The Path To Arahantship
The Path To Arahantship
ARAHATTAPHALA
THIS BOOK IS A FREE, CHARITABLE GIFT OF THE BUDDHA’S DHAMMA & MAY NOT BE OFFERED FOR SALE.
2005 © ALL COMMERCIAL RIGHTS RESERVED. WWW.FORESTDHAMMABOOKS.COM
M AGG A ARAHAT
A TA
ATT P HA
A H
AR
LA
The Path to Arahantship
THIS BOOK IS A GIFT OF DHAMMA & PRINTED ONLY FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION.
“The gift of Dhamma excels all other gifts”
— The Buddha
© 2005 BY VENERABLE ĀCARIYA MAHĀ BOOWA ÑĀṇASAMPANNO
THIS BOOK IS A FREE GIFT OF DHAMMA & MAY NOT BE OFFERED FOR SALE.
ALL COMMERCIAL RIGHTS RESERVED.
The Dhamma should not be sold like goods in the market place.
Permission to reproduce in any way for free distribution, as a gift of
Dhamma, is hereby granted and no further permission need be ob-
tained. Reproduction in any way for commercial gain is prohibited.
It was during this stage that I first gained a solid spiritual foun-
dation in my meditation practice. From then on, my practice
progressed steadily—never again did it fall into decline. With
each passing day, my mind became increasingly calm, peaceful,
and concentrated. The fluctuations, that had long plagued me,
ceased to be an issue. Concerns about the state of my practice
were replaced by mindfulness rooted in the present moment.
The intensity of this mindful presence was incompatible with
thoughts of the past or future. My center of activity was the pres-
ent moment—each silent repetition of buddho as it arose and
passed away. I had no interest in anything else. In the end, I was
convinced that the reason for my mind’s previous state of flux
was the lack of mindfulness arising from not anchoring my at-
tention with a meditation-word. Instead, I had just focused on
a general feeling of inner awareness without a specific object, al-
lowing my mind to stray easily as thoughts intruded.
Once I understood the correct method for this initial stage of
meditation, I applied myself to the task with such earnest com-
mitment that I refused to allow mindfulness to lapse for even a
single moment. Beginning in the morning, when I awoke, and
continuing until night, when I fell asleep, I was consciously aware
of my meditation at each and every moment of my waking hours.
It was a difficult ordeal, requiring the utmost concentration and
perseverance. I couldn’t afford to let down my guard and relax
even for a moment. Being so intently concentrated on the inter-
nalization of buddho, I hardly noticed what went on around me.
My normal daily interactions passed by in a blur, but buddho was
always sharply in focus. My commitment to the meditation-word
was total. With this firm foundation to bolster my practice, men-
tal calm and concentration became so unshakable that they felt
as solid and unyielding as a mountain.
Eventually this rock-solid condition of the mind became the
primary point of focus for mindfulness. As the citta steadily gained
greater inner stability, resulting in a higher degree of integration,
Arahattamagga 17
did, but when the pain began to overwhelm me, I thought: “Hey,
what’s going on here? I must make every effort to figure out this
pain tonight.” So I made the solemn resolve that no matter what
happened I would not get up from my seat until dawn of the next
day. I was determined to investigate the nature of pain until I
understood it clearly and distinctly. I would have to dig deep.
But, if need be, I was willing to die in order to find out the truth
about pain.
Wisdom began to tackle this problem in earnest. Before I
found myself cornered like that with no way out, I never imag-
ined that wisdom could be so sharp and incisive. It went to work,
relentlessly whirling around as it probed into the source of the
pain with the determination of a warrior who never retreats or
accepts defeat. This experience convinced me that in moments
of real crisis wisdom arises to meet the challenge. We are not
fated to be ignorant forever—when truly backed into a corner
we are bound to be able to find a way to help ourselves. It hap-
pened to me that night. When I was cornered and overwhelmed
by severe pain, mindfulness and wisdom just dug into the painful
feelings.
The pain began as hot flashes along the backs of my hands
and feet, but that was really quite mild. When it arose in full
force, the entire body was ablaze with pain. All the bones, and
the joints connecting them, were like fuel feeding the fire that
engulfed the body. It felt as though every bone in my body was
breaking apart; as though my neck would snap and my head drop
to the floor. When all parts of the body hurt at once, the pain is
so intense that one doesn’t know how to begin stemming the tide
long enough just to breathe.
This crisis left mindfulness and wisdom with no alternative
but to dig down into the pain, searching for the exact spot where
it felt most severe. Mindfulness and wisdom probed and investi-
gated right where the pain was greatest, trying to isolate it so as
to see it clearly. “Where does this pain originate? Who suffers the
20 Venerable Ãcariya Mahã Boowa
pain?” They asked these questions of each bodily part and found
that each one of them remained in keeping with its own intrinsic
nature. The skin was skin, the flesh was flesh, the tendons were
tendons, and so forth. They had been so from the day of birth.
Pain, on the other hand, is something that comes and goes peri-
odically; it’s not always there in the same way that flesh and skin
are. Ordinarily, the pain and the body appear to be all bound up
together. But are they really?
Focusing inward I could see that each part of the body was a
physical reality. What is real stays that way. As I searched the
mass of bodily pain, I saw that one point was more severe than
all the others. If pain and body are one, and all parts of the body
are equally real, then why was the pain stronger in one part than
in another? So I tried to separate out and isolate each aspect.
At that point in the investigation, mindfulness and wisdom were
indispensable. They had to sweep through the areas that hurt
and then whirl around the most intense ones, always working to
separate the feeling from the body. Having observed the body,
they quickly shifted their attention to the pain, then to the citta.
These three: body, pain and citta, are the major principles in this
investigation.
Although the bodily pain was obviously very strong, I could
see that the citta was calm and unafflicted. No matter how much
discomfort the body suffered, the citta was not distressed or agi-
tated. This intrigued me. Normally the kilesas join forces with
pain, and this alliance causes the citta to be disturbed by the
body’s suffering. This prompted wisdom to probe into the nature
of the body, the nature of pain and the nature of the citta until all
three were perceived clearly as separate realities, each true in its
own natural sphere.
I saw clearly that it was the citta that defined feeling as be-
ing painful and unpleasant. Otherwise, pain was merely a natural
phenomenon that occurred. It was not an integral part of the
body, nor was it intrinsic to the citta. As soon as this principle
Arahattamagga 21
cause emotional pain to arise. Pain not only hurts but it indicates
that there is something wrong with you—your body. Unless you
can separate out these three distinct realities, physical pain will
always cause emotional distress.
