others that one feels they are Enlightened. Doing so would mean that one has arrogance
and pride (i.e. conceit), therefore, they could not be Enlightened. An individual who
functions in this way is being described as a thief by Gotama Buddha.
Boasting About One’s Attainments
You should not compare or profess to another person which Stage of Enlightenment you
feel you have attained. Self declared attainment has no beneficial purpose and oftentimes
comes from arrogance and pride, the ego, while being fraught and filled with errors.
One goal of these Teachings is to eliminate arrogance and pride, the ego, therefore, if a
Practitioner is declaring their self determined Stage of Enlightenment, there is still
arrogance and pride. A Practitioner sharing with others what they feel they have attained
is an indication that the mind is not yet Enlightened.
An Enlightened being would have no need or desire to profess what they feel the mind
has attained. An Enlightened mind is so peaceful, calm, serene, and content with joy that
an Enlightened being will just be enjoying life rather than attempting to convince others or
boasting about what they feel they have attained.
Self determination of attainment of any Stage of Enlightenment is fraught and filled
with errors.
While one should consistently apply effort towards learning, reflecting, and practicing The
Teachings to include understanding The Four Stages of Enlightenment, these are used for
personal development to guide a Practitioner’s journey assisting you on the path to higher
and higher degrees of attainment not as a way to brag, show off or profess to others what
you feel you have attained. Convincing the mind that it has attained any of these Stages
of Enlightenment or that the mind is actually Enlightened is dangerous for the mind.
The ego is constantly going to be interested to convince the mind it is more Enlightened
than it really is. The ego is equivalent to a “bad tenant” who never pays rent and doesn’t
want to leave the residence. The bad tenant, the ego, needs to be evicted but every time
things move in that direction it tries to convince the mind it is more Enlightened than it
really is because the ego does not want to leave. The bad tenant keeps wanting to stay
but yet provides no benefit whatsoever and continually attempts to convince the mind it is
Enlightened so that the bad tenant, the ego, can stick around.
You need to evict the ego and as long as the mind is convinced that it is experiencing
higher and higher degrees of attainment, then there is the risk or danger that arrogance
and pride will arise, thus, halting any forward progress. With arrogance and pride (i.e. the
ego), the mind will want to measure and compare what it feels it has attained to others
creating unwholesome decisions that produce separation rather than harmony amongst
friendly Practitioners and “all beings”. The mind could become judgmental looking down
on others rather than practicing loving-kindness and compassion with an interest in
seeing all beings attain Enlightenment.
You should never believe you have attained Enlightenment and continuously pursue this
path your entire life. Should you ever feel you have attained Enlightenment and are
“done”, the mind can become “sluggish or complacent” and halt your progress on this
path.
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Arrogance and pride can arise in the mind if one becomes absorbed, engrossed or
fascinated with progressing through The Four Stages of Enlightenment. As soon as any
arrogance, pride, or ego arises, the mind is not experiencing Enlightenment.
If any of this is occurring in the mind, the mind is not Enlightened and is essentially
sabotaging a Practitioner’s ability to experience more progress. Through never convincing
the mind that it is truly Enlightened, even when all discontentedness has been eliminated,
then, the mind can continue to reside protected from any potential arising of arrogance
and pride (i.e. the ego), and continue to experience increased benefits as the mind
becomes more and more Enlightened.
While we use the term Enlightenment, this mental state is not a destination that once one
arrives, everything is complete. Instead, as the mind arrives to Enlightenment having
eliminated all discontentedness, a Practitioner can experience increased benefits of the
Enlightened mind as the brilliance and brightness of the Enlightened mind shine through
more and more. If one convinces themselves they are Enlightened and are actually
“done”, then they would not experience the continued and increasing benefits of the mind
entering into an even higher degree of Enlightenment.
There will be glimpses of Enlightenment as you develop your practice. Whether it be in
meditation, during the daily activities, or for multiple minutes, hours, weeks, months, etc.
as one progresses. These glimpses are similar to a flickering lightbulb that is struggling to
shine bright on a consistent and ongoing basis. These glimpses of Enlightenment help a
Practitioner to observe the possibilities of what one is headed towards and that they are
headed in the right direction. But the mind needs to remain unaffected by these
momentary or elongated and impermanent experiences. The mind needs to remain
unaffected by the improved condition of the mind to be able to experience more and
more awakening of the mind.
The mind could experience multiple minutes, hours, weeks, months, etc. with the
returning of discontentedness at any moment. A wise Practitioner needs to remain
determined, dedicated, and diligent to apply effort watching over the mind with
mindfulness or awareness of mind. If one proceeds without guarding the mind with
mindfulness, then cravings/desires/attachments can emerge from the corners of the mind
producing discontentedness.
Just like the mind will experience flickering and glimpses of Enlightenment as the mind is
developed, the mind will also experience a flickering diminishing of cravings/desires/
attachments and discontentedness.
As discontentedness is gradually being extinguished, the qualities of the Enlightened
mind are continuing to increase. All the while, the Practitioner is having experiences in the
mind they never knew existed and the mind can become quite blissful and elated. It is
important to reside unaffected by these experiences continuing to bring the mind back to
the middle. If the mind takes great pleasure in what it is experiencing, this is dangerous
and risky as the mind then continues to crave these pleasant feelings stalling progress.
This is yet another reason guidance with a Teacher is so important. As the mind moves
and shifts through the preliminary phases of the Jhānas and into The Four Stages of
Enlightenment, a Practitioner is going to need support from someone who has
experienced what they are experiencing. This will allow a Practitioner to gain the insight
and Teachings needed to continue forward development through seeking guidance of
how to continue the mind’s cultivation.
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An Enlightened being is not going to profess or boast that they are Enlightened. There are
many reasons why an Enlightened being would not share they are Enlightened. Some of
those reasons are shared in the following:
1.) To declare one is Enlightened is to do so with arrogance, pride, and ego. An
Enlightened being does not have arrogance, pride, or ego. So if someone declares they
are Enlightened, you can be sure they are not Enlightened.
2.) If an Enlightened being says they are Enlightened, an unEnlightened being has no way
to determine if that is true or false. So it is unbeneficial for one to declare they are
Enlightened as this would be unbeneficial speech and an Enlightened being does not
speak in unbeneficial ways.
Enlightened beings or those close to Enlightenment can determine for themselves if one
is or is not Enlightened so an Enlightened being has no need to share with an Enlightened
being whether they are or are not Enlightened because they can determine it for
themselves.
3.) An Enlightened being is not interested in declaring that they are Enlightened but
instead, would be more interested in assisting others to attain Enlightenment. Declaring
one is Enlightened is to seek admiration from others rather than helping others to attain
Enlightenment. An individual who shares that they are Enlightened is seeking attention
and admiration from others, rather than finding ways to share these Teachings in a way
that invites people to learn, reflect, and practice to experience the results for themselves.
If an individual is seeking attention and admiration, there is still craving/desire in the mind,
therefore, they are not yet Enlightened.
An Enlightened being does not need others to know they are Enlightened to help people
towards the attainment of Enlightenment. They are wise enough to be able to help others
without the requirement of others knowing they are Enlightened.
Discussion of one’s own Stage of Enlightenment serves no wholesome purpose, so there
is no need to discuss it. The Buddha established a guideline to not declare, profess,
boast, or discuss about one’s own attainments as described in this Teaching.
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A Noble Disciple
Abandons Acts of
Lowly Arts
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Chapter 14
A Noble Disciple Abandons Wrong Livelihood
Therein, Monks, Right View comes first.
And how does Right View come first?
One understands wrong livelihood as wrong livelihood, and Right Livelihood
as Right Livelihood; this is one’s Right View.
And what, Monks, is wrong livelihood?
Scheming, flattery, hinting, belittling, pursuing gain with gain: this is wrong
livelihood.
And what, Monks, is Right Livelihood?
Right Livelihood, I say, is twofold: there is Right Livelihood that is affected by
taints (fetters), taking part in merit, ripening in the material gain; and there is
Right Livelihood that is noble, taintless, world-transcending, a factor of the
path.
And what, Monks, is Right Livelihood that is affected by taints, taking part in
merit, ripening in the material gain?
Here, Monks, a Noble Disciple abandons wrong livelihood and gains his
living by Right Livelihood: this is Right Livelihood that is affected by taints,
taking part in merit, ripening in the material gain.
And what, Monks, is Right Livelihood that is noble, taintless, world-
transcending, a factor of the path?
The desisting from wrong livelihood, the abstaining, refraining, withholding
from it in one whose mind is noble, whose mind is taintless, who possesses
the noble path and is developing the noble path: this is Right Livelihood that
is noble, taintless, world-transcending, a factor of the path.
One makes an effort to abandon wrong livelihood and to enter upon Right
Livelihood; this is one’s Right Effort.
Mindfully one abandons wrong livelihood, mindfully one enters upon and
resides in Right Livelihood; this is one’s Right Mindfulness.
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Thus these three states run and circle around Right Livelihood, that is, Right
View, Right Effort, and Right Mindfulness.
Therein, Monks, Right View comes first.
And how does Right View come first?
In one of Right View, Right Intention comes into being;
in one of Right Intention, Right Speech comes into being;
in one of Right Speech, Right Action comes into being;
in one of Right Action, Right Livelihood comes into being;
in one of Right Livelihood, Right Effort comes into being;
in one of Right Effort, Right Mindfulness comes into being;
in one of Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration comes into being;
in one of Right Concentration, Right Wisdom comes into being;
in one of Right Wisdom, Right Liberation comes into being.
Thus, Monks, the path of the disciple in higher training possesses eight
factors, the Arahant possesses ten factors.
Therein, Monks, Right View comes first.
And how does Right View come first?
In one of Right View, wrong view is abolished, and the many evil
unwholesome states that originate with wrong view as condition are also
abolished, and the many wholesome states that originate with Right View as
condition come to fulfillment by development.
In one of Right Intention, wrong intention is abolished, and the many evil
unwholesome states that originate with wrong intention as condition are also
abolished, and the many wholesome states that originate with Right
Intention as condition come to fulfillment by development.
In one of Right Speech, wrong speech is abolished...
In one of Right Action, wrong action is abolished…
In one of Right Livelihood, wrong livelihood is abolished...
In one of Right Effort, wrong effort is abolished…
In one of Right Mindfulness, wrong mindfulness is abolished...
In one of Right Concentration, wrong concentration is abolished...
