The Buddha

BUDDHA
or Enlightened One — literally “Knower”, “Understander”, or “Awakened
One” — is the honorific name given to the Indian Sage, Gotama, who
discovered and proclaimed to the world the Law of Deliverance, known to
the West by the name of Buddhism.

It is traditionally said that
he was born in the 6th century B.C., at Kapilavatthu, as the son of the
king who ruled the Sakya country, a principality situated in the border
area of modern Nepal. His persona1 name was Siddhattha, and his clan
name Gotama (Sanskrit: Gautama). In his 29th year he renounced the
splendor of his princely life and his royal career, and became a
homeless ascetic in order to find a way out of what he had early
recognized as a world of suffering. After a six year’s quest, spent
under various religious teachers and in a period of fruitless
self-mortification, he finally attained to Perfect Enlightenment
(sammā-sambodhi), under the Bodhi tree at Gayā (today Buddh-Gayā). Five
and forty years of tireless preaching and teaching followed and at last,
in his 80th year, there passed away at Kusinara that `undeluded being
that appeared for the blessing and happiness of the world.’

The
Buddha is neither a god nor a prophet or incarnation of a god, but a
supreme human being who, through his own effort, attained to Final
Deliverance and Perfect Wisdom, and became `the peerless teacher of gods
and men.’ He is a `Savior’ only in the sense that he shows men how to
save themselves, by actually following to the end the Path trodden and
shown by him. In the consummate harmony of Wisdom and Compassion
attained by the Buddha, he embodies the universal and timeless ideal of
Man Perfected.

The Dhamma

The Dhamma is
the Teaching of Deliverance in its entirety, as discovered, realized and
proclaimed by the Buddha. It has been handed down in the ancient Pali
language, and preserved in three great collections of hooks, called
Ti-Pi.taka (Tipitaka), the “Three Baskets,” namely: (I) the Vinaya-pi.t
aka, or Collection of Discipline, containing the rules of the monastic
order; (II) the Sutta-pi.taka (Suttapitaka), or Collection of
Discourses, consisting of various books of discourses, dialogues,
verses, stories, etc. and dealings with the doctrine proper as
summarized in the Four Noble Truths; (Ill) the Abhidhamma-pi.taka
(Abhiddhammapitaka), or Philosophical Collection; presenting the
teachings of the Sutta-Pi.taka in strictly systematic and philosophical
form.

The Dhamma is not a doctrine of revelation, but the
teaching of Enlightenment based on the clear comprehension of actuality.
It is the teaching of the Fourfold Truth dealing with the fundamental
facts of life and with liberation attainable through man’s own effort
towards purification and insight. The Dhamma offers a lofty, but
realistic, system of ethics, a penetrative analysis of life, a profound
philosophy, practical methods of mind training-in brief, an
all-comprehensive and perfect guidance on the Path to Deliverance. By
answering the claims of both heart and reason, and by pointing out the
liberating Middle Path that leads beyond all futile and destructive
extremes in thought and conduct, the Dhamma has, and will always have, a
timeless and universal appeal wherever there are hearts and minds
mature enough to appreciate its message.

The Sangha

The
Sangha-lit. the Assembly, or community-is the Order of Bhikkhus or
Mendicant Monks, founded by the Buddha and still existing in its
original form in Burma, Siam, Ceylon, Cambodia, Laos and Chittagong
(Bengal). It is, together with the Order of the Jain monks, the oldest
monastic order in the world. Amongst the most famous disciples in the
time of the Buddha were: Sāriputta who, after the Master himself,
possessed the profoundest insight info the Dhamma; Moggallāna, who had
the greatest supernatural powers: Ananda, the devoted disciple and
constant companion of the Buddha; Mahā-Kassapa, the President of the
Council held at Rajagaha immediately after the Buddha’s death;
Anuruddha, of divine vision, and master of Right Mindfulness; Rāhula,
the Buddha’s own son.

The Sangha provides the outer framework and
the favorable conditions for all those who earnestly desire to devote
their life entirely to the realization of the highest goal of
deliverance, unhindered by worldly distractions. Thus the Sangha, too,
is of universal and timeless significance wherever religious development
reaches maturity.

The Threefold Refuge

The
Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha, are called `The Three Jewels’
(ti-ratana) on account of their matchless purity, and as being to the
Buddhist the most precious objects in the world. These `Three Jewels’
form also the `Threefold Refuge’ (ti-sara.na) of the Buddhist, in the
words by which he professes, or re-affirms, his acceptance of them as
the guides of his life and thought.

The Pali formula of Refuge is still the same as in the Buddha’s time:

Buddha.m sara.na.m gacchāmi
Dhamma.m sara.n a.m gacchāmi
San gha.m sara.na.m gacchāmi.

     I go for refuge to the Buddha
     I go for refuge to the Dhamma
     I go for refuge to the Sangha.

It
is through the simple act of reciting this formula three times that one
declares oneself a Buddhist. (At the second and third repetition the
word Dutiyampi or Tatiyampi, `for the second/third time,’ are added before each sentence.)

The Five Precepts

The Four Noble Truths

Thus has it been said by the Buddha, the Enlightened One:

D.16.

It
is through not understanding, not realizing four things, that I,
Disciples, as well as you, had to wander so long through this round of
rebirths. And what are these four things? They are:

The Noble Truth of Suffering (dukkha);
The Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering (dukkha-samudaya);
The Noble Truth of the Extinction of Suffering (dukkha-nirodha);
The Noble Truth of the Path that leads to the Extinction of Suffering (dukkha-nirodha-gāmini-pa.tipadā).

S. LVI. 11

As
long as the absolutely true knowledge and insight as regards these Four
Noble Truths was not quite clear in me, so long was I not sure that I
had won that supreme Enlightenment which is unsurpassed in all the world
with its heavenly beings, evil spirits and gods, amongst all the hosts
of ascetics and priests, heavenly beings and men. But as soon as the
absolute true knowledge and insight as regards these Four Noble Truths
had become perfectly clear in me, there arose in me the assurance that I
had won that supreme Enlightenment unsurpassed.

M. 26

And
I discovered that profound truth, so difficult to perceive, difficult
to understand, tranquilizing and sublime, which is not to be gained by
mere reasoning, and is visible only to the wise.

The
world, however, is given to pleasure, delighted with pleasure,
enchanted with pleasure. Truly, such beings will hardly understand the
law of conditionality, the Dependent Origination (pa.ticca-samuppāda) of
everything; incomprehensible to them will also be the end of all
formations, the forsaking of every substratum of rebirth, the fading
away of craving, detachment, extinction, Nibbāna.

Yet there are beings whose eyes are only a little covered with dust: they will understand the truth.

I. The Noble Truth of Suffering

D.22

What, now, is the Noble Truth of Suffering?

Birth
is suffering; Decay is suffering; Death is suffering; Sorrow,
Lamentation, Pain, Grief, and Despair are suffering; not to get what one
desires, is suffering; in short: the Five Groups of Existence are
suffering.

What, now, is Birth? The birth of beings
belonging to this or that order of beings, their being born, their
conception and springing into existence, the manifestation of the Groups
of Existence, the arising of sense activity: this is called birth.

And
what is Decay? The decay of beings belonging to this or that order of
beings; their becoming aged, frail, grey, and wrinkled; the failing of
their vital force, the wearing out of the senses: this is called decay.

And
what is Death? The departing and vanishing of beings out of this or
that order of beings. their destruction, disappearance, death, the
completion of their life-period, dissolution of the Groups of Existence,
the discarding of the body: this is called death.

And
what is Sorrow? The sorrow arising through this or that loss or
misfortune which one encounters, the worrying oneself, the state of
being alarmed, inward sorrow, inward woe: this is called sorrow.

And
what is Lamentation? Whatsoever, through this or that loss or
misfortune which befalls one, is wail and lament, wailing and lamenting,
the state of woe and lamentation: this is called lamentation.

And
what is Pain? The bodily pain and unpleasantness, the painful and
unpleasant feeling produced by bodily impression: this is called pain.

And
what is Grief? The mental pain and unpleasantness, the painful and
unpleasant feeling produced by mental impression: this is called grief.

And
what is Despair? Distress and despair arising through this or that loss
or misfortune which one encounters: distressfulness, and desperation:
this is called despair.

And what is the `Suffering
of not getting what one desires’? To beings subject to birth there comes
the desire; `O, that we were not subject to birth! O, that no new birth
was before us!’ Subject to decay, disease, death, sorrow, lamentation,
pain, grief, and despair, the desire comes to them: `O, that we were not
subject to these things! O, that these things were not before us!’ But
this cannot be got by mere desiring; and not to get what one desires, is
suffering.

The Five Khandhas, or Groups of Existence

And
what, in brief, are the Five Groups of Existence? They are
corporeality, feeling, perception, (mental) formations, and
consciousness.

M. 109

All
corporeal phenomena, whether past, present or future, one’s own or
external, gross or subtle, lofty or low, far or near, all belong to the
Group of Corporeality; all feelings belong to the Group of Feeling; all
perceptions belong to the Group of Perception; all mental formations
belong to the Group of Formations; all consciousness belongs to the
Group of Consciousness.

These Groups are a
fivefold classification in which the Buddha has summed up all the
physical and mental phenomena of existence, and in particular, those
which appear to the ignorant man as his ego or personality. Hence birth,
decay, death, etc. are also included in these five Groups which
actually comprise the whole world.

The Group of Corporeality (rūpa-khandha)

M. 28

What, now, is the `Group of Corporeality?’ It is the four primary elements, and corporeality derived from them.

The Four Elements

And
what are the four Primary Elements? They are the Solid Element, the
Fluid Element, the Heating Element, the Vibrating (Windy) Element.

The
four Elements (dhātu or mahā-bhūta), popularly called Earth, Water,
Fire and Wind, are to be understood as the elementary qualities of
matter. They are named in Pali, pa.thavi-dhātu, āpo-dhātu, tejo-dhātu,
vāyo-dhātu, and may be rendered as Inertia, Cohesion, Radiation, and
Vibration. All four are present in every material object, though in
varying degrees of strength. If, e.g., the Earth Element predominates,
the material object is called `solid’, etc.

The
`Corporeality derived from the four primary elements’ (upādāya rūpa or
upādā rūpa) consists, according to the Abhidhamma, of the following
twenty-four material phenomena and qualities: eye, ear, nose, tongue,
body, visible form, sound, odour, taste, masculinity, femininity,
vitality, physical basis of mind (hadaya-vatthu; see B. Dict.), gesture,
speech, space (cavities of ear, nose, etc.), decay, change, and
nutriment.

Bodily impressions (pho.t
.thabba, the tactile) are not especially mentioned among these
twenty-four, as they are identical with the Solid, the Heating and the
Vibrating Elements which are cognizable through the sensations of
pressure, cold, heat, pain. etc.

1. What, now,
is the `Solid Element’ (pathavii-dhātu)? The solid element may be one’s
own, or it may be external. And what is one’s own solid element?
Whatever in one’s own person or body there exists of karmically acquired
hardness, firmness, such as the hairs of head and body, nails, teeth,
skin, flesh, sinews, bones, marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, diaphragm,
spleen, lungs, stomach, bowels, mesentery, excrement and so on-this is
called one’s own solid element. Now, whether it be one’s own solid
element, or whether it be the external solid element, they are both
merely the solid element.

And one should.
understand, according to reality and true wisdom, `This does not belong
to me; this am I not; this is not my Ego’.

2. What,
now, is the `Fluid Element’ (āpo-dhātu)? The fluid element may be one’s
own, or it may be external. And what is one’s own fluid element?
Whatever in one’s own person or body there exists of karmically acquired
liquidity or fluidity, such as bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat,
tears, skin-grease, saliva, nasal mucus, oil of the joints, urine, and
so on-this is called one’s own fluid element. Now, whether it be one’s
own fluid element, or whether it be the external fluid element, they are
both merely the fluid element.

And one should
understand, according to reality and true wisdom, `This does not belong
to me; this am I not; this is not my Ego’.

3. What,
now, is the `Heating Element’ (tejo-dhātu)? The heating element may be
one’s own, or it may be external. And what is one’s own heating element?
Whatever in one’s own person or body there exists of karmically
acquired heat or hotness, such as that whereby one is heated, consumed,
scorched, whereby that which has been eaten, drunk, chewed, or tasted,
is fully digested, and so on-this is called one’s own heating element.
Now, whether it be one’s own heating element, or whether it be the
external heating element, they are both merely the heating element.

And
one should understand, according to reality and true wisdom, `This does
not belong to me; this am I not; this is not my Ego’.

4.
What, now, is the `Vibrating (Windy) Element’ (vāyo-dhātu)? The
vibrating element may be one’s own, or it may be external. And what is
one’s own vibrating element? What in one’s own person or body there
exists of karmically acquired wind or windiness, such as the
upward-going and downward-going winds, the winds of stomach and
intestines, the wind permeating all the limbs, in-breathing and
out-breathing, and so on-this is called one’s own vibrating element.
Now, whether it be one’s own vibrating element or whether it be the
external vibrating element, they are both merely the vibrating element.

And
one should understand, according to reality and true wisdom, `This does
not belong to me; this am I not; this is not my Ego.’

Just
as one calls `hut’ the circumscribed space which comes to be by means
of wood and rushes, reeds, and clay, even so we call `body’ the
circumscribed space that comes to be by means of bones and sinews, flesh
and skin.

The Group of Feeling (vedanā-khandha)

S.XXXVI, 1

There are three kinds of Feeling: pleasant, unpleasant, and neither pleasant nor unpleasant (indifferent).

The Group of Perception (saññā-khandha)

S. XXII, 56

What,
now, is Perception? There are six classes of perception: perception of
forms, sounds, odors, tastes, bodily impressions, and of mental objects.

The Group Of Mental Formations (sankhāra-khandha)

What,
now, are Mental Formations? There are six classes of volitions
(cetanā): will directed to forms (rūpa-cetanā), to sounds, odors,
tastes, bodily impressions, and to mental objects.

The
`group of Mental Formations’ (sankhāra-khandha) is a collective term
for numerous functions or aspects of mental activity which, in addition
to feeling and perception, are present in a single moment of
consciousness. In the Abhidhamma, fifty Mental Formations are
distinguished, seven of which are constant factors of mind. The number
and composition of the rest varies according to the character of the
respective class of consciousness (see Table in B. Dict). In the
Discourse on Right Understanding (M.9) three main representatives of the
Group of Mental Formations are mentioned: volition (cetanā), sense
impression (phassa), and attention (manasikāra). Of these again, it is
volition which, being a principal `formative’ factor, is particularly
characteristic of the Group of Formations, and therefore serves to
exemplify it in the passage given above.

For other applications of the term sankhāra see B. Diet.

The Group Of Consciousness (viññā.na-khandha)

S. XXII. 56

What,
now, is consciousness? There are six classes of consciousness:
consciousness of forms, sounds, odors, tastes, bodily impressions, and
of mental objects (lit.: eye-conscious-ness, ear-consciousness, etc.).

Dependent Origination Of Consciousness

M. 28

Now,
though one’s eye be intact, yet if the external forms do not fall
within the field of vision, and no corresponding conjunction (of eye and
forms) takes place, in that case there occurs no formation of the
corresponding aspect of consciousness. Or, though one’s eye be intact,
and the external forms fall within the field of vision, yet if no
corresponding conjunction takes place; in that case also there occurs no
formation of the corresponding aspect of consciousness. If, however,
one’s eye is intact, and the external forms fall within the field of
vision, and the corresponding conjunction takes place, in that case
there arises the corresponding aspect of consciousness.

M. 38

Hence
I say: the arising of consciousness is dependent upon conditions; and
without these conditions, no consciousness arises. And upon whatsoever
conditions the arising of consciousness is dependent, after these it is
called.

Consciousness, whose arising depends on the eye and forms, is called `eye-consciousness’ (cakkhu-viññā.na).
Consciousness, whose arising depends on the ear and sounds, is called `ear-consciousness’ (sota-viññā.na).
Consciousness, whose arising depends on the olfactory organ and odors, is called `nose-consciousness’ (ghāna-viññā.na).
Consciousness, whose arising depends on the tongue and taste, is called `tongue-consciousness’ (jivhā-viññā.na).
Consciousness, whose arising depends on the body and bodily contacts, is called `body-consciousness’ (kāya-viññā.na).
Consciousness, whose arising depends on the mind and mind objects, is called `mind-consciousness’ (mano-viññā.na).

M. 28

Whatsoever
there is of `corporeality’ (rūpa) on that occasion, this belongs to the
Group of Corporeality. Whatsoever there is of `feeling’ (vedanā), this
belongs to the Group of Feeling. Whatsoever there is of `perception’
(saññā), this belongs to the Group of Perception. Whatsoever there are
of `mental formations’ (sankhāra), these belong to the Group of Mental
Formations. Whatsoever there is of consciousness (viññā.na), this
belongs to the Group of Consciousness.

Dependency Of Consciousness On The Four Other Khandhas

S. XXII. 53

And
it is impossible that any one can explain the passing out of one
existence, and the entering into a new existence, or the growth,
increase and development of consciousness, independently of
corporeality, feeling, perception, and mental formations.

The Three Characteristics Of Existence (ti-lakkha.na)

A. III. 134

All
formations are `transient’ (anicca); all formations are `subject to
suffering’ (dukkha); all things are `without a self’ (anattā).

S. XXII, 59

Corporeality
is transient, feeling is transient, perception is transient, mental
formations are transient, consciousness is transient.

And
that which is transient, is subject to suffering; and of that which is
transient and subject to suffering and change, one cannot rightly say:
`This belongs to me; this am I; this is my Self’.

Therefore,
whatever there be of corporeality, of feeling, perception, mental
formations, or consciousness, whether past, present or future, one’s own
or external, gross or subtle, lofty or low, far or near, one should
understand according to reality and true wisdom: `This does not belong
to me; this am I not; this is not my Self’.

The Anatta Doctrine

Individual
existence, as well as the whole world, are in reality nothing but a
process of ever-changing phenomena which are all comprised in the five
Groups of Existence. This process has gone on from time immemorial,
before one’s birth, and also after one’s death it will continue for
endless periods of time, as long, and as far, as there are conditions
for it. As stated in the preceding texts, the five Groups of
Existence-either taken separately or combined-in no way constitute a
real Ego-entity or subsisting personality, and equally no self, soul or
substance can be found outside of these Groups as their `owner’. In
other words, the five Groups of Existence are `not-self’ (anattā), nor
do they belong to a Self (anattaniya). In view of the impermanence and
conditionality of all existence, the belief in any form of Self must be
regarded as an illusion.

Just as what we
designate by the name of `chariot’ has no existence apart from axle,
wheels, shaft, body and so forth: or as the word `house’ is merely a
convenient designation for various materials put together after a
certain fashion so as to enclose a portion of space, and there is no
separate house-entity in existence: in exactly the same way, that which
we call a `being’ or an `individual’ or a `person’, or by the name `I’,
is nothing but a changing combination of physical and psychical
phenomena, and has no real existence in itself.

This
is, in brief, the Anattā Doctrine of the Buddha, the teaching that all
existence is void (suñña) of a permanent self or substance. It is the
fundamental Buddhist doctrine not found in any other religious teaching
or philosophical system. To grasp it fully, not only in an abstract and
intellectual way, but by constant reference to actual experience, is an
indispensable condition for the true understanding of the Buddha-Dhamma
and for the realization of its goal. The Anatiiā-Doctrine is the
necessary outcome of the thorough analysis of actuality, undertaken,
e.g. in the Khandha Doctrine of which only a bare indication can be
given by means of the texts included here.

For a detailed survey of the Khandhas see B. Dict.

S. XXII. 95

Suppose
a man who was not blind beheld the many bubbles on the Ganges as they
drove along, and he watched them and carefully examined them; then after
he had carefully examined them they would appear to him empty, unreal
and unsubstantial. In exactly the same way does the monk behold all the
corporeal phenomena, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and
states of consciousness-whether they be of the past, or the present, or
the future, far or near. And he watches them, and examines them
carefully; and, after carefully examining them, they appear to him
empty, void and without a Self.

S. XXII. 29

Whoso
delights in corporeality, or feeling, or perception, or mental
formations, or consciousness, he delights in suffering; and whoso
delights in suffering, will not be freed from suffering. Thus I say.

Dhp. 146-48

How can you find delight and mirth
Where there is burning without end?
In deepest darkness you are wrapped!
Why do you not seek for the light?

Look at this puppet here, well rigged,

A heap of many sores, piled up,
Diseased, and full of greediness,
Unstable, and impermanent!

Devoured by old age is this frame,
A prey to sickness, weak and frail;
To pieces breaks this putrid body,
All life must truly end in death.

The Three Warnings

A. III. 35

Did
you never see in the world a man, or a woman, eighty, ninety, or a
hundred years old, frail, crooked as a gable-roof, bent down, resting on
crutches, with tottering steps, infirm, youth long since fled, with
broken teeth, grey and scanty hair or none, wrinkled, with blotched
limbs? And did the thought never come to you that you also are subject
to decay, that you also cannot escape it?

Did you
never see in the world a man, or a woman who, being sick, afflicted, and
grievously ill, wallowing in his own filth, was lifted up by some and
put to bed by others? And did the thought never come to you that you
also are subject to disease, that you also cannot escape it?

Did
you never see in the world the corpse of a man, or a woman, one or two
or three days after death, swollen up, blue-black in color, and full of
corruption? And did the thought never come to you that you also are
subject to death, that you also cannot escape it?

Samsara

S. XV. 3

Inconceivable
is the beginning of this Sa.msāra; not to be discovered is any first
beginning of beings, who obstructed by ignorance, and ensnared by
craving, are hurrying and hastening through this round of rebirths.

Sa.msāra-the
wheel of existence, lit, the `Perpetual Wandering’-is the name given in
the Pali scriptures to the sea of life ever restlessly heaving up and
down, the symbol of this continuous process of ever again and again
being born, growing old, suffering, and dying. More precisely put:
Sa.msāra is the unbroken sequence of the fivefold Khandha-combinations,
which, constantly changing from moment to moment, follow continually one
upon the other through inconceivable periods of time. Of this Sa.msāra a
single life time constitutes only a tiny fraction. Hence, to be able to
comprehend the first Noble Truth, one must let one’s gaze rest upon the
Sa.msāra, upon this frightful sequence of rebirths. and not merely upon
one single life time, which, of course, may sometimes be not very
painful.

The term `suffering’ (dukkha), in
the first Noble Truth refers therefore, not merely to painful bodily and
mental sensations due to unpleasant impressions, but it comprises in
addition everything productive of suffering or liable to it. The Truth
of Suffering teaches that, owing to the universal law of impermanence,
even high and sublime states of happiness are subject to change and
destruction, and that all states of existence are therefore
unsatisfactory, without exception carrying in themselves the seeds of
suffering.

Which do you think is more: the
flood of tears, which weeping and wailing you have shed upon this long
way-hurrying and hastening through this round of rebirths, united with
the undesired, separated from the desired-this, or the waters of the
four oceans?

Long have you suffered the death of
father and mother, of sons, daughters, brothers, and sisters. And whilst
you were thus suffering, you have indeed shed more tears upon this long
way than there is water in the four oceans.

S. XV. 13

Which
do you think is more: the streams of blood that, through your being
beheaded, have flowed upon this long way, these, or the waters of the
four oceans?

Long have you been caught as robbers,
or highway men or adulterers; and, through your being beheaded, verily
more blood has flowed upon this long way than there is water in the four
oceans.

But how is this possible?

Inconceivable
is the beginning of this Sa.msāra; not to be discovered is any first
beginning of beings, who, obstructed by ignorance and ensnared by
craving, are hurrying and hastening through this round of rebirths.

S. XV. 1

And
thus have you long undergone suffering, undergone torment, undergone
misfortune, and filled the graveyards full; truly, long enough to be
dissatisfied with all the forms of existence, long enough to turn away
and free yourselves from them all.

II. The Noble Truth Of The Origin Of Suffering

D. 22

What,
now, is the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering? It is craving,
which gives rise to fresh rebirth, and, bound up with pleasure and lust,
now here, now there, finds ever-fresh delight.

The Threefold Craving

There
is the `Sensual Craving’ (kā.ma-ta.nhā), the `Craving for (Eternal)
Existence’ (bhava-ta.nhā), the `Craving for Self-Annihilation’
(vibhava-ta.nhā).

`Sensual Craving (kāma-ta.nhā) is the desire for the enjoyment of the five sense objects.

`Craving
for Existence’ (bhava-ta.nhā) is the desire for continued or eternal
life, referring in particular to life in those higher worlds called
Fine-material and Immaterial Existences (rūpa-, and arūpa-bhava). It is
closely connected with the so-called `Eternity-Belief’ (bhava- or
sassata-di.t.thi), i.e. the belief in an absolute, eternal Ego-entity
persisting independently of our body.

`Craving
for Self-Annihilation’ (lit., `for non-existence’, vibhava-ta.nhā) is
the outcome of the `Belief in Annihilation’ (vibhava- or
uccheda-di.t.thi), i.e. the delusive materialistic notion of a more or
less real Ego which is annihilated at death, and which does not stand in
any causal relation with the time before death and the time after
death.

Origin Of Craving

But
where does this craving arise and take root? Wherever in the world
there are delightful and pleasurable things, there this craving arises
and takes root. Eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind, are delightful
and pleasurable: there this craving arises and takes root.

Visual
objects, sounds, smells tastes, bodily impressions, and mind objects,
are delightful and pleasurable: there this craving arises and takes
root.

Consciousness, sense impression, feeling born
of sense impression, perception, will, craving, thinking, and
reflecting, are delightful and pleasurable: there this craving arises
and takes root.

This is called the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering.

Dependent Origination Of All Phenomena

M. 38

If,
whenever perceiving a visual object, a sound, odor, taste, bodily
impression, or a mind-object, the object is pleasant, one is attracted;
and if unpleasant, one is repelled.

Thus, whatever
kind of `Feeling’ (vedanā) one experiences-pleasant, unpleasant or
indifferent-if one approves of, and cherishes the feeling, and clings to
it, then while doing so, lust springs up; but lust for feelings means
`Clinging’ (upādāna), and on clinging depends the (present) `process of
Becoming’; on the process of becoming (bhava; here kamma-bhava,
Kamma-process) depends (future) `Birth’ (jāti); and dependent on birth
are `Decay and Death’, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair.
Thus arises this whole mass of suffering.

The
formula of the Dependent Origination (pa.ticca-samuppāda) of which only
some of the twelve links have been mentioned in the preceding passage,
may be regarded as a detailed explanation of the Second Truth.

Present Kamma-Results

M. 13

Truly,
due to sensuous craving, conditioned through sensuous craving, impelled
by sensuous craving, entirely moved by sensuous craving, kings fight
with kings, princes with princes, priests with priests, citizens with
citizens; the mother quarrels with the son, the son with the mother, the
father with the son, the son with the father; brother quarrels with
brother, brother with sister, sister with brother, friend with friend.
Thus, given to dissension, quarrelling and fighting, they fall upon one
another with fists, sticks, or weapons. And thereby they suffer death or
deadly pain.

And further, due to sensuous craving,
conditioned through sensuous craving, impelled by sensuous craving,
entirely moved by sensuous craving, people break into houses, rob,
plunder, pillage whole houses, commit highway robbery, seduce the wives
of others. Then, the rulers have such people caught, and inflict on them
various forms of punishment. And thereby they incur death or deadly
pain. Now, this is the misery of sensuous craving, the heaping up of
suffering in this present life, due to sensuous craving, conditioned
through sensuous craving, caused by sensuous craving, entirely dependent
on sensuous craving.

Future Kamma-Results

And
further, people take the evil way in deeds, the evil way in words, the
evil way in thoughts; and by taking the evil way in deeds, words and
thoughts, at the dissolution of the body, after death, they fall into a
downward state of existence, a state of suffering, into an unhappy
destiny, and the abysses of the hells. But this is the misery of
sensuous craving, the heaping up of suffering in the future life, due to
sensuous craving, conditioned through sensuous craving, caused by
sensuous craving, entirely dependent on sensuous craving.

Dhp. 127

Not in the air, nor ocean-midst,
Nor hidden in the mountain clefts,
Nowhere is found a place on earth,
Where man is freed from evil deeds.

Kamma As Volition

A. VI. 63

It is volition (cetanā) that I call `Kamma’ (action). Having willed, one acts by body, speech, and mind.

