4👑☸ Cattāri Ariya-saccaṃ 四聖諦

4👑☸🏛️ Vimt-N    🔗📝   🔝
pic for vimt. 
Vimt-N 0 - The Path To Freedom
Vimt-N 1 - CHAPTER 1 Introduction ( Nidāna)
Vimt-N 2 - CHAPTER 2 Exposition of Virtue (Sīla-niddesa)
Vimt-N 3 - CHAPTER 3 Asceticism 1
Vimt-N 4 - CHAPTER 4 Exposition of Concentration (Samādhi-niddesa)
Vimt-N 5 - CHAPTER 5 The Search for a Good Friend
Vimt-N 6 - CHAPTER 6 Exposition of Temperaments (Caritaniddesa)
Vimt-N 7 - CHAPTER 7 Exposition of the Meditation Subjects
Vimt-N 8 - CHAPTER 8 The Way to Practise [the Meditation Subjects]1
Vimt-N 9 - CHAPTER 9 Five Direct Knowledges
Vimt-N 10 - CHAPTER 10 Exposition of Wisdom (Paññā-niddesa)
Vimt-N 11 - CHAPTER 11 The Five Skills
Vimt-N 12 - CHAPTER 12 Exposition of the Truths (Sacca-niddesa)
Vimt-N 13 - Appendices

detailed TOC

 Vimt-N 0 - The Path To Freedom
Vimt-N 1 - CHAPTER 1 Introduction ( Nidāna)
Vimt-N 2 - CHAPTER 2 Exposition of Virtue (Sīla-niddesa)
Vimt-N 3 - CHAPTER 3 Asceticism 1
Vimt-N 4 - CHAPTER 4 Exposition of Concentration (Samādhi-niddesa)
Vimt-N 5 - CHAPTER 5 The Search for a Good Friend
Vimt-N 6 - CHAPTER 6 Exposition of Temperaments (Caritaniddesa)
Vimt-N 7 - CHAPTER 7 Exposition of the Meditation Subjects
Vimt-N 8 - CHAPTER 8 The Way to Practise [the Meditation Subjects]1
    Vimt-N 8.0 - A. Earth Totality
    Vimt-N 8.1 - B. First Jhāna
    Vimt-N 8.2 - C. Second Jhāna
    Vimt-N 8.3 - D. Third Jhāna
    Vimt-N 8.4 - E. Fourth Jhāna
    Vimt-N 8.5 - F. Base of Boundless Space
    Vimt-N 8.6 - G. Base of Boundless Consciousness
    Vimt-N 8.7 - H. Base of Nothingness
    Vimt-N 8.8 - I. Base of Neither-perception-nor-non-perception
    Vimt-N 8.9 - J. Other Totalities
    Vimt-N 8.10 - K. Ten Perceptions of the Foul
    Vimt-N 8.11 - L. Ten Recollections
        Vimt-N 8.11.1 - L1. Recollection of the Buddha
        Vimt-N 8.11.2 - L2. Recollection of the Dhamma
        Vimt-N 8.11.3 - L3. Recollection of the Saṅgha
        Vimt-N 8.11.4 - L4. Recollection of Virtue
        Vimt-N 8.11.5 - L5. Recollection of Generosity
        Vimt-N 8.11.6 - L6. Recollection of Deities
        Vimt-N 8.11.7 - L7. Mindfulness of Breathing
            Vimt-N 8.11.7.100 - Introduction
            Vimt-N 8.11.7.101 - Procedure
            Vimt-N 8.11.7.102 - Explanation
            Vimt-N 8.11.7.103 - The sign
            Vimt-N 8.11.7.104 - Four ways of practice
            Vimt-N 8.11.7.105 - The sixteen training grounds
                Vimt-N 8.11.7.5.1 - (1–2) “When he breathes in long (and short)
                Vimt-N 8.11.7.5.3 - (3) “He trains, ‘Experiencing the whole body
                Vimt-N 8.11.7.5.4 - (4) “He trains, ‘Calming the bodily formations
                Vimt-N 8.11.7.5.5 - (5) “He trains, ‘Experiencing rapture
                Vimt-N 8.11.7.5.6 - (6) “He trains, ‘Experiencing pleasure
                Vimt-N 8.11.7.5.7 - (7) “He trains, ‘Experiencing the mental formations
                Vimt-N 8.11.7.5.8 - (8) “He trains, ‘Calming the mental formations
                Vimt-N 8.11.7.5.9 - (9) “He trains, ‘Experiencing the mind
                Vimt-N 8.11.7.5.10 - (10) “He trains, ‘Gladdening the mind
                Vimt-N 8.11.7.5.11 - (11) “He trains, ‘Concentrating the mind
                Vimt-N 8.11.7.5.12 - (12) “He trains, ‘Freeing the mind
                Vimt-N 8.11.7.5.13 - (13) “He trains, ‘Contemplating impermanence
                Vimt-N 8.11.7.5.14 - (14) “He trains, ‘Contemplating fading away
                Vimt-N 8.11.7.5.15 - (15) “He trains, ‘Contemplating cessation
                Vimt-N 8.11.7.5.16 - (16) “He trains, ‘Contemplating relinquishment
            Vimt-N 8.11.7.106 - Miscellaneous topics
        Vimt-N 8.11.8 - L8. Recollection of Death
        Vimt-N 8.11.9 - L9. Mindfulness of the Body
            Vimt-N 8.11.9.120 - Introduction
            Vimt-N 8.11.9.121 - Procedure
            Vimt-N 8.11.9.122 - Thirteen ways of practice
            Vimt-N 8.11.9.123 - Seed
            Vimt-N 8.11.9.124 - Location
            Vimt-N 8.11.9.125 - Condition
            Vimt-N 8.11.9.126 - Oozing
            Vimt-N 8.11.9.127 - Gradual physical formation
            Vimt-N 8.11.9.128 - Kinds of worms
            Vimt-N 8.11.9.129 - Support
            Vimt-N 8.11.9.130 - Mass
            Vimt-N 8.11.9.131 - Repulsiveness
            Vimt-N 8.11.9.132 - Dirtiness
            Vimt-N 8.11.9.133 - [Breeding] ground
            Vimt-N 8.11.9.134 - Ingratitude
            Vimt-N 8.11.9.135 - Finiteness
            Vimt-N 8.11.9.136 - Conclusion
        Vimt-N 8.11.10 - L10. Recollection of Stillness
    Vimt-N 8.12 - M. Four Immeasurables
        Vimt-N 8.12.1 - M1. Loving-kindness
        Vimt-N 8.12.2 - M2. Compassion
        Vimt-N 8.12.3 - M3. Appreciative gladness
        Vimt-N 8.12.4 - M4. Equanimity
    Vimt-N 8.13 - N. Defining of the Four Elements
    Vimt-N 8.14 - O. Perception of Repulsiveness of Food
    Vimt-N 8.15 - P. Base of Nothingness and Base of Neither-perception-nor-non-perception
    Vimt-N 8.16 - Q. Chapter Conclusion
Vimt-N 9 - CHAPTER 9 Five Direct Knowledges
    Vimt-N 9.1 - Introduction
    Vimt-N 9.2 - Three kinds of supernormal power
    Vimt-N 9.3 - Seven kinds of supernormal power
    Vimt-N 9.4 - Supernormal power due to the pervasive force of knowledge
    Vimt-N 9.5 - Supernormal power due to the pervasive force of concentration
    Vimt-N 9.6 - Supernormal power of the noble ones
    Vimt-N 9.7 - Supernormal power born of result of kamma
    Vimt-N 9.8 - Supernormal power of the meritorious
    Vimt-N 9.9 - Supernormal power sprung from magic knowledge
    Vimt-N 9.10 - Supernormal power due to [right] application
    Vimt-N 9.11 - Procedure of developing supernormal power
    Vimt-N 9.12 - Supernormal power of resolve
    Vimt-N 9.13 - Supernormal power of miraculous transformation
    Vimt-N 9.14 - Supernormal power of [producing a] mind-made [body]
    Vimt-N 9.15 - Miscellaneous topics
    Vimt-N 9.16 - Divine ear
    Vimt-N 9.17 - Knowledge of others’ minds
    Vimt-N 9.18 - Recollection of past lives
    Vimt-N 9.19 - Divine eye
    Vimt-N 9.20 - Miscellaneous topics
Vimt-N 10 - CHAPTER 10 Exposition of Wisdom (Paññā-niddesa)
Vimt-N 11 - CHAPTER 11 The Five Skills
Vimt-N 12 - CHAPTER 12 Exposition of the Truths (Sacca-niddesa)
Vimt-N 13 - Appendices
    Vimt-N 13.1 - APPENDIX I Tibetan Translation of the Vimuktimārgadhutaguṇanirdeśa
    Vimt-N 13.2 - APPENDIX II Quotations from the Vimuttimagga in the Saṃskṛtāsaṃskṛtaviniścaya
    Vimt-N 13.3 - APPENDIX III The Pāli Commentaries and their Sources
    Vimt-N 13.4 - APPENDIX IV The Reasons for the Split between the Mahāvihāra and Abhayagirivihāra
    Vimt-N 13.5 - APPENDIX V Attabhāvavatthu and Ātmavastu
    Vimt-N 13.6 - BIBLIOGRAPHY
    Vimt-N 13.7 - Index

0 - The Path To Freedom

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https://www.buddhism.hku.hk/publication-post/the-path-to-freedom-vimuttimagga/
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https://www.academia.edu/62354172/Vimuttimagga_Glossaries_2021

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Vimuttimagga

The Vimuttimagga, the “Path to Freedom” is a Theravāda Buddhist manual on the path leading to nibbāna, the ultimate freedom from all mental bondage, that is reached through the practice of virtue, concentration and wisdom.

The emphasis of the manual is on concentration or meditation and it contains detailed explanations of all of the traditional Buddhist meditation topics.

The manual was composed by the Buddhist monk Upatissa as a guide for those who wish to practise this path.
Along with its successor, the larger and more scholastic Visuddhimagga, it is the only known ancient Buddhist manual that is solely dedicated to the cultivation of the path and that gives such detailed, systematic and sometimes unique instructions.
The original Pāli text of the Vimuttimagga, probably composed in Sri Lanka in the 3rd or 4th century CE, is lost and the treatise now only survives as a 6th century Chinese translation and partially in Tibetan translations.
Besides the first complete English translation of the Chinese text of this important work, as well as a translation of the Tibetan quotations from it, this book also contains an extensive introduction discussing the contents, history and other aspects of the Vimuttimagga.

Bhikkhu N. Nyanatusita (P.D.H. Prins) is a Buddhist monk ordained in Sri Lanka, where he studied Pali and Theravāda Buddhism.
Since 2005 he has been the editor of the Buddhist Publication Society.
He has authored a book on the Bhikkhupātimokkha and has also written articles about Pāli texts and manuscripts, Chinese translations of Vinaya texts, and the Prātimokṣasūtra.

HKU:
CBS Publication Series

CBS Teaching Scholars

AbhidhArmA doctrines And

The Buddhist AnAlysis of mAtter

controversies on PercePtion

Y Karunadasa

Bhikkhu KL Dhammajoti

buddhist And PAli studies in

buddhist meditAtive PrAxis:

honour of the venerAble Professor

Traditional Teachings & Modern

KAKKAPAlliye AnuruddhA

Applications

Edited by KL Dhammajoti and Edited by KL Dhammajoti

Y Karunadasa

eArly buddhist teAchings:

entrAnce into the suPreme doctrine:

The Middle Position in Theory and

Skandhila’s Abhidharmāvatāra

Practice

Bhikkhu KL Dhammajoti

Y Karunadasa

A guide to the study of Pāli:

SarvāStivāda AbhidhArmA

The Language of Theravāda Buddhism Bhikkhu KL Dhammajoti Kākkāpalliye Anuruddha Thera

studies in Pāli Commentarial

the theravāda AbhidhAmmA:

literAture:

Its Inquiry into the Nature of

Sources, Controversies and Insights

Conditioned Reality

Toshiichi Endo

Y Karunadasa

Other Scholars

the PAth to freedom:

the structure And interPretAtion

Vimuttimagga

of early PrajñāPāramitā:

Bhikkhu Nyanatusita ( P.
D.H. Prins)

An Analysis via Chiasmic Theory

Shi Huifeng ( Matthew Osborn)

Chinese Text Series

早期佛教:
中道觀 — 理論與實踐

梵文佛典導讀:
基礎語法指南

Y Karunadasa (卡魯那陀沙 著)

KL Dhammajoti (法光 著)

鄭振煌 譯

惟善 譯

The PaTh To Freedom

Vimuttimagga

Volume I

Bhikkhu Nyanatusita

Centre of Buddhist Studies,

The University of Hong Kong

2021

First Published:
Hong Kong, 2021

Published in Hong Kong by

Centre of Buddhist Studies

The University of Hong Kong

2021

© Bhikkhu Nyanatusita (P.
D.H. Prins)

All Rights Reserved.

ISBN:
978-988-16843-0-1

Printed in Hong Kong, China.

Contents (General)

Volume I

Contents (General)

i

Contents (Detailed)

iii

Abbreviations

xvii

Preface

xix

Introduction

1

Chapters

1

Introduction ( Nidāna)

119

2

Exposition of Virtue ( Sīla-niddesa)

133

3

Asceticism

173

4

Exposition of Concentration ( Samādhiniddesa)

201

5

The Search for a Good Friend

219

6

Exposition of Temperaments ( Caritaniddesa)

227

7

Exposition of the Meditation Subjects ( Kammaṭṭhānaniddesa) 241

8

The Way to Practise [the Meditation Subjects]

255

i

Volume II

Chapters

9

Five Direct Knowledges

513

10 Exposition of Wisdom ( Paññāniddesa)

541

11 The Five Skills

553

12 Exposition of the Truths ( Saccaniddesa)

661

Appendices

I

Tibetan Translation of the Vimuktimārgadhutaguṇanirdeśa

752

II

Quotations from the Vimuttimagga in the Saṃskṛtāsaṃskṛtaviniścaya 768

III The Pāli Commentaries and their Sources

823

IV The Reasons for the Split between the Mahāvihāra and

871

Abhayagirivihāra

V

Attabhāvavatthu and Ātmavastu

878

Bibliography

Vimuttimagga Bibliography

887

General Bibliography

889

Index

902

ii

Contents (Detailed)

Volume I

Contents (General)

i

Contents (Detailed)

iii

Abbreviation

xvii

Preface

xix

Introduction

1 The Vimuttimagga

1

1.1 General description

1 1.6 Relation to the Visuddhimagga

6

1.2 A Theravāda work

2

and Paṭisambhidāmagga

1.3 Structure

3 1.7 Reasons for the composition of 10

1.4 Title

5

the Vimuttimagga

1.5 Author

6 1.8 Modern relevance

11

2 Overview of the chapters of the Vimuttimagga

12

3 Tibetan translations of the Vimuttimagga

14

4 Uncertainties

15

4.1 School affiliation

16 4.6 Disappearance

49

4.2 Language

20 4.7 Sub-commentary

49

4.3 Country of origin

25 4.8 Sources

50

4.4 Alterations

25 4.9 Influences

55

4.5 Date of composition

44

5 Passages attributed to “some” that can be found in the Vimuttimagga 68

6 Quotations from the Peṭakopadesa in the Vimuttimagga 81

7 The modern fabrication of a Pāli text of the Vimuttimagga 87

8 How the Vimuttimagga came to China

89

9 Biography of the translator Saṅghapāla

94

10 Saṅghapāla or Saṅghabhara?

103

11 How and why the Chinese translation was made?

105

12 Quotations from the Vimuttimagga in other works in the Chinese Tripiṭaka 107

13 Headings and subheadings in the Chinese text

111

14 Editions and manuscripts of the Chinese text

113

15 Translating the Chinese text

114

iii

Contents (DetaileD)

Chapter 1 - Introduction ( Nidāna)

1 Preface

121

5 Three kinds of purity

129

2 Explanation of the preface

122

6 Three kinds of goodness

129

3 Purpose of teaching the Path to

123

7 Three kinds of pleasure

131

Freedom

8 Middle way

131

4 Aggregates of virtue,

125

concentration, wisdom

Chapter 2 - Exposition of Virtue ( Sīla-niddesa) 1 Introduction

133 27 Three kinds of virtue:
7

152

2 Definition of virtue

133 28 Three kinds of virtue:
8

152

3 Characteristic of virtue

137 29 Four kinds of virtue:
1

153

4 Function, manifestation and

138 30 Four kinds of virtue:
2

153

footing of virtue

31 Four kinds of virtue:
3

154

5 Benefits of virtue

138 32 Four kinds of virtue:
4

155

6 Meaning of virtue

139 33 Four kinds of virtue:
5

155

7 Origin of virtue

141 34 Virtue of the Pātimokkha restraint 156

8 Stages in virtue

142 35 Conduct

156

9 Obstacles and causes of virtue

142 36 [Proper] conduct

158

10 Kinds of virtue

143 37 Seeing danger in tiny faults

160

11 Two kinds of virtue:
1

143 38 Trains himself in the training

160

12 Two kinds of virtue:
2

144

rules

13 Two kinds of virtue:
3

144 39 Virtue of the purity of livelihood 161

14 Two kinds of virtue:
4

145

and wrong livelihood

15 Two kinds of virtue:
5

145 40 Virtue of the restraint of the

163

16 Two kinds of virtue:
6

146

sense-faculties

17 Two kinds of virtue:
7

146 41 Virtue connected with the

164

18 Two kinds of virtue:
8

147

requisites

19 Two kinds of virtue:
9

147 42 Four reflections

165

20 Two kinds of virtue:
10

148 43 Three reflections

165

21 Three kinds of virtue:
1

148 44 Virtue connected with the use

166

22 Three kinds of virtue:
2

149

of requisites

23 Three kinds of virtue:
3

149 45 Miscellaneous topics

167

24 Three kinds of virtue:
4

150 46 Purity of virtue and its

169

25 Three kinds of virtue:
5

151

characteristic

26 Three kinds of virtue:
6

151 47 Causes of virtue

170

Chapter 3 - Asceticism

1 Introduction

173 11 Tree-root-dweller

186

2 Thirteen kinds of asceticism

174 12 Open-air-dweller

187

3 Rag-robe-wearer

177 13 Charnel-ground-dweller

188

4 Three-robes-wearer

178 14 User-of-any-dwelling

189

5 Almsfood-gatherer

179 15 Sitter

190

6 Uninterrupted alms-round goer

180 16 Expediencies

191

iv

Contents (DetaileD)

7 One-sitting-eater

181 17 Eight and three kinds of

194

8 Food-limiter

182

asceticism

9 Later-food-denier

184 18 Miscellaneous topics

195

10 Wilderness-dweller

184

Chapter 4 - Exposition of Concentration ( Samādhiniddesa) 1 Introduction

201

6 Causes of concentration

204

2 Definition of concentration

201

7 Benefits of concentration

205

3 Characteristics, essential

202

8 Obstacles to concentration

207

function, manifestation and

9 Aids and requisites of

207

footing of concentration

concentration

4 Undertaking of concentration

202 10 Kinds of concentration:
two kinds 208

5 Differences between jhāna,

204 11 Three kinds of concentration

209

liberation, concentration and

12 Four kinds of concentration

211

attainment

13 Five kinds of concentration

216

Chapter 5 - The Search for a Good Friend

1 Introduction

219

2 Qualities of the good friend

219

3 How to search for a good friend

222

Chapter 6 - Exposition of Temperaments ( Caritaniddesa) 1 Introduction

227

9 Afflictions

234

2 Fourteen kinds of temperament

227 10 Gait

235

3 Fourteen persons by way of

228 11 Wearing robes

236

temperament

12 Eating

236

4 Seven persons

229 13 Work

237

5 Quick and slow practice

231 14 Lying down

237

6 Three persons

232 15 Which practice is suitable for

238

7 Seven ways of knowing

233

which temperament?

temperament

16 Miscellaneous topics

239

8 Object

234

Chapter 7 - Exposition of the Meditation Subjects

( Kammaṭṭhānaniddesa)

1 Introduction

241

7 Condition

245

2 Thirty-eight meditation subjects

241

8 Object

246

3 Nine ways of knowing the

242

9 Specialness

249

differences

10 Plane

250

4 Jhāna

242 11 Grasping

250

5 Transcending

244 12 Person

251

6 Extending

245

v

Contents (DetaileD)

Chapter 8 - The Way to Practise [the Meditation Subjects]

A.
Earth Totality

1 Introduction

255

7 Three ways of grasping the sign 265

2 Definition, practice,

255

8 Looking evenly

265

characteristic, function,

9 Skills

266

footing, benefits, and meaning

10 Abandoning of distraction

267

3 Kinds of earth to be used

257 11 The sign

269

4 Making a disc

260 12 Threshold jhāna and jhāna

272

5 Method of practice:
mental

260 13 Extending of the totality

274

preparation

14 Skill in absorption concentration 275

6 Physical preparation

264

B.
First Jhāna

15 Factors of the first jhāna

280 22 Five factors of the first jhāna

294

16 Seclusion from sense-pleasures

281 23 Factors, characteristics, benefits, 295

17 Seclusion from unwholesome

282

etc.

states

24 Five hindrances

296

18 Thinking and exploring

286 25 Five jhāna factors

299

19 The difference between thinking 287 26 Three kinds of goodness 302

and exploring

27 Ten characteristics

302

20 Seclusion

289 28 Twenty-five benefits

304

21 Rapture and pleasure

290 29 Benefit of rebirth as a Brahmā

307

C. Second Jhāna

30 Disadvantage of the first jhāna

310 31 Factors of the second jhāna

313

and the benefit of the second

32 Benefit of rebirth as a radiant

318

jhāna

deity

D.
Third Jhāna

33 Disadvantage of the second jhāna 319 35 Benefit of rebirth as a deity of 328

34 Factors of the third jhāna

320

refulgent lustre

E.
Fourth Jhāna

36 Disadvantage of the third jhāna

329 38 Benefit of rebirth as a deity of

335

37 Factors of the fourth jhāna

329

great fruit

F.
Base of Boundless Space

39 Disadvantage of the fourth jhāna 337 41 Definition of the base of 338

40 Attaining the base of boundless 338

boundless space

space

G.
Base of Boundless Consciousness

42 Disadvantage of the base of

343 44 Definition of the base of

344

boundless space

boundless consciousness

43 Attaining the base of boundless 343

consciousness

vi

Contents (DetaileD)

H.
Base of Nothingness

45 Disadvantage of the base of

346 47 Definition of the base of

348

boundless consciousness

nothingness

46 Attaining the base of nothingness 346

I.
Base of Neither-perception-nor-non-perception

48 Disadvantage of the base of

349 50 Definition of the base of neither- 350

nothingness

perception-nor-non-perception

49 Attaining the base of neither-

350 51 Miscellaneous topics

352

perception-nor-non-perception

J.
Other Totalities

52 Water totality

355 58 White totality

364

53 Fire totality

357 59 Light totality

365

54 Wind totality

359 60 Space totality

366

55 Blue totality

360 61 Consciousness totality

367

56 Yellow totality

362 62 Miscellaneous topics

368

57 Red totality

363

K.
Ten Perceptions of the Foul

63 Perception of the bloated

371 70 Perception of the slain and

381

64 Procedure

372

scattered

65 Perception of the livid

378 71 Perception of the blood-smeared 381

66 Perception of the festering

378 72 Perception of the maggot-

382

67 Perception of the cut up

379

infested

68 Perception of the gnawed

379 73 Perception of the skeleton

382

69 Perception of the scattered

380 74 Miscellaneous topics

383

L.
Ten Recollections

L1. Recollection of the Buddha

75 Introduction

386 80 Distinctive states

396

76 Procedure

387 81 Compassion for the world

401

77 Four ways of practice

394 82 Conclusion

402

78 Jātakas

394 83 Miscellaneous topics

402

79 Pulling himself out

395

L2. Recollection of the Dhamma

84 Introduction

403 86 Conclusion

406

85 Procedure

404

L3. Recollection of the Saṅgha

87 Introduction

406 89 Conclusion

410

88 Procedure

407

L4. Recollection of Virtue

90 Introduction

410 92 Conclusion

412

91 Procedure

411

vii

Contents (DetaileD)

L5. Recollection of Generosity

93 Introduction

412 95 Conclusion

413

94 Procedure

413

L6. Recollection of Deities

96 Introduction

413 98 Conclusion

415

97 Procedure

414 99 Miscellaneous topics

415

L7. Mindfulness of Breathing

100 Introduction

415 104 Four ways of practice

423

101 Procedure

417 105 The sixteen training grounds

426

102 Explanation

417 106 Miscellaneous topics

437

103 The sign

420

L8. Recollection of Death

107 Introduction

438 113 Being shared with many

442

108 Procedure

438 114 Fragility

442

109 Eight ways of practice

440 115 Limitedness of the duration

443

110 Being followed by an

440 116 Signlessness

444

executioner

117 Momentariness

444

111 There being no means

441 118 Conclusion

445

112 Comparison

441 119 Miscellaneous topics

445

L9. Mindfulness of the Body

120 Introduction

445 129 Support

456

121 Procedure

446 130 Mass

456

122 Thirteen ways of practice

449 131 Repulsiveness

457

123 Seed

449 132 Dirtiness

457

124 Location

450 133 [Breeding] ground

458

125 Condition

450 134 Ingratitude

458

126 Oozing

451 135 Finiteness

459

127 Gradual physical formation

452 136 Conclusion

459

128 Kinds of worms

453

L10. Recollection of Stillness

137 Introduction

459 139 Conclusion

461

138 Procedure

460 140 Miscellaneous topics

462

M.
Four Immeasurables

M1. Loving-kindness

141 Introduction

463 146 Pervading the directions

473

142 Procedure

464 147 Roots, manifestation, success,

474

143 Disadvantages of anger and

464

failure, and object

resentment

viii

Contents (DetaileD)

144 Developing loving-kindness

466 148 Ten perfections

476

145 Skilful means for removing

469 149 The four resolves

478

anger

M2. Compassion

150 Introduction

479 152 Success and failure

481

151 Procedure

480 153 Miscellaneous topics

481

M3. Appreciative gladness

154 Introduction

482 156 Success and failure

483

155 Procedure

482

M4. Equanimity

157 Introduction

483 159 Success and failure

485

158 Procedure

483 160 Miscellaneous topics

485

N.
Defining of the Four Elements

161 Introduction

491 168 Powder

501

162 Grasping the elements in brief

492 169 Inseparability

502

163 Grasping the elements in detail

494 170 Conditions

502

164 Ten ways of defining the

495 171 Characteristics

505

elements

172 Similarity and dissimilarity

505

165 Word meaning

495 173 Unity and difference

505

166 Function

499 174 Element puppet

506

167 Clusters

500 175 Conclusion

507

O.
Perception of Repulsiveness of Food

176 Introduction

508 180 Location

510

177 Five ways of practice

509 181 Oozing

511

178 Searching

509 182 Assemblage

511

179 Breaking up and using

510 183 Conclusion

511

P.
Base of Nothingness and Base of Neither-perception-nor-

512

non-perception

Q.
Chapter Conclusion

512

ix

Contents (DetaileD)

Volume II

Chapter 9 - Five Direct Knowledges

1 Introduction

513 10 Supernormal power due to

518

2 Three kinds of supernormal

513

[right] application

power

11 Procedure of developing

518

3 Seven kinds of supernormal

514

supernormal power

power

12 Supernormal power of resolve

523

4 Supernormal power due to the

515 13 Supernormal power of

526

pervasive force of knowledge

miraculous transformation

5 Supernormal power due to

515 14 Supernormal power of

527

the pervasive force of

[producing a] mind-made

concentration

[body]

6 Supernormal power of the noble 516 15 Miscellaneous topics 528

ones

16 Divine ear

529

7 Supernormal power born of

517 17 Knowledge of others’ minds

530

result of kamma

18 Recollection of past lives

532

8 Supernormal power of the

517 19 Divine eye

535

meritorious

20 Miscellaneous topics

539

9 Supernormal power sprung from 518

magic knowledge

Chapter 10 - Exposition of Wisdom ( Paññāniddesa) 1 Introduction

541

5 Qualities needed for obtaining

543

2 Definition, characteristic,

541

wisdom

function, manifestation,

6 Kinds of wisdom

544

and footing of wisdom

7 Two kinds of wisdom

544

3 Benefits of wisdom

542

8 Three kinds of wisdom

545

4 Meaning of wisdom

543

9 Four kinds of wisdom

547

Chapter 11 - The Five Skills

1 Introduction

553

A.
Skill in the Aggregates

2 What is the skill in the aggregates?

553

B.
Aggregate of Matter

3 What is the aggregate of matter?
553 10 Producing

559

4 Four great primaries

554 11 Clusters

560

5 Dependent matter

554 12 Birth

567

6 Sense base

555 13 Diversity

568

7 Other kinds of dependent matter 558 14 Two kinds of matter 569

x

Contents (DetaileD)

8 Difference between the four

559 15 Three kinds of matter

569

great primaries and dependent

16 Four kinds of matter

571

matter

17 Unity

572

9 Five ways of knowing matter

559

C.
Aggregate of Feeling

18 What is the aggregate of feeling?

573

D.
Aggregate of Perception

19 What is the aggregate of perception?

575

E.
Aggregate of Formations

20 What is the aggregate of

577 21 Meaning and similes

578

formations?

F. Aggregate of Consciousness

22 What is the aggregate of

584 27 Four ways of knowing the five

590

consciousness?

aggregates

23 Three ways of knowing

585 28 Word meaning

591

consciousness

29 Characteristic

591

24 Bases and objects

586 30 Analysis

592

25 Objects

587 31 Inclusion

593

26 States

589

G.
Skill in the Sense Bases

32 What is the skill in the sense

595 36 Condition

599

bases?

37 Occurrence of the process of

603

33 Five ways of knowing the sense 598

mind

bases

38 Simile of the mango

605

34 Word meaning

598 39 Inclusion

608

35 Sense object

598

H.
Skill in the Elements

40 What is the skill in the elements?
609 41 Inclusion 611

I.
Skill in Dependent Arising

42 What is the skill in dependent

613 50 Three links

628

arising?

51 Existence-link

628

43 Explanation of the twelve factors 614 52 Kamma, kamma-sign, 629

44 Simile of the seed

615

destination, and destination-

45 Simile of the sun and the simile 617

sign

of the two bundles of reeds

53 Four collections

632

46 Simile of the seed and sprout

619 54 Twenty modes

632

47 In a single mind-moment

621 55 Wheel

635

xi

Contents (DetaileD)

48 Questions on kamma, afflictions, 625 56 Way

635

results, etc. 57 Analysis

636

49 Seven ways of knowing

627 58 Inclusion

637

dependent arising

J.
Skill in the Noble Truths

59 What is the skill in the noble truths?
639 67 Word meaning 647

60 Truth of suffering

639 68 Characteristics

648

61 Kinds of suffering

641 69 Sequence

650

62 Truth of the origination of

642 70 Collection

651

suffering

71 Simile

652

63 Truth of the cessation of

643 72 Analysis

652

suffering

73 Enumeration

653

64 Truth of the path leading to the

644 74 Oneness

655

cessation of suffering

75 Diversity

655

65 Why four noble truths are taught 646 76 Successive explanation 656

66 Eleven ways of knowing the

647 77 Inclusion

659

four noble truths

Chapter 12 - Exposition of the Truths ( Saccaniddesa) 1 Introduction

661 20 Knowledge of what is appearing 691

2 Procedure of defining the four

661

as fearful

noble truths

21 Knowledge of desire for release 693

3 Defining the truth of suffering

662 22 Knowledge of conformity

694

4 Defining the truth of origination 664 23 Knowledge of change of 696

5 Defining the truth of cessation

666

lineage

6 Defining the truth of the path

666 24 Knowledge of the path

697

leading to the cessation of

25 Comprehension of the truths

698

suffering

in a single moment

7 Comprehension of the five

666 26 Three fetters

703

aggregates by way of the

27 Stream-enterer

706

three characteristics

28 Once-returner

709

8 Grasping the sign

670 29 Non-returner

709

9 Grasping the aggregates in

670 30 Arahant

709

three ways

31 Three kinds of stream-enterer

711

10 Grasping of the sign of mind

672

and the non-returner

11 Knowledge of rise and fall

673 32 Five kinds of non-returner

712

12 Obtaining the higher knowledge 675 33 No further existence for the 714

13 Four states

677

arahant

14 Knowledge of delimitation of

682 34 Gradual realization of the fruit

715

formations

35 Flaw one

715

15 Knowledge of the contemplation 682 36 Flaw two

716

of dissolution

37 Flaw three

717

xii

Contents (DetaileD)

16 Three ways of seeing dissolution 683 38 Flaw four

717

17 Clusters

683 39 Flaw five

717

18 Pairs

684 40 Flaw six

718

19 Analysis

684 41 Flaw seven

718

42 Objection

718

Miscellaneous topics

43 Insight

719 60 Six roots of dispute

733

44 Thinking

720 61 Seven latent tendencies

733

45 Rapture

721 62 Eight worldly states

734

46 Feelings

722 63 Nine conceits

734

47 Noble planes

722 64 Ten grounds for afflictions

735

48 Three supramundane faculties

723 65 Ten grounds for anger

735

49 Three liberations

724 66 Ten courses of unwholesome

736

50 One hundred and thirty-four

729

kamma

afflictions

67 Ten fetters

736

51 Three roots of unwholesomeness 729 68 Ten kinds of wrongness 737

52 Three searches

730 69 Twelve distortions

737

53 Four contaminations

730 70 Twelve arisings of the

738

54 Four ties

730

unwholesome mind

55 Four torrents and four yokes

731 71 Two attainments not shared

739

56 Four clingings

732

with the worldling

57 Four kinds of going the wrong

732 72 Attainment of fruition

739

way

73 Attainment of the cessation of

743

58 Five kinds of selfishness

732

perception and feeling

59 Five hindrances

732

Chapter Conclusion

750

Appendices

Appendix I - Tibetan Translation of the Vimuktimārgadhutaguṇanirdeśa

1 Introduction

752 10 Wilderness-dweller

758

2 Thirteen kinds of asceticism

752 11 Tree-root-dweller

759

3 Rag-robe-wearer

753 12 Open-air-dweller

759

4 Three-robes-wearer

754 13 Charnel-ground-dweller

760

5 Almsfood-gatherer

755 14 User-of-any-dwelling

760

6 Uninterrupted alms-round goer

755 15 Sitter

761

7 One-sitting-eater

756 16 Expediencies

762

8 Food-limiter

757 17 Eight and three ascetic qualities 764

9 Later-food-denier

757 18 Miscellaneous topics

764

xiii

Contents (DetaileD)

Appendix II - Quotations from the Vimuttimagga in the

Saṃskṛtāsaṃskṛtaviniścaya

2 § 2

Definition of virtue

768 11 § 61 Kinds of suffering

797

4 § 13

Five kinds of concentration

769 11 § 62 Truth of the origination of

797

10 § 1

Introduction

769

suffering

10 § 2

Definition, characteristic,

770 11 § 63 Truth of the cessation of

797

function, manifestation,

suffering

and footing of wisdom

11 § 64 Truth of the path leading to

798

10 § 3

Benefits of wisdom

771

the cessation of suffering

10 § 4

Meaning of wisdom

771 11 § 65 Why four noble truths are

799

10 § 5

Qualities needed for

771

taught

obtaining wisdom

11 § 66 Eleven ways of knowing the 799

10 § 6–7 Two kinds of wisdom

772

four noble truths

10 § 8

Three kinds of wisdom

772 11 § 67 Word meaning

799

10 § 9

Four kinds of wisdom

773 11 § 68 Characteristic

799

11 § 1

Introduction

775 11 § 69 Sequence

800

11 § 2–4 Skill in the aggregates

776 11 § 70 Collection

800

11 § 5

Dependent matter

776 11 § 71 Simile

800

11 § 7

Kinds of dependent matter

776 11 § 72 Analysis

801

(end)

11 § 73 Enumeration

801

11 § 9

Five ways of knowing matter 776 11 § 74 Oneness

802

11 § 10 Producing

776 11 § 75 Diversity

802

11 § 11 Clusters

777 11 § 76 Successive explanation

803

11 § 12 Birth

778 11 § 77 Inclusion

805

11 § 13 Diversity

778 12 § 23 Knowledge of change of

806

11 § 14 Two kinds of matter

779

lineage

11 § 15 Three kinds of matter

779 12 § 24 Knowledge of the path

806

11 § 16 Four kinds of matter

779 12 § 25 Comprehension of the truths 806

11 § 17 Unity

780

in a single moment

11 § 18 What is the aggregate of

780 12 § 26 Three fetters

808

feeling?

12 § 27 Stream-enterer

808

11 § 19 What is the aggregate of

781 12 § 28 Once-returner

809

perception?

12 § 29 Non-returner

809

11 § 20 What is the aggregate of

782 12 § 30 Arahant

810

formations?

12 § 31 Three kinds of stream-enterer 811

11 § 22 What is the aggregate of

782

and the non-returner

consciousness?

12 § 32 Five kinds of non-returner

811

11 § 27 Four ways of knowing the

782 12 § 33 No further existence for the 811

five aggregates

arahant

11 § 28 Word meaning

782 12 § 47 Noble planes

812

xiv

Contents (DetaileD)

11 § 29 Characteristic

783 12 § 48 Three supramundane

812

11 § 30 Analysis

783

faculties

11 § 31 Inclusion

783 12 § 49 Three liberations

812

11 § 32 Skill in the sense bases

784 12 § 50 Hundred thirty-four

813

11 § 39 Skill in the sense bases (end) 785

defilements

11 § 40 Skill in the elements

785 12 § 51 Three roots of

813

11 § 41 Differences between the

785

unwholesomeness

aggregates, sense bases

12 § 52 Three searches

813

and element methods

12 § 53 Four contaminations

813

11 § 42 Skill in dependent arising

786 12 § 54 Four ties

814

11 § 43 Explanation of the twelve

787 12 § 55 Four torrents

814

factors

12 § 56 Four clingings

814

11 § 44 Simile of the seed

787 12 § 57 Four kinds of going the

814

11 § 45 Simile of the sun and the two 788

wrong way

bundles of reeds

12 § 58 Five kinds of selfishness

814

11 § 46 Simile of the seed and sprout 789 12 § 59 Five hindrances 815

11 § 47 In a single mind moment

789 12 § 60 Six roots of dispute

815

11 § 48 Questions on kamma,

790 12 § 61 Seven latent tendencies

815

defilements, results, etc. 12 § 62 Eight worldly states

815

11 § 49 Seven ways of knowing

791 12 § 63 Nine conceits

816

dependent arising

12 § 64 Ten grounds for afflictions

816

11 § 50 Three links

791 12 § 65 Ten grounds for anger

816

11 § 51 Existence links

791 12 § 66 Ten unwholesome actions

816

11 § 52 Kamma, kamma-sign,

792 12 § 67 Ten fetters

817

destination, and

12 § 68 Ten kinds of wrongness

817

destination-sign

12 § 69 Twelve distortions

817

11 § 53 Four collections

792 12 § 70 Twelve arisings of the

818

11 § 54 Twenty modes

792

unwholesome mind

11 § 55 Wheel

793 12 § 71 Attainments not shared with 818

11 § 56 Way

793

the worldling

11 § 57 Analysis

794 12 § 72 Attainment of fruition

818

11 § 58 Inclusion

794 12 § 73 Attainment of the cessation 820

11 § 59 Skill in the noble truths

795

of perception and feeling

11 § 60 Truth of suffering

796

xv

Contents (DetaileD)

Appendix III - The Pāli Commentaries and their Sources

1 The origins of the Pāli

823

6 Translation of the Sīhaḷaṭṭhakathā 852

commentaries ( Aṭṭhakathā)

7 Structural changes

855

2 Sīhaḷaṭṭhakathā

840

8 Differences in commentaries

859

3 Porāṇā

845

as pointed out in the

4 Aṭṭhakathā in other Theravāda

847

Sāratthamañjūsā

traditions

9 Dīpavaṃsa and Mahāvaṃsa

863

5 The sources of the

848 10 Different attributions of ideas

865

Visuddhimagga and other

11 Reasons for Buddhaghosa’s

868

commentaries of Buddhaghosa

commentary project

Appendix IV - The Reasons for the Split between

the Mahāvihāra and Abhayagirivihāra

871

Appendix V - Attabhāvavatthu and Ātmavastu

1 Attabhāvavatthu

878

2 Translations of Pāli passages

880

3 Ātmavastu

883

Bibliography

Vimuttimagga Bibliography

887

General Bibliography

889

Index

902

xvi

ABBREVIATIONS

A

Aṅguttara Nikāya

Abhidh-s

Abhidhammatthasaṅgaha

Abhi-av

Abhidhammāvatāra

Ap

Apadāna

As

Atthasālinī (= Dhammasaṅgaṇi-aṭṭhakathā)

CJKV-E

CJKV-English Dictionary, edited by Charles Muller.

Cp

Cariyāpiṭaka

CPD

Critical Pali Dictionary.

CS

Chaṭṭha Saṅgāyana edition of the Tipiṭaka, as digitized by the

Vipassana Research Institute.

Cv

Cūḷavaṃsa

D

Dīgha Nikāya

DDB

Digital Dictonary of Buddhism, edited by Charles Muller Dg

Dergé edition

Dhp

Dhammapada

Dhp-a

Dhammapada-aṭṭhakathā

Dhs

Dhammasaṅgaṇi

DPPN

Dictionary of Pali Proper Names

EKS

Ehara, Kheminda, and Soma

GRETIL

Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages (at http:
//gretil.
sub.uni-goettingen.de)

It

Itivuttaka

J-a

Jātaka-aṭṭhakathā

LC

Lance Cousins

Nidd I

Mahā Niddesa

Nett

Nettippakaraṇa

Paṭis

Paṭisambhidāmagga

Paṭis-a

Paṭisambhidā-aṭṭhakathā (= Saddhammappakāsinī)

Pe

Old Peking edition of Saṃskṛtāsaṃskṛtaviniścaya

Peṭ

Peṭakopadesa

PED

Pali English Dictionary, Rhys-Davids and Stede xvii

AbbreviAtions

PTS

Pali Text Society

PoF

Path of Freedom

PoP

The Path of Purification:
Visuddhimagga, Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli PtF

Path to Freedom

M-a

Papañcasūdanī (= Majjhimanikāya-aṭṭhakathā)

M

Majjhima Nikāya

Mhv

Mahāvaṃsa

Mil

Milindapañhā (V.
Trenckner’s ed.
)

Mvy

Mahāvyutpatti

MW

A Sanskrit English Dictionary, Monier Williams

Rūpār

Rūpārūpavibhāga

Lal

Lalitavistara

S

Saṃyutta Nikāya

Saddh

Saddhammopāyana

Sav

Saṃskṛtāsaṃskṛtaviniścaya

Skt

Sanskrit

Sn

Suttanipāta (Harvard Oriental Series)

Sn-a

Suttanipāta-aṭṭhakathā (= Paramatthajotikā)

Sp

Samantapāsādikā (= Vinaya-aṭṭhakathā)

Spk

Sāratthappakāsinī (= Saṃyuttanikāya-aṭṭhakathā) Sv

Sumaṅgalavilāsinī (= Dīghanikāya-aṭṭhakathā)

Th

Theragāthā

Thī

Therīgāthā

THL

Tibetan and Himalaya Library (www.
thlib.org)

Ud

Udāna

Ud-a

Udāna-aṭṭhakathā

Vibh

Vibhaṅga

Vibh-a

Vibhaṅga-aṭṭhakathā (= Sammohavinodanī)

Vim

Vimuttimagga

Vin

Vinaya

Vism

Visuddhimagga

Vism-mhṭ

Paramatthamañjūsā (= Visuddhimagga-mahāṭikā)

xviii

Translator’s Preface

The Vimuttimagga is an important work in several respects.
Ever since Makoto Nagai announced the discovery of the Chinese translation of this treatise in 1919, scholars have been studying its origins and its relationship to its Pāli counterpart, the Visuddhimagga.
The first complete English translation of the work, The Path of Freedom, by the Venerables Ehara, Kheminda, and Soma (= EKS), has also found the interest of practitioners of Buddhist meditation, who are drawn to its practical instructions.

The Path of Freedom (= PoF) was published in 1961, but the actual draft translation was made 25 years earlier, in 1936. At this time, fifty cyclostyled copies of the handwritten draft were distributed to scholars “in the hope of receiving suggestions and criticisms helpful in bringing out a complete translation” (PoF xiv, xxvii).
Kheminda emphasised that the translation was only a draft that was completed in a mere four months and needed revision.
However, after Soma’s passing away in 1960 it was decided that it was to be published without revision (see PoF xiv, xxxi).
While preparing the draft for publication, Kheminda filled in as far as possible the blanks in the draft with the help of the word-by-word translation and Soma’s notes.
The published edition — with Kheminda’s lengthy “In Memoriam” describing Soma’s life (pp.
ix–xxxv) and Soma’s essay “Dhammānupassana” as an appendix (pp.
353–62) — was basically a commemoration volume in honour of Soma Thera.
Scholars discussing The Path of Freedom (e.
g., Endo 1983, Bechert 1989) do not mention that it is a draft translation.

Soma and Kheminda did not know Chinese.
When they visited Japan in 1936

as laymen, under the name of V.
E.P. Pulle and G.
S. Prelis, they were shown the Chinese translation of the Vimuttimagga by the Japanese Buddhist scholar priest N.
R.M. Ehara and on the spot decided to translate it.
With Ehara’s help, they prepared a word-by-word translation into English and, with this, they were able to make a draft translation (PoF p.
xivf). This was done in a mere four months with the help of a Japanese translation of the Vimuttimagga and an English translation of the Visuddhimagga.
In the “Prefatory Note to the Original Draft Translation” (PoF xxvii), EKS write:
“we have derived much help from Prof.
R. Hikata’s Japanese translation of the Gedatsu Do Ron, and Prof.