The body is merely a physical phenomenon. We can believe
whatever we like about it, but that will not alter fundamental
principles of truth. Physical existence is one such fundamental
truth. Four elemental properties—earth, water, wind and fire—
gather together in a certain configuration to form what is called
a “person”. This physical presence may be identified as a man
or a woman and be given a specific name and social status, but
essentially it is just the rýpa khandha—a physical heap. Lumped
together, all the constituent parts form a human body, a distinct
physical reality. And each separate part is an integral part of
that one fundamental reality. The four elements join together in
many different ways. In the human body we speak of the skin, the
flesh, the tendons, the bones, and so forth. But don’t be fooled
into thinking of them as separate realities simply because they
have different names. See them all as one essential reality—the
physical heap.
As for the heap of feelings, they exist in their own sphere.
They are not part of the physical body. The body isn’t feeling ei-
ther. It has no direct part in physical pain. These two khandhas—
body and feeling—are more prominent than the khandhas of
memory, thought and consciousness, which, because they vanish
as soon as they arise, are far more difficult to see. Feelings, on the
other hand, remain briefly before they vanish. This causes them
to standout, making them easier to isolate during meditation.
Focus directly on painful feelings when they arise and strive to
understand their true nature. Confront the challenge head on.
Don’t try to avoid the pain by focusing your attention elsewhere.
And resist any temptation to wish for the pain to go away. The
purpose of the investigation must be a search for true under-
standing. The neutralization of pain is merely a by-product of the
Arahattamagga 27
aware the whole time, we follow the feeling of pain inward to its
source. As we focus on it, the pain we are investigating begins to
retract, gradually drawing back into the heart. Once we realize
unequivocally that it is actually the attachment created by the
heart that causes us to experience pain as a personal problem,
the pain disappears. It may disappear completely, leaving only
the essential knowing nature of the citta alone on its own. Or, the
external phenomenon of pain may remain present but, because
the emotional attachment has been neutralized, it is no longer
experienced as painful. It is a different order of reality from the
citta, and the two do not interact. Since at that moment the citta
has ceased to grasp at pain, all connection has been severed.
What’s left is the essence of the citta—its knowing nature—se-
rene and unperturbed amidst the pain of the khandhas.
No matter how severe the pain may be at that time, it will be
unable to affect the citta in any way. Once wisdom realizes clearly
that the citta and the pain are each real, but real in their own
separate ways, the two will not impact one another at all. The
body is merely a lump of physical matter. The same body that
was there when the pain appeared is still there when the pain
ceases. Pain does not alter the nature of the body; the body does
not affect the nature of pain. The citta is the nature that knows
that the pain appears, remains briefly, and ceases. But the citta,
the true knowing essence, does not arise and pass away like the
body and the feelings do. The citta’s knowing presence is the one
stable constant.
This being the case, pain—no matter how great—has no im-
pact on the citta. You can even smile while severe pain is aris-
ing—you can smile!—because the citta is separate. It constantly
knows but it does not become involved with feelings so it does
not suffer.
This level is attained through an intensive application of mind-
fulness and wisdom. It’s a stage where wisdom develops samãdhi.
And because the citta has fully investigated all aspects until they
Arahattamagga 31
whatever you may have learned; forget what happened the last
time you delved into the body’s domain—just focus your atten-
tion squarely in the present moment and investigate only from
that vantage point. Ultimately, this is what it means to be mind-
ful. Mindfulness fixes the mind in the present, allowing wisdom
to focus sharply. Learned experience is stored as memory, and
as such should be put aside; otherwise memory will masquerade
as wisdom. This is the present imitating the past. If memory is
permitted to replace the immediacy of the present moment, then
genuine wisdom will not arise. So guard against this tendency in
your practice.
Keep probing and analyzing the nature of the body over and
over again, using as many perspectives as your wisdom can devise,
until you become thoroughly skilled in every conceivable aspect
of body contemplation. True expertise in this practice produces
sharp, clear insights. It penetrates directly to the essence of the
body’s natural existence in a way that transforms the meditator’s
view of the human body. A level of mastery can be reached, such
that peoples’ bodies instantly appear to break apart whenever you
look at them. When wisdom attains total mastery of the practice,
we see only flesh, sinews and bones where a person once stood.
The whole body is revealed as a viscous, red mass of raw tissue.
The skin will vanish in a flash, and wisdom will quickly penetrate
the body’s inner recesses. Whether it’s a man or a woman, the
skin—which is commonly considered so appealing—is simply ig-
nored. Wisdom penetrates immediately inside where a disgust-
ing, repulsive mess of organs and bodily fluids fills every cavity.
Wisdom is able to penetrate to the truth of the body with ut-
most clarity. The attractiveness of the body completely disap-
pears. What then is there to be attached to? What is there to
lust after? What in the body is worth clinging to? Where in this
lump of raw flesh is the person? The kilesas have woven a web of
deception concerning the body, fooling us with perceptions of
human beauty and exciting us with lustful thoughts. The truth
38 Venerable Ãcariya Mahã Boowa
wisdom is, the brighter, clearer and more powerful the mind
becomes. The mind’s clarity and strength appear to have no
bounds—its speed and agility are amazing. At this stage, medita-
tors are motivated by a profound sense of urgency as they begin
to realize the harm caused by attachment to the human form.
The lurking danger is clearly seen.
Where previously they grasped the body as something of su-
preme value—something to be admired and adored—they now
see only a pile of rotting bone; and they are thoroughly repulsed.
Through the power of wisdom, a dead, decaying body and the liv-
ing, breathing body have become one and the same corpse. Not
a shred of difference exists between them.
You must investigate repeatedly, training the mind until you
become highly proficient at using wisdom. Avoid any form of
speculation or conjecture. Don’t allow thoughts of what you
should be doing or what the results might mean to encroach upon
the investigation. Just concentrate on the truth of what wisdom
reveals and let the truth speak for itself. Wisdom will know the
correct path to follow and will understand clearly the truths that
it uncovers. And when wisdom is fully convinced of the truth of
any aspect of the body, it will naturally release its attachment to
that aspect. No matter how intently it has pursued that investi-
gation, the mind feels fully satisfied once the truth manifests it-
self with absolute certainty. When the truth of one facet of body
contemplation is realized, there is nothing further to seek in that
direction. So, the mind moves on to examine another facet, and
then another facet, until finally all doubts are eliminated.
Striving in this way, probing deeper and deeper into the body’s
inherent nature with an intense focus on the present moment, a
heightened state of awareness must be maintained; and the in-
tensity of the effort eventually takes its toll. When fatigue sets in,
experienced meditators know instinctively that the time is right
to rest the mind in samãdhi. So they drop all aspects of the inves-
tigation and concentrate solely on one object. Totally unburden-
40 Venerable Ãcariya Mahã Boowa
rooted once and for all. As you focus exclusively on the repul-
siveness evoked by the asubha contemplation, your revulsion of
the image before you will slowly, gradually contract inward until
it is fully absorbed by the mind. On its own, without any prompt-
ing, it will recede into the mind, returning to its source of origin.
