Words of the most venerable Luang Por Sim Bhikkhu
Up-Dated Translation by
Ajahn Sumano Bhikkhu
N.E. Thailand June 2006
The Buddha uttered, “turittunitam singhasingham”—Rush, hurry, it’s urgent! Meditate on every inhalation and exhalation. Determine to practice right at this moment. If we don’t the demons of thought and defilement will lead us away into old age and death. Even on your day of death you still won’t have time!
The Buddha encouraged us to meditate. He directed us not to reach out towards the past or future. The past and future tend to captivate us. We don’t get anywhere at all. But if we ground the mind in the present we can testify to the inner knowing that lies within us all. It exists and it is right in that knowing that lies virtue and accumulated purity. We meditate in order to condense the energies of the mind into this inner knowing. We put down thoughts and sense-consciousness, the defiled mind that goes out in search of distractions. We are obliged to contest the out-flowing stream of the mind. We give up thinking of friends and families, money, work, and all the relationships that lies outside of the present moment. It’s all a flight of fancy. That which is helpful, that which leads us to Buddha-Wisdom is that which the Buddha called “tattha” or “in that place”. “In that place” or “just there” refers to the knowing that lies within our mind.
Generate clear knowing in the mind. The mind can both know truly and the mind can be beguiled. That is, the mind can “know” while under the influence of dark factors. When we just allow it to blindly follow forms, sounds, odors, flavors, tangible objects and ideas it is deceived day and night. This is a process that begins from birth and carries on into old age. And from old age until death. We can be fascinated by those things for innumerable lifetimes.
When we come to meditate, we put effort into eradicating the defilements in our hearts so that diminish and finally come to an end. Thus our effort is concentrated on this mind of ours. We keep reminding ourselves that apart from this knowing that is established in the present moment, everything be it past or present, good or bad, is all impermanent and therefore, unreal. There is nothing lasting to be found in the world of past and its comrade, the future. Everything outside of the mindfulness-awareness faculty is unsatisfactory and impersonal. Even the sacred knowing itself is impaired when the masses of defilement stampede and trample over us. Don’t be bemused and betrayed by discursive thought. Don’t be fooled into believing in conditions.
In the ultimate sense there is no real happiness. What people call happiness is just a delusion of the worldly. The Enlighten ones say that it’s all just melodramas of Dukkha and unknowing. In order to enable oneself the Buddha’s and their disciples practice calm insight meditation in every posture.
Whenever we are deluded or intoxicated with something, then we lose our self-awareness and thus there is pitch-black darkness. There is no path that will take us into such utter darkness as that of delusion. The deluded mind puts no effort into eradicating defilement in the present moment. It is engrossed in the pleasure derived from forms, sounds, odors, flavors, physical sensations and mental states, taking them to be the source of happiness. But that happiness is bound up with materiality. It is hopeless. It is not true happiness. True happiness is in freedom…Nibbana.
“turittunitam singhasingham”-