The Vision of Dhamma: Buddhist Writings of Nyanaponika Thera (Vipassana Meditation and the Buddha's Teachings)

367 Pages·2000·1.1 MB·English

by  Edited

The Vision of Dhamma
The Vision of Dhamma
Buddhist Writings of Nyanaponika Thera
Edited, with an introduction
by Bhikkhu Bodhi
Foreword by Erich Fromm
2nd Edition, enlarged
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
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First edition published by Rider & Co. Ltd., London, 1986
Second edition (enlarged) fi rst published by the Buddhist Publication Society, 1994
Copyright  Nyanaponika Thera, 1986, 1994
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner
whatsoever without the written permission of BPS Pariyatti Editions, except in the
case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Published by Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka, 1993,1994.
Published with the consent of the original publisher, Buddhist Publication Society,
Kandy, Sri Lanka. Copies of this book for sale in the Americas only.
FIRST BPS PARIYATTI EDITION, 2000
09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 5 4 3 2 1
Print ISBN : 978-1-928706-03-8
PDF ISBN : 978-1-928706-51-9 (eBook 2011)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Nyanaponika, Thera, 1901
The vision of Dhamma: Buddhist writings of Nyanaponika Thera / edited, with an
introduction by Bhikkhu Bodhi ; foreword by Erich Fromm.-- 2nd ed., enl.
p. cm.
2nd ed. originally published: Kandy, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society, 1994.
“First BPS Pariyatti edition”. T.p. verso
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 1-928706-03-7 (alk. paper)
1. Buddhism--Doctrines. I. Bodhi, Bhikkhu
BQ4165 .N9 2000
294.3'42041--dc21
99-053425
Printed in Canada on acid-free paper
Contents
Foreword, by Erich Fromm ix
A Note on Sources xiii
Introduction, by Bhikkhu Bodhi xv
THE WAY TO FREEDOM FROM SUFFERING 1
THE WORN-OUT SKIN 19
THE POWER OF MINDFULNESS 69
THE ROOTS OF GOOD AND EVIL 117
THE FIVE MENTAL HINDRANCES 179
THE FOUR NUTRIMENTS OF LIFE 211
THE THREEFOLD REFUGE 229
THE FOUR SUBLIME STATES 245
ANATT¾ AND NIBB¾NA 265
SHORTER ESSAYS 289
Seeing Things As They Are 291
Buddhism and the God-Idea 292
Devotion in Buddhism 298
Courageous Faith 304
Why End Suffering? 306
Kamma and Its Fruit 310
Contemplation of Feelings 317
Protection Through Right Mindfulness 323
Glossary 331
A Bibliography of Nyanaponika Thera’s Publications
in English 336
Venerable Nyanaponika Thera
(1901-1994)
DEDICATION
The second edition of The Vision of Dhamma was
prepared in connection with the 93rd birthday
of the Venerable Nyanaponika Thera
on 21 July, 1994.
The editor and publisher dedicate this current edition
to the memory of the Venerable with grateful
appreciation for his clear vision and
compassionate guidance in a lifetime of
selfl ess service to the Dhamma.
The Venerable Nyanaponika Thera passed away on
19 October, 1994 at Forest Hermitage,
near Kandy, Sri Lanka.
Abbreviations
AN Aªguttara Nik±ya
Dhp. Dhammapada
DN D²gha Nik±ya
Itiv. Itivuttaka
MN Majjhima Nik±ya
SN Sa½yutta Nik±ya
Snp. Sutta Nip±ta
Vism. Visuddhimagga
Foreword
That in a world in which there are no values except success,
no norms except the commandment to increase production
and consumption endlessly, a society in which men change
themselves completely to manipulated tastes and to public opin-
ion—that in such a world a need arises to fi nd again a meaning
to life and a longing becomes felt for some kind of religious
renaissance, this is only too understandable. Christianity and
Judaism today have little attraction for the young generation,
perhaps because of their authoritarian and anti-rational ele-
ments. The attraction of Far Eastern religions, especially of
Buddhism and Zen Buddhism, and of Far Eastern techniques
like Yoga and Meditation is considerably greater.
Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, this interest is misused
by cults which are not serious and partly even sheer swindle.
These cults appeal to the same weakness that they promise
to “cure”; instead of furthering a new development through
insight and activity, they infl uence the average man by mass
suggestion, by dependence on so-called masters, by stultifying
methods of contemporary industrial and political propaganda.
To “cure” becomes big business. Often it is enough to come
from India in order to establish oneself as a guru and to gain
infl uence over hundreds or thousands of people.
It is against this background that one has to understand the
signifi cance of the person and the work of Nyanaponika Thera.
He is a scholar, a teacher, a helper—no guru, no “leader” and no
seducer. As a scholar he is one of the most outstanding mem-
bers of the Therav±da school in Sri Lanka, and his translations
of classic works of Buddhism into German and English are a
cultural achievement of great signifi cance. He himself has the
traits of all great scholars in all cultures: he is objective, unfa-
natical, reliable to the smallest detail, and modest. Important
as his transmission of Buddhist texts into Western languages
is, of even greater importance is his role as teacher and helper.
The Vision of Dhamma
I know of no other book about Buddhism comparable to The
Heart of Buddhist Meditation in presenting with such lucidity
the essential thoughts of this “atheistic religion” which appears
so paradoxical to the Westerner. His style is always simple, but
it is that simplicity which emanates only from a person who
has mastered a complex subject so thoroughly that he can
express it simply. The reader will do well if, as I have, he reads
and rereads many paragraphs and passages again and again in
order to understand the author fully. His style corresponds to
another trait of his personality; he wants to convince without
overpowering—his person disappears behind the logic of his
argument. Those who want to subject themselves to a guru,
who fi nd the truth in mystifi cation, will soon put aside his
writings.
Nyanaponika Thera—in this respect also a true pupil of the
Buddha—does not only want to teach; he wants to help, to cure
and to show the disciple the way to cure himself. Perhaps he
would not have fulfi lled this task as adequately as he has done
had he not—as a European born at the beginning of the twen-
tieth century—acquired a deep knowledge of the psychological
problems of contemporary man. So-called “religious problems”
as such do not exist for him. They are the expression of human
problems and on this level Nyanaponika Thera shows that he is
a fi rst class psychologist or, to put it perhaps better, philosophi-
cal anthropologist. He understands man—the basic condition
of his existence, his passions and anxieties—so deeply, that he
can present Buddhism as the answer to the spiritual needs of
people of today—or perhaps even of tomorrow.
Indeed, the writings of Nyanaponika Thera are a “Guide for
the Perplexed” in the last quarter of this century. They are ex-
actly the opposite of the popular cults. In his book on Buddhist
meditation mentioned above, he has succeeded in describing the
method of genuine meditation so clearly that it is accessible to
anyone who is serious and does not shy away from the effort.
But far beyond meditation, Nyanaponika Thera has emphasized
those elements in Buddhism that appeal to the best qualities
of contemporary sober, critical and yet longing man: rational-
ity, independence, the giving up of illusions and submission
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