This course involves lessons which lead students through a stepwise, progressive enumeration of groups of Dhammas similar to that found in the Aṅguttara Nikāya. The Course is broken up into Eight Units with each unit providing enough material for a suggested two weeks of in-depth study. The course discussion forum hosted through Discord can be reached through the link to the right.
1.5 – Wholesomeness and Unwholesomeness (Kusala and Akusala)
Overview
Two concepts lie at the base of the Buddha’s insights into reality and ethics: there is what is (1) wholesome/skillful (kusala) and what is (2) unwholesome/unskillful (akusala). Though there are discourses where the Buddha speaks of eventually transcending this dichotomy, this provisional distinction is paramount for a proper understanding of Right View as understood in a Theravada context. Far from being ambiguous like the English “good” and “bad”, kusala and akusala are very clearly defined in the Pāli context. This section and those which follow will begin to explore these essential concepts through primary texts and engaging commentary focused on lived practice.
You may download the topic’s flashcard deck on Quizlet or Anki for further study.
“When, friends, a noble disciple understands … the wholesome, the root of the wholesome, in that way he is one of right view, whose view is straight, who has perfect confidence in the Dhamma, and has arrived at this true Dhamma. And what is the wholesome? Abstention from killing living beings is wholesome; abstention from taking what is not given is wholesome; abstention from misconduct in sensual pleasures is wholesome; abstention from false speech is wholesome; abstention from malicious speech is wholesome; abstention from harsh speech is wholesome; abstention from gossip is wholesome; non-covetousness is wholesome; non-ill will is wholesome; right view is wholesome. This is called the wholesome. And what is the root of the wholesome? Non-greed is a root of the wholesome; non-hate is a root of the wholesome; non-delusion is a root of the wholesome. This is called the root of the wholesome.”
“Develop what is skillful, monks. It is possible to develop what is skillful. If it were not possible to develop what is skillful, I would not say to you, ‘Develop what is skillful.’ But because it is possible to develop what is skillful, I say to you, ‘Develop what is skillful.’ If this development of what is skillful were conducive to harm and pain, I would not say to you, ‘Develop what is skillful.’ But because this development of what is skillful is conducive to benefit and pleasure, I say to you, ‘Develop what is skillful.'”
“When, friends, a noble disciple understands the unwholesome, the root of the unwholesome … in that way he is one of right view, whose view is straight, who has perfect confidence in the Dhamma, and has arrived at this true Dhamma. And what, friends, is the unwholesome, what is the root of the unwholesome, what is the wholesome, what is the root of the wholesome? Killing living beings is unwholesome; taking what is not given is unwholesome; misconduct in sensual pleasures is unwholesome; false speech is unwholesome; malicious speech is unwholesome; harsh speech is unwholesome; gossip is unwholesome; covetousness is unwholesome; ill will is unwholesome; wrong view is unwholesome. This is called the unwholesome. And what is the root of the unwholesome? Greed is a root of the unwholesome; hate is a root of the unwholesome; delusion is a root of the unwholesome. This is called the root of the unwholesome.”
“Abandon what is unskillful, monks. It is possible to abandon what is unskillful. If it were not possible to abandon what is unskillful, I would not say to you, ‘Abandon what is unskillful.’ But because it is possible to abandon what is unskillful, I say to you, ‘Abandon what is unskillful.’ If this abandoning of what is unskillful were conducive to harm and pain, I would not say to you, ‘Abandon what is unskillful.’ But because this abandoning of what is unskillful is conducive to benefit and pleasure, I say to you, ‘Abandon what is unskillful.”
Review (Click text for answer)
“(1) Abstention from killing living beings is wholesome; (2) abstention from taking what is not given is wholesome; (3) abstention from misconduct in sensual pleasures is wholesome; (4) abstention from false speech is wholesome; (5) abstention from malicious speech is wholesome; (6) abstention from harsh speech is wholesome; (7) abstention from gossip is wholesome; (8) non-covetousness is wholesome; (9) non-ill will is wholesome; (10) right view is wholesome. This is called the wholesome.”
Suggestion: The first three actions (numbers (1)-(3)) involve ethics of the body and, as we will see in the later section on the Eightfold Path, constitute the definition of Right Action. The next four actions (numbers (4)-(7)) involve ethics of speech and constitute the definition of Right Speech in the Eightfold Path. The final three actions (numbers (8)-(10)) represent ethics of the mind and constitute the Path factors of Right Resolve and Right View.
