Covetousness (9)You should also avoid covetousness (abhijjhā). Covetousness is the intention to possess another person’s property unlawfully. However, in the Sallekha Sutta, sensual desire as a hindrance to
concentration is also described as covetousness. Thus we should regard it as both kinds of desire, that is, desire that is productive of evil conduct and desire that arises in the mind only. We have the first kind of covetousness when we crave for another person’s property. Here, covetousness means not the intent to buy the property, but the intent to own it unlawfully. Four Kinds of CovetousnessCovetousness as a mental hindrance (nīvarana) is of four kinds: 1) ordinary desire 2) evil desires (pāpicchā) 3) rapacity (mahicchā), and 4) discontent (atricchā). 1) Ordinary desire is desire for something that one sees or hears or knows about. This kind of desire is
hard to overcome by making a vow or just by an act of will. It will dominate us as long as we are not free from greed (lobha). The meditator should be on guard against it; whenever it crops up, the meditator must note and reject it. 2) Evil desires (pāpicchā) are the longing for the respect and admiration of others although one is not
worthy of that respect. Some people like to give others the impression of having faith that they do not have; possessing moral integrity that they do not possess; having knowledge that they lack; having practised the Dhamma without any practice; attaining absorption without any attainment; having insight-knowledge or psychic-powers that they do not have; being noble ones or Arahants without having any attributes of those noble ones. Some pretend to be Arahants to mislead other people. They
welcome people who regard them as Arahants. This desire to be esteemed and admired for the quality that one does not have is called evil desire. The Sallekha Sutta stresses the need to free oneself from this kind of desire. 3) Rapacity (mahicchā) is inordinate greed. A man who is consumed with insatiable greed is not
content with what he has. He wants to have too much of everything and to have things of better quality. It is vital to curtail this kind of greed. 4) Discontent (atricchā) is desire for something that belongs to another under the impression that it is better than what one has. In other words, it is dissatisfaction. The effort to overcome discontent is
crucial, since many people suffer needlessly in their quest for something new, which they think is better than the old. The sutta’s teaching on covetousness is primarily concerned with covetousness that is productive of evil conduct, so I should say more about it. Covetousness is the desire to obtain unlawfully something
that belongs to another. Nowadays, this kind of desire seems to dominate many people. There are talks and advice on ways and means of getting other people’s property. As a result there are people who apparently look forward to possessing things that do not belong to them. In reality they are unlikely to realise their dreams. However, whenever we think of getting another person’s property, the
unwholesome thought occurs together with its karmic effects. If we wish to practise effacement, we should not harbour such thoughts, but should try to get whatever we want only by lawful means. We should buy it at a fair price and honestly seek the money to pay for it. Covetous thought by itself is karmically effective and the effect may be potent enough to lead to the
lower realms. The intent to steal or rob is more serious in that it is the volitional prelude to the commission of crime. Still worse, of course, is the actual commission. We should, therefore, overcome such serious unwholesome deeds through moral integrity and reflections such as, “I do not like anyone who tries to get my property unlawfully; in the same way nobody will like me if I try to get his property
unlawfully.” We should also cultivate concentration constantly to leave no room for covetous thoughts. Covetousness may arise when we see, hear, smell, taste, contact, or use desirable objects belonging to others. A meditator who is constantly mindful at the moment of seeing, hearing, etc., finds everything vanishing whenever noting any phenomenon with powerful insight-knowledge. This prevents
the arising of covetousness for another person’s property, let alone thoughts and schemes to obtain it unlawfully. Thus we can overcome covetousness through insight meditation. It can be rooted out when we attain the noble path. The complete extinction of the covetousness that leads to misconduct is assured at the stage of Stream-winning, and so is the extinction of evil desires. Other kinds of covetousness are eliminated only at the three higher stages of the path. The Visuddhimagga says that covetousness is finally eradicated only at the stage of Arahantship. It says so because it describes ordinary greed (lobha) as a kind of covetousness. We assume that Stream-winning ensures the extinction of covetousness inclined to commit unwholesome deeds, and that connected with evil desires, since these two defilements are liable to lead to the lower realms.
The Sallekha Sutta that teaches us to overcome covetousness is very profound in that it tells us to practise effacement to overcome covetousness through the attainment of the four noble paths. Let us affirm: “While other people are covetous, we will avoid covetousness. We will seek spiritual growth
through non-covetousness. We will put an end to the defilement of covetousness through non-covetousness.”
Ill-will (10)Ill-will (vyāpāda) is the evil intent to bring about the death or destruction of another. In the Pāli text defining the term “vyāpāda” it says, “May these living beings be ill-treated or killed! May the whole
tribe or clan be wiped out, destroyed or become extinct! There is such kind of intent to do wrong and destroy other beings.” Thus ill-will is the intent to cause the death or ill-treatment of a hated person or person. The intent in itself is unwholesome mental kamma. At the very least the desire for the death or destruction of mosquitoes and bugs amounts to karmically effective ill-will. However, as these lower
forms of life have no morality, ill-will against them is not very grave in its karmic effect. The effect is very grave if we long for the death or destruction of people or monks who possess morality and other virtues. Therefore, we should remove ill-will by cultivating loving-kindness and radiating good-will, “May all
beings be free from danger! May all beings be free from mental and physical suffering! May all beings live happily!” This is the way to avoid the unskilful path of ill-will by means of the skilful path of love. If we cultivate loving-kindness in this way, we can advance from one stage to another and put out the fire of ill-will by means of the pure water of loving-kindness. People who have no self-control are intent on the death and destruction of those whom they hate. We
who live among such people will free ourselves from ill-will; we will overcome ill-will by cultivating love. If we have ill-will, we must remove it through mindfulness. Such is the practice of effacement. We can conquer ill-will through insight meditation, that is, through mindfulness at every moment of
seeing, hearing, and so forth. When we see a person whom we do not want to see, or when we hear a sound that we do not wish to hear, especially when we learn what a person is doing to endanger our interests, or when we find or learn what we do not want to find out or know, we have ill-will, “Damn that fellow! A plague on him!” However, with mindfulness at every moment of seeing, hearing, etc., you
will find that every thought and feeling passes away instantly — then it is impossible for ill-will to arise. Therefore, constant mindfulness of every mental event rules out the possibility of ill-will, and that is the way to overcome it through the practice of insight meditation. If we cannot practise insight meditation we can overcome ill-will through the development of loving-kindness (mettā). We should radiate loving-kindness to every living being whom we see or hear. Then,
there will be no ill-will against those people. Living beings whom we do not see or hear should also be the focus of our loving-kindness. If we note the mind that suffuses loving-kindness, that is insight meditation. By suffusing loving-kindness and making a note of it, we can progress from one stage of insight to the next until we attain Non-returning, when ill-will becomes completely extinct. Even at the
stage of Stream-winning, the meditator is free from ill-will that can lead to the lower realms, so we should seek at least Stream-winning to overcome ill-will. If possible, we should strive to attain Non-returning for its total extinction. Let us then develop loving-kindness and meditate: “May all beings be free from danger! May all beings be free from mental suffering! May all beings be free from physical suffering! May all beings live happily!”