Pe Maung Tin’s English translation of the Visuddhimagga”.
Ehara, a Nichiren priest, was probably not very familiar with Theravāda Buddhist doctrine, but he could consult Hikata’s Japanese translation.
Soma and Kheminda in turn, although not knowing Chinese and Japanese, could consult Pe Maung Tin’s English translation of the Visuddhimagga, a closely related text.

xix

TranslaTor’s Preface

There is a great need for a complete, accurate, and modern translation of the Vimuttimagga since several passages were left untranslated in The Path of Freedom;
1 there are some mistranslations and inconsistencies in it;
and some of its English terminology is outdated.
Since 1936, scholarship on the Vimuttimagga has greatly evolved, just as scholarship in the whole field of Buddhist studies has.

Tibetan translations of large sections of the Vimuttimagga have been discovered by Bapat and Skilling, and the understanding of Buddhist Chinese has greatly evolved, while important Chinese-Sanskrit-English glossaries of Buddhist texts have been compiled.

Since the key to understanding Chinese translations of Indic texts is the comparison with the Indic original and the right interpretation of the context, I came to the conclusion that a better translation of the Vimuttimagga could be made using my knowledge of the Pāli language and Pāli Buddhist texts as well as the availability of various resources that facilitate the study of Chinese Buddhist texts.
After encouragement from others that I would be able to do it, I began work on the translation.

The main work in translating a Buddhist text such as the Vimuttimagga from the Chinese is to try to find out, from the context and parallels in Pāli works, what the original Indic text conveyed;
see Bucknell 2010:
45–52;
Kieschnick 2014:
v–vi.

This method is quite important since, as will be discussed below, the Chinese translations of Buddhist terms are quite different from each other in various periods and even in the same periods translators differed in their translations of Indic terms and in the manner they translated.
The Chinese translations of some passages can be so cryptic that only a comparison with parallels or similar passages can reveal the intended meaning.
With regard to the Vimuttimagga, fortunately there are many parallels and similar passages in the Visuddhimagga and other commentarial Pāli works.

One great advantage that translators have nowadays is the access to excellent digital tools and resources that greatly facilitate translation.
When Ehara, Kheminda and Soma worked, scholars mostly had to rely on their learning and, when the meaning of Chinese characters was not clear to them, they had to look them up in huge dictionaries, which was very time-consuming.
Nowadays, the whole Taishō edition of the Chinese Tripiṭaka is available in a digital format prepared by the Chinese Buddhist Electronic Text Association (CBETA).
The CBETA version has an excellent search program whereby a character (or a combination of characters) in a text can be quickly compared with the character as it occurs in other contexts in the text itself and this often clarifies the meaning and leads to greater consistency in translation.
The English meanings of the characters and the corresponding Sanskrit words can immediately be viewed with dictionary 1

E.
g., the passage on the two kinds of fruition at Ch.12 § 73 was not translated without there being any notification of this omission.

xx

TranslaTor’s Preface

software loaded with Buddhist classical Chinese dictionaries and glossaries.

For a further and more detailed clarification of characters as used in classical Chinese Buddhist texts, the online Digital Dictionary of Buddhism (DDB) edited by Charles Muller can be used.
Likewise, with respect to the translations into Tibetan, there is the digitized text of the Tibetan translation of the Saṃskṛtā-

saṃskṛtaviniścaya by the Asian Classics Input Project (ACIP) and there is the Tibetan to English Translation Tool of the Tibetan and Himalaya Library (THL), which runs with several glossaries and dictionaries.
The digitized Chaṭṭha Saṅgāyana edition of the Tipiṭaka (CS) that is distributed by the Vipassanā

Research Institute (VRI) was also of great use.
Many Pāli parallels and related passages could be found by searching for one or more words that possibly corresponded to the Chinese characters.

I have tried to make a literal but readable translation.
When it is difficult to determine the exact meaning of passages, this is noted in footnotes.
English translation terminology has been employed that is usually used in modern translations of Pāli texts by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi.
In a few cases, I have preserved the meaning of terms as given in the Chinese and Tibetan translations, which for example translated kilesa as “affliction” (煩惱, nyon mongs pa) and anattā as “without self” or “devoid of self” (無我, bdag med pa).

The method in making this new translation has been twofold:
(1) interpreting and translating the Chinese terms and passages from the perspective of Pāli parallels, mainly from the Visuddhimagga and other commentarial Pāli works, as well as from the general perspective of Theravāda commentarial doctrine and terminology,2 and (2) doing so in light of internal parallels, i.e., words, phrases and passages within the Chinese Vimuttimagga translation itself.

Therefore, the interpretations might not always correspond to how a reader who is not familiar with the Theravāda doctrine and the translation style of Saṅghapāla would understand the text, if he or she can understand them in the first place.
While working on the translation, I frequently was wondering how even a medieval Chinese or Japanese reader could understand the text without being familiar with Pāli idioms, the Theravāda abhidhamma system, and the exegetical methods described in Theravāda texts such as the Peṭakopadesa.
Bapat (1937:
xlvii–xlviii) observed:
“If we look at the mode of translation accepted by Saṅghapāla, we find that very often he tries to be quite literal, and naturally the Chinese translation would give no idea unless one knows the technical words in Pāli or Sanskrit for which the renderings stand”.
The same applies to the Chinese translation of the Samantapāsādikā which, according to Bapat, has “some very literal, almost mechanical, translations of Pāli terms which would hardly make any sense to an ordinary Chinese reader unless he is acquainted with their Indian originals”.
Bapat (1970:
lv).
Thus, in order to translate a Chinese translation of 2

On the importance of taking into account the Indic source texts and parallels in related Indic texts, and reflecting on the likely wording of the lost original, see Bucknell 2010.

xxi

TranslaTor’s Preface

a Buddhist text, knowledge of the Indian original, or related texts and their terminology, is more important than knowledge of a wide range of Chinese literature and characters.
As Kieschnick (2014:
iii) observed:
“It is in fact possible for Indologists to learn to read medieval Chinese translations of Indian Buddhist texts directly, without previous knowledge of Chinese.”

The Chinese translations of Indic Buddhist texts were made over several centuries, and each period and translator had their own idioms.
It can therefore be difficult even for scholars who are familiar with the Chinese of, for example, Tang period translations to correctly interpret the Chinese of the Vimuttimagga.

This unfamiliarity of modern Chinese and Japanese scholars with the classical Buddhist Chinese idioms as well as the Theravāda abhidhamma and commentarial system, etc. , used in the Vimuttimagga was likely the reason why the German Theravāda monk Nyanatiloka Thera (who taught Pāli at universities in Tokyo in the 1920s) failed to persuade any Japanese scholar to undertake the translation (see PoF p.
xiv). This could also be the reason why two Sinhalese Buddhist laymen who were probably not fully aware of the difficulties in translating from Chinese undertook it with the help of a Japanese scholar priest.
Despite the shortcomings of EKS’s draft translation and Bapat’s comparative study, I am highly indebted to and appreciative of their work.
Without their pioneering efforts, this new translation would not have been possible.

For the names of Chinese persons and places the Wade-Giles romanization system has generally been followed.
Since this modern phonetic system and others were designed for romanization of the sounds of modern Chinese languages, not for Indic sounds as represented in Chinese characters 1500 years ago, I have rather romanized according to the way Chinese characters represented Indic sounds in the Vimuttimagga itself and according to Charles Müller’s Digital Dictionary of Buddhism, which often gives the Indic sounds that Chinese characters represent in Chinese translations of Buddhist works.

Given the difficulties in translating this text from Chinese and the large scope of the work involved, it is likely that there are some errors in this translation, that significant Pāli parallels were overlooked, and that there are other things that can be improved upon.
Readers are welcome to suggest improvements for a future edition and can write to me at nyanatusita@gmail.
com.

Along with this book, digital files with a Chinese-Pāli-English glossary, a Tibetan-Chinese-Pāli-English glossary, a document with the Tibetan quotations from the Vimuttimagga in the Saṃskṛtāsaṃskṛtaviniścaya and a file with Bapat’s critical edition of Tibetan text of the Dhutaguṇanirdeśa have been prepared.
These files are available online at https:
//independent.
academia.edu/BhikkhuNyanatusita.

xxii

TranslaTor’s Preface

The Pāli passages in footnotes are from the Chaṭṭha Saṅgāyana of the Tipiṭaka as digitized and distributed by the Vipassana Research Institute.
The Pāli Text Society (PTS) edition page numbers are as given in this digital edition.
Since the beginning of new pages are not clearly marked in the digital edition, the references might occasionally deviate from the page number of the printed PTS editions.

In expressing thanks, the late Lance Cousins was of especially great help with proofreading and finding the correct meaning of and parallels to some difficult abhidhammic passages.
He also made many other useful suggestions.
Roderick Bucknell, William Chu, and Bhikkhu Anālayo also helped with interpreting a few difficult passages in the Chinese.
Yakupitiyage Karunadasa, Bhikkhu Nissarano, Manfred Wierich, Peter Stuckings and Dmytry O.
Ivhaknenko helped with the proofreading and giving various other valuable suggestions for this project.

Petra Kieffer-Pülz gave many valuable suggestions regarding the sources of the Vimuttimagga, etc. Bhikkhunī Dhammadinnā, Bhikkhu Bodhi, and Peter Skilling also helped in various ways.
The Centre of Buddhist Studies at The University of Hong Kong kindly published this book, thereby making it available to readers in Hong Kong and China.
Last but certainly not least, I would like to thank Aosi Mak, who despite having many duties and hardships patiently typeset this large book and gave valuable suggestions regarding the layout.

Bhikkhu Ñāṇatusita

Forest Hermitage

Kandy, 2020

xxiii

1

Introduction

1 The

Vimuttimagga

1.1 General description

The Vimuttimagga, the “Path to Freedom”1 is a manual on the path leading to complete freedom.
Specifically, the Vimuttimagga describes the Buddhist path of practice that leads to nibbāna, the ultimate freedom from all mental bondage and affliction, as expounded according to the doctrine of the Theravāda school of Buddhism.
The emphasis of the treatise is on the development of concentration and it contains detailed explanations of the thirty-eight meditation topics.
It was composed by the Buddhist monk Upatissa as a guide for Buddhist monks who wished to practise and teach this path.

Along with the later, larger, and more scholastic Theravāda treatise Visuddhimagga, the Vimuttimagga is the only known ancient Buddhist manual that is solely dedicated to the cultivation of the path of virtue, concentration and wisdom leading to nibbāna, and that contains such detailed and comprehensive instructions on these topics, especially on meditation.
And like its Visuddhimagga counterpart, it lays out the instructions within a sophisticated, well-organized structure.
Some of the instructions in the Vimuttimagga are not found in the Visuddhimagga and other Pāli works.

Although this is not said so in the text itself, or directly in any other ancient text, there are strong indications that the Vimuttimagga was connected to the Abhayagirivihāra school of the Theravādins of Sri Lanka.
There are also indications that the Visuddhimagga is an adaptation or reconstruction of the Vimuttimagga.

1

EKS’s translation of the name Vimuttimagga was “Path of Freedom”, however, “Path to Freedom” or “Way to Freedom” is more fitting since it describes the path that leads to freedom.
Upatissa defines Vimuttimagga as:
“This path to freedom is for the attainment of freedom.
Through virtue, concentration and wisdom this path of practice is called ‘the path to freedom’ ” (400a02–04:
此解脫道為得解脫, 是具足道以戒定慧謂解脫道).
Nagai (1919:
69) translates it as “Way to Deliverance”.
Likewise, the meaning of Visuddhimagga is “Path to Purification” rather than “Path of Purification”;
see Vism I.
5/p.2:
Tassā visuddhiyā maggo ti visuddhimaggo.
The same applies to Paṭisambhidāmagga, which according to its commentary means “Path to [attain] the Discriminations”;
Paṭis-a I 2:
Tattha paṭisambhidānaṃ maggo ti tannāmavisesito cā ti vuttattā paṭisambhidāmaggassa paṭisambhidāmaggatā tāva vattabbā.

Catasso hi paṭisambhidā … Tāsaṃ paṭisambhidānaṃ maggo adhigamūpāyo ti paṭisambhidā-

maggo, paṭisambhidāpaṭilābhahetū ti vuttaṃ hoti.

2

IntroductIon

The original Pāli text of the Vimuttimagga, probably composed in Sri Lanka in the 3rd or 4th century CE, is lost and the text now only survives as a Chinese translation made in the early 6th century.
Partially, the Vimuttimagga also survives in an early 9th century Tibetan translation of a whole chapter of it, as well as in a Tibetan translation of a medieval Indian compendium that contains large quotations from three chapters of it.
The complete Chinese translation as well as the partial Tibetan translations have all been translated in this book.

1.2 A

Theravāda work

The Vimuttimagga represents ideas and concepts that are considered particular to the Sri Lankan branch of the Theravāda school of Buddhism.
Even more specifically it represents ideas that authors connected to the Mahāvihāra school attributed to the Abhayagirivihāra school;
see § 4.1. The Mahāvihāra and Abhayagirivihāra were the two main monasteries and schools in ancient Sri Lanka.
Although at times there was rivalry between the two schools and some members of the Abhayagirivihāra practised Mahāyāna teachings, with regard to their understanding of the Tipiṭaka the difference between the Mahāvihāra and Abhayagirivihāra schools was minor.
As Bapat (1937:
xxx) observes:
“Upatissa does not at all differ from Buddhaghosa on any fundamental doctrines of Buddhism.
This clearly shows that both of them accept the same Theravāda tradition.
It is only on comparatively minor points that they differ.”

The main doctrinal difference from the perspective of the Mahāvihāra (in terms of prominence given to it in Mahāvihāra scriptures) is the idea that the arahant can have physical torpor ( middha).
This, however, is a very subtle difference and the idea of physical torpor is in fact found in canonical and paracanonical Theravāda works such as the Milindapañhā.

The Vimuttimagga neither promotes ideas that can be considered heretical from the Theravāda perspectives outlined in the Kathāvatthu nor does it contain Mahāyāna teachings.
Using materials from the Kathāvatthu, the Vimuttimagga rejects the Sarvāstivāda idea of gradual realization of the truths.
The descriptions of the bodhisatta’s practice of the ten perfections and the four resolves (Ch.8 §

147–148) could be regarded as being due to Mahāyāna influence, but these ideas, and others not found in the Vimuttimagga such as Buddha-fields ( buddhakkhetta), are also found in the Buddhavaṃsa, the Cariyāpiṭaka and its Commentary, the Jātaka Commentary, the Apadāna, and other Mahāvihāra works.
They are proto-Mahāyāna ideas that long predate the Mahāyāna as a concept and group identity with its own theories, practices and institutions.
The Vimuttimagga can therefore be considered a traditional or orthodox Theravāda work in as much as the Visuddhimagga is one.

IntroductIon

3

It is unclear whether the doctrinal ideas that are found in the Vimuttimagga and were rejected in the Visuddhimagga and the aṭṭhakathā of the Mahāvihāra were new ideas that developed in the Abhayagirivihāra after the split with the Mahā-

vihāra and that the latter preserved the older ideas, or, vice versa, that the Abhayagirivihāra as represented in the Vimuttimagga retained older ideas and that the Mahāvihāra developed new ideas, or that both schools developed new ideas.
However, at least with regard to the idea of physical torpor and the idea of the factors of asceticism as not to be spoken in terms of wholesome etc. , (see § 5), it can be said that the Vimuttimagga is closer to or represents ideas that are found in the Pāli canon and paracanonical works.

1.3 Structure

As is indicated in its introductory verse, the structure of the Vimuttimagga is based on the traditional triple sequential division of the noble eightfold path into virtue, concentration, and wisdom.
The Vimuttimagga therefore consists of three divisions or parts:
Part 1 is on virtue or sīla;
Part 2 is on concentration or samādhi;
and Part 3 is on wisdom or paññā, including the final goal of nibbāna or ultimate freedom.
The Visuddhimagga has the same structure.

The Chinese translation of the Vimuttimagga is divided into twelve chapters or sections ( vagga, 品), including the Introduction ( nidāna).
Six of the chapters are called “exposition” ( niddesa, 分別), e.g., the “Exposition of Virtue” ( sīlaniddesa).

Since the Visuddhimagga only contains expositions ( niddesa), and since the Tibetan translation of the chapter on asceticism corresponds to Dhutaguṇaniddesa while it is only called “Ascetism” in Chinese, possibly all chapters of the Vimuttimagga except the introduction were originally called niddesa.

The expositions in the Visuddhimagga are subdivided into sections ( pariccheda) of which the number is mentioned at the end of each of the sections;
see Collins 2009:
504–507. In the Vimuttimagga no such sections are mentioned or enumerated, but from Chapter 8 onwards there is a division of the chapters into topic sections by way of conclusions such as “The miscellaneous topics are finished”;
see § 13.

The part on concentration makes up more than half of the Vimuttimagga, i.e., six out of twelve chapters.
The part on virtue consists of two chapters;
and the part on wisdom consists of three chapters.
2 Given the emphasis on the development of concentration and the detailed explanations of the thirty-eight meditation topics, the Vimuttimagga can be rightly called a meditation manual.

Perhaps more specifically and traditionally it can be called a “Path manual”

since it encompasses the development of the whole eightfold path and bears similarities with the two other “Path manuals” called Paṭisambhidāmagga and Visuddhimagga.

2

In comparison, in the Visuddhimagga the section on virtue takes up two chapters, concentration eleven chapters and wisdom ten chapters.

4

IntroductIon

Most of the chapters in the Vimuttimagga are introduced by a passage on what the meditator ( yogāvacara, 坐禪人), after he has carried out the instructions as given in the preceding chapters, has to do next.
3 The introductions to chapters 6 and 7

instead say what the teacher should do, i.e., he should observe the meditator and teach him a meditation subject that fits his temperament.
Therefore, the Vimuttimagga was also intended, or perhaps even mainly intended, as a guide and reference book for monks who taught meditation to other monks.
The Visuddhimagga was also intended as a manual for teachers since it contains several references to stories “that are to be told” ( kathetabbaṃ), supposedly by a teacher to his pupils;
see Rāhula 1966:
xxvi.

Unusually, the Vimuttimagga does not contain mātikā summaries at the beginning of the text as do Abhidhamma texts such as the Paṭisambhidāmagga.
Instead, Upatissa begins by quoting canonical verses by the Buddha that describe the main topics to be discussed and then explains them word by word.
As von Hinüber (Hinüber 1996:
125, § 247) observes with regard to the absence of mātikā in the Visuddhimagga, this way of starting was unusual enough for Dhammapāla to justify it in his subcommentary.
Dhammapāla (Vism-mhṭ I 2) says that since the Visuddhimagga contains explanations, etc. , it cannot start with a praise of the Buddha.
No other examples can be found in Pāli literature of this way of introducing works by quoting and explaining a Pāli verse word by word.
Perhaps what comes closest is the introduction to the Peṭakopadesa which starts with the canonical prose passage about the two conditions for right view (albeit in a slightly abridged and different form — perhaps in the form as transmitted in the Sutta Piṭaka of the school that this text originally belonged to) and then explains it, before continuing with giving summary verses ( uddānagāthā) of the methods that will be discussed.
However, Upatissa’s introduction is also reminiscent of traditional bhāṇa preaching wherein a Buddhist monk starts his discourse by reciting and explaining a Pāli verse of the Buddha that fits the topic that he will talk about and in this way authorizes it.
Upatissa might have been influenced by the way “Dhamma preacher” ( dhamma-kathika) monks introduced their sermons and, in fact, could have been a Dhamma preacher himself.

Upatissa discusses topics by way of an abhidhammic-style question and answer structure.
Some topics are discussed by simple “What is …?”
questions, which can be followed by further questions regarding items mentioned in the answer.

This framework reflects the basic question and answer structure found in abhidhamma texts such as the Vibhaṅga, Dhammasaṅgaṇī, and especially the Paṭisambhidāmagga.
Sometimes, however, the question and answers are expanded by way of a set of standard questions and answers regarding 3

The exceptions are ch. 1, where, however, the meditator is implied with the “men … who desire freedom”, etc. ;
ch. 2, a theoretical analysis of virtue;
ch. 8, an extension of chapter 7;
and ch. 10, a theoretical analysis of wisdom.

IntroductIon

5

the definition of the topic, its practice, characteristic, essential function, manifestation, footing, benefits, etc. This more sophisticated set accords with the refined method of exegesis and analysis of topics by way of their characteristic, etc. , as expounded in the Peṭakopadesa and Nettippakaraṇa;
see § 6. The sets of questions are given in the introductions of the three main sections (i.e., on sīla, samādhi, paññā at Ch.2 § 1, Ch.4 § 1, Ch.8 § 1, Ch.10 § 1) and are then answered one by one in the following sections, or are given at the beginning of new topics (e.
g., Ch.8 § 51, 63, 75, Ch.9 § 2).

1.4 Title

The original title of this text is Vimuttimagga as Ācariya Dhammapāla calls it in his Visuddhi-magga-mahāṭīka (see § 4.5). In the colophon of the Tibetan translation of Ch.3 it is given in Sanskrit as Vimuktimārga.
The Chinese title means “Freedom Path”.
The original title Vimuttimagga is used in this book rather than the Chinese title.

The Chinese title as given on the title page and in the fascicle endings is 解脫

道論, Jiĕ-tuō-dào-lùn, lit.
“Exposition of the Freedom Path”, corresponding to Vimuttimagga-niddesa.
However, at the beginning and end of the text itself (Ch.1 § 1/p. 399c20;
Conclusion/461c17) the title “Freedom Path”, 解脫道, is used.
The designation 論, “exposition” or “treatise” (Skt nirdeśa, Pāli niddesa), was added by a Chinese librarian or cataloguer in order to categorise the text in the Chinese Tripiṭaka, as was done with all texts.
The Vimuttimagga is located as text no.
1648 in the Treatise section of the Taishō Tripiṭaka, which is the 32nd section (T32, with texts nos.
1628–1692). All text titles in this section have the suffix 論.

Ehara et al translated the title Vimuttimagga as “Path of Freedom”, however, the title “Path to Freedom” or “Way to Freedom” is more fitting since it describes the path that leads to freedom.
Upatissa defines Vimuttimagga as:

“This path to freedom is for the attainment of freedom.
Through virtue, concentration and wisdom this path of practice is called ‘the path to freedom’.


(400a02–04:
此解脫道為得解脫, 是具足道以戒定慧謂解脫道).
Nagai (1919:
69)

translates it as “Way to Deliverance”.

Likewise, the meaning of Visuddhimagga is “Path to Purification” rather than

“Path of Purification”;
see Vism I.
5/p.2:
“The Path to Purification is that the path

[to attain] to that purification”:
Tassā visuddhiyā maggo ti visuddhimaggo.

The same applies to Paṭisambhidāmagga, which according to its commentary means “Path to [attain] the Discriminations”;
Paṭis-a I 2:
… paṭisambhidānaṃ

maggo ti … Tāsaṃ paṭisambhidānaṃ maggo adhigamūpāyo ti paṭisambhidā-

maggo, paṭisambhidāpaṭilābhahetū ti vuttaṃ hoti.

6

IntroductIon

1.5 Author

In the subtitle of the Chinese text, the author of the Vimuttimagga is given as

“arahant Upatissa” ( a-luo-han-u-pa-ti-sa, 阿羅漢優波底沙).
4 The author’s name is not given in the subtitle of the Tibetan translation of the chapter on asceticism nor does Daśabalaśrīmitra mention it with the quotations from the “scripture of the Noble Sthavira school”.

An attribution by the commentator Ācariya Dhammapāla in his Visuddhimaggga-mahāṭīkā confirms that Upatissa was the author of the Vimuttimagga.

Dhammapāla does so with reference to a passage on the “three causes of temperament” in the Visuddhimagga (III.
80), wherein the three causes are attributed to “some”, and which is found in the Vim at Ch.6 § 5 (410a12–13).

Dhammapāla says:
“ ‘some’ is said with reference to Upatissa Thera, for it has been said in this manner by him in the Vimuttimagga” (“ekacce ti upatissattheraṃ

sandhāy’ āha, tena hi vimuttimagge tathā vuttaṃ”;
Vism-mhṭ I 123). There is not any other reference to Upatissa or the Vimuttimagga in commentarial Pāli literature.
5

Upatissa refers five times to himself in the introductory chapter by stating

“I shall teach” or “I teach”, showing that the Vimuttimagga is the work of one author.
For example, in the introduction he says:
“To those who … desire freedom … I shall now teach the path to freedom.
Listen well!”
Following Upatissa’s example, Buddhaghosa also refers to himself in his introduction to the Visuddhimagga (I.
4) “… I shall expound the Path to Purification;
when it is being carefully expounded by me, all those who desire purity, listen well!”

First person statements such as these are not found in the anonymous late canonical and paracanonical Pāli works.
The Vimuttimagga is therefore the first known Theravāda work wherein the author refers to himself in the text itself.

1.6 Relation to the Visuddhimagga and Paṭisambhidāmagga

Ācariya Buddhaghosa probably composed his Visuddhimagga with the Vimuttimagga serving as the main inspiration as well as template for it.
6 There are many similarities in structure and contents between the Vimuttimagga and Visuddhi-4

It is very unlikely that the attribution “arahant” was part of the original text since Pāli works do not mention the attainments of authors in titles, prefaces and colophons.
In fact, only the names of the texts are given in titles.
Probably a Chinese bibliographer or copyist confused the name Upatissa with the personal name of the Sāriputta, one of the chief disciples of the Buddha.

5

That is, in medieval literature.
In the modern Visuddhimagga-nidānakathā (pp.
40–44), composed by the editors of the Chaṭṭha-saṅgāyana edition of the Tipiṭaka in the 1950s, there is a discussion of the Vimuttimagga based on Ehara et al’s translation and Bapat’s comparative study.

6

On the Vimuttimagga being the predecessor of and example for the Visuddhimagga, see Norman 1983:
120, von Hinüber 1996:
124, and Anālayo 2009b:
3 & fn. 9

IntroductIon

7

magga,7 and also great similarity in their names.
Athough the Buddhaghosa does not mention the Vimuttimagga and its author, passages attributed to “some” in the Visuddhimagga can be traced in the Vimuttimagga;
see § 5. Bapat has discussed the relation between the Vimuttimagga and Visuddhimagga in great detail in his comparative study of the two texts, therefore the relation will only be briefly discussed here and the focus will be on aspects that Bapat did not go into much.

The Visuddhimagga can be regarded as the Mahāvihāra’s adaptation of and counterpart of the Vimuttimagga.
Ācariya Buddhaghosa adapted, or rather reconstructed, the Vimuttimagga to make to make it fit the doctrine of the Mahāvihāra and to make it the centre of its commentarial system.
Similar to the way Buddhaghosa made his commentaries by translating, copying, and adapting materials from the Sīhaḷaṭṭhakathā and from other sources, he composed the Visuddhimagga by copying and adapting materials from the Vimuttimagga, by using its general structure, but also by incorporating and adapting materials from other sources (see Appendix III § 5).

Given this indebtedness, it is remarkable that the Vimuttimagga and its author are not mentioned by Ācariya Buddhaghosa in the Visuddhimagga or in any of his other works.
In the colophon to the Visuddhimagga, he does not mention any names of texts, but just says that it is a collation of “almost all of the authoritative decisions [of the Mahāvihāra elders] on the meaning of terms such as virtue in the five Nikāyas in the style of the commentaries” (see Appendix III § 5). The reason for this absence of names could be that he did not wish to reveal that his work was based on the work of a competing school.

The Vimuttimagga and Visuddhimagga are both based on the threefold division of the noble eightfold path into the aggregates of sīla, samādhi, and paññā.

The Vimuttimagga, however, emphasises the final goal of freedom — i.e., “right freedom”, sammāvimutti, as the final factor of the tenfold path of the arahant —

as the result of practising the threefold division.
8 The Visuddhimagga emphasises the goal of purity, visuddhi, and superimposes the scheme of the seven purifications onto the threefold division.
9 The Visuddhimagga includes much of 7

These are discussed in detail by Bapat in his Vimuttimagga and Visuddhimagga:
A Comparative Study, 1937.

8

The last two factors of the ten path factors of the non-trainee or arahant — right knowledge and right freedom (see M III 75, D III 271, A V 221) — are explained in the Pāli commentaries as knowledge of the fruit of arahantship and the freedom of the fruit of arahantship ( arahattaphalañāṇa-arahattaphalavimutti);
see Mp III 115. The Vimutttimagga’s introductory verses indicate that Upatissa divides the path into the four Dhamma aggregates ( dhammakkhandha) of sīla, samādhi, paññā, and vimutti (see D III 229).

At the end of chapter 1, Upatissa indicates that only when sīla, samādhi, and paññā are fully developed, they give rise to arahantship, the unexcelled vimutti.

9

Upatissa places the insight knowledges ( vipassanāñāṇa) within the framework of the four noble truths, while Buddhaghosa places them in the framework of the seven purifications

8

IntroductIon

the same material as the Vimuttimagga, but in addition contains many stories and anecdotes, discussions on grammar, folk etymologies, and opinions of elders and teachers that are agreed with or rejected (III.
96, IV 76, XVII.
75);
see also Collins 2009:
510. On the other hand, the Vimuttimagga is to the point and does not contain digressions from the topic at hand.
It does not contain a single illustrative story or anecdote (see Ñāṇamoli 2010:
xlv, Norman 1983:
113), nor any grammatical analysis and etymology, nor any discussions or opinions of teachers about subtle points.

The Visuddhimagga has a much wider scope than the Vimuttimagga.
As Ñāṇamoli says, it serves as “the hub of a complete and coherent method of exegesis of the Tipiṭaka, using the ‘Abhidhamma method’ as it is called.
And it sets out detailed practical instructions for developing purification of mind”.
10 The introductory verses of Ācariya Buddhaghosa’s commentaries of the four Nikāyas say that the Visuddhimagga is “in the middle of the four Āgamas”;
see von Hinüber 1996:
112, § 226 and 125, § 247. It cannot be ascertained whether the Vimuttimagga also served as a hub or reference point of an exegetical system since no commentarial works of any Theravāda schools other than the Mahāvihāra survive.
11 However, its contents and structure indicate that it served as a meditation manual, and not as the hub of a commentarial system.
Although it systematizes the path of meditation and is abhidhammic in method and style (see Bapat 1937:
xlvii;
Frauwallner 1995:
95), it is certainly not “an Abhidhamma exegesis, serving as a compendium of that portion of the Buddhist literature” (Nagai 1919:
80), since it has a much wider scope, which encompasses the whole Tipiṭaka.
Indeed, in his introduction, Upatissa declares that he teaches the path to freedom to those “who inquire in detail as to the kinds of matter of the Suttas, Abhidhamma and Vinaya”.

Ñāṇamoli (2011:
xv) stresses the practical nature of the Vimuttimagga, while downplaying the role of abhidhamma in the text:
“Also Abhidhamma, which is the keystone of Bhadantācariya Buddhaghosa’s exegesis, is not used at all in the Vimuttimagga (aggregates, truths, etc. , do not in themselves constitute ( satta visuddhi), which in its canonical form lacks the final goal of freedom, vimutti, i.e., arahant-ship, the final stage of other schemes such as the Noble Path.
The sevenfold visuddhi scheme is only found in the Rathavinīta Sutta (M I 145f.), and as part of the ninefold pārisuddhi-padhāniyaṅga scheme in the Dasuttara-sutta (D III 288) wherein paññā and vimutti are the last two factors.
These suttas indicate that the seventh purification, i.e., the purification of knowledge and insight ( ñāṇadassanavisuddhi), is not the final goal of nibbāna but only a preliminary to it.
To make up for this lack, Buddhaghosa reinterpreted the meaning of ñāṇadassanavisuddhi and includes all the four path knowledges in it.

On this, see Norman 1983:
113, Bodhi in Ñāṇamoli & Bodhi 1995:
1214 n.
288, Anālayo 2009a:
630–631, 2009b:
8–11, and especially Endo 2015.

10 Ñāṇamoli 2010:
xxvii.
See also Norman 1983:
120;
Frauwallner 1995:
94

11 Quotations and references in the Mahāvihāra commentaries indicate that other Theravāda schools also had commentaries, but very little is known about them;
see Mori 1988:
43–44, and Appendix III § 4.

IntroductIon

9

Abhidhamma in the sense of that Piṭaka).
There is for instance even in its description of the consciousness aggregate, no reference to the Dhammasaṅgaṇī’s classification of 89 types, and nothing from the Paṭṭhāna;
and though the cognitive series is stated once in its full form (in Ch.11) no use is made of it to explain conscious workings.
This Vimuttimagga is in fact a book of practical instructions, not of exegesis”.
This is an overstatement because the Vimuttimagga does use the abhidhamma method, albeit less than the Visuddhimagga.
For example, to explain dependent origination as taking place within a single mind moment it uses the

“abhidhamma analysis” ( abhidhammabhājanīya) method at Ch.11 § 47. And the long section with the enumerations of the many different kinds of virtue in Ch.2 reflects more the abhidhamma’s concern with detailed exegesis, exhaustive analysis, and categorisation rather than an immediately practical concern.

Five quotations in the Vimuttimagga than Upatissa attributes to the “Abhidhamma”

can be traced in the Paṭisambhidāmagga;
see § 4.5. Upatissa possibly took the Paṭisambhidāmagga as the example for the Vimuttimagga, albeit more likely in a negative sense, wishing to compose a more readable and practical manual.
12

The Paṭisambhidāmagga or “Path of Discrimination” is a terse abhidhammic manual that describes the path to nibbāna by way of the knowledges that lead to the four discriminations.
According to von Hinüber (1996:
60), the Paṭisambhidā-

magga “may be the first and not very successful attempt to systematize the Abhidhamma in the form of a handbook.
If so, it could be the forerunner of both the Vimuttimagga and Visuddhimagga ….
In contrast to these later texts, which are well organized and composed with great care, Paṭis seems rather patched together.”
13 Due to its focus on wisdom ( paññā) the Paṭisambhidāmagga does not give detailed descriptions of virtue and concentration, which, as Warder put it, are only “brought in incidentally” (Ñāṇamoli 1982:
xl).
The thirty discussions or expositions ( kathā) in the Paṭisambhidāmagga (see Ñāṇamoli 1982:
v) are not systematically arranged.
The Vimuttimagga, however, systematically and comprehensively describes virtue, concentration and wisdom, and is much more accessible than the Paṭisambhidāmagga.
Therefore, as the second in the succession of three “- magga” or “Path” manuals, the Vimuttimagga can be regarded as being the link or transition between the Paṭisambhidāmagga and the Visuddhimagga.
It avoids the terseness, lack of organisation, and limited focus of the Paṭisambhidāmagga as well as the scholastic detail and inclusiveness of the Visuddhimagga.
It is built on more functional premises than the other two manuals, making it a more practical and accessible manual.

12 If the Vimuttimagga was composed in the 4th or 5th century, perhaps 4th century Yogācāra treatises and compendiums such as the Yogācārabhūmiśāstra and Abhidharmasamuccaya were also an influence, although not in the actual contents, but in the general sense of a systematic, comprehensive compendium or treatise that was to be read rather than recited.

13 Frauwallner (1995:
87–89) scathingly describes the Paṭisambhidāmagga as consisting of “arbitrarily contrived sections and parts out of disparate material” and “pointless explanations of words … strung together endlessly”.

10

IntroductIon

1.7 Reasons for the composition of the Vimuttimagga

The Vimuttimagga was needed as a practical and systematic meditation manual since earlier works did not give detailed instructions on how to practice concentration and insight ( samatha-vipassanā) or on how to systematically develop the path to nibbāna.
The Nikāyas generally contain scanty, or no instructions at all on exactly how to practice the various meditation subjects.
14

For example, the standard description of what is generally considered the most important meditation topic, mindfulness of breathing, is quite basic;
and although the totalities ( kasiṇa)15 are mentioned a number of times in the Sutta Piṭaka, there are no instructions on how to practise them.
16 The Abhidhamma Piṭaka does not contain meditation instructions.
The Paṭisambhidāmagga contains instructions on how to practice mindfulness of breathing and loving-kindness but, in line with the general abhidhammic spirit of the work, they are quite terse.

The absence of detailed meditation instructions in early texts suggests that the instructions were to be given in person by a teacher rather than to be learnt from a text.
Upatissa, who worked in a period when texts were starting to be composed and transmitted in a written format rather than orally, would have composed the Vimuttimagga to fill this gap and to provide detailed explanations for inexperienced as well as experienced meditators and their teachers.

Another and probably more important reason for the composition of the Vimuttimagga could have been the rise of the Mahāyāna forest asceticism and the yogācāra meditation movements within the Sarvāstivāda school and other early Buddhist schools.
These revivalist movements and their texts such as the Rāṣṭrapālaparipṛcchāsūtra and the * Yogācārabhūmi by Saṃgharakṣa could have influenced monks at the Abhayagirivihāra and provoked a revivalist meditation practice movement that was in need of a meditation manual.
For more on this topic, see § 4.9.

As with most other ancient Buddhist texts, the Vimuttimagga was written for Buddhist monks, in particular those who wished to pursue the practice of meditation.
This is shown by the description of the virtue of the Pātimokkha restraint, the chapter on the ascetic practices, the search for a good friend, the section on temperaments, and the instructions specifically for monks on the meditation subjects of recollection of stillness, loving-kindness, etc. In the

“expediencies” section in the chapter on the ascetic practices, Upatissa refers 14 See Gethin 2004:
202–203.

15 The Chinese and Tibetan translations of kasiṇa (一切 and zad par) both mean “all”,

“entirety”, “totality” and the like.
The description of the meaning of the word kasiṇa in Vim, as “pervading all over” (Ch.8 § 2) and similar ones in the Pāli commentaries (see Ch.8 fn. 3, 8, 10) confirm this meaning.

16 The Cūḷasuññattasutta appears to give a brief description of the practice of the earth totality, calling it “perception of the earth” ( paṭhavīsaññā).
(See Ch.8 fn. 81.)

IntroductIon

11

to various Vinaya regulations regarding robes and food, etc. , with which monks who study the Vinaya are familiar.

The Vimuttimagga was specifically written for learned Buddhist monks.
Only those who had successfully passed through the traditional monastic education system and had mastered commentarial or scholastic Pāli — the sophisticated form of Pāli influenced by scholastic Sanskrit, which has many idioms not found in earlier works — could have properly understood it.
Upatissa assumes that readers are familiar with the terminology of the Suttas and the Vinaya.
He also assumes that the reader is familiar with the Abhidhammapiṭaka — in which he includes the Paṭisambhidāmagga (see § 5.5) — since abhidhammic concepts and methods of analysis, such as the analysis of different kinds of conditions and the analysis of dependent origination taking place in a single moment, are frequently used.

He also requires from the reader an understanding of Theravāda exegetical methods and concepts such as “footing” ( padaṭṭhāna) and “ground of selfhood”

( attabhāvavatthu;
see Appendix V).

Although the Vimuttimagga was written for bhikkhus, possibly it was also used by bhikkhunīs.
The Dīpavaṃsa, a text that was likely composed by bhikkhunīs, relates that there were learned bhikkhunīs and meditator bhikkhunīs in Sri Lanka;
see Dīpavaṃsa Ch.18 and Gunawardana 1988:
13–14. As with most Pāli texts, it is unlikely that lay people had access to the Vimuttimagga, and even if they had, they could not understand it without the help of an erudite monk.
And as with the Visuddhimagga (see Collins 2009:
510), the Vimuttimagga was not intended as a primer for newcomers to Buddhism.
Although the Vimuttimagga frequently mentions the “beginner meditator” (初坐禪人 = ādikammika-yogāvacara), this does not refer to a newcomer to Buddhism or a newcomer to meditation, but rather a meditator who is new to the meditation subject that is discussed, such as the highly advanced practice of the divine ear (Ch.9 § 16), which is developed on the basis of the fourth jhāna.
17

1.8 Modern relevance

Besides being an meditation manual containing detailed practical instructions, some of which are not found in the Visuddhimagga and other Pāli works, the Vimuttimagga is also important in other respects.
For one, it sheds light on the sources of the Visuddhimagga and Pāli commentaries.
The similarity in materials and ideas shows that Ācariya Buddhaghosa was not the innovator that certain scholars claim he was;
see Introduction § 4.8 and Appendix III § 1, 4

and 5. One cannot make statements regarding the novelty of ideas and methods in the Visuddhimagga and other commentarial works without checking whether they are not first found in the Vimuttimagga.

17 The term “beginner meditator”, ādikammika yogāvacara, is used in opposition to the

“meditator with previous practice”, pubbayogāvacara, 舊坐禪人, i.e., one who practised and mastered the meditation subject in previous lives.
(See Ch.8 fn. 16.)

12

IntroductIon

2

Overview of the chapters of the Vimuttimagga

Chapter 1, the “Introduction” ( nidāna) (T 1648:
399c14–400b28), introduces the Vimuttimagga work as a whole, establishes its ultimate aim — the supreme freedom of nibbāna — and elucidates the means to reach it:
the practice of virtue ( sīla), concentration ( samādhi) and wisdom ( paññā).

Upatissa introduces his work with a canonical verse, just as Buddhaghosa does in the Visuddhimagga.
He quotes a verse from the Aṅguttara Nikāya, which says that the Buddha Gotama awoke to virtue, concentration, wisdom, and unexcelled freedom.
Upatissa then says that he will teach the path to freedom to those who desire freedom.
In the following eleven chapters, Upatissa elucidates the practices of virtue (2 chapters, 400b29–406c19), concentration (6 chapters, 406c20–

444c03), and wisdom (3 chapters, 444c04–461c16) and, finally, in the last chapter, the resultant freedom of nibbāna in the form of arahantship and attainment of fruition.

Chapter 2, the “Exposition of Virtue” (* sīlaniddesa) (400b29–404b12), gives a detailed explanation on the meaning of virtue, its different kinds, benefits, etc. Virtue ( sīla), through shielding from unwholesomeness and through the benefits of non-remorse and pleasure of blamelessness, serves as the foundation for the development of concentration and wisdom.

Chapter 3, the “Asceticism” ( dhutaguṇa) (404b21–406c19), contains an extensive analysis of the thirteen kinds of asceticism.
This chapter can be regarded as a supplement to the section on virtue since the dhutaguṇas or kinds of ascetic practice, although they are said not to be virtue by themselves, are mostly stricter practices of Buddhist monastic rules.
By way of promoting fewness of wishes, contentment, etc. , these kinds of asceticism prepare the monk meditator for the practice of concentration.

Chapter 4, the “Exposition of Concentration” (* samādhiniddesa) (406c20–

408a27), is the introduction to the section on concentration, which consists of five chapters.
In this chapter, concentration ( samādhi) is analysed and so are the obstacles and aids to concentration, its benefits, and the different kinds of concentration.

Chapter 5, “The Search for a Good Friend” (* kalyāṇamittapariyesana) (408a29–

409b16), discusses the need for a good friend ( kalyāṇamitta), i.e., a teacher, how a bhikkhu can find and recognise this good friend, and how he should approach and treat him.

Chapter 6, the “Exposition of Temperaments” (* caritaniddesa) (409b24–411a06), gives a detailed analysis of the different kinds of temperaments or personality types.
It describes how they can be recognized, how the different temperaments

IntroductIon

13

make progress on the path, and what kinds of meditation subjects are suitable for the different temperaments.

Chapter 7, the “Analysis of the Meditation Subjects” (* kammaṭṭhānavibhaṅga), (411a08–412b21) introduces the thirty-eight meditation subjects ( kammaṭṭhāna) and analyses their differences.

Chapter 8, “The Way to Practise (the Meditation Subjects)” (412b22–441a18), is by far the largest chapter in the Vimuttimagga.
It takes up almost half of the book and describes in detail how each of the thirty-eight meditation subjects is to be practised, what their benefits are, etc. The chapter begins with the practise of the earth totality leading up to the attainment of the first jhāna, and finally the attainment of the highest of the eight meditation attainments, the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception.

The development, etc. , of each attainment is described.
Then follow descriptions of the nine other totalities, the ten perceptions of the foul, the ten recollections, the four immeasurables ( appamāṇā, the term brahmavihāra or

“sublime abiding” is not used in Vim), the definition of the four elements, and the perception of the repulsiveness of food.

Chapter 9, “Direct Knowledges” ( abhiññā) (441a25–444c03), explains how a meditator who has mastered concentration and has attained the fourth jhāna, can produce the five direct knowledges, namely:
(1) supernormal power, (2) divine ear, (3) knowledge of others’ minds, (4) recollection of former lives, and (5) the divine eye.
This chapter can be regarded as a supplement to the section on concentration.

Chapter 10, the “Exposition of Wisdom” ( paññāniddesa) (444c04–445c03), is the introduction to the section on wisdom, which consists of three chapters.

This chapter analyses the meaning of wisdom, its benefits, and the different kinds of wisdom.

Chapter 11, “The Five Skills” (* pañcakosalla) (445c11–453b28), describes the five wisdom skills:
(1) the skill in the aggregates, on analysing by means of five aggregates, (2) the skill in the sense bases, on analysing by means of the twelve sense bases, (3) the skill in the elements, on analysing by means of the eighteen elements, (4) the skill in dependent arising, on analysing by means of the links of dependent arising, and (5) the skill in the noble truths, on analysing by means of the four noble truths.

