THE NOBLE

EIGHTFOLD PATH
AND ITS FACTORS EXPLAINED
'Magga~ga - Dlpanl

The Venerable
LED! SAYADAW
Agga-maliiip~~ita. D. Litt.

Translated into English by

V. SAW TUN TEIK. B.A., B.L

Revised Edition
by

BHIKKHU KHANTIPALO

BUDDH[ST PUBLICATION SOCIETY I C.

KANDY 1977 SR.I LANU
 SL. ISSN 0049-':'7541 ,
Dedicated
by the Editor
By the ~ame author .r to
LEDr , ·SA YADA W
Para Vidhuradhamma,bhorn ih ,whose new viM.ra,
A Manual of Insight .
~
Vibara, Dhammadlparama outside MaJang,
'. ,(The Wheel .No. 31-32) lEast . Java, much of this
,
.. revision was done .
The Requisites of Enlightenment
(The Wheel No . .171-174) .

. .

THE WHEEL PUBLICATION No. 245/246/241

.'

)"
 CONTENTS
Introduction, by Bhikkhu Kbantipii lo ( ii )
INTRODUCTfON
I. RIGHT VIEW 6
of ownership of Kamma 28 IF a Buddhi"l is asked, "Whal did .be Buddba ltach?'" be
of tbe teh subjects 29 wou ld ri ghtly reply, "the Four 'oble Trutbs and the
of the Four Noble Truths 39 NOb le E i8ht fold Patb:' If (hen quul;ofJed furlhet a to
what th ey consisled of he should be able 10 ddinc them
II. RIGHT THOUGHT 44 accura tely, without uncertainty, ambiguity or recours 10
III. RIGHT SPEECH hi s own ideas.
46
IV. RIGHT ACTION 49 Thi s is very imporlanl - that the !ouptcmdy cl a.
word s of tb e Buddha are nOl diMorred, c;lbtl hrough
ig norance or because of oDe's Own ~Ptcuja.jon$_ T t
V. RIGHT LIVELIHOOD 50
VI. RIGHT EFFORT 52 Buddh a has oft en praised deep JearDin8, jll!tl as he
VII. RIGHT MINDFULNESS 511
has poin te d out tbe dangers in holding opinions and ~iet>;li
which a re Ihe result ooly of ODe's J)Crsonaj a'ecJiDgs
VJll. RIGHT COLLECTEDNESS 59 and preferences, or of misinterpreted ClIpe,ience. There
(CONCENTRATION)

APPENDrX I is little 10 excuse SlIch things since the Buddha bim df

has ca refulJy defined ,~bat is meanl by tbe Trub 'ot
Dukkb a (suffe ring), or \\bat constitutes Rigb Vie". j .. ~t
The three kinds of Rounds and Four of Wandering-on 61 I to lake t wo examples.

The First, Second and Third stages of Views

Forming'the Noble Eightfold Path into Three Groups 68
65 I The Bud dha's definitions are uDconrusing ",biJ co.
vincing since they arise from hi!> nsurpassed Per ' ,
Awakening. BUI one's own ideas, or tbe speculation of
How to establish the Morality-group of tbe Noble ! those who depa rt from his word. cannol be so without
some bias towa rds wha t is more comfoning to b lint.
Eightfold Path
How to establish the Concentration-group of the
70
I what, in other words, one' undisciplined emotions dralli
one to believe." Sucb "tangles of \'ic\\ .. are c:nd'r in
Noble Eightfold Path 76 this world a nd prod uce much conflict.. wefJ. good
How to establish tbe Wisdom-group of tbe Noble comes of bOlding Views.
Eightfold Path 79 Those who do so Usua lly do Dot lih to pra
A short explanation of the establishment of the
, Noble Eightfold Path. 85 • See fO Ol note '"
Index
89

•
 Dhamma, they prefer to think about it and talk about it. the first edition t o work on. AliO. lome .eajon. (rom tbe
But one does not become a Buddhist by mere thinking and Venerable author's Sammadi Uhi-dJpaDI (Tbe Manual of
talking, only by practice, and this Noble' Eightfold Path Right Vi ews) have b een inc lud ed in tbe reviled edition. In
containing within it The Four Noble Truths is the places where the Ven erable au thor's exp lana tions are too
pre-eminent Path of ~ractice - of Wisdom. Moral brief some expan sion s of his sta te m ents have been added
Conduct and Meditation.
by the editor. The foo tno tes a re a lso m ine unless otber-
, So here is a booklet where the Buddha's own definitiens wi se stated.
of the Four Noble Truths a·nd the Path are quoted and , Finally, ' if any error has been mad e by me during.
explained by the venerable author who, as a senior member revision, may tbe translators pardon me. a nd tbevenera ble
of the Sangba (Order) in Burm~ , was both deeply learned , author show me his com'passion.
and well practised in meditation. This handbook of the
May the Dbamma of the Exalted O De lighten tbe
Eig'htfold Path contains all , tbe Path-factors cIeariy darkness of the world!
described accord ing to tbe most ancient Buddhist tradition '
wbich has come down to us from the enlighteIJed d'isciples
of the Buddha, through ,tbe 'a ges transmitted bYthose who
Bbikkb. KlJantipaJo.
have developed calm and insight meditations to the gr,eat
Porest Hermitage
teachers of the present d'ay in the Buddhist countries of
S.E. Asia. ' , _ BE 1520
Vassana CE 1976
Now it only remains to thorougbly learn the definitions
of the Path-factors and, of course, t'o practise tltem , Tnen
one will be competent to answer questions: convincingly
since one's own conduct does not depart from Dharnma.
Tbis work was written by 'the Vener able Mahathera
Ledi Sayadaw ill Burmese and .later translared into
English by U Saw Tun Teik, an advocate in Rangoon ;
The Union ,Buddha Sasana Council issued this book after
revision by their English Editorial Board in 1961, but due
to later' events in Burma it has long been hard to find. '
, In- making i,t available onc~ again this opportunity bas yi
,I
been , taken to rewrite it iii it, form more easily read
by western people, omitting most of the Pali words which
are found in the first edition: Venerable Nyanaponika"
Mahiitbera has encouraged me to take up this work,
given every belpful advice and sent me his copy of
 THE EIGHTFOLD PATH Namo tassa Bhagavato Arahqto Samma-sambuddhass/l..

and its Factors Explained Homage to the Exalted One, the Holy One, the Perfectly
Enlightened One

,I ~

This is the Noble Eightfold Path:

Preface
I. Right View Samma-ditthi

IN comp'liance with the requests of the Englishmen who

II. Right Thought Samma-saIika ppa
have eniered the Buddhist Order o'f Monks for elucidation III.> . Right Speech Samma-vaca
of the Noble Eightfold Path, the Venerable J"edi Sayadaw-
IV . Right Action Samma-kammanta
. made use of his relative respite while journeying by
rail or steamer from town to town, to write this treatise.* v.. Right Livelihood Samma-ajiva
VI. Right Effort Samma-vayama
VII. Right Mindfulness Sammii..-sati
VITI. Right Collectedness Sam rna-sa mad hi.

• This Pr~face was translated from Burmese and sent to the reviser
by Myanaung U Tin who has also supplied from his own knowledge
and from replies elicited ' from Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw
Aggamahapandi1a, valuable information on some difficult points.

The Editor.
4.
 I RIGHT VIEW
Three kinds of Right View have been distinguished:
A) That one is the ~wner of thekammat. one makes.
B) That one ilas Right View in respect of ten subjects
concelin-ed withkamma, its fruits. this world, other
worlds and the superknowledge J1t;vealiag them.
C) That one has Right Views regarding the Four
Truths.
First we shall examine :.
A). Ri.g ht View on t~e owner:ship of one's karnma.
About this the Buddha has said:
"All beings are the owners e;)f theirkammas, heirs
to their kamma, born of their kammas, related te;) their
kammas, abide su·pported by their kamnilas; wha{ev~r
kamma they sha'il do, whether good or evil, Of that they
will be the heirs."
-No\y to take this passage section by se(tion for a ful'l er
understanding.
(I) - All beings .are the owners oj the';r kammas.
- .
This is the correct understanding that only two things:,
the wholesome and the unwholesome kammas done
by beings, really belong to them and aIways accompany
tbem on their wanderiIlgs in the wheel of 'birth and death.
/'
2 Kamma (or in Sanskrit, Karma) means - intentional actions by
body, speech or mind, haying an inherent fr'uit in aCcordance ,with
tbe kind of action dOne.
Though people call gold, silver, wealth and jewels their
own since they have acquired them lawfully or otherwise,
really they are owners only for the bri.e f span of this life
and sometimes not for as lorig as that. For the things
tbat are 'owned' by us must be shared with otber forces
and beiFlgs such as water, fire, rulers, thieves and enemies
. wl1,icn, if s~ntieFlt, may also regard tbose tbings as their
own .lI Sci such things are as though borrowed for tbis life.
just for ,u se now but to be given up at deatb. And bow-
,~ver little or much one may O\V11 of things here, all bave
to be ndinquished at the time of death and cannot
. be taken with one. When this is take_n into account, we
may understand how we ha-rdly own such tbings at all,
while by contrast the good and evil done by us is truly
owned ana such kamma may accompa-ny us through
a clHltinuify of lives extending through hundreds of
th0usand~ ol'worl'd-cycles in the future. Kamma cannot
i.n aNY way, be ~aken from the doer or destroyed fOT
they are imJDrintcd on his mental continuity and w'iU
fruit for 'him when conditionsper~it. Hence the Buddha
has said "All beings a',e the owners of their kammas."
One should · therefore love and esteem good conduct
more than one's 'ow n life ano preserve it weIl, -while evil
c{1nduct one--should dread more tl:jan I_be danger of death
and so refra in from evil deeds_
The kammas which are one's own are the mental,
verbal and pbysical intentional actions \\hich one bas
• Venerable Buddhagkosiicar.iya in bis 'Path of Purification' em-
. phasizes that even our own body must be shared with other beio!!S
i.e. with such parasites as worms or bacteria - "hieb rel!lUd it as
their 0wn. 'Ownership' of any material thing is very len~(>us and
insecure.
-1
 done. Kamma by way of the body means 'intentional (1) Injuring and killing living beings. 3 paths of evil
(2) Taking away sentient or insentient kamma byway
. movements of such pa:r:ts of ,the body as hands or legs.
property which has not been given. of the
Verbal kamm~ includes expressions made with themouth,
( 3) Wrong conduct in sexual pleasures. body.·
tongue and throat, while mental kamma covers all
intentional functions of the mind. In the Buddha's
teaching these three are called kamma. a
All beings make- these three ki1'lds of i<aritma while they (4) Paise speecb, 4 paths of evil
are awake and whatever work they dQ, of great significance (5) Tale-bearing. kamma by
(6) Harsh talk. way of
or litde, all of itis done by means of these three kammas.
(1) Useless chatter. speech. !l'
But when a person is asleep these three kammas are
not made, for at that time states of mind are notvolitio-
nal. In the case of one who is dead none of the three
kinds of kamma are made by that body. (8) Covetousness. 3 paths of
, These three may be analyzed as to whether tbe~ are (9) III-will evil kamma
(10) Wrong, view. by way of mind.
(1) good or wholesome, or (2) evil and unwho'l esome;.
furthe'r as to whether (1) Ineyhave j;esults ripening in this
life, or (2) have them ripenillg in a fu,t'u re life.
Kammas are determined to he good or evi( according to All kinds of actions done through the "three doors" of
whether they lead to the cultivation aNd growth of one's bod~. speedl and mind, that are free of these ten ways of
own mind and the benefit of others, or to the deterioration ~ak~ng unwholesome kamma, whe~her in cO!lnection with
and defilement of one's own' mind ' and the .harm of lIvelIhood, the acquisition of wealth and the search for
others . Thus by doing the following teri kamma-paths knowledge, are good kamma made in the present existence
and coming to fruit now.
one makes evil or unwholesdme kamma which wHl !lave
. But those actions by way of the three doors which
the fruits of suffering, but by abstaining from these
are involved with the above ten in whatsoever connection
ten and cultivating their opposites one makes good kamma
they are done, are evil kamma which bears its fruit in the
which will have the fruits of happiness. These ten are as present life.
follows: . In a similar ~ay kammas made in this life for ripening
In tbe future wIll also be of two kinds, either wholesome

B Note that kamma means action, NOT the fruit of action as when
people say, "It's my kamma". This reduces the' teaching of
.. 'These will be eXplained under Right Action.
kamma to mere fatalism. 6 These will be explained under Right Speech
8
9
or unwholesome. Whether the wholesome kammas are
made by the body, speech or mind in connection with such
actions as almsgiving, Uposatha-day observance,6 moral
CDnducl (of the Five Precepts), practising meditation, going
for refuge to and paying respects to the Triple Gem of
the Enlightened.One (Buddha), the Path to Enlightenmen
(Dhamma) and the Community of those Enlighten~d
by practising that Path (Sangha) and S0 on, they Will
ripen in future giving ·rise to a favourable birth. . N0w let us take an example which illustrates the results
Unwholesome kammas made in this life but ripeniAg in
the fut~re will result in ' birth in the lower planes of
existence, (as ghost •. animal or ·hell-wraith).
In this way one should differentiate between good and .
evil kammas as well as contemplate the three kinds
of kammas which are made everywhere - on land, ,in
water and in the sky. When we have seen with our OW,A
eyes how all beings~ wherever they are; have bee.n making
the three kinds of kammas in all their past existences
through endless world- cyc\'.es, we can comprehend that
they will make them in the future too. And just as
in this world-system,-' so there are in all directions 'an
infinite' number of other world systems wher'e such
beings, liVing on land, in water and in the sky. also make.
the three kammas.
When one has thought about this, it becomes clear that
all these beings are living by the three kammas which they
make individually for themselves. By making wholesome
kamma in these ways they enjoy the fruits of ha.Pl"iness,
while by making evil. kammas in these three ways they
encounter various kinds Qf misery and suffering.
e See. 'Lay Buddhist Practice' Wheel 206·207,
10
So the three kinds of kamma made by body, speech and
mind, are truly the property owned by beings, for kamma
can never be destroyed by fire, water, thieves and so on.
Tho'ugh a person may own nothing, not even a single
coin, yet he can achieve happiness if he has made mental
katnma eonnl;cted with knowledge and wisdom.
Hence the Bud'dha declared:
. ~'A'tl bii'ngs are the owners of their kammas."
of kaHliTIa made in the present life. People who wish
for worldly gain, such as wealth, government positions or
hONour in t'h is life, can fulfil their desires if they make an
effort to acquire education and knowledge. If such wishes
were merely a matter of worship of some God without any
effort being needed. then there would be no need for the
worshippers of God to engage in trading, farming or
.learning arts or sciences: . It would be enough just to
w<'lFShip God '. iBut in fact that is not the case, for like
Btlddbisfs, the Christi,ans 'and Muslims also make the
three kinds of kamma and caused by it they acquire
worfdly ga in. Tt is n<,)( God but the three kinds of kamma
which' have given them these things,
Similarly we can understand how past kamma has
fruits in the present life. For while worldly gains in this
. 'life are kamma-producfd. and not due to any supernatural
favour, so the benefits of being reborn in a wealthy family
or in a heavenly WOJld are not God-given either, but
. de,pendent on the power of kamma, such as almsgiving
alildpurity of the moral precepts practised in 'fonner
lives, ' One who is reborn into a wealthy family becomes
the owner of the riches there, so that all his pos!essions
are due to his past kamma.
Here there is an analogy with vegetative growth. It is
usually said that the growth and form of plants depends
11
on the seed. But according to the Ab~idhamma, the
element of kinetic energy (tejo). classified as material
change (utu), is the cause. The seed is just this element,
and it is this which ca n be called the real seed. In
the same way all beings have kamma as theh' seeds of
becoming (or exis;e!Jc~): wholesome ~,\mmas such as
almsgiving, moral cOJlduct and the like, and unwholesome
kam~a such as destroying living b<;ings and so on.
The process of becoming v(lriously men or animals is
due to the kamma made in past existences. Having tnade
wholesome kamma beings are reborn as men or as gods
(deva) while it is because of making unwholesome kamma '
that they obtain birth in the four lower worlds: hell
(niraya), animals, ghosts (peta) and titans (asura), .
From tbe se,e ds produced by old plants, a new genera-
tion of plants grows so that seeds from a tree and trees
from seeds appear successively: a cycle of seeds and trees.
Similarly, beings have planted kamma- seeds il~ tbeir past
existences and from' these seeds new existences spring I!1p.
Tbus beings make kamma-s which in turn giye rise succes-
sively to new states of existence,
But here we have to notice a difference between lhe
example in this si-mile and the case of living beings.
Trees are only a stream of material events (without
a menta\stream or, con-sciousness)7 and fron~ one tree
many fruits may be produced from which in turn 'many
7 _ Trees and plants have only the life faculty (jlvitindriya)
which is niaterial, They have no consciousness and so are nlD!
part of the cycle of rebirth. Some recent books (Tlle _ Secret
Life of Plants. for example) propound theories and offer evidence
that plants can sense. In some cases this could be accounted-for
by the presence of a tree-spirit (rukkhadeva) or dryad.
12
trees may grow. In the case of beings, however, there are
both mental and material streams of events (or dhammas)
- of which the men ta I ones are chief. Thougb during life
Cas with tree's) many progeny may be produced. one body
giving rise to many others, the stream of mental factors
G0tJtinues with one mental factor (dhamma) giving rise to
one otmer.
Thus at d'eatl'l the last moment of consciousness gives
rise to the tebirth-linking consciousness of the next life.
Therefore, . although a being has planted many seeds
of both whelesom 'e and ' unwholesome kamma in one
existence, one -moment of volition (cetanii = kamma)
alone - produces one other resultant moment in the
next existence. s - As there is only the production of one
tnental factor (the fiFst moment of consciousness at
cOI)Geption or spontaneous birth) soat the time of death
~he- continuity or stream of the past material body gives
Fise to only one Flew body-stream, not more than this.
Jt)st as eaFth, water, sun, moon and stars, and so on,
Gome into existence from the seeds of kinetic energy
included in material change (utu) and were not created by
a God, so such beings as men, animals and so forth come
to successive existences because of the s_e eds of their past
kammas made in previous lives, even in previous world
~ It might be objected here that a little time spent making whole-
some kamma (as in the cases of Anathapindika -and Visakha) is
s~ill producing centuries of good results, or a short while prodn-
cing unwholesome kamma , (as with Devadatta), centuries of pain.
but the venerable author is here pointing out the strict sequence
of events at the time of death when one kamma at the end of life
produces onl y one resultant moment, the rebinh-Iinking
consciousness.

