Luangpor Teean's Sati Meditation

Luangpor Teean's Sati Meditation
Saturday, April 17, 2010
LUANGPOR TEEAN - Grand Master of Sati Meditation

THE DYNAMIC PRACTICES OF LUANGPOR TEEAN, A THAI
MEDITATION MASTER
by
Tavivat Puntarigvivat

The purpose of this paper is to briefly introduce the life and teachings of the Thai Buddhist monk Luangpor Teean. Luangpor Teean (1911-1988) was an important teacher within the world of Thai Buddhism who introduced a new technique of meditation that can be characterized as "dynamic" in contrast to the more conventional techniques of "static" meditation. He elucidated the goal of Buddhist practice with an unsurpassed vividness and authenticity. His dynamic meditation is also unique among the various schools of the contemporary Buddhist world.

Luangpor Teean's dynamic meditation is practiced by using rhythmic bodily movement to develop awareness (sati), an awareness that can encounter thoughts or mental images -- the root causes of human suffering. The teachings of Luangpor Teean indicate the way of developing awareness, which breaks through the chain of thoughts; once awareness has become the dominating power over thoughts and mental images, it simultaneously overcomes attraction, resistance, and delusion, and hence suffering.

The story of Luangpor Teean's life is of some interest in itself. He attained the Dhamma while he was a layman, which is very unusual (and for some hard to credit) in the monastically centered world of Thai Buddhism. His experience of Dhamma involved a sudden way of knowing, which is more common in the history of Ch'an Buddhism in China and Zen Buddhism in Japan In con- temporary terms, Luangpor Teean can be seen as a teacher of "sudden enlightenment" in a Theravada context; from a historical perspective, his story is similar to that of Hui-neng (638-713), the sixth patriarch of Ch'an Buddhism in China, who also attained sudden enlightenment while a lay person.

His Life

The fifth child of Chin and Som Inthaphiu, Luangpor Teean was born on September 5, 1911, at Buhom, a small village in the remote province of Loei in the north eastern region of Thailand His given name was Phan. He had four brothers and one sister. Since his father died when he was still very young, the boy had to spend much of his time helping his mother with the hard work of running their farm.

There were no schools in the area, and Phan received no formal education. However, at the age of 10, he was ordained as a novice at the local monastery, where his uncle, Yakhuphong Chansuk, was a resident monk. Diligent, obedient, and devout, Phan spent eighteen months there studying ancient Buddhist scripts, meditation, and magic before he disrobed to return to his home. Later, following tradition, he was ordained as a monk at the age of 20, again studying and meditating with his uncle, this time for six months. His interest in meditation, fuelled by a deep faith in the Buddha's teachings, continued to grow, and he practiced regularly.

About two years after returning to lay life Phan Inthaphiu married. He and his wife, Hom, had three sons: Niam, Teean, and Triam. After the eldest died at the age of 5, Phan became known as "Por Teean" (father of Teean) in accordance with the local tradition of calling a parent by the name of the eldest living child. To support his family, Por Teean worked hard on his farm and fruit plantation, as well as at a small trade in the village. In his community, Por Teean was a leader in Buddhist activities, providing food, robes, and medicine for the monks, as well as organizing construction projects at local monasteries. Scrupulously honest, he was very highly respected and was persuaded on three different occasions to become the head of his village.

Later he moved to Chiangkhan, a larger community in the same province, where he became a successful trader, sailing in his own boat along the Mekhong River between Thailand and Laos. During these years he met various meditation teachers and practiced the methods they taught him, and his enthusiasm for pursuing Dhamma continued to strengthen. By the time he had reached his mid-40s, however, he came to the realization that his many years of making merit, avoiding "sin", and practicing meditation had not liberated him from anger, and so he decided that it was time for him to commit himself fully to seeking the Dhamma. And so, at the age of 46, after arranging for his wife's well being and economic security and settling his business affairs, Por Teean left his home, firmly determined not to return unless he found the true Dhamma.

Embarking on his search, Por Teean travelled to Wat Rangsimukdaram, in Nongkhai province, where he decided to spend the rapidly approaching three-month monastic retreat (phansa). There he met Achan Pan, a Laotian meditation teacher who taught him a form of body-moving meditation, where each movement and the pause at the end of that movement was accompanied by the silent recitation of the words "moving-stopping." Achan Pan had decided to spend that retreat in Laos; therefore, he left another monk, Luangpho Wanthong, in charge of the monastery.

On the 8th day of the waxing moon of the eighth month of the Thai lunar calendar, in the year 2500 of the Buddhist Era, Luangpho Wanthong directed all the meditators staying for that retreat (which would begin on the first day of the waning moon of that month) to practice awareness of death by concentrating on their breathing and inwardly repeating the word "death" each time they inhaled or exhaled. In trying to do this, Por Teean found himself at first diligent but then unmotivated. After having practiced many forms of meditation over the preceding thirty-five years -- all involving concentration on breathing and also in most cases an inner recitation -- he had only obtained transitory calmness. He, therefore, decided to abandon such techniques and instead to only practice the recently acquired body-moving meditation, but without the inner recitations. This he did throughout the whole of the following day, practicing in accord with nature, remaining energetic and at ease.

On the third day of his practice at Wat Rangsimukdaram at around 5 a.m., while he was sitting and moving his arms in meditation, a scorpion and its young fell onto Por Teean's thigh and then scurried all over his lap and finally onto the floor. To his surprise he felt neither startled nor fearful At that moment a sudden knowledge occurred in his mind: instead of experiencing himself as he always had, he now saw rupa-nama (body-mind); he saw it acting, and he saw its disease. Furthermore, at that point he knew clearly that rupa-nama was dukkham-aniccam-anatta (unbearable-unstable-uncontrollable); by seeing with insight he also knew clearly the difference between actuality and supposition. Knowing rupa-nama, his understanding of "religion," "Buddhism," "sin," and "merit" changed completely. After a while all the young scorpions returned to their mother's back, and Por Teean used a stick to carry them away to a safe place.

At this point, his mind was carried away by a flood of emotions and thought, but eventually he returned to his practice, taking note of the body's movements. His mind soon returned to normal. By evening Por Teean's awareness was sufficiently continuous and fast that he began to "see", rather than merely know, thought; thought was "seen" as soon as it arose, and it immediately stopped. Soon, practicing in this way, he penetrated to the source of thought and realization arose. His mind changed fundamentally. Por Teean was now independent of both scriptures and teachers.

As he continued to practice that day, his mind was changed step by step. In later years, much of his teaching would be concerned with the details of the steps and stages through which the mind progressed on its way to the ending of suffering

Later that evening a deeper realization arose, and his mind changed for the second time. Early the next morning, the 11th day of the waxing moon (July 8, 1957), as he walked in meditation, his realization went even deeper, and his mind changed for the third time. Soon afterwards the state of arising-extinction was realized; and with that all of Por Teean's human conditioning and limitations dissolved and lost their taste: body-mind returned to its "original" state.

A few days later Achan Pan arrived from Laos on a short visit in order to examine the progress of the meditators. Por Teean was the last person to be interviewed. When asked what he knew, Por Teean said that he knew himself. Asked how he knew himself, he answered that in moving, sitting, and lying he knew himself. Achan Pan commented that in that case only dead people did not know themselves. Por Teean replied that he had already died and had been born anew.

"I have died to filth, wickedness, sorrow, darkness, and drowsiness, but I am still alive," he explained.

Achan Pan then asked him whether salt is salty. "Salt is not salty," Por Teean replied.

"Why?"

"Salt is not on my tongue, so how can it be salty." Achan Pan then asked whether chilli is hot and sugar cane sweet. Por Teean responded in a similar way to each of these questions. Achan Pan went on to ask: " Among the black colors, which one is more black?"

"Black is black, no black can be beyond black; white is white, no white is beyond white; the same is true for red and every other thing-nothing is beyond itself," Por Teean answered.

Achan Pan was silent for a long time. Then he spoke again, "Suppose here is a forest, and a person came to see me, and then walked back home. On the way back home he carried a gun, and coming upon a tiger he shot it. Being wounded, the tiger became very fierce. If I had asked that person to tell you to come and see me here, would you come?" Achan Pan used a story to pose a profound question.

"Yes, I would. Being asked by you, I would come. If I did not come, it would be disrespectful to you," Por Teean answered.

"If you come, the tiger will bite you."

"Eh, I do not see the tiger."

