ANNUAL MEETING: Dhamma Giri, India January 21, 1994
Questioner: Goenkaji, every time assistant teachers enter and leave the meditation hall, Dhamma servers bow down. The students are watching this, and when they offer Dhamma service they do the same thing. It has become almost a ritual. Could you please advise on this?
Goenkaji: In pure Dhamma no ritual at all should be allowed. Dhamma and ritual cannot co-exist. I find nothing wrong in somebody’s paying respect to an assistant teacher, provided this person is paying respect to Dhamma. An assistant teacher or whoever sits on the Dhamma seat—assistant or senior assistant or deputy or teacher, anybody—is representing the Buddha, the teachings of the Buddha, the Dhamma and the entire lineage of the teachers of Vipassana. He or she lives a life of Dhamma and is serving people in Dhamma. One develops a feeling of devotion, of gratitude towards this person. Bowing down is a meritorious deed. Actually one is bowing down to Dhamma, paying respect to Dhamma.
But when this becomes merely a formal rite or ritual, it goes totally against Dhamma. If someone bows out of respect and others feel, "If I do not bow then people will consider me a very discourteous person, so I must also bow," again, there is no Dhamma. To act with Dhamma is always to have a pure volition in the mind. Otherwise it is just a mechanical exercise: You bow down and give good exercise to your back! If these back exercises are to be done, better do them in your own room.
If somebody does not bow because at that particular moment he or she has not developed the volition of devotion towards Dhamma, I feel happy, "Very good." Bowing must be with this volition of paying respect to Dhamma, not to the individual.
Even the Buddha did not like people paying respect to him. He said, "You may be with me all the time, catching one corner of my robe, yet you are far away from me. But if you are practising Dhamma with purity of mind, though you may be thousands of miles away, you are near me."
Yo dhammaṃ passati so maṃ passati, yo maṃ passati so dhammaṃ passati. One who is observing Dhamma—that means observing Dhamma inside—is observing me, is seeing me. If one is not observing Dhamma, then bowing down is merely a mad exercise. §
The Venerable Webu Sayadaw, in the booklet entitled The Essential Practice, says ānāpānasati is the shortcut to nibbāna. How is this so if he is observing sensations only in one small spot? And yet you advocate the need to observe the full realm of vedanā. Could you explain this, please?
A very good question. There is a lot of misunderstanding by people who do not understand how this tradition was maintained in the neighbouring country [Burma]. The Venerable Webu Sayadaw was a product of a particular tradition of this technique maintained in that country, and that tradition says that a student must start with Anapana. There are many objects with which you can start to develop your samādhi. When you develop samādhi with Anapana, this is the shortcut to nibbāna— as he very rightly said.
His teaching—because I met him a number of times and I was in close proximity with him—his way of teaching was as follows: Keep observing this area, keep observing the respiration. A time will come when the sensation will become very clear. And a time will come when automatically this sensation will start spreading to the whole body. The sensation has to spread in the whole body. Unless it spreads to the whole body, you can’t reach the nibbānic stage, because you can’t experience bhaṅga. Bhaṅga is not just experiencing sensation in a small part of the body: The entire nāma and rūpa must get totally dissolved. This is bhaṅga. The Venerable Webu Sayadaw didn’t instruct anybody by saying, "You will reach nibbāna without bhaṅga." Such a view is a wrong understanding of his teaching. §
All of us want to spread the Dhamma to relieve misery around the world. None of us, however, wants to create the impression of pushing Vipassana on others, as if we want to expand the size of our sect. Could you give some guidelines about spreading the word of this wonderful technique without giving others reason to label Vipassana as a cult?
If you are pushing Vipassana on others, you are pushing people away from Dhamma. How can anyone push this wonderful Dhamma on others? Actually the tradition—a healthy tradition—is that the Dhamma is not given to anyone unless the person very humbly requests it. How can you push it on others? If somebody requests, then you give it. Anybody who is trying to push Dhamma on others is certainly spreading cultism, certainly spreading sectarianism.
Dhamma is Dhamma, it has to be given with all the compassion and love. And people should accept it willingly, with all respect. Only then is it Dhamma, otherwise it is not. §
Could you please explain the role of the assistant teachers and students in ensuring that Vipassana continues to benefit mankind.
