Explanation of the Third Stage Part 2 By Arjanyai At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Knowledge which comes from the world, enters into us all the time. This knowledge arises from attachment to the conventions which are popular in the world. The average person is attached to these concepts and only he who searches for understanding gets free of them; and if lie manages to do this, then he is one who
escapes the snares of Mara.

Knowledge which is based on the worldly-conditions is in the Sensual-Realms-of-Mind (Kamavacara-Bhumi). If the Citta is unable to get free from sense-desires, it also cannot get free from the
worldly-conditions.

Our bodies have internal and external fields of sense-desires, the former include the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind, The latter include forms, sounds, smells, tastes, and tangible and mental-objects. Taking into account the three times, there are twelve present, twelve past, and twelve future, fields of Craving-for-Sensation (Kamatanฺha), making thirty-six in all.

One who practises Samadhi and attains Jhana can only get free of Craving by Substitution-of-Opposing -Factors(Tadanga-Pahana)1 and by Suppression-of-the-Hindrances (Vikkhambhana-Pahana).2The Jhana state suppresses the craving, but as soon as one leaves it, craving arises again. When this happens one may reckon that one is still not free of debt,3 for one who wants to become free of debt must abandon and completely uproot all craving.

Abandoning craving thus means becoming detached from the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind. In other words, when seeing, there is just seeing, and not “I” who am seeing ; when hearing, there is just hearing, and not “I” who am hearing; when knowing and understanding, there is just knowing and under-standing, at that time and with that object which is presented to sight, hearing, knowing or understanding.

When things are seen in this way, then there is no greed, hate and delusion for these objects; and when there is no greed, hate and delusion for objects, then there is no “this world”, there is no “other world”, nor is there both this world and other worlds together. Detachment from the body is of this nature; and there-
fore, one should attain freedom from the Worldly Conditions and from the Craving for Sensation, and the way to do this is given under the heading of Stage. 3. Therefore one should become free from knowledge, for it is our bodies that learn and acquire knowledge, and until their nature changes, they cling firmly to sense-
desires.

Learning by Insight (Vipassana), means learning to correct one’s knowledge which here has the same meaning as the consciousness-aggregate (vinnanฺa-khandha), which, for example, understands what is seen through the eye, and heard through the ear. Care will then be taken to retain control of the senses in seeing or hearing anything. Also, all one’s faculties must be restrained by the Moral Code (Indriya-Samvara-Sila), this being the way to prevent evil states from arising for the time being.

When one is going to practise Samadhi, one should close one's eyes so that one does not see. One should develop a state of calm so that one does not hear. Then one should put down thoughts which arise on external things so that they die away; after which, one stops all thoughts. This should he maintained until
Pleasure-of-Body-and-Heart (Piti) and Happiness-of-Body-and-Heart (Sukha) arise, and one enters Jhana. One then concentrates on a single spot and thus gets free from knowledge which arises from seeing and hearing and which is based on objects of sense-desires.

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