Exploring the Path - Pāli Course

Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammāsambuddhassa


Introduction to 3.2.5
Sammādiṭṭhisuttaṃ
(One Who Is Holding Right View)

This selection from the Sammādiṭṭhisuttaṃ, a sutta exposed by the Venerable Sāriputta, is the opening part of this sutta. This sutta is from Majjhika Nikaya and presents an important text the Buddha’s teaching. The Buddha once described his two chief disciples in the Saccavibhaṅgasuttaṃ thus: – ‘‘Sevatha, bhikkhave, sāriputtamoggallāne; bhajatha¹, bhikkhave, sāriputtamoggallāne. Paṇḍitā bhikkhū anuggāhakā² sabrahmacārīnaṃ. Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, janetā³, evaṃ sāriputto; seyyathāpi jātassa āpādetā⁴, evaṃ moggallāno. Sāriputto, bhikkhave, sotāpattiphale vineti⁵, moggallāno uttamatthe⁶. Sāriputto, bhikkhave, pahoti⁷ cattāri ariyasaccāni vitthārena⁸ ācikkhituṃ⁹ desetuṃ paññāpetuṃ paṭṭhapetuṃ¹⁰ vivarituṃ vibhajituṃ¹¹ uttānīkātu’’nti¹².” – “Cultivate the friendship of Sāriputta and Moggallāna, associate, O’Bhikkhus with Sāriputta and Moggallāna. They are wise and support their companions in the holy life. Likewise, Bhikkhus, Sāriputta is like a mother, Moggallāna is like a nurse. Sāriputta instructs others to gain the fruit of sotapanna, Moggallāna leads to the ultimate goal. Sāriputta, O’Bhikkhus is skilled to announce the Four Noble Truths, to teach, declare, establish, disclose, go into detail and exhibit them.” 

Sāriputta openes his exposition as presented with the section of emphasising the necessity of discerning wholesome and unwholesome with their respective roots as the first important requisite for someone who ‘holds right view’. After the audience questions the Venerable Sāriputta, whether there are any additional ways for a Noble Disciple to understand Right View properly, he advances to further sections. The expression used here is: ‘Sammādiṭṭhi sammādiṭṭhī’ti - ettāvatāpi ariyasāvako sammādiṭṭhi hoti, ujugatāssa diṭṭhi, dhamme aveccappasādena samannāgato, āgato imaṃ saddhammaṃ’¹³ - “One with right view is called: ‘one with right view’!”. In that sense a Noble Disciple is one with right view, one whose view is straight, who is of perfect faith in Dhamma and who has obtained true Dhamma.” and thus refers to those already established in the path and having realized sammādiṭṭhi to such the extend of supramundane sammādiṭṭhi, to members of the Saṅgha. Sāriputta emphasises that every section, he sets out to expose, has to be fully understood, realized and left behind in the same way and only then one can be called ‘one with right view’: “so sabbaso rāgānusayaṃ pahāya, paṭighānusayaṃ paṭivinodetvā¹⁴, ‘asmī’ti diṭṭhimānānusayaṃ samūhanitvā¹⁵, avijjaṃ pahāya vijjaṃ uppādetvā, diṭṭhevadhamme dukkhassantakaro hoti – ettāvatāpi kho, āvuso, ariyasāvako sammādiṭṭhi hoti, ujugatāssa diṭṭhi, dhamme aveccappasādena samannāgato, āgato imaṃ saddhamma’’nti” – ‘thus leaving completely behind all dormant tendency of craving, having dispelled all dormant tendency of aversion and removed the underlying tendency to ‘I am’ he abandons ignorance and establishes wisdom and then and there makes an end to suffering –such a one is ‘one with right view’, one whose view is straight, who is of perfect faith in Dhamma and who has obtained true Dhamma a Noble Disciple?’

