03. Pariyatti – Patipatti – Pativedha
By Luang Pu Thate Desaraṅsī
July 21, 1982
It has been 15 days since the Rains Retreat began. Strive to be resolute and mindful. The main point, the essence, is practice. Practice earnestly to the best of your ability. Studying and learning have their place, but if you are earnest in practice and understand practice, then study will naturally follow suit; you will understand the meaning of those texts. However, if practice is not good, then theoretical study (Pariyatti) is also not good.
There is Pariyatti, Patipatti, and Pativedha. They say this. All three of these, many students understand to be separate things. They think you must first study Pariyatti, then practice, and then realization (Pativedha) will occur. This understanding is very mistaken. If you think you have to finish studying Pariyatti first, then there will be no time left for practice; it will be the end of it. Studying too much just becomes a matter of feeling your way along, and you never truly commit to anything. Where then will Pativedha come from?
Pariyatti is what is called conventional reality (sammuti bannatti). If you study just one aspect of Pariyatti and then practice accordingly, this act of practicing is itself a form of Pariyatti. For example, practicing the meditation subject of mindfulness of breathing (anapanasati) or the Four Foundations of Mindfulness (satipatthana) – these are directly Pariyatti. We intend to practice the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. What are they? Contemplation of the body, feelings, mind, and phenomena. We intend to contemplate them. After learning, we put it into practice. Try it: contemplate the body. Contemplate it as the four elements – earth, water, fire, wind. Or contemplate it as unattractive (asubha), as foul (patikula). Or contemplate it as impermanent (anicca), suffering (dukkha), not-self (anatta). All of these are possible. This is called studying Pariyatti and then practicing.
Feelings (vedana) are the same. According to Pariyatti, which is conventional reality, the body and feelings are separate things. But when you practice, you will see they are actually one and the same. Contemplating the body is essentially contemplating the feelings themselves. Feelings arise from the body, they arise at the body. So, contemplating feelings is included in that. Pleasant, painful, neutral – these arise at this body. They appear at this body first. Even the so-called internal feelings, feelings that arise from the mind – pleasant, painful, neutral arising from the mind – these also emerge from this body. As long as this body exists and is apparent, you must contemplate this very body. For feelings, you must also contemplate this body. Only when there is no body would you not contemplate it. Now, since this body exists, we contemplate the body, and feelings are contemplated along with it. Therefore, in practice, you see them as one.
Now, when you contemplate the mind, you see your own mind as the one contemplating the various parts of the body. This is indeed the contemplation of the mind. Contemplating the body is itself contemplating the mind.
Contemplating these three aspects is called contemplating phenomena (dhamma), namely, physical phenomena (rupa dhamma) and mental phenomena (nama dhamma). And where does it go? It becomes one. Studying Pariyatti requires practice. Contemplating the Four Foundations of Mindfulness in practice converges into one thing; it is a singular practice. It is impossible to study everything first and then practice later. That is utterly futile. Whatever you study, practice that. The teaching is to practice with this body, to contemplate only this body. When you contemplate here, at the body, or feelings, or the mind, and you see clearly and truly, that is Pativedha. You see them truly and genuinely as the four elements. There is no remnant of "self." Every part, every component within us is entirely the four elements. What is called satipatthana becomes clear right there. That is the foundation of mindfulness; it is not established elsewhere, but here at this body. That is called Pativedha, arising within that very contemplation.
Speaking like this must be for practitioners. Those who are only into theoretical study do not speak this way. They must speak in sequence, as initially explained: the body is contemplated as one thing, the mind as another, phenomena as another, going off in different directions. Thus, it is not clear, and they do not understand Dhamma. After studying, they just abandon it all. By the time they get around to practicing, their theoretical study is already finished; they abandon it all. Practicing without seeing truth and realization leads to weariness and aversion. They become disillusioned because the Dhamma is not found within themselves. That is why it is said that study and learning are good, but one must study correctly and effectively. Don't just study idly. After studying, bring it back to investigate and contemplate within yourself. Because all the categories of Dhamma taught in the Nava Kovada (the basic instruction manual for new monks) are not apart from yourself. They are all contained within you. All the Dhamma that the Lord Buddha taught, the 84,000 aggregates of Dhamma, originated from the body and the mind. If there were no body and mind, He would not have taught. We humans have a body and mind; therefore, He taught about that body and that mind.
Be resolved and do not be discouraged. If we don't strive to reach the standard, merely wanting knowledge and understanding, we won't reach the standard of Dhamma. Practicing a little here and there leads to becoming weak and feeble. But if you truly commit to practice, as described, just contemplating this body, focusing solely on this one body, then clarity will arise within the mind. When that clarity arises, filling the mind with rapture, you will become even more diligent and persistent. That is the very root of effort. If you practice passively without gaining any benefit—merely contemplating without understanding the truth, without knowing the true Dhamma, without seeing Dhamma—then you will become careless and dismissive, thinking that Dhamma is not within you. And that's the end of it; you gain nothing.
Whatever you have, do not be negligent or complacent. Intend to practice truly so that you achieve results. We have a body, so contemplate it. Contemplate this very body. If you go contemplating other things, it won't work.
To whatever extent you see your body, maintain that. Have confidence in the Dhamma that exists within yourself. Start with confidence. Once you have confidence, things will surely progress. Faith (saddha) is the preliminary step. Whatever you do, you must have faith. Without faith, what you do will lack stability, and you will not be committed. Therefore, whatever exists within you—for instance, assuming you have this body, that's your "self"—believe that Dhamma is here. Then, believe in your own effort. Proceed with practice. Contemplate feelings, mind, phenomena. All of these exist within you.
We are confident that this thing is real, but we are not yet real. We must make ourselves real; then we will see what is real. It's like telling you that red ants are on the stem of a mango. They don't get to taste the mango's flavor. People come, pick it, and eat it all. This is what is meant by "red ants swarming on the mango stem."
Faith is the preliminary step. Whatever you do, you must have faith. Without faith, what you do will lack stability, and you will not be committed.