Page 71 - Because I know, I can let go

What follows is called ‘paticcasamupāda.’

Paticcasamupāda is about various things existing in dependence on other things and, in

their turn, concocting other things, which other things then concoct yet other things, and
those other things…..and so on. This is paticcasamupāda, that is, dependent co-arising,
something arising in dependence on some other thing and then giving rise to something
else, but that’s all that happens, there’s isn’t anything that could truly be called a ‘self’ to

be found in there anywhere, just this conditioned arising.

How can this information be used so that it brings benefit? Well, don’t let there be any
dependent arising, cut it off. That is, whenever there’s a sense contact with the eye, for

instance, break the cycle right there, don’t let feeling, vedanā, be conditioned into arising,
don’t let feelings of satisfaction or dissatisfaction arise, don’t let feeling be concocted.
When there’s no concocting of feeling then tanhā and upādāna won’t give rise to ‘me’
and ‘mine.’ The illusory ‘me’ and ‘mine’ arise directly from tanhā and upādāna. If there’s

just a sense contact, phassa, stop it there, then there’s no way for ‘me’ and ‘mine’ to arise,
so no mental disorder and no dukkha either.

For ordinary people controlling phassa so that vedanā doesn’t arise is very difficult, because

on contacting there must always be feelings of satisfaction or dissatisfaction, it can’t be
stopped at ‘mere’ contact because there’s been no Dhamma study or training.

But there’s still another way to be safe. That is, when feelings of satisfaction or

dissatisfaction have been concocted, stop it right there. Let feelings just be feelings and
there’ll be quenching. Don’t let tanhā, desire of this, that, or the other sort, follow feelings
of satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Because if there’s satisfaction there’ll be the desire to
get, there’ll be liking, infatuation, jealousy, and so on, if there are feelings of dissatisfaction

there’ll be the desire to get rid of, to destroy, even to kill. If there’s desire of this sort, then
tanhā has been concocted. Those sort of feelings concoct tanhā, if this happens there
must be the mental sickness called dukkha. Then nobody can help us. Even if all the
Gods should join together they wouldn’t be able to help. The Buddha said as much. The

Gods can’t help, but one who can control the law of nature can. However, such people can
only reveal the workings of the law of nature. We have to do the practising. If we behave
wrongly there’s dukkha, if rightly there isn’t. Hence, if the vedanā concoct tanhā then no-
one can help us, and there must be dukkha.
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