Biodata of Bro. Teoh Kian Koon

Bro. Teoh graduated from University of Malaya in Civil Engineering in 1979. He has been a spiritual practitioner cum ‘Meditator’ since 1971. Since his retirement in 2001 from his Engineering career, he has been sharing his understanding and experiences with those who are keen in their search for true happiness, peace and liberation from birth and death and all mental suffering so that they can be more virtuous, nobler and wiser human beings. He gives Dharma talks and holds meditation classes & retreats and weekly Dharma classes at various meditation centers, Buddhist society and places that invite him.

For more details of Bro. Teoh’s dharma activities and his Kalyāṇamittaship grouping please login to his dharma website at: http://broteoh.com

I. Preface

It is Brother Teoh’s sincere hope that Dhamma friends, spiritual practitioners, seekers of truth, and cultivators will be able to make use of the enclosed transcript notes to develop a better understanding of the Essential Dhamma as taught by the Buddha so that they may progress along the path of dhamma to become more virtuous, noble and wiser human beings that can be a blessing to all.

As these notes were mostly compiled based on a direct transcript from the recording of the dhamma sharing done; the text is aligned as closely as possible to the colloquial speech in the talk. However some editorial amendments have been made to the text without detracting from the essence of the talk. With this, it is hoped that readers can adjust themselves accordingly to better understand its true meaning and intent. A good way to do this is to listen to the recordings first before reading the transcript notes. To listen to the recording you can download the talk at this link:

http://broteoh.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Teoh-150620-Seah-House-Dana-The-Essential-Dhamma-of-Lord-Buddha.mp3

Alternatively, contact Brother Ng Swee Aun at sang47500@yahoo.com for further details.

II. Acknowledgement

It is the donors’ sincere intentions that these transcript notes be given free to all those who are interested and have the affinity to receive them. I would like to take this opportunity to thank and rejoice in the generosity and wholesomeness of all those Dhamma friends or Kalyāṇamitta who have donated and helped out in the transcription, typing, typesetting, formatting, proof reading, etc to make this free distribution of dhamma dāna possible.

Special thanks should be accorded to Sister Nancy who had personally taken the great initiative to develop her draft transcript for my subsequent editing thereby enabling this dhamma book to be printed.

By the power of all this wholesomeness, may all beings be well and happy, free from all mental and physical sufferings, free from all harms and dangers and may there be love, peace and joy - deep within their hearts. And may it also pave the way for there to be causes and conditions for all dhamma friends who have donated or helped out in one way or another to realize their good and noble wishes/aspirations soonest as possible.

With Metta always,

By Brother Teoh Kian Koon

(Dated: 31.10.2015).

1. INTRODUCTION

(Based on a DIRECT TRANSCRIPT From the recording of Bro. Teoh’s Dhamma sharing held at Bro. Seah and Sis. Nancy’s House Dana dated 20th June 2015).

Just relax yourself, get yourself seated and maintain some form of Saddhā, Vīriya and attentiveness. Attentiveness is silent awareness before the Knowing which is Sati or mindfulness.

The moment you are attentive without thought you are already in sati. So when you are attentively listening without thought that is true listening. That is what we call the art of listening. When you listen without verbalisation, without chattering, without any reaction from your knowledge and memory, that is the silent mind listening. You just listen with an open mind. Then whatever you listen you can absorb very clearly. Then if it is something not in accordance, you will also understand but you will not prejudge. So, dhamma is about learning how to silent your mind more and more and be more attentive. The moment you are attentive, you are already aware.

So, today before we start the dhamma sharing, we would like to once again thank the host, Brother Seah, Sister Nancy and family for hosting this wonderful house dana for us to have the condition to come and partake in all this wholesomeness. And together we can also have this rather meaningful gathering of Kalyāṇamitta cum fellowship. Shall we rejoice together?

Sādhu! Sādhu! Sādhu!

2. DHAMMA SHARING BY BROTHER TEOH

2.1 Precepts and Virtue

I would like to thank all Kalyāṇamitta who can make it to be here today to partake and rejoice in all this wholesomeness. At the same time we can learn to develop more of these good mind states which are very wholesome and Virtuous. Virtue is very important. Virtues are your goodness, your kindness, your gentleness, your whatever good mind states; they constitute wholesomeness. A person who can keep his Precepts has Virtue because he has no negativity. If you are a virtuous person you have no negative thoughts. That is why you cannot violate the Precepts. You cannot kill, you cannot harm, you cannot deceive, cheat or commit sexual misconduct and you cannot give rise to inappropriate speeches that can hurt and harm people. You will not consume intoxicants that will make your consciousness very low. And because of that, the Buddha said keeping your precepts or cultivating virtue is the source of true happiness, true spiritual wealth and true spiritual peacefulness. The monks will chant this in pāḷi for you to understand after having administered the 5 precepts. They will chant:

Imāni pañca sikkhāpadāni: Translation: These are the 5 precepts:

Sīlena sugatiṃ yanti; Virtue is the source of true happiness;

Sīlena bhogasampadā;  Virtue is the source of true spiritual wealth;

Sīlena nibbutiṃ yanti. Virtue is the source of true peacefulness.

Tasmā sīlaṃ visodhaye. Therefore let virtue be purified.

Hence keeping precepts can bring about a lot of happiness and a lot of joy to you. You must learn how to develop this happiness and joy. Sādhu is rejoicing in the wholesomeness of others. When you are able to witness them doing all these wholesomeness, you rejoice by saying Sādhu! We can rejoice in other people’s generosity, sincerity and faith; seeing how they help prepare and offer all these offerings. All these can lead to a lot of wholesomeness. There is a lot of synergy too, because for cultivators, who understand, they not only rejoice but they will radiate their pure wish and in return all those who have partaken in this Dana offering will also receive all these merits.

Just like the monks, if you support them, they support you back in kind, in the form of their Dhamma sharing via their understanding. They will rejoice. They will help you invoke the appropriate pure wish. Then they will also chant for your blessings and teach you the Dhamma. In return you receive spiritual wealth. So that is why the Buddha said, Sīla or Virtue, is not only the source of true happiness, it is also the source of great spiritual wealth.

Spiritual wealth is wealth that cannot be taken away, not like materialistic wealth that can disappear. Spiritual wealth is accumulated within your spiritual nature. And when you connect via your meditation it will support you all the way. Then when you keep your Precepts or Virtue, you will have a lot of mental peace. That is why it is a source of true peacefulness; the serene, calm and tranquil mind. The mind will have little or no restlessness and problem because when you keep your Precepts, you don’t harm, you don’t kill, you don’t cheat, you don’t deceive and you will not do all those wrong things. Hence you will have fewer problems, less fear, less worry and less anxiety.

You don’t have to confront civil society’s law like police case and all those crime related issues; and because of that you can sleep well. You don’t have to worry about people coming after you to take revenge. You are more peaceful. If you violate your Precepts you will have a lot of fear, a lot of worry, a lot of anxiety. Then when negative karma ripens, they will condition you into a lot of suffering and misery, causing your mind to become restless.

That’s why there is no peace within and you become heedless. But once you keep your Precepts your mind becomes more peaceful and calmer. That’s why it is the source of true peacefulness. True peacefulness can bring about a lot of good mind states for you to develop the meditation. That’s why after cultivating Sīla, Samādhi will ‘kick’ in. Then Samādhi will give rise to Wisdom which is Paññā.

2.2 Sīla, Samādhi and Paññā

When you have Sīla and peace of mind, your mind states are more conducive for you to meditate and because of that you can develop Samādhi. Samādhi is composed of two Noble Eight Fold Path (N8FP) path factors. Samādhi covers both the Sammā Sati and Sammā Samādhi path factors. So you train your mind to be more and more peaceful, more and more silent. The moment you are silent you are already in Sati. And when Sati is stabilised it becomes Samādhi. So Sati and Samādhi can allow you to see things as they are. That is why once you have Sīla, Samādhi will follow. Then your mind can see things as they are to develop the Wisdom.

That’s the reason why the Buddha also summarised the N8FP as Sīla, Samādhi and Paññā. Paññā is wisdom leading to Right View and Right Understanding. That is why N8FP 1st path factor is Sammā diṭṭhi or Right View/Right Understanding. So when you develop Right View you can straighten your view. Then you will have Right Thought, Right Speech, Right action, Right Livelihood and all the 4 Right Efforts. And this is what Morality or Sīla is all about. Sīla is about developing Virtue via your Right Speech, Action and Thought.

After that your Samādhi path factor (which is inclusive of Sati) will take off to a new level of clear understanding leading to a more stable Right View. Then you will know how to meditate better. Then your Sati will become more refined. It will lead to more understanding, more clarity of mind and more silence within. That’s how you progress.

So do not underestimate the importance of Precepts or Sīla. Without Sīla it is very difficult to go into meditation which is Samādhi and without Samādhi, Wisdom can never arise. You will then come to realise that the whole teaching is indeed very simple and the essential dhamma are spin off from the essence of the Buddha’s teaching (which is the 4 Noble Truths) and they are all related and connected to your daily life.

Apart from Sīla, Samādhi and Paññā you also need to develop the understanding of another important essential Dhamma. The whole of the Buddha’s teaching point towards only one quality of mind, HEEDFULNESS. Before He passed away, He advised the monks to ‘Strive on with heedfulness’. That’s why He said “Appamādena Sampādetha”; strive on with Heedfulness. The reason why you need to be heedful is because according to the Buddha if you are not heedful you are as if dead. If you are not ever mindful to cultivate this meditation as taught by Him which is the N8FP, then your mind will become heedless because it lacks this spiritual faculty of mindfulness. Hence you will not have the ability to understand his spiritual teaching for it lacks the spiritual faculties of Sati and Samādhi.

2.3 Heedfulness and Heedlessness

So heedfulness is the key to spiritual cultivation and you have to understand what heedfulness is. To be heedful the Buddha has defined it very clearly under Dhammapada Verse 23: ‘The constantly meditative, ever mindful and steadfast one will realise the supreme born free Nibbāna which is the Enlightenment.’ So you must train your mind not only to be mindful, but to be ever mindful. It means throughout the day you must learn how to slow down your thinking, decondition your heedless thinking through whatever skilful means that you have developed. Then learn to be silent more and more so that you are aware and heedful, so that you can transform the way you live your life from a heedless way into a new way of heedful living.

