The Law of Karma , Dhamma Practice.

Wisdom arises from the practice (Bhavanamayapanna)

Observing the rising and falling of the abdomen is to practice the mindfulness of the breathing meditation that the Buddha practiced. Firm, unwavering concentration is its base. In developing wisdom through the practice of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, as long as concentration (samadhi) is not firm and unwavering, there will always be defilements and thoughts arising in the mind. We must use mindfulness to observe this. It is not so important how calm the mind is, it is more important how we observe and note the mind in the present moment. Then wisdom will gradually arise, and our habits will eventually be calmed.

As for insight (vipassana) you must develop it gradually. The teaching I give about directing your mindfulness to the solar plexus is a technigque which has already showed results. That is, observing the long breaths, directing mindfulness to the solar plexus, and slowly noting, "thinking, thinking." This is for students who are studying in university. In no long time they can think of the answer, and it's never wrong. It is the practice of observing the solar plexus. Sometimes we don't know what is going to happen, we don't know what to do, but if we just direct our mindfulness is good, wisdom arises, and we develop knowledge of many things. This is not a training method, it's a technique that can be used for particular circumstances.

But the training is at "rising, falling." Walking meditation is a training method, a routine devised for training. Wisdom is not scholarship. Developing insight meditation according to the Buddha's way, one must throw out the text books and scholarship, one must just practice according to this way, throwing out our views and our scholastic knowledge. Just keep on observing. It is accumulating credits for the arising of wisdom by observing the ways moods and thoughts arise and how to solve problems in the most certain way. For example, when someone comes and asks a problem, you will be able to answer their problem. This is the first way. The second way is that if a problem arises, like dust getting in the eye, we can use wisdeom to solve it. This is how to develop happiness in the family, and this is wisdom. it is not just sitting and seeing things.

The wisdom that sees cause and effect is the wisdom that can help you to remove all badness from yourself and all defilements which arise in the mind, to suppress them in time. It is not the wisdom that knows what to sell and how much to sell it for in order to make the most profit. The wisdom that we experience in developing insight meditation is not something that you can put into words or tell others, nor can it be given from one person to another. It is the gift of each individual. Other teachers may have other techniques, and others have still other techniques for solving problems.

The wisdom of insight is something we can know. If someone else has suffering how can we relieve it? We can talk in accordance with their real mental state, just as the Buddha was able to know the mental states of other beings. Because he knew other people's mental states he was able to solve their problems in the right way. The wisdom that arises from insight is not wisdom in relation to making a living, but that kind of wisdom can arise, like a side product. For example, wisdom of the real nature of conditions can enable use to know what is going to happen in the immediate future, and we can work to solve a future problem in the present.

Usually we do not know how wisdom arises. Wisdom is not cleverness, but it is the arising of the knowledge of how to solve problems as they arise. It is difficult to find. Like the "seeing" that I talk about. It was a long time before I knew about it. The delusion (moha) that arises within us can be destroyed immediately. When someone is walking toward you, you must try to ascertain what it is they want to see you about. But you can't do it. You've never observed in this way, so you never have experience with this kind of problem. When people approach us, men or women, we can know, wisdom can arise, what business they have with us. This is not text book knowledge, it is wisdom that arises just from mindfulness. Just seeing their face we can tell what's going to happen. It is hard to convey to others, you must continue to practice and you will see it for yourselves. If you are a scholar and simply believe the texts without practicing, no fruit of practice will arise.

Studying the practice is difficult, because mental states are always changing. I advise you to observe one thing at a time, study one thing at a time. But when we practice it's all scattered: the matter of the cows is not over with before the matter of the buffaloes comes in, and it goes on like this. This is because you haven't practiced sufficiently, you haven't trained in this way. You don't have to make a big study about it, just let the practice develop of itself, and the fruits arise in accordance with your wisdom. Wisdom is the important thing. Wisdom is not scholasticism, it is an internal thing. For example, when there is feeling just note one feeling at a time. There is pain, as I've told you. The pain is so manence, and suffering. It really is suffering. Suffering is the Dhamma. We will only experience happiness afterwards. Feeling keeps arising in profusion and confusion. The matter of the cows isn't yet over when this or that cuts in: it's like this all the time, the mind is confused and scattered.

Just keep observing. Now if wisdom arises, the mind can know these thoughts and feelings clearly through observation. The trick is, whatever arises, just observe it. Don't throw out the Four Noble Truths. When suffering arises, search for its cause, and make that the basis of your practice. Then you will discover the Four Noble Truths. I advise you to practice consistently, just keep observing. When the mind gets into the groove, wisdom will be able to answer ten kinds of problems all at once. When people come with this or that business, our "computer" will be able to analyze them into different kinds. But confusion will inevitable arise if you haven't practiced enough.

I have practiced for a long time, more than thirty year. And I've practiced devotedly, so that I know that feeling (vedana) is the Dhamma, suffering is the Dhamma, and happiness is only a small thing. In the past I looked for happiness. Everybody wants happiness and prosperity, but if we haven't gone through suffering, our hapiness will always be stained with suffering, it will be unstable. Happiness is assuredly unstable, aniccam.

I've practiced in many different ways. I can separate my mind into compartments, and have one part analyzing the causes and effects, looking at the facts, and another part using my wisdom to help others, pointing out the way for them. It isn't text book knowledge. It is just "rising" and "falling," seeing them very clearly. If it isn't clear at first it will gradually get clearer as the practice pregresses, just as I advise you to establish mindfulness whn you sleep.

I say we should take the one and only way. Other ways may be right for you, but I haven't practiced them. You may say my way isn't right, just to have mindfulness is good enough, but I say this is simple enough: the Four Foundations of Mindfulness: body, feeling, mind and dhammas. You can practice them at all times; the sense bases, the elements, the faculties are our basis. The faculties have the duty of overseeing our work. The mind arises at one of the sense faculties, its duty is to make contact. It is especially constructed for the purpose. We establish mindfulness and it immediately stops. This is the teaching of the supreme way.

The Buddha said the supreme way can be used at all times, whether you stand, walk, sit or lie down, turn left or turn right: have mindfulness and clear comprehension at all times. When you pick something up, do it with mindfulness, know what you are picking up. This is the teaching of the Buddha. It is subtle and refined. The postures we use every day can all be bases for the development of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. If you are skilled in the practice it isn't necessary to note, mindfulness arises of its own accord. When we raise our hand or pick up something, mindfulness tells us what we are doing and what the objective of our actions is. Wisdom will also be involved.

I hold the Four Foundations of Mindfulness as my base in the practice, because that is the technique that has been fruitful for me. It has enables me to nurture wisdom and to know in advance some of the events of my life. This is another form that the practice can take. At other places the practice may take another form, but they will always be directed toward the same objectives. It's like the story I often tell of the blind men groping the elephant: it's all one elephant, you can't say that others are wrong.

The forty meditation themes are techniques for counteracting specific mental states, in specific circumstances. You may like to look at beautiful forms and still go to Nibbana; you may like to hear pleasant sounds and still go to Nibbana, but they must be looked at in terms of impermanence, suffering and not self, that is the way of insight. Some places don't practice properly, they go into magic and the occult: that is a different direction altogether.

