The other personality was that of an aged being who was failing in health (D II, 120), who
almost lost his life because of a severe pain during his last retreat at Vesali (D II, 100), and
who was forced to come to terms with his unexpected illness and death after consuming
a special cuisine offered by his generous host.
These two personalities take turns emerging in different parts of the narrative. Moreover,
there also appear to be two explanations of The Buddha's cause of death: One is that the
Buddha died because his attendant, Ānanda, failed to invite him to live on to the age of
the world or even longer (D II, 117). The other is that he died by a sudden illness which
began after he ate what is known as "Sukaramaddava" (D II, 127-157).
The former story was probably a legend, or the result of a political struggle within the
Buddhist community during a stage of transition, whereas the latter sounds more realistic
and accurate in describing a real life situation that happened in The Buddha’s last days.
A number of studies have focused on the nature of the special cuisine that The Buddha
ate during his last meal as being the agent of his death. However, there is also another
approach based on the description of the symptoms and signs given in the sutta, which
modern medical knowledge can shed light on.
In another mural painting at Wat Ratchasittharam, The Buddha is approaching death, but
he still takes time to answer questions put forth by the Ascetic Subhadda, his last convert
who, after being admitted to the Buddhist Order, became an Arahant (An Enlightened
Being).
What We Know
In the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, we are told that The Buddha became ill suddenly after he
ate a special delicacy, Sukaramaddava, literally translated as "soft pork", which had been
prepared by his generous host, Cunda Kammaraputta. The name of the cuisine has
attracted the attention of many scholars, and it has been the focus of academic research
on the nature of the meal or ingredients used in the cooking of this special dish.
The sutta itself provides details concerning the signs and symptoms of his illness in
addition to some reliable information about his circumstances over the previous four
months, and these details are also medically significant.
The sutta begins with King Ajatasattus’ plot to conquer a rival state, Vajji. The Buddha
had journeyed to Vajji to enter his last rainy-season retreat. It was during this retreat that
he fell ill. The symptoms of the illness were sudden, severe pain.
However, the sutta provides no description of the location and character of his pain. It
mentions his illness briefly, and says that the pain was intense, and almost killed him.
Subsequently, The Buddha was visited by Māra, the Evil One, who invited him to pass
away. The Buddha did not accept the invitation right away. It was only after Ānanda, his
attendant, failed to recognize his hint for an invitation to remain that he died. This piece of
the message, though tied up with myth and supernaturalism, gives us some medically
significant information. When the sutta was composed, its author was under the
impression that The Buddha died, not because of the food he ate, but because he already
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had an underlying illness that was serious and acute-and had the same symptoms of the
disease that finally killed him.
The Timing
[The] Theravada Buddhist tradition has adhered to the assumption that the historical
Buddha passed away during the night of the full moon in the lunar month of Vesak (which
falls sometime in May to June). But the timing contradicts information given in the sutta,
which states clearly that the Buddha died soon after the rainy-season retreat, most likely
during the autumn or mid-winter, that is, November to January.
A description of the miracle of the unseasonal blooming of leaves and flowers on the sala
trees, when The Buddha was laid down between them, indicates the timeframe given in
the sutta.
Autumn and winter, however, are seasons that are not favorable for the growth of
mushrooms, which some scholars believe to be the source of the poison that The Buddha
ate during his last meal.
Diagnosis
The sutta tells us that The Buddha felt ill immediately after eating the Sukaramaddava.
Since we do not know anything about the nature of this food, it is difficult to name it as
the direct cause of The Buddha's illness. But from the descriptions given, the onset of the
illness was quick.
While eating, he felt there was something wrong with the food and he suggested his host
have the food buried. Soon afterward, he suffered severe stomach pain and passed blood
from his rectum.
We can reasonably assume that the illness started while he was having his meal, making
him think there was something wrong with the unfamiliar delicacy. Out of his compassion
for others, he had it buried.
Was food poisoning the cause of the illness? It seems unlikely. The symptoms described
do not indicate food poisoning, which can be very acute, but would hardly cause diarrhea
with blood. Usually, food poisoning caused by bacteria does not manifest itself
immediately, but takes an incubation period of two to 12 hours to manifest itself, normally
with acute diarrhea and vomiting, but not the passage of blood.
Another possibility is chemical poisoning, which also has an immediate effect, but it is
unusual for chemical poisoning to cause severe intestinal bleeding. Food poisoning with
immediate intestinal bleeding could only have been caused by corrosive chemicals such
as strong acids, which can easily lead to immediate illness. But corrosive chemicals
should have caused bleeding in the upper intestinal tract, leading to vomiting blood. None
of these severe signs are mentioned in the text.
(NOTE from author of this book series: Chemicals were not yet invented during the
lifetime of The Buddha.)
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Peptic ulcer diseases can be excluded from the list of possible illnesses as well. In spite
of the fact that their onset is immediate, they are seldom accompanied by bloody stool. A
gastric ulcer with intestinal bleeding produces black stool when the ulcer penetrates a
blood vessel. An ulcer higher up in the digestive tract would be more likely to manifest
itself as bloody vomiting, not a passage of blood through the rectum.
Other evidence against this possibility is that a patient with a large gastric ulcer usually
does not have an appetite. By accepting the invitation for lunch with the host, we can
assume that The Buddha felt as healthy as any man in his early 80s would feel. Given his
age we cannot rule out that The Buddha did not have a chronic disease, such as cancer
or tuberculosis or a tropical infection such as dysentery or typhoid, which could have
been quite common in The Buddha’s time.
These diseases could produce bleeding of the lower intestine, depending on their
location. They also agree with the history of his earlier illness during the retreat. But they
can be ruled out, since they are usually accompanied by other symptoms, such as
lethargy, loss of appetite, weight loss, growth or mass in the abdomen. None of these
symptoms were mentioned in the sutta.
A large hemorrhoid can cause severe rectal bleeding, but it is unlikely that a hemorrhoid
could cause severe abdominal pain unless it is strangulated. But then it would have
greatly disturbed the walking of The Buddha to the house of his host, and rarely is
hemorrhoid bleeding triggered by a meal.
Mesenteric Infarction
A disease that matches the described symptoms-accompanied by acute abdominal pain
and the passage of blood, commonly found among elderly people, and triggered by a
meal-is mesenteric infarction, caused by an obstruction of the blood vessels of the
mesentery. It is lethal. Acute mesenteric ischemia (a reduction in the blood supply to the
mesentery) is a grave condition with a high rate of mortality.
The mesentery is a part of the intestinal wall that binds the whole intestinal tract to the
abdominal cavity. An infarction of the vessels of the mesentery normally causes the death
of the tissue in a large section of the intestinal tract, which results in a laceration of the
intestinal wall.
This normally produces severe pain in the abdomen and the passage of blood. The
patient usually dies of acute blood loss. This condition matches the information given in
the sutta. It is also confirmed later when The Buddha asked Ānanda to fetch some water
for him to drink, indicating intense thirst.
As the story goes, Ānanda refused, as he saw no source for clean water. He argued with
The Buddha that the nearby stream had been muddied by a large caravan of carts. But
The Buddha insisted he fetch water anyway.
A question arises at this point: Why did The Buddha not go to the water himself, instead
of pressing his unwilling attendant to do so? The answer is simple. The Buddha was
suffering from shock caused by severe blood loss. He could no longer walk, and from
then to his death bed he was most likely carried on a stretcher.
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If this was indeed the situation, the sutta remains silent about The Buddha’s traveling to
his deathbed, possibly because the author felt that it would be an embarrassment for The
Buddha. Geographically, we know that the distance between the place believed to be the
house of Cunda and the place where The Buddha died was about 15 to 20 kilometers. It
is not possible for a patient with such a grave illness to walk such a distance.
More likely, what happened was that The Buddha was carried on a stretcher by a group of
Monks to Kusinara (Kushinagara).
It remains a point of debate whether The Buddha really determined to pass away at this
city, presumably not much larger than a town. From the direction of The Buddha's
journey, given in the sutta, he was moving north from Rajagaha. It is possible that he did
not intend to die there, but in the town where he was born, which would have taken a
period of three months to reach.
From the sutta, it is clear that The Buddha was not anticipating his sudden illness, or else
he would not have accepted the invitation of his host.
Kusinara was probably the nearest town where he could find a doctor to take care of him.
It is not difficult to see a group of Monks hurriedly carrying The Buddha on a stretcher to
the nearest town to save his life.
Before passing away, The Buddha told Ānanda that Cunda was not to be blamed and that
his death was not caused by eating Sukaramaddava. The statement is significant. The
meal was not the direct cause of his death. The Buddha knew that the symptom was a
repeat of an experience he’d had a few months earlier, the one which had almost killed
him.
Sukaramaddava, no matter the ingredients or how it was cooked, was not the direct
cause of his sudden illness.
Progression of the Disease
Mesenteric infarction is a disease commonly found among elderly people, caused by the
obstruction of the main artery that supplies the middle section of the bowel-the small
intestine-with blood. The most common cause of the obstruction is the degeneration of
the wall of the blood vessel, the superior mesenteric artery, causing severe abdominal
pain, also known as abdominal angina.
Normally, the pain is triggered by a large meal, which requires a higher flow of blood to
the digestive tract. As the obstruction persists, the bowel is deprived of its blood supply,
which subsequently leads to an infarction, or gangrene, of a section of the intestinal tract.
This in turn results in a laceration of the intestinal wall, profuse bleeding into the intestinal
tract, and then bloody diarrhea.
The disease gets worse as the liquid and content of the intestine oozes out into the
peritoneal cavity, causing peritonitis or inflammation of the abdominal walls. This is
already a lethal condition for the patient, who often dies due to the loss of blood and
other fluid. If it is not corrected by surgery, the disease often progresses to septic shock
due to bacterial toxins infiltrating the blood stream.
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Retrospective Analysis
From the diagnosis given above, we can be rather certain that The Buddha suffered from
mesenteric infarction caused by an occlusion of the superior mesenteric artery. This was
the cause of the pain that almost killed him a few months earlier during his last rainy-
season retreat.
With the progress of the illness, some of the mucosal lining of his intestine sloughed off,
and this site became the origin of the bleeding.
Arteriosclerosis, the hardening of the vessel wall caused by aging, was the cause of the
arterial occlusion, a small blockage that did not result in bloody diarrhea, but is a
symptom, also known to us as abdominal angina.
He had his second attack while he was eating the Sukaramaddava. The pain was
probably not intense in the beginning, but made him feel that there was something wrong.
Suspicious about the nature of the food, he asked his host to have it all buried, so that
others might not suffer from it.
Soon, The Buddha realized that the illness was serious, with the passage of blood and
more severe pain in his abdomen. Due to the loss of blood, he went into shock. The
degree of dehydration was so severe that he could not maintain himself any longer and he
had to take shelter at a tree along the way.
Feeling very thirsty and exhausted, he got Ānanda to collect water for him to drink, even
though he knew that the water was muddied. It was there that he collapsed until his
entourage carried him to the nearest town, Kusinara, where there would have been a
chance of finding a doctor or lodging for him to recover in.
It was probably true that The Buddha got better after drinking to replace his fluid loss,
and resting on the stretcher. The experience with the symptoms told him that his sudden
illness was the second attack of an existing disease. He told Ānanda that the meal was
not the cause of his illness, and that Cunda was not to blame.
A patient with shock, dehydration and profuse blood loss usually feels very cold. This was
the reason why he told his attendant to prepare a bed using four sheets of ifsanghati nf.
According to Buddhist monastic discipline, a ifsanghati nfis a cloak, or extra piece of
robe, very large, the size of a bed sheet, which The Buddha allowed Ordained
Practitioners to wear in winter.
This information reflects how cold the Buddha felt because of his loss of blood. Clinically,
it is not possible for a patient who is in a state of shock with severe abdominal pain, most
likely peritonitis, pale and shivering, to be ambulatory.
The Buddha was most likely put into a lodging, where he was nursed and warmed,
located in the city of Kusinara. This view is also confirmed with the description of Ānanda
who, weeping, swoons and holds onto the door of his lodge after learning that The
Buddha was about to pass away.
Normally, a patient with mesenteric infarction could live 10 to 20 hours. From the sutta we
learn that The Buddha died about 15 to 18 hours after the attack. During that time, his
attendants would have tried their best to comfort him, for example, by warming the room
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where he was resting, or by dripping some water into his mouth to quench his lingering
thirst, or by giving him some herbal drinks. But it would be highly unlikely that a shivering
patient would need someone to fan him as is described in the sutta.
Off and on, he may have recovered from a state of exhaustion, allowing him to continue
his dialogues with a few people. Most of his last words could have been true, and they
were memorized by generations of Monks until they were transcribed. But finally, late into
the night, The Buddha died during a second wave of septic shock. His illness stemmed
from natural causes coupled with his age, just as it would for anyone else.
Conclusion
The hypothesis outlined above explains several scenes in the narrative of the sutta,
namely, the pressuring of Ānanda to fetch water, The Buddha’s request for a fourfold
cloak for his bed, the ordering of the meal to be buried, and so on.
It also reveals another possibility of the actual means of transportation of The Buddha to
Kusinara and the site of his death bed. Sukaramaddava, whatever its nature, was unlikely
to have been the direct cause of his illness. The Buddha did not die by food poisoning.
Rather, it was the size of the meal, relatively too large for his already troubled digestive
tract, that triggered the second attack of mesenteric infarction that brought an end to his
life.
Author’s Thoughts
Due to their importance, The Words of The Buddha book series have the last words of
The Buddha in multiple places throughout the book series.
You can investigate these chapters, which some of them are the same. There are basically
two different chapters being repeated throughout the book series in all of these books
and chapters.
Volume 2 - Chapter 45
Volume 3 - Chapter 97
Volume 9 - Chapter 47
Volume 10 - Chapter 46
Volume 12 - Chapter 48
In all of these locations within the books series, I have inserted the last words of The
Buddha and shared what one encounters upon death. This will help you to understand
and gain the wisdom of, what transpires for a being as part of the process of dying and
death itself.
A Student who reads this article titled “How Did The Buddha Die?” and is unEnlightened
may perceive the depiction of how The Buddha died as being an extremely painful death.
That it was painful for The Buddha during his last moments of life. But, that is without the
wisdom of what an Enlightened being experiences as a result of having attained
Enlightenment and then having issues in the physical body to include death.
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I suspect that the author of the article may not be aware of how an unEnlightened and
Enlightened being experience pain differently. Therefore, when describing what The
Buddha experienced, he described it in graphic terms of, his own frame of reference and
lifetime experiences with physical and mental pain - as being severely painful.
An Enlightened being does not experience severe physical pain but instead, it is
significantly diminished or muted. An Enlightened being does not experience any mental
anguish whatsoever.
When I read this article, I know that The Buddha, while experiencing a medical condition
that led to his ultimate death, had a peaceful mind during the entire time leading all the
way up to and including death. He would not have been in agonizing pain as one might
think who has not experienced physical pain while at the same time experiencing the
Enlightened mental state.
An Enlightened being will experience physical pain but, it would be very minimal
compared to what an unEnlightened being would experience in the same circumstances.
An Enlightened being would experience some physical pain but, they will not experience
the mental anguish associated with the physical pain. An Enlightened being’s mind will
continue to reside peaceful, calm, serene, and content with joy, despite any and all
physical pain. In this way, the physical pain experienced by an Enlightened being is
insignificant and a mere fraction of that which would be experienced by an unEnlightened
being given the same exact situation.
For further understanding of physical and mental pain in the unEnlightened and
Enlightened mental state, you might choose to investigate The Teachings in Volume 8 -
Chapter 40 titled “Transcending Physical Pain by Avoiding Mental Pain”. This will help you
to understand how an unEnlightened being experiences physical pain versus, an
Enlightened being.
Detailed explanation of Transcending Physical Pain by Avoiding Mental Pain is available in
this same book series found in Chapter 40 of the book “The Foremost Householder”
(Volume 9).
You can also gain an appreciation and the wisdom of this topic through understanding
The Teachings of The Buddha when he shares “The Simile of The Saw” in the
Kakacūpamasutta Sutta (Reference: MN 21) available in Volume 3 - Chapter 84 of this
same book series.
The Buddha shares, “Monks, even if criminals were to sever you savagely limb by limb
with a two-handled saw, he who gave rise to a mind of hate towards them would not be
practicing my Teachings”.
The Buddha shares this Teaching because his own mind, experiencing Enlightenment,
would not experience mental anguish in this exact scenario or any others. It would be
impossible for an Enlightened being to experience hatred towards anyone for any reason,
even if being sawed “limb by limb”. Therefore, The Buddha was well aware that if a
Student’s mind experienced hatred in this situation or any other, the mind would be
unEnlightened. He emphasizes this in this Teaching.
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Now that you have completed reading (Volume 10) of this book series and may decide to
read this book multiple times, I would like to take a moment to personally “thank you” for
your determination, dedication, and diligence to learn, reflect, and practice The Teachings
of The Buddha on The Path to Enlightenment.
The time, effort, energy, and resources that you devote to this path are serving to help you
and countless other beings. As you choose to learn and practice these Teachings, you will
significantly reduce then eliminate any harm that you are putting into the world through
your unknowing of true reality. The unEnlightened mind does not understand what it does
not understand.
You are now applying time, effort, energy, and resources to improving the condition of the
mind, the condition of your life, and, thus, the condition of the world through investigating
The Teachings to acquire wisdom. The world becomes a better place when we each
individually choose to improve our own life practice taking responsibility for our own
intentions, speech, actions, and livelihood while improving our wisdom and mental
discipline.
I admire individuals who choose to walk towards harmlessness. I admire individuals who
choose to realize there is a better way of life and create that better way of life for
themselves through seeking guidance. And, I admire individuals who do not shrink back
from the struggle to move the mind towards Enlightenment when the natural tendency
might be to remain complacent.
Why have I chosen to share these Teachings with you?
“That it may be for the benefit and peacefulness of the multitude (many people), out of
compassion for the world, for the benefit and peacefulness of heavenly beings and
humans”. (Gotama Buddha)
“Because if they understand even a single sentence, that will lead to their welfare and
peacefulness for a long time”. (Gotama Buddha)
May you discover the freedom associated with a mind that is peaceful, calm,
serene, and content with joy permanently - the Enlightened mind.
As you need help to learn, reflect, and practice these Teachings, you are welcome to
seek guidance which is available openly and freely to “all beings”.
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Author
David Roylance is a dedicated Practitioner and Teacher of Gotama Buddha’s
Teachings who has been part of the Thai community since 2001. He visited
Thailand for the first time in 2002 and brought the Traditional Thai Healing
Arts back to the United States of America to share with people in the
Western World.
His Traditional Thai Healing Arts centers, located in the Washington DC area,
provided traditional Thai healing arts to clients and educational opportunities
to Students to explore the Thai healing arts, Thai culture, and The Teachings
of Gotama Buddha. David is a published author with books on the topics of
Traditional Thai Healing Arts and The Path That Leads to Enlightenment.
David has taught Gotama Buddha’s Teachings since 2005 in the United
States of America. In 2015, he closed his businesses and relocated to
Chiang Mai, Thailand to be closer to the Thai culture and the Thai
Community of Buddhist Practitioners.
David shares Gotama Buddha’s Teachings with Household Practitioners and
Ordained Practitioners in Chiang Mai, Thailand and around the world through
courses, retreats, and special events providing guidance to help people
attain Enlightenment - a peaceful, calm, serene, and content mind with joy.
For more information on participating in courses, retreats, special events or
to invite these Teachings to your learning venue, use the contact information
below:
Teacher - David Roylance
hello@buddhadailywisdom.com
www.BuddhaDailyWisdom.com
177


