Lecture No. 2

Summary: Lecture 2 explains the core teachings of Buddhism, focusing on the Four Noble Truths: suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path leading to its cessation. The lecture emphasizes that Buddhism is a philosophy and code of morality aimed at ending suffering, not a theistic religion. The Noble Eightfold Path—right speech, action, livelihood, exertion, attentiveness, concentration, aspiration, and understanding—is detailed as the way to liberation. The importance of practice, purity of mind, and meditation is highlighted, along with the ultimate goal of achieving inner peace and Nibbāna through insight that comes from the practice of Vipassana meditation.

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Lecture No. 3

Summary: The last lecture explains two core Buddhist doctrines: the Law of Dependent Origination (Paṭicca-samuppāda) and the Law of Cause and Effect (Paṭṭhāna). Suffering arises from ignorance, which triggers a chain of mental and physical phenomena leading to birth, aging, and death. The Law of Cause and Effect details twenty-four types of relations underlying all existence, emphasizing how moral and immoral actions shape future experiences across different planes of existence. The lecture stresses the importance of mastering the mind, generating wholesome mental forces, and applying Buddhist practice to achieve peace and counteract suffering in oneself and society.

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The Real Values of True Buddhist Meditation

Summary: True Buddhist meditation is a path to inner peace and wisdom. It teaches followers to live by good morals, develop a calm and focused mind, and gain deep understanding of life’s true nature. By practicing meditation, people can overcome suffering, improve their relationships, and even heal some physical and mental problems. The goal is to realise that everything changes, suffering exists, and there is no permanent self. With effort and guidance, anyone can benefit from meditation, becoming calmer, kinder, and wiser. Buddhist meditation is not just for monks—it can help anyone live a happier, more balanced life.

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The Essentials of Buddha-Dhamma in Practice

Summary: The core of the Buddha-Dhamma or the Buddhas teachings in practice is the experiential understanding of anicca (impermanence), dukkha (suffering), and anattā (no-self). This insight is gained not through study alone, but through Vipassanā meditation, which requires following the Noble Eightfold Path—virtue (sīla), concentration (samādhi), and wisdom (paññā). By observing the constant change in body and mind, meditators realise the true nature of existence and gradually free themselves from suffering. This process is accessible to everyone, including householders, and leads to greater inner peace and well-being. The Buddha encouraged personal experience over blind belief, emphasising that only through direct practice and experience can one achieve true happiness and liberation.

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Lecture No. 1 - What Buddhism Is

(September 23, 1951)

I consider it a great privilege to be in your midst today and to have this opportunity of addressing you on the subject of “What Buddhism Is.” At the outset, I must be very frank with you. I have not been to a university, and I have no knowledge of science except as a man in the street. Nor am I a scholar in the theory of Buddhism with any knowledge of Pāḷi, the language in which the Tipiṭakas (literally, the “Three Baskets” of Buddha-Dhamma) are maintained. I may say, however, that I have read in Burmese to some extent the treatises on Buddhism by well-known and learned Buddhist monks. As my approach to Buddhism is more by practical than by theoretical means, I hope to be able to give you something of Buddhism which is not easily available elsewhere. I must admit, however, that for the time being I am just a student of practical Buddhism, an experimentalist trying to learn through Buddhism the truth of the nature of forces. As this has to be done as a householder and within a limited time available in between the multifarious duties of a responsible officer of Government, the progress is rather slow, and I do not claim for a moment that what I am going to say is absolutely correct. I may be right or wrong. But when I say a thing, I assure you that it is with a sincerity of purpose, with the best of intentions and with conviction.

The Lord Buddha said in the “Kāḷāma Sutta”:

Do not believe in what you have heard; do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations; do not believe in anything because it is rumoured and spoken by many; do not believe merely because a written statement of some old sage is produced; do not believe in conjectures; do not believe in that as truth to which you have become attached from habit; do not believe merely the authority of your teachers and elders. After observation and analysis, when it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and gain of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.

Pray do not, therefore, believe me when I come to the philosophical issues until and unless you are convinced of what I say, either as a sequel to proper reasoning or by means of a practical approach.

To abstain from evil, To do good, To purify the mind, These are the teachings of all the Buddhas. Dhammapada, verse 183

This extract taken from the Dhammapada gives in brief the essence of Buddhism. It sounds simple, but is so difficult to practise. One cannot be a true Buddhist unless one puts the doctrine of the Buddha into practice. The Buddha said:

You, to whom the truths I have perceived have been made known by me, make them truly your own, practise them, meditate upon them, spread them abroad: in order that the pure religion may last long and be perpetuated for the good and the gain and the well-being of gods and men.

Before I take up the teachings of the Buddha, which form the basic foundation of Buddhism, I propose to acquaint you, first of all, with the life story of Gotama Buddha. For this purpose, I feel it is my duty to give you a background of certain Buddhist concepts which may be foreign to most of you. I propose, therefore, to give you a short descriptive explanation of such concepts in Buddhism as the universe, the world-system, the planes of existence, etc. These will, no doubt, give you some food for thought. I would, however, appeal to you to give a patient hearing and to pass over these matters for the time being, i.e., until we come to the question time for discussion.

The Universe

The Buddhist concept of the universe may be summed up as follows: there is the Okāsa-loka (the universe of space) which accommodates nāma and rūpa (mind and matter). In this mundane world, it is nāma and rūpa (mind and matter) which predominate under the influence of the law of cause and effect. Next is the Saṅkhāra-loka (the universe of mental forces), creative or created. This is a mental plane arising out of the creative energies of mind through the medium of bodily actions, words and thoughts. The third and last is the Satta-loka (the universe of sentient beings), visible or invisible, beings that are the products of these mental forces; we may rather call these three the “three-in-one” universe, because each is inseparable from the others. They are, so to speak, interwoven and interpenetrating.

What will interest you most are the Cakkavāḷas or world-systems, each with its thirty-one planes of existence. Each world-system corresponds to the human world with its solar system and other planes of existence. There are millions and millions of such world-systems; they are simply innumerable. The ten thousand world-systems closest to us are within the Jāti-khetta (or the field of origin) of a Buddha. In fact, when the renowned sutta (or discourse), the Mahā-Samaya (meaning the “Great Occasion”) was preached by the Buddha in the Mahāvana (forest) near the town of Kapilavatthu, not only the brahmās and devas of our world-system but of all the ten thousand world-systems were present to listen to the teachings of the Buddha.

The Lord Buddha can also send his thought-waves charged with boundless love and compassion to the sentient beings of a billion such world-systems within the Āṇā-khetta (the field of influence). The remainder of the world-systems are in the Visaya-khetta (infinite space), beyond the reach of the Buddha’s effective thought waves. You can very well imagine from these concepts of Buddhism the size of the universe as a whole. The material insignificance of our world in the Okāsa-loka (the universe of space) is simply terrifying. The human world, as a whole, must be just a speck in space.

Now I will give you an idea of the thirty-one planes of existence in our world-system, which, of course, is the same as in any of the other world-systems. Broadly speaking, they are:

1. Arūpa-loka — The immaterial worlds of the brahmās

2. Rūpa-loka — The fine-material worlds of the brahmās

3. Kāma-loka — The sensuous worlds of devas, mankind, and lower beings

The Arūpa-loka is composed of four brahmā worlds of immaterial state, i.e., without rūpa or matter. The Rūpa-loka is composed of sixteen brahmā worlds of fine-material state.

The Kāma-loka is composed of:

(a) Six Deva-lokas (or celestial worlds):

1. Catumahārājika (the world of the Four Guardian Kings)

2. Tāvatiṃsa (the world of the Thirty-three)

3. Yāma

4. Tusita

5. Nimmānaratī (those who enjoy their own creations)

6. Paranimmita-vasavati (those who enjoy others’ creations)

(b) The Human World

(c) The four Lower Worlds (apāya):

1. Niraya (hell)

2. Tiracchāna (the animal world)

3. Peta (the ghost world)

4. Asura (the demon world)

These planes of existence are pure or impure, cool or hot, luminous or dark, light or heavy, pleasant or wretched—according to the character of the mental forces generated by the mind through the volition (cetanā) associated with a series of actions, words, and thoughts. For example, take the case of a religious man who suffuses the whole universe of beings with boundless love and compassion. He must be generating such mental forces as are pure, cooling, luminous, light and pleasant, forces which normally settle down in the brahmā worlds. Let us now take the reverse case of a man who is dissatisfied or angry. As the saying goes, “The face reflects the mind.” The impurity, heat, darkness, heaviness and wretchedness of his mind are immediately reflected in the person—visible even to the naked eye. This is due, I may say, to the generation of the evil mental forces of dosa (anger) which go down to the lower worlds of existence. This is also the case for the mental forces arising out of lobha (greed) or moha (delusion). In the case of meritorious deeds such as devotion, morality, and charity, which have at their base attachment to future well-being, the mental forces generated are such as will normally be located in the sensuous planes of devas (celestial beings) and of mankind. These, ladies and gentlemen, are some of the concepts in Buddhism relevant to the life story of Gotama Buddha....

The Preparation to Become a Buddha

Gotama Buddha is the fourth of the five Buddhas to arise in the world-cycle which is known as a Bhadda-kappa (an auspicious world-cycle). His predecessors were the Buddhas Kakusanda, Koṇāgamana, and Kassapa. There were also innumerable Buddhas who arose in earlier world-cycles and who preached the very same Dhamma that gives deliverance from suffering and death to all matured beings. Buddhas are all compassionate, glorious, and enlightened.

A hermit by the name of Sumedha was inspired by Buddha Dīpaṅkara—so much so, that he took the vow to make all the necessary preparations to become a Buddha in the course of time. Buddha Dīpaṅkara gave him his blessings and prophesied that he would become a Buddha by the name of Gotama after a lapse of four incalculable periods of world-cycles plus one hundred thousand world-cycles (kappas). From then onwards, existence after existence, the Bodhisatta (future Buddha) conserved mental energies of the highest order through the practice of the ten pāramitās (or pāramīs, virtues leading toward perfection):

1. Dāna-pāramī — Virtue in alms-giving (or generosity)

2. Sīla-pāramī — Morality

3. Nekkhamma-pāramī — Renunciation

4. Paññā-pāramī — Wisdom

5. Viriya-pāramī — Great effort (or perseverance)

6. Khanti-pāramī — Forbearance (or patience)

7. Sacca-pāramī — Truthfulness

8. Adiṭṭhāna-pāramī — Determination

9. Mettā-pāramī — All-embracing love

10. Upekkhā-pāramī — Equanimity

It is, therefore, a most arduous task to become a Buddha. Utmost strength of will-power is necessary even to think of it. The Bodhisatta’s preparatory period came to an end with the life of King Vessantara who excelled any living being in alms-giving. He gave away his kingdom, his wife and children, and all his worldly possessions, for the consummation of his solemn vow taken before the Buddha Dīpaṅkara. The next existence was in the Tusita (celestial plane) as the glorious deva Setaketu, until he got his release from that plane of existence and took conception in the womb of Māyā-Devī, the queen of King Suddhodana of Kapilavatthu, a place near modern Nepal. When time was drawing near for her confinement, the queen expressed her desire to go to the place of her own parents for the event. King Suddhodana accordingly sent her there with a befitting retinue and guards. On the way, a halt was made at the Lumbinī Grove. She descended from her palanquin and enjoyed the cool breeze and fragrance of sal flowers. While holding out her right hand to a branch of a nearby sal tree for a flower, all of a sudden and unexpectedly, she gave birth to a son who was to become the All-Enlightened Buddha. Simultaneously, the natural order of things in the cosmos was revolutionized in many respects and thirty-two wonderful phenomena were vivified. All material worlds were shaken from their foundations up. There were unusual illuminations in the solar system. All the beings of the material planes could see each other. The deaf and dumb were cured. Celestial music was heard everywhere, and so on.

