Today’s Dhamma talk is entitled

“ A FLOWER AND LOFTY NIBBANA ”

BY NAYAKA MYITTHA SAYADAW, VEN.U VASAVA

MAHASI MEDITATION CENTRE, YANGON, MYANMAR

“A flower and lofty Nibbana.”  This discourse was expounded by the Lord Buddha over 2500 years ago, while he was residing at the JetavanaSavatthi in India, with reference to a young Bhikkhu, a disciple of the Venerable Sariputta Mahathera. Monastery of

There lived in Savatthi, a young handsome man, the son of a goldsmith.  Out of reverence for the Sariputta Mahathera, he entered the Sangha Order under the preceptor-ship of the Sariputta Mahathera. After reflecting that the young Bhikkhu, being handsome and at the prime of his youth, may well be inclined to craving for sensual pleasures, the Elder Thera decided to give him the Asubha bhavana (contemplation on loathsomeness of the body) as a meditation object to curb sensual craving.

Here, it should be noted that because the meditation object given by the Elder did not suit the young Bhikkhu’s propensities, he could not progress in his practice, even for three months during a retreat in the forest.

It has been affirmed in the Buddhist texts that an individual’s dormant proclivities could not be penetrated by anyone but the Buddha.  The Elder, realizing this fact, took the young Bhikkhu and related the matter to the Buddha.

Thereupon, the Lord Buddha scrutinized the matter and read the thoughts of the young Bhikkhu’s mind for his inherent idiosyncrasies and gave him a suitable meditation object.  The Buddha created a beautiful golden lotus flower using his psychic power and said to the young Bhikkhu “Dear son Bhikkhu,” take this golden lotus flower to a secluded corner of the monastery, sit cross legged intent on strenuous effort, gaze at the flower and contemplate incessantly making verbal notations “Lohitakam ! Lohitakam ! (golden-red ! golden-red !).

The reason the Buddha gave this particular meditation object to the young Bhikkhu was that, in his previous five hundred existences prior to this present one, the young Bhikkhu was born as a goldsmith’s son successively, and the attachment to the golden-red color was latent in his heart.  “Salvage the drifting boat by using another boat” as the saying goes.  So, the Buddha used the golden-red color of the lotus as the object of meditation to attract and fix the young Bhikkhu’s mind in concentration.

Thus, intently contemplating, the young Bhikkhu’s mind was cleansed of the mental defilements or kilesæs and as his concentration became stronger and deep, he attained access concentration and hence, all four stages of absorption concentration or Aappana Samadhi in succession.

But what he had attained was just mundane Samatha Jhana only, and it surely was not the final goal of his meditation.  To attain the final goal of NibbanaVipassana Bhavana), that of contemplating on the three characteristics of all psychophysical phenomenas, impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and egolessness (Anicca, Dukkha and Anatta) and thereby successively acquire the various stages of insight knowledge. through Path and Fruition knowledge, one must practice Insight meditation (

Buddhas arise in this world for the benefit of all living beings.  The Buddha kept the meditating young Bhikkhu under surveillance to assess his progress or otherwise guide him through his contemplation.  When the Buddha discovered the young Bhikkhu’s inability to progress further, the Buddha willed, using his psychic power, that the lotus flower be faded, and fall petal by petal to the ground.

This incident touched the young Bhikkhu’s heart causing emotional apprehension that “even such a flower, a product of the seasons had to fade and fall to the ground, what will become of my body, compounded by the four conditions of kamma, Citta, (mind or consciousness) season and nutrient.”  With that moral fear, he contemplated intently and incessantly, clearly perceiving the impermanent (Anicca), unsatisfactory (Dukkha) and egoless (Anatta) characteristics of all psycho-physical phenomena.  This in accordance with the aphorism quoted by our late benefactor, most Venerable Mahasi Mahathera: “When the true nature of impermanence is clearly perceived, the remaining two characteristics are also comprehended”.

As the young Bhikkhu’s meditation gathered momentum, the Lord Buddha, using psychic powers, radiated the aura of light from Jetavana monastery and exhorted this message: Oh dear son Bhikkhu!  As an autumn lotus flower is crumpled to destruction by hand, you as a meditator must eliminate all mental defilements by cultivating the path (Magga ñana) of insight knowledge.  The Buddha expounded “the cessation of craving is the true bliss of Nibbana. So, you should incessantly and perseveringly develop the Noble Eight Fold Path.”

On receiving the Buddha’s admonishment, the young Bhikkhu, by applying the simile of the “Lotus Flower,” ardently contemplated the aggregates to clearly perceive the impermanent nature of mind and matter.  He attained successive stages of insight knowledge, and realized the lofty Nibbana Dhamma through the four stages of Path and Fruition knowledge.

May all you meditators, like this young Bhikkhu, be able to apply the nature of impermanent characteristic of external objects to that of one’s aggregate mind and matter, and contemplate to clearly perceive the impermanent characteristic, thereby realizing the lofty dhamma Nibbana, the complete elimination of craving.

