Crossing the Ocean of Life &more / Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo

(cont.)
Part II: Chanting
Investing the six elements with the Buddhaguṇa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammā-sambuddhassa. (Three times.)

Homage to the Blessed One, the Worthy One, the Rightly Self-awakened One.

Buddhaṃ āyu-vaḍḍhanaṃ jīvitaṃ yāva-nibbānaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi.

I go to the Buddha as my life, vitality, & refuge until reaching Liberation.

Dhammaṃ āyu-vaḍḍhanaṃ jīvitaṃ yāva-nibbānaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi.

I go to the Dhamma as my life, vitality, & refuge until reaching Liberation.

Saṅghaṃ āyu-vaḍḍhanaṃ jīvitaṃ yāva-nibbānaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi.

I go to the Sangha as my life, vitality, & refuge until reaching Liberation.

Dutiyampi buddhaṃ āyu-vaḍḍhanaṃ jīvitaṃ yāva-nibbānaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi.

A second time, I go to the Buddha as my life, vitality, & refuge until reaching Liberation.

Dutiyampi dhammaṃ āyu-vaḍḍhanaṃ jīvitaṃ yāva-nibbānaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi.

A second time, I go to the Dhamma as my life, vitality, & refuge until reaching Liberation.

Dutiyampi saṅghaṃ āyu-vaḍḍhanaṃ jīvitaṃ yāva-nibbānaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi.

A second time, I go to the Sangha as my life, vitality, & refuge until reaching Liberation.

Tatiyampi buddhaṃ āyu-vaḍḍhanaṃ jīvitaṃ yāva-nibbānaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi.

A third time, I go to the Buddha as my life, vitality, & refuge until reaching Liberation.

Tatiyampi dhammaṃ āyu-vaḍḍhanaṃ jīvitaṃ yāva-nibbānaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi.

A third time, I go to the Dhamma as my life, vitality, & refuge until reaching Liberation.

Tatiyampi saṅghaṃ āyu-vaḍḍhanaṃ jīvitaṃ yāva-nibbānaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi.

A third time, I go to the Sangha as my life, vitality, & refuge until reaching Liberation.

1. Wind element:
Vāyo ca buddha-guṇaṃ arahaṃ buddho itipi so bhagavā namāmi'haṃ.

Wind has the virtue of the Buddha. The Awakened One is worthy & so he is Blessed: I pay him homage.

Arahaṃ sammā-sambuddho,

Worthy is the Rightly Self-awakened One,

Vijjā-caraṇa-sampanno sugato lokavidū,

consummate in knowledge & conduct, one who has gone the good way, knower of the cosmos,

Anuttaro purisa-damma-sārathi satthā deva-manussānaṃ buddho bhagavāti.

unexcelled trainer of those who can be taught, teacher of human & divine beings; awakened; blessed.

(Think of the Buddha & his purity)

Vāyo ca dhammetaṃ arahaṃ buddho itipi so bhagavā namāmi'haṃ.

Wind is that quality. The Awakened One is worthy & so he is Blessed: I pay him homage.

Svākkhāto bhagavatā dhammo,

The Dhamma is well-expounded by the Blessed One,

Sandiṭṭhiko akāliko ehipassiko,

to be seen here & now, timeless, inviting all to come & see,

Opanayiko paccattaṃ veditabbo viññūhīti.

pertinent, to be seen by the wise for themselves.

(Think of Ven. Sariputta & his wisdom)

Vāyo ca saṅghānaṃ arahaṃ buddho itipi so bhagavā namāmi'haṃ.

Wind is given over to the Sanghas. The Awakened One is worthy & so he is Blessed: I pay him homage.

Supaṭipanno bhagavato sāvaka-saṅgho,

The Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples who have practiced well,

Uju-paṭipanno bhagavato sāvaka-saṅgho,

the Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples who have practiced straightforwardly,

Ñāya-paṭipanno bhagavato sāvaka-saṅgho,

the Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples who have practiced methodically,

Sāmīci-paṭipanno bhagavato sāvaka-saṅgho,

the Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples who have practiced masterfully,

Yadidaṃ cattāri purisa-yugāni aṭṭha purisa-puggalā:

i.e., the four pairs — the eight types — of Noble Ones:

Esa bhagavato sāvaka-saṅgho —

That is the Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples —

Āhuneyyo pāhuneyyo dakkhiṇeyyo añjali-karaṇīyo,

worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, worthy of offerings, worthy of respect,

Anuttaraṃ puññakkhettaṃ lokassāti.

the incomparable field of merit for the world.