In one of Right Wisdom, wrong wisdom is abolished…
In one of Right Liberation, wrong liberation is abolished, and the many evil
unwholesome states that originate with wrong liberation as condition are
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also abolished, and the many wholesome states that originate with Right
Liberation as condition come to fulfillment by development.
Thus, Monks, there are twenty factors on the side of the wholesome, and
twenty factors on the side of the unwholesome.
This Teachings discourse on the Great Forty has been set rolling and cannot
be stopped by any Ascetic or Brāhmin or god or Māra or Brahmā or anyone
in the world.
Monks, if any Ascetic or Brāhmin thinks that this Teachings discourse on the
Great Forty should be criticized and rejected, then there are ten legitimate
deductions from his assertions that would provide grounds for finding fault
with him here and now.
If that worthy one finds fault with Right View, then he would honor and praise
those Ascetic and Brāhmins who are of wrong view.
If that worthy one finds fault with Right Intention, then he would honor and
praise those Ascetics and Brāhmins who are of wrong intention.
If that worthy one finds fault with Right Speech, then he would honor and
praise those Ascetics and Brāhmins who are of wrong speech.
If that worthy one finds fault with Right Action, then he would honor and
praise those Ascetics and Brāhmins who are of wrong action.
If that worthy one finds fault with Right Livelihood, then he would honor and
praise those Ascetics and Brāhmins who are of wrong livelihood.
If that worthy one finds fault with Right Effort, then he would honor and
praise those Ascetics and Brāhmins who are of wrong effort.
If that worthy one finds fault with Right Mindfulness, then he would honor
and praise those Ascetics and Brāhmins who are of wrong mindfulness.
If that worthy one finds fault with Right Concentration, then he would honor
and praise those Ascetics and Brāhmins who are of wrong concentration.
If that worthy one finds fault with Right Wisdom, then he would honor and
praise those Ascetics and Brāhmins who are of wrong wisdom.
If that worthy one finds fault with Right Liberation, then he would honor and
praise those Ascetics and Brāhmins who are of wrong liberation.
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If any Ascetic or Brāhmin thinks that this Teachings discourse on the Great
Forty should be criticized and rejected, then these are ten legitimate
deductions from his assertions that would provide grounds for finding fault
with him here and now.
Monks, even those Teachers from Okkala, Vassa and Bhañña, who held the
doctrine of non-causality, the doctrine of non-action, and the doctrine of
nihilism, would not think that this discourse of the Teachings on the Great
Forty should be criticized and rejected.
Why is that?
For fear of blame, attack, and evidence that they are incorrect.
(Reference: MN 117)


In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares more details about Right Livelihood and
Wrong Livelihood.
To understand this Teaching, it is helpful to explore other Teachings The Buddha shared
related to Right Livelihood and to fully understand “What is Right Livelihood”.
Right Livelihood: A livelihood is how you earn your living through daily life to sustain your
life in a career, profession, or lifestyle. Our livelihood is the work or activities we do on a
daily basis such as an occupation or lifestyle to sustain our life (i.e. stay at home parent,
volunteer, retired person, holy life, administrative support, waste removal, cleaning
services, doctor, politician, entrepreneur, etc.). A livelihood to sustain our life should not
cause any harm to other beings. If we cause harm to other beings in order to sustain our
own life, this is going to produce harm in our own life.
For example, are you a doctor, nurse, auto mechanic, street cleaning engineer, food
server, waste removal technician, etc. Are you conducting a livelihood that is wholesome
and helpful to society and humanity, “yes”, this is a Right Livelihood. You should not
cause any harm through your livelihood.
Each person has a livelihood whether the goal is to acquire financial support or not. A
livelihood is the career, profession, or lifestyle one chooses. In some cases, a person may
choose to pursue personal interests and skills rather than financial goals or a career. A
stay at home parent is still a livelihood as this is a contribution to society and humanity
providing life sustaining activities but may not have a direct salary associated with the
day-to-day responsibilities.
A livelihood is not necessarily solely to make money or produce wealth but instead is how
we choose to contribute our time, effort, and energy towards life sustaining activities for
us and our family. Finding life supporting activities, a livelihood, that allow us to generate
income to support our life through helping others or just purely providing life sustaining
activities that we perform as a role in society, is our livelihood. Through finding a
livelihood that you enjoy while also providing income or life sustaining needs will ensure a
successful livelihood.
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For those who do generate income through their livelihood, focus on finding something
you enjoy that happens to also provide financial support. This will ensure the best
outcome and enthusiasm for your daily life. If you select a livelihood solely on the bases
of making money, acquiring wealth, power, prestige, or a specific title, then you will find
the mind will struggle to perform your duties and responsibilities on an ongoing consistent
basis perhaps even becoming bored or disinterested.
If you find a livelihood that is helping others, you enjoy the profession, and you
happen to be able to acquire financial income to sustain your life and the life of
those close to you, this will be the best match.
The mind will be motivated and enthusiastic to perform the daily responsibilities of the
livelihood with ease. Finding a livelihood where you can acquire an income, help others,
and you enjoy the activities required on a daily basis, will ensure that you never “work” one
day in your life. Your profession will not feel like “work” but instead it is just one way that
you help the world through your daily efforts and it happens to generate life sustaining
resources for you and your family. Your livelihood is part of your life practice and we can
make conscious and wise choices to ensure we are meeting our goals while also helping
others through our livelihood.
Gotama Buddha gave us five livelihoods that we should not engage in as they cause
harm to other beings, thus, unwholesome Kamma production: business in weapons,
business in living beings (animals, slaves, human trafficking), business in meat, business
in substances that cause heedlessness, and business in poisons. These all cause harm in
the world, thus, if we choose to sustain our life based on these “wrong livelihoods” then
we will experience harm.
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Trades Not to Be Plied
Monks, a Household Practitioner should not engage in these five trades.
What five?
Business in weapons,
business in living beings,
business in meat,
business in substances that cause heedlessness,
and business in poisons.
A Household Practitioner should not engage in these five trades.
(Reference: AN 5.177)
—————
And what, Monks, is wrong livelihood?
Scheming, flattery, hinting, belittling, pursuing gain with gain: this is wrong livelihood.
(Gotama Buddha)
(Reference: MN 117)
These are aspects of practice that one is being guided to avoid while practicing one’s
livelihood.
Scheming: corruption or deception.
Flattery: excessive and insincere praise, given especially to further one’s own interests.
Hinting: suggest or indicate something indirectly or covertly. Not being direct, clear, and
to the point with one’s work activities.
Belittling: talking down to others in negative and disparaging ways in the attempt to
diminish others’ work.
Pursuing gain with gain: doing work just for profit or greed, without a real interest to
provide benefit to humanity through one’s livelihood.
As long as your livelihood is not involved in any of these five (5) wrong livelihoods, you are
not pursuing a livelihood solely for the purpose of “gain” or selfish desires (i.e. solely for
fame or fortune), and you conduct your livelihood with high ethics (i.e. without scheming
or corruption), you are practicing “Right Livelihood”.
Ordained Practitioners have guidance from Gotama Buddha beyond these five (5)
livelihoods that are considered “wrong livelihood”. For example, Gotama Buddha
provided guidance that Ordained Practitioners who provide tattoos, palm reading, spells,
predictions based on astronomy, and other types of “livelihoods” are practicing “wrong
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livelihood”. Gotama Buddha’s Teachings have much more details on “Right Livelihood”
for Ordained Practitioners.
Gotama Buddha’s objectives for Ordained Practitioners was to keep them focused on
learning, practicing, and sharing these Teachings so that they could eliminate
discontentedness in the mind for themselves and guide humanity in eliminating
discontentedness in their mind. Therefore, Ordained Practitioners who focus on
livelihoods other than learning, practicing, and sharing The Teachings are not practicing
“Right Livelihood”.
Ordained Practitioners are sustained through offerings by Household Practitioners. So it is
important that they develop their own practice of these Teachings and then share those
Teachings with Household Practitioners so they can benefit from The Teachings and
improve their life. If Ordained Practitioners are not learning, reflecting, and practicing The
Teachings so that they can then share The Teachings with Household Practitioners, they
are benefiting from the offerings and hard work of Household Practitioners without
providing anything in return that is beneficial to Household Practitioners. This was not
how Gotama Buddha intended The Community of Ordained Practitioners to function,
thus, he established many “wrong livelihoods” that involved distracting Ordained
Practitioners from their work to develop a life practice and then teach others.
Recently, marijuana has become known as a substance once thought of as a “drug” but
now many people are realizing its medicinal qualities. For one to sell this medication
through proper legal channels as a “medication” with the intention to help, that would still
be considered a “Right Livelihood”. You will find more on the topic of marijuana in the
Chapter titled “The Five Precepts: A Householders Guide to Daily Practice” (Chapter 7) of
the book “Developing a Life Practice: The Path That Leads to Enlightenment” (Volume 1).
The Buddha explains in this Teaching how it is important to establish Right View in order to
understand and practice Right Livelihood. Once someone is practicing a livelihood that is
not one of the “Trades Not to Be Plied”, to fully practice Right Livelihood, a Practitioner will
then need to dig deeper into their life practice to fully establish Right Livelihood as is being
described in this Teaching.
The Buddha further describes Right Livelihood beyond “Trades Not to Be Plied” describing
specific details about Right Livelihood. He shares that Right Livelihood “is twofold: there is
Right Livelihood that is affected by taints (fetters), taking part in merit, ripening in the
material gain; and there is Right Livelihood that is noble, taintless, world-transcending, a
factor of the path”.
1.) Right Livelihood that is affected by taints, taking part in merit, ripening in the
material gain: is to “abandon wrong livelihood and gains his living by Right Livelihood: this
is Right Livelihood that is affected by taints, taking part in merit, ripening in the material
gain”. In other words, a Practitioner is not practicing any of the “Trades Not to Be Plied” but
yet, their livelihood is still affected by The Ten Fetters, they provide generous offerings to
support the continuation of these Teachings to accumulate merit, and the goal is to acquire
wealth.
- Affected by taints: affected by The Ten Fetters to include craving, anger, and ignorance
(unknowing of true reality). A Practitioner could be in a livelihood that they are only doing
out of a craving/desire for money but they lack enthusiasm and deep interest to fulfill their
role in this livelihood. The livelihood could feel dull, boring, as if there is no future or real
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purpose to what they are doing on a daily basis to contribute to society. The mind can
struggle to perform the livelihood on a regular basis and the individual feels at a loss for a
real sense of purpose in their livelihood.
