Ways To Acquire Spiritual Perfections | 20 Oct 2023

"Merit" is right conduct in body, speech, and mind. It is a tool that will purify our mind to make it cleaner, brighter, and purer. It is wisdom and happiness. "Barami" is the greatest goodness that must be done more than merit. In order to reach the highest goal that we desire. To escape suffering You must create it yourself. You cannot create it for each other.

Ajahn Anan has shown the important Dhamma that supports the creation of merit, including "truth", sincerity, "prayer", and determination to achieve a certain result. It is not a request, but a goal to do good and "viriya", perseverance - effort.

Transcript

The building of goodness that we call punya,

Or merit,

And the building of bhārami,

Spiritual perfections—how are they different?

We make merit.

We give alms to make merit.

We chant to make merit.

We sit meditation to gain merit.

This merit is the method to cleanse our hearts,

To be clean,

Clear,

And become pure.

It is goodness,

Kusala,

Skillfulness.

It is happiness.

In summary,

It is actions that are good,

Correct,

And skillful,

By way of body,

Speech,

And mind.

Bodily and verbal actions are within the domain of sila,

The five moral precepts.

As for the mind,

It is about the mind which doesn't have violent or angry thoughts,

And the mind that has samādhiti,

Right view,

Which believes in the law of karma.

So these are all actions which are skillful and good.

In terms of bhārami,

We hear of building merit and bhārami.

Bhārami is goodness that is higher and that must be cultivated more than merit.

It is so that one gets to or attains to the highest,

Supreme goal that one is aspiring towards.

One aspiring to the freedom from suffering needs to build bhārami for the purpose of freedom from suffering.

One aspiring to build and accumulate bhārami following a particular bodhisattva,

Then they need to build more bhārami.

Or building merit and bhārami to be an asiti-sāvaka,

One of the eighty great disciples of the sammasambuddha,

The perfectly self-awakened Buddha,

Or to be a chief disciple of the Buddha,

Then they need to build a more supremely immeasurable amount of bhārami.

And all the more so to be a sammasambuddha,

Like we understand that the Buddha needed to build the ten bhāramis,

From dāna,

Sila,

Nekama,

Pāññā,

Viriya,

Kanti,

Sacca,

Adhitāna,

Metta,

Upekkhā.

For the sammasambuddha,

He must build this to the higher level of upa-bhārami and the supreme level of paramatthā-bhārami.

He must sacrifice his limbs and sacrifice his life over immeasurable lifetimes.

This very,

Very few humans can aspire to and make it.

Accumulating goodness,

Or what we call merit,

Must be done continuously,

And we must try to not build bad karma that is registered in the heart,

Because wrongdoing gives result and has a heavy power likewise.

Some people do both merit and wrongdoing,

And so must try to build only merit.

So this is the abandoning of wrongdoing and building merit.

And the ways of making merit that we know of,

We can do it ourselves,

Or when others do it,

We can anumodhana,

Rejoice with them.

But goodness that we call bhārami,

We must do it ourselves.

And the thing that we do will be registered in the heart,

There's no lessening of it,

There is only adding to it,

Until we can succeed in our aspiration.

The word bhārami comes from bhārama,

That is used in many ways,

And it means being one who is excellent,

One who does it more excellently than others,

Or it can be used in terms of doing it fully,

One who makes it full,

One who makes it supreme.

It polishes our hearts to be free from the pollutants of the kilesas,

The defilements.

Bhārami can translate to the attaining of the supreme and excellent dhamma.

So this is the highest level.

And one who has a lot of bhārami,

It means that they have made a lot of merit already,

And follow it on with an excellent bhārami.

All through the vāsa,

The three-month rains retreat,

We all have likely built both merit and built bhārami.

And in cultivating this,

Sometimes our mind wavers and deviates,

And that is normal in the period we are cultivating it.

So we need to establish our satya,

Truthfulness and sincerity,

Being determined to do it sincerely and truthfully,

In that we will build goodness.

And so whatever it is we do,

We have to be truly determined to do it.

