Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary

 
Is Enlightenment Achievable in this Lifetime?

People attend intensive retreats in their search for enlightenment. Is there an alternative path to enlightenment? Ven Aggacitta Bhikkhu explains how deep faith and profound wisdom coupled with continual mindfulness of mental states can lead you in your search.

What is Enlightenment?

When you are freed from suffering by eradicating the three evil roots, you become fully enlightened&mdasha buddha. A buddha is one who is awakened. That is the literal meaning of the word 'buddha' although in the Theravada context when we use the word 'Buddha', we usually mean the Sammasambuddha (Fully Self-Enlightened One), the founder of Buddhism.

There are various stages of enlightenment. These days, people don't immediately attain full enlightenment, although in the Buddha's time, there were some special people who could do so upon listening to a Dhamma talk. As we know, the Buddha achieved supreme enlightenment under the Bodhi (enlightenment) tree. The Pali suttas seem to indicate that he attained arahantship¹ without having to go through the stages of becoming a sotapanna², sakadagami³ and anagami⁴. This is contrary to the commonly held Theravada doctrine that to attain full enlightenment one must go through the various levels gradually.

In the suttas, there are cases of lay people who became anagamis without going through the other two stages. For example there is the story (DutiyaUgga Sutta, AN 8:22 ) of Ugga, a lay person whose drunkenness dissipated when he met the Buddha. Subsequently, while listening to the Buddha's discourse, he attained the Dhamma Eye. Presumably he became an anagami because he immediately observed celibacy and later announced his decision to his four young wives, giving away the eldest to a man of her choice. One thousand early disciples of the Buddha&mdashthe fire-worshippers headed by UruvelaKassapa, NadiKassapa and GayaKassapa&mdashall became arahants upon listening to the Fire Sermon (Adittapariyaya Sutta, Vin Mv) without going through the successive stages of enlightenment.

We have also been made to understand that the moment of enlightenment comprises path (magga) and fruition (phala) occurring in immediate succession: which means that after attaining the path, fruition follows immediately. This is based on the cittavithi (thought process) model in the AbhidhammatthaSangaha, which is similar to the model used by Buddhaghosa in Visuddhimagga⁵, and by subsequent scholars in other Theravada Commentaries.

However, there is sufficient evidence in the suttas themselves to show that entering the path does not necessarily bear fruit immediately. Now let's go through some of these references showing that a person who has entered the path need not be a sotapanna but can be assured of becoming one before he dies.

Eight Worthy Persons

In PathamaPuggala Sutta (AN 8:59) the Buddha talked about the eight types of persons who are worthy of gifts, hospitality, offerings, etc.

Monks, these eight persons are worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, worthy of offerings, worthy of reverential salutations, the unsurpassed field of merit for the world.

What eight? The stream-enterer [sotapanna], the one practising for the realisation of the fruit of stream-entry; the once-returner [sakadagami], the one practising for the realisation of the fruit of once-returning; the non-returner [anagami], the one practising for the realisation of the fruit of non-returning; the arahant, the one practising for arahantship. (trans. Bhikkhu Bodhi. IBW p 385)

These eight individuals are grouped into four pairs; one of each has already attained the fruit and the other one is still practising to attain it. This other one could take many years within his lifetime to realise the fruit, not just in the next thought moment, as we shall see later.

Patipanna Sutta (SN 48:18) also refers to these eight individuals but from another perspective.

Monks, there are these five faculties. What five? The faculty of faith, the faculty of energy, the faculty of mindfulness, the faculty of concentration, the faculty of wisdom. These are the five faculties. One who has completed and fulfilled these five faculties is an arahant. If they are weaker than that, one is practising for the realisation of the fruit of arahantship; if still weaker, one is a non-returner; if still weaker, one is practising for the realisation of the fruit of non-returning; if still weaker, one is a once-returner; if still weaker, one is practising for the realisation of the fruit of once-returning; if still weaker, one is a stream-enterer; if still weaker, one is practising for the realisation of the fruit of stream-entry.

But monks, I say that one in whom these five faculties are completely and totally absent is "an outsider, one standing amid the worldlings.' (Ibid.)

So these eight types of individuals possess the five spiritual faculties in varying degrees depending on which stage of the path one is on. It is this that differentiates them from worldlings (puthujjana) who are considered 'outsiders', not on the path.

Destined for Enlightenment

Alagaddupama Sutta (MN 22) tells us more about a stream-enterer; introduces two types of persons who are not stream-enterers, yet have enlightenment as their destination; and declares another type who is destined for heaven.

In the Dhamma well expounded by me thus, which is clear, open, evident and free of patchwork, those monks who have abandoned three fetters are all stream-enterers, no longer bound to the lower world, fixed in destiny, with enlightenment as their destination.

In the Dhamma well expounded by me thus, which is clear, open, evident and free of patchwork, those monks who are Dhamma-followers or faith-followers all have enlightenment as their destination.

In the Dhamma well expounded by me thus, which is clear, open, evident and free of patchwork, those monks who have sufficient faith in me, sufficient love for me, are all headed for heaven. (trans. Bhikkhu Bodhi. IBW p 386)

The first paragraph tells us a stream-enterer (sotapanna) has abandoned the three fetters. The first fetter is the view that there is a permanent unchanging self (sakkayaditthi) in the five aggregates. The second fetter is grasping at rites and rituals, thinking that merely by following rites and rituals one can become enlightened. A sotapanna can perform rites and rituals as part of the culture that she belongs to but is aware that this is not the way to gain further stages of enlightenment. The third fetter is doubt in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha: doubt that the Buddha discovered the Dhamma and revealed the path to its realisation; doubt in the truth of the Dhamma and that it can be realised by oneself; and doubt that there are fellow practitioners (members of the ariya Sangha) who have entered the path as revealed by the Buddha or have also realised the Dhamma. A sotapanna is free from all such doubts because she herself has realised the Dhamma through that very path.