There
are actions (kamma) ripening in hells. . . ripening in the animal
kingdom. . . ripening in the domain of ghosts. . . ripening amongst men.
. . ripening in heavenly worlds.

The result of actions (vipāka) is of three kinds: ripening in the present life, in the next life, or in future lives.

Inheritance Of Deeds (Kamma)

A. X. 206

All
beings are the owners of their deeds (kamma, Skr: karma), the heirs of
their deeds: their deeds are the womb from which they sprang, with their
deeds they are bound up, their deeds are their refuge. Whatever deeds
they do-good or evil-of such they will be the heirs.

A. III. 33

And
wherever the beings spring into existence. there their deeds will
ripen; and wherever their deeds ripen, there they will earn the fruits
of those deeds, be it in this life, or be it in the next life, or be it
in any other future life.

S. XXII. 99

There
will come a time when the mighty ocean will dry up, vanish, and be no
more. There will come a time when the mighty earth will be devoured by
fire, perish, and be no more. But yet there will be no end to the
suffering of beings, who, obstructed by ignorance, and ensnared by
craving, are hurrying and hastening through this round of rebirths.

Craving
(ta.nhā), however, is not the only cause of evil action, and thus of
all the suffering and misery produced thereby in this and the next life;
but wherever there is craving, there, dependent on craving, may arise
envy, anger, hatred, and many other evil things productive of suffering
and misery. And all these selfish, life-affirming impulses and actions,
together with the various kinds of misery produced thereby here or
thereafter, and even all the five groups of phenomena constituting
life-everything is ultimately rooted in blindness and ignorance
(avijjā).

Kamma

The
second Noble Truth serves also to explain the causes of the seeming
injustices in nature, by teaching that nothing in the world can come
into existence without reason or cause, and that not only our latent
tendencies, but our whole destiny, all weal and woe, result from causes
(Kamma), which we have to seek partly in this life, partly in former
states of existence. These causes are the life-affirming activities
(kamma, Skr: kamma) produced by body, speech and mind. Hence it is this
threefold action (kamma) that determines the character and destiny of
all beings. Exactly defined Kamma denotes those good and evil volitions
(kusala-akusala-cetanā), together with rebirth. Thus existence, or
better the Process of Becoming (bhava), consists of an active and
conditioning `Kamma Process’ (kamma-bhava), and of its result, the
`Rebirth Process’ (upapatti-bhava).

Here,
too, when considering Kamma, one must not lose sight of the impersonal
nature (anattatā) of existence. In the case of a storm-swept sea, it is
not an identical wave that hastens over the surface of the ocean, but it
is the rising and falling of quite different masses of water. In the
same way it should be understood that there are no real Ego-entities
hastening through the ocean of rebirth, but merely life-waves, which,
according to their nature and activities (good or evil), manifest
themselves here as men, there as animals, and elsewhere as invisible
beings.

Once more the fact may be
emphasized here that correctly speaking, the term `Kamma’ signifies only
the aforementioned kinds of action themselves, and does not mean or
include their results.

For further details about Kamma see Fund. and B. Dict.

III. The Noble Truth Of The Extinction Of Suffering

D.22

What,
now, is the Noble Truth of the Extinction of Suffering? It is the
complete fading away and extinction of this craving, its forsaking and
abandonment, liberation and detachment from it.

But
where may this craving vanish, where may it be extinguished? Wherever in
the world there are delightful and pleasurable things, there this
craving may vanish, there it may be extinguished.

S. XII. 66

Be
it in the past, present, or future, whosoever of the monks or priests
regards the delightful and pleasurable things in the world as
impermanent (anicca), miserable (dukkha), and without a self (anattā),
as diseases and cankers, it is he who overcomes craving.

Dependent Extinction Of All Phenomena

S. XII. 43

And
through the total fading away and extinction of Craving (ta.nhā),
Clinging (upādāna) is extinguished; through the extinction of clinging,
the Process of Becoming (bhava) is extinguished; through the extinction
of the (karmic) process of becoming, Rebirth (jāti) is extinguished; and
through the extinction of rebirth, Decay and Death, sorrow,
lamentation, suffering, grief and despair are extinguished. Thus comes
about the extinction of this whole mass of suffering.

S. XXII. 30

Hence
the annihilation, cessation and overcoming of corporeality, feeling,
perception, mental formations, and consciousness: this is the extinction
of suffering, the end of disease, the overcoming of old age and death.

The
undulatory motion which we call a wave-and which in the ignorant
spectator creates the illusion of one and the same mass of water moving
over the surface of the lake-is produced and fed by the wind, and
maintained by the stored-up energies. Now, after the wind has ceased,
and if no fresh wind again whips up the water of the lake, the stored-up
energies will gradually be consumed, and thus the whole undulatory
motion will come to an end. Similarly, if fire does not get new fuel, it
will, after consuming all the old fuel, become extinct.

Just
in the same way this Five-Khandha-process-which in the ignorant
worldling creates the illusion of an Ego-entity- is produced and fed by
the life-affirming craving (ta.nhā), and maintained for some time by
means of the stored-up life energies. Now, after the fuel (upādāna),
i.e. the craving and clinging to life, has ceased, and if no new craving
impels again this Five-Khandha-process, life will continue as long as
there are still life-energies stored up, but at their destruction at
death, the Five-Khandha -process will reach final extinction.

A. III. 32

This,
truly, is Peace, this is the Highest, namely the end of all Kamma
formations, the forsaking of every substratum of rebirth, the fading
away of craving. detachment, extinction, Nibbāna.

A. III. 55

Enraptured
with lust, enraged with anger, blinded by delusion, overwhelmed, with
mind ensnared, man aims at his own ruin, at the ruin of others, at the
ruin of both, and he experiences mental pain and grief. But, if lust,
anger, and delusion are given up, man aims neither at his own ruin, nor
at the ruin of others, nor at the ruin of both and he experiences no
mental pain and grief. Thus is Nibbāna immediate, visible in this life,
inviting, attractive, and comprehensible to the wise.

S.XXXVIII.1

The extinction of greed, the extinction of hate, the extinction of delusion: this, indeed, is called Nibbāna.

The Arahat, Or Holy One

A. VI. 55

And
for a disciple thus freed, in whose heart dwells peace, there is
nothing to be added to what has been done, and naught more remains for
him to do. Just as a rock of one solid mass remains unshaken by the
wind, even so neither forms, nor sounds, nor odors, nor tastes, nor
contacts of any kind, neither the desired nor the undesired, can cause
such a one to waver. Steadfast is his mind, gained is deliverance.

Snp. 1048

And
he who has considered all the contrasts on this earth, and is no more
disturbed by anything whatever in the world, the peaceful One, freed
from rage, from sorrow, and from longing, he has passed beyond birth and
decay.

The Immutable

Ud. VIII. 1

Truly,
there is a realm, where there is neither the solid, nor the fluid,
neither heat, nor motion, neither this world, nor any other world,
neither sun nor moon.

This I call neither arising,
nor passing away, neither standing still, nor being born, nor dying.
There is neither foothold, nor development, nor any basis. This is the
end of suffering.

Ud. VIII. 3

There
is an Unborn, Unoriginated, Uncreated, Unformed. If there were not this
Unborn, this Unoriginated, this Uncreated, this Unformed, escape from
the world of the born, the originated, the created, the formed, would
not be possible.

But since there is an Unborn,
Unoriginated, Uncreated, Unformed, therefore is escape possible from the
world of the born, the originated, the created, the formed.

The Noble Truth Of The Path That Leads To The Extinction Of Suffering

The Two Extremes, and the Middle Path

SS. LVI. 11

To give oneself up to indulgence in Sensual Pleasure, the base, common, vulgar, unholy, unprofitable; or to give oneself up to Self-mortification, the painful, unholy, unprofitable: both these two extremes, the Perfect One has avoided, and has found out the Middle Path, which makes one both to see and to know, which leads to peace, to discernment, to enlightenment, to Nibbāna.

The Eightfold Path

It is the Noble Eightfold Path, the way that leads to the extinction of suffering, namely:

This
is the Middle Path which the Perfect One has found out, which makes one
both see and know, which leads to peace, to discernment, to
enlightenment, to Nibbāna.

The Noble Eightfold Path
(Ariya-a.t.thangikamagga)

The
figurative expression `Path’ or `Way’ has been sometimes misunderstood
as implying that the single factors of that Path have to be taken up for
practice, one after the other, in the order given. In that case, Right
Understanding, i.e. the full penetration of Truth, would have to be
realized first, before one could think of developing Right Thought, or
of practising Right Speech, etc. But in reality the three factors (3-5)
forming the section `Morality’ (sila) have to be perfected first; after
that one has to give attention to the systematic training of mind by
practising the three factors (6-8) forming the section `Concentrations
(samādhi); only after that preparation, man’s character and mind will be
capable of reaching perfection in the first two factors (1-2) forming
the section of `Wisdom’ (paññā).

An initial
minimum of Right Understanding, however, is required at the very start,
because some grasp of the facts of suffering, etc., is necessary to
provide convincing reasons, and an incentive, for a diligent practice of
the Path. A measure of Right Understanding is also required for helping
the other Path factors to fulfil intelligently and efficiently their
individual functions in the common task of liberation. For that reason,
and to emphasize the importance of that factor, Right Understanding has
been given the first place in the Noble Eightfold Path.

This
initial understanding of the Dhamma, however, has to be gradually
developed, with the help of the other Path factors, until it reaches
finally that highest clarity of Insight (vipassanā) which is the
immediate condition for entering the four Stages of Holiness and for
attaining Nibbāna.

Right Understanding is therefore the beginning as well as the culmination of the Noble Eightfold Path.

M. 139

Free from pain and torture is this path, free from groaning and suffering: it is the perfect path.

Dhp. 274-75

Truly,
like this path there is no other path to the purity of insight. If you
follow this path, you will put an end to suffering.

Dhp. 276

But each one has to struggle for himself, the Perfect Ones have only pointed out the way.

M. 26

Give
ear then, for the Deathless is found. I reveal, I set forth the Truth.
As I reveal it to you, so act! And that supreme goal of the holy life,
for the sake of which sons of good families rightly go forth from home
to the homeless state: this you will, in no long time, in this very
life, make known to yourself, realize, and make your own.

Right Understanding

(Sammā-di.t.thi)

D.24

What, now, is Right Understanding?

Understanding The Four Truths

1.
To understand suffering; 2. to understand the origin of suffering; 3.
to understand the extinction of suffering; 4. to understand the path
that leads to the extinction of suffering. This is called Right
Understanding.

Understanding Merit And Demerit

M. 9

Again,
when the noble disciple understands what is karmically wholesome, and
the root of wholesome kamma, what is karmically unwholesome, and the
root of unwholesome kamma, then he has Right Understanding.

What, now is `karmically unwholesome’ (akusala)?

And
what are the roots of unwholesome kamma? Greed (lobha) is a root of
unwholesome kamma; Hatred (dosa) is a root of unwholesome kamma;
Delusion (moha) is a root of unwholesome kamma.

Therefore, I say, these demeritorious actions are of three kinds: either due to greed, or due to hatred, or due to delusion.

As
`karmically unwholesome’ (a-kusala) is considered every volitional act
of body, speech, or mind, which is rooted in greed, hatred, or delusion.
It is regarded as akusala, i.e. unwholesome or unskillful, as it
produces evil and painful results in this or some future existence. The
state of will or volition is really that which counts as action (kamma).
It may manifest itself as action of the body, or speech; if it does not
manifest itself outwardly, it is counted as mental action.

The
state of greed (lobha), as also that of hatred (dosa), is always
accompanied by ignorance (or delusion; moha), this latter being the
primary root of all evil. Greed and hatred, however, cannot co-exist in
one and the same moment of consciousness.

What, now, is `karmically wholesome’ (kusala)?

These ten are called `Good Courses of Action’ (kusala-kamma-patha).

And
what are the roots of wholesome kamma? Absence of greed (a-lobha =
unselfishness) is a root of wholesome kamma; absence of hatred (a-dosa =
kindness) is a root of wholesome kamma; absence of delusion (a-moha =
wisdom) is a root of wholesome kamma.

Understanding The Three Characteristics (ti-lakkha.na)

SS. XXII. 51

Again,
when one understands that corporeality, feeling, perception, mental
formations and consciousness are transient (subject to suffering, and
without a self), also in that case one possesses Right Understanding.

Unprofitable Questions

M. 63

Should
any one say that he does not wish to lead the holy life under the
Blessed One, unless the Blessed One first tells him whether the world is
eternal or temporal, finite or infinite: whether the life-principle is
identical with the body, or something different; whether the Perfect One
continues after death, etc.-such a one would die ere the Perfect One
could tell him all this.

It is as if a man were
pierced by a poisoned arrow and his friends, companions or near
relations should send for a surgeon; but that man should say: `I will
not have this arrow pulled out, until I know, who the man is that has
wounded me: whether he is a noble man, a priest, a tradesman, or a
servant’; or: `what his name is, and to what family he belongs’; or:
`whether he is tall, or short, or of medium height’. Truly, such a man
would die ere he could adequately learn all this.

Snp. 592

Therefore, the man who seeks his own welfare, should pull out this arrow-this arrow of lamentation, pain, and sorrow.

M. 63

For,
whether the theory exists, or whether it does not exist, that the world
is eternal, or temporal, or finite or infinite-yet certainly, there
exists birth, there exists decay, there exist death, sorrow,
lamentation, pain, grief, and despair, the extinction of which,
attainable even in this present life, I make known unto you.

Five Fetters

(Sa.myojana)

M. 64

Suppose
for instance, that there is an unlearned worldling, void of regard for
holy men, ignorant of the teaching of holy men, untrained in the noble
doctrine. And his heart is possessed and overcome by Self-illusion, by
Scepticism, by Attachment to mere Rule and Ritual, by Sensual Lust, and
by Ill-will; and how to free himself from these things, he does not in
reality know.

Self-Illusion (sakkāya-di.t.thi) may reveal itself as:

1.
`Eternalism’: bhava- or sassata-di.t.thi, lit. `Eternity-Belief’, i.e.
the belief that one’s Ego, Self or Soul exists independently of the
material body, and continues even after the dissolution of the latter.

