By S. N. Goenka
Dhamma eradicates suffering and gives happiness. Who gives this happiness? It is not the Buddha but the Dhamma, the knowledge of anicca (impermanence) within the body, which gives this happiness. That is why you must meditate and be aware of anicca continually. —Sayagyi U Ba Khin
I remember the first time I met Sayagyi U Ba Khin. I had gone with great attachment to my beliefs and misgivings about the teaching of the Buddha. Sayagyi knew that I was a leader of the local Indian Hindu community. He asked me, "Do you Hindus have any objection tosīla—a life of morality, to samādhi—mastery over the mind, and to paññā—wisdom to purify the mind?" How could I object? How could anybody object? He continued, "Well, this is what the Buddha taught. This is all I am interested in, and this is all that I am going to teach you." Sayagyi's interpretation of Dhamma was universal and non-sectarian. He had no problem with my being a Hindu.
My first Vipassana course introduced me to the teachings of the Buddha and transformed my life forever. I was pulled like a magnet to his logical, practical, pragmatic, universal and non-sectarian teaching. There was nothing objectionable in it. I had been hearing about and talking about the eradication of defilements and the purification of mind. When I started observing sensations, initially there were moments of doubt, "How is this going to help me?" But soon I realised that by observing sensations, I am going to the root of the defilements. I was actually walking towards the goal of full liberation. Whatever Sayagyi taught me was not merely to develop faith or to satisfy the intellect, though both are important. He taught me the way to know the truth at the experiential level. If anybody had tried to convince me about the teaching of the Buddha by intellectual discussion, logic, or argument, I would not have been convinced, as I was fully satisfied with my own beliefs. What convinced me and gave me here-and-now results was the experience of the truth through bodily sensations. This tangible tool gave me the confidence that I could indeed become sthitaprajña(ṭhitapañño), which is the cherished goal of every Hindu.
The more I practised, the more I was convinced that the Buddha was the foremost scientist of mind and matter, the foremost analyst of the truth about suffering and its eradication. And what makes him a peerless scientist is the discovery that taṇhā, craving(Skt: tṛṣṇā), arises in response to vedanā. I had studied the teachings of the Indian spiritual teachers before and after the Buddha who also accept taṇhā as the cause of misery, but for them taṇhā arises because of the sense objects only. They miss the most important link: not one of them discusses vedanā and its relation to taṇhā. They always pronounce sense objects to be the cause of taṇhā. Taṇhā is craving. Craving for continuing or acquiring that which is pleasant and craving to get rid of or repelling that which is unpleasant. Therefore, "taṇhā" actually means both craving and aversion.
The discovery of the Buddha, that the real cause of taṇhā lies in vedanā, is the unparalleled gift of the Buddha to humanity. With this one discovery he gave us the key to open the door of liberation within ourselves. Others proclaimed saḷāyatanapaccayātaṇhā; the Buddha discovered and disclosed thatvedanā paccayātaṇhā, which means that defilements arise at the level of vedanā and in response to vedanā. It is logical that if taṇhā arises in response to vedanā, any endeavour to reach the root of taṇhā and to eradicate taṇhā must include the understanding of vedanā, the experience of it, the knowledge of how it causes craving and aversion, and the wisdom to know how it can be used for the eradication of taṇhā.
Samāhito sampajāno, sato buddhassa sāvako; vedanā ca pajānāti, vedanānañca sambhavaṃ. Yattha cetā nirujjhanti, maggañca khayagāminaṃ; Vedanānaṃ khayā bhikkhu, nicchāto parinibbuto ti.1
A follower of the Buddha, with concentration, awareness and constant thorough understanding of impermanence, knows with wisdom the sensations, their origin, their cessation and the path leading to their end.
A meditator who has reached the end (has experienced the entire range) of sensations (and has gone beyond) is freed from craving, is fully liberated.