She will no longer take rebirth in the lower realms because whatever evil kamma she had done prior to her attainment, that has the potential to cause rebirth in lower realms, becomes defunct and she will not create any new evil kamma of such nature. Her destiny is fixed because she will henceforth take rebirth only in the human or higher realms. Other suttas (e.g. DutiyaSikkha Sutta, AN 3:88; Sa-upadisesa Sutta, AN 9:12) state that she will have a maximum of seven more lifetimes to live in this sensual realm before she attains final enlightenment as an arahant.

The second paragraph tells us about Dhamma-followers (dhammanusari) and faith-followers (saddhanusari) who have not abandoned any fetters but also have enlightenment as their destination. But when? It is not stated in this sutta but we shall see later in other suttas.

Destined for Heaven

In the third paragraph, the Buddha talked about another lower class of people who have sufficient love for and faith in the Buddha. What is meant by sufficient faith, by sufficient love? The Commentary to MN 22 says:

...This refers to vipassana practitioners who do not have any ariya quality other than sufficient faith in and love for the Tathagata. For faith in and love for the Buddha arise in monks who are seated doing vipassana meditation. They are as if taken by the hands and placed in heaven by that faith, by that love. It seems they are of fixed destinies. Moreover, the ancient theras (elders) call such a monk a minor stream-enterer (culasotapanna).

The Visuddhimagga (Ch. 19, para. 691) also uses the same term culasotapanna, but in a more specific sense.

A vipassana practitioner who possesses this knowledge [that grasps the conditionality of mind and matter] is called a minor stream-enterer, one who has gained relief and a foothold in the BuddhaSasana (Buddha's teachings or dispensation), one with a fixed destiny.

So it seems people in this third class are also of fixed destiny, i.e. in the next life they will go to heaven. This is rather questionable, isn't it? Firstly, this person has not yet attained stream-entry and so his past evil kamma has not become defunct. Secondly, it doesn't mean that just by virtue of his vipassana insight he will be perfect in observing, for example, the five precepts. Some of you have gone for retreats before and might have got insights higher than this. But after the retreat do you still kill insects, tell lies, or break the other precepts? If you do, it means that you still create bad kamma that has the potential to give rebirth in the lower realms. The insights which you got for a few seconds in a two-week meditation retreat may not be strong enough to inspire you to perfectly observe the five precepts for the rest of your life. When you are back in the world again, you forget all about the retreat, mind (nama) and matter (rupa) and how they are conditioned, and you are back to your old ways. So I think it is really not very plausible that you can definitely go to heaven if you have done a lot of akusala (unskilful, unwholesome) kamma.

But the Buddha did declare that "those monks who have sufficient faith in me, sufficient love for me, are all headed for heaven", didn't he? So how could the Buddha be wrong? Perhaps this quotation could be used to counter the popular Christian evangelical tool: "Accept Christ and you will definitely go to heaven." It may be tempting for Buddhist missionaries, but I prefer to interpret the Buddha's declaration as referring specifically to the the monks he was addressing then, or to those who have such sentiments just prior to death.

Still on this subject, there is another interesting occasion when the Buddha mentioned those who will not be reborn in the lower realms. PathamaSarananiSakka Sutta (SN 55:24) tells the story of a Sakyan⁶ by the name of Saranani, who was an alcoholic. When he died, the Buddha declared that he had become a sotapanna, no longer bound for the lower worlds, fixed in his destiny and bound for enlightenment. When other Sakyans heard this they derided it, saying, "How could he be a sotapanna when he could not even fulfil his training?" Mahanama, the Buddha's cousin reported this to him. The Buddha answered by enumerating a whole list of persons who will not go to the nether worlds in the next life as well as those who are forever freed from such destinations, and concluded by revealing that Saranani fulfilled his training (which includes abstaining from drinking) when he died. Right before the list is the Buddha's interesting remark on the lay follower.

Mahanama, when a lay follower has gone for refuge over a long time to the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha, how could he go to the nether world? (trans. Bhikkhu Bodhi. CDB p 1811)

This could also be an inspiration for lay Buddhists, although I feel that other considerations, such as the ethical conduct of one's lifestyle and the state of one's mind when facing death, should also be taken into account.

How to Become Destined for Enlightenment

Let us now get back to the suttas to find out more details of what it takes to be destined for enlightenment. In the process we will make out the differences between the faith-follower, Dhamma-follower and sotapanna. Cakkhu Sutta (SN 25:1) and the next nine suttas give the most graphic descriptions available.

Monks, the eye is impermanent, changing, undergoing alteration. The ear &hellip The nose &hellip The tongue &hellip The body &hellip The mind is impermanent, changing, undergoing alteration. One who places faith in these teachings and resolves on them thus is called a faith-follower, one who has entered the fixed course of rightness, entered the plane of superior persons, transcended the plane of worldlings.

He is incapable of doing any deed by reason of which he might be reborn in hell, in the animal realm, or in the domain of afflicted spirits; he is incapable of passing away without having realised the fruit of stream-entry. (trans. Bhikkhu Bodhi. CDB p 1004)

Now this means that the faith-follower is one who accepts what the Buddha says about the impermanence of the six sense-bases. She accepts these teachings out of faith&mdashnot necessarily having seen or experienced them&mdash but just out of faith, "Because the Buddha says so, it must be true." That faith itself puts her on "the fixed course of rightness (sammattaniyama)". Sammatta (rightness) is a synonym for the Noble Eightfold Path as defined in Micchatta Sutta (SN 45:21; AN 10:103), Sangiti Sutta (DN 33), and Ekadasama Sutta (AN 10:133). It is therefore a synonym for magga or 'path'. No wonder she has "transcended the plane of worldlings", i.e. no longer a puthujjana and therefore an ariya (noble one). That faith itself is able to prevent her from doing any deed that will cause her to be reborn in the lower realm. That faith itself will make her incapable of passing away without realising the fruit of stream-entry. That is why people say, "Faith can move mountains." If you really have such great faith, it can inspire you to become enlightened in this life.

