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Chapter (1)
Lust, Hatred and Delusion
There are three fires: the fire of lust, the fire of hatred, and the fire of
delusion. (It 93)
The fire of lust burns lustful mortals
Who are entangled in the sense-objects.
The fire of hate burns wrathful-men
Who urged by hate-slay living beings.
Delusion’s fires burns foolish folk
Who can not see the holy Dhamma.
These who delight in the embodied group
Do not know this triple fire.
The cause, the worlds of woe to grow;
The hell and like us animals;
The ghostly and demonic realms;
Unfreed are they from Mara’s chains.
But those who live by day and night
Devoted to the Buddha’s law,
They quench within the fire of lust
By seeing the impurity of body,

They quench within the fire of hate

By loving-kindness, loftiest of men,
Delusion’s fire they also quench
By wisdom ripening in penetration,

When they extinguish these three fires,

Wise, unremitting day and night,
Completely they are liberated,
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Completely they transcend all ill.

Seers of the holy realm,
Through perfect knowledge wise,
By direct vision ending all rebirth,
They do not go to any new existence. (Ñyānaponika 35)

The list of their synonyms

Greed; liking, wishing, longing, fondness, affection, attachment,
lust, cupidity, craving, passion, self-indulgence, possessiveness,
avarice, desire for the wealth, offspring, fame, etc-
Hatred; dislike, disgust, revulsion, resentment, grudge, ill-
humor, vexation, irritability, antagonism, aversion, anger, wrath,
vengefulness.
Delusion; stupidity, dullness, confusion, ignorance of essentials,
(e-g., of the Four Noble Truths), prejudice, ideological dogmatism,
fanaticism, wrong views, conceit. (Nyānaponika 17)
Characteristics
According to the Kamma of many previous, all livings have
attractive and various Characteristics. Characteristics have not only
animate beings but also inanimate beings. Both; Paramatṭha
(Realities) as well as Paññatti (Unrealities) have characteristics. These
are different one another as characteristic. Some are good and some
are bad; such as kindhearted and unkind-hearted, good-natured and
bad-natured, diligent and lazy, honest and dishonest, polite and
impolite, pious and impious, pretty and ugly, justice and injustice,
generous and mean and so on, likewise-
Greed has the characteristic of gasping an object, like birdlime
(lit- monkey lime). Its function is sticking, like meat put in hot pan. It is
manifested as not giving up, like the dye of lamp-black. Its proximate
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cause is seeing enjoyment in things that lead to states of misery as a

swift-flowing river does to the great ocean.
Hatred has the characteristic of savageness, like a provoked. Its
function is to like a drop of poison, or its function is to burn up its own
support, like a forest fire. It is manifested as persecuting like an enemy
that has got his chance. Its proximate cause is the grounds for
annoyance (Āghātavatthu). It should be regarded as being like state
urine mixed with poison.
Delusion has the characteristic of blindness, or it has the
characteristic of unknowing. Its function is non-penetration, or its
function is to conceal the true nature of an object. It is manifested as
the absence of right view, or it is manifested as darkness. Its
proximate cause is unwise (unjustified) attention. It should be regarded
as the root of all that is unwholesome. (Ñānamoli Bhukkhu
529,530,532, 2006)
Differences of three fires
As if their characteristics are different, those are so unlike by
arising and passing away (Udaya-vaya). So the Buddha expounded the
Dhamma his followers-
“If you were questioned by the outsiders “There are, friends,
three states of mind: greed, hatred, and delusion, what are their
distinction, their diversity, and their difference? You should explain it to
those outsiders in this way “greed is a lesser and fades away slowly;
hatred is a great fault and fades away quickly; delusion is a great fault
and fades away slowly”.(A 1.200)
Footprints
Although there are many people in this world, their
characteristics; physical and mental, are different one another, even,
sons and daughters which were born by only one mother.
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As if characters are different from one another, their foot prints

are also unlike. Ordinary men; who have not reached the path, can not
identify about it with their limited knowledge. If a person who is well-
versed in the Vedic treaties, he can know very well with regard to
footprints.
For example, once, when the Buddha was surveying the world,
he perceived the spiritual development of the married couple who was
called Māgandhīya. Out of compassion for them he visited their
place. Brahmin saw the Buddha’s fascinating physical beauty. So he
proposed the Buddha for marriage his daughter to cherish and support.
He then, went back his house to take his wife and daughter. The
Buddha in the meantime stamped his footprint on that spot so that
Brahmin can see and moved to another place.
The Brahmin and his wife, accompanied by their daughter who
was dressed in her best garments, came to that spot and observed the
footprint. The wife was a skilled in the three Vedas. So she very well
knew that it was not the footprint of an ordinary man but of a pure
person who had eradicated all passions. The Brahmin then was
explained about footprints according to the Vedic treaties by his wife
as follows, after seeing the Buddha’s footprint.
Rattassa hi ukkutikam padaṃ bhave,
Dutthassa hoti sahasānupīlitaṃ,
Mūlassa hoti avakadditaṃ padaṃ,
Vivittacchadassa idamīdisaṃ padaṃ. (Dhp A: 1.128)
The footprint of a lustful man will be squatty;
That of a wicked man violently pressed down;
Of one infatuate, the footprint will be shuffling;
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This is the sort of footprint made by one who has rolled back the
veil of passion, saying “This is no footprint of one who follows the Five
Lusts”. (Burlingame 1.276)

(a) The fire of lust.

