Wrong View, Dukkha and Nibbāna

revised on 2019-11-05

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Dhamma Talks by Mogok Sayadaw; 10th October 1960

Whatever arising in the khandha, for example, form (rūpa) arising is dukkha arising. Form passing away is dukkha ceasing. Feeling (vedanā) arising is dukkha arising. Feeling passing away is dukkha ceasing. If you are doing this, a person or a being disappears. In this way, free from wrong view.

(Sayadaw continued to talk about the eight causes for wrong views to arise.)

① Not knowing khandha arising has wrong views, or not knowing about the khandhas. ② Avijjā — ignorance: with wrong knowing, wrong knowledge causes wrong views to arise. ③ Because of contact (phassa) ④ With wrong perception ⑤ With wrong thinking ⑥ With unwise attention ⑦ With wrong companions ⑧ Listening to wrong teachings.

These are the eight causes for wrong views to arise. We must kill all these with the knowledge of seeing impermanence. Before meeting a good teacher, it’s in the mind. After meeting a good teacher, it falls away from the mind (with the intellectual knowledge + practical knowledge).

Because of the causes, we experience the result, and with this free from wrong view. Regarding with the kammic result; if you do it and you’ll get it — is wrong view. The kammic energy or power is following but not the khandhas because it’s arising here and vanishing here. With the eight causes of wrong views, beings go to painful births.

As long as khandhas exist, it’s arising and vanishing. And then you are free from the eight causes of wrong views. Not a person or a being is following behind. With the causes as condition, result appears. For example, it’s like a stamp and the mark it produces it.

(It’s a very good simile to understand cause and effect without a permanent entity. Stamp and its mark are not the same nor different. This is the Buddha’s Middle Way).

If you still not get Nibbāna yet, the result will follow you. The human khandha perishes here and the heavenly khandha arises there. The human khandha is ceasing here and the new heavenly khandha arises there. This human khandha is not following there. If it’s really following there, they must have the same khandha. How can a human khandha become a devata khandha? Don’t accept to what other people say. If you take it, becomes wrong view.

You have to accept what the khandha is telling you or showing you. This khandha is only telling you as dukkha arising and dukkha ceasing — which is dukkhakhandhassa samudayo hoti; dukkhakhandhassa nirodho hoti. Therefore, any realm of wherever you have been, there only existence of dukkha arising and dukkha ceasing.

Does anything exist in Nibbāna? It exists as without any dukkha. Dhamma with dukkha exists is mind and body — the five khandhas. Therefore, Nibbāna exists, not with dukkha nature but as sukha nature. (So the Buddha said that Nibbāna is the Supreme Happiness).

Someone thinking and taking dukkha as me and mine will never realize Nibbāna. Someone not thinking and taking dukkha as me and mine will realize Nibbāna. What is Nibbāna? Our khandhas are for many lives time is dukkha sacca. A person thoroughly penetrates dukkha sacca and not wanting it and will not live with this khandha. Living with dukkha is living with mind and body. Not living with dukkha is Nibbāna.

Someone will appreciate Nibbāna only he falls off wrong view. Otherwise, he will appreciate it only by hearing from others. Therefore, you have to observe dukkha arising and ceasing in your own khandha. However, you observe and it is only dukkha sacca.

It can’t exist as stability because it’s arising moment to moment and dying moment to moment. Moment to moment, only deaths are arising. Only without it and have stability. Their total cessation is dukkha nirodho nibbānaṁ — the cessation of dukkha is Nibbāna. So Nibbāna appears.

Therefore, only someone is seeing dukkha and Nibbāna can arise. If not, never arises (i.e., not practice and only with vows and prayers). People are clinging to dukkha as, “It’s mine. It’s mine.” If dukkha the heavy load falls off, is the happiness of Nibbāna.

Not knowing dukkha is the cause of wrong view. Knowing dukkha is right view. Sammādiṭṭhi knows it. Therefore, it’s important to know the real dukkha. Since the day you know about it, you don’t want it.

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revised on 2019-11-05; cited from https://oba.org.tw/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=4202&p=36036#p36036 (posted on 2019-02-26)

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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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