Essential Early Buddhist Doctrines Unit MBI 103
LESSON 2
The Four Noble Truths
cattari ariya saccani
When Buddha returned from his Awakening meditation and encountered his companions, he spoke of the four Noble Truths. The first Noble Truth was, “All is Suffering”.
I would like you to imagine for a moment that you are one of these companions. You have left the safety, wealth and security of a home where you saw no true happiness, to wander among the poor, hungry, sick and dying, uneducated and tired of life. You have spent six years in the forest as an ascetic under extreme conditions and watched Buddha go further than any other man would have gone in search of the truth.
Then one day he appears before you and declares, “I am awakened, and this is the great Truth you have been waiting for.” You await breathless for this great Truth and Buddha declares, “All is suffering”.
Truthfully, what would be your response?
“Are you crazy Gotama? What sort of Truth is that? Any fool can see with their own eyes and through their own experience that all is Suffering.”
We must therefore assume two things, -- that these companions were advanced in their understanding and that Buddha was not really just saying, “All is Suffering”.
Now that is the essence of this lesson. What was Buddha really saying when he declared that, “All is Suffering”?
Lesson 2 The Four Noble Truths
"Bhikkhus, it is through not realizing, through not penetrating the Four Noble Truths that this long course of birth and death has been passed through and undergone by me as well as by you. What are these four? They are the noble truth of Dukkha; the noble truth of the origin of Dukkha; the noble truth of the cessation of Dukkha; and the noble truth of the way to the cessation of Dukkha. But now, bhikkhus, that these have been realized and penetrated, cut off is the craving for existence, destroyed is that which leads to renewed becoming, and there is no fresh becoming."
Are these Four Noble Truths then so Important in the Buddhist teachings that they deserve such a prominent place? Look at the simile of the elephant's footprint in the Majjhima Nikaya 28 and the Simsapa Leaves in the Samyutta Nikaya LVI.31.
The Elephant’s Footprint
[Ven. Sariputta:] "Friends, just as the footprints of all legged animals are encompassed by the footprint of the elephant, and the elephant's footprint is reckoned the foremost among them in terms of size; in the same way, all skillful qualities are gathered under the four noble truths. Under which four? Under the noble truth of Dhukka, under the noble truth of the origination of Dhukka, under the noble truth of the cessation of Dhukka, and under the noble truth of the path of practice leading to the cessation of Dhukka."
Simsapa Leaves
Once the Blessed One was staying at Kosambi in the Simsapa tree grove. Then, picking up a few Simsapa leaves with his hand, he asked the monks, "How do you construe this, monks: Which are more numerous, the few Simsapa leaves in my hand or those overhead in the Simsapa grove?"
"The leaves in the hand of the Blessed One are few in number, lord. Those overhead in the grove are far more numerous."
"In the same way, monks, those things that I have known with direct knowledge but have not taught are far more numerous than the things I have taught. And why haven't I taught them? Because they are not connected with the goal, do not relate to the rudiments of the holy life, and do not lead to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to calm, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding. That is why I have not taught them.
"And what have I taught? 'This is Dhukka... This is the origination of Dhukka... This is the cessation of Dhukka... This is the path of practice leading to the cessation of Dhukka.' This is what I have taught. And why have I taught these things? Because they are connected with the goal, relate to the rudiments of the holy life, and lead to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to calm, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding. This is why I have taught them.
"Therefore your duty is the contemplation, 'This is Dhukka... This is the origination of Dhukka... This is the cessation of Dhukka... This is the path of practice leading to the cessation of Dhukka."
In Buddha's first sermon, the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, he declared that :
the first truth (suffering), is to be fully understood;
the second truth (cause ), is to be abandoned;
the third truth (cessation), is to be realized;
the fourth truth (the path), is to be cultivated.
Likewise, in the Visuddhi Magga XVI, the First Noble Truth of suffering is compared with the arising of a disease, the Second Noble Truth of the origin of suffering with the diagnosis of the cause of the disease, the Third Noble truth of the cessation of suffering with the prognosis of the cure of the disease and the Fourth Noble Truth with the medicine.
But all these Truths are impregnated with the idea that the disease is delusion. It is an understanding of these truths that turns that delusion into illusion, since there is no feeling agent, no doer, no liberated one, no one who follows along the path. In a Buddhist sense, the only true medicine is understanding that there is no one who suffers and that all phenomena are empty, being constructed in the mind on the basis of the capacity of the human creature to transform various external properties that irritate the system.
Therefore, it is said in the Vissuddhi Magga XVI:
The deed is, but no doer of the deed is there.
Nibbána is, but not the man that enters it.
The path is, but no traveler on it is seen.
Of permanency, joy, of self and beauty;
The Deathless Realm is empty of an ego,
And free from permanency, joy and self, the path.'
The Four Truths
The First Noble Truth of Dhukka (Suffering)
"Vision arose, insight arose, discernment arose, knowledge arose, illumination arose within me with regard to things never heard before: 'This is the noble truth of Dhukka'...
'This, the noble truth of Dhukka' is to be comprehended'...
'This noble truth of Dhukka has been comprehended'...
The Second Noble Truth of the Origination of Dhukka
"Vision arose, insight arose, discernment arose, knowledge arose, awakening arose within me with regard to things never heard before:
'This is the noble truth of the origination of Dhukka'...
'This noble truth of the origination of Dhukka is to be abandoned'...
'This noble truth of the origination of Dhukka has been abandoned.'
The Third Noble Truth of the Cessation of Dhukka
"Vision arose, insight arose, discernment arose, knowledge arose, awakening arose within me with regard to things never heard before:
'This is the noble truth of the cessation of Dhukka'...
'This noble truth of the cessation of Dhukka' is to be directly experienced'...