It doesn't matter whether your breathing is long or short. The important think is that you observe the breath in the present moment, "rising, falling", just observe it. If you can't observe it, if it's too fast or too slow and you can't watch it in time, you must set up you observation again. You don't have to worry about whether the rising and falling are long or short, or too long or too short--don't worry about that. Just know that you are observing it how it is in the present moment. When you breathe in the abdomen rises; when you breathe out it falls. Just keep observing it, that's all you need to do. It isn't necessary to note how long the rising or the falling is, but sometimes the knowledge will arise of itself, you will know how many stages there are in the rising and how many in the falling. Sometimes this knowledge will arise of itself that the rising is long and the falling short. Sometimes the falling is long, and falls down very deep, then the rising is short. It happens of itself. The only important this is to keep noting in the present moment.

It took me a long time to master the practice of the rising and falling, because I had practiced "bud-dho" for ten years, the Dharmakaya for six months. Then when I started practicing the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, I would observe "rising," "falling," then "bud-dho" would creep in. It would be like this. I could observe the rising and falling for a time, but then the mind would come back to the old theme. I had done it for ten years, so it was implanted into me. But gradually it changed. I say this is the good way to go: "rising," "falling." But I couldn't help going back to "bud-dho" sometimes because i had done it for ten years. As I continued it got worse, there were many thoughts. But "bud-dho" can be used to develop the Four Foundations of Mindfulness too, observing body, feeling, mind and dhammas. It can be used for that too, but observing the solar plexus is much clearer.

How is "rising, falling" clearer? Sometimes that mind will sink down ont he rising, sometimes on the falling, and we can see it much clearer then. What kind of images (nimitta) arise? Some people say they sit for many hours and nothing arises, so they figure they can't sit meditation. Some people say this. The fact is that for insight it isn't necessary to have a nimitta. If a nimitta arises in concentration meditation, just not "seeing,seeing" and it will disappear. In some places the meditators are very sensitive, they cling on to what they see, and they see many things, they are always arising. Sometimes they sti only five minutes and a nimitta arises, they see all kinds of thing, but they have to be able to observe them. It is another way of practice.

When standing, note the crown of the head, establish your mindfulness well. Direct it down to the feet, noting "standing" and observe the tips of your toes. Compose your mindfulness at the feet and then sweep up to the head. Stand quietly and conceive a mental image of the body, from the tips of the toes up to the crown of the head. A mental image of the body will arise for contemplating on. Reflect on this mental image of the body, from the crown of the head to the tips of the toes, five times altogether, then open your eyes. There will be a feeling of numbness over the body, but the thought will arise in the mind. While we are standing sometimes the body will incline to the left and we won't be able to feel the right side, sometimes it will incline to the right and we can't feel the left side of the body.

In this practice, note "standing" and see the whole body, conceive a mental image of your standing posture, note the centre, from the head downwards to the chest and down between the two feet. Then your body will not sway to the left or the right. Sometimes if we incline to the right, the left side will seem to have no feeling. It's not paralysis. It's just a sensation that arises in the meditation. While standing, keep on noting, continuously and slowly. Let the mind wander from the word "standing" a little, standing from the "left" go up the the head. Sometimes the mind will go off to the right or the left, but then we dive down into the mental image, just mentally noting the position of our body.

It is the same with the rising and the falling. At first it may be very clear, but as you continue to note it may become more and more indistinct until it may not even be apparent. If this happens, the rising and falling seem to disappear, then breathe very slowly and deeply, observe, "knowing, knowing," and reestablish your mindfulness at the solar plexus, nothing "rising, falling" and it will soon become clear once again. If the rising and the falling is not clear, if it is very faint, try putting your hand on the solar plexus to make the sensation clearer, and it will become clearer. Alternatively, just continue to note "knowing, knowing," reestablish your mindfulness and then go back to noting rising and falling: it will become clear again. Is the mind very scattered? If it is mildly scattered then just note it. This is how it is taught according to the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, not like the "bud-dho" people: that's not the way. I've practiced that way, it takes a long time to get the mind into the right state, you have to keep at the practice for a long time.

But there is one thing about vipassana that needs bearing in mind: firstly, the wisdom that arises sees the many different kinds of defilements arising within us. We see the law of karma operating, just from the image of feeling that arises. Secondly, whatever arises, it can all be noted according to the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. Hold onto this basic principle. Whatever arises, not its cause. Don't just sink down into a peaceful state. Wisdom does not arise from sinking down into calmness. Knowledge arises from the mindfulness and clear comprehension that actually develop in the practice. We note the feelings of pain and stiffness that arise here and there, each as it arises, as I've explained. Be sure to observe feeling (vedana). The more you can note the feelings the more profound and inspiring your practice will be. When lesser feelings arise they will be only minor concerns. This is an important point.

Sometimes you may remember some past bad karma that you've done. Don't bother thinking about the karma, keep practicing to keep the mind from getting distracted by noting the feelings that arise. This is the way to practice. You don't have to look at anything else, just note the feelings that arise within yourself and it will all become clear. If there is a lot of pain, note it. Don't spread goodwill while practicing meditation. The basic principle is that when you have sat meditation for an hour, say, when you have finished the time determined for the practice, then direct your mind to thoughts of forgiveness. The way to do this is to ask forgiveness for past bad actions. Once you have asked forgiveness then spread thoughts of goodwill.

For example, a student came from Khorn Kaen to study at Ayudhya Teachers's College. She had such pain she couldn't sit. Noting it didn't help. Then she remembered that when she was a child her parents had her go and catch frongs. She broke their legs--while they were still alive. When she told me about it I asked her, "When you note the pain does it dissappear?" "No, it doesn't dissappear. The more I note it the more painful it gets." "Before, did you ever think of the frogs?" "No I never though of them at all." It got worse worse--what did she do? She solved the problem by spreading loving-kindness and dedicating the merits of her practice, and the pain disappeared. Now she is a teacher, she finished her diploma. She used the practice that I've taught about here.

How to Read Your Mind (PHRA RAJSUDDHINANAMONGKOL)

All of you, laymen and laywomen, have come to ordain, study and practice the Dhamma. If your mind is very skillful (mahakusala), you can start a new life. Throw out your old learning and start to learn life afresh. Start a new life in the Wat, through learning, chanting, reflecting carefully on the four necessities of life. It's a new knowledge, you have to build it up in your mind, and mold your life into one that is cheerful in the Dhamma and Vinaya.

The meditation taught during ordination ceremonies is called the tacapancakammatthana. It is the practice of "standing" five times. It isn't necessary for me to teach a lot of scripture for you to practice the meditation because I don't want you to know it and I don't want you to look at books. Just practice diligently, and let the new knowledge arise. Your mind will be clear and spotless. Let this mind arise, and you can answer about the five aggregates (khandhas) , mentality (nama) and corporeality (rupa), the twelve sense bases, the twenty two faculties, and the eighteen elements. This is the important point to know in our work. The practice isn't complicated, just be clear in the "rising" and "falling", establish a good rhythm, and that is enough. You can practice. "Right step", "left step"-- that's enough. How are you walking, how is your mind observing?

The teacher will ask you whether the "rising" and "falling" are one and the same thing or different. If they are different, why so? The meditator can answer this easily, he doesn't have to open a book to find the answer. You must take the practice as your standard. No need to ask about staring at kasina objects or contemplation of loathsomeness. Don't bother. These things will naturally arise in this kind of practice. That is why we say "eat little, speak little, don't read books." Cut off your worries and cares. You don't have to worry about your house, you don't have to worry about the Wat. Cut off the worries and devote yourself to the practice. This is the sure way.

