Dhammarato
Dhammarato Dhammarato is a dhamma teacher in the lineage of Bhikkhu Buddhadasa. Now retired into the Lay life He spent many years as a monk in both Thailand and USA. He lives in Thailand on Kho Phangan and invites all dhamma friends to come hang out. He talks about the supramundane dhamma as instructed by Ajahn Pho the abbot of Wat Suan Mokkh.

Practice Luke 1 11 28 24

Practice Luke 1 11 28 24

Summary

Practice Luke 1 11 28 24

Video

Transcript

Dhammarato: Okay. What you’re asking is kind of a typical question. Everybody wants to make sure that they understand everything and that, in fact, that’s actually one of the biggest hindrances is asking questions and being doubtful rather than just merely practice. Now, one of the things that we can say is, is that we can define a thought as any way at all, that you can consciously spend a mind moment. All right? And some kind of thoughts would be discursive thoughts, language. Another one would be images. Now, in a way, we could actually say dreaming is images. Almost all dreaming, night dreams, nightmares, etcetera, Are images. But we have images throughout the day. And when we get caught up in those images, we can call it daydreaming. But images is a natural way of the mind thinking. And that often what happens is people will have an image that lasts a split second followed by a conversation or dialogue or discursive thought where we’re trying to put words to what we’ve just seen. You can also remember the images directly. All of these are various kinds of thought. Another kind of thought is when you’re paying attention to a bodily sensation. Listening, in fact, is a kind of way of thinking. Feeling itches is a kind of way of thinking. Feeling is another way of thinking. Any way that we can spend a mind moment. That’s good definition of the word thought. Whatever we’re doing, that’s generally thinking. Now, there’s something special about the discursive thought, the verbal thinking that we do. Now, that’s a little bit different than humming a tune. And often when we hum a tune, we put the words to it, the lyrics. And now we’re back into discursive thinking again. All right. So because of the history of Tibet and because of the old Tibetan religion, when Buddhism came to Tibet, they picked up a habit that’s associated with what is called tonkas, or images. And that when they’re doing tonkas or taking images, then the way to do it correctly is to see the properties of that tonka, to see that deity as what’s happening right now.

Luke: Yeah.

Dhammarato: All right. Now, there’s another kind of visual images that they do that’s got a whole lot more to do with memory. And sometimes it’s quite spectacular to see four monks sit down on the floor with various piles of various colored sand, and together they make a mandala. And they all know what each other’s doing. Yeah. Now, there’s no need for any words or discursive thought. That’s all images. And watching what they’re doing, looking. Okay. So when we’re talking to ourselves. That’s actually kind of different than looking at what we’re saying. This is why it’s called right noble viewing. Our view. Now, normally we use the word view as a noun in the sense of a concept.

Luke: Yeah.

Dhammarato: Are viewing things off into conceptualizations, remembering what things looked like, and that that’s generally broken into wrong view and ordinary right view. So conceptualizations are ordinary right view, but actually looking, that’s what would be considered a noble right view. And I generally mean then to change it from a noun or a concept into an action and use the word looking rather than look or note. So I notice something that you take but noting is something that you’re actively doing.

Luke: Yeah.

Dhammarato: So this is what we mean by right Noble viewing is to look at or really, really pay attention to what kind of discursive thoughts that we have, what kind of visual images that we. The relationship between them. Okay. In other words, look at what the mind is doing in the form of how is it thinking? So you become an observer. It’s all okay, making a movie. You have the set, you have the actors, you have the director, you have the script and all of that. But none of that means anything without the rolling camera. All right? And so what we’re going to start doing is seeing that most thought is to set the actors, the dialogue, the script. And then what we’re going to start doing is rolling the camera going to start looking at what we’re doing. All right. And the only time that we can do that is when we remember to do it.

Luke: So are you just talking from a mental activity, like what’s going on in our mind, looking at not. Not physical movement or anything like that?

Dhammarato: Actually, when we get good at it, we bring in all four foundations. But we got to start someplace.

Luke: Yeah.

Dhammarato: All right. Now, many want to start with the body and the breathing.

Luke: Yep.

