24. The Knowing Element
By Luang Pu Thate Desaraṅsī
March 5, 1985
Luang Pu Dune’s phrasing: He said, "The mind is the Buddha." He spoke concisely, meaning "the mind is the Buddha" – not that "the Buddha is the Supremely Enlightened One."
"Buddha" here means "the mind is the Buddha."
"Buddha" translates as "the one who knows," but not the Supremely Enlightened Buddha, not the omniscient one.
"Buddha" refers to the mind. When the mind is the thinker, the perceiver, the fabricator of absolutely everything – that very thing is capable of knowing. Because of thoughts, perceptions, feelings, and all sorts of things – that very thing is "the mind is the Buddha." Not the Supremely Enlightened Buddha – the Supremely Enlightened Buddha is something else.
Therefore I propose a new formula: "Citta" (mind) and "Heart" are two different things. If you reach the Heart, there is no other feeling – only equanimity. Yet you feel that equanimity itself – not thinking, not perceiving, not fabricating, not concocting. That is the Buddha. That Buddha is "knowing" itself. Or it's called the "Knowing Element." The things that know various objects are conventions and designations. If the Knowing Element reaches its ultimate, there is nothing more to say. Then it's called the Knowing Element. But even the Knowing Element is still a convention – a convention for the sake of mutual understanding, for speaking so that people comprehend. All things, absolutely everything, are nothing – there is only the Knowing Element. Even when the Lord Buddha entered final nibbāna, it is called the Nibbāna Element. That state exists and abides in that way – it is called a state, it is called the Knowing Element. Nibbāna is also called the Nibbāna Element.
That is why I call another convention: the Knowing Element is one thing, and the things that go to know are another. If you emerge from that Knowing Element and go knowing something other than it, that is called wisdom (paññā). This wisdom arises from fabrication, concoction, thought, perception – absolutely everything. Wisdom arises from taking that Knowing Element and generating wisdom – becoming mind and then becoming wisdom.
Wisdom is of two kinds: mundane wisdom (lokiya paññā) and supramundane wisdom (lokuttara paññā).
Mundane wisdom is thought, perception, fabrication of all sorts – all perceptions and feelings, knowing all kinds of things, but not knowing that the Buddha-nature itself is the one that knows. No – it follows after thought, perception, and fabrication endlessly, without stopping or ceasing. That is why human beings in the world keep fabricating, keep thinking, keep perceiving – absolutely everything chaotic, messy, a thousand and one things. That is mundane wisdom.
Supramundane wisdom belongs exclusively to those who train and cultivate the mind. That very knowing one – that one who goes to know, to think, to perceive – uses mindfulness to control that mind right there, to keep it under the control of mindfulness so that it knows all things completely. To keep it under control means you can make it know or make it not know. Whatever it thinks, perceives, fabricates of all sorts – you know it in time, you know its story. You train and cultivate it to stay within bounds, under control. The practice of training in the Dhamma and Vinaya involves training only the mind – nothing else apart from this. Whatever happens, however you train, you must train the mind. Having taken up the mind and trained it, you train it to stay within mindfulness. As you train, you also keep it restricted by the Three Characteristics – impermanence, suffering, not-self. It knows that all things have impermanence, suffering, not-self in them.
Once there is impermanence, suffering, not-self, it can't go anywhere – it must cease. Not fabricating, not concocting, it settles into impermanence, suffering, not-self, and then returns to the "Heart." At that point, it returns by itself. Having contemplated everything, all issues, it returns on its own – enters the "Heart," comes to a standstill, still.
When it goes out, it goes out through the sense bases. It goes out and stays within the bounds of impermanence, suffering, not-self. Contemplating back and forth, it gathers back again – the same old thing. It arrives at the original point, which is the Knower, or the Knowing Element. It goes back and forth like this repeatedly until it becomes skilled, proficient, and adept at contemplating. Then it is no longer impermanence, suffering, not-self by inference, nor impermanence, suffering, not-self by force – it becomes impermanence, suffering, not-self automatically.
At first, contemplation is impermanence, suffering, not-self by inference. Later, when contemplation becomes skilled and proficient, it becomes automatic within itself. Thus it is said that the Buddhist religion, at its ultimate point of thinking, perceiving, fabricating, concocting, and all kinds of knowing, arrives at the real thing – arrives at the Knower.
That is why Luang Pu Dooly said: The mind is the Knower. He spoke of only one mind. In truth, the mind (citta) and the Heart (jai) are the same thing – that mind, that Heart. He spoke of them as the same. Once you reach the Heart, that's the end. This Buddhism has nothing else beyond – apart from the mind and the Heart, that's all. The Knower knows and reaches the Heart – then the whole matter is finished.
Consider carefully: In Buddhism, when you practice concentration, you reach the mind as one. When you attain jhāna, you reach the mind as one. When you are a path-attainer (maggasamaṅgī) – that is, path, fruition, nibbāna – that too is one. The mind is unified, gathered into one. But these things differ in terms of having much wisdom or little wisdom, comprehensive knowledge or limited knowledge. Our Lord Buddha knew everything comprehensively – he knew all things completely. He knew causes and effects, knew all manner of stories, knew arising and ceasing. Therefore he dwelt above thought and conception, above all happenings. That is why he is called "above the world."
All worldly matters are within this mind – thinking, perceiving, fabricating endlessly, never knowing enough to see it through. The Lord Buddha therefore dwelt above – above those matters. That is, he knew in time, knew the story. "Knowing in time" means knowing exactly equal to the thought – knowing the fabrication and concoction as it fabricates and concocts, knowing simultaneously – not exceeding, not lacking, not left over. That is called "knowing in time" (knowing equally). It is not "knowing in pursuit." Knowing in pursuit means following after – you know and then follow, know and then see, know and then become aware. That is pursuit, like following the tracks of cows and buffaloes – you never see the actual animal. But "knowing in time" – you know the actual thing itself, you know it right on the spot. "Knowing in time" is like this. It differs from knowing in pursuit. Therefore the phrase "knowing in pursuit" – there's no way to catch up with it. Only by "knowing in time" can you be right on target.
The Lord Buddha knew in time all things completely. Thus he is said to have known the state of being of all things in every way. That is why all issues were finished. But as for us who practice and train nowadays – even our own selves we don't yet know in time and know the story completely. Therefore we must continue training and cultivating ourselves further.