Do it to our full ability,

And do it until we succeed in it.

This is called having truthfulness within ourselves in doing various things.

And this satya,

Bhārami,

The perfection of truthfulness,

Has five aspects.

There is truthfulness towards goodness,

Conducting oneself to be true and unwavering in goodness,

Not straying off to other paths,

Being truly and rightly well-established in it.

If it's a child,

Then it's truthfulness in studying and learning,

Being determined to study,

To write and read well.

If it's truthfulness towards work,

Then it's truly doing that work.

When we work,

Then we are fully responsible for that work,

Doing it to the utmost meticulous level.

This is truthfulness towards one's duties and work.

Whatever duties we have,

Then we are responsible for those duties properly.

If one isn't sincere,

Then it's hard for them to do work,

And it can make the work go badly.

This is doing work messily and unreliably,

Or leaving the work undone.

So what to do?

One must be sincere in doing that work.

When we have determined to do it,

We have said that we would do it,

Then we must make that work succeed and go well.

There is no work undone.

It is not messy.

We do it sincerely.

Like for monks,

They have to be determined to chant the Patimokkha.

Learning the Patimokkha,

They have to be determined to be able to chant it.

There are some who can do it in two months or three months,

And he can chant it.

And he also needs to maintain his ability to chant the Patimokkha,

Revising over the chanting.

If having truthfulness in doing Buddhist studies,

Then it is being determined to study it to the beginner,

Intermediate or advanced levels,

Or in studying Pali.

If it is establishing truthfulness in terms of Dhamma practice and bhavana meditation,

Then it is doing walking meditation and sitting meditation,

Doing chanting,

Doing group pujas,

Going for alms round without fail,

And on the lunar observance days,

To nesacikkha,

To stay up all night practicing.

So setting up one's truthfulness,

So this sacca,

Is important.

When I was going to stay in the cremation ground,

I had to have truthfulness.

Because if we don't set up our truthfulness,

We don't adhitana,

Set a resolution to do it,

Then the mind will waver,

For sure.

When we experience the fear coming up,

Then we may go or we may not go.

It isn't firmly established.

When we are firmly established that we will go,

That we will go stay in the cremation ground every night of this whole month,

Then,

If I die,

Then I will accept it.

I have offered it to the Buddha,

Dhamma and Sangha,

And so I will go.

If I have to die in the midst of going to meditate,

Then I will accept that death.

So we have to train in it,

Train in it really well.

And we can learn from the life stories of those who have built Barami,

The disciples of the Buddha,

The Asiti Savakas,

The chief disciples,

Or the Sama Sambuddha.

How did they build their Barami?

And how did they train their speech?

They spoke words that were necessary,

Speaking words of benefit,

Speaking truthfully,

Speaking at the appropriate time.

Sometimes we have to let go of our dittimana,

Our views and conceit.

If we are wrong,

Then we are able to acknowledge that we are wrong.

Because being born,

We're not always going to be right.

From childhood,

We must have made a lot of mistakes.

And in doing work and studies,

We have had to have made mistakes.

So we have to acknowledge them,

Which is putting down our views and conceit.

But sometimes it is normal for us to have views and conceit,

And we can't accept or give in to others.

But we contemplate it again,

And then we can reduce and put down our sense of self and ego.

And we can give in and acknowledge it.

And we associate with kalyāṇamitta,

Good friends who love truthfulness towards building goodness in dhamma practice and in doing work.

They are those who put in effort continually to practice dhamma,

To build dāna,

Generosity,

In sila and in bhāvanā.

And it makes us have mindfulness and wisdom to arise.

And the benefit of building such a bhārami is that we don't have anxiety,

And we are trusted by the greater public.

This person says it and then does it.

Their speech is sacred as well.

And so there are the senior and junior venerables who have sacred speech.

The Sāmasambuddha,

When he was a supreme bodhisattva,

In a past life he had ordained but had just chaotic thoughts.

He wasn't peaceful.

His friend took his child to visit,

And the child got bitten by a cobra.

And the poison was going to take his life.

The father was crying and pleaded for the Buddha-to-be to help.

