One Who Perceives Non-Self Eradicates the Conceit ‘I Am’

When, Monks, a Monk has wholesome friends, wholesome companions, wholesome comrades, it can be predicted of him that he will be virtuous (practicing moral conduct), one who resides restrained by the training guidelines possessed of wholesome conduct and resolving difficult situations, seeing danger in the slightest faults. Having undertaken the training guidelines, will train in them.

When a Monk has wholesome friends, wholesome companions, wholesome comrades, it can be predicted of him that he will get to hear at will, without trouble or difficulty, talk concerned with the holy life that is conducive to opening up the heart, that is, talk on elimination of desires, on contentment, on solitude, on not getting bound up (with others), on arousing energy, on virtuous behavior, on concentration, on wisdom, on liberation, on the wisdom and vision of liberation.

When a Monk has wholesome friends, wholesome companions, wholesome comrades, it can be predicted of him that he will arouse energy for abandoning unwholesome qualities and acquiring wholesome qualities; he is strong, firm in effort, not casting off the duty of cultivating wholesome qualities.

When a Monk has wholesome friends, wholesome companions, wholesome comrades, it can be predicted of him that he will be wise, possessing the wisdom that discerns arising and passing away, which is noble and penetrative, and leads to the complete destruction of discontentedness.

Having based himself on these five things, the Monk should develop further (another) four things.

(1) (The perception of) unattractiveness of the body should be developed to abandon lust.

(2) Loving-kindness should be developed to abandon ill will.

(3) Mindfulness of Breathing (Breathing Mindfulness Meditation) should be developed to cut off thoughts.

(4) The perception of impermanence should be developed to eradicate the conceit ‘I am’. When one perceives impermanence, the perception of non-self is stabilized. One who perceives non-self, eradicates the conceit ‘I am’, (which is) Nibbāna (Enlightenment) in this very life.

(Reference: AN 9.1)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares Teachings related to developing wholesome friendships and the types of meditation that one should develop as part of their life practice.

The Buddha describes that one who has wholesome friends and associates will practice wholesome moral conduct along with taking time to listen to talks on The Teachings, developing energy towards eliminating unwholesome qualities and cultivating wholesome qualities, and that one will be wise.

Having developed these five (5) aspects of one’s practice, The Buddha encourages Practitioners to develop an additional four (4) aspects of their life practice which are all related to meditation but they produce benefits in the mind.

(1) To eliminate the fetter of “sensual desire”, when and if a Practitioner chooses to do so, they will need to develop “unattractiveness of the body”. Through seeing the body as it truly is, a Practitioner can eliminate the craving/desire/attachment to sexual contact.

A Practitioner may decide to progress on The Path to Enlightenment attaining the first or second Stage of Enlightenment while still maintaining sexual contact. When or if they are ready to progress further, a Practitioner can then apply effort to eliminate the fetter of “sensual desire” moving into the third and fourth Stage of Enlightenment.

A Practitioner who chooses to reside in the attainment of the first or second Stage of Enlightenment will have significantly diminished discontentedness in the mind but, there will still be some discontentedness. It is not until all of The Ten Fetters are completely eliminated that one will eliminate 100% of all discontentedness.

A Practitioner might choose to reside in the attainment of the first or second Stage of Enlightenment for whatever period of time they feel is best prior to moving forward towards the elimination of sexual contact. Especially if a Practitioner is younger and has not yet fulfilled their goals related to starting a family. This might be a reason why they would decide to not eliminate sexual contact. Either way, once a Practitioner has decided to move towards the fourth Stage of Enlightenment where the mind is Enlightened no longer experiencing discontentedness, developing the “unattractiveness of the body” is how one might decide to proceed. This is accomplished through meditation and working closely with a Teacher.

This meditation is also helpful for a Practitioner who has extensive sexual craving that might find themselves challenged to maintain a relationship with just one partner, or other unwholesome sexual cravings, and looking to reduce their sexual cravings

You can find details on Meditation to Eliminate Sexual Cravings in Chapter 11 of the book “Developing a Life Practice: The Path That Leads to Enlightenment” (Volume 1).

(2) Loving-kindness Meditation should be developed and cultivated to eliminate anger/hatred/ill will. A Practitioner will need to train the mind using Loving-kindness Meditation then practice loving-kindness in daily life with “all beings”.