Explaining of three fires in each
Too much greed is bad.
The fire is hot. There is no fire which is no hot. But everybody,
uncontrolled own desire, does not know that “will greed and lust
whether make me hot or not?” They can not content with just this and
that. They, thus, committed many stupid mistakes.
For instance, “Formerly, the Thullanandā was the wife of a
certain Brahmin and there were three daughters, Nandā, Nandavatī,
Sundarīnandā. Then, that Brahmin, having passed away, was born in
the womb of a certain goose and his feathers were made all of gold. He
gave a feather one by one to those. Then, the old wife, saying; “this
goose is giving us a feather one by one,’ having taken hold of that king
of the goose, plucked him.
His feathers, on growing again, turned out white. So at that time,
the old wife lost the gold through too much greed. About that, the
Buddha said –
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Yaṃ laddhaṃ tena tutthabbaṃ, atilobo hi pāpako.

Haṃsarājaṃ gahetvāna, suvamnā parihāyatha. (Vin: 2.339)
“One should be pleased with what is received, for too much
greed is bad. By taking hold of the king of the geese, one may lose the
gold”. In fact, the fire of lust and greed is so much terrible.
Craving is the Main Cause of Suffering
According to the Noble Truth of Suffering, life is suffering and
suffering is life. Here ‘life’ means the five aggregates of attachment
and refers to a ‘being’. According to the Noble Truth of the Cause of
Suffering, craving (tanhā) is taken as the main cause of suffering.
Tanhā and rāga refers to the mental factor ‘lobha’. Lobha has
characteristics: ‘craving’ and ‘attachment’. As an ultimate reality, it
never relinquishes these characteristics.
Craving craves for and attach to gold, money, wealth, property,
luxury, official position, authority, sense objects, mind subjects,
ideology, etc. so, it urges people to struggle in many ways to possess
these things. Such struggle means suffering. If, in spite of hard
struggle, people fail to get them, they are stricken with sorrow and
grief. If they succeed in acquiring them, they have to worry for the
safety of these things and guard them. This is also suffering. If, in spite
of their effort to guard their possessions, these things are lost, they are
in great despair.
The desire of greed or craving can never be satisfied. The more it
gets, the more it wants. It is like drinking salty sea water: the more we
drink, the thirstier we feel. When we put more fuel into it, the flame
grows bigger; likewise, when we enjoy more sense pleasure, so too the
sense desire grows stronger. To be always hungry and thirsty for
sensuality is real suffering. For example, (Mehm Tin Mon 8)
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A discontented monk desired to leave the Order, hoping to live

on the meager possessions left by his father. The Buddha explained
that no satisfaction can arise in sense-desires as follow.
“Monk, the pieces of money which you possess are but few in
number. How can you hope to satisfy your desire with so few as these?
In times past lived men who exercised sways as Universal Monarchs,
men who by a mere waving if the arms were able to cause a rain of
jewels to fall, covering the ground for twelve leagues waist-deep with
jewels; these men ruled as kings until Thirty-six Sakkas had died; and
although exercising sovereignty over the gods for so long, died, when
they did died, without having fulfilled their desires.” (Dhp A: 2. 156),
(Burlingame 2.62)
Na kahāpanavassena, titti kāmesu vijjati
Appasādā dhukā kāmā, iti viññāya pandito
Apidibbesu kāmesu, ratiṃ so nādhigacchati
Tanhakkhayarato hoti, sammāsambuddhasāvako. (Dhp:
Verse-186, 7)
Not by a shower of gold coins does contentment arise in sensual
pleasures. Of little sweetness, and painful, are sensual pleasures.
Knowing thus, the wise man finds no delight even in heavenly
pleasures. The disciple of the Fully Enlightened One delights in the
destruction of craving. (Nārada Thera 167, 2000)
Because of dissatisfaction and selfish desire, people commit
theft, robbery, rob, and quarrel, and would cause many unpleasant
things, even world wars. Thus, greed or craving causes so many
sufferings in the present life. It will produce evil consequence in the
future life also.
Attachment is the Cause of Suffering
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The second characteristic of greed or craving is attachment,

which is the cause of all suffering. The nature of attachment of greed is
described In Abhidhmmā with the example of the monkey-catching or
birdlime.
People are firmly attached to their wives, husbands, sons,
daughters, and cars, and so on, with craving. So they are bound to
these things with the ropes or fetters of craving. They can not escape
from this bondage. Because of this strong bondage, they can not go to
meditation centers to meditate for a long time. So they can not escape
from the round of rebirth and have to drift along in saṃsāra. (Mehm
Tin Mom 89)
When one of our beloved ones falls seriously ill or suffers great
pain, we also feel very worried and sad. If that person dies, we
inconsolably weep, lament and grieve over the death of that person.
This great suffering obviously arises out of attachment to that person,
for we feel indifferent, when we hear the illness and death of unknown
people.
Visākhā of Sāvatthi, who was a stream winner (sotāpanna), had
20 sons and daughters, 400 grand children and 8000 great grand
children. One day she came to the Buddha at noon with her hair and
clothes wet with water. She said that she came back from the
cemetery for the funeral of one of her beloved grand children and that
she could not console herself for the great loss.
When the Buddha asked her if she knew the reason for her great
despair, she admitted that she did not know. The Buddha pointed out
that it was due to the attachment to her dead child. (Ud: 190)
In the world, many heart-broken lovers are laid in bed without
any appetite to eat or drink. Some commit suicide. Some people who
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are financially ruined also commit suicide. How great is suffering

caused by the attachment due to greed or craving in this very life!
Tanhāya jāyatī soko, tanhāya jāyatī bhayam.
Tanhāya vippamuttassa, natthi soko kutobhayam. (Dhp:
Verse-216)
From craving springs grief; from craving springs fear;
For him who is wholly free from craving;
There is no grief, much less fear.
Craving and attachment are the most powerful force causing not
only various forms of suffering in this very life, but also the
continuation of existence. It builds and rebuilds new existences over
and over again. Life depends on the desire and craving for life. “Natthi
rāgasamo aggi” (Dhp: Verse-202) “There is no fire like lust”. Craving
and lust is, indeed, the hottest fire that is burning all worldliness.

