Nyanatiloka Buddhist Dictionary

Home | Library | Dictionary indexBUDDHIST DICTIONARY-Ssabba-lokeanabhirati-saññá: 'contemplation on disinterestedness regarding the whole world', described inA. X., 60 in the following words: "If, Ananda, the monk gives up his tenacious clinging to the world, his firmgrasping and his biases and inclinations of the mind, and turns away from these things, does not cling tothem, this, Ananda, is called the contemplation on disinterestedness regarding the whole world."sabbúpadhi-patinissagga: s. upadhi.sacca: 'Truth'. - 1. On the 'two truths', conventional and ultimale, see paramattha.2. 'The Four Noble Truths' (ariya-sacca) are the briefest synthesis of the entire teachings of Buddhism, sinceall those manifold doctrines of the threefold canon are, without any exception, included therein. They are: thetruth of suffering, of the origin of suffering, of the extinction of suffering, and of the Eightfold Path leadingto the extinction of suffering.I. The 1st truth, briefly stated, teaches that all forms of existence whatsoever are unsatisfactoryand subject to suffering (dukkha).II. The 2nd truth teaches that all suffering, and all rebirth, is produced by craving (tanhá).III. The 3rd truth teaches that extinction of craving necessarily results in extinction (nirodha) ofrebirth and suffering, i.e. nibbána (q.v.).IV. The 4th truth of the Eightfold Path (magga) indicates the means by which this extinction isattained.The stereotype text frequently recurring in the Sutta Pitaka, runs as follows:I. "But what, o monks, is the noble truth of suffering? Birth is suffering, decay is suffering, deathis suffering; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair are suffering; in short, the 5 groups ofexistence connected with clinging are suffering (cf. dukkha, dukkhata).II. ''But what, o monks, is the noble truth of the origin of suffering? It is that craving which givesrise to fresh rebirth and, bound up with lust and greed, now here, now there, finds ever freshdelight. It is the sensual craving (káma-tanhá), the craving for existence (bhava-tanhá), thecraving for non-existence or self-annihilation (vibhava-tanhá).III. "But what, o monks, is the noble truth of the extinction of suffering? It is the complete fadingaway and extinction of this craving, its forsaking and giving up, liberation and detachment fromit.IV. "But what, o monks, is the noble truth of the path leading to the extinction of suffering? It isthe Noble Eightfold Path (ariya-atthangika-magga) that leads to the extinction of suffering,namely:1. Right view (sammá-ditthi)III. Wisdom (paññá)