The people of Myanmar are mostly Buddhist but some of them believe in the concept of a soul, thought not so strongly as they follow the doctrine of the Buddha. They rightly understand theoretically that is no soul, self or everlasting entity. Yet they believe that when a person dies, the soul comes out of the body and stays near his house or his corpse or his coffin. It is a common belief that if they do not make offerings to the monks (bhikkhus) and share it with the departed ones, the soul must still alive around them.
Based on the concept of a soul, they cling to the idea personality, individuality, a being, a man or a woman - sakyã-ditthi (sakkãya here means mana and rupa, ditthi means wrong view). They have this idea of a person or a being because they do not comprehend the specific and common characteristics of the mind-body processes; they, therefore, take them to be everlasting and permanent.
If you ask yourself, "Will I die tomorrow?" - you dare not answer the question. If I say you are going to die tomorrow, you will get angry with me because you cling to the idea of the permanency of mental and physical processes. You think your mind-body processes are permanent; at least until tomorrow. Yes, that is the idea held on permanency. You hold it because you have not realised the constant appearance and disappearance of the processes of mental and physical phenomena. If you see the constant and instant appearance and disappearance of mental and physical phenomena, you will not believe them to be permanent.
Theoretically you rightly understand that none of the mental and physical processes last even a second according to the doctrine of the Lord Buddha. However, practicaly you hardly believe this because you have not realised their impermanent nature. Only if you have personal experience of the Dhamma, do you judge that these processes are impermanent. Then you can accept, "I may not even live until tomorrow. I may die this very second because every phenomenon, including myself, is arising and passing away from moment to moment and subject to impermanence".
If we say, "Now I am lifting my hand", then you ask of who is lifting the hand. I will say, "I am lifting the hand". Who is that 'I'? A bhikkhu, a man, or a being who is living? If we do not believe in the permanent nature of mind-body processes, we will not take them to be a being. Actually, the dual process of mentality and physicality, which constitutes a so-called person, is subject to change, arising and passing away. We just do not realise it. We take this dual process to be a person, a being, a dog or an animal. This view is called sakkãya-ditthi. Unless we can rightly comprehend mind and body processes in their true nature we are unable to overcome or destroy this false view.
This is why the Buddha teacher us to be mindful of any activity of body and mind, or any mental and physical processes as they really are. Then we can realise the two processes as natural processes of mentality and physicality. This is the first stage of insight in which we rightly understand the specific characteristics of mental and physical phenomena. This insight knowledge partially destroys the concept of soul or self, person or being which is the main cause of defilements (kilesas) such as greed, anger, delusion, conceit and so on. So we can say that this concept of a soul or a self is the seed of all defilements. When we have exterminated the seed no kilesas will arise. We will then have got rid of suffering. This is why the Monicidnt Buddha teacher us as follows:
'sakkãya-ditthi pahãnãya sato bhikkhu paribbaje'.
'In order to eliminate the wrong view of a person, a being, a self or a soul (sakkãya-ditthi and Atta-ditthi) a bhikkhu must strive his best by developing mindfulness'.
When we are able to do away with sakkãya-ditthi, we are sure to deliver from all kinds of suffering. Sakkãya-ditthi is the cause and seed of all kinds of defilements. So we must exert effort to exterminate it through right understanding of mental and physical processes by means of mindfulness meditation.
May all of you practise mindfulness meditation strenuously and attain the deliverance.
Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!
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