3.7.5

Lesson 3.7.5 Akammaniyavaggo & Adantavaggo – Mastering the Mind

‘Mastering the Mind’ introduces two smaller suttas, the Akammaniyavaggo and the Adantavaggo which serve as examples of gradual development of the mind and as an exercise for reading the suttas aloud. Both refer to the difficulty, for every meditator, of facing the tricky nature of the mind, of which the Buddha says he does not perceive any other single thing that causes so much trouble if not cultivated, not under control and not developed: ‘Nāhaṃ, bhikkhave, aññaṃ ekadhammampi samanupassāmi’... Conquering the mind’s intrinsic pit-falls belongs to a struggle that everyone has to face during the earnest quest towards inner calm and quietude. The introduction focuses further on the dhammānupassanā āyatanapabbaṃ section of the Mahāsatipaṭṭhānasutta and highlights an approach for a meditator to deal with the habitual bondage created from the interaction of inner and outer sense spheres by learning to foster remote and neutral observation along with strengthening equanimity and knowledge in regards to each object and the influence it has on the corresponding sensual organ. The Buddha’s warning: ‘sabbaṃ, bhikkhave, ādittaṃ’ – ‘All is ablaze, Bhikkhus!’ should always be kept in mind.