Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta

Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammasambuddhassa
Homage to the Blessed, the Worthy, the Perfectly Self-Enlightened One
Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta
(The Setting in Motion of the Wheel of the Dhamma)
This Sutta is the first discourse of the Buddha, which was given to the group of five bhikkhus.
The Sutta begins:
‘Thus have I heard: Once the Blessed One was dwelling in the Deer-Park at Isipatana near Benares.
Here ‘once’ means on the full-moon day of June-July nearly two months after the Buddha’s enlightenment. At that time the Buddha went from Bodhgaya to the Deer-Park at Isipatana. Here, ‘isi’ means ‘sage’; ‘patana’ means ‘to fall or land’. Before our Buddhisatta became the Enlightened One, there were many sages, especially many Paccekabuddhas, flying from the Himalayas to land there for alms-round in Benares. After alms-round, they flew back to the Himalayas from that Deer-Park. And they also assembled there for Uposatha and meeting. And the previous Buddhas also landed there to expound the Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta, the Setting in Motion of the Wheel of the Dhamma. That is why the place is called ‘isipatana’, the landing place of sages.
The Sutta continues:
‘Then the Blessed One addressed the group of five bhikkhus as follows:
“Bhikkhus, these two extremes should not be followed by one who has gone forth [from the worldly life] into homelessness. What two?”
Here the five bhikkhus are Kondabba, Vappa, Bhaddiya, Mahanama, and Assaji. Among them, Assaji was to become the teacher of Venerable Sariputta.
All of them had fulfilled paramis, perfections, since one hundred thousand aeons ago in the time of the Buddha Padumuttara. Especially, they had practiced vipassana up to savkarupekkhabana stage, the insight knowledge of equanimity towards formations, in previous Buddhas’ Dispensations.
Why can we say that they had fulfilled parimis, perfections? Because after listening to the Anattalakkhana Sutta, they would certainly become arahants and possess Four Analytical Knowledges.
Four Analytical Knowledges are:
1.   attha-patisambhida: the Analytical Knowledge of the noble truth of suffering, dukkha-sacca.
2.   dhamma-patisambhida: the Analytical Knowledge of the noble truth of the origin of suffering, samudaya-sacca.
3.   nirutti-patisambhida: the Analytical Knowledge of the language and grammar usage about the dukkha-sacca-dhammas and samudaya-sacca-dhammas.
4.   patibhana-patisambhida: the Analytical Knowledge of the previous three Analytical Knowledges.

There are five causes to attain the Four Analytical Knowledges:
1.   adhigama (achievement): achievement of arahantship or any other Noble Path.
2.   pariyatti (mastery of Scriptures): learning the three pitakas by heart.
3.   savana (listening): listening to the Dhamma carefully and respectfully.
4.   paripuccha (questioning): learning the commentaries and the knotty points in pali texts.
5.   pubbayoga (prior effort): having practiced vipassana up to savkarupekkhabana stage in previous Buddhas’ Dispensations by fulfilling gata-paccagata-vatta. Gata-paccagata-vatta means that on their way to the village for alms and on their way back, they were always practising samatha and vipassana meditation.
Among these five causes, the first one must be attained in that life when they attain the Four Analytical Knowledges. The remaining four causes must have been fulfilled in the previous Buddhas’ Dispensations.
So we should not forget that these five bhikkhus had fulfilled perfections in previous Buddhas’ Dispensations to attain arahantship together with the Four Analytical Knowledges.
Concerning the two extremes, the Sutta explains:
“One is devotion to the pleasures of sense. It is a low practice, vulgar, a practice of worldlings, not a practice of Noble Ones, unbeneficial. The other is devotion to self-mortification. It is painful, not a practice of Noble Ones and unbeneficial.”
Here the Buddha says that one of the two extremes is devotion to the pleasures of sense. If a bhikkhu devotes himself to the pleasures of sense, his attachment to the sensual pleasures will increase day by day. Thus, he cannot realize Nibbana or attain any other achievement in meditation.
The other extreme is devotion to self-mortification, such as: lying on thorns, continuously standing on one leg. If a bhikkhu is devoted to self-mortification, he cannot attain any deep concentration. Without deep concentration, he cannot realize the dhammas, i.e. phenomena, as they really are. Therefore he cannot penetrate the Four Noble Truths.
The Sutta continues:
“By avoiding these two extremes the Tathagata has realized that middle path which gives rise to vision, which gives rise to understanding, which leads to peace, to higher knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbana.’
Here ‘peace (upasama)’ means the remainderless cessation of all defilements. ‘Higher knowledge (abhibbana)’ means the knowledge that understands the Four Noble Truths.
Here I would like to quote a passage from the Chiggalayuga Sutta of Samyutta Nikaya to explain the importance of the Four Noble Truths:
“Bhikkhus, suppose a man would throw a yoke with a single hole into the great ocean and there was a blind turtle which would come to the surface once every hundred years. What do you think, bhikkhus, would that blind turtle, coming to the surface once every hundred years, insert its neck into that yoke with a single hole?”
“If it would ever do so, venerable sir, it would be only after a very long time.”
“Sooner, I say, would that blind turtle, coming to the surface once every hundred years, insert its neck into that yoke with a hole than the fool who has gone once to the nether world [would regain] the human state. For what reason? Because here, bhikkhus, there is no conduct guided by the Dhamma, no righteous conduct, no wholesome activity, no meritorious activity. Here there prevails mutual devouring, the devouring of the weak. For what reason? Because, bhikkhus, they have not seen the Four Noble Truths. What four? The noble truth of suffering, the noble truth of the origin of suffering, the noble truth of the cessation of suffering and the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering.
“Therefore, bhikkhus, an exertion should be made to understand: ‘This is suffering (dukkha-sacca).’ An exertion should be made to understand: ‘This is the origin of suffering (samudaya-sacca).’ An exertion should be made to understand: ‘This is the cessation of suffering (nirodha-sacca).’ An exertion should be made to understand: ‘This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering (magga-sacca).’”
The middle path is the only way to attain the vision, the knowledge and the enlightenment to realize Nibbana.
The Sutta continues:
“And, bhikkhus, what is that middle path which gives rise to vision, which gives rise to understanding, which leads to peace, to higher knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbana.
It is this very Noble Eightfold Path, namely: Right View, Right Thinking, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration. Bhikkhus, this is that middle path which gives rise to vision, which gives rise to understanding, which leads to peace, to higher knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbana.”
Here I would like to explain the meaning of this passage. What is Right View (samma-ditthi)? In the Mahasatipatthana Sutta the Buddha explains the four aspects of Right View: ‘dukkhe banam, dukkhasamudaye banam, dukkhanirodhe banam, dukkhanirodhagaminipatipadaya banam’— insight knowledge of Dukkha-sacca (the Noble Truth of Suffering), insight knowledge of Samudaya-sacca (the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering), insight knowledge of Nirodha-sacca (the Noble Truth of Cessation of Suffering), insight knowledge of Magga-sacca (the Noble Truth of the Path Leading to the Cessation of Suffering). These four types of insight knowledge are called Right View.
What is Right Thinking (samma-savkappa)? Application of the mind to the Dukkha-sacca, application of the mind to the Samudaya-sacca, application of the mind to the Nirodha-sacca, application of the mind to the Magga-sacca. These four types of application of the mind are called Right Thinking. In this case, jhana-dhammas are also included in Dukkha sacca. So the application of the mind to the jhana object as well as jhana-dhammas is also Right Thinking.
So Right View and Right Thinking are always concomitant with each other. They can arise together in the same thought moment.
Right Speech (samma-vaca), Right Action (samma-kammanta) and Right Livelihood (samma-ajiva) are called sila training, i.e. the training in virtue.
What is Right Effort (samma-vayama)? In samatha meditation the effort to concentrate on the samatha object completely is Right Effort. In vipassana meditation the effort to realize Dukkha-sacca, Samudaya-sacca, Nirodha-sacca, and Magga-sacca is called Right Effort.
What is Right Mindfulness (samma-sati)? The mindfulness of Dukkha-sacca, the mindfulness of Samudaya-sacca, the mindfulness of Nirodha-sacca, the mindfulness of Magga-sacca. These four types of mindfulness are called Right Mindfulness.
What is Right Concentration (samma-samadhi)? In samatha meditation the eight attainments are called Right Concentration, namely, the first jhana, the second jhana, the third jhana, the fourth jhana, the base consisting of boundless space, the base consisting of boundless consciousness, the base consisting of nothingness, the base consisting of neither-perception-nor-nonperception.
The Sutta continues:
“Now, bhikkhus, this is the Noble Truth of suffering:
Birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering; union with what is displeasing is suffering; separation from what is pleasing is suffering. Not to get what one wants also is suffering. In short, the five aggregates subject to clinging are suffering.”
Here birth, old age, illness and death are suffering (dukkha) according to conventional truth (sammuti-sacca) as well as ultimate truth (paramattha-sacca). All ultimate materiality and mentality have three stages: arising stage (jati), static stage (jara) and dissolution stage (marana). Union with what is displeasing, separation from what is pleasing, and not to get what one wants are saragadukkha, which means the suffering that occurs because of attachment.
Then the Buddha explains Dukkha-sacca in a brief way thus: ‘In short, the five aggregates subject to clinging are suffering.’ They are the objects of insight knowledge.
What are the five aggregates subject to clinging? They are rupupadanakkhandha, vedanupadanakkhandha, sabbupadanakkhandha, sankharupadanakkhandha, vibbanupadanakkhandha, which mean the clinging aggregate of materiality, the clinging aggregate of feeling, the clinging aggregate of perception, the clinging aggregate of formations, the clinging aggregate of consciousness. What is the clinging aggregate of materiality? In Khandha Sutta of Khandha Vagga Samyutta (S22, 48) the Buddha taught: ‘Yam kibci rupam atitanagatapaccuppannam ajjhattam va bahiddha va olarikam va sukhumam va hinam va panitam va yam dure santike va sasavam upadaniyam ayam vuccati rupupadanakkhandho.’ This is the explanation of the Buddha. What is the meaning? ‘Whatever materiality there is, be it past, present, or future, internal or external, inferior or superior, subtle or gross, far or near, all these types of materiality that are the objects of clinging or grasping are called the clinging aggregate of materiality.’ In the same way the Buddha explains the clinging aggregates of feeling, perception, formations and consciousness. So you should understand that the past five aggregates subject to clinging are Dukkha-sacca. The present five aggregates subject to clinging are Dukkha-sacca. The future five aggregates subject to clinging are Dukkha-sacca. The internal five aggregates subject to clinging are Dukkha-sacca. The external five aggregates subject to clinging are Dukkha-sacca. The gross and subtle five aggregates subject to clinging are Dukkha-sacca. The inferior and superior five aggregates subject to clinging are Dukkha-sacca. The far and near five aggregates subject to clinging are also Dukkha-sacca. So the Dukkha-sacca-dhammas (things pertaining to the Noble Truth of Suffering) not only include the present five aggregates subject to clinging but also the past and the future five aggregates subject to clinging. If a bhikkhu does not realize the Four Noble Truths, he cannot attain Nibbana. So if you want to attain Nibbana, you should try to realize the Four Noble Truths. Among the Four Noble Truths Dukkha-sacca is one. Among Dukkha-sacca-dhammas, past, present and future five aggregates subject to clinging are all included. So if you want to escape from the round of rebirths, you should try to understand the past, present and future five aggregates subject to clinging.
The Sutta continues to explain the second Noble Truth as follows:
Now, bhikkhus, this is the Noble Truth of the origin of suffering:
It is that craving that leads to renewed existence, accompanied with delight and lust, seeking delight here and there: that is, the craving for sensual pleasure, the craving for existence, the craving for extermination. Bhikkhus, such is the Noble Truth of the origin of suffering.
In this Sutta the Buddha taught that craving is Samudaya-sacca. In Nidana Vagga Samyutta the Buddha taught that the dependent origination is also Samudaya-sacca. So delusion (avijja), craving (tanha), clinging (upadana), volitional formations (savkhara), and kammic force (kamma) are all Samudaya-sacca. In short, all wholesome and unwholesome kammic forces are Samudaya-sacca. In Sacca Samyutta the Buddha taught in five ways:
1.     Craving (tanha) is Samudaya-sacca.
2.     The ten defilements (greed, hatred, delusion, conceit, wrong view, doubt, sloth, restlessness, lack of moral shame, lack of moral dread) are also Samudaya-sacca.
