Renunciation

Renunciation: Abandoning The Endless Cycle Of Craving And Aversion

At a certain point in life, there comes a realization: the values we grew up with, and the ideals society promotes as the path to happiness, feel hollow.

The pursuit of money. The indulgence in food. Love. Sex. Relationships. The obsession with appearance. All the pleasures that promise a fulfilling life, when examined closely, appear empty of real substance. In the end, they do not provide lasting satisfaction. They do not lead anywhere meaningful.

It becomes clear that most people are chasing their desires without question. Yet very few seem truly content. Instead, there’s an underlying emptiness, a sense that these external pursuits fail to bring anything that endures. What society calls success and happiness rests on an endless chase for fleeting pleasures, a life consumed by the constant pursuit of fulfilling desire.

But eventually, our gaze turns in a different direction: inward. And if we are fortunate enough to encounter the Tathāgata’s teachings, and to gain even a glimpse of the First and Second Noble Truths, a natural intention arises, to break free. To renounce this endless cycle of craving and aversion. To abandon the stress and dissatisfaction bound up with it.

And what, friends, is the truth held by noble ones of the cessation of stress? The remainderless fading and cessation, renunciation, relinquishment, release, and letting go of that very craving.

MN141

For those of us living in the modern world, renunciation can seem like a distant or difficult concept. But it is, in essence, the act of letting go. Of freeing oneself. Of abandoning, surrendering, relinquishing, and unbinding from what we call “the world.”

Renunciation is not about rejecting the world or avoiding it. It is about seeing clearly that much of our stress and dissatisfaction come from the mind’s entanglement in its own fabrications, constantly chasing desires, clinging to expectations.

It is the realization that trying to control our experiences, or expecting them to deliver lasting satisfaction, is futile. External conditions cannot provide a stable foundation for happiness.

Instead of struggling to control the present moment, we let go of the attachment to desires and expectations. We focus instead on creating the right causes and conditions for true well-being.

Renunciation is born from understanding: liberation from stress and suffering comes through developing the Noble Eightfold Path and walking the Gradual Training. It is the recognition that genuine peace, free from cycles of craving, aversion, and delusion, is the only true happiness.

More than just an abstract philosophy, renunciation is a deeply embodied and intentional process, a continual effort to free oneself from stress and unhappiness by disentangling from the "world" clinging to the Five Aggregates.

Renunciation In Ancient Times

Traditionally, individuals seeking liberation have renounced worldly life by going to live in the forest or some other wilderness. After a few months of separation from village life and worldly desires, the fever, or "Fires of Nibbana," would die down. Worldly desires, intentions, and thoughts would subside enough to start to see things clearly.

Living in the wilderness for an extended time, the laws of nature become self-evident, namely that everything in nature is infinitely variable, constantly changing, born, arising, decaying, and dying. The interdependence and causes and conditions for all things in nature are clearly visible.

For example, a tree seedling arises from the soil, grows tall, matures, flowers, spreads its seeds, and eventually becomes part of the soil itself. Insects feed on the soil, their feces become fertilizer, rain and sun nourish plants, the wind blows, mountains erode, and rivers rise and fall according to the seasons.

There is the realization that there is very little in nature to cling to. The notion of big or small, beautiful or ugly, and all judgments of the world find little footing here. We find that we can function perfectly fine without any verbal thoughts and that speech, logic, and judgment have little use.

Freedom from thoughts, judgments, and logic brings immense inner peace and contentment. Being alone in the wilderness, a new type of awareness arises: the unknowable, alive, mystical nature of the world, an inner "knowing."

Death becomes our friend and not the enemy as previously believed, as we must remain constantly aware of any dangers, bringing a new aliveness, yet being totally at peace, understanding that fear, thoughts, and self-absorption have no place here.

Reflecting back on village life and the worldly realm, there is the realization that the real danger was not the poisonous snakes and tigers or loneliness in the wilderness, but humanity's greed, ignorance, and mindless actions. By contemplating nature and worldly life, Right View starts to develop.

However, when going back into a nearby village for food, there still remains attachment, and there is still some fever and allure.

In ancient India, two thousand six hundred years ago, if fortunate enough to find the Tathagata or his Arahant disciples, because Right View is partially established, one immediately recognizes and sees the value of the Tathagata's teachings, and the path to final liberation and ending of all worldly desires becomes clear.

The mind turns inwardly to itself, where these same laws of nature reveal themselves. That is, like everything else in nature, the body is subject to birth, growth, decay, and death. There is the realization that the "enhancements" created by the five aggregates—feelings, perceptions, thoughts, etc., are not-self, mere phenomena of nature, not necessary for happiness, and that desire and clinging to what we experience is the cause of unhappiness.

Renunciation: The Challenge In Modern Times

Unlike the renunciates of two thousand six hundred years ago, modern individuals who attempt to follow the Tathāgata’s Gradual Training face two major challenges.

The first challenge is this: the Tathāgata himself predicted that his teachings would eventually decline. That they would fade, become corrupted, and ultimately disappear. He foresaw that the Dhamma would become fragmented, making it harder and harder for people to distinguish the true Dhamma from false interpretations.

And when we look around at the Buddhist world today, we can see that some of these predictions have already come to pass. There are now three major branches of Buddhism: Theravāda, Mahāyāna, and Vajrayāna, each containing many sects and sub-sects.

Take the Visuddhimagga, for example. It is considered one of the most important texts in the Theravāda tradition, a systematic guide to the practice and understanding of the Dhamma. Yet it was written in the 5th century CE, almost one thousand years after the Tathāgata’s time, by the Indian scholar Buddhaghosa. It was a reinterpretation of the original teachings, reshaped to appeal to people of that period, but adding ideas not found in the discourses themselves.

In more recent times, with the rise of mass media and the internet, this fragmentation has accelerated dramatically. Now, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of authors reinterpret already existing interpretations of the Tathāgata’s teachings, each offering their own explanations, their own ideas of how they apply to modern life.

The second challenge is that, originally, the Tathāgata’s teachings, the Gradual Training, were intended only for those with “little dust in their eyes.” These were people willing to renounce all worldly life, and even then, only after being accepted into the Sangha.

It was only a few hundred years after the Tathāgata’s passing that Buddhism became a formal religion. Monasteries were established, and the teachings were made accessible to everyone. Over time, the focus shifted, from liberation, to creating good karma for a better present and future life.

And now, in our time, with so many having lost faith in religion altogether, the emphasis has shifted even further. The teachings are often reinterpreted to solve psychological problems, to relieve stress, to improve quality of life.

The reality is that most Buddhist teachings today are not aimed at those seeking liberation. They are aimed at those who want to improve their current life, be a good person, and perhaps generate good karma for this and future lives.

