# Buddha, the Word (The Eightfold Path)

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> Buddha, the Word
> (The Eightfold Path)
> 
>  THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
>  FIRST TRUTH. THE NOBLE TRUTH OF SUFFERING
>  THE FIVE GROUPS OF EXISTENCE
>  THE "CORPOREALITY GROUP" OF FOUR ELEMENTS
>  DEPENDENT ORIGINATION OF CONSCIOUSNESS
>  THE THREE CHARACTERISTICS OF EXISTENCE
>  SAMSARA, THE WHEEL OF EXISTENCE
>  SECOND TRUTH. THE NOBLE TRUTH OF THE ORIGIN OF
> SUFFERING
>  THE THREEFOLD CRAVING
>  HEAPING UP OF PRESENT SUFFERING
>  HEAPING UP OF FUTURE SUFFERING
>  THIRD TRUTH. THE NOBLE TRUTH OF THE EXTINCTION
> OF SUFFERING
>  DEPENDENT EXTINCTION OF ALL PHENOMENA
>  NIRVANA
>  THE ARAHAT, OR HOLY ONE
>  THE IMMUTABLE
>  FOURTH TRUTH. THE NOBLE TRUTH OF THE PATH THAT
> LEADS TO THE EXTINCTION OF SUFFERING
>  THE TWO EXTREMES AND THE MIDDLE PATH
>  THE EIGHTFOLD PATH
> 
>  THE EIGHTFOLD PATH
> 
>  FIRST STEP. RIGHT UNDERSTANDING
>  UNPROFITABLE QUESTIONS
>  THE SOTAPAN, OR "STREAM-ENTERER"
>  THE TWO UNDERSTANDINGS
>  COMPLETE DELIVERANCE
>  DEPENDENT ORIGINATION
>  KARMA: REBIRTH - PRODUCING AND BARREN
>  SECOND STEP. RIGHT MINDEDNESS
>  THIRD STEP. RIGHT SPEECH
>  FOURTH STEP. RIGHT ACTION
>  FIFTH STEP. RIGHT LIVING
>  SIXTH STEP. RIGHT EFFORT
>  FIVE METHODS OF EXPELLING EVIL THOUGHTS
>  SEVENTH STEP. RIGHT ATTENTIVENESS
>  CONTEMPLATION OF THE BODY
>  THE TEN BLESSINGS
>  CONTEMPLATION OF THE FEELINGS
>  CONTEMPLATION OF THE MIND
>  CONTEMPLATION OF PHENOMENA (Mind-objects)
>  NIRVANA THROUGH WATCHING OVER BREATHING
>  EIGHTH STEP. RIGHT CONCENTRATION
>  THE FOUR TRANCES
> 
>  DEVELOPMENT OF THE EIGHTFOLD PATH IN THE DISCIPLE
> 
>  CONFIDENCE AND RIGHT-MINDEDNESS (2nd Step)
>  MORALITY (3rd, 4th, 5th Step)
>  CONTROL OF THE SENSES (6th Step)
>  ATTENTIVENESS AND CLEAR CONSCIOUSNESS (7th Step)
> 
>  ABSENCE OF THE FIVE HINDRANCES
>  THE TRANCES (8th Step)
>  INSIGHT (1st Step)
>  NIRVANA
>  THE SILENT THINKER
>  THE TRUE GOAL
> 
> THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
> 
>  THUS has it been said by the Buddha, the Enlightened One: It is
> through not understanding, not realizing four things, that I,
> Disciples, as well as you, had to wander so long through this round of
> rebirths. And what are these four things? They are the Noble Truth of
> Suffering, the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering, the Noble Truth
> of the Extinction of Suffering, the Noble Truth of the Path that leads
> to the Extinction of Suffering.
> 
>  As long as the absolutely true knowledge and insight as regards
> these Four Noble Truths was not quite clear in me, so long was I not
> sure, whether I had won that supreme Enlightenment which is
> unsurpassed in all the world with its heavenly beings, evil spirits
> and gods, amongst all the hosts of ascetics and priests, heavenly
> beings and men. But as soon as the absolutely true knowledge and
> insight as regards these Four Noble Truths had become perfectly clear
> in me, there arose in me the assurance that I had won that supreme
> Enlightenment unsurpassed.
> 
>  And I discovered that-profound truth, so difficult to perceive,
> difficult to understand, tranquilizing and sublime, which is not to be
> gained by mere reasoning, and is visible only to the wise.
> 
>  The world, however, is given to pleasure, delighted with pleasure,
> enchanted with pleasure. Verily, such beings will hardly understand
> the law of conditionality, the Dependent Origination of every thing;
> incomprehensible to them will also be the end of all formations, the
> forsaking of every substratum of rebirth, the fading away of craving;
> detachment, extinction, Nirvana.
> 
>  Yet there are beings whose eyes are only a little covered with
> dust: they will understand the truth.
> 
> FIRST TRUTH. THE NOBLE TRUTH OF SUFFERING
> 
>  WHAT, now, is the Noble Truth of Suffering?
> 
>  Birth is suffering; Decay is suffering; Death is suffering;
> Sorrow, Lamentation, Pain, Grief, and Despair, are suffering; not to
> get what one desires, is suffering; in short: the Five Groups of
> Existence are suffering.
> 
>  What, now, is Birth? The birth of beings belonging to this or that
> order of beings, their being born, their conception and springing into
> existence, the manifestation of the groups of existence, the arising
> of sense activity-this is called Birth.
> 
>  And what is Decay? The decay of beings belonging to this or that
> order of beings; their getting aged, frail, grey, and wrinkled; the
> failing of their vital force, the wearing out of the senses-this is
> called Decay.
> 
>  And what is Death? The parting and vanishing of beings out of this
> or that order of beings, their destruction, disappearance, death, the
> completion of their life-period, dissolution of the groups of
> existence, the discarding of the body-this is called Death.
> 
>  And what is Sorrow? The sorrow arising through this or that loss
> or misfortune which one encounters, the worrying oneself, the state of
> being alarmed, inward sorrow, inward woe-this is called Sorrow.
> 
>  And what is Lamentation? Whatsoever, through this or that loss or
> misfortune which befalls one, is wail and lament, wailing and
> lamenting, the state of woe and lamentation this is called
> Lamentation.
> 
>  And what is Pain? The bodily pain and unpleasantness, the painful
> and unpleasant feeling produced by bodily contact-this is called Pain.
> 
>  And what is Grief? The mental pain and unpleasantness, the painful
> and unpleasant feeling produced by mental contact-this is called
> Grief.
> 
>  And what is Despair? Distress and despair arising through this or
> that loss or misfortune which one encounters, distressfulness, and
> desperation-this is called Despair.
> 
>  And what is the "suffering of not getting what one desires?" To
> beings subject to birth there comes the desire: "O that we were not
> subject to birth! O that no new birth was before us!" Subject to
> decay, disease, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair,
> the desire comes to them: "O that we were not subject to these things!
> O that these things were not before us!" But this cannot be got by
> mere desiring; and not to get what one desires, is suffering.
> 
> THE FIVE GROUPS OF EXISTENCE
> 
>  And what, in brief, are the Five Groups of Existence? They are
> Corporeality, Feeling, Perception, [mental] Formations, and
> Consciousness.
> 
>  Any corporeal phenomenon, whether one's own or external, gross or
> subtle, lofty or low, far or near, belongs to the Group of
> Corporeality; any feeling belongs to the Group of Feeling; any
> perception belongs to the Group of Perception; any mental formation
> belongs to the Group of Formations; all consciousness belongs to the
> Group of Consciousness.
> 
>  [Our so-called individual existence is in reality nothing but a
> mere process of these "bodily and mental" phenomena, which since
> immemorial times was going on before one's apparent birth, and which
> also after death will continue for immemorial periods of time. In the
> following, we shall see that these five Groups, or Khandhas-either
> taken separately, or combined-in no way constitute any real
> "Ego-entity," and that no Ego-entity exists apart from them, and hence
> that the belief in an Ego-entity is merely an illusion. Just as that
> which we designate by the name of "chariot," has no existence apart
> from axle, wheels, shaft, and so forth: or as the word "house" is
> merely a convenient designation for various materials put together
> after a certain fashion so as to enclose a portion of space, and there
> is no separate house-entity in existence:-in exactly the same way,
> that which we call a "being," or an "individual," or a "person," or by
> the name is nothing but a changing combination of physical and
> psychical phenomena, and has no real existence in itself.]
> 
> THE "CORPOREALITY GROUP" OF FOUR ELEMENTS
> 
>  What, now, is the Group of Corporeality? It is the four primary
> elements, and Corporeality derived from them.
> 
>  And what are the four primary elements? They are the Solid
> Element, the Fluid Element, the Heating Element, the Vibrating
> Element.
> 
>  [The four elements, or-to speak more correctly-the four elementary
> qualities of matter, may be rendered in English as: Inertia, Cohesion,
> Radiation, and Vibration.
> 
>  The twenty-four corporeal phenomena which depend upon them are,
> according to the Abhidharma: eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, visible
> form, sound, odor, taste, masculinity, femininity, vitality, organ of
> thinking, gesture, speech, space (cavities of ear, nose, etc.),
> agility, elasticity, adaptability, growth, duration, decay,
> variability, change of substance.]
> 
>  1. What, now, is the Solid Element? The solid element may be one's
> own, or it may be external. And what is one's own solid element? The
> dependent properties, which on one's own person and body are hard and
> solid, as the hairs of head and body, nails, teeth, skin, flesh,
> sinews, bones, marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, diaphragm, spleen,
> lungs, stomach, bowels, mesentery, excrement, or whatever other
> dependent properties which on one's own person and body are hard and
> solid-this is called one's own solid element. Now, whether it be one's
> own solid element, or whether it be the external solid element, they
> are both only the solid element.
> 
>  And one should understand, according to reality, and true wisdom:
> "This does not belong to me; this am I not; this is not my Ego."
> 
>  2. What, now, is the Fluid Element? The fluid element may be one's
> own, or it may be external. And what is one own fluid element? The
> dependent properties, which on one's own person and body are watery or
> cohesive, as bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, lymph, tears, semen,
> spit, nasal mucus, oil of the joints, urine or whatever other
> dependent properties which on one own person and body are watery or
> cohesive-this is called one's own fluid element. Now, whether it be
> one's own fluid element, or whether it be the external fluid element,
> they are both only the fluid element.
> 
>  And one should understand, according to reality, and true wisdom:
> "This does not belong to me; this am I not; this is not my Ego."
> 
>  3. What, now, is the Heating Element? The heating element may be
> one own, or it may be external. And what is one's own heating element?
> The dependent properties, which on one's own person and body are
> heating and radiating, as that whereby one is heated, consumed,
> scorched, whereby that which has been eaten, drunk, chewed, or tasted,
> is fully digested; or whatever other dependent properties, which on
> one's own person and body are heating and radiating this is called
> one's own heating element. Now, whether it be one's own heating
> element, or whether it be the external heating element, they are both
> only the heating element.
> 
>  And one should understand, according to reality, and true wisdom:
> "This does not belong to me; this am I not; this is not my Ego."
> 
>  4. What, now, is the Vibrating Element? The vibrating element may
> be one's own, or it may be external. And what is one's own vibrating
> element? The dependent properties, which on one's own person and body
> are mobile and gaseous, as the upward-going and downward-going winds;
> the winds of stomach and intestines; in-breathing and out-breathing;
> or whatever other dependent properties, which on one's own person and
> body are mobile and gaseous-this is called one's own vibrating
> element. Now, whether it be one's own vibrating element, or whether it
> be the external vibrating element, they are both only the vibrating
> element.
> 
>  And one should understand, according to reality, and true wisdom:
> "This does not belong to me; this am I not; this is not my Ego."
