6. Samadhi in the Development of the Path

6. Samadhi in the Development of the Path

By Venerable Amatha Gavesi

Dated: Year 1994

Venerable Bhikkus, brothers and sisters, the topic of my discourse today is Samadhi. What is Samadhi? Samadhi is concentration of the mind or bringing the mind to one pointedness. If that is the object of samadhi, what is the condition of the normal mind? The normal mind is a scattered mind, always busily engaged in while you are awake to catch objects that attract the sense bases and create a thought. If there are no sense object, at least it will create a thought by way of thinking, creating on his own thought of reference to a past incidence or something which you expect to perform in the future. In another words there is no period when the mind is

at rest in a ordinary worldling. From the time he wake up in the morning, up to the time he goes to sleep, his mind is always in movement, scattered. Now when something is scattered like that, even if it is a force, like, let’s say water or air or fire or anything like that, when it is scattered, it doesn’t produce the strength it can produce when it is concentrated. When the force is concentrated, there is much force created there. When it is scattered, it doesn’t produce that strength in the force. The best example I can give you is, there is the sunshine, children are in the habit of holding a piece of glass, and concentrating the energy produce by the ray of the sun to one pointedness, and what happen is, that area where the rays of the sun reflects on the glass, it directly pierce the glass and get then concentrated at one point, within a short time you find the fire rises there. One would ask a question, how did this fire arises there? In the energy there is that ability to create a fire. But once the energy spread, scattered, then that it cannot produce the fire as it would have created a fire when it is concentrated. So the piece of glass help to concentrate the rays of the sun to one spot, and then there arises the fire as a result. That clearly indicate even the energy produces by the sun in the rays, once it is scattered you only feel the certain amount of discomfort, because the heat, the bodily discomfort would create sometimes, perspiration that sort of things, other than that it doesn’t create a fire to burn you. But the same rays made the spread that not harm you so much, could be very harmful if that fire, if that rays concentrated at one point in the way of creating a fire. Likewise, your mind is scattered always. Never fix at one point, always trying to catch some object through the sense object to create a thought. As a result, it hasn’t the strength, it could only observe things on the surface. Accept what is shown on the surface, and you believe what is shown on the surface by the mind, that’s the way of the worldling. But you are trying to practice the philosophy of Buddha. There Buddha shows you a different aspect of life which you and I believe are true. That which is displayed outside on the surface, we now know are not the truth, they are merely deception. There is impermanence everywhere, everything is changing from one condition to another, which science has now accept.

But if I ask you the question, does any of your sense bases display such change in any object that is seeing by you all, you are in contact with? No, they all appeared before us as permanent things. And as worldling we have accepted that which has been shown to us as permanent, not being aware that there’re to find the truth of things. Matter is that then nothing on this earth that is constant but always subject to change, that’s the philosophy. So there is the deception created on one side, there is the truth revealed by Buddha on the other side and which also have been approved by science now. Which we like to appreciate, understand and realize the truth. We do not want to accept what is not true, because it is a deception. Any average intelligent man would have that choice of appreciating of what is realistic, and not what is created as a deception. So now what you are expected to do is, prepare your mind to understand the truth. How do you prepare your mind to understand the truth? As I emphasized earlier, so long as your mind is scattered, this scattered mind hasn’t the ability to show you the true state of things. It creates only a deception and you are expected to accept it on the surface. Therefore to create the ability in your mind to see something through, something not found in the surface but when you examine it carefully, in depth there is something else happening, and that is the truth. So what you are expected to do is now prepare the mind so that you will be able to perform that task of seeing through a thing the realistic aspect of things. And Buddha has reveal that the realistic aspect of things in the world, all component things are impermanent, unsatisfactory and subject to constant change, is soulless. Just the opposite of these 3 truths, we see outwardly as a worldling, that is permanent, satisfactory and no change at all. No change take place in anything, everything is permanent, everything is satisfactory and there is no change at all. That is what you observe in the normal life, undeveloped mind. But the developed mind can see through things and realize the true state of things. In reality and that is, everything is subject to constant change, impermanent, and when something is constantly changing it has nothing substantial or satisfactory in that, and when something is constantly changing, there is no permanent display of anything. It’s all a change going on, no soul as such. No continuity as such.

