153: Retreat Dhamma Talk 48: What is Parami?

YouTube video link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHm80WquE7o&list=PLYiWmziXO9HCybav1DSf9fRQu421XNHCd&index=48

YouTube Channel Link

Website:
www.satipatthana.ca

Donations and Memberships

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Retreat series, Dhamma talk number forty-eight. The main theme of all our Dharma talk is built around Satipatana, Vipassana, mindfulness and sight meditation. As far as the technique is concerned, we follow Mahashi tradition. Whatever the Buddha Dharma we talk about, we need to really understand the word karma. Kama in Pali, karma in Sanskrit. Because that is the one of the key concepts that is woven throughout the Buddha's teaching. So karma is uh and the precise meaning is volition. But it's the volition behind all the deeds that we do, volition behind all the speech that's taking place, and even the volition behind our own thoughts. Physical action, verbal action, mental actions, volition behind these things, and that's karma. So in general, people say what is karma? Karma is action, which is true too, but precisely it's evolution. Karma is action. And actions can be neither good nor bad. When we do bad actions, we have bad karma or accumulate bad karma. When we do good actions, we accumulate good karma. Simple and straightforward. And of course, we already know all the bad actions we need to avoid, or we try our best not to do or commit anything. So let's talk about the other half of the karma or the other side of the coin, the good karma. Okay. And we started with the word karma because there's a verse, a line in the Mengala Sutta. Let's go pupe sata, katapunyata. Okay. Sat. It's the so to speak, once upon a time. Many, many lives, past life. All the good deeds, all the good actions that we have done. Okay, and all the loves like past life, many past life, all the good deeds that we have done, having these things. It's mingala. That is a blessing. It's a blessing to have all these things that we have done in the past. Bhapi Sakata Punyata. If you remember that we when we discuss about Bengalas Sutra, okay, one line for each Dhamma Tap. We have dealt with it in detail. So in here, all the good deeds that we have done in the past, past life, having these things is a blessing. And of course, how do we know? There's a past life, or how do we know what kind of things we have done in the past life? If you truly want to know, there's a way. The way is you practice samatha meditation, go through all the jhanic levels, and then eventually you practice for abhinyan. Abhinyan is uh let's call it a mental supernormal power. And through that understanding, through that power, you can see all your past life. You can see all the deeds that you had done before. That's a direct way. But nobody can really give it to you. You must practice and you can identify and investigate yourself. But of course, there's also an indirect way of investigating that what we have done in the past. In the scripture, it is written, what it is, is the health, the wealth, and the comfort that we have, and the fame and the success that we have right now in this life is the result of the past karma, past actions. The wealth, fame, intelligence, everything, the comfort. We are only talking about one side of the coin, the good side. That is the result of the past karma, that's the result of what we have done in the past. That is the manifestation of the actions that we have done in the past. That's written in the scripture there. So you can use as a measuring seats. What you are now, what you have right now, what you are enjoying now is the result of the past. So in here, what do we do? What are the good things? We avoid to do anything that is unwholesome. We try to do anything that's wholesome, good things. And also we do with sympathetic feelings, not simple, sympathetic feelings, and with full volition. And on top of that, there must be an understanding. Whatever you do, you are not casually doing it, you are not blindly doing it because you are doing it because somebody told you to do it without knowing. You must truly understand what you are doing, why you are doing, how you are doing. With that kind of understanding, one must be doing. And if you do that way, you are accumulating a good karma or a good deed, which will ripen again in the future. How to do things, you don't simply do it, especially is with the understanding. And let's say you do it without understanding, still, it is a good karma. But you do all these things, okay, with grateful, avoid evils, do good with sympathetic feeling. But you do with thorough understanding. English we call it others, but you do it insightfully, you do it with a wisdom, knowing exactly the consequences, and also you do with great effort. And most of all, if you do it without self-interest, if you do it without self-interest, that good karma is called parami. We heard the word parami, parami, parami all the time. That is parami is. In general, people thought doing good things is parami. But in here is Buddha is very specific. You have to do with intelligence and understanding, and you must do it without self-interest. And when you are doing that way, you have accumulated good karma, which you can call it parami. So there's a difference between simply good karma and parami is. And people who are doing those things, okay, we call it, we say that one must do it without self-interest. But still there's a little applause there. But all the deeds that you have done, you can wish may become the cause for the elimination of all form of suffering. Or you can call it Santi Sukha, Supreme Peace. Okay, one may wish that way for the elimination of both physical and mental suffering or supreme peace. With the parami when you are doing in such a way. Always a result, always a result. The main point, the key point of the result is you can call it knowledge, intelligence, insight