Prepared by
John D. Hughes, Dip.App.Chem., T.T.T.C., GDAIE,
Anita Hughes, RN Div.1,
Evelin Halls, Dip.For.Lang.Corres.
Pennie White, B.A. Dip.Ed.
Abhidhamma Class No. 20, 5 November 2002
Protecting your saddha
(confidence, trust, non-fogginess)
When you practise Buddha Dhamma, at times, Mara will come and try to stop you from practising saddha.
This happens to all Buddha Dhamma practitioners of the middle way. Mara will continue to come from time to time and do everything to lead a practitioner away from saddha in the Buddha Dhamma Path.
If Mara comes, it is a marker that you are practising well enough.
The prime way to defeat Mara is to have saddha.
A person with saddha will continue to practice not to go off the Path taught by the Buddha, no matter what.
When the akusala kamma comes up from your past doubts, you must advert from the unwholesome minds of doubt.
The vipaka comes because of cause and effect, but a practitioner with the will to have a stable mind will be able to win.
You must have a written plan of what to do when Mara comes. We call this Plan B.
You would be wise to write a daily plan of things you want to do. If you succeed with everything on your plan at the end of the day, you did not put enough items on your plan.
When the unwholesome vipaka appears, you continue with your plan and keep practising.
Plan A may be thought of as practising Buddha Dhamma. But, at present there is no way within your plan to stop akusala vipaka from arising.
Do not globalise your experience – it is only one event among many.
It is imperative that you have a daily Plan B so you will know what to do when akusala vipaka comes and you can practise Buddha Dhamma and win.
Remember, it is not Buddha Dhamma practice to play with unwholesome minds of regret or to be sado-masochistic because this inflicts unnecessary pain on your “self”.
There must be a plan daily so that you know what to do.
Know that it is wrong to withdraw from practice at the wrong time; when the time comes, you rest peacefully to refresh yourself.
You choose not to react in the present to false views; not to have false views about the past; and not to express these false views.
When you have saddha, you know you do not have to defend yourself because you are blameless, because you are not expressing false views.
When you have saddha you do not doubt that the Teaching of the Buddha is correct, neither do you doubt that you yourself can follow the Path shown by the Buddha and come to the end of suffering.
Buddha Dhamma is designed by your saddha.