Renunciation

The Arising of Renunciation

At a certain point in one's life, one has the realization that the values that seem important, those we were raised to believe in, and the ideals society promotes as the path to happiness, start to appear hollow. The pursuit of money, indulgence in food, love, sex, relationships, and the obsession with appearance, all the things we were told would lead to a fulfilling life, upon closer reflection appear empty of substance, don’t seem to provide any real satisfaction, or lead anywhere.

One begins to notice that everywhere one looks, people chase these goals unquestionably, yet few seem truly content. Instead, one sees mostly a sense of emptiness, a realization that these external pursuits don’t lead to any lasting satisfaction.

No matter where one looks, the promises of obtaining happiness from the outside world reveal themselves to be illusions. One realizes that what the world defines as success and joy is built on chasing fleeting pleasures, a life spent in the constant pursuit of trying to fulfill one's desires.

Eventually, one starts to look in a different direction, within. If one is fortunate to encounter the Tathagata's teachings and has enough wisdom, one recognizes how they have entangled themselves, created their own stress and dissatisfaction by chasing these worldly desires.

One starts to realize that judgements made about the world and the chasing of worldly desires are fabrications of the mind, not what exists in true reality.

If one is wise enough to penetrate the first and second Noble Truth, there arises a natural desire to free oneself from the stress and dissatisfaction caused by desires, to abandon attachement to unwholesome views, to break free from the perpetual cycle of desire and aversion, and to let go of the fabricated sense of "self".

And what, friends, is the truth held by noble ones of the cessation of stress? The remainderless fading and cessation, renunciation, relinquishment, release, and letting go of that very craving.

MN141

Renunciation arises naturally when one gains a deep understanding of the insubstantial, unsatisfactory, and unreliable nature of desires, and from understanding how we cling, attach to the ingrained memories and volition created by the Five Aggregates.

For someone living a modern lifestyle, renunciation can be difficult to understand. It can also be understood as letting go, freeing oneself, abandoning, surrendering, relinquishment, or unbinding.

Renunciation does not mean rejecting or avoiding all worldly things; rather, it involves understanding that the mind, by entangling itself in its own fabrications, creates much of the unhappiness and suffering we experience.

It is the realization that anything subject to change: such as forms, feelings, perceptions, thoughts, and consciousness, if taken personally or viewed as "self," will inevitably lead to stress and dissatisfaction.

Renunciation is recognizing that the way to free ourselves from this entanglement is through the Noble Eightfold Path and the Gradual Training. This requires an understanding that true peace, free from the stress and dissatisfaction caused by the cycles of desire, aversion, and unknowing, is genuine happiness.

Renunciation is not just a concept, thought, philosophy, or view. It is a deeply felt, whole-body, and conscious process or intention to continually liberate oneself from stress and unhappiness by disentangling oneself from the "World", the Five Aggregates.

It is rooted in the understanding that the Five Aggregates, which is how we interact and experience the world through our body, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness, are the accumulation of past causes and conditions, past intentions or Karma, ingrained memories, natural processes, which have been subjected to the corruptions and distortions of the world.

The Five Aggregates are not reality itself, but rather a reconstruction of it. When one understands this, one resolves to no longer get lost in their own feelings, perceptions, memories, and thoughts, to no longer take their judgements or desires personally or depend on them as absolute truth, and to let go of the fabricated sense of self. Renunciation is the continuous intention to let go of clinging to the Five Aggregates and the unwholesome mind states that arise from this attachment.

Ultimately, renunciation is the recognition that being reborn in any realm, including the human realm, is inherently unsatisfactory, and true, lasting happiness comes only from liberation from the cycle of rebirth.

I discerned that thinking imbued with renunciation has arisen in me; and that leads neither to my own affliction, nor to the affliction of others, nor to the affliction of both.

It fosters discernment, promotes lack of vexation, & leads to unbinding

MN19

Renunciation in ancient times

Traditionally, individuals seeking liberation have renounced worldly life by going to live in the forest or some other wilderness. After a few months of separation from village life and worldly desires, the fever or "Fires of Nibbana" would die down. Worldly desires, intentions, and thoughts would subside enough for one to start to see things clearly.

Living in the wilderness for an extended time, the laws of nature become self-evident, namely that everything in nature is infinitely variable, constantly changing, born, arising, decaying, and dying. One clearly sees the interdependence and causes and conditions for all things in nature.

For example, a tree seedling arises from the soil, grows tall, matures, flowers, spreads its seeds, and eventually becomes part of the soil itself. Insects feed on the soil, their feces become fertilizer, rain and sun nourish plants, the wind blows, mountains erode, and rivers rise and fall according to the seasons.

One comes to realize that there is very little in nature to cling to. The notion of big or small, beautiful or ugly, and all judgments of the world find little footing here. One finds that one functions perfectly fine without any thoughts and that speech, logic, and judgment have little use.

One soon realizes that freedom from thoughts, judgments, and logic bring immense inner peace and contentment. Being alone in the wilderness, a new type of awareness arises: the unknowable, alive, mystical nature of the world, an inner "knowing."

Death becomes one's friend and not the enemy as previously believed, as one must remain constantly aware of any dangers, bringing a new aliveness, yet being totally at peace, understanding that fear, thoughts, and self-absorption have no place here.

Reflecting back on village life and the worldly realm, one realizes that the real danger was not the poisonous snakes and tigers or loneliness in the wilderness, but humanity's greed and unknowing and mindless actions. By contemplating nature and the worldly life, one starts to develop Right View.

However, when one goes back into a nearby village for food, there still remains attachment, and there is still some fever and allure.

In ancient India 2600 years ago, If one is fortunate enough to find the Tathagata or one of his Arahant disciples, because Right View is partially established, one immediately recognizes and sees the value of the Tathagata's teachings, and the path to final liberation and ending of all worldly desires becomes clear.

One can now turn their mind inwards to the mind itself, where these same laws of nature reveal themselves. That is, like everything else in nature, the body is subject to birth, growth, decay, and death. One discovers that the "enhancements" created by the five aggregates, feelings, perceptions, thoughts, etc., are not-self, mere phenomena of nature, not necessary for happiness and that clinging to them is the cause of unhappiness.

The Tathagata teaches on the importance of seclusion in order to enter fully into emptiness:

The challenge of Renunciation in modern times

Unlike renunciates from 2,600 years ago, modern individuals attempting to follow the Tathagata's gradual training face two major challenges.