(Think of Ven. Moggallana, his supernormal powers & his compassion.)

Dhātu-parisuddhānubhāvena, sabba-dukkhā sabba-bhayā sabba-rogā vimuccanti.

Through the power of the purity of the element, they are released from all pain, all danger, all disease.

Iti uddham-adho tiriyaṃ sabbadhi sabbattatāya sabbāvantaṃ lokaṃ, mettā karuṇā muditā upekkhā sahagatena cetasā, catuddisaṃ pharitvā viharati,

When one dwells spreading an awareness imbued with good will, compassion, appreciation, & equanimity in this way to the four directions, above, below, around, in every way throughout the entire cosmos,

Sukhaṃ supati sukhaṃ paṭibujjhati, na pāpakaṃ supinaṃ passati,

one sleeps with ease, wakes with ease, dreams no evil dreams.

Manussānaṃ piyo hoti, amanussānaṃ piyo hoti, devatā rakkhanti,

Nāssa aggi vā visaṃ vā satthaṃ vā kamati,

One is dear to human beings, dear to non-human beings, guarded by divine beings, and untouched by fire, poison, or weapons.

Tuvaṭaṃ cittaṃ samādhiyati, mukha-vaṇṇo vippasīdati,

One's mind is quickly concentrated & one's complexion bright.

Asammuḷho kālaṃ karoti,

Uttariṃ appaṭivijjhanto brahma-lokūpago hoti.

One dies unconfused and — if penetrating no higher — is reborn in the Brahma worlds.

Iti uddham-adho tiriyaṃ averaṃ averā sukha-jīvino.

Thus feeling no enmity above, below, & all around, free from enmity, one lives happily.

Kataṃ puñña-phalaṃ mayhaṃ sabbe bhāgī bhavantu te.

May all share in the blessings springing from the good I have done.

Bhavantu sabba-maṅgalaṃ rakkhantu sabba-devatā.

May there be every blessing, may divine beings keep guard.

Sabba-buddhānubhāvena sabba-dhammānubhāvena sabba-saṅghānubhāvena sotthi hontu nirantaraṃ,

Through the power of all the Buddhas, Dhammas, & Sanghas may there be well-being without end.

Arahaṃ buddho itipi so bhagavā namāmi'haṃ.

The Awakened One is worthy & so he is Blessed: I pay him homage.

The chant for each of the remaining elements is identical with the chant for the wind element, i.e., (1) the passage on the Buddha's virtues, (2) the passage on the Dhamma's virtues, (3) the passage on the Sangha's virtues, followed by the passage beginning, 'Dhātu-parisuddhānubhāvena...' Only the name of the element is changed:

2. Fire element:
Tejo ca buddha-guṇaṃ...

Tejo ca dhammetaṃ...

Tejo ca saṅghānaṃ...

3. Water element:
Āpo ca buddha-guṇaṃ...

Āpo ca dhammetaṃ...

Āpo ca saṅghānaṃ...

4. Earth element:
Paṭhavī ca buddha-guṇaṃ...

Paṭhavī ca dhammetaṃ...

Paṭhavī ca saṅghānaṃ...

5. Space element:
Ākāsā ca buddha-guṇaṃ...

Ākāsā ca dhammetaṃ...

Ākāsā ca saṅghānaṃ...

6. Consciousness element:
Viññāṇañca buddha-guṇaṃ...

Viññāṇañca dhammetaṃ...

Viññāṇañca saṅghānaṃ...

Once you have memorized Section 1, the remaining sections will be no problem, because they are virtually the same, differing only in the name of the element.

These six elements exist within each of us, so when you repeat the chant you should also think about the element you are chanting about: Wind — feelings of movement, such as the in-and-out breath; Fire — feelings of warmth; Water — liquid or cool feelings; Earth — feelings of heaviness or solidity; Space — feelings of emptiness; Consciousness — awareness of objects. If you think about these elements while you chant, the chant will be very beneficial.

