T H E I S L A N D

AN ANTHOLOGY OF THE BUDDHA’S TEACHINGS ON NIBBANA

Ajahn Pasanno & Ajahn Amaro

T H E I S L A N D

An Anthology of the Buddha’s

Teachings on Nibbæna

Edited and with Commentary by Ajahn Pasanno & Ajahn Amaro

Abhayagiri Monastic Foundation

It is the Unformed, the Unconditioned, the End, the Truth, the Other Shore, the Subtle,

the Everlasting, the Invisible, the Undiversified, Peace, the Deathless, the Blest, Safety,

the Wonderful, the Marvellous, Nibbæna, Purity, Freedom,

the Island, the Refuge, the Beyond.

~ S 43.1-44

Having nothing, clinging to nothing: that is the Island, there is no other;

that is Nibbæna, I tell you, the total ending of ageing and death.

~ SN 1094

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Web edition, released June 13, 2009

CONTENTS

Prefaces / VIII Introduction by Ajahn Sumedho / XIII Acknowledgements / XVII Dedication /XXII

SEEDS: NAMES AND SYMBOLS 1 What is it? / 25 2 Fire, Heat and Coolness / 39

THE TERRAIN 3 This and That, and Other Things / 55 4 “All That is Conditioned…” / 66 5 “To Be, or Not to Be” – Is That the Question? / 85 6 Atammayatæ: “Not Made of That” / 110 7 Attending to the Deathless / 123 8 Unsupported and Unsupportive Consciousness / 131 9 The Unconditioned and Non-locality / 155 10 The Unapprehendability of the Enlightened / 164 11 “‘Reappears’ Does Not Apply…” / 180 12 Knowing, Emptiness and the Radiant Mind / 190

CULTIVATION AND FRUITION PRACTICES AND PERSPECTIVES

13 I – The Gradual Path / 222 14 II – Sudden Penetration / 245 15 III – Path and Goal / 265

SOTÆPANNA: THE SPIRITUAL TURNING POINT

16 I – Entering the Stream / 278 17 II – What is Seen / 293 18 III – What are the Results? / 301 19 IV – What is Reaped / 321 20 “Ah, What Bliss!” – The Blessings of Nibbæna / 337

Bibliography / 353 Concordance by Chapter / 356 Concordance by Sutta / 366 Index / 373

PREFACES

~ AJAHN PASANNO ~

HAVING BEEN A PERSON who has enjoyed reading books, my involvement in the production of this volume has instilled in me a much greater appreciation for those who do write books. When the end of suffering (Nibbæna) is the topic, one would think the writing about it would be less suffering. Curious how some things are not as they appear.

My involvement with this began with my jotting down a variety of sutta quotes which I had come across in my readings which I found inspiring and which also, for me, helped to clarify the direct and immediate path of the Buddha. Mostly they were things that I found helpful in my own practice and it was good to have them in one place for me to read from time to time. There was also a question in my own mind about the interest in the West concerning non-dual teachings, both within the Buddhist fold and outside it.

When coming across passages that people were quoting, I found it striking how seldom that the words of the Buddha were being used to illustrate this. By slowly reflecting on various suttas which cropped up as interesting or striking, the nature of what is considered non-dual for me started to change. Basic teachings started to take on new meaning. The teaching on non-self, which is totally fundamental, is an example. This is not an obscure teaching in the suttas: If there is any hint of self, a position is then taken and the whole realm of saµsæra unfolds.

The Buddha points this out in many ways, both in detail and in quite pithy discourses. The teaching on dependent origination is another example. It can get very complex and heady, but in essence, this is a description of the Buddha’s enlightenment and a way of viewing phenomena which takes us away from the narrative that we easily create, showing that experience is just these mental and physical conditions functioning together in a certain pattern – either for freedom

PREFACES

or for entanglement. Generally, it is stated that the Buddha did not teach much about Nibbæna, that he focused more on the path of practice and left it to us to figure it out for ourselves – if we followed the path correctly. On a certain level this may be true, but as this compilation shows, the Buddha did say a great deal about Nibbæna. A large part of the motivation to help bring this book into being was to gather together quotes of the Buddha’s own words from the discourses which help to illustrate and (hopefully) clarify the Buddha’s teachings, in particular those about the goal, Nibbæna.

We are, in a way, taking the opportunity to bring out jewels and treasures from a cave or a hidden place and allowing them to shine forth. Ideally, this is an opportunity to gather the words of the Buddha on a particular theme together into one place for people to delight in. Hopefully the editors have not got in the way too much and the Buddha’s words and path are left clear.

I do want to express my appreciation for all the many people who have helped to make this book become a reality, particularly Ajahn Amaro who gently kept prodding me and was patient with my pace (or lack of it).

~ AJAHN AMARO ~

FOR MYSELF, THE VERY FIRST SEED for the idea of this compilation of the Buddha’s Teachings was sown sometime in 1980. I had been living for a few months at the newly opened monastery at Chithurst, in West Sussex, England. I had only arrived there the previous autumn from Thailand; I had been ordained as a monk for scarcely a year and I was still very new to the whole thing.

