Visitors
By Sujin Boriharnwanaket
| Everyone has visitors but when we
think of them we generally think of people. But in reality visitors
are different arammana that appear through eye, ear, nose, tongue, bodysense
and mind. When we see a sight, it is a guest. When we hear,
sound is. When we do not hear, sound does not appear; the guest of
the ear has not yet arrived. Taste is the guest of the tongue that
appears for a moment and falls away. Whenever an arammana (object
which is known by consciousness) appears at a dvara, the arammana is a
guest of that dvara (doorway through which an object is experienced) for
the shortest moment then falls away never to return again in the samsara-vatta
(perpetual rounds of wandering rebirth). Some elderly people, who
met a multitude of people and enjoyed good company while they were not
yet aged, feel lonely because when they grew older, guests, who are people
to them, are less frequent. When we asked elderly people what they
like best, some say they like people, meaning they like people to visit
and enjoy a nice conversation. In reality everyone has guests each
moment there is seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching and normally
when the guests arrive, the lobha- mula-citta arises to take pleasure in
the sight, sound, smell, taste and bodily contact.
There are many kinds of guests. If they were robbers, no one would welcome them, but if they were relatives or friends, we await their arrival. But in reality the diverse arammana that appear through the eye, ear, nose, tongue, and bodysense are only rupa-dhamma with no malice for anyone because rupa-dhamma is not a consciousness. Then, at which moment is the guest a robber or a relative? When the arammana appears and there is pleasure and attachment, the robber is there because the pleasure and attachment are akusala-dhamma. Akusala-dhamma is nobody's friend. Kusala-dhamma is like a close relative that is a benefactor in all circumstances. Therefore we must know the different characteristics of citta: akusala-citta is harmful, a robber and not a friend. Thinking of outlaws makes us afraid. We do not desire them as guests. But robbers are akusala-citta which are the causes for future outlaw guests. Kusala-citta, on the other hand, is comparable to relatives and friends, that is the cause for future visits of relatives and friends as well. July 24, 2000 |
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