'This noble truth of the cessation of Dhukka has been directly experienced.'
The Fourth Noble Truth: the Practice Leading to the Cessation of Dhukka
"Vision arose, insight arose, discernment arose, knowledge arose, awakening arose within me with regard to things never heard before:
'This is the noble truth of the way of practice leading to the cessation of Dhukka'...
'This noble truth of the way of practice leading to the cessation of Dhukka is to be developed'...
'This noble truth of the way of practice leading to the cessation of Dhukka has been developed.'
When Buddha declared, "Vision arose, insight arose, discernment arose, knowledge arose, awakening arose,” he was not just talking about a vision and insight. There was also discernment, a profound experience related to suffering, which was followed by knowledge and awakening.
As you can see, the Noble Truths are not merely a fragile and unsupported series of insights. What a great mistake it would then be for anyone to think that a cursory glance at one’s apparent suffering can provide the truth about that suffering. How foolish it is therefore to assume a knowledge of suffering and its cause without actually oneself experiencing that suffering. How insensible it is for one to teach the truth of suffering without teaching the importance of the direct experience of that suffering for oneself.
Samyutta Nikaya LVI.11
"And, monks, as long as this knowledge and vision of mine -- with its three rounds and twelve permutations concerning these four noble truths as they actually are present -- was not pure, I did not claim to have directly awakened to the right self-awakening unexcelled in the cosmos with its devas, Maras, and Brahmas, with its contemplatives and priests, its royalty and commonfolk.
But as soon as this knowledge and vision of mine -- with its three rounds and twelve permutations concerning these four noble truths as they actually are present -- was truly pure, then I did claim to have directly awakened to the right self-awakening unexcelled in the cosmos with its devas, Maras and Brahmas, with its contemplatives and priests, its royalty and common folk.
Knowledge and vision arose in me: 'Unprovoked is my release.
This is the last birth. There is now no further becoming.'"
Buddha declared that present in his knowledge and vision of the truths were three rounds and twelve permutations. However, we should not forget that the final and most important phase of his direct experience was his Awakening.
Note what Buddha says.
"And, monks, as long as this knowledge and vision of mine -- was not pure, I did not claim to have directly awakened.”
In other words, the idea that many have that Buddha just sat down and, without effort, simply became illuminated, is false. His internal integrity and previous practice led him on in his meditation beyond the impurity of the state of “no perception and no no perception,” to the Awakening that was pure and uncontaminated.
It was Awakening that made the Truths clear and pure.
So when you use your intellect to understand the Noble Truths, know with certainty that your own intellectual vision of the Noble Truths, important though it may be, is impure.
The Three Rounds
What then are the Three Rounds that Buddha mentions?
The first round is that of lopo [removal], meaning that by its final function, all clinging to mundane things had been removed.
The second round is when there arises vimutti [deliverance], meaning that by its final function, full-final Deliverance had been attained.
The third round is analayo [no lingering desire], pointing to the fact by its final function, no lingering desire now existed.
Buddha’s mind thenceforward became ekacitta [one mind], ekadhamma [one dharma], there being no duality. That which is removed is ignorance. That from which there is deliverance is craving. That which is a lingering desire is known as clinging.
The Twelve Permutations
Now let turn to his mention of the twelve permutations. What does permutation mean? It is “any possible arrangement of a given number of things taken from a series”. Buddha is here referring to the cycle of Dependent Origination. In calling it a permutation, he shows that one can enter this cycle wherever it is justifiable to do so, understanding the dependent arising of one element from a preceding element in the series. You will see that this is an important factor when we discuss Dependent Origination in more detail.
You will also see that apart from the factors of Dependent Origination, (which we can term, for convenience, a natural law), there also arise Causal Relations that relate one element to another element independent of the cycle.
A further point of importance is that there is a clear link between the Noble Truths and these other important factors. We can see, therefore, that it is always an error to simply state the Noble Truths like a parrot, believing that one understands them. This is like laying the foundations of a building in sand.
Build your knowledge of suffering while upon the path and continue to develop it until your own Awakening. Anything less is insufficient.
Looking further into this passage we read,
"And, monks, as long as this knowledge and vision of mine -- -- was not pure, I did not claim to have directly awakened.
Where did that purity come from?
Look at this other statement by Buddha about the Noble Truths from the Angutarra Nikaya.
Angutarra Nikaya VI.63.
“Dhukka should be known. The cause by which Dhukka comes into play should be known. The diversity in Dhukka should be known. The result of Dhukka should be known. The cessation of Dhukka should be known. The path of practice for the cessation of Dhukka should be known.' Thus it has been said. Why was it said?
‘Birth is Dhukka, aging is Dhukka, death is Dhukka;
sorrow, lamentation, pain is Dhukka, and despair is Dhukka;
association with what is not loved is Dhukka;
separation from what is loved is Dhukka;
not getting what is wanted is Dhukka.
In short, the five clinging-aggregates are Dhukka.’”
“And what is the cause by which Dhukka comes into play? Craving is the cause by which Dhukka comes into play.
"And what is the diversity in Dhukka? There is major Dhukka and minor, slowly fading and quickly fading. This is called the diversity in Dhukka.
"And what is the result of Dhukka? There are some cases in which a person overcome with pain, his mind exhausted, grieves, mourns, laments, beats his breast, and becomes bewildered. Or one overcome with pain, his mind exhausted, comes to search outside, 'Who knows a way or two to stop this pain?' I tell you, monks, that Dhukka results either in bewilderment or in search.”
"And what is the cessation of Dhukka? The cessation of craving is the cessation of Dhukka, and just this noble eightfold path is the path of practice leading to the cessation of Dhukka: right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.
