The Dangers of Wrong Knowledge

revised on 2019-11-05

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Dhamma Talks by Mogok Sayadaw; 31st, July, 1962

[ Sayadaw based this talk on a Pali word — asandiṭṭhitova − which means the dangers of wrong seeing. There were 25 kinds of dangers mentioned in The Text and asandiṭṭhitova was one of them. It can be also translated as wrong view, wrong knowledge and wrong knowing. Human beings are seeing, viewing, knowing and understanding things in the wrong ways, which create a lot of sufferings and problems in societies.

Some of them come from education, entertainments, faiths, politics, economic and even from science and technology. Right seeing, viewing, knowing and understanding bring happiness, peace, and security. Wrong seeing, viewing, knowing, and understanding bring sufferings, problems, and insecurity. ]

The Buddha reminded us to live with mindfulness and clear comprehension (sati and sampajañña). Knowing the arising dhamma is sati (e.g., the mind). Do they stay in this way? Or vanishing? Just observe them with paññā.

Therefore, be mindful and observe with paññā. It was so important that the Buddha had to remind us. With mindfulness, we know what exists, and then know the vanishing with paññā. Paññā knows the mind arises and vanishes. Then the mind process can't continue.

If the mind process continues, you'll be in dukkha. If the mind process is cutting off, you'll attain the blissful Nibbāna (sukha nibbāna). If I am talking like this, it may not be clear for you. So look at the DA chart. By seeing the vanishing of the mind, section ② will not connect with section ③.

It's called magga (knowledge) because kilesa will not arise. With the cessation of samudaya, section ④ not arises. Taṇhā nirodho nibbānaṁ − the cessation of craving is Nibbāna. It's also dukkha nirodho nibbānaṁ − the cessation of dukkha is Nibbāna.

If not, it becomes taṇhā samudaya dukkha samudayo − with the arising of craving, dukkha arises. That is taṇhā paccaya upadanaṁ..., bhāva paccaya jāti − craving conditions clinging..., becoming conditions birth. If you can cut it off in this way, you can attain Nibbāna. This is the cessation of samudaya and dukkha saccas.

It seems to be that Nibbāna is near to us. Physical and mental sufferings are happening to everyone. Why is that? Because in the past we have done dukkha saccas and brought it here. And then from dukkha sacca, dukkha grows out. (It's like a bitter tree grows bitter fruits.)

The Buddha reminded us not to fall into the dangers of wrong seeing. Because of someone, I am in suffering. Don’t let this kind of wrong view arises. With wrong view, mind and form disappear, and person or being arises. This is the danger of wrong seeing. It happens because of not seeing impermanence.

By making the non-existing as existing; suffering, sorrow, lamentation, crying and sleeplessness come into being. These are not the causes of the past. It happens by encountering the danger of wrong seeing. So don’t put the blame on the past kamma.

Because, with the danger of wrong seeing, mental suffering arises. Therefore, we have to correct the danger of wrong seeing (asandiṭṭhitova), and make it become the right seeing (sandiṭṭhiko). Having the right seeing, we will attain Nibbāna, and then sorrow and lamentation will cease.

With the wrong seeing, sorrow and lamentation will follow. Among all the dangers, falling into the danger of wrong view is the most frightening one (The Buddha mentioned 25 kinds of dangers, and asandiṭṭhitova is one of them.). Wrong seeing is samudaya sacca (the cause of dukkha). It will get the painful birth of dukkha sacca (the result of suffering).

The danger of wrong seeing is not made by others. It comes from wrong knowledge. It arises by not seeing the impermanence of the mind / body process, and seeing them as a person or a being instead. These dhamma have already existed and were taught by The Buddha.

I have to describe it because you don’t know about them. After falling into the painful planes, it’s not easy to come back again to the blissful planes. In the present, human beings are suffered and will fall into woeful planes in saṁsāra. A lot of people are in the woeful planes because they encounter the danger of wrong seeing.

(Most living beings come to this human world and create hell, animal, and ghost planes on earth for their future rebirths.)

Right seeing is the Path Knowledge (magga ñāṇa). If you attain the Path Knowledge, you will see Nibbāna. With the attainment of right seeing, samudaya ceases and dukkha ends. With non-attainment of right seeing, samudaya increases and dukkha becomes outgrowth. Therefore, whatever mind arises, contemplate its impermanence.

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revised on 2019-10-02; cited from https://oba.org.tw/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=4202&p=35968#p35968 (posted on 2019-02-17)

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• Content of Part 9 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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