Restoration of The Buddha’s Teachings
The Path to Enlightenment
The Buddha taught over 2,500 years ago. He taught The Path to
Enlightenment guiding countless beings to a mental state that is peaceful,
calm, serene, and content with joy that is permanent, where the mind has
eliminated 100% of all discontent feelings such as sadness, anger,
frustration, irritation, annoyance, guilt, shame, fears, boredom, loneliness,
shyness, jealousy, resentment, stress, anxiety, etc.
Immediately following the death of The Buddha (i.e. Gotama Buddha), The
Teachings were shining in the world continuing to guide countless people to
Enlightenment. But, over the course of many generations, just as Gotama
Buddha predicted, people’s understanding of his Teachings gradually
diminished due to modifications and adjustments made by people after him.
The modifications made to his Teachings, handed down through oral
transmission, have made it increasingly difficult for human beings to attain
Enlightenment.
The goal of David’s Teachings is to root the learning and practice he
shares in “The Words of The Buddha” based on The Teachings that
existed during the lifetime of Gotama Buddha, so that countless beings
can now attain Enlightenment based on the original Path to
Enlightenment discovered and declared by Gotama Buddha.
David does this through connecting what he teaches to the largest most
complete source of Teachings from Gotama Buddha - The Pāli Canon. The
Pāli Canon is the original source text of The Teachings from Gotama Buddha
as spoken by him during his lifetime.
David has spent countless hours dedicated to restoring The Words of The
Buddha by updating a significant portion of the translations of Gotama
Buddha’s Teachings from The Pāli Canon. He now offers several resources
for Students to learn, reflect, and practice The Path to Enlightenment to
experience the results of an Enlightened mind.
David offers books, audiobooks, videos, podcasts, online learning programs,
personal guidance, and retreats without any requirement for financial
support. All the work that is being done is offered openly and freely for all
beings without any requirement to provide any financial support. David
accepts donations but Students are not required to provide donations for
any work that he does in supporting them on The Path to Enlightenment.
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David does not request donations and instead, just accepts whatever is
offered to him, if anything at all.
His dedication to sharing these Teachings is not motivated by finances. He
shares openly and freely with everyone who has a sincere interest in learning
and practicing The Path to Enlightenment.
Ultimately, David plans to preserve The Teachings of The Buddha in a format
that is easily, readily, and openly accessible to anyone in the world while
offering support to learn, reflect, and practice to experience the results of the
Enlightened mind.
His plan is to guide countless people to Enlightenment during his lifetime
and leave a Community of Enlightened beings who can continue to share
The Teachings long after his death. Through developing a Community of
Enlightened beings and preserving The Path to Enlightenment in resources
that are easily, readily, and openly accessible to anyone in the world, David is
revealing the hidden Teachings of Gotama Buddha and doing the best he
can to remove any obstacles one might have to learn, reflect, and practice
these Teachings, allowing countless people to experience the results of an
Enlightened mind.
Upon his death, David predicts that his closest Student, his son and a
continued lineage of Teachers, will share these same Teachings continuing to
support and grow The Community of Enlightened beings long into the future
- for the next 1,000 years.
These efforts will culminate into restoring The Path to Enlightenment back
into the world so that all of humanity can experience Enlightenment evolving
the human species to one where every being has the opportunity to attain
Enlightenment creating “heaven on earth”.
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The Goal
An Entire Species of Enlightened Beings
Having experienced Enlightenment and knowing the peace, calm, serenity,
and contentedness with joy that comes with having attained Enlightenment,
a Buddha’s goal is to share his Teachings worldwide so that “all beings” can
experience Enlightenment.
The Enlightened mind no longer experiences any discontent feelings such as
sadness, anger, frustration, irritation, annoyance, guilt, shame, fears,
boredom, loneliness, shyness, jealousy, resentment, anxiety, stress, etc.
All discontent feelings have been eliminated 100% from the Enlightened
mind (i.e. all suffering is eliminated).
An Enlightened mind will have loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic
joy, equanimity, and generosity among many other wholesome qualities.
Can you imagine an entire world where all human beings have liberated
their mind to no longer experience these discontent feelings and are
practicing wholesome qualities of mind at all times?
With “The Buddha” (Gotama Buddha) having attained this permanent mental
state of Enlightenment on his own as The Perfectly Enlightened Buddha, he
would have known that through his dedicated and persistent pursuit to
Enlightenment, he had acquired the wisdom needed to guide “all beings” to
this same mental state.
However, his teaching career of 45 years would not be enough time to share
his Teachings worldwide. He knew, that it would require many centuries for
his Teachings to reach all parts of the world. During his lifetime, travel of
people and information was limited based on several constraints.
Today, we are in a unique time in history where these same constraints have
been eliminated. A time when people and information are able to travel
around the world in an instant.
Not only can information travel quickly but all of humanity is slowly coming
to the point where there is a common language spoken around the world -
the English language.
Criteria exist today that did not exist during Gotama Buddha’s lifetime that
make now the perfect time for all of humanity to gradually attain
Enlightenment realizing a better existence.
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- People can travel worldwide.
- Information can be shared worldwide in an instant.
- Commonly spoken language among a large percentage of the worldwide
population and this is only growing.
These criteria did not exist during the lifetime of Gotama Buddha and it is
only now that the world has come into an age where his original goal is
realistically possible.
But, during Gotama Buddha’s lifetime it seems they had something that we
may not have….
The people during Gotama Buddha’s lifetime had perseverance and
dedication to learning, reflecting, and practicing The Teachings to realize the
results of experiencing the Enlightened mind. They were not afraid of hard
work.
With our modern day conveniences, I am unsure how many people are
willing to apply their determination, dedication, and diligence with time,
effort, energy, and resources towards The Path to Enlightenment with the
goal to experience the Enlightened mind.
When a being decides they are finished with the sadness, anger, frustration,
irritation, annoyance, guilt, shame, fear, boredom, loneliness, shyness,
jealousy, resentment, etc., that is the time when one can turn towards The
Teachings and goal of experiencing Enlightenment.
Through each individual deciding to learn and practice The Teachings of
Gotama Buddha, as a collective world, our species will gradually evolve. We
evolve to a higher consciousness where we train the mind to not harm others
through our intentions, speech, nor actions.
Through each individual deciding to learn, reflect, and practice The
Teachings of Gotama Buddha, each person benefits and we all benefit as
there will be less and less harm in the world.
Through individuals deciding to focus on developing a comprehensive
approach to learning and practicing The Teachings of Gotama Buddha with
guidance from a Teacher, your life drastically improves and the entire world
improves essentially creating “heaven on earth”.
We do not need to “fix” the world. That is not the problem. The problem is
the unEnlightened mind does not understand The Natural Laws of Existence
and it is quite a struggle to live in a world that one does not understand.
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Through learning and practicing The Teachings of Gotama Buddha, a
Practitioner comes to deeply understand The Natural Laws of Existence to
acquire wisdom that will end the struggles and misery one may face on a
regular basis.
Are you ready to apply determination, dedication, and diligence with time,
effort, energy, and resources towards The Path to Enlightenment with the
goal to experience Enlightenment?
If one enjoys anger, sadness, boredom, loneliness, resentment, etc., there is
nothing to do.
But, if you are interested to eliminate these unwelcomed feelings from the
mind, then I suggest you turn towards The Path to Enlightenment and apply
your dedication and diligence to learning, reflecting, and practicing The
Teachings of Gotama Buddha.
And then, as all of humanity gradually experiences Enlightenment we will
have accomplished “the goal”.
“An entire species of Enlightened beings”.
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Why Have I Decided to Teach The Path to
Enlightenment as Taught by Gotama Buddha?
I have chosen to share these Teachings out of compassion for the world.
Compassion (Pāli: karuṇā) is concern for the misfortunes of others.
And due to this compassion, it is important to share Teachings that are
based in wisdom, not belief.
There are countless traditions and ways of sharing those traditions
throughout the world. All of these, in one form or another, are essentially
sharing to cultivate and practice 1.) Universal Love for All Beings 2.) Do No
Harm and 3.) Be a Good Moral Person.
However, the way each tradition is shared and the clarity of those teachings
is unique to each tradition.
The Path to Enlightenment as taught by Gotama Buddha (“The Buddha”)
over 2,500 years ago as documented in The Pāli Canon, is the most clear,
concise, and precise Teachings I have ever encountered that leads exactly
where he said they do, to Enlightenment.
The Enlightened mind is peaceful, calm, serene, and content with joy -
permanently. The Enlightened mind will no longer experience any discontent
feelings such as sadness, anger, frustration, irritation, annoyance, guilt,
shame, fears, boredom, loneliness, shyness, jealousy, resentment, stress,
anxiety, etc.
This is accomplished through not believing The Teachings of The Buddha but
instead, through learning, reflecting, and practicing to discover the truth. The
mind can be trained to eliminate all the conditions that are causing it to be
stuck in the unEnlightened state. Through eliminating the pollution of mind
by training the mind, one can experience liberation of mind, freedom from
strong feelings, peace, Enlightenment.
The Buddha’s Teachings are the only Teachings that I have encountered that
do not rely on belief. With belief, one does not know what is true or false
because they are just believing. Instead, Gotama Buddha’s Teachings are
shared in such a way that, a Practitioner can investigate and examine them
to determine the truth which leads to wisdom and thus, Enlightenment. If one
was to only believe The Teachings of The Buddha, they could not acquire
wisdom nor attain Enlightenment.
183