"Now when a disciple of the noble ones discerns Dhukka in this way, the cause by which Dhukka comes into play in this way, the diversity of Dhukka in this way, the result of Dhukka in this way, the cessation of Dhukka in this way, and the path of practice leading to the cessation of Dhukka in this way, then he discerns this penetrative holy life as the cessation of Dhukka.
In this sutra extract SIX Noble Truths are mentioned, not FOUR.
Buddha here mentions, as additional fare for your examination, Diversity and Result.
Diversity of Suffering
The Diversity of Suffering is Major and Minor Suffering, which rests upon the span of time the suffering encompasses. We are not talking here about the conscious awareness of the suffering, but the time in which the particular stimulus for the suffering maintains its response strength.
If we examine most people’s fear of death, for example, it is clear that this is not always present in consciousness, but any contact with the idea or presence of death promotes that fear. In fact, the majority of persons live with the presence of death all their lives.
What other suffering covers a large span? There is the fear of illness and the revulsion and resistance to aging. Then there is sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair.
When you look at all these, you can see that indeed the predisposition for major suffering is eternally present.
Sorrow…Lamentation…Pain…Displeasure…Despair. Contemplate those things and see within yourself that predisposition for suffering. Indeed, the experience may not, at a given moment, be with you, but you are prone to these experiences.
The problem is that everyone waits until the experiences arise and then want an immediate cure. In Buddhism, there is a preventative medicine for suffering, but few are wise enough to take the path. As Buddha declared, “The majority are racing up and down on one side of the river. It is few who cross.” Are you running up and down on this near side with your predisposition to suffer, chasing false happiness?
But we must go further, for if your own liberation becomes central to the problem there is an evident identity present. It is this identity that inhibits any efforts to advance towards the knowledge and awakening necessary.
To counter this problem, the noble truths develop two sets of variables. In the first two truths we speak about cause. In the normally unmentioned second pair, diversity and result, we speak about the variables of consequence or effect. This is followed by the suggestion that the cause, as a new stimulus, can provide a new conditioned effect with correct attitude and intentions (cessation and correct action.)
The first four of the Six Noble truths are diagnostic. Buddha then provides the way to develop the cure. But like anyone presenting available cures for illness, the cure is client centered. The final choice lies with the afflicted.
Still, we cannot leave this present set of thoughts without pointing out that there is also the second part of this Diversity, the suffering that comes and goes without having a clear and strong conditioned disposition in the subconscious.
Actually, these events are quite frequent, but we ignore them completely because they appear so trivial. However, they can turn the apparently fleeting suffering of a “Dr Jekyll”, into a “Mr. Hyde”.
When encountering a dog in the street, the majority of people are cautious. This caution is perfectly natural, but also, in the majority of people, this caution is experienced as a slight, very slight, anxiety. It comes and it goes upon seeing that there is no cause for alarm, but that small anxiety can, with very little provocation, turn into a major cause of suffering, to the point that there may arise the constant suffering due to the fear of encountering a dog in the street.
Our lives are filled with thousands of these apparently trivial experiences of suffering. When you are working on internet and the current is cut, what happens to you? This is suffering. What happens when you drop and break a plate? You suffer. The list is interminable. It is this suffering that appears so insignificant that Buddhism addresses through the Noble Truths.
It is just because they appear so trivial that the false happiness is able to take precedence over suffering and leads to the sublimation of the possibility to re discover our true and pure nature as human creatures.
The Results of Suffering
The Results of Suffering are Bewilderment and Search. Once again, a comprehension of these results really is an important part of the understanding of the Noble Truths.
To be bewildered is similar to being perplexed and confused, but subtly different. When one is perplexed, there is a concomitant search for solutions that is primarily mental. When one is confused, one’s mind appears muddled and one quickly adopts a strategy of following some norm as a guide, or retreating into the security of waiting (non action).
When we are bewildered, something very different occurs. We are faced with chains of thought that move in two directions. We ask, “WHY is this occurring and WHAT can we do?” This becomes an important point to understand.
When there is suffering, our bewildered mind is in the past and the future. It is never in the present. Yet it is in the present that our suffering occurs.
This is important to remember, because the cessation of suffering addresses the “now”, not the past or future.
In fact, the search for a solution to bewilderment is ultimately resolved by the whole nature of the Noble Truths. The focus of the four truths is not really Dhukka, it is the larger uplifting spiritual search that makes the search for an end to suffering dissolve into an insignificant event when the correct view is perceived.
What led to Buddha’s awakening? His spiritual quest. He was not searching to end his own suffering. He was looking for the Spiritual Truth, whatever it turned out to be. He moved into the unstained non-verbal, subconscious levels of his mind, bringing to light hidden processes and truths that he and others were not aware of. Looking at suffering as a whole, not just as an apparent individual experience, led Buddha to the complete comprehension of spiritual issues as well.
.
"Now this, monks, is the Noble Truth of dukkha.
Birth is dukkha, aging is dukkha, death is dukkha;
sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair are dukkha;
association with the unbeloved is dukkha;
separation from the beloved is dukkha;
not getting what is wanted is dukkha.
In short, the five clinging-aggregates are dukkha."
We would clearly agree that all these are suffering. Given the chance to make and refine a list such as this, we may well have arrived at the same conclusions. How would we have done that?
By reflecting on our own experiences and those of the beings around us. They would be conclusions based upon observation and logic.
In basic exercises, in a preliminary to many meditations in order to engender Compassion, one reaches out with one’s mind to every part of the known world, to every corner, extending in one’s mind the energy of that Compassion to all who suffer. We may hear the cries of false happiness and suffering, but really, all we are doing is seeing our own suffering and extending that beyond the boundaries of our own body consciousness.