This is the decisive moment in the practice of body contempla-
tion, the moment when a final verdict is reached about the rela-
tionship between the kilesa of sexual craving and its primary ob-
ject, the physical body. When the mind’s knowing presence fully
absorbs the repulsiveness, internalizing the feeling of revulsion, a
profound realization suddenly occurs: The mind itself produces
feelings of revulsion, the mind itself produces feelings of attrac-
tion; the mind alone creates ugliness and the mind alone creates
beauty. These qualities do not really exist in the external physical
world. The mind merely projects these attributes onto the objects
it perceives and then deceives itself into believing that they are
beautiful or ugly, attractive or repulsive. In truth, the mind paints
elaborate pictures all the time—pictures of oneself and pictures
of the external world. It then falls for its own mental imagery,
believing it to be real.
At this point the meditator understands the truth with abso-
lute certainty: The mind itself generates repulsion and attrac-
tion. The previous focus of the investigation—the pile of flesh
and blood and bones—has no inherent repulsiveness whatsoev-
er. Intrinsically, the human body is neither disgusting nor pleas-
ing. Instead, it is the mind that conjures up these feelings and
then projects them on the images that are in front of us. Once
wisdom penetrates this deception with absolute clarity, the mind
immediately relinquishes all external perceptions of beauty and
ugliness, and turns inward to concentrate on the source of such
notions. The mind itself is the perpetrator and the victim of these
deceptions; the deceiver and the deceived. Only the mind, and
nothing else, paints pictures of beauty and ugliness. So the asubha
images that the meditator has been focusing on as separate and
44 Venerable Ãcariya Mahã Boowa
external objects, are absorbed into the mind where they merge
with the revulsion created by the mind. Both are, in fact, one and
the same thing. When this realization occurs, the mind lets go of
external images, lets go of external forms, and in doing so lets go
of sexual attraction.
Sexual attraction is rooted in perceptions of the human body.
When the real basis of these perceptions is exposed, it completely
undermines their validity; and the external, as we know it, col-
lapses and our attachment to it ceases of its own accord. The
defiling influence of sexual attraction—which has ridden rough-
shod over the mind since time immemorial, luring the mind to
grasp at birth and so experience death continuously for eons—
this insidious craving is now powerless. The mind has now passed
beyond its influence: It is now free.
more precise in dealing with the very elusive and subtle nature
of mental phenomena. Place the repulsive image of the body in
front of you as usual and watch as it retracts into the mind. Then
place the image back in front of you and start again, observing
carefully how the image merges into the mind. Do this exercise
repeatedly until the mind becomes very skilled at it. Once profi-
ciency is achieved, the image will ebb away as soon as the mind
focuses on it and merge with the knowing presence inside. Upon
reaching the stage where one clearly understands the basic prin-
ciples underlying sexual attraction, the next step is to train the
mind with this purely mental exercise. Sexual attraction is no
longer a problem—it has been cut off for good. There is no way
that it can reappear as before. But, although most of it has been
eliminated, it has yet to be completely destroyed. A small portion
still remains: like bits of dross or patches of rust adhering to the
mind.
At the stage where external perceptions merge totally with
the citta’s own inner image, we can say that at least fifty percent
of the investigation of kãmarãga has been successfully completed.
The final, most advanced stage of the path of practice has been
reached. The subtle portion of sensual desire that remains must
be gradually eliminated, using the training exercise mentioned
above. Relentlessly refining the contemplation and the mental
absorption of asubha images will increase wisdom’s skill level. As
wisdom’s proficiency strengthens, a higher and higher percent-
age of sexual attraction is totally destroyed. As wisdom’s mastery
gathers pace, so too does the speed at which the images recede
into the mind. Eventually, as soon as one focuses on it, an image
will rush into the mind, merge with it and simply vanish. With
constant practice, the speed at which this occurs will rapidly in-
crease. At the highest level of skillfulness, the image will vanish
the moment it’s absorbed into the mind. This investigative tech-
nique is fundamental to progress in the final stage of the path,
the stage where a vanquished kãmarãga is in full retreat. Soon
every vestige of it will be destroyed.
46 Venerable Ãcariya Mahã Boowa
Once the meditator attains the final stage, once the real source
of ugliness and beauty is seen with crystal clarity, kãmarãga will
never rear its head again. Its hold over the mind has been bro-
ken—and this condition is irreversible. Notwithstanding that,
further work is still needed to destroy all traces of sensual desire.
The task is time consuming. This part of the investigation is com-
plex and somewhat chaotic with images of the body arising and
vanishing at a furious pace. The most intense effort is required to
root out every last vestige of kãmarãga. But the meditator knows
instinctively what to do at this stage. So, the investigation quick-
ly develops its own natural momentum without prompting from
anyone.
Mindfulness and wisdom are habitual—they work in unison
with extraordinary speed and agility. By the time that these in-
vestigations reach their dénouement, no sooner does an image
of the body appear than it vanishes instantly. It doesn’t matter
whether these images merge into the citta or not, their appear-
ance and disappearance is all that is known. Arising and passing
images happen so quickly that perceptions of external and inter-
nal are no longer relevant. In the end, images flutter on and off,
appearing and disappearing from awareness so rapidly that their
forms are no longer sustainable. After each disappearance, the
citta experiences a profound emptiness—emptiness of imagery,
emptiness of form. An extremely refined awareness stands out
within the citta. As each new image flashes on and disappears,
the mind feels the resulting emptiness more profoundly. Due to
its subtle and manifest strength at this stage, the citta’s knowing
nature completely dominates. Finally, images created in the mind
cease to appear altogether—only emptiness remains. In this void
the citta’s essential knowing nature prevails, exclusively and in-
comparably. With the cessation of all body-images created by the
mind comes the total annihilation of kãmarãga. Contemplation
of the body has reached closure.
Arahattamagga 47
All human organs are merely devices that the citta’s knowing
nature uses for its own purposes. The knowing presence of the
citta is diffused throughout the whole body. This diffusion and
permeation of conscious awareness throughout the body is en-
tirely a manifestation of the citta’s own essence. The physical ele-
ments composing the body have no consciousness: they have no
intrinsic knowing qualities, no conscious presence. The know-
ing and the sense consciousness associated with the body are
strictly matters of the citta and its manifestations. The eyes, ears,
and nose are able to perceive through the awareness of the citta.
These organs are merely the means by which sense consciousness
occurs. They themselves have no conscious awareness.
Normally we believe that our eyes are capable of seeing. But
once we fully understand the body’s true nature we know that
the eyeball is simply a lump of tissue. The consciousness that
flows through the eyes is what actually sees and knows visual ob-
jects. Consciousness uses the eyes as a means to access the visual
sphere. Our organs of sight are no different from the eyeballs of
a dead animal lying at the side of the road. The fleshy eye has no
intrinsic value: on its own, it is basically inert. This is known and
understood with unequivocal clarity. How then can the body be
oneself? How can it belong to oneself? It’s completely unnatu-
ral.
