Meditation is not for the novices but contemplation is

We all need to clear all our defilements and achieved cessation of all activity.
Hence there there is a sutra in majjima nikaya (sabbasawa sutra)where lord Buddha explain the ways of clearing or cleaning all defilements.
It should be noted that clearing defilements come as the last method of clearing the defilements. There is a reason for this.
Regarding sabbasawa sutra it should be noted that lord Buddha explains that there are defilements that should be cleaned by seeing(dassana pahathabba)
There are some defilements that should be cleaned by controlling the senses
And in the last method of cleaning ,lord Buddha says there are defilements that should be cleaned by meditation(bawana pahathabba).
Further it should be noted that the defilements that has to be cleaned by first method cannot be cleaned by other methods. It has to be cleaned the first method it self.
So if you are having defilements that should be cleaned by first method and you apply the last method it will be fruitless.
This you can understand by method of cleaning the dirt from a dress. If there is mud in a dress you can just wash it from water. But if the dress had got some dirt of oily substance then you cannot remove such dirt by just using water, in this case you may have to apply soap also. And there may be some other dirt in the dress that we cannot remove from both of those methods. Then you have to apply some other method to clear the dirt from the dress.

Advice to the novices

Dear friends

I have to advice you on the moment to moment mindfulness.

If we think this is a hard task or an impossible task then you would never make a good effort. Since at the start you will be disheartened. Make a commitment to practice 5 minutes then keep on increasing.

In the start you may concentrate on one word. I remember a story of a monk who was practising mindfulness on attika sanga(mindful on the skeleton)
The monk was practising mindfulness using one word "atti" which meant bones. Then one day the monk was walking towards the village and a woman came running on the same road. And when the woman laughed at the monk the monk was so mindful of the bones and monk did not notice the woman but the monk noticed the bones and skeleton.

Then a husband of that woman also came running on the same road. And when he saw the monk,he asked the monk whether the monk so a woman running.

The monks reply was 'I DID NOT SEE WHETHER ITS A MAN OR A WOMAN. BUT A SKELETON WENT RUNNING PASSED ACROSS.'

There is a great lesson behind this. The concentration of the monk was so intense on the object of  mindfulness. That he did NOT SEE the forests but he saw the tree.

There is a dammapada verse given by lord Buddha "wanan jindatha ma rukkan".
Meaning cut the forest but not the trees.

If you are mindful then you will concentrate on the object and not on the outside noise which is colouring the view of the worldling.

To stop Wrong thoughts

<p>A thought came to my mind that my child also will be same like any other human being who pursue selfish desires. And then I got to thinking that this kind of thinking process is also ayonisomanasikara. That is the child should take care of me and she should only love me. Those kind of thoughts only leads to wrong words and wrong actions. And possibly seela also Will be compromised. </p>
<p>Instead of this thinking process it is better and more fulfilling to think of budda damma and sanga or seela samadi pragna or the four efforts or about irdipaada or the four satipattaana or the five organs or the five powers or the seven bojjanga or the eight fold path
Samma ditti
Samma sankappa
Samma wacha
Samma kammantha
Samma aajeewa
Samma wayaama
Samma sati
Samma samadi

traveling towards light

<p>in the sutra pitaka angular nikaya section 4. this sutra explains about 4people. the persons are<br>
1. thamo thama parayana person. the person who is in the dark and who moves towards the dark by his way of life <br>
2. thamo jothi parayana person. the person who goes from darkness to light <br>
3. jothi thama parayana person. the person who goes from light to dark <br>
4. jothi jothi parayana person. the person who goes from light to light.</p>
<p>if we look at the 2nd and 4th persons, that should be the aim of all persons. which explains that whatever the situation we are currently are in we should aim at the light and work towards the lighter place. and this is for all persons no matter what is current place is. </p>
<p>when walking towards the light we may start by the most humble of place. but that also a good start. To start the process of walking towards the light also you need great determination and courage. </p>
<p>Whatever happens if you keep walking towards the goal of being a better person then you can reach it.
We have to remember that nothing has been achieved without great efforts and courageous thinking that it is possible. And courageous thinking that it is meant for you to be good and to be genuine unto yourself

how to protect sila

sila can be defined as right bodily and verbal conduct.
in the sutra pitaka you can see the 5 precepts or 8 precepts or ten precepts or for the sang 227 precepts. but if you look closely all these precepts refers to bodily and verbal conduct. but why does it not refer to mental conduct. and why any no precepts refers to mental thoughts. think my dear friends.
yes sila is protecting your body and words from wrong things.
but see my dear friends how sila is broken. to commit a wrong thing initially a wrong thought has to be generated. so really speaking to break a sila the main reason is wrongly kept mind. or a dirty mind or a akusala mind. if the mind is dirty the words and actions become dirty. and when the words and actions become dirty we see that the sila is broken.
so when the mind becomes dirty then words and actions follows.
so how does the mind become dirty?
mind is like a a cup of pure water. its neither good nor bad. the cup of water becomes dirty or good depending on the things we mix with the water. if we mix dirt with water,the water becomes dirty. but if we mix a cordial or fruit juice with water it becomes drinkable and good. so depending on the things we put to the water, water becomes good or bad.
likewise the mind also is neither good nor bad. but it becomes good or bad depending on the thoughts (kalpana)we think using the mind.
so if we think good thoughts the mind is good. if we think bad thoughts the mind mind becomes bad.
so how does bad thoughts come and grow in our minds?
we all like to think good thoughts but we end up thinking bad thoughts and end up breaking the precepts as well.
the main reason for engaging in wrong thoughts is our misunderstanding. what is this misunderstanding ?
we have 4 wrong understandings.
1.we take impermanent things as permanent
2. we take asuba things as suba
3. we take suffering as pleasure
4.we take that are anaatma things as aathma
so to protect sila we have to keep a guard for our mind. this is achieved but being mindful. but our mindfulness is weak. so how can we be at least adequately be mindful to protect sila ?
here we have to take at least on of the postures sitting standing walking or lying down. and we can practice for ten minutes first.

Right/skilful Contemplation process

This blog was created to put the damma thoughts that i get when i travel. hence all my friends also can see on the random damma thoughts that i can get and for others also to increase the correct thinking process.
this is named as right thinking process. and in pali its called "yonisomanasikaraya"

as per the sabbaasawa sutra in majjima nikaya, ONLY  for those who knows and sees the right contentemplation and wrong contemplation ( yonisomanasikaaraya and ayonisomanasikaaraya) lord budda says the end of defilements.

if a person is aware that in a moment that he is engaged in unskilled thinking process then he can change his thinking into a skilled thinking process. the main thing or main word here is AWARE .you have to be aware that your thinking process is an unskilled. which means that it arouses defilements that currently doesn't exist or increases the
defilements that currently exist.

in anangana sutra in majjima nikaya a person can be a great person if he knows that the defilements had arose. and such person is greater and closer to nibbana than a person who don't know that defilements had arose.
the skilled thinking starts by a small thought. may be it starts by just trying to help another human or a animal. or by giving something to another person . but it ends from knowing and contemplation on the four noble truths.

what is unskilled thinking ?
it is the thinking process that increase your defilements that exist or the thinking process that arises the defilements that does not exist.

what is skilled thinking process ?
it is the thinking process that decrease the defilements that exist in you and the thinking process that help to keep out the defilements that had not arose yet

please refer sabbasawa sutra in majjima nikaya