
                                          
                                          
                                          
          TURNING THE MUNDANE PATH INTO THE TRANSCENDENT PATH 
  
       The path of the Noble Ones -- beginning with the path to stream 
  entry -- is to take the mundane eightfold path and bring it to bear on 
  the five aggregates -- body, feelings, labels, fashionings, and 
  cognizance -- or, in short, to bring it to bear on physical and mental 
  phenomena. Focus on these phenomena with right discernment until you 
  see them all in terms of their three inherent characteristics, i.e., 
  until you see all the physical and mental phenomena arising and 
  disbanding in the present as inconstant, stressful, and not-self. You 
  see with the eye of intuitive knowledge, the eye of discernment, the 
  eye of meditative skill, the eye of Dhamma. Your vision is true and 
  correct. It's Right View, the path in harmony, with no admixture of 
  wrong view at all. Your vision of physical phenomena is correct in 
  line with virtue, concentration, and discernment; your vision of 
  mental phenomena is correct in line with virtue, concentration, and 
  discernment. You trace things forward and back. You have an adamantine 
  sword -- liberating insight -- slashing back and forth. You are 
  engaged in focused investigation: This is what forms the path.
  
       You fix your attention on the Noble Truths as two: cause and 
  effect. When your mind is absolutely focused and fixed on examining 
  cause and effect, that's the path to stream-entry. Once you have 
  gained clear insight into cause and effect through the power of your 
  discernment, making the heart radiant and bright, destroying whatever 
  mental and physical phenomena are fetters (//sanyojana//), the opening 
  to //nibbana// will appear. If your powers of discernment are weak, 
  your mind will then return to its dependence on mental and physical 
  phenomena, but even so, it will no longer be deceived or deluded by 
  them, for it has seen their harm. It will never again dare fall into 
  the three fetters that it has borne for so long.
  
       Those who reach this stage have reached the transcendent -- the 
  path and fruition of stream entry -- and form one class of the Noble 
  Disciples.
  
       There are nine transcendent qualities -- four paths, four 
  fruitions, and one //nibbana//: the path to stream entry and the
  fruition of stream entry; the path to once-returning and the fruition 
  of once-returning; the path to non-returning and the fruition of 
  non-returning; the path to Arahantship and the fruition of 
  Arahantship; all of which come down to the one //nibbana//, which 
  makes nine. The term //lokuttara dhamma// -- transcendent qualities -- 
  means superior qualities, special and distinct from mundane qualities, 
  reaching a "world" above and beyond all worlds, destined to go only 
  higher and higher, never to return to anything low.
  
       The word //magga//, or path, refers simply to the way leading to 
  //nibbana//. It's called the //ariya magga//, the path free from 
  enemies, because it's the path that Death cannot trace. It's called 
  the eightfold path because on the transcendent level it has abandoned 
  the eight wrong factors of the mundane path, leaving only the eight 
  right: Right View and Right Attitude, which compose right discernment, 
  let us see physical and mental phenomena that arise and disband in the 
  present in terms of their three inherent characteristics, so that we 
  let go of them completely with no remaining doubts about the truth we 
  have seen. As for Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood, 
  our words and deeds reach purity, free from the fetter of 
  self-identification. And as for Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and 
  Right Concentration, we reach a level of mind that is firm and 
  imperturbable. Our thoughts, words, and deeds are free from groping 
  with regard to precepts and practices, and are truly in keeping with 
  //nibbana//, not side-tracking or going slack the way the actions of 
  ordinary people do.
  
       People who have attained stream entry have the following 
  characteristics: They have unwavering conviction in the virtues of the 
  Triple Gem. The quality of charity and self-sacrifice is a regular 
  feature in their hearts. They are not complacent and never give rein 
  to the power of delusion. They are firmly and happily dedicated to the 
  cause of their own inner purity. They love virtue more than life 
  itself. They have no intention of doing any of the baser forms of 
  evil. Although some residual shoddy qualities may still be remaining 
  in their hearts, they never let these qualities ever again come to the 
  fore.
  
       The stream they have entered is that leading to //nibbana//. They 
  have abandoned the three lower fetters once and for all.
  
       1. Self-identification (//sakkaya-ditthi//): They have uprooted 
  the viewpoint that once caused them to identify physical and mental 
  phenomena as being the self.
  
       2. Uncertainty (//vicikiccha//): They have uprooted all doubt and 
  indecision concerning the nature of physical and mental phenomena, and 
  all doubt concerning the virtues of the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha. If 
  anyone were to come and say that there is no Awakening, that the 
  practice of virtue, concentration, and discernment doesn't lead to 
  //nibbana//, they wouldn't believe that person's words, because they 
  have seen for certain, with their own discernment, that the paths and 
  their fruitions are unrelated to time (//akaliko//) and can be known 
  only personally, within (//paccatam//).
  
                      Their conviction is firm
                      and free from indecision.
                        Their vision is sure.
  
  
       3. Groping at precepts and practices (//silabbata-paramasa//): 
  They have uprooted all unreasonable beliefs concerning physical and 
  mental phenomena, both within and without. They are no longer groping 
  in their habits, manners, or practices. Everything they do is done 
  with a reason, not out of darkness or ignorance. They are convinced of 
  the principle of //kamma//. Their concern for their own thoughts, 
  words, and deeds is paramount: Those who do good will meet with good, 
  those who do evil will meet with evil.
  
       People who have reached stream entry have faith in the virtues of 
  the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha that have appeared within them. They 
  are no longer groping in their virtue. Their virtues are pure and free 
  from defilement. They have cut off the three fetters with regard to 
  their bodies and minds -- right in their own thoughts, words, and 
  deeds -- through the practice of virtue, concentration, and 
  discernment acting in concert. What this means is that they have made 
  a focused examination back and forth, over and over, through the power 
  of their own discernment. They have traced the path back and forth, 
  cutting away at the grasses and weeds. One mental moment they trace 
  things forward, and the next moment they trace them back. In other 
  words, they focus on the phenomenon of arising and passing away, and 
  then are able to know through the power of liberating insight that 
  there in the midst of physical and mental phenomena exists something 
  that isn't subject to arising and passing away.
  
       The path to stream entry is the act of focusing on physical and 
  mental phenomena, back and forth. When events are traced back and 
  forth -- sometimes two times in succession, sometimes three, depending 
  on the power of one's insight -- physical and mental phenomena disband 
  and change-of-lineage knowledge arises in the same instant, enabling 
  one to see the quality within one that isn't subject to arising or 
  passing away. This is the opening onto //nibbana//, appearing sharp 
  and clear through the power of one's own discernment, bringing with it 
  the fruition of stream entry, the state of being a Noble Disciple in 
  the Buddha's teaching. One's fetters are absolutely severed, once and 
  for all. Having seen the pain and harm coming from the actions that 
  lead to the realms of deprivation, one is now freed from them and can 
  breathe with ease.
  