cyCles. A view such as this is known as Right View
(sanima-di1\hi).
But to hold that a God creates beings is a wrong view,
and it is the wrong view of those who, not knowing, fully
the operative power ofkamma and material change (utu),
imagine that they were created by a Ood. Hence the
B~ddha, whose lurpose was to make people abandon
wrong view and to rely_illstead upon kamma, knowledge
and wisdom, said:
.. All beings are the O'MlnerS 0/ their kammas."
Further as exposition of 'ownership of kamma' the
,following objection and reply is appropriate. 9
Question,' 'Well, triend, if it is true that tne Supreme
Buddha had properly refuted the view 'all-that,-is-e:JG-
perienced-is- rooted- in- pa,s t-kamma', 10 why and for what
reason did the Buejdha declare the following in- the Subha
Sutta (or Cfilakammavibhanga-Sutta, Majjhima-lilikaya,
135):" >Beings are the owners of their kammas, young
man, neirs to their Kammas, born of their kammas"
related to their kam mas, abide supported by their kammas.
Beings are divided by kamma, that is to say, among low
or excellent existences?" / view and the 'No-caus~-no-condition'-view; so he declared,
Reply,' Thi,s may be answered in three ways.
(I) Those who hold the 'all-that-is-ex'peril/nced- is-
rooted in-pas(-kamma'-view ,(pubbekatahetu-diHpi) main-
tain all pleasl!lTes and 'suffeIings experienced by beings in
the present life are conditioned and cause@ only by
the volitional actions (kamma) done by them in their pas!
9 This passage up to the end of this section is taken from Samma-
ditthi-dipan 1, The Manual of Right Viewl by the same author.
so For this view see Anguttara Nikaya Anthology I, Wheel '155--158
p.43-4.
1.4
existenc.es, They reject all present causes such as energy
and wisdom. As this view rejects all present causes it is
known as the 'one-sided base opinion' (ekapakkbabina-
vada), 'one· sided' because ignoring present kamma.
(2) Those who hold the 'Creation-rooted-in-God'-
view (issaranimmana-hetu- ditthi) maintain that all pleasu-
res and sufferings experienceci by beings in the present
life are created by a Supreme Brahma or Gog, They
reject all past and present kammas made by beings;
so th€it view is called the 'both-sided base opinion'
(l!lbhayapakkhahinavada),'both- sided' because ignoring
b0th F'as~ and present kamma.
(3) Those who hold the 'no-cause-no-condition'-view
(afuetu-al'aecayadit!hi) maint-ain tbat all pleasures and
'sufferimgs experienG'e d by beings in the present life come
imto existence,by themselves, without causes and condi-
tions. As this view rejects all causality in existence
it is known as the 'Gompletely base opinion' (sabbahina-
vada).
But tfue :Buddha. on this occasion speaking to a young
brahmin, desi\;ed to refute the 'Creation-rooted-in-God'-
"Beings are the owners of their Kammas, young man, the
heirs to their kammas .... "
He declared this in a general way. He did not say:
-Beings are the owners of their past-done kammas, the
beirs to their past,done kammas .... In a passage
addre'ssedto the young brahmin, Subba, the words
"owners of their kam mas" and "heirs to their kammas"
refer to both past life and present life kammas. So one
should understand this passage in this way:
"Beings are the owners 0/ 'their past and present
kammas."
15
(2) The heirs to their kammas.
Only the wholesome and the unwholesome kamftlas
made by all beings are their inherited properties that
always accompany them wherever they may wa)1der
in many lives and world-cycles. Those who inherit from
their parents are called their heirs, but they are not so ,ill
the true sense of this word. Why is this? Because things
like gold, sillv er, jewels and wealth last only' temporarily,
. /1,
and those who inherit such temporary· things cannot
be called true and real heirs . Such legacies are our
property only until death and when this 'takes pJ.ace
we have to leave it all behind. Cer,tainly it' does not
accompany us into the ~uture life. Also, legacies like this
are subject to destruction by fire, water, thieves and so
on, before our death takes place, or they may be'used up
by us daring our live;;,
When we consider the three kinds of kalllma , however,
they belong to the beings wroo made them, even through
future lives. They can mever · be destroyed by other
persons or exterior forces, and for this reason kamma is
said to be the only property inherited by beings. They
are sure to reap the results of their own kammas in
succeeding existences. Even feeding animals such ' as
pigs, dogs and birds can re.s,ult in many births full of
happiness, while the wholesome kamma made by offering
food to virtuous bhikkhus (monks) can give rise to €ount-
less numbers of happy lives as man or deva. From the
gift of almsfood worth half a crown ill this life may come
beneficial results . worth thousands of pounds future.in
existences.1J. And if a person kills an animal, such as a
11 'The original has "From ... 0 r i ofa kyat .. . more than a thousand
kyats. A half-crown was a coin worth !. of £1 sterling and could
at one time <like a i kyat) buy a meal.
J6
~sh, fowl or pig, he may in turn have to suffer being killed
III more than a thousand future lives.
This may be illustrated by the banyan tree, for jf one of
its tillY seeds is planted, a great tree will grow out of it
bearing innumerable fruits during a thousand year;
or more" The . same will be tfue of mango or yak seeds
fro,m whl,ch wIll grow large trees yielding in the course of
many, many years, thousands of fruits.
I
Ji llSt as a small ' seed is able . to yIeld thousands of
frl!lits, leaves, bra.nches and twigs, so a seed of wholesome
.karmma su oh as almsgiving, moral conduct and meditation
,<;:an peal' in future lives a many-thousand-fold good
result. Likewise, an unwholesome kamma-seed su h
d . ' c as
. estr.oYlng a living being, can yield evil and painful results -
III numerIDUS future existences.
.From just one kamma made by some person the results
wIl1 fo!ll®w him in many lives as pleasure or pain wh
N@' . ' . en
co ' ., I'IWfolS are €llDP®rtune. He Gan never be rid of that
past k.am rna' until its fOFce i s exhausted, its fruits ripened
c9.mIPLetely), but bas to enjoy or to suffer its results. For
thiS reason the Buddha ha~ declared: .
"AlT bei1Jgs are the heirs to their kammGs."
. Look at. it another way,12 a being has two groups
(khandhas) - the body-group and the mind- r '
(rupakk.handha, namakkhandha). The first mean~ ~~~
body WIth head, hanGs, legs and so on, while the mind-
group refer.s to thoughts ano consciousness. '
Of .these two, the body-group comes to dissolution
€lnGe III .each existe~ce, in each life h!lving different shape
ane col0ur (acc€lrdmg to kamma, parental appearance,
12 This passage forms an 'Appendix' in the English booklet .2C-21
but has been added here. P
17