After the listeners enquire about further ways to distinguish right view, he first proceeds with nutriment¹⁶ which should be understood, the arising of nutriment that should be understood and likewise its elimination and the way leading to the elimination of it: — āhārañca pajānāti, āhārasamudayañca pajānāti, āhāranirodhañca pajānāti, āhāranirodhagāminiṃ paṭipadañca pajānāti —In the same way Sāriputta continues with the Four Noble Truths; old age and death; birth; becoming; attachment; craving; sensations; contact; the six fold sense doors, body and mind phenomenon; consciousness; mental conditioning; ignorance¹⁷ and dormant impurities, pointing out that each time not only the respective subject has to be understood, but also its arising, its elimination and the way leading to the elimination of it: āhārañca pajānāti, āhārasamudayañca pajānāti, āhāranirodhañca pajānāti, āhāranirodhagāminiṃ paṭipadañca pajānāti ……—dukkhañca pajānāti, dukkhasamudayañca pajānāti, dukkhanirodhañca pajānāti, dukkhanirodhagāminiṃ paṭipadañca pajānāti ……– jarāmaraṇañca pajānāti, jarāmaraṇasamudayañca pajānāti, jarāmaraṇanirodhañca pajānāti, jarāmaraṇanirodhagāminiṃ paṭipadañca pajānāti ……—ariyasāvako jātiñca pajānāti, jātisamudayañca pajānāti, jātinirodhañca pajānāti, jātinirodhagāminiṃ paṭipadañca pajānāti ……– bhavañca pajānāti, bhavasamudayañca pajānāti, bhavanirodhañca pajānāti, bhavanirodhagāminiṃ paṭipadañca pajānāti ……—upādānaṃ pajānāti, evaṃ upādānasamudayaṃ pajānāti, evaṃ upādānanirodhaṃ pajānāti, evaṃ upādānanirodhagāminiṃ paṭipadaṃ pajānāti,……—ariyasāvako taṇhañca pajānāti, taṇhāsamudayañca pajānāti, taṇhānirodhañca pajānāti, taṇhānirodhagāminiṃ paṭipadañca pajānāti ……—vedanaṃ pajānāti, evaṃ vedanāsamudayaṃ pajānāti, evaṃ vedanānirodhaṃ pajānāti, evaṃ vedanānirodhagāminiṃ paṭipadaṃ pajānāti, …… phassañca pajānāti, phassasamudayañca pajānāti, phassanirodhañca pajānāti, phassanirodhagāminiṃ paṭipadañca pajānāti– saḷāyatanañca pajānāti, saḷāyatanasamudayañca pajānāti, saḷāyatananirodhañca pajānāti, saḷāyatananirodhagāminiṃ paṭipadañca pajānāti ……—nāmarūpaṃ pajānāti, evaṃ nāmarūpasamudayaṃ pajānāti, evaṃ nāmarūpanirodhaṃ pajānāti, evaṃ nāmarūpanirodhagāminiṃ paṭipadaṃ pajānāti, ……—viññāṇaṃ pajānāti, evaṃ viññāṇasamudayaṃ pajānāti, evaṃ viññāṇanirodhaṃ pajānāti, evaṃ viññāṇanirodhagāminiṃ paṭipadaṃ pajānāti, ……—saṅkhāre pajānāti, evaṃ saṅkhārasamudayaṃ pajānāti, evaṃ saṅkhāranirodhaṃ pajānāti, evaṃ saṅkhāranirodhagāminiṃ paṭipadaṃ pajānāti, …… ariyasāvako avijjañca pajānāti, avijjāsamudayañca pajānāti, avijjānirodhañca pajānāti, avijjānirodhagāminiṃ paṭipadañca pajānāti ……—āsavañca pajānāti, āsavasamudayañca pajānāti, āsavanirodhañca pajānāti, āsavanirodhagāminiṃ paṭipadañca pajānāti.

May the Venerable Sāriputta’s exposition help many to develop right and thorough understanding so they can be rightly called: ‘Sammādiṭṭhi sammādiṭṭhī’ti !