The Triple Gem, Our Highest Refuge | 13 Sep 2024

Before the Buddha could have a fully purified heart,

He had to build his parami,

Spiritual perfections.

This was done from the virtue of mahakaruna,

Supreme compassion.

The Buddha saw sentient beings as his own children,

Like parents who see their children's suffering and have to help them to be free from that suffering,

And give support to them to have happiness,

Give them an education,

Knowledge,

And for the children to be able to look after themselves.

And if a child doesn't have wisdom and can't look after themselves,

Then the parents will be worried about them.

The Sammasambuddha,

The perfectly self-awakened one,

Was worried about all living beings that were deluded in avijja,

Ignorance,

In the cycle of birth and death,

Which is suffering.

The mind being tricked by ignorance,

Over and over again,

Is born and dies,

Birth and death,

Continuously,

Repeatedly.

At times it will be good,

Being born higher as a deva,

Divine being,

Then coming back down as a human being,

Then born lower than a human again.

The Buddha had metta,

Goodwill,

And compassion,

To build and develop his parami.

This was the supreme compassion of the Buddha,

Boundless and incomparable.

We may look after a family with children of three or five members,

And it's difficult and hard already.

Or in the present day,

Even to look after only one child is hard.

But the Buddha saw countless living beings as being his own children.

The Buddha had supreme effort and diligence to build his parami,

Until it was completely full.

The Buddha was willing to endure births and endure deaths.

He was willing to sacrifice for the benefit of others,

And went through all sorts of suffering,

Troubles and difficulties,

Up until the Buddha could attain to becoming the Sammasambuddha.

This came from the Buddha's supreme compassion,

Which was unequalled and boundless.

So we can recollect this in English,

So that it's brought deep into our hearts and we can feel that the Buddha had supreme compassion that was unequalled.

We praise the Buddha like a tiny bird that chirps into the boundless universe.

We recollect the Buddha's supreme compassion,

Supreme purity and supreme wisdom,

And we have rapture arise.

The Buddha's supreme wisdom was incredibly sharp.

There was none in the three realms of existence that could overcome and be victorious against ignorance.

It was only the Buddha who could win out over ignorance.

The Buddha had trained in a high level of samadhi concentration for an incalculable number of lifetimes,

And in his last life the Buddha developed samadhi,

And in no long time he attained to the highest level of samadhi.

He used the strength of this high level of samadhi and the parami he had to enter into the aspect of wisdom.

From the Buddha's samadhi that was complete and proficient,

He contemplated with wisdom all night until the next morning,

From 2am up to 6am for those four hours about paticca samuppada,

Dependent origination,

Contemplating it forwards and backwards.

Avijja conditions Sankara,

Sankara conditions Vijnana.

He contemplated the Dhamma.

The Buddha said that those with refined wisdom were able to contemplate the Dhamma.

They could see into causes and conditions.

And with the Buddha's mind that was still and very peaceful,

He could see that phenomena was dependent on conditions for it to arise.

There's no self in reality.

But if the mind doesn't have enough peacefulness,

Then we'll see these phenomena as being a self,

As us.

There is a sense of being us.

The defilements are us.

Even if there are no defilements present,

We think it is I who doesn't have defilements.

So there is still a sense of self.

But the Buddha had wisdom that he could overcome ignorance.

He saw it as being just phenomena.

Phenomena as being simply phenomena.

There is no being,

Self,

I or other.

There is no me or them.

There is no one.

The Buddha attained to enlightenment,

Attained to becoming a Sama Sambuddha.

This Dhamma was something incredibly refined.

So we have to build our own Barami.

We recollect the Buddha's virtues.

We develop Samadhi.

We develop mindfulness.

Until our mind is peaceful.

As for the meditation repetition,

Some mentally recite Bhutto,

Bhutto,

Bhutto.

Or use Bhutto Arahang,

Arahang Bhutto.

Or Bhuttang Saranang Gacchami.

It is all Buddha Nusati.

