This story begins with the birth of the Buddha. King Suddhona, the Bodhisatta’s father, invited gifted ascetics to predict the future of the baby boy. ?At that time all of the seers, except for one, predicted that the baby would become either a universal monarch or a Buddha. One ascetic, Venerable Kondanna, predicted that for sure the baby would become a Buddha. The same Kondanna would later become the first student of? the Buddha to become enlightened. Therefore, the various relatives of the child pledged that if the child became a universal monarch, then their sons would serve as a royal retinue for the king. On the other hand if the child became a Buddha, then their sons would become monks.

The Bodhisatta became a Buddha. When he returned to his native place, the elders of his family began to put pressure on their sons to become monks. Among the Sakyan princes one was named Anuruddha. He and five other Sakyan princes finally decided that they would ordain as monks. Along with them a man named Upali wanted to ordain as well. He had served as the barber for the Sakyan clan. So, all seven men approached the Buddha to ask for ordination.

Now the Sakyan people were a proud people, and Anuruddha realized even at this early stage that pride can be an obstacle in the religious life. So after conferring with the other Sakyan princes, they asked that Upali be ordained first. That way they would always have to pay respect to him as the senior monk, and this might help reduce their pride. In due course Upali was ordained first, and he would later recite the Vinaya Pitaka at the first Buddhist Council after the Buddha’s death.

During the first Vassa (rainy season) that Venerable Anuruddha was a monk, he diligently practiced meditation. The Vassa is a time between July and October when the ordained community stay at their monasteries and practice meditation intensively. He had great success with the meditation. He obtained all of the Jhanas and he also developed Dibbacakkhu (the Divine Eye). With this special meditative attainment one can see beings in other realms. In particular one can see beings dying and being reborn in all the various realms. In fact Venerable Anurudhha was foremost among all those who possessed this particular psychic gift.

As the second Vassa approached, Venerable Anuruddha had made no further progress in his meditation. Therefore, he went to Venerable Sariputta, and not unlike meditators now, he reported on how he was meditating.

This is what he said:

With Divine Eye I can see the thousandfold world system.
Strenuous and unshaken is my energy.
Mindfulness is set up in me and not lost.
My body is calm, not perturbed.
My mind is collected, one-pointed.
Yet for all that, my heart is not released from the Asavas.

For the most part, it sounds like a great report. In fact in many Suttas a very similar description is given of? excellent practice. However, Venerable Sariputta was especially gifted and could see some problems. He told Venerable Anuruddha: “When you say, you can see the thousandfold world system, I see conceit. ?When you say, you are putting forth strenuous effort and your energy is unshaken, I see agitation. When you say, yet for all that my heart is not released from the Asavas, I see worry. These are the three obstacles in your practice. Let them go. Don’t pay attention to them. Instead turn your mind to the attainment of the deathless, and you will achieve enlightenment.” Then he gave Venerable Anurudhha a subject of meditation.

Venerable Anuruddha paid his respect to Venerable Sariputta and then went to the Buddha to ask for permission to go to another place in order to practice his meditation. The Buddha gave him permission and Venerable Anuruddha went to the east to practice in a bamboo grove.

He had been practicing walking meditation vigorously for some time. So, he decided to take the sitting posture. At that time seven thoughts occurred to Venerable Anuruddha. The first thought was: “This Dhamma is for one who wants little. This Dhamma is not for one who wants much.”

Fewness of wants is much emphasized in the practice. Underlying this emphasis is the Second Noble Truth, i.e., the cause of suffering is desire. It is the duty of meditators to know the First Noble Truth, the truth of suffering. Meditators must strive to eliminate the Second Noble Truth which is desire, the cause of suffering. In order to eliminate desire meditators develop the Fourth Noble Truth, the way to the cessation of suffering. By this practice meditators realize the Third Noble Truth, the cessation of suffering or Nibbana. We as followers of the Buddha should see it as our duty to eliminate first the gross forms of desire, such as lust and greed. Then, bit by bit, lesser forms of attachment should be eliminated as well, until we are totally free of desire and are completely free. The words of Venerable Ajahn Chah speak to this duty:

“If you let go a little, you will have a little peace. If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace. If you let go completely, you will have complete peace.”