"Will you come along the path or use a short-cut?" Achan Pan asked.

"I will not use a short-cut. I will use the path. When I walk on the path and the tiger comes, I can see it and avoid it. If I do not walk on the path and the tiger comes, I cannot see it, and therefore cannot avoid it," Por Teean replied.

After this, Achan Pan had nothing more to say. Por Teean continued to train himself until the end of the retreat in October, and then he returned home. There he taught his wife to practice the dynamic meditation he had just discovered during the retreat. Respecting him very highly, she followed the practice strictly, and after two years she came to know the Dhamma. It was late morning while she was picking vegetables in the garden when she exclaimed, "What has happened to me?"

"What?" Por Teean asked her.

"My body has lost all its 'taste'! It shrank like beef being salted!"

Por Teean told her not to do anything with it, but to let it be; afterwards she told him that she no longer experienced suffering.

He taught Pa Nom and Lung Nom, his sister and brother-in-law, to practice dynamic meditation until they both knew the Dhamma. He also taught other relatives, neighbors, friends, and fellow villagers to practice dynamic meditation. Because of their respect for him, they followed the practice, many obtaining deep results. It was as a layman that Por Teean held his first meditation retreat open to the public at Buhom for ten days. He spent his own money to feed the thirty to forty people who attended. Thereafter, he devoted all his energy and wealth to teaching people. In a short time he built two meditation centers in Buhom, as well as centers in a nearby village.

Since he felt a responsibility to teach what he called the Dhamma of "an instant" to as wide a circle as possible, after two years and eight months as a lay teacher, Por Teean entered the monkhood, at the age of 48, in order to be in a better position to teach. On February 3, 1960, he was ordained a monk at Wat Srikhunmuang in his hometown by a senior monk named Vijitdhammacariya. At his ordination he was given the Pali name "Cittasubho" (the brilliant mind), but people usually called him "Luangpor Teean" (Venerable Father Teean). He was known by that name throughout the rest of his life.

As a monk, Luangpor Teean taught dynamic meditation to monks and lay people in his hometown for over a year. He then moved to Chiangkhan and built two meditation centers there at Wat Santivanaram and Wat Phonchai. He also crossed the border to Laos and built a meditation center there as well. Because he taught Buddhism outside of the scriptures and traditions, Luangpor Teean was once mistakenly accused of being a communist monk during the anti-communist atmosphere of the 1960s. A young, high-ranking policeman, having a strong anti-communist sentiment, came as a monk to spy on Luangpor Teean. Luangpor Teean taught him how to practice meditation. After, meditating for some time, he began to know the Dhamma. He then paid homage to Luangpor Teean and confessed to him about his earlier purpose. Afterwards the false rumors and accusations about Luangpor Teean gradually ended.

Luangpor Teean devoted the rest of his life to single-mindedly teaching Dhamma practice. He worked constantly, ate little, rested little, and eschewed all diversions and distractions. Having found Dhamma, and having found it so close at hand, he was fiercely determined to do his utmost to point the way for others to follow.

As the founder of dynamic meditation, the unique method for the developing of awareness through bodily movements, Luangpor Teean's reputation spread in the Northeast. He built major meditation centers at Wat Paphutthayan outside of the town of Loei in 1966 and Wat Mokkhavanaram outside the town of Khonkaen in 1971. He also travelled to Laos and taught dynamic meditation there from 1961 to 1963, and once again in 1974 when he stayed and taught in Vientiane, the capital city of Laos. As more and more people practiced under his guidance, a number of monks came to be in a position to teach in their own right and helped Luangpor Teean by teaching at the various meditation centers he had founded. Among them were Achan Khamkhian Suvanno and Achan Da Sammakhato.

A former "witch doctor" from the northeastern part of Thailand, Achan Khamkhian, at the age of 30, went to see Luangpor Teean at Wat Paphutthayan in early 1966. After a month of practice under Luangpor Teean's guidance, he knew rupa-nama (body-mind) and overcame his own witchcraft and superstition. Then he decided to be ordained as a monk and continued his practice under Luangpor Teean at Wat Paphutthayan. After three years of practice he "returned to the primordial nature" and has become a dynamic meditation teacher. He established a meditation center at Wat Pasukhato in Chaiyabhum province where he has taught people dynamic meditation, campaigned to help poor people in the rural areas, and worked to preserve the environment.

After practicing many forms of meditation without any real result, Achan Da, a monk from the Northeast, heard about the teachings of Luangpor Teean and after a long search he finally met Luangpor Teean and practiced under his guidance. It took Achan Da only three days to know rupa-nama (body-mind). He then progressed rapidly toward the end of suffering and has become a dynamic meditation teacher. He has taught at Wat Mokkhavanaram as an abbot of this meditation center.

In 1975, Luangpor Teean was invited to teach meditation at Wat Chonlaprathan in Nonthaburi, a province adjoining Bangkok. As an illiterate monk from the countryside, he was of little interest to the people from Bangkok who often visited this well-known monastery. However, a scholar monk named Kovit Khemananda, whose talks attracted many intellectuals and students, was also teaching at Wat Chonlaprathan at that time and was puzzled by some of Luangpor Teean's words and actions. Eventually Khemananda came to recognize his great enlightening wisdom. After his "discovery" by Khemananda, Luangpor Teean became a figure of interest to intellectuals and students in Bangkok and throughout the country.

In late 1976, Luangpor Teean founded a meditation center, Wat Sanamnai, on the outskirts of Bangkok, and from this central location he accepted many invitations to give talks and teach dynamic meditation at universities, hospitals, schools, and Buddhist clubs at various institutions, including government departments and ministries. In 1986, Luangpor Teean resigned from all administrative works and let Achan Thong (or in his Pali name, " Abhakaro"), an ordained disciple from Udornthani, to be the abbot of Wat Sanamnai. Born in 1939, Achan Thong was raised in northeastern Thailand mostly by his mother, since his father died when he was only 7 years old. Following tradition, he was ordained at the age of 22. He met Luangpor Teean at Buhom in 1968 and asked for an intensive meditation retreat under his guidance where he could remain in a small cottage without there being any obligation towards the normal monastic activities. His request was granted by Luangpor Teean. Later on, this sort of arrangement became a regular practice during Luangpor Teean's meditation retreats.

All the while, Luangpor Teean continued his teaching in the provinces. As his reputation grew, his teaching was increasingly spread by pamphlets, books, and audiocassettes. He also went to the south and taught people at Hatyai, where a meditation center, Suan Thammsakon, was built for the practice of dynamic meditation.

Luangpor Teean went to Singapore twice in 1982 on the invitation of a Buddhist group there. His first visit to Singapore, June 8-24, marked a historical event when he met Yamada Roshi, a Zen master from Japan. This meeting of the two teachers raised the question of what "sudden enlightenment" really was in the contemporary context and what was the authentic method leading to that "sudden enlightenment." While Yamada Roshi emphasized concentration and the silent recitation of a koan (dhamma riddle), Luangpor Teean emphasized awareness (without either concentration or recitation) through bodily movement and the “seeing” of thought. Yamada Roshi guided his students to attain step-by-step satori (sudden enlightenment) by breaking through a series of koans recorded in the Mumonkan . In this tradition, if a person cannot finish all the koans within this lifetime, they can be worked on in the next life until final "satori" is attained. Luangpor Teean, on the other hand, guided his students step by step through the "object of practice" without referring to any scriptures or historical records. He insisted that people should diligently develop awareness until they realize the state of arising-extinction, the final sudden enlightenment, within this lifetime. Unlike many teachers within the various Buddhist traditions he never mentioned anything about the life after. The method of concentration and the silent recitation of a koan is quite different from the method of developing awareness through bodily movement. The content of a series of koans is also quite different from the content in the "object of practice" in dynamic meditation.

On his second visit to Singapore, October 16-31, Luangpor Teean taught and guided a dynamic meditation retreat for interested people there. During both visits, Luangpor Teean was sick and needed medical treatment in a hospital -- a sign that later revealed a more serious, threatening illness.

In late 1985 Luangpor Teean gained an important female disciple, Anchalee Thaiyanond, a middle-aged Bangkok woman with two daughters. Unlike many other women at her age in Thai culture, Anchalee was never interested in religion, merit making, or keeping the precepts. She happened to read some of Luangpor Teean's books and had faith in his teachings. She went to see him and practiced at home frequently seeking his guidance by visiting him at Wat Sanamnai. She attained the Dhamma in her daily life in the busy city of Bangkok and became a female successor to Luangpor Teean.

