Vipassana - The Two Levels of Understanding

Computer Studies in Buddhism - Meditation
"Vipassana Meditation Course: Series of Eight Talks", by Ven Sayadaw U Janaka
Buddha Dhamma Meditation Association, Sydney, AUSTRALIA



Talk 7
The Two Levels of Understanding



  I will review my talk on the two levels of understanding so that you can
  remember it. The first level is understanding the specific characteristics of
  mental and physical phenomena. The second is understanding the general or
  common characteristics of mental and physical phenomena. Each mental process
  or physical process has its specific characteristics. Those characteristics
  are not concerned or connected with other mental processes.
  The three main roots of evil, called mula priyaya in Pali, are anger, greed,
  and delusion or ignorance (I prefer ignorance): lobha, dosa, moha in Pali. You
  should have these terms because they are not very difficult to remember. Lobha
  is greed, desire, craving, attachment. All the senses of these words are
  covered by lobha. So when you say lobha, it means desire; when you say lobha
  it means greed; when you say lobha it means craving; when you say lobha it
  means lust; when you say lobha it means attachment. To cover the senses of all
  these words we use the word attachment. So, lobha or attachment or desire,
  greed is one of the main roots of evil, evil things, evil deeds, evil speech,
  evil mind. When the mind becomes evil it's due to one of these three roots.
  Either lobha or dosa or moha.
  Dosa means anger, hatred, ill will, aversion. Dosa is anger, hatred, ill-will,
  aversion. Moha is ignorance. Occasionally it is translated delusion. I do not
  like this word delusion. I preferred 'ignorance,' because when you say
  illusion sometimes you get confused with wrong view: sakaya-ditthi,
  atta-ditthi. Say when you stretch out your legs towards the Buddha statue,
  does it mean respect or disrespect to the Buddha? When you stretch out your
  arms towards the Buddha statue then do you mean it as respect or disrespect to
  the Buddha? Respect, when you stretch out your arms. When you stretch out your
  legs towards the Buddha statue what do you mean? Disrespect. Yes. But
  sometimes you did it out of mere ignorance because you did not know it was
  disrespectful. You happened to stretch out your legs towards the Buddha. That
  behaviour is regarded as something with no volition or motive. Without
  disrespect you happened to do it. So if you feel disrespect towards the Buddha
  when you stretch out this leg then you must withdraw it. But if you do not
  withdraw it and keep stretching out then it's disrespect. It's done out of
  ignorance.
  There's a Burmese story but it may be everywhere in the world. There were two
  carpenters working together. One was the father, the other his son. The son
  was very foolish. The father was chopping a log when a deadly fly, one that is
  very harmful, that bites and sucks the blood of human beings, came to the
  father's forehead. The father was occupied over this work. He couldn't do
  anything with the fly. Then the son saw it. Out of compassion for his father
  he took an axe and he killed the deadly fly. The dead fly has gone. And father
  is very happy. He lie down and sleep for good. Now that killing was done out
  of ignorance, moha. This evil thing was done out of moha, ignorance.
  So to eradicate this ignorance is the most important thing, in your daily life
  as well as your meditative life too. What should you do? Ignorance must be
  replaced by right understanding. Moha must be replaced by wisdom, or insight
  knowledge or enlightenment. To attain this what should you do? Yes, be mindful
  of your body-mind processes as they really are. You can learn scriptures so
  that you have a theoretical knowledge of the teaching of the Buddha, but
  theoretical knowledge has nothing to do with insight knowledge or
  enlightenment. While you are being mindful of any mental or physical process,
  if any theoretical knowledge comes to your mind and you use it for analysing
  any experience or technique then that theoretical knowledge is a hindrance to
  your concentration. It can't eradicate the ignorance. Ignorance must be
  replaced by right understanding through personal experience of Dhamma,
  body-mind processes.
  Any evil deed or evil speech, evil mind, arises dependent on any of these
  three roots of evil, on lohba or on dosa or on moha. So these three roots of
  evil are completely destroyed. There won't arise any evil deed, evil speech or
  evil mind, and you have a wholesome speech and mind which result in happiness
  and peace. For example lobha: greed, desire, craving, lust, attachment. Lobha
  has as its characteristic the nature of clinging to the object. So clinging or
  being attached is the specific characteristic of lobha. The specific
  characteristic of dosa is rudeness. Dosa is translated 'aversion.' It cannot
  have any characteristic of clinging because aversion is the opposite of
  clinging. Every mental state or emotional state, mental process, has its own
  specific characteristics.
  So in the course of your meditational practise when the mind becomes deeper
  and deeper and more and more concentrated you come to realise mental or
  physical processes which are observed in their true nature. In the beginning
  of this realisation of mental and bodily processes you rightly understand
  their specific characteristics which are observed. So when you note
  attachment: attachment attachment attachment attachment, the attachment
  doesn't go away. It passes there in you mind and you continue to note
  attachment attachment attachment attachment attachment. The more mindful of
  attachment the more concentrated your mind is on it. When the mind is well
  concentrated on the attachment you come to realise attachment has the clinging
  nature to the object. You come to realise this. That is insight knowledge you
  have attained through your experience of mental processes. That is the first
  level of understanding of the specific characteristic of lobha, attachment.
