Giving Rise to Discernment

　　Thanissaro Bhikkhu

　　October 29, 2002

　　We meditate, developing mindfulness, developing concentration, and after a while we begin to wonder, “When is the discernment going to come

　　 When are the insights going to come

　　” And it”s important to look at what the Buddha has to say about what gives rise to discernment. Mindfulness and concentration are prerequisites, but there”s also more. And in searching for that “more,” it”s especially instructive to look at two sets of qualities that the Buddha said lead to Awakening—the Five Strengths and the Seven Factors for Awakening—to learn their lessons on what gives rise to discernment, what”s needed for these insights to arise. Otherwise you can meditate for twenty, thirty, forty years - as Ajaan Lee says, you could die and your body could dry out on the spot - and still not gain any discernment, because you”re lacking some of the proper qualities. The Five Strengths—a set of factors that culminate in discernment--are interesting because they start out, not with ideas that you”ve heard from someone else in terms of what Buddhist discernment is about. They start with the quality of conviction. Conviction in what

　　 Conviction in the principle of karma. That”s what it comes down to – that our actions do matter. Some people have problems with the teaching on karma, but what exactly is the Buddha asking you to believe in when he asks you to have conviction in it

　　 One is that you really are responsible for your actions. It”s not some outside force like the stars or some evil being or good being acting through you. When you”re conscious, you”re the one who decides what to do. Secondly, your actions have results - you”re not just writing on the water - and those results can be good or bad depending on the quality of the intention behind the act.

　　So the teaching on karma is a teaching that puts you in charge of shaping your life. It”s a good teaching to believe in. And how does this relate to discernment

　　 It provides the basis for the questions you”re going to ask to give rise to discernment. Because the principle of karma places a lot of emphasis on the need to act on skillful intentions to get the good results you want, the basic question becomes: how can you tell whether an intention is skillful or unskillful

　　 Together with this conviction you need the quality of heedfulness: the realization that if you”re not careful about your actions you can create a lot of suffering for yourself. Heedfulness is supposed to underlie the development of the Five Strengths leading up to discernment. It”s the quality that makes sure you”re going to pay close attention to what you”re doing, close attention to your intentions, close attention to the results of your actions—as in the passage where the Buddha”s instructing Rahula, his son. Before you do something, he tells Rahula, ask yourself, “What”s the intention here

　　 Why am I doing this

　　 Is it going to be an action that leads to suffering or not

　　” Only if the intention looks good should you act on it. Then, while you”re acting, you check the results of your action. After the action is done you check again, because some results are immediate, other results are long term. So conviction in karma focuses your intention at the right spot and it gets you asking the right questions. Heedfulness gives urgency to your investigation. And the two of them together lead to discernment.

　　The teachings on the Seven Factors for Awakening are similar. You start out with mindfulness. The Buddha teaches you to be mindful of the body in and of itself, feelings in and of themselves, mind states, mental qualities in and of themselves. Why

　　 So that you can be really clear on what your actions are and what the results are. If you”re concerned with other issues…

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