Luangpor Teean had been in poor health for some time when in mid-1983 he was diagnosed as suffering from cancer (malignant lymphoma). Despite extensive major surgery in 1983 and again in 1986, and despite repeated courses of radiation therapy and chemotherapy, Luangpor Teean was able to achieve an extraordinary amount of work in his last five years, giving considerable energy to providing personal guidance, giving public talks, and leading meditation retreats. He built his final meditation center at Thapmingkhwan in the town of Loei in 1983 and added Ko Phutthatham, a large nearby area, to it in 1986. He taught actively and incisively until the disease reached its advanced stages.

When he realized that the end was near, Luangpor Teean discharged himself from the hospital and returned to Ko Phutthatham in Loei province. Late in the afternoon on his fifth day back in Loei he announced that he was now going to die: He then turned his awareness completely inward; his wasted body which had been so stiff and brittle, became fully relaxed and fluid; and fully aware, unattached, holding to nothing, not even the breath, an hour later (at 6:15 p.m. on September 13, 1988) his breathing ceased like a tree coming to rest as the wind that moved it fades completely away.


His Teachings

Luangpor Teean’s dynamic meditation incorporates rhythmic bodily movements as a way to stimulate and develop awareness (sati). This practice is regarded as a way through which the body (rupa or form) and the awareness of it (nama or mind) are harmonized. The harmony between the body and the awareness of the body is, according to Luangpor Teean’s teachings, the very first result and the first step on the path to “seeing” thought.

Usually a human being collects a lot of mental images in daily activities, and these images reflect themselves in the process of thinking. With the dynamic meditation of bodily movement, according to Luangpor Teean, the awareness becomes active and clear, and as a natural consequence it encounters the process of thinking and sees thought clearly. For Luangpor Teean, thought is the source of both human activity and human suffering.

In Luangpor Teean’s teachings, thought and awareness are two basic elements in a human being. When awareness is weak, thought drags us away to the past and the future, forming a strong chain. At any moment when awareness is strong, the chain of thought is immediately broken. In dynamic meditation, the practitioner seeks to stimulate, develop, and strengthen awareness to see thought and break its bonds.

For Luangpor Teean, thought is the root of greed, anger, and delusion – the three defilements of a human being. In order to overcome greed, anger, and delusion, Luangpor Teean suggested that we cannot simply suppress them by keeping precepts or an established discipline, nor can we suppress them by maintaining calmness through some form of meditation based on concentration. Though these activities are useful to some extent, we need to go to the root of the defilements: to let the awareness see thought and break through the chain of thought or, in other words, go against the stream of thought. In this way we know and see the true nature of thought.

Luangpor Teean often warned practitioners that it is very important in meditation that we do not suppress thought by any kind of calmness or tranquillity. If we do, though we might find some happiness, we will be unable to see the nature of thought.

Luangpor Teean often warned practitioners that it is very important in meditation that we do not suppress thought by any kind of calmness or tranquility. If we do, though we might find some happiness, we will be unable to see the nature of thought. Rather, he taught that we should let thought flow freely and let our awareness know and perceive it clearly. The clear awareness will naturally go against the stream of thought by itself; all that we have to do is properly set up the mind and strengthen awareness through rhythmic bodily movements, one movement at a time.

Through dynamic meditation, the awareness that arises from bodily movement sees and breaks through the chain of thought resulting in the detachment of the inner six senses from outer objects. Detachment is not a deliberate attitude nor a conscious way of practice, but rather it is the result of a right from of practice. When awareness breaks through the chain of thought, thought loses its dominating power; awareness becomes the dominating power over thought, over the three defilements, greed, anger, and delusion, and hence over suffering. The practice of Luangpor Teean’s dynamic meditation results in the arising of nanapanna (the knowledge that comes from the accumulation of direct knowing):

Any time that thought arises we know it, even while sleeping. When we move our body while sleeping we also know it. This is because our awareness is complete. When we see thought all the time, no matter what it thinks, we conquer it every time. Those who can see thought are near the current (flowing) to nibbana (the extinction of suffering). Then we will come to a point where something inside will arise suddenly. If the thought is quick, panna will also be quick. If the thought or emotion is very deep, panna will also be very deep. And if these two things are equally deep and collide, then there is the sudden breaking-out of a state that is latent in everybody. With this occurrence the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind are detached from sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and mental objects. It is like uncoupling the drive mechanism of a car. When the parts become independent of each other, the car, although it still exists, can no longer be driven. (Luangpor Teean 1984: 6-7)

Luangpor Teean summarized the “object of practice” in dynamic meditation as follows:

Stage 1: Suppositional object

Rupa-nama (body-mind)
Rupa-acting-nama-acting, rupa-disease-nama-disease

Dukkham-aniccam-anatta (unbearable-unstable-uncontrollable)

Sammati (supposition)

Sasana (“religion”), Buddhasasana (“Buddhism”)

Papa (“sin”), punna (“merit”)

Stage 2: Touchable object

Vatthu-paramattha-akara (thingness-touchable-changingness)

Dosa-moha-lobha (anger-delusion-greed)

Vedana-sanna-sankhara-vinnana
(Feeling-memory/percept-conceiving-knowingness)

Kilesa-tanha-upadana-kamma
(Stickiness-heaviness-attachment-action)

Sila (normality)
Silakhandha-samadhikhandha-pannakhandha
(Container of normality-setting up the mind-knowing)

Samatha (concentration) and vipassana (insight) types of calmness

Kamasava-bhavasava-avijjasava
(The taint of “sensuality”, being, not-knowing)

The results of a bad bodily, verbal, and mental actions, and their combination;

The results of a good bodily, verbal, and mental actions, and their combination;

The state of koet-dap (arising-extinction).

The “object of practice” in dynamic meditation is a series of experiences by which the mind progresses step by step towards the end of suffering. These experiences are those – inner as well as physical – discovered by Luangpor Teean. They now serve as guideposts for the practitioners of dynamic meditation.

During the first stage of dynamic meditation, the suppositional object, one is supposed to know rupa-nama, its acting and its disease. Rupa-nama is known when the body (rupa) and the awareness of the body (nama) are harmonized. Then each movement is the movement of rupa-nama (body-mind). Luangpor Teean explained that for a disease of the body, one needs medical care from a doctor or a hospital. For the diseases of the mind, whose symptoms are distress, frustration, anger, greed delusion, and so on, one needs awareness and a method to stimulate and develop awareness. In practicing dynamic meditation, the mind comes to know the rupa-nama characteristics of dukkham-aniccam-anatta.

At this point in the practice, one is supposed to know the distinction between supposition (sammati) and actuality. One is supposed to know the actual meanings of phenomena “religion”, “Buddhism”, “sin”, and “merit”. In the suppositional world, they have many different meanings, interpreted by scholars and religious people. But in actuality, they all point to the immediate experience of awareness. Luangpor Teean explained that “religion” is every one of us without exception who has a body and the consciousness of the body. “Buddhism” is the awareness leading to insightful wisdom and the cessation of psychological suffering. “Sin” is the state of lacking awareness, hence it is full of suffering. And “merit” is the state of awareness that releases suffering. Knowing the suppositional object, one is free from all kinds of superstition.

In the second stage, the touchable object, a practitioner is taught to be attentive to the process of the awareness seeing thought. The well-developed awareness naturally encounters and sees thought, as a cat seeing a rat immediately pounces upon it. In seeing thought, a person is supposed to see vatthu-paramattha-akara. For Luangpor Teean, vatthu means anything that exists inside or outside of the mind. Paramattha means the touching of things with the mind. Akara means the flux witnessed by the mind. Then, in continuing the practice of dynamic meditation, the mind progresses to see “anger-delusion-greed”, and vedana-sanna-sankhara-vinnana.

Now, in the continuous practice, one is supposed to see kilesa-tanha-upadana-kamma. Luangpor Teean metaphorically characterized the experience of seeing these phenomena as at least a 60% reduction in the weight of the psychologically oppressive burden he bore before beginning his practice. Then the mind progresses to see first sila, and then silakhandha-samadhikhandha-panna-khandha. At this point, the distinction between samatha and vipassana types of calmness is realized. According to Luangpor Teean, the calmness of samatha suppresses thought, so it is temporary and unnatural – it is a deluded calm that is not truly calm. On the other hand, the calmness of vipassana is beyond thought and exists all the time – it is calmness that is full of awareness and insight. The mind then progresses to see kamasava-bhavasava-avijjasava, and their combinations, and good bodily, verbal and mental actions, and their combinations.

