Magganga – the Path to Liberation

and

Practice in Daily Life

Introduction

The Noble Eightfold Path to liberation, or magganga in Pali, is something that should be

practised in daily life. The word magganga is a combination of two words; magga meaning a path

(here it denotes a path leading to nibbana or liberation from suffering) and anga meaning

essential or principal components. In accordance with the dhamma or Buddha’s teaching, there

are eight components, which in combination form a path that leads to nibbana or the total

cessation of suffering.

The dhamma and mundane life

There is a misconception harboured by some that the path to nibbana can only be followed

or practised in isolation either in a forest meditating at the foot of a tree, in a cave or a specified

meditation centre. This is, of course, impractical and difficult for the majority now-a-days because

of family and personal commitments. Having been born into this life, our first consideration has to

be to feed, clothe and house ourselves and our families and this is only natural for all living

creatures. It would be totally wrong to have the attitude that “Life is not important. Dhamma is only

important.” It would be totally illogical as well because the dhamma is something that you have to

find in your life or daily living. You cannot find the dhamma without systematically observing,

understanding and modifying your own life, life-style and attitude to life. There is a saying that

“Dhamma can be found in your body”. Life or living and the dhamma are inseparably intertwined

and if you lose sight of the dhamma through over-indulgence in the sensual pleasures of life, you

will find in the end that you have wasted your life.

There is a Burmese saying, “Although the let-pan (silk cotton tree, Bombax heptaphyllum)

and nyaung (banyan tree, Ficus bengalensis) trees may grow tall and big, and bear leaves and fruit

in abundance, both are, in the end, useless as wood except for the purpose of burning”. Likewise,

when you grow old with a successful family and wealth, unless you have learnt and practised the

dhamma, your life-time achievements would have been in vain. So we all need to try and be

successful both in mundane matters as well as in the practice of the dhamma, so that we become

valuable members of society, like the kyun (teak) or pyinkadoe (Burmese iron wood, Xylia

xylocarpa) which will always be useful to society.

The interdependence of life and the dhamma

In addition, we should consider ourselves fortunate; firstly, to have been born in the human

world. To be born at a time while the Buddha’s teachings or Buddhist sasana is extant comes

second. We should not feel despondent that due to pressures and mundane obligations of life, we

are unable to pursue the path to nibbana. We should bear in mind that none of the buddhas ever

taught a philosophy that was not based on life itself. Mundane life and the dhamma are totally

inseparable and interdependent. The dhamma arises out of and is sustained by life itself, and life

is supplemented, supported and ideally should be guided by the dhamma. This article aims to

demonstrate that the practice of the dhamma is something that should take place in daily life.

Practising dhamma in daily life

This magganga path, which always heads toward nibbana or liberation, should be

followed in our daily activities, no matter what we are doing; while we carry on with our daily

routines, having conversations, attending to business, cooking, cleaning, or even when answering

the call of nature. So the path that leads to nibbana actually starts from our daily life and this path

is very simply the eight-fold path of magganga. All practicing Buddhists know that whatever we do,

whether practising dana (generosity), sila (morality) or bhavana (meditation), the ultimate goal is

nibbana. This article is written with the intention that that those practising Buddhists will be able to

discern for themselves the progress they have made, and how far they still are from their goal of

nibbana.

The Noble Eightfold Path to liberation - magganga

The eight magganga can be grouped into 3 categories; sila, samadhi (concentration) and

panna (wisdom). The sila group is comprised of 1) samma vaca (right speech), 2) samma

kammanta (right actions) and 3) samma ajiva (right livelihood); the samadhi group of 4) samma

sati (right awareness), 5) samma samadhi (right concentration) and 6) samma vayama (right

effort), and the panna group of 7) samma ditthi (right understanding) and 8) samma sankappa

(right thinking).

Although we usually start theological sermons by talking about panna or wisdom, in

practice though, we have to start from sila or the development of morality. This is because the

development of wisdom denotes or follows from the full attainment of morality and to reach this

level of attainment, regular practice and time are required.

The sila magganga or the sila group

The sila group is what brings together daily life and the dhamma, a proper understanding

of life and nature; what is good or bad, and right or wrong. In other words, the mundane aspect

places emphasis on what an individual feels good or bad about, whereas the dhamma aspect

emphasises on whether it is right or wrong.

