Teachings > A Great Man

A Great Man

Today, our topic is: a great man with the liberated mind.

The so-called person or being is composed of, nama and rupa. Nama and rupa (mentality and materiality) are divided into five aggregates. The physical phenomenon is only one aggregate, called rupa-kkhanda. Nama (mentality) consists of four aggregates:

vedana khanda- aggregate of feeling

sanna khanda- aggreagate of perception

sankhra khanda- aggregate of mental formation

vinnana khanda-aggregate of consciousness

Sometimes the Omniscient Buddha gave a discourse summarizing these five aggregates as two processes- nama and rupa, mental and physical phenomena. Thus nama and rupa must be thoroughly realised by the meditator so that he can liberate his mind from all defilements.

To realise nama is much more important than to realise physical phenomena (rupa) because it is nama (mental phenomena) that creates the world. Here the world means all living beings in the world. The Buddha said:

Mano pubbangama dhamma, mano settha manomaya,
Manasa ce padutthena, bhasati va kroti va,
Tato nam dukkha-manveti, cakkam va vahato padam

The mind is the leader,
the mind is the dominant one,
All things are made by the mind.
If one shuld speak or act with a corrupted mind
the dukkha caused by that follows him
as the wheel of a cart does the ox’s hoof.

So when you do an unwholesome deed, the cause is unwholesome mentality, unwholesome mental states. Unwholesome mental states are called akusala in Pali. Wholesome mental states are called kusala. Wholesome mind brings about wholesome speech and deed.

The original cause of good deed and good speech is a wholesome mind. The original cause of bad deed and bad speech an unwholesome mind. When the mind is unwholesome, deed and speech become unwholesome and this produces suffering. When the mind is wholesome, then deed and speech is wholesome, which produces happiness and peace.

So the mind is the most important thing of all. The mind is much more important than the body. That is why the Buddha says vimutta-citto. He doesn’t say vimutta-kaya. Vimutta-citto means ‘liberated mind’. If we say vimutta-kaya it means ‘liberated body’. The Buddha never says vimutta-kaya, liberated body, he always says vimutta-citta, liberated mind. Why? Because when the mind is liberated from defilements and suffering, the body also becomes liberated from suffering.

As you know, the Venerable Mogallana had a liberated mind, completely liberated from all defilements through to the final stage of enlightenment, arahantship. But when he was about to pass away, he was killed by some robbers, because of his past karma. The robbers thought that the Venerable one was dead but actually he was not yet dead as he had entered into phalasama patti, which protected his life against any killing. He was beaten to ‘a sack of chaff’ but he did not feel any mental suffering because his mind was liberated from deflements, he was not attached to his body. He saw unpleasant physical sensations as arising and passing away, just as a natural process of feeling or sensation.

Though his body was injured and beaten very badly, he didn’t feel any painful sensation, he didn’t feel any suffering because his mind was liberated from all defilements. He didn’t take his body to be himself, he saw it as ever-changing mental and physical phenomena. Then he was liberated from physical suffering too. I his mind was not liberated from defilements, he would have suffered a great deal. Now he doesn’t take any mental and physical phenomena to be a person or a self, a being or a man.

That is why the Buddha said the mind should be liberated from defilements. When the mind is liberated, you don’t have either mental or physical suffering. That’s why the Buddha teaches us to see things as they naturally are, by means of mindfulness meditation. That is why we have to practise mindfulness meditation so that we can liberate the mind from defilements.

How can we liberate the mind from defilements and suffering? One day the Venerable Sariputta went to the Ominiscient Buddha and asked Him a question. Venerable Sir, ‘a Great Man’, thus people speak. How far is one a Great Man?” The Buddha said: With mind liberated is one a Great Man. With mind not liberated, one is not a Great Man.”

‘Great Man’ is maha purisa in Pali. In Scripture, the phrase maha purisa refers to the Buddha. In some cases, it means ‘noble man’. ‘With the mind liberated’ is vimutta-citto in Pali. Vimutta means liberated, citto means mind. Then the Buddha continued to explain how the mind can be liberated:

Idha Sariputta bhikkhu kaye kayanupassi viharati
atapi sampajano satima vineyya loke abhihjjha domanassam.

