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To Nibbana The Noble Eightfold Path
By Mahasi Sayadaw Gyi

The Venerable Mahasi Sayadawgyi had delivered the discourse on “Nibbana via the Noble Eightfold Path” for the first time on 2nd waxing of Tawthalin, 1323 B.E (22nd August 1971) at the Ariyavasa Dhamma Hall near Moe Kaung Pagoda, Yangon. He had delivered the same discourse several times in various places, including Mahasi Meditation Centre, at Yangon, and other townships as well. This discourse was tape- recorded and after the written draft was edited by Mahasi Sayadaw, the first Myanmar edition was published in 1339, B.E. (June 1977). Up to now, this Myanmar Edition has run into fifth edition. Mahasi Sayadawgyi in delivering this discourse, made reference to Subhadda Sutta which described the queries made by one ascetic “Subhadda” and the answers given by Lord Buddha on the eve of Maha Parinibbana.


In effect it is the last sermon of Lord Buddha. Sayadawgyi had discoursed this Sutta with the aim of yogis and meditators realising Nibbana, by means of the Noble Eightfold Path, which was also explained by Lord Buddha as the first sermon soon after his enlightenment, as the Dhammacakka sutta preached to first group of five monks. In order for the foreign yogis and meditators to study, the Buddha Sasana Nuggaha Organization had entrusted this discourse in Myanmar to Sayagyi U Htin Fatt (Pen Name-Maung Htin) (1909-2006) to translate into English.

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Dhammapada Verse 172
Sammajjanatthera Vatthu

Yo ca pubbe pamajjit va
pacchi so nappamajjati
so'mam lokam pabhaseti
abbha muttova candima.

Verse 172: He, who has been formerly unmindful, but is mindful later on, lights up the world with the light of Magga Insight as does the moon freed from clouds.

The Story of Thera Sammajjana

While residing at the Jetavana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verse (172) of this book, with reference to Thera Sammajjana.

Thera Sammajjana spent most of his time sweeping the precincts of the monastery. At that time, Thera Revata was also staying at the monastery; unlike Sammajjana, Thera Revata spent most of his time in meditation or deep mental absorption. Seeing Thera Revata's behaviour, Thera Sammajjana thought the other thera was just idling away his time. Thus, one day Sammajjana went to Thera Revata and said to him, "You are being very lazy, living on the food offered out of faith and generosity; don't you think you should sometimes sweep the floors or the compound or some other place?" To him, Thera Revata replied, "Friend, a bhikkhu should not spend all his times sweeping. He should sweep early in the morning, then go out on the alms-round. After the meal, contemplating his body he should try to perceive the true nature of the aggregates, or else, recite the texts until nightfall. Then he can do the sweeping again if he so wishes." Thera Sammajjana strictly followed the advice given by Thera Revata and soon attained arahatship.

Other bhikkhus noticed some rubbish piling up in the compound and they asked Sammajjana why he was not sweeping as much as he used to, and he replied, "When I was not mindful, I was all the time sweeping; but now I am no longer unmindful." When the bhikkhus heard his reply they were sceptical; so they went to the Buddha and said, "Venerable Sir! Thera Sammajjana falsely claims himself to be an arahat; he is telling lies." To them the Buddha said, "Sammajjana has indeed attained arahatship; he is telling the truth."

Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:
Verse 172: He, who has been formerly unmindful, but is mindful later on, lights up the world with the light of Magga Insight as does the moon freed from clouds.

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Bodhidharma, the first Chan patriarch that brought Zen Buddhism from India to China in the 5th century.

Bodhidharma’s Teachings
Excerpted from The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma by Red Pine


If you use your mind to study reality, you won’t understand either your mind or reality. If you study reality without using your mind, you’ll understand both. Those who don’t understand, don’t understand understanding. And those who understand, understand not understanding. People capable of true vision know that the mind is empty. They transcend both understanding and not understanding. The absence of both understanding and not understanding is true understanding.

Seen with true vision, form isn’t simply form, because form depends on mind. And mind isn’t simply mind, because mind depends on form. Mind and form create and negate each other. That which exists exists in relation to that which doesn’t exist. And that which doesn’t exist doesn’t exist in relation to that which exists. This is true vision. By means of such vision nothing is seen and nothing is not seen. Such vision reaches throughout the ten directions without seeing: because nothing is seen; because not seeing is seen; because seeing isn’t seeing. What mortals see are delusions. True vision is detached from seeing.

