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sla, Samdhi, Pann to Pann, sla, Samdhi

September 2, 2017

1. These days, it is customary to state that the Noble Eightfold Path is followed in
three steps: sla (moral conduct), samdhi (Concentration), and pann (wisdom).
What needs to be emphasized is that this sequence holds only for the mundane
Eightfold Path. It does not lead to Nibbna, but only sets up the conditions to get
into the Noble Eightfold Path.

In this initial stage, one cultivates sla by living a moral life by making a
determined effort not to violate the five precepts; see, 2. The Basics in
Meditation.
Samdhi is much more than just concentration; see, What is samdhi?
Three Kinds of Mindfulness. When one lives a moral life, ones mindset will
gradually change to a calm state (sama + adhi) as explained in that post.
With this calm mindset, one will be able to get rid of the 10 types of micc ditthi
(micc Ditthi, Gandhabbaya, and Sotapann Stage. Then one gets to
mundane Samm Ditthi or the first level of wisdom.

2. One must first follow the mundane Path before one can understand anicca,
dukkha, anatta, and get into the Noble Path; see, Buddha Dhamma In a Chart
and What is Unique in Buddha Dhamma?. Thus, there are three necessary steps
to Nibbna:

Follow the mundane Eightfold Path by living a moral life (sla) to remove the 10
types of micc ditthi (not believing in kamma vipka, rebirth, etc) about this
world, get to mundane samdhi, and gain the first level of wisdom (pann):
sla, samdhi, pann .
Then start removing a DEEPER layer of micc ditthi (that this world can offer
lasting happiness) by learning the CORRECT versions of anicca, dukkha,anatta
(Tilakkhana).
Once one grasps the basics of Tilakkhana one becomes a Sotapann Anugami,
one then starts living with this an unbreakable sla to attain Samm samdhi
and the four stages of Nibbna: pann , sla, samdhi.

3. The first level of wisdom, attained in the mundane path, is called kammassakata
Samm ditthi: understanding that ones actions, speech, and thoughts (kya, vaci,
and man sankhra) ones kamma WILL have consequences in the future, both
in this life and in future lives.

With kammassakata samm ditthi, one understands and accepts the fact that
what we experience (kamma vipka, good and bad) are due to our past
kamma.
One understands that in order to encounter good kamma vipka in the future
(including future lives), one needs to cultivate GOOD kamma (i.e., good man
, vaci, and kya sankhra).
Even more importantly, one starts avoiding BAD kamma (i.e., getting rid of the
coarse levels of lbha, dsa, mha, which is the same as avoiding dasa
akusala).
When one follows this sla step, one will start experiencing the early stages
of Nibbna of cooling down; see, Niramisa Sukha and How to Taste
Nibbna.

4. Some people think that if one kills animals without knowing that will have
consequences, that will not lead to kamma vipka. That is not correct.

There is no superhuman being that keeps track of what one is doing. But
when one intentionally kills an animal, ones mind knows that, and ones
vina will adjust accordingly; see, Vina What It Really Means.
The more one kills animals, that vina capable of killing will only grow and
will lead to a corresponding bhava in the niraya realm (hell) where one will be
subjected to similar suffering.
Therefore, being ignorant of natures laws is not an excuse, just like when one
gets caught doing an illegal act, one will not be excused for not knowing that it
was an illegal action.
There is another type of actions, where one kills animals unintentionally. For
example, we kill many insects every time we take a walk. That does not lead to
any kamma vipka.
So, only those sankhra (or more correctly abhisankhra) that are done with
intention lead to vina (via sankhra paccaya vina), and subsequently
lead to births in different realms via vina paccaya namarupa,etc to
bhava paccaya jti.

5. Most people also think that kamma are only bodily actions (done via kya
sankhra). But bodily actions, speech, and thoughts all contribute to kamma: it is
the cetana (intention) involved in thoughts, speech, and actions (i.e., man , vaci,
and kya sankhra), that is kamma. This is explained in the subsection, Living
Dhamma Fundamentals.

When one starts comprehending how the laws of kamma work (causes lead to
corresponding effects IF suitable conditions are present), one will gradually
get to mundane samm samdhi, and ones ability to grasp deeper Dhamma
concepts (pann) will grow.
Suffering can only be stopped by stopping those abhisankhra ( sankhra
nirdh bhava (and jti) nirdh . But sankhra can be only stopped by
removing avijj since sankhra are unavoidable as long as avijj is there:
avijj paccay sankhr. This is why Samm Ditthi (understanding
Tilakkhana) is so important.
One will have a good idea of how births in different realms are associated with
different types of suffering, and how ones actions (sankhra) lead to such
births. I have summarized them in the table below.