       Therefore Buddha having realized the truth, in the discourse he delivered to you about your salvation or gaining your liberation from the recycle of birth, and that is the ‘4 Foundations of Mindfulness’, which is the only discourse he gave where he gave you a promise that if you practice as instructed by him in that discourse, you’ll be able to gain your liberation within 7 days, failing which, the longest it will take would be about 7 years. Not that these 2 are deadline, so to say demarcation, No. Within that period anyone of you if you make an effort can gain your liberation. And in that discourse which he gave us, pertaining to our liberation, he first dealt with the development of the mind through concentration. And he chooses very very common topic, a very common subject to you and I, an act which you always commit, and that is breathing. That’s an act which you always commit. Normally activities are committed as directed by the mind. The body perform those activities. But this is a special incidence where the act of breathing is not done by the mind or the mind has any connection to that act of breathing. It’s completely a bodily act, act committed by the body. You may think of many things. You may plan things, but still your breathing goes on uninterrupted, because that’s a bodily react, whereas your mind of course it create thoughts. The creation of thoughts for mindfully doing an act like any other acts which you commit with your body is not what you are doing at the time when you are breathing, it’s a bodily react, just goes on. Therefore, you will see that the mind is completely out of this activity. That’s something which you must bear in mind, your mind has nothing to do with this activity of breathing, it goes on, it goes on. Therefore you are in the position to at the point which you may select where you can observe the breathing going in and breathing coming out of the nostril. This mind from outside can watch that clearly. Or it can fix it at any point along the path where the breathing follows, you see, and then watch what is happening in there, that everyone of us can do. The question is why you can’t maintain that for sometime? Once you fix your mind at a point, why you can’t maintain it. Because you have been given this freedom to the body to commit this bodily react without the mind, and allow the mind to wonder about very freely. The mind has created this bad habit of wondering freely without any control on your path, and when you make the mind to fix itself at a point along the path where the breathing goes on, and make the mind to observe the act of breathing, and that is something which the mind is not used to. Its freedom of movement you are going to completely checking out, don’t go here and there now, you stay at this point and watch the breathing in and out. Mind is in the habit of always searching for object to create thoughts. So what it this is  when you fix your mind at one point, it is there for a fraction of a second and goes on performing the activities which is use to, thoughts are created.

Often thoughts are created on to alternate views. Thoughts are created either connected with attachment or thoughts are created connected with aversion. If you are a person who is too attached, then most of your thoughts are connected with attachment, and if you are of the opposite side, most of your thoughts are connected with aversion. That’s the trend. There are maybe persons who are not very keen about creation of such thoughts connected to the 2 extremes, maybe a few, maybe that such few maybe those who have practice this meditation in their previous birth and they have some control over the mind. Whereas a normal person, he has no control over the mind, and what happens is when he fix the mind at one point in order to watch the breathing in and out, thoughts occur and the mind is completely drifted away from the object, and you are thinking of something when you are expected to keep the mind there. This is what happen. And it is too a piece of mind in falling into the 2 extremes of either pursuing something which he likes or pursuing something which he does not like in the way of creating aversion, that we make you to practice these 2 meditation, like analyze the component of the body as impurities, and also spreading loving kindness. Body is the most attractive thing to you, and you are attached to the body. Therefore we make you to think of the impurities of the body in order to objective separate the mind from the body. Body and the mind are always together and that’s how we live in the past. As long as the body is with the mind, there is constant obstruction to the mind being. Mind fixing itself at one point, distraction is always there. Therefore we create a realistic picture of the body to the mind, so that the mind can relief the attachment of the body.  And with regards to animosity, normally you are a very hot tempered person or slight incident may create a certain aversion in your mind, such person we say spread loving kindness. Actually these are 2 meditations even Buddha refers to are very vital for a person to practice in order to lay down the base on which you are going to start your concentration. These 2 things must be done few minutes, about 20,25 minutes on the impurities of the body. Then after that, second subject, spreading loving kindness about 20,25 minutes. Then your mind is settled and when the mind is settled, then you bring the mind and fix it at the point where you can observe the breathing carefully, a simple process.