3.     All unwholesome states (akusala dhamma) are Samudaya-sacca.
4.     All unwholesome states and three wholesome roots (alobha, adosa, amoha) which lead to renewed existence are Samudaya-sacca.
5.     All unwholesome and wholesome states, or all unwholesome and wholesome kammic forces which lead to renewed existence are also Samudaya-sacca.
If all unwholesome and wholesome kammic forces are Samudaya-sacca, then why did the Buddha teach in this Sutta that craving is Samudaya-sacca? If in a seed there is still stickness or potential, then some day the seed may grow roots in a suitable place. So, too, the kammic forces concomitant together with craving can produce their results. Without craving, no kammic forces can produce any results. That is why the Buddha taught that craving is Samudaya-sacca in this Sutta.
You should remember that Samudaya-sacca is the origin of Dukkha-sacca. In this Sutta the Buddha taught Dukkha-sacca as follows: ‘savkhittena pabcupadanakkhandha dukkha’ – ‘In brief, the five aggregates subject to clinging are dukkha-sacca.’ So Samudaya-sacca is the origin of the five aggregates subject to clinging. You should remember this relationship between causes and effects.
Dukkha sacca dhammas and samudaya sacca dhammas are objects of vipassana insight knowledge, so if you want to practice vipassana, first you should try to know them. How should you try? I will explain in detail later.
The Sutta continues to explain the third Noble Truth:
‘And, bhikkhus, this is the Noble Truth of the cessation of suffering:
‘It is the remainderless fading away and cessation of that same craving, the giving up and relinquishing of it, freedom from it, nonreliance on it.
In this Sutta the Buddha taught that the remainderless cessation of craving is Nirodha-sacca. In some other Suttas the Buddha taught that the remainderless cessation of Dukkha-sacca is also Nirodha-sacca. Why did the Buddha teach it in two ways? They are the same. Because of the remainderless cessation of craving, or because of the remainderless cessation of delusion, craving, clinging, formations and kammic force, the five aggregates (Dukkha-sacca) will completely cease without remainder. The five aggregates completely cease without remainder because of the cessation of causes. If the causes completely cease without remainder, the five aggregates will also completely cease without remainder. So they are the same. That is why sometimes the Buddha taught that the remainderless cessation of craving is Nirodha-sacca, and sometimes he taught that the remainderless cessation of the five aggregates is Nirodha-sacca.
The Sutta continues to explain the fourth Noble Truth:
‘Now, bhikkhus, this is the Noble Truth of the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering:
‘It is this very Noble Eightfold Path, namely, Right View, Right Thinking, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.
Sometimes the Noble Eightfold Path is called Magga-sacca. But in this Sutta the Buddha called it ‘dukkhanirodhagamini patipada ariyasacca’ i.e. the noble truth of the practice leading to the cessation of suffering. These two names have the same meaning.
There are two types of the Noble Eightfold Path: mundane and supramundane. In the mundane Noble Eightfold Path, while you are practising vipassanâ, there are five factors of the Noble Eightfold Path present at the same time. For example, if you can discern the five aggregates and their causes, then you must pay attention to the three characteristics of these savkhara-dhammas (conditioned things). Both Dukkha-sacca- dhammas and Samudaya-sacca-dhammas are called savkhara- dhammas, formations. By seeing their impermanent nature, you must understand them as anicca. By seeing their nature of being oppressed by the arising and passing away, you must understand them as dukkha. By seeing their nature of not having a permanent self, you must understand them as anatta. While you are contemplating in this way, you know the impermanent nature, unpleasant nature and non-self nature of these savkhara-dhammas. This knowledge is called Right View. The application of the mind to these savkhara-dhammas and the impermanent nature, unpleasant nature and non-self nature of these savkharadhammas is called Right Thinking. Right Thinking always arises together with Right View. The effort you exert to see the impermanent nature, unpleasant nature and non-self nature of these savkhara-dhammas is called Right Effort. Mindfulness on the impermanent nature, unpleasant nature and non-self nature of these savkhara-dhammas is called Right Mindfulness. Concentration on the impermanent nature, unpleasant nature and non-self nature of these savkhara-dhammas is called Right Concentration. So while a meditator is practising vipassanâ, five factors of the Noble Eightfold Path are present. The three of Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood are the training of virtue. Before you practise samatha and vipassanâ, you must have undertaken the training of virtue. Thus altogether there are eight factors of the Noble Eightfold Path. But the three factors of the training of virtue arise separate from the other five factors. These three do not arise together with the vipassanâ knowledge. It means they cannot arise together in the same thought moment, or within the same thought-process, in mundane noble path.
At the end of vipassanâ practice, when a meditator realizes Nibbana, the eight factors of the Noble Eightfold Path are present. They are called supramundane Noble Eightfold Path. Realizing Nibbana is called Right View. The application of the mind to Nibbana is called Right Thinking. The effort to realize Nibbana is called Right Effort. Mindfulness on Nibbana is called Right Mindfulness. Concentration on Nibbana is called Right Concentration. The defilements that can cause offences against Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood are destroyed by Path knowledge. So these three factors also arise together with Path knowledge. Thus while a meditator realizes Nibbana, all the eight factors of the Noble Eightfold Path are present.
How should you practice to know the four noble truths? Please listen to the following passage from the Samadhi Sutta of Sacca Samyutta:
“Bhikkhus, develop concentration. A bhikkhu who is concentrated understands dhammas as they really are.
“And what does he understand as it really is? He understands as it really is: ‘This is suffering (dukkha-sacca).’ He understands as it really is: ‘This is the origin of suffering (samudaya-sacca).’ He understands as it really is: ‘This is the cessation of suffering (nirodha-sacca).’ He understands as it really is: ‘This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering (magga-sacca).’
“Bhikkhus, develop concentration. A bhikkhu who is concentrated understands dhammas as they really are.
“Therefore, bhikkhus, an exertion should be made to understand: ‘This is suffering (dukkha-sacca).’ An exertion should be made to understand: ‘This is the origin of suffering (samudaya-sacca).’ An exertion should be made to understand: ‘This is the cessation of suffering (nirodha-sacca).’ An exertion should be made to understand: ‘This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering (magga-sacca).’”
So to know the four noble truths you should first develop concentration. There are forty samatha meditation subjects for concentration practice. You may choose any of them. But I would like to explain anapanasati meditation, mindfulness of breathing, first and then explain how you should try to know the four noble truths.
I should like to explain how to practice mindfulness of breathing according to the Mahasatipatthana Sutta. In the Sutta, the Buddha says thus:
‘Bhikkhus, how does a bhikkhu abide contemplating the body in the body?’
Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu goes to the forest, or to the foot of a tree or to a secluded place. Then he sits down cross-legged, keeps his upper body erect and establishes his mindfulness to the object of his meditation. He breathes in mindfully; he breathes out mindfully. When he breathes in long, he understands: “I breathe in long.” When he breathes out long, he understands: “I breathe out long.” When he breathes in short, he understands: “I breathe in short.” When he breathes out short, he understands: “I breathe out short.” He trains thus: “I shall breathe in experiencing the whole breath (body) clearly.” He trains thus: “I shall breathe out experiencing the whole breath (body) clearly.” He trains thus: “I shall breathe in tranquilizing the whole breath formations.” He trains thus: “I shall breathe out tranquilizing the whole breath formations.”
Just like a skilled turner or his apprentice, while he makes a long turn he understands: “I make a long turn.” While he makes a short turn, he understands: “I make a short turn.” In the same way, when a bhikkhu breathes in long, he understands: “I breathe in long.” When he breathes out long, he understands: “I breathe out long.” When he breathes in short, he understands: “I breathe in short.” When he breathes out short, he understands: “I breathe out short.” He trains thus: “I shall breathe in experiencing the whole breath (body) clearly.” He trains thus: “I shall breathe out experiencing the whole breath (body) clearly.” He trains thus: “I shall breathe in tranquilizing the whole breath formations.” He trains thus: “I shall breathe out tranquilizing the whole breath formations.”’
This is The Buddha’s instruction on mindfulness of breathing, specially for the attainment of jhana. In the passage, the word ‘here’ means in this Dispensation of The Buddha. By the word ‘here,’ dispensations other than The Buddha’s are excluded as they do not teach mindfulness of breathing in the complete way as it is taught in The Buddhadhamma. Outside The Buddha’s dispensation there is no one who can teach anapanasati in the complete way. It is taught only in The Buddha’s dispensation. For it is said: ‘Here we find a true recluse (samana); other schools are empty of recluses.’
The Buddha points out suitable places for meditators in the passage: ‘A bhikkhu goes to the forest, to the foot of a tree or to a secluded place.’ This makes clear what is an abode appropriate to the meditator for the cultivation of mindfulness.
The mind of the meditator has dwelt on visual objects and other sensual objects for a long time before he comes to meditate. It does not like to enter the road of meditation, and just like a wild young bull harnessed to a cart runs off the road, because his mind is not used to live without sensual pleasures. Before he comes to meditate, his mind constantly came into contact with various kinds of sensual object, such as movies, pleasant music, delicious food, and enjoyable social life. And his mind took great delight therein. But now there are no movies, no music, etc. to please his eyes, ears, etc., and thus his mind is just like a fish taken out from water and put on the dry ground, jumping about in distress and longing for water. Now in-and-out breath is just like the dry ground; it is too monotonous and unsatisfying to his mind which is ever longing for sensual pleasures. While sitting, instead of concentrating on the breath, he spends much of his time dwelling in past sensual pleasures that he enjoyed, or in future sensual pleasures that he expects to enjoy. But this is just a waste of time and is not helpful to mental cultivation. Even if he practises in this way for his whole life there will be no improvement for him.
Thus, in order to do away with his bad habit he should repeatedly bring his mind back to the breath, keep his mind stay with it as long as possible, and try to develop a new habit of concentrating on the breath, just like what a cowherd who wishes to tame a wild calf nourished entirely on the milk of a wild cow will do. He leads that calf away from the cow to a stout post firmly sunk in the ground and then ties it to it. When that calf jumps here and there it finds that it is impossible to run away. Then it crouches down or lies down at that very post. In the same way, he who wants to tame the wild mind that has for a long time been nourished on the tasty drink of visible and other sensual objects leads the mind away from them and ushers it into a forest, to the foot of a tree or to a secluded place. Then he ties that mind to the post of the object of foundation of mindfulness, such as the breath, with the rope of mindfulness. His mind will also jump here and there. When it cannot obtain the objects it had long grown used to and finds it impossible to break the rope of mindfulness and run away, it will finally sit or lie down at that very object by way of access and full absorption.
Therefore, the ancient commentators said:
As one who wants to break a wild young calf
Would tether it to a stout stake firmly, here,
In the same way the meditator should tie fast
His own mind to the meditation object.
In this way this abode becomes appropriate to the meditator. Therefore, it is said, ‘This makes clear what abode is appropriate to the meditator for the cultivation of mindfulness.’
Mindfulness of breathing is not easy to accomplish without leaving the neighbourhood of a village because sound is a thorn to absorption. In a place that is uninhabited it is easy for the meditator to take up this meditation subject. Therefore, The Blessed One pointed out the abode suitable for that with the words, ‘goes to the forest, or to the foot of a tree, or to a secluded place.’
The Buddha is like a master of the science of building sites because he pointed out the suitable abode for meditators.
After a master in the science of selecting building sites has seen a stretch of ground good for building a town and has considered it well from all sides, he advises: ‘Build the town here.’ When the building of the town is completed he receives high honour from the royal family. In the same way, after The Buddha has well considered from all points the abode suitable for the meditator he advises: ‘This meditation subject should be chosen.’ When Arahantship has gradually been reached by the meditator, he expresses his gratitude and admiration with the words: ‘Certainly, The Blessed One is the Supremely Awakened One.’ The Buddha receives great honour.
The bhikkhu is comparable to a leopard. Like the leopard he lives alone in the forest and accomplishes his aim by overcoming those contrary to him, namely, the passions.
A great king of leopards hidden in the forest in grass-bush, jungle-bush or hill-thicket, seizes wild buffalos, elks, pigs and other beasts. In the same way, the bhikkhu devoting himself to the meditation subject gains the Four Noble Paths and Fruitions one after another. Therefore the ancient commentators said:
As a leopard lies in ambush and captures beasts,
So does this son of the Awakened One,
The striving man, the man of keen vision,
Having gone into the forest seize therein
Fruition that truly is supreme.