Letting go happens because one discerns through the practice of meditation the suffering in attachment and the peace that comes with release from that attachment.

We may look at fewness of wants at two levels, the practical mundane level and the spiritual level. Buddha tried to show the importance of fewness of wants in the monastic community he created. The Sangha ideally lives with the four requisites (robes, food, shelter, and medicine), all being provided by the lay community. Generally these are offered to the community of monks. Some other essential things, like a needle, a bowl, a razor, a water strainer are allowable for the individual monks. It’s not much. The Buddha felt that it was enough for the practice or the pursuit of the holy life.

It is true that monks nowadays have many more things, such as computers, many books and so on. Usually their possessions are connected with teaching the Dhamma and personal possessions are still minimal.

Buddha emphasized that his teachings were the Middle Way, not inclined towards sense pleasures and not inclined towards severe ascetic practices. I find it interesting that he did allow a few relatively mild ascetic practices called Dhutanga. The majority of them emphasize fewness of wants. They are things like only accepting one set of robes, not dwelling in buildings, not accepting second helpings of food, taking only one meal per day. I think this shows that the Buddha felt fewness of? wants was very helpful in the spiritual practice.

As lay people, we are not likely to do these things, but we can honor or emulate the tradition to some extent by employing moderation in our activities or our manner of living. For example, we can visit our closet and eliminate all the shoes and clothes we have not worn in the last two years. We can skip those second servings at the dining table. We can pass along books that we are unlikely to read again. All these things clutter the mind with worry and attachment, not to mention our living quarters in general.

Similarly at the spiritual level we need to have fewness of wants as well. In the practice if we want samadhi, we will not get it. If we want results, they will not come. If we want penetration into the truth, it will not arise. Wanting even good things is greed, and in the practice it will be an obstacle to progress.

Also we need to be careful about attachment to teachers, or wanting this teacher and not that teacher, or insisting on this technique as opposed to that technique. It is advisable to have a great deal of respect for what life presents us and to work with those gifts as intensively and thoroughly as we can.

So, contrary to modern thinking, we as Buddhists are advised to want little. Let me quote the word of the Buddha as given in the Dhammapada:

“Those whose minds have reached full excellence in the Factors of Enlightenment, who having renounced acquisitiveness, rejoice in not clinging to things – rid of cankers, glowing with wisdom, they have attained Nibbana in this very life.” (89)

The Buddha is telling us not only that? renunciation of desire is good for the spiritual life, but we can actually rejoice in this renunciation and that it leads to Nibbana in this very life.

The second great thought of Venerable Anuruddha was : “This Dhamma is for the contented. This Dhamma is not for the discontented.” It is the responsibility of the ordained community to set the example here. Ideally they are to accept what is offered by the lay community without complaint, trying to avoid showing preferences, and also accepting just what is needed. Actually not much with regard to worldly things is needed to practice the Dhamma. One needs the proper understanding of the Buddha’s teachings, good teachers, and a supportive environment, i.e., a quiet place and nutritional food.

I think at this point in Venerable Anuruddha’s practice, he was truly appreciating? contentment with just what was given. Perhaps earlier he suffered at least shock if not some disontentment with the drastic change of lifestyle. After all, he like the Buddha was part of the royal family. So the life of a monk was very different and perhaps difficult for him. The food was whatever people offered and might not be the best. Also it was at an early time after the Buddha’s enlightenment, so monks were living in caves, under trees, at cemeteries and so on. ?Nonetheless he had already attained the Jhanas, so he could at least perceive the great benefits of mental culture despite the physical hardships.

