3.5.2

Lesson 3.5.2 Cārittaṃ Vārittaṃ Sikkhāpada – The Training of Performing and Avoiding

The saying, “Dhammo have rakkhati dhammacāriṃ”—truly, Dhamma protects those who foster the Dhamma—expresses a universal truth akin to “you reap what you sow.” It highlights the moral reciprocity and causal nature of our actions and volitions. The same emphasis is expressed in these outstanding verses from the Theragatha which open the Introduction to this lesson. By living in accordance with the Dhamma, one finds protection through the complete abandonment of the unwholesome and the cultivation of the wholesome. A dhammacāri, or one who practices the Dhamma, integrates these principles into their daily life and, as a result, experiences beneficial outcomes that reinforce their resolve. This idea is further detailed in a selection from the first chapter of the Visuddhimagga, the sīlaniddeso (the ‘specification’ on sīla), which explains in its detail, its characteristics, function, manifestation and proximate cause (lakkhaṇarasapaccupaṭṭhānapadaṭṭhānāni), its benefits, the different approaches of subdividing or enumerating sīla (katividhaṃ), it’s defilement and purification (saṃkileso, kiṃ vodānaṃ). A sincere dhammacāri must train in both of these interrelated aspects to truly walk the path: “... evaṃ cārittavārittavasena duvidhaṃ”—avoiding that which is unwholesome and performing what is wholesome.