The anatomy of a being...

Figure 1

Figure 2

Imagine there is a factory continuously working from the time it is built (Figure 1). There are the six cooperations within this factory. They are the main machinery responsible for the production of this factory. The the raw materials are supplied by out side. The power supply is generated within as the raw materials flow in toward the six cooperations. The is products from the previous factory stands as its main structure. This is also the base and function of six cooperations.

There these four products dependently arisen through a series of reactions. One of these products are responsible for making investments for a future new factory. There many by-products and they pollutes the factory and environment it resides. It looks like there is a CEO who is in total control of running the entire factory. However when you investigate closely the seat of the CEO is empty. One day the the entire factory is going to be closed together with the six cooperations. However the blue print for the information for a new factory will be transferred and a new factory that begins somewhere else. Then this process stars all over again.

In this simile:

1. The being is compared to a person.

2. Six cooperations are compared to the six senses.

3. The raw materials are compared to objects, sounds, smells, tastes, touch, and mental objects.

4. The power supply or the fuel is compared to craving.

5. The four main products are compared to the the four of the five aggregates, feelings, perceptions, mental formations and consciousness.

6. The main structure is compared to the form or the body (with its six senses) shown in Figure 2 but not in Figure 1.

7. The four products are compared to feelings, perceptions, mental formations and consciousness (Figure 1 and 2).

8. The products responsible for investment of a new company are compared to the volitions of the mental formations. This is the resultant kamma responsible for becoming of a new life (Figure 2).

9. The by-products are compared to multitude of emotional states, for example anger, envy and grief.

10. The apparent CEO is compared to the illusion called the "I" that feels that it is in control of this entire process.

11. Closing the factory is compared to death of the being.

12. The blue print for the information for the new factory is compared to the transfer of the rebirth consciousness (stream of consciousness) to a new life.

13. The beginning of a new factory is compared to rebirth.

If you follow the flow diagram in the mind works model you can see how this happens (Figure 2). Only the by-products are are not shown in Figure 2.

In this simile, if the being wants to bring this factory to halt it has to do one thing. It needs to cut off the power supply or the energy source. This is the ending of all craving. It sounds easy but in reality it is somewhat difficult but not impossible. To do this one has to first find the craving and where this it is generated. This is work of insight meditation or Vipassana. It is also important to find and remove misconception on this factory is based on. This is the ignorance of the being. It sees everything as permanent, satisfactory and self (see Figure 2).

Now we will examine a sutta fom the Buddha that talks about a being and see how craving works in relation to the five aggregates.

Satta Sutta: A Being translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

In this sutta Buddha describes the definition of a "being" ("Satta" in Pali)

He says "Any desire, passion, delight, or craving for:

1. Form(body)

2. Feeling

3. Perception

4. Fabrications (Mental formations)

5. Consciousness

"When one is caught up there, tied up there, one is said to be 'a being.'

These are the five aggregates we have discussed in other posts in detail. We are fettered to the five aggregated by craving. This gives us a false sense of illusion that there being or a person in control of this. This is called the Personality view or self Identity view (sakkaya-ditthi[sakkaaya-di.t.thi*]) is one of the main fetters that binds us to samsara.

The human being is nothing but a collection of five aggregates, a process of complex and rapidly changing (impermanent) psycho-physical organism(name-and-form), sustained by nutriments, driven by craving in the background of ignorance. However "it' perceives, feels, thinks and cognizes (working of the mind or name) that there is is a real person, permanent soul or a being in control of it. This is a false sense of being or an illusion. This is why "it" calls "itself" this is this is "mine", this is "me" and this is,"my-self". Everything around us driven around the the false sense of "I." However there no real "I" in it. Some may call this the Ego. This is the CEO of the simile about "the factory of being" above.

Buddha give a beautiful simile about how we should regard these five aggregates in this sutta.

"Just as when boys or girls are playing with little sand castles: as long as they are not free from passion, desire, love, thirst, fever, & craving for those little sand castles, that's how long they have fun with those sand castles, enjoy them, treasure them, feel possessive of them. But when they become free from passion, desire, love, thirst, fever, & craving for those little sand castles, then they smash them, scatter them, demolish them with their hands or feet and make them unfit for play.

"In the same way, ... you too should smash, scatter, & demolish the

1. Form(body)

2. Feeling

3. Perception

4. Fabrications (Mental formations)

5. Consciousness

... the ending of craving,... is Unbinding."

In this sutta the Buddha gives a very clear definition of Nirvana (Nibbana). He says the "ENDING OF CRAVING IS NIRVANA (UNBINDING)".

To read the full sutta follow the link below:

Satta Sutta: A Being translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

* sakkaya-ditthi [sakkaaya-di.t.thi]:

Self-identification view. The view that mistakenly identifies any of the khandha as "self"; the first of the ten fetters (samyojana). Abandonment of sakkaya-ditthi is one of the hallmarks of stream-entry (seesotapanna).

We have fallen into a "river rapid" called...

