Contemplation of death, done rightly ____________________________________ If you wish to support the Hillside Hermitage Sangha and this channel you are very welcome to do so via: www.hillsidehe...
"You wouldn't appreciate stuff if you are aware of the imminent danger of that stuff." So true. Gratitude being dangerous - controversial, of course, but true. Gratitude only "works" if you already have defilements of greed, lust, misplaced ownership etc, but it just covers over the actual problem.
"Gratitude" (and "loving life") is another pleasant thing to look at (mentally), to feel, and it's mine (and on my terms). And a mind addicted to pleasant things, will jump at the opportunity to look at anything even remotely pleasant, just to cover up or avoid the abyss.
Whilst being mindful of death and dispassionate to sensory pleasures is it contradictory to rejoice in lifes interactions with one another expressed through humility and gratitude as opposed to craving and desire. Deepest gratitude for such clear expression of dhamma.
I don’t notice that on my iPhone XS max at all. At least for this video. The volume seems perfectly fine and I don’t even have it halfway to maximum volume. maybe you’re listening to it in a loud environment?
Saṁyutta Nikāya - 22.32. The Fragile “Bhikkhus, I will teach you the fragile and the unfragile. “what, bhikkhus, is the fragile, and what the unfragile? Form is the fragile; its cessation, subsiding, passing away is the unfragile. Feeling is the fragile … Perception is the fragile … Volitional formations are the fragile … Consciousness is the fragile; its cessation, subsiding, passing away is the unfragile.”
A related Dhamma talk: Appointment with Death ua-cam.com/video/8Xy01jkEsnQ/v-deo.htmlsi=NxietGigFRJLFFLT Also chapter 10 in "Dhamma Within Reach": www.hillsidehermitage.org/teachings/writings/
Venerable, I have been thinking about a question. I have come to a place where I see truth in Buddhism and simultaneously recognize the threats of the age we as a global society are living in. The global elites seem to want a centralized system of control that limits freedom and maintains mass surveillance and control of every aspect of our lives down to how we think. I feel almost as if I am in a position now to choose between going deeper into Buddhism and trying to awaken and escape the cycle of rebirth or worrying about the lives of others who will be oppressed for generations and possibly seeking a method of resistance to counter the agenda being pushed. The WEF says we will own nothing eat bugs and they can switch off our bank accounts and ability to feed ourselves through digital means if we don't comply once their system is fully in place by 2030. Samsara will always have a new reason to pull us in and create suffering but this is global control under a centralized evil. I find myself wondering how Buddhism or any religion they do not want will survive? If it really does get that bad then what will happen to all of these souls coming back into this world under this kind of influence and should we just accept it and keep practicing or is resistance to such a force even a good idea or perhaps my entire perspective in this binary either/or outlook is flawed completely and there is a better understanding of how to perceive what is happening and my place or non place in these circumstances?
I found it particularly instructive to hear you use the words “to love life” and to criticize the loving of life- which is actually generally deemed to be the very purpose of life! It’s reminiscing of one of your first videos that was called something like “can love be the path to happiness?” where you tackled some more individual love attachments, like romantic love. But I had never heard someone rejecting the notion of “loving life” more generally. This sounds quite irreverent so I always get a chuckle. Although of course it’s actually those who love life and various attachments who are “irreverent” toward the life suffering that ensues.
Ernest Becker pointed out that human culture/cultural meaning has a high likelihood of causing evil (suffering, destruction) because it entails (arbitrarily) inflated human significance-which by necessity requires suppressing obstacles (alive or inert) to that significance. And these efforts at suppression can assume proportions as large as those of this inflated human significance. The suffering and destruction caused by animals in nature relates mostly to the survival (non-death) of their physical self. The suffering and destruction caused by humans relates mostly to the survival (non-death) of their symbolic self. This includes efforts to forget/become unaware of either (unsatisfactory) self through sensuality. From this existentialist perspective (which has similarities with Buddhism), the glimpses of a self which knowingly disintegrates as a process into (the mystery of) the cosmos might be the appropriate symbolic (non) self-conception for humans- achieved in a process of renunciation of other ego perspectives, as well as of sensuality.