So enlightenment is achievable in this life.

Let us now look at the next type of person called the Dhamma-follower.

One for whom these teachings are accepted thus after being pondered to a sufficient degree with wisdom is called a Dhamma-follower, one who has entered the fixed course of rightness, entered the plane of superior persons, transcended the plane of the worldlings. (Ibid.)

The rest of his attributes are similar to that of a faith-follower.

We can see that the difference between a faith-follower and a Dhamma-follower is in their faculties of faith and wisdom: one has a lot of faith and the other a lot of wisdom. But like the former's faith, the latter's wisdom is not based on experience or insight. Rather, it comes about through the sharpness of his intellect&mdashbeing able to understand the Buddha's teachings, accept and internalise them so that he becomes incapable of doing any deeds that will cause him to be reborn in the lower worlds. The strength of his intellectual wisdom is so great that before he dies, he must also become a sotapanna.

What is the definition of a sotapanna in comparison with the faith-follower and Dhamma-follower?

One who knows and sees these teachings thus is called a stream-enterer, no longer bound to the lower world, fixed in destiny, with enlightenment as his destination. (Ibid.)

A sotapanna is one who knows and sees that the eye, ear, nose, etc. are impermanent, changing, undergoing alteration, but the faith-follower and the Dhamma-follower do not have this experiential knowledge. They accept the same teachings based on faith and intellectual wisdom respectively. That is the difference; but it is interesting to see that both the faith-follower and the Dhamma-follower have "entered the fixed course of rightness", i.e. the path that leads to Nibbana. They are no longer puthujjanas because they have transcended the plane of the worldlings, i.e. they are ariyas. They have not realised stream-entry yet but are destined to realise the fruit of stream-entry before they die. In other words, they can be considered to be practising for the fruit of stream-entry. Therefore, together with the sotapanna, they make up the first two of the eight worthy persons.

This Cakkhu Sutta refers to the eye and the rest of the senses. The next nine suttas (SN 25:2 &ndash 10) repeat the definitions of these low-end ariyas with reference to objects, consciousness, contact, feelings, perception, volition and craving pertaining to the six senses; the six elements and the five aggregates. So they cover all aspects of sentient experience through the sense doors.

However, it is important to understand that if you have mere faith in the Buddha but your faith is not strong enough to make you refrain from committing any deeds that can cause rebirth in the lower world, then you do not qualify to be a faith-follower and you are not destined to attain stream-entry before you die. You only qualify to attain stream-entry before you die if your faith or your intellectual wisdom is so extraordinary that it is able to prevent you from doing any bad deeds that can cause rebirth in the lower realms.

What are these bad deeds? They are not just the five precepts. They refer to a wider range of activities that are referred to frequently in the suttas. They are the ten types of bad conduct (duccarita) of body, speech and mind.

Killing, stealing and sexual misconduct are borne of the body. Bad conduct in speech encompasses lying, divisive speech that disrupts harmony among people, coarse or harsh speech, and frivolous chatter that do not conduce to spiritual or material benefit. There are three types of bad conduct borne of the mind. The first is covetousness, or the desire to possess someone or something belonging to somebody else. You do not really steal these animate or inanimate objects, but just toying with the idea in itself&mdashwithout it being manifested in speech or in action&mdashis bad conduct of the mind that can lead one to be reborn in the lower realms. Next is ill will, i.e. wishing harm towards another being. The last one is wrong view&mdashthat there is no such thing as the law of kamma, life after death, spiritual practitioners who can perceive other realms of existence, etc. I think most Buddhists already believe in the law of kamma and rebirth. It is unlikely that you will have wrong view.

More about Dhamma-followers and Faith-followers

Kitagiri Sutta (MN 70) establishes the teachings that the Dhamma-followers and faith-followers are on the path, practising to destroy the three fetters, from which the sotapanna is already freed.

What kind of person is a Dhamma-follower?

Here some person does not contact with the body and abide in those liberations that are peaceful and immaterial, transcending forms, and his taints are not yet destroyed by his seeing with wisdom, but with wisdom he has sufficiently gained a reflective acceptance of those teachings proclaimed by the Tathagata.

Furthermore, he has these qualities: the faith faculty, the energy faculty, the mindfulness faculty, the concentration faculty, and the wisdom faculty. This kind of person is called a Dhamma-follower.

I say of such a monk that he still has work to do with diligence (appamada). Why is that? Because when that venerable one makes use of suitable resting places and associates with good friends and balances his spiritual faculties, he may, by realising for himself with direct knowledge here and now enter upon and abide in that supreme goal of the holy life for the sake of which clansmen rightly go forth from the home life into homelessness. Seeing this fruit of diligence (appamada) for such a monk, I say that he still has work to do with diligence. (trans. Bhikkhu Bodhi. IBW p 391-2)

Earlier on, we established that the Buddha said that those who have fully developed the five faculties is an arahant who is at the highest level of achievement along the path. The development of these five faculties is progressively weaker for those further down the path until the lowest level, i.e. one practising for the realisation of the fruit of stream-entry. So even if you are not yet a sotapanna but only practising to become one, you must have these five faculties. Any one who does not have these five faculties is considered "an outsider, one standing amid the worldlings (puthujjana)".