(b)The Fire of Hatred

Hatred (anger) or violence of mind is called dosa (hatred). Dosa
is not only violent but also soils the mind. It is not only wild and rude,
but also depressive resulting in interiority complex and living in fear;
they all belong to the category of dosa or hatred.
In brief sorrow, grief, depression, anger, grudge, frightening
others with abusive language, attacking, planning to kill other people –
all of these is dosa. Since dosa is with both fear and violence, the
angry, violent person is also easily frightened. Be aware of such
persons. (Violence is called ascending hatred, whereas fear is called
descending hatred. (Janakābhivamsa 44)
Hatred brings about disadvantages
On one occasion, a Brahmin by the name of Anatthapucchaka,
came to the Buddha and said to him “Venerable I think that you know
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only the advantageous practices and not the disadvantageous

practices”.
The Buddha answered to him that he also knows the practices
which were not beneficial and harmful. Then, the Buddha enumerated
six practices including hatred which cause dissipation of wealth; they
are-
(1) sleeping until the sun has arisen (Ussuraseyyaṃ),
(2) habitual idleness (Ālasyaṃ),
(3) cruelty (Caṇḍikkaṃ),
(4) indulgence in intoxicants which cause drunkenness and
negligence (Dīghasoṇḍyaṃ),
(5) sauntering alone in streets at an unearthly hours
(Ekassaddhāna gamanaṃ), and
(6) Sexual misconduct (Paradārūpasevanam).
Of the six practices which cause dissipation of wealth, the
(practice of) cruelty can cause many trouble both; in this existence and
in the future existence. (DhpA: 1.418)
When someone is being angry, he can not identify beneficial
cause as well as unbeneficial cause. So the Buddha said-
Anattha janano kodho, kodho cittappakopano,
Bhayamantarato jataṃ, taṃ jano nāvabujjati. (A: 2.471)
Anger fathers misery; this fury does so cloud the mind
Of man that he can not discern, this fearful inner danger.
Kuddho atthaṃ na jānāti,
Kuddho dhammam na passati.
An angry man no meaning knows, No angry man sees the
Dhamma.
(Ñānamoli Thera 11, 1987)
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For example, in the Mittavindaka Jātaka, (Ja: 1.384) Mittavindaka,

the son of rich man kicked his mother’s chest with his leg. And then, he
went on a journey with his friends by ship. When they arrived in the
ocean, their ship was destroyed by the storm. Therefore, he faced
many adversities. However does he overcome various difficulties? He
had got to face up to disadvantages of very unpleasant behaviors.
Because of kicking his mother’s thorax without controlling his anger,
he felt the worst sufferings for many years.
This, indeed, is the fault of hatred and anger. It is very clear that
hatred is fire. The fire of hatred is so much terrible.
Spite and grudge
Spite and grudge are the same meanings of hatred. I, here,
would like to insert about the spite of women.
Suppose, a king has two queens: first and second. They are the
same level as well as abilities such as beauty, youth, kindness,
attention and so on. Between them, second queen is rather more
attractive than the first one. So, second queen is favored by the king. If
so, the former will sob into her pillow. She will feel that “Happiness
have disappeared in my life”. Women want to be first, not second. It is,
their way of life. Women’s weep grows out of grudge. By reason of
women’s tear-drops, there were so many annihilations of the human
races in the world.
Therefore, the Buddha preached so many Dhamma about the
women, “women are great spite, too greed, lower wisdom, and
whatnot (A: 2 .227)”. The mind of majority women, due to the
changeable, so fast, based on lower wisdom, is like the weather and
the traffic-lights and the river which is flowing.
In other words, women were compared with snake by the
Buddha that women are like poisonous snake: cobra or rattlesnake.
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Poisonous means that spite is like poison. Not only poison but also
spite caused bad consequence again, spite brings about bad effects
both: in this existence and in the future.
For instance, Princess Rohinī, sister of Venerable Anuruddhā, was
suffering from leprosy. She did not know why she was inflicted with
this dreaded disease. So, the Buddha explained her that she had the
awful sickness by reason of an evil deed she had done out of spite and
anger, in one of her previous existences.
At one time, Rohinī was the chief queen of the king of Bārānasī.
It so happened that the king had a favorite dancer and the chief queen
was very jealous of her. Therefore, one day she had her attendants put
some itching power in the dancer’s bed, blankets and on her. The girl
was in great pain and discomfort.
As a result of that evil deed, Rohinī had become a leper in this
existence. (DhpA: 2.193). That evil deed is based on the poisonous
jealousy or hatred. The fire of hatred is so much terrible.
Anger
We all know what anger is, and we’ve all felt it: whether as a
fleeting annoyance or full-fledged rage. Anger is a completely normal,
usually, healthy, human emotion. But when it gets out of control and
turns destructive, it can lead to problems at work, in our personal
relationships, and in the overall quality of our life. And it can make us
feel as though you’re at the mercy of an unpredictable and powerful
emotion. What is anger? Anger is “an emotional state that varies in
intensity from mild irritation to intense fury and rage”. Anger can be
caused by both external and internal events. You could be angry at a
specific person (such as a coworker or supervisor) or event (a traffic
jam, a canceled flight), or our anger could be caused by worrying about
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our personal problems. Memories of traumatic or enraging events can

also trigger angry feelings. (Dompth! 5)
In the world, many people committed minor crimes, serious
crimes and war crimes by dosa and hatred. Day by day, destruction of
living beings, stealing, unlawful sexual intercourse, are increasing by
dosa and hatred. The bombs are detonated by the scoundrel and cruel
person, at the inner-cities where crowded. Day after day, crimes
caused by hatred are convicting by the judge at the court of law and
judicature. So, the Buddha uttered this verse in the Dhammapada,
‘Natthi dosasamo kali’ (Dhp.Verse-202) there is no crime like hate. The
fire of hatred is so much terrible.
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(c) The Fire of Delusion.