You must not do any change to the breathing, it’s a normal breathing. Also, you must merely because you feel that it is a bit too soft that you want to make it a little more conspicuous in the way of breathing hard, don’t try to do any changes like that. Very often when the body is not active, there will be subtleness in the breathing, but still you can observe the breathing. Though it is a bodily act, the sensations of that act can be felt by the mind, and you know whether you are breathing in or breathing out, therefore fix the mind that way. A certain amount of effort is necessary.

If you ask me the question, this development of this concentration is it more difficult than the development of insight knowledge? I would say that this is a little difficult, this beginning. Because this is something we have practically done in the way of breathing in and out and we have given the mind so much of freedom that we have at no state unless of course your past experience may be there of trying to concentrate the mind at one point. Otherwise you have never restricted the movement of the mind, complete freedom have been given to the mind. Under this circumstances, when you start your breathing exercise, trying to fix the mind at one point, the mind always protest against that activity, it doesn’t like fixing it at one point. Therefore it tends to harsh, run away from that point. First opportunity it gets, you find the mind drifting from that point. But bear in mind, you had a very well balance concentrated mind at the very inception, therefore concentration is nothing unusual to the mind, but the habit you have created in permitting the mind that freedom to move about freely is so strong now, that at the very start fixing the mind at one point would be rather difficult for you. But try, when it goes astray without your knowledge, bring it back, fix it at one point, and go on performing the exercise. In this exercise too, brothers and sisters bear in mind, mindfulness is very essential. Mindfulness is very essential. It is that one quality that will help you to fix your concentration well. That is why we introduce this exercise, walking exercise, prior to your sitting down somewhere to concentrate. Because that brings up the mindfulness. Why is mindfulness essential? Because we have been living a life without mindfulness. And in this instance too if you fix your mind and be without mindfulness, you have permitted the mind the freedom to get about in the way he likes. But if you fix your mind and then fix it with the mindfulness, always mindful about that point, always mindful about that point, never be absent minded about that point, thereby giving a chance for the mind to run away, then that mindfulness fix the mind at that point. That is why to those people who finds difficult to concentrate, we always instruct them to pace up and down very slowly. Just not pacing but watching the movement of the act committed by the 2 legs in the way of alternatively pacing. Every movement of the 2 legs is watch carefully by the mind and that’s training in mindfulness.  And once used, even doing that, you see after some time you find the mind, you becoming absent minded and the mind run to some point, somewhere else. This absent mindedness is the thing that make mind to run away from the point you have fix it. If you’re mindful you’ll have fix the mind there right through without allowing the mind to scatter about. Therefore mindfulness is a very essential thing even in the breathing exercise. And to develop mindfulness we always say just don’t go and sit, the beginners, and try to practice the breathing exercise. But fix the mind and develop mindfully and encourage mindfulness, you walk up and down for about 10-15 minutes to beginners, and then after that you quietly mindfully sit down and then start fixing the mind at one point and then develop your one pointedness.

Very often I ask a question, what is the purpose in building up one pointedness, I think at the beginning of the discourse I’ve explained to you that any power which is scattered, hasn’t the strength it can create when it is concentrated. A scattered thing it’s power also scattered, but if the force is concentrated at one point, then it creates the maximum energy there. The mind, as I told you, has help you to live this life unmindfully, you commit acts on your own, the minds commits act on its own and you have lived this scattered life right through. Because there is no necessity for one to have so much of mindfulness and fixed concentration for this living he experiences. He sees something which that appear before his eye, not worried, what he sees he accept, he hear something with his ears, what he hears he accept and also in regard to other sense bases which he perform, he accept things as they are. Without probing into any of those objects which have attract the sense bases, in order to satisfy yourself whether there is substantial, anything substantial in that object. What you are hunting for as a worldling is temporary enjoyment. Something to make you pleasant and happy. Therefore there is no necessity for one to probe into anything in depth, you live on the surface and then be contented with what you see, what you hear, what you smell, what you experience from the 6 sense bases, that’s your life.

