the craft of the heart - ajaan lee
DESCRIPTION
The Craftof the HeartAJAAM LEEOIAMMADHAROTHE CRAFT OF THE HEARTTHE CRAFT OF THE HEARTbyAjaan Lee Dhammadharo(Phra SuddhidhammararisT Gambhlramedhacariya)Translated from the Thaiby Thanissaro Bhikkhu(Geoffrey DeGraff)Printed for free distributionFirstedition:Bangkok, 1982Secondedition, revised:Bangkok, 1988Third edition: Bangkok, 1994PrintedinThailandatNatikulPress,BangkokTel. (662)2411183, 2431470Phra Ajaan LeeDhammadharoCONTENTS-TRANSCRIPT
The Craftof the HeartAJAAM LEE
OIAMMADHARO
THE CRAFT OF THE HEART
THE CRAFT OF THE HEART
by
Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo(Phra SuddhidhammararisT Gambhlramedhacariya)
Translated from the Thai
by Thanissaro Bhikkhu(Geoffrey DeGraff)
Printed for free distribution
First
edition:
Bangkok, 1982
Second
edition, revised:
Bangkok, 1988
Third edition: Bangkok, 1994Printedin
Thailand
at
Natikul
Press,
Bangkok
Tel. (662)
2411183, 2431470
Phra Ajaan Lee
Dhammadharo
CONTENTS-
ForewordIntroduction
i
iv
PART
I:
MASTERING VIRTUEfor the
1
Precepts for Laypeople
1
The Service
Lunar Sabbath
.
.
.
918
Virtue: Questions
and Answers
Concentration: Questions and Answers
35 55
PART II: THE CRAFT OF THE HEART How to Practice ConcentrationOn Taking the Triple Refuge On the Four Immeasureable Sublime Attitudes On Radiating the Sublime Attitudes On the Rewards of the Four Immeasureables On Practicing Concentration On the Four PosturesThe Five HindrancesTheSix Propensities
63
7071
7275
77
7981
87 89
The Two Themes of MeditationMethodsfor Attaining Tranquility
90 9497 98
Mental Phenomena as a Theme of Meditation
On the Levels of the Mind Two Levels of Concentration On the Meditation SyllableThe Five Forms of Rapture
99 99
Two
Kinds of Vision
101
Jhana
103Skills
The Three
lO
1161181
The Eight Skills The Four Forms of AcumenExercises for Insight Meditation
20
124 129132
The Seven Stages of Purification The Nine Stages of Liberating InsightTurning the Mundane The Path to Once-returning
Path into the Transcendent Path ... 141147
The Path
to Non-returningto Arahantship
149151
The Path
Sarigaha-ditthi1;
157v!i
Glossary
175
-UOltr
no
liitupcifitt
$
&msffT F^firraff?
.
nojisr
>O
?rrno
;
-
^
FOREWORDThis book, Ajaan Lees
first,
is
like a catalog:
In
it,
he gives the
full
range of his teachings on the practice of the
Buddha
s
craft,
from the observance of the
five precepts to
the attainment of total liberation.
Thus the
different parts
are written for different people at different stages in thepractice,
and the reader
is
advised to read, not judgmentally,is
but judiciously-taking whateverpractice,
useful for his or her
own
and leaving the
rest for others.its
Theparts,is
structure of the book, with
two over-lappingappearing in 1936the following year
explained by the fact that the
two
parts were originally
writtenas
and published separately, Partfor Laypeople.In 1939
III
The Training of the Heart, and Part
as Precepts
Ajaan Lee revised and
expanded both parts, putting them into their present formas self-sufficient but
Later, in the early
1950
complementary halves of a single volume. s, he revised the book once more,being the one translated here.s
this final revised version
Although Ajaan Lee
teachings continued to develop
over the course of later years, the basic outlines remainedconstant.
Most of
his later teachings are simply elaborationsin this
on themes already givendevelopments,
book.special
One of
these laterIt
though,
deserves
mention here:
concerns the question ofin practicing meditation.this question,
how
a beginner should get starteds
Ajaan Lee
eventual solution to
given in his book, Keeping the Breath in Mind:in
Method
II,
can briefly be stated as follows: Start righti
developing the factors of jhana by
(1)
being clearly aware of
each breath,it
is
as
(2) evaluating and adjusting the breath so that comfortable and satisfying as possible, and (3) letting
this
comfortable sensation spread, along with a sense ofIf(1),
present awareness, throughout the entire body.dividual meditator
an
in
had trouble
sticking with step
Ajaanin this
Lee might recommend some of the methods given
book-the
repetition of the
word buddho
in
conjunction with
the breath, the contemplation of the basic properties of the
body,
etc.
but these methods were regarded as ancillary to
the central practice of keeping the breath in mind.
Yet even though Ajaan Lee
s
later teachings
developed
new
perspectives
on some of the individual themes containedhis later writings
in this
book, none of
have
its
scope or
completeness.his
For
this
reason
it
remains to
this
day one of
most popular and esteemed works.But forallits
scope,
it
is
only a preliminary guide~alies,
mapinits
or a
mirrorfor the
true craft of the heart
not with
covers, but within the reader.