And so The Blessed One said ‘goes to the forest’ and so forth to point out the suitable place for fruitful exertion in meditation.
Although you are now neither in the forest nor at the foot of a tree, and the place here is crowded with many meditators, if you are able to ignore the presence of others, put aside all other things and just be aware of your meditation object, this place will be just like a secluded place to you. Furthermore, group meditation does help you arouse energy and progress faster in meditation.
‘Keeps his body erect’ means to keep the vertebrae in such a position that every segment of the backbone is placed upright and end to end throughout. The body is held straight from the waist upwards. The Buddha recommends this posture because it is the most stable and comfortable posture, and helps to keep your mind calm yet alert, and thus the best posture for meditation.
What does ‘establishes his mindfulness to the object of his meditation’ mean? It means to fix the mind by directing it towards the meditation object. For example, if you are practising anapanasati, you must establish mindfulness towards the breath. If you are practising four-elements meditation, you must establish mindfulness towards the four elements. You should direct your attention towards your meditation object, not towards your family.
‘He breathes in mindfully; he breathes out mindfully,’ means that he breathes in and out without abandoning mindfulness. Mindfulness is very important. Here mindfulness means remembrance. If you keep remembering the breath around your nostrils or upper lip, your mindfulness as well as concentration will become stronger and stronger. When concentration improves, you will see a nimitta. If you concentrate on the nimitta firmly, you will attain all the four jhanas.
How should you breathe in mindfully? How should you breathe out mindfully? The Buddha instructed that ‘When he breathes in long, he understands: ‘I breathe in long.’ When he breathes out long, he understands: ‘I breathe out long.’’ He breathes in a long breath during a long stretch of time, and he breathes out a long breath during a long stretch of time, and he breathes in and out long breaths during long stretches of time.
As he breathes in and out long breaths each during a long stretch of time, zeal (chanda), which is very important for meditation, arises in him. With zeal he breathes in a long breath finer than the last during a long stretch of time. With zeal he breathes out a long breath finer than the last during a long stretch of time. And with zeal he breathes in and out long breaths finer than the last, each during a long stretch of time.
As with zeal the bhikkhu breathes in and out long breaths finer than the last, joy (piti) arises in him. With joy he breathes in a long breath finer than the last during a long stretch of time. With joy he breathes out a long breath finer than the last during a long stretch of time. And with joy he breathes in and out long breaths finer than the last, each during a long stretch of time.
To have joy (piti) in meditation is very important. If you never have joy while meditating, your concentration cannot improve. When will joy appear? If you have removed agitation and wandering thoughts, and are able to concentrate on the whole long subtle breath completely, your concentration will improve. When your concentration improves, joy will appear in your mind.
Then as the bhikkhu breathes in and out with joy long breaths each finer than the last, his mind turns away from the long in-and-out-breathings, but turns to the nimitta and with equanimity (upekkha) stands firm.
The same meditation procedures hold for the passage ‘When he breathes in short, he understands: “I breathe in short.” When he breathes out short, he understands: “I breathe out short.”’
As regards the passage: ‘He trains thus: ‘I shall breathe in experiencing the whole breath (body) clearly.’ He trains thus: ‘I shall breathe out experiencing the whole breath (body) clearly.’’ He trains himself with the following idea: ‘I shall breathe in making known, making clear to myself the beginning, middle, and end of the whole body of in-breaths. I shall breathe out making known, making clear, to myself the beginning, middle, and end of the whole body of out-breaths. ‘ And he breathes in and out with consciousness associated with the knowledge that makes known, makes the breaths clear to himself.
In this case you should not misunderstand that you have to note the breath as: ‘this is the beginning, this is the middle, and this is the end.’ Just knowing the whole breath is enough.
To a bhikkhu in the tenuous, diffused body of in-breathing or body of out-breathing only the beginning is clear, not the middle or the end. He is able to take up only the beginning. In the middle and at the end he has trouble. To another only the middle is clear and not the beginning or the end. To a third only the end is clear. The beginning and the middle are not clear and he is able to take up only the breath at the end. He has trouble at the beginning and at the middle. But to a fourth all the three stages are clear and he is able to take up all. He has trouble nowhere. For pointing out that this meditation subject should be developed following the example of the fourth one, The Buddha said: ‘He trains thus: ‘I shall breathe in experiencing the whole breath (body) clearly.’ He trains thus: ‘I shall breathe out experiencing the whole breath (body) clearly.’’
At the early stage of this meditation there is nothing else to be done but just breathing in and out, as it is said: When he breathes in long, he understands: ‘I breathe in long’ When he breathes out long, he understands: ‘I breathe out long.’ When he breathes in short, he understands: ‘I breathe in short.’ When he breathes out short, he understands: ‘I breathe out short.’ Thereafter he should endeavour to bring about knowledge and so forth, therefore it is said, ‘I shall breathe in experiencing the whole breath body.’ Knowing the breath clearly is the training of wisdom; concentrating on the breath is the training of concentration; restraining the mind from defilements is the training of morality. He should endeavour to fulfill the three trainings while breathing.
As regards the passage: ‘He trains thus: ‘I shall breathe in tranquilizing the whole breath formations.’ He trains thus: ‘I shall breathe out tranquilizing the whole breath formations.’’ He thinks: I shall breathe in and out, quieting, making smooth, making tranquil and peaceful the activity of the in-and-out-breathing. In that way, he trains himself.
In this connection, coarseness, fineness, and calm should be understood thus: Without contemplative effort, the body and the mind of this bhikkhu are distressed, coarse, the in-and-out-breathings, too, are coarse and proceed uncalmly. The nasal aperture becomes insufficient and he has to breathe through the mouth. But when the body and the mind are under control then the body and the mind become placid, restful. When these are restful, the breathing proceeds so finely that the bhikkhu doubts whether or not the breathings are going on.
The breathing of a man who runs down from a hill, puts down a heavy burden from his head, and stands still is coarse. His nasal aperture becomes insufficient and he breathes through the mouth, too. But when he rids himself of his fatigue, takes a bath and a drink of water, and puts a wet cloth over his head and is sitting in the shade, his breathing becomes fine. And he is at a loss to know whether it exists or not. Comparable to that man is the bhikkhu whose breaths become so fine after the taking up of the practice of contemplation that he finds it difficult to say whether he is breathing or not. What is the reason for this? Without taking up the meditation he does not perceive, concentrate on, reflect on, or think over, the question of calming the gross breaths. But with the meditation he does. Therefore, the activity of the breath becomes finer in the time in which meditation is practised than in the time in which there is no practice. So the ancient commentators said:
‘In the agitated mind and body the breath is of the coarsest kind. In the unexcited body, it is subtle.’
How does he train himself with the thought: ‘I shall breathe in tranquilizing the whole breath formations. I shall breathe out tranquilizing the whole breath formations.’? What are the whole breath formations (kayasavkhara)? Those things of the breaths, bound up with the breath, are the whole breath formations. He trains himself in causing the whole breath formations to become composed, to become smooth and calm. He trains himself thinking thus: Tranquilizing the whole breath formations by (quieting) the bodily activities of bending forwards, sideways, all over, and backwards, and calming the moving, quivering, vibrating, and quaking of the body, I shall breathe in and out. I shall breathe in and out, Tranquilizing the whole breath formations by way of whatever peaceful and fine bodily activities of non-bending of the body forwards, sideways, all over and backwards, of non-moving, non-quivering, non-vibrating, and non-quaking of the body.
So far I have shown you the four stages of developing concentration using mindfulness of breathing: to concentrate on (1) the long breath, (2) the short breath, (3) the whole breath, and (4) the subtle breath. In this case you should understand that it is possible for three stages, the long, whole and subtle breaths, to combine in one. That means while you are breathing a long subtle breath, you must try to know the whole long subtle breath. If the breath is not yet subtle, you should incline your mind to have subtle breath. If you try in this way, when your concentration improves, the whole breath will become subtle. You should then try to know with strong zeal the whole long subtle breath. If you practise so, you may succeed in attaining jhanas.
It is also possible for three stages, the short, whole and subtle breaths, to combine in one. So while breathing a long subtle breath you should know the three, the long breath, whole breath and subtle breath, together. And while breathing a short subtle breath, you should know the whole short subtle breath. If you practise in this way with enough zeal and joy, your concentration will improve. When your concentration improves, the breath becomes finer and finer. At that time you should not become disappointed with the thought: ‘Oh, my breath is not clear.’ Because it will make you agitated. Consequently your concentration will decrease. In fact, it is good to have the breath become subtle. Why? If a nimitta appears then, and your mind sticks to it, you will not be disturbed by the breath. If, however, your breath is gross, you may know the nimitta as well as the breath; your mind will have two objects. With two objects your mind is not collected, and your concentration will not improve. So you should be happy when the breath becomes finer and finer.
You must, however, not to purposely make the breath long, short or subtle. If you do so your effort and the enlightenment factor of investigation of dhamma will be excessive. When these two are excessive, concentration will decrease. So you should just let your breathing to continue in a natural way. This is the best. Sometimes the breath is long, and sometimes it is short. No problem. Whether the breath is long or short you should try to know the whole breath (body) clearly. When your concentration improves further, you should try to know the whole subtle breath. When it is long you should try to know the whole long subtle breath. When it is short you should try to know the whole short subtle breath.
If you can concentrate on the whole subtle breath for more than one or two hours in every sitting your concentration will improve further. You should then take great care to practise continuously. Please stop thinking. Please stop talking. In every posture, standing, walking, sitting, or lying down, you must concentrate on only the breath. You should not pay attention to any other objects.
If you can concentrate on the whole subtle breath, whether it is long or short, continuously for more than one hour in every sitting, successively for more than three days, usually the nimitta will appear. For some meditators, the nimitta appears first. For some other meditators, however, light appears first. You should differentiate the nimitta and light. They are two different things, just like the sun and sunlight.
Light is everywhere, in every direction surrounding your body. Except the rebirth-linking consciousness, every consciousness that arises dependent on the heart-base produces many kalapas, small particles, called mind-produced kalapas. If you analyse those kalapas, you will see at least eight types of materiality, namely, the earth-element, water-element, fire-element, wind-element, colour, odour, flavour, and nutritive essence. If the consciousness is a concentrated and powerful one, the colour it produces is bright. Further, the fire-elements of those kalapas produce many new kalapas called temperature-produced kalapas, which are spreading not only internally but also externally. In each of them there is also bright colour, the light. When the concentrated mind is very strong and powerful, the light spreads very far. When it is less powerful, the light spreads only a few inches. The colours of mind-produced kalapas are only internal, whereas the colours of temperature-produced kalapas are both internal and external. The collection of bright colours is the brilliant light that appears around your body in every direction.
Anyway you should not concentrate on the light, but only the breath. At that time the breath is usually subtle. To know the subtle breath strong and powerful effort, mindfulness and investigation of dhamma are necessary. If you know the breath clearly with these qualities, your concentration will improve. When your concentration improves, usually the anapana nimitta appears, and it appears only at your nostrils.
What is the anapana nimitta? When your concentration improves, your breath becomes a nimitta. The breath is also produced by mind. If you discern the four elements of your breath, you will see many kalapas. If you analyse them, you will see at least nine types of materiality, namely, the earth-element, water-element, fire-element, wind-element, colour, odour, flavour, nutritive essence and sound. The colour is bright. Like what I explained before, the fire-elements of those kalapas also produce many new kalapas with bright colour. The collection of the colours of those kalapas is the nimitta.
When the nimitta first appears, it is usually not stable. At that time you should not concentrate on it, but only the breath. When your concentration on the breath becomes stable and deep enough, the nimitta will also become stable. In the beginning the nimitta is gray. When concentration improves the nimitta becomes white, and then transparent; the transparent nimitta is called a patibhaga nimitta. Depending on your perception, the nimitta may change in shape and colour. Sometimes it may be long. Sometimes it may be round. Sometimes it may be red. Sometimes it may be yellow. But you should not pay attention to its colour or shape, otherwise it will keep on changing. If it is so your concentration will decrease. You will not attain any jhana. Thus you should concentrate on the breath until the nimitta unifies with the breath and your mind automatically sticks to the nimitta. You should then concentrate on only the nimitta, not the breath. If you sometimes concentrate on the breath, and sometimes concentrate on the nimitta, your concentration will diminish gradually.
