From Ignorance to Wisdom

Ignorance (avijjā) is not knowing the Four Noble Truths: not knowing suffering (dukkhe aññaṇaṃ), not knowing the origin of suffering (dukkhasamudaye aññaṇaṃ), not knowing the cessation of suffering (dukkhanirodhe aññaṇaṃ), and not knowing the path leading to the cessation of suffering (dukkhanirodhagāminīpaṭipadāya aññaṇaṃ). As long as this ignorance does not cease, formations (saṅkhārā) arise conditioned by ignorance. "Avijjāpaccayā saṅkhārā" refers to the Truth of the Origin (Samudaya Sacca). When formations condition consciousness (viññāṇa), we encounter the Truth of Suffering (Dukkha Sacca). As long as ignorance remains unceasing, the Truth of Suffering—this very consciousness—will continue to arise. Therefore, it is crucial to cease ignorance. When ignorance ceases, the origin ceases; when the origin ceases, consciousness ceases. This is the cessation of the Truth of Suffering. Conversely, if the Truth of the Origin—ignorance—does not cease, then the Truth of Suffering—consciousness, mind-and-matter, etc.—will not cease. Our present existence is trapped within Section No. 2—the Truth of Suffering. People usually recognize suffering only when experiencing pain, sickness, aging, or death. But in truth, suffering began the moment we entered this Section No. 2. Consciousness here means rebirth-linking consciousness (paṭisandhiviññāṇa), which itself is the suffering of birth. From that very moment of arising, the Truth of Suffering begins. Tracing forward: mind-and-matter (nāmarūpa), the six sense bases (saḷāyatana), contact (phassa), feeling (vedanā)—all are nothing but manifestations of the Truth of Suffering. Did these arise spontaneously? No, they came because of formations (saṅkhārā) performed unknowingly in past lives, driven by ignorance. The critical point here is to prevent the Truth of the Origin (Samudaya Sacca) from re-emerging within this suffering. We must ensure that ignorance and formations do not arise again. If they reappear, suffering will inevitably follow. What we currently experience is the Truth of Suffering. Yet in our daily lives, as we engage in work and activities, new origins of suffering—ignorance, formations, craving (taṇhā), etc.—keep arising within these five aggregates. Section No. 3 (Origin) emerges from Section No. 2. When Section No. 3 arises, Section No. 4 (Suffering) becomes unavoidable. Thus, the suffering of birth, aging, and death—the "birth-drama," "aging-drama," "sickness-drama," and "death-drama"—returns. Section No. 3 is the Truth of Origin; Section No. 4 is the Truth of Suffering. If new origins sprout within Section No. 4, Section No. 5 (Suffering) will follow. Trapped in this endless cycle, life cannot break free. How long have we raced around this wheel of saṃsāra? For incalculable aeons—revolving endlessly within this very cycle, like an ox tethered to a millstone. All day it walks, burdened and confined to the same path; the next day, the same burden and the same path. Such is saṃsāra—an inescapable circular run. Never have we found an exit. We’ve merely rotated between origin (samudaya) and suffering (dukkha). Samudaya is the fire; dukkha is the fuel—fire and fuel perpetuating each other endlessly. As long as we fail to find the way out, we remain trapped between the suffering of existence and the suffering of death—rotating between these two calamities. If we trace the cause of aging and death backward, we find ignorance (avijjā) at the source. Thus, the repeated cycles of aging and death occur due to ignorance. As long as ignorance persists, aging and death remain your personal property—the inevitable possessions of one bound by ignorance. Without even asking, aging and death overwhelm us. Aging, dying, burning, and decaying—all are wrought by ignorance. Unless ignorance ceases, the dramas of existence, death, and torment will never end. Therefore, when ignorance ceases, the Truth of the Origin ceases. When the Truth of the Origin ceases, the Truth of Suffering ceases. Section No. 3 (Origin) no longer arises, and the suffering of birth, aging, and death (Section No. 4) ceases to come. Thus, remember: only through the cessation of ignorance—only when ignorance transforms into wisdom (vijjā)—can we reach Nibbāna: the state free from aging, sickness, and death. When ignorance becomes wisdom, this very cycle unravels at its root. Venerable Doctor Ashin Parami See also: http://myakyunthar.blogspot.com/?m=1