In order to increase contentment and to ward off discontentment, I think it is good for us to regularly reflect on all the beneficial things we already possess. For example, we have been reborn at a time when the Buddha’s teachings exist. This is a very rare occurrence. Also we have been reborn as human beings, and therefore, we have the potentiality to follow the teachings and greatly reduce our suffering or even gain complete release from Samsara altogether. Good teachers are accessible. We live in a relatively peaceful and safe place. We have minds and bodies that are capable of practicing. We have a very good foundation on which to build our practice. There is much to be contented about. Again from the Dhammapada the Buddha said:

“Health is the highest gain; contentment is the greatest wealth; a trustworthy person is the best kinsman. Nibbana is the highest bliss.” (204)

The third thought of the Venerable Anuruddha was: “This Dhamma is for the secluded. It is not for one who is fond of association.”

The Path to Enlightenment is an inward journey into the workings of one’s own mind. It is a journey of introspection. In order to do this, a great deal of concentration is required. Noise and talking are major obstacles in getting concentration. And only with concentration does wisdom arise.

There are three kinds of seclusion – kaya viveka (bodily seclusion), citta viveka (mental seclusion), and upadhi viveka (detachment from conditioned phenomena). The first kind of seclusion is living in an environment that is free of alluring sensuous objects as much as is possible. This kind of environment is promoted at retreat centers. Generally the places where retreats are held are quiet places. No radios, newspapers, televisions, magazines, cell phones, etc. are found there. Just basic food and shelter are offered. By secluding the mind from all these external kinds of stimulus, the meditators are pushed to focus their minds more and more on internal things. And although at retreats we practice with others, it is like we are alone as we communicate almost exclusively just with the teachers, and even that is kept to a minimum. This vigorous enforcement of kaya viveka allows us to establish good concentration and develop our practice and look deeply inside ourselves.

In order to help maintain our accomplishments reached during intensive practice, we should cultivate some time for solitude in our ordinary life as? well. Simply put, it means one must establish the practice of meditation as a part of one’s life. ?Although we live in big cities, still if we get up a little earlier in the morning, even in the city it is still relatively quiet and of course our minds are fresh. Having a welcoming place to meditate is helpful as well. It is good to have a spot that is clean and free of clutter to sit in. It kind of invites us to come and sit. And doing the meditation regularly creates the quiet place in one’s life and mind that will certainly grow. I hope all of you will nourish this quietness by practicing regularly.

The second seclusion is Citta Viveka, mental detachment inner detachment from sensuous? or sensory things. In the books it is said to be the detachment one achieves when one is in Jhana. At that time one has a very pure mind and one is temporarily freed from the mental defilements.

We achieve a similar mental detachment when we intensively practice Vipassana meditation and have khanika samadhi, highly developed momentary concentration. At this time we are able to maintain a very pure and penetratiing mind for long peiods of time and actually weaken the latent mental defilements. With this Vipassana practice we develop detachment from all conditioned phenomena.

Once again in our daily routine, apart from the retreat environment, we can establish some seclusion or citta viveka by practicing loving-kindness meditation during our regular sittings each day. Similarly we practice Vipassana each day as well. Then at a less intense level we bring these two kinds of meditation into the tasks of the day. Why not wash the dishes mindfully? Why not briefly send out metta (loving-kindness) to everyone in a room?

The third kind of seclusion is upadhi viveka, detachment from the substrata of existence. This kind of seclusion comes from deep, penetrating Vipassana practice. When one carefully observes mind and matter, one sees that both mental and material phenomena are constantly arising and disappearing. One becomes dispassionate towards the whole process by realizing the impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and no self or no control of all conditioned phenomena. The complete understanding of these three characteristics of all conditioned phenomena leads to the real upadhi viveka experienced by enlightened beings. We as meditaors should strive for all three kinds of seclusion, Kaya Viveka, Citta Viveka and Upadhi Viveka.

