Discourse on Progress / Development

Before anything else, let me first wish all of you a very Happy New Year 2009. New Year's day is also the day when many people make so-called "resolutions". Have any of you made any resolutions? If you have, I hope you have made them concerning your road to attaining the Knowledges of Path&Fruition. Today is also a most appropriate day for everyone to reflect on any progress that one may or may not have made last year. This brings me to what I wish to talk about on such an auspicious day as today.

Let us call the title of the talk for this New Year's Day of 2009 simply "Progress". It could just as well be called "Development", but we will leave it as "Progress" for the time being. If I were to ask all of you if you want to make progress, what would you all say? "Of course we do!" That would be the answer, wouldn't it? All right. What sort of progress is it that we would wish for? What type of progress can we call real progress? Because there are so many, many types of progress in the modern world today, we should know which type it is that we really want or need. What was the "progress" that our Buddha mentioned? Before we go into the dhamma talk on "Progress", let us first of all pay homage to our Buddha, the Enlightened One. -------------

In this world of ours there is what is called ñāti vuddhi, "progress of (one's) relatives". But that sort of "progress" is not the real one that our Buddha meant. There is also the opposite of progress which is "degeneration of (one's) relatives", which is also not what the Buddha meant. Another type of progress is that of "wealth / riches", for which the Pāli term is "bhoga vuddhi". Our Buddha did not consider this real progress either. Neither did He consider "bhoga parihāni", the degeneration of wealth, as real degeneration. Yet another type of progress is one known as "yaso vuddhi", the progress in abundance of friends / acquaintances. Again, neither this nor its opposite - "yaso parihāni" did the Buddha approve of as the real progress / degeneration of acquaintances.

Today, in this modern world of ours, we have so very many people who are merely aiming to make progress in accumulating wealth and riches. However, did our Buddha ever consider as genuine, all that progress that that these people make so ambitiously? No, He never, ever did! And, when such accumulation of wealth and riches starts to decline resulting in so much misery and sorrow, did the Buddha ever consider such loss as true loss? Even this sort of unbearable suffering, the Buddha never said that it was real degeneration.

When one's relatives make good and become successful and wealthy, one rejoices at such "progress". When one's relatives reach high places, high rank and high society, one takes great pride in their so-called "achievements". However, The Buddha never considered such achievement as "progress". Then again, when our relatives find their riches frittering away, people feel sorry for their misfortune and, some even think it the end of the world, so to speak. But then, our Buddha didn't call such misfortune real downfall.

Another thing that human beings really desire is to be surrounded by many friends and acquaintances. Isn't that so? Do you or don't you want many friends? Well, the Buddha never considered having an abundance of friends as making real progress. Also, The Enlightened One did not consider the loss of friends and acquaintances as real loss. In that case, what exactly is genuine progress? Don't we all want to know? In what or in which field should we be making real progress? Our Buddha declared that real progress is only that progress which is to be made in "wisdom".Whatever progress or regress occurs, if it is not in the gain or loss of wisdom then it is not real progress or regress. So, we need to consider what is "progress in wisdom".

Now, every single one of us in this world has, little by little, stage by stage grown up to become adults. With our welfare in mind, our parents have nurtured us and provided for our worldly educational needs by sending us to school, haven't they? We started in kindergarden, moved up to primary school, went on to high school and, even on to university. I assume there are many young people today in this audience who are graduates, aren't there? Right. So, can we not then say that you have made progress in acquiring wisdom? You must be wondering if this is a trick question.You are thinking, "What's the right answer?" Well, let me tell you that the progress in wisdom that The Buddha referred to is not in this type of wisdom.

During His life as the Bodhisatta Prince Siddattha, in terms of worldly riches our Buddha was wealthy like no one else. In terms of friends, acquaintances and retinue He was in no way like us; there was an abundance of them. As far as relatives go, Prince Siddattha was no less than a member of the royal Sakkyan lineage. So, in conventional, worldly, social and materialistic terms the Bodhisatta Prince had reached an incomparably high level of "progress", hadn't He? He had absolutely "everything" that we, as worldlings would or could wish for!

Again, whenever royalty elect one of their own to the throne, they choose to look for the special qualifications, experience and knowledge that their candidate possesses. When, in his youth, the Prince Siddattha was tested for all this, He was found to be in possession of all of those prerequisites to be king. Due to His accumulated pāramīs in countless past existences, the Prince was expert even in those fields that he had never been tutored in. He stood unrivalled in all of these prerequisites which He demonstrated and displayed so well.

