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Buddha image (of the sort with a lotus bud on the 
topknot) — but crystal clear and sparkling like a 
mirror — but exquisitely beautiful and propor-
tioned. The Dhamma Body is the most refined of 
all the inner bodies described so far — and itself 
exists at differing levels of refinement: 
• Dhammakaya Gotrabhil Body 
• Dhammakaya Sotipana Body 
• Dhammakaya SalcidAgami Body 
• Dhammakaya AnAgiuni Body 
• Dhammakaya Arahant Body 
The Dhammakayas are all transcendental 
Ilokuttara] in nature — that is they are not made up 
of conventional aggregates [Mandril but are made 
up of transcendental aggregates [iltammakhanda] —
the physical form, feeling, perception, memory and 
cognition still exist at the level of the Dhamma Body, 
but they are all purified to the point of perfection. 
By contrast the aggregates that make up the body 
at the level of the human, angel, form-brahma and 
formless-brahma are still on the mundane level 
[lokiya] and lead the owner of those bodies to be 
reborn further in the cycle of existence. 
Meditators who attain the Dhamma Body to the 
degree that their mind becomes irreversibly uni-
fied with the Dhamma Body, thereby make them-
selves invulnerable to the action of defilements. The 
progression through the Dhamma bodies, eradicat-
ing the final ten subtle defilements, or fetters 
Isargyojanal from the mind is shown in Table 33.5. 
(opposite): 
C.3 Three Cycles withTivelve Characteristics 
Seeing the Noble Truths in each one of the inner 
bodies has three stages or 'cycles of examination'. 
As there are four Noble Truths, multiplied together, 
seeing the Noble Truths the Buddha or the arahants 
are able to eradicate all the defilements from their 
minds is achieved by the same sequential method 
described below. These twelve stages of the Cycle 
of Examination are the product of multiplying the 
Four Noble Truths by the Three Cycles of Exami-
nation. The cyclical pathway of attainment is rather 
like the way a nut gradually makes progress along 
the screw-thread of a bolt by rotating (not like an 
electric fan which rotates without getting any-
where). For progress with enlightenment, progress-
ing in the cycle eradicates the defilements as it ro-
tates. It was because the Buddha and all the arahants 
had completed all three cycles with their twelve 
components in their entirety, that they can attain 
full enlightenment — with no further rebirth. 
Once you have seen the Noble Truths dearly, over 
and over again, it will gradually reduce the number 
of defilements in the mind. When the defilements 
become permanently less, you will be able to attain 
Buddhist sainthood at the level of stream-entry 
frotapanct], once-returner [sakidayami], non-re-
turner [anagami] or arahant. 
In conclusion, you need to practice sequentially 
if you are going to be successful in your practice 
and the sequence of progress ofthe mind towards 
'seeing' the Noble Truths. 
Importantly, it should be noticed that the noble 
truths can not be seen by those who have not yet 
attained the Dhammakiya. However, those who 
have attained the Dhammalciya from the level of 
Dhammakaya Gotrabhu upwards are able to do 
the final work of eradicating the Ten Fetters from 
the mind by seeing the Noble Truths and can even-
tually become fully-enlightened. 
D. ILLUS1 RA 1 EVE EXAMPLES 
D.1 Milakkha-Tissa Thera (AA. i.21, 
SA.ii.199ff.) 
In the time of the Buddha there was a hunter called 
Milakkha. Every day of his life since his youth, he 
had been involved with killing animals in one way 
or another. He had done evil every day of his life 
until there was virtually nothing left in his heart in 
the way of virtue. One day, the miniscule amount 
of good deeds he had done in his past caught up 
with him. He started to think of his state of affairs. 
He had been setting his traps in the forest and was 
thirsty. He saw some monks practising meditation 
in the forest and walked straight into their encamp-
ment looking for something to drink. The monks 
were sitting in meditation or practising walking 
meditation, trying to maintain the quality of their 
minds. Even though some of the monks were al-
ready arahauts, he didn't feel anything special when 
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he saw them, because his mind was still caught up 
with the usual concerns of trapping and killing. 
Thus he ignored the monks and walked straight into 
one of the monk's kutis looking for something to 
drink. He opened up the water jar in the monk's 
kuti, but even though the jar was full of water, it 
looked completely empty to him. As a result of see-
ing the water jar all dried up with his unquenched 
thirst, he turned round and insulted the monks say-
ing, "What do you do all day long? Sitting around, 
walking up and down but leaving your water jars 
empty when your neighbours are thirsty. You go 
preaching to everyone else to be generous and hos-
pitable, but when it comes to playing the host your-
self, you don't show any interest". 
An arahant nearby knew that the hunter had been 
blinded by his own bad karma. He said, "Take a 
rest from your insulting in the shade and I will bring 
you some water." He brought more and more cups 
of water until the hunter had quenched his thirst 
and could start to talk some sense. The hunter 
started to notice the things around him. He saw how 
radiant the arahant was and what good manners he 
had. He thought," Even after being insulted he has 
shown no anger but has even brought water for me 
to drink. If it had been me on the receiving end of 
some insults I would probably have killed the of-
fending person by now. Even though I have still 
not gone to a new existence, I still cannot see the 
water that is filling a water jar. Supposing I were to 
die, I would surely go to hell. Even though good 
things are there before my eyes, I cannot see them. 
My life is indeed in a sorry state." Therefore the 
hunter sat and discussed the Dhamma with the 
arahant. He received abundant food for thought 
from the arahant. He realized how much evil he had 
collected for himself. Only then did he realize that 
his whole life had been concerned with evil. If any-
one had told him that killing was bad before he 
would say, "What do you think you're saying? 
Don't you eat meat then?" Today he listened to the 
teaching of the arahant, and as the result, for the 
first time in his life he started to fear evil. Thus he 
asked to ordain. The arahant looked at the potential 
of the man and allowed him only to ordain as a 
novice. He thought that as a monk he would never 
make it. 
The art:hard taught the new novice meditation, but 
because of all the evil he had done in his past, his 
meditation was always disturbed and haunted by 
images. Everytime he closed his eyes for medita-
tion he could never imagine the object of medita-
tion. He always felt as if all the animals he had killed 
had come back to haunt him, twitching as if in their 
death throes on his lap. He couldn't close his eyes 
without being disturbed. In the end he went to the 
aralrant and asked to disrobe because he felt his 
original inspiration for practice had burned out. He 
asked permission to revert to his old livelihood of 
hunting. He thought to himself that if he was go-
ing to be born in hell anyway that there was not 
much harm in falling into hell a little bit deeper than 
before ... 
The aralrant didn't try to persuade the novice oth-
erwise, but he asked the novice to do one final chore 
before disrobing — to bring some green wood to 
make a fire.The novice did as the arahant said, but 
as hard as he tried, he could not manage to light 
the fire. Once the novice had tired himself out, the 
arahant asked the novice to stand to one side and 
said that he would light it for him. The arahant medi-
tated and split the earth deep down until both of 
them could see the deepest level of hell raved]. The 
arahant took an piece of embers from Aveci hell, the 
size of a firefly and lit the green wood. It burned to 
a cinder in a fraction of a second as if it were noth-
ing more than tissue paper. 
The novice was frightened. Before he hadn't re-
alized how hot the fires of hell were. His teacher 
said, this is how hot a cinder from hell is. Suppos-
ing the whole of you has to fall into hell, can you 
imagine how hot that will be? Milakkha no longer 
dared to disrobe — no matter how badly he was 
haunted when he meditated, he was not discour-
aged. He kept up his practice for several years with 
an earnest. The hauntings became less frequent and 
eventually disappeared altogether. His mind be-
came more peaceful and radiance arose from 
within. The arahant allowed him to take full ordi-
nation as amonk. 