Chapter 12, the “Exposition of the Analysis of the Truths” (* saccavibhaṅganiddesa) (453b29–461c16), is the final chapter of the Vimuttimagga.
It deals with the gradual development of insight through the insight knowledges.
It begins with the definition of the four noble truths, followed by the comprehension of the five

14

IntroductIon

aggregates through the three characteristics, which leads to the knowledge of rise-and-fall, followed by the other insight knowledges and finally knowledge of the path.
Then there is a discussion of the different kinds of noble persons, the fetters they have abandoned, etc. The highest noble person is the arahant, who has attained the freedom of nibbāna.
This is followed by a long supplementary discussion on whether the development of the paths and the realization of the fruits is gradual or immediate.
The chapter ends with a very long miscellaneous topics section that discusses insight, thinking, rapture, feelings, planes, faculties, liberations, the 134

afflictions, and finally the two highest attainments, i.e., the attainment of fruition and the attainment of cessation of perception and feeling.

The conclusion of the Vimuttimagga (461c21–23), which comes after the conclusion of chapter 12, consists of a summing-up of the names of all the twelve chapters followed by two verses that state that only the meditator, the one who dispels ignorance, is able to know the Dhamma.

3

Tibetan translations of the Vimuttimagga

The original text of the Vimuttimagga is lost.
The only known complete text is its Chinese translation.
Besides this, there are Tibetan translations of four chapters of the text:
The chapter on asceticism was translated into Tibetan as an independent text, while large parts of the last three chapters of the Vimuttimagga are quoted in the translation of the Saṃskṛtāsaṃskṛtaviniścaya.

The Tibetan translation of the complete third chapter on the ascetic qualities is without any abridgments.
The title says that it is called:
“ ‘ Vimuktimārgadhutaguṇa-nirdeśa’18 in the language of India.
‘The Treatise on the Qualities of Purification from the Path of Freedom’ ( rnam par grol ba’ i lam las sbyangs pa’ i yon tan bstan pa zhes bya ba)19 in the language of Tibet.”
Although it is transmitted as an independent text in the Tibetan Kanjur collection, the title and colophon indicate that the translators knew that they were dealing with the third chapter of the Vimuktimārga.
The translators therefore probably had a complete text of the Vimuttimagga at their disposal from which they only translated this chapter.

However, this chapter might also have been transmitted as a separate text called Vimuktimārgadhutaguṇanirdeśa due to the absence of a comparable work on the ascetic practices among the texts of other schools (see Skilling 1993:
139–140).

18 Some editions read vimuktimārge dhūtaguṇanirdeśa:
“The Treatise on the Qualities of Purification in the Path of Freedom”;
see Skilling 1993:
139 fn. 1. See rKTs-T3481 on the Resources of Kanjur & Tanjur Studies (RKTS) website of the University of Vienna.

The variant Tibetan titles (see next footnote) have an ablative ( lam las, “from the Path

…”) or a locative ( lam la “in the Path …”) .

19 Variants names:
rnam par grol ba’ i lam la sbyangs pa’ i yon tan bstan pa’ i mdo;
rnam grol gyi sbyangs pa’ i yon tan bstan pa’ i mdo;
rnam grol lam las sbyangs pa’ i yon tan bstan pa’ i mdo;

rnam grol lam la sbyangs pa’ i mdo;
rnam par grol ba’ i lam las sbyangs pa’ i yon tan bstan pa zhes bya ba’ i mdo.
See rKTs-K306 on the Resources of Kanjur & Tanjur Studies (RKTS).

IntroductIon

15

Two monks, the Indian scholar Vidyākaraprabha and the Tibetan translator Dpal Brtsegs, translated it in the early 9th century.
These translators also translated several other Buddhist works during what is known as the first translation period of Tibetan Buddhism.
Vidyākaraprabha translated Mūlasarvāstivāda vinaya texts such as the Vinayavastu, see Skilling 1993:
139f. A second and perhaps earlier Tibetan translation of the Vimuktimārgadhutaguṇanirdeśa is said to exist as part of the Phugbrag edition of the Kanjur.
20

Bapat discovered that the Tibetan Vimuktimārgadhutaguṇanirdeśa is a translation of the third chapter of the Vimuttimagga and made a critical edition and English translation of it, published in 1964. A new translation of this chapter is given in Appendix I.

Large parts of the last three chapters of the Vimuttimagga 21 are quoted in chapters 13 to 15 of a work called ’ Dus byas dang ’ dus ma byas rnam par nges pa in Tibetan and Saṃskṛtāsaṃskṛtaviniścaya in Sanskrit.
This work — a syncretic compendium of summaries, paraphrases and citations of the tenets of several Buddhist schools — was composed by the Indian scholar Daśabalaśrīmitra, possibly in the 12th century.
This compendium is lost in the original, except for a small fragment.
22 The Tibetan translators and its date of translation into Tibetan are unknown.
Peter Skilling, who discovered the quotations, has made a study of the Saṃskṛtāsaṃskṛtaviniścaya and its author as well as a description of the Vimuttimagga quotations;
see Skilling 1987 and 1993.23 A translation of these quotations is given in Appendix II.

4 Uncertainties

Little is known about the origin and history of the Vimuttimagga.
There are uncertainties as to its school affiliation, language, origin, author, recensions, 20 As Phugbrag Kanjur texts no.
F260 or F327;
see Skilling 1993:
137. See also rKTs-K306

on the Resources of Kanjur & Tanjur Studies (RKTS) website.

21 The quotations from Vim are at:
Sav chapter 13, pp.
179a–185a (Dergé ed.
):
“An analysis of the aggregates, bases and elements according to the Sthavira school” = Vimuttimagga ch. 11;
chapter 14, pp.
185a–190b:
“An analysis of dependent arising according to the Sthavira school” = Vim ch. 11;
chapter 15, pp.
190b–205a:
“An analysis of skilful understanding of the noble truths according to the Ārya-Sthavira school” = Vim ch. 11;
ch. 12;
a section on sīla (from Paṭis), Sav pp.
243b–244a = Vim ch. 2 § 1 (p.
400c);
the section

“An Analysis of Wisdom according to the Sthavira school”, Sav pp.
244b–247b = Vim ch. 10;
Sav.
p. 252 a passage on the factors of the five jhānas from Vim Ch.4 § 12 (p.
408a).

22 A small fragment consisting of three folios of the Saṃskṛtāsaṃskṛtaviniścaya, dating from the 13th–14th century, was rediscovered and described by Szántó (2015). It is kept in the Cambridge University Library as CUL Or.
157. It contains two passages on the qualities and the physical marks of the Tathāgata from Chs.
29 and 30 of Sav, i.e., the Mahāyāna section.

23 Hayashi (2008, 2010) made a Japanese translation of the quotations.

16

IntroductIon

date, how it came to China, when it disappeared, what its sources were, etc. These questions will be discussed below.

4.1 School affiliation

Ācariya Buddhaghosa’s prefaces and colophons to the Visuddhimagga and his Tipiṭaka commentaries ( aṭṭhakathā) stress the connection of these texts to the Mahāvihāra in Sri Lanka.
Ācariya Upatissa, however, does not connect his Vimuttimagga to a particular school.
In both the Chinese translation of the Vimuttimagga and the Tibetan translation of the Dhutaguṇaniddesa, there is no mention of the school affiliation of the text.
In the Saṃskṛtāsaṃskṛtaviniścaya Daśabalaśrīmitra only mentions that the quotations are from the “system of the tradition of the Āryasthavira Nikāya” (’ phags pa gnas brtan pa’ i sde pa’ i lung gi tshul) or

“traditional system of the Sthavira Nikāya” ( gnas brtan pa’ i sde pa’ i tshul lugs).

Daśabalaśrīmitra does not give name Vimuttimagga, its author and the exact branch of the Sthaviras;
see also Skilling 1987:
4

Although scholars differ on whether the Vimuttimagga is a text connected to the Abhayagirivihāra (see Cousins 2012:
86–87), they agree that the text belongs to the broader Theravāda school, i.e., the school encompassing all monasteries and branches of Theravādins/Theriyas/Sthaviras in India, Sri Lanka, etc. The Vimuttimagga frequently quotes from canonical Pāli texts, including canonical abhidhamma texts not found in other schools, and has a lot in common with the Theravāda commentarial texts from Sri Lanka and South India, especially with the Visuddhimagga.
Apart from sharing textual materials with these texts, it employs the Theravāda exegetical system of defining terms through word meaning, characteristic, essential function, etc. , as described in the Peṭakopadesa and Nettippakaraṇa.
24 The system of developing supramundane wisdom is based on the system of developing the insight knowledges ( vipassanāñāṇa) as first found in the Paṭisambhidāmagga, but not found in the works of any other Buddhist schools.
25 It contains the typical Sri Lankan Theravāda abhidhamma doctrines of the bhavaṅga mind ( bhavaṅga-citta),26

24 See Ñāṇamoli, PoP, p.
xlvii.

25 As far as can be ascertained, the scheme of insight knowledges is unique to the Theravādins and was not used by other early schools.
It is not found in Sarvāstivādin works such as the

* Yogācārabhūmi of Saṅgharakṣa, the Abhidharmasamuccaya of Asaṅga or the Abhidharmakośabhāṣya of Vasubandhu.
To describe the development of insight the Sarvāstivādins instead used a scheme of four wholesome roots ( kuśalamūla), i.e., the warming ups ( uśmagata), the summits ( mūrdhan), the acceptances or receptivities ( kśānti), and the supreme worldly states ( laukikāgradharma).
On these roots, see Dhammajoti 2009b:
445–453.

26 The term bhavaṅga might not have been unique to the Theravādins.
In the Pratītyasamutpādavyākhyā, Vasubandhu attributes the concept of bhavāṅga-vijñāna to the Mahīśāsakas, specifically to their * Abhidharma-dharmaparyāya;
see Skilling 1993:
155–163. In his discussion of the ālayavijñāna or “store consciousness” in the Karmasiddhi-prakaraṇa, however, Vasubandhu instead attributes it to the Tāmraparṇīya school, i.e., the Sri Lankan Sthaviras:
“In the sūtras of the Tāmraparṇīyanikāya, this consciousness is

IntroductIon

17

process of mind ( vīthi-citta), material basis ( vatthurūpa), material clusters ( kalāpa) such as the decads ( dasaka), and mind-moments ( cittakhaṇa).
27 Cousins (2012:
87) writes:
“We should … ignore suggestions that this might be a work produced outside Ceylon, if this means in a tradition not derived from Ceylon.

It is clearly in the Ceylon abhidhamma tradition and we have no evidence that such ideas were current in other schools.”

It is very likely that the Vimuttimagga is a work connected to the Abhayagirivihāra.
Twenty-one of the ideas or tenets attributed to “some”, “others”, etc. , in Pāli commentaries and attributed to the Abhayagiri residents ( abhayagirivāsī) in subcommentaries ( ṭīkā), can be traced to the Vimuttimagga;
see § 5. The manner in which a few of these ideas are used in the Vimuttimagga show that they were an integral part of the doctrinal system of Upatissa’s school.
The most important and most frequent attribution is “torpor of matter”, middharūpa.
According to Skilling (1994), the use of torpor of matter in the Vimuttimagga indicates that it was a manual transmitted by the Abhayagirivihāra;
other scholars disagree, especially Crosby (1999).

The eight occurrences of torpor and torpor of matter in the Vimuttimagga show that it was an integral part of the doctrinal system of the school it represents.

Although there is only a subtle difference between the two schools’ views on the nature of torpor28 it was certainly a major point of disagreement for Mahāvihāra-vāsins since there are several lengthy attempts in their works to refute the middhavādins, “those with the torpor theory”.
Although the Vimuttimagga does not contain a counter-refutation of the Mahāvihāra idea on torpor, the section on called ‘limb-of-existence consciousness’ ( bhavāṅgavijñāna);
in the sūtras of the Mahāsāṁghikanikāya, ‘root consciousness’ ( mūlavijñāna);
and the Mahīśāsakanikāya call it the ‘aggregate lasting until the end of saṃsāra’ ( āsaṁsārikaskandha)”;
see Pruden 1987:
67 and Warder 2000:
400. The “Treatise on Store Consciousness” or 顯識論, translated by Paramārtha, says:
“Of the Hīnayāna schools, the Saṃmitīya school calls it ‘without disappearing (or ‘not being lost’, 無失, = anāśita, acyuta, etc. ). It is comparable to a contract.

Therefore the Buddha spoke the verse:
‘Deeds ( karma) do not disappear, [even] in innumerable aeons;
when the time of accumulation arrives, they give results ( vipāka) to beings’.
The Mahāsāṃghika school calls it ‘collecting consciousness’ (攝識, = s aṃgraha-vijñāna?
). (T 1618 880c15 19). ….
The Sarvāstivāda school calls it ‘binding together what has been obtained’ (同隨得= sama, sambandha + anuprāpta, āgata, perhaps samanubandha?
).

(T 1618 880c24–25) ….
The Sthavira school (是他毘梨部) calls it ‘existence-limb-consciousness’ ( bhavāṅga-vijñāna, 有分識) … (T 1618 881a03–04).” The treatise explains each of the terms.
See also Toru 2008:
160

27 See Skilling 1993:
155–163, 172–173;
Cousins 2012:
87, 2010:
12–13.

28 Cf. Cousins 2012:
3.625
“… there is debate as to whether these ideas represent a school-specific position or simply an earlier time when there was greater fluidity of viewpoint in the Mahāvihāra”.
Cousins (private correspondence):
“Possibly the position of the Mahā-

vihāra had not yet been determined at the time that Vimuttimagga was written.
There is quite a fine line between holding that middha, like lahutā, is a distinct form of rūpa and holding that middha is a modification of the four elements, etc. , or the mere absence of lahutā, etc”.
Cf. Norman 1983:
114

18

IntroductIon

the five hindrances (Ch.8 § 23/p. 416b09–18) contains a detailed explanation of torpor, including a canonical quotation followed by two questions and answers about it.
Upatissa therefore regarded it as an idea that required further explanation, perhaps because it was regarded as contentious by some.

Two connected ideas attributed to the Abhayagirivāsins in a passage in Ācariya Dhammapāla’s Visuddhimaggamahāṭīkā are both found in the Vimuttimagga, i.e., that the factors of asceticism ( dhutaṅga) are independent of the wholesome triad ( kusalattikavinimutta) and that they are designation or concept ( paññatti);
see § 5

ideas 6 and 18. The Vimuttimagga therefore accords with the doctrinal system of the Abhayagirivihāra as Dhammapāla knew it.

The presence of these various ideas in the Vimuttimagga and the way they are integral to its system suggest that it was a work connected to the Abhayagirivihāra.
Cousins (2012:
114), after discussing some of the ideas, concludes:

“Overall this evidence is entirely compatible with the Vimuttimagga being an Abhayagirivāsin work.
Since that was clearly the view of the ṭīkā writers in South India and Ceylon, while at the same time it is cited by Mahāyānist sources in India, whose connexions are more likely to be with the Abhayagirivāsins, we cannot hope to do better than them in the absence of any contrary evidence.”

The absence of Mahāyāna ideas in the Vimuttimagga 29

can be taken to imply

that it was not connected to a school or monastery that was actively promoting Mahāyāna teachings, at least not at the time of its composition.
Therefore, if the Vimuttimagga was connected to the Abhayagirivihāra, it was composed in the period before this school actively embraced Mahāyāna teachings.
However, this method is not reliable.
In the Mahāvaṃsa chronicle (XXXVI.
111), the first unambiguous reference30 to the Abhayagirivihāra in connection with the Mahāyāna (called vetullavāda) is in the early fourth century during the reign of King Gothābhaya (254–267 CE31) when sixty Abhayagirivihāra bhikkhus who followed vetullavāda teachings were banished to India.
This implies that the remaining Abhayagirivihāra bhikkhus (who were the majority, consisting of hundreds or thousands of bhikkhus) followed mainstream Theravāda teachings and were not considered Mahāyānist “thorns in the Doctrine of the Conqueror”

29 See Skilling 1994:
201, Ñāṇamoli 2010:
xlv.

30 The reference at Mhv xxxvi.
41 to King Vohārikatissa (circa 215–237 CE) crushing vetullavāda does not specify at which monastery this happened.
According to Cousins (2012:
118–123) there is no indication in the Dīp, Mhv and Mhv-ṭ that this happened at Abhayagirivihāra;
on the contrary, he suggests that it rather happened at the Mahāvihāra, and also suggests that the Burmese reading vitaṇḍavāda, which refers to a view dissenting from the accepted one, could have been the original reading.
Only in 13th–14th century Sinhalese sources the vetullavāda in Mhv here are linked to the Abhayagirivihāra.

31 The traditional chronology of Sinhalese kings beginning at 543 BC, as followed by Codrington, Mendis, etc. , rather than the one beginning 60 years later at 483 BCE, as given in Geiger’s translation of the Cullavaṃsa, is followed here.

IntroductIon

19

( jinasāsanakaṇṭaka).
In the early seventh century, the Chinese traveller monk Hsüan-tsang recorded that the Abhayagirivihāra studied both vehicles (see Cousins 2012:
70). However, this does not mean that all Abhayagirivihāra monks were actively practising Mahāyāna.
The early Chinese pilgrims reported that in India there were also some monasteries with mixed communities of Śrāvakayāna and Mahāyāna followers;
the latter had received their full admission ( upasampadā) as bhikṣus in Śrāvakayāna monastic lineages and were a minority in India until the demise of Buddhism there (see Ñāṇatusita 2014:
li–lii;
Warder 2000:
356). Therefore, the absence of Mahāyāna ideas in the Vimuttimagga does not give an indication about its school affiliation and age.
Skilling (1994:
201) points out that works transmitted by the Mahāvihāra such as the Buddhavaṃsa and Cariyāpiṭaka contain Mahāyānist ideas, and that therefore the presence or absence of such Mahāyānist ideas in a work does not indicate its school affiliation.
On the Bodhisatta ideal in Theravāda works, and in particular the influence of the Mahāyāna work Bodhisattvabhūmi on the commentator Dhammapāla in his exegesis of the pāramīs, see Bodhi 2007b:
40–46.

As will be discussed in § 8, the Vimuttimagga manuscript likely reached China in the fifth century, possibly as one of King Mahānāma’s gifts to the emperor of China.
The account of King Mahānāma’s reign (circa 412–434 CE) in the Mahāvaṃsa (Mhv xxxvii.
212–213) shows that he apparently favoured the Abhayagirivihāra since he donated three monasteries to it while he only donated one monastery to the Mahāvihāra, and this then only on the instigation of his queen;
see Adikaram 1953:
93, Heirman 2007:
189–190.

The Visuddhimagga superseded the Vimuttimagga in the Mahāvihāra or was the Mahāvihāra’s counterpart and response to it.
Likewise, the Nettippakaraṇa superseded the Peṭakopadesa, and the Mahāvaṃsa the Dīpavaṃsa (see § 6).

Given the similar titles and structures of the two treatises and the many passages that they have in common, it is very likely that Buddhaghosa had access to the Vimuttimagga, just as he had to other Abhayagirivihāra works.
32 Dhammapāla’s mention of the Vimuttimagga and its author Upatissa (see § 5 below) also indicates that it was available in the Mahāvihāra tradition.

32 Cousins (2012:
89–91) suggests that the Khuddasikkhā was a rewritten version of the Abhayagirivihāra version mentioned at Khuddas-pṭ 114. A Mahāvaṃsa (Mhv–ṭ 134) and commentaries on it (Mhv–ṭ 125, 155, etc. ) were also in use at Abhayagirivihāra;
see Mori 1988:
44. See Cousins 2012:
104 fn. 77:00:00
“I see no reason to doubt that copies of Abhayagirivāsin works were available in Mahāvihāra libraries.
The author of Mhv-ṭ takes it for granted that those works were available for consultation.
Cooperation and communication between the nikāyas must have been the norm except at periods of exceptional tension, such as the reign of Mahāsena”.

20

IntroductIon

The author (or authors) of the Visuddhimagga- nidānakathā (p.
44), a work composed in the 1950s on the occasion of the Sixth Council,33 is of the opinion that the Vimuttimagga is a work of the Mahiṃsāsaka school (Sanskrit Mahīśāsaka).

He argues that since the Vimuttimagga is based on the Peṭakopadesa in many places and in particular shares with it the idea of material torpor (see § 5), and since the Paṭisambhidāmagga-gaṇṭhipada says that the Peṭaka is a commentary of the Mahiṃsāsaka school, the Vimuttimagga therefore would also be the work of this school.
34 Although it is not impossible that the Vimuttimagga or an earlier version of it was the work of the Mahiṃsāsakas since they had a presence in South India and Sri Lanka in the first half of the first millennium (see Cousins 2012:
121), this would, at least in relation to the version translated into Chinese, disagree with the attributions of some ideas found in the Vimuttimagga to the Abhayagirivāsins by the authors of the ṭīkās.
Furthermore, in the Saṃskṛtā-

saṃskṛtaviniścaya Daśabalaśrīmitra attributes the quotations from the Vimuttimagga to the Sthavira Nikāya and Ariya-sthavira-nikāya, i.e., the Theriya or Theravāda school, not to the Mahīśāsaka school;
see Skilling 1987.

4.2 Language

There has been uncertainty too as to whether the Vimuttimagga was composed in Pāli or in another Prakrit, or even in Sanskrit.
Since much of the material in the Vimuttimagga has parallels in the Visuddhimagga and in commentarial Pāli works, and since it frequently quotes from Theravāda texts such as the Paṭisambhidāmagga and the Vibhaṅga (see Bapat 1937:
xxiii), it is very likely that it was originally composed in Pāli.
And as Norman (1997:
93) observes, if the Abhayagirivāsins would have had their scriptures in a language other than Pāli, then their Mahāvihāra opponents would have certainly blamed them for this.

Although it is possible that the Vimuttimagga was translated into Sanskrit and this translation was used for the translations into Chinese and Tibetan, there is no indication in the Chinese and Tibetan translations that they were translations from Sanskrit.
In his Saṃskṛtāsaṃskṛtaviniścaya Daśabalaśrīmitra might have left the quotations from the texts of other schools in their original Prakrits or Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit rather than translating them into Sanskrit.

A passage at the end of the mindfulness of breathing section, at Ch.8 § 104/

p.
430c20–21, on the “three trainings” is almost identical in word order to the Vism parallel, which suggests that a Pāli text was translated.
Vism VIII.
7.20833333333333
33 Conclusion, p.
3.04166666666667
Chaṭṭhasaṅgītibhāranitthārakasaṅghasamitiyā pakāsitāyaṃ visuddhi-magganidānakathā niṭṭhitā.

34 Yasmā cassa peṭakopadesaṃ nissitabhāvo bahūsu ṭhānesu dissati, visesato pana middharūpassa atthibhāvo ca, arahato pi tassa atthibhāvo ca tam-eva nissāya dassīyati,

paṭisambhidāmaggagaṇṭhipade ca peṭaketi padassa atthavaṇṇanāyaṃ suttantapiṭakatthāya aṭṭhakathā peṭakaṃ mahisāsakānaṃ gantho ti vaṇṇito.
Tasmā eso vimuttimaggo mahisāsakanikāyikena kato bhaveyyā ti amhākaṃ mati.

IntroductIon

21

“The meditator trains in, repeatedly practices, practices much these three trainings on that object by means of mindfulness and attention”:
imā tisso sikkhāyo tasmiṃ

ārammaṇe tāya satiyā tena manasikārena sikkhati āsevati bhāveti bahulīkarotī ti, which translated word by word is:
“These three trainings (accusative), in that object, through that mindfulness, through that attention, trains, practices, develops, practices much”.
The Chinese translation word by word, is “The meditator, these three trainings, in that object, through mindfulness [and]

attention, trains, having repeatedly practiced, practices much”, 彼坐禪人此三學

於彼事以念作意學之修已多修.

The same applies to the introductory verse at the beginning of the Vim (Ch.1 § 1/

p.
399c15–16). The word order and content of this verse is very close to that of the Pāli verse as found in the Aṅguttara Nikāya, and in the subsequent explanation of the words of the verse, the order is identical with the order of the Pāli verse.

The transcription of the names of the kinds of worms living in the body suggests that the Vimuttimagga was in Pāli.
For example, the sequence of four kinds of worms that are living on bodily fluids is:
“The worms that rely on bile (Pāli:
pitta, Sanskrit pitta) are called pitika, 必多離訶.
The worms that rely on saliva (P semha, Skt śleṣma) are called sem( i) ka 纖(離)呵.
The worms that rely on sweat (P seda, Skt sveda) are called sudika/ sedika, 隨陀離呵.
The worms that rely on grease (P meda, Skt meda) are called midika/ medika, 弭陀離呵.”
In the case of the worms living on saliva ( semha), transcribed as sem( i) ka (and transcribed as sie-ān by Bapat and as senka by EKS), the transcription 纖(離)呵 is more likely to be a transcription of Pāli semhika than of the Sanskrit śleṣmika since the latter would have been transliterated in a different way.

Some of Saṅghapāla’s mistakes that are due to misunderstanding Pāli words as similar Sanskrit words could also indicate that the original work was in Pāli:
1. The expression “with anger”, 有嗔恚 (413a29), corresponds to Pāli sadosa.

However, the Pāli word sadosa can have two quite different meanings.

The first meaning “with anger”(= Skt sa-dveṣa) is found, for example, at D I 80. However, sadosa can also mean “with defect” (= Skt sa-doṣa);
e.g., as sadosattā at A I 112. A verse in the Dhammapada contains a wordplay on the double meaning in the form the compound dosadosa, “the defect of anger” (Dhp 357). The context and parallel indicate that the sense “with defect” is intended.
Saṅghapāla therefore did not use a text with the Sanskrit form sa-dveṣa.

2. “Do not take them as oneself or another” = nev’ attato no parato dahetha (Ud 12), was mistranslated as “not from oneself [or] another one burns”, 非從自他燒 (436b16). The Pāli word dahetha (Cf.
Skt √ dadh, reduplication

22

IntroductIon

of √ dāh), “takes, considers”, was misunderstood as dahati (Skt √ ḍah),

“burns”.

3. In a passage relating the Bodhisatta’s final effort to attain enlightenment, the Chinese has “he crossed the Nerañjarā river”, 渡尼連禪河 (427b23), instead of the required “on the shore of the Nerañjarā river”, nerañjarāya tīre.

This is likely due to a misunderstanding of Pāli tīre “on the shore” as a verb based on the Sanskrit root √ tṝ, “crosses over”.

4. Instead of “deities [living] eighty thousand aeons” the Chinese has

“mountains and seas eighty thousand aeons” (456b10), which does not make sense.
The “mountains and seas”, 山海, are due to mistaking Pāli maru (= Skt marut), “deity” as Skt maru “mountain”.

5. According to the Theravāda abhidhamma system, “distension”, “expansion”, or “inflation”, is a characteristic of the wind element.
At 439b09 and 438c07, 持 therefore should correspond to vitthambhana, and not to dhāraṇa,

“supporting”, to which it usually corresponds but which is a characteristic of the earth element.
Since 持 can correspond to upastambhana, “supporting”

(see DDB) the translator probably misunderstood vitthambhana as Skt upastambhana or viṣṭambhana, which both have the meaning of “supporting”.

6. In several places the Chinese text has “non-retrogression”, 不退, aparihāna instead of “non-remorse” avippaṭisāra (400bn13, 429a23, and 435b17).

Saṅghapāla was not familiar with the word avippaṭisāra (= Skt vipratisāra) and misinterpreted it as being based on the Sanskrit root √ sṛ and having the same meaning as apratisṛ, “not going back”.

7. In a passage on the greed and faith temperaments, the Chinese literally has

“greed has non-abandoning of the disagreeable as characteristic … faith has non-abandoning of the agreeable as characteristic”, 欲者不捨非可愛為相信

者不捨可愛為相 (409c16), which does not make sense.
Usually the binome or two-character compound 可愛 corresponds to iṭṭha in Vim, not to hita

“beneficial” of the Vism parallel:
rāgo ahitaṃ na pariccajati … saddhā

hitaṃ na pariccajati.
Saṅghapāla probably understood hita as “agreeable”, a sense it can have in Sanskrit;
see MW s.
v. “hita”.

8. Due to not being familiar with the Pāli verb jalati, “to burn, blaze”, the present participle jalato = jalanto “blazing” was misunderstood as jala-anta, “go inside water”, 入水 (458c09).

9. Vedabahulo, “great knowledge”, was misunderstood as vegabahulo, “great urgency”, 多厭惡 (459c16). In the Vim, 厭惡 corresponds to saṃvega, “urgency”

or nibbidā, “disenchantment”.
In Sanskrit vega can have the meaning of

“outburst (of passion),” “excitement”, however, in Pāli saṃvega has this

IntroductIon

23

meaning, not vega.
The Pāli commentaries explain veda as “knowledge” or

“joy”;
see Ch.12 fn. 210

10. Passasukha, “pleasure of reclining on one’s side”, was misunderstood as

“pleasure of touch”, 染觸樂, phassasukha (406a13). This mix-up can only have been made by one who was not familiar with the Pāli word passa (from Skt pārśva, “side, flank”) and therefore confused it with the similar sounding Pāli word phassa “touch” or Sanskrit sparśa “touch”.

11. The Vinaya term ābhisamācārika/ abhisamācārika “what is related to the basic discipline” or “… the minor rules” was translated as 同學 “fellow trainee” or “fellow practitioner” (402c21). Samācārika in abhisamācārika was either misunderstood as sama-ācārika or, less likely, abhisamācārika was misunderstood as a corruption of sabrahmacārika.
The words ācārika and ācārin are found in Sanskrit but not in Pāli.
The term abhisamācārika is only found in the Theravāda and Mahāsāṃghika Vinayas and therefore it might not have been known to Saṅghapāla, who could have been a Sarvāstivādin (see § 4.5).

12. Vivaṭṭati “turns away” was interpreted as Sanskrit vivardhati, “grows”, 得增長 (415a06).

These misunderstandings show that Saṅghapāla was more familiar with Sanskrit than with Pāli and that he interpreted some Pāli words according to the meaning of similar-sounding Sanskrit words.
On similar mistranslations due to confusion of Middle Indic and Sanskrit in other Chinese translations, see Boucher 1998 and Karashima 2006.

Some other mistakes too, show Saṅghapāla’s lack of familiarity with the fine details of the Vimuttimagga and with the doctrines and texts of the Theravāda tradition.
Possibly he was also not very familiar with the manuscript’s script —

probably a form of Brahmi script if it was from Sri Lanka.
Moreover, texts in palm-leaf manuscripts are difficult to read due to the absence of spacing between words and punctuation (see Collins 2009:
501), and long compounds can be difficult to understand without the help of a commentary.

Other mistakes also indicate that Saṅghapāla interpreted some Pāli words by way of similar sounding Sanskrit words:
The word āḷolayamāno, “jumbling”, was misunderstood as ālokayamāno, “looking at”, 看 (410c05);
mahantaparitāpana

Err:509
pāliko (or * pāḷiko), “reciter”, as “strong man”, i.e.,

* baliko, (fr.
balin “strong”), 人有力 (415c16);
okāsato or avakāsato, “through location”, as ākāsato, “through space”, 以空 (411c27);
samatta in indriyasamattapaṭipādanaṃ, “giving rise to the faculties evenly”, as samanta, “everywhere giving rise to the faculties of contemplation”, 遍起諸根觀 (414b25);
and asaññā

sammoho, “non-perception is delusion”, as “non-perception is right”, asaññā

24

IntroductIon

sammā, 無想是正 (422a05). Due to a misunderstanding of avīcikaṃ, “without interval” was translated as “Avīci hell”, 阿毘地獄 (449b07). The adverb asaṅkhārena, “effortless”, was translated as “by freedom from formations”, 以解脫行 (449c11);
vipariṇāma, “change”, as parimāṇa, “limit”, 有邊 (452c12);
and anidhānagatā “do not become a treasure”, as “do not go and come”, 無去來

(456b15).

The phrase “it is not overcome by saṃsāra” or “it does not overcome/suppress saṃsāra”, 非伏生死 (408a23), is a reinterpretation of the difficult compound na sasaṅkhāra-niggayha-vāritavata, “not blocked and checked by forceful suppression” as na saṃsāra-niggayha.
The Pāli idiom idamatthitā, “ ‘this-is-sufficient’-ness”, was translated as “freedom”, 解脫, vimutti (406b23).

Caṅkama was understood as “place for walking up and down”, 行脚處 & 行處

(411a01), rather than the action of “walking up and down”.

The sandhi in kiriyāvyākate was misunderstood as kiriyā-vyākate “functional-determinate”, 事有記, instead of kiriyā-avyākate, “functional-indeterminate”

(445a20, 445b09). Similarly, kiriyāhetuka-citta, “functional-causeless mind”, was misunderstood as “cause-functional mind”, hetuka-kiriya-citta, 由業心 (449b16). Kusalāvyākate “wholesome indeterminate” was misunderstood as “wholesome determinate”, kusalavyākate, 善有記 (445a26, 453a15).

In a list of synonyms, instead of cittassa ṭhiti saṇṭhiti, “steadiness of mind, stationariness”, there is “mental right establishment” 心正住;
instead of

“steadfastness” for avaṭṭhiti — misunderstanding the a- in ava- for a negative

— “non-dependence, or “without object” 無所攀緣;
and instead of “calm due to non-distractedness” for avisāhaṭa-mānasatā samatho, “calm that is not grasped”, 寂靜無著 (406c29).

In the section on the ascetic practices, the first two dependences ( nissaya) are not mentioned in the Chinese, while they are in the Pāli and Tibetan.
The third nissaya, however, is given as “[practising in] conformity with the dependence”, 依樂可受 = nissayānurūpapaṭipattisabbhāvo (405c06). The likely reason for the omission of the first two is that the long compound was not understood;
see Ch.3 fn. 48

There are three different translations of the term attabhāvavatthu “ground of selfhood” (see Appendix V):
義性處, attha-bhāva-vatthu (447c02), 自性處, sabhāva/ attabhāva-vatthu (450a14) and 身性處, attabhāva-vatthu (453b12).

Saṅghapāla’s lack of familiarity with the texts of the Sinhalese and South Indian Theravāda traditions is shown by his translation of the Pāli text called Peṭaka ( Peṭakopadesa in full) as “Tripiṭaka”, 三藏;
see § 6. Instead of giving a transliteration, as he did with the names of other texts and persons, he misinterpreted it as referring to the Tipiṭaka.

IntroductIon

25

4.3 Country of origin

Upatissa probably worked in Sri Lanka or in South India since these are the areas where other exegetical Theravāda works originate.
As discussed in § 1, there are indications that the Vimuttimagga was connected to the Abhayagirivihāra in Sri Lanka and that it was available to the Mahāvihāra commentators.

Bapat (1937:
liv;
cf. Norman 1983:
114) suggests that the Vimuttimagga was composed in India because Chapter 3 of the Vimuttimagga was translated into Tibetan.
However, this argument is not valid since this text could have been brought to Tibet or North India from Sri Lanka.
In the beginning of the 14th century the Sinhalese monk Ānandaśrī translated Theravāda paritta texts into Tibetan.
A Sinhalese manuscript of the Karmavibhāgaya, probably belonging to Ānandaśrī has been found in Tibet.
35 Moreover, Bapat (1937:
liv) says that the Vimuttimagga was composed in India since Sri Lanka is not mentioned in it and because the list of different kinds of worms that live in the body (see Ch.8 § 127, Bapat 1937:
131f) contains transliterations of Indian words.
Kheminda (Ehara et al 1961:
xxxviii) rejects the first argument on the grounds that the Vimuttimagga is a work that is very concise in style and that therefore the absence of names of places is not surprising, and the second on the grounds that the list of worms might be based on Indian medical works in Sanskrit that were, and still are, in use in Sri Lanka.

A close look at the characters of the names of the worms, and doing so by way of the syllables they correspond to in other transliterations of Indic words into Chinese, indicates that there is no strong reason to assume the list was not in Pāli;
see above § 4.3.

4.4 Alterations

Some differences between the Chinese and Tibetan translations of the Vimuttimagga and between these and parallel passages in Pāli texts indicate that during transmission small alterations or adaptations were made here and there by translators, editors, or copyists to make the text fit the tenets of their schools and to make it more understandable or agreeable to readers.
With regard to the Tibetan translation of Chapter 3, Bapat (1964:
xxx):
“… the Tibetan version … does not agree in all respects with either the Pāli version or the Chinese version.
It shows occasional variations from both.
And all these variations can be explained on the ground that changes in a common material are made by the followers of each school, in consonance with their views.”

35 See Crosby 1999:
511f and Skilling 1993. The Sinhalese manuscript of the Karmavibhāgaya was probably brought to Tibet by the Sinhalese monk Ānandaśrī, who also translated thirteen Theravāda paritta texts into Tibetan;
see Bechert 1997:
93–93 and Skilling 1993:
86–90. The oldest known Pāli manuscript, i.e. four folios from the Cullavagga in 9th century Gupta script, was found in Nepal;
see von Hinüber 1991.

26

IntroductIon

Both in the Chinese and in the Tibetan translations of the Vimuttimagga, doctrinal alterations were inconsistently carried out, making them stand out.
The following analysis shows that on a doctrinal level the Chinese translation is closer to the original than the Tibetan translations are, especially when compared to the quotations from the Vimuttimagga in the Tibetan translation of the Saṃskṛtā-

saṃskṛtaviniścaya, which contains some anomalous alterations and expansions.

This difference in terms of originality is not surprising since the Chinese translation was made in the early sixth century, probably within a century or two of the text’s composition, and likely it was made from a manuscript that had directly come from Sri Lanka, possibly even from the Abhayagiri monastery itself.

During its transmission as a translation in China, no or very few deliberate alterations would have been made to it since the Chinese copyists were not prone to do so.
The Saṃskṛtāsaṃskṛtaviniścaya, however, was composed around the 12th century in Northeast India.
Daśabalaśrīmitra therefore quoted from a text that had undergone a much longer period of transmission, and possibly outside of the Theravāda tradition, in a context in which copyists were more prone to making alterations to texts.
Daśabalaśrīmitra himself also might have made some alterations.

The only obvious doctrinal alteration in the Chinese translation is the replacement of the dependent matter ( upādārūpa, 所造色) of vital essence ( ojā, 氣味) with the sense base of tangibles ( phoṭṭhabba, 觸) (Ch.11 § 167/p. 439b20

and Ch.11 § 11/p. 446b20). In the list of dependent kinds of matter (Ch.11 § 5/p.

445c23) “tangibles” is not listed, whereas ojā is included as the synonym of solid food in the explanation of the dependent matter of solid food (Ch.11 § 7/

p.
446a27);
see Ch.11 fn. 31. The likely reason for the adaptation is that Saṅghapāla, or perhaps a copyist or editor, assumed that there had to be

“tangibles” here.
Due to not being familiar with the Theravāda abhidhamma classification of ojā, he assumed that it was a corruption, or simply disagreed with this classification and altered it to “tangibles”.
The Sarvāstivāda school, to whom Saṅghapāla might have belonged (see § 4.5), held that the sense base of tangibles is sometimes primary matter, i.e., the four elements, and sometimes secondary/dependent matter.
The Vaibhāṣikas held that it is only dependent matter;
see Ch.11 fn. 31. The Theravādins considered the sense base of tangibles to be consisting of the elements of earth, fire and wind, but not the element of water, which was considered intangible due to not having the characteristic of coolness ( sīta) that was assigned to the fire element.
The sense base of tangibles therefore was considered a subtle matter ( sukhumarūpa) included in the sense-base of mental states;
see Ch.11 § 5 & 32 and see Ch.11 fn. 31

Other schools, however, associated coolness with the water element (see Ch.11

fn. 31) and therefore considered the sense-base of tangibles as a dependent matter.

The status of the water element in relation to the sense base of tangibles led to another alteration in the Taishō edition.
In the definition of the sense base of tangibles (Ch.11 § 31/p. 449a04) the water element is included in the text of the Taishō edition, but is not included in the other four Chinese editions listed in the

IntroductIon

27

footnote in the Taishō edition, at least one of which is older than the Tripiṭaka Koreana on which the Taishō edition is based.
Since the water element is included in the kinds of subtle matter (Ch.11 § 16/p. 447a28), it could not have been included in the sense base of tangibles elsewhere.
Therefore, the Chinese editions have the right reading;
see Ch.11 fn. 54. The Tibetan translation of the Saṃskṛtā-

saṃskṛtaviniścaya (Sav 184B) includes all the four elements among the subtle kinds of matter but, quite oddly, the water element is placed after the wind element, i.e., as the fourth element, while it usually comes as the second.

This anomaly suggests that the water element was not in the original text but was later added, however, due to uncertainty as to whether or where to place it, it was put fourth.

Besides the replacement of “vital essence” with “tangibles” there are no other significant doctrinal alterations in the Chinese text.
With regard to the Tibetan translations:
One alteration is found in the Tibetan translation of the Vimuktimārgadhutaguṇanirdeśa, and some in the quotations in the Tibetan translation of the Saṃskṛtāsaṃskṛtaviniścaya.
Some of the alterations in the latter text differ from both traditional Mahāvihāra Theravāda ideas as well as the ideas attributed to the Abhayagirivihāravāsins by Mahāvihāra authors, and even with canonical Buddhist doctrine.

The Vimuktimārgadhutaguṇanirdeśa, a relatively short text mainly dealing with practice rather than theory, only contains one doctrinal alteration.
According to the Chinese Vimuttimagga the kinds of asceticism ( dhuta) cannot be spoken of ( navattabba) as either wholesome, unwholesome, or undetermined (Ch.3 § 18/

p.
406b19). The Mahāvihāra tradition (see Vism II.
79), however, considers them only as wholesome and disagrees with the understanding of “those” who hold that the factors of asceticism are “not to be spoken of”, i.e., the Abhayagirivihāravāsins according to Ācariya Dhammapāla in the Vism-mhṭ;
see § 1 and § 5

idea 6, and Ch.3 fn. 85. The Tibetan translation of the Vimuktimārgadhutaguṇanirdeśa, however, has:
“How are the ascetic qualities to be spoken of?

They are to be spoken of as wholesome”.
The question is not found in the Chinese and, as Bapat suggests (1964:
xxvii & 77 fn. 53), is probably an addition.

The answer is an adaptation since another Vim passage quoted in the Tibetan translation of Sarvāstivāda includes asceticism in the eleven different kinds of concept ( paññatti), just as the Chinese translation does;
see Ch.11 § 36/p. 449a28, Ch.11 fn. 195. The answer that the kinds of asceticism are wholesome thus contradicts the statement that paññattidhammā are “not to be spoken of”.

The absence of the explanation in the Tibetan translation also suggests that it was adapted.
The Tibetan translators — who translated only this chapter of the Vimuttimagga (see § 3) and thus probably did so for the sake of promoting the practice of asceticism in Tibet — might have considered that this passage devalued the importance of the kinds of asceticism and therefore altered it.

If this chapter was already transmitted as a separate text in India, then this alteration could have happened during transmission there.

28

IntroductIon

The Tibetan translation of the Saṃskṛtāsaṃskṛtaviniścaya contains several doctrinal alterations.
Since the idea of material torpor is integral to the doctrine of the author of the Vimuttimagga, an alteration to this idea in the Tibetan text will be taken up first.
According to the Chinese translation of the Vimuttimagga, the hindrances of “sloth ( thīna) and agitation are abandoned by the path of arahantship” and “torpor ( middha) follows matter” (睡眠隨色, Ch.12 § 59/

p.
460a27). The latter statement means that torpor only ceases when the arahant passes away, which is in accordance with the idea of the arahant still being subject to torpor as found in several places in the Vim and as attributed to the Abhayagirivāsins in Mahāvihāra works (see § 5). The quotation in the Tibetan translation, however, has:
“sloth and torpor and agitation are abandoned by the path of arahantship”.
The inclusion of torpor can only be an alteration (probably done to harmonize with the usual pairing of sloth and torpor), since torpor is included as the last item in the list of dependent kinds of matter at Ch.11 § 5 in both the Chinese and Tibetan translations, and is not included in the ten grounds for afflictions ( dasa kilesavatthūni) at Ch.12 § 64 in both translations.

Even though the Tibetan version says that there are twenty-six types of dependent matter ( upādārūpa), it adds tangibles ( phoṭṭhabba) to the list as the tenth sense-base, thereby making it a list of twenty-seven items (Sav 179a).

The sense-base of tangibles is not found in the list in the Chinese Vim (445c23) and also not in the Vism (XIV.
36);
see Ch.11 fn. 5. Although this could be an accidental scribal harmonization with the usual list of sense bases, it could also be a deliberate alteration since, as mentioned above, the Sarvāstivāda school held that the sense base of tangibles is sometimes dependent matter.

Another alteration in the Tibetan is in the section on the twelve distortions.

The Chinese text states that the distortion of perception ( saññāvipallāsa) and the distortion of mind due to perceiving happiness in what is suffering are abandoned by the path of arahantship (Ch.12 § 69/p.460c01). This agrees with what is said in the Pāli commentaries;
see Ch.12 fn. 239. The Tibetan however, has:

“The distortion of perception and the distortion of mind [due to perceiving]

‘happiness’ in what is suffering, and the distortion of perception and the distortion of mind [due to perceiving] ‘self’ in what is without self are abandoned by the path of arahantship” (Sav 202a). The reason for this difference might be that the “conceit ‘I-am’ ”, asmi-māna, was taken to be a distortion of perception and mind [due to perceiving] a self in what is without self.
In the Pāli Nikāyas, however, it is said that although a stream-enterer has abandoned the wrong view of a self, he still has the conceit “I-am”, which only the arahant has abandoned.
36

36 See Ch.12 § 61, 63, 64, 67. See S III 83:
Sukhino vata arahanto, … asmimāno samucchinno

….
Spk II 281:
Asmimāno samucchinnoti navavidho asmimāno arahattamaggena samucchinno.
S III 128:
Imesu khvāhaṃ, … pañcasu upādānakkhandhesu na kiñci attaṃ

vā attaniyaṃ vā samanupassāmi, na camhi arahaṃ khīṇāsavo;
api ca me, āvuso, pañcasu upādānakkhandhesu ’ asmī’ ti adhigataṃ, ayamahamasmī ti na ca samanupassāmī ti.

