Who Am I? A Deep Inquiry into the Five Aggregates and the Path to Liberation
In a profound sermon, the late Venerable Waharaka Abhayarathanalankara Thero explored the core Buddhist question of identity, explaining the illusory nature of the "self" and the mechanics of liberation through the lens of cause and effect.
The Mirage of "I" and "Mine"
The concept of "I" or "Mine" is a delusion born from attachment to the Five Aggregates:
1. Form (Rupa)
2. Feeling (Vedana)
3. Perception (Sanna)
4. Mental Formations (Sankhara)
5. Consciousness (Vinnana)
We mistakenly believe there is a "self" separate from these five elements. However, the sources clarify that "being" is simply a name given to the process of these aggregates being held together by attachment. As long as there is attachment, this process continues to rebuild itself from one birth to the next.
Powerful Metaphors of Existence
To illustrate this complex reality, the Thero provides two vivid metaphors:
• The Water Fountain: When you watch a water fountain for an hour, it looks like a single, solid object. In reality, it consists of individual droplets being pushed up by pressure, vanishing and being replaced every micro-second. There is no "permanent fountain"; there is only a continuous flow of new water. Similarly, our lives are a "magic show" or a mirage of continuous cause and effect that we mistake for a permanent person.
• The Iron Chain: A chain is made of many links. The first link is not the second, and the second is not the third, yet they are all connected. If you pull the first link, the whole chain moves. Similarly, our thoughts and actions are linked across time and births; though the "person" changes, the stream of cause and effect remains connected.
The Mind and Consciousness
The relationship between the mind and consciousness is compared to water and tea. Just as you cannot show "tea" without the water it is dissolved in, consciousness is essentially the mind "stained" by mental factors (Cetasika). Consciousness is not a permanent soul; it arises only when a sense organ meets an object (e.g., the eye meeting a form creates eye-consciousness). Without the other four aggregates, consciousness has no place to stand, grow, or exist.
Nirvana: The Cessation of Causes
The Buddha taught the Middle Path, avoiding the extremes of "I exist" (Eternalism) and "I do not exist" (Annihilationism). If "I" were a permanent entity, liberation would be impossible. However, because "I" is a result of causes (Ignorance and Craving), if the causes are stopped, the effects Rupa, Vedana, Sanna, Sankhara, and Vinnana also cease. When an Arahant passes away, the process of the aggregates is extinguished, and since there was no "permanent self" to begin with, there is nothing left to be extinguished or to remain.
Practical Guidance: Arya Maitri Meditation
To experience this relief and progress toward the truth, the Thero recommends a short but powerful meditation:
"May all beings be free from greed (Alobha), free from hatred (Advesha), free from delusion (Amoha), and may they attain Nirvana!".
By practicing this "Arya Maitri" (Noble Loving-Kindness) for even an hour, a practitioner can feel a significant sense of physical and mental relief. This short phrase encapsulates the essence of the entire Buddhist path.
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Analogy for Understanding: The existence of a "self" is like a hand-clap. The clap is real, but it only exists because two hands (causes) came together. If you separate the hands, the clap doesn't "go" anywhere, it simply ceases to be because the conditions for its existence are gone. In the same way, "I" exists only as long as the conditions of the five aggregates continue to meet.
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