You mean the relationship between the assistant teacher and the students? Assistant teachers are made assistant teachers in order to learn how to teach Dhamma in a proper way. It is a training period for them. As one develops the perfect way of giving Dhamma, one takes further responsibility, becoming a senior assistant teacher. If in that role one keeps working properly, one gets still more responsibility, becoming a deputy teacher. Working perfectly in that, one becomes a teacher. So it is all a training.
Somebody sitting on the Dhamma seat as an assistant teacher may start developing a feeling of ego, "See, I am now far superior to all these meditators who have come here, that is why I am sitting on the Dhamma seat." Or someone who moves from assistant teacher to senior assistant teacher may start feeling, "Now I am far superior to these assistant teachers." Or someone who becomes a deputy teacher feels, "Look, I am far superior." Or somebody who becomes a teacher may feel, "Oh, I am the uppermost! Everybody must obey whatever I say."
If this madness develops, the person is not fit to teach Dhamma. The whole training is given for this purpose. As soon as one becomes an assistant teacher, one’s job is to learn how to give Dhamma in a very humble way.
One must think, "I am a representative of Buddha, of Dhamma, of the entire chain of the Teachers of Dhamma. I am a representative of my own Teacher. Anything I do which gives a bad name to the whole tradition or to Dhamma is a very anti-meritorious deed. I am here to develop my own pāramīs, to pay back my debt of gratitude to the Buddha himself, to the whole lineage of Teachers, and to my own Teacher, because I got this wonderful Dhamma from them. For this reason, I am serving." If a teacher has this feeling, every action of his will be a wonderful action. One’s service will be helpful.
The students also give respect to him, but the moment he starts imposing himself as an authority, this person is not fit, although he was made a teacher. The training, which is going on now, is all trial and error; people are being trained how to serve in Dhamma.
As Sayagyi U Ba Khin used to say, "Someone whom I designate as fit to teach may fail, totally fail." It all depends what pāramīs this person has. If one has good pāramīs from the past, this person will automatically become successful in teaching, and will advance from assistant teacher to teacher, because he will have those qualities.
He or she will think, "I am thankful to the people who come to learn Dhamma. So many people have come to learn Dhamma from me. Now I can get the pāramī of dāna, and the dāna pāramī of giving Dhamma is the highest dāna pāramī. How could I develop that pāramī unless these people came? I cannot go into the jungle and declare, ‘I will teach everybody here.’ I am developing my dāna pāramī because these people who come are giving me the opportunity. I am grateful to them. "And the lineage—the Teachers, right from the Buddha—were teaching with all love and compassion! I am still learning, but this should be my ideal, this should be my aim. This is how I have to work."
Anybody who is given a higher duty should keep thinking, "From the very beginning, my job is to be a Dhamma servant. Whether a Dhamma server or an assistant teacher, I am giving Dhamma service. Now I am getting the opportunity to do more Dhamma service."
There is no authority in Dhamma. There is only very humble service. This is the only way to have rapport with the students. Every teacher—assistant or senior or deputy or full teacher—has to understand what will happen if you impose your will on the students.
Suppose we say, "From tomorrow onwards, this person is an assistant teacher and you have to accept his orders, to fulfil whatever he desires…. Now he is a senior, so all the assistants must listen to his words. Whatever he says is correct and you must bow down and accept it…. Now he is a deputy, so everybody else must listen to him." If that is the approach, how long will this imposition last? Even in my lifetime, people will start disrespecting this person. After that, this person will have no place in the whole system of teaching Dhamma.
One has to develop one’s service in such a way that every student starts generating love towards you. If this is not generated, there is merely imposed authority. This is not a dictatorship, it is service. So serve in such a way that you generate love and respect in the minds of the students. This is how your service will give good results. If you start imposing your authority, your power, you can never be a successful teacher.
For their part, the students should keep understanding, "Here is a person who has been appointed. I have great respect for my Teacher, for the line of the Teachers. I have great respect for Buddha. And here is a person—rightly or wrongly—whom my Teacher has decided is capable to give service. Now he or she represents Dhamma by sitting on the Dhamma seat."