In developing loving-kindness, the consciousness that is focused on it as well as the mental act of
willing disappears instantly. This disappearance indicates the law of impermanence. Impermanence is suffering, and these are both signs of insubstantiality. Such awareness of the nature of things as we develop loving-kindness is insight-knowledge. Let us then practise insight meditation while developing loving-kindness at the same time. “May all being be free from danger! May all beings be able to bear the burden of the aggregates!”
Wrong View (11)Ten Wrong IdeasThe term “micchatta” is a compound of “micchā” and “atta.” Micchā means wrong and atta means
idea and so “micchatta” means wrong idea. Of the ten wrong ideas the first eight constitute the wrong eightfold path that is opposed to the right eightfold path. These are wrong view, wrong thought, wrong speech, wrong action, wrong livelihood, wrong effort, wrong mindfulness, and wrong concentration. They are opposed to right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood
, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. This wrong eightfold path leads to one of the four lower realms: hell, animal realm, the hungry ghost realm and the realm of jealous gods (asura). If, because of wholesome kamma, the follower of the wrong path is reborn as a human being, he will be short-lived, sickly, and subject to other hardships. Then there is wrong knowledge (micchāñāna) as opposed to right knowledge (sammāñāna), and wrong liberation (micchāvimutti) as opposed to right
liberation (sammāvimutti). Thus there are ten wrong ideas in all. Wrong view (micchāditthi) is the opposite of right view (sammāditthi). People usually resent being called non-believers¹ or holders of wrong views. However, this is an expression of one’s view, so there is no need for resentment. Every religion lays claim to exclusive possession of truth and regards the teachings of other religions as wrong views. Some fourteen or fifteen years ago a young teacher from Sudan came to Rangoon and practised
meditation at our centre. He spent over a month and as far as his insight-knowledge was concerned, he could speak of knowledge of comprehension. About four months after returning to his native place he wrote to us that his father asked him whether he was still a non-believer and he admitted to still being a non-believer. There is no reason why we should resent being labelled non-believers by those
who do not follow our religion. It is only a matter of opinion and in our eyes they, too, would be non-believers. What matters is that our views must be true in the context of the realities of nature. We have to say that non-Buddhist teachings are wrong views, but this should not be considered an overly harsh judgment. We have to consider only whether our view has any basis in fact. The wrong view that we speak of here is of two kinds: the wrong view included in the ten
unwholesome actions, and the wrong view that forms part of the eightfold wrong path. I have given talks on the three unwholesome deeds — killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct — as well as the four kinds of wrong speech: lying, slander, harsh speech, and idle chatter. All of these seven unwholesome deeds should be avoided. Of the three unwholesome deeds in thought we have dealt with covetousness and ill-will. I will now go on to explain wrong view. An analytical knowledge of wrong
view is very important, and it concerns those who do not meditate as well as meditators. The wrong view leading to evil conduct is the view that there is no kamma and no karmic effect. It will benefit you if you remember this brief statement about it. Generally speaking, wrong view has ten aspects. I dwelt on them at length in the discourse on Dependent Origination, but I will repeat them
here because of their importance. Ten Wrong Views1) The first of the ten is the view that the act of giving is not fruitful. In other words, that the act of
giving is not beneficial, that it is only a waste of one’s property. However, careful reflection leaves no doubt about the benefits of giving. The recipient is pleased with what he gets. Your act of giving makes him happy physically and mentally. The food that you give to a starving man may prolong his life. The donor, too, is happy by reflecting on the results of his act. Moreover, he endears himself to many
people. The man who contributes liberally to a fund for a certain project in the neighbourhood is greatly respected. He is praised by wise men. He wins admiration and fame, and is respected at every meeting he attends. He has attendants wherever he lives. He has influence and is successful in every undertaking. These are the benefits that accrue to him here and now. After his death the donor is reborn as a prosperous man or he attains heavenly realms. Of course,
these are post-mortem rewards that do not admit of empirical investigation. For those who insist on actual facts, it is hard to understand. However, we should accept the teaching on kamma, bearing in mind that it is beyond the comprehension of the ignorant and that its verification lies within the intellectual sphere of the enlightened Buddha, the Arahants, and psychic meditators. If you wish to
realise its truth, you should develop supernormal powers that will help to fulfil your desire. With the divine-eye you can see millions of donors enjoying heavenly bliss as well as millions of evil-minded misers who are suffering in hell or as hungry ghosts. Some meditators who do not have such supernormal powers see beings attaining heavenly realms because of wholesome kamma and being reborn in the lower realms because of unwholesome kamma. This, of course, raises the question of
whether what these meditators see is real or only imaginary. However, it is reasonable to accept it as real in view of the independent accounts of similar experience by other meditators. The denial of any benefit accruing from giving is part of wrong view. 2) The second part of wrong view is the view that “There is no use in making an offering on a grand
scale,” that it is only a waste of goods and human energy to do so. 3) The next wrong view is that feeding, giving gifts, and other trivial offerings are also useless. In other words, that feeding guests, giving a feast or presents on occasions such as a wedding or on New Year’s Day, do not produce any benefit. The second and the third views are essentially the same as
the first. They refer to the kinds of wholesome deeds that were customary in ancient India and mention the specific acts of giving that are repudiated by non-believers. 4) The fourth wrong view is that a wholesome or a unwholesome act is devoid of any major or marginal effect. In other words, it says that the so-called wholesome deeds produce no beneficial effect, but
are only a waste of energy and that so-called unwholesome deeds have no harmful effect, that the doer is free from guilt. As we have pointed out, the beneficial fruit of a wholesome deed is abundantly clear in the present life and its fruits in the afterlife can be seen by clairvoyant meditators. The same may be said of an
unwholesome deed. Those who do wrong in deed or speech will, at the very least, be blamed by the wise. If they commit crimes, they will be punished. They will be economically ruined if they do any unwholesome deed that harms their economic interest. As to their post-mortem passage to the lower realms, this is obvious to those who have the divine eye. We should accept it on the authority of the Buddha and the Arahants who have witnessed it. However, the man who is very fond of sensual
pleasures thinks only of indulging in pleasure — he does not like wholesome deeds that stand in his way. Nor does he wish to avoid unwholesome deeds. If one believes in the karmic effect of wholesome and unwholesome deeds one will have to do what is right even at the expense of one’s material welfare. The non-believer may think that he cannot make any material progress as long as he has to avoid