Milakkha practiced with earnest. Eventually he 
came to the day when he managed to maintain the 
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positivity of mind to the full. His old merits together 
with the new merits of his continuous practice came 
to fruition. His teacher saw his progress and saw 
that he was ready to hear his teaching. He said: 
"Honour will accrue to all who are earnest, who 
have mindfulness, right livelihood and acting 
only as the result of consideration in advance. 
When self-controlled and abiding in the 
Dhamma without recklessness." 
Milakkha examined himself: seeing that he had 
earnest (ever since seeing the fires of hell), 
mindfulness (no longer was he disturbed by haunt-
ing images), right livelihood (as a monk his 
maintenence of the monastic discipline was un-
blemished), thinking before speaking or acting and 
certainly not reckless. Milakkha saw that he had 
accomplished all that his teacher had set for him. 
He felt content and refreshed by his own conduct. 
The satisfaction of keeping the Precepts properly is 
considerably more powerful than any worldly 
achievement. For Milakkha, the contentment al-
lowed his mind to become unified and stop. He at-
tained Dhammakitya, and used the Dhanumakicya 
to consider the Four Noble Truths until he became 
enlightened at the level of the non-returner 
frutagami]. He couldn't attain arahatship because 
he had not trained himself sufficiently in previous 
lifetimes. When he passed away, he could not yet 
enter upon Nirvana but was born in the Brahma 
world called the Pure Abodes (Suddhavisa). There 
he continued to purify his mind until he could en-
ter upon Nirvana. 
13.2 Ex. Kistigotami Then (DltA.ii.27Off ) 
Kisi Gotami lived in Savatthi. She was known as 
Kisi Gotami because of her slim body. She mar-
ried a rich young man and a son was born to them. 
The son died when he was just a toddler and Kisii 
Gotami was stricken with grief. Carrying her dead 
son, she went everywhere asking for medicine that 
would restore her son to life. People thought she 
had gone mad. But a wise man seeing her pathetic 
condition, decided to send her to the Buddha. He 
advised her, 'Sister, the Buddha is the person you 
should approach. He has the medicine you want. 
Go to him.' Thus she went to the Buddha and asked 
him to give her the medicine that would restore her 
dead son to life. 
The Buddha knowing her distracted mental con-
dition told her to go looking for some mustard seeds 
from a home where there had been no death. Over-
joyed at the prospect of having her son restored to 
life, Kis& Gotami ran from house to house, beg-
ging for some mustard seeds. Everyone was will-
ing to help her but she could not find a single home 
where no death had ever occurred. The people were 
only too willing to part with their mustard seeds, 
but no-one could claim never to have lost a loved 
one in death. As the day dragged on, she realised 
that hers was not the only family that had faced 
death and that there were more people dead than 
living. As soon as she realised this, her attitude to-
wards her dead son changed; she was no longer 
attached to the dead body of her son and she real-
ised how simply the Buddha had taught her a most 
important lesson: that everything that is born must 
eventually die. 
She did a funeral for her dead son and told the 
Buddha that she could find no family where death 
had not occurred. Then the Buddha said,"Gotami, 
you should not think that you are the only one who 
has lost a son. As you have now realised, death 
comes to all beings. Before their desires are satiated 
death takes them away." 
Perceiving the fleeting nature and impermanency 
of life, Kisii Gotami decided to renounce the 
worldly life. 
She then requested the Enlightened One to ad-
mit her to the Order of Nuns. Accordingly, the Bud-
dha sent her to the community of nuns and directed 
that she be admitted. 
She was a very hardworking nun and was always 
mindful and conscientious of her religious duties, 
and strove diligently for her spiritual development 
to purify her mind of all mental defilements. 
One night, she lit some oil lamps. Having lit them, 
she went and sat down a short distance away. As 
she observed the flames, her mind focussed and she 
noticed that while some flared up some others flick-
ered out. With her mind concentrating on the flames 
as the object of meditation, she meditated as fol-
lows, 'Even as it is with these flames, so also is it 
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with living beings in this world: Some flare up, while 
others flicker out; only those who have attained Nir-
vana are no more seen.' 
Through his supernormal power, the Buddha saw 
that Kith Gotami was ripe for enlightenment. He 
sent forth his radiance and exhorted her to continue 
meditating on the impermanent nature of all condi-
tioned things. The Buddha also commented, 
"Though one should live a hundred years without 
perceiving the Deathless State (Nirvana), yet better 
indeed, is a single day's life of one who perceives 
the Deathless State.' 
At the conclusion of the discourse, Kiser Gotami 
attained Arahanthood. 
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Blessing Thirty-Four: 
The Attainment 
of Nirvana 
A. INTRODUCTION 
A.1 Place of Blessing Thirty-four in the order of 
things 
Nirvana is the ultimate state of existence and the 
highest state of mind a person can attain. It is some-
thing which makes Buddhism unique amongst the 
world religions. Not only to attain Nirvana, but 
even to understand the concept of Nirvana is a chal-
lenge because it requires a steadfast understand-
ing of almost all of the preceding Blessings studied 
in groupings Eight and Nine: 
• Blessing Twenty-nine: The Sight of a true monk: 
Those with a mundane level of knowledge tend 
to form an understanding about the new things 
they encounter, in terms of the experiences they 
already have. If a new thing has an added di-
mension, it is hard for them to understand it in 
terms of their previous experience. It is like try-
ing to describe the colours of a garden to some-
one who has been blind since birth. This is why 
in Blessing Twenty-Nine we had to see a true 
monk to alert us to the existence of the transcen-
dental — as with the tale of the turtle and the 
fish! (B1.29 §D.8) Understanding the qualitative 
differences between teachings for practice and 
higher philosophy learned in Blessing Twenty-
nine is particularly important when studying 
Nirvana. 
• Blessing Thirty: Regular Discussion of the 
Dhamma: Since the thirtieth blessing it has be-
come harder and harder to explain the virtues 
under examination in material terms. Especially 
when enumerating guidelines for the discussion 
of Dhamma we discovered that we should not 
immediately reject items of Dhamma we don't 
immediately understand (see B1. Thirty §C.U. The 
right attitude is to use the principle of 'live and 
let live' when confronted by differences in Bud-
dhist doctrine. Being 'democratic' in Buddhism 
is to support any skilful means Payola uptiya] 
that encourages people to do wholesome deeds 
that conform to those propounded by Buddhism 
— whether it be practising the Noble Eightfold 
Path, the Three Trainings, the Six Directions, the 
Three Modes of Merit-Making or avoiding the 
roads to ruin lapayamukhaj. We should give 
support and encouragement to anyone who is 
inspired to practise these skilful means rather 
than creating conflicts over points of philosophy 
which might serve only to dissuade them from 
continuing with their practice. Even though dif-
ferent schools might differ in opinion concern-
ing the higher philosophy by referring to differ-
ent parts of the scriptures, or have differences of 
interpretation, surely we would be better to 
'agree to disagree' on these subjects rather than 
to let these differences divide us? All spiritual 
cultivators are rather like long-distance travel-
lers in the cycle of rebirth loculclasamsdra]. Even 
though we might differ as to the expectations of 
what we expect our destination to be like, we 
can still share the same path of progress together 
Blessing Thirty-Four: The Attainment of Nirvana 385 
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and help each other along the way! As long as 
we stay with the Middle Way of practice, we can 
continue to make progress, and one day when 
we reach our destination, we will each be able to 
see the nature of our destination for ourselves 
without any need to differ in our opinions any 
more. If on the contrary we fight amongst our-
selves over differences of opinion on the way, or 
we walk the way separately, it does nothing but 
waste valuable journey time. Moreovec, if we 
refuse to walk the path at all, or backslide on the 
path by refusing to keep the Precepts or medi-
tate, spending all our time arguing about the 
characteristics of higher teachings, for sure, we 
will never arrive at our destination! 
