. There is no separate thing called hell. Hell means that the mind can create the Avici great hell. What can it do? Create. What can it do? Most of the people in this world are in hell. Your parents are always in hell. Why? Because they can't understand this conflict of opposition. If they just let go of this mental world, it would be over. If they let it go, there is nothing to create this pressure.

We have a certain idea about someone. And they give the opposite. Then if we understood that the problem is because we can't accept the other due to our own idea, the problem would be over. But the mind is not ready for that. It is not ready to let go of the world it has created. As long as it doesn't let go, what comes? Then they say, "Get medicine." They go to see a doctor, a psychiatrist. When they go, the doctor sees, "Yes, this person is red, thin, contemplating, their face looks twisted." Then they give medicine. They don't give medicine to the mind. They give medicine for the chemicals that the mind releases. The mind can create chemicals. That is, it can create forms. I will teach more about that in the future. What they give is to balance those chemicals. If bad chemicals are being released from here, they give an opposing one and balance it. Even after balancing it, the mind has not stopped. The problem is still the same. Now, when the people who have been listening to my sermons listen, I teach them the fundamental nature of the mind. I teach the change of the mind. Then, as they understand the mind, they let go of that world. They understand the mental world. When they understand, they don't need medicine. That depressing thought does not arise. Understood? It is a very beautiful science.

So, because of that, what do you have now? I am teaching this. This is just the first day. Come on the coming days; I can teach for about an hour. So today, this is all you need to understand. What is it? From the day of birth until death, what has happened in life is only the arising of thoughts. From the day of birth until death, what has happened in life is only the arising of thoughts. The one called the mind takes an object. What is it? Now this knowledge, let me give you this theory. To understand this practically, when you are in a state of contemplation, look at your mind with another thought. When you look, you will understand, "Ah, this is what is called the object for this arising." Until you die, your thoughts will arise only from your soles upwards and from the top of your head downwards. You can go to America, you can go to Japan, but the mind cannot go anywhere. What the mind does is take an object. Now when I ask you to think about the moon, it takes the moon as an object. Your mind has not gone to the moon. It has taken the moon as an object and created the moon in the mind. That's all. The moon has been created by many minds in the mind. That's all that has happened. A single thought cannot create the moon. The moon has been created using tens of thousands of thoughts. When a drum is struck once, the sound lasts for a while, doesn't it? Likewise, when something is created in the mind, and then you think about it, the sound is over. Just like that, the creation in the mind also ends at that very moment. Just as the sound comes again when the drum is struck again, when you objectify it again, it is created again.

Now, when I asked you to create your mother, your mother was created. When I asked you to create your father, what was created about your mother was destroyed, and then your father was created. If I ask you to create both your mother and father, that is also possible. Have you seen how some people make art with sand? It's like that. They can make one person, two people, a heart, anything. If I ask you to create the whole class, the whole class can be created. It's an amazing creation. That means the thoughts, in that way, create that picture rapidly. Where is that picture created? In your mind. I can tell you where later on. The things created in the mind are like pictures drawn in the sky. In the sky... now I am drawing a Bo tree here. I'm drawing it. Is it there now? Is it? Now I'm drawing a broom here. Is it there now? No. Now I'm drawing a Buddha statue here. Is it there now? The things created in the mind are like that. Once created, it's over. There is no trace of what was drawn in the sky. Are there traces of what you were thinking about before? No. So, the things created from the objects of the mind are like pictures drawn in the sky. But even though it's like that, how is mental pressure felt? Is it felt like a picture drawn in the sky? How is it felt? Like a picture carved in stone. Like what? Carved in stone. But the mind can't do that. The way it happens in the mind is very beautiful. I can explain it in a flow, but if I were to teach it to you, you wouldn't be able to bear that much. So, I will teach you the speed of the mind and the lifespan of the mind later.

So the next thing about the mind is that the mind is what changes the fastest. What happens? You all are in love. You tell them, "I won't change. You don't change either." Do you accept it or not? Do you accept it or not? Accept it, you fools. That's how foolish we are. Even after listening to this much Dhamma... Don't you accept it when they say that? You accept. That is what is called foolishness. Alright? One's own mind changes this fast. And for another woman or man to say that... their words spoken from the mouth are based on the objects of their mind. How foolish are we to think they won't change. It's changing even as they are saying it. You can see it. You can feel it. But still what happens? We are like the king of fools, thinking, "That won't happen to us, that won't happen to me." It's only after it happens that we can't bear it. Normally, if you know the Dhamma, never ask, "You won't change, will you?" Don't say such babyish things. Let's be as long as we can be. Let's create as long as we can. On the day you can no longer create them, someone else will be created anyway. What did I say? As long as you are created from their objects, there will be love. If one day that happens for someone else, for another object, then things are over. It's no use. Those who have gone in the mind cannot be stopped by holding their hands.

[The following is a lyrical excerpt from a song:]

"Though the moon falls on my path, a star won't come again. Those who go in the mind cannot be stopped by holding their hands. Laughing like a pattern of stars, the most beautiful star, a sacred object, fell to the earth. Can a single moon bear it? Those who go in the mind cannot be stopped by holding their hands. In the story of a falling star, the memory of a past love is in the deepest place. A tsunami of love... Those who go in the mind cannot be stopped by holding their hands."