etc). But the mind has no break in its co.ntinuity, and
mental states arise and pass away successively through
'nnumerable existences. Wholesome kamma, such. . as
1 has it anytbing to do with a God. And so the Buddha
giving and moral conduct, causes the subseque.nt ansm~
in happy existences. And wherever the m~nd-group
I "All beings are born 0/ their kammas"
arises there a new and appr0priate body-group IS formed.
In the same way, unwholesome kamma brings about the
arising of mind in the lower states of existenoe, sl!l~h as
among dogs, pigs, fowl' and b,i rds, where a body will be
formed according to that arising. So a persofi is also
'heir to kamma' with regard to these two groups.
(3) Born o/their kammas.
Only the wholesome and unwholesome kammas made
by beings are the origin of their wanderings in so many
life cycles. To illustrate this, let us take the example of
the banyari tree again. For its growth there are several
causes: the banyan · seed is the primary cause; the ear~1'l
and water are secondary causes . .
Wholesome past J.<ammas such as almsgiying, moral
conduct, etc, which cause one to be reborn as a human
being, and the ·past unwholesome kammas ' SUGh as des-
troying life etc, causing one to be reborn as an a~nimar,
are the primary causes, comparable to the banyan seed.
One's parents are the secondary causes, just as earth. and
water are for the growth of the banyan tree.
To take another example: working as a labouI;er for
'wages, the present kamma, is the primary cause, whjle
the place of work, spade, basket and the employers who
pay the wages are the secondary cause. In the same way,
one's own kamma made in the present existence with
wisdom or without it is the primary ·cause; present res1:llts,
pleasant and painful, are the wages of these actions.
So we can see that both past kamma and the kamma
made in this life are prilJlary causes of the results ex-
perieneed and one's parents are not .primary causes. Nor
declares:
,(4} Reiatedto their kammq.s.
(hlly the Wholesome 'a nd unwholesome kammas made
by beings are their relatives and true friends (or false
friends in the case of unwholesome kammas!), always
accompanying them wherever they may wander through
many lives and world-cycles.
By way of explanation we can say that although there
are parents, brotheFs, childre[}, relatives, teachers and
friends whom we love and rely upon., we can only do this
for a smort time - until O1!lr death. But one's own
pfuysical, verbal and m,eNtal kammas are constant com-
panions who accompaNy one and give happiness and
prosperity (or misery) in one's future lives.19 So wholesome
kammas alone are one's true relatives and friends who
should be esteemed and relied, upon. Therefore the
Buddha decla~es :
"All beings are related to their kammas."
t 3 "A ma'n who long ago lived there
returns in safety fFom afar, '
friends, kinsmen and welJ~wishers
are overjoyed at his return.
In the same way the merit done
when from this world to another gone
then one's merits receive one there
as relatives a dear one ·come." (Dhammapada 219-220).
19
(5) Abide sup ported by their kammas. l *
Only the wholesome and unwholesom~ kammas made
by beings are their real support wherever they may
wander through many lives and world-cycles. '
To explain this: the word 'support' means what can be
relied upon, or what one can take .shelter in, what can save
or give protection against troubles and danger s. T hese
who wish to enjoy long life in the world lIave to rely
upon food and <;irink as the protection against the da.nger
of starvation. SimilarlY, doctors and medicine are
needed for protection against bodily tr.oubles a nd
diseases, while weapons are protection against enemies.
(And all kinds of support or refuge in the world may be
considered in the same way) . So this word 'sarana'
does not only rirer to the Going-for-Refuge at a shri'ne
or in the presence ~f a Bhikkhu, it means als~ re.Jiance
\:bpon and taking shelter as was explained already.
Now how is kamma one's support? In this life an
ordinary man with no possessions SOOF! comes to distress.
Fearing to experience this we are supported by the work
(or kamma) which we do and so acquiFe money and
possessions.
Again, as a lack of wholesome kamma leads to rebifth
in the lower worlds where there is grievous sufferin"
so fearful of this, some people make wholesome kamm:~
leading them to rebirth as human beings or asaevas.
U This phrase is 'kamma-patisarana' in Pali '.' 'Sarana' has the
meaning of refuge, as in the Three Refuges (tisarana), but to
use this as the original translator has done is awkward sinee
it makes no sense to talk of past unwholesome kamma as a
refuge, though it can be one's support. There is some ambiva-
lence of explanation of this factor.
20
Just as the presen t kamm a made by work using know-
ledge and wi sdom can prot ect us fr om dangers in this
life, in the same way whol esome ka mma such as. almsgiving
and moral conduct protect us from th e d angers of future
lives in the lower world s. As we must rely on our work
in this life so we mu st al so rely on Whol es ome kamma for
the future. It is for this reason that t he Bua dba dec1ares:
"All beings are supported by their kammas."
This subject of: support or refuge shou ld be a nalyzed as
follows.
In the Buddhist religion there are four R efuges 1 /S for
the future: Going- for-Refuge to (I) the Buddha. (2) tbe
Uhamma, (3) the Sangha '6 , (4) one' s own wboiesome
kamma.
This can be compared to the four ki n ds of refuge
or support for sick people. First is the C bief Pbysicia n,
second the suitaJ:>le medicine, third the assista nt doclors.
al~ d fourtb; the actions of the patients follo\\iog their
direc tions confidently. In tbis simile, the C bief P bysicia n
and the assistant doctors are accounted as supports
c
(or refuges) for the patient becau se they are capable
' of prescribing suitable medicines for this- particular
ailment, wbile the medicine is his supp or t in that it
can actually cure him. The sensible actions o f the
patient in following the doctors directions a re also
his support, for without such actions on his pa rt tbe other
three supports would be ineffective and be could not
I IS See Note 14.
l6 The first three, the Three Treasures. are in translation, the
, Enlightened One, the Path to Enlightenment, lind the community
of those Enlightened by following t hat Path.
_1
 be cured. All four can be clearly seen to be real supports
or refuges for sick people.
Now persons who make 'evil kamma and indulge in
sensual pleasures are like those sick people . The Buddha
is like the ChiefPhysician,an' expert in curing afflictions 17
The assistant doctors represent the Order of Bhikkhus,
while the Dhamma is pictured as the med ici'De. lfbe
bodily, verbal and mental wholesome [( am mas a re li1<e
those sensibJe actions of the ailing 'ma n im which hel
follows the doctor's instructions.
In this way we can reckon that t·h ere are four refuges
(or supports) in the Buddha's Teaching, and of these
four, three - the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, qre,
not found outside (in other teachings). The fourth refuge
or support, making whoksome kamm a, exists both within
and outside the Budd basasana (the Buddhist religion) .
While we are ordinary-men (puthujjana) we~shall never
be free ' of making kamma and expeJ:iencin,g resu llts (Dr
kamma , for karnma and kamma-fruits are iN Gpt';Fa tion
for all beings in the w0fld-system - so it is wise to make
only wholesome kammas.
So we see that the subject of "All beings are owners of
their kammas" applies to all beings in all world'-systerns,
whether the 'Buddhasasana exists there or not. It is
for this reason that the support (or refuge) in kamma has
been dealt with here but not the Three Refuges of
Buddhists. Together these form four refuges or supports
which can be relied upon both for good and wise conduct in
this life and for rebirth in the happy existences.
We have noticed already that saraJ;la, usually translated
'refuge', means that which can save, give support or
17 For this theme see, "Buddba tbe Healer", Wheel 22.
22
protection, so th a t food a nd drink are the support for
long life, medicines and di et a re the support for the sick,
kings and rul ers are protection against. bandits and thieves,
buildings are protec tion against tbe elements aod for
comfortable living, boat s are a support for those who
travel on waler, Similarly , the earth is a support, and so
are water, fi Fe and a ir for their respective purposes. So
ti;} ere are nu merous support s o r ref uges in tbis existence.
This conclud,es the expo sition ab ou t t b e different kinds of
r efuges ia the Buddhasasana .
Refuge in other religions
Religions apart from the Buddha sasa n a h ave only one
refuge - that is, refuge in God. Whatever comes into
existence and whatever is destroyed is th erefore attributed
to God.
I shall clarify this point. In religion s such as C hristia-
ni t y al'lG Islam' 8 the bare meaning of refuge - in making
goe s kamma - is Dot understood so tha t followers
regard aod as their only refuge. ' They assu me that
the appearance and disappearance of the world and
of the beings on it is due to tbe po wer of G od. So they
believe tbat God saves by means of h is supernormal
power, thos e who have faith in him. A nd by mean s
of this powu er he can wash away all the sins aDd evils
done by beings, giving them eternal ha ppin ess and eternal
18 The venerabl e a uthor's treatment of th is pOint applies to
Hinduism only in part since there is here generally a ~lief
in kamma and in one or more Gods wh o have some or all of the
attributes of the Biblical God as Creator, J udge. Compassionate
Father, etc. When kamma and such a God belief are brought
together there is confusion as it is Dot clear whether kamrna-
results are attributed to one's kamma or to G od.
2
life after death. Thus the good and bad things ex-
perienced by beings depend on the will of God. . not reaIJze t bat even in tbeir own teachings tbere are
People like this disbelieve in kamma and do not thmk
that it can be the cause of resul!s It is really very
surprising that people who are making kamma all the time,
in this way disregard their own actions.· 9 Kamma, as we
have already said, means all intentional physical, verbal
and mental, actions. Now all of these actions are done by
people whether Buddhist or otherwise and some will
be done by non-Buddhists in the worship of their religions,
whatever forms it takes. So they make kamma by
practising and undertaking such things as baptism,
worship of God with body, spee.ch and mind, obedience
to his commandments, prostrations and offerings; all
these things, as they are intentiobal, are kammas . Though
these outsiders beli"eve that God saves those who have
faith in him and perform such actions (and does not save
those who do not know of him or believe in him and who
tbereftJre do not 'do these tbings), really there are just ,the
kammas made by those people who in time will receive
their fruits, from their own hearts, not from God.
In these God-worshipping religions, as in the Buddha-
sasana, one can also discern four refuges (supports),
even tbough only one is usually spoken of They are:
1) Refuge in God;
2) in the commandments and teachings of God;
3) in Prophets such as Mobammed or saviours such as
Christ, and tbe saints and priesthood; and
4) in the kamma made in the performance of
religious rites ~nd duties.
til For j f one understands clearly the law of kamma and its fruits
or results th , n there is DO rOom for the God- idea.
24
I,
The priests and miSSionaries of tbose religions do
several kind s of refuge. They do not anal)ze bUI treat
God , as their only refug e, disregarding kamma. TbuS'
they believe in something which is io some senSes "outside'
and different from themselves, ra ther than kamma whicb
is 'inside' (one's own mind, speech and body) and certainly
part of oneself. Consequently they believe that the good
and evil, prosperity and poverty, bappiness and suffering
of all beings are created only by G od and not due to
other causes. They do not kno w tha t there are va rious
and different causes for these events.
. . Is it simply by worship, by prayi ng to G od, 1bat poor
people who deserve wealth can obtain it? Would they Dot
get it rather by their present kam mas made wbile diligently
working as a . labourer, farmer or trader? (Note tbat
kamma can mean labour or work , as well as morallv
productive action). .
The answer to ' these questions whicb accords with
cause and effect is that wealth is no t usua lly obtained by
prayer to God, whereas acquisitio n o f pro perty is clearly
evident as a result of present ka mma. As sucb is the
. case, it is believable that wealth in t bis life is got by
making kamma now, and has not hing to d o with G od.
God has no power to give things t o people, but present
kamma ~an do , so. 20 If God .had such power then
10 Many of the 'prayers answered by God' and 'cures' are doe to
present kamma. Example: ,a devotee enters (I cburch, m ;;que
or temple and pre ys. The mind becomes calm - ~':lce and
happiness results - lUI answer is bom in the calm mind wbkh
could not aris~ because of grie r etc. in lbe nsitated mind. Til
,prayer is 'answered' or the 'cure' effected by tbe interuc faith
of the sufferer. No God is needed.
 his followers woutd have no need to work (= to make
present kammas), for they would all enjoy riches given by
him. Also those who do not believe in him would not ge t
anything even though they worked (= made kamma)
diligently. Bu t this is not so. Devout followers of a God
have to work and make kamma ill order to obtain wealth,
, while those who are not his followers can aiso become
rich by making the appropriate kammas. We do not only
find w.ealthy God-believers; on the contrary there are
many poor people among them . Therefore, consideratio'D
of these reasons shows tliat acquisition of wealth in
this life is the result of present kamma. It is not a gift of
God.
In the same way, if one desires education and knowledge
it can be obtained by the present kammas of studying
and learning. But it cannot be got by the , worship
of God,
Again, if one wishes to become a government officer, it
is necessary to study the requirements for particular
posts. Government jobs cannot be obtained by, praying t@
God.
So we can see for ourselves that all worldly gains
are obtainable only by the power of present kamma.
not by the supposed power of God.
Let us examine another side to this matter. God-
believers have faith that by humbly worshipping God
they are freed from tneir sins and evils, iriclueJ.ing sickness.
However, generally the sick are not cured only by taking
the refuge and SUppOFt of God; ,for this result ' most ,
of them must treat their bodies with ~edicin'es ana
diets: It is the present kammas made by regulating
the body in this way that are the cause,s of their cure.
Everyone has seen this for themselves, for Buddhists who
are not believers in God and the God-believers all can
26
be cured if th e right co nditio ns are present.
How SUI pri sing it is t h at God· believers think that they
can be freed in the next Ii'fe fro m the results of their sins
,in this one just by worshipping G od sincerely. when eVen
a disea se such as ringworm in this life cannot be cured in
this way!
It is surprising too, that as even trifling weahb cannot
be got in this life by praying to G od, they beJiev.e tbe
wealth of everlasting life and bapp iness in heaven ca n be
acquired in tbis way! .
N ow since we bave seen for ourselves that wealtb a nd
happiness not yet attained in this life are got by vinue of
the differerit ways of making good k amma , not by the
fa'vour of God, we can fully believe t ba t tbere is no other
refuge apart from present kamma to ge t th ese things_
In the same' way, we can believe that a ltainments of
some higher plane of existence, a heaven world (devaJoka),
after death, is also due to present k a mma _ T his has
no rhing to do with God, for a person who bas mad e DO
wholesome kamma cannot be reborn in a higher plane
by the fiat of God, while those who do not believe in him
OF worship him but have made wholesome kamma c an
certainly ,attain to higher 'states of ex istence. a]"
' As to what is called ' eternal salvat io n', those who
I believe in God, take refuge in him a nd Te" ere him
~ throughout their lives believe that only such p ersons as
themselves, believing as they do, can be saved by him
t
;1
wben they die while ·non- believers will not be saved. But
it is qui t e clear that such believers are n ot sa"ed by G od
at all but by their own kammas of ' believing in God',
•
81 ' This paragraph is from the Sammaditthi-dlpani by the same
author.
•
 'taking refuge in God' and 'revering God'. Ood IS thus
a conccpt, a conditioned phenomenon, in the minds of
such believers.
The various beneficial results io a future life of present
wholesome kaD1ma cover such possibWties as ,rebirth
'in to a ruling family or one th at is prosperous, aod rebirth
in the deva·worlds or the Brahma-worlds as a deva or
Brahma,a.
Knowing. the power of kamma the Buddha has
declared:
"All beings abide supported by their kammas." ,
(6) "Whate.'er kamma they shall do, whether good or evil,
of that they will be the heirs."
When bodily, verbal and mental kammas have been
made, . whether wholesome or ' unwholesome, the beings
who have individually madt: them wiII receive the fruits of ,
them, eveo ,after many lives or aeons.
(The first five phrases of the quotation which have been
used as headings above refer to past kamma which
fruits in the I?resent time, but this sixth phrase cencerns
present kan~m'a which will fruit in the .future).
The explanation of the Right View on the uwnership of one's
. kamma is finished.
22 A Deva is a being with a subtle body and superlative sense-pleasu·
res. He may be. at lowest. a local spirit oJ a tree, river, rock
and so on, or at highest an ·inhabitant of the plane of 'deities
wielding power over others' creations' (paranimmita-vasavatti
deva). For such birth . some purification of mind is needed ' but
no great success in meditation. But for birth in Brahma-
worlds it is necessary to attain to jhlina. 'intense inward concen'
tration. as a resul{ of which there is a partial purification
of mind. The Brahtpa-worlds a re mOre tranquil and less
sensual than the deva-worlds. 'See table p. 3.3.
28
B) Right View regarding the Ten Subjects
This mea ns havin g Right View of tbe fol1owlog ten
ma tt ers. The Buddha has said:
"There is (m oral signifi ca nce io) giving alms. Tbere is
(mora l significance in) large offerings. There is (moral
si gnificance in) small gifts. There is tbe result and fruit
of well-done and ill-done ka mmas. There is (moral
significance in what is done to) one's motber. TbeTe
is (moral significance in wh at is done to) one's fatber.
There are beings of instantaneous rebirth. There is tbis
world, there is another world . There are in the world
samanas and. brahmins o f right attainment, of right
practice who having realized by th eir own superknowJedge
(the truth regarding) this world a n d olber worlds, make
it known to others ."
By way of explanation we can say:
I. ' :There is (moral significance in) almsgiving"·)
The right view that' almsgi ving, sucb as giving food to
a nimals, to lay people, to bhi kkbus, aod so on, if done
with benevolence, leads to ben efi cial resulls, kammas in a
previous existence sO.met imes fruiting in subsequent
existences. 24
The Piili has only the mlher terre 'There is almsgi,'iDg' u!
the Buddha ' 5 intention in making such a slatement wa' 10 refute
those non- Buddh ist teachers in his time who taught th3l neitb r
good kamma no r bad kamma bear any results. S~ 1a bali
Gosiila in Dictiollary of Pal; Proper Nom~.
H The English ofthe 1st Edo makes it appear Ihot kaml1\.l nud in
one life d ocs not fruit until a subsequent life. Howcvn. this
cannOI have been the \·enerable autbor's iutention a' Hun arc
many exam ples known of knmmn fr uiting immedialely.
2. "There is (11101'01 significance in) large offerings,"
The right view that generosity if it is performed with
faith and in respect for the virtuous qualities of the
recipient, yields beneficial results in the fwture.
3. ' "There is (moral significance in) small gifts ,"
.:
The right view that gifts, even those given on a small
scale, if given with loving-kindness, bring benefit,to the
doer in the future. . (The following table, replacing a paragrapb in tbe first
4. "There is the result and fruit of well- donea"d ill-done
kammas."
The right view that cruel actions done in previ0us lives
yield painful results in future lives (see last note), while
refraining from such evil kammas and cultivating
wholesome kammas, subsequently bears the fruits of
happiness.
5-6. "There is' (moPal significance in what is done to) one's
motherandtoone'sfather."26 . when tbose beings cause their forms to become visible
The right view that good and evil 'k ammas made by
oneself regarding one's mother or fatber bear fruits
pleasant and painful respectively after some time, an d
possibly in future lives.
2& Mother and father, especially in their old age, should be treated
well by their children - out of gratitude and love for what they
have done for oneself. The fruits of maltreatment of parents
will be long and painful. Their hard work for their children can
only be repaid by teaching the Dhamma (See Anguttara
Nikaya Anthology I, Wheel 155-158, p. 11-12)
30
7. There are beings of instantaneous rebirth ,"
The right view th at there rea ll y a re beillg5 born
instant a neous\yZ 8 wh 0 are (generally) invisible to human
eyes. In stantan eou s rebirth refers to t hose beings who do
not ta ke conception in a womb. . Du e to the force
0f their previous kamma they are born complete with
limbs and other organs of the body which n eed Dot
develop further but remain as t hey are.
edition, 'will Clarify where in stantaneous rebirth takes
place . Also given are the factors necessa ry fo r attaining
tbe various planes).
Mahabrahma, the being of greatest power in this
world-system, has his abode in the three lowest planes
of the Brahma-world. He is regarded as G od in other
religions in which the existence of s till highe r pla nes
is usually unknown,"
Even when men are close to such bei ngs , they a re
generally unable to see them with human eyes. Only
can .tbey be seen by people her~. N ormally they are
invisible to human beings B8 just like God , t be angels
, and devils of other religions.
The understa~ding that there reall y a re such beings
bO.rn instantaneously is also called Right View.
87 For this see the Discourse on the Invitation of Brahma
(Majjhima'nikaya 49), Middle Length Sayings. I, p. 38Sft'. Su
also "Buddhism and the God-idea'" Wbeel No 41.
88 Human eyes can perceive only a small mnge or the tight
radiations. simil arly with human ears. A large range of waves
cannot be perceived through human senses so that much of tbe
world'system remains unknown unless explored by way of
the mind.
31
 . I

8. "There is this world."

The right view of this world as the human world,
(one of several planes in tbe level of sensuality and
lowest among the planes which are counted as bourns
of good rebirth).
9. "There is another world."io
The right view that "another world" (=stMes of
existence differing from this one) consisting of the four
planes of lower birth - heUs, animals, ghosts and titans,
collectively known as the planes of deprivation, together
!, I
with the deva and the .Brahma planes, really do exist. I I
In other religions, apart from the human and animal
planes. tbese worlds are not known p'roperlY. (The
heaven-worlds of the devas and the hell-,worlds - may
be thought of as ''permanent when really they are
impermanent states of long existence; the ghosts and
titans may be ignored except in exorcism rites, while
even .t he animals are not understood properly as bei'ngs ., -
also in the round of birt'h and d~ath). so
Another explanation is possible of the last two
phrases: tbat this, world-system with its hu,man world,
the four lower worlds, 'the heavenly deva and Brahma
worlds, are termed _'this world', while in all directions
from this world-system there are an infinite , num ber
of other world-systems which are called, 'the other
world(s)'. These world·systems are generally not recog-
nized in other religions. 31 I
I

I
Those people who say 'I am a Buddhist but I don't believe in
U

10
other states of rebirth' - please note!
See, "The Wheel of Birth and Death," Wheel No 147-149.
1
' -t Note in ' this respec't recent Christian concern as to whether
Christ's message will save beings on other planets Buddhism
has always known of an infinity of inhabited worlds where the
Four Noble Truths must always be true.
32
 -
w ATTAINABLE THEPL ANES OF EXISTENCE
BY:
-----
1:~ ~~ I
o ,The Base consisting of neither-perception-nor-non-
perception (the Summit of Existence)
4
FORMLESS
o \The Base consisting of noth ingness
t-.) "I"" "b:en
ATTAINMENTS o The Base consisting of infin ity of consciousness 0 en

o IThe Ba'se consisting of infin ity of space

"='
I""
> -
0 Akanijtha (junior to none)
FORM DISAPPEARS Z
m
en -
PURE 0 SudassI (fa ir-seei ng)
ABODES OF 0
0 Sudassa (fair-to-see) ." ~
NON-RETURN- ::c
0 Atappa ( untormenting) In
ERS ~
Aviha (bathed in their own prosperity) ::c ,-...
-- ....- ........0_..... ........................_.- ...•................__ .. _--_._- tn
en
~ --- --.-

c::
o IAsannasatta (non-percipien t beings) to
>-i
r-
4th JHANA 0
o Vehapphala (very fruitful) to
l:d
eI
'-" 0
>
:z: ~
g
o Subhaki-9--9-a (refulgent glor y) ::: ~
3rd JHANA o Appama-9-asubha (measurel ess glory) >
~
o Parittasubha (limited glory ) I l:d
!XI
o Abhassara (streaming radi Lnce) ~
>
I""
t1
r:I
o :::
I '"
2nd Appama-9-abha (measureles ; radtance) 0
JHANA
o Parittabha (limited radianc e)
l:d
I"" I ~
52
· 0 >
o
Mahabrahma (Great Brahm a)
-- ~
(5
1st JHANA o
Br,abmapurohita (Brahma' s Ministers)
1 z
(,0-

~ Brahmaparisajja (Brahma" retinue)

-
FIVE HINDRA~NCES DISAPPEAR
- --
0 Paran immitavasavattI (wi !lding power over others' crea ~ -
-- --
Q
tions t:!
011 >
FAITH 0 Nimmanarati (delight in cr eating) t'" ttl
(,0

::: zen
~

GENl!ROSITY 0 Tusita (contented) c::

::c >
AND 8 0 Yam a (go ne to blis s) (ll ("-

PRECEPTS 0 Tavatirils a (thirty- th ree ) ~z ~

0 Ca tum aba rajik a (four grea t kings) ItA
I --,'WOMB .
---- '"
~
(,0
5 P R ECEPTS BORN IHuman belogs (manussa) c
----------- 1--- 1---------------------- --- >
I""
DESIRE 0 ID em ons (asura) ~
I FOR POW/!R

ME.ANNESS, -
__

0 IGhosts (peta )
-- ;.I
1'<1
>
.. it
~
~
ttl

ATTACHMENT

STUPIDITY, WOMB -- I""

s: ~
tt
lJ:I
~
ANIMAL BORN
eva
IAnimals (tirllcobiinn) e~ ~
DO~I _____ - - - Si:
:e i
o !beings in Hell. the World of Yama. or Niraya. ~ ~
i i
0 - Opapa)Jlka -
 ]0. "There are in the world samanas and brahmins oj
right attainment, of right practice, who having realized
by their own super-knowledge (the truth regarding) this
world and other worlds, make it known to others."
Tqere ar,e such possi bilities for spiritual development
as the saperknowledges (abhiiiiia)H and the 'a ll-knowing
knowledge €sabpaiinuta-iiana). s3 Samanas (those who
calm ~ fuemselves, hence monks and nuns) and brahmins
who exert themselves <ililigently in performing tbe
per:6eclions (parami) and practlsmg the meditations
lhi"oughcalm 'a nd insight in this very world can attain
such know ledges. Such people are born into this world
from time to time who because of their efforts and
practiCe in past lives are possessed of tl1ese knowledges.
But some peoph:, due to their limited paramis or
perfecti 0ns, are abl,e only to gain the superknowledges,
anm then tbe~ cam see tbe f('Jur lower worlds, the ~ix
cl eva w0rlds an t!l some 0,[ the Btabma-worlds, just as if
they h~ 0ked at them witfi their usual human eyes. Other
p'eeple ' are capable of both the superknowledges and
the all-knowing kno~ledge so that they see clearly all
the countless beings, the infinite worlds and world-systems.