- Taking part in merit: providing generous offerings to support the continuation of these
Teachings to accumulate merit (i.e. wholesome Kamma). Through providing meritorious
offerings to continue these Teachings, an individual would be coming in close contact with
Teachers who are able to then guide them in improving their practice so that they can
move towards an improved life practice and further improving the condition of the mind
and their life. This would help a Practitioner move towards a “taintless” livelihood to be
able to fully practice Right Livelihood.
- Ripening in the material gain: a goal to acquire material wealth.
As long as a Practitioner is performing a livelihood in this way, the mind will not yet be
completely Enlightened. The mind is still affected by The Ten Fetters and defilements of
craving, anger, and ignorance (unknowing of true reality). Therefore, life will not be fully
and completely fulfilling due to one’s choice to remain in a livelihood that is affected by the
taints (i.e. craving, anger, and ignorance) and only to seek material gain. Moving to
practicing a livelihood as described in the second part of this Teaching will improve the
condition of the mind and one’s life as their livelihood would be taintless (i.e. no longer
affected by craving, anger, and ignorance (unknowing of true reality)).
2.) Right Livelihood that is noble, taintless, world-transcending, a factor of the path:
is to “desist from wrong livelihood, the abstaining, refraining, withholding from it in one
whose mind is noble, whose mind is taintless, who possesses the noble path and is
developing the noble path: this is Right Livelihood that is noble, taintless, world-
transcending, a factor of the path”. In other words, a Practitioner is not practicing any of
the “Trades Not to Be Plied”, the Practitioner is Enlightened (i.e. noble), therefore, their
mind is not affected by The Ten Fetters (i.e. taintless) in the selection and execution of
their livelihood.
- Whose mind is taintless: a Practitioner’s mind is no longer affected by The Ten Fetters to
include craving, anger, and ignorance (unknowing of true reality). The livelihood one has
selected is meaningful and they have enthusiasm with deep interest to fulfill their role in
this livelihood. The livelihood will feel inspiring, uplifting, motivating, and there will be a real
purpose that is contributing to society. The mind will be at ease and enjoy fulfilling the
livelihood on a regular basis and the individual will feel that they have found their true
purpose, such that, the livelihood will not even feel like “work”.
“Right Livelihood that is noble, taintless, world-transcending, a factor of the path” is to
practice a livelihood that is not affected by craving, anger, or ignorance (unknowing of
true reality). While a “taintless” livelihood would not be one of the five wrong livelihoods,
one would also have developed a livelihood that is not based on decision making
involving any of the fetters/taints/pollution of mind described in The Ten Fetters. By the
time one is experiencing Enlightenment, they would have understood and be practicing a
Right Livelihood that is life sustaining but also fulfilling, motivating, and one is
enthusiastically performing the daily responsibilities of the livelihood with ease.
The Practitioner is not performing the livelihood based on craving/desire to experience
conditioned pleasant feelings but instead, they have selected a livelihood that is fulfilling,
motivating, and one has enthusiasm to perform the livelihood without any craving/desire
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in the mind. A Practitioner who has selected and is performing a livelihood that is “noble,
taintless, world-transcending, a factor of the path” will not experience any
discontentedness related to the livelihood they have selected and they will not experience
any discontentedness while performing that livelihood. One’s livelihood essentially
becomes part of the Practitioner’s lifestyle and what they do to contribute to the world
while sustaining their life through a completely purified Right Livelihood with complete
and total inner fulfillment.
You may or may not be practicing this livelihood now which means, there could be work
for you to do that involves making decisions to move towards a completely purified Right
Livelihood.
To accomplish this goal, one needs to deeply investigate the mind to determine what it is
that truly makes it “tick”. What is it that creates inspiration, enthusiasm, with a sense of
meaning and purpose in your life where you feel that you are contributing to society in your
day-to-day activities as part of your Right Livelihood? You may not know the answer to this
question right now, but through training the mind on The Path to Enlightenment to
eliminate the “taints”, a Practitioner can gradually come to the understanding and
realization of exactly what they would like to do for the rest of this life and be completely
and entirely content with that decision while having deep interest to contribute to the world
in this way through one’s Right Livelihood. An individual who is practicing a livelihood such
as this, will be extra motivated each day to perform their livelihood, such that, it no longer
feels like “work” but instead, it is just one more way that you contribute to the harmonious
way the world works. It is a livelihood, not a job.
- Who possesses the noble path and is developing the noble path: A Practitioner who is
fully understanding and practicing The Eight Fold Path through a livelihood that is
supportive of their journey towards Enlightenment so that they can be practicing qualities
such as loving-kindness, compassion, generosity, and others, even while functioning in
their livelihood. This does not mean that others will necessarily be supportive of your life
practice, but that as an individual in this livelihood, you will be able to fully and completely
be at ease and practice these good wholesome Teachings without reservation.
One makes an effort to abandon wrong livelihood and to enter upon Right
Livelihood; this is one’s Right Effort: is to apply Right Effort to abandon The Ten Fetters
and a craving/desire for material gain so that one can move towards Right Livelihood that
is taintless (i.e. unaffected by The Ten Fetters and craving, anger, or ignorance (unknowing
of true reality)).
Mindfully one abandons wrong livelihood, mindfully one enters upon and resides in
Right Livelihood; this is one’s Right Mindfulness. Right Mindfulness is to be aware of
the mind practicing The Four Foundations of Mindfulness. One would need to be practicing
Right Mindfulness from The Eight Fold Path to accomplish the goal of establishing Right
Livelihood. Therefore, if one is to abandon “wrong livelihood”, they would need to have
Right Mindfulness established practicing this quality of mind continuously.
Thus these three states run and circle around Right Livelihood, that is, Right View,
Right Effort, and Right Mindfulness. The Buddha is helping Practitioners to understand
the connection between Right View, Right Effort, and Right Mindfulness in order to practice
Right Livelihood. It is Right View, Right Effort, and Right Mindfulness that would help a
Practitioner to fully practice Right Livelihood.
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In developing a “life practice” and actively working towards Enlightenment, it is important to
understand as The Buddha says “Right View comes first”. Through developing a deep
understanding and practice of Right View, a Practitioner will have a foundation in which to
develop the rest of their life practice. The mind needs to be well established in Right View
to develop all the steps on The Eight Fold Path including Right Livelihood.
Detailed explanation of Establishing Right View is available in this same book series found
in Chapter 4 of the book “Developing a Life Practice: The Path That Leads to
Enlightenment” (Volume 1).
Thus, Monks, the path of the disciple in higher training possesses eight factors, the
Arahant possesses ten factors. The Buddha is explaining that as one progresses to the
higher training on The Path to Enlightenment, a Practitioner will need to understand and
practice The Eight Fold Path - all eight steps of The Eight Fold Path. But, an Enlightened
being (i.e. an Arahant) will understand and practice The Ten Fold Path consisting of ten
steps.
Through developing a deep understanding and practice of The Eight Fold Path, a
Practitioner can train the mind to attain Enlightenment where one will then be practicing
The Ten Fold Path.
Detailed explanation of The Eight Fold Path and The Ten Fold Path is available in this
same book series found in Chapter 5 of the book “Developing a Life Practice: The Path
That Leads to Enlightenment” (Volume 1).
This Teachings discourse on the Great Forty has been set rolling and cannot be
stopped by any Ascetic or Brāhmin or god or Māra or Brahmā or anyone in the
world. The Buddha is explaining, now that he has shared these Teachings into the world,
there is no being who can stop these Teachings from taking root in the world and from
helping beings attain Enlightenment. It is not possible for any being or group of beings to
stop these Teachings from being learned and practiced by people in the world.
Practitioners can observe the truth for themselves that these Teachings are improving the
condition of the mind and it is not possible for anyone to apply any amount of time, effort,
energy, or resources to destroy these Teachings because they are too vibrant and stand
on their own merits. These Teachings will continue to go forward into the world and there is
nothing or no one who can stop that from occurring. The truth in these Teachings is
discernible by anyone who takes a sincere interest to learn, reflect, and practice them.
Those who choose to learn, reflect, and practice will ensure their continuation in the world.
Monks, if any Ascetic or Brāhmin thinks that this Teachings discourse on the Great
Forty should be criticized and rejected, then there are ten legitimate deductions
from his assertions that would provide grounds for finding fault with him here and
now. The Buddha is explaining that his Teachings in this discourse related to The Ten Fold
Path are thorough and are the clear Teachings that lead to Enlightenment. If there is
anyone who criticizes them or thinks that these Teachings should be rejected for any
reason, then The Ten Fold Path itself is “ten legitimate” reasons that would prove them
wrong.
Through deeply learning, reflecting, and practicing each step of this Path, an individual can
observe for themselves that The Teachings work to improve the condition of the mind and
your life. Therefore, if one is to criticize or reject these Teachings, that means they have
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not yet fully understood and practiced them. It would be one’s own fault for doing so and
lead to their own harm and discontentedness along with the suffering it causes. Through
learning and practicing these Teachings, it will lead to one’s peacefulness and welfare
which is independently observable as one learns and practices to improve the condition of
the mind and their life.
If an individual would criticize or reject Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right
Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration, Right
Wisdom, or Right Liberation, that means they would be supporting and encouraging wrong
view, wrong intention, wrong speech, wrong action, wrong livelihood, wrong effort, wrong
mindfulness, wrong concentration, wrong wisdom, or wrong liberation. One would be
honoring and praising these wrong ways of practice rather than observing the benefits and
result of these wholesome Teachings.
This means, that one who supports wrong mindfulness, wrong concentration, wrong
wisdom, or wrong liberation, does not truly and deeply understand these Teachings or else
they would know the truth that they work and are the true Path to Enlightenment. The
individual lacks wisdom of these Teachings and is why they choose to criticize and reject
them. But The Ten Fold Path stands on its own merits and through applying energy with
proper investigation, an individual can observe the truth for themselves that these
Teachings lead exactly where Gotama Buddha said they would - to Enlightenment which is
a peaceful, calm, serene, and content mind with joy that is permanent.
