In the Buddha's Words - Bhikkhu Bodhi [189]
“And what, monks, is aging-and-death?… [definition as in Text IX,3 §22] … Thus this aging and this death are together called aging-and-death. With the arising of birth there is the arising of aging-and-death. With the cessation of birth there is the cessation of aging-and-death. This Noble Eightfold Path is the way leading to the cessation of aging-and-death; that is, right view … right concentration.
“When, monks, a noble disciple thus understands aging-and-death, its origin, its cessation, and the way leading to its cessation, this is his knowledge of the principle.44 By means of this principle that is seen, understood, immediately attained, fathomed, he applies the method to the past and the future thus: ‘Whatever ascetics and brahmins in the past directly knew aging-and-death, its origin, its cessation, and the way leading to its cessation, all these directly knew it in the very same way that I do now. Whatever ascetics and brahmins in the future will directly know aging-and-death, its origin, its cessation, and the way leading to its cessation, all these will directly know it in the very same way that I do now.’ This is his knowledge of entailment.45
“When, monks, a noble disciple has purified and cleansed these two kinds of knowledge—knowledge of the principle and knowledge of entailment—he is then called a noble disciple who is accomplished in view, accomplished in vision, who has arrived at this true Dhamma, who sees this true Dhamma, who possesses a trainee’s knowledge, a trainee’s true knowledge, who has entered the stream of the Dhamma, a noble one with penetrative wisdom, one who stands squarely before the door to the Deathless.
“And what, monks, is birth?… What are the volitional formations?… [definitions as in Text IX,3] … This Noble Eightfold Path is the way leading to the cessation of volitional formations; that is, right view ... right concentration.
“When, monks, a noble disciple thus understands volitional formations, their origin, their cessation, and the way leading to their cessation, this is his knowledge of the principle. By means of this principle that is seen, understood, immediately attained, fathomed, he applies the method to the past and to the future…. This is his knowledge of entailment.
“When, monks, a noble disciple has purified and cleansed these two kinds of knowledge—knowledge of the principle and knowledge of entailment—he is then called a noble disciple who is accomplished in view ... one who stands squarely before the door to the Deathless.”
(SN 12:33; II 56–59)
(d) A Teaching by the Middle
At Sāvatthī, the Venerable Kaccānagotta approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, sat down to one side, and said to him: “Venerable sir, it is said, ‘right view, right view.’ In what way, venerable sir, is there right view?”
“This world, Kaccāna, for the most part depends upon a duality—upon the idea of existence and the idea of nonexistence.46 But for one who sees the origin of the world as it really is with correct wisdom, there is no idea of nonexistence in regard to the world. And for one who sees the cessation of the world as it really is with correct wisdom, there is no idea of existence in regard to the world.47
“This world, Kaccāna, is for the most part shackled by engagement, clinging, and adherence. But this one [with right view] does not become engaged and cling through that engagement and clinging, mental standpoint, adherence, underlying tendency; he does not take a stand about ‘my self.’ He has no perplexity or doubt that what arises is only suffering arising, what ceases is only suffering ceasing.48 His knowledge about this is independent of others. It is in this way, Kaccāna, that there is right view.
“‘All exists’: Kaccāna, this is one extreme. ‘All does not exist’: this is the second extreme. Without