8)l • Superknowledges are five or six in number as generally listed:

. the magical powers, the divine eye (clairvoyance-the venerable
author refers to this superknowledge below), the divine ear
(clairaud,ience), knowledge ,of past lives, knowledge of kariuna
and its results,these five can be experienced by non-Buddhists
I
r• alse, but, the sixth, tbe destruetion of the pollutions (iisava) is
onJy won by those who develop Path and Fruit Wisdom
"

", Ii f
t
1
s3
(ma,gga-phala-/iiina)-difflCult to find outside the Buddhasasaoa.
~ote that the Buddha disclaimed that he was omniscient in the
sense that he knew everything at 'the same time.- But he said it
was possible for him to kn'ow ",everything about a particular
t subject if he turned his mind to it.
I.
r
35
I
J
People who have both these knowledges are called
"Buddhas".
These two kinds of people appear in the human world
from time to time and impart their knowledge of this
world and other worlds to others who o'ften become
their followers. But it is only a Buddha who can
explain the round of rebirth in terms of cause, and
effect and clarify the arising and passing away even
of the world-systems.
In regard to this there are three kinds of understanding:
(I) that beings with superknowledges and the all-knowing
knowledge do appear in this world from tim.e to time;
(2) that their teaching if based on the six superknowle€lges
is thoroughly reliable, and · if on five of them at least
partly so; (3) that other worlds do exist-all this constitutes
Right View.
Those who have this right view do not doubt that a
Buddha arises 3 * only ,in the human world, not in the
heavenly worlds. But in religions where such right view
is not understood they imagine that the All-knowers and
All-seers, those having the All-knowing knowledge,
appear only in the highest heavens and not in the human
world. Only in the human world can one strive towards
the All-knowing kno\Vledge. Why is this so? The devas
and brahmas are too comfortable - they see no duklcha,
their lives are too long so they do not see impermanence.
But the beings in the planes of deprivation have so much
dukkha that they cannot practise Dhamma. Only men have
rather short Jives and so are pricked by impermanenee,
only they have a mixture of pleasure and pain. Diligent
effort is needed if one would attain the AII-knowing-
at- •Arises' means' attains Enlightenment'.
36
knowl edge a nd those who are able to make this effort
are human beings. And it is tbe rare buman being wbo
attain s Buddhahood here in tbis human world. This is
the marvel and the wonder o f a Buddha, tbat be is a
human being, not a deva or brahma. If be were such
a heavenly inhabitan t then fhere would be notbing very
remarkable about his kno wledge a nd wj~dom. But as
he is born norm ally of human parents and bas a body
essentially the same as that o f all otber people, he is
wonderful. and marvellous for showing what a human
being can attain to if he makes the effort .
It" is only in the Buddha's Dhamma tbat profound,
I sublime ana' wonderful teachings are fou nd for they are
revealed by the Buddha's All-knowing-know)edge. They
all belong to the sphere of superkno wledge, hard to find
outside the Buddhasas~na.
One should know that there are two spberes of power:
the power of knowledge and the power of kamma. In
the latter, the most effective is the p ower of jbana
(intense concentration) which is a 'beayl" kamma. It
can cause one to arise in the form or formless p laDes as a
Brahma with an immensely long span of life. But the
power of kamma cannot cause one to become a Perfectly
Enlightened One. Even though one bas made tbe merits
to be rebor·n as Great Brahma himself. still one has
no superknowledge to know and see a ll.
To strive in this life to become a wealthy person is
one path, while to strive for insight-knowkdge and so
become a teacher for other beings is another. 311 Striving
BII One is the way to worldy gain,
another to Nibbana leads.
Clearly comprehending this
the bhikkhu, Buddha 's savaka
should not delight ul bODour and gain
but devote himself to solitude.
(Dbp. 75).
37
to become a great Bl'ahmii is similar to the effort to
attain wealtb, wbile to strive as a bhikkbu or Ilay-hermit
for insight·knowledge is actually the way of t.he Buddha
and the Arahants.
Here is another example: birds such as parrots, crows
and vultures have wings with wbich to fly but tbey do
not possess knowledge and wisd6m like men. Human
beings have varying degrees of knowledge and wisdom
but having no wings they are unable by themselves
to fly.
The wholesome kammas which the great Brabmiis' have
made by developing jbiina and the wholesQme .kammas
of tbe devas resi ding both here on earth and in tbe
various deva-worlds, resemble the wings of' birds. But
the 'superknowledges and tbe All-knowing-knowledge of
Ia.y-bermits and bbikkhus are like tbe wisdom of the maE
in the above example.
It is due to tbe power of their wh0lesome 1(ammas
made by developing jhana that tbe great Brabmiis live in
the higher planes of· existence, long-Iive.d andj1lowerful.
But they do not possess tbe two kinds of superknowledge
and so do not penetrate the deep dbammas of imperma-
nence, dukkba, non-self and voidness. 'Their knowledge
is confined to just that which tbey .experience personally.
To summarize some important points of this section,
we can note that the knowledge which makes dear (I)
that a Buddha has the AI1-knowing-knowledge and arises
only in tbe human plane, not in the higher planes . of
existence; (2) "that only samanas of the buman race
complete in the superknowledges and in tbe AIl~knowing­
knowledge can clearly teach the condit,i oned nature of
aeons and world-systems, how beings wander in the
ro'u nd of birth and death and how wholesome and
unwholesome kammas operate; and (3) that the teachings
38
of the samanas compiled as the Sutta (Discourses),
Vin'aya (Discipline) and Abhidhamma are true, is called
the Right View Know/edge that there are (enlightened)
samanas and brahmins in the world,
On the otber hand, wrong views should be rejected,
such as the view that an Enlightened One with the
. aJl-knowing-knowledge does not appear in the human
plane but only in the highest heavenly abode. Also tbat
the 'g ods are not many butonly o~e God, as well as tbe
idea that this one God being highest and noble&t, must
be eternal and free from ,decay, disease and death and so
on. The Buddha ha's rejected all such tangles of views.
For a more detailed account of wrong views see my
"Explanation of Right View" (Samma-ditthi-dipaoi)
written in Piili with its Burmese and English translations
(see "The Light of the Dhamma", (Rangoon) Vol. Y, Nos
1-3, 1958).
C, Right View of the Four Noble Truths
This right view means:
1) Knowledge of real dukkha. a «I
2) Knowledge of the true causal arising of dukkha.
3) Knowledge of the cessation of dukkba.
4) Knowledge of the right path leading to the
cessation of dukkba.
(The following explanation of the Four Noble Truths
is only in brief. For a detailed explanation see tbe
venerable author's "Explanation of tbe Four Truths"
86 Usually translated as 'suffering' in English, but 'suffering' has
not the subtle extension of meaning which dukkha bas. Some
things are dukkha but not suffering; for e.~p)e. a pleasant
feeling is not suffering but is dukkba because it is impermanent.
39
(Catusacca-dipani) translated in "The Light 0f the
Dhamma," Vol V, No 4 and Vol VI, No 1, 1958-9),
(1) Right View of the Truth of Dukkha.
Attachment to sensuality and the troubles caused thereby
Because of this attachment, human beings, the devas
and brahmas are subject to great pains and sufferings
which have existed in the past, continue in the present
and will be experienced, "'hile attachment remains, in
the future. The eye, ear, nose, tongue, body (touch) and
mind ar~ the six internal sense-spheres which operate, in
tbe unenlightened person, in conjuncti'on with defileIpents
of greed, aversion and delusion whenever they are
stimulated by an extelinal sense object. These six sense
faculties are the dukkha which, though not apparent to
many peo.pole, is real, constant and oppressive.
How does attachment to the senses oppress? It may be
explained roy this group of dhammas: kamma formations"
instability, and oukkba. In another way there is
oppression through kamma formations, burning, and
instability. Or it can be explained as through birth" decay
and death. a7 Again, there is oppression by way ' of
stoking up the fiFes 0f greed, aversion and delusion,
conceit, wrong view, the mental defilements (kilesa) and
the polluti0ps (asava), by stimulating evil ' conduct such
as destroying living creatures and so on, or by fuelling
the fires ot" birth, decay, sorrow, lamentation, paig, grief
and despair.
Now I shall explain some of these points.
a7 For an exposition of this trio, 'see "The Basic Facts of Existence-
11 Suffering, Wheel No 191/193, in the essay" A Description of
Dukkha."
40
Oppression by kamma-formations (sankharii)
Possession of the sense facuitres of a human being,
deva Q.F brahma means that g00d kammas have been
made in a past life, for if good kammas had not been
made the seNses 0f a hell· being, animal, ghost or titan
would have come into existence. So the senses of a
higher being are 0P1l'ressive to him because of the good
kamma-formations which must be made continually to
ensure the contilmation of tho~.e faculties. And those
'Same kamma-formations oppress him in the next existence
also because De has still to protect and sustain his
conduct S0 that he will not lose those sense faculties
in the futUFe. So there comes about a constant oppression.
As the eye and @ther senses do not arise independently of
the kamma-formations.,it is said that kamma-formations
alway,s '0l"press' tih e 'owner' of those senses throughout
. the beginningless round of birth ~nd death.
Oppression by instability (vipari~ama)
....
Thi.s mealils 'oppression by liability to immediate
destruction, whe.n ever cause exists for destruction'. From
the time 0f concepti0H onwards there is not a single
moment, even for tife winking of an eye, or a flash of
lightning, wheFl there is no iiability to destruction.
Moreover, there is always the anxiety caused by impending
destructiOlEl. And when destruction comes, then many
sorts of dukkha have to be experienced. This is what is
meant by saying· that the senses are oppressive because
' >0
of their instabi!ity.
Oppression by the painfu/neS's ofdukkha.
. This mea·ns both physical and mental dukkha. The
duk~ha experienced while the sense bases grow (in the
41