Moha (delusion) is derived from muh, to delude. It is delusion,
stupidity, bewilderment. It is ‘moha’ that clouds an object and blinds
the mind. Sometimes ‘moha’ is rendered by ignorance.
According to the Abhidhammā, moha is common to all evil.
Lobha and dosa do not arise alone, but always in combination with
moha. Moha, on the other hand, does arise singly- hence the
designation ‘momūha’, intense delusion. Moha is one of the three roots
of evil and it is common to all immoral types of consciousness. It is
opposed to Paññā- wisdom. The chief characteristic of Moha is
confusion with regard to the nature of an object. Moha clouds one’s
knowledge with regard to Kamma and its consequences and the four
Noble Truths. (Nārada Thera 16, 94, 1979)
The nature of delusion (moha)
Delusion and ignorance are the name of avijjā (moha). Avijjā is
the mental factor moha which shields the mind so that we can not
know the true nature of life. It also covers the ultimate realities which
are the most basic natural entities that really exist in nature. It also
makes us ignorant of the nature of impermanence (anicca), the nature
of suffering (dukkha), the nature of non-self (anatta) and the nature of
loathsomeness (asubha) of the ultimate realities. It also shields the
causal relations of Dependent Arising and the Law of Kamma and its
effect.
Avijjā not only shields the mind to be ignorant of the true
nature of life and of the world but also deceives the mind to have the
wrong vision. It deceives the mind to see ‘non-self’ (anatta) as ‘self,
person, I’ (atta); to look at impermanence (anicca) as permanence
(nicca), to regard suffering (dukkha) as happiness (sukkha); and to see
what is degusting (asubha) to be beautiful (subha). (Mehm Tin Mon 99)
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The Wise Overwhelmed by Delusion

The Bodhisatta, Haritaca by name, having renounced the world,
abandoning his immense wealth of eighty corers of money, become a
hermit and attained great supernatural powers, jhānas and abhaiññas.
Then, as the rains were heavy in the Himalayas, he came to Bārānasī
and stayed in the king’s garden. The king of Bārānasī was his old friend
who was fulfilling the pāramīs (Perfections) to become the Venerable
Ānandā. Therefore, as soon as he saw the hermit revered him so much
that he asked him to stay in the royal garden and supported him with
four requisites; he himself offered the hermit morning meals at the
palace.
Once, as a rebellion broke out in the country, the king himself
had to go out to quell it. Before sitting out with his army, he requested
the queen again and again not to forget to look after the hermit. The
queen did as told. One early morning, she took a bath with scented
water and put on fine clothes and lay down on the couch waiting for
the hermit.
The Bodhisatta came through space with his supernormal power
and arrived at the palace window. Hearing the flutter of the hermit’s
robe, the queen hastily rose from her couch and her dress fell off her.
Seeing the queen divested of her clothes, the anusaya moha which lay
dormant in his mind-continuum rose to the stage of pariyutthana
moha, and filled with lust, he took the queen’s hand and committed
immoral transgression like a monster ogre.
But the hermit, being already quite matured in the pārāmīs
(Perfections), learnt a bitter lesson and greatly repented his deed on
the return of king. He endeavored again to gain his jhānas and
abhiññas and contemplating: “I have done wrong because of dwelling
in close proximity with the people,” returned to the Himalayas.
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We should seriously consider the stupidity arising through moha

in this story. If such moha did not appear in him, he would not have
committed such an evil deed even with the king’s consent. But at that
time, being overwhelmed by the darkness of delusion, he was unable
to see the evil consequences of his deed in the present and the future
existences throughout the saṃsāra, and consequently, committed that
improper transgression. The jhānas and abhiññas, which he had
acquired through practice for all his life, were also unable to dispel the
darkness of moha, instead, the power of jhānas abbhiññas themselves
vanished from him. The fire of delusion is so much terrible.
(Janakābhivamsa.15)
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Chapter (2)
(a) Impermanence; liberation from lust
The fact of impermanence
“Vayadhamā saṅkhāra, appāmādena saṃpādetha” (D: 2. 128)
Impermanent, subject to change, are component things. Strive on with
mindfulness! This was final admonition of the Buddha to his disciples.
And when the Buddha had passed away, Sakka, the chief of the deities,
uttered the following:
Aniccā vata sankhārā-uppādavayadhammino,
Uppajjtavā nirujjhanti-tesaṃvūpasamosukho. (D: 2.129,
Ja: 1.22)

