(Talk no.60hh - edited transcript) YouTube Majjhima Nikāya 151: Piṇḍapātapārisuddhi Sutta: The Alms-round Purification Practice.

Thus have I heard: At one time the Blessed One was dwelling at Rājagaha, in the Veḡuvana, at the Kalandakanivāpa.

Then, in the evening, the venerable Sāriputta rose from solitude, approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, and sat down to one side.

The Blessed One said: “Sāriputta, your faculties are indeed bright, and your complexion pure and clear. With what abiding do you now often dwell?”

“I now often dwell in emptiness, venerable sir.”

“Good, good, Sāriputta. You now often dwell in the abiding of a great person. And what is that abiding of a great person? It is emptiness.”

Therefore, if a bhikkhu should wish: ‘May I often dwell with the abiding in emptiness,’ that bhikkhu should reflect thus: ‘On the path by which I entered the village for alms, in the region in which I wandered for alms, and on the path by which I returned from the village after alms-round, is there for me, towards forms cognizable by the eye, any desire, passion, aversion, delusion, or resistance of the citta?’

If a bhikkhu, on reflection, knows thus: ‘On the path by which I entered the village for alms, in the region in which I wandered for alms, and on the path by which I returned from the village after alms-round, there is for me, towards forms cognizable by the eye, desire, passion, aversion, delusion, or resistance of the citta,’ then that bhikkhu should strive for the abandoning of those very evil, unwholesome states.

If, however, a bhikkhu, on reflection, knows thus: ‘On the path by which I entered the village for alms, in the region in which I wandered for alms, and on the path by which I returned from the village after alms-round, there is not for me, towards forms cognizable by the eye, any desire, passion, aversion, delusion, or resistance of the citta,’ then that bhikkhu should dwell with that very joy and gladness, training day and night in wholesome states.

Furthermore, a bhikkhu should reflect thus: ‘On the path by which I entered the village for alms, in the region in which I wandered for alms, and on the path by which I returned from the village after alms-round, is there for me, towards sounds cognizable by the ear… towards odors cognizable by the nose… towards tastes cognizable by the tongue… towards tangibles cognizable by the body… towards dharmas cognizable by the mano, any desire, passion, aversion, delusion, or resistance of the citta?’ If a bhikkhu, on reflection, knows thus: ‘…there is for me, towards dharmas cognizable by the mano, desire, passion, aversion, delusion, or resistance of the citta,’ then that bhikkhu should strive for the abandoning of those very evil, unwholesome states. If, however, a bhikkhu, on reflection, knows thus: ‘…there is not for me, towards dharmas cognizable by the mano, any desire, passion, aversion, delusion, or resistance of the citta,’ then that bhikkhu should dwell with that very joy and gladness, training day and night in wholesome states.

Furthermore, a bhikkhu should reflect thus: ‘Have the five strands of sensual pleasure been abandoned by me?’ If a bhikkhu, on reflection, knows thus: ‘The five strands of sensual pleasure have not been abandoned by me,’ then that bhikkhu should strive for the abandoning of the five strands of sensual pleasure. If, however, a bhikkhu, on reflection, knows thus: ‘The five strands of sensual pleasure have been abandoned by me,’ then that bhikkhu should dwell with that very joy and gladness, training day and night in wholesome states.

