[ Dhamma Talk ]
All the Corrupting Influences
(Sabb'āsava Sutta Outline)
[1][rhyt][chlm][pts][ati][upall] The destruction of the Asavas — The No-goods, the Corrupting Influences
This is the destruction of the Corrupting Influences in an individual who "Knows and Sees" (i.e., at least a Streamwinner):
There is yoniso-mana-sikara and a-yoniso-mana-sikara. [Studious etiological examination] Tracing things back to their point of origin and not tracing things back to their point of origin.
For the ordinary common man, tracing things back to their point of origin is a mere expression and has the wrong result because "point of origin" is not seen properly by him.[1] In such a one, not comprehending the things that should not be traced back to their point of origin ...
wanting that exists in the here and now increases,
wanting that does not yet exist in the here and now appears,
living that exists in the here and now increases,
living that does not yet exist in the here and now appears,
blindness that exists in the here and now increases,
blindness that does not yet exist in the here and now appears
because he is thinking:
"Was I?"
"Was I not?"
"What was I?"
"How did I appear (look)?"
"Having been what, what did I become?"
"Will I be reborn?"
"Will I not be reborn?"
"What will I become?"
"How will I appear?"
"Am I?"
"Am I not?"
"What am I?"
"How do I appear?"
"Having been what, did this appear?"
"Where will this be reborn?"
Which results in holding the following views:
"I have a self."
"I have no self."
"My self is aware of my self."
"By self I am aware of not having a self."
"Not having a self, I am aware of self."
or
"Whatever it is that is speaking, experiencing, knowing, now here, now there the fruition of deeds well done and badly done, that is the self of me and that is permanent, stable, eternal, not subject to change."
For the one who knows and sees, not tracing things back to their point of origin results in the corrupting influences increasing, tracing things back to their point of origin results in the corrupting influences decreasing. For the one who knows and sees, the corrupting influences are got rid of by:
Seeing things as they are:
Comprehending the things that should be traced back to their point of origin.
Such as things which traced back to their point of origin result in
wanting that exists in the here and now decreasing,
wanting that does not yet exist in the here and now not appearing,
living that exists in the here and now decreasing,
living that does not yet exist in the here and now not appearing,
blindness that exists in the here and now decreasing,
blindness that does not yet exist in the here and now not appearing.
Comprehending the ways one is properly tracing things back to their point of origin:
Thinking:
"This is pain" (dukkha),
"This is the origin of pain",
"This is how to end pain",
"This is the Way: High View; High Principles; High Talk; High Works; High Lifestyle; High Self Control; High Mind; High Getting High.
Comprehending the things that should not be traced back to their point of origin,
things which traced back to their point of origin result in:
Wanting that exists in the here and now increasing,
wanting that does not yet exist in the here and now appearing,
living that exists in the here and now increasing,
living that does not yet exist in the here and now appearing,
blindness that exists in the here and now increasing,
blindness that does not yet exist in the here and now appearing.
Comprehending the ways one is not properly tracing things back to their point of origin:
Thinking:
"Was I?"
"Was I not?"
"What was I?"
"How did I appear (look)?"
"Having been what, what did I become?"
"Will I be reborn?"
"Will I not be reborn?"
"What will I become?"
"How will I appear?"
"Am I?"
"Am I not?"
"What am I?"
"How do I appear?"
"Having been what, did this appear?"
"Where will this be reborn?"
Which results in holding the following views:
"I have a self."
"I have no self."
"My self is aware of my self."
"By self I am aware of not having a self."
"Not having a self, I am aware of self."
or
"Whatever it is that is speaking, experiencing, knowing, now here, now there the fruition of deeds well done and badly done, that is the self of me and that is permanent, stable, eternal, not subject to change."
Controlling getting involved in attention to detail or general appearance of objects
seen by the eye,
heard by the ear,
smelled by the nose,
tasted on the tongue,
felt touching the body,
comprehended by the mind,
such that liking and disliking arise not.
Proper use of the necessities of life:
Clothing is used to protect against heat and cold, insects, wind and sun, and for covering one's nakedness.
Food is used not for pleasure, not for self-indulgence, not out of habit, not for beautification, but just to support the body in one's quest for true Dhamma.
Lodging: is used to protect against the heat and cold, insects, wind and sun, changes in the seasons, for enjoyment of solitude.
Medicines: used for keeping off pain, for maximum well-being.
Endurance:
of
cold,
heat,
hunger,
thirst,
touch of fly, mosquito, wind and sun and creeping things,
ways of speech that are disagreeable and unwelcome,
bodily feelings that are painful, acute, sharp, shooting, disagreeable, miserable, deadly.
Avoidance:
of
a fierce elephant,
a fierce horse,
a fierce bull,
a fierce dog,
a snake,
a stump,
the briar patch,
a pit,
a cliff,
a sewer,
the dump,
a seat alone with a woman, too close to a woman, or when an elder or newcomer has no seat,
an improper place to beg for food (a dangerous town or the red-light district),
keeping bad company.
Elimination:
By letting go, dumping, putting down, setting aside, putting to one side, eliminating, eradicating, radically extirpating, uprooting, getting rid of, not giving in to, making an end of, sending away:
thoughts of indulging in sense pleasures,
thoughts of inflicting mental pain,
thoughts of inflicting physical pain.
Mental development:[2]
Cultivating the Dimension of self-awakening that is memory, which is rooted in solitude, in calm, in ending and letting go,
cultivating the dimension of self-awakening that is dhamma investigation, which is rooted in solitude, in calm, in ending and letting go,
cultivating the dimension of self-awakening that is energy building, which is rooted in solitude, in calm, in ending and letting go,
cultivating the dimension of self-awakening that is enthusiasm which is rooted in solitude, in calm, in ending and letting go,
cultivating the dimension of self-awakening that is impassivity, which is rooted in solitude, in calm, in ending and letting go,
cultivating the dimension of self-awakening that is serenity/getting high, which is rooted in solitude, in calm, in ending and letting go,
cultivating the dimension of self-awakening that is objective detachment, which is rooted in solitude, in calm, in ending and letting go.
For one who knows and sees, getting rid of the corrupting influences in this way will end in the complete destruction of Dukkha.
[1] The point being that the ordinary man thinks in terms of "existing" and "not-existing" and the derivative idea of "self" whereas the well-trained student of the Aristocrats thinks in terms of process: For example, the ordinary man sees himself as a permanently existing thing and "his" life as originating in birth; the student of the Ariyanam sees life as a process arising or not depending on various conditions, specifically, as arising in reaction to the āsavas.
[2] See also: The Seventh Lesson
References:
