A.　　 The Individual
　　 Sarvodaya calls the awakening of the individual "personality awakening" or "personality development." In the spirit of the Buddhist revival, Ariyaratne has written that "every human being has the potential to attain supreme enlightenment." [9] Because of the present condition of both individuals and society, however, the kind of "personality awakening" that the average person can achieve in this life is far below the level of supreme enlightenment, but nevertheless represents a start on the gradual path toward the "ultimate goal of Buddhism." Therefore, Sarvodaya teaches that before people can awaken to the supreme, supramundane dimension of truth, they must awaken to the mundane dimensions of truth that surround them in society. Before people can see the supramundane meaning of the four noble truths, for example, they must see the mundane meaning of these truths. To illustrate this idea, Sarvodaya has given these truths social interpretations.

　　 The first truth, dukkha, suffering or unsatisfactoriness, is translated as "There is a decadent village." This concrete form of suffering becomes the focus of mundane awakening. Villagers should recognize the problems in their environment such as poverty, disease, oppression and disunity. The second truth, samudaya, the origin of suffering, now signifies that the decadent condition of the village has one or more causes. Sarvodaya teaches that the causes lie in actors such as egoism, competition, greed and hatred.

　　 The third truth, nirodha, cessation, understood in traditional Buddhism as an indicator of Nibbana, becomes hope that the villagers' suffering can cease. The means to solving the problem lies in the fourth truth, the Eightfold Path. Macy offers an excellent example of the mundane explication of the stages of the Eightfold Path when she cites a Sarvodaya teacher's explanation of Right Mindfulness or Awareness, sati.

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"Right Mindfulness -- that means stay open and alert to the needs of the village.... Look to see what is needed -- latrines, water, road." [10]

　　 If persons can awaken to the mundane truths about the conditions around them, then realizing the need for change they can work to bring needed changes in society. As society is changed, the individual is changed. One who addresses mundane problems with compassion, finds the mundane world becoming more compassionate. And in a more compassionate world it is easier to develop wisdom. Ariyaratne explains the interconnectedness of this process of dual liberation when be says that "The struggle for external liberation is a struggle for inner liberation from greed, hatred and ignorance at the same time." [11]

B. Society
　　 Sarvodaya spells out the interdependent nature of this process of awakening and development by specifying six levels of human awakening: personality awakening; family awakening; village/community awakening; urban awakening; national awakening; and global awakening. Sarvodaya's view of the awakening of society on these levels -- the other side of the dual liberation process -- constitutes a radical reinterpretation of the nature of social and economic development. For Sarvodaya, development is an integrated process involving six elements that reinforce each other to bring about the best society: in this process the reform of the social, political and economic elements of a society should take place in conjunction with the reassertion of its moral, cultural and spiritual elements. The integrated development of these six elements leads to a society based on spiritual and traditional values where people can live together in harmony and where individuals will have an opportunity to awaken their personalities to the fullest.

　　 Sarvodaya's ideal of an integrated development supported by spiritual values critiques the materialistic, capitalistic model of development dominant in Sri Lanka since the colonial period. Opposing the kind of materialistic development schemes that the government and international agencies have brought about in Sri Lanka, Ariyaratne says, "In production-centered societies the total perspective of human personality and sustainable relationships between man and nature is lost sight of... The higher ideals of human personality and social values are disregarded." [12] Production-centered societies define wealth in quantitative terms and create desires for the objects that they produce; Sarvodaya declares that spiritual values represent the true wealth. Sarvodaya's model of development is "people-centered" and has as its primary aim "human fulfillment" rather than the creation of material wealth. Ariyaratne argues that the "advancement of people in a quantitative sense is meaningless and even unachievable" unless the spiritual and qualitative factors are included also." [13] The economic ideal of the social order Sarvodaya seeks is described as one of "no poverty and no affluence." In this sense Sarvodaya works to create a social context where peace can prevail.