Again you should not pay attention to the specific characteristics of four elements of the breath as well as the nimitta, such as – hardness, roughness, heaviness and softness, smoothness, lightness, flowing and cohesion, heat and coldness, supporting and pushing. If you pay attention to them, you are practicing the four elements meditation, but not anapanasati meditation.
Again you should not pay attention to the breath or nimitta as anicca, dukkha or anatta. These are general characteristics. Why? The objects of vipassana are savkharas, formations. They are ultimate materiality and ultimate mentality and their causes. The breath and nimitta are not ultimate realities, but are compactness. So they are not the object of vipassana.
If your anapana-nimitta is whitish colour and then if you concentrate on it well, it will become whiter and then as bright as the morning star. Your mind will then automatically sink into the nimitta. This is absorption. To beginners this is a very important stage. The same process applies to anapana-nimitta of other colours.
The commentary explains this stage with the example of a baby universal monarch. The queen who bears a baby universal monarch sees her son in her womb with her physical eyes. At that time she carefully guards her son against misfortune. So too you should guard your nimitta with great care and respect. You must practise with ardour, comprehension and mindfulness, because a lazy, hazy and forgetful mind cannot attain any distinctive mental development. In every posture you must be mindful of and concentrate on the nimitta. For example, before you start to walk, you should stand at a corner of a walking path and concentrate on your breath. When the nimitta appears and is stable, you should concentrate on it. When your concentration becomes strong and powerful, you should walk slowly with your mind concentrating only on the nimitta.
To be able to concentrate on the nimitta in every posture is a kind of will power. You have this will power. So please practise hard. You can succeed. If you practise continuously very soon your mind will sink into the nimitta. This is absorption, also called jhana. Although for the first few times the absorption does not last long, you should not give up. You should practise again and again. If you practise hard with strong and powerful comprehension and mindfulness you will succeed in maintaining your concentration on the nimitta for a long time. In the beginning stage, staying in absorption must be emphasised more. Reflecting on the jhana factors, on the other hand, must be restrained. If you reflect on the jhana factors frequently, your concentration will decrease. So please try staying in absorption for increasing length of time.
Your absorption must be deep and stable. When it is deep and stable for more than one or two hours, it is a good achievement. I would advise you to practise until you are able to stay in the absorption for at least three hours. If you are able to absorb in the nimitta for more than one, two or three hours in every sitting for three consecutive days, you may then reflect on the jhana factors. To do so you must first stay in deep absorption for more than one hour. Having emerged from it, you should discern the interior of your heart to discern bhavavga, life continuum, which arises dependent on your heart-base. In the beginning, usually many meditators are not able to differentiate between bhavavga and the nimitta. When they discern bhavavga, they see the same anapana nimitta inside the heart. They think that is bhavavga. Actually that is not bhavavga. Bhavavga is like a mirror inside the heart. ‘Pabhasara midam bhikkhave cittam’ – ‘bhikkhus bhavavga consciousness is brilliant.’ This is mentioned in the accharasavghata chapter of the Avguttara Nikaya. Bhavavga is a kind of consciousness. It is not brightness, but it can produce brilliant light. It can produce many mind-produced kalapas. And the fire-elements of those kalapas further produce many temperature-produced kalapas. The colours of those two types of kalapas are bright. The degree of brightness depends on the power of wisdom associated with bhavavga consciousness. The higher the power of wisdom the brighter the light. So if the force of kamma that produces bhavavga is that of insight knowledge, the power of wisdom will be very high, and the light will be very bright and powerful. Thus bhavavga is one thing, and light is another.
You should reflect on bhavavga for only a few seconds, because reflecting on bhavavga for a longer time, for example, two or three minutes, your heart may be painful and your concentration will decrease. So if you are able to discern bhavavga within a few seconds, it is fine. If not, you should again concentrate on the anapana nimitta until your absorption is deep and the nimitta is brilliant. You may then try to discern bhavavga again. If you practise in this way again and again, you may understand bhavavga. When you are able to discern bhavavga, you should again concentrate on the anapana nimitta until your absorption is deep and the nimitta is brilliant. Then when you discern bhavavga, you will see that the nimitta appears inside bhavavga, just like when you look into a mirror you see your face inside the mirror. You may then discern the five jhana factors, namely, applied thought (vitakka), sustained thought (vicara), joy (piti), bliss (sukha) and one-pointedness (ekaggata).
Applied thought is the application of the mind to the patibhaga nimitta. Sustained thought is maintaining the mind on the patibhaga nimitta. Joy is the liking towards the patibhaga nimitta. Bliss is happiness or pleasant feeling experiencing the patibhaga nimitta. One-pointedness is the unification of the mind with the patibhaga nimitta. When you discern the five jhana factors, first you should discern them one by one. Having done this, you may discern the five jhana factors simultaneously. If you are able to do so, you should then develop the five masteries, as follows:
First, you should practise entering jhana whenever you want to enter jhana. Second, you should try to emerge from jhana whenever you want to do so. Third, you should stay in jhana for one, two or three hours according to your determination. The fourth and fifth are actually done in just one step, that is to say, to reflect on the jhana factors when you want to reflect on them. Reflecting jhana factors by mind-door adverting consciousness (manodvaravajjana) is called mastery of avajjana, and by impulsion consciousness within the same process of the avajjana is called mastery of paccavekkhana. This is the only differentce. If you succeed in developing the five masteries, you can practise the second jhana, the third jhana and the fourth jhana systematically. In the first jhana the breath becomes very subtle; in the second it is subtler; in the third jhana it is even subtler; and in the fourth jhana it stops completely.
I have inquired of many meditators to find out which jhana they consider the best. Many of them said the second jhana is better than the first jhana; the third jhana is better than the second jhana; and the fourth jhana is the best of these four.
This achievement is due to will power. Everybody has the will power. You should practise hard in The Buddha’s dispensation. If you practise hard everything is possible for you. You can succeed in attaining all the four jhanas.
After attaining the fourth jhana if you want to practise other samatha meditation subjects, such as the ten kasinas, four sublime states (brahmavihara), you can do so easily. If you want to practise vipassana based on the fourth anapana jhana, you can do so. There are two types of persons who practise vipassana based on the fourth anapana jhana: an assasapassasakammika person and a jhanakammika person. They translate the assasapassasakammika person as an anapana meditator and the jhanakammika person as a jhana meditator. This translation is inaccurate. So I will explain how these two types of person practise vipassana based on the fourth anapana jhana.
In samatha meditation there are forty subjects, whereas in vipassana meditation there are only two subjects, namely the discernment of materiality (rupakammatthana) and the discernment of mentality (namakammatthana). Sometimes they are called rupa pariggaha and arupa pariggaha respectively. If a meditator who has attained the fourth anapana jhana discerns materiality first, he is called an assasapassasakammika person. If he discerns mentality first he must discern the five jhana factors first, and he is called a jhanakammika person.
An assasapassasakammika person should, having emerged from the fourth anapana jhana, discern the twelve characteristics of the four elements in the breath, namely, hardness, roughness, heaviness, softness, smoothness, lightness, flowing and cohesion, heat and coldness, supporting and pushing. In terms of groups there are four elements: hardness, roughness, heaviness, softness, smoothness and lightness comprise the earth-element; flowing and cohesion comprise the water-element; heat and coldness comprise the fire-element; and supporting and pushing comprise the wind-element. He should discern the four elements of the breath systematically. If he does so he will see many kalapas. If he analyse those kalapas, he will be able to see that there are at least nine types of materiality in each kalapa, namely, the earth-element, water-element, fire-element, wind-element, colour, odour, flavour, nutritive essence and sound. These nine types of materiality are called the body of in-and-out breath (assasapassasa kaya).
After discerning the body of in-and-out breath he should reflect thus: ‘Dependent upon what does it arise?’ While he is reflecting he sees that it arises dependent on a base. What is the base? According to the Abhidhamma there are six bases, namely, the eye-base, ear-base, nose-base, tongue-base, body-base, and heart-base. According to the Suttanta method the base is the produced body (karajakaya), which comprise of four types of materiality: (1) kammaja rupa – materiality produced by kamma, (2) cittaja rupa – materiality produced by mind, (3) utuja rupa – materiality produced by the fire-element, and (4) aharaja rupa – materiality produced by nutritive essence. Why are they different? Because the Suttanta method is for practical study, whereas the Abhidhamma method is to show the exact meaning. For example, if you discern the four elements in your eyes systematically, you will see six types of kalapas. One of them is the eye-decad kalapa (cakkhu-dasaka-kalapa). If you analyse it you will see its ten types of materiality, namely, the earth-element, water-element, fire-element, wind-element, colour, odour, flavour, nutritive essence, life faculty, and eye transparent-element (cakkhupasada). Of the ten, only the eye transparent-element is the eye-base. Although the remaining nine types of materiality are not the eye-base, they are accompanied by the eye-base, because they all arise and pass away simultaneously, as a group. If you are unable to analyse them you cannot break down the compactness of group (samuha ghana) to see ultimate materiality. Since without analysing kalapas we cannot see the eye-base, the Suttanta method says that the base is the produced body (karaja kaya). The explanation is the same for the ear-base, nose-base, tongue-base, body-base and heart-base.
Cakkhu-dasaka-kalapa cannot arise alone. If you discern the four elements in your eye systematically you will see many types of kalapas. If you touch your eye with your hand, you know the touching sensation, because in your eye there are the body-decad kalapas (kaya-dasaka-kalapa). The body consciousness (kaya-vibbana), which knows the touching sensation, arises dependent upon only the body-base. In your eyes there are also the sex-decad kalapas (bhava-dasaka-kalapa). Because of its sex-determining materiality (bhava rupa) you can easily understand, ‘this is a woman,’ and ‘this is a man.’ The eye-decad kalapa, body-decad kalapa and sex-decad kalapa are produced by past kamma, so they are called kamma-produced materiality (kammaja rupa). You can wink your eyes, so we know that in your eyes there is also mind-produced materiality (cittaja rupa). In every kalapa there is the fire-element. The fire-element can produce many generations of kalapas called temperature-produced materiality (utuja rupa). In every kalapa there is nutritive essence (oja). When nutriment-produced nutritive essence (aharaja-oja) supports this nutritive essence, it produces new generations of kalapas called nutriment-produced materiality (aharaja-rupa). So in your eyes there are altogether six types of kalapas. If you analyse them, you will see there are altogether fifty-four types of materiality. For the purpose of breaking up compactness you must try to see these fifty-four types of materiality.
Then you should discern the six sense bases and the forty-two parts of the body in the same way. In each part of the body usually there are four types of materiality: kamma-produced, mind-produced, temperature-produced and nutriment-produced.
The commentary explains what the produced body (karaja kaya) is: ‘The produced body is composed of the four great primaries and the materiality derived from these.’ What does this mean? In each kalapa there are four primary elements, the earth-element, water-element, fire-element and wind-element, and also derived materiality such as colour, odour, flavour and nutritive essence. In fact, altogether there are twenty-eight types of materiality: the four.primary elements and twenty-four types of derived materiality. You must discern all these types of materiality.
If you contemplate only materiality as impermanent, suffering and non-self, it is not enough for you to realise Nibbana. You must contemplate mentality also as impermanent, suffering and non-self. When you are discerning mentality, jhana dhamma is the best for you to discern first. Then you must discern sensual plane mentality (kamavacaranama) according to thought-processes and process-free consciousnesses. Therefore the commentary explains: Then he cognizes the mentality in the pentad of mental formations beginning with contact (phassapabcamaka), i.e. contact, feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness. Of the five, feeling is the aggregate of feeling; perception is the aggregate of perception; contact and volition are the aggregate of formations; and consciousness is the aggregate of consciousness. Altogether there are four types of mental aggregates. Twenty-eight types of materiality comprise the aggregate of materiality. Altogether there are five aggregates. Among the five aggregates, the commentary mentions only contact and volition for the aggregate of formations, because they are the predominant factors in the aggregate of formations. When these two predominant factors are mentioned, the rest of the formations are also included. It is like a royal procession and such like. When the king is mentioned his retinue are included.
After discerning materiality and mentality, he examines their causes. He sees that the main causes of the five clinging aggregates are delusion (avijja), craving (tanha), clinging (upadana), volitional formations (savkhara) and kamma. They were generated by him in his previous life. They produced the rebirth-linking consciousness in the present life, or at the moment of birth the five clinging aggregates. He should try to see the causal relationship between causes and effects. This is the principle of Dependent Origination. Then he concludes that materiality and mentality are simply conditions, and things produced from conditions, and that besides these there is neither a living being nor a person. He then transcends doubts.
