Learning To Accept What’s Normal | 15 Oct 2023

So it's Sunday,

The 15th of October,

2023,

And in not too many days,

Just 14 days,

It will be the end of the rains retreat.

So this year it's the 39th rains retreat of this monastery.

The first was in the year 1985,

And that was the first Vassa,

The first rains retreat that the monks spent at the monastery,

And if I remember correctly,

It was eight monks and one novice who were here,

And so it's passed by,

39 rains already.

So time passes very quickly,

The days,

The nights,

They're falling away,

Passing by.

So what are we doing right now?

And this is something that those who have ordained should contemplate and remind themselves of constantly,

To be reflecting upon this continuously,

The days and nights are passing by,

Passing by.

And so it's not just the days and nights that pass by,

But it's our lives that's passing by as well.

So we should make sure that our lives pass with goodness,

That we're creating this goodness,

That it's not just the days and the nights that are falling away.

These sankharas,

Conditioned formations,

They undergo aging and sickness and death,

And this body is constantly crawling towards death,

Towards this state of not being alive.

And now we have life,

And that's due to the breath that we have.

So this is something that we are aware of.

So we should use this opportunity to create goodness,

That we have this breath.

But that doesn't mean that we have mindfulness,

And there are many people who aren't mindful.

And when we're not mindful,

It's like we're dead people.

So there are a lot of beings in the world who are like this,

Many,

Many of them,

Who are lacking in mindfulness.

So it's like they have died already.

So what that shows is that this having mindfulness and wisdom leads us to the deathless,

This amata,

The state of not dying.

And the highest state of deathless that this mindfulness and wisdom can lead us to is that of not being born.

So if we don't get born,

Then we don't die.

But if we are still being born,

Then we should make sure that we are born into goodness and skillfulness,

Having a belief in kamma.

So we try to develop merit and parami,

The spiritual virtues,

To the fullest of our capabilities.

So there's this punya,

Goodness and skillfulness,

And then there's parami,

These virtues,

Spiritual virtues.

So like sila,

For instance,

This morality,

We keep the five precepts or the eight precepts.

And we have this intention to keep those and to practice,

To look after these five precepts or eight precepts.

And then as we carry on,

We are determined to keep them for our entire lives,

Or we get the determination to ordain and practice.

So we should continuously contemplate how we need to be separated from the things that we like and love,

And how we are of the nature to undergo that experience.

All the things that we like,

That we love,

We need to be separated from them.

If they're not separated from us,

Then we must be separated from them.

That's true for material things as well,

Those that we like and love,

We need to be separated.

So we should contemplate to see the nature of this world,

That it's like this,

That all the beings in this world need to be separated from that which they love.

So really this world,

It's very vast,

And it's enough for all the beings living in it.

But if we don't know how to share with one another,

Like the Buddha taught,

He taught us to be able to share,

And then it becomes small.

So if we know how to share,

Then it's enough,

This world,

For all of us to be able to live together.

But as the people in the world become more and more,

The birth rate increases,

And we don't share with one another,

And the minds of people become darker,

Then really the world is just as it always has been,

But it's like it gets smaller,

Becomes more narrow.

And that's because the hearts of the people in the world are becoming darker.

And so it's like the world becomes smaller than what it was.

It's the minds of the beings don't have a sense of enoughness,

They don't know this enoughness,

Just what's right,

What's enough.

That if we work with a sense of knowing what's right and what's enough,

Then we have happiness in our work,

That we don't seek out too much,

Because if we do then that gives rise to stress.

So in this world people are trying to get too much,

Seeking out too much,

Competing with each other too much.

So there's a lot of stress that appears.

So we should know this sense of what's just right,

This enoughness,

That when we study at school we do so for the sake of gaining knowledge,

So that we can take care of our lives and do that well.

But we shouldn't forget our minds.

We shouldn't just look after our bodies.

So these minds are things that we need to train,

But how is it that we train them?

The reason that we have suffering is because our hearts still don't have wisdom to them.

They don't have enough wisdom to accept the truth.

And this truth is something that we've seen before already,

Like when we chant,

We chant that old age is normal for me,

Sickness is normal for me,

Death is normal for me.