or wisdom. Binya. Knowledge, intelligence, insight or wisdom. That is one thing. And then secondly, the result is I will call it the facilities. Facilities so that one can keep on doing all these things and keep on developing that intelligence. In other words, it gives you a condition, it gives you a background, it gives you an environment to keep developing that wisdom. That's a result. The result of parami. When you say parami, intelligence, wisdom always comes with it. Some people are born with the knowledge and the facilities are built around. They don't have to do it. It just seems like everything comes into places when you start doing these kind of things. So one should know whatever you have done in the past, other causes, what is happening to you right now, what you have right now is the effect. And the fame and the name and the respect spread without wishing it, it just simply happens. That's parami. Okay, in here there's a Pali word it said Paramanan Kaman. Parmanam Kaman. What kind of actions constitute a parami? And here is the people there people take some actions. And when do they take actions? They take actions when they see suffering all around them. They see suffering all around them. And your heart becomes filled with a desire to reduce that suffering of the people around you. That's the first thing. You experience suffering, you see suffering all around you, you yourself in the suffering, but you want to reduce the suffering of all people that around you that you are in touch with, and you want to make them happy, and you want to give them peace. You sincerely want to give happiness and peace. And of course, when you have that, you start doing things. That's what is part of me. And when those people, when they are born, when they are reborn, when they are reborn, they are born with intelligence or insight or wisdom. Binya. Since they were born, they have it. You may see some little kids, one, two, three year old. We used to call it it's an old soul. That's a word we use. They are far, far wiser than their age. They are even far wiser than some of the adults. That means they are born with that binya or wisdom or intelligence. And that is parami. Okay. Born with a very sharp intelligence, insight and wisdom is called parami. That is the result automatically. And not only that, the intelligence, the intelligence is defined quite clearly. They do, they know what to do rightly, what kind of thing is right, and they know what to avoid is wrong. That is the part of the key part of the intelligence, not just smart and sharp and clever and can go through the grades faster and brighter than other people, can go to university at the age of 12 or 13. That's also intelligence. But in the Buddhist way, one of the foundations of the intelligence is they know what is right and what is wrong, and they avoid what is wrong and they do what is right. And not only that, when they are doing that, they do with such vigor, not casually, they put great effort in it. Not only that they do whatever they see, those children, what they see around them, they might be even correcting. Some kids might be even correcting their adults, that kind of thing. So that is what they are born with, with intelligence and wisdom. And of course, we are talking about everything coming from the past. There are two parts. That is what is born in the past. You are right there. But in general, if we look at our life, these are all written down, not made up. If you look at it in general, it's already being said in there. In a span, the whole span of a person's life, your intelligence become the sharpest and the brightest between 40 and 50. Your intelligence becomes sharpest and brightest between 40 at the age of 14 and 50. That is directly related with this life. You accumulated experiences, and through these experiences you learn through it, and you have a certain kind of a wisdom. And it has become the sharpest between 40 and 50. That is in this present life. But one doesn't have to wait to that level. Another one is called Kilisa Dura. Okay. What it is is you might be 10, you might be 15, you might be 20. You can start doing things. What do you do things to keep the kilesa, mental defilement, loba, dosa, and moha away. In this very life, we are not talking about the past life. Past life we have already done in this life, in general, is 40 and 50, automatically a person becomes the brightest. But you don't have to wait till then. You can start it, starting around from the 10, 11, 12 start. What do you do? The thing is to keep the kilisa as far away as possible. That one you one can start practicing. Why do we put khilesa far away? Start practicing at 10, 11, 12, 13. Because that is again related directly to the development of parami. Let's look at it this way. When there is a khilisa, all your decision makings are interwoven with Lobad, Dosa and Moha, greed, anger and delusion. When that mental defilement is there, your decisions are not sharp and clear, a lot of self-interest in it. But when the kilisa is away, when the kilisa is far, what happens? As soon as you try to keep kilisa, starting from the young age teens, try to learn how to keep it away. The first result is your mind becomes clear. Your mind becomes clear, clear from the mental defilements. And when the mind is becoming clearer and clearer away from the mental defilement, the mind becomes stable, quite grounded and stable. And when the stable mind develops, it can understand things, whatever is happening around you. That's how it is related, keeping the kilisa away and developing the intelligence, insight, and wisdom relationship. So know that around 40-50 will be your sharpest. Life is teaching you, but don't have to wait till then. Start, if possible, help, if possible, for young people to start developing how to keep mental defilements away. In other words, simple word to have less and less self-interest in their