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Message: <blockquote data-quote="rapa" data-source="post: 803480" data-attributes="member: 212">The Buddhist term for 'Truth' is Sacca in Pāli. The Sanskrit term isSatya. Sacca means incontrovertible. It cannot be disagreed with ordenied.What is `truth' in the world? Is it Brahma, Allah, God, Amitabha orother Creator? It should be true to all beings irrespective of color,caste, creed or other mental or physical differences; and it shouldbe a common truth, as far as we are aware, to all beings in theworld.Suppose someone says that the `truth' in the world is Brahma, as theHindus say. That is not truth to non-Hindus. If someone says that thetruth is Allah that is not truth to non-Muslims. If someone saysthat the truth in the world is all mighty God - that is not truth tonon-Christians.So, what is the real truth? It is nothing but unsatisfactoriness,dissatisfaction or suffering. That is the truth in the world.The Buddhist term for suffering is 'dukkha'. It is one of the mostdifficult words in Dhamma to be translated into English to give theproper meaning. This truth is the ever-lasting phenomenon in theworld. This is truth not only for Buddhists, but also for all beings.It is the common truth.`World' here refers to the three types of world systems, namely thesensual, material and the immaterial spheres. All those born in anyof these three (3) world systems necessarily face suffering. That isthe truth in the world.Now, is there a truth beyond the world? There is. This is thecessation of dis-satisfaction, known as nibbāna. It is the ultimatetruth, passion-less-ness or greed-less-ness, or non-delusion or non-aversion; in short, 'suffering-less-ness'. Positively, it is a stateof mind, full of loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, andequanimity.So, now it is clear that the truth in the world is suffering and thatthe truth beyond the world is the cessation of suffering or "Nibbāna"in Buddhist language.According to the teaching of the Buddha, the truth has four (4)facets. What are they?Dissatisfaction.The Causes of dissatisfaction.The Cessation of dissatisfaction.The Path leading to the cessation of dissatisfaction.The Buddha said: "It is in this fathom-long body, with itsperceptions and thoughts, do I proclaim the world, the origin of theworld, cessation of the world, and the path leading to the cessationof the world" (S.N.1. Rohitassa Sutta). The world heremeans "Dissatisfaction" (dukkha).In short, the Buddha enunciated dissatisfaction, its causes, itscessation, and the path leading to the cessation of dissatisfaction,here, in this very body. Whether the Buddhās arise or do not arise,these Truths exist in the world. It is a Buddha who re-discovers andreveals them to the deluded world. They do not, and cannot changewith time because they are beyond time, eternal Truths. As long asthere are beings in the world, these truths shall exist in the world.The Buddha realized these 'Four Noble Truths' through his intuitivewisdom without the support of anyone else. Therefore, he was notindebted to anyone for his realization of this Dhamma. He himselfsaid, "They were unheard before".All beings in the world are subject to birth and consequently todisease, decay, and finally death. No one is exempt from these fourinevitable causes of dissatisfaction. As stated above,dissatisfaction is the first thing to be understood. Explaining whatdissatisfaction is, the Buddha said, "Birth is dissatisfaction,disease is dissatisfaction, decay is dissatisfaction, death isdissatisfaction; associating with the unpleasant is dissatisfaction,disassociating from the pleasant is dissatisfaction, not getting whatone wants is dissatisfaction; in short, all five grasping groups aredissatisfaction.One must understand the causes of dissatisfaction. However, there isno first cause taught in Buddhism. Buddhism teaches about clusters ofcauses and clusters of effects. The main cause of dissatisfactionhere, as the Buddha discovered is craving. The Buddha said in theDhammapada, "From craving springs grief, from craving springs fear;for him who is wholly free from craving there is no grief, much lessfear"(Vr.216). It is because of this craving, gross or subtle that weare led us in the cycle of births and deaths (Samsāra).The complete cessation of dissatisfaction called nibbāna is a supra-mundane state of mind. This is the ultimate 'goal' of Buddhists. Itis achieved by the total eradication of all forms of craving. It isto be seen by the mental eye by renouncing all internal and externalattachment and repulsion to the world.This truth has to be realized by developing the Noble Eightfold Path,which is the Fourth Noble Truth. This unique Path is the onlystraight way that leads to nibbana. It is the Path leading to thecessation of dissatisfaction.This Path is not a creation or invention of the Buddha, but adiscovery by the Buddha or even more correctly, a re-discovery. TheBuddha himself said that it is an ancient Path (Purānam anjasam).This is the way the Dhamma is practiced. Without