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THE PATH OF
PURIFICATION
(VISUDDHIMAGGA)
Chapter XVIII: Description
of Purification of View
(Ditthi-visuddhi-niddesa)
1. [587] Now it
was said earlier (Ch.XIV,§32) that he 'should first fortify his
knowledge by learning and questioning about those things that are the
"soil" after he has perfected the two purifications - Purification of
Virtue and Purification of Consciousnesss - that are the "roots"'. Now
of those, Purification of Virtue is the quite purified fourfold virtue
beginning with Patimokkha restraint; and that has already been dealt with
in detail in the description of Virtue (Chs.I and II); and this Purification
of Consciousness, namely, the eight attainments, together with access
concentration, has also been dealt with in details in all its aspects
in the Description of Concentration (Chs.III to XIII), stated under the
heading of 'Consciousness' [in the introductory verse]. So those two Purifications
should be understood in detail as given there.
2. But it was said above (Ch.XIV,§32) that, 'The five
purifications, Purification of View, Purification by Overcoming Doubt,
Purification by Knowledge and Vision of What is the Path and What is
Not the Path, Purification by Knowledge and Vision of the Way, and Purification
by Knowledge and Vision, are the "trunk". Herein, 'Purification of View'
is the correct seeing of mentality-materiality.
{1}
[Defining of
Mentality-Materiality]
[Definition Based
on the Four Primaries]
[a. Starting
with Mentality]
3. One who wants to accomplish
this, if, firstly, his vehicle is serenity,
{2}
should emerge from any fine material or immaterial jhana, except
the base consisting of neither perception nor non-perception
{3}
, and he should discern, according to characteristic, function,
etc., the jhana factors consisting of applied thought, etc., and the states
associated with them, [that is, feeling, perception, and so on]. When
he has done so, all that should be defined as 'mentality (nama)'
in the sense of bending (namana)
{4}
because of its bending on to the object.
4. Then, just as a man, by following a snake that he has
seen in his house, finds its abode, so too this meditator scrutinizes
that mentality, he seeks to find out what its occurrence is supported
by and he sees that it is supported [558] by the matter of the elements,
which are the heart's support, and the remaining, support. He defines
all that as 'materiality (rupa)' because it is molested
(ruppana)' [by cold, etc.]. After that he defines in
brief as 'mentality-materiality (nama rupa)' the mentality
that has the characteristic of 'bending' and the materiality that has the
characteristic of 'being molested'.
[b. Starting
with Materiality]
But one whose vehicle is pure
insight, or that same aforesaid one whose vehicle is serenity, discerns
the four elements in brief or in detail in one of the various ways given
in the chapter on the Definition of the Four Elements (Ch.XI,§27ff.).
Then when the elements have become clear in their correct essential characteristics,
firstly, in the case of head hair originated by kamma there become plain
ten instances of materiality, (rupani) with the body decad thus:
the four elements and colour, odour, flavour, nutritive essence, and life,
and body-sensitivity. And because the sex decad is present there too there
are another ten [that is the same nine with sex instead of body-sensitivity].
And since the octad-with-nutritive-essence-as-eighth [that is the same
nine with sex instead of essence-as-eighth [that is, the four elements
and colour, odour, flavour, and nutritive-essence,] originated by nutriment,
and that originated by temperature, and that originated by consciousness
are present there too, there are another twenty-four. So there is a total
of forty-four instances of materiality in the case of each of the twenty-four
bodily parts of fourfold origination. But in the case of the four, namely,
sweat, tears, spittle, and snot,
{5}
which are originated by temperature and by consciousness, there
are sixteen instances of materiality with the two octads-with-nutritive-essences-as-eighth
in each. In the case of the four, namely, gorge, dung, pus, and urine,
which are originated by temperature, eight instances of materiality become
plain in each with the octad-with-nutritive-essence-as-eighth in what
is originated only by temperature. This in the first place is the method
in the case of the thirty-two bodily aspects.
6. But there are ten more aspects
{6}
that become clear when those thirty-two aspects have become clear.