The sense bases, faculties, elements, five khandhas and body and mind: where do they arise? What are they like? Ear and sound, what are they like? What are eye and sight like? The sense bases make contact: how does a sense impression arise? Can you answer? "Rising", "falling"-- are they the same or not? "Right stip" "left step"--are they the same? Namarupaparicchedanana-- if you cannot distinguish body and mind how can you progess? Do you know? You can't answer because you can't yet do it. You don't yet really know. If you really knew you could answer spontaneously. You wouldn't have to think, it would just flow out of you like snake eggs. "Oh, it's like that." When the light of Dhamma wisdom arises in you, the answers automatically follow.

In regard to "rising" and "falling" : if you haven't yet practiced you may do the "falling" before the "rising", but how can that be? How can you breathe out before you breathe in? What can come out if nothing has gone in? The breath has to come in first before it can go out. Just this is wrong already. If you don't practice properly how can you establish right mindfulness and thinking? What is oxygen? Do you know about breathing through your solar plexus? You don't. When you sleep, do you drop off to sleep on the "rising" or the "falling"? You don't know, you don't understand. You can't even do this. If you don't pass the kindergarden level, how can you progress to the primary school level? How can you get the higher knowledge when you haven't got the lower knowledge?

Namarupaparicchedanana is the ability to distinguish clearly between body and mind. As soon as a sound arises, "sound,sound." What are the sound and the ear? What does the sound tell us? What does it mean? You must be able to answer this. This is the significance of Dhamma practice. "Oh, right step, left step"--why? Standing five times, the hands clasped behind the back: how did the Buddha teach? stand erect, firmly established, lungs functioning easily, breathed easy. If your hands are clasped in front it interferes with your breathing, your lungs can't expand so freely. Your breath won't be smooth.

I have practiced meditation for 35 years now. I've been through it all: developing mindfulness of the breathing for 20 years, then the ability to astral travel (manomayiddhi) for another then years. I've started at kasina objects, done the Dharmakaya meditation. You have to be able to do it. If you haven't done it yourself how can you teach others? Meditators should take note of this. You have to teach yourself first. You have to have walked meditation first. Can you do it? Establish your mindfulness, noting the standing posture, "standing, standing" five times. What does it mean? When monks ordain, they recite the five parts of the body: kesa, hair of the head, loma, hear of the body, nakha, nails, danta, teeth, taco, skin, then in reverse order, five times. You must know how the body is, from the top of the head down and from the tips of the toes up. This is how the Buddha taught. Note it while standing, note it until you are skilled in it, skilled at creating an image of the body, and you can see clearly whether it is beautiful or not, whether it is good or not. It will be clear in your mind: paccattam veditabbo vinnuhi: the wise will know for themselves.

Apart from that you must see other people, "seeing, seeing." Meditators, from what I've observed and assessed, do not note other people. They just spend their time chatting, when people approach them they don't really know what they've come for. This is not good enough. Nana, wisdom, does not arise. You don't know why they have come: "Oh, this person who is approaching, what is his hair like, what are his feet like? What is his face like? What is his character like?" We can know these things clearly in ourselves, paccattam. Other people can't tell us, you can't buy this knowledge in the market, it isn't in the books, it is a technique of practice that appears to the person who develops mental observation and follows all activities with mindfulness. As people approach us we can know what they have come for, what their character is like and how it needs to be corrected, what teaching we should give them, how it should be summarized. This is of great value to visitors: they go back safely and with happiness in their hearts, because we have scratched them in the right place. That is why so many people come to see me.

If people who practice the Dhamma do not observer their feelings and leave them flow as they will, is this good enough? They won't know the truth about impermanence, suffering and not self. You don't have to go into big explanations of the theory, just let the truth arise within you, and then you can answer whether the mind that observes the rising is the same as the mind that observes the falling: "rising, falling," and "knowing"-- are they the same? Are the minds that thinks and the mind that knows the same? Are thinking and awareness the same? You must be able to answer this much. "Oh, I can't figure it out, I can' tell." In one miind there are three kinds of mindfulness: there is initial mindfulness, middle mindfulness and end mindfulness. Whenever they all arise the thinking mind and the knowing mind will immediately separate. You say you can't figure it out. Knowing has to be in the present moment. In the present moment we don't know ourselves, we only know ourselves in the past because we're thinking. This is different already.

But why is it the meditators can't answer these questions? They go to the books and answer in accordance with them: "Asubha is like this, looking at kasina is like that." That's not the way, you have to be able to answer: "Thinking" at the solar plexus. This is the beginning. No-one's practiced this. As far as I can assess no-one's practiced it. If we establish mindfulness properly and clear comprehension, noting why it is that we think, ( we will see that ) thinking becomes the past. Do you know that? Why does thinking mean the past? Because we have already learned it, it's gone already, it's the past, but we don't remember it. Thus it is said the past is called thinking, the present is called knowing. Do you know yourself? You don't know. So you must observe, "knowing." Even with this you answer differently, it's a different mind. They are different minds, different mental streams, different experiences. So why do you take only one? Meditators still haven't got it. They don't experience the present moment in walking meditaton, in noting the "rising," in noting the "falling." It has to rise first, how can it fall first? Do you breathe out first? Is it possible? Try it out for yourself, can you breathe out before you breathe in? If anyone can do it I'll be in awe of them. You have to breathe in first before you breathe out. If it doesn't come in, what's going to come out? If you don't eat, if you fast for sever or eight days, will any faeces come out? This is how it is. This is the why and wherefore of it.

Those who are interested, please listen, Be able to practice in every moment. For example, When "standing," really stand, Get a mental image of your body, seein the face and physical characteristics. It's impermanent, suffering and not self. "Oh, my body is old already." Yes, it's changing. It will die. It shows its impermanence. It changes according to conditions. This you must see for yourself, you won't find it in the books. Can you do it? Assess yourself, "standing" five times. If you can do it, whenever you see someone coming toward you, you will be able to predict immediately whether it is an important person, a plebeian or a dignitary. If the dresses shabbily you may think he's a poor man, but maybe he's not. Sometimes you see someone coming dressed really snapily, wearing shirt and tie, carrying a "James Bond" briefcase, he looks like a rich man. You think rich people have to be received well, so you put out water for him, only to find out that in fact he's a trickster, coming to take away your money. Do you know this? No you don't, you still can't do it. Can you do it yet? All of you meditators have stayed here for a long time already: "thinking" is in the past, "knowing" is the present; noting "sound" when a loud sound occurs and passes away. How do you note it? What word do you use to describe it? A sound has already passed, how do you note it? Is it the past or the present, do you know?

Even this much is not yet clear in your mind. After one Rains Retreat, can you tell the difference between the past, the present and the future? Some place, don't forget, take seven days and seven nights. Then you pass the kindergarten level, seven days and seven nights of consistent noting, "rising" and "falling". What is it like? Sound is past, it is impermanent, unsatisfactory and not self (aniccam dukkham anatta). Is it the past or the future? Sounds of birds calling, a sound of a gun--"blam!" and then disappearing--how do you note it? Would you call it the past or the present, do you know? You've observed it, you must surely know. Can we note the sound in time? Someone's abusing us, but we establish mindfulness, "sound,sound." "Oh, these words of abuse will soon become the past, they will pass away, all that's left is the present." Can you answer this? All that's left is the present. What is the present? It is the mind which is aware, which is "recording" events. There is contact with the mind, that is the present. The words of abuse have disappeared, they are past already. Now is the present, we must observe it in time. "Knowing" is the present, can you say that?