it, the Dhammabecomes a mere collection of theories, and perhaps an empty showwithout substance.However, it is shrouded in the darkness of dust and ignorance. It isthe Buddha who re-discovers this path and reveals it to humans anddevās (heavenly beings) as well.In His first sermon, the Buddha said that by re-discovering thispath, the eye of vision arose in him, cognition arose in him, wisdomarose in him, knowledge arose in him, and light arose in him (cakkhumudapādi Ñānam udapādi paññā udapādi vijjā udapādi āloko udapādi).This path is called a Middle Path because it lies between the twoextremes, sensual indulgence and self-mortification. When peoplethink they live only this one life, they want to enjoy everythingpossible by gratifying their senses. Therefore, they strive mightilyto indulge their senses. This is not the way to develop the eye ofwisdom, knowledge or light. In reality, it weakens one's knowledgeand wisdom. Especially, as they do not understand the nature of re-becoming or the renewed existence of beings - rebirth in simplelanguage - they make every effort to indulge the senses.The other extreme is self-mortification. When people think there is apermanent entity known as the soul to be unified with the universalinfinite (Creator), then they practice self-mortifications such asenduring extreme hardship, giving up sensual pleasures, living underself-imposed hardship, etc. But the Buddha realized both of these asextremes and avoiding them proclaimed the Eightfold Path asthe 'Middle Path'.As the name suggests, there are eight (8) factors, namely:Right ViewsRight IntentionRight SpeechRight ActionRight LivelihoodRight EffortRight MindfulnessRight Concentration(Here, the first two are grouped as Wisdom, the next three areMorality and the last three are Concentration= Three groups oftraining.)When we study the Path, we first begin to know that there are twoparts in the path.1. Knowledge (vijjā)> Right View or Right Understanding2. Conduct (carana)> All the other seven (7) factors, (RightIntention through Right Concentration)Right View is like the eye, and the others are how we conduct ourbehavior in the world. Without eyes we all are blind. Therefore,Right view or Right understanding (vision), is of much significancein the process of understanding the Dhamma.1. Right View or Right UnderstandingRight understanding, according to the early discourses of theBuddha, can be presented in three levels:I. Understanding the tenfold wrong view as wrong views. They are:1. There is no fruit from giving to anybody2. No result from what is offered3. No results of performing any sacrifices4. No fruit from good or bad actions5. No re-becoming of beings into this world6. No re-becoming of beings into worlds beyond this one7. No fruit of good conduct or bad conduct towards mother8. No fruit of good conduct or bad conduct towards father9. No beings who are reborn spontaneously10. No good and virtuous recluses in the world.II. Understanding what are wholesome and unwholesome (Kusala andAkusala):According to the Sammāditthi sutta of the Middle Length Sayings ofthe Buddha, this is: Understanding the unwholesome and the roots ofunwholesome; understanding the wholesome and the roots of wholesome.Then what are the unwholesome? There are ten unwholesome actions:i. Killingii. Stealingiii. Sexual misconductiv. False speechv. Malicious speechvi. Harsh speechvii. Frivolous talkviii. greed (Covetousness )ix. Ill will andx. Wrong view.Then, what are the roots of unwholesome actions? There are threeroots of unwholesome actions: Greed, hatred, and delusion.What are the wholesome? There are ten wholesome actions too. They arethe abstinence of the above ten unwholesome actions namely;i. Abstention from killingii. Abstention from stealingiii. Abstention from sexual misconductiv. Abstention from false speechv. Abstention from malicious speechvi. Abstention from harsh speechvii. Abstention from frivolous talkviii. Non-covetousnessix. Non-ill-will andx. Right view.What are the roots of wholesome Actions? Non-greed, non-hatred, andnon-delusion are the three roots.iii. Understanding the Four Noble Truths:The Four Noble Truths are:i. Understanding dissatisfaction as the truth in the worldii. Understanding the cause of dissatisfactioniii. Understanding the cessation of dissatisfactioniv. Understanding the path leading to the cessation of dissatisfaction(This is not the realization of the Four Noble Truths, but anunderstanding level, perhaps through books or listening to teachers,etc.)With this knowledge, this understanding of the Four Noble Truths, onehas to put the Dhamma into practice. When one puts it into practice,one should have, certainly, good intentions. That is Rightintention.2. Right Intention: Whatever we do, our intention is very important.There are three aspects to right intention:(1) Intention of sharing, practicing generosity, giving up orrenunciation is one of the good intentions, which is in its ultimatesense, nekkhamma samkappa. Giving up of all material things andmental formations such as hindrances and evil thoughts are included.