First, the Tathagata predicted that his teachings would eventually decline, fade, and become corrupted, and ultimately disappear. He foresaw that the Dhamma would become fragmented, making it difficult for people to discern which of his teachings are true Dhamma and which are false interpretations.

Today, as we look around the Buddhist landscape, we can see that some of his predictions have already come to pass, as there are three major branches of Buddhism: Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana, each containing numerous sects and sub-sects.

For example, the Visuddhimagga is considered one of the most important texts in the Theravada tradition, serving as a systematic guide to the practice and understanding of the Dhamma. However, it was written in the 5th century CE, almost one thousand years later, by the Indian scholar Buddhaghosa. It is a reinterpretation of the Tathagata's original teachings to make them more understandable and applicable for people of that period, but adding interpretations not in the original discourses.

More recently, in the last 50 years, with mass media and the internet, the pace of fragmentation has greatly accelerated as hundreds or thousands of authors attempt to reinterpret existing reinterpretations of the Tathagata's teachings to make them relevant to contemporary life, each with their own new interpretations and explanations.

The second major challenge is that originally, the Tathagata's teachings, the Gradual Training, was meant only for those select few disciples who "had little dust in their eyes", were willing to renounce all worldly life, and then only after being accepted by the Sangha.

It was a few hundred years after the Tathagata's passing that Buddhism became a formal religion. During this time, monasteries were established, and his teachings were made accessible to everyone. As a result, the focus gradually shifted from attaining liberation to creating good karma, with the aim of improving one's current and future lifetimes.

Nowadays, with most people having lost faith in religion, the emphasis has shifted even further away from the original teachings, to reinterpreting the Tathagata's teachings to solve psychological problems, relieve stress, and improve quality of life.

In other words, it's important to understand that almost all Buddhist teachings today are not geared to those seeking liberation. They are geared towards those who want to improve their current life, be a good person, and generate good karma for this and future lifetimes.

The Tathagata's Gradual Training is the path to liberation from the world, not entanglement in it. It is the cessation of Karma. If you're not fully committed to liberation, renouncing worldly life, and ending the cycle of rebirth, there is little value in following the Gradual Training or studying the materials on this site. You may find it more useful to read modern Buddhist writings that focus on mental wellbeing, improving relationships, relieving stress, or enhancing the quality of life.

The Dhamma as your refuge

Because today's Buddhist teachings have become fragmented and are generally geared toward creating merit and improving one's current and future lives, finding the right teacher who teaches in line with the Tathagata's Gradual Training for liberation is exceedingly difficult.

Before passing away the Tathagata gave the following instructions to the Sangha:

Ānanda, you should all live with yourselves as your island, yourselves as your refuge, with no other as your refuge; with the Dhamma as your island, the Dhamma as your refuge, with no other as your refuge.

DN16

In other words we no longer have the Buddha or a reliable Sangha for guidance. We only have ourself and the Dhamma.

Fortunately, the Dhamma, the Tathagata's original discourses, have remained intact and can generally be trusted. However, because today's mindset is so different from that of 2,600 years ago, and because modern people often lack the depth, quiet mind, and patience to read the discourses and figure things out on their own, they tend to rely on interpretations of his teachings.

But as the Tathagata foresaw and instructed his disciples, no other teachers or interpretations of his teachings can be fully trusted (including any writings on this site). It is essential for anyone seeking liberation to penetrate the true Dhamma for themselves, by studying the Tathagata's original discourses.

This doesn't mean other teachers do not have valuable insights or teachings. It means that one has to verify these teachings, to make sure they are consistent with the original discources, and specifically for the Gradual Training.

This requires that one must first penetrate the true meaning of the Tathagata's teachings through practice and verify any insights or progress by having a thorough understanding of the Suttas, keeping in mind possible translation errors and the vastly different mindset and intended audience compared to 2,600 years ago.

Penetrating the Dhamma does not come from reading words or listening to Dhamma talks. It comes from clear seeing. The purpose of the Gradual Training and The Noble Eightfold Path is to gradually remove afflictions so one can develop 'knowing,' clear seeing of how we entangle ourselves in stress and suffering, and to discern the path leading to its cessation.

The Tathagata describes the five dangers that the Dhamma will face in the future. It will begin to decline, fade, and eventually become corrupted. With his teachings no longer being truly understood, and with no true practitioners left to pass on the Dhamma, people will struggle to practice effectively until eventually the teachings fade completely from memory:

Rebirth and beings in other realms

With the mind thus concentrated ... directed and inclined to the knowing of the passing away and reappearance of beings.

With the divine eye, purified and surpassing the human, he sees beings passing away and reappearing, inferior and superior, fair and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate, and he understands how beings pass on according to their actions: These beings, who were endowed with bad conduct of body, speech, and mind, who reviled the noble ones, held wrong views and undertook actions under the influence of wrong views, with the breakup of the body, after death, have reappeared in a state of deprivation, in a bad destination, in perdition, even in hell.

But these beings, who were endowed with good conduct of body, speech, and mind, who did not revile the noble ones, who held right views and undertook actions under the influence of right views, with the breakup of the body, after death, have reappeared in a good destination, in a heavenly world.

DN10

One of the reasons Buddhism has become fragmented and the Tathagata's teachings have become corrupted is people's clinging to scientific principles, particularly the belief that everything in this world is based on physical matter, and that the mind and consciousness are purely products of atoms, molecules, and chemical processes.

Many modern Buddhist teachers, both in the West and increasingly in the East, disregard or dismiss the Tathagata's teachings on rebirth and other realms of existence as mere cultural artifacts of that time, irrelevant to the core teachings.

However, this dismissal is a mistake, leading to a wrong view and incorrect interpretation of the teachings.

In the Buddhist worldview, there is indeed a physical realm, consisting of things like our physical bodies, created by atoms, molecules, cells, and chemical processes. However, there is also another dimension, the mental world. This mental world can be understood as mental energy, permeating all universes across infinite time and space.

Our consciousness is composed of mental energy, and the mind, made of this energy, is the precursor to existence. In other words, our mental body, formed from this mental energy or karma, which we refer to as our "self", takes on a human body, lives through it, and, after the body dies, is eventually reborn into a new human body. This process is known as rebirth.