Dhammarato: But the Buddha talks about the mind comes first, and he also talks about it in the sense of one by one as they occur. So breathing is not going to happen until you think about breathing at some level, especially if it’s conscious breathing, if you’re going to, in fact, start to control the breath, the long breath, you have to remember to take a long breath. Otherwise it goes back to the automatic system, which is actually part of the limbic system that’s buried in the back of the brain. Okay. And that when we’re bringing conscious breathing in, we’re actually bringing it into the frontal cortex. All right. So much of the stuff that happens happens in the. In the. There’s three. They talk about it in the sense that there’s three parts of the brain. All right, the three parts would be the reptilian brain, the kind of stuff that an alligator can do. Walk, open his mouth, close his mouth, swing his tail, beat his heart, that kind of stuff. And we all have that ability. And then there is what is called the mammalian brain, or the temporal lobe, which is where all of our language is stored, our ability to communicate. And they call that the mammalian brain because it develops with animals. And even though humans don’t pay much close attention to it, animals communicate. They communicate a lot. When dogs are meeting each other, you see wagging tails, you see stiffening of the back, you see smelling of the butt, and all kinds of behaviors. That is actually a system of communication that the dogs are having. You also hear dogs with vocal communications or sounds. I don’t even think they’ve even recorded all the various sounds that a dog can make, from wimping to howling, to barking, to barking happily to barking viciously, growling, all kinds of sounds that dogs make. And then recognize that really what humans have done is they’ve just overly developed our growling, our snarling, our barking, our howling. Okay? And so we’ve developed that very well in what we would call our middle cortex or the mammalian brain. But one thing that the dogs don’t have, and if you look at a dog’s face, you can see that in fact, it’s missing. And that is the forehead that the humans have that monkeys and dogs don’t have. They have very sloped. But humans have a big frontal cortex. This is where we want to start spending more time rather than the very autonomous and automatic system of the reptilian brain, and start observing instead what the reptilian brain and the mammalian brain are doing. All right, so it’s a little complicated about where visual images are stored. And normally they talk about it as in the cerebellum. Now, the funny thing is, is that the cerebellum is not up front, it’s in the back. But it is an attachment to the reptilian brain, such that a cerebellum is not very big on many animals, but on the humans, we’ve got a great big cerebellum, which means that we can remember a lot of stuff, recreate images a lot, etc, like this. So actually, many people think in colors. In fact, numbers have colors. For a lot of people, often green is associated with the number five.

Luke: Okay, I didn’t. I’ve never heard that before.

Dhammarato: All right, so if we Begin to observe. We can see what kind of thoughts that we’re having. And then we’re going to put a kind of judgment on there in a yes or no position in the sense of, is this thought worth having or can I improve it?

Luke: Yeah.

Dhammarato: And most of the thoughts that we have, most of the verbal dialogue that we have, actually verbal diarrhea that we have is not worth having. Also, almost all of the language and all the words that we use, we’ve been using for years. We’re quite into the habit of using words and language the same way that we did when we were a child, and that much of the ways that we learned as a child, we learned it from an adult. And so we’re very, very bound by our habits.

Luke: Yeah.

Dhammarato: And so beginning to see those habits by looking. So we can look and we can see the habits. We can look and see the discursive thought. We can see whether that stuff is wholesome or not. And this is the beginning of the skill of right noble view or viewing is to be able to see what we’re doing. And then the next one, which is the much important one dismissed most often in Buddhism, is what we mean by right noble effort, that once we see what we’re doing, we have a choice to change it.

Luke: Yeah. Okay.

Dhammarato: And so this is really what our practice is, is to remember to really look at what we’re doing, because only then do we have a choice. Now that looking continues on if we’re skilled at it. But normally the beginning student, they do something like see what they’re thinking is unwholesome, have a wholesome thought, and then immediately follow that with another unwholesome thought, follow that with another unwholesome thought. And that what we need to practice is to have one wholesome thought after another to begin to sustain it. So we have two ideas then, or two ways of looking at it. One is to apply the mind or starting to look, and the other one is to sustain it or to continue to look. Because if we can apply the mind and then sustain the mind in the wholesome, then several things begin to happen all around the word sukkah. Now, the word sukkah actually is a feeling, and the feeling is a feeling of safety and security. In fact, you could say that almost all human behavior is predicated on one little kind of a switch. And that switch is actually held in a place called the amygdala, which is in the back of the throat, about eye level and right in mid level here. And the surprising thing is that it’s very close to the throat, which means if we start breathing long and slow, we’re actually massaging the. This amygdala. Now, this amygdala is actually the source of fear.

Luke: Okay.

Dhammarato: And that, if we’re massaging it correctly, that means is that it’s relaxed and it’s not producing the chemicals associated with fear. So the amygdala gives messages to the lymphic system, which is the pituitary and penal glands, which are both located in the back of the head that are hardwired to the adrenaline gland, chemically hardwired to it. So if we can in fact, keep having happy, wholesome thoughts, then the amygdala will settle down, take a rest, and we can come out of our fears and start to feel safe and secure. We can actually talk ourselves into feeling safe and secure, basically because we generally talk ourselves into fear in the sense of what could go wrong. What about ism? And that. That what can go wrong can be either a visual, it can be a. A discursive thought, it can be any of those kind of things. So let’s look at it from two different perspectives. In one of them is fear based. If there is fear, then that will bring on stress, anxiety, frustration, anger, a sense of loss, grief, sadness, that whole realm of stuff that’s associated with fear. But if we can start to practice wholesome thoughts and subside that amygdala, then we can begin to have thoughts that are associated with feeling safe and secure and comfortable. Now let’s look at some of the feelings that are associated with the lack of fear, which would in fact be safe, secure, comfortable, joyful, happy, enjoyment, satisfaction, all of that kind of stuff. Now, if you look at it from the Buddha’s perspective, the Buddha says that there are. He only teaches one thing, and that is dukkha, dukkha nirodha, which is in a way then associated with. With dukkha or stress or being dissatisfied, always has an element of fear in it. And when we come out of the fear onto the other side, then that’s dukkha niroda, the end of dukkha. And it has the quality of satisfaction or everything is okay.

Luke: Yep.

Dhammarato: Now we generally make the dangers, we make up the problems. It can be said that 99% of all the human problems never actually happened. They were made up in the mind. And the other part of it is that all those problems that do occur is because we made it up and made it happen.

Luke: Yeah.

