vedana paccaya tanha.
With the base of the six senses, contact arises;
with the base of contact, sensation arises;
with the base of sensation, craving and aversion arise.
I may think that I am free from craving or aversion when I hear something pleasant or unpleasant, but deep inside where the sensations have started, my mind keeps reacting. At the depth it keeps reacting. If I do not work with this link which is deeper than my superficial, intellectual understanding, I cannot come out of my misery because I cannot change the habit pattern of my mind. This is what the Buddha found out: salayatana paccaya phasso - at the six sense doors, there is contact. Phassa paccaya vedana: at every contact, there is sensation. When there is a contact at the ear sense door, or eye sense door, or nose sense door, or tongue sense door, or body sense door, or mind sense door - there is bound to be sensation on the body: vedana. Then vedana paccaya tanha: only after vedana will this craving and aversion arise. If you miss vedana, how will you know where the tanha has started
You won”t even know that tanha has started. You may try to keep the impurities away at the surface level of the mind, but at the depth, long before the reaction becomes strong enough to emerge at the conscious level, it has already tied so many knots, so many knots! The behavior pattern becomes stronger and stronger. You can”t come out of it by working only at the intellectual level.
The beauty of Buddha”s teaching is that he gave this wonderful technique, which is universal. Anybody who goes to the depth and takes out all the impurity becomes a liberated person, and can keep calling himself by any name. It makes no difference. But someone who cannot penetrate to this depth keeps on rotating in misery. This law is universal, applicable to one and all. Buddha rediscovered this law, made use of it for himself, became liberated and then started distributing it to others with so much love, so much compassion. As people started practising it, they benefitted from it.
People of this wonderful island, I am glad you have so much devotion to Buddha. You admire Buddha. You admire Buddha”s teaching. Therefore the base is wonderful. You all have the seed of Dhamma in you. Otherwise you would not have come to a talk like this. By now, perhaps, you would have been in some theatre or some cinema or some dance hall or somewhere else.
You are here. That shows that you have got the seed of Dhamma in you. But if for the whole life the seed remains only a seed, you won”t get anything. The seed must grow and give wonderful fruits. And certainly the seed can give wonderful fruits. I invite all of you. As Buddha says, "Give me seven days of your life. Just give a trial." I am not a Buddha. I say, "Give me ten days of your life and try. Just try." Accept it only after you have passed through these ten days. You will find that Buddha”s way is really beneficial - that it gives results, akaliko, here and now.
You won”t have to wait until after death. You will benefit here and now, and keep on benefitting.
Idha nandati pecca nandati katapunno ubhayattha nandat.
Here and now he rejoices, after death he rejoices, in both cases the well doer rejoices.
The moment you start practising Dhamma, you will see that you are benefiting. In the beginning, it is beneficial; in the middle, it is beneficial; at the end, it is beneficial. But it is beneficial only when you practice.
I hope all of you, sooner or later, will find the time to begin the practice of Buddha”s teaching. You have done a lot of intellectual entertainment already. Today also you have listened for one hour, which was only intellectual entertainment. But now take this hour and turn it into the strong determination that whenever you fi…
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