LEVEL OF GENERATION/STOPPING
REALM(S) CAUSES
SUFFERING OF SANKHARA

Niraya (Hell) Incessant Dsa: Killing

suffering (especially humans),
torture, rapes, etc

Peta (Hungry Starvation Excess greed (may I

Ghosts) get all, not others)

Asura Spend time Moha : Tina middha,

aimlessly; mostly vicikicca (lazy,
heavy bodies not lacking wisdom).
movable

Animal (Tirisan: Combinations of Combinations of

"tiri" + "san" or above three types lobha, dosa, moha
with all 3 causes)

Human (Manussa: In between lower In between lower Almost all sankhara

"mana" + "ussa" and higher realms and higher realms responsible births in all
or with advanced realms occur here.
mind)

Deva (similar to Mostly no Good kamma vipaka

human bodies, physical suffering (done with alobha,
but much less and abundant adosa, amoha).
dense) sense pleasures Mental stress arises
(kma). But there due to kama raga.
is mental stress.

Rupavacara Mental stress is Suppression of kama

Brahma (only much reduced. raga and cultivation
manomaya kaya; Mainly jhanic of rupavacara jhana
cannot be even pleasures. (while in the human
seen with a Viparinama dukha realm)
microscope) when close death.

Arupavacara Only arupavacara Cultivation of

Brahma (only jhanic pleasures. arupavacara jhana
hadaya vatthu Viparinama dukha (while in the human
and mind) when close death. realm)

Nibbana Permanent Elimination of all Mostly attained in the

release from all causes for existence, human realm, but
suffering. i.e., ragakkhaya, possible in higher
dosakkhaya, realms, especially after
mohakkhaya. the Sotapanna stage.

6. Now it is clear how future suffering arises via ones own actions, speech, and
thoughts (sankhra).

When one engages in kya, vaci, and man sankhra that involve lbha, dsa,
mha (i.e., immoral living and engaging in dasa akusala frequently), one is
likely to be reborn in the lowest four realms (apyas), and to face much
suffering.
When one has reduced lbha, dsa, mha to rga, patigha, avijj (see,
lbha,dsa, mha versus rga, Patigha, avijj) by following the mundane
eightfold path, one is likely to be reborn in the human or deva realms. In these
realms suffering is much less, and especially in the deva realms most
remaining suffering is mental.

7. However, especially as humans, there is suffering that has been covered by our
willingness to disregard sankhra dukha and viparinama dukha; see, Introduction
What is Suffering? and the follow-up post.

That suffering arises due to kma rga, i.e., craving (updna) for sense
pleasures. Thus even if one is not engaged in dasa akusala, one cannot be
released from kma lka as long as one has kma rga.
At the next higher level in the rupa and arupa realms, kma rga is absent and
thus one enjoys jhnic pleasures.
Unlike sense pleasures, jhnic pleasures can be sustained for longer times,
and are of much refined nature. This is why the Buddha recommended only
jhnic pleasures out of all pleasures available in this world of 31 realms.
However, that is still not permanent as the Nibbnic bliss arrived at by
eliminating all suffering.

8. As humans, we can overcome suffering in the kma lka during this life itself, by
cultivating j hnas. This essentially means being able to temporarily live in
rupavacara or arupvacara realms.

This can be done via either REMOVAL or SUPPRESSION of kma rga and
patigha (of course this is not possible if one is engaging in dasa akusala).
There are Buddhist and non-Buddhist meditation techniques to achieve this.
We will discuss this in detail in an upcoming series on jhna.
If one develops jhnas, one will be born in rupa or arupa realms in the next
birth. However, as we can see from the above table, any future births in those
rupa and arupa realms are temporary. One could later be reborn in the
apyas.
The only permanent solution to end all future suffering is to attain Nibbna,
as shown in the above table.

9. When one gets to mundane samm samdhi cultivating sla, one will be able to
see the truth of the overall picture shown in the table above. It is at this stage with
this wider world picture one can take the second important step towards
Nibbna by comprehending the Tilakkhana. However, one needs to be exposed to
the correct versions of Tilakkhana; see, Anicca, Dukkha, Anatta.

This is the pann (wisdom) associated with the first path factor (Samm Ditthi)
in the Noble Eightfold Path.
It is then one will be able to really comprehend the First Noble Truth about the
suffering in this world, the Dukkha Sacca.

10. The key message of the Buddha is that nowhere in this world one can find
happiness in the long run; any such temporary happiness would be miniscule
compared to suffering in the apyas, and in kma lka. This is very hard to be
grasped by a normal human (no matter how well educated).