       Such people have received a treasure: They have attained 
  transcendent discernment and seen for sure the opening onto 
  //nibbana//. They are like a traveler who has seen a palace of gold in 
  the distance: Although he hasn't yet reached it, he is bound to think 
  of it at all times. Stream-enterers have already gone three leagues 
  (//yojana//) on the way, with only seven leagues left to go. Whoever 
  has the chance to see or know such people, help them, or associate 
  with them, is truly fortunate.
  
       There are three classes of Stream-enterer: //ekabijin//,those who 
  will be reborn only once more; //kolankola//, those who will be reborn 
  three or four more times; and //sattakkhattu-parama//, those who will 
  be reborn seven more times.
  
       Why are there three? Because the natural propensities of each 
  individual determine the way he or she pursues the path. The first 
  group is comprised of those with a propensity to anger and irritation. 
  They tend to develop insight meditation more than tranquillity 
  meditation, reaching Awakening quickly with few of the mundane skills 
  or powers. The second group is comprised of those with a propensity to 
  passion and desire. This group develops insight and tranquillity in 
  equal measure, reaching Awakening at a moderate rate, along with a 
  moderate number of mundane powers and skills. The third group consists 
  of those with a propensity to delusion. They tend to develop 
  tranquillity in large measure, with very strong powers in the 
  direction of //jhana//, before going on to develop insight meditation. 
  They attain Awakening along with a large number of powers and skills. 
  When they reach the transcendent level, they tend to have mastered the 
  three skills, the six forms of intuitive power (//abhinna//), and the 
  four forms of acumen.
  
       But if these three propensities exist in everyone, why do we now 
  assign them to different individuals? Because the moment you are about 
  to know the truth, you focus on the good and bad features of a 
  particular mental state and attain Awakening then and there. In some 
  cases the state is passion, in some cases anger, and in some cases 
  delusion. Once you have focused on knowing a particular state and know 
  its truth for what it is, then that truth will place you in a 
  particular class.
  
       Those who reach this stage are headed straight for the higher 
  paths and fruitions culminating in //nibbana//. People who have 
  attained stream entry have their virtue completely developed. They 
  don't have to worry about virtue any longer. They no longer have to 
  look out for their virtues, for they've been a slave to virtue long 
  enough. From now on the quality of their virtue will look out for 
  them, safeguarding them from the four realms of deprivation. What this 
  means is that their vices have been tamed, and so they no longer have 
  to worry about keeping them in line. They still have to work at 
  concentration and discernment, though. They've wiped out the cruder 
  forms of unwise behavior, but the medium and subtle forms -- which are 
  to be wiped out by higher paths, beginning with the path to 
  once-returning -- still remain.
  
  
                                 * * *
                                          
                                          
                                          
                                          
                       THE PATH TO ONCE-RETURNING
  
  The path to once-returning takes the fruition of stream entry as its 
  basis. In other words, those who are to attain the state of 
  once-returning bring their previous activity in making the mundane 
  path transcendent to bear on the five aggregates, reducing the 
  aggregates to two classes -- physical phenomena and mental phenomena 
  -- and then making a focused investigation of both through the power 
  of intuition and liberating insight in this manner:
  
       Right View: They contemplate physical and mental phenomena until 
  they see them clearly as inconstant, stressful, and not-self. Once 
  they see clearly, they become uncomplacent. They set their thoughts on 
  doing away with desire for physical and mental phenomena. They want to 
  withdraw themselves from these things because they have seen their 
  harm. This is Right Attitude.
  
       Right Speech on this level refers to the inner dialogue of 
  //vitakka// and //vicara//, thinking and evaluating, searching rightly 
  for the causes and conditions of physical and mental phenomena. (As 
  for external speech, that was made pure with the attainment of stream 
  entry, so there is no need to mention it on this level.)
  
       Right Action on this level is nothing other than the activity of 
  focusing on physical and mental phenomena so as to give rise to 
  tranquillity and insight.
  
       Right Livelihood here refers to the act of choosing, say, a 
  physical phenomenon as an object for the mind's activity -- this is 
  termed //vitakka//-- and then examining and evaluating it -- this is 
  //vicara//. Once you learn its truth, this leads to mental pleasure. 
  Your focused examination of physical and mental phenomena is right, 
  and the state of your mind is right. This thus counts as Right 
  Livelihood.
  
       Right Effort refers to the effort of focusing and examining for 
  the sake of shedding physical and mental phenomena through the power 
  of liberating insight, making the appropriate effort without being 
  complacent.
  
       Right Mindfulness means being mindful of the behavior of physical 
  and mental phenomena as they arise and disband, without getting 
  distracted, at the same time having presence of mind and being 
  self-aware -- in short, being mindful and alert with regard to your 
  body and mind in all your activities, taking the body and mind as your 
  frame of reference in a way that leads directly to concentration.
  
       Right Concentration here refers to the mind's being focused 
  exclusively and steadily on physical and mental phenomena, not fixing 
  its attention on anything else. Its activity centers constantly on a 
  single preoccupation, which it examines in terms of liberating 
  insight. This type of concentration, termed //appana citta//, the 
  fixed mind, differs in no way at all from the activity of discernment, 
  searching for the causes and conditions of physical and mental 
  phenomena in terms of //saccanulomika-nana//, knowledge in accordance 
  with the four Noble Truths.
  
       When all aspects of the noble path are right, in terms of the 
  activity of thought, word, and deed, the entire path converges in a 
  single mental instant. Focus the mind in that instant and see the 
  truth of physical and mental phenomena. Physical and mental phenomena 
  will disband and won't appear as a focal point for the mind. The mind 
  will escape from its shackles as thoughts of passion, aversion, and 
  delusion disappear. But only three fetters have been broken, just as 
  in stream entry. Passion, aversion, and delusion have merely been 
  weakened.
  
       This is the fruition of once-returning. Those who reach this 
  level are destined to be reborn only once more. They have completely 
  developed virtue and one aspect of concentration, but they still have 
  to work on the remaining aspects of concentration, along with 
  discernment, because these have been only partially developed. 
  Discernment is still weak. It has cut away only the twigs and 
  branches, while the roots are still intact. Still, people who have 
  reached this level have seen //nibbana// appear close at hand.
  