Samma vaca

The first component of this group is samma vaca (right speech) and this has to meet both

the criteria of being good as viewed from the mundane aspect as well as being right from the

dhamma aspect. Just being good or just being right is not samma vaca. This begs the question of

how we decide what is good or bad, right or wrong. Simply, we just ask ourselves what we like or

dislike. It is natural that we like good things and want good things for ourselves. So when it comes

to speech, saying things that we ourselves would like to hear being said to us or can accept is

regarded as good from the mundane aspect. The dhamma aspect deals with what is right or

wrong and regarding this, we should say things that show compassion and consideration for

others, being truthful, avoiding lies, avoiding speech or gossip that will break up the friendship of

others, avoiding flattery to gain approval, and saying things politely and calmly so that it is soothing

to the listener. Living in this world, we need to learn to practise these two things together; 1) living

a mundane life and being good, and 2) understanding the dhamma and being right. We should not

lose sight of both aspects.

Samma kammanta

The second component is samma kammanta (right actions) consisting of physical actions

that are both good as well as right. This involves doing things that you yourself like and can accept

which meets the criteria of being mundanely good. From the dhamma aspect, right activity means

avoiding killing or taking another’s life, destroying or stealing another person’s household and

property, and committing sexual misdemeanours.

Samma ajiva

The third component, samma ajiva (right livelihood) consists of a good and righteous

livelihood, or means of earning a living. From the mundane aspect any business transaction that is

mutually acceptable can be regarded as good. The Buddha stated that we need to nourish our

physical bodies and in order to do so we need to earn a living in a righteous manner which means

that it has to be compassionate, mutually acceptable (this includes a reasonable profit margin) and

also meets the first two criteria of samma vaca and samma kammanta. Samma ajiva excludes

business related to the trade in arms and ammunition, human trafficking, hunting, fishing, buying

and selling of animals, meat and fish, and dealing with alcoholic drinks, narcotics and toxic or

poisonous material.

The Buddha knows that all humans have to earn a living and if the means of the livelihood

meet the two mundane and dhamma criteria of being good and right, He has preached that that

particular type of livelihood can lead to nibbana. When we are working or running a business, we

have to talk and perform things physically. We cannot avoid this. So long as we function within the

bounds of samma vaca and samma kammanta, what we are doing is samma ajiva.

The kamma path

The above three practices are based on social ethics and morals, and therefore, known as

the sila magganga or the sila group. As they also distinguish between good and bad individuals or

draw a distinction between good and bad as well as right and wrong, they have an effect on one’s

kamma (the inescapable consequences of one’s mental, verbal and physical actions) and are,

therefore, also known as the kamma path. All humans wish for good fortune or a good kamma that

leads to good health and wealth and therefore some may do strange things such as, allow monks

to hit them on the head with their staves or spit at them, with the misguided belief that this will bring

good kamma to them.

What is being taught in this article is the Buddha’s advice on how to acquire good kamma.

The advice states that if you wish your speech to bring you good kamma or fortune, make sure

that what is emitted from your mouth is samma vaca or right speech. If you want your physical

actions to bring you good kamma, make sure that whatever you do is samma kammanta and if

you want to be successful with what you are doing for a living, make sure that your work meets the

criteria for samma ajiva. Apart from these three methods, there is no other way to improve your

kamma. In fact, all other means or methods cannot bring you good kamma and this is why this

group is known as the kamma path.

Meaning of sila

The Pali word sila means practice. When Buddhists pay homage and respect to the

Buddha in their shrine-room daily, they are practising. They are practising because they want to

develop a habit which they have not yet acquired. What sort of habit? The habit of always

producing samma vaca (right speech), samma kammanta (right actions) and samma ajiva (right

livelihood). Once this becomes a habit, the qualities of sila or moral practice become strong and

pure. As these three components have to be practised to become habitual in nature, they are

known as the sila magganga or the sila group or path.

Avoid bad and do good

Within this practice, there are just two responsibilities you have to take on board; viz. “Avoid

the bad and do what is good.” So, simply you have to avoid saying and doing bad things and try to

say and do good things. If you can follow this then your practice of sila will be secure; you will not

be committing any sins, and this habit will eradicate vitakkama kilesa (the mental factor that

directs one’s thoughts towards indulging in defilements; see explanation below) that leads to bad

consequential effects in future lives. The latter process of doing what is good, will prevent the

development of conflict in the outside world due to erroneous communication and activities. In life,

people are judged from the way they speak and what they do. Once a person is secure in sila

practice, he will be free from wrongful speech, both his actions and livelihood will be faultless, and

he will be seen as a person imbued with the dhamma.

