Kyabje Gosok Rinpoche
Teaching on Sravakayana

April 2010 at PingTung Yamantaka Fire Puja

During the forty-nine years of the Buddha’s teaching, he expounded the Four Noble Truths four times each during the early, middle, and later periods of his life. These truths are:

• recognizing the truth of suffering (the pain inherent in samsara),
• abandoning the truth of the cause (the reasons for suffering),
• realizing the truth of cessation (the ultimate peace of nirvana), and
• practicing the truth of the path (the methods to achieve nirvana).

Therefore, during the Buddha’s lifetime, he taught the Four Noble Truths a total of twelve times.

Four Aspects of Causes

Each time the Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths, he explained them through four levels of understanding. For example, when explaining the truth of the cause, he divided it into four aspects:

• cause, hetu (observing the cause of suffering),
• accumulation, prabhava (observing how suffering accumulates),
• birth, samudaya (observing the continuity of suffering), and
• condition, pratyaya (observing the conditions that create suffering).

This arises from sentient beings’ attachment to an autonomous “self” (the grasping of a personal self, one of the two types of clinging: clinging to a self and clinging to phenomena). This attachment leads to karma and afflictions, which bind sentient beings to the cycle of samsara. Thus, karma and afflictions are what practitioners must abandon.

Four Aspects of Suffering

When explaining the truth of suffering, the Buddha divided it into four aspects:

• impermanence, anitya (observing that all things arise due to causes and conditions and are therefore impermanent),
• suffering, duhkha (observing that this body is inherently painful),
• emptiness, sunyata (observing that all things arise due to causes and conditions and are therefore empty), and
• no-self, anatmaka (observing that all things arise due to causes and conditions and thus lack an inherent self).

The Four Aspects of the Path

When explaining the truth of the path, the Buddha divided it into four aspects:

• path, marga (observing the Eightfold Path, which leads to nirvana),
• suchness, nyaya (observing that the path aligns with ultimate truth),
• practice, pratipatti (observing that through these practices one progresses toward nirvana), and
• liberation, nairyanika (observing that through this sacred path one transcends samsara).

The Four Aspects of Cessation

When explaining the truth of cessation, the Buddha divided it into four aspects:

• cessation, nirodha (observing that all defilements have been exhausted, and the cycle of birth and death has ended),
• tranquility, santa (observing that the three poisons—ignorance, attachment, and aversion—are extinguished, leaving the mind undisturbed and radiant),
• excellence, pranita (observing that one has transcended the three realms and is free from all suffering), and
• separation, nihsarana (observing that all calamities have been abandoned).

These sixteen aspects collectively form the “Sixteen Contemplations of the Four Noble Truths”. It is the core content and meditative method of the Hinayana tradition, encompassing the three higher trainings of discipline, concentration, and wisdom. Not only do Hinayana practitioners rely on this as their practice, but Mahayana practitioners also need to cultivate these teachings.

The Five Paths and Ten Grounds in Hinayana Teachings

The teachings of the Hinayana tradition also include the practice methods of the five paths and ten grounds. The five paths are the paths of

1. accumulation,
2. preparation,
3. seeing,
4. cultivation, and
5. no-more-learning.

The ten grounds include:

1. the ground of initial purity (first seeing the pure Dharma),
2. the ground of lineage (establishing one’s spiritual lineage),
3. the ground of eight persons (from Arhat to the eighth sage),
4. the ground of seeing (directly perceiving the absence of a personal self),
5. the ground of diminishing desire (reducing attachment),
6. the ground of freedom from desire,
7. the ground of accomplishment,
8. the ground of solitary realizers,
9. the ground of bodhisattvas, and
10. the ground of Buddhahood.

In the path of accumulation, when practitioners develop irreversible renunciation toward samsara, they attain the realization of the path of accumulation.

After firmly establishing renunciation, practitioners uphold precepts and gain the power of concentration (calm abiding). Using this stability, they contemplate the emptiness of the personal self (pudgala) and the emptiness of phenomena, eventually achieving the union of calm abiding and insight, which marks the realization of the path of preparation.