To quote from one of Ajaan Lee s later sermons: What does discernment come from? You might compare it withlearning to
become awill start
potter, a tailor or a basket weaver.
The teachersew a
out by telling you
how
to
make
a pot,
shirt or
a pair of pants, or weave different patterns,
but the proportions and beauty of the object you
make
will
have to depend on your
own powers
of observation. Supposeat itss
you weave a basket and then take a good looktions, to see ifit
propor
s
too short or toolittle taller,
tall.
If
it
too short,
weave another one, aatit
and then take a good lookstill
to see if thereifit
s
anything whichfat.
needs improving,
to see
s
too thin or too
Then weave another one,
better-looking than the
last.
Keep
this
up
until
you have
one that
s
as beautiful
one with nothing to
criticize
and well-proportioned as possible, from any angle. This last basket
you can takein business.
as your standard.
You can nowis
What youthem any
ve done
to learn
yourself up from your ownt
set
actions.
As
for your earlier efforts,longer.
yourself with
you needn Throw them out.its
concernThisis
a
sense of discernment which arises ofgenuity and a sense of judgment which
own accord, an
in
come not from anything
your teachers have taught you, but from observing and evaluating
on your own what you yourself have done.this
Hopefully
book
will
be of help to
all
those
who
hope to master the
craft of the heart.
-
Thanissaro Bhikkhu(Geoffrey DeGraff)
Rayong, Thailand June 1988
in
INTRODUCTIONIn the first part of this
book
I
will discuss virtue,
before
going onI
to discuss the practice of meditation in the second.first
put together thisI.e.tell
section as a cure for
my ownI
sense
of dismay.Buddhists to
there have been times
when
ve asked lay
exactly is forbidden by the five and the ten guidelines (kammapatha) that people observe, and their answers have been a jumble When I ask them how long they ve of right and wrong.precepts, the eight precepts
me what
been observing the precepts, some say they ve never observedthem, others say two years,of thosefive years,etc.
The ignorance
who ve never observed the precepts is understandable; who have taken the precepts, there are all kinds: Some people who ve taken the precepts for three years under stand them better than others who ve taken them for five. Some people have repeated the precept against taking life foras for those
three years
now, andis
yet keep
on taking
life,
with no idea of
what the precept
for.
Of
course, there are
manyI
peoplet
who
are better informed than this, but even sot
can
help
feeling dismayed, because their behavior isn
really in keepingcritical,
with their knowledge.
Now,For
I
say this not to beI
but
simply to be truthful.this
this reason,
have put together
book
as a
way of relievingit
my
sense of dismay, and haveto
arranged to have
printed
for distribution
practicing
Buddhists, as a guideline for honoring our Teacher throughthe practice of his teachings,
and to
foster the prosperity of
those teachings for a long time to come.iv
In conclusion,
I
ask the reader to read reflectively.to your liking, others
SomeButat
things here
may be
may
not.
you could find it well worth while to bring your conduct into line with the various your teachings mentioned here.anyrate,I
feel certain that
If
anything
I
have written
in this
book
is
incorrect in
terms of the
Dhamma,
please forgive me.
ThebookI
physical and mental energy used in writing this
dedicate to thoseits
who haveprinting.all
felt
inspired to provideas they are not
the financial energy foryet totally liberated
As longand
from
suffering
stress,
may
they
be perceptive and discerning with regard to everything ofevery sort which pertains to their genuine welfare in whatever
realm they
may
be reborn.
Phra Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo
The Forest TempleShrimp Canal Chanthaburi
i
,3J*n /fit
PART I: MASTERING VIRTUEPrecepts for LaypeopleThere are threesets
of precepts for laypeople: the five
precepts, the eight preceptswill discuss the five
and the ten
guidelines.
Here we
and the
eight precepts first, saving thefive precepts
ten guidelines for later.
The
can be divided into
two
sorts:
those dealing with bodily action and those dealing
with speech.precepts:
Normalcy in bodily action is expressed by three refraining from taking life, from stealing and fromillicit
engaging in
sex.
Normalcy
in speech
is
expressed by
the precept against lying, which involves refraining not only
from
lying, but also
from
divisive tale-bearing,idle talk.fits
from coarse
or abusive speech,
and from aimless orit
As
for the
precept against taking intoxicants,
in
with the third
precept-againstintoxication.
illicit
sex--in that
both deal with forms of
The
eight precepts are derived
from the five-and,
like
the five, can be divided into
two
sorts.
Seven deal with bodily
action: refrainingsions of others;
from taking life; from stealing the posses from any and all sexual intercourse; fromdawn; from watching dancing,
taking intoxicants; from eating food during the period from
noon
until
the
following
singing, instrumental music and other shows, and from using
garlands, perfumes, cosmetics and jewelry; and from using
high and luxurious beds and seats.
The precept dealing with speech is to refrain from telling lies~and also from divisive tale-bearing, from coarse or abusivespeech, and
from aimless or
idle chatter, these latter three
being conducive to outright lying.
Theright5/7