Buddha's Sayings

Ryan

Your question is what did Buddha meant by saying, ""All that we are is the
result of what we have thought" ?

This comes from the Sayings of the Buddha in a collection called the
Dhammapada.

The whole worse goes as follows:

"All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our
thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts with an evil
thought, pain follows him, as the wheel follows the foot of the ox that draws
the carriage."

There are many ways in which this quote has been explained. However, I will try
to explain it plainly as I can, as I understand it. If I am not clear in
explaining , pardon me, and please ask me to clarify.

Most fundamental to Buddhist teaching is Kamma. Kamma is action. Each action
is followed by a result- this result we may call kamma resultants. Kamma (or
action), is divided into two categories, Good Kamma, and Bad Kamma. As it
should be, good kamma gives good kamma resultants, and bad kamma gives bad
kamma resultants.

As rebirth, and a cycle of births and deaths called Samsara is another
fundamental teaching of Buddhism, one's actions in past lives (kamma) follows
one through out ones births and deaths in this vast and long Samsara.

There are therefore six essential things to remember: Good Kamma, Good kamma
resultants, Bad Kamma, Bad Kamma resultants, rebirth and Samsara.

Kamma is action as I explained and what follows from your action is the kamma
resultants.

What happens in an "action" to make the "result of that action" follow you
through out your births and deaths in a cycle in Samsara ?

In order to explain this we have to understand what we call "we", "I", or "me".
Whether in plural "we" or singular "I", what is meant is a "self". Now the
"self" or the being ,"I am" is composed of a material form and a mind- a
combination of mind-matter which is always together.

The form being material- made of watery substance, heat element, wind element,
and hard substance, can be touched and as long as the mind which we cannot see
or touch is there, the form is soft and warm to touch.

If the unseen, insubstantial mind is absent, the form is cold and hard to touch
and if left long in that state the form(body) will rot, disintegrate, become a
skeleton, and finally end up as a heap of bones.

Now what is important to keep the body intact, warm, soft, able to walk, talk,
see, hear, feel and think, is the mind. The body cannot act, talk or think .
It is only the mind that can make the body do all that it –the mind, wants.

If the mind is a good mind where good thoughts arise the actions-bodily, verbal
or mental will also be good, if the mind is a bad mind where bad thoughts arise
all actions-bodily, verbal, or mental will be bad. Hence the self "I"
represent, acts, talks or thinks according to my mental states. My mental
states are the thoughts.

Perhaps you get a rough idea of what I am trying to explain. If not please ask
me to explain further. It is complex I understand.

We or each one of us is made up of "mind and body" working in combination with
one another. The mind is where the thoughts arise. Body merely carries out
these thoughts as they arise- by bodily action where the thoughts demand an
action, verbally where thoughts demand vocalisation of thoughts, or merely
thinking over, where thoughts demand reflection.

Now these actions- bodily, verbally, or mentally by way of thoughts, do not take
place automatically (or dictated to by a higher being a God). But each of these
actions is preceded by a thought. Hence if the thought is good the action that
follows the thought is good, if the thought is bad the action that follows
thought is bad.

Now this thought that precedes the action is called the "volition". This
volition is kamma. Therefore the thought that proceeds action is Kamma.

If the thought that preceded the action is a bad thought it results in
accumulating a bad kamma its result in this life or later in another life is a
bad kamma resultant. The Buddha says " Volition is action(kamma), thus I say, O
monks; for as volition arises, one does the action, be it by body,speech,or
mind."

A person, a being ( i.e a mind-matter combination) is born according to one's
accumulated good or bad kamma. Our bodily actions, speech, or thoughts are
determined by these accumulated good or bad kamma. Hence as thoughts are Kamma,
and our body is only the instrument of the thoughts as they arise in the mind,
it is said:" All that we are is the result of what we have thought" .

I hope I have been able to make you understand the sense of what you had asked.
If not Ryan, please do not hesitate to ask for a further clarification, even if
you prefer by an e- mail.

With metta
Charles







--- In Triplegem@yahoogroups.com, Ryan Brawn wrote:
>
>
> Hello Everyone,
>
> Buddah says "All that we are is the result of what we have thought", Being as
I am Very, Very beginer stage, I understand this quote but then again what is
the context? I mean what is buddah saying here. Aren't we to realize that there
is no self? Is that what he is saying. That there is no self and who we think we
are is the result of what we have thought we were? I don't know, anyone??
>

Triplegem

RE: [Triplegem] Re: how to

I am like Surprised smile wow! that makes so much more sense, thank you so much for the in depth detailed explanation. I am more grateful then you can possibly know. I am glad you decided to respond.

