Direct Knowing of Seven Dhammas

[Tep Sastri]

Hello Everyone, -

Our Greatest Teacher, the Buddha, said in Maha-Satipatthana Sutta that contacts, perceptions, and intentions (arising at the six bases: aayatana) are where craving arises and dwells. And in the Upakkilesa Samyutta, it is said that desire-passions (chanda raaga) with regard to contact, perception, and intention are defilements of the mind; they are defilements of awareness. "When, with regard to these six bases, the defilements of awareness are abandoned, then the mind is inclined to renunciation. The mind fostered by renunciation feels malleable for the direct knowing of those qualities worth realizing."   Such direct knowing of the qualities worth realizing, e.g. dispassion, is the seeing and knowing of the Noble Truths.

Taking perception as an example, the seven dhammas to be directly known are 1. the perception itself, 2. its origination, 3. its cessation, 4. the path of practice for its cessation, 5. its allure, 6. its drawback or danger, and 7. its escape.

[SN 22.57 : Sattatthana Sutta]:  "These six classes of perception --perception of form, perception of sound, perception of smell, perception of taste, perception of tactile sensation, perception of ideas: this is called perception. From the origination of contact comes the origination of perception. From the cessation of contact comes the cessation of perception. And just this noble eightfold path is the path of practice leading to the cessation of perception... The fact that pleasure & happiness arises in dependence on perception: that is the allure of perception. The fact that perception is inconstant, stressful, subject to change: that is the drawbackof perception. The subduing of desire & passion for perception, the abandoning of desire & passion for perception: that is the escape from perception.

"For any priests or contemplatives who by directly knowing perception in this way, directly knowing the origination of perception in this way, directly knowing the cessation of perception in this way, directly knowing the path of practice leading to the cessation of perception in this way, directly knowing the allure of perception in this way, directly knowing the drawback of perception in this way, directly knowing the escape from perception in this way, are practicing for disenchantment --dispassion-- cessation with regard to perception, they are practicing rightly.

Best wishes.