I have a request, the topic of sleep has never been addressed on HH as far as I know and I have some questions regarding it. Is a full 8 hours of sleep nessacary as modern science says, or does enlightening somehow reduce the need for sleep as I have heard from some Buddhist sources? I have heard of some monks maintaining awareness while sleeping and maintaining their meditation techniques 24/7. This seems silly as sleep should be necessary for brain development and as we know "meditation techniques" miss the whole point. What about wet dreams? I will be mindful of the dangers of sensuality while awake but then my mind indulges in fantasy while asleep. Do these go away when the mind becomes unifed in its understanding of the danger of sensuality like for sotapanna? My last question is should awareness be maintained while sleeping? In a previous video it was said "a monk never rests" explaining that you must always be vigilant in mindfulness. Sleep seems like a lapse in this. I think it could be valuable to make a video about this topic or maybe just answer here. Thank you
While you wait for the answers, I'd like to give answering a go (as I also once was thinking about these same questions). First, let's address the sleep science aspect. The healthiest approach is not so much about the number of hours, but rather the consistency over time. It's better to consistently sleep, say, for 6 hours per night, than to have fluctuating patterns like sometimes 9 hours, sometimes 4 hours, etc. The primary limitation is to avoid getting less than 5 hours per night for multiple nights in a row. Sleep is one of those things that is not difficult to do right, offers many benefits when done rightly, and can be very detrimental if done wrongly. Thus, 6 hours per night is sufficient for overall health and energy (for an adult), and it is not considered 'too much sleep' in terms of the Dhamma practice. For more information, you can listen to Matthew Walker, who is a leading expert in this field. One important comparison between us today and the ascetics of the Buddha's day. For them attaining final liberation (Arahanthood) was a matter of days and months (and maybe a couple of years for some), in a lot of cases. But for us today it's likely close to 20-ish years. So we are in this for the long run, and we need to pace ourselves better. So it is not a good idea to disregard the health side of things too much in the way they did (because they could), when they were skipping on sleep and food. On to awareness while asleep. I do not think that ariyas (even Arahants) sleep any differently than puthujjanas, since they still have the same bodies and those bodies need their maintenance, which is what sleep is. If they eat the same, they probably sleep the same. And any kind of "maintaining awareness" or "meditation tech." while asleep would probably be bad long term, as it is likely to interfere with the normal sleep patterns and cycles. Some monks might have such an ability, idk, but it is entirely irrelevant. Being able to be aware while asleep has nothing to do with the enlightenment (because it has nothing to do with suffering). Ascetics of the old had a way to put their bodies into some hibernation-like state (as it seems), when they would sit without moving for days (higher Jhānas). But that is not about sleep. Wet dreams. Google: "The allowance of a sitting mat (Kd 8)" and read that first. There Buddha tells us that such an occurrence is due to being "absentminded and heedless" and having a lack of restraint during the waking hours. Also, while asleep, not all brain circuits are fully "online", so it's a lot harder to restrain (In dreams you tend to lose perspective and get lost in whatever is pulling yuo much more easily). But it's also not a big deal and it is very much to be expected probably for a long time (during training). And I think this is pretty much the same for anyone who is less than Anāgāmi, since they will all still be susceptible to these carelessnesses (and occasional indulgence in careless and even sexy thoughts), even though they see the danger ("old habits die hard" even for ariyas), though it likely gets rarer and rarer. Your last question you will be able to answer yourself, if you update your idea of what exactly "mindfulness" is, what it means to "never rest" and for that you could listen to their recent video: "Mindfulness of the Elements" and an older one: "How to Be Mindful of Your Forgetfulness", it's a good start.
Those householders who “beat their breasts”, etc. At least they understood the scope of death at that moment. “Wherever there is dukkha- the direction of Dukkha, that’s where death is” 22:20
after i finished watching this, i was looking out the window and saw this beautiful blue jay land in the yard. big feller. such a marvel. and there's the trap... SNAP!!!
It can be said that the Fragile is the conditioned, the manifest, the existence. In terms of identity, the self, the person, the ordinary (conditioned) mind is fragile. Mara is fragile. The liberated being (the enlightened mind) is the non-fragile. The passionate is fragile. The dispassionate is not fragile. When we identify with the person, with the self, with Mara, with a form (sensation, thought, passions), we identify with the fragile, the perishable. When this identification ceases, the imperishable can be recognized.
"You wouldn't appreciate stuff if you are aware of the imminent danger of that stuff."
So true. Gratitude being dangerous - controversial, of course, but true. Gratitude only "works" if you already have defilements of greed, lust, misplaced ownership etc, but it just covers over the actual problem.
"Gratitude" (and "loving life") is another pleasant thing to look at (mentally), to feel, and it's mine (and on my terms). And a mind addicted to pleasant things, will jump at the opportunity to look at anything even remotely pleasant, just to cover up or avoid the abyss.