At that moment, Kāladevala, the hermit teacher of King Suddhodana, was discoursing with the celestial beings of the Tāvatiṃsa deva world. He was a hermit of fame who had mastered the eight attainments (samāpattis) which gave him super-normal powers. Learning of the birth of a son to the king in the midst of the rejoicing in all the rūpa and kāma worlds, he hurried back to the palace and desired the baby to be brought before him for his blessings. As the king was about to place the baby before his teacher for the occasion, a marvel took place. The baby rose into the air and rested his tiny feet on the head of Kāladevala who at once understood that the baby was no other than the Embryo Buddha. He smiled at this knowledge, but cried almost immediately thereafter, because he foresaw that he would not live to hear his teachings, and that after his death, he would be in the arūpa-brahmā-loka (the immaterial planes of the brahmās) whence he would have no relationship with any of the material planes. He regretted bitterly that he would miss the Buddha and his teachings.

On the fifth day, the child was named Siddhattha in the presence of renowned astrologers who agreed that the child had all the characteristics of a Buddha-to-be. His mother, the queen, however, died a week after her confinement, and the child was taken care of by his maternal aunt, Pajāpatī-Gotamī.

Siddhattha spent his early years in ease, luxury, and culture. He was acclaimed to be a prodigy in both intellect and strength. The king spared no pains to make the course of his life smooth. Three separate palaces were built to suit the three seasons (hot, cold, and rainy) with all the necessities that would make the prince sink in sensuality. That was because the king, out of paternal affection, desired his son to remain in worldly life as a king rather than become an Enlightened Buddha. King Suddhodana was ever watchful that his son should be in an environment that would give him no chance for higher philosophical ideas. In order to make sure that the thoughts of the prince would never turn in this direction, he ordered that nobody serving him or in his association was ever to speak a single word about such things as old age, sickness, or death. They were to act as if there were no unpleasant things in this world. Servants and attendants who showed the least sign of growing old, weak, or sickly were replaced. On the other hand, there was dancing, music, and enjoyable parties right through, to keep him under a complete shade of sensuality.

The Great Renunciation

As days, months, and years passed, however, the monotony of the sensual surroundings gradually lost their hold over the mind of Prince Siddhatta. The mental energies of virtue conserved in all his earlier innumerable lives for the great goal of Buddhahood were automatically aroused. At times, when the world of sensuality lost control over his mind, his inner self worked its way up and raised his mind to a state of purity and tranquillity with the strength of samādhi (concentration) such as had raised his baby form into space and onto the head of Kāladevala. The war of nerves began. An escape from sensuality and passion was his first consideration. He wanted to know what existed outside the walls of the palace, for he had not gone out even once. He wished to see Nature as it is and not as man has made it. Accordingly, he decided to see the royal park, outside the palace walls. On the way to the park, in spite of the precautions taken by the king to get the roads clear of unpleasant sights, he saw an old man bent with age on the very first visit. Next he saw a sick person in the agony of a fatal malady. Thereafter he met with a human corpse. On the last trip he came across a monk. All these predisposed his mind to serious thinking. His mental attitude was changed. His mind became clear of impurities and tuned up with the forces of his own virtues conserved in the saṅkhāra-loka (the plane of mental forces). By then his mind had become freed from hindrances, was tranquil, pure, and strong. It all happened on the night when a son was born to his wife, a new fetter to bind him down. He was, however, immune to anything which would tend to upset the equilibrium of his mind. The virtues of determination worked their way for a strong resolve, and he made up his mind to seek the way of escape from birth, old age, suffering, and death. It was midnight when the solemn determination was made. He asked his attendant Channa to keep his stallion Khanthaka ready. After a parting look at his wife and the newly born babe, Prince Siddhattha broke away from all the ties of family and of the world and made the Great Renunciation. He rode across the town to the river Anomā, which he crossed, never to return until his mission had been achieved....

The Search for Truth

After this Great Renunciation, Prince Siddhattha went around in search of possible teachers in the garb of a wandering ascetic with a begging bowl in his hand. He placed himself under the spiritual guidance of two renowned Brahman teachers, Āḷāra and Uddaka. Āḷāra laid stress on the belief in the atman (soul) and taught that the soul attained perfect release when freed from material limitations. This did not satisfy the prince. He next went to Uddaka, who emphasized too much the effect of kamma (volitional actions) and the transmigration of the soul. Both could not get out of the conception of “soul,” and the prince ascetic felt that there was something else to learn. He, therefore, left both of them to work out the way to emancipation on his own. By that time, of course, he had learned the eight attainments (samāpattis) and had become adept in the exercise of all the supernormal powers including the ability to read events of many world-cycles to come and a similar period of the past. These were all in the mundane field, and they did not much concern the prince ascetic, whose ambition had been an escape from this mundane field of birth, suffering, and death.

He was joined later by five ascetics, one of whom, Koṇḍañña by name, was the astrologer-palmist who definitely foretold on the fifth day after his birth that he would surely become a Buddha. These ascetics served him well throughout the six years during which he was engaged in fastings and meditation, subjecting himself to various forms of rigorous austerities and discipline till he was reduced to almost a skeleton. In fact, one day, he fell down in a swoon through exhaustion. When he survived this condition, he changed his method, followed a middle course, and found the way to his Enlightenment was clearer.

The Attainment of Buddhahood

It was on the eve of the full-moon day of Vesākha, just 2,540 years ago, that Prince Siddhattha, a wandering ascetic, sat cross-legged beneath a Bodhi tree on the bank of the river Nerañjarā in the Forest of Uruvelā (near present day Buddhagayā)—with the strongest of determinations—not to rise from that posture on any account until he gained the Truth and Enlightenment, Buddhahood—even if the attempt might mean the loss of his very life.

The great event was approaching. The prince ascetic mustered up all his strength of mind to secure that one-pointedness of mind which is so essential for the discovery of Truth. The balancing of the mind, the prince found on this occasion, was not so easy as hitherto. There was not only the combination of the mental forces of the lower planes with those of the higher planes all around him, but also interferences strong enough to upset, off and on, the equilibrium of his mind. The resistance of the impenetrable masses of forces against the radiation of the light normally secured by him was unusual, perhaps because it was a final bid for Buddhahood, and Māra, the supreme controller of evil forces, was behind the scene.

The prince, however, worked his way through slowly but surely, backed up by the mental forces of virtues which must inevitably come back to him at the right moment. He made a vow and called upon all the brahmās and devas who had witnessed the fulfilment of his ten great perfections to join hands with him in the struggle for supremacy. This done, the association with the transcendingly pure mental forces of the brahmās and devas had a salutary effect. The thick masses of forces, which seemed impenetrable for a time, broke away, and with steady improvement in the control over the mind, they were wiped out once and for all.

All the hindrances having been overcome, the prince was able to raise his power of concentration and put the mind in a state of complete purity, tranquillity and equanimity. Gradually, the consciousness of true insight possessed him. The solution to the vital problems which confronted him made its appearance in his consciousness as an inspiration. By introspective meditation on the realities of nature in his own self, it came vividly to him that there is no substantiality, as there seems to be, in the human body and that it is nothing but the sum total of innumerable millions of kalāpas, each about the size of 1/46,656th part of a particle of dust raised by the wheel of a chariot in summer. On further investigation, he realized that this kalāpa also is matter in constant change or flux. So also with the mind, which is a representation of the mental forces (creative) going out and the mental forces (created) coming into the system of an individual continually and throughout eternity.

The Buddha then proclaimed that the Eye of Wisdom (paññā-cakkhu) arose when he overcame all false perception of substantiality within his own self. He saw by means of the lens of samādhi (concentration) the kalāpas on which he next applied the law of anicca (impermanence) and reduced them to nonentity or behaviour, doing away with what we, in Buddhism, call paññatti (concept) and coming to a state of paramattha, understanding the nature of forces or, in other words, Ultimate Reality.

Accordingly, he came to a realization of the perpetual change of mind and matter in himself (anicca) and as a sequel thereto the Truth of Suffering (dukkha). It was then that the ego-centralism in him broke down into the void, and he got over to a stage beyond suffering (dukkha-nirodha) with no more traces of attā, or attachment to self, left behind. Mind-and-matter were to him but empty phenomena which roll on forever, within the range of the Law of Cause and Effect and the Law of Dependent Origination. The Truth was realized. The inherent qualities of an Embryo Buddha then developed, and complete Enlightenment came to him by the dawn of Vesākha. Verily, Prince Siddhattha attained Sammā-sambodhi (Supreme Enlightenment) and became the Buddha, the Awakened One, the Enlightened One, the All-Knowing One. He was awake in a way compared with which all others were asleep and dreaming. He was enlightened in a way compared with which all other men were stumbling and groping in the dark. He knew with a knowledge compared with which all that other men knew was but a kind of ignorance.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have taken so much of your time today. I thank you all for your patient listening. I must also thank the clergy of the church for their kind permission given to me for this address.

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Lecture No. 2 - What Buddhism Is

(September 30, 1951)

Last Sunday I gave you a brief outline—a very brief one too—of the life of our Lord Buddha, up to the moment of his attainment of Buddhahood. I am going to tell you today what his teachings are. Buddhist teachings are preserved in what we call the Tipiṭakas, consisting of the Suttas (Discourses), the Vinaya (the rules of discipline for Saṅghas, or monks and nuns), and the Abhidhamma (the philosophical Teachings). We have the Tipiṭakas in Pāḷi in several volumes which will require an intelligent Pāḷi scholar some months just to read through. I propose, therefore, to confine myself today only to essentials, that is to say, the fundamental Truths of Buddhism.

Before Lord Buddha took upon himself the task of spreading his Dhamma (Teachings), he remained in silent meditation for a continuous period of forty-nine days, that is, seven days under the Bodhi tree and seven days each in six other spots nearby, enjoying at times the peace of Supreme Nibbāna and at other times going deeper in investigation into the most delicate problems of paramattha-dhammā (Ultimate Realities). On his complete mastery of the Law of Paṭṭhāna (the Law of Relations), in which the infinite modes of relations between thought moments are dealt with, there emerged from his body brilliant rays of six colours, which eventually settled down as a halo of six-coloured rays around his head. He passed through this seven-times-seven-days’ meditation without food. It is beyond us all to be without food for forty-nine days. The fact remains that he was throughout the period on a mental plane as distinct from a physical plane, in which mankind normally is. It is not material food that maintains the fine-material existence and life-continuum of beings in the fine-material worlds of the brahmās, but rather the Jhānic pīti, which in itself is a nutriment. So also was the case with the Buddha, whose existence during this long period was on a mental rather than physical plane. Our experiments in this line of research have firmly convinced us that for a man of such high intellectual and mental development as the Buddha, this is a possibility.

It was the dawn of the fiftieth day of his Buddhahood when he arose from this long spell of meditation. Not that he was tired or exhausted, but, as he was no longer in the mental plane, he felt a longing for food. At that time, two traders of a foreign land were travelling in several carts loaded with merchandise through the Uruvelā forest. A deva of the forest who had been their relative in one of their previous existences advised them to take the opportunity of paying homage to the All-Enlightened Buddha who had just risen from his meditation. They accordingly went to the place where the Buddha was seated, illumined by the halo of six-coloured rays. They could not resist their feelings. They lay prostrate in worship and adoration before the Buddha and later offered preserved rice cakes with honey for the first meal of the Buddha. They were accepted as his lay disciples. On their request that they might be given some tokens for their worship, the Buddha presented them with eight strands of hair from his head. You will be surprised to know that these two traders were Tapassu and Bhallika from Ukkalā, which today is known as Yangon, where you are at this moment. And the renowned Shwedagon, which you all probably have visited, is the pagoda in which were enshrined all the eight hair-relics of the Buddha under the personal direction of the then ruler of Ukkalā, 2,540 years ago. It has been preserved and renovated till now by successive Buddhist kings and devout laymen. Unfortunately, however, these two traders of Ukkalā, who had the privilege of becoming the first lay disciples of the Buddha, were disciples only by faith, without a taste of the Buddha-Dhamma in actual practice, which alone would give them deliverance from suffering and death. Faith is, no doubt, a preliminary requisite, but it is the practice of the Teachings which really counts. The Buddha therefore said, “The path must be trod by each individual; Buddhas do but point the Way.”