But then, did our Bodhisatta renounce and go forth because He considered all of this as real progress or, because He did not consider it all as real progress? [Audience's reply: Because He did not!] So,....isn't it a fact that our Bodhisatta and those wise ones of olden days who would later become the ariyās (noble ones) renounced those worldly achievements in wealth, friends, social status, etc., as if it were all spit? Now, I wonder if all of you in the audience are licking up and savouring the disgusting, repulsive saliva that the Bodhisatta and the ariyās of old have spat out. Well, are we going to eat the spittle that someone else has spat out? [Audience's reply: No, we are not!] Right. Just think about it! If you come to see that you yourself are one who is sucking on the gobs of spit that have been spat out by the Bodhisatta and the wise ariyās of olden days and, if you begin to realise what true progress in life actually is, then you should begin to emulate the practices of the Bodhisatta and the wise ariyās of olden days. Only then will you have made true progress.

Now, the paññāvuddhi (progress/development = vuddhi, of wisdom = paññā) which The Buddha taught, what (or, which) wisdom was He referring to? The writers of the commentaries have explained the term paññāvuddhi for those of us who find it difficult to understand. Those of you who actually and honestly wish to strive towards achieving true progress should know in what type of wisdom it is that true progress can be found.

Do you have the wisdom to put your utmost faith in kamma and the results of kamma? We are aware of the the fact that we are fortunate to have been conceived in the womb of our devout Buddhist mother and, because of the goodness and guidance of our parents, we have come to accept that if we commit kusala (wholesome actions) we shall reap the results of kusala and, if we should commit akusala (unwholesome actions) – then we can be sure of reaping the results of akusala. This we have been taught since our younger days, haven't we? But...., please think carefully - if we were to be asked whether we have truly unshakable faith in the results of kamma, what would be our reply? Well, in truth, we probably haven't reached that stage yet, have we? As we have been brought up in these particular surroundings we understand and believe in the workings of (kusala and akusala) kamma. However, if you were to be faced with a threat on your life for not discarding your faith in the workings of kamma, would you or would you not renounce that faith? If the threat were real and your life actually depended on it, you would suddenly find you have a lot less faith in kamma and its results, wouldn't you? In that case, your faith cannot be called "unshakable, can it? So, unless your faith is such that you would never renounce it even if it meant that you would be executed for keeping that faith, then only can it be termed "unshakable". Only then can it be said that true progress has been achieved. This true development of wisdom can be achieved only through personally gaining direct knowledge of the workings of kamma.

At this point, so that the audience can seriously contemplate kamma and its results, I wish to tell you something about what one of our yogis experienced when he (she) looked back at one of his (her) past existences. You must all have heard of guardian nats such as, guardian nat of a house, a school or a forest, etc. Well, in one of his past existences, our yogi was the guardian of a house. He could actually see himself, very clearly, patrolling around it. When he tried to see where he resided, it was mostly in the attic under the roof. Being in the house of a Buddhist family, he would respectfully pay reverence, palms together in salutation to the image of the Buddha that was on the altar of the house. As time went by and it came for him to pass wawy from that existence, the attachment that he had developed for the house and the Buddha image made him visualise himself paying homage to the image of the Buddha. Now, was that a kusala or an akusala vision? [Audience's reply: Kusala vision, thưa Ngài.].Right. And so, he came to be conceived in the womb of a lady of that house! The attachment was to the house but the very last image that appeared in his mind immediately before dying was his anjalī to the Buddha. That was the kusala object which resulted in conception in the human realm. If joyfully paying homage to the Buddha can readily transport us to a good realm, shouldn't we be performing such deeds frequently throughout the day?

Now, the lady of that house gave birth to a baby girl who developed a fondness for pet animals. I'm sure you know how cat lovers cuddle their pets lovingly in the warmth of their arms. This girl was no exception. As she grew fonder and fonder of her cat, her attachment also became stronger and stronger until, when she was about to die at a rather young age, her last thought was of her cat and, she was born a cat in her next life! How about that! Simply terrible, isn't it?

So, do you think it is wise to have pet dogs, or cats, or any other pet animals, or insects or whatever? [Audience's reply: It's not wise, thưa Ngài.]. You had better be careful – very careful, indeed! If you watch the birds singing happily and begin to take delight in it, it can be dangerous, can't it? We bhikkhus who reside in the woods – need to be especially careful. The cute little squirrels jumping from tree to tree; coming to nibble leftovers laid out by us bhikkhus - and other such little antics! If we get carried away and start to enjoy these "pleasant 'sights – and if, by chance, these visions happen to appear in our final death moments! Just imagine the consequences? I shudder to think about it!

If we begin to truly realise the particular nature of the workings of kamma, we need to live our lives with utmost caution. Clinging or attachment to anything or anyone is immensely dangerous for sure! There is no doubt about it.

When this young girl used to so lovingly hold the cat in her arms, that lobha of attachment was not because she wanted to become a cat, was it? No, it was not. Do you take your dog or puppy out for walks on a leash because you want to become a dog? Of course not! However, you can very well be reborn as a dog if your attachment to your dog means that you think about it at your death moment. If it is a cat you think of at your death moment, you will almost certainly be reborn as a cat.