According to the definition above, a Dhamma-follower has not cut off any taints whereas a sotapanna has eradicated three fetters. However, the Buddha goes on to say that he has the five faculties. So we can infer that he is on the path, still working towards the realisation of the fruit of stream-entry.

In the third part of the quotation, the Buddha expounded the list of activities the Dhamma-follower can do in order to make further progress. It is impossible for these activities to be carried out within a thought moment. Clearly, a person on the path cannot be one thought moment away from fruition.

Now let's look at the faith-follower, who is defined in exactly the same words, except for the first two paragraphs.

What kind of person is a faith-follower?

Here some person does not contact with the body and abide in those liberations that are peaceful and immaterial, transcending forms, and his taints are not yet destroyed by his seeing with wisdom, yet he has sufficient faith in and love for the Tathagata. (Ibid.)

Like the Dhamma-follower, he is also an ariya, on the path to the realisation of the fruit of stream-entry.

Enlightenment in This Lifetime

So is enlightenment achievable in this life? Do you have the faith or wisdom to fully accept the teachings of the Buddha on impermanence? That leads us to a very pertinent point. We are talking about people with overwhelming faith and extraordinary wisdom in accepting the Buddha's teachings on impermanence. They may not even have embarked on the practice of vipassana, although their intense faith and wisdom will eventually prompt them to do so before they die.

What about vipassana yogis? They experience insights in meditation retreats; so they know and see but not enough to be sotapannas. Neither do they have the extraordinary faith or intellectual wisdom to qualify them as faith-followers or Dhamma-followers. When they come out of a retreat and go back to the world, they can still create bad kamma that may result in rebirth in the lower realms. So under which category do they belong? None. Although the Visuddhimagga says that a yogi with certain insights is a culasotapanna whose destiny is fixed, this does not conform with what is stated in the suttas. Cakkhu Sutta (SN 25:1) and the subsequent suttas say that faith-followers and Dhamma-followers have not seen the Dhamma, yet they are incapable of committing any bad kamma that will land them in the lower realms. We can only infer that their overwhelming faith and extraordinary intellectual wisdom will prevent them from doing so.

The vipassana yogi who comes out from retreat may not possess this overwhelming faith and intellectual wisdom. The experiential insight she has gained in the retreat may not be powerful enough to prevent her from committing such unwholesome deeds.

So if you are not a vipassana yogi but you really want to achieve enlightenment in this lifetime, be a faith-follower, or a Dhamma-follower. If you are a vipassana yogi, complement the experiential insights gained in retreats with deep faith in and intellectual acceptance of the Buddha's teachings on the impermanence of sensory experience; better still, try to integrate and adapt the skills of vipassana meditation developed during retreats to your daily life&mdashby continually observing, with the body as an anchor or reference point, how mental states constantly arise and pass away due to causes and conditions.

Food for Thought

The main thesis of this article is based on Ven Bhikkhu Bodhi's translation of sammattaniyama as "the fixed course of rightness", which accords with the Commentarial interpretation. This interpretation takes sammattaniyama to be equivalent to magga, which is supposed to be immediately followed by phala. As I have pointed out, this is self-contradictory in the suttas.

Upon further pondering however, it occurred to me that sammattaniyama can also be rendered as "the fixed course (leading) to rightness", which will give a radically different perspective. This will suggest that the faith-followers and Dhamma-followers, although classified as ariyas, do not yet possess all the factors of the Noble Eightfold Path (sammatta = magga), but are on the fixed course (niyama) that will eventually lead to its consummation and the consequent realisation of the fruit (phala) of stream-entry before they pass away. Although this interpretation does not necessarily preclude the contiguity of magga and phala, I find it more tenable because of the following considerations:

• Both the faith-follower and Dhamma-follower do not yet know or see the impermanence of the eye, etc.; therefore they would be lacking in right view, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration.

• Because the sotapanna knows and sees the impermanence of the eye, etc. he must possess the Noble Eightfold Path. This is confirmed in DutiyaSariputta Sutta (SN 55:2), where the Buddha endorsed Ven Sariputta's answer that sota (stream) is defined as the Noble Eightfold Path and sotapanna as one who possesses this Noble Eightfold Path.

---

1 state of an arahant (or, in proper Pali, arahanta), a person who has eradicated all mental defilements and thus liberated from further rebirths.

2 Stream-enterer, one who has attained the first stage of enlightenment and is destined to attain Nibbana within seven lifetimes.

3 Once-returner, one who has attained the second stage of enlightenment and is destined to be reborn in this world of humans and deities at most once more.

4 non-returner, one who has attained the third stage of enlightenment and who after death will never again return to this world of humans and deities, but either reappear among the brahmas (inhabitants of non-sensual heavens) or attain Nibbana.

5 Path of Purification; a manual of Buddhist meditation based on both the Pali Tipitaka and the ancient Sinhala commentaries.

6 a native of the Sakyan territory, in which the Buddha was born

IBW: In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon
edited and introduced by Bhikkhu Bodhi

CDB: The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A New Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya
translated from the Pali; original translation by Bhikkhu Bodhi

Labels: Aggacitta, Enlightenment

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Getting Closer To Reality
Closer-to-Reality DhammaVinaya Seminar was held for the first time (24 – 27 November 2006) in Sàsanàrakkha Buddhist Sanctuary. Based on his opening address, VEN AGGACITTA now gives us the highlights of the objective, background, rationale, methodology and open-ended hopes of the seminar.

INTRODUCTION
Welcome everyone, to Closer-to-Reality DhammaVinaya Seminar (CRDS), the first of its kind to be held in this part of the world as far as I know. The primary purpose of this seminar is:

to identify, discuss and help rectify some of the popular miscon-ceptions and misinterpretations of the DhammaVinaya that have crept into Buddhism and which Buddhists themselves - Theravadin Buddhists in particular - commonly believe in.