This principle is seen clearly when the flow of consciousness
that diffuses and permeates the human body is drawn back into
itself and converges into a deep state of samãdhi. Then the entire
body exists as no more than a lump of matter—a log or a tree
stump. When the citta withdraws from samãdhi, conscious aware-
ness returns to the body, spreading out to permeate every limb,
every part. Awareness and the ability to know are fundamental
functions of the citta—not of the physical body. In the normal
waking consciousness of the meditator at this level of practice,
the knowing presence is fully aware of itself, aware that the citta
and the knowing are one and the same timeless essence; and that
Arahattamagga 49
Within the citta, saññã and sankhãra are the main agents of
delusion. Beginning with the latter stages of body contemplation
at the level of Anãgãmï, these mental components of personality
take center stage. When the physical component of personal-
ity—the body—ceases to be a factor, the Anãgãmï’s full focus
automatically shifts to the mental components: feeling, memory,
thought and consciousness. Among these, the faculties of mem-
ory and thought are especially important. They arise and interact
continuously to form mental images that they color with various
shades of meaning. In examining them, the same basic investiga-
tive principles still apply; but instead of images of the body, the
thinking process itself becomes the subject of scrutiny.
Using intense introspection, wisdom observes how thoughts
and memories arise and then vanish, arise and then vanish, ap-
pearing and disappearing in an endless chain of mental activity.
No sooner does a thought arise than it vanishes from awareness.
Whatever its nature, the result is always the same: a thought lasts
for only a brief moment and then it vanishes. The investigation
zeros in exclusively on the thinking process, penetrating right to
the heart of the mind’s essential knowing nature. It follows every
thought, every inkling of an idea, as it arises and passes, and then
focuses on the next one that surfaces. It is a time-consuming and
arduous task that demands undivided attention every moment of
the day and night. But by this stage, time and place have become
irrelevant. This internal investigation may well continue unre-
mittingly for weeks or months while mindfulness and wisdom
wrestle with a constant flux of mental phenomena.
The work is mentally very exhausting. Wisdom goes relent-
lessly through every aspect of mental activity. It works non-stop
day and night. At the same time that it investigates the thinking
process, it also makes use of thoughts and ideas to question and
probe the workings of the mind in order to gain insights into its
true nature. This is thinking for the sake of magga—the path of
practice. It is a tool that wisdom uses for the purpose of uncov-
Arahattamagga 51
ering the truth. It is not indulging in thought merely for its own
sake, which is samudaya—the cause of suffering. All the same,
due to the intense nature of the investigation, the mind becomes
fatigued; and it invariably turns dull and sluggish after long hours
of intense effort. When this happens, it must take a break. More
than at any other time, the mind needs to rest in samãdhi at regu-
lar intervals during this stage. But since the results of peace and
tranquility, experienced in samãdhi, pale in comparison to the
truly amazing results gained from the practice of wisdom, the
meditator is often very reluctant to opt for samãdhi. The mind is
in a vibrant, heightened state of awareness; and from that per-
spective samãdhi seems to be a wasteful, stagnant mental state. In
truth, however, samãdhi constitutes an essential and indispens-
able complement to the practice of wisdom.
So, the mind must be coerced into samãdhi, if necessary. It
must be forced to set aside current investigations and to focus
exclusively on attaining a calm, peaceful, fully-converged men-
tal state. There, it can rest until it is completely refreshed and
restored before resuming the liberating work of wisdom. As soon
as the mind withdraws from the inactive state of samãdhi, it will
leap immediately into action. Like a horse chafing at the bit, the
mind is impatient to return to its principal task—the removal
and destruction of all mental defilements. But take care to see
that the mind does not rush frantically along the path of wis-
dom without any letup. Investigating to excess is one form of
samudaya that can infiltrate the citta, causing it to fall under the
spell of sankhãras. The very faculties of thinking and analyzing
that wisdom uses to investigate the mind have a momentum of
their own that knows no moderation. They must occasionally be
reined in so that a proper balance is maintained between inner
work and inner rest. At this stage of the practice, wisdom will au-
tomatically work at full capacity. When it is appropriate to rest,
focus on samãdhi with that same degree of intensity. This is the
middle way of magga, phala, and Nibbãna.
52 Venerable Ãcariya Mahã Boowa
The citta and its relationship to the nãma khandhas are the
central focus of the investigation at this level. The citta is the
essential knowing nature at the core of our being. It consists of
pure and simple awareness: the citta simply knows. Awareness of
good and bad, and the critical judgments that result, are merely
conditions of the citta. At times, their activities may manifest as
mindfulness; at other times, as wisdom. But the true citta does
not exhibit any activities or manifest any conditions at all. It is
simply a state of knowing. The activities that arise in the citta,
such as awareness of good and bad, or happiness and suffering,
or praise and blame, are all conditions of the consciousness that
flow out from the citta. Since they represent activities and condi-
tions of the citta that are, by their very nature, constantly arising
and fading, this sort of conscious awareness is always unstable
and always unreliable. Understood in this way, saññã, sankhãra
and viññãõa are all conditions of the citta.
These conditions create the flux of mental phenomena that we
call the nãma khandhas. Through the interaction of feeling, mem-
ory, thought and consciousness, forms and images arise within
the citta. The awareness that knows them is the citta. Defiling
influences like kãmarãga manipulate and color the quality of that
knowing. So long as the citta, under the authority of kãmarãga,
believes this internal imagery to be real and substantial, desire
and aversion will occur. Internalized forms are then cherished
or despised according to their perceived nature—either good or
bad, attractive or repulsive. The citta’s perspective is then divid-
ed between these two extremes. It is tricked into identifying with
a world of duality and instability. The citta’s knowing does not
arise or pass away, but it mimics the traits of those things—like
the kilesas and the khandhas—that do. When wisdom finally sees
through the deception, the citta no longer harbours these phe-
nomena although they continue to arise and vanish in the sphere
of the khandhas. The citta is thus empty of such phenomena.
Arahattamagga 53
One moment after another from the day of our birth to the
present, the khandhas have risen and fallen away continuously.
On their own, they have no real substance and it is impossible
to find any. The citta’s interpretation of these phenomena lends
them a semblance of personal reality. The citta clings to them as
the essence of oneself, or as one’s own personal property. This mis-
conception creates a self-identity that becomes a burden heavier
than an entire mountain, a burden that the citta carries within
itself without gaining any benefit. Dukkha is its only reward for a
misconceived attachment fostered by self-delusion.
When the citta has investigated these things and can see them
with the clarity born of sharp, incisive wisdom, the body is under-
stood to be a natural phenomenon that is real within the limits
of its own inherent physical qualities. It is not intrinsic to one-
self and so it is no longer an object of attachment. Bodily feel-
ings—painful, pleasant and neutral feelings that occur within the
body—are clearly real, but they are only a reality within their
specific domain. They too are relinquished. But wisdom is as yet
incapable of seeing through the subtle feelings that arise exclu-
sively within the citta. So psychological and emotional feelings—
painful, pleasant and neutral feelings that occur only within the
citta—are conditions that continue to interest the citta. Although
the citta is unable to understand the truth about them now, these
subtle feelings will serve as constant reminders, always prompting
the citta to investigate them further.
tion, wisdom will see through the physical body before it sees
through—and can let go of—the other khandhas. Henceforth,
the citta can gradually relinquish its attachment to feeling, mem-
ory, thought and consciousness in the same manner.
