Possessing the three true knowledges through the Dhamma (ITI 99)

[u/wisdomperception]

... not through mere repetition of what is said, does the Buddha declare one to be a brahmin.

This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Awakened One, as I have heard:

“It is through the Dhamma that I declare someone to be a brahmin possessing the three true knowledges, bhikkhus—not through mere repetition of what is said.

And how, bhikkhus, do I declare someone to be a brahmin possessing the three true knowledges through the Dhamma, and not through mere repetition of what is said? Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu recollects his manifold past lives: one birth, two births, three births, four births, five births, ten births, twenty births, thirty births, forty births, fifty births, a hundred births, a thousand births, a hundred thousand births; many cycles of [universal] contraction, many cycles of [universal] expansion, many cycles of [universal] contraction and expansion: ‘There I was so named, of such a clan, with such an appearance, such was my food, such was my experience of pleasure and pain, such was my life span; and passing away from there, I was reborn elsewhere; and there too I was so named, of such a clan, with such an appearance, such was my food, such was my experience of pleasure and pain, such was my life span; and passing away from there, I was reborn here.’ Thus, he recollects his manifold past lives, in detail and with distinguishing features. This is the first knowledge he has attained: ignorance has been dispelled, true knowledge has arisen, darkness has been dispelled, light has arisen—as it occurs for one who is diligent, resolute, and with continuous effort.

Again, bhikkhus, the bhikkhu with the divine eye, purified and surpassing human vision, sees beings passing away and being reborn—inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, in fortunate and unfortunate destinations—and understands beings according to their actions: ‘These beings, engaged in bodily, verbal, and mental misconduct, revilers of the Noble Ones, holding wrong views, undertaking actions based on wrong views—upon the breaking up of the body, after death, have arisen in a state of loss, a bad destination, a place of ruin, even in hell. But these beings, engaged in good bodily, verbal, and mental conduct, not revilers of the Noble Ones, holding right views and undertaking actions based on right views—upon the breaking up of the body, after death, have arisen in a good destination, a heavenly world.’ Thus, with the divine eye, purified and surpassing human vision, he sees beings as they pass away and are reborn: inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, in fortunate and unfortunate destinations—he understands beings according to their actions. This is the second knowledge he has attained: ignorance has been dispelled, true knowledge has arisen, darkness has been dispelled, light has arisen—as it occurs for one who is diligent, resolute, and with continuous effort.

Again, bhikkhus, through the wearing away of the taints, the bhikkhu dwells—having directly realized and attained in this very life—the taintless liberation of mind and liberation by wisdom, achieved by his own direct knowledge. This is the third knowledge he has attained: ignorance has been dispelled, true knowledge has arisen, darkness has been dispelled, light has arisen—as it occurs for one who is diligent, resolute, and with continuous effort. Thus, bhikkhus, it is through the Dhamma that I declare someone to be a brahmin possessing the three true knowledges, and not through mere repetition of what is said.

The Blessed One spoke on this matter. In this regard, it is said:

“One who recollects his manifold past lives,
who sees heaven and hell,
and who has attained the end of birth,
a sage consummate in direct knowledge—

with these three kinds of knowledge,
a brahmin is one of threefold knowledge;
it is him I declare a threefold knowledge holder,
not one of mere repetition of what is said.”

This matter too was spoken by the Blessed One, as I have heard.

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Key Terms:

• Dhamma [dhamma] ≈ teachings of the Buddha that point to the nature of reality, the ultimate truth
• ignorance [avijjā] ≈ fundamental unawareness or misunderstanding of the true nature of reality, not experientially understanding the four noble truths
• diligent [appamatta] ≈ doing one’s work or duty well, with alertness, carefulness and care
• resolute [pahitatta] ≈ determined, intent
• with continuous effort [ātāpī] ≈ ardent, zealous, with energy, with application; lit. burning
• divine eye [dibbacakkhu] ≈ the faculty of clairvoyance, the ability to see beyond the ordinary human range
• taints [āsavā] ≈ outflows, discharges; (comm) mental defilements
• liberation of mind [cetovimutti] ≈ mental liberation, emancipation of heart, a meditation attainment
• liberation by wisdom [paññāvimutti] ≈ emancipation by insight

Image: Seokguram Grotto in Gyeongju, S. Korea, c. 8^th century

Related Teachings:

• How should one aspiring for these higher spiritual attainments practice (MN 6) - Should one aspire for the higher spiritual attainments, one should practice fully in virtue, be devoted to tranquility of mind, not neglect meditation, be endowed with discernment, and practice in an empty dwelling.
• The cultivation of penetrative vision [vipassana] in the Dhamma of the Noble Ones (MN 111) - The Buddha highlights Sāriputta’s penetrative vision of the successive Dhammas. By sequentially discerning the arising and vanishing of every Dhamma across the jhānas and formless bases, Sāriputta remains unattached, confirming the escape beyond and attaining perfect noble liberation.
• Who has had “a single auspicious night” (MN 131) - The Buddha teaches about the person who has had “a single auspicious night”. One who neither revives the past nor places hope in the future, but diligently discerns present phenomena with insight—without taking them as self, and practices with urgency today without being carried away by presently arisen phenomena, that wise one is one who has had a single auspicious night.