Dhammarato: So if I’m afraid of that guy, I’m going To take offense. I’m going to beat him up before he beats me up. And now we’ve got to fight. All wars are preemptive strikes based upon. If I don’t get him, he’ll get me.

Luke: Yeah.

Dhammarato: In fact, I’ve heard it as a pollution of. Jesus had a thing called the Golden Rule. Do unto others the way that you want them to do unto you. Well, the second part of that, the second verse is do unto others the way that you want them to do unto you. Only do it first. Go get him first. All right, so if we have the kind of thoughts that everything is okay and everything is wholesome, then we can treat other people okay and wholesome. But if our. If our thought forms and our systems and our feelings are that of fear, then what we’re going to do first is go spread our fear.

Luke: Yeah.

Dhammarato: So this is how we actually practice is to take the right noble effort to change those kind of thoughts, be they discursive or images or whatever they are, into wholesome thoughts. Images, thoughts, whatever they are, they can be wholesome. So if you’re a Tibetan monk looking at Tonkas, you don’t want to look at Kali. Kali and Durgay are the. The devils.

Luke: Oh, okay.

Dhammarato: All right. What you want to look at instead is the deities, the ones who were satisfied, the one who have everything that they need. So if you have, let us say, images in the mind, then the kind of images that you want to have is the image of everything is. Okay. If you have discursive thought, you want to have discursive thoughts, or you want to actually talk to yourself in the sense of everything is not a worry in the world. Okay. Also with the images, we can actually image things as not there. An example of that is when sometimes I’ll ask a student, do you have any alligators at your feet? Do you hear the pounding on the door where the SWAT team is breaking in? Do you have a mafia boss behind you? No, you don’t have any of that kind of stuff. And so the lack of it is, wow, what are relief. It is. I don’t have any of that stuff.

Luke: Yeah.

Dhammarato: Wow. There’s nothing to it. Okay. And so having thoughts of emptiness, the thoughts of everything is okay. No dangers there. So this is a way of beginning to have the kind of thoughts, images, etc. Like that that are going to bring on that attitude of safe, secure, comfortable, which leads into satisfaction. All right. Now if we continue to practice satisfaction over and over and over again, we’ll also have the kind of thought of wow, this feels really nice. Wow, this is great. Or another kind of thought would be, well, I can do this. Well, I can feel good. Everything is all right. We begin to see reality, that in fact, it’s been okay all along. We made up those problems. We do a lot of what about ism, what about this and what about that? We think that if we go solve all those problems, we’ll be okay.

Luke: Yeah.

Dhammarato: The fact is, we’re already okay. We don’t have to think of those problems to solve. We’re already okay. That’s the reality is. And so, in fact, in a way of speaking, by practicing the eight Pole Noble path, we’re actually much closer to reality than we were when we were thinking about all the stuff that could go wrong.

Luke: Yeah, that makes sense.

Dhammarato: So this is the way that we practice now. I’ve often had students when I talk about this, they start asking a whole lot of questions, well, what about this and what about that? And I keep trying to bring them back to, let’s not ask a lot of questions. Because questions are associated with doubt, and doubt is a hindrance to feeling good. And they think that, oh, I’ve got to clear out the doubt by asking questions. Well, guess what? Answers don’t bring fulfillment. Answers is just our questions, and answers is just another habit. And so we’re actually reinforcing our doubt by asking a lot of questions.

Luke: Yeah. Yeah.

Dhammarato: What we really need to do instead is practice. This is why I talk about it in the sense of every hour, let’s do some practice.

Luke: Right. Okay.

Dhammarato: This hour is going to be a whole lot better off. If I spend the first five minutes of it feeling good, then if I finish this hour and go into the next one with all the problems and hurries and worries and frustrations that I finished that hour with. But if I can start this hour feeling good, then that will influence the rest of this hour.

Luke: Yeah.

Dhammarato: And in fact, in two hours time, someone who practices every hour for five minutes will probably wind up getting more done than the guy who practiced 120 minutes solid.

Luke: Yeah. Well, that. That was the one question I wanted to talk to you about was formal meditation. Like, how much time would you recommend sort of sitting like I sit in the morning for 30 minutes and sometimes in the evening? Not every evening, but yeah.

Dhammarato: Well, if you can do five minutes of wholesome thoughts, one wholesome thought after another after another, that’s good. That’s really good progress.

Luke: Yeah. Yeah. Yep.

Dhammarato: Almost no one can do five minutes in a row. And if they can’t do Five minutes. Why do the meditation teachers say to sit for an hour? Because all that happens in the second. At least half that hour is waiting for the bell to ring.

Luke: Yeah.

Dhammarato: They get dull. They’re not watching their breathing. But for five minutes you can remember.

Luke: Yeah.

Dhammarato: The human extension. Go ahead.

Luke: Yeah, yeah. No, I was just going to say. So I found with trying to, like turning to wholesome thoughts or bringing up wholesome thoughts, I found often I need to. Let’s say I’m in a. Something’s going on, I’m in a bad mood, or something’s happened and I’m feeling frustrated. I find that maybe I need to take a little. A few deep breaths, maybe five, six deep breaths, and then turn and then turn towards sort of trying to bring up the wholesome thoughts. So maybe breathing a bit first. Does that make. Do you understand?

Dhammarato: But isn’t remembering to take a long, deep breath isn’t that a wholesome thought?