The practical approach you describe is so valuable. Excellent Bhante.
Whilst being mindful of death and dispassionate to sensory pleasures is it contradictory to rejoice in lifes interactions with one another expressed through humility and gratitude as opposed to craving and desire. Deepest gratitude for such clear expression of dhamma.
Volume has been low on recent uploads. Not a big issue for me since I mostly enjoy the audio files and simply apply a dB booster when needed. 🙏
I don’t notice that on my iPhone XS max at all. At least for this video. The volume seems perfectly fine and I don’t even have it halfway to maximum volume. maybe you’re listening to it in a loud environment?
I live in a forest and mostly use external speakers...🤔
Saṁyutta Nikāya - 22.32. The Fragile
“Bhikkhus, I will teach you the fragile and the unfragile.
“what, bhikkhus, is the fragile, and what the unfragile?
Form is the fragile; its cessation, subsiding, passing away is the unfragile.
Feeling is the fragile … Perception is the fragile … Volitional formations are the fragile … Consciousness is the fragile; its cessation, subsiding, passing away is the unfragile.”
I've read in a Theragata that Sariputta said he's neither wanting to live nor to die, he's just there waiting, like a worker waiting for his wage.
A related Dhamma talk:
Appointment with Death
ua-cam.com/video/8Xy01jkEsnQ/v-deo.htmlsi=NxietGigFRJLFFLT
Also chapter 10 in "Dhamma Within Reach":
www.hillsidehermitage.org/teachings/writings/
Excellent thank you 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼..now just remembering to contemplate like this until it becomes habitual…
Venerable, I have been thinking about a question. I have come to a place where I see truth in Buddhism and simultaneously recognize the threats of the age we as a global society are living in. The global elites seem to want a centralized system of control that limits freedom and maintains mass surveillance and control of every aspect of our lives down to how we think. I feel almost as if I am in a position now to choose between going deeper into Buddhism and trying to awaken and escape the cycle of rebirth or worrying about the lives of others who will be oppressed for generations and possibly seeking a method of resistance to counter the agenda being pushed.
The WEF says we will own nothing eat bugs and they can switch off our bank accounts and ability to feed ourselves through digital means if we don't comply once their system is fully in place by 2030. Samsara will always have a new reason to pull us in and create suffering but this is global control under a centralized evil. I find myself wondering how Buddhism or any religion they do not want will survive? If it really does get that bad then what will happen to all of these souls coming back into this world under this kind of influence and should we just accept it and keep practicing or is resistance to such a force even a good idea or perhaps my entire perspective in this binary either/or outlook is flawed completely and there is a better understanding of how to perceive what is happening and my place or non place in these circumstances?
Thank you for being so straightforward , i deeply appreciate this.
thank you bhante ,on holding the memory of death ,one witnesses the slaughter house which were once rose gardens
Much Gratitude Venerables.
"...the greatest fruit known to man..."
😎
🙏
I found it particularly instructive to hear you use the words “to love life” and to criticize the loving of life- which is actually generally deemed to be the very purpose of life! It’s reminiscing of one of your first videos that was called something like “can love be the path to happiness?” where you tackled some more individual love attachments, like romantic love. But I had never heard someone rejecting the notion of “loving life” more generally. This sounds quite irreverent so I always get a chuckle. Although of course it’s actually those who love life and various attachments who are “irreverent” toward the life suffering that ensues.
Ernest Becker pointed out that human culture/cultural meaning has a high likelihood of causing evil (suffering, destruction) because it entails (arbitrarily) inflated human significance-which by necessity requires suppressing obstacles (alive or inert) to that significance.
And these efforts at suppression can assume proportions as large as those of this inflated human significance.
The suffering and destruction caused by animals in nature relates mostly to the survival (non-death) of their physical self.
The suffering and destruction caused by humans relates mostly to the survival (non-death) of their symbolic self.
This includes efforts to forget/become unaware of either (unsatisfactory) self through sensuality.
From this existentialist perspective (which has similarities with Buddhism), the glimpses of a self which knowingly disintegrates as a process into (the mystery of) the cosmos might be the appropriate symbolic (non) self-conception for humans- achieved in a process of renunciation of other ego perspectives, as well as of sensuality.
I have a request, the topic of sleep has never been addressed on HH as far as I know and I have some questions regarding it.
Is a full 8 hours of sleep nessacary as modern science says, or does enlightening somehow reduce the need for sleep as I have heard from some Buddhist sources?