womb) and the experience by way of them during birth
needs no comment. The painfulness of dukkha is also
evident when the senses come ' into contact with an
unpleasant object. Also, whenever one inflicts bodily
pain upon others out of the unpleasant feelings which
arise when seeing or he.aring them - .then this oppression
is experience'd. And when the eye or an other sense organ
contracts some disease or whenever there is physical and
mental trouble in the preservation and protection of the
eye, etc., then oppres~ion by dukkha occurs. In this way
all the senses beginning with the eye oppress beings with
the dukkha associated with !hem.
Oppression-by burning (santapa-)
. '
The senses are the source of so much dukkha 'by means
of the defilements which they awaken in the hearts of
people. These defilements are like great fires which are
continually refuelled and bum without dying down ~rGm
the beginnlngless past to the endless future in the round
of birth and death. These great fires are three in number.:
the f1res -..of greed, aversion and delusion- and when they
are refueIJed through the eye, ear, no~e. tongue, body and
mind they ensure that oIle's future in sam sara 'will be
long and with plentiful sufferings. . 'Among all the parts of the Noble Eightfold Path, this
It is Right View knowledge that gives one u'n derstanding
of the immense sea of sufferings born of attachment tp
sense-pleasures, .whether "in the sensuality-sphere, the
Fine-form sphere or the formless sphere. '
2. Right View of the causal arising of dukkha
In the round of birth and death so long as there is
attachment to the senses as 'mine' or 'myself', so long
continues oppressiveness and dukkha. So it is craving,
42
desire and greed connected with the senses that is the
true cause for the arising of dukkha. 3s
It i,s Right View knowledge that gives ~De understanding
of the causal arising of dukkha by way of craving.
3. Right View of the cessation of dukkha
, b whatever life the craving and greed connected with
't he senses finalJy cea's e, the dukkha and oppression finally
cease as well. The sense.s do not arise again after
the death of the person who has extinguished craving.
It is Right Vie'w knowledge that gives one understa:nding
of the cessation
" .
of craving.
4. Right View 'of the Path , leading to the cessation of
dukkha
When, as a result of practising Dhamma in general and
tdeveloping the mind in meditation in particular, the
tFllle nature of. the senses is seen and understood, craving
',G@n.nfcted with them ceases in this very life. It does not
arise again abd so sense oppression likewise does not
aFise.
, It is Right View knowledge that gives one understanding
of the true path leading to the cessation ~f craving.
.. Right View of the Four Noble Truths is most essential.
'This concludes the brief exposition of Right View of the
Four TFuths.
98 One should not understand craving as the one and only cau...<e.
. Where craving (tanha) is found, there will be ignorance (of the
4 Noble Truths), as well as other factors of Dependent
Origination.
43
 II. RI9HT THOUGHT~9
\
This is explained under three headings:
I. Thoughts of renunciation ( .. generosity).
2.
3.
Thoughts of non-harming ( = loving-kindness):
Thoughts of non - violence ( = com passion}~O
I
\
I. Thoughts 0/ renunciation
The mental st'ate where there is absence ~f g~eed
and ability therefore to renoi.mce the five sense pleasulies,
that is pleasant sights, sounds, sm,ells, tastes, touches: ,Or
it is abili1y to renounce attachment to the five gr.oups
(khandha), or to mind and body. Thought arising out of
such absence of greed is this mode of right thought. 4
B9 Satikappa, a word not easy to translate. The translation 'thought'
does not well suggest the emotional connotation of the three
kinds of satikappa, 'Intenti(n~' is sometimes usea.
40 These three terms seem to have been chosen by the Buddha
for their wide range of possible 'meanings. The negative terms
for positive mental states (common usage in Piili) makes for a
range of possible meanings which a positive term w0uld n01
be able to express. \ friends. In connection with one's mettii-meditatiom, try
41 Here is a place where giving comes into the Path; we have
already seen it mentioned under Right View, 'Renunciation'
dC!es not necessarily imply cutting off the haiF, am! leading a
homeless life; here the emphasis is on interior renunciation. If
one is able, to staFt with, to loosen one's greed ana attachment
to things, it is possible' then to become generous in giving to
others. This is the first step in one sense, along any s(iliritual,
path. For if IIlaterial possessions cannot be given up for the
benefit of otber living beings, what h ope is there of progressing
further al,ong that path where g~eater renunciation, as expJainea
by the venerable author, must be made? The renunciation
spoken of here is not something (orced, though one should make
efforts to be more generous, it comes quite naturally with
44
2. Thoughts 0/ non-harming
Loving-kindness (metta) for all beings, VIsible stich as
men and animals, or invisible such as the devas and ghosts;
the 'mind or heart which wishes' their good and welfare;h
the (ilractiee of the other path-factors. When Right Concentra-
tion is practised and some SUCC\lSS in it attained then the things of
tfuis world become less interesting and can be given away or
given up, quite naturally and easily. Generous giving and giving
up must be cultivated for successful practice of the Buddha's
Dhamina. Without it, though one may have much knowledge,
all one's Dhamma stays in tbe head, orcomes out of the mouth-
it is never expressed through the han<;ls. No one can be a
successful cultivator of the Path unless they support liberally the
Buddha, Dh'a mma and Sangha,- and are genero,us to other
p'eo(ille in general.
.. B This is a very short notice of a most important subject! A
p~rson can claim to be a. Buddhist and certainly have Rigbt
View as defined in the previous section but stilj bave enmity
towar.ds others ar speak slander about them. All one's book
learning will n@t change barmfulness info loving-kindness; only
, Dbamma-pFactice,particularly the developement ofmettii through
me<il'i tation can do this. This means hard work on oneself wbicb
may be pai,nful em0tionally. but then the result-of accomplishing
just Ii little here is that one becomes a 'solid' Buddhist, not just
one with a Buddhisf facade. And of course. onegains many good
reciting this:
"Ever happy may I be, may I from dukkha ere be free,
with friends and neutral ones also, may my foes be bappytoo
Within the boundaries of tbis toowll,may beings e\'er happy be,
- likewise those from foreign lands and men from other
. galaxies:
From ·all around the galaxies, all creatures and all breathing
things,
Likewise 'women, men as well. the Noble Ones, the unawake.
devas, men, unhappy ones, who in the ten directions
dwell."
(traditional Sinhalese Piili composition)
For more on the subject of practising metta, see "Lay Buddhist
Practice" "The Sublime States" and for texts "The Practice of
Loving-kindness" (Wheels 206-207,6 and 7).
45
 f
3. Thoughts of non-violence.
Compassion and symp'athy for all beings, all of wh0m
are subject to some dukkha while most beings have much
suffering to bear. Thoughts which. to use the Piili idiom,
'tremble with' the sufferings of others are the practice of
this aspect of Right Thought. H
This fi.nishes the expl~UJati on of Riglbt Thought.
III. RIGHT SPEECH
There are four types of right speech:
1. Restraint from false speech.
2. Restraint from tale bearing.
3. Re~traint from harsh talk.
4. Restraint from useI.ess chatter.
The first of these means abstinence from both speaking
untruth in such a way that it appears to be, truth and
speaking truth as though it were untruth. H
The second is found where a person abstains ~rom
bearing tales which would cause two ' frien~s to lose
confidence and ,regard for each 0tber, and 5,0 cFeate
dissension and trouble.
43 The medilative aspect of IDving-kindness arid compassiDn has '
, heen emphasized in these two. sectjens as they cDnstitute Right
ThDUght. This is implied by the practice Df .the first precept
, (see Right ActiDn) and by the Buddha's cQnstant exhortatiDn to.
gentleness in dealing with Qthers. Onejs nQt truly a Buddhist ,
unless Qne's actiQns do. cDnfQrm to. Dhamma.
« The first is CQmmQn lying while the secQnd refeFs to. cunning
ways Qf CQrrt;lpting what is true 80. that it appears to. be false.
46
The third abstinence is from words uttered in anger
which are rO\lgh, harsh and abusive, such as insinuations
regarding race, family, personality, occupation and 80 on.
And the fourth, abstinence from useless chatter, refers
to such plays an'd. novels411 as contain no worthy goals
('attha), no ri·g htful means thereto (dhamma), and no
. Feference to good conduct (vinaya). Such matters do not
inspire tllose who' read or listen to them though they may
have transient entertainment value.
Goais, Means {lnd good conduct.
Words which relate to goals (attha) describe such things
as long' life, health a~d rightly acq.uired wealth enjoyed
in this life, while in a future life they are such good
results as being born a human being 'or deva.
Words relating to the means (dhamma) make clear the
ways in which tbe atlove goals can be realized . .
Tnose words which deal with the rules of co~duct
'(vinaya) for both laity and religious (the five, eight, ten
' or 227 precept~) a·re the ba'sis for the-destruction of ~reed
and aversion.
. , Now words about such goals, means and good conduct
are not found in the type of books and dramas referred to
45 "As Enaung and Ngwedaung" in the first English edition.
Myanaung U Tin writes: "Enaung is a wQrk Qf fictiQn written
abDut 100 years ago. during the reign of King Mindon. It
is hardly knDwn to. the present generatiQn. Ngwedaung is a
legend relating to Kayah State on the bQrders of Thailand.
It is still well knDwn and often staged. Quite naturally, fiction.
legeud and fairy tales are considered to. be samphappallipa". The
reference is QbviQus1y to. literature and drama which is liable to
lead to. deteriQratiQn. nQt 10 grDwth in Dhamma.
47
 here, so narrating and acting works like this amounts to
useless chatter.
Also included under this heading are th~ thirty-two
types of vulgar talk 46 which are spiritually unbeneficial'l7
(and obstruct the Noble Fruits of Stream-winning and so
on, and also rebirth in the higher planes. They are as
follows: TliJk about rulers, criminals, ministers of st.ate,
armies, dangers, battles, food, drink, clothing, dwellings,
adornments, perfumes, relatives, vehicles, villages, towns,
cities, provinces, 'women ( or men), heroes, streets, baths, .
relations who have died, this ang that, the origin of the
world, the origin of the ocean, eternity views, annihilation
views, worldly loss, worldly gain, self-indulgence, self-
mortification).
Anyone who wants to develop wisdom regarding goals,
means and good conduct should not waste time indulging
in these thirty-two kinds of talk. Fmlher, a 'person who
is developing the meditation practices leading to Calm
(samatha) or to Insight (vipassana) should know the
limits even of speech dealing- with goals,. ,means and good
conduct.
This ends the d'escription of th e four types of right
speech.
, !l6 'Vulgar (lit. animal-like) talk' 'is so called either because it
is worthy only of animals - and if one sees ~he list of what
is contained in it, most of it is what journalists cal'J:news' (I),
Or it is 'animal-talk' because it goes on all fours like animals and
not in an upright way as human beings.
H These brackets contain the material found in Appendix 1 in the
filst edition.
48
IV RIGHT ACTION
This is threefold:
I. Restraint from killing living creatures.
2. Restraint from taking what is not given.
3. Restraint from wrong conduct in (sexual,.."
pleasures.
The first of these means the intentional killing or
destroying of beings either by physical action or by verbal
incitement ranging from killing the eggs of lice and bugs,
or causing abortion, to the slaughter of living creatures
including human beings.49
Restraint from taking what is not given means abstaining
from taking, with intention to steal, living beings or
non"':living material which have an owner, removing
I or appropriating them without the owner's consent either
by ph:ysical effort or by in.citing another to do so.
Restraint from wrong conduct in sexual pleasures means
I· abstention from sex which will cause pain and suffering to
others. Examples will be adultery (for this causes the
disruption of marriage), rape, intercourse with minors
protected by parents etc., and the perversion of others.
Included here also are abstention from the five kinds
~8 The pleasures-desires (kama) mentioned under the tbird of
the Five Preeepts all relate to sex but here,. as wesball see, other
pleasures are included.
~9 The kamma made in all these ac;tions is unwholesome. but
of course not all of the same strength. In dealing \\; th the
world wisdom has to be used to decide what should and should
not be done.
49
o.f into.xicants and gambling wilh cards, dice and so on.50
This ends the explanatio.n o.f three sorts o.f Right
Actio.n.
(.
. "
V. RIGHT LIVELIHOOD
1. RestraiBt from livelim0o.d ba.sed on .w rong con-
duct.
2. Re's traint fIom Ji¥eJihoodbased o.n imFlr0per
means.
60 Tbe'se three headings are theequivalent oftbefirst th,ree of the ¥iv.e
precepts, eacb of which is prefaced by the phrases:. "I undertake
the rule of traiding to refra·in ~rom ... " Into the last of these
three is incerporated the Pifth, Precept ,on i'1toxicants, wnile the
fourtb has been explained already ullder Rigbt Speech. AlIhGl\!l,gn
the explanat[on <if tbese ;Precepts is brief, tl1e~r: impartance
cannet be t00 greatlyempbasized. Unless they are practised
diligently there is no. hope of developing the' mind in meeitlttiGlo,
er of gain-ing insight er wisdom.
On the ligther side, though ser·ious eneugh when distertionsof
the .Buddha's Teacbings are taugth to ethers, is the fellowing
story. At a meeting ef a . Buddhist Seciety" a lecturer was
addressing people upon the Five Precepts. Ceming to tbe last
one, he cemmented that as tbe Buddha had taught the Middle
Way', by this Precept was meant neither drunkenness - whicIl is
ene extreme, nOr tetal abstention - which is tbe ether extreme,
but just drinking in moderation. ' The 'lecturer does not seem to
have reflected that the same standards if appl'ied to the other
precepts will .be astonishing indeed I Not. wholesal'e m'l!lFder, nor >
total abstentien frem killing, but just killing in mederatienl
This is an iIlustraHen of how ilI!pertant it is to knew
the Buddha's explanations of each Path-factor, .not one's own
ideas howev!!r good they seem to. be. It also illustrates how one's
own views are colouredby craving fo~ pleasure, comfo.r t, etc.
3. Rest~aint from livelihood based cn deception
of others.'
4. Restraint fro.m Iiveliho.od based on low worldly
kno.wledges.
Wrong co.nduct means either the threefold unwho.lesome
1bodily actio.B begiElning withkiJling living creatures
eescriIDed und'er Right Ac.tio.n, o.r the fo.urfold unwhole-
some verbal actio.n such as lying, described under Right
Spee~h - al1y. liveliho.o.d gained in this way will be wrong.
S0 wiII .he a living made by the sale o.f the five kinds
o.f merchandise 3 t which should no.t be So.ld. When one
abstain$ from such wrong co.nduct in Iiveliho.o.d, right
liveliho.o.d is practised.
_ The second heading, impro.per means, refers to ways o.f
, wrong liveliho.o.d · no.t .to be practised by the bhikkhus
(Bl!lcldhist monks) and lay h~rmits (lsi, the Pali form of
the Sanskrit w0rd Rishi, represented by a class o.f lay
f,0.)Jowersin Burma). The~e wrong ways o.f getting a .
iiveJ.iho.od invo.lve ' such matters as a bhikkhu giving
flo.wers alild fruft to. families, o.r medi.c al preparatio.ns, o.r
flattering the~ in some way, or acting as their messenger.
In such wro.ng ways, a bhikkhu may ho.pe to. increase his
gains tho.ugh actually he earns o.nly co.ntempt,
Under the third heading abo.ve, livelihoo.d is gained by
deceiving othe'rs and while much o.f this sectio.n applie6 to.
l!lhikkhus, it do.es have appllcatio.n to. - ho.useho.lders as
well. Five sorts of deceptio.n are given, as fo.Hows. The
3I "Weapon's, living beings, meat, intoxicants and poisons _ these
fiv~ kinds of merchandise should not be traded in." (Angutlara-
nikaya, the Fives). This note is from the first edition. The
words quoted are the Buddha's.
51