Depending on one's past karma, the mental body can manifest in various forms across different realms of existence. It may take the form of an animal body in the animal realm or exist as pure mental energy with a subtle body in the Deva realms. In the Brahma realms, it can even exist in a formless state. For individuals with particularly negative karma, the mental body can also take on a form in the hell realms.

This is a crutial part of the Tathagata's teachings to understand, because for there to be no rebirth or for there to be a rebirth in a good realm, one must have let go of the desire to be in a human body and, ultimately, in any form of being.

The essence and ultimate purpose of the Tathagata's teachings is to prepare oneself for what follows after the death of the physical body.

And when, Master Gotama, a person lays down this body and is not yet reborn in another body, what does Master Gotama declare to be his fuel?

When, Vaccha, a person lays down this body and is not yet reborn in another body, I declare that it is fueled by craving. For at that time, Vaccha, craving is his fuel.

SN54.9

If one is unprepared at the time of death, their past karma may cause them to panic and hastily take on a new body based on their unsettled mental state. This confusion can result in an unfavorable rebirth.

On the other hand, if one has properly prepared by seeing the body as not-self and removing attachment to it, they will be at peace existing without a physical form. Depending on one's past karma, one may take on a purely mental body in the Deva realms or a formless body in the Brahma realms.

If one has completely let go of attachment to the Five Aggregates, one can transcend the cycle of rebirth entirely.

Without understanding this, much of the Tathagata's teachings may be misinterpreted, and genuine progress on the path will be difficult to achieve.

There are, Poṭṭhapāda, three acquisitions of self for me: the gross acquisition of self, the mind-made acquisition of self, and the formless acquisition of self.

And what, Poṭṭhapāda, is the gross acquisition of self? It is the one with form, composed of the four great elements, feeding on physical food; this is called the gross acquisition of self.

And what is the mind-made acquisition of self? It is the one with form, mind-made, complete in all its parts, not deficient in any sense organ; this is called the mind-made acquisition of self.

And what is the formless acquisition of self? It is the one without form, made of perception; this is called the formless acquisition of self.

And, Poṭṭhapāda, I teach the Dhamma for the abandoning of the gross acquisition of self... And, Poṭṭhapāda, I teach the Dhamma for the abandoning of the mind-made acquisition of self... And, Poṭṭhapāda, I teach the Dhamma for the abandoning of the formless acquisition of self...

As you practice, defiling qualities will be abandoned, and wholesome qualities will grow, leading to the fulfillment of wisdom and the attainment of full understanding in this very life, living having realized it with your own insight.

DN9

Delight is the root of all suffering

In his first discourse in the Majjhima Nikaya (MN1), the Tathagata expounds the root of all suffering: an ordinary person's craving and attachment to being, existing in a body as a separate self, seeking pleasure from the world. As a result, various self-views arise, leading to desire, aversion, and unknowing.

An unlearned ordinary person, who is unskilled in the noble teachings ....perceives earth as earth; having perceived earth as earth, he conceives (thinks or imagines) earth, he conceives in earth, he conceives from earth, he conceives 'earth is mine,' he delights in earth.

What is the reason for that? I say, It is because it has not been fully understood.

MN1

As previously covered, this three-dimensional world, in which we perceive ourselves as separate beings seeking happiness from the external world, is created within consciousness; it is not reality itself, it is the result of the ingrained memories, Karma and the cognition process, what the Tathagata calls the Five Aggregates.

These ingrained memories create continuity and the assumed impression or view that there is a self, a person in the background experiencing everything.

Because of this person or self view, every time there is something of interest in experience, an ordinary person desires and clings to the ingrained memories and perceptions created by the Five Aggregates, which results in greed, aversion, and unknowing, ultimately resulting in unhappiness and suffering.

There are these four kinds of clinging, disciples. What four?

Clinging to sensual pleasures, clinging to views, clinging to precepts and practices, clinging to a doctrine of self.

MN11

The main problem is that people take for granted that there is a person in the background experiencing the outside world through the Five Aggregates.

They assume that the various views and perspectives they hold, how they see the world, are reality itself. For example, almost everyone takes for granted that they see through their eyes, instead of understanding that there is only a series of images created in consciousness. They assume that they can experience something outside the Five Aggregates, when even the thought of an outside experience is just another experience itself.

As a result, they also take for granted that sensual pleasures exist, or are inherent in the objects of the world, not realizing that these pleasures are created by the mind itself. They chase after these pleasurable things of the world, not realizing that they are mental fabrications.

They assume that the desire for worldly objects will result in pleasure, when in fact, this desire creates stress and painful feelings.

Because of ignorance, they wrongly perceive satisfaction was obtained from the object of desire, when in fact, it was the release from stress, the relief from the pain of not having what one desires, that brought them some happiness.

An Arahant, with taints destroyed, who has lived the holy life, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, reached the true goal, destroyed the fetters of being, and is completely liberated through final knowledge, he too understands the earth as earth; having understood the earth as earth, he does not conceive the earth, he does not conceive in the earth, he does not conceive from the earth, he does not conceive earth is mine, he does not delight in the earth.

What is the reason for this? 'Delight is the root of suffering': Thus knowing, 'From becoming comes birth, from birth comes aging and death.'

'The Tathagata, through the complete destruction, fading away, cessation, giving up, and relinquishment of all craving, is fully awakened to unsurpassed perfect enlightenment,' I say.

MN1

A liberated person, on the other hand, does not see themselves as a separate individual apart from the world. They have let go of all mind created views and perspectives.

They have realized the self-illuminating, knowing nature of awareness itself and dwell or abide in this awareness, which is free from the fabrications and objectifications created by the Five Aggregates.

The Tathagata gives an exposition on the root of all suffering: the attachment to being and the self-views that arise from taking on a body as a being separate from the world. A liberated person, on the other hand, has destroyed the craving for being, let go of greed, aversion, delusion, and any sense of self, and has fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment:

Abandoning Defilements is the path to liberation

In the second discourse of the Majjhima Nikaya (MN2), the Tathagata explains the various ways one can overcome desire, aversion, unknowing and self view by abandoning the defilements.

There are defilements to be abandoned by seeing,
defilements to be abandoned by restraining,
defilements to be abandoned by using,
defilements to be abandoned by enduring,
defilements to be abandoned by avoiding,
defilements to be abandoned by removing,
and defilements to be abandoned by developing.

