THE ANUD¢PAN¢
are the objects of such meditation is called the Noble Truth. In other words, since the
Noble Ones meditate on this aggregate of mundane phenomena as they really are, it is
called the Noble Truth.
The Insight that, in the cycle of existence which are called the three worlds, there is no
enjoyment at all, but only suffering according to the right view held by those who are
working for attaining the Noble State and by those who have already attained the same is a
truth; it is therefore called the Noble Truth of Suffering.
In short, the five aggregates of clinging (
paÒca-upÈdÈnakkhandha
), also named the
phenomena of the three mundane planes of existence, are all suffering and that they are
nothing but suffering. The
paÒca
-
upÈdÈnakkhandha
are the five aggregates of clinging: the
aggregate of matter (
r|pa
), the aggregate of feelings (
vedanÈ
), the aggregate of perceptions
(
saÒÒÈ
), the aggregate of mental formations (
sa~khÈra
) and the aggregate of consciousness
(
viÒÒÈÓa
), which form objects of attachments as ‘I’, ‘mine’, ‘myself’. These five
aggregates are called the Noble Truth of Suffering.
The Noble Truth of The Cause of Suffering (Dukkha Samudaya Ariya Sacca)
The
paÒca-upÈdÈnakkhandha,
which form the Noble Truth of Suffering, do not arise by
themselves. They have their respective reasons for their arising, the most fundamental and
important being craving for sense objects.
In the world, every being is subjected to suffering because he or she is to toil daily for
essentials of living. And all this is motivated by craving. The more one craves for good
living, the greater one's suffering is. If one would be satisfied with simple life, living very
simply on bare necessities, one's misery would be alleviated to a corresponding extent. It is
clear, therefore, that suffering, wrongly believed to be good living, is caused by craving.
Beings do all kinds of acts for wanting better things, not only for the present life but also
for coming existences. When a new birth appears as a result of those acts, the real cause
for this new birth is found to be craving that motivates those acts.
Craving is called the Noble Truth of the Cause of Suffering because it is truly that
craving, which is the origin of suffering,
upÈdÈnakkhandha
, in the new birth. In other
words, craving is the true cause of the aggregates which form suffering. This Noble Truth
of the Cause of Suffering (Dukkha Samudaya-Sacca) is also referred to, in short, as
Samudaya-Sacca.
The Noble Truth of The Cessation of Suffering (Dukkha Nirodha Ariya Sacca)
Craving called the Truth of the cause of Suffering, like the gum of myaukhnai tree, clings
to various mundane sense objects, but, like flies which cannot approach burning iron, it
cannot form an attachment to NibbÈna.
The reason for this is that the Ultimate Reality, NibbÈna, the Unconditioned Element, is
unattractive from the point of view of craving. To explain, craving rises from feeling, as
the Buddha has stated ‚
vedanÈ paccaya taÓhÈ
‛ in the doctrine of the Dependent Origination
(
PaÔicca-SamuppÈda
), and accordingly craving owes its existence to feeling. But the
Unconditioned NibbÈna has nothing to do with feeling (it is not the kind of happiness that
is to be felt); it is but peaceful happiness (
santi-sukha
).
Then the question arises: Totally devoid of sensation, can NibbÈna be likeable and
desirable?
If somebody asked like this, he does so because he thinks feeling is real happiness or he
does not consider that peaceful happiness is real happiness.
The answer is: There are two kinds of happiness; happiness derived from feeling
(
vedayita-sukha
) and happiness derived from peace (
santi-sukha
). Here is a simile: Suppose
there is a rich man who is fond of food. He expends much to nourish himself with
sumptuous delicacies. But a
vijjÈdhara
(one who is sustained by magical power) may find
the rich man's food disgusting, let alone finding it appetitive, as he is endowed with the
power of living without eating. When asked: ‚Of these two, who is happier as far as food