The Theravada Buddhist Contemplative Tradition
The story of the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as with all Buddhist traditions, begins with the mix of legend and fact which surrounds Siddhartha Gautama, “the Buddha.” The sources from which the life of Siddhartha are traditionally drawn include texts from the Pali Canon – the authoritative group of writings of the Theravada tradition and earliest records of Siddhartha’s teachings – as well as later biographies including the Mahavastu, Lalitavistara, Buddhacarita, and Nidanakatha. Even our earliest texts regarding the life of Siddhartha and his teaching, recorded in the Pali Canon, were collected roughly four centuries after his death following a long period of oral transmission and sectarian division. What in the tradition reflects historical fact or the Buddha’s own words/self-conception, and what represents legendary development is a matter of ongoing debate. Siddhartha is also commonly referred to as the Tathagata – “One who has thus come” – in the Theravada tradition.
Canonical texts regarding the Buddha’s origins start not with the birth of Siddhartha, but with Buddhas of past eons. In the Discourse on the Great Legend (Mahavadana Sutta) of the Pali Canon, for instance, the lives of seven Buddhas of the distant past are detailed – each life following the pattern of miraculous birth, upbringing in a palace, seeing of the four signs, great departure, attaining enlightenment, preaching of a first sermon, etc. In other stories, Siddhartha himself – in previous incarnations – interacts with Enlightened Ones of the past, resolving himself to become a Buddha. A vast collection of literature, known as Jataka, details the former lives and (often) meritorious deeds of Siddhartha. The life of Siddhartha and his striving for enlightenment are thus seen as both pre-dating his final incarnation and as continuous with Buddhas of former ages.
Following the pattern of Buddhas of the past (and similar to prominent religious figures in other traditions), miraculous events are reported to have surrounded the birth of Siddhartha. Among other miracles, a variety of Buddhist texts report Siddhartha descending into his mother’s womb from a heavenly realm (in the form of a white elephant), streams of water appearing in the sky, a host of gods receiving and washing him upon birth, and the infant Buddha’s immediate declaration, after taking seven steps and looking in the four directions, that “This is my last birth; I shall not dwell in a womb again.” Siddhartha’s birth accounts tend toward seeing him as a miraculous, almost divine figure, sure of his mission and status even as an infant. The tension between texts which present the Buddha as a self-assured enlightened being, surrounded by the miraculous from birth, and texts which present him as a normal human who struggles and learns from his mistakes is a tension which continues throughout the tradition. Also related to the birth narratives are prophecies declaring that Siddhartha would become either a world-ruling Emperor (if he remained in his royal home), or a fully Awakened One and religious teacher (if he set forth from his home on a religious quest). Siddhartha’s birthplace is reported to have been in Lumbini of present day Nepal, which remains a site of pilgrimage for modern Buddhists. Siddhartha’s birth and life are typically estimated to have taken place in the 5th Century BCE.
Following his birth, Siddhartha is reported to have been raised by his father (Suddhodana) in royal circumstances, his mother having passed away seven days after her delivery. Whether Suddhodana was a “king” or perhaps one of many leaders in an oligarchical tribe is debated. Regardless of the exact status of his family, Siddhartha is often referred to as a prince in the tradition, and is presented as having access to many extreme luxuries of life, including training in elephant, horse, and chariot riding, access to maids and slaves, and reportedly having a harem of over 60,000 women. It was “in the palace” where Siddhartha would also marry his wife (Yasodhara) and father a son (Rahula). Throughout his childhood and young adult life, Siddhartha is presented as being sheltered from the harsh realities of human existence, seemingly in an attempt by Suddhodana to keep his son in house and encourage him toward a future in political leadership.
Despite his father’s best efforts, Siddhartha would eventually be exposed to the world as it existed outside the palace walls. While it is hard to imagine that Siddhartha had never seen old age or death in his entire upbringing, several texts dramatically record the Buddha being exposed to what are referred to as “the four sights” while on a chariot ride outside the palace. On this outing, the Buddha would encounter an old man, a sick man, a corpse, and a wandering monk. It was these sights which demonstrated the inevitable reality of suffering (the monk perhaps representing a way to be free of suffering), and supposedly set the Buddha on his spiritual quest. A new religious impulse awakened, the Buddha left his family (according to tradition both Yasodhara and Rahula would later become disciples of the Buddha and live as renunciates) to seek an end to suffering.
