Vedanā and Sampajañña Seminar: Closing Address by S.N. Goenka

A seminar on the Importance of Vedanā and Sampajañña was held at Dhamma Giri in February 1990. Eminent Pāli scholars from around the world participated.

Respected Bhikkhu Sangha and Dhamma friends:

We have come to the happy conclusion of this Dhamma seminar - a unique seminar in the sense that you have practised Vipassana and you have started understanding its theory. Practice and theory: both are equally important.

If someone practises, certainly he or she will reach the final goal. Someone who has not read even one word of the Tipitaka and yet practises, will reach the final goal. But (except in the case of a pacceka Buddha) to show the path there must be an Enlightened One, a Buddha. Only by walking on the entire path will the final goal be reached. And when an Enlightened One is not there to personally guide us, his words are there to show the path.

There has been a gap of twenty-five centuries since the Buddha showed the path. Due to this gap someone walking on the path may feel skeptical as to whether one is walking correctly. Doubts may arise: "What am I doing? Is it correct? Did the Buddha really teach this?" To remove doubts, to get a clear picture of the path, pariyatti (theory) is very helpful. But if one remains only limited to pariyatti, I would say that this person is very unfortunate.

Pariyatti is to give us inspiration, to show us the path, but paµipatti (practice) will take us to the final goal. Sometimes pariyatti can cause confusion due to incorrect translation or interpretation; or because the student who is reading it does not have the capacity to understand what is being said. These problems can be removed by paµipatti. If one does not practise, one cannot understand pariyatti as one should: that is, as guidance and inspiration for liberation. To me paµipatti is of utmost importance.

I come from a very staunch, conservative Hindu Sanātani tradition. When I first went to my teacher Sayagyi U Ba Khin, he explained what the path was. I listened to his discourses, and I kept on meditating. I didn't find anything new. S²la (morality) is given importance in my tradition - that was nothing new. Samādhi (concentration): yes, samādhi should be practised. Unless the mind is under control, concentrated, how can one get the benefit of Dhamma? I had been reading about paññā (wisdom) in the scriptures, in the tradition in which I was born. It is full of paññā, pragya (wisdom), sthitapragya (established in wisdom). I had been reading, "Get established in paññā." That was nothing new. And yet it was new, so new and so wonderful.

Now a blind person could see. It was so wonderful. In the darkness a light came. I had been involved in only intellectual, devotional or emotional games. Nobody had told me, "This is how you can become sthitapragya. This is how you will become established in paññā." The entire tradition had no technique. This was quite clear to me, even after taking my first course. A thirsty person, lost in a desert wants water; he is so thirsty, so miserable. Someone comes to him and gives him a sermon, "Oh, you miserable person, you should drink water." But he doesn't give any water to drink! He doesn't show how to find water! Here I found someone who gave water.

The need to be free from rāga (craving), dosa (aversion) and moha (delusion) was not new to me, but the technique whereby I could become free from them was new. That was the biggest contribution Buddha made to suffering humanity. He gave a path, a technique. He continued to teach people for forty-five years, day and night. He would lie down for two or three hours a night, just to give rest to the body, remaining with sati (awareness) and sampajañña (understanding of impermanence). Twenty-four hours a day for forty-five years this person continued distributing Dhamma to suffering people, without expecting anything in return. He was filled with compassion. He did not teach in order to establish a particular sect, or philosophy; not at all. Otherwise he would not have been a Buddha. He taught just to give a path to people so that they could come out of their miseries.

He gave sammā diµµhi (right view of reality), not a diµµhi (philosophical belief). And he said that it is only with jānato passato (knowledge, seeing correctly) that one can have sammā diµµhi. Otherwise, however correct something may be, however logical something may be, if there is not jānato passato then it is micchā diµµhi (wrong view). It is only sammā diµµhi which can liberate, and sammā diµµhi is the diµµhi which you personally experience yourself, within yourself. Only then it is sammā (correct); otherwise it cannot be right, cannot be correct.

