Q: The instruction to note/label something as impermanent is indeed clear, but how can you be sure that the thing

*labeled* as impermanent actually *is* impermanent? If you label every person you see as female, you are wrong in ca.
50 % of the cases. I hope you understand what I mean. There must be way of looking at things that enables you to see that
Whatever has the nature of arising, all that has the nature of ceasing. So for me the question remains: I am supposed to
see form, etc. as impermanent, but practically, how do i do it? What do i need to do in terms of taking an action?
A: Suppose you are sitting in a movie theater lost in the story of a movie, overwhelmed by the power of its story, the
laughter, the tears, the dramathe emotion. For an outsider it would appear as if you are caught, dreaming, completely
overpowered by the names and forms you see. Lets say my mission is it, to wake you up. And lets pretend I can only do
that through the means of the movie, which you are watching, itself. Well, as soon as I tell you to disregard the story and put
your attention to the process of the story itself, you will start to see, how your mind is fooled by a quick procession of
frames. How would you do that? You have to remove the attention from the content (the story) and instead direct it
towards how your mind perceives that story. The labeling (and that is why you see the Buddha use all kinds of labels, not
just impermanent but also form is a shackle, form is a disease, form is movement (injita)etc etc. it is not the label by
itself, although it works even better if you use a label which points the mind to some quality of the process of sense
experience when you try to disengage it from the content of that story (anicca, dukkha, anatta or this is not mine, not me,
not my self are great choices in this regard) but at the end of the day, in the environment of insight meditation, backed by
very strong concentration, what these labels will accomplish is a shift of your attention away from the magic shows tricks
(the story of the world you live in) and move your focus to the process of sense experience and how that magic trick is being
generated. One of the first aspects of noting in this way is to get a very very deep experience of impermanence one will
witness, in real-time the flashing (coming and going) of the six sense impressions So the funny thing is this: by using
right view in form of a note attached to each sense impression (in meditation) and powered by sati and samadhi (this is
colloquially called vipassana)one gets to see for oneself, in real time, fully experiencing it, the impermanence, the
selfless and inadequate nature of that very sense process.
So I hope you can see, that the label itself is just a means to the goal, a smart choice of name itself to undo the magic of
names, but by itself is not all that important.
PS: theoretically you could achieve the same by using female, female although, from a practical standpoint you will hardly
get your mind disassociated from the content of the senses that way, especially if you are male
Vitakka & Vicara What do they mean? Or: How do i find my way to the first jhana?
Lets say your meditation topic is Anapanasati (remembering the breath). So you would concentrate on breathing. If that is
all you do, very soon, you would find yourself lost in millions of thoughts. Hopelessly washed away.
-Now you make the following change to your practice:
-With each breathing in you mentally note in with each breathing out you note out. That literally is vitakka, or
thought. Simple, as the Buddha mentioned. This thought will therefore help you to remember (lit. for sati, maintaining in
your mental presence) the breathing (anapana).
-Now, what the heck is vicara? It is gliding (literally moving about)! You dont just think one thought and watch the
breath. No, you have to repeat the thought and try to glide, abide, skid, slide, dwell, ride (all words denote a
prolonged abiding, which reflects the literal meaning of vicara) on your meditation object (in this case breathing).
-Repeatedly you will have to tie your mind to the pole of your meditation object,with the help of vitakka. It is like an eagle
who wants to soar in the sky. He is looking for a stream of warm air which will carry and lift him up. The bird will
repeatedly flap its wings and glide for a while, repeating the flapping, gliding, flapping, gliding until the eagle finds the
stream of uplifting air and comes to a peaceful riding abiding effortless soaring, enjoying the ride.
Yath pakkh pubba yhati pacch nyhati yath yhan eva vitakko, yath pakkhna pasran a eva vicro .
Like a bird first has to exert itself and later has not to exert itself. In the same way is the exertion vitakko and the spreading
of wings is vicaro (Petakopadesa, Khuddaka Nikaya, PTS p. 142)
-Lets take the simile of the pole: You hammer on the top of the pole (which is your meditation object). The repeated
hammering is your repetition of a thought, to help focus the mind. The repetition of this thought is initially necessary as your
mind is torn in six directions by six animalsthe senses. -The movement of the pole into the earth is vicara. Each time the
hammer hits the stick/pole, it moves a little deeper..
-Until the pole is so deep, that it can stand alone, upright and unshaken by the sense impressionsvoila! The first jhana! Piti
& Sukha have come in as a sign that the mind steadied on the meditation subject. Now, meditation became a vihara, a
dwelling and is no longer a fight or struggle.
-This, sankhittena, is the meaning of vitakka & vicara.
PS: The same applies for any other samatha meditation object, ie. metta, metta, metta or light, light, light just to
name a few famous ones
Bahiyas Bodhi
-Do you have a favorite passage in the Suttapitaka?Difficult question, there are so many gems. But this one is
really special, IMHO. Its a ZEN Masters dream come true in the Pali canon:
Tastiha te, bhiya, eva sikkhitabba ditthe
bhavissati, sute sutaatta bhavissati, ute utaatta
ditthaatta

bhavissati, vite vitaatta bhavissatti. Evahi te, bhiya, sikkhitabba. Yato kho te, bhiya, ditthe
ditthaatta

bhavissati, sute sutaatta bhavissati, ute utaatta bhavissati, vite vitaatta bhavissati, tato tva, bhiya,
na tena; yato tva, bhiya, na tena tato tva, bhiya, na tattha ; yato tva, bhiya, na tattha, tato tva, bhiya, nevidha na
hura na ubhayaantarena. Esevanto dukkhassti. Udana I, 10
-This is probably the shortest personal vipassana instruction given by the Buddha i know of. He says to Bahiya the ascetic:

ditthe
bhavissati by the seen only the seen shall be
ditthaatta

sute sutaatta bhavissati by the heard just the heard shall be

ute utaatta bhavissati by the felt only the felt shall be
vite vitaatta bhavissat by the cognised only the cognised shall be
-This really is stopping short and letting the mind dry up on the sense ocean, let the itching skin healto bring in some other
similes to your mind. It is the same approach used by modern day vipassana instructions using a small set of labels to
increase an all-around almost 24/7 bare awareness.
Buddha even tells us what will happen:
tato tva, bhiya, na tena; yato tva, bhiya, na tena tato tva, bhiya, na tattha ; yato tva, bhiya, na tattha, tato tva,
bhiya, nevidha na hura na ubhayaantarena. Esevanto dukkhass
Then, Bahiya, you will not be with it. If you are not with it, Bahiya, you will not be there. If you are not there, Bahiya, then
you are neither here nor there nor in between both ends. This indeed is the end of suffering.
Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu eva patipanno
hoti no cassa no ca e siy, na bhavissati na e bhavissati, yadatthi ya

bhta ta pajahti upekkha patilabhati.

-Here, o monks, a monk does train himself thus: Had it not been it would not occur to me; if it will not be it wont occur
to me; whatever there is, whatever appeared (came into existence) that i will give up thus he develops equanimity.
-We would call it these days sankharupekkha nyana or the insight knowledge of equanimity towards formations.In MN the
Buddha adds this valuable information after using exactly the same meditation instruction:
So ta upekkha nbhinandati, nbhivadati, na ajjhosya titthati.
Tassa ta upekkha anabhinandato anabhivadato

anajjhosyatitthato
na tannissita hoti vin a na tadupdna. Anupdno, nanda, bhikkhu parinibbyatti.

He does not delight in this equanimity, does not agree, does not stay overwhelmed by it. Him who does not delight, does not
agree, does not stay overwhelmed with this equanimity his consciousness is not leaning on this equanimity, is not attached to
it. Without attachment, Ananda, that monk completely ceases (parinibbya this word, in fact, does not mean he dies, but
experiences nibbana, pari- completely).
-This most beautiful vipassana style meditation instruction can be found in several places in the pali canon: i.e. SN 22.
55 or AN VI. 52
-The beauty of this instruction is that it makes almost only sense to you if you practice this or a similar method of insight
meditation where you do not allow the mind to follow impressions but stop mental activity right after the object was born
(yadatthi yam bhtam) just in order to give it up right there and then, immediately.
Now, a well-instructed disciple of the noble ones does not assume form to be the self, or the self as possessing form, or
form as in the self, or the self as in form. He does not assume feeling to be the self does not assume perception to be the
self does not assume fabrications to be the self He does not assume consciousness to be the self, or the self as
possessing consciousness, or consciousness as in the self, or the self as in consciousness.
He discerns, as it actually is, impermanent form: impermanent form impermanent feeling: impermanent feeling
impermanent perception: impermanent perception impermanent fabrications: impermanent fabrications
impermanent consciousness: impermanent consciousness.
Note how this last paragraph gave a complete meditation instruction for simply noting form, feeling, etc. whenever they
arrise with clear attention as impermanent.
- Now a monk asks the Buddha whether a person training like this would fear this experience of nibbana. Buddhas response:
There is the case where an uninstructed run-of-the-mill person falls into fear over what is not grounds for fear. But an
instructed disciple of the noble ones does not fall into fear over what is not grounds for fear. There is no fear for an instructed
disciple of the noble ones [who thinks], Had it not been it would not occur to me; if it will not be it wont occur to me;
whatever there is, whatever appeared (came into existence) that i will give up.
Rpupaya v, bhikkhu, vin a titthana
tittheyya,
rpraan a rpappatittha
nandpasecana vuddhi

virlhi
vepulla pajjeyya. Vedanupaya v, bhikkhu saupaya v, bhikkhu sakhrupaya v, bhikkhu,
vin a titthana
tittheyya,
sakhrraan a sakhrappatittha
nandpasecana vuddhi virlhi

vepulla
pajjeyya.
Should consciousness, when standing (still), stand attached to (a physical) form, supported by form (as its object),
established on form, watered with delight, it would exhibit growth, increase, & proliferation. Should consciousness, when
standing (still), stand attached to feeling, perception, fabrications, supported by fabrications (as its object), established on
fabrications, watered with delight, it would exhibit growth, increase, & proliferation.
-Now comes the peaceful crescendo. An Arahants consciousness becomes anidassana / illustrous like the sky. Now, with
consciousness ceasing its normal operation, even feelings cool down and contact ceases and extinguishes like a fire:
vin adhtuy ce, bhikkhu, bhikkhuno rgo pahno hoti. Rgassa pahn vocchijjatraan a patitth
vin assa na
hoti.Tadappatitthita
vi a avirha
aabhisakhraca viutta. Viuttatt thita
. Thitatt
satusita.

Satusitatt a paritassati. Aparitassa paccattaeva pariibbyati.

Were someone to say, I will describe a coming, a going, a passing away, an arising, a growth, an increase, or a proliferation
of consciousness apart from form, from feeling, from perception, from fabrications, that would be impossible.
If a monk abandons passion for the property of form, feeling, perception, fabrications If a monk abandons appeal for the
property of consciousness, then owing to the abandonment of appeal, the support is cut off, and there is no base for
consciousness. Consciousness, thus unestablished, not proliferating, not performing any function, is released. Owing to its
release, it stands still. Owing to its stillness, it is contented. Owing to its contentment, it is not agitated. Not agitated,
he (the monk) is totally ceased.
Can consciousness see itself?
-Some seers of ancient India held that it is impossible to understand consciousness itself, because it is with consciousness
that we get to know everything else. They thought that it is like trying to touch ones finger-tip with the same finger-tip.