But the Tathāgata’s Gradual Training is the path to liberation from the world, not deeper entanglement within it. It is the path to the cessation of karma itself. If you are not fully committed to liberation, renouncing worldly life, ending the cycle of rebirth, then there is little value in following the Gradual Training or studying the materials on this site.

In that case, you may find more benefit in modern Buddhist writings that focus on mental well-being, on improving relationships, on relieving stress, and on enhancing the quality of life.

The Dhamma as your refuge

Because today’s Buddhist teachings have become fragmented, and are generally aimed at creating merit and improving one’s current and future lives, finding a teacher who truly teaches in line with the Tathāgata’s Gradual Training for liberation is exceedingly difficult.

Before his passing, the Tathāgata gave this instruction to the Saṅgha:

Ānanda, you should all live with yourselves as your island, yourselves as your refuge, with no other as your refuge; with the Dhamma as your island, the Dhamma as your refuge, with no other as your refuge.

DN16

In other words, we no longer have the Buddha. We no longer have a reliable Saṅgha for guidance. What we have is ourselves, and the Dhamma.

Fortunately, the Dhamma, the Tathāgata’s original discourses, has remained intact and can generally be trusted. But today’s mindset is very different from that of two thousand six hundred years ago. Modern people often lack the depth, the quiet mind, and the patience to read the discourses and figure things out for themselves. And so, they tend to rely on interpretations of the teachings.

Yet, as the Tathāgata foresaw and instructed, no other teachers or interpretations can be fully trusted, not even the writings on this site. Anyone seeking liberation must penetrate the true Dhamma for themselves by studying the Tathāgata’s original discourses.

This does not mean that other teachers have nothing of value to offer. It means we must verify their words, ensuring they are consistent with the original discourses and that they lead along the Gradual Training.

To do this, we must first penetrate the true meaning of the Tathāgata’s teachings through our own practice. We must verify any insights or progress with a thorough understanding of the Suttas, while keeping in mind possible translation errors and the very different mindset and intended audience of the Tathāgata’s time.

Penetrating the Dhamma does not come from simply reading words or listening to talks. It comes from clear seeing. The purpose of the Gradual Training and the Noble Eightfold Path is to gradually remove afflictions so that we may develop knowing, clear seeing, of how we entangle ourselves in stress and suffering, and to discern the path leading to its cessation.

Rebirth And Beings In Other Realms

With the mind thus concentrated ... directed and inclined to the knowing of the passing away and reappearance of beings.

With the divine eye, purified and surpassing the human, he sees beings passing away and reappearing, inferior and superior, fair and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate, and he understands how beings pass on according to their actions: These beings, who were endowed with bad conduct of body, speech, and mind, who reviled the noble ones, held wrong views and undertook actions under the influence of wrong views, with the breakup of the body, after death, have reappeared in a state of deprivation, in a bad destination, in perdition, even in hell.

But these beings, who were endowed with good conduct of body, speech, and mind, who did not revile the noble ones, who held right views and undertook actions under the influence of right views, with the breakup of the body, after death, have reappeared in a good destination, in a heavenly world.

DN10

One of the reasons Buddhism has become fragmented, and the Tathāgata’s teachings have become corrupted, is people’s clinging to scientific principles. In particular, the belief that everything in this world is based on physical matter, and that the mind and consciousness are nothing more than products of atoms, molecules, and chemical processes.

Many modern Buddhist teachers, both in the West and increasingly in the East, disregard or dismiss the Tathāgata’s teachings on rebirth and other realms of existence. They treat them as mere cultural artifacts of the time, irrelevant to the core of the teaching.

But this dismissal is a mistake. It leads to wrong view and to an incorrect interpretation of the Dhamma.

In the Tathāgata's worldview, there is indeed a physical realm, made up of things like our bodies, created by atoms, molecules, cells, and chemical processes. But there is also a more subtle dimension: the mental world. This mental world can be understood as mental energy, permeating all universes across infinite time and space.

Our consciousness is composed of this mental energy. The mind, made of this energy, is the precursor to existence. The mental body, formed from mental energy, or karma, is what we call our “self.” It takes on a human body, lives through it, and when the body dies, it is eventually reborn into a new human body. This is the process of rebirth.

Depending on our karma, the mental body can manifest in many forms across different realms of existence. It may take physical form in the animal realm. It may exist as a subtle mental body in the Deva realms. In the Brahma realms, it may exist in a formless state. And for those who disregard the law of cause and effect, performing extremely unwholesome deeds, the mental body can take a mental form in the hell realms.

This is a crucial part of the Tathāgata’s teaching. For there to be no rebirth, or for there to be rebirth in a good realm, we must let go of the desire to be in a human body, and ultimately, let go of the desire to be in any form of being at all.

The essence, the ultimate purpose, of the Tathāgata’s teaching is to prepare for what follows the death of the physical body.

And when, Master Gotama, a person lays down this body and is not yet reborn in another body, what does Master Gotama declare to be his fuel?

When, Vaccha, a person lays down this body and is not yet reborn in another body, I declare that it is fueled by craving. For at that time, Vaccha, craving is his fuel.

SN54.9

If we are unprepared at the time of death, our karma may cause us to panic. In that unsettled state, we may hastily take on a new body, driven by confusion, and this can lead to an unfavorable rebirth.

On the other hand, if we have prepared well, by seeing the body as not-self and by removing our attachment to it, we will meet death at peace, able to exist without a physical form. Depending on our past karma, we may take on a purely mental body in the Deva realms, or a formless body in the Brahma realms, or other such realms.

If we have completely let go of attachment to the Five Aggregates, then we transcend the cycle of rebirth entirely.

Without understanding this truth, much of the Tathāgata’s teaching can be misunderstood, and genuine progress on the path will be very difficult to bring to fruition.

There are, Potthapada, three acquisitions of self for me: the gross acquisition of self, the mind-made acquisition of self, and the formless acquisition of self.

And what, Potthapada, is the gross acquisition of self? It is the one with form, composed of the four great elements, feeding on physical food; this is called the gross acquisition of self.

And what is the mind-made acquisition of self? It is the one with form, mind-made, complete in all its parts, not deficient in any sense organ; this is called the mind-made acquisition of self.

And what is the formless acquisition of self? It is the one without form, made of perception; this is called the formless acquisition of self.

And, Potthapada, I teach the Dhamma for the abandoning of the gross acquisition of self... And, Potthapada, I teach the Dhamma for the abandoning of the mind-made acquisition of self... And, Poṭṭhapāda, I teach the Dhamma for the abandoning of the formless acquisition of self...

As you practice, defiling qualities will be abandoned, and wholesome qualities will grow, leading to the fulfillment of wisdom and the attainment of full understanding in this very life, living having realized it with your own insight.