The benefits of practicing in this way are mentioned in the Suttas:
“Happy in solitude, glad at heart, is one who has learned the Dhamma, and who sees with insight. Happy is one who is benevolent towards the world and who works harm on no creature. Happy is one who is freed from all lust and who has ascended past and beyond all sense desires. Happy is one who has crushed the great conceit, ‘I am’. This is happiness supreme.”? Udana, Mucalinda I

The fourth thought of Venerable Anurudhha was: “This Dhamma is accomplished by one who is energetic. This Dhamma is not accomplished by one who is lazy.” I think this fact is clear to all of us who practice meditation. In order to change our patterns of thinking, which may have been built up over a lifetime or many lives, we need a lot of energy. Laziness is simply surrendering to the very defilements we are trying to overcome. The Pali term for this mental state is Thina-Middha. It covers a variety of things that may hinder progress along the path to liberation, including sleepiness, inertia, sloth, stupor, laziness, torpor.

Right effort consists of four things: We try to overcome the unwholesome states that have arisen. We must try to weaken them, reduce them, and eventually annihilate them. With regard to these unwholesome mental states, it is important to note that we must strictly observe sila, so that they do not arise at the level of transgression. We must exercise courageous restraint. However, with regard to meditation, we are to just note them and let them go. Repression is not the answer during meditation. Diligent awareness will cause them to disappear. The arising of? these unwholesome state may cause us to feel guilty or sad, but remorse and guilt are not a part of the process. They are, in fact, unwholesome states as well. They are to be noted and then we just let all of them go. If we just note them alertly, they will disappear. With regard to unwholesome states that have not arisen, we must be vigilant and mindful so that they do not arise.

With regard to the wholesome states that have arisen, we must increase them, develop them, and perfect them. With regard to wholesome states that have not arisen, we must cause them to arise, develop them, and perfect them. There is a lot of emphasis on eliminating unwholesome states, but we are simultaneously learning how to cultivate wholesome states as well.

Effort is required both in body and mind. Meditators have to make bodily effort to sit cross-legged and upright for long periods of time. Meditators also have to make bodily effort to practice walking meditation. And of course meditators have to make mental effort to keep the mind on the most prominent object at the present moment.

Sometimes we get lazy even at retreats. We get bored. We get frustrated, especially when we don’t see results. We think meditation is too difficult. We have doubts. All these are hindrances and dangers to our pracice. We must utilize heroic effort to overcome these mental defilements. It is necessary to encourage oneself to strive diligently. Once again it is helpful to remind oneself? how rare this opportunity really is. The Buddha himself encourages us with these words from the Dhammapada:

“Though one should live one hundred years idle and inactive, yet better indeed is a single day’s life of one who makes an intense effort.” (112)

The Dhamma cannot be accomplished by those who are lazy. It can only be accomplished by those who put forth persevering and intense energy, as Venerable Anurudhha wisely tells us.

The fifth thought of Venerable Anuruddha was: “This practice is for one who establishes mindfulness. This practice is not for one who is not mindful.”

One who sets up mindfulness is simply one who practices mindfulness. Mindfulness is the mental factor called Sati in Pali. Sati comes from a root meaning to remember. It functions by observing or remembering mental and physical phenomena as they are apprehended by consciousness through the six sense-doors (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind). Sati manifests itself as a guard to the meditator. It guards the mind, observing what arises and disappears. It prevents heedlessness and laziness from arising. Its characterisitc is not wavering, not floating on the surface, but going deep into the object, being thoroughly aware of the object.

Venerable Sariputta once asked the Buddha: “You, Venerable Sir, have spoken of? Great Men. How, Lord, is a man great?”

