Exploring the Path - Pāli Course

“And how, Bhikkhus, does right view come first?

Here he understands wrong view properly as wrong view and he understands right view properly as right view; this is his right view. And what, Bhikkhus, is wrong view? There is nothing given, nothing offered, nothing sacrificed; there is no fruit or result derived from good or bad actions; there is not this world nor the other world, neither mother nor father, no spontaneously born beings; neither are there in this world any samaṇas or brāhmiṇs who after correctly gone to perfection and realized for themselves through direct knowledge are able to declare that there is this world and the other world – this, Bhikkhus, is wrong view.

And what, Bhikkhus, is right view? Right view is, Bhikkhus, I say, of twofold character: there is right view that is influenced by dormant impurities and partaking of merit with attachment ripening and there is right view that is noble, free from impurities, supramundane and a factor of the path.

And what, Bhikkhus, is right view that is influenced by dormant impurities and partaking of merit with attachment ripening? ‘There is something given, something offered, something sacrificed; there is fruit or result derived from good or bad actions; there is this world and the other world; there are mother and father, spontaneously born beings that exist; there are in this world samaṇas or brāhmiṇs who after correctly gone to perfection and realized for themselves through direct knowledge are able to declare that there is this world and the other world’ – this, Bhikkhus, is right view that is influenced by dormant impurities and partaking of merit with attachment ripening.

And what, Bhikkhus, is right view that is noble, free from impurities, supramundane and a factor of the path? There is someone, Bhikkhus, of noble mind without any dormant mental impurities, endowed in the Noble Path and developing it, full of wisdom, the faculty and the power of wisdom, with the enlightenment factor of investigating the Dhamma and the path factor of right view. This is, Bhikkhus, right view that is noble, free from impurities, supramundane and a factor of the path.

He stirs up effort to abandon wrong view and to acquire right view: that is that one’s right effort. Thus fully aware he abandons wrong view and acquires right view and dwells therein: that is that one’s right awareness. These three states follow and circle around right view, these are: right view, right effort and right awareness. …

… Thus right view, Bhikkhus, comes first.

And how, Bhikkhus, does right view comes first?

For one of right view, Bhikkhus, right thought originates. For one of right thought, right speech originates. For one of right speech, right action originates. For one of right action, right livelihood originates. For one of right livelihood, right effort originates. For one of right effort, right awareness originates. For one of right awareness, right concentration originates. For one of right concentration, right knowledge originates. For one of right knowledge, right liberation originates. In this way, Bhikkhus, the sekkho, the one in training, is endowed with eight links, the arahant, is endowed with ten links.

Thus right view, Bhikkhus, comes first.

And how, Bhikkhus, does right view comes first?

For one of right view, Bhikkhus, wrong view is removed and at the same time the manifold unwholesome states that have their base in wrong view get removed. The many wholesome states that have their base in right view come to fulfilment by developing them.

For one of right thought, Bhikkhus, wrong thought is removed and at the same time the manifold unwholesome states that have their base in wrong thought get removed. The many wholesome states that have their base in right thought come to fulfilment by developing them.

For one of right speech, Bhikkhus, wrong speech is removed and at the same time the manifold unwholesome states that have their base in wrong speech get removed. The many wholesome states that have their base in right speech come to fulfilment by developing them.

For one of right action, Bhikkhus, wrong action is removed and at the same time the manifold unwholesome states that have their base in wrong action get removed. The many wholesome states that have their base in right action come to fulfilment by developing them.

For one of right livelihood, Bhikkhus, wrong livelihood is removed and at the same time the manifold unwholesome states that have their base in wrong livelihood get removed. The many wholesome states that have their base in right livelihood come to fulfilment by developing them.

For one of right effort, Bhikkhus, wrong effort is removed and at the same time the manifold unwholesome states that have their base in wrong effort get removed. The many wholesome states that have their base in right effort come to fulfilment by developing them.

For one of right awareness, Bhikkhus, wrong awareness is removed and at the same time the manifold unwholesome states that have their base in wrong awareness get removed. The many wholesome states that have their base in right awareness come to fulfilment by developing them.

For one of right concentration, Bhikkhus, wrong concentration is removed and at the same time the manifold unwholesome states that have their base in wrong concentration get removed. The many wholesome states that have their base in right concentration come to fulfilment by developing them.

For one of right knowledge, Bhikkhus, wrong knowledge is removed and at the same time the manifold unwholesome states that have their base in wrong knowledge get removed. The many wholesome states that have their base in right knowledge come to fulfilment by developing them.

For one of right liberation, Bhikkhus, wrong liberation is removed and at the same time the manifold unwholesome states that have their base in wrong liberation get removed. The many wholesome states that have their base in right liberation come to fulfilment by developing them.

* Mahācattārīsakasuttaṃ: Mahā + cattārīsa + ka + suttaṃ – great + forty + sutta.