Sutta On Right View: A Reading
Here are excerpts from the more lengthy Sammaditthi Sutta, the sutta on Right View. This sutta, a dialogue between the venerable Sariputta and a group of bikkhus, explores what constitutes "right view," considering ideas such as what is wholesome and unwholesome, the Four Noble Truths, and how the roots of our suffering abide in our feelings, clinging, and craving.
Transcript
Thus have I heard readings from the sutras of the Buddha.
This is a reading from the Samadhiṭi Sūta,
The Sūta on Right View.
Thus have I heard.
On one occasion the Blessed One was living at Sivāti in Jeddah's Grove,
Anathapindika's Park.
There the Venerable Sariputta addressed the bhikkhus thus,
Friends,
Bhikkhus.
Friend,
They replied.
And the Venerable Sariputta said this,
One of Right View is said,
Friends.
In what way is a noble disciple one of Right View,
Whose view is straight,
Who has unwavering confidence in the Dharma,
And has arrived at this true Dharma?
Indeed,
Friend,
We would come from far away to learn from the Venerable Sariputta the meaning of this statement.
It would be good if the Venerable Sariputta would explain the meaning of this statement.
Having heard it from him,
The bhikkhus will remember it.
Then friends,
Listen,
And attend closely to what I shall say.
Yes,
Friend,
The bhikkhus replied.
And the Venerable Sariputta said thus,
Then friends,
A noble disciple understands the unwholesome and the root of the unwholesome,
The wholesome and the root of the wholesome.
And that way he is one of Right View,
Whose view is straight,
Who has unwavering confidence in the Dharma,
And has arrived at this true Dharma.
And what,
Friends,
Is the unwholesome?
What is the root of the unwholesome?
What is the wholesome?
What is the root of the wholesome?
Killing living beings is unwholesome.
Making what is not given is unwholesome.
Misconduct and sensual pleasure is unwholesome.
False speech is unwholesome.
Malicious speech is unwholesome.
Harsh speech is unwholesome.
Gossip is unwholesome.
Covetousness is unwholesome.
Ill will is unwholesome.
Wrong view is unwholesome.
This is called the unwholesome.
And what is the root of the unwholesome?
Greed is the root of the unwholesome.
Hatred is the root of the unwholesome.
Delusion is the root of the unwholesome.
This is called the root of the unwholesome.
And what is the wholesome?
Abstention from killing living beings is wholesome.
Abstention from taking what is not given is wholesome.
Abstention from misconduct and sensual pleasure is wholesome.
Abstention from false speech is wholesome.
Abstention from malicious speech is wholesome.
Abstention from harsh speech is wholesome.
Abstention from gossip is wholesome.
Un mateousness is wholesome.
Non ill-will is wholesome.
Right view is wholesome.
This is called the wholesome.
And what is the root of the wholesome?
Non greed is the root of the wholesome.
Non hatred is the root of the wholesome.
Non-delusion is the root of the wholesome.
This is called the root of the wholesome.
When a noble disciple has thus understood the unwholesome,
And the root of the unwholesome,
The wholesome and the root of the wholesome,
He entirely abandons the underlying tendency to lust,
He abolishes the underlying tendency to aversion,
He extirpates the underlying tendency to the view and conceit I am,
And by abandoning ignorance and arousing true knowledge,
He here and now makes an end of suffering.
And that way,
Too,
A noble disciple is one of right view,
Whose view is straight,
Who has unwavering confidence in the dharma,
And has arrived at this true dharma.
Saying good friend,
The bhikkhus delighted and rejoiced in the venerable Sariputta's words,
Then they asked him a further question,
But friend,
Might there be another way in which a noble disciple is one of right view,
And has arrived at this true dharma?
There might be,
Friends.
When friends and noble disciple understand suffering,
The origin of suffering,
The cessation of suffering,
And the way leading to the cessation of suffering,
In that way he is one of right view,
And has arrived at this true dharma.
And what is suffering?
What is the origin of suffering?
What is the cessation of suffering?
What is the way leading to the cessation of suffering?
Birth is suffering,
Aging is suffering,
Sickness is suffering,
Death is suffering,
Sorrow,
Lamentation,
Pain,
Grief,
And despair are suffering.
Not to obtain what one wants is suffering.
In short,
The five aggregates affected by clinging are suffering.
This is called suffering.
And what is the origin of suffering?
It is craving,
Which brings renewal of being,
Is accompanied by delight and lust and delights and this and that.
That is,
Craving for sensual pleasures,
Craving for being,
And craving for non-being.
This is called the origin of suffering.
And what is the cessation of suffering?
It is the remainderless fading away and ceasing,
The giving up,
Relinquishing,
Letting go and rejecting of that same craving.
This is called the cessation of suffering.
And what is the way leading to the cessation of suffering?
It is just this Noble Eightfold Path,
That is,
Right Understanding,
Right Thought,
Right Speech,
Right Action,
Right Livelihood,
Right Effort,
Right Mindfulness,
And Right Concentration.
This is called the way leading to the cessation of suffering.
When a noble disciple has thus understood suffering,
The origin of suffering,
The cessation of suffering,
And the way leading to the cessation of suffering,
He here and now makes an end of suffering.
In that way,
Too,
A noble disciple is one of Right View and has arrived at this true dharma.
Saying good friend,
The bhikkhus delighted and rejoiced in the Venerable Sariputta's words.
Then they asked him a further question.
But friend,
Might there be another way in which a noble disciple is one of Right View and has arrived at this true dharma?
There might be,
Friends.
Then friends,
A noble disciple understands clinging,
The origin of clinging,
The cessation of clinging,
And the way leading to the cessation of clinging.
In that way,
He is one of Right View and has arrived at this true dharma.
And what is clinging?
What is the origin of clinging?
What is the cessation of clinging?
What is the way leading to the cessation of clinging?
There are these four kinds of clinging,
Clinging to sensual pleasures,
Clinging to views,
Clinging to rules and observances,
And clinging to a doctrine of self.
With the arising of craving,
There is the arising of clinging.
With the cessation of craving,
There is the cessation of clinging.
The way leading to the cessation of clinging is just this noble eightfold path,
That is,
Right Understanding,
Right Thought,
Right Speech,
Right Action,
Right Livelihood,
Right Effort,
Right Mindfulness,
Right Concentration.
When a noble disciple has thus understood clinging,
The origin of clinging,
The cessation of clinging,
And the way leading to the cessation of clinging,
He here and now makes an end of suffering.
In that way,
Too,
A noble disciple is one of Right View and has arrived at this true dharma.
Saying good friend,
The bhikkhus delighted and rejoiced in the Venerable Sariputta's words.
Then they asked him a further question,
But friend,
Might there be another way in which a noble disciple is one of Right View and has arrived at this true dharma?
There might be,
Friends.
When friends and noble disciple understands craving,
The origin of craving,
The cessation of craving,
And the way leading to the cessation of craving,
In that way he is one of Right View and has arrived at this true dharma.
And what is craving?
What is the origin of craving?
What is the cessation of craving?
What is the way leading to the cessation of craving?
There are these six classes of craving—craving for forms,
Craving for sounds,
Craving for odors,
Craving for flavors,
Craving for tangibles,
Craving for mind-objects.
With the arising of feeling,
There is the arising of craving.
With the cessation of feeling,
There is the cessation of craving.
The way leading to the cessation of craving is just this noble eightfold path—that is,
Wise understanding,
Wise thought,
Wise speech,
Wise action,
Wise livelihood,
Wise effort,
Wise mindfulness,
And wise concentration.
When a noble disciple has thus understood craving,
The origin of craving,
The cessation of craving,
And the way leading to the cessation of craving,
He here and now makes an end of suffering.
In that way,
Too,
A noble disciple is one of Right View and has arrived at this true dharma.
Saying,
Good Friend,
The bhikkhus delighted and rejoiced in the Venerable Sariputta's words,
Then they asked him a further question.
But friend,
Might there be another way in which a noble disciple is one of Right View and has arrived at this true dharma?
There might be,
Friends.
Then friends,
A noble disciple understands feeling,
The origin of feeling,
The cessation of feeling,
And the way leading to the cessation of feeling.
In that way,
He is one of Right View and has arrived at this true dharma.
And what is feeling?
What is the origin of feeling?
What is the cessation of feeling?
What is the way leading to the cessation of feeling?
There are six classes of feeling,
Feeling born of eye-contact,
Feeling born of ear-contact,
Feeling born of nose-contact,
Feel born of tongue-contact,
Feeling born of body-contact,
And feeling born of mind-contact.
With the arising of contact there is the arising of feeling,
With the cessation of contact there is the cessation of feeling.
The way leading to the cessation of feeling is just this noble eightfold path,
That is,
Right understanding,
Right thought,
Right speech,
Right action,
Right livelihood,
Right effort,
Right mindfulness,
And right concentration.
When a noble disciple has thus understood feeling,
The origin of feeling,
The cessation of feeling,
And the way leading to the cessation of feeling,
He here and now makes an end of suffering.
In that way,
Too,
A noble disciple is one of right view and has arrived at this true dharma.
Saying good friend,
The bhikkhus delighted and rejoiced in the Venerable Sariputta's words.
And then they asked him a further question.
But friend,
Might there be another way in which a noble disciple is one of right view and has arrived at this true dharma?
There might be,
Friends.
Then friends,
A noble disciple understands ignorance,
The origin of ignorance,
The cessation of ignorance,
And the way leading to the cessation of ignorance.
And that way he is one of right view and has arrived at this true dharma.
And what is ignorance?
What is the origin of ignorance?
What is the cessation of ignorance?
What is the way leading to the cessation of ignorance?
Not knowing about suffering?
Not knowing about the origin of suffering?
Not knowing about the cessation of suffering?
Not knowing about the way leading to the cessation of suffering?
This is called ignorance.
With the arising of the taints,
There is the arising of ignorance.
With the cessation of the taints,
There is the cessation of ignorance.
And the way leading to the cessation of ignorance is just this noble eightfold path.
That is,
Right understanding,
Right thought,
Right speech,
Right action,
Right livelihood,
Right effort,
Right mindfulness,
And right concentration.
When a noble disciple has thus understood ignorance,
The origin of ignorance,
The cessation of ignorance,
And the way leading to the cessation of ignorance,
He here now makes an end of suffering.
In that way,
Too,
A noble disciple is one of right view,
And has arrived at this true dharma.
Saying good friend,
The bhikkhus delighted and rejoiced in the venerable Sariputta's words.
And then they asked him a further question.
But friend,
Might there not be another way in which a noble disciple is one of right view,
Whose view is straight,
Who has unwavering confidence in the dharma,
And has arrived at this true dharma?
There might be,
Friends.
When friends and noble disciple understand the taints,
The origin of the taints,
The cessation of the taints,
And the way leading to the cessation of the taints,
In that way he is one of right view,
Whose view is straight,
Who has unwavering confidence in the dharma,
And has arrived at this true dharma.
And what are the taints?
What is the origin of the taints?
What is the cessation of the taints?
What is the way leading to the cessation of the taints?
These are the three taints,
The taint of sensual desire,
The taint of being,
And the taint of ignorance.
With the arising of ignorance,
There is the arising of the taints.
With the cessation of ignorance,
There is the cessation of the taints.
The way leading to the cessation of the taints is just this noble eightfold path,
That is,
Right understanding,
Right thought,
Right speech,
Right action,
Right livelihood,
Right effort,
Right mindfulness,
Right concentration.
When a noble disciple is thus understood the taints,
The origin of the taints,
The cessation of the taints,
And the way leading to the cessation of the taints,
He entirely abandons the underlying tendency to lust.
He abolishes the underlying tendency to aversion.
He extirpates the underlying tendency to the view and conceit I am,
And by abandoning ignorance and arousing true knowledge,
He here and now makes an end of suffering.
In that way,
Too,
A noble disciple is one of right view,
Whose view is straight,
Who has unwavering confidence in the dharma,
And has arrived at this true dharma.
This is what the Venerable Sariputta said.
The bhikkhus were satisfied and delighted in the Venerable Sariputta's words.
This has been a reading of the Samadhiṭi Sūta,
The sutta on right view,
Taken from the middle-length discourses of the Buddha,
As translated by Bhikkhu Nanamoli and Bhikkhu Boddhi.
This is a discus from the album Good Hope by Dave Holland,
Zakir Hussain,
And Chris Potter.
