The Importance of Right View

“Bhikkhus, this is the forerunner, this is the precursor for the arising of the sun, namely dawn. And in just the same way, bhikkhus, this is the forerunner, this is the precursor for wholesome states, namely right view. For one who has right view, right thought occurs. For one with right thought, right speech occurs. For one with right speech, right action occurs. For one with right action, right livelihood occurs. For one with right livelihood, right effort occurs. For one with right effort, right mindfulness occurs. For one with right mindfulness, right concentration occurs. For one with right concentration, right knowledge occurs. For one with right knowledge, right liberation occurs.”

~ Aṅguttara-Nikāya, Book of the Tens, Sutta 121

Right view generally means view that is in accordance with the true nature of reality. It is view that does not contradict but conforms with the true nature of things as they really are, and with the natural order of our universe. When one has acquired right view, one understands things correctly as they actually are. One understands things in conformity with natural laws and, therefore, knows how to order one's life accordingly, enabling one to live one's life in harmony with nature. Living thus one is able to avoid much suffering and increase happiness in one's life. And according to the Buddha's teaching, if one can fully penetrate the relevant truth about the nature of our existential problem of suffering (i.e. the four Noble Truths), then one can even acquire the very clear vision and right view that will enable one to fully transcend all suffering.

However, for Buddhists, the disciples of the Buddha who had sought in his teaching, a refuge from the existential problem of suffering, right view is the view that is based on and guided by his teaching of Dhamma as contained in the scriptural texts, the recorded teaching of the Buddha that were preserved and handed down since ancient times. This Dhamma is taught by the Buddha based on his profound, penetrative, and enlightened vision of the nature of reality (i.e. the reality of existential suffering) which he acquired on the night of his enlightenment while he was meditating beneath the Bodhi Tree. This enlightened vision primarily includes a penetrative discernment of the four Noble Truths which encompass a whole range of natural phenomena, both the mundane (suffering and its cause) and supramundane (cessation of suffering and the path leading to cessation). Subsumed within the understanding of these four Truths are also other teaching of the Dhamma such as the teaching about the natural law of kamma and its result, about the natural law of conditionality and dependent origination (paṭiccasamuppāda), and about natural phenomena (five-aggregates subject to clinging, six sense-bases, the eighteen elements, etc.) and their nature of impermanence, suffering, and non-self. It is on this enlightened vision of the nature of reality that the Buddha based his teaching of Dhamma on. Therefore the view acquired by a disciple of the Buddha that is based on a careful study of the Dhamma can also be described as right view since it is also a view that conforms with the true nature of reality.

But, when it comes to the actual practise for achieving the ultimate purpose of the Buddha's teaching - liberation from existential suffering - right view serves as the compass that points in the right direction towards the wholesome path that leads to true liberation from suffering. It is the navigator that not only steers one towards this correct and liberating path but, by shedding its light on all the other more enticing and deceptive byways along the way that tend to lead astray, it also prevents one from swerving away from the right path. Right view is also the torch that illuminates the path to the ultimate goal of liberation, revealing the true nature of our experience of this world of our existence and dispelling the darkness of ignorance that binds us to suffering. When right view is established everything else turn in the right direction, leading finally to right knowledge and liberation. One who is practising with the intention of achieving liberation from suffering cannot do without right view, for without right view everything else go wrong.

“Bhikkhus, owing to wrongness there is failure, not success. And how, bhikkhus, is it that owing to wrongness there is failure and not success? For one who has wrong view, wrong thought occurs. For one with wrong thought, wrong speech occurs. For one with wrong speech, wrong action occurs. For one with wrong action, wrong livelihood occurs. For one with wrong livelihood, wrong effort occurs. For one with wrong effort, wrong mindfulness occurs. For one with wrong mindfulness, wrong concentration occurs. For one with wrong concentration, wrong knowledge occurs. For one with wrong knowledge, wrong liberation occurs. It is in this way, bhikkhus, that owing to wrongness there is failure and not success.”