DN9

Delight Is The Root Of All Suffering

In the Majjhima Nikāya (MN 1), the Tathāgata reveals the root of all suffering: it lies in the ordinary person’s craving and attachment to the delight of existing as a separate self within a body. This self is immersed in the world, constantly seeking pleasure from its objects.

Due to a lack of understanding, ordinary individuals mistakenly assume, "I am bound to this body, I am bound to this world, and I must satisfy my cravings and find contentment here." This deeply held belief leads to the development of various self-views and the formation of unquestioned judgments like, "This is good, this is bad." These judgments fuel greed, aversion, and delusion.

An untrained person readily assumes, "This is my body; I am bound by it." They grasp at the world, convinced, "I am bound to this world," which compels them to engage with everything through craving and attachment.

They remain trapped in ignorance because they haven’t grasped the true nature of experience. The very belief of being confined to a body and existing in the world are, in fact, mental constructs. They haven’t realized that these fabrications are unsubstantial, impermanent, and not a self. And it is precisely clinging to them that inevitably brings about suffering.

An unlearned ordinary person, who is unskilled in the noble teachings ....

perceives earth as earth; having perceived earth as earth, he conceives earth, he conceives in earth, he conceives from earth, he conceives 'earth is mine,' he delights in earth.

What is the reason for that? I say, It is because it has not been fully understood.

MN1

As previously covered, this three-dimensional world, in which we perceive ourselves as separate beings, seeking happiness from the external world, is created within consciousness. It is not reality itself.

It is the result of ingrained memories, of karma, and of the cognitive process, what the Tathāgata calls the Five Aggregates.

These ingrained memories create a sense of continuity. They give rise to the impression, or the view, that there is a self, a person in the background, experiencing and controlling everything.

Because of these self-views, every time something of interest appears in experience, an ordinary person desires and clings to the ingrained memories and perceptions produced by the Five Aggregates. This clinging gives rise to greed, to aversion, and to delusion. And in the end, it results in unhappiness and dissatisfaction.

There are these four kinds of clinging, disciples. What four? Clinging to sensual pleasures, clinging to views, clinging to precepts and practices, clinging to a doctrine of self.

MN11

The primary source of our stress and dissatisfaction comes from a fundamental misunderstanding: the mistaken belief that our mind is intrinsically bound to our body, and that a separate "self" is experiencing and controlling interactions with the outside world through the Five Aggregates. We fail to realize that what we perceive as "body," "earth," and all of reality are concepts that bind us to this earthly existence.

We take for granted that our personal views and perspectives are reality itself. For example, most of us assume we are directly "seeing" through our eyes, rather than understanding that what we perceive is merely a series of images constructed within our consciousness. We believe we can experience something outside the Five Aggregates, not realizing that even the thought of an "outside" experience is, in itself, just another experience based on these aggregates.

This misunderstanding leads us to believe that sensual pleasures are inherent qualities of worldly objects. We fail to recognize that these pleasures are, in fact, creations of our own mind. Consequently, we relentlessly chase after these worldly delights, unaware that they are nothing more than mental fabrications.

We mistakenly assume that desiring worldly objects will bring us pleasure. However, it's precisely this desire itself that generates stress and painful feelings.

Out of ignorance, we wrongly perceive that satisfaction comes from possessing the objects of our desire. In truth, what we interpret as satisfaction is merely the relief from the stress and pain of not having what we wanted, followed by the temporary reprieve of obtaining it. This brief cessation of suffering is then misinterpreted as genuine satisfaction.

An Arahant, with taints destroyed, who has lived the holy life, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, reached the true goal, destroyed the fetters of being, and is completely liberated through final knowledge, he too understands the earth as earth; having understood the earth as earth, he does not conceive the earth, he does not conceive in the earth, he does not conceive from the earth, he does not conceive earth is mine, he does not delight in the earth.

What is the reason for this? 'Delight is the root of suffering': Thus knowing, 'From becoming comes birth, from birth comes aging and death.'

'The Tathagata, through the complete destruction, fading away, cessation, giving up, and relinquishment of all craving, is fully awakened to unsurpassed perfect enlightenment,' I say.

MN1

A liberated person, by contrast, no longer confines themselves with perceptions such as, “I am a being, I have a body, I exist in this world.” They have relinquished all mind-created views and perspectives, no longer identifying with these mental constructs. For such an individual, the world is no longer seen through the lens of craving or attachment. They are no longer in this world, operating within its confines or bound to it.

They engage with things free from the notions of “I” or “mine.” They see things exactly as they are, without distortion, having removed all mental defilements: greed, hatred, and delusion.

A liberated person has actualized a state that transcends the fabrications of the Five Aggregates. They have attained freedom from clinging to the mental fabrications and objectifications generated by these very aggregates.

Abandoning Defilements Is The Path To Liberation

In the second discourse of the Majjhima Nikāya (MN2), the Tathāgata explains the ways to overcome sensual desire, clinging to existence, and clinging to views, by abandoning the āsavas, the mental taints.

• Right View: Clearly seeing the nature of suffering, of impermanence, and of non-self.

• Restraining the Senses: Not becoming lost in unwholesome contact.

• Proper Use: Using food, shelter, and medicine only for sustaining the body, not for pleasure or for building identity.

• Enduring: Patiently enduring hunger, heat, cold, pain, and criticism, without reacting with anger or craving.

• Avoiding: Steering clear of places, people, and objects that give rise to unwholesome thoughts.

• Removing: When unwholesome thoughts do arise, making the effort to remove them, through contemplation, wise reflection, or direct effort.

• Developing: And finally, cultivating wisdom, mindfulness, and concentration, until the taints are uprooted completely.

There are defilements to be abandoned by seeing,
defilements to be abandoned by restraining,
defilements to be abandoned by using,
defilements to be abandoned by enduring,
defilements to be abandoned by avoiding,
defilements to be abandoned by removing,
and defilements to be abandoned by developing.

MN2

The Gradual Training and the Eightfold Path are the way to abandon these defilements.

The Need For A Gradual Training

I do not say that the attainment of knowing is achieved at the beginning; but gradual training, gradual practice, gradual progress leads to the attainment of knowing. And how does gradual training, gradual practice, gradual progress lead to the attainment of knowing?

Here one who has faith approaches, having approached, he attends, attending, he listens, listening, he hears the Dhamma, having heard the Dhamma, he retains it, retaining the Dhamma, he examines the meaning, examining the meaning, the Dhamma is accepted, with acceptance of the Dhamma, desire arises, with desire arisen, he exerts himself, exerting himself, he weighs it up, weighing it up, he strives, striving, being resolute, he realizes the ultimate truth with the body, and penetrates it with wisdom.

