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The Sammādiṭṭhi Sutta ( Pali for "Right View Discourse") is the 9th discourse in Majjhima Nikaya of Pāli Canon that provides an elaboration on the Buddhist notion of "right view" by the Buddha's chief disciple, Ven. Sariputta. The Chinese canon contains two corresponding translations, the Maha Kotthita Sutra (大拘絺羅經) and the Kotthita Sutra (拘絺羅經).
Right view is the first factor of the Buddhist Noble Eightfold Path, the path that leads to the cessation of suffering. [1] Right view is considered the "forerunner" of all other path factors. [2] Historically, this particular discourse has been used as a primer for monks in South and Southeast Asian monasteries [3] and is read aloud monthly in some Mahayana monasteries.
In the Pali Canon, the Sammaditthi Sutta is the ninth discourse in the Majjhima Nikaya ("Middle-length Collection," abbreviated as either "MN" or "M") and is designated by either "MN 9" [4] or "M.1.1.9" [5] or "M i 46". [6] In the Chinese canon, the Maha Kotthita Sutra (大拘絺羅經) is found in the Taisho Tripitaka Vol. 1, No. 26, page 461, sutra 29 and the Kotthita Sutra (拘絺羅經) is found in the Taisho Tripitaka Vol. 2, No. 99, page 94, sutra 344.
In this discourse, Ven. Sariputta addresses a congregation of monks ( bhikkhu) about how (in English and Pali):
... ariyasāvako sammādiṭṭhi hoti. |
"... a
noble disciple is one of right view, |
At the monks' repeated urging, Ven. Sariputta then identifies the following sixteen cases (pariyāya) [11] through which a noble disciple could achieve right view:
Right view is achieved for the last fifteen of these cases by understanding (pajānāti) the four phases of each case: [12]
Ven. Sariputta describes the "unwholesome" (akusala) as entailing ten different actions of three different types: [13]
The "root of the unwholesome" (akusalamūla) is threefold:
The wholesome (kusala) entails abstention (veramaṇī) from the aforementioned unwholesome physical and verbal acts as well as non-covetousness (anabhijjhā), non-ill will (abyāpādo) and right view (sammādiṭṭhi). The wholesome's root (kusalamūla) is nongreed (alobho), nonhatred (adoso) and nondelusion (amoho).
Understanding (pajānāti) these twenty actions and six roots, the noble disciple abandons greed, aversion, conceit and ignorance, arouses wisdom, ends suffering and is one of right view.
Ven. Sariputta describes the "nutriments" (āhāro) as fourfold:
The arising (origin) of nutriment is due to the arising of craving. The cessation of nutriment is the cessation of craving. The way leading to the cessation of nutriment is the Noble Eightfold Path. Understanding nutriment, its origin, cessation and the way leading to its cessation, the noble disciple abandons greed, aversion, conceit and ignorance, arouses wisdom, ends suffering and is one of right view.
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Ven. Sariputta describes the Four Noble Truths using traditional canonical phrases: [14]
Understanding suffering, its origin, cessation and the way leading to its cessation, the noble disciple abandons greed, aversion, conceit and ignorance, arouses wisdom, ends suffering and is one of right view.
Ven. Sariputta then describes individually each of the twelve causes (represented in the sidebar to the right) of Dependent Origination using traditional canonical phrases, starting with "aging and death" ( jaramarana) and regressing to "ignorance" ( avijjā). [15]
In this formulation, the next further back cause is the "origin" of the current cause. Thus, for instance, the origin of "aging and death" is "birth" ( jati), the origin of "birth" is "becoming" ( bhava), etc. Here, the origin of "ignorance" is the "taints" ( āsava, see below). The cause's cessation is its temporal predecessor's cessation (for instance, old age and death cease when birth ceases). The way leading to the cessation of any of these twelve causes is the Noble Eightfold Path.
Understanding any one of these twelve causes, its origin, cessation and the way leading to its cessation, the noble disciple abandons greed, aversion, conceit and ignorance, arouses wisdom, ends suffering and is one of right view. [16]
Naturally following through on his assertion that ignorance arises from the taints, Ven. Sariputta next enumerates the three taints (tayo āsava):
The origin of the taints is in turn ignorance (avijjā). [17]
Understanding the taints, their origin (ignorance), cessation (the cessation of ignorance) and the way leading to their cessation (the Noble Eightfold Path), the noble disciple abandons greed, aversion, conceit and ignorance, arouses wisdom, ends suffering and is one of right view.
Upon hearing this last case described, the monks were satisfied.
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Throughout the Pali Canon, other discourses underline and amplify the topics discussed in this discourse. Below is a sample of such discourses regarding the definition of right view, wholesome and unwholesome actions, and the roots of greed, hate and delusion.
In the "An Analysis of the Path" discourse ( SN 45.8), the Buddha is recorded as uttering a brief formula for defining "right view":
... dukkhe ñāṇaṃ |
"Knowledge with regard to stress [dukkha], |
This pithy phrase reflects the core process of the Sammaditthi Sutta insomuch that each of the discourse's cases is analyzed in terms of its existence, its origin, its cessation and the way leading to its cessation (that is, the Noble Eightfold Path). [20]
This condensed formulaic definition of "right view" is found in other canonical discourses as well as in the Abhidhamma Pitaka. [21] In addition, in the Pali literature, this same definition is provided for "wisdom" (vijjā), [22] "non-delusion" (amoho), [23] and the "four knowledges of this world" (aparāni cattāri ñāṇāni). [24]
In "The Brahmans of Sala" discourse ( MN 41), as elsewhere in the Canon, the Buddha elaborates in detail on the ten unwholesome and ten wholesome actions. For instance, regarding unwholesome mental actions, the Buddha is recorded as having stated:
In the "Roots" discourse ( AN 3.69), the Buddha describes the three roots of greed, hate (or aversion) and delusion in the following power-driven fashion:
The same exact formula is used for "aversion" and "delusion" substituting these words for "greed."
Additionally, the Buddha describes how a person overcome with these roots has on-going problems:
In juxtaposition, the person whose unwholesome roots are abandoned experiences present moment ease:
The traditional Pali commentary ( atthakatha) to the Majjhima Nikaya is the Papañcasūdani (abbrev., Ps. or MA). [29] It includes a line-by-line analysis of this discourse. [30] Portions of this commentary can also be found in the Visuddhimagga. [31] Both of these texts are attributed to Buddhaghosa.
Persons of Right View (According to the Pali Commentary) | |||
type of right view |
type of person | understanding | |
mundane right view (lokiya) |
"worldling" (puthujjana) |
Buddhists & non-Buddhists |
believes in one's own kamma [32] |
Buddhists only |
does not hold to a "view of self" | ||
supra- mundane right view (lokuttara) |
disciple in higher training (sekha): stream-enterer, once-returner, non-returner |
"fixed" right view | |
one beyond training (asekha): arahant |
right view "beyond training" |
The Papañcasūdani identifies different types of right view contingent on one's breadth and depth of understanding (see the adjacent table). According to this commentary, when Ven. Sariputta discusses one "who has perfect confidence in the Dhamma and has arrived at the true Dhamma," he is referring to one who has attained "supramundane right view," thus holding out this higher achievement as a milestone for his audience. [33]
According to the Pali commentary, the unwholesome and the wholesome can be understood within the four-phase framework (suffering-origin-cessation-path) used to analyze this discourse's other fifteen cases. From one perspective, the unwholesome and the wholesome are a form of suffering (dukkha). Likewise, their respective roots (greed, nongreed, etc.) are thus "the origin of suffering" (dukkha-samudaya); the non-arising of the roots is the cessation of this suffering (dukkha-nirodha); and, the understanding of unwholesome and wholesome actions and their roots, abandoning the roots, and understanding their cessation is the noble path (ariya-magga). [34]
In addition, the ten courses of unwholesome action and ten courses of wholesome action can be understood in terms of the following five aspects: mental state (whether or not volition was a primary factor); category (result of prior action or roots or both); object ( formation or beings); feeling (painful, pleasant or neutral); and, root (greed, hate and/or delusion). [35]
In elaborating upon the nutriments, the commentary states:
After understanding any of the three latter nutriments, "there is nothing further for the noble disciple to do." [36]
The commentary notes:
As this discourse analyzes each of the sixteen cases in terms of the Four Noble Truths (that is, in terms of each case's definition, origin, cessation and the path leading to cessation) and that it provides a twofold analysis (in terms of a brief initial statement followed by a more detailed explanation), and that understanding each of these can lead to arahantship, the commentary concludes:
Yato kho āvuso ariyasāvako evaṃ ... pajānāti, |
"When a noble disciple has thus understood ..., |
In Bodhi's introduction to Ñanamoli & Bodhi (1991) and in Bodhi (2005), p. 446, n. 12, Bodhi points out that (according to the commentarial Papañcasūdani) eliminating the underlying tendencies of lust (rāgānusaya) and aversion (paṭighānusaya) is the path of the non-returner ( anagami) while eliminating the underlying tendency to the view of and pride (māno) in a self is the path of the arahant. See Fetter (Buddhism) for overlapping information.
[Monks:] Sādhāvusoti kho te bhikkhū āyasmato sāriputtassa bhāsitaṃ abhinanditvā anumoditvā āyasmantaṃ sāriputtaṃ uttariṃ pañhaṃ āpucchuṃ: siyā panāvuso aññopi pariyāyo yathā ariyasāvako sammādiṭṭhi hoti ... āgato imaṃ saddhammanti? |
[Monks:] 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 Dhamma?" |
In effect, these topics (the unwholesome, the nutriments, etc.) are substrata for developing right view. The Pali Text Society's Pali-English Definition states that, according to Buddhaghosa, pariyāya can be understood in three ways: (1) "turn, course"; (2) "instruction, presentation"; and, (3) "cause, reason, also case, matter." (Rhys Davids & Stede, 1921-25, p. 433, entry for "Pariyāya," imbedded URL retrieved 20 Sep 2007.) For this article, given these authoritative definitions, the term "case" has been chosen. As additional alternatives, Ñanamoli & Bodhi (1991) translate pariyāya simply as "way" and Thanissaro (2005b) translates it as "line of reasoning."
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The Sammādiṭṭhi Sutta ( Pali for "Right View Discourse") is the 9th discourse in Majjhima Nikaya of Pāli Canon that provides an elaboration on the Buddhist notion of "right view" by the Buddha's chief disciple, Ven. Sariputta. The Chinese canon contains two corresponding translations, the Maha Kotthita Sutra (大拘絺羅經) and the Kotthita Sutra (拘絺羅經).
Right view is the first factor of the Buddhist Noble Eightfold Path, the path that leads to the cessation of suffering. [1] Right view is considered the "forerunner" of all other path factors. [2] Historically, this particular discourse has been used as a primer for monks in South and Southeast Asian monasteries [3] and is read aloud monthly in some Mahayana monasteries.
In the Pali Canon, the Sammaditthi Sutta is the ninth discourse in the Majjhima Nikaya ("Middle-length Collection," abbreviated as either "MN" or "M") and is designated by either "MN 9" [4] or "M.1.1.9" [5] or "M i 46". [6] In the Chinese canon, the Maha Kotthita Sutra (大拘絺羅經) is found in the Taisho Tripitaka Vol. 1, No. 26, page 461, sutra 29 and the Kotthita Sutra (拘絺羅經) is found in the Taisho Tripitaka Vol. 2, No. 99, page 94, sutra 344.
In this discourse, Ven. Sariputta addresses a congregation of monks ( bhikkhu) about how (in English and Pali):
... ariyasāvako sammādiṭṭhi hoti. |
"... a
noble disciple is one of right view, |
At the monks' repeated urging, Ven. Sariputta then identifies the following sixteen cases (pariyāya) [11] through which a noble disciple could achieve right view:
Right view is achieved for the last fifteen of these cases by understanding (pajānāti) the four phases of each case: [12]
Ven. Sariputta describes the "unwholesome" (akusala) as entailing ten different actions of three different types: [13]
The "root of the unwholesome" (akusalamūla) is threefold:
The wholesome (kusala) entails abstention (veramaṇī) from the aforementioned unwholesome physical and verbal acts as well as non-covetousness (anabhijjhā), non-ill will (abyāpādo) and right view (sammādiṭṭhi). The wholesome's root (kusalamūla) is nongreed (alobho), nonhatred (adoso) and nondelusion (amoho).
Understanding (pajānāti) these twenty actions and six roots, the noble disciple abandons greed, aversion, conceit and ignorance, arouses wisdom, ends suffering and is one of right view.
Ven. Sariputta describes the "nutriments" (āhāro) as fourfold:
The arising (origin) of nutriment is due to the arising of craving. The cessation of nutriment is the cessation of craving. The way leading to the cessation of nutriment is the Noble Eightfold Path. Understanding nutriment, its origin, cessation and the way leading to its cessation, the noble disciple abandons greed, aversion, conceit and ignorance, arouses wisdom, ends suffering and is one of right view.
|
Ven. Sariputta describes the Four Noble Truths using traditional canonical phrases: [14]
Understanding suffering, its origin, cessation and the way leading to its cessation, the noble disciple abandons greed, aversion, conceit and ignorance, arouses wisdom, ends suffering and is one of right view.
Ven. Sariputta then describes individually each of the twelve causes (represented in the sidebar to the right) of Dependent Origination using traditional canonical phrases, starting with "aging and death" ( jaramarana) and regressing to "ignorance" ( avijjā). [15]
In this formulation, the next further back cause is the "origin" of the current cause. Thus, for instance, the origin of "aging and death" is "birth" ( jati), the origin of "birth" is "becoming" ( bhava), etc. Here, the origin of "ignorance" is the "taints" ( āsava, see below). The cause's cessation is its temporal predecessor's cessation (for instance, old age and death cease when birth ceases). The way leading to the cessation of any of these twelve causes is the Noble Eightfold Path.
Understanding any one of these twelve causes, its origin, cessation and the way leading to its cessation, the noble disciple abandons greed, aversion, conceit and ignorance, arouses wisdom, ends suffering and is one of right view. [16]
Naturally following through on his assertion that ignorance arises from the taints, Ven. Sariputta next enumerates the three taints (tayo āsava):
The origin of the taints is in turn ignorance (avijjā). [17]
Understanding the taints, their origin (ignorance), cessation (the cessation of ignorance) and the way leading to their cessation (the Noble Eightfold Path), the noble disciple abandons greed, aversion, conceit and ignorance, arouses wisdom, ends suffering and is one of right view.
Upon hearing this last case described, the monks were satisfied.
Part of a series on |
Theravāda Buddhism |
---|
![]() |
Throughout the Pali Canon, other discourses underline and amplify the topics discussed in this discourse. Below is a sample of such discourses regarding the definition of right view, wholesome and unwholesome actions, and the roots of greed, hate and delusion.
In the "An Analysis of the Path" discourse ( SN 45.8), the Buddha is recorded as uttering a brief formula for defining "right view":
... dukkhe ñāṇaṃ |
"Knowledge with regard to stress [dukkha], |
This pithy phrase reflects the core process of the Sammaditthi Sutta insomuch that each of the discourse's cases is analyzed in terms of its existence, its origin, its cessation and the way leading to its cessation (that is, the Noble Eightfold Path). [20]
This condensed formulaic definition of "right view" is found in other canonical discourses as well as in the Abhidhamma Pitaka. [21] In addition, in the Pali literature, this same definition is provided for "wisdom" (vijjā), [22] "non-delusion" (amoho), [23] and the "four knowledges of this world" (aparāni cattāri ñāṇāni). [24]
In "The Brahmans of Sala" discourse ( MN 41), as elsewhere in the Canon, the Buddha elaborates in detail on the ten unwholesome and ten wholesome actions. For instance, regarding unwholesome mental actions, the Buddha is recorded as having stated:
In the "Roots" discourse ( AN 3.69), the Buddha describes the three roots of greed, hate (or aversion) and delusion in the following power-driven fashion:
The same exact formula is used for "aversion" and "delusion" substituting these words for "greed."
Additionally, the Buddha describes how a person overcome with these roots has on-going problems:
In juxtaposition, the person whose unwholesome roots are abandoned experiences present moment ease:
The traditional Pali commentary ( atthakatha) to the Majjhima Nikaya is the Papañcasūdani (abbrev., Ps. or MA). [29] It includes a line-by-line analysis of this discourse. [30] Portions of this commentary can also be found in the Visuddhimagga. [31] Both of these texts are attributed to Buddhaghosa.
Persons of Right View (According to the Pali Commentary) | |||
type of right view |
type of person | understanding | |
mundane right view (lokiya) |
"worldling" (puthujjana) |
Buddhists & non-Buddhists |
believes in one's own kamma [32] |
Buddhists only |
does not hold to a "view of self" | ||
supra- mundane right view (lokuttara) |
disciple in higher training (sekha): stream-enterer, once-returner, non-returner |
"fixed" right view | |
one beyond training (asekha): arahant |
right view "beyond training" |
The Papañcasūdani identifies different types of right view contingent on one's breadth and depth of understanding (see the adjacent table). According to this commentary, when Ven. Sariputta discusses one "who has perfect confidence in the Dhamma and has arrived at the true Dhamma," he is referring to one who has attained "supramundane right view," thus holding out this higher achievement as a milestone for his audience. [33]
According to the Pali commentary, the unwholesome and the wholesome can be understood within the four-phase framework (suffering-origin-cessation-path) used to analyze this discourse's other fifteen cases. From one perspective, the unwholesome and the wholesome are a form of suffering (dukkha). Likewise, their respective roots (greed, nongreed, etc.) are thus "the origin of suffering" (dukkha-samudaya); the non-arising of the roots is the cessation of this suffering (dukkha-nirodha); and, the understanding of unwholesome and wholesome actions and their roots, abandoning the roots, and understanding their cessation is the noble path (ariya-magga). [34]
In addition, the ten courses of unwholesome action and ten courses of wholesome action can be understood in terms of the following five aspects: mental state (whether or not volition was a primary factor); category (result of prior action or roots or both); object ( formation or beings); feeling (painful, pleasant or neutral); and, root (greed, hate and/or delusion). [35]
In elaborating upon the nutriments, the commentary states:
After understanding any of the three latter nutriments, "there is nothing further for the noble disciple to do." [36]
The commentary notes:
As this discourse analyzes each of the sixteen cases in terms of the Four Noble Truths (that is, in terms of each case's definition, origin, cessation and the path leading to cessation) and that it provides a twofold analysis (in terms of a brief initial statement followed by a more detailed explanation), and that understanding each of these can lead to arahantship, the commentary concludes:
Yato kho āvuso ariyasāvako evaṃ ... pajānāti, |
"When a noble disciple has thus understood ..., |
In Bodhi's introduction to Ñanamoli & Bodhi (1991) and in Bodhi (2005), p. 446, n. 12, Bodhi points out that (according to the commentarial Papañcasūdani) eliminating the underlying tendencies of lust (rāgānusaya) and aversion (paṭighānusaya) is the path of the non-returner ( anagami) while eliminating the underlying tendency to the view of and pride (māno) in a self is the path of the arahant. See Fetter (Buddhism) for overlapping information.
[Monks:] Sādhāvusoti kho te bhikkhū āyasmato sāriputtassa bhāsitaṃ abhinanditvā anumoditvā āyasmantaṃ sāriputtaṃ uttariṃ pañhaṃ āpucchuṃ: siyā panāvuso aññopi pariyāyo yathā ariyasāvako sammādiṭṭhi hoti ... āgato imaṃ saddhammanti? |
[Monks:] 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 Dhamma?" |
In effect, these topics (the unwholesome, the nutriments, etc.) are substrata for developing right view. The Pali Text Society's Pali-English Definition states that, according to Buddhaghosa, pariyāya can be understood in three ways: (1) "turn, course"; (2) "instruction, presentation"; and, (3) "cause, reason, also case, matter." (Rhys Davids & Stede, 1921-25, p. 433, entry for "Pariyāya," imbedded URL retrieved 20 Sep 2007.) For this article, given these authoritative definitions, the term "case" has been chosen. As additional alternatives, Ñanamoli & Bodhi (1991) translate pariyāya simply as "way" and Thanissaro (2005b) translates it as "line of reasoning."