The meditator who has transcended doubts contemplates the three characteristics, impermanence, suffering, and non-self, of materiality, mentality and their causes, and gradually reaches Arahantship. This type of person is called an assasapassasakammika person.
I should like to explain the jhanakammika person. Having attained anapana jhanas, a jhanakammika person discerns mentality first before discerning materiality. Since when he was practising samatha meditation he could easily discern the jhana factors, when he begins to practise vipassana he discern the jhana factors first. Then he discerns the mental formations associated with the jhana factors. Those jhana factors and mental formations are called jhana dhammas. After discerning them he must examine thus: depending on what do these jhana dhammas arise? Then he sees that they arise dependent on the heart-base. The heart-base is, according to the Suttanta explanation, the produced body (karaja kaya) comprising four types of materiality: kamma-produced materiality, mind-produced materiality, temperature-produced materiality and nutriment-produced materiality. Then he must also discern sensual plane mentality and all other materiality.
The jhana dhammas and sensual plane mentality are mentality and the produced body is materiality. Having discerned them, he searches for their causes. He sees the causes by comprehending the sequence of dependent origination beginning with delusion. He concludes that materiality and mentality comprise simply conditions and things produced by conditions and that besides these, there is neither a living being nor a person. Thus he transcends doubts.
The meditator who has transcended doubts contemplates the three characteristics, impermanence, suffering, and non-self, of materiality, mentality and their causes, and gradually reaches Arahantship. This type of person is called a jhanakammika person.
If you understand this explanation you will understand the following teachings of The Buddha. In the Mahasatipatthana Sutta The Buddha taught vipassana meditation based on anapanasati as follows:
‘Thus he abides contemplating the body in the body internally. Or he abides contemplating the body in the body externally. Or he abides contemplating the body in the body both internally and externally.’
This is the beginning stage of vipassana for a bhikkhu who has practised anapanasati up to the fourth jhana. What is the ‘body (kaya)’? According to the Patisambhidamagga there are three types of body: (1) the body of in-and-out breath (assasapassasa kaya), (2) the produced body (karaja kaya), and (3) the body of mentality (nama kaya). I have explained them before. I think you should have understood them by now.
I have explained how to discern materiality in brief. Now I should like to explain how to discern mentality. If you want to discern, for example, the first anapana jhana dhammas, you should first enter the first anapana jhana. Having emerged from it you should discern bhavavga, the mind-door. When the anapana patibhaga nimitta appears in your bhavavga, you should discern the five jhana factors. When you were practising samatha meditation, you were able to discern them, thus this is not difficult for you. The only difference is that you should discern the five jhana factors occurring successively many times. If you discern them clearly, you can begin to discern, for example, consciousness. There are three ways to begin to discern mentality: (1) to begin with contact, (2) to begin with feeling, and (3) to begin with consciousness. If you choose to begin with consciousness, you should discern consciousness occurring successively many times. If you find yourself unable to discern you should repeat the procedure just mentioned: enter the first jhana, then emerge from it and discern bhavavga. When the anapana patibhaga nimitta appears in bhavavga, the mind-door, you should discern consciousness occurring successively many times. If you are able to discern consciousness you should increase the number of mentality you discern one at a time, to two, three, four…up to all the thirty-four mental formations of the first jhana. What are the thirty-four mental formations? Do you want to know? Then please try practically.
Of the three types of body I mentioned just now, the body of in-and-out breath (assasapassasa kaya) and the produced body (karaja kaya) are the body of materiality (rupa kaya). So we can say that there are only two types of body: the body of materiality (rupa kaya) and the body of mentality (nama kaya). Why are they called a body? The reason is that they cannot arise alone but must arise as a group. Please notice that here body (kaya) means the body of ultimate materiality and the body of ultimate mentality.
You must contemplate these bodies in the bodies. To contemplate only the internal body, however, is not enough for you to realise Nibbana. You must also contemplate the external body. Why? You have attachment, conceit and wrong view not only towards your own body, but also towards many external bodies. To remove the attachment, conceit and wrong view towards those external bodies, you must contemplate the external bodies also in the bodies. You may have pride depending on your son, husband or wife’s achievement. To remove this pride you must contemplate their bodies as impermanent. To remove the attachment towards the external bodies you must discern them as suffering. You may think, ‘this is my son, this is my daughter, this is my wife, or this is my husband.’ To remove these wrong views you should contemplate their bodies as non-self. If you discern the external world with insight, you will see only ultimate materiality and mentality. The ultimate materiality and mentality are impermanent because as soon as they arise they pass away, suffering because they are always oppressed by the arising and passing-away, and non-self because there is no permanent self or stable substance that you can call, ‘this is my son, this is my daughter, this is my husband, this is my wife, etc.’ If you contemplate in this way, this contemplation will reduce your attachment, pride and wrong view. So The Buddha instructs: ‘Thus he abides contemplating the body in the body internally. Or he abides contemplating the body in the body externally. Or he abides contemplating the body in the body both internally and externally.’ Why does The Buddha instruct this? For beginners to contemplate the body in the body internally for only one sitting is not enough. You must practise for many days, or even many months. Then you should discern externally also. For beginners this practice will take a few days. After that, in one sitting you should contemplate body in the body both internally and externally again and again. To contemplate only once is not enough. Repeated contemplation is necessary. Only when you contemplate again and again can you suppress attachment, conceit, wrong view and other defilements.
According to the classification of insight knowledges, this is only the Knowledge of Analysing Mentality-Materiality (namarupa-pariccheda-bana). It is only the beginning stage of vipassana. This insight knowledge can be divided into four stages: (1) the knowledge discerning materiality (rupa-pariggaha-bana) whereby you discern materiality separately, (2) the knowledge discerning mentality (arupa-pariggaha-bana) whereby you discern mentality separately, (3) the knowledge discerning mentality-materiality (ruparupapariggahabana) whereby you discern materiality and mentality together, and (4) the knowledge distinguishing mentality-materiality (nama rupa vavatthana bana or nama rupa pariccheda bana) whereby you discern materiality and mentality together, and see that there is no self, no person, no being in them, but only materiality and mentality.
Therefore at this stage you should practise the following four steps: (1) to discern materiality internally and externally, (2) to discern mentality internally and externally, (3) to discern materiality and mentality together internally and externally, and (4) to distinguish materiality and mentality internally and externally. This is the first stage of vipassana mentioned in the Mahasatipatthana Sutta.
‘He abides contemplating the arising phenomena in the body. Or he abides contemplating the passing-away phenomena in the body. Or he abides contemplating both the arising and the passing-away phenomena in the body.’
In this stage three insight knowledges are combined together:
1.     The Knowledge of Discerning Cause and Condition (paccaya pariggaha bana) which discerns causes and effects.
2.     The Knowledge of Comprehension (sammasana bana) which comprehends the impermanent, suffering and non-self natures of formations (savkhara).
3.     The Knowledge of Arising and Passing-Away (udayabbaya bana) which comprehends the arising and passing-away of formations as impermanent, suffering and non-self.
There are two types of arising and passing-away (udayabbaya) of formations (savkhara): (1) causal arising and passing-away (paccayato udayabbaya), and (2) momentary arising and passing-away (khanato udayabbaya). Causal arising and passing-away can be divided into two parts: causal arising and causal passing-away. Because of the arising of causes, the five clinging aggregates arise. This is causal arising. Because of the remainderless cessation of causes, the five clinging aggregates completely cease without remainder. This is the causal passing-away.
The five clinging aggregates are the same as mentality-materiality. Twenty-eight types of materiality comprise the aggregate of materiality. Feeling is the aggregate of feeling. Perception is the aggregate of perception. The remaining mental concomitants comprise the aggregate of formations. The six types of consciousness comprise the aggregate of consciousness. Feeling, perception, formations and consciousness are mentality. So the five clinging aggregates are the same as mentality-materiality. How should you discern the causal arising of mentality-materiality or the five clinging aggregates? This is the second stage of vipassana taught by the Buddha in the Mahasatipatthana Sutta. You should not skip stages in your practice. Please listen to what is the first stage again: You must discern materiality internally and externally. You must discern mentality internally and externally. You must discern materiality and mentality together internally and externally. You must distinguish materiality and mentality internally and externally. Only after this can you proceed to the second stage.
How should you discern the causal arising of materiality and mentality? After discerning materiality and mentality internally and externally, you should discern the nearest past materiality and mentality, for example, immediately before you began your sitting. Before sitting, please offer the Buddha candle light or water, wishing to become a bhikkhu in future life. After you begin your sitting, please notice the mental processes while offering and wishing for bhikkhu life. These are nearest mentalities. They are kamma-round (kamma-vatta) and defilement-round (kilesa-vatta). They arise depending on their respective bases, which are materialities. You must discern both the past materiality and mentality as if you were discerning external materiality and mentality. After discerning the nearest past materiality and mentality, you should slowly discern backwards to further past time, up to the rebirth-linking moment (patisandhi), the first moment of your present life.
If you are able to discern materiality and mentality at the rebirth-linking moment, you should discern further backwards to materiality and mentality in your past life. If you discern in this way, you may discern materiality and mentality at near-death moments of your past life. At that time one of the three signs usually appeared in your mind door (manodvara). The three signs are kamma, the sign of kamma (kamma nimitta) and the sign of the destination where you will be reborn (gati nimitta).
I will try to explain this with an example. A meditator discerned materiality and mentality at near-death moments in his past life. He saw a kamma nimitta that a man was offering candlelight to a Buddha image. After seeing the sign he discerned the materiality and mentality of the image of the man who was offering candlelight. How did he discern? He discerned the four elements in that image systematically. He saw kalapas and then analysed those kalapas to see ultimate materiality. Then he discerned mainly the fifty-four types of materiality in the heart, and then emphasised the heart-base. When he did so he saw bhavavga, the mind-door, clearly. Different objects appeared in bhavavga. He discerned bhavavga forwards and backwards again and again. Why? Between bhavavgas cognitive thought-processes usually occur. When he discerned those bhavavgas he could easily discern those cognitive thought-processes. He found that when he was offering candlelight to The Buddha image, he wished to become a meditator bhikkhu in the next life. The mind making the offering arose as mind-door thought-processes. Each thought-process consisted of a mind-door adverting consciousness (manodvaravajjana) and seven impulsions (javana). In the mind-door adverting consciousness there were twelve mental formations. In each impulsion there were thirty-four mental formations. Those thirty-four mental formations are called volitional formations (savkhara). Of the thirty-four mental formations, volition was predominant. The volition was kamma. As soon as those volitional formations arose they passed away because they were impermanent. But they left behind the force of kamma in his mentality-materiality process. In the Kammapaccaya Section of the Patthana, the force of kamma is called kamma.
Then he discerned the mind making the wish to become a meditator bhikkhu. It also arose as a mind-door cognitive thought-process. Each thought-process consisted of a mind-door adverting consciousness (manodvaravajjana) and seven impulsions (javana). In the mind-door adverting consciousness there were twelve mental formations. In each impulsion there were twenty mental formations. Of the twenty mental formations delusion (avijja), craving (tanha), clinging (upadana) are predominant. What is delusion? According to The Buddha’s teaching, our body and mind are only ultimate materiality and mentality. If we know them as materiality and mentality, it is correct. This is insight knowledge, right view (samma-ditthi). But if we see them as a man, woman, bhikkhu, or bhikkhuni, this is wrong. This is called delusion or delusion. Depending on the delusion, he wished to become a meditator bhikkhu; this is craving. He clung to that meditator bhikkhu’s life; this is clinging. Delusion, craving and clinging are called the defilement round (kilesavatta), the defilements that produce the round of rebirths.
Altogether there were five past causes, delusion (avijja), craving (tanha), clinging (upadana), volitional formations (savkhara) and kamma.
Then he discerned the five aggregates at the rebirth-linking moment (patisandhi) in his present life. At that moment, there were thirty types of materiality. They arose as three types of kalapas, namely, the body-decad kalapa, sex-decad kalapa and heart-decad kalapa. In each type of kalapa there were ten types of materiality.
Then he discerned back and forth between those thirty types of materiality and the five past causes, delusion, craving, clinging, volitional formations and kamma. He paid special emphasis on the force of kamma to check whether it produced those thirty types of materiality. He checked this again and again, and was able to see that it did. This is the example of a meditator.
