ဝန္ဒာမိ

vandāmi cetiyaṃ sabbaṃ, sabbaṭṭhānesu patiṭṭhitaṃ. Ye ca dantā atītā ca, ye ca dantā anāgatā, paccuppannā ca ye dantā, sabbe vandāmi te ahaṃ.

Wednesday, July 09, 2025

The crucial distinction between conventional and ultimate reality

 "One must trust in kamma and rely on wisdom. Wisdom consists of sammādiṭṭhi and sammāsaṅkappa (2 wisdom path factors), and sammāvāyāma, sammāsati, sammāsamādhi (3 concentration path factors). Combined, these make up the 5 path factors of observation. What we observe isn't beings, devas, or brahmas, but the five aggregates. #We_only_see_khandhas. This is what needs to be understood.


When meditating, even if you sit for a year, #without_understanding_khandhas_can't_break_sakkāyadiṭṭhi. But if you understand in one morning's sitting, won't sakkāyadiṭṭhi break? Is it about sitting long or understanding quickly? Indeed, #quick_understanding_is_essential.

For this, mustn't we study the khandhas, āyatanas, dhātus, and Noble Truths? We must study to understand the effects of the khandhas.

When first sitting in meditation, it's comfortable - #that's_sukha_vedanā. After about 15 minutes, don't you get stiff? Comfortable or uncomfortable? #That's_dukkha_vedanā.

Look at the khandhas. #The_khandhas_are_showing_themselves. Is it our doing or the khandhas showing? Sometimes isn't there stiffness, pain, aching, pressure, heat, dizziness, itching?

#Is_this_our_doing_or_khandhas_showing? This is rūpakkhandha. Consider - isn't this taught as 'rūpa that changes and deteriorates'? Whether it's stiffness, pain, aching, dizziness, pressure, cold, or itching - these are all changing phenomena. There's only the changing nature and the knowing nature, nothing else.

#Vipassanā_wisdom_needs_precision. Some achieve it in an hour, while others like Uggasena realized while falling from sixty cubits high. Consider this.

So #is_sitting_primary_or_understanding_khandhas? Still, we must sit to encounter the khandhas. Just seeing arms and legs isn't seeing khandhas. The 32 parts of the body are #conventional_concepts, while the five khandhas are ultimate reality. Isn't this worth studying?"

"If we see things in terms of persons and beings, that's conventional reality (paññatti ārammaṇa). Ultimate reality (paramattha ārammaṇa) refers to the five aggregates, or the two aspects of mind and matter. #Don't_we_need_to_understand_nāma-rūpa? We need to distinguish between conventional and ultimate reality.

When we see things in terms of persons and beings, conflicts arise between people. Do these conflicts occur in ultimate reality or conventional reality?

As the Mogok Sayadaw taught: 'The ear hears the Dhamma, wisdom turns to the khandhas.' When wisdom turns toward the khandhas, can greed, hatred, and delusion arise? No, they cannot. Isn't it worth examining why?

Doesn't rūpakkhandha change and dissolve?
Doesn't vedanā arise and pass away?
Doesn't saññā arise and pass away?
Don't saṅkhāras arise and pass away?
Doesn't viññāṇa arise and pass away?

Do we see the five aggregates or their absence? Isn't their absence taught as anicca? Isn't the knowing of this taught as magga?

#At_that_time_do_greed_hatred_delusion_arise? When wisdom turns to the khandhas, doesn't Sayadaw call this 'doing the work'? Isn't this called the work of wisdom? This is wisdom's work, isn't it worth considering?

Everyone can see kamma's work, and jhāna work is visible too. But #wisdom_occurs_in_the_mind_and_understanding. Isn't this worth studying? This is for the cessation of defilements..."

Sadhu! Together let us keep the Dharma wheel rolling.

"The Five Types of Right View (Sammādiṭṭhi)

 "The Five Types of Right View (Sammādiṭṭhi)

1. Kammassakatā Sammādiṭṭhi (Right View of Ownership of Kamma)
2. Jhāna Sammādiṭṭhi (Right View of Absorption)
3. Vipassanā Sammādiṭṭhi (Right View of Insight)
4. Magga Sammādiṭṭhi (Right View of the Path)
5. Phala Sammādiṭṭhi (Right View of Fruition)

As taught by Mogok Sayadaw:
#In_conventional_truth_kamma_is_paramount

When we truly believe in kamma:
- When afflicted by 'spirits' or 'witches'
- Would we still perform animal sacrifices?
#No_we_wouldn't

Why believe in kamma?
If in past lives we killed others,
Can we escape the consequences?
If we believe this, do we need rituals?
#Can_we_escape_through_rituals?

Causes bring results
We must accept the khandhas' burden
#Must_accept_death
If we hadn't done it in the past,
Would others do it to us now?

If in past lives we:
- Spread gossip and slander
- Stole from others
- Told lies
Can we escape our turn?