Wise listeners, please pay attention. Just practice this much, you don't have to do a lot. "Right stip," "left step," keep your mind is the present. "Rising," "falling"--keep it in the present. Just this much is planty, plenty to work with. What is the past, what is the present? What is "thinking"? What is "knowing"? What is "seeing" sound or form? Form is in the present, but that form is still in the present, can you see it? Look at the wall--"seeing,seeing" You think it's the present. You note "seeing" once, twice, you see it, but when you noted it the first time is now past. When you note "seeing" the second time it is the present, but when you note it the third time, the second is now past. It is always arising and falling like this. This is aniccam, dukkham, anatta. Form is constant, but when you contemplate it in terms of the Dhamma it isn't constant. This hall is constant in terms of materail shape, but the mind is not constant, it i impermanent, aniccam. You note "seeing" one time, the mind is inconstant. But the wall is constant, it appears as fixed and stable. You note it three times. The third time is the present, if you not it for a fourth time, the fourth time is the present, but the third has become the past. Can you explain this?

Set up your mindfulness well. Observe and you will know the past. "Seeing, seeing". Someone walks toward you , the first "seeing" has become the past, the second "seeing" is the present. When you "see" for the third time, the second noting is the past. Then you will see people walking toward you as just impermanent. The mind changes, it becomes Dhamma. The mental state is always changing, it can never be stable, but material forms are stable, they remain as they have always been, but the mind, namadhamma, changes. The mind changes, thinking that the body changes. The body does change, it gets old, it deteriorates in accordance with its nature. We can see that if we look at five sections of a movie reel strip, it appears to be still, but when the reel is turned, the picture shows movement, right and left, we see the right hand and the left hand. It shows movements like this. None of you understand this. Materail form is a movie also, but it moves much faster so that we can't see it with the naked eye ... it becomes an image of someone walking, someone sitting, a mouth talking, just like in a movie. The fact is it is just still, but when the film is rolling it is like the mind which is always changing, which must think of this and that all the time. It changes, it is aniccam, impermanent; it is dukkham , suffering, it cannot be controlled. The mind when it searches out the birth place of suffering can change and become Dhamma, it realizes anatta, not self. We have to talk about the practice, don't bring the text books into it. Meditators don't need to know in advance. If you do you will be always estimating what you should be doing next and you won't be able to keep the mind in a good state. You will become confused and distracted and lost your mindfulness. You will become one who talks too much, that is why you must practice as I have described it here.

The teacher may ask meditators, be they monks or lay people, "When you note standing five times, where is your mindfulness established?" This is how they read your mind (sorp arom): where is your mind directed, where has your mind got to? Does it experience things quickly and slowly? When gauging a meditator's practice one must ask like this. "Oh, the mind advances slowly, you haven't got it yet. You are only thinkg. Your mindfulness is not up to your thinking. This is not good enough, you have to observe again." This is how the gauge the meditator's mental state. May you newly ordained bhikkhus , heirs of the Dhamma, take this and use it to teach your children and grandchildren when you disrobe. Like this: How do you separate mind from body, namarupaparicchedanana? It's not just a matter of practicing for seven days and getting all sixteen levels of insight, listening to a teaching on the levels of insight and becoming a Stream Enterer. I've practiced for 30 years and I'm still not a Stream Enterer. Nowadays they attain Stream Entry so easily.

I leave this with the bhikkhus who are Heirs of the Dhamma, so that you may use it to teach your children and granchildren. Separate the mind and the body: what is the body? What is the mind? The body is stable, what is it? It is stable, it is plainly sitting there, As you look at it you note "seeing, seeing" and it changes. A form painted red becomes black, you see it very clearly. This is aniccam, impermanence, "seeing", your mindfulness is good, your comprehension is good. "Oh, this person is walking towards me," "seeing, seeing" from the tip of the hair to the soles of the feet, from the soles of the feet upwards to the tip of the hair. The word "seeing" can answer immediately: this person is smiling broadly as he comes towards us: "seeing" knows in the present, "this person is dangerous, don't trust him, don't tell him any secrets, don't speak carelessly with this person on any account." This is wisdom. Wisdom arises like this.

It's not just "seeing" or "rising" and that's the end of it, "left stop," "right step" and that's the end of it. Wisdom doesn't arise in this way. This is how I answer. Almost no body sees this. What do you see? You don't see anything. You don't get anything out of the practice. Why do you overlook this? You don't experience "seeing", you don't note "sound." All you do is chat. If you establish mindfulness, you will see "sound ... Oh, it's like this. This is the sound of people chatting, this is the sound of people conferring, this is the sound of people working. This is the sound o poeple being successful, this is the sound of people selling thing." "Sound" ... When mindfulness is established, clear comprehension follows. Together they lead to wisdeom, you can answer immediately that the business they are talking about is doomed to failure, and it's true. This is wisdom talking. It will tell you about impermanence, suffering and not self, the Three Characteristics.

Right here, how do you separate mind and body? Body is a condition that changes, it can change and deceive you. If you note while you are standing at the wall, "standing," "seeing, seeing, seeing, seeing"--just keep on noting, when mindfulness is good, wisdom will arise. The image will tell you. We dance around like characters in a movie, but we know that we must change, we will soon be aged and decrepit: here will soon deteriorate, there will soon be useless, we will have to repair it. This is the mundane kind of benefit. We know what needs to be repaired, what needs to be repaired first. This is the changing nature of the body.

But the mind, namadhamma, if there is no Dhamma, it can change. Your mind can always change. Nama in itself cannot change. Talk truthfully, really do it. All things are like that, Dhamma enters into our work through our lives, our minds. Such a person cannot become evil, he cannot change into an evil person. However, he can transform eveil into goodness in the mind by adding Dhamma to it. Using mindfulness and clear comprehension, noting all things, seeing them as namadhamma: "rising, falling"--are they the same? How do they differ? When the mind notes rising, how many stages are there? Is the mind directed at the beginning, the middle or the end of the rising? At this point you must ask right here. How many stages are there to the falling? How do you establish mindfulness at the beginning? How do you establish mindfulness at the middle? At the end where is your mindfulness directed? What is the mind like? And how does it stop? You can answer immediately if you can do it. You will see clearly, each person for himself. Some people may answer that there are three stages, some may answer two stages, some may answer that there is one stage. And we can tell from their answers how their meditation is going, how good their observation is. This is how they gauge your meditation.

Secondly, the eye sees form, and the mind notes it; "right step," and the mind notes it; the ear hears sounds and the mind notes it: the tongue experiences a taste, and the mind notes it; the nose smells an odor and the mind notes it. I want to ask you whether the mind that notes the ear hearing sound and the mind that notes the eye seeing form are the same mind or not? What are they like? Are they the same for each sense impression? How do you answer this? How do you answer? This is how they gauge your meditation, they gauge it like this. Those who can meditate answer that the mind notes "seeing" and then on the second noting the first noting has disappeared. The second noting is another mind (citta) arising in its place, the old mind ceases. It is impermanent. Then the third mind comes, "seeing" and then ceasing, the fourth, "seeing" and the ceasing, the fifth, "seeing" and wisdom arises. Wisdom of what? "This form approaching me now, I must quickly rise to greet them, to arrange a seat, because they are in a hurry." This is after only five times, can you do it? You don't know, do you?