We have fallen into a "river rapid" called the dependent origination, a chain of reactions that causes this whole mass of suffering. Every moment we are accumulating kamma that will generate our future birth. However we are not aware of it because of our ignorance. Only the ones who realize this, can unchain this series of unfortunate events. The key link is getting rid of craving.... this is our fina goal... Nirvana.

Cutting the fetters that tie us down....

Dhamma teaches us the the path, that finally liberate us (Nirvana) from Samsara. This is our final goal! Fetters tie us down to the Samsara. Cutting the fetters off using the practice of Dhamma is the art of liberation.

Dhamma is like a "shap knife" for this purpose... But you need to grab it from the right end !

How to be FREE (from samsara)?

“When you see you only see, when you hear you only hear, when you taste you only taste, when you smell you only smell, when you feel (touch) you only feel, when mental objects arrive at the mind, they only arrive”…if you realize this as a direct knowledge, you are NOT HERE…if you are not here you are NOT THERE, if you are neither here or there, you are NOT IN-BETWEEN, you are then “FREE” (from this Samsara)- Buddha

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

Bail out this boat...

Monk, bail out this boat.
It will take you lightly when bailed.
Having cut through passion, aversion,
you go from there to Unbinding.

-Dhammapada

"Bailing out the boat" here means- Getting rid of delusion (Ignorance)

Passion- Carving

aversion-Hatred

Unbinding-Enlightenment (Nirvana)

(See labels below for other posts on these topics.)

Train your mind like a fortress...

"Suppose, monk, that there were a royal frontier fortress with strong walls & ramparts and six gates. In it would be a wise, experienced, intelligent gatekeeper to keep out those he didn't know and to let in those he did. A swift pair of messengers, coming from the east, would say to the gatekeeper, 'Where, my good man, is the commander of this fortress?' He would say, 'There he is, sirs, sitting in the central square.' The swift pair of messengers, delivering their accurate report to the commander of the fortress, would then go back by the route by which they had come. Then a swift pair of messengers, coming from the west... the north... the south, would say to the gatekeeper, 'Where, my good man, is the commander of this fortress?' He would say, 'There he is, sirs, sitting in the central square.' The swift pair of messengers, delivering their accurate report to the commander of the fortress, would then go back by the route by which they had come.

"I have given you this simile, monk, to convey a message. The message is this: The fortress stands for this body — composed of four elements, born of mother & father, nourished with rice & barley gruel, subject to constant rubbing & abrasion, to breaking & falling apart. The six gates stand for the six internal sense media. The gatekeeper stands for mindfulness. The swift pair of messengers stands for tranquillity (samatha) and insight (vipassana). The commander of the fortress stands for consciousness. The central square stands for the four great elements: the earth-property, the liquid-property, the fire-property, & the wind-property. The accurate report stands for Unbinding (nibbana). The route by which they had come stands for the noble eightfold path: right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration."

Kimsuka Sutta
The Riddle Tree

Our six senses are responsible for our own existence

The goal of the Buddhist teaching is to put an end to this relentless cycle of birth, old age, sickness and death (samsara) and to reach ultimate freedom from suffering, the nirvana. Our six senses are primarily responsible for our own existence in this samsara. These very senses, when contemplated through the practice of vipassana (insight) meditation will liberate us from this same samsara. The path that lead to this liberation from suffering is The Noble Eightfold Path .

"Why are these two boots tied together"?

Today was the first snow fall in Toronto. It was really bad weather out there with snow and freezing rain. I had to get my new pair of boots out of the box which my wife got for me recently. I realized that the boots were tied together with two elastic bands. I tried to pull them apart but they were very strong and finally a pair of scissors came to my rescue. While I was struggling to remove the two elastic bands pulling the boots apart a beautiful simile came to my mind that was in one of the Buddhist suttas called Kotthita Sutta .

It is about the two cows, one black and the other white. These two cows were tied by a strong rope. They were both walking and pulling each other. It seemed like the white cow was pulling the black one, but at other times it seemed like the black cow was pulling the white one. The question was whether the white cow pulling black cow or the black cow pulling the white cow? The correct answer was, "neither." The rope is pulling both of them. If you cut the rope you can set them both free. Just the same way that I cut the rubber bands of my new boots!

Now what does it teach us? When you see a beautiful object, for example a beautiful car, is the eye attached to the car or the car attached to the eye? The correct answer here is the same as in the simile of two cows. It is neither. So what is this bond between the car and the eye? It is the craving (Taṇhā ), a conditioned concept of our mind. I like to consider this as some sort of mental "super glue." It is not physical bond like the rope as in the simile of the cows. However, if the eye was attached to the object or the object was attached to the eye there would be no chance of us getting enlightened or reaching the ultimate happiness (Nirvāṇa). In the same fashion the "super glue" or the craving will bind the other senses and their respective sensory stimuli. These are the ear to the sound, nose to the smell, tongue to the taste, body to the touch, mind to its mental objects. The six senses and how they work together were discussed in previous posts. (see below).

