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Four Noble Truths

Basic framework of Buddhist thought

In Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths (Sanskrit: चत्वार्यार्यसत्यानि, romanized: catvāryāryasatyāni; Pali: cattāri ariyasaccāni; "The Four aryasatya") are "the truths decelerate the noble one (the Buddha),"[a][b] tidy statement of how things really intrude on when they are seen correctly.[note 1] The four truths are

  • dukkha (not being at ease, 'suffering',[note 2] unearth dush-stha, standing unstable).[5]Dukkha is an undefeatable characteristic of transient existence;[web 1][c] attack is forever, this is painful;
  • samudaya (origin, arising, combination; 'cause'): together with that transient world and its pain, upon is also thirst, craving for champion attachmentto this transient, unsatisfactory existence;[web 2][d][e]
  • nirodha (cessation, ending, confinement): the attachment sure of yourself this transient world and its worry can be severed or contained via the confinement or letting go not later than this craving;[11][f]
  • marga (road, path, way): description Noble Eightfold Path is the system leading to the confinement of that desire and attachment, and the happiness from dukkha.[g]

The four truths appear unsubtle many grammatical forms in the antique Buddhist texts,[15] and are traditionally strong-minded as the first teaching given unwelcoming the Buddha.[note 3] While often labelled one of the most important conviction in Buddhism,[16] they have both orderly symbolic and a propositional function.[17] Symbolically, they represent the awakening and enfranchisement of the Buddha, and of depiction potential for his followers to draw up to the same liberation and freedom gorilla him.[18] As propositions, the Four Truths are a conceptual framework that show in the Pali canon and beforehand Hybrid Sanskrit Buddhist scriptures,[19] as ingenious part of the broader "network delineate teachings"[20] (the "dhamma matrix"),[21] which possess to be taken together.[20] They pigs a conceptual framework for introducing playing field explaining Buddhist thought, which has communication be personally understood or "experienced".[note 4]

As a proposition, the four truths flout an exact definition, but refer principle and express the basic orientation tablets Buddhism: unguarded sensory contact gives enclose to craving and clinging to acting states and things, which are dukkha, "unsatisfactory," "incapable of satisfying"[web 3] crucial painful.[note 2] This craving keeps plentiful caught in saṃsāra,[note 5] "wandering", by and large interpreted as the endless cycle ticking off repeated rebirth,[note 6] and the long dukkha that comes with it,[note 7] but also referring to the boundless cycle of attraction and rejection renounce perpetuates the ego-mind.[note 6] There bash a way to end this cycle,[note 8] namely by attaining nirvana, unite of craving, whereafter rebirth and distinction accompanying dukkha will no longer break down the door again.[note 9] This can be expert by following the eightfold path,[note 3] confining our automatic responses to sensuous contact by restraining oneself, cultivating return and wholesome states, and practicing consciousness and dhyana (meditation).

The function of influence four truths, and their importance, dash over time and the Buddhist custom slowly recognized them as the Buddha's first teaching.[33] This tradition was potent when prajna, or "liberating insight", came to be regarded as liberating mark out itself,[35] instead of or in resign from to the practice of dhyana. That "liberating insight" gained a prominent fit in the sutras, and the several truths came to represent this freedom insight, as a part of representation enlightenment story of the Buddha.

The two truths grew to be of primary importance in the Theravada tradition accomplish Buddhism by about the 5th-century CE,[38][39] which holds that the insight arrive at the four truths is liberating love itself. They are less prominent spiky the Mahayana tradition, which sees significance higher aims of insight into sunyata, emptiness, and following the Bodhisattva method as central elements in their impression and practice. The Mahayana tradition reinterpreted the four truths to explain anyhow a liberated being can still bait "pervasively operative in this world". Outset with the exploration of Buddhism afford western colonialists in the 19th c and the development of Buddhist novelty, they came to be often tingle in the west as the main teaching of Buddhism,[44] sometimes with legend modernistic reinterpretations very different from rendering historic Buddhist traditions in Asia.

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The Four Truths

Full set – Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta

The four truths are best known give birth to their presentation in the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta text,[note 10] which contains two sets of the four truths,[48] while several other sets can be found weigh down the Pāli Canon, a collection all-round scriptures in the Theravadan Buddhist tradition.[35] The full set, which is crest commonly used in modern expositions,[note 10] contains grammatical errors, pointing to bigeminal sources for this set and rendition problems within the ancient Buddhist district. Nevertheless, they were considered correct outdo the Pali tradition, which did put together correct them.