Heedless means you are totally not aware. Then when you are not aware, you can never be mindful. If you are not mindful, how can you be ever mindful? If you do not have this ability to be ever mindful you cannot cultivate the real N8FP meditation as taught by the Buddha. It is as simple as that. That’s why the Buddha said, ‘The heedless are as if dead’. If you don’t have heedfulness, spiritually you are as if dead. So no amount of thought based meditation can free you and this is a very important understanding. You have to train your mind to have more and more of this mindfulness or silence, only then your mind can become very quiet. You will then come to realise that you are now much more sensitive. And you can be aware of many things.

2.4 Mindfulness

Today I will go deeper into this topic, mindfulness. The Silent Mind without thought can feel very clearly. When you want to feel something, take for example the floor; if you are not silent, you cannot feel because there is no sensitivity. Just now, Sister Eng Bee was discussing with me on how she did the lying down meditation. Then she realised that this statement of mine is very true. If you are not silent you cannot be sensitive, you cannot have mindfulness to feel or be aware. That is why when she was silent she could feel all of the vibrations within her body. She could even feel how the sensations and phenomena in her leg develop and how certain part of her brain responded; then she could see how they are all connected. That is the part of the brain that is responsible for sensing that phenomena. That’s why I say you will understand yourself very clearly when you are aware.

When you eat certain food, the taste bud tastes and which part of your brain is activated you will also know. Especially so if you take curry or assam laksa, you will know from which part of the brain the “shuin lat” (in Cantonese meaning sour and hot) taste bud consciousness originate or comes from and how you sweat, you will also know. Then you will also understand very clearly how you function as a human being.

The moment you are heedless it means you think a lot and most human beings’ problems are like that because they are so habitual in their heedless thinking. The five mental hindrances are so powerful. That’s why throughout the day these heedless thoughts which are very active, keep on arising, ceaselessly. If you do not believe me, you can check for yourself. Throughout the day you think a lot. Your thoughts proliferate and run far ahead of whatever you do when you’re not with the moment; when you are not mindful. As you do things, you think; as you walk you think, even as you sleep you also think. The subconscious movements are all over. But because you are heedless and you are never mindful, you cannot see all these and you cannot understand. That’s why you tend to have this type of problem in life. Heedlessness leads to a lot of unnecessary problems and suffering in life because there is no clarity at all. Your mind is always restless, in constant fear, and has a lot of worries and anxieties. Then you are attached to so many things. Everything you see, you hear, you smell, you taste, and feel via your tactile consciousness…..etc. appear so real. To you they are like very real. Then you grasp, you cling, you accumulate, without knowing that these are all psychological memories that can bring about attachment leading to suffering and misery in the future. So as you develop this understanding, as you silent your mind more and more until you are able to be mindful in the midst of your daily life, then your life becomes very different. You will start to have the ability to see many things. That’s why now I can go deeper into this topic.

If you don’t believe me, you can try it out when you are free, or even when you are here. Like now, when I look outside my awareness can be with all of the phenomena outside because my mind is silent. The flow of nature, the movements of the trees, its leaves and branches and even your human activities and all the vibration within nature and everything else which is within the surroundings, I can become aware of them and my mind is very sensitive because it is silent without thought within. But if I think a lot and is preoccupied with all the thinking, emotions and responses to sense experiences (i.e. busy describing, reacting and commenting) then my nature cannot be with those phenomena because that Nature, that Awareness, can only be with the phenomena when it is silent as men can only do one thing at a time. Either you are silent and aware within or you are lost in thought. This awareness can be with all your physical, mental and nature’s phenomena or flows. Physical flow refers to your physical body’s actions and movements. Mental flows refer to your mental movements which are your saṅkhāra or mental activities. Then Nature’s phenomena refer to Nature’s flow within Nature. They can be the movements of the trees, the plants, the moving car, the vibration and everything else that are within Nature. Then even when everything is very quiet and very still, the Essence of Mind can still perceive the stillness or silence within nature. The Essence of mind can also perceive the mental phenomena. Mental phenomena are your mental moments like the moment of feeling upon contact, the moment of perception, the moment of thinking or Saṅkhāra (activity of mind) and the moment of Consciousness. All these are possible because you are silent hence the awareness can be with it. You can understand what is going on because there is clarity when you are silent. Then you can see them very clearly. But if you are heedless you can never understand. You can never know because you cannot experience them. Things that you have no experience of, you cannot develop the understanding. That is why the heedless are as if dead. That’s why if you don’t train your mind to be heedful, to be more and more mindful and silent, there is no way you can penetrate the Dhamma.

You can attend retreats to silent yourself or use an object of meditation to fix your mind, to go into concentration, to go into absorption. And because the settings under retreat conditions are very conducive you can become very calm and very peaceful. But all these are conditioned states. These are not something that can actually transform you and change you because to transform and change you need Wisdom, you need Understanding. All these are part and parcel of the conditioned mind, the by-product of a calm mind which means calmness meditation, or Samatha Bhāvanā. You may label it as Vipassanā because you slow everything down. You slow down your actions, your movements and you hardly think because the environment you are in is very conducive. Then you use your thought to label, to note and to be with those activities, thinking that by practicing all these you are meditating and you are cultivating Vipassanā Bhāvanā.

To be honest, this is at least better than heedless thinking. But these are conditioned states because they are not natural mind states of a free mind. And that calmness that you develop is not the real sati or the meditative mind state because it is just a conditioned state. You cannot develop real Wisdom out of that because it is not a direct seeing via the silent mind. It is still thought based. It is still Dhamma knowledge in action. There is no real penetration of Dhamma and Understanding. Just like how I explained to Sister Eng Bee, I said ‘When you silent the mind there is no word and the mind that is silent will insight into and awaken to the phenomena’. Then when it insight into the Truth and the Reality it awakens. Then it can relate to the Dhamma. Then you straight away will understand what the Dhamma is. You will have the true Understanding, no more just the words, the interpretation and not according to what the book says anymore.

The example I gave her is swimming. Not until the day you try until you experience that buoyancy, you will never understand what true buoyancy is, what swimming is. When you don’t need the float to stay afloat, then you realise ‘Hey, this is beautiful. What they say about the natural state of this body being lighter than water is buoyancy is so true.’

If I don’t deludedly panic, if I have faith and allow the body to initially sink first then upon reaching equilibrium the buoyancy force will push it up. Then the body will surface. Then to swim I just move either my hands or my legs. Then swimming becomes very easy. I don’t have to worry about me drowning or sinking. I don’t have to struggle in the water. I can swim with understanding then I am at peace. Then swimming becomes very graceful. No more splashing of water, no more panic movements or struggling to float.

So when you experience that buoyancy and floatation it is just like you experience your Silent Mind, the True Mind. Then you realise ‘Ay, the true mind without delusion is already naturally peaceful, still, silent and meditative. I don’t have to do anything to reach that state - just like swimming.’

Then what happens? Because you awaken to that state, you understand; that Mind is your True Mind. Then that True Mind can see things as they are without word without conditioning. But human beings’ problem is you have a lot of memories, you have a lot of views, opinions and conditioning. Before you can silent, at every moment of seeing or hearing or thinking you interpret, react and stir the mind. That’s why you can never see things as they are; you can never understand Truth. Then you use your thought based knowledge to link with the Dhamma and interpret: “Oh, is this Anicca? Is this Dukkha? Is this Anattā? “You cling on to all these Dhamma knowledge. That is not the real meditation. That is thought based meditation which is knowledge based and it cannot liberate your mind. So you have to trust yourself, understand that the true meditation is to train our minds to arise this first factor of enlightenment of Sati and when Sati is developed and stabilised through puja, through bowing, through daily mindfulness, through kāyānupassanā first three categories of practices your mind will transform to become heedful. That’s why after doing the mind sweeping method to de-condition the heedless thinking, you then stabilise it via anchoring it to a skilful means either ānāpānasati or any other skilful means or method and technique that you are familiar with. Then you continue to develop the silence until the mindfulness becomes very stable. Then go into daily life to cultivate mindfulness of the four postures; then mindfulness of all actions and all movements in between the four postures leading to sati-sampajañña (mindfulness with clear comprehension).

If you do this, your mind will slow down. You don’t slow down your actions. Everything is still the same. You go into daily life. You still do everything the same way, at the same pace. But because you are already heedful, more and more mindful and silent, that’s why you are fully aware of whatever that is going on. And when you can stabilise that, you become beautiful. While cultivating the daily mindfulness do not try to know. The moment you are in Sati you will know. Just like swimming, when you develop the training until you can float, you will know what floatation is. It is no more a theory.

When you train until your mind is already in Sati you will know. It is like any game or life activity that you are skilful at or familiar with; like yoga; chi gong; Tai Chi; or even cooking, badminton and table tennis. When you are very skilful you are no longer like before; rather clumsy. Skilful means every movement, every action you are very graceful and you can do it spontaneously with no thoughts behind. It has become a part of you. You have already trained so well and everything you do is within the moment. That’s why everything becomes so graceful. That is a trained mind. And when you are in that state you are actually in Sati. You will come to realise that when you do all these you do not think anymore. When people ask you, ‘How you can cook so well? How do you know how much salt is required? Where to get those ingredients etc.’ you will answer them - through experience! Because you have the experience and you understand hence you can do it. Even when playing any game, when you have developed the skill you can actually decide how you want to play the game because you are so skilful. Just like when playing badminton, if you want to serve low, it will go low. You want it at base line, it will go baseline. Then how you want to return your shots you can decide. That means you have complete understanding of the game. You can decide where to place the shuttlecock because you are so skilful and you can move very fast, spontaneously. That is why it is very effective. Then you can decide where you want to send the shuttlecock to.

So your mind is the same. When you have trained it, it listens to you. You want it to be silent, it will be silent. You want it to be peaceful, it will be peaceful. You want it to arise to be aware it will be aware. You want it to live life, it will live life. The mind is like a tool for you to use to live life. It is not the other way round. The other way round is when you are heedless the thoughts tell you a lot of things. They condition you into holding on to a lot of wrong views and opinions. Then all these habitual tendencies that you have developed via your wrong views and opinions and conditionings will drive you to live a heedless life. That is how you become a slave to your own thought, to your own conditioning, to your own views and opinions. And you don’t know how to live otherwise. That’s why you become very predictable. As you are heedless you will have these habitual tendencies of reacting and resisting all over again and again. That is why no amount of meditation retreats can help or transform you if you are heedless in your daily life.

