Method (nyāya): awareness, or direct seeing (rigpa, Tib.), as the method of cutting through defilements (kleshas); recognition of the absolute nature of phenomena — their lack of inherent existence, especially the emptiness of “self” of inherent existence; in this state, the true nature of consciousness is revealed.
Realization (pratipatti): mastering the wisdom (prajñā) that directly realizes the absence of inherent existence in phenomena and the “empty nature” of the mind; becoming accustomed to the absence of a truly existing inherent “self.”
True liberation (nairyāṇika): complete eradication of subtle cognitive obstacles — the “cognitive veils” (āvaraṇa); the subtlest obstacles are tied to clinging to the notion of an independent, true, inherently existing “self.”
Meditation on the four aspects of the Truth of the Path, as with the four aspects of the Truth of Cessation, is performed to give rise to a sincere aspiration for liberation.
Presumed Fruits of Meditation on the Noble Truths
According to the Abhidharmakosha, the fruit of the practice of seeing the Noble Truths is the elimination of false views, the eradication of distortions of consciousness, and the attainment of the status of “stream-enterer” (shrotāpanna). This refers to the following five false views (Sanskrit: pañca dṛṣṭi-svabhāvāḥ — “five whose inner nature is false views”):
“Belief in the reality of the personality” — either the belief that there is a substantial “self” (ātman) and not the five causally conditioned groups of dharmas (the five skandhas), or the belief that both a “self” and the five skandhas belonging to that “self” exist. (See also Anātmavāda.)
“Heresy of clinging to extreme views” — attachment to extreme notions of the eternity of the “self” or of its complete annihilation at the moment of death.
“Truly false views” — denial of the reality of wholesome and unwholesome karma and of the existence of noble beings (arya-pudgala).
“Attachment to heretical views” — affective egoism based on the mistaken belief that gaining new rebirths in samsara is the highest good.
“Attachment to false practice of vows and rituals” — ritualism, the belief in the intrinsic value of the rules and rituals of Brahmanic and other non-Buddhist schools. Distortions of consciousness (viparyāsa) — distorted perceptions of reality and distorted thoughts associated with false views.