> 
>  Just as one calls "hut" the circumscribed space which comes to be
> by means of wood and rushes, reeds, and clay, even so we call "body"
> the circumscribed space that comes to be by means of bones and sinews,
> flesh and skin.
> 
> DEPENDENT ORIGINATION OF CONSCIOUSNESS
> 
>  Now, though one's eye be intact, yet if the external forms do not
> fall within the field of vision, and no corresponding conjunction
> takes place, in that case there occurs no formation of the
> corresponding aspect of consciousness. Or, though one eye be intact,
> and the external forms fall within the field of vision, yet if no
> corresponding conjunction takes place, in that case also there occurs
> no formation of the corresponding aspect of consciousness. If,
> however, one's eye is intact, and the external forms fall within the
> field of vision, and the corresponding conjunction takes place, in
> that case there arises the corresponding aspect of consciousness.
> 
>  Hence, I say: the arising of consciousness is dependent upon
> conditions; and without these conditions, no consciousness arises. And
> upon whatsoever conditions the arising of consciousness is dependent,
> after these it is called.
> 
>  Consciousness whose arising depends on the eye and forms, is
> called "eye-consciousness."
> 
>  Consciousness whose arising depends on the ear and sound, is
> called "ear-consciousness."
> 
>  Consciousness whose arising depends on the olfactory organ and
> odors, is called "nose-consciousness."
> 
>  Consciousness whose arising depends on the tongue and taste, is
> called "tongue-consciousness."
> 
>  Consciousness whose arising depends on the body and bodily
> contacts, is called "body-consciousness."
> 
>  Consciousness whose arising depends on the mind and ideas, is
> called "mind-consciousness."
> 
>  Whatsoever there is of "corporeality" in the consciousness thus
> arisen, that belongs to the Group of Corporeality. there is of
> "feeling"-bodily ease, pain, joy, sadness, or indifferent
> feeling-belongs to the Group of Feeling. Whatsoever there is of
> "perception"-visual objects, sounds, odors, tastes, bodily
> impressions, or mind objects-belongs to the Group of Perception.
> Whatsoever there are of mental "formations" impression, volition,
> etc.-belong to the Group of mental Formations. Whatsoever there is of
> "consciousness" therein, belongs to the Group of Consciousness.
> 
>  And it is impossible that any one can explain the passing out of
> one existence, and the entering into a new existence, or the growth,
> increase, and development of consciousness, independent of
> corporeality, feeling, perception, and mental formations.
> 
> THE THREE CHARACTERISTICS OF EXISTENCE
> 
>  All formations are "transient"; all formations are "subject to
> suffering"; all things are "without an Ego-entity." Corporeality is
> transient, feeling is transient, perception is transient, mental
> formations are transient, consciousness is transient.
> 
>  And that which is transient, is subject to suffering; and of that
> which is transient, and subject to suffering and change, one cannot
> rightly say: "This belongs to me; this am I; this is my Ego."
> 
>  Therefore, whatever there be of corporeality, of feeling,
> perception, mental formations, or consciousness, whether one's own or
> external, whether gross or subtle, lofty or low, far or near, one
> should understand, according to reality, and true wisdom: "This does
> not belong to me; this am I not; this is not my Ego."
> 
>  Suppose, a man who is not blind, were to behold the many bubbles
> on the Ganges as they are driving along; and he should watch them, and
> carefully examine them. After carefully examining them, they will
> appear to him empty, unreal, and unsubstantial. In exactly the same
> way, does the monk behold all the corporeal phenomena, feelings,
> perceptions, mental formations, and states of consciousness-whether
> they be of the past, or the present, or the future, far, or near. And
> he watches them, and examines them carefully; and, after carefully
> examining them, they appear to him empty, void, and without an Ego
> 
>  Whoso delights in corporeality, or feeling, or perception, or
> mental formations, or consciousness, he delights in suffering; and
> whoso delights in suffering, will not be freed from suffering. Thus I
> say
> 
> How can you find delight and mirth,
> Where there is burning without end?
> In deepest darkness you are wrapped!
> Why do you not seek for the light?
> Look at this puppet here, well rigged,
> A heap of many sores, piled up,
> Diseased, and full of greediness,
> Unstable, and impermanent!
> Devoured by old age is this frame,
> A prey of sickness, weak and frail;
> To pieces breaks this putrid body,
> All life must truly end in death.
> THE THREE WARNINGS
> 
>  Did you never see in the world a man, or a woman, eighty, ninety,
> or a hundred years old, frail, crooked as a gable roof, bent down,
> resting on crutches, with tottering steps, infirm, youth long since
> fled, with broken teeth, grey and scanty hair, or bald-headed,
> wrinkled, with blotched limbs? And did the thought never come to you
> that also you are subject to decay, that also you cannot escape it?
> 
>  Did you never see in the world a man, or a woman, who being sick,
> afflicted, and grievously ill, and wallowing in his own filth, was
> lifted up by some people, and put to bed by others? And did the
> thought never come to you that also you are subject to disease, that
> also you cannot escape it?
> 
>  Did you never see in the world the corpse of a man, or a woman,
> one, or two, or three days after death, swollen up, blue-black in
> color, and full of corruption? And did the thought never come to you
> that also you are subject to death, that also you cannot escape it?
> 
> SAMSARA, THE WHEEL OF EXISTENCE
> 
>  Inconceivable is the beginning of this Samsara; not to be
> discovered is any first beginning of beings, who, obstructed by
> ignorance, and ensnared by craving, are hurrying and hastening through
> this round of rebirths.
> 
>  [Samsara-the Wheel of Existence, lit., the "Perpetual
> Wandering"-is the name by which is designated the sea of life ever
> restlessly heaving up and down, the symbol of this continuous process
> of ever again and again being born, growing old, suffering, and dying.
> More precisely Put: Samsara is the unbroken chain of the fivefold
> Khandha-combinations, which, constantly changing from moment to
> moment, follow continuously one upon the other through inconceivable
> periods of time. Of this Samsara, a single lifetime constitutes only a
> vanishingly tiny fraction; hence, to be able to comprehend the first
> noble truth, one must let one's gaze rest upon the Samsara, upon this
> frightful chain of rebirths, and not merely upon one single lifetime,
> which, of course, may be sometimes not very painful.]
> 
>  Which do you think is the more: the flood of tears, which weeping
> and wailing you have shed upon this long way-hurrying and hastening
> through this round of rebirths, united with the undesired, separated
> from the desired this, or the waters of the four oceans?
> 
>  Long time have you suffered the death of father and mother, of
> sons, daughters, brothers, and sisters. And whilst you were thus
> suffering, you have, verily, shed more tears upon this long way than
> there is water in the four oceans.
> 
>  Which do you think is the more: the streams of blood that, through
> your being beheaded, have flowed upon this long way, or the waters in
> the four oceans?
> 
>  Long time have you been caught as dacoits, or highwaymen, or
> adulterers; and, through your being beheaded, verily, more blood has
> flowed upon this long way than there is water in the four oceans.
> 
>  But how is this possible?
> 
>  Inconceivable is the beginning of this Samsara; not to be
> discovered is any first beginning of beings, who, obstructed by
> ignorance, and ensnared by craving, are hurrying and hastening through
> this round of rebirths.
> 
>  And thus have you long time undergone suffering, undergone
> torment, undergone misfortune, and filled the graveyards full; verily,
> long enough to be dissatisfied with all the forms of existence, long
> enough to turn away, and free yourselves from them all.
> 
> SECOND TRUTH. THE NOBLE TRUTH OF THE ORIGIN OF SUFFERING
> 
>  WHAT, now, is the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering? It is
> that craving which gives rise to fresh rebirth, and, bound up with
> pleasure and lust, now here, now there, finds ever fresh delight.
> 
>  [In the absolute sense, it is no real being, no self-determined,
> unchangeable, Ego-entity that is reborn. Moreover, there is nothing
> that remains the same even for two consecutive moments; for the Five
> Khandhas, or Groups of Existence, are in a state of perpetual change,
> of continual dissolution and renewal. They die every moment, and every
> moment new ones are born. Hence it follows that there is no such thing
> as a real existence, or "being" (Latin esse), but only as it were an
> endless process, a continuous change, a "becoming," consisting in a
> "producing," and in a "being produced"; in a "process of action," and
> in a "process of reaction," or "rebirth."
> 
>  This process of perpetual "producing" and "being produced" may
> best be compared with an ocean wave. In the case of a wave, there is
> not the slightest quantity of water traveling over the surface of the
> sea. But the wave structure, that hastens over the surface of the
> water, creating the appearance of one and the same mass of water, is,
> in reality, nothing but the continuous rising and falling of
> continuous, but quite different, masses of water, produced by the
> transmission of force generated by the wind. Even so, the Buddha did
> not teach that Ego-entities hasten through the ocean of rebirth, but
> merely life-waves, which, according to their nature and activities
> (good, or evil), manifest themselves here as men, there as animals,
> and elsewhere as invisible beings.]
> 
> THE THREEFOLD CRAVING
> 
>  There is the "Sensual Craving," the "Craving for
> Eternal-Annihilation." Existence," the "Craving for
> Self-Annihilation."
> 
>  [The "Craving for Eternal Existence," according to the
> Visuddhi-Magga, is intimately connected with the so-called
> Eternity-Belief," i.e., the belief in an absolute, eternal, Ego-entity
> persisting independently of our body.
> 
>  The Craving for Self-Annihilation is the outcome of the so-called
> "Annihilation-Belief," the delusive materialistic notion of an Ego
> which is annihilated at death, and which does not stand in any causal
> relation with the time before birth or after death.]
> 
>  But, where does this craving arise and take root? Wherever in the
> world there are delightful and pleasurable things, there this craving
> arises and takes root. Eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind, are
> delightful and pleasurable: there this craving arises and takes root.
> 
>  Visual objects, sounds, smells, tastes, bodily impressions, and
> mind-objects, are delightful and pleasurable: there this craving
> arises and takes root.
> 
>  Consciousness, sense impression, feeling born of sense impression,
> perception, will, craving, thinking, and reflecting, are delightful
> and pleasurable: there this craving arises and takes root.
> 
>  If, namely, when perceiving a visual object, a sound, odor, taste,
> bodily impression, or a mind object, the object is pleasant, one is
> attracted; and if unpleasant, one is repelled.
> 
>  Thus, whatever kind of "Feeling" one experiences, pleasant,
> unpleasant, or indifferent-one approves of, and cherishes the feeling,
> and clings to it; and while doing so, lust springs up; but lust for
> feelings, means Clinging; and on Clinging, depends the "Process of
> Becoming"; on the Process of Becoming (Karma-process), depends
> (future) "Birth"; and dependent on Birth, are Decay and Death,
> Sorrow, Lamentation, Pain, Grief, and Despair. Thus arises this whole
> mass of suffering.
> 
>  This is called the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering.
> 
> HEAPING UP OF PRESENT SUFFERING
> 
>  Verily, due to sensuous craving, conditioned through sensuous
> craving, impelled by sensuous craving, entirely moved by sensuous
> craving, kings fight with kings, princes with princes, priests with
> priests, citizens with citizens; the mother quarrels with the son, the
> son with the mother, the father with the son, the son with the father;
> brother quarrels with brother, brother with sister, sister with
> brother, friend with friend. Thus, given to dissension, quarreling and
> fighting, they fall upon one another with fists, sticks, or weapons.
> And thereby they suffer death or deadly pain.
> 
>  And further, due to sensuous craving, conditioned through sensuous
> craving, impelled by sensuous craving, entirely moved by sensuous
> craving, people break into houses, rob, plunder, pillage whole houses,
> commit highway robbery, seduce the wives of others. Then, the rulers
> have such people caught, and inflict on them various forms of
> punishment. And thereby they incur death or deadly pain. Now, this is
> the misery of sensuous craving, the heaping up of suffering in this
> present life, due to sensuous craving, conditioned through sensuous
> craving, caused by sensuous craving, entirely dependent on sensuous
> craving.
