..续本文上一页ther sight consciousness, and then mind consciousness, or maybe taste consciousness, and then mind consciousness. This mind consciousness follows immediately, so close behind the other five types of sense consciousness, that it gives the five senses an illusion of similarity. When one sees something, when one hears something or feels something with the body, what is in common with those experiences

　　 What gives it the illusion of sameness

　　 After experiencing jhana one will know that there is this mind consciousness always following behind; holding the hand, so to speak, of the other five senses. Once one sees that, then one can understand why there”s an illusion of continuity in the experience of consciousness.

　　”Knowing” is like the particles of sand on a beach. From a distance it looks like there is no gap, no space, between those grains of sand. Then one goes closer and closer and closer and sees that there are just grains of sand, and in between those grains there is nothing. Nothing runs through those grains of sand. Like water in a stream. It looks like there is a continuous flow. However, once one gets closer with a microscope, an electron microscope, one can see that between the water molecules there is nothing, just space. One can then see the granular nature of consciousness. One consciousness arises and then another disappears. As it says in the Satipatthana Samyutta, "cittas arise and pass away" (SN 47, 42).

　　A person who still thinks they are the citta (mind), ”the knower”, might be able to let go of the body, and get reborn into the jhana realms. But they would have to be reborn into this world again. They are again subject to more rebirths, more suffering. This is because they haven”t fully let go of bhava (being). This person has not yet eradicated bhava-tanha (the craving to be), which results from taking the ”knower” to be self. It”s like the simile of the tadpole. The tadpole is hatched in the pond, always in the water, and therefore it can”t understand what dry land is. However, when the tadpole grows up to be a frog and leaves that water for the first time it carries the water on it”s back. It”s wet and slimy, but at least it knows what dry land is and it gets an idea for the first time what dryness is.

　　Getting Out of the Pond, and Onto Dry Land

　　The only way that one can understand what is meant by, "the self is not ”the doer”" is to get into a jhana. This means that one is getting out of the pond of doing. The only way that one can really understand that ”the knower” is not self, is to get out of the pond of the five senses, and to stay just with the sixth sense. With just the mind consciousness remaining, then after a while, whether one likes it or not, whether one thinks it”s true or not, one will actually see that that which is called ”knowing” just arises and passes away. It is granular, it is fragmentary.

　　The whole purpose of these jhanas is to learn through practice, bit by bit, to let go of more and more consciousness. It”s like slicing away at mind consciousness. Allowing consciousness to cease, by calming it, settling it, and allowing it to go to cessation. Then the consciousness completely ceases for long periods of time in what”s called nirodha-samapatti (the attainment of cessation). This is the cessation of all that is felt and all that”s perceived asanna-vedayita-nirodha). Any person who experiences this attainment, they say, will be an arahant or an anagami afterwards. Why

　　 Because they”ve seen the end of consciousness, they”ve touched that as an experience.

　　With this experience there is no longer any thought or theories or ideas. This is bare experience. All that one formerly took to be ”me” is seen as just delusion (avijja). What was anatta

　　 One will realize that for many lifetimes, one ha…

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