Checking for Wrong Views

revised on 2019-07-02

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Dhamma Talks by Mogok Sayadaw; 9th December 1960

It is the view of eternalism (sassata diṭṭhi) to want enjoyment in next life after this life. You will receive it if you have done it. This person will go there and enjoy the result is eternalism (sassata). After you have done and nothing is happening again. It’s just only functional (kiriya matta). It’s the view of annihilationism (uccheda diṭṭhi). View it as there is no any connection. (But for fully enlightened beings such as Buddha, Pacceka-buddha and arahant it’s only functional).

Everybody has one of these views. With sassata view can’t realize Nibbāna, but can arrive to good destination (sugati). Uccheda view even can’t arrive to sugati but to the planes of misery (apāya bhūmi). These dhammas are for inner investigation. You can’t realize Nibbāna if you don’t give up these wrong views and even do the practice. They forbid the Path and Fruit knowledges. (Magga and Phala). If you teach Nibbāna dhamma to sassata person he doesn’t like it. He is hiding himself in the round of existence. Don’t want to listen about the cessation of life.

They like to realize Nibbāna slowly. Some people are very poor and have a lot of suffering and sorrow in lives that death is the only solution to them. Their philosophy is only born once and only dies once and prefers the cessation of life. So they are uccheda people. They want to listen about the cessation of life. Both of these people are wrong. Sassata people don’t like Nibbāna because of the craving for becoming (bhavataṇhā). Wrong view is preventing them to realize it. They love to listen the enjoyment of life in the sutta discourses.

For uccheda people, when they listen vipassanā dhamma they prefer the cessation of life without understanding the cessation of dukkha. Both of them are not in the middle way, but inclining towards each polarity (i.e., eternalism and annihilationism).

I will talk about their nature. Sassata people believe in doing wholesome actions and abstain from unwholesome action in this life and after life. It's difficult to transcend dukkha for them if the Buddha and disciples taught them sacca dhamma, because they take enjoyment in the becoming.

Uccheda people believe in this life and next life (My understanding of uccheda view is that they do not believe in after life. May be here Sayadaw referred to some Buddhists who had uccheda view) and prefer the cessation of life. They do not do wholesome actions, whereas dare to do unwholesome actions. But they could quickly renounce their wrong views if they had the chances to listen to the teachings of the Buddha and disciples and then they worked hard to realize Nibbāna quickly.

The one who is in the middle way has these knowledges. He has only five khandhas and these are impermanence (anicca), suffering (dukkha), notself (anatta) and foulness (asubha) dhamma and truth of dukkha. By analyzing the khandhas with knowledge and practice will see their passing away with blips. By seeing the arising dhamma is free from the annihilationism (uccheda) and seeing the passing away dhamma is free from eternalism (sassata). The person who is in the middle way is free from both wrong views.

He is not accepting the views of permanence and extinction. In the world (loka) there are the only existence of the arising dhammas and the passing away dhamma. There are no eternal and annihilated phenomena. People had sassata view before because they didn’t see the passing away dhammas, and on the other hand they had uccheda view because they didn’t see the arising phenomena. They didn’t have these insight before. Therefore only by discerning impermanence they will be in the middle way.

For example, you can use your finger nail to scratch on your arm. You will find the feeling arising and disappearing. The object of contemplation is impermanent and the knowledge which know the object is also impermanent (here feeling and the knowing mind). This is the main reason why I myself had taught you for many years about these things. Only by discerning impermanence before that will be followed by disenchantment after.

It will be followed with pleasure if you don’t discern it. After the disenchantment do you have any desire for it? Seeing impermanence is the knowledge of as it really is (yathābhūta ñāṇa, the knowledge which drives away sassata and uccheda). Continue to contemplate and becoming disenchantment towards the phenomena is Nibbidā Ñāṇa (disenchantment of the arising dhamma and the passing away dhammas) which sassata and uccheda cannot close near to the mind. This knowledge is beneficial to the Path Knowledge.

By disenchanting to the khandhas is also to all the khandhas of thirty-one realms of existence. It is also the knowledge of disenchantment to the cemetery. If you have the khandha you have to look for a cemetery to bury it.

When arriving to this knowledge even you are disenchanting to someone you want to associate or live with this person. Then the eight path factors arise, and the khandha disappears. Dukkha sacca disappears and nirodha sacca arises. This is the Deathless Nibbāna. If you know only dukkha ceases (not a being) and free from uccheda diṭṭhi. You should have sustained attention on the khandhas. From the time of discerning impermanence and can make a decision that you are at the entrance door of Nibbāna.

But don’t be satisfied with it and continue for contemplation. Becoming disenchantment you are closer to Nibbāna city. Continue to contemplate until penetrate the arising dukkha and the passing away dukkha, then the five khandhas cease. Dukkha ceases is Nibbāna. From the time you are discovering anicca and making the decision that you will realize Nibbāna.

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revised on 2019-07-02; cited from https://oba.org.tw/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=4036&p=35625#p35625 (posted on 2018-12-19)

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• Content of Part 4 on "Dhamma Talks by Mogok Sayadaw"

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• Content of "Dhamma Talks by Mogok Sayadaw"

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• Content of Publications of Ven. Uttamo

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