When we discover suffering by way of direct experience, that experience has no form to which it can be attached. There is no Identity to bind it, hold it or see it. It appears as boundless and all encompassing. It has no particularity. Thus it is seen truly as universal suffering.
Once outside that contemplative state, reflection brings a repulsion for that universal suffering and your vision of it becomes all encompassing. Then you can read all Buddha’s statements with a different mind. You can at least mentally capture the passion of Buddha’s revulsion for that state which, like a great dark mantle, is cast all over the world.
To see your own suffering brings sorrow; to see the suffering of others through your own experiences of suffering generates an intellectual Compassion; but to know the full suffering that generates the will to bring an end to that suffering for all creatures, that is the real birthplace of Compassion and of the Bodhisattva.
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying in Gaya, at Gaya Head, with 1,000 monks. There he addressed the monks:
"Monks, the All is aflame. What All is aflame? The eye is aflame. Forms are aflame. Consciousness at the eye is aflame. Contact (Sensation) at the eye is aflame. And whatever there is that arises in dependence on contact at the eye -- experienced as pleasure, pain or neither-pleasure-nor-pain (Emotion)-- that too is aflame. Aflame with what?
Aflame with the fire of passion (emotion), the fire of aversion, the fire of delusion (confusion)).
Aflame, I tell you, with birth, aging and death, with sorrows, lamentations, pains, distresses, and despairs.
"The ear is aflame. Sounds are aflame...
"The nose is aflame. Aromas are aflame...
"The tongue is aflame. Flavors are aflame...
"The body is aflame. Tactile sensations are aflame...
"The intellect is aflame. Ideas are aflame. Consciousness at the intellect is aflame. Contact at the intellect is aflame. And whatever there is that arises in dependence on contact at the intellect -- experienced as pleasure, pain or neither-pleasure-nor-pain -- that too is aflame.
Aflame with what?
Aflame with the fire of passion, the fire of aversion, the fire of delusion.
Aflame, I say, with birth, aging and death, with sorrows, lamentations, pains, distresses, and despairs.
"Seeing thus, the well-instructed disciple of the noble ones grows disenchanted with the eye, disenchanted with forms, disenchanted with consciousness at the eye, disenchanted with contact at the eye. And whatever there is that arises in dependence on contact at the eye, experienced as pleasure, pain or neither-pleasure-nor-pain: With that, too, he grows disenchanted.
"He grows disenchanted with the ear...
"He grows disenchanted with the nose...
"He grows disenchanted with the tongue...
"He grows disenchanted with the body...
"He grows disenchanted with the intellect, disenchanted with ideas, disenchanted with consciousness at the intellect, disenchanted with contact at the intellect. And whatever there is that arises in dependence on contact at the intellect, experienced as pleasure, pain or neither-pleasure-nor-pain: He grows disenchanted with that too. Disenchanted, he becomes dispassionate. Through dispassion, he is fully released. With full release, there is the knowledge, 'Fully released.' He discerns that 'Birth is ended, the holy life fulfilled, the task done. There is nothing further for this world.'"
This impassioned delivery in the Fire Sermon centers on two points relative to the nature of suffering:
1. Suffering is present through the processes of the six senses, (which include the mind sense), and are generated even at the levels of Sensation, Emotion, Perception and Consciousness.
2. How do they become manifest? They are “aflame with the fire of passion, aflame with the fire of aversion, aflame with the fire of delusion.” They are aflame with Greed, Aversion, and Confusion.
It is the emotional force of greed, the visceral force of sensation, and the mental force of thought that set alight the fire of the human creature at every level of his functioning. Yet this is not the cause of his suffering. We can say, however, that they give the flames their particular form.
"And this, monks is the noble truth of the origination of dukkha: the craving that makes for further becoming -- accompanied by passion and delight, relishing now here and now there -- i.e., craving for sensual pleasure, craving for becoming, craving for non-becoming."
Samyutta Nikaya LVI.11
"Monks, any desire and emotion with regard to craving for forms is a defilement of the mind. Any desire and emotion with regard to craving for sounds... craving for aromas... craving for flavors... craving for tactile sensations... craving for ideas is a defilement of the mind. When, with regard to these six bases, the defilements of awareness are abandoned, then the mind is inclined to renunciation. The mind fostered by renunciation feels malleable for the direct knowing of those qualities worth realizing."
Samyutta Nikaya XXVII. 8
The second Noble Truth is clear with respect to the apparent source of suffering:
"Monks, any desire and emotion with regard to craving for forms is a defilement of the mind.”
This includes, of course, all desire which is sensual, and emotions which rise from any of the sense bases and the mind itself.
We can say then that there is Sensual craving that is visceral, Emotional craving that has its roots in discrimination, and Mental craving for things more abstract and indefinite. Since there is no direct experience of either sensations or emotions that is not mentally monitored, it appears that the whole craving process is mental.
For example, there exists a physiological corrupted process that notes impinging stimuli as being suitable for approach responses, neutral responses and avoidance responses. The mind transforms these into experiences of desirability, neutrality and undesirability, which is then further transformed by recollection and unwholesome streams of thought. There is then an interminable barrage of events that are constantly causing agitation in the human mind due to the presence of this transformation and its consequential recollection.
Clearly the presence of this craving is not in itself desirable, but the obtaining of the object craved is. Thus it is the promise of obtaining the object of craving that is really the fount of suffering. We can call this the “expectation that arises from craving”.
But there are two other important cravings that one must now, in the beginning, be aware of. One is the craving for Existence and the other is the craving for Non Existence. These are, of course, more complex cravings, but they too must eventually be dissolved. In both, the Identity is present, the one desiring to leave completely all defilements, the other desiring not to leave them.
