Pointing to Dhamma

by Ven. Khantipalo Bhikkhu | 1973 | 96,153 words

The 'pointing to Dhamma' or 'sermons' in this book have been complied by the Author from amongst the Dhammadesana that he has given at various times and places. Most of them, however, were delivered in the Uposatha temple of Wat Bovoranives Vihara (Bangkok, Thailand). For some three years there was a Dhammadesana there for the benefit of anyone who...

Sermon 10: The Middle Practice-Path Discovered by the Tathagata

 "What is that Middle Practice-path discovered by the Tathagata, giving vision, giving knowledge, leading to peace, to direct understanding, to discovery, to Nibbana?

It is just the Noble Eightfold Path that is to say: Right view, right intention; right speech, right action, right livelihood; right effort, right mindfulness, right collectedness.

That is the Middle Practice-path discovered by a Tathagata. . ."
(S. LVI, 11)

Today, for the increase of mindfulness and wisdom, the aspect of Dhamma to be expounded is the Noble Eightfold Path. This Path was taught in outline to the first five of Lord Buddha's disciples when he gave the discourse called 'The Turning of the Wheel of Dhamma' at Isipatana in the Deer Sanctuary outside Benares, 2555 years ago. According to the above text taken from that Discourse we learn that this Eightfold Path is also called the Middle Practice-path and it is useful to spend a little time considering why it has this title. 'Middle' means a point between extremes, so we may examine how this path is in the middle.

In the normal run of things, people react to circumstances surrounding them in various ways involving the mental defilements. They seize hold of quite irrational religious and political views and cling to them for salvation and are alarmed or react with aversion when these are shown to be lacking in some way. This grasping at views, that is, at unsubstantiated theories, prompted by mental defilements such as fear, desire, delusion and so on, is one way in which going to extremes is seen. The Noble Eightfold Path is 'middle' in this respect since it includes one section upon Wisdom in which clear understanding of both intellectual processes and of emotional motivation is developed.

Or people can go to other sorts of extremes: either they swing towards repressive self-control with punishments for infringements of morality as was the case in Victorian times, or else they swing over to the opposite extreme of loose conduct, placing no restraint upon themselves as we may see today. This process of the swing of public opinion and religion goes on through history. Another particularly striking example may be seen in the Puritan government under Cromwell's Commonwealth followed by the excesses of the reign of Charles the Second. The Noble Eightfold Path is middle in this respect since it includes a section on moral conduct the basis of which can be shown to be sound for all places and times.

Or, there are the sorts of extremes, which occur in religious practice. For instance, there have been times when large numbers of people pinned their hope upon other-worldly practice with the idea to get out of this one as soon as possible; while others have maintained that real religion consists of social welfare and service to others. These are both extreme views and the Eightfold Path has a final section which shows what religious practice should consist of without mentioning any doctrines which have to be believed.

The Middle Practice-path is thus called because it transcends all sorts of extremes, whether in ideas or in ways of action. Its practical nature is emphasized by the Pali word 'patipada.' That is, a path to practice at all times and with all aspects of one's personality. It has been "discovered by the Tathagata" meaning that it is a formulation of that Enlightenment won by Lord Buddha. It is based on Dhamma, or the true order of things as they really are, and it leads to Dhamma, that is, the realization of that true order or nature of things as they are. When it was discovered by Lord Buddha, he found that he was traveling upon and opening up an ancient way.

There is a beautiful simile in the discourses of Lord Buddha in which a man going through the jungle comes upon an ancient way overgrown by great creepers and tangles of trees. Cutting his way through the tangle and following the ancient way, he comes to a great city grown over and partly ruined. Through him that way is restored and the city re-populated. Lord Buddha says that he is like that man for he has rediscovered the practice-path followed and taught by the Buddhas in past times and that he has also come to the city which they discovered, the 'city' of Nibbana, which is the complete realization of the nature of Dhamma within oneself. Between the times when men become Buddhas, this truth of Dhamma becomes obscured and though true for all times and places, is no longer understood. We are living in a time when it is possible to practice Dhamma since it has not yet been forgotten and the Noble Eightfold Path, if followed, will give to us as well "vision, knowledge, peace, direct understanding, discovery, Nibbana."