I have heard of some monks maintaining awareness while sleeping and maintaining their meditation techniques 24/7. This seems silly as sleep should be necessary for brain development and as we know "meditation techniques" miss the whole point.
What about wet dreams? I will be mindful of the dangers of sensuality while awake but then my mind indulges in fantasy while asleep. Do these go away when the mind becomes unifed in its understanding of the danger of sensuality like for sotapanna?
My last question is should awareness be maintained while sleeping? In a previous video it was said "a monk never rests" explaining that you must always be vigilant in mindfulness. Sleep seems like a lapse in this.
I think it could be valuable to make a video about this topic or maybe just answer here. Thank you
While you wait for the answers, I'd like to give answering a go (as I also once was thinking about these same questions).
First, let's address the sleep science aspect. The healthiest approach is not so much about the number of hours, but rather the consistency over time. It's better to consistently sleep, say, for 6 hours per night, than to have fluctuating patterns like sometimes 9 hours, sometimes 4 hours, etc. The primary limitation is to avoid getting less than 5 hours per night for multiple nights in a row. Sleep is one of those things that is not difficult to do right, offers many benefits when done rightly, and can be very detrimental if done wrongly. Thus, 6 hours per night is sufficient for overall health and energy (for an adult), and it is not considered 'too much sleep' in terms of the Dhamma practice. For more information, you can listen to Matthew Walker, who is a leading expert in this field.
One important comparison between us today and the ascetics of the Buddha's day. For them attaining final liberation (Arahanthood) was a matter of days and months (and maybe a couple of years for some), in a lot of cases. But for us today it's likely close to 20-ish years. So we are in this for the long run, and we need to pace ourselves better. So it is not a good idea to disregard the health side of things too much in the way they did (because they could), when they were skipping on sleep and food.
On to awareness while asleep. I do not think that ariyas (even Arahants) sleep any differently than puthujjanas, since they still have the same bodies and those bodies need their maintenance, which is what sleep is. If they eat the same, they probably sleep the same. And any kind of "maintaining awareness" or "meditation tech." while asleep would probably be bad long term, as it is likely to interfere with the normal sleep patterns and cycles. Some monks might have such an ability, idk, but it is entirely irrelevant. Being able to be aware while asleep has nothing to do with the enlightenment (because it has nothing to do with suffering). Ascetics of the old had a way to put their bodies into some hibernation-like state (as it seems), when they would sit without moving for days (higher Jhānas). But that is not about sleep.
Wet dreams. Google: "The allowance of a sitting mat (Kd 8)" and read that first.
There Buddha tells us that such an occurrence is due to being "absentminded and heedless" and having a lack of restraint during the waking hours. Also, while asleep, not all brain circuits are fully "online", so it's a lot harder to restrain (In dreams you tend to lose perspective and get lost in whatever is pulling yuo much more easily). But it's also not a big deal and it is very much to be expected probably for a long time (during training). And I think this is pretty much the same for anyone who is less than Anāgāmi, since they will all still be susceptible to these carelessnesses (and occasional indulgence in careless and even sexy thoughts), even though they see the danger ("old habits die hard" even for ariyas), though it likely gets rarer and rarer.
Your last question you will be able to answer yourself, if you update your idea of what exactly "mindfulness" is, what it means to "never rest" and for that you could listen to their recent video: "Mindfulness of the Elements" and an older one: "How to Be Mindful of Your Forgetfulness", it's a good start.
@@stefanvidenovic5095 thanks for sharing
Those householders who “beat their breasts”, etc. At least they understood the scope of death at that moment.
“Wherever there is dukkha- the direction of Dukkha, that’s where death is” 22:20
One that aware is life, one that unaware actually already death 😮 Dhammapada , so that's the meaning.
We all are on death row since we were born.
Life is a death row.
correct
after i finished watching this, i was looking out the window and saw this beautiful blue jay land in the yard. big feller. such a marvel. and there's the trap... SNAP!!!
Been thru this recently being overwhelmed ,wondering wether hell is next .
Only the unborn is truly alive
Excellent 🥸
It can be said that the Fragile is the conditioned, the manifest, the existence.
In terms of identity, the self, the person, the ordinary (conditioned) mind is fragile.
Mara is fragile.
The liberated being (the enlightened mind) is the non-fragile.
The passionate is fragile. The dispassionate is not fragile.
When we identify with the person, with the self, with Mara, with a form (sensation, thought, passions), we identify with the fragile, the perishable. When this identification ceases, the imperishable can be recognized.