-But we have to get more acquainted with the five representatives of Name. Let us have them at our fingertips. In fact one
can even count them on ones fingers. Feeling (Vedan) is the little finger small but mischievous. Perception(sa)is the
ring-finger both popular and notorious. Intention(cetan) is the middle finger prominent and intrusive. Contact(phasso) is the
fore-finger fussy and busy all the time. Attention(manasikro) is the thumb standing apart but approachable to the rest.
-So it is in this case of the tragic drama of consciousness, though himself culpable, Attention is dependable as a witness
provided he does his duty as Right Attention (yoniso manasikro).
-Now attention will gradually disclose what feeling felt, what perception perceived, what intention intended, what contact
contacted and last but not least what attention attended to.
-This is why all insight meditators single out attention for preferential treatment when they want to get the full inside story of
the tragic drama of consciousness.
-In his book Magic of the mind venerable Nyanananda introduced a simile of the magic show (taken from the Buddhas
comparison of the consciousness to be like a magician in SN ?) and explained in detail how an insight meditator is moving
away from the position of the simple spectator living in and being overwhelmed by the tricks of the magician towards a
position of someone who is starting to see the backstages and behind the screens action which results in a dispassion and
disenchantment.
-Here, he reconnects that simile with the definition of name-and-form (namarupa) and how a meditator is going to use in
practice one of his mental faculties to peek behind the workings between consciousness and name-and-form.
-Where nowadays the term sati (remembering) from the verb sarati (to remember) has taken on a life of its own and is
very often used in a sense to be mindful in place where the pali canon would use instead yoniso manasikaro
(close/thorough/in-depth attention) venerable Nyananandas explanation gives us an idea for the paradoxical moment which
the moment of enlightenment must be it is when attention discloses what attention attended to and the duality between
consciousness and nama-rupa vanishes in a moment of bhavanirodho or extinguishing of being.
In this way one could say that if you use samma-sati (or right remembering) you are in fact practicing a form of yoniso
manasikaro (or close attention) as you keep your attention watching/remembering/re-attending what is either in terms of
the classic for sets of labels (the Maha-Satipatthana) gradually refining the process of attention to subtler and subtler objects,
working your way from an experience of the world down to how the world is generated until you arrive at this samsaric
cortex, the interplay between consciousness-name/form which is basically the barrage of six sense impressions, contact,
feeling which arrive and are reflected in consciousness and which create your here-there duality and the echo of an I
immediately followed by thoughts of grasping and clinging in this chaos of fleeting bubbles.
-Lets go to another text, which will now sound like a summary of the aforesaid:
Throughout our lives, we are walking through an art gallery. On the vast canvas of the world around us, there are the objects
and beings so realistic and life-like that we live fully immersed and involved in them. The mysterious four elements earth,
water, fire, air with colour and form to deceive us, keep the panorama on the move, so we are spell-bound.
-Insight into Name and Form helps us to throw off the spell produced by sight. Contemplation of the four elements within
and without us forming the warp and woof of the world-canvas, gives flashes of insight into the unreality of the 3dimensional world we live in. This is the form aspect of the picture feeling, perception, intention, contact and attention
with which we are enthralled by the panorama, constitute the name aspect of the picture. Practising full awareness with
regard to them we become detached observers of our framed-up world.
-Being aware of this framework of name-and-form, we can watch the scenes on the eye-screen as they come, stay, and go
away as if we are watching a movie unmoved.
-Another way of describing the moment to moment set-up and experience of the mind is Buddhas famous declaration of the
five groups of grasping or panca upadanakkhanda. They are form, feeling, perception, mental formations, consciousness.
So they basically are the same like consciousness-nama/rupa but putting them all together in one list not classifying the
dichotomy between consciousness and name-and-form but listing them as the aggregates of our clinging. With a simple
comparison you will see that from the group of mental formations the Buddha especially highlights contact, volition and
attention in his definition of name and form. Of all the sankharas or mental formations we cling to, the interplay between
attention based on certain volitions and faced with contact is the work place of the meditator. Sankharas are not just the
lubrication which keeps the samsaric gear continue its operation and proliferates our word experience from moment to
moment with a whole mountain of concepts, it might also develop the grain of wisdom which contaminates this gearbox
and brings it to the brink of a stall (bhavanirodho).
-But dont fear, usually our mental activities produces enough lubrication in terms of concepts and worldy proliferation
that there is hardly any chance for this gearbox of consciousness vs name and form to halt any time soon
-The tragedy however, is that everyone of these 5 groups is disintegrating. There is nothing permanent or substantial in them,
to be prided on as self. They betray the trust one puts on them as I and Mine. -In the face of change and disintegration the
very existence of the self is threatened. This is the -dreadful predicament of the self-oriented being.
-The Buddhas solution to this chronic feeling of insecurity, is the development of the perception of impermanence. Taking a
more realistic view of the five groups as impermanent, made-up, dependently arisen, and of a nature to waste away, pass
away, fade away, and cease, one has to go on attending to their rise-and-fall with mindfulness and full-awareness. The
perception of the compact will gradually give way to the perception of the heap. In ones contemplation of the rise and fall,
one will discern not only the breakers of the ocean of impermanence but also the waves, the ripples and the vibrations. This
leads to disenchantment. One turns away from ones deeply ingrained samsaric habit of grasping, holding and clinging on to
the five fleeting groups which promise no security.
-Giving-up the attachment to the five groups one sees as the only
security, the clinging free deliverance of the mind the sublime peace of Nibbana.
So close you cannot see it Or: What does sankhara mean?
There is quite a deal of confusion regarding this important Buddhist term some of the translations run as follows:
volitional formations

mental formations
fabrications, etc. etc.
-From this simile it is clear that sankharas could very well be translated as preparations. But, i hear you ask: What the
heck, are mental preparations. And how do preparations relate to Buddhas teaching?.
-Well, in our modern day and age we would use the following terms instead: (mental) planning / opinionating / decision
making / speculating /preparing to do something it is our thought machine going on in our minds moment after moment
after moment creating a force which results in actions and in results of those actions.
-An example: We take in a sound of a bird and immediately have preparing thoughts like I love the song of this bird. I
like to see it. Where is this sound coming from? etc etc. These preparations, eventually, will lead to new moments of
existence this is how preparations prepare us to experience even more new sense impressions once we started moving our
head to see the bird a whole new series of sense impressions and resulting sankharas will arise and move us forward. This, in
effect, is watching kamma and vipaka in action ;-)
-If you look at the 5 upadanakhandha which, according to Buddha, completely summarize our world experience you find
the term sankhara in the correct spot, if you keep our simile of listening to the bird in mind: form (the sound) -> is the
basis for -> feelings (positive) is the basis for -> perception (melodious) -> is the basis for the mental commentaries
going on in our mind and consciousness, number 5 of the 5 groups of grasping / fueling is the counterpart for this to occur,
to be known very much in terms of the mirror.
-Eventually this moment of experience will lead to new moments of sight-, sound- etc. thought-objects, feelings, perceptions
and consciousness. So the sankharas are the preparation part, the part, where the foundation for the next moment(s) is laid.
-In the case of the non-editator this mental preparing for each next step in the world leads to a next barrage of sense
impressions and moments of being on which we take our stand (upadana))
-In the case of the editator the mental preparations are slowly but surely subdued to a mere tagging, labeling. Noting
impermanence is a preparation as well (even a meditator keen on insight, has to work with what is there already), but its
direction is not towards proliferation of our experience but towards a minimizing of preparations/mental
commentating/planning through the use of a simple label. Giving up (pajahati) whatever arises.
-The tool used to achieve this is attention (manasikaro).
-Usually attention is working to enlarge the chatting and opinionizing and preparing of the mind, insomuch as our moment to
moment attention is drawn towards the content of the scenes of our experience: Not noting how the world appears but rather
enjoying, being, the movie. This is what the Buddha calls an ayoniso manasikaro or an attention which does not look at
the roots (its own roots).
-Now, the meditator trains his mind using yoniso manasikaro, or an attention which goes back at the root (yonisolit.
wombly meaning thoroughly, completely, going to the source). So instead of watching the movie which our senses present
it means applying attention to the inner works of the mind, attending to the rise of fall in seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting,
feeling, thinking.
-That way, slowly but surely, the forms are seen, as they arise and fall, the feelings are seen, as they arise and fall, the
perceptions are witnessed, as they arise and fall, the preparations are seen as they arise and fall and eventually the
consciousness is seen as it arises and falls away.
-This gradual step-back towards the source is made possible by sankharas in a novel, very subdued and tag like way, which
allows attention to use the power of names (the power of nama-rupa) to get away from lengthy stretches of rolling identified
(tam-mayata) in thoughts, sights, sounds etc. It replaces the in the movie What a beautiful sunset -like sense movie with a
simple tagging of the individual frames Seeing, seeing or impermanent, impermanent etc
-Now, this is going to be so boring for the mind :-) not right away, there are all kinds of stages we go through, say the elders,
but eventually dispassion sets in, disenchantment.
-Seeing that the movie is in reality a framed show, the fun appeal (nandiraga) towards those sense impressions will
subside, thirst will at one moment stop, the mind will stop taking a stand on some other object, and as the mind does not take
a stand, does not take up (upadana) there will be no connection between the moments of being (bhava) and existence with its
smaller and larger sequence of birth and death, sorrow and suffering will cease. And they call this: bhavanirodho
nibbanam.
Forever taking a stand
-The most difficult part in insight meditation is to realize that your mind always takes a stand. Otherwise it could not exist.
-If you see, you took a stand on a sight, a see-sensing, a seeing, a see-feeling. If you hearsmelltastetouchand
especially and most subtle: if you think there was already a taking a stand on. A thought, a think-sensing, a thinking, a
think-feeling all in one moment, moment after momentendlessly.
-What do we mean by to take a stand on? Right now, you watch a computer screen or a paper. A sequence of sights, sights,
sights (the letters on the paper) sound, sound (surrounding sounds) and thought, thought (thinking of thoughts written in this
text) appear with an amazing speed and unbelievable force.
-What do they force? They force you to be them. What we possess that possesses us, what we catch, that caught us.
-Now, you might mistake tanha or thirst for some kind of emotion or craving like I like this text or very well i dont
like this text.
-But no, this is not what the Buddha eant by craving in this context!. Those thought-chains are already many many
moments of individual thought-moments each of which are connected by a deep deep unsatiable thirst for life, for being, for
continuity: tanha bhavanettika, as the Buddha defined, a thirst leading to being it does not mean a connection of lives
for rebirth. You do not need to remember past lives or look into the future to understand the Buddhas teaching. No, it is
shockingly much closer to you. Directly under your nose, in your eye, in your ear, between your thoughts. Each and every

