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NAMO
TASSA
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'THE
BUDDHIST HOUR'
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Hillside
Radio 87.6 FM & 88.0 FM |
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The Buddhist Hour Radio Broadcast for Sunday 8 April 2001
This script is entitled: Which cetasikas are you cultivating?
This week our Teacher has spent several days in hospital following an operation. We wish him health increasing and long life increasing. During this time, while experiencing a certain level of bodily discomfort, the wholesome nature of our Teacher’s mind was not disturbed. For most persons it is difficult to generate wholesome states of mind in adverse conditions. All sentient beings are composed of the mind phenomena of: citta: consciousness and cetasika: mental factors or mental aggregates. Sentient beings who exist with body or form have the phenomena rupa: matter or corporeality in addition to the mind phenomena. Sentient beings who exist in formless realms (arupa heavens) have only the two mind phenomena. In Buddhist terms, wholesome and unwholesome states of mind that make up our stream of consciousness, are called cetasikas. The Pali term ‘cetasika’ is most closely translated into the English language as ‘mind and all that belongs to it’ or ‘mind and its mental properties’. The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary describes mind as: “The seat of awareness, thought, volition and feeling; cognitive and emotional phenomena and powers as constituting a controlling system.” As well as ‘mind and mental properties’ cetasikas could be described as mental factors, mental concomitants or mental adjuncts. Over time, with the guidance of a Buddha Dhamma Teacher and much Buddha Dhamma practice, the various types of cetasikas can be recognised and understood. There are fourteen unwholesome cetasikas (akusala cetasikas) that make up all the akusala moments of consciousness. They are: 1. Moha, Ignorance 2. Ahirika, Lack of moral shame 3. Anottappa, Lack of fear of unwholesomeness 4. Uddacca, Restlessness 5. Lobha, Attachment 6. Ditthi, Wrong View 7. Mana, Conceit 8. Dosa, Aversion 9. Issa, Envy 10. Macchariya, Stinginess 11. Kukkucca, Regret 12. Thina, Sloth 13. Middha, Torpor 14. Vicikiccha, Doubt These fourteen unwholesome cetasikas are weakened and eventually removed through the cultivation of the wholesome cetasikas. The wholesome cetasikas are cultivated as antidotes to the unwholesome cetasikas. There are twenty five wholesome cetasikas. The first nineteen wholesome cetasikas (in Pali: sobhanasadharana) are so called because they are common to all kusala moments of consciousness. They are: 1. Saddha, Confidence 2. Sati, Mindfulness 3. Hiri, Moral Shame 4. Ottappa, Fear of unwholesomeness 5. Alobha, Disinterestedness 6. Adosa, Amity 7. Tatramajjhattata, Equanimity 8. Kayapassadhi, Composure of mental states 9. Cittapassadhi, Composure of mind 10. Kaya-Lahuta, Lightness of mental states 11. Citta-Lahuta, Lightness of mind 12. Kaya-Muduta, Pliancy of mental states 13. Citta-Muduta, Pliancy of mind 14. Kaya-Kammannata, Adaptability of mental states 15. Citta-Kammannata, Adaptability of mind 16. Kaya-Pagunnata, Proficiency of mental states 17. Citta-Pagunnata, Proficiency of mind 18. Kaya-Ujukata, Rectitude of mental states 19. Citta-Ujakata, Rectitude of mind The next group of wholesome cetasikas are the three abstinences (in Pali: virati cetasikas): 20. Samma Vaca, Right Speech 21. Samma Kammanta, Right Action 22. Samma Ajiva, Right Livelihood The next two wholesome cetasikas are called the illimitables (appamanna) because their objects are without limit. They are: 23. Karuna, Compassion 24. Mudita, Sympathetic Joy The last of the 25 wholesome cetasikas is called, in Pali, sobhana cetasika. This final cetasika is: 25. Panna, Wisdom Which cetasika or state of mind are you operating with and developing right now? In the act of giving someone a gift of flowers, you can recognise that the wholesome cetasika of amity or friendliness is likely to be present. This kind action of giving flowers will also reduce the unwholesome minds of stinginess (in Pali: macchariya), hate (in Pali: dosa) and attachment (in Pali: lobha), which is greed. It is possible to become proficient in identifying which mental state we are operating on at any given moment. Our ability to