Prof. Lin Chong-An: On the Teaching of the Dharma from the Perspective of the *Rahula Sutta*

Selected Papers on Buddhist Studies

On the Teaching of the Dharma from the Perspective of the Rahula Sutta

Lin Chong-An (2002)

Abstract:

Drawing on the Rahula Sutta from the Saṃyuktāgama, this paper examines the process of Śākyamuni Buddha’s instruction of Rāhula. In this account, Rāhula moves step by step from hearing the Dharma, to reflecting on and clarifying its meaning, to entering into the direct realization of practice—awakening genuine wisdom, extinguishing suffering, and attaining final liberation.

Keywords: Rāhula, Dharma teaching, three kinds of wisdom

I. Introduction

Though Śākyamuni Buddha (hereafter the Bhagavān) taught in ways tailored to each person’s capacity, the basic path of learning is largely the same for all. This paper draws on the Rahula Sutta to show how the Dharma is taught. In the Taishō Tripiṭaka, this sutta appears as Sutta 200 of the Saṃyuktāgama (T2, p. 51a); in Venerable Master Yin Shun’s Compiled Saṃyuktāgama and Commentary (Middle Compilation), it is numbered Sutta 235. When quoting the sutta, any altered wording is marked with 〔 〕. The Rahula Sutta records a full, complete teaching the Bhagavān gave to Rāhula. Following the structure of the sutta, this paper breaks the teaching process into six parts.

II. Explanation of the Sutta Text

Sutta Text, Section One

Thus have I heard: At one time, the Buddha was dwelling at Anāthapiṇḍika’s Park at Jetavana near Śrāvastī.

At that time, the Venerable 〔Rāhula〕 approached the Buddha, bowed at the Buddha’s feet, then withdrew and sat to one side, and said to the Buddha: “It would be excellent, Bhagavān, if you would teach me the Dharma! Once I have heard it, I will retreat to a solitary place, contemplate with focused, diligent mind, and abide without slackness. Having done so, I will reflect thus: a son of good family who has shaved his hair and beard, with steady faith leaves the household life to go forth into homelessness, to practice the Way, to cultivate the holy life—and having seen the Dharma for himself, attains direct knowledge and realization: ‘Birth is exhausted, the holy life is fulfilled, what needed to be done is done, I know for myself I will not take another existence.’”

At that time, the Bhagavān observed 〔Rāhula’s〕 mind: 〔the knowledge of liberation〕 was not yet ripe, and he was not yet ready to receive the higher Dharma. He asked 〔Rāhula〕: “Have you taught others the five aggregates of clinging?”

〔Rāhula〕 replied to the Buddha: “Not yet, Bhagavān!”

The Buddha told 〔Rāhula〕: “You should expound the five aggregates of clinging for others.”

This passage first shows that the Venerable Rāhula wished to practice alone in quiet contemplation, cultivating the profound Dharma (the higher teachings). But the Bhagavān first observed his state of mind, saw it was not yet mature, and instructed him to first teach others the five aggregates of clinging (i.e., the five appropriated aggregates). The goal was for Rāhula to deepen his own understanding through teaching: by explaining the meaning of the five aggregates to others, he would come to grasp their full significance himself. What are the five aggregates of clinging? In Sutta 55 of the Saṃyuktāgama, the Bhagavān once told the bhikṣus:

I shall now speak of the aggregates and the aggregates of clinging. What are the aggregates?

All material forms—whether past, future, or present; internal or external; gross or subtle; inferior or superior; far or near—taken together are called the aggregate of form. Likewise, all feelings, perceptions, formations, and consciousness, taken together, are called the aggregates of feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness. These are called the aggregates.

What are the aggregates of clinging?

If form is subject to leakage, it is appropriated; if such form—past, future, or present—gives rise to greed, hatred, and delusion, and to other various afflictive mind-states, the same applies to feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness. These are called the aggregates of clinging. (T2, p. 13b)

From this, we see the Bhagavān wanted his disciples to clearly distinguish the five aggregates of clinging—form, feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness. First, they had to grasp the meaning of each. The aggregate of form is analyzed across eleven dimensions: past, future, and present; internal and external; gross and subtle; inferior and superior; far and near. The same thorough analysis applies to the aggregates of feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness. By working through these distinctions, practitioners can see clearly how the five appropriated aggregates generate afflictions (leakage) and all the varied forms of greed, hatred, and delusion. Gaining clarity on the nature of the five aggregates of clinging is the very first step in studying the Dharma. For this reason, the Bhagavān instructed Rāhula to master the content of the five aggregates fully, then teach it to others.