This fundamental fact of nature that NOTHING in this world can bring
happiness (and WILL only bring suffering) in the long run is called the
anicca nature.
When one has the opposite perception of nicca, and focuses on seeking a
long-term happiness in this world, one WILL BE subjected to suffering (dukha)
in the long run.
Thus, eventually one will become helpless in this rebirth process and that is
called anatta nature.
Those are the Three Characteristics of nature. Therefore, the second key step
towards Nibbna ( p e r m a n e n t h a p p i n e s s ) i s t o l e a r n t h e s e k e y
characteristics of nature from a true disciple of the Buddha.

11. When one starts comprehending the Tilakkhana to some extent, one becomes a
Sotapann Anugami and enters the Noble Path; see, Sotapann Magga Anugami
and a Sotapann.

In this third and last step towards Nibbna, one starts with a NEW concept
about the real nature of this world, i.e., that one can only expect to face
unimaginable suffering in the future if one does immoral things in seeking
sense pleasures.
Thus one starts to understand the First Noble Truth or Dukkha Sacca: That
there is unimaginable suffering in this world of 31 realms. At this initial stage,
it is hard to see the dangers/suffering in the human and deva realms; but if
one has comprehended the fact that apyas (four lower realms) must exist in
order for the laws of kamma to work, then one can clearly see the
unimaginable suffering in the apyas.
The Buddha said that when one understands the First Noble Truth, one will
simultaneously understand the other three: one will be able to see that
lbha, dsa, mha are the origins of that suffering (Samudaya Sacca), that
one needs to remove those causes (Nirdha Sacca), and the way to accomplish
that is to follow the Noble Eightfold Path (Magga Sacca).

12. This understanding becomes permanent forever (through future lives) when
one attains the Sotapann stage. From that point onward, one will not be CAPABLE
of doing a kamma that could make one eligible for rebirth in the apyas, i.e., one will
be free from the worst suffering in the future.

How this is automatically enforced by nature is explained in the post, Akusala

Citta How a Sotapann Avoids apyagami Citta.
Thus any thoughts that are automatically generated with this unshakeable
understanding belong to Samm Sankappa. One will NOT do an apyagami
act even on a sudden impulse.

13. One will also starts understanding paticca samuppada: that future bhava
(existences) arise due to causes that one is willingly grasping (updna) now.

If one is capable of hurting and killing others, then one will be subjected
similar conditions in the niraya.
If one has excessive greed where one is willing to hurt others to get pleasures,
then one could be born a peta (hungry ghost).
If one is lazy and depends on others, one is cultivating asura sankhra that
could lead to asura vina and thus give rise to an asura existence.
And if one is capable of thinking, speaking, and acting like an animal, one is
then cultivating animal sankhra, and thus one could be born in an animal
existence.

14. At this stage, one starts living by the ariyaknta sla. This sla is different from
the sla that was followed in the first step.

In the first type of sla, one forcefully avoided doing ppa kamma or immoral
acts. But there could have been occasions where one could not help breaking
the sla, because the temptations were too strong.
However, this new ariyaknta sla is unbreakable, no matter how strong the
temptation is. Ones mind has grasped the fact that it is NOT WORTH to
commit apyagami actions, no matter how much wealth or pleasures they
could possibly bring.
For example, is it worthwhile to make a lot of money by killing animals or fish,
selling drugs that can harm others, by lying, bribing, etc?
It is important to realize that at this stage, one could still be attached to sense
pleasures that can be enjoyed WITHOUT hurting others. Thus one could live a
normal married life, which is moral living.

15. This Sotapanna stage can be arrived at without getting into any type of jhna.
These days there is too much emphasize on jhna.

One needs to realize that rupavacara and arupvacara jhna are the sense
experiences of the beings in the rupa and arupa realms, and are thus still
experiences belonging to this world of 31 realms.
The Buddha stated that any of his lay disciples with the Sotapanna stage is
million times well-off than a ygi who had attained all jhnas and all
abhinn powers.
That is because, while those jhnas and abhinn powers last only during this
life (they can make ones next birth in rupa or arupa realms, but could be born
in the apyas in subsequent births), a Sotapann is freed from the apyas
FOREVER.
However, understanding jhnas is important since it confirms the wider world
view of the Buddha in the above table. Also, there are many in the world today
who have experienced jhnas. But some mistakenly believe that jhnas are
intrinsically connected to magga phala, because of the relief felt. But as the
above table shows, jhnas are still part of this world. I will write a series of
posts on jhna to further clarify this issue.

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