284Samādhi PaññāSammā-vāyāma(Right effort)Sammā-sati(Right mindfulness)Sammā-samādhi (Right collectedness)
Sammā-diṭṭhi(Right view)Sammā-saṅkappa(Right intention)Vipassanā(Direct seeing)When Sīla is well purified,it becomes the foundation for the remaining two tasks, namely …
286Samatha is the Dhamma paired with Vipassanā.Sammā-vāyāma(Right effort)Sammā-sati (Right mindfulness)Sammā-samādhi (Right collectedness)Samatha(Tranquility)
287... Right Living.Condensed to one principle,The Noble Eightfold Path is ...Bhikkhus!Just as a tree, fully grown with branches and leaves, is complete,even its bark is complete,even its outer bark is complete,even its inner bark is complete,even its core is complete,so it is in the same way.Aṅguttara Nikāya 5.24 (suttacentral)Ref: https://suttacentral.net/an5.24
(The Buddha’s Words)The Stages of Liberation Bhikkhus, when one possesses mindfulness and clear comprehension, Sati-Sampajañña; one’s sense of shame, Hiri, and fear of wrongdoing, Ottappa, naturally reach completion. When Hiri and Ottappa are present; one’s control over the senses, Indriya-Saṃvara, naturally reaches completion. When Indriya-Saṃvara is present; one’s Sīla naturally reaches completion.... When Sīla is present;one’s Sammā-Samādhi naturally reaches completion. When Sammā-Samādhi is present; one’s direct knowledge, Yathābhūta-Ñāṇa-Dassana, naturally reaches completion. When Yathābhūta-Ñāṇa-Dassana is present; one’s matured dispassion, Nippīta-Virāga, naturally reaches completion.When Nippīta-Virāga is present; one’s knowledge of liberation, Vimutti-Ñāṇa-Dassana, naturally reaches completion.Aṅguttara Nikāya Aṭṭhakathā (Commentary), PTS vol. 23, p. 348, line 187Bhikkhus, a Bhikkhu who sees the impermanence of the eyes,his view is right view, Sammā-Diṭṭhi.When seen with right view, he becomes disenchanted;through the cessation of delight, desire ceases;through the cessation of desire, delight ceases;through the cessation of both delight and desire,it can be said: “his mind is fully liberated”.(The same applies for the ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind.)Saṃyutta Nikāya 22.51 (suttacentral)Ref: https://suttacentral.net/sn22.51
ViññāṇaPerception is unconcocted;thinking no longer clings to Saṅkhāra.Knowing follows nature;all phenomena arise and cease, then dissolve away.Free from clinging, free from self.The Five Aggregates arise through clinging.When clinging comes to an end,the conditioned state of the aggregates fully dissolves,returning to the natural state.... The Citta is well released.Letting go brings ... release.
290Letting go brings ... release.The Pristine MindAvijjā gives way to Vijjā.Saṅkhāra subsides into Vi-Saṅkhāra.With the ceasing of Viññāna, the Pristine Mind remains.The wandering finally comes to its end.
When the light of concoction fades away, the stars are revealed.
292They have always been there.
When one lives in accordance with Dhamma, by Right Living, fully endowed with the Noble Eightfold Path, the cause of Dukkha is steadily abandoned and does not arise anew.Walking with a mind that is normal and uncontrived (Sīla fulfilled), the mind becomes steadily established (Samādhi fulfilled), which gives rise to knowing and seeing things as they truly are (Paññā fulfilled).As a result, Dukkha affects the heart less and less,because the fetters that bind the mind to suffering in the world are gradually loosened and removed.Those who see the truth, give rise to wisdom, and go beyond suffering are conventionally called Ariya (Noble Persons). They are classified into stages, according to the degree of fulfillment of Sīla, Samādhi, and Paññā, as follows:293Sīla(Normality)Samādhi(Tranquility)Paññā(Clear Seeing)ArahantaAnāgāmīSakadāgāmīSotāpanna
Only minimal Dukkha remains.Samudaya is stedily abandoned;Taṇhā is greatlydiminished.An Arahant is one who has reached Nibbāna, the complete ending of Dukkha. Dukkha is exhausted without remainder.Sīla, Samādhi, and Paññā are fully fulfilled. The task is finished, the duty fully accomplished.A Sotāpanna, by contrast, is one who has entered the stream leading to Nibbāna. Even so, the Buddha declared that a Sotāpanna has very little Dukkha remaining, comparing it to a speck of dust on the tip of a fingernail, while the Dukkha of ordinary beings is like the whole great earth.Most importantly, upon death, a Sotāpanna does not fall into the realms of deprivation. They are reborn only as a human, a deva, or a brahmā, returning to the practice until the task is fully completed.
