Exploring the Path - Pāli Course

Yāvakīvañca, bhikkhave, candimasūriyā loke nuppajjanti, neva tāva mahato ālokassa pātubhāvo hoti mahato obhāsassa. Andhatamaṃ¹ tadā hoti andhakāratimisā.² Neva tāva rattindivā paññāyanti, na māsaddhamāsā³ paññāyanti, na utusaṃvaccharā⁴ paññāyanti.

Bhikkhus, so long as neither sun nor moon ascend in this world for that long there is no appearance of great light and radiance. Outstanding gloom prevails, a dense manifestation of darkness, neither day nor night can be distinguished, month and half-moon cannot be discerned, nor seasons or a year can be determined.

Yato ca kho, bhikkhave, candimasūriyā loke uppajjanti, atha mahato ālokassa pātubhāvo hoti mahato obhāsassa. Neva andhakāratamaṃ tadā hoti na andhakāratimisā. Atha rattindivā paññāyanti, māsaddhamāsā paññāyanti, utusaṃvaccharā paññāyanti.⁵

But, Bhikkhus, when the sun and moon ascend in this world, then great light and radiance appear. There is no outstanding gloom, no dense manifestation of darkness; day and night are distinguished, month and half-moon is discerned and seasons or a year can be determined.⁶

The four Noble Truths are the nucleus and core of the Buddha’s teaching. That is why he explained to his five companions in the very first discourse:⁷

Yāvakīvañca me, bhikkhave, imesu catūsu ariyasaccesu evaṃ tiparivaṭṭaṃ dvādasākāraṃ yathābhūtaṃ ñāṇadassanaṃ na suvisuddhaṃ ahosi, neva tāvāhaṃ, bhikkhave … ‘anuttaraṃ sammāsambodhiṃ abhisambuddho’ti paccaññāsiṃ.

As long as these four Noble Truths, Bhikkhus, have not been realized in this very way as they really are complete in their three successions making them twelvefold, … I did not declare myself an unsurpassed fully Enlightened One.

The Four Noble Truths comprise all his teachings in a ‘nutshell.’ Whenever there is a detailed analysis of the Four Noble Truths all the other principles the Buddha taught are included. Thus, right view, perfect understanding (sammādiṭṭhi) comprises the knowledge of the Four Noble Truths with the fourth including the Noble Eightfold Path.⁸

The Buddha repeatedly emphasised that out of the extensive fields of knowledge he had achieved (bahutaraṃ yaṃ vo mayā abhiññāya anakkhātaṃ) he did NOT teach anything beyond the Four Noble Truths:⁹

Kiñca, bhikkhave, mayā akkhātaṃ?

‘Idaṃ dukkhan’ti, bhikkhave, mayā akkhātaṃ, ‘ayaṃ dukkhasamudayo’ti mayā akkhātaṃ, ‘ayaṃ dukkhanirodho’ti mayā akkhātaṃ, ‘ayaṃ dukkhanirodhagāminī paṭipadā’ti mayā akkhātaṃ.

And what have I taught?

I have taught: ‘This is suffering.’ I have taught: ‘This is the origination of suffering.’ I have taught: ‘This is the eradication of suffering.’ I have taught: ‘This is the path leading to the eradication of suffering.’

Likewise, when the Venerable Sāriputta refers to the Four Noble Truths he uses the renowned simile of the elephant’s footprint:¹⁰

Āyasmā sāriputto etadavoca – “seyyathāpi yāni kānici jaṅgalānaṃ pāṇānaṃ padajātāni sabbāni tāni hatthipade samodhānaṃ gacchanti, hatthipadaṃ tesaṃ aggamakkhāyati yadidaṃ mahantattena; evameva kho, āvuso, ye keci kusalā dhammā sabbete catūsu ariyasaccesu saṅgahaṃ gacchanti.”

Venerable Sāriputta said, “… any footprint of any living and walking being in any jungle can be positioned within an elephant’s footprint which because of its great size is declared the chief of them all. Similarly, all wholesome states can be included in the Four Noble Truths.”¹¹

When the Buddha gives an explanation, he does so taking into account the respective capacity and background of the audience, and so, at times, he explains in great detail. When he gave the discourse on the Mahāsatipaṭṭhānasutta to the residents of Kurū, who were renowned for their sincere efforts to maintain sīla and to genuinely follow all his teachings, the Buddha explained the Four Noble Truths in great detail, as presented in this lesson.

Here he commences his exposition of the first Noble Truth, ‘the knowledge of the fact of suffering’ (dukkhe ñāṇaṃ) with birth as the first link, proceeding to old age up to death and including any kind of mental anguish, loss of what one wants and as well confrontation with what one doesn’t want. Everything is revealed as suffering (dukkhaṃ).

When he explains that ‘birth is suffering’ (jātipi dukkhā) he makes it clear that this refers to not only the birth as a human being but for beings in any state of existence. That is why it is said:

… Atthīdha kiñcidapi dukkhamidaṃ kadāci; nevatthi jātivirahena yato mahesi, dukkhāti sabbapaṭhamaṃ imamāha jātinti.¹²

… Can there occur a state of suffering at any time or anywhere, that not ensues from birth? That is why when he declared suffering, the great Sage first expounded birth.