This is why the Buddha practised and taught the meditation of awareness of mind and matter (nāma and rūpa). Rūpa includes kāya (body), and vedanā (sensation) is felt on kāya. Nāma includes citta (consciousness) and the dhammas (mental concomitants) arising on it. Vedanā is also a cetasika (mental concomitant). When the Buddha says, sabbedhammāvedanāsamosaraṇā, it means that the experience of all mental concomitants includes and is inseparable from vedanā. Hence, according to my understanding of the teaching of the Buddha, not only do kāyānupassanā and vedanānupassanā involve the awareness of vedanā, but vedanā also forms an integral part of dhammānupassanā and cittānupassanā. A meditator, whether practising kāyānupassanā or vedanānupassanā or cittānupassanā or dhammānupassanā, continues to be aware of vedanā. He realises the phenomenon of arising (samudayadhammānupassī) and the phenomenon of passing away (vayadhammānupassī) by maintaining awareness of vedanā with the understanding of its impermanent nature. Thus he does not allow taṇhā to arise in response to vedanā: he responds neither with taṇhā of craving towards a pleasant sensation nor with taṇhā of aversion towards an unpleasant sensation. A meditator maintains upekkhā (equanimity) based on understanding of anicca (impermanence).
My journey within clearly showed me that a behaviour pattern is formed in the darkness of ignorance where one keeps reacting with craving and aversion, knowingly or unknowingly, towards bodily sensations. Thus, one becomes a slave of one's behaviour pattern and keeps reacting to sensations at the deepest level. The anusaya kilesa (underlying impurities) are like sleeping volcanoes, the latent behaviour patterns of blind reaction to sensations. The Buddha's discovery helps a meditator to come out of this blind behaviour pattern. Among the many meditation techniques of India and other parts of the world that I have come across or have heard about, there is none that goes to the root cause of the defilements of craving and aversion and eradicates them. In no other technique is the way to eradicate even the latent tendencies of craving, aversion and ignorance so clearly spelt out.
Sukhāya, bhikkhave, vedanāya rāgānusayo pahātabbo, dukkhāya vedanāya paṭighānusayo pahātabbo, adukkhamasukhāya vedanāya avijjānusayo pahātabbo. 2
Eradicate the latent tendency of craving using pleasant sensations (by equanimous observation of the pleasant sensations, understanding their changing nature), eradicate the latent tendency of aversion using unpleasant sensations, and eradicate the latent tendency of ignorance using neutral sensations.
I realised this to be a unique contribution of the Buddha to humanity. The question that arises now is what do we call vedanā? It is clear from the words of the Buddha that vedanā is one of the four aggregates of mind, saññā, saṅkhārā and viññāṇa being the other three, and that it plays a vital role in liberation from misery. The Buddha gave importance to the vedanā that one feels on the body. The vedanā that one feels on the body is experienced by the vedanākhandha (feeling aggregate) of nāma; rather, it is the vedanākhandha of nāma. Rūpa (matter) in itself cannot experience sensations arising on it. For the meditation of liberation from misery, bodily sensations are important. This does not mean that mental feeling (somanassa and domanassa) is to be ignored; it continues simultaneously.
The tradition in which I drank the nectar of benevolent Dhamma that liberates one from all misery is called the tradition of Ledi Sayadaw, which is actually the tradition of the Buddha. This tradition gives all importance to the sensations that one feels on the body. When I took my first course at the feet of Sayagyi U Ba Khin, I was extremely attracted to this unique aspect of meditation. My first Vipassana course showed me that mere intellectual knowledge of the impermanent nature of mind and matter phenomena can purify only the intellect to some extent. It does not change us at the depth of the mind, where we remain slaves of our behaviour patterns and keep on reacting in utter ignorance.
I benefited so much from this technique of meditation that I started reading the words of the Buddha in accordance with my teacher's advice. I was also curious to find out why India lost this noble teaching. I had been told from childhood that the Buddha incorporated good points from our tradition in his teaching and then added delusion to it and had not discovered anything new. My experience turned out to be contrary to this belief. I found the Buddha's teaching to be very beneficial. This led to a further exploration to find the truth about these statements. Reading the words of the Buddha (Tipiṭaka) gave me so much joy! How wrong my earlier information turned out to be! It showed how the Buddha's emphasis was on the actual experience of the truth. How could a teaching so firmly grounded in reality lead to delusions? I could detect no trace of falsehood on this path. The words 'bhāvito bahulīkato'—know with your own experience and thus gain and multiply knowledge—occur many times in the Tipiṭaka. The Buddha said again and again, 'jāna, passa'—know thyself, with your own experience. The actual experience of the truth, as it is, ensures that there are no illusions or delusions, no imagination, or any blind beliefs on this path. The words of the Buddha also confirmed my experience that the physical, bodily sensations are of utmost importance to the art of liberation from all suffering.
