..續本文上一頁le than that. It takes intelligence - panna. It takes investigation, dhammavicaya.

　　So now we”re using intelligence not to maximize sukha and minimize dukkha, but to actually look at dukkha. We”re using intelligence to consider things skillfully. ”Why am I suffering

　　” So you see, we”re not dismissing thought; thought is a very important faculty. But if we can”t think clearly then it”s not really possible to use the Buddhist teachings. However, you don”t need a Ph.D. in Buddhism either.

　　Once when I was in England, we went to go see a chap in Lancaster. He had just finished a ”Master”s” thesis on sunyata - ten thousand words on emptiness. He wanted to make us a cup of coffee. So he put the coffee in the cups with the sugar and milk, and offered them to us - forgetting to put in the water. He could do a ”Master”s” degree on emptiness, but it was more difficult to mindfully make a cup of coffee. So intelligence in Buddhism isn”t just an accumulation of ideas. It”s more grounded than that. It”s grounded in experience.

　　Intelligence is the ability to observe life and to ask the right questions. We”re using thought to direct the mind in the right way. We”re observing and opening the mind to the situation. And it is in this openness, with the right questions, that we have vipassana practice: insight into the way we are. The mind is taking the concepts of the teaching, and channeling intelligence towards human experience. We”re opening, being attentive, and realizing the way things are. This investigation of the Four Noble Truths is the classic application of intelligence in Theravada Buddhism.

　　So simply observing dukkha is not trying to get an experience, is it

　　 It is accepting responsibility for our dukkha - our inner conflict. We feel the inner conflict - ”I am suffering.” And we ask: ”What is the cause

　　”

　　The teaching says, dukkha begins and ends - it”s not permanent. Suppose I”m feeling uncomfortable during the sitting, and I turn to that dukkha and ask: ”What is the cause of this suffering

　　” ”It”s because the body is uncomfortable,” comes the answer. So I decide to move. But after five minutes, I find the body is uncomfortable again. So this time, I look at the feeling a little more closely. And I notice something more: ”1 don”t want discomfort. I want pleasant feeling.” Ah! So it”s not the painful feeling that”s the problem - it”s the not wanting the painful feeling. Now that is a very useful insight, isn”t it

　　 That”s a bit deeper. I find that now I can be at peace with painful feeling and don”t have to move. I don”t get restless and the mind becomes quite calm.

　　So I”ve seen that the cause of the problem isn”t the painful feeling - it”s the ”not wanting” that particular feeling. ”Wanting” is quite tricky stuff. It comes in many forms. But we can always apply this same investigation: ”What is it I want now

　　” The Second Noble Truth - samudaya - says that the cause of suffering is attachment to wanting - tanha. It makes us feel that if we get what we want we”ll be fulfilled: ”If I have this” or ”If I become that” or ”If I get rid of this and don”t have that”. ...And that”s samsara rolling on. Desire and fear, pushing beings into always becoming: always seeking rebirth, leading endless busy lives.

　　But the Buddha says that there is also ”a way out”. There is an end to suffering. The end of suffering we call nirodha - cessation - or Nibbana. When I first read about Nibbana, I understood it to mean no greed, no hatred and no delusion. So I thought if only I can get rid of all greed, hatred and delusion, then that would be Nibbana - it seemed that way. I tried and it didn”t work. I got more confused.

　　But as I continued to practise, I found that the ”cessation of suffering” meant the ending of these things in their own time - they have their own energy. I couldn”t say to myself: ”0. K. Tomorrow I”m not going to be greedy or afraid.” That was a ridiculous idea. What we have to do is to ”contain” these energies until they die - until they cease. If I felt angry and were to act on it, maybe I would kick someone in the shins. Then they”d kick me back, and we”d have a fight. Or, I”d go back to my hut and meditate, and hate myself. It goes on and on because I”ve reacted to it. If I”m either following it or trying to get rid of it, then it doesn”t cease. The fire doesn”t die.

　　The Teaching of the Four Noble Truths says then: we have suffering - dukkha; there is a cause - samudaya; there is an end - nirodha; and a path to that end - magga. This is such a practical teaching. In any situation of inner conflict we can take responsibility for what we”re feeling: ”Why am I suffering

　　 What am I wanting now

　　 We can investigate- using dhammavicaya.

　　It is important that we actually apply these Teachings. Luang Por used to say: ”Sometimes people who are very close to Buddhism are like ants that crawl around on the outside of the mango. They never actually taste the juice.” Sometimes we hear the structure of the teachings and think we understand- ”It”s just a way of observing life,” we say. But the teachings are not just an intellectual structure. They are saying that experience itself has a structure, which must be understood.

　　So we”re not merely using intelligence to maximize sukha and minimize dukkha. We are using it to free the mind, to go beyond, to realize the unshakable deliverance of the heart, to realize Nibbana. We”re using intelligence for freedom, not just frivolity; to liberate the mind, not just to be happy. We”re going beyond happiness and unhappiness. We”re not just trying to get another experience- it is a different attitude altogether. I”ll leave you with that for tonight.

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