The student will always try to generate respect for the assistant teacher. But this respect must be strengthened by the action of the teacher, by his or her behaviour. If the teacher does not have the quality of humbleness, of love and compassion, this person can never be a successful teacher. Even if he is asked to sit on the Dhamma seat, it won’t work.
This kind of relationship between the teacher and the students is essential. §
Very frequently you say that wealth alone cannot give peace and tranquillity. What should people who have neither wealth nor happiness do?
Yes, it is quite correct that wealth alone cannot give peace and harmony. But at the same time, wealth has a very important part to play in life. A householder should not remain a beggar, seeking help from others. He must have the ability to earn his own livelihood, as everyone should do.
Somebody who had not eaten for two days came to the Buddha, and people said, "Please, sir, give him Dhamma. He will get peace. He is a very restless person." Buddha replied, "First give him food, then he can come to me, and I will give Dhamma." With an empty stomach, one cannot teach Dhamma or take Dhamma. Money has a very important role to play, but this alone cannot give peace and harmony.
In a Western, so-called developed country—materially they are developed, but I don’t know whether they are really developed or not—somebody goes to the government to apply for welfare because he doesn’t have a job. This jobless person travels to the government office in his own car! He drives in a car to claim his dole! Now that is a very wealthy country. Yet I am told every third or fourth person takes tranquillizers or sleeping pills to sleep. Tons of tranquillizers and sleeping pills are sold in this country every day.
There is wealth, but where is peace? I want every so-called underdeveloped country to become developed not only materially, but with the base of Dhamma. There should be material affluence in each country, but along with this there must be peace.
At night when you go to bed, as soon as your head touches the pillow, you must start snoring, you must get a sound sleep. All these factories which manufacture sleeping pills should close! That will happen only when there is Dhamma. Along with Dhamma, if the material requirements are fulfilled by wealth, you have the ideal. This is what is needed. §
If all the members of a family are regular, good Vipassana meditators, and if they have a stream of visitors, is this a good sign that they are attracting visitors to the house?
How do you react to it? If you feel, "Because of Vipassana so many people are coming to my house. Then this Vipassana is not good for me. I can’t have so many guests in my house," then you are not practising Vipassana.
Your mind should be full of joy, "So many guests are coming to my house. I now have an opportunity to serve them, like members of my family. I am a very fortunate person, with so many people coming to my house." And while you are serving them, while you are seeing to their comforts, you do it all with mettā, with Vipassana. This is how the ideal householder should behave. §
In his daily life, does a Vipassana meditator not require any other exercises or yoga to maintain his physical health?
Exercise is very essential. You are practising Vipassana as a mental exercise to keep the mind strong and healthy. Similarly, you must have some physical exercises, whether yoga or any other exercise, to keep the body healthy and strong. It is essential, it should be done. §
Is it necessary for part-time Dhamma servers to observe the five precepts?
Part-time or full-time, one has started giving Dhamma service. That in itself shows that you have now chosen the path of Dhamma and you want to spread Dhamma. If you don’t apply Dhamma in your own life, how can you be a tool to spread Dhamma to others?
Moreover, when you choose to be a Dhamma servant, people start looking at your behaviour, your way of life. They will examine Dhamma by your behaviour. If your behaviour is not good, how will people come to Dhamma?
So not only for the spread of Dhamma, but also for your own interest, you must practise pañcasīla, the five precepts. §
Many meditators desire to go on a Dhamma pilgrimage with you. In the past it was organized from here. Is it possible to organize a similar one again?
I too would like to go with my Dhamma family for this Dhamma journey. But it is not a rite or a ritual.
The last such journey was a moving Vipassana course. All those who started the journey took Anapana. And then even in the train, there was just meditation going on. Arrangements were made for the instructions to be broadcast over the loudspeaker. There were two passenger coaches, and both received the same instructions. The trip went on like a Vipassana course. At some place Vipassana was given. And then whenever we reached a destination, we proceeded as in a regular course. We would go to a certain important place—Buddha’s birthplace or where he became enlightened—and we would meditate there.