At this point, one sees the state of koet-dap in which the inner six senses detach themselves from outer objects. Luangpor Teean characterized this as being like a rope that, after having been tautly drawn between two posts, is cut in two in the middle. It is not possible to tie the rope together again so long as its two parts remain tied to the posts. The state of koet-dap is the end of suffering and the final goal of the practice.

Luangpor Teean in the Thai Theravada context

In contemporary Thai Buddhism, there are a number of traditions and teachers who have taught various methods of Buddhist practice. Some emphasize the acquiring of panna (wisdom) and the study of the Pali Canon, the Tipitaka. Others emphasize the keeping of sila (“precepts”) and ethical purity. Still others emphasize the practice of samadhi (“meditation”). Panna, sila, and samadhi are the three basic components of Theravada Buddhism’s teachings.

Buddhadasa Bhikkhu represents the panna aspect of the Thai Theravada tradition. He, as a great reformist monk in contemporary Thai Buddhism, has rationalized and internalized the teachings from the Tipitaka and Thai Theravada culture as a whole. In elevating oneself towards nibbana (cessation of suffering), a practitioner acquires panna through studying the scriptures, reading and listening to the Dhamma teachings, observing nature (“Dhamma is nature, nature is Dhamma”), living a properly conducted life, as well as practicing anapanasati (awareness of breathing). Anapanasati is a meditation technique referred to in the Pali Canon; it concentrates on the various ways of breathing (samatha) and, in later stages, uses concentration to contemplate the nature of things (vipassana).

Phra Bodhiraksa and his Santi Asoka movement represent the ethical dimension of contemporary Thai Buddhism. Judging from his standards, most monks within the Thai Sangha (or community of monks) are far below the level of purity of the sila set by the Buddha. Phra Bodhiraksa criticizes the lax behaviour, superstitions, and materialism of most monks and the self-indulgence, corruption, and violence of Thai society. He puts the reformist rationality into practice on the institutional and organizational level by announcing independence from the Thai clerical hierarchy, which makes his movement radical within the Thai Sangha. He and his followers observe a very strict vinaya (discipline) by being vegetarian, eating only one meal a day, wearing no shores, and living a very simple life. For Phra Bodhiraksa, sila and ethical purity are central on the path towards enlightenment.

There are at least three main traditions that represent the samadhi aspect of contemporary Thai Theravada Buddhism: Achan Man’s tradition, the Yup-no Phong-no tradition, and the Dhammakaya movement.

Achan Man and his lineage, including Achan Cha, have been regarded as one of the strongest meditation traditions among the forest monasteries (arannavasi) in Northeastern Thailand. They observe, with the exception of Achan Cha, a very strict traditional Dhammayutika discipline. Their form of meditation is to concentrate on the breathing and to silently recite the word buddho(Buddha) each time they inhale or exhale. In deep concentration, on the path to nibbana, a practitioner may encounter gods (deva) and other forms of supernatural beings. Achan Man’s tradition represents “traditional orthodoxy” within the Thai Theravada Buddhism.

The Yup-no Phong-no (falling-rising) tradition originally derived from a Burmese form of meditation. It has some traditional links with the contemporary Srisayadaw movement in Myanmar. This Burmese form of meditation emphasizes concentration on the falling and rising of the abdomen, while breathing out and breathing in, with the silent recitation of the words yup-no (falling) and phong-no (rising) respectively. A practitioner may use this well-trained concentration to contemplate a corpse or to “see though” a beautiful body as a composite of skin, flesh, blood vessels, organs, and skeleton to realize the impermanent, suffering, and non-self nature of a human being.

Some suggest that the Dhammakaya movement may represent the emergence of the new middle-class in modern Thai society. It uses mass-marketing and sophisticated media techniques to propagate its movement. It allows lay followers to use the practice traditionally attributed to the forest monks. Dhammakaya reduces the traditional Buddhist cosmology, with its goal of nibbana, to a location within the body. Its technique of meditation is to visualize and concentrate on a crystal ball two inches above the naval, which is regarded as the “center” of the body. Their meditation is accompanied by the silent recitation of the phrase samma-araham (one who is free from defilements). Later on, a practitioner may attempt to visualize a crystal Buddha image. In the final stages, the practitioner may literally see the Buddha and nibbana at the “center” of his or her own body.

Luangpor Teean’s dynamic meditation has nothing directly to do with the scriptures. It has nothing to do with contemplation on the nature of things, on a composite of repulsive elements. It does not emphasize the keeping of precepts, although the keeping of precepts is good – socially good. It has nothing to do with concentration, silent recitation, or visualization. Dynamic meditation is a method of bodily movement involving the raising of arms or walking, one movement at a time, to stimulate and develop awareness, and to let awareness “see” thought – the root cause of human defilements – and break the chain of thought. From these basic differences it can be seen that Luangpor Teean’s teachings are quite distinct from the teachings of other traditions and teachers in contemporary Thai Theravada Buddhism.
Conclusion
Luangpor Teean’s teachings and his dynamic meditation are a new phenomenon not only in the Thai Theravada tradition but also in contemporary Buddhism and meditation. Theravada Buddhism in Southeast Asia, including Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Kampuchea, represents a more conservative trend in Buddhism. It has been trying to preserve, in the long history of its own tradition, the Buddha’s teachings, the monastic life, and the early traditions, without any significant change. By going back to the original sources of Buddhism whenever necessary, witnessed in many Great Buddhist Councils throughout its history, it has tried to “purify” the religion

Theravada Buddhism has emphasized the keeping of the sila (precepts), the practice of the samatha (concentration) and vipassana (contemplation on the nature of things) forms of meditation, and the study of the Pali Canon. In keeping the sila, a person aims to have bodily control over greed, anger, and delusion; in practicing the samatha form of meditation, a person aims to purify the mind; and in practicing the vipassana form of meditation and studying the Canon, a person aims to gain wisdom.

Luangpor Teean’s dynamic meditation has little to do with traditional Theravada practices. The rhythmic bodily movements of dynamic meditation directly stimulate and develop awareness (sati), which, in due course, encounters and sees thought and breaks through the chain of thought – the root cause of greed, anger, and delusion. When awareness has become the dominating power over thought, true sila appears; it is sila that “observes” a human being, rather than a human being “observing” sila. When awareness has become the dominating power over thought, true samadhi (the quiet mind that sees a thought and the extinction of a thought, or sees a thing directly as it is outside of thought) and panna (knowledge from this direct “seeing”) appear. Silent recitation in concentration; contemplation of a corpse; contemplation on the impermanence, suffering, and void nature of things; and reading of the scriptures are all one form or another of thought.

Mahayana Buddhism, including Ch’an (Zen) and Vajrayana, in the Far East represents a more liberal trend in Buddhism. Mahayana Buddhism has had the flexibility to adjust itself to the indigenous cultures of Bhutan, China (including Tibet), Mongolia, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam and the openness to add new ideas to its doctrines. It has emphasized the idea of bodhisattva (“one who embraces self-sacrifice for the welfare of others”). From a theoretical point of view, Mahayana doctrines are quite different from those of Theravada Buddhism. But from a practical viewpoint, they are quite similar.

Besides placing emphasis on different suttas (the discourses of the Buddha) and some different ideas about keeping the precepts, contemporary Mahayana meditation, be it Ch’an (???Zen) or Vajrayana, is essentially the same as Theravada meditation: involving the concentration of the mind. In Ch’an (Zen) meditation, the practitioner is taught to concentrate on a koan. The specific practice is the silent recitation of the koan. In Vajrayana meditation, visualization of religious images, sometimes together with the recitation of a mantra, plays an important role. The visualization of a mental image is, however, another form of thought.