Monks, even those Teachers from Okkala, Vassa and Bhañña, who held the doctrine
of non-causality, the doctrine of non-action, and the doctrine of nihilism, would not
think that this discourse of the Teachings on the Great Forty should be criticized
and rejected. Why is that? For fear of blame, attack, and evidence that they are
incorrect. The Buddha mentions three (3) other Teachers, that taught teachings opposite
of his during his lifetime, that would not even find fault in his Teachings. The Teachers from
the communities of “Okkala, Vassa and Bhañña” who are not sharing teachings based on
The Natural Law of Kamma would not criticize or reject The Buddha’s Teachings on The
Ten Fold Path because they would fear “blame, attack, and evidence that they are
incorrect”.
During the lifetime of The Buddha, there were many other Teachers and communities who
were sharing teachings that claimed it was their wisdom that leads to Enlightenment. They
thought they had found The Path to Enlightenment. The Buddha knew it was his Teachings
that lead to Enlightenment and would always welcome others in his Community to learn
what he was sharing. He knew what others were sharing, especially those teachings that
there is no such thing as The Natural Law of Kamma, did not lead to Enlightenment. But,
he maintained a healthy and respectful relationship with others from the other
communities. He prioritized the Students in his own Community but was willing to share
with others as well.
Through their lack of determination, dedication, and diligence to learn, reflect, and practice
his Teachings, he decided to not put much significance or effort into sharing with the
Students who were not committed to learning The Teachings he shared. In doing so, he
ensured his time, effort, energy, and resources was put to good use with those who were
truly dedicated to progressing to Enlightenment through his Teachings.
While The Buddha knew he was a Buddha and some of his Students did as well, others
during his lifetime did not know he was a Buddha. A Buddha does not perform countless
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miracles to convince others that he is a Buddha, but instead, shares Teachings to help
people so that they can see the truth for themselves that The Teachings he shares lead to
Enlightenment. Through their own observation of the improvements to the condition of
their mind, they could understand that it was his Teachings that accomplished the goal of
guiding them to Enlightenment. In this way, people gradually discovered that he was, in
fact, a Buddha.
But, a Buddha does not need others to know they are a Buddha to be successful. In fact,
with people not knowing he was a Buddha, he could more directly observe the mind of
Students and potential Students to assess the condition of their mind and assist them with
Teachings to help improve the condition of their mind. If massive numbers of people knew
he was a Buddha, he would lose the ability to clearly observe his Students’ mind because
they would honor and respect him so highly, he would find it difficult to observe Students’
natural way of being and the way they function in the world. Through Students and
potential Students not knowing he was a Buddha, some people will choose to disrespect
him or get angry for various reason. Then, he could observe the pollution of mind that led
to this disrespect and anger. In this way, he could be more effective in assessing,
monitoring, and helping Students and potential Students through people not knowing he is
a Buddha.
A Buddha arising in the world today would function in the same way. They would not walk
around attempting to convince people that they are a Buddha, but instead, just start
sharing their Teachings helping others to develop their life practice and help them progress
to Enlightenment. A Buddha, and any Enlightened being, would be wise enough to know
how to provide these Teachings without others needing to know that they are Enlightened
or a Buddha.
A Buddha’s success is not dependent on others knowing he is a Buddha. Conversely, a
Buddha’s success is more readily achieved through people not knowing they are a
Buddha. In this way, a Buddha can clearly see a more honest observation of the condition
of his Students’ mind to be able to support, encourage, and assist them to learn, reflect,
and practice these Teachings to attain Enlightenment.
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Six Cases of Incapability
by One Accomplished by
View
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Chapter 15
Six Cases of Incapability by
One Accomplished in View
(First Discourse)
Monks, there are these six cases of incapability.
What six?
One accomplished in view is:
(1) incapable of considering any conditioned phenomenon (thing) as
permanent;
(2) incapable of considering any conditioned phenomenon (thing) as
pleasurable;
(3) incapable of considering any phenomenon (thing) as a self;
(4) incapable of doing a grave act that brings immediate results;
(5) incapable of resorting to [the belief] that purity (Enlightenment) comes
about through superstitious and auspicious acts;
(6) incapable of seeking a person worthy of offerings outside here.
These are the six cases of incapability.
(Reference: AN 6.93)


In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares six (6) cases of incapability of one
accomplished in view (First Discourse).
“Accomplished in view” is one who is firm established in Right View deeply understanding
and practicing The Four Noble Truths. A Practitioner who understands and is deeply
practicing The Four Noble Truths will not be capable of any of these “six incapabilities”.
A Practitioner who has attained the first Stage of Enlightenment as a Stream-Enterer
would be “accomplished in view”.
(1) Incapable of considering any conditioned phenomenon (thing) as permanent: A
Practitioner who is accomplished in view would deeply understand and practice The
Universal Truth of Impermanence, therefore, they would not be capable of seeing any
conditioned phenomenon (thing) as permanent.
A Practitioner would have learned, reflected, and practiced The Universal Truth of
Impermanence understanding that there is no conditioned feeling, object, or thing that is
permanent.
A conditioned feeling, object, or thing is going to arise, change, and then fade away (i.e.
cease to exist). An unconditioned feeling, object, or thing is not going to arise, change, or
fade away (i.e. cease to exist).
Detailed explanation of The Universal Truth of Impermanence is available in this same
book series found in Chapter 4 of the book “Developing a Life Practice: The Path That
Leads to Enlightenment” (Volume 1).
(2) Incapable of considering any conditioned phenomenon (thing) as pleasurable: A
Practitioner who is accomplished in view would deeply understand The Universal Truth of
Discontentedness, therefore, they would not be capable of seeing any conditioned
phenomenon (thing) as pleasurable. The mind would understand that basing inner
feelings on impermanent conditions would cause pleasant feelings such as happiness,
excitement, elation, thrill, exhilaration, euphoria, etc.
Pleasant feelings arising from impermanent conditions are temporary and thus, ultimately
unsatisfactory. They do not last permanently and therefore, are dissatisfying to the mind
leading to painful feelings when the pleasant feelings no longer exist.
An Enlightened mind will be trained to no longer seek pleasant feelings based on
impermanent conditions. A Practitioner “accomplish in view” who is unEnlightened will
still be experiencing pleasant feelings based on impermanent conditions but they will
intellectually know that these are not “pleasurable” and are ultimately dissatisfying
because the pleasant feelings are not permanent.
The Practitioner would be working towards attaining permanent joy where the mind is
unconditioned no longer basing its inner feelings on impermanent conditions.
Detailed explanation of The Universal Truth of Discontentedness is available in this same
book series found in Chapter 4 of the book “Developing a Life Practice: The Path That
Leads to Enlightenment” (Volume 1).
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(3) Incapable of considering any phenomenon (thing) as a self: A Practitioner who is
accomplished in view would deeply understand and be practicing The Universal Truth of
Non-self, therefore, they would not be capable of seeing any conditioned phenomenon
(thing) as a self. The mind would understand that there is no permanent self and would
have eliminated the fetter/taint/pollution of mind described as “Personal Existence View”.
Personal existence view (Eliminating the concept of a permanent self from the mind. Realization of
The Universal Truth of Non-self.)
Detailed explanation of The Universal Truth of Non-self is available in this same book
series found in Chapter 4 and 16 of the book “Developing a Life Practice: The Path That
Leads to Enlightenment” (Volume 1).
(4) Incapable of doing a grave act that brings immediate results: A Practitioner who is
accomplished in view would deeply understand The Five Heinous Unwholesome Acts (i.e.
The Five Heinous Crimes), therefore, they would not be capable of doing a grave act that
brings immediate results.
The mind would understand that doing any of the following would bring immediate
unwholesome results and would choose to not do any of these unwholesome acts:
- Kill one’s mother.
- Kill one’s father.
- Kill an Arahant (Enlightened being).
- Harm a Buddha (Tathāgata).
- Create division in The Community of Practitioners.
A Practitioner who is accomplished in view would understand that each of these
unwholesome acts would bring about harm to others and harm to themselves, therefore,
they would not be capable of performing any of these actions.
(5) Incapable of resorting to [the belief] that purity (Enlightenment) comes about through
superstitious and auspicious acts: A Practitioner who is accomplished in view would
deeply understand the fetter/taint/pollution of mind and would have eliminated the fetter/
taint/pollution of mind described as “Wrong Behavior and Observances”.
Wrong behavior and observances (Elimination of the mind’s belief that rites, rituals, ceremonies,
and worship will help a Practitioner to attain Enlightenment. Well developed practice of The Eight Fold
Path.)
(6) Incapable of seeking a person worthy of offerings outside here: A Practitioner who is
accomplished in view would deeply understand the fetter/taint/pollution of mind and
would have eliminated the fetter/taint/pollution of mind described as “Doubt”.
A Practitioner would have learned, reflected, and practiced The Teachings so well that
they would have experienced significant improvements to the condition of the mind.
There would be observable evidence that the Practitioner would be able to see that these
Teachings have led to dramatic improvements in focus, concentration, and clarity of mind
that they would know these Teachings are leading them towards Enlightenment and they
would be interested in supporting these Teachings through making meritorious offerings
to The Community of Practitioners who are sharing these Teachings.
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Meritorious offerings can be made to ordained male and female Practitioners or Teachers
as well as anyone who has attained one of The Four Stages of Enlightenment. These
offerings help to support the continued learning and sharing of these Teachings in the
world for the benefit of all beings.
Doubt (Elimination of doubts about The Teachings and the ability of them to attain Enlightenment.
Confidence in The Buddha, The Teachings, The Community, your Teacher, and your own ability to attain
Enlightenment.)
Detailed explanation of “What is Merit?” is available in this same book series found in
Chapter 10 of the book “Developing a Life Practice: The Path That Leads to
Enlightenment” (Volume 1).
Detailed explanation of making meritorious offerings is available in this same book series
found in the book “Generosity” (Volume 13).
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Chapter 16
Six Cases of Incapability by
One Accomplished in View
(Second Discourse)
Monks, there are these six cases of incapability.
What six?
One accomplished in view is:
(1) incapable of residing without deep respect and politeness toward The
Teacher;
(2) incapable of residing without deep respect and politeness toward The
Teachings;
(3) incapable of residing without deep respect and politeness toward The
Community;
(4) incapable of residing without deep respect and politeness toward the
training;
(5) incapable of resorting to anything that should not be relied upon;
(6) incapable of undergoing an eighth existence.
These are the six cases of incapability.
(Reference: AN 6.92)


In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares six (6) cases of incapability of one
accomplished in view (Second Discourse).
