I have written the following comment, which I plan to post next week as a regular post. In the meantime, we can discuss and revise it to address further questions.
Attaining Nibbāna Requires Understanding Buddha’s Worldview
Summary: Nibbāna cannot be reached by following a set of rituals. It requires understanding how the Buddha described the world that we live in. That worldview vastly differs from all the worldviews humans (no matter how intelligent) have ever proposed. Attaining Nibbāna requires a mindset change.
Too Many Myths/Misconceptions About Nibbāna
1. Many versions of Buddhism or Buddha Dhamma are being practiced today.
- One common misconception is that if one can follow the five (or eight) precepts and engage in “meditation,” one can attain Nibbāna. Here, “meditation” refers explicitly to “breath meditation.”
- A good example is the “Vipassanā meditation” method by the late S.N. Goenka. We have had many discussions on the forum regarding this program. See, for example, “About Vipassanā-insight technique taught by teacher S.N. Goenka” and “Goenka´s Vipassanā.”
- Here, I will describe the framework of the path to Nibbāna according to the Tipiṭaka, the Pāli Scriptures written down by a group of Arahants at the Fourth Buddhist Council two thousand years ago.
Rāga, Dosa, Moha – Root Causes of a Stressed Mind
2. Many people become faithful believers in “breath meditation” because it helps calm the mind. For those who have experienced that calming effect, it provides solid evidence that one can control one’s mind and make it calm. However, the negative aspect of that experience is that people get addicted to it and do not realize that it is only a temporary solution to a long-term problem.
- To investigate this issue further, let’s examine the root causes of a stressed mind.
- Think about the status of our minds while going through life. When we are attracted to something, our minds become agitated because we have a nagging feeling of the need to fulfill that desire. In other words, greedy thoughts make a mind agitated. The root cause is “rāga” or “craving for worldly things.”
- If one gets angry, his mind gets heated, and the anger shows in the face, too. The result is an uncomfortable, heated mind. Usually, the origin of that anger is the craving for something and not getting it. For example, if two men pursue the same woman, they may become enemies and get into heated arguments. Here, the root cause for an unsettled mind is dosa or anger/hate.
- Then, there are situations where a mind becomes dull, lazy, and depressed. The root cause here is moha or avijjā, which we will clarify below.
Rāga, Dosa, Moha Lead to Suffering in Future Lives Too
3. The Buddha pointed out that the three root causes of rāga, dosa, and moha are responsible for our suffering in this life. In addition—and even more importantly—our actions based on rāga, dosa, and moha also dictate suffering in future lives.
- Both aspects can be explained via the laws of kamma (or Paṭicca Samuppāda.) Our actions with rāga, dosa, and moha in mind lead to immoral deeds (called papa kamma) that can bring adverse results (kamma vipaka) in this life or future lives.
- But how can we stop such thoughts with rāga, dosa, and moha rising in our minds?
- That requires a lengthy explanation. However, the first stage is to understand that the problem of suffering is not restricted to this life. We must understand how and why suffering does not end at death and continues into future lives via a rebirth process.
- This website provides evidence of the rebirth process and other details. This post summarizes the framework of the “big picture” necessary to get a preliminary idea of Buddha’s teachings.
An Analogy of a Glass of Water
4. The Buddha used various analogies to describe how a mind becomes agitated, heated, or lethargic under different conditions.
- A “stress-free mind” is like a tall glass of pure water. That suffering-free mind is called a “pabhassara mind.” Thoughts arising in a pabhassara mind are like clear water poured from that glass of pure water. They are not immoral or moral, just neutral.
- The mind of a puthujjana (average human) is like a tall glass of water with fine mud particles. If left undisturbed, all the mud will settle at the bottom of the glass, and the water on top will look clean. If we gently pour some water, it will look like pure water. In the same way, when in a calm situation (e.g., while in breath meditation), our thoughts appear to be “neutral” without causing stress.
- However, that water can be disturbed by stirring it with a straw, and then some mud at the bottom comes up, making the water muddy. Pouring some muddy water out is analogous to generating “defiled thoughts.”
- Thus, in that analogy, layers of mud accumulated at the bottom of the glass are analogous to defiled gati or “saṁsāric bonds” (“saṁyojana“) in Buddha’s teachings.
Gati and Saṁyojana – Root Causes Triggering Rāga, Dosa, Moha
5. The Buddha pointed out that a suffering-free state of mind is hidden by ten layers of “saṁsāric bonds” called saṁyojana (the reason for calling them “saṁsāric bonds” will become clear later.) Three of the ten layers lead to wrong views (diṭṭhi, part of moha/avijjā), five to rāga, and three to moha/avijjā. We attach to “worldly things” with taṇhā based on the diṭṭhi and rāga. Thus, our defiled thoughts arise due to taṇhā and avijjā, as explained in some suttās.
- These ten saṁyojana stay hidden until a tempting sensory input is encountered. Depending on the sensory input, all or some of the ten saṁyojana can be “triggered” by that sensory input. For example, seeing a beautiful woman can trigger kāma rāga saṁyojana in a man. The sight of an enemy can trigger the paṭigha saṁyojana and generate anger.