Whatever we strive to do, we have to start from the bottom and gradually work our way up.

To have a full glass, we have to start by putting things in it first. There is a Burmese saying that if

you only have a penny you should not touch the fish’s head. What is meant here is that one should

not think that one can attain nibbana by just meditation when one has not even habituated to the

practice of sila. One needs to develop oneself gradually. One does not need to observe total noble

silence right from the start, but first practice on how to speak mindfully, avoiding bad and wrong

speech as described earlier on. Neither does one need to sit motionless for hours doing nothing.

One can and should continue to do things and work, but being mindful of avoiding the bad and

wrong and doing what is good and right. When sila becomes a habit and second nature to you,

then the immediate benefit that you will gain is the peace and happiness of leading a sin-free life

known in Pali as anavijjasukha.

Samma sati

The fourth component of the Noble Eightfold Path is samma sati, meaning right awareness

or mindfulness. The person who is practising this is combining his mind or consciousness with

attention on each and every sense object that he is occupied and working with.

Samma samadhi

The fifth, samma samadhi, is right concentration. The person practising this puts effort into

keeping his attention solely on one sense object that he is occupied and working with. This practice

can be on two levels; 1) arammana upanijjhana - concentrating on the object to discern or

differentiate clearly the sensory or physical qualities, e.g. between good and bad sensations or

black and white, etc., and 2) lakkhana upanijjhana – concentrating on the three characteristics of

anicca (impermanence) dukkha (unsatisfactoriness) and anatta (non-self or not being under one’s

control). Of these two, when one is practising samatha meditation or sila sikkha (training in

morality) and samadhi sikkha (training in concentrating ability), one practises at the first level of

arammana upanijjhana, only focussing on the sammuti (conventional) or pannatti (virtual truths

with conventionally designated names, notions, ideas, etc.) or kasina (a form of samatha

meditation) objects, such as good or bad sensations, man or woman, material property, etc. and

one does not practise at the level of lakkhana upanijjhana which is practised only when one does

vipassana or panna sikkha (wisdom training), a higher level training or practice that focuses on

paramattha (ultimate truths).

Samma vayama

The sixth, right effort is applied in three ways; 1) in avoiding the bad, 2) in embracing the

good and 3) when contemplating on paramattha objects, to know clearly the three characteristics

of mind and matter or lakkhana, i.e. anicca, dukkha and anatta.

Samma sati (right awareness), samma samadhi (right concentration) and samma

vayama (right effort) are known as the samadhi magganga or sikkha, because they are involved

in the training and development of a calm and focussed mind, which leads to the development of

jhana (a totally absorbed or ecstatic state) when one does samatha meditation. Ledi Sayadaw has

also described this as the jhanic path or jhana magganga in his treatise on the paramattha. The

samadhi magganga or sikkha (training) is essential in keeping our minds pure and free from

mental defilements and thus, eradicates pariyutthana kilesa. (See explanation below)

It is important to note that the three components of samadhi magganga are the foundation

of the path to liberation as they play a vital role in every aspect of the dhamma practice and the

leader of these three components is sati. These three components, by themselves, can be used to

develop indriya savara (excellent controlling faculties or morally principled and controlled

behaviour) or practise samatha meditation. They are also used to develop sila and panna sikkha.

The development of indriya savara can lead to avoidance of sensual pleasures and produce a

mind of complete calmness and tranquillity known as adhi citta sukha.

The last panna group consists of samma ditthi (right understanding) and samma

sankappa (right thinking).

Samma ditthi

The seventh, samma ditthi or right understanding, in turn, contains three aspects;

1) kammassakata samma ditthi, the knowledge or wisdom that there is a cause that leads to an

effect for everything, i.e. good deeds will lead to good effects and bad deeds to bad effects. This

wisdom is applied in the training of sila and kamma, as already mentioned above;

2) vipassana samma ditthi, the wisdom that all conditioned things such as mind and matter are

subject to the natural law of arising and perishing, and

3) magga phala samma ditthi, the knowledge of nibbana which is the complete liberation from

samsara or the rounds of rebirths.

Samma sankappa

The last and eighth is samma sankappa or right thinking. Samma sankappa directs the

mind towards or focuses the mind on an object, and in the process of seeing, hearing, smelling,

tasting, feeling or thinking, understanding that they are all transient and impermanent in nature.

