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Hiri Ottappa

by Ajahn Jayasaro


"As Buddhists, when we talk about spiritual life, we talk in terms of training, a comprehensive, thorough-going training of all aspects of our life. That training requires us to identify and see the various aspects of what makes up our life, the body and the mind; seeing that which is conducive to true happiness and peace, harmony with others and the world, and that which leads to pain and distress, both for ourselves and others. It involves seeking to abandon that which should be abandoned, and developing that which should be developed. In talking of this training we generally divide it into three steps or groups, those of Sila, Samadhi, and Panna.


Sila is the training of our body, our actions and our speech. Samadhi is the calming, the pacifying, of the mind's agitation and distraction, making the mind form and serene. Panna is the training in investigation, reflection, learning to incline the firm and serene mind toward the true nature of our being, our own reality, the reality of the world around us.. Although Sila, the training of the body and speech, is considered the foundation for the training of the mind, it also requires the development of Wisdom. We must come to understand the value of that training, the value of restraint, and the unfortunate consequences of neglecting such a training.Wisdom is in fact what we might call the defining characteristic of the Buddha's Teaching in that whatever the sphere of activity, and whatever the level of practice, wisdom is always considered to be that vital component, that governing factor.