MN2

The Gradual Training and the Eightfold Path are how one abandons these defilements.

The Tathagata explains the different types of defilements and the seven methods that should be used to abandon them: seeing, restraining, using, avoiding, enduring, removing, and developing:

The need for a Gradual Training

I do not say that the attainment of knowing is achieved at the beginning;

but gradual training, gradual practice, gradual progress leads to the attainment of knowing.

And how does gradual training, gradual practice, gradual progress lead to the attainment of knowing?

Here one who has faith approaches, having approached, he attends, attending, he listens, listening, he hears the Dhamma, having heard the Dhamma, he retains it, retaining the Dhamma, he examines the meaning, examining the meaning, the Dhamma is accepted, with acceptance of the Dhamma, desire arises, with desire arisen, he exerts himself, exerting himself, he weighs it up, weighing it up, he strives, striving, being resolute, he realizes the ultimate truth with the body, and penetrates it with wisdom.

MN70

The Gradual Training is the gradual process of freeing oneself from the afflictions and delusions caused by clinging to the ingrained memories and volition stored as karmic energy in the Five Aggregates. It is rooted in the principle that the right causes and conditions must be established for liberation to occur.

Mastery of the Noble Eightfold Path begins with Right View as the necessary foundation. Without Right View, there cannot be Right Intention, and without Right Intention, Right Speech and the other factors of the path cannot follow.

Similarly, in the Tathagata's Gradual Training, the development of Right View must come first. Right View means deeply understanding suffering and its cause. With this understanding, one also sees that there is a way to end suffering. This insight leads to a strong conviction that the Noble Eightfold Path is the only way to put a complete end to stress and suffering.

If the Four Noble Truths have not been adequately penetrated for Right View to be established, one's intentions will not have the "power" needed to renounce worldly desires and thus the causes and conditions for Right Intention will not be in place. Without Right View and Right Intention, it is futile to start on the Gradual Training which requires Renunciation or Right Intention.

In short, the Gradual Training must be practiced in the correct sequence. If the stages are not followed properly, the causes and conditions necessary for liberation will not be in place.

In the same way that the Gradual Training creates the causes and conditions necessary for liberation, the training begins by addressing gross afflictions and then gradually moves, little by little, toward resolving more subtle ones. If the gross afflictions are not addressed first, one will not be able to recognize or work on the more subtle ones.

It's essential to understand that each part of the Gradual Training is both cumulative and naturally leads into the next. In other words, one continuously develops Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration until full liberation is achieved.

However, before beginning the Gradual Training, one must already possess a foundational level of Right View, a deep understanding of the Four Noble Truths as realized by the Noble Ones.

Since most of us cannot abandon our worldly responsibilities to live a solitary life in the wilderness or have an Arahant as a teacher, we must create comparable conditions for tranquility and clear knowing to arise and make progress along the path. One needs to create a mental oasis amidst the jungle of the man-made world so that the right conditions to develop a peaceful and imperturbable mind are established.

One will need to start to lessen the mind's incessant dependence on objectification, logic, thoughts, and words. In other words, to lessen our clinging to views and judgments about the good or bad of the world.

Objectification is a disease, objectification is a cancer, objectification is an arrow. Therefore, you should train yourselves: We will dwell with an awareness free of objectifications.

SN 35:207

Developing higher states of conciousness

In the modern world, many believe that wisdom and knowledge are based on what we can remember and express in words. However, true wisdom does not come from words or logic but from insight gained through direct, clear seeing.

While words can point toward deeper truths, if we only cling to the words without grasping their underlying meaning, true wisdom is not possible. This is especially important when trying to understand the Tathagata's discourses.

Wisdom and liberation come from cultivating a type of knowing or clear seeing that isn't reliant on logic, language, or thought. This form of knowing is inherent in awareness and has been referred to as intuition or, in ancient times, simply as "knowing."

True knowing is the ability to see things as they are, without the distortions caused by clinging to the Five Aggregates, before feelings, perceptions, thoughts, and ingrained intentions give rise to desire, aversion, and unknowing, which obscure clear seeing and wisdom.

To cultivate this clear knowing, one must reduce attachment to the body, feelings, perceptions, thoughts, and habitual reactions. It also requires enough solitude to move beyond conceptual thinking, allowing deeper insights and spontaneous wisdom to arise naturally.

To allow wisdom and knowledge to arise spontaneously, one must cultivate an open mind. This openness involves being receptive to the idea that mental energy exists beyond the confines of time and space, spanning infinite universes. Our mind, consciousness, and memory are made from this mental energy, which contains karma and memories from countless past lives, not only our own but those of all beings. Certain beings, like some Noble disciples and advanced yogis, can access memories of their past lives, while beings like the Tathagata can access both their own and others' past life memories.

Since mental energy is not bound by physical limits, one must be open to the possibility of developing the ability to 'travel, see, or hear' using the mental body, free from the constraints of the physical world.

One must be open to the idea that the mind is not confined to the brain or restricted by the physical body. The attachment of the mind to the body is a "wrong view", a result of clinging to the Form Aggregate.

Our consciousness, as part of the mental realm, also has access to the knowledge embedded within it. However, clinging to the Five Aggregates obscures this mental knowing, making us largely unaware of it. Depending on one’s level of desire, aversion, and unknowing, this wisdom becomes clouded or obstructed, though it may sometimes surface through spontaneous insights, gut feelings, or brief moments of clarity.

To develop this form of knowing, one must release the mistaken view that everything can be explained solely through scientific principles based on physical interactions. Openness to the possibility of a mental world is essential. We must be willing to see ourselves as mental beings and accept that the mental body can detach from the physical one.

By letting go of attachment to the physical body (the Form Aggregate), many afflictions tied to the body are also released, along with a significant portion of the ignorance that clouds clear seeing.

Further insights arise when we detach from clinging to the remaining aggregates, leading to a deeper knowing.

The Supramundane version of the Eightfold Path involves the cultivation of this clear seeing, which leads to detachment from all forms of existence and, ultimately, liberation from the cycle of rebirth.

The Mundane and Supramundane Paths

The Gradual Training requires a complete reconsideration of how we view and interact with the world, not based on desire, aversion, or unknowing, but based on Renunciation of these desires and aversions, through the practice of the Gradual Training, the Noble Eightfold Path and the Four Noble Truths.