These Teachings are perfectly suited for today’s society where there is a
proliferation of misinformation and untruths. These Teachings, with guidance
from a Teacher, guide a Practitioner to independently discover the truth
through deeply investigating The Natural Laws of Existence (i.e. The
Teachings of The Buddha). Through doing this inner work on The Path to
Enlightenment, one can discover that these Teachings are the solution to the
challenges we experience in the world and the solutions of how to heal from
what hurt us so that we never need to hurt again. The mind can completely
and entirely eliminate 100% of all discontent feelings once it is Enlightened.
This cannot be accomplished through belief.
Instead, a Practitioner needs to be determined, dedicated, and diligent to
doing the inner work to develop the mind and progress towards the
Enlightened mental state by acquiring wisdom.
As far as I have discovered, there are no other teachings on the planet that
can guide an individual to the complete elimination of discontent feelings
through independently verifying the teachings to acquire wisdom. The
Buddha did something very unique during his lifetime that no other person or
Teacher has accomplished.
He independently attained Enlightenment, dedicated the rest of his life to
sharing his independently discovered Teachings guiding countless people to
Enlightenment, and he left his Teachings in such a condition that countless
more people have attained Enlightenment after his death. He meets all the
criteria of a true Buddha. Gotama Buddha was a true Buddha.
My work during this life has been to rediscover these Teachings, in such a
way, that they can now be shared worldwide in the international language of
English so that countless people all throughout the world can attain
Enlightenment during this lifetime and after my death.
The only way to accomplish this goal is to share Teachings that are not
based in belief but instead, are based in independently verifiable truth so that
a Practitioner can acquire wisdom.
These Teachings are clear, concise, and precise. They invite investigation
and examination. Through doing this work, one can gradually train the mind
to gradually practice these Teachings and gradually progress to
Enlightenment. As discontentedness is gradually diminished and then
eliminated from the mind, one can see the truth for themselves that these
Teachings work to guide one to Enlightenment.
184


These Teachings lead exactly where Gotama Buddha said they do, to
Enlightenment, and through each individual choosing to attain
Enlightenment, humanity will evolve the human species and at the same time
create “heaven on earth”.
185