The craving for Existence, according to the Visuddhi Magga, is intimately connected with the Eternity-Belief," i.e., the belief in an absolute, eternal, ego-entity persisting independently of our body.
The craving for Non Existence is a negation of the truth that one must walk within the world of the senses with full discrimination, yet without being a part of that world. Those who cling to non existence wish to dwell exclusively apart from the world of the senses, which is really an idea alien to the nature of the human creature.
While all forms of craving arise and take root with the sense doors and pass by way of sensation and emotion, it is in consciousness where the craving is most evident.
“Here this craving mentioned arises and takes root. Eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind, are delightful and pleasurable: there this craving arises and takes
root. It is there, that visual objects, sounds, smells, tastes, bodily impressions, and mind-objects, appear desirable and pleasurable.”
It is in consciousness that, sense impression, emotions born of sense impression, perception, and volition, appear and are experienced as delightful and pleasurable.
The Cycle of Suffering
But clearly, just as there are actions that may be voluntarily taken to end this craving, there are consequences of this craving when that volition is not shown.
Incorrect Intentions and Incorrect Actions ensue that have two-fold consequences. If the craving is satisfied, then there arises the suffering of clinging and the important effect of reinforcing the conditions that permitted the desires to arise.
If the craving is not satisfied, then inappropriate action ensues, which further increases the desire and causes harm and damage to the mind/body of oneself and others.
Furthermore, this round of incorrect attitudes, intentions and actions clearly without the presence of equanimity leads to round after round of more suffering and greater negative karma.
Duality
From the Mahayana point of view, the naming of craving and its associated clinging, leads to too much stress upon the ideas of RESTRAINT and RENOUNCEMENT and often tends to set up internal conflict rather than allow the natural letting go of sense desires.
"From the remainderless fading and cessation of that very ignorance, there no longer exists [the sense of] the body on account of which that pleasure and pain internally arise. There no longer exists the speech... the intellect on account of which that pleasure and pain internally arise. There no longer exists the field, the site, the dimension, or the issue on account of which that pleasure and pain internally arise."
Samyutta Nikaya XLVI.11
"And this, monks, is the noble truth of the cessation of dukkha: the remainderless fading and cessation, renunciation, relinquishment, release, and letting go of that very craving."
Here then in the above passage is a key so often overlooked. It is important to remember, so attend very closely.
All have a direct relation with the possibility of dissolving completely and permanently the cycle of Dependent Origination.
Anguttara Nikaya X.92
"And what is the noble method that is rightly seen and rightly ferreted out by discernment? There is the case where a disciple of the noble ones notices:
When this is, that is.
From the arising of this comes the arising of that.
When this isn't, that isn't.
From the cessation of this comes the cessation of that.
"In other words:
From ignorance as a requisite condition come fabrications.
From fabrications as a requisite condition comes consciousness.
From consciousness as a requisite condition comes name-and-form.
From name-and-form as a requisite condition come the six sense media.
From the six sense media as a requisite condition comes contact.
From contact as a requisite condition comes feeling.
From feeling as a requisite condition comes craving.
From craving as a requisite condition comes clinging/sustenance.
From clinging/sustenance as a requisite condition comes becoming.
From becoming as a requisite condition comes birth.
From birth as a requisite condition, then old age and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, Dhukka, and despair come into play.
Such is the origination of this entire mass of Dhukka and suffering.
This, of course, is the famous Dependent Origination, which is much more complicated than appears at first glance.
"Now from the remainderless fading and cessation of that very ignorance comes the cessation of fabrications.
From the cessation of fabrications comes the cessation of consciousness.
From the cessation of consciousness comes the cessation of name-and-form.
From the cessation of name-and-form comes the cessation of the six sense media.
From the cessation of the six sense media comes the cessation of contact.
From the cessation of contact comes the cessation of feeling.
From the cessation of feeling comes the cessation of craving.
From the cessation of craving comes the cessation of clinging/sustenance.
From the cessation of clinging/sustenance comes the cessation of becoming.
From the cessation of becoming comes the cessation of birth.
From the cessation of birth, then old age and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, Dhukka, and despair all cease.
Such is the cessation of this entire mass of Dhukka and suffering.
"This is the noble method that is rightly seen and rightly ferreted out by discernment."
The Samyutta Nikaya XII.2 then gives us a fuller idea of what these various elements are:
"Now what is becoming? These three are becomings: sensual becoming, form becoming, and formless becoming. This is called becoming.
What are these three becomings? They are the basic fledgling sprouts of the three identities, the three Gunas, if you will. Sensual becoming is the visceral discrimination of the system to internal and external stimuli. Form becoming takes its force from the use of words and is the emotional discrimination of that which is pleasurable, neutral or unpleasurable. Formless becoming is the abstract way of thought connected with “mind thinking” as opposed to “word thinking”.
These discriminations are devoid of Identity, but contain the predisposition for identity growth.
"And what is clinging/sustenance? These four are clingings: sensuality clinging, view clinging, precept and practice clinging, and doctrine of self clinging. This is called clinging.
"And what is craving? These six are classes of craving: craving for forms, craving for sounds, craving for smells, craving for tastes, craving for tactile sensations, craving for ideas. This is called craving.
"And what is feeling (emotions) ? These six are classes of feeling: feeling born from eye-contact, feeling born from ear-contact, feeling born from nose-contact, feeling born from tongue-contact, feeling born from body-contact, feeling born from intellect-contact. This is called feeling.
"And what is contact (sensations)? These six are classes of contact: eye-contact, ear-contact, nose-contact, tongue-contact, body-contact, intellect-contact. This is called contact.
"And what are the six sense spheres? These six are sense spheres: the eye-sphere, the ear-sphere, the nose-sphere, the tongue-sphere, the body-sphere, the intellect-sphere. These are called the six sense spheres.