But this philosophy taught by Buddha is something quite different to that sort of life. If you want to know the truth, the reality of life, then you have to develop your wisdom to understand this reality. Therefore, the basic need in such an activity to develop a powerful mind, because this is the instrument which will help you to understand the realities of life and also understand truly who you are. As it is as a worldling, you have no knowledge about yourself, except that your sense bases have made you to have an idea about yourself from outside. And the thought through thinking process has created thoughts always trying to satisfy the needs, your needs, and that is satisfaction, enjoyment, pleasant sensation, searching for those things, that is the outcome, and that is the purpose of your 6 sense bases there for you to make the best out of what they bring to your notice in the way of objects attract the sense bases and out of those create that cheer and happiness and contentment. You are not worried whether the object that has attract the sense bases were are realistic objects or is it all they are just a delusion created by the mind. According to the philosophy preached by Buddha, they are all creations by the mind. You accepted that, and you are pursuing to observe it yourself and the only instrument available for you to observe these deceptions carefully and understand the true nature of yourself is your mind. And this mind as it is, is living in a worldly way, blunt, hasn’t that sharpness to go deep into a thing, satisfied that whatever that is shown on the surface. Therefore we are creating a mind now or developing a mind now which has the ability to show you the true nature of things, that is the crux of everything, true nature of thing. What is the true nature of anything? That it is impermanent, unsatisfactory and soulless. That is what Buddha has revealed to the world. And more so it has been now approved by science that everything is impermanent in this world. There is nothing in this world that exist a fraction of a second in one condition. So we are pursuing the philosophy about which we cannot create any doubt at all. Why, because it’s an accepted thing in the world, even through the developed science they had proved that what Buddha say was true. Now, having that truth on one side and in the daily life, you are practicing something quite opposite to that truth. Now here realize yourself that you are living in deception. Therefore you are now making your mind, sharpening your mind in order to realistically understand the true nature of things. And the true nature of things that you are going to realize, through the mind you possess or through the consciousness you possess is that everything in this world is impermanent, unsatisfactory and soulless. Your ordinary mind will not show you this, because it believes in something opposite to that, permanent, satisfactory and with soul continuing with the same condition which is not true.

Therefore you make an effort to concentrate, and build that concentration to the level of the fourth absorption. Now the question that is often asked is, what is the use of absorption? You can fix the mind in concentration and with that concentrated mind we can see the truth. Bear in mind brothers and sisters, when you direct the force to one pointedness, certainly it will gather momentum, and it will develop that concentration vertically upward. Imagine you are now directing this force, mental force vertically upwards as a result of concentration. The more you develop, the better the concentration will be, and the vertical development of the mind upward will be more and more conspicuously observed by you. And what happened, this vertical development of the mind, if it is not checked properly by you, brought under control by you, it has a tendence to reach region when this mental force will be completely out of contact by you. No thought occurs, no contact by you and it can be in that region for sometime and come back normal again.

What is the use of development of that nature? We are only sharpening the mind, in order to make use of this power to realistically understand the true nature of things that is impermanent, unsatisfactory nature of things and the soullessness. That is all we want. Therefore we do not want this mind to go into region and conceal itself without you being able to contact the mind and make use of it for any purpose, this has tamed it on its own comes down to the normal condition, therefore we have control, this absorption is a control. First, when the vertical develop of the mind reach the first stage, it’s the first absorption, when it reach the second stage, it’s the second absorption, when it reach the third stage, it is the third absorption, when it reach the fourth stage, the fourth stage absorption. These are controls, and once they are controlled by you, your mind control by you in that manner, fixing the absorption, that mind cannot enter any region where it will be out of your control. The mind is fully under your control, and you will lead the mind right up to those points only, nothing beyond that. And Buddha has found that your mind could be develop up to the fourth absorption level, it has gathered a very very good power of concentration, sufficient to pierce through what is found on the surface and truly understand the true nature of things. That is the object of our developing absorption. Bear in mind Buddha is born to this world not to display magic, not to create situation which are abnormal with the mind, we don’t want that. His sole object is to guide you along the path where you will gain your liberation from this cycle of birth, because this cycle of birth has brought in untold misery to you, and you are subject to constant suffering. In order to release you from this suffering, he has taught us the philosophy. The base of which is the development of the mind to a higher degree, so that the realistic aspect of things in the world can be understood clearly by you. That is the object of the development of the mind. And one would ask a question, should it go up to the fourth absorption? Yes, after when the mind reaches the fourth absorption, it has reached the very high level of sharpness. Thereby creating the ability to go deep into a thing, to understand something not found in the surface but in depth. That is why we have fix the fourth absorption as the point one would develop the mind. There is the first absorption, second absorption, third absorption and the fourth absorption.