The teachings of Luangpor Teean and his dynamic meditation are unique in the contemporary world of meditation. His meditation technique is not a form of concentration, visualization, or mental recitation; rather it is a way of developing awareness so that the mind directly encounters, sees, and breaks through thought. Accordingly, once a human being has gone beyond the confines of thought, psychological suffering ceases to exist.
References
Anchalee Thaiyanond
1989 Concentration-Insight: The Teaching of Luangpor Teean. Bangkok: Thammasat University Press.
1986 Against the Stream: The Teaching of Luangpor Teean. Bangkok: Anchalee Thaiyanond.
Luangpor Teean Cittasubho
1989 Prawat Luangpor Teean Cittasubho [The biography of Luangpor Teean Cittasubho]. Bangkok: Thammasat University Press.
1989 Sutsamret Utchaidieo [The formula for sudden enlightenment]. Nonthaburi: Wat Sanamnai.
:- http://satimeditation.blogspot.com/2010/04/luangpor-teean-grand-master-of-sati.html

 

More video at:- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAYihpgTmwQLvyBq3PBnu_w

 

Luangpor Teean V1

Luangpor Teean V2(with English translation)

Luangpor Teean V3(with English translation)

Luangpor Kamkean Suwanno V4(with English translation)

Mongkol Khantibalo
Published on Feb 5, 2009
Luangpor Kamkean Suwanno is a disciple of Luangpor Teean Jittasubho

 

Luangpor Teean V5(with English translation)

Luangpor Teean V6(with English translation)

Luangpor Teean V7(with English translation)....Posture !

Luangpor Teean V8(with English translation)

Mongkol Khantibalo
Published on Jan 25, 2009

 

Luangpor Teean V9(with English translation)

Luangpor Teean V10(with English translation)

Mongkol Khantibalo
Published on Jan 25, 2009

 

Dhamma Teachings of Luangpor Teean


Luangpor Teean Jittasubho (CE 1911 – 1988) was one of the most remarkable teachers of Buddhist practice to appear in Asia in modern times. His teaching issued very directly from his own experience, intensely personal and original, and in translating the talks collected here from Thai into English we have attempted to achieve the highest fidelity to the original, preserving the talks’ style, rhythms, verve and profundity, together with their occasional peculiarities of expression.

Our overriding concern to present as far as possible an exact English equivalent of Luangpor Teean’s Thai talks has resulted in a text liberally sprinkled with technical terms. With the exceptions of the Thai words roop, nahm and phra, all the technical terms are given in their Pali forms, and each is translated (in parenthesis) at least once in every chapter (except the final chapter). A glossary of Pali terms has been provided to further facilitate the work of understanding.
For their help in the production of this book we would like to thank the following: Richard Baksa, who typed the first draft of this revised edition of To One That Feels onto computer disk; Nancy Steckel, who designed the cover; Olarn Pinkaew, who provided the rope illustrations; the Buddhist Association of the United States and Kongsak Tanphaichitr M.D., in affiliation with Phra Sunthorn Plamintr, president of the Buddhadharma Meditation Center, who contributed the funds for printing this book; and Ed Stauffer, of COM SET Ltd. Bangkok, whose generosity in donating time, materials and his typesetting and design skills has been invaluable.

Bhikkhu Nirodho
Thailand Bristol,

Tavivat Puntarigvivat
Pennsylvania

July (1993)
AN INTERVIEW WITH AN AWAKENED MASTER

LUANGPOR TEEAN

The Singular Quality of an Ordinary Monk

by Vatana Supromajakr, M.D.

BIOGRAPHY:

Luangpor Teean Jittasubho (1911-1988), or Pann Intapew, was born on September 5, 1911, at Buhom, Amphur Chiengkhan in the Province of Loei. He was the son of Jeen and Som Intapew. His father died when he was young. Since there was no school in the small village of Buhom, he did not have formal education in his childhood. The boy, like the rest of them in the village, had to help his mother in running their farm.

At the age of eleven, he was ordained as a novice at the village monastery, and stayed there with his uncle who was a resident monk. During a year and six months in the monastery, he studied Laotian scripts and ancient local scripts. He also started practicing various meditation methods, such as the Budh-dho and Breath Counting methods. After disrobing, he returned to his home.

Following tradition, he was ordained as a monk at the age of twenty. Again he studied and practiced meditation with his uncle for six months. After returning to lay life, he was married at twenty-two and had three sons. In his village, he was always a leader in Buddhist activities and was highly respected and chosen to be the head of the village on three different occasions. Despite of heavy responsibilities, he continued his meditation practice regularly.
Later he moved to Chiengkhan, a larger community, where his sons could attend school. Being a merchant, he sailed his steamboat along the Maekhong River between Chiengkhan-Nongkai-Vientiane, or even as far as Luangprabang. He had opportunities to meet several meditation masters and his enthusiasm in pursuing Dharma (the Truth) continued to strengthen. Furthermore, he began to realize that many years of being good, making merit, and practicing various methods of meditation had not liberated him from his anger. Finally, he determined to start searching for the way out.

In 1957, when he was nearly forty-six, he left his home with firm determination not to return unless he found the Truth. He went to Wat Rangsimukdaram, Tambol Pannprao, Amphur Tabon in Nongkai Province and practiced a simple form of bodily movements except that he did not follow the formal rituals and recitation of the words like others did. What he did was only being aware of the movements of the body and mind. Within a couple of days, on the early morning of the eleventh day of the waxing moon, the eighth month of 1957, his mind reached the End of Suffering completely without traditional rituals or teachers.

Later he returned home. He taught his wife and relatives what he had found for two years and eight months, as a lay teacher. He then decided to re-enter monkhood in order to be in a better position to teach the people. The ordination was made on February 3, 1960.

His teachings were spreading across the country as well as outside. He devoted his life to the teaching of Dharma despite his poor health. He was diagnosed to have stomach cancer (malignant lymphoma) in 1982. In spite of his illness he continued his work actively and incisively until the end of his life.

On September 13, 1988 at 6:15 PM., he passed away calmly at the age of seventy-seven in a hut on Koh Buddhadhamma, Tabb Ming Kwan, Tambol Gudpong in Loei Province.
For insights into the world of Awareness through the comments of an Enlightened master in an easy to follow question and answer format please continue:

THE INTERVIEW:

If you had had the chance to meet Luangpor Teean, you would probably have seen him as just another elderly monk, one who was calm and spoke little, very like other elderly monks that can be met with in this country. But if you had given some attention to observing him, you would have noticed that, along with his calmness, he was at all times very collected, alert and aware of himself.

When we had the chance to ask him about various problems, we experienced the uniqueness of this ordinary monk, a person who was nearly illiterate and who emphasized and taught the single subject of sati (sustained awareness of oneself) at all times. He exhibited very clear wisdom of the most penetrating kind in responding to our questions. His answers to all questions were remarkable to such an extent that we could label it ‘incredible’ that a person lacking the formal education that we so value had the ability to answer and explain in a way that was at once so simple, clear, deeply meaningful, precise and clearly understandable, explanations capable of fully putting our doubts to rest.

 

(cont.)
How we label or categorize Luangpor Teean is of no importance. What is important is his teaching. His answers, even to very simple and basic questions, are full of value, just like the lighting of a lamp in a dark place: they dispel the darkness, creating a brightness that helps us to see the way and gives rise to the illumination of wisdom. His answers will be of benefit, to a greater or lesser extent, to those who aspire and are in search, those who are lost in darkness: unknowing, doubtful, not understanding.
During the final five years of Luangpor Teean’s life, I and my medical colleagues who were caring for him asked him questions from time to time in order to ease our doubts. The following answers, teachings and views have been gathered and recorded in order to make them available to those who might find them of use. There is no intention here to praise or display devotion to Luangpor Teean, nor to promote or try to create faith in him: it is the reader’s responsibility to consider the following with deliberation and discrimination, to examine and understand by oneself — this is a responsibility and a right that we should all respect.


1. Religion


Luangpor Teean said of religion that “religion is the person”. When we heard or read this, we failed to understand, therefore we asked him, “Is religion really ‘the person’ or not?”


He answered as follows: “‘Religion’ is merely a word that we use to label the teaching of a person by a person who is considered to understand the truth or nature of human life. Such teachings are various. If we speak of ‘religion’, it might give rise to doubts and arguments and disputes, therefore please allow me to not speak of this. But if you want to know about the actuality, the true nature of our life (Dhamma), I will tell you; when you have understood, your doubts about ‘religion’ will disappear.”


2. Why Did He Search For Dharma?


I once asked Luangpor Teean how it came about that he was inspired to search for Dharma. He explained that he had strictly followed traditional practices his whole life, had observed the moral precepts devoutly, made merit and practised generosity at every opportunity, and offered Kathina robes each year, but that on the last occasion that he had organized the Kathina offerings, a dispute concerning the merit-making arose between him and members of his family.