Put simply, the citta lets go when wisdom sees through the
mental components of personality; before then, it holds on. Once
wisdom has penetrated them completely, the citta can relinquish
them all, recognizing that they are merely ripplings inside the
citta and have no real substance. Whether good or bad, thoughts
arise and cease all the same. No matter how they appear in the
mind, they are just configurations created by saññã and sankhãra
and will simply vanish. There are no exceptions. No thought lasts
more than an instant. Lacking duration, thoughts lack true sub-
stance and meaning; and therefore, they cannot be trusted.
So, what keeps providing us with these thoughts? What keeps
producing them? One moment it’s churning out one thought;
the next moment, another, forever deceiving oneself. They come
from sights, sounds, tastes, smells and tactile sensations; they
come from feeling, memory, thought and consciousness. We take
our assumptions about our perceptions for granted, perpetuating
the fraud until it becomes a fire burning our hearts. The citta
is contaminated by just these factors, these conventions of the
mind.
The purpose of the investigation is the removal of these fac-
tors. Their absence reveals the true nature of the citta. We will
see that when the citta does not venture out to become involved
with an object, it remains naturally calm and radiant; as in the
saying: “Monks, the original citta is intrinsically bright and clear,
but it becomes defiled by the commingling of kilesas that pass
through.” The original citta is the radiant citta. This statement
refers to the original nature of the citta that wanders from birth
to birth in the cycle of rebirth. It may be compared to the citta
of a newborn infant whose mental faculties are not sufficiently
developed to fully comprehend sense objects. It does not refer to
56 Venerable Ãcariya Mahã Boowa
the original nature of the citta that has transcended the cycle of
rebirth and is absolutely pure.
As we investigate the citta thoroughly, stage by stage, the de-
filing elements that previously roamed about will converge into
a single radiant point, merging with the natural radiance inside
the citta. This radiance is so majestic and mesmerizing that even
exceptional mental faculties like supreme-mindfulness and su-
preme-wisdom will invariably fall under its spell at first. It’s a
completely novel experience, never before encountered. It amaz-
es and appears so extraordinary, so majestic and awe-inspiring,
that it seems nothing could possibly compare with it at that mo-
ment. And why shouldn’t it be? It has been an absolute monarch,
ruling over the three worlds of existence for countless eons. This
point of radiance has held the citta under its power and command
since time immemorial. And it will continue to mesmerize as long
as the citta lacks the superior mindfulness and wisdom necessary
to free itself from the power it exerts, forcing the citta to experi-
ence birth on countless levels of existence resulting from actions
dictated by this subtle kilesa. Ultimately, it is this refined, natural
radiance of mind that causes living beings to wander ceaselessly
through saÿsãra, experiencing birth and death.
Once the citta clearly understands rýpa, vedanã, saññã, san-
khãra and viññãõa with absolute certainty, all that remains are
subtle variations of the ripplings that occur exclusively within
the citta. These are a subtle form of sankhãra causing movement
within the citta: a subtle form of sukha, a subtle form of dukkha,
a subtle radiant splendor within the citta. That’s all they are. Su-
preme-mindfulness and supreme-wisdom will take these internal
stirrings as the focus of the investigation, constantly observing
and analyzing them.
The radiance, produced by the convergence of the various
kilesas, will be a clearly-perceived point of brightness, a very re-
fined radiance that is centered at a specific point within the citta.
A refined and corresponding dullness will occasionally arise to
Arahattamagga 57
the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body, leading to sights, sounds,
smells, tastes and tactile sensations. Once mindfulness and wis-
dom are skilled enough to cut off these outflows for good, avijjã is
left without an outlet for its expression. Its external agents have
been neutralized; all that remains is a subtle incessant vibration
resonating within the citta. Being deprived of an outlet for its
activities, it depends solely on the citta as its base of activity. As
long as wisdom is unable to thoroughly transcend it, avijjã will
appear as subtle feelings of sukha, subtle feelings of dukkha, and
a radiance that truly overwhelms and amazes. So the citta keeps
focusing the investigation on those factors.
Every conventional reality—no matter how refined it is or how
bright and majestic it seems—invariably manifests some irregular
symptoms. These are sufficient to catch the citta’s attention and
make it search for a solution. Both the very refined sukha and
dukkha that arise exclusively within the citta, and the amazing
radiance that emanates from it, have their origin in avijjã. But
since we have never before encountered them, we are deluded
into grasping at them when we first investigate this point. We
are lulled into a sound sleep by avijjã, believing that the subtle
feelings of satisfaction and shining radiance are our true essence
beyond name and form. Oblivious to our mistake, we accept this
majestic citta, complete with avijjã, as our one true self.
But not for long. At this level, the powerful faculties of su-
preme-mindfulness and supreme-wisdom are not complacent.
They routinely scrutinize, investigate and analyze—back and
forth, continually. Eventually they will realize the truth. They
will notice that the subtle feelings of sukha and dukkha display
slight variations that seem out of keeping with that majestic ra-
diance. Even though the dukkha that manifests itself is ever so
slight, it is enough to make us suspicious. Why does the citta
have these varying conditions? It’s never constant. These tiny
irregularities that are observed within the radiant center of the
citta manifest just enough fluctuation to attract the attention of
mindfulness and wisdom.
60 Venerable Ãcariya Mahã Boowa
When the truth is known in this way, the citta feels no anxiety
or apprehension concerning the life and death of the khandhas.
The citta simply perceives the activities of the khandhas—how
they arise, interact and cease; and how they eventually disinte-
grate at death. But since the essential knowing nature of the citta
never dies, fear of death is not a factor. One accepts death—when
it comes—as well as life—when it continues. Both are aspects of
the same truth.
When avijjã and all the kilesas are extinguished, they are ex-
tinguished inside the citta. The extinction of avijjã means the de-
struction of the cycle of repeated birth and death. Both must be
extinguished within the citta, for the avijjã-citta is the essence of
the world of rebirth, the essence of birth, ageing, sickness and
death. Sensual craving, with avijjã acting as the prime mover, is
the root cause of birth, ageing, sickness and death—and it exists
only within the citta. When avijjã finally disintegrates, being sev-
ered from the citta forever, total cessation is achieved. The citta
is then free, vast and supremely empty, without limits, without
bounds—totally expansive. Nothing encloses or obstructs it. All
contradictions have been eliminated. When the citta knows, it
knows only the truth; when it sees, it sees only the truth. This is
true emptiness.
