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Mind Overcoming Its Cankers _L . '1. Venerable Acharya Buddharakkhita Mind Overcoming its Cankers MIND OVERCOMING ITS CANKERS An In-depth Study of Mental Effluents in the Buddhist Perspective By Venerable Acharya Buddharakkhita Buddha Vachana Trust Maha Bodhi Society, Gandhinagar, Bangalore -9 ii Buddha Vachana Trust 14 Kalidasa Road, Gandhinagar, Bangalore – 560 009, India Tel: 080 22250684, Fax: 080 22264438 Email: [email protected] Web: www.mahabodhi.info Buddha Vachana Trust All rights reserved First Published – May 2001 Revised edition – 19th March 2011 Coverpage Designed by : C. Chandrashekhar 200/- Printed at: Arvind Printers Saraswathipuram, Bangalore - 560096 Tel: 080-23498198, Mob: 9916461691 Mind Overcoming its Cankers iii CONTENTS Preface (to the First Edition)................................................ v Preface (to the revised Edition)........................................... vi A Word to the Reader......................................................... vii Introduction ......................................................................... viii PPPART I CHAPTER 1. Sabbasàva Sutta (Pàli text) ............................................. 1 2. Discourse on All Cankers (English Translation) ......... 9 3. Exegesis (based on the Commentery.......................... 19 4. Khãõàsava (The Canker-free)....................................... 64 5. Dark and Bright Paths ................................................. 74 6. Struggle ......................................................................... 78 7. Self-important and Heedless ........................................ 83 8. Resting on Laurels........................................................ 85 9. Fault-finding .................................................................. 87 PART II 10. Destruction of Cankers ..................................................91 11. Cankers and Deliverence............................................ 111 12. Wisdom in Action ....................................................... 118 13. Mental Contraband ..................................................... 129 iv 14. The Initiate and Holy Company ............................... 134 15. Overcoming Cankers .................................................. 137 16. Nibbedhika-Pariyàya Sutta (Penetration) .................. 151 17. Probing into life .......................................................... 154 18. Persisting Compulsions............................................... 157 19. Uncovering the Mind.................................................. 165 20. Analytical Approach .................................................. 176 21. The Mundane and Supra-mundane........................... 179 22. Nibbàna........................................................................ 197 23. Cluster of Cankers ...................................................... 201 24. The Worthy One ......................................................... 225 Mind Overcoming its Cankers v PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION “Spiritual Deliverance”, says the Buddha, is attained only through the destruction of the mental cankers.” Indeed, the Arahat is refered to as khiõàsava, the Canker- Freed One. A seeker of Truth, therefore should know what these cankers are, and what he should do to rid himself of them. The answer lies in the Sabbàsava Sutta, wherein the Enlightened One unfolds a methodology which when properly applied is totally effective. With this profound Sutta as the basic theme, materials were collected from various sources scattered in the Pàli cannon to present a reasonably comprehensive study of the subject. Explicit and implicit references to the cankers are an integral part of the Pàli Tipiñaka. Only those texts and commentaries that elaborate on and elucidate the nature of cankers and the methods of their elimination were drawn upon. An exhaustive catalogue of allusions to cankers would amount to a mere academic exercise and serve no purpose. It is earnestly hoped that this work will be used as a practical guide to self-improvement, inner peace and liberation from a world that is increasingly becoming entagled in false values. May this humble offering be a flower at the feet of the Enlightened One! May all beings be happy! Venerable Acharya Buddharakkhita Maha Bodhi Society, Bangalore. vi PREFACE TO THE SECOND AND REVISED EDITION “Mind Overcoming its Cankers” is an in-depth study of mental effluents in the Buddhist perspective. The first edition of this book was brought out in 1978 by the Buddha Vachana Trust, Maha Bodhi Society, Gandhinagar, Bangalore. In 1994 a reprint of this edition was brought out by Buddhist Wisdom Center, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia, for free distribution. In 2003 a Vietnamese translation of this book was produced by the Tathàgata Meditation Center, San Hose, California, USA, also for free distribution. A revised edition of this book has now been prepared which the BPS, Kandy, Sri Lanka, has published. A second and revisd edition of this book has been prepared now by the Buddha Vachana Trust Maha Bodhi Society, Bangalore. We thank all those who have helped us in bringing out this latest edition. This is an Author’s humble offering at the lotus feet of the Tathàgata Buddha, the Bearer of Truth, the Supremely Enlightened One! May all beings be happy! Venerable Acharya Buddharakkhita Buddha Vachana Trust, Maha Bodhi Society Bangalore – 560009, India, 2004 Mind Overcoming its Cankers vii A Word to the Reader Reading a book is both profitable and entertaining. Yet, it is quite seldom that such a good book comes our way. This occasional blessing can be said to have come to us through this book titled “Mind Overcoming its Cankers” authored by Venerable Acharya Buddharakkhita, Maha Bodhi Society, Bangalore, India. Readers are aware that there are many varieties of books such as novels, literary criticisms, books on travel, on sociology and so on. But, books on practical ethics are not so common. This is such an uncommon book worthy to be read and re-read because it is bound to help any deep-thinking person to improve oneself in one’s day to day living style. By reading it any person wishing his own welfare honestly (atthakusala), can profit immensely from it because it silently prompts the reader to rid oneself of one’s common weaknesses. Moreover, although the author discusses Buddhism basing himself on a discourse delivered by the Buddha, any person, be he Buddhist or non-Buddhist, would find the guidance it provides helping one to drop at least some of one’s more common shortcomings. By any standard this is a Good Book. We wish our readers would profit from it. A.G.S. Kariyawasam (Editor, BPS) viii Introduction By writing this book, Venerable Acharya Buddharakkhita has made a significant contribution to the field of both Buddhalogy and psychology. Its relevance, however, is not limited to scholars, for it provides an admirable guide for all sincere seekers of truth. As enunciated by the Buddha, the àsavas are those inherent mental cankers or pollutants with which we all are afflicted. These existential ulcers affect the fabric of all thought and action, both individual and societal. Until extirpated, they ensure the continued unsatisfactoriness of lives to come. The three cankers are the canker of sensual desire, the canker of desire for continued existence, and the canker of ignorance. However, the simplicity of these categories belies their manifold and subtle ramifications. The path from diagnosis to deliverance leads one through the vast and intricate machinations of the human mind, from dormant tendency through thought, overt action, reaction and future kamma. The àsavas and the various approaches and techniques for their riddance, which form the subject of this treatise, have been propounded by the Enlightened One in specific, practical terms. The buddhologist will appreaciate the thoroughgoing and painstaking care with which the author has collated hitherto scattred material from various sources, to present for the first time this comprehensive and incisive commentary. In addition to his own comments, he has presented the material as enunciated in the Sabbàsava Sutta and the Nibbedhika Sutta, along with the classic commentary of âcariya Buddhaghosa. In lucid, concrete language he has also incorporated pertinent Buddhist stories and observations from his own rich background and wisdom. Mind Overcoming its Cankers ix The subject is then approached from the Abhidhamma point of view, in pure philosophical and scientific terms of analysis. The basis of this facet of the presentation is the Dhammasaïgaõã, the first book of Abhidhamma Piñaka. Here the àsavas have been expounded in two distinct ways as the nikhepa-kaõda treatment based on semantic analysis, and the atthuddhàra- kaõda method, a condensed psychological analysis of the states of consciousness. Let it not be assumed that one must be a Buddhist scholar to be able to understand and benefit from this work. Psychologists in particular will find their eyes opening in a new way. Ancient as it is, Buddhist psychology is far more refined than modern psychology, which in comparison resembles rough ore. Buddhism recognizes and is familiar with more levels of consciousness, and hence is more sophisticated. While subtle, it is not the subtleness of the nebulous, esoteric, fuzzy thinking commonly indulged in by dabblers in Eastern thought. It is, rather, the subtlety of the surgeon’s scalpel, which precisely and incisively exposes the multidimensional workings of the complex aggregate known as the ‘human
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