dishonesty in business. Therefore, he does not consider the karmic effect of his deeds. He is inclined to reject it and thinks of various arguments to support his view. This is primarily due to his excessive love of sensual pleasures. 5) and 6) Another wrong view is that there is no mother or father. Wise men teach us to regard our
parents as our greatest benefactors, to revere them, to care for them and to support them in return for what they have done for our welfare. The person who holds wrong views does not accept this teaching. He rejects it, saying that people get their children by accident in the course of their sexual enjoyment, that they care for their children because of their sense of responsibility, and that there is
no reason why the latter should be grateful to them. Moreover, since he makes no distinction between good and evil, he does not believe that supporting his parents or any wrong done to them is productive of karmic effects. When he says that there is no father or mother, he is denying that parents deserve the special respects of their children. It is a heinous view. One result of this view is certain, and it is that the person who holds it will not be respected by his children. 7) This is the view that there is no such thing as this world (as distinct from the other world). In other words, there is no rebirth in the human world following death in the other world. One who holds this wrong view rejects hell, the celestial realms, and the hungry ghost realms, which are invisible. In this
view, the only other world is the animal realm, and it is impossible for an animal to die and pass onto the human world after death, for death annihilates every living being. 8) This view denies the existence of other realms. It denies the possibility of rebirth in hell, heaven, or as a hungry ghost following death in the human world. It insists that annihilation is the fate of every
dying person. 9) This view says that there is no being who emerges in a new existence after death in a previous existence. In this sense, this view is the same as views 7) and 8). The Pāli text says, “Natthi sattā opapātikā,” which means “There are no beings with spontaneous birth (upapatti).” In other words, it
refers to beings who emerge with complete body-organs. These beings are deities, Brahmā, hungry ghosts, jealous gods, denizens of hells and beings at the beginning of the world. The non-believer denies their existence because he has never seen them himself. There is no basis for this skepticism for good spirits as well as evil spirits are to be found in many places. There are tree deities who give
instant trouble to those who destroy their abodes. The spirits that guard ancient treasures have been seen by some people and the psychic feats of some wizards have been witnessed by others. Then there are meditators who have really seen celestial beings, Brahmās, hungry ghosts, and infernal beings by means of their power of concentration. In view of these facts, the view that denies the existence of the spiritual realms is untenable. 10) This view is important, so I will give an almost literal translation of the Pāli passage and explain it. “There are recluses and brahmins who say that they have a special knowledge of and actually see this present world and the other, invisible world. However, in this world there are no recluses and brahmins who lead their lives and conduct themselves rightly.” To put it another way, the non-believer’s view is that among those who have founded religions and proclaimed their doctrines there is no one who can teach on the basis of their independent, special, and empirical knowledge of the visible human world and the invisible heaven and hell. There is not one whose teachings accord with their practice. All their teachings are speculations and conjectures born
of ignorance. The implication is that no religion is beneficial or right. This charge against religion was made not only in ancient times — today it is also made by those hostile to religion. Thus the non-believer denies the existence of the Buddha and the Arahants who know the truth about
the world as a result of their spiritual effort. However, if one thinks rationally, one will have to conclude on the basis of the non-believer’s own saying that the non-believer is also just an ordinary man, and that his argument is also mere speculation without any special knowledge. One should not accept as true the words of an ignorant person. One must think deeply and independently. There are many religions in the world. Some of them concede in their holy books that their teachings
are based on speculations and not on actual experience. Moreover, these religions do not promise any personal experience to those who practise their teachings. Instead, they only insist on blind faith and worship. Such religions do not appeal to the wise. As for the Buddhadhamma, it claims that its teaching is based on personal, extraordinary knowledge. True to its claim, steadfast practice will ensure personal
experience. The Buddha’s teaching is confirmed by science in many respects. However, to verify the teaching decisively, one will have to practise systematically and thoroughly. Anyone who holds this last wrong view should practise properly and see for himself. The man who proclaimed this tenfold doctrine in the lifetime of the Buddha was Ajita, a teacher of a
religious sect. However, he was already teaching before the rise of Buddhism, so initially his attack might not have applied to the Buddha and his disciples who were true Arahants, but as he continued to make a sweeping charge against all holy men in the time of the Buddha, it implies an attack on the Buddha and the true Arahants. Denial of Kamma and its Effects
The ten wrong views that we have mentioned all boil down to the view that rejects kamma and its effect. The denial of the benefit of giving (1), the benefit of giving lavishly (2), the benefit of feeding (3), and the appropriate effects of wholesome or unwholesome deeds (4) means the rejection of kamma and its effect. The denial of mother (5) and father (6) means the rejection of the effect of
reverence for parents and of wrong done to them, hence it also rejects the law of kamma. The denial of this world (7) the other world (8), and beings that emerge spontaneously (9) is also rejection of kamma that leads to new existence and the rejection of the law of kamma. The last view that denies the existence of the Buddha and the Arahants (10) means rejection of the potential for Buddhahood
and Arahantship, and as such it too is the rejection of the law of kamma. Thus the tenfold wrong view means the rejection of kamma and its effects. The word “kamma” is a Pāli term that means volitional action. Bodily action, verbal action, and mental action are self-evident. These deeds are what we call kamma, and are the effects of these deeds not
equally obvious? Clearly a wholesome deed is beneficial while an unwholesome deed produces a harmful effect. People who seek their own welfare, focus on wholesome deeds every day. They are engaged in work for their prosperity and happiness. They send their children to school, hoping that education will ensure a well paid job and prosperity in later life. The child who leads a moral life and studies hard will
benefit from these skilful deeds by gaining a thorough education, superior employment, and material wealth. These are the benefits of wholesome deeds. On the other hand, unwholesome deeds have harmful consequences. Those who do unwholesome deeds are blamed; if they commit crimes they are convicted. These results of wholesome and
unwholesome deeds are to be experienced in the present life. Likewise, there are beneficial and harmful results of our actions that pass on to the future existences. We need not have any doubt about these karmic results if we think rationally. Everyone wants to be prosperous and happy, but not all fulfil their ambition. Most people remain poor.