After leaving his family and palace, texts from the Pali Canon record Siddhartha originally adopting the instruction and meditative methods of several wandering teachers. Some elements of their teachings seem to have been adopted by the Buddha, but, in the end, he did not find their bodies of teaching fully satisfactory. Siddhartha also experimented with extreme asceticism, which he would later reject as an aide toward enlightenment.
Finally, after a winding quest including these mis-steps, Siddhartha would attain his own Enlightenment, to his own satisfaction.
Texts in which Siddhartha is presented as recounting his own Enlightenment are varied. In the Ariyapariyesana Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya, 26), after rejecting the teaching of two teachers, Siddhartha sits in meditation and seemingly “just attains” Enlightenment:
“‘This is an agreeable piece of ground, this is a delightful grove with a clear-flowing river with pleasant, smooth banks and nearby a village for alms resort. This will serve for the striving of a clansman intent on striving.’ And I sat down there thinking: ‘This will serve for striving.’
Then, bhikkhus, being myself subject to birth, having understood the danger in what is subject to birth, seeking the unborn supreme security from bondage, Nibbana, I attained the unborn supreme security from bondage, Nibbana; being myself subject to ageing, having understood the danger in what is subject to ageing, seeking the unageing supreme security from bondage, Nibbana, I attained the unageing supreme security from bondage, Nibbana; being myself subject to sickness, having understood the danger in what is subject to sickness, seeking the unailing supreme security from bondage, Nibbana, I attained the unailing supreme security from bondage, Nibbana; being myself subject to death … I attained the deathless … myself subject to sorrow … I attained the sorrowless … myself subject to defilement … I attained the undefiled supreme security from bondage, Nibbana. The knowledge and vision arose in me: ‘My deliverance is unshakeable, this is my last birth; now there is no renewal of being.’
… It is hard for such a generation to see this truth, namely, specific conditionality, dependent origination. And it is hard to see this truth, namely, the stilling of all formations, the relinquishing of all acquisitions, the destruction of craving, dispassion, cessation, Nibbana.”
Seeking Nibbana, Siddhartha attains Nibbana.
In the Mahasaccaka Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya, 36) Siddhartha progresses through the first four Jhanas (meditative states), and then directly sees his past lives, understands the rebirth and path of all living beings, and eventually directly and experientially understands the Four Noble Truths:
“I directly knew as it actually is: ‘This is suffering. This is the origin of suffering. This is the cessation of suffering. This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering’… I directly knew, ‘Birth is destroyed, the spiritual life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no coming back to any state of being.’”
Thus, Enlightenment itself, as a concept, is presented in different ways even in texts which portray Siddhartha as recounting his own experience (sometimes leaning toward a state of cessation or direct experience of the unborn, unageing, unailing, deathless, sorrowless, undefiled Nibbana; sometimes leaning primarily toward a direct experience of the Four Truths).
Enlightenment, and exactly how to attain it, remains a multifaceted concept in the tradition, partly consisting of “this world” cessation of suffering by the altering of how one interacts with the world, and partly seemingly consisting of an experience of “Nibbana beyond,” sometimes conceived of by the tradition as Nirodha/Cessation.
Following his Enlightenment, and despite being inclined to simply rest in his own state of peace, Siddhartha recounts being convinced by the deva Brahma in a vision to begin teaching his Dhamma (body of teaching) to the world. Siddhartha would go on to “turn the wheel of Dhamma” and teach for roughly 40 years, also forming the Sangha (Buddhist community) which would survive his passing.
