the six sense bases

The six sense bases. That is eyes, ears nose tongue body and mind. When we think of permanence of the sense bases we should know that there are two ways of doing the meditation on sense bases.
The first method is the method that we are currently doing.
We keep on thinking that
eye is permanent
ear is impermanent
nose is impermanent
tongue is impermanent
body is impermanent
mind is impermanent
And we keep on saying it over and over again and the most dangerous thing is that we think that this is the method stated in sutta and which was taught to ven Rahula by Lord Buddha himself. And to some extent this is true.
But there is a problem in doing the meditation on sense bases like that. That is we think that eye is impermanent And nose is impermanent etc but after and even during the meditation if we hear a sound (say for example of a bird) then for us that is not only a sound just heard but we quickly identify from which direction the sound came and from what bird etc. So even though we are doing the meditation on impermanence on the sense bases and the impermanence of the objects we hear a sound and that sound come from a bird and we can open our eyes and see the bird and may be even touch the bird etc in essence we see permanence. We see today the same bird we saw yesterday. We see the same things we saw yesterday or past or we see permanence.
So there is an error in doing the meditation on sense bases like that.
So what is the other method of seeing the impermanence of the six sense bases?
Let’s take the same example of you sitting for meditation and your eyes are closed and you hear a sound. When you hear the sound you get to know that it’s the sound of a parrot or a crow. And now you see the picture of a crow in your mind its colour its size etc.
Now when we look closer to these events you initially hear a sound and at the moment of hearing the sound there is nothing happening rather than hearing the sound. That is the sound meet the ear and ear consciousness arise and when those three gets into contact you hear the sound. But as soon as you hear it just contact arising and passing away.
But as soon as you hear then you identify that sound is from a parrot. Now how does that parrot come from where does thought of a parrot arise? The thought of parrot arise in the mind. It is not arising from the eye because the eyes are still closed and no objects are taken from the eyes at this moment.
So in this case as soon as ear and sound and ear consciousness arises and passes away then the mind and a thought is arising to continue the picture and gives a parrot. And then we may want to see the parrot and we open our eyes and see the parrot. And likewise the arising of another sense base will happen or occur and this is how our sense bases continue in existence. When one sense base arises and passes away another sense base is born. And this happen every moment.
So how to stop the continuation of this ongoing arising of sense bases? This is where we have to be mindful about the arising and passing away. When you hear the sound then the ear arises and passes away and sound arises and passes away ear consciousness arise and pass away. Impermanent. No parrot. Parrot is a lie created from the mind. Which keep us pushing us toward the existence.

Damma as a object for contemplation and concentration

I remember the samma ditti sutta preached by ven sariputta in majjima nikaya.

Some bikkus comes and ask ven sariputta that people talk about the right view ,what is this right view?

Ven sariputta explains that if a person knows what is unskill (akusala) and knows the cause of the unskill. And he knows the skill and knows the cause of skill such person is a person(ariya srawaka or desciple of lord budda )  with right view and his view is direct and he will have unshakeable faith in damma and he will be a person who had come ti the path of damma

Effort and effortlessness

<p>I have heard that most people who is trying to meditate is making a a very strong effort to keep the mind in one object. But it should be emphasised that before one is trying to establish proper concentration one has to know a little about how the mind work. </p>
<p>We know about what objects mind can think of. And a person's mind can think of millions of objects in one day. But if we categorize what the mind can think of it can be divided to six types of thoughts. Those are <br>
1. The things that we have seen in the past or currently seeing or that we will be seeing in future<br>
2. that we have heard or hearing or that will hear <br>
3. that we have smelt or that is smelling or that will be smelling in future<br>
4. that we have tasted or currently tasting or will be tasting <br>
5.that we have touched currently touching or will be touching in future <br>
6. the things that we have thought or that is currently thinking or will be thinking in future </p>
<p>these are the types of things that the mind can concentrate on. or in other words the things that we understood(identified) or understanding(identifying ) or that will be understanding(identifying ) in future. </p>
<p>In meditation time we close our eyes and try to concentrate. When our eyes are closed we will not be seeing anything from our eyes. But what we have seen before and what we like or dislike to see in future may come to the mind. Hence like we are watching a movie on the screen we will be seeing a continuous set of images sounds words thoughts etc.</p>
<p>And the mind will keep on hopping from one thought to another and one object to a another like a monkey that jumps from one branch to the next. </p>
<p>So as beginners of meditation we want to stop this monkey hopping from one branch to the other.</p>
<p>Lord budda had given a great simile for this. </p>
<p>There are six animals. Those are a dog,a snake a crocodile a fox a bird and a monkey. And these six tries to go to six places. <br>
Dog wants to go to village <br>
Monkey wants to go to the tree<br>
snake wants to go to the earth hole<br>
Bird wants to fly to the sky <br>
crocodile wants to go to the river<br>
and fox wants to go to the cemetery.</p>
<p>But all these six animals are tied in one rope. So the animals. tries hard to go the place that each want and pulls in six directions. And in this case the moment that one animal is stronger it pulls all other animals in the direction that it want to go.</p>
<p>This simile is given to see our own selves. We also have six untamed animals. Those are eyes ears nose tongue body and mind.

