Why choose Buddhism?---7

Why choose Buddhism?---7

Bhikkhu Dhammavaro

Contemplation on the aggregates

How do we develop the insight then? Insight is developed by meditating on the five aggregates of grasping daily and continuously. We contemplate on the aggregates whenever they arise in order that we may not cling to them. If we fail to do so clingings will arise. As we cling to them as permanent, happy and self or belongs to self. Through contemplating them continuously our clingings to the aggregates cease, then we are on the path leading to Nibbana.

The mind is so closely linked with the body that mental states affect the body's health and well being, so in order to keep our well being, we need to keep the mind pure. At the beginning, we should contemplate on four Noble Truths: birth, aging, sickness, and death as it affect our body. And then we contemplate them in the four postures of sitting, walking, standing or lying down; the mind that is well trained will gradually deepen into concentration. Then contemplate the body as it is and after it dies, where it will disintegrate into the four elements of earth, water, fire, and air. This applies to our own body as well as the bodies of others.

We contemplate the various parts of the body as: “This is hair.”; “This is body hair.”; “These are nails.”; “These are teeth.”; “This is skin.” etc., going through the thirty two parts of the body systematically. Then finally we can see these things clearly. When we contemplate in this way repeatedly within and without, visualizing the body newly dead and long dead, with dogs and vultures devouring its flesh, our mind will become calm and eventually gain insight. In the Maha-satipatthana Sutta (The Discourse on great frames of reference) the Blessed One taught the contemplation of the body as above. During the ordination of monk, where a preceptor teach the candidate the contemplation of hairs of the head, hairs of the body, nails, teeth, and skin, these are basic theme of meditation. Because we get obsessed with our body, which is wrapped up by a thin layer of skin from head to toe, the skin is what we are appeared to others. And we think of our body as lovable and precious, and long for it, it is because we are deceived by the wrapping skin. If we can see the body analytically, we will see a different picture, when the body is devoid of skin, we would not see it as attractive.
In the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (Discourse on the Turning of the Wheel of Dhamma), the Blessed One teaches us that the body goes through birth, aging, sickness and death, they are suffering. By observing our own body and applying the Dhamma we understand the teaching. Which is why the Dhamma is Akaliko: to be seen here and now. Ehi-passiko: not delay in time, and Opanayiko: inviting one to come and see, and then Paccattam: onward leading (to Nibbana), then Veditabbo viññuhiti: to be known by the wise, each for himself. This is how we contemplate the body so as to see it as unattractive, and seeing with wisdom the body as composed of various elements and this is clear to us.
Then on contemplating the feeling we have to contemplate body and mental pain as well as body and mental pleasure. Pleasure is more difficult to contemplate than pain because our mind easily goes for it, whereas pain no one likes it. Similarly to physical form, feeling also arises and disappears; it arises with contact, after some length of time it also wanes. Therefore it is of the same nature as form, which is impermanence.

He Blessed One said: “So seeing all these things, the instructed disciple of the Ariyan disregards material form, disregards feeling and so on (five aggregates).” (SN, III, 68)

Eightfold Noble path is really a self help to salvation and liberation, the Buddhists don’t rely on the God for him to redeem their sins and relieve of their sufferings. They rely on their own effort, there is really no such God. If there is, he is also subject to the operation of kamma.

When you know for sure that all five aggregates are impermanent, suffering and not-self, would you still cling to sense objects as permanent, happy, beautiful, or good?

At one time the Blessed One told a group of monks: “Material form, monks, is impermanent. What is impermanent, that is suffering. What is suffering, that is not the self. What is not self, that is not mine, then am I not, this is not my self. As it really
comes to be, one should discern it thus by right wisdom” (S. II, 19)

The Blessed One explained this to the monks as such: “Why Monks! Do you say Sankhara? Because they are composed or collected together (Abhi-sankharouti). What is compounded (sankhata) and what is the compound that they compose? They compose the material body (rupa) as a compound of form (rupa); they compose the feeling as a compound of feeling (vedana); they compose the perception as a compound of perception (sanna); they compose the activities as a compound of activities (sankhara); they compose the consciousness as a compound of consciousness (vinnanam). Thus they are composed and collected together as a compound. Therefore, Monks! The term Sankhara. ” (SN III,87)

The Buddha said: “Conditioned phenomena (sankhara) are impermanent, subject to rise and fall. Having arisen they cease, their stilling (of these) is bliss.” The word sankhara refers to this body and mind. Sankharas are impermanent and unstable, having come into being they disappear, having arisen they pass away, and yet we wants them to be permanent. This is foolishness. Just like our breaths, having come in, it goes out; that's its nature, that's how it is. The inhalation and exhalation have to alternate, when we finish inhalation, then we exhale, it is just natural. But we want things to be permanent, but they can't be, it is impossible. Having been born, we get old and sick and then we die, and that is just natural. All sankharas are impermanent, the Great Teacher saw that all sankharas are impermanent, and so he taught us to let go of our attachment to them.