moment. It is so close that you cannot see it. Because for one, it is very fastand there is no ordinary way for you to see
and directly witness what is going on under your nose. Secondly, in order to live your mind needs to group and perceive
heaps where there is just bubbles popping in and out of existence. How, do you think, could you walk, if you did not.
-Now, if this number of thoughts which we usually tend to think about as craving, longing are not what the Buddha meant
when he spoke about tanha, or thirst, what are they instead? You could flat and simply call them mental defilements or
emotionskilesa. And the Buddha did talk about them too, but more so in the context of morality and initial mental training.
-As an insight meditator, we need to go deeper, have to be careful, not to get stuck there. We might be very happy to be able
to see how the mind acts and reacts as a whole. We might think: Wow, now i see the craving in me. This is what the Buddha
was talking about. Let me try to empty myself and avoid this.
-The trouble iswhile we have such thoughts and entertain them, we are again taking a stand, holding on to moment after
moment of sense impressionsall in the realm of thought this time, but nevertheless. We look for the movement of a train,
but we ignore, at the same time, the movement of the wheels.
-As soon as we are we by necessity take a stand on something. On a sight, a sounda thought. There cannot be any
being (bhava) if there was no priorupadaa, or taking up. So the English term grasping might be misleading. It is not
grasping of a number of thoughts labeled as emotions or feelings or observations = all of which are coarse, because
they in themself mean that we did already took on or identified in 200+ sense impressions.
-Now, bear with me, and have a look at this description found in a meditation instruction:
And right after that, theres the thoughts about it. So, when youre letting go of the thoughts about that feeling, youre letting
go of the clinging to it. When you open up and let go and allow that feeling to float, just like its a bubble in the air, and then
relax that tightness in your head, in your ind, youve let go of the craving. Now you start to see this as a true process.
Theres nothing personal about it. Its just an arising, and passing away of different phenoena, Thats all it is. Andthis is a
continual process of opening and relaxing, opening and relaxing, opening and relaxing, why? Because then youre able to
recognize ore easily, when your ind starts to grab on to soething, when the ind starts to close down around
soething, when it starts identifying so heavily with things, when it gets that eotional hold on it. Thats what the craving
really is. Its an eotional hold: I like it. I dont like it.
-Question to you: If you are simply given 6 building blocks to chose from and not one more, and you have to translate the
above statement into an uninterrupted series of six sense impressions, how many moments can you identify in which the
meditator did not see the arising and falling of those objects but instead identified with them, explaining this identification
of his even as meditative practice? There is a comedy in the tragedy.
-I hope you can see or imagine where this is going. Even me, now, i am holding from one moment to the next onto sense
contact experiences, racing along, while i write this text, while i type: think, think, think, see, see, hear, think, feel
-What if we were to give up the holding onto any of those appearing and disappearing sense impressions?
-Buddha says: updnapaccay bhavo (SN 12.44 Lokasutta) Based on holding on to is being.
-So, you give up the holding and there will be no being. Would you know about it. No, because that entails at least one
moment of thought-consciousness. Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw interestingly speaks about this moment of forgetting. You
could also call it the deathlessness. Where there is nothing held onto which can appear or disappear, there is not death.
-Now, we dont need to go overboard in a fancy abhidhamma-like classifications of mind-moments in order to understand
what is happening here. The Buddha said world, world, o monks. The six sense spheres, this o monks is called the world.
-There is an alignment between a form, a sense-faculty, a see-ing and in the moment of their going together a
positive/negative/neutral feeling accompanies the sense impression. Can you really point them out into separate objects?
Venerable Nagasena (Mil 3.4.1 ekatobhvagatnam vinibbhujitv) and he will tell you no. This is just one moment. We can
point out flavors in this moment, but experentially, it is one of those six sense spheres being active moment after moment.
-The conditions of nama-rupa (name and form) with vinnyana (consciousness) come together and give rise to feeling. That is
it. No need for any intellectual enumeration of abstract mental atoms, which, funny, in itself is in fact just a mere generation
of never-ending thoughts after thoughts this time thinking about the Dhamma. Instead of being seen with right attention they
lead to the manufacturing of books. Does this help to lead others from the not-knowing of this process to the knowing of
how this magic show of the consciousness works? Well, it may, but those lengthy explanations are less precise and clear cut
as Buddhas direct and simply instructions in the suttas which usually ends in a direct indication of how to practice and
realize for oneself. I am currently doing the same. Noted.
-Now, be that as it may, the danger an abhidhamma scholast faces with regard to his own practice of awakening to the
workings of the magic show of consciousness are real. And insight meditation is a process of refinement, where with the
right tools one discovers subtler and subtler stuff which the mind is taking a stand on and completely identifying with, so
that we do not even know, that we are grasping.
-Here, at this stage, even the thought about grasping is a moment of grasping based on a thought moment which made us
to be in this moment. If you dont believe this try it a couple of seconds for yourself. Ask yourself: why made you one
moment stop watching youself and follow past memories or any distracting thought? Try to watch your mind for a
momentyou will very very quickly be gone finding yourself taking up, being, following other sensory information.
Your attention is brutally swept away by this storm of grasping in each moment. This is why in insight meditation, as well
as in samatha meditation, the intentional use of one thought will make all the difference.
-Now there is this subtle subtle inclination, the thirst, which in this moment makes us grasp the next thought or sense
moment. Thus tanha is bhavanetti: It leads to be.
-The Buddha tells us, that if we work our way down with such a thorough attention (yoniso manasikaro), trying to face any
object with equanimity (Q: how many moments, do you think, might one miss, while thinking: i have to face any object
appearing in front of me?) we will eventually reduce tanha and get to a point where this very very dispassionate pure
attending to EVERYTHING coming (even thoughts about our meditation) will lead to a cessation in thirsting for the next.
tan hnirodh updnanirodho, updnanirodh bhavanirodho. MN 9. etc.

Bhavanirodho nibbna AN 10. Anisasavaggo

Reflecting on the Jhana Factors
-Here comes vitakka and vicara to our rescue. Vitakka is the thought which resembles a hammer and drives the pole, for
instance light, light, light down into the ground. Each repetition of light, light is another blow with the hammer
prolonging the steadiness of the object in this case the perception of light.
-But we are not to mindlessly recite a mantra here. We want clarity and gain concentration so that we can induce this
whenever we like. As mentioned above we are looking for mastery.
-Therefore, lets try to understand vicara, the second jhanic factor. Vicara is like the resonance after the hammer hit the pole.
It is the movement into the ground, the resonance of a bell hit by a stick.
-If you think loving kindness, loving kindness now pause for a moment and watch your mind. The being on the
topic just after you think such a concentrated thought (vitakka) dwelling on the object of your concentration (the
feeling/perception of kindness towards all) is what vicara (moving about) is all about.
-Soon, if these two factors are established piti, or joy, will follow in due course. This is like a very natural law: The mind,
subdued and calmed by one calming thought and focusing on one object/color/feeling/perception (depending on what your
meditation subject is. If it is loving kindness it will more be a feeling. if it is breathing, it will be the feeling of the breathing,
if it is light, it will be the perception of light) a mind thus steadied will experience joy because of a reduction in sense
impressions.
-So the only task at hand for you seeking the entrance into the first of the four jhanas is establishing a repeated focused
thought like loving kindness and a mental listening or close thoughtless observation or dwelling and gliding on the
aftermath after striking the bell with this meditative thought. The longer you can hold your mind gliding on this resonance
the quicker you will establish vitakka and vicara. Having established those two, piti will come in quickly.
So far so good. How does the method of pacca-vekkhati or looking back come into play here, helping us to master states
of absorption?
-Giving it a modern name, we would probably call it tagging. The purpose of pacca-vekkhati is a tagging and labeling of
our actual experience. That way the mind establishes signposts and it will be easier and easier to repeat and identify an
experience.
-Think of someone doing samatha meditation like a person stumbling through a stretch of forest. In the middle of the forest
runs a straight clear clean and beautiful path. But this path is initially very small and hard to find. Now the person might
start entering the forest from many different sides but wherever it enters (whatever the subject of meditation is) in the
beginning it will be hard for that person to even come across this path.
-However, once in a while, this person would by chance stumble over this clear clean beautiful trail. Standing there, it
looks around and says: Wow, this is a beautiful trail. But his dwelling on this path and walking along is only for a very
short time. For one, because this trail is not very wide in the beginning and as soon as he looses track he finds himself again
surrounded by trees and lost.
-Now with regard to the first jhana, the thought which we use to set up the pole with can be any concise mentioning of the
topic like earth, earth or loving kindness. Do not mix this up with mental chatter about your meditation topic. We use
one thought to substitute all others. So go on repeating this thought. Then, once in a while think: This is vitakka. Now,
doing this reflection/looking back/paccavekkhana you have to be careful like the driver looking back on the road. You
temporarily diminish your concentration by letting in a stray thought. That is fine as long as you do not loose control over
your vehicle and crash into other cars, piling up a heap of thoughts: this would mean losing your concentration. But, if you
just, once in a while, internally tag what you experience then that will be no problem at all, even beneficial because now
your mind knows what to look for.
-Next step: Repeating this vitakka is just the first step to pull yourself closer to a concentrated mind. Now you add the
following task: After each repetition of the thought take close attention to the state of your mind directly after thinking the
thought for instance loving kindness the gliding/flapping of your wings or resonance that thought leavesif you think
you identified it, tag it, thinking: This is vicara.
Can you feel the sense streams drag?
-Our lives resemble a scary situation. Because, in a certain sense, reality as such means constant change and the onslaught of
sense impressions share a similarity with the currents of a stream. In order to stay alive we need to keep our head/ego
above the water.
-We could not live one moment if sounds, thoughts, pictures, feelings would come into being and simply continue
unchanged never changing again. If such a thing would happen, there would be no thinking, no moving, no perceiving
possible: Everything would freeze in a moment and unknowing eternity would be the result. Now, that is not the case. We
know very well, that life comes with death and a new car will one day break. But on a much more intimate level, not one
moment stays the same.
-All life is a question of measurement of this against that, of object and subject the sounds you hear, the pictures you see,
the body you feel. It all is like a cocoon or a huge meshed echo of sense impressons and mental activity creating the
seemingly robustness of a river in which you swim, but on zooming close to that little fellow in the water who so aptly learnt
to survive in the waves you will see that he is frantically trying to keep himself above the water in each moment of being
(that is the strange feeling in the back of your mind, deeply buried, that longing for final contentment which makes you
skydive, have a family, watch TV, buy new clothesmakes you live through objects).
-So you try to keep your head above the water because of the fear of reality, because of the fear of: 1.impermanence which
seems to take away our foundations whatever water we just splashed against to pull ourselves upwards will give way and
we loose ground again, 2. exhaustion because of this eternal fight for being, fight for existence in a very fleeting fluid