  
                                 * * *
                                          
                                          
                                          
                                          
                       THE PATH TO NON-RETURNING
  
  
       The path to non-returning takes the fruition of once-returning as 
  its basis. In other words, those who are to attain the state of 
  non-returning gather all eight factors of the noble path and bring 
  them to bear on physical and mental phenomena as before. They then 
  make a focused examination in terms of liberating insight. What this 
  means is that Right View and Right Attitude are brought together at 
  the same point and applied to physical and mental phenomena so as to 
  see such phenomena in terms of their three inherent characteristics. 
  This is termed right discernment.
  
       Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood are brought 
  together at the same point: The mind's normal state is now that of 
  being focused at the level of physical and mental phenomena. The 
  activity on this level is reduced to two sorts: "bodily action," i.e., 
  the act of focusing the mind on the behavior of physical phenomena; 
  and "speech," the mind's inner dialogue, directed thought and 
  evaluation (//vitakka, vicara//) focused on the behavior of physical 
  and mental fashionings. Bodily activity is in a state of normalcy;  
  mental activity is in a state of normalcy: Thus we can say that 
  heightened virtue (//adhisila//) has been established.
  
       As for Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration: 
  The mind makes a persistent, unwavering examination of physical and 
  mental phenomena, resolutely intent on them as its single 
  preoccupation. Once the qualities of virtue, concentration, and 
  discernment are gathered together and brought to bear on physical and 
  mental phenomena, use the power of discernment to make a focused 
  examination back and forth: This is termed the path to non-returning. 
  When physical and mental phenomena disband and disperse from the 
  primal heart, the fourth and fifth fetters -- //kama-raga//, passion 
  and delight for physical and mental phenomena caused by the power of 
  sensual defilement; and //patigha//, mental irritability and 
  resistance related to physical and mental phenomena -- are absolutely 
  abandoned. Once these two qualities have been shed from the heart 
  through the power of liberating insight, this is termed the fruition 
  of non-returning. Non-returners have thus put behind them once and for 
  all the rocky, five-league trail composed of self-identification, 
  uncertainty, groping at precepts and practices, sensual passion, and 
  irritation. Never again will they have to be reborn in any of the 
  sensual worlds.
  
  
                   Forsaking these things forever,
               They savor the fruit of non-returning,
                   Earning the title, "Noble One."
  
  
       According to the Canon, Non-returners are of five sorts. After 
  they pass away from the human world, they will appear in the five Pure 
  Abodes, the highest of the Brahma worlds, there to attain Arahantship, 
  never again to return to the sensual plane. Non-returners have only a 
  little work left to do. Their virtue is completely developed into 
  heightened virtue (//adhisila//); their training in concentration is 
  also complete, so that they no longer have to work at it. The only 
  thing left for them to develop is discernment. Everything else will 
  take care of itself. They are Noble Disciples who are genuinely close 
  to //nibbana//.
  
  
  
                                 * * *
                                          
                                          
                                          
                                          
                        THE PATH TO ARAHANTSHIP
  
  
       The path to Arahantship takes the fruition on non-returning as 
  its basis. In other words, those who are to become Arahants gather all 
  eight factors of the noble path and bring them to bear as before on 
  physical and mental phenomena, but now they deal with a level of these 
  phenomena more subtle than before, converged into a single point. Once 
  they have gathered the factors of the path at the level of physical 
  and mental phenomena, they make a focused examination, back and forth, 
  using the power of their discernment, bringing this subtler level of 
  physical and mental phenomena into a single point as stress, the cause 
  of stress, the path, and disbanding, all four Noble Truths gathered 
  into one. They focus on seeing how stress is one with the cause of 
  stress, how the cause of stress is one with the path, how the path is 
  one with the disbanding of stress. Once they have seen things rightly 
  in this way, they make an investigation in terms of the three 
  characteristics:
  
  
              //namarupam aniccam, namarupam dukkham,
                        namarupam anatta//:
  
  "Physical and mental phenomena are inconstant, physical and mental 
  phenomena are stressful, physical and mental phenomena are not-self." 
  To investigate in this way is termed the path to Arahantship.
  
       Once clear insight arises right at the heart, physical and mental 
  phenomena disband simultaneously with Right View, and in that instant 
  one reaches the ultimate quality -- the Unconditioned -- which knows 
  no arising or passing away. The ten fetters are shattered without 
  leaving a trace. Starting with the sixth fetter, these are:
  
       6. Passion for form (//rupa-raga//): attachment to the sense of 
  form; contentment, for example, with the objects that can act as the 
  basis of //rupa jhana//.
  
       7. Passion for formless phenomena (//arupa-raga//): attachment to 
  non-physical phenomena: contentment, for example, with feelings and 
  moods of pleasure and well-being that one has previously experienced.
  
       8. Conceit (//mana//): construing oneself to be this or that. 
  Arahants have put such assumptions aside. (They don't assume 
  themselves).
  
       9. Restlessness (//uddhacca//): obsessive thinking.
  
       10. Unawareness (//avijja//): delusion, dullness, ignorance, 
  immersed in physical and mental phenomena.
  
       All ten of these fetters have been dispersed from the heart of an 
  Arahant.
  
       To make a focused investigation using one's discernment, seeing 
  the disbanding and dissolution of physical and mental phenomena in the 
  same terms as all fashioned things, i.e.,
  
  
                     //sabbe sankhara anicca,
                     sabbe sankhara dukkha,
                      sabbe dhamma anatta//:
  
  "All fashionings (physical and mental phenomena) are inconstant, all 
  fashionings are stressful, all qualities (physical and mental 
  qualities) are not-self;" to focus on these things as the basic danger 
  in all three levels of existence; to see the three levels of existence 
  as masses of burning embers, incinerating all those who are engrossed 
  in them; to bring virtue, concentration, and discernment to bear in 
  this way exclusively on physical and mental phenomena: This is the 
  path to Arahantship. And at that very moment physical and mental 
  phenomena disband along with the noble path  -- i.e., Right View -- 
  and the ten fetters are shattered: This is the fruition of 
  Arahantship.
  
       The tasks of virtue, concentration, and discernment are 
  completed, the teachings of the Lord Buddha fulfilled. There is no 
  longer any attachment to the paths or their fruitions, nor is there 
  any attachment to the Unconditioned. All that remains is what is there 
  on its own: disbanding. That is to say, mental states involved with 
  the five aggregates have disbanded; mental states involved with 
  virtue, concentration, and discernment have disbanded -- because when 
  virtue, concentration, and discernment converge on the level of 
  physical and mental phenomena the first time, the first noble 
  attainment is reached; the second time, the second attainment is 
  reached; the third time, the third; and the fourth time, the fourth. 
  When the qualities of virtue, concentration, and discernment are 
  brought together in fully mature form, the mind is released from 
  physical and mental phenomena through the power of discernment, in 
  line with the teaching,
  
                      //pannaya paribhavitam cittam
                      sammadeva asavehi vimuccati//:
  
  "When the mind has been matured through discernment, it gains complete 
  release from all mental effluents." The mind is able to let go of 
  physical and mental phenomena. Physical and mental phenomena are not 
  the mind; the mind isn't physical and mental phenomena. The mind isn't 
  virtue, concentration, and discernment.
  