May you wise people take this method of mind and use it as a path of practice, like this: "sound": the mind notes sound another time and then it ceases. The first noting ceases and becomes the past. The second noting is now the present. The third noting becomes the present, then the second becomes the past. And then we ask how the mind that notes "seeing" differs from the mind that notes "hearing". Are they different? Are they the same mind? Are they the same mind with a different object? They are surely different, they are surely different mental object? They are surely different, they are surely different mental objects. The mind that aspires is the same, but if they are at different stages, different mental impressions, how can they be the same? Are they the same? Have you meditators ever noticed this? No, never. Can you note "rising,falling" in the proper rhythm? If you have the right rhythm, can you change, see it as the states of impermanence, suffering and not self? Is "rising" materiality (rupa), is "falling" materiality? If you just know that rising and falling are materiality and the noting mind is mentality, that is not good enough. "Rising," oh, it all stops; "falling" it all stop; "rising," "falling"--they all cease.

If you have good mindfulness and clear comprehension, good concentration, the first thirty minutes of noting rising and falling you may feel very painful, restless, and agitated, but the next thirty minutes will be smooth sailing, your observation will be fluent and up to the events in the present moment. The five khandhas will be your object of meditation. You will give different answers, your mind will change and you will give different answer. If you once answered that there are three stages, you will now answer that there are two. Later on there many be only one stage left. A skilled teacher must look into this and ascertain whether the meditator can really do it: whether he is answering according to what he sees inside himself. The teacher must be skilled, he must be clever, he must be able to do the practice himself and answer for himself. "Right stop": can your mind note the right step in the present moment? ... It can. Where is your mindfulness directed? Where is your mind? What state is it in? You know it fluently. The left step is just as fluent, there is no wandering. Then ask, "Are the right step and the left step the same or not?" How do you answer? And the mind which notes the right step and the mind which notes the left stop, are they the same? Are they the same mind? You can't just guess the answer, you must know it for yourself in your own mind. Then it is very clear.

When you can answer, "Oh, that's it:" are the minds which note eye, ear, nose, and tongue, the same or not? When sense contact arises how does the mind react? How do sense impressions arise? If you note in this way I guarantee you will get good results. You will definitely gain fruits of the practice. While lying down, note, "rising, falling" until the noting is fluent, then you will know clearly for yourself that now your mindfulness is good, your clear comprehension is good, they are fluent and clear. Then your mind will become cloudy, it will wander, but you establish mindfulness again and then the mind plunges down, like a car running off a high bridge, it plunges down and goes into great wealth. You won't be able to see yourself, you will disappear, and your mindfulness will be so good it is as if in the palm of your hand. A great light will arise, and you will not experience external sense imperssions. And internally what is the mind like? Ask yourself. What is it like? When you are sleeping you know, how does mindfulness take note of internal sense impressions? If you can do it you will be able to answer. You can give a clear answer if you do this.

This is how you gauge your meditation. "Right, left", where is your mindfulness directed? "Rising, falling", how do you note it? Do you let your mind push ahead of you? Or does your mind follow on behind, or does it stay in the middle? If you can do it you can easily answer these questions. If the practice is right it will eventually lead to vision (nana). Your mindfulness is good, "rising, falling", it changes. It won't stay the same. Sometimes it will be sluggish, sometimes it will be so fast you won't be able to keep up with it. It changes like this, it doesn't stay the same. In a minute it changes, then it rushes down, rushes out in front. What do you do? Why does it rush out like that? Why does it stagger? Why can't you keep up with it? Why can't you see the rising and falling, what is the reason? This is how you gauge your meditation. If you can't see it, how do you note it? "Knowing, knowing" but you can't know it, what do you do? You can't see it, How do you know it? Take long breaths, deep, long breaths, don't bother noting it yet. This is the way to deal with it: take deep long breaths. Then what do you do? You still can't see the rising and the falling? If you can't see then and you can't rectify the situation what do you do? If the problem still doesn't go away. This is how you deal with that problem. But you've never done it, have you? What kind of practice is that? What are you noting? You don't even know yourselves, what are you going to get from the practice?

This is how you gauge meditation practice. You have to ask, "rising, falling:" Where do you direct your mindfulness? Where does your mind go at the end of each? And how does it start so that it is in proper fhythm? Ask like this, then you will get results. The meditator will answer, "the rising is short," "the rising is long" , "the falling is short": can you note it when it's the short? "No I can't." Then change. If you can note it, keep on going. But if you get tired, and you can no longer do the noting, what do you do? Why is the mind tired? The breaths are uneven. If the breaths are uneven you will get tired, and you won't be able to note, then you will get very tired. You must very slowly lie down. This is the way to deal with the problem. Fold your hands at your stomach, breathe very deeply beforehand, get the proper phythm. When you have the right rhythm, when your breath is properly adjusted, continue to note it, then you will surely gain results.

Sometimes I ask about these things and nobody knows about them at all. They've practiced for a long time but they still don't know. Even with such simple things as this, but you must be able to do this. Corporeality (rupa) and mentality (nama), the five khandhas, are your meditation objects. How do you separate corporeality, how do you separeate mentality? Don't forget corporeality, the body: when it makes contact with the mind the condition known as corporeality arises, persists and then ceases. Nothing is stable, and it is impossible to keep up with the events but then we can do it. Wisdom arises, we see things as they are actually happening in the present moment. When we can see things in the present moment, we can easily understand what is happening: "Oh, long in breath, long out breath:" when is it ever stable? It is always changing, and seeing this we will feel at ease, metta, goodiwll, will arise in our minds. The views we once held are changed, from being a hot-headed person we become cool, from being a scattered and confused person we become calm, and from calmness arises wisdom; from wisdom arises wise thinking; from wise thinking comes skillful and profound speech, fluency in work, and such a person is able to see what is actually happening in the present moment, through this method. This is one point.

Now I want to ask you all whether, when you are as sleep, you are aware? Can you discern what your sleeping is like? When you sleep where is your mindfulness directed? Nobody can answer even a simple question like this. Today I want you to assess the results of your practice. And when you note "thinking," what do you think? But, no, you've never noted it. It's just the past, it's gone already. Whenever you can note thinking you will have mindfulness and you can actually recollect oevents of your life clearly just by noting "thinking". It's extremely useful. Can you recollect things that you'd previously forgotten, in regard to the law of karma? If you have mindfulness, wisdom arises, and thoughts about karma will appear as visions (nimitta), enabling us to know that, for instance, tomorrow we must repay a debt of old karma, and we will derive some benefit. This is the past, but it's revealing results in the present, and giving results in the future. You still cannot answer even this. I've asked you many times now, but you keep practicing other things, that is why you don't get any results from the practice. We can know all about sounds: we hear the sound of a bird we note "hearing," and we can know, "Oh, a bird cries for two reasons." The mind tells us this. When we alk past a tree, and our mindfulness is good and comprehension clear, the tree will reveal its mood to use as it is at that time. But even this you can't see.

This is the practice in brief, very simple, it's the beginning. We analyze the five khandhas, mentality and corporeality: For example, when we hear a sound we separate the sound and the ear, we separate the eye from the sight, the smell from the nose: how do they difer? When there is contact the mind arises: the mind at the nose experiences odors good and bad, how are they distinguished? How are the tongue and tase distinguished? Whoever can distinguish them will never complain about the food. Whoever can distinguish between the sound and the ear will never complain about others abusing him. Whoever can distinguish between the eye and sights will never criticize people passing by, he will see them with wisdom. He will see that all people are worthy of compassion, they are pitiful. By noting "seeing" and establishing mindfulness the meditator becomes calm.