According to tradition, after what is seen as Siddhartha’s “parinibbana” (final passing into absolute Nibbana), the early Sangha gathered under the original leadership of Mahakassapa and compiled an authoritative account of the Buddha’s teachings. These teachings would be passed down primarily orally, until finally being fully committed to writing in the Pali Canon in the 1st Century BCE. During the period of oral transmission, the original Sangha split into various subdivisions (it is commonly estimated that there were 18 “early mainstream” Buddhist sects) due to differing interpretations of the Buddha’s teachings. Small collections of various texts from these original communities have survived, but the only full Canon of Scripture which has survived from early Buddhism is the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism (other well-known Canons, geographically diverse, would also be developed later). Eventually, each of the other early Buddhists sects died out as institutions, leaving the Theravada tradition and the Pali Canon as our primary and most complete accounts of the teaching of Siddhartha and the early Buddhist community. Theravada, which itself has become diverse based on various geographical expressions, is commonly referred to as “the Way of the Elders,” and represents the most conservative strand of Buddhism, seen as sticking to the earliest teachings and texts, in contrast to the later developments of Mahayana forms of Buddhism.
The Pali Canon is divided into three baskets (called the Tripitaka) – the Vinaya Pitaka (concerned with rules for monks and nuns in Buddhist monastic communities), the Sutta Pitaka (direct discourses from the Buddha and his disciples), and the Abhidhamma Pitaka (attempted philosophical systematization of Buddhist teaching, likely stemming from a later chronological period than the other Pitakas). The Sutta Pitaka, by far the most commonly read, is itself broken into five collections, known as Nikayas – the Digha Nikaya (long discourses), Majjhima Nikaya (middle-length discourses), Samyutta Nikaya (connected discourses), Anguttara Nikaya (numerical discourses), and Khuddaka Nikaya (“minor collection”).
Two other Theravada texts of note are the Vimuttimagga (Path of Freedom, Arahant Upatissa ca. 100 CE), which would later be superseded by the Visuddhimagga (Path of Purification, Buddhaghosa ca. 500 CE) – the official Theravada meditation manual since its time of writing.
The Four Noble Truths and The Noble Eightfold Path
Siddhartha’s teaching is presented in various ways within the Pali Canon, and even seemingly systematized using multiple schemas. The most common framework used to understand “the Dhamma” – especially drawing from the Buddha’s supposed First Sermon, the Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta (Discourse Setting in Motion the Wheel of the Dhamma) – is that of the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path.
“Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Baranasi in the Deer Park at Isipatana. There the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus of the group of five thus:
‘Bhikkhus, these two extremes should not be followed by one who has gone forth into homelessness. What two? The pursuit of sensual happiness in sensual pleasures, which is low, vulgar, the way of worldlings, ignoble, unbeneficial; and the pursuit of self-mortification, which is painful, ignoble, unbeneficial. Without veering towards either of these extremes, the Tathagata has awakened to the middle way, which gives rise to vision, which gives rise to knowledge, which leads to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbana.
And what, bhikkhus, is that middle way awakened by the Tathagata, which gives rise to vision, which gives rise to knowledge, which leads to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbana? It is this noble eightfold path; that is, right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. This, bhikkhus, is that middle way awakened to by the Tathagata…
Now this, bhikkhus, is the noble truth of suffering: birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering; union with what is displeasing is suffering; separation from what is pleasing is suffering; not to get what one wants is suffering; in brief the five aggregates subject to clinging are suffering.
Now this, bhikkhus, is the noble truth of the origin of suffering: it is this craving which leads to re-becoming, accompanied by delight and lust, seeking delight here and there; that is craving for sensual pleasures, craving for becoming, craving for disbecoming.
Now this, bhikkhus, is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering: it is the remainderless fading away and cessation of that same craving, the giving up and relinquishing of it, freedom from it, non-reliance on it.