Degrees of emptiness are experienced at many levels. Samãdhi
meditation is one level. In deep samãdhi, the body and the think-
ing mind temporarily vanish from awareness. The citta appears
empty, but the duration of this emptiness is limited to the time
spent practicing samãdhi. At the initial level of the practice of wis-
dom, the citta can permanently separate itself from the physical
body, but it cannot yet disengage from the mental components of
personality: vedanã, saññã, sankhãra, and viññãõa. It is completely
empty of physical forms, so images of the body no longer appear
within the citta; but it is not empty of mental concepts. When
reaching this level, wisdom is able to distinguish oneself from the
physical mass that is the body, and so detach itself forever from
the belief that the body is oneself. But it is still unable to separate
the mental factors of feeling, memory, thought, and conscious-
ness. By investigating further, the citta becomes detached from
these mental factors as well. Then nothing remains except an ex-
traordinary radiance that infuses the cosmos, a luminous essence
of being that seems boundless, and an amazing and profound
mental void. This is the awesome power of genuine avijjã. By
continuing to employ the full might of mindfulness and wisdom,
64 Venerable Ãcariya Mahã Boowa
The Ultimate Danger, then, lies right there. The point of Ul-
timate Danger is the core of brilliant radiance that produces the
entire world of conventional reality.
I will remember always. It was the month of February. Vener-
able Ãcariya Mun’s body had just been cremated, and I had gone
into the mountains. There I got stuck on this very problem. It
completely bewildered me. In the end, I gained no benefit at all
from the maxim of Dhamma that arose in my heart. Instead of
being an enormous boon to me, it became part of the same enor-
mous delusion that plagued me. I was confused: “Where is it, this
point?” It was, of course, just that point of radiance, but it never
occurred to me that the center of that radiant citta could be the
Ultimate Danger. I still believed it to be the Ultimate Virtue.
This is how the kilesas deceive us. Although I had been warned
that it was the Ultimate Danger, it still cast a spell on me, mak-
ing me see it as the Ultimate Virtue. I’ll never forget how that
dilemma weighed on me.
Eventually I left Wat Doi Dhammachedi and went to Sri
Chiang Mai in Ban Pheu district. I stayed there for three months,
living deep in the forest at Pha Dak Cave, before returning to
Wat Doi Dhammachedi with that mystery still weighing heavily
on my mind. Then, while staying on the mountain ridge there,
the problem was finally solved.
When that decisive moment arrives, affairs of time and place
cease to be relevant; they simply don’t intervene. All that appears
is the splendid, natural radiance of the citta. I had reached a stage
where nothing else was left for me to investigate. I had already let
go of everything—only that radiance remained. Except for the
central point of the citta’s radiance, the whole universe had been
conclusively let go. So, can you understand what I mean: that
this point is the Ultimate Danger?
At that stage, supreme-mindfulness and supreme-wisdom con-
verged on the focal point of the citta to call it to account, con-
centrating the force of the whole investigation on that point. I
72 Venerable Ãcariya Mahã Boowa
reached the stage where I wondered why one citta had so many
different aspects. I can state unequivocally that every aspect
of the citta was known, and each known aspect was subject to
change. No sooner was it grasped, than it changed. One aspect
was seen as being good, another as being bad. The investigation
centered on that point, analyzing everything, trying to under-
stand: “Why does this one single citta have so many different as-
pects? It’s as though it is not unified.” No matter which aspect of
the citta came under investigation, all of its possible permutations
were clearly understood according to the profound subtlety of
that level of practice where supreme-mindfulness and supreme-
wisdom worked together. Combined, the two forces were able to
keep up with all the citta’s variations, no matter how subtle. One
moment it’s bright, the next moment it’s tarnished. “Why does
this citta have so many different aspects? The changes come from
within. See! I’m beginning to catch up with them now. One mo-
ment there’s sukha, the next moment there’s dukkha.”
In the realm of conventional reality, such conditions are in-
variably an integral part of the citta. With nothing else to inves-
tigate, supreme-mindfulness and supreme-wisdom concentrated
directly at the point where the changes occurred. One moment
there was sukha, the next moment dukkha; one moment, bright-
ness, the next moment, a slight dullness.
But you must understand that the shifts from sukha to dukkha,
or from brightness to dullness, were so slight that they were just
barely discernible. Nonetheless, supreme-mindfulness was right
on top of them the entire time.
“Why does the citta have so many variations?” At that junc-
ture, mindfulness dropped everything else and turned its full at-
tention to the prime suspect. Every aspect of the investigation
came together in the citta, and all of them were interrelated. For at
the highest level, supreme-mindfulness and supreme-wisdom are
so extremely subtle that they permeate and penetrate everything
without exception. Supreme-mindfulness and supreme-wisdom
Arahattaphala 73
heaven and hell. They have existed since time immemorial and
they have been all-pervasive. You just have not perceived them
yet. Do you understand? These things have existed always. They
continue to harm those who are foolishly ignorant of their exis-
tence and so blinded by the kilesas’ deceptions that they never
glimpse the truth.
has lain buried pulls the citta down into the realms of hell. It is as
if the citta were climbing up and down a flight of stairs. Do you
understand? This is the way it is, so wake up and take notice.
Today I have revealed everything fully—to the extent that
tears streamed down my face for all of you to see. Is this madness,
or is it virtue? Think about it. Listen carefully to the Dhamma
that I teach to the world. I can say unequivocally: My citta has
no courage and it has no fear. It is completely above such emo-
tions.
So I turned my attention to investigating my own past births.
My goodness! If the corpses of this one individual were scattered
across the length and breadth of Thailand, there would not be an
empty space left. Just this one individual! Imagine the amount
of time it took to be born and to die that many times! It would
be impossible to count all the births and deaths. There were far,
far too many to even try. My thoughts also spread to all the in-
numerable corpses of each person in the world. Each and every
citta of each and every living being has exactly the same history
of repeated births and deaths. Everyone is equal in this respect.
Stretching back indefinitely, everyone’s past is crowded with
countless corpses. It was an unbearable sight.
Consequently, I felt disgust as I reviewed my past lives. My
goodness! Having been reborn so many times, I still struggled,
continuously, to be born again and again. If Dhamma had not fi-
nally passed judgment, then I would have carried on indefinitely
in this manner. I investigated in this way, examining the nature
of the world; and the more I did, the more unbearable it became.
I saw the same situation everywhere. Every living being in the
whole universe is caught in the same vicious cycle. In this re-
spect, all are equal.
Then, a feeling of discouragement arose without warning in
my heart. I thought: “How will I ever be able to teach people this
Dhamma? What is the point of teaching? Since true Dhamma is
like this, how can it possibly be presented so that others will be
78 Venerable Ãcariya Mahã Boowa
path could lead others there as well. Maybe there were only a
few, but there definitely were some who could make it. I could
not deny that. The awareness that it would benefit at least some
people encouraged me to begin teaching those who were worthy
to be taught.