Consciousness is supposed to be a conjurer, it can create lots of things for you. In the same way this absorption when fully developed can give you some result of that nature, but that is not our outlook. Our outlook is to gain our liberation, our outlook is to escape from this cycle of birth by gaining Nibbana. Therefore, we are not concern with the magic it can show, we are not concern with the special psychic power it can bring about, we are only concern with the strength it can bring about by concentration so that that concentrated mind can be directed to show you the true nature of things to realistically understand who you are. This is also another point which one must remember, now you develop your mind up to the fourth absorption, and that is the result of an effort by you, an exercise practiced by you. Like any other exercise when you practice, there is an aim in the practice, you see, to reach a certain height, in that aspect.

In this aspect, what you are doing is that you are training the mind in practicing an exercise so that you make the mind to reach the maximum height, so that it could be of even benefit to you. Therefore this is a practice, this is an exercise. You need not be Buddhist to practice concentration, even a Muslim can practice concentration, Christian can practice concentration, it is just an exercise. Bear that in mind please, and only patience is necessary, application is necessary, perseverance is necessary in getting the maximum amount out of this exercise, because after all you have allowed this mind free play. Allow it to scattered about in any manner it wishes. Now you are asking the mind to fix itself at one point and then develop its concentration. It would not like that interference by you in interfering with its freedom, freedom of the mind in moving about in the manner it wishes, and that’s a strong habit in the mind you have created. Now you’re trying to break that habit, that’s the essential thing, break that habit of its scattering nature, and fix another habit in the mind, to fix it at one point and made it to go vertically upward, developing itself to higher degree. Therefore breaking a habit, there is always a inner protest by the mind, don’t, I don’t want to stay at one point, but you quietly patiently get the mind to be fix at one point and develop it, develop it, develop it with patience, perseverance then at a certain stage the mind will give in to you. Because you have broken the forceful, very powerful habit it has created in the way of scattering about. And in that breaking of that habit, I again emphasize that mindfulness has help you immensely.  Though you cannot make out that mindfulness that played such an important role, but if you carefully analyze how you fix your mind at one point in order to build up your concentration, it is the mindfulness that help you to fix it at one point. If you are absent minded, that mind would not have been fix at that point, it would have been scattered all over without your knowledge, but the mindfulness help you in that too. Therefore mindfulness plays a vital role in this. Now we have the developed mind, let us say we have developed our mind into the fourth absorption level, and we have a developed mind now. We have that amount of patience developed in us now that we can fix our mind at an object and go on looking at that object for sometime so that we could pierce the surface appearance and goes into the thing and see what is happening inside. That ability we have developed. How does this ability which you have develop through concentration helps your attainment, that’s the essential thing. Attainment is going along the path shown by Buddha, and that is the path, ‘The Eight Fold Path’ which will bring about in you getting rid of defilements and then realizing the true nature of things when this mind has reached a certain height of development.