“Impermanent are all component things, they arise and cease, that
is their nature: they come into being and pass away, Release from
them is bliss supreme.”
Even up to present times, at every Buddhist funeral, in Theravada
countries, this Pāli verse is recited by the Buddhist monks who perform
the obsequies, thus reminding the congregation of the evanescent
nature of life.
It is a common sight in Buddhist lands to see the devotees offer
flowers and light oil lamps before a Buddha image. They are not
praying to the Buddha or to any ‘supernatural being’. The flowers that
fade and the flames that die down, speak to them of the
impermanency of all conditioned things.
Change or impermanence is the essential characteristic of all
phenomenal existence. We can not say of anything, animate or
inanimate, organic or inorganic, ‘this is lasting’; for even while we are
saying this, it would be undergoing change. All is fleeting; the beauty
of flowers, the bird’s melody, the bee’s hum, and a sunset’s glory.
(Piyadassī Thera 1, 2, 3, 1981)
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Everything is impermanent
Buddha : Bhikkhus, what do you think? Is material for (rūpa)
permanent or
Impermanent?
Bhikkhus : Impermanent, Venerable Sir.
Buddha : Is what is impermanent suffering (dukkha) or
happiness
(sukha)?
Bhikkhus : Suffering, Venerable Sir.
Buddha : Is what is impermanent, suffering and subject to
change, fit to be
regarded: ‘This is mine’, (etam mama) ‘This I am’,
(esoha’masami), ‘This is my self’ (soul), (eso me
attā).
Bhikkhus : No, Venerable Sir.
Buddha : How about the other four aggregates (khandhā)
namely, feeling
(vedanā), perception (saññā), formation (sankhāra),
and conscious (viññāna)? Aren’t they also
impermanent, suffering and subject to change?
Bhikkhus : They are Venerable Sir.
Buddha : Are they fit to be regarded as ‘This is mine’, ‘This I
am’, ‘This is
my self’ (soul)?
Bhikkhus : No, Venerable Sir.
Buddha : You are right, bhikkhus. All aggregates should be
seen as actually
they are with proper wisdom thus: ‘This is not mine;
this I am not, this is not I (myself).
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Bhikkhus : Yes, we do understand, Venerable Sir.

Buddha : Seeing thus bhikkhus, a well taught noble disciple
becomes
disenchanted with the five aggregates
(pañcakkhadhā); being disenchanted he becomes
dispassionate, and through dispassion his mind is
liberated; in liberation the knowledge comes to be
that ‘It is liberated’. He understands: ‘Birth is
destroyed, holy life has been lived, what had to be
done has been done, there is no more coming to any
state of being’. (Vin: 3.19)
Patācārā and impermanence
Patācārā, lost her husband, her children, her parents and her only
brother under tragic circumstance. The Buddha comforted her and she
became a nun. One day, while she was washing her feet, she noticed
how the water flowed away in three stages –
Some drop of water flowed and subsided close to her, some farther
away from her, some still farther away from her. This induced her to
meditate on the transience of life, of which she had personal
experience. The Buddha saw her with His Divine Eye and projecting
Himself before her, uttered this stanza.
Yo ca vassasataṃ jīve, apassaṃ udayavyayaṃ.
Ekahaṃ jīvitaṃ seyo, passato udayavyayaṃ. (Dhp:
Verse-113)
Though one should live a hundred years without comprehending
how all things rise and pass a way, yet better, indeed, is a single day’s
life of one who comprehends how all things rise and pass away. (Nārada
Thera 106, 2000)
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Having realized the nature of impermanence, she has no all

attachment including lust. Soon she attained Arahantship. All condition
things are impermanence! Thus, the fire of lust was quenched by
impermanence.
The young monk and impermanence
A young monk was meditating on the impurities of the body but
with no effect, so Venerable Sāriputta took him to the Buddha and
related everything about the young monk. The Buddha, perceiving his
disposition, changed the subject of mediation for the young monk. The
Buddha gave him a lotus flower as a focus for mental concentration.
He progressed until he reached as far as the fourth level of mental
absorption (jhāna).
The Buddha, with his supernormal power, made the flower wither
instantly. Seeing the flower wither and change its colour, the monk
perceived the impermanent nature of the flower and of all other things
and beings. That led to the realization of the impermanence of all
conditioned things. Later, the young attained Arahatship. (DhpA: 2.267)
Priencess Janapadakalayānī and impermanence
Priencess Janapadakalayānī was the daughter-in-law of Gotamī,
because she was very beautiful, she was also known as Rupanandā.
She had become a nun but lacked faith. Rupanandā had heard from
others that the Buddha often taught that impermanence of the
aggregate (Khaṅdhā), fearing that the Buddha would speak
depreciatingly of her beauty, she would not visit the Buddha. One day,
when she came to the preaching hall with the others, the Buddha
conjured the vision of a beautiful woman, fanning Him. The Buddha,
then, caused the vision to change gradually, reflecting the ravages
wrought by old age and death. She came to perceive the true nature of
the aggregates.
 21

At this point, the Buddha talked about the impermanence of the

five kinds of aggregates, and Rupanandā attained Sotāpatti fruition.
(DhpA: 2.73)
The aggregates of mind and body being ever subject to cause
and effect, as we sew, pass through the inconceivably rapid moments
of arising, presently existing and ceasing (uppāda, ṭhiti, bhaṅga), just
as the unending waves of the sea or as a river in flood sweeps to a
climax and subsides. Indeed, human life is compared to a mountain
stream that flows and rushes changing incessantly (A: 2.137)
‘nadīsoto viya,’ like a flowing stream. (Piyadassī Thera 7, 1981)
Further says the Buddha: ‘Impermanent, monks, are pleasures of
the senses, empty, false, unreal; this prattle of fools is made of
illusion…Here these evil unwholesome thoughts lead to covetousness,
ill-will and quarrels. (M: 3 .106, Piyadassī Thera 110, 1987)
Conclusion
Greed (lust) is desire and is the root of all miseries. Greedy does
not want to offer possessions and wherewithal to other person.
Impermanence is the opposite of greed. The nature of impermanence
is undesired. It is the root of realization of the Path. One who penetrate
that all conditioned things are impermanence can liberate from the fire
of greed (lust).