Before starting on the Gradual Training, one should have a good understanding of the Eight Fold Path. It’s important to understand that there are two versions of The Eightfold Path: the Mundane and the Supramundane or Noble Eight Fold Path.

The mundane version of The Eightfold Path is for those who do not seek to end the cycle of rebirth, but instead aim to improve their current and future lives by cultivating good Karma.

The Noble or Supramundane version of The Eightfold Path is for disciples seeking liberation from rebirth. The goal is not necessarily to create good Karma, but to stop the generation of new Karma altogether. The focus is on disentangling oneself from the world and gradually ceasing the creation of Karma.

One does this by continually disentangling themselves from the world, by developing dispassion, relinquishment, and cessation to desires and attachments to worldly things. One no longer wants to accumulate anything for themselves, and is instead trying to let go by seeing the impersonal, not-self nature of the Five Aggregates, to surrender or deconstruct their sense of 'self,' and anything that binds them to the "World."

For example, instead of using Right Speech to build better, deeper relationships, a disciple uses Right Speech to develop dispassion, relinquishment, and the cessation of the need for relationships altogether, unless those relationships help one advance on the path to liberation.

And what, friends, is the noble truth of the path of practice leading to the cessation of stress? Just this very noble eightfold path: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.

Developing Right View

And what is right view that is affected by taints, partaking of merit, ripening in the acquisitions?

There is what is given, what is offered, what is sacrificed, there is fruit and result of good and bad actions, there is this world, there is another world, there is mother, there is father, there are beings who are reborn spontaneously, there are in the world good and virtuous recluses and brahmins who have realized for themselves by direct knowing and declare this world and the other world.

MN117

Mundane Right View is understanding that there is goodness in giving, there is merit in what is given, what is offered, what is sacrificed and one should be grateful by responding in kind. There is fruit and result of good and bad actions. That we should be grateful to our mother and father for having given us birth.

We must not be closed to the possibility that there is this world, but also another world (not visible to us) where the mental body, after the death of the physical body, waits to take rebirth into a new human body. That there are different realms of existence where devas, gods, hungry ghosts, and others abide not visible to us. That there are beings who are reborn spontaneously, in full form in those realms. There are noble ones and yogis with mental powers that have realized for themselves by direct knowing and declare this world and the other world to be real.

Right View is the letting go of the wrong view that happiness can be found by chasing after sensual pleasures. Instead, it is the realization that true happiness arises from a mind free from attachment and clinging to desires.

It is the recognition that no matter what happened in the past, we still have the power to change the future through our intentions and the choices we make. That what we do now in the present has consequences in the future, whether good, bad, or neutral.

Supramundane Right View

And what is right view that is noble, taintless, supramundane, a factor of the path?

That which is wisdom, the faculty of wisdom, the power of wisdom, the investigation-of-states enlightenment factor, right view as a path factor, in one of noble mind, taintless mind, who by developing the noble path: this is called right view that is noble, taintless, supramundane, a factor of the path.

MN117

Right View is seeing how we entangle and bind ourselves by clinging to the Five Aggregates, how we cause our own stress an unhappiness, and the renounciation, the letting go of this clinging by following The Eightfold Path.

Right View is seeing that the Five Aggregates are not true reality itself, that our body, feelings, perceptions, intentions and thoughts are subject to the imperfections and corruptions of the world, shaped by past Karma, by past desire, aversion, and unknowing.

It is the understanding that everything we are experiencing in life is based on causes and conditions, natural forces of the world and, as such, nothing that happens should be taken personally. It is the clinging to the Five Aggregates, that causes people to ignorantly believe that things are happening to them, which causes them to take personally the body, feelings, perceptions, thoughts, and cognition, thus causing stress and unhappiness.

Supramundane or Noble Right View is not a belief or definition; this is because a belief prevents one from seeing true reality, rather, it is the way one perceives the world.

A typical person assumes there is an enduring self to whom their experiences are happening, a self that manages these experiences by interacting with the external world.

In contrast, a Noble disciple has overturned this perception. They have seen through the illusion of a "self" and recognize that experience is entirely the product of the Five Aggregates. He does not take self-view as the primary view; instead, he sees the Five Aggregates as the basis of all experience.

Rather than believing in a self that experiences the world, he has seen for himself that it is the Five Aggregates that fabricates the sense of self. The Five Aggregates that create desire, aversion, and unknowing.

A Noble disciple understands that there is no experiencer who is experiencing; he has realized that the experiencer is being created in the experience by the Five Aggregates.

Therefore, he no longer sees the world as a self experiencing, but rather as there is just the experience.

A Noble disciple does not look outward for the source of suffering. Instead, they look at their own experiences, the mind states produced by the Five Aggregates.

They understand that progress on the path is the continual application of the Four Noble Truths by discerning the mind states, views and perspectives that are constantly being fabricated.

For example, they might discern how the Five Aggregates create a sense of self in each mind state, how clinging to desires and aversions take root, and how existence itself is fabricated.

He has the Right View that the path forward involves recognizing increasingly subtle forms of stress and suffering inherent in these mind-created states.

He understands that progress involves continually identifying wrong views, views that involve a sense of self, greed, aversion, or unknowing, and abandons them.

That the abandonment of wrong views and defilements is achieved through various practices, such as seeing clearly, restraining, skillfully using, avoiding, enduring, removing, and developing wholesome qualities.

Over time, this leads to an increasingly clear perception of reality, less obstructed by the objectification created by the Five Aggregates, until finally when a fully liberated person no longer holds any self-view. When a liberated person sees something, there is just the seeing.

Contemplating the Four Noble Truths

In the Gradual Training, one first starts by contemplating the Four Noble Truths in regards to one's life circumstances.

One does this by contemplating one's own views, desires, and what one expects from this world until one sees the unsubstantial and not-self nature of all desires and expectations, understanding that there is nothing of any substance to be passionate about or cling to. Understanding that clinging to these views and desires causes stress and suffering and should be let go.

One then contemplates what changes will need to be made in one's life in order to relinquish, obtain freedom from, and become non-reliant on these views and desires. In other words, renunciation.

Finally, one will need to contemplate and fully penetrate why the Eightfold Path is the only way to turn this stream of stress and suffering into a stream of liberation.

Seeing impermanence, unsubstantial, and unsatisfying

It's not the impermanence of things in the world that is the problem; it is our trying to make them permanent.