MN70

The Gradual Training is the gradual process of freeing the mind from afflictions and delusions, afflictions born of craving for sensual satisfaction, and the desire to exist as a being.

It is the renunciation, the surrender, the letting go of clinging to the ingrained memories and volition stored as karmic or mental energy, what the Tathāgata refers to as the Five Aggregates.

The Gradual Training rests on the understanding that liberation can only arise through establishing the right causes and conditions.

Mastery of the Noble Eightfold Path begins with Right View as its essential foundation. Without Right View, Right Intention cannot arise. And without Right Intention, Right Speech and all the other factors of the path cannot follow.

In the Tathāgata’s Gradual Training, the cultivation of Right View must come first. Right View is the profound understanding of suffering and its cause. With this understanding, we see the possibility of ending suffering. And this insight brings a strong conviction that the Noble Eightfold Path is the only way to completely transcend stress and suffering.

If the Four Noble Truths have not been penetrated, there is no supramundane Right View. Without Right View, intentions will lack the strength and clarity needed to renounce worldly desires. And without both Right View and Right Intention, the Gradual Training cannot begin, because the path requires renunciation, or Right Intention, as a foundation.

In essence, the Gradual Training must be practiced in the correct order. If it is not, the causes and conditions essential for liberation will not be established.

Just as the Gradual Training creates the causes and conditions necessary for liberation, it begins by addressing gross afflictions, and gradually progresses toward the more subtle ones. If the gross afflictions are not resolved first, the more refined ones cannot be recognized or addressed.

Each part of the Gradual Training is cumulative, naturally leading into the next. This means we continually develop Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration, progressing steadily until full liberation.

Each practice begins at the right time, and is carried forward until the very end. The Gradual Training is not strictly sequential, it is cumulative. We do not need to perfect sīla before beginning to guard the sense doors, and so on. We only need to develop each factor to a level where subtler afflictions can be addressed.

By practicing sīla, virtue, we are already cultivating the guarding of the sense doors, wakefulness, and mindfulness. These qualities form the foundation for Right Concentration to arise. The Gradual Training is not a set of separate, isolated steps, but a natural unfolding, from the gross to the subtle.

Yet before beginning the Gradual Training, there must already be a foundation of Right View, a deep understanding of the Four Noble Truths, as realized by the Noble Ones.

It is not possible that one who does not delight in solitude will grasp the sign of the mind. This is not possible.
It is not possible that one who does not grasp the sign of the mind will fulfill right view. This is not possible.
It is not possible that one who does not fulfill right view will fulfill right concentration. This is not possible.
It is not possible that one who does not fulfill right concentration will abandon the fetters. This is not possible.
It is not possible that one who does not abandon the fetters will realize Nibbāna. This is not possible.

AN6.68

Since most of us cannot abandon our worldly responsibilities to live a solitary life in the wilderness, or have the rare fortune of an Arahant as our teacher, we must create comparable conditions for tranquility and clear knowing to arise.

We must build, in the midst of the man-made world, a kind of mental oasis. A place within the mind where the noise of the world does not intrude, where the right conditions are present for a peaceful and imperturbable mind to develop.

This involves gradually loosening the mind’s constant dependence on objectification, on logic, on thoughts, on words. In other words, we reduce clinging to views and judgments about what is “good” or “bad” in the world, for these judgments are rooted in desire.

Objectification is a disease, objectification is a cancer, objectification is an arrow. Therefore, you should train yourselves: We will dwell with an awareness free of objectifications.

SN 35:207

The Gradual Training: Developing Higher States Of Conciousness

In our modern world, many believe wisdom comes from what we can remember, arrange into words, and articulate through logic. But the truth is, real wisdom doesn’t arise from clever language or sharp reasoning. It comes from direct insight and clear seeing, when the mind is free from greed, aversion, and delusion.

Yes, words can point toward deeper truths. But the rational mind has a habit, it wants to take over. It tries to reduce understanding to concepts and categories built from old habits and ingrained views. And when that happens, everything we perceive gets filtered through what the mind already thinks it knows. This ability to conceptualize has made humans remarkably skilled at controlling and exploiting their environment. But it has also left us vulnerable to extreme greed.

When we crave knowledge, the rational mind, still caught in desire, aversion, and delusion, only takes in what it wants to know. And so it misses the simple truth: wisdom arises on its own, from the right causes and conditions, not from the grasping to know. Without seeing this, the essence of the Tathāgata’s discourses remains out of reach.

Wisdom is a form of knowing that’s beyond logic, beyond language, beyond thought itself. It’s the kind of knowing that’s built into awareness, what some call intuition, what the ancients simply called “knowing.”

True knowing is seeing reality as it is, free from the distortions of attachment to the self and the Five Aggregates, attachments that fuel desire, aversion, and ignorance, obscuring the light of wisdom.

To cultivate this knowing, we must gradually let go of our self-views. This means surrendering our identification with the body, feelings, perceptions, thoughts, and reactions as me, myself, or mine. It also means giving the mind enough solitude and quiet so it can transcend conceptual thinking, so insight can arise on its own.

And to truly open to this knowing, we must be willing to expand our view: to consider that mental energy, the very fabric of consciousness, is not limited by time and space. Our mind, our memory, our very awareness, may be part of a vast mental field that holds the karma and memories of countless lives, our own and those of all beings.

Noble disciples and advanced meditators can recall their past lives. The fully awakened Tathāgata could see both his own and the past lives of others. If we stop placing limits on the mind, if we stop assuming that it is bound to the body, we can eliminate the constraints we have placed on our minds.

The mind is not the brain. It’s not trapped in the body. Believing it is, that is a wrong view, born of clinging to the Form Aggregate. Consciousness is part of the mental realm, with access to an innate depth of knowing. But self-clinging clouds it over. The more desire, aversion, and ignorance there is, the heavier that cloud. Yet when the self-view fades, knowing can emmerge, sometimes as an insight, sometimes as a sudden sense of clarity.

To open to this, we must let go of the belief that all truth can be explained by the physical sciences alone. We must accept the possibility of the mental realm, accept that we are mental beings whose mental body can exist apart from the physical.

And as we release our attachment to the physical form, many of the body’s afflictions fall away, and ignorance begins to thin. When we release our grip on the remaining aggregates, deeper and deeper insights come.

This is the supramundane path of the Eightfold Way, clear seeing that leads to detachment from all forms of existence, and ultimately, to liberation from the cycle of rebirth.

The Gradual Training: The Mundane And Supramundane Paths

The Gradual Training calls for nothing less than a complete shift in how we see and meet the world. Instead of acting from desire, aversion, or ignorance, it is based on renunciation, on the steady release of our attachments, through the practice of the Gradual Training itself, the Noble Eightfold Path, and the Four Noble Truths.