The Buddha further designates aging (jarā)¹³ as unavoidable in all states of existence where sluggishness, decline of faculties and vanishing of youthful strength is inherent and that death (maraṇaṃ) approaches, inescapable and accompanied by bodily and physical pain (dukkhaṃ). He likewise highlights mental suffering such as sorrow (soko), which has the characteristic of an inner consuming and burning of the mind; lamentation (paridevo) that goes along with crying and bewailing; grief (domanassaṃ) that is felt as mental affliction and extensive and excessive mental suffering of despair, distress or tribulation (upāyāso) which is compared to ceaseless burning of the mind. To provide an amended picture of those similar psychological effects and to highlight the Pāli-terms, the Visuddhimagga uses the following simile:

Ettha ca mandagginā antobhājane¹⁴ pāko viya soko. Tikkhagginā paccamānassa bhājanato bahinikkhamanaṃ¹⁵ viya paridevo. Bahinikkhantāvasesassa¹⁶ nikkhamituṃ appahontassa¹⁷ antobhājaneyeva yāva parikkhayā pāko viya upāyāso daṭṭhabbo.

Sorrow is like food cooked in a pot over a weak fire. Lamentation is like food boiling over from the pot when cooked over a strong fire. Tribulation should be understood as food that remains in the pot after it has cooked over and what remains in the pot until it dries up.

Suffering further occurs from situations where one gets associated with something one doesn’t like (appiyehi sampayogo) whether it may refer to unwanted situations, to loss or to contact with disagreeable beings. It may also result from the opposite where one becomes disassociated from something favourable or from somebody one cherishes (piyehi vippayogo).

The next base for suffering is the yearning for something unobtainable which manifests in disappointment for not getting what one desires (yampicchaṃ na labhati).

Thus, having covered every conceivable aspect for any possible suffering, the Buddha still concludes with the following summary:

... saṅkhittena pañcupādānakkhandhā dukkhā

… in short, the clinging to the five aggregates is suffering.

In the Dukkhasutta the Buddha explains this in more detail but also points to the way beyond suffering:

Rūpaṃ, bhikkhave, dukkhaṃ, vedanā dukkhā, saññā dukkhā, saṅkhārā dukkhā, viññāṇaṃ dukkhaṃ. Evaṃ passaṃ, bhikkhave, sutavā ariyasāvako rūpasmimpi nibbindati, vedanāyapi nibbindati, saññāyapi nibbindati, saṅkhāresupi nibbindati, viññāṇasmimpi nibbindati. Nibbindaṃ virajjati; virāgā vimuccati. Vimuttasmiṃ vimuttamiti ñāṇaṃ hoti. ‘Khīṇā jāti, vusitaṃ brahmacariyaṃ, kataṃ karaṇīyaṃ, nāparaṃ itthattāyā’ti pajānātī’ti.¹⁸

Matter is suffering, sensations are suffering, perceptions are suffering, mentally conditioned reactions are suffering and consciousness is suffering. Having realized this, the Noble Disciple gets wearied of matter, he gets wearied of sensations, he gets wearied of perceptions, gets wearied of mentally conditioned reactions and gets wearied of consciousness. Being wearied he detaches himself, with this dispassionateness he gets liberated. Thus liberated, the knowledge ‘I am liberated’ arises. He understands that ‘Birth is destroyed, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more becoming to any further existence.’

Those who accept that there are ups and downs and vicissitudes in life may find comfort in the fortunate appearance of a Tathāgata nearly 2600 years ago that provides radiance and thus a way beyond suffering.

Evameva kho, bhikkhave, yāvakīvañca tathāgato loke nuppajjati arahaṃ sammāsambuddho, neva tāva mahato ālokassa pātubhāvo hoti mahato obhāsassa. Andhatamaṃ tadā hoti andhakāratimisā. Neva tāva catunnaṃ ariyasaccānaṃ ācikkhaṇā¹⁹ hoti desanā paññāpanā²⁰ paṭṭhapanā²¹ vivaraṇā vibhajanā uttānīkammaṃ.

“Bhikkhus, so long as no Tathāgata arises in this world, who is an Arahant, a Fully Enlightened One, for that long there will be no appearance of great light and radiance. Outstanding gloom prevails and there is a dense manifestation of darkness. And for that long there does not exist any pointing to, any teaching, exposition, setting forth, disclosing or explanation of the Four Noble Truths.

Yato ca kho, bhikkhave, tathāgato loke uppajjati arahaṃ sammāsambuddho, atha mahato ālokassa pātubhāvo hoti mahato obhāsassa. Neva andhatamaṃ tadā hoti na andhakāratimisā. Atha kho catunnaṃ ariyasaccānaṃ ācikkhaṇā hoti desanā paññāpanā paṭṭhapanā vivaraṇā vibhajanā uttānīkammaṃ.

But, Bhikkhus, when the Tathāgata arises in this world, who is an Arahant, a Fully Enlightened One, then great light and radiance appear. There is no outstanding gloom, no dense manifestation of darkness. And then there is pointing to, teaching of, exposition, setting forth, disclosing and explanation of the Four Noble Truths.

Katamesaṃ catunnaṃ? Dukkhassa ariyasaccassa …pe… dukkhanirodhagāminiyā paṭipadāya ariyasaccassa.

Tasmātiha, bhikkhave, ‘idaṃ dukkha’nti yogo karaṇīyo … pe… ‘ayaṃ dukkhanirodhagāminī paṭipadā’ti yogo karaṇīyo’ti.²²

What are the four? They are the Noble Truth of suffering, the Noble Truth of the arising of suffering, the Noble Truth of the cessation of suffering and the Noble Truth of the path leading to the cessation of suffering.

Therefore, Bhikkhus, endeavour should be undertaken to realize ‘that is suffering’, that is ‘the arising of suffering’, that is ‘the cessation of suffering’, and that is the ‘path leading to the cessation of suffering’.