Now let us begin to look into the contents of the Noble Eightfold path, but before we do so, we may glance at the other name of this path. It is called 'Noble' because it raises anyone practicing it to real nobility, a nobility of the heart, which is not swayed by Greed, Aversion and Delusion. Although by the convention long-established we say 'Eightfold, in English, the Pali word means 'the path having eight factors', the first two of which pertain to wisdom, the following three to moral conduct while the last three concern collectedness.

It might be said at this point that the usual order of Buddhist training is given as moral conduct first, collectedness second and wisdom last, while in this Eightfold Path we find wisdom coming first. This points to a very important aspect of Dhamma: that unless one can use some wisdom in one's life, one is not likely to appreciate the value of the Buddhist training. People are variously overpowered by mental defilements, which if they are too strong, do not permit them to think and act according to Dhamma. For instance, where delusion is particularly strong there will be a lack of understanding as to why certain actions are evil and others beneficial.

Again, when greed is the strongest defilement, people driven by desire seek saviors and refuges outside themselves, or in the case of those afflicted by the defilement of Aversion most likely they will be insensible to the claims of any good religion perhaps even wrecking religious institutions, or if religious, will enjoy the persecution of those of other faiths. One has to be a little wise to understand initially the value of Dhamma, and wisdom implies an absence of strong defilements or at least a willingness to strive against them.

It is noteworthy that understanding or wisdom stands in the first place upon this path and in the whole path there is no mention of faith. If one understands how valuable Dhamma is for one's own life after reading about it, listening to it and thinking it over, then faith to practice it arises quite naturally. It is like a man lost in the wastes finding another person who explained how he could reach his real home. Having heard those explanations, which certainly sounded reasonable, the man set out in the direction indicated. He finds this and that landmark just as his guide had said he would and due to this he comes to have real confidence that the guide was not talking just from guesswork but from actual knowledge of the way to go. It is the same with this path, for by practicing it; one comes to have confidence that the Guide, who is Lord Buddha, has really gone along the path being able to give the correct directions. The person, who is wise, in the Buddhist sense, is naturally one who restrains himself from actions, which would harm others as well as those which would degrade himself. The wise person also knows the value of training his own mind, so that by the wise both the section of the Path dealing with moral conduct and that concerned with mind-development or collectedness, will be highly prized.

In the brief examination of the path-factors, which follows, only an outline can be given of each one since the whole of Buddhist practical training can be gathered under these eight headings. A word of warning may be well here: one should not think that these eight are steps to be practiced successively. Actually they should all enter into one's life just as occasion demands.

First, then, in the group of Wisdom, comes "Right View, right intention." What is it to have Right View? To answer this it is useful to know what is wrong view. This may be defined by saying that any view, idea or fixed belief which leads one to defile one's mind and to degrade it, which leads one further away from purification or from lasting happiness-can be called 'wrong view'. Right View consists therefore of ideas, philosophies or beliefs which lead one away from the grip of the defilements towards inward harmony. Having found the Dhamma, as Lord Buddha found it, one goes beyond all views, just as he did. One does not need to have a view even of the Dhamma, when one has seen it for oneself. It is the difference between the person who talks about the taste of an apple and the one who actually tastes it.

To begin with, Right View is that understanding of Lord Buddha's Teaching with which one is enabled to practice according to Dhamma. In a whole Discourse devoted to this factor there is a refrain "Right view comes first" since right view is compared to a leader who sees clearly the proper way to act while others follow his example. If Right View comes first in the practice of Dhamma, then at least one has set out in the right direction. The definition in the Discourses that Right View consists of the Four Noble Truths will not be discussed here as it will form the subject of the next Dhamma-discourse in this temple.

Turning now to Right Intention, it is easy to see that if one has only correct intellectual equipment, that is, the knowledge of the way to go, but lacks the right motives then one is not likely to be able to go far along the Path. So while the previous factor emphasizes straightening out one's understanding, Right Intention or right thought emphasizes disciplining the mind with an eye to getting one's emotional reactions in some order. First, one has to limit greed, then cultivate loving-kindness and finally come to possess compassion. These three divisions of right thought are really three steps of training, which are related together. The ordinary worldly person has greed and looks out for his own enjoyment all the time. He wants to get and to gain things and experiences, which please him. Now, if one would be different from this ordinary run of mankind, one has to make a start by cultivating renunciation and giving up experiences, wealth and things-and this is not only for Buddhist monks to practice but also for laypeople.