(1) Incapable of residing without deep respect and politeness toward The Teacher: A
Practitioner who is “accomplished in view” would not be capable of disrespect towards
The Buddha or their Teacher who guided them to establishing Right View.
The mind of the Practitioner would be experiencing significant improvements and they
would only have gratitude, appreciation, and respect practicing politeness towards The
Buddha and their Teacher.
79


(2) Incapable of residing without deep respect and politeness toward The Teachings: A
Practitioner who is “accomplished in view” would not be capable of disrespect towards
The Teachings which they are learning, reflecting, and practicing on The Path to
Enlightenment guiding them to establish Right View.
The mind of the Practitioner would be experiencing significant improvements and they
would only have gratitude, appreciation, and respect practicing politeness towards The
Teachings.
(3) Incapable of residing without deep respect and politeness toward The Community: A
Practitioner who is “accomplished in view” would not be capable of disrespect towards
The Community of Practitioners who are assisting them in learning, reflecting, and
practicing on The Path to Enlightenment guiding them to establish Right View.
The mind of the Practitioner would be experiencing significant improvements and they
would only have gratitude, appreciation, and respect practicing politeness towards The
Community.
(4) Incapable of residing without deep respect and politeness toward the training: A
Practitioner who is “accomplished in view” would not be capable of disrespect towards
the training which is assisting them in learning, reflecting, and practicing on The Path to
Enlightenment guiding them to establish Right View.
The mind of the Practitioner would be experiencing significant improvements and they
would only have gratitude, appreciation, and respect practicing politeness towards the
training methods employed to assist them on The Path to Enlightenment.
(5) Incapable of resorting to anything that should not be relied upon: A Practitioner who is
“accomplished in view” would have needed to investigate many aspects of these
Teachings to discover the truth to acquire wisdom. In doing so, the mind would not be
capable of relying on falsehoods or non-truths. The Practitioner would be able to
independently investigate to determine what is truth and non-truth of information shared
with them.
It would not be possible for a Practitioner who is “accomplished in view” to believe in
unfounded conspiracy theories or any other beliefs. They would only be interested in
discovering the truth so that all their decisions are based on wisdom producing the best
possible outcomes.
(6) Incapable of undergoing an eighth existence: A Practitioner who is “accomplished in
view” would have attained the first Stage of Enlightenment as a Stream-Enterer destined
for Enlightenment. They would not be capable of experiencing an eighth existence.
A Stream-Enterer is reborn no more than seven (7) times before they will attain
Enlightenment being incapable of an eighth existence.
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Chapter 17
Six Cases of Incapability by
One Accomplished in View
(Third Discourse)
Monks, there are these six cases of incapability.
What six?
One accomplished in view is:
(1) incapable of depriving his mother of life;
(2) incapable of depriving his father of life;
(3) incapable of depriving an Arahant of life;
(4) incapable of shedding The Tathāgata’s blood with a mind of hatred;
(5) incapable of creating a division in The Community;
(6) incapable of acknowledging another Teacher.
These are the six cases of incapability.
(Reference: AN 6.94)


81

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares six (6) cases of incapability of one
accomplished in view (Third Discourse).
(1) Incapable of depriving his mother of life: A Practitioner who is “accomplished in view”
would not be able to kill their own mother.
(2) Incapable of depriving his father of life: A Practitioner who is “accomplished in view”
would not be able to kill their own father.
(3) Incapable of depriving an Arahant of life: A Practitioner who is “accomplished in view”
would not be able to kill an Enlightened being, an Arahant.
(4) Incapable of shedding The Tathāgata’s blood with a mind of hatred: A Practitioner who
is “accomplished in view” would not be able to harm a Buddha, a Tathāgata.
(5) Incapable of creating a division in The Community: A Practitioner who is
“accomplished in view” would not be able to create separation, arguments, or breaking
up of The Community of Practitioners learning and practicing these Teachings.
(6) Incapable of acknowledging another Teacher: A Practitioner who is “accomplished in
view” would not be able to learn with a Teacher other than The Buddha or a Teacher of his
Teachings.
For a person who has deeply learned, reflected, and practiced these Teachings
establishing “Right View”, they would be incapable of any of these six deeds. They would
deeply understand the harm these deeds would cause and in doing so, they would cause
harm to themselves. They would deeply understand that these Teachings are leading to
the diminishing of their own discontentedness and is The Path to Enlightenment,
therefore, they would be unable to acknowledge another Teacher as their Teacher
because they would know that these Teachings are the truth leading to wisdom. They
would observe that their mind is becoming liberated through these Teachings and unable
to recognize another Teacher.
(1-5) of this list are referred to as The Five Heinous Crimes or The Five Heinous
Unwholesome Acts.
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Chapter 18
Six Cases of Incapability by
One Accomplished in View
(Fourth Discourse)
Monks, there are these six cases of incapability.
What six?
One accomplished in view is:
(1) incapable of resorting to [the view that] pleasure and pain are made by
oneself;
(2) incapable of resorting to [the view that] pleasure and pain are made by
another;
(3) incapable of resorting to [the view that] pleasure and pain are both made
by oneself and made by another;
(4) incapable of resorting to [the view that] pleasure and pain are not made
by oneself but have arisen by accident or chance;
(5) incapable of resorting to [the view that] pleasure and pain are not made
by another but have arisen by accident or chance;
(6) incapable of resorting to [the view that] pleasure and pain are made
neither by oneself nor by another but have arisen by accident or chance.
These are the six cases of incapability.
For what reason?
Because the person accomplished in view has clearly seen causation and
causally arisen objects. These are the six cases of incapability.
(Reference: AN 6.95)


In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares six (6) cases of incapability of one
accomplished in view (Fourth Discourse).
(1) Incapable of resorting to [the view that] pleasure and pain are made by oneself: A
Practitioner accomplished in view would understand The Universal Truth of Non-self and
understand that pleasure and pain are not created (i.e. made) by one’s self but instead,
pleasant feelings and painful feelings are caused by craving/desire/attachment.
A Practitioner who is accomplished in view would be incapable of having the view that
pleasure and pain are created by oneself because there is no self and pleasant feelings
and painful feelings are created by craving/desire/attachment.
(2) Incapable of resorting to [the view that] pleasure and pain are made by another: A
Practitioner accomplished in view would understand that pleasure and pain are not
created (i.e. made) by another person but instead, pleasant feelings and painful feelings
are caused by craving/desire/attachment.
A Practitioner who is accomplished in view would be incapable of having the view that
pleasure and pain are created by another person because pleasant feelings and painful
feelings are created by craving/desire/attachment.
(3) Incapable of resorting to [the view that] pleasure and pain are both made by oneself
and made by another: A Practitioner accomplished in view would understand that
pleasure and pain are not created (i.e. made) by one’s self and made by another person
but instead, pleasant feelings and painful feelings are caused by craving/desire/
attachment.
A Practitioner who is accomplished in view would be incapable of having the view that
pleasure and pain are created by oneself and another person because pleasant feelings
and painful feelings are created by craving/desire/attachment.
(4) Incapable of resorting to [the view that] pleasure and pain are not made by oneself but
have arisen by accident or chance: A Practitioner accomplished in view would understand
that pleasure and pain are not created (i.e. made) by one’s self nor have arisen by
accident or chance, instead, pleasant feelings and painful feelings are caused by craving/
desire/attachment.
A Practitioner who is accomplished in view would be incapable of having the view that
pleasure and pain are not created (i.e. made) by one’s self but have arisen by accident or
chance because pleasant feelings and painful feelings are created by craving/desire/
attachment.
(5) Incapable of resorting to [the view that] pleasure and pain are not made by another but
have arisen by accident or chance: A Practitioner accomplished in view would understand
that pleasure and pain are not created (i.e. made) by another person nor have arisen by
accident or chance, instead, pleasant feelings and painful feelings are caused by craving/
desire/attachment.
A Practitioner who is accomplished in view would be incapable of having the view that
pleasure and pain are not created (i.e. made) by another but have arisen by accident or
chance because pleasant feelings and painful feelings are created by craving/desire/
attachment.
84


(6) Incapable of resorting to [the view that] pleasure and pain are made neither by oneself
nor by another but have arisen by accident or chance: A Practitioner accomplished in
view would understand that pleasure and pain are not created (i.e. made) by one’s self or
another person nor have arisen by accident or chance, instead, pleasant feelings and
painful feelings are caused by craving/desire/attachment.
A Practitioner who is accomplished in view would be incapable of having the view that
pleasure and pain are created (i.e. made) by one’s self or another but have arisen by
accident or chance because pleasant feelings and painful feelings are created by craving/
desire/attachment.
Overall, A Practitioner accomplished in view would understand The Four Noble Truths and
Dependent Origination. They would have “clearly seen causation and causally arisen
objects” and be incapable of having the view that pleasant feelings or painful feelings
have arisen from anything other than craving/desire/attachment (The Four Noble Truths)
and contact through The Six Sense Bases (Dependent Origination).
The Practitioner would have needed to deeply investigate these Teachings to observe the
truth and independently verified that truth to acquire wisdom, therefore, they would be
incapable of having the view that anything other than craving/desire/attachment and
contact through The Six Sense Bases is what causes pleasant feelings or painful feelings
(i.e. discontentedness).
A Practitioner who does not understand this essential truth and has not acquired this
wisdom would be incapable of attaining Enlightenment. It is important for every
Practitioner who plans to progress to Enlightenment to start with a deep understanding
and practice of The Four Noble Truths and then at the appropriate time learn, reflect, and
practice Dependent Origination with the guidance of a Teacher.
Dependent Origination is typically a Teaching that one approaches after they have already
started to deeply understand and practice the core and central Teachings of the following:
A.) The Three Universal Truths
B.) The Four Noble Truths
C.) The Eight Fold Path
D.) The Five Precepts
E.) The Brahma-viharas
F.) The Ten Fetters
G.) The Seven Factors of Enlightenment
H.) Extensive Meditation Training
85


Chapter 19
Six Benefits in Realizing the Fruit of Stream-Entry
Monks, these are the six benefits in realizing the fruit of Stream-Entry.
What six?
(1) One is fixed in the wholesome Teachings;
(2) one is incapable of decline;
(3) one’s discontentedness is limited;
(4) one comes to possess wisdom not shared by others;
(5) one has clearly seen causation;
(6) one has clearly seen causally arisen objects.
These are the six benefits in realizing the fruit of Stream-Entry.