If you practise in this way you can easily understand that the force of kamma accumulated in your past life produced the materiality aggregate at your rebirth-linking moment. How? At that time you should have already understood how does the consciousness arising dependent on the heart-base produces mind-produced materiality, and have already known their causal relationship. In the same way, there is a causal relationship between the force of kamma and kamma-produced materiality. If you see the causal relationship, you should discern that because of the arising of delusion, craving, clinging, volitional formations and kamma, materiality arose at the rebirth-linking moment.
 Then you should also discern the causal relationship between the force of kamma in your past life and the present life mentality at the rebirth-linking moment. Then you should discern the causal relationship between the force of kamma and the resultant aggregates throughout your present life. Especially you should emphasize the six door thought processes. You discern that because of the arising of delusion, craving, clinging, volitional formations and kamma the aggregate of materiality arises. Delusion, craving, clinging, volitional formations and kamma are the causes, and the aggregate of materiality is the effect. This is the discernment of causal arising of formations. The insight discerning this is the Knowledge of Discerning Cause and Condition (paccaya-pariggaha-bana).
Having taught the discernment of causal arising of formations, The Buddha taught: ‘Or he abides contemplating the passing-away phenomena in the body.’ This means that you should also discern that because of the remainderless cessation of the five causes the five aggregates cease completely without remainder. This is paccayato vaya dassana bana, the insight knowledge that sees the remainderless cessation of causes and effects.
When will the five predominant causes, delusion, craving, clinging, volitional formations and kamma, cease completely without remainder? According to The Buddha’s teaching, the defilements will cease completely without remainder when you attain Arahantship. Because of the remainderless cessation of defilements, kamma cannot produce any results after Parinibbana. Your Arahanta Path will completely destroy the five causes without remainder. Because of the remainderless cessation of the five causes, after Parinibbana all five aggregates will cease completely without remainder. You must try to see this cessation, because The Buddha instructs in the Mahasatipatthana Sutta that ‘he abides contemplating the passing-away phenomena in the body.’ You should not forget that here the ‘body’ means the body of materiality (rupakaya) and the body of mentality (namakaya).
Now you are not Arahants yet. When will you attain Arahantship? Will it be in the present life or in the future life? Certainly it will be in the future. How soon? If you practise hard and if you have enough parami, you may attain Arahantship in this very life. Even then it is also called the future from the view of momentary arising and passing-away. If you will attain Arahantship in the coming future life, it is your future. When you attain Arahantship all the five causes will completely cease without remainder. You should try to see this cessation. And again when you take Parinibbana, all the five aggregates will completely cease without remainder. You must try to see this cessation too. If you see these two types of cessation, you should contemplate that because of the remainderless cessation of the five causes, the five aggregates also completely cease without remainder. This type of insight knowledge is called vayato udayabbaya dassana bana, the insight knowledge that sees the remainderless cessation of causes and their effects.
So if you want to know the causal relationship between cause and effect with your direct insight knowledge, you should discern the past, present and future materiality and mentality. Do you think that in the Mahasatipatthana Sutta The Buddha taught only about the present? If you understand the meaning of The Buddha’s teaching, you would not think so. The past, present and future materiality and mentality are to be discerned with insight knowledge. They are the objects of insight knowledge. Without discerning the past, present and future materiality and mentality, you cannot understand the principle of dependent origination with your direct insight knowledge. If you do not understand it, you cannot escape from the round of rebirths. You cannot discern the arising and passing-away of causes and effects. You cannot contemplate both causes and effects as impermanent, suffering and non-self. If you cannot do so, you cannot escape from the round of rebirths because the Buddha mentions so in the Mahanidana Sutta.
Then The Buddha taught: ‘Or he abides contemplating both the arising and passing-away phenomena in the body.’ This means that you must discern the arising and passing-away by way of causal relationship and by way of momentary existence. How should you discern? For example, because of the arising of the five causes, the five aggregates arise; because of the remainderless cessation of the five causes, the five aggregates completely cease without remainder. This is the Knowledge of Causal Arising and Passing-Away (paccayato udayabbaya bana). As soon as the five causes arise they pass away, so they are impermanent. As soon as the five aggregates arise they pass away, so they also are impermanent. To know this is the Knowledge of Momentary Arising and Passing-Away (khanato udayabbaya bana). In this stage you must discern both causal and momentary arising and passing-away in detail.
Before you see the arising and passing-away clearly from moment to moment, if you contemplate both cause and effect as impermanent, suffering and non-self, that insight knowledge is called the Knowledge of Comprehension (sammasanabana). When you see the arising and passing-away in each thought moment clearly, that insight knowledge is called the Knowledge of Arising and Passing-Away (udayabbaya bana).
 Now I want to give the commentary’s explanation about this arising and passing-away. Since this is the anapana section, the commentary also explains the causal arising and passing-away only for anapana.
‘He abides contemplating the arising phenomena in the body.’ Just like air moves back and forth depending on the smith’s bellows’ skin, the bellows’ spout, and appropriate effort, so too, depending on the produced body, nasal aperture, and the mind of the bhikkhu, the body of in-and-out breath moves back and forth. The produced body etc. are the origin. One who contemplates thus abides contemplating the arising phenomena in the body.
You may not understand its meaning, I think. I should like to explain a little more. When you discern the four elements in your breath, you will see many kalapas. If you analyse them you will see nine types of ultimate materiality. Why do they arise? If you remove your whole body, can the breath arise on its own? Without your body the breath cannot arise. If you analyse your body you may see the four types of materiality: kamma-produced materiality, mind-produced materiality, temperature-produced materiality and nutriment-produced materiality. These four types of materiality are called the produced body (karaja-kaya). Without the produced body the body of in-and-out breath cannot arise. So it is a cause for the arising of breath. Without the mind the breath also cannot arise, so the mind is another cause. The produced body is like the smith’s bellow; your nasal aperture is like the bellow’s spout; and the mind is like the appropriate effort. The produced body, mind and nasal aperture are the causes for the body of in-and-out breath to arise. You should discern the arising phenomena. Among these causes mind is the most important. But the mind arises depending on the produced body. So inevitably the produced body is also a cause. This is the causal relationship for in-and-out breath.
However, to discern the in-and-out breath in this way alone is not enough. You must also discern the causes for the five clinging aggregates, namely, delusion, craving, clinging, volitional formations and the force of kamma. These five past causes produce the present five clinging aggregates. In the same way, the five past causes in the second past life produced the five clinging aggregates in the first past life. The five present causes will produce the five clinging aggregates in the future life. You should discern causes and effects in this way, past, present and future.
Then the commentary explains the causal passing-away for in-and-out breath. ‘Or he abides contemplating the passing-away phenomena in the body,’ In whatever way, the air does not proceed when the bellows’ skin is taken off, the bellows’ spout is broken, and the appropriate exertion is absent. In the same way, when the produced body breaks up, the nasal aperture is destroyed, and the mind has ceased to function, the breath stops. Thus through the ending of the produced body, the nasal aperture and the mind there comes to be the ending of respiration.
Then you should discern that because of the remainderless cessation of the five causes, the five aggregates also will cease completely without remainder in the future. If one contemplates thus we say that one abides contemplating the passing-away phenomena or the causal passing-away of the body. You should also contemplate both the arising and passing-away phenomena in the body. Then The Buddha continues to teach the third stage of vipassana:
‘Or mindfulness that ‘there is only the body’ is established in him just to the extent merely necessary for further measure of knowledge and mindfulness.’
Mindfulness is established for the meditator through careful scrutiny. He thinks: There is only the body, that is, only the materiality and mentality, but there is no being, no person, no woman, no man, no self, nothing pertaining to a self, no ‘I’, nothing that is mine, no one, and nothing belonging to anyone.
What does it mean? This passage refers to the higher insight knowledges from the Knowledge of Dissolution (bhavgabana) to the Knowledge of Equanimity Towards Formations (savkharupekkhabana). If a meditator contemplates both the arising and passing-away of formations as I mentioned before, when his insight knowledge becomes sharp, he should pay attention to only the passing-away. Slowly he will no longer apprehend the arising stage, but only the passing-away. At that time he will not see kalapas. He will see only ultimate materiality and mentality. These dhammas are always passing-away. At that time he will see no beings, no person, no woman, no man, no self, no I, nothing that is mine, no one and nothing belonging to anyone, because he sees only the passing-away of ultimate materiality and mentality. He does not even see kalapas then.
‘Mindfulness that ‘there is only the body’ is established in him just to the extent merely necessary for further measure of knowledge and mindfulness.’ The passage ‘to the extent merely necessary’ denotes the purpose. This is said: The mindfulness established is not for any other purpose. What is the purpose for which it is established? ‘For further measure of knowledge and mindfulness’ means that it is just for the sake of a wider and wider, or deeper and deeper measure of knowledge and of mindfulness. For the increase of mindfulness and clear comprehension is the meaning.
If a meditator sees only the passing-away and contemplates both ultimate materiality and mentality as well as insight knowledge as impermanent, suffering and non-self alternately, slowly his insight knowledge will become mature. As a result his controlling faculties also will become mature, whereby he will attain the path knowledge and fruition knowledge, which take Nibbana as object. If he realises Nibbana stage by stage, finally he will attain Arahantship. With regard to Arahantship The Buddha explains as follows:
‘And he abides independent, not clinging to anything in the world.’
‘And he abides independent’ means that he abides freed from dependence on craving and wrong views. ‘Not clinging to anything in the world’: In regard to materiality, feeling, perception, formations or consciousness, he does not think, ‘this is my self or this belongs to my self’. Why? Because his path knowledges have completely destroyed both craving and wrong view.
This is a brief way from anapanasati to Arahantship. If you practise systematically in this way and if you have enough parami, you will realise Nibbana in this life.
As a conclusion to the anapana section The Buddha says:
‘Bhikkhus, this is how a bhikkhu abides contemplating the body in the body.’
In this section on breathing, the mindfulness which examines the respiration is the Truth of Suffering (dukkha-sacca). The objects of mindfulness, the five clinging aggregates, are also the Truth of Suffering. The five causes, delusion, craving, clinging, volitional formations and kamma are the Truth of the Origin of Suffering (samudaya-sacca). The non-occurrence of both is the Truth of Cessation (nirodha-sacca). This refers to Nibbana, the Supramundane Truth of Cessation. When you cultivate the Knowledge of Arising and Passing-Away, you discern that because of the remainderless cessation of the five causes, the five aggregates will cease completely without remainder after Parinibbana. These two types of cessation are also called Truth of Cessation, but only the Mundane Truth of Cessation. If you realise Nibbana with the path knowledge and the fruition knowledge, you know the Supramundane Truth of Cessation, Nibbana. You should distinguish these two types of Truth of Cessation.
 The Noble Path, which understands suffering, abandons origination and takes cessation as object, is the Truth of the Path (magga-sacca). Here you should also distinguish between the mundane path knowledge and supramundane path knowledge. The mundane path knowledge that sees the five clinging aggregates is the insight knowledge of the truth of suffering. The mundane path knowledge that sees the origin of suffering is the insight knowledge of  the truth of the origin of suffering. The mundane path knowledge that sees that because of the remainderless cessation of the five causes the five aggregates will cease completely without remainder after Parinibbana is the insight knowledge of the truth of cessation. The mundane path is the path factors of the insight knowledges just mentioned. Right view (sammaditthi) is insight knowledge, and right thought (sammasavkappa), right effort (sammavayama), right mindfulness (sammasati) and right concentration (sammasamadhi) are associated with it. Before practising meditation you have already observed morality consisting of right speech, right action and right livelihood. Therefore, there are altogether eight factors of the mundane path.
Sometimes meditators must contemplate insight knowledge as impermanent, suffering and non-self. At that time he also understands the mundane path. So the mundane right view knows the mundane Four Noble Truths.
The supramundane noble path that takes Nibbana as object arises together with the path knowledge and the fruition knowledge. At that time supramundane right view knows Nibbana, right thought applies the mind to Nibbana, right mindfulness remembers Nibbana, right effort is the effort to realise Nibbana, right concentration is the concentration on Nibbana, and right speech, right action and right livelihood are also present. When a meditator realises Nibbana, why are right speech, right action and right livelihood also present? The noble path knowledge destroys the defilements that can produce wrong speech, wrong action and wrong livelihood, so right speech, right action and right livelihood are automatically present.