action. Like password, have left and don't say loba dosa moha, the kids might not understand. Have less and less self-interest in their actions. And those kids will become very sharp and very wise. They grow up very fast. And even the kids, they come in, they are different, all are different there. Because their base level is different one from the other. And once the mind is clear, it is stable. Once it is stable, it has ability to see things. Now let's turn it into a different level. We are talking with a very general term. You are practicing satipattana vipassana. Okay. What is it? First and foremost, you must be grounded in a sila morality. What is morality? Knowing what kind of things to avoid not doing. Simple five percept. Simple is five percepts. You have to be grounded with sila. That's the first thing a requirement. And once you have sila, you put effort, as much effort as you can. Give diligently. Diligently, what do you do? Diligently you try to be mindful of all things that is happening around you. Whatever is happening around you. Whatever is arising. What is it called? Sati. Okay. Sati, once a sati come in, your mind becomes clearer. Because what is meant by clearer? You see the object sharp and precise. And when you have that built, automatically concentration built up. What is concentration? Stability of mind. And what is what does concentration do? Concentration can see Nama and Rupa, mind and matter in their own nature. That is the practice we are doing. Sila Sati Samadhi Binya. But vigor. Effort is throughout. The same thing with just the general statement and this satipattana vipassana practice is exactly the same. Just the labeling and words are the differences that we have at this stage. By practicing Satipattana Vipassana, you are. In other words, the truth about what your body is, the truth about what your consciousness is. Body and consciousness, mind and matter. In other words, the truth about yourself. Or what we call self. Or some people call it a soul. Some people call it a spirit. The same thing. Soul, spirit, self. They are the same thing. Different people view it in different ways. But if we have these five controlling mental faculties fully developed and in balance, you see that this soul, self, spirit. They are simply phenomena. Two phenomena that is operating in this universe, physical phenomena and mental phenomena. You see them as they really are. That is the intelligence. That is the insight. That is the wisdom. That's what we are constantly developing. So in here, I'll bring back the two lines. Again, the same two lines from the Mingala Sutta. We have been talking quite a few. What is this sublime dhamma? Sublime Dhamma in other words is the true nature of the physicality and mentality. Physical phenomenon and mental phenomena. The Buddhist taught us. We can read it, we can listen to it, lectures, Google it, YouTube it, so many ways, but you need to find as original as possible. That is one, and that is one of the mingala blessings. Listening, learning, reading, discussing the sublime dharma. And secondly, the Dharma that you understand correctly, that sublime dharma you put into practice seriously. That is another blessing. So we are just talking about in a way a couple of lines from the Mingala Sutta. So don't underestimate Mengala Sutta. Right now we know those lines directly apply to Satipatana Vipassana that we are practicing. You practice with vigor. You practice seriously. You practice with commitment what you have learned correctly. What you have learned correctly. So in here, we can learn these things, we can do these things because we have the past. Good deeds that we have done in the past. And now we are doing it, we are developing it, we are fathering it. And whatever we are doing it will become the causes, the future good karma or future parami. It is constantly going round and round. It's not one cause and effect finish, cause and effect, cause and effect, cause and effect, going round and round. How does it do? First and foremost, you practice these things. When you practice these things, okay, we won't repeat the detail, you know what it is. You are now developing part of me right now. And when you passed away in the next life, there's a result. The first result is automatically you are reborn in a suitable, appropriate places. Because of this action, it is not that somebody tried to draw a lottery and put it somewhere here or there. Because of your actions, you were born in a suitable place. What does the suitable place mean? Suitable place from this. Buddhist point of view is a place where you can do develop a lot of wholesome things, a lot of good things for the benefit of yourself as well as others. That's a kind of a place. If you are going to be born in a water region, you can't do that. If you are born in a starving country, you can't do that. If you are born in a one-party communist system, you can't do that. So where you were born is already selected. Selected by whom? Not by any powerful beings. It is selected by yourself. How? Based on what you have done and what you are doing, selected a appropriate and suitable place to be reborn. That is a beginning. That is what it means by bhopisakata bhunyata. Having good deeds done in the past life is a blessing. Because of that, you are born in a suitable and appropriate place. A place where there is security, a place there is safety. A place where there is a freedom of choice. You can do what you want, you can go what you want, how do you want. Those are the suitable places, appropriate places. And not only that you have a suitable place, the parami comes with two things. One is a intelligence, and another is a facility. Facilities start with the birth where we are, and what kind of parents you were born. It's there. What kind of environment you are born, it's there. These are all from the past. Safe and secure places, born in a good parent who will give