You have heard about something and you may contemplate or imagine it; but if you haven't experienced it, how can you really know what it is? Yathā-bh³ta (as it is): your understanding has to develop with your personal experience. Otherwise it is not yathā-bh³ta. It is yathā-shruta - you have just heard about it. Or yathā-kalpita - you have imagined it. Or yathā-vāñchita - you want it to happen in a certain way. This is not yathā-bh³ta. Yathā-bh³ta must happen within you, with experience: "Oh, yes! This is yathā-bhuta ñāna dassanam (the wisdom of reality as it is understood by direct experience)." You are to experience the truth within you as it is, and the ñāna (wisdom) that arises because of that is the sammā ñāna, samyak gyāna (right wisdom). Otherwise again it is the ñāna from a book, a ñāna of others, but not your own ñāna. Agama (book knowledge) is good for inspiration. But when you start experiencing it yourself, then it is adhigama (attainment). You have then walked the Path, you have experienced it; and only that liberates, nothing else.

That was the beauty of this enlightened person. At the time of Buddha, and before Buddha, samādhi was practised, but it was not sammā samādhi (right concentration). The teaching of paññā was also there , but it was all mere talk. Each particular sect or tradition, had its own beliefs. But it was only talk; nobody was actually practising wisdom. There were some practices wherein people were going to extremes, without understanding things properly, so they didn't benefit from these practices.

Gotama was not the only Buddha. Countless Buddhas had come before him. We don't even know the names of all of them. Everyone who gains enlightenment and breaks the shackles of impurities is a Buddha, is an arahant (a liberated person). Whoever becomes a Buddha, or an arahant, cannot have any clinging. If he has any clinging there is something wrong; this person cannot be liberated. If he is motivated by the wish that, "I must have a large number of followers. After my death people must remember me, build temples and statues in honour of me, praise me saying, 'Buddha was great.' People should call themselves Buddhists..." No - this is not the volition of a Buddha. Compassion is the only volition: "Look, all around people are suffering. I rediscovered this noble path, and I practised it, and by practising it I became liberated. May more and more people come out of their misery." If this is the volition, then yes, this person is a Buddha. This is the difference in volition between one who is a Buddha and one who is not a Buddha.

At the time of Gotama the Buddha, and even before, there were many who claimed that they had become a Buddha. This was a common name for all these mendicants. They called themselves "Buddha" ; but what is a Buddha? If one is not totally liberated from all impurities, one is not a Buddha. And to tell whether one is really liberated from all impurities, the yardstick is that this person has now become compassionate, infinitely compassionate. He cannot have compassion only for the people who call themselves Buddhists. His compassion is infinite. Only then is he a Buddha.

That is why he taught the truth to one and all. He was not interested in sectarianism. He told people: "Experience for yourself." Someone came to him and Buddha questioned him: "What do you believe? This nāma (mind), this r³pa (matter), is it anicca (impermanent) or not?"

"Yes sir, it is anicca!"

"Do you believe it is a source of sukha (happiness), or dukkha (misery) ?"

"Oh sir, it is dukkha!"

"Do you believe, this is 'I' , 'mine' or 'my soul' ?"

"No, no sir! How can mind and matter be 'I' , 'mine' or 'my soul' ?"

Understand, the person who answered those questions was not a follower of Buddha. He had come from outside.

Buddha asked the outsider, "Kim maññasi? (What do you believe? )" and he replied in that way.

That means he believed in anicca, dukkha and anattā. The Buddha continued: "Passa jāna (experience for yourself to gain understanding)." Whatever you believe now, you must realize this truth with Vipassana at the experiential level. This alone will help you, nothing else. Merely believing there is a sun in the sky will not give you light or warmth - you must experience it.

This was Buddha's contribution. It is such a wonderful contribution. "Yathā vādi, tathā kāri" - whatever he taught, he practised, and he taught only practice.

The entire teaching of Buddha is passa jāna, passa jāna - experience for yourself and then you will understand. Don't believe just because a particular scripture, tradition or teacher says so. Experience the truth yourself, and when you find that, yes, it is beneficial - then accept it and live that life. Only that life will help you: this alone, nothing else.