clearly comprehend those mental states is dependent on a number of factors. Our Members are taught to work and make good causes, which we term merit, in many different areas at our Centre, in order for them to understand the nature of all mental states, each for himself or herself. For example our Members offer light to Buddha Dhamma Sangha, look after our Buddhist library, the John D. Hughes Collection, fundraise and produce and freely distribute Buddha Dhamma Teachings through our Buddha Dhyana Dana Review published in print and on the web three times each year. You can read our review and see many photographs of activities at our Centre by visiting www.bdcublessings.one.net.au If we define merit as the fuel we need to develop and move toward wholesome minds and higher order knowledges, then the rate at which we generate the fuel, through carrying out many good actions, determines how quickly we can realise and follow the Buddha Dhamma Path. The inverse of this is also true - a lazy or slothful person by definition will not produce many good actions. On many occasions, including this weekly Buddhist Hour radio broadcast, our Members chant a blessing three times, to share the merits they have made with all beings. The words of this chant are: “May the merits made by me, now or at some other time, be shared among all beings here, however many they be. May this gift of merits help all beings Know the path Realise the path Follow the path” Of the ten ways in which it is possible for persons to make merit, eight involve ‘lending a helping hand’ to others. What good actions have you done today to help others? Acts of kindness toward self and others come from the arising of prompted or unprompted wholesome cetasikas. In last week’s program, which you can read at www.bdcublessings.one.net.au, we talked about ‘true and wise’ friends and the importance of developing friendliness. Friendliness (in Pali: adosa) is the sixth wholesome or kusula cetasika. The wholesome cetasika of friendliness can be strengthened in your mind, if you wish to do so. For example on the act of kindness Ashin Thittila wrote ‘we should not expect other persons to treat us kindly first, but we ourselves should start by treating them kindly’. He explained that until a person stills the storm in his or her heart, and radiates from within the spirit of goodwill and loving-kindness to all, even the first step of the way to a person's goal will not be found. Two of the wholesome cetasikas, loving kindness (metta) and compassion (karuna) are just as likely to arise in other religions and be praised by their Teachers as they are not exclusive to Buddhism. The cetasika that distinguishes Buddha Dhamma practice from other religions is the cetasika wisdom (Pali: panna). If a person says, for example, 'I hate that noise, I wish it would stop' they are just reacting to their environment. The views or opinions arising in that moment have come from that person’s past karma and have been formed through either aversion or attraction to something. It could be said that the statement 'I hate that noise, I wish it would stop' is a kamma moment arising from aversion or hate (the unwholesome cetasika dosa), whereas a seemingly positive statement such as 'what beautiful music, I think I will buy the CD' is a kamma moment arising from attachment (the cetasika lobha). At this point the mind has lost contact with the present and is post-cognitive. The examples given have no mindfulness associated with them. For mindfulness to be associated with the moment of hearing music, the mind would ‘hear only’, neither grabbing at the sound nor commenting on it. If the mind is in the present and is guarded by mindfulness (Pali: sati) it does not ‘play’ with the arising sounds. Whether we grab and play, or are guarded and mindful, either way we are creating or conditioning the future arisings of our mind. The Buddhist training of guarding the mind and keeping it in the present eventually produces minds that stay mindful. Provided it is not interrupted with a further instruction, the mind will 'go straight'. This practice develops the cetasika of ‘rectitude of mind’, or straightening the mind. Rectitude of mind is the seventeenth cetasika and requires considerable practice and merit to cultivate. Cultivation of the mind and development of finer states is driven by beneficial actions carried out in past lives and in this