(Reference: AN 6.97)


In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares the benefits of attaining the first Stage
of Enlightenment as a Stream-Enterer. These are not the only benefits but the significant
benefits that one will experience.
(1) One is fixed in the wholesome Teachings: A Practitioner will have experienced so many
benefits to the condition of the mind as a result of attaining the first Stage of
Enlightenment as a Stream-Enterer that the mind knows these “wholesome Teachings”
are what is leading to an improved condition of mind. The Practitioner will be “fixed” in
that they will know it is a matter of continuing to learn, reflect, and practice to continue to
experience the results of the Enlightened mind.
Their practice will be consistent and steady towards the attainment of increased Stages
of Enlightenment and experiencing the benefits associated with continued progress on
The Path to Enlightenment.
(2) One is incapable of decline: A Practitioner who has attained the first Stage of
Enlightenment as a Stream-Enterer is not capable of backsliding or falling out of the first
Stage of Enlightenment. The mind is “incapable of decline” or regression back to a lower
attainment.
This is not the case for a Practitioner who is experiencing the Jhānas. The Jhānas are
preliminary phases the mind experiences prior to the attainment of the first Stage of
Enlightenment as a Stream-Enterer. It is not until the mind has fully attained the first Stage
of Enlightenment that it will be incapable of regression, backsliding, or decline.
(3) One’s discontentedness is limited: A Practitioner who has attained the first Stage of
Enlightenment as a Stream-Enterer will be experiencing a significant reduction of
discontentedness in the mind. They are still experiencing discontentedness because the
mind is not yet Enlightened but the mind will have drastically reduced discontentedness
in comparison to when the mind was not on The Path to Enlightenment.
Situations where the mind once experienced discontentedness a Stream-Enterer will no
longer be experiencing those same strong feelings but instead, they have been “limited”,
diminished, or it can be observed that in those same situations the strong feelings of
discontentedness are fading away.
(4) One comes to possess wisdom not shared by others: A Practitioner who has attained
the first Stage of Enlightenment as a Stream-Enterer will have needed to investigate these
Teachings learning, reflecting, and practicing them closely to acquire wisdom. The
wisdom acquired to attain the first Stage of Enlightenment is not widely known or
understood by most people in the world. It is important to keep this in mind as one will
need to be humble with the wisdom acquired ensuring to eliminate conceit so that you
can progress further on The Path to Enlightenment.
Conceit (Arrogance, pride, judging, measuring or comparing as superior or inferior to others.)
Conceit is a higher fetter that needs to be eliminated to attain Enlightenment.
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A Practitioner who is to attain the first Stage of Enlightenment will need to realize that
while you may understand discontentedness, the cause of discontentedness, the
elimination of discontentedness, and the way leading to the elimination of
discontentedness, this wisdom will not be known to others. People may choose to blame
you for their own discontentedness being unaware they are causing it themselves.
You will need to exercise restraint such that while people will be causing their own
discontentedness and blaming you, the mind will need to understand that you will be
unable to explain or help them to understand and eliminate their discontentedness
because they will need to decide to learn, reflect, and practice these Teachings on their
own. You will be unable to force someone to attain Enlightenment through pursuing The
Path to Enlightenment and you should not even try as that would only be a decision from
your own craving/desire/attachment leading to your own discontentedness and hinder
progress towards the attainment of Enlightenment.
(5) One has clearly seen causation: A Practitioner who has attained the first Stage of
Enlightenment as a Stream-Enterer will understand The Natural Law of Kamma and be
able to observe “cause and effect” within daily life. They will know that anything they are
experiencing in life is a result of their decisions “action and result”, essentially the result of
their decisions.
Detailed explanation of The Natural Law of Kamma is available in this same book series
found in Chapter 9 of the book “Developing a Life Practice: The Path That Leads to
Enlightenment” (Volume 1) and in the book “The Natural Law of Kamma” (Volume 6).
(6) One has clearly seen causally arisen objects: A Practitioner who has attained the first
Stage of Enlightenment as a Stream-Enterer will be able to see the “cause and effect”
relationship of all physical and mental objects that arise or come to be understanding
Dependent Origination as the highest law of nature.
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Chapter 20
Three Wrong Views about Sectarian Tenets That a
Noble Disciple Must Abandon
Monks, there are these three sectarian tenets which, when questioned,
interrogated, and cross-examined by the wise, and taken to their conclusion,
will eventuate in non-action.
What are the three?
(1) There are, Monks, some Ascetics and Brāhmins who hold such a
doctrine and view as this: Whatever this person experiences whether
pleasure, pain, or neither pain-nor-pleasure all that is caused by what
was done in the past.
(2) There are other Ascetics and Brāhmins who hold such a doctrine and
view as this: Whatever this person experiences whether pleasure, pain,
or neither pain-nor-pleasure all that is caused by God’s creative activity.
(3) And there are still other Ascetics and Brāhmins who hold such a doctrine
and view as this: Whatever this person experiences whether pleasure,
pain, or neither pain-nor-pleasure all that occurs without a cause or
condition.
A View That Whether Pleasure or Pain Are All Caused by Past Deeds
(1) Monks, I approached those Ascetics and Brāhmins who hold such a
doctrine and view as this: ‘Whatever this person experiences — whether
pleasure, pain, or neither pain-nor-pleasure — all that is caused by past
deeds’ and I said to them: ‘Is it true that you Venerable Ones hold such a
doctrine and view?’ When I ask them this, they affirm it.
Then I say to them: ‘In such a case, it is due to past deeds that you might
destroy life, take what is not given, indulge in sexual activity, speak
falsehood, produce argumentative speech, speak harshly, indulge in idle
chatter; that you might be full of longing, have a mind of ill will, and hold
wrong view’.
Those who fall back on past deeds as the essential truth have no interest [to
do] what should be done and [to avoid doing] what should not be done, nor
do they make an effort in this respect.
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Since they do not apprehend as true and valid anything that should be done
or should not be done, they are muddle-minded, they do not guard the mind,
and even the personal designation ‘Ascetic’ could not be legitimately applied
to them.
This was my first legitimate confirming falsehoods of those Ascetics and
Brāhmins who hold such a doctrine and view.
A View That Whether Pleasure or Pain
Are All Caused by God’s Creative Activity
(2) Then, Monks, I approached those Ascetics and Brāhmins who hold such
a doctrine and view as this: ‘Whatever this person experiences — whether
pleasure, pain, or neither pain-nor-pleasure — all that is caused by God’s
creative activity,’ and I said to them: ‘Is it true that you Venerable Ones hold
such a doctrine and view?’
When I ask them this, they affirm it. Then I say to them: ‘In such a case, it is
due to God’s creative activity that you might destroy life, take what is not
given, indulge in sexual activity, speak falsehood, produce argumentative
speech, speak harshly, indulge in idle chatter; that you might be full of
longing, have a mind of ill will and hold wrong view’.
Those who fall back on God’s creative activity as the essential truth have no
interest [to do] what should be done and [to avoid doing] what should not be
done, nor do they make an effort in this respect.
Since they do not apprehend as true and valid anything that should be done
or should not be done, they are muddle-minded, they do not guard the mind,
and even the personal designation “Ascetic” could not be legitimately
applied to them
This was my second legitimate confirming falsehoods of those Ascetics and
Brāhmins who hold such a doctrine and view.
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A View That Whether Pleasure or Pain
All Occur Without a Cause or Condition
(3) Then, Monks, I approached those Ascetics and Brāhmins who hold such
a doctrine and view as this: ‘Whatever this person experiences — whether
pleasure, pain, or neither pain-nor-pleasure — all that occurs without a cause
or condition,’ and I said to them: ‘Is it true that you Venerable Ones hold
such a doctrine and view?’
When I ask them this, they affirm it. Then I say to them: ‘In such a case, it is
without a cause or condition that you might destroy life, take what is not
given, indulge in sexual activity, speak falsehood, produce argumentative
speech, speak harshly, indulge in idle chatter; that you might be full of
longing, have a mind of ill will, and hold wrong view’.
Those who fall back on absence of cause and condition as the essential
truth have no interest [to do] what should be done and [to avoid doing] what
should not be done, nor do they make an effort in this respect.
Since they do not apprehend as true and valid anything that should be done
or should not be done, they are muddle-minded, they do not guard the mind,
and even the personal designation ‘Ascetic’ could not be legitimately applied
to them.
This was my third legitimate confirming falsehoods of those Ascetics and
Brāhmins who hold such a doctrine and view.
(Reference: AN 3.61)


The Teachings of The Buddha on The Path to Enlightenment, referred to as The Natural
Laws of Existence, center on The Natural Law of Kamma. It is through “cause and effect”
or “action and result” that all things occur. Nothing occurs without an initial cause or
action which creates an effect or result. Kamma is essentially the results of our decisions.
All our decisions either wholesome or unwholesome will have a result. Nothing in this life
is predetermined, and through making wise decisions, a Practitioner can improve the
condition of the mind and their life.
In these three (3) Teachings from Gotama Buddha, he shares how what one has done in
the past is not what causes discontentedness, God does not cause discontentedness,
and that there is a cause for all results we experience in this life.
These three (3) Teachings comprise a Teaching that is crucial in your development of
wisdom on The Path to Enlightenment.
It is your decisions that are either wholesome or unwholesome that lead to the results you
experience in this life. If you do not see this clearly, you will need to investigate this
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deeply until you can observe and understand that everything experienced in life is a result
of your own decisions. This would be part of Right View.
Without establishing Right View, you would be unable to ever experience Enlightenment.
If it was all the decisions of the past that creates discontentedness in the mind, then you
could do nothing to attain a peaceful and content mind now.
If it was all God’s decisions that creates discontentedness in the mind, then you could do
nothing to attain a peaceful and content mind now.
If there is no “cause and effect” or “action and results”, in other words, The Natural Law
of Kamma does not exist, then you could do nothing to improve your own decision
making to attain a peaceful and content mind now.
So why learn, reflect, and practice these Teachings to acquire wisdom to improve your
decision making if everything that you are experiencing is due to someone or something
else that is out of your control or ability to improve? It would be pointless, right?
These three (3) Teachings from Gotama Buddha help a Practitioner learn, reflect, and
practice to be able to see the truth that it is your own decisions that lead to the results
you experience in this life. Through accepting responsibility for the decisions you make
that are causing discontentedness in the mind, this then empowers you to gain wisdom,
make wise decisions, and through improved decision making you can improve the
condition of the mind and your life.