It is teaching the mind to be peaceful.

Or we recollect it in English,

Like I have mentioned.

We follow and contemplate the Buddha's virtues.

And our mind is at ease.

We bring it up often.

And we are aware of the in-breath and out-breath.

We establish our mindfulness in the present moment.

This is building good karma.

It is kusala,

Goodness,

Skillfulness.

Because for karma,

There is the karma that is kusala and akusala,

Good and bad.

And karma is the process that conditions and creates our lives.

It comes from our actions and behaviors we do.

Like today we give alms.

This is building good karma.

We travel from far away,

From Bangkok or further.

We come to practice dhamma,

Keep sila,

Precepts and to bhavana,

Cultivate our minds.

There are those from overseas and many from here.

We are building our behaviors by way of body,

Speech and mind.

We chant the offerings of sangha dharma and for the group pujas.

And it is the karma that we do often,

Every day.

Like coming to the monastery every Sunday.

And at home we practice ourselves,

In our families.

The karma that we do regularly is called achinna gama,

Habitually practiced.

It builds and instructs deep down in the heart in regards to building goodness and skillfulness.

Sometimes there are those that get old,

60 years or another age.

And then coming from causes and conditions,

Following our karma that we've built,

The brain may deteriorate.

But the deep memory doesn't deteriorate.

The actions that we have done are in a very deep part of us.

It's like we meet someone and they tell us to build goodness,

Build goodness.

Make sure to build merit,

Build goodness.

So we can remember this aspect.

We say it often to ourselves.

Why?

Because we have done it often.

The mind has had the thought of building goodness,

Of building good karma regularly.

We have a mind that is humble and respectful.

And the mind is joyous.

So the good or bad behaviours of a human being are up to one's own actions.

Like we are someone who is humble and respectful.

We're someone who gives anumodana,

Rejoices in the goodness of others.

Our mind has more empathy to others.

The mind gives forgiveness,

Has a mind of sympathetic joy.

Then our birth will be in a family of high status.

When we have wisdom,

Then we will be one who learns and is well educated.

We have knowledge and skill more than other people.

Together with the quality of sila.

And the bad karma that one has done in the past,

They give its results.

Which pulls us to do wrong.

One then can be a thief and steal in the online world of today.

And not being aware of the harm and suffering one causes to others.

This is up to the karma that gives its destiny as well.

And the karma that we have done is our actions.

Actions by way of body,

Speech and mind.

We can think of our actions as having great value which we will receive.

It can be compared to like we are searching for something good.

Searching for wealth,

For money,

For gold.

Then we will know what has value or not.

The dirt and ordinary stones have value,

But it is small.

It has the same weight and same quantity.

But are not valuable like minerals,

Gold.

Or the resources more valuable than gold today.

Which are in demand because of new technologies.

They have great value.

So we think what is it that we want.

We want to have material objects or the resources of great value.

They may have the same weight as bricks,

Dirts and stone.

But they will build benefit for our lives and build us greater happiness.

So if we do one act of goodness,

In reality the mind on the inside is changed for the better.

One has more baromi,

One's facial features are brighter.

Because of the goodness from giving dana and keeping sila.

If we compare it with something external,

Then it's as if we get a load of gold,

A load of money.

A resource that has greater value.

But it is by way of the body,

By way of speech,

By way of the mind.

So the actions done by way of the body are the various movements of the body.

Doing various activities.

Helping society.

Helping those in suffering.

From dangers of flood and fire.

And having consideration for others constantly.

And so on.

The Buddha had gained wisdom already and he taught us to have wisdom following him.

We hold on and take as our refuge the enlightened Savaka Sangha disciples of the Buddha.

The Buddha Dhamma Sangha is our supreme refuge and we practice following them.

Because the Sangha practices following the teachings of the Sammasambuddha.

When we practice following the Sangha,

Then we are practicing the teachings of the Sammasambuddha.

And ultimately there will be a Sangha arising in our heart.

