05. The Single Principle of Buddhism
By Luang Pu Thate Desaraṅsī
Date: 1983
The term "practicing one's religious duties" needs to be understood thoroughly and clearly. The matter of Buddhist practice is vast, and it's difficult to grasp its essence. If you don't grasp the essence correctly, you'll latch onto this and that, various matters, leading to confusion in everything. The true essence of the religion has a single principle. As when they teach about being "one endowed with the path" (maggasamaṅgī), it all unites into one principle; it's not anything far off or other. The path that truly reaches the genuine Path must be "one endowed with the path."
"Maggasamaṅgī" means that everything converges into a single principle—that is, the mind must first gather itself. When the mind gathers into one, then everything else converges there. Dukkha, Samudaya, Nirodha, Magga—all come down to that single principle. If they remain separate, it's not yet maggasamaṅgī. That state of separation is a technique for contemplating in order to see things distinctly—to see them as dukkha, samudaya, nirodha, magga. That is the path in its analytical form; it's not yet correct, not yet the true maggasamaṅgī. It's the beginning stage. The initial training must be like that. But if it's truly maggasamaṅgī, it remains in that one principle. Whatever you contemplate, it all comes down to that single principle; there are no two. This is where Buddhism becomes difficult, where it's hard to understand. As you practice, you might become scattered and lost, heading outward, failing to grasp the principle. You might think you are good, sharp, and understanding, but if you miss the principle, you're entirely wrong. There are many things concerning Buddhism.
Faith (saddhā) is truly the beginning. The beginning of practicing Buddhism must start with this faith: belief in the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Sangha; belief in kamma and the results of kamma—that doing good yields good, doing evil yields evil. When you believe that doing good yields good and doing evil yields evil, then morality (sīla), concentration (samādhi), and wisdom (paññā) are all contained within that. It depends on your contemplation. If you don't contemplate, it happens on its own; you come to know on your own, it arises on its own, it becomes clear and manifest on its own.
The clear sīla is contained within that belief—the belief that committing evil is truly evil, and doing good is truly good. When you believe like this, moral shame and fear of wrongdoing (hiri-ottappa) arise within you. There is no committing of evil because you are ashamed of evil and afraid of evil. When you are ashamed of evil, that's the end of it; there is no doing of evil. All aspects of sīla converge into this hiri-ottappa. I'm just speaking plainly here, breaking it down into parts, but it all comes down to the same principle.
Faith (saddhā) leads to conviction. If that faith is absent, you can't even ordain. If you come to ordain in Buddhism but don't believe in Buddhism, what are you ordaining for? You're just going through the motions of ordination. But when you believe that Buddhism is good, that the religion is true, that the Buddha enlightened himself correctly and properly, it all converges into that faith. We are convinced of Buddhism. We do everything with firmness and fullness, grounded in belief in kamma and its results. Then we are incapable of doing evil. All the discussions about the training rules (sikkhāpada) and monastic discipline (vinaya) are just talking about various matters. When it comes time to actually do it, to make it real, you take it from this point: We believe. Kamma—action. Whatever we do has both good and evil aspects. We know ourselves. Doing good is like this; doing evil is like this. When doing evil, what is the state of mind? When doing good, what is the state of mind? You see it in your own heart. Doing evil leads to a defiled, unclear state. Doing good leads to a cheerful, bright state. That's correct. Who would want to do evil then? All of us who ordained aspire for goodness. We completely abandon evil. That itself is sīla. When it becomes firmly established, that is samādhi.
The wisdom (paññā) that arises is the knowledge itself, the wisdom itself. It absorbs sīla and samādhi into this point. That itself is wisdom. Therefore, the true principle of Buddhism converges into a single principle. No matter how much you speak, it all comes back to this. If you don't return to the original source, it's not correct. The original source is the mind itself. The mind is the quality of the heart. When there is a heart, there must be its quality. That quality is called "outward expression"—which is thinking and contemplating. When you reach the heart itself, there is no outward expression; it becomes one, simply still. This is the principle of practice. Go wherever you may, you won't stray from this, and you won't be wrong either. If you practice correctly like this, then—if you practice without grasping the correct principle, if you fail to hold onto the principle, then this work will be extremely difficult. But if you can grasp the principle, it won't take long. It becomes one principle, and it doesn't take long.
However, there is further work to be done: you must become skilled and proficient in this practice. The Buddha taught: "bhāvito bahulīkato"—practice it, develop it repeatedly. That is, do just this, see this principle clearly, develop it constantly. Because we have a heart, we gradually have a mind. The mind is the quality of the heart. As long as we have a heart, we will have its qualities. Therefore, we must practice, train, and cultivate. Hence, "practice it repeatedly, develop it abundantly."