environment causes discontentment, unsatisfactoriness on a very deep level and 3. emptiness, as there seems to be no lasting
hold not in the seen, not in the heard, not in the felt, not even in the thought, the water arround us is so merciless natural.
The world II concept and reality
-Nama-rupa is a compound, a noun, made up of two words. They are really easy to translate. Nama is name in English
and many other indo-european languages as well, and rupa is form or picture, as in the form on a canvas.
-Well, if that is so easy, why do we nowadays seem to find this term almost exclusively translated as mind-matter??
-How does that sound to you? Ah, maybe you are familiar with this word in a Buddhist context. But, dare we say, doesnt it
sound a bitmaterialistic. And the reason for the common translation is pretty simple: Modern day scholars follow the late
commentarial interpretation which on this important topic is.. shall we say .. a bit abhidhammic-like materialistic in that it
views mental phenomena as compartmentalizable realities by themselves. Which they are not. They are all concepts.
Names.
-However, especially this term nama-rupa shows the depthness of the Buddhas realization. Therefore, psychologically
looking into name and form, could then be considered a postmodern physics topic where your four quantum theory
semester would be the preliminary course in Buddhist vipassana meditation.
-In fact, if the Buddha would have meant mind and matter in his language it would have been something like mana-kaya
or cittakaya.
-However, as it happens, Buddha had something very important in mind when he used the term nama-rupa not in this
conventional materialistic connotation.
-Nama-rupa definitely relates to mental phenomena and reality, but, from the perspective of the insight meditator, in a
more idealistic sense: those mental phenomena which are at the root of proliferating the world in time and space around us
based on 6 (sense) impression, that is the viewpoint which the Buddha had in mind, when he was looking for a term which
could appropriately denote this deeper perspective, beyond the conventional terms of mind and body. Those terms, used
separately, are concepts of content fabricated by the mind and are thus only useful in a very conventional type of
communication. All just said where concepts as well, generated in the way outlined. You can sense an endless loop here.
-If you will, there is a wisdom-speak and a conventional-speak in the suttas. Both deal with the same things, but the first
talks in technical terms trying to catch the experience someone practicing vipassana or insight meditation may garner. That is
hard, being at the event-horizon of reality, but Buddha came up with some pretty neat and accurate labels describing what is
going on if you try to translate them literally, that is. It is hard to grasp their meaning without practice and personal
experience, because they talk about things which can only be seen by experience now translating them in a very abstract
and alienated way just to capture a readership used to the materialistic mechanic positions of last century physics doesnt
help in appreciating the novelty and depthness of the Buddha-Dhamma.
-So, what is nama rupa? Here some suggested translations:
nae and for
concept and reality
concept and fors
representation and reality
-Nama or Name/Concept stands for a number of mental phenomena which are all necessary to fabricate and generate
mental concepts which are then perceived as reality by our mind. It is a tricky process, and a quick one as well, but bare
attention can shed some real light into this. If you like to read more about what constitutes name and produces concepts by
which we live, have a look at this post.
-Rupa or form is the physical counterpart on which our sixfold sense consciousness bases it concept-creation. The basic
objective for our samsaric thirst for continuity is getting a picture or representation of the physical reality so that we can
go on feeding the whirlpool. But the physicalness of the world is very evasive, as we can only interpret and infer it. And if
we do a good job doing that, we end up with quantum physics pointing the finger back at the finger who is pointing.
Anyway, if you like to read more about the definition on rupa, see Nibbana Sermon 1.
-So, the next time you write/read a text on Buddhism, try to re-consider mind-matter as name and form. Using terms like
concept and reality so much more precisely points us in the right direction, i.e. a direction of mindfulness and
insight.There could not be any liberation from a mind created by matter. But there very well can be a liberation from
concepts and forms.
Lets talk about the world!
-Just pause for a moment and give it a thought. Except for those six building blocks, where can there be a world beyond
those? Can you imagine outside imagination? Can you feel outside feelings? Can you think the thoughtless?
-Okay, you say: But there is our earth and the stars. But, well, yes, that what you said was in itself, if we are honest, a
thought. Or better: a series of sense impressions. You say: Beware of solipsism. That is just a philosophical playground. But
well, yes, even this standpoint, if we show absolutely no interest in this questions content but try just to be aware,
listening to the sixfold noise of becoming, this question too was, in effect, just a thought.
-Even my reflection, whether there could be something beyond thoughtsis, again, a thought. You say: It is all a brain
function. Guess what? Gotcha, another thought (this term is used here very loosely. As seen in the quotation above, in
addition to the five sense impressions Buddha reckons the mental objects and mind consciousness as just another sense
all in all, those six realms (sal-ayatana) are the foundation of all (even time and space are derived from their interplay).
Whoever wants to know has to work with them. The trick however is to not get intangled with the contents (usually
summed up sense impressions wrought into concepts and proliferated into perceptions of a 3D-surrounding filled with
comedy and tragedy.
-The one trying to stop running away into labyrinths and thought chains, stopping hard to confront himself with the shock
and aftermath of each sense impression, enters the abyss of impermanence which in each moment is closer than we fear but

made invisible by some form of existentially necessary amblyopia. Or, did you ever enjoy a film were you could see each
individual frame flashing? You may have enjoyed the funny aspect about that, a joy the insight meditator may very well
experience seeing the rising and falling of his world in real-time. But enjoying the story? The story as such comes only
into being through interpretation.
-Our existence is based solely on the ever-fleeting present. Essentially, therefore, it has to take the form of continual motion
without there ever being any possibility of our finding the rest after which we are always striving. It is the same as a man
running downhill, who falls if he tries to stop, and it is only by his continuing to run on that he keeps on his legs; it is like a
pole balanced on ones finger-tips, or like a planet that would fall into its sun as soon as it stopped hurrying onwards. Hence
unrest is the type of existence.
-Though he still interacts with the world, usually in a very positive sense, he enjoys a personal freedom and detachment
which is beyond thoughts. This goal, ending all goals, an unshakeable deliverance of the mind even when facing death:
this was what prince Siddhattha had been looking for for such a long time. The cooling off of the fire, i.e. Nibbana. And that
is why they still call him the Awakened One, Buddha.
-The pali word for world is loka. In most contexts the pali word is used very conventionally like the English pendant
world. However, in a couple of suttas like the ones quoted in this post, Buddha tries a re-interpretation stressing some
very deep insights (taking us beyond a plain materialistic viewpoint of the world around us is the origin of all).
-Very often this is done in a more meditative setting, where the person talking with the Buddha is looking for a deeper
understanding of what our world is made of. In these cases the Buddha takes us down to the workings of consciousness and
the fundamental process of sense impressions and related positive or negative reactions.
-Of course there are many instances, where the suttas deal with everyday life problems (from a meditative perspective:
deal with problems of content presented by the senses, not the process as such).
-However, we really get a very good feel of the deep implications of the Buddhas teachings in such cases as Malunkyaputtas
question about beginning and end of the world. In general faced with such questions where someone tries to take the
concept of the world for ultimate reality, the Buddha would make clear that this kind of understanding is incorrect. Thus
he used to refuse answering questions which were essentially based on wrong premises.
-It is like asking what is the taste of cooking. Cooking is a process, it has no taste. It is just a label for a process. At the
end of the process there is a dish to taste from. In the end, based on fast sense impressions, spread out and interpretated by
consciousness there comes the concept of the world into being. It thus cannot be there in the first placesomeone really
trying to understand real-ity can observe the fleeting concoon presented by the senses. That is as close to reality as one can
get. And, according to Buddhas findings, such close look can have a transforming impact on the meditator.
-In the same manner the concept of the world serves only a conventional purpose, ultimately i.e. when seen without
interpretation but simply bare attention it disintegrates in each moment.
Immediate Enlightenment Gradually attained
-The beauty of this term sankhara is the correlation to a theater performance. Sankhara carries the meaning of presentation,
imagination, show is created by our imagining things (vor-stellen, to mentally put up a presentation). In the same
sense does the Buddhas usage of sankharas work. These are our concepts about the world, our imagination, our
representation of how the world seems after it comes into being by phasso or sense contact, of how it presents itself to
us. To see this, of course, is quite difficult but not impossible.
-If you stop reading for a moment and look around you. At whatever you look whatever presents itself to you, you will
imagine a you sitting in a here confronted by a there. It comes so natural, you cannot even think differently. This is
how your mind processes the sense information creating an image of yourself within your surroundings.
-Sure, a vipassana meditator might say. Once my pure attention starts to become so intense that i can watch/know how the
sense impressions come and go my compounded/congregated perceptions of a me in a world become very thin. The minds
ability to perform this theater performance is limited because attention stops short at sense contact where feeling, perception
and sankharas are generated, mirrored through consciousness induced by forms. This is the twofold bundle of hay
form&name on the one side and consciousness on the other, both of which keep our being flowing in this theatrical reality
show.
-There you go. So even the fully relaxed flower girl in harmony with the universe sitting on a meadow in a late summer
day content with herself and nature experiences right in that moment sense objects, i.e. forms which give rise to thirst. In the
same manner, the tourist on vacation at the beach looking at an amazing sunset experiences a moment of thirst. Tanha, which
is very often roughly translated as craving or desire should rather be left translated as literal as it gets, tanha = thirst
because it is this inherent attachment toward any sense experience which binds us to samsara on a psychological level. So
even if there seems to be no craving at all, we are still bound to being (bhava) in those moments.
-So, when a bulldozer suddenly shows up at the meadow or the party noise destroys the silent moment of our seemingly
content spectator at the beach this inherent thirst towards the presentation is the source of pain, mental and physical,
because to live is to change, and that is why: ya anicca ta dukkha. ya dukkha ta anatta.
-What is impermanent is unsatisfactory, is empty of self. But, as this sutta continues right away, the good news is that this
process is conditioned. It is not written in stone. If it would be an irreversable natural law there would be no way to remove
those conditions. And the Bodhisatta still looking for a release was looking for an irreversable transformation. One which he
found beyond the all of seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, feeling or even thinking.
-Like a meditation instruction: This imagination is conditioned. This thirst is conditioned. This feeling too, is impermanent
and conditioned. Sense contact is with condition as well and so is the ignorance of this whole process. So also this
ignorance can vanish (and be replaced by knowing ones own knowing.) This is the path which will lead to the end of
overwhelming in-fluences, tendencies, defilements.

-Therefore, a translation of mental formations might be in line with an Abhidhamma mechanical analysis but completely
mis-represents (LOL) the simple original term the Buddha usedwhen trying to explain his teaching to village folks. They
knew what a theatre show was, they knew what imagining was they had no clue what mental formations are and
neither do we.
-PS: Enjoy watching your own movie experience going on after reading and thinking about this articleMaybe you can
catch the theatrical performance as such and not fall for the overwhelming content.
The process of awakening
-This is the second noble truth. Every time a sound catches your attention (conventional speak) your sound world gets
born. Every time a feeling in the body emerges, a thought appears there is a renewed endless process of self-identification
taking place in every moment. That is why nibbana is so close and far away at the same time. If we could stop this existenceaddiction for only one moment
-But in order to do so, we need to see this process of identification first hand. Once it gets uncovered, dispassion needs to be
developed towards this eternal activity/habit. If the mind for one moment does not take a stand on an object or consciousness
does not feed on an object the world as we know it falters. Nirodho.
Mlunkyaputtas vipassana instruction
-The question this sutta solves is the how do we create such an aniccasa?
-Taking your favorite object of concentration as the starting point, you would start to note/label whatever (!) your mind
would turn to. That could be a form, a sound, a taste, a smell, a body-touch-related feeling, a thought.
-Quickly you would note whatever would present itself to your mind and you would turn immediately around back to your
concentration object. The concentration should be good already so that your noting / sati will be strongly established
(upatthna). Otherwise you will be lost shortly in a wave of sense impressions. In any case, (very similar when one starts to
practice any form of samatha, long before reaching an abiding in the jhanas) it takes quite a while before such an exercise
of noting becomes routine and turns from a very labor intensive manual exercise into a yes, you got it, into a sa
(perception it turns into a real-time mode of observation), in this case an anicca-sa if impermanence is the main
characteristic of focus.
-Again, this is not about reflection not about mental theorizing not about contemplation (which imply all forms of
wild, random, trains of thought). Rather, what will be established by such an exercise within a couple of weeks / months, is a
mode of direct vision a yathbhuta-nadassana which by definition will lead to nibbida:
Na so rajjati rpesu, rpa disv patissato;

Virattacitto vedeti, taca njjhosa titthati.

Yathssa passato rpa, sevato cpi vedana;

Khyati nopacyati, eva so carat sato;
Eva apacinato dukkha, santike nibbnauccati.
He does not delight in forms, having seen a form he re-members (lit. returns to his remembering [a meditation object as
anchor point, for example his breath, see below].(**)
With a dispassionate mind he feels, and does not grasp (does not rest) on this form.
It falls away, does not amass, thus he practices remembering/witnessing.
Thus suffering is reduced, and close is he to the blowing-out (Nibbana), they say.