Luke: Yeah, I guess it is. I. I suppose I’m thinking of it like wholesome thought, like thinking, you know, rather than just breathing. But I get what you mean.

Dhammarato: Well, the thought then would be, is, wow, this is a good breath. Really thinking about how you feel when you’re taking this good, deep breath. And when you take a few of them in a row, actually, you begin to lighten up. You could go so far as to say lightheaded.

Luke: Yeah.

Dhammarato: Okay. There’s a word that they call hyperventilate. And that long, deep breathing takes us not over the over the edge, but it takes us in the direction of getting a lot of energy into the brain through oxygen oxygenating, but it also has the quality of removing carbon dioxide and the other poison. So we’re now, because we’re breathing well, we’re getting good blood throughout the body. We begin. We begin to feel tingly, alive, alert, awake to the breathing.

Luke: So can I ask a question? Why. Why then don’t more Buddhist traditions more. Why don’t they teach this more longer breathing, like to calm and stuff?

Dhammarato: I never.

Luke: I rarely hear this.

Dhammarato: Taught us well, partly because almost all of the meditation teachers do two things. One is that they teach what their teacher taught them, and number two, they make up.

Luke: Yep.

Dhammarato: And that’s especially what we find in Western Buddhism. And the other side of it is the ones who are scholarly who think that they have to know every sutta before they ever start to practice correctly. All right. But someplace in the middle is that sweet spot of really understanding what the Buddha said and then practicing it.

Luke: Yeah.

Dhammarato: That’S what we’re Going for here is that sweet spot of figuring out what the Buddha said and doing it, practicing it over and over and over again to build some new wholesome habits rather than relying upon all of the stuff that we were taught by all of those people who were actually not very happy.

Luke: Yeah, yeah.

Dhammarato: Very rarely will I hear a student say, oh, well, my mom and my dad were really happy people.

Luke: Yes.

Dhammarato: They cared about my happiness, but they didn’t know how to give it to me because they didn’t even know what it was. All right. But having wholesome thoughts, one after another after another, we begin to enjoy life. We have a positive attitude. But this is not the power of positive thinking, because a lot of unwholesome thoughts are positive thoughts. What we’re talking about, in fact, is more real thoughts. Something that’s real and wanting something that you don’t have. And so having a mantra or something like that about I gotta have it, I gotta have it, I gotta have it, that’s a positive thought, but it’s not at all wholesome.

Luke: Yeah, I get what you mean. Okay. Yeah. So stuff like, I noticed I’m. I’m friends with a few Thai people, and I noticed some of them are into this whole. The secret thing where you manifest, you think about. If you think about something, wanting something enough, you’ll kind of manifest it in your life. Like, I have this. You know, like material things.

Dhammarato: Right. Like a yacht.

Luke: Yeah. A new car. I want a new car. If I think about a Mercedes Benz enough, one will appear.

Dhammarato: So that’s a positive thought, but it’s not wholesome.

Luke: Yeah.

Dhammarato: Yeah. Okay. A wholesome thought would be, wow, I don’t need a yacht. I’m happy enough. I could play in my bathtub. I don’t need an ocean.

Luke: Yeah. Yeah.

Dhammarato: And so this is the way, being satisfied with what we already have. Because what you already have is real and you’re okay enough with what’s real. But wanting something you don’t have, that’s actually a definition of being dissatisfied. Okay, let’s pursue that for just a moment. If I like something and I ignorantly like it and want it, then I’ll have the thought I would be better off if I had it. Which means then that right now I’m not good enough because I don’t have what I want. It also has. Going even deeper into it, it would also say, is that what I want must be good because I’ll be better off if I had it.

Luke: Yeah.

Dhammarato: And so we have that thought of, yachts are good. The reality Is. Are yachts really that good? How big a staff do you have to have to manage that yacht? What about taking it and dry docking it and taking all the particles off of it and repairing of the engine and firing the cook and all of this kind of stuff. When we recognize, hey, I’m good enough without a yacht, I don’t need a yacht.

Luke: Yeah.

Dhammarato: Okay, so that’s a wholesome thought. I don’t need a yacht to be happy. A lot of people have yachts. Are they happy now when they see the bill? So you probably heard this, that a yacht is a hole in the ocean that you pour money into.

Luke: Yes.

Dhammarato: It doesn’t matter whether it’s a schooner or one of these big dudes.

Luke: Yeah.

Dhammarato: Luxury liner, yacht. But it doesn’t matter what kind of yacht it is. They all sink in a storm. But here I am on dry land, just very happy. I’m okay where I am.

Luke: Yep.

Dhammarato: Okay. And so having those kind of thoughts, I’m okay the way that I am. So going back to that point about if we like it, then we think that we’ll be better off if we have it. Which means now that we’re in a state of deprivation in some way, I’m yachtless. Oh, poor me, what a victim I am. All of my rich friends have yachts and I don’t have one. And yachts are good. Okay, so that’s all of that thought process. Now we can take the word yacht off of it and say that girl or that house or any house at all, or any car at all, or any laptop or anything that we want that we don’t have. We feel deprived if we don’t have it. Yeah, but if we can have thoughts of, oh, I’m okay without it. I’m just fine. Now that’s a wholesome thought. I want it, I need it, I gotta have it. I’ll kill for it. Those are all thoughts.