2.
`Annihilationism’: vibhava- or ucchcda-di.t.thi, lit.
`Annihilation-Belief’, i.e. the materialistic belief that this present
life constitutes the Ego, and hence that it is annihilated at the death
of the material body.

Unwise Considerations

M. 2

Not
knowing what is worthy of consideration, and what is unworthy of
consideration, he considers the unworthy, and not the worthy.

And
unwisely he considers thus: `Have I been in the past? Or, have I not
been in the past? What have I been in the past? How have I been in the
past? From what state into what state did I change in the past?

Shall
I be in the future? Or, shall I not be in the future? What shall I be
in the future? How shall I be in the future? From what state into what
state shall I change in the future?’

And the present
also fills him with doubt; `Am I? Or, am I not? What am I? How am I?
This being, whence has it come? Whither will it go?’

The Six Views About The Self

And
with such unwise considerations, he adopts one or other of the six
views, and it becomes his conviction and firm belief: `I have a Self’,
or: `I have no Self’, or: `With the Self I perceive the Self’, or: `With
that which is no Self, I perceive the Self’; or: `With the Self I
perceive that which is no Self’. Or, he adopts the following view: `This
my Self, which can think and feel, and which, now here, now there,
experiences the fruit of good and evil deeds: this my Self is permanent,
stable, eternal, not subject to change, and will thus eternally remain
the same’.

M. 22

If
there really existed the Self, there would also exist something which
belonged to the Self. As, however, in truth and reality neither the
Self, nor anything belonging to the Self, can be found, is it not
therefore really an utter fools’ doctrine to say: `This is the world,
this am I; after death I shall be permanent, persisting, and eternal’?

M. 2

These
are called mere views, a thicket of views, a puppet-show of views, a
toil of views, a snare of views; and ensnared in the fetter of views the
ignorant worldling will not be freed from rebirth, from decay, and from
death, from sorrow, pain, grief and despair; he will not be freed, I
say, from suffering.

Wise Considerations

The
learned and noble disciple, however, who has regard for holy men, knows
the teaching of holy men, is well trained in the noble doctrine; he
understands what is worthy of consideration, and what is unworthy. And
knowing this, he considers the worthy, and not the unworthy. What
suffering is, he wisely considers; what the origin of suffering is, he
wisely considers; what the extinction of suffering is, he wisely
considers; what the path is that leads to the extinction of suffering,
he wisely considers.

The Sotapanna or `Stream-Enterer’

And by thus considering, three fetters vanish, namely; Self-illusion, Scepticism, and Attachment to mere Rule and Ritual.

M. 22

But those disciples, in whom these three fetters have vanished, they all have `entered the Stream‘ (sotāpanna).

Dhp. 178

More than any earthly power,
More than all the joys of heaven,
More than rule o’er all the world,
Is the Entrance to the Stream.

The Ten Fetters (Sa.myojana)

The Noble Ones (Ariya-puggala)

One
who is freed from the first three Fetters is called a `Stream -
Enterer’ (in Pali: Sotāpanna) i.e. one who has entered the stream
leading to Nibbāna. He has unshakable faith in the Buddha, Dhamma, and
Sangha, and is incapable of breaking the five Moral Precepts. He will be
reborn seven times, at the utmost, and not in a state lower than the
human world.

One who has overcome the
fourth and the fifth Fetters in their grosser form, is called a
Sakadāgāmi, lit. `Once-Returner’ i.e. he will be reborn only once more
in the Sensuous Sphere (kāma-loka), and thereafter reach Holiness.

An
Anāgāmi, lit. `Non-Returner’, is wholly freed from the first five
Fetters which bind one to rebirth in the Sensuous Sphere; after death,
while living in the Fine-Material Sphere (rūpa-loka), he will reach the
goal.

An Arahat, i.e. the perfectly `Holy One’, is freed from all the ten Fetters.

Each
of the aforementioned four stages of Holiness consists of the `Path’
(magga) and the `Fruition’, e.g. `Path of Stream Entry’
(sotāpatti-magga) and `Fruition of Stream Entry’ (sotāpatti-phala).
Accordingly there are eight types, or four pairs, of `Noble Individuals’
(ariya-puggala).

The `Path’ consists of
the single moment of entering the respective attainment. By `Fruition’
are meant those moments of consciousness which follow immediately
thereafter as the result of the `Path’, and which under certain
circumstances, may repeat innumerable times during life-time.

For further details, see B. Dict.: ariya-puggala, sotāpanna,etc.

Mundane And Supermundane Understanding

M.117

Therefore, I say, Right Understanding is of two kinds:

1.
The view that alms and offerings are not useless; that there is fruit
and result, both of good and bad actions; that there are such things as
this life, and the next life; that father and mother, as also
spontaneously born beings (in the heavenly worlds), are no mere words;
that there are in the world monks and priests, who are spotless and
perfect, who can explain this life and the next life, which they
themselves have understood: this is called the `Mundane Right
Understanding’ (lokiya-sammā-di.t.thi), which yields worldly fruits and
brings good results.

2. But whatsoever there is of
wisdom, of penetration, of right understanding conjoined with the `Path’
(of the Sotāpanna, Sakadāgāmi, Anāgāmi, or Arahat)-the mind being
turned away from the world and conjoined with the path, the holy path
being pursued: this is called the `Supermundane Right Understanding’
(lokuttara-sammā-di.t.thi), which is not of the world, but is
supermundane and conjoined with the path.

Thus, there are two kinds of the Eightfold Path:

1.
The `mundane’ (lokiya), practised by the `Worldling’ (puthujjana), i.e.
by all those who have not yet reached the first stage of Holiness; 2.
The `supermundane’ (lokuttara) practised by the `Noble Ones’
(ariya-puggala).

Conjoined With Other Steps

Now,
in understanding wrong understanding as wrong and right understanding
as right, one practises `Right Understanding’ (1st factor); and in
making efforts to overcome wrong understanding, and to arouse right
understanding, one practises `Right Effort’ (6th factor); and in
overcoming wrong understanding with attentive mind, and dwelling with
attentive mind in the possession of right understanding one practises
`Right Mindfulness’ (7th factor). Hence, there are three things that
accompany and follow upon right understanding, namely: Right
Understanding, Right Effort, and Right Mindfulness.

Free from All Theories

M. 72

Now,
if any one should put the question, whether I admit any theory at all,
he should be answered thus: The Perfect One is free from any theory, for
the Perfect One has understood what corporeality is, and how it arises
and passes away. He has understood what feeling is, and how it arises
and passes away. He has understood what perception is, and how it arises
and passes away. He has understood what the mental formations are, and
how they arise and pass away. He has understood what consciousness is,
and how it arises and passes away. Therefore I say, the Perfect One has
won complete deliverance through the extinction, fading-away,
disappearance, rejection, and getting rid of all opinions and
conjectures, of all inclination to the vain-glory of `I‘ and `mine‘.

The Three Characteristics

A. III. 134

Whether
Perfect Ones (Buddhas) appear in the world, or whether Perfect Ones do
not appear in the world, it still remains a firm condition, an immutable
fact and fixed law: that all formations are impermanent (anicca), that
all formations are subject to suffering (dukkha); that everything is
without a Self (an-attā).

In Pali: sabbe sankhārā aniccā, sabbe sankhārā dukkhā, sabbe dhammā anattā.

The
word `sankhārā’ (formations) comprises here all things that are
conditioned or `formed’ (sankhata-dhamma), i.e. all possible physical
and mental constituents of existence. The word `dhamma’, however, has a
still wider application and is all-embracing, as it comprises also the
so-called Unconditioned (`unformed’, asankhata), i.e. Nibbāna.

For
this reason, it would be wrong to say that all dhammas are impermanent
and subject to change, for the Nibbāna-dhamma is permanent and free from
change. And for the same reason, it is correct to say that not only all
the sankhāras (=sankhata-dhamma), but that all the dhammas (including
the asankhata-dhamma) lack an Ego (an-attā).

S. XXII. 94

A
corporeal phenomenon, a feeling, a perception, a mental formation, a
consciousness, which is permanent and persistent, eternal and not
subject to change, such a thing the wise men in this world do not
recognize; and I also say that there is no such thing.

A. I. 15

And it is impossible that a being possessed of right understanding should regard anything as the Self.

Views and Discussions About the Ego

D. 15

Now,
if someone should say that feeling is his Self, he should be answered
thus: `There are three kinds of feeling: pleasurable, painful, and
indifferent feeling. Which of these three feelings do you consider as
your Self?’ Because, at the moment of experiencing one of these
feelings, one does not experience the other two. These three kinds of
feeling are impermanent, of dependent origin, are subject to decay and
dissolution, to fading-away and extinction. Whosoever, in experiencing
one of these feelings, thinks that this is his Self, must after the
extinction of that feeling, admit that his Self has become dissolved.
And thus he will consider his Self already in this present life as
impermanent, mixed up with pleasure and pain, subject to arising and
passing away.

If any one should say that feeling is
not his Ego, and that his Self is inaccessible to feeling, he should be
asked thus: `Now, where there is no feeling, is it then possible to say:
“This am I?”

Or, another might say: `Feeling,
indeed, is not my Self, but it also is untrue that my Self is
inaccessible to feeling, for it is my Self that feels, my Self that has
the faculty of feeling’. Such a one should be answered thus: `Suppose
that feeling should become altogether totally extinguished; now, if
after the extinction of feeling, no feeling whatever exists there, is it
then possible to say: “This am I’?”

M. 148

To
say that the mind, or the mind-objects, or the mind-consciousness,
constitute the Self, such an assertion is unfounded. For an arising and a
passing away is seen there; and seeing the arising and passing away of
these things, one would come to the conclusion that one’s Self arises
and passes away.

S. XII. 62

1t
would be better for the unlearned worldling to regard his body, built
up of the four elements, as his Self, rather than his mind. For it is
evident that the body may last for a year, for two years, for three,
four, five, or ten years, or even for a hundred years and more; but that
which is called thought, or mind, or consciousness, arises
continuously, during day and night, as one thing, and passes away as
another thing.

S. XXII. 59

Therefore,
whatsoever there is of corporeality, of feeling, of perception, of
mental formations, of consciousness whether past, present or future,
one’s own or external, gross or subtle, lofty or low, far or near: of
this one should understand according to reality and true wisdom: `This
does not belong to me; this am I not; this is not my Self.’

To show the impersonality and utter emptiness of existence, Visuddhimagga XVI quotes the following verse:

Mere suffering exists, no sufferer is found,
The deed is, but no doer of the deed is there.
Nirvāna is, but not the man that enters it.
The path is, but no traveller on it is seen’.

Past, Present and Future

D. 9

If
now, any one should ask: `Have you been in the past, and is it untrue
that you have not been? Will you be in the future, and is it untrue that
you will not be? Are you, and is it untrue that you are not?’ - you may
reply that you have been in the past, and that it is untrue that you
have not been; that you will be in the future, and that it is untrue
that you will not be; that you are, and that it is untrue that you are
not.

In the past only that past existence was real,
but unreal the future and present existence. In the future only the
future existence will be real, but unreal the past and the present
existence. Now only the present existence is real, but unreal, the past
and future existence.

M. 28

Verily,
he who perceives the `Dependent Origination’ (pa.ticca-samuppāda),
perceives the truth; and he who perceives the truth, perceives the
Dependent Origination.

D. 8

For
just as from the cow comes milk, from milk curd, from curd butter, from
butter ghee, from ghee the skim of ghee; and when it is milk, it is not
counted as curd, or butter, or ghee, or skim of ghee, but only as milk;
and when it is curd, it is only counted as curd: just so was my past
existence at that time real, but unreal the future and present
existence; and my future existence will be at that time real, but unreal
the past and present existence; and my present existence is now real,
but unreal the past and future existence. All these are merely popular
designations and expressions, mere conventional terms of speaking, mere
popular notions. The Perfect One indeed makes use of these, without
however clinging to them.

S. XLIV 4

Thus,
he who does not understand corporeality, feeling, perception, mental
formations and consciousness according to reality (i.e. as void of a
personality, or Ego) nor understands their arising, their extinction,
and the way to their extinction, he is liable to believe, either that
the Perfect One continues after death, or that he does not continue
after death, and so forth.

The Two Extremes (Annihilation and Eternity Belief) and the Middle Doctrine

S. XII. 25

Truly,
if one holds the view that the vital principle (jiva; `Soul’) is
identical with this body, in that case a holy life is not possible; and
if one holds the view that the vital principle is something quite
different from the body, in that case also a holy life is not possible.
Both these two extremes the Perfect One has avoided, and he has shown
the Middle Doctrine, which says:

Dependent Origination (Pa.ticca-samuppāda)

S. XII. 1

On Ignorance (avijjā) depend the `Kamma-formations’ (sankhārā).
On the Kamma-formations depends `Consciousness’ (viññā.na; starting with rebirth-consciousness in the womb of the mother).
On Consciousness depends the `Mental and Physical Existence’ (nāma-rūpa).
On the mental and physical existence depend the `Six Sense-Organs’ (sa.l-āyatana).
On the six sense-organs depends `Sensorial Impression’ (phassa).
On sensorial impression depends `Feeling’ (vedanā).
On feeling depends `Craving’ (ta.nhā).
On craving depends `Clinging’ (upādāna).
On clinging depends the `Process of Becoming’ (bhava).
On the process of becoming (here: kamma-bhava, or kamma-process) depends `Rebirth’ (jāti).
On rebirth depend `Decay and Death’ (jarā-marana), sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair.
Thus arises this whole mass of suffering. This is called the noble truth of the origin of suffering.

“No god, no Brahma can be called
The maker of this wheel of life:
Empty phenomena roll on,
Dependent on conditions all.”

(Quoted in Visuddhimagga XIX).

S. XII. 51

A
disciple, however, in whom Ignorance (avijjā) has disappeared and
wisdom arisen, such a disciple heaps up neither meritorious, nor
demeritorious, nor imperturbable Kamma-formations.

The
term sankhārā has been rendered here by `Kamma Formations’ because, in
the context of the Dependent Origination, it refers to karmically
wholesome and unwholesome volition (cetanā), or volitional activity, in
short, Kamma.

The threefold division of it,
given in the preceding passage, comprises karmic activity in all
spheres of existence, or planes of consciousness. The `meritorious
kamma-formations’ extend also to the Fine-Material Sphere (rūpāvacara),
while the `imperturbable kamma-formations’ (aneñjābhisankhārā) refer
only to the Immaterial Sphere (arūpāvacara).