It is our hope that through this seminar the participants can discover what is closer to reality so that they can share it with others.

BACKGROUND
Perhaps you might be interested to know why or how this seminar came about. It all started in December 2004, after Lim Kooi Fong was invited to share his views on Dhamma propagation in modern Malaysia during Introduction to Monkhood Programme (IMP) 3. Commenting on his statement, that after years of conducting sutta discussions he had never got any of his students to share the Dhamma, Ven Kumara emailed him, saying: "I think the reason was that they are the 'wrong' types of personalities for this kind of thing. You need people who are by nature sufficiently extroverted. Many sufficiently extroverted people who also have Dhamma knowledge are already Dhamma speakers."

However, Ven Kumara noted that some of these speakers often misquoted the Buddha, quoted him out of context or simply put words into his mouth. Kooi Fong agreed, acknow-ledging: "We have been taking our position for granted, and many times we do not prepare our talks very well prior to the event. The off-the-cuff response usually catches many of us with 'the Buddha said' situations."

Meanwhile, Ven Kumara had also got in touch with Hor Kwei Loon, and in their discussions they agreed that the time had come to hold a 'refresher course' for Dhamma speakers. They also gave various suggestions on the content and structure of the course, which will be open to invited participants only.

Ven Kumara then brought up this matter to me, and in the course of our discussion, we shared the general perception that the Dhamma talks given by some speakers in Malaysia are not solidly based on the Pali scriptures but are based instead on

• what they have heard from teachers or other Dhamma speakers
• what they have read in Dhamma books, which are personal or commentarial interpretations of the DhammaVinaya
• their personal experiences and views.

Consequently, they may misquote the DhammaVinaya, misinterpret the meaning, and misinform and misguide the audience, thus misrepresenting the truth. As the intention to mislead may not be present, the harm caused to oneself, to others and to the Saddhamma (True Dhamma) may not be too grave. It cannot be totally dismissed either.
While I realised a need to address this undesirable situation, I was not agreeable to the name 'refresher course'. It sounded rather patronising and would probably intimidate and deter established Dhamma speakers from participation. We are all aware that conceit is only eradicated when one becomes an arahant, and surely the best and most established Dhamma speaker around is not yet one. In fact, the more successful and popular one is, the bigger the ego becomes, and the more rooted are oneÅfs pet views and opinions of the DhammaVinaya.

Another point I was apprehensive about was that the event was targeting Dhamma speakers and Dhamma leaders. Sure, I realise that they are the ones who should know their stuff properly before teaching others; yet will they be humble enough to unlearn or brave enough to challenge their comfort zone?

After much consideration (yoniso manasikara), I suggested that the event should be renamed "Closer-to-Reality DhammaVinaya Seminar" and be opened to all who are interested, with priority given to Dhamma speakers and Dhamma leaders. Instead of "Buddhist Leaders' Refresher Course" or "Buddha Dhamma Refresher Course for Dhamma Speakers" don't you think that "Closer-to-Reality DhammaVinaya Seminar" sounds less patronising, less presumptuous and more open-ended?

"Closer-to-Reality" shows that we're just trying to get closer to reality as we realise that reality is complex and not easily - or even possibly-comprehensible in its totality. We may comprehend some limited aspects of reality through our senses based on what is available, but not the whole of it because of the limitations of our sensory perceptions, methodology, apparatus, known data, etc.

This event is not a course because we do not claim nor expect to be able to give definite answers in a structured way. We will attempt to probe and prod certain notions about the DhammaVinaya that have long been taken for granted, but which are questionable upon closer scrutiny. We will present the criteria and methodology of our scrutiny, suggest some tentative conclusions and open the issues to everyone for further discussion. That is why this event is called a seminar-a conference; a meeting for an exchange of ideas.

OVERVIEW
To recap, we are here to "identify, discuss and help rectify some of the popular misconceptions and misinterpretations of the DhammaVinaya that have crept into Buddhism and which Buddhists themselves' Theravadin Buddhists in particular-commonly believe in."

We may not have all the answers to serve you on a tray, but we can present solid evidence from the scriptures and from modern research findings; then brainstorm to come up with better methodologies and resource facilities for further research. After all, the search for truth is a lifelong process of learning, unlearning and changing our views to accord with updated discoveries.

Ground Rules
For a start, we need to agree on certain ground rules so that the seminar can be conducted in an objective, orderly manner and discussions will not drift aimlessly into irrelevant areas beyond the scope of the topic. These ground rules can be found in

1. the Four Great Standards as stated in AN 4:180 (see insert)
2. the advice to the Kalamas as stated in AN 3:66 (see insert)
3. the criteria for scholarly discussion as stated in the beginning of Milindapanha, where Ven Nagasena and King Milinda agreed to discuss as scholars: "When scholars discuss, there is a summing up and unravelling; and when one or the other is shown to be in error, he admits his mistake, yet he does not become angry"
This implies the need to be objective, to be willing to set aside one's own views or even common views, so as to allow us to get closer to reality.

Guidelines
While the Four Great Standards encourage dogmatism, the Buddha's advice to the Kalamas stresses the importance of empirical and experiential knowledge even over dogma-tism and rational thinking. In this seminar we shall utilise both approaches according to the following guidelines:

• Attempt to establish the relative authenticity of the extant texts in the P_li Canon based on the findings of modern scholars
• Determine the reliable texts according to relative authenticity
• Scrutinise variant readings and translations
• Compare with documented life experiences and scientific research findings.

It is hoped that these guidelines can help us systematically define the premises or reference points from which we can identify, discuss and help rectify popular misconceptions and misinterpretations of the DhammaVinaya.

