Forest Desanas Vol 2

aw.indd 1 18/8/2553 10:29:00 aw.indd 2 18/8/2553 10:29:12 aw.indd 3 18/8/2553 10:29:13 Contents About the Author 2 Two Kinds of Knowledges 14 A Lifetime Endeavour 35 Genuine Progress 52 Mental Development 63 The Dhamma Teaching 75 Watching Your Thoughts 96 The Four Requisites 111 Exposition on the Buddha 127 The Four Noble Truths 139 The Importance of Correct Behaviour 149 Investigating Avijjā 162 A Glossary of Pāli and Buddhist Terms 181 1 About the Author Venerable Ajahn Mahā Bua (born August 12, 1 913, commonly k nown in T hai a s หลวงตามหาบัว, Luang Ta Mahā Bua; alternate spelling Ajahn Mahā Boowa) is the common name for Pra Dharma Visuthimongkol (Thai:พระธรรมวิสุทธิมงคล), a revered Buddhist monk. "Ajahn" (or "Acharn"), meaning "teacher," is the common honourific for T hai monks, similar to "Bhikkhu" or "Rishi" in other Buddhist traditions. Ajahn Mahā Bua is one of the best known Thai Buddhist monks of t he late T wentieth and e arly T wenty-first centuries. He is widely regarded as an Arahant - a living Buddhist saint. He was a disciple of the esteemed forest master Ajahn Mun Bhūridatta, a nd i s n ow h imself considered a master in the Thai Forest Tradition. Early years Venerable Ajahn Mahā Boowa Ñāṇasampanno was born in Baan T aad v illage w hich is located in t he northeastern province of Udon T hani. He w as on e of 1 7 ch ildren of a family of rice farmers. At age 21, his parents asked him to enter t he m onkhood f or a t ime, a s i s a T hai t radition t o show gratitude towards one's parents. He chose to enter Yothanimit monastery and was ordained on May 12, 1934 with Venerable Chao Khun Dhammachedi as his preceptor who gave h im the Pāli name 'Ñāṇasampanno', w hich 2 means 'one endowed with wisdom'. He had no intention of remaining a monk for the rest of his life. After entering t he m onkhood, he st udied t he lives of t he Buddha and hi s Arahant Disciples, a nd b ecame so impressed that the feelings of faith arose in him, and he decided to seek the same attainments as had the original Enlightened D isciples of t he Buddha. He sought to understand the ways of practising the Dhamma (Dharma) which would lead to Nibbāna (Nirvāṇa). He sometimes passed and sometimes failed in his Pāli studies. He also studied the Vinaya, the monastic rules of correct conduct. After seven years, he succeeded in passing th e thir d level o f Pāli studies, a nd achieved the highest level in Dhamma and Vinaya studies. He then aimed s olely a t t he p ractice of Dhamma in h opes of studying d irectly w ith V enerable Ajahn Mun, on e of t he most renowned meditation masters of that time. Venerable Ajahn Mun He then went in search of Venerable Ajahn Mun, and when he m et h im h e w as p leased w ith h is efforts, since it seemed as if Venerable Ajahn Mun already knew of his desires, intentions, and doubts. All of the questions in his mind were cl arified b y Ajahn Mun, w ho sh owed him t hat the Paths leading to Nibbāna still exist. He said to himself: 3 ‘Now, I h ave com e t o t he r eal t hing. H e h as m ade everything clear and I no longer have doubts. It is now up to me to be true or otherwise. I'm determined to be true!’ He learned the methods, including meditation, followed by Ajahn Mun based on the principles of Buddhism and the code of Buddhist discipline. He has continued to follow these methods in his own teaching and training of monks and n ovices. D ue t o t he d eep r espect a nd a dmiration h e retains for Venerable Ācariya Mun - whom he has likened to a father and mother to his students, he was inspired to write a b iography o f V enerable Ajahn Mun aimed at disseminating his methods of practice as well as documenting h is e xemplary ch aracter f or t he sake of coming generations. Furthermore, he has written many books on t he p ractice of B uddhist m editation, a s w ell a s many recorded teachings on Dhamma so that Buddhists would have a guide in the practice of meditation. Seclusion and establishing a monastery In 1 950, a fter the d eath o f Venerable Ajahn Mun, Ajahn Mahā Bua looked for a secluded place, settling in Huey Sai village in Mukdahan province. He was very strict and serious in teaching the monks and novices, both in the austere dhutaṅga practices and in meditation. He continued his teaching until these same principles became established amongst his followers. 