Early Monastic Buddhism v1.c8.s8: Diṭṭhadhammanibbānavāda

Early Monastic Buddhism v1.c8.s8

Language: English

Diṭṭhadhammanibbānavāda

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X. Five classes of *Diṭṭha-dhammanibbānavādins* (theorisers about the attainment of Nibbāna in this life).

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Those who believe that the soul attains Nibbāna (perfection) (a) when it fully enjoys the pleasures of the five senses, viz., *rūpa*, *rasa*, *śabda*, *gandha* and *sparśa*;

(b) when it, free from desires (*kāma*) and evil thoughts and actions (*akusala-dhamma*), enters into the first *jhāna* in which state, there is reflection (*vitakka*) and judgment (*vicāra*) and a feeling of joy derived through dissociation from the world;

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(c) when it, in the second *jhāna*, becomes free from reflection and judgment, internally serene, and remains with thoughts concentrated and in the enjoyment of happiness derived through meditation;

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(d) when it, in the third *jhāna*, becomes indifferent to happiness and unhappiness, remains conscious of all that is happening, and is pervaded by a sense of ease; and

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(e) when it, after dismissing both happiness and unhappiness, pleasure and pain, is in the fourth *jhāna*, which is a pure state having only equanimity (*upekkhā*) and memory (*sati*).

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These five views hardly need any comment. The first is that of the worldly man running after worldly pleasures and may well be compared to the materialistic school of philosophy like the Lokāyatikas or the Bārhaspatyas according to whom the *summum bonum* of human life lies in the full enjoyment of the worldly pleasures attainable through wealth yielded by cattle-rearing, trade, agriculture etc.¹ The next four views refer to the four *jhānas*, which are regarded as the lowest rungs in the ladder of spiritual advancement.

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¹ See *Sarvasiddhāntasaṅgraha*, edited and translated by Prem Sundar Bose, 1929, p. 7.

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Hence those who have reached one of them are far from Nibbāna, but the people, as the *Brahmajāla Sutta* wants to show, are led away by their own beliefs and aver that the happy state reached in those stages must be the highest and constitutes Nibbāna in the present life. These four views are also based like the previous ones, on ecstatic experiences, and are given out by those only whose highest attainment has been one of the *jhānas*.¹

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¹ It is evident from the above exposition of the *Brahmajāla Sutta*, that its compiler has spoken more of the opinions of the imperfect Buddhist monks than those of the non-Buddhist thinkers existing at the time of the appearance of Buddhism. It enumerates the misconceptions and misinterpretations current among the Buddhist monks after Buddhism had been in existence for some time.

Linked texts (2)

Brahmajālasutta — Pāli
Sarvasiddhāntasaṅgraha — Śaṅkara, Sanskrit