                          //sabbe dhamma anatta//:
  
  The mind doesn't identify any quality as itself, or itself as any of 
  these qualities. It simply is -- deathlessness. This is called 
  disbanding because passion, aversion, and delusion have disbanded 
  completely. There is no more becoming for the mind, no more birth, no 
  more involvement with the elements, aggregates, and sense media, and 
  -- unlike ordinary run-of-the-mill people -- no longer any 
  intoxication with any of these things. As a passage in the Canon puts 
  it:
  
       //mada-nimmadano// -- no longer intoxicated with the three
  levels of existence;
  
       //pipasa-vinayo// -- no longer thirsting for sensual pleasures;
  
       //alaya-samugghato// -- involvement with the aggregates has been 
  withdrawn, leaving the aggregates free to follow their own natural 
  state;
  
       //vattupacchedo// -- the cycle through the three levels of 
  existence has been cut absolutely;
  
       //tanhakkhayo// -- craving is done with;
  
       //virago// -- passion is done with;
  
       //nirodho// -- unawareness has disbanded without leaving a trace;
  
       //nibbana// -- the mind is freed from its shackles and bonds.
  
       The Deathless is reached. Birth, ageing, illness, and death are 
  eliminated. Ultimate, unchanging ease is attained. The aggregates 
  disband without leaving a trace, in line with the
  synopsis of dependent origination: "Simply with the disbanding of this 
  unawareness -- with no trace of remaining passion -- fashionings 
  disband ... cognizance (with regard to the six senses) disbands ... 
  physical and mental phenomena disband... the six sense media disband 
  ... sensory contacts disband ... the three kinds of feeling disband... 
  the three kinds of craving disband ... the four kinds of clinging 
  disband .... becoming disbands... birth disbands ... aging, death, 
  sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair all disband and no 
  longer appear as stress."
  
       The mind is Dhamma, free from effluents, because it has gained 
  insight into all fashioned things. It is released from all 
  unawareness, craving, and clinging, and has cut all ten fetters. This 
  is the fruition of Arahantship. Those who have reached this level have 
  completed the religion. They have no more defilements or cravings; no 
  one has anything further to teach them. Even the Buddha himself 
  doesn't have it within his power to formulate any further instructions 
  for them. This is why they are said to have completed the religion. If 
  you were to describe their virtues, they would be infinite.
  
       Arahants are classified into four groups:
  
       1. //Sukha-vipassako//: those who have gained "dry" release 
  through the power of insight, having developed the bare minimum of 
  concentration before attaining the knowledge that does away with 
  mental effluents (//asavakkhaya-nana//) and gaining release. They have 
  no other powers or skills.
  
       2. //Tevijjo//: those who have attained the three skills --
  
          a. //Pubbenivasanussati-nana//: the ability to remember their 
  own past lives.
  
          b. //Cutupapata-nana//: the ability to see living beings as 
  they pass from death to rebirth.
  
          c. //Asavakkhaya-nana//: the knowledge that does away with the 
  effluents of defilement.
  
  
       3. //Chalabhinno//: those who have attained the six intuitive 
  powers --
  
          a. //Iddhividhi//: the ability to display supernormal powers.
  
          b. //Dibba-sota//: clairaudience.
  
          c. //Cetopariya-nana//: the ability to know the thoughts of 
  others.
  
          d. //Pubbenivasanussati-nana//: the ability to remember 
  previous lives.
  
          e. //Dibba-cakkhu//: clairvoyance.
  
          f. //Asavakkhaya-nana//: The ability to do away with mental 
  effluents.
  
  
       4. //Patisambhidappatto//: those who have mastered the four forms 
  of acumen --
  
          a. //Attha-patisambhida//: acumen with regard to meaning.
  
          b. //Dhamma-patisambhida//: acumen with regard to mental 
  qualities.
  
          c. //Nirutti-patisambhida//: acumen with regard to linguistic 
  conventions.
  
          d. //Patibhana-patisambhida//: acumen with regard to 
  expression.
  
  
       These are the different classes of Arahants. It's not the case 
  that they are all alike. Those who have attained release through dry 
  insight have developed insight meditation more than tranquillity. 
  Those who attain the three skills have developed tranquillity and 
  insight in equal measure. Those who attain the six intuitive powers 
  have developed two parts tranquillity to one part insight. Those who 
  attain the four forms of acumen have developed three parts 
  tranquillity to one part insight. This is why they differ from one 
  another. (Tranquillity here refers to the eight levels of //jhana//). 
  If you want detailed discussions of these various attainments, see the 
  discussions of the three skills, the eight skills, and the four forms 
  of acumen given after the section on //jhana//. The skills mentioned 
  on this level, though, are all transcendent, and are completely apart 
  from the corresponding mundane skills.     
  
  
                                 * * *
                                          
                                          
                                          
                                          
                             SANGAHA-DITTHI
  
  
       Now I would like to describe the virtues of the Arahants, those 
  who have gained complete insight into the world, abandoning it once 
  and for all. Though their aggregates (physical and mental activities) 
  may still appear to the world, they are pure aggregates, absolutely 
  free from both good and evil, because the mind doesn't claim 
  possession of them. The mind is untouched by the behavior of the 
  aggregates. The ten fetters have been disbanded completely and no 
  longer entangle the heart, which is why this state is called 
  //nibbana//: liberation. The mind is radiant and clear; passion, 
  aversion, and delusion can no longer cloud it. It has reached the 
  radiance of the primal nature of the heart, to which nothing else can 
  compare.
  
       Once this radiance is realized, it obliterates the radiance of 
  all three levels of existence, so that no state of being appears at 
  all. As long as the mind has yet to gain release from defilement, it 
  is bound to regard the three levels of existence as radiant and 
  appealing. Once the mind reaches stream entry, the radiance of the 
  three levels of existence begins to darken and dim. When it reaches 
  the level of once-returning, that radiance appears even dimmer; and on 
  the level of non-returning, it appears dimmer yet, although it is 
  still there. When Arahantship is reached, the radiance of the three 
  levels of existence is so dim that it has virtually vanished. When 
  virtue, concentration, and discernment are gathered at the mind, and 
  unawareness disbands along with the higher levels of the noble path, 
  the world doesn't appear at all. You can't tell what features, colors, 
  or shapes it has, or even where it is. There is only the pure 
  brilliance of //nibbana//. All the worlds are dissolved in the moments 
  of the path and fruition of Arahantship. This brilliance is something 
  always there, but we don't see it because of our own darkness and 
  delusion.
  