(b) Loving-kindness; liberation from hatred

Loving-kindness or Mettā
In his exhortation to Rāhulā, the Buddha says: ‘cultivate, Rāhulā,
the meditation on loving-kindness; for by cultivating loving-kindness ill-
will is banished. (M: 2 .82, Piyadassī Thera 111, 1987)
Mettā is a popular term among Buddhists, yet no English word
conveys its exact meaning. Mettā - In Pāli the word Mitta means friend.
 22

Mitta becomes Mettā which indicates friendliness, good-will,

benevolence, loving kindness or the regarding of others as one’s
friends. (Wimalajoti.51)
Mettā is defined as that which softens one’s heart. It is not carnal
love or personal affection. The direct enemy of Mettā is hatred, ill will
or aversion (Kodha); its indirect enemy is personal affection (pema).
Mettā embraces all beings without exception. The culmination of Mettā
is the identification of oneself with all beings (Sabattatā). It is the wish
for the good and happiness of all; benevolent attitude is its chief
characteristic. It discards ill will. (Nārada Thera 404, 1997)
Although here ‘Mettā’ literally explains as loving-kindness, it is
not ordinary love or attention which is the indirect enemy of loving-
kindness.
The passionate love leads one to temporary happiness, unrest of
the mind and sometimes even to the various sufferings, whereas
Loving-kindness produces permanent happiness, blessing and peace in
the mind. Therefore it should be clearly understood that the ordinary
love is entirely different from loving-kindness.
Mettā is one of the Four Brahma Vihāras (four sublime states
of mind), namely; (1)Mettā- loving-kindness
(2)Karunā- compassion
(3)Muditā- Sympathetic joy
(4)Upekkhā- impartiality or equanimity
Mettā is also one of the common subjects for meditation. On
practicing Mettā, at first, one should extend loving-kindness towards
oneself. Secondly it should be spread towards one’s parents, husband
or wife, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters and the rest of the
family. Thirdly one should be able to spread loving-kindness among
 23

neighbors, villages or towns, then the whole country and finally to all
the beings in this world. (Wimalajoti 52)
For loving kindness should not be developed at first towards the
following four kinds of persons: an antipathetic person, a very dearly
loved friend, a neutral person, and a hostile person. Also should not be
developed specifically towards the opposite sex, or towards a dead
person. (Ñānamoli Bhikkhu 321, 2006)
Mettā is the best antidote for anger. It is the best medicine for
those who are angry with us. Let us extend loving-kindness to all who
need it with a free and boundless heart. The Buddha does not believe
in overcoming anger by hatred. He emphatically says:
Na hiverena verāni, sammantī’dha kudācanaṃ
Averenaca sammanti, esadhammo sanantano. (Dhp: Verse-5)
‘Hatred never ceases through hatred in this world; through love
alone they cease. This is an eternal law.’ (Nārada Thera.8, 2000)
The power of Mettā
Highly developed thoughts of mettā seem to possess magnetic
power. By radiating such sublime thoughts it is possible to influence
and win over people.
The power of mettā illustrated by the life of the Buddha can be
seen in many a story told of Him. Among the best is that of Roja
malla. When the Mallas came to know that the Buddha was to visit
their city, Kusināra, for the first time, they all decided to see him. Roja,
however, did not want to accompany them, but he consented at last
though much against his will. He was drawn to the Buddha as a calf to
its mother even before he saw the Buddha. This was an instance of the
psychic power of mettā (metta-iddhi).
The taming of the demon Alāvaka, the ruthless robber Angulimāla,
 24

the drunken elephant Nālāgīri and several others were all examples of
the Buddha’s mettā. (Piyadassī Thera 116,118, 987)
A Cow’s Love for Her Calf
One can not say such forms of pema never develop into true
mettā; even a cow’s love for her calf can bring about the arising of
wholesome consciousness (kusalacitta). Once upon a time, a cow was
breast-feeding her young calf with true mettā. At the very moment a
hunter threw a spear at her. But, due to her immense mettā for her
calf, the spear became flaccid like a palm leaf and caused her no
hearm at all. This is the evidence that love between relatives, friends,
husbands and wives, parents and children can develop into true mettā.
(Janakābhivamsa 97)
The mind-deliverance of loving kindness can be cultivated in
various ways. It is described in the Patisambhidāmagga such as the
mind-deliverance of loving kindness is (practiced) with unspecified
pervasion in these five ways: ‘May all beings be free from enmity,
affliction and anxiety, and live happily etc (Ñānamoli Bhikkhu 335, 2006).
Eleven advantages of Mettā
‘Bhikkhus, when the mind-deliverance of loving kindness is
cultivated, developed, much practiced, made the vehicle, made the
foundation, established, consolidated, and properly undertaken, eleven
blessings can be expected. What are the eleven?
A man sleeps in comfort, wakes in comfort, and dreams no evil
dreams, he is dear to human beings he is dear to non-human beings,
deities guard him, fire and poison and weapons do not affect him, his
mind is easily concentrated, the expression of his face is serene, he
dies unconfused, if he penetrates no higher he will be reborn in the
Brahmā World’. (A: 3.542, Ñānamoli Bhikkhu 331, 2006)
The way to develop love
 25