Thus having endeavoured by way of the Four Noble Truths, a person arrives at peace. This is the doorway to liberation for the bhikkhu devoted to mindfulness of breathing, anapanasati.
In the Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta the Buddha explains his own experience about the Four Noble Truths. How does he explain? Let’s see the Sutta:
‘This is the noble truth of suffering’: thus, bhikkhus, in regards to dhammas unheard before, there arose in me vision (cakkhum udapadi), there arose in me insight (banam udapadi), there arose in me understanding (pabba udapadi), there arose in me wisdom (vijja udapadi), there arose in me light (aloko udapadi).
Aloko udapadi” means “there arose in me light”. This is the light of wisdom. How did the light of wisdom occur? It arose especially, the Buddha emphasized, at the time when he realized Nibbana. When he realized Nibbana with Path knowledge (magga-citta) and Fruition knowledge (phala-citta), these two kinds of knowledge could produce small particles. Among the various kinds of materiality in each small particle, there is colour (vanna). That colour is bright. One consciousness can produce many small particles (cittaja-rupa-kalapa). In every small particle there is colour. Every colour is bright. Further, in each small particle there is fire element (tejo). That fire element can also produce new generations of small particles. In every new small particle there is also colour. That colour is also bright. Those new generations produced by fire element are called utuja-rupa-kalapas. The light of the colour in these utuja-rupa-kalapas spread not only inside but also to the outside world. So the light occurs internally and externally. This is called the light of wisdom. When the Buddha realized Nibbana, there arose in him the light of wisdom.
In the same way when you realize Nibbana the light of wisdom must be present. If you think you have seen Nibbana yet you cannot see the light of wisdom, then that is not the real Nibbana. I am not saying that Nibbana has light, but the Path and Fruition knowledge, which realize Nibbana, can produce light. This light is called the light of wisdom, not the light of Nibbana.
Again you should also remember that the Buddha knows the Noble Truth of suffering with his direct insight knowledge, Path knowledge and Fruition knowledge. What is the Noble Truth of suffering (Dukkha-sacca)? The Buddha had explained thus: “In short, the five aggregates subject to clinging are suffering.” The Buddha also penetrated these five aggregates when he studied vipassanâ knowledge. In the same way, if you are trying to attain vipassanâ knowledge, you should also penetrate the five aggregates subject to clinging. If you don’t know the five aggregates subject to clinging, then you cannot attain vipassanâ knowledge. If you study vipassanâ without knowing the five aggregates subject to clinging, your vipassanâ knowledge is superficial, not real vipassanâ knowledge.
The Buddha knows that these five aggregates subject to clinging are Dukkha-sacca. In the same way, if you realize Nibbana or become a Sotapanna, etc., you must also realize that these five aggregates subject to clinging are Dukkha-sacca. If you do not know that these five aggregates subject to clinging are Dukkha-sacca, you cannot become a Sotapanna or any Noble One.
I want to explain further. Take the clinging aggregate of materiality as an example. According to the Buddha’s teaching, materiality arises as small particles. Only when you can analyze these small particles systematically you can see ultimate materiality. When you are practising vipassanâ and if you cannot see small particles or cannot analyze them, you cannot see ultimate materiality (paramattha-rupa). If you practise vipassanâ without knowing paramattha-rupa, your vipassanâ is superficial and not real vipassanâ.
The Buddha continues his discourse:
‘This noble truth of suffering is to be fully understood’: thus, bhikkhus, in regards to dhammas unheard before, there arose in me vision, there arose in me insight, there arose in me understanding, there arose in me wisdom, there arose in me light.
‘This noble truth of suffering has been fully understood’: thus, bhikkhus, in regard to dhammas unheard before, there arose in me vision, there arose in me insight, there arose in me understanding, there arose in me wisdom, there arose in me light.
So concerning Dukkha-sacca, the Buddha taught three types of knowledge:
1.     You should try to know that this is Dukkha-sacca. This is called sacca-bana, which means the knowledge of the Truth.
2.     You should try to know that this Dukkha-sacca is to be understood. This is called kicca-bana, which means that your responsibility is to know the Dukkha-sacca-dhamma.
3.     You should try to know that this Dukkha-sacca has been understood by you. This is called kata-bana. The Buddha had already understood that the five aggregates subject to clinging are Dukkha-sacca.
In the same way, the Buddha taught Samudaya-sacca, the origin of suffering, in three ways:
‘This is the noble truth of the origin of suffering’: thus, bhikkhus, in regards to dhammas unheard before, there arose in me vision, there arose in me insight, there arose in me understanding, there arose in me wisdom, there arose in me light.
This is sacca-bana. The Buddha knows that this is the origin of suffering, Samudaya-sacca. If you practise vipassanâ you must also try to know that this is Samudaya-sacca. Samudaya-sacca is the origin of Dukkha-sacca. Especially in this case, you must try to understand dependent origination, the relationship between cause and effect, by your insight knowledge. Without knowing the dependent origination, you cannot realize Nibbana, because this is the second Noble Truth.
Again the Buddha continues:
‘This noble truth of the origin of suffering is to be abandoned’: thus, bhikkhus, in regards to dhammas unheard before, there arose in me vision, there arose in me insight, there arose in me understanding, there arose in me wisdom, there arose in me light.
The origin of suffering is delusion (avijja), craving (tanha) and clinging (upadana). You must destroy them with your insight knowledge and Path knowledge. If you can completely destroy or abandon these defilements without remainder, then your kammic force cannot produce any result. That kammic force can produce a result only dependent on avijja, tanha and upadana. Without avijja, tanha and upadana, the kammic force cannot produce any result. So that the origin of dukkha is to be abandoned means you must destroy these defilements completely without remainder with your insight knowledge and Path knowledge. This is kicca-bana, which means the knowledge of what has to be done. What do you have to do? You have to abandon or, according to explanation of commentary, you have to “kill” the defilements. Remainderless cessation of defilements is necessary in this case.
The Buddha continues:
‘This noble truth of origin of suffering has been abandoned’: thus, bhikkhus, in regards to dhammas unheard before, there arose in me vision, there arose in me insight, there arose in me understanding, there arose in me wisdom, there arose in me light.
This is kata-bana. Kata-bana means “the knowledge of what has been done.” What had he done? The Buddha had abandoned or killed the defilements. So in Samudaya-sacca there are also three types of knowledge: sacca-bana, kicca-bana and kata-bana. If you are practising vipassanâ, you must understand that this is Samudaya-sacca; this is sacca-bana here. You must try to know that this Samudaya-sacca has to be abandoned or to be killed; this is kicca-bana. Then, if you realize Nibbana, your Path knowledge will step by step completely destroy these defilements without remainder, especially the tanha -- Samudaya-sacca. At that time you will understand that you have abandoned or killed the Samudaya-sacca-dhamma (the things that are the origin of suffering). That is kata-bana.
In the same way the Buddha taught Nirodha-sacca in three ways. Please listen:
‘This is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering’: thus, bhikkhus, in regard to dhammas unheard before, there arose in me vision, there arose in me insight, there arose in me understanding, there arose in me wisdom, there arose in me light.
This is sacca-bana, which means the Buddha knows that this is Nirodha-sacca, the cessation of suffering. How did he cease suffering? While he was practising vipassanâ, his insight knowledge realized all Dukkha-sacca-dhammas i.e. the five aggregates subject to clinging, and all Samudaya-sacca-dhammas, i.e. the twelve factors of dependent origination, as anicca, dukkha, and anatta. He practised vipassanâ in this way. At the end of his vipassanâ, he realized Nibbana. When he realized Nibbana, he saw the remainderless cessation of the five aggregates subject to clinging and twelve factors of dependent origination.
The Buddha continues:
‘This noble truth of the cessation of suffering is to be realized’: thus, bhikkhus, in regard to dhammas unheard before, there arose in me vision, there arose in me insight, there arose in me understanding, there arose in me wisdom, there arose in me light.
This is kicca-bana, which means “the knowledge of what must be done”. In this case, when you are practising vipassanâ, you must try to realize Nibbana.
Again, the Buddha continues to teach kata-bana:
‘This noble truth of the cessation of suffering has been realized’: thus, bhikkhus, in regard to dhammas unheard before, there arose in me vision, there arose in me insight, there arose in me understanding, there arose in me wisdom, there arose in me light.
This is kata-bana, which means “the knowledge of what has been done”. What had he done? He had realized Nibbana. He knew that he had realized Nibbana. When you practise vipassanâ and realize Nibbana, you will also know that you have realized Nibbana.
Then the Buddha continues to explain Magga-sacca in three ways:
‘This is the noble truth of the path leading to the cessation of suffering’: thus, bhikkhus, in regard to dhammas unheard before, there arose in me vision, there arose in me insight, there arose in me understanding, there arose in me wisdom, there arose in me light.
So when the Buddha got enlightened, he knew that this is the practice or the path leading to the cessation of suffering. In the same way if you are trying vipassanâ, you should also try to know that this is the path or practice leading to the cessation of suffering. This is sacca-bana.
The Buddha continues to teach kicca-bana:
‘This noble truth of the path leading to the cessation of suffering is to be developed’: thus, bhikkhus, in regard to dhammas unheard before, there arose in me vision, there arose in me insight, there arose in me understanding, there arose in me wisdom, there arose in me light.
In the same way, if you are practising vipassanâ, you must try to know the Noble Eightfold Path. This is the path leading to the cessation of suffering. There are altogether eight factors: Right View… Right Concentration. I would like to explain a little more. When you are practising vipassanâ, first you must understand the five aggregates subject to clinging. Secondly, you must try to know the origin of suffering, especially the factors of dependent origination. These Dukkha sacca dhammas and Samudaya sacca dhammas are called savkhara-dhammas, formations. They are impermanent by nature, so they are anicca. They are always oppressed by arising and passing away so they are dukkha. There is no stable self in them, so they are anatta. While you are practising in this way, your practice is called vipassanâ. At that time, penetrating the impermanent nature, unpleasant nature, or non-self nature of these savkhara-dhammas is sammaditthi, Right View. Application of the mind to these natures of the savkhara-dhammas is sammasavkappa, Right Thinking. The effort to penetrate these natures of the savkhara-dhammas is sammavayama, Right Effort. Mindfulness on these natures of the savkhara-dhammas is sammasati, Right Mindfulness. Concentration on these natures of the savkhara-dhammas is sammasamadhi, Right Concentration. So altogether there are five factors.
When you reach bhavga-bana stage, you must discern both bata and bana as anicca, dukkha or anatta. Bata (literary: “what is to be known”) means here five aggregates or savkhara-dhammas. Bana means insight knowledge. At that time the insight knowledge arises as a thought-process. In this thought-process there are one mind-door advering consciousness and seven impulsions, javanas. In the mind-door adverting consciousness moment, there are twelve mental formations. In each impulsion thought moment there are usually thirty-four mental formations. Among these mental formations the aforementioned five factors of the Noble Eightfold Path are predominant. You must also see this insight knowledge as anicca, or dukkha, or anatta. At that time you can easily understand these five predominant factors. They are the path leading to the cessation of suffering, because at that time you have already understood that because of the remainderless cessation of causes five clinging aggregates will also cease completely without remainder by your insight knowledge, udaya-baya bana.
In the Noble Eightfold Path there are eight factors. Now I have explained only five factors. You should not misunderstand. When you are practising vipassanâ, you have already observed five, or eight, or nine, or ten precepts. Thus sammavaca (Right Speech), sammakammanta (Right Action), and sammaajiva (Right Livelihood) are already present. They also arise as a cognitive thought-process together with concomitant mental formations. You must also contemplate them as anicca, dukkha, or anatta. So altogether there are eight factors of the Noble Eightfold Path.
At the end of vipassanâ, if you realize Nibbana, then eight factors of the Noble Eightfold Path are present. You must also try to realize these eight factors. How? You should try to realize Nibbana with phalasamapatti-insight-knowledge. If you try again and again, and if you calculate the mental formations that realize Nibbana, you will easily understand that there are thirty-seven mental formations, or thirty-six mental formations, etc. While you are contemplating kamavacara-dhammas or first jhana dhammas as anicca, or dukkha, or anatta, at that time if you realize Nibbana, in your Path and Fruition knowledges there are thirty-seven mental formations. Among these mental formations the Noble Eightfold Path is present. But while you are contemplating the second jhana dhammas, etc., as anicca, etc., at that time if you realize Nibbana, in your Path and Fruition knowledges, there are thirty-six mental formations, etc. Among these thirty-six mental formations etc., the noble sevenfold path is present, because there is no right thinking, samma-savkappa.