"And what is name and form? Feeling, perception, intention, contact, and attention: This is called name. The four great elements, and the form dependent on the four great elements: This is called form. This name and this form are called name and form.
"And what is consciousness? These six are classes of consciousness: eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, nose-consciousness, tongue-consciousness, body-consciousness, intellect-consciousness. This is called consciousness.
"And what are volitions? These three are fabrications: bodily fabrications, verbal fabrications, mental fabrications. These are called fabrications.
"And what is ignorance? Not knowing Dhukka, not knowing the origination of Dhukka, not knowing the cessation of Dhukka, not knowing the way of practice leading to the cessation of Dhukka: This is called ignorance."
But what happens after this cessation and discernment bring about the Extinction of Suffering? Where will all the delightful and pleasurable things be?
They will vanish, they will be extinguished. You will never again in this life enter into the world of Suffering or the world that you knew of Happiness.
You cannot have one, you see, without the other, because the Dual mind will have been dissolved. Without Suffering, Happiness cannot exist; without Happiness, Suffering cannot exist.
But do not be dismayed, for the natural state of happiness that cannot be measured or known with words will assert itself. You will never know the old happiness, but nether will you know the old suffering. You will exist in a state of constant well being, with many other advantages which you will discover. One thing is certain, -- Birth is ended. There is no more Identity. No more Id, Ego or Super Ego. No more false attitudes intentions or actions. No more mental indifference.
'Birth is ended, the holy life fulfilled, the task done.
There is nothing further for this world.'"
"One attached is unreleased; one unattached is released. Should consciousness, when standing (still), stand attached to (a physical) form, supported by form (as its object), established on form, watered with delight, it would exhibit growth, increase, and development. Should consciousness, when standing (still), stand attached to feeling... to perception... to fabrications... it would exhibit growth, increase, and development. Were someone to say, 'I will describe a coming, a going, a passing away, an arising, a growth, an increase or a development of consciousness apart from form, from feeling, from perception, from fabrications,' that would be impossible.
"If a monk abandons passion for the property of form... feeling... perception... fabrications... consciousness, then owing to the abandoning of passion, the support is cut off, and consciousness is unestablished. Consciousness, thus unestablished, undeveloped, not performing any function, is released. Owing to its release, it stays firm. Owing to its staying firm, it is contented. Owing to its contentment, it is not agitated. Not agitated, he (the monk) is totally unbound right within himself. He discerns that, 'Birth is ended, the holy life fulfilled, the task done. There is nothing further for this world.”
Samyutta Nikaya XXII.53]
We see first that the human creature is released from the bondage of Identity and the Dual mind. Thus released, watered with the delight of equanimity, there is restoration of natural growth, increase in one’s capacities and a full development of the human potential.
The result is a steadiness or firmness of character and true contentment. This contentment generates a still mind that maintains the human in an unbound condition.
The text says “There is nothing further for this world.”
Do not interpret this phrase as, “Now you can die. This is the end of life.” To the contrary, it is then that life begins. The phrase simply means that the human creature no longer lives bound to this world of the senses. He is free to follow his own nature, which is unstained.
"Consciousness without feature, without end luminous all around:
Here water, earth, fire, and wind have no footing.
Here long and short coarse and fine; fair and foul; name and form, without remnant, are brought to an end.
With the cessation of consciousness, each is here brought to an end."
Digha Nikaya 11
Here, in this brief extract from the Digha Nikaya, we see that Duality itself has come to an end. There is no element of the physical world that can be grasped by the mind and divorced from its natural relationship with all things. The power of words to control the mind have been severed. The first dharma door is open.
One can, of course, use words, but they become tools of the pure mind, not the mind of dependent origination.
"There is that dimension where there is neither earth, nor water, nor fire, nor wind; neither dimension of the infinitude of space, nor dimension of the infinitude of consciousness, nor dimension of nothingness, nor dimension of neither perception nor non-perception; neither this world, nor the next world, nor sun, nor moon. And there, I say, there is neither coming, nor going, nor staying; neither passing away nor arising: unestablished, unevolving, without support (mental object). This, just this, is the end of Dhukka."
Khuddaka Udana VIII.1
Suffering, unsupported by the duality of the stained mind, falls away and the pure mind is able to grasp the unity of all things. It is not that all life and natural unchained discrimination cease. Natural discrimination, unbound by mental concepts of a separate reality for each apparent object, loses its base for clinging.
That phrase “nor dimension of neither perception nor non-perception”, is the essence of the quotation. When there is neither one nor the other, one is not left in a vacuous space. One is chained to neither. Experiences do not cease, but they are relegated to their natural place and as such, do not become separated from all other experiences.
"There is, monks, an unborn -- unbecome -- unmade -- unfabricated. If there were not that unborn -- unbecome -- unmade -- unfabricated, there would not be the case that emancipation from the born -- become -- made -- fabricated would be discerned. But precisely because there is an unborn -- unbecome -- unmade -- unfabricated, emancipation from the born -- become -- made -- fabricated is discerned."
"One who is dependent has wavering. One who is independent has no wavering. There being no wavering, there is calm. There being calm, there is no desire. There being no desire, there is no coming or going. There being no coming or going, there is no passing away or arising. There being no passing away or arising, there is neither a here nor a there nor a between-the-two. This, just this, is the end of Dhukka."
Kuddaka Udana VIII.3 and 4
When one is trapped in this cycle of dependent origination, it is difficult to see what is really happening. Suffering, when it is strong, is perceived, but is balanced against the false pleasure that satisfies craving. Only when the cycle has been broken can one really understand what freedom is about.