Peace, Love & Happy Living be yours

Ryan

To: Triplegem@yahoogroups.com
From: hasituppada@...
Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:30:11 +0000
Subject: [Triplegem] Re: how to



Ryan

I was hesitating to answer, as Clinging has a two fold meaning in Buddhist teaching. One has to have a basic knowledge of Buddhism to understand the implication of it.

The question you pose is how to free yourself of clinging to God , among many other complementary questions you suggest ?
I will try to answer the main question, as shortly as possible to do "justice" to the profound teachings of the Buddha.

The Buddha explained the "no-self" in his teaching by propounding the theory of Dependent Origination. It explains that every thing is the result of a condition. Therefore there is no creator. In his theory of Dependent origination there are 12 steps. Clinging is the eighth step. The Craving is the attachment or desire one has to a thing, a concept or a person. The Clinging is the more intense craving or attachment , or desire for a thing, a concept, or a person.

To follow from the eighth step Clinging, that you say you have a "problem" with, the next step is becoming ( resulting from kamma) conditioned by Clinging, then conditioned by becoming results birth, resulting from birth as a condition results old age , suffering, misery and death.

Going back words,

if the death, old age,misery and lamentation, are to be stopped, the condition of birth has to be stopped.
If birth is to be stopped the condition of becoming ( accumulation of birth resulting kamma) has to be stopped.
If becoming is to be stopped the condition of clinging has to be stopped.
If Clinging is to be stopped the condition of craving has to be stopped.
If craving is to be stopped, the condition feeling has to be stopped.
If feeling is to be stopped, the condition of six sense faculties have to be stopped.
If the sense faculties are to be stopped the condition of `mind -body has to be stopped.
If mind-body has to be stopped, the condition of conscience has to be stopped.
If the conscience is to be stopped the condition of mental formations have to be stopped.
If mental formations are to be stopped ignorance has to be stopped.

Cessation of Ignorance is the enlightenment through wisdom- the knowing of suffering, the cause of suffering , the way to end suffering and cessation of suffering. This is also to realise impermanence of all conditional phenomena, suffering or unsatisfactoriness, and no-self.

Hence clinging results from intense attachment. Intense attachment is the false belief in a self , I, Me, Myself. All our problems stem from this belief in a self., as all we do is to please this self. According to Buddhist teachings there is no belief in a "self".

Because of this false belief in a "self", we get attached to things , concepts or persons. When this attachment is intensified, it becomes a clinging desire to possess the thing, intensely believe in a concept, or possess and enjoy being with the person desired.

It could be desire or attachment, or even aversion, anger and hatred, through the delusion of satisfying the "person" the self- I, Me, Myself.

It is the belief in this self that makes one go the rounds of births and deaths the Buddhists call the Samsara.

How can a person or self satisfy desires, attachments, or aversions ? How does one get attached to things, concepts and persons ?

An entity we call a person is made up of the mind, and matter. Matter is the form with eyes, ears, nose, tongue , body. The form by itself is inert, it cannot do any thing on its own. Therefore there is the mind to see with the eyes, hear with the ears, smell with the nose , taste with the tongue, feel with the body, and think with the mind. The eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind are the sense faculties that cannot do any thing on their own.

Therefore, the form satisfies with its sense faculties, the demands of the mind. The eyes cannot see if there is no mind or consciousness, ear cannot hear, nose cannot smell, tongue cannot taste, body cannot feel or mind cannot think.

The mind gets attached to what it sees, what it hears, what it smells, what it feels, and what it thinks. It is in being able to see that a person is not the body, but a " mind body" combination that one could train ones mind to understand that what we desire, get attached to, what we have aversion towards , and the delusion of a self is mind made concepts, which are impermanent constantly changing, unsatisfactory and without a self. If we have no correct understanding of this reality, we get caught in our false beliefs.

That is why we believe in a God, and cling to the idea of the God, because we do not understand that it is a belief that got inculcated in to the mind.

And believing that I am a person "a self", seek this concept of God we have been told that can save us. When we have a lurking danger, or serious illness we want to save ourselves bycling to the idea of God. It is a false belief or concept, based on a false belief of an existing self.

The Buddhist teaching though one calls it a philosophy is not a " half way" knowledge. You either accept it wholly and follow it not to understand the Buddhist teachings as part of ones knowledge, but realise to see whether the Buddhist teachings have a way out of false concepts, and see reality. That is how one can get rid of Clinging to a concept of God according to the teachings of the Buddha.