IntroductIon

29

This alteration might be related to another one in a passage describing which of the four kinds of clinging ( upādāna) are destroyed by which of the four paths.

The Tibetan has:
“… two clingings are destroyed by the path of stream-entry.

Clinging to sense-pleasures is destroyed by the path of non-returning.
Clinging to the doctrine of a self is destroyed by the path of arahantship” (Sav 200b).

However, the Chinese, in accordance with the Pāli, instead has “three clingings are abandoned by the path of stream-entry.
The clinging to sense-pleasures is abandoned by the path of arahantship.”
37

It cannot be correct that attavādupādāna

is abandoned at arahantship since attavāda is equivalent to sakkāyadiṭṭhi, which is abandoned as one of the first three fetters at stream-entry.
38 Perhaps the alteration was due to a rejection of the idea that kāmupādāna is only abandoned with the fruit of arahantship since in canonical works kāmacchanda and kāmayoga are said to be abandoned by the anāgāmi,39 and due to assuming that attavāda includes asmimāna.

37 See A IV 381:
So pañcannaṃ orambhāgiyānaṃ saṃyojanānaṃ parikkhayā … uddhaṃsoto hoti akaniṭṭhagāmī.
S V 61:
Sakkāyadiṭṭhi, vicikicchā, sīlabbataparāmāso, kāmacchando,

byāpādo, imāni kho … pañcorambhāgiyāni saṃyojanāni.
It 95:
Kāmayogavisaṃyutto …

bhavayogayutto anāgāmī hoti anāgantā itthattaṃ.
Patis I 73:
Anāgāmimaggena anusahagataṃ

kāmarāgasaññojanaṃ, paṭighasaññojanaṃ, anusahagato kāmarāgānusayo, paṭighānusayo,

attano cittassa upakkilesā sammā samucchinnā honti.

38 See Dhs 212 Dhs 212, Vibh 374f.:
Yo kāmesu kāmacchando …, idaṃ vuccati kāmupādānaṃ.


Tattha katamaṃ attavādupādānaṃ?
Idha assutavā puthujjano … rūpaṃ attato samanupassati,

… viññāṇasmiṃ vā attānaṃ.
Yā evarūpā diṭṭhi … vipariyāsaggāho … and M I 40:
anekavihitā

diṭṭhiyo loke uppajjanti attavādapaṭisaṃyuttā vā lokavādapaṭisaṃyuttā vā .
See also the the discussion of the four kinds of clinging in the Abhidharmasamuccaya of Asaṅga (p.

47–48) wherein ātmavāda is said to be the satkāyadṛṣṭi dependent on śīlavratopādāna:
tadāśritā ca satkāyadṛṣṭiḥ ātmavādopādānam.
In the Abhidharmakośabhāṣya (III.
27, 140|

15–17) ātmavāda is said to be ātmadṛṣti, “the (wrong) view of a self” and asmimāna of the pṛthagjana.
Ātmadṛṣti is equated to satkāyadṛṣṭi in a later chapter (V.
7, 281|20).

39 How can kāmūpādāna be destroyed by the path of arahantship even though the non-returner has already destroyed the fetter of kāmacchanda (§ 68)? The Pāli commentators noticed this discrepancy and came up with different explanations.
One line of explanation suggests that kāmupādāna is all craving ( taṇhā) and therefore is only abandoned at the arahant path.

Another line of explanation makes use of the commentarial distinction between sense-pleasures as defilements ( kilesakāma) and sense-pleasures as bases ( vatthukāma) and reasons that the anāgāmi has abandoned the former, but not the latter.
Dhammapāla explains that, when not making a distinction, that the kāmupādāna which is all craving, and, when making a distinction, that the kāmupādāna which is also the other craving that has become firm due to kāmarāga, is expelled by the arahant Path.
(Vism-mhṭ II 329:
Taṇhā kāmupādānan-ti pana vibhāgassa akaraṇe sabbā pi taṇhā kāmupādānaṃ, karaṇe pi vā kāmarāgato aññā

pi taṇhā daḷhabhāvaṃ pattā kāmupādānan-ti tassa arahattamaggavajjhatā vuttā.
Cf. Vism XVII 242:
kāmupādānaṃ … saṅkhepato taṇhādaḷhattaṃ vuccati.
… Sesupādānattayaṃ

pana saṅkhepato diṭṭhimattam-eva.
Vism XVII.
245/p.570, As 386:
Imāni pana upādānāni kilesapaṭipāṭiyā pi āharituṃ vaṭṭati maggapaṭipāṭiyā pi.
Kilesapaṭipāṭiyā kāmupādānaṃ

catūhi maggehi pahīyati, sesāni tīṇi sotāpattimaggena.
Maggapaṭipāṭiyā sotāpattimaggena diṭṭhupādānādīni pahīyanti, catūhi maggehi kāmupādānan-ti.
Vism XVII.
10.2083333333333
Diṭṭhupādānādīni cettha paṭhamaṃ pahīyanti sotāpattimaggavajjhattā.
Kāmupādānaṃ

pacchā arahattamaggavajjhattā ti.

30

IntroductIon

At Ch.11 § 31 (448c22), the Tibetan (Sav 184a) includes a list of the eleven types of concept ( paññatti, Skt prajñapti), which is instead located in the Chinese at Ch.11 § 36 (449a28), while it is not found in the Tibetan.
The definition does not fit in the context wherein the Tibetan places it since no other definitions are given here, but it fits well in the later context where the Chinese places it.

The definition was probably moved so that readers not familiar with the term paññatti could know its meaning at the first occurrence.
The passage with the list of types of paññatti contains an anomalous alteration that would have happened during transmission in Tibetan translation.
The Chinese, and its Pāli parallels, give the first and primary type of paññatti as “living being” or “creature” ( satta, Skt sattva), however, the Tibetan instead has “volition”, which is not a type of paññatti, and must be due to a Tibetan copyist altering sems can, “beings”, to sems pa, corresponding to “volition” ( cetanā) in the Tibetan translation of the Vimuttimagga quotations.
However, in other Tibetan translations of Buddhist works sems pa can also correspond to “thought” (Skt cintana), which the Tibetan copyist could have considered a more appropriate type of prajñapti than “living beings”.

In the chapters dealing with the five skills in developing wisdom, the Vimuttimagga contains sections on the method of inclusion ( saṅgaha), which is an abhidhammic method that shows the relationships between the aggregates, sense bases, elements, truths and factors of dependent origination by way of enumerating which items of these groups can be included into which items of the other groups.
In the “inclusion method” section in the part on dependent origination in the Chinese and its Pāli parallels in Ch.11 § 58, name-and-matter or The Niddesa says that the non-returner has cut off subtle kāma, while the arahant has totally cut off all kāma.
The Atthasālinī says that kāmupādāna is kāmacchanda for sense-pleasures as bases ( vatthukāma), and that the non-returner has succeeded in abandoning kāmacchanda (i.e., kāma as defilements, kilesakāma) since he has no kāmarāga for sense-pleasures as basis.

The Itivuttaka commentary says that the contamination of sense-pleasures ( kāmāsava) is abandoned by the path of non-return, and the contamination of existence and ignorance by the path of arahantship, and that “they say that ‘the clinging to sense-pleasures, like the contamination of sense-pleasures, is also abandoned by the highest path’ .”
Elsewhere it says that since kāma as defilements are only given up by the path of non-return, that kāma as bases are to be given up in order to give up all kāma (and thus to become an arahant).
Nidd I 37:
anāgāmimaggaṃ bhāvento pi anusahagate kāme samucchedato parivajjeti, arahattamaggaṃ

bhāvento pi sabbena sabbaṃ sabbathā sabbaṃ asesaṃ nissesaṃ samucchedato kāme parivajjeti.
As 385:
Yo kāmesu kāmacchandoti etthā pi vatthukāmāva anavasesato kāmā ti adhippetā.
Tasmā vatthukāmesu kāmacchando idha kāmupādānan-ti anāgāmino pi taṃ siddhaṃ

hoti.
Pañcakāmaguṇavatthuko panassa kāmarāgova natthīti.
Iti-a II 19:
Tattha kāmāsavo anāgāmimaggena pahīyati, bhavāsavo avijjāsavo ca arahattamaggena.
Kāmupādānaṃ viya kāmāsavo pi aggamaggavajjhoti ca vadanti.
Iti-a II 122:
Sabbe pariccaje kāmeti dibbādibhede sabbe pi kāme vatthukāme ca kilesakāme ca pariccajeyya.
Kilesakāme anāgāmimaggena pajahanto yeva hi vatthukāme pariccajati nāma.
Cf. Ud-a 187:
… kaṇḍakabhūto kilesakāmo yena ariyapuggalena anavasesaṃ jito pahīno, … gāme kaṇṭako kaṇṭakaṭṭhāniyo sakalo vatthukāmo yassa jitoti.
Jayo cassa tappaṭibaddhachandarāgappahāneneva veditabbo, tena tesaṃ anāgāmimaggo vutto hoti.

IntroductIon

31

nāmarūpa is included in four aggregates, i.e., the first four aggregates —

excluding the consciousness aggregate in dependence on which nāmarūpa arises.
However in the Tibetan, nāmarūpa is included in all five aggregates.

This disagrees with parallels in Pāli texts such as the Vibhaṅga, Dhātukathā

and the Visuddhimagga which classify the nāma that arises dependent upon consciousness as the three aggregates.
40

It also disagrees with the definition of nāma in the Nikāyas.
41 The reason the non-inclusion of consciousness is given in the Vibhaṅga Commentary as:
consciousness is not included in nāma here in order to distinguish it from the condition dependent upon which it arises, i.e., consciousness.
42 However, 40 Dhāt 14:
Viññāṇapaccayā nāmarūpaṃ catūhi khandhehi ekādasahāyatanehi ekādasahi dhātūhi saṅgahitaṃ.
…. Moh 326:
Paṭiccasamuppādesu nāmarūpaṃ viññāṇavajjitehi catūhi khandhehi, ekādasahi āyatanadhātūhi ca saṅgahitaṃ.
Vibh 136:
Vedanākkhandho,

saññākkhandho, saṅkhārakkhandho — idaṃ vuccati nāmaṃ.
Vibh 149:
Vedanākkhandho,

saññākkhandho, saṅkhārakkhandho — idaṃ vuccati viññāṇapaccayā nāmaṃ viññāṇahetukaṃ.
6.375
… idaṃ vuccati viññāṇapaccayā nāmaṃ viññāṇasampayuttaṃ.
Vism XVII.
203–204/p.562:
Nāmarūpapaccayā saḷāyatanapade:
Nāmaṃ khandhattayaṃ

rūpaṃ, … Yañhetaṃ saḷāyatanasseva paccayabhūtaṃ nāmarūpaṃ, tattha nāman-ti vedanādikkhandhattayaṃ … M-a IV 78:
Phassoti phuṭṭho, bhikkhave, vedeti, phuṭṭho sañjānāti, phuṭṭho cetetī ti ( S IV 68) vacanato phasso tiṇṇaṃ khandhānaṃ paññāpanāya hetu ceva paccayo ca.
Viññāṇakkhandhassā ti ettha paṭisandhiviññāṇena tāva saddhiṃ

gabbhaseyyakānaṃ uparimaparicchedena samatiṃsa rūpāni sampayuttā ca tayo khandhā

uppajjanti, taṃ nāmarūpaṃ paṭisandhiviññāṇassa paññāpanāya hetu ceva paccayo ca.

Cakkhudvāre cakkhupasādo ceva rūpārammaṇañ-ca rūpaṃ, sampayuttā tayo khandhā

nāmaṃ.
Taṃ nāmarūpaṃ cakkhuviññāṇassa paññāpanāya hetu ceva paccayo ca.
… Paṭis-a III 573:
Nāmañcā ti idha vedanādayo tayo khandhā.
Viññāṇañcā ti paṭisandhiviññāṇaṃ.

Cf. S III 53–55:
… catasso viññāṇaṭṭhitiyo … Rūpupayaṃ … vedanupayaṃ … saññupayaṃ

… saṅkhārupayaṃ vā, bhikkhave, viññāṇaṃ tiṭṭhamānaṃ tiṭṭheyya, saṅkhārārammaṇaṃ

saṅkhārappatiṭṭhaṃ nandūpasecanaṃ vuddhiṃ virūḷhiṃ vepullaṃ āpajjeyya.
Yo, bhikkhave,

evaṃ vadeyya ahamaññatra rūpā aññatra vedanāya aññatra saññāya aññatra saṅkhārehi viññāṇassa āgatiṃ vā gatiṃ vā cutiṃ vā upapattiṃ vā vuddhiṃ vā virūḷhiṃ vā vepullaṃ

vā paññāpessāmīti, netaṃ ṭhānaṃ vijjati.
Cf. D III 228. S III 9–10:
Rūpadhātu …

vedanādhātu … saññādhātu … saṅkhāradhātu kho, gahapati, viññāṇassa oko.
Saṅkhāradhātu-rāgavinibandhañ-ca pana viññāṇaṃ okasārī ti vuccati.

41 This definition divides the formations aggregate into intention, contact and attention.

M I 52, S II 3:
Vedanā, saññā, cetanā, phasso, manasikāro — idaṃ vuccati nāmaṃ.
Cattāro ca mahābhūtā, catunnañ-ca mahābhūtānaṃ upādāya rūpaṃ.
Idaṃ vuccati rūpaṃ.
Iti idañ-

ca nāmaṃ, idañ-ca rūpaṃ.
Idaṃ vuccati, bhikkhave, nāmarūpaṃ.
This definition is also found in the Chinese translation of the Ekottarāgama at T 125 797b28. On this division see Vibh-a 169 in the next footnote.
See also Ch.11 fn. 319

42 See Ñāṇamoli 1996 I:
207. Vibh-a 169:
Suttantasmiñhi tattha katamaṃ nāmaṃ?
Vedanā

saññā cetanā phasso manasikāro ti vuttaṃ.
Idha vedanākkhandho saññākkhandho saṅkhārakkhandho ti.
Tattha hi yam-pi cakkhuviññāṇapaccayā nāmaṃ uppajjati, uppannañ-

ca cittassa ṭhiti arūpīnaṃ dhammānaṃ āyūti evaṃ aññadhammasannissayena aggaheta-bbato pākaṭaṃ, taṃ dassento cetanāphassamanasikāravasena saṅkhārakkhandhaṃ tidhā

bhinditvā dvīhi khandhehi saddhiṃ desesi.
Idha pana tattha vuttañ-ca avuttañ-ca sabbaṃ

nāmaṃ saṅgaṇhanto tayo khandhā — vedanākkhandho saññākkhandho saṅkhārakkhandho

32

IntroductIon

in contexts where the conditionality of nāmarūpa is not discussed, abhidhamma texts include all five aggregates into name-and-matter,43 and so does the Vimuttimagga in its section on the contemplation of the four elements at Ch.8 § 174.

Thus the text of the quotation in the Saṃskṛtāsaṃskṛtaviniścaya has been mistakenly altered to harmonize it with a common idea.
This is not surprising since in the Sanskrit version of the Ādisūtra of the Nidānasaṃyukta44 in the Arthaviniścayasūtra,45 and also in the Abhidharmakośa and its bhāṣya,46 nāma is

— ti āha.
Kiṃ pana ime tayo khandhāva nāmaṃ, viññāṇaṃ nāmaṃ nāma na hotī ti?

No na hoti.
Tasmiṃ pana viññāṇe gayhamāne nāmaviññāṇassa ca paccayaviññāṇassa cā ti dvinnaṃ viññāṇānaṃ sahabhāvo āpajjati.
Tasmā viññāṇaṃ paccayaṭṭhāne ṭhapetvā

paccayanibbattaṃ nāmaṃ dassetuṃ tayova khandhā vuttāti.

43 I.e., in second of the four Abhidhamma method types of dependent arising in one moment called “Eleven-Membered Section with One Member Incomplete”, which is called so

“because it is stated with name in the place of name-and-matter and nothing in the place of the six sense bases” ( dutiyo nāmarūpaṭṭhāne nāmasseva, saḷāyatanaṭṭhāne ca na kassaci vuttattā aparipuṇṇaekaṅgayutto ekādasaṅgikavāro nāma);
Vibh-a 200, “as is stated in the Mahānidāna Suttanta” (D II 55 f.
);
Vibh-a 203. The Vibhaṅga (Vibh 146 § 252) when giving this type, includes only three aggregates when nāma is conditioned by viññāṇa, but next, when nāma conditions phassa, it is said to consist of four aggregates, not including contact.

For the same reason as consciousness is not included in name, contact is here excluded from name:
“For, just as name is a condition for contact, contact is a condition for name”, yad-eva hi nāmaṃ phassassa paccayo, phasso pi tasseva paccayo ti;
Vibh-a 209. On contact as a condition for nāma when consciousness arises dependent on the sense bases, see S IV

2.83333333333333
phuṭṭho … vedeti, phuṭṭho sañjānāti, phuṭṭho ceteti.
On nāma including contact in the canonical definition of the former, see Intro.
fn. 41 and Ch.11 fn. 319

Vibh 146 § 252:
… Vedanākkhandho, saññākkhandho, saṅkhārakkhandho — idaṃ vuccati viññāṇapaccayā nāmaṃ.
Nāmapaccayā phassoti.
Tattha katamaṃ nāmaṃ?
Ṭhapetvā

phassaṃ, vedanākkhandho saññākkhandho saṅkhārakkhandho viññāṇakkhandho — idaṃ

vuccati nāmaṃ.
In a list of miscellaneous dhammas, the Dhammasaṅgaṇī also includes all four immaterial aggregates in nāma.
Dhs 226, § 1316:
Vedanākkhandho, saññākkhandho,

saṅkhārakkhandho, viññāṇakkhandho, asaṅkhatā ca dhātu — idaṃ vuccati nāmaṃ.

44 Nidānasaṃyukta 16.7:
Catvāro ’ rūpiṇaḥ skandhāḥ / vedanāskandhaḥ saṃjñāskandhaḥ

saṃskāraskandho vijñānaskandhaḥ.
(From the Nidānasaṃyutta manuscript found in Turfan, edited by C.
B. Tripāṭhī, as on GRETIL.
)

The Chinese translation of the Nidānasaṃyukta also includes the 5 aggregates in nāma;
T99 85a28–29, and so does the “Sūtra on Dependent Origination” at T02n0124_p0547c09.

45 Arthaviniścayasūtra 5.4:
Tatra kataman-nāma?
Catvāro ’ rūpiṇaḥ skandhāḥ || Katame catvāraḥ?

Vedanā-skandhaḥ | saṁjñā-skandhaḥ | saṁskāra-skandhaḥ | vijñāna-skandhaḥ | Idaṁ nāma ||

46 In Abhidh-k 3.29, nāma is defined as “the four immaterial aggregates”, nāma tvarūpiṇaḥ

skandhāḥ.
In Abhidh-k-bh III.
21, 133|04, nāmarūpa is defined as “the four aggregates that co-exist with consciousness”, vijñānasahabhuvaś catvāraḥ skandhā nāmarūpam.

In Abhidh-k-bh III.
28a–b, it is said:
“Preceded by consciousness, the name-and-matter that is accompanied by the five aggregates in the entire existence, is again born in this or that destination.
… Thus due to the gradual maturing of name-and-matter, the six sense bases.
Then, when [sense objects] reach the range [of the sense bases], there is origination of consciousness”, vijñānapūrvakaṃ punas tasyāṃ tasyāṃ gatau nāmarūpaṃ jāyate pañcaskandhakaṃ kṛtsnajanmānugatam / … tathā nāmarūpa-

IntroductIon

33

said to consist of the four immaterial aggregates, i.e., feeling, perception, formations and consciousness, thus including all the five aggregates in nāmarūpa.

In the same passage in Ch.11 § 58, another alteration is found in the Tibetan version.
In the Dhātukathā, nāmarūpa is included in eleven sense bases and elements, i.e., in all the internal and external sense bases except the sense base or element of mind.
The exclusion of the mind is because it is included in the consciousness aggregate (see Ch.11 § 39), and nāmarūpa, as discussed above, is not included in the consciousness aggregate.
The Chinese translation includes nāmarūpa only in the five internal sense bases and in the five elements because the six sense bases that are the next link in dependent origination are defined as the six internal sense bases (see Ch.11 § 43) and because consciousness is associated with the internal sense bases endowed with sensitivity (see Ch.11 § 32), i.e., the body endowed with consciousness ( saviññāṇaka kāya;
S II 252).

The passage in the Tibetan version, however, is exactly the opposite in that it includes nāmarūpa in the sense base of mind and the six external sense bases;
likewise for the elements.
This alteration entails that nāma is not included in the five internal sense bases and it contradicts the earlier statement in both the Chinese and Tibetan in Ch.11 § 32 that the sense base of mental states is the three immaterial aggregates and the subtle kinds of matter, i.e., the four aggregates, not including the consciousness aggregate.
The change might be due to the Tibetan version including all five aggregates in nāmarūpa.
Accordingly, nāma was also to be included in the sense base of mind, and along with the mind, the sense base of mental states was also included by including it in all five aggregates.

Perhaps, due to this external sense base being included, the five internal sense bases were changed to the five external ones.

In Ch.11 § 61 it is said that the suffering of suffering ( dukkhadukkha) or inherent suffering is “bodily and mental suffering”, which accords with Pāli parallels.

The Tibetan, however, instead has “bodily and verbal suffering” ( lus kyi dang ngag gi sdug bsngal), which does not fit since there is no verbal feeling and therefore no verbal suffering.
Perhaps this alteration was due to assuming that mental suffering does not fit since the arahant is free from mental suffering, however, mental inherent suffering simply does not apply to the arahant.

In 12 § 72 in the Tibetan it is said that the attainment of fruition ( phalasamāpatti) is “the mind of the fruit of recluseship, excluding ( ma gtogs pa) nibbāna”.

In accordance with Pāli parallels, the Chinese says that this attainment is

“the absorption ( appanā) of the mind in nibbāna, the fruit of recluseship”.

paripākātkrameṇa ṣaḍāyatanam tato viṣayasaṃprāptau satyāṃ vijñānasaṃbhava iti.

Compare Vim Ch.11 § 24:
“At the moment of [name-and-matter] entering the body, the mind-consciousness-element has a co-arising condition.”

34

IntroductIon

Perhaps this anomaly is due to appanā (= Sanskrit arpaṇā) being misunderstood as apariyāpanna “not including”.

In Ch.12 § 73, in answer to the question about the difference between a corpse and one who has entered upon the attainment of cessation of perception and feeling, it is said in the Chinese and Pāli that the three formations have ceased and are stilled in the one who has entered cessation, but the Tibetan instead says that the three have not ceased and are not stilled (’ du byed gsum ma ’ gags shing rgyun ma chad pa).
This contradicts what is said earlier in § 73, when in answer to the question “Through the stilling of how many formations is it entered upon?”

both translations say that it is entered upon through the stilling of the three formations.

The quotations in the Tibetan translation of Sav contain a number of expansions in the form of lists of items that are just referred to by the headings in the Chinese translation.
For example, the Chinese just has “path factors of supramundane dependent arising” at Ch.11 § 58, while the Tibetan also gives a list all of the ten factors.
Whereas the Chinese just has “the three planes” at Ch.11 § 73/p. 453a11, the Tibetan has “the three planes of the sensual, material, and immaterial” and whereas at Ch.11 § 76 the Chinese just gives the heading “seven stations of consciousness” and “nine abodes of beings”, the Tibetan gives the definitions that accord with those in canonical Pāli texts and their Sanskrit counterparts such as the Daśottarasūtra and Saṃgītisūtra.

In the whole “successive explanation” section at Ch.11 § 76, the Chinese just gives the headings while the Tibetan includes the lists, albeit inconsistently.

For example, in the passage on “fives”, the Chinese and Tibetan both just give the five destinations, faculties and hindrances, but in the following passage on

“sixes”, the Tibetan text lists the items of the six bases of contact, groups of craving and kinds of escaping.
In the “four summaries” section at Ch.11 § 53/

p.
451b07–10, the Tibetan first gives the names of the summaries, while the Chinese only gives their definitions.

In several cases of headings that were probably particular to the Sri Lankan Theravāda tradition and therefore unknown elsewhere, the items in the lists added in the Saṃskṛtāsaṃskṛtaviniścaya are quite different from the ones found in Pāli texts and do not fit.

In Ch.10 § 8, the Chinese version of the passage on the three kinds of wisdom called wisdom leading to accumulation, wisdom leading to disaccumulation, and wisdom leading to neither accumulation nor disaccumulation, defines the first kind of wisdom as wisdom with regard to the wholesome in the three planes, the second as the wisdom with regard to the four paths, and the third as the wisdom with regard to the result in the four planes and the functional-indeterminate in the

IntroductIon

35

three planes.
In the Tibetan translation the items of the three and four planes and four paths are listed, however, the three planes are not given as the sensual, material and immaterial planes ( tebhūmi), and the four planes not as these three and the unincluded plane ( catubhūmi) as anyone familiar with the Theravāda abhidhamma would do, but instead as the three planes of stream-entry, once-returning, non-returning and the four planes consisting of these three and the plane of arahantship.
To make this fit, the word “wholesome” was left out of the first kind of wisdom, and the functional-indeterminate was said to apply to four planes instead of three.
This erratic alteration would have happened due to assuming that the four paths ( magga) in the second kind of wisdom are the same as the four planes.
Whoever changed the passage overlooked a passage just a bit further on that could have helped him — in the second of the four kinds of wisdom in Ch.10 § 9 — the first three kinds of wisdom are defined as wisdom with regard to the wholesome and indeterminate in the sensuous, material, and immaterial spheres ( avacara).

At Ch.10 § 9/p. 445a22, the knowledge of the ownership of kamma is said to be right view endowed with ten grounds ( dasavatthukā sammādiṭṭhi), but it is not mentioned in the Chinese what the ten grounds are.
In Pāli texts the ten grounds are explained in accordance with mundane ( lokiya) right view (i.e., “there is fruit and result of deeds”, etc. ,) and in accordance with the knowledge of the ownership of kamma.
The Tibetan (Sav 246a), however, adds a list of ten grounds that are in accordance with supramundane ( lokuttara) right view (“knowledge of the truth of suffering … the enlightenment factor of investigation of the dhamma, and faith in the Triple Gem”).
These ten have no direct connection to the knowledge of the ownership of kamma and no parallel list can be traced in the Pāli texts;
see Ch.10 fn. 19

Whereas the Chinese Vim (Ch.11 § 76/p. 453b12, etc. ;
see Appendix V) does not define the four grounds of selfhood ( attabhāvavatthu), the quotation in Sav (194b) does, but in quite a different way than the Pāli texts do.
In the Peṭaka (Peṭ 121) the four grounds of selfhood are the five aggregates contemplated as impermanent, etc. , by way of the four satipaṭṭhānas, with the saññā and vedanā aggregates combined into the ground of dhammas, with the aim of countering the four distortions;
see Appendix V.
In Sav, however, they are not defined but instead characterised as “… the four grounds of selfhood are suffering, namely, the suffering of birth, suffering of ageing, suffering of death, and suffering of sickness.”

At Ch.11 § 76/p. 453b16 the Chinese has “the six states for escaping ( nissaraṇīya) are the path” without any further description, while Sav (194b–

195a) has “the six states to be delighted in ( kun du chags par bya ba’ i chos) are the path” and then describes the six states as the contemplation of states ( dhammānupassanā) practised internally, externally, etc. ;
see Ch.11 fn. 401

36

IntroductIon

In Pāli texts such as the Dasuttarasuttanta and the Saṅgītisuttanta of the Dīgha Nikāya — and also in the Daśottarasūtra and Saṃgītisūtra of the Dīrghāgama as ṣaḍ niḥsaraṇīyā dhātavaḥ — the six elements for escaping or cha nissaraṇīya-dhātuyo are described as the five releases of mind ( cetovimutti) from defilements and the elimination of conceit.
The Pāli commentaries (see Ch.11 fn. 401) link the six with the paths due to the elimination of defilements and fetters.
The Tibetan kun du chags par bya ba’ i chos corresponds to Sanskrit saṃrañjanīya (see MW), while nissaraṇa = Sanskrit niḥsaraṇa usually corresponds to nges par ’ byung ba.
In the Pāli texts there is no list of states corresponding to “the six states to be delighted in”, however, the Daśottarasūtra, Saṃgītisūtra and Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra have the ṣaṭ saṃraṃjanīyā dharmāḥ, which are kinds of virtuous conduct and right view that lead to harmony in the Saṅgha, and correspond to the six sāraṇīyā dhammā, i.e., the six “things to be remembered”

in Pāli.
When the Prakrit versions of these sūtra s were rendered into Sanskrit, sāraṇīyā, or another Prakrit form of it, was interpreted as saṃ-rañjanīya.
47

Similarly, saraṇīya in nissaraṇīya in the Vimuttimagga was understood as * saṃ-

raṇyanīya > Skt saṃ-rañjanīya / BHS saṃ-raṃjanīya.
Another way to explain the anomaly is that the Vimuttimagga text was corrupt here and read saraṇīyā

instead of nissaraṇīya.
When the list of items was added, one item was added that was thought to fit the meaning of sāraṇīyā “to be remembered”.
At a later stage of transmission, sāraṇīyā might have been misunderstood as saṃ-rañjanīya.

The Tibetan translation of the list of ten perceptions that are the path at Ch.11

§ 76, which is only found as a heading in the Chinese, also contains anomalies.

The Tibetan (Sav 195b) has:
“The ten perceptions are the path:
(1) perception of impermanence, (2) perception of worthlessness, (3) perception of the foul, (4) perception of disadvantage, (5) perception of creatures, (6) perception of dispassion, (7) perception of cessation, (8) perception of non-delight towards the whole world, (9) perception of dislike towards all formations, and (10) perception of breathing”.
This corresponds to the list of ten perceptions in the Girimānandasutta of the Aṅguttara Nikāya (A V 115):
Aniccasaññā, anattasaññā, asubha-47 In the Divyāvadāna the word saṃrañjanīṃ is found as part of the stock phrase saṃmodanīṃ saṃrañjanīṃ vividhāṃ kathāṃ vyatisārya (47.019, etc. ), which corresponds to the Pāli sammodanīyaṃ kathaṃ sāraṇīyaṃ vītisāretvā.
The Mahāvastu instead has saṃmodanīyāṃ kathāṃ saṃmodayitvā sārāyaṇīyāṃ kathāṃ vītisārayitvā/ vyatisārayitvā

(3.47, 3.60, etc. ), and in verse sārāyaṇīṃ kathāṃ kṛtvā (2.199). Although the Pāli commentaries explain sāraṇīya as “to be remembered” (e.
g., A-a II 103:
atthabyañjanam-adhuratāya suciram-pi kālaṃ sāretuṃ nirantaraṃ pavattetuṃ araharūpato saritabba-bhāvato ca sāraṇīyaṃ), the context of small talk preceding the main talk, which was what was remembered, and the association with sammodanīya could support the sense of saṃrañjani, and that sāraṇīya is based on the root √ raṇ “to rejoice” “to be pleased”, with sā

being a contraction of saha (cf.
Ud-a 333:
Sākacchāyā ti sahakathāya) .
The context of communal harmony of the six sāraṇīyā dhammā and saṃraṃjanīyā dharmāḥ suggests that it here means “to be delighted in together”.
On the BHS forms and the unsettled meaning;
see PED s.
v. sāraṇīya.

IntroductIon

37

saññā, ādīnavasaññā, pahānasaññā, virāgasaññā, nirodhasaññā, sabbaloke anabhiratasaññā, sabbasaṅkhāresu aniccasaññā (Be:
anicchā-), ānāpānassati.

There are three anomalies:

The first anomaly is the “perception of worthlessness (or meaninglessness)”, don med pa’ i ’ du shes, corresponds to the non-existing Pāli * anattha-saññā and Sanskrit * anarthasaṃjñā.
The Pāli word anatta, “without self”, was understood as anattha or anartha “worthless”.
Due to the difference between anartha and anātma, it is unlikely that the Sanskrit forms would have been confused.

Although the mix-up of attha- and atta- is found in Pāli in the compound attakāma/ atthakāma (e.
g., Cp-a 202:
Atthakāmo ti attano atthakāmo, … attakāmo tipi pāḷi), here, in between the perceptions of impermanence and foulness, the meaning cannot be anattha.
The anomaly cannot be due to a Tibetan scribal mistake since the translation for anātma is quite different, i.e., bdag med pa.

Therefore it is likely that the term anatta- was not properly understood or heard and was taken as anartha-.

The second anomaly is srog chags, corresponding to Pāli pāṇa or Sanskrit prāṇa, “creature”, which is due to a misunderstanding of Pāli pahāna or Sanskrit prahāṇa “abandoning” (= spong ba in Tibetan).

And the third anomaly is the “perception of dislike towards all formations”,

’ du byed thams cad la mngon par mi dga’ ba’ i ’ du shes, could correspond to s abbasaṅkhāresu anicchāsaññā, with the Burmese reading anicchā instead of anicca.
These last two anomalies could also be due to faulty hearing.

This list of ten perceptions as a whole is an anomaly in the sense that it corresponds to the list of ten perceptions as given in the Girimānandasutta —

a sutta that is unique to the Pāli Canon of the Theravāda school and not found in texts of other schools.
48 Since the list was not part of the original Vimuttimagga, it entails that whosoever expanded the passage probably got it from the Girimānandasutta.
If the errors are due to faulty hearing, then the list could have been told to him by a Sinhalese monk who knew this popular sutta by heart.

However, it is far from certain whether Upatissa intended these ten perceptions to be the ones given in the Girimānandasutta.
A more likely candidate is a somewhat different list of ten perceptions that is found in the Dasuttarasutta (D III 291) and in the Aṅguttara Nikāya (A I 41, V 105), as well as in a parallel 48 There is a 14th century Tibetan translation of the Girimānandasutta that is part of a collection of thirteen Pāli paritta or protective texts that was brought to Tibet by a Sri Lankan monk called Ānandaśrī and translated by him with the help of a Tibetan scholar translator ( lotsāwa);
see Skilling 1993:
97, 123–124. It is found in the Kanjur at Dergé vol.

38, ka 276a5–279a2. The expansion in the Sav cannot come from this translation since it does not contain the anomalies and has different translations for some of the other terms.

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IntroductIon

in the Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma.
49 This list does not include the unusual

“perception of mindfulness of breathing” included in the Girimānandasutta.

Why are several of the lists of items in the quotations in the Tibetan translation of the Saṃskṛtāsaṃskṛtaviniścaya so different from the ones found in Pāli texts?

Supposedly, the full lists were added by someone who wished to improve the text, but in some cases did not know what the exact items were.
Not being familiar with Theravāda doctrine and not being able to find the headings and definitions in enumerative sūtra s such as the Daśottarasūtra and Saṃgītisūtra or not being able to get them from informants, he made up his own lists and definitions.
In one case, he apparently intended to give a list but failed to do so.
In Ch.11 § 76 the heading “nine states rooted in reasoned attention” ( nava yonisomanasikāramūlakā

dhammā) is followed by the starter “namely”, ’ di ltar = seyyathīdaṃ, (Sav 195B:
tshul bzhin yid la byed pa’ i rtsa ba can gyi chos dgu ni lam ste| ’ di ltar|), but nevertheless no list is given.
Whoever intended to add the list failed or forgot to do so, and also forgot to delete the starter.
The reason for the omission of the list is that the heading yonisomanasikāramūlakā dhammā is probably unique to the Theravāda tradition, and even therein it is very rarely used.
It is only found twice in the Pāli Canon, once in the Dasuttarasutta of the Dīgha Nikāya and once in the Paṭisambhidāmagga, and is not found in the Daśottarasūtra, etc. It is unlikely that the list was lost since it would have been fairly long and nothing else is missing from the subsequent text.

Other Buddhist texts were also altered during transmission.
With regard to the differences in explanations of the factors of the eightfold path, etc. , in various manuscripts and Chinese and Tibetan translations of the popular abhidharma sūtra called Arthaviniścayasūtra, Samtani (1971:
65) observes:
“All these discrepancies and variations in the copies of the text and its versions prove that the original text has been elaborated with the passage of time”.
However, while the elaborations in the Arthaviniścayasūtra are doctrinally sound, there is no mention in scholarly literature of the type of erratic and conjectural explanatory interpolations or glosses of the kind found in the quotations in Saṃskṛtāsaṃskṛtaviniścaya.

Tibetan translators are said to have made very literal translations of Indic texts in accordance with strict rules laid down in the Madhyavyutpatti.
50 Assuming that 49 D III 291, A V 105:
Asubhasaññā, maraṇasaññā, āhāre paṭikūlasaññā, sabbaloke anabhiratasaññā, aniccasaññā, anicce dukkhasaññā, dukkhe anattasaññā, pahānasaññā, virāgasaññā,

nirodhasaññā ….
In the Jñanaprasthāna, T 1543:
894b27–29, 1013c18–20 and Vibhāṣā, T 1545:
836c20–22, the order of items corresponds to anicca-saññā, anicce dukkha-, dukkhe anatta-, asubha-, āhāre paṭikūla-, sabbaloke anabhirata -, maraṇa-, pahāna-, virāga-, nirodha-.

For the different versions of the ten perceptions see Chödrön/Lamotte 2001 Ch.
XXXVII.

50 See Ruegg 2001:
3.54166666666667
“But from early times the Tibetan lotsāwas [= translators] sought to develop principles of translation that would preclude imprecision and ambiguity as much as differences of interpretation and the very nature of natural language make this possible.

IntroductIon

39

this literalness also applies to the translation of the Saṃskṛtāsaṃskṛtaviniścaya, it is unlikely that the additions of the lists and the non-fitting definitions in the quotations happened when this text was translated into Tibetan.
With regard to Daśabalaśrīmitra, Skilling observes:
“As far as can be ascertained his presentation is extremely if not totally reliable” (Skilling 1987:
11;
see also 1993:
140).

If Skilling’s assumption — which is based on analysing only a limited amount of text — is right, it is also unlikely that Daśabalaśrīmitra made the alterations.

However, as will be discussed below, there are indications that Daśabalaśrīmitra and the Tibetan translator(s) made alterations and mistakes.

The most plausible option is that the alterations were made by a Northeast Indian copyist when the text was transmitted in a school different than the Theravāda.

Since the Vimuttimagga was not a sacred canonical text or sūtra that was memorised, but an exegetical work, Indian copyists would have had little reservations to improve or polish the text.
51 Daśabalaśrīmitra, however, writes that the quotations are from the scripture of the Sthavira and Āryasthavira suggesting that he used a Theravāda text of the Vimuttimagga, or at least a text known as such, and not a text that had been adopted and adapted by another school.
Indian authors linked the Ārya Sthaviras to the Abhayagirivihāra and the Sthaviras to the three schools in Sri Lanka (i.e., Abhayagirivihāra, Mahā-

vihāra, and Jetavana) and to the Tāmraparṇīyas/Tāmraśāṭīyas;
52 see Skilling 1993:
154–155. Since there is no mention of the school affiliation of the Vimuttimagga in the Chinese translation or in the Tibetan translation of the Dhutaguṇa-

These efforts to develop a technical and truly scientific system of translating find expression in the introduction to the Madhyavyutpatti, … a treatise on translation composed in … the ninth century … This manual for translators contains the principles accepted for rendering Indian texts in the ‘new language’ according to the instructions concerning this decreed standard which were promulgated under the authority of the Tibetan ruler.”
Gaffney 2000:
0.458333333333333
“The most striking feature of the Tibetan translation of the Jātakanidāna is the extremely literal way in which the Tibetans have translated much of the text.
Only in a few instances, usually similes or metaphors, is any kind of paraphrasing employed.
This literalist approach to translation is in keeping with the underlying aim of the Tibetan tradition …, namely to present as accurate and faithful a translation of the original source text as possible.”

See also Hahn 2007:
136;
Raine 2011:
10ff.

51 On adaptations in non-sacred literature in India, see Katre 1941:
0.583333333333333
“Here the texts were certainly exposed to numerous disfigurements, since every teacher or reciter considered himself entitled to alter and to improve, to omit and to add, ad libidum”.
West (1973:
16) observes with regard to adaptations in Greek and Latin commentaries:
“Commentaries …

were rightly regarded as collections of material to be pruned, adapted or added to, rather than sacrosanct literal entities.”

52 The Sthaviras referred to as Tāmraśāṭīya, *Tāmravarṇīya and Tāmraparṇīya, and discussed in Skilling 1993:
155–169, probably all refer to the same Sri Lankan Sthaviras.
The original form Tāmraparṇīya, as denoting the monks inhabiting Tāmraparṇī, i.e., the island/country Tambapaṇṇī in Pāli and Taprobane in Greek, was later understood as *Tāmravarṇīya “having copper colour [robes]”, and this then as Tāmraśāṭiya “having copper-coloured-robes”;
see Cousins 2010.

40

IntroductIon

niddesa, Daśabalaśrīmitra probably got the information about the school affiliation of the Vimuttimagga from hearsay — such as from a Sinhalese monk at a vihāra at Bodhgaya or from a librarian at a university such as Odantapuri where, according to the Tibetan historian Tāranātha, Śrāvakas from Sri Lanka resided during the late Pāla period53 — or the manuscript he used might have stated it on the title page.
Some Sinhalese monks, especially those connected to more open-minded Abhayagirivihāra, would have gone to study at the prestigious Buddhist universities of India and possibly brought along texts such as the Vimuttimagga.
54

Since the changes were made by someone unfamiliar with Theravāda terminology such as attabhāvavatthu and with the ten grounds of right view, etc. , it is quite unlikely that they were made by a learned monk connected to a Sri Lankan or South Indian Theravāda school.
It is also unlikely that they were made by a copyist monk familiar with the Yogācāra doctrine as found in the Yogācārabhūmiśāstra and Abhidharmasamuccaya, where the term ātmavastu is used in a similar way;
see Appendix V.
With regard to mistakes in the Tibetan translation of the Saṃskṛtāsaṃskṛtaviniścaya:
In Ch.2 § 2 sārādāna “grasping essence” was interpreted as “cowardice”, śārada;
in 10 § 17 oghaniya, “subject to torrents”

as moghaniya, “subject to stupefaction”;
in 10 § 41 padaparama “one who understands the words at most” as “ attached to the word”, padaparāmṛṣṭa;
in 10 §

47 indriyānaṃ pasāda “sensitivity of the sense-faculties” as “no sensitivity of the sense-faculties”;
in 10 § 52 kaṭattā vā pana kammaṃ, “or action formerly done”

as “formerly done or action”;
in 10 § 70, in a context of various wrong views, sassatadiṭṭhi (Skt śaśvatadṛṣṭi) “eternalist view” as “all suffering” (Skt sarva-duḥkha);
in 12 § 25 padhānaṭṭhena “in the sense of effort” as “in the sense of principal” (in Pāli padhāna = “effort” and “principal”, while in Skt pradhāna is

“principal”);
and in 12 § 33 jātavedasa “fire” as “feeling born”.
More details are

given in the footnotes to the English translation of this text in Appendix II.

The Tibetan translation of the Vimuktimārgadhutaguṇanirdeśa also contains wrong translations.
The Tibetan translators made some mistakes due to lack 53 Skilling (1987:
15–16) suggests that the Sendha-pa Śrāvaka monks that Tāranātha refers to could have been Sāṃmitīyas from Sindh due to Sendha-pa possibly corresponding to saindhava.
However, Tāranātha writes that the Sendha-pa Śrāvaka monks at Bodhgaya who destroyed the tantric image and tantric texts came from the Siṅgha(la) Island, i.e., Sri Lanka, and “other places”, and that monks from the Siṅghala Island discouraged Bengali people who were going to Vikramaśīla from practicing Mahāyāna;
see Chattopadhyaya et al 2000:
279. Later on Tāranātha says that among the Sendha-pa Śrāvakas the tradition of the early sects still survives.
Since Tāranātha wrote his history in the early 17th century, when Buddhism had completely disappeared in India, he must refer to the Sri Lankan Theravādins.
Possibly Tāranātha’s source(s) mixed up or combined the Sāṃmitīyas and the Sri Lankan Sthaviras, who had similar robes and emblems according to the 14th century Tibetan scholar Bu Ston in his account of the Third Council.

54 Tāranātha relates that in the 8th century the Sri Lankan bhikkhu Jayabhadra, a paṇḍita versed in the Śrāvaka Piṭakas, went to Magadha, studied at the university of Vikramasīla and became a renowned teacher of Tantra;
see Chattopadhyaya et al 2000:
325

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41

of knowledge of Vinaya terminology, and also did not translate some terms.

For example, in the Tibetan it is said that the practice of wearing three robes is not broken when an extra robe is accepted that is kept for ten days when there is an expectation of a supplement.
However, in accordance with the Vinaya the Chinese and Pāli parallels have two kinds of robes here:
the extra robe that can be kept for ten days and the robe that can be kept for a month when there is an expectation of a supplement.
It is also said this practice is not broken when cloths such as the rains bathing cloth, which have been determined and assigned, are accepted as an expediency.
However, this should be cloths which are not assigned and not determined.
Extra or expediency robes cannot be determined or assigned by the practitioner as he would then assume ownership of more than three robes.