       This very brilliance, though, can obliterate the darkness of the 
  world so that only //nibbana// will appear. The radiance of 
  //nibbana// obliterates the radiance of the world just as the light of 
  the sun, which illumines the world of human beings and common animals, 
  can obliterate at midday the light of the stars that appear in the sky 
  at night. Another comparison is the light of the candle, which in the 
  darkness appears bright to our eyes: If a burning kerosene lantern is 
  brought near the candle, the candle's light will appear to dim. If the 
  lantern's light is really brilliant, the light of the candle won't 
  even appear. If we aren't observant, we may think that the candle 
  isn't shedding any light at all, but actually it's giving off as much 
  light as before, only now no one pays it any attention. So it is with 
  the mind that has reached radiant //nibbana//, which obliterates the 
  light of the sun and moon, and wipes from the heart the glittering 
  appeal of heaven and the Brahma worlds. This is why //nibbana// is 
  said to be zero or void: None of the three worlds appears as a 
  preoccupation of the heart; the heart no longer entangles itself. It 
  zeroes itself from the world, i.e., it no longer takes part in birth, 
  ageing, illness, and death.
  
       //Nibbana// is something genuine and unchanging. It knows nothing 
  of deterioration. It always stays as it is. As long as there is birth, 
  aging, illness, and death, there will always be //nibbana//, because 
  birthlessness comes from birth, and deathlessness lies buried in the 
  very midst of dying. The problem, then, lies with those who don't lay 
  the ground-work for realizing //nibbana//. //Nibbana// doesn't 
  vacillate back and forth, but most people who practice virtue, 
  concentration, and discernment do. Just like a man who is going to 
  walk to a city but, when he gets halfway there, turns back: Normally 
  he should reach the city in thirty days, but if he walks back and 
  forth like this even for three years, he'll never get there. And when 
  he doesn't reach the city, if he were then to go telling people that 
  it doesn't exist, he would be making a serious mistake.
  
       So it is with people who practice virtue, concentration, and 
  discernment in half measures, back and forth, and -- when they don't 
  gain Awakening -- go telling others that //nibbana//  is null and 
  void, that the Buddha took it with him when he died. This is very 
  wrong. We can make a comparison with a field where our parents have 
  raised rice and always gotten a good crop. If they die, and our own 
  laziness fills their place so that we don't do the work, we're bound 
  to go hungry. And once we're hungry, can we then say that our parents 
  took the rice or the field with them? In the same way, //nibbana// is 
  there, but if we don't assemble the causes for realizing it and then 
  go denying its existence, you can imagine for yourself how much harm 
  we're doing.
  
       If we haven't yet reached or realized //nibbana//, there's 
  nothing extraordinary about it. But once we have come close to 
  //nibbana//, the world will appear as if full of vipers and masses of 
  fire. The palaces and mansions of heavenly beings, if you can see 
  them, will look like the hovels of outcastes. You won't be attracted 
  to living in them, because you've already known //nibbana//.
  
       //Nibbana// is nothing else but this ordinary heart, freed from 
  all the effluents of defilement so that it reaches its primal nature. 
  The primal nature of the heart is something that doesn't take birth, 
  age, grow ill, or die. What takes birth is the act of falling for 
  preoccupations. The heart's nature is clear and shining, but 
  unawareness keeps it clouded and opaque. But even on the physical 
  level -- to say nothing of the heart -- if someone were to come along 
  and say that the water in the ocean is clear by nature, that a person 
  with any intelligence could see the ocean floor, you'd have a hard 
  time trying to find anyone to believe him. But what he says is true. 
  There are plenty of reasons why we can't see the ocean floor -- the 
  dust and minute particles floating in the water, the wind and the sea 
  creatures that interact with the water -- but if you could get someone 
  to eliminate these factors so that there would be nothing but the 
  nature of the water, it would be crystal clear. You could tell at a 
  glance how deep or shallow the ocean was without having to waste your 
  time diving and groping around. So it is with the heart: If our hearts 
  are still ignorant, we shouldn't go groping elsewhere for //nibbana//. 
  Only if we cleanse our own hearts will we be able to see it.
  
       People who meditate are by and large extremely prone to 
  conjecture and speculation, judging //nibbana// to be like this or 
  that, but actually there's nothing especially deep, dark, or 
  mysterious about it. What makes //nibbana// seem mysterious is our own 
  lack of discernment. //Nibbana// is always present, along with the 
  world. As long as the world exists, there will always be //nibbana//. 
  But if no one explores the truth of //nibbana//, it will appear 
  mysterious and far away. And once we give rise to our own 
  misunderstandings, we're bound to start formulating notions that 
  //nibbana// is like this or like that. We may decide that //nibbana// 
  is extinguished; that //nibbana// is null and void; that //nibbana// 
  has no birth, ageing, illness, or death; that //nibbana// is the self; 
  or that //nibbana// is not-self. Actually, each of these expressions 
  is neither right nor wrong. Right and wrong belong to the person 
  speaking, because //nibbana// is something untouched by supposing. No 
  matter what anyone may call it, it simply stays as it is. If we were 
  to call it heaven or a Brahma world, it wouldn't object, just as we 
  suppose names for "sun" and "moon": If we were to call them stars or 
  clouds or worlds or jewels, whatever they really are stays as it is; 
  they aren't transformed by our words. At the same time, they 
  themselves don't announce that they are sun or moon or anything. They 
  are //thiti-dhamma// -- they simply are what they are.
  
       So it is with the pure heart that we call //nibbana//. No matter 
  what we call it, it simply stays as it is. Thus we say that with 
  //nibbana// there is no right and no wrong. Right and wrong belong to 
  the person speaking. People who don't know drag out their right and 
  wrong to talk about. //Nibbana// is something known exclusively 
  through the heart. Words and deeds aren't involved. Our talking is 
  merely a matter of the path. The result, once attained, is something 
  completely apart. We thus call it release (//vimutti//) because it's 
  untouched by supposing, attaining a nature that is pure heartwood: the 
  heart that neither spins forward nor back, the heart that attains a 
  quality that doesn't develop or deteriorate, come or go. It stays as 
  it is -- what we suppose as thiti-dhamma, free from the germs of 
  defilement -- our very own heart, i.e., the heart's primal nature.
  
