DEVELOPMENT OF WISDOM

PAÑÑÃ KHANDA
- SAMMÃ DIŢŢHI (RIGHT VIEW)
- SAMMÃ SA KAPPA (RIGHT INTENTION)
Noble Eightfold Path : 1st & 2nd Factors
 Samãdhi , Paññã & Defilements
Concentration (samādhi)


Stills and steadies the mind

Sharpens the mind and readies it for insight work
Suppresses but does not eradicate or uproot
hindrances  not sufficient to bring liberation

Wisdom (paññā)


Uproots defilements/hindrances
Penetrates and sees reality as it is
Right View and Right Intention



Noble Eightfold Path Insights into Ultimate
Truth

Release from sufferings

contributio
n of all 8
factors
Wisdom Group
 S¨la, Samãdhi, Paññã &
Defilements
Defilements, in three layers, curbed and destroyed layer


by layer by three divisions of Noble Eightfold Path



1
 Ignorance
qNot mere absence of knowledge
qAn active mental factor, holds all
the defilements in place
qIgnorance is powerful, distorts
cognition, dominates volition
(cetana)  type or tone of
existence  kamma of our life
qobscures the true nature of things
qits opposite is wisdom, a mental
factor
Ignorance – Insidious
Effect
Three types of delusions (obscures
true nature of things)
1.seeing permanence in the impermanent
– we, I, our world to be solid and
permanent entities;
2.seeing satisfaction in the
unsatisfactory – constant pursuit of
sense pleasures;
3.seeing a self in the selfless – self-
contained ego
 Wisdom
qremoves distortion in perception or
cognition caused by ignorance
qWisdom sees the true nature of
phenomena directly (insight)
qWisdom is developed through insight
meditation (vipassanã-bhãvanã) – a deep
and comprehensive seeing into the
nature of existence, finding the truth
in our very own experience (ordinarily,
live the experience without
understanding/wisdom)
Delusion of Self & Its Dissolution
§ Cognitive distortion due to delusions -most
deeply ingrained is the delusion of ‘self’,
delusion of a solidly truly existent ‘I’ 
erroneous view  calamitous consequences
èduality and its dichotomy: ‘I’ and ‘not I’;
‘mine’ and ‘not mine’ etc  defilements
follow grasping, rejecting etc  constant
pursuit of sense pleasures  sufferings
èDelusion of self exploded by wisdom when
there is realisation of ‘anatta’ or
selflessness
Uprooting the View
of Self
How wisdom is developed
- dispel illusion of ‘self’-
through Dhammánupassaná
Developing Wisdom - Analytical
Path
Analysing methodically the field of experience
into 5 factors, none of which can be ‘self’
through Dhammánupassaná:
Analysing the FIVE aggregates of clinging -

pañc’upādānakkhandhā
1. Material form (rúpakkhanda) – sense faculties
and outer sense objects
2. Feeling (vedanákkhanda) – affective tone
3. Perception (saññákkhanda) – noting and
identifying
4. Mental formations (Saòkhárakkhanda ) –
volitional and emotive elements
5. Consciousness (viññáóakkhanda) – bare awareness
 Contemplation of Five
Aggregates
ánassapunám-maáhnDáhþþapitaS

The disciple dwells in contemplation of

phenomena, namely, of the five
aggregates of clinging. He knows
 what material form is, how it arises, how

it passes away;
 what feeling is, how it arises, how it

passes away;
 what perception is, how it arises, how it

passes away;
 what mental formations are, how they

arise, how they pass away;


 Contemplation of Sense
Bases
ánassapunám-maáhnDáhþþapitaS

The disciple dwells in

  the mind and
contemplation of mental objects;
phenomena, and
namely, of the six  the fetter that arises
internal and in dependence on
external sense them. He
bases. He knows understands how
the unarisen fetter
 the eye and forms,
arises, how the
 the ear and sounds, arisen fetter is
 the nose and odors, abandoned, and
how the
 the tongue and
abandoned fetter
tastes, does not arise
 Relational Structure of the
Aggregates & Sense Bases
Delusion of self attenuated by examining
the relational structure of the five
aggregates, and sense bases:
 Their arising, existing and fading on

account of co-dependency of all

factors,
 None of the aggregates or bases exist

as a ‘self-sufficient’ independent
entity  no self
 Body-mind complex dependently co-
Shaving Away Delusion of
Self
By examining the relational structure of
the five aggregates, and sense bases:
 Feeling, perception, and mental
formations occur in dependence on the
body with its sense faculties.
 They require an object, the
corresponding consciousness, and the
contact of the object with the
consciousness through the media of
the sense faculties.
 Consciousness in its turn depends on the
sentient organism and the entire
assemblage of co-arisen mental
factors.
Shaving Away Delusion of
Self
By examining the relational structure of


the five aggregates, and sense bases:

 The whole process of becoming has

arisen from previous lives and

inherited all the accumulated
kamma of previous existences
èNo self-sufficient or independent
mode of being
èAll conditioned phenomena exist
relationally, contingent and
dependent on other things
Eradicating Delusion of
Self
 Factorial analyses and examination of
the relational structure cut away
the intellectual adherence to the
idea of self

 Direct insight uproots the ingrained
clinging to ego : insight into the
empty , coreless nature of phenomena


 Insight can be developed by

contemplating the three universal
marks of existence – impermanence
( aniccatá ), unsatisfactoriness
( dukkhatá ) and selflessness
( anattatá )

Insight into the Three Universal
Marks
1.Insight into impermanence (aniccatá) –
 conditioned phenomena are in constant
flux or process, arise and fall away
almost as soon as they arise
 What appears as ‘stable objects’ to the
senses reveal themselves as strings of
momentary formations (saòkhárá) in
insight
 A ‘person’ = a current made up of
intertwing streams of rúpa (material)
and náma (mental constituents) events


Insight into the Three Universal
Marks
2. Insightinto unsatisfactoriness
(dukkhatá)
 Aggregates are constantly
breaking up, cannot be held
onto
èthe inevitable change of the
aggregates
èseen in insight, it’s dukkha in
deepest sense



Insight into the Three Universal
Marks
3. Insight into selflessness (anattatá)
 Aggregates, being impermanent and
unsatisfactory, cannot be taken as
‘self’ or belonging of ‘self’.
 If they were ‘self’ or belonging of ‘self’,
they would be permanent and subject to
control
aggregates are anatta, not ‘self’, not the

belongings of a self  empty, ownerless

phenomena occurring in dependence on
conditions.

– htap detargetnI
v thgiR
e thgiR
s thgiR
Insight Practice in Progress
 Lokiyamagga – Insight Stage of
Eightfold Path
 Objective sphere of the insight meditation
is saòkhárá or ‘conditioned formations’,
the world of the conditioned (lokiya) 
mundane or lokiya path
 The meditation is tasked with uncovering
and fully comprehending the three
characteristics – anatta, dukkha, anicca
 Serves as vehicle for reaching the
unconditioned  mundane leading to
supramundane path that leads to
liberation = Nibbána

 Lokuttaramagga –
Supramundane Path
 When insight meditation fully comprehends
anicca, dukkha and anatta of everything
formed, the mind breaks through the
conditioned to unconditioned, Nibbána =
lokuttara or supramundane path
 There are four Supramundanepaths – all see
intuitively with self-validating certainty all
the Four Noble Truths simultaneously;
 each succeeding path issues in greater
realisation and liberation
 The four paths can be achieved in close
proximity to one another, even in one sitting
or over several life times
Supramundane Paths -
Comprehensions
 As the path penetrates the Four Truths,
the mind exercises four functions
simultaneouslylike a candle’s ability to
burn the wick, consume the wax, dispel
darkness and give light: the mind
1.fully comprehends the truth of suffering,
seeing all conditioned existence
stamped with the mark of
unsatisfactoriness
2.abandons craving, cuts through the mass
of egotism and desire that repeatedly
gives birth to suffering.
3.realizes cessation, the deathless element
Nibbãna, now directly present to the
 Supramundane Paths –
Developed Noble Eightfold Path
The eight factors attain tremendous power


and supramundane stature

 Right view as the direct seeing of Nibbã n a ;