-The translation of pat issato begs for some clarifying remarks. IMHO, this term too is crucial towards a better
understanding of the practice of insight meditation as described in these early pali texts. If you compare general translations
they have little to say on this wordmany simply translate it as a synonym for sato and thus say again mindful. To most
people it does not make any sense why suddenly sati is combined with the prefix pati which in pali means back or is
used reflexive.
-The further your progress, the more subtle stuff your mental microscope will notice your attention which went to the
womb (yoni) of the just arisen object to wherever and whatever it has come into being (yatha-bhuta) your attention
which thus went to the source (yoniso manasikara) of each established sense contact (phassa) will then be re-directed BACK
(pat i-)to your main concentration object. While the zoom and scale of your microscope will be directly linked to the amount
of concentration you are currently operating under it is clear that there IS some form of returning to the focus of ones object
which one tries to keep in mind taking place. Exactly this little but essential part of the exercise as implied by patissato is
described in the Mahasatipatthanasutta with the words: Atthi kayoti paassa sati paccupatthita hoti yavadeva aaattaya
patissatiattaya
-There is a body so too (using this note) is his remembering/noting/attention established, just for the sake of knowing (i.e.
to gain insight, just to be aware of whatever object presented itself!) and for the sake of back-remembering (for the sake of
getting quickly back to his meditation object as too keep the concentration up this is what this note is used for).
-Thus, my interpretation of pati-ssato tries to capture this integral part of vipassana.
-Another small remark on carati sato. While it is true that it literally means he walks sato and is usually translated as he
walks mindful it is strange while at the one hand we are looking at an extremely subtle description of observing the six
senses (rather fast!) and then, out of the nothing, the verse closes thus he walks mindful. Seen in context carati while
meaning a physical movement also carriers a connotation of proceeding, going forward, i.e. practice. This now makes
perfect sense in such a text like ours. Ven. Malunkyaputta concludes that we ought to persist and practice this mode of

observation continuously. It emphasizes the fact that it is unlikely for most people to be called near Nibbana when they are
able to only recognize form etc. in this manner for one moment.
-As AN, 7 stated: Idha, bhikkhave, ekacco puggalo sabbasakhresu aniccnupass viharati, aniccasa,
aniccapatisa
ved satata saita abbokin n a cetas adhiuccano paya pariyoghano. So savna khay

pe sacchikatv upasapajja viharati.

-We need to practice our aniccnupassana always (satatam) samitam (without interruption) determined without interruptions
by the mind (abbokin n am cetas adhimuccamno) with wisdom completely yoked to this exercise (paya
pariyoghamno).
-This sutta is one of the many which, if it would have been the only one to survive, would have been enough to re-discover
Buddhism as intended by the Buddha.
-Lets have a look at the vanishing of the first 5er group of grasping. In this moment of feeling the breath there was a form
(the physical tactile form) and a feeling (maybe an agreeable sensation) and a perception (perception of something bodily)
and a sankhara and consciousness or awareness / knowing of the form by means of name. All of these qualities of one and
the same personal experience of one moment of breathing disappeared in that moment where sound and sound consciousness
made themselves present.
-What prevented this gap of vanishing 5 groups to be bridged? It is tanha, tanha ponobhavika. Thirst is a description of that
state of affairs which can be observed in our life moment by moment. The world is like a crumbling dissolving bridge giving
way under our very feet. This spurs a reaction which is thirsting for another hold. This thirst / longing results in another
placing of our feet, another upa-adana, another taking up 5 groups.
-We fear to let go, because it goes against our samsaric nature. We believe that this extinguishing (Nibbana) would mean the
destruction of our personality. Vipassana shows us, that there is no such thing in the first place.
-Also, tanha is described as sewing. She sews the two ends together. She sews the ceasing existence together with a
rising existence. While our physical karmic representation is re-born slower, our 5 group moment to moment experience is a
continuous rebirth(*).
-Anyway, back to that moment where one form vanishes, rupanirodham.
-Now what would happen if instead of taking on another new object, our mind would let go completely. Would practice a
patinissaggo, a cago. What would it find? What if we were able in this this very one moment not to take hold on another
experience. What if we would let go of the last 5 groups of grasping, let go of sound, feeling, thinking but would NOT take
up another one. Basically letting the nirodha of an object be a complete nirodha (asesaviraganirodho)?
-In that one moment the entire chain of existential causality as depicted in the famous dependend origination would crumble
and instantaneously dissolve for a moment. Release and freedom will be felt as soon as we come back.
-But can we achieve this by will (intention, mental sankhara) or feeling, or thinking, or. no.
-According to the Buddha it is only through clear and unwavering observation of ANY incoming object (visual, sound,
smell, taste, tactile, thought) that a certain alienation will set in automatically (it is a dhammata, a natural law, says the
Buddha). Like someone watching a movie with very strong concentration is dismissing the content, the story of the movie
but starts to concentrate on the frames instead. The seeing of each film frame coming and going will make him find less and
less interest (nir-vindati = nibbindati, lit. de-finding) and the story will loose its fascination and color (vi-raga, lit. discoloring). When the spell of the movie has lost its impact so much that he is able to let go one frame but not take up another,
the movie stops.
-If we would experience this once, if we were able through training and were to develop such an ability to so fundamentally
let go of life, this ability would have transformational characteristics.
-As we know, we would come back, as did the Buddha (our body, the frozen karmic vessel, works as a re-animator). We
know that he and his monks could prolong this state through the use of strong concentration states. And while karmic forces
and remaining defilements will push us back into the waves of sense impressions we gained an insight which will
fundamentally change the fabric of our existence.
-With other words: He attained release/freedom because he did not take up anything (anupada) after the form disappeared
after he was experiencing disenchantment because he got weary of it. This reads like a precise description of all the events
which have to take place, one after the other, for our little thought experiment to work!
Coming back to remember Sati II
-You do not need to see the end of your dish washing activity and the beginning of you moving to the fridge. That is not
going to stop mental proliferation from happening. And it wont stop suffering not in a million lifetimes. You can eat as
many mandarins mindfully as you like, you will not decrease thirst if you establish your home in the forms you see, even if
your house is empty.
-When the Buddha is talking about with regard to the seen only the seen heard felt (i.e. tasted/smelled/felt) and
with regard to the cognized just the cognized (yes, any mental activity included) he is not talking about: with regard to
the driving just the driving, with regard to the ice cream eating just the ice cream eating.
-Yet that is how many people understand sati, due to the unfortunate translation of sati as mindfulness. (Well, to be
honest, there is hardly any better word to capture sati. But more on that later).
-Why is the Buddha, when he is talking about uncovering the source of human suffering pointing towards that subtle
experience of sights, sounds, thoughts, feeling, in short: sense contacts rise and fall? Not just once, but consistently, in all
instances where he points out the pathway to Nibbana?
-Because that is the level to which we must go in order to develop a deep existential exhaustion, a samsaric fatiguea mind
opening (or shall we say blowing out) experience. He does not want us to give up driving or eating ice cream or unloading
our dishwasher.

-Samsara is not overcome by movements within the samsaric context and its powerful pictures which we weave into
compelling storybooks and then place our self right in the middle of it. So as to find orientation. So as to find a stronghold
in a fleeting world (SN 22.93). Samsara is only worn off like an old skin of a snake if we fundamentally alienate from it.
The internal and external. In a complete and ultimate way.
-Therefore, the coming and going necessary to be seen is the rising and falling of the building blocks of life. In these six
senses or five groups of grasping which are just classification schemes (another group of grasping) describing however
thatlevel of observation which we need to reach to develop the ultimate ability to let go. They are as fundamental realities as
name and form is real.
-At this point the true meaning of sati comes into play. Because the story of samsara is so compelling I am drawn to indulge
myself in the data my vision delivers (very crude way of explaining, I know) to me rather than looking at how this data is
processed. The duality which is created in each moment by consciousness based on name and form spiraling into being is not
seen if I take the fabricated world for granted. (and even that is just a concept, a working theory which works to uncover
the plot we are caught in)
No matter of cleaning my kitchen mindfully which, if you take the word colloquially, is just observing the story as it
passes by will reduce avijja, because, with every step in the kitchen, ever jump from one heap of grasping to the next, one
acceptance of the veil through which I see and hear I acknowledge avijja.
-Engulfed in darkness of not seeing seeing not seeing where one vision came and was replaced by another grasping of sound;
of a sound related feeling; of a sound related perception; and of sound related world fabrication and sound-knowing i will
embed my conceived ego in a relationship to the world as the senses present it to me. I will fall for their story and perceive
myself in or as part of that world: for example as a good meditator thinking that i do what i am supposed to do. So,
right mindfulness is not about feeling more alive or enjoying the pure present. It is about leaving that home which the
senses provide (SN 22.3).
-What is the difference in indulging in thoughts about the future (mind-mind/object) and endulging in this present moments
fantasy of oh, i am just feeling my breath, i am so mindful (body/feeling). There is none. In both cases we are caught in the
nebula of avijja or not-knowing sense contact (phassa) and so paticca samuppada rolls on. We might see the beginning and
end of a breath. But that is not disillusioning us from samsara
-In order to make the fundamental samsara-transcending paradigm shift however, I will have to employ sati, a faculty of
memory which can only work in conjunction with concentration and has to be developed in order to get so strong as to rip
through this samsaric nebula, moha, which keeps us trapped in the storybook our senses tell us.
-I will bind my mind to a certain meditation object, i.e. the breath, a feeling in the body, a jhanic state etc. Now, whenever
my attention moves to another object (i.e. my mind takes hold and positions itself with avijja into another object-subject
relationship, making me the subject of duality, i immediately let go and get back to my previous object of attention, lets
say the breath.
-So now you wonderwhat has that to do with mindfulness? Why is going back to a fixed object any different than from
moving along with whatever arises? And what is the difference to someone who tries to suppress sense activity by trying to
concentrate?
-Because, simply, here you reeber continuously. The power of remembering stops the mind (consciousness) in growing
on its perceived object (SN 22.54). In spinning new and more data on the perceived object, in weaving (Sn 5.2) and
interpretation of that sensory datain placing itself into a relationship with the object.
-Lets say you listen to a seemingly chaotic radio transmission. How can you distinguish and learn the patterns in this quick
fluctuating mesh of frequencies? Well, by studying patternsBy establishing a baseline you can see the coming and going of
patterns. So start to see differences. This is what we attempt in vipassana as well and why we need concentration.
-The attention on our breath for example is a series of similar 5-groups-grasping events which, if we can hold onto them, will
create some kind of boring but extremely recognizable samsaric baseline. Every time now our attention shifts, whatever
object will present itself the seen, the heard, the thought will become clearer and clearer to our understanding. Simply
because it appears so well defined now like a mountain peak in comparison to the ongoing stick with the breath
concentration. We will start to see the pattern of existence if we dare to look. But wait! We need something to get back
immediately otherwise we would lose our concentration and get stuck in the story this new object of our attention wants us
to identify with Here the noting comes handy. Almost like a reminder. And that is samma sati. And this is why
concentration leads to wisdom, but only if it is combined with nyana-dassana. In a pure samatha environment any shift of
attention is seens as a loss and thus the practice of samatha operates still on a level of avijja!
-So, we are simply noting the newly arisen object the just seen . the just heard but nothing more!!! than that (and
nothing more following it, due to the abrupt break in the growing proliferation by the power of sati, or remembering and
concentration combined) we will be able to note that object which tried to take us in. We will be able to see how the house is
being build right in front of our eyes (Dhp 154).
-While before I enjoyed the ready-made houses my mind had built for me, like Potemkins village in awe over the facades
of sensual proliferation, now I start to see how these fragile components of life are wrought moment afte moment.
-I start to see their entering my consciousness and yes, even the destruction of my consciousness together with its content
moment after moment like a world vanishing in a crevice under my running feet. It sounds scary, and is, but seeing life as
it is will eventually lead to less and less grasping and holding of its perceived (deducted, inferred!) crumbling and therefore
inherently distressing reality. There is no place for rest there, in any moment. Even the moments of deepest jhanic
concentration states are filled with subtle terror in the face of ever dying samsara. While the movie continues and all seems
as if it goes on as it did before the loosening of its grip simply through the power of truth and awakening in this ongoing
building process makes you one move closer to ultimate peace. You could say: In order to find the Deathless, death has to
die :-)
-So indeed it is sati in conjunction with concentration which does the final work. Because, if concentration cannot keep you
on your object (and that is where the jhanas come in handy) the power of sati will not be strong enough to pull you back