If the cause of discontentedness was from the past, God, or from no cause at all, you
would be powerless to ever improve the condition of the mind and your life. But this is not
true reality and to awaken to eliminating ignorance (unknowing of true reality) to attain
Enlightenment, you will need to see the truth and acquire the wisdom that you can
improve the condition of the mind and your life.
In these Teachings, The Buddha discusses with Ascetics and Brāhmins their view on
whether discontentedness (i.e. pleasure, pain, neither pain-nor-pleasure) is caused by all
that was done in the past, God, or no cause at all.
When they affirm this as being true, the way they see it, The Buddha shares that they
have “no interest [to do] what should be done and [to avoid doing] what should not be
done, nor do they make an effort in this respect”. Essentially, they are complacent and
unwilling to take action to improve their life practice because they feel that improvements
to their life is out of their control and abilities.
The Buddha explains that they “do not apprehend as true and valid anything that should
be done or should not be done, they are muddle-minded, they do not guard the mind,
and even the personal designation ‘Ascetic’ could not be legitimately applied to them”.
An Ascetic is one who has given up the household life entering into homelessness in
search of the truth. If one has resorted to think that they have no ability to improve their
life through acquiring wisdom and making wise decisions, then The Buddha shares that
“the personal designation ‘Ascetic’ could not be legitimately applied to them”. Essentially,
they are not even trying to learn, reflect, and practice to attain Enlightenment if they are of
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the view that it is past decisions, God, or no cause at all that discontentedness arises in
the mind.
A View That Whether Pleasure or Pain
Are All Caused by God’s Creative Activity
In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares that it is not God’s creative activity that
causes discontentedness in the mind (i.e. pleasure, pain, neither pain-nor-pleasure).
Oftentimes some people assume that The Buddha did not share Teachings related to
God. However, The Buddha did share Teachings to help people during his lifetime to
understand God but guided them to understand that the attainment of Enlightenment is
not dependent on God.
This Teaching helps a Practitioner understand that it is their own decisions that lead to the
improvement to the condition of one’s mind and life, not based on the creative activity of
God.
While one might choose to maintain a relationship with God on The Path to
Enlightenment, if they have one or would like to develop one, a Practitioner will need to
understand that rites, rituals, ceremonies, and worship is not what produces
Enlightenment. And, one might also choose to have no relationship with God as part of
their journey to Enlightenment. Both approaches can be explored but one would need to
deeply understand how to improve their life practice if they are going to maintain a
relationship with God.
If you’ve been taught that all is caused based on God’s creative activities, this is not true
reality and a Practitioner will need to understand this observing the truth so that with that
wisdom, they can become determined, dedicated, and diligent to learning, reflecting, and
practicing wise decision making to improve the condition of the mind and their life.
If a Practitioner continued to believe that God was controlling all that happens in this life
and your day-to-day decisions, then there would be no interest to do what is wholesome
and eliminate what is unwholesome. There is “no interest [to do] what should be done and
[to avoid doing] what should not be done, nor do they make an effort in this respect”. The
mind will become complacent dwelling in ignorance (unknowing of true reality) inhibiting a
Practitioner from awakening to Enlightenment.
Detailed explanation of God’s Creative Action: You Have Free Will is available in this same
book series found in Chapter 18 of the book “Developing a Life Practice: The Path That
Leads to Enlightenment” (Volume 1).
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Chapter 21
Six Unsurpassed Things
Monks, there are these six unsurpassed things.
What six?
(1) The unsurpassed sight,
(2) the unsurpassed hearing,
(3) the unsurpassed gain,
(4) the unsurpassed training,
(5) the unsurpassed service, and
(6) the unsurpassed recollection (recalls/remembers).
(1) And what, Monks, is the unsurpassed sight?
Here, someone goes to see the elephant-gem, the horse-gem, the jewel-
gem, or to see various sights; or else they go to see an Ascetic or Brāhmin of
wrong views, of wrong practice. There is this seeing; this I do not deny. But
this seeing is low, common, worldly, not honorable, and unbeneficial; it does
not lead to freedom from strong feelings, elimination, peace, direct
knowledge (experience), Enlightenment, and Nibbāna.
When, however, one of settled confidence, of settled determination, decided,
full of confidence, goes to see The Tathāgata or a disciple of The Tathāgata;
this unsurpassed sight is for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of
sorrow and grief, for the passing away of pain and sadness, for the
achievement of the method (to attain Enlightenment), for the realization of
Nibbāna (Enlightenment).
This is called the unsurpassed sight. Such is the unsurpassed sight.
(2) And how is there the unsurpassed hearing?
Here, someone goes to hear the sound of drums, the sound of lutes, the
sound of singing, or to hear various sounds; or else they go to hear the
teachings of an Ascetic or Brāhmin of wrong views, of wrong practice. There
is this hearing; this I do not deny. But this hearing is low, common, worldly,
not honorable, and unbeneficial; it does not lead to freedom from strong
feelings, elimination, peace, direct knowledge (experience), Enlightenment,
and Nibbāna.
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When, however, one of settled confidence, of settled determination, decided,
full of confidence, goes to hear The Tathāgata or a disciple of The Tathāgata;
this unsurpassed hearing is for the purification of beings, for the overcoming
of sorrow and grief, for the passing away of pain and sadness, for the
achievement of the method (to attain Enlightenment), for the realization of
Nibbāna (Enlightenment).
This is called the unsurpassed hearing. Such is the unsurpassed sight and
the unsurpassed hearing.
(3) And how is there the unsurpassed gain?
Here, someone gains a son, a wife, or wealth; or they gain various goods; or
else they obtain belief in an Ascetic or Brāhmin of wrong views, of wrong
practice. There is this I do not deny. But this gain is low, common, worldly,
not honorable, and unbeneficial; it does not lead to freedom from strong
feelings, elimination, peace, direct knowledge (experience), Enlightenment,
and Nibbāna.
When, however, one of settled confidence, of settled determination, decided,
full of confidence, obtains confidence in The Tathāgata or in a disciple of The
Tathāgata; this unsurpassed gain is for the purification of beings, for the
overcoming of sorrow and grief, for the passing away of pain and sadness,
for the achievement of the method (to attain Enlightenment), for the
realization of Nibbāna (Enlightenment).
This is called the unsurpassed gain. Such is the unsurpassed sight, the
unsurpassed hearing, and the unsurpassed gain.
(4) And how is there the unsurpassed training?
Here, someone trains in elephantry, in horsemanship, in chariotry, in archery,
in swordsmanship; or they train in various fields; or else they train under an
Ascetic or Brāhmin of wrong views, of wrong practice. There is this training;
this I do not deny. But this training is low, common, worldly, not honorable,
and unbeneficial; it does not lead to freedom from strong feelings,
elimination, peace, direct knowledge (experience), Enlightenment, and
Nibbāna.
When, however, one of settled confidence, of settled determination, decided,
full of confidence, trains in the higher virtuous behavior (moral conduct), the
higher mind (mental discipline), and the higher wisdom in The Teachings and
discipline proclaimed by The Tathāgata; this unsurpassed training is for the
purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow and grief, for the passing
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away of pain and sadness, for the achievement of the method (to attain
Enlightenment), for the realization of Nibbāna (Enlightenment).
This is called the unsurpassed training. Such is the unsurpassed sight, the
unsurpassed hearing, the unsurpassed gain, and the unsurpassed training.
(5) And how is there the unsurpassed service?
Here, someone serves a Khattiya, a Brāhmin, a Householder; or they serve
various others; or else they serve an Ascetic or Brāhmin of wrong views, of
wrong practice. There is this kind of service; this I do not deny. But this kind
of service is low, common, worldly, not honorable, and unbeneficial; it does
not lead to freedom from strong feelings, elimination, peace, direct
knowledge (experience), Enlightenment, and Nibbāna.
When, however, one of settled confidence, of settled determination, decided,
full of confidence, serves The Tathāgata or a disciple of The Tathāgata; this
unsurpassed service is for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of
sorrow and grief, for the passing away of pain and sadness, for the
achievement of the method (to attain Enlightenment), for the realization of
Nibbāna (Enlightenment).
This is called the unsurpassed service. Thus there is the unsurpassed sight,
the unsurpassed hearing, the unsurpassed gain, the unsurpassed training,
and the unsurpassed service.
(6) And how is there the unsurpassed recollection (recalls/remembers)?
Here, someone recollects the gain of a son, a wife, or wealth; or else they
recollect various kinds of gain; or else they recollect an Ascetic or Brāhmin of
wrong views, of wrong practice. There is this kind of recollection; this I do
not deny. But this kind of recollection is low, common, worldly, not
honorable, and unbeneficial; it does not lead to freedom from strong feelings,
elimination, peace, direct knowledge (experience), Enlightenment, and
Nibbāna.
When, however, one of settled confidence, of settled determination, decided,
full of confidence, recollects The Tathāgata or a disciple of The Tathāgata;
this unsurpassed recollection is for the purification of beings, for the
overcoming of sorrow and grief, for the passing away of pain and sadness,
for the achievement of the method (to attain Enlightenment), for the
realization of Nibbāna (Enlightenment).
This is called the unsurpassed recollection (recalls/remembers).
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These, Monks, are the six unsurpassed things.
Having gained the best of sights, and the unsurpassed hearing, having
acquired the unsurpassed gain, pleased with the unsurpassed training,
attentive in service, they develop recollection connected with seclusion,
secure, leading to the deathless (Enlightenment). Joyful in mindfulness, wise,
restrained by virtue (practicing moral conduct), in time they realize where it is
that discontentedness is eliminated.
(Reference: AN 6.30)
In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares “six unsurpassed things”.
He explains other things that people are doing in the world thinking that they are having
sight, hearing, gain, training, service, and recollection of various aspects of life. But, he
recasts this into helping Students understand that to have unsurpassed sight, hearing,
gain, training, service, and recollection, they would need to develop confidence in The
Buddha and/or his disciples so that they can actively work towards purification of the
mind on The Path to Enlightenment.
He explains that through having confidence in him and/or his disciples establishing
unsurpassed sight, hearing, gain, training, service, and recollection, this is for “purification
of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow and grief, for the passing away of pain and
sadness, for the achievement of the method (to attain Enlightenment), for the realization
of Nibbāna (Enlightenment)”.