~ Aṇguttara-Nikāya, Book of the Tens, Sutta 103

Such is the importance of right view in the scheme of the Buddha's method for liberation from suffering that it stands at the beginning of the Noble Eightfold Path as the path factor that precedes all the other factors (right thought, etc.).

“Therein, bhikkhus, right view is the forerunner.”

~ Majjhima-Nikāya, Sutta 117

On the other hand, the Buddha also warned against clinging to views (diṭṭhupādāna). And because of this, an idea seems to have infiltrated into the Buddhists community which, over a period of time, has grown into the sentiment that, to be liberated from suffering, one must not subscribe to any views at all. According to this idea, it is not necessary, and in fact it would be a hindrance to spiritual progress, to be established in any kind of views, even right view that is in accordance with the Dhamma. It is important, it says, to maintain an open mind when it comes to searching for the truth. And to subscribe to any view at all, even the right view based on the Dhamma, would narrow down the scope of the investigation of truth and thus compromise this openness. Therefore, even though one has studied and know the Dhamma, even though the Dhamma appeals in many ways to one's reason and intellect, one should not submit to its view and doctrine. One should remain non-committal and totally open.

But actually when the Buddha cautioned against clinging to views, he was not referring to all kinds of view without exception, just those that are wrong, those that contradict the Dhamma, that do not steer one towards liberation from existential suffering, or worse, those that actually mislead one away from true liberation. Contrary to the idea just mentioned above, in the teaching of the Dhamma, right view is prescribed and placed right at the beginning of the Noble Eightfold Path as the view that, if one is to succeed in the task of winning liberation, must not only be acquired but also integrated into one's thought system until it becomes a view that informs and guides one's every action through body, speech, and mind. Right view is an essential component of the Noble Eightfold Path, without which the Path would be incomplete, defective, and ineffective. Those who wish only to study the teaching of the Buddha, but not subscribe to the view that he articulated through his teaching nor integrate it into their thought system as a guide to all of their action - like many of the scholars in the many universities throughout the world where Buddhism is offered as a subject of study - would not be able to win true liberation from suffering. Buddhism, to them, would appear as just another interesting subject to study, much like Geography or European History. If one is to derive any true benefits from the Dhamma, the Dhamma must be a living force within oneself that guides every aspect of one's life. And for this to happen right view based on the Dhamma must be an integral part of one's thought system, of how one looks at the world, perceives, and respond to it.

Right view of the Dhamma, as mentioned above, is based on the Buddha's profound understanding and enlightened vision of the true nature of reality. It points one in the right direction of the wholesome Path to liberation and clears away the distraction due to other more enticing and deceptive paths that lead one astray from the true goal. Right view is like a guide that points out the right way to one's destination from among many other ways that lead to other wrong places. Without some basic right view based on the Dhamma one would have to waste a lot of time figuring out for oneself which is the right way, like the Bodhisatta had to prior to his enlightenment. Rather than narrowing down the scope of the investigation of truth and compromising the openness of mind, right view actually makes the scope of investigation more precise and relevant. Right view points to the relevant things that should be investigated and away from the many other things that are irrelevant, that tend to distract one away from the goal of liberation. Therefore one who has acquired this right view through learning the Buddha's teaching would be able to realise the goal of liberation much faster compare to one who do not have the benefit of the Buddha's teaching, like for example, the Pacceka Buddhas, or even the Fully Enlightened Buddhas, who take a much longer time to attain full enlightenment compared to an arahant disciple who relies on the guidance of an enlightened Buddha. As the saying goes: Why reinvent the wheel?

In fact one of the primary purposes that the Fully Enlightened Buddhas appear in the world is to teach the Dhamma in order to establish people in right view and thus point them in the right direction. If right view is not necessary to achieve the task of liberation, if it would be a hindrance to the task, there would be no need for the Buddhas to arise in the world and to teach the Dhamma and established the Sāsana (dispensation) for the welfare and benefit of the masses.

