Hi Ñāṇa,
Ñāṇa wrote:
This accords with the basic path sequence as outlined in the suttas as follows: dissatisfaction (dukkha) → faith (saddhā) → gladness (pāmojja) → joy (pīti) → tranquility (passaddhi) → pleasure (sukha) → meditative composure (samādhi) → gnosis & vision of things as they are (yathābhūtañāṇadassana) → disenchantment (nibbidā) → dispassion (virāga) → liberation (vimutti) → gnosis of elimination (khayeñāṇa).
This developmental path sequence is found in SN 12.23 (S ii 29) Upanisa Sutta. This same developmental sequence, or significant portions of it, is also presented in Vin i 294, D i 73, D i 182, D i 207, D i 214, D i 232, D i 250, D iii 241, D iii 279, D iii 288, M i 37, M i 283, S iv 78, S iv 351-8, S v 156, S v 398, A i 243, A iii 21, A iii 285, A v 1-6, A v 312, A v 315, A v 317, A v 329, A v 333.
Do you feel the gradual training (GT) is sequential in a strictly linear sense--e.g., you can't move on to saddhā without first having comprehended dukkha--or do you think it can progress more like a spiral--e.g., a little dukkha comprehending followed by a little saddhā, etc..., all the way through khayeñāṇa, then back to dukkha but with a little more comprehension of dukkha than the initial comprehending?
Also, and corollary to the above, do you believe you have to start with dukkha, or can you focus on another step and then work with the other aspects?
metta