The Teachings of the Buddha

Buddhism is not a religion according to the dictionary meaning of the word religion because it has no centre in god, as is the case in all other religions. Strictly speaking, Buddhism is a system of philosophy co-ordinated with a code of morality—physical and mental. The goal in view is the extinction of suffering and death.

The Four Noble Truths taught by the Buddha in his first sermon, known as the Dhamma-cakka-ppavattana-sutta (The Discourse to Set in Motion the Wheel of Dhamma) form the basis on which is founded this system of philosophy. In fact, the first three of the Four Noble Truths expound the philosophy of the Buddha, while the fourth (the Eightfold Noble Path which is a code of morality-cum-philosophy) serves as a means to the end. This first sermon was given to the five ascetics led by Koṇḍañña, who were his early companions in search of the Truth. Koṇḍañña was the first disciple of the Buddha in practice to become an Arahat (a Noble One who has gone beyond the limitations of all fetters).
Now we come to the Four Noble Truths. They are:

1. Dukkha-sacca The Truth of Suffering

2. Samudaya-sacca The Truth of the Origin of Suffering

3. Nirodha-sacca The Truth of the Extinction of Suffering

4. Magga-sacca The Truth of the Path leading to the Extinction of Suffering

To come to a complete understanding of the fundamental concepts in the philosophy of the Buddha, emphasis is laid on the need for the realization of the Truth of Suffering. To bring home this point, Lord Buddha tackled the problem from two different angles.

Firstly, by a process of reasoning: He made his disciples feel that life is a struggle, life is suffering; birth is suffering; old age is suffering; illness is suffering; death is suffering. The influence of sensuality is, however, so strong in mankind that people are normally apt to forget this themselves, to forget the price they have to pay. Just think for a moment how life exists in the pre-natal period; how from the moment of birth the child has to struggle for existence; what preparations he has to make to face life; how, as a man, he has to struggle till he breathes his last. You can very well imagine what life is. Life is indeed suffering. The more one is attached to self, the greater is the suffering. In fact, the pains and sufferings a man has to undergo are suppressed in favour of momentary sensual pleasures which are but occasional spotlights in the darkness. Were it not for the moha (delusion) which keeps him away from the Truth, he would surely have worked out his way to emancipation from the rounds of life, suffering, and death.

Secondly, the Buddha made it known to his disciples that the human body is composed of kalāpas (subatomic units), each dying out simultaneously as it comes into being. Each kalāpa is a mass formed of the following nature elements:

1. Paṭhavī Extension (literally, earth)

2. Āpo Cohesion (lit., water)

3. Tejo Radiation (lit., heat and cold)

4. Vāyo Motion (lit., air)

5. Vaṇṇa Colour

6. Gandha Smell

7. Rasa Taste

8. Ojā Nutritive essence...

The first four are called mahā-bhūtas, i.e., essential material qualities which are predominant in a kalāpa. The other four are merely subsidiaries which are dependent upon and born out of the former. A kalāpa is the minutest particle noticeable in the physical plane. It is only when the eight nature elements (which have merely the characteristic of behaviour) are together that the entity of a kalāpa is formed. In other words, the coexistence of these eight nature elements of behaviour makes a mass which, in Buddhism, is known as a kalāpa. These kalāpas, according to the Buddha, are in a state of perpetual change or flux. They are nothing but a stream of energies, just like the light of a candle or an electric bulb. The body, as we call it, is not an entity as it seems to be, but a continuum of matter with the life-force coexisting.

To a casual observer, a piece of iron is motionless. The scientist knows that it is composed of electrons, all in a state of perpetual change or flux. If it is so with a piece of iron, what will be the case for a living organism, say a human being? The changes that are taking place inside the human body must be more violent. Does man feel the rocking vibrations within himself? Does the scientist who knows that all is in a state of change or flux ever feel that his own body is but energy and vibration? What will be the repercussion on the mental attitude of the man who introspectively sees that his own body is mere energy and vibration? To quench thirst one may just easily drink a glass of water from a village well. Supposing his eyes are as powerful as microscopes, he would surely hesitate to drink the very same water in which he must see the magnified microbes. So also, when one comes to a realization of the perpetual change within oneself (i.e., anicca or impermanence), one must necessarily come to the understanding as a sequel thereto of the Truth of Suffering as the consequence of the sharp sense of feeling of the radiation, vibration, and friction of the subatomic units within. Indeed, life is suffering, both within and without, to all appearances and in ultimate reality.

When I say, life is suffering, as the Buddha taught, please be so good as not to run away with the idea that, if that is so, life is miserable, life is not worth living, and that the Buddhist concept of suffering is a terrible concept which will give you no chance of a reasonably happy life. What is happiness? For all that science has achieved in the field of materialism, are the peoples of the world happy? They may find sensual pleasure off and on, but in their heart of hearts they are not happy concerning what has happened, what is happening and what may happen next. Why? This is because, while man has mastery over matter, he is still lacking in mastery over his mind.

Pleasure born of sensuality is nothing compared with the pīti (or rapture) born of the inner peace of mind which can be secured through a process of Buddhist meditation. Sense pleasures are preceded and followed by troubles and pains, as in the case of a rustic who finds pleasure in cautiously scratching the itches over his body, whereas pīti is free from such troubles and pains, either before or after. It will be difficult for you, looking from a sensuous field, to appreciate what that pīti is like. But I know you can enjoy it and have a taste of it for comparative evaluation. There is, therefore, nothing to the supposition that Buddhism teaches something that will make you feel miserable with the nightmare of suffering. But please take it from me that it will give you an escape from the normal conditions of life, a lotus as it were in a pond of crystal water immune from its fiery surroundings. It will give you that Peace Within which will satisfy you that you are getting not only beyond the day-to-day troubles of life, but slowly and surely beyond the limitation of life, suffering, and death.

What then is the Origin of Suffering? The origin of it, the Buddha said, is taṇhā or craving. Once the seed of desire is sown, it grows into greed and multiplies into craving or lust, either for power or for material gains. The man in whom this seed is sown becomes a slave to these cravings, and he is automatically driven to strenuous labours of mind and body to keep pace with them till the end comes. The final result must surely be the accumulation of the evil mental forces generated by his own actions, words, and thoughts which are motivated by lobha (desire) and dosa (anger) inherent in him. Philosophically again, it is the mental forces of actions (saṅkhāra) which react in the course of time on the person originating them and which are responsible for this stream of mind and matter, the origin of suffering within.

The Path Leading to the Extinction of Suffering

What then is the Path Leading to the Extinction of Suffering? The Path is none other than the Noble Eightfold Path taught by the Buddha in his first sermon. This Eightfold Path is divided into three main stages, namely, sīla, samādhi, and paññā.

Sila (The Moral Precepts)

• Right Speech

• Right Action

• Right Livelihood

Samādhi (Tranquillity of Mind)

• Right Exertion

• Right Attentiveness

• Right Concentration

Paññā (Wisdom, Insight)

• Right Aspiration

• Right Understanding

Sīla

The three characteristic aspects of sīla are:

• Sammā-vācā: Right Speech

• Sammā-kammanta: Right Action

• Sammā-ājiva: Right Livelihood

By Right Speech is meant: speech which must be true, beneficial, and neither foul nor malicious.
By Right Action is meant: the fundamentals of morality, which are opposed to killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, and drunkenness.
By Right Livelihood is meant: a way of living by trades other than those which increase the suffering of all beings—such as slave trading, the manufacture of weapons, and traffic in intoxicating drugs.

These represent generally the Code of Morality as initially pronounced by the Buddha in his very first sermon. Later, however, he amplified it and introduced separate codes for the monks and lay disciples.

I need not worry you with what has been prescribed for monks. I will just let you know what the code of morality, or the precepts, for a Buddhist lay disciple is. This is called pañca-sīla, or the Five Precepts, which are:

1. Pāṇātipata: Abstaining from killing any sentient being. (Life is the most precious thing for all beings, and in prescribing this precept, the Buddha’s compassion extends to all beings.)

2. Adinn’ ādāna: Abstaining from taking what is not given. (This serves as a check against improper desires for possessions.)

3. Kāmesu-micchā-cāra: Abstaining from sexual misconduct. (Sexual desire is latent in man. This is irresistible to almost all. Unlawful sexual indulgence is therefore something which the Buddha prohibited.)

4. Musāvāda: Abstaining from telling lies. (This precept is included to fulfil by way of speech the essence of Truth.)

5. Surā-meraya: Abstaining from intoxication. (Intoxication causes a man to lose his steadfastness of mind and the reasoning power so essential for the realization of Truth.)

The pañca-sīla, therefore, is intended to control actions and words and to serve as a foundation for samādhi (Equanimity of Mind).

Samādhi

Ladies and gentlemen, we now come to the mental aspect of Buddhism, which I am sure will greatly interest you. In the second stage of the Eightfold Noble Path (samādhi) are included:

• Sammā-vāyāma: Right Exertion

• Sammā-sati: Right Attentiveness

• Sammā-samādhi: Right Concentration...

Right Exertion is, of course, a prerequisite for Right Attentiveness. Unless one makes a determined effort to narrow down the range of thoughts of one’s wavering and unsteady mind, one cannot expect to secure that attentiveness of mind which in turn helps one to bring the mind by Right Concentration to a state of one-pointedness and equanimity (or samādhi). It is here that the mind becomes freed from hindrances—pure and tranquil, illumined within and without. The mind in such a state becomes powerful and bright. Outside, it is represented by light which is just a mental reflex, with the light varying in degrees from that of a star to that of the sun. To be plain, this light which is reflected before the mind’s eye in complete darkness is a manifestation of the purity, tranquillity, and serenity of the mind.

The Hindus work for it. To go from light into the void and to come back to light is truly Brahmanic. The New Testament, in Matthew, speaks of “a body full of light.” We hear also of Roman Catholic priests meditating regularly for this very miraculous light. The Koran, too, gives prominence to the “manifestation of Divine Light.”

This mental reflex of light denotes the purity of mind within, and the purity of mind forms the essence of a religious life, whether one be Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, or Muslim. Indeed, purity of mind is the greatest common denominator of all religions. Love, which alone is a means for the unity of mankind, must be supreme, and it cannot be so unless the mind is transcendentally pure. A balanced mind is necessary to balance the unbalanced minds of others. “As a fletcher makes straight his arrow, a wise man makes straight his trembling and unsteady thought, which is difficult to guard, difficult to hold back.”

So said the Buddha. Exercise of the mind is just as necessary as exercise of the physical body. Why not, then, give exercise to the mind and make it pure and strong so that you may enjoy the Jhānic Peace Within?

When Inner Peace begins to permeate the mind, you will surely progress in the knowledge of Truth. Believe it or not, it is our experience that under a proper guide, this Inner Peace and Purity of Mind with light can be secured by one and all irrespective of their religion or creed, provided they have sincerity of purpose and are prepared to submit to the guide for the period of trial. When by continued practice one has complete mastery over one’s mind, one can enter into Jhānic states (absorption states) and gradually develop oneself to acquire the attainments (samāpattis) which will give one supernormal powers like those exercised by Kāladevala, the hermit teacher of King Suddhodana. This, of course, must be tried with very strict morality and away from human habitations, but it is rather dangerous for those who still have traces of passion in them. Anyway, such a practice, which gives supernormal powers in this mundane field, was not encouraged by the Buddha, whose sole object of developing samādhi was to have the purity and strength of mind essential for the realization of Truth.

We have in Buddhism forty methods of concentration, of which the most outstanding is ānāpāna, that is, concentration on the incoming and outgoing breath, the method followed by all the Buddhas.

Paññā

Ladies and gentlemen, I will now take up the philosophical aspect of Buddhism in the third stage of the Noble Eightfold Path, paññā or Insight. The two characteristic aspects of paññā are:

• Sammā-saṅkappa: Right Aspiration (or Right Thought)

• Sammā-diṭṭhi: Right Understanding

Right Understanding of the Truth is the aim and object of Buddhism, and Right Aspiration (or Right Thought) is the analytical study of mind and matter, both within and without, in order to come to a realization of Truth.

You have heard of nāma and rūpa (mind and matter) so many times. I owe you a further explanation.