(The Buddha’s Words)Dust on the Fingertip(Having understood the Noble Truths, suffering is reduced to no more than dust on the tip of a fingernail, compared with the great earth.)Bhikkhus! What do you think of this?Which is greater: this tiny bit of dust I lift with the tip of my fingernail, or the great earth?“Venerable Sir, the great earth is far greater.The small amount of dust lifted by the Blessed One with the tip of a fingernail is negligible.Compared with the great earth, it cannot be reckoned, compared, or even approach a fraction.”Bhikkhus! Just so is the simile, and so is its meaning.For a noble disciple endowed with Right View, who has clearly seen and directly known:the suffering that has already been exhausted and ended is far greater, while the suffering that remains is very little.Compared with the mass of suffering that has been exhausted and ended in the past,what remains cannot be reckoned, compared, or even approach a fraction.
296That is the suffering of a Sotāpanna, one who is at most seven lives bound (Sattakkhattuparama),who clearly sees things as they really are:this is Dukkha;this is the origin of Dukkha;this is the complete cessation of Dukkha;this is the path leading to the complete cessation of Dukkha.Therefore, Bhikkhus, in this matter you should apply yourselves diligentlyto knowing as it really is:this is Dukkha;this is the origin of Dukkha;this is the complete cessation of Dukkha;this is the path leading to the cessation of Dukkha.Saṃyutta Nikāya 13.1 (SuttaCentral) Ref: https://suttacentral.net/sn13.1 * Sattakkhattuparama: a Sotāpanna who will take at most seven further births, the lowest level of noble disciples. Even so, the Buddha declared that the suffering already ended is far greater than the suffering that remains.
Closing Cartoon ... Dhamma-Cakkayāna (The Dhamma Bicycle)To summarize the heart of theBuddha’s teachingin the briefest way,it could be calledright nurturingof the mind, orLiving Rightly.This can be compared to riding a bicycle.To ride a bicycle,two things are required.First, one must be able tobalance upright.Once balanced,one must moveforward.Being able to stay upright is what called Samatha.Moving forwardis Vipassanā. To stayupright, onemust keep moving forward. To move forward,one must stayupright, so onedoesn’tfall.
Samatha and Vipassanācannot beseparated.Words alonecannot teachriding. Guidance helps, but riding is learned bydoing.The bicycleitself becamethe teacher.This requires practice, not mere readingor thinking. .Falling down is the true teacher.It is the moment the mind slips from steadiness and turns scattered..Until onediscovers thesecret, hownot to fall.Watch closelywhen steadinessis lost, what caused it?
When falling ceases, wisdom begins tounfold: the collectedmind sees, not thinks, until it becomes clear that ...Breath, feelings, and mind are impermanent,unsastisfactory, not self. Seen thisagain and again,disenchantmentarises, and clinging loosens.First, Samatha,defilements remain,but no longer disturb. Second, Vipassanā,with Sati and clear comprehension, seeing change, suffering, not-self, without slipping into defilements.Simply put ..When these work together,one doesn’t falland can moveforward.
When the mind abidesrightlyrepeatedly, in the end there’s nothing left to do.Even living and working inthe world, oneacts with ease,with a mind alligned with Dhamma, and tasks are fulfilled well.Walking the Noble Path,the journey willone day come to its end.Adapted from a Dhamma talk,Rightly Nurturing the Mind,by Ven. Buddhadāsa Bhikkhu
And all of this is the Pathlaid down by the Blessed One, the Perfectly Enlightened Buddha,for us to follow, so as to reach ...
... the end of suffering.Naṭṭhalakkhaṇo
Viññāna(mind)SankhāraIn truth … “we” are merely confinedwithin the thick “shell” of the sense bases.All of our contact and perceptionmust pass through the brain,a coarse and limited instrument.The entire “world” we have experienced throughout our lives exists only within the mind. We have never truly seen anythingoutside the mind itself.We can know and see only as far as conditionsallow. Beyond this shell, there remains infinitely morethat we are unable to imagine.Vedanā Saññā Seeing this … what remains to be clung to?