And as regards these, firstly nine instances of materiality, that is,
the octad-with-nutritive-essence-as-eighth plus life, become plain in the
case of the kamma-born part of heat (fire) that digests what is eaten,
etc., and likewise nine [instances of materiality], that is, the octad-with-nutritive-essence-as-eighth
plus sound, in the case of the consciousness-born part [of air consisting]
of in-breaths and out-breaths; and thirty-three instances of materiality,
that is, the [kamma-born] life-ennead and three octads-with-nutritive-essence-as-eighth,
in the case of each of the remaining eight [parts] that are fourfold origination.
7. And when these instances of materiality derived [by
clinging] from the primaries have thus become plain in detail in the
case of these forty-two aspects, [that is, 32 parts of the body, 4 modes
of fire and 6 modes of air,] another sixty instances of materiality become
plain with the physical [heart] basis and the [five] sense doors, that
is, with the heart-basis decad and the five decads beginning with the eye
decad.
Taking all these together under the characteristic of
'being
8. molested', he sees them as 'materiality'. When he has discerned
materiality thus, the immaterial states become plain to him in accordance
with the sense doors, that is to say, the eighty-one kinds
{7}
of mundane consiousness consisting of the two sets of five consciousness
((34)-(38) and (50)-(54)), the three kinds of mind element ((39), (55)
and (70)) and the sixty-eight [589] kinds of mind-consciousness element;
and then seven consciousness-concomitants, that is, (i)contact, feeling,
perception, (ii) volition, (vii) life, (viii) steadiness of consciousness,
and (xxx) attention, which are invariably conascent with all these consciousnesses.
The supramundane kinds of consciousness, however, are not discernible
either by one who is practising pure insight or by one whose vehicle is
serenity because they are out of their reach. Taking all these immaterial
states together under the characteristic of 'bending', he sees them as
'mentality'.
This is how one [meditator] defines mentality-materiality
in detail through the method of defining the four elements.
[Definition
Based on the 18 Elements]
9. Another does it by means
of the eighteen elements. How? Here a Bhikkhu considers the elements
thus; 'There are in this person the eye element, ... the mind-consciousness
element'. Instead of taking the piece of flesh variegated with white
and black circles, having length and breadth, and fastened in the eye
socket with a string of sinew, which the world terms 'an eye', he defines
as 'eye element' the eye sensitivity of the kind described among the kinds
of derived materiality in the
10. Description of the Aggregates (Ch.XIV,§47). But he does
not define as 'eye element' the remaining instances of materiality, which
total 53, that is, the 9 conascent instances of materiality consisting
of the 4 primary elements, which are its support, the 4 concomitant instances
of materiality, namely, colour, odour, flavour, and nutritive essence, and
the sustaining life faculty; and also the 20 kamma-born instances of materiality
that are there too, consisting of the body decad and sex decad; and the
24 un-clung-to instances of materiality consisting of the 3 octads-with-nutritive-essence-as-eighth,
which are originated by nutriment and so on. The same method applies
to the ear element and the rest. But in the case of the body element the
remaining instances of materiality total 43, though some say 45 by adding
sound and making nine each for the temperature-born and consciousness-born
11. [sound]. So these five sensitivities, and their five respective
objective fields, that is, visible data, sounds, odours, flavours, and
tangible data, make ten instances of materiality, which are ten [of the
eighteen] elements. The remaining instances of materiality are the mental-data
element only.
The consciousness that occurs with the eye as its support
and contingent upon a visible datum is called 'eye-consciousness element'
[and likewise with the ear and so on]. In this way the two sets of five
consciousness are the five 'consciousness elements'. The three kinds
of consciousness consisting of mind element ((39), (55) and (70)) are
the single 'mind element'. The 68 kinds of mind-consciousness element are
the 'mind-consciousness element.' So all the 81 kinds of mundane consciousness
make up seven kinds of consciousness element; and the contact, etc.,
associated therewith are the mental-data element.
So 10 1/2 elements are materiality and 7 1/2 elements
[590] are mentality. This is how one [meditator] defines mentality-materiality
by means of the 18 elements.
[3. Definition
Based on the Twelve Bases]
12. Another does it by
means of the 12 bases. How? He defines as 'eye base' the sensitivity only,
leaving out the 53 remaining instances of materiality, in the way described
for the eye element. And in the way described there [he also defines] the
elements of the ear, nose, tongue, and body, as 'ear base, nose base, tongue
base, body base'. He defines five states that are their respective objective
fields as 'visible-data base, sound base, odour base, flavour base, tangible-data
base.' He defines the seven mundane consciousness elements as 'mind
base'. He defines the contact, etc., associated therewith, and also
the remaining instances of materiality as mental-data base.' So here
10 1/2 bases are materiality and 1 1/2 bases are mentality. This is how
one [meditator] defines mentality-materiality by means of the 12 bases.