a love, caring, and direction and guidance, not in a drunken family. And then you grew up in that environment. The environment has the influences, of course. And here there's one point the environment is not 100% wholesome because as long as we are in this mundane world, locky up, there's both good and bad coexist. When you are growing up, okay? In your school, there are kids who study very hard, there are kids who skip school, there are kids who drink beer, there are kids who smoke dope. Who do you hang out with? That's also the important factor. That's why coming with an intelligence, born with the intelligence is different. Some kids don't come with a born with intelligence. So at that time the environment can sweat and push you in the wrong direction. That is why having intelligence, having insight is a blessing. It's critical. And then here you're born, and when you're born, these are all from the past. And now starting to play a little bit of what is present factor right now. See? The place you are, the people you hang up. Kama. Kama have two parts. One is from the past, and one is the karma that you are making at the present moment. What that is? Whatever you call karma, it's composed of three things. And here, karma is things that you do, the actions that you are carrying out. And secondly is intelligence to decide what is right and what is wrong. And the thirdly is uriya effort. Three things. Kama, jnana, uriya. The action that you take, the intelligence to decide what to do, what not to do, and the effort you apply. And all those three are called karma. When you have those three, that person you will see, he is so lucky, she is so lucky. That's what it means. But you need three things. Don't think karma is simply karma that we understand. From the past, yes. Even that it is the action that brought you here. But right here and right now, you don't just simply, oh, I have good karma, I don't have to do anything. That's a wrong attitude. The Buddha said you need three things. Karma from the past, intelligence, and decision that you make right now, and the effort you apply according to what is right and what is wrong. Then you become a lucky, fortunate, successful person. Three factors one needs to do. Once you are born there, once you can make that decision, that past karma, put it in a place, suitable places, a place where you can learn. Freedom of choice, freedom to learn, study. So there will be a lot of mentor and teachers and guidance all around, available. It's just a matter of which one you choose, which path you follow. That again is the key thing is your decision at that moment. Your decision at the moment depends on how much analytical power you have, how much logical power you have, how much intelligence you have. Then when you find a mentor, a dependable person, a teacher, you learn from them. And after you learn from them, then you put into practice. And this all this learning, what is right and what is wrong, what to do, how to do, and put in practice, is you are generating a whole new set of how to develop, how to father your intelligence, how to father your insight and wisdom. That's all that you are doing. So all these actions are you have the direct result right here and right now. Because you do all these things, you do what is right and wrong, you do without self-interest, you do it with the intense feeling of wanting to reduce the suffering of the people around you. You are automatically respected. Your fame goes far and wide without any promotion, without any marketing, it goes far and wide. That's the immediate result of what you are doing. And what you're doing doesn't stop there, it keeps on changing your level of intelligence and wisdom, and that becomes a good part of me so that you can have a better life the next time. A better life. So look at that, there are four links. One thing is the key point, the main point, the vital point is learn. To practice, basically avoid evil, do good, but with a sympathetic heart and volition, with great vigor, without self-interest. Learn and put into action that is the key point. Automatically, because of that, what happens? You have a better, existent, a suitable and appropriate life. That's a second link. And the third link is once you have an appropriate and suitable place, there are a lot of mentors that you can choose from. You choose them, you learn from them. That's a third link. The fourth link is you practice. And while you are practicing, it benefits you and it benefits the people around you. And because of that, you have another better existing life. These four links, you can call it full wheels, or you can call it full accomplishments. It is a self-generating engine. It never stops. You just simply do. And that engine doesn't stop. It's perpetually in motion. It goes on and on. On and on for what? On and on for so that you get a better existent, better existent, better existent. But don't think better exist is you become richer and famous and powerful and become a dewas and so on. Better existent. In a sense of your intelligence becomes higher and higher and higher, and there are all sorts of facilities for you to develop. It's built around it because of your past action. There's a self-perpetuating, rotating engine. It never stops. As long as you keep on executing, learning the correct method, and putting vigor into practice for your personal benefit to expand your intelligence and the public benefits so that you can reduce the suffering of others. That's a never-stopping engine that goes on and it's always make you better, bigger, and higher. Without wishing, you don't have to wish. Whatever you do, you simply dedicated everything you do, all the good that you do, simply dedicated to one thing for wisdom. For binya. That's all. Simply dedicated to it. Don't have to wish for being rich and famous and powerful. No need. They are simply the sightishes. The key thing is the wisdom. Once