When you go for meditation retreat, you can become calmer, more peaceful and you think you have progressed, but the moment you come out of it and because in the daily life, you have not trained yourself, you are never heedful, then heedlessness takes over. And within 1 week or maximum 2 weeks, you are back to square one. Then you will come to realize you still have this fear in you. You still have this heedlessness in you. You still have those evil roots in you. They are not rooted out as yet and your habitual tendencies are still there, very strong. What you will normally do is: you will try to use your Dhamma knowledge to suppress and control them via saying, ‘I don’t want to get angry because anger is an evil root’. This is what most people do. But the real cultivation is different. The moment you understand through the silence, you will see the delusion and the foolishness of living that type of heedless life. And because the Buddha Dhamma can stand up to investigation you will come to realize that this is real heedlessness.

The two states of mind are so far apart. Just like what I had always explained to you all. Heedful living is so different because it is so beautiful. You will have a lot of joy, a lot of happiness, a lot of peacefulness, a lot of silence and a lot of stillness. You can be with the moment without thought most of the time. No thoughts mean no fear, no worry, no anxiety and no suffering, no egoic mind; nothing and you just live instead of worrying about life because you have the understanding. Whereas the heedless person they are so agitated throughout the day; so restless and they think and worry a lot due to their mental hindrances (especially their dualities of sensual desire and ill will in the forms of likes and dislikes, pleasant and unpleasant sense experiences) and their reactions of mind to all of their sense experiences.

Then they worry a lot, to the extent that they worry not only about themselves but also about their loved ones, their wealth, their properties and their possessions. Everything to them is like there is no security. They are so insecure and they worry about their physical body getting old, getting sick and dying one day. They fear death. Then apart from their health, they also worry about their career, their relationship with their loved ones and others. Then they will also worry about many other life related issues. So they seems to be always chasing and running around, trying to escape from their own self-centred sorrow via ‘fire-fighting’ and worrying about all these issues. Not understanding that all these issues are the realities of life and existence as proclaimed by the Buddha under his 1st Noble Truth.

They not only worried about their career, their property, their wealth, their business, their spouse and their children but later on they may even worry about their grandchildren, then their health and their future. All these can lead to a lot of suffering when you don’t understand. And you will cling and grasp because you think this human form and mind which is what you think you are is real. That is why when you perceive it as real you will perceive your loved ones as real and all those possessions of yours as real too. So when the mind is deluded by all these it is never peaceful. That is why heedless living is full of suffering, full of restlessness, full of doubts and problems.

So Heedlessness actually brings about a lot of suffering and problems. That is why Heedlessness is the path to the dead. Spiritually you are dead. So to have the spiritual life you must train your mind to be heedful and that is the key to understanding life i.e. you need to train your mind, to be heedful. It is clearly explained in my blue transcript book titled ‘Understanding the meditation as taught by the Buddha’. So you only need to start from there.

2.5 Training The Mind To Be Heedful

First we must De-condition the heedless thinking via the mind sweeping method and mettā to make the mind quiet or aware then cultivate ānāpānasati to stabilise the quiet mind (which is sati). Then use trained mind to cultivate mindfulness of the 4 postures leading to sati-sampajañña. Simultaneously you also train your 5 spiritual faculties through puja and a good daily religious routine. If you do these, Sati will come about, Mindfulness will come about. Then you will become very different. You will know how to meditate on your own because this cultivation and understanding will transform you radically; not only character wise but also personality wise and understanding wise. Then you will become a completely different person. You will have noble understanding of life. N8FP will unfold in you. You will have Right Thought, leading to Right Speech, Right Action and the right way to live your life. Then you will have the ability to apply the Four Right Effort to constantly purify your thoughts and your mind. You will have Mindfulness and Heedfulness throughout the day and it will cumulate into Samādhi. Then you will continuously develop Understanding and Wisdom after that and this is how the Dhamma can unfold in you. OK this is the important summary of the cultivation that I want to share with you all today and hopefully this can become something useful for you all to take home. Do you have any more questions? If no more question then we can open up for general discussion.

3. QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

3.1 Question 1 by Brother Danny:

On the development of the 5 Spiritual Faculties the second one is Vīriya or Effort. I was told once, that during meditation sometimes you come across a lot of discomfort, ease and unease, terribly uncomfortable, very tough. I was told that this spiritual faculty of ‘Effort’ requires us to grit our teeth and try to force it through. What is Bro Teoh’s comment on this?

Bro Teoh : Good question because many people get trapped in this situation. Regarding this spiritual zeal or Vīriya, many people who read the English translation will get it wrong because it is commonly translated as ‘Effort’. Vīriya has nothing to do with Effort. The N8FP’s path factor of “Right Effort” is called ‘Sammā  vayama’ in Pāḷi. It’s not called Vīriya. Vīriya is a spiritual zeal, spiritual tenacity to walk this way. It is not Effort. Effort is thought-based. The mind determines through Right Effort and there are 4 Right Efforts as taught by the Buddha. That is the reason why the Buddha taught this under N8FP because this is thought-based and you have to start from thought base.

3.1.1 The 4 Right Efforts

Under the teaching what is the First Right Effort? The First Right Effort is the Right Effort to abandon the unwholesome thought that has arisen. That is why it is thought based. The second Right Effort is the Right Effort to prevent the un-arisen unwholesome Thought from arising. Then the Third Right Effort is the Right Effort to promote the Virtues in the form of Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood that are still not in you. That’s how you can develop more and more wholesomeness, contentment, gentleness, pleasantness, simplicity, honesty, gratitude and respect; all these are very virtuous and wholesome. That is how you cultivate all the Right and appropriate thought. Then the last right effort is the Right Effort to refine upon and perfect all those Virtues that you have started to develop. So these are the four Right Efforts which are still thought based.

When it comes to Spiritual Faculties it is termed Vīriya in Pāḷi. Vīriya is not Vayama. Vīriya is a Spiritual Zeal, a spiritual tenacity to walk this way, to follow the advice of the Buddha to cultivate accordingly. How does Vīriya come about? It comes about via an understanding and because it is a spiritual zeal, a spiritual tenacity, which is a driving force; an energy hence it is not a thought. Your heart wants to do it because you know this is important. You see the importance of it.

So when it comes to Vīriya, you have to reflect and contemplate clearly into the Buddha Dhamma, the Teaching. That is why we chant the salutation to the Buddha. You have to develop understanding of who the Buddha is and how unique He is? From our chanting of the salutation to the Buddha: “Iti piso bhagava araham ….. The Nine Great Virtues of the Buddha”, we come to realize that the Buddha is the Fully Enlightened One, not only enlightened and because he is fully enlightened, He has nine Great Virtues.

Such indeed is the Blessed One, the Worthy One and the Fully Enlightened One etc. Blessed with what? He is blessed with Virtue and Wisdom. He is the wisest and the most virtuous living being ever to be born during His time in the entire universe. Wisdom wise He is above even the Devas, the Brahmas and all other beings. Then we chant ‘Homage to the Blessed One, the Worthy One (because He is an Arahant) and He is the fully Enlightened One hence He is worthy of respect, reverential salutation, offering, hospitality and gifts. So these are the first 3 great virtues that you have come across in the teaching and He is also a teacher of man and god. He can teach anybody. He is a guide incomparable. That’s why all these are His great virtues and to have such a Great Being to be your teacher and your guide, you will have a lot of faith and respect for him, gratitude towards him. That is how your faith or Saddhā in him can become very strong and finally unshakable.

Then you come to the Dhamma: ‘Svakhato Bhagavato Dhammo and all those other things…’ then you come to realize that this Dhamma is so unique, so special because there is no need to wait until death, it can be realized in the here and now, each by the Wise and they will stand up to investigation. It is also something that can awaken you, liberate you, and make you enlightened so that you can be free from all suffering.

If you come to know that this Dhamma is so powerful and so fantastic then what are you waiting for? For me when I came to understand this in 1971, there is no turning back, because this is so important to me. It not only involves my present life, but my entire existence and future lives. Everything depends on this understanding. If I cannot have this understanding then why must I come to this world to suffer? That’s why I will have this Spiritual Zeal based on this understanding to go all out to cultivate and develop this Understanding of the Buddha Dhamma and all these essential Dhamma so that I can move. That’s how the Vīriya comes about. When you see the importance of cultivating this meditation via training of the mind to be mindful and heedful, Vīriya will arise then you can never be sleepy anymore. You will endure and you will persevere even when you experience extreme discomfort or pain or whatever difficulty that arises. Just like what the Buddha determined under the bodhi tree, “Even until the blood dries up, I will not arise from this seat,” unless He developed the Enlightenment. That resolve, that determination is so strong. All these are part and parcel of the cultivation’s understanding.

That’s why Sabbāsava Sutta said, ‘Things that you need to endure, you endure; like your bodily conditions of pain, sickness, disease, etc.’ When the body is sick, do not allow your mind also to be sick. When there is sensation of itchiness, pain or whatever due to insects, you also have to endure because the condition is such. All these are part and parcel of understanding the teaching. Then this Vīriya will become very strong to drive you on to cultivate. That’s how you can determine to pay respect to the Buddha and vow to develop the spiritual faculties to understand his Dhamma. You will then develop Sati, stabilise it. You will do your puja offering, you will chant all the pre-puja and salutations to the Triple Gems, etc. You will renew your precepts, you will develop the understanding of the essential dhamma then you will cultivate via putting it into practice. That’s how Vīriya can actually transform you.

What they tell you to do, “Clench your teeth and see it through etc.’ - very likely they just read about it from the dhamma book and interpreted it wrongly to you because in the text the Buddha did give this advice when he taught the monks the five ways to overcome unwholesome thought but it is a different teaching. What are the five ways?