A physically captive slave can at least see others free and yearn for that freedom. But the human creature trapped in mental slavery, and accompanied by almost all other human creatures in this false happiness and suffering, has no idea what real freedom is. It is only when he is actually free that he can be released from chained discrimination, identity and volition that have bound him all his life.
"There are these two extremes that are not to be indulged in by one who has gone forth. Which two? That which is devoted to sensual pleasure in connection with sensuality: base, domestic, common, ignoble, unprofitable; and that which is devoted to self-affliction: painful, ignoble, unprofitable. Avoiding both of these extremes, the middle way realized by the Tathagata -- producing vision, producing knowledge -- leads to calm, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding.
"And what is the middle way realized by the Tathagata that -- producing vision, producing knowledge -- leads to calm, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding? Precisely this Noble Eightfold Path: right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. This is the middle way realized by the Tathagata that -- producing vision, producing knowledge -- leads to calm, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding."
Samyutta Nikaya LVI.11
Here Buddha speaks of two extremes. In the first case he is referring to those who are completely materialistic and the diametrically opposed position is that of asceticism. Neither, of course leads to liberation.
But although Buddha uses these obvious extremes, he is talking about the more normal conditions that we can call “self indulgence” and “self renunciation”. He is saying that we cannot solve the human problem of self-indulgence, clinging and craving and the rest, by total renouncement. Indeed, he advocates restraint directed by a mind on the road to recovery of its purity. That restraint takes the form of correct observation and correct volition.
Buddha then provides us with the targets of this correct observation and correct volition that lead to calm, direct knowledge, self-awakening and release.
Note the key word in that phrase. It is “direct knowledge”. Buddha is not advocating an intellectual appreciation of the factors of the path. To simply accept and note the eightfold path and to observe with a stained mind all these factors is not a valid approach. Similarly, to apply a tainted volition that is completely mind-directed is also an error.
"Suppose a man in need of oil, looking for oil, wandering in search of oil, would pile gravel in a tub and press it, sprinkling it again and again with water. If he were to pile gravel in a tub and press it, sprinkling it again and again with water even when having made a wish [for results] ... having made no wish ... both having made a wish and having made no wish ... neither having made a wish nor having made no wish, he would be incapable of obtaining results. Why is that? Because it is an inappropriate way of obtaining results.
"In the same way, any priests or contemplatives endowed with wrong view, wrong resolve, wrong speech, wrong action, wrong livelihood, wrong effort, wrong mindfulness, and wrong concentration: If they follow the holy life even when having made a wish [for results] ... having made no wish... both having made a wish and having made no wish ... neither having made a wish nor having made no wish, they are incapable of obtaining results. Why is that? Because it is an inappropriate way of obtaining results....
"Suppose a man in need of oil, looking for oil, wandering in search of oil, would pile sesame seeds in a tub and press them, sprinkling them again and again with water. If he were to pile sesame seeds in a tub and press them, sprinkling them again and again with water, even when having made a wish [for results] ... having made no wish ... both having made a wish and having made no wish ... neither having made a wish nor having made no wish, he would be capable of obtaining results. Why is that? Because it is an appropriate way of obtaining results.
"In the same way, any priests or contemplatives endowed with right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration: If they follow the holy life even when having made a wish [for results] ... having made no wish... both having made a wish and having made no wish ... neither having made a wish nor having made no wish, they are capable of obtaining results. Why is that? Because it is an appropriate way of obtaining results."
Majjhima Nikaya 125
Here Buddha says that if one uses the wrong methods, one will not obtain the desired results. This warning appears to be obvious, but actually it is much more subtle, for it is exceedingly difficult to see if in fact one is tackling the task in the correct way.
When people come to the seminary, they can spout the eightfold path with relish and say that they are being mindful of the factors, but when they are asked how they are applying themselves to the eightfold path all they can say is that they are being mindful of these elements.
Which mind is being mindful? Is vigilance in the hands of the un-restrained mind? Is volition in the hands of the mind of folly?
One must use the correct method of vigilance and volition or there will be no advances.
"Monks, ignorance is the leader in the attainment of unskillful qualities, followed by lack of conscience and lack of concern. In a unknowledgeable person, immersed in ignorance, wrong view arises. In one of wrong view, wrong resolve arises. In one of wrong resolve, wrong speech .... In one of wrong speech, wrong action .... In one of wrong action, wrong livelihood .... In one of wrong livelihood, wrong effort .... In one of wrong effort, wrong mindfulness .... In one of wrong mindfulness, wrong concentration arises.
"Clear knowing is the leader in the attainment of skillful qualities, followed by conscience and concern. In a knowledgeable person, immersed in clear knowing, right view arises. In one of right view, right resolve arises. In one of right resolve, right speech .... In one of right speech, right action .... In one of right action, right livelihood .... In one of right livelihood, right effort .... In one of right effort, right mindfulness .... In one of right mindfulness, right concentration arises."
Samyutta Nikaya XLV.1
Here we see the answer: ignorance, lack of conscience and lack of concern are the enemy.
Ignorance is the lack of clear knowing. Thus anyone who uses the ideas and concepts of the eightfold path without knowing how they are to be applied is walking in ignorance.
The arising conscience that comes from this knowledge is not the agitated conscience that is conditioned to feel culpable. It is the conscience that is aware of the correct path and turns always towards that path.
The arising concern is not the agitation of an impatient mind. It is the concern and willingness of the mother to guide her child in the correct path.
Thus clear knowledge provides the subtle motivation and the guidance that permits the correct approach to the eightfold path, the abbreviated details of which are shown in the Samyutta Nikaya XLV.8.
The Noble Eightfold Path: "Monks, what is the noble eightfold path? Right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.