       Actually, the heart is pure by nature, but various moods and 
  objects -- various preoccupations -- are mixed up with it. Once these 
  preoccupations are cleaned out, there you are: //nibbana//. To know 
  //nibbana// clearly is nothing other than knowing how this one heart 
  takes its preoccupations as itself. The heart by nature is one, but if 
  it hasn't been trained by discernment, it tends to go streaming 
  towards preoccupations, both within and without, and then we say that 
  this state of mind differs from that state of mind, and so they begin 
  to multiply until they are so many that we give up trying to look 
  after them all. They seem many because we count each preoccupation as 
  a state of the mind itself. The problem is that we don't understand 
  the teachings of the ancient philosophers, and so think that the mind 
  can be called many: Suppose a person has many jobs. sometimes he 
  sells, so he's called a merchant. If he also grows rice, he's called a 
  farmer. If he works for the King, he's called a government official. 
  If he acquires rank, he's called by his rank. Actually he's only one 
  person, and none of his titles are wrong. They've been given to him 
  simply in line with the work he does. But anyone who didn't understand 
  would think that this man was an awful lot of people.
  
       Another comparison: When a person is born, we call it a baby. 
  When it gets older, we call it a child. When it gets still older, we 
  call it a young man or a young lady; and when its hair gets grey and 
  its teeth break, we call it Grandma or Gramps. What gives rise to all 
  these names? One and the same person. So it is with the mind that is 
  supposed to be many. We don't understand what the words are supposed 
  to mean, so we go groping around after our own shadows. When this is 
  the case, we find it hard to practice. We don't understand the states 
  of mind that have been supposed into being, and so don't see the mind 
  that is released, untouched by supposing.
  
       When the mind is said to have many states, this is what is meant: 
  Sometimes the mind takes on passion; this is called //saraga-citta//, 
  a passionate mind. Sometimes it takes on irritation and aversion; this 
  is called //sadosa-citta//, an angry mind. Sometimes it takes on a 
  deluded state as itself; this is called //samoha-citta//, a deluded 
  mind. These states are all on the unwise side, and are termed 
  //akusala-citta//, unwholesome mental states. As for the good side: 
  //vitaraga-citta//, the mind has reached satisfaction and so its 
  desires fade; //vitadosa-citta//, the mind has had enough and so its 
  anger disappears; //vitamoha-citta//, the mind is bright and so 
  withdraws from its dullness, just as the sun or moon withdraws from an 
  eclipse and is bright and clear. These are termed //kusala-citta//, 
  wholesome mental states.
  
       Some people at this point think that there are six states to the 
  mind, or even six minds. The true nature of the mind, though, is one. 
  To count six states or six minds is to count the preoccupations; the 
  primal mind is radiant. We take a few things to be many, and so end up 
  poor, just as when a foolish or poor person thinks that a thousand 
  baht is a lot of money. An intelligent or rich person, though, 
  realizes that it's just a little: You can spend it all in two days. A 
  fool, however, would think that a thousand baht would make him rich, 
  and so he'll have to continue being poor. So it is if we see our one 
  mind as many: We'll have to be poor because we'll be at our wits' end 
  trying to train it.
  
       The nature of the mind that is clear and one is like clean, clear 
  water that has been mixed with different colors in different bottles. 
  We may call it red water, yellow water, green water, etc., but the 
  water itself is still clear as it always was. If a fool comes along 
  and falls for the colors, he wants to taste them all. He may drink 
  five bottles, but they'll all be just like the first. If he knows 
  beforehand that it's all the same water, he won't feel any desire to 
  waste his time drinking this or that bottle. All he has to do is taste 
  one bottle, and that'll be enough. So it is with the mind: If we 
  realize that the mind is in charge and is the determining factor in 
  all good and evil and in the attainment of //nibbana//, we won't feel 
  any desire to go saying that the mind is like this or like that. The 
  mind seems to be many because it gets entangled in various 
  preoccupations, and when these preoccupations dye the mind, we count 
  them as states of the mind itself.
  
       The pure nature of the heart and mind is like the sun, which 
  shines every day throughout the year but is concealed by clouds during 
  the rainy season. Those who don't know its nature then say that the 
  sun isn't shining. This is wrong. Their vision can't penetrate the 
  clouds, and so they find fault with the sun. They suppose that the 
  darkness of the clouds belongs to the sun, get stuck on their own 
  supposings, and so don't reach the truth. The true nature of the sun 
  is always bright, no matter what the season. If you don't believe me, 
  ask an airplane pilot. If you go up past the clouds in an airplane on 
  a dark rainy day, you'll know whether the sun is in fact dark or 
  shining.
  
       So it is with the mind: No matter how it may be behaving, its 
  nature is one -- radiant and clear. If we lack discernment and skill, 
  we let various preoccupations come flowing into the mind, which lead 
  it to act -- sometimes wisely and sometimes not -- and then we 
  designate the mind according to its behavior.
  
       Since there is one mind, it can have only one preoccupation. And 
  if it has only one preoccupation, then there shouldn't be too much 
  difficulty in practicing so as to know its truth. Even though the mind 
  may seem to have many preoccupations, they don't come all at once in a 
  single instant. They have to pass by one at a time. A good mood enters 
  as a bad one leaves; pleasure enters, pain leaves; ingenuity enters, 
  stupidity, leaves; darkness enters, brightness leaves. They keep 
  trading places without let-up. Mental moments, though, are extremely 
  fast. If we aren't discerning, we won't be able to know our own 
  preoccupations. Only after they've flared up and spread to affect our 
  words and deeds are we usually aware of them.
  
       Normally this one mind is very fast. Just as when we turn on a 
  light: If we don't look carefully, the light seems to appear, and the 
  darkness to disperse, the very instant we turn on the switch. This one 
  mind, when it changes preoccupations, is that fast. This one mind is 
  what leads to various states of being because our preoccupations get 
  into the act so that we're entangled and snared.
  
       It's not the case that one person will have many minds. Say that 
  a person goes to heaven: He goes just to heaven. Even if he is to go 
  on to other levels of being, he has to pass away from heaven first. 
  It's not the case that he'll go to heaven, hell, and the Brahma worlds 
  all at the same time. This goes to show that the mind is one. Only its 
  thoughts and preoccupations change.
  