This was a very healthy way of going on pilgrimage. But that was a time when I had about fifty students with me. Now the family is growing. Now when the eldest of the family starts on the journey, all the children will say, "We also want to go!" How can we make arrangements for so many people for this course-in-motion? Yet, I would very much like to take this kind of journey. But let us see what the possibilities are, what facilities can be arranged. §
I am eighty-one years of age and I long to give Dhamma service at the centre. But I find that the management does not have a mettā attitude towards me. Old people should also get an opportunity to serve.
If the management does not have mettā, it is not a healthy management. If the management feels that a certain person is not needed because there are already a sufficient number of Dhamma servers, there is no meaning in increasing the numbers. Then one has to be refused, but that refusal must be with the base of mettā. Nobody should complain, "The management had no mettā for me." There should be mettā, but refusals are unavoidable. There are many reasons for refusal, and only the management or the teacher who is giving the course can make the decision.
It’s quite possible that someone has a good volition to serve, but physically is not strong enough. Or perhaps sometimes even mentally one is not sufficiently stable to serve. So this decision must be made only by the management or the assistant teacher. If one is told very politely, "We don’t need your service at this moment," one has to accept this. Smilingly, one has to accept it. §
If a Vipassana meditator teaches yoga as a livelihood should he give up teaching the āsanas, gāyatri and oṃkāra mantras, or should he continue teaching them?
It is one’s own decision. It takes time for a student to understand Vipassana at the depth. We are neither against gāyatri nor against om. Any word that is recited again and again generates a particular type of vibration. But this is a created vibration, an artificial vibration. Vipassana wants us to deal with the natural vibration—yathābhūta, as it is. As it is—what is happening in my body? As it is—what is happening in my mind? This has to be observed. With mantras we are creating a veneer of an artificial vibration. This will cause difficulty.
We keep explaining this to the students. If a student still feels, "This other thing is very good for me," let them carry on. We cannot impose the view that they must practise only in this way.
But regarding those who have started teaching—whether junior teacher or assistant teacher or senior assistant teacher or deputy teacher—if they start telling people, "If you want to add this, nothing wrong," this will be harmful. Suppose a student becomes very agitated, and without giving a solution in the Vipassana way, the assistant teacher advises, "Recite this mantra. Go and sit somewhere and recite this mantra for some time." By reciting this mantra, the student will certainly calm down. And the teacher may feel, "Wonderful, this mantra has worked well. Let me give this mantra to everybody who comes." Then the technique will get lost and people won’t get the benefit of Vipassana. The teachers have to be very careful not to mix anything with Vipassana.
As for the students, we have to leave them to their own discretion. After all, initially Dhamma starts when somebody goes to kindergarten, with all these rites, rituals and recitations. This is how one starts. But as one progresses, all these will be left behind naturally. As one really progresses in Vipassana, all these mantras and such will fall away naturally; one won’t have to make any effort to make them go away. But at this stage, if we impose something, it won’t be proper.
So you should be careful. If you are a teacher, you must not give such guidance to people. And if you are a student, understand that this mixing will be harmful for you; you must come out of it. But if you feel, "No, this is helpful to me," then continue for some time. Later on you will understand. Nothing should be imposed. §
As expressed in your discourses, the effectiveness of Vipassana meditation will last around five hundred years in this country. Then it will lose its effectiveness because it will get polluted through mixture with other techniques. Is this comment of yours based on the past history of the country or is it due to some weakness in the technique itself that it will start losing its effectiveness around five hundred years from now?
The technique is very strong. It does not become weak—that is out of the question. We weaken it because we are not strong. If we remain strong—that means the public remains strong, the meditators remain strong—certainly it will be effective for more than five hundred years. But from the experience of the past, we say that it should be available for at least five hundred years. If you start polluting it even now, within this generation, there is a danger that it won’t be there to serve people for even five hundred years.
The technique was lost partly because it began to be mixed with other things, and also because the teachers of Dhamma lost their pure lifestyle. Somebody sitting on a high Dhamma seat started expecting, "Everybody must pay respect to me. Everybody must give some donation. I am a selected person, a special person."
