Vol. 11 · pages 251–255

232 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES III that beings, when body breaks up after death, are reborn in the Happy Lot, in the Heaven World. Such, monks, are the three successes. § 2. To Reach Perfection in Life is Dhamma 1. There are these three perfections. 2. Perfection in body, speech and mind. 3. And of what sort is perfection in mind ? 4. By the destruction of the asavas, realizing in this very life himself, knowing it thoroughly—the heart’s release, the release by insight which is free from the asavas, having attained it abides therein. This is called “perfection in mind.” These are the three bodily perfections. 5. There are other perfections. The Buddha explained them to Subhuti. 6. S UBHUTI : What is a Bodhisattva’s perfection of giving ? 7. THE L ORD : Here a Bodhisattva, his thoughts associated with the knowledge of all modes, gives gifts, i.e., inward or outward things, and, having made them common to all beings, he dedicates them to supreme enlightenment ; and also others he instigates thereto. But there is nowhere an apprehension of anything. 8. S UBHUTI : What is a Bodhisattva’s perfection of morality ? 9. THE LORD : He himself lives under the obligation of the ten ways of wholesome acting, and also others he instigates thereto. 10. S UBHUTI : What is a Bodhisattva’s perfection of patience ? 11. THE L ORD : He himself becomes one who has achieved patience, and others also he instigates to patience. 12. S UBHUTI : What is a Bodhisattva’s perfection of vigour ? 13. THE L ORD : He dwells persistently in the five perfections, and also others he instigates to do likewise.

233 WHAT IS DHAMMA ? III 14. S UBHUTI : What is the Bodhisattva’s perfection of concentration (or meditation) ? 15. THE L ORD : He himself, through skill in means, enters into the trances, yet he is not reborn in the corresponding heavens of form as he could ; and others also he instigates to do likewise. 16. S UBHUTI : What is a Bodhisattva’s perfection of wisdom ? 17. THE L ORD : He does not settle down in any dharma, he contemplates the essential original nature of all dharmas ; and others also he instigates to the contemplation of all dharmas. 18. It is Dhamma to cultivate these perfections. § 3. To Live in Nibbana is Dhamma 1. “Nothing can give real happiness as Nibbana.” So said the Buddha. 2. Of all the doctrines taught by the Buddha the doctrine of Nibbana is the most central one. 3. What is Nibbana ? Nibbana as taught by the Buddha has a totally different meaning and content than what has been given to it by his predecessors. 4. By Nibbana they meant the salvation of the soul. 5. Thus there were four ways in which Nibbana was conceived of : (1) Laukik (material, eat, drink and be merry type) ; (2) Yogic ; (3) Brahmanic and (4) Upanishadic. 6. There was one common feature of the Brahmanic and Upanishadic conceptions of Nibbana. They involved the recognition of a soul as an independent entity—a theory which the Buddha had denied. The Buddha had therefore no difficulty in rejecting the Brahmanic and Upanishadic teaching of Nibbana. 7. The Laukik conception of Nibbana was too materialistic to appeal to the Buddha. It meant nothing but the satisfaction of man’s animal appetites. There was nothing spiritual in it. 8. To accept such a conception of Nibbana the

234 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES III Buddha felt was a gross wrong that can be done to a human being. 9. For the satisfaction of appetites can result only in creating more appetites. Such a way of life could bring no happiness, he thought. On the contrary, such happiness was sure to bring more unhappiness. 10. The Yogic conception of Nibbana was a purely temporary state. The happiness it brought was negative. It involved disassociation from the world. It avoided pain but gave no happiness. Whatever happiness it may be said to bring lasted as long as the yoga lasted. It was not permanent. It was temporary. 11. The Buddha’s conception of Nibbana is quite different from that of his predecessors. 12. There are three ideas which underlie his conception of Nibbana. 13. Of these the happiness of a sentient being as distinct from the salvation of the soul is one. 14. The second idea is the happiness of the sentient being in Samsara while he is alive. But the idea of a soul and the salvation of the soul after death are absolutely foreign to the Buddha’s conception of Nibbana. 15. The third idea which underlies his conception of Nibbana is the exercise of control over the flames of the passions which are always on fire. 16. That the passions are like burning fire was the text of a sermon which the Buddha delivered to the Bhikkus when he was staying in Gaya. This is what he said : 17. “All things, O Bhikkus, are on fire. And what, O Priests, are all these things which are on fire ? 18. “The eye, O Bhikkus, is on fire ; forms are on fire ; eye-consciousness is on fire ; impressions received by the eye are on fire ; and whatever sensation, pleasant, unpleasant, or indifferent, originates in dependence on impression received by the type, that also is on fire.” 19. “And with what are these on fire?”