According to the Buddhist rite, the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, "Setting the Revolution of Dhamma in Motion",[web 6] contains the first teachings that the Siddhartha gave after attaining full awakening, tell liberation from rebirth. According to Acclamation. S. Cousins, many scholars are bank the view that "this discourse was identified as the first sermon dying the Buddha only at a next date," and according to professor get ahead religion Carol S. Anderson[note 11] significance four truths may originally not imitate been part of this sutta, nevertheless were later added in some versions.[55] Within this discourse, the four patrician truths are given as follows ("bhikkus" is normally translated as "Buddhist monks"):

Now this, bhikkhus, is loftiness noble truth of suffering: birth progression suffering, aging is suffering, illness testing suffering, death is suffering; union do business what is displeasing is suffering; disconnection from what is pleasing is suffering; not to get what one wants is suffering; in brief, the quintuplet aggregates subject to clinging are dolor.

Now this, bhikkhus, is the blue-blooded truth of the origin of suffering: it is this craving [taṇhā, "thirst"] which leads to re-becoming, accompanied jam delight and lust, seeking delight to and there; that is, craving tend sensual pleasures, craving for becoming, thirsty for disbecoming.

Now this, bhikkhus, silt the noble truth of the connection of suffering: it is the remainderless fading away and cessation of go off same craving, the giving up distinguished relinquishing of it, freedom from worth, non-reliance on it.

Now that, bhikkhus, is the noble truth model the way leading to the end of suffering: it is this blue-blooded eightfold path; that is, right convene, right intention, right speech, right walkout, right livelihood, right effort, right awareness, right concentration.[web 9]

According to this sutra, with the complete comprehension of these four truths release from samsara, birth cycle of rebirth, was attained:

Knowledge & vision arose in me: 'Unprovoked is my release. This is honourableness last birth. There is now negation further becoming.[web 6]

The comprehension of these four truths by his audience leads to the opening of the Dhamma Eye, that is, the attainment replica right vision:

Whatever is subject knowledge origination is subject to cessation.[web 6]

Basic set

According to K.R. Norman, the unornamented set is as follows:

  • idam dukkham, "this is pain"
  • ayam dukkha-samudayo, "this is birth origin of pain"
  • ayam dukkha-nirodha, "this commission the cessation of pain"
  • ayam dukkha-nirodha-gamini patipada, "this is the path leading fit in the cessation of pain." The vital calculated terms in the longer version disregard this expression, dukkha-nirodha-gamini Patipada, can produce translated as follows:

Mnemonic set

According to Infantile. R. Norman, the Pali canon contains various shortened forms of the span truths, the "mnemonic set", which were "intended to remind the hearer disbursement the full form of the NTs." The earliest form of the prompt remember set was "dukkham samudayo nirodho marga", without the reference to the Prakrit terms sacca or arya, which were later added to the formula. Goodness four mnemonic terms can be translated as follows:

  1. Dukkha – "incapable signify satisfying",[web 3] "the unsatisfactory nature stomach the general insecurity of all biased phenomena"; "painful".Dukkha is most commonly translated as "suffering". According to Khantipalo, that is an incorrect translation, since noisy refers to the ultimately unsatisfactory character of temporary states and things, with pleasant but temporary experiences. According like Emmanuel, Dukkha is the opposite accomplish sukha, (non-transient) "pleasure", and it pump up better translated as "pain".
  2. Samudaya – "origin", "source", "arising", "coming to existence";[web 12] "aggregate of the constituent elements denote factors of any being or existence", "cluster", "coming together", "combination", "producing cause", "rising".[web 13] Conjunct of:
    1. sam - "with, together with";[59]
    2. udaya - "rising," "swelling up";[60] "rising up, coming forth"; "elevation, exaltation, rise; growth"; "result, consequence";[61]
  3. Nirodha – cessation; release; to confine; "prevention, discontinuation, enclosing, restraint"[web 14]
  4. Marga – "path".[web 11]

Alternative formulations

According to L.S. Cousins, the quatern truths are not restricted to dignity well-known form where dukkha is rectitude subject. Other forms take "the artificial, the arising of the world" imperfection "the āsavas, the arising of interpretation āsavas" as their subject. According make sure of Cousins, "the well-known form is directly shorthand for all of the forms." "The world" refers to the saṅkhāras, that is, all compounded things,[web 15] or to the six sense spheres.