While describing dukkha, it is said,
‘Katamañca, bhikkhave, dukkhaṃ? Yaṃ kho, bhikkhave, kāyikaṃ dukkhaṃ kāyikaṃ asātaṃ kāyasamphassajaṃ dukkhaṃ asātaṃ vedayitaṃ, idaṃ vuccati, bhikkhave, dukkhaṃ.” 3
"What now, meditators, is pain? If there is, meditators, any kind of bodily pain, any kind of bodily unpleasantness, or any kind of painful or unpleasant feeling as a result of bodily contact, this, meditators, is called pain."
And while describing domanassa, it is said,
‘Katamañca, bhikkhave, domanassaṃ? Yaṃ kho, bhikkhave, cetasikaṃ dukkhaṃ cetasikaṃ asātaṃ manosamphassajaṃ dukkhaṃ asātaṃ vedayitaṃ, idaṃ vuccati, bhikkhave, domanassaṃ.” 4
"What now, meditators, is grief? If there is, meditators, any kind of mental pain, any kind of mental unpleasantness, or any kind of painful or unpleasant feeling as a result of mental contact, this meditators, is called grief."
This again makes it clear that when the Buddha describes dukkhāvedanā, he is talking about bodily sensations.
The Buddha says in the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta: Ātāpi sampajāno satimā. Ātāpi and satimā are simple to understand, but I had to search for the meaning of sampajāno. I found that it was clearly defined: sampajāñña is continuous clear comprehension and thorough understanding of the impermanent nature of the physical and mental structure, in particular, by means of vedanā. Vedanā is felt on the body, but it is part of the mind, and its observation means the observation of the mind and matter phenomenon.
Kathañca, bhikkhave, bhikkhu sampajāno hoti? Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhuno viditā vedanā uppajjanti, viditā upaṭṭhahanti, viditā abbhatthaṃ gacchanti. Viditā vitakkā uppajjanti, viditā upaṭṭhahanti, viditā abbhatthaṃ gacchanti. Viditā saññā uppajjanti, viditā upaṭṭhahanti, viditā abbhatthaṃ gacchanti. Evaṃ kho, bhikkhave, bhikkhu sampajāno hoti. Sato, bhikkhave, bhikkhu vihareyya sampajāno. Ayaṃ vo amhākaṃ anusāsanīti. 5
And how, meditators, does a meditator understand thoroughly? Here, meditators, a meditator knows sensations arising in him, knows their persisting, and knows their passing away; he knows the initial application of the mind on an object arising in him, knows its persisting, and knows its passing away; he knows perceptions arising in him, knows their persisting, and knows their passing away. This, meditators, is how a meditator understands thoroughly. A meditator should dwell mindfully with constant thorough understanding of impermanence. This is our instruction to you.
The words of the Buddha also clarify that vedanā indicates sensations on the body:
Yathāpi vātā ākāse, vāyanti vividhā puthū; Puratthimā pacchimā cāpi, uttarā atha dakkhiṇā. Sarajā arajā capi, sītā uṇhā ca ekadā; Adhimattā parittā ca, puthū vāyanti mālutā. Tathevimasmiṃ kāyasmiṃ, samuppajjanti vedanā; Sukhadukkhasamuppatti, adukkhamasukhā ca yā. Yato ca bhikkhu ātāpī, sampajaññaṃ na riñcati. Tato so vedanā sabbā, parijānāti paṇḍito. So vedanā pariññāya, diṭṭhe dhamme anāsavo; Kāyassa bhedā dhammaṭṭho, saṅkhyaṃ nopeti vedagūti.6
Through the sky blow many different winds, from east and west, from north and south, dust-laden and dustless, cold as well as hot, fierce gales and gentle breezes—many winds blow. In the same way, in this body, sensations arise—pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral. When a meditator, practising ardently, does not neglect his faculty of thorough understanding, then such a wise person fully comprehends all sensations. And having fully comprehended them, within this very life he becomes freed from all impurities. At his life's end, such a person, being established in Dhamma and understanding sensations perfectly, attains the indescribable stage.
