Fire on the head

(Transcript and video by Alan available here
- Suitable for beginners)
Sundara: You just mentioned then, Acharn, the fire on the head, can you elaborate a little bit on that, please?

A. Sujin: Because now it's there, who knows? It's called fire, but when it's dosa (aversion) it's hot fire. Fire means that if there is no fire, no disturb(ance), but when it's there, one is so disturbed. When there's no attachment, no wish, no clinging, no craving for anything, it's better than just wanting and trying so hard to have it, That's why when it's completely absolutely eradicated, so cool, in the sense that it doesn't hurt like fire on the head. Is[n't] lobha (attachment), dosa (aversion), moha (ignorance) comparable to the danger of fire? It destroys, doesn't bring anything wholesome.

Because of ignorance, there is attachment and when there is ignorance and attachment it can condition dosa (aversion), the three roots. Otherwise one will stay on in samsara, when one doesn't see the danger, the moment when it's just arising and falling away, like the fire on the head, keeps on arising and falling away. As dangerous as that, never want to be in samsara anymore, so tiring, useless. What was there yesterday, so pleasant or unpleasant? It's not there now, so what is the use of having it arising and arising and arising on and on and on endlessly. What for?

So it's pañña (understanding) which understands this moment. (Which) can lead to the understanding the truth of: it's not there anymore, even it appears at the moment of touching, it seems long enough to understand that which is hard that is hard, but actually, we take it for hardness and it's there just for a very short moment and then gone, arising and falling all the time, even at the moment when it appears that it's there all the time. This is the difference between understanding [intellectually] the way it is and the direct moment of experiencing the truth of it. That's why just learning about all conditioned realities arise and fall away never to return, just that it's not even enough. Until it's there, no one at all. So the point is that what about the firm confidence which has [been] implanted from the moment of understanding it, to grow up to be firm enough to understand whatever is there as it is, until the moment when it shows up, can be anytime, by conditions. Make certain of the truth that actually while it's there is anatta, uncontrollable, depending on conditions only.

So now we think that there is enough strength, but not firm enough yet, according to the experiencing of what is there, how much understanding is there. To understand even just the truth of that which experiences, see. It doesn't show up because what is there is something and many things all the time, but actually, nothing, thinking about many things and nothing. How come to be so many things without a dot or a moment to moment, one by one, keep on, continuously on? Seems like it's there because of the rapidity of the succession of the arising and falling away, unbelievable how it conditions such shape and form by permanent reality. And these are different levels of the development of understanding from hearing, developing and experiencing, or directly realizing the truth. When it's there as it is, as one has heard. because no more curtain of darkness to hide it anymore, because pañña's (understanding) developed enough to open it up.

So this is the beginning to have confidence of the truth about what is there is not as it really is. The truth is not as it appears because it appears as so permanent, so many things, but actually, when it's there [as] just one, nothing there at all, imagine the world. What is meant by the world when Buddha said that seeing is the world, hearing is the world, each moment is each world, without that there is no world at all. So we can understand why Buddha taught the people who went to see him about seeing, hearing, and so on and just talked about the impermanence of realities and how to let go. Ignorance. Just about the truth of what is there, no matter in what sutta, about seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, by way of ayatanas (meeting place): without these, how can it be there? There are conditions for each moment, from moment to moment, from birth to death. Just to understand, not to change, not to try, because that is wrong because of the idea of I is there (who) can try. But when there's more understanding of no I, not me, all depends on conditions. Just like any moment. Sound is heard, visible object is seen, thinking such thought about such and such, by conditions. So we come to understand daily life moment about the truth of what is there, little by little, so very natural.