  Then when you observe the rising and falling movements of the abdomen very
  attentively and energetically, when concentration becomes deeper you come to
  realise the rising and falling movements without being conscious of the form
  of the body or the form of the abdomen. The form of the abdomen has
  disappeared in your mind; you are not aware of it. What you are realising is
  just the rising movement and falling movement and the mind that notes it. When
  your realisation becomes more and more clear and sharp what you are realising
  is just motion, movement, outward movement and inward movement. These are two
  processes of movements rising and passing away alternately. And also you know
  the mind that notes it is also rising and passing away. When you are realising
  the motion without being aware of yourself and your bodily form and the
  abdomen it means you are rightly understanding the specific characteristic of
  the wind element vayo-dhatu.
  Why can you say this understanding of the process of dual movement is right?
  It may be wrong, because we have an abdomen and that abdomen rises and then
  falls back. If we are not conscious of the form of the abdomen and the form of
  the body and note just movements then it may be wrong. We can say definitely
  it's right because this right understanding has destroyed the false idea of a
  self, a soul, a person, a being. When you rightly understand just the outward
  movement and inward movement only you do not identify any movement of rising
  and falling with yourself, with your person, with your being. Then that idea
  or concept of a person a being an I or a you has been destroyed. When you
  don't have any idea of an I or you, a person or being, there won't arise any
  mental defilements such as lust greed hatred ignorance and so on. When mental
  defilements are destroyed there won't arise any suffering at all. Then you
  have attained the state of the cessation of all kinds of suffering. This
  cessation of suffering is attained through right understanding of the specific
  characteristic of the wind element which is constantly observed.
  It leads you to the cessation of suffering because you follow any teaching of
  any religion to destroy dukkha, suffering and live happily and peacefully.
  That's your aim of following any doctrine, is it not so? That aim can be
  fulfilled by right understanding of mental and physical processes, especially
  here, rightly understanding the specific characteristic of the wind element
  Wyandotte. Is the doctrine which instructs you to be mindful of any mental or
  physical process so you can rightly understand it in its true nature right or
  wrong? Right, why? It leads you to the cessation of suffering which is
  undesirable for you. So out of two levels of right understanding, as soon as
  your concentration is good enough, deep enough, you come to realise the first
  understanding, the specific characteristic of mental and physical phenomena.
  Then when you proceed with your practise mindfulness becomes clear and sharp
  and concentration becomes deeper.
  When concentration becomes deeper you come to realise the second aspect of
  mental and physical processes. That's the second level of understanding, that
  is, impermanence, suffering, and the impersonal nature of the process or no
  soul, no person. In Pali these are called anicca, dukkha, anatta. Anicca,
  impermanence; dukkha, suffering; anatta, impersonal nature or no soul no self.
  These three characteristics are concerned with all mental and physical
  processes. They are called common characteristics of mental and physical
  processes because they are in common with all mental and physical processes.
  So when you have lobha, attachment to have tea at this time, then does that
  lobha, attachment last very long? No. Then how long does it last? Yes. It
  lasts until you note it. When you note it you no longer have attachment to
  having tea. Then could we say attachment lasts very long or attachment is
  permanent? Because it rises and then passes away, it's impermanent. In other
  words lobha has the characteristic of impermanence, and the same with dosa and
  moha and the other mental and emotional states.
  Some meditators are very sensitive to the arising of anger. So if you feel
  anger then is that anger everlasting or transient? Transient. Yes. When you
  note it very attentively it goes away, it disappears. It arises and then
  vanishes, so it's impermanent. There, dosa has also the characteristic of
  impermanence. In the same way, the rising and fall of the abdomen has the
  characteristic of impermanence. The bending movement and stretching movement
  of the arms has the characteristic of impermanence. Lifting, pushing, putting
  movements of the foot have the characteristic of impermanence. So it's the
  nature of impermanency to be in common with every mental and physical
  phenomenon. So they are called common or general characteristics.
  Not only impermanence but also suffering, dukkha. Also the impersonal nature
  of mental and physical processes, anatta, no self-nature. So these three are
  called the common or general characteristics of body-mind processes. But at
  the third stage of insight knowledge you can more clearly realise these three
  characteristics of mental and physical processes. In the first stage of
  insight knowledge you realise the specific characteristics of mental and
  physical processes. Then it goes on the second stage and the third stage too.
  So when you proceed with your practise strenuously and intensively,
  concentration becomes deeper and deeper. Then you come to realise the movement
  of the foot and, say, the second level of right understanding. That's the
  general characteristic of the wind element vaya-dhatu.
  When you note lifting what you are aware of is the lifting movement of the
  foot. When you note pushing what you are aware of is the pushing movement of
  the foot. When you note dropping what you are aware of is the dropping
  movement. When you note touching what you are aware of is the touching
  sensation. When you note pressing you note pressure. There, when you are aware
  of the lifting movement with deep concentration you do not realise it as
  permanent, a single process of movement. You realise it as a series of broken
  movements rising and passing away, from the very beginning of the lifting of
  the foot. There are many many movements which are rising and passing away.