 

(cont.)
I therefore,” he continued, “considered as follows: how was it that, having kept the precepts, made merit, and practised generosity to the fullest, I could still have suffering arise within my mind? In light of this, I decided from that moment on to seek true Dharma, that which would free me from the grasp of dukkha (Suffering).”


3. Dharma Is Not Clothing


Luangpor Teean once told us that for a long time he had believed, incorrectly, that Dharma was something outside our body, something external like clothing that has to be sought for and then put on and worn. But in actuality, Dharma is already present within us right now.


4. The Study Of Dharma


Referring to the study of Dharma, Luangpor Teean said, “To study the Dharma merely for the purpose of discussion and debate is of little use. We have to apply and use it, and practise it to the fullest, then it will yield great benefit.”


5. The Story Of Venerable Ananda


I was always in doubt as to why the Venerable Ananda, in spite of listening to, hearing and knowing the teachings of the Buddha (i.e. the Dharma) more completely than anyone else, was not fully Awakened to actual Dharma.


Luangpor Teean explained: “Venerable Ananda knew a lot about the Buddha, that is true, but he did not yet know himself. After the Buddha passed away, Ananda studied to really know himself, and therefore succeeded in attaining full Awakening.”


6. Luangpor Teean Teaches “Outside the Texts”?
I once mentioned to Luangpor Teean that, whereas people generally hold strongly to the Tipitaka (the Pali Canon) as the authoritative text when studying Buddhism, when he himself taught he hardly ever mentioned the Tipitaka.

Luangpor pointed out, “The Buddha’s Teaching was recorded in the Tipitaka several hundred years after the Buddha passed away, and this text was then copied and recopied over a period of thousands of years. The teachings were probably recorded very well, but it is possible to doubt that the reader will now understand what those who recorded the teachings meant. For me to refer merely to the texts all the time would be like guaranteeing the truth of the claims of another, claims of which I am not certain. But the things that I tell you I am able to guarantee, because I speak from my own direct experience.

The text is like a map: it is suitable for those who don’t know the way to go, or have not yet arrived at the destination. For one that has arrived, the map no longer means anything.


Another point about the Tipitaka is that it was written in the language used in a certain region of India, and was consequently appropriate for people from that area or for those who have learned to read that language. But Dharma taught by the Buddha is not something that can be monopolized by anybody: it transcends language, race, gender, and era. If we really know Dharma, we will teach it and express it in our own language, in our own words.


The study of the Tipitaka is good in itself, but don’t attach to and get lost in the specific words used. Mangoes, for example, are referred to by different words in different languages; don’t fall into dispute over words and interpretations or become obsessed with the notion that only one word correctly names the fruit, while meanwhile neglecting the mango and letting it go rotten. Anyone that eats a mango must know the actual taste of the fruit, no matter what name it is given, or even if it is given no name at all.”

 

(cont.)
7. Deceived By Thought


Luangpor Teean said that we human beings are always thinking, just like the ever-flowing current of a river. Being lost in and deceived by thought is like scooping out water and storing it up. But if we have sati (awareness) seeing thought immediately as it really is, it is like the water flowing freely up and passing on by. Being lost in and deceived by thought gives rise to suffering.


8. Suffering


In discussing Samudaya, the cause of suffering, someone once asked Luangpor Teean to explain what suffering was. Luangpor placed an object on his hand and then clenched the hand tightly, making a fist. He then turned the fist over and opened the hand. Indicating the thing that had dropped from his hand to the ground, he pointed out, “This is suffering.”


The questioner understood immediately that suffering is a thing that we conceive and assume and then seize hold of firmly, and that it can be released. Luangpor said that someone who can understand this quickly is one with wisdom.


9. What Is It Like When “The Rope Breaks”?


In reading Luangpor Teean’s account of his experience of practising Dharma, it is difficult to understand what is meant when, in describing the final stage of his practice, he uses the simile of it being as if a rope that had been stretched tightly between two posts suddenly broke in the middle and could never again be reattached.


When questioned about this, Luangpor elaborated: “Words are merely sounds that are used by convention to mean certain things, but the words that can explain the ‘state’ about which you are asking don’t exist. If we were to place a certain amount of white paint one centimetre away from a similar amount of black paint and to mix them until they were thoroughly blended, we would name the colour in the middle ‘gray’, wouldn’t we? But if the white paint were placed ten metres away from the black paint and the two were gradually mixed until well-blended, you would find that there were no words to explain the shade of the colour at any one point in such a way that another person would know that shade: the colour must be experienced directly.

 

(cont.)
Have you ever looked at rain clouds? They appear to be different shapes and forms. But if we are in an aircraft and fly into the clouds, we don’t see them as we did before we entered.


There are no words to explain the ‘state’ you are asking about: it is beyond language. It’s useless speculating or trying to imagine it, or thinking to oneself that it has to be like this, like that: you must know for yourself, you must see for yourself, you must experience it.”


10. Trivial Problems


Luangpor Teean once commented that many of the people who came to see him asked him only about trivial problems, such as how much merit they would acquire by doing such-and-such, or whether it was true that they would be reborn to a new life after death, and so on. It was seldom that somebody would ask what Buddhism really teaches and how that teaching was to be applied in practice, or would ask what it was that needed to be done in order to reduce suffering. Luangpor responded only to what he was asked: it would, he felt, have been inappropriate for him to himself raise and answer questions of substance.


11. Reality And Supposition


Luangpor Teean said that humans are long-lived, and think and remember much more than do animals. When people live together in large communities, it becomes necessary to establish rules and conventions for the sake of social harmony. As time passes, however, later generations come to regard these conventions that have been created by the human mind as being independent reality. When someone points out that, far from being reality, these things are actually shared suppositions, most people will refuse to see this: this refusal is very common.

 

(cont.)
What is called ‘money’, for example, is actually paper,” Luangpor remarked. “When we try to use it, people accepting it gives it its value; if people won’t accept it, then it is no more than paper. In our current society we use money as a means of exchange. Anyone who has no money will find it difficult to live. With money we can buy convenience and comfort, but the extinction of dukkha (Suffering) is something no amount of money can buy.”

12. The Practice Of Dharma

I once asked why Dharma is taught and practised differently in different meditation centres, even though we all have the Buddha in common as our original teacher.
Luangpor Teean replied, “This is quite normal. It is said that even in the Buddha’s time there were 108 different groups, each one claiming that its teaching was correct and that the other 107 groups were following wrong views. We must use our intelligence and consider carefully for ourselves. To be either gullible or sceptical and of closed mind, each is equally misguided. Any way of practice that leads to the extinguishing of dukkha (Suffering) is proper and correct. As far as Dharma itself is concerned, all who know its actuality will have the same perception.”

When somebody asked whether various forms of Dharma practice other than the one he taught were good or not, Luangpor answered, “Good for them, but not for us.”
13. Does Practising Insight Meditation Lead To Madness?
We once asked Luangpor Teean whether it was true, as some psychiatrists had charged, that practising vipassana (insight) meditation caused people to become mad.

 

(cont.)
Luangpor answered, “A person who doesn’t know and isn’t truly familiar with his or her own mind as it actually is, that is a mad person. Practising vipassana meditation is studying to know one’s own real mind. If practising meditation ever does lead to madness, it is not vipassana.”
14. Nirvana

Luangpor Teean told us of a conversation he had once had with a layman who, after an act of making merit, expressed the wish that his merit-making result in him entering Nirvana (the extinction of Suffering) in the future.
Luangpor asked him, “When do you expect to arrive at Nirvana?”