> 
> HEAPING UP OF FUTURE SUFFERING
> 
>  And further, people take the evil way in deeds, the evil way in
> words, the evil way in thoughts; and by taking the evil way in deeds,
> words, and thoughts, at the dissolution of the body, after death, they
> fall into a downward state of existence, a state of suffering, into
> perdition, and the abyss of hell. But, this is the misery of sensuous
> craving, the heaping up of suffering in the future life, due to
> sensuous craving, conditioned through sensuous craving, caused by
> sensuous craving, entirely dependent on sensuous craving.
> 
> Not in the air, nor ocean-midst,
> Nor hidden in the mountain clefts,
> Nowhere is found a place on earth,
> Where man is freed from evil deeds.
> INHERITANCE OF DEEDS (KARMA)
> 
>  For, owners of their deeds (karma) are the beings, heirs of
> their deeds; their deeds are the womb from which they sprang; with
> their deeds they are bound up; their deeds are their refuge. Whatever
> deeds they do-good or evil-of such they will be the heirs.
> 
>  And wherever the beings spring into existence, there their deeds
> will ripen; and wherever their deeds ripen, there they will earn the
> fruits of those deeds, be it in this life, or be it in the next life,
> or be it in any other future life.
> 
>  There will come a time, when the mighty ocean will dry up, vanish,
> and be no more. There will come a time, when the mighty earth will be
> devoured by fire, perish, and be no more. But, yet there will be no
> end to the suffering of beings, who, obstructed by ignorance, and
> ensnared by craving, are hurrying and hastening through this round of
> rebirths.
> 
> THIRD TRUTH. THE NOBLE TRUTH OF THE EXTINCTION OF SUFFERING
> 
>  WHAT, now, is the Noble Truth of the Extinction of Suffering? It
> is the complete fading away and extinction of this craving, its
> forsaking and giving up, the liberation and detachment from it.
> 
>  But where may this craving vanish, where may it be extinguished?
> Wherever in the world there are delightful and pleasurable things,
> there this craving may vanish, there it may be extinguished.
> 
>  Be it in the past, present, or future, whosoever of the monks or
> priests regards the delightful and pleasurable things in the world as
> "impermanent," "miserable," and "without an Ego," as a disease and
> cancer; it is he who overcomes the craving.
> 
>  And released from Sensual Craving, released from the Craving for
> Existence, he does not return, does not enter again into existence.
> 
> DEPENDENT EXTINCTION OF ALL PHENOMENA
> 
>  For, through the total fading away and extinction of Craving,
> Clinging is extinguished; through the extinction of clinging, the
> Process of Becoming is extinguished; through the extinction of the
> (karmic) process of becoming, Rebirth is extinguished; and through
> the extinction of rebirth, Decay and Death, Sorrow, Lamentation,
> Suffering, Grief, and Despair, are extinguished. Thus comes about the
> extinction of this whole mass of suffering.
> 
>  Hence, the annihilation, cessation, and overcoming of
> corporeality, feeling, perception, mental formations, and
> consciousness, this is the extinction of suffering, the end of
> disease, the overcoming of old age and death.
> 
>  [The undulatory motion, which we call wave-which in the spectator
> creates the illusion of a single mass of water moving over the surface
> of the lake-is produced and fed by the wind, and maintained by the
> stored-up energies. After the wind has ceased, and no fresh wind again
> whips up the water, the stored-up energies will gradually be consumed,
> and the whole undulatory motion come to an end. Similarly, if fire
> does not get new fuel, it will become extinct. just so, this
> Five-Khandha-process-which, in the ignorant worldling, creates the
> illusion of an Ego-entity-is produced and fed by the life-affirming
> craving, and maintained for some time by means of the stored-up
> life-energies. Now, after the fuel, i.e., the craving and clinging to
> life, has ceased, and no new craving impels again this
> Five-Khandha-process, life will continue as long as there are still
> life-energies stored up, but at their destruction at death, the
> Five-Khandha-process will reach final extinction.
> 
>  Thus, nirvana or "Extinction" (Sanskrit: to cease blowing, to
> become extinct), may be considered under two aspects:
> 
>  1. "Extinction of Impurities," reached at the attainment of
> Arahatship, or Holiness, which takes place during the life-time.
> 
>  2. "Extinction of the Five-Khandha-process," which takes place at
> the death of the Arahat.]
> 
> NIRVANA
> 
>  This, truly, is the Peace, this is the Highest, namely the end of
> all formations, the forsaking of every substratum of rebirth, the
> fading away of craving: detachment, extinction-Nirvana.
> 
>  Enraptured with lust, enraged with anger, blinded by delusion,
> overwhelmed, with mind ensnared, man aims at his own ruin, at others'
> ruin, at the ruin of both parties, and he experiences mental pain and
> grief. But, if lust, anger, and delusion are given up, man aims
> neither at his own ruin, nor at others' ruin, nor at the ruin of both
> parties, and he experiences no mental pain and grief. Thus is Nirvana
> immediate, visible in this life, inviting, attractive, and
> comprehensible to the wise.
> 
>  The extinction of greed, the extinction of anger, the extinction
> of delusion: this, indeed, is called Nirvana.
> 
> THE ARAHAT, OR HOLY ONE
> 
>  And for a disciple thus freed, in whose heart dwells peace, there
> is nothing to be added to what has been done, and naught more remains
> for him to do. Just as a rock of one solid mass remains unshaken by
> the wind, even so, neither forms, nor sounds, nor odors, nor tastes,
> nor contacts of any kind, neither the desired, nor the undesired, can
> cause such an one to waver. Steadfast is his mind, gained is
> deliverance.
> 
>  And he who has considered all the contrasts on this earth, and is
> no more disturbed by anything whatever in the world, the Peaceful One,
> freed from rage, from sorrow, and from longing, he has passed beyond
> birth and decay.
> 
> THE IMMUTABLE
> 
>  There is a realm, where there is neither the solid, nor the fluid,
> neither heat, nor motion, neither this world, nor any other world,
> neither sun, nor moon. This I call neither arising, nor passing away,
> neither standing still nor being born, nor dying. There is neither
> foothold, nor development, nor any basis. This is the end of
> suffering.
> 
>  There is an Unborn, Unoriginated, Uncreated, Unformed. If there
> were not this Unborn, this Unoriginated, this Uncreated, this
> Unformed, escape from the world of the born, the originated, the
> created, the formed, would not be possible.
> 
>  But since there is an Unborn, Unoriginated, Uncreated, Unformed,
> therefore is escape possible from the world of the born, the
> originated, the created, the formed.
> 
> FOURTH TRUTH. THE NOBLE TRUTH OF THE PATH THAT LEADS TO THE
> EXTINCTION OF SUFFERING
> 
> THE TWO EXTREMES AND THE MIDDLE PATH
> 
>  TO GIVE oneself up to indulgence in sensual pleasure, the base,
> common, vulgar, unholy, unprofitable; and also to give oneself up to
> self-mortification, the painful, unholy, unprofitable: both these two
> extremes the Perfect One has avoided, and found out the Middle Path,
> which makes one both to see and to know, which leads to peace, to
> discernment, to enlightenment, to Nirvana.
> 
> THE EIGHTFOLD PATH
> 
>  It is the Noble Eightfold Path, the way that leads to the
> extinction of suffering, namely:
> 
>  1. Right Understanding, 2. Right Mindedness, which together are
> Wisdom.
> 
>  3. Right Speech, 4. Right Action, 5. Right Living, which together
> are Morality.
> 
>  6. Right Effort, 7. Right Attentiveness, 8. Right Concentration,
> which together are Concentration.
> 
>  This is the Middle Path which the Perfect One has found out, which
> makes one both to see and to know, which leads to peace, to
> discernment, to enlightenment, to Nirvana.
> 
>  Free from pain and torture is this path, free from groaning and
> suffering; it is the perfect path.
> 
>  Truly, like this path there is no other path to the purity of
> insight. If you follow this path, you will put an end to suffering.
> 
>  But each one has to struggle for himself, the Perfect Ones have
> only pointed out the way.
> 
>  Give ear then, for the Immortal is found. I reveal, I set forth
> the Truth. As I reveal it to you, so act! And that supreme goal of the
> holy life, for the sake of which, sons of good families rightly go
> forth from home to the homeless state: this you will, in no long time,
> in this very life, make known to yourself, realize, and make your own.
> 
> THE EIGHTFOLD PATH
> 
> FIRST STEP. RIGHT UNDERSTANDING
> 
>  WHAT, now, is Right Understanding? It is understanding the Four
> Truths. To understand suffering; to understand the origin of
> suffering; to understand the extinction of suffering; to understand
> the path that leads to the extinction of suffering: This is called
> Right Understanding
> 
>  Or, when the noble disciple understands what is karmically
> wholesome, and the root of wholesome karma; what is karmically
> unwholesome, and the root of unwholesome karma, then he has Right
> Understanding.
> 
>  ["Karmically unwholesome" is every volitional act of body, speech,
> or mind which is rooted in greed, hatred, or delusion, and produces
> evil and painful results in this or any future form of existence.]
> 
>  What, now, is "karmically unwholesome?"
> 
>  In Bodily Action it is destruction of living beings; stealing; and
> unlawful sexual intercourse. In Verbal Action it is lying;
> tale-bearing; harsh language; and frivolous talk. In Mental Action it
> is covetousness; ill-will; and wrong views.
> 
>  And what is the root of unwholesome karma? Greed is a root of
> unwholesome karma; Anger is a root of unwholesome karma; Delusion is a
> root of unwholesome karma.
> 
>  [The state of greed, as well as that of anger, is always
> accompanied by delusion; and delusion, ignorance, is the primary root
> of all evil.]
> 
>  Therefore, I say, these demeritorious actions are of three kinds:
> either due to greed, or due to anger, or due to delusion.
> 
>  What, now, is "karmically wholesome?"
> 
>  In Bodily Action it is to abstain from killing; to abstain from
> stealing; and to abstain from unlawful sexual intercourse.
> 
>  In Verbal Action it is to abstain from lying; to abstain from
> tale-bearing; to abstain from harsh language; and to abstain from
> frivolous talk.
> 
>  In Mental Action it is absence of covetousness; absence of
> ill-will; and right understanding.
> 
>  And what is the root of wholesome karma? Absence of greed
> (unselfishness) is a root of wholesome karma; absence of anger
> (benevolence) is a root of wholesome karma; absence of delusion
> (wisdom) is a root of wholesome karma.
> 
>  Or, when one understands that corporeality, feeling, perception,
> mental formation, and consciousness, are transient [subject to
> suffering, and without an Ego], also in that case one possesses Right
> Understanding.
> 
> UNPROFITABLE QUESTIONS
> 
>  Should anyone say that he does not wish to lead the holy life
> under the Blessed One, unless the Blessed One first tells him, whether
> the world is eternal or temporal, finite or infinite; whether the life
> principle is identical with the body, or something different; whether
> the Perfect One continues after death, and so on such a man would die,
> ere the Perfect One could tell him all this.
> 
>  It is as if a man were pierced by a poisoned arrow, and his
> friends, companions, or near relations, should send for a surgeon; but
> that man should say: "I will not have this arrow pulled out, until I
> know who the man is that has wounded me: whether he is a noble, a
> priest, a citizen, or a servant"; or: "what his name is, and to what
> family he belongs"; or: "whether he is tall, or short, or of medium
> height." Verily, such a man would die, ere he could adequately learn
> all this.
> 
>  Therefore, the man who seeks his own welfare, should pull out this
> arrow-this arrow of lamentation, pain, and sorrow.