  Then sometimes meditators report their experience like this. 'When I note the
  lifting movement - lifting lifting lifting - there are many many movements I
  experience, from the very beginning of lifting many tiny movements.' Then
  sometimes they said, 'When I note lifting I find it as a folded Chinese fan.'
  This is folded, then it's stretched out it. The yogi knows it. He realises
  there are a series of many tiny movements arising and passing away one after
  another and he thinks, 'Oh this is like a Chinese fan.' That means he realises
  the impermanence of each movement. One movement arises and then passes away,
  then another movement arises and passes away. In this way he sees a series of
  many gentle and soft tiny movements arising and passing away one after
  another. Then he realises impermanence. When he experiences the state of
  impermanence he is sure to realise the other mental and physical processes too
  as impermanent. So when he bends the arm he aware of bending bending bending,
  slowly slowly. Then because his concentration is good enough, deep enough, he
  comes to realise this bending movement is a series of many bending movements
  arising and passing away one after another. That is the realisation of the
  impermanence of mental and physical processes. Also he realises the mind that
  notes it is impermanent. This realisation is the second level of right
  understanding upon the general characteristic of the wind or air element,
  vayo-dhatu. When you are realising this impermanence of phenomena you come to
  realise they are rising and passing away, never lasting even a minute or
  second, ever changing, always appearing and disappearing. So they are not good
  or bad.
  Then he comes to dukkha, suffering, because when he sees any mental or
  physical process ever changing, constantly rising and passing away every
  instant, the so-called mind is oppressed by that constant appearance and
  disappearance of phenomena. That is dukkha. Then when he discovers nothing is
  permanent, everything is transient and ever changing, appearing and
  disappearing, then does he take this mental process of ever changing as a
  person or a being, an I or a you? No. The idea of a person, a being arises
  dependent on the idea of a permanent body-mind process.
  When you take this body of mine as permanent then you take it as a person, a
  being, an I or a you. When you realise this body-mind process is ever changing
  and transient and impermanent, it doesn't last even a millionth of a second,
  you don't take it to be a person, a being, an I or a you. Then you don't have
  the idea of atta. When you don't have the idea of atta it's called anatta.
  Anatta means non-self, non person, no person, or the impersonal nature of
  mental and physical processes. So in this way you come to realise the general
  or common characteristics of physical processes and at the same time the mind
  notes it.
  When your right understanding or insight knowledge of mental and physical
  processes as impermanent becomes clearer, you come to realise the mind that
  notes it is also impermanent. Then you don't take any of the dual processes of
  mentality and physicality to be a person a being an I or a you. What you are
  realising at that moment is the incessant and continuous and constant changing
  of mental and physical processes which are arising and passing away one after
  another. When you take a set of phenomena which are forever changing you don't
  take them to be a person or a being. That false idea of a person a being, a
  self or a soul has been destroyed by right understanding of mental and
  physical processes.
  So when you have rightly understood these body-mind processes in their true
  nature in these two aspects ignorance has been replaced by right
  understanding, insight knowledge we call it: vipassana nana. Vipassa nana. In
  other words, right understanding, vipassana nana, insight knowledge or
  experiential knowledge, has destroyed ignorance. Yesterday I told you
  ignorance has the characteristic of covering the truth. When ignorance has
  been destroyed, you uncover the truth. You can realise this truth:
  impermanence, suffering, no soul, no self nature of mental and physical
  phenomena. But because they are ever changing and constantly appearing and
  disappearing you come to realise it's dukkha. Then, do you want that to occur?
  If that occurs it's not wanted, not desired. Then you have to be mindful of
  whatever arises in your body and mind so that you can rightly understand
  mental and physical processes in their two aspects, their specific and general
  or common aspects: specific aspects of materiality and mentality, and general
  characteristics of materiality and mentality. Specific characteristics are
  where any mental or emotional state has its own characteristics, which are
  nothing to do with the other mentalities and physicalities.
  There are only three common and general characteristics. Anicca, dukkha,
  anatta. Anicca means impermanence, transience, transitoriness, and flux.
  Dukkha, suffering, dissatisfaction, discomfort, and so on. Then anatta,
  no-self, no soul, no person, non-ego. These are the three characteristics of
  the whole of existence. If you rightly understand, if you can penetrate into
  these three aspects of body-mind processes, mental and physical phenomena, you
  are sure to be able to destroy attachment to any living being or non-living
  thing. When attachment, the cause of suffering has been destroyed there won't
  arise any suffering, dukkha at all. Without suffering, dukkha, you live in
  peace and happiness, when the cessation of suffering you have attained.
  I think now you have rightly understood the aim of your mindfulness about all
  daily activities. So do not be reluctant, do not feel lazy. Be aware of all
  daily activities in more detail so you can have continuous mindfulness and
  deep concentration and a penetrating insight which realises the specific and
  general characteristics of mental and physical phenomena.
  May all of you practise your meditation very intensively and continuously
  without any laziness, reluctance and tiredness and anger.