As I listened to the daily Dhamma talks of Ajahn Sumedho, the abbot and founder of the monastery, I noticed that over and over again he made mention of Ultimate Reality, the Unconditioned, the Unborn and Nibbæna. This was very striking since, during my couple of years in monasteries in Thailand, I had hardly heard a word spoken about this, even though it was the goal of the spiritual life.

Certainly that goal, of the realization of Nibbæna, was acknowledged as the overriding aim of the practice. However, it was stressed repeatedly that the Buddha’s emphasis was on the path, the means whereby that goal could genuinely be reached, rather than on rendering inspiring descriptions of the end to which the path led. “Make the journey!” it was said, “the nature of the destination takes care of itself and will be vividly apparent on arrival. Besides, the true nature of Ultimate Reality is necessarily inexpressible by language or concept. So just make the journey and be content.” This had made sense to me, so I now wondered why it was that Ajahn Sumedho made such an emphasis on it.

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Being an inquisitive sort, and not very good at holding back, one day I asked him the question straight out. His reply struck me very deeply and affected the way in which I have thought and spoken ever since. He said:

“After teaching in the West for a very short period of time, I began to see that many people were disappointed both in materialism and theistic religions. To them Buddhism had great appeal but, lacking any fundamental sense of, or faith in the transcendent, the practice of Buddhism became almost a dry, technical procedure – intellectually satisfying but strangely sterile as well.

“They had largely rejected the idea of an Ultimate Reality from their thoughts as being intrinsically theistic nonsense so I realized that people needed to be aware that there was also such a principle in the Buddha’s teachings, without there being any hint of a creator God in the picture. In Thailand, because there is already such a broad and strong basis of faith in these transcendent qualities, there is no need to talk about Ultimate Reality, the Unconditioned and so forth – for them it can be a distraction. Here, I saw that people needed something to look up to – that’s why I talk about it all the time. It goes a long way to cultivating faith and it gives a much more living and expansive quality to their spiritual life; there is a natural joy when the heart opens to its true nature.”

Fast forward now to late 1997: Other seeds for this anthology began to come from several different

directions. One of these was a conversation with Nancy van House in the parking lot of an Episcopalian church in Palo Alto, at the end of a weekend session on the subject of ‘The Graduated Teachings – Anupubbøkathæ.’ The weekend had been organized by the Sati Center, a Buddhist studies group based in the San Francisco Bay Area, and people were keen for more such sessions in the future.

“Do you have any suggestions for topics?” I asked, as we walked towards our vehicles, arms laden with sundry mats, folders and shrine gear.

“How about Nibbæna?” replied Nancy, smiling gleefully. “Now that should be interesting...” thought I. The subject had (predictably) come up a few times during the weekend,

and it was clear that people had all sorts of conflicting or unformed feelings and impressions about what the word meant, how important it was or wasn’t, and how attainable or unattainable it might be. In people’s minds it seemed to be like some ancient or mythical country – like Wallachia or Avalon, Bactria or Uddiyana – written and spoken of by some as if familiar and commonplace, yet mysterious and distant, full of complexities to the neophyte.

“Great idea,” I replied. Not long after this, as I had begun to gather my wits, crack a few books of

Pali suttas and pick Ajahn Pasanno’s brains on the subject, I was approached by

PREFACES

James Baraz with the request that I help out with his new Community Dharma Leaders training program. This is an effort to give people who lead meditation groups, or otherwise have responsible roles in their Dharma communities, all around the USA, a more complete foundation in the Teachings and more external support for their work and practice. They were due to have their inaugural week-long session at Santa Sabena retreat center in San Rafael and James wanted to know what I would like to offer when I came along.

“What would you like me to talk about?” I replied. “Well, there’s so much interest in advaita vedanta and dzogchen amongst

the vipassanæ community these days, I thought it might be interesting if you were able to talk about similar ‘non-duality’ teachings in Theravæda – I know there are some but I’m not knowledgeable enough to track them all down. It would be really interesting if you could do that – people seem to have the idea that such teachings do not exist in the Theravæda world so they feel they have to look for them elsewhere. It would be great if you could present something on this.”

I told him that I had begun to research that very same thing and so the momentum gathered. As we settled into our winter retreat of January and February ’98, I got into more discussions on the subject with Ajahn Pasanno. It turned out that he had been gathering quotations on this same area of the teachings for years; he had jewels stashed away that I never dreamed existed. Slowly the piles of paper increased, the scanner hummed and the material sorted itself into a number of convenient if not definitive headings.

As time went by, and the collection got presented on different occasions more and more elements fell into place and the shape of the notes became more refined.

