One becomes a Stream-enterer only by understanding the Four Noble Truths. Without understanding them, can one become a Stream-enterer? Isn't this worth contemplating?
Who is it that doesn't understand the Four Noble Truths? (It's ignorance, Venerable Sir). Who doesn't understand the Five Aggregates? (Ignorance, Venerable Sir). Who wrongly conceives the Five Aggregates as being people, devas, or brahmas? (Ignorance, Venerable Sir).
With wrong conception, who creates desire? (Craving, Venerable Sir). What clings with the thought "must have it"? (Clinging, Venerable Sir). Isn't this taught as ignorance, craving, and clinging? As a cycle, this is the cycle of defilements. When we categorize ignorance, craving, and clinging under the Noble Truths, which Truth is it? (The Truth of Origin, Venerable Sir).
Is the Truth of Origin a person? A deva? A brahma? Sons and daughters? Is it a self that knows it as the Truth of Origin, or is it the Path? When there are causes of Origin, don't the resultant aggregates arise?
What appears - beings or Five Aggregates? Can any being who gets these aggregates escape aging, sickness, and death? Which Truth is this? (The Truth of Suffering, Venerable Sir). Isn't this taught as Origin and Suffering? This needs careful examination.
Know the Five Aggregates as impermanent, know them as suffering, know them as non-self. When the Five Aggregates are understood, doesn't wrong view fall away? Doesn't doubt cease? Origin arises because we wrongly conceive the Five Aggregates as beings.
That's why the Sayadaw Sunlun taught, "Misperceiving the five leads to overturning the five" - referring to eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body. Isn't it wrong conception to take these as being a person?
When there's wrong conception, isn't it taught "With ignorance as condition, formations arise"? One creates meritorious formations, demeritorious formations, and imperturbable formations.
"With formations as condition, consciousness" - don't we get the aggregates? Which Truth is this? (The Truth of Suffering, Venerable Sir). Isn't this worth examining? Right conception is needed.
When we know the Five Aggregates as impermanent, as suffering, as non-self, isn't that right conception? When the Five Aggregates are understood, doesn't wrong view fall away? Doesn't doubt cease?
When impermanence, suffering, and non-self are understood, doesn't craving die? Doesn't clinging fall away? Don't the four taints end? Doesn't the Truth of Origin die? Doesn't the cycle of aggregates end? Isn't this called the Truth of Cessation? Let us strive to reach this stage...