After I have died,” the villager replied.
Do you really want to get to Nirvana?” Luangpor inquired.
Yes, I really want to get there.”
Luangpor then said, “Well if that’s the case then you should die as soon as possible and then you’ll reach Nirvana very quickly.”
The villager was bewildered: “But I don’t want to die yet.”
But since you want to go to Nirvana, why don’t you want to die quickly? This shows that you have misunderstood,” Luangpor pointed out to the villager. “The Buddha never taught people to go to Nirvana when they had already died, but he taught living people to reach Nirvana while still alive.”
15. Why Did He Ordain?
Since apparently Luangpor Teean had understood Dharma while he was still a layman, why had he ordained as a monk? “The monkhood serves as the institution representing or symbolizing those who practise the Buddha’s Teaching well, the true Sangha,” Luangpor explained. “Being a monk makes it much easier to teach people about dukkha (Suffering) and its extinction.”
16. A Rock Pressing Down The Grass
I once asked Luangpor Teean about the usefulness of sitting practising Concentration Meditation. He replied that this kind of meditation was widely practised before the time of the Buddha. “Such meditation gives rise to a tranquil state of mind, but that is only temporary. When we emerge from the concentrated state, our mind is still subject to greed, anger and delusion, it has not really changed. It is like placing a rock upon the grass. Even though the grass under the rock may wither, as soon as it is exposed to sunlight the grass will grow again. This is different from Insight Meditation (vipassana), which gives rise to knowing and understanding, to wisdom, the mind changing to a fundamentally better, more normal condition.”
17. Vessantara
We once asked about the case of Vessantara, who is traditionally held up as the very model of the perfection of generosity. Yet what he did seems to be an act of great irresponsibility towards his wife and children. Is it true that his act of giving away his family led to him being reborn as the Buddha?
Luangpor Teean answered, “The story of Vessantara is a story that has been passed down through many, many generations. If you think that it is true, then you should follow his example, and give your wife and children to the labourers or farmers in order to help them in their work, and thus you will perfect yourself and become a Buddha. But let me present to you the following comparison: that what you have with you now, what you are as bound to as to your children or wife, are greed, anger and delusion: give them away, relinquish them completely: are you able to understand this?”

 

(cont.)
18. Believing
Luangpor Teean always said that we should neither believe something immediately nor reject it immediately: we should consider and deliberate very carefully first, or put it to the test, and then either believe it or not.
Luangpor remarked that the history of the Buddha provides examples on this point. Angulimala was someone who believed too readily. He always followed his teacher’s instructions, and even when ordered to kill a great number of people, he did so. On the other hand we have the case of the recluse Upaka, who was the first person to meet the Buddha after the Buddha’s Awakening. Even though Upaka recognized in the Buddha characteristics that aroused trust and confidence, he was not willing to believe that the Buddha had become Awakened by himself, and so went on his way, and missed the opportunity to learn from the Buddha.
19. Those Who Understand His Teaching
We once asked Luangpor Teean about the number of people who, after hearing him teach Dharma or after having been instructed by him, could understand his teaching. “Probably no more than ten to fifteen percent,” Luangpor answered. “This is quite normal. A person who is developed will be ready and able to understand. But most people interested in Buddhism are still firmly attached to customary practices, such as the making of merit.”
20. People Protect Morality / Morality Protects People?
Luangpor Teean often asked, “Why do we observe moral precepts in a manner similar to taking care of a glass so as to prevent it from breaking? Why don’t we live and practise to have morality, that is, the mind that is normal, truly in our lives? Morality will then take care of us, rather than we having to worry about looking after morality.”
21. Merit
I asked Luangpor Teean, “Does making merit really give me merit?”
Luangpor asked in turn, “What do you understand merit to be?”
When I told him that I understood merit to be a good outcome or destiny that we receive after we die, in exchange for the good that we have done, he asked, “Have you ever heard the monks’ chant that lists the benefits of making the Kathina offering, that it will lead to us reaching heaven where the sprites, numbering 500 or 1000 beings, will be our dedicated followers? Now consider the number of temples that there are in Thailand. If there is a Kathina offering every year in every temple, where could enough sprites be found for everyone who made merit? We imagine in this way that monks are like bank accountants responsible for calculating the interest owed to us after we die, do we?”


I further inquired of Luangpor, “If this is so, what is your view of the making of merit by giving material things, as is generally done nowadays?”


He answered as follows: “Making merit by giving material things is a good thing to do, but it is like husked rice, which is of use only for growing seedlings. If we are to benefit from eating rice, we must eat boiled or steamed rice, not uncooked or husked rice. To be attached to making merit by giving material things in a superstitious way is one form of delusion: to be lost in darkness, even if in this case it is in contrast to Dark Luminosity, a white darkness.


Merit at its highest, in its consummation, is to really know oneself, to be without dukkha (Suffering).”


22. Inflexible


I once invited Luangpor Teean to go to teach a man whom I respected, a person who had strong faith in and attachment to traditional forms of merit-making. When Luangpor returned after meeting the man, I asked about their encounter.


That man is inflexible,” Luangpor responded, “a person of closed mind. Have you read the history of the Buddha? When the Buddha was newly Awakened, before he went to Benares to teach his former companions, the Five Ascetics, he had thought to seek out his former teachers, Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta, in order to teach them the liberation he had attained, but then he came to know that both these teachers had already died. This is something I have some doubt about; since the Buddha-to-be had parted from his two teachers not so long before, I am not certain whether their deaths were physical or not: but what had certainly died were their minds.”


23. Monastic Ranks


In the time of the Buddha there were no such things as monastic ranks. Why, we asked Luangpor Teean, do we make so much of hierarchy and rank in modern Thailand? Is it a good thing or not? He answered, “Monastic rank is the creation and concern of society. You could call it either good or bad, whichever you wanted to, but we have to live in their society.”


24. Can Studying Buddhism Make Somebody A Bad Person?


We once inquired why it was that some of the men who ordained as monks, studied to a high level, and subsequently left the monkhood, could later behave in evil ways, often worse than ordinary people who had never ordained and studied Buddhism.


Luangpor Teean answered, “Such a person studies only books, studies only theory, but never studies himself and therefore never knows himself.”


25. Bowing In Respect To The Orange Robe


I once mentioned to Luangpor Teean that it is hard for us to know whether a monk really is a true monk or merely a parasite upon the religion; we simply see someone with his head shaved and wearing the orange robes, and we immediately pay respect.


Luangpor gave his point of view: “If we bow in respect only to the orange robe itself, then when we pass through Sao Ching Cha, where the whole length of the road is lined with shops selling monks’ requisites, wouldn’t we have to bow to each and every such shop, from one end of the road to the other?”


26. Auspicious


Luangpor Teean told us how on one occasion, while leading the ceremonial chanting for auspiciousness in a villager’s house, he had asked for a very large bowl to use in place of his small alms-bowl in the making of holy water, an integral part of the ceremony.


When the chanting had been completed, and the water in the bowl had been made into holy water, instead of sprinkling it over the people present, as is customarily done, Luangpor took the large bowlful of holy water and threw it all over the floor of the house, saying, “Everybody, please join together and help to put things in order, help to clean the floor: this is what is auspicious. Using holy water merely to sprinkle upon ourselves, we might suffer allergic reactions to the leaves floating in the water, break out in an itching rash, and have to waste money on buying medicine to treat ourselves: now how could something like that be auspicious!”

 

(cont.)
27. The Funeral Ceremony


Once we asked Luangpor Teean, “When we hold a funeral ceremony, does the dead person benefit from the ceremony that we perform for him?”


Luangpor answered, “The funeral ceremony is just a tradition created by those who are still alive because they are greatly perturbed by the death of a person. Whether the dead person will benefit from the ceremony or not is something that will always be open to doubt. But what is certain is that the officiating monks will benefit. Do we think that the monks can fulfil the functions of postmen?”
28. A Monk Bows To A Layperson
Luangpor Teean related how once, when he was in Laos, he accepted an invitation from a villager to take part in a ceremony where traditional chants for extending a person’s lifespan were to be performed for the villager’s mother. But at the ceremony Luangpor did not chant, so the sponsor did not offer him the usual requisites.


Luangpor then explained to the villagers that in order to extend the lifespans of our parents we must behave well towards them — it’s not enough to merely invite the monks to chant, in the hope that our parents will consequently live long lives. And he then led the children in bowing to their parents for the first time, he himself setting the example.


The villagers present at that time immediately became very agitated, considering what Luangpor had done to be a violation of tradition: they had never seen or heard of a monk bowing to laypeople. Luangpor therefore explained to them, “When I led the children to follow me in bowing to their parents to pay them respect, I did not bow to the laypeople at all; rather I bowed to myself, because I was capable of teaching people to understand the true way to actually prolong life.”

 

(cont.)
29. The Spirit House


I once asked Luangpor Teean about the guardian spirit of the land one’s house is built on, who is considered to reside in the spirit house that we provide for it. Does, I wanted to know, the spirit really have supernatural powers such that it can either benefit or severely punish the person that owns the house?