Human beings are born equal, but some die at an early age while some live long. Some are sickly while some are relatively free from disease. Some are good-looking and some are ugly. Some have many enemies, but some are popular. Some meet with success and make fortunes while some are unsuccessful and suffer financial losses. Some are intelligent and some are dull. Why do human beings differ from one another in so many respects? The difference between identical twin brothers or sisters
is certainly not due to their parents. Farmers who work on the same plot of land may differ vastly in the output of crops in spite of the equality in soil, water, and labour. There can be no cause for their inequality other than their deeds in their previous lives. Creation TheorySome teachers say that the world and all living beings were created by an Almighty God who has infinite power. According to Buddhist texts, these teachers describe the world and all beings as the creation of the supreme ruler or the Great Brahma. Therefore, differences among human beings are the will of the Creator. However, this view is not acceptable to intelligent people. It does not fully explain
the differences among human beings. Why does the Creator create a fortunate life for one person and a miserable life for another? Why does he prolong the life of one man and shorten the life of another? Why is one child still-born while another dies in the womb? The hypothesis of an Almighty Creator does not answer these questions satisfactorily. Again, why does the Creator fail to make all human beings equally rich? Why does he make many
people poor? Why has he created snakes, tigers, and other animals that are harmful to mankind, and germs that cause diseases? These facts of human life raise doubts about the belief in a Creator. The Sinhalese Sayādaw, U Nārada, asks why the Creator has made the Europeans and Americans rich and the peoples of India, Sri Lanka, Burma, and Indonesia poor. This disparity has nothing to do with
creation for it is most probably due to different degrees of intelligence, energy, and effort — that is, actions in the present life. The theory of creation cannot satisfactorily explain the facts of human life, so it is not acceptable to the wise. Then there is the view that describes everything as happening by chance. This view is completely
untenable for everything that we see has its corresponding cause. A wholesome deed benefits us while an unwholesome deed harms us. Obviously, anyone who commits a crime is bound to suffer because of his unwholesome deed. Among those who do the same kind of job some prosper and get promotion while others do not achieve much success. This is presumably not just due to their present deeds, but also to their past kamma. Moreover, there are people in many parts of the world who can remember
their previous lives. They can tell you what they have done and what kind of lives they have passed through. The average human being is oblivious to the past existence because of the suffering while in the womb. However, the deities do not suffer at the time of the renewal of their existence. Like a man waking up, they are reborn spontaneously with clear recollections of their past, so they can recount the wholesome deeds that have led them to heaven. Kamma, the Only ExplanationIn brief, in the absence of the present actions that condition it, the disparity in the fortune of human beings is obviously due to past kamma. The doctrine of kamma is the key to all problems of human life.
Some people die at an early age as a result of their acts of murder in their previous lives. Some are afflicted with diseases because of their ill-treatment of others in their past existences. I explained these karmic effects in my last discourse. No one should resent the law of kamma for it is a fact of human existence. Every action, whether wholesome or unwholesome, has its consequences.
The law of kamma can explain everything satisfactorily and the view that rejects it is clearly wrong. A Very Terrible ViewThis wrong view is one of the ten unwholesome deeds and is described as a view leading to evil
conduct. Views leading to evil conduct are of three kinds: nihilism (natthika-ditthi), no-cause view (ahetuka-ditthi), and non-action view (akiriya-ditthi). Purāna Kassapa, one of the six prominent teachers of other religions in the time of the Buddha, declared that there was no moral action that produced beneficial or harmful results. This view, which denies causal agent of kamma, is called “akiriya-ditthi.” Another teacher, Ajita, said that there was no result of a wholesome or unwholesome deed
since death annihilated every living being. This view, which rejects the result of kamma, is called “natthika ditthi.” Another teacher, Makkhali Gosāla, taught that there was no moral cause that made a man happy or unhappy because every man’s happiness or unhappiness was inexorably predetermined. This view called, “ahetuka-ditthi,” rejects kamma both as a cause and as an effect. Although the other
two views differ in their rejection of kamma, they are essentially the same for the denial of cause implies the denial of effect and vice versa. All of these views are wrong in that they reject kamma and its effect. A strong attachment to any of these views is fraught with grave consequences. The man who holds them is denied spiritual progress because he makes no effort for it. After death he cannot
attain heaven, but is bound to be reborn in the lower realms. According to the Commentaries, he will not be liberated from hell as long as he clings to the view. It is the worst of all evils, the most serious of all wrong views. Even if renunciation of the view frees one from hell, one is still likely to be reborn in the hungry ghost or animal realms, unless some wholesome kamma is good enough to ensure rebirth as a human being. Thus, this wrong view is horrifying. In the Sallekha Sutta, the Buddha teaches us to reject the view. “Others may believe that there is no kamma and its effect. We will hold the right view that there is kamma and its effect. Thus we should practise effacement that will lessen defilements.” The right view that our actions are our own property (kammassakata sammāditthi) leads to virtuous conduct. Wholesome deeds benefit us and unwholesome deeds harm our welfare. This view is very important because it forms the basis of all wholesome deeds. Only this right view makes us avoid evil and do good. It leads to prosperity in heaven or in the human world through the practice of ordinary
charity, morality, and mental development. It may also lead to the attainment of the path and its fruition through the practice of meditation, so it is very important to hold this right view. Those who are born of good Buddhist parents inherit this invaluable right view in their childhood, so they do not need to make a special effort to acquire it. They should only protect and strengthen it through right mindfulness. Affirmation of the Belief in KammaIt is more important to affirm our belief in kamma when we have to deal with non-believers or when we are among them. We should stick to the right view regardless of what is said by those who reject it.
Some lack a firm conviction and so they go astray after reading books that support wrong views. Some have deviated from right views following their marriage or social relations. This means a loss of spiritual heritage that is very deplorable. Such misguided people will realise their mistake and suffer remorse on their death-bed and hereafter. Wrong view means wrong path, right view means right path. Just as one follows the right path to avoid
the wrong path, one who is not entirely free from wrong view should change his view. This is what the Buddha taught concerning the choice of right view as the alternative to wrong view. Moreover, wrong view leads to the lower realms, while right view leads to the higher realms of existence. Of these two paths the Buddha tells us to choose the higher one. A man who does not believe in kamma and its
effect will not do good nor will he avoid evil. He cannot hope for a higher life, but is bound to be reborn in the lower realms. However, a man who believes in kamma and its effect avoids unwholesome deeds, leads a virtuous life as far as possible, and by virtue of his wholesome deeds attains the higher realms of human beings or deities. He may also attain the noble path to nibbāna through the practice of insight meditation. Thus one can make spiritual progress only through right views.
Everybody wants and seeks a better life, but some seek it by following the wrong path. Some people do not believe in kamma and its effect, yet they have attained the current human life and prosperity because of their past kamma and hard work in the present life. The man who has thus become prosperous despite his rejection of kamma is esteemed by some people who accept his views and
follow his advice. In this way, they may achieve their aims in the present life, but they are likely to be reborn in the lower realms after death. Therefore, we should seek a better life by means of right views. Finally, according to the Buddha, the acceptance of right views is essential to the total extinction of
defilements or in other words, the attainment of nibbāna. If one believes that there is no kamma and its effects or is inclined to such a view, one should reject it and accept the right view after hearing good talks and reflecting wisely. This will lead to the extinction of the defilements rooted in wrong views. The ordinary worldling who is not yet entirely free from wrong views will also be assured of
complete freedom from them if he strengthens the view in kamma, practises meditation, and attains Stream-winning. Therefore, in accordance with the teaching of the Buddha, let us affirm: “Other people may hold that there is no kamma and its effect, but we will hold the right view that there is kamma and its effect. We will practise effacement that lessens defilements. We will cultivate
the thoughts for the right view of kamma. We will avoid the wrong view by adopting the right view for our spiritual growth and for the extinction of defilements.” Thus we should strengthen the belief in kamma. Whenever we come across or hear of an unwholesome deed we should remember that it will have a harmful karmic effect, and avoid it. Whenever we do a
wholesome deed, we should do it wholeheartedly, bearing in mind that it will benefit us. This way of doing good is born of knowledge. It assures us of a fortunate rebirth in the next life. Moreover, whenever we contemplate the law of kamma, we have wholesome thoughts, which is the wholesome deed of straightening one’s views (ditthijukamma). This is a kind of mental training and we need to cultivate it before we can practise other kinds of mental development. Wrong View and Right View About the PathI have told you how to remove the wrong view that is productive of harm and cultivate the right view that is productive of benefit. I now urge you to remove the wrong view regarding the path. It is called “Aniyyānikaditthi,” which means the wrong view that is an obstruction to liberation from suffering.
