Accustomed

Whose house was in Bang Phli area many years ago? The life was quite peaceful. After that, when Suvarnabhumi Airport moved in, the sound of planes taking off and landing was so loud that the villagers living in the plane take-off and landing line almost had to plug their ears and the planes took off and landed every day almost every minute. From that day until today, many years have passed since the airport opened. No one feels that sound anymore. The plane came…stopped talking. The plane passed…continued talking. Everyone seems to have adjusted their way of life. Try asking the villagers who live in the area with stagnant water. From the time that passed, the perception of the stench was as if it no longer existed. The child was sent to boarding school. At first, he didn’t want to stay at all. But after staying for a while, he didn’t want to go home anymore. He wanted to stay with his friends instead. Today, he likes to eat chili paste and mackerel. He was sent to India. Believe it or not, at first, he couldn’t eat it. But then, when there was nothing to eat, he had to endure it. After a while, he would enjoy the Indian food. When we stay with something for a while, we get used to it. What is behind the truth that we seem to know? The truth is, we don’t get used to it (where is “us”?) Because that is only the apparent result. The truth is The nature of all forms and names (both form and name, body and mind) has the property of adapting to new conditions. Adapting to a new condition is natural because this is the survival of animals and plants. This is because the environment changes due to factors all the time. For example, a meteorite from outer space hit the earth, causing a violent impact, the ocean splashed, a huge tsunami occurred, a volcanic eruption buried the dinosaurs and killed them all. The atmosphere was filled with thick smoke and dust. The sunlight did not reach the ground, so the earth became ice. Humans had to adapt and plants had to adapt. Time has passed until the present. We are becoming aware of global warming because we are accelerating various factors by digging things up from underground to burn them on the ground. The state of balance has changed and caused a chain reaction. Animals and plants have also had to adapt. Adaptation has always happened because unstable external factors affected internal factors. And internal factors (abstracts, feelings) that are also never stable (due to ignorance and fabrication) also try to change the external factors and environment to be as desired. Since adaptation is always present, adapting to new things or new conditions constantly creates familiarity with the new conditions. Plants also adapt to the new environment. Animals are the same, humans are the same. This new adjustment, in animals that have feelings of happiness, suffering, indifference, they adjust from suffering to indifference. When they are indifferent for a while, happiness arises. When something changes again, there is suffering again, so it adjusts again to indifference, and then it becomes accustomed to it and begins to be happy (stupidly going around in a circle, stupidly going around in a circle like this). This is the condition that is seen as a result. The ultimate condition is when the mind first encounters a new condition, it will struggle and sway because it has to protect itself, until it feels safe and then it will not cling to that matter anymore. At first, it suffers because the mind struggles, but when the mind stops struggling, it feels indifferent. But the cause might also come from the body, for example, when living in a cold country and then moving to a hot country, the body’s skin is exposed to the heat, which affects the change and adaptation. There is movement and water is expelled to cool down. When the change occurs, the feeling is transmitted through the abstract, continuing in a chain. Contact arises, the consciousness translates it into positive and negative values, so there is suffering. This creates suffering pain for a while, and the feeling changes from suffering to indifference because the mind no longer clings to that thing like it did in the beginning. Or for example, when a conscript is first sent to a military camp, he will suffer a lot for a while, then he will adjust to the new condition and become a disciplined person. The hardships in the early days became normal. The body was achy on the first few days, but it adjusted itself because it had to struggle to stay in this state, so muscles were formed. These conditions occur because there were triggers for them. They do not have any real existence. In the end, good habits become attached to it, waking up early, being strong, and disciplined. But if new factors do not continue, it will adjust itself again. So it is said that it is the same as before, it just looks similar. How can it be the same? However, this new adjustment is not only positive like the examples above. When being in a group with bad habits, the body will also absorb the badness, the lack of discipline, and the selfishness that are the conditions of the environment. When immersed in normal water, the body gets used to normal water. When immersed in hot water, at first the body will be uncomfortable with the hot water, suffering from the hot water, and then get used to the hot water. This is the adjustment of the form and name, and of animals with feelings. Today, because of this, it has been obscured because we do not see the truth, so we are mistakenly fabricating feelings, even though that is how it is. If we see the truth, we will find the unbelievable truth that the adjustment of the form and name, both animate and inanimate, both with spirit and without spirit, both with feeling and without feeling, is always adjusting regardless of whether anyone owns it or not. This is the term that explains this truth in a single sentence: “Because there is this, this is a factor, this and that arise.” This condition was coined by the Buddha and called “Itabpaccayatā.” Therefore, all things in the world are subject to Itabpaccayatā. When the result we see this second comes from the cause in the previous second, and the previous second has a cause from the second before that, that makes us understand that everything changes according to causes and conditions all the time. There is no condition for a stable self. This is why there is no way that all things can be stable. It causes us to see impermanence. This is a condition that goes back to the root. Those who see impermanence see only the result that manifests of form and name. True wisdom or the truth is to go in and see the true cause of all things. Then we can let go of clinging. But no, we are not there yet. We will move forward to expose the truth of the world that has been misleading us. Although all things are dependent origination, including all things, the ones that will truly relate to beings are those with feelings or those with suffering. Therefore, the teachings of the Buddha will focus only on beings with suffering in order to escape from suffering. Dependent origination