The same chant can be used for the five aggregates, the twelve sense media, and the 32 parts of the body. The method of chanting is the same as with the six elements, simply substituting the names of the various aggregates, sense media, and parts of the body, as follows:

The Five Aggregates
1. Rūpañca — form, sense data

2. Vedanā ca feelings of pleasure, pain, and indifference

3. Saññā ca names, labels, acts of perceiving and identifying

4. Saṅkhārā ca — mental forces and processes

5. Viññāṇañca — consciousness of the six senses

The Twelve Sense Media
1. Cakkhu ca — eyes

2. Sotañca — ears

3. Ghānañca — nose

4. Jivhā ca — tongue

5. Kāyo ca — body

6. Mano ca — mind

7. Rūpañca — forms

8. Saddo ca — sounds

9. Gandho ca — smells

10. Raso ca — flavors

11. Poṭṭhabbā ca — tactile sensations

12. Dhammārammaṇañca — ideas

The 32 Parts of the Body
1. Kesā ca — Hair of the head

2. Lomā ca — Hair of the body

3. Nakhā ca — Nails

4. Dantā ca — Teeth

5. Taco ca — Skin

6. Maṃsañca — Flesh

7. Nhārū ca — Tendons

8. Aṭṭhī ca — Bones

9. Aṭṭhimiñjañca — Bone marrow

10. Vakkañca — Spleen

11. Hadayañca — Heart

12. Yakanañca — Liver

13. Kilomakañca — Membranes

14. Pihakañca — Kidneys

15. Papphāsañca — Lungs

16. Antañca — Large intestines

17. Antaguṇañca — Small intestines

18. Udariyañca — Gorge

19. Karīsañca — Feces

20. Matthaluṅgañca — Brain

21. Pittañca — Gall

22. Semhañca — Phlegm

23. Pubbo ca — Lymph

24. Lohitañca — Blood

25. Sedo ca — Sweat

26. Medo ca — Fat

27. Assu ca — Tears

28. Vasā ca — Oil

29. Kheḷo ca — Saliva

30. Siṅghāṇikā ca — Mucus

31. Lasikā ca — Oil in the joints

32. Muttañca — Urine

 

(cont.)
Part III: Meditation
There are seven basic steps:

1. Start out with three or seven long in-and-out breaths, thinking bud- with the in-breath, and dho with the out. Keep the meditation syllable as long as the breath.
   
   
2. Be clearly aware of each in-and-out breath.
   
   
3. Observe the breath as it goes in and out, noticing whether it's comfortable or uncomfortable, broad or narrow, obstructed or free-flowing, fast or slow, short or long, warm or cool. If the breath doesn't feel comfortable, change it until it does. For instance, if breathing in long and out long is uncomfortable, try breathing in short and out short. As soon as you find that your breathing feels comfortable, let this comfortable breath sensation spread to the different parts of the body.
   
   To begin with, inhale the breath sensation at the base of the skull and let it flow all the way down the spine. Then, if you are male, let it spread down your right leg to the sole of your foot, to the ends of your toes, and out into the air. Inhale the breath sensation at the base of the skull again and let it spread down your spine, down your left leg to the ends of your toes, and out into the air. (If you are female, begin with the left side first, because the male and female nervous systems are different.)
   
   Then let the breath from the base of the skull spread down over both shoulders, past your elbows and wrists, to the tips of your fingers, and out into the air.
   
   Let the breath at the base of the throat spread down the central nerve at the front of the body, past the lungs and liver, all the way down to the bladder and colon.
   
   Inhale the breath right at the middle of the chest and let it go all the way down to your intestines.
   
   Let all these breath sensations spread so that they connect and flow together, and you'll feel a greatly improved sense of well-being.
   
   
4. Learn four ways of adjusting the breath:
   
   1. in long and out long,
   2. in short and out short,
   3. in short and out long,
   4. in long and out short.
   Breathe whichever way is most comfortable for you. Or, better yet, learn to breathe comfortably all four ways, because your physical condition and your breath are always changing.
   
   
5. Become acquainted with the bases or focal points for the mind — the resting spots of the breath — and center your awareness on whichever one seems most comfortable. A few of these bases are:
   
   1. the tip of the nose,
   2. the middle of the head,
   3. the palate,
   4. the base of the throat,
   5. the breastbone (the tip of the sternum),
   6. the navel (or a point just above it).
   If you suffer from frequent headaches or nervous problems, don't focus on any spot above the base of the throat. And don't try to force the breath or put yourself into a trance. Breathe freely and naturally. Let the mind be at ease with the breath — but not to the point where it slips away.
   
