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Yathābhūtañāṇadassana — Knowledge and Vision of the Way Things Are

This is part 12 of a course going through the similes and metaphors of the Buddha.

Illustration by Ayya Vimalayani aka "Ven Yodha"

The culmination of insight, yathābhūtañāṇadassana is a complete transformation of how we perceive the world: from assuming its stability and sufficiency to seeing its ephemerality and repulsiveness.

Textbook

Read Chapter 11 of:

Suttas

Similes

Hecker similes: 17, 28, 67 and 84.

Reflections

Poets have long noted the irony that the law of impermanence is itself eternal. Do the similes here play on that irony? What other ironies can you notice in these selections?