Why Have I Decided to Reside and Teach in
Thailand in Order to Restore The Teachings of The
Buddha Back into Humanity and Create “Heaven
on Earth”?
1.) Largest Population of Theravada Buddhist Practitioners Anywhere in
the World: Thailand is the largest population of Theravada Buddhist
Practitioners and Teachers anywhere in the world. Theravada Buddhism
considers The Pāli Canon to be the original source Teachings of The Buddha
in The Words of The Buddha. Theravada Buddhism teaches the importance
of not changing The Teachings of The Buddha and practicing The Path to
Enlightenment as a Buddha has taught, without any modifications.
The Pāli Canon is an important text that should not be believed to be the true
Teachings of The Buddha but instead, one can learn, reflect, and practice to
independently verify The Teachings to acquire wisdom observing the truth in
The Teachings as the mind awakens and discontent feelings are gradually
diminished and ultimately eliminated.
Once I dedicate the remaining time of this life sharing these Teachings to
restore them back into the world, the Thai people and all other diligent
Students who choose to learn with me will not ever allow these Teachings to
be changed, modified, degraded, or lost over time. The Thai people and
diligent Students are well aware that since the lifetime of Gotama Buddha,
that is what has occurred and, through having these Teachings restored
during the remaining time of this life, the Thai people and diligent Students
will not allow this to occur again.
The Thai people will support these Teachings and ensure they continue to be
offered in the world for the benefit of “all beings” while being hosted in
Thailand and supported by dedicated Students from many international
locations.
These Teachings have existed in Thailand for 800-1200 years and they have
received significant support from countless people over many generations.
The Thai people understand just how impactful The Teachings of The
Buddha are to their society and for all of humanity. The Thai people can
observe my dedication and commitment to sharing these Teachings, and
where possible, they will support me in sharing these Teachings throughout
Thailand and throughout the world.
186


Due to these Teachings existing in Thailand for approximately 800-1200
years, there is a significant amount of infrastructure already created through
over 30,000-40,000 Temples where local Thai people and visitors to Thailand
can actively learn, reflect, and practice these Teachings to acquire wisdom
and then integrate them into their lives. The Temple and Ordained
Practitioner infrastructure is not isolated to only Thailand but extends
throughout the world and is readily accessible to the benefit of “all beings”.
The Thai people have laid the groundwork for these Teachings to now be
shared worldwide through the Temple and Ordained Practitioner foundation
and infrastructure that has been created over multiple generations.
Thailand is a favorite destination for international travelers with many people
visiting Thailand to gain exposure and understanding of these Teachings
allowing them to be learned and then practiced “worldwide”. There is an
international audience that regularly visits Thailand who can learn these
Teachings to then return back to their home country where these Teachings
will be able to take root within all international societies. As these Teachings
flourish around the world, Thailand has the knowledge and resources to
support all of humanity to develop a Temple and Ordained Practitioner
infrastructure that can be created within each individual country based on
the interest of each country to more deeply integrate these Teachings into
their local communities.
2.) Students Have the Ability to Learn and Practice Among Millions of
Practitioners: One aspect of learning and practicing The Teachings of The
Buddha that will aid one’s development and progress towards the attainment
of Enlightenment is, to be part of a Community of Practitioners and Teachers
that can provide guidance for gradual training and gradual practice to
experience gradual progress on The Path to Enlightenment.
Through me residing and teaching in Thailand, Students have the
opportunity to live in a Community of Practitioners and Teachers who are
deeply committed to these Teachings and can serve as a role model for
Students to gain deeper understanding of how to practice these Teachings in
everyday life - even if on a semi-temporary basis during short visits to learn.
Through Students traveling to Thailand to learn while being surrounded by
millions of Practitioners, they can more readily absorb how one might
choose to integrate these Teachings into their daily life through observing
how the people of Thailand live with countless nationalities residing
peacefully and harmoniously with each other throughout the Kingdom of
Thailand. Students will not only be able to learn these Teachings in a
classroom setting at a Temple but, they will also experience day-to-day
interactions with people who are choosing to deeply practice these
Teachings creating “real life lessons” in a “classroom without walls”.
187


The entire Kingdom of Thailand can serve as a real life classroom
environment where these Teachings are readily practiced and observable by
those who choose to visit this Kingdom. I often refer to Thailand as “heaven
on earth”.
3.) Can Live With Minimal Expenses: To be able to offer these Teachings at
“no cost” I needed to find a location where I could reside with minimal
expenses. This allows me to live based on donations rather than charging
Students a price for the time, effort, energy, and resources that I expend to
share these Teachings worldwide. This allows me to serve the widest
audience possible without a need to require payment for my services and
The Teachings that are shared.
The basic necessities to live life are readily available and are offered at a
minimal cost in Thailand. This provides me the ability to live a basic lifestyle
from donations shared by Students. I am able to purchase food, water,
clothing, shelter, and medical care at a relatively nominal cost. And, services
that I might need to support the development of learning resources are also
readily available at a nominal cost.
Whether it be an audio studio to record an audiobook, printing services,
technology, classroom supplies, or a full range of other needs to support the
continued sharing of these Teachings, Thailand offers these at a nominal
price so that there is the best utilization of any and all donations received.
As a result, I am able to help any and all beings regardless of their financial
situation through creating a lifestyle where I only need basic necessities to
survive and those are provided at a nominal cost while being supported by
donations that are fully utilized by purchasing goods and services that are
made available at a reasonable price.
4.) Healthy Environment to Live Life and Work: A wise choice for a place
to live and teach would need to include a healthy food supply, weather,
environment, and lifestyle. All of these are readily available in Thailand which
is able to support me in leading as healthy of a lifestyle as possible.
The food in Thailand is healthy and readily available. There are many fresh
fruits, vegetables, herbs, nuts, seeds, and other foods that are a regular part
of the Thai food offerings and readily accessible among countless fresh food
markets. This allows me to ingest quality food that is supportive to a long
and healthy life, thus, being able to support the learning of many Students
for as long as possible due to an elongated duration of life.
188


Thailand’s weather and environment provides the least impact to the
physical body without significant weather changes or weather events that
can be taxing to one’s physical health.
The Thai economy is conducive to living a balanced lifestyle that supports a
significant amount of time with family and friends. A work-life balance is
highly understood, appreciated, supported, and straight forward to create
while living in Thailand. I am able to remain dedicated and determined in my
work life while also being dedicated to quality time within our immediate
family. This creates the very best environment to ensure consistent health
and longevity of life while enjoying a fulfilling life.
5.) Can Share Teachings Within Thailand Throughout the Day and Can
Share Teachings with the Rest of The World in the Mornings and
Evenings: Through living and sharing these Teachings from Thailand and
needing minimal sleep, I am able to help countless people throughout the
day based on the Thai timezone, while helping countless people in other
timezones during the early morning hours and evenings. This allows me to
be effective at sharing these Teachings around the clock and throughout the
world without any limitations based on restrictive timezones.
The timezone in Thailand is favorable to allowing me to share these
Teachings worldwide without limitations based on the time of day. I can be
helpful from morning, afternoon, and evening where there are Students who
are readily interested to learn - whether in-person or online.
6.) Students Have Easy Access to Visas to Gain Access to Classes,
Courses, and Retreats: To be successful at sharing these Teachings
worldwide, in-person learning is ideal. While there is much that can be
learned online and that is one way to be able to share these Teachings, there
is no better way to develop your life practice than to learn through in-person
access to a Teacher.
Through residing and teaching in Thailand, Students from all over the world
have easy access to classes, courses, and retreats from within Thailand due
to easy access to visas and as a result, me as their Teacher. Thailand does
not have restrictive visa requirements that would bar people from certain
countries which would inhibit “all beings” from gaining access to these
Teachings.
Instead, Thailand is open and accessible to a wide majority of the world and
where needed, I am able to travel.
189


I live in Chiang Mai, Thailand which is an international destination for
countless people around the world. I live within a 4000 km distance to fifty
percent (50%) of the world’s population. This means that half of the world’s
population is a short drive or plane ride away. This creates the ability for a
large majority of humanity to more easily gain access to these Teachings.
And, where needed, I am able to easily travel to all other parts of the world
and teach online.
People often travel to Thailand for the sole purpose of learning The
Teachings of The Buddha on The Path to Enlightenment. So, by sharing
these Teachings from within Thailand, there are countless people who are
coming here specifically to learn and practice in the exact location where I
reside and teach.
In conclusion, through residing and teaching in Thailand as a “home-base”, I
am able to readily share these Teachings worldwide and work towards the
restoration of The Teachings of The Buddha back into humanity so that
countless people can attain Enlightenment during this lifetime and after my
death.
Thailand is the perfect location for these Teachings to be shared and to serve
as a “home-base” or “headquarters” for the international community to be
invited and welcomed with “open arms”. There is no other location on earth
that could provide for a better location to share these important Teachings
and to then be preserved for future generations.
The Kingdom is here in Thailand and ready to support you in the
development of your life practice towards the attainment of Enlightenment so
that we can all create “heaven on earth”.
The Teachings are hosted in the east and visible in the west.
They are readily available to you and there will be a period of 1,000 years
that they will “shine in the world” for all those who choose to learn, reflect,
and practice to experience the peace and joy of the Enlightened mind. Then,
with all of us doing the work towards developing our own individual practice
of these Teachings, they will never again diminish, be degraded, or lost.
Once restored, these Teachings can continue to support humanity for the
rest of time.
May you discover the peace and joy of the Enlightened mind in this lifetime.
May you be peaceful, may you be safe, may you be well, and may you be
free of all discontentedness and the suffering it causes.
190


Invitation to Learn
I would like to invite you to a kind, compassionate and loving community of
Practitioners to learn and grow with these Teachings.
I would like to invite you to join this online group.
You will find it to be an online learning center for these Teachings and there
is a Teacher there to help provide guidance as you have questions.
Daily Wisdom - Walking The Path with The Buddha
https://www.facebook.com/groups/DailyWisdom999/
Additional Learning
Visit BuddhaDailyWisdom.com where you will discover a full range of
courses, retreats, and online learning resources to assist you on
The Path to Enlightenment.
Donations for Learning
Learn The Teachings of Gotama Buddha that lead to a stable, calm, and peaceful mind.
A more peaceful and loving world where all beings have care and compassion for each
other.
By supporting this learning opportunity, you will learn how to progress along
The Path to Enlightenment and help offer these Teachings to others through online and
in-person learning. Through these Teachings, the world will become a kinder, more
peaceful, and loving society.
Consider contributing $5, $10, $15 or any amount you wish to help us continue to offer
these Teachings to you and others around the world.
You can make a donation for the development and creation of these Teachings to help
you and others using this link.
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191

