Ariyavasa means the way of Noble ones’ living or the practices of Noble Ones.

Introduction:

In Ariyavasa Sutta the Buddha says: "O bhikkhus! The Ariyavasa-dhaammas or the way of Noble ones’ living is of ten kinds. The Noble ones followed the way in the past, they are still following it, and they will follow it in the future."

There are eight kinds of Ariyas viz., the first four Ariyas each of whom has attained one of the four stages on the holy path (Magga); and the other four Ariyas each of whom has attained the fruition (Phala) corresponding to one of the four stages.

As to the first four of these Ariyas i.e., Magga-ariya or Ariyas on the path, it is hard to point out clearly what kind of persons they are. For the duration of their spiritual climax is a single thought-moment. With the full attainment of insight-knowledge, they have a flash of Nibbana on Ariyan level, and because of this split-second experience they are called the Magga-person at that moment. Then there follows the experience of Ariyaphala the resultant consciousness, and from that time they are called the Phala-persons whom we can clearly point out as Ariyas .

Two Kinds of Bhikkhus:

The Discourse is addressed to Bhikkhus (Monks). There are two kinds of monks (Bhikkhus), viz., the Sutta-bhikkhu and the Vinaya-bhikkhu. The Sutta-bhikkhu is, according to the commentaries, any person who practices the righteousness to get liberated from the cycle of life (Samsara). He is not necessarily a member of the Sangha, (the community of the Buddha’s disciples).

The practice of the Dhamma enables people to overcome mental defilement. Through the practice of morality, they can overcome the active mental defilement such as greed, hatred, etc. that lead to killing, stealing and other misdeeds. When they develop their concentration (Samadhi-bhavana), they overcome the arousal defilement of greed, hatred, etc. that always lie in their consciousness (Finally they overcome potential or dormant mental defilement through the development of insight knowledge and Wisdom.

Every moment of mindfulness means the gradual destruction of latent mental defilement. It is somewhat like cutting away a piece of wood with a small axe, every stroke helping to get rid of the unwanted fragments of wood. Whenever they focuses on the psycho-physical phenomena arising from sense-contact with the external world, their mental defilement become weak and impotent. Then they can be regarded as Bhikkhu or monk according to the Sutta Pitaka.

Bhikkhus or monks according to the Vinaya Pitaka are those who lead a good life based on monastic rules. In the time of the Buddha the Lord himself ordained some of them by saying, "Come hither, bhikkus." Most of them, however, were ordained by the Sangha in accordance with monastic rules.

The Bhikkhu referred to in Ariyavasa Sutta is the Sutta-bhikkhu, a term that applies to everybody who practices the righteousness.

The Buddha preached the discourse in order that we might live in the abode of Ariyas, safe, secure and protected from the perils of the round of rebirth (Samsara). The perils of the round of rebirth are more terrifying than those that beset a man who does not live in a well-protected house. They follow us from one existence to another. One may land in the lower worlds as a hungry ghost or an animal and suffer for many years, or one may be reborn as a poor, wretched man who has to face many hardships for a living as well as the universal evils of life viz., old age, sickness and death. These are the perils of Samsara that repeatedly engulf those who do not live in the abode of Ariyas or in other words, who do not follow the way of Noble ones’ living or the practices of Noble Ones.

Ten Ariyavasa Dhamma:

There are ten practices of Noble Ones. The first practice is the removal of the five hindrances. The second is the control of the six senses. The third is the presence of a guard or mindfulness. The fourth is getting four supports. The fifth is having renounced all the false doctrines (Paccekasacca) that do not accord with the nature of life although they claim monopoly of truth. The sixth practice is giving up all pursuits. The pursuit of something means lack of self-sufficiency whereas giving up all pursuits is a sign of non-attachment and self-fulfillment.

The seventh practice insists that the mind should not be confused but clear and pure. The eighth practice is the possession of quiet bodily functions that leads to the cessation of in-and-out breathing (the fourth level of Jhana). The fourth Jhana is a spiritual experience that may appeal to some meditators. The ninth and tenth practices are a fully liberated mind and fully liberated knowledge. These two practices are linked together. Once the mind is totally liberated, there follows the awareness of such a total liberation.

The Guard of Mindfulness:

We will begin with the third practice of Noble ones that is mindfulness which is the key to the understanding the nature of psycho physical phenomena. Mindfulness forms the chief attribute of freedom from all mental defilement.