Because of this kind of feeling their life in Dhamma started degenerating. And when people have no respect for such a teacher, how can they have respect for the teaching, however good it may be?
These were the two reasons why the technique lost its efficacy after five hundred years. I would very much like the Dhamma to be there serving people for not only five hundred years, but for many hundreds of years. But I keep saying, "For at least five hundred years allow it to remain pure, and let the teachers also remain pure." § Living in society, a serious meditator has to participate in the rites, rituals or ceremonies of marriages, funerals and other such activities. In such situations what should the meditator do?
Participate, there is nothing wrong in that. You have to live with your family members, you have to live in society. If you start being antagonistic, this is not Dhamma. Give mettā. Keep giving mettā to them. And if you have to participate in these kinds of rites and rituals, deep inside keep experiencing the anicca that is going on while you are performing that rite and ritual. If you do that, there is nothing wrong.
When the time comes, the family members will also come to the stage where they understand that these rites and rituals are meaningless, that actually Dhamma is important. They will also become Dhamma people and start practising anicca. But don’t impose your ideas, don’t create any kind of friction.
In all the previous lives of the Bodhisatta, he practised vohāra kusala, that is, finding a proper course of action in difficult situations. You have to live in society as a householder, so you have to find out appropriate means that do not create any kind of antagonism with the members of the family or members of the society. You have to live very peacefully and harmoniously, and yet keep progressing in Dhamma. §
Practising Vipassana meditation for long years, many have been appointed as assistant teachers and senior assistant teachers. In spite of this, in quite a few of them there is no equanimity and humbleness in their behaviour or in their speech. In fact their ego has multiplied because of their knowledge and practice. What is the reason for this? Where is the mistake and how can it be rectified?
A person who has multiplied his or her ego has no knowledge of Dhamma, is not practising Vipassana. If one is practising Vipassana, one has the wisdom of Vipassana, one understands Vipassana, then the ego has to get deflated, it has to get dissolved. These two—the practice of Dhamma and ego—cannot go together.
If one is progressing in Dhamma, this means one is progressing in the understanding of anicca. The understanding of anicca will take one to the understanding of dukkha, and then to the understanding of anattā. More and more as one practises, the experience and the understanding of anattā becomes stronger. No attā, no ego. Anattā—egolessness. This is the yardstick to measure whether one is really progressing on the path of Dhamma or not—for a teacher or a student—but a teacher has more responsibility because he is sitting on the Dhamma seat.
At times it is quite possible that a student may have developed some negativity towards the teacher due to another reason. Then one starts seeing with the coloured glasses of negativity and finding fault with the teacher.
Everyone who sits on the Dhamma seat must always remain prepared: There will be people who will admire you, and those who will condemn you. Smilingly accept both. Keep your equanimity. Whenever admiration comes, understand, "Oh, they are admiring Dhamma. I am the same as before, but Dhamma has entered into me, and they are admiring Dhamma." And if somebody condemns you, first examine yourself, "Am I committing this mistake for which I am being condemned?" If the mistake is there, remove it. This is your job. In your own interest, remove it.
If you find that the mistake is not there, if you have examined yourself properly and still somebody is abusing you, denouncing you, then smile, give mettā to this person. Don’t have any kind of reaction of aversion. This is how one keeps growing on the path of Dhamma.
Teacher or student—whoever one may be—if you are to progress on the path of Dhamma, one important yardstick is, "Is my ego increasing or decreasing? If the ego is decreasing, I am on the right path. If it is increasing, I am not on the right path." §
Vipassana meditation is a double-edged sword. If not used properly, one can harm oneself. The Vipassana meditator sometimes begins to roll in the emotions of aversion, hatred, anger, craving. And those who come in contact with such a person are surprised that Vipassana is having a reverse effect. Where is the mistake? Kindly clarify how to get out of this state and remain alert.
Vipassana is not a double-edged sword, but the concentration of mind, the samādhi, is a double-edged sword. Samādhi can be micchā-samādhi or sammā-samādhi.