In the path of development in wisdom, in the path of development in knowing the true nature of things, you have the first stage as Stream Entry, second stage as Once Returner, third stage of development as Non-Returner and the fourth stage of development as the reaching of the stage of Arahathood. In these 4 stages brothers and sisters, this concentrated mind is helping you to get rid of certain powerful bondages, I would use that word, that’s the most descriptive word which I can use, so that you are bound to this life by these 10 fetters, and you are made to release yourself from these fetters through the development of the mind in your wisdom. And what are you making use of to create that wisdom in you to get rid of this fetters, Concentration. This concentrated mind gives you all the requirements to break the fetters, your fetters are your normal behavior of mind as a worldling powerfully control by habit, powerfully control by the habit. Habit is a manner of behavior in the mind resulting from constantly doing a certain thing in the same manner, and the mind getting used to it so much, that automatically the mind goes along that line of activities and perform that act without even your awareness. That is the habit. So your habits are so strong that these 10 fetters are binding you to this life without any effort on your path, because your habits are creating that situation for you. Now bear in mind the habit that is created in the mind and strongly tied down to that habit, do you think a mind that has not been developed to high degree can ever break that habit. After all, if your mind is an ordinary mind, it is a mind that is accepting the ordinary behavior, and this ordinary behavior is nothing but the development of certain habits in your mind. Not by one birth, not by 2 births, by hundreds and hundreds of births you have treated this mind in this manner and the mind has behaved in that manner habitually. Now it needs a certain amount of powerful force to keep you away from that habit and break that habit and see the realistic aspect of things. And the habit that you have powerfully …

(side B)

that everything in this world is satisfactory, that there is continuity, no change at all, that is the vision you have created in your mind as a result of this habitual conduct of yours. And to break that habit and make you to feel the realistic aspect of impermanence, unsatisfactory nature of things and the soullessness, how much of power is necessary. Bear that in mind, how do you get that power? As a result of the concentration which you practiced earlier. It just not the ordinary mind now reacting against this false delusion created in the mind of permanency and satisfaction and continuity. It’s the powerful mind that has gone to a very high degree and who had acquire the ability to go deep into any matter, it is that mind that you are making use of to see the truth. Then what happened? Of course you have now prepare the mind that way now with concentration, your mind is sharp now. When required to concentrate about a certain thing it has that ability now build up by you, in the exercise you perform earlier in building concentration. Now the mind has that ability, it hasn’t that ability originally it was scattered mind, now is a concentrated mind, you have prepared that mind that way.

Now when it comes to a question of looking deep into the realistic aspect of life. First thing that you see is, what is this life that we are living now? There is this body, and there is this mind. And that is something which you must very carefully observe and understand. And your sharp mind then clearly shows you that this is the body and this is the mind, this body cannot do anything without the direction by the mind. You see that clearly, the body is just a mass of elements and nothing else. Constantly fed and maintained, this is sign of life  existence is over , but there is the mind that is directing the body in everything. Now when you see that aspect brothers and sisters, that it is the mind that is directing this body and that there is no person as such in you who is committing this act, what a big change that can bring about in you in a person who always believe in a being in you. That is something very wonderful, I always thought that I had some body in me who is directing my or control in my activities, but in this instance when I probe deep into this activities of myself, I clearly see the mind on one side, I clearly see the body on the other side, this body by itself cannot perform anything without the direction by the mind. Ah……., this is the 2 things, 2 clear things on either side depending on each other. And then that is further convincing to you once you start looking at the activities itself, what are these activities, they are perform by cause and effect and nothing else. There is no creator or power from outside who is directing you to commit these act, but you automatically react with the cause and effect. And that convinces you more that there is no person in you as such except that all your activities are causally created. What a big jump in your life, what a big realization. You have knock down that foolish impression you have created, and that created by the mind itself that there is a being in you. A very important step you have taken to realize it. Now you will practice the other aspect that everything is subject to constant change that is also reality which you have now accepted. Go on observing the body and the mind carefully, here the mind cannot stick to one point fraction of a second, constantly change, that’s quite conspicuous to us. The body that also arising and passing away,  arising and passing away,  arising and passing away every activity, every thought created in you, everything is arising and passing away………..  And what does that convince you? Impermanence. The first reality Buddha reveals to you impermanence, everything is impermanent in this world. That has been convincingly proved to you that there is nothing permanent in this world, everything is impermanent in this world, everything is subject to constant change. Now when that realization dawn to you up to a degree, not fully, up to a degree, you find that the concentration you have practice previously in your exercise, breathing exercise helps you in that. How? To pitch your mind in that realization of that truth to a higher degree when the full realization will fit in that development you are expecting in the way of Stream Entry, reaches it finite, you will see it, Impermanence, to that degree which in keeping with that development that had occur in you. And that is the fruition of your first development, that fruition reaches the high degree, fruition of any of the 4 stages does not take place in ordinary mind in a scattered manner. It reaches the higher degree, and that degree which it reaches is as a result of the sharpness you have created with the mind in your earlier practice of the breathing exercise. That samadhi helps you to develop the fruition samadhi.