   
6. Spread your awareness — your sense of conscious feeling — throughout the entire body.
   
   
7. Unite the breath sensations throughout the body, letting them flow together comfortably, keeping your awareness as broad as possible. Once you are fully aware of the aspects of the breath you already know in your body, you'll come to know all sorts of other aspects as well. The breath, by its nature, has many facets: breath sensations flowing in the nerves, those flowing around and about the nerves, those spreading from the nerves to every pore. Beneficial breath sensations and harmful ones are mixed together by their very nature.
   

To summarize: (a) for the sake of improving the energy already existing in every part of your body, so that you can contend with such things as disease and pain; and (b) for the sake of clarifying the knowledge already within you, so that it can become a basis for the skills leading to release and purity of heart — you should always bear these seven steps in mind, because they are absolutely basic to every aspect of breath meditation.

Worship, chanting, and meditation have to go hand-in-hand before they can truly purify the mind, in line with the basic principles of the Buddha's teachings:

Sabba-pāpassa akaraṇaṃ

Don't let anything corrupt or second-rate
find its way into your thoughts, words, or deeds.

Kusalassūpasampadā

Develop skill in all of your actions.

What this means is that in worship we have acted skillfully with our deeds, in chanting we have acted skillfully with our words, and in meditation we have acted skillfully with our thoughts. Once this is the case, we will be able to reach the heart of the Buddha's teachings:

Sacitta-pariyodapanaṃ

Attain purity of heart.

Everything in the world comes about solely through the power of the heart. A corrupt heart will abuse this power. A well-trained heart can use this power to uplift others and to gain blessings beyond price.
.................
:- https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/thai/lee/divinemantra.html

 

The Craft of the Heart

by
Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo
(Phra Suddhidhammaransi Gambhiramedhacariya)
--> https://www.nku.edu/~kenneyr/Buddhism/lib/thai/lee/craft.html

 

Starting Out Small

A Collection of Talks for Beginning Meditators
by
Phra Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo
(Phra Suddhidhammaransi Gambhiramedhacariya)

Translated from the Thai by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Contents

Introduction
Brightness Within
The Light of Discernment
Clinging
Letting Go



Three Principles
Three Strands of a Rope
At the Gate of a Cattle-pen
Starting Out Small
Housework & Fieldwork


Strength for the Journey
Into Position
Two Guardian Meditations
Playing Host
An Image of the Buddha



Binoculars
The Electric Heart
Restraint of the Senses
Snakes, Fires, & Thieves
Enduring Principles


Introduction

This is a work in progress. Eventually, I hope to make available in English a much larger collection of Ajaan Lee's talks to add to the collections already available: Lessons in Samadhi, Food for Thought, Inner Strength, and The Skill of Release. But for the moment, in keeping with the title of the collection, I'd like to start out small.


The passages translated here had their beginnings in talks that Ajaan Lee gave to groups of people while they were meditating. In some cases, the people were his followers; in others, total strangers. In every case, Ajaan Lee found it necessary to cover the sorts of questions that occur to people new to meditation -- Why meditate? How should I meditate? And why in that particular way? -- and in his own style he provided not only straightforward answers to these questions but also vivid analogies, to help his listeners relate their meditation to familiar activities so that they would feel less intimidated by the uncharted areas of the minds they were trying to tame.


One aspect of Ajaan Lee's teachings that might strike you as foreign is his analysis of the body into four properties: earth, fire, water, and wind. This mode of analysis dates back to the time of the Buddha, although Ajaan Lee develops it in a distinctive way. Think of this analysis, not as an attempt at biology or chemistry -- the sciences we use to analyze the body from the outside -- but as a way of analyzing how the body feels from the inside. This is an aspect of awareness that we often overlook and that, in English at least, we have a poor vocabulary for describing. As you gain through meditation a greater familiarity with this aspect of your awareness, you'll come to see how useful Ajaan Lee's method of analysis is.


The passages included here have taken a fairly circuitous route from Ajaan Lee's mouth to your eyes. One of his followers -- a nun, Mae Chii Arun Abhivanna -- took notes during the talks, from which she later worked up reconstructed versions of what Ajaan Lee had said. Ajaan Lee had a chance to review and revise the reconstructions of the talks dated prior to 1957. As for the talks made after that year, Mae Chii Arun didn't get around to making reconstructions until after Ajaan Lee's death in 1961, and so these were printed without his input.