3.1.2 Five Ways To Overcome Unwholesome Thoughts

First way is to think of the direct opposite wholesome thought. When you have wholesome thoughts you cannot think of negative thoughts. Like when you have anger, you reverse it and radiate mettā. When there is mettā, when you wish yourself well and happy, you cannot have anger any more unless you attach and cling on to that thought. Then you are not being mindful. You only verbalize like a parrot. The anger is still there. But if you really have this understanding when you reflect and contemplate on the direct opposite wholesome thought then the negative thought cannot arise. But because of your delusion, you haven’t rooted it out as yet so this first way is just a temporary solution to overcome unwholesome thought. The moment you stop radiating mettā, the memory will recall then you will get angry and become unhappy again. That’s why the Buddha knows you cannot do it. If it cannot help you root it out permanently then Buddha asks you to go to the second way of contemplation.

The second way is to reflect and think of the consequences or danger of holding on to these evil roots of anger, fear, worry and anxiety in your mind. Because all these are evil roots, roots of all evil hence it will make you evil; especially your anger and your hatred. It will cause you to think very negatively. From there it is capable of making you violent. Do you want to live that type of life? It is your life you have to decide. If I know it is an evil root that can bring about downfall to my life, negative Karma to my life then I know I will have to confront the fruits of it later on, then I will never do it because I cherish my life more. I do not want to fall into negativity. I do not want to violate the Precepts. I do not want to hold on to these evil roots because it will make the Form & Mind evil. And an evil person is capable of a lot of negative things that violate the moral code of Karma and this will bring about downfall in your life.

Like the Buddha said, “You are born of your Karma, heir to your Karma, conditioned and supported by your Karma. You are what you are because of karma” so if you don’t take care of Karma your life will surely become miserable. When you reflect on the consequences and danger of holding onto these wrong thoughts, you will determine to abandon them. All these, you can use thoughts because they are thought based skilful means to help tackle the problem temporarily.

The third way is the best, it is the meditative way. The Buddha said you don’t have to fight the anger, the fear, the worry, the anxiety, the lust, the craving and the delusion. What you need to do is just silent your mind, maintain awareness, just be aware. Then what happens? Everything will cease to be, because everything is condition arising. Anger was never there before you get angry. Fear was never there before you get fearful. And all those negativities they are not inherent within your intrinsic Nature. Your original mind is silent, peaceful, still and tranquil. There is no movement inside there. There is nothing. Just like what Hui Neng, the 6th Patriarch said in his poem, “本来无一物 (Běn lái wú yī wù - Originally there was nothing), 何处惹尘埃 (hé chù rě chén āi- Where can any dust alight?)”

Originally there was nothing, where can any dust alight?” If you don’t have wrong views to stir your mind, to react and make yourself angry, fearful miserable, that state will not arise. Anger is not you, because when anger arises, passes away and ceases, you never die. So how can anger be you? Why do you want to worry about anger? You have to understand that they are not inherent in you. It is not you but it has arisen in the Form and Mind via your self-delusion and wrong view. That’s why; mindfulness of Citta can make you aware of this. When the content of consciousness has anger, you must be aware that this citta has been conditioned into negativity. Your mind is no longer in its original state of stillness with inner awareness. Your mind has stirred.

Just like feeling when it arises upon contact. When feeling is no more pure feeling, it means you have delusion, unwise attention (Ayoniso Manasikāra) at the moment of contact. You do not have Wisdom or wise attention at the moment of sense experience. That’s why feeling immediately becomes craving. Cravings are your likes and dislikes or pleasant and unpleasant feelings which are your positive and negative cravings.

Under Vedanānupassanā, the Buddha said, ‘When feeling has transformed into pleasant or unpleasant or neutral feeling you must be aware’. Aware means what? With awareness, you can trace the Origination Factors. How does the un-arisen hindrance like sensual desire and ill will, pleasant and unpleasant feelings come to be? You will come to understand clearly how the un-arisen hindrances, the evil roots come to be. When you silent your mind, you will come to know how they cease to be. How the arisen hindrance, defilement and evil root ceases to be. That is how you meditate. Only then can you develop the Wisdom.

Then you can go to the fourth way because the third way can only allow you to be peaceful in formal meditation. But when you come out into life & society, you will come to realise again that your views are still wrong views. You still have delusion and have not straightened your view and you still react as before. Your mind will still stir and you will still become angry and fearful. That’s why living beings or cultivators never really change or transform. So the third way is effective only temporarily. It is a temporary solution to calm down the restless mind, the agitated mind and all the other negativity of mind states. You cannot rely on this way. That is why you need to move on to the fourth way.

The fourth way is Dhammānupassanā. You trace the Origination Factor. Before anger or fear arises it was not there, how does it come to be? You have to develop mindfulness of Dhamma under Dhammānupassanā. That is Mindfulness of the 6 internal sense bases and the 6 external sense bases. Then you will come to realize that all these negativity of mind states arise through sense door consciousness.

It arises through one of the senses. Upon contact, either when you see something, then due to your wrong view, you react and get angry or when you hear something abusive or something that you do not like then again you react. Or when you hear some bad news then you develop fear, worry and anxiety. All these come about through your reaction of mind, borne of your wrong view, your conditioning. Then you will come to realise how all these mental states come about. Then if you continue to be silent, you will come to understand how it ceases to be. Ceases to be means when you do not give it anymore meaning or feed it with anymore thought energy, then all anger will return to its original state of stillness before the stirring if you just silent and maintain awareness within. Just like swimming – the original state of this body is buoyancy. It will return to its original state of buoyancy if you do not struggle or panic, but just silent and let things be. The mind is the same. It will become peaceful again.

The next time you get angry just maintain silent and relax your body and mind. No need to do anything. Do you know what will happen? You will come to realize that your agitation, the anger, the mental movements inside have started to slow down. Then all of a suddenly stillness will arise and the mind is like nothing. Then you will come to realise via saying, ‘Hey! That is real meditation. I don’t have to do anything, I just silent my mind’. That’s why silence is the real meditation. The moment you are silent, you will understand that all these are condition-arising states, never you. They are all impermanent, they come and they go and when it arise and pass away you still around, you never die. That‘s why anger is never you, anger is conditions arising. The Aggregates of Mind are never you. Feelings come and go and you never die. Perception comes and goes and you never die. Activities of mind or your thoughts come and go and you never die, consciousness comes and goes you never die. So how come you still continue to deludedly cling and say feeling which can be pleasant and unpleasant (or painful feeling) is me? Then you cling on to your loved ones and the people you come to perceive, all these you hold on to them. Why? It is because you cannot understand that they are not what they are and they don’t belong to you.

To you the Form & Mind is like very real, because you cannot see through the Five Aggregates of Form & Mind to realise that they are all empty. That’s why the Buddha said there is this Universal Characteristics of Impermanence. Because they are impermanent, they will lead to suffering; everything will change no matter how pleasant or unpleasant that state is. They will change and if you cling and attach and want things your way, you will be caught. Suffering will be there. That is why from Impermanence it will lead to suffering. There is this duality hence it is impermanent, conditions arising, it is never a permanent unchanging entity that you can hold on to, cling onto and say this is me, this is I and therefore all these can be mine. Just like this body, you can never say to it: “Please don’t get old, don’t get sick and don’t die” because it doesn’t belong to you. It is only a condition arising entity and it goes the way of Nature. It cannot remain the same eternally. This one is not your True Nature. This body arises due to conditions and it is karmically conditioned out for you to use. If you deludedly grasp and cling, suffering will arise.

This is how you penetrate the Dhamma. This is how you see the unreality of this Form & Mind as mentioned in the Heart Sutra. When Kuan Yin Bodhisatta was cultivating the Prajna Paramita (Perfection of Wisdom Cultivation), He illuminated the 5 Skandhas and realized that they were all empty because through Wisdom, He penetrated. He is no longer deluded and He passed beyond all suffering and reached the other shore. All these are all found in the teaching of the Heart Sutra.

When you can trace the Origination Factors, you will come to realise that it arises through one of your senses, borne of wrong view. The Buddha said when you understand how the un-arisen hindrance or evil root comes to be, then when you continue to silent your mind you will also come to understand how the arisen hindrance ceases to be. Then you will know how to retrospectively reverse it via straightening your view. To do that you must reflect and contemplate as follows: “Why do I stir? How come I have this wrong view? “Where does it come from? My conditionings, my belief system - all those things that I come to believe in, that made me like that since young until now”. Then you will come to realize that if these are wrong views, then what must I do to develop Right View. How can I develop Right View? Go back to the teaching. What did the Buddha say? What are the three types of Right Views? Have you cultivated them? They are the Spiritual Laws that govern life and existence. The first one is Law of Karma. Because there is karmic conditioning behind, that’s why if there is karmic obstruction, it will obstruct you. You cannot go beyond. You have to ask for forgiveness.

In Mahayana, there is such a thing as “repentance”, asking for forgiveness. Even during the Buddha’s time, the Theravadas also have this chanting: “Kayena vaca citena …..” which is asking for forgiveness from the Triple Gems. But you should expand on it to ask for forgiveness from all beings; that is ‘whomsoever from the distant past until now whether knowingly or unknowingly that this nature of yours has caused any karmic negativity, suffering or misery and mislead you would like to sincerely ask for forgiveness and may this request for forgiveness be accepted. You have to do that otherwise the obstructions will be there.

Then when you understand through this Nature’s Law of Karma that “You reap what you sow, do good begets good, do evil begets evil and the fifth of the five daily contemplations which states: ‘Each and every living being, we are all born of our Karma, heir to our Karma; conditioned and supported by our Karma. We are what we are because of Karma’ we will know how to live life accordingly”. So when you have this Right View, what must you do? You must take care of Karma. Then you realise, this is how the advice of the Buddha comes about.

How do we take care of Karma? The Buddha said ‘Keep your Precepts.’ Who violate Precepts? They are people with the 3 evil roots of Greed, Hatred and Delusion. Then to take care of Precepts you have to be heedful, you can never do it if you are heedless. You have to train your mind to be mindful, to be heedful, and to be ever mindful of all your mental intentions behind all your action, speech and thought processes. That’s how mindfulness comes in, heedfulness comes in and the Four Right Efforts come in. That’s how the N8FP can be understood and cultivated. That’s why this Law of Karma is very powerful. When you have that Right View, you don’t blame anybody or react to life anymore because there are causes and conditions behind everything that arises as stated by the Buddha.