The mind and the world are opposites, and vision arises where they meet. When your mind doesn’t stir inside, the world doesn’t arise outside. When the world and the mind are both transparent, this is true vision. And such understanding is true understanding.

To see nothing is to perceive the way, and to understand nothing is to know the dharma, because seeing is neither seeing nor not seeing and because understanding is neither understanding nor not understanding. Seeing without seeing is true vision. Understanding without understanding is true understanding.

True vision isn’t just seeing seeing. It’s also seeing not seeing. And true understanding isn’t just understanding understanding. It’s also understanding not understanding. If you understand anything, you don’t understand. Only when you understand nothing is it true understanding. Understanding is neither understanding nor not understanding.

The sutras say, “not to let go of wisdom is stupidity.” When the mind doesn’t exist, understanding and not understanding are both true. When the mind exists, understanding and not understanding are both false.

When you understand, reality depends on you. When you don’t understand, you depend on reality. When reality depends on you, that which isn’t real becomes real. When you depend on reality, that which is real becomes false. When you depend on reality, everything is false. When reality depends on you, everything is true. Thus, the sage doesn’t use his mind to look for reality, or reality to look for his mind, or his mind to look for his mind, or reality to look for reality. His mind doesn’t give rise to reality. And reality doesn’t give rise to his mind. And because both his mind and reality are still, he’s always in samadhi.

When the mortal mind appears, buddhahood disappears. When the mortal mind disappears, buddhahood appears. When the mind appears, reality disappears. When the mind disappears, reality appears. Whoever knows that nothing depends on anything has found the Way. And whoever knows that the mind depends on nothing is always at the place of enlightenment.

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“Mendicants, there are eight causes and reasons that lead to acquiring the wisdom fundamental to the spiritual life, and to its increase, growth, and full development once it has been acquired. What eight?

5. They’re very learned, remembering and keeping what they’ve learned. These teachings are good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end, meaningful and well-phrased, describing a spiritual practice that’s entirely full and pure. They are very learned in such teachings, remembering them, reinforcing them by recitation, mentally scrutinizing them, and comprehending them theoretically. This is the fifth cause.


8. They meditate observing rise and fall in the five grasping aggregates. ‘Such is form [feeling, perception, choices, consciousness] such is the origin of form [feeling, perception, choices, consciousness], such is the ending of form [feeling, perception, choices, consciousness]. This is the eighth cause.

Partial excerpts from AN 8.2 Paññāsutta: Wisdom

Dhammapada Verse 173
Angulimalatthera Vatthu

Yassa papam katam kammam
kusalena1 pidhiyati
so'mam lokam pabhaseti
abbha muttova candima.

Verse 173: He who overwhelms with good the evil that he has done lights up this world (with the light of Magga Insight), as does the moon freed from clouds.

1. kusalena: with good deed; the good in this context means Arahatta Magga, the fourth and final Path knowledge. (The Commentary)

The Story of Thera Angulimala

While residing at the Jetavana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verse (173) of this book, with reference to Thera Angulimala.

Angulimala was the son of the Head Priest in the court of King Pasenadi of Kosala. His original name was Ahimsaka. When he was of age, he was sent to Taxila, a renowned university town. Ahimsaka was intelligent and was also obedient to his teacher. So he was liked by the teacher and his wife; as a result, other pupils were jealous of him. So they went to the teacher and falsely reported that Ahimsaka was having an affair with the teacher's wife. At first, the teacher did not believe them, but after being told a number of times he believed them; and so he vowed to have revenge on the boy. To kill the boy would reflect badly on him; so he thought of a plan which was worse than murder. He told Ahimsaka to kill one thousand men or women and in return he promised to give the boy priceless knowledge. The boy wanted to have this knowledge, but was very reluctant to take life. However, he agreed to do as he was told.

Thus, he kept on killing people, and not to lose count, he threaded a finger each of everyone he killed and wore them like a garland round his neck. In this way, he was known as Angulimala, and became the terror of the countryside. The king himself heard about the exploits of Angulimala, and he made preparations to capture him. When Mantani, the mother of Angulimala, heard about the king's intention, out of love for her son, she went into the forest in a desperate bid to save her son. By this time, the chain round the neck of Angulimala had nine hundred and ninety-nine fingers in it, just one finger short of one thousand.