Furthermore, a bhikkhu should reflect thus: ‘Have the five hindrances been abandoned by me?’ If a bhikkhu, on reflection, knows thus: ‘The five hindrances have not been abandoned by me,’ then that bhikkhu should strive for the abandoning of the five hindrances. If, however, a bhikkhu, on reflection, knows thus: ‘The five hindrances have been abandoned by me,’ then that bhikkhu should dwell with that very joy and gladness, training day and night in wholesome states. Furthermore, a bhikkhu should reflect thus: ‘Have the five assumed aggregates been fully understood by me?’ If a bhikkhu, on reflection, knows thus: ‘The five assumed aggregates have not been fully understood by me,’ then that bhikkhu should strive for the full understanding of the five assumed aggregates. If, however, a bhikkhu, on reflection, knows thus: The five assumed aggregates have been fully understood by me,’ then that bhikkhu, Sāriputta, should dwell with that very joy and gladness, training day and night in wholesome states. Furthermore, a bhikkhu should reflect thus: ‘Have the four foundations of sati been developed by me?’ If a bhikkhu, on reflection, knows thus: ‘The four foundations of sati have not been developed by me,’ then that bhikkhu should strive for the development of the four foundations of sati. If, however, a bhikkhu, on reflection, knows thus: ‘The four foundations of sati have been developed by me,’ 3 then that bhikkhu should dwell with that very joy and gladness, training day and night in wholesome states. Furthermore, a bhikkhu should reflect thus: ‘Have the four right strivings been developed by me?’ If a bhikkhu, on reflection, knows thus: ‘The four right strivings have not been developed by me,’ then that bhikkhu should strive for the development of the four right strivings. If, however, a bhikkhu, on reflection, knows thus: ‘The four right strivings have been developed by me,’ then that bhikkhu should dwell with that very joy and gladness, training day and night in wholesome states. Furthermore, a bhikkhu should reflect thus: ‘Have the four bases of power been developed by me?’ If a bhikkhu, on reflection, knows thus: ‘The four bases of power have not been developed by me,’ then that bhikkhu should strive for the development of the four bases of power. If, however, a bhikkhu, on reflection, knows thus: ‘The four bases of power have been developed by me,’ then that bhikkhu should dwell with that very joy and gladness, training day and night in wholesome states. Furthermore, a bhikkhu should reflect thus: ‘Have the five faculties been developed by me?’ If a bhikkhu, on reflection, knows thus: ‘The five faculties have not been developed by me,’ then that bhikkhu should strive for the development of the five faculties. If, however, a bhikkhu, on reflection, knows thus: ‘The five faculties have been developed by me,’ then that bhikkhu should dwell with that very joy and gladness, training day and night in wholesome states. Furthermore, a bhikkhu should reflect thus: ‘Have the five powers been developed by me?’ If a bhikkhu, on reflection, knows thus: ‘The five powers have not been developed by me,’ then that bhikkhu should strive for the development of the five powers. If, however, a bhikkhu, on reflection, knows thus: ‘The five powers have been developed by me,’ then that bhikkhu should dwell with that very joy and gladness, training day and night in wholesome states. Furthermore, a bhikkhu should reflect thus: ‘Have the seven factors of the enlightened been developed by me?’ If a bhikkhu, on reflection, knows thus: ‘The seven factors of the enlightened have not been developed by me,’ then that bhikkhu should strive for the development of the seven factors of the enlightened. If, however, a bhikkhu, on reflection, knows thus: ‘The seven factors of the enlightened have been developed by me,’ then that bhikkhu should dwell with that very joy and gladness, training day and night in wholesome states. Furthermore, a bhikkhu should reflect thus: ‘Has the noble eightfold path been developed by me?’ If a bhikkhu, on reflection, knows thus: ‘The noble eightfold path has not been developed by me,’ then that bhikkhu should strive for the development of the noble eightfold path. If, however a bhikkhu, on reflection, knows thus: ‘The noble eightfold path has been developed by me,’ then that bhikkhu should dwell with that very joy and gladness, training day and night in wholesome states. 4 Furthermore, a bhikkhu should reflect thus: ‘Have calm and insight been developed by me?’ If a bhikkhu, on reflection, knows thus: ‘Calm and insight have not been developed by me,’ then that bhikkhu should strive for the development of calm and insight. If, however, a bhikkhu, on reflection, knows thus: ‘Calm and insight have been developed by me,’ then that bhikkhu should dwell with that very joy and gladness, training day and night in wholesome states. Furthermore, a bhikkhu should reflect thus: ‘Have knowledge and liberation been realized by me?’ If a bhikkhu, on reflection, knows thus: ‘Knowledge and liberation have not been realized by me,’ then that bhikkhu should strive for the realization of knowledge and liberation. If, however, a bhikkhu, on reflection, knows thus: ‘Knowledge and liberation have been realized by me,’ then that bhikkhu should dwell with that very joy and gladness, training day and night in wholesome states. Whoever indeed, were any ascetics or brahmins in the past who purified their almsfood, all of them purified their almsfood by reflecting just so. Whoever indeed, will be any ascetics or brahmins in the future time who will purify their almsfood, all of them will purify their almsfood by reflecting just so. Whoever indeed, are any ascetics or brahmins at the present time who purify their almsfood, all of them purify their almsfood by reflecting just so. Therefore, Sāriputta, you should train thus: ‘We will purify our almsfood by repeatedly reflecting.’ This the Blessed One said. Delighted, the venerable Sāriputta rejoiced in the Blessed One’s utterance. Ajahn Nyanamoli: The first reflection in terms of going on alms round: It’s an active discernment of greed, aversion, and delusion. He doesn’t give in to it, doesn’t delight in it. That’s what it means when he trains day and night. He keeps reviewing the experience as a whole. He just keeps a peripheral vision, as far as he can see in the background of his mind: Is there greed? Is there aversion? Is there an inclination towards greed? Is there an inclination towards aversion? Is there an inclination towards delusion? By delusion, I mean distraction. Delusion is when there is obviously no sensuality or ill will, but it’s something that results in a loss of mindfulness. By definition, it’s like mental indolence, or choosing something that will distract you, even if it’s not coarsely unwholesome per se. For example, thinking, Oh, I would like to go and talk to wise people and maybe meet with some other monks. But it’s rooted in a desire to distract yourself from yourself. So that’s a delusion. That’s why it’s subtle; and why it’s the hardest to undo, because it’s not obviously unwholesome. You need to remove even the slightest layers 5 of bad faith that make you believe you are doing it for good reasons, while you are really just doing it to distract yourself. The Practice of Constant Mindfulness So that is what it means that he practices day and night. He keeps a watchful eye on the horizon of his mind. What’s coming? If it’s wholesome, if it’s unwholesome… If it’s not unwholesome, he abides gladly. He is quite happy and bright in that sense because he knows exactly what he needs to do, and he’s doing it. This is opposed to getting all caught up and wound up and intense, not knowing what he’s doing, and then doing everything and nothing at the same time, and just getting tied into a knot. Then you have a huge energy release and think, Wow, that was so powerful, but still, you are not a step closer to discerning the nature of greed, aversion, and delusion. Is it present? Am I fueling it? Am I maintaining it? Am I entertaining it? Bhikkhu: The sutta says that he abides happy and glad, training night and day in wholesome states, which is the absence of unwholesome. Nm: Exactly. He is discerning the absence of unwholesome states, and that is his abiding. That is his meditation. That is his samādhi. That results in Nibbāna if developed fully. He doesn’t discern wholesome and unwholesome and then goes and does some focussing meditation technique that helps him feel good. This is done day and night, not for half an hour a day. From when he wakes up until he goes to sleep, he does not entertain unwholesome states and is not negligent. Not in regard to everything—just in regard to the things that matter: greed, aversion, and delusion. Things like wanting in the sense of delighting in it; things like aversion in the sense of rejecting it, trying to get rid of it; and delusion, things like trying to distract himself from himself.