Before we can take this up in earnest, we need a clear understanding of the Eightfold Path. And here, it’s important to know that there are really two versions of it: the mundane and the supramundane, or Noble, Eightfold Path.

The mundane version is for those who are not seeking to end the cycle of rebirth. Its purpose is to cultivate good karma, so that one’s current and future lives will be more favorable. It is noble in its own way, but its scope remains within the cycle.

The Noble, or supramundane, version is different. It is for disciples who seek complete liberation from the cycle of birth and death. The goal is not to pile up good karma, but to stop producing new karma altogether. Here, the focus is on disentangling ourselves from the world, gradually ceasing to create the causes for rebirth.

This happens by steadily letting go: cultivating dispassion, relinquishment, and the cessation of our desires and attachments to the things of the world. Such a disciple no longer seeks to accumulate anything for themselves. Instead, they work to dissolve the sense of “I,” to see the impersonal nature of the Five Aggregates, and to release anything that binds them to what the Tathagata called “the world.”

For example, Right Speech in the mundane path might be used to build stronger, more harmonious relationships. But in the supramundane path, it serves a different purpose: to develop dispassion, relinquishment, and the ending of the need for relationships at all, unless those connections truly support one’s progress toward liberation.

And what, friends, is the noble truth of the path of practice leading to the cessation of stress? Just this very noble eightfold path: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.

MN141

Developing Right View

And what is right view that is affected by taints, partaking of merit, ripening in the acquisitions?

There is what is given, what is offered, what is sacrificed, there is fruit and result of good and bad actions, there is this world, there is another world, there is mother, there is father, there are beings who are reborn spontaneously, there are in the world good and virtuous recluses and brahmins who have realized for themselves by direct knowing and declare this world and the other world.

MN117

Mundane Right View begins with simple, wholesome understandings. It is knowing that there is goodness in giving, that there is merit in what is given, offered, or sacrificed, and that gratitude should naturally arise in return.

It is seeing that our actions have consequences, wholesome actions bring good results, unwholesome actions bring harm, and that we owe deep gratitude to our parents for bringing us into this life.

It is also being open to the truth that there is not only this visible world, but another world beyond our ordinary perception. When the physical body dies, the mental body continues, awaiting rebirth in a new form. There are realms of existence where devas, gods, hungry ghosts, and other beings dwell, realms into which some beings are reborn spontaneously, fully formed. Noble ones and accomplished yogis, through direct realization, have seen these worlds and testify that both this world and the other world are real.

Right View means letting go of the wrong idea that happiness can be found by endlessly chasing sensual pleasures. Instead, it is seeing that lasting peace comes only from a mind free of attachment, free from the clinging that fuels desire.

It is understanding that no matter what has happened in the past, the present moment still holds power. We shape the future through our intentions and our choices now. Every action, whether wholesome, unwholesome, or neutral, plants a seed, and the fruit of that seed will surely come.

Right View: Supramundane Right View

And what is right view that is noble, taintless, supramundane, a factor of the path?

That which is wisdom, the faculty of wisdom, the power of wisdom, the investigation-of-states enlightenment factor, right view as a path factor, in one of noble mind, taintless mind, who by developing the noble path: this is called right view that is noble, taintless, supramundane, a factor of the path.

MN117

Supramundane, or Noble, Right View is not a static belief or a mere definition. It is a way of seeing, a living, evolving perspective that deepens as we let go. We start by releasing the coarse and unwholesome views, then the subtler ones, until even the most refined and wholesome views are surrendered.

Supramundane Right View is the flipping, the turning upside down, of how we see the world.

Before, we saw the Five Aggregates, body, feelings, perceptions, intentions, and thoughts, as “me,” moving through a world “out there,” trying to grasp happiness by fulfilling desires.

But with Noble Right View, we see that this “self” and the “outside world” are both creations of the Five Aggregates. By clinging to them, we don’t find happiness, we bind ourselves more tightly to dissatisfaction and suffering.

When this is seen clearly, it becomes obvious: the only way to end stress and suffering is to abandon craving and clinging by walking the Noble Eightfold Path.

We begin to understand: the Five Aggregates are fabricated. They are insubstantial, unreliable, not-self. Clinging to them will always create suffering. Even our body, our feelings, our perceptions, our intentions, and our thoughts are all shaped by karma, craving, aversion, and delusion, arising in consciousness under the influence of causes and conditions.

Nothing should be taken personally. Nothing can give lasting satisfaction.

Ordinary people assume there is an enduring “me” to whom things are happening, a “me” managing life, choosing what to keep, what to push away. A Noble disciple sees through this illusion. They know it is the Five Aggregates themselves that create the sense of “me.” They know that the “experiencer” is not something separate, it is built within the experience itself.

For them, there is no longer a “self” living in the world, there is only experience happening.

So they stop looking outward for the cause of suffering. Instead, they turn inward to see how clinging to the Five Aggregates continually fabricates self-view. They watch how each mind-state, fueled by desire and aversion, builds a sense of “me” and of “my world.”

And they apply the Four Noble Truths again and again, noticing even the subtlest forms of stress, rooted in greed, aversion, or delusion and abandoning them through seeing clearly, through restraint, through wise use, avoidance, endurance, removal, and the cultivation of wholesome qualities.

Gradually, perception clears. The objectifications created by the Five Aggregates fade. And when self-view is finally abandoned, a liberated person sees without distortion, when there is seeing, there is just seeing.

Right View: Contemplating The Four Noble Truths

In the Gradual Training, we begin by turning the Four Noble Truths inward, making them personal, real, and relevant to our own life.

We start to see that suffering isn’t something the world does to us, it doesn’t come from events or circumstances outside. It arises from within, from craving, from clinging, from aversion.

So we look deeply. We see how wanting, resisting, and wishing for things to be other than they are keeps the fire of suffering burning. This isn’t a casual glance, it’s honest, thorough reflection on every corner of our life.

We examine our views, our desires, our expectations, one by one, until we see their nature: unsubstantial, not-self, and bound to bring dissatisfaction. We realize there is nothing, in this world or any world, worth clinging to as a source of lasting happiness.

From here, we start sorting the wholesome from the unwholesome, the skillful from the unskillful. We ask: What is worth holding onto? What leads to peace? And what stirs the mind, making it restless and bound?

We then look at what needs to change, what must be relinquished, so the mind can be free from these entangling views and desires. This is the practice of renunciation, not as an abstract idea, but as a living, breathing choice.

In doing this, it becomes clear: only the Noble Eightfold Path provides the skillful means to gradually abandon craving and free the mind from suffering.

