Aṅguttara Nikāya (AN6.12) - Early Discourse on Six Conducive Conditions to Harmonious Relationship: Sārānīya Sutta

K.S.Chow

Purport

Although this early discourse of Gotama Buddha was delivered to the members of the monastic members, this discourse is equally applicable to the life of a lay Buddhist disciple or any adherent of Dhamma. The Exalted One promulgates that there are six conducive conditions which lead to harmonious human relationship of amiability, the feeling of endearment and the feeling of respect. This harmonious relationship engenders mutual feelings of fellowship, a lack of disputes, harmony and unity. It helps construct warm fellowship, intimate comradeship or caring brotherliness among members of a human society.

The six conducive conditions (paccayas) are bodily acts of good-will, verbal acts of good-will, mental acts of good-will, sharing of righteous gains, virtues and right view of liberation from suffering. The bodily acts of good-will are the friendly and helpful behaviours towards others through the benevolent actions of the body. The verbal acts of goodwill are the friendly and helpful behaviours towards others through benevolent speeches. The mental acts of good-will are the friendly and helpful behaviours towards others through benevolent thoughts. The primary benevolent thoughts are non-greed (alobha), non-hatred (adosa) and non-delusion (amoha).

Non-greed is manifested in terms of the spirit of generosity (dāna), charity, giving and humantarian aids. Non-hatred is manifested through lovingkindess (mettā), and compassion (karuṇā). Non-delusion is manifested through wisdom of intuitively discerning things as they really are. Intuitive discernment is knowing the distinction between the conventional truth and ultimate Truth. Most importantly their interrelationship in terms of the dependently co-arisen Unity or Non-duality.

Gotama Buddha admonishes a male lay Buddhist or Buddhist householder to share wealth righteously or ethically gained with his parents, wife and children, servants or employees, friends and associates and spiritual teachers or masters. The order of priorities in sharing wealth with others prescribed by the Exalted Master is pragmatic. As earning power varies from individual to individual, the order of priorities set by the Exalted Master is an ideal guide for the genuine lay Buddhist disciples or practitioners. One gives generously according to one’s own earning power.

Virtues are cornerstone to the manifest of the aforementioned four conditions. The fundamental ethical system of a lay Buddhist is moral restraint through the observation of the Five Precepts and the practice of their corresponding virtues. Precepts are the ‘Don’ts’ aspect of human moral restraints; virtues are the ‘Dos’ aspect of human benevolent and altruistic behaviors. This dual aspect of ethical human behaviours resonates with Gotama Buddha’s moral injunction of ‘Avoid evils and Do good’. Having avoided evils and done good, one readies to purify the mind, that is, to purge the mind of the self-centric ego which defiles the human consciousness.

 A virtuous Buddhist is advised by Gotama Buddha to restrain from destruction of lives by practising loving-kindness and compassion. He ought to restrain from taking what is not given but instead he is encouraged to practise generosity or charity. He ought to restrain from improper sexual conduct by practising blamelessness or shame and propriety. He ought to refrain from untruthful speech by practising truthfulness, honesty or trustworthiness. He ought to abstain from intoxications so that his mind or her mind is always, mindful, heedful, clearly aware and not noisy.

The most powerful asset possessed by a lay Buddhist or a Buddhist householder is none other than the advocate of the right view of emancipation (vimutti).
Emancipation should be positively conceived of the virtuosity of perfect moral restraint and virtue avoiding moral fallibilities and fostering infallibilities. The right view of emancipation is the perfect view of the Insubstantiality (Anattā) of the five aggregates (pañcakkhandhā) of form, feelings, perceptions, volitions and consciousness. Having intuitively discerned the Insubstantiality of the five aggregates, a liberated Buddhist practises the four foundations of mindfulness (cattāri satipaṭṭhāna) spontaneously and naturally. Satipaṭṭhāna is executed h with right mindfulness and clear awareness without grasping upon the five aggregates as this is I; this is mine; this belongs to me.

 When right view of liberation is attained, the entire Noble Eight Fold Path is consummated. In fact, the six conducive conditions is a comprehensive crystallization of the eight aggregates of the Nobel Eight Fold Path (Ariya Aṭṭhaṅgika Magga). The eight aggregates of the Noble Eight Fold Path are right understanding (sammā-diṭṭhi), right thought (sammā-saṃkappa), right actions (sammā-kammanta), right speech (sammā-vācā), right livelihood (sammā-ājīva), right efforts (sammā-vāyāma), right mindfulness (sammā-sati), and right concentration (samādhi).

The eight aggregates of the Noble Eight Fold Path constitute a very comprehensive personal development or self-improvement programme for all Buddhists. They are either lay Buddhists or Buddhist householders or the members of the monastic community (Saṅgha). There are actually three major dimensions of the Noble Eight Fold Path. They are the major dimension of Morality (Sīla-khandha), the major dimension of Concentration (Samādhi-khandha) and the major dimension of Wisdom (Paññā-khandha). The first two dimensions  form the exoteric dimension of Buddhism. The third one constitutes its esoteric dimension.

The Buddhist exotericism forms the cornerstone to the Buddhist esotericism. The former is the conventional Truth (sammuti sacca); the latter is the Ultimate Truth (Paramattha Sacca). The conventional truth is the phenomena world. The Ultimate Truth is the absolute Truth of Insubstantiality (Anattā) and Dependent Co-arising or Dependent Genesis (Paṭiccasamuppāda). Succinctly put, the Ultimate Truth is the Ultimate Reality of the Buddha. The sentient beings mirror the conventional truth. Prior apprehension of the status of the sentient beings paves the way to the discernment of the ultimacy of the Buddha. Discerning what a Buddha is in relation to the sentient beings is the core of Buddhist philosophy. It is the universal relationship between phenomena and the Principle.

 From the western philosophical perspective, Buddhism is the Perennial Philosophy or Process Philosophy of the Ontology of dynamic becoming: The phenomenal world is in the dynamic process of the state of constant flux. The dynamic process is the unity of the contigent conditions unifying every conditioned phenomenon. Each conditioned phenomenon is impermanent, insubstantial and mutable and is sustained by the dependently co-arisen Unity or Non-duality.

 Whoever discerns this Truth of the oneness of the world or universe lives in universal unity and harmony discarding all notions of individualism or egoism. Unity is harmony; harmony is unity. Learning Buddhism is like learning any religion. It is to learn the first principle of unity and harmony without which the world or human life is not sustained.

Editor’s Note:

The early courses of Gotama Buddha collected in the Aṅguttara Nikā̄ya (A.N) contain many preachings of the Buddha which are suitable for the lay Buddhists or Buddhist householders. It is hoped that more Dharma preachers particularly the Buddhist Monastic members should engage in more intensive researches on these discourses compiled in the A.N of the Theravāda tradition and should transmit them to their audience. They are concise and profound message of the Blessed One. Buddhists should be encouraged to read the Tipiṭaka and not only the ordinary Buddhist text books.