S. XII. 1

Thus,
through the entire fading away and extinction of this `Ignorance’, the
`Kamma-formations’ are extinguished. Through the extinction of
Kamma-formations, `Consciousness’ (rebirth) is extinguished. Through the
extinction of consciousness, the `Mental and Physical Existence’ is
extinguished. Through the extinction of the mental and physical
existence, the `Six Sense-Organs’ are extinguished. Through the
extinction of the six sense-organs, `Sensorial Impression’ is
extinguished. Through the extinction of sensorial impression, `Feeling’
is extinguished. Through the extinction of feeling, `Craving’ is
extinguished. Through the extinction of craving, `Clinging’ is
extinguished. Through the extinction of clinging, the `Process of
Becoming’ is extinguished. Through the extinction of the process of
becoming, `Rebirth’ is extinguished. Through the extinction of rebirth,
`Decay and Death’, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair are
extinguished. Thus takes place the extinction of this whole mass of
suffering. This is called the noble truth of the extinction of
suffering.

Rebirth-Producing Kamma

M. 43

Truly,
because beings, obstructed by ignorance (avijjā) and ensnared by
craving (tanhā) seek ever fresh delight, now here, now there, therefore
fresh rebirth continually comes to be.

A. III. 33

And
the action (kamma) that is done out of greed, hatred and delusion
(lobha, dosa, moha), that springs from them, has its source and origin
in them: this action ripens wherever one is reborn, and wherever this
action ripens there one experiences the fruits of this action, be it in
this life, or the next life, or in some future life.

Cessation of Kamma

M. 43

However,
through the fading away of ignorance, through the arising of wisdom,
through the extinction of craving, no future rebirth takes place again.

A. III. 33

For
the actions which are not done out of greed, hatred and delusion, which
have not sprung from them, which have not their source and origin in
them: such actions, through the absence of greed, hatred and delusion,
are abandoned, rooted out, like a palm-tree torn out of the soil,
destroyed, and not able to spring up again.

A. VIII. 12

In
this respect one may rightly say of me: that I teach annihilation, that
I propound my doctrine for the purpose of annihilation, and that I
herein train my disciples; for certainly I do teach annihilation-the
annihilation, namely, of greed, hatred and delusion, as well as of the
manifold evil and unwholesome things.

The
Pa.ticca Samuppāda, lit, the Dependent Origination, is the doctrine of
the conditionality of all physical and mental phenomena, a doctrine
which, together with that of Impersonality (anattā), forms the
indispensable condition for the real understanding and realization of
the Buddha’s teaching. It shows that the various physical and mental
life-processes, conventionally called personality, man, animal, etc.,
are not a mere play of blind chance, but the outcome of causes and
conditions. Above all, the Pa.ticca-Samuppāda explains how the arising
of rebirth and suffering is dependent upon conditions; and, in its
second part, it shows how, through the removal of these conditions, all
suffering must disappear. Hence, the Pa.ticca-Samuppāda serves to
elucidate the second and the third Noble Truths, by explaining them from
their very foundations upwards, and giving them a fixed philosophical
form.

The following diagram shows at a
glance how the twelve links of the formula extend over three consecutive
existences, past, present, and future:

Past Existence
     1. Ignorance (avijjā)
     2. Kamma-Formations (sankhārā
Present Existence
     3. Consciousness (viññā.na)
     4. Mental and Physical Existence (nāmarūpa)
     5. 6 Sense Organs (sa.l-āyatana)
     6. Sense-Impression (phassa)
     7. Feeling (vedanā)
     8. Craving (ta.nha)
     9. Clinging (upādāna)
    10. Process of Existence (bhava)
Future Existence
     11. Rebirth (jāti)
     12. Decay and Death (jarā-marana)

The links 1-2, together with 8-10, represent the Kamma-Process, containing the five karmic causes of rebirth.
The links 3-7, together with 11-12, represent the Rebirth-Process, containing the five Kamma-Results.

Accordingly it is said in the Patisambhidā-Magga:

Five causes were there in past,
Five fruits we find in present life.
Five causes do we now produce,
Five fruits we reap in future life.

(Quoted in Visuddhimagga XVII)

For a full explanation see Fund. III and B. Dict.

Right Thought (Sammā-sankappa)

D. 22

Mundane And Supermundane Thought

M. 117

Now, Right Thought, I tell you, is of two kinds:

1.
Thought free from lust, from ill-will, and from cruelty-this is called
`Mundane Right Thought’ (lokiya sammā-sankappa), which yields worldly
fruits and brings good results.

2. But, whatsoever
there is of thinking, considering, reasoning, thought, ratiocination,
application-the mind being holy, being turned away from the world, and
conjoined with the path, the holy path being pursued-these `verbal
operations’ of the mind (vacii-sankhārā) are called the `Supermundane
Right Thought’ (lokuttara-sammā-sankappa), which is not of the world,
but is supermundane, and conjoined with the path.

Conjoined with Other Factors

Now, in understanding wrong thought as wrong, and right thought as right, one practices Right Understanding (1st factor); and in making efforts to overcome evil thought and to arouse right thought, one practices Right Effort
(6th factor); and in overcoming evil thought with attentive mind, and
dwelling with attentive mind in possession of right thought, one
practices Right Mindfulness (7th factor). Hence there are three
things that accompany and follow upon Right Thought, namely: Right
Understanding, Right Effort, and Right Mindfulness.

Right Speech (Sammā-vācā)

What now, is Right Speech?

Abstaining from Lying

A. X. 176

1.
Herein someone avoids lying and abstains from it. He speaks the truth,
is devoted to the truth, reliable, worthy of confidence, not a deceiver
of men. Being at a meeting, or amongst people, or in the midst of his
relatives, or in a society, or in the king’s court, and called upon and
asked as witness to tell what he knows, he answers, if he knows nothing:
`I know nothing’, and if he knows, he answers: `I know’; if he has seen
nothing, he answers: `I have seen nothing’, and if he has seen, he
answers: `I have seen’. Thus he never knowingly speaks a lie, either for
the sake of his own advantage, or for the sake of another person’s
advantage, or for the sake of any advantage whatsoever.

Abstaining from Tale-bearing

2.
He avoids tale-bearing, and abstains from it. What he has heard here,
he does not repeat there, so as to cause dissension there; and what he
has heard there, he does not repeat here, so as to cause dissension
here. Thus he unites those that are divided; and those that are united,
he encourages. Concord gladdens him, he delights and rejoices in
concord; and it is concord that he spreads by his words.

Abstaining from Harsh Language

3.
He avoids harsh language, and abstains from it. He speaks such words as
are gentle, soothing to the ear, loving, such words as go to the heart,
and are courteous, friendly, and agreeable to many.

In
Majjhima-Nicāya No. 21, the Buddha says: `Even, O monks, should robbers
and murderers saw through your limbs and joints, whosoever should give
way to anger thereat would not be following my advice. For thus ought
you to train yourselves:

`Undisturbed shall
our mind remain, no evil words shall escape our lips; friendly and full
of sympathy shall we remain, with heart full of love, and free from any
hidden malice; and that person shall we penetrate with loving thoughts,
wide, deep, boundless, freed from anger and hatred’.

Abstaining from Vain Talk

A. X. 176

4.
He avoids vain talk, and abstains from it. He speaks at the right time,
in accordance with facts, speaks what is useful, speaks of the law and
the discipline: his speech is like a treasure, uttered at the right
moment, accompanied by arguments, moderate and full of sense.

This is called Right Speech.

Mundane and Supermundane Speech

M. 117

Now, Right Speech. I tell you, is of two kinds:

1.
Abstaining from lying, from tale-bearing, from harsh language, and from
vain talk; this is called `Mundane Right Speech’ (lokiya-sammā-vācā),
which yields worldly fruits and brings good results.

2.
But the avoidance of the practice of this fourfold wrong speech, the
abstaining, desisting. refraining therefrom-the mind being holy, being
turned away from the world, and conjoined with the path, the holy path
being pursued-this is called the `Supermundane Right Speech’
(lokuttara-sammā-vācā), which is not of the world, but is supermundane,
and conjoined with the path.

Conjoined with Other Factors

Now, in understanding wrong speech as wrong, and right speech as right, one practises Right Understanding (1st factor); and in making efforts to overcome evil speech and to arouse right speech, one practises Right Effort
(6th factor); and in overcoming wrong speech with attentive mind, and
dwelling with attentive mind in possession of right speech, one
practises Right Mindfulness (7th factor). Hence, there are
three things that accompany and follow upon Right Speech, namely: Right
Understanding, Right Effort, and Right Mindfulness.

Right Action

(Sammā-kammanta)

A. X. 176

What, now, is Right Action?

Abstaining from Killing

1.
Herein someone avoids the killing of living beings, and abstains from
it. Without stick or sword, conscientious, full of sympathy, he is
desirous of the welfare of all living beings.

Abstaining from Stealing

2.
He avoids stealing, and abstains from it; what another person possesses
of goods and chattels in the village or in the wood, that he does not
take away with thievish intent.

Abstaining from Unlawful Sexual Intercourse

3.
He avoids unlawful sexual intercourse, and abstains from it. He has no
intercourse with such persons as are still under the protection of
father, mother, brother, sister or relatives, nor with married women,
nor female convicts, nor lastly, with betrothed girls.

This is called Right Action.

Mundane And Supermundane Action

M. 117

Now, Right Action, I tell you, is of two kinds:

1.
Abstaining from killing, from stealing, and from unlawful sexual
intercourse: this is called the `Mundane Right Action’
(lokiya-sammā-kammanta) which yields worldly fruits and brings good
results.

2. But the avoidance of the practice of
this threefold wrong action, the abstaining, desisting, refraining
therefrom-the mind being holy. being turned away from the world, and
conjoined with the path, the holy path being pursued-this is called the
`Supermundane Right Action’ (lokuttara-sammā-kammanta), which is not of
the world, but is supermundane, and conjoined with the path.

Conjoined With Other Factors

Now in understanding wrong action as wrong, and right action as right, one practises Right Understanding (1st factor): and in making efforts to overcome wrong action, and to arouse right action, one practises Right Effort
(6th factor); and in overcoming wrong action with attentive mind, and
dwelling with attentive mind in possession of right action, one
practises Right Mindfulness (7th factor). Hence, there are
three things that accompany and follow upon Right Action, namely: Right
Understanding, Right Effort and Right Mindfulness.

Right Livelihood (Sammā-ājiva)

What, now, is Right Livelihood?

D. 22

1.
When the noble disciple, avoiding a wrong way of living, gets his
livelihood by a right way of living, this is called Right Livelihood.

In
the Majjhima-Nikāya, No. 117, it is said: `To practise deceit,
treachery, soothsaying, trickery, usury: this is wrong livelihood.’

And
in the Anguttara-Nikāya, V. 1 77, it is said: `Five trades should be
avoided by a disciple: trading in arms, in living beings, in flesh, in
intoxicating drinks, and in poison’.

Included are the professions of a soldier, a fisherman, a hunter, etc.

Now, Right Livelihood, I tell you, is of two kinds:

Mundane and Supermundane Right Livelihood

M. 117

1.
When the noble disciple, avoiding wrong living, gets his livelihood by a
right way of living: this is called `Mundane Right Livelihood’
(lokiya-sammā-ājiva), which yields worldly fruits and brings good
results.

2. But the avoidance of wrong livelihood,
the abstaining, desisting, refraining therefrom-the mind being holy,
being turned away from the world, and conjoined with the path, the holy
path being pursued-this is called the `Supermundane Right Livelihood’
(lokuttara-sammā-ājiva), which is not of the world. but is supermundane,
and conjoined with the path.

Conjoined with Other Factors

Now. in understanding wrong livelihood as wrong, and right livelihood as right, one practises Right Understanding (1st factor); and in making efforts to overcome wrong livelihood, to establish right livelihood, one practises Right Effort
(6th factor); and in overcoming wrong livelihood with attentive mind,
and dwelling with attentive mind in possession of right livelihood, one
practises Right Mindfulness (7th factor). Hence, there are
three things that accompany and follow upon Right Livelihood, namely:
Right Understanding, Right Effort, and Right Mindfulness.

Right Effort (Sammā-vāyāma)

A. IV. 13, 14

What, now. is Right Effort?

There are Four Great Efforts; the effort to avoid, the effort to overcome, the effort to develop, and the effort to maintain.

The Effort to Avoid (Sa.mvara-ppadhāna)

What, now is the effort to Avoid?
Herein the disciple rouses his will to avoid the arising of evil,
unwholesome things that have not yet arisen; and he makes efforts, stirs
up his energy; exerts his mind and strives.

Thus,
when lie perceives a form with the eye, a sound with the ear, and an
odor with the nose, a taste with the tongue, an impression with the
body, or an object with the mind, he neither adheres to the whole, nor
to its parts. And he strives to ward off that through which evil and
unwholesome things, greed and sorrow, would arise, if he remained with
unguarded senses; and he watches over his senses, restrains his senses.

Possessed of this noble `Control over the Senses’ he experiences inwardly a feeling of joy, into which no evil thing can enter.

This is called the effort to avoid

The Effort to Overcome (Pahāna-ppadhāna)

What, now, is the effort to Overcome?
There the disciple rouses his will to overcome the evil, unwholesome
things that have already arisen; and he makes effort, stirs up his
energy, exerts his mind and strives.

He does not
retain any thought of sensual lust, ill-will or grief, or any other evil
and unwholesome states that may have arisen; he abandons them, dispels
them, destroys them. causes them to disappear.

Five Methods of Expelling Evil Thoughts

M. 20

If,
whilst regarding a certain object, there arise in the disciple, on
account of it, evil and unwholesome thoughts connected with greed,
hatred and delusion, then the disciple (1) should, by means of this
object, gain another and wholesome object. (2) Or, he should reflect on
the misery of these thoughts; `Unwholesome, truly, are these thoughts!
Blamable are these thoughts! Of painful result are these thoughts!’ (3)
Or he should pay no attention to these thoughts. (4) Or, he should
consider the compound nature of these thoughts. (5) Or, with teeth
clenched and tongue pressed against the gums, he should with his mind
restrain, suppress and root out these thoughts; and in doing so these
evil and unwholesome thoughts of greed, hatred and delusion will
dissolve and disappear; and the mind will inwardly become settled and
calm, composed and concentrated.

