Cetana, the reality which has intention to do

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(Excerpt from the Dhamma discussion with Ajahn Sujin on Zoom - Mon May 29th 2023 - part 2)

0:00 - Considering daily life to understand the truth
[Vincent] About the cetana, in conventional, in daily life the will plays a very important role, Ajahn could you comment?

[A. Sujin] There are so many realities and is any appearing now as it is? Even what we are just talking about: cetana is the word representing a reality which performs its function as: the reality which now arises with other cetasikas and citta, but they are quite different. In order to understand the truth of no-one-there-at-all, it has to be: understand what is there, just one reality at a time, to have more confidence of it, that it's different from the other and it's conditioned just to arise, perform its function and fall away. And all dhammas are so very subtle, that's why there has to be very careful considering about the words of the Buddha, talking about all dhammas in different degrees. Realities are so subtle, they cannot be known at all without hearing, considering what the Buddha taught about it. Even [when] not having heard about the Teachings at all, Dhamma is always there from moment to moment, but it's not known as it is. So, consider daily life to understand the truth, that it's by all different characteristics of dhammas, no one there at all.

2:01 - Cetana, the reality which has intention to do
Right now, there's speaking, is there any intention to speak? Intention to stretch out one's arm? Intention to sit down or intention to stand up, can there be such moment without cetana, intention to do such? So it's not the word about the reality, but it's there, the reality which has intention to do, it arises with every citta, but no one knows. So, learn to understand the truth of one reality at a time, at moment of just getting up no one knows that there is intention to do such move, but when there is intention to do something like going to cinema or just the market and so on, one can understand that there is intention to do such, but it's "I" because no understanding of the truth that even intention to do such is conditioned: to arise, to perform that function, to go somewhere. So, learn to understand: all are dhammas, no one, they are all conditioned dhammas, without conditions nothing can arise at all. Having such firm confidence, can there be moments of understanding: a kind of dhamma which is conditioned, at that moment, to perform its function. The point of listening to the Teachings is to understand what is there now and at any moment as it is. And when there is a little more understanding of the truth it lets go of the idea and the clinging to that as something or "I".

4:08 - The point of listening, talking about whatever reality
So, how long will it take to really understand that which is there, until it shows up as it is only to right understanding of the truth of it. So, the point of listening, talking about whatever reality: in order just to understand the moment when it's there, otherwise it cannot be known at all. And this is the only way to understand the truth of reality, when it's there, as it is. So, any word about the truth, we have to consider [it] carefully, even [when] there's no word about the reality which is cetana, but [then] it cannot be known as a reality. That's why each word of the Teachings of the Buddha just points out to the reality which is there to be known, little by little. We cannot directly experience the reality of cetana now, but there can be moment of beginning to understand that it is different from other realities. All realities are covered up by ignorance and attachment, that's why in order to understand the truth it has to be listening to the Teachings about the truth of it, carefully.

5:36 - Who knows that it's not I who sees?
There is seeing in a day and even right now, who knows that no one's there at all? So, the Buddha taught about the truth of whatever is there, for example seeing right now, there is seeing right now, |who knows that it's not I who sees and no one there at all? Only the reality which arises and experiences the visible object which is seen. And even that which is now appearing is not known, so what about other realities arising together with that seeing? That's why even just to understand what the Buddha said about cetana: |it has to be studied carefully, otherwise we may have our own idea about all dhammas, all dhammas are so subtle because each one does not appear as it is. For example, there's seeing right now and if there's no understanding of the truth of it, thinking about other things, can [that] be moment of understanding the truth of it? And cetana is there as well, but not the seeing. That's why there are many stages of cetana, depending on conditions, whether it arises with attachment or aversion or right understanding. And when it's the absolute dhamma it cannot be changed at all. So we learn to understand reality, a reality from the very beginning, its characteristic, its function, as not self. Who knows that there is cetana arising with seeing, but it's not seeing, it's cetana.

7:35 - Just the idea about understanding what is there
And when there is just the idea about understanding what is there in life, when one intends to do something, that is cetana, that is not enough. That's why learning about realities, a reality as a reality, no matter when, as it is, different from others. So from now, at moment of intending do something, can there be conditions to understand that which intends as not self? It's just a reality which has the function of intending to do something or coordinating the other cetasikas arising together, to perform their functions, as to follow them, to intend [them] to do and the deed is done.

8:24 - So many layers of intellectual understanding
That's why even at level of intellectual understanding, there are so many layers too, firstly we learn about what is the meaning of a reality, from the word of the Buddha, but not clear and not deep as it is yet, just learning to have the understanding of different words, representing different realities, and that's not enough at all, just to hear the word, the meaning: a reality, but there has to be a little more study, a little more, of only one reality before there can be less and less attachment to what is there as I-or-someone-or-something. And this is what the Buddha called paramis, very firm, little by little, to have confidence of the truth that it's there now to be known, when it appears. Otherwise there's always one's own idea about what was said, when it's just one's own idea, how can it understand the subtlety of a reality, even like cetana, for example. That's why it needs confidence to develop the understanding of the truth gradually, level by level.

So now, shall we talk about cetana or whatever's appearing or what?