Although the talks make for great reading, they make for even better listening. If you meditate with a group of friends, try arranging for one member of the group to read a passage while the others are meditating. In that way, you can best recreate the context for which the talks were originally intended.


Thanissaro Bhikkhu
October, 1999


-ooOoo-
:- https://www.budsas.org/ebud/ajlee-small/small-00.htm

 

Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo: Method 1

Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo: Method 2

Uttama Santi
Nov 29, 2020
Audio Book: Keeping the Breath in Mind & Lessons in Samadhi. Translated by Ṭhānisssaro Bhikkhu

 

Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo: Beyond Death

Audio Book: The Heightened Mind: Dhamma Talks of Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo. Translated by Ṭhānisssaro Bhikkhu
Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo: Beyond Right & Wrong

Uttama Santi
Mar 26, 2021
Audio Book: Inner Strength & Parting Gifts: Talks by Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo. Translated by Ṭhānisssaro Bhikkhu

 

Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo: Point Zero

Uttama Santi
Mar 27, 2021
Audio Book: Inner Strength & Parting Gifts: Talks by Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo. Translated by Ṭhānisssaro Bhikkhu

 

Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo: The Demons of Defilement

Uttama Santi
Apr 11, 2021
Audio Book: Inner Strength & Parting Gifts: Talks by Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo.
Translated by Ṭhānisssaro Bhikkhu

 

To the Last Breath
Dhamma Talks on Living and Dying
by
Venerable Acharn Maha Boowa Ñanasampanno
edited by
Bhikkhu Ariyesako
© 1996

See also Part Two: Directions for Insight
"... the Buddha said that it wasn't important which day we die.
Whenever the breath runs out, that is the day.
The only criterion is our last breath..."

Contents

• Editor's Preface
• Introduction
• Biographical Note
• 1. Ready to Go : Ready to Die
• 2. The Undying
• 3. The Highest Blessing
• 4. The Internal and the External — The True and the False
• 5. Letting Go
• 6. The Final Night — Fare Thee Well
• 7. The Middle Way
• Epilogue
• Glossary
• Appendix: The Gradual Teaching
• :-->https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/thai/boowa/tolastbr.html#ch1

 

Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo: Parasitic Consciousnesses

Audio Book: Inner Strength & Parting Gifts: Talks by Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo.
Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo: Merit

Audio Book: Starting Out Small: A Collection of Talks for Beginning Meditators
Uttama Santi
Apr 30, 2021
*Translated by Ṭhānisssaro Bhikkhu

 

Reading: Ajahn Lee On Awakening | Ajahn Sudhiro

Abhayagiri
Mar 7, 2023
Ajahn Sudhiro offers a reading from the collected teachings of Ajahn Lee Dhammadaro on the 7 factors of awakening. The reading is followed by a Q&A. This reading was offered on March 1, 2023 at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery.

 

Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo: Knowledge

Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo: Consciousnesses

Uttama Santi
Apr 23, 2021
Audio Book: Inner Strength & Parting Gifts: Talks by Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo. Translated by Ṭhānisssaro Bhikkhu

 

Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo: On Target

Uttama Santi
May 3, 2021

 

Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo - Coming Home (Read by Thanissaro Bhikkhu)

Benjamin Davis
Apr 20, 2023
Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo: The Art of Letting Go

Uttama Santi
Dec 8, 2020
Audio Book: Keeping the Breath in Mind & Lessons in Samadhi. Translated by Ṭhānisssaro Bhikkhu

 

Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo: Clean & Clear

Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo: Genuine Practice, Genuine Knowing

Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo: The Flesh Flavor of Dhamma

Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo: Intent

Uttama Santi
Nov 23, 2020

Audio Book: The Heightened Mind: Dhamma Talks of Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo. Translated by Ṭhānisssaro Bhikkhu

 

Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo: The Truth & its Shadows

Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo: Mental Power, Step by Step

Uttama Santi
Mar 24, 2021
Audio Book: Inner Strength & Parting Gifts: Talks by Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo.
Translated by Ṭhānisssaro Bhikkhu

 

Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo: Observe & Evaluate

Uttama Santi
Feb 25, 2021
Audio Book: Inner Strength & Parting Gifts: Talks by Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo. Translated by Ṭhānisssaro Bhikkhu

 

Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo: A Mind of Pure Gold

Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo: The Last Sermon

Uttama Santi
Dec 1, 2020
Audio Book: Inner Strength & Parting Gifts: Talks by Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo. Translated by Ṭhānisssaro Bhikkhu