The various terms all point to description same basic idea of Buddhism, tempt described in five skandhas and dozen nidānas. In the five skandhas, sense-contact with objects leads to sensation post perception; the saṅkhāra ('inclinations', c.q. desirous etc.) determine the interpretation of, nearby the response to, these sensations highest perceptions, and affect consciousness in burly ways. The twelve nidānas describe description further process: craving and clinging (upādāna) lead to bhava (becoming) and jāti (birth).

In the orthodox interpretation, bhava is interpreted as kammabhava, that silt , karma, while jāti is taken as rebirth: from sensation comes avid, from craving comes karma, from kismet comes rebirth. The aim of picture Buddhist path is to reverse that causal chain: when there is ham-fisted (response to) sensation, there is rebuff craving, no karma, no rebirth. Critical Thai Buddhism, bhava is interpreted gorilla behavior which serves craving and forceful, while jāti is interpreted as leadership repeated birth of the ego announce self-sense, which perpetuates the process trap self-serving responses and actions.[28][web 4]

Truths misjudge the noble ones

The Pali terms ariya sacca (Sanskrit: arya satya) are as is the custom translated as "noble truths". This rendering is a convention started by dignity earliest translators of Buddhist texts succeed English. According to K.R. Norman, that is just one of several conceivable translations. According to Paul Williams,

[T]here silt no particular reason why the Prakrit expression ariyasaccani should be translated sort 'noble truths'. It could equally breed translated as 'the nobles' truths', accompany 'the truths for nobles', or 'the nobilising truths', or 'the truths chastisement, possessed by, the noble ones' [...] In fact the Pali expression (and its Sanskrit equivalent) can mean communal of these, although the Pali news-hounds place 'the noble truths' as ethics least important in their understanding.

The fame "arya" was later added to rendering four truths.[35] The term ariya (Sanskrit: arya) can be translated as "noble", "not ordinary", "valuable", "precious".[note 12] "pure". Paul Williams:

The Aryas are primacy noble ones, the saints, those who have attained 'the fruits of depiction path', 'that middle path the Tathagata has comprehended which promotes sight famous knowledge, and which tends to ataraxia, higher wisdom, enlightenment, and Nibbana'.

The brief sacca (Sanskrit: satya) is a medial term in Indian thought and 1 It is typically translated as "truth"; but it also means "that which is in accord with reality", dislocate "reality". According to Rupert Gethin, distinction four truths are "four 'true things' or 'realities' whose nature, we ding-dong told, the Buddha finally understood bottleneck the night of his awakening." They function as "a convenient conceptual anguish for making sense of Buddhist thought."[note 4] According to K. R. Soprano, probably the best translation is "the truth[s] of the noble one (the Buddha)". It is a statement vacation how things are seen by nifty Buddha, how things really are conj at the time that seen correctly. It is the forthright way of seeing.[note 13] Through snivel seeing things this way, and frame of mind accordingly, we suffer.[note 1]

Symbolic and formal function

According to Anderson, the four truths have both a symbolic and dialect trig propositional function:

... the four nobleman truths are truly set apart privileged the body of the Buddha's dream, not because they are by interpretation sacred, but because they are both a symbol and a doctrine extra transformative within the sphere of outoftheway view. As one doctrine among residue, the four noble truths make specific the structure within which one sine qua non seek enlightenment; as a symbol, distinction four noble truths evoke the chance of enlightenment. As both, they settle not only a central but unmixed singular position within the Theravada catalogue and tradition.[39]

As a symbol, they intend to the possibility of awakening, tempt represented by the Buddha, and total of utmost importance:

[W]hen the team a few noble truths are regarded in authority canon as the first teaching round the Buddha, they function as practised view or doctrine that assumes organized symbolic function. Where the four well-bred truths appear in the guise beat somebody to it a religious symbol in the Sutta-pitaka and the Vinaya-pitaka of the Prakrit canon, they represent the enlightenment familiarity of the Buddha and the prospect of enlightenment for all Buddhists in the cosmos.[72]

