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Dhamma 
be your island. May Dhamma be 
your refuge. 
Take no other thing as your refuge. 
MahAparinibbAna Sutta D.ii.72 
In this case `atta' obviously has a 
different meaning 
from the word `atta' as used in the 
case of 
`imagined self' or the word `atta' 
as used by the 
Hindus. Thus in the study of the 
TipiEaka, it is 
essential to distinguish the 
definition of the vocabulary 
we meet independently for each 
occurrence. 
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For the word `anattA' we need to 
be no 
less careful. There are those who 
believe that the 
word `anattA' means `no-self (i.e. 
self-lessness) 
and others who believe that it 
means `not-self 
(i.e. that which is not a self). It is 
the same as 
looking at the word `manusso' 
which means 
`person'. The word `amanusso' 
also exists. 
Should it mean `no-person' (i.e. 
person-lessness) 
or `not-person' (i.e that which is 
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not a person)? 
This gives a different angle when 
we look at the 
usage of the word `self' - 
for 
example, when 
1. late president of the Pali Text 
Society (1922-42) in Steven Collins 
(1997) Selfless Person: Imagery and 
thought in TheravAda Buddhism, 
Cambridge: Cambridge University 
Press, p.7 
2. late president of the Pali Text 
Society (1959-81) in Peter Harvey 
(1995) The Selfless Mind, Curzon 
Press, p.17 
3. Buddhism (1959) Penguin Books, 
p.88 
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4. Buddhist Thought in India, (1962) 
George, Allen and Unwin, p.39 
Blessing Thirty-Four: The 
Attainment of Nirvana 391 
the Buddha taught that the Five 
Aggregates 
[khandha] are not the `self, the 
implication is 
that the real `self' is elsewhere, 
outside of the Five 
Aggregates. Thus the Buddha 
taught us that real 
`self' is our refuge, and that you 
can attain true 
`self by the practice of the Four 
Foundations of 
Mindfulness [satipat thAna]: 
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seeing the body in 
the body, feeling in the feeling, 
mind in the mind 
and dhamma in the dhamma. This 
issue attracts a 
great deal of controversy. 
3. In the words, `sabbe dhammA 
anattA' (all phenomena 
are `anattA'), what is the scope of 
the 
word dhamma' (phenomena)? 
Some commentaries 
include Nirvana amongst the 
`phenomena' 
(Nd2A.8,219 [Mahachula Royal 
Institute edition]), 
others not (ibid. part 7, p.62). In 
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the latter 
the scope of `phenomena' extends 
to nothing 
more than the Five Aggregates but 
does not include 
Nirvana. 
For each of the arguments put 
forward, there are 
many supporting references from 
primary sources 
in various languages. There is 
analysis of each in 
comparison with the principle 
teachings of Buddhism. 
There are conclusions of possible 
implications 
and conclusions from each side of 
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the argument 
— for example, if there happened 
to be no 
`self' how can we explain the 
operation of the laws 
of karma between one lifetime and 
the next? There 
is no concensus of opinion to the 
contrary, but does 
nothing to quench the ferocity of 
the debate. 
C. THE PRACTICALITY OF 
ATTAINING NIRVANA 
C.1 Sequential practice for the 
attainment of Nirvana 
For sure, if you are to attain any of 
these forms 
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of Nirvana, you have to practice 
the Noble Eightfold 
Path perfectly. You need possess 
all eight 
components at the same time: 
Right View, Right 
Intention, Right Speech, Right 
Action, Right 
Livelihood, Right Effort, Right 
Mindfulness, 
Right Concentration. Put another 
way, you need 
to practice the Precepts (Right 
Speech, Right Action, 
Right Livelihood), Meditation 
(Right Effort, 
Right Mindfulness, Right 
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Concentration) and 
wisdom (Right View, Right 
Intention) perfectly. 
It is like when you are cooking, 
you need to add 
all the ingredients to get the end 
product you 
require. 
TABLE 34.2: Threefold training 
at Different 
levels of attainment 
level of practice Precepts 
Meditation Wisdom 
Dhammakaya GotrabhE perfect 
reasonable reasonable 
Seeing the Four Noble Truths 
perfect perfect reasonable 
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Arahantship perfect perfect perfect 
In order to attain the 
DhammakAya at the initial 
level [dhammakAya-gotrabhE], 
you need 
to practice the Precepts perfectly, 
even if your 
meditation and your wisdom are 
not so well 
developed (see Table 34.2 above). 