Mindfulness can not develop suddenly. It develops gradually as a result of previous effort and practice. When we have made some progress in meditation, we will find what mindfulness means. At the sight of a desirable object we crave for it and in the face of something offensive we become angry. For we are not yet free from these unwholesome emotions. But our mindfulness stands us in good stead, and helps restrain them. They lose their momentum and wither away. They are not beyond control as in the case of common people. They are not strong enough to do evil.

Satipatthana Method:

Hence the importance of mindfulness in the spiritual training, practice in mindfulness should begin at the time when we are still worldlings. The practice of contemplating all psycho physical phenomena that arise from six senses is Satipatthana (the four applications of attentiveness). It can be easily practiced too. We teach this method simply as did the Lord Buddha.

Some people insist that the yogi should avoid saying, "I walk" mentally as it implies some sort of ego belief. There are three different views of the ego or self. The first is the belief in self as the soul-entity. The second is the view of self-based on conceit and pride, while the third is the self as a conventional term for the first person singular as distinct, from other persons. The self or "I" implicit in the Pali word "gacchami" has nothing to do with illusion or conceit. It is a term of common usage that is to be found in the sayings of the Buddha and Arahats.

So we instruct people to meditate on all phenomena in conventional terms, that is, for example, to say mentally "walking, walking" concentrating on the motion of their legs whenever they start walking. But as concentration develops, all these conventional usage disappear, and there remains only the reality of everything arising-and-passing away ceaselessly.

Initial Doubt:

Some people who have never meditated may have some doubt and no wonder, for only seeing is believing, and their skepticism is due to their lack of experience. Mahasi Sayadaw said; I myself was a skeptic a one time. I did not then like the Satipatthana method, as it makes no mention of Nama-rupa, Anicca, Anatta and so forth. But my teacher was a learned monk, and so I decided to give it a trial. At first I made little progress because I still had a lingering doubt about the method which, in my view, had nothing to do with ultimate reality.

It was only later on when I had followed the method seriously that its significance dawned on me. I realized then that it is the best method of meditation since it calls for attentiveness to everything that is to be known, leaving no room for absent-mindedness. So the Buddha describes the Satipatthana method as the only way to attain inner peace."

Development of Concentration:

Beginners should treat the sense-data as the raw material for their meditation, and make a note of "walking" "bending", etc. Then as concentration develops, they will become aware of all the psycho physical phenomena arising from the six senses. Finally they are mindful only of the ceaseless passing away of the sense-object and the knowing consciousness. Thus they finds nothing that is permanent, pleasant and worthwhile, nothing that gives ground for the ego-belief.

At our meditation-center in Rangoon people begin the exercise in mindfulness by making a note of the rising and falling of the belly when they breathes in and out. Later on they notes all mental events such as thinking, feeling, imagining, etc. Those who stead-fastly keep their mind occupied in this way can in due course become aware of all physical and mental events that occur whenever they see, hear, etc. They are then in step with the ideal of Ariyavasa Sutta, which stresses the need for self-possession and mindfulness.

Real Empirical knowledge:

Our method of meditation does not presuppose a thorough knowledge of mind and material qualities, impermanent nature and other Buddhist concepts. Our main object is to attain insight-knowledge that is accessible only by empirical approach. Through experience, people observe the distinction between mind and matter, and they realize the impermanence of everything. Experience may be followed by explanation on the part of the teacher but not the other way round. Real knowledge has nothing to do with preconceived notions but is based on personal experience.

The empirical knowledge acquired by meditators is distinct and clear. They see nothing except the vanishing of everything. This is called Bhanga-insight about which they learn not from scriptures or a teacher but by experience. As they keep on meditating, they become more and more mindful until their mindfulness become perfect at the last stage on the noble path.

Mindfulness is a matter of great importance. It tends to develop concentration and sharpen the intellect. It means being on one's guard and following the way of Noble ones makes us free from all kinds of mental defilement and suffering. In order to practice the way of Noble ones we have to pay the price in terms of faith, will and effort.

It is impossible to do anything without faith or conviction; we will practice mindfulness only if we believe that it will help to develop insight-knowledge. But faith in itself will not do. We need, too, a strong will and unrelenting effort to attain the path and inner peace. Possession of these qualities is essential to success in the practice of mindfulness.

The Story of Tambadathika:

Mindfulness even for a few moments is very helpful as is evident in the story of Tambadathika.

Tambadathika was a public executioner in the lifetime of the Buddha. On the day of his retirement he was about to drink milk-gruel when there appeared the Buddha’s chief disciple called Sariputta who had come apparently in search of food. Because of his strong faith Tambadathika promptly offered the milk-gruel. After drinking it, the monk gave a talk on alms-giving, morality, insight meditati