> 
>  For, whether the theory exists, or whether it does not exist, that
> the world is eternal, or temporal, or finite, or infinite-certainly,
> there is birth, there is decay, there is death, sorrow, lamentation,
> pain, grief, and despair, the extinction of which, attainable even in
> this present life, I make known unto you.
> 
>  There is, for instance, an unlearned worldling, void of regard for
> holy men, ignorant of the teaching of holy men, untrained in the noble
> doctrine. And his heart is possessed and overcome by Self-Illusion, by
> Skepticism, by attachment to mere Rule and Ritual, by Sensual Lust,
> and by will; and how to free himself from these things, he does not
> really know.
> 
>  [Self-Illusion may reveal itself as "Eternalism" or
> Eternity-belief" i.e., the belief that one's Ego is existing
> independently of the material body, and continuing even after the
> dissolution of the latter; or as "Annihilationism," or
> "Annihilation-belief" i.e., the materialistic belief that this present
> life constitutes the Ego, and hence that it is annihilated at the
> death of the material body.]
> 
>  Not knowing what is worthy of consideration, and what is unworthy
> of consideration, he considers the unworthy, and not the worthy.
> 
>  And unwisely he considers thus: "Have I been in the past? Or. have
> I not been in the past? What have I been in the past? How have I been
> in the past? From what state into what state did I change in the
> past?-Shall I be in the future? Or, shall I not be in the future? What
> shall I be in the future? How shall I be in the future? From what
> state into what state shall I change in the future?" And the present
> also fills him with doubt: "Am I? Or, am I not? What am I? How am I?
> This being, whence has it come? Whither will it go?"
> 
>  And with such unwise considerations, he falls into one or other of
> the six views, and it becomes his conviction and firm belief: "I have
> an Ego"; or: "I have no Ego"; or: "With the Ego I perceive the Ego";
> or: "With that which is no Ego, I perceive the Ego"; or: "With the Ego
> I perceive that which is no Ego. Or, he falls into the following view:
> "This my Ego, which can think and feel, and which, now here, now
> there, experiences the fruit of good and evil deeds; this my Ego is
> permanent, stable, eternal, not subject to change, and will thus
> eternally remain the same."
> 
>  If there really existed the Ego, there would be also something
> which belonged to the Ego. As, however, in truth and reality, neither
> the Ego, nor anything belonging to the Ego, can be found, is it not
> therefore really an utter fool's doctrine to say: "This is the world,
> this am I; after death, I shall be permanent, persisting, and
> eternal?"
> 
>  These are called mere views, a thicket of views, a puppet show of
> views, a toil of views, a snare of views; and ensnared in the fetter
> of views, the ignorant worldling will not be freed from rebirth, from
> decay, and from death, from sorrow, pain, grief, and despair; he will
> not be freed, I say, from suffering.
> 
> THE SOTAPAN, OR "STREAM-ENTERER"
> 
>  The learned and noble disciple, however, who has regard for holy
> men, knows the teaching of holy men, is well trained in the noble
> doctrine, he understands what is worthy of consideration, and what is
> unworthy. And knowing this, he considers the worthy, and not the
> unworthy. What suffering is, he wisely considers. What the origin of
> suffering is, he wisely considers; what the extinction of suffering
> is, he wisely considers; what the path is that leads to the extinction
> of suffering, he wisely considers.
> 
>  And by thus considering, three fetters vanish, namely:
> Self-illusion, Skepticism, and Attachment to mere Rule and Ritual.
> 
>  But those disciples in whom these three fetters have vanished have
> "entered the Stream," have forever escaped the states of woe, and are
> assured of final enlightenment.
> 
> More than any earthly power,
> More than all the joys of heaven,
> More than rule o'er all the world,
> Is the Entrance to the Stream.
> 
>  And, verily, those who are filled with unshaken faith in me, all
> those have entered the stream.
> 
>  There are ten "Fetters" by which beings are bound to the wheel of
> existence. They are: Self-Illusion, Skepticism, Attachment to mere
> Rule and Ritual, Sensual Lust, Ill-will, Craving for the World of pure
> Form, Craving for the Formless World, Conceit, Restlessness,
> Ignorance.
> 
>  A Sotapan, or "Stream-Enterer" i.e. "one who has entered the
> stream leading to Nirvana," is free from the first three fetters.
> 
>  A Sakadagamin, or "Once-Returned"-namely to this sensuous
> sphere-has overcome the 4th and 5th fetters in their grosser form. An
> Anagamin, or "Non-Returner," is wholly freed from the first five
> fetters, which bind to rebirth in the sensuous sphere; after death,
> whilst living in the sphere of pure form, he will reach the goal. An
> Arahat, or perfectly "Holy One," is freed from all fetters.]
> 
> THE TWO UNDERSTANDINGS
> 
>  Therefore, I say, Right Understanding is of two kinds:
> 
>  1. The view that alms and offerings are not useless; that there is
> fruit and result, both of good and bad actions; that there are such
> things as this life, and the next life; that father and mother as
> spontaneously born beings (in the heavenly worlds) are no mere
> words; that there are monks and priests who are spotless and perfect,
> who can explain this life and the next life, which they themselves
> have understood: this is called the "Mundane Right Understanding,"
> which yields worldly fruits, and brings good results.
> 
>  2. But whatsoever there is of wisdom, of penetration, of right
> understanding, conjoined with the Path-the mind being turned away from
> the world, and conjoined with the path, the holy path being turned
> away from the world, and conjoined with the path, the holy path being
> pursued;-this is called the "Ultramundane Right Understanding," which
> is not of the world, but is ultramundane, and conjoined with the Path.
> 
>  [Thus, there are two kinds of the Eightfold Path: the "mundane,"
> practiced by the "worldling"; and the "ultra-mundane," practiced by
> the "Noble Ones."]
> 
>  Now, in understanding wrong understanding as wrong, and right
> understanding as right, one practices Right Understanding [1st step];
> and in making efforts to overcome wrong understanding, and to arouse
> right understanding, one practices. Right Effort [6th step]; and in
> overcoming wrong understanding with attentive mind, and dwelling with
> attentive mind in the possession of right understanding, one practices
> Right-Attentiveness [7th step]. Hence, there are three things that
> accompany and follow upon right understanding, namely: right
> understanding, right effort, and right attentiveness.
> 
> COMPLETE DELIVERANCE
> 
>  Now, if any one should put the question, whether I admit any view
> at all, he should be answered thus:
> 
>  The Perfect One is free from any theory, for the Perfect One has
> understood what corporeality is, and how it arises, and passes away.
> He has understood what feeling is, and how it arises, and passes away.
> He has understood what perception is, and how it arises, and passes
> away. He has understood what the mental formations are, and how they
> arise, and pass away. He has understood what consciousness is, and how
> it arises, and passes away. Therefore, I say, the Perfect One has won
> complete deliverance through the extinction, fading-away,
> disappearance, rejection, and getting rid of all opinions and
> conjectures, of all inclination to the vainglory of "I" and "mine."
> 
>  Whether Perfect Ones [Buddhas] appear in the world or whether
> Perfect Ones do not appear in the world, it still remains a firm
> condition, an immutable fact and fixed law: that all formations are
> impermanent" that all formations are "subject to suffering"; that
> everything is "without an Ego."
> 
>  [The word sankhara (formations) comprises all things which have
> a beginning and an end, the so-called created, or "formed" things,
> i.e., all possible physical and mental constituents of existence.]
> 
>  A corporeal phenomenon, a feeling, a perception, a mental
> formation, a consciousness, that is permanent and persistent, eternal
> and not subject to change: such a thing the wise men in this world do
> not recognize; and I also say, there is no such thing.
> 
>  And it is impossible that a being possessed of Right Understanding
> should regard anything as the Ego.
> 
>  Now, if someone should say that Feeling is his Ego, he should be
> answered thus: "There are three kinds of feeling: pleasurable,
> painful, and indifferent feeling. Which of these three feelings, now,
> do you consider your Ego?" At the moment namely of experiencing one of
> these feelings one does not experience the other two. These three
> kinds of feelings are impermanent, of dependent origin, are subject to
> decay and dissolution, to fading-away and extinction. Whosoever, in
> experiencing one of these feelings, thinks that this is his Ego, will,
> after the extinction of that feeling, admit that his Ego has become
> dissolved. And thus he will consider his Ego already in this present
> life as impermanent, mixed up with pleasure and pain, subject to
> rising and passing away.
> 
>  If any one should say that Feeling is not his Ego, and that his
> Ego is inaccessible to feeling, he should be asked thus: "Now, where
> there is no feeling, is it there possible to say: 'This am I?'"
> 
>  Or, someone might say: "Feeling, indeed, is not my Ego, but it
> also is untrue that my Ego is inaccessible to feeling; for it is my
> Ego that feels, for my Ego has the faculty of feeling." Such a one
> should be answered thus: "Suppose, feeling should become altogether
> totally extinguished; now, if there, after the extinction of feeling,
> no feeling whatever exists, it is then possible to say: 'This am I?'"
> 
>  To say that the mind, or the mind-objects, or the
> mind-consciousness, constitute the Ego; such an assertion is
> unfounded. For an arising and a passing away is seen there; and seeing
> this, one should come to the conclusion that one's Ego arises and
> passes away.
> 
>  It would be better for the unlearned worldling to regard this
> body, built up of the four elements, as his Ego, rather than the mind.
> For it is evident that this body may last for a year, for two years,
> for three years, four, five, or ten years, or even a hundred years and
> more; but that which is called thought, or mind, or consciousness, is
> continuously, during day and night, arising as one thing, and passing
> away as another thing.
> 
>  Therefore, whatsoever there is of corporeality, of feeling, of
> perception, of mental formations, of consciousness, whether one's own
> or external, gross or subtle, lofty or low, far or near; there one
> should understand according to reality and true wisdom: "This does not
> belong to me; this am I not; this is not my Ego."
> 
>  [To show the Egolessness, utter emptiness of existence,
> Visuddhi-Magga XVI quotes the following verse:
> 
> Mere suffering exists, no sufferer is found;
> The deed is, but no doer of the deed is there;
> Nirvana is, but not the man that enters it;
> The Path is, but no traveler on it is seen.]
> PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE
> 
>  If, now, any one should ask: "Have you been in the past, and is it
> untrue that you have not been? Will you be in the future, and is it
> untrue that you will not be? Are you, and is it untrue that you are
> not?"-you may say that you have been in the past, and it is untrue
> that you have not been; that you will be in the future, and it is
> untrue that you will not be; that you are, and it is untrue that you
> are not.
> 
>  In the past only the past existence was real, but unreal the
> future and present existence. In the future only the future existence
> will be real, but unreal the past and present existence. Now only the
> present existence is real, but unreal the past and future existence.
> 
>  Verily, he who perceives the Dependent Origination, perceives the
> truth and he who perceives the truth, perceives the dependent
> origination. For, just as from the cow comes milk, from milk curds,
> from curds butter, from butter ghee, from ghee the scum of ghee; and
> when it is milk, it is not counted as curds, or butter, or ghee, or
> scum of ghee, but only as milk; and when it is curds, it is only
> counted as curds-just so was my past existence at that time real, but
> unreal the future and present existence; and my future existence will
> be at one time real, but unreal the past and present existence; and my
> present existence is now real, but unreal the past and future
> existence. All these are merely popular designations and expressions,
> mere conventional terms of speaking, mere popular notions. The Perfect
> One, indeed, makes use of these, without, however, clinging to them.
> 
>  Thus, he who does not understand corporeality, feeling,
> perception, mental formations and consciousness according to reality
> [i.e., as void of a personality, or Ego], and not their arising,
> their extinction, and the way to their extinction, he is liable to
> believe, either that the Perfect One continues after death, or that he
> does not continue after death, and so forth.