first is all sorts of trickery so that people understand that
one can work wonders or attain deep states of meditation
or 'the Noble Paths and Fruits, or feigning deportment so
that they think one is an Ariya (Noble One), or again
causing people ' to have a high opinion of oneself hy
pretending that one aoes not wish to receive alms and
accepts on~y for the sake of the donors. ' 'The seoond
is talk which pleases donors so tha t they m ike a gi~t,
while the third is making all sorts of hints and l1estures so
that offerings are made. Fourth comes harassing a
donor with words.so tha.t be 'is obliged to give in order to
get rid of oneself, and fifth comes giving a small girt so 'as
to get a bigger one. All this is trickery and tleception.
The fourth heading, wrong livelihood basel on the low,
worldly knowle<J:ges-, mean~ that 'one gets a living by
prognostication, by palmistry ' and i~teFpretlng other
bodily marks, or by astrology and other sU'ch low aits'
which run contrary to the bhikkhu's practice of Dhamroa.
When bhikkhus ·and lay hermits ref~ain from such things
their livelihood is pure in this respect.
This brings to an end th~ expositionof Right Livelihood.
VI. RIGHT EFFORT
This path-factor is analysed into four components. The
first two deal with unwholesome volitional actions(kamma)
divided into unwholesome mental .states which have
arisen and those which have not yet arisen. These
two constantly cause anxiety, corruption and debasement
for living beings. The second two deal with wholesome
kamma, either with those states which have arisen or
those which have oot. They always bring peace, purity,
S2
nobility and progress for beings. Nowto define tbesefour
in greater detail.
:rh~ ten paths of unwholesome kamma (see p. 9) bave
already been mentioned. Now, whatever oftb05e "ammas
have already arisen' in the past or arise in the present,
they are all called 'arisen unwholesomeness'. But if
,such kammas have not yet been made though ODe may be
lialDle to make them jn future, then this is caJled 'unarisen
un.wheiesQmeness. '
To illustrate wholesome- kamma, arisen and unarisen,
let us take ~he seven stage's of purity:
Purity of moral conduct(attaioed by keeping precepts)
Purity of mind (attained by meditation)
Purity of view .
Purity by overco.ming doubt
Purity by knowled.ge and vision ot what is and what
is not tlie Path
Purity by knowledge and vision of the practice-path
Pui'Hy by knowledge . and vision. (The last five
attained by wisdom).
Now whatever purity has arisen in oneself in the past.
or ':in the present, that is called 'arisen' wholesomeness'.
But the purities which one has not experienced, though
one may do 'so in the future (provided that the necessary
effort is made), are called 'unarisen wholesomeness'.
If the Noble Eightfold Path is practised and developed
in this life, then by virtue of its power the bad conduct
alre~dy arisen will never arise again until one attains
Nibbana without remainder of grasping (when there is no
possibility of its doing so). Also, by virtue of tbe oble
. Eightfold Path the bad conduct which has not arisen
in oneself during this life but which could arise in future,
53
will have no chance to arise at any time till Nibbana
without remainder of grasping is attained.
In the same way, when this Path is practised and
developed here and now, due to its p0wer anyone of the
purities which has already arisen for oneself becomes
indestructible and constant until the attainment of
Nibbana without remaindeF of grasping. ' Likewise, the
purities which so far have not arisen in '0neself, wbich
have not been attained or reached, by' virtue 0f the Noble
Eightfold Path are reached and attained in tihis life. .
(In ex'plaining the terms 'arisen' and 'unarisen' people
can easily understand unwholesomeness by way of the ten
evil paths of making kam rna while wholesomeness can
best be illustrated by the seven kinds of pUFificatiQ'n),
Bhikkhus !lnd lay people who ha:ve encountered the
Buddhasasana, being confident and faitb:tiuI; Slit0Ul'd be
convinced by these reasons that only Right Ejj(!)t:t iN
the practice and cleve]opJIil;)ent of t.he N0ble lEightf€ild
Path is to theilireal welfare arod presj1lerity. 1'I'le
things of this wo,rId-should be canded out0tlly in esserotial
matters such as a're unavoidable. ea
This is indeed the way of elucidating Right ~ffortwhich
is a fundamental factor for Buddhist practice. The
summary of this most important subject in relation to tbe
Eightf(')ld Path is as follows:
J. Regarding what is, unwholesome:
IIa Many people will say, 'This sou~ds 'like ' the advice of o~e
bhikkhu to another bu(how can we act in such I} way? 'Perhaps
the venerable author here is stressing not being busy for the sake'
of 'busy-ness' or perhaps non-entanglement in matters which
are actually not one's own concerns and in which anyway "
one can do nothing. Everyone has to decide "for himself how
much involvement is wise.
S4
To practise the Eightfold Path with the iotention to
prevent bad conduct from arising at all in this life
and the following existences, is the first kind of Right
Effo t.
2. Regarding what is un wholesome:
, ']' 0 practise the Eightfold Path with the intention to
prevent' b.acl conduct which has not yet arisen for oneself
in this life but WHich is liable to arise in the future, from
arising at all until one attains the Nibbana without
the remainder of grasping, is the second kind of Right
Effort.
~, Regarding. what is wholesome:
To make effort in practising the Eightfold Path in such
a way as Ie attain without fail the higher puritief! (vlsuddhi) -
wbicb have-; n0t yet been a ftained in this life, is the third
kin'dof Right Effort.
4. Regarding what is wholesome:
Tomake effort in 'such a way as to keep unbroken one's
purity of moral conduct - the five precepts and the
preeepts with livelihood as the eighth (iijivatthamaka-sila.
fQr this ~ee below: Forming the Noble Eightfold Path into
three groups) which one observes in this life, until one
attains Nibbiina when they become permanent - this is
the f0\uth kind of Right Effort.
These four are the Right Efforts which have ' been
explained in this way for easy understanding. They are
four in number only with reference to their four functions
(namely: avoiding, overcoming, developing, maintaining).
But really there is only one dhamma (factor) here- effort.
55
,/
or viriya - for the reason that when one tries to attain to
anyone of the purities, the effort 'so exercised covers
these four functions automatically.
Here ends the exposition of the four kinds of Right
Effort .
VB. RIGHT MINDFULNESS
\
The minds of most beings aref never steady but l'Iy
about here and there. They have no control over their
minds and so cannot fix then .steadily on a subject of
meditation. As' they cannot control their minds they
resemble mad or:mentally deranged pers'ons and for such
"
people society has no regar<!, So people ' who begin to
meditate find that their uncontrolled mind'~ resemble
1 This means tbat one's mi,nd is firmly bound by .the TOpe
those of persons who are deranged. 'foeliminate 't he
'. unsteady and flighty mind and to fix it continuously on
the meditation-~ubject OBe has to pFactise the Four
Applications of Mindfulness. They are:
I. The Application of Mindfulness to con·t emplate the'
body (kayan'upassana-sQ,t ipatthiina)
'This means that one's mind is firmly bound to the
body-group by the rope of Right Mindfulness . What is'
meant here is that the mfnd is constantly looking at
or concentrating upon bodily phenomena, such as breathing
in and out and the other exercises list~d in the Discourse
on the Application of MindCulness. li8 When such practice
lIS See, translations in ." The Heart of Buddhist Meditation"
Nyanaponika Thera. Rider & Co. London; "The Way of
Mindfulness" Soma Thera, B. P. S , Sri Lanka; The Foundations
of Mindfulness, Nyanasatta Thera, Wheel No, 19, B. P. S.,
':Middle Length Sayings". Vol. I, Discourse 10, I. B. Horner,
P. T. S. LondoD.
56
has been continued for three or four months, the un-
steadiness of the mind disappears and it is possible all tbe
time to concentrate the mind upon the body group. This
requires steady practice from day to day which may be
from just an 'hour, or up to six hours daily upon mindful-
ness of breathing in and out or one of the other subjects
listed in the above Discourse. At tbis point tbe meditator
has control of his m'i nd so tbat it can be fix'ed on a ny
med itation-subject.
2. The Application of Mindfulness to contemplate feeling.
(vC!d anan u passana-s a ti paH ban a).
of' Rigbt Mindfulness ,to the feeling group (: pleasant
feeli'ng" painful/feeling, neitber painful nor pleasant
feeling), which occur all the time in tbe body varying
a.cc0fding to conditiops. Repeatedly fixing the mind
on tbese feelings will put an end to re~tlessness of mind,
and when this occurs then one bas mental control so that
the mind will be concentra..ted on any subject of medita-
tion ..
3. The , Application of Mindfulness to Contemplate mind
, (cittanupassana-satipanhana).
. fJere tbe meaning is that the mindful mind is firmly
b0und with the mindfulness-rope totbe contemplation of
other minds61- which are associated with greed and
54- In English, 'minds' (in the plural) refers to many different
people but in the Buddha's Teaching one person in a single day
experiences many different minds, or mental states. So the
development of mindfulness consists of the mindful mind con
templating or looking back on the unwholesome and unmindful
minds • .
57
 aversion and are present in one's mental continuum from
time to time according to conditions. When this is oflen
practiced the restless mind disappears and the m.ind
becomes workable so that it can be fixed on any medIta-
tion-subject.
4. The A p plicatio1) 0/ Mindfulness to contemplate .d'ham~
mas 311 (Dham manupassana-satipanhana). . Mindfulness.
The rope of Right Mindfulness here binds the mind to
the contemplation of such mental objects as sensual
desire, ill-will, mental and physical sloth, distraction an<il
worry, and uncertainty ( :. the five hindrances) and other
subjects given in the Discourse which arise co~ditionally
in/one's mind-continuum. When this has been repeated
many tiines restless minds disappearand with this mind-
control the mind can be directed to any subject of
m~~ti~ , .. deranged mind be got rid of and only then can the highe;
So the Applications of Mindfulness reaIly ' mean the
meditative work of getting rid of the mad, dennged, hot
'and burning minds that have.always formed part of one's
mental continuity from successive past lives; by binding
the mind with the mindfulness~rope to the four of the five
groups comprising oneself. Thus body'-con~emplation
. 1
is applied to , the body, feeJing-contemplation to the
feelings, mind-contemplation to consciousness and d,ham-
rna-contemplation to mental f.ormations. This should be
IiII Here this means subjects which are discovered through close
scrutiny of the mind. Such subjects as ' the 5 Hindrances
obstructive to meditation, the 5 groups .or aggregates .which
compose whaLis called 'self', the six internal and external sense-
spheres (with mind and mind-objects as the sixth), the 7 factors
of Enlightenment, and the Four Noble Truths. See the D,iscourse
for details.
58
done diligently and ,regularly in daily practice so that the
mind dges not stray to external objects but is centred
upon the four groups mentioned above.
~ Rega~diilg the practice of Mindful Breathing, see the
Anapanadipani by Ledi Sayadaw (not translated into
English but see thesourceson the Discoursesin footnotelSl) .
. This concludes explana tion of the four kinds of Right
VIII. RIGHT ~ COLLECTEDNESS
1'0. the wodl(!, when one is learning how to read one has
to begin with the letters of the alphabet and it is only
when these have been mastered that higher education can
,be 'a'c quired. The same prnciple applies to the process
of mental d~velopment where mindfulness must be
practised first, for onl~ when it is strong will the mad
stages of meditation be practised with steadfastness.
So when tne work: of the Applications of Mindfulness is
in order and one is able to concentrate the mind without
disturbance for one or two~ Qours or mote daily upon one
, of the e)(ercises,in the contemplations of the body, feeling,
et~., 0n~ sh~uld turn to the development of the pure
mlDd (cltlavlsuddhi- bbavana)" known also as the four
levels of collectedness acquired by the practice of calm
(samatha-jhana-samadhi). This can be compared to the
high'er Budohi~t s~dies on the Discourse on Blessings, the
passages for paylllg respect- (to the Triple Gem and to
one's. Teachers), the PFotection Discourses, Piili Grammar
and the Manual on tbe Meaningof AbhidhammalS6 which
68 The. Piili in ~e first editjon runs: Mailgala Sutta, Namakkira.
Pantta. (Grammar and), Abhidhamma-sangaha".
59
\
I
are mastered after having learnt the alphabet first.
Among these four levels of collectednl!ss, the first is
called the first concentration (jhana) . and is attained
by intense practice of one of the meditation subjects
listed below, after having passed through three successive.
stages of developement (bhavaJla~ ': the 'preparat0l'y w0rk
on development' (parikamma-bhaval1a), the . aceess-
development (upacara-~havana) and tF!'e aHainment-
development (appana-bhavana) . The twenty-fi~e w0rk-
places' (or meditation subjectS, kammaHhana) for attain-
ing the first concentra'tion 'are:
10 kinds of (ka~if.ta) devices (4 colours, 4 dements,
space, light)
10 kinds of unattractiveness (decaying corpses)
1 exercise on the 32 parts of tbe, body
] exeFcise on mindful breathing in apd al!lt
3 ki·nds of.Divine Ali>idings =
Loving-kindness (metta) "•
Compassien (karuf:la)
Joy-with-others (mudita)U
When a person takes up meditation and makes an
effort with the exercise of mindfully breathing in and out,
117 For all these 'work-places' clescribed in deta>i\ see "']jhe Path of
p,urifacatioo" (Visuddhimagga) trans. Nanam01i lChera, iB. P. S.
<3rd Ed.). also a list of all the w0rk-places (meditation subjectsl
in "Practical Advice to Meditators" (Wheel t 16), the 32 parts Of
the body in "Minor Readings and I1ustrator, trans. Nanamoli
Thera, P. T. S. For Loving Kindness, s.ee "The Practice of
Lovingkindness", "The Four Sublime States", and- "Lay
Buddhist Prllctice." For ]oy-with-other~ see ' 1'M udita" (Wheel,
7, 6, 206-207. 170). -
this 'preparatory work on development' wbich is just
t'o get rid of the mad and deranged mind, is included in
the first concentration.
It should be noted that t,hl! practice of applying mind-
fulness 't0 breathing in and out serves both purposes; the
.\
establishing . of mindfuln ,es~ and the attainment of tbe
f;irst cencentration. For a full explari'ation of the four
co'n centrations "The Path of Purification" should be
cOFlsMl!ed. -
Here ends the. section on the fotir kinds of Right
Collectedness.
This conqJudes the full explanation of the Noble Eightfold
Path. . .
APPENDIX
The 1ihree kinds of Rounds- and ~he Four of
Wandering-on
In the present time, while the Buddhasasana still exists
if people practise and develop the Noble Eightfold Path
they can free themselves from the dukkha of the rounds
- (vaHa). I shall explain-them to you.
There are three kinds of dukkha produ-ced by the rounds
and these are: . . ,
(I) the round of defilement (kilesa-vatta).
(2) the .F ound of int.e ntional action (kamma-vat1a)
(3) - and the round of resJ,litants (vipaka-vaua).
. They are also c1as~ified in this way:
(a) the .three rounds connected with the wanderiog- .
on 10 states of deprivation,
61
 (b) the three rounds connec(ed with the wandering-
on in tbe good bourns of the sensual realm,
(c) the three rounds cOAnected with the wandering-
on in the realms of subtle form, and '
(d) tbe t,hree r!lu,n ds connectied wi.th ,t he wandering-
on jn the realm~ (!)f fonmlessness.
(a) In the case of tfue tlilree mUl!Jds conneetecl with tfue
wand'e ring-on in states of depri~ation:
(\) the round of defilements ref~r to personality- view
and uncertainty;
(2) tQe round , (!)f intentional action f(~fers to the· ten
evil kamma-paths; (see pp, ) some kammas leading to and practised in the
(3) the round of resultants refer to the five Fesultant
k(!.mQlIl-produced gn;>ups (khandba) of ' bell-
bein,g s, animals, gfuosts and demons.
(b) In the case @ftbe tbree rounds CQ'Nnectem 'witi;)
the wandering-oN in. ~he geod \;)0urns ef the' sensual
realm:
(I) the r(mnd of defilements refers to desire for
sensual pleasures, such as pleasure in and
attacbment to pleasant signts, sounds' smells,
tastes and touches; . with the four divisions of each of them.
(2) tbe round of intentional action refers to the three '
ways of making punna (meritorious aetiQng =
good kamma); that is,'by dana-giving, li~eraIHy;
by sila. -.: moqll CONduct, keepingt@ the l"recep,~s;
. by bhavana-,-development <'If mind, medit ation; IS 8
68 These three found in the Discourses are expanded in the Com-
mentaries to a list of ten ways of making merit; Qenerous
giving, moral conduct, mind developament. respect and reverence,
62
(3) the round of resultants refers to the five resultant
kamma-produced groups (khandha) of human
beings, and of devas in the six deva-planes.
(c) .& (d)In Ine case 'bf the three rounds connected with
, the' wafoldedng-on in subtle fo,r m, Or those Of formlessness;
(l~ the r0und of d.e filements refers to attachment to
spbtie form or formlessness in the Realm 'o f
Subtle Form, or the Realm of Formlessness,
respectively;
/ (2) the round of intentional action refers to whole-
\ Form. and Formless Realms;
(3) the round of resultants refers to the five resultant
. ka 'm>Flila-pr0duc~ed ' ~roups (khandha) of ~ the
Brahnqa-go@s in the Form Realm, and to the
f0ur FesultaNt m'ental groups of the Brahma-gods
in tbe F0rmless Realm.
Se one should understand that there are these three
rounds in both Form Realm and Formless Realm.
This is tbe end of the expo~ition of the tbree rounds
hei(!lfulness and service, dedication of one's merits to others,
'rejoicing in other's m~tits, listening to Dhamma. teaching the
Dhamma, straightening out one's views. See Light of the Dhamma
Vol. HI No.4, p. 20 lNote in the first edition). Also, "The
Advantages' Gf Merit" Bodhi Leaves B.38. Puma (merit is a
poor translation) means "that which- purifies and cleanses the.
minds of the doers" iii other words, all good kamma by mind.
speech and body.
63
 Inter-relations between Path-factors and Rounds
The Eightfold Path may also be divided as it perlains
to the experience of Stre'am-winners, Once-returners,
Non-returners and Arahants. , 'fliis C0ncludes the explanation of the inter-relation
The Eightfold Path; as it is experienced by a person
who becomes a Stream-win'neT (at the time when tae ",
mind turns away from contintiance in the wandering-on
\owards Nibbana), completely terminates tbe tbree rounds
-connected with rebirth in tbe states of deprivation (apaya).
As regards tbe rounds connected with wandering-on
in the sensual realm good bourns, it co mpletely terminates
all the three tbat would oth,erwise arise after sev,en more
existences.1I9
The Once-returner's Eightfold Path completely termi-
nates two of the tbre,e ro~ncls, the defilem,e'n~s-F0U1Hi and
the resultants-round, ccmnected with the Realm of
Sensuality which would o ~ berwise arise in the laslt five 0i
the seven existenees (spoken ' of above. in other words,
the Once-returner completely terminates all the thFee
rounds connected with good birtm in the Sensual Realm
in two more lives. eo
. The Non-returner's Eigbtfold' Path completely termi'-
nates tbe rounds connected with'Sensual Realm fortunate
birth and goes beyond the two existences of a OnGe-
returner, leaving only the rounds for existence in the
Form-realm and in the 'Formless-realm,.
, restra,int. The unwholesome kamma-paths are extreme forms of
110A stream· winner has to experience a maximum 0f seven more
lives, none of them below humanlevel.
eo The Once-'returner will be reboni once again as a human' being
and in that life attain Nibbana. The "Two more Iives" 'referred
to are then the present one and the next. '
64
The Path, as it is experienced by a person who attain s
Arahantship, c0mpletely terminates the three round s
c6 nnected w.ith wandering-on in the Form and Formless
Realms. All defilements are forever extinguished,
between Path-factors and rounds.
The First, Second and Third Levels of .Views (ditthi)
..
The three muO-ds connected with the states of depriva-
tiom, am €lflg all the f0ur kinds of wandering-on each with
its three rou'n ds. are. of great urgency for Buddhists to-day.
As Lord Buddha has said, it is a matter of the greatest
urgency when one;s head (turban, hair) is on fire to
eXlingl!lish it immediately. No delay is possible even for
a minte. Well, it is more urgent for followers of the
Buddhasasana to terminate completely tbe three rounds
comnected with the deprived states than for that man
", to put €lut the fire on bis head. For this reason I bave
d~aH with tme .N0ble lEightfold Path81. as it is able
to terminate those three rounds. How does it do so?
e1 Venerable Nyanaponika Mahiithera writes: The Noble Eightfold
Path intended here seems to be noble (ariya) in the strict sense
of the Noble Path or Stream-winner, etc. And when on the
latter. 'apiiya-samsiira is actually cut off because sha (moral
conduct) is unbroken and unbreakable. I feel that it is just the
absence of personality-view and uncertaintv (sakkiiya-ditthi,
vicikicchii) th·a t makes sila finally unbreakable, not just normal
unwholesomeness (accordrng to the Commentary). 50 also the
menta) unwholesomeness, covetousness (abhijjhii) which is
. the greedy thought leading to robbery, or iii-will (byiipiida) the
hateful thought of. killing or hatming - "hich are absent in tbe
Streamwinner' though he has still the milder forms called llCIISuat
65
 Among these two defilements - ~ersoDality-view ~nd'
uncertainty (cut off by the Stream-wlD~er). - p.ersonahty-
. . the most important. When thIs vIew IS no ,more,
vIew 1S ' . dh t
naturally there is no more uncertalDty an teen
holesome kamma-patbs can no longer be created so
unw . . t' .h d
that the wandefing-on in deprived states IS ex In~UI,S e.•
Personality-view is just another name for sellf-vlew
(atta-di\thi) in which the eye, ear, nose,. ~,G'Jilgue: ~(!)d:
(touch organs) and mind are regaFded as I:
and mme.
This view is held tenaciously by all ordlDary peop'l€:
(puthujjana).When we say that the sense-organ~ are
tenaciously viewed as 'I' and 'mine', this mea~J_ tha.t
whenever a visible object is seen, people firmlya.nd
te~ aciously beIi-eve 'I see it, 1 see it.' T~e s!J.~e is true \
of the other senses and their objects (wIth mmd as the
.sixth). This is how p~rsonality-vh!w isestabiished on the
foundation of the six internal bases.
Let us take· the exampie of a being _wlilo in pa'st I!ives
has made man'ystupid mistakes so tbat in his, sJ:lcces~ive
l-ives all these old evil ka,mmas boril of peFso-nality-vlew
are attached to and always accompany his life c0ntinuity.
Proceeding in such a way, ,th:is being wiU i~ fwture
existences also make foolish mistakes, thus maklDg new
"-
desire (kiimacchanda> and pat,igha (dislike) among the ten fetters.
As he still has the fetters -elf sensual desire, attachment to subtle . _
form and formlessness (rilpariiga, arilpariiga), rebirth in the
good bourns (sugati) has not ceased f01' him. He, being 0n the
Path of Seing (dassana-magga), has abolished onlycthe views-root
of self-view (~ persClnality-view); its other two roots, craving and
conceit are abolished only on the three Noble Paths called the Path
of Deve)opement (bhiivanii-magga). The complete cutting off of
personality-view is not however a purely intellectual process, it
must be based on perfect sila and the vipassana experience,
66
evil kamma BTlSlng from personality-view. So when
persen ality-view is extinguished, the results of past evil
kamma leading to subhuman birth cannot arise, nor can
more evil kamma be made. For this reason there is no
longer a,ny possibility of wandering-on in the deprived
. states; ,f0F such a person there are no more rebirths in the
nells,the animal world, the ghost and the demons - these
are aU 'extinguished .' Aperson 'like this attains to his first
expeFience of NibbiiFla,caIJed Nibbana~ with-the-grasped-
at groups-Femaining (sa-upiidisesa nibbiina), meaning
- tbat for him the three rounds connected Wilh the wander-
ing-on in the states of deprivation are utterly extinct.
Re then becomes a Noble One (Ariya) in the Noble
Super-mundane Plane;one to be reborn·in successive higher
pla.nes of existence. 62 Now we come to consider the three
levels of views wbereby personality-view is established.
The 'ti,rst is called the latency level (anusaya-bhUmi).
that i~ ' ~he view of personality which always accompanies
~he Iife-col1.tinuity of a being in the beginninglessround of
rebirths - amd resides in the whole person 61 as the seed
or Ipotential for the three kinds of kamma, i e. of body,
speech and mind, before they are made. When objects
Which can cause the doing of evil kammas come into
contact with any of the -six doors, such as the eye-door.
U See the extensive notes on this subject in "The Requisites of
~nlightenment", Wheel No. 171-174, pages 47-48.
6 a Myanaung U Tin writes: "Actually anusaya (potentiality) does
not reside in any part of the person. It arises only with the
necessary conditions. For want of a better word 'reside' bas
been used. Potentiality is there in the whole personality, that is
all.': The seven latent tendeucies or prodivities (anusaYa) are:
Sentual desire, dislike, views, uncertainty, conceit, desire for
exislence, and unknowing.
67
 unwholesome kammas st'imulated by that latent view are
made in the mind. This is tIle second level called
obsessive-level (pariyutthana-bhumi), represented amon,g
the te~ unwholesome ' kamma-paths by the trnreef01d
mentaU kamma (covetousness, ill-will and wrong view).
Thus the stage of mental kamma has been reached. If no
steps are taken for the control of the mind theNl!lnwh0Ie-
someness spreads from the obsessive-level to the third
, level caIled t he transgressive-level (vitikkama-li>hi:imi), the
stage where unwholesome verbal or bodily kammas
are made. These are, respectively, the fourfold verbal
action (false speech, tale-beari.ng, ,h arsatalk and useless
chatteF) and the threefold bodily action (killing ' living
creatures, taking what is not given, wromg cond uct
in sexual pleasures). '
Suppose we take the example of a match. Wh,en the
matchbox with its nitrous surface is available then the
potential for fire lying in the matca-liead can be activated.
Flames result and with such a lighted' match .a heap
of. rubbish can be set alight. Tfue matchb0x's striking
surface represents the six sense objects - sights, s@unds,
smells, tastes, touches and thoughts, and the potenti al for
fire in the match-head may be c0mpaq!d to the latency-
level. WheiHhese objects present themselves to the mind,
like the striking of the match, then heat and fire resul't -
the obsessive-level. From that small fire a great 01'le can
be lighted, b4rning and scorching other beings with the
bodily and verbal kamma's of the tFansgressive level.
This concludes the explanation of the first, secorid and
third levels of views •.
Forming the Noble EightfoldPath into three groups
The Eightfold Path falls naturaHy into the foJlowin.g
groups:
68
I) Morality-group: Right speech, right action aDd
right livelihood.
2) Collectedness-group: Right effort, right mindful-
ness and right collectedness.
3) Wisdom-group: Right view and right thought.
If the three constituents of the morality-group are
c~nsi~eFe.d in detail th~n they become tbe set of precepts
WIth IIvelIbood as the eIghth, in this way:
'[ shall refrain from kilJ.ing living creatures.
. '[ shall refrain from taking wbat is not given.
'[ shall refraiN from wrong conduct in sexual f'leasures
aad from intoxicants.
These tare~ compr.ise Right Action.
I shall refrain from false speech.
.I shall refrain from tale-bearing.
'[ shall refrain from harsh talk
I shall refrain from useless chatter.
These feur comprise Right Speech.
I undertake ' Right Livelihood, refraining from
ciishol'lesty, violence and killing.
Permanent precepts, that is, those which are taken to be
kefJt all the time, such as}he layperson's Five Precepts.
the Ten Precepts observed by hermits and wanderers
(perha~s non~Buddhist) and the Ten Precepts practised by
B1!lddhIS t nOVIces (samaneras), together with the bhikkhu's
227 precepts contained in the Parimokkha, are generally
c0F1tai.ned within the group of precepts with livelihood as
~he eIghth. . In the same way. the Eight Precepts are
Improvements on the Five Precepts and the above group of
precepts with livelihood as the eighth. .
69
 Right speech, action and Iivelfhood which are the
constituents of the morality-group, are the dhammas
to use for the destruction of the. tbird level of pe~sonality­
view,' the transgressive-,level, when evil unwholesome
kammas, four-fold of sp~ech ang threefold of Dodily
action, are committed.
Right effort, mindfulness and collectedness, the factors
of the colJectedness-group, are the dhammas to use '
for the destruction of the second level of personality-view,
the obsessive-level, when the threefold evil ·unwholesome
I'll
kamma of the mind is made.
Right view aiJd right intention, comprising the wisdom-
group, are tbe dhammas to use for tbe destrucfion of tbe'
first level of personality-view, the latency-level, which
has always existe<! in tbe 'life continuities of beings in tbe
beginningless round of rebirths.
Here ends the formation of the Eightfold Path into
three groups.
How to establish the, Morality-group of the
Nc;lble Eightfold Path
To rid oneself of the three unwholesome verbal kammas
born of the personality-belief,the three constituents of
the morality group must be established in oneself, which
is another way of saying that the set of precepts with
......
livelihood as eighth should be accepted and practised.
One cannot guard a-gainst the three unwhol'esome
Ii mental kammas born of person'aliiy-belief in this way, so
when one no longer wishes to make them, the three
factors of the collectedness group in the Noble .Eightfold
Path should be practised and estabiished. Such firmness
of mind only results when exercises such as
mindfulness of
70
in and out breathing, or the meditation on 'the unattrac-
~iveness of such things as bones, or the meditations on
colours. el~ments, etc. called kasinas, are practised
for at least one hour a 'day.
The method whereby one may rid oneself of the trans-
gressive level 'of personality-view, is by establishing
oneself in P,ur<ification of Virtue as represented by the seC
of p~ecepts with Livelibood as the eighth, as mentioned
above. One may either first recite the Precepts, as given
below, and thel;l practise them" or just decide to observe
them so that fnDm this day forth, throughout one's
life, one does not kill living creatures, and so on. It is not
necessary. to request these Precepts from a bhikkhu; one
,has only to practice them a,ccordingly. One may then,
either recite or determine, as follows:
L From today throughout my life, I shall refrain from
killing any living creatures. i
2. From today throughout my life, I shall refrain from
taking what is not given.
3. From today throughout my life, I shall refrain from
wrong conduct hl sexu/:lI ple~.§ures, and from intoxi-
cants.
4. From today throughout my life, I shall refrain from
false speech.
5. From today throughout my life, I shall refrain from
setting one person against another.
6. From today, thr-Oughout my life, I shall refrain from
harsh and abusive words regarding any person's
status in society and beliefs.
7. From today, throughout my life, I shall refrain from
speaking in ways not conducive to the welfare of
71
 beings in this present life, or of those in the wander-
ing-on, or of those in the Supermundane plane. 0 4-
8. From today, throughout my life, I shall refrain from
wrong livelihood.
When this set of Precepts has been taken, it remains in
force until it is broken. Then only the precept which has
been broken should be undertaken once again, though of
course there is no harm in taking again those precepts
which ha·ve not been broken. This is really uimeccessary,
but if an unbroken precept is taken again it will be
strengthened in this way. -
It is better, therefore, 'to undertake thes.e precep>ts
every day. But these precepts an permanent, that is,
they apply every day, like the Five Precepts. They are not
like the Eight Precepts observed only on the Uposatha
days. Bhikkhus who have 227 preoepts and sarnaneras
(novices) who practice 10 precepts, as well as Iilermits and
wanderers, need not take these precepts.
Now the constituent factors which are required for
the breaking of the first seven offhese precepts should be
examined.
-'
The Five Conditions for killing living creatures
I. The being must be I!live.
2. There must be the knowledge that it is a . living being.
3. There must be an intention to cause its death.
4. Action must be taken to cause its death.
S. Death must result from such action.
e. Sucb as Arahants living now.
If all these five conditions are fulfilled then the first
precept has been broken and should be taken again.
The Five Conditions for (eking what is not given
1. The property must be the possession of anotberperson.
2. It must be known to oneself that it is tbe possession
of another person.
3. There must be an intention to steal.
4. Action must be taken to steal.
5. . By that action the property must be taken.
If all these five conditions are fulfulled then tbe
second precept has been broken and should be taken
again.
The Four Conditions for wrong conduct in sexual pleasures
I. There must be a man or a woman with whom it
is improper&a to have sexual intercourse.
2. There must be intention to have sexual intercourse
with such a person.
3. Action must .be taken to have such intercourse.
4. There must be enjoyment from the contact of the
sexual organs.
If all these four conditions are fulfilled then the third
precept has been broken and should be taken agaiD.
611 Bhikkhus. bhikkhunis and other teligious observing the
Life. or persons protected by marriage or by pareats..
The Four· Conditions for false speech '
1. The statement must be untrue.
2. There must be an intention to, deceive.
3. 'fher~must be an effort made as a result of this intention,
4. The other person must know the meaning of what has
been said.
If all these f(;JUr conditio D's aFe fl:ll~lIed t hen Hu e
fourth precept has been b.Foken and; shoul,ct IDe taken
again.
1 00nclitions of useless chatter.
The Four Conditions for tale-bearing
1. There must be persons to be disunited.
2. There must be the intention . to disunite these persons.
3. There must be an effort made as a result of this
intentien.
4. The ether person(s) must know the meaning of wlil at
bas been said.
If all these feur conditi,ons aI'e ~l:l lfmed tmen t he
fifth precept has been bFoken an cl should be taken
again.
The Three Conditions for harsh talk
1. There must be a person to be abused.
2. There must .be anger.
3. Harsh language must be used to him.
It all these three conditions are fulfilled them tbe
sixth precept has b'een b!'9ken and shol:l·l d be taken
again.
The Two Conditions for useless chatter
1. There must be intention to say things which bring
forth no wholesome benefits.
74
. 2. Such things must be said.
If these conditions are fulfi1I~d then the seventh
precept has been broken and should be taken again.
As, regards "things which ' bring forth no wholesome
benefrit,s," this means plays and novels which do not
lead to the gf0wth of .good qualities. ee Nowadays we
have numerous plays ,a'nd novels which satisfy all the
Fulfillment · of the conditions given above for the first
th Fee precepts and for harsh speech, t4e sixth one, are
sufficient·not only to break these but also to make kamma
which will be a kamma-path leading to rebirth in the
states of deprivation. Bu,t in the case of the precepts
dealing with false speech, tale-bearing and useless
chatter, the .followin.g have to be added if these actions
are to be kamma-paths : .
I. iIi'n the ease of false speech, another person SUffers'
loss OF damage. '
/ .
2. In-tlie Case of tale-bearing, disunion must be brought
about:
3. And in the ease of useless chatter, others must think
that the plays 'and' novels are true accounts.
These are the conditions relating to the seven kinds of
wrong-doing which should be known by those who keep
every day the precepts with livelihood as the eighth. .
An~ th~s concludes the brief explanation of the way to
es.tabhsm III one-self the three constituents of the Path's
m:orality group.
66 Th~ original has "as Enaung and Ngwedaung." See footnote 45
under Right Speech.
75
"
 How to establish the Concentration group of the
Noble Eightfold Path
L.
As we have explained aIr~ady; the good pra"ctice of the
three constituents of the Morality-group leads to the
establishment in the purity of moral conduct, wbile wroll,g
livelihood and the seven kinds bf bad conduct, three with
the body and four wit~ speecb which ar:e' all IDorl'l of
personality-view, are completely cut off..
Then in order to destroy the second revel of wrong
view s~pported by the ' three ' m~ntal evil kammas, tbe
factors of the concentration-grottp in the Eight-fold
Path - Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Collec-
tedness - must be established in oneself.
By this is ~eant practice of Ol)e of the forty subjects of
meaitation,67 Here tbe way of practice fOF the.'working-
place" (or meditation sulbject) ' calI:d 'mindfulness ~f
breathing in a"nd out' wi,lI be deseribed briefl¥. ]jf iBued)\} 1st
householders have no time dl!1rililg ~be . ~ay, ' to do this
. practice, they should do H e:veryday WitlilOut ,fail in the
early morning after rising, say for an flOur, ang in the
eyening too, for one or two hQurs b~fore going to bed.
,The method' to fo JIow , in this practice is as follows.
According to the Buddha-word: "Mindfully he breathes
. in mindfullv ' he breathes out" . so that during the whole
period during which one has determined to sit, tfue mind
is concentrated just on breathing and is not allo)-Ve4
to stray here and' ther~. To acc6mpli$h this one needs
bodily efforYand mental effort. Here, bodily effort means
the effort made to practise for a fixed pedod each day"
er ' For these fee the Appendix to "Practical Advice to Meditators",
Wheel No. 116. .
76
never letting a day go by without practice. Mental
effort ,is the extreme care that one takes when breathing
in and out tbat the mind may not stray elsewhere, as well
as the intense application, of the mind to the meditation-
sub ject so tbat sleepiness and sloth shall not creep in.
.. As the breath touches the nostrils during exhalation one
should be mindful-just of the breatbing out. Similarly, when
inhaling be .mindful just of the touch of air passing in.
The mind shoultl be fixed continuously upon the regjon
of the nos t rils.· So Right Effort here means these two kinds
of eff0rt, bodily and mental, as mentioned above.
When Qne applies the mind in tbis way for a fortnight,
a month or even two months, one's mindfulness becomes
. fixed upon breatbing in and out. Such mindfulness
. is, indeed called Right Mindfulness.
,And once the .three factors of the morality-group in
tbis Path have been established, mental restlessness
beeomes less and less, day by day.
~ t is apparent to everyone who begins meditation
practice that t!iey have no control over the mind as far as
' mediuition-subjects are concerned. Now in this world
madmen who have no control over their minds are
useless in worldly, affairs. In a ' like manner it can
be said of people thought sane by this world that, as
regards tbe practice of meditation, they are really mad,
for they have no control over the meditation subject.
Such people are useless when judged by the standard
needed f0r successful meditation practice. When viewed
in tfuis way, we can see the necessity for the establishment
of the three factors of the collectedne&s-group so that
restlessDes~ of mind is cured.
(For more detailed information upon Right Coliected-
ness see. "The Requisites' of Enlightenment" (Wheel
77
 No. 171-174) and Aniipiinadipani (not availabl'e in
English) written by me).
Even though· the two. aspects of concentration called
access-collectedness and attainment-coll~ctedness(upacara
and appana-samadhi) have not yet been attained, if ~be
mind can be fi~ed on the meditation subject for a penod
of an hour or two every day then it will become eaSY to
con'c entrate the mind whenever ,one wishes and on
whatever meditation subject one .takes up.
For a person who has attained purity of mind af,ter being·
, '- '
successful in establishing the three factors of ,collectedness-
group in the Noble Eightfold Path, the three unwholeso,me
meIital kammas of covetousness, ilJ-will ana wrong vIew
bor~ of personality-view become extinct. And the se'c ond
level (obsessive) of views represented by the abov.e three
mind kammas is also extinguished. Again, the mental
restlessness caused 'by the five hindrances, also disappears.
This concludes the explanation of hlow t() ' es~ablish
the three factors of tfue collectedness-gr0'llp of the ·
Eightfold Path.
From the time when the factors of the morality-group
become ' established in a person, so long as he does not
violate them, he is said ' to be complete in the purity
of moral conduct. On the very day when the precepts are
perfectly established, the collectedness-gT0up-Right Effort, '
Right Mindfulness and Right Collectedness - shoula be
practised. Now people who are reasonably diligent should
not take more than five or ten days to rid themselves
of mental restlessness. Having done so and attained
a steadfast concentration of mind on breathing in and out,
the three factors ofth,e collectedness-group are established'.
From that day he is said to have established himself '
in purity of mind. He should then go on to establish the
Wisdom-group of the Eightfold Path in ,himself.
.j
,78
How to establish the Wisdom-group of the
Noble Eightfold Path.
Whoever has been successful in establishing purity of
moral conduct a.nd purity of mind has then to try
establishing the wisdom-group of Right View and Right
I'ntention so as to destroy t~e latency-level of personality-
view. To, have establi~hed these two path-factors means
the establishment in due order of the five purities of wisdom ,
which are: purity of view, purity of overcoming doubt,
purity by knowledge and vision of what is and what is
not the Path. purity by knowledge and vision of tbe
practice-path, purity by Supermundane knowledge
and vision.
Te bring this about, we should consider the four Great
Primaries whiSh are, literally, eartb, water, fire. and air.
, Let us I@ok at them in relation to the body. Hardness
a nd softness, th~se two make up the , earth (extension)
el,enlent; eohesion and liquidity comprise the water
,I
I e1emen~; heat and cold compose the fire (kinetic energy)
I' element, while support and motion are the characteristics
of the air element. In the case of the head there are only
these four elements present and the same applies to the
rest of the body-legs, arms, bead-hair, body-hair, nails,
teeth, skin, flesh', sinews, bones, marrow; kidneys, heart,
lymph, fat, 'lungs, intestines, stomach, excrement and
, brains-all are just collections of the four elements_
If,we look at them we can see:
I) hardness is the strong form of earth, softness the
weak;
2) cohesion is the weak form of water, liquidity the
strong;
79
 3) heat is the strong form of fire, raId tbe weak;
4) stillness is, the weak form of air, illation tbe
strong.
Now to cons~der these in pairs.
/ Head, body, legs and hands can all be analyzed in the
Let us , take ,the example of sealing-wax, in which the
various changes can be , observed. In its usual state
hardness, the strong form of e'arth, is conspicuous. But
when, it comes into comtact , wilb , fire, the hard earth
element disappeaFs and soft eaFth is mani fest. But when
the fir.e is removed then the softness nafu ~ ally d,isappears
and hardness reappears. ,-
In the case of cohesion or liquidity, in its usual sUite
sealing-wax shows a weak form of water so that cohesion
is presen t . But \\ ith contact of nre tbe cohesive water-
e,lemel1t disappears and liquid water is manifest. Again ,
if tbe fire is tahJl a way then liql!lidity disappears while
cohesiveness becomes fllanifest again.
, , As regards heat and c@ld, in i,~s uShlal sta,t e sealing-wax
has weak fire-demt:nt wbile €oldness is COIiISIDicl!lous.
When there is contact . with fire the ' cold fire element
vanishes and is replaced by hot fite, but by i!s removal
the process is ni!turally reversed. ' water-element seen as liquidity and cobesion and
Lastly, ,consid ering stinnl;ss and motion, sealing-wax
in its usual state shows a wea'k f«lIm of :air, that is~
stillness. But when heated a strong fOoTm of air- element
is manifest-motion. With the removal (l)fthe fiFe, however,
the s'trong form naturally disappears 'all€! the weak form
, is found again.
This example has been given so that people are able to
understand , the meaning of arising and passing a way
(udayabbaya) in insight or vipassana. The word 'udaya' ,-
means arising, increase or appearance. while 'vaya' bas
the meaning of passing away, decrease or disappearanee,
80
','
'udayabbaya' being the compound of tlie two words.
These ele!TIents a~e evidently ,present in the sealing-wax,
Now we shall turn to their practical application.
same way as the sealing-wax so tbat ,the elements become
clear . P ar iB~tance, heat and cold. the two aspects of tbe
~ire elenuellt arise and pass away alternately. Heat
Increases little by little in the body from sunrise until two
in the ~ftern00n, after which the body begins to cool
meaning that heat decreases and cold increases. This
, everyone's experienc~. We 'easilY understand tbat tbe same
i:
is true of other bodily processes as well.
The inc Fease in -tbe body-heat in the head and so forth
is l~ke the sealing-wax coming into contact with the fire,
wloJ.~ ,le as c@olness increases in tbe body it resembles tbe
,sealing-wax from which the nre has been remo~ed. This
' increase and clecrease of the fir~-element in the body, is
the. arisililg 'and p a ssing- a ~' ay spoken of above.
So too the othel' three elements; their pairs of modes
also arise and pass away like the fire element. Earth-
el ement w.jth . its m0des of ' softness an'd hardness
~ir-e~emelilt in its forms ef motion and stillnes;; they
Inc~ease or decrease in the same way.
These fOtl'r elements in tbe body resemble the innumerable
tiny bubbles quickly appearing and dis~ppeating on the
surface of a big pot of boiling water. The whole bodv in
fact, resembl~s a lump of foam . 88 Vapour appea:s' in
each ~mall bubble and, it, bursts to disappear as aU the
rest dIsappear. '
68, "The Kinsman of the Sun made clear: Form compared to'a fleck
of foam •.. " Samyutta XXII. 95.
~l ,
 It is the same with seeing, hearing. smell, taste, touch
, \
and knowing - all of whicb mental pbenome'n a depend. on
tbe four elements, they vanish wben the elements vamsh.
So tbe six consciousnesses-of eye, ear nose, tongue, body
and mind-together with the four eleme,n ts are impermanent,
transitory, and unstable. 1'bey are all anicca(i:opermanent)
and tberefore dukkha (unsatisfactoFY), to@, sillce they a re
associated wi~b unceas.iogarising and passiJilg away~anG! ,
sucb transient and I:lnsaHsfactory phenomena are therefore
als0 anatta (not self or not soul) because they aFe without
essence or substance in' tbem. ' dLiring bis life, nor does it disintegrate wben he dies and
Taking tbe bead aSlin,example, let us see how personality-
view arises on the basis of the four elements and bow It
sbould really be viewed with Right 'View: People who
cannot discriminate the four elements in the head, do
not unders~and tbat the head's solidity ~s only the.
earth-elemen~. 'They ut:!derstand tbat it is bead, and ,so
on, they perceive a "head'; they c€>EGc:dve 'my llead' they
view it as 'my:pennaE'e ot lilea'd'=(taki1'lg it as anu1'Ichang!ng
entity).
Understanding that it IS bead is a delusion ef mind
(citta),
Perceiving 'a bead' is delusion of pefception (sannal,
Conceiving 'my head' is delusion of conceit (mana),
Holding a view of it as my permant:nt headjs delusion
of view (diHhi). 8 Sa '
Understanding, perceiving, eOEcelvIDg and holding a
view of the head, instead of diFectly iJil-seeing the:m as
8 Sa The first,- second and third items ,are the three perveFsions or
distortions (vipa\liisa) on which see "The Manual of Insight"
(Wheel 31/32, 2nd Ed. 1975). p. 5.
82
... -
four elements, is viewing tbem as permanent and as otti
or self. Tbus to consider the four elements as the head is
a ' fallacy based on taking wbat is impermanent as
permanent, and what is not self as self.
Tbese four elements, wbicb naturally arise and pass
away extremely rapidly, are truly impermanent and not
self, tllus iJ\l!lstrating tbe Buddha's words: "Khayatthena
'aniccain asarakat~hena analta," meaning, "Because it is
destroyed i,t is imperm anent, because it is essence\ess it is
not self!' The bead of a man does not normally break tip
remains 100king mU,ch tbe same until it reaches the
bur/ling-ground. For these reasons it is regarded as
permanent and taken to be self. Wben tbe f(lUT elements
are not penetrated with insight, tben the misconception
'heed' arises, taking what is cbanging as uncbanging and
, WHat is not self as self.
U'lld,erstllIilding, peIceiviEg, conceiving and viewing bair,
teet'D, s\til!l, flesh, muscles, bones, brain; as the composite
parts of the bead, ra,t her tban penetrating witb insight
there tbe four elements alene, is taking wbat is impermanent
as permanent, not-~elf as self. It is just personality-view
to see the elements,sucb as bardness, as head, bair and
so on. Such a view_displays ignorance (avijja).
Right View (acquired by insight) is tbat hardness is
tbe ea'rth-dement, not ~ part of 'my body' such as bones.
In the same way cQhesion is tbe water element, heat and
,cold the fire element, and stillness and motion the
air-element,-they are not to be seen as my hair, my teeth,
my flesb, my brain. In tbe ultimate analysis (made in
deep meditlttion, not by intellectual effort), there is no
such tbing as the bead, or its parts:- Such penetration is
called Right View. It is not necessary to emphasize that
what bas been said here about the head. the personality-
83