Sutta Text, Section Two

At that time, 〔Rāhula〕, having received the Buddha’s instruction, at another time expounded the five aggregates of clinging for others. Having done so, he returned to the Buddha, bowed at the Buddha’s feet, withdrew and sat to one side, and said to the Buddha: “Bhagavān, I have already expounded the five aggregates of clinging for others. May the Bhagavān now teach me the Dharma; having heard the Dharma, I shall retire to a solitary place, diligently contemplate with focused mind, and abide without slackness, until I myself know that I shall not receive any further existence.”

At that time, the Bhagavān again observed 〔Rāhula’s〕 mind: the knowledge of liberation was not yet ripe, and he was not yet ready to receive the higher Dharma. He asked 〔Rāhula〕: “Have you taught others the six sense bases?”

〔Rāhula〕 replied to the Buddha: “Not yet, Bhagavān!”

The Buddha told 〔Rāhula〕: “You should expound the six sense bases for others.”

This passage shows that even after the Venerable Rāhula had taught the five appropriated aggregates to others, the Bhagavān saw his mental state was still not mature, and asked him to go on to teach the six sense bases (i.e., the six āyatana) to others. The aim was the same as before: by working through the full details of the six sense bases in his own body and mind, Rāhula would build a steady foundation of “contemplative wisdom.” What are the six sense bases? They fall into two groups: the six internal sense bases and the six external sense bases. In Suttas 323 and 324 of the Saṃyuktāgama, the Bhagavān once told the bhikṣus respectively:

There are six internal sense bases. [What are the six?] The internal sense bases of the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind. (T2, p. 91c)

There are six external sense bases. What are the six? Form is the external sense base; sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharmas are the external sense bases. These are called the six external sense bases. (T2, p. 91c)

Here, the Bhagavān clarifies that the six internal sense bases (the six inner āyatana) are the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind. Of these, the eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body belong to the physical body, while the mind belongs to the mental domain. The Bhagavān thus asked his disciples to know their own body and mind intimately. The six external sense bases (the six outer āyatana) are form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharmas: these are the objects that the internal sense bases take in. The Bhagavān wanted his disciples to be keenly aware of how these external objects act on their body and mind, and he asked Rāhula to carefully analyze this process of physical and mental functioning, then teach it to others.

Sutta Text, Section Three

At that time, 〔Rāhula〕, at another time, expounded the six sense bases for others; having expounded the six sense bases, he came to the Buddha, bowed reverently at his feet, withdrew and sat to one side, and said to the Buddha: “Bhagavān, I have already expounded the six sense bases for others. May the Bhagavān now teach me the Dharma! Having heard the Dharma, I shall retire to a solitary place, diligently contemplate with focused mind, and abide without slackness, until I myself know that I shall not receive any further existence.”

At that time, the Bhagavān observed 〔Rāhula’s〕 mind: the knowledge of liberation was not yet ripe, and he was not yet ready to receive the higher Dharma. He asked 〔Rāhula〕: “Have you taught others the Nidāna Dharma?”

〔Rāhula〕 replied to the Buddha: “Not yet, Bhagavān!”

The Buddha told 〔Rāhula〕: “You should expound the Nidāna Dharma for others.”

This passage shows that even after teaching the six sense bases, when Rāhula wished to move on to deeper practice, the Bhagavān saw his mental state was still not fully mature, and asked him to first strengthen his grasp of the Nidāna Dharma. What is the Nidāna Dharma? In this context, it refers to dependent origination (in the Pāli Saṃyutta Nikāya, paṭiccasamuppāda is equivalent to nidāna). The Bhagavān wanted Rāhula to pay close attention to the causes and conditions behind the constant changes of body and mind, and to teach the Nidāna Dharma to others as he had come to understand it himself.