Luke: So we can apply this to anything, right? Certain types of food, drink, whatever it is, Right? Anything. Any kind of craving, anything you want.

Dhammarato: That you don’t have.

Luke: Yeah, yeah.

Dhammarato: And so make sure then wise. Wanting is wanting things that you can have easily. And the easier it is to get it, the more wholesome it is. Like, I want a good, long, deep breath. Well, here it is. I want a drink of water. Here it is. Now, if I say I want Johnny Walker Black Label and I find that there’s none for sale on the island, I’ve got to go to Bangkok to find it. And guess what? Even the liquor stores in Bangkok don’t have Johnnie Walker Black. Now I’m really hurting because I’m really deprived. I don’t have Johnny Walker Black. Poor me. But I never needed it in the first place. It was merely a thought. And that thought can be the label of Johnnie Walker Black. In fact, that’s probably what it starts with. Not the whip, not the smell of the alcohol, but the label.

Luke: Yeah.

Dhammarato: The visualization of the label. I see that label now. I want it.

Luke: Yeah, yeah.

Dhammarato: And the warning it then is almost always expressed as discursive thoughts.

Luke: This is how advertising works, right?

Dhammarato: Mm. Mm. And what we can advertise to ourselves instead is, hey, we got what we need. Everything is already okay. And guess what? That’s real. We really don’t need Johnny Walker Black. In fact, too much of it is downright dangerous. In fact, any of it at all when I want it and I don’t have it is dangerous. So this is the real teaching of the Buddha. And we’ve talked about it in the sense of Three out of the eight items on the eight bold and noble path actually begin to talk about the fourth one, and that is that when satisfaction grows into the attitude of, I’ve got dismayed. I’m the boss here. That’s the samosen copper. The samosen copy is an attitude. And we come out of our victim’s attitude into the attitude of, wow, I’ve got it. Well, you had it all along. That’s just reality. We’re just appreciating reality. Wow. I’m okay. I’m okay.

Luke: Yeah.

Dhammarato: So this is the way we practice. You can go, take five minutes and say, wow, I’m okay. Everything is all right. Whatever comes to mind, you can say right then and there, oh, I don’t need that. I’m okay without it. So having something on the mind, like a yacht or Johnnie Walker’s or a car or whatever occurs, even thinking about your bank account, thinking about your stock that just went down today, those are all unwholesome thoughts because it always leads to, I want something. And when you want something, you’re in a state of deprivation, almost by definition. But if you have the thoughts of, I’ve got everything I need. I’m okay. Those are wholesome thoughts.

Luke: Yeah.

Dhammarato: So can you practice that, Luke? All right.

Luke: I think I can. Yeah. Thank you.

Dhammarato: Yes. You go practice that. You’ll be okay. Everything is just fine. Start having that attitude at least once an hour. I’m okay.

Luke: Yeah. Okay. I like that. All right. Just got to keep the motivation like the, you know, Got to keep.

Dhammarato: Well, the motivation itself is feeling okay. What other do we need? In fact, as we progress along the path, we get really, really eager. Where does that eagerness come from? The motivation is because we’re actually getting the correct benefit from our practice.

Luke: Yeah.

Dhammarato: And then we become completely delighted with our practice.

Luke: Wow.

Dhammarato: This is so good.

Luke: How. How much do you think environment comes into our happiness? Our.

Dhammarato: Great deal of influence both directions, in the sense that most people spend most of their time around people who were unhappy. It would be better to be all in the woods in an empty hut, sitting under a tree, out on nature walk, where everything around you is just okay.

Luke: Yeah.

Dhammarato: Being around other people.

Luke: Yeah.

Dhammarato: Who are also okay. That will help you to remember that you’re okay. Everything is fine.

Luke: Yeah. Yeah. I. I’m lucky enough I live near a monastery, that I go and stay at a Buddhist monastery fairly often, and I always come back feeling good, you know, just from the environment. But I start working again, dealing with family, whatever, all that stuff. And it doesn’t take long before it kind of goes. Yeah.

Dhammarato: Or exactly.

Luke: Yeah.

Dhammarato: You know, once an hour. Don’t be in that mode. Be in this. Yeah. Yeah.

Luke: Okay. Yeah.

Dhammarato: All right. You go practice.

Luke: Thank you. Demarado.

Dhammarato: All right. Give me a call in about a week or so.

Luke: I will. I’ll let you know how I’m going.

Dhammarato: Excellent.

Luke: Thank you.

Dhammarato: Huh? We’ll see you. Bye. Bye.

Luke: See you. Take care.

Summary

In this Dhamma talk, Dhammarato explores the nature of thought, the importance of wholesome thinking, and how to cultivate a mindset of satisfaction and safety. He emphasizes that much of our dissatisfaction (Dukkha) arises from fear-based thoughts and habitual patterns of thinking. By observing our thoughts and replacing unwholesome ones with wholesome ones, we can shift from a state of fear and dissatisfaction to one of safety, security, and joy. Dhammarato also discusses the role of the amygdala in fear and how conscious breathing can help calm it. He encourages listeners to practice “right Noble viewing” (observing thoughts) and “right Noble effort” (changing unwholesome thoughts to wholesome ones) as part of the Eightfold Path.

Definitions

  • Dukkha: Dissatisfaction.