This is called the effort to overcome.

The Effort to Develop (Bhāvanā-ppadhāna)

A. IV. 13, 14

What, now, is the effort to Develop?
Herein the disciple rouses his will to arouse wholesome things that
have not yet arisen; and he makes effort, stirs up his energy, exerts
his mind and strives.

Thus he develops the `Elements
of Enlightenment’ (bojjhanga), based on solitude, on detachment, on
extinction, and ending in deliverance, namely: `Mindfulness’ (sati),
`Investigation of the Law’ (dhamma-vicaya), `Energy’ (viriya), `Rapture’
(piiti), `Tranquillity’ (passaddhi), `Concentration’ (samādhi). and
`Equanimity’ (upekkhā).

This is called the effort to develop.

The Effort to Maintain (Anurakkha.na-ppadhāna)

What,
now, is the effort to Maintain? Herein the disciple rouses his will to
maintain the wholesome things that have already arisen, and not to allow
them to disappear, but to bring them to growth, to maturity and to the
full perfection of development (bhāvanā); and he makes effort, stirs up
his energy, exerts his mind and strives.

Thus, for
example, he keeps firmly in his mind a favorable object of concentration
that has arisen, such as the mental image of a skeleton, of a corpse
infested by worms, of a corpse blue-black in color, of a festering
corpse, of a corpse riddled with holes, of a corpse swollen up.

This is called the effort to maintain.

M. 70

Truly,
for a disciple who is possessed of faith and has penetrated the
Teaching of the master, it is fit to think: `Though skin sinews and
bones wither away, though flesh and blood of my body dry up, I shall not
give up my efforts till I have attained whatever is attainable by manly
perseverance, energy and endeavor.’

This is called Right Effort.

A. IV. 14

The effort of Avoiding, Overcoming,

Of Developing and Maintaining:
These four great efforts have been shown
By him, the scion of the sun.
And he who firmly clings to them,
May put an end to suffering.

Right Mindfulness (Sammā-sati)

What, now, is Right Mindfulness?

The Four Foundations of Mindfulness (Satipa.t.thāna)

D. 22

The
only way that leads to the attainment of purity, to the overcoming of
sorrow and lamentation, to the end of pain and grief, to the entering
upon the right path and the realization of Nibbāna, is by the `Four
Foundations of Mindfulness’. And which are these four?

Herein
the disciple dwells in contemplation of the Body, in contemplation of
Feeling, in contemplation of the Mind, in contemplation of the
Mind-Objects; ardent, clearly comprehending them and mindful, after
putting away worldly greed and grief.

Contemplation of the Body (kāyānupassanā)

But how does the disciple dwell in contemplation of the body?

Watching Over In- and Out-Breathing (ānāpāna-sati)

Herein
the disciple retires to the forest, to the foot of a tree, or to a
solitary place, seats himself with legs crossed, body erect, and with
mindfulness fixed before him, mindfully he breathes in, mindfully he
breathes out. When making a long inhalation, he knows: `I make a long
inhalation’; when making a long exhalation, he knows: `I make a long
exhalation’. When making a short inhalation, he knows: `I make a short
inhalation’: when making a short exhalation, he knows: `I make a short
exhalation’. `Clearly perceiving the entire (breath-) body, I shall
breathe in’: thus he trains hImself; `Clearly perceiving the entire
(breath-) body, I shall breathe out’: thus he trains himself. `Calming
this bodily function (kāya-sankhāra), I shall breathe in’: thus he
trains himself; `Calming this bodily function. I shall breathe out’:
thus he trains himself.

Thus he dwells in
contemplation of the body, either with regard to his own person, or to
other persons, or to both, he beholds how the body arises; beholds how
it passes away; beholds the arising and passing away of the body. A body
is there-

`A body is there, but no living
being, no individual, no woman, no man, no self, and nothing that
belongs to a self; neither a person. nor anything belonging to a person.
(Comm.)

this clear awareness is present in
him, to the extent necessary for knowledge and mindfulness, and he lives
independent, unattached to anything in the world. Thus does the
disciple dwell in contemplation of the body.

`Mindfulness
of Breathing’ (ānāpāna-sati) is one of the most important meditative
exercises. It may be used for the development of Tranquillity
(samatha-bhāvanā), i.e. for attaining the four Absorptions (jhāna;  for
the development of Insight (vipassanā-bhāvanā) or for a combination of
both practices. Here, in the context of satipa.t.thāna, it is
principally intended for tranquilization and concentration preparatory
to the practice of Insight, which may be undertaken in the following
way.

After a certain degree of calm and
concentration, or one of the Absorptions, has been attained through
regular practice of mindful breathing, the disciple proceeds to examine
the origin of breath. He sees that the inhalations and exhalations are
conditioned by the body consisting of the four material elements and the
various corporeal phenomena derived from them, e.g. the five sense
organs, etc. Conditioned by fivefold sense-impression arises
consciousness, and together with it the three other `Groups of
Existence’, i.e. Feeling, Perception, and mental Formations. Thus the
meditator sees clearly: `There is no ego-entity or self in this so
called personality, but it is only a corporeal and mental process
conditioned by various factors’. Thereupon he applies the Three
Characteristics to these phenomena, understanding them thoroughly as
impermanent subject to suffering, and impersonal.

For further details about Ânāpāna-sati, see M. 118.62: Visuddhimagga VIII, 3.

The Four Postures

And
further, whilst going, standing, sitting, or lying down, the disciple
understands (according to reality) the expressions; `I go’; `I stand’;
`I sit’; `I lie down’; he understands any position of the body.

`The
disciple understands that there is no living being, no real Ego, that
goes, stands, etc., but that it is by a mere figure of speech that one
says: “I go”, “I stand” and so forth’. (Comm.)

Mindfulness and Clear Comprehension (sati-sampajañña)

And
further, the disciple acts with clear comprehension in going and
coming; he acts with clear comprehension in looking forward and
backward; acts with clear comprehension in bending and stretching (any
part of his body); acts with clear comprehension in carrying alms bowl
and robes; acts with clear comprehension in eating, drinking, chewing
and tasting; acts with clear comprehension in discharging excrement and
urine; acts with clear comprehension in walking, standing, sitting,
falling asleep, awakening; acts with clear comprehension in speaking and
keeping silent.

In all that the disciple is
doing, he has a clear comprehension: 1. of his intention, 2. of his
advantage, 3. of his duty, 4. of the reality. (Comm.)

Contemplation of Loathsomeness (pa.tikūla-saññā)

And
further, the disciple contemplates this body from the sole of the foot
upward, and from the top of the hair downward, with a skin stretched
over it, and filled with manifold impurities: `This body has hairs of
the head and of the body, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, bones,
marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, diaphragm, spleen, lungs, stomach,
bowels, mesentery, and excrement; bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat,
lymph, tears, skin-grease, saliva, nasal mucus, oil of the joints, and
urine.’

Just as if there were a sack, with openings
at both ends, filled with various kinds of grain-with paddy, beans,
sesame and husked rice-and a man not blind opened it and examined its
contents, thus: `That is paddy, these are beans, this is sesame, this is
husked rice’: just so does the disciple investigate this body.

Analysts of Four Elements (dhātu)

And
further, the disciple contemplates this body, however it may stand or
move, with regard to the elements; `This body consists of the solid
element, the liquid element, the heating element and the vibrating
element’. Just as if a skilled butcher or butcher’s apprentice, who had
slaughtered a cow and divided it into separate portions, were to sit
down at the junction of four highroads: just so does the disciple
contemplate this body with regard to the elements.

In Visuddhimagga XIII, 2 this simile is explained as follows:

When
a butcher rears a cow, brings it to the place of slaughter, binds it to
a post, makes it stand up, slaughters it and looks at the slaughtered
cow, during all that time he has still the notion `cow’. But when he has
cut up the slaughtered cow, divided it into pieces, and sits down near
it to sell the meat, the notion, `cow’ ceases in his mind, and the
notion `meat’ arises. He does not think that he is selling a cow or that
people buy a cow, but that it is meat that is sold and bought.
Similarly, in an ignorant worldling, whether monk or layman, the
concepts `being’, `man’, `personality’, etc., will not cease until he
has mentally dissected this body of his, as it stands and moves, and has
contemplated it according to its component elements. But when he has
done so, the notion `personality’, etc., will disappear, and his mind
will become firmly established in the Contemplation of the Elements.

Cemetery Meditations

1.
And further, just as if the disciple were looking at a corpse thrown on
a charnel-ground, one, two, or three days dead, swollen up, blue-black
in color, full of corruption-so he regards hIs own body: `This body of
mine also has this nature, has this destiny, and cannot escape it.’

2.
And further, just as if the disciple were looking at a corpse thrown on
a charnel-ground, eaten by crows, hawks or vultures, by dogs or
jackals, or devoured by all kinds of worms-so he regards his own body;
`This body of mine also has this nature, has this destiny, and cannot
escape it.’

3. And further, just as if the disciple
were looking at a corpse thrown on a charnel-ground, a framework of
bones, flesh hanging from it, bespattered with blood, held together by
the sinews;

4. A framework of bone, stripped of flesh, bespattered with blood, held together by the sinews;

5. A framework of bone, without flesh and blood, but still held together by the sinews;

6.
Bones, disconnected and scattered in all directions, here a bone of the
hand, there a bone of the foot, there a shin bone, there a thigh bone,
there a pelvis, there the spine, there the skull-so he regards his own
body: `This body of mine also has this nature, has this destiny, and
cannot escape it.’

7. And further, just as if the disciple were looking at bones lying in the charnel-ground, bleached and resembling shells;

8. Bones heaped together, after the lapse of years;

9.
Bones weathered and crumbled to dust-so he regards his own body: `This
body of mine also has this nature, has this destiny, and cannot escape
it.’

Thus he dwells in contemplation of the body,
either with regard to his own person, or to other persons, or to both.
He beholds how the body arises; beholds how it passes away; beholds the
arising and passing away of the body. `A body is there’: this clear
awareness is present in him, to the extent necessary for knowledge and
mindfulness; and he lives independent, unattached to anything in the
world. Thus does the the disciple dwell in contemplation of the body.

Assured Of Ten Blessings

M. 119

Once
the contemplation of the body is practiced, developed, often repeated,
has become one’s habit, one’s foundation, is firmly established,
strengthened and perfected; the disciple may expect ten blessings:

1.
Over delight and discontent he has mastery; he does not allow himself
to be overcome by discontent; he subdues it, as soon as it arises.

2.
He conquers fear and anxiety; he does not allow himself to be overcome
by fear and anxiety; he subdues them, as soon as they arise.

3.
He endures cold and heat, hunger and thirst; wind and sun, attacks by
gadflies, mosquitoes and reptiles; patiently he endures wicked and
malicious speech, as well as bodily pains that befall him, though they
be piercing, sharp, bitter, unpleasant, disagreeable, and dangerous to
life.

4. The four Absorptions’ (jhāna) which purify
the mind, and bestow happiness even here, these he may enjoy at will,
without difficulty, without effort.

Six `Psychical Powers’ (Abhiññā)

5. He may enjoy the different `Magical Powers (id.dhi-vidhā).

6.
With the `Heavenly Ear’ (dibba-sota), the purified, the super-human, he
may hear both kinds of sounds, the heavenly and the earthly, the
distant and the near.

7. With the mind he may obtain `Insight into the Hearts of Other Beings’ (parassa-cetopariya-ñā.na), of other persons.

8. He may obtain `Remembrances of many Previous Births’ (pubbe-nivāsānussati-ñā.na).

9.
With the `Heavenly Eye’ (dibba-cakkhu), purified and super-human, he
may see beings vanish and reappear, the base and the noble, the
beautiful and the ugly, the happy and the unfortunate; he may perceive
how beings are reborn according to their deeds.

10.
He may, through the `Cessation of Passions’ (āsavakkhaya), come to know
for himself, even in this life, the stainless deliverance of mind, the
deliverance through wisdom.

D. 22

But how does the disciple dwell in contemplation of the feelings?

In
experiencing feelings, the disciple knows: `I have an agreeable
feeling’; or: `I have a disagreeable feeling’, or: `I have an
indifferent feeling’; or: `I have a worldly agreeable feeling’, or: `I
have an unworldly agreeable feeling’, or: `I have a worldly disagreeable
feeling’, or: `I have an unworldly disagreeable feeling’, or: `I have a
worldly indifferent feeling’, or: `I have an unworldly indifferent
feeling’.

Thus he dwells in contemplation of the
feelings, either with regard to his own person, or to other persons, or
to both. He beholds how the feelings arise; beholds how they pass away;
beholds the arising and passing away of the feelings. `Feelings are
there’: this clear awareness is present in him, to the extent necessary
for knowledge and mindfulness; and he lives independent, unattached to
anything in the world. Thus does the disciple dwell in contemplation of
the feelings.

The disciple understands that the
expression `I feel’ has no validity except as a conventional expression
(vohāravacana); he understands that, in the absolute sense (paramattha),
there are only feelings, and that there is no Ego, no experiencer of
the feelings.

Contemplation of the Mind (cittānupassanā)

But how does the disciple dwell in contemplation of the mind?

Herein
the disciple knows the greedy mind as greedy, and the not greedy mind
as not greedy; knows the hating mind as hating, and the not hating mind
as not hating: knows the deluded mind as deluded and the undeluded mind
as undeluded. He knows the cramped mind as cramped, and the scattered
mind as scattered; knows the developed mind as developed, and the
undeveloped mind as undeveloped; knows the surpassable mind as
surpassable and the unsurpassable mind as unsurpassable; knows the
concentrated mind as concentrated, and the unconcentrated mind as
unconcentrated; knows the freed mind as freed, and the unfreed mind as
unfreed.

Citta (mind) is here used as a
collective term for the cittas, or moments of consciousness. Citta being
identical with viññā.na, or consciousness, should not be translated by
`thought’. `Thought’ and `thinking’ correspond rather to the `verbal
operations of the mind’: vitakka (thought-conception) and vicāra
(discursive thinking), which belong to the Sankhāra-kkhandha.

