Insight Meditation, and most of what I teach is based on the teachings of the Buddha. His teachings were carried forward in time through an oral tradition hearing, saying, repeating, checking with others who heard that memory was accurate. It was not until about 500 years after the death of the Buddha that the teachings, in the form of suttas, or sermans, were written down and organized. I say this, because it is easy to see where the original meaning may have been lost or inadvertently changed to fit with the current cultural norms. There is great wisdom in the writings we have today, and my experience has found most of them (although not all) to be true. Why do I feel it important to say this? Because the Buddha did not say follow me. He said see this for yourself. He said that you have within your experience the ability to know the truth of suffering, the causes of suffering, and the end of suffering. So, you don't have to be a Buddhist. In fact, identifying as a Buddhist is an impediment to seeing the truth about suffering. See it for yourself. I suspect that at least some of you don't believe that you have what you need, that you are not calm enough, or concentrated enough, or wise enough, or good enough, or have the tools that you need. You do and you are!! I want to share with you one of the suttas from the Buddha. It is very short and direct. THE ALL 'This was spoken by the Buddha at Savatthi. I will teach you the all. Listen to what I say. What is the all? The eye and forms, the ear and sounds, the nose and scents, the tongue and tastes, the body and tactile objects, the mind and thoughts. This is called the all. Someone might say, I reject this all, I will declare another all But because that is simply a groundless assertion, such a person, when asked about it, would not be able to explain, and would, moreover, meet with distress. What is the reason for that distress? Because that
all is not within his or her sensorium.' Everything there is to know, the nature of reality, is to be found within this sensorium. Many years ago, before I came to learn Vipassana, I was working with a group of spiritual seekers and meditation practioners who believed in the presence of Guides who supported spiritual work. These Guides spoke to them of spiritual truths that they could not access through their ordinary mind and even told them things about their ordinary lives that they thought wuld be helpful. I had no direct experience of these Guides, but I really wanted my own Guide, a personal inner teacher. One day while meditating I thought I felt a different sort of presence around the body/mind like what had been described as the presence of a Guide. I mentally asked 'Who are you? Are you my Guide? What is your name? What can you tell me?' There was a moment of mental silence and waiting. Then, within the mind, I heard a very clear voice say 'Everything you need to know, you know.' I thought 'Wait! I have questions.' The voice repeated, 'Everything you need to know, you know.' That was it. No more then and no more since. I knew then and I know now that, wherever this message came from, I already knew everything there was to know. It just meant that I had the tools to learn everything I needed to know to Awaken, to realize inherent freedom, and to see the truth of suffering. We practice Insight Meditation. The insights we mean are not something we can think our way into, although thinking can be supportive. That is why we read, listen to dhamma talks, visit with spiritual friends, and so on... The insights we mean is wisdom that arises from the direct experience of the sensorium! What do we mean by the wisdom of insight? We mean thedeep knowledge of the nature of sensory experience: that it is impermanent, that it is unsatisfactory, and that it is selfless. This deep knowledge comes through direct experience, not just intellectual knowing. When we are present in each moment, we see
that every moment is new, the previous moment is gone and the future does not yet exist. Past and future are just ideas in the mind. There is just THIS. We sometimes try to avoid this truth by thinking that a memory of something past is something more than a memory, or that a plan for the future has some present reality beyond the plan. In the present moment, there is just the memory or the plan, just a mental process without any solid base. For most of us,the direct experience of the impermanence of sense experience is the most accessible of the three characteristics of reality. There is a sound. The sound is heard by the ear. Consciousness knows the sound, and then it is gone, changed, impermanent. In Buddhism, there is no big 'C' consciousness that is in charge of experience or is sitting there waiting for something to happen. Consciousness arises in each moment simultaneously with and dependent on the sense object (sound) and the sense organ (ear) and their interaction. This is called contact. As the mind becomes more steady and able to be present with momentary experience, mind-moments, contacts, become more and more brief until they sequence so rapidly that it seems like a continuous process and we can't really be present with a single moment. We have to let go into the rapidly changing nature of sense experience. This is the direct experience of impermanence. It can be shocking, and we want to open the eyes, or cough, or laugh, or weep - something to make it stop. Then, reflecting on the experience helps us see and accept what has happened and return to the experience with equanimity. We see the wisdom that comes with this deep knowing. The second characteristic of wisdom arising from sensory experience is that it is unsatisfactory. By this, we mean the deep realization that it is impossible to stop this constant change. We can't hold on to pleasant experiences, even those that are most precious to us. That beautiful bird song from just a moment ago is gone, Every flower whose beauty has moved us will fade and wilt and die. Everybody that we love constantly changes, and we can't stop that. That charming 4 year-old becomes a difficult 13 year-old
and then a sophisticated 22 year-old. Our favorite sweater wears out. Our own body wears out! The vigor and energy and looks that we had at 30 years old are pretty much gone at 71 years old. That brings us to the third characteristic of sense experience; that it is not personal. Even this one, this body/mind that we think we are can't be held on to. The direct experience of the loss of this sense of a solid self that we can count on being there for us can be very distressing, even terrifying, because it changes our whole experience of reality. Even when we know what it means, even when we have prepared and practiced and aspire to this wisdom, it is difficult to allow it into our awareness. Many years ago, at a week-long retreat, I had this experience, this realization that there was nobody there behind experience. Experiences were happening, but nobody was having them. I knew what it meant. I was 'ready' and welcomed the wisdom at one level. I continued to study and go to classes and group sittings, but I did not sit on my own for a year. It was when Matt Flickstein asked me before one of his retreats "What is at the edge of your practice?" that I was able to acknowledge the fear that had arisen and work through it to complete acceptance. There are many layers and levels of experience here in this room. I am going to give several kindsof instructions for practice now. Take what seems appropriate for where you are. **Notice each sensory experience as it is happening. If this is new for you, it may be helpful to label the experience as 'hearing' 'tasting' 'thinking' and so on. With experience, it is important to let go of the label and just notice what is happening. Be careful not to get caught in judgment (what a bad smell) or commentary (I hope they have this fruit at breakfast tomorrow) or decision (I am going to listen more carefully...), just be mindful of each moment of experience as it is occurring. **In sitting practice, imagine that you are standing on a bridge looking into the water that is flowing beneath you. Sensory
experiences float by on the surface of the water but your attention is not drawn to them. Instead, your attention is on the flow itself as it constantly moves past. Let yourself directly experience the impermanence of sensory experiences as they come and go. **With each sensory experience, IMMEDIATELY look to see who is having it. The looking needs to be as immediate as possible. 'Who hears? Who thinks? Who tastes?' and so on. This is a profound doorway to the experience of selflessness. The paradox is that the not finding is the finding.