One would ask a question, why should we realize the truth in that manner, why can’t when we see something realistic, now we have gone to such an extent, why does not it just occur, no, it doesn’t occur like that. And I’ll give you something in depth. There was a person call *Dhapusa* who came to see Buddha. Dhapusa ask the question,” Venerable sir, all your Bhikkus are very solemn, peaceful in their appearance, calm, quiet, is it that they pitch their mind to a higher level than the ordinary working level that there’re in that condition of mind?” Buddha said, “Dhapusa, I also thought so some time ago, then what I did was, I pitched my mind to the first absorption level. I could not get rid of perception and feelings, these are 2 mental factors of the 5 which create a thought. These are 2 mental factors that the 5 mental factors which help you to create a thought. They are: contact, feelings, perception, volition and attention. Of the 5 mental factors, these 2 mental factors “feeling” and “perception”, I could not get rid of”.  Now Buddha has given clear example to indicate the values of these 5 mental factors. He compared the mental factor feeling to a bubble. When a drop of rain falls in the water, there is a bubble created, it just arises and passing away, that’s all. And he compared the mental factor perception to a mirage. During day time when you are walking on the road, you see ahead of you a stretch of water, quite visible to you. But when you go there, you find that it is not there, it is again observe a distance away from you, a completely deception. Therefore mental factor feeling is a bubble, its impermanent things and the mental factor perception is, all is misdirecting you, creating something which is not correct. So one would ask a question, could Nibbana which is a very true state of condition which you have all aspiring to achieve, which will ultimately end our cycle of birth and all our suffering, will a quality life feeling and perception be present in the mind which gives way to the dawning of wisdom and the attainment of Nibbana now? These are 2 worldly qualities, both qualities are deceptive. Then Buddha said in the first absorption I could not get rid of them, the second absorption I could not get rid of them, in the third absorption I could not get rid of them, in the fourth absorption I could not get rid of them. Those are the absorption pertain to the form, form world. Then I got into the formless, boundless kind, boundless consciousness, void, perception non perception, there too still these 2 qualities of the mind persisted. Then after that, I pitched my mind to a higher level than that and it is at that level of getting rid of perception and non-perception and entering a very clear state of mind where you have cut off completely from activities of the world. ‘Sanna vedana nirodha samapatti’, ‘nirodha samapatti’. Where I have created the cessation of everything temporarily, body reacts and mental condition all the cessation  have been created and the blissful state of the mind. And it is that state that I manage to get rid of the feeling and perception.

Therefore we can come to the reasonable conclusion that every fruition samadhi of  yours, whether it’ll be the Stream Entry, whether it’ll be the Once Returner, whether it’ll be the Non-Returner stage, whether it’ll be the final Arahat stage, your mind reaches to that height. When it reaches a very equally clear stage, and the realization dawn to you. Now in your Stream Entry stage, there are lots of other defilement that you have to get rid of, therefore the mind does not stay there more than a fraction of a second, it comes down. But the fruition samadhi carries you there, very few know that. That is why your fruition samadhi always occurs you in the state of developed state of the mind. Fraction of a second it goes up there, and it comes down. All fruition samadhi of the Stream Entry, Once Returner, Non-Returner and the final Arahathood, always fruition stage it goes up to a very high level, and the fruition take place, and of course   with the Arahat of course he remains at that, in Nibbana. And that is a clear indication, how your fruition development in the mind takes place, and is also  a clear indication that in the fruition stage of the mind, the higher development must occur in you, not just the ordinary mind that give you that realization. Therefore brothers and sisters, don’t think that samadhi is not necessary. I can go further into this thing that is I’m taking your time. But you need some idea to make up your mind so that you can make a better effort in developing your samadhi. As I told you always, there are 2 types of Samadhi. Samadhi developed through concentration, and there are other cases where as a result of previous experience in previous birth, they build up the samadhi called the conical samadhi. Such person need not practice this concentration on the breathing. Because once they get into concentration on the realistic aspect of life, anicca, dukkha, anatta, you find that samadhi develop, and it catches this strength of thinking and carries you to the level when the realization can take place, and comes back again. In that conical samadhi, there is no first absorption, second absorption, third absorption, fourth absorption. It’s a automatic process that goes on, and your mind is taken to a higher region, and the realization dawn to you and it comes down again, that’s call the conical samadhi.