It's not the unsubstantial nature of the world that causes problems; it is our trying to make things substantial when they have no substance.

It is not that things don't provide satisfaction; it's our trying to make satisfaction reliable.

Right View is seeing how we cling to the Five Aggregates trying to obtain some permanence, some substance, and some lasting satisfaction in life, even though this goes against the laws of nature.

Clinging to the Five Aggregates causes us to believe that the world and its objects, even if only for a brief moment, have some lasting substance that can provide reliable satisfaction.

However, to liberate oneself, one needs to have a penetrative "knowing" of the laws of nature, that nothing stays the same for even a second, and that it is the clinging to forms, feelings, perceptions, volitional formations, and consciousness (the Five Aggregates) that creates the appearance that things have some permanence or substance.

In other words, we cling to perceptions even though what is perceived has already changed. In the modern man-made world, filled with permanent structures and durable material objects, this misconception of permanence and substance is greatly enhanced.

Unlike in nature where causes and conditions, arising and passing away, and impermanence are clearly visible, the modern world is clouded in ignorance and unknowing. As a result, modern man fights these natural forces and tries to cling to permanence, or anything substantial.

For example:

Death is actively hidden in modern society. People often pass away in hospitals, and their bodies are kept in coffins. It's entirely possible for someone to live their entire life without ever seeing a dead body in person. People live in such a way as if they will live forever, even when death surrounds them. For example:

Fish and meat are packaged in a manner that disconnects us from the reality of consuming dead animals. We fail to acknowledge that these neatly packaged deceased creatures are gradually decomposing within their wrappings. Nor do we reflect on the fact that each animal had a birth, a life, and ultimately met its end.

The point is not to make a judgment on whether eating meat is good or bad. Instead, it's understanding that due to our attachment to perceptions, we often fail to realize that death permeates every aspect of life and that everything is constantly changing. Instead of acknowledging this truth, we tend to cling to life and fear death, rather than recognizing it as a natural and valuable process.

In the same way, people are obsessed with preserving various aspects of life, such as youth, beauty, wealth, health, power, and traditions. This leads to stress and dissatisfaction because nothing in life can be preserved through clinging to perceived "attributes."

To liberate oneself from "Our World," one must contemplate every aspect of one's existence, including one's desires, views, and habits, and recognize their insubstantial, unsatisfactory, and undependable nature, until one has developed complete dispassion for them, understanding that there was nothing of any substance to be passionate about or cling to.

For example, understanding death lets us live free from the fear of death and makes us more alive, not wasting time on senseless delusional activities.

Seeing the Not-self nature of the world

The process of establishing Right View also involves seeing through the fabrication of a "self", how we cling to and personalize existence.

Most people take for granted that there is a self that experiences the world. Right View is seeing that it is clinging to the ingrained memories and perceptions created by the Five Aggregates that have created a fabricated sense of self.

Renunciation is the deconstructing of the fabricated self by seeing that since everything in this world is based on causes and conditions, ever changing, and the result of natural forces, none of the ingrained memories or perceptions of the world stored in the Five Aggregates can be taken personally as self.

One realizes that there is no independent, continuous self operating in the background, and what appears to be a self is a series of interconnected causes and conditions that have created the false impression of a continuing entity or self. When the mind fully realizes this, it lets go of viewing the world from the view of a "self" and instead sees that there is only what is experienced.

When he attends improperly in this way, one of six views arises in him.

The view I have a self arises in him as true and established, or the view I have no self arises in him as true and established, or the view I perceive self with self arises in him as true and established, or the view I perceive not-self with self arises in him as true and established, or the view I perceive self with not-self arises in him as true and established, or else he has some such view as this:

It is this self of mine that speaks and feels and experiences here and there the result of good and bad actions; but this self of mine is permanent, everlasting, eternal, not subject to change, and it will endure as long as eternity.

This speculative view is called a thicket of views, a wilderness of views, a contortion of views, a writhing of views, a fetter of views.

MN2

This means that one should not believe there is no self or that there is a self, as both of these views are an extreme and are not useful. For example, if one just believes that there is no self, then this prevents them from doing the work of continually dissolving fabricated identity views.

More useful is to look at each experience or mind state for stress and unhappiness, which means the mind is taking the experience or circumstance personally. It is clinging to desire for an outcome and hasn't adequately seen the causes and conditions that shape the experience or circumstances.

Instead one should see through the created sense of self in the experience, see the experience as not-self, not to be taken personally, and detach oneself from clinging to desires or expectations.

How does personality view not come to be, lady?

Here, friend Visakha, a well-taught noble disciple, who has regard for noble ones and is skilled and disciplined in their Dhamma, who has regard for true men and is skilled and disciplined in their Dhamma, does not regard form as self, or self as possessing form, or form as in self, or self as in form.

He does not regard feeling... perception... formations... consciousness as self, or self as possessing consciousness, or consciousness as in self, or self as in consciousness. This is how personality view does not come to be.

MN44

As clear "knowing" becomes established, one realizes that what we assumed to be the self is actually unsubstantial, a result of clinging to the Five Aggregates.

Renunciation arises from the understanding that the outcome of all actions is determined by causes and conditions, rather than by our desires or an ego's control over the situation in the present moment.

For example, an athlete doesn't instantly become a 'good' athlete by merely desiring or trying hard; it happens because of natural ability, training, and practice, which together result in a good athlete. At the time of competition, a good athlete lets go of any thoughts and worries and just competes. If any adjustments need to be made, they are made naturally, based on past experience. Any sense of an 'ego' trying to manage or control the situation only gets in the way of winning the competition.

In other words, if one becomes identified with the process or takes results personally, this is clinging. Instead one pays full attention to, and creates the causes and conditions, takes the necessary steps towards becoming a better athlete.

Simply put, if one has trained properly, is better than other athletes, and has a clear mind not obstructed by thoughts, then the causes and conditions are in place for one to win the competition.

Renunciation requires letting go of attachment to any outcome or any expectations and instead developing the right causes and conditions for liberation. Renunciation is the letting go of the I, the sense of me, the sense of this is mine, this is myself and seeing everything as an impersonal process.

However, until one is fully liberated, one will still experience conceit due to the restlessness created by karmic forces, which manifests as the search for stability in a world where nothing can provide a satisfying, stable, or permanent existence, except liberation itself.