• Blessing Thirty-two: Practising the Brahma-far-
ing: The equivalence of states of mind [bhumiJ 
and realms of existence Iblrava] discovered in 
Blessing Thirty-two holds true also in the present 
blessing. We will find in the present blessing that 
just as angelic states of mind have their equiva-
lent realm of existence — liberated states of mind 
represented by the Arahant body of enlighten-
ment [dhammakaya] have their own equivalent 
state of being which is called Nirvana. 
• Blessing Thirty-three: Seeing the Four Noble 
Truths: the Noble Truths have to be seen with the 
eye of the Dhammalcitya because they cannot be 
seen with the human eye. If the Noble Truths could 
be seen with the naked eye, surely undertakers 
would come to and end of defilements before any-
one else— because they see dead people every day! 
On the contrary, we are surrounded by birth, old 
age, sickness and death every day of our lives, but 
we fail to see the Noble Truths! Indeed, not even 
the angels, Brahmas or formless-Brahmas can see 
the Noble Truths, unless they practice meditation 
to the degree they can attain the Dhammalaya. 
The reason why Dhammalcitya can see the Noble 
Truths while the mundane inner bodies can't, is 
because the Dhammalcaya no longer has any ad-
mixture of defilements in the mind — this is why 
its aggregates are called Dhamma-aggregates 
kihaninta-lchandltaj. Only with such a pure body can 
one clearly see the Four Noble Truths. 
The previous blessing was not the last, howevec, 
because simply to see the Four Noble Truths is not 
enough. You have to remove the defilements from 
all the bodies that are still defiled so that they are 
as pure as the Dhammakaya — something which 
is not easily realized. To attain the Dhammalciya 
is only like someone who has succeeded in their 
education up to the level of passing their entrance 
examinations to get into university. Managing to 
pass your entrance exam doesn't mean that you will 
go on to get your university degree. There are plenty 
of people who drop out at in their first year, their 
second year or even in their third year. It is the same 
for your practice of meditation. If you are able to 
attain the Dhammalaya but don't continue to pur-
sue your practice, you will slip back into your old 
ignorant ways. You have to practice furtheq until 
you cannot only see the Four Noble Truths, but be-
come unified with them. This is why we must prac-
tise further until Nirvana can be attained. 
A.2 Two levels of Buddhist teachings 
Before embarking on academic study of things like 
'Nirvana', a few words of caution are necessary con-
cerning the best approach to the studies of higher 
teachings. Buddhist teachings can be categorized 
into two levels: 
1. Teachings for practice: such as the Noble Eight-
fold Path [ariyamagga], the Threefold Trainings 
Isikkha], the Four Bases of Sympathy [sclizgaha-
vatthu], the Six Directions [disci], the Three 
Modes of Merit-making Iputiftakiriyiwatthu], 
the Four Foundations of Success liddhipadat 
2. Teachings on Metaphysics [abhiprajfia]: tran-
scendental phenomena which are above the di-
rect experience of mundane states of mind, such 
as heaven and hell, the law of Karma, Nirvana, 
cosmology or the supernatural. 
No special caution is required when discussing the 
'teachings for practice' (apart from applying the 
right practice to overcome the right problem). How-
ever, when treating subjects of higher philosophy 
(the so-called 'unfathomable' iacinteyya] A.ii.80) 
(such as whether there will be an end of the world 
or not; or whether the Tathigatha still exists or 
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not after death) often the Buddha would intention-
ally avoid giving a direct or comprehensive answer 
— not because he didn't know the answer but be-
cause he knew if the enquirer had not practised to 
a sufficiently high level, they would misunderstand 
or fail to believe his answer — thus in balance, a 
comprehensive answer might do more damage than 
good. As students of Buddhism, it is therefore nec-
essary for us to accept that the Buddha never gave 
detailed descriptions of subjects of metaphysics. He 
would simply leave us with implications. It is our 
duty to fill in the details through the results of our 
own practice. 
The lack of detail is a double-edged sword because 
although it ensures a lack of dogmatism amongst 
those who have not yet reached direct experience of 
metaphysics in their own practice — it also leaves 
room for interpretation. Even though we try to avoid 
being dogmatic — it is also a mistake to give no 
guidelines. In the majority of the Buddhist textbooks, 
the higher stages of practice are generally not very 
clearly described, because all of these things are taken 
to be merely 'the results' of meditation. It is all very 
well leaving the student to discover things by them-
selves — but for some people doubts might lead to 
discouragement. They might worry "Does Nirvana 
really exist or not?" or "Is Nirvana just a fairy story?" 
For such practitioners, some guidelines are useful, if 
only to inspire them with the confidence to practice 
until they can know Nirvana for themselves. Giving 
too many guidelines may be counterproductive for 
those who tend to think, "Now I know Nirvana is a 
reality, there is no point trying to prove it for myself 
any more — I'll go back to bed instead of meditat-
ing." 
When studying Nirvana, it is thus necessary to 
take as some form of guidance the little scriptural 
evidence the Buddha did give us. When speaking 
of Nirvana,the Buddha did assert that Nirvana ex-
ists, but his description of the characteristics of Nir-
vana consists of a series of negations (not confir-
mations) for the reasons already mentioned. As a 
result of this lack of detail we can make no firm 
conclusion about certain characteristics of Nirvana 
from the scriptures (see also §B.3 below). However, 
what we can say about Nirvana for sure is that it 
does exist. Thus whatever we believe about the 
detail of Nirvana, as Buddhists, should take confi-
dence in, is that the Buddha asserted that Nirvana 
does exist and it is the end of all suffering. As such, 
it is the ultimate goal in the pursuit of goodness of 
all Buddhists. 
B. NIRVANA 
B.1 Definition 
The word 'Nirvana' (in the Pali language 'rabbi/nag) 
has a variety of meanings. Nirvana can be trans-
lated as 'extinguishing' or it can mean 'escape'. 
Where Nirvana means 'extinguishing' it means the 
extinguishing of defilements or of suffering. Where 
Nirvana means 'escape' it means to escape from the 
three prisons of the Triple World. Looking at the 
translation of the word 'Nirvana', it can have two 
shades of meaning 
• Nirvana as a state of mind of a person with no 
further defilements or; 
• Nirvana as a place where those who have freed 
their mind of all defilements can go to partake 
of eternal bliss. 
B.2 Terminologies concerning Nirvana 
Given that the word 'Nirvana' leaves room for in-
terpretation, usually in the study of Buddhism we 
make what we are talking about clearer through 
the addition of prefixes. Thus, at this point it is 
worth pausing in order to clarify their definitions: 
1. Nirvana as a state of mind Isa-upadisesa-
nibbanaj: Sa-upadisesa Nirvana is our experi-
ence of Nirvana as a mental state — that is our 
living experience of Nirvana — that is, we don't 
have to die first and be reborn to attain it. We 
touch upon Nirvana in our experience when we 
have purified our mind from all defilements but 
our five aggregates [khandlraj have not yet bro-
ken up. Dhammakitya will be manifest inside 
ourselves imparting the same happiness to us 
as if we were really inside Nirvana as a realm of 
existence—but we are still 'alive' in our human 
body. 
2. Nirvana as a realm of 'existence'lanupadisesa-
nibbanal: Anupitclisesa Nirvana is the Nirvana 
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that exists as a realm outside our body and mind. 
Sometimes it is called 'posthumous' Nirvana 
because you can only go there after the breaking 
up of your five aggregates for the last time (you 
will not be reborn again). The DhammakAya 
which one has attained by becoming unified with 
Sa-upAdisesa Nirvana will be drawn through the 
centre of the body and enter upon Anupadisesa 
Nirvana — the quest of all Noble Ones. Nirvana 
is an empty area outside the Triple World which 
is beyond the reach of suffering. This place is the 
abode of all the bodies of enlightenment of all 
the fully-enlightened Buddhas, paccekabuddhas 
and arahants who have attained enlightenment 
in the past. Nirvana is full of all of these 
'Dhammakayas'. In that place there is only hap-
piness, because no suffering can reach there. 