Although in lay terms we say that samma sankappa is making you think in the right way, when

one practises vipassana one does not purposely think of visualising nibbana, but just provides the

right conditions for one’s mind to experience the stage of magga wisdom as it develops.

Samma ditthi and samma sankappa are collectively called panna magganga because

they are involved in the acquisition of a clear and discriminative understanding of the dhamma. It

is with this wisdom that one purifies one’s mind and completely eradicates the anusaya kilesa or

internal defilements that lie latent in one. It is also known as the path of wisdom.

During the initial practise of vipassana , one utilises the three components of samadhi

magganga and the two components of panna magganga. Only five components are being

developed. However, when one approaches the stage of magga phala samma ditthi, the three

habituated components of sila magganga also come into play automatically as at this stage,

external temptations to indulge in defilements need to be curbed. This is when the anusaya kilesa

are being eradicated from the roots. So now, all the eight components of the noble eight-fold path

come into play. And it is for this reason that the panna magganga is also regarded as the final

path that completes the development of enlightenment. When this stage is attained, the benefit that

one gains is total peace and tranquillity of the mind called santi sukha.

Unless the laws of nature are shown in combination with its practical aspects, no amount of

explanation will make it easily understandable. Once it is applied practically, it becomes less

complicated. So let us try putting it into practice.

Putting theory into practice

Firstly remember that the three components of samadhi magganga are required for the

development of understanding of the laws of nature or dhamma. The reason is because these

three components are absolutely essential in the development of sila and panna magganga. Next

remember that in the training of sila sikkha there are just two important obligations, i.e. avoiding

bad and doing good.

Samma vaca

When it comes to talking or having a conversation, what we need to train ourselves is to

develop samma vaca or right speech as follows;

1) as the first step in the process of speech, there is the desire to say something. When this

appears, use samma sati to be aware that you are about to say something, consider

whether the words that you are about to say are good or not, truthful or not, and whether

they would be acceptable to you if someone should say these words to you; and whether

they are in line with the dhamma, regarding its veracity

2) as the second step, use samma samadhi to concentrate on what has been made aware by

samma sati in the previous step to understand or know it clearly

3) as the last step, use samma vayama and depending on whether you are thinking of saying

something bad or good, right or wrong, you direct your effort towards avoiding saying bad

or wrong things and redirect your effort towards saying good and right things. Thus training

yourself in samma vaca

So when you develop samma vaca you are working with four components, viz. samma

sati, samma samadhi, samma vayama and samma vaca. With repeated practise and training,

you will find that the three components of sati, samadhi and vayama (awareness, concentration

and effort) become second nature to you, and whatever you say will be samma vaca. It is only

when you reach this stage of being in the habit of using right speech that you can regard yourself

as having fully acquired the quality of sila with regard to speech (vaci kamma sila). Once you

reach this stage, you have developed four out of the eight components of the Noble Eightfold Path,

so you may regard yourself as halfway on the road to nibbana. So you can practise the dhamma

even while you are talking in daily life or while working. It goes without saying that samma vaca is

something to be practised in your daily mundane life.

Samma kammanta

The practice of samma kammanta is similar to samma vaca.

1) The first step is to be aware of the development of the desire to do something; samma sati

2) The second is to concentrate on what you are thinking of doing and to understand it well;

samma samadhi

3) The third step is to direct your effort towards doing what is good and right, samma vayama.

Thus you train yourself in samma kammanta or right action.

When you have developed the habit of samma kammanta you have fully acquired the

quality of sila with regard to actions (kaya kamma sila). By now you have developed five out of

the eight components of the Noble Eightfold Path.

Samma ajiva

The practice of right livelihood follows on the same lines as the two above.

1) The first step is awareness of the development of the desire to earn a living; samma sati

2) The second is to concentrate on what you are thinking of doing and to understand it well;

samma samadhi

3) The third step is directing your effort towards doing and saying what is good and right while

earning a living, samma vayama. Thus you train yourself in samma ajiva or right livelihood.

When you have developed the habit of samma ajiva you have fully acquired the quality of

sila with regard to both speech and actions (kaya kamma sila). By now you have developed six

out of the eight components of the Noble Eightfold Path.