This renunciation means loosening the grip of greed upon liked and pleasing sensations. When one can gradually untie greed from one's motives, then one becomes annoyed or angry less often. Aversion, after all, arises from thwarted greed. When aversion is lessened, then it becomes possible to cultivate successfully loving-kindness towards other beings whether human or otherwise. In this way the second step is fulfilled. And when one has genuine loving-kindness towards other beings, one begins to see how much they suffer in the world and thoughts arise to help them and one will be confirmed in the way of non-hindering and non-harming. So by way of renunciation one comes to make friendliness and compassion grow in oneself, thus fulfilling Right Intention or thought.

If one's mind is purified at least to this extent, then the words spoken by oneself will tend to be in accordance with Dhamma. This is the essence of the third path-factor called Right Speech. Four categories of speech to be avoided are mentioned here and all of them are called 'false' in the sense that such speech departs from Dhamma while right speech accords with Dhamma.

The four to be avoided are: lying speech, slanderous speech, harsh speech, and idle chatter. We can see that each of these sorts of talk employs various of the mental stains. For instance, lying may be rooted in greed where the lying is done with intent to gain; or the root is aversion in the case of slander and rough, angry words, or it arises out of delusion as when people just chatter about things of no importance, often it seems, in order to make a noise, or to reassure themselves that they still exist! Restraining oneself from speech of these sorts is called Right Speech. This Right Speech in accordance with Dhamma will therefore be about the truth (and not lying), about the promotion of harmony between people (and not about slander), about friendly, peaceful matters (and not about ill-will) and concerning worthwhile topics (and not merely foolish babble). When one speaks thus, it is called the fulfillment of Right Speech.

Turning to the next factor, Right Action, one finds that it is defined in a similar way to Right Speech above, that is, by restraint in certain matters. But the range of this path-factor is wider and concerns bodily activity, which is the subject of the first three of the Five Precepts. Those of you who undertook to observe the Five Precepts this evening, first repeated: "I undertake the rule of training -refraining from destroying life", that is, you make efforts not only not to kill but also to cultivate a spirit of friendliness with other beings, human and otherwise. You next repeated: "I undertake the rule of training refraining from taking what is not given", which is not only training oneself not to steal, defraud or gain wealth dishonestly, but is also training oneself in renunciation and giving. The third precept "I undertake the rule of training refraining from wrong conduct in sexual pleasures" is not only guarding oneself against adultery and other forms of sexual misconduct leading to sufferings but is also the cultivation of contentment in sexual matters, in whatever condition, married or single, one finds oneself. This precept is broken through allowing lust to dominate the mind and lust is just another aspect of greed, so as in other cases when the precepts are broken, they are broken through the overwhelming power of mental defilements. Right Action is therefore a conscientious effort to maintain the first three precepts in their purity.

Last in the section of the Path devoted to moral conduct is: Right Livelihood. Here also there are a list of abstentions which outline what is meant by Right Livelihood. As far as lay-people are concerned the most important of them is refraining from certain forms of occupation. Thus Lord Buddha has said: "Weapons, living beings, meat, intoxicants and poisons, these five kinds of merchandise ought not to be traded in." The reason behind this is the reason which underlies all Buddhist ethics: one tries to act so that neither are other beings made to suffer, nor is one degraded or defiled by the passions in one's own heart. Concern with other beings that they shall not be harmed is the practical demonstration of compassion, while concern with oneself shows wisdom in that one is aware of the true sources of suffering and of happiness. When trading in the above things, one adds to the misery of beings, one does not lessen their woes and when one considers one's own heart then it is certain that it will not benefit from being engaged in these sorts of trades. This concludes the brief explanation of the three path factors concerned with moral conduct.

The third section of the Eightfold Path in which are found some profound ways of training peculiar to Buddhist Teaching, covers the three factors of Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Collectedness. When people talk about Buddhist 'meditations', it is about these three sections of the Path that they speak.

