Calming the Citta with Pañña (Part 1)

All of you who come here for instruction, please be earnest and resolute in your practice. I’ll do my best to give you the instructions. Sometimes I cover everything that I know, and sometimes I only touch on a few points. But I have never hidden anything from you. I have told you all that I know regarding my practice and how difficult it was. I revealed it to you so you can use it as an example. It’s not for showing off. When fighting the kilesas you have to be aggressive, or else you will not even scratch the surface of them. There are times when you can practice lightly, but there are also times when you have to commit your total effort. Such a time will come and it will happen within your hearts, and you will know it, if you practice with discernment and sound judgment. You’ll know when you arrive at a situation that forbids you from retreating, that you must only go forward. You’ll either lose your life or realize the truth. I myself have experienced this. I’ve never thought that I would become your teacher. Looking back at my stupidity and the restlessness of my citta, I never thought that I would be in this position. But the citta is not above training. It can be trained.

When the citta becomes very restless, you have to be forceful. You have to reduce your food consumption and intensify your exertion. You have to discipline yourself in every respect.

When the body weighs heavily on the citta, you have to fast. This is the way of training yourself. Even when the body is not oppressive to the citta, but it’s still restless, then you must intensify your investigation to search and destroy the kilesas. When you are forced to totally commit yourself, then you will come to experience the result of your wisdom and mindfulness. I have a coarse temperament. I could not practice lightly but had to practice very aggressively in order to achieve results. That is why I can attest to you that in times of suffering, when you’re driven into a corner, you can surpass it, you’ll not remain stupid. During such a time, you’ll be forced to think of a way out. When you do, then wisdom will arise. It is the same when you’re surrounded by the kilesas, you’ll be forced to figure a way of escape. You’ll have to utilize satipaññā to get you out of the mess. The kilesas will then retreat, leaving you in a state of calm.

At such a time you’ll gain confidence in your wisdom and mindfulness that is capable of destroying the kilesas. You’ll never forget the result that arises from this strenuous exertion because it will be impressed in your hearts. This is why I want you all to use paññā. You shouldn’t wait until you have established samādhi before using paññā. When you are developing calm, you have to commit your total effort. The kilesas are in the citta, and so is satipaññā. So there is no reason why satipaññā cannot get rid of the kilesas in order for you to calm down. If you are resolute, then the state of calm cannot slip from your grasp, and the citta will definitely calm down. You must not let the citta lead you astray, but rather you must use your mindfulness to direct it into calm. When you want to be calm, you have to closely watch the citta because the citta is the one that prevents itself from calming down by thinking endlessly; that in turn creates mental pictures to fool you. There is not a single moment in which the citta does not conceive these mental images. To see where the citta is leading you to, you have to watch it closely. No matter how fast the citta becomes, mindfulness will be just as fast, because the citta can’t escape from mindfulness. You will then get the citta to calm down. This is the way of calming the citta. In the beginning stages of practice, calming the citta can be quite difficult, but you should not let it obstruct your practice.

When you’re about to pass away, the pain will be very severe, especially if you haven’t developed any Dhamma in your heart. You won’t have any mindfulness and wisdom to protect you, and you’ll be entirely engulfed by pain. But if you have the Dhamma, you’ll be strong and firm to face up to this final moment. The kilesas are strong, so you cannot be weak. You must be strong too. Usually it is the kilesas that are always strong, and you’re always weak. You can’t be weak but must be equally strong. When you’ve established some calm, you should investigate and develop paññā. Because the development of samādhi isn’t restricted to being mindful solely of your meditation object, you can also use paññā to calm down the citta—this is called paññā develops samādhi.. The calm that arises by paññā will make you very courageous, much more so than from concentrating on a meditation object. I really want you to experience this. What I have told you is from my own practical experiences and I have not added anything to it. This is exactly how it was. I am showing you the results that I’ve experienced within my own heart. It is the truth that is now within my heart, and I am telling you just this truth and nothing more. Be really earnest, and really commit yourself to the practice.