So it's this word normal,

Isn't it?

It's this normality,

Things just being plain and common,

Being normal.

But when old age,

Or when pain and sickness appears,

Our minds can't accept that normality.

And when the mind doesn't accept normality,

Then it becomes abnormal,

That this hatred appears within it,

Dislike appears within it,

Sorrow,

Sadness appears.

And that's because we haven't accepted normality.

We don't want things to be like this,

We want them to be some other way.

And so we don't see the Dhamma.

So the perfectly self-awakened Buddha,

He accepted this truth.

And so he attained to the Dhamma.

He accepted the truth of conditioned things.

And then he taught the Buddhists to know in line with what he had discovered.

So Venerable Ajna Kondanya,

He accepted this normality,

How things which are of the nature to arise,

They are of the nature to cease.

It's normal that when things arise,

Then they cease.

And so he saw the Dhamma.

And when Venerable Asajji taught Sariputta,

He taught him about Dhammas having causes for their arising,

And when those causes cease,

Then those Dhammas cease.

So Dukkha,

This discontent or suffering,

It has its causes,

And Nirodha,

Cessation of Dukkha,

That too has its causes.

So the cause for Nirodha is Magga,

So this noble path.

And then when we do that,

When we follow that,

Then Nirodha appears.

And like when there's tanha as well,

There's craving,

Then suffering appears.

And if that cause for suffering disappears,

Then suffering just can't arise.

So therefore,

We all need to accept this nature of normality,

And try to bring up wisdom like this.

But for wisdom to come up,

We need mindfulness.

So these qualities,

These things are connected to one another.

In order to have mindfulness,

Then we need virtue,

And we need samadhi,

Which is firm.

And in order to develop these,

We need to train each day.

When it comes time for meditation,

Then we walk and sit in meditation,

Cultivating our minds,

Practicing,

So that our hearts can see normality and attain to normality,

Which means that they can see the Dhamma.

So sometimes in the hearts we think,

Is that all there is to it?

Is that all there is to the teachings of the Buddha?

And it is just this,

It's just this much,

But are we able to do it?

Can we really accept these things?

Can we accept this normality?

So like when sickness arrives,

Are we able to accept that?

And how is that normal?

Well this body,

It's a conditioned thing.

And so how could it be any other way?

When these conditioned things,

They have causes and conditions which give rise to them.

So when those causes and conditions are present,

Then that thing arises.

When those causes and conditions are absent,

Then it ceases.

And so it's just these things,

These conditioned things,

Sankharas,

They just can't stay on.

And it's normal for it to be that way.

But we,

Having been born,

We want to stay in this world for a very long time.

And this is a wish that's very hard to fulfill,

Having a long life.

And when we die we want to go to heaven,

And this too is a wish that is not easy to get.

It depends upon the merits that we have created.

So therefore whether we live for a long time or a short time,

It's all normal,

And it depends upon causes and conditions.

But we should be careful here as well,

We shouldn't be careless,

Thinking that,

Well a lifespan is whatever it is,

It's just normal,

So now I can do whatever I want,

I can eat whatever I want.

That we need to contemplate,

Well,

We need to contemplate the food that we eat,

And don't be careless about that.

That if any foods are the causes for illness,

Then we should refrain from them.

Because if we don't,

If we eat excessively,

Then this becomes the cause for the body to deteriorate quickly,

And for us to die quickly.

So we need to be careful as well,

Looking after our health,

Staying within the bounds of a healthy lifestyle.

So we exercise,

And we look after these bodies,

We eat healthily,

And we also try to maintain a mind which is full of freshness and vitality.

And these are things which help us to have a long life.

So we can gain a long life to one level,

But we can't have a very long life.

That we need to meet with old age and sickness,

We need to die,

And these are normal things.

And so there is a monastery,

The name of that is called the Forest Monastery of Normality,

The Normal Forest Monastery.

So that name,

It's teaching the people that go there to accept this,

Accept what's normal.

Like Digha Naka Brahman,

He listened to the teachings of the Buddha,

And then he could accept this normality,

How old age,

Sickness,

And death are normal things,

And then he saw the Dhamma.