Just think,” said Luangpor.”If the guardian spirit really does have supernatural powers, why doesn’t it create a house for itself, why doesn’t it create its own food to eat, why does it have to wait for people to build a house for it and to provide it food in supplication? And the food given to it is always such a tiny amount: would the spirit ever be able to satisfy its hunger?”


30. Buddhist Amulets


Before I got to know who he was, I met Luangpor Teean at a time when I was deeply interested in Buddhist amulets. With the purpose of requesting an amulet from him, I tried to impress him by showing him a very special and valuable amulet that I owned, boasting that my amulet was very ancient, having been made 700 years ago.


What,” he asked me, “is this amulet made of?”


I told him that it was earthenware, made of baked clay that was extremely hard and the fine brown colour of tamarind paste, and that it contained a rich abundance of various minerals.


Luangpor responded, very simply, “Earth of all kinds originated at the same time as this planet came into being. Your amulet is actually no more ancient than the soil we trod upon before we entered this house.”


Just that one statement alone made me free to take that amulet from around my neck, relinquishing, with the highest confidence, my attachment to such things.


When someone once asked if it was good to wear a Buddhist amulet around one’s neck, Luangpor replied, “It’s good, but there is something much better than wearing an amulet. Would you like that?”


Luangpor was on one occasion asked by a man whether the amulet he owned really had the supernatural, miraculous power widely attributed to it.


Is its maker still alive?” Luangpor asked the man.


When informed that the amulet’s maker was long dead, the amulet having been passed down as an heirloom, Luangpor commented, “Since even its maker himself has died, how can we hope that this thing can help us to avoid death?”


31. Ordaining And Disrobing


I had to cut out almost the whole of Luangpor Teean’s stomach in order to remove the malignant tumor that had developed there, so I subsequently advised him that he should eat food in small quantities but at frequent intervals. Luangpor stated that to do so would involve eating after midday, which would constitute laxness in the Discipline and would invite gossip and censure; in such circumstances he would prefer to disrobe, because it made no difference to him whether he was a monk or not: his mind was stable and would change no more.


32. “Do You Know Luangpor Teean?”


Luangpor related how one day, while he was at Ramathibodi Hospital waiting for a session of radiotherapy, a man seated nearby struck up a conversation with him, at an early point of which he asked Luangpor whether he was acquainted with Luangpor Teean.


Luangpor replied, “Well, yes, I know him somewhat.”


After they had discussed Dharma for some time, the man became suspicious and asked, “You are Luangpor Teean, aren’t you?”


Luangpor admitted it was so.


33. The Concerns Of The Buddha


We once discussed the nature of Sarira, the relics of the Buddha, whether they were bone that had transformed itself to crystal or merely burned bone. When asked for his opinion, Luangpor Teean remarked, “The concerns of the Buddha are not our concerns. Our concerns are not the Buddha’s concerns. But the Buddha taught us that we should know fully all that concerns us. When you really know about yourself, whether the Buddha is present or not is immaterial.”


34. The Awakened Individual


Luangpor Teean said, “As regards the body, there is no difference between the Awakened individual and the ordinary person. It is only in regard to the mind, to the nature and quality of experience, that the Awakened individual is better off and superior to the ordinary person.”


35. Following The Way Of Others


We once asked Luangpor Teean why people, despite nowadays studying to high levels and having much knowledge, cannot solve the problem of their own suffering.


He replied, “Most people follow the way of other people, they don’t follow the path of their own mind and heart, so things are as they are.”


36. The Dead Can Be Of Little Use


Luangpor Teean said that the study and practice of Dharma needed to be pursued here and now. We shouldn’t wait until we arrive at death. “After we have died, we can do nothing for ourselves, and our words and example can benefit others only a little. It is while still alive that we can truly benefit ourselves and others.”


37. Abstaining From Eating Meat


I once asked Luangpor Teean whether abstaining from eating meat would help one’s practice of Dharma. He replied, “If we are to practise or to know Dharma, it doesn’t depend on or concern what we eat or refrain from eating. Consider Prince Siddhartha: in attempting to realize Dharma he abstained not merely from meat, he refrained from eating rice and drinking water until he nearly died, yet this brought him no closer to knowing Dharma. Practising and knowing Dharma is a matter of wisdom.”


38. Attachment To Meditation Methods


Luangpor Teean once warned, “Attaching to a technique or a method of practising meditation, no matter what technique or method it might be, is like taking a boat to cross a river and then, even though it has arrived at the opposite shore, refusing to leave the boat, because of being caught up in a continuing fascination with the boat and its engine.”


39. Doing Good, Doing Bad


I once mentioned to Luangpor Teean that some people doubt the truth of the old saying, “Do good and you’ll receive good in return, do bad and you’ll receive bad in return.”


He pointed out, “It is society that stipulates what is to be regarded as good and bad. What is considered good in one place may be condemned as bad in another. Rather we should establish a new and more accurate understanding, thus: ‘Do good, it’s good; do bad, it’s bad’.”


40. Students


Luangpor Teean once classified people who had been educated into two groups, and compared them as follows. In the first group are those who know clearly or really know: they are wise, and when they speak one can understand immediately. The second group comprises those whose knowledge is a matter only of familiarity and memorizing, so when they speak they will talk at great length and in a way that is evasive and extravagant, or else they will cite the texts a great deal in order to induce others to believe them: this is because they don’t really know the truth for themselves.


41. Past, Present, Future


Luangpor Teean always said that the past is gone, incapable of being changed or rectified, while the future has not yet arrived: whatever we do, it must be done in the present. If we act well now, today will constitute a good past for tomorrow. And tomorrow, when it comes, will turn out to be a good future for this day in which we have already done good. It is useless to worry about things that are past and cannot be put right and just as useless to worry about things that have not yet happened: to worry about things that cannot eliminate suffering in the only place it is found, in the present. What is important is to continue to have set into motion the correct set of principals in the past so the fruit beared from those endeavors would be favorably impacting the present. To have that present be a positive experience the suggestion, extracted from the sutras, goes something like:


1.) From the first generate only thoughts with the right escort.


2.)Support right thoughts already risen.


3.)From where thoughts arise, generate no thoughts that carry negative escort.


4.)Dispell any negative thoughts already risen (source).


42. The Resolution


According to the texts, just before his Awakening the prince Siddhartha accepted food from the laywoman Sujata and, having eaten, placed the tray in the nearby river and made the following resolution: if he was to become fully Awakened, a Buddha, the tray should float back against the current of the river. And it happened that the tray did float back against the river’s current. I asked Luangpor Teean his opinion of this, since it seems to be contrary to the way of nature.


Luangpor pointed out, “Everything must drift along carried by the current of the river. But this story refers to going against the current of the stream of thought as it pours forth. If we were to look back to the source of thought, then we would know the truth this story is pointing to.”


43. Working With Awareness


Luangpor Teean constantly declared, “All of us have duties and responsibilities that the society we live in requires us to fulfil, and this is normal. Performing our duties with sati (sustained awareness of oneself) will produce results that are completely satisfactory, the best possible results.”


44. The Lamplight


Towards the end of his life, when Luangpor Teean’s health was deteriorating, my wife expressed to him her deep concern about the teaching of Dharma: what would be the situation after his death?


Luangpor responded, “You needn’t worry about this at all. As long as humanity exists, there will from time to time be those that come to know Dharma, because Dharma is not a personal possession that can be monopolized or owned. Dharma was present long before the Buddha’s time, but the Buddha was the first to bring it out to teach and propagate. An individual that knows Dharma can be compared to a lamp that lights up brightly in the darkness: one who is close will see clearly, while those further away will see less clearly. After a period of time the lamp’s light must be extinguished, but then from time to time the lamp will again be lit, again providing illumination.”

 

(cont.)
45. With Whom Should We Study?
During Luangpor Teean’s final hospitalization at Samitivej Hospital, he remarked that now his illness was very advanced all he himself needed to do was to maintain awareness of his breathing, watching for when it would cease. I therefore asked him quite directly, “When you are no longer available, from whom do you recommend that we should study Dharma in order to obtain the best results?”


Luangpor replied, “Go and study Dharma for yourself: watching your own mind is by far the best thing to do.”


* ( Translated from the Thai by Bhikkhu Nirodho )


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:- https://buddhaleelamahasati.wordpress.com/dhamma-teachings-of-luangpor-teean/

 

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Mongkol Khantibalo
Feb 26, 2008

 

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Mongkol Khantibalo
Feb 26, 2008