From “Knowing and Seeing”  -by The Venerable Pa-Auk Tawya Sayadaw (revised edition, 2003)

Page 97-114

 

Talk 3

How You Develop the Sublime Abidings and Protective Meditations

Introduction

 

Today let us look at how you develop the four sublime abidings (cattaro brahmavihara), and four protective meditations (caturarakkha bhavana). The four sublime abidings are the meditation subjects of

 

1.        Loving-kindness........................................................................................ (metta)

2.        Compassion............................................................................................ (karuna)

3.        Appreciative joy..................................................................................... (mudita)

4.          Equanimity............................................................................................ (upekkha)

 

The four protective meditations (caturarakkha bhavana) are the medi­tation subjects of

 

1.      Loving-kindness......................................................................................(metta)

2.      Recollection-of-The-Buddha.........…....................................... (Buddhanussati)

3.      Foulness meditation............................................................... (asubha bhavana)

4.      Recollection-of-death............................................................... (marananussati)

How You Develop Loving-kindness

Introduction

 

To develop the sublime abiding of Loving-kindness (metta), you need first of all be aware that it should not be developed towards a person of the opposite sex (lingavisabhaga), or a dead person (kalakatapuggala).

 

A person of the opposite sex should not be used as object, be­cause lust towards him or her will probably arise. After you have attained jhana, however, it is possible to develop Loving-kindness towards the opposite sex as a group with, for example, 'May all women be happy.' A dead person should at no time be used, be­cause you cannot attain Loving-kindness jhana with a dead person as object.

 

The people you should develop loving-kindness towards are:

 

•   Yourself.................................................................................................(atta)

•   A person you like and respect................................................... (piya puggala)

•   A person you are indifferent to......................................... (majjhatta puggala)

•   A person you hate......................................................................(veri puggala)

 

In the very beginning, though, you should develop loving-kindness towards only the first two, yourself and the person you like and respect. This means that in the very beginning, you should not develop Loving-kindness towards the following types of per­son: a person you do not like (appiya puggala), a person very dear to you (atippiyasahayaka puggala), a person you are indifferent to (majjhatta puggala), and a person you hate (veri puggala).

 

A person you do not like is one who does not do what is benefi­cial to you, or to those you care for. A person you hate is one who does what is detrimental to you, or to those you care for. They are in the beginning both difficult to develop Loving-kindness towards, because anger may arise. It is in the beginning also difficult to develop Loving-kindness towards a person to whom you are indifferent. In the case of a person who is very dear to you, you may be too attached to that person, and be filled with concern and grief, and even cry if you hear something has happened to him or her. So these four should not be used in the very beginning. Later, though, once you have attained Loving-kindness jhana, you will be able to develop Loving-kindness towards them.

 

You cannot attain jhana using yourself as object even if you were to develop that meditation for a hundred years. So why be­gin by developing Loving-kindness to yourself? It is not to attain even access concentration, but because when you have developed Loving-kindness towards yourself, with the thought, 'May I be happy', then are you able to identify yourself with others; to see that just as you want to be happy, do not want to suffer, want to live long, and do not want to die, so too do all other beings want to be happy, not want to suffer, want to live long, and not want to die.

 

Thus you are able to develop a mind that desires the happiness and prosperity of other beings. In the words of The Buddha:[1]

Sabba disa anuparigamma cetasa,

Nevajjhaga piyatara mattana kvaci.

Evam piyo puthu atta paresam,

Tasma na himse paramattakamo.

 

(Having searched in all directions with the mind, one cannot find anyone anywhere whom one loves more than oneself. In this same way do all beings in all directions love themselves more than anyone else, therefore, one who desires his own welfare should not harm others.)

