This is the noblest moment!

An aeon is a very long period of time. This is how it was shown through a simile. There is a huge rock which is ten kilometres high, 10kms wide and 10kms long. A person wipes this rock with a smooth cloth once in every hundred years. After a long time, that rock will be waned to the level of the ground. But the aeon would not have finished yet. How many billions of aeons made up of such a long durations, would we have passed in this samsara journey?

Even the one who gains the state of universal kingship will not be free from the four bad destinations until the Four Noble Truths have been realised. How many times would we also have been universal kings? Now, we do not have any of the thirty-two special signs that those universal kings had back then. Very rarely, we went to the heavenly worlds and the brahma worlds. Now we arrived to the human world. Who knows of how long of a period of time we have spent in the animal world? Who knows of how long of a period of time we have suffered in the hell worlds and the ghost worlds?

Until now, we did not know that we were entangling in a samsara journey for such a long time embracing birth, ageing, and death. However, now we know about it. Now we know what the real danger in our lives is. Now we know why we have inherited an unending samsara journey up until now.

We got to know about it because of the Supreme Dhamma expounded to us by the most fortunate, Arahant Gautama Supreme Buddha a marvellous human being that arose in the human world extremely rarely.

It is the Most Fortunate One who explained to us that no one could be free from the four bad destinations until the realisation of the Four Noble Truths. It is He who explained to us what the Four Noble Truths are. It is the most Blessed One who expounded to us that we wander in such a long journey in the samsara not because of something permanent or unchangeable, but because of the principle of cause and effect. Also, it was the Supreme Buddha who expounded to us that there is a nature where if the cause does not exist, the fruit also does not exist.

The Supreme Buddha was the one who expounded to us that one can acquire ‘Yathabhutha gnanaya’ (the wisdom of seeing the reality) about the life which is formed from this Dependent origination.

Conditioned things in the world are impermanent, all impermanent things belong to suffering, as all that is suffering cannot be kept according to one’s wish, and therefore they become non-self, these were all explained by our Great Teacher. The realisation of that reality can be achieved by a wise person; this was also explained to us by the Supreme Buddha. Then, realises the nature of life which is formed from the Dependent origination, because of that, arises the disappointment, then by eliminating the craving about it, finally liberate from all suffering, these were all also explained by the Supreme Buddha.

When the causes of suffering which is formed from Dependent origination do not exist, he liberates from suffering, this was also expounded to us by the Supreme Buddha. That person experience the extreme noble comfort, which is called Supreme Bliss of Nibbana, and as that Bliss of Nibbana did not arise from causes, there is no birth, ageing or death there; these were also explained by our Supreme Buddha.

To attain Nibbana one should practice the Noble Eightfold Path consisting of virtue (Sila), Concentration (Samadhi), and Wisdom (panna), when that Noble Path is completed, one could attain Nibbana; the supreme state of sublime peace; these were also expounded by the Supreme Buddha.

It was our Supreme Buddha who showed us and expounded that by developing the four attainments of enlightenment, the fruit of stream-entry, the fruit of once-returning, the fruit of non-returning and the fruit of Arahantship, a wise person can free from defilements gradually to attain Nibbana.

Though we had a lot of people who loved us so much, none of those had told us about this. Though so many are affectionate to us, many of them do not like us liberating from this samsara. The Noble Truths have been expounded by our Supreme Buddha out of His compassion to us in such a human world.

In this noblest moment, if we do not try to realise the Four Noble Truths, we will not be able to liberate ourselves from this samsara in which one can easily be fallen into the four bad destinations. Therefore we should try to understand the Four Noble Truths heedfully. This is the Noblest Moment! When are we going to meet such a noble moment in this samsara again?

Most Venerable Kiribathgoda Gnanananda Thero