Volition formations (sankhara [sankhaara])* are like peeling a "banana tree"...

"Now suppose that a man desiring heartwood, in quest of heartwood, seeking heartwood, were to go into a forest carrying a sharp axe.

There he would see a large banana tree: straight, young, of enormous height. He would cut it at the root and, having cut it at the root, would chop off the top. Having chopped off the top, he would peel away the outer skin. Peeling away the outer skin, he wouldn't even find sapwood, to say nothing of heartwood (this is also like a peeling an onion..no eye in the center).

Then a man with good eyesight would see it, observe it, & appropriately examine it. To him — seeing it, observing it, & appropriately examining it — it would appear empty, void, without substance: for what substance would there be in a banana tree?

In the same way, a monk sees, observes, & appropriately examines any fabrications (volition formations/mental formation) that are past, future, or present; internal or external; blatant or subtle; common or sublime; far or near. To him — seeing them, observing them, & appropriately examining them — they would appear empty, void, without substance: for what substance would there be in fabrications?

Phena Sutta -Foam

*sankhara [sankhaara]:Formation, compound, fashioning, fabrication — the forces and factors that fashion things (physical or mental), the process of fashioning, and the fashioned things that result. Sankhara can refer to anything formed or fashioned by conditions, or, more specifically, (as one of the five khandhas) thought-formations within the mind.

If there is a pot of water covered with moss ...

If there is a pot of water, covered with moss and water plants, then a man with a normal faculty of sight looking into it could not properly recognize and see the image of his own face.

In the same way, when one's mind is possessed by sloth and torpor*, overpowered by sloth and torpor, one cannot properly see the escape from sloth and torpor that have arisen; then one does not properly understand one's own welfare, nor that of another, nor that of both; and also texts memorized a long time ago do not come into one's mind, not to speak of those not memorized.

— SN 46:55

There are five impediments and hindrances, overgrowths of the mind that stultify insight.

1. Sensual desire

2. Ill-will

3. Sloth and torpor*

4. Restlessness and remorse

5. Sceptical doubt

The Five Mental Hindrances and Their Conquest

Like an experienced carpenter...

Like an experienced carpenter or carpenter's apprentice, striking hard at, pushing out, and getting rid of a coarse peg with a fine one, should the bhikkhu in order to get rid of the adventitious object, reflect on a different object which is connected with skill. Then the evil unskillful thoughts connected with desire, hate and delusion are eliminated; they disappear. By their elimination the mind stands firm, settles down, becomes unified and concentrated, just within (his subject of meditation).

If the evil unskillful thoughts continue to arise in a bhikkhu, who in order to get rid of an adventitious object reflects on a different object which is connected with skill, he should ponder on the disadvantages of unskillful thoughts thus: Truly these thoughts of mine are unskillful, blameworthy, and productive of misery. Then the evil unskillful thoughts are eliminated; they disappear. By their elimination, the mind stands firm, settles down, becomes unified and concentrated, just within (his subject of meditation).

Vitakkasanthana Sutta-The Removal of Distracting Thoughts
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.020.soma.html

The Pali word for unskillful is "akusala" and skilfull is "kusala".
It is also translated as unwholesome and wholesome.

In general an unskilful thought has three basic characteristics.

1. Causes you suffering in this life
2. Not praised by the wise
3. Causes suffering in future births (generate bad kamma)

ill will towards somebody is an example of an unskilful thought loving-kindness is an example of a skillful thought.

The four elements...

the monk contemplates this very body — however it stands, however it is disposed — in terms of properties: 'In this body there is the earth property, the liquid property, the fire property, & the wind property.'

Just as a skilled butcher or his apprentice, having killed a cow, would sit at a crossroads cutting it up into pieces, the monk contemplates this very body — however it stands, however it is disposed — in terms of properties: 'In this body there is the earth property, the liquid property, the fire property, & the wind property.'

And as he remains thus heedful, ardent, & resolute, any memories & resolves related to the household life are abandoned, and with their abandoning his mind gathers & settles inwardly, grows unified & centered. This is how a monk develops mindfulness immersed in the body.

Contemplation of the body parts...

...Just as if a sack with openings at both ends were full of various kinds of grain — wheat, rice, mung beans, kidney beans, sesame seeds, husked rice — and a man with good eyesight, pouring it out, were to reflect, 'This is wheat. This is rice. These are mung beans. These are kidney beans. These are sesame seeds. This is husked rice,'

...In the same way, monks, a monk reflects on this very body from the soles of the feet on up, from the crown of the head on down, surrounded by skin and full of various kinds of unclean things: 'In this body there are head hairs, body hairs, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, tendons, bones, bone marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, pleura, spleen, lungs, large intestines, small intestines, gorge, feces, bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tears, skin-oil, saliva, mucus, fluid in the joints, urine.'