life. Buddhist practitioners call the accumulation of these good causes the accumulation of merits. This is not to say the generation of merit is the only contributing factor that maintains and hastens our practice, as there are other major factors that must also be developed, such as, morality (in Pali: sila). However, we must develop generosity or the art of ‘lending a helping hand’ first, as this is the merit that sustains our sila or precepts. To make good causes, diligent and persistent effort is required as well as the will to learn how to maximise and create opportunities to make merit as an everyday part of our lives. A well known Ch'an Buddhist saying is ‘chop wood and carry water every day'”. As we strengthen the intention to make the merit to fuel our practice, we become more skillful in creating the conditions conducive to making that thought an actuality. As the level of intention and skill increases, extra leverage is gained and a greater outcome is achieved. Leverage is exemplified by a person intentionally carrying out a good action with a pure mind. There is a factorial increase in the outcome of merit produced in this scenario than there would be in the case, for example, when the same action is carried out by a person with not much intention and a muddled mind. In the same context, a person who keeps five precepts lives with a greater degree of morality and therefore operates with more mental purity than a person who keeps fewer or no precepts. The Buddhist Monk Venerable Piyadassi Maha Thera wrote "In the words of the Buddha, each individual has to put forth the necessary effort and work out their own deliverance with heedfulness". The Venerable went on to say that “Buddhism is for the sincerely zealous, strong and firm in purpose and not for the indolent". The Buddha Dhamma is not therefore for the faint-hearted as it requires great stamina, perseverance and determination to not waver or revert to old habits. The Venerable Piyadassi Maha Thera wrote in his book, The Spectrum of Buddhism, that in the practice of right effort the function of energy is fourfold: 1. The effort to discard evils (unwholesome mental states, akusala cetasikas) that have arisen in the mind. 2. The effort to prevent the arising of un-arisen evil (unwholesome mental states). 3. The effort to develop un-arisen good (wholesome mental states, kusala cetasikas). 4. The effort to maintain and promote the further growth of good already arisen (wholesome mental states). To eradicate the unwholesome mental states or the akusala cetasikas, which have already arisen and prevent unwholesome states, yet to arise, from arising, consumes our efforts and merit as these habits have been well cultivated and cared for over many lifetimes. If we actively motivate any one of the fourteen unwholesome mental states or cetasikas, unhappiness will surely result. Without the proper training, it is not possible to reverse this process to start cultivating habits that produce wholesome results and consequently discontinue the cycle of suffering. When wholesome mental states arise unprompted they should be recognised and strengthened, as any action motivated by such states will result in happiness and peace in this and future lives. One highly beneficial outcome of the practice of cutting the unwholesome and sustaining the wholesome, is the understanding of the true nature of things. Such insights are a by-product of the practice. Sustaining wholesome cetasikas can be likened to having a large jar that you gradually fill, drop by drop, with sweet white nectars. As the jar fills, life becomes less disturbed and more peaceful. Over time the other jar of acrid substance that we have successfully filled many times over many lifetimes eventually shatters. As a person advances in their practice, the degree of intensity, and the amount of activity they direct towards helping others increases many fold. The practitioners capacity to help others eventually becomes more skillful and more effective. During our Teacher’s illness, he was admitted to a local hospital for eight days. During this time our Members sustained the Centre and provided much needed care for our Teacher during his illness and convalescence. Each day our Members made offerings of flowers, water and light to the many altars at our Centre. They also performed Buddha chanting and long life practices, as well as attending to the administration