As to alterations of the text, a comparison with the Chinese and Pāli shows that the introduction of the passage on the definition of virtue in Ch.2 § 2 was reorganised by Daśabalaśrīmitra.
The first part on the three kinds of virtue — i.e., virtue of volition, restraint and non-transgression — as given in the Chinese and Pāli was included in the statement from the “Abhidharma of the Noble Sthavira School”, skipping over the explanation of these three kinds, and then “two kinds of virtue” were added that are not in the Chinese and Pāli, i.e., virtue in the sense of restraining and virtue in the sense of abandoning.
The former is subdivided into four kinds — refraining, volition, self-control and restraint

— and the latter into thirty-seven kinds that are given in a long list.
The Pāli and Chinese, however, apply the virtues of abandoning, refraining, volition, self-control and restraint to all thirty-seven items, but only list these four kinds of virtue at the start and end of the list.
Daśabalaśrīmitra probably got confused due to the unmarked abridgements, assuming that only the virtue of abandoning applied to all thirty-seven items, and then rewrote the passage.
Similarly, in the section on the meaning of wisdom in Ch.10 § 2, there is a quotation from the

“Abhidhamma” wherein the question “what is wisdom?”
is answered by way of a long list of synonyms.
In the Pāli and Chinese it is not said how many synonyms there are and the answer is just a long list of synonyms, but in the Tibetan the first part of the answer is that “this is not expressed in one [way] but in thirty ways”, which is an expansion.

If Daśabalaśrīmitra made these alterations, then he could also have made alterations elsewhere.
Since he frequently skips over passages without giving any indication of doing so, he might also have expanded passages by adding the full lists of items after the headings.

Regardless of whoever is responsible for the alterations — whether Northeast Indian copyists, Daśabalaśrīmitra, the Tibetan translators, Tibetan copyists, or all of these — the expansions and other alterations in the quotations from the Vimuttimagga show that they cannot be regarded as entirely accurate representations of the original Vimuttimagga text.
Consequently, quotations

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from other texts in the Tibetan translation of Saṃskṛtāsaṃskṛtaviniścaya will have to be approached with caution and will have to be carefully compared with the original texts or with parallels, if available.
These comparisons could show whether only the Vimuttimagga manuscript that Daśabalaśrīmitra quoted from had been altered or, if similar alterations are also found in the quotations from other texts, whether Daśabalaśrīmitra and/or the Tibetan translators were responsible for the alterations.

The comparison of the Chinese and Tibetan versions also shows a structural difference.
The question and answer structure of the Chinese translation of the chapter on the kinds of asceticism is not found in the Tibetan translation.

For example, in the definitions of the thirteen kinds of asceticism in the first part of the “Exposition of the kinds of asceticism”, Ch.3 § 2, the Chinese has all definitions in question and answer format, while the Tibetan does not.

For example, the Chinese has:
“Q.
What is the undertaking of the state of the rag-robe-wearer?
A. The rejection of [robe-] offerings of householders.
Q. What is the undertaking of the state of the three-robes-wearer?
A. The rejection of extra robes.
…” while the Tibetan has:
“Herein, the state of the rag-robe-wearer is the rejection of robes [offered] by householders.
The state of the three-robes-wearer is the rejection of a fourth robe.
…”

The same applies to the quotations in Sarvāstivāda.
For example, in Ch.11 § 2 (p.

445c15) the Chinese has a question, while the Tibetan does not, i.e., the Chinese has “… skill in the noble truths.
What is the skill in the aggregates?
A. The five aggregates [are]:
the aggregate of matter …”, while the Tibetan has “… skill in the noble truths.
Herein, the five aggregates [are]:
the aggregate of matter …”.

In the explanation of the four kinds of dependent arising in Ch.11 § 57 (p.
451c), there are no questions and answers in the Tibetan, while in the Chinese there are.

For example, the Chinese has “Q.
What is meant by ‘kamma-affliction as cause’?

A. It is that which begins with ignorance”.
While the Tibetan version has:

“Kamma-affliction as cause is ‘with ignorance as condition, formations … there is the origination of this whole, great mass of suffering’.”

Some passages in question and answer format in the Chinese version — such as the ones found at the end of explanations of the terms used in the definitions of the four noble truths in Ch.11 § 60 & 63 (452a-b) — are not found in the Tibetan version, but this is due to Daśabalaśrīmitra skipping over these parts.

Sometimes the questions do not fit well in the Chinese translation, e.g., Ch.3 § 1

(404b22–23), 4 § 13 (408a11–12), 8 § 40 (421a07, see Ch.8 fn. 333), and 8 § 144

(435b29). Possibly Saṅghapāla or his Chinese translation team members clumsily reformulated passages into questions and answers in an attempt to make the translation more accessible.
Elsewhere the question and answer structure (問云何/云何 … 答 …) is not consistent.
In the section on the purity of

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43

livelihood in Ch.2 § 39, wrong livelihood is said to be fivefold:
scheming, flattering, hinting, bullying, and pursuing gain with gain (403a16–17). In the definitions of three of these the question is without the answer marker that usually follows it (“What is scheming?
There are …”, 403a17–18), and in the definitions of “flattering” at 403a26 and “bullying” at 403a29 there are no questions and answers but only bare definition structure as often used in the Vibhaṅga, etc. , (and in the Vim at 402b21, etc. ). This definition structure uses the nominalising or separative character 者 after the word or phrase that is defined.

The definition of “pursuing gain with gain” at 403b02 is put in the form of a question.
However, the question is followed by a separative character (云何以

施望施者好為 …, Q.
“What is ‘pursuing gain with gainʼ?
He likes …”) suggesting that the question marker is an interpolation.

The addition of questions is not unique to the translation of Vim since, according to Pradhan (1950:
13), the Chinese translator of the sometimes added interrogatory sentences into his translation (made in 652 CE) that are not found in the Sanskrit original.
Pradhan also mentions that numbers were added in the Chinese translation when something is enumerated, probably for convenience.

In the Chinese translation of the Vim, numbers are added in lists, for example, in the list of the kinds of worms at Ch.8 § 127 (p.
433b20–434a11).

Zürcher (2007:
31) mentions that Chinese translations often contain “translator’s notes”, i.e., “oral explanations … concerning the contents of the scriptures translated” that “crept into the text”.
These “intrusions” are due to the complex process of translation, whereby the foreign translator would give an initial translation of a passage, which was written down by a Chinese scribe and then was polished by other Chinese team members.
Sometimes the scribe would accidentally write down additional explanations that the translator would give to the team members, or his answers to questions from the audience;
see Toru 2006:
40–41. Apart from the question and answer markers, there are only two obvious interpolations in the Vimuttimagga:
At Ch.8 § 129 (434a24–25) there is an interpolation giving the Chinese equivalents of Indic units of weight:
“Bile, saliva and brain are each a palata in weight — in Liáng this is equal to four ryo …”, while at Ch.8 § 167 (439c01–02) only the Chinese equivalents of measurements are given:
“… the earth element in the body of a person will amount to one hū and two shēng …”.

The alterations and interpolations in the Chinese Vimuttimagga translation are relatively minor and few in contrast to another Theravāda text translated from Pāli into Chinese in the same period:
the 一切善見律毘婆沙 or Ichi-shan-jian-lu-piposha, the “Entirely Pleasing to Behold Vinaya Commentary” or “Entirely Conspicuous Vinaya Commentary”, an abridged and adapted translation by Saṃghabhadra of Buddhaghosa’s commentary on the Vinaya Piṭaka, the Samantapāsādikā Vinayaṭṭhakathā or “Vinaya Commentary that is Entirely

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Pleasing/Clear”.
55 Only the parts that were of interest to Chinese monastics were translated by Saṃghabhadra and it was adapted in parts to make it fit the Four Part Vinaya (四分律) of the Dharmaguptaka School — which was and is the standard Vinaya in China — so that it could be more useful to Chinese monastics.
It also contains other types of interpolations.
On changes and interpolations in the Ichi-shan-jian-lu-piposha, see Bapat 1970:
L–LVIII, Ñāṇatusita 2014–2015;
on the types of changes in Chinese translations of Buddhist texts in general, see Toru 2006, Ñāṇatusita 2014–2015. The Chinese translation of the Vimuttimagga, which was not a Vinaya text that had to comply with the Four Part Vinaya, underwent relatively few changes since the Chinese were less interested in the subtle doctrinal points of Hīnayāna schools than they were in practical Vinaya matters.
Besides it containing detailed description of meditation practices, possibly one of the main reasons for the translation of the Vimuttimagga into Chinese was its large chapter on the ascetic practices.
This chapter was of considerable interest to Chinese monastics given the amount of quotations from it in Chinese Vinaya works;
see § 12.

4.5 Date of composition

Although the author of the Vimuttimagga is known its date of composition is not and can only be roughly inferred as having taken place between the second and early fifth century CE.

Upatissa makes first person statements in his work, something that is first encountered in the Mahāvihāra tradition texts in Ācariya Buddhaghosa’s Visuddhimagga.
The fact that the name of the author was given together with the title in the Chinese text and was known to the commentator Dhammapāla (see above § 1.5) is significant since only a few of the authors of late canonical texts are known.
The Kathāvatthu is attributed to Moggaliputtatissa in the commentaries.
Of the paracanonical Pāli texts the Peṭakopadesa and Nettipakaraṇa are attributed to Mahākaccāyana in their conclusions.
The names of the authors of the Paṭisambhidāmagga, Niddesa, Buddhavaṃsa, Parivāra,56 and

55 Some passages found in the Vimuttimagga and Visuddhimagga are also found in the Samantapāsādikā, and therefore also in the Ichi-shan-jian-lu-piposha.
The passage on the ten characteristics of the first jhāna at Vim 417a10–20, and Vism IV.
111ff/p.147f. and Sp II 395, is found in the Ichi-shan-jian-lu-piposha at T 1462:
744a22–b06;
see Bapat 1970:
288–289. It also contains parts of the discussion on the four jhānas (T 1462:
700a–702b, Bapat 1970:
102–113), and mindfulness of breathing, ānāpānasati (T 1462:
745b–450b;
see Bapat 1970:
294–317).

56 Von Hinüber (1996:
21 § 40) writes that the Parivāra’s author or redactor is given as Dīpa in the Parivāra’s colophon at Vin V 226. Horner (1966:
xii) says that the colophon tells that Dīpa (or Dīpanāma) “is merely spoken of as having had the work written down, likhāpesi.

Therefore we can form as little idea of the real compiler as we can of the provenance, …”.

However, the colophon says that he thought out ( cintayitvā) the work after having inquired about the method/way of the former teachers (see next footnote) and then ordered someone

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45

Milindapañhā are not known.
In contrast, the names of almost all of the authors of extant commentarial period Pāli works composed in Sri Lanka and South India are known.
The exception is the Dīpavaṃsa, about which Malalasekera (1928:
132) observes:
“It is … the outcome of a fairly large number of previous works, no one of which hold any special author, and is the last of the literary works of Ceylon which can be assigned to a period during which no books had special authors.
… After the date of the Dīpa-vaṃsa, books, as a rule, were written by one man, and his authorship was openly acknowledged”.

The Dīpavaṃsa, the first text known to be composed in Sri Lanka,57 is said to be composed not long after 350 CE, when its account abruptly ends during the early reign of King Mahāsena;
see von Hinüber 1996:
89, § 183. If this is taken as a measure, the Vimuttimagga was composed after 350 CE.
However, this method is not entirely reliable since the school to which Upatissa was connected might have begun to attribute authors to texts earlier than this.

(a scribe?
) to write it down for the benefit of his students.
The Parivāra is the earliest Pāli work to contain a colophon — the Netti and Peṭaka instead mention the author in the concluding sentence.
Although the colophon is lacking in the CS edition, it seems authentic;
see Norman 1983:
26. Whether dīpanāmo in the colophon refers to an actual name is debatable since there is no occurrence of any monk with the proper name Dīpa or Dīpanāma in Pāli literature.
Dīpanāmo possibly means that dīpa is an epithet of the author, especially since several other flowery epithets are employed in the colophon.
Dīpanāmo mahāpañño sutadharo vicakkhaṇo can be translated as “one who is called a light, one of great wisdom, one who remembers what he has heard, observant”.
In the list of vinaya teachers in the Parivāra (Vin V 3) pupphanāmo, “who is named Puppha”, occurs twice and according to the Ṭīkā- s it is an epithet of Mahāpaduma Thera and Sumana Thera.
Sp-ṭ I 149:
Pupphanāmoti mahāpadumatthero.
…. Vmv I 32:
Pupphanāmoti sumanatthero;
.
Pupphanāmoti ettha mahāpadumatthero sumanatthero ca ñātabboti dvikkhattuṃ pupphanāmo ti vuttaṃ.

57 The Parivāra — an appendix to the Vinaya and a kind of abstract or digest of it — is probably a Sri Lankan compilation.
Like the Dīpavaṃsa it has been “put together from parts originally quite independent from each other and which sometimes even repeat the discussions of some Vinaya problems”;
von Hinüber 1996:
21 § 40. Norman (1983:
26–29) thinks that the older parts might have been composed in India.
As a whole it might have been compiled earlier than or around the same time as the Dīpavaṃsa.
Although the colophon and a section conclusion say that the Parivāra was a written work, it was a work written with the intention that it was to be recited since it contains peyyāla repetition indicators and mnemonic uddāna verses.
Adikaram (1953:
86) and von Hinüber (1996:
22 § 42) suggest the Parivāra was probably composed or finalized in the 1st century CE since it gives the verses (Vin V 2–3) with the lineage of the Vinaya teachers as also found at Sp I 62–63, which ends in the 1st century CE.
However, since the Sp attributes the same list to the porāṇā, not to the Parivāra, perhaps its author quoted the list from a Sīhaḷa commentary, i.e., from the

pubbācariyā or porāṇā, just as Buddhaghosa did.
If this is correct, then the Parivāra could have been finalized later.
According to the Parivāra colophon, the author composed his work after “having asked here and there about the method/way of the former teachers”:
pubbācariyamaggañca pucchitvā tahiṃ tahiṃ.
The pubbācariyā or “former teachers” are the compilers/composers of the aṭṭhakathā;
see Appendix III § 3.

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The Vimuttimagga is older than Buddhaghosa’s Visuddhimagga, which is based on and inspired by the Vim and superseded it in the Mahāvihāra tradition, or rather is the Mahāvihāra counterpart of it or the reaction to it (cf.
Skilling 1994:
199).

Buddhaghosa was a contemporary of King Sirinivāsa alias Mahānāma (reigned circa 412–434 CE) and according to the Mahāvaṃsa (Ch.37) the Visuddhimagga was the first work he composed for the Mahāvihāra.
It is also known that the Vim was translated into Chinese between 505 and 520 CE, probably in 515 CE;
see § 9. What is certain too is the Vim is younger than the Paṭisambhidāmagga and Peṭakopadesa since it quotes from them.
However, the exact age of these texts is uncertain.
58 Unlike the Paṭisambhidāmagga, the Peṭakopadesa was not included in the contents of Khuddakanikāya as given in the Pāli commentaries, suggesting that it was composed after the Khuddakanikāya was closed, or that it reached Sri Lanka afterwards.

As discussed in § 4.1, the absence of Mahāyānist ideas in the Vim cannot be taken as an indication of the school affiliation and the age of the text.

The Vimuttimagga lists altogether thirteen factors of asceticism ( dhutaṅga) in Chapter 2. The Milindapañhā (Mil 359) — in a later part probably composed between the 1st and 4th century CE — and the Parivāra (Vin V 192), composed between the 1st and 4th century CE, are the earliest known Pāli works to list all the thirteen in one place;
see Ch.3 fn. 7

As mentioned in § 1, the Vimuttimagga lacks the stories, opinions of elders, and etymologies that are frequently found in the Visuddhimagga and the Pāli commentaries.
Its frequent usage of lists and concise definitions of words are a feature of recited texts such as the canonical abhidhamma texts, but on the other hand, its well-developed, complex structure is a feature of written literature.

It also lacks mātikā and uddāna mnemonic verses (see § 4.8) that are found in canonical abhidhamma works such as the Paṭisambhidāmagga and the paracanonical work Peṭakopadesa but not the Nettippakaraṇa.
The Vimuttimagga thus can be placed between the first writing down of commentarial texts, which due to their novelty would have retained features of recited texts, and the more complex commentaries of Buddhaghosa.

Upatissa once refers to a definition from “grammar” (聲論) “exposition of words” = saddasattha), which might be from a commentary on Pāṇini’s grammar;
see Ch.8 § 30 and Ch.8 fn. 239. This suggests that Upatissa was familiar with classical Sanskrit grammar ( śabdaśāsana/ śabdaśāstra) and was working at a time when it was studied by Theravāda monks.

58 According to Warder (1982:
xxxviii–xxxix) the Paṭisambhidāmagga consists of older and newer strata, and although the older strata could have been composed after the schisms with the Sarvāstivādins and Dharmaguptaka in the 3rd and 2nd century BCE, newer strata could have been added until the 1st century BCE when the Tipiṭaka and aṭṭhakathā were written down and the Tipiṭaka was closed.
See also Frauwallner 1995:
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47

The typical Sri Lankan Theravāda abhidhamma ideas such as the bhavaṅga mind ( bhavaṅga-citta) are found in the Vim;
see § 4.1. Therefore it was composed after the period that these ideas formed, i.e., after the period in the 1st century BCE to 1st century CE that Buddhism flourished greatly in Sri Lanka and from which Dhamma discussions between the Sri Lankan elders are recorded;
see below.

The Abhayagirivihāra had the Tipiṭaka, and probably also the Sīhaḷa commentaries and other texts in common with the Mahāvihāra, although there were some different readings in the canonical texts and there were different versions of commentaries and chronicles;
see Appendix III.
Upatissa refers to

“former teachers” ( pubbācariyā or porāṇācariyā) who are also referred to in the Vism and Pāli commentaries;
see § 4.8. There are indications that these former teachers were identical with the aṭṭhakathācariyā, the teachers who composed the Porāṇaṭṭhakathā, the former or ancient commentaries.
Therefore, Upatissa likely had access to the pre-sectarian or Abhayagiri recensions or versions of the old commentaries that contained the opinions of former teachers.
The alternative, extra interpretations of terms Upatissa often gives (i.e., “again, …” or “it is also said …”) show that he had access to a well-established body of commentaries that had built up over time;
see § 4.8. Due to the limits of memorisation it is unlikely that an extensive formal body of orally transmitted commentaries was brought to Sri Lanka in the 3rd century BCE, but such a body would have formed when commentaries were composed in written format;
see Appendix III § 1.

Since the Vim was connected to the Abhayagirivihāra, it was probably composed when that monastery was well established, which was the case by the 2nd century CE;
see Cousins 2012:
75–76, 83. The Samantapāsādikā indicates that the formal split of the Abhayagirivihāra and Mahāvihāra into different fraternities ( nikāya) occurred only during the reign of King Mahāsena (circa 277–304 CE);
see Cousins 2012:
83–84, cf. p. 76, and see Appendix IV.
However, Vimuttimagga could have been composed before the formal split.

The prefaces and colophons to Buddhaghosa’s Vism and his commentaries on the Sutta and Vinaya Piṭaka stress these texts’ connection to the Mahāvihāra, but Upatissa does not refer to any school, neither his own nor any other.
This could suggest that the Vim was composed before the formal sectarian split during the reign of King Mahāsena (circa 277–304 CE), after which it became important to emphasise the school affiliation of a new text.

The Vism and Pāli commentaries frequently give the opinions of named Sinhalese senior monks ( thera);
see Adikaram 1953:
80–87, von Hinüber 1996:
101, § 206.

Upatissa, however, does not mention or quote the opinion of any thera.
In the Sp (I 62–63) a list of theras who passed on the Vinaya to the present day ( yāv’ ajjatanā) is given in verse.
The last of these theras, Siva Thera, lived in the 1st century CE;
see Adikaram 1953:
87. Buddhaghosa attributes the verses to the

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“ancients” porāṇā, which therefore indicates that the teachers who composed the Porāṇaṭṭhakathā did so in this period.
Almost all of the named Sri Lankan theras and reciters in the Pāli commentaries lived in the second century and first centuries BCE (i.e., from the reign of King Duṭṭhugāminī, circa 161–137 BCE, to the reign of King Kuṭakaṇṇa Tissa, circa 42–20 BCE).
Since King Vasabha (circa 66–110 CE) is the last king mentioned in the Pāli commentaries, and, because during his reign the last two theras are briefly mentioned (see Adikaram 1953:
87 fn. 1), the old commentaries appear to have been closed during or soon after his reign;
see Ñāṇamoli 2010:
xxxi, xxxvii.

Adikaram (1953:
87, fn. 3) says that it was in this period, i.e., after the period with authoritative teachers up to the end of the first century:
“that not only the Parivāra59 but also the major portion of the Sinhalese Commentaries came to be put into definite shape” and that references to events “later than the 1st century A.
D. are found now and then in the Commentaries” but are “exceedingly few”.

This silent period appears to have been one in which learning declined or stagnated, at least in the Mahāvihāra tradition;
see Adikaram 1953:
87, von Hinüber 1996:
101–102 § 206, 126 § 250. Possibly, it might have coincided with the demise of the reciter system.
Reciters of specific Nikāya-s are mentioned by name in various Sri Lankan rock inscriptions in early Brahmi script.

Endo (2013:
54 fn. 17) says that these inscriptions date from the 3rd century BCE

to the 1st century CE, while according to Norman (1997:
47) they probably date to the second century BCE.
It is not known whether such a silent or stagnant period also took place in the Abhayagirivihāra.

Since the term “former teachers” or “ancient teachers”, pubbācariyā, which Upatissa uses suggests some distance in time, perhaps two or three hundred years, between him and these teachers, just as it does for Buddhaghosa, this would locate Upatissa closer to the time of Buddhaghosa, who worked during the reign of King Mahānāma (circa 412–434 CE) in the first half of the fifth century.

Therefore, the Vim may have been composed in the 3rd or 4th century CE.
Von Hinüber (1996:
126 § 250) suggests that it might have been composed during the reign of King Mahāsena (circa 277–304 CE) around the turn of the fourth century, when the Abhayagirivihāra enjoyed strong royal support.
However, since this king was a staunch follower of the Vetullavāda, i.e., the Mahāyāna (see Appendix IV), it seems unlikely that a rather orthodox Śrāvakayāna work such as the Vimuttimagga would have been composed during his reign, unless it was composed by Upatissa as a reaction to the Mahāyāna developments.

As will be discussed more in § 9 below, the Vimuttimagga could have been composed as a reaction to an ascetic meditation movement that was influenced by the Mahāyāna and/or the Sarvāstivāda yogācāra movement.
Since a late 1st century 59 This text possibly was composed later;
see Introduction fn. 56

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49

or early 2nd century inscription mentions that King Vasabha (reigned circa 65–109) supported the Sudassana-padhānaghara, or “Beautiful Meditation Hall”, located near a group of caves at the Abhayagirivihāra, which was well established by that time, and since early Mahāyāna and yogācāra works were composed during the 2nd century, this century could also be a possible date for the composition of the Vimuttimagga.

Bapat suggests that the Vimuttimagga was composed in South India in about the first or second century CE and was later accepted by the Abhayagiri School.

His dating is based on the identification of Upatissa with the Vinaya teacher Upatissa who is mentioned in the Samantapāsādikā (see Bapat 1964 xvii fn. 4 and Ehara et al xxxvi).
However, there is no evidence that the author of the Vimuttimagga and the Vinaya teacher were the same Upatissa and it is a rather arbitrary assumption.
Even today, Upatissa is a name given to Buddhist monks and there must have been hundreds, if not thousands, of Upatissas in the long history of Buddhism.
In the entry “Upatissa” in Malalasekera’s Dictionary of Pāli Proper Names thirteen Upatissas are listed;
seven of whom were Buddhist monks and six of whom were authors.

4.6 Disappearance

As to the time of disappearance of the original Vimuttimagga text:
one chapter was translated into Tibetan as an independent text in the 9th century, and large sections of the chapters from the section on wisdom were translated into Tibetan as quotations in the translation of the compendium Saṃskṛtāsaṃskṛtaviniścaya, probably dating from the 12th century.
This indicates that the Vimuttimagga was extant until then in North-central India, in the libraries of the large Buddhist universities such as Nālandā or in the Sri Lankan monastery in Bodh Gayā.

In Sri Lanka it could have disappeared along with the Abhayagirivihāra school during the Saṅgha reforms instigated by King Parākramabāhu I in the 12th century as described in the Mahāvaṃsa (lxxvii.
12–30).

4.7 Sub-commentary

Although it is not mentioned anywhere, possibly there was a sub-commentary ( ṭīkā) on the Vimuttimagga, just as there is a ṭīkā on the Visuddhimagga, the Visuddhimaggamahāṭīkā.
The Mahāvaṃsaṭīkā mentions that the Abhayagirivihārā had its own commentaries (Mhv–ṭ 125, 134, 155, etc. ). It is likely that sub-commentaries were also composed by Abhayagiri authors and a ṭīkā on an important text such as the Vimuttimagga could have been among them.
Possibly there also existed a sannē, a word-by-word translation into Sinhala, as exists for the Visuddhimagga.

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4.8 Sources

Just as the Visuddhimagga and other commentarial Pāli works, the Vimuttimagga is not an entirely original work in the modern sense of the word “original”.

Although Ācariya Upatissa does not mention the sources for his work in his preface, he likely compiled his work by reusing materials from earlier exegetical works, just as Buddhaghosa did;
see Appendix III § 5. The following observation by Masefield (2002:
106) about the Pāli commentaries also applies to Upatissa’s work:
“I should make clear the fact, all too often overlooked, that scholars such as Buddhaghosa and Dhammapāla, although the authors of the works attributed to them, did not write those texts as such, but merely composed, or compiled, them on the basis of already extant, and often quite ancient, materials that they had at their disposal.
That is to say, the works that resulted from their labours did not represent their own personal ideas, views or interpretations, but simply are summaries of the commentarial material, past and current, that had grown up alongside the transmission of the canonical literature”.
For the acknowledged and unacknowledged reuse of text from Pāli, Sanskrit and Sinhala sources in Pāli commentarial and subcommentarial Vinaya texts;
see Kieffer-Pülz 2016a.

For general observations the reuse of texts in Indian philosophy, and the historicity of the concepts of “originality”, “authorship” and “plagiarism”;
see Freschi 2014.

The sources of the Vimuttimagga are canonical, paracanonical and commentarial works.
Upatissa quotes a number of times from the three piṭakas, i.e., the Sutta-, Vinaya- and especially the Abhidhammapiṭaka.
He does so without specifying the name of the sutta or text, except for the Haliddavasanasutta (at 438a).

He also refers to the paracanonical text called Peṭakopadesa or Peṭaka, which was mistranslated as Tipiṭaka into Chinese, and an unknown text called * Suttanettipada and * Nettipada-sutta, which perhaps is a version of the Nettipakaraṇa;
see § 6.

Upatissa attributes a verse passage about practising the Dhamma at 409b01–16 to

“the Buddha”, but it cannot be traced in any Pāli text.
The same applies to:
a passage on tranquillity of the body giving rise to coolness attributed to “the Fortunate One” at 407a;
a quotation “from the Suttas” about Meghiya at 408b;
verses on approaching a teacher attributed to “the Fortunate One” at 409b;
and verses on practice of the earth totality attributed to “the Buddha” at 412c.

That there are passages such as these that cannot be traced in Pāli works is not surprising.
Even in paracanonical works transmitted by the Mahāvihāra, i.e., the Milindapañhā, Nettippakaraṇa, and Peṭakopadesa, there are references to suttantas and verses that cannot be found in the Tipiṭaka;
see Horner’s introduction to her translation of the Milindapañhā (1969:
ix–xviii) and the lists of quotations in Ñāṇamoli’s translations of the Netti and Peṭaka (1964:
381–85, 1977:
283–87).

The Samantapāsādikā (Sp 74) lists several apocryphal suttantas, i.e., “not placed

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51

into [the Tipiṭaka] at the three Councils” ( tisso saṅgītiyo anāruḷhe), such as the Kulumbasutta or Kulumpasutta, that are mentioned in commentaries;
see von Hinüber 201/§ 437.60

Of the nine quotations that Upatissa attributes to the “Abhidhamma” (阿毘曇), five are found in the Paṭisambhidāmagga, two in the Niddesa and two in the Dhammasaṅgaṇī.
In the Tibetan translations of the same passages, these quotations are also attributed to the “Abhidhamma” ( chos mngon pa).
This suggests that the school of Upatissa included the Paṭisambhidāmagga and Niddesa in the Abhidhammapiṭaka rather than in the Khuddakanikāya of the Suttapiṭaka, where they were allocated by the Mahāvihāravāsins.
The Paṭisambhidāmagga fits well in the Abhidhammapiṭaka,61 the Niddesa less so.
62 Frauwallner (1995:
42) suggested that Paṭis was placed in the Khuddakanikāya because the Abhidhammapiṭaka had already been closed to new texts at the time of its composition;
see also von Hinüber 1996:
59–60 § 119, 73 § 151. Another option is that Upatissa’s school included the Paṭis and Nidd in the Khuddakanikāya, but included the Khuddakanikāya in the Abhidhammapiṭaka.
In the commentary on the Dīgha Nikāya (Sv I 15) it is said that the Dīghanikāya reciters included the Khuddakagantha (= Khuddakanikāya) in the Abhidhammapiṭaka, while the Majjhimanikāya reciters included it in the Suttapiṭaka;
see Appendix III §1.

Upatissa often gives alternative interpretations of topics, phrases, and words.

He probably drew these interpretations from various commentarial sources such as the old commentaries that the Mahāvihāra commentators referred to.

For example, in the analysis of the words and phrases in the canonical definition of the first jhāna at 415c there are four explanations of the term “seclusion”

( viveka):
“It is called ‘seclusionʼ because of seclusion from the five hindrances

— this is called ‘seclusion.
ʼ Furthermore (復次), it is the wholesome root of the material sphere.
It is also said (復說):
‘It is the threshold to the first jhāna.
ʼ

It is also said:
‘It is the jhāna mind.
ʼ ”

60 The Nandopananda in the Sp list could be the story about the nāga Nandopananda related at Vism XII.
106–116/p.398–401. It is also told and referred to as Nandopanandadamana at Th-a III 176f., and Ap-a 248f.

61 See Frauwallner 1995:
42, 89–95, Norman 1983:
88–89, von Hinüber 1996:
59–60 § 119 and Ronkin 2005:
90

62 See Hirakawa (1993:
129):
“Many elements of the Niddesa, such as its method of defining doctrines and technical terms, are similar to those found in abhidhamma texts.

The Paṭisambhidāmagga … contains discussions of the practical application of many of the topics ( mātikā) found in Abhidhamma literature.
… The Niddesa and Paṭisambhidāmagga are found only in the Theravāda canon.
No texts representing this transitional phase from sūtra to abhidharma are found in extant Sarvāstivādin literature”.
However, the Niddesa, despite containing abhidhammic elements, basically is a word-by-word style commentary on the Suttanipāta, does not contain a mātikā, and therefore is more difficult to place in the Abhidhamma Piṭaka than the Paṭisambhidāmagga.

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In the first type of alternative herein, the binome 復次 means “furthermore” or

“again”.
This oft-occurring term introduces a different or additional version of the teaching on the subject discussed.
The corresponding Tibetan term is yang na,

“moreover”, “alternatively”, “or else”, “in another way” corresponding to Pāli puna caparaṃ, aparaṃ or api ca.
63

In the second type of alternative, 復說 means, “it is also said” or “again, it is said”

or “they also say” but it can also mean, “others say”.
The Tibetan parallels gzhan dag tu yang gsungs pa and gzhan dag na re, “others say”, correspond to apare vadanti, which usually refers to the view of those of another school;
see § 5 below.

The character 復 corresponds to Skt apara, “again, moreover” (and similarly to api, api ca, puna) but it can also correspond to apara in the sense of “other, another”.
In any case, it introduces ideas that do not belong to Upatissa’s school but nevertheless are acceptable to him.
The binome 復說 is found thirty-seven times in the Vimuttimagga, while the combination 復次說 is used only twice and in a different sense.
64

Another unidentified source that is more clearly differentiated is “some”, 有 and 有一, which probably correspond to the keci, ekacce and apare of the Pāli commentaries.
It is found seven times in the phrase 有說 “some say” or “others say”65 (403a11, 410a23, 417c13, 438c09, 449a14, 451c12, 460c24) and once in 有一說 “certain ones say” (406b06). The latter is found at Ch.3 § 16:
“The state of the sitter is without expediencies.
Yet certain ones say that when one [lies down] as an expediency to pour [medicine] into the nose, one does not break the state of the sitter”.
In the Tibetan translation of this chapter, “certain ones say”

corresponds to kha cig na re … zhes zer.
The corresponding Pāli term is ekacce vadanti since the character “一” corresponds to eka, and kha cig to ekacca.

An interesting example of the usage of 有說, “some say”, is at 410a23 (Ch.6 § 6), where an alternative interpretation is given:
“Furthermore, some say ‘one who has phlegm in predominance is a person with a delusion temperament, and one who has wind in predominance is a person with a greed temperament’.”
This is part of a larger passage on the causes for temperament that as a whole is attributed to ekacce vadanti in Vism III.
80–81/p.102–103, and according to Ācariya Dhammapāla is found in Upatissa’s Vimuttimagga;
see § 4.5 & Ch.6 fn. 14

63 In the Tibetan translation of Chapter 3, rnam pa gcig tu “in another way” is used instead.

64 In the first occurrence of the latter at 416a04, at the start of the passage on the five kinds of rapture, it probably is an interpretation of the idiomatic sā panesā … ti:
“but it is …

as:
…”, and in the second at 450a14 it has the meaning of “furthermore, he taught”, referring to the Buddha.

65 In the second Abhidharmakośabhāṣya translation at T 1558:
02c16 & 03a08, 有說

corresponds to ity apare, “others (say):
…” in the Sanskrit and to gzhan dag na re, “others say:
…” in the Tibetan translation.
It corresponds to kecid āhuḥ “some say:
…” and kha cig na re “some say:
…” at T 1558:
09a14.

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53

This alternative interpretation is also found in the larger passage in the Visuddhimagga as semhādhiko vā mohacarito, vātādhiko rāgacarito, but it is not attributed.
The reason for this might be that Buddhaghosa could have found it awkward to include another quotation attributed to “some” within a quotation already attributed to “some”.

A passage in which both 有說 and 復說 are used is at 417c13–15:
“Some say:

‘When afflictions arise quickly, there is falling back.
ʼ They also say:
‘When afflictions arise slowly, there is falling back.
ʼ They also say:
‘When one loses calm ( samatha), there is falling back.
ʼ They also say:
‘…’.”
Here 復說 likely means “they also say” instead of “it is also said”.

In four cases (414a01–04, 426b20–25, 438a17–21, 438a27–b01), the 復說 type of alternative is supported by quotations from canonical works.
The third of these, i.e., the statement that the four jhānas can be produced through all the four immeasurables, is rejected in the Visuddhimagga;
see Ch.8 fn. 834

Unlike in the Pāli commentaries, wherein the views of “some” are sometimes rejected (see Horner 1981:
89–93), none of the views of “some” are rejected in the Vimuttimagga but are given as alternative, secondary explanations.
Unlike Buddhaghosa, Upatissa was not concerned with upholding and promoting the ideas of his school in opposition to those of other schools.

While Ācariya Buddhaghosa rarely gives his own opinions (see Adikaram 1953:
2), Upatissa does not give his own opinions or interpretations at all, at least not explicitly.
However, in six cases he specifies which interpretation is intended or preferred.
These specifications follow various interpretations of terms such as doubt ( vicikicchā):
“In this Exposition [the sense of] … is intended” or “In this Exposition [the sense of] … is taken” or “Herein, [the sense of] … is intended.”

Upatissa does not refer to any other Buddhist school or teacher by name.

One attribution to “some” in the discussion of the attainment of fruition ( phalasamāpatti) shows that he was possibly aware of the ideas and standpoints held by the Mahāvihāra.
The primary explanation in the Vimuttimagga (Ch.12.73/

p.
460c23–24) says that only the non-returner and arahant who are perfect in concentration can enter upon the attainment of fruition.
In the Vism (XXIII.
6–7) and Paṭis-a, this idea is attributed to “some” ( keci), who are said to be the Abhayagirivāsins in the Paṭis-gp;
see § 5 idea 13. Upatissa then says that “some say” all noble persons can enter upon attainment of fruition, which is the idea as found in the Vism and Paṭis-a.

Another source that Upatissa refers to ten times66 is the “former teachers” (本師

and 先師 = pubbācariyā or perhaps porāṇācariyā).
These teachers are also mentioned in the Visuddhimagga and the Pāli commentaries.
The pubbācariyā, 66 At 403c20, 404a13, 413a02, 413a04, 427b01, 430b17, 432a08, 439a06, 439c01, and 443a23.

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porāṇācariyā, and porāṇā probably refer to the same source, and are identical with the aṭṭhakathācariyā, the teachers who compiled and wrote down the Porāṇaṭṭhakathā, the “commentaries of the ancients”, or “ancient commentary”, i.e., the Sīhaḷaṭṭhakathā “commentary of the Sīhaḷas” that the Pāli commentators refer to.
For more on the porāṇā;
see Appendix III § 3.

The ten passages attributed to the former teachers by Upatissa are not attributed to anyone when found (in slightly different form) in Buddhaghosa’s Visuddhimagga and Nikāya and Vinaya commentaries;
see Bapat 1937:
xxiv.
Likewise, the passages attributed to the pubbācariyā, porāṇācariyā and the porāṇā in the Vism and Pāli commentaries are not attributed when found in the Vim.

Unlike Buddhaghosa, Upatissa does not refer to or quote the opinions of reciters ( bhāṇaka) or of senior monks or elders ( thera), nor does he refer to any commentaries, aṭṭhakathā.
This could be taken to suggest that Vim predates the old aṭṭhakathā or that they were not available to or not used by Upatissa.

However, as mentioned above, the porāṇācariyā possibly are identical with the aṭṭhakatha-acariyā who compiled and transmitted the Porāṇaṭṭhakathā consulted by Buddhaghosa.
If so, Upatissa had access to the old commentaries containing the opinions of the former teachers and reciters.
Since Upatissa often gives various different interpretations of terms, he likely had access to a wide body of exegetical literature that included the aṭṭhakathā that are said to have been brought to Sri Lanka by Mahinda and were written down along with the Tipiṭaka;
see Appendix III § 1.

Bapat (1937:
25) points out that some passages Buddhaghosa quotes from the Aṭṭhakathā in the Vism, such as the passage on how to contemplate the sign of the foul (Vism VI.
18–22/p. 180), are found in almost identical manner in the Vim (425a–b) without an indication that they are quotes.
Did Buddhaghosa in these cases use material from the Vim while referring to it as Aṭṭhakathā or did he quote from aṭṭhakathā that contained the same or very similar material as the Vim?
In the latter case, the Aṭṭhakathā quoted from could have been the pre-sectarian Porāṇaṭṭhakathā.
In turn, Upatissa could have based himself on the same Porāṇaṭṭhakathā as Buddhaghosa did;
see also Cousins 2012:
114

Finally, another source, in a loose sense, is “science of words” or “grammar” —

聲論 = Sanskrit śabdaśāstra and Pāli saddasattha — which is referred to in the definition of bhāva at 418b25/Ch.8 § 30. This, as well the explanation of bhāva as pakati, suggests that Upatissa was familiar with Pāṇinian Sanskrit grammar, i.e., śabdaśāsana or śabdaśāstra, just as Buddhaghosa was;
see Ch.8 fn. 239

and Appendix III §6.

For a further investigation of the sources of the Pāli commentaries and their language, see Appendix III.

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55

4.9 Influences

Although the primary textual sources for the Vimuttimagga are Theravāda texts such as the Paṭisambhidāmagga, Peṭakopadesa, and presumably also commentaries on the Tipiṭaka, it is unlikely that the Vimuttimagga was conceived and composed by Upatissa without any exterior textual influence or inspiration.

Possibly the Vimuttimagga was composed as a reaction to, or influenced by the works of early Yogācāra and Mahāyāna movements, mainly within the Sarvāstivāda tradition in Northwestern India.
Since the Mahāvaṃsa says that Vetullavāda works, i.e., Mahāyāna works, were studied at the Abhayagirivihāra, and since the Milindapañhā, a work that likely originated in the Sarvāstivāda school of North-western India, had reached Sri Lanka, it is possible that early Yogācāra works such as the *Yogācārabhūmi of Saṅgharakṣa had also done so.

The Vimuttimagga contains ideas on momentariness ( khaṇika), atoms ( paramāṇu), intrinsic nature ( sabhāva), etc. , that are said to have been introduced into the Sri Lankan Theravāda tradition from the Sarvāstivāda tradition;
see Introduction § 4.8 and Appendix III § 1, 4 and 5. Sri Lankan texts and ideas had, vice versa, reached North-western India by the fourth century since the Yogācāra authors Vasubandhu and Asaṅga knew of the Tāmraśāṭīyas and Ārya Sthaviras, i.e., of the Sri Lankan Theravādins, and refer to their ideas such as the bhavaṅga and hadayavatthu;
see Skilling 1993:
155–163, Cousins 2010:
12–13, 2012:
87, Dhammajoti 2016:
243. The commentator Dhammapāla was influenced by Mahāyāna ideas found in the Bodhisattvabhūmi section of the Yogācārabhūmi of Asaṅga, etc. ;
see Bodhi 2007b:
44–45. Dhammapāla’s understanding of the idea of ñeyyāvaraṇa, and his distinguishing between kilesa and vāsana, show the influence of Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma;
see Dhammajoti 2016:
243

Although the aim of the practice described in the Vimuttimagga is nibbāna and it does not contain any encouragement to practice the bodhisattva path to Buddhahood, it was composed in a period when forest asceticism and meditation were popular in bodhisattva circles.
Early Mahāyāna sūtras such as the Rāṣṭrapālaparipṛcchā show that bodhisattva practitioners who were disappointed with worldly mainstream monastic Buddhism sought to revive the original practice and imitated the example of the Buddha by practising the austerities and meditation practices, or the pāramitā-s of kṣānti, vīrya and dhyāna, in order to become a Buddha;
see Deleanu 2005:
42–53, Williams 2009:
30–38. Deleanu links this revivalist movement to the Mahāsāṃghika school, while Buswell and Jaini (1996:
111, 117) link it to the Sarvāstivāda school.
Instead, it was possibly a pan-Buddhist revivalist movement that was not limited to a particular early school.

This revivalist forest ascetic meditation movement could also have influenced practice in the Abhayagirivihāra (on the strict interpretations of Vinaya regulations by the schismatic Abhayagiri monks, see Appendix IV) and this could have encouraged Upatissa to make his treatise with large sections on asceticism and meditation as a response to the movement from the established,

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orthodox monastic Theravāda tradition.
Thus the Vimuttimagga could have been written to provide a meditation manual for a revivalist ascetic meditation movement and as an attempt to contain it within the established tradition.

The simultaneous interest in asceticism in both early Mahāyāna sūtra s and in Theravāda paracanonical literature and commentaries has been noted by Ray (1994:
317–18):
“It is curious, … that Theravādin tradition begins to take considerable notice of the dhutaguṇas as such at the same time that the Mahāyāna is beginning to appear in India.
It may well be that the Theravadin commentators begin to acknowledge the dhutaguṇas in a major way as a response to the growing popularity of the Mahāyāna and its forest saints.
In the writing of the Milindapañha, the Vimuttimagga …, and the Visuddhimagga, we may be observing settled monasticism in the process of appropriating something of the charisma of the saints and their forest way of life, while subjecting them to the process of monasticization … to make them more harmonious with the particular institutional exigencies of its kind of Buddhism.”

A late 1st or early 2nd century inscription records that King Vasabha (reigned circa 65–109), the founder of the first Lambakaṇṇa dynasty, supported or constructed the Sudassana-padhānaghara or “Beautiful Meditation Hall”, near a group of eleven caves at the Abhayagirivihāra complex.
67 It shows that meditation, and presumably asceticism too, was practised in this part of the Abhayagirivihāra complex.
Bodhisattva practices were popular in Sri Lanka by the third century.
The Mahāvaṃsa lauds King Saṅghabodhi (circa 252–254 CE) as a mahāsatta, i.e., a bodhisatta (see Vim Ch.8 § 147–48). King Saṅghabodhi’s good deeds, such as using a waterstrainer to filter water in order not to kill beings in the water, just as Buddhist monks do, exemplify the perfections that bodhisattvas develop.

If Upatissa was inspired to compose the Vimuttimagga due to developments outside of the Sri Lankan Theravāda tradition, he could even more so have been inspired by the meditation or path treatises connected to the early Yogācāra movement, with which is here meant the meditation practice and proto-Mahāyāna movement of the yogācāras or meditation or practioners referred to in the * Abhidharmamahāvibhāṣāśāstra (阿毘達=大毘婆沙論, T 1545), i.e., the fundamental scholastic treatise of Sarvāstivāda doctrine composed in the mid 2nd century CE in Kashmir, rather than the later Mahāyāna philosophical school of

“consciousness-only” ( vijñānavāda) as developed by Vasubandhu and Asaṅga;
see Buswell and Jaini 1996:
110–111, Deleanu 2006:
158, 195, 2012:
8–9.

