The Notion of Ditthi in Theravada Buddhism:

The notion of "view" or "opinion" (ditthi) as an obstacle to "seeing things as they are" is a central concept in Buddhist thought. This book considers the two ways in which the notion of views are usually understood. Are we to understand right-view as a correction of wrong-views (the opposition understanding) or is the aim of the Buddhist path the overcoming of all views, even right-view (the no-views understanding)? The author argues that neither approach is correct. Instead, he suggests that the early texts do not understand right-view as a correction of wrong-view, but as a detached order of seeing, completely different from the attitude of holding to any view, wrong or right. Arguing that by the term "right-view" we should understand an order of seeing which transcends all views, this book makes a valuable addition to the study of Buddhist philosophy.

Paul Fuller is teaching Buddhist Studies at Webster University, Thailand.

Preface

xii

Acknowledgements

xiii

Abbreviations

xiv

Introduction

1

(13)

The opposition understanding

2

(1)

The no-views understanding

3

(1)

Recent studies of the notion of ditthi

4

(3)

Knowledge of doctrine

7

(2)

Is/ought

9

(2)

Propositions and ways of seeing

11

(3)

1 The content of wrong-view

14

(27)

Part one: views that deny that actions have consequences

16

(9)

The view of nihilism (natthika-ditthi)

16

(2)

The view of non-doing (akiriya-ditthi)

18

(1)

The view of non-causality (ahetu-ditthi)

19

(1)

The view of Pakudha Kaccayana

20

(2)

The view of Nigantha Nataputta

22

(1)

The view of Sañjaya Belatthiputta and the endless equivocators

22

(2)

Wrong-view or right-view?

24

(1)

Part two: views of self

25

(14)

Identity-view (sakkaya-ditthi)

26

(2)

Miscellaneous destructive views

28

(2)

The six bases for views (ditthi-tthana)

30

(3)

Six wrong-views from the Sabbasava-sutta

33

(1)

Acceptance of a view as a result of reflection (ditthi-nijjhanakhanti)

34

(4)

Views of the unanswered (avyakata) type

38

(1)

Conclusion

39

(2)

2 The content of right-view

41

(37)

Part one: views that affirm that actions have consequences

42

(16)

The view of affirmation (atthika-ditthi)

43

(1)

The view that there is doing (kiriya-ditthi)

43

(1)

The view of causality (hetu-ditthi)

44

(6)

The ten wholesome and unwholesome courses of action

50

(3)

Action and thought as the cause of good and bad rebirths

53

(2)

he distinction between different levels of right-view

55

(2)

Right-view as pañña

57

(1)

Part two: views of not-self

58

(19)

The Sammaditthi-sutta

59

(1)

The 16 right-views from the Sammaditthi-sutta

59

(4)

Dependent-origination and the Sammaditthi-sutta

63

(2)

The right-view of stream-attainment

65

(2)

The achievement of right-view

67

(2)

The Mahacattarisaka-sutta: right-view comes first

69

(5)

Seeing phenomena as impermanent

74

(1)

Right-view as seeing: 'This is not mine, this I am not, this is not in self'

75

(1)

Four non-perversions of view (na ditthi-vipallasa)

75

(1)

The ten imperfections of insight (vipassana-upakkilesa)

76

(1)

Conclusion

77

(1)

3 The way wrong-view functions

78

(14)

The distinction between views and ignorance

78

(1)

The thicket, wilderness, contortion, vacillation and fetter of views

79

(5)

The Ditthi-vagga

84

(1)

The Ditthi-samyutta

85

(1)

Views in the Ditthi-katha

86

(4)

Views and craving in the Nettippakarana

90

(2)

4 The way right-view functions

92

(20)

Part one: different levels of right-view

92

(8)

Accomplishment in view (ditthi-sampada)

92

(1)

Accomplished in view (ditthi-sampanna)

93

(3)

Purification of view (ditthi-visuddhi)

96

(2)

Abandoning by substitution of opposites (tadangappahana)

98

(2)

Right-view as knowledge of knowing rise and fall (udayahhaya)

100

(1)

Part two: the function of right-view on the higher paths

100

(12)

The view that is noble and emancipating (ditthi ariya niyyanika)

103

(2)

The function of right-view on the higher paths in the Atthasalini

105

(3)

The abandoning of views

108

(4)

5 The transcendence of views

112

(33)

The Brahmajala-sutta: attachment to views

112

(4)

The 'view' that transcends sakkaya-ditthi

116

(5)

The 'view' that transcends the avyakata

121

(3)

The Patali-sutta

124

(2)

Seeing the wholesome and unwholesome

126

(4)

The wholesome and unwholesome in the Dhammasangani

130

(6)

The Patthana: turning medicine into poison and poison into medicine

136

(3)

The three gateways to liberation

139

(6)

6 Views and non-attachment

145

(12)

The Buddha's teachings and no-views

145

(3)

The understanding of views in the Atthakavagga compared to other parts of the Pali canon

148

(2)

Dependence on what is seen, heard, thought and cognized

150

(1)

The superior teaching?

151

(2)

Dighanakha and the transcendence of views

153

(4)

Conclusion

157

(3)

A different order of seeing

157

(3)

Appendices

160

(13)

Notes

173

(73)

Bibliography

246

(7)

Index

253

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The Notion of Ditthi in Theravada Buddhism: The Point of View

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

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