 

So in order to identify yourself in this way with others and make your mind soft and kind, you should first develop loving-kindness towards yourself with the following four thoughts:

 

1.      May I be free from danger............................................... (aham avero homi)

2.      May I be free from mental pain .......................................... (abyapajjo homi)

3.      May I be free from physical pain ............................................ (anigho homi)

4.      May I be well and happy................................... (sukhi attanam pariharami)

 

If one's mind is soft, kind, understanding, and has empathy for others, one should have no difficulty developing Loving-kindness towards another. So it is important that the Loving-kindness you have developed towards yourself be strong and powerful. Once your mind has become soft, kind, understanding, and has empa­thy for other beings, then can you begin to develop Loving-kindness towards them.

How You Develop Loving-kindness Person by Person

 

If you have attained the fourth anapana-, or white kasina-jhana, you should re-establish it so the light is bright, brilliant, and radi­ant. With the light of particularly the fourth white-kasina jhana, it is really very easy to develop Loving-kindness meditation (metta bhavana).[2] The reason is that with the concentration of the fourth jhana the mind is purified of greed, anger, delusion, and other de­filements. After having emerged from particularly the fourth white-kasina jhana, the mind is pliant, workable, pure, bright, brilliant and radiant, and because of this, you will in a very short time be able to develop powerful and perfect Loving-kindness (metta).

 

So, with the strong and bright light, you should direct your mind towards a person of your own sex, whom you like and respect: maybe your teacher or a fellow yogi. You will find that the light spreads out around you in all directions, and that whomever you pick as object becomes visible. You then take an image of that person, sitting or standing, and select the one you like most, and which makes you the happiest. Try to recall the time when he or she was the happiest you ever saw, and choose that image. Make it appear about one yard in front of you. When you can see the image clearly before you, develop Loving-kindness towards him or her with the four thoughts:

 

1.       May this good person be free from danger............................ {ayah sappuriso avero hotu)

2.       May this good person be free from mental pain............... (ayam sappuriso abyapajjo hotu)

3.       May this good person be free from physical pain................ (ayam sappuriso amgho hotu)

4.      May this good person be well and happy.......... (ayam sappuriso sukhi attanam pariharatu)

 

Extend Loving-kindness towards that person with these four phrases three or four times, and then select the one you like most, for example, 'May this good person be free from danger'. Then, with a new image of that person, in this case free from danger, extend Loving-kindness using the corresponding thought, in this case, 'May this good person be free from danger - may this good person be free from danger'. Do it again and again, until the mind is calm and steadily fixed on the object, and you can discern the jhana factors. Then, keep practising until you reach the second, and third jhanas. After that take each of the other three phrases and develop Loving-kindness up to the third jhana. You should have an appropriate image for each of the four phrases, that is, when thinking 'May this good person be free from danger', you should have a particular image of that person as free from danger; when thinking 'May this good person be free from mental pain', you should have another image, one of that person as free from mental pain, and so on. In this way you should develop the three jhanas, and remember in each case to practise the five masteries (vasi-bhdvu).

 

When you have succeeded with one person you like and respect, do it again with another person of your own sex whom you like and respect. Try doing this with about ten people of that type, un­til you can reach the third jhana using any of them. By this stage you can safely go on to people, still of your own sex, who are very dear to you (atipplyasahayaka). Take about ten people of that type, and develop Loving-kindness towards them one by one, in the same way, until the third jhana.

 

Then you can also take about ten people of your own sex whom you are indifferent to, and in the same way develop Loving-kindness towards them until the third jhana.

 

You will by now have mastered the Loving-kindness jhana to such an extent that you can in the same way develop it towards about ten people of your own sex whom you hate. If you are a type of Great Being like the bodhisatta when he was Mahakapi, the monkey king, who never hated anyone who harmed him, and you really neither hate, nor despise anyone, then do not look for someone to use here. Only those who have people they hate or despise can develop Loving-kindness towards that type.

 

Practicing Loving-kindness in this way, that is, by developing concentration up to the third jhana on each type of people, pro­gressively from one to the next, from the easiest to the more diffi­cult, you make your mind increasingly soft, kind and pliant, until you are finally able to attain jhana on any of the four types: those you respect, those very dear to you, those you are indifferent to, and those you hate.