Thus
he dwells in contemplation of the mind, either with regard to his own
person, or to other persons, or to both. He beholds how consciousness
arises; beholds how it passes away; beholds the arising and passing away
of consciousness. `Mind is there’; this clear awareness is present in
him, to the extent necessary for knowledge and mindfulness; and he lives
independent, unattached to anything in the world. Thus does the
disciple dwell in contemplation of the mind.

Contemplation of the Mind-Objects (dhammānupassanā)

But how does the disciple dwell in contemplation of mind-objects?

Herein the disciple dwells in contemplation of the mind-objects, namely of the `Five Hindrances.’

The Five Hindrances (niivara.na)

1.
He knows when there is `Lust’ (kāmacchanda) in him: `In me is lust’;
knows when there is `Anger’ (vyāpāda) in him: `In me is anger’; knows
when there is `Torpor and Sloth’ (thiina-middha) in him: `In me is
torpor and sloth’; knows when there is `Restlessness and Mental Worry’
(uddhacca-kukkucca) in him: `In me is restlessness and mental worry’;
knows when there are `Doubts’ (vicikicchā) in him: `In me are doubts’.
He knows when these hindrances are not in him: `In me these hindrances
are not’. He knows how they come to arise; knows how, once arisen, they
are overcome; and he knows how they do not rise again in the future.

For
example, `Lust’ arises through unwise thinking on the agreeable and
delightful. It may be suppressed by the following six methods: fixing
the mind upon an idea that arouses disgust; contemplation of the
loathsomeness of the body; controlling one’s six senses; moderation in
eating; friendship with wise and good men; right instruction. Lust and
anger are for ever extinguished upon attainment of Anāgāmiiship;
`Restlessness’ is extinguished by reaching Arahatship; `Mental Worry’,
by reaching Sotapanship.

The Five Groups of Existence (khandha)

And
further: the disciple dwells in contemplation of the mind-objects,
namely of the five `Groups of Existence’. He knows what `Corporeality’
(rūpa) is, how it arises, how it passes away; knows what `Feeling’
(vedanā) is, how it arises, how it passes away; knows what `Perception’
(saññā) is, how it arises, how it passes away; knows what the `Mental
Formations’ (sankhāra) are, how they arise, how they pass away; knows
what `Consciousness’ (viññā.na) is, how it arises, how it passes away.

The Sense-Bases (āyatana)

And
further: the disciple dwells in contemplation of the mind-objects,
namely of the six `Subjective-Objective Sense-Bases’. He knows the eye
and visual objects, ear and sounds, nose and odors, tongue and tastes,
body and bodily impressions, mind and mind-objects; and the fetter that
arises in dependence on them, he also knows. He knows how the fetter
comes to arise, knows how the fetter is overcome, and how the abandoned
fetter does not rise again in future.

The Seven Elements of Enlightenment (bojjhanga)

And
further: the disciple dwells in contemplation of the mind-objects,
namely of the seven `Elements of Enlightenment’, He knows when there is
in him `Mindfulness’ (sati), `Investigation of the Law’ (dhammavicaya),
`Energy’ (viriya), `Enthusiasm’ (piiti), `Tranquillity’ (passaddhi),
`Concentration’ (samādhi), and `Equanimity’ (upekkhā). He knows when it
is not in him, knows how it comes to arise, and how it is fully
developed.

The Four Noble Truths (ariya-sacca)

And
further: the disciple dwells in contemplation of the mind-objects,
namely of the `Four Noble Truths’. He knows according to reality, what
Suffering is; knows according to reality, what the Origin of suffering
is; knows according to reality what the Extinction of suffering is;
knows according to reality, what the Path is that leads to the
extinction of suffering.

Thus he dwells in
contemplation of the mind-objects either with regard to his own person,
or to other persons or to both. He beholds how the mind-objects arise,
beholds how they pass away, beholds the arising and passing away of the
mind-objects. `Mind-objects are there’: this clear awareness is present
in him, to the extent necessary for knowledge and mindfulness; and he
lives independent, unattached to anything in the world. Thus does the
disciple dwell in contemplation of the mind-objects.

The
only way that leads to the attainment of purity, to the overcoming of
sorrow and lamentation, to the end of pain and grief, to the entering
upon the right path, and the realization of Nibbāna, is by these four
foundations of mindfulness.

These four
contemplations of Satipa.t.thāna relate to all the five Groups of
Existence, namely: 1. The contemplation of corporeality relates to
rūpakkhandha; 2. the contemplation of feeling, to vedanākkhandha; 3. the
contemplation of mind, to viññānakkhandha; 4. the contemplation of
mind-objects, to saññā- and sankhāra-kkhandha.

For
further details about Satipa.t.thāna see the Commentary to the
discourse of that name, translated in The Way of Mindfulness, by Bhikkhu
Soma (Kandy 1967, Buddhist Publication Society).

Nibbāna Through ānāpāna-Sati

M. 118

Watching
over In - and Out-breathing (ānāpāna-sati), practiced and developed,
brings the Four `Foundations of Mindfulness’ to perfection; the four
foundations of mindfulness, practiced and developed, bring the seven
`Elements of Enlightenment’ to perfection; the seven elements of
enlightenment, practiced and developed, bring `Wisdom and Deliverance’
to perfection.

But how does Watching over In- and
Out-breathing, practiced and developed, bring the four `Foundations of
Mindfulness’ (satipa.t.thāna) to perfection?

I.
Whenever the disciple (1) mindfully makes a long inhalation or
exhalation, or (2) makes a short inhalation or exhalation, or (3) trains
himself to inhale or exhale whilst experiencing the whole (breath-)
body, or (4) whilst calming down this bodily function (i.e. the
breath)-at such a time the disciple dwells in `contemplation of the
body’, full of energy, comprehending it, mindful, after subduing worldly
greed and grief. For, inhalation and exhalation I call one amongst the
corporeal phenomena.

II. Whenever the disciple
trains himself to inhale or exhale (1) whilst feeling rapture (piiti),
or (2) joy (sukha), or (3) the mental functions (cittasankhāra), or (4)
whilst calming down the mental functions-at such a time he dwells in
`contemplation of the feelings’, full of energy, clearly comprehending
them, mindful, after subduing worldly greed and grief. For, the full
awareness of In- and Out-breathing I call one amongst the feelings.

III.
Whenever the disciple trains himself to inhale or exhale (1) whilst
experiencing the mind, or (2) whilst gladdening the mind, or (3) whilst
concentrating the mind, or (4) whilst setting the mind free–at such a
time he dwells in `contemplation of the mind’, full of energy, clearly
comprehending it, mindful, after subduing worldly greed and grief. For,
without mindfulness and clear comprehension, I say, there is no Watching
over In- and Out-breathing.

IV. Whenever the
disciple trains himself to inhale or exhale whilst contemplating (1)
impermanence, or (2) the fading away of passion, or (3) extinction, or
(4) detachment-at such a time he dwells in `contemplation of the
mind-objects’, full of energy, clearly comprehending them, mindful,
after subduing worldly greed and grief. Having seen, through
understanding, what is the abandoning of greed and grief, he looks on
with complete equanimity.

Watching over In- and Out-breathing, thus practiced and developed, brings the four Foundations of Mindfulness to perfection.

But
how do the four Foundations of Mindfulness, practiced and developed,
bring the seven `Elements of Enlightenment’ (bojjhanga) to
full perfection?

1. Whenever the disciple dwells in
contemplation of body, feelings, mind and mind-objects, strenuous,
clearly comprehending them, mindful, after subduing worldly greed and
grief-at such a time his mindfulness is undisturbed; and whenever his
mindfulness is present and undisturbed, at such a time he has gained and
develops the Element of Enlightenment `Mindfulness’
(sati-sambojjhanga); and thus this element of enlightenment reaches
fullest perfection.

2. And whenever, whilst dwelling
with mindfulness, he wisely investigates, examines and thinks over the
`Law’ (dhamma)-at such a time he has gained and develops the Element of
Enlightenment `Investigation of the Law’ (dhammavicaya-sambojjhanga);
and thus this element of enlightenment reaches fullest perfection.

3.
And whenever, whilst wisely investigating, examining and thinking over
the law, his energy is firm and unshaken-at such a time he has gained
and develops the Element of Enlightenment `Energy’
(viriya-sambojjhanga); and thus this element of enlightenment reaches
fullest perfection.

4. And whenever in him, whilst
firm in energy, arises super-sensuous rapture-at such a time he has
gained and develops the Element of Enlightenment `Rapture’
(piiti-sambojjhanga); and thus this element of enlightenment reaches
fullest perfection.

5. And whenever, whilst
enraptured in mind, his spiritual frame and his mind become tranquil-at
such a time he has gained and develops the Element of Enlightenment
`Tranquillity’ (passaddhi-sambojjhanga); and thus this element of
enlightenment reaches fullest perfection.

6. And
whenever, whilst being tranquillized in his spiritual frame and happy,
his mind becomes concentrated-at such a time he has gained and develops
the Element of Enlightenment `Concentration’ (samādhi-sambojjhanga); and
thus this element of enlightenment reaches fullest perfection.

7.
And whenever he looks with complete indifference on his mind thus
concentrated-at such a time he has gained and develops the Element of
Enlightenment `Equanimity’ (upekkhā-sambojjhanga); and thus this element
of enlightenment reaches fullest perfection.

The four Foundations of Mindfulness, thus practiced and developed, bring the seven elements of enlightenment to full perfection.

And
how do the seven elements of enlightenment, practiced and developed,
bring Wisdom and Deliverance (vijjā-vimutti) to full perfection?

Herein
the disciple develops the elements of enlightenment: Mindfulness,
Investigation of the Law, Energy, Rapture, Tranquillity, Concentration
and Equanimity, based on detachment, on absence of desire, on extinction
and renunciation.

The seven elements of enlightenment thus practiced and developed, bring wisdom and deliverance, to full perfection.

M. 125

Just
as the elephant hunter drives a huge stake into the ground and chains
the wild elephant to it by the neck, in order to drive out of him his
wonted forest ways and wishes, his forest unruliness, obstinacy and
violence, and to accustom him to the environment of the village, and to
teach him such good behavior as is required amongst men: in like manner
also should the noble disciple fix his mind firmly to these four
Foundations of Mindfulness, so that he may drive out of himself his
wonted worldly ways and wishes, his wonted worldly unruliness, obstinacy
and violence, and win to the True, and realize Nibbāna.

Right Concentration (Sammā-samādhi)

M. 44

What, now, is Right Concentration?

Its Definition

Having the mind fixed to a single object (cittekeggatā, lit. `One-pointedness of mind’): this is concentration.

`Right
Concentration’ (sammā-samādhi), in its widest sense, is the kind of
mental concentration which is present in every wholesome state of
consciousness (kusala-citta), and hence is accompanied by at least Right
Thought (2nd factor), Right Effort (6th factor) and Right Mindfulness
(7th factor). `Wrong Concentration’ is present in unwholesome states of
consciousness, and hence is only possible in the sensuous, not in a
higher sphere. Samādhi, used alone, always stands in the Sutta, for
sammā-samādhi, or Right Concentration.

Its Objects

The four `Foundations of Mindfulness’ (7th factor): these are the objects of concentration.

Its Requisites

The four `Great Efforts’ (6th factor): these are the requisites for concentration.

Its Development

The practicing, developing and cultivating of these things: this is the development (bhāvanā) of concentration.

Right
Concentration (sammā-samādhi) has two degrees of development; 1.
`Neighborhood Concentration’ (upacārasamādhi). which approaches the
first absorption without, however, attaining it; 2. `Attainment
Concentration’ (appanāsamādhi), which is the concentration present in
the four Absorptions (jhāna). These Absorptions are mental states beyond
the reach of the fivefold sense-activity, attainable only in solitude
and by unremitting perseverance in the practice of concentration. In
these states all activity of the five senses is suspended. No visual or
audible impressions arise at such a time, no bodily feeling is felt.
But, although all outer sense-impressions have ceased, yet the mind
remains active, perfectly alert, fully awake.

The
attainment of these Absorptions, however, is not a requisite for the
realization of the four Supermundane Paths of Holiness; and neither
Neighborhood-Concentration nor Attainment-Concentration, as such,
possesses the power of conferring entry to the four Supermundane Paths:
hence they really have no power to free one permanently from evil
things. The realization of the Four Supermundane Paths is possible only
at the moment of deep `Insight’ (vipassanā) into the Impermanency
(aniccatā), Miserable Nature (dukkhatā) and Impersonality (anattatā) of
this whole phenomenal process of existence. This Insight, again, is
attainable only during Neighborhood-Concentration, not during Attainment
Concentration.

He who has realized one or
other of the Four Supermundane Paths without ever having attained the
Absorptions, is called Sukkha-vipassaka, or Suddhavipassanā-yānika, i.e.
`one who has taken merely Insight (vipassanā) as his vehicle’. He,
however, who, after cultivating the Absorptions, has reached one of the
Supermundane Paths is called Saniathayānika, or `one who has taken
Tranquillity (samatha) as his vehicle (yāna)’.

For samatha and vipassanā see Fund IV. and B. Diet.

The Four Absorptions (jhāna)

D.22

Detached
from sensual objects, detached from evil things, the disciple enters
into the first Absorption, which is accompanied by Thought Conception
and Discursive Thinking, is born of detachment, and filled with Rapture
and Happiness.

This is the first of the
Absorptions belonging to the Fine-Material Sphere (rupāvacarajjhāna). It
is attained when, through the strength of concentration, the fivefold
sense activity is temporarily suspended, and the five Hindrances are
likewise eliminated.

See B. Dict.: kasina, nimitta, samādhi.

M. 43

This
first Absorption is free from five things, and five things are present.
When the disciple enters the first Absorption, there have vanished (the
five Hindrances): Lust, Ill-Will, Torpor and Sloth, Restlessness and
Mental Worry, Doubts; and there are present: Thought Conception
(vitakka), Discursive Thinking (vicāra), Rapture (piiti), Happiness
(sukha), Concentration (citt’ekaggatā = samādhi).

These
five mental factors present in the first Absorption, are called Factors
(or Constituents) of Absorption (jhānanga). Vitakka (initial formation
of an abstract thought) and vicāra (discursive thinking, rumination) are
called `verbal functions’ (vaci-sankhāra) of the mind; hence they are
something secondary compared with consciousness.

In
Visuddhimagga, vitakka is compared with the taking hold of a pot, and
vicāra with the wiping of it. In the first Absorption both are present,
but are exclusively focussed on the subject of meditation, vicāra being
here not discursive, but of an `exploring’ nature. Both are entirely
absent in the following Absorptions.