One might say,"who cares." "Let 'super glue' be there." For example if you see a beautiful car you might say "I like that car and I am going to buy it and enjoy it"! There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. The problem begins when things start to change. As we know all conditioned thing are impermanent, and are subject to change. If for example the car gets old, stolen or meets with an accident, suffering arises. The stronger the glue (attachment or craving) harder the pain and the suffering when things begin to change. This not only applies to objects but also to people or other things around you. You may have already experienced this numerous times in your life. Then you may ask, can I enjoy things and yet not get attached to it? It is almost impossible for us to do this, unless you are fully enlightened. Now the next question is how do we get there? Is it possible to be fully enlightened? Buddha very clearly told his disciples "I will not tell you anything that is not possible to achieve."

So what is enlightenment or Nirvāṇa? The most simple definition is "end of all cravings." This, Buddha said, is the ultimate happiness and end to all the suffering." So how do we get rid of this "super glue" or the craving which is preventing us achieving this goal? There is only one path to this. This is the Noble Eightfold Path, very clearly out lined by the Buddha. This is the path leading to full enlightenment. Now we have to find out how we can get rid of this craving. One way is to contemplate on how our six senses (eye, ear, nose, tongue,body and mind) work together with the external sense objects (object, sound, smell, taste, touch, mental object) and how and where this craving arise. Then you can contemplate on impermanence, suffering, and non-self of these six senses and their external sense objects (see the posts below). If this process is practiced diligently with mindfulness, it will help to slowly get rid of the cravings that arises in them. This is the basis of Vipassana meditation.

So is it possible to get rid of this "super glue" for ever? If you make the right effort and practice the Noble Eightfold Path, it will be within your reach. The fist step in this process is the right view(see the post below). Right view together with the right effort will help us travel this path (this will be discussed in detail in a later post) to reach this ultimate happiness. The beauty of Buddhist teachings is that you don't need to wait till you die to put an end to this suffering. You can reach the goal of ultimate happiness in this very life. One way of knowing that you are travelling that right path is when you get the sense of inner happiness and contentment. This is a good sign of melting of the "super glue!" Then results should be there at the end whether you like it or not, here and now, in this very life.

Related Suttas:
Kotthita Sutta
Salayatana-vibhanga Sutta -An Analysis of the Six Sense-media

Related previous posts:

Why is this dog asking for more ? (post on sensory restrains)
"Stop worrying about your body so much...you are just renting it anyway" (Post on Anatta or Non-self)
Life is just like a "Morning Glory"- Mindfulness about life (Post on Impermanence)
Mindfulness About Life- "A Lesson From The Garden" (Post on Impermanence)
The Ultimate Psychotherapy -Through Buddhism (post on the six senses)

" The True Weapons of Mass Destruction" - Greed, Hatred and Delusion (post on the right view)

Why is this dog asking for more ?

I have a English cocker spaniel named Lance. Lance loves eggs, mango, banana and papaya. As a puppy we have trained him not to beg for food. After some time we made a mistake by giving him small treats off the table when we were having meals. Now he has the habit of begging for small treats when we are eating. In the past few weeks I was determined not to give any food off the table but when he looks at me with those large beautiful brown eyes I just melt and give in.

This morning I was having eggs for breakfast. Lance as usual lost interest in his dog food and was begging for a piece of egg. Today, I somehow was determined not to give anything. He kept begging and begging..... and to my surprise when I finished eating he quietly got up and went away to his own food.

Then I thought for a moment.... well, our senses can act like an "untrained dog." The six senses (see the previous post below) keep asking for more and more of your favorite things. It may be reasonable to fulfill your bodies "needs" but not everything that the body "wants." I think it is fair to treat yourself once in a while but if you overindulge in "sensory foods" there may not be an end to the demands of our senses. Just like an untrained dog they will not leave you alone.

So how do we train our senses? The Buddha called this method "the sensory restrains"(Chappana Sutta -The Six Animals). First you may have to develop good moral values and live a simple life style. You may have already seen some Buddhist monks who lead such simple lifestyles. Some have only two pairs of robes, one bowl and a simple hut to sleep in. They may eat only one or two meals a day. This may be difficult for us as lay people, but we can try living a simple life enjoying whatever we have and not clinging and craving for more. In other words being content and happy with what ever we have. If you want to develop further sensory restrains you can start practicing mindfulness meditation.

The practice of Vipassana meditation will lead you to deeply understand this six fold senses. This will finally lead you to develop wisdom with complete sense restrains. It is important to realize that this training of sense restrain comes through deep understanding of the six senses and equanimity rather than aversion. This training will not only make you fully aware of how these six sense bases work together but also completely eliminates the craving which arises in them. This is called "Nirvana," the complete freedom from suffering, which can be achieved in this very life. This craving is the primary factor responsible to keep us in this repeated cycles of birth, old age, sickness and death called the " Samsara." If you want to learn more of how these six sense bases work together," there is a good description of this in Salayatana-vibhanga Sutta.

Sutta on sensory restrains:

Chappana Sutta -The Six Animals

Related posts

The Ultimate Psychotherapy -Through Buddhism