The Mirror of the Dharma

At Kotigama the Buddha taught his monks the importance of the four noble truths:

“Monks, it is through not understanding, not penetrating the four noble truths that I as well as you have for a long time run on and gone round the cycle of birth and death. What are they? By not understanding the noble truth of suffering we have fared on, by not understanding the noble truth of the origin of suffering, of the cessation of suffering, and of the path leading to the cessation of suffering we have fared on round the cycle of birth and death. And by the understanding, the penetration of the same noble truth of suffering, of the origin of suffering, of the cessation of suffering and of the path leading to the cessation of suffering, the craving for becoming has been cut off, the support of becoming has been destroyed, there is no more re-becoming.”

Then the Lord, having said this, the Well-Farer having spoken, the Teacher said:

“Not seeing the four noble truths as they are.

Having long traversed the round from life to life,

These being seen, becoming’s supports pulled up,

Sorrow’s root cut off, rebirth is done.”

(Ibid, p. 239)

Over the course of his stay at Kotigama the Buddha then taught the comprehensive discourse that pertains to the practice of the noble truth of the path leading to the cessation of suffering once one has realized the import of the first three truths: that all conditioned things are suffering or will lead to suffering, that suffering arises because of craving based on ignorance, and that it is possible to bring this craving and the suffering it creates to an end. As the Buddha says, it is through not understanding these four noble truths that beings are propelled by their ignorance into suffering again and again, moment after moment, lifetime after lifetime. All the Buddha’s teachings of fifty years begin and end with these four noble truths.

After teaching the monks at Kotigama the Buddha moved on to Nadika where he stayed at a monastery called the Brick House. While there, several of the Buddha’s followers died, both monastics and householders. Ananda insisted on inquiring of the Buddha the post-mortem destiny of each one. The Buddha informed him of the spiritual attainments of each. Some had cut off the fetters of the false view that there is a substantial self, debilitating doubt, and wrong grasp of rules and observances and thereby become stream-enterers who would no longer fall into the lower paths but would at most be reborn seven more times as either a human being or a heavenly being in the heavens of the realm of desire before finally attaining nirvana. Some had weakened the fetters of sensual desire and ill will and thereby became once-returners who would be reborn one more time as either a human being or a heavenly being in the heavens of the realm of desire before attaining nirvana. Some had completely cut off sensual desire and ill will and thereby became non-returners who would be reborn in the heavens known as the Pure Abodes and there attain nirvana. Some had gone on to cut off the five higher fetters of desire for form realm existence, desire for formless realm existence, conceit, restlessness, and ignorance and thereby become arhats who had attained nirvana and would not be reborn. After many such inquiries the Buddha said to Ananda:

“Ananda, it is not remarkable that that which has come to be as a man should die. But that you should come to the Tathagata to ask the fate of each of those who have died, that is a weariness to him. Therefore, Ananda, I will teach you a way of knowing Dharma, called the Mirror of Dharma, whereby the noble disciple, if he so wishes, can discern himself: ‘I have destroyed hell, animal-rebirth, the realm of ghosts, all downfall, evil fates and sorry states. I am a stream-enterer, incapable of falling into states of woe, certain of attaining nirvana.’” (Ibid, p. 241)

The Buddha realized that this curiosity about the afterlives of other people was really a concern for one’s own fate by way of comparison. So the Buddha provided a method by which one can evaluate one’s own progress on the path at least as far as attaining the stream-entry. Why only stream-entry? Stream-entry is actually a very crucial milestone of Buddhist practice. Upon attaining stream-entry one ceases to be an ordinary foolish person who is as likely to be reborn as a hell-dweller, hungry ghost, or animal as a human or deity (or fighting demon). A stream-enterer is a member of the noble Sangha, though they may be either a monastic or a householder. The noble Sangha is composed of the stream-enterers, once-returners, non-returners, and arhats who are fully living the Dharma and breaking through the fetters that bring about repeated rebirth. A stream-enterer is no longer in danger of any unfortunate rebirth and their doubts have been replaced by confidence and determination. Such a person no longer worries about the afterlife but instead cultivates practice here and now and will certainly attain total liberation within at most seven lifetimes as mentioned above. Before attaining stream-entry, one is liable to be filled with doubts and lapses in conduct and spiritual practice, one’s efforts will be uneven and retrogression is always a possibility. Stream-entry changes all this. The stream-enterer has seen for him or herself at least a glimpse of the unconditioned, or nirvana, and with that taste they become certain of the path and of their own capability, and from then on their course is set. But how can one know for sure that one has become a stream-enterer? One answer might be that if you have to ask, then you aren’t one yet. But with the Mirror of Dharma the Buddha sets forth a set of criteria that might prove more helpful in evaluating one’s own progress:

“And what is this Mirror of Dharma by which he can know this? Here Ananda, this noble disciple is possessed of unwavering confidence in the Buddha, thus: ‘This Blessed Lord is an Arhat, a fully enlightened Buddha, endowed with wisdom and conduct, the Well-Farer, Knower of worlds, incomparable Trainer of men to be tamed, Teacher of gods and humans, enlightened and blessed.’ He is possessed of unwavering faith in the Dharma, thus: ‘Well-proclaimed by the Lord is the Dharma, visible here and now, timeless, inviting inspection, leading onward, to be comprehended by the wise each one for himself.’ He is possessed of unwavering confidence in the Sangha, thus: ‘Well-directed is the Sangha of the Lord’s disciples, of upright conduct, on the right path, on the perfect path; that is to say the four pairs of persons, the eight kinds of humans. The Sangha of the Lord’s disciples is worthy of offerings, worthy of hospitality, worthy of gifts, worthy of veneration, an unsurpassed field of merit in the world.’ And he is possessed of morality dear to the noble ones, unbroken, without defect, unspotted, without inconsistency, liberating, uncorrupted, and conducive to concentration.” (Ibid, p. 241)

The Mirror of Dharma consists of four parts. The first three consist of unwavering confidence, or faith, in the three treasures: the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. The stream-enterer has total faith in the Buddha, that he is indeed the one who has awoken to the truth and can teach not only human beings but even the gods themselves how to transcend suffering. The stream-enterer has total faith in the Dharma as the teaching that, if followed, will enable one to awaken just as the Buddha did and thus transcend suffering. The stream-enterer has total faith in the Sangha, as that community of beings who are truly putting into practice the Dharma, transcending suffering, and enabling others to do so as well. Here the Sangha is described not in terms of the monastics, but as the community of the four pairs or eight kinds of persons. The four pairs or eight persons refer to those on the paths to and on the stages of stream-entry, once-returning, non-returning, and arhatship. These eight kinds of people can be either householders or monastics with the exception of the arhats. Arhats are either already monastics, or upon becoming arhats they will either immediately renounce the household life or pass away that very day. The reason is that an arhat will no longer allow himself or herself to be bound by worldly life. This total faith in Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha also means that a stream-enterer no longer has any doubts about the truth of the Buddha Dharma or its efficacy if they should put it into practice. Because of this confidence they no longer entertain false ideas about a fixed unchanging self because they come to see for themselves the no-self nature of all things that the Buddha taught; nor do they cling to the idea that mere external observance of rules or rituals can lead to awakening. The stream-enterer, then has placed their faith in the teachings of the Buddha and has overcome doubt, false views, and superstition.

The fourth criterion is that the stream-enterer observes at the very least the five major precepts. They will no longer engage in killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, falsehood, or the use of intoxicants. They may still have sensual craving, ill will, and other unwholesome thoughts and feelings but they will no longer give in to them. Their faith in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha includes a faith in the workings of cause and effect, and this means that they will not act in ways that they know will bring only short term gains at best but will most certainly bring long term suffering. Furthermore, because of their spiritual convictions they will no longer act in ways that would compromise their values and integrity. Their horror at the thought of returning to the paths of suffering, and their spiritual aspiration to attain liberation combine to produce in them an unshakeable integrity. This impeccable character then becomes the solid foundation for the cultivation of concentration and ultimately wisdom.

The person who can honestly look within themselves and proclaim that their faith in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha is not just tentative or a matter of untested belief or intellectual speculation but rather is a conviction to act upon in every aspect of life and who furthermore can claim that their observance of the five major precepts is without fault may justifiably claim to have attained stream-entry. Though they firmly believe in the law of cause and effect and will endeavor to live in accord with it, such a person no longer needs to fear what the afterlife may hold for them; and though they may still hope for a heavenly rebirth, their greater aspiration will be to deepen their practice so that they may fully awaken to the unconditioned and attain liberation from birth and death.