often enough. You will be lost in the story of your mind the story of your senses and they DO know how to trick you into
thinking or believing that you are not tricked :-)
-So while concentration keeps you in one point and sati brings you back quickly you might wonder what is so special about
this. Why hasnt someone before the Buddha done this? The truth is, it is extremely tricky. And we only do it, because of the
faith and trust we developed in the Buddha and his teaching. Otherwise no one would do this kind of thingbecause, as the
Buddha saysavijja is far too thickwe have been sitting in this movie theatre for far too long a time. Anytime someone in
the movie tells us to look at ourselves how we sit in a movie, we nod our head and look in the movie for a clue about how we
sit in a movieinstead of starting to let the story of the film fade away by not showing ANY attention to the content of the
movie any longer but by just acknowledging every frae. Then, when we start to realize that there are only frames and all
of them are just that just frames! The story becomes less and less intriguingHowever, what really does start to intrigue us
is the how and what.
-So when, by good friendship and other factors, we do find ourselves sitting in a series of deep and dedicated vipassana
sessions where we start to slow down the movie of samsara by catching up with its frenzy/speed (thanks to samatha) and,
while we experience what a hulu.com user feels when his favorite TV show suddenly sputters because the speed of his data
stream downloading frames of pictures diminishes (in case you never experienced such a phenomenon on the internet,
which is hard to believe, the phases you go through are remarkable similar to vipassana and go like this -> desire to see the
movie while having to watch interrupted and sputtering images -> disillusionment -> disenchantment sets in -> and finally
switching off the computer, the movies power over the watcher is broken) However, wouldnt it be interesting if this
experiential fact which was just re-established over the last couple of decades is indeed the background and reason for the
metta sutta and its interesting first line? Probably too mind-boggling for most simple daily usage of the metta sutta
-Being aware of this idea will make many of you scratch their heads as well. I will rest my case at this point and let you
make up your own mind. The metta sutta, after all, is good inspiration for all of us, even beyond this potential deeper
implication.
-Now we dont know about time, but whatever present moment of reality we look at we find and recognize these factors
which the Buddha explained as paticcasamuppadaand, like in layers of different abstraction [think: OSI Model] all of them
rest on the preceding ones or wrap them into higher levels of complexity: Build on the background of ignorance does
consciousness and name and form play through the senses. And from mere tanha for more arises via mana into full fledged
views and ideas (ditthi) our ego. Not so much in time, as you can see, as in layers of complexity or papanca, proliferation.
-If you will, paticcasamuppada explains life. And every time you are able to explain something thoroughly you can
manipulate it (sounds like science? Well, not materia-listic science but real-istic science.**
-If you are still following conventional commentarial explanations that dependent origination ainly talks about three lives,
the things I just mentioned but especially the interpretations which follow will definitely escape you. Therefore, to make
most out of this post (or for later referencing) please read these articles/clarifications first, before you continue..or come back
to them, in case you like to better understand what the following observations are based on:
-And while you could still apply paticcasamuppada to explain rebirth, that is definitely not at its center coreIf that did not
become clear yet, wait till the end of this blog post :-). Wait, lets restate this: Paticcasamuppada only talks about re-birth: The
rebirth which takes place in each moment. Once you understand continuity through conditions on this scale, it is kind of a
given that life will go on no matter what as long as those conditions are in place.
-You note consciousness and nae and for in its barest notability. And as we know fro the definition of
paticcasauppada the interplay of consciousness and nae and for in this oent is based on intentions of the
oent(s) [and yes, lifes] beforewhich i due course ca oy arise whe igorace of exacty this etire process wraps
us up.
-So the past is made up of myrads of moments like the present one. And because in those moments you were under the
influence of not knowing you created intentions, preparations, determinations, creations whatever we should call those
sankharas which lead to new moments of existance like the current one. And here, in this moment again, you are wrapt up in
avijja, or ignorance of that process of being wrapt up. And so now too, you work on the foundation for future moments.
But this present moment, could be the very last.
-Sometimes we note a feeling. What about the rest of the 5 groups of grasping in that moment? Are the five groups of
grasping chained and come one after the other in time like moments. No, they do not. These terms are just names to
describe experience. And sometimes our awareness (part of name and consciousness) witnesses one part of itself in a
moment of vipassana. But then, in the next moment, we are already at the next moment of life.
-However, until we get down to the level of consciousness and name and form we (our I, you remember, the little ball) is
all the time pushed up again by the fountain.
-Does not that feel exactly like vipassana? Sometimes a series of extremely refined notings and sometimes we find
ourselves caught up in larger emotions and ideas. We are delving into (i.e. recognizing) parts of the now-reality in varying
degrees of abstraction: More often emotions, ideas. Less often pure object. Even less often just the feeling of a moment.
Rarely what lies beyond where in the contact consciousness and name-and-form align.
-If in this moment we would be able to stop at the level of consciousness and name and form (where the present moment is
conceived in) we would have removed the vail of ignorance, destroyed sankharas (at least for one moment) and thus we
would extinguish the foundations for the birth of (or better into?) the next moment.
-In that one moment the entire pyramid of life comes falling down. Vinnanassa nirodhena etthetam uparujjhati
bhavanirodho nibbanam sankharasamatho etc. etc.
-The implications of understanding this (i.e. theoretically and even more so pragmatically) are quite numerous.(*)
-We now understand what in fact we are trying to achieve in our vipassana -mindful-noting-pure-attentional mode. We
understand, that it is not time (although that might be helpful) but rather skill/ability gained through pushing this mental
cultivation towards the brink of experiental existance

-Have you ever tried to extinguish a candle flame with two fingers? Sometimes you need several attempts..you get closer and
further away from the wick but one moment you succeed and the dancing burning fighting flame disappears smoke (phala
samapatti?) indicates the attainment but overall peace concurs.
So what is paticcasamuppada?
-A description of experience (like the 5 groups of grasping and the six sense impressions). However, it also indicates the
conditions keeping samsara going which, if tumbled lead instantly to the cessation of samsara. Whereas the description of
the 5 groups of grasping needs additional qualifiers (groups of grasping) the paticcasamuppada is a self-sufficient
explanation of the entire Dhamma.
-Again, we might think of the similes of trees and seeds which the Buddha sometimes used for explaining the sprouting of
consciousness. Each moment of life is like the sprouting of a seedling, planted by the previous fully blossomed
paticcasamuppada into the tree of suffering and each new seedling in every moment almost instantaneously blossoms into
a new treeand so on (like the simile of the forest, our life is a growing forest or a forest fire, as no other trees seem to
be left standing)
- with vipassana it seems as if we stop or slow down the blooming or growing of this flower/tree for a short period.
-Sometimes we slow down that process just before the flowers open sometimes we delve deeper and stop the growth of its
stem or even closer to its root But we never fully succeed in stopping it at the moment where the seed touches earth.
(Whether it is really a when and not a what, I leave that question open for Arahants to answer :-)
-So, in most cases we note and see one part of this process of growth into concepts or growth of papanca (proliferation)
and each time we only succeed in slowing down for a moment.
-It seems however, that that is enough, over the long course of insight meditation to do two things:
1. We start to get an experiental understanding of the entire process of becoming a self in each present moment
2. We start to get skilled in our reflective attention (pati-vekkhana == looking back, pati-san-cikkhati == looking back)
until there will be one moment where we catch the process where consciousness gets born on grounds of the sankharas of
previous moments.
-The funny/paradox thing is this: as we unravel our avijja in this moment to see the beginning of this moment we in the
moment we do succeed also destroy the very foundation for this to happen in the next moment bam! and before you
know it cessation. Skilled cessation through the power of developed insight.
-Of course, having seen that, the mind never completely functions like it did before. It found its own samsara-off switch,
-One could argue (with Bhikkhu Bodhi) if need be that jati might literally stand for birth. However, that still does not
make DO talk about three existances
-As you pointed out, the connection is this: once you are born into this moment (I definitely think bhava does mean that)
and as soon as you identify you are (=being = bhava) and as soon as you are (as soon as there is an I and a we and a
me and a mine) there is a beginning (jati) and an end (marana) for/to you.
-So yes, bhava leads to jati. Self-identification leads to birth. THAT becoming is the real birth. Once you are born you
suffer, because the world is constantly (moment by moment) falling apart. Wherever you grasp you loose.
-So I think we can definitely see that the middle part of the DO is mental stuff focused on the one present moment in fact,
it is very very enlightening to see how in every moment we are born into a proliferating samsaric world.
Understanding Vipassan
-The identification with an object leads to the floating with objects and happens when we loose our awareness (sammosa),
i.e. we become forgetful of the task at hand, forget to repeat. In this case our effort in an ongoing attention at the setup of
experience itself, not its content. (Very much unlike concentration, where it is sati which keeps the attention one one
particular object of concentration, a sense object. In insight meditation the attention is not at one particular sense object at the
expense of all others the attention is at the process itself, disecting it forcefully with applied pa, i.e. sam+paja). So
in vipassan we have shifted from the normal state of mind, which is attending ANY of the six sense objects content via
concentration which meant attending only ONE selected sense object to now attending to the PROCESS of experience itself.
-However, in order to do that and to loosen the compelling story-telling force of the six sense objects (including thinking!!)
we need pa here in form of tagging/marking of some sort to quickly know, recognize something as what it is, see it
and let go of it immediately. If we were to attend to any of these objects longer than necessary we are already proliferating
inside the context of a content provided (even if we think in thoughts of the Dhamma) and thereby miss the actual role of
pa: seeing anything(!) as coming, going, painful in its unreliable nature, void of control, self-less, fake.
-When we get carried away by the story the sense objects tell us (in our vipassana meditation), we therefore first loose our
wisdom (pa), then our concentration on the process, then our sati and eventually our energy. In fact, you could also view
it the other way round: each of these mental skills developed props up the other one. Only by aligning them properly, pa
is able to do its job.
From Vipassana Hater to Vipassana Lover
-Many meditators who are simply asked to stay in the present will be lost immediately. In fact, you dont even see what
amazing subtle stuff you are getting drawn into if not for the help of a neutral recurring peg against which you can measure
(like breathing as an anchor point as you pointed out and then using a label to bring back the mind within this framework
nyana-dassana develops)
-It is the amazing fact of how our world is based on and shaped by our sense impressions better still: how our cognition
interprets the experience of sense-contact.
-While we are on an accelerating path to a more and more realistic replication of sense stimuli tricking our mind into
generating new worlds (think 3-D technology and touch devices) we are traveling on the same path as the insight meditator
however in the opposite direction :-)