What is presented here is neither presumed to be definitive nor exhaustive. It is simply an attempt by Ajahn Pasanno and myself to put together a small compendium of these ‘essence teachings’ of the Buddha, as they appear in the Pali Canon and have been conveyed by the lineages that rely upon them (the Thai forest tradition in particular), in the hope that they will be of benefit to those who rejoice in the liberation of the heart. All the other references that are made herein, whether drawing on Thai forest meditation masters, modern science, classical literature, Northern Buddhism or whatever, are made solely to help illustrate the meaning of the Pali – it is the faith of the editors that the Buddha’s words can speak for themselves and this work has been compiled with that intention.

It should also be said that we have largely quoted here contemporary passages and sources with which Ajahn Pasanno and I have had direct contact. Thus the voice representing the Theravæda world here is principally that of the

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Thai forest tradition, rather than that of Burmese or Sri Lankan masters. With respect to the Northern Buddhist world, it is mainly the scriptures

and teachings that we have received through personal contacts that have found their way onto these pages; in particular we have had a close connection and friendship with the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas (the late founding abbot, Ven. Master Hsüan Hua, donated half the land that comprises Abhayagiri Monastery).

Again, there is no intention to exclude any other worthwhile points of view, it is solely the wish to present practices and teachings that we have used and benefited from ourselves that has defined the choice of material.

Lastly, we will be delighted to be introduced to any similar or compatible passages from the Pali Canon, or other sources, for possible inclusion in future editions.

Abhayagiri Forest Monastery California

INTRODUCTION

~ AJAHN SUMEDHO ~

A DIFFICULTY WITH THE WORD ‘NIBBÆNA’ IS THAT ITS meaning is beyond the power of words to describe. It is, essentially, undefinable.

Another difficulty is that many Buddhists see Nibbæna as something unobtainable – as so high and so remote that we’re not worthy enough to try for it. Or we see Nibbæna as a goal, as an unknown, undefined something that we should somehow try to attain.

Most of us are conditioned in this way. We want to achieve or attain something that we don’t have now. So Nibbæna is looked at as something that, if you work hard, keep the søla, meditate diligently, become a monastic, devote your life to practice, then your reward might be that eventually you attain Nibbæna – even though we’re not sure what it is.

Ajahn Chah would use the words ‘the reality of non-grasping’ as the definition for Nibbæna: realizing the reality of non-grasping. That helps to put it in a context because the emphasis is on awakening to how we grasp and hold on even to words like ‘Nibbæna’ or ‘Buddhism’ or ‘practice’ or ‘søla’ or whatever.

It’s often said that the Buddhist way is not to grasp. But that can become just another statement that we grasp and hold on to. It’s a Catch 22: No matter how hard you try to make sense out of it, you end up in total confusion because of the limitation of language and perception. You have to go beyond language and perception. And the only way to go beyond thinking and emotional habit is through awareness of them, through awareness of thought, through awareness of emotion. ‘The Island that you cannot go beyond’ is the metaphor for this state of being awake and aware, as opposed to the concept of becoming awake and aware.

In meditation classes, people often start with a basic delusion that they

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never challenge: the idea that “I’m someone who grasps and has a lot of desires, and I have to practice in order to get rid of these desires and to stop grasping and clinging to things. I shouldn’t cling to anything.” That’s often the position we start from. So we start our practice from this basis and, many times, the result is dis-illusionment and disappointment, because our practice is based on the grasping of an idea.

Eventually, we realize that no matter how much we try to get rid of desire and not grasp anything, no matter what we do – become a monk, an ascetic, sit for hours and hours, attend retreats over and over again, do all the things we believe will get rid of these grasping tendencies – we end up feeling disappointed because the basic delusion has never been recognized.

This is why the metaphor of ‘The Island that you cannot go beyond’ is so very powerful, because it points to the principle of an awareness that you can’t get beyond. It’s very simple, very direct, and you can’t conceive it. You have to trust it. You have to trust this simple ability that we all have to be fully present and fully awake, and begin to recognize the grasping and the ideas we have taken on about ourselves, about the world around us, about our thoughts and perceptions and feelings.

The way of mindfulness is the way of recognizing conditions just as they are. We simply recognize and acknowledge their presence, without blaming them or judging them or criticizing them or praising them. We allow them to be, the positive and the negative both. And, as we trust in this way of mindfulness more and more, we begin to realize the reality of ‘The Island that you cannot go beyond.’

When I started practising meditation I felt I was somebody who was very confused and I wanted to get out of this confusion and get rid of my problems and become someone who was not confused, someone who was a clear thinker, someone who would maybe one day become enlightened. That was the impetus that got me going in the direction of Buddhist meditation and monastic life.

But then, by reflecting on this position that “I am somebody who needs to do something,” I began to see it as a created condition. It was an assumption that I had created. And if I operated from that assumption then I might develop all kinds of skills and live a life that was praiseworthy and good and beneficial to myself and to others but, at the end of the day, I might feel quite disappointed that I did not attain the goal of Nibbæna.

Fortunately, the whole direction of monastic life is one where everything is directed at the present. You’re always learning to challenge and to see through your assumptions about yourself. One of the major challenges is the assumption

INTRODUCTION

that “I am somebody who needs to do something in order to become enlightened in the future.” Just by recognizing this as an assumption I created, that which is aware knows it is something created out of ignorance, out of not understanding. When we see and recognize this fully, then we stop creating the assumptions.