Only two meditation texts that can be linked to the yogācāras are extant in 67 See Kulatunge 1999:
49. See also Sundberg 2014:
147 fn. 122, 148 fn. 126, 168 fn. 192, Bretfeld 2015:
335–36. At this site, called Dīghapāsāṇa or “Long Rock”, there is a single platform unlike the double platforms that are associated with the monastic group of paṃsukūlika or “rag robe-wearer” ascetics that flourished in the 9th and 10th century.

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57

Sanskrit:
the Śrāvakabhūmi and, in fragments, the “Yogalehrbuch” or “Qizil Yoga Manual”.
However, there are Chinese translations and compilations of texts and teachings of Sarvāstivāda Yogācāra masters.
The Chinese call this corpus of texts “Dhyāna Sūtras” or “Chan Scriptures”, 禪經.
It is a genre or category of texts that has no known Indic Buddhist parallel;
see Greene 2012:
32. Since information about these texts is scattered in various theses and articles, a brief description of the main ones will be given here.

The “Yogalehrbuch” or “Qizil Yoga Manual”, of which the title, author, and date of composition are not known, but which was likely connected to the Sarvāstivāda school, is the only independent manual that survives in Sanskrit.

It was found in the Silk Route oasis of Qizil, and was first described by the German scholar Schlingloff who, due to lack of an original title, called it

“Yogalehrbuch”.
This work contains instructions on the main traditional meditation subjects — i.e., aśubha, ānāpānasmṛti, dhātuprayoga, skandha-, āyatana- and pratītyasamutpāda- parīkṣā, the four brahmavihāra, and buddha-, dharma-, saṃgha-, śīla- and devatā- anusmṛti — but incorporates rather complex and esoteric visualisations.
For example:
“… a crystal world and a crystal body appear to [the meditator] practicing inhalation and exhalation.
Then (a jewel tree) stands on [the crystal man’s] head filling the boundless realms of the world.

On the leafy branches of that tree Buddhas are seen preaching the dharma.
…”

(Yamabe 1999:
15). In the case of the contemplation of the elements:
“… a sword comes out of the navel of the meditator and arranges the six parts of the meditator’s body separately on his skin.
… Then, in the same way, the swords that have come out of the body of the meditator arrange the whole sea of sentient beings according to the six elements …” (Yamabe 1999:
330). This text emphasises the Bodhisattva ideal and contains tantric elements.
The visualisations in this work are similar to ones found in some Chinese Dhyāna Sūtras, especially the “Discourse on the Essential Secrets of Meditation”, 禪祕要法經 (T 613), which has been analyzed and translated by Greene (2012).

Deleanu (1992:
43–46) describes the Chinese Dhyāna Sūtras as “treatises or manuals of meditation belonging to or, at least, partly drawing their inspiration from Sarvāstivāda tradition.
… Doctrinally, the dhyāna sūtra s range from a basically orthodox Sarvāstivāda standpoint to a substantial compromise with Mahāyāna teachings and practices.
… the original texts … can be traced back to the Kashmirian Yogācāra school belonging to the Sarvāstivāda tradition.
Most of these meditation manuals were compiled or, at least, reflect the practice and theory of the Conservative Yogācārins of the first four centuries of our era.


These dhyāna sūtra s clearly show that the Yogācārins were more interested in the concrete details of the spiritual training than in the philosophical speculations of the Abhidharma ….”

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According to the Chinese biographies of monks and other historical records the Chan or Dhyāna meditation movement started in the early fifth century and soon became very popular;
see Greene 2012:
15–30. Foreign masters such as Buddhabhadra taught meditation to Chinese pupils who eventually became teachers themselves, and established meditation monasteries in or near the capital.

The meditation manuals were translated and compiled as practice guides for the Chinese meditators.
Overviews of and background information about the Dhyāna Sūtras or meditation manuals are given by Greene 2012:
30–76, Yamabe 1999:
59–112, Chan 2013:
48–74, Deleanu 2006:
157–158, and Yuanci 2012. Yamabe (1999:
39–40) observes that the backgrounds of these texts “are often very unclear” and that “virtually all … are compilatory works;
none of them seems to have been composed by a single author with coherent intention.
Some of them (especially those compiled by Kumārajīva) are more carefully organized than others, but in many cases … structural disorder is conspicuous.
Furthermore, some of these texts have greatly variant versions ….”

The first work translated by Kumārajīva after arriving in China — the “Sūtra on Concentration Meditation” (* Yogacāra-samādhi-sūtra?
), 坐禪三昧經 (T 614)

— is a composite work consisting of passages said to be extracted and compiled from works composed by Indian masters such as Aśvaghosa, Saṅgharakṣa and Upagupta.
The teachings conform to those of the Sarvāstivāda school.
The first part is on the path of disciples, śrāvakas.
It is structured on the fivefold scheme of the defilements predominant in different meditators, i.e., the temperaments they have, and the appropriate meditations for countering these defilements.
The text says that at first the meditator should approach a teacher, who is to investigate the temperament of the meditator — i.e., whether he predominantly has the defilements of greed, hatred, delusion, thinking, or has these “in-equal-parts”

( samabhāga;
see Ch.6 fn. 2), and accordingly should prescribe one of the five meditation subjects — aśubha, maitri, pratītyasamutpāda, ānāpānasmṛti, and buddhānusmṛti — that act as antidotes for the defilements and lead to calm and insight.
Lengthy descriptions of the character types are given, as well as descriptions of the antidotes, then follow instructions on how to attain the four jhānas, formless attainments, supernormal powers, and a description of the kinds of noble persons.
The description of the recollection of the Buddha, which has Mahāyānist elements, comes in place of the analysis of elements ( dhātuprabheda) allocated here in Indic texts such as the Śrāvakabhūmi.

The descriptions are interspersed with questions and answers about knotty points.
The next part discusses the path of Pratyekabuddhas, and the last part is on the Bodhisattva path to Buddhahood.
For more details, see Yamabe 1999:
76–80, Greene 2012:
41–47. Its companion or supplementary volume,

“Basic Explanations of the Dhyāna Method” 禪法要解, T 616, also by Kumārajīva, discusses in more detail the four dhyānas, the four immeasurables ( apramāṇa-s), the four immaterial attainments and six supernormal powers ( abhijñā);
see Greene 2012:
47

IntroductIon

59

The * Dharmatrāta-dhyāna-sūtra, 達摩多羅禪經, (T 618), is a difficult text in verse and prose, that was translated by Buddhabhadra in 413 CE.
It is said to contain the teachings of the Kashmira masters Buddhasena and Dharmatrāta.

It contains some details on meditation practices.
According to Greene (2012:
49) it is almost certainly an authentic translation of an Indic or Central Asian text.

It is structured by way of the Sarvāstivāda practice scheme of paths ( mārga), in this case the preparatory path of effort ( prayoga-mārga), as subdivided into parts or stages ( bhāgiya), i.e., the parts partaking of decline ( hāṇa-bhāgīya), stability ( sthiti-bhāgīya);
distinction ( viśeṣa-bhāgīya) and penetration ( nirvedhabhāgīya) (compare Vimuttimagga Ch.2 § 29);
see Chan 2013:
61f., Greene 2012:
48, Yamabe 1999:
72–76.

Although traditionally not counted among the Dhyāna Sūtras by the Chinese, and being part of another treatise, the Śrāvakabhūmi is a text that can also be regarded as a meditation manual according to Deleanu (2006:
157). The Śrāvakabhūmi is a section of the Yogācārabhūmi — “the vast encyclopaedic Summa Ascetica of the Yogācāra-Vijñānavāda School which is attributed to Maitreya by the Chinese tradition and to Asaṅga by Tibetan sources” (Deleanu 2006:
13). In its comprehensiveness and systematicness, especially with respect to abhidharma, the Śrāvakabhūmi is the path manual that most approximates the Vimuttimagga and Visuddhimagga.
It can be dated to the third or fourth century CE.
According to Deleanu (2012:
9):
“the doctrinal core of the Śrāvakabhūmi has much in common with the Sarvāstivādin system.
Since the active role of the yogācāras 瑜伽師 is abundantly attested in the * Abhidharmamahāvibhāṡāśāstra …, a fundamental treatise of the Sarvāstivādin school compiled around the middle of the 2nd century CE, it seems natural, or at least plausible, to assume that the tradition behind the Śrāvakabhūmi is historically linked to this milieu”.
Like the Vim and Vism, it gives a comprehensive and detailed account of practice:
“The nature of its discourse is multiple:
presentation of the complex edifice of the spiritual progression from its first steps to the attainment of Awakening, detailed meditation manual, philosophical treatise on a variety of related topics, Abhidharmic taxonomy of doctrines and human psychology relevant to the spiritual praxis, etc. , … [it] is written from or, at least, reflects a Śrāvakayānika doctrinal standpoint … Though it has a different textual formation and historical background, the Śrāvakabhūmi can be regarded as a counterpart of Buddhaghosa’s Visuddhimagga, …” (Deleanu 2006:
13;
see also 2012:
9). However, it is more complex than the Visuddhimagga, let alone the Vimuttimagga, it “is a voluminous and intricate text.
… it is easy to lose sight of the basic path of spiritual cultivation which it describes and advocates” (Deleanu 2006:
20). The instructions, such as the ones on practising mindfulness of breathing, are generally concise but not as detailed and comprehensive as in the Vimuttimagga and Visuddhimagga.

The text is also abhidharmic in style.
Its author, Asaṅga, classifies the Yogācāra-bhūmi as a compilation of mātṛkā, i.e., as abhidharma;
see Wayman 1961:
32–33.

A synopsis of the text is given by Deleanu (2006:
20–34), who also discusses the

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IntroductIon

text and gives a translation of section 4. An abridged translation of the whole text is given by Wayman (1961). To get an idea of the contents of the Śrāvakabhūmi text in relation to those of the Vimuttimagga, a brief summary is given here:
Section 1 starts with a discussion of lineage ( gotra);
the next part is on the entry into [the Path] ( avatāra) — giving its definition and the characteristics of the person who has entered upon the Path (compare Vim Ch.1);
the last part is on renunciation ( naiṣkramya) and how it can be achieved through the mundane path of calm and the supramundane path of insight, and their requisites such as restraint and hearing of the Dhamma.
Section 2 is on categories such as the different kinds of persons, the meditation subjects ( ālambana), the three kinds of training (see Vim ch. 1 § 4), and the character types or temperaments (carita, see Vim ch. 6), of which it gives a classification of seven types, describing their characteristics ( liṅga).
Section 3 contains instructions on the practice of meditation.
At first the beginner meditator ( ādikarmika yogācāra;
compare 初坐

禪人 = ādikammika yogāvacara, in Vim) should approach a teacher and request his advice (see Vim ch. 5). After observing the meditator, the teacher instructs him on five points:
(1) guarding and accumulating the requisites for concentration, (2) the conducive conditions for solitude ( viveka), (3) one-pointedness of mind, (4) purification from the obstacles, (5) practice of contemplation ( manaskāra-bhāvanā) including grasping the signs of the five meditation subjects:
foulness, loving-kindness, dependent origination, analysis of the elements ( dhātuprabheda), or mindfulness of breathing.
The meditation subjects are described rather briefly compared to the detailed instructions in the Vim and Vism.

Suitable subjects for the different character types are given (see Vim ch. 7 § 11).

In Section 4, the jhānas, immaterial attainments, and the attainment of cessation, as well as the direct knowledges and supernormal powers, are described.
As in the Vimuttimagga (ch.
8), the section on the first jhāna is introduced by a discussion of the dangers of sense pleasures, including similes on the dangers of sense pleasures that are also given in Vim, but it is done systematically through seven ways of giving attention ( manaskāra) — i.e., to characteristics, determination, seclusion, delight, examination ( mīmaṃsa), conclusion of practice ( prayoganiṣṭha) and the fruit of the conclusion of practice — that are also to be used for attaining the other jhānas and attainments.
This system of seven ways of attending is unlike anything found in Theravāda works.
Glosses upon the words and phrases in the canonical formulations of the jhānas and attainments are given, but in less detail than in the Vim.
Unlike the Vim and Vism, the part on the direct knowledges is introduced by a part on the perceptions, such as the perceptions of lightness ( laghu) and softness ( mṛdu), that have to be developed in order to practice the supernormal powers and knowledges.
The last part is on the supramundane path, and describes the realization of the four noble truths through the above-mentioned seven contemplations, culminating in arahantship.

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61

Despite the similarity between the Vimuttimagga and Śrāvakabhūmi in abhidharmic systematicness and comprehensiveness, an earlier, much lesser known treatise called *Yogācārabhūmi is closer, or perhaps even superceding it, in practical approach.
The *Yogācārabhūmi, 修行道地, the “Ground of the Meditation Practitioners” or “Levels of Meditation Practice”, T 606, is a treatise for meditation practitioners ( yogācāra) on the practice of calm and insight (寂觀, śamatha-vipaśyana) with the aim of attaining nirvāṇa.
The treatise, which contains many similes and illustrations, was composed by the Kashmiri Sarvāstivādin monk Saṅgharakṣa (僧伽羅剎 or 眾護), who is said to have been a teacher of King Kaniṣka and was possibly a contemporary of Aśvaghoṣa in the 2nd century CE.
Since the Vimuttimagga cannot be dated with certainty, this work is the oldest known meditation manual or path treatise.
It consists of twenty-seven chapters, the introductions and conclusions of which are in verse, while the main body of text is in prose interspersed with verses.
The complete translation of all 27 chapters in six fascicles, T 606, was made by Dharmarakṣa in 284 C.
E.

An earlier prose translation of part of this text — called 道地, *Yogabhūmi, or 行道地, *Yogācārabhūmi, T 607 — was made by An Shigao (148–170 CE), who also translated a few other texts connected to meditation;
see Yamabe 2013.

The *Yogācārabhūmi of Saṅgharakṣa is a practice manual that contains many inspirational verses and similes.
It is a much more lively work than the rather dry abhidharmic Śrāvakabhūmi of Asaṅga.
According to Deleanu (1997:
35–36), Saṅgharakṣa’s literary style is original and comparable to his contemporary Aśvaghoṣa, and he lauds his work as “a treatise dealing with theoretical and practical details of spiritual cultivation, but far from being a dry discussion of technical aspects it is a literary masterpiece written in a lively style and covering a large spectrum of Buddhist teachings.”
The treatise is Śrāvakayāna oriented, i.e., the goal is arahantship or nirvāṇa.
In the conclusion Saṅgharakṣa says that those who practice his instructions will reach nirvāṇa and be gradually released from suffering (T 606 223b28). The overall purpose of the work is stated in the last verse of the first chapter:
“This treatise is a large commentary on the terms calm and insight”, (T 606 182c20;
cf. T 607 231b20–21). In An Shigao’s translation, yogācārabhūmi is defined as “a designation for calm and insight”

(道行地名為止觀) T 607 231b08. On the possible influence of the *Yogācāra-bhūmi of Saṅgharakṣa on the Yogācārabhūmi of Asaṅga;
see Yamabe 2013;
and on Saṅgharakṣa and his Sarvāstivāda school affiliation;
see Deleanu 2009.

The overall structural plan of the treatise is based on the three stages or grounds of practitioners, i.e., the plane of the worldling ( prṭhagjana), trainee ( śaikṣa) and non-trainee ( aśaikṣa).
The discussion of the first plane takes up by far the largest part of the book, twenty-three chapters out of twenty-seven.
The other two planes only take up three chapters, with one on the trainee, and two on the non-trainee or arahant.
This threefold scheme of planes apparently was the Śrāvakayāna predecessor of the complex Mahāyāna scheme employed in

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IntroductIon

Asaṅga’s Yogācārabhūmi.
Saṅgharakṣa does not employ the Sarvāstivāda and Mahāyāna scheme of the five paths.
The arrangement of topics in the treatment of the first plane seems somewhat random, at least in comparison with the Vimuttimagga and Visuddhimagga.
Saṅgharakṣa’s treatment of the first plane starts with an analysis of the five aggregates in four chapters, followed by chapters on loving-kindness, abandoning fear, the character types, stimulating the mind, the distortions, contemplation of nutriment, sense-restraint, patience, refraining from doing evil, then four chapters on the higher knowledges, followed by chapters on the hells, gladness, emptiness, the supernormal powers, mindfulness of breathing, and insight.

The conclusion of the text at the end of chapter 27, and the sixth fascicle, is followed by an appendix consisting of three chapters in one fascicle.
It is a later addition, apparently of an originally independent work, perhaps added to please Chinese Mahāyānists;
see Demiéville 1954:
349. The contrast between the *Yogācārabhūmi and this appendix is striking.
While in the text itself the meditator is urged to attain nibbāna and become an arahant, in the appendix a soteriological U-turn is made and the arahant ideal that is emphasised in the preceding text is downplayed.
In Kumārajīva’s “Discourse on the Concentration of Sitting Meditation” and at the end of the translation of the * Dharmatrāta-dhyāna-sūtra, similar incongruous Mahāyānist elements are found, possibly introduced to please Chinese Mahāyanists;
see Demiéville 1954:
357–358, 362–63.

This is a concise overview of the *Yogācārabhūmi, based on Demiéville’s summary of this text in French:

The first chapter or introduction says that householders and those who have gone forth, who desire to abandon the afflictions ( kleśa) of birth, ageing, sickness, etc. , should resolutely practise the instructions in the treatise;
to attain the deathless they should do so without giving up.
Then there is a discussion of misconduct ( anācāra) — i.e., thoughts of greed, hatred and harming, not recollecting death, having evil friends, not keeping the precepts, etc. , — and good conduct ( ācāra) — thoughts of renunciation, non-anger and non-harming, having good friends, keeping the precepts, etc. Definitions of yogācāra (修行) and yogācārabhūmi (修行道) are then given:
“Yogācāra is practicing accordingly/properly ( anuyoga?
);
it is cultivation ( bhāvanā that is complying.

Yogācārabhūmi (修行道) is being fully focused and concentrated on the way/

plane (or “being focussed on the plane of concentration.”
68

68 An-shigao’s translation is different:
“Who is the yogācāra (行者)?
He is one who pays attention to the [meditation] object in the manner that he should practice.
The y ogācāra is the one who practises;
one who practices in conformity (近習);
one who cultivates that.

The one who cultivates that is of three kinds:
one who has not yet attained the path (i.e., the prṭhagjana), the trainee, and non-trainee.
Yogācārabhūmi is that which is practised by the one who practices (i.e., the yogācāra);
the plane/territory of the one who practices.


Yogācārabhūmi is a designation for calm and insight”;
T 607 231b03–08.

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63

There are three types of yogācāra, i.e., worldling ( prṭhagjana), trainee ( śaikṣa) and non-trainee ( aśaikṣa).
Saṅgharakṣa adds that this treatise is intended for the first two types of persons.
He says that the treatise Yogācārabhūmisūtra teaches calm and insight, which lead to the fruits of recluseship ( śramana-phala), to the fruit of the element of nirvāṇa with remainder and the element of nirvāṇa without remainder, which are then defined.
Unlike other path treatises or meditation manuals such as the Visuddhimagga — which start with topics related to morality and concentration — Saṅgharakṣa starts with four chapters on the five aggregates, discussing their origin and characteristics, their arising and perishing through birth and death (see Yamabe 2013), etc. Then follow two chapters on loving kindness and abandoning fear.

In Chapter 8, which deals in detail with character types ( carita, 行), it is said that the teacher of the meditator should assign a meditation subject that counters the main defilement of the meditator:
to counteract greed, he should assign contemplation of the foul;
to counteract anger, loving-kindness;
to counteract delusion, contemplation of dependent origination;
to counteract thinking, mindfulness of breathing;
and to counteract pride, contemplation of the skeleton.

Eighteen kinds of temperament, etc. , are described.
Next are chapters on how to encourage or stimulate the mind, on how to abandon the four distortions ( caturviparyāsa) of seeing permanence in what is impermanent, etc. , on contemplation of the repulsiveness of food, sense-restraint, patience, the direct knowledges ( abhijñā), contemplation of the eight hells and the karma that leads to them, and on how to gladden the mind.
Chapter 21 is a long chapter on the aggregates, elements, and sense-bases being empty of a self.
It also discusses the three gates to liberation ( trīṇi vimokṣamukhāni).

Chapter 22 is on the supernormal powers.
Saṅgharakṣa starts with a discussion of calm and insight and says that the yogācāra attains deliverance through first practising calm and then insight, or the other way around.
Definitions of calm and insight are given, along with similes such as śamatha being like grabbing hay with the left hand and vipaśyana being like cutting it off with a sickle held in the right hand (Mil 32 uses the same simile for manasikāra and paññā), followed by the procedure of practising calm, which is at first to be developed through the perception of the foul ( aśubhasaṃjñā) by way of the contemplation of corpses, or through mindfulness of breathing which, however, is not discussed in this chapter.
The first dhyāna, attained as a result of the practice of contemplation of the corpse, is characterised by the abandoning of the five hindrances and the attainment of five qualities or factors.
Although worldlings and those outside of the Buddha’s teaching can attain dhyāna, its method of practice by the followers of the Buddha is different.
Saṅgharakṣa says that when the first dhyāna is attained, the other dhyānas will follow easily.
The supernormal powers can then be attained.

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Chapter 23 starts with a discussion of the dangers of practising dhyāna without practising insight, and Saṅgharakṣa says that the meditator should contemplate that if he is not a stream-enterer yet, after having been born as a Brahmā god through the practice of dhyāna, he might be reborn in hell or another bad destination.
He should be like a prisoner sentenced to death who, although he is allowed to wear a wreath of flowers, cannot find delight in it due to his impending death.
He can escape saṃsāra only through practising dhyāna with insight, i.e., not just contemplating the impermanence, suffering, emptiness and without-selfness of the skeleton, which leads to the first dhyāna, but also the impermanence, etc. , of the mind, which is a mere sequence of causes and conditions.
When the past, present and future aggregates of the three planes are seen as empty and dependently arisen, the mind turns toward the unconditioned, nirvāṇa.
Then the mind, which is malleable, contemplates the Truths, and the meditator becomes a non-returner.
Following this discussion of the Buddhist practice of dhyāna produced by way of the contemplation of foulness, Saṅgharakṣa continues with a discussion of mindfulness of breathing and how it is to be carried out through the four modes of counting, etc. Again, he distinguishes the followers of the Buddha from the worldlings who just attain dhyāna and supernormal powers through practising this.
The followers of the Buddha constantly recollect the qualities of the Buddha, Dhamma and Saṅgha, and the meaning of the four noble truths, etc. , and become stream-enterers ( srotāpanna), whose qualities, such as being freed from rebirth in bad destinations, are then given.
Saṅgharakṣa’s description of stream-entry as effected by way of the four wholesome roots ( kuśalamūla, i.e., warming ups, uśmagata, the summits, mūrdhan, acceptances or receptivities, kśānti, and the supreme worldly states, laukikāgradharma) accords with the one of the second stage of the preparatory path of effort ( prayoga-mārga) in the Sarvāstivāda practice scheme of paths ( mārga), i.e., the stage partaking of penetration [of the truths] ( nirvedhabhāgiya), as described in the Abhidharmakośabhāṣya, Mahāvibhāṣā, etc. ;
see Dhammajoti 2009b:
445–453.

The process of gradual realization of the four noble truths in sixteen moments as found in Sarvāstivāda works is also given.

Chapter 24 is on developing insight into the five aggregates by way of the characteristics of impermanence, etc. Fifty-five similes on the nature of the body are given.
The last part of the chapter gives the simile of the wealthy guild chief who, when his house is on fire, decides to take out his most important possession, a chest filled with priceless gems.
Disregarding his life, he hastily takes out the treasure chest in fright that it will be burnt.
Then a robber pursues him, desiring to take the chest.
While the chief runs away carrying the chest, the robber shouts after him that when he gives up the treasure he will live.
The chief then reflects that he should let go of the chest, take what is most important inside it, and thus reach safety.
However, when opening the chest, he only sees poisonous snakes and knows that there is no treasure.
Just like that, when one practises, having penetrated the truth of the path, one sees the whole body as the [chest full of]

IntroductIon

65

poisonous snakes, and thereby attains insight into the truths.
The verses that follow this simile say that when one cultivates insight into the truths in this manner, and recollects the benefits of the path, by penetrating it, one attains the unconditioned, abandons suffering and reaches safety.
The final chapter, Chapter 25, discusses how the stream-enterer can reach the higher stages of the path until he attains the plane of non-trainee, i.e., becomes an arahant, who is then discussed in the last two chapters.
In the conclusion of the treatise Saṅgharakṣa says that those who practice his instructions will reach nirvāṇa and be gradually released from suffering.

Despite some similarities, Saṅgharakṣa’s *Yogācārabhūmi was not a direct influence on Upatissa’s Vimuttimagga.
If it had been, one would see more similarities in content and structure.
As mentioned above, the *Yogācārabhūmi is a practice manual that contains many similes and verses, much more so than the Vimuttimagga, in which Upatissa maintains a close connection to abhidhammic and exegetical Pāli texts such as its predecessor the Paṭisambhidāmagga.

A possible link between the Vimuttimagga and the yogācāra movement is the usage of the term 坐禪人, lit.
“sitting dhyāna person”, which corresponds to Pāli yogāvacara and Sanskrit yogācāra, and can be translated as “meditator” or more literally “one who is dedicated to spiritual practice”.
69 With regard to the Theravāda tradition, the term yogāvacara can best be understood by way of the traditional commentarial division of monastic vocations into practice ( paṭipatti) and study ( pariyatti), i.e., the yogāvacara is the one who undertakes the “burden of living [alone in the forest]” ( vāsadhura)70 or “burden of insight”

( vipassanādhura), rather than undertaking the “burden of textual study”

( ganthadhura, pariyattidhura) in monasteries.
This division between meditating monks and studying monks began early in the history of Buddhism.
Already in a discourse in the Aṅguttara Nikāya (A III 355) Mahācunda asks meditator monks ( jhāyī bhikkhū) and monks dedicated to [the study of] the Dhamma ( dhammayogā

bhikkhū, which the commentary defines as dhammakathikā, “Dhamma preachers”), 69 The terms yogācāra and yogāvacara are discussed in detail by Silk 1997 and 2000. The Pāli commentaries define it as one who is dedicated to practice ( bhāvanā) or to the exercises ( yoga) of samatha and vipassanā.
Paṭis-a III 547:
Yogāvacaro ti samathayoge, vipassanāyoge vā avacaratī ti yogāvacaro.
Avacaratī ti pavisitvā caratī ti.
Ibid 512:
Ayaṃ puggalo ti ānāpānassatibhāvanaṃ anuyutto yogāvacaro va.
Abhidh-av 121:
Sammā va paṭipannassa,

yuttayogassa bhikkhuno;
… , yogāvacarabhikkhu so.
Vism-mhṭ II 4:
Ādibhūtaṃ yogakammaṃ

ādikammaṃ, taṃ etassa atthī ti ādikammiko, pubbe akataparicayo bhāvanaṃ anuyuñjanto.

Tenāha yogāvacaro ti.

70 The unusual term vāsadhura probably refers to the ascetic practice of living in solitude in the forest rather than in a monastic community;
see A-a V 68:
Araññasenāsane vasato kirassa vāsadhuram-eva pūrissati, na ganthadhuraṃ.
Saṅghamajjhe vasanto pana dve dhurāni pūretvā arahattaṃ pāpuṇissati, vinayapiṭake ca pāmokkho bhavissati.
However, Pp-mṭ (42) explains it as “it is vāsadhura due to the inhabitation/infusion cultivation ( vāsanā-bhāvanā) of the mind with wholesome states”, kusaladhammehi cittassa vāsanābhāvanā vāsadhuraṃ.

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not to denigrate each other.
In modern times this division of the Saṅgha is seen in the “forest dweller” ( araññavāsin) monks dedicated to meditation versus the

“village dweller” ( gāmavāsin) monks dedicated to study, preaching and chanting.

The division was probably present in other schools such as the Sarvāstivāda.

Many Sarvāstivāda monks would have dedicated themselves to studying and reciting, but it also had yogācāra bhikṣus.
Putting aside Pāli commentarial works, the term yogāvacara is only found in one short passage in the late canonical work Paṭisambhidāmagga (Paṭis II 26, § 203) and once in the paracanonical Peṭakopadesa.
However, it is found 207 times in the first and last parts of the paracanonical Milindapañhā.
In the first and earliest part of the Milindapañhā, i.e., up to p.
44 of the PTS edition, it is found independently as yogāvacara, and in the last part, from p.
365 onwards, only in combination with yogin, e.g., yogī yogāvacaro.
The combination of yogi & yogācāra is also found in two Sanskrit works, i.e., the Śrāvakabhūmi section of the Yogācārabhūmi and the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra;
for references see Silk 2000:
302–303.

It is not surprising that the Milindapañhā uses this term since it is regarded as a composite work that was translated into Pāli from a text, or rather versions of a text, originally composed in Northwestern India by the Sarvāstivādins.

The Milindapañhā contains traces of Sarvāstivāda doctrines such as the idea that space is unconditioned71 (see Horner 1969:
xviii, xl–xlii;
Skilling 1998:
90–96).

The Vimuttimagga also uses the term 初禪人 corresponding to ādikammika yogāvacara or “beginner meditator”, in the Visuddhimagga and the aṭṭhakathā.

It is found in the Abhidharmakośabhāṣya (VI.
9) and Śrāvakabhūmi as ādikarmika yogācāra (see Silk 2000:
301, n.
128;
83.2083333333333
237).

The large section on the reasons for and benefits of the ascetic practices in the Milindapañhā, called Dhutaṅgapañho (Mil 347–362), could also suggest a link between the school wherein this work originated and the Vimuttimagga, which has a whole chapter dedicated to the 13 ascetic practices.
The Milindapañhā

(Mil 359), along with the Parivāra (Vin V 192), is one of the earliest works to list the 13 ascetic practices together.
Like the Vimuttimagga it says that torpor 71 The term vāsana in the sense of “impression” or “imbibing”, which is used in Sarvāstivāda works in relation to the difference between the Buddha and arahants (see Dhammajoti 2009b:
256–60), is first found in connection to the arahant in the Milindapañhā p.
10.9583333333333

“those who are intrinsically pure, due to [meritorious] impressions impressed formerly, they are without proliferation in one moment”, ye te sabhāvaparisuddhā pubbevāsitavāsanā te ekacittakkhaṇena nippapañcā honti.
In the Peṭaka and Netti, it is also used, but differently, i.e., in the sense of impressions of meritorious actions that will lead to results in future lives, i.e., Peṭ 28:
Sotānugatesu dhammesu vacasā paricitesu manasānupekkhitesu diṭṭhiyā

suppaṭividdhesu pañcānisaṃsā pāṭikaṅkhā.
… No ce devabhūto pāpuṇāti, tena dhammarāgena tāya dhammanandiyā paccekabodhiṃ pāpuṇāti.
… Yaṃ samparāye paccekabodhiṃ pāpuṇāti,

ayaṃ vāsanā.
See also the origin-story verses to the Pārāyanavagga, Sn 1015:
Jhāyī

jhānaratā dhīrā, pubbavāsanavāsitā.
Sn-a II 583:
Pubbavāsanavāsitā ti pubbe kassapassa bhagavato sāsane pabbajitvā, gatapaccāgatavattapuññavāsanāya vāsitacittā.
Ap II 610:
Pubbavāsanasampannā, pabbajiṃ anagāriyaṃ.

IntroductIon

67

( middha) is a material state, over which the arahant has no control (Mil 253).

The Milindapañhā is not mentioned in the Vimuttimagga.

The unusual term attabhāvavatthu in the Vim, although probably taken from the Peṭakopadesa, can be linked to the term ātmavastu which can only be found in yogācāra works;
see Appendix V.
The terms salakkhaṇa “specific characteristic”

and sāmaññalakkhaṇa “general characteristic”, which first appear in Theravāda works in the Vimuttimagga, are also found in the Śrāvakabhūmi and in the

* Abhidharmavibhāṣa.
In the Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma the concepts of svalakṣaṇa and sāmānyalakṣaṇa play a primary role in the analysis of dharmas;
see Dhammajoti 2009:
18–22.

Deleanu (1997:
37–38) points out another significant connection between Sarvāstivāda meditation texts and the Vimuttimagga:
“The fact that the Vimuttimagga also continues its exposition of the foetal development with a detailed description of the parasitic worms … and list of diseases and physical pains

… seems to point to a common tradition shared by the Sthaviravādins and Sarvāstivādins.”
The passages Deleanu refers to — i.e., the formation of the embryo (T1451:
253c10–256a13–b09), the different kinds of worms that feed on the body (256b29–257a13), and the different kinds of diseases of the body (257b22–257b27) — are found in a discourse on the contemplation of the body in the Kṣudrakavastu of the Mūlasarvāstivādavinaya.
Similar passages in the same order are also found in other Dhyāna Sūtras such as the *Yogācarabhūmi of Saṅgharakṣa;
see Yamabe 2013:
598ff. The discourse by the Buddha to Nanda in the Kṣudrakavastu is also found as an independent text called * Garbhāvakrāntisūtra in different Chinese translations (see Kritzer 2008:
77, 2014:
9–10).

The passages, especially the one on the kinds of worms, are similar.
The passage defining the kinds of worms cannot be found in any Pāli works (see Ch.8 fn. 725);
the other two passages, although found in Pāli works (see Ch.8 fn. 722, 737), are not found in the Visuddhimagga.

A final possible link between the Vimuttimagga and the yogācāra movement within the Sarvāstivāda school could be the inclusion in the Vimuttimagga of a lengthy discussion of and rejection of gradual realization ( anupubbābhisamaya) of the paths, fruits and truths, and the acceptance of simultaneous comprehension ( ekābhisamaya), which is based on the Anupubbābhisamayakathā in the Kathāvatthu (Kv 212–220);
see Ch.12 § 34 and 25. Upatissa could have included his discussion for Abhayagirivihāra monks who had heard or read about this Sarvāstivāda teaching.
Ronkin suggests that the rejection of gradual realization as propounded by the Sarvāstivādins could have been the reason for the composition of the Paṭisambhidāmagga “during the period of the great doctrinal divisions as a summation setting out the doctrines accepted by the Theravāda, perhaps as a positive counterpart to the Kathāvatthu” (Ronkin 2005:
91;
cf. Warder 1982:
xxxiv).
She also suggests (2005:
96) that the Peṭakopadesa (see § 6) could be a text rooted in the same period of doctrinal division due to its discussion of

68

IntroductIon

simultaneous realization (see Peṭ 134–35). The Vimuttimagga, however, is not rooted in the same period and is a later work than the Paṭisambhidāmagga and Peṭakopadesa.
It contains the doctrine of momentariness (see Ronkin 2005:
91, 95) as well as the other Sri Lankan Theravāda tenets (see § 4.1) that are not found in the two earlier texts.
In the Visuddhimagga (XXII.
103) Buddhaghosa only briefly mentions gradual realization and refers to the Kathāvatthu.
Perhaps he did not consider the matter important enough to discuss in detail since Sarvāstivāda works were not studied at the Mahāvihāra.

Despite similarities between the Vimuttimagga and yogācāra works, no definite conclusions can be drawn with regard to their influence on the Vimuttimagga.

There is little to no information about the meditation manuals, treatises and commentaries of other South Indian schools such as the Mahīśāsakas that could have influenced Upatissa.
These schools possibly would have transmitted such texts, but none are extant.
An important difference with the Sarvāstivāda and yogācāra works is that the Vimuttimagga does not employ the stages ( bhūmi) that the Yogācārabhūmi (i.e., seventeen stages) and Saṅgharakṣa’s *Yogācārabhūmi (three stages) are founded on, and which are already found in the *Abhidharmamahāvibhāṡa;
see Buswell and Jaini 1996:
117–118, Dhammajoti 2009b:
440

It also does not use the scheme of the five paths ( mārga), however, since Saṅgharakṣa does not use this scheme, at least not systematically, it might not have been used by all yogācāra teachers.
In the Vimuttimagga ch. 12 § 47, two planes are described.
The first is the plane of vision ( dassanabhūmi), i.e., the path of stream-entry when one sees what one has not seen before.
The second is the plane of practice ( bhāvanābhūmi), i.e., the other three paths and the four fruits of recluseship, when one practices what one has seen thus.
Although, this description accords with the scheme of paths as found in Sarvāstivāda works (see Dhammajoti 2009b:
440–453) it was probably taken from the Peṭakopadesa or Nettippakaraṇa;
see ch. 12 fn. 152). In the same passage at ch. 12 § 47, the plane of the trainee ( sekhabhūmi) and the plane of the non-trainee ( asekhabhūmi) are described, but these could also have been taken from the Peṭaka.

5

Passages attributed to “some” that can be found in the

Vimuttimagga

In the Visuddhimagga and the Pāli commentaries, ideas and tenets that are different from those of the Mahāvihāra — i.e., of teachers and texts of other Sinhalese schools, of South Indian schools, of other non-Theravāda schools, and even of those of differing views within the Mahāvihāra — are attributed to

“some” ( keci), “certain ones” ( ekacce, eke), “others” ( apare, aññe), and “those who”

( ye).
The ones attributed to “some” are the most common type.
On these types of attributions, see Horner 1981:
88, Mori 1988:
2, Endo 2013:
83–105 Kieffer-Pülz 2013a:
31. In the subcommentaries “some”, etc. , are often identified as the

IntroductIon

69

Abhayagirivāsins and sometimes as their offshoot, the Dakkhiṇavihāravāsins;
see Mori 1988:
2, Cousins 2012:
99. The usage of “some” is not confined to Mahāvihāra commentaries since Upatissa also uses it several times;
see § 4.8.

Not all views attributed to the Abhayagirivihāra in the Pāli Ṭīkās are found in the Vimuttimagga (e.
g., that the stream-enterer called “one who [is reborn] seven times [at most]” ( sattakkhattuparama), can be reborn less than seven times;
Mṭ to Kv-a 137), but this is could be simply due to the Ṭīkās referring to ideas that did not yet exist in Upatissa’s time and arose later in the Abhayagirivihāra;
see Cousins 2012:
106–113, Gunawardana 1979:
30

What follows is an overview of twenty-one ideas and tenets attributed to

“some”, etc. , in the Pāli commentaries that are found in the Vimuttimagga.

Except for the longer discussion on middharūpa and the comprehension through momentariness, the Pāli passages referred to can be found in the footnotes to the actual passages in the text itself.
The first thirteen of these ideas have already been detected by Bapat, Mori, Cousins, etc. 72

1. The Vimuttimagga lists 26 kinds of dependent matter ( upādārūpa) at Ch.11

§ 5, but the Visuddhimagga (XIV.
36) and other Pāli works list 24 kinds.
This is because the Mahāvihāra tradition does not include birth of matter ( jātirūpa) and torpor of matter ( middharūpa) as kinds of dependent matter.
The Mahāvihāra tradition instead includes jātirūpa in growth and continuity ( upacaya-santati) of matter (see Vism XIV.
71, As 339) and strongly rejects the idea of torpor of matter (see Skilling 1994:
187–88). The material basis ( vatthu-rūpa), number 25 in the list in Vim, is identical with the heart basis ( hadayavatthu), number 13 in the Vism.
The dependent matter of middharūpa is attributed to “certain ones”

( ekacca) in Vism, to “some” ( keci) in other Pāli commentarial works, and to the Abhayagirivāsins in the Ṭīkās;
see Introduction fn. 73

The concept of middharūpa occurs eight times in the Vim:
(1) as part of the hindrance of sloth and torpor ( thīna-middha), it is defined as torpor born from food and season at Ch.8 § 23/p. 416b09–18. It is not a hindrance and can be overcome through energy because it is not born from the mind.
(2) As one of the 26 kinds of dependent matter (which are listed at 11 § 5/p. 445c25) it is defined as “torpor of the elements” at Ch.11 § 7/446a28. (3) As one of the kinds of matter that are produced by the conditions of season, mind and food it is given along with lightness, softness and malleability of matter at Ch.11 § 10/446b11. (4) As the material cluster ( kalāpa) of “bare-torpor” that is produced by season and food, it is implied at Ch.11 § 11/446c16–18. (5) Torpor is said not to exist in the material sphere ( rūpāvacara) at Ch.11 § 11/446c21.

(6) Torpor is mentioned as one of the nine kinds of matter that are not-clung-to ( anupādiṇṇa-rūpa) in the sense of not being produced through the result of 72 See Bapat 1937:
xxxvii–xlii;
Gunawardana 1979:
27–30;
Mori 1988:
5–14;
Anālayo 2009a:
629;
Cousins 2012:
99–114.

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IntroductIon

kamma ( kammavipāka) at Ch.11 § 15/447a20. (7) Torpor of matter is one of the nineteen kinds of matter as intrinsic nature in the sense of being produced ( nipphanna) at Ch.11 § 16/447a29. (8) Torpor is mentioned in the discussion on which of the hindrances are abandoned through which path at Ch.12

§ 59/460a27. Here sloth ( thīna) is said to be abandoned by the path of arahantship, whereas “torpor follows along with matter”.
This implies that torpor is abandoned only at the arahant’s passing away.

These eight occurrences of middha(- rūpa) in the Vim show that it was an integral part of the doctrinal system of the school that Upatissa was connected to.
Although there is only a subtle difference between the two views on torpor, on a doctrinal level it appears to have been the major point of disagreement of the Mahāvihāravāsins with the Abhayagirivāsins as there are several lengthy attempts in Mahāvihāra works to refute “those with the torpor view”, middhavādino.
73 In the Vim there is some explanation of middha(- rūpa) at 73 Vism XIV.
71/p.450:
Aṭṭhakathāyam pana balarūpaṃ sambhavarūpaṃ jātirūpaṃ rogarūpaṃ,

ekaccānaṃ matena middharūpan ti evaṃ aññāni pi rūpāni āharitvā, addhā munī’ si sambuddho,

natthi nīvaraṇā tavā ti (= Sn 546) ādīni vatvā middharūpaṃ tāva natthi yevā ti paṭikkhittaṃ.

Itaresu rogarūpaṃ jaratāaniccatāggahaṇena gahitam-eva, jātirūpaṃ upacayasantatiggahaṇena,

sambhavarūpaṃ āpodhātuggahaṇena, balarūpaṃ vāyodhātuggahaṇena gahitam-eva.
Vism-mhṭ II 104:
Ekaccānan-ti abhayagirivāsīnaṃ.
Paṭikkhittan-ti ettha evaṃ paṭikkhepo veditabbo,

middhaṃ rūpam-eva na hoti nīvaraṇesu desitattā.
Yassa hi nīvaraṇesu desanā, taṃ na rūpaṃ yathā

kāmacchando.
Siyā panetaṃ duvidhaṃ middhaṃ rūpaṃ, arūpañcāti.
… (This long discussion is translated in Cousins, 2012:
101f.). As 339–40:
… chabbīsatisaṅkhyaṃ veditabbaṃ.
Ito aññaṃ

rūpaṃ nāma natthi.
Keci pana middharūpaṃ nāma atthī ti vadanti.
Te addhā … nāma natthīti paṭisedhetabbā.
Apare balarūpena saddhiṃ sattavīsati, sambhavarūpena saddhiṃ aṭṭhavīsati,

jātirūpena saddhiṃ ekūnatiṃsati, rogarūpena saddhiṃ samatiṃsati rūpānīti vadanti.
Tepi tesaṃ

visuṃ abhāvaṃ dassetvā paṭikkhipitabbā.
Vāyodhātuyā hi gahitāya balarūpaṃ gahitam-eva,

… upacayasantatīhi jātirūpaṃ ….
As 377–83 has the lengthiest refutation:
… Yaṃ yebhuyyena sekkhaputhujjanānaṃ niddāya pubbabhāga-aparabhāgesu uppajjati taṃ arahattamaggena samucchijjati.
Khīṇāsavānaṃ pana karajakāyassa dubbalabhāvena bhavaṅgotaraṇaṃ hoti, tasmiṃ

asammisse vattamāne te supanti, sā nesaṃ niddā nāma hoti.
Tenāha bhagavā, abhijānāmi kho panāhaṃ, aggivessana, gimhānaṃ pacchime māse catugguṇaṃ saṅghāṭiṃ paññapetvā dakkhiṇena passena sato sampajāno niddaṃ okkamitā ti (= M I 249) . Evarūpo panāyaṃ karajakāyassa dubbalabhāvo na maggavajjho, upādinnakepi anupādinnakepi labbhati.
… Abhidh-av 72:


sabbam eva idaṃ rūpaṃ samodhānato paṭhavīdhātu … vāyodhātu, cakkhāyatanaṃ … jaratā

aniccatā ti aṭṭhavīsatividhaṃ hoti;
ito aññaṃ rūpaṃ nāma natthi.
Keci pana middhavādino middharūpaṃ nāma atthī ti vadanti, te addhā … tavā ti ca, thīna-middha-nīvaraṇaṃ nīvaraṇañ c’ eva avijjānīvaraṇena nīvaraṇa-sampayuttan ti sampayutta-vacanato ca;
mahāpakaraṇe Paṭṭhāne nīvaraṇaṃ dhammaṃ paṭicca nīvaraṇo dhammo uppajjati na purejāta-paccayā ti ca;
arūpe pi kāmacchando-nīvaraṇaṃ paṭicca thīna-middha-uddhacca-kukkuccāvijjā-nivaraṇāni ti.
Evaṃ

ādhīhī virujjhanato arūpam eva middhan-ti paṭikkhipitabbā.
Moh 79:
Keci pana middharūpaṃ

balarūpaṃ sambhavarūpaṃ jātirūpaṃ rogarūpan-ti imānipi pañca gahetvā tettiṃsa rūpāni hontī ti vadanti, te tesaṃ abhāvaṃ, antogadhabhāvañ-ca vatvā paṭikkhipitabbā.
Imesu hi middhaṃ rūpam-eva na hoti arūpadhammattā nīvaraṇānaṃ.
Middheneva hi pacalāyikākārena rūpappavatti hoti, balarūpaṃ pana vāyodhātuyā antogadhaṃ taṃsabhāvattā, sambhavarūpaṃ

āpodhātuyā, jātirūpaṃ upacayasantatīsu, rogarūpañ-ca jaratāaniccatāsu pavisati sappaccaya samuṭṭhitarūpavikārabhedesu rogabyapadesato ti sabbaṃ rūpaṃ aṭṭhavīsatividham-eva hoti.