How You Break Down the Barriers

 

As you continue to thus develop Loving-kindness, you will find that your Loving-kindness towards those you like and respect, and those very dear to you, becomes even, and you can take them as one, as just people you like. Then you will be left with only these four types of person:

 

1.      Yourself

2.      People you like

3.      People you are indifferent to

4.      People you hate

 

You will need to continue developing Loving-kindness towards these four, until it becomes balanced and without distinctions. Even though you cannot attain Loving-kindness jhana with your­self as object, you still need to include yourself in order to bal­ance the four types.

 

To do this, you need to re-establish the fourth anapana-, or white kasina-jhana. With the strong and bright light, extend Loving-kindness to yourself for about a minute or even a few seconds; then towards someone you like, then someone you are indifferent to, and then someone you hate, each one up to the third jhana. Then again yourself briefly, but the other three types must now each be a different person. Remember to develop them with each of the four phrases, 'May this good person be free from danger' etc. each, up to the third jhana.

 

Thus you should every time change the person of each of the three types: a person you like, one you are indifferent to, and one you hate. Do this again and again, with different groups of four, many times, so that your mind is continuously developing Loving-kindness without interruption, and without distinctions. When you are able to develop Loving-kindness jhana towards any of the four without distinction, you will have achieved what is called 'breaking down the barriers' (simasumbheda). With the barriers be­tween types and individuals broken down, you will be able to fur­ther develop your Loving-kindness meditation, by taking up the method taught by the Venerable Sariputta; recorded in the Patisambhiddmagga.[3]

The Twenty-Two Categories

 

The method in the Patisambhidamagga involves twenty-two categories by which to extend one's Loving-kindness: five unspeci­fied categories (anodhiso pharana), seven specified categories (odhiso pharana), and ten directional categories (disa pharana).

 

The five unspecified categories are:

1.        All beings....................................................................................... (sabbe satta)

2.        All breathing things........................................................................ (sabbe pana)

3.        All creatures................................................................................. (sabbe bhuta)

4.        All people................................................................................. (sabbe puggala)

5.       All individuals...................................................... (sabbe attabhavapariyapanna)

 

The seven specified categories are:

1.        All women............................................................................... (sabba itthiyo)

2.        All men.................................................................................... (sabbe purisa)

3.        All enlightened beings................................................................. (sabbe ariya)

4.        All unenlightened beings.......................................................... (sabbe anariya)

5.        All devas.................................................................................... (sabbe deva)

6.        All human beings................................................................... (sabbe manussa)

7.        All beings in the lower realms..........…................................ (sabbe vinipatika)

 

The ten directional categories are:

 

1.        To the east...................................................................... (puratthimaya disaya)

2.        To the west........................................................................ (pacchimaya disaya)

3.        To the north............................................................................. (uttardya disaya)

4.        To the south ....................................................................... (dakkhinaya disaya)

5.        To the south-east .......................................................(puratthimaya anudisaya)

6.        To the north-west......................................................... (pacchimaya anudisaya)

7.        To the north-east................................................................ (uttardya anudisaya)

8.        To the south-west.......................................................... (dakkhinaya anudisaya)

9.        Downwards ......................................................................... (hetthimaya disaya)

10.    Upwards .............................................................................. (uparimaya disaya)

How You Develop the Unspecified and Specified Categories

 

To develop this method of Loving-kindness meditation, you should as before re-establish the fourth jhana with the white kasina, and develop Loving-kindness towards yourself, a person you respect or who is dear to you, one you are indifferent to, and one you hate, until there are no barriers between them and you.

