[Verse 1]
There are countless things for us to see,
Endless sounds for us to hear.
We chase possessions, fame, and dreams,
But what can make the heart sincere?
[Verse 2]
See the Dhamma and awaken,
Hear the words that light the way.
Gain a faith that stays within you,
Learn to live with wisdom every day.
[Pre-Chorus]
Do not let your life be wasted,
Do not let your mind be lost.
Choose the things that lift your spirit,
Walk the path beyond the cost.
[Chorus]
The highest things in life
Are not wealth, fame, or gold.
The highest things are wisdom,
And the truth the heart can hold.
The highest things in life
Are the paths that end our pain.
Learning, serving, growing wiser,
Finding peace beyond the rain.
[Verse 3]
If you look, then seek what matters.
If you listen, hear what heals.
If you study, learn to serve,
If you remember, choose what feels
Like a doorway into wisdom,
Like a light that guides the mind,
Like a path beyond attachment,
Leaving suffering behind.
[Bridge]
Six supreme ways to elevate the heart:
Seeing, hearing, gaining, learning,
Serving, remembering with wisdom—
Let them be a noble start.
[Final Chorus]
The highest things in life
Are the choices that we make.
Every thought and every action
Shapes the path our lives will take.
The highest things in life
Lead the restless heart to peace.
From confusion into wisdom,
From desire into release.
[Outro]
Choose what you see.
Choose what you hear.
Choose what you learn.
Choose what you remember.
For every choice we make
Becomes a part of who we are.
The Anuttariya Teachings: Six Supreme Pursuits for Elevating Human Life
The Buddhist Canon presents six supreme pursuits that encourage people to choose what they see, hear, gain, study, serve, and remember in ways that lead toward wisdom, purity, and freedom from suffering.
The Anuttariya Vagga, found in the Aṅguttara Nikāya, Chakkanipāta, Tipitaka Volume 22, consists of ten discourses: the Sāmaka Sutta, Aparihāniya Sutta, Bhaya Sutta, Himavanta Sutta, Anussatiṭṭhāna Sutta, Kaccāna Sutta, two Samaya Suttas, the Udāyī Sutta, and the Anuttariya Sutta.
The Sāmaka Sutta: Six Causes of Decline
The Sāmaka Sutta identifies six conditions that can lead to decline from wholesome qualities: being excessively fond of work, excessive talking, excessive sleep, excessive socializing, being difficult to admonish, and keeping bad company.
The teaching presents these six factors as causes of decline from wholesome qualities in the past, present, and future. The message is therefore not simply about avoiding activity, but about recognizing when habits, social relationships, and distractions begin to weaken one's spiritual development.
The Six Supreme Things
The culmination of the chapter appears in the Anuttariya Sutta, where the Buddha describes six forms of excellence.
1. Supreme Seeing
The highest form of seeing is not merely seeing something beautiful or valuable in the worldly sense. It is seeing the Buddha or his disciples with firm confidence and deep faith, in a way that supports purification and liberation from suffering.
2. Supreme Hearing
Not everything we hear has the same value. The discourse distinguishes ordinary entertainment from hearing the Dhamma taught by the Buddha or his disciples. Such hearing can lead toward understanding, purification, and liberation.
3. Supreme Gain
Material possessions, family, and worldly success may be valuable, but the supreme gain is firm confidence in the Buddha or his disciples—a gain that supports inner development and freedom from suffering.
4. Supreme Training
Learning worldly skills has its practical value, but the supreme training is the cultivation of higher morality, higher mind, and higher wisdom within the Buddha's teaching.
5. Supreme Service
There are many forms of service, but service directed toward the Buddha or his disciples, when grounded in genuine faith and directed toward wholesome purposes, is described as supreme.
6. Supreme Recollection
People naturally remember possessions, achievements, relationships, and worldly experiences. Yet the supreme recollection is recollection of the Buddha or his disciples, because such recollection can help overcome sorrow and suffering and support the realization of liberation.
From What We Enjoy to What Elevates Us
The six principles suggest that the value of life is not measured simply by how much we see, hear, gain, or learn.
Instead, the deeper question is: What direction does each experience take the mind?
What we see should contribute to wisdom.
What we hear should deepen understanding.
What we gain should strengthen wholesome qualities.
What we study should improve morality, concentration, and wisdom.
What we serve should benefit others.
What we remember should lead the mind toward peace rather than attachment.
A Buddhist Framework for the Digital Age
In the modern digital environment, people encounter images, sounds, information, entertainment, advertising, and social media continuously.
The Anuttariya teachings can therefore be interpreted as a framework for mindful selection.
Before watching something, ask: Does this elevate the mind?
Before listening, ask: Does this increase wisdom or distraction?
Before pursuing something, ask: Does this enrich life or merely increase desire?
Before studying, ask: Will this knowledge make me a better human being?
Before dwelling on a memory, ask: Does this recollection lead toward peace or suffering?
Conclusion
The Anuttariya Vagga offers a timeless principle: a meaningful life is not necessarily the life that experiences the most, possesses the most, or knows the most. It is the life that learns to choose what is most beneficial for the development of the mind.
The teaching moves human beings from consumption toward cultivation, from distraction toward mindfulness, and from information toward wisdom.
Its central message can be expressed simply:
Choose carefully what you see, hear, seek, study, serve, and remember—because what we repeatedly choose gradually shapes the mind and the life we live.
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