Created by:
Daily Wisdom - Walking The Path with The Buddha
BuddhaDailyWisdom.com
Facebook:
https://bit.ly/DailyWisdom-Facebook
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https://bit.ly/DailyWisdom-Youtube
Podcast:
https://bit.ly/DailyWisdom-Podcast
I would like to express my appreciation and gratitude for the community of
Ordained and Household Practitioners benefiting from the leadership of
Venerable Bhikkhu Kukrit Sotthibalo at Wat Na Pah Pong in Krung Thep,
Thailand for their dedication and diligence in sharing The Teachings of
Gotama Buddha. Their work was the inspiration for
“The Words of The Buddha” book series.
Wat Na Pah Pong
http://watnapp.com
192


THE WORDS OF THE BUDDHA
The Path to Enlightenment
Revealing The Hidden
Volume 1
Developing a Life Practice: The Path That Leads to Enlightenment
Volume 2
Walking The Path with The Buddha
Volume 3
Foundation in The Teachings
Volume 4
Exploring The Path to Enlightenment
Volume 5
The First Stage of Enlightenment
(Stream-Enterer)
Volume 6
The Natural Law of Kamma
Volume 7
Breathing Mindfulness Meditation
Volume 8
The Foremost Householders
Volume 9
The Six Sense Bases
Volume 10
The Buddha’s Way
Volume 11
The Realms of Existence
Volume 12
Lowly Arts
Volume 13
Generosity
FREE Download, Print, or Kindle
https://www.buddhadailywisdom.com/freebuddhabooks
193


THE WORDS OF THE BUDDHA
The Path to Enlightenment
Revealing The Hidden
The Realms of Existence
Volume 11
1

Note from Author 15
Preface 21
The Realms of Existence 21
Chapter 1 25
Existence 25
Chapter 2 29
The Production of Renewed Existence (First Discourse) 29
Chapter 3 31
The Production of Renewed Existence (Second Discourse) 31
Chapter 4 34
The Conduit to Existence 34
Chapter 5 36
The Production of Future Renewed Existence 36
Chapter 6 38
Stations of Consciousness (First Discourse) 38
Chapter 7 40
Stations of Consciousness (Second Discourse) 40
Chapter 8 44
A Small Amount of Existence is Not Praiseworthy 44
Chapter 9 47
One Called a Being 47
Chapter 10 48
Craving is the Fuel of Rebirth 48
Chapter 11 54
Four Kinds of Generation 54
Chapter 12 55
Nine Abodes of Beings 55
Chapter 13 60
Five Destinations and Similes of Destination 60
Chapter 14 65
Ten Courses of Unwholesome Kamma (Deposited in Hell) 65
Chapter 15 68
Dangers to One of Unwholesome Morality 68
2

Chapter 16 71
Crooked Destination and Rebirth 71
Chapter 17 73
Leading to Hell, to the Animal Realm, and to the Realm of Afflicted Spirits 73
Chapter 18 76
The Unwise Person’s Unhappy Destination 76
Chapter 19 78
To Be Reborn in the ‘Hell of Laughter’ 78
Chapter 20 80
To Be Reborn in the ‘Battle‑Slain Hell’ 80
Chapter 21 82
Doomed to Deprivation in Hell for an Eon 82
Chapter 22 84
Simile for the Suffering in Hell 84
Chapter 23 89
Many Kinds of Tortures Inflicted on Those Who Do Evil Unwholesome Actions 89
Chapter 24 98
Simile of the Life Span in Hell 98
Chapter 25 102
The Hell Named ‘The Great Conflagration’ 102
Chapter 26 104
The Hell Named ‘The Contact’s Sixfold Base’ 104
Chapter 27 105
The Suffering of Bondage 105
Chapter 28 108
Few in Hell to Be Reborn Among Human Beings or Heavenly Beings 108
Chapter 29 110
Other Darkness Greater Than the Blinding Darkness in the World of Dreadful Regions 110
Chapter 30 113
To Reappear in the Company of Animals 113
Chapter 31 115
The Serpents 115
Chapter 32 117
3

Four Modes of Generation of Nāgas 117
Chapter 33 119
Nāgas Cause and Reason for Observing the Uposatha 119
Chapter 34 121
To Be Reborn in the Company of Egg‑Born Nāgas 121
(First Discourse) 121
Chapter 35 122
To Be Reborn in the Company of Egg‑Born Nāgas 122
(Second Discourse) 122
Chapter 36 123
Four Modes of Generation of Supaṇṇas 123
Chapter 37 126
To Be Reborn in the Company of Egg-Born Supaṇṇas (First Discourse) 126
Chapter 38 127
To Be Reborn in the Company of Egg-Born Supaṇṇas (Second Discourse) 127
Chapter 39 128
To Reappear in the Company of Dogs To Reappear in the Company of Oxen 128
Chapter 40 136
The Vast Plane of Misery 136
Chapter 41 139
Terrible and Harsh Prison of Hell and Prison of Animal Realm 139
Chapter 42 141
Few Animals Are Reborn Among Human Beings or Heavenly Beings 141
Chapter 43 144
Hungry Ghosts (Afflicted Spirits) 144
Chapter 44 151
Few Afflicted Spirits Are Reborn Among Human Beings or Heavenly Beings 151
Chapter 45 155
Ten Courses of Wholesome Kamma (Deposited in Heaven) 155
Chapter 46 158
Five Advantages to One of Wholesome Morality and of Success in Morality 158
Chapter 47 162
One is Reborn through One’s Deeds 162
4

Chapter 48 164
Three Surpassing Respects of Jambudīpa People 164
Chapter 49 166
Birth is the Origin of Discontentedness 166
The Union of Three Things 166
Chapter 50 169
How Is One Developed in the Womb? 169
Chapter 51 171
Consciousness Conditions Name-and-Form 171
Chapter 52 173
Union and Disengagement Concerning Femininity and Masculinity 173
Chapter 53 178
Why Human Beings Are Seen to Be Unwholesome and Wholesome? 178
Chapter 54 186
Duty of a Noble Wheel-Turning Monarch 186
Chapter 55 188
Beings Bound by Action 188
Chapter 56 190
The Path Leading to Reappearance in Accordance With One’s Objective 190
Chapter 57 192
‘On Knowledge of Beginnings’ 192
Chapter 58 202
Causes of a Decrease in People’s Lifespan 202
Chapter 59 209
Become Unrighteous 209
Chapter 60 211
Reasons for Depopulation 211
Chapter 61 213
Cause of Ill Will 213
Chapter 62 215
One Frightened and Terrified of Death One Not Frightened and Terrified of Death 215
Chapter 63 220
Rare That One Obtains the Human State 220
5

Chapter 64 222
Beings Are Few Who Are Reborn Among Human Beings or Heavenly Beings Because
They Have Not Seen The Four Noble Truths 222
Chapter 65 226
The Three Surpassing Respects of the Heavenly Beings (Tāvatiṃsa) 226
Chapter 66 227
By Reason of Righteous Conduct 227
Chapter 67 233
Why Is One Gift Not of Great Fruit and Benefit While the Other Is? 233
Chapter 68 237
Having Fulfilled and Not Having Fulfilled One’s Duty Towards The Ascetics (Ordained
Practitioners) 237
Chapter 69 241
Reappearance in Accordance with One’s Objectives 241
Chapter 70 245
Eight Kinds of Rebirth on Account of Giving 245
Chapter 71 248
Three Bases of Meritorious Activity 248
Chapter 72 252
The Generous One Would Surpass the Other 252
Chapter 73 256
A Simile Describing the Happiness of Heaven 256
Chapter 74 263
Great Fruit and Benefit of the Noble Ones’ Uposatha Observance 263
Chapter 75 273
The Heavenly Beings of the Gandhabba Order 273
Chapter 76 274
To Be Reborn in the Company of the Heavenly Beings of the Gandhabba Order 274
Chapter 77 275
To Be Reborn in the Company of the Heavenly Beings Who Reside in Fragrant Roots 275
Chapter 78 276
The Heavenly Beings of the Cloud‑Residing Order 276
Chapter 79 277
To Be Reborn in the Company of the Heavenly Beings of the Cloud‑Residing Order 277
6

Chapter 80 278
The Agreeable‑Bodied Heavenly Beings 278
Chapter 81 285
Where Heavenly Beings Take Up Lodging 285
Chapter 82 287
Seven Vows for Achieving the Status of ‘Ruler of the Heavenly Beings’ 287
Chapter 83 289
Offering for the Heavenly Beings 289
Chapter 84 291
The Supreme Honor and Respect 291
Chapter 85 292
The Path to the Company of Brahmā (The Brahmā-vihāras) 292
Chapter 86 296
The Difference Between the Instructed Noble Disciple and Uninstructed Worldling 296
Chapter 87 299
Rebirth of One Reflecting on Impermanence 299
Chapter 88 302
The Future Destination of the Instructed Noble Disciple Filled with The Brahmā-vihāras
Versus the Uninstructed Worldlings 302
Chapter 89 306
Rebirth of a Person Cultivating The Brahmā-vihāras and Reflecting on Impermanence 306
Chapter 90 308
The Distinction Between the Instructed Noble Disciple with Formless Attainments and the
Uninstructed Worldling 308
Chapter 91 311
Fruits from Residing in Formless Perceptions and Considering Impermanence 311
Chapter 92 317
The Heavenly Beings of the Pure Abodes 317
Chapter 93 320
The Heavenly Beings from Ten World‑Systems Coming to See The Tathāgata and His
Order of Monks 320
Chapter 94 326
Once the Heavenly Beings and the Asuras Were Arrayed for Battle 326
Chapter 95 330
7

Gender of Five Beings 330
Chapter 96 332
Four Observable Benefits for One Who Learned The Teachings by Ear 332
Chapter 97 337
The Heaven Named ‘Contact’s Sixfold Base’ 337
Chapter 98 338
Impermanent, Short-Term, Non‑Eternal Heavenly Beings 338
Chapter 99 340
A Harmful View of Baka the Brahmā 340
Chapter 100 346
The Partly Eternalists and The Partly Non‑Eternalists 346
Chapter 101 350
The Heavenly Beings’ Good Destination 350
Chapter 102 352
Beings Are Few Who Are Reborn Among Heavenly Beings or Human Beings Because
They Have Not Seen The Four Noble Truths 352
Chapter 103 356
A Simile of an Eon (First Discourse) 356
Chapter 104 358
A Simile of an Eon (Second Discourse) 358
Chapter 105 360
The Cycle of Rebirth Is Without Discoverable Beginning (First Discourse) 360
Chapter 106 368
The Cycle of Rebirth Is Without Discoverable Beginning (Second Discourse) 368
Chapter 107 370
Beings Roaming and Wandering on Through this Beginning‑less Cycle of Rebirth 370
Chapter 108 372
The Long Course in The Cycle of Rebirth 372
Chapter 109 374
Not Easy to Find Unrelated Beings In This Long Course of The Cycle of Rebirth 374
Chapter 110 377
The Stream of Tears 377
Chapter 111 380
8