Abhidh-av-pṭ II 157:
Kecī ti abhayagirivāsino.
Middharūpassa vadanasīlā, middhavādo vā

IntroductIon

71

Ch.8 § 23/416b09–18, which might indicate that another school did not agree with it and that it therefore required an explanation in defence.

Possibly the Vimuttimagga was written at a time when the Mahāvihāra had not yet taken a doctrinal stance against middharūpa.
Cousins:
“It is probable that the use of middha( -rūpa) is evidence that the author of Vim was a follower of the Abhayagiri school, given that this is considered a view of that school in the Ṭīkās.
However, it is also possible that the position of the Mahāvihāra had not yet been determined at the time that Vim was written.
There is quite a fine line between holding that middha like lahutā is a distinct form of rūpa and holding that middha is a modification of the four elements, etc. , or the mere absence of lahutā, etc”.
(Private correspondence.
See also Cousins 2012:
101–105.) According to the paracanonical texts Peṭakopadesa and Milindapañhā, which predate the split between the Mahāvihāra and Abhayagirivihāra, the arahant can have bodily torpor.
The Peṭaka says:
“Although there is for the arahant the falling into the bodily affliction of torpor, it nevertheless is not a hindrance.
[Thus] it is not one-sidedly so that sloth and torpor is a hindrance.”
74 Elsewhere the Peṭaka says:
“Although bodily unwieldiness is torpor, it nevertheless is not an intrinsic affliction ( sabhāvakilesa).
Thus, viscosity of mind and bodily unwieldiness are a lesser affliction by siding, not an affliction by its intrinsic nature.
… Thus … four hindrances are afflictions by intrinsic nature and sloth and torpor are an affliction by siding with the hindrances”.
75 In the Milindapañhā, Nāgasena lists ten physical states over which even the arahant has no control since these states follow along with having a body, namely, cold, heat, hunger, thirst, defecation, urination, torpor, ageing, sickness and death.
76 There is no mention at all of middharūpa or anything related to it in the Nettippakaraṇa, indicating that it is more closely connected to the Mahāvihāra than the Peṭakopadesa (see § 6) and Milindapañhā.

etesan-ti middhavādino.
Middharūpaṃ nāmā ti utucittāhāravasena tisamuṭṭhānaṃ middhaṃ

nāma rūpaṃ.
… Kathaṃ paṭikkhipitabbā ti āha munīsī ti ādi.
Natthi nīvaraṇā ti sotāpattimaggena vicikicchānīvaraṇassa, … arahattamaggena thīnamiddhanīvaraṇānañ-ca pahīnattā.

Ayañ-h’ ettha adhippāyo yadi middhaṃ rūpaṃ siyā, appahātabbaṃ bhaveyya.
… Cf. Abhidh-s 108:
Tathā hi pāḷiyaṃ (= Dhs 205) … Tattha katamaṃ middhaṃ?
Yā kāyassa akallatā

akammaññatātyādinā imesaṃ niddeso pavatto.
Nanu ca kāyassā ti vacanato rūpakāyassa pi akammaññatā middhan-ti tassa rūpabhāvo pi āpajjatī ti?
Nāpajjati, tattha tattha ācariyehi ānītakāraṇavasenevassa paṭikkhittattā.
Tathā hi middhavādimatappaṭikkhepanatthaṃ tesaṃ

vādanikkhepapubbakaṃ aṭṭhakathādīsu bahudhā vitthāren-ti ācariyā.

74 Peṭ 161:
Atthi pana arahato kāyakilesamiddhañ-ca okkamati na ca taṃ nīvaraṇaṃ, tassa thīnamiddhaṃ nīvaraṇan-ti na ekaṃsena.

75 Peṭ 158:
Yā pana kāyassa akammaniyatā kiñcāpi taṃ middhaṃ no tu sabhāvakilesatāya kileso, iti yā ca cittasallīyanā yā ca kāyākammaniyatā, ayaṃ pakkhopakileso na tu sabhāvakileso.
… cattāri nīvaraṇāni sabhāvakilesā thīnamiddhaṃ nīvaraṇapakkhopakileso.

76 Mil 253:
Dasayime, mahārāja, kāyānugatā dhammā bhave bhave kāyaṃ anudhāvanti anuparivattanti.
Katame dasa?
Sītaṃ uṇhaṃ jighacchā pipāsā uccāro passāvo middhaṃ

jarā byādhi maraṇaṃ, tattha arahā anissaro assāmī avasavattī ti.

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The position of the Vim on middha reflects that of the Tipiṭaka more than that of the Mahāvihāra commentaries.
In the Theragāthā (Th 904, see Ch.8 fn. 182), the arahant Anuruddha says that for 55 years he has had no torpor [born] from the mind and for 25 years he has stopped the lying down [that is due to torpor born] from food and season.
In the Mahāsaccaka Sutta (M I 249, see Intro.

fn. 73) the Buddha says that although he takes a nap in the hot season after taking his meal, this is done mindfully and clearly knowing and not done under the influence of delusion.
In the Abhidhammapiṭaka, only thīna is given as one of the ten grounds for afflictions;
see Ch.12 § 64.

2. At Ch.2 § 6/401a17, it is said that virtue “has the meaning of [being like a] head, the meaning of coolness and the meaning of security”.
This is ascribed to “others” ( aññe) in the Vism, the Niddesa commentary and the Paṭisambhidāmagga commentary.
The Vism-mhṭ specifies “others” as “other teachers” ( aññe pana ācariyā).
See Ch.2 fn. 29

3. In the Exposition of Temperaments at Ch.6 § 2/409b29, it is said that besides the greed, hatred, and delusion temperaments there are also craving, views, and conceit temperaments.
The latter three types are attributed to “others”

( apare) in the Vism (III.
78). See Ch.6 fn. 3

4. Moreover, the Vism (III.
74) says that “some” ( keci) arrive at fourteen temperaments by adding combinations of the six temperaments.
The fourteen temperaments are found in the Vim at Ch.6 § 2/409b26. See Ch.6 fn. 2

5. The passage “former habits are causes of the temperaments;
the elements are causes of the temperaments;
and the humours are causes of the temperaments” in the Vim (6 § 6 /410a12–13) is attributed to “certain ones” ( ekacce) in the Vism (III 80). Dhammapāla (Vism-mhṭ 123) identifies “certain ones” as “Upatissa Thera” who

“said so in the Vimuttimagga”;
see § 1.5, § 4.8 and fn. 567

6. According to the Vim, the factors of asceticism ( dhutaṅga) are not to be spoken of ( navattabba) as either wholesome, unwholesome, or undetermined (3 § 18/406b19). The Vism (II.
79), however, considers them only as wholesome ( kusala) and rejects this idea of “whoever should say” ( yo pana vadeyya) and

“of those” ( yesaṃ), i.e., the Abhayagirivāsins according to the ṭīkā (Vism-mhṭ

I 103). See fn. 451 and § 4.1, and Bapat 1937:
xxxviiif.
& 1964:
xxviiif.
& 77;
Cousins 2012:
100;
Anālayo 2009a:
623, 2009b:
3, 6–8.

The Vimuttimagga’s inclusion of asceticism in the eleven types of concept ( paññatti) is connected to this idea and is likewise attributed to the Abhayagirivāsins in the Vism-mhṭ;
see idea no.
18. On the adaptation of this passage in the Tibetan translation, wherein the kinds of asceticism are said to be wholesome, see § 4.4.

IntroductIon

73

7. In the Vim the three kinds of goodness are defined as:
“purity of practice is the initial goodness;
the intensification of equanimity is the intermediate goodness;
gladdening is the final goodness” (8 § 25/417a06–10). This is a different explanation than in the Vism and other commentaries (Vism IV.
114, etc. ), which attribute the explanation that corresponds to the one in the Vim, to “certain ones”, eke, whom the subcommentaries specify as the Abhayagirivāsins.
See Ch.8 fn. 203

8. In Vim (8 § 99/429c21–22) it is said:
“One who practises mindfulness of breathing accomplishes the peaceful, the excellent, the sublime, and the lovely, enjoyable happiness”.
Herein, the part “sublime, lovely, enjoyable happiness” does not correspond to the last part of the Pāli parallel santo ceva paṇīto ca asecanako ca sukho ca vihāro.
According to the Vism (VIII.
149),

“some” say that asecanaka means “delicious, just sweet by nature”, ojavanto sabhāveneva madhuro, instead of “unadulterated, unmixed”, anāsittako abbokiṇṇo;
see Ch.8 fn. 607. This could suggest that the Vim had a reading of this passage that accords with the interpretation of “some” or that the Chinese translator interpreted it in a way that happened to accord with the interpretation of “some”.
See Mori 1988:
10–11.

9. According to the Vism (VIII.
214), “certain ones” say that to some the sign appears as “a pleasant touch like cotton wool or silk-cotton wool or a breeze” while in the Vim (8 § 102/430a29f.) it is said that “it is like the pleasant touch of a tuft of silk or a tuft of cotton wool touching the body or it is like the pleasant touch of a cool breeze touching the body.”
Also in relation to mindfulness of breathing, although this is not attributed to anyone, the Vism (III.
113) says that the sign of the breath should not be extended or increased ( vaḍḍheti).
The Vim (8 § 102/430b02–04) however says that it can be extended;
see fn. 1261. The same applies the four immeasurables or divine abidings, which according to the Vism (III.
113–114) should not be extended, but according to the Vim (7 § 6/411b11) can be extended.

10. According to the Vim (11 § 6/445c29–446a15), the sensitivity ( pasāda) of each sense base has one of the elements in excess of the others, e.g., in eye-sensitivity heat is most.
This idea is attributed to “some” in the Vism and other commentaries.
The Vism-mhṭ attributes it to Vasudhamma of the Mahāsaṅghikas, whereas the Visuddhimagga Sannē (p.
1050) attributes it to Vasudhamma the Abhayagirivāsin;
see Cousins 2012:
110. See Ch.11 fn. 10

11. The twelfth kind of formation in the Vim is “restraining” or “refraining”

( nivāraṇa), which is explained as “restraining is the mind abstaining from evil”77 (11 § 21/447c24). Cousins says:
“If this is not the equivalent of virati, 77 心惡止離.
The character 惡 usually corresponds to pāpa but can also correspond to akusala and dussīla.
See Ch.11 fn. 104

74

IntroductIon

then three path factors i.e., right speech, action and livelihood will be impossible for Vimuttimagga, since they are otherwise not in the list of saṅkhāras, as they are in the Visuddhimagga.
That seems very unlikely.

The position of a single virati is mentioned in Abhidhammāvatāra and attributed to the Abhayagirivāsins in its ṭīkā.
Given that the Mahāvihāra tradition generally holds that there is a single virati in lokuttara skilful citta, it would not be a great step to hold the same for jhāna.
This would imply virati from the hindrances.
Since there are no viratis in rūpāvacara-citta, this would have to be true for upacārajhāna.
It could easily be extended to all kusala-kāmā-vacara-citta.
It would then be niyata and appropriate in this list of cetasikas.
”78 (Private correspondence.
See also Cousins, 2012:
107–108.) Further support for this single virati or refraining comes from another passage in the Vim (2 § 2/400c07–08):
“Restraint ( saṃvara) has the meaning of ‘abandoning’ and virtue is ‘all wholesome states’.
As is said in the Abhidhamma:
“Virtue is the abandoning of sensual desire through renunciation;
virtue is the refraining from … the volition [to oppose …] … the self-control …;
virtue is the restraint with regard to [sensual desire through renunciation]’.”

The quotation is from the Paṭisambhidāmagga (referred to as “Abhidhamma”

in the Vim;
see § 4.5):
Paṭis I 46f.:
nekkhammena kāmacchandassa …

arahattamaggena sabbakiles ānaṃ pahānaṃ sīlaṃ, veramaṇī sīlaṃ, cetanā

sīlaṃ, saṃvaro sīlaṃ, avītikkamo sīlaṃ.
The introduction to this quotation possibly is related to an understanding of “other teachers” that the Paṭis-a (I 226) refers to and rejects:
“But other teachers, taking literally the words ‘virtue is refraining ( veramaṇī)’ with regard to renunciation and so on too, say that there is also a ‘refraining ( virati) which is certain-whatsoever with regard to all wholesome [states].
…’:
” Aññe pana ācariyā nekkhammādīsu pi veramaṇī sīlanti vacanamattaṃ gahetvā, sabbakusalesu pi niyata-yevāpanakabhūtā virati nāma atthī ti vadanti … .

12. According to the Paṭis-a (I 290), “matter not bound up with faculties”

( anindriyabaddharūpa) can be an object of insight, but it adds that there are

“others” ( aññe) who say that anindriyabaddharūpa is not coming within [the range of] insight, vipassanā.
The Vim (448c19–20) implicitly approves of this when it says that matter not bound up with faculties is not included in the truths, but just in the aggregates.
The Kathāvatthu (p.
546) rejects this idea.

See Ch.11 fn. 172

13. Whereas the Vism says that all noble persons can enter upon the attainment of fruition, the Vim (12 § 72/460c23–24) says in its primary explanation that 78 Abhidh-av p.
0.916666666666667
Lakkhaṇādito pana etā tisso pi viratiyo kāyaduccaritādivatthūnaṃ

avītikkamalakkhaṇā, kāyaduccaritādivatthuto saṅkocanarasā, akiriyapaccupaṭṭhānā,

saddhāhiriottappa-appicchatādiguṇapadaṭṭhānā.
Keci pana imāsu ekekaṃ niyataṃ viratiṃ

icchanti.
Abhidh-av-ṭ I 311:
Kecī ti Abhayagirivāsino.
Imāsū ti imāsu tīsu viratīsu.
Ekekaṃ

niyataṃ viratim icchantī ti aññaṃ ekaṃ catutthaniyataviratim icchanti.

IntroductIon

75

only non-returners and arahants who are perfect in concentration can enter upon it.
The Vism (XXIII.
6–7) and Paṭis-a attribute this idea to “some” ( keci), who are said to be the Abhayagirivāsins in the Paṭis-gp;
see Ch.12 fn 247.

In the secondary explanation, however, the Vim attributes the idea that all noble persons can enter upon attainment of fruition to “some”, suggesting that Upatissa was aware of the standpoint of the Mahāvihāra;
see § 4.8.

There is a related passage a bit later on in the Vim (12 § 72/461a16):

“Q.
When the non-returner [develops] insight for the attainment of fruition, why does change of lineage not produce the arahant path immediately?

A. If it is without a basis of pleasure ( sukha), it does not produce [the arahant path] since insight is without strength”.
According to Bapat (1937:
xlii & 126–27), this is the same position as rejected in the Vism (XXIII.
11) and attributed there to “those who say” ( ye pana vadanti), said to be the Abhayagirivāsins in the Vism-mhṭ and Paṭis-gp,79 but the position is not so clear;
see Mori 1988:
14, Anālayo 2009b:
4–5, Cousins 2012:
105–106.

Anālayo (2009b:
5) writes:
“This presentation could either imply that fruition attainment needs to be conjoined with insight in order to lead to full liberation, or else that fruition attainment by its very nature excludes the possibility of developing insight that is sufficiently strong to lead to the final goal.

Moreover, the actual view quoted by Buddhaghosa concerns the progression from stream-entry to non-return, whereas the Path to Liberation only addresses progress from non-return to full liberation”.

The answer probably means that without the basis of pleasure developed through the eight concentration attainments (i.e., the pleasant practice, sukhapaṭipadā, see 12 § 45/459b09), there is not sufficient strength of insight to produce the path and therefore the non-returner cannot enter the attainment of fruition, i.e., he cannot enter this attainment as a bare insight practitioner ( sukkhavipassaka).
With regard to the attainment of cessation, Ācariya Dhammapāla (Vism-mhṭ II 520;
see Ch.12 fn. 247) explains that the bare insight practitioner and the non-returner, even though they do have the power of insight, cannot enter upon it due to not having the power of concentration.
Only when this power is fulfilled through developing 79 Vism XXIII.
11/p.700, Paṭis-a I 268:
Ye pana vadanti sotāpanno phalasamāpattiṃ

samāpajjissāmī ti vipassanaṃ paṭṭhapetvā sakadāgāmī hoti.
Sakadāgāmī ca anāgāmī ti, te vattabbā:
evaṃ sati anāgāmī arahā bhavissati, arahā paccekabuddho, paccekabuddho ca buddho.
Tasmā na kiñci etaṃ, pāḷivaseneva ca paṭikkhittan-ti pi na gahetabbaṃ.
Idam-eva pana gahetabbaṃ:
sekkhassā-pi phalam-eva uppajjati, na maggo.
Phalañcassa sace anena paṭhamajjhāniko maggo adhigato hoti.
Paṭhamajjhānikam-eva uppajjati.
Sace dutiyādīsu aññatarajjhāniko, dutiyādīsu aññatarajjhānikamevāti.
Evaṃ tāvassā samāpajjanaṃ

hoti.
Ud-a 34:
Ye pana vadanti sotāpanno attano phalasamāpattiṃ samāpajjissāmīti vipassanaṃ vaḍḍhetvā sakadāgāmī hoti … sambuddhoti āpajjeyya, tasmā yathābhinivesaṃ

yathājjhāsayaṃ vipassanā atthaṃ sādhetī ti sekkhassā-pi phalam-eva uppajjati, na maggo.

… Paṭis-gp 137 (Sinhala ed.
):
Ye panā ti abhayagirivihārikā va.
Vism-mhṭ II 519:
Ye panā ti abhayagirivāsino sandhāyāha.
Te hi maggaphalavipassanāya āloḷetvā vadanti.

76

IntroductIon

the eight concentration attainments, the attainment of cessation can be entered upon and the formations (that lead to rebirth) can be completely crushed.

14. The explanation of the terms used to describe pure precepts or virtues in the Vim (8 § 90/429a20–24) (“unbroken, without defect”, etc. ,) matches the explanation attributed to “some” ( keci) in the Paṭisambhidāmagga commentary, albeit in the positive form.
See Ch.8 fn. 595

15. “Cooling” or “coolness” ( sītala) is said to be an intrinsic nature ( sabhāva) and the characteristic ( lakkhaṇa) of the wind element (8 § 164/439b09, 8 § 170/440a02). The Vism-mhṭ (II 108) says that there are “those who say”

( ye pana … vadanti) that the wind element has this characteristic.
It rejects it on the grounds that coolness and heat would then occur together in one material cluster ( kalāpa);
see Ch.8 fn. 879

16. The Vim (12 § 7/454b02–03) gives twelve methods for grasping each aggregate, i.e., past, future or present, internal or external, great or small, coarse or subtle, far or near, and all.
The totality of the eleven methods is included to get the twelfth method called “all”.
The Paṭisambhidāmagga-aṭṭhakathā (I 248) attributes this twelfth method to “some”;
see Ch.12 fn. 19

17. The Vim (8 § 159/438a17–18) refers to the idea that the four or five jhānas can be developed on the four immeasurables:
“It is also said:
‘The four jhānas are produced [dependent] on the four immeasurables.
As the Fortunate One said:
“[Dependent] on the four immeasurables … you should develop it without thinking and with exploring;
… you should develop it accompanied by equanimity’.”
See Ch.8 fn. 834. Ācariya Buddhaghosa (Vism IX.
112–

13/p. 322) rejects this idea which he attributes to “but whoever should say thus” ( yo pana evaṃ vadeyya).
The subcommentary (Vism-mhṭ I 386) does not attribute this idea to anyone, but the idea that the factors of asceticism ( dhutaṅga) should not be spoken of (see idea no.
6 above) is introduced with “but whoever should say” ( yo pana vadeyya) and is attributed to the Abhayagirivāsins.
Another passage introduced with “but those who say”

( ye pana vadanti) in the Vism is also attributed to the Abhayagirivāsins in its ṭīkā;
see idea 13.

18. The Vim (11 § 36/449a28–b01) lists eleven kinds of concept ( paññatti).

The sixth one is “asceticism” ( dhuta) in the Chinese and “factor of asceticism”

( dhutaṅga) in the Tibetan.
Ācariya Dhammapāla (Vism-mhṭ I 103) says that the Abhayagirivāsins held that “the factor of asceticism is a concept”;
see Ch.3 fn. 85. See also idea 6.

19. According to the Vim (12 § 73/461b02–03), those born in the immaterial sphere cannot enter upon the attainment of cessation because there is no [material]

IntroductIon

77

basis for emerging from it again.
The Vism (XXIII.
29) attributes this idea to

“some”;
see Ch.12 fn. 261

20. In the same section (12 § 73/461b24) it is also said that the attainment of cessation of perception and feeling can be entered for the sake of protecting the body as in the case of Sāriputta Thera.
This refers to the story in the Udāna (Ud 39–41) wherein Sāriputta, while having entered upon “a certain concentration”, was hit on the head by a yakkha spirit but was left unhurt.
Ācariya Dhammapāla comments that this concentration is the divine abiding of equanimity, but adds that “some” say that it is the attainment of cessation of perception and feeling;
see Ch.12 fn. 270

21. At the conclusions of both of the sections on arising and falling away in the discussion of the knowledge of rise and fall ( udayabbayañāṇa) at 12 § 11, it is said:
“one cannot obtain understanding ( avabodha) by way of the moment ( khaṇato, khaṇavasena)” (以剎那不可得覺, 455a16, 455a25).

This idea could be related to the one attributed to “some” ( keci) in the Vism-mhṭ

and Abhidh-av-pṭ:
“With regard to this some said:
‘The seeing of rise and fall of the immaterial aggregates is only through duration and continuity, not through the moment’.
In their opinion there would not be the very vision of rise and fall through the moment”.
80 Oddly, in Paṭis-a (I 254) this statement appears without any attribution, i.e., it is presented as a Mahāvihāra tenet.
81 Moreover, in the Vism-mhṭ, following this a passage very similar to the next part of the same passage attributed to keci in the Paṭis-a is instead attributed to “others” ( apare) and approved of (see translation below).
82 Perhaps Mahānāma, the author of the Paṭis-a, unwittingly incorporated an idea from an earlier commentarial work or he presented an understanding that was still held among some in the Mahāvihāra tradition but not by later writers.
Since Mahānāma does not disagree with this passage, he apparently understood that the momentary rise and fall of 80 Vism-mhṭ II 421, Abhidh-av-pṭ II 330:
Ettha ca keci tāva āhu arūpakkhandhānaṃ

udayabbayadassanaṃ addhāsantativaseneva, na khaṇavasenā ti.
Tesaṃ matena khaṇato udayabbayadassanam-eva na siyā.

81 Paṭis-a I 254f.:
… arūpakkhandhānaṃ udayabbayadassanaṃ addhāsantativasena,

na khaṇavasena.

82 Paṭis-a I 255:
Keci panāhu catudhā paccayato udayabbayadassane atītādivibhāgaṃ

anāmasitvāva sabbasāmaññavasena avijjādīhi udetī ti uppajjamānabhāvamattaṃ gaṇhāti,

na uppādaṃ.
Avijjādinirodhā nirujjatī ti anuppajjamānabhāvamattaṃ gaṇhāti, na bhaṅgaṃ.

Khaṇato udayabbayadassane paccuppannānaṃ uppādaṃ bhaṅgaṃ gaṇhātī ti.
Vism-mhṭ II 421, Abhidh-av-pṭ II 330:
Apare panāhu paccayato udayabbayadassane atītādivibhāgaṃ

anāmasitvā sabbasādhāraṇato avijjādipaccayā vedanāsambhavaṃ ( Abhidh-av-pṭ:
vedanāya sambhavaṃ) labbhamānataṃ passati, na uppādaṃ.
Avijjādi-abhāve ca tassā asambhavaṃ

alabbhamānataṃ passati, na bhaṅgaṃ.
Khaṇato udayabbayadassane paccuppannānaṃ

uppādaṃ, bhaṅgañ-ca passatī ti.

78

IntroductIon

immaterial dhammas cannot be seen immediately but only after seeing the rise and fall by way of continuity.
Dhammapāla says that the seeing of rise and fall by way of conditions is the entrance ( mukha) to the seeing of rise and fall by way of the moment:

“And herein some say:
‘The seeing of the rise and fall of the immaterial aggregates occurs by way of duration and continuity, not by way of the momentʼ.
In their opinion there would be no seeing of rise and fall by way of the moment.
But others say:
‘When there is the seeing of rise and fall through condition, without taking into account the division of the past, etc. , (i.e., the three time-periods), he sees in a general way the origination of feeling and [its obtaining (i.e., manifestation) with ignorance as condition, etc. , [but] not its [actual] arising.
And when ignorance, etc. , is absent, he sees its non-origination and absence [but] not its [actual] dissolution.

When there is the seeing of rise and fall by way of the moment, he sees the arising and dissolution of those [material and immaterial dhammas] that are presently existent.
ʼ This is correct, for as one attends to the arising and falling away of material and immaterial dhammas by way of continuity, gradually, when development becomes strong and knowledge acquires sharpness and clarity, arising and falling become apparent [to him] by way of the moment.

For while he is attending to rise and fall initially by way of condition, he gives up [attending to] the condition-dhammas such as ignorance, etc. , and instead grasps the aggregates that are undergoing rise and fall.
In this manner, having begun to see rise and fall by way of conditions, he attends to their rise and fall by way of the moment as well.
When knowledge proceeds after having become sharp and clear, then material and immaterial dhammas become apparent to him as they are arising and breaking up moment by moment.”
83

According to the Vim, the truths of origination and cessation are seen by way of cause ( hetuto), while the truth of suffering is seen by way of condition ( paccayato) and by way of its real nature ( yāthāvasarasato).
The Vism (XX.
100) and the Paṭis-a (I 254f.) say that the noble truth of suffering is seen by way of the moment ( khaṇato), while the truths of origination and cessation are seen by 83 Vism-mhṭ II 421, Abhidh-av-pṭ II 330:
Ettha ca keci tāva āhu arūpakkhandhānaṃ

udayabbayadassanaṃ addhāsantativaseneva, na khaṇavasenā ti.
Tesaṃ matena khaṇato udayabbayadassanam-eva na siyā.
Apare panāhu paccayato udayabbayadassane atītādivibhāgaṃ

anāmasitvā sabbasādhāraṇato avijjādipaccayā vedanāsambhavaṃ (Abhidh-av-pṭ:
vedanāya sambhavaṃ) labbhamānataṃ passati, na uppādaṃ.
Avijjādi-abhāve ca tassā asambhavaṃ

alabbhamānataṃ passati, na bhaṅgaṃ.
Khaṇato udayabbayadassane paccuppannānaṃ uppādaṃ,

bhaṅgañ-ca passatī ti, taṃ yuttaṃ.
Santativasena hi rūpārūpadhamme udayato, vayato ca manasi karontassa anukkamena bhāvanāya balappattakāle ñāṇassa tikkhavisadabhāvappattiyā

khaṇato udayabbayā upaṭṭhahantī ti.
Ayañ-hi paṭhamaṃ paccayato udayabbayaṃ manasi karonto avijjādike paccayadhamme vissajjetvā udayabbayavante khandhe gahetvā tesaṃ

paccayato udayabbayadassanamukhena khaṇato pi udayabbayaṃ manasi karoti.
Tassa yadā

ñāṇaṃ tikkhaṃ visadaṃ hutvā pavattati, tadā rūpārūpadhammā khaṇe khaṇe uppajjantā,

bhijjantā ca hutvā upaṭṭhahanti.

IntroductIon

79

way of condition ( paccayato).
84 The Vism (XX.
99) explains that seeing rise and fall by way of condition is seeing the arising and cessation of the aggregates by seeing the arising and cessation of ignorance, while seeing rise and fall by way of the moment is seeing the rise and fall of the aggregates by seeing the characteristics of production ( nibbatti) and change ( vipariṇāma).
85 However, according to the Paṭis-a, only the rise and fall of the aggregate of matter ( rūpakkhandha) can be seen through condition and the moment (i.e., the characteristics of production and change), while the immaterial aggregates can only be seen through duration and continuity ( addhā-santativasena).
According to Buddhaghosa, Vism XIV.
187–88,86 the term addhāna refers to an extended time period, i.e., life-spans;
santati refers to a continuous series or process of material and immaterial dhamma s that have the same or a similar origin;
and khaṇa to the momentary arising, presence and dissolution of material and immaterial dhammas;
see also Bodhi 2007a:
351

Therefore, there are three positions:
(1) the rise and fall of all of the five aggregates can be seen by way of the moment according to the Vism and other Pāli works;
(2) only the rise and fall of the aggregate of matter — not the immaterial aggregates — can be seen by way of the moment according to the Paṭisambhidā Commentary and “some” in the Vism-mhṭ;
and (3) there is no understanding of rise and fall by way of the moment according to the Vim.

This does not suggest that the idea of momentariness is absent from the Vimuttimagga.
Mind-moments ( citta-khaṇa) are mentioned in the contemplation of death through momentariness:
“ ‘Momentary death’ means:
‘The momentary dissolution of formations’ ” (8 § 107/432a04), “… a being’s life-span lasts a single 84 Cf. Moh 403:
… Nirodho nirodhasaccanti?
Tadaṅganirodhādayo, khaṇikanirodho ca nirodhova, na nirodhasaccaṃ.
… Cf. Ps II 11:
Samudayañcā ti ādīsu dve diṭṭhīnaṃ

samudayā khaṇikasamudayo paccayasamudayo ca.
Khaṇikasamudayo diṭṭhīnaṃ nibbatti.

Paccayasamudayo aṭṭha ṭhānāni, seyyathidaṃ, khandhāpi diṭṭhiṭṭhānaṃ, avijjāpi, … .

85 Vism XX.
99–100/p.631:
726. Yañ-hi so avijjādisamudayā khandhānaṃ samudayaṃ,

avijjādinirodhā ca khandhānaṃ nirodhaṃ passati, idamassa paccayato udayabbayadassanaṃ.

Yaṃ pana nibbattilakkhaṇavipariṇāmalakkhaṇāni passanto khandhānaṃ udayabbayaṃ passati,

idamassa khaṇato udayabbayadassanaṃ, uppattikkhaṇe yeva hi nibbattilakkhaṇaṃ.
Bhaṅgakkhaṇe ca vipariṇāmalakkhaṇaṃ.
Iccassevaṃ paccayato ceva khaṇato ca dvedhā udayabbayaṃ

passato paccayato udayadassanena samudayasaccaṃ pākaṭaṃ hoti janakāvabodhato.
Khaṇato udayadassanena dukkhasaccaṃ pākaṭaṃ hoti jātidukkhāvabodhato.
Paccayato vayadassanena nirodhasaccaṃ pākaṭaṃ hoti paccayānuppādena paccayavataṃ anuppādāvabodhato.

Khaṇato vayadassanena dukkhasaccam-eva pākaṭaṃ hoti maraṇadukkhāvabodhato.
Yañcassa udayabbayadassanaṃ, maggovāyaṃ lokikoti maggasaccaṃ pākaṭaṃ hoti tatra sammohavighātato.

86 Vism XIV.
187–88:
Tattha addhāvasena tāva ekassa ekasmiṃ bhave paṭisandhito pubbe atītaṃ, cutito uddhaṃ anāgataṃ, ubhinnamantare paccuppannaṃ.
Santativasena sabhāgaeka-utusamuṭṭhānaṃ ekāhārasamuṭṭhānañ-ca pubbāpariyavasena vattamānam-pi paccuppannaṃ,

… Khaṇavasena uppādādikhaṇattayapariyāpannaṃ paccuppannaṃ, tato pubbe anāgataṃ,

pacchā atītaṃ.

80

IntroductIon

mind-moment.
… (8 § 116/432b26ff). The idea is also found in the section on the knowledge of dissolution:
“The meditator … sees the entire world through its intrinsic nature as [unenduring as] a mustard seed on the point [of an awl], and that in a single mind-moment there is birth and the change of ageing and death” (12 § 19/450c12).

The exposition of dependent arising in a single moment is based on the idea of momentariness:
“The manifestation of those states is ‘with existence as condition, birth’.
[The alteration of] what persists is ‘ageing’.
Momentary dissolution is

‘death’.
Thus, in a single moment there is the twelve factored dependent arising”.

Since dependent arising applies to all of the five aggregates, this explanation shows that Upatissa took the sub-moments of uppāda, ṭhiti, and bhaṅga to apply to both material and immaterial dhammas.
His understanding is therefore different from that of Ācariya Ānanda, the author of the Abhidhammamūlaṭīkā,

who held that mental dhammas have only the sub-moments of arising and dissolution but not the sub-moment of presence.
Ācariya Ānandaʼs position is rejected by other commentators who argue that the moment of presence is needed as a separate stage between arising and dissolution;
otherwise, a dhamma dissolves as soon as it arises, and thus the difference between arising and dissolution vanishes;
see Bodhi 2007a:
156. On the doctrine of momentariness, see Ronkin 2005:
59–66, Karunadasa 2015b:
245–74.

Ācariya Upatissa holds that there is no understanding of rise and fall of the aggregates by way of the moment because of the quickness of the moment.
In the discussion of the continuity of the material clusters ( kalāpa) he says that the interval between the material clusters cannot be known because of the quickness of the moment:
“The disintegration of the first decad, the decay of the second decad, and the arising of the third decad occur in a single moment ( eka-khaṇa).

The interval between the eye-decads arisen thus cannot be known;
because of the quickness of the moment, it cannot be known in the present world.”
(446b27).

This is also suggested by the Paṭisambhidamaggagaṇṭhipada in its comment on the Paṭis-a passage on the rise and fall of the immaterial aggregates:
“The very quick movement ( atilahuparivattittā) of the immaterial [aggregates] prevents

[seeing them] by way of the moment, [therefore it is said] ‘not by way of the moment’.”
87

Likewise, the well-known Burmese scholar-monk Ledi Sayādaw (1846–

1923) writes in his subcommentary on the Abhidhammatthasaṅgaha that the comprehension of material and immaterial dhamma s by way of moments is

“only the scope of omniscient Buddhas” since disciples “are not able to attain 87 Paṭis-sn, Sinhalese ed.
§ 50, Udayabbayañāṇaniddesa:
Arūpānaṃ atilahuparivattittā

khaṇavasena dassanaṃ paṭisedheti na khaṇavasenā ti.

IntroductIon

81

[to seeing] rise and fall in such a small moment” and can only do so “by way of duration and continuity.”
88

6

Quotations from the Peṭakopadesa in the Vimuttimagga

Upatissa attributes three quotations to the 三藏 or “Tipiṭaka” (8 § 16, 18, 24/ 415b12, c09, 416c26). As Bapat (1937:
134) points out, parallels to these passages are found in the Pāli hermeneutical text called Peṭakopadesa, which refers to itself as Peṭaka (Peṭ 141). The Peṭakopadesa is a handbook for understanding and explaining the suttantas;
see von Hinüber 1996:
82, § 171. Besides these attributed quotations there are also several other non-attributed passages in the Vim that have parallels in the Peṭakopadesa;
see Bapat 1937:
133–35 and Ñāṇamoli 1964:
399–402.89 The Chinese mistranslation “Tipiṭaka” is due to Saṅghapāla’s non-familiarity with the Sri Lankan and South Indian Theravāda textual traditions.
Since he did not know of a book with the name Peṭaka, he misunderstood it as referring to the tipeṭaka/ tipiṭaka and therefore did not transliterate it, differing from what he did with other unfamiliar texts and persons such as the 涅底履波陀脩多羅, ne-t-ri-pa-da-su-ta-ra = netripada-sūtra.

One Peṭaka passage quoted in the Vim is also quoted in the Vism and other Pāli commentaries:
90 “As is said in the Peṭaka:
‘One-pointedness of mind (or, concentration)91 is the opposite of sensual desire;
rapture is the opposite of ill will;
thinking is the opposite of sloth and torpor;
pleasure is the opposite of agitation and worry;
exploring is the opposite of doubt’.”
92 However, this passage does not have an exact parallel in the extant Pāli Peṭakopadesa and, according to Bapat (1937:
xliii), the term Peṭaka therefore might refer to a work now lost.

Ñāṇamoli (1964:
xxix–xxx) disagrees with this:
“… this can be ruled out since 88 Paramatthadīpanī p.
440f.:
Khaṇavasenā ti rūpārūpadhammānaṃ āyuparimāṇasaṅkhātassa khaṇassa vasena.
Ettha ca khaṇavasena sammasanaṃ nāma sabbaññubuddhānaṃ eva visayo siyā, na sāvakānaṃ.
Na hi te evaṃ parittake khaṇe uppādaṃ vā nirodhaṃ vā

sampāpuṇituṃ sakkontī ti.
Tasmā addhāsantativasena sammasanam eva idhādhippetan ti daṭṭhabbaṃ.

89 There are more passages from the Peṭaka in the Vimuttimagga, e.g., Peṭ 141:
Tattha alobhassa pāripūriyā vivitto hoti kāmehi.
Tattha adosassa … quoted in Ch.8 fn. 121

90 Vism IV.
86/p.141, Sp I 143, Paṭis-a I 181, Nidd-a 127, As 165:
Tathā hi samādhi kāmacchandassa paṭipakkho, pīti vyāpādassa, vitakko thīnamiddhassa, sukhaṃ

uddhaccakukkuccassa, vicāro vicikicchāyā ti peṭake vuttaṃ.
Cf. Vism-mhṭ I 165, Sp-ṭ I 358.

91 Since the Pāli Peṭaka parallel has samādhi, “concentration”, the binome 一心, could here perhaps also correspond to samādhi, a sense it can also have in other Chinese works;
see DDB s.
v. 一心.
In any case, samādhi and cittassekaggatā are said to be synonymous in commentarial Pāli works;
see Spk II 385:
samādhin-ti cittekaggataṃ;
Sp VII 1365:
Samādhīti cittekaggatā;
Sv II 537:
cittekaggatā samādhi;
Peṭ 143:
Yā cittekaggatā,

ayaṃ samādhi.

92 416c26–28:
如三藏所說, 一心是婬欲對治, 歡喜是嗔恚對治覺是懈怠眠對治, 樂是調悔對

治觀是疑對治.

82

IntroductIon

the term is used in the Nett-a of a quotation traceable in the Peṭ … as to the other quotation attributed to the Peṭaka by the commentaries but not found in the Peṭ as it exists now, two explanations are possible.
The first is that there may have been variant versions of the Peṭakopadesa current at the time the Commentaries were composed, some of which lacked the missing quoted passages, ….
The second is that the missing passages were from that part of Ch.
VI which is now lost.

The explanation may actually be either or both.”
Warder, in his introduction to the Path of Discrimination page lix, observes:
“As Ñāṇamoli points out …

it is not found in the Peṭakopadesa.
… The Gaṇṭhipada, however, provides the positive information that this Peṭaka is a book of the Mahiṃsāsakas, an aṭṭhakathā

made for the purpose of the Suttantapiṭaka.
93 This implies that it was a work similar to the Peṭakopadesa … Thus, both schools had a recension of this work, but differing in such details as this .


Another possible reason for the absence of a parallel passage in the Pāli Peṭaka is that in the Visuddhimagga the passage is not quoted directly from the Peṭaka but rather from the Vimuttimagga or perhaps another work, and then in turn was quoted in other commentaries from the Visuddhimagga, the hub of Buddhaghosa’s commentaries (see § 1). Perhaps the Peṭaka in its current version, or even in any version, was not available in Sri Lanka and therefore was not used by Buddhaghosa.

The Peṭaka’ s similes illustrating vitakka and vicāra (Peṭ 142) are found in both the Vim and Vism, but whereas in the Vim (8 § 18/415c09) they are given as quotations attributed to the Peṭaka, they are an unattributed part of the text in the Vism (IV.
89/p.142). The Peṭaka passage (Peṭ 134–5) with the three similes on the comprehension of the truths in a single moment, is attributed to the porāṇā in the Vism (XXII.
92/p. 690), while in the Vim (12 § 25/457b03–10) it is an unattributed part of the text.
Perhaps Buddhaghosa also quoted both of these passages from the Vim rather than from the Peṭaka.
If Buddhaghosa was familiar with the Peṭaka,

he would have known that these similes came from it and would instead have attributed them to the Peṭaka rather than to the “ancients”, with which he possibly meant the Vimuttimagga.
94

93 The Pāli passage in Paṭisambhidāmaggagaṇṭhipadatthavaṇṇanā, edited by Ariyavaṃsa, Colombo 1967 p.
106, is Suttantapiṭakatthāya kataṭṭhakathā peṭakaṃ mahiṃsakānaṃ

gantho:
“The Peṭaka is a book of the Mahiṃsāsakas, an aṭṭhakathā made for the purpose of the Suttantapiṭaka.
” It is also found in the Burmese (p.
140) and Thai edition (I 331) of Paṭis-gp.

94 Ñāṇamoli (1964:
401) attributes another passage at Vism XXI.
3/p.640 to the Peṭaka.
He says that this passage — on the not manifesting of the perceptions of the three characteristics

— is quoted in a rewritten form from a Peṭaka passage (Peṭ 128) on the not manifesting of the four perceptions.
However, it is more likely that Buddhaghosa took it from an old commentary (see Appendix III § 5). Vism XXI.
3/p.640:
Aniccalakkhaṇaṃ tāva udayabbayānaṃ

amanasikārā santatiyā paṭicchannattā na upaṭṭhāti.
… Peṭ 128:
Tattha niccasaññādhi -

muttassa aparāparaṃ cittaṃ paṇāmento satimapaccavekkhato aniccasaññā na upaṭṭhāti.

IntroductIon

83

The Peṭaka was available to the commentator Dhammapāla in South India since he refers to the Peṭaka and Peṭakopadesa several times in his commentary on the Nettippakaraṇa and also in his other commentaries.
The anonymous author of the Paṭisambhidāmaggagaṇṭhipada does not mention the author of the Peṭaka.

Therefore, the text was possibly not available to him in the 9th or 10th century and he therefore assumed that it was the work of another school.
On the other hand, when commenting on the very same passage, the Ṭīkās state that the author is Mahākaccāyana but do not touch upon the school affiliation of the Peṭaka,

suggesting that the ṭīkā authors took the Peṭaka to be a Mahāvihāra work .
In the Visuddhimaggamahāṭīkā (6th or 8–9th century), which is likely older than the Paṭis-gp, Dhammapāla says that the Peṭaka is an explanation of the piṭakas taught by Mahākaccāyana Thera.
The Vimativinodanī (12–13th century), also in relation to the same passage, says that it is a treatise made by Mahākaccāyana after the Netti, which is called Peṭaka because it explains the Piṭaka- s.

The Netti- ṭīkā (6th or 8–9th century), in relation to another passage, explains Peṭaka as Peṭakopadesa, which it elsewhere explains as a manual that is a commentary on the piṭakas.
95

The Chinese Canon the 陰持入經 or Yinchi rujing (T 15 no.
603) — translated by An Shigao in the 3rd century CE — corresponds to most of the sixth chapter of the Peṭakopadesa;
see Zacchetti 2002. The Yinchi rujing does not have a parallel of the above-mentioned Peṭaka passage on the five hindrances.
Another Chinese text, the 大智度論釋 or Da zhidu lun (T 25 no.
1509), says that the Peṭaka is a text circulating in South India and that it is an abridged version of an originally larger text;
see Zacchetti 2001:
77–78. It describes a few of the methods of the Peṭaka and gives examples, which roughly correspond to passages in the Peṭaka;
see Zacchetti 2001:
70–76.

The Peṭakopadesa was likely circulating in different versions in South Indian and Sri Lankan schools.
This would explain the origin of the verses that are attributed to the Peṭaka in Upasena’s commentary on the Niddesa (Nidd-a II 318) but which are not found in the Peṭakopadesa and, as Ñāṇamoli notes, are unlike anything in it;
see Ñāṇamoli 1964:
400. Dhammapāla likely had access to the Peṭaka in South India,96 while in Sri Lanka possibly only the successor Netti was used in the Mahāvihāra.
Except for the above-mentioned passage on the opposites of 95 Vism-mhṭ, Sp-ṭ I 358, I 165:
Mahākaccānattherena desitā piṭakānaṃ saṃvaṇṇanā peṭakaṃ,

tasmiṃ peṭake.
Nett-ṭ 18:
Peṭaketi peṭakopadese.
Nett-ṭ 122:
Piṭakānaṃ atthakathanaṃ

peṭakaṃ, so eva upadesoti peṭakopadeso, upadesabhūtā pariyattisaṃvaṇṇanā ti attho.

Vmv I 72:
Peṭaketi mahākaccāyanattherena kataṃ nettippakaraṇanayānusāripakaraṇ

aṃ, taṃ pana piṭakānaṃ peṭakan-ti vuttaṃ, tasmin-ti attho.
Sp-ṭ I 358, Vism-mhṭ I 165:
Mahākaccānattherena desitā piṭakānaṃ saṃvaṇṇanā peṭakaṃ, tasmiṃ peṭake.
Nett-ṭ 18:
Peṭaketi peṭakopadese.
Nett-ṭ 122:
Piṭakānaṃ atthakathanaṃ peṭakaṃ, so eva upadesoti peṭakopadeso, upadesabhūtā pariyattisaṃvaṇṇanā ti attho.