The five khandhas, mentaility and corporeality, are our meditation objects, our objuects of analysis. When you hear sound, are sound and ear the same thing or different? When you see a sight, are the visual object and eye the same thing or different? Why are they different? How are they the same? If you have wisdom and can distinguish mentality from corporeality, you will be able to extimate, to answer, without looking at any books. Do this first. Can you do it yet: "right step," "left step": can you keep your attention in the present moment? The slower you can do it, almost like someone who is dying, the better. Then you will see the state of things in the present moment fluently, and you will be able to accrue credits: that is, to amass mindfulness and clear comprehension within yourself. When it's time to do anything, mindfulness will tell you what to do. This is a fruit of the practice.

What I am saying is that you have all lived in the Wat for a long now: can you answer any of these questions: "rising, falling": how many stages are there in the rising? How many in the falling? how do you note the first stage, how do you note the middle stage, how do you note the end stage? When there is only one stage left, what does that mean, "one stage"? When you are tried or when certain things arise, how do you note them? Can you do just this? It's not just a matter of walking meditation when you happen to think of it or just sitting with your eyes closed and your mind shut off--no wisdom arises like this. You must have awareness at all times, you must understand at all times, wisdom must arise at all times, in the present moment. This is the past, this the present, this the future. This is a really important point, it's not a matter of guesswork or just estimating according to book knowledge. It that were the case you wouldn't have to practice. You would just have to know about the sense bases, the elements and the faculties, and that would be enough. then you would have phone vipassana--vipassaneuk (thinking). It wouldn't be vipassana, and you wouldn't get any results that way. You wouldn't develop the endurance or mental stability that could evolve into awareness in the present moment.

Through this method: "rising," "falling," getting into the right rhythm, mindfulness will improve by stages and clear comprehension will arise. They support each other, you see the falling of the abdomen very clearly, then you experience each of the stages of insight knowledge. Some of these stages actually make you feel tired of the practice. What has arisen? What stage of insight knowledge is it? I don't mean just saying the words or guessing for yourself what stage of insight you have. Especially myself, I have not attained any ot the higher stages of insight knowledge. It's the lower stages we can do. It's these lower stages that help us to progress because they are not too high for us. Other people can do it, we must be able to do it also, and this is the main point of the practice.

Today I would like to leave this with you all, meditators. Don't just sit around and chat for seven days and seven nights! Get down to the practice, and when a problem arises in the practice, not it for yourself, be in step with events in the present moment, then you will know things as they arise. The Three Characteristics will arise: it is all aniccam, impermanent, unstable, undependable. You will see this clearly, wisdom arises. You will know the truth of all conditions through practicing in this simple way. And observe your feeling (vedana). "Oh, pain is just a small matter." Just set up your mindfulness well. Separate the feeling from the mind. The mind will change, the feeling will be on one side, the contact with it on another, the wisdom of mentality and corporeality on another. And since corporeality is always arising and ceasing, feeling disappears. You must separate it with this method of practice.

Here, lay supporters, practicers of the Dhamma, you must establish this standard, not just sitting with your eyes closed. You must investigate with wisdom, by observing your mind, establishing mindfulness at all times. Be clear in your walkin meditation, practice well, and make your noting in stop with the present moment, as the five khandhas, mentality and corporeality, arise. These are the initial stages of the development of insight knowledge. We must know what is going on. Whoever nods a lot (in the sitting) has lost mindfulness. This initial practice of noting is very important, that is why I have explained the results of the practice to you. Just make your practice of meditation consistent: walk meditation then sit; sit then walk. Just practice like this consistently for seven days and seven nights and you will get results. What kind of results can you get in seven days and seven nights? You get the result of awareness of mentality and corporeality. How do you get the results? You have good mindfulness and clear comprehension in the present moment, you know things as they happen in your life and you can meet preblems as they arise in the present moment. This is very important.

From now on, please take an interestt in this. Practice on the right path without having to think a lot about it or looking up the books, just develop wisdom in yourself. You have to do the practice before you can know; you can't know first then do the practice. Nowadays they "know" first. If you know before you actually practice what results can you expect? All you get is phony results. You have to do the practice first before knowledge will arise, how can you know before you practice? I've noticed this tendency for a lont time now. I would like to reiterate to you: even "sound" you haven't bothered to note. Have you noted "thinking"? Have you noted corporeality. Don't forget that thinking is the past. just like the things that you've forgotten from your chilhood. To know you have to remember the present moment. You don't yet really know, you must note "knowing, knowing", "sound,sound". It's past already, how can you prevent your mindfulness from slipping? you must observe the present moment, not the past. Do you understand this? You must understand. You must observe "knowing" first because ( the thinking ) has already past. Just pay attection to the present, not the past. Don't bother with the past. If you've forgotten someting in the past and you want to remember it, just observe the past by noting "thinking, thinking", breathing deeply. But does anybody do not practice according to this method. That's why you can't remember things, you can't tell me about them, you can't use your thinking, you don't see your own death, you don't give up your views, you don't get a chance to develop right thinking. You must concentrate like this, it's important. I would like to give just this much explanation of the practice.

May all you meditators establish your minds, and I would like to advise all of you monks who are wise and intelligent to devote yourselves to your duty. Separate the mentality from the corporeality, analyze each of the five aggregates (khandhas) : the aggregate of form, the aggregate of feeling, the aggregate of perception, the aggregate of volitional formations, the aggregate of consciousness. You must be able to separate them all from each other in this practice. Form is form, what arises contingent on form is feeling. In the vedana khandha there are three kinds of feeling: pleasant, unpleasant and neutral. It never changes. Perception is the memory of things, it must be noted as thinking. Can you remember it? You can't. The past jumps up, then you forget it, it all passes away, always arising and ceasing. You must attend instead to the present. That is why you must note "knowing, knowing, knowing"-- because it is the past, it has already gone, you can't note it as it happens. Correct things in the present. If you can't correct them in the present what can you do? You must reconcentrated your mind, reestablish it, bring it back to the present. If you can't correct the situation then let it go, it becomes the past ...

Catching your sleep

PHRA RAJASUDDHINANAMONGKOL

Catching your sleep" means to sleep with mindfulness. It is a phrase used by people in olden times. How can you have mindfulness in your sleep? This is the practice to use: breathe in and out deeply, noting "rising, falling". Don't be tense with too much expectation and attachment, just relax, breathe easily, and you will eventually fall of to sleep; the mind will drift of in the breathing until it loses it and drops down into bhavanga, subconsciousness, where the mind dives down into itself and does not receive external sense impressions. You will know how many times you have turned over, and how many times you awaken. This is sleeping with mindfulness, which the ancients called "catching your sleep" in the Four Foundation of Mindfulness

I have asked many peoople, but of 100 people there are only ten who can do it. But if you keep practicing you will get results. you will sleep with mindfulness. You may go to sleep without a clock, but you know you have to wake up at 4 AM. If you are skilled at sitting meditation, when you go to sleep you will continue to note "rising, falling" and fall as sleep with mindfulness. When 4 AM comes around you will automatically awaken, bright and alert. You look at your clock and it's exactly 4 AM.