After that, monks began to gather around me in the forests
and mountains where I lived, and I taught them to be resolute
in their practice. Gradually, little by little, my teaching began
to spread, until it extends far and wide today. Now people from
across Thailand and around the world come to listen to Ãcariya
Mahã Boowa expound the Dhamma. Some travel here to hear
me talk in person; some listen to taped recordings of my talks
that are broadcast throughout Thailand on the radio and the
Internet.
I can assure you that the Dhamma I teach does not deviate
from those principles of truth that I myself have realized. Do you
understand me? The Lord Buddha taught the same message that
I am conveying to you. Having said this, I want to exclaim Sãdhu!
Although I am a mere mouse compared to the Buddha, the con-
firmation of that realization is right here in my heart. All that I
have fully realized within myself concurs with everything that the
Lord Buddha taught. Nothing that I have realized contradicts
the Lord Buddha in any way. The teaching that I present is based
on principles of truth which I have long since wholeheartedly ac-
cepted. That’s why I teach people with such vigor as I spread my
message throughout Thailand.
Speaking conventionally, I talk boldly as if I were a conquer-
ing hero. But the Supreme Dhamma in my heart is neither bold
nor fearful. It has neither loss nor gain, neither victory nor de-
feat. Consequently, my teaching emanates from pure, unadulter-
ated compassion. For example, if I see a dog-fight and proceed
to pull them apart to stop them from biting each other, I don’t
have any interest in who’s winning and who’s losing. It’s the dogs
who care. They are the ones who are biting, so, they are the ones
Arahattaphala 81
in pain. I simply grab and separate them so they will stop biting
each other. Such is the nature of Dhamma. Dhamma tries to
separate people who are always quarreling, always arguing over
who is right and who is wrong.
This is akin to what I’ve said about present-day Thailand. The
comparison is appropriate. Let the Dhamma speak for itself. At
this time I am very involved with the world. No one is more in-
volved than Ãcariya Mahã Boowa. By that I mean that I am con-
stantly engaged in separating the dogs of this world so they won’t
keep biting each other. These days, both lay people and monks
act like dogs, shoving themselves forward and howling noisily as
they fight for the honors. So I teach them Dhamma, which is
equivalent to separating and restoring calm among fighting dogs.
Dhamma represents the Truth. If we relinquish all that is false
and hold only to that which is true, then both the people in our
society and the monks who uphold the sãsana will live in peace.
But since all the dogs—both the good and the evil ones—are
fighting right now, the country is in turmoil. The Buddhasãsana
regards people’s hearts as the main staging ground. This great
arena is now being broken up and scattered because those dogs
are staging a dogfight in the one area which is most sacred to the
hearts of all Thais—the Buddhasãsana.
So I ask them all to cease and desist, for no benefit can be
gained from fighting like dogs. For, in truth, there are no winners,
only losers. Both those who win and those who lose are hurt in
equal measure. So disengage, stand back, and accept reason as
your guiding principle. In that way, Thailand, its citizens and the
sãsana will all have peace and happiness. Nothing disastrous will
then befall the country.
Those who bare their teeth and boast that they are champion-
ing a just cause are, without exception, already badly defeated.
No one is right, because arguing is always wrong. Just like two
boxers slugging it out in the ring, both the winner and the loser
come away battered and bruised. Who can take pride in that?
82 Venerable Ãcariya Mahã Boowa
Venerable Ãcariya Mahã Boowa’s Dhamma Talk on the 17th of June 2002
one and a half months after the previous teaching.
one will live with a blazing fire in one’s heart. Is that what you
want?
The Lord Buddha’s Teaching is always relevant, as when he
loudly proclaimed:
the body is one thing and the citta is another. This is one level of
separation, the level of the citta that is experienced in samãdhi, but
its duration is limited to the time spent practicing samãdhi.
At the next level, the citta can totally separate itself from
the physical body, but it cannot yet disengage from the mental
components of personality: vedanã, saññã, sankhãra, and viññãõa.
When the citta reaches this level, one can use wisdom to separate
out the body and eventually become detached forever from the
belief that one’s body is oneself, but one is still unable to separate
the mental factors of feeling, memory, thoughts, and consciousness
from the citta. By using wisdom to investigate further, these mental
factors can also be detached from the citta. We then see clearly for
ourselves—sandiååhiko—that all five khandhas are realities separate
from the citta. This is the third level of separation.
At the final level, our attention turns to the original cause
of all delusion, that extremely subtle pervasion of ignorance we
call avijjã. We know avijjã’s name, but we fail to realize that it is
concealed there within the citta. In fact, it permeates the citta like
an insidious poison. We cannot see it yet, but it’s there. At this
stage, we must rely on the superior strength of our mindfulness,
wisdom, and perseverance to extract the poison. Eventually, by
employing the full power of mindfulness and wisdom, even avijjã
can be separated from the citta.
When everything permeating the citta has finally been re-
moved, we have reached the ultimate stage. Separation at this
level is a permanent and total disengagement that requires no
further effort to maintain. This is true freedom for the citta. When
the body suffers illness, we know clearly that only the physical
elements are affected, so we are not concerned or upset by the
symptoms. Ordinarily, bodily discomfort causes mental stress. But
once the citta is truly free, one remains supremely happy even amid
intense physical suffering. The body and the pain are known to be
phenomena separate from the citta, so the citta does not participate
in the distress. Having relinquished them unequivocally, body and
feelings can never again intermix with the citta. This is the citta’s
absolute freedom.
Citta—The Mind’s Essential Knowing Nature 99
the citta is forever full of worries and fears. And although fear and
worry are not intrinsic to the citta, they still manage to produce
apprehension there.
When the citta has been cleansed so that it is absolutely pure
and free of all involvement, only then will we see a citta devoid of
all fear. Then, neither fear nor courage appear, only the citta’s true
nature, existing naturally alone on its own, forever independent
of time and space. Only that appears—nothing else. This is the
genuine citta. The term “genuine citta” refers solely to the abso-
lute purity, or the sa-upãdisesa-nibbãna, of the Arahant. Nothing
else can wholeheartedly and without reservations be called the
“genuine citta”. I myself would be embarrassed to use the term in
any other way.
The term “original citta” means the original nature of the citta
that spins endlessly through the cycle of rebirth. The Buddha
indicated this when he said: “Monks, the original citta is intrinsi-
cally bright and clear, but it becomes defiled by the commingling
of the kilesas that come passing through.”
In this sense, “original citta” refers to the origin of con-
ventional reality (sammuti), not the origin of Absolute Purity
(parisuddhi). When referring to the original citta, the Buddha
stated: “Pabhassaramidaÿ cittaÿ bhikkhave.” Pabhassara means
radiant, it does not mean pure. His reasoning is absolutely correct;
it is impossible to argue against it. Had the Buddha equated the
original citta with the pure citta, one could immediately object: “If
the citta was originally pure, why then should it be born at all?”
