Dharma Study » AN 11.1.2 – Cetanakaranaya Sutta

The Discourse on How Things Progress

This short discourse, from the Anguttara Nikaya, Chapter on the Elevens, outlines one course that leads to Enlightenment, the goal of Buddhist practice. That course is presented in a form that is a hallmark of the Buddha’s teachings, as a chain of conditions, each of which provides the foundation for the emergence of the next condition in the chain. Like other similar conditional progressions, this one starts with the habit of ethical conduct. The practice of virtue—the intentional decision to refrain from killing, from taking what’s not given, from speaking so as to deceive or to divide, from misbehaving sexually, and from use of intoxicants which make one careless and stupid—is the essential starting point of any path that leads to enlightenment, however that path is then defined or described. What this discourse makes clear is that the practice of virtue is the only point in the chain of conditions that requires intentional decision; that is, it is the only point in the chain that has kammic effect.. Once that intention has been realized, and as long as virtuous conduct is faithfully practiced, then the rest of the conditional chain unfolds according to the Dhamma, the law of cause and effect that determines the arising of all conditions, the emergence of all eventual situations. And once the first intention is settled, the rest of the chain emerges without creating new kamma.

Once again, my rendering is a little looser and more colloquial than the more scholarly translation by Thanissaro Bhikkhu at Access To Insight.

For one who is is skillful in virtue, bhikkhus, there is no need to conceive the intention, “May the absence of remorse arise in me!”; it is according to the Dhamma, bhikkhus, that absence of remorse arises in one who is skillful in virtue.

For one free of remorse, bhikkhus, there is no need to conceive the intention: “May gladness arise in me!”; it is according to the Dhamma, bhikkhus, that one who is free from remorse is glad to be where he is.

For one who is glad to be where she is, bhikkhus, there is no need to conceive the intention: “May joy arise in me!”; it is according to the Dhamma that one who is glad at heart is full of joy.

For one filled with joy, there is no need to conceive the intention: “May serenity arise within me!”; it is according to the Dhamma that one who is joyful will abide in serenity.

For one who is serene, there is no need to conceive the intention: “May happiness arise within me!”; it is according to the Dhamma that one who experiences serenity will also be happy.

For one who is happy, there is no need to conceive the intention: “May my mind be concentrated!”; it is according to the Dhamma, bhikkhus, that the mind of a happy person will be concentrated.

For one whose mind is concentrated, there is no need to conceive the intention: “May I see and know the world as it really is!”; it is according to the Dhamma that a concentrated mind will know and see the world as it really is.

For one who knows and sees the world as it really is, there is no need to conceive the intention: “May I be wearied with the world!”; it is according to the Dhamma that one who knows and sees the world as it really is will become wearied with it.

For one who weary with the world, there is no need to conceive the intention: “May dispassion arise within me!”; it is according to the Dhamma that one who becomes weary with the world loses all passion for the pleasures it offers.

For one who is free of passionate attachment, bhikkhus, there is no need to conceive the intention: “May I be free; may I experience release!”; it is according to the Dhamma, bhikkhus, that one who is no longer consumed with passion for worldly pleasures will be liberated and experience release.

Thus, bhikkhus, dispassion toward worldly pleasure has freedom and the experience of release as its benefit and reward; weariness with things of the world has dispassion as its benefit and reward; knowledge and vision of the world as it really is has weariness with things of the world as its benefit and reward; concentration of mind has knowledge and vision of the world as it really is as its benefit and reward; happiness has a concentrated mind as its benefit and reward; serenity has happiness as its benefit and reward; joy has serenity as its benefit and reward; gladness has joy as its benefit and reward; absence of remorse has gladness as its benefit and reward; and the habit of virtue has the absence of remorse as benefit and reward.

In that way, bhikkhus, each of those qualities is integrated with all the others, and each quality brings the next to perfection, so that one progresses from virtuous behavior here and now to the unconditioned realm beyond appearances.

“gladness”

‘Gladness’ is not a word that we use as commonly as we use such words as ‘happiness’, ‘joy’, or ‘contentment’, and it’s not a word that we have a ready definition for. But if we consider how we use the adjective—”I’m glad to be home.”, “I’m glad that’s done.” “I’m glad to see him go.”—we can begin to see that the term implies a sense of release and safety; when I’m glad, regarding my situation, I feel no further need to control that situation, no responsibility to do anything about what is probably beyond my control, no need to put up a front or defend myself. It is that feeling of safe arrival that is the natural result of habitual good behavior, and an necessary condition for the emergence of joy.

Anguttara Nikaya, Chapter on the Elevens, Section 1, Sutta 2