There is no rebirth, aging, sickness or death, be-
cause everything is made up of Dhamma-aggre-
gates. This place cannot support people or an-
gels or Brahmas because these things are not 
made up of Dhamma-aggregates. Only Dha-
mmakAyas can enter thereon. This is the type of 
Nirvana that you can only attain when you are 
an arahant, paccekabuddha or fully-enlightened 
Buddha who passes away from this world for 
the last time. When the five aggregates of his 
physical body break up at death, his Dhamma-
Jaya will be attracted directly into Nirvana. 
3. Nirvana as the location of Nirvana [ayatana-
nibbdna]: Ayatana Nirvana is the location of 
Nirvana. Ayatana Nirvana actually exists but 
it is not made up of normal elements like earth, 
water, wind and fire in the same way as things 
we can see with the naked eye. It is neither in 
this world or another world. It is not the sun, 
the moon or the stars because all of those things 
are still within the Three Spheres [bhava] and 
are hence mundane [lokiya]. Nirvana is outside 
the Three Spheres and is trancendental 
[lokuttara]. In Nirvana there is no movement, 
no coming or going. Those who have attained 
Ayatana Nirvana are able to see past Buddhas 
sitting deep in meditation [nirodha sarnapati] 
there, more numerous than all the grains of sand 
in the four (cosmic) oceans. All that remains of 
them are their Dhamma Bodies —but Dhamma 
Bodies more exquisite than any Dhamma Body 
you can perceive within yourself — Dhamma 
Bodies that are self-sufficient with boundless 
happiness independent of any outside influence 
—because the mind of those Buddhas has tran-
scended all suffering entirely, having attained 
the true fulfilment of life. In this respect, the 
scriptures explain (Pathama Nibbana Sutta 
[Ud.80): 
O! Monks! There is the existence a sphere in 
which earth, water, fire, aic sphere of infin-
ity of space, sphere of infinity of conscious-
ness, sphere of nothingness, sphere of nei-
ther perception nor non-perception, this 
world, the next world, the moon, the sun 
have no part. 
O! Monks! I do not say that that sphere has 
coming, going, existence, arising, falling 
away, in a place that has no abode, without 
feeling ... this, is the end of suffering. 
4. Nirvana as the final destination [parinibbcina]: 
A last term which it is necessary to know to make 
sense of Buddhist texts is the word iparinibbana' 
— which is usually used as a verb to indicate the 
action of entry into Anupadisesa Nirvana for the 
final time by an arahant or by the Buddha. Some-
times it is used as a noun to indicate the occa-
sion of the final entry of an arahant of Buddha 
into Anupadisesa Nirvana at death. 
Although in the scriptures, a clear distinction is 
made between the terms 'Sa-uplidisesa Nirvana' 
and 'Anupadisesa Nirvana' (It.38), most of our 
knowledge of the difference between these terms 
comes to only courtesy of the commentary by the 
Great Abbot of Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen 
(Phramonkolthepmuni). Without understanding 
this distinction, the more you read about Nirvana 
in the textbooks, the more confused you will be-
come. The reason is that most of the textbooks have 
been based on interpretation of older texts rather 
than being based on experience. Some texts even 
go so far as to say that Nirvana doesn't exist. They 
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say that it is just a metaphor for having come to an 
end of defilements. Some even say that animals can 
go to Nirvana. This is no surprise because even 
heaven and hell, let alone something as lofty as 
Nirvana, have become subject to interpretation. 
Some believe that the two realms are nothing more 
than states of mind — they say that when you do 
good deeds, you feel relieved and fulfilled just as if 
you were in heaven; when you do bad deeds you 
feel guilty and anxious just as if you were in hell; 
and they would have us believe that there is noth-
ing more to heaven and hell than states of mind —
that the corresponding realms do not exist At the 
same time there are others who believe that heaven 
really exists as a realm with its angels and heav-
enly mansions and that hell exists as a realm with 
its fire and cauldrons of molten metal to incinerate 
its denizens. It is therefore our good fortune to have 
clear guidance on Nirvana still available to us 
within living memory, so that our inspiration to 
cultivate ourselves until being able to attain Nir-
vana for ourselves is not misplaced. 
£3 The Characteristics of Nirvana 
From the passage quoted from the Pathama 
Nibbana Sutta above, we can see that there are three 
major characteristics of Nirvana in contrast to the 
characteristics of matter still within the grasp of the 
three Universal Characteristics [samaillia-lakkhaact]: 
Conditioned 
Nirvana as a non-condi-
Dhammas such as the tioned phenomenon 
Five Aggregates (with (without Three Charac-
Three Characteristics) teristics) 
impermanent 
permanent 
suffering 
happy 
not/no-self 
sell..? 
TABLE 34.1: Scriptural vidence for the Universe 
Characteristics in Conditioned and Unconditioned Phenomena 
Nirvana is asserted to be outside the influence of 
the Three Characteristics [ti-lakkharta]' — specifi-
cally it is permanent rather than impermanent 
I. The three Universal Characteristics Iseunanneplakkhacial are 
the same as the Three Characteristics iti.lakkhapal 
ascophirarrt asankupparp 
... it cannot be taken away or changed 
Nd2.56 
. . . and the Buddha taught that anything that is 
permanent is no longer subject to suffering or 'not-
self' ... 
Yadaniccarp tarp dukkharn 
yarn dukkharp tadanatta 
whatever thing is (of the nature of) imper-
manence is also (of the nature of) suffer-
ing; whatever thing is (of the nature of) suf-
fering is also (of the nature of) no/not-self. 
S.iii.22 
Furthermore, the Buddha specifically said that Nir-
vana is of the nature of happiness [sukhargi 
Nibbanarp paramarp sukham 
Nirvana is the highest happiness. 
Dh.57 
Thus Nirvana is specifically said to be of the 
nature of happiness and permanence. How-
ever, it is only by implication that Nirvana is 
said to be of the nature of 'self' or not of the 
nature of 'not-self'. The major debate concern-
ing the characteristics of Nirvana concerns 
whether it is of the nature of 'self' [Rita] or 
'non-self' landau] is an issue which they have 
been unable to agree upon since ancient times 
shortly after the time of the Lord Buddha's 
parinibbana. This issue has been with us 
throughout the history of the development of 
Buddhism. Even in the present day, there are 
academic scholars of the West and the East who 
are still debating this issue. In fact, there are 
several separate issues concerning this issue 
which they are debating: 
1. The existence of the teaching of the exist-
ence of true self kite] in Buddhist teachings: 
There are those who believe that there ex-
ists such a thing as 'true self' and those who 
believe that a 'true self' doesn't exist. Pro-
ponents of 'true self' in Buddhism appear 
to be greater in numbers than opponents. 
Amongst their numbers are established 
western scholars such as Mrs. Rhys Davide, 
Blessing Thirty-Four: The Attainment of Nirvana 389 
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and Miss I.B. Homer'. Both of these were schol-
ars of incomparable dedication and expertise in 
the study of Buddhist scriptures. Both had an 
important role to play in the compilation of the 
Pali Text Society (PTS) edition of the Pali 
Tipitaka, which is recorded in Romanized script 
— the edition of the Pali Tipitaka accepted by 
scholars throughout the world as the most au-
thoritative. Among other scholars subscribing to 
the same view are Christmas Humphreys' and 
Edward Conze. Such scholars agree upon two 
major arguments: 
1. That the Buddha never clearly denied that 
the true self [rilts] doesn't exist or that true 
self doesn't exist in any level of the truth. 
2. That the original teachings of the Buddha im-
plies that the true self exists in a state that is 
higher than the level of the Five Aggregates 
[khandhaj or conditioned phenomena. 