“(1) Non-greed is a root of the wholesome; (2) non-hate is a root of the wholesome; (3) non-delusion is a root of the wholesome. This is called the root of the wholesome.”
Yes! “It is possible to develop what is skillful. If it were not possible to develop what is skillful, I would not say to you, ‘Develop what is skillful.’ But because it is possible to develop what is skillful, I say to you, ‘Develop what is skillful.’”
The Buddha says “it is possible to develop the skillful” because (1) “it is possible to develop what is skillful”, and (2) “this development of what is skillful is conducive to benefit and pleasure.”
“(1) Killing living beings is unwholesome; (2) taking what is not given is unwholesome; (3) misconduct in sensual pleasures is unwholesome; (4) false speech is unwholesome; (5) malicious speech is unwholesome; (6) harsh speech is unwholesome; (7) gossip is unwholesome; (8) covetousness is unwholesome; (9) ill will is unwholesome; (10) wrong view is unwholesome. This is called the unwholesome.”
“(1) greed is a root of the unwholesome; (2) hate is a root of the unwholesome; (3) delusion is a root of the unwholesome. This is called the root of the unwholesome.”
“Abstention from killing living beings is wholesome, etc.: Here “killing living beings,” etc. have the same meaning as aforesaid. It crushes the hostile, thus it is abstention; the meaning is that it abandons the hostile … But as to the meaning, abstention is refraining associated with wholesome consciousness. What is stated thus: “For one refraining from killing living beings, that which is on that occasion the leaving off, the refraining”, that is the refraining associated with wholesome consciousness. As to kind, it is threefold: refraining in the presence of opportunity, refraining because of an undertaking, and refraining because of eradication (of defilements).”
“Non-greed is a root of the wholesome, etc.: Non-greed is not greed; this is a term for the state that is opposed to greed. The same method applies in the case of non-hate and non-delusion. Among these, non-greed is itself wholesome; and it is a root of these wholesome (courses of kamma) beginning with abstention from killing living beings, for some in the sense that it is an associated originative cause and for some in the sense that it is a decisive support condition. Thus it is a wholesome root. The same method applies to the state of being wholesome roots in the cases of non-hate and non-delusion. “
“As regards the passage beginning “killing living beings is unwholesome”, “unwholesome” should be understood by way of the occurrence of unwholesomeness, or as what is opposed to the wholesome … As to characteristic, it is blameworthy and has painful result, or it is defiled. This, in the first place, is the comment upon the general terms here.”
“Greed is a root of the unwholesome, etc.: It is greedy, thus it is greed; it offends against (it hates), thus it is hate; it deludes, thus it is delusion. Among these, greed is itself unwholesome in the sense that it is blameworthy and has painful results; and it is a root of these unwholesome (deeds) beginning with killing living beings, for some in the sense that it is an associated originative cause, for some in the sense that it is a decisive support condition. Thus it is an unwholesome root. This too is said: “One who is lustful, friends, overwhelmed and with mind obsessed by lust, kills a living being”. The same method applies to the state of being unwholesome roots in the cases of hate and delusion.”
Review (Click text for answer)
“(1) refraining in the presence of opportunity; (2) refraining because of an undertaking, and (3) refraining because of eradication (of defilements).”
In certain cases, “non-greed” is a cause for restraint: (1) ”in the sense that it is an associated originative cause and (2) for some [cases] in the sense that it is a decisive support condition.”
“As to characteristic, it is blameworthy and has painful result, or it is defiled.”
“(1) One who is lustful, friends, overwhelmed and with mind obsessed by lust, kills a living being” etc.; (2) One who is hateful overwhelmed and with mind obsessed by hate, kills a living being, etc.; (3) One who is deluded overwhelmed and with mind obsessed by delusion, kills a living being, etc.
