Dispelling Diṭṭhi Before Insight

revised on 2021-03-16

Dhamma Talks by Mogok Sayadaw; no date noted

(In the beginning Sayadaw talked about Ven. Anurādha who had doubt and didn’t know how to answer the questions of the outsiders) I am talking about the process of the practice in accordance with the Buddha. You have to dispel diṭṭhi first before the insight practice.

Ven. Anurādha had doubt because he couldn’t give the exact answers to the outsiders. His answers were giving with wrong view (diṭṭhi). He practiced by himself without giving up diṭṭhi. There is no need to answer for them if people are asking questions with living being (satta) because living being does not exist as a reality. Worldlings always have diṭṭhi in their hearts.

There is no need to answer every question which refers to non-existence (one of the ways of the Buddha was to answer with questions). There are four types of questions to test someone having wrong view or not. It mentioned in the Abyākatasaṁyutta – connected discourses on the undeclared.

[ Note: The four types of questions mentioned in the Abyākatasaṁyutta are:

Some of the questions mentioned among the texts are no need to answer. You yourself are not clear about with it if you give its answers. There are two causes for not attaining magga and phala (Path and Fruit Knowledge). These are: ① the five heavy kammas ② with the wrong process in the practice.

(The Buddha continued asking questions to Ven. Anurādha and helping him to give up wrong views). If you observe the way which the Buddha asking questions, it was clear that before the contemplation and helping him to dispel diṭṭhi. During the time of listening dhamma talk diṭṭhi falls away is important. And then during the sitting meditation it doesn’t need any more.

Therefore without listening dhamma talk can’t enter the stream. Only by listening of suññatā dhamma and leading towards magga and phala. It’s the dhamma devoid of a person and living being. Only becoming suññatā dhamma and diṭṭhi will fall away. Nothing is more important than suññatā dhamma.

[ Note on wrong view and suññatā dhamma:

Why suññatā dhamma are so important in the Buddha’s teaching? There are many reasons about them. Here we contemplate a few of them. Except a sammā-sambuddha (the Buddha), no-one could teach it. Therefore, it is very rare and difficult indeed that any living being has the chances to listen to and to know them. It relates to insight practice (vipassanā) or wisdom (paññā). Without the knowledge and practice of suññatā dhamma, no-one can realize Nibbana except the pacceka-buddha.

Even most Buddhists do not know about them. Most of them are ordinary Buddhists and not a true one. Therefore, in the future suññatā dhamma are the first one to be disappeared. We can dispel people’s wrong view only with void or emptiness. The self-view (identity view) is very deep rooted in living beings’ mind. Without dispelling and eradicating of wrong view (sakkāya diṭṭhi) living beings will never safe from the painful existences, which even a bodhisatta could not escape. With self-view latent in the heart, human beings can do all sorts of unwholesome or evil actions which they can think about. We can see the over-selfishness in the world today and the outcomes of it create a lot of human problems include internally and externally (mind pollutions and natural pollutions).

The Law of Dependent Origination is the medicine cure the disease of selfishness or selfish disease. Therefore, Mogok Sayadaw used this teaching to teach Buddhists in his whole life. ]

revised on 2021-03-16; cited from https://oba.org.tw/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=4362&p=36301#p36301 (posted on 2019-04-12)

• Content of Part 11 on "Dhamma Talks by Mogok Sayadaw"

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