They say that the Buddha never referred directly 
to the existence of a true self is because those 
who have not attempted to practice meditation 
for themselves might misunderstand that the 
'true self' in Buddhism was the same as the one 
in Hinduism. References for these arguments are 
found in texts as diverse as the Pali Tipitaka, 
the Sanskrit texts, the Chinese Tipitaka, the Ti-
betan Tipitaka and texts in other languages. 
Even so there are still scholars who assert that 
there is no such thing as 'true self' in the teach-
ing of the Buddha and equally they have their 
own scriptural sources and arguments. 
2. The real meaning of the words 'atta' and 
Janata': A lot of confusion arises in academic 
circles as the result of scholars who encounter 
technical terms in the scriptures and assume that 
one word has the same meaning in every place 
it appears in the scriptures. Each time the Bud-
dha preached he adapted his teaching to the char-
acter and needs of the listener. Thus the use of 
1. late mmident of the Pali Text Society (1922-42)in Steven Collins 
(1W)SeUless Person: Imagery and thought inrimmed° Buddhism, 
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p.7 
2. late president of the Pali Text Society (1959-B1) in Peter Haney 
(1995) The Selfless Mind, Curzon Press, p.17 
3. Buddhism (1959) Penguin Books, p.SS 
4. Buddhist Thought in India, (1962) George,Allen and Unwin, p,39 
words in the scriptures, even the same ones, may 
have hundreds of different implications. In the 
case of the words 'atta' and lanatta' are no ex-
ception. Some say that the word Jaffa' means 'self' 
in the same way that 'atman' means 'self' in 
Hindu teachings. Hindus teach that there is a 
'self' inside every one of us, which will ultimately 
be re-united with the Great Being 
[paranzatman]. They are afraid that if Buddhists 
accept 'self' then they will be giving in to 
Brahminism. In fact, these fears are ill-founded 
because the word 'atta' has many possible mean-
ings. It can mean 'imagined self' ('me', 'my') or 
the higher concept of 'me' and 'my' for an angel 
or a god, which must be qualitatively very dif-
ferent. The word Jana' can also mean 'true self' 
in an ultimate sense, of the sort that the Buddha 
advocated us to adopt as our 'island' or 'refuge'. 
Attadipa viharathi, attasaratza 
aruziiiiasararta, dhammadipa 
dhammasaratuita, anctittiasararia 
May you all take your self as your island. 
May you take yourself as a refuge. Take no 
other thing as your refuge. May Dhamma 
be your island. May Dhamma be your ref-
uge. Take no other thing as your refuge. 
Mahaparinibbana Sutta M.72 
In this case 'atta' obviously has a different mean-
ing from the word 'atta' as used in the case of 
'imagined self' or the word Jana' as used by the 
Hindus. Thus in the study of the Tipitaka, it is 
essential to distinguish the definition of the vo-
cabulary we meet independently for each occur-
rence. For the word Janat ' we need to be no 
less careful. There are those who believe that the 
word 'await' 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 'manttsso 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 not a person)? 
This gives a different angle when we look at the 
usage of the word 'self' - for example, when 
390 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps towards Enlightened Living 
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the Buddha taught that the Five Aggregates 
[lzhandha] 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 katipatthanal: 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 dhamnta anatta' (all phe-
nomena are Earzattal, what is the scope of the 
word 'dhamma' (phenomena)? Some commentar-
ies include Nirvana amongst the 'phenomena' 
(Nd2A.8,219 [Mahachula Royal Institute edi-
tion]), others not (ibid. part 7, p.62). In the latter 
the scope of 'phenomena' extends to nothing 
more than the Five Aggregates but does not in-
clude 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 Bud-
dhism. There are conclusions of possible implica-
tions and conclusions from each side of the argu-
ment — 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. TIM PRACIKALI n O1. ATTAINING NIRVANA 
C.1 Sequential practice for the attainment of Nirvana 
For sure, if you are to attain any of these forms 
of Nirvana, you have to practice the Noble Eight-
fold 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 Ac-
tion, Right Livelihood), Meditation (Right Effort, 
Right Mindfulness, Right 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. 
level of practice 
Precepts 
Meditation Wisdom 
Dhammakaya Gotrabhu 
Seeing the Four Noble Truths 
Arahantship 
perfect 
perfect 
perfect 
reasonable 
perfect 
perfect 
reasonable 
reasonable 
perfect 
TABLE 34.2: Threefold training at Different 
levels of attainment 
In order to attain the DhammakAya at the ini-
tial level [dhammakaya-gotrabhu], 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, medi-
tation perfect, wisdom reasonable) and if all 
Precepts, meditation and wisdomare perfect 
then you have the chance to attain Nirvana. As 
your wisdom improves you will be able to at-
tain the Dhammakaya of an arahat.When an 
arahant passes away, his physical body will be 
buried or cremated. His Dhammakaya will en-
ter upon Anupadisesa Nirvana. There will be 
no further rebirth for them. In conclusion, if you 
want to attain Nirvana, you have to attain Nir-
vana 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 
Nirvana. Anyone who practises the Noble Eight-
fold Path properly will eventually attain it for 
themselves. Thus, once we know Nirvana exists, 
and know the method, we should make the requi-
site effort to attain it — in accordance with the 
guidelines laid out in this blessing — by practis-
ing good deeds incorporating the Noble Eightfold 
Path, keeping of the Precepts, practising medita-
tion and accruing wisdom. 
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B. ILLUSIRM IVk, EXAMPLkS 
D.I Ex. Vangisa Thera Vatthu (Dhativ.226ff.) 
Once in Ritjagaha there was a brahmin by the 
name of Vangisa who could tell the afterlife des-
tination of a corpse simply by tapping its skull. 
The brahmins were very proud of Vatigisa and 
took him to many villages where people flocked 
to him and paid handsomely to find out from him 
where their various dead relatives had been re-
born. 
On one occasion, Vangisa and his party came 
to a place not far from the Jetavana monastery. See-
ing many people who were going to the Buddha, 
the brahmins invited them to come to Vatigisa 
who could tell where their relatives had been re 
born. But the people said to them, "What does 
Vatigisa know! Our Teacher is one without a ri-
val, 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, Vangisa 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 per-
son reborn in hell, one of a person reborn in the 
animal world, one of a person reborn in the hu-
man world, one of a person reborn inthe deva-
world and one of an arahant. Having found the 
five skulls the monk placed them in a row. When 
Vangisa 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, "Vangisa don't 
you know? I know where the owner of that skull 
is." Vangisa 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 Bud-
dha told him that the condition of learning such 
and ability was to enter the Holy Order. 
Vangisa 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 
monk, he was instructed by the Buddha to con-
template the thirty-two parts of the body. He dili-
gently 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. 
Vangisa 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 you." On overhear-
ing this, the other monks asked the Buddha, "Ven-
erable Sir! Vangisa 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 Nir-
vana is not just a higher level of heaven — it is 
outside the Triple World system completely — if 
it were just another level of heaven Vaiigisa would 
have been able to find the afterlife destination of 
the arahant. 
D.2 Er. Kulumbigaputtaissa Thera (MA.i.1881)) 
A young man called Tissa heired from a wealthy 
Kutumbiya family of Savatthi. He renounced a 
legacy of forty crores and became a monk dwell-
ing in the forest. His younger brother's wife who 
had inherited the wealth in his place was afraid 
that he might give up his vocation as a monk and 
come home asking for his fortune back. She could 
not sleep in peace and therefore decided to send 
five hundred ruffians to kill him.The ruffians went 
to where Tissa was meditating in the forest and 
surrounded him. Tissa asked them why they had 
come. The ruffians replied that they had come to 
kill him. He didn't resist, but begged them to spare 
his life for one further night (to give him enough 
time to strive for enlightenment). The ruffians 
asked who would guarantee that he would not run 
away in the night. Because there was no-one else 
who could be his witness, he picked up a stone 
and used it to break both his own thigh-bones as a 
token that he would not attempt to escape — ask-
ing them whether that would be sufficient guar-
antee. The ruffians, however, were not entirely 
satisfied and built a fire nearby on the place where 
the monk normally did his walking meditation 
and slept there. During the night he overcame his 
pain and, reflecting on the purity of his own self-
discipline, meditated for the whole of the night to 
became an arahant at dawn. 
