The Path

Pagan U Khin Maung Gyi

Vol. III, No. 2, 1983

Anicca vata sankhara

Uppada vaya dhammimo

Tesam vupasamo sukho*

Uppajjitva nirujjhanti

The component things are indeed impermanent. They are characterised by coming into existence and destruction. Having come into existence they are dissolved. Cessation of those (sankharas) is happiness.

        Buddha has shown us the Path to Nibbana (Asankhata-dhatu) by defining the term of its opposite Sankhara (Sankhata-dhatu) in a simple and narrative form. In other words, Asankhata-dhatu is made known by way of the view opposed to the Four Noble Truths. The following is an abridged form of exposition of the doctrine or discourse:-

(a) All conditioned things are

impermanent;

(b)All conditioned things are

ill, Suffering, Pain

(c) All the Dhamma are ..

unsubstantial no-soul, non-ego, non-entity;

(a) All conditioned things are

subject to decay and death;

(b) All conditioned things are

ill accompanied by grief, despair

(c) All the Dhamma are ..

self-less, soul-less, ego-less;

(a) All conditioned things are

products and victims of the Law of Dependent Origination;

(b) All conditioned things are

transitory;

(c) All the Dhamma are ..

unsubstantial, uncontrollable;

(a) All conditioned things are

bi-produets of Ignorance and Craving.

(b) All conditioned things are

spring into being and perish according to the sum of their good and bad action or volition;

(c) All the Dhamma are ..

self-exposition or Self-evident, and unyielding;

        This is a usual, normal procedure for probing into this Multiple State of Sankhara that owes its origin to the Law of Evolution and Revolution metaphysically termed "The Law of Happening through Cause"

         V(a) What is Sankhara? Whatis meant by Sankhara, its characteristics, function, manifestation, proximate cause?

        Sankhara means Causal condition; it is a vital link in the Chain of Cause and Effect : It has the characteristic of changing; its function is to cause to change; it is manifested as Manifold Mechanism of birth-death- rebirth operating under its own power of volition, its proximate causes being Ignorance and Clinging.

        V (b) Sankhara in its generic sense means 'Dependent Origination in its specific sense means 'Conditioned thing' a rolling phenomenon, casting sign (Nimitta) in variable shape and dimension, as it rolls along under its own power of volition (The mechanism of Kamma formation).

         From the above, we get the term 'Sankhara-nimitta', or sign of sankhara, which ordinary average persons mistake for enduring soul or ego through hallucination of perception, thought and view.

         Those who wish to transcend from the sphere of Con ditioned should get rid of this shadow by contemplation of the three Salient characteristics (Impermanet nature of Transient existence, its evil consequences, and essence-lessness), as one traverses along the avenues ef the Eight-fold Noble Path 'to Asankhata-dhatu devoid of the eleven aspects of differentiation into past, present, future, internal, external gloss, subtle, high, low, distant and near: which Nibbana emancipates from.

         This brief note should be of assistance to those who are practising Theravda Method of Meditation with Nibbana as the ultimate goal.