In the Canki Sutta we have something of a sequel to the Kālāma Suta, and as such they might be considered like the Thought Trilogy as a kind of duet.
A brahmin called Caṅkī makes the case for why he should see the ascetic Gotama, rather than wait for Gotama to visit him - for one thing, he is a guest at their property. Among the other reasons are some good considerations for buddhānusati, such as that the Buddha went forth while young, in the prime of his life, and as such is an exemplary model of renunciation .
Kapathika/Bharadvaja asks the Buddha what he thinks of the brahmanic teachings, and the Buddha walks him through understanding that the brahmins did not teach from direct experience of knowing and seeing the truth.
It is said that five things
- faith,
- inclination,
- oral tradition,
- method of thinking, and
- accepting a view after consideration
can turn out in two ways.
A view is held on faith, inclination, etc., but is
empty, hollow false
Or a view is not held on faith, but is
factual, true, and not otherwise
For this reason, no wise person who wishes to preserve the truth would ‘come to the definite conclusion: “Only this is true, anything else is wrong.”’ They trust their view is correct, holding it lightly with confidence, and applying it until new information emerges. One says they believe something on faith, but makes no truth claims.
Preserving the Truth
In this way, one protects truth even if they haven’t seen it directly, but the sutta goes on to say how we do that: we awaken to the truth by finding a teacher who is free of greed, hatred, and delusion, and we put our faith in them after due process.
Awakening to the Truth
By finding a teacher who is free of greed, hatred, and delusion, and by putting our faith in them, we trigger a cascade moving through what seems like stream-entry, and ending in full awakening - after finding a trustworthy teacher, we visit them, pay respects, listen, hear, remember, and examine the meaning of the dhamma, we gain reflective acceptance of the dhamma, giving rise to aspiration, will, deliberation, and striving.
Resolutely striving, he realises with the body the highest truth and personally experiences it by completely penetrating it with wisdom. In this way, Bhāradvāja, there is awakening to the truth.
Final Arrival at the Truth
Through and frequent cultivation of that same dhamma, one experiences final arrival at the truth.
Striving is most helpful in arriving at the truth. And what supports striving? Deliberation, will, aspiration, etc., and the list is presented in reverse.