Dhamma Letter No. 145

Satipatthana 62: Cittānupassanā (Observation of mind) 마음관찰 16: Five spiritual faculties: Wisdom (Paññā) 4: Q & A 33 What relation is between Wisdom and discernment of consciousness?

Q: What relation is between Wisdom and discernment of consciousness (Dhammavijaya / Vimansa)?

A: As I said in the previous Dhamma Letter No. 76, the definition of Sati (mindfulness), it is emphasized to look out for 'beneficiality, appropriateness, and necessity' when generating an inquiry mind at every moment. (In Digha Nikaya)

In addition, 『Kuttaka Nikaya』-『Udana』 emphasizes the practice of wisdom to understand the conditions of cause and effect.

Udāna 1:2 "As phenomena grow clear to the brahman—ardent, in jhāna— his doubts all vanish when he penetrates the ending of requisite conditions."

Investigation allows us to understand the conditions for the cause and effect. Wisdom is a prerequisite for nirvana, and for wisdom an investigative mind is essential.

Wisdom is in the mind that investigates. Wisdom leads to an inquiry into cause and effect. The beginning of the Buddha's practice began with questions. "Why should humans suffer from aging, sickness, and death?" was to find the answer, he left home. And he attained enlightenment. The manifestation of that realization is the completion of wisdom. Buddha's enlightenment is Paticcasamuppada (Dependent origination), and Dependent Origination speaks of cause and effect. The Four Noble Truths also show Paticcasamuppada (Dependent origination). It recognizes suffering, knows the cause of suffering, talks about the extinction of suffering, and suggests the way to its extinction.

If you want a state without dissatisfaction or discomfort, you need to figure out the root cause, and if you follow the path to eliminate the cause, you can remove the cause and create a comfortable and satisfactory state.

As Buddhist practice is explained in three ways (sīla, samādhi & paññā), the first is to try to live an upright moral life, and the pure mind resulting from it results in a state of calm mind called Samādhi. When the mind is in a state of stillness, wisdom (Paññā) arises based on it.

People who find it difficult or avoid the method of mind observation, which involves observing their thoughts as targets for the development of wisdom, is often because they have too many thoughts and it is difficult for them to handle themselves. Applying an investigative mind with mindfulness may not be easy for beginners. In this case, first of all, I hope you start with concentration meditation (a method of suppressing temporarily arising thoughts for a while: Samatha Meditation) to calm your mind. Or it will be helpful to practice keeping the Sīla (precepts), which cultivates an altruistic mind rather than a selfish mind, while doing volunteer work or healthy activities for others.

The goal of developing wisdom through a pure mind is the goal of perfect bliss, Nirvana, full enlightenment, happy in this life and happy in the next, or without rebirth. A state of satisfactory composure of 10%, 50% or more is proportional to the degree of each sīla and samādhi. Therefore, you need to develop your skills little by little.

To be continued…

May you develop your Wisdom continuously!

May you achieve the Samma-Diṭṭhi (Right View) through Satipatthāna (vipassana meditation)!

May all practice well and reach to Magga (道, the path of enlightenment) and Phala (果, the fruit of enlightenment)!

with Metta,

Bhikkuni Kosalla Vipassini
Edited by Euna Bonovich 

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If you have any questions related to dhamma & meditation, please feel free to ask. You can reach Ayya Kosalla directly at Bhikkhuni.Kosalla@gmail.com. 

법에 대한 질문이 있으신 분은 위의 이메일 주소로 질문을 남겨주세요.

위빠사나명상의 마음관찰에 대한 논문을 한글 원본으로 읽고 싶으신 분은 클릭해서 다운로드 받을 수 있습니다. (네이버에 PDF 첨부)

The Korean Dhamma Letter is here 담마레터.

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Buddha Sāsanaṁ Ciraṁ Tiṭṭhatu! 
May the Buddha’s teachings last a long time!

​Bhavatu Sabba Sotiṁ ca Maṅgalaṁ ca!!  
May everyone be led on the path of peace and blessing!!

Sādhu Sādhu Sādhu!