You don’t get angry with that person or hate that person anymore. You will come to understand via that right view that whatever they do to you, very likely in the past, this Nature of mine must have done this to other people before. That’s why now there are conditions for it to arise and it has to confront all these as karmic vipāka because you reap what you sow and what you do to people come back to you. You become the victim now. So you must have the wisdom to accept them all and be at peace with them then act with understanding. If need to ask for forgiveness, ask for forgiveness. Then tell yourself to determine from now onwards that I am not going to repeat all these. I am not going to allow this delusion to continue. I will follow the advice of the Buddha. That’s why I will determine to keep my Precepts from now on. Forgive and forget and move on. That’s how you cultivate.

3.1.3 Law of the Mind (Citta Niyāma)

After that we will go into Citta Niyāma (the law of the mind) to understand how mind function. The Buddha taught the law of Dependent Origination or Paṭicca samuppāda which is the second Spiritual Law under this Right View.

When you understand Paṭicca samuppāda you will understand how your mind functions, then you will come to realize that you need Wisdom to liberate your mind. Otherwise without Wisdom, the Avijjā Paccaya Saṅkhāra link will condition you to think a lot. You will become heedless because dependent on ignorance, activities of mind or saṅkhāra arises. If I don’t straighten my view, if I don’t develop understanding or wisdom, this ignorance will continue to condition me to be heedless, to think. That’s why when you have this understanding, you will straighten your view via having the appropriate Right View then you will have fewer problems and less thinking. You will become less heedless, more heedful and mindful to see things as they are and insight into the characteristics of nature. That’s how that link is weakened. Avijjā Paccaya Saṅkhāra is weakened. And that’s how you actually transform. To trace the Origination Factor is easy. You know that it is from one of your sense doors due to your wrong view. So you develop Right View with regards to the Law of Karma leading towards Acceptance of what is! Then if there is a need to ask for forgiveness, ask for forgiveness. Then vow not to repeat all these karmic negativities. Determine to avoid all evil via keeping your precepts and cultivate wholesomeness. Next invoke power of merits and blessings for causes and conditions for you to gain back your good life so that you can have the condition to cultivate, to move, to progress along the path of Dhamma again.

As dhamma friends, the Kalyāṇamitta fund is geared towards this purpose; to help all kalyāṇamitta to develop the requisite parami and merits for you all to have the good life and good conditions to walk the path of Dhamma. Kalyāṇamitta can also invoke the power of merits for causes and conditions to arise via nature’s laws for you all to overcome your karmic obstructions and obstacles. It is also for you all to develop the causes and conditions to move (progress).

When you have done that, you will have to reflect and contemplate on the essential Dhamma to develop the clear understanding of these 3 important Right Views for you to develop the wisdom to overcome your wrong views.

How do you straighten your views? Law of Karma is one of them; the law of Dependent Origination is the second one. So you reflect and contemplate, ‘Why do I react and stir my mind into negativity at every moment of sense door consciousness?’ It is due to my wrong view, Sakkāya-diṭṭhi or self-delusion because I thought it is me. I believe there is a person who says bad things about me. That’s why everything looks real to me but when you have penetrated the Dhamma and realized that they are all impermanent, conditions arising, no reality, form and mind only not what you think then you don’t take it as something so personal anymore. Soon you will come to understand that all these mind states are only naturally condition-arising entities that go the way of nature exhibiting their universal characteristics of nature.

So only Form & Mind arguing with another Form & Mind; getting angry with another Form & Mind; developing fear through delusion, Sakkāya-diṭṭhi and ignorance. So what are all these? You have to reverse your wrong understanding and learn how to develop more and more Wisdom not to be deluded by all these. Then you need to ask yourself if all these are impermanent, conditions arising, no reality (Anicca, Dukkha, Anattā) then how can I develop the Right View not to react?

If I don’t believe this is me then there is no more problem. Whatever people say or do, it is just a condition arising Form & Mind saying all those things. So, if you can accept what they do, say or act, then you can become peaceful. You have to learn to accept them for what they are, to see things as they are. You have to come to terms with the reality, to accept what is! They are just the way they are. When you say, ‘Accept them for what they are’ what does that mean? It means, ‘Deluded people will say deluded things. Angry people will say angry things. Selfish people will do selfish things’. If they are just the way they are then there’s nobody to get angry because you can accept them for what they are even though you may not agree with what they say or do.

The moment you can accept them for what they are you will no longer stir your mind. You will no longer react and blame because you understand this Law of Karma. Hence you can accept them completely. When there is complete acceptance it means you are at peace, no more anger, no more hatred. Then you realise that, this is a pretty good way to live life because no more conflict and suffering. This is Right View. This is how you straighten your view.

When you have straightened your view, then you will be able to respond differently the next time you see that person or hear or recall those unhappy scars of memories because there is no more delusion. Then you realise … ‘Hey, nowadays I don’t react like before anymore’. Then sometimes when you see them doing all those foolish things, you will instead of reacting, pity them. And out of compassion for them you will radiate love and mettā towards them. You may even say, ‘Forgive them for they know not what they are doing’. You can follow Jesus advice. Even when people crucify him He will not get angry with them because they don’t understand the consequences of their action. They are just the way they are. So when you have developed such Wisdom you can laugh at all these things.

Then as you radiate Metta, if he continues to scold you and you are not affected by it anymore it means you must have changed. Otherwise how can you do that? Then you will say to him, ‘It’s ok and thank you so much or sorry for whatever happened. If I have caused you any misunderstanding or had unknowingly offended you then I would like to ask for forgiveness’. Or ‘In the past before I knew the Dhamma I really don’t understand all these and I was foolish. That’s why I teased you, I disturbed you, I cheated you but now I would like to ask for forgiveness’. The moment he hears you say that he will look at you differently. Then he may say ‘It is okay, at that time I was also at fault’. But if you keep on blaming him and arguing with him he will become violent, he may even whack you. So that is life. When you have traced the Origination Factors, you can retrospectively reverse it. This fourth way is the best way. This is applying Dhamma understanding. This is meditation. This is Wisdom, Understanding via seeing things as they are, not reacting and always at peace. Then correct your views, straighten your views. That’s why listening to Dhamma followed by straightening one’s view is meritorious actions. If you continue to straighten your views you will have more and more Right View then what does it means? It means you are less and less ignorant. Then the first link of the Law of Dependent Origination, which is ‘Avijjā Paccaya Saṅkhāra’ gets weakened. Weakened means what? It means less ignorant leading to less Saṅkhāra. What is Saṅkhāra? They are Mental activities, mental thinking; emotions, mental states, etc. All these become less and less. That’s how you become more and more mindful, more and more heedful. All those that are not worth thinking you will not think about them anymore.

Just like what the Buddha said in the ‘Sabbāsava Sutta’: Things that are unfit for attention you will never give attention anymore. When you give attention, what happens? The un-arisen Āsava or defilements will arise, the arisen becomes worse. Then why do you want to think in that way? That‘s why when you have this understanding your mind is different. You will be liberated. You will be free.

Then the fifth way, the Buddha said (This is where they take from the text and tell Danny): If all the first four advices that He has taught you, also cannot help you then there is nothing that the Buddha can do for you. You have to fight it yourself. ‘With tongue against the palate, you determine to abandon the unwholesome thought’. That means you must use your sheer mental strength and determination to abandon it and that way is still thought based.

Of course this was also one of the 5 advices of the Buddha. But how did that advice come about? If these first four ways also cannot help you then you better don’t come and see Him. You go and do it yourself. That is what the fifth advice is all about.

So Danny what did they advise you to do? You told them it is really unbearable yet they ask you to fight it, right? That fifth advice of the Buddha is to abandon the unwholesome thoughts and not to fight all those unbearable mind states. Whatever mental state whether bearable or unbearable is decided by who? By the mind up there and if there is delusion then you will label it as unbearable or very painful. When you do that what happens? Pain is an aversion or ill will which is a mental hindrance which will hinder your mind from entering the meditative state of inner peace and inner awareness. But if you have wisdom you will be at peace with everything and you will not label the feeling to arise the duality borne of delusion. Then there is nothing unbearable. It becomes unbearable because you are deluded; you have attachment to comfort, to good states but you don’t know how to overcome it.

Just like the Law of Karma, if you want to have good life, take care of karma then Karma will take care of your life. That’s it and no more doubt! Therefore live life in accordance with this Law of Karma. That’s why you do your duty and you will have a good life, beautiful life. If you don’t do your duty and when Nature’s Law hits back then you complain. That is delusion.

So like what the Buddha said, ‘Your life, you decide how you want to live’. He had already told you: Dhammapada Verse 1 leads to suffering and Dhammapada Verse 2 leads to happiness in life. Pretty easy to choose isn’t it? If you want to have a happy life what must you do? You have to train your mind to be heedful to avoid Dhammapada Verse 1.

The Buddha said, ‘Your mind is the most important entity. Mind is the forerunner of all things, Mind is Chief. When Mind arises, everything comes to be’. So what must you do? If you are heedless, you will act, speak and think with a heedless or deluded mind that has the evil root of greed, hatred and delusion. If you do that, suffering will follow you like the wheels that follow the hoof as per Dhammapada verse 1. It is clear that if you are heedless you will develop the evil roots. You will act, speak and think heedlessly with an unwholesome mind which has the evil root of greed, hatred and delusion. Then suffering will follow you. Most human beings are like that. They suffer a lot.

In the second complementary Dhammapada Verse 2, again the Buddha said, “Your mind is the forerunner of all things. Mind is chief and Mind is very important. Choose to take care of the mind”. Train your mind to be heedful to be aware. When you act, speak and think with a wholesome mind which is free of all the evil roots of greed, hatred and delusion then happiness will follow you like your shadow that never leaves you.

So life is pretty simple. If you want to be happy avoid Dhammapada Verse 1, train your mind to be heedful and develop all the wholesomeness as per the N8FP cultivation then happiness will follow you.

When you keep your Precepts; when you have Virtue, it is a source of happiness. It’s is stated in the text. And when you are happy you will be peaceful. And because of that precept is also a source of true spiritual peace and wealth. It will bring about the understanding of the spiritual teaching. This is how you develop the understanding. Investigate into all things. Don’t just listen to what others tell you and get the essential Dhamma clearly understood.