235 WHAT IS DHAMMA ? III 20. “With the fire of passion say I, with the fire of hatred, with the fire of infatuation ; with birth, old age, death, sorrow, lamentation, misery, grief and despair are they on fire.” 21. “The ear is on fire ; sounds are on fire ; the nose is on fire ; odours are on fire ; the tongue is on fire ; tastes are on fire ; the body is on fire ; ideas are on fire ; and whatever sensation, pleasant, unpleasant, or indifferent, originates in dependence on impression received by the mind, that also is on fire. 22. “And with what are these on fire ? ” 23. “With the fire of passion, say I ; with the fire of hatred ; with the fire of infatuation ; with birth ; old age, death, sorrow, lamentation, misery, grief, and despair are they on fire.” 24. “Perceiving this, O Bhikkus, the learned and noble conceives an aversion. And in conceiving this aversion, he becomes divested of passion, and by the absence of passion he becomes free, and when he is free he becomes aware that he is free.” 25. How can Nibbana give happiness ? That is the next question which calls for explanation. 26. The common notion is that man is unhappy because he is in want. But this is not always true. Man is unhappy even though he is in the midst of plenty. 27. Unhappiness is the result of greed, and greed is the bane of life of those who have as well as of those who have not. 28. This the Buddha has made clear in a sermon delivered to the Bhikkus in which he said. 29. “Excited by greed (lobha), brothers, furious with anger (dosa), blinded by delusion (moha), with mind overwhelmed, with mind enslaved, men reflect upon their own misfortune, men reflect upon the misfortune of others, men experience mental suffering and anguish. 30. If, however, greed, anger and delusion are done away, men reflect neither upon their own misfortune nor on mental suffering and anguish. 31. Thus, brothers, is Nibbana visible in this

236 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES III life and not merely in the future ; inviting, attractive, accessible to the wise disciple.” 32. Herein lies the explanation of what consumes man and makes him unhappy. By using this analogy of burning fire to the working of human passions the Buddha has given the most forceful explanation for the unhappiness of man. 33. What makes man unhappy is his falling a prey to his passions. These passions are called fetters which prevent a man from reaching the state of Nibbana. The moment he is free from the sway of his passions, i.e., he learns to achieve Nibbana, man’s way to happiness is open to him. 34. These passions, according to the Buddha’s analysis, fall under three groups. 35. First : that which refers to all degrees of craving or attachment—such as lust, infatuation and greed (lobha). 36. Second: that which refers to all degrees of antipathy—hatred, anger, vexation or repugnance (dosa). 37. Third: that which refers to all degrees of ignorance—delusion, dullness and stupidity (moha or avidya). 38. The first and second fires relate to the emotions and over the whole scale of one’s attitudes and feelings towards other beings, while the third fire relates to all ideas that are in any way removed from the truth. 39. There are certain misunderstandings about the Buddha’s doctrine of Nibbana. 40. The word Nibbana etymologically means out blowing, extinguishing. 41. Taking hold of this root meaning of the word, critics have tried to make nonsense of the doctrine of Nibbana. 42. They hold that Nibbana means extinction of all human passions which is equivalent to death. 43 They have by this means tried to throw ridicule over the doctrine of Nibbana. 44. That such is not the meaning of Nibbana