Rays of the Sun

Chapter 1 – Certainty

Certainties

Buddhism is unique in its approach to our condition – to how we happen to find ourselves in our world. The denpa nam-zhi 3—the four fundamental certainties—are where we start. They mark the point at which we can begin to decipher our predicament – that is to say, our sense of unsatisfactoriness. These certainties, are the very basis of the path and the key to all further exploration and discovery on the path.

The denpa nam-zhi are as follows:

  1. dug-ngal denpa 4 – the fundamental certainty of the existence of experience of unsatisfactoriness;
  2. kun’jung-pa’i denpa 5 – the fundamental certainty of the origin of the experience of unsatisfactoriness;
  3. ’gog-pa’i denpa – the fundamental certainty of the possibility of the cessation of the experience of unsatisfactoriness; and
  4. lam-gyi denpa 7 – the fundamental certainty of methods to realise the cessation of the experience of unsatisfactoriness.

3. bDen pa rNam bZhi

4. sDug bsNgal bDen pa – Skt: dukkhasatya

5. kun ’byung ba’i bDen pa – Skt: samudayasatya

6. ’gog pa’i bDen pa – Skt: nirodhasatya

7. lam gyi bDen pa – Skt: rgasatya