Don’t speculate about the magga, phala, and Nibbāna. Just observe and focus your attention on the one who is confused, because this is the one who obstructs the magga, phala and Nibbāna from you. It’s your thoughts, imagination, and delusion which are the thorns that are obstructing you from attaining the magga, phala and Nibbāna. You have to calm the citta. Once the citta calms down, then happiness will arise and become the magga, phala and Nibbāna’s living proof. After you have emerged from this state of calm, then you should investigate. You must investigate the body—look at it clearly. It is always with you. Why can’t you see the truth of this body? It’s merely a piece of skin wrapped around a skeleton, but you mistake it for a human being, a person, considering it beautiful and permanent. You are deceived by your own delusion, because the body is aniccaṁ, dukkhaṁ and anattā. It’s a living cemetery. It’s the same with everybody who lives in this world. You have to investigate to see this truth, and then you’ll see the Dhamma. To think that this body is permanent is really the delusion created by the kilesas. If you believe the Dhamma, then you must not believe the kilesas. You have to investigate and analyze in order to remove the delusion created by the kilesas. Then you’ll see that this body is not I or mine, not niccaṁ, not sukkhaṁ, not attā, not permanent, pleasant, not a self. It’s truly aniccaṁ, dukkhaṁ and anattā—impermanent, suffering and not-self. Get to see it clearly. Investigate earnestly.

You have to have calm as a practitioner, and especially so as a bhikkhu. You’ll really waste your human birth if you can’t realize from your Dhamma practice peace of mind, freedom from suffering and Nibbāna. It’ll really be a shame. So don’t speculate about the magga, phala and Nibbāna because this is just the kilesa’s diversion. You should follow the Dhamma which teaches you to look at the heart because the kilesas are in the heart, and the means of eliminating the kilesas are also in the heart. Where are the Four Noble Truths? Where is dukkha? The dukkha of the body and the dukkha of the heart are inside yourselves. You are their creator. Why then can’t you see the truth of dukkha? And what is it that causes this dukkha to arise and consume your heart? What else can it be if not the kilesas which the Lord Buddha called samudaya—the cause of dukkha? It’s in your heart. Who’ll detect this samudaya if not satipaññā? You’ll see the kilesas and the cause of dukkha within your heart with satipaññā. You must not speculate, but must delve into your heart because that’s where the truth is. When it is time to use satipaññā, you must use it. You can do it, otherwise the Lord Buddha would not have taught you to do so.

Some of the sāvakas had to struggle just like you’re doing now. You can see this from the scriptures. For instance, the Venerable Culapanthaka who could not memorize some chants for four months. So his brother got very disappointed with him. When they were invited to go for dāna with the Lord Buddha, his brother did not invite him, because he considered him very stupid. Because of this, the Venerable Culapanthaka became very depressed and took the opportunity to investigate the Dhamma using his satipaññā, and attained enlightenment right on that very day. When the Lord Buddha noted that not all the bhikkhus had come yet, he told someone to go and fetch the missing bhikkhu. The Venerable Culapanthaka, in addition to his enlightenment, had also attained the supernatural power of being capable of creating a thousand images of himself. So when the person to fetch him arrived at the monastery, he met many Culapanthakas, and did not know which one to invite. He returned to tell the Lord Buddha about this. The Lord Buddha told him to grab the first Culapanthaka that he saw by the robe. When he did this, all the other Culapanthakas disappeared.

The Lord Buddha already knew that the Venerable Culapanthaka had attained enlightenment because his brother disciplined him by not inviting him to go for dāna with the other bhikkhus. His brother did this for a reason, and the Lord Buddha did not reprimand him for it. His brother was already an arahant. You can see how difficult it was for them, but when they strived, they could eventually attain enlightenment. You’re human beings like them. Although you might not possess any supernatural power, you at least have the power to subdue and destroy the kilesas. You must really commit yourselves — be really resolute and earnest. The magga, phala, and Nibbāna are right here within your heart, but you just let the kilesas trample all over you. Not to be able to enjoy the taste of the Dhamma is really a shame for a practitioner. You tend to let yourselves be dragged away by the kilesas all the time. So you should be very strict with yourselves.

(Ajahn Maha Boowa “Forest Desanas”)