       The preoccupations of the mind come down simply to physical and 
  mental phenomena that change, causing the mind to experience birth in 
  various states of being. Since the mind lacks discernment and doesn't 
  know the true nature of its preoccupations, it gropes about, 
  experiencing death and rebirth in the four modes of generation 
  (//yoni//). If the mind has the discernment to know its preoccupations 
  and let go of them all without remainder, leaving only the primal 
  nature of the heart that doesn't fall for any preoccupation on the 
  levels of sensuality, form, or formlessness, it will be able to gain 
  release from suffering and stress. "Once the mind is fully matured by 
  means of virtue, concentration and discernment, it gains complete 
  release from the effluents of defilement."
  
       //Khandha-kamo// -- desire for the five aggregates is over and 
  done with. //Bhava-kamo// -- desire for the three levels of being (the 
  sensual plane, the plane of form, and the plane of formlessness) 
  disbands and disperses. The three levels of being are essentially only 
  two: the aggregate of physical phenomena, which includes the 
  properties of earth, water, fire and wind; and the aggregates of 
  mental phenomena, which include feelings, labels, fashionings, and 
  cognizance -- in short, the phenomena that appear in the body and 
  heart or, if you will, the body and mind. Physical phenomena are those 
  that can be seen with the eye.  Mental phenomena are those that can't 
  be seen with the eye, but can be sensed only through the heart and 
  mind. Once we can distinguish these factors and see how they're 
  related, we will come to see the truth of the aggregates: //They// are 
  stress, //they// are the cause of stress, //they// are the path. Once 
  we understand them correctly, we can deal with them properly. Whether 
  they arise, fade, or vanish, we won't -- if we have any discernment -- 
  latch onto them with any false assumptions. The mind will let go. It 
  will simply know, neutral and undisturbed. It won't feel any need to 
  worry about the conditions or behavior of the aggregates, because it 
  sees that the aggregates can't be straightened out. Even the Buddha 
  didn't straighten out the aggregates. He simply let them go, in line 
  with their own true nature.
  
        The heart is what creates the substance of the aggregates. If 
  you try to straighten out the creations, you'll never be done with 
  them. If you straighten out the creator, you'll have the job finished 
  in no time. When the heart is clouded with dullness and darkness, it 
  creates aggregates or physical and mental phenomena as its products, 
  to the point where the birth, ageing, illness, and death of the 
  aggregates become absolutely incurable -- unless we have the wisdom to 
  leave them alone in line with their own nature. In other words, we 
  shouldn't latch onto them.
  
       This is illustrated in the Canon, where the Buddha says in some 
  passages that he is free from birth, ageing, illness, and death. If we 
  read further, though, we'll notice that his body grew old, ill and 
  then died; his mental activity ended. This shows that the aggregates 
  should be left alone. Whatever their nature may be, don't try to 
  resist it or go against it. Keep your mind neutral and aware. Don't go 
  latching  onto the various preoccupations which arise, age, grow ill 
  and vanish, as pertaining to the self. If you can do this, you're 
  practicing correctly. Aim only at the purity of the one heart that 
  doesn't die.
  
       The heart that is clouded with dullness and darkness lacks a firm 
  base and so drifts along, taking after the aggregates. When they take 
  birth, it thinks that it's born; when they age, it thinks that it's 
  aged; when they grow ill and disband, it gets mixed up along with them 
  and so experiences stress and pain, its punishment for drifting along 
  in the wake of its supposings.
  
       If the mind doesn't drift in this way, there is only the 
  disbanding of stress. The cause of stress and the path disband as 
  well, leaving only the nature that doesn't die: "buddha," a mind that 
  has bloomed and awakened. For the mind to bloom, it needs the 
  fertilizer of virtue and concentration. For it to awaken and come to 
  its senses, it needs discernment. The fertilizer of concentration is 
  composed of the exercises of tranquillity and insight meditation. The 
  mind then gains all-around discernment with regard to the aggregates 
  -- seeing the pain and harm they bring -- and so shakes itself free 
  and keeps its distance, which is why the term "Arahant" is also 
  translated as "one who is distant." In other words, the mind has had 
  enough. It has had its fill. It is no longer flammable, i.e., it 
  offers no fuel to the fires of passion, aversion, and delusion, which 
  are now dispersed once and for all through the power of discernment.
  
       This is the supreme //nibbana//. Birth has been absolutely 
  destroyed, but //nibbana// isn't annihilation. //Nibbana// is the name 
  for what still remains: the primal heart. So why isn't it called the 
  heart? Because it's now a heart with no preoccupations. Just as with 
  the names we suppose for "tree" and "steel": If the tree is cut, they 
  call it "lumber." If it's made into a house, they call it "home." If 
  it's made into a place to sit, they call it a "chair." You never see 
  anyone who would still call it a "tree." The same with steel: Once 
  it's been made into a car or a knife, we call it a "car" or a "knife." 
  You never see anyone who would still call it a "steel." But even 
  though they don't call it a steel, the steel is still there. It hasn't 
  run off anywhere. It's still steel just as it always was.
  
       So it is with the heart when the expert craftsman, discernment, 
  has finished training it: We call it //nibbana//. We don't call it by 
  its old name. When we no longer call it the "heart," some people think 
  that the heart vanishes, but actually it's simply the heart in its 
  primal state that we call //nibbana//. Or, again it's simply the heart 
  untouched by supposing. No matter what anyone may call it, it simply 
  stays as it is. It doesn't take on anyone's suppositions at all. Just 
  as when we correctly suppose a diamond to be a diamond: No matter what 
  anyone may call it, its real nature stays as it is. It doesn't 
  advertise itself as a diamond. It simply is what it is. So it is with 
  the heart: Once it gains release, it doesn't suppose itself to be this 
  or that. It's still there. It hasn't been annihilated. Just as when we 
  call a diamond a diamond, it's there; and when we don't call it 
  anything, it's still there -- it hasn't vanished or disappeared -- so 
  it is with the hear that is //nibbana//: It's there. If we call it a 
  sun, a moon, heaven, Brahma world, earth, water, wind, fire, woman, 
  man, or anything at all, it's still there, just as before. It hasn't 
  changed in any way. It stays as it is: one heart, one Dhamma, free 
  from the germs of defilement.
  
       This is why the truest name to suppose for it is release. What we 
  call heart, mind, intellect, form, feeling, labels, mental 
  fashionings, cognizance: All these are true as far as supposing goes. 
  Wherever supposings is, there release can be found. Take a blatant 
  example: the five aggregates. If you look at their true nature, you'll 
  see that they've never said, "Look. We're aggregates," or "Look. We're 
  the heart." So it is with the heart that is //nibbana//, that has 
  reached //nibbana//: It won't proclaim itself as this or that, which 
  is why we suppose it to be release. Once someone has truly reached 
  release, that's the end of speaking.
  