There are four such wrong views — attaditthi, sakkāyaditthi, sassataditthi, and ucchedaditthi — that run counter to insight-knowledge and path-knowledge. Of these, attaditthi and sakkāyaditthi are the belief in the existence of a living entity or soul. The living entity is called self (atta), and the Pāli texts refer to both a living being (satta) and a self (atta).
Ordinary people suppose themselves as well as others to be living beings. In reality there are only the five aggregates, or only mind and matter. There is no self or living entity. People believe in the existence of the non-existent self and this wrong view is called self-view (attaditthi) or personality-view (sakkāyaditthi). Sakkāya means the mind-body complex, so sakkāyaditthi is the wrong view that this mind-body complex is a living being or self. For example, seeing involves the eye-organ, the visual object, and the eye-consciousness. However, those who cannot contemplate or understand with insight-knowledge regard the eye-organ, the visual object, and eye-consciousness as a living being. They believe, “My eye is clear and good,” “I see my
hand,” “I see his body,” “It is I who see,” etc. This is personality-view, which identifies the apparent mind-body complex with a self. This kind of wrong view is also associated with acts of hearing, smelling, eating, touching, and thinking. To give another example, when you bend or stretch your hands or legs, the desire to bend and stretch is mind, while bending and stretching are matter. There is only the
mind-body complex. However, those who do not contemplate or understand with insight-knowledge have the illusion “It is I who bend or stretch because it is I who wish to do so.” This is personality-view that regards the mind-body complex as self. This view also arises in connection with other kinds of physical activity. It is hard for common people to be entirely free from ego-belief (attaditthi). There is only a difference
in degrees, some being strongly attached to it, while others are not so attached. The view is deep-rooted in those who do not know anything about the aggregates. I held this view when I was young and ignorant. I believed then that there was a living entity in a man’s physical body, that on his death it left the body either through the mouth or the nose. I thought that life entered the mother’s womb
during pregnancy. This view is supported by doctors who recognise the start of life in the fetus only when they hear its heart-beat. People who lack adequate knowledge about mind and matter cling to the view. However, it does not have a firm hold on Buddhists who are familiar with the impersonality of life. The view is not strong enough to impede spiritual effort and the practice of the Dhamma. It is
possible for Buddhists to practise and attain the noble path and its fruition in spite of their ego-belief. The view is weak in those who have a thorough knowledge about the nature of mind and matter. Not that they are completely free from it. While talking about the nature of mind and matter, they may
have the illusion that “It is I who is talking,” a fact evident in the heated and impassioned arguments that occur while discussing the Dhamma. It is insight meditation and the noble path that can ensure the extinction of this view. Of the two, insight meditation brings about the extinction of the view by momentary abandonment, or in other words, the illusion regarding the object contemplated is eliminated by the opposite. Constant mindfulness means overcoming the illusion by suppression (vikkhambhana). The view may still arise, however, when one stops meditating and is off guard. It is
completely rooted out only when the meditator attains Stream-winning. It is up to each person to strive for Stream-winning. Essential KnowledgeTo attain this goal, one must start with meditation that is the prelude to path knowledge. The practice
of meditation presupposes knowledge. Some say that before meditating the meditator should be thoroughly familiar with the concepts of the five aggregates (khandhā), the sense-bases (āyatana), the elements (dhātu), the faculties (indriya), the truths (saccā) and Dependent Origination (paticcasamuppāda). This is sound advice since it accords with the Visuddhimagga. A meditator who
has to practise without a teacher, needs such knowledge for self-examination. We should not assume, however, that this knowledge is indispensable to all meditators, for not every meditator who practised according to the instructions of the Buddha did so only after thoroughly studying the concepts of the five aggregates, and so forth. Perhaps giving instructions to meditators in those days did not usually
last even an hour. Especially if there is a teacher to guide the meditator, it is sufficient to bear in mind that there are only mental and physical phenomena that are impermanent, unsatisfactory, and insubstantial. The Buddha pointed out the need for sufficient knowledge in a few words as follows: “O King of deities! The bhikkhu who wants to meditate until he attains Arahantship should remember to
regard no phenomena as permanent, pleasant, or substantial.” This was the Buddha’s brief statement in response to the king of deities’ question as to the extent of knowledge that is essential to the attainment of Arahantship. It is the word of the Buddha, not a post-canonical teaching. To put it another way, all phenomena that occur to oneself or others should be
regarded as impermanent, unsatisfactory, and insubstantial. This knowledge suffices to equip the meditator intellectually for the practice of meditation. We can get this knowledge merely by listening to Dhamma talks. Religious Buddhists have learnt for a long time that there are only physical and mental phenomena, that everything is transitory, suffering, and devoid of ego-entity. If you know the method of meditation, you can meditate at any time. Method of MeditationThe Buddha’s method of meditation is given in a few words: “The meditator knows all phenomena intelligently and mindfully (So sabbam dhammam abhijānāti).” Here all phenomena means the
psychophysical phenomena involved in hearing, smelling, eating, touching, bending, moving, thinking, etc. The meditator should note them to comprehend them as they really are: “Abhijānāti” means to fix one’s attention on the object intelligently, to be mindful of it; and to know all phenomena. Awareness should not be confined to a single phenomenon. One must be aware of each and every event that occurs when one sees, hears, contacts, or knows it. However, in the beginning one cannot pay attention to all events. One should start with the observation of one or two obvious events. While sitting, one must fix the mind on “sitting,” or one can concentrate on the nostrils, which is the point of contact with inhaled or exhaled air and make a mental note, “in,” “out,” “in,” “out.” Or one may note rising and falling with the mind fixed on pressure
and movement of the abdomen. If while thus noteing, some thoughts occur, one should note them and return to the original phenomenon that one has been noteing. If stiffness, pain, heat, and any other sensations occur, one must note, “stiff,” “stiff,” “pain,” “pain,” “hot,” “hot,” etc., and then resume one’s original introspection. If there is bending, stretching, or any other movement, it should also be
noted. When the meditator stands up, he must do so mindfully. When the meditator walks, he must be aware of every step that he takes; if possible, he must make a note of every act of seeing or hearing. By virtue of this mindfulness, one develops the power of concentration and comes to realise independently that there is no living ego-entity, nothing apart from the knowing mind and the known
matter. This is the analytical knowledge that enables the meditator to discriminate between mind and matter and it is basic for right view in meditation. This view is opposed to the ego-belief and the personality-view. It is important to grasp this right view properly. Some people think that they have the right view if they merely recognise that there are only matter and mind, the former comprising the four primary elements plus the twenty-four secondary physical phenomena (upādārūpa) and the latter
being made up of eighty-one kinds of mundane consciousness plus fifty-two mental states (cetasika). This does not accord with the Buddha’s teaching that all phenomena should be known. Nor does such kind of reflection in itself ensure the elimination of the ego-belief that arises at the
moment of seeing, hearing, etc. However, the meditator who keeps note of what is actually happening to the psychophysical organism will, at the moment of noting the arising (of the abdomen), realise that there are only the arising matter and the knowing mind; and at the moment of noting the falling of the abdomen, he knows that there are only the falling matter and the knowing mind. At the moment of
bending or stretching, he knows that there are only the matter that bends or stretches and the mind that makes a note of it. The same may be said of his knowledge of the distinction between mind and matter while walking, seeing, hearing, etc. Every moment of mindfulness means rejection of the ego-belief and the personality-view. That is the way the Buddha pointed out for dispelling these views in the Sallekha Sutta. “Other non-meditators may believe in the ego-entity. However, we who are familiar with the Satipatthāna method of introspection will, by examining the psychophysical phenomena at the moment of their occurrence, hold the correct view that there is no ego-entity but only mind and matter. Thus we will practise effacement.”