The thoughts that others have of what is sight, hearing, gain, training, service, or
recollection, is to The Buddha “low, common, worldly, not honorable, and unbeneficial; it
does not lead to freedom from strong feelings, elimination, peace, direct knowledge
(experience), Enlightenment, and Nibbāna”.
Without developing confidence in The Buddha, The Teachings, and The Community, why
would anyone decide to proceed forward in applying time, effort, energy, and resources
towards the attainment of Enlightenment?
It is when one gradually develops their practice observing the improvements to the
condition of their mind that their confidence increases and doubt decreases. As one
becomes more and more confident in The Buddha, The Teachings, and The Community,
this provides the support, encouragement, and motivation to continue forward in
developing one’s life practice and improving the condition of the mind through learning,
reflecting, and practicing these Teachings.
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Chapter 22
Demonstration of Confidence in
One Endowed with Confidence
This is the time for it, Fortunate One! This is the time for it.
Fortunate One! The Perfectly Enlightened One should explain the
demonstrations of confidence. Now I will find out whether or not this Monk
exhibits the demonstrations of confidence.
Then listen, Subhūti, and attend closely. I will speak.
(1) Here, Subhūti, a Monk is virtuous (practicing moral conduct); he resides
restrained by the training guidelines, possessed of good conduct and wise
decision making, seeing danger in the slightest faults.
Having undertaken the training guidelines, he trains in them.
This is a demonstration of confidence in one endowed with confidence.
(2) Again, a Monk has learned much, remembers what he has learned, and
accumulates what he has learned. Those Teachings that are good in the
beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end, with the right meaning
and phrasing, which proclaim the perfectly complete and pure spiritual life
such Teachings as these he has learned much of, retained in mind, recited
verbally, mentally investigated, and penetrated well by view.
This, too, is a demonstration of confidence in one endowed with confidence.
(3) Again, a Monk has wholesome friends, wholesome companions,
wholesome comrades.
This, too, is a demonstration of confidence in one endowed with confidence.
(4) Again, a Monk is easy to correct and possesses qualities that make him
easy to correct; he is patient and receives instruction respectfully.
This, too, is a demonstration of confidence in one endowed with confidence.
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(5) Again, a Monk is skillful and diligent in attending to the diverse chores
that are to be done for his fellow Monks; he possesses sound ability to make
decisions about them in order to carry out and arrange them properly.
This, too, is a demonstration of confidence in one endowed with confidence.
(6) Again, a Monk adores The Teachings and is pleasing in his statements,
filled with significant joy in regard to The Teachings and discipline.
This, too, is a demonstration of confidence in one endowed with confidence.
(7) Again, a Monk has aroused energy for abandoning unwholesome qualities
and acquiring wholesome qualities; he is strong, firm in effort not casting off
the duty of cultivating wholesome qualities.
This, too, is a demonstration of confidence in one endowed with confidence.
(8) Again, a Monk gains at will, without trouble or difficulty, the four Jhānas
that constitute the higher mind and are peaceful dwellings in this very life.
This, too, is a demonstration of confidence in one endowed with confidence.
(9) Again, a Monk recollects (recalls/remembers) his countless past lives, that
is, one birth, two births, three births, four births, five births, ten births, twenty
births, thirty births, forty births, fifty births, a hundred births, a thousand
births, a hundred thousand births, many eons of world-dissolution, many
eons of world-evolution, many eons of world dissolution and world-evolution
thus: There I was so named, of such a clan, with such an appearance, such
was my food, such my experience of pleasure and pain, such my life span;
passing away from there, I was reborn elsewhere, and there too I was so
named, of such a clan, with such an appearance, such was my food, such
my experience of pleasure and pain, such my life span; passing away from
there, I was reborn here.
Thus he recollects (recalls/remembers) his countless past lives with their
aspects and details.
This, too, is a demonstration of confidence in one endowed with confidence.
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(10) Again, with the divine eye (third eye), which is purified and surpasses the
human, a Monk sees beings passing away and being reborn, unwholesome
and wholesome, beautiful and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate, and he
understands how beings fare in accordance with their Kamma thus: These
beings who engaged in misconduct by body, speech, and mind, who
abusively criticized The Noble Ones, held wrong view, and undertook
(unwholesome) Kamma based on wrong view, with the breakup of the body,
after death, have been reborn in the plane of misery, in a bad destination, in
the lower world, in hell; but these beings who engaged in wholesome
conduct by body, speech, and mind, who did not abusively criticize The
Noble Ones, who held Right View, and undertook (wholesome) Kamma
based on Right View, with the breakup of the body, after death, have been
reborn in a good destination, in a heavenly world: Thus with the divine eye
(third eye), which is purified and surpasses the human, he sees beings
passing away and being reborn, unwholesome and wholesome, beautiful
and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate, and he understands how beings fare in
accordance with their Kamma.
This, too, is a demonstration of confidence in one endowed with confidence.
(11) Again, with the destruction of the taints a Monk has realized for himself
with direct knowledge (experience) in this very life, the taintless liberation of
mind, liberation by wisdom, and having entered upon it, he resides in it.
This, too, is a demonstration of confidence in one endowed with confidence.
(Reference: AN 11.14)
In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares a discourse on aspects of one’s practice
that would be developed demonstrating confidence in The Buddha, The Teachings, and
The Community, Your Teacher, and your ability to attain Enlightenment, thus, eliminating
the fetter/taint/pollution of mind described as “doubt”.
1.) A Practitioner would be practicing virtuous conduct based on The Eight Fold Path with
wise decision making and understanding that there is danger with the slightest faults of
moral conduct as this will only lead to harming others, thus, harm will come to them.
2.) A Practitioner will have deeply learned, remembers, and fully develops what they have
learned (i.e. accumulates). They would view these Teachings as good in the beginning,
middle, and end based on learning them with the proper meaning and phrasing revealing
“the perfectly complete and pure spiritual life”. Having learned a lot, the Practitioner
would retain The Teachings being able to explain them verbally, from memory, based on
their deep investigation and penetrating them well through reflecting and observing them
as truth having acquired deep wisdom.
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3.) A Practitioner will develop wholesome friends and associates. Through developing
wholesome relationships, a Practitioner can ensure there are not any unwholesome or
negative influences in their life as they make their journey towards Enlightenment.
4.) A Practitioner is easy to correct regarding the areas of misunderstandings and areas
where they are not practicing these Teachings closely ensuring they are patient and
receive instruction from their Teacher respectfully. This will aid in the Student’s ability to
easily learn and develop their life practice.
5.) A Practitioner applies diligence and skill in completing tasks and assignments that are
for the benefit of others. They will ensure all tasks are completed thoroughly with
wholesome intentions and of good quality making wise decisions to schedule and
complete the tasks in a reasonable timeframe.
6.) A Practitioner has a positive outlook regarding The Teachings and when discussing
The Teachings, has only positive comments filled with significant joy.
7.) A Practitioner is deeply practicing Right Effort to eliminate unwholesome mental
qualities and arise wholesome mental qualities not allowing the mind to become
complacent.
8.) A Practitioner progresses towards the attainment of the four Jhānas being able to
observe the improved qualities of mind associated with these attainments. The four
Jhānas are preliminary phases the mind goes through prior to the attainment of the first
Stage of Enlightenment.
9.) A Practitioner is able to remember their past lives and details from those past lives.
Not every Practitioner will have the ability to observe their past lives, but some do.
10.) A Practitioner has opened the third eye being able to observe beings passing away
and being reborn, unwholesome and wholesome qualities of mind, beauty and ugliness in
the world, fortunate and unfortunate aspects of life, and he understands how beings
experience their own Kamma in this life and after death.
11.) A Practitioner has eliminated The Ten Fetters and experiences liberation of mind,
freedom from strong feelings, an Enlightened mind that is peaceful, calm, serene, and
content with joy residing in that mental state permanently. The mind will have deep
wisdom of these Teachings and find it easy to explain them to others when asked
questions about The Teachings.
These are qualities of one’s life practice that would demonstrate they have confidence in
The Buddha, The Teachings, and The Community, your Teacher, and your ability to attain
Enlightenment, thus, eliminating the fetter/taint/pollution of mind described as “doubt”.
A Practitioner may not have all of these qualities but each of these would further indicate
one’s confidence as their life practice evolves and develops towards the attainment of the
first Stage of Enlightenment.
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103

A Noble Disciple Learns
and Practices
The Perfectly
Enlightened One’s
Teachings
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Chapter 23
The Perfectly Enlightened One
Taught Monks to Eat at a Single Session
On one occasion The Perfectly Enlightened One taught the Monks the
benefits of eating in a single session that one will be free from illness and
affliction, and will enjoy lightness, strength, and a comfortable residing.
Bhaddāli told The Perfectly Enlightened One that he was not willing to do so.
Then The Perfectly Enlightened One agreed to allow Bhaddāli to keep the
food for the next meal. Again, Bhaddāli told The Perfectly Enlightened One
he was not willing to do that either. Then the Venerable Bhaddāli did not
present himself to The Perfectly Enlightened One for a whole of three-month
period. Until the robe making period where Monks said to Bhaddāli that his
action was inappropriate, Bhaddāli then went to see The Perfectly
Enlightened One.
‘Venerable Sir, a wrongdoing overcame me, in that like an unwise person,
confused and blundering, when a training precept was being made known by
The Perfectly Enlightened One, when The Community of Monks was
undertaking the training, I declared my refusal [to observe your Teaching].
Venerable Sir, may The Perfectly Enlightened One forgive my wrongdoing
seen as such for the sake of restraint in the future.’
Surely, Bhaddāli, a wrongdoing overcame you, in that like an unwise person,
confused and blundering, when a training precept was being made known
by me, when The Community of Monks was undertaking the training, you
declared your refusal to practice this Teaching.
What do you think, Bhaddāli? Suppose a Monk here were one liberated-in-
both-ways, and I told him: Come, Monk, be a plank for me across the mud.
Would he walk across himself, or would he dispose his body otherwise, or
would he say ‘No’?
‘No, Venerable Sir.’
What do you think, Bhaddāli? Suppose a Monk here were one liberated-by-
wisdom... a body-witness… one attained-to-view... one liberated-by-
confidence… a Teachings-follower… a Confidence-follower, and I told him:
Come, Monk, be a plank for me across the mud. Would he walk across
himself, or would he dispose his body otherwise, or would he say ‘No’?
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