Being a lay person,

We have the five precepts and the eight precepts at times.

But we are able to develop our minds and hearts to be a Sangha in the heart.

And this isn't difficult.

Whatever we have a sense of self over,

We contemplate it continually.

What really is this body of ours?

The Buddha said it is the four elements.

The earth element,

Water element,

Fire element,

Wind element.

The wind element,

There is the in and out breath constantly.

When the breath goes in and doesn't come out,

Or goes out and doesn't come in again.

We call it death.

For monks they use the word marana,

Not has died.

But the body is broken all the same.

It is impermanent all the same.

The fire element that is here,

We can touch our hand and it gets hot.

And some people who have strong fire element,

It gets a lot hotter than those with weaker fire element.

But when the fire element dissipates,

Then the body is all cold.

When we are dead,

No one wants to touch it,

Because it's all cold like that.

No one wants it.

It is the elements that are dissipated.

The cells are all dead.

For the water element,

If we throw the dead body away and leave it in a cremation ground,

Then the water element gradually seeps out and evaporates.

And the body becomes dried out.

And the earth element,

It gradually decomposes,

Becoming dirt.

It is hard,

But it can decompose.

The bacteria does its duty to decompose it.

But these days we can't wait for that to happen.

There are too many people who wait for the bodies to decompose.

So we have to cremate it and get rid of it.

Just left with ashes and bones.

The water element evaporates.

There's nothing left.

It's anatta,

Not self already.

So we contemplate that the four elements change like this.

It isn't our self or us.

Can we see it?

But the delusion,

That is the ignorance,

Craving and clinging,

It attaches to the heap of sankhara,

The bodily and mental aggregates,

As being us,

As ours.

And so this is the cause of suffering to arise.

The cause that greed,

Anger,

Delusion arises.

So the Buddha taught us to let go of this sense of self.

To change to a new view.

To have metta to each other.

To be generous.

To give others freedom from fear.

And to have wisdom.

To know in time the form,

Feelings,

Perceptions,

Mental formations and sense consciousness.

To know rupa and nama,

Material and mental phenomena.

The mind learns and understands through sila,

Samadhi,

Anya,

Morality,

Concentration,

Wisdom.

This is walking the noble eightfold path.

Like we are sitting here,

We have sila already.

We have dana and sila.

And we are bringing up mindfulness.

We listen to the dhamma.

We gain dhamma.

And we contemplate to have wisdom arise.

And we begin to understand.

This is how we learn and have dhamma arise.

In the beginning,

We have the triple gem as our refuge.

Bhuttang saranam gacchami.

We have the Buddha,

Dhamma,

Sangha as our highest refuge.

Our most supreme and excellent refuge.

We have our heart to attach to the Buddha first.

To give homage to him.

We recollect the Buddha's purity and incline ourselves to practice following him.

Venerable Ajahn Chah said for us to incline our hearts to go find the Buddha,

Dhamma,

Sangha.

And then we will gain knowledge.

Like we are learning what the teacher is teaching us.

Our mind is interested to learn about it.

And it inclines to those teachings of the teacher.

The child inclines to the teachings of their parents.

And practice following that.

And then they will get good things from that.

Because we don't yet have goodness.

So we must incline our minds to find someone who has goodness.

And then we will get that goodness following them.

And it comes from practice.

And so we have to be determined.

And gather up our strength of mind and heart.

We build good karma.

And give up the bad karma.

And then we will get happiness and growth in the dhamma in this life and the next life.

Because that which we do.

The good or bad karma that we build will follow us to give results to us.

We die and having merit following us.

We may be born again as a deva.

And then being born as a human following karma.

And if we are born as an animal.

Even if it's suffering and difficult.

But by having built good karma.

Then the good karma will follow us.

And promote and support us there as well.

So let us take this to contemplate.

And abandon the bad deeds.

Cultivate goodness.

And purify the mind.

Just build good karma.

And give up bad karma.

And then we'll have happiness in this life and the next life.

May you grow in blessings.