> 
>  Verily, if one holds the view that the vital principle [Ego] is
> identical with this body, in that case a holy life is not possible;
> or, if one holds the view that the vital principle is something quite
> different from the body, in that case also a holy life is not
> possible. Both these two Extremes the Perfect One has avoided, and
> shown the Middle Doctrine, saying:
> 
> DEPENDENT ORIGINATION
> 
>  On Delusion depend the Karma-Formations. On the karma-formations
> depends Consciousness [starting with rebirth-consciousness in the
> womb of the mother].- On consciousness depends the Mental and Physical
> Existence.-On the mental and physical existence depend the Six
> Sense-Organs.-On the six sense-organs depends the Sensory
> Impression.-On the sensory impression depends Feeling.-On feeling
> depends; Craving.-On craving depends Clinging. On clinging depends the
> Process of Becoming.-On the process of becoming [here: karmaprocess]
> depends Rebirth.-On rebirth depend Decay and Death, sorrow,
> lamentation, pain, grief and despair. Thus arises this whole mass of
> suffering. This is called the noble truth of the origin of suffering.
> 
>  In whom, however, Delusion has disappeared and wisdom arisen, such
> a disciple heaps up neither meritorious, nor demeritorious, nor
> imperturbable Karma-formations.
> 
>  Thus, through the entire fading away and extinction of this
> Delusion, the Karma-Formations are extinguished. Through the
> extinction of the Karma-formations, Consciousness [rebirth] is
> extinguished. Through the extinction of consciousness, the Mental and
> Physical Existence is extinguished. Through the extinction of the
> mental and physical existence, the six Sense-Organs are extinguished.
> Through the extinction of the six sense-organs, the Sensory Impression
> is extinguished. Through the extinction of the sensory impression,
> Feeling is extinguished. Through the extinction of feeling, Craving is
> extinguished. Through the extinction of craving, Clinging is
> extinguished. Through the extinction of clinging, the Process of
> Becoming is extinguished. Through the extinction of the process of
> becoming, Rebirth is extinguished. Through the extinction of rebirth,
> Decay and Death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair are
> extinguished. Thus takes place the extinction of this whole mass of
> suffering. This is called the Noble Truth of the Extinction of
> Suffering.
> 
> KARMA: REBIRTH - PRODUCING AND BARREN
> 
>  Verily, because beings, obstructed by Delusion, and ensnared by
> Craving, now here now there seek ever fresh delight, therefore such
> action comes to ever fresh Rebirth.
> 
>  And the action that is done out of greed, anger and delusion, that
> springs from them, has its source and origin there: this action ripens
> wherever one is reborn; and wherever this action ripens, there one
> experiences the fruits of this action, be it in this life, or the next
> life, or in some future life.
> 
>  However, through the fading away of delusion through the arising
> of wisdom, through the extinction of craving, no future rebirth takes
> place again
> 
>  For the actions, which are not done out of greed, anger and
> delusion, which have not sprung from them, which have not their source
> and origin there-such actions are, through the absence of greed, anger
> and delusion, abandoned, rooted out, like a palm-tree torn out of the
> soil, destroyed, and not liable to spring up again.
> 
>  In this respect one may rightly say of me: that I teach
> annihilation, that I propound my doctrine for the purpose of
> annihilation, and that I herein train my disciples; for, certainly, I
> do teach annihilation-the annihilation, namely, of greed, anger and
> delusion, as well as of the manifold evil and unwholesome things.
> 
>  ["Dependent Origination" is the teaching of the strict conformity
> to law of everything that happens, whether in the realm of the
> physical, or the psychical. It shows how the totality of phenomena,
> physical and mental, the entire phenomenal world that depends wholly
> upon the six senses, together with all its suffering-and this is the
> vital point of the teaching is not the mere play of blind chance, but
> has an existence that is dependent upon conditions; and that,
> precisely with the removal of these conditions, those things that have
> arisen in dependence upon them-thus also all suffering-must perforce
> disappear and cease to be.]
> 
> SECOND STEP. RIGHT MINDEDNESS
> 
>  WHAT, now, is Right Mindedness? It is thoughts free from lust;
> thoughts free from ill-will; thoughts free from cruelty. This is
> called right mindedness.
> 
>  Now, Right Mindedness, let me tell you, is of two kinds: 1.
> Thoughts free from lust, from ill-will, and from cruelty:-this is
> called the "Mundane Right Mindedness," which yields worldly fruits and
> brings good results.
> 
>  2. But, whatsoever there is of thinking, considering, reasoning,
> thought, ratiocination, application-the mind being holy, being turned
> away from the world, and conjoined with the path, the holy path being
> pursued-: these "Verbal Operations" of the mind are called the
> "Ultramundane Right Mindedness which is not of the world, but is ultra
> mundane, and conjoined with the paths.
> 
>  Now, in understanding wrong-mindedness as wrong, and
> right-mindedness as right, one practices Right Understanding [1st
> step]; and in making efforts to overcome evil-mindedness, and to
> arouse right-mindedness, one practices Right Effort [6th step]; and
> in overcoming evil-mindedness with attentive mind, and dwelling with
> attentive mind in possession of right-mindedness, one practices Right
> Attentiveness [7th step]. Hence, there are three things that
> accompany and follow upon right-mindedness, namely: right
> understanding, right effort, and right attentiveness.
> 
> THIRD STEP. RIGHT SPEECH
> 
>  WHAT, now, is Right Speech? It is abstaining from lying;
> abstaining from tale-bearing; abstaining from harsh language;
> abstaining from vain talk.
> 
>  There, someone avoids lying, and abstains from it. He speaks the
> truth, is devoted to the truth, reliable, worthy of confidence, is not
> a deceiver of men. Being at a meeting, or amongst people, or in the
> midst of his relatives, or in a society, or in the king's court, and
> called upon and asked as witness, to tell what he knows, he answers,
> if he knows nothing: "I know nothing"; and if he knows, he answers: "I
> know"; if he has seen nothing, he answers: "I have seen nothing," and
> if he has seen, he answers: "I have seen." Thus, he never knowingly
> speaks a lie, neither for the sake of his own advantage, nor for the
> sake of another person's advantage, nor for the sake of any advantage
> whatsoever.
> 
>  He avoids tale-bearing, and abstains from it. What he has heard
> here, he does not repeat there, so as to cause dissension there; and
> what he heard there, he does not repeat here, so as to cause
> dissension here. Thus he unites those that are divided; and those that
> are united, he encourages. Concord gladdens him, he delights and
> rejoices in concord, and it is concord that he spreads by his words.
> 
>  He avoids harsh language, and abstains from it. He speaks such
> words as are gentle, soothing to the ear, loving, going to the heart,
> courteous and dear, and agreeable to many.
> 
>  [In Majjhima-Nikaya, No. 21, the Buddha says: "Even, O monks,
> should robbers and murderers saw through your limbs and joints, whoso
> gave way to anger thereat, would not be following my advice. For thus
> ought you to train yourselves:
> 
>  "'Undisturbed shall our mind remain, no evil words shall escape
> our lips; friendly and full of sympathy shall we remain, with heart
> full of love, and free from any hidden malice; and that person shall
> we penetrate with loving thoughts, wide, deep, boundless, freed from
> anger and hatred.'"]
> 
>  He avoids vain talk, and abstains from it. He speaks at the right
> time, in accordance with facts, speaks what is useful, speaks about
> the law and the discipline; his speech is like a treasure, at the
> right moment accompanied by arguments, moderate and full of sense.
> 
>  This is called right speech.
> 
>  Now, right speech, let me tell you, is of two kinds: 1. Abstaining
> from lying, from tale-bearing, from harsh language, and from vain
> talk; this is called the "Mundane Right Speech, which yields worldly
> fruits and brings good results.
> 
>  2. But the abhorrence of the practice of this four-fold wrong
> speech, the abstaining, withholding, refraining therefrom-the mind
> being holy, being turned away from the world, and conjoined with the
> path, the holy path being pursued-: this is called the "Ultramundane
> Right Speech, which is not of the world, but is ultramundane, and
> conjoined with the paths.
> 
>  Now, in understanding wrong speech as wrong, and right speech as
> right, one practices Right Understanding [1st step); and in making
> efforts to overcome evil speech and to arouse right speech, one
> practices Right Effort [6th step]; and in overcoming wrong speech
> with attentive mind, and dwelling with attentive mind in possession of
> right speech, one practices Right Attentiveness [7th step]. Hence,
> there are three things that accompany and follow upon right
> attentiveness.
> 
> FOURTH STEP. RIGHT ACTION
> 
>  WHAT, now, is Right Action? It is abstaining from killing;
> abstaining from stealing; abstaining from unlawful sexual intercourse.
> 
>  There, someone avoids the killing of living beings, and abstains
> from it. Without stick or sword, conscientious, full of sympathy, he
> is anxious for the welfare of all living beings.
> 
>  He avoids stealing, and abstains from it; what another person
> possesses of goods and chattels in the village or in the wood, that he
> does not take away with thievish intent.
> 
>  He avoids unlawful sexual intercourse, and abstains from it. He
> has no intercourse with such persons as are still under the protection
> of father, mother, brother, sister or relatives, nor with married
> women, nor female convicts, nor, lastly, with betrothed girls.
> 
>  This is called Right Action.
> 
>  Now, Right Action, let me tell you, is of two kinds: 1. Abstaining
> from killing, from stealing, and from unlawful sexual intercourse-this
> is called the "Mundane Right Action, which yields worldly fruits and
> brings good results. But the abhorrence of the practice of this
> three-fold wrong action, the abstaining, withholding, refraining
> therefrom-the mind being holy, being turned away from the world, and
> conjoined with the path, the holy path being pursued-: this is called
> the "Ultramundane Right Action," which is not of the world, but is
> ultramundane, and conjoined with the paths.
> 
>  Now, in understanding wrong action as wrong, and right action as
> right, one practices Right Understanding [1st step]; and in making
> efforts to overcome wrong action, and to arouse right action, one
> practices Right Effort [6th step]; and in overcoming wrong action
> with attentive mind, and dwelling with attentive mind in possession of
> right action, one practices Right Attentiveness [7th step]. Hence,
> there are three things that accompany and follow upon right action,
> namely: right understanding, right effort, and right attentiveness.
> 
> FIFTH STEP. RIGHT LIVING
> 
>  WHAT, now, is Right Living? When the noble disciple, avoiding a
> wrong way of living, gets his livelihood by a right way of living,
> this is called Right Living.
> 
>  Now, right living, let me tell you, is of two kinds: 1. When the
> noble disciple, avoiding wrong living, gets his livelihood by a right
> way of living-this is called the "Mundane Right Living," which yields
> worldly fruits and brings good results.
> 
>  2. But the abhorrence of wrong living, the abstaining,
> withholding, refraining therefrom-the mind being holy, being turned
> away from the world, and conjoined with the path, the holy path being
> pursued-: this is called the "Ultramundane Right Living," which is not
> of the world, but is ultramundane, and conjoined with the paths.
> 
>  Now, in understanding wrong living as wrong, and right living as
> right, one practices Right Understanding [1st step]; and in making
> efforts to overcome wrong living, to arouse right living, one
> practices Right Effort [6th step]; and in overcoming wrong living
> with attentive mind, and dwelling with attentive mind in possession of
> right living, one practices Right Attentiveness [7th step]. Hence,
> there are three things that accompany and follow upon right living,
> namely: right understanding, right effort, and right attentiveness.
> 
> SIXTH STEP. RIGHT EFFORT
> 
>  WHAT, now, is Right Effort? There are Four Great Efforts: the
> effort to avoid, the effort to overcome, the effort to develop, and
> the effort to maintain.
