Bodhinyāna
A Collection of Dhamma Talks by
The Venerable Ajahn Chah
(Phra Bodhinyāna Thera)
Translation from Thai into English
by
The Sangha, Bung Wai Forest Monastery, Thailand
by
The Sangha, Bung Wai Forest Monastery, Thailand
LIVING WITH THE COBRA
(A
brief talk given as final instruction to an elderly Englishwoman who spent two
months under the guidance of Ajahn Chah at the end of 1978 and beginning of
1979.)
This
short talk is for the benefit of a new disciple who will soon be
returning to London.
May it serve to help you understand the Teaching that you have studied here at
Wat Pah Pong. Most simply, this is the practice to be free of suffering in the
cycle of birth and death.
In
order to do this practice, remember to regard all the various activities of
mind, all those you like and all those you dislike, in the same way as you
would regard a cobra. The cobra is an extremely poisonous snake, poisonous
enough to cause death if it should bite us. And so, also, it is with our moods:
the moods that we like are poisonous, the moods that we dislike are also
poisonous. They prevent our minds from being free and hinder our understanding
of the Truth as it was taught by the Buddha.
Thus
it is necessary to try to maintain our mindfulness throughout the day and
night. Whatever you may be doing, be it standing, sitting, lying down, speaking
or whatever, you should do with mindfulness. When you are able to establish
this mindfulness, you'll find that there will arise clear comprehension
associated with it, and these two conditions will bring about wisdom. Thus
mindfulness, clear comprehension and wisdom will work together, and you'll be
like one who is awake both day and night.
These
Teachings left us by the Buddha are not Teachings to be just listened to, or
simply absorbed on an intellectual level. They are Teachings that through
practice can be made to arise and known in our hearts. Wherever we go, whatever
we do, we should have these Teachings. And what we mean by "to have these
Teachings" or "to have the Truth", is that, whatever we do or
say, we do and say with wisdom. When we think and contemplate, we do so with
wisdom.
We
say that one who has mindfulness and clear comprehension combined in this way
with wisdom, is one who is close to the Buddha.
When
you leave here, you should practise bringing everything back to your own mind.
Look at your mind with this mindfulness and clear comprehension and develop
this wisdom. With these three conditions there will arise a "letting
go". You'll know the constant arising and passing away of all phenomena.
You
should know that that which is arising and passing away is only the activity of
mind. When something arises, it passes away and is followed by further arising
and passing away.
In
the Way of Dhamma we call this arising and passing away "birth and
death"; and this is everything -- this is all there is! When suffering has
arisen, it passes away, and, when it has passed away, suffering arises again
[*]. There's just suffering arising and passing away. When you see this much,
you'll be able to know constantly this arising and passing away; and, when your
knowing is constant, you'll see that this is really all there is. Everything is
just birth and death. It's not as if there is anything which carries on.
There's just this arising and passing away as it is --that's all.
[*] Suffering in this context refers to the implicit
unsatisfactoriness of all compounded existence as distinct from suffering as
merely the opposite of happiness.
This
kind of seeing will give rise to a tranquil feeling of dispassion towards the world.
Such a feeling arises when we see that actually there is nothing worth wanting;
there is only arising and passing away, a being born followed by a dying. This
is when the mind arrives at "letting go", letting everything go
according to its own nature. Things arise and pass away in our mind, and we
know. When happiness arises, we know; when dissatisfaction arises, we know. And
this "knowing happiness" means that we don't identify with it as
being ours . And likewise with dissatisfaction and unhappiness, we don't
identify with them as being ours . When we no longer identify with and
cling to happiness and suffering, we are simply left with the natural way of
things.
So
we say that mental activity is like the deadly poisonous cobra. If we don't
interfere with a cobra, it simply goes its own way. Even though it may be
extremely poisonous, we are not affected by it; we don't go near it or take
hold of it, and it doesn't bite us. The cobra does what is natural for a cobra
to do. That's the way it is. If you are clever you'll leave it alone. And so
you let be that which is good. You also let be that which is not good -- let it
be according to its own nature. Let be your liking and your disliking, the same
way as you don't interfere with the cobra.
So,
one who is intelligent will have this kind of attitude towards the various
moods that arise in the mind. When goodness arises, we let it be good, but we
know also. We understand its nature. And, too, we let be the not-good, we let
it be according to its nature. We don't take hold of it because we don't want
anything. We don't want evil, neither do we want good. We want neither
heaviness nor lightness, happiness nor suffering. When, in this way, our
wanting is at an end, peace is firmly established.
When
we have this kind of peace established in our minds, we can depend on it. This
peace, we say, has arisen out of confusion. Confusion has ended. The Buddha
called the attainment of final Enlightenment an "extinguishing", in
the same way that fire is extinguished. We extinguish fire at the place at
which it appears. Wherever it is hot, that's where we can make it cool. And so
it is with Enlightenment. Nibb�na is found in Sams�ra [*]. Enlightenment and
delusion (Sams�ra) exist in the same place, just as do hot and cold. It's hot
where it was cold and cold where it was hot. When heat arises, the coolness
disappears, and when there is coolness, there's no more heat. In this way Nibb�na
and Sams�ra are the same.
[*] Sams�ra: lit. perpetual wandering, is a name by which is
designated the sea of life ever restlessly heaving up and down, the symbol of
this continuous process of ever again and again being born, growing old,
suffering and dying.
We
are told to put an end to Sams�ra, which means to stop the ever-turning cycle
of confusion. This putting an end to confusion is extinguishing the fire. When
external fire is extinguished there is coolness. When the internal fires of
sensual craving, aversion and delusion are put out, then this is coolness also.
This
is the nature of Enlightenment; it's the extinguishing of fire, the cooling of
that which was hot. This is peace. This is the end of Sams�ra, the cycle of
birth and death. When you arrive at Enlightenment, this is how it is. It's an
ending of the ever-turning and ever-changing, an ending of greed, aversion and
delusion in our minds. We talk about it in terms of happiness because this is
how worldly people understand the ideal to be, but in reality it has
gone beyond. It is beyond both happiness and suffering. It's perfect peace.
* * *
So
as you go you should take this Teaching which I have given you and contemplate
it carefully. Your stay here hasn't been easy and I have had little opportunity
to give you instruction, but in this time you have been able to study the real
meaning of our practice. May this practice lead you to happiness; may it help
you grow in Truth. May you be freed from the suffering of birth and
death.
Source here