Love, (loving-kindness) is an active force. Every act of the loving

one is done with the stainless mind to help, to succour, to cheer, to
make the paths of others easier, smoother and more adapted to the
conquest of sorrow, the winning of highest bliss.
The way to develop love is through thinking out the evils of hate,
and the advantages of non-hate; through thinking out according to
karma, that really there is none to hate, that hate is a foolish way of
feeling which breeds more and more darkness that obstructs right
understanding.
Hate restricts; love release, Hatred strangles; love enfranchises.
Hatred brings remorse; love brings peace. Hatred agitates; love
quietens, stills, calms. Hatred divides; love unites. Hatred hardens;
love softens. Hatred hinders; love helps. And thus through a correct
study and appreciation of the effects of hatred and the benefits of love,
should one develop love. (Piyadassī Thera 119, 1987)
How to get rid of hatred
Akkocchi maṃ avadhimaṃ, ajini maṃ ahāsi me
Ye taṃ upanayhanti, veraṃ teasṃ na sammati.
“He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me”, in
those who harbour such thoughts hatred is not appeased.
Akkocchi maṃ avadhimaṃ, ajini maṃ ahāsi me
Ye taṃ na upanayhanti, veraṃ tesūpa sammati.
“He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me”, in
those who do not harbour such thoughts hatred is appeased.
Na hi verena verāni, saṃmantī’dha kudācanaṃ
Averena ca saṃmanti, esa dhammo sanantano. (M: 3.192)
Hatred never ceases through hatred in this world; through love
alone they cease. This is an eternal law. (Nārada Thera 6, 8, 2000)
Conclusion
 26

The loving-kindness is the opposite of hatred and vice versa.

Mettā is the cool element which can liberate from the flame of hatred.

(c) Wisdom; liberation from delusion.

Wisdom or Paññā
Wisdom is illumination and delusion is darkness. Accordingly,
wisdom is the opposite of delusion and vice versa.
When delusion (moha) arises in a person’s mind and heart, he
can not distinguish bad and good, effect and cause, right and wrong.
On the other hand, wisdom can destroy the darkness of ignorance
shielding the truth of the Path leading to the cassation of suffering.
Paññā is wisdom, right understanding or insight. It is not mere
wisdom or knowledge, but it is the wisdom which leads to the complete
realization of truths. Paññā is the light of truth which brightly
illuminates the knowledge, destroying the darkness of ignorance.
Paññā is the most excellent eye with which one can visualize the object
or possibilities that can not be seen with the naked eye.
Paññā (wisdom) is the apex of Buddhism. It is the first factor in
the Noble Eightfold Path (sammādiṭṭhi). It is one of the seven factors of
the Enlightenment (dhammavicaya sambojjhaṅga). It is one of the four
means of accomplishment (vīmansa iddhipāda). It is one of the five
powers, (paññābala) and one of the five controlling faculties
(paññindriya). It is wisdom that leads to purification and final
deliverance. (NāradaThera 354.1988)
Two kinds of Paññā
Paññā can be divided into two classes namely: Lokiy Paññā and
Lokuṭṭarā Paññā. (DhpA: 2- 326)
 27

Lokiya Paññā – Mundane Wisdom

All those ‘Puthujjanas’– worldly people who have not attained the
four stages of sainthood can acquire the mundane wisdom. Mundane
wisdom which also gradually leads one to the supra mundane state
can be developed in the various ways, such as learning the different
arts and science, listening to the Dhamma, associating with the wise,
engaging in profitable conversation, discussion and debates, reading
widely and traveling far and wide. Lokuṭṭarā Paññā– Supramundane
wisdom
All those who have attained the four stages of sainthood can
achieve the supramundane states of wisdom. This state of wisdom can
be developed with realizations of the four noble truths and the law of
Dependant origination through the attainment of the four Paths and
fruitions. To achieve this supra normal state of wisdom, one should
have a wider experience in the highest state of meditation, particularly
on the Three Characteristic of life or on any other suitable meditative
subject, according to one’s temperaments. Our Bodhisaṭṭas go through
the most severe course of mental culture to fulfill the perfection of
Paññā for the attainment of Enlightenment. (Wimalajoti 20)
Three kinds of knowledge
Knowledge is of three kinds. The first is knowledge acquired
orally (sutamaya paññā). In the ancient days when printing was not in
vogue knowledge was acquired by hearing; hence a learned man was
then called bahusuta (he who has heard much), corresponding to
English “erudition”. The second kind of knowledge is acquired by
thought (Cintāmaya paññā). The practical scientific knowledge of the
West is the direct outcome of this kind of knowledge. The third is a
superior kind of knowledge acquired by meditation and contemplation
(bhāvanāmaya paññā). It is by such meditation that one realizes
 28

intuitive truths which are beyond logical reasoning. Bhāvanā or

meditation is not a passive reverie, but an energetic striving. It leads to
self-elevation, self-discipline, self-control, and self-illumination. It is a
heart tonic as well. (Nārada Thera 353, 1988)
Seven ways of developing wisdom
There are seven ways of developing wisdom–(There are seven
things that lead to the arising of the investigation-of-states
enlightenment factor :) (Ñānamoli Bhikkhu 137, 2006)
(1) Asking questions frequently to the wise,
(2) Keeping the mind and the body clean,
(3) Keeping faith, effort, etc, well balanced, (balancing the
faculties)
(4) Avoiding the unwise,
(5) Associating with the wise,
(6) Pondering deeply on difficult problems, (reviewing the field
for the exercise of profound knowledge)
(7) Always desiring for wisdom while lying down, sitting, standing
or walking. (M.A: 1.294, D.P.P.S.13)
Paticca Samuppāda
(The Law of Dependent Origination)
Everything exists, this is one extreme. Nothing exists, this is the
other extreme. Avoiding these two extremes, Kaccāyana, the
Tathāgata teaches the Dhamma by the median path: dependent on
ignorance arise volitional formations; dependent on volitional
formations arises consciousness… (and so on)…Thus does this whole
mass of suffering arise. Through the complete cessation of ignorance
cease volitional formations; through the cessation of volitional
formations cease consciousness… (and so on)...Thus does this whole
mass of suffering cease. (S: 1.257, Piyadassī Thera 97, 98, 1987)
 29