  • Wholesome Thoughts: Thoughts that lead to satisfaction, safety, and contentment.

  • Unwholesome Thoughts: Thoughts that lead to fear, craving, and dissatisfaction.

  • Right Noble Viewing: Actively observing thoughts rather than just conceptualizing them.

  • Right Noble Effort: Changing unwholesome thoughts into wholesome ones

Outline of this Dhamma Talk

1. Introduction: The Hindrance of Doubt and the Importance of Practice (0:03 - 0:33)

  • Key Points: Dhammarato begins by addressing the common tendency to ask questions and doubt, which can hinder progress. He emphasizes the importance of practice over excessive questioning.
  • Practical Application: Focus on practicing mindfulness and observing thoughts rather than getting stuck in doubt or over-analysis.

2. Defining Thought: Discursive, Imagery, and Bodily Sensations (0:33 - 2:01)

  • Key Points: Thoughts are defined as any way we consciously spend a “mind moment.” This includes discursive thoughts (language), images (daydreaming, night dreams), and bodily sensations (listening, feeling).
  • Metaphor: Thoughts are like a movie with actors, a script, and a director, but the “rolling camera” (observation) is what gives it meaning.
  • Practical Application: Become an observer of your thoughts, noticing whether they are discursive, visual, or sensory.

3. Tibetan Practices: Tonkas and Mandalas (2:01 - 4:23)

  • Key Points: Dhammarato discusses Tibetan practices involving visual images (Tonkas) and mandalas, which are created without discursive thought.
  • Example: Four monks creating a mandala with colored sand, working in harmony without verbal communication.
  • Practical Application: Engage in activities that involve visual or sensory focus, reducing reliance on verbal or discursive thinking.

4. Right Noble Viewing: Observing Thoughts (4:23 - 6:16)

  • Key Points: “Right Noble viewing” is the practice of actively observing thoughts rather than just conceptualizing them. It involves looking at the relationship between discursive thoughts and visual images.
  • Metaphor: The mind is like a movie set, and observing thoughts is like rolling the camera to see what’s happening.
  • Practical Application: Practice observing your thoughts as they arise, noting whether they are wholesome or unwholesome.

5. The Role of the Mind and Breathing (6:16 - 8:31)

  • Key Points: The Buddha emphasized the mind as the starting point for practice. Conscious breathing brings awareness to the frontal cortex, helping us move away from automatic, reptilian brain responses.
  • Practical Application: Practice conscious breathing to calm the amygdala and reduce fear-based thoughts.

6. The Three Parts of the Brain: Reptilian, Mammalian, and Frontal Cortex (8:31 - 11:13)

  • Key Points: Dhammarato explains the three parts of the brain: the reptilian brain (automatic functions), the mammalian brain (language and communication), and the frontal cortex (higher thinking).
  • Example: Dogs communicate through body language and sounds, but humans have developed more complex verbal communication.
  • Practical Application: Spend more time engaging the frontal cortex through mindful observation and conscious thinking.

7. Visual Images and Memory (11:13 - 12:29)

  • Key Points: Visual images are stored in the cerebellum, which is larger in humans, allowing us to remember and recreate images.
  • Example: Some people associate numbers with colors (e.g., green with the number five).
  • Practical Application: Notice how your mind uses visual imagery and how it influences your thoughts.

8. Judging Thoughts: Wholesome vs. Unwholesome (12:29 - 14:42)

  • Key Points: We can judge our thoughts as wholesome or unwholesome. Most of our discursive thoughts are “verbal diarrhea” and not worth having.
  • Practical Application: Replace unwholesome thoughts with wholesome ones, such as “everything is okay.”

9. Right Noble Effort: Changing Thoughts (14:42 - 16:53)

  • Key Points: “Right Noble effort” involves changing unwholesome thoughts into wholesome ones. This requires sustained practice.
  • Practical Application: Practice sustaining wholesome thoughts, such as “I am safe and secure,” to reduce fear and anxiety.

10. The Amygdala and Fear (16:53 - 19:24)

  • Key Points: The amygdala is the source of fear. Long, slow breathing can massage the amygdala, reducing fear and promoting a sense of safety.
  • Practical Application: Use conscious breathing to calm the amygdala and shift from fear-based thoughts to thoughts of safety and security.

11. The End of Dukkha: Satisfaction and Safety (19:24 - 22:37)

  • Key Points: Dukkha (dissatisfaction) arises from fear. When we let go of fear, we experience satisfaction and safety.
  • Metaphor: The Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” but fear turns it into “Do unto others first before they do unto you.”
  • Practical Application: Cultivate thoughts of safety and satisfaction, such as “I am okay as I am.”

12. Practical Examples: Yachts and Johnny Walker (22:37 - 27:46)

  • Key Points: Dhammarato uses examples of wanting a yacht or Johnny Walker Black to illustrate how craving leads to dissatisfaction.
  • Example: A yacht is a “hole in the ocean you pour money into.” Wanting something you don’t have creates a sense of deprivation.
  • Practical Application: Practice thoughts of contentment, such as “I don’t need a yacht to be happy.”