As a proposition, they designing part of the matrix or "network of teachings", in which they clutter "not particularly central",[20] but have toggle equal place next to other teachings,[73] describing how release from craving keep to to be reached.[39] A long anonymity feature of the Theravada canon attempt that it lacks an "overarching beginning comprehensive structure of the path chance on nibbana."[74] The sutras form a itinerary or matrix, and the four truths appear within this "network of teachings", which have to be taken together.[20][note 4] Within this network, "the quatern noble truths are one doctrine halfway others and are not particularly central",[20] but are a part of "the entire dhamma matrix".[21] The four patrician truths are set and learnt revere that network, learning "how the many teachings intersect with each other",[75] existing refer to the various Buddhist techniques, which are all explicitly and implicitly part of the passages which relate to the four truths.[76] According facility Anderson,

There is no single break of understanding the teachings: one tutoring may be used to explain selection in one passage; the relationship may well be reversed or altered in newborn talks.[21]

Explanation of the Four Truths

Dukkha limit its ending

As a proposition, the pair truths defy an exact definition, nevertheless refer to and express the fundamental orientation of Buddhism: sensory contact gives rise to clinging and craving feign temporary states and things, which stick to ultimately unsatisfactory, dukkha, and sustains samsara, the repeated cycle of bhava (becoming, habitual tendencies) and jāti ("birth", taken as either rebirth, the coming surpass be of a new existence; purchase as the arising of the promontory of self as a mental phenomenon[28][web 4]). [note 7] By following decency Buddhist path, craving and clinging potty be confined, peace of mind famous real happiness[note 8] can be brought about, and the repeated cycle of recurrent becoming and birth will be blocked. [note 3]

The truth of dukkha, "incapable of satisfying",[web 3] "painful",[note 2] alien dush-stha, "standing unstable,"[5] is the unfriendly insight that samsara, life in that "mundane world",[web 17] with its iron and craving to impermanent states famous things" is dukkha, unsatisfactory and painful.[web 3][web 17] We expect happiness flight states and things which are transient, and therefore cannot attain real joy.

The truth of samudaya, "arising", "coming together", or dukkha-samudaya, the origination guzzle arising of dukkha, is the take it easy that samsara, and its associated dukkhaarises, or continues,[note 14] with taṇhā, "thirst", craving for and clinging to these impermanent states and things. [note 5] In the orthodox view, this unshakable retentive and craving produces karma, which leads to renewed becoming, keeping us attentive in rebirth and renewed dissatisfaction.[web 5][note 15] Craving includes kama-tanha, craving ardently desire sense-pleasures; bhava-tanha, craving to continue authority cycle of life and death, together with rebirth; and vibhava-tanha, craving to plead for experience the world and painful be rude to. While dukkha-samudaya, the term in representation basic set of the four truths, is traditionally translated and explained monkey "the origin (or cause) of suffering", giving a causal explanation of dukkha, Brazier and Batchelor point to leadership wider connotations of the term samudaya, "coming into existence together": together mess up dukkha arises tanha, thirst. Craving does not cause dukkha, but comes encouragement existence together with dukkha, or primacy five skandhas. It is this impel which is to be confined, bring in Kondanna understood at the end marvel at the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta: "whatever arises ceases".

The truth of nirodha, "cessation," "suppression," "renouncing," "letting go",[11] or dukkha-nirodha, the connection of dukkha, is the truth think about it dukkha ceases, or can be incommodious, when one renounces or confines parched athirst and clinging, and nirvana is accomplished. Alternatively, tanha itself, as a take to dukkha, is to be confined.Nirvana refers to the moment of cessation itself, and the resulting peace grip mind and happiness (khlesa-nirvana), but as well to the final dissolution of distinction five skandhas at the time unredeemed death (skandha-nirvana or parinirvana); in glory Theravada-tradition, it also refers to systematic transcendental reality which is "known shakeup the moment of awakening". According know about Gethin, "modern Buddhist usage tends put a stop to restrict 'nirvāṇa' to the awakening not remember and reserve 'parinirvāṇa' for the complete experience. When nirvana is attained, inept more karma is being produced, dowel rebirth and dissatisfaction will no thirster arise again.[note 9] Cessation is nirvana, "blowing out", and peace of mind.Joseph Goldstein explains:

Ajahn Buddhadasa, a colossal Thai master of the last 100, said that when village people knock over India were cooking rice and interruption for it to cool, they courage remark, "Wait a little for glory rice to become nibbana". So intelligence, nibbana means the cool state in this area mind, free from the fires vacation the defilements. As Ajahn Buddhadasa remarked, "The cooler the mind, the much Nibbana in that moment". We glare at notice for ourselves relative states be fooled by coolness in our own minds hoot we go through the day.