[4. Definition
Based on the Aggregates]
13. Another defines it
more briefly than that by means of the aggregates? How? Here a bhikkhu
defines as 'the materiality aggregate' all the following 27 instances
of materiality, that is, the 17 instances of materiality consisting of
the four primaries of fourfold origination in this body and dependent
colour, odour, flavour, and nutritive-essence, and the five sensitivities
beginning with the eye sensitivity, and the materiality of the physical
[heart] basis, sex, life faculty, and sound of twofold origination, which
17 instances of materiality are suitable for comprehension since they are
produced and are instances of concrete materiality; and then the 10 instances
of materiality, that is, bodily intimation, verbal intimation, the space
element, and the lightness, malleability, wieldiness, growth, continuity,
ageing, and impermanence, of materiality, which 10 instances of materiality
are, however, not suitable for comprehension since they are merely the
mode-alteration, and the limitation-of-interval; they are not produced
and are not concrete materiality, but they are reckoned as materiality
because they are mode-alterations, and limitation-of-interval, of various
instances of materiality. - So he defines all these 27 instances of materiality
as 'the materiality aggregate'. He defines the feeling that arises together
with the 81 kinds of mundane consciousness as the 'feeling aggregate',
the perception associated therewith as the 'perception aggregate, the
formations associated therewith as the formations aggregate', and the
consciousness as the 'consciousness aggregate'. - So by defining the materiality
aggregate as 'materiality' and the four immaterial aggregates as 'mentality'
he defines mentality-materiality by means of the five aggregates.
[5.
Definition Based on the Four Primaries]
14. Another discerns
'materiality' in his person briefly thus 'Any kind of materiality whatever
all consists of the four primary elements and the materiality derived
from the four primary elements' (M.i.222), and he likewise discerns the
mind base and a part of the mental data base as 'mental'. Then he defines
mentality-materialty in brief thus: 'This mentality and this materiality
are called "Mentality-materiality"'.
{8}
[If
the Immaterial Fails to Become Evident]
15. [591] But if
he has discerned materiality in one of these ways, and while he is trying
to discern the immaterial it does not become evident to him owing to its
subtlety, then he should not give up but should again and again comprehend,
give attention to, discern, and define materiality only. For in proportion
as materiality becomes quite definite, disentagled and quite clear to him,
so the immaterial states that have that [materiality] as their object become
plain of themselves too.
16. Just as, when a man with eyes looks for the reflexion
of his face in a dirty looking-glass and sees no reflexion he does not
throw the looking glass away because the reflexion does not appear; on
the contrary he polishes it again and again, and then the reflexion becomes
plain of itself when the looking glass is clean, - and just as, when a
man needing oil puts sesamum flour in a basin and wets it with water and
no oil comes out with only one or two pressings he does not throw the sesamum
flour away; but on the contrary he wets it again and again with hot water
and squeezes and presses it, and as he does so clear sesamum oil comes
out, - or just as, when a man wanting to clarify water has taken a katuka
nut and put his hand inside the pot and rubbed it once or twice the
water does not come clear, he does not throw the katuka nut away;
on the contrary he rubs it again and again, and as he does so the fine
mud subsides and the water becomes transparent and clear, - so to, the
bhikkhu should not give up, but he should again and again comprehend, give
attention to, discern and define materiality only.
17. For in proportion as materiality becomes quite definite,
disentangled and quite clear to him, so the defilements that are opposing
him subside, his consciousness becomes clear like the water above the
[precipitated] mud, and the immaterial states that have that [materiality]
as their object become plain of themselves too. And this meaning can also
be explained in this way by other analogies such as the [pressing of]
sugarcane, [the beating of] criminals [to make them confess], [the taming
of] an ox, the churning of curds [to produce butter] and [the cooking
of] fish.
[Three Ways in Which the Immaterial States Become Evident]
18. When he has
quite cleared up his discerning of materiality, then the immaterial
states become evident to him through one of three aspects, that is,
through contact, through feeling, or through consciousness. How?