13. The Power of Wholesome Thoughts (27:46 - 30:01)

  • Key Points: Wholesome thoughts lead to satisfaction and joy. Positive thinking is not enough; thoughts must be real and grounded in contentment.
  • Example: The “Secret” philosophy of manifesting desires is not wholesome because it focuses on wanting what you don’t have.
  • Practical Application: Focus on thoughts of gratitude and contentment, such as “I have everything I need.”

14. The Eightfold Path and Satisfaction (30:01 - 32:07)

  • Key Points: Three aspects of the Eightfold Path (right view, right effort, and right mindfulness) lead to satisfaction and the end of Dukkha.
  • Practical Application: Practice the Eightfold Path to cultivate a mindset of satisfaction and safety.

15. Conclusion: Practicing Wholesome Thoughts (32:07 - 41:59)

  • Key Points: Dhammarato encourages listeners to practice wholesome thoughts regularly, at least once an hour, to cultivate a positive attitude.
  • Practical Application: Set reminders to practice wholesome thoughts throughout the day, such as “I am okay, everything is fine.”

How to Practice

  • Observe Your Thoughts: Spend time each day observing your thoughts, noting whether they are discursive, visual, or sensory.
  • Practice Conscious Breathing: Use long, slow breaths to calm the amygdala and reduce fear-based thoughts.
  • Replace Unwholesome Thoughts: When you notice an unwholesome thought, replace it with a wholesome one, such as “everything is okay.”
  • Cultivate Contentment: Practice thoughts of gratitude and contentment, such as “I have everything I need.”
  • Set Reminders for Wholesome Thoughts: Set hourly reminders to practice wholesome thoughts, such as “I am safe and secure.”
  • Avoid Craving: Notice when you are craving something you don’t have and replace that thought with “I am okay without it.”
  • Practice the Eightfold Path: Focus on right view, right effort, and right mindfulness to cultivate satisfaction and end Dukkha.
  • Spend Time in Nature: Spend time in environments that promote calmness and contentment, such as nature walks or meditation retreats.
  • Be Mindful of Fear: Recognize when fear is driving your thoughts and use conscious breathing to calm the amygdala.

Metaphors, Analogies, and Stories**

  1. The Movie Metaphor: Thoughts are like a movie with actors, a script, and a director, but the “rolling camera” (observation) is what gives it meaning. This emphasizes the importance of observing your thoughts rather than getting caught up in them.
  2. The Golden Rule: Dhammarato contrasts the Golden Rule (“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”) with the fear-based version (“Do unto others first before they do unto you”). This illustrates how fear can distort our actions and thoughts.
  3. The Yacht Example: Wanting a yacht is used to illustrate how craving leads to dissatisfaction. Dhammarato explains that a yacht is a “hole in the ocean you pour money into,” emphasizing the futility of wanting material possessions.
  4. Johnny Walker Black: The craving for Johnny Walker Black is used to show how wanting something you don’t have creates a sense of deprivation. Dhammarato points out that the craving starts with the visualization of the label, not the actual substance.

The Johnny Walker Black Example: A Detailed Explanation

In this part of the talk, Dhammarato uses the example of craving Johnny Walker Black (a brand of whiskey) to illustrate how craving and wanting something we don’t have leads to dissatisfaction (Dukkha). Here’s a breakdown of the example and its deeper meaning:


The Story in Short

Dhammarato describes a scenario where someone wants a bottle of Johnny Walker Black whiskey. However, they find that it’s not available on the island where they live. They might even go to Bangkok to search for it, only to discover that even the liquor stores there don’t have it. This creates a sense of deprivation and dissatisfaction because they can’t get what they want.


Key Points of the Example
  1. Craving Starts with a Thought:
    • The craving for Johnny Walker Black doesn’t start with the actual whiskey or its taste. It starts with the thought or visualization of the label. The mind creates a desire based on the image of the product, not the product itself.
    • Metaphor: The label represents the mental construct of desire. We often crave things because of how we’ve imagined or visualized them, not because of their actual value or necessity.
  2. Dissatisfaction from Wanting:
    • When we want something we don’t have, we feel deprived. This sense of deprivation creates dissatisfaction (Dukkha).
    • In the example, the person feels unhappy because they can’t get Johnny Walker Black, even though they don’t actually need it to be happy.
  3. The Danger of Craving:
    • Dhammarato points out that wanting something we don’t have is inherently dangerous because it puts us in a state of lack. Even if we get the thing we want, the craving doesn’t necessarily go away—it just shifts to something else.
    • Example: If the person finally gets Johnny Walker Black, they might soon start craving something else, like a more expensive whiskey or a different luxury item.
  4. Wholesome vs. Unwholesome Thoughts:
    • The craving for Johnny Walker Black is an unwholesome thought because it leads to dissatisfaction. A wholesome thought would be: “I don’t need Johnny Walker Black to be happy. I’m okay without it.”
    • Practical Application: Replace thoughts of craving with thoughts of contentment. For example, instead of thinking, “I need Johnny Walker Black,” think, “I’m fine without it.”

Why This Example Matters
  1. Illustrates the Nature of Craving:
    • The example shows how craving is a mental habit rather than a physical need. We often crave things because of how we’ve been conditioned (e.g., through advertising or societal influences), not because they are essential to our well-being.
  2. Highlights the Role of Visualization:
    • The visualization of the Johnny Walker Black label is a metaphor for how our minds create desires. We often crave things based on mental images or concepts, not reality.
  3. Teaches Contentment:
    • The example encourages us to practice contentment by recognizing that we don’t need external things (like whiskey) to be happy. True satisfaction comes from being okay with what we already have.