The Mother’s Milk 380
Chapter 112 382
In Misfortune, In Misery, In This Long Course 382
Chapter 113 383
In Happiness, In Fortune, In this Long Course 383
Chapter 114 384
The Stream of Blood 384
Chapter 115 386
Beings Roaming and Wandering on from this World to the Other World and from the Other
World to this World 386
Chapter 116 387
So Impermanent, So Unstable, So Unreliable Conditions 387
Chapter 117 390
Conditioned Objects Are Impermanent 390
Chapter 118 395
Not Understanding and Not Penetrating The Four Noble Truths 395
Chapter 119 398
A Simile of Nibbāna (Enlightenment) 398
Chapter 120 399
An Untaught Ordinary Person 399
Chapter 121 402
Nibbāna The Destruction of the Taints 402
Chapter 122 403
The Destruction of Craving is Nibbāna (Enlightenment) 403
Chapter 123 405
Directly Visible Nibbāna (Enlightenment) 405
Chapter 124 407
Directly Visible Nibbāna Spoken by The Perfectly Enlightened One (Shared by the
Venerable Ānanda) 407
Chapter 125 409
Nibbāna in This Very Life (Enlightenment) 409
Chapter 126 411
That Spoken Elimination 411
Chapter 127 413
9

The Elimination of The Five Aggregates is The Elimination of Discontentedness 413
Chapter 128 416
The Elimination of The Six Sense Bases is The Elimination of Discontentedness 416
Chapter 129 417
Craving Abandoned No More Subject to Future Arising 417
Chapter 130 418
Elimination of Craving Called The Laying Down of the Burden 418
Chapter 131 421
Abandoning Being Capable of Destroying Discontentedness 421
Chapter 132 422
There Is No You There 422
Chapter 133 423
The Conditioned 423
Chapter 134 425
The Unconditioned 425
Chapter 135 427
Where Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind Find No Footing 427
Chapter 136 430
In This Fathom‑Long Body 430
Chapter 137 433
But Because There is an Unborn, Unbecome, Unmade, Unconditioned 433
Chapter 138 434
Final Knowledge is Achieved by Gradual Training 434
Chapter 139 439
Seeing Non-self with Correct Wisdom 439
Chapter 140 441
The Noble Eight Fold Path The Way of Practice Leading to the Elimination of
Discontentedness 441
Chapter 141 450
Remember Me Brāhmin As Awake (A Buddha) 450
Chapter 142 453
The Eight Kinds of Assemblies 453
Chapter 143 454
10

The Marks of a Great Man Thirty-Two Marks of A Buddha 454
Chapter 144 460
Benefits for One’s Confidence in The Tathāgata 460
Chapter 145 462
Recipient and the Fruit of Such Gift 462
Chapter 146 467
The Rare Appearance of Five Treasures 467
Chapter 147 472
A Helpful Person 472
Chapter 148 475
This Holy Life is Lived for the Abandoning of Existence 475
Author 480
Restoration of The Buddha’s Teachings 481
The Path to Enlightenment 481
The Goal 483
An Entire Species of Enlightened Beings 483
Why Have I Decided to Teach The Path to Enlightenment as Taught by Gotama Buddha?
486
Why Have I Decided to Reside and Teach in Thailand in Order to Restore The Teachings
of The Buddha Back into Humanity and Create “Heaven on Earth”? 489
11

The author is donating 100% of all his proceeds from
this book to charitable work to share The Teachings
of Gotama Buddha.
You are welcome to freely distribute this book.
Please consider providing a donation to support the
continued sharing of these Teachings.
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12

THE WORDS OF THE BUDDHA
The Path to Enlightenment
Revealing The Hidden
Volume 1
Developing a Life Practice: The Path That Leads to Enlightenment
Volume 2
Walking The Path with The Buddha
Volume 3
Foundation in The Teachings
Volume 4
Exploring The Path to Enlightenment
Volume 5
The First Stage of Enlightenment
(Stream-Enterer)
Volume 6
The Natural Law of Kamma
Volume 7
Breathing Mindfulness Meditation
Volume 8
The Foremost Householders
Volume 9
The Six Sense Bases
Volume 10
The Buddha’s Way
Volume 11
The Realms of Existence
Volume 12
Lowly Arts
Volume 13
Generosity
FREE Download, Print, or Kindle
https://www.buddhadailywisdom.com/freebuddhabooks
13

The Realms of Existence (Volume 11)
Journey through The Words of The Buddha from the beginning of his first
Teaching until his “last words” prior to death.
The book, “The Realms of Existence” is select Teachings from The Buddha
organized from the largest and most complete collection of The Buddha’s
Teachings on The Path to Enlightenment - The Pāli Canon.
The Pāli Canon, or The Pāli Text, comprises forty-five (45) large volumes of
books where Students from the lifetime of The Buddha captured his
Teachings. The discourses of The Buddha in The Pāli Canon represent the
largest and most complete collection we have of The Buddha’s Teachings in
his own words. The Buddha’s Teachings are scattered over multiple volumes
of books in The Pāli Canon making it challenging for the average Practitioner
to glean the benefit of his Teachings.
The Words of The Buddha book series, has consolidated and organized his
Teachings into a series of books, based on specific topics, with explanations
of The Teachings from a dedicated Practitioner and Teacher.
You will find books such as Breathing Mindfulness Meditation (Volume 7) that
are the consolidated Teachings in The Words of The Buddha related to
meditation. The Natural Law of Kamma (Volume 6) provides Teachings
directly from The Buddha related to the important topic of Kamma. The
Foremost Householders (Volume 8) shares Teachings specifically for
Household Practitioners who are pursuing The Path to Enlightenment where
the mind is peaceful, calm, serene, and content with joy - permanently.
The Words of The Buddha book series will provide a beginning, middle, and
end with detailed Teachings to develop your life practice and the ability to
seek guidance with the author of the book series. Learn, reflect, and practice
The Teachings of The Buddha, in his own words, with guidance from a
Teacher - offered openly and freely to “all beings”.
BuddhaDailyWisdom.com
14

Note from Author
This book shares Teachings from Gotama Buddha to guide Practitioners on
The Path to Enlightenment.
In various settings, Gotama Buddha is sharing Teachings with either a male
or a female - a husband or a wife.
As you learn, reflect, and practice these Teachings from Gotama Buddha,
you should consider The Teachings shared as multi-gendered. So while
Gotama Buddha may be using a specific gender of he/she, male/female, or a
specific title of husband/wife, son/daughter you can apply these same
Teachings to all genders and roles of the opposite of which he was
addressing his Teachings to in the setting in which The Teachings were
originally shared, or use a gender-neutral pronoun.
If Gotama Buddha is sharing Teachings with a man of how to be a
wholesome husband, you can relate this same Teaching for a female of how
to be a wholesome wife. If he is sharing a Teaching with a male of how to be
a wholesome son, you can relate this same Teaching for a female of how to
be a wholesome daughter. You have the freedom to apply these Teachings
using all genders and titles in use today.
Additionally, Gotama Buddha never used rebirth in the heavenly realm nor
rebirth in the lower realms of hell, animal, or afflicted spirits as a way to guilt,
shame, fear, or otherwise motivate people to learn and practice his
Teachings.
When you come to understand Teachings shared by Gotama Buddha related
to these potential future destinations upon rebirth, he is sharing the truth of
what will or will not occur based on specific Teachings based on The Natural
Laws of Existence. The truth he discovered, observed, and experienced as
The Perfectly Enlightened One.
One should in no way consider these Teachings he shared as a way to guilt,
shame, or fear one into learning and practicing his Teachings but instead,
consider that he is sharing the truth of what will or will not occur ensuring
that Practitioners understand the truth related to The Natural Laws of
Existence. Gotama Buddha’s Teachings on The Path to Enlightenment
involve, among other things, the elimination of guilt, shame, and fear. He
would not use guilt, shame, or fear to motivate someone to learn and
practice his Teachings because his most core and central Teaching of The
Four Noble Truths, and everything else he taught, makes it clear that the
objective is to eliminate discontent feelings such as guilt, shame, and fear.
15

Gotama Buddha shared The Teachings as guidance for anyone who chooses
to learn and practice without forceful influence. Through learning, reflecting,
and practicing his Teachings, one comes to understand the truth as the
condition of the mind and the condition of one’s life gradually improve.
It is not possible to forcefully influence one to attain Enlightenment and that
approach was never employed by The Perfectly Enlightened One, and
should never be employed by anyone else. Learning and practicing these
Teachings is through personal free will choice.
A Buddha only points the way, everyone else must strive.
While this book series contains “The Words of The Buddha” as the
foundation and focus of study, the author has provided you content in which
to understand and reflect on his thoughts related to The Teachings shared by
The Buddha.
A reader and, thus, Practitioner should not rely solely on the author’s content
in their reflection on The Teachings from Gotama Buddha. The author’s
content is to provide you guidance towards understanding but it is you, the
Practitioner, who needs to deeply investigate “The Words of The Buddha” to
determine the truth for yourself. You should not be limited to only what the
author has provided by way of meaning and understanding of “The Words of
The Buddha”. Instead, learn, reflect, practice, and seek guidance from a
Teacher to support you in gaining wisdom. The mind is liberated through
wisdom.
To gain the most benefit from “The Words of The Buddha” book series,
it is suggested that you start with (Volume 1), “Developing a Life
Practice: The Path That Leads to Enlightenment”. That book will provide
a framework to understand all of Gotama Buddha’s Teachings in the
entire book series. Without reading that book first, a Practitioner will
find it very challenging to start with learning from “The Words of The
Buddha”.
FREE Download, Print, or Kindle
https://www.buddhadailywisdom.com/freebuddhabooks
16