Now this, bhikkhus, is the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering: it is this noble eightfold path; that is, right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration…
…the noble truth of suffering is to be fully understood…the noble truth of the origin of suffering is to be abandoned…the noble truth of the cessation of suffering is to be realized…the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering is to be developed…’”
Other frameworks which are sometimes used to understand Siddhartha’s teaching include the Seven Factors Conducive to Enlightenment, the Thirty-Seven Factors Conducive to Enlightenment, the Graduated Training, and the Four Fruits of the Path. Siddhartha’s teaching is also commonly referred to simply as the “Middle Way.” Much of the material in the Pali Canon is only tangentially related, if at all, to any formal structured understanding of the full body of teaching. Nevertheless, the Four Truths and Eightfold Path have emerged from the tradition as the most functional and widely-adopted method of understanding the full Dhamma.
The Four Truths
The Truth of Dukkha: The first of the Four Truths is the Truth of Dukkha – often translated as “suffering,” “unsatisfactoriness,” or as “stress/stressfulness.” In the often quoted Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta (above), the Buddha identifies birth, aging, illness, death, union with what is displeasing, separation from what is pleasing, not to get what one wants, and the five aggregates subject to clinging (the five aggregates combine to constitute a “person” in the Theravada tradition) as marked by Dukkha. On the Theravada Buddhist view, our baseline experience of life is simply characterized by a general sense of stress and unsatisfactoriness. If we get the things we want, we then worry about how to “keep” them, which inevitably fails due to the transitoriness of all things. Even if we temporarily keep the things we desire, we soon feel that they aren’t enough and begin searching for something else. Nothing fully satisfies. In the end, any life we have built for ourselves gets taken away. Nothing in our un-enlightened experience, on the Theravada view, escapes from being somehow marked by Dukkha. The First Truth is “to be fully understood.”
The Truth of the Origin of Dukkha: In the Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta, the origin of Dukkha is identified as Tanha (Pali Tanha, more commonly Sanskrit Trsna) – “craving,” “thirst,” “desire.” We “seek delight here and there.” But permanent satisfaction is nowhere to be found. Craving is seen as a never ending fire which, no matter what it attains, is never quenched. Craving is also associated with Upadana – “clinging” or “attachment” – in the tradition, and is in that sense more focused on the “what” which one craves. Craving-Attachment could be to a physical object, situations in life, relationships, “ego,” or even to various conceptions of oneself. In some texts, the Origin of Dukkha is also associated with Avidya/Ignorance – typically referring to one’s misunderstanding of the true nature of reality and/or the inability to grasp the Four Truths. The Second Truth is “to be abandoned.”
The Truth of the Cessation of Dukkha: The Third Truth states that freedom from Dukkha is possible, when one removes from themselves the Origin of Dukkha. The Third Truth is “to be realized.”
The Truth of the Way Leading to the Cessation of Dukkha: The Fourth Truth is the Truth of the Way Leading to the Cessation of Dukkha – The Noble Eightfold Path: Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Meditation/Concentration. On the Theravada view, following the Path is what allows one to experience the Cessation of Dukkha. The Fourth Truth is “to be developed.”
The Eightfold Path
Many texts in the Pali Canon list all elements of the Noble Eightfold Path, and in some texts – for instance the Magga-Vibhanga (“Analysis of the Path”) Sutta – the Buddha is presented as elaborating on many of the elements. Nevertheless, other Suttas must be brought together and synthesized in order to provide a detailed picture of the full scope of the Eightfold Path. The way in which these Suttas are synthesized naturally vary somewhat from teacher to teacher (and from sub-tradition/school to sub-tradition/school).
Right View: As the last element of the Four Truths connects to the Eightfold Path, so the first element of the Eightfold Path connects to the Four Truths. Right View is often divided into Mundane Right View – primarily understanding and accepting the law of Kamma/Karma which states that beings are responsible for, and will reap the benefits or consequences of, their actions – and Supermundane Right View – primarily understanding and accepting the Four Noble Truths. A tentative intellectual understanding of the Four Truths is also sometimes distinguished from a full and experiential understanding, achieved only after taking the Path to its completion.
Right Intention: Right Intention includes the Intention of Renunciation – the giving up of craving/desire, in some cases leading one to become a monk; the Intention of Good-Will – the development of Metta/Lovingkindness toward all sentient life; and the Intention of Harmlessness – the development of Karuna/Compassion toward all sentient life, specifically in regards to having compassion for the suffering of others. The Intention of Good-Will is often cultivated through the practice of Metta meditation.