view which depends on wrong view, and the Right View
which arises 'when the view of a 'person' is ij.bandoned,
applies to all the Qtber parts of the body,too.
Right ~ho,ught
To consider ways and means for understa~di,ng these
, four elements is Rig:ht 'f.hougbt., While Rigl!lt View lJiIay
be comparea to all ' arrow, RiglM Tb€iugJht is tn'e s't ren'gtb '
in the hand that a,ims the arrow at .the target. ] n btiief tHi.s
is how Right Vie~ ana Right Thought, the tW0 'jiact0FS of
the wisdom-group in the Noble EightfbldPatl1;slwuld be
established in oneself. For detailed explil;nations, see tbe
Vijjamagga-dipani and 'the Bha~an~~diIi>ani _wriUen by
me. (Not available in English transl'ation). ' . wholesome way.s of making leamma are firmly established.
The N eel! for Ejfort
These tW9 faG-tors of the wise om-group are estaMished
,by centinuaJ con telillp>1 a ti.e'D 'aBd ®'c ep medilt.atien upon
ari~ing and passing-away (udayablil'a'ya).1i'hiis meaps tlle ,
incessant 'arisings and pa'ssings of the four ele~ents in
their combinations tliroughoilt the body ,i n all its parts,
beginning with head-bair, and so forth. ] t ap>plies also
to the six kinds of sense-consciou's ness-of the eye, ear,
nose, tongue" body and mind-where arising an\! passing
. continue without any break. AI'! this, cal!. be c0mpared
to the small bubbles in a pot of bo.iJiug water. ' Now
when this ins,ight has 'been establisqed in oneself and .
' when some insight has been gained the.refore iln to the
characteristics of Impermanence and Mo,t self,o,nlc must
make effort to continue in the directionofc0mpiete .
penetration throughout one's life, so that stage by stage
the Paths and Fruits are won. '
10 take an example of how this may be done, farmers
in the course of their cultivation should practice
84
contemplation on the aflStng and the passing of the
, psychophysical elements in all parts of the body.
.So by repeated and persistent practice of this meditation,
there is born the (insigbt) Knowledge of Right View
regarding the arising and passing of all physical and
psychological ,phenomena. Such knowledge permeates
tee w'hole body, aDd at tbis time the first level of
.Ii>efs'0n~lity-:v.iew regardi,ng the body as 'mine' disappears.
iIi,n. tlais Yiay, tbe latel'lcy-level view of body as a person;
wlii'ch has aec®mpanied one's life continuity throughout
, Mile begi'Dl'lingless found of rebirths, is extinguished without
remai,u der. 'Fhe whole body is tlien transformed into the
sphere . of Right View. Potentilil for making the ten '
unwh0l'esome kammas is totally destroyed while the ten
Tme round (\)f rebirth ih the states o'f deprivation is
destr0~ecl' fqr such a person and there remain for bim
(i) Jil ~~ , rebirths in the go(\)d bourns, such as among human
fuemgs, de;v:as an(i] Brahm-as. The person has attained the
, le;v:ei of a :N0ble One, It Stream-winner. 69
S@ tmis brings here to , a close the expQsition of
personality-belief ~s illustrated by the head and concludes
as well the full e~planl!tion of tbe practice of the Noble
.Ei,ghtf?l¢j Pat~ with its three factors of the morality-group,
three In the colle~tedness-groul? and two in the wisdom-
group. ' '
A Short Explanationofthe Establishment of the
. Noble Eightfold Path.
. Complete and careful observa,nce of the set of precepts
09 The original has a "Bon-sin-san Noble one" see "Tbe
P.47.
Requisites of Enlightenment", Wheel No 171/174,
85
 with livelihood 'as the eighth is the praetice of the
morality-group comprising Right Speech, Action and
Livelihood. The practice of the mindful breathing in ,and
out is the collectedness-group of Right Effort, Mindfulness
and Collectedness put into action. Contemplation of
arising and passing of the four elements as ilIustnited by
iI the head, and of the six sense-consciousnesses, makes up
I the _wisdom-group comprising Rig1lt View and Right
I, ,
, ThDught.
According to the rpethod followed by tD'e dry-vis~oned
person (sukkha-vipassa ' a puggala:), the way of. calm
(samatha) through such exercises as mindfully breathing
in and out, is not practiced separately. Such a person,
I I
having established in himself the three factors of the,
morality-group in th~ Eightfold Path, then undertakes
the practice of th« wisdom-gr01:lp. ]in this practice the
three constituents of tbe collectedness-group aeeompany,
the two wisdom factors and are together known as tne
path with five factors (pa,nca~gikamagga); 'fDese fiv~, ia
such practice,- form one group and witb the three
remaining factors, the m0rali.ty""'group, make up the Noble
Eightfold Path. But insight-only as pract.icem by these
dry-visioned people can succeed only if one. bas great
penetrative wisdom and ve,ry strenuous effort. 70 Mental
restlessness will , then disappear as it , dees with the
practice of calm. '"
After the knowledge of Right View has become clear
70 This waFning is neooe<;1! It is l'ossi,ble to tind lFeachers who stress
that V:ipassana (insight) oni·y is req'uired and that calm is not
necessary. Their pupils not possessing either great wisdom, or
strenuous effort, arrive only at weak and easily lGst 'insight', if
they attain anything at al'I, Such one-sided views produce no
good results. ' , 's See "The Requisites of Enlightenment" footnote p. 47-43.
86
(tbrough meditation) in respect of the whole body,
whether such direct knowledge is attained in this life or
the next, then \Yhenever one contemplates witbin, tbere
are no such entities as a person, individual, woman, man,
oneself, another person, head, leg or bair. Wben snch
knowledge. arises, the personality-view which takes
bardness and so on to be the head (etc.) disappears for-
ever. Wbenever this contemplation is done, there arises
·tbe ' Right View of the truth tbat 'head' does not exist
apart froin a collection of elemen ts. Tbis principle
applies to the other parts of the body.
When Right View and Right Thought, tbe wisdom-factors
of "the Patb, have been established in one's personality
(lit: in the whole body) then the three round~ connected
with wan,d ering-on in the states of deprivation disappear
forever. Wboever experiences this is from that moment
0n completely freed for all time from t~e dukkba arising
,f,rorn these rounds, that is, from the pain and misery
of beifl,g born in the four lower worlds. He or she bas
Feached and is established in the first experience of
NibbaDa v.;ith the grasped-at groups remaining and is
a Stream-winner. u
H.owever, as such a person has yet to acquire the
knowledge associated with the mark of unsatisfactoriness
(dukkha-IakkhaQ.a)U, there still remain in hioi craving
(ta~ha) and conceit (mana) which cause him to delight in
- the pleasures of men, devas and Brahmas. So he continues
~0 enjoy ~hese tbree kinds of pleasures while being reborn
ID successively higher planes.7 S
't enment."
See the extensive note on p. 47-48, "The Requisites of Enlight-
,. See footnote 61. '
87
" I