When a practitioner directly realizes the emptiness of self, they attain the realization of the path of seeing. If the practitioner can maintain an unbroken and firm realization of the emptiness of self, they then possess the realization of the path of cultivation. The process of the path of cultivation can be divided into four stages of fruition: Stream-Enterer (Srotapanna), Once-Returner (Sakrdagamin), Non-Returner (Anagamin), and Arhat. These are also referred to as the eight stages of progress and abiding (four paths and four fruits): the path and fruition of Stream-Entry, the path and fruition of Once-Return, the path and fruition of Non-Return, and the path and fruition of Arhatship (the worthy one). These four stages of fruition are all results of the practitioner’s continuous deepening realization of the emptiness of self.

The Stages of Liberation

After attaining the stage of stream-enterer, practitioners become noble beings who have achieved liberation. These four stages can be further subdivided into twenty types of Sangha. In the Ornament of Clear Realization (Abhisamayalamkara), it is said: 

• those with dull faculties and
• those with sharp faculties,
• those who rely on faith,
• those who see directly,
• householders,
• celestial beings,
• intermediates,
• those who pass away in meditation,
• those born in meditation,
• those who act with effort,
• those who act without effort,
• those who transcend completely,
• those who transcend partially,
• those who perish everywhere,
• those who achieve immediate cessation,
• those who realize through the body, and
• those like unicorns.”

Master Shantimati explains that these verses explicitly mention seventeen categories of the Sangha:

• dull faculties,
• sharp faculties,
• faith-based practitioners,
• direct seers,
• householders,
• celestial householders,
• intermediates,
• those passing away in meditation,
• those born in meditation,
• those acting with effort,
• those acting without effort,
• complete transcendents,
• partial transcendents,
• universal perishing ones,
• those achieving immediate cessation,
• those realizing through the body, and
• unicorn-like practitioners.

Implicitly mentioned are three additional categories: stream-enterers, once-returners, and Arhat aspirants, totaling the “Twenty Types of Sangha.”

Arhats

Arhats, through perfecting the practice of the emptiness of the personal self and the sixteen aspects of the Four Noble Truths, ultimately attain two types of nirvana: “nirvana with remainder” and “nirvana without remainder.” Although Arhats have eradicated all afflictions and karmic obstructions, because their aggregates (the body formed by the five aggregates) still exist, this state is called “nirvana with remainder.” When the aggregates cease to exist, only the nirvana realized through the emptiness of the personal self remains, which is called “nirvana without remainder.”

Suffering of Samsara

Both types of nirvana are attained through the continuous cultivation of the non-self of the person. Practitioners who wish to realize the non-self of the person must understand that the defiled aggregates (conditioned by karma and afflictions) are impermanent and subject to collapse at any time, thus not inherently existent. Sentient beings in samsara acquire aggregates due to the influence of karma and afflictions, and all phenomena experienced in life fall into three types of suffering:

• suffering of suffering (birth, aging, sickness, death),
• suffering of change (apparent happiness that is inherently painful), and
• pervasive suffering (the unconscious process of decay from birth onward).

Although celestial beings do not experience evident suffering, and hell beings do not experience changing suffering, within the three realms of samsara—from the lowest hell to the highest heaven—no one can escape pervasive suffering. All sentient beings naturally avoid evident suffering, some recognize the futility of pursuing changing suffering, but pervasive suffering is difficult to perceive and comprehend. However, pervasive suffering permeates the entirety of samsara, making suffering the essence of cyclic existence.

Fundamental Method to End Suffering

To escape suffering, one must eliminate its causes—karma and afflictions—which are rooted in the attachment to an autonomous self. In Mahayana teachings, this attachment is called “coarse self-grasping,” and the only way to overcome it is through continuous meditation on the non-self of the person and realization of the emptiness of the personal self, thereby cutting off karma and afflictions and attaining liberation from the suffering of samsara

Nature and Types of Self-Grasping

Since self-grasping is the root cause of suffering in samsara, practitioners must contemplate how self-grasping arises, its nature, the object it clings to, and its harmful consequences. Self-grasping is a conceptual and cognitive attachment to the notion of “self” or “pudgala”. Different Buddhist schools have their own approaches to overcoming self-grasping, but generally, it is divided into two types: innate self-grasping and imputed self-grasping. Innate self-grasping is fundamental and shared by all sentient beings, regardless of whether they follow Buddhist or non-Buddhist doctrines.

Imputed Self-Grasping

Imputed self-grasping arises from misconceptions about the nature of the aggregates. This type of grasping holds that while the aggregates (the physical body) are impermanent, divisible, and dependent on causes, there exists outside them a permanent, independent, and indivisible “self,” characterized by permanence, singularity, and autonomy. This misconception defines imputed self-grasping.