tasks of our Centre, current priorities and the maintenance of the garden. This has been possible for some Members because they have developed their wholesome cetasikas and their continued practice over many years at our Centre. Buddhist practice is often described as an eightfold path. The Noble Eightfold Path taught by the Buddha provides a systematic training process for coming out of suffering. Right Effort, the sixth practice on the Noble Eightfold Path, reduces unwholesome cetasikas which have arisen, reduces unwholesome cetasikas yet to arise and increases wholesome cetasikas which have arisen, and increases wholesome cetasikas yet to arise. The Buddha gave a discourse on this subject saying, When a noble person understands the unwholesome, the root of the unwholesome, the wholesome and the root of the wholesome, he or she is a person of right view. That persons view is straight, and he or she has perfect confidence in the Dhamma, and has arrived at true Dhamma.” “What, friends, is the unwholesome and what is the root of the unwholesome?” “Killing living beings is unwholesome, taking what is not given is unwholesome, misconduct in sensual pleasures is unwholesome, false speech is unwholesome, malicious speech is unwholesome, harsh speech is unwholesome, gossip is unwholesome, covetousness is unwholesome, ill will is unwholesome, wrong view is unwholesome, this is what is called the unwholesome.” "What, friends, is the root of the unwholesome? Greed is a root of the unwholesome, hate is the root of the unwholesome, delusion is the root of the unwholesome, this is what is called the root of the unwholesome.” “What, friends, is then the wholesome and what is the root of the wholesome?” "What is the wholesome? Abstention from killing living beings is wholesome, abstention from taking what is not given is wholesome, abstention from misconduct in sensual pleasures is wholesome, abstention from false speech is wholesome, abstention from malicious speech is wholesome, abstention from harsh speech is wholesome, abstention from gossip is wholesome, non-covetousness is wholesome, no-ill will is wholesome, right view is wholesome. This is what is called the wholesome.” “The unwholesome is the logical counter-positive of the wholesome.” "And what is the root of the wholesome? Non-greed is a root of the wholesome, non-hate is a root of the wholesome, non-delusion is a root of the wholesome. This is what is called the root of the wholesome.” "When a noble person has understood the unwholesome, the root of the unwholesome, the wholesome, and the root of the wholesome, then he or she entirely abandons the underlying tendency to lust, abolishes the underlying tendency to aversion, extirpates the underlying tendency to the view and conceit in thinking, ‘I am’, and, by abandoning ignorance and arousing true knowledge he or she here and now makes an end to their suffering. In that way too a noble person is one of right view, whose view is straight (the cetasikas rectitude of mental states and rectitude of mind), who has perfect confidence (the cetasika saddha) in the Dhamma and has arrived at this true Dhamma". The Buddha did not arrive at the truths by logic or by reasoning, but by direct insight. It is a great blessing to live in Australia as it is a peaceful and safe land with a well developed social, political and economic infrastructure. To be born or to be able to immigrate to Australia is a result of good deeds in previous lives, where a person practiced generosity, morality and many other wholesome acts, to create the causes to be able live here. Living in this wealthy and peaceful land indicates that a person has created many good causes in the past, such as contributing to the prosperity and well being of their native country in past times. As the Buddha taught, everything can be linked to causes and effects, or in Pali, kamma. This is illustrated by the following quote from the Dhammapada: Mind precedes all mental states, The mind is their chief. They are all mind-wrought, If a person acts or speaks with an impure mind Suffering follows him or her like the wheel that follows the foot of the ox. Mind precedes all mental states, Mind is their chief. They are all mind-wrought, If a person speaks or acts with a pure mind Happiness follows him or her like a never departing shadow. It is therefore very wise to contribute to the prosperity and wealth of all