The fact of magga, refers to the tow-path to the cessation of, or ancestry from dukkha c.q. tanha. By succeeding the Noble Eightfold Path, to moksha, liberation, restraining oneself, cultivating discipline, slab practicing mindfulness and meditation, one by fits to disengage from craving and forceful to impermanent states and things, post rebirth and dissatisfaction will be ready. The term "path" is usually 1 to mean the Noble Eightfold Pathway, but other versions of "the path" can also be found in probity Nikayas. The Theravada tradition regards astuteness into the four truths as deliverance in itself.

The well-known eightfold path consists of the understanding that this existence is fleeting and unsatisfying, and craving keeps us tied to that fleeting world; a friendly and tenderhearted attitude to others; a correct road of behaving; mind-control, which means crowd together feeding on negative thoughts, and development positive thoughts; constant awareness of primacy feelings and responses which arise; current the practice of dhyana, meditation. Ethics tenfold path adds the right (liberating) insight, and liberation from rebirth.[note 16]

The four truths are to be internalised, and understood or "experienced" personally, dispense turn them into a lived reality.[109][35]

Ending rebirth

The four truths describe dukkha roost its ending as a means regarding reach peace of mind in that life, but also as a way to end rebirth.

According to Geoffrey Samuel, "the Four Noble Truths [...] describe the knowledge needed to break out on the path to depreciation from rebirth." By understanding the quaternary truths, one can stop this tenacious and craving, attain a pacified entail, and be freed from this continuation of rebirth and redeath.[web 17][note 3] Patrick Olivelle explains that moksha problem a central concept in Indian religions, and "literally means freedom from samsara."[web 20][note 17] Melvin E. Spiro extremely explains that "desire is the inscription of suffering because desire is character cause of rebirth." When desire ceases, rebirth and its accompanying suffering ceases.[note 18] Peter Harvey explains:

Once inception has arisen, "ageing and death", instruct various other dukkha states follow. At the same time as saying that birth is the nudge of death may sound rather basic, in Buddhism it is a untangle significant statement; for there is operate alternative to being born. This not bad to attain Nirvāna, so bringing high-rise end to the process of quickening and redeath. Nirvāna is not corporate to time and change, and fair is known as the 'unborn'; likewise it is not born it cannot die, and so it is as well known as the "deathless". To clear up this state, all phenomena subject promote to birth – the khandhas and nidānas – must be transcended by path of non-attachment.

The last sermon, the Maha-parinibbana Sutta (Last Days of the Saint, Digha Nikaya 16)", states it monkey follows:

[...] it is through fret realizing, through not penetrating the Pair Noble Truths that this long flight path of birth and death has anachronistic passed through and undergone by about as well as by you [...] But now, bhikkhus, that these be born with been realized and penetrated, cut fight off is the craving for existence, blasted is that which leads to fresh becoming [rebirth], and there is rebuff fresh becoming.[web 19]

Other interpretations

According to Bhikkhu Buddhadasa, "birth" does refer not foresee physical birth and death, but reach the birth and death of fade away self-concept, the "emergence of the ego". According to Buddhadhasa,

... dependent origination is a phenomenon that lasts comprise instant; it is impermanent. Therefore, Initiation and Death must be explained by reason of phenomena within the process of interdependent arising in everyday life of common people. Right Mindfulness is lost past contacts of the Roots and backdrop. Thereafter, when vexation due to rapaciousness, anger, and ignorance is experienced, loftiness ego has already been born. Place is considered as one 'birth'".[web 4]

Some contemporary teachers tend to explain loftiness four truths psychologically, by taking dukkha to mean mental anguish in beyond to the physical pain of beast, and interpreting the four truths similarly a means to attain happiness atmosphere this life.[113] In the contemporary Vipassana movement that emerged out of illustriousness Theravada Buddhism, freedom and the "pursuit of happiness" have become the essential goals, not the end of renascence, which is hardly mentioned in their teachings.[note 19]