Sutta Text, Section Four

At that time, 〔Rāhula〕, at another time, having extensively expounded the Nidāna Dharma for others, came to the Buddha, bowed reverently at his feet, withdrew and sat to one side, and said to the Buddha: “May the Bhagavān teach me the Dharma! Having heard the Dharma, I shall retire to a solitary place, diligently contemplate with focused mind, and abide without slackness, until I myself know that I shall not receive any further existence.”

At that time, the Bhagavān again observed 〔Rāhula’s〕 mind: the knowledge of liberation was not yet ripe. He gave him further guidance, saying: “As for the teachings I have just mentioned, you should retreat alone to a quiet place, contemplate them with focused mind, and reflect deeply on their meaning.”

At that time, 〔Rāhula〕 took the Buddha’s instruction to heart. He contemplated, weighed, and reflected deeply on the meaning of all he had heard and taught, and had this realization: All of these teachings lead unerringly to Nirvāṇa, flow toward Nirvāṇa, and pour into Nirvāṇa.

This passage shows that even after Rāhula had taught the five appropriated aggregates, the six sense bases, and dependent origination extensively to others, the Bhagavān saw the knowledge of liberation in his mind was still not ripe, and asked him to go deeper in reflecting on the meaning of these teachings. Retreating to a solitary place, the Venerable Rāhula contemplated deeply, and at last broke through to a clear understanding of these Dharma principles: he saw that every one of them points the way to Nirvāṇa.

Sutta Text, Section Five

At that time, 〔Rāhula〕 went to the Buddha, bowed reverently at his feet, withdrew and sat to one side, and said to the Buddha: “Bhagavān, I have retreated alone to a quiet place, and contemplated, reflected on, and observed the meaning of all the teachings I have heard and shared. I know for certain that all these teachings lead to Nirvāṇa, flow toward Nirvāṇa, and pour into Nirvāṇa.”

At that time, the Bhagavān observed 〔Rāhula’s〕 mind: the knowledge of liberation was now ripe, and he was capable of receiving the higher Dharma. He told 〔Rāhula〕: “〔Rāhula〕! All things are impermanent. What is impermanent? The eye is impermanent; so too are form, eye-consciousness, and eye-contact, as I have extensively taught above regarding impermanence.”

At that time, 〔Rāhula〕, having heard the Buddha’s teaching, was filled with joy and appreciation, bowed to the Buddha, and departed.

This passage indicates that the Venerable Rāhula had deeply realized that the Dharma guides one toward Nirvāṇa, and that the knowledge of liberation in his mind had now matured. Therefore, the Bhagavān instructed him to directly observe the impermanence of his own eye, ear, nose, tongue, and so forth; the impermanence of form, sound, smell, taste, and so forth; the impermanence of eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, nose-consciousness, tongue-consciousness, and so forth; and the impermanence of eye-contact, ear-contact, nose-contact, tongue-contact, and so forth. This section of teaching may be supplemented by the Ekottara Āgama, Volume 7:

At one time, the Buddha was at Anāthapiṇḍika’s Park in Jetavana near Śrāvastī. At that time, when it was time, the Bhagavān put on his robes, took his alms bowl, and went with Rāhula into Śrāvastī to beg for alms. At that time, the Bhagavān turned to the right and addressed Rāhula: “You should now observe form as impermanent.” Rāhula replied: “Yes, Bhagavān! Form is impermanent.” The Bhagavān said: “Rāhula! Feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness are all impermanent.” Rāhula replied: “Yes, Bhagavān! Feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness are all impermanent.”

At that time, the Venerable Rāhula reflected thus: What is the reason for this? We are now on the way into the city to beg for alms, still on the road—why has the Bhagavān now personally instructed me in this way? I should now return to my dwelling place and not enter the city to beg for alms. At that time, the Venerable Rāhula immediately returned midway to the Jetavana monastery, put away his robe and bowl, went beneath a tree, straightened his body and mind, sat cross-legged in full lotus posture, focused his mind single-pointedly, contemplated the impermanence of form, and contemplated the impermanence of feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness. (T2, p. 581c)

Here the Bhagavān asks Rāhula (also called Luoyun in the Ekottara Āgama passage above) to observe the phenomena of his own body and mind closely: when the eye sees a form, at the instant of contact (i.e., eye-contact), eye-consciousness arises, and a feeling (translated here as duḥkha / vedanā) emerges. One is to observe that feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness are all impermanent. The same holds for the ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind, along with their associated contacts, consciousness, and feelings. Through this layered, penetrating observation of one’s own body and mind, one comes to see that all things are impermanent, suffering, empty, and not-self. In the end, one can let go of clinging to one’s own five aggregates and six sense bases, attain liberation from the world, and be free forever from birth, aging, sickness, death, sorrow, lamentation, and pain.