The Buddha gave this teaching. In ordinary language, we say to sleep and awaken with mindfulness, to sleep with mindfulness. It is written in the Tipitaka in the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. When I first began to practice meditation I didn't yet know how you could sleep with mindfulness. Sure you can wake with mindfulness, but when you sleep you just let it go, I couldn't see any mindfulness there. Then why did the Buddha teach about sleeping with mindfulness and waking with mindfulness? What kind of sleep was he referring to? I kept on practicing. Many teachers teach about sleepoing and waking with continuous, unbroken mindfulness, but I couldn't understand it. They didn't explain how to sleep with mindfulness. But I kept on practicing, for a long time, noting "rising" and "falling": If I concentrated too hard I wouldn't go to sleep. I kept on practicing like this, for many days. constantly observing "rising," "falling" breathing deeply. After a while ... Hmm, it's dropping off to sleep. The mind drifts off after sounds, knowing some, not knowing some, and then it forgets for an instant and you can't pick at which moment it actually goes to sleep. I couldn't remember. As I tried harder I began walking then sitting, collecting my mindfulness, and then lying down.

That day I knew: Oh, this is what it means to sleep with mindfulness. At first I heard the sound of people talking, I kept on lying there and noting what was happening, noting the rising and falling. When i heard a sound I noted it. I kept on like this and then I began to drift off, being in a semiconscious state. I could hear sounds vaguely. Then I reestablished my mindfulness, but I did not concentrate too hard. If you concentrate too hard you won't sleep. You don't have too concentrate too hard, or too clearly, just establish mindfulness, keep on breathing regularly, and noting rising and falling.

Then one moment you will drift off, and when your breath falls you will notice it instantly, just like when you drive a car over a bridge and there's this falling, rushing feeling. Then your sense of hearing will no longer be functioning, but within you are fully aware. This is what it is like to sleep with mindfulness. Then I tried to observe myself sleeping for three hours. It was like sleeping for only one hour, the time went very fast. I knew how many times I turned over, and in what way I turned over. I know whether I was lying on my side or on my back or my front. I knew it all. Then when the time was up I immediately started up into wakefulness, right on time--"Ah, so this is sleeping with mindfulness."

Sleeping with mindfulness. We can see how in the monks' discipline they are required to sleep in a shielded place, the door must be properly closed, otherwise the monk incurs an offence. Infact it means that if the monks sleep in the open they will expose their morality for everybody to see, which is no good. But if you sleep with mindfulness your morality won't be exposed. You sleep with mindfulness and wake with mindfulness: just train yourselves and you will get results like this. When you sleep tell yourself to sleep with mindfulness, wake with mindfulness. What is it to sleep with mindfulness? You will know how many times you turn over in your sleep. You will know within you. If you are practicing vipassana you must know within. If you just sink into a pleasant feeling, it's just concentration, not insight. You must know within yourself, not knowing outside of yourself. Like a monk who has entered the concentration attainments--he knows within himself but he does not receive external sense impressions. It all depends on training. You can sleep in an open place, and you will know how many times you turn over in your sleep, or whether anybody calls you. You should wake on the first calling, your mindfulness will be there.

Some monks even sleep on a chair, breathing deeply, putting their attention to their throat. When they want to drop off to sleep they just let the mind go and it drops off to sleep. If you are really sleepy, direct your attention to your forehead and note there. If you don't sleep you can just do some reading instead. Try it out, you can do it if your concentration is good. If you can discern the right moment of dropping off to sleep, whenever you want to sleep, just breathe deeply, set up your mindfulness at your throat, where you swallow, and you will drop off to sleep. Even on a chair. If when you sit in a car your body is swaying all over the place, you don't have any mindfulness. If you have mindfulness in your sleep I guarantee that when you sleep, sitting in a chair or in vehicle, you will sit up straight, you will not sway from side to side. Your mindfulness will be keeping watch. You can wake within five minutes and get a better sleep than if you were sleeping in your house for many hours. There are many people who can do this.

Sometimes when I am sitting in a chair writing and I want to rest where I am working, when I have finished writing what I want I just put down my pens, and, in my chair, breathe deeply, noting the rising and falling, and then determine to myself how long I want to drop off to sleep for: five minutes. I put my attention on my "Adam's apple," where we swallow, set up mindfulness, and in a moment I am off to sleep, the mind drops down. In five minutes I wake up feeling refreshed. But you have to establish your mind properly, before you go off to sleep. You have to practice at it. You have to keep on training so that you can enter and leave this state. If you are really sleepy, and you want to keep doing what you are doing without being sleepy, set your mindfulness at your forehead, and breathe deeply. In a moment you will be wide awake, your concentration will be set up here. Then you can keep on reading for another hour before going to sleep.

When your mind is realy scattered, it's not a bad thing. It's good. Then you have something to observe. You must observe it. You must observe the scattered mind, noting, "scattered, scattered," you don't have to note "rising" or "falling". You can counteract it by breathing deeply and comfortably, and noting in your mind "scattered, scattered," and in half a moment it will be gone. Some people experience pain in their eyes when they are reading. In that case they should not put their mindfulness on the nose-tip, but direct their mindfulness to the stomach. Every one of them will experience relief. Sometimes the pain in the eyes is so bad they can't read at all, their eyes are sore, but it they direct their concentration to the stomach they will feel immediately better and the pain will go away.

Venerable Hasacitto Bhikku (Viggo) practicing meditation and spreading thoughts of goodwill to his sick mother in Norway.

The Psychic Telegraph Of VIGGO THE NORWEGIAN

The story of the psychic telegraph involves Viggo Brun, a Norwegian who came to Thailand to do a Master's degree at the Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University. He came from Norway, but I think he was of Dutch descent. He came to ordain here. He was a Christian. His father was an electrical engineer in Norway, his grandfather a Professor of Mathematics at Oslo University. Hiw mother was a Secretary of the University of Oslo. They had only one son, Viggo, but two daughters. Viggo was studying linguistics, majoring in the Thai language. He had studied many languages, but had come to do a Master's Degree at Chulalongkorn.

His grandfather, the Professor, told him, "When you go to Thailand you must bring back something good for me." He had read the Tipitaka in English at the University, they have books on every religion there. After reading the Tipitaka he was really inspired by the practice of Dhamma. "When you go to Thailand you must bring back something good for me." He noted it down and had his grandfather sign it. The Westerners really do things thoroughly. While he was studying at Chula he came travelling around Singhburi, he wanted to look at the lives of the villagers of Ban Paeng. The people there had moved from Vientiane at a thime when their Kingdom was at war. Their village lived on pottery and crafts, such as filigree.

At Ban Paeng there was a Chao Khun named Chao Khun Prohmmoli. Viggo went to pay respects to this Chao Khun and had a list of questions he wanted to ask, but the Chao Khun couldn't answer them, so he sent the Westerner to see me at this monastery. I don't know if I answered his questions rightly or not, I just answered them and then he left. He was gone for ten days, and came back with a pile of belongings, saying he wanted to ordain here and study insight meditation, as his grandfather had wanted him to. I told him he couldn't do it, he was a Westerner. He had to get permission from his father and mother before I could ordain him, otherwise he was not permitted to ordain. He had a card to show that he was free of his parent's care. When the Westerners are grown up the parents are no longer responsible for their children. His grandfather was his guadian, and he had given him permission to "bring something good back from Thailand" by ordaining. So I allowed him to ordain.

This Westerner was really clever. He learned the ordination chanting in only three hours, and he had already studied the monk's discipline as he had studied Thai and could read and write it fluently. He ordained and practiced insight meditation very diligently for 45 days, until he was able to develop the "psychic telegraph." One day he said. "I would like to respectfully ask something: When Thai Buddhists die, and their relatives do the ceremony of 'pouring water,' do the deceased receive anything? When people dedicate merits or spread loving-kindness to their father and mother while they are still alive, can they receive it?"