Kammaṃ vipākassa
#Like_shadow_follows_form
Effects follow causes
Isn't this worth believing?

With this belief,
Keep five precepts unbroken
In conventional truth,
Sīla is essential for living in the world
#Without_sīla_how_can_we_manage?
These are the essential points."

"In ancient times, wealthy people like Jotika and Atulakārī:
Their wealth couldn't be stolen
No king could seize it
No fire could burn it
No water could destroy it
#This_was_due_to_perfect_sīla_in_past_lives

Those without sīla:
From past lives, when unwholesome kamma ripens
Face problems like hunger
Though sometimes relieved by past good kamma
Will this relief last forever?
When good kamma is exhausted
Doesn't bad kamma take its turn?

This requires faith in Kammassakatā Sammādiṭṭhi
Then do we need:
- Ghost ceremonies?
- Fortune telling?
- Rituals?
#No_longer_needed
This is true faith in kamma

Like yesterday's Golden Swan story:
If you killed in past lives, you can't escape
Even if saved this time
#Debts_must_be_paid
If you never killed, none will kill you

Consider Venerable Moggallāna:
Unequaled in psychic powers
Yet repeatedly pursued by thieves
Despite earth-diving and sky-flying powers
Why? Looking at past lives:
He deceived his mother in many lives
#When_that_kamma_ripened_could_he_escape?

Finally, five hundred thieves killed him
Like slaughtering cattle
Even as an Arahant, why couldn't he escape?
#Hell_debt_must_be_paid
Kammaṃ vipākassa (Kamma brings its results)"

"In the second link (of Dependent Origination), isn't consciousness, mind-matter, six sense bases, contact, and feeling taught?
Are these causes or effects?
#Can_we_escape_from_effects?
No, we cannot.

Think about it:
When we feel pain, don't we cry out?
These are effects.
Don't we experience being slandered?
Consider - the khandhas we receive are effects
Things to be understood.

What can we be freed from?
'Extinction through destruction of:
- Greed
- Hatred
- Delusion'
#We_can_free_ourselves_from_defilements
With defilements gone, will there be new khandhas?

The Buddha taught of five khandhas
Not as something to enjoy
But as something to endure
#Cannot_enjoy_must_endure

When we understand suffering and causation
Do craving, clinging, and kamma remain?
Aren't the three cycles of Dependent Origination broken?
- Craving cycle
- Clinging cycle
- Kamma cycle
Breaking these three is primary

Like Moggallāna:
After being brutally killed
He went to the Buddha
Asked permission for parinibbāna
#Hell_debt_must_be_paid

Consider Aṅgulimāla:
A murderer worse than animal killers
Yet upon meeting Buddha
Learning about:
- Noble Truths
- Five Aggregates
- Dependent Origination
Didn't he attain path and fruition?
Did he continue killing?
#He_was_freed
Through practice, didn't he complete the monk's duty?

This is how we must study and contemplate
Remember, contemplation is practice..."


“Conception, Renunciation, Turning of the Dhamma Wheel, and the First Display of Supernormal Powers”

On the Full Moon Day of Waso, the Blessed One performed four great acts:

  • He entered the mother’s womb with mindfulness and clear comprehension (Paṭisandhi – conception).

  • He renounced the worldly life to strive toward Buddhahood (Renunciation).

  • He delivered the First Discourse — the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta — to the group of five ascetics (Pañcavaggiyas).

  • He performed the first display of supernormal powers (Yamakapāṭihāriya) at the White Mango Grove near Sāvatthī to inspire the faithful assembly of the Fourfold Saṅgha.

Pāli Verse:

"Bahūpakārā kho pana me pañcavaggiyā bhikkhū, ye maṃ padhānapahitattam upaṭṭhahiṃsu. Yaṃ nūnāhaṃ pañcavaggiyānaṃ bhikkhūnaṃ paṭhamaṃ dhammaṃ deseyyaṃ."

Meaning:

“The group of five monks rendered me great service, for they attended to me with devotion while I was earnestly engaged in striving for Enlightenment. So, it would be well if I were to teach them the Dhamma first.”

The five ascetics (pañcavaggiyas) had served the Bodhisatta faithfully, offering assistance and care during his ascetic practices even before he attained Enlightenment. Out of gratitude and proper timing, the Buddha chose them as the first recipients of his Dhamma.

Therefore, on this sacred Full Moon Day of Waso, may devoted Buddhists around the world mindfully reflect upon these profound events and strive ever more diligently in the meritorious acts of generosity (dāna), morality (sīla), and mental cultivation (bhāvanā).

Let us all:

  • Visit the Mahābodhi Tree, where the Buddha attained Enlightenment, to honor the sacred site.

  • Recite and pay homage through the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta and the Paṭṭhāna Desanā.

  • Support and contribute to occasions that uphold these meritorious traditions.

May all donors and devotees who assist and support such sacred observances receive a share in this noble merit.

Let us all rejoice and call out joyfully

 — Sādhu! Sādhu! Sādhu!