..续本文上一页 impermanent, his life is uncertain — it can change — but we”re glad. That”s a defilement. Say we hear that a son or daughter has become wealthy, influential, and famous, and we become happy. Again, our mind has strayed from the noble path. It”s not firmly in Right Concentration. We have to make the mind neutral: not thrilled over things, not upset over things, not thrilled when our plans succeed, not upset when they don”t. When we can make the mind neutral like this, that”s the neutrality of Right View. We see what”s wrong, what”s right, and try to steer the mind away from the wrong and toward the right. This is called Right Resolve, part of vipassana-ñana.

　　The same holds true with stress, whether it”s our stress and pain, or somebody else”s. Say we hear that an enemy is suffering. ”Glad to hear it,” we think. ”Hope they hurry up and die.” The heart has tilted. Say we hear that a friend has become wealthy, and we become happy; or a son or daughter is ill, and we become sad. Our mind has fallen in with suffering and stress. Why

　　 Because we don”t have any knowledge. We”re unskilled. The mind isn”t centered. In other words, it”s not in Right Concentration. We have to look after the mind. Don”t let it fall in with stress. Whatever suffers, let it suffer, but don”t let the mind suffer with it. The people in the world may be pained, but the mind isn”t pained along with them. Pain may arise in the body, but the mind isn”t pained along with it. Let the body go ahead and suffer, but the mind doesn”t suffer. Keep the mind neutral. Don”t be pleased by pleasure, either — pleasure is a form of stress, you know. How so

　　 It can change. It can rise and fall. It can be high and low. It can”t last. That”s stress. Pain is also stress: double stress. When you gain this sort of insight into stress — when you really see stress — vipassana has arisen in the mind.

　　As for anatta, not-self: Once we”ve examined things and seen them for what they really are, we don”t make claims, we don”t display influence, we don”t try to show that we have the right or the power to bring things that are not-self under our control. No matter how hard we try, we can”t prevent birth, aging, illness and death. If the body is going to be old, let it be old. If it”s going to hurt, let it hurt. If it has to die, let it die. Don”t be pleased by death, either your own or that of others. Don”t be upset by death, your own or that of others. Keep the mind neutral. Unruffled. Unfazed. This is sankharupekkha-ñana: letting sankharas — all things fashioned and fabricated — follow their own inherent nature. The mind like this is in vipassana.

　　This is the first branch of knowledge — vipassana — in brief: You see that all things fashioned are inconstant, stressful, and not-self. You can disentangle them from your grasp. You can let go. This is where it gets good. How so

　　 You don”t have to wear yourself out, lugging sankharas around.

　　To be attached means to carry a load, and there are five heaps (khandhas)we carry:

　　rupupadanakkhandho: physical phenomena are the first load;

　　vedanupadanakkhandho: feelings that we”re attached to are another;

　　saññupadanakkhandho: the concepts and labels that we claim are ours are a pole for carrying a load on our shoulder;

　　sankharupadanakkhandho: the mental fashionings that we hang onto and think are ours;

　　viññanupadanakkhandho: our attachment to sensory consciousness.

　　Go ahead: Carry them around. Hang one load from your left leg and one from your right. Put one on your left shoulder and one on your right. Put the last load on your head. And now: Carry them wherever you go — clumsy, encumbered, and comical.

　　bhara have pancakkhandha

　　Go ahead and carry them. The five khandhas are a heavy load,

　　bharaharo ca pugg…

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