The Problem - The Wisdom of Enlightenment Has Been Lost
Gotama Buddha lived over 2,500 years ago sharing The Teachings that lead
to Enlightenment.
During his lifetime, it was well known to people who were learning, reflecting,
and practicing with him as their Teacher, exactly what Enlightenment is and
how to attain it.
This wisdom remained for 500 years after the death of The Buddha. But
thereafter, this wisdom has gradually declined and diminished to the point
where we are today, 2,500 years later. Gotama Buddha predicted this would
occur.
The vast majority of the world does not understand what Enlightenment is
and how to attain it. The Path to Enlightenment, while once was strong and
vibrant during the lifetime of The Buddha, has now practically disappeared.
There are very few beings in existence today who understand what
Enlightenment is and how to attain it.
The Universal Truth of Impermanence has drastically affected humanity’s
understanding of The Path to Enlightenment.
This occurred through the lack of focus and diligence to maintain The
Teachings of The Buddha as vibrantly as existed during his lifetime. People
gradually and slowly mixed and blended various traditions and thoughts into
The Buddha’s Teachings which, while perhaps well intended, have only
served to dilute humanity’s understanding of The Path to Enlightenment and,
thus, have made it extremely difficult for countless beings to experience
Enlightenment.
Enlightenment is a peaceful, calm, serene, and content mind with joy that is
permanent. The Enlightened mind no longer experiences any discontent
feelings. All discontentedness such as sadness, anger, frustration, irritation,
annoyance, guilt, shame, fears, boredom, loneliness, shyness, jealousy,
resentment, stress, anxiety, etc., has been completely eliminated from the
Enlightened mind.
Gotama Buddha’s objective is for his Teachings to be shared worldwide so
that all beings can experience the Enlightened mental state. However, during
his lifetime, it was impossible to share his Teachings worldwide. It has now
come to us to be able to actively learn, reflect, and practice his Teachings, in
such a way, that they are restored and shining in the world so that countless
17

individuals can attain Enlightenment today and in multiple generations to
come.
But, in order to accomplish this goal, we will need to stay determined,
dedicated, and diligent to learning, reflecting, and practicing The Teachings
of The Buddha that he shared over 2,500 years ago. We will need to be
diligent to ensure that we are not diluting his Teachings through mixing
various traditions and practices that are not part of The Path to
Enlightenment.
Every Practitioner will need to decide, are they interested in being part of the
problem or part of the solution.
The solution takes time, effort, energy, and resources to be committed
enough to restoring The Buddha’s Teachings back into humanity, in such a
way, that is highly beneficial to countless individuals today and long into the
future.
Remaining part of the problem requires no time, effort, energy, or resources.
It just requires continued complacency and lack of attention to the active
learning, reflecting, and practicing of “The Words of The Buddha”. I suggest
it would be unwise to remain part of the problem as one will continue to
experience discontentedness and the suffering it causes.
The Solution - Restoring The Buddha’s Teachings Back into Humanity
If you would like to be part of the solution, I would like to encourage you to
actively learn, reflect, and practice The Teachings of The Buddha, in such a
way, that does not include the diluting or mixing of his Teachings with other
traditions. It is The Teachings of The Buddha that lead to Enlightenment, not
those that are blended and mixed that only serve to dilute The Path to
Enlightenment for all those who aspire to experience Enlightenment.
The primary obstacle or obstruction that hinders Practitioners from the
attainment of Enlightenment is ignorance (unknowing of true reality). This is a
taint/pollution of mind where the Practitioner lacks wisdom to understand the
true Path to Enlightenment. This unknowing of true reality creates an
obstacle or obstruction that keeps the mind trapped in the unEnlightened
state continuing to experience continued discontentedness and the suffering
it causes. The only way to remove this hindrance is to seek guidance with a
Teacher in the true Teachings of The Buddha using The Words of The
Buddha. It is The Teachings of The Buddha that will awaken the mind to
Enlightenment through independent verification of his Teachings to acquire
wisdom, thus, removing this obstruction to Enlightenment.
18

Through dedication to restoring The Teachings of The Buddha within your
own life practice by acquiring wisdom using The Words of The Buddha, you
are doing your part to contribute to restoring his Teachings back into
humanity for the benefit of countless beings that exist now and long into the
future. All of humanity can evolve so that everyone can attain Enlightenment
creating the most peaceful world we have ever imagined. It will be like
“heaven on earth”.
You are invited to join this Community to only learn and practice “The Words
of The Buddha”, in such a way, that leads to your Enlightenment and the
restoration of The Buddha’s Teachings so that you and countless beings can
experience the peacefulness, liberation of mind, and complete elimination of
discontentedness and the suffering it causes, known as Enlightenment.
The Words of The Buddha Book Series
https://www.buddhadailywisdom.com/freebuddhabooks
“Thank you” for choosing to learn and
practice Gotama Buddha’s Teachings.
You are making the world a better place
through developing your life practice based
on “The Words of The Buddha”.
19

Continue to read and understand “The Words of The Buddha - The Path to
Enlightenment - Revealing The Hidden” book series that has been laid out
for all of us to achieve a better way of life.
You can connect to a group of people in a supportive environment for
discussion, sharing, and learning through the Facebook group.
Daily Wisdom - Walking The Path with The Buddha
https://www.facebook.com/groups/DailyWisdom999/
All members are accepted without judgment. It is a healthy place to talk,
discuss, learn, and grow. There are resources to help you further on this
Path to Enlightenment accessible online through a Group Learning
Program.
Group Learning Program: LIVE Interactive Online Classes, Books,
Audiobooks, Videos, Podcast and Personal Guidance are available for you.
20

Preface
The Realms of Existence
This book is dedicated to “you” and the complete elimination, destruction,
and cessation of suffering or “discontentedness” of the mind. Thus, this
book is dedicated to the elimination of discontentedness and the suffering
that it causes in the entire world.
The Teachings in this book series, with some effort on your part, will lead you
to everlasting peace - a peaceful mind and a peaceful life. It’s your personal
choices, with these Teachings serving as a guide, that will bring you these
results.
We are all walking towards the darkness or towards the light. Which
direction you walk is completely your choice.
This book and Teachings are meant to guide you in learning, reflecting, and
practicing The Teachings of The Perfectly Enlightened Buddha who lived
over 2,500 years ago.
The Teachings of The Buddha are timeless, meaning they are just as
applicable today as they were 2,500 years ago.
Gotama Buddha’s Teachings are not a religion but instead, a “better way of
life”. Through learning, reflecting, and practicing these Teachings to
independently verify the truth, the mind will acquire wisdom awakening to
Enlightenment.
It is suggested that you first read “Developing a Life Practice: The Path That
Leads to Enlightenment” (Volume 1) of this same book series while seeking
guidance from a Teacher. It is that book that provides a Practitioner with a
solid foundation in developing a life practice that will lead to the Enlightened
mind.
In order to progress on The Path to Enlightenment, a Practitioner will need a
Teacher to receive guidance. One would not be able to only read a book and
attain the results of an Enlightened mind.
Nothing in Gotama Buddha’s Teachings is based on belief. A Buddha has
already done the hard work of figuring out how to attain Enlightenment. You
just need to learn and practice his Teachings to improve the condition of the
mind and your life.
21

All his Teachings can be learned and practiced to independently observe the
truth as the mind “gradually” acquires wisdom through independent
verification of his Teachings and through practice of his Teachings.
This new found wisdom “gradually” improves the way the mind functions in
the world through eliminating discontentedness of mind. The mind can
completely eliminate all discontent feelings such as sadness, anger,
frustration, irritation, annoyance, guilt, shame, fears, boredom, loneliness,
shyness, jealousy, resentment, stress, anxiety, etc. on The Path to
Enlightenment.
Through learning and practicing Gotama Buddha’s Teachings with guidance,
the mind becomes Enlightened in that you can observe the improvement in
the condition of the mind as you eliminate all discontent feelings where the
mind can reside peaceful, calm, serene, and content with joy - permanently.
You are not believing The Teachings wishing for a positive outcome at some
point in the future or after death. Instead, you are observing the
improvements to the condition of the mind right now - in the present
moment.
Only a Buddha would be able to attain Enlightenment on their own without
Teachers. These are some of the criteria that make a Buddha a Buddha is
that they discover The Teachings on their own attaining Enlightenment
without help from a Teacher, shares their independently discovered
Teachings to guide countless others to Enlightenment during the remaining
time of their life, and they leave their Teachings in a condition that they guide
countless others to Enlightenment after their death.
The last Buddha currently known to the world existed over 2,500 years ago.
That means you and everyone else will need Teachers on this Path to
Enlightenment.
Your journey to learn, reflect, and practice these Teachings is significantly
improved through making the choice to learn directly with “The Words of The
Buddha”.
Today, there are many resources for Teachings described as Buddhist or
originating with The Buddha. But, it is only when a Practitioner chooses to
investigate “The Words of The Buddha” being sourced directly from the
original source, The Pāli Canon, that a Practitioner will come to understand
the truth of what The Buddha actually taught and be able to implement these
Teachings into your daily life to experience the results of Enlightenment.
22

Through learning and practicing Gotama Buddha’s Teachings, in his own
words, The Perfectly Enlightened One’s wisdom can penetrate the mind and
you can experience the breakthrough to realizing the Enlightened mind.
I have significant gratitude, appreciation, admiration, and respect for Master
Teacher Gotama Buddha as his Teachings lead exactly where he said they
would. To a steady, calm, stable, and unshakable mind, known as
Enlightenment.
There are countless unknown and unnamed individuals who are responsible
for these Teachings reaching you in this book series. These Teachings have
been preserved throughout history over the last 2,500 years through the
tireless efforts of Ordained and Household Practitioners. These Teachings
have been preserved and shared from one generation to the next because
they work.
It is now up to us to learn, reflect, and practice these Teachings to
experience the Enlightened mind, so that we may benefit from an improved
existence while also preserving these Teachings for future generations in our
hearts and minds.
While books are an outstanding tool to capture The Teachings and share
them worldwide, there is nothing more significant than having massive
numbers of Enlightened beings in the world who can directly share these
Teachings with those who choose to seek guidance in developing their life
practice on The Path to Enlightenment. Each of us individually and
collectively, are just one link in a long chain of Practitioners and Teachers
spanning over 2,500 years.
What we choose to do in this time and place will determine how vibrant and
sustaining these Teachings are for future generations. It is our work and
effort to seek our own Enlightenment that we will experience results for our
own mind and lay the groundwork for countless more beings after us to
experience the same freedom of mind that you are now choosing to pursue.
Many people are interested in improving the world, but do not know how. It
is only when we are dedicated to improving our own wisdom, moral conduct,
and mental discipline that we will improve the world. Through improving our
own life practice through learning “The Words of The Buddha” then, we will
have collectively improved the world.
The problem that the unEnlightened mind is experiencing is not the outside
world, but the inner world. Training the mind, the inner world, is what
produces a peaceful existence. You can’t control other people and what they
23

do. You can only decide to train your own mind to be unaffected by what
others do.
It is a real struggle to exist in a world that the mind does not understand. It is
“The Words of The Buddha” that explains The Natural Laws of Existence
guiding the mind to acquire deep wisdom to make better free will decisions
through a purified mind.
Master Teacher Gotama Buddha
(The Tathāgata)
24