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The Tenth 
Group of Blessings 
"The Fruits of Having Practised until reaching an 
end of defilements" 
Having rid ourselves even of the subtlest defilements as a result of 
our practice in in Group IX culminating in the Attainment of Nir-
vana (Blessing Thirty-Five) — the only remaining work on the Bud-
dhist path of progress, is to receive the fruits of our labours. Group 
X is entitled 'the fruits of having practised until reaching an end of 
defilements'. In fact, there is no practice left to do in this grouping, 
and the remaining blessings are more a description of the fruits of 
one's practice. It is like having washed oneself thoroughly, all there 
is left is the feeling of cleanliness and refreshedness. This grouping 
contains four blessings: 
• Blessing Thirty-Five: A Mind Invulnerable to Worldly vicis-
situdes 
• Blessing Thirty-Six: The Sorrowless Mind 
• Blessing Thirty-Seven: Freedom from Subtle Defilements 
• Blessing Thirty-Eight: The Blissful Mind 
The Group describes the qualities of a mind freed from the influ-
ence of defilements. The first of these we are to examine in this 
chapter is the state of invulnerability to worldly vicissitudes. 
 I 
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Blessing Thirty-Five: 
A Mind Invulnerable 
to Worldly Vicissitudes 
A. INTRODUCTION 
A.1 The Place of Blessing Thirty-Five in the 
order of things 
Cultivation of invulnerability has already 
largely been dealt with in Blessing Twenty-Four 
(§E.3) although some tips are given here for how 
to minimize your vulnerability to worldly vicis-
situdes for those whose mind is not yet at the 
transcendental level. Having practised all the 
forgoing blessings, you will have attained a 
body of enlightenment within yourself which 
has an appearance like a living Buddha of crys-
tal at the centre of one's body. Your doubts about 
reality and world will be almost completely 
overcome, having used the Dhammakaya to ex-
amine the nature of the world, especially the 
Four Noble Truths. You will be able to under-
stand for yourself the answers to so many of 
those questions that are useless to have ex-
plained to you by anyone else. If you can attain 
the ability to see the Four Noble Truths, and see 
Nirvana for yourself, the next outcome of your 
practice is that your mind starts to become in-
vulnerable to the temptations of the world. If 
you are an arahant, you will be completely in-
vulnerable to the temptations of the world —
however, if you have attained the Dhammalciya 
at any other level, although you will still be vul-
nerable to the temptations of the world, you will 
only be partially vulnerable. 
A.2 The point of studying vulnerability for those 
who have not yet attained 
The subject matter of this blessing concerns invul-
nerability to the temptations of the world. Some 
might ask whether there is any point in studying this 
blessing for people who have not yet become araharrts 
— but in fact, by studying the invulnerability to the 
temptations of the world as one of the possible re-
sults of persevering with meditation practice, it is 
hoped to be inspiration to readers to practice fur-
ther until they can attain such invulnerability for 
themselves. The objective is not to 'be invulnerable' 
without having attained Dhammakiya, the Four 
Noble Truths and Nirvana, because without these 
things, your invulnerability is not yet watertight. 
A.3 Definitions 
The title of this blessing in Pali 'phuttassa-
lokadhammehi cittam yassa na kampati' is 'In-
vulnerability (lit. untouched) to the vicissitudes of 
the world'. To define each of the constituent terms 
in turn: 
• The Mind: When talking about the invulnerabil-
ity of the mind, by 'mind' we mean our good 
quality of mind; 
• Invulnerable: Invulnerable means not being 
dulled by aversive consequences such as loss of 
fame, loss of possessions or loss of loved ones. It 
also means not being elated by desirable conse-
quences. If your mind is affected in either of the 
two ways mentioned, then it is still vulnerable. 
Blessing Thirty-Five: A Mind Invulnerable to Worldly Vicissitudes 395 
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• vicissitudes of the World Ilokadhammaj: These 
are features of life in the world which are 
fraught with uncertainty and which no-one 
can avoid for as long as they live in the 
world. The varieties of the vicissitudes are 
examined in more detail below. It is just like 
it is the nature of the ocean to have waves 
on it. If anyone goes to sea then they must 
meet with waves. If you go into the forest, 
then you cannot avoid trees because it is the 
nature of the forest to have trees. The nature 
of the world is to have vicissitudes which are 
always fluctuating for the better or the 
worse. If we allow these fluctuations to dic-
tate our mood, our quality of mind will be 
like a roller-coaster! In fact, there is only one 
type of person who is not affected by the vi-
cissitudes of the world and those are the 
arahants. Their mind has sufficient self-con-
fidence and steadfastness to be equanimous 
or indifferent in the face of worldly vicissi-
tudes. Even though they too are subject to 
worldly vicissitudes, their mind is not upset 
by unpleasant vicissitudes and it is not elated 
by desirable vicissitudes. The mind of such 
a person sees all vicissitudes as things that 
will not last forever, and lends them no more 
importance than they deserve. 
A.4 Why make our minds invulnerable to 
worldly vicissitudes? 
The Buddha warned of the dangers of acquir-
ing the desirable vicissitudes when one doesn't 
know how to prevent oneself from becoming 
attached to them. He compared acquired wealth 
in such a case as being like fish bait (Bahas Sutta 
S.ii.226), a hunter's dart (Kumma Sutta S.ii.226), 
a thornbush entrapping long-haired sheep 
(Dighalomi Sutta S.ii.228) and turns those pre-
viously of good conscience into those who 
would rather tell a lie than lose what they have 
acquired (Matari etc. Suttas S.ii.242ff.),It is for 
this reason that if we are not yet invulnerable to 
such vicissitudes, we have to train ourselves in 
contentment (as explained in Blessing Twenty-Four, 
§E.3). 
13. WO1t1,131A 
I( ISSI I 1)1:,S 
B.1 Varieties of Worldly Vicissitudes 
There are a total of eight types of vicissitudes in the 
world (A.iv.157). These eight are divided into two 
groups— the first group of desirable [ittharamarm] 
vicissitudes which can make the mind elated: 
1. Wealth [labha]: this is anything which we 
gain or which comes to us as profit, such as 
possessions, a spouse, land, houses or jewelry; 
2. Honour &ascii: This is receiving promotion to 
a better position or status or being accorded 
more powers; 
3. Praise (pasarpsci]: This is receiving compli-
ments or flattery or a tribute; 
4. Happiness [stadia]: This is receiving comfort 
or convenience of body or mind. 
The second group of vicissitudes is the opposite to 
all of the above because they are all undesirable 
ranittharamanat 
1. Loss of Wealth [alabha]: You lose what you 
used to own — whether it is your wealth, your 
house, your land, your spouse, your children 
or your jewelry; 
2. Loss of Honour layasa]: This means demo-
fion or being fired or having your powers 
withdrawn; 
3. Malicious Gossip [minded: This means being 
criticized for your faults, or someone talking 
about your faults to your face or behind your 
back; 
4. Suffering Iclukkha]: This is hurt or torture of 
the body or mind. 
For all of these desirable things, before we have 
them, we spend years worrying about how to gain 
them. Once we have got them,we are possessive 
and scared that we will lose them. If we lose them, 
we spend years lamenting their loss. When ordi-
nary people encounter the vicissitudes of the world, 
they cannot but help be elated or disappointed. For 
the enlightened ones however, encountering the 
same vicissitudes, they cause no disturbance to the 
mind. When the arahants are praised or insulted, 
their the suffering is different to that of a mundane 
person because the suffering of illness affects only 
their body. They have their 'bunker' inside the 
396 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps towards Enlightened Living 
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depths of mind which they can use to shelter from 
suffering the whole of the time. The happiness of 
the world is no temptation to the arahant who al-
ready knows the superior happiness of Nirvana. 