Structure and Protocol
The speakers will each give a one-hour presentation on a specified topic based on solid evidence. After a ten-minute break, the topic will be open to all participants for an hour of discussion. During the presentation, only questions related to clarification of what is being presented will be allowed. It is not the right time for the questioner to express his/her views or opinions. You can do that during the discussion proper. Towards the end of the seminar there will be two sessions for discussing other matters not covered by our specified topics. Before closing I shall give an appraisal of the seminar and offer some follow-up proposals to nurture our spirit of inquiry so that we can move on even closer to reality. Finally it will be your turn to give us your feedback.

Our programme also includes an early morning session of group meditation followed by light exercise before breakfast. In the evening, there is a short puja of recitations in Pali. After that, participants have the option to meditate, exercise or watch a movie that is related to the theme of the seminar.


ESTABLISHING THE RIGHT ATTITUDE
What other better way to start off the seminar than to establish ourselves in the right attitude towards the quest for truth as prescribed by our Blessed One in Canki Sutta (MN 95). There he mentions five grounds for accepting something (view, belief, notion, information, etc.)

First Steps Based on Five Grounds

• Faith (Saddha)
• Fancy (Ruci)
• Oral Tradition (Anussava)
• Speculation (Akaraparivitakka)
• Reflective Acceptance of a View (Ditthinijjhanakkhanti).

Something that is accepted on any of these grounds may actually be empty, hollow and false; while something else that is not accepted on any of these grounds may actually be factual, true and unmistaken. So it is not proper, says the Buddha, for a wise person who preserves or guards truth to come to the definite conclusion: "Only this is true, anything else is wrong."

Guarding Truth
So how does one preserve or guard truth? One should profess one's grounds without excluding others: "This is just

• my faith."
• my fancy."
• my tradition."
• my idea."
• my reflective acceptance of a view."

But he does not come to the definite conclusion, "Only this is true, anything else is wrong." In this way he preserves truth. But as yet there is no discovery of truth, says the Buddha.

Let us take a look at some of our commonly held beliefs and customary practices, such as
• Law of kamma
• Rites and rituals
• Five-point prostration
• It is all right for monks to accept money in a temple but not in the pasar malam (night market)
• Possibility of liberation
• Pali Tipitaka contains the authentic words of the Buddha
• Rebirth
• Intermediate state between death and rebirth.
If we are honest with ourselves, most of us will have to admit that we have accepted all the above on the five grounds, and therefore-if we value truth-have no right to come to the definite conclusion, "Only this is true, any-thing else is wrong." Why? Because we have yet to discover truth in a personal, experiential way. How then to discover truth?

Discovering Truth
Below is a summary of the detailed instructions given by the Buddha in Canki Sutta:

• First, one should investigate the virtue of a teacher to ensure that he is pure in thought, word and deed; does not prompt his students to do harmful or unbeneficial things; and teaches Dhamma that is profound, peaceful and unattainable by mere reasoning, to be experienced by the wise.
• Being satisfied with his investigation, he gets into the spiritual path through the following steps:
1. Has faith in the teacher (saddhajato)
2. Approaches him (upasankamati)
3. Associates with him (payirupasati)
4. Listens to him (sotam odahati)
5. Hears the Dhamma (dhammaa sunati)
7. Considers its meaning (attham upaparikkhati)
8. Accepts it after reflection (dhamma nijjhanam khamanti)
9. Becomes enthusiastic (chando jayati)
10. Attempts [to practise] it (ussahati)
11. Weighs/assesses it (tuleti)
12. Strives (padahati)
13. Realises (sacchikaroti).

When he realises the ultimate truth and sees it by penetrating with wisdom, he is said to have discovered truth. Thus we see that the Buddha's idea of discovering truth is experiential in nature. However, this is by no means confined to the ultimate truth of Nibbana (as is implied in the above context) for he also admits of different levels of truth-assuming that the term Dhamma also covers truth in the contexts below-that can be experienced.

For example, in PathamaSanditthika Sutta (AN 6:47), he was asked by a wandering ascetic, Moliyasivaka: "In what way, Bhante, is the Dhamma directly visible, immediate, inviting one to come and see, worthy of application, to be personally experienced by the wise?" The Buddha's reply was: "If you thus know of the greed, hatred or delusion present in you that it is there; and when greed, hatred or delusion is absent that it is absent-that is a way the Dhamma is directly visible, immediate, inviting one to come and see, worthy of application, to be personally experienced by the wise." (abridged)

Again in UpavanaSanditthika Sutta (SN 35:70), when asked the same question by Ven Upavana, the Buddha told him that if a bhikkhu knows the presence or absence of lust within himself for any of the six sense objects, then "the Dhamma is directly visible, immediate, inviting one to come and see, worthy of application, to be personally experienced by the wise."

CONCLUSION
In summary, there are various levels of understanding truth and reality:

1. Through direct experience, e.g.
• introspective self-awareness, which is within the reach of all who care to practise Right Mindfulness (samma sati) supported by the other factors of the Noble Eightfold Path
• development of psychic powers, which is more for the talented practitioner, whether renunciant or lay

2. Through second-hand knowledge accepted on the five grounds, e.g.• accounts of live experiences
• scriptures
• research findings of scholars and scientists.

For most of us it is a little of (1) and much of (2). So it will stand us in good stead to try to be level-headed and open-minded without being paralysed by the fact that most of the time our understanding of reality is tentative and subject to modification according to ever newer discoveries.

And that is why this seminar can be so exciting. Firmly based on the ground rules and pre-programmed with the right attitude, we shall help each other make new discoveries with far-reaching implications-discoveries that will challenge our current understanding of the DhammaVinaya and consequently require us to unlearn old ideas, relearn new facts, be open to undeniable possibilities and be comfortable with the tentative, dynamic nature of our understanding. For how else can we get closer to reality than by acknow-ledging our limitations, updating our information and widening our perspectives through continual scrutiny and discussion?