Awareness is not about making value judgments about our thoughts or emotions or actions or speech. Awareness is about knowing these things fully – that they are what they are, at this moment. So what I found very helpful was learning to be aware of conditions without judging them. In this way, the resultant karma of past actions and speech as it arises in the present is fully recognized without compounding it, without making it into a problem. It is what it is. What arises ceases. As we recognize that and allow things to cease according to their nature, the realization of cessation gives us an increasing amount of faith in the practice of non-attachment and letting go.

The attachments that we have, even to good things like Buddhism, can also be seen as attachments that blind us. That doesn’t mean we need to get rid of Buddhism. We merely recognize attachment as attachment and that we create it ourselves out of ignorance. As we keep reflecting on this, the tendency toward attachment falls away, and the reality of non-attachment, of non-grasping, reveals itself in what we can say is Nibbæna.

If we look at it in this way, Nibbæna is here and now. It’s not an attain-ment in the future. The reality is here and now. It is so very simple, but beyond description. It can’t be bestowed or even conveyed, it can only be known by each person for themselves.

As one begins to realize or to recognize non-grasping as the Way, then emotionally one can feel quite frightened by it. It can seem like a kind of annihilation is taking place: all that I think I am in the world, all that I regard as stable and real, starts falling apart and it can be frightening. But if we have the faith to continue bearing with these emotional reactions and allow things that arise to cease, to appear and disappear according to their nature, then we find our stability not in achievement or attaining, but in being – being awake, being aware.

Many years ago, in William James’ book ‘The Varieties of Religious Experience,’ I found a poem by A. Charles Swinburne. In spite of having what some have described as a degenerate mind, Swinburne produced some very powerful reflections:

“Here begins the sea that ends not till the world’s end. Where we stand, Could we know the next high sea-mark set beyond these waves that gleam,

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We should know what never man hath known, nor eye of man hath scanned... Ah, but here man’s heart leaps, yearning towards the gloom with venturous glee, From the shore that hath no shore beyond it, set in all the sea.” ~ From ‘On the Verge,’ in ‘A Midsummer Vacation.’

I found in this poem an echo of the Buddha’s response to Kappa’s question in the Sutta Nipæta:

Next was the brahmin student Kappa: “Sir,” he said, “there are people stuck midstream in the terror and the fear of the rush of the river of being, and death and decay overwhelm them. For their sakes, Sir, tell me where to find an island, tell me where there is solid ground beyond the reach of all this pain.” “Kappa,” said the Master, “for the sake of those people stuck in the middle of the river of being, overwhelmed by death and decay, I will tell you where to find solid ground. “There is an island, an island which you cannot go beyond. It is a place of nothingness, a place of non-possession and of non-attachment. It is the total end of death and decay, and this is why I call it Nibbæna [the extinguished, the cool]. “There are people who, in mindfulness, have realized this and are completely cooled here and now. They do not become slaves working for Mæra, for Death; they cannot fall into his power.” ~ SN 1092-5 (Ven. Saddhatissa trans.)

In English, ‘nothingness’ can sound like annihilation, like nihilism. But you can also emphasize the ‘thingness’ so that it becomes ‘no-thingness.’ So Nibbæna is not a thing that you can find. It is the place of ‘no-thingness,’ a place of non-possession, a place of non-attachment. It is a place, as Ajahn Chah said, where you experience “the reality of non-grasping.”

This anthology, ‘The Island,’ reflects on this. Its quotes and spiritual teachings are more pointers than definitions or specific directions. Through the use of various teachings, references, scriptures and some of their own experience in practice, Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Amaro are pointing to Nibbæna, pointing out that Nibbæna is a reality that each one of us can know for ourselves – once we recognize non-attachment, once we realize the reality of non-grasping.

Ajahn Sumedho Amaravati Buddhist Monastery

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

AS EDITORS WE HAVE RELIED HEAVILY AND GRATEFULLY upon the ample and competent shoulders of several monastic friends in order to bring this volume of teachings into being.

First, thanks must be given to Ajahn Sucitto, of Cittaviveka Monastery in England, who gave an early draft of the manuscript a thorough reading and provided many thoughtful suggestions, both with respect to major elements of structure and content, as well as to minor aspects of phraseology. Furthermore, as we are by no means Pali scholars, we are grateful for the close attention of Gavesako Bhikkhu to the spelling and translation of many Pali terms. Ajahn ¿hænissaro (Tan Geoff) of Metta Forest Monastery, California, kindly gave a similar comprehensive reading to a later draft and offered copious helpful suggestions, both with respect to overall structure and particularly with the translation of the Pali. He also allowed us, most generously, to include here numerous passages from his own published works, essays as well as quotations from the scriptures. Ajahn Jayasæro’s careful eye and extensive literary skills also benefitted us greatly, with respect to both style and content.

