To Do List for Nirvana
Today: overcome delusions (refer to Wheel of Life* above)
(1) avidya - ignorance
(2) samskara - volitional acts
(3) vijnana - consciousness
(4) nama rupa - mind/body
(5) ayatanas - 6 sense organs & their objects
(6) sparsha - contact
(7) vedana - feeling
(8) trishna - craving
(9) upadana - grasping
(10) bhava - coming to be
(11) jati - birth
(12) jaramarana - old age and death
Buddhism loves lists. I love lists. Therefore I love Buddhism.
Thich Nhat Hanh describes the ultimate master list of Buddhist lists:
“… a collection (‘basket’) of Buddhist teachings called Abhidharma* (‘super Dharma’). These are extended explanations of the teachings the Buddha gave. At first, in order to lend credence to their work, the authors of the Abhidharma tried to make these writings look like discourses of the Buddha. In the second stage, these writings were accepted as independent and given the name Abhidharma. During the third stage, as Abhidharma developed, it became more and more analytical. This fine and detailed analysis is often dry and difficult to understand. Sometimes it is analysis just for the sake of analysis, rather than guidance for the practice to help us transform our suffering. The fourth and final stage of Abhidharma was to shorten and simplify the long, detailed analyses so that they became easier to understand.” (pg. 230)
— The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching* by Thich Nhat Hanh