-This has a fascinating consequence: Similar to the simile of the movie experience this technological advance could be an
eye-opener for many samsaric travelers about the nature of their mind and senses. But, more realistically they will probably
fall for it, like the devas do: More enticing sense impressions leading to more craving instead of a deeper realization of the
magic show of the mind.
-So, there is or might be a point along that technological vs. insight journey were the insight meditator feels that the world he
sees with his natural eyes appears exactly as shallow as the fata morgana presented to him through a screen (still a few
centimeters away but coming closer and maybe one day behind the eye instead in front of it. Not really making any
difference in the purpose, however .
-The question then remains, do we want to continue getting fooled by our six-sense-spheres, the names-and-forms and our
own cognitive interpretation or do we intend to disengage and wake up? That is exactly the question Talaputta was faced
with, after listening to the Buddhas answer. He decided to wake up: Theragatha, v.1091-1145
-Just one little caveat. Tan h IMHO goes deeper than just hanging on to pleasures or hoping that pain may end. Craving in
fact goes so deep that it craves to just be. Unfortunately, this watering down of the meaning is such a common place now
in modern Buddhist literature that most people would probably not even recognize it: 1. You crave sensual pleasures. You
crave for pleasure to go on forever. You crave for discomfort to end right now OR 2.In fact, every sensation, every
perception, every emotion you feel, every belief you maintain, every thought that arises in you hanging on to all that just
produces more pain and distress.
- While the translations are incredibly readable simply just scratches the surface of the what the Buddha alluded to.
-Bhavatan h and vibhavatan h really do mean what they mean: a thirsting forexistence (or to be) and for some people even
a thirsting to not exist exists (:-) ) it all is just thirst. Kmatan h, bhavatan h and vibhavatan h can therefore be easily
seen as an ever refining way of clinging or thirsting. So even if you overcame your craving for sensual pleasures tomorrow
(kmatan h) you are still NOT done. Then again, even if you overcome your thirst to be (bhavatan h) your are STILL not
done. Even if, in the meditation battles of the Anagami, he finds himself longing for the non being he still is trapped by
longing (vibhavatan h) see that?
-And thus, while the translation of sankhara and vin a as every belief you maintain and every thought that arises in
you at least will make more sense to 90% of the people reading the sutta pointing them rightfully to their own experience of
each moment (rather than into some abstract abhidhammic crossword puzzle), please consider this for a moment:
-According to the Buddha vin a does not merely occur with thoughts. It occurs with any of the six senses. This is subtler
and important at the same time! The most straightforward and non-technical rendering could be recognition(2)
(consciousness is more or less a meaningless term when all five groups of grasping are supposed to be seen in your
meditation and not some empty names on a philosophical list. Can you be aware of the impermanence of your
consciousness? Hardly. But could you become aware of the fact that your mind recognizes things. Sure!).
-Therefore, this of course is a trap: Our thirst and craving is NOT just targeting the object (thought) itself which we
experience, but we also thirst the experiencing of the experience.
-Moving in similar tracks: If people really understood how their minds operate, would they continue to consume sense
impressions (movies, TV, places, situations and other) in the way they normally do?
-All those impressions although evaporating into thin air once watched or heard or experienced are nevertheless very likely
to turn into triggers and conditions. They will set in motion chains of events. They pull on former tracks, they deepen them,
they set the stage, drop by drop, for new tracks. Can you see how these tracks grow, after viewing, hearing, smelling, tasting,
touching, pondering? First just the flashes of feeling, then the fire of thoughts and at a later stage followed by an impetus to
act?
-When the senses register and the cloud of feeling, of sensation sourrounds us, thoughts are born. Have enough thoughts go
in one direction and a decision is made. What is a decision? Thought tracks deep enough that the simple registration of a
sense gives rise to enough self=identification so that we move or talk. The impetus towards identification (i.e. moha)
becomes so overwhelming, that we become the tracks, melting into one, becoming what is. That is why, with the cessation
of ignorance of exactly this process, we find release, nissarana instantaneously.
-Awakening the arrival at a stage where we effortlessly know and see all that is going on. The strongest tracks of all,
however, the asavas, which feel like we become overpowered and almost instantly married and possessed by a train of
thoughts are those tracks really gone?
-We cannot stop the wispering of the sense-wind but we can eliminate its programming. Even though accumulation and
habits may have formed in the past, the activity of this machinery happens anew in each moment. That is where the
Awakened Ones Awakening truly transforms his mind, speech and body. This is where his freedom from ignorance replaced
by knowing works wonders. Could such a state be called utter freedom? At the very least it could be called seeing and
knowing, janato passato.
Awakening while awakening (see MN16)
-Feeling is like rain, a continuous stream of drops. Sometimes it is lovely warm like mild summer rain, at other times cold
chilly and piercingly painful as a heavy shower of rain in the midst of autumn.
-To us the world hardly ever stops there. When a spell of rain turns in either direction too attractive or too painful it is the
chain of thoughts with which we identify immediately, defining ourself. Justifications, longing, rejection, sorrow,
lamentation
-But what if we get disconnected continuously at the level where we can watch the rain drop on our six sense spheres?
-We would witness that if a certain amount of either pleasant or unpleasant feelings persist, that they then in turn will give
rise to thoughts. They in turn make us take up the matter. First in thoughts, then in words and eventually bodily
movements. It is not, that they make us take up the matter: If you happen to watch it, real close while it happens, you can

see of course how the thoughts are born. They are literally being born and, due to the condition they are born under they
will carry a positive or negative spin.
-Intention when unseen is the final acknowledgement that we completely identify with and embrace our feelings. At that low
level of mental processing the external and internal is yet so close, it almost appears here as one. Like the world appears to
us, when we just woke up from a very lively dreamit takes some time to get back, i.e get our mental machine going
again which nests us into this world so cozily. Usually though, our event horizon is right on top of the products of our
sensual and mental abstraction (the names) of the world, which surrounds us (the forms).
What if we just were to watch the rain?
-The Buddha says that it is possible to detach ourselves from what everyone believes to be them. In fact he makes a very
convincing case for knowing and seeing samsaric nature not just out there, around us, but on exactly the same level,
internally it is all equally to be seen and right there left alone. Vision, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching and thinking are
equal in their fundamental characteristics. How long or rather: how much would it take to awaken to that level of
understanding and all-observation, as mentioned in the above paragraph? One thing is for certain: That level of observation,
once reached it in itself is the end of the noble eightfold path.
-In this way, we can distinguish three phases in this description of the process of sense perception in Venerable Mah
Kaccnas exposition. It begins with an impersonal note, but at the point of feeling it takes on a personal ending, suggestive
of de liberate activity. Ya vedeti ta sanjnti, ya sanjnti ta vitakketi, ya vitakketi ta papanceti,what one feels,
one perceives; what one perceives, one reasons about; what one rea sons about, one turns into papanca (ental
proliferation).
-There is a special purpose in using the active voice in this context. It is in order to explain how a man is overwhelmed
by papancasannsankh whatever it may be that Venerable Mah Kaccna has introduced this sequence of events in
three phases. In fact, he is trying to fill in the gap in the rather elliptical statement of the Bud dha, beginning
with yatonidna, bhikkhu, purisa papancasannsankh saudcaranti, monk, from whatever source papanca sann
sankhbeset a man. The initial phase is impersonal, but then comes the phase of active participation.
-From feeling onwards, the person behind it takes over. What one feels, one perceives; what one perceives, one reasons
about; what one reasons about, one turns into papanca. The grossest phase is the third. Venerable MahKaccnas formula
shows how the process of sense-perception gradually assumes a gross form. This third phase is implicit in the words ya
papanceti tatonidna purisa papancasannsankh saudcaranti, what one turns into papanca, owing to that papanca
sann sankh beset that man. The word purisa is in the accusative case here, implying that the person who directed senseperception is now beset with, or overwhelmed by, papancasannsankh, as a result of which all the evil unskilful mental
states come to be. This itself is an index to the importance of the term papanca.
-Venerable Kaccayana, the Elaborator of brief Dhamma statements , whose profound Dhamma teachings we are looking at
here, was a very talented teacher. Attributed to him is also the Petakopadesa, a very old canonical book which may have
entered the canon of Buddhist scriptures during the first few hundred years after the Buddhas Parinibbana. Still, the
Petakopadesa shows signs that at least parts of it were conceived during a time where the message of the Buddha was still
very lively not just in theory, but especially in practice. Lets have a look at the following passage:
Sacittapariyodpana, eta buddhna ssananti gth cetasik dha vutt, citte rpa vutta. Ida narpa
dukkha ariyasacca. Tato sacittapariyodpan ya ya odapeti, ta dukkha. Yena odapeti, so aggo. Yato odapan,
so nirodho. Cakkhu ca paticca
rpe ca uppajjati cakkhuvin a, tattha sahajt vedan sa cetan phasso

anasikro ete te dha ekalakkhan uppdalakkhan ena. Yo ca rpe nibbindati, vedanya so nibbindati,
sasakhravin esupi so nibbindati.
And to clear ones mind, this is the teaching of the Buddhas [Dhp. v. 183] this verse was said in regard to mental things
and to form in the mind. This name-and-form is the Noble Truth of suffering. -Therefore the cleansing of ones mind is the
cleaning of that which is suffering. Through which one is able to clean, that is the path. As far as the cleaning is concerned,
that is cessation. Dependent on sight and forms arises sight-recognition. There, born at the same time, is feeling, perception,
intention, contact, attention these things are all of one characteristic of the characteristic of arising. And who gets
disenchanted from forms, he (also) gets disenchanted from feelings, he (also) gets disenchanted from perception, mental
activities and cognition (consciousness).
Petakopadesa, 5.
-Extracting such a deep meditative (insight) meaning from a simple Dhammapada verse which is intrinsically in line
with the word of the Buddha but still in a language unlike the suttas tells us a little bit about the living Dhamma in ancient
India after the time of the Buddha.
Our Love in the Forest of Sense Impressions
-So, lets have a closer look at this. What happens in us / with us, when we are successful in loosing interest in a girl/man of
the opposite sex? What do we have to do in order to achieve such a dispassion about that person? What takes place when we
do see the other person and now react in a different way? MN 101.24
-For this simile to have any effect on you, you have to visualize the process the Buddha is talking about. Put yourself in the
place of that person. First, when overcome with affection, later when he decided to not care anymore, how does his mind-set
changes when he sees her again?
-I recommend you do this a couple of times and then, from one moment to the other, now you look at the six senses in
exactly the same waytry to apply the simile and see what you feel or what happens
-If we can unravel this, then, and this is the crucial point, then why not apply the same to something which until now we
have embraced with even stronger ties of love: all forms, all feelings, all perceptions, all mental activities, all (re)cognition.
To all sights, sounds, smell, taste, touch and thoughts?
-At this point, I would like to move your attention to a second very powerful and by no means new simile with which the
Buddha used to express a very similar thought/reflection. Maybe we can connect the dots(SN 35.101).