Similarly emphasising the fact that vedanā manifests in the body, he said:
Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, āgantukāgāraṃ, tattha puratthimāyapi disāya... pacchimāyapi disāya... uttarāyapi disāya... dakkhiṇāyapi disāya āgantvā vāsaṃ kappenti. Khattiyāpi... brāhmaṇāpi... vessāpi... suddāpi āgantvā vāsaṃ kappenti. Evameva kho, bhikkhave, imasmiṃ kāyasmiṃ vividhā vedanā uppajjanti. Sukhāpi... dukkhāpi... adukkhamasukhāpi vedanā uppajjati. Sāmisāpi sukhā... sāmisāpi dukkhā... sāmisāpi adukkhamasukhā vedanā uppajjati. Nirāmisāpi sukhā... nirāmisāpi dukkhā... nirāmisāpi adukkhamasukhā vedanā uppajjatīti. 7
Suppose, meditators, there is a public guest house. People from the east, west, north, and south come and stay there. People who are Kshatriyas, Brahmins, Vaishyas, and Shudras come and stay there. In the same way, meditators, various sensations arise in this body; pleasant sensations, unpleasant sensations, and neutral sensations arise. Pleasant sensations with attachment, unpleasant sensations with attachment, and neutral sensations with attachment arise. Likewise, pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral sensations arise without attachment.
I needed no further proof that the Buddha was referring to the physical, bodily sensations when he described vedanā! Not only did these exhortations of the Buddha clear all my doubts, but they also made me feel as if the Buddha himself was instructing me to give importance to the bodily sensations.
My revered teacher used to chant the Tikapaṭṭhāna regularly. I found it very inspiring. The study of Tikapaṭṭhāna reveals the clear and explicit guidance from the Buddha that bodily sensations (kāyikaṃsukhaṃ and kāyikaṃ dukkhaṃ) are the nearest strongly dependent relations to the attainment of nibbāna.
Pakatūpanissayo—kāyikaṃ sukhaṃ kāyikassa sukhassa, kāyikassa dukkhassa, phalasamāpattiyā upanissayapaccayena paccayo. Kāyikaṃ dukkhaṃ kāyikassa sukhassa, kāyikassa dukkhassa, phalasamāpattiyā upanissayapaccayena paccayo. 8
Pleasant bodily sensation is the cause for the arising of pleasant sensation of the body, unpleasant sensation of the body, and attainment of fruition (nibbāna) in relation to the strong dependent condition. Unpleasant bodily sensation is the cause for the arising of pleasant sensation of the body, unpleasant sensation of the body, and attainment of fruition (nibbāna) in relation to the strong dependent condition.
And,
Pakatūpanissayo—kāyikaṃ sukhaṃ upanissāya... vipassanaṃ uppadeti, maggaṃ uppadeti, abhiññaṃ uppadeti, samāpattiṃ uppadeti. 9
Dependent on pleasant bodily sensations... insight arises... path arises... knowledge arises... attainment (of nibbāna) arises.
Some of my friends insisted that vedanā is a part of nāma, and hence it has no relation to the bodily sensations. Differences of opinion may exist. But for me the entire Tipiṭaka bears testimony to the fact that the bodily sensations are as much a part of vedanā as mental feelings; rather, bodily sensations are much more important in the Buddha's teaching. The Paṭṭhāna added incontrovertible proof that bodily sensations are of utmost importance on the path of liberation. I have immensely benefited from this, and I continue to teach Vipassana as I learnt it from my revered teacher, giving importance to bodily sensations.
Somanassa and domanassa are used for pleasant mental feelings and unpleasant mental feelings, respectively. Sukhā and dukkhā are used in the broader sense of happiness and misery, but he also used them in the specific sense of pleasant and unpleasant sensations felt in the body.
Tisso imā, bhikkhave, vedanā. Katamā tisso? Sukhā vedanā, dukkhā vedanā, adukkhamasukhā vedanā—imā kho, bhikkhave, tisso vedanāti. 10
There are these three types of bodily sensations. What are the three? Pleasant sensations, unpleasant sensations and sensations that are neither painful nor pleasant (neutral).
The Buddha always enumerated three types of vedanā in the manner mentioned above. He included somanassindriyaṃ and domanassindriyaṃ only when he enumerated five types of vedanā. This indicates the primacy of bodily sensations over mental feelings in the Buddha's teaching.