4 Learning that his mother was ill, he returned home to look after he r. Villagers and relatives requested that he settle permanently in the forest south of the village and no longer wander in the manner of a forest monk. As his mother w as v ery o ld a nd it was a ppropriate f or hi m t o look a fter h er, h e a ccepted t he offer. With a donation of 64 acres (26 ha) of land, he began to build his monastery, Wat Pa Baan Taad, in November 1955. Wat Pa Baan Taad Said Ajahn Mahā Bua: ‘This monastery has a lways b een a p lace f or m editation. Since the beginning it has been a place solely for developing the mind. I haven't let any other work disturb the p lace. I f the re a re t hings w hich m ust b e d one, I 've made it a r ule t hat the y ta ke u p no m ore t ime tha n is absolutely necessary. The reason for this is that, in the eyes of the world and the Dhamma, this is a meditation temple. We're meditation monks. The work of the meditation m onk w as h anded o ver t o hi m o n t he day o f his ordination b y his P receptor - in all its completeness. This is his real work, and it was taught in a form suitable for t he sm all amount of t ime a vailable d uring t he ordination ceremony - five meditation objects to be memorised in forward and reverse order - and after t hat it's up to each individual to expand on them and develop 5 them to whatever degree of breadth or subtlety he is able to. In the beginning the work of a monk is given simply as: Kesā - hair of the head, Lomā - hair of the body, Nakhā - nails, Dantā - teeth, Taco - the sk in w hich enwraps the body. This is the true work for those monks who practise according to the principles of Dhamma as were taught by the Lord Buddha.’ The wilderness s urrounding t he monastery h as v anished, as it has now been c leared f or c ultivation. T he f orest inside of the m onastery is all that remains. W at Pa Baan Taad preserves this remnant in its original condition, so that m onks, n ovices, a nd l ay p eople ca n u se its tranquillity for the practice of the Dhamma as taught by the Lord Buddha. Rise to fame Ajahn Mahā Bua has travelled to London to give lectures. He also founded the Help Thai Nation Project, a charitable effort dedicated to the helping the Thai economy. He has been visited and supported by the King and Queen of Thailand. Say Ajahn Mahā Bua's biographer: ‘Ven. Ajahn Mahā Bua is well known for t he f luency a nd skill of h is Dhamma talks, a nd their di rect and d ynamic 6 approach. They obviously reflect his own attitude and the way he personally practised Dhamma. This is best exemplified in the Dhamma talks he gives to those who go to meditate at Wat Pa Baan Taad. Such talks usually take place in the cool of the evening, with lamps lit and the only sound being the insects and cicadas in the surrounding jungle. He often begins the Dhamma talk with a few moments of stillness - this is the most preparation he needs - and then q uietly begins t he Dhamma exposition. As the theme naturally develops, the pace quickens and those listening increasingly feel its strength and depth.’ Some Basic Teachings on the 'Citta' Mahā Bua sees the essential enduring truth of the sentient being as constituted of the indestructible reality of the citta (heart/mind), which is characterised by the attribute of Awareness or Knowingness. This citta, w hich is intrinsically b right, cl ear a nd A ware, g ets su perficially tangled up in saṃsāra but ultimately cannot be destroyed by any saṃsāric phenomenon. Although Mahā Bua is often at p ains to e mphasise th e n eed f or m editation upon t he non-Self (anattā), he also points out that the citta, while getting caught up in the vortex of conditioned phenomena, is not subject to destruction as are those things w hich are i mpermanent, suffering, and n on-Self 7 (anicca, dukkha, anattā).

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