..续本文上一页ultidimensional one where all legitimate wholesome practices, from generosity to virtuous conduct to transcendent meditation, are essential aspects of the way leading toward the ultimate goal, the cessation of suffering. The term sãsana usually refers to this aggregate of the Buddha”s teaching, its practices, and its realization.
sãvaka: A direct disciple of the Lord Buddha who hears the Buddha”s teaching and declares him to be his teacher.
Supreme-mindfulness and supreme-wisdom: Mindfulness (sati) is the faculty of being keenly attentive to whatever arises within one”s field of awareness. Wisdom (paññã) is the faculty of intuitive insight that probes, examines, and analyzes the nature of phenomena as mindfulness becomes aware of them. Supreme-mindfulness and supreme-wisdom are these two faculties developed to an advanced level of proficiency characterized by heightened alertness, quickness, and agility, combined with incisive powers of reasoning. Constantly working in unison, without a moment”s lapse in concentration, supreme-mindfulness and supreme-wisdom are said to be capable of automatically tracking and penetrating to the truth of all phenomena as they arise and cease. Being the only mental faculties capable of investigating the increasingly more subtle defilements at the highest stage of the Transcendent Path (arahattamagga), their development is a prerequisite for reaching this level of practice and thus for attaining the ultimate goal, Nibbãna.
Theravãda: “Doctrine of the Elders”. Handed down to us in the Pãli language, it is the oldest form of the Buddha”s teachings. Theravãda is the only one of the early schools of Buddhism to have survived into the present. It is currently the dominant form of Buddhism in Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Burma.
three worlds of existence: The Sensuous World (Kãma-loka), The Fine Material World (Rupa-loka), and the Immaterial World (Arupa-loka), which together comprise the entire universe of sentient existence.
vimutti: Absolute Freedom, that is, freedom from the fabrications and conventions of the mind. Vimutti is a synonym for Nibbãna.
viññãna: Consciousness; simple cognizance. As the fifth component of personality, viññãna khandha simply registers sense data, feelings, and mental impressions as they occur. For instance, when visual images make contact with the eye, or when thoughts occur in the mind, consciousness of them arises simultaneously. When that object subsequently ceases, so too does the consciousness that took note of it.
wisdom (paññã): The term wisdom denotes an active, incisive application of the principles of cause and effect for the purpose of probing, examining, and analyzing physical and mental phenomena, as they arise and cease, so as to see them for what they really are: inherently impermanent and unstable, bound up with pain and suffering, and devoid of anything that can be identified as “self”. As it is used in Buddhism, wisdom implies much more than just sound judgement. Wisdom is a faculty that searches, probes, compares, and investigates the workings of body and mind in light of the fundamental principles of truth in order to gain a decisive advantage over the defiling elements (kilesas) that obscure their true nature and the true nature of the one who knows them.
Although inductive reasoning is initially very much a part of the practice of wisdom, insights based solely on it are still superficial. As the faculty of wisdom develops and becomes more introspective, its skills become increasingly more subtle, while its insights become more intuitive in nature. Only when meditative insight penetrates deeply can the root causes of the mind”s discontent be truly exposed, uprooted, and destroyed.
In general, wisdom is the proactive complement to the quiescence of samãdhi. Both work together in tandem to ensure that the task of eradicating the kilesas is accomplished with maximum efficiency. Both are essential aspects of the path leading to the cessation of all suffering.
About the Translator
Born Richard E. Byrd, Jr. at Winchester, Virginia in 1948, Bhikkhu Sïlaratano was ordained as a Buddhist monk at Bangkok, Thailand in 1977, having already undergone several years of Buddhist training in India and Sri Lanka. Since his ordination, he has been resident in Thailand, practicing under the tutelage of Ãcariya Mahã Boowa.
OTHER BOOKS BY ĀCARIYA MAHĀ BOOWA THAT HAVE BEEN TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION:
1. Venerable Ãcariya Mun Bhuridatta Thera — A Spiritual Biography
Translation by Sïlaratano Bhikkhu
2. Venerable Ãcariya Mun”s Patipadã: His Lineage”s Way of Practice
The Companion Volume to Venerable Ãcariya Mun”s Biography
Translation by Venerable Ãcariya Paññãvaððho Thera
3. Venerable Ãcariya Khao Anãlayo: A Forest Meditation Master”s Biography
Translation by Venerable Ãcariya Paññãvaððho Thera
4. Wisdom Develops Samãdhi
A Guide to the Practice of the Buddha”s Meditation Methods
Translation by Venerable Ãcariya Paññãvaððho Thera
HARD COPIES OF THESE TITLES ARE PRINTED FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION BY:
Forest Dhamma Books
Baan Taad Forest Monastery
Baan Taad, Ampher Meung
Udon Thani 41000
Thailand
FDBooks@gmail.com
THE ABOVE BOOKS AND OTHER TITLES CAN BE DOWNLOADED FOR FREE FROM:
www.ForestDhammaBooks.com
《The Path to Arahantship》全文阅读结束。