19. 1. (a) When he discerns the [four primary] elements
in the way beginning 'The earth element has the characteristic of hardness'
(Ch.XI,§93), contact becomes evident to him as the first conjunction.
Then feeling associated with that as the feeling aggregate, the associated
perception as the perception aggregate, the associated volition together
with the aforesaid contact as the formations aggregate, and the associated
consciousness as the consciousness aggregate.
1. (b) [592] Likewise [when he has discerned them in this
way,] 'In the head hair it is the earth element that has the characteristic
of hardness, ... in the in-breaths and out-breaths it is the earth element
that has the characteristic of hardness' (Ch.XI,§31), contact becomes
evident as the first conjunction. Then the feeling assoicated with it
as the feeling aggregate, ... the associated consciousness as the consciousness
aggregate.
This is how immaterial states become evident through contact.
20. 2. (a) To another [who discerns the four primary elements
in the way beginning] 'The earth element has the characteristic of hardness'
the feeling that has as its object and experiences its stimulus [as
pleasant, etc.,] becomes evident as the feeling aggregate, the perception
associated with that as the perception aggregate, the contact and the
volition asociated with that as the formations aggregate, and the consciousness
associated with that as the formations aggregate, and the consciousness
associated with that as the consciousness aggregate.
2. (b) Likewise [to one who discerns them in this way]
'In the head hair it is the earth element that has the characteristic
of hardness, ... in the in-breaths and out-breaths it is the earth element
that has the characteristic of hardness; the feeling that has that as its
object and experiences its stimulus becomes evident as the feeling aggregate,
... and the consciousness associated with that as the consciousness aggregate.
This is how the immaterial states become evident through
feeling.
21. 3. (a) To another [who discerns the four primary elements
in the way beginning] 'The earth element has the characteristic of hardness'
the consciousness that cognizes the object becomes evident as the consciousness
aggregate, the feeling associated with it as the feeling aggregate,
the associated perception as the perception aggregate, and the associated
contact and volition as the formations aggregate.
3. (b) Likewise [to one who discerns them in this way]
'In the head hair it is the earth element that has the characteristic
of hardness, ... in the in-breaths and out-breaths it is the earth element
that has the characteristic of hardness' the consciousness that cognized
the object becomes evident as the consciousness aggregate, ... and the
associated contact and volition as the formations aggregate.
This is how the material state become evident through
consciousness.
22. In the case of [the ways of discerning materiality
as consisting of] the 42 aspects of the elements beginning with the head
hair [that is, 32 aspects of the body, 4 aspects of the fire element and
6 aspects of the air element,] either by these same means given above or
by means of the method beginning 'In the kamma-originated head hair it is
the earth element that has the characteristic of hardness' - and also in
the case of the methods of discerning materiality as consisting of the eye,
etc. - by means of the four primary elements in each, the constructing should
be done by working out all the differences in each method.
23. Now it is only when he has become quite sure about
discerning materiality in this way that immaterial states become quite
evident to him in the three aspects. Therefore he should only undertake
the task of discerning the immaterial states after he has completed that,
not otherwise. If he leaves off discerning materiality when, say, one
or two material states have become evident in order to begin discerning
the immaterial, then he falls from his meditation subject like the mountain
cow already described under the Development of the Earth Kasina (Ch.IV,§130).
[593] But if he undertakes the task of discerning the immaterial after
he is already quite sure about discerning materiality thus, then his meditation
subject comes to growth, increase and perfection.
[There is no Being Apart from Mere Mentality-Materiality]
24. He defines
the four immaterial aggregates that have thus become evident through
contact, etc., as 'mentality'. And he defines their objects, namely,
the four primaries and the materiality derived from the four primaries,
as 'materiality'. So, as one who opens a box with a knife, as one who
splits a twin palmyra bulb in two, he defines all states of the three
planes
{9}
, the eighteen elements, twelve bases, five aggregates, in the
double way as 'mentality-materiality', and he concludes that over and
above mere mentality-materiality there is nothing else that is a being
or a person or a deity or a Brahma.
25. After defining mentality-materiality thus according
to its true nature, then in order to abandon this wordly designation of
'a being' and 'a person' more thoroughly, to surmount confusion about
beings and to establish his mind on the plane of non-confusion, he makes
sure that the meaning defined, namely, 'This is mere mentality-materiality,
there is no being, no person' is confirmed by a number of Suttas. For
this has been said:
As with
the assembly of parts
The
word "chariot" is countenanced,
So,
when the aggregates are present,
"A being"
is said in common usage' (S.i,135).
