Warning! This essay was originally quite different, I ended up rejecting my initial proposal, the following has been completely revised.
Additional warning in 2023, I have changed again from “method” to “system”.
The Pali word ñāya is a bit tricky to translate. It’s not all that common, but it’s used in a few significant passages, so clearly it is a meaningful doctrinal term.
It’s from ni + i so there’s a sense of “going, proceeding” to it. It’s used much more commonly in later texts in the sense of “logic, reason, logical principle”. However the exact nuance in the early texts is not obvious.
Here they are, with the Pali, a reference (usually only one of several occurrences), and translations by myself and (usually) Ven Bodhi. I start with the simplest senses.
“Right way”, “correct method” in worldy contexts
- SN 47.19
“So tattha ñāyo”ti bhagavā etadavoca, “yathā medakathālikā antevāsī ācariyaṃ avoca.
“That’s the right way,” said the Buddha, “as the apprentice Medakathālikā said to her teacher.”
“Principles” of goodness, righteousness, the right way to behave
- AN 4.35
bahu’ssa janatā ariye ñāye patiṭṭhāpitā, yadidaṃ kalyāṇadhammatā kusaladhammatā.
Sujato: They’ve established many people in the noble system, that is, the rightness of goodness and wholesomeness.
Bodhi: he is one who has established many people in the noble method, that is, in the goodness of the Dhamma, in the wholesomeness of the Dhamma
Note that above ñāya is eulogized as ariya, whereas below, though the meaning is the same, ariya is omitted.
- AN 2.40
Gihī vā, bhikkhave, pabbajito vā micchāpaṭipanno micchāpaṭipattādhikaraṇahetu na ārādhako hoti ñāyaṃ dhammaṃ kusalaṃ.
Sujato: Because of wrong practice, neither laypeople nor renunciants complete the system of the wholesome teaching.
Bodhi: Whether it is a layperson or one gone forth who is practicing wrongly, because of wrong practice, they do not attain the true way, the Dhamma that is wholesome.
- AN 4.35:
Hitaṃ devamanussānaṃ, ñāyaṃ dhammaṃ pakāsayi
He explained the system of the teaching for the welfare of gods and humans.
The correct manner of practicing, “methodical”, “systematic”, practicing according to the right procedure
- AN 3.70
suppaṭipanno bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho, ujuppaṭipanno bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho, ñāyappaṭipanno bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho, sāmīcippaṭipanno bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho
Sujato: The Saṅgha of the Buddha’s disciples is practicing the way that’s good, direct, systematic, and proper
Bodhi: The Saṅgha of the Blessed One’s disciples is practicing the good way, practicing the straight way, practicing the true way, practicing the proper way
- DN 29
addhāyasmā ñāyappaṭipanno ñāyamārādhessati
‘Clearly the venerable is practicing systematically and will succeed in that system.’
Dependent origination, the “noble process” of cessation of the round
- AN 10.92
ariyo ñāyo paññāya sudiṭṭho hoti suppaṭividdho
Sujato: the noble system that they have clearly seen and penetrated with wisdom
Bodhi: has clearly seen and thoroughly penetrated with wisdom the noble method
Here the word ariya is used again, although the context is much more specific.
The goal of the practice
- AN 3.74
sattānaṃ visuddhiyā sokaparidevānaṃ samatikkamāya dukkhadomanassānaṃ atthaṅgamāya ñāyassa adhigamāya nibbānassa sacchikiriyāya
Sujato: in order to purify sentient beings, to get past sorrow and crying, to make an end of pain and sadness, to comprehend the system, and to realize extinguishment.
Bodhi: for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, for the passing away of pain and dejection, for the achievement of the method, for the realization of nibbāna
After trying out a range of different approaches, I have chosen “system” rather than Ven Bodhi’s “method”. Here’s the reasoning—the ñāya, if you will—I used to arrive at my renderings.
I put the texts in this order because they roughly correlate to how specific and meaningful the context is. If we can determine the meaning based on a relatively clear context, we can see if that applies in less clear contexts.