A Practitioner is first developing and cultivating loving-kindness through meditation then choosing to practice loving-kindness in their intentions, speech, and actions in daily life through being polite, kind, friendly, and respectful to “all beings”. Through practicing in this way, a Practitioner will observe that, over time, people will be more loving and kind with you. Because you are practicing loving-kindness on a regular and consistent basis, loving-kindness will be returned to you. This is due to The Natural Law of Kamma.

Conversely, if one practices anger/hatred/ill will, that is what will be returned to you based on The Natural Law of Kamma.

Through you making the decision to transform the mind’s poison or unwholesome root of anger/hatred/ill will with loving-kindness, then one can observe the improvements to your personal and professional relationships as the mind starts functioning in more polite, kind, friendly, and respectful ways with “all beings”.

To develop your Loving-kindness Meditation practice, investigate the content using this Youtube Playlist where you will find instruction in how to develop your Loving-kindness Meditation practice and feel free to seek guidance as you need support on The Path to Enlightenment.

LEARN Loving-kindness Meditation - (Youtube Playlist)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wkp3cLGYurM&list=PLFuun1phKgQm3hT6XhvsN81xZDW7Enkyx

Detailed explanation of Loving-kindness Meditation is available in this same book series found in Chapter 11 of the book “Developing a Life Practice: The Path That Leads to Enlightenment” (Volume 1).

(3) The Buddha shares that one should develop Breathing Mindfulness Meditation to “cut off thoughts”. This is the training the mind needs in order to eliminate craving/desire/attachment from the mind along with other practices.

While meditating, one focuses on the breath “cutting off and letting go” of any and all thoughts that may arise. This trains the mind to develop mindfulness (awareness of mind), to easily “let go” of all thoughts, and brings the mind into the present moment.

Then, during daily life, a Practitioner can easily be aware when the mind is having unwholesome feelings, perceptions, volitional formations (choices/decisions) and “cut them off and let them go”.

Practicing Breathing Mindfulness Meditation in this way is highly beneficial to the mind and a foundational practice that must be employed to progress towards Enlightenment. Without Breathing Mindfulness Meditation, one would be unable to attain Enlightenment.

Through transforming the mind’s poison or unwholesome root of craving/desire/attachment with Breathing Mindfulness Meditation, then one can observe the improvements to the condition of the mind as the mind starts experiencing a decrease in discontentedness with more peacefulness, calmness, serenity, and contentedness with joy filling the mind.

To develop your Breathing Mindfulness Meditation practice, investigate the content using this Youtube Playlist where you will find instruction in how to develop your Breathing Mindfulness Meditation practice and feel free to seek guidance as you need support on The Path to Enlightenment.

LEARN Breathing Mindfulness Meditation - (Youtube Playlist)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCbWjpNc1fc&list=PLFuun1phKgQnONxfSSspFXY2WxjHBPij4

Detailed explanation of Breathing Mindfulness Meditation is available in this same book series found in Chapter 11 of the book “Developing a Life Practice: The Path That Leads to Enlightenment” (Volume 1).

(4) During Breathing Mindfulness Meditation and at all other times during the day, the mind needs to develop the understanding of The Universal Truth of Impermanence. A Practitioner needs to deeply soak into the mind that “all conditioned objects are impermanent”.

Doing so, the mind can then acquire this wisdom and be deeply trained to be uninterested in holding on to anything knowing that all it is attempting to hold on to is impermanent and only causes discontentedness when one attempts to hold on to impermanent objects.

This, along with many other aspects of The Buddha’s Teachings, will help to eliminate the conceit “I am”.

The conceit “I am” is where the unEnlightened mind has this arrogance or pride associated with the fetter of conceit along with self identity and self image related to the fetter of “personal existence view” comprising the ego.

To attain Enlightenment both the fetters of conceit and personal existence view need to be eliminated to dissolve the ego. To accomplish this goal, there are specialized Teachings and techniques one will need to employ and be vigilant to watch over the mind ensuring that anytime the ego arises in the mind, one “cuts it off and lets it go”.

Without dissolving the ego, one will never experience Enlightenment.

Detailed explanation of Dissolving The Ego: Ego Serves No Purpose is available in this same book series found in Chapter 16 of the book “Developing a Life Practice: The Path That Leads to Enlightenment” (Volume 1).