26. Again, this has been said: 'Just as when a space is
enclosed with timber and creeper and grass and clay, there comes to be
the term "house", so too, when a space is enclosed with bones and sinews
and flesh and skin, there comes to be the term "material form (rupa)"
(M.i,190).
27. And again this has been said:
It is
ill alone that rises,
Ill
that remains, ill that departs,
Nothing
rises else than ill
And
nothing ceases else than ill (S.i,135).
28. So in many hundred suttas it is only the mentality-materiality
that is illustrated, not a being, not a person. Therefore, just as when
the component parts such as axles, wheels, frame poles, etc., are arranged
in a certain way, there comes to be the mere term of common usage 'chariot',
yet in the ultimate sense when each part is examined, there is no chariot,
- and just as when the component parts of a house such as wattles, etc.,
are placed so that they enclose a space in a certain way, there comes
to be the mere term of common usage 'house', yet in the ultimate sense
there is no house, and just as when the fingers, thumb, etc., are placed
in a certain way, there comes to be the mere term of common usage [594]
'fist', - with body and strings, 'lute'; with elephants, horses, etc.,
'army'; with surrounding walls, houses, states, etc., 'city'; - just
as when trunk, branches, foliage, etc., are placed in a certain way,
there comes to be the mere term of common usage 'tree', yet in the ultimate
sense, when each component is examined, there is no tree, - so to, when
there are the five aggregates [as objects] of clinging, there comes to
be the mere term of common usage 'a being', 'a person', yet in the ultimate
sense, when each component is examined, there is no being as a basis for
the assumption 'I am' or 'I'; in the ultimate sense there is only mentality-materiality.
The vision of one who sees in this way is called correct vision.
29. But when a man rejects this correct vision and assumes
that a [permanent] being exists, he has to conclude either that is comes
to be annihilated or that it does not. If he concludes that it does not
come to be annihilated, he falls into the eternity [view]. If he concludes
that it does come to be annihilated, he falls into the annihilation [view].
Why? Because [the assumption] precludes any gradual change like that of
milk into curd. So he either holds back, concluding that the assumed being
is eternal, or he overreaches, concluding that is comes to be annihilated.
30. Hence the Blessed One said 'There are two kinds of
view, bhikkhus, and when deities and human beings are obsessed by them,
some hold back and some overreach; only those with eyes see. And how
do some hold back? Dieties and human beings love becoming, delight in
becoming, rejoice in becoming. When Dhamma is taught to them for the
ceasing of becoming, their minds do not enter into it, become settled,
steady and resolute. Thus it is that some hold back. And how do some overreach?
Some are ashamed, humiliated and disgusted by that same becoming, they
are concerned with non-becoming in this way: "Sirs, when with the break up
of the body this self is cut off, annihilated, does not become any more after
death, that is peaceful, that is sublime, that is true". Thus it is that
some overreach. And how do those with eyes see? Here a bhikkhu sees what
is become as become. Having seen what is become as become, he has entered
upon the way to dispassion for it, to the fading away of greed for it, to
its cessation. This is how one with eyes sees.' (Iti.43; Ps.i,159).
31. Therefore, just as a marionette is void, soulless and
without curiosity, and while it walks and stands merely through the combination
of strings and wood, [595] yet it seems as if it had curiousity and interestedness,
so too, this mentality-materiality is void, soulless and without curiosity,
and while it walks and stands merely through the combination of the
two together, yet it seems as if it had curiousity and interestedness.
This is how it should be regarded. Hence the Ancients said:
The
mental and material are really here,
But
here there is no human being to be found,
For
it is void and merely fashioned like a doll -
Just
suffering piled up like grass and sticks.
[Interdependence of Mentality and Materiality]
32. And this
should be explained not only by means of the simile of the marionette,
but also by means of the analogies of the sheaves of reeds and so on.
For just as when two sheaves of reeds are propped one against the other,
each one gives the other consolidating support, and when one falls the
other falls, so too, in the five-constituent becoming mentality-materiality
occurs as an interdependent state, each of its components giving the other
consolidating support, and when one falls owing to death, the other falls
too. Hence the Ancients said:
The
mental and material
Are
twins and each supports the other;
When
one breaks up they both break up
Through
interconditionality.