you have wisdom, it goes on and on. You keep going that on and on and on. Develop your parmi again and again till you reach. That's the first thing is the Ariya status. A noble person starters. The lowest level of noble person is the first string winner, Shotapana. You keep generating. What it is is at that level, Shotapana, your intelligence level is so high, some aspects of your intelligence are irreversible. Before that, your intelligence goes up and down, up and down based on your how much you are doing and how much you are not doing and how much you forgot or not forget. But once you become a first stream winner, that intelligence is irreversible. They are permanent. You have a certain aspect of the right view. Samadhiti. You got that? And of course, you all know that's the first level, and then second, once returner, and the third non-returner, and final arhatta. Person. And what's the difference one to the other? The level of intelligence, the level of wisdom, that's a key thing. That level of wisdom eliminates, abandon, extinguish mental defilements, loba, dosa, and moha. That intelligence gives you a heart that is filled with love and kindness and compassion. You are striving always for the benefits of others so that they may reduce a certain degree of suffering and experience peace and happiness. That's what the parami does. You keep on developing your parami. You keep it in this full length, full rotating lengths or full rotating wheels. Ever turning, non-stopping. The key thing is ever turning, non-stopping. You don't reduce your effort. Then you become ariyah. When you become ariyah, ariyah becomes very rich. It's full of wealth. They have seven kinds of wealth. Ariya has. Seven kinds of wealth. And what are these wealth? The first word is called, the proper Pali word is called Sadha Dana. Dana, Dana is the word. But in here they use that wealth as a dana. Dana is a wealth. The wealth of sadha. What is the wealth of sata? Sadha. Dana is believing, knowing the truth. Simply knowing the truth. Once you know the truth, you have full confidence, you totally believe, you are not shaken. That is called sadha. Sadadana. And then there is another word called sila. Sila is not simply taking five percepts or things like that. Sila Dana is a discipline. You have a self-discipline in such a way it shines you, it brightens you. We don't talk about five or ten or fifteen or two hundred and twenty-seven. Sila is you have such a discipline, it makes you shine. Your behavior makes you shine. Your manners make you shine. That makes everybody respect you. That is called sadadana. Well, siladana. The first is sadadana, second is siladana. It's a discipline that you have. And the third one is called hiridana. Okay. We have talked about these two dharma in detail before, hiri and udtapa. And here, hiridhana. Hiridana is you detest anything that is unwholesome. I'll pick up different words. Instead of saying the same line, you totally detest anything that is unwholesome. And you are totally endowed with it and you live with it, you are it. And the fourth jewels or the fourth world is called Utapadana. Utapadana is you are afraid that the world of mental defilements would overcome others. You are afraid that Lobad, Dorsha, and Moha would overcome others because you know what their consequences are. You are afraid for yourself and you are afraid for others as well. When you are in an arrea state, everything doesn't contain within the boundary of self. It goes out of self. You are afraid for yourself of these mental defilements, what they can do, because you know the result and you know what kind of result will inflict upon others. That kind of feeling arises. And in here, I believe it's called Agama, Atakama, Sutta Dana, Agama, Adadana, Sutta Dana. Just in short, it's sutta dana. You must have a lot of wealth of knowledge and intelligence. But in here it's very specific. What it is is sutta dana, not in the sense of knowing how to make a rocket and then go to the moon. How to become a triple PhD in physics or chemistry. And here is you become a master, you understand. You understand all the things that are unwholesome, what they are, and you are capable of avoiding it, and you know things all that they are wholesome. You know what kind of things to develop it. Simple thing is you know what is right and what is wrong. But if we put it that way, everybody says, I know what is right and what is wrong. But when you are practicing Buddhist, it goes not only to the physical or speech, it goes to the mind. Even in a mental, most subtle mental state, that kind of unwholesome natures are dangerous. And every bit of wholesome, everything that is beautiful is useful. So that is a special kind of sutta. The one that you hear, the one that you read, the one that you lessen, and you put into practice so that you become skillful. That is the sutta dana, sadha, sila, hiri utapa, and then sutta. So that's number five. And the sixth one is in Pali is called saga. Saga dana. That's a little bit tricky to translate it. Sagadana is um abandonment of all that is unwholesome. They call it akilesa chitta. Akilesa. Kilesa, mental definement, akilesa is there's no mental definement, chitta. In other words, abandonment of all that is unwholesome. That is another wealth that person has. And the seventh one, seventh one is of course wisdom, pinya. We won't go into detail about it. So those are the seven wealth. They are the property of Ariya. They are the wealth of Ariya. And these wealth, the Ariya has it. They has it in plenty, they are unexhaustible. They can give, they can give as inheritance to anybody who wishes, and still it multiplies. So in here, where does this all come from? All these come from parami. So may all of you be able to develop parami. Okay, all that is wholesome without self-interest, with great diligence and effort, and try and develop seven world of ariya as soon as possible.