With metta,
Charles
__________________________________________

--- In Triplegem@yahoogroups.com, Ryan Brawn wrote:
>
>
> hello group,
>
>
>
> Ok forgive me because I am very new to this whole thing. But Once you see the clinging, attachment and how it leads to suffering how do you stop! I mean for instance. I find that sometimes at night I start clinging and hoping for a God. A God to be there and a heaven. I get super nerovous, and have bad anxiety. I also have a massive fear of death. Which I would say between these two things I am clearly clinging to a God and mostly to life. To God because I want there to be a life after this one! Anyway what I am getting at here is this, among many other things I have started to see what I am clinging to, the only question I have is how do you stop clinging. Maybe It is just this knowledge, maybe thats all I need, maybe this is enough just for me to know.? I don't know but I am just not sure. Is the eightfold path the steps to take to free yourself from each attachment, or is it more broad you follow these to free yourself from all things. I guess what I am getting at here is I get the whole thing I am just not sure how to apply what I am learning. One person I was listening to was saying what you want in your life is what you focus on, so if you want peace focus on peace, love focus on love, but if you want peace love and letting go is this what you focus on? but what if you want full enlightement? Everything buddah teaches where do you start and how (My biggest question is how do you APPLY IT?)
>
> Thanks for your patience with me,
>
> Happy Living to you all
>
> Ryan

Vipassana Meditation

The following was submitted to Triple Gem on 20 December,2003

Dear Dhamma Friends,

There is enough references in Suttas to vipassana meditation though
the word Vipassana may not have been used. Sama.n.naphala sutta is
one instance. The texts on meditation should be taken as
references, in practice the meditation experience does not follow
the texts. Different meditators may arrive at different stages of
meditation in different ways but the end result will be the same.

Commentaries are important to understand the Suttas, better. The
early commentaries on the Tripitaka had been made in Sinhala. Some
of the early commentators may have been Arahats. Venerable
Buddhaghosa translated these Sinhala commentaries in to Pali and
collected them in to the Visuddhimagga. There was a previous
collection of such commentaries made by a Venerable Arahat Upatissa
known as Vimukthi Magga, the Original of his writings were lost and
a Chinese translation of it was found and its English translation
is now available. We cannot belittle the importance of these
commentaries. They give an insight in to the Suttas made in Pali.
Pali as a language went out of use, and the commentaries were a
means of keeping it alive. The words, or phrases which were not
clear in discourses (suttas) were clarified in commentaries.

Vipassana literally means " seeing differently or variously".
It is a term that has been used by the commentators to denote the
intuitive understanding of the truth of impermanence (anicca)
unsatisfactoriness (dukkha) and no-self (anatma).

The meditator in Samatha meditation finds mental calm and
tranquillity. Thereafter, he turns the mind to analysis of Dhamma
as mentality (nama) and materiality (rupa) and cause (hetu) and
effect(phala), following the four foundations of mindfulness (i)
contemplation of the body (kayanupassana) (ii) contemplation of
feelings (vedananupassana) (iii) contemplation of thoughts
(cittanupassana) and (iv) contemplation of mind objects
(dhammanupassana). The "secret" of breaking away the fetters of
samsara and attaining Nibbana is found in the insight (vipassana)
meditation.

Meditation objects are a means to concentrate the mind. There are as
many as 40 different objects described in the Visuddhimagga, which
had been used by the Indian sages before the Buddha. Meditation on
the `rise and fall' of the abdomen also called the Burmese
satipattahna method, was a recent finding by a well known Burmese
monk, Venerable U.Narada, also known as Jetavan or Mingun in Burma.
It was popularised by Venerable Sayadaw Mahashi (U Sobhana thero).
These are great teachers, who may have attained stream entry ( if
they were not Arahats) and we should not be critical of their
methods. Each meditatator is free to use what ever object which is
convenient to him . When we meditate we should not be concerned
about others, as that would be a deterrent for our own progress in
meditation. A teacher would instruct his pupil to maintain silence
avoiding unnecessary talk, and not look at other
meditators, "minding one's own business" when meditating.

Attaining absorptions in Samatha meditation is made to seem
difficult, and in certain Centres in Asia accepting foreign
meditators, Jhana absorptions are not even mentioned. In a proper
monastic environment a diligent meditator with unvavering confidence
(saddha) (without falling into the trap of trying to "balance saddha
with wisdom)in Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha may certainly attain
Jhana absorptions. Some attain them quickly while others may take
time.

It is good to study the Suttas and if possible the Abhidhamma, if
one is intellectually "bent", to see the beauty of the discourses
and the profoundness of the teaching. But when it comes to
meditation one is on ones own, with the knowledge of the teaching
left far behind.

D.T.Suziki, a well known writer on Zen Buddhism says , to look for
gold one should know what gold is, like wise when meditating one
should know what meditation is about, therefore learning of the
teachings to that extent may be useful. Even without it, meditating
with proper instructions, one will soon understand Dhamma through
experience, even if the meditator may not be able to explain it in
proper"terms" and " phrases"

May all be happy and well,

with metta
Hasituppada.
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