But if we can't accept that,

It shows we don't have wisdom,

And we're just not giving in.

We want to stay for a long time,

And we can't accept the truth.

We think that this sankara,

This conditioned body,

It really is me,

It belongs to me,

And we're deluded in that.

It's like we've borrowed nature from the world,

Or like we're living in a home that we've rented.

And as we live there,

Then we pay the rent,

And pay the rent,

But eventually we stop paying the rent,

Because we come to believe that this home really belongs to me.

But then the owner comes to get the house back,

But we have forgotten,

We think that the house really belongs to me.

So it's the same with this body,

It's like old age is coming to us,

And reminding us that we have to give this body back.

Sickness is telling us we have to give the body back,

And death is coming to get the body back.

And so the world,

It wants this thing back,

It wants its nature back,

And the world,

It doesn't have a boss,

Doesn't have a leader,

That old age,

Sickness,

And death are running this.

So the perfectly self-awakened Buddha,

He had such incredible wisdom,

But still his conditioned body was a normal thing as well,

And even that needed to break apart,

Even though he had realized Nibbana.

And his disciples too,

Some had great psychic powers,

Like Mahamoggalana,

But still his conditioned body couldn't stay on in this world.

Venerable Sariputta,

The right-hand disciple of great wisdom,

His conditioned body couldn't stay on.

Ajahn Man,

His conditioned body couldn't stay on.

All his great disciples,

Their bodies couldn't stay on.

Even though they had such great barami,

They created so much merit,

So no matter how much merit we've created,

No matter how much wealth we have in this world,

No matter how much wisdom we have,

We need to leave this body behind in this world,

And we can't stay on.

And why is that?

Well it's because that's what's normal.

That if no one died,

If there was just birth,

Then how would we live together?

How would everyone survive?

If there was just more and more births,

Or people being born,

But no one died,

Then what would that be like in this world,

And how could we all stay together?

Where would there be room?

And so the Buddha,

He passed into final Nibbana 2,

566 years ago,

But say a hundred years before he was born,

Then was it normal that people were born and people died?

That if that wasn't the case,

If no one died,

Then how would people during the time of the Buddha be able to survive?

And how would we be able to survive now?

The world would just be overflowing,

Because there wasn't death.

So we should contemplate this,

This nature of normality,

And then we'll see the Dhamma,

This Dhamma of arising,

Persisting,

Ceasing.

And Sotapannas,

Stream-enters,

This is what they see,

And so they gain the eye of the Dhamma.

They see things like this,

This arising and ceasing,

But we need to see this with genuine wisdom.

Like when we chant these truths,

We just chant but it doesn't go in deep,

It's just a memory that we're bringing up.

So we should contemplate as well,

That when we chant this,

We contemplate along with it,

So that it goes deep into our hearts,

That something feels really,

We feel that profoundly,

That life is like this,

It's normal like this,

Normal for us to get old,

To get sick and to die.

And we contemplate that until it's a profound realization that we have,

Until our minds become very still,

And this becomes clear,

And we see arising and ceasing,

And we see the Dhamma,

And see how all things that arise,

They need to fall apart,

And this is something that is normal,

This nature of normality.

Or we can contemplate into a Nietzsche,

This nature of change or inconstancy,

And teach our minds through this,

So that wisdom arises,

That when we get old,

We tell ourselves this is normal.

If there's pain in the body,

In the stomach,

Or we have to get an operation,

Then this is something that is normal.

These bodies,

They're comprised of the four elements,

And so they need to get sick,

Undergo change,

And when this happens,

We can tell ourselves this is the Dhamma arising for us.

So we should know that,

That this is Dhamma appearing for us,

And contemplate this each day,

Just like this,

Until joy arises through seeing that this is something that's normal.

And sometimes you may think,

Well,

I'm still young,

So why is this happening to me?

Why am I getting sick like this?

But it's normal,

But we don't decide for these things to happen.

And some people,

They're maybe 30 years old,

28 years old,

And they think,

Well,

Why am I experiencing this sickness?

Why am I experiencing this pain?

But these are not sure things,

Our health is not sure.

So we should all accept this normality,

And if we do that,

Then we will see the Dhamma.

So may you set your heart on this.