> 
>  What, now, is the effort to avoid? There, the disciple incites his
> mind to avoid the arising of evil, demeritorious things that have not
> yet arisen; and he strives, puts forth his energy, strains his mind
> and struggles.
> 
>  Thus, when he perceives a form with the eye, a sound with the ear,
> an odor with the nose, a taste with the tongue, a contact with the
> body, or an object with the mind, he neither adheres to the whole, nor
> to its parts. And he strives to ward off that through which evil and
> demeritorious things, greed and sorrow, would arise, if he remained
> with unguarded senses; and he watches over his senses, restrains his
> senses.
> 
>  Possessed of this noble "Control over the Senses," he experiences
> inwardly a feeling of joy, into which no evil thing can enter. This is
> called the effort to avoid.
> 
>  What, now, is the effort to Overcome? There, the disciple incites
> his mind to overcome the evil, demeritorious things that have already
> arisen; and he strives, puts forth his energy, strains his mind and
> struggles.
> 
>  He does not retain any thought of sensual lust, ill-will, or
> grief, or any other evil and demeritorious states that may have
> arisen; he abandons them, dispels them, destroys them, causes them to
> disappear.
> 
> FIVE METHODS OF EXPELLING EVIL THOUGHTS
> 
>  If, whilst regarding a certain object, there arise in the
> disciple, on account of it, evil and demeritorious thoughts connected
> with greed, anger and delusion, then the disciple should, by means of
> this object, gain another and wholesome object. Or, he should reflect
> on the misery of these thoughts: "Unwholesome, truly, are these
> thoughts! Blameable are these thoughts! Of painful result are these
> thoughts!" Or, he should pay no attention to these thoughts. Or, he
> should consider the compound nature of these thoughts. Or, with teeth
> clenched and tongue pressed against the gums, he should, with his
> mind, restrain, suppress and root out these thoughts; and in doing so,
> these evil and demeritorious thoughts of greed, anger and delusion
> will dissolve and disappear; and the mind will inwardly become settled
> and calm, composed and concentrated.
> 
>  This is called the effort to overcome.
> 
>  What, now, is the effort to Develop? There the disciple incites
> his will to arouse meritorious conditions that have not yet arisen;
> and he strives, puts forth his energy, strains his mind and struggles.
> 
>  Thus he develops the "Elements of Enlightenment," bent on
> solitude, on detachment, on extinction, and ending in deliverance,
> namely: Attentiveness, Investigation of the Law, Energy, Rapture,
> Tranquility, Concentration, and Equanimity. This is called the effort
> to develop.
> 
>  What, now, is the effort to Maintain? There, the disciple incites
> his will to maintain the meritorious conditions that have already
> arisen, and not to let them disappear, but to bring them to growth, to
> maturity and to the full perfection of development; and he strives,
> puts forth his energy, strains his mind and struggles.
> 
>  Thus, for example, he keeps firmly in his mind a favorable object
> of concentration that has arisen, as the mental image of a skeleton,
> of a corpse infested by worms, of a corpse blue-black in color, of a
> festering corpse, of a corpse riddled with holes, of a corpse swollen
> up.
> 
>  This is called the effort to maintain.
> 
>  Truly, the disciple who is possessed of faith and has penetrated
> the Teaching of the Master, he is filled with the thought: "May rather
> skin, sinews and bones wither away, may the flesh and blood of my body
> dry up: I shall not give up my efforts so long as I have not attained
> whatever is attainable by manly perseverance, energy and endeavor!"
> 
>  This is called right effort.
> 
> The effort of Avoiding, Overcoming,
> Of Developing and Maintaining:
> These four great efforts have been shown
> By him, the scion of the sun.
> And he who firmly clings to them,
> May put an end to all the pain.
> 
> SEVENTH STEP. RIGHT ATTENTIVENESS
> 
>  WHAT, now, is Right Attentiveness? The only way that leads to the
> attainment of purity, to the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, to
> the end of pain and grief, to the entering upon the right path and the
> realization of Nirvana, is the "Four Fundamentals of Attentiveness."
> And which are these four? In them, the disciple dwells in
> contemplation of the Body, in contemplation of Feeling, in
> contemplation of the Mind, in contemplation of the Mind-objects,
> ardent, clearly conscious and attentive, after putting away worldly
> greed and grief.
> 
> CONTEMPLATION OF THE BODY
> 
>  But, how does the disciple dwell in contemplation of the body?
> There, the disciple retires to the forest, to the foot of a tree, or
> to a solitary place, sits himself down, with legs crossed, body erect,
> and with attentiveness fixed before him.
> 
>  With attentive mind he breathes in, with attentive mind he
> breathes out. When making a long inhalation, he knows: "I make a long
> inhalation"; when making a long exhalation, he knows: "I make a long
> exhalation." when making a short inhalation, he knows: "I make a short
> inhalation"; when making a short exhalation, he knows: "I make a short
> exhalation." "Clearly perceiving the entire [breath]-body, I will
> breathe in": thus he trains himself; "clearly perceiving the entire
> [breath]-body, I will breathe out": thus he trains himself. "Calming
> this bodily function, I will breathe in": thus he trains himself;
> "calming this bodily function, I will breathe out": thus he trains
> himself.
> 
>  Thus he dwells in contemplation of the body, either with regard to
> his own person, or to other persons, or to both. He beholds how the
> body arises; beholds how it passes away; beholds the arising and
> passing away of the body. "A body is there-
> 
>  "A body is there, but no living being, no individual, no woman,
> 
>  no man, no self, and nothing that belongs to a self; neither a
> 
>  person, nor anything belonging to a person"- this clear
> consciousness is present in him, because of his knowledge and
> mindfulness, and he lives independent, unattached to anything in the
> world. Thus does the disciple dwell in contemplation of the body.
> 
>  And further, whilst going, standing, sitting, or lying down, the
> disciple understands the expressions: "I go"; "I stand"; "I sit"; "I
> lie down"; he understands any position of the body.
> 
>  [The disciple understands that it is not a being, a real Ego, that
> goes, stands, etc., but that it is by a mere figure of speech that one
> says: "I go," "I stand," and so forth.]
> 
>  And further, the disciple is clearly conscious in his going and
> coming; clearly conscious in looking forward and backward; clearly
> conscious in bending and stretching; clearly conscious in eating,
> drinking, chewing, and tasting; clearly conscious in discharging
> excrement and urine; clearly conscious in walking, standing, sitting,
> falling asleep and awakening; clearly conscious in speaking and in
> keeping silent.
> 
>  "In all the disciple is doing, he is clearly conscious: of his
> intention, of his advantage, of his duty, of the reality."
> 
>  And further, the disciple contemplates this body from the sole of
> the foot upward, and from the top of the hair downward, with a skin
> stretched over it, and filled with manifold impurities: "This body
> consists of hairs, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, bones, marrow,
> kidneys, heart, liver, diaphragm, spleen, lungs, intestines, bowels,
> stomach, and excrement; of bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, lymph,
> tears, semen, spittle, nasal mucus, oil of the joints, and urine."
> 
>  Just as if there were a sack, with openings at both ends, filled
> with all kinds of grain-with paddy, beans, sesamum and husked rice-and
> a man not blind opened it and examined its contents, thus: "That is
> paddy, these are beans, this is sesamum, this is husked rice": just so
> does the disciple investigate this body.
> 
>  And further, the disciple contemplates this body with regard to
> the elements: "This body consists of the solid element, the liquid
> element, the heating element and the vibrating element." Just as a
> skilled butcher or butcher's apprentice, who has slaughtered a cow and
> divided it into separate portions, should sit down at the junction of
> four highroads: just so does the disciple contemplate this body with
> regard to the elements.
> 
>  And further, just as if the disciple should see a corpse thrown
> into the burial-ground, one, two, or three days dead, swollen-up,
> blue-black in color, full of corruption he draws the conclusion as to
> his own body: "This my body also has this nature, has this destiny,
> and cannot escape it." And further, just as if the disciple should see
> a corpse thrown into the burial-ground, eaten by crows, hawks or
> vultures, by dogs or jackals, or gnawed by all kinds of worms-he draws
> the conclusion as to his own body: "This my body also has this nature,
> has this destiny, and cannot escape it."
> 
>  And further, just as if the disciple should see a corpse thrown
> into the burial-ground, a framework of bones, flesh hanging from it,
> bespattered with blood, held together by the sinews; a framework of
> bones, stripped of flesh, bespattered with blood, held together by the
> sinews; a framework of bones, without flesh and blood, but still held
> together by the sinews; bones, disconnected and scattered in all
> directions, here a bone of the hand, there a bone of the foot, there a
> shin bone, there a thigh bone, there the pelvis, there the spine,
> there the skull-he draws the conclusion as to his own body: "This my
> body also has this nature, has this destiny, and cannot escape it."
> 
>  And further, just as if the disciple should see bones lying in the
> burial ground, bleached and resembling shells; bones heaped together,
> after the lapse of years; bones weathered and crumbled to dust;-he
> draws the conclusion as to his own body: "This my body also has this
> nature, has this destiny, and cannot escape it "
> 
>  Thus he dwells in contemplation of the body, either with regard to
> his own person, or to other persons, or to both. He beholds how the
> body arises; beholds how it passes away; beholds the arising and
> passing of the body. "A body is there" this clear consciousness is
> present in him, because of his knowledge and mindfulness; and he lives
> independent, unattached to anything in the world. Thus does the
> disciple dwell in contemplation of the body.
> 
> THE TEN BLESSINGS
> 
>  Once the contemplation of the body is practiced, developed, often
> repeated, has become one's habit, one's foundation, is firmly
> established, strengthened and well perfected, one may expect ten
> blessings:
> 
>  Over Delight and Discontent one has mastery; one does not allow
> himself to be overcome by discontent; one subdues it, as soon as it
> arises. One conquers Fear and Anxiety; one does not allow himself to
> be overcome by fear and anxiety; one subdues them, as soon as they
> arise. One endures cold and heat, hunger and thirst, wind and sun,
> attacks by gadflies, mosquitoes and reptiles; patiently one endures
> wicked and malicious speech, as well as bodily pains, that befall one,
> though they be piercing, sharp, bitter, unpleasant, disagreeable and
> dangerous to life. The four "Trances," the mind bestowing happiness
> even here: these one may enjoy at will, without difficulty, without
> effort.
> 
>  One may enjoy the different "Magical Powers." With the "Heavenly
> Ear," the purified, the super-human, one may hear both kinds of
> sounds, the heavenly and the earthly, the distant and the near. With
> the mind one may obtain "Insight into the Hearts of Other Beings of
> other persons. One may obtain "Remembrance of many Previous Births."
> With the "Heavenly Eye," the purified, the super-human, one may see
> beings vanish and reappear, the base and the noble, the beautiful and
> the ugly, the happy and the unfortunate; one may perceive how beings
> are reborn according to their deeds.
> 
>  One may, through the "Cessation of Passions," come to know for
> oneself, even in this life, the stainless deliverance of mind, the
> deliverance through wisdom.
> 
> CONTEMPLATION OF THE FEELINGS
> 
>  But how does the disciple dwell in contemplation of the feelings?
> 
>  In experiencing feelings, the disciple knows: "I have an
> indifferent agreeable feeling," or "I have a disagreeable feeling," or
> "I have an indifferent feeling," or "I have a worldly agreeable
> feeling," or "I have an unworldly agreeable feeling," or "I have a
> worldly disagreeable feeling," or "I have an unworldly disagreeable
> feeling," or "I have a worldly indifferent feeling," or have an
> unworldly indifferent feeling.
> 
>  Thus he dwells in contemplation of the feelings, either with
> regard to his own person, or to other persons, or to both. He beholds
> how the feelings arise; beholds how they pass away; beholds the
> arising and passing away of the feelings. "Feelings are there": this
> clear consciousness is present in him, because of his knowledge and
> mindfulness; and he lives independent, unattached to anything in the
> world. Thus does the disciple dwell in contemplation of the feelings.