Vīriya is not Effort. Vīriya is a spiritual tenacity or zeal; a force that drives you. It is energy. It is not directed by the thought. Effort is thought based. Effort is ‘want to do’; the wanting is from the thought whereas Spiritual zeal is the tenacity that moves you. There is no thought behind. It is wisdom behind, via understanding the importance of cultivating such meditation. And there is no greed, no effort, no determination and no thought behind. It is just an understanding that sees the importance of this practice. When you see the importance but don’t practise then it is your choice because it is your life and the decision is yours to make. Sati is for you to see then develop the spiritual zeal to move.

OK shall we end? Sādhu! Sādhu! Sādhu! Is there anymore question?

That question by Bro. Danny is very good. At least you all can learn from it. And most of it I have already explained before especially the five ways to overcome unwholesome thoughts. But maybe the Klang group have not heard of this spiritual faculty of Vīriya being explained in this way before. But I have explained it in many of my sharing in the Tuesday class, Thursday class and Sunday class.

3.2 Question 2 by Brother Yap:

Bro Teoh, if it is Vīriya through thought based can it be clinging?

Bro Teoh: What do you think? If you interpret Vīriya wrongly it becomes thought based. Vīriya itself is not thought based. Vīriya is a spiritual faculty so how can it be thought based? Just like Saddhā, it’s a faith, it’s a mental state. It’s not a thought. When I have faith in the Buddha I don’t have to believe the Buddha. That faith comes from understanding. Understanding brings forth the faith. It is not blind faith. It is a spiritual faculty, a spiritual faith.

Similarly Vīriya is a spiritual zeal. It is not a thought. But if you interpret Vīriya as Effort then it becomes a thought, and then of course there is craving. Who makes Effort? There must be somebody who makes the Effort to want to cultivate, want to do this, and want to do that. And that is the thought which is still active. When there is no effort what does it mean? That’s why J. Krishnamurthy said, “Whenever there is a ‘meditator’ there is no meditation and wherever there is Effort there is no meditation”. Meditation is just silence. There is nobody inside there doing meditation. It is an understanding, an awakening. Not through a thought not through a person.

Anymore questions? So at least the sharing is good. You can ask and you should ask so that you can clarify more things.

3.3 Question 3 by Sister Eng Bee:

Bro Teoh, from your Green Book ‘Who are you? And what are you?’ On Page 21, Bro Teoh mentioned that this Form & Mind is non-self but not no self. So can Bro Teoh elaborate a bit on what is the difference between non-self and no self?

Bro Teoh: Okay, thank you for the question. People who don’t understand ‘emptiness’ will say everything is ‘kung’ (empty). If everything is ‘kung’ and empty then there is no need to talk about it anymore. But life is not like that. The deep meaning of Emptiness is it doesn’t mean there is nothing.’ That is why ‘Non Self’ and ‘No Self’ they are very different. Non self means, this one (the 5 Aggregates of Form & Mind) is not you but there is such a thing as a Form and Mind. ‘No self’ means what? This Form and Mind also don’t exist. ‘Non-Self’ means this Form & Mind exists but it is not you.

That’s why Buddha said “You are born of your karma, heir to your karma, conditioned and supported by your karma. You are what you are because of karma.” Who is this ‘You’? It refers to your Form and Mind. That one exists but that one is not you. That is why it is called ‘Anattā’. You can say that the Form & Mind is enlightened because it is connected to the wisdom borne of the direct seeing. That one is an Arahant or an Ariya or a Buddha. But that one is not you. That is why the enlightened ones are not gullible.

In the Diamond Sutta it is stated that even a Sotāpanna will not have the thought that he is a Sotāpanna. They will not arise that thought because they are not deluded anymore. They have penetrated the 5 Aggregates of Form and Mind and realised that they are all conditions arising entities hence not a permanent unchanging entity that you can cling on to and hold on to as the ‘I’ and the ‘Me’.

Conditions arising entity is just like any phenomenon supported by conditions, so how can it be you? It can never be a permanent unchanging entity that you can hold on to and maintain as: this is eternally me. That’s why the Buddha’s deep meaning of Anattā is: it’s not a permanent unchanging entity because within the conditioned world everything is conditions arising. There is no such thing as a permanent unchanging entity that you can hold on to, cling on to and say ‘this is me, this is I’.

That’s why in the Anattālakkhaṇa Sutta the Buddha asked the monks, ‘Is this physical body self?’ The monks didn’t know how to reply. Then the Buddha replied, “This physical body is ‘not self’. It cannot be me because if this physical body is ‘self’, it will not lead to suffering.” But because it leads to suffering it is not self. If it is ‘self’ then it will be within our power to tell this body ‘It should be thus and not otherwise’ because it belongs to you, it’s a permanent unchanging entity. But in a conditioned world this is impossible. Everything goes the way of nature because everything is conditions arising, causal phenomena. That’s why when you meditate; you will see it very clearly within your own Form and Mind. That’s why you are not deluded by it anymore.

‘Non’ means there is something but it is not you. ‘No’ means totally not there. There’s no such thing as ‘nothing’.

In the teaching of Atta, the theory of a ‘permanent soul’ and Annihilation or no-self, the theory of ‘nothingness’; these are the two extremes. The Buddha said, ‘Avoid the two extremes of Atta or Self and No-self’. That’s why the Buddha introduced ‘Anattā’ (non-self) as the middle way or in between. There is such a thing as a human being, there is such a thing as the Five Aggregates of Form and Mind but they are impermanent, lead to suffering and they are not you, empty, ‘non self’, not a permanent unchanging entity. That is the real teaching.

But human beings cannot understand. They always quote: the Buddha said ‘Anattā’, non-self; not me. Then on the other side he said: ‘I am born of my Karma, heir to my Karma, supported and conditioned by my karma etc…….’ so what is going on? But because you cannot understand Him it becomes like very confusing to you. When He said, ‘Each and every living being is born of their Karma, etc’; He is referring to their 5 Aggregates of Form & Mind. That Form & Mind follows Karma. That is why we are born of it, heir to it….etc; this one goes through Karma and this one abides by the Nature’s Law. That’s why this one has a duty towards the Law of Nature; it has to do its duty. You cannot say everything also empty and non self and not real then you can simply do things. But there is such a thing as Nature’s Law; Law of Karma, Law of the Mind and Law of Dhamma that govern the whole of Life & Existence. That’s why I always say that there are Nature’s Laws that govern all of life and existence in this universe. These three spiritual laws govern the Form & Mind, your life and existence.

That’s why every time you come to this world you need a vehicle, a Form and Mind (which is karmically conditioned out). So if you don’t take care of it and you don’t accord, this one that comes, is born of it, heir to it, conditioned and supported by it will suffer. All Great Beings, they will know how to take care of Karma, to take care of their Form & Mind. They will still accord with Nature’s Law even though they have the Wisdom of True Emptiness of the Unconditioned. But they can only have that Wisdom and Understanding after the Form & Mind connects to the True Mind. Then this Form & Mind is no more deluded. That’s why this Form & Mind does not suffer anymore. This Form & Mind can live beautifully. That’s why, there is such a thing as life. The Heart Sutra makes it very clear. When you penetrate true emptiness it leads to wonderful existence. ‘Zhen Kong Miao Yu’ and this is what the Buddha Dhamma is all about. You need to have Wisdom from both the unconditioned and the conditioned world. Then you can use this Form & Mind to live otherwise you are still one sided. You cannot break free.

That’s why the teaching becomes like very complicated and very difficult to understand because every time the Buddha teaches; living beings do not understand what He meant. Mainly because He teaches from both understandings since He is the fully Enlightened One. He understands both sides but every time people interpret His Words - that is where the problem is. The interpretations and commentaries can be very confusing if it is done wrongly. It’s just like what I told Sister Eng Bee just now. If a person has not realised the truth then it is just like swimming, if you have not experienced the floatation and you want to teach swimming via reading books on Olympic swimmers only then it is not possible. He may know who are who and how many Olympic gold medals they received, etc. But he himself has not been into the pool. He himself does not know what floatation is and he wants to teach swimming. Definitely it cannot be done. If they themselves have not realised that truth they cannot understand the teaching. They will interpret according to their own wrong understanding based on what they read from the text books or the internet. So that is not real Dhamma borne of real awakening.

You must have that type of true Understanding and Wisdom. You must awaken to it first in order to be able to teach and share. It will be dangerous and can result in a lot of karmic consequences when you lead people astray, like the blind leading the blind. The blind himself cannot see so he tells you to meditate like that, to note, and to do this and that. He himself is still blind, he himself have not realised Nirvana. He only believes and advises you to do like that and then tell you one day you will become enlightened. So if you have such people around and if you are not careful, you will get yourself involved. And you can get involved because in the past very likely, you were also like him. Also teach like that, also led people astray, and then they don’t know how to come back. Then in this life you have the conditions to meet up with people who will also take you to ‘Holland’ or lead you astray. Because this is what you did to people before. So karma wise, you reap what you sow. When you are not sure, please be honest about it via informing others that I only share my present understanding because I have not understood the Dhamma as yet. Or I haven’t had clear understanding as yet but based on my understanding now I think the Dhamma is like that. Then this is not so bad and very likely little or no karmic implications. But if you don’t know and yet you say this is the real one and you go and promote it until it becomes so popular. You would have led so many people astray then do you know what the karmic consequence is?

Doing good and doing all these are the same. When you just believe and have a lot of faith in the doing, you can become gullible. When you do all these, there will be karmic effect. It is just like doing wholesomeness, when you have a lot of faith and you do it very sincerely then the karmic reward will be very positive and beneficial. Positive ones are very positive but negative ones are also equally powerful. So when you are reborn you have to “pay” back equally heavy karma too.

Don’t be too eager to share and teach when you are not clear and ready. But you can share if you can be honest about it. Share whatever you understand but do not lead people astray. Tell people that at the moment I only understand up to this level so I can share whatever I understand. After that you have to find out yourself. Then there is no harm. Then people will respect you because you are being honest and sincere.