And what did the Buddha do?

He made an adhitāna.

He made a vow of truth,

That with the sacca-bhārami of his that he had ordained and was all chaotic,

That there wasn't any peace,

And that he didn't want to ordain anymore,

May the snake's poison be cured and disappear.

And the snake's poison did disappear.

So people who have determination like this can gain success in the world and in the Dhamma without difficulty.

And in whatever it is,

There is always something there,

And always something getting better.

There is prosperity and growth.

They chant or learn something,

And they will succeed.

In Dhamma practice,

They will gain the paths and fruits of Nibbāna.

And this sacca-bhārami needs to be fully immersed in building goodness of all types.

It is in line with that which we aspire to,

To the goal that we want.

Like we pick up a bow and arrow,

And we're going to shoot it,

And we point it straight,

And then the arrow will be able to fly straight according to our wishes.

Like Venerable Rahula,

Who practiced and had truthfulness in learning,

And he made a spiritual resolution by picking up a fistful of sand,

And asked that may I learn and gain knowledge from my teachers and preceptor to as many grains of sand that are within my hand.

This was Venerable Rahula,

Who would later become one of the Arahants.

So we have to build merit,

And build our bhārami.

So may you set your hearts on this.

May you make spiritual resolutions.

Which means to make your mind be firm and solely focused,

To be able to attain it.

Make a resolution first.

But it's not asking to get it.

It's setting a goal about what we will do in terms of that goodness to be firm and focused,

So that we will be able to attain it.

Usually people who make resolutions wish and ask for this or that,

Wanting to get what they wish for.

But the spiritual resolution is for the attaining of one's goal.

And what are the results that will arise from it?

There is spiritual power,

Strength of mind and motivation.

There is a clear goal,

A sure path,

And it will support our putting forth of effort to get to the goal.

And if we don't make a spiritual resolution,

Then we have no spiritual power.

The goal is not clear or in focus.

It is not sure and is wavering.

So to set a spiritual resolution is to establish truthfulness,

As well as to set a resolution.

It is a pair of barami together that is called sacca adhitana.

And when we have this vow of truth,

It's not only this,

But we need to have determination as well.

This is having effort and diligence.

So it extends on to having viriya,

Effort,

Perseverance,

Trying to do it,

Having diligence.

We are brave to get down to do it,

And so it can succeed according to our aspirations.

What we are doing is right already,

By giving up wrongdoing,

Doing good,

And we are brave and not discouraged in it.

We have effort and have the application of exertion.

And Venerable Ajahn Chah would talk of exerting effort,

Viriya rambha.

It is the object of the mind that exerts effort in building goodness to be firm and be in front.

So continuing on from sacca adhitana,

It is viriya,

Effort,

Which will support us to get to the end goal.

In building merit,

In building barami,

In keeping sila,

And in bhavana.

So we have truthfulness and resolution.

Even if sometimes we may be sick and in pain,

But hey,

We have a duty that we have to do.

We are sick,

We have malaria,

But we have a duty to give a dhamma talk.

And we have to teach,

So we give the talk.

We have to fight against the malaria at the time it is flaring up.

Or we have sickness,

But we also have truthfulness,

And so we do it.

We have effort and endurance,

And we persevere until the work can succeed.

So building barami,

Building sacca adhitana barami,

Building effort,

It is so that we can have more stronger,

Firmer barami.

And all this we have to do ourselves.

But we can learn from those who have succeeded already,

Be it the sammasambuddha or his sangha disciples.

In terms of work,

It can be learning from those who have gained success in that work already.

We can learn from them by how they do it.

For those studying,

They can look to the more senior students and see how did they pass their studies,

How did they do it,

How did they put in effort,

How were they determined.

If we are a young student,

Then we have to be able to do it,

Have an example to look up to.

And these days they may call it having an idol,

An example.

So we have to be able to do it.

May you set your hearts on this.

May you walk in the path of sila,

Samadhi,

And bhajna.

And ultimately,

You will be able to succeed according to your aspirations.

May you grow in blessings.

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