I ,
Here ends the brief explanation of the way to establish
the Eightfold Path in oneself. It is also the ~oncl~sion. of IN 1) EX
The Illustration of the Path-factors, (M agganga-dlpaDl).
Abidesupportedby kamma Causal arising of dukkba
20ff 42f
*
;If '. Access collectedness Cessation of dukkba
:, ~ 78 43
, All -'- knowing knowledge Compassion
I, 36
, ) 44,46,60
All-that-is-experienced-is- Completely base opinon
rooted1in-past-kaqllua view 15
I ' 14f ' Concentration group
Applications of mindful- -76
ness Concentrations, four
56ff 60
Arahant Creation-rooted-in-God
64f view. 15
Arising and passing , Death-rebirth
80C 13
Attaimment collectedness . Deception of others
78 51
Body. Il;ontemplation of Deprivation, states of
56f ' 35,61
Born of ,katnma Dhammas, contemplation
18f of 58
Both-sided base opinion Dry-visioned person
15 86
Breathing, mindfulness of - Dukkha, Truth of
. 60, 76ft" 40ff, 82
Buddha False speech
3.7 46, 74
Burning Feeling, contemplation of
42 57
Calm Formless realm
88 59 34,63

89
 Kamma-paths Non-violence Refuge (support)
Form (subtle) realm
9,53,76 44,46 2 J, 23.ff
34,63
Kamma-formations Obsessive-level Related to Kamma
Fruits of kamma, 68
41 19
11 Offerings,
Gifts Kamma, three kinds. Renunciation
' 30 44
30 9, 11
Once-returner Right Action, three kinds
Giving alms Kamma, wholesome,
64 49f, 70
29 unwholesome.
One-sided base opinion Right Collectedness
Goals 91f, 30 15
Killing 59ft', 69, 70
47 Oppression
God 49,.72f Right Effort, four kinds
14f 52ff, 70, 84
11, 23ff, 31, 39 Latency-level
Ownership of Kamma Right Livelihood, four kinds
Good conduct 67f
6ff. II, 14 50ft', 70, 72
7,41 Loving-kindness
Painfulness of dukkha Right Mindfulness
Great primaries, four 45,60 4lf
79ff Means 56ft', 70, 76f
. Path leading to dukkha's Righ t Speech, four kinds
Harsh talk 47 cf'ssation
. 46,74 Meditation subjects 46ff.70
43ff Right Thought, three kinds
Heaven 60,76
Path, Noble Eightfold 44ff, 70, 86f
27 Mind, contemplation of
1,53,64, 68f 85ff Right Viewof4Nobie Truths
Heirs to Kamma 57f Personality-view
16ff Morality 'group 39ff, 70, 86f
66,82 Right View of Kamma
Impermanence 70ff Powers, two
82 Mother and father 6f
37 . Right View of 10 subjects
Improper means 3 Precepts, eight with
50f Noble Truths, four 29ff
livelihood Right View, three kinds 6
Insight-knowledge 39ff , 55,69,7lf
37 . No-cause-no-condition-view Rounds, three
Perversions, three 61ff
Instability 15 82
I Non-harming 44f 'Salvation, eternal'
Protection 27
Instantaneous Rebirth Non-returner 23
31 64 Sensual realm
Purities, seven 35,62
Jhana Non self 53
38 82 Stream- winner
t 64
I 90 91
 Super-know ledges Vulgar talk
3S 48
Support by kamma Wisdom group By the same author
20f 79ff
Taking what is not given LEDI . SAYADAW
Work places
49,73' 60
pUblished by tbe Buddhist Publication Society Inc.
Tale-bearing Worldly knowledges
46, 74 51
Transgressive level World, this and another Wheel No.31 - 32 A Manual of Insight
68 32 , Wheel No. 171 - ' 174 RequisitEs of EnJi~htenment
Uncertainty Wrong conduct in sex '
65 49,73: Additional reading
Useless chatter Wrong conduct (livelihood) Word of the Buddba - Nyanatiloka Thera
47,74f 51 Path to Deliverance - Nyanatiloka Thera
Views, three levels Wrong view.
Buddha's Ancient Pato - Piyadassi Thera
I I 6Sff 14f
to
Wbe.el No. 34 - ' 35 The Four" Noble Truths-
Francis Story
Wheel No. 50 Knowledge and Conduct Buddhist
Contributions to Philosophy and
Ethics. O. H. de A. Wijesekera,
K; N. JayatilIeke
Wheel No. 123 The Significance of the Four Noble
Truths. V. F. Gunaratna
Wheel ~o. 152-154 Buddhist Catechism. Subhadra
Bhikkhu
Wheel No. 175 -176 Ethics in Buddhist Perspective.
K. N. Jayatilleke
Bodhi Leaves B I The Buddha's First Discourse.
Bodhi .Leaves B 32 The Threefold Division of the Noble
Eightfold Path Piyadassi Thera

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