In the Buddha's Words - Bhikkhu Bodhi [170]
“No, venerable sir. Why is that? Because if that skilled butcher or his apprentice were to kill a cow … and cut, sever, and carve all that away, even though he covers the cow again with that same hide and says: ‘This cow is joined to this hide just as it was before,’ that cow would still be disjoined from that hide.”
12. “Sisters, I have given this simile in order to convey a meaning. This is the meaning: ‘The inner mass of flesh’ is a term for the six internal bases. ‘The outer hide’ is a term for the six external bases. ‘The inner tendons, sinews, and ligaments’ is a term for delight and lust. ‘The sharp butcher’s knife’ is a term for noble wisdom—the noble wisdom that cuts, severs, and carves away the inner defilements, fetters, and bonds.”
(from MN 146: Nandakovāda Sutta; III 274–75)
2. THE CONDITIONS FOR WISDOM
“There are, O monks, these eight causes and conditions for obtaining the wisdom fundamental to the spiritual life when it has not been obtained and for bringing about the increase, maturation, and fulfillment by development of the wisdom that has already been obtained. What eight?
(1) “Here, a monk lives in dependence on the Teacher or on a certain fellow monk in the position of a teacher, and he has set up toward him a keen sense of shame and moral dread and regards him with affection and respect. This is the first cause and condition for obtaining the wisdom fundamental to the spiritual life.…
(2) “As he is living in dependence on such teachers, he approaches them from time to time and inquires: ‘How is this, venerable sir? What is the meaning of this?’ Those venerable ones then disclose to him what has not been disclosed, clear up what is obscure, and dispel his perplexity about many perplexing points. This is the second cause and condition for obtaining the wisdom fundamental to the spiritual life.…
(3) “Having learned the Dhamma, he dwells withdrawn by way of two kinds of withdrawal: withdrawal of body and withdrawal of mind. This is the third cause and condition for obtaining the wisdom fundamental to the spiritual life.…
(4) “He is virtuous, restrained by the restraint of the Pātimokkha,8 perfect in conduct and resort, seeing danger in the slightest faults. Having undertaken the training rules, he trains himself in them. This is the fourth cause and condition for obtaining the wisdom fundamental to the spiritual life.…
(5) “He has learned much, remembers what he has learned, and consolidates what he has learned. Such teachings that are good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end, with the right meaning and phrasing, and which affirm a spiritual life that is perfectly complete and pure—such teachings as these he has learned much of, memorized, recited verbally, investigated with the mind, and penetrated well by view. This is the fifth cause and condition for obtaining the wisdom fundamental to the spiritual life.…
(6) “He is energetic; he lives with energy set upon the abandoning of everything unwholesome and the acquiring of everything wholesome; he is steadfast and strong in his effort, not shirking his task in regard to wholesome qualities. This is the sixth cause and condition for obtaining the wisdom fundamental to the spiritual life.…
(7) “When he is in the midst of the Saṅgha, he does not engage in rambling and pointless talk. Either he himself speaks on the Dhamma or he requests others to do so, or he does not shun noble silence. This is the seventh cause and condition for obtaining the wisdom fundamental to the spiritual life.…
(8) “He dwells contemplating rise and fall in the five aggregates subject to clinging thus: ‘Such is form, such its arising, such its passing away; such is feeling ... such is perception … such are volitional formations … such is consciousness, such its arising, such its passing away.’ This is the eighth cause and condition for obtaining the wisdom fundamental to the spiritual life.… “For these eight reasons his fellow monks esteem him as one who truly knows and