 

Then use the bright and brilliant light to see all the beings in as big an area as possible around you, around the building or monas­tery. Once they are clear, you can develop Loving-kindness to­wards them according to the five unspecified categories, and seven specified categories: twelve in total. You should at each category pervade Loving-kindness in four ways:

 

1.  May they be free from danger,

2.  May they be free from mental pain,

3.  May they be free from physical pain,

4.  May they be well and happy.

 

'They' is in each case one of your twelve categories, all beings, all devas, etc. Thus you will be pervading Loving-kindness in a to­tal of forty-eight ways ((7+5) x 4 = 48).

 

The beings in each category should be clearly visible in the light of concentration and understanding. For example, when you ex­tend Loving-kindness to all women, you should actually see, in the light, the women within the determined area. You should actually see the men, devas, beings in lower realms etc., in the determined area.[4] You must develop each category up to the third jhana be­fore moving on to the next. You should practice in this way until you become proficient in pervading Loving-kindness in all forty-eight ways.

 

Once proficient, you should expand the determined area to in­clude the whole monastery, the whole village, the whole town­ship, the whole state, the whole country, the whole world, the whole solar system, the whole galaxy, and the whole of the infi­nite universe. Develop each of the expanded areas in the forty-eight ways up to the third jhana.

 

Once proficient you may proceed to the ten directional catego­ries.

How You Develop the Ten Directional Categories

 

The ten directional categories of Loving-kindness involve the previously discussed forty-eight categories in each of the ten directions.

 

You should see all beings in the whole of the infinite universe to the east of you, and extend Loving-kindness to them in the forty-eight ways. Then do the same thing to the west of you, and so on in the other directions.

 

This gives a total of four hundred and eighty ways to extend Loving-kindness (10 x 48 = 480). When we add the original forty-eight categories of pervasion, we get five hundred and twenty-eight ways to extend Loving-kindness (480 + 48 = 528).

 

Once you master these five hundred and twenty-eight ways of pervading Loving-kindness, you will experience the eleven benefits of practicing Loving-kindness, which The Buddha taught in the Anguttara Nikaya:[5]

 

Bhikkhus, when the mind-deliverance of Loving-kindness is cultivated, de­veloped, much practiced, made the vehicle, made the foundation, established, consolidated, and properly undertaken, eleven benefits can be expected. What are the eleven?

 

[1] A man sleeps in comfort;

[2] Wakes in comfort; and

[3] Dreams no evil dreams;

[4] He is dear to human beings;

[5] He is dear to non-human beings;

[6] Devas guard him;

[7] Fire, poison and weapons do not affect him;

[8] His mind is easily concentrated;

[9] His complexion becomes bright;

[10] He dies unconfused; and

[11] If he penetrates no higher, he will be reborn in the Brahma World.

How You Develop Compassion

 

Once you have developed Loving-kindness as just described, it should not be difficult to develop the sublime abiding of compas­sion (karuna). To develop compassion, you should first select a liv­ing person of your own sex who is suffering. You should arouse compassion for him by reflecting on his suffering.

 

Then re-establish the fourth jhana with the white kasina, so the light is bright and clear, and use the light to see that person, and then develop Loving-kindness up to the third jhana. Emerge from it, and develop compassion towards that suffering person with the thought, 'May this good person be released from suffering' (ayam sappuriso dukkha muccatu). Do this many times, again and again, until you attain the first, second, and third jhanas, and the five master­ies of each. After that, you should develop compassion as you did Loving-kindness, that is, towards yourself, towards a person you like, one you are indifferent to, and one you hate, up to the third jhana, until the barriers have been broken down.

 

To develop compassion towards beings who are not suffering in any apparent way, you should reflect on the fact that all un­enlightened beings are liable to experience the results of the evil they have done while wandering through the round of rebirths, and therefore to be reborn in the lower realms. Furthermore, every being is worthy of compassion, because they are not free from the suffering of ageing, sickness, and death.

 

After reflecting thus, you should also here develop compassion as you did Loving-kindness: towards yourself and the usual three types of person up to the third jhana, until the barriers have been broken down.

 

After that you should develop compassion in the same hundred and thirty-two ways you developed Loving-kindness, namely: five unspecified categories, seven specified categories, and one hun­dred and twenty directional categories (5 + 7 + (10 x 12) = 132).