“The Buddha’s teachings, like the principles they describe, are inter-related in complex ways. It is difficult to point out any one teaching that underlies everything else, as all the teachings are mutually dependent. Nevertheless, there are a number of possible entry points into their pattern, and one of those points is the Buddha’s observation that it is possible to master a skill … [The] Buddha looked directly at skillful action in and of itself, worked out its implications in viewing knowledge itself as a skill — rather than a body of facts — and found that those implications carried him all the way to release … The fact that skills can be developed implies that action is not illusory, that it actually gives results. Otherwise, there would be no such thing as skill, for no actions would be more effective than others. The fact of skillfulness also implies that some results are preferable to others, for otherwise there would be no point in trying to develop skills. In addition, the fact that it is possible to learn from mistakes in the course of developing a skill, so that one’s future actions may be more skillful, implies that the cycle of action, result, and reaction is not entirely deterministic, and that acts of perception, attention, and intention can actually provide new input as the cycle goes through successive turns. The important element in this input is attention. Anyone who has mastered a skill will realize that the process of attaining mastery requires attention to three things: (1) to pre-existing conditions, (2) to what one is doing in relation to those conditions, and (3) to the results that come from one’s actions. This threefold focus enables one to monitor one’s actions and adjust them accordingly.”
“[The] direction of the wandering-on was not haphazard, that it moved in accordance with the ethical quality of the deeds that the person carried out. This knowledge showed that there are energies that are disruptive or abusive and do not sustain clarity or health; and there are energies that are harmonious, nourishing or clearly attuned. ‘Bad’ and ‘good’ (or ‘unskilful/unwholesomedark’ and ‘skilful/wholesome/bright’ in Buddhist terms) are consequently not just value judgements imposed by a society. They are references to energies that are psychologically, emotionally and physically palpable. Action in line with wholesome energy supports well-being and harmony, just as the contrary does the opposite. This is the principle of ethical cause and effect, or ‘kamma-vipāka’.”
“What helps, in meditation and in daily life, is to learn how to sustain and moderate one’s sense of purpose; how to be sensitive and authentic in oneself and in relationship to other people; and how to value and guide the energy that we apply to our lives. All this and more comes under the topic of kamma. We therefore need to get very familiar with what is skilful kamma in terms of both subtle internal and obvious external changing contexts.”
“[Evil] exists on its own in the world, by its nature. But people who haven’t thought about it or observed it misunderstand things. They think that evil comes from what the Buddha taught, and so they don’t pay it any attention because they think good and evil were made up by the Buddha. In this way, good and evil get all mixed up together, without anyone knowing their truth. But the Buddha … was able to tell what was unhusked rice, what was husked rice, what was bran, and what was chaff. He then sorted them into separate lots so that people could choose whichever they prefer, with the realization that each of us is responsible for his or her own kamma: Whoever does good will have to meet with good; whoever does evil will have to meet with evil.”
“Kusala and akusala, a pair of terms coined by the Buddha, are the primary terms to evaluate human behavior and morality. Literally, kusala can be differently rendered as skilful, intelligent, expert; good, right, virtuous, meritorious, beneficial; lucky, happy, healthy and prosperous, as the context demands. Akusala can, therefore, be translated into English as the opposite qualities from kusala such as unskillful, bad and so on. Like the concept of dhamma, no single English word can convey or render exactly what kusala denotes. According to Keown, it is very common for kusala to be rendered as ‘skilful,’ but it should be recognized that this translation carries with it a specific implication for the nature of Buddhist ethics, namely that it is utilitarian. Even then, he warned us, it is a poor translation on aesthetic grounds, and we may note that utilitarian philosophers retain the traditional moral terminology of ‘good,’ ‘bad,’ right,’ and ‘wrong.’”
Review (Click text for answer)
Ajahn Thanissaro teaches that developing the wholesome is a skill – like carpentry or guitar playing – which can be practiced and mastered.
”[The] process of attaining mastery requires attention to three things: (1) to pre-existing conditions, (2) to what one is doing in relation to those conditions, and (3) to the results that come from one’s actions. This threefold focus enables one to monitor one’s actions and adjust them accordingly.”
”‘Bad’ and ‘good’ (or ‘unskilful/unwholesomedark’ and ‘skilful/wholesome/bright’ in Buddhist terms) are consequently not just value judgements imposed by a society. They are references to energies that are psychologically, emotionally and physically palpable.”
”[The] Buddha … was able to tell what was unhusked rice, what was husked rice, what was bran, and what was chaff. He then sorted them into separate lots so that people could choose whichever they prefer, with the realization that each of us is responsible for his or her own kamma”
”Kusala can be differently rendered as skilful, intelligent, expert; good, right, virtuous, meritorious, beneficial; lucky, happy, healthy and prosperous, as the context demands. Akusala can, therefore, be translated into English as the opposite qualities from kusala such as unskillful, bad and so on.”