... This world, this life, are illusion.All things are simply … thusness.bodytonguenoseearseyesRūpaViññāna(mind)SankhāraSaññā Nāma
By this point, you may already have your answers …Who are we, and why are we born?There is no “self”. What we call “I” is merely a wrong “view”, merely a “feeling”. In truth, no one is ever “born”, and no one ever “dies”. As long as “causes” remain, “continuation” persists, driven by “not knowing”.Is there a next life?Minor cycles of “Bhava–Jāti” arise each time there is “contact”.In a single day, hundreds or thousands of such cycles occur.Yet at some point, these accumulated minor cyclesbecome the cause for a “major Bhava–Jāti” to appear.What is this world?The Six Sense Bases and the Five Aggregates.Is life suffering or happiness?Life itself is neither suffering nor happiness. It becomes suffering only when “clinging” arises. For even what is called “happiness” is impermanent, and thus inevitably leads to “suffering”.What is Buddhism?It is the wisdom that panetrates the “truth” of nature. All phenomena throughout the universe, every form of life, regardless of religion, fall under this law of reality.
What did the Buddha awakened to?The Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path.What did the Buddha teach?The “arising” of suffering (clinging to the Five Aggregates)and the “cessation” of suffering (the relinquishment of clinging to the Five Aggregates). Only Buddhism points out “the path leading to the end of suffering”.What is Dhamma practice?“Living rightly” along the Noble Eightfold Path, so that defilements gradually diminish, the mind is refined beyond fabrication,and attachment to selfhood comes to an end.Can laypersons attain realization?Realization is the “result” of continual “letting go”, until “wisdom” reaches completion. In the end, one no longer seeks even happiness,nor even realization itself. For in truth, there is no “one” who realizes.The real question is this: are you ready to “let go” of happinessin order to be free from suffering?
Glossary123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536Covetousness, avarice, grasping desire Danger, drawback, defect, perilTaking what is not given, stealingNeither pain nor happiness Neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling, indifferent feeling, neutral feelingLivelihoodInternal sense basesThe space elementUnwholesomeTenfold unwholesome courses of action, way of bad actionNon-ReturnersThe Buddha’s attendant and close discipleMindfulness of breathingNot-self, void of selfImpermanent, transientLatent tendencies, underlying dispositions,underlying tendencies to form defilementsStates or planes of loss and woe, unhappy planesThe fully awakened onesSense-objects, an object of cognitionNoble personsSublime path of the Ariya, The Noble PathThe Noble FruitsNoble persons, noble onesThe Four Noble Truths, ennobling truths Mental intoxications or defilements, innermost defilements, effluentsDemons The Noble Eightfold PathEight moral preceptsIgnorance, not knowingLatent tendency of ignorance,underlying attachment to unawarenessSense-bases, sphere of perceptionExternal sense-basesSpiritual or mental faculty, inner strength, powerContinued existence, becoming, state of beingRealm of becoming, plane or stage of existenceMental development, cultivationAbhijjhāĀdīnavaAdinnādānaAdukkhamasukhaAdukkhamasukha-vedanāĀjīvaAjjhattikāyatanaĀkāsa-dhātuAkusalaAkusala-kammapathaAnāgāmīĀnandaĀnāpānasatiAnattāAniccaAnusayaApāya-bhūmi ArahantaĀrammaṇaAriyaAriya-MaggaAriya-phalaAriya-puggalaAriyasaccaĀsavaAsurakāyaAṭṭhaṅgika-Magga Aṭṭha-sīlaAvijjāAvijjānusayaĀyatanaBāhirāyatanaBalaBhavaBhava-bhūmiBhāvanā
373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960 616263646566676869Fully ordained monk, renunciate in Buddhist SanghaGround, stage, plane of existenceFactors of awakeningA deity inhabiting the Brahma-world, high celestial being, of the form-sphere or formless-sphereA Brahmin, member of the priestly caste, learned in Vedic or sacred teachingsFully Awakened One, one who has realized perfect enlightenmentThe teachings or dispensation of the BuddhaIll-will, aversion, hostility (active feeling)Sense of sight, visual perceptionEye-contactEye-consciousnessThe Fourth Absorption in tranquil meditationMental factorsMind, the essence of mind that knowsGiving, generosityCelestial beings, deity, divine beingTruth, natural phenomena, law of nature, the teachings of the BuddhaThe Discourse on the Turning of the Wheel of Dhamma, the Buddha’s first sermon Mind object, mental sensation, object of mindThe Buddha’s teaching and disciplinary codeElement, fundamental