Dimensions of Dharma Integration : Dharma Description in a Vertical View

Abstract

In the Vipassana meditation practice, practitioners experience a variety of mental phenomena and acquire various levels of “Vipassana Ñāna” (Knowledge in Insight Meditation), which comes in a few sets. When describing these Ñānas, one usually picks the set of Vipassanā Ñāna 16 and describes it in details. This kind of method is considered as a Vertical Description of the Dharma. It is very common in monks’ sermon delivery in Thailand. In this article, I’ll be presenting another kind of method, a Horizontal Description of the Dharma. Through this method, one would see concurring Dharmas, aka Dhammasamaṇgῑ - Dharmma Integration, occurred during the meditation practice. The method fosters Dhamma-vicaya - Dharma contemplation, where one would thoroughly and widely analyze and investigate the teachings of Lord Buddha. Once obtaining the right understanding of the Dharmas, one would be able to explain them from any angle or viewpoint. I’ll be using this description method to explain the integration of the following Dharmas: Visuddhi 7 (Seven Stages of Purity), Vipassanā Ñāna 16 (16 Stages of Knowledge in Insight Meditation), Ariyasacca 4 (Four Noble Truths), Sikkhā 3 (Three Stages of Learning), and Magga 8 (the Eightfold Path).