In addition to the help provided by those mentioned already, many other friends, monastic and lay, contributed useful feedback and other assistance along the way. Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi, although severely burdened by illness, wrote a detailed and illuminating four-page reply to a query we had about a text he had translated; and the Sangha at Abhayagiri Monastery, during the times that various drafts of the book have been read out to the community, frequently offered con-structive advice and pointed out areas that needed clarification. Karunadhammo Bhikkhu is particularly to be thanked for his helpful suggestions on the ordering of chapters in the first part of the collection.

Richard Smith bravely and generously devoted several years to the task of bringing the book into its finished form. Award-winning photographer Liz Hymans and Ahiµsako Bhikkhu are to be thanked for the beautiful and unique cover

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photograph of Island Mountain, as are Vince Gibson, who helped greatly with its production and Daniel Barnes, the owner of Bell Springs Hermitage (at 4000 feet on the old stagecoach road between Laytonville and Garberville, in northern California) where the picture was taken. Ruby Grad is to be thanked for the Index.

It is our custom to distribute Dhamma books free of charge to those who are interested in the Teachings. This practice is only made possible through the generosity of individuals who sponsor the production beforehand. Many people have made donations toward the printing costs but we would like to mention the Michiganders (particularly Bill Rittenberg and Sandra Berman) who offered a generous share of the funds that put this book into your hands. May they, and all the others who have so kindly contributed to this book in their various ways, swiftly realize the supreme peace of Nibbæna.

The authors also wish to express gratitude for permission received to reproduce extracts from the following publications:

‘The Long Discourses of the Buddha,’ Maurice Walshe trans., ‘Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha,’ Bhikkhu Bodhi & Bhikkhu Ñæ¼amoli trans., ‘Connected Discourses of the Buddha,’ Bhikkhu Bodhi trans., ‘Food for the Heart – the Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah,’ by Ajahn Chah, and ‘Heartwood of the Bodhi Tree – the Buddha’s Teaching on Voidness,’ by Buddhadæsa Bhikkhu, all reprinted with the kind permission of Wisdom Publications;

‘The Magic of the Mind’ and ‘Concept and Reality,’ by Bhikkhu Ñæ¼ananda, ‘The Life of the Buddha,’ by Bhikkhu Ñæ¼amoli and ‘The Udæna and The Itivuttaka,’ John D. Ireland trans., all reprinted with the kind permission of Buddhist Publication Society;

‘The Heart of Prajñæ Paramitæ Sþtra and Commentary,’ ‘The Sixth Patriarch’s Dharma Jewel Platform Sþtra,’ and ‘A General Explanation of the Vajra Prajña Pæramita Sþtra,’ Buddhist Text Translation Society trans., with commentary by Master Hsüan Hua, and ‘The Sþrangama Sþtra – Sþtra Text and Supplements,’ Buddhist Text Translation Society trans., all reprinted with the kind permission of Dharma Realm Buddhist Association/Buddhist Text Translation Society/Dharma Realm Buddhist University;

‘The Four Noble Truths,’ reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd., copyright the Dalai Lama 1997;

‘Being Dharma,’ by Ajahn Chah, copyright 2001 by Paul Breiter, and ‘Everything Arises, Everything Falls Away,’ by Ajahn Chah, copyright 2005 by Paul Breiter. Both reprinted by arrangement with Shambhala Publications Inc., www.shambhala.com;

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

‘Hsin-hsin Ming: Verses on the Faith-Mind,’ by Seng-Ts’an, translated by Richard B. Clarke. Copyright 1973, 1984, 2001 by Richard B. Clarke. Reprinted with the kind permission of White Pine Press, Buffalo, New York, www.whitepine.org;

‘Numerical Discourses of the Buddha,’ Nyanaponika Thera & Bhikkhu Bodhi trans., reprinted with the kind permission of AltaMira Press;

‘The Dhammapada,’ Balangoda Ananda Maitreya trans., reprinted with the kind permission of Metta Foundation;

‘Dependent Origination,’ by P.A. Payutto, reprinted with the kind permission of the author;

‘How Buddhism Began: The Conditioned Genesis of the Early Teachings,’ by Richard F. Gombrich, reprinted with the kind permission of the author;

‘Mþlamadhyamaka-kærikæ,’ by Æcariya Nægærjuna, Stephen Batchelor trans., reprinted with the kind permission of the translator.

PÆLI PHONETICS AND PRONUNCIATION

PALI IS THE ORIGINAL scriptural language of Theravædan Buddhism. It was a spoken language closely related to Sanskrit, with no written script of its own. As written forms have emerged, they have always been in the lettering of another language (e.g. Sanskrit, Sinhalese, Burmese, Thai, Roman). Thus the Roman lettering used here is pronounced just as one would expect, with the following clarifications.