Discerning Māra’s Bait: The Simile of the Deer Herd

Aversion is not only obvious hate. Aversion is trying to get rid of the spontaneously arisen sensual thought—a thought of a beautiful object of sight, sound, smell, taste, or touch. It has arisen on its own. Just as sights come into the range of the eye, thoughts come into the range of the mind. That’s not your doing. Not knowing that it’s not your doing, you will try to get rid of it. You will be overstepping the mark.

It’s like the simile of the bait in the deer herd sutta (Mn25), where the second herd sees the first herd eat carelessly—engaging in sensuality—and because of that, they are subjected to Māra’s control. But then the second herd shuns the whole thing. They don’t discern the extent of Māra’s bait; they just say no to all of it. And that is usually the first response: Oh, I must not do this. I must not have this. That’s attachment. Sights are attachments, thoughts are attachments, everything is an attachment, because you can’t differentiate. So then you want to throw all of it away.

That becomes your aversion. Whenever these things arise, you overstep your mark and you are shunning it. And that’s how you get hooked. Because either way, you interfere with it.

There are much subtler layers of aversion than just hatred and irritation. You can have an aversion to your own senses and the objects that have appeared. There is the pressure of a beautiful object, and you are averse because you are afraid of the consequences. But being afraid of the consequences is one thing; actually giving in to the aversion and actively trying to deny the thought is rooted in aversion. So that is also unwholesome, and because of that, you keep engaging with it.

You are not the one responsible for the bait. It is Māra. That sutta doesn’t say the deer sets up the bait. No, Māra sets up the bait—the beautiful, enticing object that makes the deer get trapped. So you start discerning the bait. The Buddha says the final deer herd learns how to eat carefully, so they eat around the bait. Because if you shun the bait, you’ll get caught. If you eat carelessly, you’ll get caught. So you learn how to eat carefully.

You are mindful in regard to that which can entrap you, and you don’t engage with it—either through delighting in it or overly rejecting it. You learn how to allow it to endure. Having arisen, you know it will cease, so you don’t have to do anything. It’s not your problem. And that is how Māra cannot see you. Because Māra can only see you when there is a form of engagement with the bait that he sets up. Based on the engagement, he can gauge where you are.

The Meaning of Emptiness (Sōnyatā)

B: And just to clarify what emptiness is. It’s not a place, or some magical dimension.

Nm: No, it’s not a mystical reality. It is the absence of unwholesome states. That’s what you are empty of.