Our interpretation of the Buddha’s teaching is advanced and profound. Those who do not meditate are
included in the “other” people. However, we should assume that knowledgeable persons who are not firmly attached to ego-belief are to be excepted. The view will have a strong hold on those who do not meditate, and also have little knowledge. According to our interpretation, such persons will have to be labelled non-believers. However, the wrong view of self is not as serious as wrong view that leads to
evil conduct. It does not, by itself, lead to the lower realms. The believer may be reborn in heavenly realms by virtue of his charity and morality. Or he may attain absorption and pass on to the Brahmā realm or even the highest realm. The ego-belief is not a barrier to the celestial realms. However, a person who is dominated by the
belief lacks faith in the Buddhist teaching and so it may impede his spiritual progress. The extreme ego-belief usually prevails among non-Buddhists and is hardly to be found among Buddhists. A Buddhist may hold the ego-belief because of his ignorance and yet he may have faith in the Dhamma and practise meditation. If he exerts wholehearted effort, he may attain the path and its fruition. While living in a world that is wedded to ego-belief, we should meditate and hold the right view based on
insight-knowledge. Affirmation of Right View“Other people may believe in a living soul or an ego-entity, but we will hold the right view that there are only mind and matter. We will practise effacement. We will cultivate thoughts about such a view.
We will avoid the ego-belief and personality-view by adopting right views. We will achieve spiritual growth through right views. We will put out the fire of defilement arising from ego-belief and personality-view through adherence to right view.” Implicit in this affirmation is that those who hold the ego-belief are non-believers, an implication that
may be offensive to the followers of other religions. However, as we have pointed out, such an ego-belief is not as serious as wrong view that leads to evil conduct. It only prolongs one’s existence in samsāra. Moreover, ordinary people are seldom free from the view. We are temporarily free from it only when we are meditating. There is no reason why followers of other religions should resent being called
non-believers. If they resent it, they can switch to the right view through introspection. There are people who have set their heart on greater spiritual heights without giving up their ego-belief. As for the meditator, he makes spiritual progress on the basis of his right views just like Visākhā and Anāthapindika did in the lifetime of the Buddha. These two disciples of the Buddha passed on to heavenly realms on their death. There they attained
Non-returning, and will pass through the five Pure Abodes (Suddhāvāsa Brahmaloka) in succession. They will spend one thousand world-cycles in the Aviha realm, two thousand world-cycles in the Atappa realm, four thousand world-cycles in Sudassa realm, eight thousand world-cycles in Sudassī realm, and sixteen thousand world-cycles in Akanittha realm; altogether thirty-one thousand world-cycles. Finally, in the Akanittha realm they will become Arahants and attain nibbāna. This is how the
meditator makes spiritual progress through right view on the basis of insight meditation and the noble path. We should also follow their example. Eternalism and AnnihilationismEternalism (sassataditthi) is the belief that a living being remains permanent, passing from one
existence to another. According to this view, the soul or the ego never perishes although the gross physical body is subject to death and destruction. After the death of the body the soul moves on to another physical abode. It is indestructible and it survives the disintegration of innumerable world-systems. By and large, eternalism is prevalent among people who believe in kamma. It is explicitly accepted by
the Hindu holy books. According to their view, a living being has two kinds of bodies: a gross body and a subtle body. The gross body eventually perishes, but the subtle body passes on to a new abode and remains intact. The soul that thus seeks a new abode is very small, smaller than the tip of a pin that can go through the eye of a needle. It can reach a very distant place instantly and pass through
mountains and brick walls. They have to credit the soul with such supernormal power for only then would it be able to gain access to a potential mother who is sleeping in a brick-building without any opening. There is no Buddhist book that explicitly states such a view. However, ignorant people believe that the soul leaves the body after death and passes on to another abode or existence. The belief does not have a strong hold on those who have knowledge about causal relation between mind and
matter. No one is, however, completely free from it as long as he lacks insight-knowledge on the level of the noble path. Opposed to eternalism is annihilationism, which insists on annihilation after death. If you believe that there is nothing after death, you assume that there is something before death and presumably that
something is the ego. Although annihilationists insist on the primacy of matter they are not really free from ego-belief. In other words, annihilationism is also rooted in ego-belief. According to eternalism, the ego continues to exist after death, while according to annihilationism it is annihilated by death. Both views attribute ego to a living being, the only difference being that the first view insists on
permanence, while the second view rejects the continued existence of the ego after death. Some people hold that the mind and body of childhood still exist in the grown-up man, but this is not eternalism. It is only the idea of permanency; you may call it self-view (attaditthi), but it is not the
same as eternalism in as much as annihilationism also insists on such permanence before death. Moreover, if the belief in the mind and body of childhood is to be labelled eternalism, our awareness of their ceaseless passing away will have to be called annihilationism. In fact, this awareness is based on
reflection and insight meditation. The view opposed to it is only ego-belief, not eternalism. In brief, eternalism insists on permanence while annihilationsim insists on the annihilation of the ego after death. The annihilation doctrine was taught by Ajita in the lifetime of the Buddha. The substance of his
teaching is that when a man dies, his corpse is placed on a bedstead and taken to the cemetery by four men. There it is burnt to ashes and nothing is left. According to this view, there is no need to avoid unwholesome deeds. One can do anything that will serve one’s interests. Nor is it necessary to do good. Those who hold this view urge us to do whatever is beneficial for ourselves, and they tell us
not to do good at the sacrifice of our own interests. Thus the annihilationst view rejects kamma and its effects, and as such it is one of the wrong views that give rise to evil conduct. Right View Based on Knowledge of ConditionalityEternalism and annihilationism have to be repudiated through the right view regarding cause and effect
or through the reflective insight into the causal relation of Dependent Origination. It can also be removed through knowledge by discerning conditionality. There is no living soul either before or after death. The only thing that exists is the psychophysical process based on cause-and-effect relationship. There are only consciousness, mind, matter, etc.,