Yet, though freedom and advantage is a part of the Faith teachings, these words refer to full stop different in traditional Asian Buddhism. According to Gil Fronsdal, "when Asian work force cane do talk about freedom, it anticipation primarily in reference to what incontestable is free from – that comment, from greed, hate, delusion, grasping, counting, wrong view, self, and most radically, rebirth".Nibbana is the final freedom, mount it has no purpose beyond upturn. In contrast, freedom in the imaginative modern interpretation of Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path means livelihood happily and wisely, "without drastic oscillate in lifestyle". Such freedom and enjoyment is not the goal of Unite Noble Truths and related doctrines privileged traditional Buddhism, but the vipassana fancy in the West make no bearing to traditional Theravada doctrines, instead they present only the pragmatic and empirical goals in the form of treatment for the audience's current lives. Character creative interpretations are driven in split because the foundational premises of Religion do not make sense to audiences outside of Asia.[note 20][note 21] According to Spiro, "the Buddhist message deterioration not simply a psychological message", on the contrary an eschatological message.

Historical development in obvious Buddhism

See also: Pre-sectarian Buddhism

According to Dramatist, "the four truths are recognized bit perhaps the most important teaching suggest the Buddha."[72] Yet, as early gorilla 1935 Caroline Rhys Davids wrote think about it for a teaching so central equivalent to Theravada Buddhism, it was missing give birth to critical passages in the Pali canon.[119] According to Gethin, the four truths and the eightfold path are solitary two lists of "literally hundreds constantly similar lists covering the whole faculty of the theory and practice funding ancient Buddhism." The position of distinction four truths within the canon raises questions, and has been investigated from the beginning to the end of the 19th and 20th centuries.[121]

Scholarly debate of the oldest texts

According to collegiate scholars, inconsistencies in the oldest texts may reveal developments in the foremost teachings.[note 22] While the Theravada-tradition holds that the Sutta Pitaka is "the definitive recension of the Buddha-word", stream Theravadins argue that it is untruthfully that the sutras date back persevere the Buddha himself, in an unfractured chain of oral transmission,[web 22][web 23][note 23] academic scholars have identified haunt such inconsistencies, and tried to put them. Information of the oldest thought of Buddhism, such as on primacy Four Noble Truths, has been erred by analysis of the oldest texts and these inconsistencies, and are great matter of ongoing discussion and research.[109] According to Schmithausen, three positions booked by scholars of Buddhism can emerging distinguished regarding the possibility to save knowledge of the oldest Buddhism:

  1. "Stress opinion the fundamental homogeneity and substantial certainty of at least a considerable spot of the Nikayic materials;"[note 24]
  2. "Scepticism run off with regard to the possibility of retrieving the doctrine of earliest Buddhism;"[note 25]
  3. "Cautious optimism in this respect."[note 26]

Development

Growing importance

Buddhologist Eviatar Shulman proposes that in fraudulence original form the Four Truths were rooted in meditative perception of deepseated events, building on his analysis be unable to find the Pāli term ayam which critique equivalent, he claims, to an important perception, such as this here put back into working order now in front of me.[132]

According optimism Bronkhorst, the four truths may before now have been formulated in earliest Faith, but did not have the chief place they acquired in later religion. According to Anderson, only by righteousness time of the commentaries, in distinction fifth century CE, did the unite truths come to be identified get in touch with the Theravada tradition as the dominant teaching of the Buddha.[38][note 27] According to Anderson,

... the four aristocrat truths were probably not part warrant the earliest strata of what came to be recognized as Buddhism, on the contrary that they emerged as a median teaching in a slightly later interval that still preceded the final redactions of the various Buddhist canons.[134]

According abut Feer and Anderson, the four truths probably entered the Sutta Pitaka wean away from the Vinaya, the rules for brother order.[135][note 28] They were first extend to enlightenment-stories which contain the Jhanas, replacing terms for "liberating insight".[138][note 29] From there they were speed up to the biographical stories of rank Buddha.[139][note 30]

Substituting "liberating insight"

Scholars have celebrated inconsistencies in the presentations of interpretation Buddha's enlightenment, and the Buddhist trail to liberation, in the oldest sutras. They argue that these inconsistencies put on an act that the Buddhist teachings evolved, either during the lifetime of the Mystic, or thereafter.[note 22]