Sutta Text, Section Six

At that time, 〔Rāhula〕, having received the Buddha’s instruction, retired to a solitary place, diligently contemplated with focused mind, and abided without slackness. 〔He reflected:〕 A son of good family who shaves off his hair and beard, dons the kāṣāya robe, with steadfast faith leaves the household life to become a homeless one, to study the Way, purely cultivates the holy life, until he sees the Dharma and attains direct knowledge and realization for himself: “Birth is exhausted, the holy life is established, what had to be done is done, I myself know that I shall not receive any further existence.” He became an arhat, his mind well liberated.

When the Buddha had spoken this sutta, 〔Rāhula〕, having heard the Buddha’s teaching, rejoiced and faithfully practiced accordingly.

This final section of the sutta shows that the Venerable Rāhula, through diligent, focused contemplation and unwavering practice, ultimately became an arhat and attained full liberation. How does one “purely cultivate the holy life, until one sees the Dharma”? One begins by guarding the sense faculties, eating in moderation, and maintaining right mindfulness and clear comprehension. These practices purify one’s holy life and build the foundation for right concentration. Only then, through wisdom, can one directly see the Four Noble Truths (seeing the Dharma). This path of practice includes the three trainings of precepts, concentration, and wisdom. To clarify the detailed process outlined in the sutta above, the following passage from Volume 9 of the Abhidharma-kośaśāstra (Jí Yì Mén Zú Lùn) is cited:

01 The Thus-Come-One, the Arhat, the Perfectly Awakened One, whose conduct and wisdom are fully perfected, the Well-Gone One, the Knower of the World, the Unsurpassed Man, the Tamer of those to be tamed, the Teacher of gods and humans, the Buddha, the Bhagavān—appears in the world to proclaim the true Dharma. His teaching is good at the beginning, good in the middle, and good at the end; its wording is skillful and its meaning is profound, wholly complete and pure. This is the stainless holy life.

02 Sons and daughters of good family, upon hearing this Dharma, deeply give rise to pure faith.

03 Once this pure faith has arisen, they reflect thus: The household life is cramped, full of dust and defilement, like a prison. The homeless life is wide open, free from all noise and distraction, like empty space. Those caught up in household life cannot, for their entire lives, continuously and diligently practice the wholly pure, stainless holy life. For this reason, with right faith, I will shave my hair and beard, don the kāṣāya robe, abandon the household life, and go forth into homelessness. After coming to this resolution, they abandon all their wealth, status, and family ties, whether few or many.

04 After abandoning all this, with right faith they shave their hair and beard, don the kāṣāya robe, leave the household life behind, and go forth into homelessness.

05 After going forth, they undertake and uphold pure precepts, and diligently guard the distinct rules of monastic discipline. Their conduct and actions are fully in line with the precepts; they see even the slightest fault as something to fear deeply, and they fully undertake and study all the training rules.

a They abandon taking life, cast off all weapons and tools of violence; with a sense of shame and moral conscience, endowed with loving-kindness and compassion, they feel deep kindness for all sentient beings, even down to ants and their eggs. They never cause harm to any being, and thus completely abandon the act of taking life.

b They abandon taking what is not given, and give freely and joyfully. When receiving offerings, they accept only what is pure, and only in appropriate measure. They generate no attachment to any possessions, and maintain a pure, blameless way of life, thus completely abandoning the act of taking what is not given.

c They abandon unchaste conduct, and constantly cultivate the pure, noble, and excellent holy life; their minds are clean and untainted. They abandon all foul, impure practices of sensual desire, and thus completely give up all forms of unchaste conduct.

d They abandon false speech, and always take joy in speaking truthfully, sincerely, and in ways that are trustworthy, reliable, and free from conflict in the world. In this way, they completely abandon all forms of false speech.