Australians, as this is your home and the place where you are conditioning your future. Contributing to the prosperity of your country creates the conditions to be reborn in a suitable, wealthy location in future lives. To be born in a suitable location is one of the highest blessings. Many modern theories, such as Deconstructionist theory, which has been fashionable in some Australian Universities, posit that only subjective statements about truth are possible, and therefore they discount the possibility of arriving at a truth free of personality bias (in Pali, yathabutam). This type of thinking ignores causes and effects and prevents the allocation of absolute value to anything. Contrary to this, Buddha Dhamma teaches that through correct mind cultivation within the context of the Noble Eightfold Path, it is possible to arrive at a view of reality based on thorough understanding of causes and effects, a view which is free of personality bias. The Dhamma Master Thich Thien Tam poses the following question: “if we have expended efforts to cultivate and sow good seeds in our previous life, how can we lose all our good roots and wisdom in the second lifetime, to the point of descending upon the Evil Paths in the third lifetime?” He provides the following answer: Although good roots exist, the bad karma accumulated for eons past is not necessarily wiped out. Furthermore, on this earth, good actions are as difficult to perform as climbing a high tree, while bad deeds are as easy to commit as sliding down a slope. As the sages of old have said: The good deeds performed all of one’s life are still not enough; the bad deeds performed in just one day are already too much.” The antidote is wisdom. The Venerable Ashin Thittila 1896-1997, wrote in his book ‘A Buddhist’s Companion--An Exposition and Selected Quotations’: ‘Wisdom, or insight (panna) enables man (or woman) to overcome all the defilements completely. As a tree which is destroyed by the root will never grow, even so the defilements which are annihilated by wisdom, will never rise again.” May you cease to cultivate unwholesome cetasikas May you cultivate the wholesome cetasikas in this very life May your defilements be annihilated by wisdom. May you be well and happy.
This script was written and edited by John D. Hughes, Julian Bamford, Tim Browning, Frank Carter, Leanne Eames, Evelin Halls, Lyne Lehmann, Lisa Nelson, Phillip Svensson and Pennie White. Disclaimer:
As we, the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd., do not control the actions of our service providers from time to time, make no warranty as to the continuous operation of our website(s). Also, we make no assertion as to the veracity of any of the information included in any of the links with our websites, or an other source accessed through our website(s).
Accordingly, we accept no liability to any user or subsequent third party, either expressed or implied, whether or not caused by error or omission on either our part, or a member, employee or other person associated with the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd.
Totals: Words:
3094 Averages: Word per
paragraph: 22.8 Readability Statistics: Flesch
Grade Level: 13.0 References: 1. Piyadassi, “The Spectrum of Buddhism” Writings of Piyadassi. The Corporate Body of the Buddha Educational Foundation. Taiwan 1991 2. Thittila, Ashin. A Buddhist’s Companion - An Exposition and Selected Quotations. Sukhi Hotu SDN BHD. Malaysia 1997 3. Thich Thien Tam. Buddhism of Wisdom and Faith - Pureland Principle and Practice.International Buddhist Monastic Institute. Heong Sun See Temple. Malaysia 1999
5. References sourced from our Centre’s PC files using our ISYS text retrieval system:
I:\KM\BDDR\V9N1\BDDRV9N1.DOC (16-May-99) I:\IDA\RADIO77.RTF (27-Sep-80) Pp 30-31 of I:\KM\BDDR\BDDR06N3.W50 (14-Jan-99) I:\IDA\RADIO127.RTF (27-Sep-80) I:\IDA\RADIO127.RTF (27-Sep-80) Pp 3-4 of I:\KM\BDDR\PUBLICAT\NEWSL_23.TXT (12-Jan-96) I:\KM\BDDR\BDDR02N1.TXT (31-Dec-98) Pp 9-10 of I:\KM\BDDR\BDDR02N3.W50 (14-Jan-99) I:\JDHITPLAN99.DOC (09-Jan-00) I:\KM\BDDR\V10N1\BDDR10-1.DOC (26-May-00) Pp 4 of I:\KM\BDDR\PUBLICAT\NEWSL_23.TXT (12-Jan-96) Pp 32-33 of I:\KM\BDDR\BDDR06N3.W50 (14-Jan-99) Pp 37-38 of I:\KM\BDDR\BDDR06N3.W50 (14-Jan-99) I:\KM\BDDR\BDDR07N1.RTF (30-Jan-80) For more information, contact the Centre or better still, come and visit us. |
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