Right Speech: Right Speech involves Abstinence from False Speech, Abstinence from Slanderous Speech, Abstinence from Harsh Speech, and Abstinence from Idle Chatter. Stated positively, one on the Path should use speech that is truthful, brings unity, is gentle, and is useful/necessary.
Right Action: Right Action involves Abstinence from the Destruction of Life, Abstinence from Taking What is Not Given, and Abstinence from Sexual Misconduct. The principle of Right Action traditionally leads Buddhists to adopt vegetarian diets as all sentient/animal life is included in this element of the Path. Lay Buddhists may engage in sexual activity, within what are seen as its proper boundaries, while monks/renunciates traditionally do not engage in any sexual activity.
Right Livelihood: Right Livelihood entails earning one’s living in a way which does not violate other elements of the Path (i.e. a living should be made honestly, peacefully, etc.). Five specific occupations which are seen as “wrong livelihood” in the tradition are dealing in weapons, in living beings, in meat production, in poisons, and in intoxicants.
Right Effort: In the practice of Right Effort, one consciously strives continuously toward four mental goals in the course of daily living: to prevent the arising of unwholesome states; to abandon unwholesome states which have arisen, to arouse wholesome states which have not yet arisen, and to maintain and perfect wholesome states already arisen. The “five hindrances” are common unwholesome states presented to be avoided and the “seven factors of enlightenment” are common wholesome states to be encouraged.
Right Mindfulness: The practice of Right Mindfulness involves developing a quality of mind referred to as Sati in the Theravada Tradition. Sati/Mindfulness – defined variously as “the quality of bare attention,” “impartial watchfulness,” “the observing power of the mind, free of filters,” etc. – is most often cultivated through a form of meditation described in the Satipatthana Sutta in which one strives to impartially observe various elements of their present moment experience. The development of Sati/Mindfulness is also often correlated with the arising of Vipassana/Insight.
Right Meditation/Concentration: Right Meditation/Concentration (“Samma Samadhi”) is associated with a form of meditative practice commonly referred to as Jhana Meditation in the Theravada Tradition. During this practice, one strives to ascend through a series of meditative absorptions – Jhanas – by intensely concentrating on a given object. When all elements of the Path have been sufficiently developed, Jhana practice is sometimes thought of as a precursor toward the direct and complete experience of Nibbana/cessation.
The Eightfold Path is commonly broken into three portions – the Panna/Wisdom Group (Right View, Right Intention), the Sila/Morality Group (Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood), and the Samadhi/Meditation Group (Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Meditation/Concentration). In the Theravada tradition, each element of the Path is seen as working in conjunction with each other, simultaneously, to lead a seeker toward Nibbana.
Other major concepts found within the full Dhamma include Dependent Origination, the Five Aggregates as constituting a “person,” the Elements/Dharmas, the Three Marks of Existence, taking refuge in the Triple Gem of the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha, and even more practical things such as the value of friendship. The rhetoric used in the Pali Canon sometimes emphasizes the current idea being expounded upon as if it were the primary idea of the full Dhamma, even as the same rhetoric is used for other concepts elsewhere in the Suttas.
The Theravada tradition, as a whole, tends toward what might be seen as an attempt at extreme systematization of the Buddha’s spiritual experience. This systematization tends to get softened in the Mahayana tradition, especially through the doctrine of Upaya/Skillful Means. The Theravada tradition can also be seen as a “way of negation” (i.e. give up desire and what is left will be an Enlightened/peaceful way of being) in contrast to other contemplative traditions which encourage aspirants to give up self-will with the higher purpose of seeking to serve the Common Good/God’s Will with Purity of Heart, and ultimately to pursue the Transcendent Good Itself – God, Brahman, Al-Haqq, etc. – more often conceived of in positive terms.
Theravada Buddhist practice has recently been taught in the West by organizations such as the Insight Meditation Society. For more on the most prominent forms of Theravada Meditation – Sati and Jhana – click here.