That is why at our Kalyāṇamitta sessions we always call it as Dhamma Sharing because talk is one-sided and it can be very dangerous. In the early years when I was in Brickfield temple doing the recordings I heard a lot of funny comments that can give rise a lot of karmic implications which they don’t understand at that time. Because of their views and opinions, they dare to say those things. When you hear them speak you will know delusion is like that. When there is delusion they will speak and comment like that. They are so egoic in their comments because they take sides. They are attached to their methods and techniques and their teacher and only theirs is correct, the rest are all wrong.

So if you have that type of mind you should straighten your view and have an open mind because it is very dangerous. It will lead to division, argument, negative karmic consequences. Have an open mind. If you do not understand do not comment; just let things be. If you can understand you should rejoice.

Not until when you really have the understanding it is better to have an open mind because you can never understand how penetrative people’s cultivation is until you yourself can really understand.

So if you do not have that clear understanding, try not to judge with your limited understanding. Please do not react and make all those comments. Okay?

Sādhu! X 3 (from the audience)

Having an open mind is very important because you have nothing to lose. Open mind means if I still do not understand I do not want to get involved; I do not want to create unnecessary wrong speech, wrong action and conflict or division. I just accept them for what they are. Maybe later on when I cultivate and understand then I will investigate into all these. At the moment I just listen, no harm. But if you have a very rigid mind set, you will resist. Just like the Zen analogy. If your cup is full, whatever tea poured into it will all flow out because you say you know already. Everything else is not important. When your cup is full you are not open minded.

Having an open mind means you listen attentively, no right no wrong, then everything goes in. Then you investigate, you screen. If you cannot understand let things be because later on when you understand you will be very surprised. Having an open mind is like maintaining an empty cup. Just listen. When you are ready, you will understand. It will become different.

Thanks for the question, Sis Eng Bee. I also didn’t know that it was on page 21. But it is good that she read that book. If you want to understand life, read that green transcript book ‘Who are you? What are you?’ It is a very important book and it is very penetrative. That type of Dhamma is very rare in this world and very few people can explain it to you so clearly.

3.4 Question 4 by Sister Eng Bee:

Bro Teoh, the first aspect of the 5 Aggregates of Form & Mind is our physical form and the four aggregates of Mind. My initial understanding is like whatever happens in the present moment these first aspects of the 5 physical Aggregates of Form & Mind we can be aware. Whereas the second aspect of the five Aggregates of Form & Mind is more on Perception and Memory, all in the mental state. It is the mental five aggregate of Form and Mind.

Bro Teoh: Do you know why? I had explained this before. The mind has Four Aggregates Vedanā, Saññā, Saṅkhāra and Viññāṇa. How does the external ‘Form’ enter the Mind? Through what?

Sister Eng Bee: Perception and memory.

Bro Teoh: Perception and memory is correct because memory recalls. Otherwise you cannot perceive. Without memory the thought cannot come out. If you see something that you have not seen before you do not know how to label it. But if you have learnt it before you will know how to label it. That’s why Thought is from memory. Without memory, without conditioning you do not know how to label because it is something very new, the unknown.

So for the five mental Aggregates of Form & Mind it is the same. In the mental there are only Four Aggregates. Then how does the 5th Aggregate of Form enters the mind? Yes, via the aggregate of perception. That’s why thus far I have yet to see any book that writes about this. Nobody can really relate it this way.

These Five mental Aggregates of Form and Mind are what the Buddha meant in the Dependent Origination but most books (90 over percent) translate it as over the 3 periods of time. I respect them for what they are, that’s their views but based on my understanding it cannot be this way. If it’s this way there is no meaning to the teaching. Why must the Buddha teach Dependent Origination that happens only once over 3 life times? There is no meaning at all because it doesn’t help me to develop the cultivation. Maybe as a scientific fact, it’s a worthwhile knowledge but it is not practical. And the reason why they interpret it this way (as I understand) is because they cannot explain Dependent Origination otherwise. That is the only understanding they have from the commentaries. But what the Buddha taught is the Dhamma occurring over every moment and every instant. If you understand his teaching you will know how it happens. The problem is further aggravated when what is Avijjā also they cannot understand. What is Right View is also not clearly understood. So it is very difficult to penetrate Dependent Origination. Then if you cannot see your Mind and the second aspect of the 5 Aggregates of Form and Mind, there is no way you can explain the Dependent Origination within every moment of Consciousness.

That is why when I did the meditation, when I silent my mind, I realised that all these external forms are mental Rūpa because within the senses, upon contact there are sense data simultaneously captured with every moment of sense experience. They enter the mind through Perception. Then when they enter the mind, the Five Mental Aggregates of Form and Mind becomes real. That is why Avijjā Paccaya Saṅkhāra, the first two links of the Dependent Origination states that dependent on Ignorance, you arise Saṅkhāra which is mental activities. It means wanting to know and to understand and experience you start to think. Hence Dependent on Ignorance, thinking will arise because to you this is the only instrument you have. If I don’t think, I cannot understand. Teachers in school teach the same; ‘If you don’t understand go back and think about it. Then come back and discuss’. So thinking is your only tool. Almost 99.9% of the time or throughout the day you use thought.

Avijjā Paccaya Saṅkhāra. Saṅkhāra is mental activity which is thinking meaning you make contact with the mind. The Mind is also an organ (one of the 6 sense organs). So when you make contact with the mind organ, like in the physics experiment the light bulb lights up and you become Conscious of thinking. That’s why ‘Avijjā Paccaya Saṅkhāra’ and Saṅkhāra are thinking. This means you make contact with the mind. When you make Contact, Mental Consciousness arises hence ‘Avijjā Paccaya Saṅkhāra then Saṅkhāra Paccaya Viññāṇa’. This is followed by the next link: ‘Viññāṇa Paccaya Nama Rūpa’. That is why the 5 Aggregates of F&M, the mental aspect arise when you input your content of Consciousness into the Consciousness which is Viññāṇa, and then it becomes Nāma-rūpa, the thought which is consciousness and its content. This is so clear and so easy but they cannot explain it this way and do you know why?

They have to change the second link to Karmic Volition. One of the English translations of Saṅkhāra is Karmic Volition. Volition is mental intention. So they say before you die because of Ignorance, there is Karmic Volition or activities that condition your last thought moment which is the death consciousness. So this last thought moment’s karmic volition conditions Rebirth Consciousness. To them the 3rd link, Consciousness becomes Rebirth Consciousness. When there is Rebirth Consciousness, the 5 Aggregates of Form & Mind, which is the first aspect of the human being comes into being. That’s the only explanation they understand. That’s how they explained the 3rd link of ‘Viññāṇa Paccaya Nama Rūpa’.

That’s how these 5 Aggregates of F&M comes into being, born already. Because of that the Sense Bases fall into place. Then it makes Contact. Then Contact conditions Feeling. Feeling conditions Craving. Craving conditions Grasping, Grasping conditions Becoming, then Birth.

With Birth, they say you die, and then you take rebirth again. Do you know what Birth is? That is why they cannot understand all these links. So this way of explanation is more convincing and logical because most people can accept it. The first aspect of the 5 Aggregates of the Form & Mind, Nama Rūpa, everyone can accept this explanation. It’s a human being born into this world that is why Karmic Volition was introduced. This is the reason why this type of explanation by the commentary is very popular all this while.

But when I meditate I realised that Dependent Origination is not like that. Every moment, every instant it arises. Then sometimes it does not follow the whole 12 links. Sometimes upon contact it is not only feeling, but the whole of consciousness and its content straight away come up and I realise the Seven Universals and everything else is also inside there. They arise simultaneously and Dependent Origination is multi dimensional. It is not one dimensional. Sometimes the Dependent Origination’s 12 links didn’t finish. Then you move to the next sense organ because mind operates very fast. The thinking and mental activities, they are so fast. The actual Dependent Origination that you see within with the Silent Mind is totally different from what the books interpret. Without that Realisation you cannot understand Buddha’s teachings. That is why I wrote in the blue book Paṭicca Samuppāda (which was based on a talk that I delivered ten years ago in the form of a transcript): ‘Paṭicca Samuppāda is a very profound teaching,’ said the Buddha to venerable Ananda – so profound in fact, that ‘most cultivators are not able to truly develop the penetrative understanding of it.’. That book is very clear and very beautiful.

Ten years ago I already shared this but hardly anyone can understand. That is why I told them whoever can understand ten percent of what I share at that time he is already a very exceptional cultivator.

The whole of the teaching you need to have the Realisation to really understand. Otherwise it is still the blind leading the blind.

Do you know how the present day teachings came about? Most of them they are scholars, scholar monks and scholar cultivators. They take exams and have degrees. Of course not all of them are theoretical and there are some who cultivate and had become very good too.

The problem is they use Thought to study and use thought to interpret the Sutta. Many years after their Degree, they come out to teach according to what they believe from their interpretation. What happened is they use the instrument of thought to read the sutta, interpret the sutta, and then come out with method and technique to teach meditation.

What is method? What is technique? They are just series of instructions to do things and had nothing to do with the meditation or training the mind to be heedful. If you do not understand what this means, you become gullible because these are series of instructions borne of the Thought which is the instrument they used. This instrument is limited by itself. It is Thought Based. Then from this method and technique which is thought based, you try to realise a state that is beyond thought beyond time which is the Dhamma. Is it possible?

Like your microscope; let’s say it can magnify only 10 times. But you want to see something maybe 100,000 times more. How can you see? You can never see because you use thought which is like the under powered microscope which is limited by its own capacity to magnify.

You are supposed to silent your Mind and awaken. You are supposed to awaken through the Silent Mind, the meditative mind. But you can never know what that Silent Mind is because you are actively using thoughts to probe, to meditate. And who is the Meditator? Again, the Thought! The Thought is actively meditating with its conditioning, views and opinions and belief system. From the Known they are searching for Truth. The problem is the Truth is the Unknown; beyond thought, beyond time. So how can the Known understand the Unknown? Impossible!

Therefore if you do not investigate and come to this Understanding then you will not understand the Essential Dhamma that the Buddha taught. The Buddha taught Heedfulness, Mindfulness when it comes to Purification of the Mind, whereas the Buddha’s first two advice on, “Avoid all Evil, Do good” - are both thought based. But when it comes to Purification of the Mind, ‘Sacitta Pariyo Dapanam, Etam Buddhana Sasanam” the Buddha never used Thought and Effort anymore. He just said: Sati which is Mindfulness or Awareness.