Nāma is so called because of its tendency to incline towards an object of sense. Rūpa is so called because of its impermanence due to perpetual change. The nearest terms in English to nāma and rūpa, therefore, are mind and matter. I say “nearest” because the meaning is not exact.
Nāma, strictly speaking, is the term applied to the following:

1. Consciousness (viññāṇa)

2. Feeling (vedanā)

3. Perception (saññā)

4. Volitional Energies (or Mental Forces) (saṅkhāra)

These, together with rūpa in the material state, make what we call the pañca-kkhandā or five aggregates. It is in these five aggregates that the Buddha has summed up all the mental and physical phenomena of existence, which in reality is a continuum of mind and matter coexisting, but which to a layman is his personality or ego.

In sammā-saṅkappa (Right Aspiration), the disciple, who by then has developed the powerful lens of samādhi, focuses his attention into his own self and, by introspective meditation, makes an analytical study of the nature—first of rūpa (matter) and then of nāma (mind and the mental properties). He feels—and at times he also sees—the kalāpas in their true state. He begins to realize that both rūpa and nāma are in constant change—impermanent and fleeting. As his power of concentration increases, the nature of the forces in him becomes more and more vivid. He can no longer get out of the impression that the pañca-kkhandhā, or five aggregates, are suffering, within the Law of Cause and Effect. He is now convinced that, in reality, all is suffering within and without, and there is no such thing as an ego. He longs for a state beyond suffering. So eventually going beyond the bounds of suffering, he moves from the mundane to the supramundane state and enters the stream of sotāpanna, the first of the four stages of the ariyas (Noble Ones). Then he becomes free from (i) ego, (ii) doubts, and (iii) attachment to rules and rituals. The second stage is sakadāgāmī (Once-Returner), on coming to which sensuous craving and ill-will become attenuated. He ceases to have any passion or anger when he attains the third stage of anāgāmī (Non-Returner). Arahatship is the final goal. Each of the ariyas can feel what Nibbāna is like, even as a man, as often as he may choose by going into the fruition stage of sotāpanna, etc., which gives him the Nibbānic Peace Within.

This Peace Within, which is identified with Nibbāna, has no parallel because it is supramundane. Compared with this, the Jhānic Peace Within, which I mentioned earlier in dealing with samādhi, is negligible because while the Nibbānic Peace Within takes one beyond the limits of the thirty-one planes of existence, the Jhānic Peace Within will still keep one within these planes—that is to say, in the fine-material world of the brahmās.
Ladies and gentlemen, just a word more. What I have said includes only some of the fundamental aspects of Buddhism. With the time at my disposal, I hope I have given you my best:

To come to a state of Purity of Mind with a light before you;
To go into a Jhānic state at will;
To experience for yourselves Nibbānic Peace Within.
These are all within your reach

Why not, then, try for the first two at least, which are within the confines of your own religion? I am prepared to give you any help that you may require.

May I again express my gratitude to you all for your patient listening. My thanks are also due to the clergy of the church for their kind permission.

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Lecture No. 3 - What Buddhism Is

(October 14, 1951)

The Law of Dependent Origination

My talks on “What Buddhism Is” will not be complete without a reference, though in brief, to the Law of Paṭicca-samuppāda (the Law of Dependent Origination) and the Law of Paṭṭhāna (the Law of Relations, or Cause and Effect).

It will be recalled that in summing up my first lecture, I mentioned how Prince Siddhattha, the wandering ascetic, realized the truth and became a Buddha. Lest you forget, I will repeat that portion again.

Verily, Prince Siddhattha attained Sammā-sambodhi and became the Buddha, the Awakened One, the Enlightened One, the All-Knowing One. He was awake in a way compared with which all others were asleep and dreaming. He was enlightened in a way compared with which all other men were stumbling and groping in the dark. He knew with a knowledge compared with which all that other men knew was but a kind of ignorance.

All religions, no doubt, claim to show the way to Truth. In Buddhism, for so long as one has not realized the truth (i.e., the Four Noble Truths), one is in ignorance. It is this ignorance (avijjā) that is responsible for the generation of mental forces (saṅkhāra) which regulate the life continuum (or consciousness) (viññāṇa) in all sentient beings.

Just as the life continuum is established in a new existence, mind and matter (nāma and rūpa) appear automatically and correlatively. These, in turn, are developed into a vehicle or body with sense centres (saḷāyatana). These sense centres give rise to contact (phassa), and contact of these sense centres with sense objects gives rise to sense impressions (vedanā), which have the effect of arousing desire (taṇhā) followed closely by attachment or clinging to desire (upādāna). It is this attachment, or clinging to desire, which is the cause of becoming (bhava) or of existence with the attendant birth (jāti), old age, illness, death, anxiety, agony, pains, etc. (jarā-maraṇa, etc.), all of which denote suffering. In this way the Buddha traced the origin of suffering to ignorance.

So the Buddha said:

• Ignorance is the origin of mental forces

• Mental forces, the origin of the life continuum

• The life continuum, the origin of mind and matter

• Mind and matter, the origin of the sense centres

• The sense centres, the origin of contact

• Contact, the origin of impression

• Impression, the origin of desire

• Desire, the origin of attachment

• Attachment, the origin of becoming (existence)

• Becoming (existence), the origin of birth

• Birth, the origin of old age, illness, death, anxiety, agony, pains, etc. (which are all suffering)

This chain of origination is called the Law of Dependent Origination, and the root cause of all these is therefore avijjā, ignorance—that is, ignorance of the Truth.

It is true that, superficially, desire is the origin of suffering. This is so simple. When you want a thing, desire is aroused. You have to work for it, or you suffer for it. But this is not enough. The Buddha said, “The five aggregates, which are nothing but mind and matter, also are suffering.” The Truth of suffering in Buddhism is complete only when one realizes by seeing mind and matter as they really are (both within and without) and not as they seem to be.

The Truth of Suffering is therefore something which must be experienced before it can be understood. For example, we all know from science that everything that exists is nothing but vibration caused by the whirling movement of infinite numbers of sub-atomic particles, but how many of us can persuade ourselves to believe that our own bodies are subject to the same Law? Why not then try to feel things as they really are in so far as they relate to yourself? One must be above physical conditions for this purpose. One must develop mental energy powerful enough to see things in their true state. With developed mental power, one can see through and through; one can see more than what one can see with the help of the latest scientific instruments. If that be so, why should one not see what exactly is happening in one’s own self—the atoms, the electrons and what not, all changing fast and yet never ending. It is, of course, by no means easy.

Here is an extract from a diary of one of my disciples which will give you an idea of what Suffering Within is:

21/8/51. As soon as I began to meditate I felt as if someone were boring a hole through my head, and I felt the sensation of crawling ants all over my head. I wanted to scratch, but my Guru forbade me from doing it. Within an hour I saw the sparkling radium of blue light tinged with violet colour entering inside my body gradually. When I lay in my room continuously for three hours I became almost senseless, and I felt a terrible shock in my body. I was about to be frightened but my Guru encouraged me to proceed on. I felt my whole body heated up, and I also felt the induction of the electronic needle at every part of my body.

22/8/51. Today also I lay down meditating for nearly three hours. I had the sensation that my whole body was in flames, and I also saw sparkles of blue and violet rays of light moving from top to bottom aimlessly. Then my Guru told me that the changing in the body is anicca (impermanence), and the pain and suffering following it is dukkha, and that one must get to a state beyond dukkha or suffering.

23/8/51. My Guru asked me to concentrate on my breast without the radiation of light and added that we are reaching the stage of philosophy of our body. I did accordingly and came to the conclusion that our body is full of sufferings.

In reality, this suffering within is a sequel to the keen sense of feeling of the vibration, radiation and friction of the atomic units experienced through a process of introspective meditation called vipassanā with the aid of the powerful lens of samādhi. Not knowing this truth is indeed ignorance. Knowing this truth in its ultimate reality means destruction of the root cause of suffering, that is, ignorance with all the links in the chain of causation ending with what we call “life” with its characteristics of old age, illness, anxiety, agony, pains, etc.

So much for the Law of Dependent Origination and the root cause of suffering.

The Law of Cause and Effect

Let us now turn our attention to the Causal Law of Relations as expounded by the Buddha in the Law of Paṭṭhāna in the Abhidhamma Piṭaka. This is the Law in the course of the analytical study of which six coloured rays emerged from the person of the Buddha during his non-stop meditation for forty-nine days soon after the attainment of Buddhahood. We have five volumes of about 500 pages each of Pāḷi text on this very delicate subject. I will just give here only an idea of the Law.

There are twenty-four types of relations on which the fundamental principles of cause and effect in Buddhism are based. They are:

1. Condition (Hetu)

2. Object (Ārammaṇa)

3. Dominance (Adhipati)

4. Contiguity (Anantara)

5. Immediate Contiguity (Samanantara)

6. Coexistence (Sahajāta)

7. Reciprocity (Annamanna)

8. Dependence (Nissaya)

9. Sufficing Condition (Upanissaya)

10. Antecedence (Purejāta)

11. Consequence (Pacchājāta)

12. Succession (Āsevana)

13. Action (Kamma)

14. Effect (Vipāka)

15. Support (Āhāra)

16. Control (Indriya)

17. Ecstasy (Jhāna)

18. Means (Magga)

19. Association (Sampayutta)

20. Dissociation (Vippayutta)

21. Presence (Atthi)

22. Absence (Natthi)

23. Abeyance (Vigata)

24. Continuance (Avigata)

I will explain to you now about the correlation of hetu (condition) and kamma (action) and the effect produced by their causes, as I understand them.

Hetu is the condition of the mind at one conscious moment of each kamma (action) whether physical, vocal or mental. Each kamma therefore produces a condition of mind which is either moral, immoral or neutral. This is what in Buddhism we call kusala-dhamma, akusala-dhamma, and abyākata-dhamma. These Dhammas are mere forces—i.e., mental forces—which collectively create the universe of mental forces as explained in my first lecture.

Types of Mental Forces

• Moral (kusala) Forces: Positive forces generated from kammas (actions, words, and thoughts) motivated by such good deeds as alms-giving, welfare work, devotion, purification of mind, etc.

• Immoral (akusala) Forces: Negative forces generated from kammas motivated by desire, greed, lust, anger, hatred, dissatisfaction, delusion, etc.

• Neutral (abyākata) Forces: Neither moral nor immoral. For example, an Arahat who has got rid of all traces of ignorance (avijjā). In the case of an Arahat, contact (phassa) of sense objects with the sense centres produces no reaction to sense impressions (vedanā) whatsoever, just as no impression is possible on flowing water which is ever changing.

To him, the whole framework of the body is but an ever-changing mass, and any impression thereon automatically breaks away with the mass.

Planes of Existence

Let us now adjust the moral and immoral forces generated by conditioned actions with the planes of existence. For this purpose, I will classify the planes of existence roughly as follows:

1. Arūpa- and Rūpa-Brahmā Planes

• Beyond the range of sensuality.

• Supreme love, compassion, joy, and equanimity generate transcendentally pure, brilliant, and extremely pleasing, cool, and light mental forces.

• Matter is superfine, radiant, and the bodies of the brahmās are identified with radiation or light.

2. The Sensuous Planes

Composed of:

1. The Planes of Celestial Beings

2. The Human World

3. The Planes of the Lower Forms of Existence

The Planes of Celestial Beings

• Good or meritorious deeds, words or thoughts with a taint of desire for future well-being create moral mental forces that are pure, luminous, pleasant, and light.

• Celestial beings have astral bodies varying in fineness, luminosity, and colour.

• They live in heavenly bliss until their moral mental forces are consumed, then revert to lower planes.

The Planes of the Lower Forms of Existence

• Malicious, evil, demeritorious actions, words, and thoughts create impure, dark, fiery, heavy, and hard mental forces.

• The most impure forces find their place in hell, the lowest of the four planes of existence.

• Matter is hard, crude, unpleasant, and hot.

• Suffering predominates.

The Human World

• A half-way house between heaven and hell.

• Experience of pleasure and pain mixed, determined by past kamma.

• By developing mental attitude, one can draw in mental forces from higher planes or descend to lower ones.

• Life here is unstable; all are subject to the Law of Kamma.