It is like a millionaire with assets of $100 million 
is offered a 'free gift' of $5. He will feel indifferent. 
It is like the ocean full of water feels indifferent if 
two or three drops more of rain should fall. An 
amhant is like a millionaire of happiness. If you of-
fer him a little more insignificant piece of happi-
ness, it is unlikely to interest him. If he hears the 
praise or condemnation of others he will feel indif-
ferent because he knows what the truth is — there 
is no need for him to listen to the opinions of others 
about what the truth might be like. Praise and gos-
sip is no more than the sound of a crow or a dog 
barking to someone who would prefer to discuss 
the Dhamma. If he were to obtain a new robe or 
some nice food or a new kuti to live in —all of these 
things are functional but the happiness they give is 
insignificant compared to the happiness of reach-
ing an end of defilements.They are nothing com-
pared to the requisites available in the heavenly 
world which they have already seen and had the 
chance to compare the things of the world with. 
B.2 The Three Universal Characteristics 
Everything in the world has its own characteris-
tics. Some characteristics are unique — some are 
shared with others. Gold, for example, has the char-
acteristic that when it is pure, it will have a yellow 
colour and will sparkle. It is hard to alloy it with 
other elements. Iron has the characteristic that it is 
a hard metal but it rusts easily. Mercury is a fluid 
metal that is heavy. These are the specific qualities 
of certain materials. People have their own charac-
teristics too. They are able to speak and move about 
and can be knowledgeable about things. Howevec, 
for all their differences, there are three characteris-
tics that are shared by all things in the world. It was 
these that the Lord Buddha called the Three Uni-
versal Characteristics frantaiiiialakkhaga] (S.iv.1, 
Dh.277-29): 
1. Impermanence janiccatEd: The first Universal 
Characteristic is impermanence. Sometimes we 
think that material things are unchanging, but 
2. 
3. 
in fact this is not the case. If you don't believe it, 
try taking photos of yourself as a demonstration 
— you are born as a baby (take a first picture), 
take another picture after a month, after a year, 
at teenage, in middle-age, in old age. If on the 
last day of your life you were to compare all the 
pictures that have been taken throughout your 
life you will find that there are no two pictures 
alike. This is true, not just for people, but for all 
things in the world is this characteristic applica-
ble. Everything is in flux. There is degradation 
and deterioration built into everything around 
us. Metal rusts. Paint blisters. Cloth frays. This 
is true, not only for material objects, but even 
abstract phenomenon in the world. Last year 
they said they loved you, but this year, that seems 
to have changed. Last year, they looked beauti-
ful in your eyes, but this year, that seems to have 
changed. Even if you try weighing the most pre-
cious of materials like your gold ring, you will 
find that year by year, the weight will systemati-
cally decrease. The price of the gold sometimes 
goes up and sometimes goes down. Even if you 
were to sell the ring back to the shop tomorrow, 
there is nothing to guarantee the price that you 
will recover the amount of money for which you 
bought the ring. Even the state of our mind is 
impermanent. When you pass your entrance 
exams to go to university you make up your 
mind to work so hard for your degree that you 
will get a 'first-class honours'. However after 
seven-days of diligence, you change your mind 
in favour of the night life. At the end of the year 
you get thrown out of university..! So much for 
steadfastness of mind! 
Suffering [dukkhata]: The second Universal 
Characteristic is suffering. Normally we under-
stand suffering as pain, but the word edukkhatits 
in the Pali has the wider meaning that it is the 
quality of things that they 'have decay as their 
nature' with all the shades of meaning (already 
discussed in Blessing Thirty-Three, §B.1). 
Being without self [anattata]: The third Uni-
versal Characteristic is 'not-self'. Nothing in the 
world has implicit identity. You look at a medi-
tation mat and ask what about the meditation 
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mat makes it a mat. If you were to take it apart 
into all its components, you will just be left with 
a pile of components — there is no particular part 
which makes it a 'mat'. If you look at it with a 
microscope all you can see is a collection of cells. 
You cannot even see the components any more. 
In the same way people look at their own bodies 
and they say "This is me", "This is what makes 
me who I am". However, if they were to look 
closely at their body and see that it is just a col-
lection of organs, bones, tissues and nerves, it 
will make them wonder what about their body 
makes them who they really are. The word 
sanattatte has a second important meaning and 
that is the quality of something that is 'outside 
your control'. From the point of view of practice 
this is a very important definition. You might 
notice when you sit for meditation that you can-
not stop yourself from feeling aches and pains. 
You cannot even keep your mind on the thing 
you want to concentrate on for your meditation. 
Even if you don't want to look old, you cannot 
stop the signs of aging from appearing on your 
body. Your hair turns grey without you being 
able to stop it. All you can do to stop it from 
changing colour is to dye it. Your hair falls out 
without you being able to stop it. All you can do 
to save yourself from baldness is to buy a wig. 
Whether the Buddha arises in the world or not, 
these Three Characteristics are the nature of things 
in the world. However, if it wasn't for the teaching 
of the Buddha, we might never realize. 
Don't take the teachings that way however —
some people hear the teachings that everything in 
the world is impermanent and they think to them-
selves, "Why bother to invest one's time and effort 
in doing any good deeds?" If you don't understand 
this point correctly you will be like many Buddhists 
who use this teaching as an excuse for doing what-
ever they like — killing, stealing, corruption and 
lying — why? — because they believe that there is 
no lasting effect from any of their actions. They for-
get that the Buddha taught that if you do good you 
will receive good fruits from your actions. If you 
do evil deeds, you will receive evil results from your 
action and that Dhammakaya and Nirvana are the 
ultimate result attainable through good deeds. 
The reason why such people are confused is that 
they don't realize that certain things exist that are 
not subject to the Three Characteristics — that are 
permanent, happy and true self — the characteris-
tics of Nirvana (described in Blessing Thirty-Four, 
§B.3) 
BhCOM1NG LESS 
GOES 
C.1 Some principles 
In general, the more uncontrollably people laugh 
when they are elated, the louder they will cry when 
they are disappointed. If people only smile slightly 
when they are pleased about something, when they 
are disappointed the trauma will be only minor. We 
must continually remind ourselves not to allow our-
selves to be too elated or disappointed when we 
encounter the vicissitudes of the world, and before 
long, the resulting stability of mind will soon lead 
us to attain the Dhammakfiya for ourselves, attain 
the Four Noble Truths and attain Nirvana. 
C.2 Some things to remind yourself 
Even the best of people, the Buddha himself, still 
had to encounter vicissitudes. Thus don't be too 
upset if you too encounter such vicissitudes — just 
minimize the damage they do to your mind. The 
people of old gave the general advice that if you 
are put under pressure by the vicissitudes of the 
world, you should soften the blow by reflecting that: 
• The darker it gets the later it must be. The later 
it gets, the closer it gets to dawn. Darkness in 
this world can last for twelve hours at the most. 
In the thirteenth hour it must reach the dawn. 
Even if you are at breaking point as the result of 
the pressure you have been put under, know that 
before much longer you will be close to an end 
of suffering. The word for 'hindrances' or 'ob-
stacles' in the Pali, 'upasakka' actually means 
'close to heaven'. Even the unpleasant things of 
the world are subject to the Universal Charac-
teristics —just as they have come into being, be-
fore long they must decay; 
• the good things corning to you are not forever: 
Instead of becoming elated one should reflect 
that when the vicissitudes have worked in our 
favour, such good fortune cannot last for ever. 