I perceived that his mind was already quite high, capable of sending psychic messages. It just so happened that his mother was seriously ill, and was convalescing at their house. He wanted to dedicate some of the merits from his practice to her. Would she receive it? I told him she could. He practiced walking meditation and then sitting meditation, then he determined in his mind. When you are determining or spreading loving-kindness, don't do it while you are practicing sitting meditation. The same applies to when you are dedicating the merits of your practice: you have to complete your practice first, finish the job first. You may practice walking meditation for one hour, then practice sitting meditation for one hour. When you have finished your meditation, then you can chant the spreading of loving kindness and forgiveness. Make your mind calm and at ease first and then dedicate the merits afterwards, don't practice sitting meditation and dedicate the merits at the same time. If you do tey won't receive them.

When he had finished his meditation he made his determinations, asking forgiveness for any wrongs and making his mind clear and pure. Then he determind:

"Today is my national day. My mother is seriously ill. By the merits and skillful qualities I have made from ordaining as a monk and practicing insight meditation, if it is true as I've heard, may my mother be immediately cured of her illness.

"My second determination: my grandfather wanted his grandchild to bring back 'something good' from Thailand. Now his grandson has found that 'something good'

"My third determination: may my three friends who live close to my house and who study with me be happy and prosperous. When these three friends have received this dedication of mine, maay they immediately reply by letter."

Venerable Hasacitto studying insight meditation with hise teacher, Phra Rajsuddhinanamongkol

A dedication gives fruit immediately, you don't have to wait as you do with the mail system. That day was the National Day of Norway. Viggo's friends had gone to his house in Oslo. They were all talking together, but his mother was lying in her room, convalescing. She had just come back from hospital. She was still weak so she stayed in her room. The time Viggo sent his "psychic telegraph" was about 10 PM, but in Oslo it was morning time. He knew this because of the letter he received. At that time his grandfather saw a yellow cloth flash before his eyes. Everybody had a strange feeling, and all simultaneously thought of Viggo, So they started talking about him. His grandfather figured that Viggo had probably ordained as a monk because he saw the yellow cloth flash in front of him and then disappear. His father talked about Viggo learning linguistics at Chulalongkorn University. When his mother, who missed her son, heard them talking about Viggo and his grandfather talking about seeing the yellow cloth, she dragged herself out of her room, inspired by the thought of her son. Her weakness disappeared and she was able to sit at the table and talk with the others for hours. When the conversation was finished she bagan to write a letter. She wrote down the date and time. She wrote to her dear son, describing the events that had arisen in their house on that day, Norwegian National Day. "Your friends came too, to this house, and your grandfather saw a yellow cloth." She asked whether it was true that he had become a Buddhist monk, and whether he was really practicing meditation. "Your mother is recovering from an illness, but when I heard them talking about the yellow cloth, and about you, my illness immediately disappeared." She wrote about 4 or 5 pages. It took many days to get here, passing through Chulalongkorn University and from there to the Wat. As soon as Phra Viggo read the letter tears came to his eyes. He translated it for me. At that time he had asked for me to give one hour a day of my time to him, at nine every evening. I wasn't go anywhere at that time. He said that he had come a long way, crossed the oceans, so that I couldn't go anywhere else, I had to give one hour for him. All that I have said is backed by evidence.

After meditation it is easier to memorize scriptures

As time went on Viggo was finishing his studies and was preparing to go back to Norway. They have a rule there that whenever a young man finishes his studies he must go into the army for a year. There is no selection, all are oblighed. This was the law in his country. Everybody had to be a soldier for one year, but they didn't go to war with anybody. Viggo came to tell me that he was finishing his Master's Degree, but he wanted to stay in Thailand for another year: what should he do?

I advised him to do the same as before: to sit for two hours, walk for two hours and then dedicate the merits of his action to:

1. The King of Thailand
2. The Dean and teachers in his faculty at University.
3. The country of Norway, his father, mother and teachers.
4. Then to dedicate the merits to the Ministry of Defence, asking them to defer his conscription into the army for another years.

Viggo practiced in this way two nights in a row, then he took leave of the robes to return to the University. When he was disrobing he tole me that if he did not get permission to stay longer he would write me a letter to explain, it may take a long time, but if he was able to stay longer he would immediately send me a telegram. He asked me whether he would end up marrying Ratree, a young Thai lady with whom he had been in love for many years, ever since he was in Norway. He asked me whether I thought it was appropriate.

I told him that I didn't know, he should sit in meditation and look into it for himself whether he would be marring her. This is another of the benefits of sitting meditation. He went to sit and shortly came to tell me, "Luang Poh, it seems we won't be getting married after all." How did he know? His mindfulness told him, his recollection of past lives. He had not married with this girl before. He said "I will go and marry a girl who is crippled and orphaned. That's what appeared in my meditation."

Eventually he went back to Norway. He was better than the Thais: he put some candles on a tray with some flowers and a bundle of offerings and went to pay respects to the Dean of his faculty and asked for his blessing; he took his leave everywhere in all different places that he'd been. The Thais don't bother: they don't ask for any blessings, as soon as they disrobe they run away without even taking leave and receiving a blessing from their teacher. They don't receive any blessing, so they don't live long.

I had him make a wrapping of silk cloth to offer to the Dean of his faculty. He entered the room and hadn't even put the tray down when his teacher said, "Viggo, you can stay for another year." The tears streamed down his face when he heard the news. It seemed there was a letter from the Ministry of Defence in Norway allowing him to stay in Thailand for another year. He stayed only for one night and came straight back to report to me. This is an example of the power of meritorious actions. Think about it for yourselves. This really happened, an instance of spreading merits and goodwill enablish him to stay for another year. When he returned to Norway he became a soldier, and he sent me news regularly.

One thing I am happy about: the government once sent some power station officials to look at the work in Norway. I sent a letter informing Viggo about it, and he let them stay at his house. They opened up a power station in Norway on a Sunday. He was the head of the power plant. He said he loved Thai people like his own children, because they had helped his own son to ordain in the Buddhist religion. THe Ambassador from Norway came to the Wat here to see me: he wanted to see the religious leader who was able to get their son to ordain.

Viggo left Thailand and became a soldier for one year, then he became a teacher in Denmark, teaching at the Denmark University. Later on he had chance to come here and do a thesis on spirits. They gave a three year sabbatical. Eventually he met up with his deformed wife and they got married in Denmark. She really was deformed, and she was an orphan. She was a teacher of Mandarin Chinese. She had polio in the leg and couldn't walk properly. She had been deformed every since childhood. She was from the Philippines. Her relatives had sent her to study in Denmark, and she became a teacher in Denmark University too. That's where they met and fell in love. He didn't have to go to a fortune teller. When they had s son Viggo came to Thailand to do his thesis on spirits in Chiang Mai. He spent a year and a half writing it, then he went back to Denmark to teach about whether there were ghosts or not.

When he came back he brought his wife and they came to see me. He came to show that he really had married a deformed girl, just as he said he would. She became a Buddhist like her husband, and they have adhered to Buddhism to the present day. She was originally a Christian. They brought their son as well and stayed in the Wat many days. He went up to write his thesis on where spirits come from and what they are like and why do people believe in them. Now he is a professor. At his house there is a table-chrine that I sent to him.

That's the story of Viggo, who came to practice insight meditation at Wat Ambhavan and was able to send a psychic telegraph to his friends and relatives in Norway.

"One who has heard much and learned much , is daring and confident, he wavers not.

It is like having friend with you day and night , who guides you in good directions.