How You Develop Appreciative Joy

 

To develop the sublime abiding of appreciative joy (mudita), you should select a living person of your own sex who is happy, the sight of whom makes you happy, and whom you are very fond of and friendly with.

 

Then re-establish the fourth jhana with the white kasina, so the light is bright and clear, and use the light to see that person, and then develop the third Loving-kindness jhana. Emerge from it and develop compassion jhana. Emerge from that, and develop appre­ciative joy towards the happy person with the thought: 'May this good person not be separated from the prosperity he has attained,' (ayam sappuriso yathaladdhasampattito mavigacchatu). Do this many times, again and again, until you attain the first, second and third jhanas, and the five masteries of each.

 

Then develop appreciative-joy jhana towards yourself and the usual three types of person up to the third jhana, until the barriers have been broken down-.Finally develop appreciative-joy towards all beings in the infinite universe in the hundred and thirty-two ways.

How You Develop Equanimity

 

To develop the sublime abiding of equanimity (upekkha), you should first re-establish the fourth jhana with the white kasina. Then choose a living person of your own sex, towards whom you are indifferent, and develop Loving-kindness, compassion, and appreciative joy each up to the third jhana. Then emerge from the third jhana and reflect on the disadvantages of those three sub­lime abidings, namely their closeness to affection, to like and dis­like, and to elation and joy. Afterwards reflect on the fourth jhana based on equanimity as peaceful. Then develop equanimity to­wards a person you are indifferent to with the thought: 'This good person is heir to his own kamma (ayam sappuriso kammassaka. Do this many times, again and again, until you attain the fourth jhana and the five masteries of it. With the support of the third jhanas of Loving-kindness, compassion, and appreciative-joy, it should not take you long to develop the fourth jhana of equanimity.

 

Afterwards develop it towards a person you respect or who is dear to you, one who is very dear to you, and one you hate. Then again towards yourself, a person you respect or who is dear to you, one you are indifferent to, and one you hate, until you have broken down the barriers between you.

 

Finally develop equanimity towards all beings in the infinite universe in the above hundred and thirty-two ways.

 

This completes the development of the Four Sublime Abidings.

How You Develop the Four Protective Meditations

 

The four meditation subjects of Loving-kindness, recollection-of-The-Buddha, foulness meditation and recollection-of-death are called the 'Four Protections', or the 'Four Protective Medita­tions'. This is because they protect the yogi from various dangers. It is for this reason worthwhile to learn and develop them before proceeding to Vipassana meditation. We have already discussed how to develop loving-kindness, so we need now only discuss how to develop the other three protective meditations. Let us be­gin with recollection-of-The-Buddha.

 

How You Develop Recollection-of-The-Buddha

 

Recollection-of-The-Buddha (Buddhanussati) can be developed by looking at the nine qualities of The Buddha, using a formula He gives frequently in the suttas:[6]

 

Itipi So Bhagava (The Blessed One is such):

[1]    Araham

[2]    Samma Sambuddho

[3]    Vijja-Carana Sampanno

[4]     Sugato

[5]     Lokavidu

[6]    Anuttaro Purisadamma Sarathi

[7]    Satthd Deva Manussdnam

[8]    Buddho

[9]    Bhagava'ti.

 

This can be explained as:

 

1.      This Blessed One, having destroyed all defilements, is a wor­thy one: Araham.

2.      He has attained perfect enlightenment by Himself: Samma Sambuddho.

3.      He is perfect in knowledge and morality: Vijja-Carana Sampanno.

4.      He speaks only what is beneficial and true: Sugato.

5.      He knows the worlds: Lokavidu.

6.      He is the unsurpassed tamer of men fit to be tamed: Anuttaro Purisadamma Sarathi.

7.      He is the teacher of devas and human beings: Sattha Deva Manussanam.

8.      He is an Enlightened One: Buddho.

9.      He is the most fortunate possessor of the results of previous meritorious actions: Bhagava.

 

Let us discuss how to develop concentration with, for example, the first quality, Araham. According to the Visuddhi Magga, the Pali word Araham has five definitions:

 

1.      Since He has removed totally, without remainder, all defile­ments and habitual tendencies, and has thereby distanced Himself from them. The Buddha is a worthy one: Araham.