The development of the above sila sikkha or magganga is carried out within the

environment where you live and work; in your home, your village or town. For this reason, the Yaw

Tipitaka Sayadawgyi gave a sermon on it titled “Practice of the Path to Enlightenment within the

Home” This practice is based on developing the three components of

samadhi magganga and in doing so strengthening and fulfilling the three components of sila

magganga. This, in effect, leads to the acquisition of a total of six components out of the eight

present in the Noble Eightfold Path leading to nibbana or enlightenment. In rural Upper Burma

there is even a saying that when you reach this stage of dhamma development, you can assume

that you have travelled the distance of three quarters of a Kyat. This is very

important because you need to know that you first need to accumulate this three quarters of a Kyat

by practising within your home and mundane life, before abandoning it for an ascetic life, practising

the dhamma under a tree in the forest, in a cave, in a monastery, or within your own home in a

specified room in solitude, to develop the remaining two components of the Nobel Eightfold Path,

viz. samma ditthi (right understanding) and samma sankappa (right thinking), thus accumulating

the remaining quarter of a Kyat, and eventually reaching the goal of envisaging nibbana.

Arammana and lakkhana upanijjhana

Before going on to the final group of panna sikkha, composed of samma ditthi (right

understanding) and samma sankappa (right thinking), there are a few important points to note

regarding sila sikkha. Sila sikkha is a training or practice that is done within one’s home and

one’s mundane environment, dealing with and talking about sammuti/pannatti sacca

(conventional truths). One is not dealing with paramattha sacca (absolute or ultimate truths). In

short, when sila sikkha is being practised in the mundane world, the foci of sati (awareness),

samadhi (concentration) and viriya (effort) are on conventional objects or sammuti/pannatti

sacca. Even when one is practising pure samadhi, as in samatha meditation or asubha

meditation, the meditative objects or kasina objects are all sammuti/pannatti sacca. The next

thing to remember is that the level of undivided concentration and understanding solely on the

conventional aspects of the meditative object, e.g. black or white, square or round, good or bad, is

called arammana upanijjhana, whereas the concentration and understanding on

the ultimate or paramattha aspects of mind and matter or namarupa, viz. the three characteristics

of anicca, dukkha and anatta, is called lakkhana upanijjhana. In summary,

when one is developing or training in sila and samadhi sikkha, one meditates at the level of

arammana upanijjhana and not lakkhana upanijjhana.

Panna sikkha

It is only when one practises to develop panna sikkha or vipassana wisdom that one

starts from the level of arammana upanijjhana, i.e. concentrating on the physical and mental

aspects of the body and mind, and then progresses on to the higher level of lakkhana

upanijjhana, where one concentrates on the three characteristics of anicca, dukkha and anatta,

In short, to develop panna sikkha or vipassana wisdom, one needs to meditate on the body and

mind on two levels; the pannatti and paramattha levels.

Practice on development of vipassana wisdom

Let us now try and practise the development of vipassana wisdom using whatever

understanding we have gained. Using the dictum “Search for dhamma and find it in your body”

let us use our bodies as our meditation object, but do not concentrate on the

sammuti/pannatti sensations that arise, but focus on the paramattha elements of heat (tejo) that

you feel at the nostrils or the expanding and deflating sensations (vayo) in your tummy as the air is

inhaled and exhaled.

Samma ditthi

What we are trying to do here is to understand the first component of panna magganga,

which is samma ditthi (right understanding). Using samma sati, make yourself aware of the

paramattha elements arising all over your body; feelings of heat, cold, hardness, softness, the air

movements at the nostril, the rising or expansion of the tummy when air is inhaled and the falling

as it is exhaled, etc. Try and be aware of the subtle paramattha elements that exist which you may

not have taken notice of before. Next use samma samadhi and samma vayama to direct your

attention and concentrate fully on these sensations and know them clearly. Whilst doing this, you

will come to fully realise that the three characteristics of of anicca (impermanence), dukkha

(unsatisfactoriness or suffering) and anatta (non-self or lack of control) are constantly at work on

both our minds and bodies. In this way your mind becomes clearer. With this meditative or

contemplative practise, you begin to understand the law of nature that all things that arise will fall

away or decay in time. Once this understanding becomes strongly entrenched in your mind, then

you have begun to develop samma ditthi (right understanding). You may note that in this process

also four components of the Noble Eightfold Path are being used. By now, you have developed

seven out of the eight components.