It is the condition of the evil mental forces submerged in the Earth just under our feet which gives rise to the Law of Gravitation. For as long as man has inherent impurities in him which, prima facie, exist, he is subject to this gravitational pull...

At the moment of death, the next existence is determined by the mental attitude at that moment:

• If tuned to lower planes, rebirth occurs there.

• If associated with the human world, rebirth may be human.

• If associated with good deeds, rebirth is in the celestial world.

• If mind is pure and tranquil, rebirth is in the brahmā world.

This is how kamma plays its role in Buddhism, with mathematical precision.

The Importance of Practice

These are the essential teachings of the Buddha. The way in which these teachings will affect the individual depends on how one takes it. There are:

• Buddhists in Faith

• Buddhists in Practice

• Buddhists by Birth

Only Buddhists in actual practice can secure the change in mental attitude and outlook. Observing the five precepts makes one a follower of the teachings of the Buddha.

What is most essential is the generation of pure and good mental forces to combat the evil mental forces which dominate mankind. This is by no means easy. One cannot rise to a level of pure mental attitude without the help of a Teacher.

Modern science has given us the atomic bomb—the most wonderful and, at the same time, the most dreadful product of man’s intelligence. Is man using his intelligence in the right way? Instead of using intelligence only for the conquest of atomic energy in matter without, why not use it also for the conquest of atomic energy within? This will give us the Peace Within and will enable us to share it with all others.

To imagine that “good” can be done by means of an “evil” is an illusion, a nightmare. The case in point is that of Korea. For all the loss of lives on both sides, now over a million, are we nearer to or further away from peace?

A change of the mental attitude of mankind through religion alone is the solution. What is necessary at the moment is mastery over mind and not only mastery over matter.

Loka-dhātu vs. Dhamma-dhātu

In Buddhism, we differentiate loka-dhātu from dhamma-dhātu:

• Loka-dhātu: Matter (with its nature elements) within the range of the physical plane.

• Dhamma-dhātu: Mind, mental properties, and aspects of the nature elements not in the physical but in the mental plane.

Modern science deals with loka-dhātu. It is just a base for dhamma-dhātu in the mental plane. A step further and we come to the mental plane; not with the knowledge of modern science but with the knowledge of Buddha-Dhamma in practice.

At least Mr H.A. Overstreet, author of The Mature Mind (New York: W.W. Norton) is optimistic about what is in store for mature minds. He said:
"The characteristic knowledge of our century is psychological... Today, at least, the time clock of science strikes the hour of psychology, and a new enlightenment begins..."

May I say that it is the Buddha-Dhamma which should be studied by one and all for a new insight into the realities of human nature. In Buddhism we have the cure for all the mental ills that affect mankind.

The Root of Dissatisfaction

Nowadays, there is dissatisfaction almost everywhere. Dissatisfaction creates ill-feeling. Ill-feeling creates hatred. Hatred creates enmity. Enmity creates war. War creates enemies. Enemies create war. War creates enemies, and so on. It is now becoming a vicious circle. Why? Certainly because there is lack of proper control over the mind.

What is man? Man is after all mental forces personified. What is matter? Matter is nothing but mental forces materialized, a result of the reaction of moral (positive) and immoral (negative) forces. The Buddha said: Cittena niyyati loko, “The world is mind-made.”

Mind, therefore, predominates over everything. Let us then study the mind and its peculiar characteristics and solve the problem that is now facing the world.

There is a great field for practical research in Buddhism. Buddhists in Burma will always welcome whoever is anxious to have the benefit of their experience.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have made an attempt to give you the best of what I know about Buddhism. I shall be glad to give any interested person such further explanation on any point that he may wish to discuss. I am grateful to you for your kind attendance and the interest taken in my lectures. May I again thank the clergy of the church for the permission so kindly given for this series of lectures on their premises.

Peace to all beings.

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The Real Values of True Buddhist Meditation

I. The Foundation of a Buddhist

A Buddhist is a person who takes refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Saṅgha.

Categories of Buddhists

1. Bhaya: A Buddhist because of danger

2. Lābha: A Buddhist because of the need for gratification

3. Kula: A Buddhist because of birth

4. Saddhā: A Buddhist because of faith

Further Classification

Buddhists may be further divided into two classes:

1. Those who intend to make a bid for release in this very life

2. Those who are just accumulating virtues (pāramī) with a view of becoming:

   • a Buddha

   • a Pacceka Buddha (i.e., a non-teaching Buddha)

   • one of the Agga-sāvakas (chief disciples)

   • one of the 80 Mahā-sāvakas (leading disciples)

   • an Arahat

Time Required for Accumulation of Virtues

• Teaching Buddhas:

  • Viriyādhika Buddha (effort as the predominating factor): 16 incalculable World-cycles (asaṅkheyya) plus 100,000 World-cycles (kappa)

  • Saddhādhika Buddha (faith as the predominating factor): 8 incalculable World-cycles plus 100,000 World-cycles

  • Paññādhika Buddha (wisdom as the predominating factor): 4 incalculable World-cycles plus 100,000 World-cycles

• Pacceka Buddha: 2 incalculable World-cycles plus 100,000 World-cycles

• Agga-sāvaka: 1 incalculable World-cycle plus 100,000 World-cycles

• Mahā-sāvaka: 100,000 World-cycles

• Arahat: 100 to 1,000 World-cycles approximately

Once a person becomes a Buddhist, he acquires the seed of the Buddha-Dhamma, which he is to develop according to his capacity. Every Buddhist is expected to walk on the Noble Eightfold Path in order to attain the goal of Nibbāna in his capacity as a Buddha, a Pacceka Buddha, or an Agga-sāvaka, etc., as he may choose. He must work for the consummation of his goal himself.

Types of Individuals Seeking Release

Among those who intend to make a bid for release in the same lifetime, there are four types of individuals:

1. Ugghaṭitaññū (of quick understanding)

2. Vipancitaññū (understanding in detail)

3. Neyya (needing to be led)

4. Padaparama (one whose highest attainment is the text)

• An ugghaṭitaññū is an individual who encounters a Buddha in person and is capable of attaining the Noble Path and Noble Truth (Dhamma) through the mere hearing of a short discourse.

• A vipancitaññū is an individual who can attain the Paths and the Fruition states only when a discourse is expounded to him at some considerable length.

• A neyya is an individual who does not have the capability of attaining the Paths and the Fruition states through the hearing of either a short or a long discourse but who must make a study of the teachings and practise the provisions contained therein for days, months, or years in order that he may attain the Paths and the Fruition states.

• In answer to a question raised by Bodhirājakumāra, the Buddha said, “I cannot say what exactly should be the time for the complete realization of the Truth. Even assuming that you renounce the world and join the Order of my Saṅgha, it might take you seven years or six years or five years or two years or one year as the case may be. Nay, it can be six months or three months or two months or one month. On the other hand, I do not discount the possibility of attaining Arahatship in a fortnight or seven days or in one day or even in a fraction of a day. It depends on so many factors.”

• A padaparama is an individual who, though he encounters a Buddha-Sāsana, and puts forth the utmost possible effort in both the study and practice of the Dhamma, cannot attain the Paths and the Fruition states within this lifetime. All that he can do is accumulate habits and potential. Such a person cannot obtain release from saṃsāra (continued rebirth) within his lifetime. If he dies while practising samatha (calm) for samādhi (concentration) or vipassanā (insight) for paññā (wisdom), and secures rebirth either as a human being or a Deva in his next existence, he can attain the Paths and Fruition states in that existence within the present Buddha-Sāsana which is to last for five thousand years from the date of the passing away of the Buddha into Mahā-parinibbāna.

It is therefore to be assumed that only those quite matured in the accumulation of virtues (pāramī), such as those of the four types of individuals referred to above, will be inclined to make that bid for release and take seriously to courses of Buddhist Meditation. As a corollary, we have no doubt that whoever is determined to follow strictly and diligently the Noble Eightfold Path through a course in Buddhist Meditation under the guidance of a qualified Teacher, is an individual either of the neyya or padaparama type.

II. The Essence of the Buddha-Dhamma

The Buddha-Dhamma is subtle, deep, and difficult to understand. It is by strictly and diligently following the Noble Eightfold Path that one can:

1. Come to the realization of the truth of suffering or ill,

2. Annihilate the cause of suffering, and then

3. Come to the end of it.

Only the accomplished saint, only the Arahat, can fully understand the truth of suffering or ill. As the truth of suffering is realized, the causes of suffering become automatically destroyed, and so, one eventually comes to the end of suffering or ill. What is most important in the understanding of the Buddha-Dhamma is the realization of the truth of suffering or ill through a process of meditation in accordance with the three steps of sīla, samādhi, and paññā of the Noble Eightfold Path.

As the Buddha put it, “It is difficult to shoot from a distance arrow after arrow through a narrow key-hole and not miss once. It is more difficult to shoot and penetrate with a tip of a hair split a hundred times a piece of hair similarly split. It is more difficult to penetrate to the fact that ‘All this is suffering or ill.’”

He who has, by the practice of the Buddha-Dhamma, passed into the four streams of sanctity and enjoyed the four Fruition states, can appreciate the six attributes of the Dhamma:

1. The Dhamma is not the result of conjecture or speculation, but the result of personal attainments, and it is precise in every respect.

2. The Dhamma produces beneficial results here and now for those who practise it in accordance with the techniques evolved by the Buddha.

3. The effect of the Dhamma on the person practising it is immediate in that it has the quality of simultaneously removing the causes of suffering with the understanding of the truth of suffering.

4. The Dhamma can stand the test of those who are anxious to try it. They can know for themselves what the benefits are.

5. The Dhamma is part of one’s own self, and is therefore susceptible to ready investigation.

6. The Fruits of the Dhamma can be fully experienced by the eight types of Noble Disciples:

   • one who has attained the first Noble Path, called Sotāpatti-magga, the Path of Stream-winning,

   • one who has attained the first Noble Fruition State, called Sotāpatti-phala, the Fruition of Stream-winning,

   • one who has attained the second Noble Path, called Sakadāgāmi-magga, the Path of Once-returning,

   • one who has attained the second Noble Fruition State, called Sakadāgāmi-phala, the Fruition of Once-returning,

   • one who has attained the third Noble Path, called Anāgāmi-magga, the Path of Non-returning,

   • one who has attained the third Noble Fruition State, called Anāgāmi-phala, the Fruition of Non-returning,

   • one who has attained the fourth Noble Path, called Arahatta-magga, the Path of Final Emancipation,

   • one who has attained the fourth Noble Fruition State, called Arahatta-phala, the Fruition of Final Emancipation.
     

III. On the Path (Training at the Centre)

Whoever is desirous of undergoing a course of training in Buddhist Meditation must go along the Noble Eightfold Path. This Noble Eightfold Path was laid down by the Buddha in his first sermon to the five ascetics (Pañca-vaggiyā) as the means to the end, and all the student has to do is to follow strictly and diligently the three steps of sīla, samādhi, and paññā, which form the essence of the Noble Eightfold Path.

Sīla (The Precepts)

1. Right Speech

2. Right Action

3. Right Livelihood

Samādhi (Tranquillity of Mind)

4. Right Exertion

5. Right Attentiveness

6. Right Concentration

Paññā (Wisdom, Insight)

7. Right Aspiration

8. Right Understanding

Sīla

For the first step, sīla, the student will have to maintain a minimum standard of morality by way of a promise to refrain from killing sentient beings, stealing others’ property, committing sexual misconduct, telling lies, and taking intoxicating drinks. This promise is not, I believe, detrimental to any religious faith. As a matter of fact, we have noticed good moral qualities in the foreigners who have come to the centre for the course of meditation and a promise of this kind was of no moment to them.

Samādhi

This is the second step, the development of the power of concentration to the degree of one-pointedness of mind. It is a way of training the mind to become tranquil, pure, and strong, and therefore forms the essence of religious life, whether one be a Buddhist, a Jew, a Christian, a Hindu, a Muslim, or a Sikh. It is, in fact, the greatest common denominator of all religions. Unless one can get the mind freed from impurities (Nīvaraṇa) and develop it to a state of purity, he can hardly identify himself with Brahmā or God. Although different methods are used by people of different religions, the goal for the development of mind is the same, that is to say, a perfect state of physical and mental calm.