e One abstains from divisive speech: one does not sow discord among others, nor pass along what one has heard in order to drive a wedge between people. One delights in harmony; when harmony has been broken, one praises those who work to mend it. One consistently speaks words that foster accord rather than division, and in the end one entirely abandons divisive speech.

f One abstains from harsh speech: one's words are neither coarse, rough, nor cutting. They arouse no aversion in others, and do not make many people feel unwelcome, unhappy, or displeased, nor do they hinder the cultivation of meditative absorption. All such harsh speech is fully cut off. One's words are gentle, pleasant to hear, delightful and agreeable, polished, clear, and easy to understand — they gladden those who hear them, are inexhaustible, and make many beings feel dear, joyful, and content. They support the cultivation of meditative absorption, and one continually gives rise to such beautiful speech, ultimately abandoning harsh speech altogether.

g One abstains from idle and impure speech: whatever one says is timely, suited to the occasion, faithful to the Dharma and its meaning, true and genuine, calming and quieting, well-ordered, purposeful, reasonable and proper, free of confusion and impurity, and capable of bringing benefit. One ultimately abandons idle speech altogether.

h One abstains from dishonest trade — false scales, measures, and containers. One never keeps elephants, horses, cows, donkeys, chickens, pigs, dogs, or any other animals. Nor does one keep servants, laborers, male or female attendants, children, friends, or relatives. One does not hoard grain, wheat, beans, or other staples, nor gold, silver, or other valuables. One does not eat at improper times; if one eats at all, it is but a single meal. One never wanders at the wrong time or to the wrong place, and whether speaking or silent, gives no rise to criticism or contentious debate. One is content with robes enough just to cover the body, and with food enough just to allay hunger and thirst.

i Wherever one travels, one's robe and alms bowl go with one, like a bird in flight that never leaves its crop and wings behind. Through this, one accomplishes the aggregate of precepts, guards the sense doors closely, and abides in right mindfulness.

06 Guarded by the power of right mindfulness, one watches over the mind: seeing forms with the eye, hearing sounds with the ear, smelling fragrances with the nose, tasting flavors with the tongue, feeling tangibles with the body, cognizing mental objects with the mind. One does not grasp at their features or cling to their appealing aspects. At each of these sense bases one abides in sense restraint, guarding against greed, sorrow, and unwholesome states, and never allowing them to grow within the mind.

07 With the sense doors guarded through the aggregate of precepts, one maintains clear comprehension when going and coming, bending and stretching, donning robes, and taking up the alms bowl.

08 Having thus completed the pure aggregate of precepts, guarded the sense doors, and abided in right mindfulness and clear comprehension, one sets out early in the morning for a nearby town or village, holding one's robe and alms bowl, guarding the senses, and abiding in right mindfulness.

09 With composed and orderly deportment, one goes on the alms round. After receiving food, one returns to one's lodging. Once the meal is finished, one puts away the robe and alms bowl, washes the feet, and takes up the sitting mat.

10 One then goes to a wilderness, an open forest, or a mountain, far from unwholesome beings, setting aside all bedding. The place is inhabited only by non-human beings; one stays in an empty clearing or beneath a tree.

11 One sits in the full lotus position, holds the body upright, sets aside all other concerns, and abides with mindfulness directed forward. The mind stays steadily focused, far from greed, hatred, dullness and drowsiness, restlessness and remorse, and doubt and wavering. These accompanying defilements obstruct wholesome qualities, weaken the power of wisdom, block the realization of nirvana, and keep one bound to the round of birth and death.

12 Through this, one abandons desire and unwholesome states, and is able to attain the fourth jhāna.

13 With this sublime and well-concentrated mind — pure, untainted, free of accompanying defilements, soft, and pliable — one abides in the unshakable. The mind turns toward the realization of the end of the influxes, equipped with wisdom, insight, clarity, and discernment that truly know and see: this is the noble truth of suffering; this is the noble truth of the origin of suffering; this is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering; this is the noble truth of the path to the cessation of suffering. Knowing thus and seeing thus, the mind is freed from the influx of sensual desire, the influx of continued existence, and the influx of ignorance. Freed, one directly knows and sees: birth is exhausted, the holy life is complete, what had to be done is done, and no further state of being remains. (T26, p. 406c)