Sariputta, a buikkhu lives practising contemplation on the body as body, practising contemplation on feeling as feeling, practising contemplation on consciousness as consciousness (or mind as mind), practising contemplation on phenomena as phenomena, ardent, clearly comprehending and mindful. In this way, having abandoned covousness and grief in the world.”

Because he practises comtemplation of body, feeling, mind and phenomena, his mind becomes detached from everything, then it is liberated from all kinds of asava. Asava here refers to all kinds of mental defilements. In this way, his mind is liberated from asava and he is Great Man with liberated mind. If a man does not practise contemplation of body, feeling, mind and phenomena, he is not a Great Man because hid mind is not liberated from defilements.

Here the Buddha says ‘to liberate one’s mind, one should practise contemplation on the body as body, feeling as feeling, consciousness as consciousness and phenomena as phenomena’. Here the Buddha teaches the four foundations of mindfulness or the four types of mindfulness.

mindfulness of the body-kaya nupassana satipathana

mindfulness of feeling or senation - vedana nupassana satipathana

mindfulness of mind or consciousness - citta nupassana satipatthana

mindfulness of phenomena - dhamma nuppassana satipatthana

The Buddha said, if he practise this mindfulness, his mind will be detached from everything. Then it will be liberated from defilements.” So the mindfulness meditation you are now practising is the way to be a Great Man with the mind liberated from defilements.

Here a Great Man refers to an arahant. But here we must note that the Buddha didn’t say vimutta kaya, liberated body. He said vimutta citto, liberated mind. So the most important thing is to be aware of any mental states that arise from moment to moment.

In Mahasatipatthana Sutta the Buddha teaches us mindfulness of consciouness in some detail:

Saragamva cittam saragam cittamti pajanati.
Vitaragam va cittam vitaragam cittanmti pajajati.

This means, when the mind is with lust, you should observe it as with lust.” When it happens in your mind that lust arises, at that moment you should note lust, lust; greedy, greedy; desire, desire and so on. Here the Buddha uses the word raga. The word raga covers all senses of lust, love, greed, desire, craving, attachment and grasping. So when there is desire in your mind you should observe it as desire, desire, desire. When greed arise, you should observe it as greed, greed,. When there is attachment, you should observe it as attachment, attachment, attachment and so on.

In the Buddhist scripture, these mental states, sometimes, together with mind, are called citta. So mentality is the most important thing to be aware of, to be mindful of, in the world. Why? Because it is the mind that must be liberated from all kinds of defilements and suffering.

Then again:

Sadosam va cittam sadosam cittamti pajanati.

When you have anger in your mind, you should observe it (anger, anger, anger) as it is. Here also the word dosa covers all senses of anger, hatred, aversion, ill-will. All these are called dosa. So when you have anger in your mind, you should be mindful of it, noting: anger, anger, anger. When you have hatred: hatred, hatred. When you have aversion, you observe it: aversion, aversion, aversion. When you have ill-will, you observe it: ill-will, ill-will, ill-will.

All these are mental states are included in the word citta. So citta nupassana is the most important factor in the four types of mindfulness.

But some meditators do not understand the importance of the consciousness or mind, so they do not try to watch when there is any mental state arising. If a meditator is able to be aware of, to be mindful of, any mental state arising at that moment, then he sure to liberate his mind from defilements while he observing that mental state. That mental state is free from kilesa, defilement.

When he realises the arising and passing away of a mental state, suppose anger, then he doesn’t take the anger to himself, he doesn’t identify that anger with himself, with a person, a being, a self or soul. Because he realises anger is just a mental state he comes to realise the impersonal nature of the anger, he comes to realise no-self nature of the anger. Then he won’t be attached to the anger or he won’t be attached to his mind, because he sees it as impermenanent or arising and passing away.

The Buddha continued to teach us:
Samkkhittam va cittam samkkhittam cittamti pajanati.