Four Great Standards
Before he passed away, the Buddha gave us practical advice to assess situations in which we hear a monk proclaiming that what he teaches "is the Dhamma... Vinaya... teachings of the Master". He may say that he heard and learned it in the presence of

• the Buddha himself,
• a Sangha in a certain monastery with its theras (elders) and leaders,
• many learned theras in a certain monastery who are holders of the traditional teachings, bearers of the Dhamma, Vinaya, and the summaries, or
• a learned thera in a certain monastery who is a holder of the traditional teachings, bearer of the Dhamma, Vinaya, and the summaries.

In such situations, without rejoicing in or scorning the monk's words, we should investigate to see if such teachings are included in the suttas or seen in vinaya. If they are, we may conclude that they are the words of the Buddha and that they have been well learned by the speaker. Otherwise, we may conclude that they are not the words of the Buddha and that they have been wrongly learned by the speaker, and so we should reject them.

Extracted and paraphrased from AN 4:180

Kàlàma Sutta
Also commonly known as "The Charter of Free Inquiry", this discourse was given by the Buddha to the Kalamas who were perplexed by the conflicting claims of visiting monks and priests. The following is a translation of some relevant parts of the sutta by Ven Bhikkhu Bodhi.

"Come, Kalamas. Do not go
1. by oral tradition (anussavena),
2. by lineage of teaching (paramparaya),
3. by hearsay (itikiraya),
4. by a collection of scriptures (pitakasampadanena),
5. by logical reasoning (takkahetu),
6. by inferential reasoning (nayahetu),
7. by reflection on reasons (akaraparivitakkena),
8. by the acceptance of a view after pondering it (ditthinijjhanakkhantiya),
9. by the seeming competence of a speaker (bhabbarupataya),
10. or because you think, 'The monk is our teacher.' ('samano no garu'ti.)

"But when you know for yourselves, 'These things are unwholesome, these things are blameable, these things are censured by the wise; these things, if undertaken and practised, lead to harm and suf-fering', then you should abandon them... But when you know for yourselves, 'These things are whole-some, these things are blameless, these things are praised by the wise; these things, if undertaken and practised, lead to welfare and happiness', then you should engage in them...."
Extracted and paraphrased from AN 3:66

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Offerings to Honour the Dead
By Ven Aggacitta

MAKING OFFERINGS TO DEPARTED RELATIVES

Some people say that Buddhists should not offer food to their departed relatives as it is not a Buddhist practice. Instead they should invite the Sangha, make offerings to the Sangha and then transfer merits to the departed relatives. Is this true? Let us investigate by scrutinising some relevant suttas.

Also an Ancient Indian Custom

The tradition of offering food at the graves of ancestors was practised even during the time of the Buddha. There is a story in the Vinaya Pitaka (Pac 40) of a bhikkhu who, being very austere in his practice, used only the shrouds of corpses for his robes and ate only food offerings found in the charnel ground, a sort of cemetery where corpses were left to decompose. Naturally, the food offered by relatives to the dead was good food, so he looked healthy. Then rumours circulated that he might have consumed human flesh! When the Buddha heard the complaint, he set the rule that food must be offered to the monks before they could eat it. That is why monks have to wait for food to be offered to them before they can consume it, not because they are high and mighty and need to be served. So, during the Buddha's time, it was already an Indian custom to make food offerings to departed relatives.

Offerings Include Food and Drinks

The practice of making offerings to departed relatives is also discussed in Sigalovada Sutta (DN 31) in the section expounding the five responsibilities of children. The fifth responsibility is to continually make offerings to departed relatives.

Making offerings here could mean offering food to departed relatives. It is not explicitly mentioned in the sutta that they must invite the Sangha for dana and then transfer merits to the departed relatives, although this is suggested by the commentary. Hence, we cannot say unequivocally that offering food to the departed relatives is not a Buddhist practice.

The Tirokutta Sutta (Khp 7) describes the circumstances of departed ones with special reference to their living relatives. We recite this when invited for dana on the occasion of a family bereavement. The sutta states that living relatives should make offerings of food and drinks to the departed ones. In this same sutta, there is also a reference to offerings made to the Sangha.

In Janussoni Sutta (AN 10.177), a brahmin named Janussoni asked the Buddha, "Master Gotama, we brahmins give dana and do things in full faith, thinking, 'May this dana reach our departed relatives. May the departed relatives make use of this dana.' Master Gotama, can this dana reach our departed relatives? Can the departed relatives make use of the dana?" The Buddha's answer was: "If there is an opportunity, they can. If there is no opportunity, then they cannot." He then clarified thus:

~ conditions of non-opportunity:
o those who do evil and hold wrong views and are reborn as hell beings
o those who do evil and hold wrong views and are reborn as animals
o those who refrain from evil and hold right views and are reborn as humans
o those who refrain from evil and hold right views and are reborn as devas

~ condition of opportunity:
o those who do evil and hold wrong views and are reborn in the realm of ghosts.

It is clear here that dana can only reach the deceased if he is reborn as a ghost.

In this sutta, we learn three important points:
o The dana given by the living to the deceased cannot reach him if he is born in hell, in the animal kingdom, in the human world or even in heaven.
o The dana can only reach the deceased if he is born in the realm of ghosts.
o Dana here has to specifically mean offering food and drinks to the departed relatives, since this dana cannot be received by a departed one reborn as a deva. It cannot mean transference of merit because this other type of dana can reach a departed relative born as a deva, who benefits by feeling honoured (as we shall see later).

Contemporary Findings

According to a parapsychology study in Myanmar carried out about twenty years ago, some children could remember their past lives as hungry ghosts. They remembered consuming filth such as sputum, faeces and urine. They were also able to eat discarded food but needed only a single grain of rice to be full.