Chapter 1
Existence
And what, Monks, is existence?
There are these three kinds of existence: sense‑sphere existence,
form‑sphere existence, formless-sphere existence. This is called
existence.
With the arising of clinging, there is the arising of existence; with the
elimination of clinging, there is the elimination of existence.
Just this Noble Eight Fold Path is the way leading to the elimination of
existence; that is, Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action,
Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration.
(Reference: SN 12.2)


In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares the three kinds of existence.
He explains how when the mind has clinging, there will be existence.
Clinging is how the unEnlightened mind wants to hold on. But this only leads to
discontentedness and further existence in The Cycle of Rebirth. Through the elimination
of clinging there is elimination of existence in The Cycle of Rebirth.
It is through learning, reflecting, and practicing The Eight Fold Path that leads to training
the mind to eliminate clinging to eliminate existence in The Cycle of Rebirth.
The Buddha left any Teachings on what may or may not occur once one attains
Enlightenment and dies, as undeclared. We know that if one does not attain
Enlightenment in this life or at death, there will be rebirth in The Cycle of Rebirth. But,
what happens once a being who has attained Enlightenment and dies is an undeclared
Teaching. We know there is no longer existence in The Cycle of Rebirth to experience
sorrow, grief, pain, displeasure, and despair. Whether there is or is not something after
death for an Enlightened being is undeclared.
The ultimate goal of these Teachings and The Path to Enlightenment is to attain
Enlightenment in this current life to experience peacefulness, calmness, serenity, and
contentedness with joy for the rest of this life, and as a result, no longer be reborn into
any future existences within The Cycle of Rebirth.
I have not seen any “Words of The Buddha” that describe these three kinds of existence.
25


The way I understand these existences is as follows:
Sense-sphere existence: All five (5) realms as all beings that come into existence are
fettered/tainted/polluted with “sensual desire”.
Form-sphere existence: The two (2) realms where there is physical form - animal and
human.
Formless-sphere existence: The three (3) realms where there is no physical form - hell,
afflicted spirits, and heaven.
As part of The Ten Fetters and the attainment of Enlightenment, the mind needs to
eliminate the fetters/taints/pollution of mind described as “sensual desire”, “desire for
form”, and “desire for formless” which combined, comprises the elimination of craving/
desire through The Six Sense Bases and to be reborn in any of the five (5) realms of
existence.
The Ten Fetters
Lower Fetters
1.) Personal existence view (Eliminating the concept of a permanent self from the mind. Realization
of The Universal Truth of Non-self.)
2.) 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.)
3.) 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.)
4.) Sensual desire (Elimination of the desire for pleasures from The Six Sense Bases: eyes, ears, nose,
tongue, body, and the mind.)
5.) Ill will (Elimination of hostility, hatred, anger, aggression, resentment, frustration, irritation, annoyance,
etc.)
Higher Fetters
6.) Desire for form (Elimination of desire for existence in the form realms; Animal or Human. Elimination
of the fear of death.)
7.) Desire for the formless (Elimination of desire for existence in the formless realms; Hell, Afflicted
Spirits, or Heaven.)
8.) Conceit (Elimination of arrogance, pride, judging, measuring or comparing as superior or inferior to
others. Ego is completely dissolved.)
9.) Restlessness (Elimination of confused, distracted, worried, anxious, restless state of mind the
opposite of “singleness of mind”.)
10.) Ignorance (Elimination of delusion or unknowing of true reality through acquiring wisdom. Learn,
reflect, and practice of The Teachings of The Buddha, such as, The Three Universal Truths, The Four Noble
Truths, The Eight Fold Path, The Five Precepts, The Three Wholesome/Unwholesome Roots, The Natural
Law of Kamma, The Cycle of Rebirth, etc. all detailed later in this book and book series.)
26


The Afterlife - An Undeclared Teaching
An “afterlife”, which Gotama Buddha left as an “undeclared” Teaching, is what happens
when one has attained Enlightenment in this life or at death - what happens next? That is
the afterlife.
Gotama Buddha did not teach about an afterlife or a soul. He left these “undeclared” in
his Teachings. He did not teach whether we exist nor not exist once we attain
Enlightenment and die. He shared that there is no more rebirth as “a being” in The Cycle
of Rebirth which is different than no existence at all. If we do not attain Enlightenment
during this life or at death, we will be reborn through The Cycle of Rebirth.
These are the undeclared Teachings of Gotama Buddha.
- the world is eternal
- the world is not eternal
- the world is finite
- the world is infinite
- the soul is the same as the body
- the soul is one thing and the body is another
- after death The Tathāgata exists
- after death The Tathāgata does not exist
- after death The Tathāgata both exists and does not exist
- after death The Tathāgata neither exists nor does not exist
Tathāgata is another term used to refer to Gotama Buddha.
Gotama Buddha is referring to himself who was an Arahant, therefore, you can also insert
"Enlightened Being" for Tathāgata. This means, he left The Teachings "undeclared" of
whether a human being who has attained Enlightenment as an Arahant "after death
exists, does not exist, both exists and does not exist, neither exists nor does not exist".
Just like all craving/desire/attachment, if we crave the answer to these questions, it will
cause the mind to be discontent. Knowing the answer to any of these questions will not
lead to an individual’s own Enlightenment and therefore Gotama Buddha never taught or
“declared” these Teachings. They are “undeclared”.
There were many Teachings Gotama Buddha did not share, as his main focus was to help
people understand that they needed to work towards their own salvation through the
process of attaining Enlightenment.
Gotama Buddha focused everyone’s attention, the mind, and their development on The
Teachings that lead to Enlightenment - the elimination of discontentedness and the
suffering it causes rather than rites, rituals, ceremonies and worship. He taught people to
practice The Teachings of being a good moral person that eliminates all unwholesome
Kamma production, producing only wholesome Kamma.
Gotama Buddha’s Teachings are about non-attachment. He was not even interested in
people attaching to him, as Gotama Buddha knew Enlightenment is 100% determined by
our own intentions, speech, and actions.
27


Rebirth, or The Cycle of Rebirth, is the process in which all beings who have not attained
Enlightenment during this life or at death, will be reborn into a new form or formless realm
of existence, hell, animal, afflicted spirits, human, or heaven.
You need to be comfortable with not knowing the answer, in other words, not craving to
know what is or is not going to happen in an afterlife as craving to know this outcome will
inhibit you from attaining Enlightenment and will cause rebirth. The goal is to extinguish all
craving for a “personal existence view”, “desire for form”, and “desire for the formless”.
These are just three (3) aspects of The Ten Fetters required for Enlightenment.
If you attain Enlightenment in this human existence, life will be so peaceful, calm, serene,
and content with joy that you will have no need to know what comes next in the afterlife, if
anything at all. You will be experiencing complete and total peace of mind and will know
that if there is something after death having attained Enlightenment, it must be good.
The goal is to attain Enlightenment in this very life so that you will not be reborn through
The Cycle of Rebirth into another realm of existence. You can attain Enlightenment during
your existing life to experience ever lasting peace or at death.
In order to accomplish this goal, one would need to ensure there is no craving/desire/
attachment including the craving to know what will or will not occur once one attains
Enlightenment and dies.
28


Chapter 2
The Production of Renewed Existence
(First Discourse)
‘Venerable Sir, it is said: ‘existence, existence.’ In what way, Venerable Sir, is
there existence?’
If, Ānanda, there were no Kamma ripening in the sensory realm, would
sense‑sphere existence be discerned?
‘No, Venerable Sir.’
Thus, Ānanda, for beings hindered by ignorance (unknowing of true
reality) and fettered by craving, Kamma is the field, consciousness the
seed, and craving the moisture for their consciousness to be established in an
inferior realm. In this way there is the production of renewed existence in the
future.
If, Ānanda, there were no Kamma ripening in the form realm, would
form‑sphere existence be discerned?
‘No, Venerable Sir.’
Thus, Ānanda, for beings hindered by ignorance (unknowing of true
reality) and fettered by craving, Kamma is the field, consciousness the
seed, and craving the moisture for their consciousness to be established in a
middling realm. In this way there is the production of renewed existence in the
future.
If, Ānanda, there were no Kamma ripening in the formless realm, would
formless‑sphere existence be discerned?
‘No, Venerable Sir.’
Thus, Ānanda, for beings hindered by ignorance (unknowing of true
reality) and fettered by craving, Kamma is the field, consciousness the
seed, and craving the moisture for their consciousness to be established in a
superior realm. In this way there is the production of renewed existence in the
future.
It is in this way, Ānanda, that there is existence.
29

(Reference: AN 3.76)


In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares that due to craving and ignorance
(unknowing of true reality), there is rebirth in the realms of existence.
During Gotama Buddha’s lifetime, many of his Students were very familiar with farming so
we see many analogies he shares in The Teachings that can relate to a common person
during that time in history. Not only does he use stories from the farming life but also
training a horse and various stories related to animal life.
These are relatable references that his Students would easily understand and help them in
learning and retaining The Teachings, so they could apply The Teachings in their daily life.
Planting crops and growing food would be a topic of common knowledge during the
lifetime of The Buddha. So in this Teaching from The Buddha, he relates The Cycle of
Rebirth to planting and growing crops.
The Field: The Natural Law of Kamma
The Seed: Consciousness (i.e. the mind)
The Moisture: Craving
In order for there to be renewed existence into a new life, there needs to be unwholesome
Kamma, a consciousness, and craving. If these three factors exist, there will be a new life
in a new existence.
If a being does not extinguish craving and ignorance (unknowing of true reality) the mind
is still “fettered” in The Cycle of Rebirth.
The word “fetter” is defined as: “a chain or shackle used to restrain a prisoner, typically
placed around the ankles”. The Ten Fetters are the ten (10) individual aspects of the mind
that need to be eliminated to attain Enlightenment. The Ten Fetters are essentially keeping
a being trapped in The Cycle of Rebirth bound to the endless cycle of continuous rebirth
experiencing discontentedness over countless lives.
It is not until one eliminates The Ten Fetters that a being's mind is liberated from
discontentedness and The Cycle of Rebirth. A fetter can also be referred to as a taint or
pollution of the mind. A taint is an impure quality of the mind and is why these need to be
eliminated to attain Enlightenment. The Ten Fetters pollute the mind not allowing us to
experience the brightness and radiance of the Enlightened mind.
The Ten Fetters are the chains that bind us into The Cycle of Rebirth and to multiple
lifetimes of experiencing continuous discontentedness. You must eliminate The Ten
Fetters to attain Enlightenment to be liberated from discontentedness and The Cycle of
Rebirth.
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