The Buddha replied: “With liberated mind, Sariputta, is one a Great Man; without a liberated mind one is not a Great Man. How then, Sariputta, is mind liberated? Here, a monk dwells contemplating the body in the body, the feeling in the feelings, the consciousness in the consciousness, the Dhamma in the Dhammas, ardent, clearly comprehending and mindful, removing covetousness and grief in the world. For him that dwells in that way, mind becomes detached from the defilements and liberated. With liberated mind, I declare, is one a Great Man; without a liberated mind, I declare one is not a Great Man.” (Samyutta Nikaya 47 II)

This exchange between the Buddha and Venerable Sariputta is reported in the Samyutta Nikaya. It is almost identical to the words found in the Mahasatipatthana Sutta. Here the Buddha is stating quite directly that one must practice mindfulness to become a Great Man or an Ariya. Such is the esteem of the Buddha for this mental factor of mindfulness.

Three important facts regarding mindfulness should be remembered. 1. Unlike some of the other mental factors, such as energy and concentration, there can be no excess of mindfulness. 2. Mindfulness keeps the other mental factors well-balanced. 3. Mindfulness never associates with unwholesome mental states.

We must strive to increase mindfulness and empower it both at retreats as well as in our daily lives. How do we do this? First it is recommended to avoid those who are not mindful or who are negligent and confused. And of course it is helpful to associate with those who are mindful. But the really important way to establish and increase mindfulness is to have the volition to do so. One tries to develop the tendency to be mindful. At retreats we must try to be mindful without any lapses at all. In other words there must be continuity at a high level of our practice of mindfulness. And if the mind does wander, we must be aware of that as well. This awareness of wandering mind is very important. For progress in the meditation we must know when and where the mind is becoming distracted. Our observations must be thorough. When we observe the movement of air, we should know is it long or short, is it deep or subtle. Also we should know if the knowing is clear or not clear, continuous or not continuous.

We should be aware of? the different postures of the body when they arise such as standing and walking. When we are sitting, we should notice any slight movement of the body such as tilting the head one way or another or opening the eyes at the end of the meditation period. Similarly while walking, we should be noting the intention to stop, standing and turning. If? these small things are not noted, the mind will wander.

There is a nice simile given with respect to mindfulness. It is said that mindfulnes is like throwing a stone in order to hit a mud wall. First to throw a stone, you need energy. In order to hit the wall, you have to concentrate. With these two you hit the wall with the stone. Similarly the meditator exerts energy and concentration and hits the objects with mindfulness. Whatever object appears, the mind goes to that object and sees it clearly and thoroughly. There is just alert watchfulness noting the arising and disappearing of phenomena. Mindfulness is incredibly clear, thorough, precise observance of the object at the present moment.

Venerable Upasika Kee Nanayon commented on the results of such mindfulness:
“Simply watching, this one thing, is enough to do away with all sorts of mental defilements.”

In our daily lives again we must begin by practicing meditation regularly each day even if it is not for very long. The mind needs this kind of medicine to be healthy. Then, bit by bit, we may extend our intensive practice. Similarly, we may extend some sort of light mindfulness practice to our daily activities, such as waiting in line at the bank, or when driving our car, or when putting on our shoes. Such small things help us to build up mindfulness and actually we create the habit of being mindful more and more. The best way to increase mindfulness is simply to do it again and again.

The Buddha told us in the Dhammapada:

“Heedfulness is the path to the Deathless. Heedlessness is the path to death. The heedful do not die. The heedless are like dead already.” (21)

The sixth thought of Venerable Anuruddha was: “This Dhamma is for one whose mind is concentrated. This Dhamma is not for one whose mind is scattered.”

The Pali word for concentration is Samadhi. The prefix ‘sam’ is explained here as meaning evenly or correctly. ‘Adhi’ means putting or placing. So the meaning of the word ‘Samadhi’ is putting or placing evenly or correctly. What exactly does Samadhi place or put evenly or correctly? It places or puts consciousness and the other associated mental factors arising with it evenly and correctly on the object.
Sometimes Samadhi is called ‘Cittassa Ekaggata’, which means one-pointedness of mind or we could say focus. The characteristic of Samadhi is non-wandering or non-distraction. We as meditators know that Samadhi is present when the mind does not wander or become distracted.