It is rare to find such a practical person. It is easy to give sermons, to say, "I am such a wise person." But to live your life free from all impurities is very difficult. A person who has practised and then teaches others to practise it, is indeed a unique person, a wonderful person. This was something which attracted me to Buddha. To be very frank, when I took my first course with my Sayagyi U Ba Khin, I had not even read the Dhammapada, which is very well-known. I started pariyatti only after my first course, and then it seemed as if Buddha were talking directly to me. Every word carried such a deep meaning. Because we can only understand by experience what Buddha really meant. That is why my teacher used to say that theory and practice should go together: patipatti and then pariyatti. The Path then becomes so clear.

When one progresses on the Path, two rare qualities naturally start developing in the mind. One is pubbakāri - taking the initiative to do good for others, without expecting anything in return. If, before you do something, you think you should receive this or that benefit, then this is not pubbakār². The first thing that must arise in the mind is, "I must help others, " without thinking of what you will receive in return. This is a quality which someone walking on the Path of Dhamma has to keep on measuring himself by. Then kataññutā, katavedi - a feeling of gratitude. Tyhis is the second rare quality which should develop if someone is really practising Dhamma. With the feeling, "I have received this wonderful Dhamma which takes all the misery out of life," if gratitude does not arise, then certainly one is not developing in Dhamma.

When I came to this country and started teaching, I kept saying that "I am teaching Dhamma, not Buddhism." This was not a question of strategy. Buddha never taught Buddhism; he taught Dhamma. He called those walking on the path dhammiko, dhammattho, dhamma-cāri, dhamma-vihāri. Can I improve on the teaching of Buddha? He did not teach in the name of Buddhism. He made people "dhammic." I felt I should teach Dhamma to people in the same way - sila, samādhi and paññā - the practical applied Dhamma. If I had only given sermons, then the people of this country would have said, "No thank you. We already have this; we have our Gitā."

The Gitā's concept of sthitapragya became very clear to me through the teaching I received from Sayagyi. Before then it had only been a word in the Gitā. Now I understood sthitapragya to be the quality of an arahant (fully liberated person), and now I was shown the way: µhita pañño (to get established in wisdom). This is to be sampajāno. We must be aware of anicca from moment to moment, then we are getting established in paññā, or as the G²tā says, sthitapragya. But it must be practised, otherwise the words remain empty. Paññā is to understand the reality of the world of mind and matter and what lies beyond.

This field of mind and matter, the field of the six sense doors is the field of anicca, constantly arising and passing. But we must experience it. Otherwise it is only a ditthi (view) which has nothing to do with sammā ditthi (right view). Only with experience is it paññā, and if it is continuous in every action - sitting, standing, walking, eating, drinking - then one becomes thita pañño - established in wisdom.

This teaching of the Buddha made sthitapragya so clear to me: vedanā and sampajañña; this is dukkha, and this is the way out of dukkha. We must learn to observe dukkha objectively by developing sampajañña, and this will take us beyond the field of dukkha, beyond the field of vedanā.

Many people come and say they are so grateful for the Dhamma, for the teaching that has come from the wonderful country of Burma. Initially people may hesitate. They may think, "This is Buddhism! This person is bringing nothing but Buddhism. He wants to convert us to another religion in an indirect way. He is a businessman, so he knows how to do it cunningly." But I smile at that. Yes, I was a businessman, no doubt. But understand - by converting you to a particular religion, what would I get? Tell me! If the President of the country said, "You must all call yourselves Buddhists," what would happen? Would people be liberated from their misery? No! But if only a small percentage of them start practising sila, samādhi, and paññā, no matter what they call themselves, they will come out of their misery. This is more important - they should get pure Dhamma, free from all kinds of sectarianism. This was my conviction, and this has remained my conviction because I myself came to Dhamma in this way.

If my teacher, Sayagyi U Ba Khin, had told me, "Come Goenka, I'll make a Buddhist out of you. I'll convert you to Buddhism," then I would not have learned Dhamma. Everyone has so much attachment to one's own tradition. And I come from a tradition where the ego is very strong: "We Hindus, our Veda is the source of all the wisdom of the world." To ask such a person to convert to another religion - impossible! Fortunately I found a wonderful teacher who was only interested in Dhamma. He said, "Come Goenka, I will teach you s²la, samādhi and paññā - a way out of your misery. Don't you agree that this moha, rāga, this dosa, makes you very miserable?" "Yes sir, I do." Because I myself was a bundle of miseries, of anger, passion and ego. In spite of all the understanding of the G²tā, in spite of all the devotion, blind devotion, not a trace of my impurities had gone away.