Vowels are of two types:

Short Long

a as in about æ as in far i as in hit ø as in machine u as in put þ as in true

e as in whey o as in more

Consonants are mostly as one would expect, with a few additional rules:

c as in ancient (like ch but unaspirated) µ, ³ as ng in sang ñ as ny in canyon v rather softer than the English v; near w

bh, ch, dh, ðh, gh, jh, kh, ph, th, ¥h

These two-lettered notations with h denote an aspirated, airy sound, distinct from the hard, crisp sound of the single consonant. They should be considered as one unit. However, the other combinations with h, i.e. lh, mh, ñh and vh do count as two consonants. Examples: th as t in ‘tongue’. It is never pronounced as in English ‘the’. ph as p in ‘palate’. It is never pronounced as in English ‘photo’.

ð, ðh, ¹, ¼, ¥, ¥h

These retroflex consonants have no English equivalent. They are sounded by curling the tip of the tongue back against the palate.

ABBREVIATIONS:

D...Døgha Nikæya The Long Discourses of the Buddha M...Majjhima Nikæya The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha S...Saµyutta Nikæya The Discourses Related by Subject A...Anguttara Nikæya The Discourses Related by Numbers Ud...Udæna Inspired Utterances Iti...Itivuttaka Sayings of the Buddha SN...Sutta Nipæta A collection of the Buddha’s teachings, in verse form Dhp...Dhammapada A collection of the Buddha’s teachings, in verse form Thag...Theragæthæ The Verses of the Elder Monks Thig...Therøgæthæ The Verses of the Elder Nuns Nid...Niddesa A canonical commentary on the Sutta Nipæta Vsm...Visuddhimagga The Path of Purification, a commentarial compendium Miln...Milindapañha The Questions of King Milinda MV...Mahævagga The Great Chapter, from the books of monastic

discipline

A NOTE ON THE TEXT AND ON TRANSLATION

Chapters 1-12 were compiled by Ajahn Amaro, Chapters 13-20 by Ajahn Pasanno. Where a translation has been quoted verbatim from another work, the names

of the translators have been included with the reference. If there is no named translator then that translation or rendering has been produced by the editors.

Sincere efforts have been made to remain faithful to the scriptures, both in spirit and in letter; should any of these representations of the ancient texts in English fall short in their accuracy we respectfully ask for forgiveness.

To Luang Por Chah, whose selflessness and wisdom

was able to transform disparate, wandering characters into dedicated seekers of truth.

And to Luang Por Sumedho, whose unselfish altruism and perseverance has so successfully transplanted a branch

of the Sangha in the West.

The effect of the integrity of both these lives is difficult to imagine,

but it is likely that Luang Por Chah would be happy to see the results as they are today.

May their examples be a source of inspiration to us all long into the future.

SEEDS:

NAMES AND SYMBOLS

WHAT IS IT?

NIBBÆNA (NIRVÆNA IN SANSKRIT) IS A WORD THAT IS USED to describe an experience. When the heart is free of all obscurations, and is utterly in accord with nature, Ultimate Reality (Dhamma), it experiences perfect peace, joy and content-ment. This set of qualities is what Nibbæna describes. The purpose of this book is to outline the particular teachings of the Buddha that point to and illuminate ways that these qualities can be realized. From the Buddhist viewpoint, the realization of Nibbæna is the fulfillment of the highest human potential – a potential that exists in all of us, regardless of nationality or creed.

In contemplating Buddhist terms, and many of the ways of speech em-ployed in this anthology, it is important to bear a couple of things in mind. Firstly, it is a feature of the Buddha’s teaching, particularly in the Theravæda scriptures, that the Truth and the way leading to it are often indicated by talking about what they are not rather than what they are.

This mode of expression has a rough parallel in the classical Indian philosophy of the Upaniªads, in what is known as the principle of ‘neti... neti,’ meaning ‘not this... not this,’ – it is the phrase through which the reality of appearances is rejected. In Christian theological language this approach, of referr-ing to what things are not, is called an ‘apophatic method,’ it is also known as the via negativa and has been used by a number of eminent Christians over the centuries.

The Pali Canon posesses much of the same via negativa flavour and because of this readers have often mistaken it for a nihilistic view on life. Nothing could be further from the truth, but it’s easy to see how the mistake could be made, particularly if one comes from a culture commited to life-affirmation, such as is commonly found in the West.

The story has it that shortly after the Buddha’s enlightenment he was walking along a road through the Magadhan countryside, in the Ganges Valley, on his way to meet up with the five companions with whom he had practised

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austerities before going off alone, to seek the Truth in his own way. Along the road a wandering ascetic, Upaka by name, saw him approaching and was greatly struck by the Buddha’s appearance. Not only was he a warrior-noble prince with the regal bearing that came from his upbringing, he was also unusually tall, extraordinarily handsome, was dressed in the rag robes of the ascetic wanderers and he shone with a dazzling radiance. Upaka was moved to enquire:

1.1) “Who are you friend? Your face is so clear and bright, your manner is awesome and serene. Surely you must have discovered some great truth – who is your teacher, friend and what is it that you have discovered?” The newly-awakened Buddha replied: “I am an All-transcender, an All-knower. I have no teacher. In all the world I alone am fully enlightened. There is none who taught me this – I came to it through my own efforts.” “Do you mean to say that you claim to have won victory over birth and death?” “Indeed friend I am a Victorious One; and now, in this world of the spiritually blind, I go to Benares to beat the drum of Deathlessness.” “Well, good for you friend,” said Upaka and, shaking his head as he went, he left by a different path. ~ MV 1.6

The Buddha realized from Upaka’s departure that mere declaration of the Truth did not necessarily arouse faith, and was not effective in communicating it to others. So, by the time he reached the Deer Park outside of Benares and had met up with his former companions, he had adopted a much more analytical method (vibhajjavæda). He began his first systematic teaching, the Dhammacakkappavat-tana Sutta (The Discourse on the Setting in Motion of the Wheel of Truth), by explaining the raw truth of the spiritual disease (dukkha, ‘unsatisfactoriness, discontent, suffering’) and then worked through the cause of the disease (ta¼hæ, ‘craving’), the prognosis (yes, dukkha can indeed cease – nirodha), and finally outlined the medicine (the Noble Eightfold Path – magga). It is not the purpose of this book to go into detail on this formulation. Suffice to say that all that he pronounces about ‘the state of health’ (to continue the analogy) is that this Middle Way that he has discovered: “brings vision, brings knowledge, leads to calm, to insight, to awakening and to Nibbæna.”

WHAT IS IT?

This via negativa method is most clearly displayed in the Buddha’s second discourse, the Anattalakkha¼a Sutta (MV 1.6), also given in the Deer Park at Benares and the teaching which caused the five companions all to realize enlightenment, the liberation of the heart from all delusion and defilement. In this discourse the Buddha uses the search for the self (attæ in Pali, ætman in Skt) as his theme, and by using an analytical method he demonstrates that a ‘self’ cannot be found in relation to any of the factors of body or mind; he then states: “the wise noble disciple becomes dispassionate towards the body, feelings, perceptions, mental formations and consciousness.” In this way, he states, the heart is liberated.

This explanation implies that once we let go of what we’re not, the nature of what is Real becomes apparent – this was the realization that the Buddha had tried to communicate to Upaka when they met on the high road. And as that Reality is beyond description, it is most appropriate, and least misleading, to let it remain undescribed. This is the essence of the ‘way of negation’ and will be a repetitive theme throughout the coming pages.*

Secondly, throughout the Buddha’s teaching career of forty-five years, most of his attention was placed on offering descriptions of the path. If the goal was spoken of, it was usually in simple, general terms (e.g. at §1.5). However, one of the effects of having placed so much emphasis on the path, is that the Thera-væda tradition has tended to speak very little about the nature of the goal – thus often causing that goal, Nibbæna, to disappear from view, or become impossibly vague in concept, or even to be denied as being realizable in this day and age. One of the aims of this book is to collect many of the passages of the Pali Canon where the Buddha does indeed speak about the nature of the goal, elucidating this profound Truth and encouraging its realization.

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ETYMOLOGIES 1.2) Nibbæna: Nirvæ¼a (Skt) – Literally ‘Extinction’ (nir + væ, to cease blowing, to become extinguished); according to the commentaries: ‘Freedom from Desire’ (nir + vana). Nibbæna constitutes the highest and ultimate goal of all Buddhist aspirations, i.e. absolute extinction of the life-affirming will manifested as Greed, Hate and Delusion, and

*Particularly useful passages on the philosophy behind this principle are to be found in Ch 10, on ‘The Unapprehendability of the Enlightened,’ and in Ch 11 – especially the pass-

ages from ‘The Questions of Upasøva’at §11.6-7

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convulsively clinging to existence; and therewith also the ultimate and absolute deliverance from all future rebirth, old age, disease and death, from all suffering and misery. ~ Nyanatiloka Bhikkhu, ‘Buddhist Dictionary,’ p 105

1.3) ‘Un-’ (nir) + ‘binding’ (væna) – To understand the implications of nibbæna in the present life, it is necessary to know something of the way in which fire is described in the Pali Canon. There, fire is said to be caused by the excitation or agitation of the heat property. To continue burning, it must have sustenance (upædæna). Its relationship to its sustenance is one of clinging, dependence, & entrapment. When it goes out, the heat property is no longer agitated, and the fire is said to be freed. Thus the metaphor of nibbæna in this case would have implica-tions of calming together with release from dependencies, attachments, & bondage. This in turn suggests that of all the attempts to describe the etymology of the word nibbæna, the closest is the one Buddhaghosa proposed in ‘The Path of Purification’: Un- (nir) + binding (væna): Unbinding. ~ ¿hænissaro Bhikkhu, ‘The Mind Like Fire Unbound,’ p 2

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DEFINITIONS 1.4) “Before my enlightenment, while I was still only an unenlightened bodhisatta, being myself subject to birth, aging, ailment, death, sorrow and defilement, I sought after what was also subject to these things. Then I thought: ‘Why, being myself subject to birth, aging, ailment, death, sorrow and defilement, do I seek after what is also subject to these things? Suppose, being myself subject to these things, seeing danger in them, I sought after the unborn, unaging, unailing, deathless, sorrowless, undefiled supreme release from bondage, Nibbæna?’” ~ M 26.13

1.5) “That which is the exhaustion of greed, of hate, and of delusion, is called Nibbæna.” ~ S 38.1

WHAT IS IT?