But summarize attainment, all attainment must be at a result of a development of mind to a higher degree, not at the stage of your normal condition of mind. Therefore make an effort. I will deal with this subject further, in regard to the intricacies of the development of samadhi, and matters which you must be careful about, so that you would be doing just the right thing in developing your mind. Mind is now habitually brought down to a very low level as a result of your this worldly life, very low level, these are very very low level. It has no power of piercing into a thing and understand in something in depth, no power. Now you’re bringing that mind of that level to a level like this. Of course, you’re not remaining in that level right through, but once you have develop that ability in the mind, then in your normal functioning you can come down to that lower level and function. But when you need the strength to pierce into a thing, then of course the natural development take place in you when it reaches to a higher level and the realization dawn to you. Those 2 things you must carefully bear in mind. It’s not you’re normal mind that brings about the realization of the truth, truth is something found in depth, not found on the surface, what is found on the surface is completely deception. What you see, what you hear, what you smell, what you taste, what you think and what you contact are all deception and nothing else. Those are things which you have habitually gathered in order to continue this life in this world and birth to come. But if you want to get out of this cycle of birth which is very powerful, which very few can escape from, which one is normally drag into by sort of force of habit, then you have to build up that mind to match that situation so that it can give a good fight to this delusion that is pushing you to the worldly way, and then realistically understand the true nature of thing and adapt yourself to accept the truth as truth and not being deceived by delusion.

Therefore brothers and sisters, it’s quite pleasant thing to do if you practice your absorptions well to get into absorption once in the morning is just something which won’t take more than 5-10 minutes. You can go to the first absorption, you can go to the second absorption, you can go to the third absorption, you can go to the fourth absorption and come down. Even coming  down, when you practice it so much that at the fourth stage you can just forget about it, then automatic the mind come down to normal condition, there is no effort necessary. You can go to fourth absorption and get up and go away. When you do your normal work, it automatically has come down to the normal condition of functioning. But to beginners, we say bring it down, they must got use the way of bring it down, but the path is clearly made out, that there is an automatic incidence. You can get in the fourth absorption, get up, get up and go away, but while you are at the normal job, your mind has come down to normal condition, there are no absorption now in that mind, that is how you train the mind. When you train the mind that way, that is a normal thing. It is nothing extraordinary and you enjoy it. To be in the second, even Arahat get into second absorption when they have to spent their leisure peacefully existing. And when they want to go deep into a thing, they got into the fourth absorption and then probe into matters which they like to probe.

Therefore brothers and sisters, these are requirement, after all we are not doing something in keeping with your ordinary existence, we are trying to reach a very very specific stage of development, which development is much about the level of the ordinary being, and get out of this cycle of birth once and for all, thank you, I wish I no longer enter this cycle of birth, I’m leaving you, and forever you are at rest, you are at peace. But if you don’t want that peace, get back to that normal way of existence, and you can go through life as you are going on now.

Therefore brothers and sisters, practice this, there is nothing difficult about it. But to people who have some previous experience bring about quick results. But those who has had no such experience in the past, you are introducing a new lesson to the mind, new exercise to the mind, then the mind will of course resists that as much as possible, before it subdue itself before your command. You see, but everyone of you can practice this concentration and develop the first, second, third and the fourth absorption, and may you all develop these absorptions, may you all be efficient in your development of the absorptions. May you develop that sharpness, that clarity in the mind to understand the true nature of things as Buddha revealed and gain your final liberation and attain Nibbana, thank you.