Samma sankappa

The way to develop samma sankappa (right thinking) is to use samma sati, making

yourself aware of the paramattha elements arising over your body and then using samma

samadhi and samma vayama to direct your attention and concentrate fully on these sensations

and understand them clearly. Once you see clearly in your mind that the body is the physical object

producing the sensations and your mind is making you aware of these sensations, and both body

and mind are under the influence of the three lakkhana or characteristics of constantly being in

flux or undergoing change (anicca), totally beyond your control (anatta) and hence, absolutely

unsatisfactory or causing distress (dukkha), your mind becomes more inclined towards seeing

everything as impermanent (anicca). This is the beginning of samma sankappa. In this process

also you will notice that four components of the Noble Eightfold Path are being used. By now, you

have developed all eight of the eight components of the Noble Eightfold Path.

Although the whole process has been dissected into various steps and sequences, in

actual fact, the development of the various components can occur together in various combinations

and may occur at the same time as well as disappear at the same time. This is because there are

over thirty mental factors or cetasikas at work and although only one thought unit can be present

at any one time, the rate at which they form and disappear are indescribably fast that only the

significant cetasikas get identified, for example, as samma ditthi or samma sankappa. One must

not lose sight of the fact that many mental factors are involved. An analogy here is when we cook

chicken curry we use, pieces of chicken, onions, salt, cooking oil, etc. in various proportions and

eventually call it chicken curry purely because the chicken is the main ingredient in it.

The Buddha stated that whatever meditation object you use, be it a physical or mental

object, when we use the vipassana meditation technique over and over again, you will observe

and discover that all these conditioned objects are subject to the law of sankhara or cycles of

existence, in constant flux or change and not being the same at any moment in time. And because

they are impermanent, you will reach the conclusion that they are simply useless. This is when you

gain the wisdom of anicca. In addition, you will also realise that nothing that is subject to the law of

sankhara is worth possessing or being satisfied with; the attainment of the wisdom of dukkha.

This then leads to the third realisation that all things subject to the law of sankhara will never be

under your control; the attainment of the wisdom of anatta. Progressing on from this, with repeated

meditation on these objects, you will reach the stage when this realisation of anicca, dukkha and

anatta becomes an unshakable belief or conviction. When you reach that stage, all feelings of love

and desire for the body that one possesses, as well as the feelings of dislike and hate towards it,

will disappear, and this is described as nibbida ñãna or feeling fed up or disgusted with the body.

Sankharupekkha ñãna

This realisation or wisdom is called sankharupekkha ñãna which means having an

equanimous mind or attitude towards the cycles of change or existences. You need to note here

that the word upekkha is used to convey the meaning of being bereft of feelings of either like or

dislike, love or hatred, which results from understanding the true meaning of life.

When this wisdom is attained, you reach the stage where you are now able to let go of all

desires and attachment to the five aggregates, called viragavimuccati (freedom from passion or

emancipation). The freedom or emancipation that you achieve is from the shackles and bondage of

sankhara. In another sense, this freedom is from the present cycle of life existences and into a

realm beyond or lokuttara. This realm is free from desires, passion, dislike, anger, hatred, and

therefore, is nibbana.

Completing the development of the Noble Eightfold Path

During the practice of vipassana meditation to develop panna magganga (wisdom), there

are the three components of samadhi magganga and the two of panna magganga, making a

total of five components at work. With the progress in your meditation, and once you attain a

complete understanding of or the vision of nibbana as freedom from the impermanent nature of

things, this understanding or knowledge is called magga citta (r*fpdwf) and this is almost

immediately followed by the appearance of the phala citta (zdkvfpdwf). The latter citta or mind

provides the vision of nibbana to the practitioner. At the stage of magga citta all the verbal and

physical defilements associated with the external world are completely eradicated and therefore,

the three components of sila magganga become fully established as second nature, hence no

longer needing to be practised or trained. This is the stage when all the eight components of the

Noble Eightfold Path become complete and fully developed.

Vimmutirasa and santi sukha

The meditator who has reached the ultimate stage on nibbana or the emancipation from

the impermanent nature of sankhara, is said to be savouring vimmutirasa (0drkwWd&o) or the

essence of emancipation and santi sukha (oEd Wokc) or complete tranquillity being free from all the

vicissitudes and tribulations of life.

May you be able to practise and fulfil the Noble Eightfold Path in your daily life.

Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu

Translation by Dr Kyaw Thinn, Birmingham, U.K., of an article in Burmese written by

Ashin Adiccalankara, the Sayadaw of Shwekyin Dhammadhipati Vihara, London.

28 April 2014