The student at the Centre is helped to develop the power of concentration to one-pointedness by encouraging him to focus his attention on a spot on the upper lip at the base of the nose, synchronizing the inward and outward motion of respiration with the silent awareness of in-breath and out-breath. Whether the energy of life is from mental forces (saṅkhāra) resulting from one’s own actions, as in Buddhism, or from God, as in Christianity, the symbol of life is the same. It is the rhythm, pulsation, or vibration dormant in man. Respiration is, in fact, a reflection of this symbol of life. In the Ānāpāna meditation technique (i.e., respiration mindfulness) which is followed at the Centre, one great advantage is that the respiration is not only natural, but is also available at all times for the purpose of anchoring one’s attention to it, to the exclusion of all other thoughts. With a determined effort to narrow down the range of thought waves, first to the area around the nose with respiration mindfulness and gradually, with the wave-length of respiration becoming shorter and shorter, to a spot on the upper lip with just the warmth of the breath, there is no reason why a good student in meditation should not be able to secure one-pointedness of mind in a few days of training.

There are always pointers to the progress of this meditation when steered in the right direction, by way of symbols which take the form of something “white” as opposed to anything “black”. They are in the form of clouds or of cotton wool, and sometimes in shapes of white such as smoke or cobwebs or a flower or disc. But when the attention becomes more concentrated, they appear as flashes or points of light or as a tiny star or moon or sun. If these pointers appear in meditation (with the eyes closed, of course), then it should be taken for granted that samādhi is being established. What is essential, then, is for the student to try after each short spell of relaxation to get back to samādhi with the pointer of “light” as quickly as possible. If he can do this, he is quite ready to be switched on to Vipassanā meditation to gain insight into the Ultimate Truth and enjoy the Great Peace of Nibbāna. If he is able to focus his attention on one point at the base of the nose with a minute point remaining stationary for some time, it is all the better, because at that time he reaches upacāra-samādhi or Neighbourhood Concentration.

“Mind is intrinsically pure,” the Buddha said. “It becomes polluted however, by the absorption of impurities [akusala forces].” In the same way that salt water can be distilled into pure water, so too a student in Ānāpāna meditation can eventually get his mind distilled of impurities and brought to a perfect state of purity.

Paññā

Paññā means insight into what is true of nature which is realized only when one has attained the Noble Paths (magga) and enjoyed the Fruits (phala) of one’s endeavours in Buddhist Meditation. Meditation is inseparable from the development of the power of mind towards samādhi and the intimate study of what is true of nature towards the realization of the Truth.

When the student has reached a certain level of samādhi, preferably upacāra-samādhi, the course of training is changed to Vipassanā or Insight. This requires the use of the powerful lens of samādhi already developed and involves an examination of the inherent tendencies of all that exists within one’s own self. He is taught to become sensitive to the on-going processes of his own organism which, in other words, are sub-atomic reactions ever taking place in all living beings. When the student becomes engrossed in such sensations, which are the products of nature, he comes to the realization, physically and mentally, of the Truth that his whole physical being is after all a changing mass. This is the fundamental concept of anicca in Buddhism—the nature of the change that is ever taking place in everything, whether animate or inanimate, that exists in this universe. The corollary is the concept of dukkha—the innate nature of suffering or ill—which becomes identified with life. This is true because of the fact that the whole structure of a being is made up of sub-atomic particles (kalāpas in Buddhism), all in a state of perpetual combustion. The last concept is that of anattā. You call a substance whatever appears to you to be a substance. In reality there is no substance as such. As the course of meditation progresses, the student comes to the realization that there is no substantiality in his so-called self, and there is no such thing as the core of a being. Eventually he breaks down the ego-centralism in himself in respect to both mind and body. He then emerges out of meditation with a new outlook—ego-less and selfless—alive to the fact that whatever happens in this Universe is subject to the fundamental laws of cause and effect. He knows with his inward eye the illusory nature of the separate self.

IV. The Fruits of Meditation

The Fruits of Meditation are innumerable. They are embodied in the discourse on the advantages of a samaṇa’s life, the Sāmañña-phala Sutta. The very object of becoming a samaṇa or monk is to follow strictly and diligently the Noble Eightfold Path and not only to enjoy the Fruition (phala) of Sotāpatti and Sakadāgāmī and Anāgāmī and Arahatta, but also to develop many kinds of faculties. A layman who takes to meditation to gain insight into the Ultimate Truth also has to work in the same way, and if his potentials are good, he may also enjoy a share of those fruits and faculties.

Only those who take to meditation with good intentions can be assured of success. With the development of the purity and power of the mind, backed by insight into the Ultimate Truth of nature, one might be able to do a lot of things in the right direction for the benefit of mankind.

The Buddha said, “O monks, develop the power of concentration. He who is developed in the power of concentration sees things in their true perspective.”

This is true of a person who is developed in samādhi. It must be all the more so in the case of a person who is developed not only in samādhi but also in paññā (wisdom).

It is a common belief that a man whose power of concentration is good and who can secure a perfect balance of mind at will can achieve better results than a person who is not so developed. There are, therefore, definitely many advantages that accrue to a person who undergoes a successful course of training in meditation, whether he be a religious man, an administrator, a politician, a businessman, or a student.

My own case may be cited as an example. If I have to say something here about myself, it is with a sincere desire to illustrate just what practical benefits can accrue to a person practising Buddhist meditation, and with no other motive whatsoever. The events are factual and, of course, one cannot deny the facts.

I took up Buddhist meditation seriously in January 1937. My life sketch in “Who is Who” of the Guardian Magazine, December 1961, gives an account of the duties and responsibilities of government which I have been discharging from time to time. I retired from the service of the government on March 26, 1953, on attaining the age of 55, but was re-employed from that date till now in various capacities, most of the time holding two or more separate posts equivalent to those of Head of Department. At one time I was holding three separate sanctioned appointments of the status of Head of Department for nearly three years, and on another occasion, four such sanctioned posts simultaneously for about a year.

In addition, there were also a good number of special assignments either as a member of Standing Committees in the Departments of the Prime Minister and National Planning or as chairman or member of ad hoc committees. (Please see statement A.)

Dr Elizabeth K. Nottingham, in her paper “Buddhist Meditation in Burma,” asked:

May it [meditation] not possibly help to create a reservoir of calm and balanced energy to be used for the building of a “welfare state” and as a bulwark against corruption in public life?

To this question, in view of statement A placed before you, my answer would definitely be Yes. I can say this with conviction because the achievements in all spheres of work happened to be most outstanding in spite of the fact that each of the posts (Director of Commercial Audit, Chairman of the State Agricultural Marketing Board, and Principal of the Government Institute for Accounts and Audit) is a challenge to any senior officer of government.

I was appointed Director of Commercial Audit, that is, I was Head of the Directorate of Commercial Audit, starting on June 11, 1956, with the responsibility of reorganizing the Directorate, which was formed on Oct. 4, 1955, with a staff of just fifty men, including only three qualified accountants. The problem was to reorganize the Directorate and raise the standard of its efficiency to cope with the work of auditing the transactions of the developing Boards and Corporations of Burma, the annual receipts and payments of which were roughly fifteen and eighteen hundred million kyats respectively in 1955 and 1956.

Next, I was appointed as Chairman of the State Agricultural Marketing Board on June 21, 1956 (just ten days after the appointment as Director of Commercial Audit) to take charge of the affairs of the Board, which were found to be deteriorating; the accounts being in arrears for five years, the surplus stock at the end of the preceding year was 1.7 million tons, and the market price of rice (S.M.S.) having fallen from 5/860 per ton in 1953 to 5/834 per ton in 1956. There was also the problem of disunity between the officers and members of subordinate rank.

In 1958, acting upon the recommendation of the Board’s Enquiry Commission (headed by the Prime Minister) of which I was a member, the establishment of a Government Institute for Accounts and Audit was brought up. Burma was extremely short of accountants and account clerks. The result was that, with the exception of two organizations of pre-war origin, the accounts of the Boards and Corporations were badly in arrears (for two to four years), and in addition many irregularities came to light. I was accordingly charged, in addition to my own existing duties, with the responsibility of establishing a State Institute of Government Accounts and Audit which was to give training to the officers and staff of all Boards and Corporations in Burma. I assumed charge of the post of Principal of the Government Institute for Accounts and Audit on 1/4/58, to do spade work, and the Institute itself was formally opened by the Prime Minister on July 11, 1958.

The results of these undertakings will surely illustrate what “a reservoir of calm and energy” one can create with Buddhist meditation to be used for the building of a “welfare state”.

V. Human Relations

The attitude towards life of a Buddhist who makes a bid for release during this lifetime differs from that of one who is in the process of accumulating virtues in order to consummate his vow to become a Buddha. For example, Rājagaha and Sāvatthi were the chief seats of the Buddha during his lifetime. Rājagaha was the capital of the kingdom of King Bimbisāra, who had made a bid for release during that very lifetime and who attained the first Noble Path and became an ariya (Noble One). He was very devoted to the Lord Buddha and had built a stupendous monastery, known as the Veḷuvana Monastery, for the Buddha and his disciples. He accorded pardon to all the citizens who had committed crimes if they joined the order of the Buddha’s Saṅgha. He was known as King Abhaya, the Harmless King. He would not harm anybody himself and would avoid encouraging others to harm anybody. His power in administration was his love for humanity.

On the other hand, Sāvatthi was the capital of Kosala where Pasenadi was king. He too was very devoted to the Buddha. In fact, the Buddha stayed in Sāvatthi longer than elsewhere. This king was in the process of accumulating virtues in order to become a Buddha, and although he would try by all possible means to avoid doing harm to others, when occasion demanded it, he was prepared to suffer himself the consequences of saving those depending on him. Once he stopped at the Buddha’s monastery on his way back to the palace after his conquest of the enemy in a battle which took place on the border of his kingdom. He led the army out to fight the enemy in order to save his country and his people from the invaders, failing which, his countrymen would have suffered maltreatment and torture. When he mentioned to the Buddha his conquest of the enemy, the Buddha smiled and told him, “You have made more enemies than you had before the incident.” It can therefore be understood that those who are in the process of accumulating virtues cannot, at times, avoid committing an offence which would take them to the sub-human planes of existence, and in consequence are prepared to suffer themselves for the offence for the sake of humanity.

As to how loving kindness reinforced with the power of Truth can do something tangible in the domain of human relations, let me cite a few of my own experiences.

I was required by the Prime Minister to investigate the many irregularities suspected in the State Agricultural Marketing Board, and accordingly I was appointed on Aug. 15, 1955, to be Chairman of the S.A.M.B. Special Enquiry Committee. The reports made by me to the government led to further enquiries by the Bureau of Special Investigations, and their enquiries led to the arrest of four Officers of the Board, including the General Manager, during the time of the annual conference of the Board’s Officers. This was so resented by the officers in conference that they submitted their resignations en masse from their appointments under the Board. This action by the officers created an impasse and the situation was aggravated when the Union of Employees of the Board gave support to their cause through their all-Burma annual conference being held at Pegu. The government decided to accept their resignations, and this decision upset most of the officers, who half-heartedly had taken that course of action. Eventually, after some negotiations by third parties, they withdrew their resignations and surrendered themselves to the government for a token penalty.

It was in this atmosphere that I had to join the State Agricultural Marketing Board as its Chairman, before I could forget their slogans denouncing the Special Enquiry Committee and the Bureau of Special Investigations. I had no grudge, however, against anybody, because I had worked for the best interests of the country and was sure that I could prevail upon them with my point of view that my acceptance of the offer of the post of Chairman of the Board was to save the situation of the Board and the country at that critical juncture, and to work for the efficiency and welfare of the employees, as well as the other people connected with the business of the Board. In point of fact, after a few meetings with the representatives of these bodies, I should say I had really turned the tide. The officers and the staff were reunited and there was co-ordination between the Board and the millers and other traders. New plans were drawn up and improved techniques introduced. The results were better than what anyone could have dared imagine. These results have already been mentioned in the section “The Fruits of Meditation.” As a result of their whole-hearted co-operation and unrelenting effort which contributed to the success of the undertaking I had very strongly recommended, the government very kindly granted the title of “Wunna Kyaw Htin” to the two officers of the Board, one of whom was the Deputy General Manager (administration) and the other was the President of the State Agricultural Marketing Board Employees’ Union. Employees’ Unions normally run counter to the government, and I presume such a case of awarding a title to the President of an Employees’ Union must be rare.

