Meditation and Vipassana---6

Meditation and Vipassana---6

Bhikkhu Dhammavaro
Buddharatana Monastery of Australia

Fruits and benefits

In DN III,131 the Blessed One said to Venerable Cunda thus: “Friends, those who live given to these four ways of luxurious living could expect four fruits, four benefits. What four? Here, friends, a monk, by the destruction of three fetters, is a stream-entrant, not liable to sink into unlucky existences and is assured of going through to enlightenment. This is the first fruit, the first benefit. Again, friends, a monk, by the destruction of three fetters and the reduction of lust, hate and ignorance, is a once-returner, who returns only once to this world and accomplishes the destruction of ill. This is the second fruit, the second benefit. Again, friends, a monk, by the destruction of the five lower fetters, will be reborn spontaneously (in the pure abodes), not liable to return, attaining parinibbāna there. This is the third fruit, the third benefit. Again, friends, a monk, by the destruction of the cankers, canker-less, mind-freed (cetovimutti), wisdom-freed (paññāvimutti), himself realizing it here and now, attains to and abides therein. This is the fourth fruit, the fourth benefit.”

Therefore checking the words of what the Blessed One said about the five fetters, setting oneself on the right path to eradicate those defilements will definitely earn oneself the fruits and benefits in times to come.

In the “Simile of the Raft”, the Blessed One said: “Even good states of mind has to be abandoned, what more the worst states of mind?” In meditation and vipassana some states of mind are so fine and subtle that a meditator does not discerned them as impermanent, and mistaken them for Enlightenment or cessation of suffering, they are just another states of mind or consciousness, we have to be particularly mindful of when we encounter them, they are to be abandoned as well!

Everything that we do in life is revolved around the building up or strengthening of the self, whether we eat, or sleep, study, or work, fall in love with someone, quarreling or fighting with someone, arguing a point, or forming a family with somebody, or embarking on a new venture, or lamenting over some disaster or loss, struggling with the illness-decimated body for the last breath, the identity of Self is always there.

The Self is but a mental process which is changing constantly with the condition or the environment, it doesn’t stay the same for a second, not even while we sleep, it will only stop when life comes to an end. The rebirth of a being is the phenomena of nama-rupa of a being contaminated with a thick dose of avijjā! This particular fetter we need to understand it fully as it leads to further sufferings. Understanding these sufferings, the cause of sufferings, the way of eliminating the sufferings, and how effectively we eliminate or remove them, would take time only when we have traversed the path fully, and understand the sufferings fully, then it is possible to remove the root cause of our transmigration.

But there were some of the aspirants who attained wisdom-deliverance as recorded in the texts. In the Kitagiri Sutta: "Behold, monks, a certain individual abides, not having attained in the body to those peaceful, formless emancipations that transcend form, but he perceives by his wisdom that the corruptions are extinguished. This individual, monks, is said to be delivered by wisdom." (MN I, 477-478) This is a sukkhavipassaka, i.e., a bare insight worker.

In Putta Sutta it mentioned: "And how, monks, is a person a blue lotus-recluse? Herein a monk, by destroying the cankers (āsavas), has reached the heart’s release, the release by wisdom that is free from the cankers, and having realised it abides therein. Yet he does not abide experiencing with his own person the eight deliverances. Thus, monks, is a person a blue-lotus recluse (samana-pundarika)." (AN II, 87) This is also a sukkhavipassaka, i.e., a bare insight worker. They both can attain jhanas if they wish.

However, the attainment of jhanas is an indispensable part of the training towards enlightenment, and certainly is a more speedily course of the spiritual path.

May you attain peace. Sadhu X3

Bhikkhu Dhammavaro
Cloncurry, Queensland, 7/7/2007
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