Here, paragraphs 1 through 4 describe how, after hearing the true Dharma from the Buddha, Rāhula developed pure faith, left home, and took up the path of training. Paragraphs 5 through 8 lay out the precepts to be guarded after renunciation: abstaining from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, false speech, divisive speech, harsh speech, and idle speech, while maintaining right mindfulness and clear comprehension in every posture — walking, standing, sitting, and lying down. Paragraph 9 emphasizes taking food in accordance with the Dharma. Paragraphs 10 through 12 describe dwelling in a solitary, quiet place, focusing the mind single-pointedly on contemplation, practicing without negligence, setting aside the five hindrances, and cultivating right concentration. Paragraph 13 shows how, through right concentration, wisdom arises, the Four Noble Truths are directly realized, suffering is extinguished, and liberation is attained.

For a more detailed account of how to cultivate concentration so that wisdom can arise, we turn once more to the Ekottara Āgama (增壹阿含经), Volume 7, for a fuller account:

At that time, after finishing his alms round in Śrāvastī and taking his meal, the World-Honored One was walking in meditation at the Jetavana Monastery and gradually made his way to where Rāhula was. Upon arriving, he said to Rāhula: "You should practice the mindfulness of breathing (ānāpānasati). By practicing this method, every feeling of worry and grief will be entirely eliminated. You should also practice the contemplation of bodily impurity; all craving will then be fully extinguished. Now, Rāhula, you should practice loving-kindness; having done so, all anger will be eliminated. You should practice compassion; all harmful intent will be eliminated. You should practice sympathetic joy; all jealousy will be eliminated. You should practice equanimity; all pride and arrogance will be eliminated…"

(Note: In Majjhima Nikāya Sutta 62, the instruction is to direct mindfulness forward rather than to the tip of the nose.)

When the World-Honored One had finished giving Rāhula this subtle teaching, Rāhula rose from his seat, paid homage at the Buddha's feet, circumambulated him three times, and departed. He went to the Añjanāvana grove and sat under a tree, his body and mind held upright, cross-legged, with no other thought. He fixed his mind on the tip of his nose and knew when his out-breath was long, and that it was long; knew when his in-breath was long, and that it was long; knew when his out-breath was short, and that it was short; knew when his in-breath was short, and that it was short; knew when his out-breath was cool, and that it was cool; knew when his in-breath was cool, and that it was cool; knew when his out-breath was warm, and that it was warm; knew when his in-breath was warm, and that it was warm. He observed every in-breath and out-breath of the body, knowing them all clearly. Sometimes a breath was present and he knew it; sometimes there was no breath and he knew it as well. When breath rose out of the mind, he knew it rose out of the mind; when breath entered the mind, he knew it entered the mind.

Reflecting in this way, his mind was freed from craving, and no unwholesome states remained. With initial and sustained thought, with mindfulness, joy, and ease born of seclusion, he abided in the first jhāna. With initial and sustained thought stilled, inwardly confident and one-pointed, free of initial and sustained thought, filled with joy and ease born of concentration, he abided in the second jhāna. With the fading of joy, he dwelt in equanimity, mindful and clearly aware of bodily ease — the joy the noble ones continually seek to safeguard through equanimity and mindfulness — and abided in the third jhāna. With the ending of pleasure and pain, with the earlier passing of joy and sorrow, free of pain and pleasure, with pure mindfulness and equanimity, he abided in the fourth jhāna.

a With this samādhi, his mind purified and free of dust and defilement, his body soft and pliable, he knew his origin and remembered his past deeds, directly recalling his countless former lives across eons: one life, two, three, four, five, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, hundreds of thousands of lives, through cycles of cosmic expansion and dissolution, countless cycles of each. "I was born there, my name was so-and-so, my clan was so-and-so, my food was such-and-such, my experience of pleasure and pain was such-and-such, my lifespan was so long. From there I passed on to here, and from here I went on to there."

b With this samādhi, his mind purified and free of blemish, with no fetters remaining, he knew the minds of other beings as they arose.