Maha-satipatthana Sutta-The Great Frames of Reference

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.22.0.than.html#butcher

Just as one would put out a burning refuge...

Just as one would put out a burning refuge with water, 
so does the enlightened one...  discerning,
skillful, & wise ...  blow away any arisen grief,
like the wind,
a bit of cotton fluff.

Salla Sutta-The Arrow
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.3.08.than.html#burningfluff

How do you examine completely, in every detail "the All" (six senses)?

Then a certain monk went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down to him, sat to one side. As he was sitting there he said to the Blessed One, "'Consummate in faculties, consummate in faculties,' it is said. To what extent is one consummate in faculties?"

"If a monk, while keeping track of arising & passing away* with regard to the eye-faculty, becomes disenchanted with the eye-faculty; if, while keeping track of arising & passing away with regard to the ear-faculty... the nose-faculty... the tongue-faculty... the body faculty... the intellect-faculty, he becomes disenchanted with the intellect-faculty; and, disenchanted, he becomes dispassionate; through dispassion, he is fully released; with full release, there is the knowledge, 'Fully released'; he discerns that 'Birth is depleted, the holy life fulfilled, the task done. There is nothing further for this world,' it is to this extent that one is consummate in faculties."

Indriya Sutta-Faculties

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn35/sn35.153.than.html

*impermanance

Pull your own arrow...

Seeking your own happiness,
you should pull out your own arrow:
your own lamentation,
longing,
& sorrow. 

With arrow pulled out,
independent,
attaining peace of awareness,
all grief transcended,
griefless you are
unbound.
Salla Sutta-The Arrow

Arrow-Suffering(dukka),
Pull the arrow-to realize the Four Noble Truths
Unbound-Fully enlightened- Nirvava

Letting go of it will be for your long-term happiness & benefit

"Suppose a person were to gather or burn or do as he likes with the grass, twigs, branches, & leaves here in Jeta's Grove.

Would the thought occur to you, 'It's us that this person is gathering, burning, or doing with as he likes'?"

"No, lord.

Why is that? Because those things are not our self nor do they pertain to our self."

"In the same way, monks, the eye is not yours: let go of it. Your letting go of it will be for your long-term happiness & benefit... The ear... The nose... The tongue... The body... The intellect is not yours: let go of it. Your letting go of it will be for your long-term happiness & benefit... Whatever arises in dependence on intellect-contact, experienced either as pleasure, as pain, or as neither-pleasure-nor-pain, that too is not yours: let go of it. Your letting go of it will be for your long-term happiness & benefit."

(Let go here means - letting go of the carving)

To read the full sutta:

Na Tumhaka Sutta-Not Yours

Offerings to a person like this... bears abundance of fruit.

In a herd of cattle, whether black, white, ruddy, brown,dappled, uniform, or pigeon gray:if a bull is born — tame, enduring, consummate in strength, & swift — people yoke him to burdens, regardless of his color.

In the same way...

Wherever one is born among human beings — noble warriors, priests, merchants, workers, outcastes, or scavengers — if one is tame, with good practices, righteous, consummate in virtue, a speaker of truth, with conscience at heart, onewho's abandoned birth & death, completed the holy lifeput down the burden, done the task fermentation-free* , gone beyond all dhammas, through lack of clinging unbound: offerings to this spotless field bear an abundance of fruit.

Gihi Sutta-The Householder

*enlighten

The Debt

1. A poor, destitute, penniless person

2. Gets into debt

3. Owes interest payments

4. Served a notice

5. He does not pay, they (collection agencies) hound him

6. He is put into bondage (prison)

In the same way (in the discipline of a noble one)...

1. A poor, destitute, penniless person is like... with regard to skillful mental qualities whoever has no:

i. Conviction(faith)

ii. Sense of conscience (shame)

iii. Sense of concern (fear)

iv. Persistence (effort)

v. Discernment (wisdom)

2. Gets into debt is like... engaging in misconduct by way of :

i. The body

ii. Speech

iii. Mind

3. Owes interest payments is like... for the purpose of concealing his bodily, verbal, and metal misconduct, he formulates evil desires:

i. He desires, 'May they not know about me.

ii. He resolves, 'May they not know about me.

iii. He speaks, [thinking,] 'May they not know about me.

4. Served a notice is like... his well-behaved companions in the holy life say about him, 'This venerable one acts in this way, behaves in this way.

