Discourse on Perfect View
Sammā-diṭṭhi-sutta
By Madhyama
Introduction
In the Sammā-diṭṭhi-sutta (MN.9), Gotama Buddha expounds thus :
When, your Reverences, a disciple of the ariyans comprehends
the unskill thus, comprehend the unskill root thus, comprehends
skill thus, comprehends skill root thus, he, having got rid of all
addiction to attachment, having dispelled addiction to aversion,
having eliminated addiction to the latent view ‘I am’, having
eliminated ignorance, having developed knowledge or wisdom, is
here and now an end maker of suffering.
Though the discourse was delivered to a group of monks during the time of
Gotama Buddha in the 6th century B.C in India, the Discourse is the doctrinal quintessence of Buddhism. It is still universally applied to the modern lay Buddhists today as it is pertinent to the exposition of an Absolute Truth which leads to the cessation of suffering or anguish here and now and realizing eternality or deathlessness in the after life. The message of universal moral values and mental skills is meant for all human beings, Buddhists as well as non-Buddhist.
Skills and Skill Roots
According to Gotama Buddha’s exposition, the Sammā-diṭṭhi-sutta, a Buddhist practitioner or adherent, monk or lay person is considered to be spiritually skillful if he or she does not transgress any of the Ten Wholesome Precepts (Dasasīlas) – Ten Moral Injunctions of the Buddha. The Ten Moral Injunctions, which are called the Seven Skills (1-7) and Three Skill Roots (8-10) of the Buddha are enumerated as follows :
- Restraint from destruction of livings beings
- Restraint from taking what are not given or thefts
- Restraint from improper sexual relations
- Restraint from false or dishonest speeches
- Restraint from slanderous speeches
- Restrain from harsh speeches
- Restraint from gossips
- Restraint from greed
- Restraint from hatred or anger
- Elimination of delusion
In this Discourse, the Buddha expounds that the skills and Skill roots are to be comprehended. The first seven moral injunctions are called the seven skills. The last four moral injunctions are root skills. The skill roots condition the skills. The root skills is mental. The skills are either bodily or verbal actions. All bodily and verbal behaviours are conditioned by the human mind. The Buddha promulgates that every behaviour is mind-made. The mind is foremost. These Ten Wholesome Courses of Actions (Dasasīlas) are living skills applied or utilized to effect moral restraints in order to construct social harmony and peace. Their applications assure that the basic human rights of others to are respected or violated. The basic human rights of all members of the human society are the fundamental rights of desiring happiness and rejecting suffering or anguish.
Meditation
Having established the fundamental morality through the adherence of the Dasasīlas, the practitioner may progress further to undertake more serious and more demanding Buddhist training of the Four Establishment of Mindfulness (Satipaṭṭhāna). Mindfulness is developed through tranquility-insight meditation to develop the power of Equanimity. If Equanimity is established, the practitioner develops the power of non-attachment or non-aversion. Equanimity is developed only after the superimposed illusive Self or Ego has been annihilated through right mindfulness, clear awareness and non-clinging upon the Five Aggregates. Attachment to the likes or the pleasant may lead to the unskill root of greed ; aversion towards the dislikes or unpleasant may generate the unskill root of hatred or anger. Unfortunately, Buddhist rejection of attachment to the likes or agreebles and aversion towards the dislikes or disgreeables has been misinterpreted and mispresented by both ordinary Buddhists and non-Buddhists. Quite commonly, some exponents of Theravāda Buddhism regard Non-attachment and Non-aversion to be synonymous with Aloofness, Dispassion, Passivity, Disinterest or Indifference. Such negative synonyms cause superficial misunderstanding with serious immoral consequences. Such definitions of ‘Equanimity’ (Upekkhā) have frightened many secular people away from Buddhism as the traits of humanity have been vaporized by the impersonal doctrine of Insubstantiliality or Selflessness (Anattā). This is sheer misunderstanding of the quintessence of Anattā. Upekkhā must be understood in terms of Anattā in the sense that the illusive Self or Ego, which does not exist originally, must be eliminated from the Five Aggregates. After the annihilation of Self or Ego, one is able to manifest the Four Sublimes Virtues (Brahmavihāras) towards others lovingly or kindly, compassionately, appreciatively and equanimously without any discrimination. In short, Buddhist Equanimity includes boundless Lovingkindness, Compassion, and Appreciative Joy. All esoteric religions teaches the annihilation of Self or Ego in order to love our neighbours, both friends and enemies. This connotes that we love both our friends and enemies. Buddhists are encouraged to develop Brahmavihāras which emphasize boundless love for all neighbours and enemies like one’s own brothers or sisters. The monotheists are encouraged to love their neighbours and enemies in order to love God. When one loves the neighbours and enemies non-discriminatively, one practises the Brahmavihāras. Those Hindus, Christians, and Muslims who love God actually practise Brahmavihāras. This is the universal message of all esoteric religions.
Unskill Roots and Unskills
We now return to the discussion about the unskill roots and the seven unskills. These unskill roots condition the manifest of the seven unskills engendering social diseases, such as conflict, tension, disputation, quarrel, ill-will, disharmony and so forth. The superimposition of self or ego of ‘I’ or ‘Mine’ is responsible the arising of the three unskill roots of greed, hatred and delusion. It is this Self or Ego which evokes selfishness or egoism in social intercourse or interaction which sours human relations. The main goal of all esoteric religions is to destroy Self or Ego in order to unveil our original divine nature – innate highest good of all sentient beings. This orginal divine nature or supremacy of Man is known as the Five Aggregates of Non-grasping or intrinsic awareness of Insubstantiality (Anattā) in Theravāda tradition. The names of different religious traditions are unimportant. What is of crucial importance is to defeat and remove the illusive Self or Ego fabricated or erroneously constructed by all ordinary worldlings. Esoteric religions are expounded by many religions of dissimilar traditions, sects or denominations with an identical soteriological goal – the salvation of ordinary worldlings infected with the mind disease of Self or Ego.
Knowledge or Wisdom
The superimposition of the illusive Self or Ego is the product of ignorance. When the development of the Wisdom of intuitively discerning the Insubstantiality of the Five Aggregates of the human personality is effected, the ignorance of superimposition of Self or Ego is eliminated. With the elimination of the illusive Self or Ego, one purifies the ordinary consciousness and transforms it into the released consciousness or pure, infinite consciousness. With the manifestation of pure, infinite consciousness, the Wise successfully disentangles himself or herself the from the bondage of suffering in the present life as well in the future life. Pure and Infinite consciousness is like the infinite empty space which is undisturbed by the myriad things in the space. Myriad things may appear in and disappear from the empty space, the space is never sullied. The pure, infinite consciousness of Delivered One functions like an empty space which is undefiled by whatever that come. It is the mind of the Man of Perfection known as an Arahant.
Conclusion
This exposition of the Sammā-diṭṭhi-sutta is actually a concise but comprehensive elucidation of the three-fold training of morality, concentration and wisdom embodied in the Noble Eight Fold Path. The Right Speech, Right Actions and Right Livelihood (Items 3-5) constitute the dimension of morality of the Noble Path. Right Efforts, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration (6-8) make up the Concentration dimension of the Path. The Right Understanding and Right Thought form the dimension of the Wisdom of the Path. These three dimensions of Buddhist three-fold training are crystallized by Gotama Buddha thus :
“Avoid evils and do good ; purify your mind.” |