Early in the morning on that day, the Buddha saw Angulimala in his vision, and reflected that if he did not intervene, Angulimala who was on the look out for the last person to make up the one thousand would see his mother and might kill her. In that case, Angulimala would have to suffer in niraya endlessly. So out of compassion, the Buddha left for the forest where Angulimala was.

Angulimala, after many sleepless days and nights, was very tired and near exhaustion. At the same time, he was very anxious to kill the last person to make up his full quota of one thousand and so complete his task. He made up his mind to kill the first person he met. Suddenly, as he looked out he saw the Buddha and ran after him with his knife raised. But the Buddha could not be reached while he himself was completely exhausted. Then, looking at the Buddha, he cried out, "O bhikkhu, stop! stop!" and the Buddha replied, "I have stopped, only you have not stopped." Angulimala did not get the significance of the words of the Buddha, so he asked, "O Bhikkhu! Why do you say that you have stopped and I have not stopped?"

The Buddha then said to him, "I say that I have stopped, because I have given up killing all beings, I have given up ill-treating all beings, and because I have established myself in universal love, patience, and knowledge through reflection. But, you have not given up killing or ill-treating others and you are not yet established in universal love and patience. Hence, you are the one who has not stopped." On hearing these words from the mouth of the Buddha, Angulimala reflected, "These are the words of a wise man. This bhikkhu is so very wise and so very brave ; he must be the ruler of the bhikkhus. Indeed, he must be the Buddha himself! He must have come here specially to make me see the light." So thinking, he threw away his weapon and asked the Buddha to admit him to the Order of the bhikkhus.

Then and there, the Buddha made him a bhikkhu.

Angulimala's mother looked for her son everywhere in the forest shouting out his name, but failing to find him she returned home. When the king and his men came to capture Angulimala, they found him at the monastery of the Buddha. Finding that Angulimala had given up his evil ways and had become a bhikkhu, the king and his men went home. During his stay at the monastery, Angulimala ardently and diligently practised meditation, and within a short time he attained arahatship.

Then, one day, while he was on an alms-round, he came to a place where some people were quarrelling among themselves. As they were throwing stones at one another, some stray stones hit Thera Angulimala on the head and he was seriously injured. Yet, he managed to come back to the Buddha, and the Buddha said to him, "My son Angulimala! You have done away with evil. Have patience. You are paying in this existence for the deeds you have done. These deeds would have made you suffer for innumerable years in niraya." Soon afterwards, Angulimala passed away peacefully; he had realized parinibbana.

Other bhikkhus asked the Buddha where Angulimala was reborn, and when the Buddha replied "My son has realized parinibbana", they could hardly believe it. So they asked him whether it was possible that a man who had killed so many people could have realized parinibbana. To this question, the Buddha replied, "Bhikkhus! Angulimala had done much evil because he did not have good friends. But later, he found good friends and through their help and good advice he had been steadfast and mindful in his practice of the dhamma. Therefore, his evil deeds have been overwhelmed by good (i e., Arahatta Magga).

Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:
Verse 173: He who overwhelms with good the evil that he has done lights up this world (with the light of Magga Insight), as does the moon freed from clouds.

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Free Buddha Dharma ebook

Food for the Thinking Mind
By Venerable Sri K Dhammananda

As the noscript suggests, this book is not directed at readers with a particular religious affiliation but is meant for anyone who wishes to reflect on what famous thinkers throughout the ages have written about the human condition. No one can deny that despite temporary flashes of happiness, on the whole, the human condition is far from satisfactory. Human beings have always dreamed of attaining perfect happiness by transcending human problems, generally without much success. However some great thinkers, widely separated in time and space have pondered over how this human condition can be understood and how happiness can be attained. They were able to crystallise these thoughts into clear, apt sayings which sound simple at first sight, but which draw deep from the well springs of human experience. This book is a collection of these thoughts and readers are invited to share them and benefit from them. By reflection, the reader gains an understanding of his or her condition and is thus enabled to live a happier more meaningful life. Most of our problems arise from the fact that we do not understand the cause of our feelings of discontentand unsatisfactoriness.


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