For the Directorate of Commercial Audit, the case is not at all difficult. There is a Buddhist Society, many of the members of which are my disciples in meditation, and there is also a Social Club, where there is a brotherly feeling among all the officers and staff of the Directorate. Religious functions are held annually where one and all join hands for the common objective, and twice a year they pay homage to the Director, both as a Teacher and as the Head of the Organization. The Social Club arranges annual trips in a chartered launch or other means of transportation to outstations for relaxation where members of the employees’ families also join them, and a pleasant atmosphere is created for all. All this helps to promote understanding and pave the way for efficiency in the Directorate.

For the Institute of Accounts and Audit, where teachers with extraordinary patience and goodwill are required apart from their qualifications and teaching experience, the Vice-Principal and the lecturers are mostly those who have taken courses of meditation at the Centre. For all types of students the good intentions of the teachers prevail on them and the response of the students in all the classes has been consistently excellent. From the date of the inception of the Institute, there has not been a single complaint from the students. On the other hand, at the close of each course of study there are parties held by the students in honour of the Principal and the teachers, where they invariably express their gratitude for the kindness shown to them and the pains taken to help them understand their lessons thoroughly.

I have no doubt, therefore, that meditation plays a very important role in the development of the mind to enable one to have the best in human relations.

VI. By-Products

In the section “The Fruits of Meditation,” I have explained what the advantages of meditation can be. I would particularly refer to the advantages of meditation as mentioned in the Sāmañña-phala Sutta (the discourse on the Advantages of a Samaṇa’s Life) and the records of appreciation by foreigners in the “Introduction to the International Meditation Centre.” What I am going to state here concerns the very minor by-products of meditation relating to physical and mental ills. This is not the age for showing miracles, such as rising into the air and walking on the surface of the water, which would be of no direct benefit to people in general. But if the physical and mental ills of men could be removed through meditation, it should be something for one to ponder.

According to the Buddhist way of thinking, each action, whether by deed, word, or thought, produces or leaves behind a force of action (Saṅkhāra) which goes to the credit or debit account of the individual according to its good or bad objective. This invisible something, which we call Saṅkhāra or forces of action, is the product of the mind, with which each action is related. It has no element of extension [i.e., it is not confined by space]. The whole universe is permeated with the forces of action of all living beings. The causal theory of life has its origin, we believe, in these forces—each individual absorbing continually the forces of his own actions and at the same time releasing new forces of actions by deeds, words, and thoughts creating, so to speak, an unending cycle of life with pulsation, rhythm, and vibration as its symbol.

Let us take the forces of good actions as positive and the forces of bad actions as negative. Then we get what we may call the positive and negative reactions which are always taking place everywhere in the universe. They are taking place in all animate and inanimate objects—in my body, in your body, and in the bodies of all living beings. When one can understand these concepts through a proper course of meditation, one knows nature as it truly is. With the awareness of the Truth of Anicca and/or Dukkha and/or Anattā, one develops in oneself what we may call the sparkling illumination of Nibbāna Dhātu, a power that dispels all impurities or poisons, the products of bad actions which are the source of one’s physical and mental ills. Just as fuel is burnt away on ignition, the negative forces (impurities or poisons) within are eliminated by the Nibbāna Dhātu which one generates with the true awareness of Anicca in the course of meditation. This process of elimination should go on until such time as both mind and body are completely cleansed of such impurities or poisons.

Among those who have taken courses of meditation at the Centre, there were some who were suffering from complaints such as hypertension, T.B., migraine, thrombosis, etc. They became relieved of these even in the initial course of ten days. If they maintain the awareness of Anicca and take longer courses of meditation at this Centre, there is every likelihood of the diseases being rooted out in the course of time. Since anything which is the root cause of one’s own physical and mental ills is Samudaya (the origin of suffering), and since this Samudaya can be removed by the Nibbāna Dhātu which one generates in true Buddhist Meditation, we make no distinction between this or that disease. One aspect of meditation is Samudaya Pahātabba, which literally means, “for the removal of the causes of suffering.”

A note of caution is necessary here. When one develops Nibbāna Dhātu, the impact of this Nibbāna Dhātu upon the impurities and poisons within one’s own system will create a sort of upheaval which must be endured. This upheaval tends to increase the sensitivity to the radiation, friction, and vibration of the sub-atomic units within. This will grow in intensity, so much so that one might feel as though one’s body were just electricity and a mass of suffering. In the case of those who have diseases, such as those mentioned above, the impact will be all the stronger and, at times, almost explosive. Nevertheless, enduring it, one becomes alive to the fact that a change is taking place within oneself for the better, and that the impurities are gradually diminishing, and that one is slowly but surely getting rid of the disease.

Mankind today is facing the danger of radioactive poisons. If such poisons absorbed by a man exceed the maximum permissible concentration (m.p.c.), he enters the danger zone.

I have a firm belief that the Nibbāna Dhātu which a person in true Buddhist Meditation develops is Power that will be strong enough to eradicate the radioactive poisons, if any, in him.

Dhammapada, Verse 203

Jighacchā paramā rogā,
saṅkhāra paramā dukhā,
etaṃ ñatvā yathā-bhūtaṃ,
nibbānaṃ paramaṃ sukhaṃ.

Hunger is the greatest disease. Conditioned existence is the greatest suffering.
Experiencing this as it truly is (results in) Nibbāna, the greatest happiness.

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The Essentials of Buddha-Dhamma in Practice

Anicca, dukkha and anattā are the three essential elements in the Buddha’s teachings.

If you know anicca (impermanence) truly, you know dukkha (unsatisfactoriness) also as a sequel and anattā (no-self) as the ultimate truth. It takes time to understand the three together. Anicca is, of course, the essential factor which must first be experienced and understood by practice. A mere reading of the books on Buddhism or book-knowledge of the Buddha-Dhamma will not be enough for the understanding of true anicca because the experiential aspect will be missing. It is only through experience and understanding of the nature of anicca as an ever-changing process within your very self that you can understand anicca in the way the Buddha would like you to understand it. This understanding of anicca can be developed, as in the days of the Buddha, by persons who have no book-knowledge whatsoever of Buddhism.

To understand anicca, one must follow strictly and diligently the Eightfold Noble Path which is divided into the three steps of sīla, samādhi, and paññā.

Sīla or virtuous living is the base for samādhi, that is, control of the mind to one-pointedness. It is only when samādhi is good that one can develop paññā (wisdom). So, sīla and samādhi are the prerequisites for paññā. By paññā is meant the understanding of anicca, dukkha and anattā through the practice of Vipassanā.

Whether a Buddha has arisen or not, the practice of sīla and samādhi is present in the world of mankind. In fact, they are the common denominators of all religious faith. They are, however, not the means to the end—the end of suffering.

In his search for this end of suffering, Prince Siddhattha found this out and he worked his way through to find the Path which leads to the end of suffering. After solid work for six years, he found the way out, became completely enlightened and then taught men and gods to follow the Path which leads them to the end of suffering.

In this connection I should like to explain that each action, either by deed, word or thought, leaves behind a force of action, saṅkhāra (or kamma), for everyone, which becomes the source of the supply of energy to sustain life, which is inevitably followed by suffering and death. It is by the development of the power inherent in the understanding of anicca, dukkha and anattā that one is able to rid oneself of the saṅkhāra which becomes accumulated in one’s own personal account. This process begins with the true understanding of anicca while further accumulations of fresh actions and the reduction of the supply of energy to sustain life are taking place simultaneously from time to time and from day to day. It is, therefore, a matter of a lifetime or more to get rid of all of one’s own saṅkhāra or kamma. He who has got himself rid of all saṅkhāra (or kamma) comes to the end of suffering, because by then, there is no remainder of his saṅkhāra to give the necessary life energy to sustain him in any form of life. This end of suffering is reached by the Buddha and the Arahats on the termination of their lives, when they pass into Parinibbāna. For us of today, who take to Vipassanā meditation, it should suffice if we can understand anicca very well and reach the stage of an Ariya (Noble One): a Sotāpatti-puggala (the first stage of Enlightenment), one who will not live more than seven lives to come to the end of suffering.

This anicca, which opens the door to the understanding of dukkha and anattā, and then leads to the end of suffering eventually, can be encountered only through a Buddha or, after he has passed away, through his teachings for as long as those aspects relating to the Eightfold Noble Path and the 37 Factors of Enlightenment (bodhi-pakkhiya) remain intact and are available to the aspirant.

For progress in Vipassanā meditation, a student must keep knowing anicca as continuously as possible. The Buddha’s advice to monks is that they shall try to maintain the awareness of anicca or dukkha or anattā in all postures, whether sitting or standing or walking or lying down. The continuity of awareness of anicca and so of dukkha and anattā is the secret of success. The last words of the Buddha, just before he breathed his last and passed away into Mahā-parinibbāna were:

Vaya-dhamma saṅkhāra;
Appamādena sampādetha.

Decay or anicca is inherent in all compounded things. Work out your own salvation with diligence.
Digha-nikāya, Sutta 16

This is in fact the essence of all his teachings during the forty-five years he taught. If you will keep up the awareness of anicca that is inherent in all compoounded things, you are sure to reach the goal in the course of time.

In the meantime, as you develop in the understanding of anicca, your insight into “what is true of nature” will become greater and greater. So much so that eventually you will have no doubt whatsoever of the three characteristics of anicca, dukkha and anattā. It is only then that you are in a position to go ahead for the goal in view.

Now that you know anicca as the first essential factor, you should try to understand what anicca is with clarity and as extensively as possible—so as not to get confused in the course of practice or discussion.

The real meaning of anicca is impermanence or decay—that is, the inherent nature of impermanence or decay in everything that exists in the universe, whether animate or inanimate.

To make my work of explanation easy for the present-day generation, I might draw attention to the opening sentences of the chapter “Atomic Contents” in the book Inside the Atom by Isaac Asimov and also to a portion of the contents on page 159 of the book about chemical reactions going on at the same time in all parts of the body of a living creature such as a human being.

This should be sufficient to bring home the point of view that all things, different as they are, are made of tiny particles called “atoms.” These atoms have been proved by science to be in a state of arising and dissolution or change. We should accordingly accept the concept of the Buddha that all compounded things are subject to change, decay or anicca.

But in expounding the theory of anicca, the Buddha started with the behaviour that makes matter, and matter as known to the Buddha is very much smaller than the atom that the science of today has discovered. The Buddha made it known to his disciples that everything that exists in the universe, whether animate or inanimate, is composed of kalāpas (very much smaller than atoms), each dying out simultaneously as it comes into being. Each kalāpa is a mass formed of the eight nature elements, namely, paṭhavī, āpo, tejo, vāyo, vaṇṇa, gandha, rasa, ojā (solid, liquid, heat, motion, colour, odour, taste and nutriment). The first four are called material qualities which are predominant in a kalāpa. The other four are merely subsidiaries which are dependent upon and born out of the former. A kalāpa is the minutest particle in the physical plane—still beyond the range of science of today.

It is only when the eight nature elements (which have merely the characteristics of behaviour) are together that the entity of a kalāpa (the tiniest particle of matter in the physical plane) is formed. In other words, the co-existence for a moment of these eight nature elements of behaviour makes a mass, just for that moment, which in Buddhism is known as a kalāpa. The size of a kalāpa is about 1/46,656th part of a particle of dust from the wheel of a chariot in summer in India. The life span of a kalāpa is a moment, there being a trillion such moments in the wink of an eye of a human being. These kalāpas are all in a state of perpetual change or flux. To a developed student in Vipassanā meditation they can be felt as a stream of energy. The human body is not an entity as it seems to be, but a continuum of an aggregate of matter (rūpa) with the life force (nāma) co-existing.