Sadhu!…     Sadhu!…     Sadhu!

“DHAMMA TALK ON FREEDOM”

BY NAYAKA MYITTHA SAYADAW, VEN.U VASAVA

MAHASI MEDITATION CENTRE, YANGON, MYANMAR

Today, my Dhamma talk is on the subject of Freedom or Liberation. This admonishment was delivered to the five hundred Yogavacara Bhikkhus or devoted meditators, by the Lord Buddha, over 2500 years ago, while he was residing at the Jetavana Monastery, which was built on the garden land of Prince Jeta in the vicinity of the Indian Capital city, Savatti.

First, let us try to understand the meaning of the word “Freedom” or “Liberation.”  Freedom means that everyone must be free from oppression and torture, without any infringement on one’s individual rights.  Freedom may be distinguished between two types.  One is temporary freedom, and the other is perpetual freedom.  In other words, it may be stated as worldly freedom and samsaric (cycle of rebirths) liberation; worldly freedom is just temporary, and samsaric freedom means perpetual liberation.

Yes, in this hostile world, individuals, partisans and countries transgress each others rights by misusing their economic power and military might.  The so-called super powers enslave the weaker ones, and exploit their resources by oppression and torture.  This kind of misfortune that one encounters in this life may not extend to future ones.  He may be liberated at the demise of this existence.  Hence, we say that such kind of liberation is temporary, or worldly freedom.

The most frightful suffering is to be swept away in the sea of Samsara, the continuous process of ever again and again being born, growing old, suffering and dying.  More precisely, Samsara is the unbroken chain of the fivefold Khandha combinations, constantly changing from moment to moment, following continuously one upon the other through inconceivable periods of time, as conditioned by Avijja (Ignorance or Delusion) Tanha (Craving) and Kamma (Volition).

Avijja, ignorance, unknowing, synonymous with delusion (moha), is the primary root of all evil and suffering in the world, veiling man’s mental eye and preventing him from seeing the true nature of things.  It is delusion which tricks sentient beings by making life appear permanent, happy, substantial and beautiful, and prevents them from seeing that everything is impermanent, liable to suffering, void of I and mine, and basically impure.

Influenced by Avijja, Tanha (craving for the sense objects) arises.  Motivated by tanha, one performs the action by body, speech or mind through kamma or volition.  That is what the Lord Buddha called action, (Cetanaham bhikkhave kammam vadami).  These kammical actions cause rebirth with resultant consequences of sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, despair, old age and death.

The deliverance from this samsaric cycle of rebirths and suffering can only be regarded as perpetual liberation.  To attain such perpetual freedom, one must strive to eradicate Avijja, tanha and kamma (ignorance, craving and volition).

Now let us try to understand how the five hundred Yogavacara Bhikkhus practiced in accordance with the Lord Buddha’s admonishment and achieved perpetual freedom.  The five hundred Yogavacara Bhikkhus went to a forest retreat and practiced Vipassana meditation.  When they could not achieve satisfactory progress in their practice after some time, they returned to the Lord Buddha for further instructions.  The moment they entered the compound of the Jetavana Monastery the rain started falling heavily.  So they had to take shelter from the rain in a nearby building.  While they were waiting for the rain to stop, they saw the rain drops from the edge of the roof falling into the waterbed on the ground from which foam bubbles formed and disappeared.  As they continued watching the scene, their attention diverted to their own bodies and they contemplated the physical and mental phenomena arising and dissolving from moment to moment like those foam bubbles.

The Lord Buddha being aware of their state of mind by divine eye, exhorted them from His residential quarters: Oh! Dear son Bhikkhus, just as you have witnessed the foam bubbles forming and instantaneously dissolving, the same as the flash of a lightening disappearing immediately, so are the mental and physical phenomena in the Sankhara Loka of your bodies arising and passing away from moment to moment.  By strenuous contemplation, if you clearly perceive with full awareness their impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, impersonality and loathsome character, you will escape the domain of death and be perpetually freed from the undesirable suffering of repeated rebirth, aging, sickness and death.

While attentively listening to the Lord Buddha’s teaching, they contemplated with full concentration on the physical and mental phenomenas in their bodies.  They attained various stages of meditational insight and ariya magga phala (Path and Fruition), and became Arahats. After the attainment of Arahatship, as the Avijja, tanha, and kamma kilesas are completely eradicated, they are perpetually freed from the undesirable suffering of rebirth, old age, sickness and death.

May all of you meditators, also, by making use of the Lord Buddha’s admonishment contemplate on the meditation objects most earnestly and annihilate the Avijja, tanha, and kamma kilesas completely, and be perpetually liberated from the undesirable samsaric suffering of rebirth, old age, sickness and death.

Sadhu!..           Sadhu!..           Sadhu!