If on account of the cause the effect comes to be, then if the

cause ceases, the effect also must cease.
This process of cause and effect continues ad infinitum. The
beginning of this process can not be determined as it is impossible to
say whence this life-flux was encompassed by nescience. But when
this nescience is turned into knowledge and the life-flux is diverted into
Nibbāna-dhātu, and then the end of the life or Saṃsāra comes about.
(Nārada Thera 46, 47, 1996)
Verily, he who perceives the ‘Dependent Origination’ (Paticca-
samappāda) perceives the truth; and he who perceives the truth,
perceives the Dependent Origination. (M: 1.128)
By the ceasing of ignorance, by the arising of knowledge, by the
cessation of craving, there is thus no more becoming, no more rebirth.
(M: 1.372, Piyadassī Thera 96, 1987)
‘The instructed noble disciple (sutavā ariyasāvako), monks,
seeing thus becomes dispassionate towards material form, feeling,
perception, mental formations and consciousness. Through dispassion
he is detached, through detachment he is liberated; in liberation the
knowledge comes to be that he is liberated, and he understands:
“Destroyed is birth, lived is the life of purity (lit. noble life), done is
what was to be done, there is no more of this to come (meaning that
there is no more continuity of the aggregates, that is no more
becoming or rebirth).” (S: 2.18, Piyadassī Thera 96, 1997)
Conclusion
When darkness disappears, the light appears in the world.
Likewise when darkness of delusion also vanishes, the light of wisdom
appears instantly. Thus, Wisdom is the only one the cool of Dhamma
which can liberate from the fire of delusion.
30
 31

Conclusion
The original Pāli term for Buddhism is Dhamma, which, literally,
means that which upholds. There is no English equivalent that exactly
conveys the meaning of the Pāli term. The Dhamma is that which
really is. It is the doctrine of reality. It is a means of deliverance from
suffering, and deliverance itself. Whether the Buddhas arise or not the
Dhamma exists. (A: 1.289) It is hidden by the ignorant eyes of human,
till a Buddha, an Enlightened One, realizes and compassionately
reveals it into the world.
The Dhamma is to be studied, and more to be practiced, and
above all to be realized: immediate realization is its ultimate goal. Such
as the Dhamma is compared to a raft which is meant for the sole
purpose of escaping from the ocean of birth and death (Saṁsāra).
Some say Buddhism is a mere philosophy. Buddhism cannot be called
like that. Philosophy deals mainly with knowledge and is not concerned
with practice; whereas Buddhism lays special emphasis on practice
and realization.
The Buddha said “Sabbaṃ bhikkhave ādittaṃ” (Vin: 3.44, S: 2.251)
“O monks! All conditioned thing is in the flames”. There are many
sentient beings in the world. All of beings who belong to aggregates
have sufferings which cause of strong desires with regard to
discontents. Indeed, aggregates are the heap of sufferings.
Accordingly, the Buddha said “Naṭṭhi khandhasamā dhukkhā” (Dhp:
Verse-202) There is no ill like the body. All of sentient beings are fulfilling
desires of lust, and hatred, proud, jealous and so on which is latent in
the body (aggregate) for long existences. When someone is not
content with his wishes, he is looking to do something to fulfill his
needs, and can not control his mind on account of his desperate
desires, and commit unproductive terrible actions based on the
 32

delusion. The fire of lust (greed), hatred, and delusion which lie latent
in the mind of beings are indeed, hotter than the fires of nature. So we
should know the nature of fires (unwholesome): lust (greed), hatred,
delusion and their liberations.
Greed is a root of unwholesome kamma; hatred is a root of
unwholesome kamma; delusion is a root of unwholesome kamma.
Therefore, I say, these demeritorious actions are either due to greed,
or due to hatred, or due to delusion. (M: 1.57) The state of greed, as also
that of hatred, is always accompanied by ignorance or delusion, this
latter being the primary root of all evil. Greed and hatred, however,
can not co-exist in one and the same moment of consciousness.
Enraptured with lust, enraged with anger, blinded by delusion,
overwhelmed, with mind ensnared, man aims at his own ruin, at the
ruin of others, at the ruin of both, and he experiences mental pain and
grief. But, if lust, anger, and delusion are given up, man aims neither
at his own ruin, nor at the ruin of others, nor at the ruin of both and he
experiences no mental pain and grief.
Thus is Nibbāna immediate, visible in this life, inviting, attractive, and
comprehensible to the wise. (A: 1.157)
Impermanence is the way of liberation for lust (greed); loving-
kindness for hatred; wisdom for delusion. After knowing the nature of
fires and their liberations, if we practice in accordance with the
instructions of the teacher, we shall attain to Nibbāna called eternal
bliss. The Buddha said-
Dhammārāmo dhammarato, dhamaṃ anuvicintayaṃ.
Dhammaṃ anussaraṃ bhikkhu, saddhammā na parihāyati. (Dhp:
Verse-364)
 33

That bhikkhu who dwells in the Dhamma, who delights in the

Dhamma, who meditates on the Dhamma, who well remembers the
Dhamma, does not fall away from the sublime Dhamma.
 34

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 35

(20) Nārada Thera, A Manual of Abhidhammā, 4th rev.edn (Kuala

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(22)Nārada Thera, The Buddha and His Teachings, rep. edn (Kandy:
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(24) Ñānamoli Thera, The Practice of Loving kindness: Mettā, 5th rep.
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(25)Nyānaponika Thera, The Roots of Good and Evil, 2nd edn (Kandy:
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