The function of Samadhi is to integrate the conascent states. It keeps consciousness and the other mental factors together and focused on the object.

Samadhi is manifested as non-wavering. When Samadhi is present, the mind is still. At such a time the mind does not waver over or above the object. In other words there is no restlessness. Sometimes the mind seems to tremble and not penetrate into the object. This is restlessness or Uddhacca in Pali. When restlessness comes, we cannot keep the mind on the object. The mind seems to shake or tremble over the object because our Samadhi is weak.

Samadhi is manifested as non-wavering because it is right on the object. It is firmly established on the object.

Sometimes Samadhi is manifested as peacefulness. When there is Samadhi, there is tranquility of mind. And with tranquility of mind insight or wisdom can arise. Concentration leads the meditator to wisdom.

In the Anguttara Nikaya the Buddha tells us:
“If tranquility (Samadhi) is developed, what benefit does it bring? The mind becomes developed. And what is the benefit of a developed mind? All lust is abandoned.”

Then the Buddha goes on to say immediately in the same verse:
“If insight is developed, what benefit does it bring? Wisdom becomes developed. And what is the benefit of devloped wisdom? All ignorance is abandoned.”

The seventh thought of Venerable Anuruddha was:
“This Dhamma is accomplished by one who is wise. This Dhamma is not accomplished by one who is not wise.”

Here according to the Commentary, Venerable Anuruddha had the realization that one must have a clear understanding of the Law of Kamma or actually the Law of Cause and Effect. In order for their to be progress in meditation there must be insight into the Law of Kamma. Experientially we frequently observe the Law of Cause and Effect in our meditation. This observation deepens as we progress through the various stages of insight knowledge. Actually the progression of insight is a progression of wisdom. At each stage of insight we experience ultimate realities for ourselves in successively deeper ways. For the Buddhist or meditator this is wisdom.

Now at this time the Buddha through his psychic power became aware of the thoughts of Venerable Anuruddha. Therefore, he went to the Bamboo Forest where Venerable Anuruddha was practicing. He approached Venerable Anuruddha and said: “It is good that you have these thoughts, but there is one more.” Then the Buddha added an eighth thought: “This Dhamma is accomplished by one who delights in mind that is free from expanding states. This Dhamma is not accomplished by one who delights in expanding states.”

The Pali word for expanding states is Papanca. The expanding states are Tanha (craving), Mana (conceit), and Ditthi (wrong view). Although these are all single unwholesome mental factors, they work together with objects and each other to proliferate or multiply in an overwhelming manner.

To give you an idea the books always say that there are 108 kinds of craving. There can be just craving for sense objects, craving with eternity view for sense objects, craving with annihilation view for sense objects. Thus there are three kinds of craving. Craving can be associated with any of the six sense objects, i.e., objects of the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind. They now become 18 kinds of craving. These objects may be connected with the past, present or future, which gives us 54 kinds of craving. The objects may be internal or external. Thus we arrive at 108 kinds of craving. This is the way the books show the proliferation of craving. We all know experientially how craving does this in our meditation.

Wrong views similarly multiply or proliferate like craving. For example, we may think there is a permanent self that goes from existence to existence. Then we may think this self is material, or immaterial, or both material and immaterial, or neither material nor immaterial. Further we may believe it is finite, or infinite, or both finite and infinite, or neither finite nor infinite. Some other wrong views are that there is no such thing as Kamma and its results, there are no other worlds, there are no enlightened beings, and so on. You may read about these wrong views in the Brahmajala Sutta, the first Sutta in the Digha Nikaya. Again we as meditators know how all such speculating and thinking can distract us and be an obstacle in our meditation in many ways. We must detach ourselves from all these views and and speculation, letting go, letting go, letting go. We have to build up enough confidence in the practice to let it show us what we need to know.