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Even wealth, honour, praise and worldly happi-
ness has suffering and change as its nature. Be-
cause of the lack of such elation and disappoint-
ment, they manage to escape the clutches of birth, 
old age, death, pain, feeling slighted and despair. 
• everything that evolves must also decay: When 
the Three Universal Characteristics are the real-
ity of the world, Buddhists have long had the 
tradition to remind themselves that it is the na-
ture of everything in the world to evolve, to sus-
thin and then to decay. No-one can stand in the 
way of this process. It is no use trying to create 
eternity in this world. Not even Buddhist teach-
ings with all their powers can last forever. Even 
after 2,500 years there are already those who have 
their doubts about whether Buddhism is genu-
ine because peoples' memories are subject to the 
Three Universal Characteristics. 
• don't take the vicissitudes personally: The eight 
vicissitudes will happen to people no matter 
whether they attain the stages of Buddhist saint-
hood or not. Don't think that just because some-
one is a Buddhist saint, nothing unpleasant will 
happen to you. For all of us who have not yet 
attained Dhammakitya, the Noble Truths and 
Nirvana, of course our mind is still not com-
pletely invulnerable to the vicissitudes of the 
world — but if we know that we are not alone in 
being victim to such vicissitudes, and that even 
those who are more fortunate than us still suffer 
from them, somehow it will make us feel better 
about them. 
U. iLLUS i RA I IVI!, TALES 
• 
En Visayha Jataku (1.340) 
When the Buddha was still pursuing perfections 
as the bodhisattva, he was born in the family of 
bankers and had the name 'Visayha'. He was ex-
tremely wealthy but was of the habit always to give 
alms. He gave alms daily to 600,000 persons in six 
parts of the city. He would not only give alms in 
large amounts, but he would give only refined 
things and delicacies — of the same quality that he 
used himself. He would give away vast quantifies 
of alms each day and was thus a refuge to paupers 
and those in suffering alike. He was like the moon 
shining forth its light for the benefit of the manyfolk. 
Sakka, the king of heaven, felt a warming of his 
throne as the result of Visayha's generosity and 
thought Visayha's generosity was surely intended 
to outshine his own goodness. He feared to lose his 
own position — so Sakka decided to use his pow-
ers to reduce Visayha to poverty overnight — so 
that he would no longer be able to give gifts to oth-
ers. Sakka saw to it that all of Visayha's wealth dis-
appeared leaving nothing to give away. 
Waking up to find all his wealth gone, Visayha 
reflected to his wife, "If our life is without giving, it 
is an empty life indeed. We cannot quit from our 
giving."He told his wife to go and search the entire 
house for anything that could possibly be used as a 
gift. The wife scoured the house and found only a 
scythe, a yoke-bar and a rope forgotten by a serv-
ant by the gate. These she brought to her husband. 
Visayha said,"Never in my life have I been reduced 
to cutting grass — but today • 
going to have to 
learn to become a grass-cutter in order to have fod-
der to sell, so that we can have something to give." 
Having spent the day cutting grass he amassed 
enough fodder to sell and made the promise to him-
self that he would keep half the earnings acquired 
to support himself and his wife, while giving away 
the other half. That day, however, there was a par-
ticularly large number of paupers who came beg-
ging — so by force of habit he gave away every-
thing he had — that day he and his wife going with-
out any food themselves. The same thing happened 
for six consecutive days. On the seventh day, 
Visayha was carrying a sheaf of grass in the fierce 
heat of the midday sun when his fatigue and hun-
ger got the better of him and he fell to the ground 
in exhaustion. 
Sakka had been following the banker around un-
seen and at this point made himself visible to 
Visayha, floating in the air before him and calcu-
lated to give Visayha's generosity its final blow with 
the taunt, "Before you were wealthy — but you 
have squandered your wealth on the poor — and 
now look at you! If only you are to cling on to your 
wealth, before long you can return to your usual 
wealth! Promise me that from now on you will put 
an end to this foolish generosity!" 
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Hearing the voice, Visayha recovered conscious-
ness and challenged Sakka, saying,"Who do you 
think you are?" 
"I am Sakka — king of heaven" 
"Normally Sakka is one for practising generos-
ity, observing the precepts and the quarter moon 
days and practising the seven virtues that make one 
the king of heaven Ivattapada] (namely: 1. cherish-
ing one's parents; 2. respect for elders in one's fam-
ily; 3. speaking politely; 4. speaking to engender 
harmony; 5. being generous to banish stinginess; 6. 
speaking the truth, and; 7. banishing anger) but 
Your Majesty is telling me to stop my generosity —
which contradicts everythingthat brought your own 
greatness — if you are truly Sakka, Your Majesty is 
acting out of keeping with your own nature! May 
no wealth ever accrue to me which makes me pos-
sessive of it! Whatever practice is virtuous or su-
preme which I have done in the past, may I always 
continue — may I never stop. Even though I have 
to cut grass for a living, I will continue with my 
generosity until my dying day!" 
Sakka could not succeed in dissuading Visayha 
from his generosity — so he asked instead, the rea-
son for Visayha's determination to cultivate giving. 
Visayha said that his generosity was in no way 
aimed to attaining the position of the king of heaven 
— but in order to accrue perfections with the view 
to attain enlightenment as Buddha — to lead all 
beings out of suffering. 
Hearing Visayha's answer, Sakka could not help 
but be happy — and he patted Visayha's back, so 
replenishing Visayha with superhuman power. 
Sakka restored all Visayha's wealth and more, so 
that there was always wealth in Visayha's house 
for endless giving to his dying day... 
D.2 Ex. Buddha left hungry by Brahmin Veranja 
Having discussed the Dhamma witha certain Brah-
min called Verafija (as related in Blessing Thirty §E.4) 
the brahmin was so impressed that he invited the 
Buddha and the whole monastic community to stay 
in his province for the duration of the Rainy Sea-
son. The Buddha accepted the invitation but a short 
time later in that province, the harvest failed and 
there was a famine in the area. There was hardly 
enough food to go round. Verafija, as one of the ad-
ministrators of the province, was so busy solving 
the problems of the starving people in the province 
that he completely forgot to look after the Buddha 
and the community of five-hundred monks who 
had accompanied him. The Ven. MoggallAna of-
fered his services to the Buddha saying, "The Brah-
min is too busy to be able to look after us. May I fly 
away to another continent (world) to look for alms 
there, to bring such alms back and feed our hungry 
community?" 
The Buddha said, "There is no need to go to so 
much trouble". 
"Then shall I penetrate down deep into the earth 
to find the 'ambrosia' that is buried there and bring 
it back to feed our community?" 
The Buddha said, "No, don't do that. Show a lit-
tle patience." 
"Why do we need to be patient?" 
The Buddha replied, "Even, if you were to access 
the ambrosia from under the ground and the word 
spread around, before long people would stop of-
fering almsfood to the monks in order to see which 
monk is an amhant able to access such ambrosia. It 
would be a disaster for the monks who are not yet 
amhatzts. Be patient just for three months so that 
the monks to come in the future will not suffer as 
the result." 
Eventually the monks survived to the end of the 
rainy season on the 'red rice' usually used for feed-
ing horses. The happiness for the Buddha didn't 
come from the food he ate but from the purity of 
the mind arising from enlightenment. 
D.3 E.r. Lakurnlaka Bhaddhiya Thera 
(DhAii.1481T) 
Bhaddiya was one of the bhikkhus staying at the 
Jetavana monastery. Because of his short and child-
like stature he was known as Lakundaka (the 
dwarf). Lakurnlalca Bhaddiya was very good na-
tured —even young bhikkhus would often tease him 
by pulling his nose or his ears or by patting him on 
the head. Very often they would jokingly say, 'Un-
cle, how are you? Are you happy, or are you bored 
with your life here as a bhikkhzt?' Bhaddiya never re-
taliated in anger, or abused them. In fact he was al-
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