Katamā ca, bhikkhave, tisso vedanā? Sukhā vedanā, dukkhā vedanā, adukkhamasukhā vedanā—imā vuccanti, bhikkhave, tisso vedanā. Katamā ca, bhikkhave, pañca vedanā? Sukhindriyaṃ, dukkhindriyaṃ, somanassindriyaṃ, domanassindriyaṃ, upekkhindriyaṃ—imā vuccanti, bhikkhave, pañca vedanā. 11
The Buddha has qualified vedanā by sukhāvedanā and dukkhāvedanā when he talks about the satipaṭṭhānas but never somanassavedanā or domanassavedanā in the context of sampajañña or satipaṭṭhānas. In the entire Tipiṭaka there are only about a dozen places where vedanā occurs together with somanassa, but there are hundreds of places where sukhā or dukkhāvedanā is used, particularly in the context of meditation of satipaṭṭhāna. Thus, it is clear that vedanā as a part of the nāma that is firmly rooted in kāya is what the Buddha wanted us to focus on when he talked about meditation to eradicate suffering.
This is also the reason why brahmas from arūpabrahmaloka cannot practise Vipassana and why the Buddha could not give Dhamma to his past teachers of arūpajhānas (seventh and eighth jhānas). In the fifth to eighth jhānas, the mind is set free from the body, and thus there is no experience of vedanā. Therefore, these brahmas lack rūpa and cannot experience body-sensations. Hence, the practice of the awareness of vedanā is not possible for them, and they cannot walk on the path of liberation.
It is noteworthy that in practising samādhi, somanassa and domanassa disappear in the third jhāna, but sukhā and dukkhāvedanā disappear only in the fourth jhāna. Adukkhamasukhāvedanā remains even in the fourth jhāna. From this, one may reasonably conclude that bodily sensations give us a stronger and more continuous hold on reality and thus on the root cause of taṇhā. One can clearly comprehend sensations, and they offer a tangible tool to attain one's own salvation.
I learnt this from my own experience using the technique taught by my teacher. With this background, the words of the Buddha were so convincing and heartening. This path has given so much joy to me. On my teacher's injunction, I started sharing this technique with others, in India and around the world. When I share this technique of liberation with my students, I find that they also benefit by working with sensations and understanding their true nature. The clear, practical and result-orientated teaching of the Buddha inspires so much trust and confidence in me. It leaves no scope for any imagination or blind faith.
Every now and then, someone comes and argues with me as to why I give so much importance to bodily sensations. Very humbly I request him or her to come and give a trial to Vipassana meditation, to experience and examine whether it is in accordance with the Buddha's teaching.
Let there be no doubt about the technique. I invite you: let us all walk on the path shown to us by the Buddha, the greatest scientist of mind and matter and the greatest physician of mind the world has ever produced. Let our philosophical beliefs not become an obstacle for us. Let us make use of the Buddha's discovery that vedanā is the tool that will liberate us from our misery.
May all be happy, peaceful and liberated.
Notes: (All references are to the VRI edition.)
- Saṃyutta Nikāya 2.4.249 Vedanāsaṃyuttaṃ, Samādhisuttaṃ
- Saṃyutta Nikāya 2.4.251 Vedanāsaṃyuttaṃ, Pahānasuttaṃ
- Digha Nikāya 2.393 Mahāvaggapāḷi, Mahāsatipaṭṭhānasuttaṃ
- Ibid 2.394
- SaṃyuttaNikāya 3.5.401 Satipaṭṭhānasaṃyuttaṃ, Satisuttaṃ
- Saṃyutta Nikāya 2.4.260 Vedanāsaṃyuttaṃ, Paṭhamaākāsasuttaṃ
- Saṃyutta Nikāya 2.4.262 Vedanāsaṃyuttaṃ, Agārasuttaṃ
- Paṭṭhāna 1.1.423 Kusalattikaṃ Pañhāvāro Paccayānulomaṃ
Vibhaṅgavāro Upanissayapaccayo
- Ibid
- Saṃyutta Nikāya 2.4.250 Vedanāsaṃyuttaṃ Sukhasuttaṃ
- Saṃyutta Nikāya 2.4.270 Vedanāsaṃyuttaṃ Aṭṭhasatasuttaṃ