When I was young, I often fell sick due to supernatural causes. I could not be cured (by Western medicine) until my mother went to the temple to consult the medium and then made offerings to the unseen beings at the roadside. This custom is practised in Myanmar too.

These and many other contemporary experiences seem to suggest that some ghosts or unseen beings can actually partake of food and drink. Some people even say that these unseen beings do so by "sucking" the qi (essence) of the offerings; that's why food that has already been offered tastes rather flat!

Offerings to Devas as well

In Pattakamma Sutta (AN 4.61) the Buddha said to Anathapindika that a noble disciple who acquired his income through righteous means should spend it by making five types of offerings. These are offerings to
o living relatives
o guests
o departed relatives
o the king (government)
o devas.

There is also a verse in Ratana Sutta (Khp 6) that urges deities to protect humans because they make offerings to them day and night.

The above references bring us to the following conclusion: a Buddhist is actually encouraged by the Buddha to make offerings to departed relatives as well as to devas.

Dedication of Offerings to Devas

In the story on the making of Pataliputta village found in Mahaparinibbana Sutta (DN. 16), the Buddha advised people to offer dana to virtuous monks and dedicate the offering to the devas there. We do the same when we are invited for dana in a new house. These devas, being honoured and cherished, will honour and cherish the occupants of the house in return.

This shows that a smart person who invites virtuous and restrained Sangha members for dana and then dedicates the offering to the guardian devas in the dwelling can be protected and assisted by the devas. So, dedicating one's merits to devas is also a practice encouraged by the Buddha.

Why Make Offerings?

One may ask, "What's the point of making offerings to departed relatives or to devas if they can't eat the food?" Several points need to be considered here.

1. It would be difficult to know where a departed relative had been reborn. There is still a chance that he or she could have been reborn in the realm of ghosts (pettivisaya). In such a case, the departed relative could eat the offerings.

2. As the Buddha said in Janussoni Sutta, even if the departed relative was not born there, other ghosts who were related to one in previous lives could eat the offerings.

3. Devas may not be able to eat the food, but they will probably feel honoured by the offerings and reciprocate by giving protection and assistance.

People make offerings of food, drinks, flowers, incense, etc. to the Buddha image. Can the Buddha eat or appreciate the offerings? Obviously not. So, what's the point of doing such puja (worship)? I think it is the mental attitude that counts. Worshipping those who are worthy ofworship and respect are lofty blessings listed in the Mangala Sutta (Khp 5; Sn 2.4). So, whether or not one's offerings are appreciated or used by the recipient does not affect the validity of the wholesome kamma of doing puja.

SHARING OF MERITS

We should take note that the actual procedure of "transferring" or "sharing" merits is not mentioned in all the suttas I have referred to so far, nor in any other sutta in the Pali Canon that I am presently aware of. "Should dedicate the offering" (dakkhi nama-dise) seems to be the nearest hint found in the Pataliputta story (DN 16).

Conditions for Efficacy

According to the Commentary to Tirokutta Sutta, however, a few factors decide whether the merits thus dedicated can be received by the departed relative:
o The donor must think of the deceased and dedicate the dana to the deceased.
o The dana recipient must be virtuous.
o The deceased must rejoice in the dedication of merits (e.g. by saying, "Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!").

The commentary argues that the merits done by one cannot be transferred to another because the law of kamma states that beings are the owners of their own kamma. However, by rejoicing in another's meritorious deed, one is creating wholesome kamma for oneself. In the case of a departed one reborn as a deprived ghost, rejoicing in the dana dedicated to him can give immediate relief and other benefits, particularly if the dana recipient is virtuous.

A Buddhist son may choose to have a "pure Buddhist" funeral for his departed Taoist father. Now, even if the deceased was aware of the dedication of the Sanghadana, he might not be happy or rejoice because the funeral was not conducted in the Taoist tradition. So, according to the above conditions, he cannot receive the merits, can he?

On the other hand, if the funeral was conducted according to his personal preference, do you think he would be happy? If he rejoiced in his family's act of filial duty as recommended by the Buddha in Sigalovada Sutta, Pattakamma Sutta and Tirokutta Sutta, would he be creating wholesome kamma that could also give immediate benefits? Think about it.

Other Ways of Sharing Merits

Apart from the dedication of offerings to devas as mentioned in the suttas, and to departed ones as explained in the commentaries, there may also be other ways of sharing merits, as the experiences of contemporary Buddhists imply. There is one real-life story (see The Story of Old Man Tiow by Sichitra Ronruen) that happened in Thailand not too long ago. An irreligious old man was killed and landed in hell. But because of his son, who was a meditating monk, he came back to the human world for a new lease of life.

How did the monk save his father? He did not do any dana. All he did was meditate then dedicate the merits to his father. And the father was not even aware of the dedication, not to mention rejoicing in it. But he was saved anyhow. This does not seem to be in line with the commentary's conditions for the efficacy of sharing merits. How can we interpret this apparent inconsistency?

According to Luang Phor Jarun (Phra Rajsuddhiñanamongkol, author of The Law of Kamma), after meditation, one's mind is very clear and powerful. Hence, contrary to the commentary's argument, people and other unseen beings can receive merits that are dedicated to them after meditation, although they may not even be aware of the sharing.

So, it seems that we can transfer the merits not only from dana but also from any wholesome act, such as meditation.

Based on the above investigations into the suttas, I would like to propose the following interpretation with respect to offerings to departed relatives during Cheng Beng. We can make two types of offerings: the direct offering of food and drinks to the departed ones, and the dana to the Sangha followed by sharing of merits.

---

This article will be expanded into a more comprehensive work tentatively entitled Honouring the Dead - a Buddhist View to be published for free distribution in three languages in the near future.

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