As wisdom grows, we stop getting lost in the stories, reasons, and excuses behind suffering. The mind no longer chases every “why” and “how” of our pain. Instead, it sees directly: this is suffering; this is its cessation.

And in that direct seeing, dispassion arises. The mind lets go. Clinging ends. Through virtue, through concentration, through wisdom, the root of suffering is cut away, and what remains is freedom.

Right View: Impermanence, Unsubstantial, And Unsatisfying

Moggallana the wanderer, as he heard this Dhamma exposition, there arose the dustless, stainless Dhamma eye: Whatever is subject to origination is all subject to cessation.

Mv 123

Right View is the clear seeing that clinging to self-views, clinging to the Five Aggregates, and searching for lasting satisfaction in life goes against the natural laws. Clinging to the Five Aggregates means holding the false belief that what we experience has some enduring substance that can reliably satisfy us.

It is our attachment to the body, feelings, perceptions, volitional formations, and consciousness, our sense of self, that creates the illusion of solidity in our experiences. We become entangled in brief events, convinced that they are happening to us, when in truth they are the result of countless causes and conditions, many set in motion long before we were even aware of them.

In the modern world, with its permanent structures and durable objects, this illusion becomes amplified. Death itself is hidden away. People die in hospitals, and their bodies are placed in coffins. It is possible to live an entire life without ever seeing a dead body.

Fish and meat are packaged in ways that disconnect us from the fact that these were once living beings. The point is not to make a judgment about eating meat, but to recognize that life and death are inseparable. Instead of understanding this, we cling to life and fear death, rather than seeing it as a natural process.

We cling to youth, beauty, wealth, health, power, and traditions. And this clinging leads to stress and dissatisfaction, because nothing can be held onto.

To be free from the world, we must examine our existence, our desires, views, and habits, until we see their undependable and unsatisfactory nature. Complete dispassion arises when we realize there was never anything real to cling to in the first place.

When we see death clearly, we lose our fear of it and live more fully, no longer wasting time on illusions.

Reflecting on all the suffering across past and future lives, it becomes clear: whatever we cling to now will only bind us to more suffering ahead. The only path to true freedom is to end the cycle of rebirth.

Right View: The Not-Self Nature Of The "World"

The process of establishing Right View also means seeing through the very fabrication of a “self”, the way we cling to, control, and personalize existence.

Most people never question the assumption that there is a self that experiences the world. But Right View reveals that this “self” is nothing more than ingrained memories and perceptions, all of which arise from clinging to the Five Aggregates.

Renunciation, in this sense, is the gradual deconstruction of that fabricated self. We come to understand that everything in this world is conditioned — shaped by causes, subject to change, and driven by natural forces. None of the experiences, memories, or impressions born from the Five Aggregates can rightfully be taken as “me” or “mine.”

We realize there is no independent, continuous self running in the background of our lives. What seems to be a stable self is, in truth, a chain of interconnected causes and conditions, moment to moment, giving the illusion of a solid and ongoing identity.

When the mind truly sees this, it no longer looks out at the world from the vantage point of a “self.” It sees that there is only what is experienced — no experiencer, no subject separate from the world. No seeing, only the seen.

When he attends improperly in this way, one of six views arises in him.

The view I have a self arises in him as true and established, or the view I have no self arises in him as true and established, or the view I perceive self with self arises in him as true and established, or the view I perceive not-self with self arises in him as true and established, or the view I perceive self with not-self arises in him as true and established, or else he has some such view as this:

It is this self of mine that speaks and feels and experiences here and there the result of good and bad actions; but this self of mine is permanent, everlasting, eternal, not subject to change, and it will endure as long as eternity.

This speculative view is called a thicket of views, a wilderness of views, a contortion of views, a writhing of views, a fetter of views.

MN2

We should also understand that trying to let go of self-view by working with the idea of a self is like treating a symptom rather than addressing the root cause.

Clinging to views such as “there is no self” or “there is a self” does little to solve the deeper problem. Both positions miss the true source of the issue.

For example, someone who strongly believes there is no self might simply label everything as “not self,” overlooking the very causes and conditions that give rise to self-view in the first place.

The more skillful approach is not to fixate on a position, but to investigate each experience and mental state directly, to see where suffering begins. This means uncovering the craving and clinging that shape our sense of existence, and understanding how they keep the process of becoming alive and active.

From feeling as condition comes craving. From craving as condition comes clinging. From clinging as condition comes becoming.

SN12.2

Right View: Craving Is The Root Of All Suffering

Now this is the noble truth of the origin of suffering: It is this craving which leads to renewed existence, accompanied by delight and lust, seeking delight here and there; that is, craving for sensual pleasures, craving for existence, craving for extermination.

SN56.11

To truly understand suffering, and the path to its end, the Tathāgata emphasizes the need to understand craving and clinging. Craving is the fuel that sustains saṁsāra, the endless cycle of birth, aging, and death.

The Tathāgata teaches that there are three types of craving.

• First, craving for sensual pleasures, the desire for pleasant sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and even pleasant thoughts. This is the most obvious form of craving.

• Second, craving for becoming, the urge to be someone or something, to be seen in a certain way, to gain power, to reach a heavenly rebirth, or to establish a sense of “self.”

• Third, craving for extinction, the wish to disappear completely, to be annihilated, to never exist again.

Whenever craving arises, it leads to clinging, holding on, identifying with, and trying to keep what is desired. This clinging takes four forms.

• Clinging to sensual pleasures, grasping at enjoyable experiences and becoming attached to them.

• Clinging to views, holding to fixed ideas, such as “the self is eternal,” “actions have no consequences,” or “everything must follow scientific principles.”

• Clinging to rites and rituals, believing that external practices alone, without wisdom, can bring liberation.

• And clinging to a doctrine of self, identifying any of the Five Aggregates as “I” or “mine.” This is the most subtle and deep, rooted form of clinging.

To overcome craving and clinging, we must first understand how they arise. See how they give birth to bodily, mental, verbal, and volitional formations.

It is these formations that sustain the illusion of a “self.” Whenever we experience stress or dissatisfaction, it is a sign that the mind is taking something personally, clinging to a desired outcome instead of seeing the causes and conditions that gave rise to it.

The work is to recognize craving, let it go, release desires and expectations, and loosen the grip of “I” and “mine” on body, perceptions, thoughts, views, and consciousness.

The purpose of the Gradual Training and the Noble Eightfold Path is to address craving and clinging in every form, from the gross and obvious to the most subtle.

As clear knowing matures, we see directly that what we took to be a “self” is insubstantial, nothing more than the restless movement of craving and clinging to the Five Aggregates.

disciples, if there were no craving for becoming, no delight in becoming, no craving for relishing becoming, beings would not be subject to birth, aging and death.