that arise ceaselessly because of ignorance and other causes. Today most people do not know the four noble truths rightly. In brief, they do not really know the truth of suffering. This truth is evident in every phenomenon that occurs at the moment of seeing, hearing, eating, thinking, etc. All phenomena are continually arising and passing away and so they are impermanent, unpleasant, undependable, and
insubstantial. We do not know them as they really are and so consider them permanent, pleasant, dependable, and substantial. This is ignorance. Because of ignorance we take delight in sensual objects and become attached to them. We cling to them. We try to get the object of our attachment. Thus ignorance (avijjā), craving (tanhā), attachment (upādāna), action (kamma), and mental formations (sankhāra) are the five causes, or the
cycle of kamma involving wholesome and unwholesome deeds. Renewal of ExistenceThe cycle of kamma is followed by the cycle of result (vipākavatta). It happens in this way. A dying
person has certain mental images as a result of the wholesome or unwholesome deeds that he has done in the course of his life. There are images of his deeds (kamma), the objects and circumstances concerning his deeds (kammanimitta), and the future life conditioned by the deeds (gatinimitta). These images flash across his mind when he is close to death, so he dies while attached to one of these images. Death is nothing but the cessation of the ever arising and passing away of the mental process following the dissolution of the last thought-moment. However, it is not complete cessation. Consciousness arises in a new existence, in a new realm, in accordance with one of the mental images to which the dying person was attached at the last moment. Together with this rebirth-consciousness
there follow other consequences: mind and matter, sense-bases, contact, and feeling. Thus there are five causes (ignorance, etc.) and the cycle of action followed by the cycle of results (consciousness, etc.). Likewise, from the moment of conception to the moment of death the psychophysical phenomena arise ceaselessly. In the course of their arising, pleasant and unpleasant feelings cause craving, etc., in the next existence. Thus there are only causes and effects. Because of ignorance,
kamma, etc., new existence, consciousness, etc., arise and then we speak of a man’s attainment of the celestial realm or damnation in hell. In reality there is no transmigration of a person, a being, or an entity. There is only the arising of mind and matter afresh in a later life as the result of kamma in a former existence. During a single life we
have only a psychophysical process as a result of former states of consciousness. You should understand this nature of life by listening to discourses and by reading scriptures. Those who have such knowledge are free from two wrong views: the annihilationist view that a man’s life is annihilated at death and the eternalistic view that a man’s soul passes on to another place after death and remains permanent. Gaining Freedom from Wrong ViewHowever, the knowledge that we acquire from books and teachers (sutamayañāna) is not well-founded. Insight-knowledge (bhāvanāmayañāna) is more trustworthy, so you need to meditate to discriminate
between mind and matter, and comprehend their characteristics. When you bend, stretch, or move your leg or hand, you recognise the mind that wants to bend, etc., and then you come to know without thinking that the bending of the leg is due to the mind’s inclination to bend and so forth. When you make a mental note of seeing something, you know that you see because of your eye, the visible object, and consciousness. The same may be said of hearing, etc., and we become aware of mind and
matter as the cause, and seeing, hearing, etc., as the effect. We come to know, too, that preceding thought-moments determine succeeding thought-moments, that perception depends on the presence of the object to be perceived, and that thought-moments arise and pass away afresh as units. To the meditator, death is like the dissolution of the thought-moment that is now apperceived. It is
not the dissolution of a person or being. Rebirth is also like the arising of a unit of consciousness that is apperceived. It is not the passing on of an individual being. Rebirth means the arising of a new moment of consciousness following an attachment to an object just before death. Thus the meditator realises independently the cause-and-effect relation (of psychophysical phenomena
) and some meditators can explain it clearly though they have no academic knowledge. Once you realise the purely psychophysical phenomena of life that are in a constant, causally related state of flux, you are free from eternalism (that the soul continues to exist after death) and annihilationism (that the soul if annihilated by death). Also abandoned are the belief that man is
created by God, and the belief that man comes into existence without any cause. Creationism (visamahetukaditthi) is a kind of eternalism, while the belief in no root cause (ahetukaditthi), belongs to the category of wrong view leading to unwholesome deeds. Discriminative knowledge of cause and effect (paccayapariggahañāna) is opposed to these four wrong views. The Arising of Knowledge by ComprehensionThe two right views that we have mentioned: analytical knowledge of mind and matter and knowledge by discerning conditionality are basic to meditation, hence they are called right view through insight-knowledge (vipassanāsammāditthi). In the course of further introspection the meditator realises
independently that all the psychophysical phenomena arising from the six senses are impermanent, unsatisfactory, and insubstantial. This realisation is due to the discovery of the fact that everything that arises invariably vanishes. If some thoughts occur to you while you are noteing the rising, falling, etc., you should note them, too, and they will pass away. You see the arising and vanishing of a new
mental event, realise its impermanence, and reflect on the impermanence of all mental phenomena. This is knowledge by comprehension (sammasanañāna). If while being mindful of the arising, falling, etc., you have an unpleasant feeling of stiffness, pain, itchiness, etc., you should fix your mind on it and note “stiff, stiff,” “pain, pain,” etc. Then your
unpleasant feeling will gradually disappear. You realise its impermanence and infer the impermanence of all feelings. This is also knowledge by comprehension. You should also take note of craving, anger, displeasure, and other mental states that arise. You will find that they vanish as you note them. Reflection on their impermanence is knowledge by comprehension, Fixing your mind on the movements of any part of your body such as bending, stretching, etc., is
momentary and impermanent, and so is the mental state at the moment of noteing the rising of the abdomen. Each mental event vanishes together with its corresponding physical event. Thus you can realise their impermanence. Their impermanence leads you to realise their unsatisfactoriness, undependability, and painfulness, your lack of control over them, and the occurrence of phenomena in their state of nature. This reflection is the first insight-knowledge that you gain in meditation.