is therefore narrowed down to only dependent origination, which will relate only to beings with suffering. Then we will find the truth that there has never been a “person” or “I” in beings. Our being comes from clinging. If you look at what I have read, to summarize it simply, feelings – happiness, suffering, indifference – come from changes in external conditions and affect the body and mind, or from internal struggles that want to change the external. Then the feelings will go around because of ignorance of the true truth, so we cling to them. So, is it good to get used to it? Getting used to it is good, but getting used to it is stupid. The Lord Buddha had great wisdom and intelligence. He realized the Noble Truths because he saw the truth. So he knew that only the Path could lead beings to freedom because they would see the truth. In the Noble Eightfold Path, it will pull beings out of the habit of demerit, which is the instinct to want to harm, to oppress in order to survive, to change to not want to harm instead with precepts in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th elements of the path, with wisdom from the 1st and 2nd elements of the path. Then, when the body and speech are calm, it will go to manage to change the abstract, which is the mind and spirit, to be on the path of merit, abandoning demerit in order to move the deeply rooted habits from the bank of demerit to be on the path of merit instead. Therefore, the first tool, the 6th element of the path, is used to have beings abandon demerit and change to develop merit instead, staying with merit as much and often as possible until they are accustomed to merit. The nature of form and name as explained will adjust to the new state. Then, the form and name, body and mind, or the 5 aggregates will begin to become attached to merit. Hence the next word that the Lord Buddha spoke: It is easy for good people to do good, difficult for bad people to do bad, easy for bad people to do good, difficult for good people. Then that person will continue to do merit, but merit such as loving-kindness and compassion is good in living together in society, but the merit that the Lord Buddha wanted to connect to and will be beneficial to the highest goal is anapanasati. Why? But when staying with merit and doing merit until becoming accustomed to it, Then, one will become accustomed to doing good deeds. Then, one must use the seventh element of the path, Right Mindfulness, to let go of clinging to good deeds, but will not stop doing good deeds. Then, one will not do good deeds by contemplating and making them one’s own again. One will begin to do good deeds with a free mind. One will gradually find the truth. When the journey has arisen a lot from abandoning evil deeds, and the mind relies on good deeds, it will create an identity for clinging to good deeds, which is the nature of the mind with ignorance. Therefore, in order to see the truth, the mind must be allowed to see that the various bases that the mind circles through, namely the body, feelings, mind, and mental objects, doing evil deeds results in evil deeds. Doing good deeds results in the mind being good deeds. (Many people are confused at this point that whether good or evil deeds, they all arise and pass away. This is true. But if delusion takes over, they will say that doing evil or good deeds is the same. This is where they have lost their way.) When one sees the truth that everything arises and passes away, that will lead to the correct view, which is the non-self. While traveling through the four bases, with repetition, one will begin to see the truth that will be the wisdom of the Noble Truths, that is, the four bases are tools to know the truth of what the five aggregates are. Because of the repetition of seeing the four bases, there is the knowledge that the five aggregates are components that come together, hidden and overlapping by traveling through the four bases. Therefore, the four foundations of mindfulness are not the wisdom that is right view. This path is still classified as samadhi, not wisdom. Today, many people are mistaken that the four foundations of mindfulness are vipassana. The real vipassana is in the first component of the path, that is, when mindfulness is developed, the wisdom to understand that the five aggregates are not the self arises. That is vipassana. When understanding the four foundations of mindfulness, one will know that the body, feelings, mind and phenomena have no self. That is the same complex meaning that will be the continuation that form, feelings, perception, mental formations and consciousness have no self and are not-self. This understanding comes from the mind that is firmly established in right concentration. The factors for the arising of right concentration have been since right view, until renunciation, until morality, the mind becomes firmer. Until abandoning demerit, the mind becomes firmer. Until developing wholesome things, knowing the wind, anapanasati, the mind becomes firmer. This leads to the development of mindfulness well, understanding the truth and letting go of wrong views, and the mind becomes more established again, until it is finally established, seeing the truth and clearly knowing the Noble Truths: this is suffering, this is the cause of suffering, this is the complete cessation of suffering, and this is the path to the cessation of suffering. This is the highest right view, destroying those who cling to the aggregates because the mind itself clings to itself as the origin of all matters. Therefore, there is the eye-awakening (eye-awakening in us), the knowledge-awakening (intelligence-awakening in us), the wisdom-awakening (wisdom-awakening in us), the knowledge-awakening (knowledge-awakening in us), and the light-awakening (light-awakening in us) because the mind has let go of all the wrong views that have dominated the long journey through samsara. Therefore, the result is right knowledge, the true right knowledge, and right liberation, which is true liberation. There is no one who owns all things anymore. The mind returns to its original nature. If you understand the path that the Lord Buddha realized, would your disciples disrespect his words? Would you argue about whose thing is right? Don’t be stupid and layer yourself with stupidity. Come back to study the path, practice in accordance with the path, you will find true peace. Each of us has only a little time left. Don’t be like the chickens in the cage that are being transported to the slaughterhouse, but all the ignorant chickens still argue that their cage is better, that they are better, that that cage is no good. When we get there, I must lead because I know the truth. All the chickens, whether they are subordinates or bosses, talk about the same thing, develop the same wrong view until it becomes group delusion. They will see the group as “we are right” without seeing any truth. But how could they not? As soon as the car stopped, the pickup truck was unloaded, the cage was lifted down, and all the chickens, whether they were leaders or subordinates, were thrown in.