property of natureMental displeasure, distress, griefHatred, aversion, ill-will (mental root)Woeful states of existence, bad destinations,lower realmsSuffering, unsatisfactoriness, pain, stressCessation of suffering, ending of stressSense of smell, olfactory perceptionThe family name of the Buddha, Shakyamuni GotamaPrinciple of conditional dependenceBases of spiritual power, bases of psychic energyThe sense faculty, spiritual faculty,mental or physical powerDevelopment of the sense faculties, cultivation of spiritual or mental facultiesRestraint of the sense faculties BhikkhuBhūmiBojjhaṅgaBrahmāBrāhmaṇaBuddhaBuddhasāsanaByāpādaCakkhuCakkhu-samphassaCakkhu-viññāṇaCatuttha-jhānaCetasikaCittaDānaDevatāDhammaDhammacakkappavattana SuttaDhammārammaṇaDhammavinayaDhātuDomanassaDosaDuggatiDukkhaDukkha-nirodhaGhānaGotama IdappaccayatāIddhipādaIndriyaIndriyabhāvanāIndriya-saṃvara
707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100101102103Ageing, old age, senescence, decayBirth, coming into existenceMeditative absorption, deep state of mental unificationNoble friend, spiritual friend, admirable companionship Right living, right conduct, noble dutiesSexual misconductVolitional actions, intentional deedsResult of action, fruition of intentional deeds Body, bodily form, bodily processMindfulness of the bodyBodily actionBody-consciousness, tactile consciousnessDefilement, mental impurity, corruption,afflictive mental stateOne of the Five Ascetics, the first to realize the Dhamma, the first Buddhist monk.Wholesome, skillful, morally beneficialTenfold wholesome courses of action, way of good actionGreed, mental graspingPath, way, course of practiceMind, mental faculty, mind-baseMind-contact, mental contactMind-consciousnessHuman realm, human beingThe personification of temptation, obstruction to liberation Death, dyingThe Middle Way, the Noble Eightfold PathWrong view, distorted understandingDelusion, mental confusionFalse speech, lying, untruthfulnessMentality, mental phenomena, mind factorsMental phenomena, non-material aspects of experienceMind and matter, mind and body, mentality and materialityKnowledge, direct knowing, insight born of wisdom Knowledge and vision, direct knowing and seeing of realityDelight, enjoyment, complacent pleasureJarāJātiJhānaKalyāṇa-mittaKalyāṇa-vattaKāmesumicchācāraKammaKamma-vipākaKāyaKāyagatā-satiKāya-kammaKāya-viññāṇaKilesaKoṇḍaññaKusalaKusala-kammapathaLobhaMaggaManoMano-samphassaMano-viññāṇaManussāMāraMaraṇaMajjhimā paṭipathāMicchā-diṭṭhiMohaMusāvādaNāmaNāma-DhammaNāma-rūpaÑāṇaÑāṇa-dassanaNandī
104105 106107108109110111112113114115116117118119120121122123124125126127128129130131132133134135136Hell denizen, being born in a hell realmCessation of all defilements and suffering, liberation,unconditioned peace, quenching into coolnessDisenchantment, weariness, disillusionment toward conditioned phenomenaCessation, extinguishment (of suffering) Transcendence, escape, release from bondageMental hindrances, obstructive defilementsTaking life, killingThe Five Aggregates The Five Precepts, basic moral discipline for lay practitionersThe Five Clinging Aggregates Wisdom, insight, penetrative knowledge,seeing things as they really are, true knowingDemeritorious action, evil,morally blameworthy actions or statesLamentation, wailing, mental anguishThe initial meditative absorptionRapture, uplifting delightDependent origination, conditional arisingAversion, resistance, mental irritationLatent tendencies to aversion, underlying disposition toward ill will and resistancePath, way of practiceRight duties, the monastic code of discipline Harsh speech, abusive or hurtful languageContactTangible object, touch sensationsDivisive speech, slanderRealm of the hungry ghosts,plane of afflicted spiritsMerit, wholesome karmic forceLust, passion, attachment toward sense objectLatent tendency to lust,underlying inclination toward attachmentMaterial form, physical phenomenaMaterial phenomena, physical reality,form-as-dhammaOnce-Returner, noble person who returns to this world at most one more timeThe six sense-bases, six sense-fieldsCollectedness, mental unification, stable concentration, meditative calmNerayikaNibbāna NibbidāNirodha NissaraṇaNīvaraṇaPāṇātipātaPañca-khandhaPañca-sīlaPancupādānakkhandhaPaññāPāpaParidevaPaṭhama-jhānaPītiPaṭicca-samuppādaPaṭighaPaṭighānusayaPaṭipathāPāṭimokkhaPharusavācāPhassaPhoṭṭhabbaPisuṇavācāPittivisayaPuññaRāgaRāgānusayaRūpaRūpa-dhammaSakadāgāmīSalฺāyatanaSamādhi