The idea that one should not subscribe to any views, even those based on the Dhamma, probably is a misunderstanding that stems from the Buddha's famous simile of the raft (Majjhima-Nikāya, Sutta 22). In this simile the Buddha said that the Dhamma that he taught is similar to a raft that should be used not for the purpose of holding on to, but only for the purpose of crossing over from this near shore of saṃsāric suffering to the far shore of Nibbānic bliss. The Buddha gave this simile in response to some bhikkhus at that time who, instead of studying the Dhamma for the purpose of acquiring understanding that will help them on the path of finding release from suffering, were doing so for the purpose of disputing with others. Considered in this context, the Buddha's advice to not hold on to the Dhamma is very appropriate.

There is, however, nothing in the simile that suggests that one should not subscribe to right view that is in accordance with the Dhamma. The simile goes that a man who wishes to cross a large and deep expanse of water, where the near shore is dangerous and fearful while the far shore is safe and free from fear, and where there is neither a boat nor a bridge to carry him across, needs to fashion a raft out of reeds, pieces of wood, branches and leaves, and then, depending on the raft and making effort with his hands and feet, cross over to the safe shore.

The Buddha equated the raft in this simile to the Dhamma. But here Dhamma does not refer to the entire teaching of the Buddha.  According to the Commentary Dhamma here refers to the dhamma (or states) of tranquillity (samatha) and insight (vipassanā). It is by depending on tranquillity and insight developed through the practice of the Dhamma (i.e. meditation) that one crosses over to the safe shore of Nibbāna. The Buddha said that once crossed over the man, even though he appreciates the usefulness of the raft in bringing him across, should nevertheless, rightly leave the raft behind and go on his way instead of holding on to the raft and carrying it along with him wherever he goes thinking that it has been useful to him. And the Buddha concluded the simile by saying that when one understands the Dhamma as being similar to a raft one should abandon even these dhammas, i.e. states of tranquillity and insight, and how much more so, bad dhammas (adhamma).

The Commentary explained this to mean that one who understands that the dhammas of tranquillity and insight as similar to a raft that is to be used only to cross over and not for holding on to, should abandon even the desire and attachment to the peaceful dhamma of tranquillity and the excellent dhamma of insight, not to speak of the desire and attachment to the lowly dhamma of sense pleasures, which the Bhikkhu Ariṭṭha, as was shown at the beginning of the discourse, was very much attached to, to the extent that he even argued that it is not something that is obstructive to the path of liberation.

So, as we can see, what the Buddha is trying to say with this simile is that once the dhammas of tranquillity and insight has served their purpose of transporting one across to the safe shore of Nibbāna, one should let go of them and immersed totally into the unconditioned dhamma (asaṅkhata-dhamma), i.e. Nibbāna. This is because the realisation of Nibbāna transcends both tranquillity and insight which are conditioned dhammas (saṅkhata-dhamma or saṅkhāra). In order to plunge into the unconditioned one need to let go of the conditioned.

As an aside, we should also point out that the dhamma of tranquillity and insight should be let go of only upon reaching the safe shore of Nibbāna, not when one is still in mid-stream or worse, when one has not even step into the water yet and is still on the near shore, as some have mistakenly done so. In their zest to not cling on to anything some have even played down the role of meditation (i.e. development of tranquillity and insight) as a necessary practise to realise liberation from suffering. They say it is enough just to be mindful and clear about what is happening right now. But how does one develop mindfulness and clarity if not through meditation? So, just as one would take hold of the raft on the near shore and launch into the water and not let go of the raft until arriving at the far shore, so too a yogi must not let go of meditation, the development of the dhammas of tranquillity and insight, until Nibbāna is won. You don't throw away your vehicle when you have not yet reached your destination.

So, as we can see here, when the simile of the raft is understood correctly, there is nothing in it to suggest that one should not subscribe even to right view that is in accordance with the Dhamma in order to achieve liberation from suffering.