 R ig h t in te n tio n a s th e m in d ’ s a p p lica tio n to

Nibbãna;
 Triad of ethical factors (right speech, action

& livelihood) check moral transgression

 Right effort as the energy in the Path

consciousness
 Right mindfulness as the factor of
 Supramundane Paths & Fruits –
Eradication of Defilements
 The defilements, those that bind us to
the process of endless becoming are
classified into a set of ‘ten fetters’
(that bind us to sa·sara)
 Defilements are suppressed or

debilitated but not eradicated during

tranquility or insight meditation
 Defilements are eradicated in the

supramundane paths
 The Path followed by the ‘Fruit’
 Ten Fetters (Sa9yojana)
( Sutta Pitaka )
 5. Paþigha – aversion or
1. Diþþhi – false views - ill-will or hatred,
personality view 6. Rúparága – attachment
(sakkáya-diþþhi) to fine material
2. Vicikicchā – sceptical existence,
doubt, 7. Arúparága – attachment
3. Sìlabbata-parāmāsa – to immaterial
clinging to rules & existence
rituals 8. Māna –conceit or pride,
4. Kamārāga - attachment 9. Uddhacca –
to sense-objects, restlessness,
10.Avijjā – ignorance .
 Sotāpatti-magga (stream-entry path)

The first supramundane path eradicates



the coarsest of the ten defilements:

1. personality view (sakkáyadiþþhi) is cut
off, having seen the selfless nature
of phenomena
2. Vicikicchā – sceptical doubt is cut off,
having grasped and seen the truth for
oneself
3. Sìlabbata-parāmāsa – adherence to rites
& rituals is cut off, having known the
Noble Eightfold Path and the deliverance
 Sotāpanna & Phala

 Each path is followed by its own fruit,

phala
 The path cuts off the defilements and
is followed by phala - Phala is when
the mind enjoys the blissful peace of
Nibbāna
• First fruit is sotāpanna (stream-enterer), , having
entered the stream that carries him/her to
final deliverance, no more falling away
• Take 7 more lives at most to eradicate the rest of
 Sakadāgāmi magga & Phala

The meditator may put forth energy to strive



onwards after attaining stream-entry to attain a

higher path
• Sakadāgāmi magga attenuates the roots of
greed, aversion and ignorance
 Followed by Sakadāgāmi phala
 Emerges as Sakadāgāmi or once-returner,
returning one more time at most before
attaining full liberation
•
 Anāgāmi magga & Phala

The meditator may put forth energy to strive



onwards after attaining once-returner to attain

a higher path, the path of non-returner
• anāgāmi magga cuts off sensual desire and ill-
will – no longer gripped by lust or aroused to
aversion
 Followed by anāgāmi phala
• Will not return to human state of existence,
reborn & attain Nibbāna in fine material
world
 Arahatta magga & Phala
The meditator may put forth energy to strive
onwards to attain the path of arahat
Arahatta magga cuts off remaining five fetters –

• desire for fine material and immaterial

existence (through respective jhanas),
• conceit (ego,‘I am’),
• restlessness (subtle excitement of the mind)
• Ignorance - obscuration that prevents full
understanding of the Four Noble Truths
•
 Arahatta magga & phala
Having eradicated all defilements, there is perfect


comprehension of the Four Noble Truths

1. fully fathoms the truth of suffering;
2. eradicates the craving from which suffering
springs;
3. realizes with complete clarity the unconditioned
element, Nibbana, as the cessation of
suffering;
4. consummates the development of the eight
factors of the Noble Eightfold Path.
 Arahat
With the attainment of arahatta magga & phala, the
disciple emerges as an arahat
“Destroyed is birth; the holy life has been lived;

what had to be done has been done; there is no

coming back to any state of being.”
• The arahant is no longer a practitioner of the path
but is the Path’s living embodiment
• the Liberated One lives in the enjoyment of the
fruits, enlightenment and final deliverance.
1.
 Noble Eightfold Path
Eight factors of the Path are mental components,
always accessible to us and can be established through
effort and determination

Epilogue
However distant or far, the journey to reaching the goal
begins with the first step,
followed by another step and another step, and another
step, each more sure and certain than the preceding
step
every step counts in covering the distance
 Walking the Noble
Eightfold Path
A.Foundation: Laying down and strengthening the
foundation of the Path
1.Begin the Path straightening out views and
clarifying intention
2.Purify conduct – speech, action &
livelihood
B.Cultivation of Concentration & Insight
 Apply effort and mindfulness
C.Begin and Continue on the Path
 – gradual practice and gradual progress
D.Liberation – inevitable fruit of the Path
 See you next on

An overview of Theravāda
Abhidhamma