1.6) “This truly is the most peaceful and refined, that is to say, the stilling of all formations, the forsaking of all acquisitions and every substratum of rebirth, the fading away of craving, cessation, Nibbæna.” ~ A 10.60

1.7) “The remainderless fading, cessation, Nibbæna comes with the utter ending of all craving. When a bhikkhu reaches Nibbæna thus through not clinging, there is no renewal of being; Mæra has been vanquished and the battle gained, since one who is Such has outstripped all being.” ~ Ud 3.10

The term ‘Such’ here is a translation of the Pali word ‘tædi’ – it is an epithet occasionally used for the enlightened. It will be seen again at §§6.7 & 6.8, in passages from Ñæ¼ananda Bhikkhu.

1.8) “Enraptured with lust (ræga), enraged with anger (dosa), blinded by delusion (moha), overwhelmed, with mind ensnared, people aim at their own ruin, at the ruin of others, at the ruin of both, and they experience mental pain and grief. But if lust, anger and delusion are given up, one aims neither at one’s own ruin, nor at the ruin of others, nor at the ruin of both, and they experience no mental pain and grief. Thus is Nibbæna visible in this life, immediate, inviting, attractive, and comprehensible to the wise.” ~ A 3.55

1.9) “Just as a rock of one solid mass remains unshaken by the wind, even so neither visible forms, nor sounds, nor odours, nor tastes, nor bodily impressions, neither the desired nor the undesired, can cause such a one to waver. Steadfast is their mind, gained is deliverance.” ~ A 6.55

1.10) “Cessation of greed, of hatred and of delusion is the Unformed, the Unconditioned (Asa³khata)

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the End, (Anata) the Taintless, (Anæsava) the Truth, (Sacca) the Other Shore, (Pæra) the Subtle, (Nipu¼a) the Very Hard to See, (Sududdasa) the Unweakening, (Ajajjara) the Everlasting, (Dhuva) the Undisintegrating, (Apalokita) the Invisible, (Anidassana) the Undiversified, (Nippapañca) Peace, (Santa) the Deathless, (Amata) the Supreme Goal, (Pa¼øta) the Blest, (Siva) Safety, (Khema) Exhaustion of Craving, (Ta¼hækkhaya) the Wonderful, (Acchariya) the Marvellous, (Abbhuta) Non-distress, (Anøtika) the Naturally Non-distressed, (Anøtika-dhamma) Nibbæna, Non-affliction (Unhostility), (Abyæpajjha) Fading of Lust, (Viræga) Purity, (Suddhi) Freedom, (Mutti) Independence of Reliance, (Anælayo) the Island, (Døpa) the Shelter, (Le¼a) the Harbour, (Tæ¼a) the Refuge, (Sara¼a) the Beyond, (Paræyana).” ~ S 43.1-44 (edited, Ñæ¼amoli Bhikkhu trans.)

In addition to these epithets, there are numerous others employed by the Buddha throughout the Pali Canon, for example:

The Everlasting (Accanta) The Unmade (Akatæ)

WHAT IS IT?

The Endless (Ananta) The Cessation of Suffering (Dukkhakkhaya) The Freedom from Longing (Annæsa) The Uncreated (Asa³khæra) The Beyond (Para) Deliverance (Mokkha) Cessation (Nirodha) The Absolute (Kevala) The Law (Pada) The Deathless (Accuta) The Lasting (Akkhara) Release (Vimutta) Liberation (Vimutti) Total Completion (Apavagga) Freedom from Bondage (Yogakkhema) Stillness (Santi) Purity (Visuddhi) Allayment (Nibbuti) The Unborn (Ajæta) The Unoriginated (Abhþta) Freedom From Lust (Vøtaræga) The Destruction of the Passions (Khø¼æsava) The Unconditioned Element (Asa³khatadhætu) The Standstill of the Cycle of Existence (Viva¥¥a)

These terms are all ways of referring to the same essential and ineffable quality. Such a variety of expression was needed since even the Buddha acknow-ledged that it was hard to convey the realization of Truth in words; he describes a time shortly after his enlightenment:

1.11) “I considered: ‘This Dhamma that I have realized is profound, hard to see and hard to understand, peaceful and sublime, unattainable by mere reasoning, subtle, to be experienced only by the wise.’ But this generation delights in worldliness (ælaya), takes delight in worldliness, rejoices in worldliness. It is hard for such a generation to see this truth, namely, specific conditionality (idapaccayatæ), dependent origination (pa¥icca-samuppæda). And it is hard to see this truth,

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namely, the stilling of all formations, the relinquishing of all attachments (upadhi), the destruction of craving, dispassion, cessation, Nib