"Here's an unprecedented tale from ancient times. There was a family of three - a husband, wife, and their only son. The son was very well-behaved. When he finished school and became a young man, he would help wash his parents' clothes and carry water for them. Being such a good son, his parents loved him dearly.
When he came of age, naturally, his parents thought about finding him a suitable wife who would get along well with them. The son found a girl who lived nearby. She was fairly attractive, well-spoken, and from a well-off family. He began visiting her house frequently.
However, his parents didn't approve. Now, if I (the monk) were to consider it, she seemed suitable - she was financially stable and well-mannered. It's worth considering why the parents disapproved. The reason was that they knew she came from a family that practiced black magic and sorcery.
One day, the parents worried that their son might die from her spells. That's why they didn't want to give their consent. Even when they told him not to visit her, he continued to do so. They couldn't prove the black magic, and they couldn't file any legal complaints.
One day, he returned home early and went straight to bed. His parents, loving their son deeply, checked his temperature and asked if he was feeling well. He said he was fine. His condition matched what his parents observed.
When they kept asking why he came home early, he explained that his girlfriend wasn't feeling well, so he returned home. The parents realized it was a full moon day, when sorcery is typically practiced.
On the next new moon day, the parents warned their son: "Son, this girlfriend is testing your love. If you continue responding to such calls to return home, and if others intervene, you might lose her." Unable to bear losing her, he continued visiting.
On the next new moon day, he returned again, this time complaining of multiple ailments - stomach pain, wind illness, and headache - three different conditions at once."
"Despite his parents' warnings, fearing the loss of his girlfriend's love, he kept going back. Then, suddenly, while in his parents' embrace, the witch revealed herself - bright balls of light appeared, making the young man's eyes widen in shock.
Think about it - was it love or fear he felt then? Where did all that love go? It's amazing how completely it vanished. After the supernatural display, she made him promise not to tell anyone about her powers, sealing his lips with this secret.
He returned home after midnight and went to bed. The next day, as usual, after eating, he went to bed. His parents, concerned, checked his temperature and condition. When they kept asking what was wrong, he finally revealed that his girlfriend knew black magic.
The parents advised him to keep visiting her to avoid arousing her suspicion, but to maintain emotional distance - 'physically present but mentally distant.' They instructed him not to eat anything she offered. When he visited her next, she offered him food, but he declined, saying he had already taken medicine. Notice how he couldn't even trust the food anymore?
Then the parents devised a plan. They started sending him on trips - first for four or five days, then longer periods of ten days. Gradually, this helped diminish his attachment to her.
When he truly understood the dangerous nature of the situation, did any love remain? No. As the Buddha taught, 'When Dhamma is lost, look for it in your body. When you look in your body, you find the Dhamma.' The key is to understand the dangers of physical attachment.
This story illustrates an important Buddhist teaching: #The necessity of understanding the true nature of physical existence (khandha)."
Think about it - was it love or fear he felt then? Where did all that love go? It's amazing how completely it vanished. After the supernatural display, she made him promise not to tell anyone about her powers, sealing his lips with this secret.
He returned home after midnight and went to bed. The next day, as usual, after eating, he went to bed. His parents, concerned, checked his temperature and condition. When they kept asking what was wrong, he finally revealed that his girlfriend knew black magic.
The parents advised him to keep visiting her to avoid arousing her suspicion, but to maintain emotional distance - 'physically present but mentally distant.' They instructed him not to eat anything she offered. When he visited her next, she offered him food, but he declined, saying he had already taken medicine. Notice how he couldn't even trust the food anymore?
Then the parents devised a plan. They started sending him on trips - first for four or five days, then longer periods of ten days. Gradually, this helped diminish his attachment to her.
When he truly understood the dangerous nature of the situation, did any love remain? No. As the Buddha taught, 'When Dhamma is lost, look for it in your body. When you look in your body, you find the Dhamma.' The key is to understand the dangers of physical attachment.
This story illustrates an important Buddhist teaching: #The necessity of understanding the true nature of physical existence (khandha)."
"The Venerable Mogok Sayadaw taught that the five aggregates are like murderers. Let's see how each aggregate (khandha) can cause death:
#Rūpakkhandha (Physical Form):
How many have died from physical illness? From dysentery, from various diseases - these are all deaths caused by the physical aggregate.
#Vedanakkhandha (Feeling):
Like the Brahmin Sujata who died from overeating because the food was so delicious. His stomach burst from drinking water after excessive eating - death by the feeling aggregate.
#Saññakkhandha (Perception):
Deaths from wrong medication, wrong injections - these are deaths caused by wrong perception.
#Saṅkhārakkhandha (Mental Formations):
As they say, 'One wrong step, one wrong spoonful can kill' - these are deaths caused by mental formations.
#Viññāṇakkhandha (Consciousness):
Like lovers who commit suicide when their parents don't approve of their marriage. They hang themselves, jump into water, or take poison - these are deaths caused by the consciousness aggregate.
When we understand these five aggregates as murderers, would we still want to acquire another set of aggregates in future lives? Would we still cling to our present aggregates or wish for new ones? This is what we call 'knowing and abandoning.'
Let's recite together:
- Rūpakkhandha changes like a drowning bubble
- Vedanakkhandha feels like water bubbles
- Saññakkhandha perceives like lightning
- Saṅkhārakkhandha conditions like a plantain trunk
- Viññāṇakkhandha knows like a magic show
All five are truly frightening! When we understand their dangers, we abandon them. Then the cycle ends.
The present aggregates' arising and passing away is Dukkha Sacca (Truth of Suffering)
Understanding this is Magga Sacca (Truth of the Path)
Craving is Samudaya Sacca (Truth of the Origin)
No more future aggregates is Nirodha Sacca (Truth of Cessation)
Dependent Origination has four sections
Each section has five factors
Five times four equals twenty
These eight aspects should be easily memorized for liberation from samsara.
Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!"
#Rūpakkhandha (Physical Form):
How many have died from physical illness? From dysentery, from various diseases - these are all deaths caused by the physical aggregate.
#Vedanakkhandha (Feeling):
Like the Brahmin Sujata who died from overeating because the food was so delicious. His stomach burst from drinking water after excessive eating - death by the feeling aggregate.
#Saññakkhandha (Perception):
Deaths from wrong medication, wrong injections - these are deaths caused by wrong perception.
#Saṅkhārakkhandha (Mental Formations):
As they say, 'One wrong step, one wrong spoonful can kill' - these are deaths caused by mental formations.
#Viññāṇakkhandha (Consciousness):
Like lovers who commit suicide when their parents don't approve of their marriage. They hang themselves, jump into water, or take poison - these are deaths caused by the consciousness aggregate.
When we understand these five aggregates as murderers, would we still want to acquire another set of aggregates in future lives? Would we still cling to our present aggregates or wish for new ones? This is what we call 'knowing and abandoning.'
Let's recite together:
- Rūpakkhandha changes like a drowning bubble
- Vedanakkhandha feels like water bubbles
- Saññakkhandha perceives like lightning
- Saṅkhārakkhandha conditions like a plantain trunk
- Viññāṇakkhandha knows like a magic show
All five are truly frightening! When we understand their dangers, we abandon them. Then the cycle ends.
The present aggregates' arising and passing away is Dukkha Sacca (Truth of Suffering)
Understanding this is Magga Sacca (Truth of the Path)
Craving is Samudaya Sacca (Truth of the Origin)
No more future aggregates is Nirodha Sacca (Truth of Cessation)
Dependent Origination has four sections
Each section has five factors
Five times four equals twenty
These eight aspects should be easily memorized for liberation from samsara.
Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!"