And this each organ pulls us on the direction that organ's object.  And the sense organ that is powerful at a given moment wins over the others. Say for example when we are listening to a song our ear is more powerful than others and we concentrate on hearing.

Hence when we sit for meditation our mind becomes the powerful organ and others become dormant. Now at this moment the mind want to keep on hopping from one thought to another.

What the lord budda advices to be mindful. Mindful of one object of meditation. Being mindful of the object is like tying the six animals to one pole. The pole is the mindfulness object. The rope that ties the animals to the pole is the mindfulness itself.

why one cause for five grasping groups

when we think the four noble truths and the first noble truth of suffering or in other words five grasping groups.

so there are five groups and one cause. desire.

and the cause of desire is feeling as given in dependent origination.

so five groups arising from one cause desire. desire arises from feeling. feeling arises from contact. contact arising from sense bases. sense bases arising from name and form. name and form arising from consciousness. consciousness arising from intentions. intentions arising from ignorance.

why five groups and one cause? is a difficult question to answer. but we know that there are ten causes defilements  for existence in sansara or continuation.

it should be noted that if we do not have desire then all the actions that we do whether good or bad will cease.

maha sihanada sutta majjima nikaya

this sutta is an eye opener for us all and to understand the qualities and skills of a samma sambudda

feel of pain and uncared for from wife and child

I felt a huge pain inside me when the child shows no interest in me. And the child and wife went in the car leaving me alone. All attachment lead to sorrow and non attachment will completely save you from all sorrow and suffering.

The form feeling perception intention and conciousness are all impermanent and the attachment to all these things creates suffering and cessation of attachment will completely eliminate suffering.

its very difficult to endure the feeling of departure of the persons you like. and some people go to extremes like murder or suicide because of these difficult feelings which is a great pain for the bearer of the pain.

and we should never give effect to such pain for any person in every possible way. but these things happen. thats the truth of life and attachment . in the case where we are void of attachment all these sorrow and pain will be ceased.

Translation of sila sutta sermon given by Ven Pitigala Gunarathana

(Total duration of the file 01 hour 02 minutes and 21 seconds)

The sila sutta english translation from metta.l the 10th Sutta is sila sutta
alternate location: sila sutta english translation by metta.lk
File can be downloaded from sila sutta - sinhala sermon

Namo thassa bagawatho arahatho samma sambuddassa
 
Today we have selected sila sutta as the topic , which is a discussion between Ven Sariputta and Ven Kottitha both are two arahats. 

This sutta explains many things that will be helpful for us and that will be very important for us. And from this the practice that a person who is a seeker of the path has to follow is explained.

When Ven Sariputta and Ven Kottitha were staying at the isipathanarama in baranas city, on one day when Ven Sariputta came out of niroda, Ven Kottitha comes and question him as follows.

Ven Sariputta what does a bikku who is protecting the sila should wisely contemplate on to become a stream enterer?

And Ven Sariputta replies that the bikku who protect sila should wisely contemplate on the five grasping groups as to impermanent, as suffering, as decease, as a big defiled ball of flesh in his own body, as an arrow that has got stuck, as a painful thing or a trouble, as a non ease, as belonging to others, as something that break and vanishes, as empty, as non self. And if a such bikku who wisely ; contemplate as such then he will attain fruit of stream entry.

And when Ven Sariputta replied Ven Kottitha praised and again questioned as follows.
Ven Sariputta what should a stream enteror should wisely contemplate on if he is to achieve the fruit of once returner?

Then Ven Sariputta replies that the bikku who is a stream enterer should wisely contemplate on the five grasping groups as to impermanent, as suffering, as decease, as a&#160; big defiled ball of flesh in his own body, as an arrow that has got stuck, as a painful thing or a trouble, as a non ease, as belonging to others, as something that break and vanishes, as empty, as non self. And if a such bikku who wisely contemplate as such then he will attain fruit of once returner.