The third papanca, Mana, is more subtle and harder to get rid of. Wrong view is eliminated at the first stage of enlightenment or when one becomes a Sotapanna. Attachment to the sensory world is eliminated at the third stage of enlightenment, when one becomes an Anagami. But conceit or pride and also the subtle forms of attachment remain until one becomes an Arahant.

I think perhaps Venerable Anuruddha had a particular problem with the mental defilement pride, as we know that both the Buddha and Venerable Sariputta mentioned it when they met with Venerable Anuruddha, and he himself was concerned about it when he first ordained as a monk. Obviously it is necessary for us as meditators to know and deal with this particular mental defilement as well.

Mana or conceit has the characteristic of haughtiness. Its function is self-exhaltation. Its manifestation is vanity. It says in the books that it should be regarded as madness. Sometimes it is compared to a banner. A banner tends to draw our attention to some thing. Similarly a person with pride draws attention to himself or herself.

Like Tanha, Mana can take many objects and thus proliferates. It may take internal objects or personal attributes. The root, ‘man’, means to think. One may think, ‘I am smart, I am strong, I am rich’, and so on. Similarly with regard to external objects one may think, ‘My relatives are the best, my possesions are the greatest, my friends are the smartest’, and so on. Mana takes the object and compares - I am the best, I am better. It is another form of? Mana to do the reverse as well: I am the worst, I am the poorest, I am the weakest.

Reflection on the Buddha or Buddha’s disciples can help us reduce pride or make us more humble. If we are overwhelmed by the magnitude and depth of the teachings, we may contemplate on someone like Culapanthaka. This poor monk was unable to memorize a verse of? four lines after trying for three months. He was about to renounce being a monk when the Buddha approached him. The Buddha gave him a suitable meditation object. Venerable Culapanthaka then became an Arahant with psychic powers.

On the other hand, we may consider the restraint of ?Venerable Sumana and Venerable Khema. They reported to the Buddha in the following way: “A monk, Lord, who is an Arahant has no such thought, ‘There is one better than I, there is one who is equal, there is one who is worse’.” That’s all that they said. They were reporting that all pride had ceased for them, and that only happens when one becomes an Arahant. The Buddha approved, and receiving the Teacher’s approval each monk rose from his seat, paid homage to the Blessed One and left. The Buddha later praised the two monks, saying this was how Arahants conduct themselves: “They do not consider themselves better, nor equal, nor worse. With birth destroyed, free from fetters, they live the holy life.”

We as meditators have a long way to go, but we should be as vigilant as possible to see that this mental defilement is noted when it arises. In the beginning it may come up as we are unsure of our practice. We may think, ‘I am the worst meditator’. That is a form of pride, as it is focused on a ‘self’ that does not exist or in other words is wrong view and then it goes on to compare with others which is pride. There is aversion, another mental defilement here as well. The mental deflements help one another. So we note it as pride and let go of it. We note the aversion and let go of it. We note the wrong view and let go of it.

At certain stages of Vipassana, truly wise thinking will arise spontaneously. Pride often follows imediately. And with pride comes attachment. Then wrong view that ‘I know’ comes up, and on and on it goes. Thoughts full of conceit are very dangerous when one starts to have some success in meditation. We become attached to our own insights and once again fall victim to the mental defilements. Pride is especially dangerous because we increasingly judge ourself? to be superior and miss the opportunity of? learning from those whom we consider inferior. Dhamma teachers are found everywhere in life once we start to practice seriously. We must be open to receiving them and pride closes all the doors to learning. The meditation master, Venerable Upasika Kee Nanayon warns us: “If you gain a few insights or let go of things a bit, don’t go thinking you are someone special. No matter how correct your knowledge, you have to stay humble and respectful above all else. You cannot let there be any pride or conceit, or it will destroy everything.”

After the Buddha added the eighth thought, Venerable Anuruddha continued with his meditation. Shortly thereafter, he became an Arahant. I hope these thoughts of a Great Man are beneficial for you meditation as well.