And
further: after the subsiding of Thought-Conception and Discursive
Thinking, and by the gaining of inner tranquillity and oneness of mind,
he enters into a state free from Thought-Conception and Discursive
Thinking, the second Absorption, which is born of concentration
(samādhi), and filled with Rapture (piti) and Happiness (sukha).

In the second Absorption, there are three Factors of Absorption: Rapture, Happiness, and Concentration.

And
further: after the fading away of Rapture, he dwells in equanimity,
mindful, with clear awareness: and he experiences in his own person that
feeling of which the Noble Ones say: `Happy lives he who is equanimous
and mindful’-thus he enters the third Absorption.

In
the third Absorption there are two Factors of Absorption: equanimous
Happiness (upekkhā-sukha) and Concentration (cittekaggatā).

And
further: after the giving up of pleasure and pain, and through the
disappearance of previous joy and grief, he enters into a state beyond
pleasure and pain, into the fourth Absorption, which is purified by
equanimity and mindfulness.

In the fourth Absorption there are two Factors of Absorption: Concentration and Equanimity (upekkhā).

In
Visuddhimagga forty subjects of meditation (kamma.t.thāna) are
enumerated and treated in detail. By their successful practice the
following Absorptions may be attained:

All
four Absorptions. through Mindfulness of Breathing (see Vis. M. VIII.
3), the ten Kasina-exercises (Vis. M. IV, V. and B. Dict.); the
contemplation of Equanimity (upekkhā), being the practice of the fourth
Brahma-vihāra (Vis. M. IX. 4).

The first
three Absorptions: through the development of Loving-Kindness (mettā),
Compassion (karunā) and Sympathetic Joy (muditā), being the practice of
the first three Brahma-vihāras (Vis. M. IX. 1-3,).

The
first Absorption: through the ten Contemplations of Impurity
(asubha-bhāvanā; i.e. the Cemetery Contemplations, which are ten
according to the enumeration in Vis. M. VI); the contemplation of the
Body (i.e. the 32 parts of the body; Vis. M. VIII, 2);
`Neighborhood-Concentration’ (upacāra-samādhi): through the
Recollections on Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, on Morality, Liberality,
Heavenly Beings, Peace (=Nibbāna) and death (Vis. M. VI. VII); the
Contemplation on the Loathsomeness of Food (Vis. M. XI. I); the Analysis
of the Four Elements (Vis. M. IX. 2).

The
four Immaterial Absorptions (arūpa-jjhāna or āruppa), which are based on
the fourth Absorption, are produced by meditating on their respective
objects from which they derive their names; Sphere of Unbounded Space,
of Unbounded Consciousness, of Nothingness, and of
Neither-Perception-Nor-Non-Perception.

The entire object of concentration and meditation is treated in Vis M. III-XIII; see also Fund. IV.

8. XXII. 5

Develop
your concentration: for he who has concentration, understands things
according to their reality. And what are these things? The arising and
passing away of corporeality, of feeling, perception, mental formations
and consciousness.

M. 149

Thus,
these five Groups of Existence must be wisely penetrated; Ignorance and
Craving must be wisely abandoned; Tranquillity (samatha) and Insight
(vipassanā) must be wisely developed.

S. LVI. II

This
is the Middle Path which the Perfect One has discovered, which makes
one both to see and to know, and which leads to peace, to discernment,
to enlightenment, to Nibbāna.

Dhp. 275

“And following upon this path, you will put an end to suffering.

Gradual Development of the Eightfold Path in the Progress of the Disciple

Confidence and Right Thought
(Second Factor)

M. 38

Suppose
a householder, or his son, or someone reborn in a good family, hears
the law; and after hearing the law he is filled with confidence in the
Perfect One. And filled with this confidence, he thinks: `Full of
hindrances is household life, a refuse heap; but the homeless life (of a
monk) is like the open air. Not easy is it, when one lives at home, to
fulfil in all points the rules of the holy life. How if now I were to
cut off hair and beard, put on the yellow robe and go forth from home to
the homeless life?’ And in a short time, having given up his
possessions, great or little, having forsaken a large or small circle of
relations, he cuts off hair and beard, puts on the yellow robe, and
goes forth from home to the homeless life.

Morality
(Third, Fourth, Fifth Factor)

Having
thus left the world, he fulfills the rules of the monks. He avoids the
killing of living beings and abstains from it. Without stick or sword,
conscientious, full of sympathy, he is desirous of the welfare of all
living beings.- He avoids stealing, and abstains from taking what is not
given to him. Only what is given to him he takes, waiting till it is
given; and he lives with a heart honest and pure.- He avoids unchastity,
living chaste, celibate and aloof from the vulgar practice of sexual
intercourse.- He avoids lying and abstains from it. He speaks the truth,
is devoted to the truth, reliable, worthy of confidence, no deceiver of
men.- He avoids tale-bearing and abstains from it. What he has heard
here, he does not repeat there, so as to cause dissension there; and
what he has heard there, he does not repeat here, so as to cause
dissension here. Thus he unites those that are divided, and those that
are united he encourages; concord gladdens him, he delights and rejoices
in concord; and it is concord that he spreads by his words.- He avoids
harsh language and abstains from it. He speaks such words as are gentle,
soothing to the ear, loving, such words as go to the heart, and are
courteous, friendly, and agreeable to many.- He avoids vain talk and
abstains from it. He speaks at the right time, in accordance with facts,
speaks what is useful, speaks of the law and the discipline; his speech
is like a treasure, uttered at the right moment, accompanied by
arguments, moderate and full of sense.

He takes food
only at one time of the day (forenoon), abstains from food in the
evening, does not eat at improper times. He leeps aloof from dance,
song, music and the visiting of shows; rejects flowers, perfumes,
ointment, as well as every kind of adornment and embellishment. High and
gorgeous beds he does not use. Gold and silver he does not accept.- He
does not accept raw corn and flesh, women and girls, male and female
slaves, or goats, sheep, fowls, pigs, elephants, cows or horses, or land
and goods. He does not go on errands and do the duties of a messenger.
He eschews buying and selling things. He has nothing to do with false
measures, metals and weights. He avoids the crooked ways of bribery,
deception and fraud. He has no part in stabbing, beating, chaining,
attacking. plundering and oppressing.

He contents
himself with the robe that protects his body, and with the alms bowl by
means of which he keeps himself alive. Wherever he goes. he is provided
with these two things; just as a winged bird in flying carries his wings
along with him. By fulfilling this noble Domain of Morality
(siila-kkhandha) he feels in his heart an irreproachable happiness.

Control of the Senses (Sixth Factor)

Now,
in perceiving a form with the eye- a sound with the ear- an odor with
the nose- a taste with the tongue- an impression with the body- an
object with the mind, he cleaves neither to the whole, nor to its
details. And he tries to ward off that which should he be unguarded in
his senses, might give rise to evil and unwholesome states, to greed and
sorrow; he watches over his senses, keeps his senses under control. By
practicing this noble `Control of the Senses’ (indriya-sa.mvara) he
feels in his heart an unblemished happiness.

Mindfulness and Clear Comprehension (Seventh Factor)

He
is mindful and acts with clear comprehension when going and coming;
when looking forward and backward; when bending and stretching his
limbs; when wearing his robes and alms-bowl; when eating, drinking,
chewing and tasting; when discharging excrement and urine: when walking,
standing, sitting, falling asleep and awakening; when speaking and
keeping silent.

Now being equipped with this lofty
`Morality’ (siila), equipped with this noble `Control of the Senses’
(indriya-sa.mvara), and filled with this noble, `Mindfulness and Clear
Comprehension’ (sati-sampajañña), he chooses a secluded dwelling in the
forest, at the foot of a tree, on a mountain, in a cleft, in a rock
cave, on a burial ground, on a wooded table-land, in the open air, or on
a heap of straw. Having returned from his alms-round, after the meal,
he seats himself with legs crossed, body erect, with mindfulness fixed
before him.

Absence of the Five Hindrances (niivara.na)

He has cast away `Lust’ (kāmacchanda); he dwells with a heart free from lust; from lust he cleanses his heart.

He
has cast away `Ill-will’ (vyāpāda); he dwells with a heart free from
ill-will; cherishing love and compassion toward all living beings, he
cleanses his heart from ill-will.

He has cast away
`Torpor and Sloth’ (thiinamiddha); he dwells free from torpor and sloth;
loving the light, with watchful mind, with clear comprehension, he
cleanses his mind from torpor and sloth.

He has cast
away `Restlessness and Mental Worry’ (uddhacca-kukkucca); dwelling with
mind undisturbed, with heart full of peace, he cleanses his mind from
restlessness and mental worry.

He has cast away
`Doubt’ (vicikicchā); dwelling free from doubt, full of confidence in
the good, he cleanses his heart from doubt.

The Absorptions
(Eighth Factor)

He
has put aside these five `Hindrances’ (niivara.na), the corruptions of
the mind which paralyze wisdom. And far from sensual impressions, far
from evil things, he enters into the Four Absorptions (jhāna).

Insight (vipassanā)
(First Factor)

A. IX. 36

But
whatsoever there is of corporeality, feeling, perception, mental
formations, or consciousness: all these phenomena he regards as
`impermanent’ (anicca), `subject to pain’ (dukkha). as infirm, as an
ulcer, a thorn, a misery, a burden, an enemy, a disturbance, as empty
and `void of an Ego’ (anattā); and turning away from these things, he
directs his mind towards the Deathless thus; `This, truly, is Peace,
this is the Highest, namely the end of all Kamma formations, the
forsaking of every substratum of rebirth, the fading away of craving,
detachment, extinction, Nibbāna. And in this state he reaches the
`cessation of passions’ (āsavakkhaya).

Nibbâna

M. 39

And
his heart becomes free from sensual passion (kām’āsava), free from the
passion for existence (bhav’āsava), free from the passion of ignorance
(avijj’āsava), `Freed am I!’ this knowledge arises in the liberated one ;
and he knows: `Exhausted is rebirth, fulfilled the Holy Life; what was
to be done, has been done; naught remains more for this world to do’.

M. 26

For ever am I liberated.
This is the last time that I’m born,
No new existence waits for me.

M. 140

This is, indeed, the highest, holiest wisdom: to know that all suffering has passed away.
This is. indeed, the highest, holiest peace: appeasement of greed, hatred and delusion.

The Silent Thinker

`I
am’ is a vain thought; `This am I’ is a vain thought; `I shall be’ is a
vain thought; `I shall not be’ is a vain thought. Vain thoughts are a
sickness, an ulcer, a thorn. But after overcoming all vain thoughts, one
is called `a silent thinker’. And the thinker, the Silent One, does no
more arise, no more pass away, no more tremble, no more desire. For
there is nothing in him whereby he should arise again. And as he arises
no more, how should he grow old again? And as he grows old no more how
should he die again? And as he dies no more, how should he tremble? And
as he trembles no more, how should he have desire’?

The True Goal

M. 29

Hence,
the purpose of the Holy Life does not consist in acquiring alms, honor,
or fame, nor in gaining morality, concentration, or the eye of
knowledge. That unshakable deliverance of the heart: that, indeed, is
the object of the Holy Life, that is its essence, that is its goal.

M. 51

And
those, who in the past were Holy and Enlightened Ones, those Blessed
Ones also have pointed out to their disciples this self-same goal as has
been pointed out by me to my disciples. And those who in the future
will be Holy and Enlightened Ones, those Blessed Ones also will point
out to their disciples this self-same goal as has been pointed out by me
to my disciples.

D. 16

However,
disciples, it may be that (after my passing away) you might think:
`Gone is the doctrine of our master. We have no Master more’. But thus
you should not think; for the `Law’ (dhamma) and the `Discipline’
(vinaya) which I have taught you, will after my death be your master.

The Law be your isle,
The Law be your refuge!
Look for no other refuge!

Therefore,
disciples, the doctrines which I taught you after having penetrated
them myself, you should well preserve, well guard, so that this Holy
life may take its course and continue for ages, for the weal and welfare
of the many, as a consolation to the world, for the happiness, weal and
welfare of heavenly beings and men.

Abbreviations

The
source of each quotation is shown by a marginal note at the head of the
quotation. The citations use the following abbreviations:

Abbreviation Document Referred To

D. Dîgha Nikāya. The number refers to the Sutta.
M. Majjhima-Nikāya. The number refers to the Sutta.
A. Anguttara-Nikāya. The Roman number refers to the main division into Parts or Nipātas; the second number, to the Sutta.
S. Samyutta-Nikāya. The Roman number refers to the division into `Kindred Groups’ (Sa.myutta), e.g. Devatā-Sa.myutta = I, etc.; the second number refers to the Sutta.
Dhp. Dhammapada. The number refers to the verse.
Ud. Udāna. The Roman number refers to the Chapters, the second number to the Sutta.
Snp. Sutta-Nipāta. The number refers to the verse.
VisM. Visuddhimagga (`The Path of Purification’).
B.Dict Buddhist Dictionary, by Nyanatiloka Mahāthera.
Fund. Fundamentals of Buddhism, by Nyanatiloka Mahāthera.

The Pronounciation of Pali

Adapted from the American edition

Except
for a few proper names, non-English words are italicized. Most such
words are in Pali, the written language of the source documents. Pali
words are pronounced as follows.

Vowels

a — As u in the English word shut; never as in cat, and never as in take
ā — As in father; never as in take.
e — Long, as a in stake.
i — As in pin.
ii — As in machine; never as in fine.
o — Long as in hope.
u — As in put or oo in foot.
ū –As oo in boot; never as in refuse.

Consonants

c — As ch in chair; never as k, never as s, nor as c in centre, city.
g — As in get, never as in general.
h — Always,
even in positions immediately following consonants or doubled
consonants; e.g. bh as in cab-horse; ch as chh in ranch-house: dh as in
hand hold; gh as in bag-handle; jh as dgh in sledge-hammer, etc
j — As in joy.
.m — As the `nazalizer’ is in Ceylon, usually pronounced as .ng in sung, sing, etc.
s — Always as in this; never as in these.
ñ — As ny in canyon (Spanish: cañon) or as gn in Mignon.
ph — As in haphazard; never as in photograph.
.th — As in hot-house; never as in thin nor as in than.
y — As in yes.