If you develop 
your meditation further you will 
soon be able 
to see the Noble Truths (Precepts 
perfect, meditation 
perfect, wisdom reasonable) and if 
all 
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Precepts, meditation and 
wisdomare perfect 
then you have the chance to attain 
Nirvana. As 
your wisdom improves you will be 
able to attain 
the DhammakAya of an 
arahat.When an 
arahant passes away, his physical 
body will be 
buried or cremated. His 
DhammakAya will enter 
upon AnupAdisesa Nirvana. There 
will be 
no further rebirth for them. In 
conclusion, if you 
want to attain Nirvana, you have to 
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attain Nirvana 
that is inside yourself Only those 
who 
have practised the whole of The 
Manual of Peace 
from the first blessing onwards 
(emphasizing 
strict practice of the Noble 
Eightfold Path), have 
a chance of attaining). 
C.2 Nirvana: Accessible to all 
Buddhism is not an exclusive 
religion. Anyone 
who has cultivated as many good 
deeds as the 
Buddha or the arahants can, like 
them, enter upon 
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Nirvana. Anyone who practises the 
Noble Eightfold 
Path properly will eventually attain 
it for 
themselves. Thus, once we know 
Nirvana exists, 
and know the method, we should 
make the requisite 
effort to attain it — in accordance 
with the 
guidelines laid out in this blessing 
— by practising 
good deeds incorporating the 
Noble Eightfold 
Path, keeping of the Precepts, 
practising meditation 
and accruing wisdom. 
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392 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps 
towards Enlightened Living 
D. ILLUSTRATIVE 
EXAMPLES 
D.1 Ex. VaIgisa Thera Vatthu 
(DhA.iv.226ff) 
Once in RAjagaha there was a 
brahmin by the 
name of VaIgisa who could tell the 
afterlife destination 
of a corpse simply by tapping its 
skull. 
The brahmins were very proud of 
VaIgisa and 
took him to many villages where 
people flocked 
to him and paid handsomely to 
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find out from him 
where their various dead relatives 
had been reborn. 
On one occasion, VaIgisa and his 
party came 
to a place not far from the Jetavana 
monastery. Seeing 
many people who were going to 
the Buddha, 
the brahmins invited them to come 
to VaIgisa 
who could tell where their relatives 
had been reborn. 
But the people said to them, "What 
does 
VaIgisa know! Our Teacher is one 
without a rival, 
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he alone is the Enlightened One." 
As a result 
there was a heated argument 
between the people 
and the brahmins. Finally one 
person said, "Come 
now! let us go and find out which 
of the two knows 
more, VaIgisa or the Buddha." So 
they all went 
to the Jetavana Monastery. 
The Buddha, knowing their 
intention, instructed 
a monk to gather together five 
skulls, one of a person 
reborn in hell, one of a person 
reborn in the 
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animal world, one of a person 
reborn in the human 
world, one of a person reborn inthe 
devaworld 
and one of an arahant. Having 
found the 
five skulls the monk placed them 
in a row. When 
Valgisa was shown the skulls, he 
could tell where 
the owners of the first four skulls 
had been reborn; 
but when he came to the skull of 
the arahant, he 
was at a loss. The Buddha asked, 
"VaIgisa don't 
you know? I know where the 
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owner of that skull 
is." VaIgisa then urged the Buddha 
to teach him 
the skill by which he would have 
the ability to tell 
where that particular person was 
reborn. The Buddha 
told him that the condition of 
learning such 
and ability was to enter the Holy 
Order. 
VaIgisa reluctantly agreed to join 
the monastic 
order. He told his brahmin friends 
to come back 
for him later when he had learned 
the skill. As a 
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monk, he was instructed by the 
Buddha to contemplate 
the thirty-two parts of the body. He 
diligently 
practised meditation as instructed 
and 
within a short time attained 
Arahanthood. 
Later, when the other brahmins 
came back, one 
asked him whether he had acquired 
the skill. 
VaIgisa said, "You all had better 
go now. There is 
no need for me to learn the skill 
any more. I will 
no longer be going along with 
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you." On overhearing 
this, the other monks asked the 
Buddha, "Venerable 
Sir! Valgisa claims to have 
attained 
Arahanthood. Is it true?" The 
Buddha replied, 
"Monks! He really knows the 
death and rebirth of 
beings. He is an arahant." 
Thus, as a result of this tale, we 
learn that Nirvana 
is not just a higher level of heaven 
— it is 
outside the Triple World system 
completely 
if 
it were just another level of heaven 
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