To know that our very body is composed of tiny kalāpas, all in a state of change, is to know what is true of the nature of change or decay. This nature of change or decay (anicca) occasioned by the continual breakdown and replacement of kalāpas, all in a state of combustion, must necessarily be identified with dukkha, the truth of suffering. It is only when you experience impermanence (anicca) as dukkha (suffering or ill) that you come to the realization of the Truth of Suffering of the Four Noble Truths, on which so much emphasis has been laid in the teachings of the Buddha. Why? Because when you realize the subtle nature of dukkha from which you cannot escape for a moment, you will become truly afraid of, disgusted with, and disinclined to continue your very existence of rūpa and nāma and look out for a way of escape to a state beyond—that is, beyond dukkha, and so to the end of suffering. What that end of suffering would be like, you will be able to have a taste of, even as a human being, when you reach the level of a Sotāpatti and are developed well enough by practice to go into the unconditioned state of the Peace of Nibbāna within.

Be that as it may, for everyday life, no sooner are you able to keep up the awareness of anicca in practice, than you will know for yourself that a change is taking place in you, both physically and mentally, for the better.

Before entering into the practice of Vipassanā meditation, that is, after samādhi has been developed to a proper level, a student should first be acquainted with the theoretical knowledge of rūpa (matter) and nāma (mind and mental properties). If he has understood these well in theory and has come to the proper level of samādhi, there is every likelihood of his understanding anicca, dukkha and anattā in the true sense of the words of the Buddha.

In Vipassanā meditation, one contemplates not only the changing nature (anicca) of rūpa or matter, but also the changing nature (anicca) of nāma, thought-elements of attention projected towards the process of change of rūpa or matter. At times the attention will be on the anicca of rūpa or matter only. At times the attention may be on the anicca of thought-elements (nāma). When one is contemplating the anicca of rūpa or matter, one realizes also that the thought-elements arising simultaneously with the awareness of the anicca of rūpa or matter are also in a state of transition or change. In that case you are knowing the anicca of both rūpa and nāma together.

All I have said so far relates to the understanding of anicca through the body-feelings, to the understanding of the process of change of rūpa or matter, and also of the thought-elements depending upon such changing processes. You should know also that anicca can be understood through other types of feeling as well.

Anicca can be developed through feeling

• by contact of visible form with the sense organ of the eye,

• by contact of sound with the sense organ of the ear,

• by contact of smell with the sense organ of the nose,

• by contact of taste with the sense organ of the tongue,

• by contact of touch with the sense organ of the body,

• by contact of thought with the sense organ of the mind.

In fact, one can develop the understanding of anicca through any of the six organs of sense. In practice, however, we have found that, of all types of feelings, the feelings of the contact of touch with the component parts of the body in a process of change covers a wide area for introspective meditation. Not only that, but the feeling by contact of touch (by way of the friction, radiation and vibrations of the kalāpas within) with the component parts of the body is more tangible than other types of feeling, and therefore a beginner in Vipassanā meditation can come to the understanding of anicca more easily through body feelings of the nature of change of rūpa or matter. This is the main reason why we have chosen the body feeling as a medium for the quick understanding of anicca. It is open to anyone to try other means, but my suggestion is that one should have oneself well established in the understanding of anicca through body feelings before an attempt is made through other types of feeling.

There are ten levels of knowledge of Vipassanā, namely:

1. Sammasana: the appreciation of anicca, dukkha and anattā by close observation and analysis, of course, theoretically.

2. Udayabbaya: knowledge of the arising and dissolution of rūpa and nāma.

3. Bhaṅga: knowledge of the fast-changing nature of rūpa and nāma—as a swift flow of current or a stream of energy.

4. Bhaya: knowledge of the fact that this very existence is dreadful.

5. Ādīnava: knowledge of the fact that this very existence is full of evils.

6. Nibbidā: knowledge of the fact that this very existence is disgusting.

7. Muccitu-kamyatā: knowledge of the urgent need to escape from this very existence.

8. Paṭisaṅkhā: knowledge of the fact that the time has come to work with full realization for salvation with anicca as the base.

9. Saṅkhārupekkhā: knowledge of the fact that the stage is now set to get detached from saṅkhāra and to break away from ego-centrism.

10. Anuloma: knowledge that would accelerate the attempt to reach the goal.

These are the levels of attainment that one gets through during the course of Vipassanā meditation, which in the case of those who reach the goal in a short time can be known only in retrospect. With progress in the understanding of anicca, one gets through these levels of attainment; subject, however, to adjustments or help at certain levels by a competent teacher. One should avoid looking forward to such attainments in anticipation, as this will distract one from the continuity of awareness of anicca which alone can and will give one the desired reward.

Now let me deal with Vipassanā meditation from the point of view of a householder in everyday life and explain the benefit one can derive from it, here and now, in this very lifetime.

The initial object of Vipassanā Meditation is to activate anicca in one’s own self or to experience one’s own inner self in anicca and to get eventually to a state of inner and outer calmness and balance. This is achieved when one becomes engrossed in the feeling of anicca within.

The world is now facing serious problems—threatening mankind. It is just the right time for everyone to take to Vipassanā meditation and learn how to find a deep pool of quiet in the midst of all that is happening today. Anicca is inside everybody. It is with everybody. It is within reach of everybody. Just a look into one’s own self and there it is—anicca to be experienced. When one can feel anicca, when one can experience anicca and when one can become engrossed in anicca, one can at will cut away from the world of ideation outside. Anicca is, for the householder, the gem of life which he will treasure to create a reservoir of calm and balanced energy for his own well-being and for the welfare of society. Anicca, when properly developed, strikes at the root of one’s physical and mental ills and removes gradually whatever is bad in one, that is, the sources of such physical and mental ills. In the lifetime of the Buddha there were some 70 million people in Sāvatthi and places around, in the kingdom of Pasenadi Kosala. Of them, about 50 million were Ariyas who had passed into the stream of Sotāpatti. The number of householders who took to Vipassanā meditation must therefore have been more.

Anicca is not reserved for men who have renounced the world for the homeless life. It is for the householder as well. In spite of drawbacks that make a householder restless in these days, a competent teacher or guide can help a student to get anicca activated in a comparatively short time. Once he has got it activated, all that is necessary would be for him to try and preserve it, but he must make it a point, as soon as time or opportunity presents itself for further progress, to work for the stage of Bhaṅga—the third level of knowledge in Vipassanā. If he reaches this level, there will be little or no problem because he should then be able to experience anicca without much ado and almost automatically. In this case anicca shall become his base, for return thereto as soon as the domestic needs of daily life, all physical and mental activities, are over. There is likely, however, to be some difficulty with one who has not as yet reached the stage of Bhaṅga. It will be just like a tug-of-war for him between anicca within and physical and mental activities outside the body. So, it would be wise for him to follow the motto of “Work while you work; play while you play.” There is no need for him to be activating anicca all the time. It should suffice if this could be confined to the regular period or periods set apart in the day or night for the purpose. During this time at least, an attempt must be made to keep the mind/attention inside the body with the awareness exclusively of anicca, that is to say, his awareness of anicca should be from moment to moment, or so continuous it does not allow for the interpolation of any discursive or distracting thoughts which are definitely detrimental to progress. In case this is not possible, he would have to go back to respiration mindfulness, because samādhi is the key to anicca. To get good samādhi, sīla has to be perfect, since samādhi is built upon sīla. For good anicca, samādhi must be good. If samādhi is excellent, awareness of anicca will also become excellent.

There is no special technique for activating anicca other than the use of the mind set to a perfect state of balance and attention projected to the object of meditation. In Vipassanā the object of meditation is anicca and therefore in the case of those used to drawing back their attention to body feeling, they can feel anicca directly. In experiencing anicca on or in the body, it should first be in the area where one can easily get his attention engrossed, changing the areas of attention from place to place, from head to feet and from feet to head, at times probing into the interior. At this stage, it must be clearly understood that no attention is to be paid to the anatomy of the body but right to the formation of matter (kalāpas) and the nature of their constant change. If these instructions are observed, there will surely be progress, but the progress depends also on one’s pāramīs (Perfections) and the devotion of the individual to the work of meditation. If he attains high levels of knowledge, his power to understand the three characteristics of anicca, dukkha and anattā will increase and he will accordingly come nearer and nearer to the goal of Ariya—which every householder should keep in view.

This is the age of science. Men today have no utopia. They will not accept anything unless the results are good, concrete, vivid, personal and here-and-now.

When the Buddha was alive, he said to the Kāḷāmas:

Now look, you Kāḷāmas. Be not misled by report or tradition or hearsay. Be not misled by proficiency in the collections, nor by reason or logic, nor after reflection on and approval of some theory; nor because it conforms with one’s inclination nor out of respect for the prestige of a teacher.
But Kāḷāmas, when you know for yourselves, these things are unwholesome, these things are blameworthy, these things are censured by the intelligent; these things, when practised and observed, conduce to loss and sorrow; then do you reject them. But if at any time you know for yourselves, these things are wholesome, these things are blameless, these things are praised by the intelligent; these things when practised and observed are conducive to welfare and happiness; then Kāḷāmas should you, having practised them, abide therein.

The time clock of Vipassanā is now struck—that is, for the revival of the Buddha-Dhamma, Vipassanā in practice. We have no doubt whatsoever about definite results accruing to those who would with open mind sincerely undergo a course of training under a competent teacher. I mean results which will be accepted as good, concrete, vivid, personal, here-and-now, results which will keep them in good stead and in a state of well-being and happiness for the rest of their lives.

MAY ALL BEINGS BE HAPPY, AND MAY PEACE PREVAIL IN THIS WORLD.

Appendix

Extract from Inside the Atom by Isaac Asimo - Chapter 1: Atomic Contents, What All Things Are Made Of.

There are so many things in the world that are so completely different from one another that the variety is bewildering. We can’t look about us anywhere without realizing that.

For instance, here I sit at a desk, made out of wood. I am using a typewriter made out of steel and other metals. The typewriter ribbon is made of silk and is coated with carbon. I am typing on a sheet of paper made of wood pulp and am wearing clothes made of cotton, wool, leather, and other materials. I myself am made up of skin, muscle, blood, bone, and other living tissues, each different from the others.

Through a glass window I can see sidewalks made of crushed stone and roads made of a tarry substance called asphalt. It is raining, so there are puddles of water in sight. The wind is blowing, so I know there is an invisible something called air all about us.

Yet all these substances, different as they seem, have one thing in common. All of them—wood, silk, glass, flesh and blood, all of them—are made up of small, separate particles. The earth itself, the moon, the sun, and all the stars are made up of small particles.

To be sure, you can’t see these particles. In fact, if you look at a piece of paper or at some wooden or metallic object, it doesn’t seem to be made of particles at all. It seems to be one solid piece.

But suppose you were to look at an empty beach from an airplane. The beach would seem like a solid, yellowish stretch of ground. It would seem to be all one piece. It is only when you get down on your hands and knees on that beach and look closely that you see it is really made up of small, separate grains of sand.

Now the particles that make up everything about us are much smaller than grains of sand. They are so small, in fact, that the strongest microscope ever invented could not make them large enough to see, or anywhere near large enough. The particles are so small that there are more of them in a grain of sand than there are grains of sand on a large beach. There are more of them in a glass of water than there are glasses of water in all the oceans of the world. A hundred million of them laid down side by side would make a line only half an inch long.

These tiny particles that all things are made of are called atoms.

Extract from page 159:

… Chemists now have a new tool with which to explore the chemistry of living tissue. (This branch of science is called biochemistry.) In any living creature, such as a human being, thousands upon thousands of chemical reactions are all going on at the same time in all parts of the body. Naturally, chemists would like to know what these reactions are. If they knew and understood them all, a great many problems of health and disease, of life, ageing, and death, might be on the way to solution. But how are all those reactions to be unraveled? Not only are they all going on at the same time, but there are different reactions in different parts of the body and different reactions at different times in the same part of the body.

It is like trying to watch a million television sets all at once, each one tuned to a different channel, and all the programs changing constantly.