> 
>  [The disciple understands that the expression "I feel" has no
> validity except as an expression of common speech; he understands
> that, in the absolute sense, there are only feelings, and that there
> is no Ego, no person, no experience of the feelings.]
> 
> CONTEMPLATION OF THE MIND
> 
>  But how does the disciple dwell in contemplation of the mind? The
> disciple knows the greedy mind as greedy, and the not greedy mind as
> not greedy; knows the angry mind as angry, and the not angry mind as
> not angry; knows the deluded mind as deluded, and the undeluded mind
> as undeluded. He knows the cramped mind as cramped, and the scattered
> mind as scattered; knows the developed mind as developed, and the
> undeveloped mind as undeveloped; knows the surpassable mind as
> surpassable, and the unsurpassable mind as unsurpassable; knows the
> concentrated mind as concentrated, and the unconcentrated mind as
> unconcentrated; knows the freed mind as freed, and the unfreed mind as
> unfreed.
> 
>  ["Mind" is here used as a collective for the moments of
> consciousness. Being identical with consciousness, it should not be
> translated by "thought." "Thought" and "thinking" correspond rather to
> the so-called "verbal operations of the mind"; they are not, like
> consciousness, of primary, but of secondary nature, and are entirely
> absent in all sensuous consciousness, as well as in the second, third
> and fourth Trances. (See eighth step).]
> 
>  Thus he dwells in contemplation of the mind, either with regard to
> his own person, or to other persons, or to both. He beholds how
> consciousness arises; beholds how it passes away; beholds the arising
> and passing away of consciousness. "Mind is there"; this clear
> consciousness is present in him, because of his knowledge and
> mindfulness; and he lives independent, unattached to anything in the
> world. Thus does the disciple dwell in contemplation of the mind.
> 
> CONTEMPLATION OF PHENOMENA (Mind-objects)
> 
>  But how does the disciple dwell in contemplation of the phenomena?
> First, the disciple dwells in contemplation of the phenomen, of the
> "Five Hindrances."
> 
>  He knows when there is "Lust" in him: "In me is lust"; knows when
> there is "Anger" in him: "In me is anger"; knows when there is "Torpor
> and Drowsiness" in him: "In me is torpor and drowsiness"; knows when
> there is "Restlessness and Mental Worry" in him: "In me is
> restlessness and mental worry"; knows when there are "Doubts" in him:
> "In me are doubts." He knows when these hindrances are not in him: "In
> me these hindrances are not." He knows how they come to arise; knows
> how, once arisen, they are overcome; knows how, once overcome, they do
> not rise again in the future.
> 
>  [For example, Lust arises through unwise thinking on the agreeable
> and delightful. it may be suppressed by the following six methods:
> fixing the mind upon an idea that arouses disgust; contemplation of
> the loathsomeness of the body; controlling one's six senses;
> moderation in eating; friendship with wise and good men; right
> instruction. Lust is forever extinguished upon entrance into
> Anagamiship; Restlessness is extinguished by reaching Arahatship;
> Mental Worry, by reaching Sotapanship.]
> 
>  And further: the disciple dwells in contemplation of the
> phenomena, of the five Groups of Existence. He knows what Corporeality
> is, how it arises, how it passes away; knows what Feeling is, how it
> arises, how it away; knows what Perception is, how it arises, how it
> passes away; knows what the Mental Formations are, how they arise, how
> they pass away; knows what Consciousness is, how it arises, how it
> passes away.
> 
>  And further: the disciple dwells in contemplation of the phenomena
> of the six Subjective-Objective Sense-Bases. He knows eye and visual
> objects, ear and sounds, nose and odors, tongue and tastes, body and
> touches, mind and mind objects; and the fetter that arises in
> dependence on them, he also knows. He knows how the fetter comes to
> arise, knows how the fetter is overcome, and how the abandoned fetter
> does not rise again in future.
> 
>  And further: the disciple dwells in contemplation of the phenomena
> of the seven Elements of Enlightenment. The disciple knows when there
> is Attentiveness in him; when there is Investigation of the Law in
> him; when there is Energy in him; when there is Enthusiasm in him;
> when there is Tranquility in him; when there is Concentration in him;
> when there is Equanimity in him. He knows when it is not in him, knows
> how it comes to arise, and how it is fully developed.
> 
>  And further: the disciple dwells in contemplation of the phenomena
> of the Four Noble Truths. He knows according to reality, what
> Suffering is; knows according to reality, what the Origin of Suffering
> is; knows according to reality, what the Extinction of Suffering is;
> knows according to reality, what the Path is that leads to the
> Extinction of Suffering.
> 
>  Thus he dwells in contemplation of the phenomena, either with
> regard to his own person, or to other persons, or to both. He beholds
> how the phenomena arise; beholds how they pass away; beholds the
> arising and passing away of the phenomena. "Phenomena are there this
> consciousness is present in him because of his knowledge and
> mindfulness; and he lives independent, unattached to anything in the
> world. Thus does the disciple dwell in contemplation of the phenomena.
> 
>  The only way that leads to the attainment of purity, to the
> overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, to the end of pain and grief, to
> the entering upon the right path, and the realization of Nirvana, is
> these four fundamentals of attentiveness.
> 
> NIRVANA THROUGH WATCHING OVER BREATHING
> 
>  "Watching over In-and Out-breathing" practiced and developed,
> brings the four Fundamentals of Attentiveness to perfection; the four
> fundamentals of attentiveness, practiced and developed bring the seven
> Elements of Enlightenment to perfection; the seven elements of
> enlightenment, practiced and developed, bring Wisdom and Deliverance
> to perfection.
> 
>  But how does Watching over In-and Out-breathing, practiced and
> developed, bring the four Fundamentals of Attentiveness to perfection?
> 
>  I. Whenever the disciple is conscious in making a long inhalation
> or exhalation, or in making a short inhalation or exhalation, or is
> training himself to inhale or exhale whilst feeling the whole
> [breath]-body, or whilst calming down this bodily function-at such a
> time the disciple is dwelling in "contemplation of the body," of
> energy, clearly conscious, attentive, after subduing worldly greed and
> grief. For, inhalation and exhalation I call one amongst the corporeal
> phenomena.
> 
>  II. Whenever the disciple is training himself to inhale or exhale
> whilst feeling rapture, or joy, or the mental functions, or whilst
> calming down the mental functions-at such a time he is dwelling in
> "contemplation of the feelings," full of energy, clearly conscious,
> attentive, after subduing worldly greed and grief. For, the full
> awareness of in-and outbreathing I call one amongst the feelings.
> 
>  III. Whenever the disciple is training himself to inhale or exhale
> whilst feeling the mind, or whilst gladdening the mind or whilst
> concentrating the mind, or whilst setting the mind free-at such a time
> he is dwelling in "contemplation of the mind," full of energy, clearly
> conscious, attentive, after subduing worldly greed and grief. For,
> without attentiveness and clear consciousness, I say, there is no
> Watching over in-and Out-breathing.
> 
>  IV. Whenever the disciple is training himself to inhale or exhale
> whilst contemplating impermanence, or the fading away of passion, or
> extinction, or detachment at such a time he is dwelling in
> "contemplation of the phenomena," full of energy, clearly conscious,
> attentive, after subduing worldly greed and grief.
> 
>  Watching over In-and Out-breathing, thus practiced and developed,
> brings the four Fundamentals of Attentiveness to perfection.
> 
>  But how do the four Fundamentals of Attentiveness, practiced and
> developed, bring the seven Elements of Enlightenment to full
> perfection?
> 
>  Whenever the disciple is dwelling in contemplation of body,
> feeling, mind and phenomena, strenuous, clearly conscious, attentive,
> after subduing worldly greed and grief-at such a time his
> attentiveness is undisturbed; and whenever his attentiveness is
> present and undisturbed, at such a time he has gained and is
> developing the Element of Enlightenment "Attentiveness"; and thus this
> element of enlightenment reaches fullest perfection.
> 
>  And whenever, whilst dwelling with attentive mind, he wisely
> investigates, examines and thinks over the Law-at such a time he has
> gained and is developing the Element of Enlightenment "Investigation
> of the Law"; and thus this element of enlightenment reaches fullest
> perfection.
> 
>  And whenever, whilst wisely investigating, examining and thinking
> over the law, his energy is firm and unshaken-at such a time he has
> gained and is developing the Element of Enlightenment "Energy"; and
> thus this element of enlightenment reaches fullest perfection.
> 
>  And whenever in him, whilst firm in energy, arises supersensuous
> rapture-at such a time he has gained and is developing the Element of
> Enlightenment "Rapture"; and thus this element of enlightenment
> reaches fullest perfection.
> 
>  And whenever, whilst enraptured in mind, his spiritual frame and
> his mind become tranquil-at such a time he has gained and is
> developing the Element of Enlightenment "Tranquility"; and thus this
> element of enlightenment reaches fullest perfection.
> 
>  And whenever, whilst being tranquilized in his spiritual frame and
> happy, his mind becomes concentrated-at such a time he has gained and
> is developing the Element of Enlightenment "Concentration; and thus
> this element of enlightenment reaches fullest perfection.
> 
>  And whenever he thoroughly looks with indifference on his mind
> thus concentrated-at such a time he has gained and is developing the
> Element of Enlightenment "Equanimity."
> 
>  The four fundamentals of attentiveness, thus practiced and
> developed, bring the seven elements of enlightenment to full
> perfection.
> 
>  But how do the seven elements of enlightenment, practiced and
> developed, bring Wisdom and Deliverance to full perfection?
> 
>  There, the disciple is developing the elements of enlightenment:
> Attentiveness, Investigation of the Law, Energy, Rapture, Tranquility,
> Concentration and Equanimity, bent on detachment, on absence of
> desire, on extinction and renunciation.
> 
>  Thus practiced and developed, do the seven elements of
> enlightenment bring wisdom and deliverance to full perfection.
> 
>  Just as the elephant hunter drives a huge stake into the ground
> and chains the wild elephant to it by the neck, in order to drive out
> of him his wonted forest ways and wishes, his forest unruliness,
> obstinacy and violence, and to accustom him to the environment of the
> village, and to teach him such good behavior as is required amongst
> men: in like manner also has the noble disciple to fix his mind firmly
> to these four fundamentals of attentiveness, so that he may drive out
> of himself his wonted worldly ways and wishes, his wonted worldly
> unruliness, obstinacy and violence, and win to the True, and realize
> Nirvana.
> 
> EIGHTH STEP. RIGHT CONCENTRATION
> 
>  WHAT, now, is Right Concentration? Fixing the mind to a single
> object ("One-pointedness of mind"): this is concentration.
> 
>  The four Fundamentals of Attentiveness (seventh step): these are
> the objects of concentration.
> 
>  The four Great Efforts (sixth step): these are the requisites
> for concentration.
> 
>  The practicing, developing and cultivating of these things: this
> is the "Development" of concentration.
> 
>  [Right Concentration has two degrees of development: 1.
> "Neighborhood-Concentration," which approaches the first trance,
> without however attaining it; 2. "Attainment Concentration," which is
> the concentration present in the four trances. The attainment of the
> trances, however, is not a requisite for the realization of the Four
> Ultramundane Paths of Holiness; and neither Neighborhood-Concentration
> nor Attainment-Concentration, as such, in any way possesses the power
> of conferring entry into the Four Ultramundane Paths; hence, in them
> is really no power to free oneself permanently from evil things. The
> realization of the Four Ultramundane Paths is possible only at the
> moment of insight into the impermanency, miserable nature, and
> impersonality of phenomenal process of existence. This insight is
> attainable only during Neighborhood-Concentration, not during
> Attainment-Concentration.