Well, this girl was reborn as a cat in a Buddhist household in which it was the custom to make daily offering of food in front of the Buddha's image on the altar. This cat happened not to know that these offerings were being made to the Buddha and, it would steal and eat the offerings. Any form of stealing by anyone – human or animal or any living being - is akusala, do we agree? But it so happened that whenever the cat climbed onto the altar for the food, it would inadvertently be having the chance to look up at the image of the Buddha! And so, now, at the moment of its death, a vision of the Buddha image appeared in the cat's mind. It's ironic, isn't it? But, the cat's akusala of having so often stolen what had been so reverentially been offered to the Buddha was stronger than its kusala of having viewed the Buddha image. So, because of her kusala,she was reborn as a girl but, due to her akusala, she was destined to a life of destitution. Eventually, in that life she came to be a lowly servant in a certain household. There she had to diligently prepare the meals for the family. As for herself, she had to go hungry for long periods while peeping at the family eating on their own. Even after the meals were over and she had finished with the washing and putting away of everything, she was never allowed to have any of the leftovers but only the bare minimum for human sustenance. What an extremely sad and wretched existence for this girl, don't you think? You have to realise that the stronger kammic results were those of having stolen and eaten that food which were offered to the Buddha.

That is why we all should be extremely careful of the rice, foodstuff and requisites that are offered to The Triple Gem, which are The Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṇghā, shouldn't we? We may be able to accept an animal's ignorance in this matter. However, we can see instances of such negligence in the behavior of even humans, and it can be very dangerous. It was the knowledge of all this that had happened in her past lives that led this yogi to so much sadness and grief. But it was not the type of sadness and grief that most of you in the audience usually feel. Hers was the type of the sadness and the grief that accompanies the great sense of spiritual urgency (known as samvega) when one begins to realise or to experience the truly undesirable nature of existence. It was the vivid vision that led to the knowledge of the particular way in which kamma always works for anyone – for everyone. Striving towards obtainment of such knowledge is that which is called the real development in wisdom. Then only will it be considered to be that paññāvuddhi which is the attainment of true development.

Then there is another aspect of development in wisdom which is called "intelligence". Due to the limitations of time I shall not dwell on how to practice ānāpānasati meditation, also because you all have been taught it anyway. When you practice ānāpānasati meditation systematically with diligence you attain samādhi (concentration) and lights begin to appear. As the lights gradually increase they come to blend with the breath that you are concentrating on so that, when you look at the light you see the breath and, when you look at the breath you see the light.

The texts say that it is this light that is the nimitta (sign). If you can hold your concentration on this nimitta for about an hour, the sign called the patibāgha nimitta (counterpart sign) will appear. If your concentration can remain on the patibāgha nimitta, it can be said that you have attained a jhāna. As you have practiced in achieving a jhāna, can it not be said that you have made progress in the wisdom of a jhāna? Yes, it can! Our Buddha declared that this is what true development is – not the development of wealth or acquaintances.

Isn't it true that our lives will be over before too long? [Audience's reply: It is true, thưa Ngài.]. Is the search for and the accumulation in the development of wealth, acquaintances, relatives and worldly (mundane) wisdom ever going to end? [Audience's reply: No, thưa Ngài, it is not.]. Has there ever been a single person who has said just before his death that he was fully satisfied and contented to have found all those things he had wished for? Think about it. The development of all those things which are being accumulated through the enticement of tanhā (craving) for worldly progress – do you think such progress can bring about complete satisfaction and contentment? Surely not! Development of that kind has been acquired through lobha (greed), has it not? So, can the resultant development of such lobha lead to rebirth in any of the three pleasant realms of existence called sugati? Definitely not! In which case, we could presume that such development obtained from a worldly point of view will, instead, most likely lead to rebirth in the four woeful realms of existence, couldn't we? You can be sure of it!

Let us then think again. Should we just carry on living our lives and eventually dying like everyone else? No, I should think not! If we consider ourselves to be noble (virtuous) persons who have put our utmost faith in the Triple Gem that is The Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṇgha, then, we should take full opportunity to acquire the dhammas of true development in this radiantly glowing dispensation of The Buddha. What then would be the benefits in possessing the wisdom of jhāna? The words of the Buddha were:-

"Samādhiṁ bhikkhave bhāvetha Samāhito bhikkhave bhikkhu yathābhūtaṁ pajānāti"

"Develop samādhi, my bhikkhus. The One who develops samādhi knows and sees reality as it is."

When one attains jhāna concentration, when one can grasp hold of the wisdom of jhāna which is said to be jhāna concentration, that is when one will know and see as they really are the Four Noble Truths which are - the Noble Truth of Suffering, the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering, the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering and the Noble Truth of the Path Leading to the Cessation of Suffering. That was what The Buddha exhorted.