That’s why the real meditation is just Sati, Mindfulness, Awareness, and the Silent Mind. And that is the one that can be very penetrative. That is the right instrument. Without Sati the whole of cultivation collapses.

I have already explained in many of my talks. When the book “Emptiness” comes out, many of you will have the right understanding because it is very clearly explained in that book.

Then there is also another book which Sis Eng Bee helped does up the transcript. I am now in the process of finalising it. That one will be quite fast too as Sis Eng Bee has put in the time track to match the transcript. So I do not have to listen to the recording all over again every time when I need to continue the editing. Straight away I can go to the time track because I know where I stop and I can continue from there. Otherwise I have to listen to it again. Sometimes I just correct what she writes. Most of what she transcribes is very good and very near except for certain places (because it is not easy as the whole talk is very long and certain words are missing). When you don’t listen clearly, the word, the meaning runs. There was a case: ‘…an inner nature’ but she heard and transcribed as ‘in the nature’. Sometimes the pronunciation is very near but when I read I will know that this is not the style or something that I will write or speak. Then I will refer to the recording for confirmation. Sometimes one or two of the words are missing or sound the same. Just like the famous Malaysian saying ‘Sounds like me, look like me but may not be me!’

3.5 Question 5 by Sister Eng Bee:

This is not a question but whether it is correct? My initial understanding on the 2nd aspect of the 5 aggregates of Form and Mind is that it is not happening in the present moment. It is like recalling from the past memories and Perception. Whereas the first aspect of Form and Mind is whatever that happens in the present moment.

Bro Teoh: It depends on how stable your Mindfulness is. If your Mindfulness is very clear, both also happen within the present moment reality because the first aspect is just the Human Being or the Living Being, nothing else. It’s just the Form and Mind. You have a physical body which they call the Rūpa. Then there is the Consciousness trapped inside the physical body. These two combined is the five aggregates of Form and Mind. That’s why the Buddha said if you attach and cling to this, it becomes Grasping Aggregate (Upādāna Khandha), and suffering will arise.

The second Aspect, which the Buddha is more interested in, is the Mental Five Aggregates of Form and Mind and that one every moment, every instant it arises. When it arises, it is not like what the book says because it is non-linear.

Upon contact according to Dependent Origination, Phassa paccaya Vedanā, i.e. dependent on Contact Feeling arises. No! And this is not the case because straight away or simultaneously upon contact, everything arises. In the first 2 links Avijjā paccaya Saṅkhāra there is also Contact, when you think. So upon Contact, Consciousness arises. Ignorance contact conditions Ignorance content of consciousness so straight away kusala or akusala goes into the content of Consciousness. That’s why within the Viññāṇa, nāma-rūpa (the 5 mental aggregates) arise and that one is within the moment.

But simultaneously within this Nama Rūpa, which is Viññāṇa and its content (the whole of the citta) or Consciousness and its content which is the 5 mental Aggregates of Form and Mind, becomes your Thought. This is the one that has the 7 Universals inside and all the other kusala or akusala mental states. This is the one that you need to realise through your meditation. That’s why you can see your subtle mental intention behind and you will know that all these are conditioned by your views and opinions. They are mostly wrong view initially. So it doesn’t mean that upon Contact Feeling arises. Upon Contact the first link Ignorance contact already conditions the Consciousness and its content which has delusion. That is why upon Contact Feelings arise and you cannot cut at feeling because of delusion, you will still grasp and cling, that’s why craving will immediately come about. That’s why Avijjā Paccaya Saṅkhāra then straight away it will go to Craving.

So you cannot cut at feeling or craving because upon contact Feeling arises i.e. Vedanā Paccaya Taṇhā, then Taṇhā paccaya upādāna, which is feeling will condition craving then craving will condition grasping and without Wisdom, you cannot stop the Dependent Origination links. That’s why you must develop the Right View, via straightening your View, to arise the Wisdom and Understanding then only Feeling will remain as pure Feeling. Then during the moment of sense experience if you have Mindfulness you can be at the moment of Feeling. You just stay there, it cannot move because there is no Avijjā, there’s no Craving, no like or dislike. That’s how Dependent Origination didn’t carry through. And this is not ‘cut at feeling’. Because there is Wisdom or yoniso manasikāra hence you are no longer deluded; it cannot hold, cannot grasp and cannot cling. That’s why it cannot move.

You cannot with Ignorance cut at Feeling. If you do that what does it means? You are suppressing your feeling because you don’t want to have Craving. Or it may also mean you don’t want to get angry but deep inside the evil root is still there, not rooted out as yet. Then when you see somebody say all those things you say ‘yan’ (or patient in Cantonese) which means you are suppressing your feeling via don’t want to get angry. That is not Dependent Origination. That is suppression of emotion and feeling. But when you have Wisdom and can accept them for what they are you don’t have to ‘yan’. You can just smile and accept him for what he is.

You can have love and compassion via saying, ‘Forgive him for he knows not what he is doing.’ Then you can radiate mettā: ‘May he be well and happy. May the Blessings of the Triple Gems be with him? May there be love, peace, and joy deep within his or her heart.’ Then your mind becomes very different. There is no more anger, no more trying to cut at feeling, trying to forgive etc. There is no more such delusion because it understands. The moment it understands it will not do all these. Without delusion, it will not hold. If you don’t hold then who let go? You will understand; only people who hold and still have attachment and clinging want to let go and this is a fallacy. If you have delusion and clinging and want to let go, is it possible? You only verbalise, via saying “I forgive you”, but your tone is still not sincere and your anger is still there. When you say, “Ok, never mind I will let go, I don’t want to think about it anymore, and what for suffer?” Do you think you let go? Its only words! A person who has delusion cannot let go. But the moment you understand it is immediate and sudden, and then you cannot hold anymore. When you cannot hold is there a need to let go? You don’t need to do anything because you are not deluded by it anymore.

Like this tea cup it is very hot, if you can see the vapour coming out, do you dare to touch it? But the new born baby or a small kid, who don’t know what chilli is, what hot is, you ask them to touch they will touch. But the moment they get burnt they will learn.

If you have the Understanding you will not touch. When you don’t touch it means you are not holding any more. No need to let go. When you understand, you will come to know that what the worldly people advise you to do may sound very logical, but I always tell you all that ‘Whatever that is logical is Mundane Truth. It may not be the real Ultimate Truth. The Ultimate Truth is always the opposite of what is logical.’ There have been so many incidents already and the Truth is always the opposite of what normal person’s thinking or common perception of society.

Just like Meditation if you tell people, there’s no need for Effort and there’s nobody to meditate, you just silent. They will look at you like you are crazy. If there is nobody to meditate or if you don’t meditate then how can you be enlightened? With no method and no technique, how to meditate? To them it is illogical.

Then they want to know what method and what type of Meditation you teach. Is it Vipassanā? Sometimes you don’t need to mention the method they will also attend because you mentioned Vipassanā. Bt if you say something else, they will not come because Vipassanā is the more popularly accepted word. But what is Vipassanā they don’t want to know. That’s why you can end up as very gullible. Everywhere you go, you are looking for the word. That’s why when they say ‘I teach nana and jhāna, etc.’ they will be very interested but when you teach the essential dhamma, Four Noble Truth, 5 Spiritual Faculties, 3 evil roots they don’t want to learn. Essential Dhamma is the basis of the Buddha’s teachings, the essence of His teachings. From there, all his other teachings spin off.

The second aspect, the 5 mental aggregates of Form & Mind can also be with the moment if you are aware. It is always there because it is the reality. What you mean maybe is not physical, not something tangible. That is why to you it’s mental. It is like you think it is a recollection and all those things. No, it is that moment, that instant. Because when you silent it will arise. Upon contact the silence will know what happened, the whole of the Consciousness. Then only the content went in. But it is so fast and because of habitual tendencies the whole thing is already there. That is why you cannot do anything about it.

But when you are mindful and have this ability to be silent until it is very stable, then throughout the day your mind is very different. You can be at the moment of sense experience; the moment of contact, the moment of seeing, hearing etc. - there is no thoughts. At the moment of hearing also there is no thought. Then it can stay there. That feeling at the moment of sense contact will remain as Pure Feeling. No movement. For the normal people Dependent Origination is very fast, they get angry and react already, the mind stirred already.

But this one is very different. It can stay there. The Awareness can be at the moment of Feelings, stay there; at the moment of Perception; at the moment of activity and at the moment of Consciousness. It is just aware. No movement. You can only understand when you have reached that stage of cultivation.

It’s like swimming you won’t understand it until you experience the real buoyancy and floatation. All these are words only. You can never understand. But the moment you experience that buoyancy and floatation you will understand what that person is trying to share with you.

So Meditation is the same. When you meditate you don’t try to know. Just maintain silence. The moment it comes, the F&M will know. When Sati is there it will know. When it is there it is so different, so silent, and it can be with the moment of sense experience. Everything is like in Sati, like in slow motion and it just flows.

Then you can witness the whole of the Essential Dhamma’s teaching within your own Form and Mind. Then you can see clearly. That Dhamma is within Life itself, not apart from Life. Every moment of Consciousness, every moment of sense experience, the Dhamma is there. That is why it is called the Living Dhamma, not Knowledge. Knowledge is Recall through Memory, and Thought based.

Ok? I think we better end. SĀDHU! SĀDHU! SĀDHU!

CLOSING PUJA AND TRANSFERENCE OF MERITS

END

Table of Contents

Biodata of Bro. Teoh Kian Koon

I. Preface

II. Acknowledgement

1. INTRODUCTION

2. DHAMMA SHARING BY BROTHER TEOH

2.1 Precepts and Virtue

2.2 Sīla, Samādhi and Paññā

2.3 Heedfulness and Heedlessness

2.4 Mindfulness

2.5 Training The Mind To Be Heedful

3. QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

3.1 Question 1 by Brother Danny:

3.1.1 The 4 Right Efforts

3.1.2 Five Ways To Overcome Unwholesome Thoughts

3.1.3 Law of the Mind (Citta Niyāma)

3.2 Question 2 by Brother Yap:

3.3 Question 3 by Sister Eng Bee:

3.4 Question 4 by Sister Eng Bee:

3.5 Question 5 by Sister Eng Bee: