..续本文上一页 come to see for yourself which kind of knowledge is genuine, and which is counterfeit. Counterfeit knowledge, merely knows, but can”t let go. Genuine knowledge, when it goes about knowing anything, is bound to let go.

　　All three levels of the mind discussed so far are on the mundane level.

　　4. The transcendent level: This begins with the path and fruition of entry into the stream to nibbana. Those who reach this level have begun by following the threefold training of virtue, concentration and discernment on the mundane level, but then have gone on to gain their first true insight into the four Noble Truths, enabling them to free themselves from the first three Fetters (sanyojana). Their minds are thus released into the stream to nibbana. The three Fetters are —

　　a. Self-identification (sakkaya-ditthi): the view that leads us to believe that the body is our own.

　　b. Doubt (vicikiccha): the uncertainty that leads us to be unsure of the good we believe in — i.e., of how much truth there is to the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha.

　　c. Attachment to precepts and practices (silabbata-paramasa): fondling the good that we practice; being attached to those forms of goodness that are merely external — for instance, observing precepts or practices by clinging simply to the level of bodily action or speech. Examples of this attitude include such things as developing virtue by adhering simply to the precepts; practicing concentration by simply sitting like a post; not being able to free yourself from these actions, always holding onto the goodness that comes from them, happy when you have the chance to perform them in a particular way, upset when you don”t; thinking, for instance, that virtue is something you get from monks when they give you the precepts; that the eight precepts are to be observed only on certain days and nights, months and years; that you gain or lose merit simply as a result of external actions associated with your accustomed beliefs. None of these attitudes reaches the essence of virtue. They go no further than simply clinging to beliefs, customs, and conventions; clutching onto these forms of goodness, always fondling them, unable to let them go. Thus this is called ”attachment to precepts and practices.”

　　Such attitudes are an obstacle to what is truly good. Take, for example, the long-held belief that goodness means to practice charity, virtue and meditation on the sabbath days: stream-winners have completely let go of such beliefs. Their hearts are no longer caught up in beliefs and customs. Their virtues no longer have precepts. In other words, they have reached the essence of virtue. Their virtue is free from the limits of time. In this they differ from ordinary, run-of-the-mill people. Ordinary people have to hand goodness over to external criteria — believing, for instance, that virtue lies on this day or that, during Rains Retreat, during this or that month or year — and then holding fast to that belief, maintaining that anyone who doesn”t follow the custom can”t be virtuous. In the end, such people have a hard time finding the opportunity really to do good. Thus we can say that they don”t know the true criteria for goodness. As for stream-winners, all the qualities of virtue have come in and filled their hearts. They are able to unshackle themselves from the conventional values of the world that say that this or that is good. What is truly good they have seen appear in their hearts. Good lies right here. Evil lies right here. Neither depends on external actions. This is in line with the Buddha”s saying,

　　mano-pubbangama dhamma

　　mano-settha mano-maya

　　All matters are preceded by the heart,

　　Excelled by the heart,

　　Achieved through the heart.

　　This is what is meant by ”stream-winner”.

　　Stream-winners are like people who h…

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