Right View is not about having knowledge or understanding, which is based on logic, words or thoughts, it is the way one views the world, based on wisdom, knowing, seeing things as they really are, free from untanglement.

Developing Right Intention

And what is right intention that is affected by taints, partaking of merit, ripening in the acquisitions?

Intention of renunciation, intention of non-ill will, intention of non-harming

MN117

And what is right intention that is noble, taintless, supramundane, a factor of the path?

That which is in one of noble mind, taintless mind, who by developing the noble path, intention, thought, conception, mental concomitants, verbal formation

MN117

Right Intention is developing the single-minded, continual intention not to get entangled with anything in experience, to let go of any clinging to the ingrained memories and perceptions created by the Five Aggregates.

It's the Renunciation of self created stress and dissatisfaction, for example making judgments, getting entangled in the endless cycle of desire and aversion, the creation of wrong views and the sense of being, and eventually, clinging to the slightest movements of the mind.

One resolves to continually cleanse the mind of unwholesome intentions in regards to body, mind and actions.

Just as past unwholesome intentions create unwholesome karmic actions that ripen in the present, leading to stress and unhappiness, one can turn this stream into the path of liberation by letting go of all unskillful intentions and replacing them with Right Intention: the single-minded, continual intention for renunciation of sense desires and any entanglement with the world, by freedom from ill will, and through harmlessness.

Based on Right View, once Right Intention for Renunciation is fully established and continually reinforced, Right Intention acts as the 'power,' the catalyst for all future actions on the path. This is because the mind is no longer scattered among its many attachments and entanglements, that greatly weaken effort and cause stress and suffering. Single-minded Right Intention provides a joy that enables effortless motivation to continue the practice. Without Right Intention for renunciation of the Five Aggregates, liberation is not possible.

Renunciation and letting go are based on the understanding that intention is the "power" behind one's actions. Once single-minded Right Intention is in place, and one understands that success is based on establishing the right causes and conditions, the mind will naturally find a way to bring about the intention naturally.

Wrong Intention and wrong effort is the false belief that the outcome of one's actions arises solely from one's desires, from making an effort, and judgments made in that moment, thus leading to a misguided notion of a "self" and a perceived necessity to constantly engage in judgments and react to them.

Wrong Intention is also expecting a specific outcome. The moment we start expecting a certain outcome, this brings stress and anxiety.

In reality, it is the mistaken attribution of results to a "self" and the persistent compulsion to take personally and react to the present moment that primarily causes stress and unhappyness in one's life.

The Tathagata explains how to develop Right Intention by dividing thoughts into two kinds, wholesome and unwholesome, and how single-minded intention leads to Jhana, Right Concentration and then ultimately to letting go of all intention:

And where do these unwholesome intentions cease without remainder? Their cessation too has been declared. Here a disciple, having secluded himself from sensual pleasures… enters and dwells in the first jhana; there these unwholesome intentions cease without remainder.

MN78

Understanding Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood

When one has the Right View that nothing in this world is substantial, inherently satisfying, or worth getting entangled with, and is imbued with Right Intention, the single-minded intention to transform all past actions and intentions into Right Intentions, this manifests as Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood.

In the Gradual Training, the purpose of Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood is to untangle oneself from the world in a wholesome way. It is not to develop better, deeper relationships.

It is developing the Right View that everyone's behaviors or personalities, including our own perceptions, views, thoughts, and actions, is based on Karma, the past conditions that have shaped our identities, the result of past desire, aversion and unknowing.

One understands and interacts with people in the same way one understands and interacts with forces of nature. People become who they are based on past conditions and circumstances: family, society, religion, language, peer pressure, institutions, social media, advertising, and life experiences. These factors shape how they act and respond in the present.

One recognizes that, due to past stress and unhappiness, people develop unwholesome behaviors and habits as coping mechanisms to deal with underlying distress.

Much like storms in nature, when stress builds up, it is released through unwholesome behaviors, such as anger, greed, selfishness, lying, harsh speech, dishonesty, sexual misconduct, intoxication, or even physical harm.

With this understanding, one refrains from judging others, or oneself, or overreacting to unwholesome behavior. Instead, one sees that such actions are the result of causes and conditions, and are not personal. These behaviors are met with understanding, goodwill, and compassion.

As many forms of unwholesome behaviours can only be brought out and addressed when we interact with others, the practice of Right Speech, Right Action, and Right

Livelihood allow us not to get entangled in the storms of human existence. It is our protection when interacting with others, it is the path for creating an imperpetuable and peaceful mind, leading to liberation.

It is also the best way to judge our progress along the path.

Understanding Right Effort

One of the goals of the gradual training is to develop a tranquil, unobstructed, unwavering mind that remains undisturbed by cravings, emotions, and doesn't get lost in thoughts, lost in desire and aversion.

Due to ingrained behavioral patterns and inner restlessness, the mind needs to be "tamed" to break its habit of constantly grasping and clinging to the "world".

Using our analogy of the "good athlete," once the mind is tamed through practice, it can perform tasks effectively without being disrupted by emotions, getting lost in thoughts, or the excessive need to judge or control the present.

Having Right View is the forerunner, "Right Intention" serves as the driving force behind actions, while "Right effort" is developing the right causes and conditions for liberation. One develops the right causes and conditions by developing the Four Right Efforts, which is the practice of abandoning unwholesome mind states and developing wholesome ones. This leads to a clear mind devoid of distractions, suitable for concentration and insight or for doing any task effectively.

Understanding Right Mindfulness

Right Intention is the "power" and serves as the driving force behind Renunciation, Right Effort is developing a mind that is clear and not lost in thoughts.

Mindfulness is the "knowing" that discerns causes and conditions, desire and aversion and how we take the Five Aggregates personally.

Normally, we perceive ourselves in a three-dimensional world as separate from objects of the world, what the Tathagata calls "fabrications". Right Mindfulness is when mindfulness is established in memory at the Five Aggregates and not the objects of "Our World", the fabrications of the mind.

When awareness is fully established in awareness, at the Five Aggregates, in memory, what the Tathagata calls the Four Abidings of Mindfulness, there is discernment, what is called "knowing" this is Right Mindfulness.

Instead of mindfulness established at the objects of the "world", which causes new fabrications to cloud clear "knowing", one abides in memory, the Five Aggregates, aware of the mind and body, keeping track of changes as they happen, seeing causes and conditions as they arise and pass away.

Discernment or intuition or "knowing" arises when mindfulness is sufficiently free from objectification, judgments, logic, words, or thoughts for the mind to see causes and conditions clearly. As a result, the mind becomes dispassionate when it sees that all things pass away naturally, and it is our clinging to them that causes the propagation of unwholesome mind states and actions, which results in stress and unhappyness.

Understanding Right Concentration

Right Mindfulness refers to mindfulness fully abiding within the Five Aggregates, or memory. When Right Mindfulness is fully established, it directly leads to Right Concentration.

Concentration can be better understood as having a collected or singleness of mind.

Usually, people's minds are scattered, occupied with numerous processes, thoughts, intentions, feelings, and perceptions or "formations". Attention is divided among various lingering thought processes, some of which remain beneath the surface, ready to emerge under the right conditions.

Concentration involves releasing all these scattered mental processes or formations and consolidating attention into a unified single-minded process, imbued with Right Intention, for the purpose of "knowing."

In the context of mindfulness of the body, this entails collecting all attention and directing it to the memory, awareness of the body, keeping track of changes in real time, without letting any stray mental processes or formations obstruct singleness of mind.

Simply put, concentration is letting go of all formations and abiding in memory so that clear knowing can arise.

The need to develop Right View and Right Intention before starting the Gradual Training

Although one can start some practices of the Gradual Training for example by practicing Sila (ethical conduct) and Guarding the Sense Doors, the primary focus should be on developing Right View and Right Intention. This involves gaining a deep understanding of the Four Noble Truths and recognizing the unsatisfactory, impermanent, and not-self nature of sense desires and attachment to the Five Aggregates.

Before truly embarking on the Gradual Training, it is essential to be fully committed to Renunciation, supported by a clear understanding of why the Eightfold Path is the only way to achieve liberation.

A discourse on the prerequisites of right concentration that emphasizes the interrelationship and mutual support of all the factors of the eightfold path. It covers both the mundane and super mundane versions of the path:

After one has obtained 'Right View' and one's thoughts are imbued with renunciation or 'Right Intention,' and when one has penetrated the Dharma and Eightfold Path practiced by the nobles, and therefore gained an unshakable faith in the Tathagata's teachings, this creates the causes and conditions for one to enter the stream (Sotāpatti-magga). One's thoughts and actions are single-mindedly intent on liberation.

A Sotāpatti-magga is on the path to becoming a Stream Enterer but has not yet realized the full fruition. They are considered to have overcome the first three fetters but have not yet experienced the direct realization of Nibbana

In a person of right view, right intention comes into being. In a person of right intention, right speech. In a person of right speech, right action. In a person of right action, right livelihood. In a person of right livelihood, right effort. In a person of right effort, right mindfulness. In a person of right mindfulness, right concentration. In a person of right concentration, right knowing. In a person of right knowing, right release.

AN 10.103

The Tathagata asks Sāriputta about the four factors for stream-entry: association with good people, hearing the teaching, proper attention, and right practice. He also defines the “stream” and the “stream-enterer”. Keep in mind however that the only way to hear the Dharma at that time was through association with a noble one:

A virtuous disciple should properly attend to these five aggregates subject to clinging as impermanent, suffering, a disease, a boil, a dart, a misfortune, an affliction, alien, disintegrating, empty, and not-self.

There is a possibility that a virtuous disciple, properly attending to these five aggregates subject to clinging in this way, may realize the fruit of stream-entry.

SN22.122

How one might know if they are a stream enterer:

One with faith in the teachings on the five aggregates is called a “follower by faith”, while someone with conceptual understanding is called a “follower of the teachings”. But someone who sees them directly is called a stream-entere:

A noble disciple who is a layperson has eliminated the fear that comes from breaking precepts, possesses the four factors of stream-entry, and understands dependent origination:

Venerable Sāriputta gives a detailed explanation of right view, the first factor of the noble eightfold path. At the prompting of the other desciples, he approaches the topic from a wide range of perspectives:

A householder who has eliminated the perils that come with breaking the five precepts, and possesses the four factors of stream-entry is freed from lower rebirths:

Abiding in Renunciation

Here, disciples, I breathe in mindful, I breathe out mindful. When I breathe in long, I know. When I breathe out long, I know …

I will breathe in experiencing relinquishment (letting go), I will breathe out experiencing relinquishment (letting go).

For if anyone should be rightly said to dwell in the noble dwelling, the divine dwelling, the Tathāgatas dwelling, it is when dwelling in mindfulness of breathing.

SN54.12

Learning to abide in renunciation before starting the gradual training can bring joy and provide confidence, motivation, and the right frame of mind to begin the practice.

Abiding in renunciation is the continual letting go of craving and clinging to the Five Aggregates. Abiding fully in body and mind, using the breath, one continually lets go of everything and experiences the continual release:

Letting go of any attachment to the body.
Letting go of any feeling, perception, sensation, and body tension that comes up, anything that can be felt in the body.
Letting go of any tension or tightness in the mind and awareness.
Letting go of any intentions, wants, or judgments for anything to be different.
Letting go of your sense of self, of wanting to do something or be anywhere.

It is staying aware in real time, abiding in body and mind, and continually letting go of everything.

When abiding in renunciation, there's no need to enter a meditative state or "trance"; simply keep your eyes open as usual, staying alert and awake.

When breathing, you can also let go using the outbreath, making the outbreath extra long and when breathing in, taking in any good feelings and perceptions from the release of stress.

In the beginning, it might be helpful to visualize letting go by directing what is being let go to a spot outside the body, such as letting go through the top of your head, bottom of your feet, your hands, or wherever it feels appropriate.

When causes and conditions are in place, namely that one's mind is not disturbed and can keep their intention single-mindedly on renunciation, one should start to experience joy and release.

On the other hand, having incessant thoughts at the beginning of the gradual path is normal. One will need to emphasize the practice of Sila (virtue) and Guarding the Sense Doors to attain a sufficient level of peacefulness to feel the joy of renunciation.

To let go, you have to completely see the drawbacks of what you’re letting go, only then can you let it go once and for all.

Renunciation includes letting go of renunciation itself

For someone who has seen the truth, the suffering eliminated in future lives is like the great earth; what remains is like the dirt under a fingernail: