Issue

7th Issue (March, 2008)

Metaphor of Film Show: A Brief Purport of ‘Nibbāna – The Mind Stilled, Vol.II’

By Wong Weng Hon

Introduction

This work is the encapsulation and purport of the quintessence of the exposition of Bhikkhu K. Ñ̃āṇananda’s Buddhist text ‘Nibbāna –The Mind Stilled, Vol.II’. The entire lectures of 33 sermons on Nibbāna was delivered originally in Sinhala in Sri Lanka. It was subsequently rendered into English language by Mrs. Yukie Sirimane from the Sinhala version named ‘ Nivane Niveema’. The lecture was not delivered to theorize on the concept of Nibbāna. It was expounded to help the Buddhist meditative yogis or practioners realize Nibbāna here and now. Bhikkhu Ñāṇananda, a scholar monk in the forest monastery tradition in Sri Lanka,  is adept at elucidating the state of Nibbāna using the metaphor of the film show. His Metaphor suits my comprehension perfectly. The Nibbānic state is actually the enlightened or purified state of human consciousness known as released or non-manifestative consciousness (anidassana-viññāṇa). Conversely, the mind of the ordinary worldlings is unreleased, manifestative and defiled as their minds are dispersed and obsessed. I have tabulated and illustrated Bhikkhu Ñ̃āṇananda’s illustration of the Nibbānic state resulted from Right View for a quick reference of the readers as follows:

Preparation for the manifestative consciousness (Deluded State of Mind) Stage 1	Specially prepared Manifestative Consciousness (Deluded State of Mind) Stage 2	Non-manifestative  Consciousness (Enlightened State of Mind) Stage 3
Preparing for the Grasping : Stage of illusion/ Delusion 1	Grasping Stage : Stage of illusion/ Delusion2	Non-grasping Stage : Stage of Mindfulness/ Self- awakening
Back-stage Preparation of film Metaphor of Director of film Show to preprare for the Show: ( Preparing for the stirring of Volitional activities <Saṅkhārā>): The Director prepares the actors, actresses, aids and so on for the film-shooting or making the film (Worldlings falsely conceive made up ideas or fabricate ideas.)	Watching the Show Metaphor of audience watching the film show which is unreal:  1. Audience are watching the film Show with passions (Worldings perceive the phenomenal world emotionally.) 2.They enjoy the film show through their six senses. 3.There are pleasures and displeasures of watching the show. (Worldlings experience the likes and dislikes of the mundane world.) 4. Audience become passionate even though the show is unreal. 5.Audience grasp upon their Five Aggregates while watching the show as they are watching the show passionately even though the show is not real. (Worldlings grasp upon their Worldly experiences ) 6.The minds of the audience are said to be obsessed by the images on the screen. The images are unreal. (Worldlings are obssesed by the perceptions of the multiplicity of the empirical world. The multiplicity of the empirical world is as illusive and unreal as the images on the screen.)	Illuminating the Cinema 1.The Cinema doors are flung open and light enters from all sides. (Worldings become enlightened and their minds become bright.) 2. The whole cinema is illuminated (The Awakened perceivers see the Ultimate Truth.) 3.The screen becomes blurred and images become invisible. (the illusive multiplicity of the World vanishes.) 4. The joy of watching the show disappears. Pleasures and displeasures vanish. (The Enlightened ones develop the power of Equanimity of neither Attachment to likes nor Aversion towards dislikes.) 5.The film-show ceases to be a film show. (The signlessness or illusion of the ulti multiplicity of the world is revealed.) 6.The screen is non-manifestative. (Worldlings’ minds become pure. Their minds also become non- manifestative. Perceiving the ultimate Truth, worldlings are liberated.)
The director is compared to a man of ignorance.	1. The volitions result in kammic formations –wholesome, unwholesome and neutral. 2. The consciousness is manifestative and defiled. 3.The worldlings conceptualize falsely and become obsessed by the phenomenal world.	1.Consciousness becomes non-manifestative as the volitions have been appeased. 2.Unlimited light of wisdom illuminates the mind which becomes lustrous and bright. 3.Released consciousness is experienced as the mind is purified.

Metaphors

The film show is unreal as it is fabricated by the film director which is the metaphor to represent Ignorance. Ignorance creates the illusion and the unreality. Likewise, the mind and body or the Five Aggregates (Pañcakkhandhā) of the human personality including all phenomena of the multiplicity are akin to the metaphor of the illusive and unreal images of a film show on the screen. The screen is the analogy of the human mind. All external phenomena of multiplicity are fabricated by the mind of ignorance of an ordinary worldling. Likewise, a film show is created by the film director representing an ignorant worldling. The human concepts or mental constructs (papañcas) manifested in the mind of worldling are just like the images of the film show manifestated on the white screen.

