The Buddha
The Omniscient Buddha, the Exalted One, attained parinibbāna, his final passing away, between the twin Sāla trees in the Salwood, a place of recreation for the Mallas of the city of Kusināra. From then on, the living beings in this world no longer had an opportunity to hear the teaching of the Dhamma directly from the Buddha himself. However, the Buddha left us the Dhamma and the Vinaya he had taught and laid down as our teacher, representing him after he had finally passed away.
The measure of regard and respect Buddhists have for the Buddha’s excellent Dhamma is in accordance with the degree of their knowledge and understanding of the Dhamma and Vinaya. Even if a man were to see the outward appearance of the Buddha, emanating his excellence, listen to the teaching of the Dhamma directly from him, or seize the hem of his garment and walk behind him step by step, but did not understand the Dhamma, he would not really see the Buddha. But if one sees and understands the Dhamma, one is called a person who sees the Tathāgata.
There are three levels of understanding of the Buddhist teachings, the Dhamma as taught by the omniscient Buddha, namely:
the level of pariyatti, or study of the Dhamma and Vinaya;
the level of paṭipatti, or practice, the development of understanding of the Dhamma with the purpose to realize the Dhamma by which defilements are eradicated and the ceasing of dukkha is reached;
the level of paṭivedha, or penetration, the direct realization of the Dhamma by which the defilements are eradicated and the ceasing of dukkha is reached.
The saying of the Buddha that whoever sees the Dhamma sees the Tathāgata, refers to the seeing and realization of the Dhamma the Buddha attained at the moment of his enlightenment. This is the Dhamma consisting of the nine supramundane, or lokuttara, dhammas. The direct realization of the Dhamma, which is the level of paṭivedha, is the result of the practice, paṭipatti, the development of the understanding of the Dhamma. The level of paṭipatti must depend on pariyatti, the study of the Dhamma and the Vinaya. The study is the refuge on which we depend, it is the way leading step by step to the Dhamma of the level of paṭipatti, the practice, and then to the Dhamma of the level of paṭivedha, the realization.
The Dhamma, the teaching of the Buddha, has been preserved by memorizing and was passed on by oral tradition. It was recited from memory as heard from the disciples who were arahats and who had established the three parts of the teachings, called the Tipiṭaka at the first Council, held shortly after the Buddha’s parinibbāna in Rājagaha. The Dhamma was recited from memory and passed on until it was committed to writing in the first century B.C. The Dhamma and Vinaya as established at the Council by the disciples who were arahats consists of three parts, namely:
the Vinaya Piṭaka,
the Suttanta Piṭaka,
the Abhidhamma Piṭaka.
The Vinaya Piṭaka concerns mostly the rules of conduct for the monks so that they can lead the “holy life” (brahma cariya) perfectly, to the highest degree. The Suttanta Piṭaka mostly concerns the principles of the Dhamma as preached to different people at different places. The Abhidhamma Piṭaka deals with the nature of dhammas, realities, and their interrelation by way of cause and result.
The Buddha had realized the true nature of all realities and also their interrelation, by way of cause and effect, through his enlightenment. The Buddha explained the Dhamma, which he had realized through his enlightenment, in order to help other beings living in this world. In his incomparable wisdom, purity and compassion, he explained the Dhamma from the time of his enlightenment until the time of his parinibbāna, his final passing away. The Buddha fulfilled the perfections in order to become the Perfectly Enlightened One, the Arahat, the Sammāsambuddha. He was endowed with extraordinary accomplishments (in Pāli, sampadā), and these were the “accomplishment of cause” (hetu), the “accomplishment of fruition” (phala) and the “accomplishment of assistance to other beings” (sattupakāra).
As regards the “accomplishment of cause,” this is the fulfilment of the right cause, namely the perfections necessary to attain enlightenment and become the Sammāsambuddha.
As regards the “accomplishment of fruition,” this is the attainment of four fruits or results that are the following accomplishments:
The accomplishment of wisdom (ñāṇa sampadā), the wisdom arising
with the path-consciousness, at the moment of his
enlightenment. This wisdom is the basis and root-cause
of his omniscience and his ten powers (dasa bala).
The accomplishment of abandoning (pahāna sampadā). This is the
complete eradication of all defilements, together with all
accumulated tendencies for conduct which may not be agreeable,
called in Pāli: vāsanā. Vāsanā is conduct through body or speech,
which may not be agreeable and has been accumulated in the past.
This disposition can only be eradicated by a
Sammāsambuddha.
The accomplishment of power (ānubhāva sampadā), which is the power
to achieve what one aspires to.
The accomplishment of physical excellence (rūpa-kāya sampadā).
This consists of the special bodily characteristics manifesting his
excellent qualities accumulated in the past and also,
apart from these, other physical qualities, which were pleasing to
the eye, impressive to all people, and which gave them joy.
When the cause, the perfections, has been fulfilled, it is the condition for the accomplishment of fruition, the attainment of enlightenment and becoming the Sammāsambuddha. Not just for his own sake did he become the Sammāsambuddha, gaining freedom from dukkha (suffering, inherent in the cycle of birth and death). He fulfilled the perfections in order to attain enlightenment and acquire omniscience of the Dhamma so that he could teach the Dhamma to the living beings in this world who could also thereby become liberated from dukkha. If the Buddha had fulfilled the perfections in order to eradicate defilements and to become freed from dukkha only for his own sake, he could not be called the Sammāsambuddha.
There are two kinds of Buddha: the Sammāsambuddha and the Pacceka Buddha, or “Silent Buddha.”
As regards the Sammāsambuddha, he is someone who has realized by his profound wisdom, all by himself, the truths concerning all dhammas, which he had never heard before, and has attained omniscience of those dhammas as well as mastery of special powers in the field of knowledge.
As regards the Pacceka Buddha, he is someone who, by himself, has thoroughly realized the truths concerning all dhammas, which he had never heard before, but has not attained omniscience of them, nor mastery of special powers in the field of knowledge.
Thus, the cause, the fulfilment of the perfections, brings its result, which is the attainment of Buddhahood accordingly. Cause and result are different for the Sammāsambuddha and for the Pacceka Buddha.
The third accomplishment of the Buddha regards the assistance to living beings (sattupakāra). This is the accomplishment of constant assistance to the living beings of this world because of his disposition and his efforts to do so. He wanted to help even people of evil character such as Devadatta. In the case of people whose faculty of understanding was not yet strong enough, the Buddha waited with the teaching of Dhamma until the time was ripe for them. He taught Dhamma with the sole purpose to help people to gain freedom from all dukkha, without any consideration of gaining possessions, honour, and so on, for himself.
When the Sammāsambuddha had fulfilled the accomplishment of cause and the accomplishment of fruition, he was ready to help those who were receptive to his teaching, to be freed from dukkha, and this was the accomplishment of assistance to other beings. Thus, he was the Sammāsambuddha because he fulfilled the three accomplishments of cause, of fruition and of assistance to other beings.
Therefore, the Dhamma that the Sammāsambuddha taught is the Dhamma he completely penetrated when he attained enlightenment. Through the realization of the Dhamma at the time of his enlightenment, his defilements were completely eradicated. The Buddha taught the Dhamma he had realized himself so that those who practised the Dhamma accordingly would also become free from defilements.
The followers of the Buddha should investigate and study the truth of the Dhamma that the Buddha realized through his enlightenment, in order to find out what this truth exactly is. In which way is the truth the Buddha realized different from the truth of the conventional world?
The Buddha realized the truth through his enlightenment and taught it to his followers so that they too would have understanding and practise the Dhamma accordingly until they would realize the truth themselves. The truth the Buddha taught is that everything which appears is a type of dhamma, a reality that is not self, not a being, not a person. All dhammas that arise do so because there are conditions for their arising, such as attachment, anger, regret, unhappy feeling, happy feeling, jealousy, avarice, loving-kindness, compassion, seeing, hearing; all of these are different types of dhammas. There are different kinds of dhammas because they arise on account of different conditions.
One erroneously takes attachment, anger, and other dhammas that arise, for self, for a being, for a person, and that is wrong view, wrong understanding. It is wrong understanding because those dhammas, after they have arisen, fall away, disappear, are subject to change all the time, from birth to death. The reason for erroneously taking dhammas for self, a being or a person, is ignorance of the truth about dhammas.
Whenever one sees, one takes the seeing, which is a kind of dhamma, for self; one clings to the idea of “I am seeing.” When one hears, one takes the dhamma that hears for self; one clings to the idea of “I am hearing.” When one smells, one takes the dhamma that smells for self; one clings to the idea of “I am smelling.” When one tastes, one takes the dhamma that tastes for self; one clings to the idea of “I am tasting.” When one experiences tangible object through the bodysense, one takes the dhamma that experiences this for self, one clings to the idea of “I am experiencing.” When one thinks of different subjects, one takes the dhamma that thinks for self; one clings to the idea of “I am thinking.”
After the Buddha had realized through his enlightenment the truth of all dhammas, he taught this truth to his followers so that they too would understand that dhammas are not self, not a being, not a person. He taught about paramattha dhammas, ultimate realities, each with its own characteristic that is unalterable. The characteristics of paramattha dhammas cannot be changed by anybody, whether he knows them or does not know them, whether he calls them by a name in whatever language, or does not call them by a name. Their characteristics are always the same. The dhammas that arise do so because there are the appropriate conditions for their arising and then they fall away. Just as the Buddha said to the venerable Ānanda, “Whatever has arisen, has come into being because of conditions, is by nature subject to dissolution.”
Because of ignorance, one has wrong understanding and takes the dhammas that arise and fall away for self, a being or a person. This is the cause of desire and ever growing infatuation with one’s rank, title or status, with one’s birth, one’s family, the colour of one’s skin and so on. In reality, what one sees are only different colours appearing through the eyes, not self, not a being, not a person. The sound one hears is not self, not a being, not a person. What appears through the senses are only different kinds of dhammas that arise because of their appropriate conditions.
The wrong view that takes dhammas for self, a being or a person, has been compared to the perception of a mirage. People who are travelling in the desert may perceive a mirage of water ahead of them, but when they come close the mirage disappears because in reality there is no water. The mirage they perceived was a deception, an optical illusion. Even so is the wrong understanding that takes dhammas for self, a being or a person, a deception caused by ignorance, by wrong perception or remembrance, and by wrong belief.
Words such as being, person, woman or man are only concepts used to designate what we see or hear. Moreover, it is evident that the different colours, sounds, odours, cold, heat, softness, hardness, motion or pressure could not appear if there were no dhammas that can experience them, namely, seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, experiencing cold, heat, softness, hardness, motion or pressure, knowing the meaning of the different things and thinking.
The dhammas that can experience different things, such as the dhamma which experiences colour, the dhamma which experiences sound, the dhammas which experience odour, flavour, cold, heat, softness, hardness, motion, pressure, the dhamma which knows the meaning of the different things and the dhamma which thinks about different subjects, all these dhammas, experiencing different things, have been classified by the Sammāsambuddha as citta, consciousness.
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