A Discourse on the Anaalakkhaṇa Sua by The Venerable Mahāsi Sayādaw Translated by U Htin Fa (Maung Htin) Buddha Sāsanānuggaha Organization Mahāsi Translation Commiee, Rangoon A Discourse on the Anaalakkhaṇa Sua by The Venerable Mahāsi Sayādaw of Burma Translated by U Min Swe (Min Kyaw Thu) First printed and published in the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma September 1982 New Edition Edited by Bhikkhu Pesala August 2013 All rights reserved Contents Editor’s Preface.....................................................................................vii Foreword...............................................................................................ix Rooting Out Aachment to Self............................................................ix The Hemavata Sua...............................................................................x The Five Monks Aained Seam-winning............................................x Awakening Cannot Be Achieved without Contemplation...................xi A Full Explanation of the Noting Method...........................................xii Preferring Truth to Tradition..............................................................xiii Seemingly Easy but Difficult..............................................................xiv One Should Not Underestimate the Suanta......................................xv Common Usage Is Not Easy to Interpret.............................................xv A Dɪ�ᴄᴏᴜʀ�ᴇ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ Aɴᴀᴛᴛᴀʟᴀᴋᴋʜᴀ�ᴀ Sᴜᴛᴛᴀ Inoduction to the Sua........................................................................1 Date of the Discourse.............................................................................2 Materiali Wrongly Conceived As Self.................................................4 How Materiali Oppresses..............................................................6 Materiali Is Not Subject to One’s Will............................................7 Direct Evidence of How Materiali Is Not Self...............................8 Two Kinds of Soul..................................................................................8 The Story of Baka Brahmā.................................................................8 Origin of the Belief in Creation.........................................................9 Aachment to Self................................................................................10 Not Understanding Clinging to Self...............................................11 Self Must be Understood to Understand Not-self..........................11 Four Kinds of Clinging to Self..............................................................12 Clinging to Self as the Master (Sāmi Aa)......................................12 Clinging to Self as an Abiding Soul (Nivāsī Aa)..........................13 Clinging to Self as the Doer (Kāraka Aa).....................................13 Clinging to Self as the Experiencer (Vedaka Aa)..........................13 Contemplation of Not-self....................................................................14 Summary of Materiali is Not-self.................................................16 Points to Remember About Clinging to Self........................................17 Pᴀʀᴛ Tᴡᴏ Feeling Is Not-self.................................................................................18 Difference Between Abhidhamma and Suanta............................19 Feelings Misconceived As Self........................................................21 Why Feeling Is Not Self...................................................................21 How Feeling Oppresses..................................................................22 Feeling Is Ungovernable.................................................................24 iii iv Contents The Dīghanakha Sua.....................................................................27 The Wanderer Dīghanakha...................................................................31 Weariness Through Contemplating Feeling...................................35 The Path and Fruition through Dispassion.....................................36 One Who Speaks the Truth Does Not Dispute...............................37 Venerable Sāripua Aains Arahantship.......................................37 A Spontaneous Congregation of Arahants.....................................38 Pᴀʀᴛ Tʜʀᴇᴇ Perceptions Are Not-self.......................................................................40 Why Perception Is Not-self..............................................................40 How Perception Oppresses............................................................41 Mental Formations Are Not-self...........................................................44 Conary to the Buddha’s Teaching................................................46 Mental Formations in the Context of This Sua.............................46 Why Mental Formations are Not-self..............................................47 How Mental Formations Inflict Suffering......................................48 Mental Formations Are Ungovernable...........................................48 A Hungry Ghost Tormented by Needles..............................................49 How Realisation of Not-self Occurs................................................52 Pᴀʀᴛ Fᴏᴜʀ Consciousness Is Not-self.....................................................................54 Why Consciousness Is Not Self.......................................................54 How Consciousness Oppresses......................................................55 Consciousness Is Not Subject to One’s Will..........................................56 Dependent on Circumstances..............................................................57 The Story of Bhikkhu Sāti.....................................................................59 A Summary of the True Dhamma........................................................60 The Pheṇapiṇḍūpama Sua............................................................64 Materiali is Like Foam.......................................................................65 Feelings Are Like A Bubble..................................................................67 Perception Is Like a Mirage..................................................................68 Formations Are Like a Plantain Trunk.................................................69 Consciousness Is like an Illusion..........................................................70 The Process of Eye-door Consciousness...............................................71 Summary of the Process of Cognition..................................................73 Pᴀʀᴛ Fɪᴠᴇ The Characteristic of Not-self...............................................................75 Not-self Explained by Means of Impermanence..................................76 Not-self Through Seeing Unsatisfactoriness........................................78 Not-self Is Both Impermanent and Unsatisfactory..............................78 The Wanderer Saccaka..........................................................................78 Contents v Refuting A Self Apart From the Five Aggregates................................85 Why It Is Called Impermanent.............................................................87 The Characteristics of Impermanence..................................................91 Insight into the Nature of Impermanence............................................91 Two Kinds of Suffering.........................................................................92 Characteristics of Suffering..................................................................92 Insight into the Nature of Suffering.....................................................92 Clinging to Things as Mine..................................................................93 Clinging With Conceit..........................................................................94 Clinging With Wrong View..................................................................95 Pᴀʀᴛ Sɪ� Feeling Is Impermanent..................................................................97 Perception Is Impermanent...........................................................104 Mental Formations Are Impermanent..........................................106 Consciousness is Impermanent....................................................110 Third Part of the Sua.........................................................................115 Contemplation of Materiali........................................................115 Only the Present Moment Should Be Noted......................................116 Contemplation of Impermanence and Not-self............................118 Seam-winners Insucted to Contemplate Not-self.........................119 Contemplating Materiali In Eleven Ways..................................121 Contemplating Internal and External Materiali..............................123 Contemplating Coarse and Fine Materiali......................................123 Contemplating Inferior and Superior Materiali..............................124 Contemplating Far and Near Materiali...........................................124 Pᴀʀᴛ Sᴇᴠᴇɴ Contemplating Feeling In Eleven Ways........................................126 Contemplating Feeling with Regard to Time.....................................126 Contemplating Internal and External Feelings..................................128 Contemplating Coarse and Fine Feelings..........................................129 Contemplating Inferior and Superior Feelings..................................130