2.      Since He has cut off all defilements with the sword of the Arahant Path, The Buddha is a worthy one: Araham.

3.      Since He has broken and destroyed the spokes of the wheel of dependent-origination, beginning with ignorance and craving, The Buddha is a worthy one: Araham.

4.      Since His virtue, concentration, and wisdom are unsurpassed, The Buddha is paid the highest reverence by brahmas, devas, and men, and is a worthy one: Araham.

5.      Since He does not, even when in seclusion and unseen, do any evil by body, speech, or mind. The Buddha is a worthy one: Araham.

 

To develop this meditation, you should memorize these five definitions well enough to recite them. Then re-establish the fourth anapana-, or white kasina-jhana, so the light is bright and clear. Then use the light to visualize a Buddha image you re­member, like, and respect. When it is clear, see it as the real Bud­dha and concentrate on it as such.

 

If you were in a past life fortunate enough to meet The Buddha, His image may re-appear. If so, you should concentrate on also the qualities of The Buddha; not just His image. If the image of The real Buddha does not appear, then first see the visualized image as The real Buddha, and then recollect His qualities. You can choose the definition of Araham you like most, take the meaning as object, and recollect it again and again as 'Araham-Araham'.

 

As your concentration develops and becomes stronger, the im­age of The Buddha will disappear, and you should simply remain concentrated on the chosen quality. Continue to concentrate on that quality until the jhana factors arise, although you can with this meditation subject attain only access-jhana (upacara-jhana). You can concentrate on the remaining qualities of The Buddha too.

How You Develop Foulness Meditation

 

The second protective meditation is foulness meditation (asubha bhavana) on a corpse. To develop it you should re-establish the fourth anapana-, or white kasina-jhana, so the light is bright and clear. Then use the light to visualize the foulest corpse of your own sex, that you remember seeing. Use the light to see the corpse exactly as it was when you really saw it in the past. When it is clear, make it appear as repulsive as possible. Concentrate on it, and note it as, 'repulsive - repulsive' (patikkula, patikkula).[7] Con­centrate on the object of the repulsiveness of the corpse until the uggaha-nimitta (taken-up sign) becomes the patibhaga-nimitta (counterpart sign). The uggaha-nimitta is the image of the corpse as you really saw it in the past, and is a hideous, dreadful, and frightening sight, but the patibhaga-nimitta is like a man with big limbs, lying down after having eaten his fill. Continue to concen­trate on that nimitta, until you reach the first jhana, and then de­velop the five masteries.

How You Develop Recollection-of-Death

 

The third protective meditation is recollection-of-death (marand-nussati). According to the 'Mahasatipatthana Sutta’[8] and the Visuddhi Magga,[9] recollection-of-death too can be developed us­ing a corpse you remember seeing. Therefore, you should re­establish the first jhana with the repulsiveness of a corpse, and with that external corpse as object, reflect: "This body of mine is also of a nature to die. Indeed, it will die just like this one. It can­not avoid becoming like this.' By keeping the mind concentrated on and mindful of your own mortality, you will also find that the sense of urgency (samvega) develops. With that knowledge, you will probably see your own body as a repulsive corpse. Perceiv­ing that the life-faculty has in that image been cut off, you should concentrate on the absence of the life-faculty with one of the fol­lowing thoughts:

 

My death is certain; my life is uncertain..….. (maranam me dhuvam, jivitam me adhuvam)

I shall certainly die...............................……................................ (maranam me bhavissati)

My life will end in death.................……......................... (maranapariyosanam me jivitam)

Death - death.............................…................................................. (maranam - maranam)

 

Choose one and note it in any language. Continue to concentrate on the image of the absence of the life-faculty in your own corpse, until the jhana factors arise, although you can with this meditation subject attain only access concentration.