"And what is right view? Knowledge with regard to Dhukka, knowledge with regard to the origination of Dhukka, knowledge with regard to the cessation of Dhukka, knowledge with regard to the way of practice leading to the cessation of Dhukka: This is called right view.
"And what is right resolve? Resolve aimed at freedom from sensuality, at freedom from ill will, at harmlessness: This is called right resolve.
"And what is right speech? Abstaining from lying, from divisive speech, from abusive speech, and from idle chatter: This is called right speech.
"And what is right action? Abstaining from taking life, from stealing, and from unchastity. This is called right action.
"And what is right livelihood? There is the case where a disciple of the noble ones, having abandoned dishonest livelihood, keeps his life going with right livelihood: This is called right livelihood.
"And what is right effort? There is the case where a monk generates desire, endeavors, activates persistence, upholds, and exerts his intent for the sake of the non-arising of evil, unskillful qualities that have not yet arisen... for the sake of the abandoning of evil, unskillful qualities that have arisen... for the sake of the arising of skillful qualities that have not yet arisen...(and) for the maintenance, non-confusion, increase, plenitude, development, and culmination of skillful qualities that have arisen: This is called right effort.
"And what is right mindfulness? There is the case where a monk remains focused on the body in and of itself -- ardent, alert, and mindful -- putting away greed and Dhukka with reference to the world. He remains focused on feelings in and of themselves... the mind in and of itself... mental qualities in and of themselves -- ardent, alert, and mindful -- putting aside greed and Dhukka with reference to the world. This is called right mindfulness.
"And what is right concentration? There is the case where a monk -- quite withdrawn from sensuality, withdrawn from unskillful (mental) qualities -- enters and remains in the first jhana: rapture and pleasure born from withdrawal, accompanied by directed thought and evaluation. With the stilling of directed thought and evaluation, he enters and remains in the second jhana: rapture and pleasure born of composure, unification of awareness free from directed thought and evaluation -- internal assurance. With the fading of rapture he remains in equanimity, mindful, and fully alert, and physically sensitive of pleasure. He enters and remains in the third jhana, and of him the Noble Ones declare, 'Equanimous and mindful, he has a pleasurable abiding.' With the abandoning of pleasure and pain -- as with the earlier disappearance of elation and Dhukka -- he enters and remains in the fourth jhana: purity of equanimity and mindfulness, neither pleasure nor pain. This is called right concentration."
Samyutta Nikaya XLV.8
"In any doctrine and discipline where the noble eightfold path is not found, no contemplative of the first... second... third... fourth order (levels of advancement on the arahat path) is found.
But in any doctrine and discipline where the noble eightfold path is found, contemplatives of the first... second... third... fourth order are found.
The noble eightfold path is found in this doctrine and discipline, and right here there are contemplatives of the first... second... third... fourth order. Other teachings are empty of knowledgeable contemplatives. And if the monks dwell rightly, this world will not be empty of Arahants."
Digha Nikaya 16
Her reply: "The three aggregates are not included under the Noble Eightfold Path, friend Visakha, but the Noble Eightfold Path is included under the three aggregates. Right speech, right action, and right livelihood come under the aggregate of virtue. Right energy, right mindfulness, and right concentration come under the aggregate of concentration. Right view and right attitude come under the aggregate of discernment."
Certainly this makes the path much easier to understand, although for a deeper and more profound understanding, one needs much more than a shallow appraisal.
'Mere suffering exists, no sufferer is found.
'The first truth and the second truth are empty
1. Right view (sammá-ditthi)
2. Right attitude or thought (sammá-sankappa)
3. Right speech (sammá-vácá)
4. Right action (sammá-kammanta)
5. Right livelihood (sammd-djiva)
6. Right effort (sammá-váyáma)
7. Right mindfulness or attention, intention (sammá-sati)
8. Right concentration (sammá-samádhi)
Wisdom
(paññá)
Virtue
(síla)
Concentration
(samádhi)
Now, finally, we have a significant extract from the Samyutta Nikaya XLV.2, which is much more important than might at first appear. Look at it closely and see the extreme importance of this advice.
Ven. Ananda went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down to the Blessed One, sat to one side. As he was sitting there, Ven. Ananda said to the Blessed One, "This is half of the holy life, lord: having admirable people as friends, companions, and colleagues."
"Don't say that, Ananda. Don't say that. Having admirable people as friends, companions, and colleagues is actually the whole of the holy life. When a monk has admirable people as friends, companions, and colleagues, he can be expected to develop and pursue the noble eightfold path.
"And how does a monk who has admirable people as friends, companions, and colleagues, develop and pursue the noble eightfold path? There is the case where a monk develops right view dependent on seclusion, dependent on dispassion, dependent on cessation, resulting in relinquishment. He develops right resolve ... right speech ... right action ... right livelihood ... right effort ... right mindfulness ... right concentration dependent on seclusion, dependent on dispassion, dependent on cessation, resulting in relinquishment. This is how a monk who has admirable people as friends, companions, and colleagues, develops and pursues the noble eightfold path.
"And through this line of reasoning one may know how having admirable people as friends, companions, and colleagues is actually the whole of the holy life: It is in dependence on me as an admirable friend that beings subject to birth have gained release from birth, that beings subject to aging have gained release from aging, that beings subject to death have gained release from death, that beings subject to sorrow, lamentation, pain, Dhukka, and despair have gained release from sorrow, lamentation, pain, Dhukka, and despair. It is through this line of reasoning that one may know how having admirable people as friends, companions, and colleagues is actually the whole of the holy life."
Samyutta Nikaya XLV.2
Exercise 2
Now comes a difficult and revealing task. Write a page describing your friends, making clear distinctions about whether or not they are admirable companions as the Buddha himself might have seen them. Explain the reasons why. Show too those qualities that make them inappropriate from a Buddhist point of view.