That's what is said, isn't it? They were holding on with the mind before. That means certain pictures are created in the mind. They hold onto that. Now, there is no match between the external environment and what was created. After a long time, there is no match with what was created. Then someone writes something like that. And when they write it, others feel it. Why? Because the same thing has happened to them. But even if you enjoy that, how does the person who actually went through it feel? This is after a mental problem. Later on, when they accept it, they can go on like that, by putting their sorrow into a poem or a song.

So what happens? If you ask a wise person what the most evil thing in this world is, what will they say? No person, no animal, no one does as much evil to a person as their own mind. Even a knife in another's hand doesn't do such a thing to us. The pain the mind gives us, the mental torment it has caused... can we even quantify it? There are no words to say how many hells it has put us in. And it's no one else; it's our own mind that put us there. Likewise, our mind is both the most beautiful and the ugliest thing in this world. The mind can send us to heaven, send us to hell, send us to the Brahma worlds, and also send us to Nibbana. A wise person uses that most evil, most wicked mind to find freedom from the mind. That is called liberation of the mind (ceto-vimutti). What is it called? It's called liberation of the mind (ceto-vimutti).

So, for someone who has not understood the mind, as they get older, what happens is they go completely to hell. Always mental torment, torment, torment. It's the same whether you eat, drink, or bathe. Because it's not easy with the ego that is built up. So, you must have done some merit in your past lives to be able to listen to this. The people who are born are not allowed to understand the mind until they die. Nature does not allow it. Because if they were to be caught in its curse, they can't be caught if they learn about the mind. Even in this Sri Lanka, if you take your friends, they have the least knowledge about their own minds. If knowledge about the mind increases, if understanding of the mind increases, if comprehension of the mind increases, the suffering of the mind decreases. That is the equation.

For someone to teach about the mind, a Buddha must appear in the world. Who must appear? A Buddha. A Buddha is one who teaches about the mind. The way to realize that mind, the way to directly experience that mind, the way to be liberated from this mind... one must be liberated from this mind. If you are not liberated, ah, then they say you will go to the Avici great hell for this long, you will fall for this long, this and that will happen, this samsara is this dangerous. They say to see how much suffering there is when your mother dies. They talk about how much suffering there is. So what do the Buddhas do? They make us realize the mind that is so evil, that sends us to hell, that destroys us, and they liberate us from the mind and lead us to liberation. To what do they lead us? The only solace for a wise person is not liberation from anyone else. It is liberation from one's own mind. Liberation from what? So this Buddhism is a war with the mind. A war with what? A war with the mind. The Lord Buddha has said that winning a thousand battles is not an easy thing. But a person can use their mind, plan, and win a thousand battles, conquer countries. But still, it is not an easy thing for them to conquer their own mind.

So this teaching that I am teaching you is a powerful teaching in the world. What am I teaching? About your mind. If in some way, as I am teaching this, wisdom arises in you, you will become a fortunate person in this world. That means you will become a wonderfully free person. But it is not an easy thing. As you learn about it, wisdom arises. It is that wisdom that does the work. So, to learn about the mind, you need 100% focus. Otherwise, you won't understand what is being taught. What will happen? It will go in one ear and out the other. Alright? So, you need 100% focus. In the future, I will tell you, when you are going here and there, when you are eating, when you are brushing your teeth, don't think about other things. Think about that. Understand that you are brushing your teeth. Understand that you are eating. When you are walking from here to there, don't think about other things; be well aware that your foot is touching the ground. Then your mindfulness (sati) will develop. If mindfulness develops, you will be able to understand what I am saying. Otherwise, you can't understand it. It's not easy. What is needed? You need 100% focus to grasp the mind.

So, for that, you don't have to do great things like sitting and meditating. If you can do it, it's good. When you are going, coming, using the toilet, what does it mean to be mindful? It means being aware of what you are doing, not thinking about other things. Now you are eating rice. You are eating that food. That's all. Only that taste is felt. The taste is felt well. Bitter taste, salty taste, or lack of salt... you feel those things. That's all. Now you are brushing your teeth. You are brushing your teeth. You are bathing. You are drinking water. Only at that time, turn off your thinking and do that. Otherwise, as people, you are mostly doing one thing and have something else on your mind. Then the attention to what you are doing is also less. When the attention to the things you do is less, it is difficult to focus when listening to this profound Dhamma that I am teaching. Did I say I am teaching a profound Dhamma? I have just started. Just beginning to teach. I think in a year or two, you will be able to get a broad understanding of your mind. Even if you are not 100% free from your mind, you can be free at least by 1%. And freedom of 1% is a great freedom. What kind of freedom? It's a great freedom for life. Alright? Like... now it's scorching hot during the day. Not like here, but in a desert, it's blazing hot. At that time, for it to rain for a few seconds is a great rain. It's a big deal. Likewise, the pressure that this mind gives is not going to be easy in the future. At that time, you might even think, "How difficult it is if this increases." But you can be free from all of this. Even if the world collapses, you can be at peace. That is the teaching. So let's learn it slowly, little by little like this. I need a board to explain some points.

Alright then, may the Triple Gem bless you all, may you be well.

Original Source (Video):

Title: යොවුන් සිතට වඩින අපේ බුදු සමිඳු - 01 | පූජ්‍ය තිත්තගල්ලේ ආනන්දසිරි හිමි

https://youtu.be/ceVGNlYsPi8?si=hlox_VaqpqN7vzZ-

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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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