       The mouth is closed,
       Closed -- the world, the ocean of rebirth,
       Fashionings, this mass of suffering and stress --
       Leaving, yes, the highest, most exalted ease,
       Free from birth, ageing,
       Disease, and death.
  
  
       This is called //niramisa-sukha//, pleasure not of the flesh. 
  Pleasures of the flesh are dependent on defilement, craving, conceits, 
  and views, and are unable to let go of the elements, aggregates, and 
  sense media. As these sorts of pleasure ripen, they can bring pain, 
  just as ripe fruit or cooked rice are near to turning rotten and 
  moldy, or as ripening bananas cause their tree to come crashing down 
  so that only birds and crows will eat them. So it is with the heart: 
  When it enters into its various preoccupations and takes them as 
  belonging to itself, it's bound for pain and suffering. Just as when 
  an unwary traveler leaves the road to enter the shade of a bael tree 
  with ripening fruits: If the wind blows, the ripe fruits are bound to 
  drop on his head, giving him nothing but pain, so it is with the 
  heart: If it doesn't have a Dhamma, a timeless principle to give it 
  shelter, it's bound to be beaten and trampled by suffering and pain. 
  (The wind blowing through the bael tree stands for the eight ways of 
  the world (//loka-dhamma//). The bael tree stands for the body, and 
  the branches for the senses. The fruits are visual objects, sounds, 
  smells, tastes, tactile sensations, and ideas, which drop on the heart 
  stupid enough to sit preoccupied with this mass of elements, 
  aggregates and sense media.)
  
       People of wisdom are those who search for the highest form of 
  pleasure -- free from defilement, craving, conceits, and views -- by 
  cleansing the heart of all its unwise preoccupations. This is the 
  deathless //nibbana//, which the Buddha praised:
  
                     //nibbanam paramam sukham//:
                  //Nibbana// is the ultimate ease.
  
                     //nibbanam paramam sunnam//:
  //Nibbana// is the ultimate void (i.e., void of defilement; free from 
  preoccupations; uninvolved with elements, aggregates, sense media, 
  passion, aversion, and delusion; free from the lineage of unawareness 
  and craving: This is the way in which //nibbana// is "void," not the 
  way ordinary people conceive it).
  
  
                //nibbanam paramam vadanti buddha//:
        Those who know say that //nibbana// is the ultimate.
  
  
            //tanhaya vippahanena nibbanam iti vuccati//:
           Because of the complete abandonment of craving,
                      it is called //nibbana//.
  
  
             //akincanam anadanam etam dipam anaparam
          nibbanam iti nam brumi jara-maccu-parikkhayam//
  Free from entanglements, free from attachments (that fasten and bind), 
  there is no better island than this. It is called //nibbana//, the 
  absolute end of ageing and death.
  
  
                 //nibbanam yogakkhemam anuttaram//:
         //Nibbana// is the unexcelled relief from the yoke
                         (of preoccupations).
  
  
       //etam santam etam panitam yadidam sabba-sankhara-samatho 
  sabbupadi-patinissaggo tanhakkhayo virago nirodho nibbanam//:
       This is peace (from the coupling of preoccupations), this is 
  sublime: i.e., the stilling of all fashionings, the relinquishment of 
  all mental paraphernalia, the ending of craving, the fading of passion 
  (for attractions), dispersal (of the darkness of unawareness), 
  //nibbana//.
  
  
       We who say we are Buddhists, who believe in the teachings of the 
  Lord Buddha -- theory, practice, attainment, paths, fruitions, and 
  //nibbana// -- should search for techniques to rectify our hearts 
  through the practice of tranquillity and insight meditation, at the 
  same time nurturing:
  
       //conviction// -- in the theory, practice, and attainment taught 
  by the Buddha;
  
       //persistence// -- in persevering with virtue, concentration, and 
  discernment until they are complete;
  
       //mindfulness// -- so as not to be complacent or careless in 
  virtue, concentration, and discernment;
  
       //concentration// -- so as to make the mind resolute and firm, 
  giving rise to
  
       //discernment// within our hearts.
  
       The discernment that comes from the six teachers -- i.e., from 
  the senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and ideation -- is 
  inconstant and may leave us free to do evil again. But the discernment 
  that comes from concentration is capable of doing away with the 
  defilements that lie within. So by all means we should show respect 
  for the virtues of the Triple Gem by putting them into practice so 
  that we can taste the nourishment of the Buddha's teachings. Don't be 
  like the ladle that mingles with the curry but never knows the curry's 
  taste. We've mingled ourselves with Buddhism, so we should learn its 
  taste. Don't be like the frog sitting among the lotuses who never gets 
  to know their scent. It sits there pissing, its eyes all bright and 
  wide open. A bee comes past and it jumps -- Kroam! -- into the water: 
  stupid, even though its eyes are open. We human beings can really be 
  ignorant, even when we know better.
  
  
                              *   *   *
  
  
       We've discussed the wisdom that comes from meditation, from the 
  beginning to the end of the exercises of tranquillity and insight.
  
  
                            //uttamam//:
  
       These exercises are superlative and supreme strategies for 
  lifting yourself across the ocean of the world, the swirling flood of 
  rebirth.
  
  
                //samma-patirasassadam patthayante//:
  
       You who are intent on the savor of right attainment, who desire 
  the happiness of //nibbana//, should devote yourselves to the 
  practices mentioned above. Don't let yourselves grow weary, don't let 
  yourselves be faint in the practice of these two forms of meditation.
  
  
                         They are ornaments,
  
       the highest adornment for the heirs of the Buddha's teaching, and 
  are truly worthy of constant practice.
  
  
                      They will form an island,
  
       a shore, a refuge and a home for you. Even if you aren't yet in a 
  position to gain vision of //nibbana// in this lifetime, they will 
  form habits leading to progress in the future, or may help you escape 
  the torments of the realms of deprivation; they will lead you to 
  mundane happiness and relief from the dread of sorrow. But if your 
  perfections are fully developed, you will gain
  
                     the heartwood of release --
  
       release from the five temptations of mortality (mara), release 
  from the range of birth, ageing, illness, and death, reaching 
  //nibbana//, following the custom of the Noble Ones.
  
       May people of judgment consider carefully all that has been 
  written here.
  
       In conclusion, may all those who read this, take it to heart and 
  put it into practice meet only with happiness and joy, free from 
  danger and fear. May you grow day and night in the practice of the 
  Buddha's teachings, in peace and well-being.
  
  
                         //sangaha-ditthi//:
  
                      Views have been included
                   Without alluding to any claims.
  
  
  
                                             Phra Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo
  
  
  The Forest Temple
  Shrimp Canal
  Chanthaburi
  
                           * * * * * * * * *