First there is the section upon Right Effort. Now although one might sit for ages in so-called meditation and though one might see thousands of visions, yet if one does not practice Right Effort one is on the wrong path. A sort of quietist practice in which one lets whatever will come into mind, not only come but remain there, is quite ruled out by this Path-factor. In Buddhist Practice effort and calm must be balanced. What is the effort to be made?

First, that unwholesome states of mind which have not arisen do not arise. To give an example, one sees coming down the road a person whom one does not like. The mindful man upon seeing that person will mentally remind himself: "Beware of unwholesome mental states such as anger, ill-will, and words spoken harshly" and so on. Or there is a situation where a man who knows that a certain kind of food does not suit him, is nevertheless tempted to indulge himself but if he is mindful he thinks immediately: "Beware of greed which is going to lead me into suffering." In these ways one can make efforts to avoid unwholesome states, which have not yet arisen. Then in case unwholesome thoughts connected with greed, aversion and delusion have already arisen and are in possession of the mind, then one makes efforts to remove them. For instance, one may reflect upon the danger of those thoughts-that they will, since they are kamma, bring to one the fruits of suffering. Or they may be dissolved by reflecting upon the causes giving rise to them. Or again, their content may be analyzed as unwholesome thoughts connected with greed or aversion or delusion-whichever is appropriate. Or one may make efforts to change the mind-object to one, which is wholesome, such as reflections upon the qualities of Lord Buddha. When all else fails one may employ suppression but only if the other methods have failed.

All this illustrates "Sabba papassa akaranaml, the not-doing of all evils. The third kind of effort concerns wholesome thoughts, which have not yet arisen. One should strive to fill one's mind, especially at times of religious practice with wholesome thoughts such as those mentioned above under Right Intention: those connected with renunciation, with loving kindness and with compassion. This is an example of the next line of the Pali verse: "Kusalassa upasampad," "the increase in wholesomeness." This brings happiness in its train-and who does not want happiness? Then the last aspect of Right Effort is the promotion of wholesome states of mind, which have arisen. One should not be content merely to let the wholesome crop up when it will-just as a farmer is not content to let essential food-plants sow themselves and come up here and there unsystematically.

There is a striking Pali term "Yoniso manasikara" meaning systematic and thorough attention and the person who is sincere about Buddhist training must try to give systematic attention to all his activities, including, of course, the mind. With this systematic fourfold effort one can really make progress upon the path.

In the short time left to us, two of the most important factors have to be mentioned: first Right Mindfulness. One should be mindful of what? Firstly of the body and its movements and positions, of its breathing and the way in which it is liable to decay. Different contemplations here are suited to different characters. Then one should have mindfulness of the feelings just as one experiences them: painful feelings, pleasurable feelings and feelings which are neither. The feelings are a valuable guide to the Roots of

Unwholesomeness for painful feelings often lead on to aversion, while pleasant ones are followed by greed. Feelings, which are neither pleasant nor painful, are the signal for the unwholesome state of delusion. Much can be learnt from mindfulness of feelings. There are also the types of mindfulness concerned with states of mind and with mental objects, which are more difficult to be aware of since they are more subtle. If one has mindfulness, one can train oneself in the Middle Practice-path, but without it neither can one train nor will one be any sort of success in one's work. Mindful awareness of what one is doing is the mark of a great man-in the Buddhist sense. For with mindfulness, unwholesome kamma will be avoided, the wholesome cultivated while wisdom will increase.

Coming lastly to Right Collectedness, which is a vast subject in itself, we may only observe here that this path-factor offers methods for overcoming the defilements at the deeper levels of the mind which cannot be reached with the methods outlined above. There are also special techniques suitable for various types of character since one's meditation subject is like a medicine for curing a specific disease. The diseases of greed, aversion and delusion all have their effective medicines with which they may be cured. But as with other medicines, they must be used, and used according to the directions. Who gives one these? These directions are supplied by a teacher, usually but not always a monk, but always someone having great experience. Real teachers are called one's Noble Friends, the best of friends because they guide one upon the Practice-path of Dhamma.

When we try to practice Dhamma, we are walking along this Noble Eightfold Path, but when we are not making such efforts then we submit to the oppression of the defilements and to all the un-satisfactoriness, which comes in its train. For those who practice there is: "the Noble Eightfold Path leading to dukkha's allaying."

EVAM
Thus indeed it is.

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