BUDDHISM IN KERALA

Friday, April 9, 2010

Friends:

Mind and Matter: Only a Momentary Arising & Ceasing!

As arising occurs the mind notices it, therefore do the emerged object and the mind coincide!
As ceasing occurs the mind also notices it, and thus the object and the mind coincide!
In all perception, at each event of noting, there is always this twin pair, the object & the mind,
which knows the object. These two elements of the object and the knowing mind always arise
in pairs, and apart from these 2, there does not exist any other thing in the form of a 'person',
an 'observer', an 'experiencer', nor any 'Ego', 'Subject', or any 'Self'! No identity is present!
This reality of impersonality will be intuitively realized in due course. The fact that materiality
and mentality are two distinct phenomena, will be clearly perceived during the time of noting
"arising, arising & ceasing, ceasing" at all times. The two elements of materiality and mentality
are linked up in pairs and their arising coincides, that is, the process of materiality arises all
together with the process of mentality, which knows it. The process of materiality when ceasing,
fades away together with the process of mentality, which experiences it. It is the same for
lifting, moving and placing the foot or hand: Physical or material processes arises & ceases,
starting and ending, together within the same mental processes, which induce & know them.
This subtle knowledge is called the discriminating knowledge of mentality-materiality.
It is a preliminary stage on the long path of insight knowledge. It is important to have this
preliminary stage understood in an accurate way! Continuing the praxis of reflecting & noting
for some time, there will be considerable progress in the quality & alertness of both Awareness
and Concentration. It will then be detectable that on every occasion of noting, each process of
mentality & materiality, arises & passes away, exactly at that very moment! It all ends instantly,
right there & then. While walking: It is not the same foot, that is put down, as that lifted...
The lifted foot ended right there and then. The foot put down arised there right after that!
However, uninstructed people often believes that forms, the body & the mind remains the same,
in a permanent stable state, throughout life, so the same body of childhood has grown up into
adulthood, and that the same young mind has grown up into maturity, and finally that both this
continuously changing body & this always changing mind are one & the same person at all times...
In reality, this is not so. Nothing is permanent! Everything comes into a temporary existence for
a moment & then passes instantly away! Nothing can remain even for the blink of an eye...
Changes are taking place very swiftly & will be clearly perceived & recognized after due training.
While carrying on the contemplation by noting: "arising arising, ceasing ceasing", one will perceive
that these processes arise & fade away one after another in ultra quick succession. On perceiving
that everything passes away at the very point of noting it, the yogi knows directly & sees directly,
that nothing is permanent! This knowledge regarding the impermanent nature of all phenomena is
knowledge of impermanence! The yogi then knows that this ever-changing state of things, is very
distressing and is not to be desired. It can never be kept. Not something pleasant or pleasing.
Neither something agreeable nor satisfying. This is reflective realistic knowledge of Suffering!
On suffering many painful feelings, this body and mind complex is recognized as a mere cluster
of sole suffering. This is also the reflective knowledge of suffering. It is then observed, that
these elements of impersonal materiality & mentality, whether internal or external, never follow
one's wish to be satisfied, but arise & cease according to their very own inherent given nature,
outer circumstances and conditioning. While being engaged in the act of noting these processes,
the yogi understands, that these processes are not controllable and that they are neither any
'person', a 'me', an 'I', an 'Ego', nor a 'living entity', nor something 'Mine', nor any 'My Self'.
This is reaching the reflective knowledge of no-self. When a yogi has completely developed the
knowledge of impermanence, suffering & no-self, he will realize the state called Nibbāna...
From time immemorial, Buddhas, Arahats and The Noble Ariyas have realized this Nibbāna by
this very same method of insight: Seeing any body as merely a changing form, noting any feeling
as merely a transient reaction, knowing any mentality to be just a passing mood, and by realizing
that any phenomena simply is a momentary mental state! This, only this, in itself, is the highway
leading to Nibbāna ...!!!

The Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw, Burma. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahasi_Sayadaw

The Momentary Energy of Thought = Selective Choice!
Local Order! => Local Entropy fall compensated by a
Universal Entropy increase! This induces a variation in
the a priori probability distribution for all future events!
This is the 'physical' reason of moral kammic efficacy!
Like putting a nail in a dice! All future throws are biased.