33. And just as when sound occurs having as its support
a drum that is beaten by a stick, then the drum is one and the sound another,
the drum and the sound are not mixed up together, the drum is void of
the sound and the sound is void of the drum, so too, when mentality occurs
having as its support the materiality called the physical basis, the door
and the object, then the materiality is one and the mentality is another,
the mentality and the materiality are not mixed up together, the mentality
is void of the materiality and the materiality is void of the mentality;
yet the mentality occurs due to the materiality as the sound occurs due
to the drum. Hence the Ancients said:
The
pentad based on contact comes not from the eye,
Or from
things seen, or something that is in between;
Due
to a cause it comes to be, and formed as well,
Just
as the sound that issues from a beaten drum.
The
pentad based on contact comes not from the ear,
Or yet
from sound, or something that is in between;
Due
to a cause ...
The
pentad based on contact comes not from the nose
Or yet
from smells, or something that is in between;
Due
to a cause ...
The
pentad based on contact comes not from the tongue,
Or yet
from tastes, or something that is in between;
[596]
Due to a cause ...
The
pentad based on contact comes not from the body,
Or yet
from touch, or something that is in between;
Due
to a cause ...
Being
formed, it does not come from the material basis,
Nor
does it issue from the mental-datum base;
Due
to a cause it comes to be, and formed as well,
Just
as the sound that issues from a beaten drum.
34. Furthermore, mentality has no efficient power, it cannot
occur by its own efficient power ... It does not eat, it does not drink,
it does not speak, it does not adopt postures. And materiality is without
efficient power; it cannot occur by its own efficient power. For it
has no desire to eat, it has no desire to drink, it has no desire to
speak, it has no desire to adopt postures. But rather it is when supported
by materiality that mentality occurs. When mentality has the desire to
eat, the desire to drink, the desire to speak, the desire to adopt a posture,
it is materiality that eats, drinks, speaks and adopts a posture.
35. But for the purpose of explaining this meaning they
gave this simile as an example: a man born blind and a stool-crawling
cripple wanted to go somewhere. The blind man said to the cripple, 'Look,
I can do what should be done by legs, but I have no eyes with which to
see what is rough and smooth'. The cripple said 'Look, I can do what should
be done by eyes, but I have no legs with which to go and come'. The blind
man was delighted, and he made the cripple climb up on his shoulder.
Sitting on the blind man's shoulder the cripple spoke thus 'Leave the
left, take the right; leave the right, take the left.'
Herein, the blind man has no efficient power; he is impotent;
he cannot travel by his own efficient power, by his own strength. And
the cripple has no efficient power; he is impotent; he cannot travel
by his own efficient power, by his own strength. But there is nothing
to prevent their going when they support each other. So too, mentality
has no efficient power; it does not arise or occur in such and such functions
by its own efficient power. And materiality has no efficient power, it
does not arise or occur in such and such functions by its own efficient
power. But there is nothing to prevent their occurrence when they support
each other.
36. Hence, this is said:
They
cannot come to be by their own strength,
Or yet
maintain themselves by their own strength;
Relying
for support on other states,
Weak
in themselves, and formed, they come to be;
[597]
They come to be with others as condition.
They
are aroused by others as their objects,
They
are produced by object and condition,
And
each by something other than itself.
And just as men depend upon
A boat for traversing the sea,
So does the mental body need
The matter-body for occurrence.
And as the boat depends upon
The men for traversing the sea,
So does the matter-body need
The mental body for occurence.
Depending each upon the other
The boat and men go on the sea.
And so do mind and matter both
Depend the one upon the other.
37. The correct vision of mentality and materiality, which,
after defining mentality-materiality by these various methods, has been
established on the plane of non-confusion by overcoming the perception
of a being, is what should be understood as Purification of View. Other
terms for it are 'Defining of Mentality-materiality' and 'Delimitation
of Formations.'
The eighteenth
chapter called 'The Description
of Purification of View'
in the treatise on
the development of understanding
in the Path
of Purification composed
for the purpose of
gladdening good people.