AN3.76

With the remainderless fading away and cessation of that very craving comes the cessation of clinging... the cessation of birth, aging, and death.

SN12.2

Right View: Seeing Causes And Conditions

Renunciation arises from the deep understanding that the outcome of all actions is determined by causes and conditions, not by our wishes, and not by our attempts to control the present moment.

Consider an athlete. They do not become skilled simply by wanting it or by trying hard in the moment. Skill is the result of natural ability, training, and steady practice, causes and conditions coming together. When the time of competition arrives, the skilled athlete sets aside thoughts, expectations, and worries, and simply competes. If adjustments are needed, they happen naturally, based on prior training. Any sense of a self, an “I” or “ego”, trying to control or manage the moment out of desire only gets in the way.

In the same way, when we identify with the process, when we crave a specific outcome, or when we take results personally, we cling. This not only divides our attention but also brings stress, both of which weaken our ability to act well. The wiser approach is to give full attention to creating the right causes and conditions, step by step.

Simply put, if we have trained properly, are better than other athletes, and have a clear mind unobstructed by thoughts rooted in desire, then the causes and conditions are in place for winning the competition.

Renunciation, then, is the release of attachment to outcomes and expectations. It is the giving up of “I,” “me,” “mine,” and “myself,” seeing instead that all of this is simply an impersonal process.

In practical terms, this means not reacting blindly to what is happening now, but recognizing that the present moment is the product of countless past causes and conditions. If change is possible, it will only come by altering those causes and conditions. And this is precisely the work of the Gradual Training and the Noble Eightfold Path.

Right Intention

And what is right intention that is affected by taints, partaking of merit, ripening in the acquisitions? Intention of renunciation, intention of non-ill will, intention of non-harming

MN117

And what is right intention that is noble, taintless, supramundane, a factor of the path? That which is in one of noble mind, taintless mind, who by developing the noble path, intention, thought, conception, mental concomitants, verbal formation

MN117

Liberation is disentanglement, the unbinding from the “world,” from the Five Aggregates.

Right Intention is the constant examination of our own aims, of the thoughts, speech, and actions that flow from them. We look to see whether they are rooted in unwholesome desires that tie us to the world, or in wholesome aims that lead toward freedom.

When we find an unwholesome intention, we set a firm resolve to let it go, and to replace it with one that is wholesome.

Right View and Right Intention are the forerunners of all action. They shape how we think, speak, and act. When we cultivate wholesome intentions, we purify the mind and move closer to liberation.

Just as past unwholesome intentions create unwholesome karmic actions that ripen in the present, leading to stress and unhappiness, we can turn this stream into the path of liberation by letting go of all unskillful intentions and replacing them with Right Intention: the single-minded, continual intention for renunciation from sense desires, desire for wanting to be, and any entanglement with the world by developing freedom from ill-will and harmlessness.

Based on Right View, once Right Intention for Renunciation is fully established and continually reinforced, Right Intention acts as the 'power', the catalyst for all future actions on the path. This is because the mind is no longer scattered among its many desires, attachments, and entanglements, which greatly weaken effort and cause stress and dissatisfaction.

Renunciation and letting go are based on the understanding that intention is the "power" behind our actions. Once single-minded Right Intention is in place and we understand that success is based on establishing the right causes and conditions, the mind will naturally find a way to bring about the intention naturally.

Wrong intention, by contrast, is driven by desire and by the expectation of a specific outcome. The moment we expect, stress and anxiety arise. Clear seeing is clouded. We no longer act from wisdom, but from greed and aversion, which leads to a wrong outcome.

In reality, it is the mistaken attribution of desires and results to a "self" and the persistent compulsion to take personally and react to the present moment that primarily cause stress and unhappiness in our lives.

Instead, Right View and Right Intention are needed to develop the causes and conditions for liberation. In other words, to develop wholesome thoughts, speech, and actions free from desires and expectations.

Finally, we must remember that Right Intention depends on having faith in the Tathāgata’s teachings as one of the essential causes and conditions for liberation. This requires surrendering our preconceived ideas about liberation, placing trust in the Tathāgata’s teachings, and surrendering conceit, arrogance, and stubbornness when following his instructions.

Other vital conditions include hearing or reading the true Dhamma, cultivating appropriate attention, engaging fully in the practice, and directly realizing the truth for oneself. These strengthen faith and bring about the deep understanding that leads to liberation.

I discerned that thinking imbued with renunciation has arisen in me; and that leads neither to my own affliction, nor to the affliction of others, nor to the affliction of both. It fosters discernment, promotes lack of vexation, & leads to unbinding

MN19

And where do these unwholesome intentions cease without remainder? Their cessation too has been declared. Here a disciple, having secluded himself from sensual pleasures… enters and dwells in the first jhana; there these unwholesome intentions cease without remainder.

MN78

Right Speech, Right Action And Right Livelihood

When we have Right View, the clear understanding that nothing in this world can provide lasting satisfaction or is worth entanglement, and when we hold Right Intention, the single-minded resolve to transform all past and present intentions into wholesome ones, this naturally expresses itself as Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood.

In the Gradual Training, these three are not about forming better or deeper personal relationships. They are about untangling ourselves from the world in a wholesome way.

With Right View, we see that everyone’s behaviors and personalities, including our own, are shaped by karma: the past conditions that have formed our identities, colored by past desires, aversions, and delusions.

We come to interact with people much as we would with natural forces. A person’s present actions arise from causes and conditions, their family, society, religion, language, peer pressure, institutions, media, advertising, and life experiences. These all shape how they act and react now.

We also see that, because of past suffering and unhappiness, many develop unwholesome behaviors and coping habits, strategies to manage underlying distress.

Just like storms in nature, when pressure builds in the mind, it can be released through unwholesome actions: anger, greed, selfishness, lying, harsh speech, dishonesty, sexual misconduct, intoxication, even physical harm.

With this understanding, Right View knows that relationships are impermanent, unreliable, not-self, and wholly conditioned. From this comes the Right Intention to develop equanimity, to remain balanced, undisturbed, and not overreact to others’ unwholesome actions. We refrain from judgment, knowing that it only deepens entanglement. Instead, we meet such behavior with goodwill and compassion.

As it is often only through interaction with others that these unwholesome tendencies arise, the practice of Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood becomes our safeguard. These protect us from being drawn into the storms of human existence. They are the means by which we cultivate an unshakable, peaceful mind, a mind that moves toward liberation.

Furthermore, it is also the best way to judge our progress along the path.

Right Effort

The Gradual Training is the steady cultivation of a tranquil, unobstructed, unwavering mind, one that remains undisturbed by craving and emotion, and does not get lost in thoughts, desires, or aversions.