(2) Intention of non-ill-will (avyapada samkappa) is the second typeof right intention. This is extending loving-kindness (metta) to allbeings in the world irrespective of their trivial distinctions.(3) Non-violence (avihimsa samkappa) is the third aspect of rightintention. It is because of not understanding this that people harmand kill each other in different ways and on different levels.However, harmfulness is harmfulness, whether or not the person doingit is the leader of a society or a simple person. The Buddhasaid, "All tremble at violence; all fear death. Putting oneself inthe place of another, one should not kill nor cause another tokill."3. Right Speech: With good intention, abstaining from false speech,one should speak what is truth; abstaining from malicious divisivetalk, one should talk to unite people; one should abstain from harshspeech and talk gently and peacefully; abstaining from frivolous talkor gossip, one should talk about the Dhamma. The Buddha exhorted twothings to be done by practitioners whenever they get together.1. Either talk on the Dhamma or else,2. Observe Noble silence.There is a saying, "Silence is Golden". But one should understandthat it is true only if one is mindful. Let us talk of what is goodfor others as well as us.4. Right Action:Abstaining from killing, abstaining from stealing, and abstainingfrom sexual misconduct are the three aspects of Right Actions. We dothings in three ways: mentally, verbally and physically. At this timewe are only concerned with physical actions because mental actionshave already been discussed in the category of Right Intention.5. Right Livelihood:That is to live righteously. To live righteously, one has to earnrighteously. In the time of the Buddha, most of the people werefarmers but there were also merchants, smiths, carpenters, andgovernment officers. Today, many people like to earn money by sellingsomething to others. Therefore, there are many vendors, traders, andmerchants in society.According to the teaching of the Buddha, in order to earnrighteously, one has to refrain from five (5) kinds of wrong trades.What are they?1. Trading in arms (weapons) 2. Trading in or raising cattle orother animals for slaughter. 3. Trading in flesh 4. Sellingintoxicating drinks, and 5. Selling poisons.So in accordance with the teaching of the Buddha, if one wants to behappy and peaceful minded, one should earn righteously. Earning one'sway by hook or crook or by any means available is not the way ofBuddhist earning.6. Right Effort:Without effort one can do nothing, one cannot even rise from the seatwhere one is seated. The Buddha always appreciated right effort. Itwas declared as one of the factors of the Attainment ofEnlightenment. In this context, there is a fourfold (4) effort.1. One has to make effort to avoid unwholesome thoughts2. To remove unwholesome thoughts arisen in the mind3. To develop wholesome thoughts4. To maintain wholesome thoughts7. Right MindfulnessMindfulness is the most important factor in the teaching of theBuddha. It is the key word in Buddhism. Without mindfulness there isno development of meditation, without meditation there is noattainment of Enlightenment. For the purification of mind and theattainment of nibbāna, the Buddha recommended practicing the 'FourFoundations of Mindfulness'. They are:1. Contemplation of body as body2. Contemplation of feelings as feelings3. Contemplation of consciousness as consciousness4. Contemplation of mental objects as mental objects8. Right ConcentrationConcentration is not the real purpose of Buddhist meditation.However, it has much significance because without it, one cannotdevelop insight and wisdom. There are four (4) progressivelydeepening states of mental tranquility or kinds of ecstasies. Whenone develops them, one can develop insight so that one would be ableto see through things and realize them as they really are. In orderto develop concentration, one first has to subdue the fivehindrances.According to Buddhist literature, there are three (3) levels ofconcentration namely; 1. Preparatory concentration 2. Neighborhoodconcentration, and 3. Attainment of concentration. As the result ofpracticing and developing these concentrations, one can gain sixkinds of knowledge and finally, by developing insight one can attainthe ultimate bliss of Enlightenment. There are four blessings fromdeveloping concentration. 1. Mindfulness 2. Knowledge 3. Vision andinsight 4. Extirpation of defilements.When one practices this path, as the Middle Path taught by theExalted One, one can reach the goal and realize the Four Noble Truthsand nibbāna; and this is by completing 'Right Knowledge' and 'RightLiberation' (Sammā Ñāna and Sammā Vimukti).Therefore, let us understand the significance of the teaching of theBuddha and practice it in our daily lives to realize the Dhamma andthe Truth in the world.May all beings be well, happy and peaceful!THERUWANSARANI!!</blockquote>

Verification: Hata thunen beduwama keeyada? (60 bedeema thuna)

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