- The five types of “defiled gati” play a similar role as the ten saṁyojana. They represent different aspects. For example, an “animal gati” (which is in all puthujjana) can be triggered by a strong sensory input, for instance, in the case of a rape or killing.
Temporary Calm Versus Permanent Calm (Nibbāna)
6. Thus, a mind can get to “samadhi,” or a “peaceful state of mind,” if the mind is prevented from being exposed to sensory experiences of daily life. The longer one can stay in such an “isolated environment” (like a meditation retreat), the longer the experience can last. This is why ancient yogis went into deep jungles to be away from sesnory inputs that can trigger “saṁyojana” or “gati” and trigger rāga, dosa, and moha defilements come to the surface.
- It is only by understanding the reasons for those “saṁyojana” or “gati” to exist that we can start breaking the “saṁsāric bonds” or “saṁyojana” (equivalently to get rid of various “gati“).
- When one starts grasping Buddha’s worldview (and understanding how suffering arises), the first three saṁyojanās are permanently removed at the Sotapanna stage. This involves the removal of sakkāya diṭṭhi and two other diṭṭhi saṁyojana.
- At the subsequent two stages of Sakadāgāmi and Anāgāmi, one would comprehend how kāma rāga (and paṭigha or dosa) arises due to “distorted/false saññā” (associated with existences in kāma loka) that we discuss briefly below in #9.
- Two more types of rāga (rupa rāga and arupa rāga) are removed by an Anāgāmi by contemplating the “distorted/false saññā” associated with the Brahma realms. Avijja and two other saṁyojanās associated with avijjā are also removed at the Arahant stage.
Analogy of a Glass of Pure Water
7. Once all ten saṁyojanās are broken (and the five major gati removed), that is like permanently removing the mud at the bottom of a glass in the analogy of #4 above.
- As we saw in #6 above, removing the ten saṁyojanās at various stages of Nibbāna is analogous to removing layers of mud at the bottom of the glass.
- Once all the mud in the glass is removed, the water will remain pure no matter how much one tries to stir it with a straw.
- In the same way, the mind of an Arahant will be pure no matter where he lives. He can live among the most beautiful women, and no sensual thoughts will arise. That is also true for an Anāgāmi who has removed kāma rāga and paṭigha saṁyojana.
- A Sotapanna has only understood the basic framework and would still attach to the “distorted/false saññā” associated with sensual sensory inputs in kāma loka. However, since they have removed the three ditthis (especially sakkāya diṭṭhi), their minds cannot be disturbed to the extent of committing “apāyāgāmi kamma,” which can lead to rebirths in the apāyās. Thus, they are permanently free of rebirths in the four lowest realms (apāyās.)
Saṁsāric Bonds (Saṁyojana) Can be Removed Only with Wisdom (Paññā)
8. The Buddha taught that all those root causes can be traced back to avijjā (or moha), generally translated as “ignorance.” The “ignorance” is not to realize the world’s true nature. This is critical because attaining Nibbāna (or becoming free of suffering) requires comprehending Buddha’s worldview (how suffering arises) and dispelling avijjā.
- Thus, attaining Nibbāna critically depends on cultivating wisdom (paññā) by understanding the root causes of avijjā. Even though living a moral life is necessary, Nibbāna cannot be reached by following a set of rituals.
- Instead of using the ten saṁyojana, we could also say the same using five “main gati” (pronounced “gathi.”) The closest translation of “gati” is “character/habits.” One attains Nibbāna by removing all five gati. But those five gati can be split into various types. The main point here is that one’s habits (based on character) determine one’s actions, i.e., kamma generation. Posts related to these terms can be found using the “Search” box on the top right.
Root Cause of Taṇhā = “Distorted/False Saññā“
9. Humans have an innate idea/perception (Buddha used the Pāli word “saññā” to label it) that things in the world are “on a solid footing” and can be relied on to achieve happiness. That saññā seems natural at any given moment when we make our decisions.
- However, if we consider what happens in the world over a long time, it becomes clear that everything in the world is “impermanent” and is on an “unstable foundation.” We all get old and die; the same applies to all animals, trees, or structures we build. Scientists now confirm that even the stars like our Sun and planets like Earth will be destroyed.
- In other posts, we have discussed how this world of “impermanence of things” arises (or is maintained) via the collective minds of all sentient beings defiled with rāga, dosa, and moha. As discussed in many posts, the “impermanence of things in the world” is a consequence of not comprehending the anicca nature of the world. Instead, we have a mindset of “nicca nature,” i.e., a “distorted/false saññā” about things in the world.
- Thus, it is critical to note that impermanence is associated with “things in the world,” and “anicca nature” is a “state of mind” realized after comprehending Buddha’s teachings. Until then, one has the mindset of “nicca nature” (i.e., the world is on a solid foundation to provide happiness) based on the “distorted/false saññā” about things in the world. This paragraph contains the essence of Buddha’s teachings and requires a lengthy explanation. This website describes various ways to get there.
- These days, most English translations translate “anicca” and “impermanence,” which is a grave error! By the way, the Sanskrit word “anitya” means “impermanence,” but it is not the same as the Pāli word “anicca.”