True happiness is not found in the deceptive sense pleasures world, we come to this world not just to pursue pleasures, as they are false, impermanent, and unworthy of our interest. Although there are enjoyments in the world, but worldly pleasures are short lived, the craving inevitably ends up with disappointment and suffering. Without wisdom, our craving will keep us chasig from one disappointment to another.

In the Dependent Origination of aggregates the Blessed One said: “The stopping of the six doors leads to the stopping of contact; the stopping of contact leads to the stopping of feeling; the stopping of feeling leads to the stopping of craving; the stopping of craving leads to the stopping of grasping, the stopping of grasping leads to the stopping of becoming, the stopping of becoming leads to the stopping of birth; the stopping of birth leads to the stopping of grief, suffering, sorrow, despair, and lamentation. Thus comes to be the stopping of this entire mass of ill.” (M. I, 337; S. II, 1-3) When we meet up with the pleasurable, we have to stop the six doors from contacting the agreeable sense objects, these require months and years of mindful observation and practice of abandoning.

People always have hope, planning for this and that, and running everywhere, ambitions drive them crazy. When we take up meditation we hope to become famous meditators, or become meditation teacher, we fail to realize that they are all in the mind, just play of the mind. Mind does not operate independently from the six doors or the body-mind aggregates, we need to learn to be contemplative in order to observe the rising and ceasing of the mind states, and then we would not be hoping for anything. Why is that? Because it is all transient, it is impermanence. It will all come to naught.

Clear insight dos not come about by thinking. It comes through persistent practice of meditation and vipassana. It needs calm and clear mind away from mundane awareness to actualize this. We have to contemplate on everything that comes into our field of consciousness. If we don't contemplate it will not give rise to true knowledge. Just like we contemplate on the body, we have to probe deeply into the ways in which our body is, its physical elements, growth cycle, its reactions to stimulation, its care, etc. This is why we need to understand the body thoroughly, this prevent our mind from straying off the path, and keep the mind defilements at bay.

The sensual craving or the desire, lust, and love that provoke our mind in search of new enjoyment based on past sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and tactile sensations. Our perceptions and memories of them bring them back to deceive us as being good, enjoyable, and happy. This is our defiled mental tendencies, we might let go of the minor attachment, but cling tightly to the dear one, so it is not easy to curb our mental defilements. We have to fight hard, or we will lose and suffer longer in samsara. We have to find the Middle Way so we will be able to observe with mindfulness and discernment, and then we will maintain that mind state and keep it with us all the time.

We have to gain mastery over our enemies, that cravings and defilements in our mind, and evaluate our strength, because those defilements and cravings have had the power over us for such a long long time. We have to figure out how to overcome them, root them out, so that our mindfulness and discernment can spot them whenever it arises. This battle will go on until we reach the Stainless. If we lose, we have to think of a new strategy, otherwise, we will keep losing. Our defilements and the five aggregates are the hordes of Mara, they come to burn us, keeping us in samsara.

The Blessed One said: “Form is suffering; feeling, perception, thought-formations, and consciousness are all suffering.” If we don’t see them as suffering, we have not even started on the holy path. Our mind get deluded and go in search for pleasure, we still don't know the Truth of sufering. But when we realize there's no real pleasure to be found, the mind settles down and becomes still. We need to see the true nature of these aggregates, they are composed of components and supported by conditions, and they are not us or ours. Starting with the body and work our way towards other aggregates, analyze them into various elements, then it will become crystal clear.

The Nama Rupa and consciousness are interwoven so tightly that we are often unable to separate them, in SN 47.5.2 the Blessed One said: “by the arising of Nama Rupa comes the arising of mind, by the ceasing of Nama Rupa comes the ceasing of mind.” In DN 11 the Blessed One said: “But, Bhikkhus, you should not ask your question in this way : where do the four great elements; ie. earth, water, fire, and wind, cease without remainder? Instead, you should put the question thus : where do earth, water, fire, and wind find no footing? Where are long and short, small and great, fair and foul, where the Nama Rupa are totally destroyed? And the answer is: Where consciousness is non manifestative, boundless, all luminous; that’s where earth, water, fire, and wind find no footing. There both the long and short, small and great, fair and foul, there Nama Rupa are wholly destroyed. With the cessation of consciousness this is all destroyed.” Therefore the Blessed One shown us clearly that the world arises dependent on the consciousness, the world does not exist independently of the consciousness.