What is the truth which can give rise to the real blessing and freedom?” (Conclusion_Part 4)
Real Meditation
Real meditation is neither doing nor doing nothing TAKING THEM AS REALITY.
Real meditation is Neither action nor inaction taking them as reality.
At the view of original truth, real meditation is just remembering the powers of original truth_real impermanent nature which is constant and forever.
At first, real meditation is …Just believing(accepting) only the first power of real impermanent nature (Anicca, Dukkha, Anatta), which is creating to misunderstand Created truths_whatever we feel, think, judge, perceive, cognize and memorize as reality and as of real importance.
Real meditation is Just not forgetting the first power of real impermanent nature (Anicca, Dukkha, Anatta) which is constantly creating to think unreality as reality.
Power of Detachment (or) Power of Right understanding.
At the moment of not forgetting continuously that real impermanence (Anicca, Dukkha, Anatta) is constantly creating to think unreality(created truths which is just to be used only) as reality, it will make the second power of right understanding upon created truths and original truth be arisen. It is the second kind of power of real impermanent nature (Anicca, Dukkha, Anatta).
At the view of created truth, if we understand whatever knowing, sensing, thinking, feeling, perceiving, judging are unreal and just the created truths which are just for using only, experience only and knowing only, the second power by real impermanent nature, the power of detachment (right understanding) of them will become arise.
The truth we must not forget in daily life and in meditation practice
The truth we must not forget as much moment as possible in daily life or in meditation practice, is that the created truths such as body, mind that we are now understanding, are unreal … but seem to be real in our perceptions due to the illusive power by real impermanent nature which is constantly creating to misunderstand the created truths
as reality and as of real importance,
on account of ignorance the original truth,
real impermanent nature which is constant and forever.
If one do not forget the original truth like that, Power of Detachment _ freedom from created truths (or) Power of Right understanding of created truths and original truth will appear.
Some may think it is a way of auto suggestion or imaginary work.
But one can experience directly that the kind of power of detachment or right understanding upon the created truths and original truth become arise through this very practice and under a help of a teacher who knows the original truths directly and well.
Over 2500 years ago, one enlightened person called Buddha discovered the two kinds of original truth only by right practice.
He taught his disciples that there are two kinds of original truth.
They are
1) Real impermanent nature which is constant & forever. (citta, cetacika, rupa)
2) Real permanent nature which is forever. (Nibbana)
The REAL impermanent nature(dukkha) has two kinds of quality or power.
(1) Power of illusive creation/action to think unreality as reality (Samudaya Sacca).
(2) Power of right understanding about Original Truth & Created Truths (Magga Sacca).
To understand more about the way_not forgetting the truth, please consider a simile of the seeing a movie. Seeing in a movie is unreal but the creation of directors or Computer animation. Although we know our seeings in a movie are unreal, we involve in the movie (i.e. we are joyful, sad, angry, awful and horrified together with the performers in it.)
However, at the moment that your mind remember the truth that the seeing/playing in the movie are unreal but the illusive creation of directors or Computer animation, the mind will be detached from the seeing at movie’s scenes.
The more the mind remember(believe) the truth, only the deceitful creations of the director, the more detachment of seeing/playing at the movie.
Your mind will not involve whatever seeing in it. Seeing will be seeing only. Your seeing can’t create the mind arises like or dislikes or hatred or sadness -etc.
In order to be detached from movie, the most importance is no need to see and hear how & what the director directed and created the unreal things or how & what is the computer animation behind the movie but it is necessary just to believe or remember the truth that seeing in the movies are unreal but the illusory creations of the director.
So also with the meditation practice, no need to try to see and hear the original truth but it is necessary not to forget (believe or contemplate) only the power of the original truth as mentioned above;
(Note: At first, it should be the Power of illusive creation by real impermanent nature which is constant and forever.)
Meditation Object
So, in traditional meditation practice, created truths such as visual object, sound, something, breathing, rising_falling, mind and body that we are now understanding, are being used as meditation object. And then, we try to observe or are mindful these created truths to see their impermanence.
Do you know the important fact that if the objects of meditation are just the created truths, the impermanence of them will become just created truths?
Traditionally, we cannot understand beyond our mind. The original truth is beyond our mind.
The real meditation method is to practice beyond the quality of our mind.
The real meditation leading to real freedom enables to transcend the body and mind that our perceptions can now be detecting.
So, we need to understand that the object of real meditation is not something, feeling, thinking, mind and body that we understand but the truth_original truth.
For what the created truths and original truths?
Original truth is not for seeing, hearing, tasting or investigating but just for remembering, contemplating and believing it as reality.
Created truth is not for remembering and contemplating and believing as reality but just for seeing only, hearing only, tasting only, using only, experiencing only and knowing only through the way of not-forgetting the powers of original truth_real impermanent nature which is constant and forever.
In remembering/contemplating/believing
the powers of the original truth,
it is necessary to use the ability which does not take “doing or not-doing” and “action or inaction”
as reality and as of real importance
so that our action will be action only and
inaction will be inaction only,
experience will be experience only
and using will be using only
without the idea of “I” or “entity” or “self”.
Understanding the created truths correctly will help and condition to understand or know or contemplate the original truth correctly.
The more the mind does not forget the powers of real impermanent nature which is constant and forever, the more detachment (using only, knowing only, and experience only) will become occurred freely.
Vice Versa: The more intensity we accept that the created truths are unreal but they are just for using only, knowing only, and experience only, the more we can understand the powers by real impermanent nature (i.e. its the illusive power which is constantly creating to think unreality as reality and unimportance as real importance…..and its second power of right understanding(wisdom) which knows the created truths correctly as they are.
It is necessary to develop this right understanding more and more.
At first it will be the created right understanding (created wisdom) which know only the first kind of original truth(real impermanent nature) which is constant and permanent.
More and more developing the created right understanding will cause and condition sooner or later arise the original wisdom_original understanding which knows both kind of original truths_ namely;
1) real impermanent nature(dukkha sacca) and
2) real permanent nature(Nirodha) which is real happiness, blessing, satisfactoriness.
Only this middle way of remembering or heeding or minding only the powers of real impermanent nature which is constant and forever as reality, can give rise to the the real blessing and freedom.
This is over now. Thanks for reading until end.
This article is based on the guided teaching of Tsunami Sayadaw Rev. Ottamasara from Thanlyin Pagoda Hill Natural Meditation center.
May all of us be able to attain the real permanent nature or real happiness(Nirodha Sacca).
with loving-kindness,
SoeWinHtut