It is knowledge by comprehension, the first of the ten kinds of insight-knowledge. As you keep on making a note of all phenomena that occur without reflection, your insight quickens. Arising is followed so quickly by vanishing that at last your attention is confined only to vanishing. At this stage, impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and not-self become more clearly manifest. This insight into the
rapid arising and passing away is called “udayabbayañāna.” At this stage, the meditator sees lights, feels elated, ecstatic, and excessively joyful. These sensations and visions have to be noted and rejected. Overcoming them, the meditator finds that the arising of the phenomenon that he notes is no longer apparent and only their vanishing remains in the
focus of his attention. The meditator thinks he is aware only of the vanishing of the phenomenon and this awareness clearly points up to the rapidity with which everything dissolves and passes away. This insight into passing away as the only reality is knowledge of dissolution (bhangañāna). At this
stage, no image, vision, or sign occurs to the meditator. He finds that everything vanishes instantly without getting from one place to another. For example, when he directs his attention to bending, the meditator sees no image of his hand or leg. He finds only the physical phenomenon and the corresponding consciousness vanishing, The same may be said of stretching, walking, rising, falling, and so forth. This discovery helps to underscore the nature of the three characteristics. With the development of knowledge of dissolution knowledge of fearfulness (bhayañāna) and other kinds of knowledge arise. These latter kinds of knowledge make the meditator more fully conscious of the dissolution of everything and the three marks of existence: impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and not-self. Among these insights, knowledge of equanimity about formations (sankhārupekkhāñāna) is
very subtle and satisfying. It makes the meditator indifferent to both pleasant and unpleasant sense-objects, which can, therefore, neither repel nor attract him. The meditator can then remain mindful for two or three hours at a stretch. When this knowledge is fully developed, the meditator gains insight leading to emergence (vutthānagāminiñāna). The last part of this insight is called knowledge of adaptation (anulomañāna). This insight-knowledge means a clear grasp of any one of the three marks
of existence and it is the right view based on insight. The Arising of Path KnowledgeKnowledge of adaptation is the last of the different levels of knowledge associated with mindfulness.
Immediately after the end of this knowledge the meditator is face to face with nibbāna where mind, matter, and mental formations become extinct. This contact with nibbāna involves maturity-knowledge (gotrabhūñāna), path-knowledge and fruition-knowledge. Of these three, the path-knowledge is the right view of the path (magga sammāditthi). Contact with nibbāna means seeing that the mind and matter and mental formations that arise and
pass away are completely extinct. At the moment of the arising of insight-knowledge the meditator sees only the psychophysical phenomena arising and vanishing. With the end of the last adaptation-knowledge, the psychophysical phenomena cease to arise and their complete extinction means realisation of the peace of nibbāna. This will be fully understood only by those who have had the experience. Those who have no experience may just imagine it. Seeing the Four Noble Truths SimultaneouslySeeing nibbāna means seeing the Four Noble Truths. When the meditator sees the complete extinction of all psychophysical phenomena that arise and pass away, he knows that it is the highest bliss. He
knows, too, that compared with nibbāna, the ever arising and vanishing phenomena are painful. Because of this awareness he is more or less free from craving for such phenomena. At the stage of Stream-winning he is free from the craving that is strong enough to consign him to the lower realms. At the stage of Once-returning he is free from gross sensual desire, at the stage of Non-returning he is
free from the subtle sensual desire, while at the stage of Arahantship he is free from the desire for the realms of form and the formless realms. Thus the meditator knows freedom from desire through avoidance (pahānābhisamaya). Actual contact with nibbāna is the third noble truth. The realisation of this truth occurs in the mind of the meditator
and so it is known through development (bhāvanābhisamaya). In brief, the meditator’s insight into the third truth (the truth of cessation) means immediate realisation of the other three noble truths. The Three Stages of the PathThere are three stages of right view. First we have the basic right view; then there is right view based
on insight-knowledge, which is the forerunner of the noble path (pubbabhāga vipassanā sammāditthi), and lastly we have the right view of the noble ones (Ariyasammāditthi). The same may be said of the other factors of the Noble Eightfold Path. Each part of the path has three stages: the basic path, the preliminary path, and the noble path. We may consider right view as an example. The belief in kamma is very important because it is the
basic path. Without the belief in kamma one will not avoid misdeeds and it will be difficult to do wholesome deeds such as almsgiving and morality. Even when such a man has to give alms by force of circumstance, it will be an act divorced from knowledge and so the merit he gains will be inferior. He is likely to be reborn in the lower realms and stands little chance of achieving a fortunate rebirth, let
alone the noble path or nibbāna. On the other hand, the man who believes in kamma avoids misdeeds, devotes himself to wholesome deeds, hears the discourses on the Dhamma and practises insight meditation. Even if he does not have unusual spiritual experience, he will be happy in his future lives. If he fully develops right view up to adaptation-knowledge, there will arise the right view about the noble path and he will actually see nibbāna. Let us affirm our belief in kamma in accordance with the teaching of the Buddha. Those who cannot as yet practise insight meditation should pay special attention to this right view. They should also implant the belief in the minds of their children. Without this belief, a child is not a true Buddhist although he may be called a Buddhist by birth. He would have unwholesome thoughts and ridicule the wholesome
deeds of his parents such as revering the memory of the Buddha, keeping sabbath, giving alms, etc. When he grows up he may convert to another religion through marriage or for some other reason, or he may become an agnostic. You should instill this right view in your children and if possible, make them strengthen it through meditation. Let us then affirm our right view in kamma although others may reject it; cultivate right thoughts and
adopt right practice that will lessen defilements. Let us avoid wrong views and stick to right views for our spiritual growth. Those who believe in kamma should strengthen the belief. Those who have not gained insight-knowledge should practise meditation. Those who are engaged in meditation or have had much
practice in it should set their heart on having higher insights. They should try to gain knowledge of arising and passing away that affords unusual spiritual experience, ecstasy, and a firm basis for path-knowledge and its fruition. They should also seek knowledge of equanimity about formations, which is very subtle, calls for relaxed attentiveness, and is something like spontaneous awareness. It will make
them completely detached in the face of pleasant or unpleasant sense-objects. At this moment they will have the Arahant’s attribute called indifference to six sense-objects (chalangupekkhā). The experience is gratifying to the meditator and awe-inspiring to others. With the perfection of this knowledge there arises the right view about the path that brings one into
contact with nibbāna. At this stage all the wrong views become completely extinct. You should, then, try to gain at least the right view on the level of Stream-winning and, if possible, right view on a higher level. Through right views we can overcome self-conceit (asmimāna, ditthimāna), which dominates us on the lower paths. This self-conceit is rooted in qualities that we really possess and so it is also called
yathāvamāna. We can finally eradicate this kind of conceit only when we become Arahants. To overcome it we have to replace wrong views with right views. It is up to us to conquer it through Arahantship. |