Summary

 

As mentioned earlier, the four meditation subjects of loving-kindness, recollection-of-the-Buddha, foulness, and recollection-of-death are called the Four Protections, or the Four Protective meditations, because they protect the yogi from various dangers.

 

In the ' Meghiya Sutta' of the Khuddaka Nikdya it says:[10]

 

Asubhd bhdvetabbd rdgassa pahdndya, mettd bhdvetabbd bydpddassa pa­hdndya, dndpdnassati bhdvetabbd vitakkupaccheddya.

 

 (For the removal of lust, meditation on foulness should be developed; for the removal of anger, Loving-kindness should be developed; and anapanasati should be developed for the cutting off of discursive thought.)

 

According to this sutta, foulness meditation is the best weapon for removing lust. If you take a corpse as object, and see it as re­pulsive, it is called 'foulness of a lifeless body'(avinnanaka asubha). To take the thirty-two parts of the body of a being, and see them as repulsive (as taught in the 'Girimananda Sutta' of the Anguttara Nikaya[11]) is called 'foulness of a living body' (savinnanaka asu­bha). Both these forms of foulness meditation are weapons for re­moving lust.

 

The best weapon for removing anger is to develop Loving-kindness, and for removing discursive thought anapdnasati is the best weapon.

 

Furthermore, when faith in meditation slackens, and the mind is dull, the best weapon is to develop recollection-of-The-Buddha. When the sense of urgency is lacking, and you are bored with striving in meditation, the best weapon is recollection-of-death.

 

Today we discussed how to develop the Four Sublime Abidings and Four Protective meditations. In the next talk, we shall discuss how to develop Vipassana meditation, beginning with the four-elements meditation, and analysis of the various kinds of materi­ality.

Benefits of Samatha

 

Before ending, we should like to discuss briefly the relation be­tween Samatha and Vipassana.

 

In the 'Samadhi Sutta' of the ' Khandhavagga' in the Samyutta Nikaya, The Buddha said:[12]

 

Samddhim, bhikkhave, bhdvetha; samdhito, bhikkhave, bhikkhu yathabhutam pajanati. Kinca yathabhutam pajanati? Rupassa samudayahca atthahgamahca, vedanaya samudayahca atthangamanca, sahiiaya samudayanca at-thangamanca, sankharanam samudayanca atthahgamahca, vihhdnassa samu­dayanca atthangamanca.

 

(Bhikkhus, you should develop concentration.

A bhikkhu who is concentrated, bhikkhus, knows dhammas as they really are. And what [are the dhammas) he knows as they really are? The arising of materiality and the passing-away thereof; the arising of feelings, of percep­tion, and of formations, and the passing away of feelings, of perception and formations; the arising of consciousness and the passing away thereof.)

 

Therefore, a bhikkhu who is concentrated knows the five aggre­gates and their causes, and their arising and passing away. He sees clearly that because of the arising of their causes the five ag­gregates arise, and because of the complete cessation of their causes, the five aggregates also completely cease.

 

  The Samatha we discussed in the first two talks and today pro­duces strong concentration. It is the light of this concentration that lets you see ultimate mentality-materiality for Vipassana. With that deep, strong and powerful concentration, you can see clearly the impermanent, suffering, and non-self nature of mental­ity-materiality and their causes. This clarity is a great benefit coming from Samatha.

 

Samatha also gives you a resting-place. There is much to dis­cern Vipassana and tiredness may occur. In that case, you can stay in one of the jhanas for a long time. That rests and refreshes your mind, and then you can go back to Vipassana. Whenever tiredness occurs, you can again enter jhana to rest.

 

It is good to remember these benefits of Samatha, when in the following talks we discuss Vipassana.