When practising, you go deeper, deeper to the stage where you can feel the deeper realities. Your mind gets sharper and sharper. With this sharp mind, if you generate mettā it will be so powerful. The entire atmosphere will get charged with the electricity of mettā because you are working at the depth of the mind and this sword has become now very sharp. It is cutting all the impurities of the atmosphere, and making it very pure and peaceful. With the same depth and the same sharpness of the mind, if you generate aversion, the entire atmosphere will be agitated by this aversion that you have generated.
It is quite possible that while meditating, or even after meditation during one’s day-to-day life, a feeling of aversion arises. Because of the old habit pattern of mind, aversion has arisen. Now the best thing for the meditator is to accept, "At the present moment, my mind is full of aversion—Sadosaṃ vā cittaṃ ‘sadosaṃ cittaṃ’ ti pajānāti. The mind which has now manifested itself is full of dosa, aversion. Just accept it, do nothing. Don’t try to push it out.
But at the same time start observing the sensations. Because whatever has come on the mind—sabbe dhammā vedanā samosaraṇā—is bound to manifest as a sensation on the body. The sensation on the body at this particular moment is related to the impurity that has arisen in the mind. Just accept this fact, "My mind at this moment is full of aversion. And see, these are the sensations, and I have been practising so long, so I know that they are impermanent. They come, they go away. Yes, they are anicca, anicca. So this aversion is also anicca, anicca. Let me see how long it lasts." Just keep observing it, don’t try to push it out.
Then you are like the awakened owner of a house. The thief who has entered the house will run away the moment he knows that the owner of the house is awakened. Now you are awakened: "See, the thief has come. Aversion has come." This aversion has come and it will go away. This is how to practise Vipassana properly.
If one is not practising Vipassana, but only training the mind to become sharp, this is not a healthy sign. Then your practice may go towards micchā-samādhi, not towards sammā-samādhi. §
Of the four levels of liberation—sotāpanna, sakadāgāmī, anāgāmī, and arahant— kindly tell us what stage you are in.
No stage! If you don’t want to walk with me, I cannot force you. Understand, the path of spirituality is a progressive development. I started a few years earlier, so I can say that I am a few steps ahead of you and I can teach you, "Come, this is how I am progressing. This is how I benefited from the path. You also come along. Keep trying."
The main thing is, if you find that there is something good in this person, in his teaching, then you should follow him. Otherwise, if you find that he is not an arahant, and feel, "I won’t follow this person," it is your decision. I don’t mind. § One last question, Guruji. Please enlighten us again on the duties and responsibilities of assistant teachers, trustees, and Dhamma servers.
There are a lot of duties and responsibilities, but no power, no authority. One should never start thinking, "Because I am a Dhamma server now, I have authority to govern all these students. I am like a policeman or policewoman; I will see to it that everyone acts according to the rules written in the Code of Discipline." With this kind of feeling one is not fit to serve.
Nor should one think, "I have become a trustee. I am not an ordinary member of this organization any longer. I have the authority to make decisions, whether they are good or bad." This person is not fit to be a trustee.
Nor should someone who has become an assistant teacher or a senior assistant teacher or a deputy teacher feel, "Now I am the authority! I can condemn anybody. If I have bad relations with a certain person, I can see that this person is removed." Then what sort of teacher are you? A fatherly feeling, a motherly feeling must develop, "I have been given this responsibility in order to develop the quality of a mother or a father looking after their own children. If one child has a defect, then my mettā, my compassion for that child is greater." Only responsibility and service. No authority.
Anybody who wants to progress on the path of Dhamma should understand that there is no authority, power or prestige at all. If one is expecting to gain these, it is better for this person to step down and work as an ordinary meditator. One should realize that the whole path is a path of selfless service, with no expectation of anything in return.
I keep saying: Śīśa utāre bhuīṅ dhare cale hamāre sātha. Cut off your head—cut off your ego—then come with me. If you do this, yes you are fit to come with me. Otherwise you can’t accompany me, you will drop out.
So whether one is a Dhamma server, a trustee, or an assistant—junior, senior or deputy—there should be no ego. When one thinks of authority and power, there is ego. When one thinks of service, humility is there. This quality should be in everybody. And I see that this quality is there. That is why Dhamma is spreading. And it will spread. I am quite confident about it. §
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