Toward the Unconditioned¹

In this Buddhist religion you must be aware of all your actions. We don't act like the Brahmans, who go into your house and say, ''May you be well and strong, may you live long.'' The Buddha doesn't talk like that. How will the disease go away with just talk? The Buddha's way of treating the sick was to say, ''Before you were sick what happened? What led up to your sickness?'' Then you tell him how it came about. ''Oh, it's like that, is it? Take this medicine and try it out.'' If it's not the right medicine he tries another one. If it's right for the illness, then that's the right one. This way is scientifically sound. As for the Brahmans, they just tie a string around your wrist and say, ''Okay, be well, be strong, when I leave this place you just get right on up and eat a hearty meal and be well.'' No matter how much you pay them, your illness won't go away, because their way has no scientific basis. But this is what people like to believe.

The Buddha didn't want us to put too much store in these things, he wanted us to practice with reason. Buddhism has been around for thousands of years now, and most people have continued to practice as their teachers have taught them, regardless of whether it's right or wrong. That's stupid. They simply follow the example of their forebears.

The Buddha didn't encourage this sort of thing. He wanted us to do things with reason. For example, at one time when he was teaching the monks, he asked Venerable Sāriputta, ''Sāriputta, do you believe this teaching?'' Venerable Sāriputta replied, ''I don't yet believe it.'' The Buddha praised his answer: ''Very good, Sāriputta. A wise person doesn't believe too readily. He looks into things, into their causes and conditions, and sees their true nature before believing or disbelieving.''

But most teachers these days would say, ''What?!!! You don't believe me? Get out of here!'' Most people are afraid of their teachers. Whatever their teachers do they just blindly follow. The Buddha taught to adhere to the truth. Listen to the teaching and then consider it intelligently, inquire into it. It's the same with my Dhamma talks - go and consider it. Is what I say right? Really look into it, look within yourself.

So it is said to guard your mind. Whoever guards his mind will free himself from the shackles of Māra. It's just this mind which goes and grabs onto things, know things, sees things, experiences happiness and suffering... just this very mind. When we fully know the truth of determinations and conditions we will naturally throw off suffering.

All things are just as they are. They don't cause suffering in themselves, just like a thorn, a really sharp thorn. Does it make you suffer? No, it's just a thorn, it doesn't bother anybody. But if you go and stand on it, then you'll suffer. Why is there this suffering? Because you stepped on the thorn. The thorn is just minding its own business, it doesn't harm anybody. Only if you step on the thorn will you suffer over it. It's because of ourselves that there's pain. Form, feeling, perception, volition, consciousness... all things in this world are simply there as they are. It's we who pick fights with them. And if we hit them they're going to hit us back. If they're left on their own they won't bother anybody, only the swaggering drunkard gives them trouble. All conditions fare according to their nature. That's why the Buddha said, Tesam vūpasamo sukho: If we subdue conditions, seeing determinations and conditions as they really are, as neither ''me'' nor ''mine,'' ''us'' nor ''them,'' when we see that these beliefs are simply sakkāya-ditthi, the conditions are freed of the self-delusion.

If you think ''I'm good,'' ''I'm bad,'' ''I'm great,'' ''I'm the best,'' then you are thinking wrongly. If you see all these thoughts as merely determinations and conditions, then when others say ''good'' or ''bad'' you can leave it be with them. As long as you still see it as ''me'' and ''you'' it's like having three hornets nests - as soon as you say something the hornets come buzzing out to sting you. The three hornets nests are sakkāyaditthi, viccikicchā, and sīlabbata-parāmāsa¹¹.

Once you look into the true nature of determinations and conditions, pride cannot prevail. Other people's fathers are just like our father, their mothers are just like ours, their children are just like ours. We see the happiness and suffering of other beings as just like ours.

If we see in this way we can come face to face with the future Buddha, it's not so difficult. Everyone is in the same boat. Then the world will be as smooth as a drumskin. If you want to wait around to meet Phra Sri Ariya Metteyya, the future Buddha, then just don't practice... you'll probably be around long enough to see him. But He's not crazy that he'd take people like that for disciples! Most people just doubt. If you no longer doubt about the self, then no matter what people may say about you, you aren't concerned, because your mind has let go, it is at peace. Conditions become subdued. Grasping after the forms of practice... that teacher is bad, that place is no good, this is right, that's wrong... No. There's none of these things. All this kind of thinking is all smoothed over. You come face to face with the future Buddha. Those who only hold up their hands and pray will never get there.

So here is the practice. If I talked any more it would just be more of the same. Another talk would just be the same as this. I've brought you this far, now you think about it. I've brought you to the path, whoever's going to go, it's there for you. Those who aren't going can stay. The Buddha only sees you to the beginning of the path. Akkhātaro Tathāgatā - the Tathāgata only points the way. For my practice he only taught this much. The rest was up to me. Now I teach you, I can tell you just this much. I can bring you only to the beginning of the path, whoever wants to go back can go back, whoever wants to travel on can travel on. It's up to you, now.

Footnotes

...¹

Given on a lunar observance night (Uposatha) at Wat Pah Pong, 1976

...uposatha²

Uposatha (or observance) days, are the days on which practicing Buddhists usually go to the monastery to practice meditation, listen to a Dhamma talk and keep the eight uposatha precepts - to refrain from killing, stealing, all sexual activity, lying, taking intoxicants, eating food after midday, enjoying entertainments and dressing up, and sitting or sleeping on luxurious seats or beds.

...kusala³

Kusala: wholesome or skillful actions or mental states.

...pariyatti⁴

Pariyatti, the teachings as laid down in the scriptures, or as passed down from one person to another in some form; the ''theoretical'' aspect of Buddhism. Pariyatti is often mentioned in reference to two other aspects of Buddhism - patipatti, the practice, and pativedha, the realization. Thus: Study - Practice - Realization.

... reality⁵

Sammuti sacca, a difficult term to translate. It refers to the dualistic, or nominal reality, the reality of names, determinations or conventions. For instance, a cup is not intrinsically a cup, it is only determined to be so.

... sukho⁶

''Cessation is true happiness,'' or ''the calming of conditions is true happiness.''

... consciousness⁷

The five khandhas.

...tipitaka⁸

The Buddhist Pāli Canon.

...abhidhamma⁹

The third of the ''Three Baskets,'' the Tipitaka, being the section on the higher philosophy of Buddhism.

...¹⁰

A Pāli phrase said at the end the traditional giving of the precepts.

...sīlabbata-parāmāsa¹¹

Self-view, doubt, and attachment to rites and practices.