[Footnotes]
{1}
Mentality should be taken here as the four aggregates beginning
with feeling and belonging to the three planes, not omitting consciousness
as in the case of "With consciousness as condition, mentality-materiality"
and not including the supramundane aggregates associated with nibbana'
(Pm.744 Burmese ed.).
{2}
Serenity (samatha) is a general term for concentration,
as the complement of insight (vipassana), which is roughly the
equivalent of understanding (panna).
{3}
'One who is beginning this work has difficulty in discerning
the highest form of becoming, that is, the base consisting of neither
perception nor non-perception' (Pm.744). This is owing to the diminished
perception (see M.iii,28).
{4}
See S.ii,23-4. 'Bending in the direction of the object
means that there is no occurence without an object; it is in the sense
of that sort of bending, or it is in the sense of bestowing a name
(nama-karana) (Pm.744). 'Name-and-form' has many advantages
over 'mentality-materiality' if only because it preserves the integrity
of nama and excludes any metaphysical
assumption of matter existing as a substance behind apparent forms.
{5}
'Because sweat, etc., arise owing to heat, fatigue etc.,
and owing to mental perturbation they are called "originated by temperature
and by consciousness"'(Pm.745).
There are seven kinds of decads: those of the physical
basis of mind (heart), sex, living physical eye, ear, nose, tongue, and
body. The first nine components of a decad are the same in all instances,
and by themselves they are called the 'life ennead'. The first eight components
by themselves are called the 'octad-with-nutritive-essence-as-eighth'.
This octad plus sound is called the 'sound ennead'. In general these are
called 'material groups (rupa kalapa)'.
But this kind of 'group (kalapa)'
has nothing to do with the 'comprehension by groups (kalapa-sammasana)'
of Ch.XX, which is simply generalization (from one's own particular experience
to each of the five aggregates as past, etc., i.e. as a 'group'). The 'material
groups' are not in the Pitakas.
{6}
The ten are four aspect of the fire element and six aspects
of the air element; what heats, what consumes, what burns up, what digests;
up-going winds (or forces), down-going winds, winds in the stomach, winds
in bowels, winds in the limbs, breaths. See Ch.XI,§37 and 82.
{7}
'The exalted consciousness of the fine-material and immaterial
spheres is only quite plain to one who has attained the attainments' (Pm.746).
{8}
'As well as by means of the elements, etc., materiality
can also be discerned through the faculties, the truths, and the dependent
origination. How?
'Firstly, through the faculties; These seven, namely the
five beginning with the eye plus femininity and masculinity are materiality;
the eleven consisting of the mind-faculty, the five feeling faculties,
and the five beginning with faith, are mentality: the life faculty is both
mentality and materiality. The last three, being supramundane, are not
intended here.
'The truth of suffering is both mentality and materiality;
the truth of origin is mentality; the other two are not intended here
because they are supramundane.
'In the Stucture of Conditions, the first three members
are mentality; the fourth and fifth are mentality and materiality; the
sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth are mentality; the tenth is both mentality
and materiality; the last two are each mentality and materiality' (Pm.747-8).
{9}
'"All states of the three planes" is said all-inclusively
owing to the necessity not to omit anything suitable for comprehension.
For it must be fully understood without any exception, and greed must
be made to fade away absolutely so that the mind may be liberated by the
fading away of greed. That is why the Blessed One said "Bhikkhus, without
directly knowing, without fully understanding all, without causing the
fading away of greed for it without abandoning it, the mind is incapable
of the destruction of suffering" (S.iv,17). If all the states of the three
planes are taken as mentality-materiality without exception then how should
one deal with what has been conceived by those outside the Dispensation
as verbal meanings, such as the Primordial Essence (pakati), etc.
[e.g. of the Samkhya], the Substance (drabya), etc. [e.g. of the
Vaisesika], the soul (jiva), etc., and the Body
(kaya), etc. [ ]? Since these
are like the hallucination of lunatics and are taught by the not fully
enlightened, what other way of dealing with them is there than to ignore
them? Or alternatively, their existence or non-existence can be understood
as established by their inclusion within mentality-materiality' (Pm.751-2).
There follows a long paragraph showing 'Wherever the verbal meaning of
self is expressed by some such metaphor as world-soul (purisa),
self (atta, atman), soul (jiva), etc., these being
themselves conceived in their various ways on the basis of mere mentality-materiality,
are mere mentality-materiality, too' (Pm.754-5).
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