c With the divine eye, purified and free of blemish, he surveyed beings: those being born and those passing away, the beautiful and the ugly, those reborn in happy realms and those reborn in unhappy realms, the fortunate and the unfortunate — knowing their actions and deeds as they truly were. Some beings, whose bodily, verbal, and mental actions were unwholesome, who slandered the noble ones, held wrong views, and acted on them, fell into the hell realms at the breaking of the body after death. Other beings, whose bodily, verbal, and mental actions were wholesome, who did not slander the noble ones, who held right views and acted on them, were reborn in good destinations, in the heavens, at the body's end. Such is the divine eye, purified and free of blemish, surveying beings: their birth and passing, the beautiful and the ugly, happy and unhappy rebirths, their deeds and karma, all known as they truly are.

d Turning his mind further, he brought forth the knowledge of the destruction of the influxes. He saw this suffering as it truly is, saw its origin as it truly is, saw its cessation as it truly is, and saw the path to its cessation as it truly is. With this understanding, his mind was freed from the influx of desire, the influx of existence, and the influx of ignorance. With liberation came the knowledge of liberation: birth is exhausted, the holy life is complete, what had to be done is done, and no further state of being will be taken up.

At that moment, the Venerable Rāhula became an arhat. (T2, p. 582a)

This passage details how Rāhula practiced the mindfulness of breathing (ānāpānasati), progressed in turn through the four jhānas, and attained the four higher knowledges: a the knowledge of past lives, b the knowledge of others' minds, c the divine eye, and finally d the knowledge of the destruction of the influxes — by which he was freed from the influx of desire, the influx of existence, and the influx of ignorance, and so attained liberation.

III. Teaching Analysis

1. The Rāhula Sūtra shows the Buddha's remarkable skill as a teacher. He first guided Rāhula to hear and reflect on the Dharma until its meaning was clear, and only then led him into practice. True wisdom, accordingly, arises through three successive stages: wisdom from hearing, wisdom from reflection, and wisdom from cultivation.

2. The unfolding of these three wisdoms depends on two things: the guidance of a good spiritual friend, so that one does not practice blindly or shut oneself away in solitary speculation; and one's own sustained effort, combining theory and practice to purify the mind.

3. The sūtra makes plain that the entry point of Buddhist practice is one's own body and mind. The five aggregates and six sense bases are simply the bodily and mental phenomena of the individual; only by seeing their true nature can one be freed from suffering. Practice must therefore come back to one's own body and mind — observing, moment by moment, what is happening within them. At the instant the six internal sense bases meet the six external objects, one sees the impermanence of feeling clearly and no longer gives rise to greed or hatred. As this purification continues and the process of cause and effect unfolds, final liberation and freedom come naturally.

4. The opposite approach — spending one's energy on outward ceremonies or running blindly outward for protection, without turning inward to observe the true nature of one's own body and mind — cannot truly resolve one's problems. In learning the Dharma, one should not reach for what is far off before one has solid ground beneath one's feet. Clarify the principles through study first, then move into practice; the path is far less likely to go astray. But if one gets lost in doctrinal debate without ever practicing, it becomes empty talk, incapable of extinguishing suffering.

5. Three distinctive features of the Buddha's teaching emerge from the Rāhula Sūtra:

• First, the aim of the Dharma is to lead the learner to genuine and thorough liberation, free from the round of rebirth (what had to be done is done; no further state of being remains).
• Second, there are concrete methods for achieving this: a complete curriculum running from guarding the precepts and cultivating right mindfulness through to the fulfillment of samādhi and wisdom.
• Third, under a teacher's guidance, the learner must rely on his or her own effort to realize and know the truth directly. In the end, all who follow this path can arrive at the same result.

IV. Conclusion

Drawing on the Rāhula Sūtra, this article has outlined the Buddhist teaching process. What makes it distinctive is that genuine wisdom arises through the three stages of hearing, reflection, and cultivation. This process has something in common with ordinary secular paths to knowledge, but it differs in both its object of observation and its method: what Buddhism observes is, above all, one's own body and mind. The path of cultivation is structured around the three trainings of precepts, samādhi, and wisdom. How does one guard the senses and cultivate right mindfulness and clear comprehension as the basis for concentration? How does wisdom then arise from concentration? These are central to actual Buddhist practice — and largely absent from secular approaches.

(Proceedings of the Buddhist Academic Symposium — Buddhism and Life, 2002)