Then the Buddha continues to teach kata-bana:
‘This noble truth of the path leading to the cessation of suffering has been developed’: thus, bhikkhus, in regard to dhammas unheard before, there arose in me vision, there arose in me insight, there arose in me understanding, there arose in me wisdom, there arose in me light.
So you must also try to see that you have cultivated this Noble Eightfold Path. If you cannot discern this Noble Eightfold Path, it is impossible that you have realized Nibbana. There are two types of the Noble Eightfold Path: mundane and supramundane. You must have developed these two types of Noble Eightfold Path if you want to be a Sotapanna, a Sakadagami, an Anagami, or an Arahat.
So there are altogether twelve types of knowledge: three types in Dukkha-sacca – sacca-bana, kicca-bana and kata-bana; in the same way, three types in each of Samudaya-sacca, Nirodha-sacca and Magga-sacca.
The Sutta continues:
‘Now, bhikkhus, as long as my knowledge and vision of these Four Noble Truths as they really are in their three phases and twelve aspects was not thoroughly purified in this way-- so long I did not declare the realization of unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment in this world, together with its Devas, Mara, and Brahma, in this generation with its ascetics and brahmins, its devas (kings) and humans.
But, bhikkhus, when my knowledge and vision of these Four Noble Truths as they really are in their three phases and twelve aspects was thoroughly purified in this way, then, bhikkhus, I did declare the realization of the unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment in this world, together with its Devas, Mara, and Brahma, in this generation with its ascetics and brahmins, its devas (kings) and humans. Knowledge and vision arose in me: Unshakable is my liberation of mind. This is my last birth. Now there is no more renewed existence for me.’
This knowledge occurred after he had attained Arahantship. His arahatta-magga occurred together with sabbabbuta-bana, omniscience. So when you practise vipassanâ to the stage of knowing the Four Noble Truths, you also must try to know the Four Noble truths in three phases – these twelve aspects -- in the same way. Among the three kinds of knowledge, sacca-bana is the most important. Kicca-bana and kata-bana occur only after the time of enlightenment.
The Sutta continues:
This is what the Blessed One said. The group of five bhikkhus were glad and rejoiced at the words of the Blessed One.
So the Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta is finished here. But it is not yet really finished because there are still some results. The Sutta continues:
Now when this discourse had been spoken, there arose in the Venerable Kondabba the pure and stainless vision of the Dhamma, namely: Whatever is of the nature to arise is of the nature to cease.
1.     This especially refers to udayabbaya-bana insight knowledge, both causal arising and passing-away and momentary arising and passing-away. At the end of the Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta, the Venerable Kondabba became a sotapanna. When he attained sotapanna stage this insight knowledge was stable in him. What insight knowledge? The knowledge that understands ‘Whatever is of the nature to arise is of the nature to cease.’ Every sotapanna must understand the five aggregates, i.e. Dukkha-sacca. Every sotapanna must understand dependent origination, i.e. Samudaya-sacca. Every sotapanna must understand these Dukkha-sacca-dhammas and Samudaya-sacca-dhammas are called savkhara-dhammas or samudaya-dhammas. These savkhara-dhammas are always arising and passing away (udaya-vaya). This insight knowledge must be stable. Why? Because when sotapatti-magga realizes Nibbana, with the assistance of Nibbana, it completely destroys the delusion which covers the Four Noble Truths. So delusion disappears because of that sotapanna insight knowledge. Because of this reason sotapannas always know that ‘whatever is of the nature to arise is of the nature to cease.’ This knowledge is always stable in them. But some may ask: Why could Venerable Kondabba become a sotapanna so quickly? We should pay respect to his paramis, perfections fulfilled in the previous lives. He had been fulfilling paramis for one hundred thousand aeons since the time of the Buddha Padumuttara. For such people who have fulfilled adequate paramis, when they attain Arahantship, their arahatta-magga-bana usually occurs together with the Four Analytical Knowledge, patisambhida-bana. They possess patisambhida knowledge. For those who possess patisambhida knowledge five factors we mentioned before have been fulfilled by them. So in previous previous Buddhas’ Dispensations, they had studied vipassanâ up to the savkharupekkha-bana stage for many lives. Because of these paramis, while they were listening to the Dhamma concerning the Four Noble Truths, especially concerning Dukkha-sacca-dhammas and Samudaya-sacca-dhammas, they could quickly understand that Dukkha-sacca-dhammas and Samudaya-sacca-dhammas are impermanent, suffering and non-self.
In Avguttara Nikaya there is a Sutta called Sotanugata Sutta. In that Sutta, the Buddha mentioned four results of a bhikkhu who studies pariyatti as well as patipatti: He learns the Buddha’s teaching by heart and practises meditation practically up to savkharupekkha-bana stage. He passes away before attaining Ariyan stage or before realizing Nibbana. At or near death, the last javana is called maranasanna-javana. His maranasanna-javana takes the impermanent, unpleasant or non-self nature of savkhara-dhammas as its object. After he passes away, he is reborn in the deva world. There, his patisandhi-citta (rebirth consciousness), bhavavga-citta (life continuum) and cuti-citta (death consciousness) also take that same object. For example, if the maranasanna-javana takes the impermanent nature of the savkhara-dhammas as object, then these three cittas also take the impermanent nature of the savkhara-dhammas as object. If the maranasanna-javana takes the unpleasant nature of the savkhara-dhammas as object, these three cittas of that deva also take that same nature as object. The same applies to non-self nature. Among these three cittas, bhavavga-citta (life continuum) is the most important. After he is reborn as a deva, his bhavanga-citta takes the impermanent, unpleasant or non-self nature of the savkhara-dhammas as object. The nature of the savkhara-dhammas is always present in his mind. He can easily see it. Because of this reason, while he is reflecting the nature of the savkhara-dhammas, he can quickly realize Nibbana. This is the first result.
The second and third results are as follows: he himself does not practise samatha and vipassanâ in the deva world. However, while he is listening to the Dhamma taught by a bhikkhu who possesses psychic power or by a deva, he can quickly remember these savkhara-dhammas. When he pays attention to these savkhara-dhammas as impermanent, suffering or non-self, he can quickly realize Nibbana. These are the second and the third types of result.
The fourth result is: He has no opportunity to listen to the Dhamma. But he had some friends in the previous life, who passed away before him and reached the deva world. When he reaches the deva world, those friends make him know the Four Noble Truths. At that time he pays attention to these savkhara-dhammas as anicca, or dukkha or anatta. Then he can quickly realize Nibbana. This is the fourth result.
The case of Venerable Kondabba is the second type of result. When he listened to the Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta which concerns the Four Noble Truths, he could quickly realize the Four Noble Truths. For he had studied samatha and vipassanâ up to savkharupekkha-bana stage in previous Buddhas’ dispensations, especially at the time of the Buddha Padumuttara.
The Sutta continues:
And when the Wheel of the Dhamma had been set in motion by the Blessed One, the earth-dwelling devas raised a cry: “At Baranasi, in the Deer Park at Isipatana, this unsurpassed Wheel of the Dhamma has been set in motion by the Blessed One, which cannot be stopped by any ascetic or brahmin or deva or Mara or Brahma or by anyone in the world.” Having heard the cry of the earth-dwelling devas, the devas of the realm of the Four Great Kings raised a cry: “At Baranasi … this unsurpassed Wheel of the Dhamma has been set in motion by the Blessed One, which cannot be stopped …. by anyone in the world.” Having heard the cry of the devas of the realm of the Four Great Kings, the Tavatimsa devas … the Yama devas … the Tusita devas … the Nimmanarati devas … the Paranimmitavasavatti devas … the devas of Brahma’s company raised a cry: “At Baranasi, in the Deer Park at Isipatana, this unsurpassed Wheel of the Dhamma has been set in motion by the Blessed One, which cannot be stopped by any ascetic or brahmin or deva or Mara or Brahma or by anyone in the world.”
Thus at that moment, at that instant, at that second, the cry spread as far as the Brahma world, and this ten thousandfold world system shook, quaked, and trembled, and an immeasurable glorious radiance appeared in the world surpassing the divine majesty of the devas.
Then the Blessed One uttered this inspired utterance: “Kondabba has indeed understood! Kondabba has indeed understood!” In this way the Venerable Kondabba acquired the name “Abbasi Kondabba – Kondabba Who Has Understood.”
The other four bhikkhus, namely, Vappa, Bhaddiya, Mahanama and Assaji, are the fourth type. It means that the Buddha had to teach them again and again how to understand the five aggregates and dependent origination. And then he taught them how to realize the impermanent nature, or unpleasant nature or non-self nature of these savkhara-dhammas. The Buddha taught them daily. Because of this reason, they respectively attained sotapanna stage day by day.
So following on that the Venerable Kondabba asked the Buddha for ordination. And it was granted with these words: ‘Come, bhikkhu! Well proclaimed is the Dhamma. Live the holy life for the utter destruction of suffering.’ This was the full ordination of the Venerable Kondabba. Then Vappa, Bhaddiya, Mahanama and Assaji gained insight and became sotapannas day by day. They also gained the full ordination in the same way.
Do you want to make an end to suffering? If you do, please listen to the Kutaghara Sutta of Sacca Samyutta:
“Bhikkhus, if anyone should speak thus: ‘Without having made the breakthrough to the noble truth of suffering as it really is, without having made the breakthrough to the noble truth of the origin of suffering as it really is, without having made the breakthrough to the noble truth of the cessation of suffering as it really is, without having made the breakthrough to the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering as it really is, I will completely make an end to suffering’ – this is impossible.
“Just as, bhikkhus, if anyone should speak thus, ‘Without having built the lower storey of a peaked house, I will erect the upper storey,’ this would be impossible; so too, if anyone should speak thus: ‘ Without having make the breakthrough to the noble truth of suffering as it really is … I will completely make an end to suffering’ – this is impossible.
“But, bhikkhus, if anyone should speak thus: ‘Having made the breakthrough to the noble truth of suffering as it really is, having make the breakthrough to the noble truth of the origin of suffering as it really is, having made the breakthrough to the noble truth of the cessation of suffering as it really is, having made the breakthrough to the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering as it really is, I will completely make an end to suffering’ --- this is possible.
“Just as, bhikkhus, if anyone should speak thus: ‘Having built the lower storey of a peaked house, I will erect the upper storey,’ this would be possible; so too, if anyone should speak thus: ‘Having made the breakthrough to the noble truth of suffering as it really is … I will completely make an end to suffering’ – this is possible.
“Therefore, Bhikkhus, an exertion should be made to understand: ‘This is suffering.’ An exertion should be made to understand: ‘This is the origin of suffering.’ An exertion should be made to understand: ‘This is the cessation of suffering.’ An exertion should be made to understand: ‘This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering.’
 It is very important to know the Four Noble Truths to escape from the round of rebirths. This fact is clearly shown in the Kotigama Sutta of Samyutta Nikaya:
On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling among the Vajjians at Kotigama. There the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus thus: “Bhikkhus, it is because of not understanding and not penetrating the Four Noble Truths that you and I have roamed and wandered through this long course of samsara. What four?
“It is, bhikkhus, because of not understanding and not penetrating the noble truth of suffering that you and I have roamed and wandered through this long course of samsara. It is because of not understanding and not penetrating the noble truth of the origin of suffering  ... the noble truth of the cessation of suffering … the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering that you and I have roamed and wandered through this long course of samsara.
“That noble truth of suffering, bhikkhus, has been understood and penetrated. That noble truth of the origin of suffering has been understood and penetrated. That noble truth of the cessation of suffering has been understood and penetrated. That noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering has been understood and penetrated. Craving for existence has been cut off; the conduit to existence has been destroyed; now there is no more renewed existence.”
This is what the Blessed One said. Having said this, the Fortunate One, the Teacher, further said this:

“Catunnam ariyasaccanam, yathabhutam adassana;
samsitam dighamaddhanam, tasu tasveva jatisu.
“Tani etani ditthani, bhavanetti samuhata,
ucchinnam mulam dukkhassa, natthidani punabbhavo."

“Because of not seeing as they are
The Four Noble Truths,
We have wandered through the long course
In the various kinds of births.
“Now these truths have been seen;
The conduit to existence is severed;
Cut off is the root of suffering:
Now there is no more renewed existence.”