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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

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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