Questions and Answers with Ajahn Chah1 |
|
| Gradually, little by little, one's practice should gain momentum and
as time passes, whatever sense objects and mental states arise will
lose their value in this way. One's heart will know them for what
they are and accordingly put them down. Having reached the point where
one is able to know things and put them down with ease, they say that
the path has matured internally and one will have the ability to swiftly
bear down upon the defilements. From then on there will just be the
arising and passing away in this place, the same as waves striking
the seashore. When a wave comes in and finally reaches the shoreline,
it just disintegrates and vanishes; a new wave comes and it happens
again - the wave going no further than the limit of the shoreline. In
the same way, nothing will be able to go beyond the limits established
by one's own awareness.
That's the place where one will meet and come to understand impermanence,
unsatisfactoriness and not-self. It is there that things will vanish
- the three characteristics of impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and
not self are the same as the seashore, and all sense objects and mental
state that are experiences go in the same way as the waves. Happiness
is uncertain, it's arisen many times before. Suffering is uncertain,
it's arisen many times before; that's the way they are. In one's heart
one will know that they are like that, they are ''just that much''. The
heart will experience these conditions in this way and they will gradually
keep losing their value and importance. This is talking about the
characteristics of the heart, the way it is, it is the same for everybody,
even the Buddha and all his disciples were like this.
If one's practice of the Path matures it will become automatic and
it will no longer be dependent on anything external. When a defilement
arises, one will immediately be aware of it and accordingly be able
to counteract it. However, that stage when they say that the Path
is still not mature enough nor fast enough to overcome the defilements
is something that everybody has to experience - it's unavoidable.
But it is at that point where one must use skillful reflection. Don't
go investigating elsewhere or trying to solve the problem at some
other place. Cure it right there. Apply the cure at that place where
things arise and pass away. Happiness arises and then passes away,
doesn't it? Suffering arises and then passes away, doesn't it? One
will continuously be able to see the process of arising and ceasing,
and see that which is good and bad in the heart. These are phenomena
that exist and are part of nature. Don't cling tightly to them or
create anything out of them at all.
If one has this kind of awareness, then even though one will be coming into contact with things, there will not be any noise. In other words, one will see the arising and passing away of phenomena in a very natural and ordinary way. One will just see things arise and then cease. One will understand the process of arising and ceasing in the light of impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and not-self. The nature of the Dhamma is like this. When one can see things as ''just that much'', then they will remain as ''just that much''. There will be none of that clinging or holding on - as soon as one becomes aware of attachment it will disappear. There will be just the arising and ceasing and that is peaceful. That it's peaceful is not because one doesn't hear anything; there is the hearing, but one understands the nature of it and doesn't cling or hold on to anything. This is what they mean by peaceful - the heart is still experiencing sense objects, but it doesn't follow or get caught up in them. A division is made between the heart sense objects and the defilements. When one's heart comes into contact with a sense object and there is an emotional reaction of liking, this gives rise to defilement; but if one understands the process of arising and ceasing, then there is nothing that can really arise from it - it will end just there. |
|
Footnotes |
|
| Back | |
| © 2006 Wat Pah Nanachat | |