The Noble Truth of Suffering, in brief, are the five aggregates of clinging. Also, it can be said that mentality and materiality are The Noble Truth of Suffering. So, we may say that to know mentality and materiality is to know the first truth which is The Noble Truth of Suffering. When the yogi that I mentioned began to see her past existences (lives), it means that she had become aware of the dhamma of cause and effect. That is what is known as the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering. If that is so, from where, or when did suffering originate? From past existences or in the present life? [Audience's reply: From the past, thưa Ngài.]. If that is so, and if the Buddha has told us to look into our past in order to realise the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering, would we be able to realise it somewhere else? No, we would not! Those five clinging-aggregates that are materiality-mentality and are known as The Noble Truth of Suffering, and those causes and effects which are known as the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering - they are the objects of Vipassanā meditation. These objects of Vipassanā meditation must therefore be most profound, musn"t they? And, unless you can realise the profundity of materiality-mentality and cause and effect in the light of anicca, dukkha and anatta, you cannot be considered to have had practice in Vipassanā meditation.

Having acquired such Vipassanā insight is what is considered by our Buddha as the true development of the wisdom of Vipassanā and, that is the progress of paññāvuddhi which was mentioned earlier. Don't you think all of us should be seeking to attain that particular development of wisdom? Wouldn't you like to attain that sort of wisdom? [Audience's reply: Yes, we would, thưa Ngài.]. I wish to earnestly insist upon all of you to get hold of that particular development of wisdom. So far, haven't we all been carelessly and heedlessly through samsarā, this round of countless rebirths, sometimes as pigs, sometimes as dogs, sometimes as slaves or servants – both male and female, etc. We have suffered horribly in the four woeful realms. Only now, owing to some kusala kamma in our past, we find ouselves in the human realm. What's more, you and I, we happen to have faith in the Triple Gem - The Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha, and also, in kamma and its results.

Should we let a rare opportunity such as this existence go to waste? I definitely do not think we should.

It must be awful to become anyone's servant or slave. You cannot be at liberty to do what you like; you are bound to your master; you cannot set yourself free. It is just plain suffering. So, be very careful.

Now, our Buddha said that only those who possess the wisdom of Vipassanā insight are the ones who have that true development of wisdom. So, it becomes our responsibility to personally strive to penetrate into the profundity of Vipassanā insight if we wish to attain true progress and development in our lives. When I said responsibility, I meant that duty which you owe to yourself. If you do not realise the duty that you owe to yourself, then there is no bigger fool than you. Just think about that!

If you contemplate the dhammas of mentality and materiality diligently with determination and, if you contemplate the particular kamma and its results in the light of the realities that are anicca, dukkha and anatta, then you will surely develop Vipassanā insight which will lead you to Path and Fruition Knowledge and, eventually to personally and to penetratively see Nibbāna as if you were holding the most priceless ruby in your palm. That experience and wisdom will be the utmost in the true development of wisdom ever! Do you think that Path Knowledge and Fruition Knowledge are too far beyond your reach? There are many who think so. There are only a few who do not think so. Those of you who feel that Path and Fruition are very remote only think that way because they do not know about the pāramīs.

As one advances from one jhāna to another in Vipassanā, one will see the continual arising and perishing of mentality and materiality and cause and effect - all of it in the light of anicca, dukkha and anatta. From that, one will advance to the realisation that Nibbāna is where formations (sankhāra), mentality, materiality, cause and effect - all of them cease to be, and that one s only desire will be to reach that state of Nibbāna.

And, as the desire to attain that state grows and grows and, as one's pāramīs from the past blend with those of the present, then will one be able to reach that yonder shore that is Nibbāna!

All of you who are present here today - you all are now diligently practicing to develop sīla, samādhi and paññā The kamma of your past and the pāramīs that you have developed are such that you are Buddhists today. While others are out revelling in the sensual pleasures on this New Year's Day, you are here to actually and practically attain Path and Fruition Knowledge. I really do believe that there are many in here right now who have the seeds of pāramī that are about to bear the fruits of Path and Fruition Knowledge. Our Fully Enlightened Buddha exhorted that the attainment of Vipassanā Path and Fruition Knowledge through perseverance is the true development of wisdom that is called paññāvuddhi.

That is why The Buddha said:

Ārambhatha nikkamaka yuñjatha buddhasāsane

Dhunāātha miccunāsenaṇnalāgāraṇva kuñjaro.

"Practice in the Buddha's dispensation. Strive for emancipation. Strive diligently to practice meditation. Just as the husky male elephant demolishes a house of reeds, destroy the army of Death, the ruler of the thirty-one realms." So said the Buddha in all His loving-kindness and compassion.

And so, I wish you all, again, a very Happy New Year. May you all be very much closer to the attainment of the deathless state of Nibbāna.