That is the chapter on cittan nupassana satipatthana. Samkkhittm cittam is sloth and torpor, and reluctance to practise meditation and laziness. If you have laziness in your mind, you observe it: lazy, lazy. If yur mind is depressed, note depression, depression. And if your mind is reluctant, note reluctant.

Whatever mental states arise must be observed as they are. This is citta nupassana- to liberate the mind from defilements and suffering.

Then again, the Buddha said:
Vikkhittam va cittam vikkhittam cittamti pajanati.

Here vikkhitta citta means dissipating thought. It covers all the senses of thinking, wandering palnning, seeing mental pictures and so on. So when the mind is wandering, you observe it, ‘wandering, wandering’. When your mind is thinking, you note, ‘thinking, thinking’. When your mind is planning, you note,’planning, planning’ and so on.

To observe or to be mindful of wandering thoughts, thinking mind or imagination is the most important factor to make progress in Vipassana meditation. So when you have these thoughts you should not fail to note them. When thoughts are noted, are observed, they become less and less, concentration becomes better and better. When thoughts are not noted, concentration is not good, it becomes weak. Sometimes you are not aware of thoughts though they are going, wandering. Your mind is wandering, stealthy, planning something in the future. You think you are observing rising-falling or an object of mentality or physicality, but actually you are recollecting something in the past and so on, but you are not aware of it because you think the mind is with an object such as rising-falling, or lifting-dropping. Why? Because you do not observe them when thoughts arise.

When you observe any thought that arises in the sitting as well as the walking you come to realise the true nature of thought if your concentration is good enough. The thought is a mental state which is impermanent, it arises and then passes away. But sometimes you think that thought keeps on going for a very long time. Actually, it is not only one thought. A series of thought processes arises one after another. This is a thought process, not only one thought moment. The thought doesn’t even last a millionth of a second, it arises and instantly passes away. After a previous thought has disappeared, another thought arises and passes away.

But we are not able to discern the thought process. We think this is the only thought that is everlasting and keeps going on. Thus we identify that thought with me or mine, a person or being. It is ‘I’ who thinks, ‘I am thinking about something’. Thus the wrong view of a person or self arises.

In this way, thought is taken to be a person a being or self. Then the wrong idea of that person or being gives rise to many different defilements such as greed, desire, hatred and so on. In this way, your thought or mind is not liberated from defilements because you do not observe it. When you observe it, you come to realise thoughts as a natural process arising and passing away one after another, and then you won’t identify this process with yourself, with me or mine, a person or being, because you rightly understand this as a process of mentality which arise and pass away one after another. Then you don’t have any defilements in your mind because you are realising or rightly understanding the thought as it really is.

It is very interesting to watch the thought process when it arises. When our concentration is deep enough, we see the thinking process as one thought after another, appearing and disappearing. We see the impermanence of the thought, the suffering of being oppressed by arising and passing away. Then we don’t have any mental defilement in our mind. In this way the mind is liberated from defilement.

When our insight into the impersonal nature of the thought becomes mature, we realise or experience one insight knowledge after another until we have attained the final stage of insight knowledge. After that the mind changes into Enlightenment - magga nana- path knowledge. That enlightenment eliminates some aspects of defilement. Then the mind is liberated from some of its defilements. In this way, one stage of Enlightenment after another uproots the defilements. Eventually, the final stage of Enlightenment, arahatta magga uproots all mental defilements completely. Then the mind is completely liberated.

That’s why the Buddha says that when a man practises mindfulness meditation, contemplation on body as body, contemplation on feeling as feeling, contemplation on mind as mind and contemplation on phenomena as phenomena, his mind becomes detached from everything, liberated from all mental defilements. Then he is a Great Man with a liberated mind.

So I would like you not to fail to observe or watch thoughts, good or bad, small or big, that arise in the sitting or walking, observing them energetically, attentively and precisely. Then you are able to liberate your mind from defilements and be a Great Man with a liberated mind.

(Excerpt from a Dhamma-talk by Chammay Sayadaw, at a retreat in Sasana House, Blue Mountains Insight Meditation Centre near Sydney, Australia in March 1998)

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