Why the Monkeys Washed out Their Ears
Photo: Buddhadāsa Indapañño Archives C01250
“One may accept that one is not-self and only a combination of the five khandhas. It is natural that one is more interested in the five khandhas in one’s own body than that in someone else’s. Is it really logical to get rid of a self by the five khandhas?”
~ Response by Buddhadāsa Bhikkhu ~
The five khandhas are a way to understand oneself on the physical, mental, and spiritual levels. Through understanding the five khandhas we can understand all three of these levels and how they interact or are integrated. Further, in understanding the five khandhas, we understand that they are co-dependently originated. They happen according to the law of idappaccayatā (conditionality). They’re all conditioned according to the law of conditionality, which means that they can’t be controlled by us, that is, by the mind. We or the mind can’t control these khandhas to make them how we want them to be. Therefore all of the khandhas are not-self because they’re not controllable by anything or anyone. With understanding of not-self, one no longer needs to attach to any of the khandhas or to any of life as self, and then there is no more dukkha. So we use the understanding of not-self to solve the problems of life, which are not-self. Life has always been anattā (not-self), but not knowing this we create problems for life. We use the understanding of the five khandhas to understand that life is not-self, so that this life, this selfless life, no longer needs any problems. This is what the five khandhas are for. If we investigate wisely, it’s not just something we believe but it’s something so that we can remove all dukkha from life. If one continues to live according to attā (self), if one hangs on to self, then life will go astray and get lost and there will be even more dukkha, even more problems than we started with. Life isn’t perfect when it begins and through self we make it even worse. But through understanding anattā we can free it of all problems.
We can use the biological or evolutionary principle of ‘the fittest survive’ here. We can use this principle in order to improve and develop the five khandhas so that they are truly fit, so they are most fit, which means they are appropriate, ready, proper, and fit for living in this world without dukkha. When the khandhas are the most fit, then there is survival. So we can use the understanding of the five khandhas in order to be the most fit, and then we will survive.
(From the retreat “Why the Monkeys Washed out Their Ears,” as translated from the Thai by Santikaro)
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Dhamma Questions & Responses sessions were offered by Buddhadāsa Bhikkhu in 1990-1991 to foreign meditators attending Suan Mokkh International Dharma Hermitage courses.
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