Because of ingrained habits, deep-seated restlessness, and the momentum of past karma, the mind must be “tamed” to free it from its compulsion to grasp and cling to the “world.”

Returning to the analogy of the good athlete, once the mind is trained, it can act with precision and clarity, unhindered by desires, emotions, wandering thoughts, or the restless urge to judge and control the present moment.

Right View is the forerunner. Right Intention is the driving force behind all actions. And Right Effort is the cultivation of the right causes and conditions that lead to liberation.

We develop these causes and conditions by practicing the Four Right Efforts: to prevent unwholesome states from arising, to abandon those that have arisen, to cultivate wholesome states, and to maintain and perfect them. This rests on the principle that whatever the mind attends to will grow.

By giving attention to peaceful states of mind, and by releasing objectification and the judging mind, we draw nearer to freedom. The mind becomes clear, purified, and undistracted, a mind fit for deep concentration, insight, and for carrying out any task with skill.

Right Mindfulness

Right Intention is the power, the driving force behind renunciation. Right Effort is the work of developing the causes and conditions for a mind that is clear, steady, and not lost in thought.

When awareness is fully established in awareness itself, at the Five Aggregates, in memory, what the Tathāgata calls the Four Dwellings of Mindfulness, there is discernment. This is the clear “knowing” of Right Mindfulness.

Ordinarily, we perceive ourselves in a three-dimensional world, separate from the objects around us, the bodily and mental fabrications.

But instead of fixing mindfulness upon the objects of the “world,” which only stirs up new fabrications and clouds clear knowing, one abides in memory, in the awareness of the Five Aggregates, attentive to mind and body, keeping track of change as it happens, seeing causes and conditions as they arise and pass away.

This discernment, this intuition, emerges when mindfulness is free from objectification, free from judgment, free from the pull of logic, words, and thoughts, when the mind sees causes and conditions directly, as they are.

Right Concentration

Right Mindfulness is mindfulness fully established within the Five Aggregates, within memory. When Right Mindfulness is firmly grounded in this way, it leads directly to Right Concentration.

Concentration can be understood as a collected, single-minded attention.

Ordinarily, the mind is scattered, busy with countless processes, thoughts, intentions, feelings, and perceptions, what the Tathāgata calls “formations.” Attention is divided among many lingering mental processes, some of them hidden, waiting for the right conditions to arise.

Right Concentration is the release of all these scattered formations, gathering attention into a unified, single-minded process, guided by Right Intention, for the purpose of destroying the taints.

When applied to mindfulness of the body, this means collecting all attention and directing it to memory, the awareness of the body, keeping track of change as it happens, in real time, without letting stray thoughts or mental processes interfere with singleness of mind.

In simple terms, concentration is letting go of all formations and abiding in memory, free from hindrances. In this way, the mind becomes purified, ready to be used for the destruction of the taints.

The Gradual Training Starts With Right View and Right Intention

Although we can begin certain practices of the Gradual Training, such as practicing Sila. ethical conduct, and guarding the sense doors, the primary intention should be to develop Right View. This means gaining a deep understanding of the Four Noble Truths, and recognizing the unsatisfactory, impermanent, and not-self nature of sense desires and attachment to the Five Aggregates.

Before truly embarking on the Gradual Training, it is essential to be fully committed to Renunciation, supported by a clear understanding of why the Eightfold Path is the only way to liberation.

After gaining Right View and imbuing the mind with renunciation, Right Intention, and after penetrating the Dharma and the Eightfold Path practiced by the Noble Ones, unshakable faith in the Tathagata’s teachings arises. This creates the causes and conditions for entering the stream, Sotāpatti-magga. From here, thoughts and actions become single-mindedly focused on liberation.

In a person of right view, right intention comes into being. In a person of right intention, right speech. In a person of right speech, right action. In a person of right action, right livelihood. In a person of right livelihood, right effort. In a person of right effort, right mindfulness. In a person of right mindfulness, right concentration. In a person of right concentration, right knowing. In a person of right knowing, right release.

AN 10.103

A virtuous disciple should properly attend to these five aggregates subject to clinging as impermanent, suffering, a disease, a boil, a dart, a misfortune, an affliction, alien, disintegrating, empty, and not-self.

There is a possibility that a virtuous disciple, properly attending to these five aggregates subject to clinging in this way, may realize the fruit of stream-entry.

SN22.122

How one might know if they are a stream enterer:

Abiding In Renunciation

Here, disciples, I breathe in mindful, I breathe out mindful. When I breathe in long, I know. When I breathe out long, I know …

I will breathe in experiencing relinquishment (letting go), I will breathe out experiencing relinquishment (letting go).

For if anyone should be rightly said to dwell in the noble dwelling, the divine dwelling, the Tathāgatas dwelling, it is when dwelling in mindfulness of breathing.

SN54.12

Learning to abide in renunciation before beginning the Gradual Training can bring joy and provide confidence, motivation, and the right frame of mind to start the practice.

Abiding In Renunciation

Abiding in renunciation is the continual letting go of craving and clinging to the Five Aggregates. Abiding fully in body and mind, using the breath, one continually lets go, surrenders everything in experience, and experiences the continual release:

• Let go or surrender any attachment to the body.
• Let go of any feeling, perception, sensation, and body tension that arises, anything that can be felt in the body.
• Let go of any tension or tightness in the mind and awareness.
• Let go of any intentions, desires, or judgments for anything to be different.
• Surrender your sense of self, of wanting to do something or be anywhere.

It is staying aware in real time, abiding in body and mind, and continually letting go, surrendering anything in experience.

When abiding in renunciation, there's no need to enter a meditative state or 'trance'; simply keep your eyes open as usual, staying alert and awake.

When breathing, you can also let go with the outbreath, making the outbreath longer. When breathing in, take in any good feelings and perceptions from the release of stress.

Initially, it might be helpful to visualize letting go or surrendering by directing what is being released to a spot outside the body, such as through the top of your head, the bottom of your feet, your hands, or wherever it feels appropriate.

When the causes and conditions are present, when the mind is undisturbed and the intention is firmly set on renunciation, joy and release naturally arise.

It is normal, however, to experience incessant thoughts at the beginning of the Gradual Training. This is why the practices of Sila, virtue, and guarding the sense doors are essential, helping the mind reach the peacefulness needed to experience the joy of renunciation.

Contemplation

• Observe How You Perceive the World; do you take things as “I” or “mine”?

• Do you feel disturbed when things change?

• Are you holding on to rigid views about reality?

• Practice letting go of fixed perceptions; when you experience something, try not to identify with it. Instead of thinking, "This is mine," reflect, "This is just a passing phenomenon."

Sutta Study