Non-grasping

Gotama Buddha expounds the illusion and unreality of Mind and Body or the Five Aggregates to us. We are admonished not to grasp upon the mind and body or Five Aggregates to prevent clinging upon them as This I; This is Mine; This belongs to Me. Similarly, any sensible or alert film show watcher would not continue passionately to shed tears or cherish the film show after it was ended. The reason is simple enough: It is a fabricated show made by the producer or director. It is not real.

In the same manner, Gotama Buddha expounds that our Five Aggregates, which create the multiplicity of the world, are illusive and unreal like a dream, magic, mirage, echo, and so forth. We are taught by the Tathāgata that we utilize the Five Aggregates without grasping upon them. If we can penetrate into this profound message of the Tathāgata, our mind will not be sullied to engender the manifestative consciousness of the ordinary mind. A purified mind is non-manifestative like the screen without images when all the doors are open and all the lights of the cinema hall are turned on. When the screen is fully luminated by light, the images on the screen vanish from the screen instantaneously. The screen is said to be non-manifestative. Similarly, when the mind is purified, illuminated and infinite, the mental consciousness becomes non-manifestaive and released. All multiplicity vanishes into a borderless Unity. When all rivers have merged with the ocean, the rivers are not visible anymore.

Mind of Arahant

 An Arahant discerns intuitively the profound message of the Tathāgata. He or she is mentally released and his or her consciousness become non-manifestative. A pure mind is luminous, bright and infinite. When the mind is luminous and bright, mental conceptualizations and obsessions vanish. It is infinite like the infinite empty space. The space encompasses all myriad things or beings. However, it is never sullied by the myriad things or beings which appear in and disappear from the space. It is also comparable with the metaphor of a bright, well polished mirror. All images are clearly visible in the mirror and yet the appearance or disappearance of all images both good and bad do not sully the mirror at all. This is the non-manifestative consciousness of an Arahant who consciousness has become infinite.

Management of the Five aggregates

Thus, the car, man, woman, house, tree, dog, and so forth are all concepts and not realities in the ultimate sense. These are merely the knowledge of conventional truth (sammuti sacca) and not ultimate truth (paramattha sacca). Conventional realities appear to be real but they are actually unreal. They impurify our consciousness if we are unskillful or established in the four foundations of mindfulness or if we have not developed the wisdom of insight into the Three Universal Characteristics (Anicca, dukkha and Anattā) of the Five Aggregates.

 Human beings cannot live without the knowledge of conventional truth such as concepts and language. They are of pragmatic or practical value in human intercommunications and social intercourses for transacting daily businesss. It is similar to a sharp knife which can injure us due to carelessness or negligence. We cannot discard or abandon the knife because of his potential danger or threat. The solution is to train ourselves to use it mindfully with absolute awareness of its potential harm. A knife is certainly useful for cutting vegetables meat and others. In fact, the Five Aggregates are akin to the metaphor of sharp knifes. If we are not skillful or adept at utilizing the Five Aggregates or the Six Sense Faculties of eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind, they will injure us due to our negligence, carelessness or non-vigilance. Of course, Buddhist philosophy or wisdom instructs and trains us to reduce or even to eliminate entirely our fallibilities of negligence, carelessness or non-vigilance to liberate from the potential dangers posed by the Five Aggregates. The application or establishment of the Four Foundations of Mindfullness in terms of the five power of Faith, Diligence, Mindfulness, Concentration and Wisdom (The Five Powers promulgated by Gotama Buddha) protects us perfectly from the potential dangers of the Five Aggregates. When we are skillful to manage the Five Aggregates, they become our friends. Otherwise they turn against us to emerge as our enemies in terms of the three poisons of life: Greed, Hatred and Delusion.. The Buddhist concept of Suffering (Dukkha) should be conceived in terms of the potential threats of the unskillful utility of the Five Aggregates. In monotheistic religions, it corresponds with the fear of God (eternal Truth).

Conclusion
Anyone, who does not discern the distinction between the Conventional Truth and the Ultimate Truth, does not intuitively apprehend the profound message of the Buddha. Without being deluded by illusive concepts or signs, volitions, conceptualizations and obsessions are all appeased. Consequently, the consciousness is non-manifestative, luminous, infinite. This untainted or unperturbed consciousness stills the noisy mind. The stilled mind is a nibbānic consciousness which tames one who is untamed. According to the Brain Scientist,

Jose Selva, when one is fully awake, the ordinary mind functions at the Beta level of the mind with a brain frequency of 14-21 cycles per second. The intuitive mind of Nibbāna functions at the Alpha level of the mind with a brain frequency of 7-14 cycles per second. In short, the ignorant ordinary person functions at the beta level of the mind whilst the wise or the awakened one functions at the Alpha level of the intuitive mind. Buddhist meditation reduces the brain frequency to be below 14 cycles per seconds and above 7 cycles per second. Nibbāna is the absolute silence of the mind or sublime quietude reigning within the inner recesses of the mind. It is called the Centre of the heart. Buddhist meditation is centering the heart or redeeming oneself to return to the centre of the heart - the Alpha level of the mind possessed by everyone of us.