-Please do not just read over this simile. I would suggest that you visualize this particular scenario. Just give it a few minutes
and think it through. Make yourself believe to be the firewood, being carried away, without control over yourself. How silly
that thought might be. Just picture it. Someone comes and picks you up. They break you in half, they take you to a fire, they
throw you into the fire, there is nothing you can do.
-Oh, yes, we forgot: Of course we would never identify ourselves with branches and twigs lying around in the forest.
Especially not if we see someone else take them up and carry around. But yet, that is exactly what we do (or rather: what is
taking place) with regard to forms, feelings, perceptions, mental activities and cognition. One six-sense-impression moment
after the other.
Thoughts as silent sounds
-Our mind is an empty wrapper. It can encapsulate any of our five senses and replay them. It is like an echo chamber. Thats
why thoughts are in essence sense-less. They can contain (better: reflect) visual content or sounds which, as it happens, is in
most cases our own sound words. So why is it, that most of our mental objects are thoughts (vitakka) which reflect our
own mentally recorded voice?
-As we humans are mainly driven by sights and sounds these two therefore reflect most of our thoughts visual memories or
discursive thoughts which are merely an expression of the minds basic ability to pop up whatever was put into it and
endlessly recombine it. But whereas our visual sense always perceives something which is outside of us (alien, the other,
bahiddha) it is the hearing which perceives others but for a much larger part of the day it follows our own voice our own
sounds. This sound coming from within (in our perception) makes it range so much closer to what we perceive as
ourselves. Sounds then, especially their mental representation of our own sound, our voice, is the perfect narrative to
comment on the impulses which we perceive as our own ideas. That is why most of us have lots of mental chatter go on
propping up the self-perception.
-A funny side effect of all of this is of course the fact that this mental reproduction of sense objects is a completely recursive
procedure A picture can be seen by the eye, then mentally encapsulated as a mind object then that mind object itself can
again be encapsulated by another mind object which triggers another sound (voiced) thought etc etc. You can picture this
process as a chain of events, but you can also imagine it simply as a ida-paccayata this is based on that (so rather a chain,
visualize a pyramid where one object rests on the shoulders of the other).
-In any event you can now understand why the Buddha never called the objects of the mind thought (or vitakka) but rather
dhammas (things). Because, looking at their essence, vitakka has more to do with language as being a voiced or
sounded thought object and is just one of the many objects (dhammas) the mind can echo (including but not limited to
form which is visual, or taste or a memory of a smell).
Asssapasss kho, vuso viskha, kyik ete dha kyappatibaddh,
tas asssapasss kyasakhro. Pubbe kho,

vuso viskha, vitakketv vicretv pacch vca bhindati, tas vitakkavicr vacsakhro. Sa ca vedan ca cetasik
ete dhacittappatibaddh,
tas sa ca vedan ca cittasakhroti. Clavedalla Sutta, MN.

Inbreath and outbreath, brother Viskha, are bodily things, depend on the body, therefore in- and outbreathing is a bodyactivity. Because first, brother Viskha, one thinks and dwells and then bursts into speech, therefore thought-and-mentaldwelling are activities of speech (voice, vc). Perception and feeling are mental things, depend on the mind, therefore
perception and feeling are activities of the mind. (Here explained in a discourse given by Arahant nun Dhammadinna)
-All the while these three (sense-base + object + consciousness thereof) togetherform one experiential moment after the other
they each trigger a feeling (or sensation) like a shower or cannonade of little pebbles thrown into a pool. All these feelings
triggered by each sense impression (including the perception of a mind object) cause circles of waves. Most of these feelings
are extremely transitory, but the waves they help to build eventually build up and come back to haunt us. Whatever you think
about over and over again thereto the mind is bent (yannadeva bhikkhu bahulam anuvitakketi anuvicareti, tatha tatha nati
hoti cetaso).
-A swell of negative feelings creates a steep inclination. The same is true for a positive set of feelings, of course. Please dont
mistake consciousness with what we call mind in this case. See, the fact is that you are conscious or experience or recognize
each individual moment as such at least in theory, but of course for most of us its most of the time a blur regarding the
speed of events or rather the underdeveloped state of our concentration.
-Now the consciousness in each sense impression also applies to the mind. There can be awareness or experience of the
moment where the mind-(sense)-base meets/aligns with an object (dhamma) a representation. So even here, not just in the
moment your eye meets the smile of a pretty girl, but also when a mental voice / image is recognized in consciousness also
in such a case a feeling arises.
-When I see a ball, I am conscious of the ball. In the next moment I hear a childs voice, so I am conscious of a sound. Then,
in the next moment I might experience a mental reflection (as an image or taste but most likely a sound my own voice,
thinking: be careful). So when my mind experiences that mental object, I am conscious of a mental object. This is why the
Buddha carefully distinguishes between eye (sight) visual object visual consciousness.hearing facility, sound object,
hearing consciousness.and mind object, mind and mind-consciousness.
What we think of as us is struggle of natural forces whatever we perceive as us by that very act of identifying-or
grasping as me/mine turns into something elseall six senses by law of their very nature mean change or becoming.
While this disease tries desparately to perceive a self something substantial where there is none, it is wrought in fear to loose
it which makes us grasp even further. To let go of that fundamental grasping, means to let go of the thirst of being and thus
fear itself. Free of fear, stilled from the desire to search for something to grasp the accomplished Ones are free from any fear,
having left behind even death.
[Anuruddha & Sariputta discuss meditation] (AN 3:128).

-This passage is remarkable beacause that what we see in this episode and which I was most consciously unaware of is the
fact this itself, is a documented case of someone seeking and receiving (!) meditation instructions at the time of the Buddha.
-There is something truly remarkable about the fact that we get a direct peek into the (typical?) way meditation interviews
where conducted at the time of the Buddha. Now, there are arguably many more similar instances (Buddha giving Rahula
instructions, monks coming to the Buddha asking for personal instructions etc.) but in many of those cases it could be argued
that they serve the purpose of a more philosophical discussion than literal instructions on meditation practice. Such a case is
really hard to make when you read the above exchange between Sariputta and Anuruddha. There seems to be no other way
you can take this as just what it is: a meditation interview.
-In this short sutta, there is nothing real philosophical. The style is prosaic, no-nonsensical, non-mystical, pragmatic in its
approach regarding the discussion of meditation obstacles. Its prosaic direct style is similar to other sutta passages but here
clearly no philosophy is discussed. What Sariputta says is exactly what he means. He takes in Anuruddhas problem and
gives him an advice. Their topic is pretty serious. We can be sure that if this text was transmitted correctly, Sariputta does not
just make a joke. His meditation advice which to us might sound ZEN style is probably exactly how meditation interviews
were conducted at the time of the Buddha. It probably also show us that pointing out hindrances and trying to get rid of them
was mentioned and applied in exactly the very same manner. -You DID exactly what you HEARD and there was no secret
silver bullet in between the two. Some secretly transmitted extra layer of instruction which is now lost forever. This will
also explain why people nowadays are so confused about missing jhana instructions when they are, literally, all over the
place staring the reader in their eyes but unfortunately not in a format which lends itself to a modern reader lacking the
mindset (or context) of the Pali texts. This would be the perfect job for a generation of new translators!
-This should seriously give us to think. If we were to interpret this episode as indeed to be a record of how a typical
meditation instruction went down, then this would unlock a lot of other parts in the canon. Passages which would then have
to be read in the very same way straight forward (non-commentarial) way: i.e. at face value, making the search for some
hidden or newly to be developed meditation system unnecessary or even questionable (at least if you take the BuddhaDhamma as your teacher, that is). It should also trigger our inquisitive nature into trying out sutta practices which before
we just looked at as spectators not realizing that what we read are actual DIY instructions.
-So Venerable Anuruddha, obviously at this point quite knowledgeable in the fourth jhana and experienced in directing his
mind (abhininneti) towards some, lets say special skills born out of the power of a very concentrated mind, struggles
with the part for which he undertook his training Nirvana and is puzzled why the very path (which is as such described in
numerous suttas all over the tipitaka) that lead him to the fourth jhana and such exalted mental powers does not
automatically lead to Nirvana.
-Consider another important observation: The way Ven. Anuruddha is displayed in this text (including Ven. Sariputta)
borders on the comical. The text has no problem to depict these Buddhist icons in such a struggling human way which is
very encouraging as to its authenticity and in stark contrast to commentarial exaggerations like Buddhaghosas hard-to-digest
Dhammapada hagiography. Instead here we have one practitioner who was able to replicate an experiment (=Sariputta) and
another stops by to ask why his perfect setup is failing (=Anuruddha). He is then told that he is too worried or taken in by his
own experiential setup and that he should not lose sight of the main goal over the side-effects of his operation.
-If this is a meditation interview, you should seriously consider and think about the Gelaa Sutta in the Samyutta Nikaya
(SN 36.8). If you ever wondered what a meditation instruction from the Buddha would look like when you could go and visit
him with a time machine, or when the Buddha would give a 10 day retreat and explain the exercises: The Gelaa
Sutta sutta should prepare you well enough and leave nothing to wish for even without a time machine. Well, in a certain
way, it IS a time machine
-Surely, all of the above (especially after reading the Gelanna Sutta) raises the question (again) of how contemplation played
part in the meditation techniques at the time of the Buddha, how all of the above is related to sati (remembrance, aka
mindfulness) and memory in general as well as thinking and reflecting as vitakka vicara as a tool for increased
mindfulness and how its intrinsic connection with the experience of jhanic bliss, happiness and calmness is bound so much
more holistically to the development of insight when compared to the current (bluntly mechanical) mainstream Theravada
practices of vipassana (with a few exceptions of course, here and there).
Consider this:
-So far the first two steps happen naturally and just require training. They are logical, inviting for self-investigation (ehipassiko) one of the principles of the Dhamma and can be affirmed by anyone who ever gave it a try (paccattam veditabbo
vihi).
-After that the Buddhas exposition in the Anapanasati sutta switches from a passive (relative it still needs a lot of skillful
exercising to achieve this) observation (pajn ti) to a very active approach: in Pali the Buddha now has the meditator train
himself (sikkhati) to feel the whole body while breathing and then calm down the activity of the body (which manifests
itself to the meditator quite clearly as the breathing ) the more he calms down his breathing, the stiller the mind. This is
similar to the idea of a surfer standing on a surf board, highly aware of his posture, board and waves, maybe in an intuitive
way if he is very skilled but the effect is the same: while the surfer stays on the board, the meditator stays with full
awareness on his breathing, body and relaxed and calm mind at that point it is just a question of time (and usually not
very long) that mental elation, bliss, pti comes into the picture -which again the exposition of the Buddha explains as the
next stage in sutta on breathing meditation.
-When you read how the first generation of investigators (savakas, i.e. listening (sic!) students) carefully replicated the
path in themselves with tremendous success try to take most of their meditation records (cant avoid that historical entropy
and noise in any communication) so literal that your personal investigation will lead you to find out what produces the very
same results and what does not. It is only logical that for you to succeed in this, you have to know the path well enough
before attempting to walk it. Provided such knowledge and paired with a determined pragmatic mindset you will sooner than
later see the path re-appear by itself.

-Right view is not an opinion. It is a way of observing ourselves in a real-time psychological manner without giving thoughts
and mental constructs any habitat. As the brahmins at the time of the Buddha used to say, after learning about the Buddhas
teaching wow, all we ever studied was hear-say (itihasa) your teaching is timeless, immediate. Again, right view is
explained in many Suttas as the realization of the four noble truths.