5. When he does not pay, they (collection agencies) hound him is like...when he has gone to the wilderness, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty dwelling, he is beset with evil, unskillful thoughts accompanied by remorse (regret).

6. He is put into bondage (prison) is like...on the break-up of the body, after death, is bound by the bond of hell or the bond of the animal womb.

The above is the summary of the Ina sutta. To read the full sutta click the link below:

Ina Sutta -Debt (AN 6.45)

What is impermanence ?

Impermanence is one of the key teachings of the Buddha. Mindfulness of impermanence is fundamental to Buddhist insight meditation.

It is also like a "door way" to understand, suffering and non-self.

Impermanence is something that looks so "obvious" but yet sometimes it is very hard to see.

All conditioned things (sankaras) are impermanent. If something is impermanent, it is subject to change, and therefore is suffering (non-satisfactory). If something is impermanent, suffering and subject to change is it wise to call it me, mine and myself?

The correct answer is, NO.

BUT do we realize this as a direct knowledge? Or is it merely a logical argument that makes sense?

If NOT how do we contemplate to arrive at this as a direct knowledge?


1. May be we can start with a stanza.

"With these flowers I venerate the Buddha,
By this merit may I gain liberation.
As these flowers fade and wither
So will this body be destroyed"

This is a common stanza Buddhists recite mindfully when offering flowers to Buddha. This may be a good way of reflecting on impermanence in your daily practice.

2. There are two similes in the suttas (my favorites) that you can read and contemplate (mindfully reflect upon):

(i) Simile of the burning oil lamp
"Just as when the oil in a burning oil lamp is inconstant & subject to change, its wick is inconstant & subject to change, its flame is inconstant & subject to change, its light is inconstant & subject to change. If someone were to say, 'The oil in that burning oil lamp is inconstant & subject to change, its wick is inconstant & subject to change, its flame is inconstant & subject to change, but as for its light, that is constant, everlasting, eternal, & not subject to change': would he be speaking rightly?"
"No, venerable sir. Why is that? Because the oil in that burning oil lamp is inconstant & subject to change, its wick is inconstant & subject to change, its flame is inconstant & subject to change, so how much more should its light be inconstant & subject to change."

(ii) Simile of the tree
"Just as when the root of a great, standing tree — possessed of heartwood — is inconstant & subject to change, its trunk is inconstant & subject to change, its branches & foliage are inconstant & subject to change, its shadow is inconstant & subject to change. If someone were to say, 'The root of that great, standing tree — possessed of heartwood — is inconstant & subject to change, its trunk is inconstant & subject to change, its branches & foliage are inconstant & subject to change, but as for its shadow, that is constant, everlasting, eternal, & not subject to change': would he be speaking rightly?"
"No, venerable sir. Why is that? Because the root of that great, standing tree — possessed of heartwood — is inconstant & subject to change, its trunk is inconstant & subject to change, its branches & foliage are inconstant & subject to change, so how much more should its shadow be inconstant & subject to change."

"In the same way, sisters, if someone were to say, 'My six external media are inconstant, but what I experience based on the six internal media — pleasure, pain, or neither pleasure nor pain — that is constant, everlasting, eternal, & not subject to change': would he be speaking rightly?"
"No, venerable sir. Why is that? Because each feeling arises dependent on its corresponding condition. With the cessation of its corresponding condition, it ceases."
- Nandakovada Sutta
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.146.than.html

3. How about impermanence as a subject of meditation ?

"And what, Ananda, is contemplation of impermanence? Herein, Ananda, a monk having gone to the forest or to the foot of a tree or to an empty house (lonely place) contemplates thus: 'Matter (visible objects) is impermanent; feeling or sensation is impermanent; perception is impermanent; formations are impermanent; consciousness is impermanent. Thus he dwells contemplating impermanence in these five aggregates.' This, Ananda, is called contemplation of impermanence.
-Girimananda Sutta-Discourse to Girimananda Thera
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an10/an10.060.piya.html

4. How about applying it to situations in day to day normal life?

I am sure we all can see lot of examples of these everyday, if you really are mindful enough. This is likely the most practical way to reflect upon this subject, which you may already have contemplated through the practice of insight meditation (above). This will help you further to make it as your own (direct) knowledge.

How should one know, how should one see, for ignorance to be abandoned and true knowledge to arise?

In ordinary day to day life when we hear something our instantaneous reaction is to respond with like, dislike or just a neutral feeling towards what we heard. This will cause passion (craving) or dispassion (aversion) or equanimity (which one may not be aware of) towards the sound.