Innate Self-Grasping

Innate self-grasping acts like a king, commanding the aggregates as if they were its obedient servants, or like a sailor who, familiar with the ocean, regards it as his dominion. This type of grasping assumes the existence of a permanent, singular, and autonomous self. It does not merely view the self as a nominal or conceptual construct, relatively and dependently arisen; rather, it clings to the belief that the self is an inherently existent, independent entity.

Overcoming Self-Grasping

This concept of self falls under the category of “negation” (refuting false notions), which includes negation, the ability to negate, and the object of negation. After understanding the object and nature of self-grasping, practitioners gradually generate the realization of emptiness by refuting the mistaken notions of a permanent, singular, and autonomous self. Once certainty about emptiness arises, practitioners must continually familiarize themselves with the nature of emptiness. This is an essential part of the path to liberation.

In the context of philosophical tenets, there are various views on how to refute (negate) self-grasping. According to the perspective of Acharya Dharmakirti, self-grasping can be refuted by addressing two aspects: the belief in an autonomous self and the belief in a self with inherent existence. The concept of inherent existence leads to logical arguments about whether the self is singular or multiple. Self-grasping does not exist externally but arises from the views or concepts within the practitioner’s mind. When we think of “me,” we must analyze what understanding or feeling arises in the mind.

By establishing the concept of the emptiness of the self, there are many ways to counteract self-grasping. If the “self” clung to by innate self-grasping were truly existent and inherently existent, there would be two possibilities: either the self and the five aggregates (the body-mind complex) are inseparably one and the same, or the self and the five aggregates are separate and distinct. There are no other possibilities.

The Self and the Aggregates Cannot Be One

If the self and the five aggregates were the same entity, then when the self is independently and inherently existent, the five aggregates would also necessarily be independently and inherently existent. The self and the five aggregates would be indistinguishable and share the same inherent nature. It would be impossible for the self to be independently existent while the five aggregates are not. However, if the five aggregates were independently existent, they would become causeless—existing without depending on causes and conditions—and would transcend the relative realm into the absolute.

This contradicts the earlier explanation that the five aggregates belong to the truth of suffering, possess the characteristic of impermanence, and are the result of afflictions and karma. Therefore, the five aggregates cannot be independently existent, and the argument that the self and the aggregates are one and the same cannot be valid.

The Self and the Aggregates Cannot Be Separate

Since the self and the five aggregates cannot be one, could they instead be separate entities? If the self were separate from the five aggregates, which consist of form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness—and which can further be subdivided—the originally conceived permanent, singular, and autonomous self would also have to possess various qualities and attributes. Based on this reasoning, even after the five aggregates disintegrate, an independent self would still exist. If the self did not depend on the aggregates, it could exist independently in any form, such as plants, trees, rocks, or mountains. This view contradicts reality and therefore cannot be valid.

Progressing from Coarse to Subtle Emptiness

Since the self and the five aggregates are neither one nor multiple, it can be established that the self is not a truly existent, independent entity. This understanding of non-self pertains to coarse emptiness. By recognizing the errors and nature of self-grasping, practitioners can learn methods to overcome it. Following this progression allows them to gradually engage in the practice of overcoming subtle self-grasping. This step-by-step approach provides genuine benefit to practitioners.

Otherwise, if one skips the practice of overcoming coarse self-grasping and begins with subtle teachings—such as the Madhyamaka Prasangika view that all phenomena lack inherent existence—they may only hear the teachings without truly understanding them, making it difficult to gain practical benefits in their practice. Just as students must first learn the basics of letters and phonetics before progressing to more advanced subjects, so too must practitioners follow a gradual path

Commonalities and Differences Between Hinayana and Mahayana

The above discussion provides an overview of the stages of practice in the Hinayana tradition. In terms of Lamrim Chenmo (the Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path), these practices correspond to the lower and middle scopes of the path, which are common to both Hinayana and Mahayana Buddhism. However, when practitioners cultivate the lower and middle scopes with the bodhicitta motivation of benefiting all sentient beings—with the aspiration to attain Buddhahood for their sake—the practices of the Hinayana path become uncommon Mahayana path. As Mahayana Buddhists, our entire framework of practice is based on the five paths and ten grounds of the Mahayana system, while less emphasis is placed on the five paths and ten grounds of the Hinayana system, and fewer texts on this topic are available. Therefore, this brief discussion of the stages of the Hinayana path is intended to provide some assistance to your studies.