The first passage is useful, it gives a simple practical example of how the word is used in everyday contexts. The ñāya is the right method to achieve the results that you want.
This meaning seems to still pertain in examples 2–4, where because it sets up a relationship between ñāya and dhammatā. Dhammatā is an abstractive from dhamma, and it is used in the sense of a “law of nature”, a “natural principle”, etc. Here it seems the noble ñāya is simply the principle of goodness; a system or set of rules that, if followed, lead to the desired result.
Next, we have the very common passage on the qualities of the Saṅgha, and a related passage. Once again the idea seems to be that there is a system of ideas or concepts, a method or procedure, which if implemented correctly, lead to the desired result.
Example 7, where the noble ñāya is in the context of dependent origination, is harder to pin down. It seems to be saying that dependent origination itself is the noble ñāya. Here the sense of “method” doesn’t work so well, as a method deals with what you do, while dependent origination is what is. Obviously there is an overlap between these senses, but I feel that “method” doesn’t quite capture it. However, I think “system” works pretty well here. A “system” can mean a “method” for doing something, but it can also mean a “network of interrelated parts”, which is a pretty good description of dependent origination.
Next we come to example 8, which famously appears in the Satipatthana Sutta, although it is not limited to that context. It’s a list of items, all of which are in some way indicating the attaining of the goal of practice.
Now, the commentary explains this as the noble path, and most translators seem to accept this definition as is. However it is not unproblematic. The language and the context strongly suggest that what is meant here is the end of the path, as all the other terms in the passage indicate enlightenment, culminating in the mention of nibbana itself. In thinking of this as the path, the commentary invokes its own idea of the momentary transcendental path (lokuttara), rather than the gradual practice envisaged in the suttas, which the commentaries refer to as “mundane” (lokiya).
ñāyo vuccati ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo, tassa adhigamāya, pattiyāti vuttaṃ hoti. Ayañhi pubbabhāge lokiyo satipaṭṭhānamaggo bhāvito lokuttarassa maggassa adhigamāya saṃvattati
The ñāya is said to be the noble eightfold path; what is said is that one reaches it, attains it. For in this preliminary stage the mundane path of satipatthana is developed, leading to the realization of the transcendental path.
However the notion of the lokuttara path is not found in the suttas, and any explanation that invokes it must be rejected.
What then might it mean? In this case we should come back to first principles, the “principle of least meaning”, and recognize that in such lists, the terms are usually functional synonyms. Since all the other terms here indicate nibbana, and since the relevant action (“to achieve or attain”) is normally used in that sense as well, it seems that in this context ñāya must indicate nibbana in some way.
Here the general sense of “goodness, right method” seems inadequate. The only sense that seems fitting is that of dependent origination, as the cessation sequence is, in fact, nibbana. Thus the whole round of origination and cessation, and the realization of that, can stand for the completion of the noble path and the realization of nibbana.
It is unclear what it could mean to “attain” or “achieve” the path. Perhaps here adhigamāya takes on more of the nuance of “understand, realize, comprehend” rather than “reach, attain”. This is supported by the fact that when dependent origination is definitely the topic, verbs meaning to understand are used.
- AN 10.92
ariyo ñāyo paññāya sudiṭṭho hoti suppaṭividdho
the noble system that they have clearly seen and penetrated with wisdom
In satipatthana, then, we can understand “system” as the “noble system” of dependent origination, which is comprehended as the culmination of the path, and includes the realization of nibbana. Nonetheless, it would be wise to not exclude the traditional understanding of ñāya as “path” here, since it clearly does mean that in some cases and it is possible here too. Indeed, the term is quite likely meant in the general sense of the four noble truths which include the path and dependent origination. The verb “realize” nicely includes both “understand” and “attain”.
- AN 3.74
sattānaṃ visuddhiyā sokaparidevānaṃ samatikkamāya dukkhadomanassānaṃ atthaṅgamāya ñāyassa adhigamāya nibbānassa sacchikiriyāya
in order to purify sentient beings, to get past sorrow and crying, to make an end of pain and sadness, to realize the system, and to realize extinguishment.