All of these events happen at a tremendous speed in ordinary life and we may only be aware of lingering likes and dislikes, when we hear a sound. However, there are a series of events, dependably arisen that cannot be separately seen under ordinary circumstances to an untrained person.

Now how do we see this process as separate events, step by step or with precise clarity?

This is what we train during insight practice, the observation of separate events with precise clarity.

However before insight practice begins we usually need to bring the mind to a state of samadhi through a form of samatha meditation. This is commonly done through breath meditation (anapanasati). This sets the stage for the insight practice.

We usually train ourselves with our eyes closed therefore we have only five senses to work with at the start, which makes it easier. In addition to that we have also “closed” the tongue-taste, nose-smell and body-touch. The only ones we usually have to deal with are the mind-mind objects (majority) and the ear-sound, in a relatively quite place this hindrance is reduced.When the ear meets the sound, ear consciousness arises. After that, with the union of these three, contact arises. With contact feeling arises and so on and so forth. Now the trick here is to contemplate of the impermanence, suffering and non-self characteristics, as and when it arises at each step and “let it be” (or ‘let it go’). The earlier the step the better it is, and when you pass the feeling stage it may already be too late.

This is what I believe the Budhha meant by when he said :

"He sees the ear as something separate. He sees sound as something separate. He sees ear-consciousness as something separate. He sees ear-contact as something separate. And whatever arises in dependence on ear-contact — experienced either as pleasure, as pain, or as neither-pleasure-nor-pain — that too he sees as something separate”.- Avijja Sutta*

Now how do we apply this to ordinary day to day life? When we practice with one sense faculty, for example the ear, the same method is applicable when it comes to other the other senses. If we have done enough insight practice during an adequate period of time we may try to apply this method to the eye, when you see something in ordinary day to day life. You may not be successful at the beginning but with enough insight practice you might be able to apply it in ordinary life as well. This applies to the other sense faculties aswell. It is through this practice that you will be able to see the “world” with insight (vipassana) wisdom.

The ignorance will now start to fade away from you….This is also confirmed in another sutta called Avijja Pahana Sutta (removal of ignorance - Samyutta Nikaya).

At Savatthi. "Then a certain bhikkhu approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, sat down to one side, and said to him:"Venerable sir, how should one know, how should one see, for ignorance to be abandoned and true knowledge to arise?""Bhikkhu, when one knows and sees the eye as impermanent, ignorance is abandoned and true knowledge arises. When one knows and sees forms as impermanent ... When one knows and sees as impermanent whatever feeling arises with mind-contact as condition - whether pleasant or painful or neither-painful-nor-pleasant - ignorance is abandoned and true knowledge arises. When one knows and sees thus, bhikkhu, ignorance is abandoned and true knowledge arise." -Avijja Pahana Sutta - Abandoning Ignorance-translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi:SN 35.53

Basically, in this sutta the Buddha was asked, “In what way should one see to remove ignorance?” Budhha said “When you regard the eye as impermanent, the form as impermanent, the eye consciousness as impermanent, the eye-contact as impermanent, the felling as impermanent, the ignorance is removed, it is only then that clear knowledge, free from the once seemingly interminable ignorance, arises.”  

The same applies for the other senses and their respective stimuli, ear-sound, nose-smell, tongue-taste, bod-touch and mind-mind objects.

*Avijja Sutta-Ignorance

The suffering that is remaining for a stream-winner is like ...the water drawn out with the tip of the blade of grass

"Suppose, monks, that there were a pond fifty leagues wide, fifty leagues long, & fifty leagues deep, filled to overflowing with water so that a crow could drink from it, and a man would draw some water out of it with the tip of a blade of grass. What do you think? Which would be greater: the water drawn out with the tip of the blade of grass or the water in the pond?"

"The water in the pond would be far greater, lord. The water drawn out with the tip of the blade of grass would be next to nothing. It wouldn't be a hundredth, a thousandth, a one hundred-thousandth — the water drawn out with the tip of the blade of grass — when compared with the water in the pond"...

"In the same way, monks, for a disciple of the noble ones who is consummate in view, an individual who has broken through [to stream-entry], the suffering & stress that is totally ended & extinguished is far greater. That which remains in the state of having at most seven remaining lifetimes is next to nothing: it's not a hundredth, a thousandth, a one hundred-thousandth, when compared with the previous mass of suffering. That's how great the benefit is of breaking through to the Dhamma, monks. That's how great the benefit is of obtaining the Dhamma eye." -

Pokkharani Sutta-The Pond

SN 13.2