137138139140141142143144145146147148149150151152153154155156157158159160161162163164165166167Right livingAscetics and religious practitionersCalm, tranquillity, mental serenity, stillness Right LivelihoodRight View, right understanding,see things as they really areRight action, wholesome bodily conductThe Four Right Efforts, right striving to preventand abandon unwholesome states, and to cultivate and maintain wholesome statesRight collectedness, right concentration,right mental unificationRight intention, right thought, right resolveRight mindfulness, correct recollection and awarenessRight speech, wholesome and ethical verbal conductRight effort, right exertionClear comprehension, full awareness,attentive understandingContact, sense-contactThe Round of Rebirth, wandering on through repeated birth and deathOrigin or cause of sufferingRestraint, guarding (of the sense faculties)Directly knowable, directly visible,personally experienceable in the mindVolitional formations, mental concoctions,fabrications, thoughtsPerception, recognition, memory, suppositionMindfulness, recollection, attentive awarenessFoundations or establishment of mindfulnessMindfulness and clear comprehensionOne bound to at most seven further births (a Stream-Enterer of the seven-lives-at-most type)Moral discipline, precepts, ethical conduct,ethical rightness, normality of mindThe Ten Training PreceptsSorrow, grief, sadnessSense of hearing, auditory facultyStream-enterer, one who has entered the NoblePath leading to the end of sufferingEar-consciousness, auditory consciousnessBlissful state of existence, fortunate destinationSama-jīvitāSamanฺa-brāhmanฺaSamathaSammā-ājīvaSammā-diṭṭhiSammā-kammantaSammappadhānaSammā-samādhiSammā-saṅkappaSammā-satiSammā-vācāSammā-vāyāmaSampajaññaSamphassaSaṃsāra SamudayaSaṃvaraSandiṭṭhikoSaṅkhāraSaññāSatiSatipaṭṭhānaSati-sampajaññaSattakkhattuparamaSīla Sīla, dasa-sikkhāpadaSokaSotaSotāpannaSota-viññāṇaSugati
168169170171172173174175176177 178179180181182183184185186187188189190191192193194195196197198199Blissful planes of existence, fortunate realmsPleasure, comfort, well-being, easeAbsence of self or inherent essence, voidnessIntoxicating liquors causing heedlessness,substances prohibited under the preceptsCraving, thirst, desire rooted in not knowing“Thus-gone” or “thus-come” one,an epithet of the BuddhaThusness, suchness, lack of essence,reality as it isThe Third Absorption in tranquil meditationCraving for sensual pleasures, craving for existence, and craving for non-existenceThe Three Characteristics of existence: impermanence (Aniccā), unsatisfactoriness (Dukkha), and not-self (Anattā)Animal realm, animal existenceAttachment, clinging, graspingDecisive support, strong conditioning influenceLay follower, male lay devotee of the Buddha’s teachingFull admission into Bhikkhu Saṅgha, full monastic ordinationAnguish, distress, deep mental sufferingEquanimity, balanced awareness, even-mindednessVerbal action, action by speechFeeling tones, sensationsSustained attention, continued examination,subtle mental engagementTrue knowing, direct knowledge, liberating insightLiberation, release, freedom from bondageKnowledge and vision of liberation,direct knowledge of releaseDiscipline, the monastic code of conductConsciousness, sense awarenessConsciousness elementKarmic result, fruition of actionsInsightful contemplation, direct seeing of reality,true knowing, clear seeingDetachment, dispassion, fading away of cravingPlacing attention, initial application of the mindRelinquish, let go, releaseKnowledge and vision of things as they areSugati-bhūmiSukhaSuññatāSurāmerayaTaṇhāTathāgataTathatāTatiya-jhānaThree types of TaṇhāTilakkhaṇaTiracchānaUpādānaUpanissayaUpāsakaUpasampadāUpāyāsaUpekkhāVācī-kammaVedanā VicāraVijjāVimuttiVimuttiñāṇadassanaVinayaViññāṇaViññāṇa-dhātuVipākaVipassanāVirāgaVitakkaVossaggaYathābhūtañāṇadassana
References• Buddhadāsa Bhikkhu, The Four Noble Truths from the Buddha’s words.• Buddhadāsa Bhikkhu, Paticca-Samuppāda from the Buddha’s words.The Author’s NoteThis book is designed to convey its message through the integrated use of color images and text. Reproducing it in black and white, or altering its color mode, may distort the intended meaning of both the images and the accompanying words.
(The Buddha’s Words) The Five Khandhas are burdens borne,beings go on, carrying on.To grasp and bear what weighs the mindis suffering, clinging and tied.To lay that burden fully downis ease, released from sorrow’s round.The Ariya have set it aside,no load to lift, no need to stride.Craving is severed at the root,no trace remains, utterly mute.All wanting ends, nothing remains,utterly cooled, no flickering flames.Saṃyutta Nikāya 22.22 (SuttaCentral) Ref: https://suttacentral.net/sn22.22