Abstract

This thesis has three objectives; to study an Obstruction of Enlightenment appeared in Theravāda Buddhist Scriptures, to study Cessation in Vipassanādīpanīṭīkā Scripture and to study an Obstruction of Enlightenment: a Case Study of Cessation Appearing in Vipassanādīpanīṭīkā Scripture. Clarified data are taken from the Theravada Buddhist scriptures and other related documents, then composed, summarized, analyzed, explained in details, corrected and verified by Buddhist scholars. From the study it found that;

Anāvītikkamantaraya means an intention to violate the seven groups of disciplines (Vinaya), which consist of Pārājika (Major Offences), Saṅghādisesa (Formal Meeting), Thullaccaya (Serious Transgression), Pācittiya (Minor Offence), Pāṭidesanīya (an offence to be confessed), Dukkaṭa (an offence of wrongdoing) and Dubbhāsita (an offence of wrong speech). Violating any of these will result a practitioner in not being able to reach Nibbāna unless one’s offense has been cleared according to the Vinaya rules so one can be out of danger. However, monks who have offended a Pārājika (Major Offence) cannot be recovered because such is a serious offence that one has to be out of monkhood. Several meditation masters suggested that one who had transgressed such offence should leave monkhood and re-ordain as a novice or make oneself a lay disciple before one could continue practicing meditation.

Insight Meditation practice, according to Theravada Buddhist Scriptures, is to train oneself until one’s wisdom is developed. That is when one can see clearly true nature of things, also one’s own movements, thoughts and feelings. Such wisdom would lead one out of clinging to any kind of self, to the feelings that things are permanent, thus, blissful. One will acknowledge any current phenomena without being under control of defilements. Thus, one would reach the end of suffering, which means one would be enlightened, gaining Magga, Phala and Nibbāna.

Intending to violate the seven groups of disciplines or Anāvītikkamantaraya yields harmful affect to Visuddhi, the stages of purity. This is because Sīla (morality) is the root of all purity. If a monk has intended to violate it and has not reformed himself in order to purify his Sīla then his morality is incomplete. When one is with incomplete moral one could not gain one-pointedness of mind. He also could not reach Vipassana-Nāna (insight knowledge). This is because the First Knowledge, (Nāmarūpa-pariccheda Ñāṇa-knowledge of the delimitation of mentality-materiality), will rise only when one realizes the cause of rise and fall of form and name, which is called Diṭṭhivisuddhi (purification of view). And one could only get to this stage of purification after one has passed the other two, Sīlavisuddhi (purity of morality) and Cittavisuddhi (Purity of mentality) because both are the root of Insight Meditation practice.

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