And again Ven Kottitha praise Ven Sariputta and ask again what does once returner should contemplate wisely to attain the fruit of non returner?
And again Ven Sariputta replies as same that such bikku should wisely contemplate on five grasping groups as impermanent etc.
 
And again Ven Kottitha gives praise and asks what does a non returner should wisely contemplate to achieve the fruit of a arahat? And Ven Sariputta replies that such bikku should also wisely contemplate on the five grasping groups as to its impermanence etc.
 
And again Ven Kottitha gives praise and ask what does an arahat have wisely contemplate on. Then Ven Sariputta replies that he have nothing to be done and he had done everything that should have been done. But for the sake of happiness and joy of Nibbana in the cessation such arahat also will contemplate on the five grasping groups as impermanent etc.(10.08)

what we introduced above is the general meaning that is given by the sutta. The advice the ven Sariputta gives is that about the wise contemplation that should be practiced and developped by starting from a person who is protecting sila to an arahat.

The things that we are accustomed to which four bases of mindfulness,four types of efforts, four skills, five organs,five powers, seven things to fill to achieve nibbana and the eight fold path all these 37 bodipakshika damma or 37 elements of damma practice toward achieving nibbana is given by one word by ven Sariputta as Yonisomanasikara or wise contemplation.

This sila sutta is a sutta that gives the whole path to cessation in one word.

sometimes you may doubt whether is this is the same as what is taught by lord budda also.

to eliminate this doubt we have a sutta from majjima nikaya preached by lord budda himself,that is the 2nd sutta in majjima nikaya which is sabbasawa sutta.( 12.00)

In that sabbasawa sutta lord budda preached that the ending of defilements is preached only to persons who KNOWS AND SEES WISE CONTEMPLATION AND UNWISE CONTEMPLATION.And further lord budda explain that for those who don't know and don't see the wise contemplation AND UNWISE CONTEMPLATION he does not preach ending of defilements.

And further lord budda explains that if a person is unwisely contemplating then it will result in arising of new defilements that did not exist and development of defilements that currently exist.

And if a person contemplate wisely then it will result in non arising of defilements that had not arose and reduction of defilements that had arose.

Therefore lord budda also had explained how all defilements will cease from WISE CONTEMPLATION.

Hence there is no difference between the preaching of lord budda and the preaching of ven Sariputta. Its the same preaching by both.

Ok then what is wise contemplation? And what is unwise contemplation?

Contemplating or thinking wisely or intelligently  is wise contemplation. Thinking unwisely or unintelligently  is unwise contemplation.

When you intelligently contemplate it will develop kusal or skills. it will develop worldly skills  and skills that will lead to get out of worlds as well.

If engage in unwise contemplation it will develop akusala or unskillfulness and it will prolong the existence.

Therefore to be saved from unskillfulness or akusala you have to get rid of unwise contemplation.

If you want to develop skillfulnes then you should engage in wise contemplation.

What is unwise contemplation and how does unskillfulness develop from it?

Will take a small simple example and investigate it and see. We will try to understand this damma on how a normal person see this.

A person sees a flower. And he sees it as a beautiful flower. He thinks and contemplates as "this is a beautiful flower". The person who is thinking about the beautiful flower who is contemplating on the beauty of the flower thinks that "its not enough to see the flower from this distance and thinks he have to get closer and see it."
 
So he determines and with determined thoughts he relaxes his body and move his body and walks his body and goes towards the flower.

Now going near the flower is insufficient for him. Now he wants to touch the flower. Now he is employing or using his body by strengthening his thoughts.  And touches the flower. And touching also is not enough for him. Now he wants to kiss the flower. And he gets closer and kisses the flower. Oh this flower has a very good smell. Now he got the thoughts that the flower is beautiful and has a good smell. And as soon as he get those thoughts he thinks if i also can have this kind of flower or this kind of plant so that i also can get a flower. Now he gets thoughts of abijja or stronger and badly needless or greatest desire to have it. When such stronger desire arise and thinks that he also wants it then he thinks of getting it owned. Now he thinks if i ask the owner of this flower if he is also a stingy person then that person will think that he cannot give this was found by incurring many difficulties.

What happens when stronger desire comes to a person? Then aversion will arise. Cannot give this flower. If he cannot give I will take by hook or by crook. So the aversion or thoughts of going against or working against may arise. (17.49)

And at least at this moment if the knowledge of bad actions and their effects did not come to the mind, if the worldly right view did not arise in him which shows him the bad subsequent results of thoughts of attachment and thoughts of aversion, then instead wrong view will arise in him.