The Arahant, who has purified his citta, is one who never comes
to birth again. If his citta were originally pure, why then would
he need to purify it? This would be the obvious objection: What
reason would there be to purify it? The radiant citta, on the other
hand, can be purified because its radiance is nothing other than
the essential, true nature of avijjã. Meditators will realize this truth
clearly for themselves at the moment when the citta transcends this
radiance to reach Absolute Freedom (vimutti). Then, the radiance
Citta—The Mind’s Essential Knowing Nature 101
will no longer appear in the citta. At this very point, one realizes
the supreme truth about the citta.
kãmarãga: Sexual desire; lust. Predicated on a belief that the body is oneself
and that happiness can be achieved for oneself through bodily sensations,
kãmarãga is the desire, even craving, to seek pleasure and self-gratification
by means of the physical body. With this mental defilement as the driving
force, people attempt to overcome discontent and find fulfillment using
physical stimulation as the primary means. If such craving is allowed a
free rein, it easily becomes a preoccupation that gives rise to even more
craving, leaving the heart forever hungry and dissatisfied.
kamma (skt. karma): One’s intentional actions of body, speech, and mind
that result in birth and future existence. These actions carry with them
a specific moral content—good, bad, or neutral—and leave in the ongo-
ing continuum of consciousness a potential to engender corresponding
results in the future. Buddhism holds that all unenlightened beings are
bound to be born, live, die, and be reborn again and again in a variety of
worlds and circumstances, a perpetual cycle of existence that is driven
by the nature of their kamma and the inevitable manifestation of its
consequences.
khandha: Literally, “group” or “aggregate”. In the plural, khandhas refer to
the five physical and mental components of personality (body, feelings,
memory, thoughts, consciousness) and to sensory experience in general
(sights, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations). Also known as “ag-
gregates of attachment” because they are the objects of a craving for
personal existence, they are, in fact, simply classes of natural phenomena
that continuously arise and cease and are devoid of any enduring self-
identity whatsoever.
kilesa: Mental defilement. Kilesa are negative psychological and emotional
forces existing within the hearts and minds of all living beings. These de-
filements are of three basic types: greed, hatred, and delusion. All of them
are degenerate pollutants that contaminate the way people think, speak
and act, and thus corrupt from within the very intention and purpose of
their existence, binding them (through the inevitable consequences of
their actions) ever more firmly to the perpetual cycle of rebirth. Their
manifestations are many and varied. They include passion, jealousy,
envy, conceit, vanity, pride, stinginess, arrogance, anger, resentment,
etc., plus all sorts of more subtle variations that invariably produce the
unwholesome and harmful states of mind which are responsible for so
much human misery. These various kilesa-driven mental states interact
and combine to create patterns of conduct that perpetuate people’s suf-
fering and give rise to all of the world’s disharmony.
110 Glossary
magga, phala, and Nibbãna: The Transcendent Paths, their Fruition, and
Nibbãna. As used by Ãcariya Mahã Boowa, the expression magga, phala,
and Nibbãna refers to the transcendent nature of the Buddhist path
of practice and its primary aim of leading one, stage by stage, through
successive levels of spiritual liberation until one ultimately reaches the
absolute freedom of Nibbãna.
mindfulness (sati): Attentiveness; the ability to keep one’s attention delib-
erately fixed on whatever one chooses to observe. In all forms of medita-
tion, this means an uninterrupted span of attention focused directly on
the chosen object of meditation or on the unfolding process of occurring
phenomena that is the subject of investigation. Mindfulness is the one
faculty that’s essential to every type of meditation. Without it the mind
will invariably falter and fail to achieve its objectives.
nãma: Mental phenomena. Nãma refers to the mental components of per-
sonality (nãmakhandha), which include feelings, memory, thoughts, and
consciousness.
Nibbãna (skt. Nirvana): Literally meaning “extinguished”, Nibbãna is
compared to a lamp or a fire going out. That is to say, the threefold fire
of greed, hatred and delusion goes out in the heart due to lack of fuel.
The extinguishing of this fire frees the mind from everything that binds
it to the cycle of rebirth and the suffering experienced therein. Nibbãna
is Absolute Freedom, the Supreme Happiness. As such, it is the ultimate
goal of the Buddhist training. It is said to be Unborn, Deathless, and Un-
conditioned, but being totally detached from all traces of conventional
reality, a description of what Nibbãna is, or is not, lies wholly beyond the
range of conventional figures of speech.
Pãli: An ancient variant of Sanskrit, Pãli is the literary language of the early
Buddhists and the language in which the texts of the original Buddhist
Canon are preserved. Most of the terms that have been italicized in this
book are Pãli words.
rýpa: The body, and physical phenomena in general. When opposed to
nãma (mental phenomena), rýpa is the strictly physical component of
personality.
sãdhu: “It is well.” Commonly used in Buddhist circles, sãdhu is an exclama-
tion expressing appreciation, assent, or approval.
samãdhi: Meditative calm and concentration. Samãdhi is experienced by
practicing various meditation techniques that are designed to calm the
mind’s emotional turbulence and mental distraction by fixing it firmly
Glossary 111
three worlds of existence: The Sensuous World (Kãma-loka), The Fine Mate-
rial World (Rýpa-loka), and the Immaterial World (Arýpa-loka), which
together comprise the entire universe of sentient existence.
vimutti: Absolute Freedom, that is, freedom from the fabrications and con-
ventions of the mind. Vimutti is a synonym for Nibbãna.
viññãõa: Consciousness; simple cognizance. As the fifth component of
personality, viññãõa khandha simply registers sense data, feelings, and
mental impressions as they occur. For instance, when visual images make
contact with the eye, or when thoughts occur in the mind, consciousness
of them arises simultaneously. When that object subsequently ceases, so
too does the consciousness that took note of it.
wisdom (paññã): The term wisdom denotes an active, incisive application of
the principles of cause and effect for the purpose of probing, examining,
and analyzing physical and mental phenomena, as they arise and cease,
so as to see them for what they really are: inherently impermanent and
unstable, bound up with pain and suffering, and devoid of anything that
can be identified as “self”. As it is used in Buddhism, wisdom implies
much more than just sound judgement. Wisdom is a faculty that searches,
probes, compares, and investigates the workings of body and mind in
light of the fundamental principles of truth in order to gain a decisive
advantage over the defiling elements (kilesas) that obscure their true
nature and the true nature of the one who knows them.
Although inductive reasoning is initially very much a part of the
practice of wisdom, insights based solely on it are still superficial. As
the faculty of wisdom develops and becomes more introspective, its
skills become increasingly more subtle, while its insights become more
intuitive in nature. Only when meditative insight penetrates deeply can
the root causes of the mind’s discontent be truly exposed, uprooted, and
destroyed.
In general, wisdom is the proactive complement to the quiescence
of samãdhi. Both work together in tandem to ensure that the task of
eradicating the kilesas is accomplished with maximum efficiency. Both are
essential aspects of the path leading to the cessation of all suffering.
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