[AniccaSeeker]

Dhammañāṇa Bhikkhu wrote:

The means to get the Dhamma really understood, get craving, suffering, defilements, understood, see the first Noble truth rightly, is to steady associate with Dhamma, eg. dukkha. If not building up a firm border, fence, at first place, so that one does not steady “escape” wrongly from dukkha, there is no change to get it seen rightly. This face for purificasion is Sila, virtue, right conduct.

As long as building fake fences out of merely philosophical ideas, there is no way to come and stay in proper association, no way to develop Saddha and by it the path.

Venerable Bhante,

I fully understand your point, based on sīla → samādhi → paññā. I would like to share from my own experience.

From childhood, I was encouraged to keep sīla. I tried my best to protect the pañca-sīla, even keeping a journal to track myself. But without knowing the true Dhamma, it was very difficult — often it felt like just forcing myself.

Now, as I gradually realise the nature of anicca, dukkha, anatta, I find that sīla and samādhi arise naturally. I no longer have to force them. For example, I cannot imagine killing, stealing, or lying — not because I am holding external rules, but because before I even act, my citta itself shows me the ādīnava. With wise attention I stop. If I slip due to assāda, guilt immediately arises, which again reminds me of the truth.

So I feel: when true understanding is present, one does not need to cling to sīla and samādhi by force — they happen on their own.

As you beautifully said: “At first, beginners protect sīla with effort (fence). But when one sees anicca clearly, greed, hatred, and delusion weaken — and sīla begins to hold on its own.”

This is what I am beginning to see in my own life.

With gratitude for your guidance.

Theruwan Saranayi. 🙏

[AniccaSeeker]

Dear Lal,

Bohoma pin for your kind words of encouragement. I also want to express my deepest gratitude for the tremendous effort you put into building the Pure Dhamma website and distributing the true Dhamma so freely.

I have already received so much help from your writings, and I know I will continue to gain more guidance in the future.

May you always have the strength and blessings to continue this noble work 🙏 

Theruwan Saranai 🙏🙏

1 user thanked author for this post.

Jittananto

[AniccaSeeker]

Dear Lal,

Bohoma pin for your explanation. I took the time to read your articles, and this is the way I now understand it:

• The world indeed arises out of past avijjā and taṇhā. Why? Because everything is built from suddhāṭṭhaka — four elements (pathavi, āpo, tejo, vāyo) formed by avijjā, and the other four (vaṇṇa, gandha, rasa, ojā) made meaningful through taṇhā.
• I now see more clearly what distorted saññā means. We confuse our vipāka vedanā with permanent reality.
  • Example: cake tastes sweet. That “sweetness” is distorted saññā, not a fixed truth. In fact, it’s only my vipāka sukha vedanā manifesting.
  • Without knowing this, I build taṇhā over that saññā — I think the taste is “mine,” controllable, available on demand.
• This is how avijjā and taṇhā keep extending saṃsāra, leading to repeated dukkha.
• I also came to see the difference between anicca and anitya more clearly:
  • Anitya (impermanence) is just one small part, like the tail of the elephant — it points to the fact that things arise and pass away.
  • Anicca is the whole elephant — because these things arise and pass away beyond our control, they cannot be held according to desire. That’s why clinging to them inevitably leads to dukkha, and shows anatta.

🙏 Bohoma pin again for guiding me to see this connection between vipāka vedanā, distorted saññā, taṇhā, and anicca.

If I am misunderstanding any part of this, please kindly correct me.

[AniccaSeeker]

Theruwan Saranai,

I’ve been reflecting on paṭicca-samuppāda and Waharaka Thero’s explanations.

He often says: if things were nicca, we could arrange them as we wish. But since they don’t work that way, they are anicca. Everything we experience is saṅkatha — already conditioned, running on causes and effects.

This makes me wonder:

• The world (nāma-rūpa, saḷāyatana, phassa, vedanā) comes out of past avijjā and taṇhā.
• It feels like a process that keeps running on its own, like a wheel that’s already spinning.
• We only add “fuel” when new avijjā and taṇhā arise.

So my question is: Is this unstoppable, conditioned continuation itself the anicca nature?

Because we can’t hold it, stop it, or bend it to our will → it leads to dukkha → and shows there’s no self (anatta).

Would love to hear others’ thoughts. 🙏

[AniccaSeeker]

Thank you all for guiding me on the right path. I’ll give it another try, and if I have any questions, I’ll ask here. Bohoma pin 🙏

[AniccaSeeker]

Dear Christian,

Thank you very much for your response and for pointing me back to the deeper essence of Anicca, Dukkha, and Anatta.

I truly agree that the focus shouldn’t be on the object itself — like hair — but on the nature of how all conditioned things behave. My intention wasn’t to analyse external things for their own sake, but to use a simple, personal example to reflect on how expectation, attachment, and identity lead to dukkha.

As Waharaka Thero often explains,

“Yamak saṅkhatai, paṭicca samuppannai” —
All things that arise are conditioned by causes and are therefore unstable and impermanent.

So even something as ordinary as hair, a thought, a feeling, or a dream — all are saṅkhata dhamma, and thus anicca, dukkha, and anatta. If I can see that nature clearly in one, it helps reveal the same in everything. That was the approach I was experimenting with — not to over-analyse, but to reflect with yoniso manasikāra.

Your reminder not to get caught up going item by item is valuable — I will take care to stay focused on the underlying nature, not the surface detail.

Thank you again for helping me reflect more clearly.
Teruwan Saranai 🙏

[AniccaSeeker]

Dear Lal,

Thank you so much for your kind reply. I truly appreciate how you extended the ice cream example to show the deeper implications of anicca, especially how something that feels “nicca” in the short term can lead to suffering in the long run. That really clarified a lot for me.

Thank you again for creating such a helpful space for Dhamma discussion.

Theruwan Saranai 🙏

AniccaSeeker

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Jittananto

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