Abstract

This thesis has three objectives: to study the dhamma taught in Āgankeyya Sutta, to study how insight meditation is taught in the Theravādā Buddhist Scriptures and to study how insight meditation is practiced in Āgankeyya Sutta. Clarified and analyzed data are taken from the Theravāda Buddhist scriptures namely, the Tipitaka, Buddhist commentaries, Tīga, and other related scriptures such as the Visuddhimagga then composed, explained in details, corrected and verified by Buddhist scholars.

Āgankeyya Sutta, was collected and written by PhraDhammasanghagacara.  It is a verse appeared in the Majjhimanikāya (Collection of Middle-length Discourses). The main teachings stated in this Sutta are about the wisdom to see that Nāma (mind) and Rūpa (material) are: impermanent, deteriorated, suffering, not self and are wasted.  When practitioners understand all these facts he will know that Nāma and Rūpa are fearful and possess no meaning. Thus the mind would stop attaching to them and the bondage will be extinguished. The meaning of Āgankeyya Sutta, when interpreted, will be with all the said meanings. However, in order to see them more clearly, please study from the table below to see the actor, the one acted upon and the results of action.

The Four Foundations of Mindfulness’s insight meditation is the method for mind-training so that practitioners gain the wisdom to understand thoroughly the Four Noble Truths. This can be done by contemplating the true nature of all things using Nāma and Rūpa as their bases until one can see the Three Characteristics of the impermanence, suffering and not self with the free-from-attaching conditions. Insight meditation practice, using the Four Foundations of Mindfulness method in contemplating the body, feelings, mind and mind-objects, is the only way for any practitioners to escape suffering and sadness. Thus, Satipaṭṭhāna or foundations of mindfulness is the only path that can lead all beings out of sufferings.

From the study it is found that Āgankeyya Sutta contains the very important teachings about Vipassanabhavāna practice. This is because it contains the wisdom about Tebhumisankhāra dhamma, which is to gain the knowledge orderly and truly. That is, the impermanence, suffering and not self is considered the wisdom while the deliverance is the path leading ones out of imprisonment. There are 5 ways to extinguish bondage: not to mingle with others, to refrain from the sense-objects, to contemplate the Three Characteristics, to contemplate the harmfulness in all the bondage’s factors and to avoid the three existences. This can be done by conducting oneself in the Threefold Training because there is a higher dhamma called Vimutti, which leads practitioners to Nibbāna.

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