When one turns wisdom towards the aggregates...
In turning wisdom, he faced various experiences and made decisions... encountered different kinds of vedanā...
Frequently hospitalized, surgeries, operations, intestinal surgeries two or three times
Many different experiences...
So looking at the aggregates, he concluded "I won't escape death"
Having made this determination, he focused on Dhamma practice until attaining path and fruition, and died peacefully... do you hear?
Isn't this worth examining?
Well... what we mean by "dying peacefully" - his body was kept in the morgue for two nights... while others would be stiff, he remained soft and flexible...
Even the injection sites were still bleeding. See? No stiffness even in the morgue.
So, isn't it necessary to know how to shift attention? (Yes, Venerable Sir) This is necessary, do you hear?
That's why when we structure teachings about aggregates and noble truths... what we thought were different kinds of humans, devas, brahmas, animals, petas, asuras, hell beings... what we actually find are just aggregates...
We think of 31 planes... humans, devas, brahmas... but what we find are just aggregates. Shouldn't we take what we actually find as truth? (Yes, Venerable Sir) When truth is known, falsehood disappears, do you hear?
That's why teaching about aggregates...
It's to understand how to remove sakkāya-diṭṭhi (personality view)...
Well... when someone speaks harmful words or acts improperly... at such times, don't we need to turn wisdom to the aggregates? (Yes, Venerable Sir)
"Listen with your ears, turn wisdom to the aggregates"
When we say "seeing," is it a person, a being, or just visible form? (It's visible form, Venerable Sir)
When seeing form, does consciousness arise alone? (No, Venerable Sir)
If not, aren't feeling, perception, and volition arising together? (Yes, Venerable Sir)
Is it a person experiencing the form, or is it feeling? (It's feeling, Venerable Sir)
Is it a deva or feeling? (It's feeling, Venerable Sir)
Is it a brahma or feeling? (It's feeling, Venerable Sir)
The perceiving of form - is it done by humans, devas, brahmas, or by perception? (By perception, Venerable Sir)
What prompts the experiencing and perceiving - is it a self or volition? (It's volition, Venerable Sir)
When feeling, perception, and volition combine, don't they complete the four mental aggregates? (Yes, Venerable Sir)
Only when these four are complete does seeing-consciousness arise, right? Is it humans, devas, brahmas, or four mental aggregates? (Four mental aggregates, Venerable Sir)
Is the eye-sensitivity a person? (No, Venerable Sir)
Is visible form a person? (No, Venerable Sir)
When analyzing aggregates, don't we find material aggregate? (Yes, Venerable Sir)
Four mental aggregates plus material aggregate makes... (Five aggregates, Venerable Sir)
Condensed, it's mind and matter; expanded, it's five aggregates. Is it impropriety or mind-matter? (It's mind-matter, Venerable Sir)
When looking at mind-matter, when seeing mind-matter, can lust, anger, and delusion arise? (No, Venerable Sir)
That's why the Mogok Sayadaw taught "Listen to Dhamma with your ears, turn wisdom to the aggregates," didn't he? (Yes, Venerable Sir)
When turning to aggregates, one is freed. When seeing persons and beings, can we find aggregates? (No, Venerable Sir)
Though aggregates exist, they're not found
Though found, they're not understood
That's why the ancient Ledi Sayadaw taught:
"Seeing ultimate reality daily yet not finding it"
Daily encountering but not knowing
Finding but not understanding
Seeing daily but not finding
Therefore, "Not knowing the five aggregates leads to going about like dogs, pigs, buffalos, and cattle - upside down in five ways," isn't that what was taught? (Yes, Venerable Sir)
This happens due to wrong attention to the aggregates... With right attention comes path and cessation. Isn't this worth examining?
So we need to analyze aggregates at all six doors... from eye-door to mind-door... analyze the aggregates carefully... (Yes, Venerable Sir)
If done too quickly, it becomes like mere recitation...