After I passed through this technique, I don't say that it made me a fully liberated person, but what a great change started happening! One has to be grateful. But if someone comes and tells me, "You teach s²la, samādhi and paññā, and this is wonderful, but please don't use the name of Buddha, because when you say Buddha, people will think, 'Oh, this is Buddhism. Look, he is converting us to Buddhism.'" I feel only pity for such a person, because even after a few courses he or she has not understood what Dhamma is. Kataññutā (gratitude) is a part of Dhamma; it is a yardstick to measure whether one is really progressing on the path of Dhamma or not.

A wonderful person discovered this noble path by which he liberated himself. And then he distributed it compassionately, without any discrimination. He taught people to reach the stage where they could teach others - bahujana hitāya, bahujana sukhāya lokānukampāya (for the benefit of many, for the happiness of many, out of compassion for the world) - without expecting anything in return. His followers were not interested in starting a sect in the name of Buddha. Their only motivation was to help people to come out of their misery. One feels great gratitude towards those people.

This wonderful technique was kept in its pristine purity from generation to generation through a chain of Teachers culminating in Sayagyi U Ba Khin - a brilliant star in the galaxy of stars, who gave me this wonderful Dhamma. How could I forget him? How could I not have gratitude towards Buddha? How could I not have gratitude toward this line of Teachers who kept it in its pristine purity? How can I not have gratitude towards my Sayagyi, U Ba Khin?

And then the country of Myanmar which kept the technique in its pristine purity. Where not only patipatti, but the entire pariyatti was also kept in its pristine purity. A feeling of gratitude is bound to come. How carefully patipatti and pariyatti were maintained from one generation to another, without anything being added or subtracted. That is why we are getting them today. If pariyatti had not been kept available, then there might have been some doubt whether it was really Buddha's word or not. A feeling of gratitude is bound to come on the Path, even if one has taken only a few steps. Certainly one has to be grateful, very grateful.

Those who come to practise pure Dhamma should understand they are not converting themselves to an organized religion, not at all. But they are certainly converting themselves to Dhamma, and Dhamma is purity of mind. Purity of mind must contain these qualities: love, compassion, selfless service and gratitude. These are the yardsticks which one can use to measure whether or not one is really purifying the mind. One may belong to any sect or tradition - whatever one has obtained from that tradition, one should remember: Whatever good qualities one has developed, one should remain grateful for.

Remember the qualities of all good saintly people and try to adopt those qualities yourself. Then you will be a Dhamma person. Use this wonderful path to liberate yourself from all bondages. Don't just develop pride that you have got this wonderful path which others don't have. This pride will not help at all. You have to practise. Use pariyatti to support your practise. We are glad that the pariyatti in Tiptaka, Atthakathā, and the Tikā, were all maintained by the neighbouring country. India had lost it totally, and now it has returned. We must make good use of it.

The Vipassana Research Institute is for research work, both for pariyatti and for paµipatti. With the research work and the translations, we must understand that every language, however rich it may be, has its own limitations. Technical terms, such as those we have explored in this seminar, can only be understood by experience. The equivalent terms in some other language might create confusion in the minds of people. But when they practise and then listen to a word, try to understand a word, the meanings become so clear. So pariyatti and patipatti, theory and practice, should go together.

Keep moving on the Path of Dhamma. Keep moving on the Path of liberation. Get enlightenment, your own enlightenment. Get wisdom, your own wisdom. Get the Dhamma which will arise in you, and which will manifest in your daily life.

May all of you who have come to this Dhamma seminar reach the goal of final liberation; may all of you come out of your miseries. We receive inspiration from pariyatti, and all the fruit from patipatti. For those who have not yet tasted the nectar of Dhamma, may they get the opportunity to come in contact with pure Dhamma, the path of liberation. May they also taste the Dhamma's nectar of liberation.

May all of you be happy. May all others be happy. May all of you be peaceful. May all others be peaceful. May all of you be liberated. May all others be liberated.

Bhavatu sabba mangalam.
(May all beings be happy.)