> 
>  He who has realized one or other of the Four Ultramundane Paths
> without ever having attained the Trances, is called a "Dry-visioned
> One," or one whose passions are "dried up by Insight." He, however,
> who after cultivating the Trances has reached one of the Ultramundane
> Paths, is called "one who has taken tranquility as his vehicle."]
> 
> THE FOUR TRANCES
> 
>  Detached from sensual objects, detached from unwholesome things,
> the disciple enters into the first trance, which is accompanied by
> "Verbal Though," and "Rumination," is born of "Detachment," and filled
> with "Rapture," and "Happiness."
> 
>  This first trance is free from five things, and five things are
> present. When the disciple enters the first trance, there have
> vanished [the 5 Hindrances]: Lust, Ill-will, Torpor and Dullness,
> Restlessness and Mental Worry, Doubts; and there are present: Verbal
> Thought, Rumination, Rapture, Happiness, and Concentration.
> 
>  And further: after the subsiding of verbal thought and rumination,
> and by the gaining of inward tranquility and oneness of mind, he
> enters into a state free from verbal thought and rumination, the
> second trance, which is born of Concentration, and filled with Rapture
> and Happiness.
> 
>  And further: after the fading away of rapture, he dwells in
> equanimity, attentive, clearly conscious; and he experiences in his
> person that feeling, of which the Noble Ones say: "Happy lives the man
> of equanimity and attentive mind"-thus he enters the third trance.
> 
>  And further: after the giving up of pleasure and pain, and through
> the disappearance of previous joy and grief, he enters into a state
> beyond pleasure and pain, into the fourth trance, which is purified by
> equanimity and attentiveness.
> 
>  [The four Trances may be obtained by means of Watching over In-and
> Out-breathing, as well as through the fourth sublime meditation, the
> "Meditation of Equanimity," and others.
> 
>  The three other Sublime Meditations of "Loving Kindness,"
> "Compassion", and "Sympathetic Joy" may lead to the attainment of the
> first three Trances. The "Cemetery Meditations," as well as the
> meditation "On Loathsomeness," will produce only the First Trance.
> 
>  The "Analysis of the Body," and the Contemplation on the Buddha,
> the Law, the Holy Brotherhood, Morality, etc., will only produce
> Neighborhood-Concentration.]
> 
>  Develop your concentration: for he who has concentration
> understands things according to their reality. And what are these
> things? The arising and passing away of corporeality, of feeling,
> perception, mental formations and consciousness.
> 
>  Thus, these five Groups of Existence must be wisely penetrated;
> Delusion and Craving must be wisely abandoned; Tranquility and Insight
> must be wisely developed.
> 
>  This is the Middle Path which the Perfect One has discovered,
> which makes one both to see and to know, and which leads to peace, to
> discernment, to enlightenment, to Nirvana.
> 
>  And following upon this path, you will put an end to suffering.
> 
> DEVELOPMENT OF THE EIGHTFOLD PATH IN THE DISCIPLE
> 
> CONFIDENCE AND RIGHT-MINDEDNESS (2nd Step)
> 
>  SUPPOSE a householder, or his son, or someone reborn in any
> family, hears the law; and after hearing the law he is filled with
> confidence in the Perfect One. And filled with this confidence, he
> thinks: "Full of hindrances is household life, a refuse heap; but
> pilgrim life is like the open air. Not easy is it, when one lives at
> home, to fulfill in all points the rules of the holy life. How, if now
> I were to cut off hair and beard, put on the yellow robe and go forth
> from home to the homeless life?" And in a short time, having given up
> his more or less extensive possessions, having forsaken a smaller or
> larger circle of relations, he cuts off hair and beard, puts on the
> yellow robe, and goes forth from home to the homeless life.
> 
> MORALITY (3rd, 4th, 5th Step)
> 
>  Having thus left the world, he fulfills the rules of the monks. He
> avoids the killing of living beings and abstains from it. Without
> stick or sword, conscientious, full of sympathy, he is anxious for the
> welfare of all living beings.-He avoids stealing, and abstains from
> taking what is not given to him. Only what is given to him he takes,
> waiting till it is given; and he lives with a heart honest and
> pure.-He avoids unchastity, living chaste, resigned, and keeping aloof
> from sexual intercourse, the vulgar way.-He avoids lying and abstains
> from it. He speaks the truth, is devoted to the truth, reliable,
> worthy of confidence, is not a deceiver of men.-He avoids tale-bearing
> and abstains from it. What he has heard here, he does not repeat
> there, so as to cause dissension there; and what he has heard there,
> he does not repeat here, so as to cause dissension here. Thus he
> unites those that are divided, and those that are united he
> encourages; concord gladdens him, he delights and rejoices in concord,
> and it is concord that he spreads by his words.-He avoids harsh
> language and abstains from it. He speaks such words as are gentle,
> soothing to the ear, loving, going to the heart, courteous and dear,
> and agreeable to many.- He avoids vain talk and abstains from it. He
> speaks at the right time, in accordance with facts, speaks what is
> useful, speaks about the law and the disciple; his speech is like a
> treasure, at the right moment accompanied by arguments, moderate, and
> full of sense.
> 
>  He keeps aloof from dance, song, music and the visiting of shows;
> rejects flowers, perfumes, ointments, as well as every kind of
> adornment and embellishment. High and gorgeous beds he does not use.
> Gold and silver he does not accept. Raw corn and meat he does not
> accept. Women and girls he does not accept. He owns no male and female
> slaves, owns no goats, sheep, fowls, pigs, elephants, cows or horses,
> no land and goods. He does not go on errands and do the duties of a
> messenger. He keeps aloof from buying and selling things. He has
> nothing to do with false measures, metals and weights. He avoids the
> crooked ways of bribery, deception and fraud. He keeps aloof from
> stabbing, beating, chaining, attacking, plundering and oppressing.
> 
>  He contents himself with the robe that protects his body, and with
> the alms with which he keeps himself alive. Wherever he goes, he is
> provided with these two things; just as a winged bird, in flying,
> carries his wings along with him. By fulfilling this noble Domain of
> Morality he feels in his heart an irreproachable happiness.
> 
> CONTROL OF THE SENSES (6th Step)
> 
>  Now, in perceiving a form with the eye- a sound with the ear- an
> odor with the nose- a taste with the tongue- a touch with the body- an
> object with his mind, he sticks neither to the whole, nor to its
> details. And he tries to ward off that which, by being unguarded in
> his senses, might give rise to evil and unwholesome states, to greed
> and sorrow; he watches over his senses, keep his senses under control.
> By practicing this noble "Control of the Senses" he feels in his heart
> an unblemished happiness.
> 
> ATTENTIVENESS AND CLEAR CONSCIOUSNESS (7th Step)
> 
>  Clearly conscious is he in his going and coming; clearly conscious
> in looking forward and backward; clearly conscious in bending and
> stretching his body; clearly conscious in eating, drinking, chewing
> and tasting; dearly conscious in discharging excrement and urine;
> clearly conscious in walking, standing, sitting, falling asleep and
> awakening; clearly conscious in speaking and keeping silent.
> 
>  Now, being equipped with this lofty Morality, equipped with this
> noble Control of the Senses, and filled with this noble "Attentiveness
> and Clear Consciousness, he chooses a secluded dwelling in the forest,
> at the foot of a tree, on a mountain, in a cleft, in a rock cave, on a
> burial ground, on a woody table-land, in the open air, or on a heap of
> straw. Having returned from his alms-round, after the meal, he sits
> himself down with legs crossed, body erect, with attentiveness fixed
> before him.
> 
> ABSENCE OF THE FIVE HINDRANCES
> 
>  He has cast away Lust; he dwells with a heart free from lust; from
> lust he cleanses his heart.
> 
>  He has cast away Ill-will; he dwells with a heart free from
> ill-will; cherishing love and compassion toward all living beings, he
> cleanses his heart from ill-will.
> 
>  He has cast away Torpor and Dullness; he dwells free from torpor
> and dullness; loving the light, with watchful mind, with clear
> consciousness, he cleanses his mind from torpor and dullness.
> 
>  He has cast away Restlessness and Mental Worry; dwelling with mind
> undisturbed, with heart full of peace, he cleanses his mind from
> restlessness and mental worry.
> 
>  He has cast away Doubt; dwelling free from doubt, full of
> confidence in the good, he cleanses his heart from doubt.
> 
> THE TRANCES (8th Step)
> 
>  He has put aside these five Hindrances and come to know the
> paralyzing corruptions of the mind. And far from sensual impressions,
> far from unwholesome things, he enters into the Four Trances.
> 
> INSIGHT (1st Step)
> 
>  But whatsoever there is of feeling, perception, mental formation,
> or consciousness-all these phenomena he regards as "impermanent,"
> "subject to pain," as infirm, as an ulcer, a thorn, a misery, a
> burden, an enemy, a disturbance, as empty and "void of an Ego"; and
> turning away from these things, he directs his mind towards the
> abiding, thus: "This, verily, is the Peace, this is the Highest,
> namely the end of all formations, the forsaking of every substratum of
> rebirth, the fading away of craving; detachment, extinction: Nirvana."
> And in this state he reaches the "Cessation of Passions."
> 
> NIRVANA
> 
>  And his heart becomes free from sensual passion, free from the
> passion for existence, free from the passion of ignorance. "Freed am
> I!": this knowledge arises in the liberated one; and he knows:
> "Exhausted is rebirth, fulfilled the Holy Life; what was to be done,
> has been done; naught remains more for this world to do."
> 
> Forever am I liberated,
> This is the last time that I'm born,
> No new existence waits for me.
> 
>  This, verily, is the highest, holiest wisdom: to know that all
> suffering has passed away.
> 
>  This, verily, is the highest, holiest peace: appeasement of greed,
> hatred and delusion.
> 
> THE SILENT THINKER
> 
>  "I am" is a vain thought; "I am not" a vain thought; "I shall be"
> is a vain thought; "I shall not be" is a vain thought. Vain thoughts
> are a sickness, an ulcer, a thorn. But after overcoming all vain
> thoughts, one is called silent thinker." And the thinker, the Silent
> One, does no more arise, no more pass away, no more tremble, no more
> desire. For there is nothing in him that he should arise again. And as
> he arises no more, how should he grow old again? And as he grows no
> more old, how should he die again? And as he dies no more, how should
> he tremble? And as he trembles no more, how should he have desire?
> 
> THE TRUE GOAL
> 
>  Hence, the purpose of the Holy Life does not consist in acquiring
> alms, honor, or fame, nor in gaining morality, concentration, or the
> eye of knowledge. That unshakable deliverance of the heart: that,
> verily, is the object of the Holy Life, that is its essence, that is
> its goal.
> 
>  And those, who formerly, in the past, were Holy and Enlightened
> Ones, those Blessed Ones also have pointed out to their disciples this
> self-same goal, as has been pointed out by me to my disciples. And
> those, who afterwards, in the future, will be Holy and Enlightened
> Ones, those Blessed Ones also will point out to their disciples this
> self-same goal, as has been pointed out by me to my disciples.
> 
>  However, Disciples, it may be that (after my passing away) you
> might think: "Gone is the doctrine of our Master. We have no Master
> more." But you should not think; for the Law and the Discipline, which
> I have taught you, Will, after my death, be your master.
> 
> The Law be your light,
> The Law be your refuge!
> Do not look for any other refuge!
> 
>  Disciples, the doctrines, which I advised you to penetrate, you
> should well preserve, well guard, so that this Holy Life may take its
> course and continue for ages, for the weal and welfare of the many, as
> a consolation to the world, for the happiness, weal and welfare of
> heavenly beings and men. THE END
>
> — *Buddha, the Word (The Eightfold Path)*