Practical Application
  1. Notice Craving:
    • When you find yourself wanting something (like a luxury item, a specific food, or even a particular experience), pause and ask yourself: “Do I really need this to be happy?”
  2. Replace Unwholesome Thoughts:
    • If you catch yourself craving something, replace that thought with a wholesome one. For example:
      • Unwholesome: “I need Johnny Walker Black to feel good.”
      • Wholesome: “I’m okay without it. I have everything I need.”
  3. Practice Gratitude:
    • Focus on what you already have rather than what you lack. For example, instead of thinking about the whiskey you don’t have, appreciate the simple pleasures in your life, like a glass of water or a moment of peace.
  4. Understand the Role of Advertising:
    • Recognize how advertising and societal influences create cravings. The Johnny Walker Black label is a metaphor for how marketing manipulates our desires. By being mindful of this, you can reduce the power of external influences over your thoughts.

Clarification of the Metaphor

The Johnny Walker Black label is not just about whiskey—it’s a metaphor for how our minds create desires. The label represents the mental image or concept of something we want. The craving starts with that image, not the actual object. This is why Dhammarato emphasizes that the thought of wanting is more dangerous than the object itself. By understanding this, we can learn to let go of cravings and find contentment in the present moment.


Conclusion

The Johnny Walker Black example is a powerful teaching on how craving and wanting lead to dissatisfaction. By observing our thoughts and replacing unwholesome cravings with wholesome contentment, we can break free from the cycle of Dukkha and find true satisfaction in the present moment.

Dhammarato’s Perspective on “The Secret”

In the talk, Dhammarato briefly touches on “The Secret”, a popular self-help philosophy that promotes the idea of manifesting desires through positive thinking. Here’s a detailed breakdown of what he says and how it ties into his teachings:


What is “The Secret”?

“The Secret” is a book and film that gained widespread popularity for its teachings on the law of attraction. The core idea is that by focusing on positive thoughts and visualizing what you want, you can attract those things into your life. For example, if you think about having a luxury car or a yacht enough, you’ll eventually manifest it.


Dhammarato’s Critique of “The Secret” (Positive Thinking vs Wholesome Thinking)
  1. Positive Thinking vs. Wholesome Thinking:
    • Dhammarato points out that positive thinking (as promoted by “The Secret”) is not the same as wholesome thinking. While positive thinking focuses on wanting and manifesting desires, wholesome thinking focuses on contentment and satisfaction with what you already have.
    • Example: Thinking, “I want a Mercedes-Benz” is a positive thought, but it’s not wholesome because it’s based on craving something you don’t have. A wholesome thought would be, “I’m happy with the car I have.”
  2. Craving Leads to Dissatisfaction:
    • “The Secret” encourages people to focus on what they want, but Dhammarato explains that wanting something you don’t have creates a sense of deprivation and dissatisfaction (Dukkha). This is the opposite of the contentment and satisfaction that wholesome thoughts bring.
    • Example: If you constantly think about wanting a yacht, you’ll feel unhappy until you get it—and even then, the happiness may be short-lived because the craving doesn’t stop.
  3. The Danger of Manifesting Desires:
    • Dhammarato warns that the desire to manifest material things (like a yacht or a luxury car) can lead to unwholesome thoughts and behaviors. For example, you might become obsessed with acquiring the thing you want, which can lead to stress, anxiety, and even unethical actions.
    • Metaphor: A yacht is described as a “hole in the ocean you pour money into.” This highlights the futility of chasing material possessions for happiness.
  4. Real vs. Unreal Thoughts:
    • Dhammarato emphasizes that wholesome thoughts are real—they are grounded in the present moment and what you already have. In contrast, the thoughts promoted by “The Secret” are often unreal because they focus on things you don’t have and may never get.
    • Example: Thinking, “I need a yacht to be happy” is unreal because it’s based on a fantasy. Thinking, “I’m happy with my life as it is” is real because it’s grounded in the present.

Practical Application
  1. Focus on Contentment:
    • Instead of trying to manifest things you don’t have, practice contentment with what you already have. For example, instead of thinking, “I need a yacht,” think, “I’m happy with my life as it is.”
  2. Replace Craving with Gratitude:
    • When you catch yourself wanting something, replace that thought with gratitude for what you already have. For example, instead of thinking, “I want a new car,” think, “I’m grateful for the car I have.”
  3. Be Mindful of Advertising:
    • Recognize how advertising and societal influences (like “The Secret”) create cravings. By being mindful of this, you can reduce the power of external influences over your thoughts.
  4. Practice Wholesome Thoughts:
    • Cultivate thoughts that are wholesome and grounded in reality. For example, instead of thinking, “I need a luxury item to be happy,” think, “I have everything I need to be happy right now.”

Conclusion

Dhammarato’s critique of “The Secret” is rooted in the Buddhist teaching that craving and wanting lead to dissatisfaction (Dukkha). While “The Secret” promotes positive thinking and manifesting desires, Dhammarato emphasizes the importance of wholesome thinking and contentment with what you already have. By focusing on real, grounded thoughts rather than fantasies, you can cultivate true satisfaction and happiness.

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