96 Dhammapāla does not use the word sīhaḷa in his commentaries;
see Kieffer-Pülz 2013b:
10–11;
von Hinüber 1996:
137

84

IntroductIon

the hindrances, Buddhaghosa does not refer to the Peṭaka or Peṭakopadesa in his works.
He only once refers to and quotes from the Netti (M-a I 31;
cf. Ps-ṭ I 83). However, according to Ñāṇamoli (1977:
liii-liv), he is heavily indebted to the Netti’ s method.

The Nettippakaraṇa is possibly a revised version of the Peṭakopadesa,97 although it might not be a revision of the existing corrupt version, but of another version, possibly the one Upatissa had access to;
see below .
The Peṭakopadesa contains mnemonic uddāna verses (see Ñāṇamoli 1962:
xxvi) indicating that it was composed as a text that was to be transmitted orally.
The Nettippakaraṇa however

does not contain uddāna, indicating that it was composed as a written text that was to be read.
The Netti, or the Mahāvihāra adaptation of it, therefore was probably composed later than the Peṭaka.

Just as the paracanonical works Milindapañhā and Peṭakopadesa, the Netti entered the Theravāda tradition from another early Indian Buddhist tradition;
see von Hinüber 1996:
79–81. It is noteworthy that the Netti does not mention or imply the idea of middharūpa or anything related to it while both the Peṭaka and Milindapañhā do so (see § 5), therefore the Netti was possibly adapted by the Mahāvihāravāsins to make it fit their doctrines.
Similarly, in the Mahāvihāra tradition the Visuddhimagga superseded the Vimuttimagga (see Ñāṇamoli 1964:
xii) or was its response to it (see Appendix III § 11), and likewise the Mahāvaṃsa superseded the Dīpavaṃsa.
The supersession of the Peṭaka by the Netti is indicated by Dhammapāla making a commentary on the Netti but not on the Peṭaka, which he only used for comparison;
see Ñāṇamoli 1977:
xvi .
Similarly, while the Mahāvaṃsa has a commentary, the earlier Dīpavaṃsa does not, therefore the Dīpavaṃsa contains many corruptions, just like the Peṭakopadesa.
98

97 See Ñāṇamoli 1977:
xxv–xxvi, xxviii, and 1964:
xii:
“The Netti is a ‘revised and improved version’ of the older Peṭaka.
” Von Hinüber (1997:
81–82), however, disagrees, suggesting that it appears that Peṭ has taken over ārya metre verses from Nett and that “Perhaps Nett and Peṭ are not directly dependent on each other, but simply dealing with the same material derived from a common source used for the same purpose.”
As to the verses:
If Nett is an improved version of Peṭ, then it could simply have taken over the verses from the start of discussions of the hāra (although in the current version they are only found in the first explanations of the hāras).
The suggestion that the material comes from a common source

— possibly a different, non-corrupt version of the Peṭ which had the verses at the start of the discussion of each hāra and/or perhaps also had them at the start of the work — is more likely.
See also Ronkin 2005:
97

98 There are two references to a lost Dīpavaṃsaṭṭhakathā in the Vaṃsatthappakāsinī (p.
411

& 683;
see Malalasekera 1935:
lxviii) but the Dīpavaṃsa itself is not referred to by name in Mhv-ṭ, nor is it referred to in the old part of the Mahāvaṃsa.
The only quotation from and reference to the Dīpavaṃsa is in the 12th century Sāratthadīpanī-ṭīkā, wherein three different groups of verses from it are quoted (Sp-ṭ I 117 = Dīp V, Sp-ṭ I 132 = Dīp VI, Sp-ṭ I 164 = Dīp XI).
It is also referred to in the newer part of the Mhv composed by Dhammakitti in the 13th century.
The reference is to an oral explanation of the Dīp given at the orders of King Dhātusena (460-78 CE) at a religious celebration ( pūja) in honour of Mahinda Thera.

IntroductIon

85

The likely reason for the preservation of the Peṭakopadesa is that it is quoted several times in Nettippakaraṇa commentary and also in other commentaries and subcommentaries.

Upatissa likely had access to the Peṭaka since he quotes from it and employs the method of defining terms through word meaning, characteristic, essential function, etc. , as described in the Peṭaka and Netti.
He also uses the term attabhāvavatthu, which is only found in the Peṭaka and Netti;
see Appendix V.

The plane of vision and the plane of development ( dassanabhūmi & bhāvanā-

bhūmi), as described at Ch.12 § 47 along with the planes of the trainee and non-trainee, are first found in Pāli in the Peṭaka and Netti.
They play an important role in Sarvāstivāda works;
see § 4.9.

There is no reference to the Nettippakaraṇa in the Vimuttimagga.
However, Upatissa might refer to a version of it that was called * Suttanettipada or, less likely, * Nettipada-sutta, to which he refers once each and which probably are the same work.
Since no exact parallels to Upatissa’s quotations from this text can be traced in the Nettippakaraṇa, perhaps he quoted from an earlier version of it or, more likely, a similar work of the Abhayagiri School or another school.

The * Sutta-netti-pada or * Suttanta-netti-pada is quoted in the section on the recollection of the Buddha, at Ch.8 § 74/p. 426c07. The Chinese title is 修多

羅涅底里句, su-ta-ra -ni/ ne-t-ri-pada = sūtra-netri-pada which could mean

“Sutta-guideline” or “guideline of the suttas” ( netripada = “word of guidance”, with pada having the sense of “word”;
cf. dhammapada). This fits the statement The 22 bhāṇavāra or “recitation sections”, mnemonic verses, having the form of an ākhyāna or “narrative story” of which the verses are fixed, but of which the prose parts can be filled in, indicate that Dīp was used for sermons (see Geiger 1908:
11–12 & von Hinüber 1996:
89–90/§ 183–8). Otherwise it is only quoted in modern Burmese works such as the Sāsanavaṃsa.
The rarity of references to the Dīp is remarkable.
Malalasekera (1935:
cix) following a suggestion made by Hugh Nevill (see Malalasekera 1928:
135–137), asks whether the absence of any mention of the Dīp in Mhv-ṭ might be due to it possibly being a work composed by bhikkhunīs, since it frequently refers to them whereas the Mhv

does not.
(One of the two passages quoted from the Dīpavaṃsaṭṭhakathā in Mhv-ṭ is about bhikkhunīs;
see Malalasekera 1935:
lxviii, 411.) It is also possible that since the Porāṇā,

i.e., the Sīhaḷa-aṭṭhakathā, were still available to Buddhaghosa and other commentators, that they referred directly to the verses contained in these more authoritative works rather than to the verses extracted from them that formed the Dīp (see Oldenberg 1879:
5–7).

Another possibility is that the Dīp was regarded as an outdated work superseded by the Mhv, just like the Peṭaka was superseded by the Netti.
For a while it was preserved to be used in sermons ( bhāṇa) and then went into oblivion.
Like the Peṭaka, it was preserved in Burma after Buddhism collapsed in Sri Lanka during the Portuguese colonial period, and like it, all current manuscripts and editions might be based on faulty copies of a single manuscript brought over from Sri Lanka during the Polonnaruva period;
see Oldenberg 1879:
11

However, Oldenberg did not consult any Thai or Cambodian manuscripts of the Dīpavaṃsa and according to Frasch (2004) there are Burmese manuscripts that are considerably different.

86

IntroductIon

in the introductory verses of the Nettippakaraṇa that it is “an investigation

[of the meaning] of the nine kinds [of factors of the Teaching beginning with]

Suttanta” ( navavidhasuttantapariyeṭṭhī, Nett 1) . Dhammapāla explains this as

“An investigation of the Teaching beginning with the Sutta;
an investigation of the meaning is the meaning” ( suttādivasena navaṅgassa sāsanassa pariyesanā,

atthavicāraṇāti attho;
Nett-a 12). Similarly, Dhammapāla says:
“all explanation of the meaning of the Sutta is due to the disclosure/instruction by the Guide”

( sabbāpi hi suttassa atthasaṃvaṇṇanā nettiupadesāyattā, Nett-a 2). Since 修多羅, the transliteration of sūtra or sūtrānta, is put before the name whereas elsewhere in the Vimuttimagga it is put after the name (e.
g., 黃衣脩多羅, “Yellow-garment Sūtra” at 438a29), this lectio difficilior was likely the original name.

The passage quoted from the * Suttanettipada in the Vim (8 § 74/426c07) is

“When someone eagerly recollects the Buddha, he becomes as worthy of veneration as a Buddha image house.”
It is found somewhat differently in the parallel passage in the Vism (VII.
67/p.214;
cf. Vism VII.
88/p. 218 and VII.
100/

p.
221):
“And his body, due to the recollection of the Buddha’s special qualities inhabiting it, becomes as worthy of veneration as a stupa shrine-house”:
Buddhaguṇānussatiyā ajjhāvutthañcassa sarīrampi cetiyagharamiva pūjārahaṃ hoti.

Apparently, Saṅghapāla misunderstood ajjhāvuttha as adhimutta, and sarīra as referring to a Buddha image.
Buddhaghosa does not give a reference to the

* Suttantanettipada, perhaps because this text was not in use in the Mahāvihāra.

The fact that a similar statement cannot be traced elsewhere in Pāli commentaries also suggests this.

The * Nettipada-sutta or * Nettipada-suttanta is quoted in the section on the recollection of death at Ch.8 § 107/431c22. 涅底履波陀脩多羅 = ni/ ne-t-ri-pa-da-su-ta-ra = netripada-sūtra.
Probably this is simply an alternative translation of * Suttanettipada.
The quotation is:
“If a person wishes to contemplate death, he should contemplate a person who has passed away and should see the cause of his death.”
It cannot be traced in the Vism or in other Pāli works.
Bapat (1937:
62) refers to the Netripadaśāstra of Upagupta quoted once in Abhidharmakośa-

śāstra, but almost nothing is known about this text except that the idea quoted is connected to a branch of the Sarvāstivādins, to whom Upagupta himself also likely belonged;
see Strong 1992:
6 & 298 fn. 14

There is a passage in the Vim that has a close parallel in the Netti, but cannot be traced in the Peṭaka or other Pāli works.
Upatissa might have taken it from the

* Suttanettipada.
The passage in the Vim (2 § 4/400b02–03) is:
“Thus, the Fortunate One expounded the training in the higher virtue to one with dull faculties, the training in the higher mind to one with average faculties and the training in the higher wisdom to one with sharp faculties,” relates to Nett 101:

“Herein, the Fortunate One declared the training in higher wisdom to one with sharp faculties;
to one with average faculties the Fortunate One declared the training in

IntroductIon

87

higher mind;
to one with dull faculties the Fortunate One declared the training in higher virtue”.
99

The Chinese Vim sheds light on an odd statement in the Peṭaka (Peṭ 142).

The Pāli has “the action of exploring is restraining the forerunners”:
vicārānaṃ

kammaṃ jeṭṭhānaṃ saṃvāraṇā, but the Chinese has “the action of exploring is resolving upon the jhānas”, 觀行受持於禪, corresponding to vicārānaṃ

kammaṃ jhānaṃ/ jhānāni adhiṭṭhānaṃ, which makes better sense than the Pāli.

7 The

modern fabrication of a Pāli text of the Vimuttimagga

In 1963, a Sinhala script edition of the “Pāli text of the Vimuttimagga” was published.
The two editors, Galkätiyagama Ratanajoti and Karaliyaddē

Ratanapāla, claimed that the text was found in a badly damaged palm leaf manuscript in the library of the Asgiriya Monastery100 and that they finished transcribing it in 1938. No one else ever saw the manuscript because, according to the editors, it was taken away for safekeeping during World War II and was then lost.
Ratanajoti and Ratanapāla write that they consulted the Visuddhimagga and used it to fill gaps, but did not clearly mark where they did so.

Both Bapat (1972) and Endo (1983)101 have shown that this text is a fabrication that mainly consists of Pāli passages copied from Bapat’s Vimuttimagga and Visuddhimagga:
A Comparative Study (1937) as well as passages translated into Pāli from Bapat’s English translations of the Chinese in the same work.
Therefore, errors that Bapat made due to misunderstanding the Chinese also made their way into the fabrication.

In their introduction, Ratanajoti and Ratanapāla write that according to the

“Asgiriya Palmleaf Book”, the Asgiriyē Talpata,102 the Vimuttimagga was composed in the Sinhala language by Mahā Ariṭṭha Upatissa Thera, the nephew of King Devānampiyatissa, and based on the teachings of Mahinda Thera.

After the work was translated into Pāli, the original Sinhala text was lost.

Successive generations of Mahāvihāravāsins then learnt the Pāli text by heart.

This fanciful explanation of the origins of the Vimuttimagga was rejected by 99 Tattha bhagavā tikkhindriyassa adhipaññāsikkhāya paññāpayati, majjhindriyassa bhagavā

adhicittasikkhāya paññāpayati, mudindriyassa bhagavā adhisīlasikkhāya paññāpayati.

100 The Asgiriya monastery complex contains several semi-independent residences ( vihāra) with their own libraries.
It is unclear in which library the manuscript was “found”.

101 See also Janakābhivaṃsa 1966, Mori 1968, Bechert 1989. Jha (2008) is also said to discuss the authenticity the Asgiriya text and made a transcription of it in Devanagari script.

102 The Asgiriyē Talpata is the historical record of the Asgiriya fraternity, see Mori 1968:
133

There is a Sinhala script edition of this work by Mendis Rohanadeera, Nugegoda 1969.

On the history and contents of the Asgiriyē Talpata, see Gunasinghe 1987:
16–25.

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Janakābhivaṃsa Sayādaw (1966) and there is no report that the Asgiriyē Talpata mentions the Vimuttimagga.

What could have been the motivation for fabricating a Pāli text as well as devising a fanciful theory as to its origins?
The answer might lie in monastic prestige.
Since the re-instating of the full admission into the bhikkhusaṅgha ( upasampadā) in the mid-18th century, there has been competition between the Asgiriya fraternity of the Siyam Nikāya, which has its headquarters at Asgiriya Monastery in Kandy, and the newer and larger offshoot, the Malwatta fraternity of the Siyam Nikāya, which has its headquarters at the nearby Malwatta Monastery;
see Vachissara 1961:
318, 331–32, 350–54, 441–45. The Asgiriya fraternity traces its origins to the 13th century forest-dwelling tradition of the Dimbulagala forest monastery near Polonnaruva and in the 18th century presented itself as a forest-dwelling ( vanavāsi) meditation tradition in contrast to the village-dwelling, worldly Malwatta tradition.
In the mid-18th century, Siamese monks came from Thailand to teach vidarśana or insight meditation to Asgiriya monks.

Several meditation hermitages such as Bambaragala were founded around Kandy;
see Vachissara 1961:
267, Mirando 1985:
135, 139. The modern “Vimuttimagga”

therefore could be an attempt by Ratanajoti and Ratanapāla to assert the ancient roots of the Asgiriya tradition.

Another reason for the fabrication might be related to the two other texts edited by Ratanajoti and Ratanapāla and published in the same book, namely, the Vimuttimaggo Uddānaṃ (= Amatākaravaṇṇanā) and the Mahānuvara Asgiri Araṇyavaṃśāgata Vidarśanā Pota (= Bambaragalē Pota;
translated as The Yogāvacara’ s Manual by T.
W. Rhys Davids).
These two texts are considered unorthodox yogāvacara meditation texts (cf.
Crosby 2005:
139, 148) and are based on the yogāvacara meditation methods of the Siamese teachers who taught at Asgiriya monasteries in the mid-18th century (see Somadasa 1987:
370).

Similar unorthodox yogāvacara methods, i.e., methods that are not described in the Visuddhimagga and Pāli commentaries incorporate yogic, magic and tantric ritualistic elements such as cakras, mantras, and visualisations (cf.
Crosby 2000:
141f.), are commonly taught in Thailand, for example in the Dhammakāya tradition.

The fabrication of the “Vimuttimagga Pāḷi”, as the ancient, lost counterpart and ancestor of the Visuddhimagga, and putting it at the front of the newer yogāvacara manuals might be an attempt to connect the 18th century meditation texts transmitted in the Asgiriya tradition to the Vimuttimagga and make them appear more authentic and important.

The title of the second text edited by Ratanajoti and Ratanapāla, Vimuttimaggo Uddānaṃ, is, apart from being grammatically incorrect, not found in any manuscripts (see Crosby 2005:
139–40, 143;
cf. Bechert 1989:
13). In manuscripts of the 18th century text, the title Amatākaravaṇṇanā is used instead.
According to Somadasa (1987:
370), the word uddāna does not even occur in the text itself

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89

in the printed edition and is “quite arbitrary”.
Indeed, the word uddāna denotes an irregular or doggerel style of mnemonic verse that sums up the contents of sections in a Pāli text.
Uddāna verses are found at the end of sections and chapters (e.
g., at Vin I 98), so that reciters ( bhāṇaka) could easily recall their contents.
The Vimuttimagga, Visuddhimagga, other non-canonical and commentarial Pāli texts,103 do not contain uddāna verses since they were intended to be read, not recited.
The title, in the correct form Vimutti-maggass’ uddāna or Vimuttimagguddāna, would mean “Summary-verse of the Vimuttimagga”.
However, the Amatākaravaṇṇanā is not a summary of the Vimuttimagga but a completely different text.
It consists of verses, gāthā, but not of the uddāna type.
The title is, again, a fabrication to make the text appear as a summary of the Vimuttimagga.
Ratanajoti and Ratanapāla also

“corrected” the grammar of the Amatākaravaṇṇanā in some places where at first sight it appears anomalous (Crosby 2005:
144f) and heavily abridged the text, leaving out verses that are repetitions.
The original version of the text is 3,818

verses long while the printed edition only has 1,135 verses.
The concluding verses in the printed edition, however, were not corrected since they say that the text is 3,818 verses long, just as in manuscript texts (see Crosby 2005:
146).

The final yogāvacara meditation text in the book, the mixed Pāli–Sinhala Mahānuvara Asgiri Araṇyavaṃśāgata Vidarśanā Pota, was also abridged (Somadasa 1987:
297;
Crosby 2005:
147). The title is another fabrication made to link the text to Asgiriya since the text is usually referred to as Vidarśanā

Pota or as Bambaragalē Pota.
For more information on this text, see Somadasa 1987:
240f.

8

How the Vimuttimagga came to China

The exact way the Vimuttimagga came to China is not known.
There are several possibilities:

1. It might have been one of the manuscripts which the famous Chinese traveller and translator Faxian (法顯, also called Fa-Hien or Fa-hsien) obtained in Sri Lanka104 around 410–411 and brought to China.
Although Faxian’s biography 103 The only texts of the Khuddakanikāya that do not contain uddāna (at least in the CS edition) are the Niddesa and Buddhavaṃsa.
Even the late, para-canonical texts Peṭakopadesa,

Nettippakaraṇa, Milindapañhā and Parivāra contain uddāna.

104 It is frequently stated that Faxian (320?-420?) stayed at the Abhayagiri Vihāra during his stay in Sri Lanka.
For example, Malalasekera in his Dictionary of Pāli Proper Names, s.
v.

Abhayagiri, writes:
“Fa-Hsien evidently spent the two years of his stay in Ceylon with the Abhayagiri fraternity because the books he took away with him were those of the unorthodox schools”.
Another scholar says “The Chinese pilgrim Faxian visited Anuradhapura in 412 AD.
After his arrival, he went to Abhayagiri — not Mahavihara — monastery, where

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does not mention the Vim as one of the manuscripts he brought to China (see Glass 2008:
194–195;
Legge Ch.
XV), possibly he brought more texts than the ones listed.
According to the biographies of Saṅghapāla as translated in § 9, Emperor Wu of Liáng (464–549) called on the foreign monk Saṅghapāla for his skills.
Andrew Glass (2008:
194f) suggests “… there was a concerted effort to translate those manuscripts which Faxian had brought back with him.

This effort began soon after Faxian’s return and extended into the period following his retirement from translation work”.
Emperor Wu might have requested Saṅghapāla to help with translating some of the yet untranslated texts that Faxian had brought back.

2. Perhaps the manuscript was brought to China by another foreign monk, such as Guṇabhadra or Guṇavarman (who both sailed to China from Sri Lanka) or Saṃghabhadra, Guṇavṛddhi, Nāgasena or Mandra.
The Chinese monk Fashang (法盛) probably also visited Sri Lanka in the fifth century and may have returned from there to China;
see Matsumura, DDB s.
v. “法盛”.
It could also have been brought by traders as a gift from the King of Sri Lanka.

In 488–489 CE, about 12 years before Saṅghapāla came to China (shortly before 502), Saṃghabhadra, said to be “from a foreign country” in the Chinese biographies, translated a Sri Lankan Vinaya commentary called Ichi-shan-jian-lu-piposha, 一切善見律毘婆沙, or more commonly called Shan-jian-lu-piposha,

he remained for some time” (van Kooij 2006:
23). According to Guruge (2005:
98) the Abhayagiri Viharā “received Fa-Hian, who spent two years (410-412 CE) there … It is from this monastery that he took a copy of the Mahisasaka Vinaya to China.
It is also here that Gunavarman, the king of Kashmir, stayed before his departure to China”.
Max Deeg:

“Faxian … verbrachte … zwei jahre im Abhayagirivihāra.
…” (2009:
140) and Cousins (2012:
69) “Fa-hsien stayed at the Abhaya Monastery, and his account relies on Abhaya Monastery sources.”
However, there is no actual indication at all in the Chinese biographies of Faxian and Guṇavarman that they stayed at the Abhayagiri Vihāra.
The only thing which can be said with certainty is that Faxian visited the Abhayagiri Vihāra because he describes its Stupa and Buddha hall, etc. , (無畏山, T 2085:
864c24) but he also mentions the Mahā-

vihara (摩訶毘可羅, T 2085:
865b13) and describes the cremation of a monk there who was reputed to be an arahant;
see Legge, Ch.
XXXVIII–XL. Although the Abhayagirivihāra is mentioned first in Faxian’s biography, it is quite possible that he stayed in another vihāra in Anuradhapura — perhaps a royal vihāra for foreign pilgrims and/or student monks, like the vihāras for Burmese monks and pilgrims in modern Sri Lanka.

Faxian could have copied “the books of the unorthodox schools” from books of Indian monks studying in Anuradhapura, or obtained the books from them, rather than formally receiving them from the Abhayagiri Vihāra.
Or he could have got them copied from manuscripts in the library of the Abhayagiri Vihāra, that is, if there was an official monastery library for the whole monastery complex rather than smaller collections of manuscripts belonging to individual monks or to residences of monks such as are found nowadays in the many small vihāras at the Malwatta and Asgiriya monastery complexes in Kandy, Sri Lanka.
For a reliable description of Faxian’s visit to Sri Lanka, see Hirakawa 1993:
121

and Deeg 2005:
156ff and 563ff. Guṇavarman’s biography only very briefly mentions his visit to Sri Lanka, without mentioning any town or monastery;
see Stache-Rosen 1973:
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91

善見律毘婆沙 (T 1462).105 Saṃghabhadra made his translation in the port city of Guangzhou.

The Ichi-shan-jian-lu-piposha is an abridged and adapted translation of Buddhaghosa’s Samantapāsādikā commentary on the Vinaya Piṭaka;
see Bapat 1970:
xlix–l, Ñāṇatusita 2014–15. According to its epilogue (Sp 1415), the Samantapāsādikā was written by Buddhaghosa in the 20th and 21st years of the reign of King Sirinivāsa alias Mahānāma (circa 409–431 CE), which corresponds to 432/435 CE;
see Adikaram 1953:
5. Since it is very unlikely that just a single Pāli text was brought over from Sri Lanka, the Samantapāsādikā

would have been part of a set of Vinaya texts and commentaries.
Possibly the whole Tipiṭaka, the commentaries and other Pāli texts such as the Vimuttimagga were sent.

Indeed, Chinese catalogues do mention two more Theravāda works that were translated but were lost:
the “Vinaya of the Sthaviras”, 他毘利律 or 宿德律, Sthavira-vinaya, and the “Five Hundred Jātakas”, 五百本生經, * Pañcaśatajātaka-sūtra.
The former work was likely a translation of the Suttavibhaṅga and the Khandhakas, while the latter could be a translation of the Jātaka collection of the Theravādins, which originally contained 500 jātakas;
see von Hinüber 1996:
57 § 114 and Heirman 2007:
186. Since the canonical Jātaka book only contains verses, the Jātaka Commentary or Jātaka-aṭṭhakathā would have been translated.

Both texts are said to have been translated by the foreign monk Mahāyāna, 大乘, in the port city of Guangzhou, 廣州, during the reign of the Emperor Wu of Southern Qi ((南)齊武帝, reigned 482–493). According to the catalogues, Saṃghabhadra also worked in Guangzhou.
In the earliest surviving Chinese Buddhist Tripiṭaka reference work, the 出三藏記集 (circa 515 CE), it is said that the number of fascicles of these texts is not known since they had not yet reached the capital [where they were catalogued];
see T 2145:
013b16–19.

Since there is a reference to the * Pañcaśata jātaka-sūtra “Sūtra of the Five Hundred Jātakas” in a Chinese Chronicle106 that was compiled and translated by Kivkara, 吉迦夜, and Tan Yao, 曇曜, around 472 CE, the translation predates this chronicle, making it the earliest known translation of a Sthavira work.

The presence of the Samantapāsādikā and other Theravāda texts in China before Saṅghapāla arrived suggests that the Vim could also have been brought from Sri Lanka before his arrival.

105 The full title 一切善見律毘婆沙, “Entirely Pleasing to Behold Vinaya Commentary” or

“Entirely/All Conspicuous Vinaya Commentary” corresponds to Pāli Samantapāsādikā

Vinayaaṭṭhakathā;
see Ñāṇatusita 2014–2015, Part III § 1 & 3;
Bapat 1970:
l–liii.

106 T 2058:
297a12–14:
“Compassionating all beings, he toiled humbly, accumulating virtuous qualities, he practiced all good acts and initiated the great aspiration, as is extensively taught in the Sūtra of the Five Hundred Jātakas.”
悲傷群生勞謙累德 修萬善行發洪誓願, 如五百本生經中廣說.

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Although there likely was earlier contact between Sri Lanka and China, Chinese records unambiguously record them as taking place from the late 4th century onwards, when the King of Sri Lanka107 sent the monk 曇摩撮 (Dharma-cuo

Err:509
) to the court of the Chinese Emperor Xiaowu of Lin (reigned 373–396 CE) with a large jade Buddha image.
The mission is said to have arrived in 413, long after emperor Xiaowu had passed away;
see Heirman 2007:
183–184 and Zürcher 2013:
599. According to other records, the Sri Lankan monk envoy also brought ten packages of texts;
see Heirman 2007:
184. Although the contents of these texts are not mentioned, it is very likely that they were Buddhist texts, since they were brought by a Buddhist monk along with a Buddha statue and since there was a strong interest in Buddhist texts in China.

During the reign of King Mahānāma (reigned circa 412–434 CE) and Emperor Wen (reigned 424–453) there was frequent contact between the Sinhalese and Chinese courts;
see Heirman 2007:
184 and Zürcher 2013:
600, 604.

King Mahānāma sent four Sinhalese monks with a gift of a Buddha statue and robes to the Emperor.
According to a late record, Emperor Wen had asked King Mahānāma for Hīnayāna texts, which were rare in China;
see Heirman 2007:
185;
Zürcher 2013:
604. The contact probably took place through Sri Lankan ships that traded with China.
108 In 429 and 432, the “foreign” captain Nandi brought bhikkhunīs from Sri Lanka to China in order to create a legally valid Chinese Bhikṣuṇī order;
see T 2063:
939c12–14, c21–22 and Heirman 2007:
182–183, Zürcher 2013:
399, 565, 596;
and Gunawardana 1988:
41ff. Faxian sailed to China from Sri Lanka with a large merchant’s ship.
The crew and merchants of this ship were possibly Sri Lankans since they did not know Chinese and required Faxian to act as translator when they arrived in China;
see Beal 1884:
ixxx–ixxxiii.

Along with these and other unrecorded missions109 and trade contacts with Sri Lanka, Pāli texts likely reached China and would have been kept in the royal library and/or monastery libraries, waiting to be translated.
Before his death in 569 CE, the Indian monk and translator Paramārtha complained that many Sanskrit palm leaf manuscripts were left untranslated in two monasteries in the royal park in Guangzhou;
see T 2149:
274a (esp.
274a07) and Zürcher 2013:
596

The southern port city of Guangzhou was where Saṃghabhadra and Mahāyāna made their translations of Theravāda texts.
According to one later record (T 2153:
107 Probably King Upatissa I (circa 370–412 CE), the brother of King Mahānāma (circa 412–

434 CE).

108 On Sri Lankan ships playing an important role in trade in the Indian Ocean in the sixth century, and on Sri Lankan ships trading with China during the Tang Dynasty, see Gunawardana & Sakurai 1981.

109 In the eighth century, the monk Amoghavajra (704–774), later the sixth patriarch of Chinese esoteric Buddhism, was sent by his teacher from China to Sri Lanka to collect esoteric texts.
Between his arrival in Sri Lanka in 741 and his departure in 746 he is said to have collected 500 texts, probably from the Abhayagirivihāra, and apparently set off a series of diplomatic missions from the Sri Lankan court to the Chinese Tang court;
see Sundberg 2004:
104–110.

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93

434a10–14), Mahāyāna worked in the Bamboo Grove Monastery (竹林), the same monastery that Saṃghabhadra worked in.
Since Guangzhou, near modern Hong Kong, was more than 1,000 kilometres away from the capital Jiankang, modern Nanjing near Shanghai, it is not surprising that Mahāyāna’s translations did not reach the capital and that Buddhist manuscripts were left untranslated there.

The reason for the preservation of the Chinese translation of the Samantapāsādikā

is recorded in the earliest catalogue, the Chu sanzang jiji.
Quoting from an earlier record, it says that Bhikṣunī Jingxiu heard about it a few years after it was finished and was keen to see it.
Since it was not available in the capital, she went to Guangzhou to get a copy and, having returned to the capital, made copies for distribution;
see T 2145:
082a24–b02, translated in Pinte 2011:
13.11

It is is odd that Jingxiu was particularly interested in Saṃghabhadra’s work, which contains very little of the commentary on the bhikṣunī rules,111 but not in the translation of the Sthavira Vinaya that was made in the same town and possibly the same monastery.
Perhaps Jingxiu had not heard about it.

3. Saṅghapāla possibly brought the Vimuttimagga manuscript himself, perhaps for his own use or as a gift to the emperor.
Although there is no mention of Saṅghapāla presenting manuscripts to the emperor, it is said that he translated his own manuscripts besides the ones Mandra presented to the emperor;
see below.
According to Heirman (2004:
375–76), “The only link between the Chieh-t’o tao-lun and Mandra is that, according to Tao-hsüan’s Ta-t’ang nei-tien lu (T 2149:
266a10–11), all texts translated by *Saṃghabhara, and thus also the Chieh-t’o tao-lun, are texts brought from Funan by Mandra.

This information corresponds to Fe Ch’ang-fang’s Li-tai san-pao chi (T 2034:
98c6–8), compiled a few decades earlier.”
However, according to the Li-taisan-pa ochi, or “History of the Triple Gem in Successive Dynasties”, as translated above, Mandra translated eleven texts together with Saṅghapāla (elsewhere it is said that Mandra translated just three texts),112 but there is no indication that these were texts brought by Mandra himself.
Further, it is said in the subsequent biography of Saṅghapāla that he translated “his own (其本) [ sūtra s] and also those (並是) which Mandra brought to present as a gift to the emperor”.
If correct, this could indicate that the Vim was brought to China by Saṅghapāla himself.

Possibly there were Sthavira monasteries in Funan that were connected to Sri Lankan or South Indian Sthavira traditions through the maritime trade routes that 110 The record, which might be corrupt, seems to indicate that Jingxiu was keen to see Saṃghabhadra.
Therefore she returned (i.e., went) to the south and, having obtained a copy of the Vinaya, returned to the capital (得律還都) almost a year later.

111 Only one third of a Taishō page, i.e., p.
787c13 to 788a20 in contrast to a large section at Sp IV 900-949.

112 According to other biographies and catalogues, such as the first biography translated above, Mandra only translated three texts, and did so together with Saṅghapāla, which seems more plausible;
see § 9.

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ran from Sri Lanka and South India to China.
113 However, there are indications that Saṅghapāla was not very familiar with the text and its language (see §

4.2) and might have belonged to a non-Theravāda school, possibly the (Mūla) Sarvāstivāda (see § 9). Therefore, it is more likely that the manuscript was brought to China by someone else.

9

Biography of the translator Saṅghapāla

Reflecting the different attitudes towards the recording of history in Indian and Chinese cultures, while nothing is recorded in Pāli or Sanskrit texts about Upatissa, the author of the Vimuttimagga, there is a lot more information about Saṅghapāla, who translated the text into Chinese.
Different versions of the biography of the translator Saṅghapāla (僧伽婆羅), officially called “Tipiṭaka Saṅghapāla” (三藏僧伽婆羅), are found in Chinese biographies and sūtra catalogues.
There is sometimes conflicting information in the different biographies.
For example, one biography says that Saṅghapāla translated ten works, while others state that he translated eleven works;
one biography says that the Chinese scholar-monks checked the translation while other biographies say that they wrote it down;
and one biography says that Saṅghapāla was appointed by the emperor to five monasteries [as abbot?
], while another biography says that he was appointed to three monasteries.

The earliest and most concise biography of Saṅghapāla, is found in the 高僧傳

or Gāo-sēng-zhuān (“Biographies of Eminent Monks”) at T 2059:
345b09–14.

This collection of biographies was composed around 530 CE by Huī Jiăo (慧皎, 497–554 CE).
Saṅghapāla’s biography is given as an appendix to the biography of Guṇavṛddhi (求那毘地, Gu-na-vu/vṛ-di) at T 2059:
345a24–b09. This is a translation of the biographies of both monks.

113 In his essay on the arrival of Theravāda Buddhism in mainland Southeast Asia (1997a), Skilling says that traders and travellers from Southeastern Indian Sthaviran Buddhist centres stayed at the ports of Funan for extended periods to await the change of monsoon winds.

To the west of Funan, Pāli inscriptions in varieties of the South Indian Pallava script have been found at Prome in Burma, dating from the 5th to 7th centuries CE, and at the Chao Phraya river basin in Thailand (about 750 km away), dating from the 6th to 8th century.

These inscriptions include Canonical quotations as well as passages and lists that are found in typical Theravāda Abhidhamma texts such as the Abhidhamma Mātikā, Paṭisambhidā-

magga, Vibhaṅga, and even the Visuddhimagga.
From archaeological evidence gathered so far, the Theravādins apparently were the dominant religious school in these two areas during this period, but it is uncertain whether they came from Sri Lanka or South India, or had come in Asoka’s time as part of a mission to Suvarṇabhūmi.
Despite Sinhalese scriptures not mentioning missions to Southeast Asia during this period (see Skilling 1997a), it is quite likely that Sinhalese monks visited Prome and Funan.
According to Chinese records in the 5th century, King Mahānāma sent four Sinhalese monks with gifts to the Emperor;
see § 8. The contacts probably took place through Sri Lankan ships which traded with China and stopped over in Funan on the way.

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Guṇavṛddhi:
this means “promoter of good qualities”.
114 He was originally from Central India.
From a young age, he followed the Path [of Dharma].

His teacher was the Indian Mahāyāna master Saṅghasena (Sēng-jiā-sī, 僧伽

斯;
elsewhere 僧伽斯那).
Astute, having a powerful memory, [Guṇavṛddhi]

was diligent in recitation.
He was well versed and mastered the Great and Lesser Vehicle [Sūtras] amounting to two hundred thousand lines.
115 He had studied external (i.e., worldly or Brahmanical) texts and was skilled in white and black [magic?
], prognosticating [auspicious] times, and examining the meaning of omens.
At the beginning of the Qí-jiàn Dynasty (齊建, 479 CE) he first came to the capital and stayed at the Vaiśālī Monastery.
Holding a staff while walking, his deportment was dignified, proper, and serene.

Royalty and nobility invited him regularly and offered him precious gifts.

Formerly in India, Saṅghasena had extracted important parables from the Sūtra-piṭaka and compiled them as one book.
It altogether has one hundred chapters and is for instructing new pupils.
Guṇavṛddhi could easily and entirely recite it and clarify both its meaning and purport.
In the autumn of the tenth year of the Yŏng-míng Era (永明, 492 CE) it was translated in orderly words,116 [consisting] of altogether 10 fascicles, and is called the “Sūtra of Hundred Parables” (* Śatopama-sūtra, 百喻經, = T 209).

He also produced the “[Sūtra of the] Twelve Factors of Dependent arising”

(* Dvādaśāṅga-pratītyasamutpādaḥ, lost) and the Sūtra of the Householder Sudatta (* Sudatta-gṛhpati Sūtra = T 73) amounting all together to one fascicle.

After the decadent (自) Dà Míng Era (大明, 457–464 CE), the translation of sūtra s was in danger of dying out.
[Therefore] his proclaiming widely

[of sutras] to the world was fully praiseworthy and delightful.
117

Guṇavṛddhi was very generous towards others.
South-sea merchants who were returning 10000 li118 [distance to their country] assembled, [wishing to share] all karma with the ancestors, and offered gifts [to him], which he accepted entirely for the sake of furthering the Dhamma.
119 He established the 114 This text (T 2059:
345a24) and a few others read 安進, “calm-advancer”, but other catalogues (T 2034:
096a08, T 2149:
262c19, T 2154:
536b11) read 德進, which makes more sense.

115 二十萬言.
This means that he had learnt two hundred lines of sūtra text.
The versions of the Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra are distinguished according to the amount of lines they contain, the largest one, i.e., the Śatasāhasrikā-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra, consists of 100,000 lines.

116 為齊文 or “as an orderly text”, see 文 in the biographies above.

117 及其宣流世咸稱美.

118 A li, 里, is nowadays 500 metres, but in Huī Jiăo’s time it was about 415 metres.

119 Other versions (T 2145:
107a04–07, T 2157:
834b24–26) have:
“South Sea merchants returning ten thousand li [to their country] gathered to entirely share [the merit] with ancestors and offer presents to an assembly of foreign monks.
They [the merchants] went and came back each year without stopping.
He had been very fortunate and accumulated wealth in the form of money and gems.
However it was not out of personal interest, but for the purpose of building and for establishing the Dharma.”

96

IntroductIon

Right Contemplation Monastery (正觀寺) along the Yè River, where he went to live.
It had a two-story pavilion of which the entrance to the hall was completely decorated.
In the winter of the second year of Zhōng Xīng Era (中興, 502 CE) he passed away in his residence.

At the beginning of the Liáng Dynasty120 there was Saṅghapāla;
he was also a foreign scholar monk.
His bearing was noble and he was handsome of feature.
He was a skilful debater.
Coming to the capital, he stayed at the Right Contemplation Monastery.
The Emperor121 greatly respected him.
He was appointed

[by the emperor] to the Right Contemplation Monastery, Long-life and Light Temple (壽光殿) and the Divine Cloud Resthouse (占雲館), where he translated the * Mahā-aśoka-rāja-sūtra, * Vimokṣa-mārga-śāstra (= Vimuttimagga) and others all together ten works of thirty-three fascicles.
122 [The emperor] ordered the śramaṇas Băo-chàng, Yuān-yùn, and others to write down [the translations].

In the “History of the Triple Gem in Successive Dynasties”, 歷代三寶紀,123

dating from 594 CE, Saṅghapāla’s biography comes after that of Mandra (T 2034:
098b05–c13;
repeated in the “Tang Dynasty Catalogue of the Canon”, 大唐內典錄, T 2149:
265c12–266a14). It quotes from the lost Băo-chàng Catalogue (寶唱錄, quoted in passages in parenthesis in the Taishō and in italics below) which was composed in 518–19, shortly after the Vimuttimagga had been translated.
This biography says that Mandra translated eleven works together with Saṅghapāla, but in the “Further Biographies of Eminent Monks”, translated below,124 it is said that Mandra only translated three works (i.e., 寶雲經, Ratnamegha-sūtra;
法界體性無分別經, * Dharmadhātu-kāyasvabhāva-avikalpa-sūtra;
文殊師利說般若波羅蜜經, Mañjuśrī-nirdeśa-prajnāpāramitā-sūtra) and did so together with Saṅghapāla.
Mandra is only mentioned in the subtitles of two Taishō works, which correspond to two of the three.
Only the first work translated by Mandra is extant, while the other two are lost.
The biography is hard to follow and appears to be a disorderly compilation of passages from other biographies and catalogues.
The three sūtra s that are elsewhere attributed to 120 The Liáng (梁) Dynasty, also called Southern Liáng Dynasty, was a short-lived dynasty that lasted from 502 to 557 CE in Southern China during the period of disunity that is called the Northern and Southern Dynasties period.
The capital of the Liáng state was Jiànkāng, 建康.

121 Emperor Wu (梁武帝, 464–549) was the founder of the Liáng Dynasty.
He was known for his devotion to Buddhism and his banning of animal sacrifice, etc. 122 On the texts, see Intro.
fn. 128. The text as in the footnote in the Taishō edition has been followed here.
At T 2060:
426a17 the biography has 勅沙門寶唱 while here it has 使沙門

釋寶唱.

123 By Fèi Chāng Fāng.
DDB:
“A history of the development of the Buddhist canon from the Latter Han to the Sui dynasties.
Contains scriptural catalogues and classifications, biographies of 197 translators and a history of the transmission of Buddhism.”
According to Mizuno (1982:
104–106), it is not reliable because the main purpose of its author was to protect Buddhism against Taoism rather than being historically accurate.

124 So at T 2151:
364b18–20 (see Intro.
fn. 128) and also at T 2034:
095a06 & T 2034:
044a18.

IntroductIon

97

Mandra are listed first, but are not directly attributed to him or clearly linked to what follows about him:

The Ratnamegha-sūtra, *Dharmadhātu-kāyasvabhāva-avikalpa-sūtra, and

* Mañjuśrī-nirdeśa-prajnāpāramitā-sūtra:
three sūtra s amounting to 11

fascicles.
In the first year of the Tiān Jiān Era (天監, 502–519 CE) the Funan Country Śramaṇa Mandra — [meaning] “feeble sound” (弱聲, mandra)” in]

the language of Liáng — came to present a great gift of Buddhist Sanskrit Sūtras as a tribute [to the emperor].
Although his translations convey the substance, since he was not yet skilled in the Liáng language, he produced sūtra texts (文, also “words”) of quite an obscure nature.
Together with Saṅghapāla in the City of Yāng, he translated the Aśoka-rāja-sūtra, in 10

fascicles.
(In the eleventh year of the Tiān Jiān Era [512 CE] it was translated in the Long Life and Light Temple in the City of Willows (Yangdu, 楊都, modern Nanjing).
On the first translation day, the Emperor himself wrote down [the translation].
Afterwards he [i.e., the emperor] entrusted it to Huī-

chāo, the Head of the Saṅgha (僧正), to continue the translation and properly finish it.
(See the Băo-chàng Catalogue.
)125 * Mayūra-rāja-dhāraṇī-sūtra, in two fascicles (…),126 * Mañjuśrī-paripṛcchā-sūtra in two fascicles.
(In the seventeenth year [518 CE] …);
* Sarva-buddha-viṣayāvatāra-jñānalokālaṃkāra-sūtra, in 1 fascicle.
(…), * Bodhisattva-piṭaka-sūtra, in one fascicle.
(…);
* Mañjuśrī-nirdeśa-prajnāpāramitā-sūtra, … (…);
Śāriputra-dhāraṇī-sūtra, in one fascicle.
(…);
Aṣṭa-maṅgala-sūtra, in one fascicle.

(…);
Dasa-dharma-sūtra, in one fascicle.
(…);
Vimukti-mārga-śāstra in thirteen fascicles.
(It was translated in the [Divine Cloud] Resthouse in the fourteenth year of the Tiān Jiān Era [515 CE].
)127 The * Aśokarāja-avadāna, is in five fascicles.
(It was translated in the second year of Tiān Jiān [503 CE].
There are few differences with the 魏世 [a Catalogue?

(cf. 魏世錄)].
) All together eleven works [amounting to] thirty-eight fascicles.
128 The Funan Śramaṇa Saṅghapāla of the Right Contemplation 125 This passage is in parenthesis and in a different font in the Taishō edition.
It is said to be a quotation from the now lost Băo-chàng Catalogue, 寶唱錄.
See DDB s.
v. 寶唱:

“[Baochang] is also recorded as having corrected the scriptural catalogue of Sengshao 僧紹, which is known by the nickname of the ‘Baochang catalogue,’ 寶唱錄, which won him the favour of the emperor” and s.
v. 僧紹 “… in 518–519 the emperor commanded Baochang 寶唱 to compile another catalogue.”

126 As above, there are details about the texts in parenthesis.

127 Again in parenthesis and in a different font in the Taishō edition and apparently also a quotation from the Băo-chàng Catalogue;
see Intro.
fn. 125.

128 T 2034:
098b09–23;
a less detailed list is at T 2151:
364b26–c03. Except for the last one, these texts are all in the Taishō and, according to the subtitles, were translated by Tripiṭaka Saṅghapāla, 三藏僧伽婆羅, or Tripiṭaka Ācariya Saṅghapāla, 三藏法師僧伽婆羅.

They are:
1. 阿育王經, * Aśokarāja-sūtra, T 2043;
2. 孔雀王呪經 = * Māyura-rāja-dhāraṇī-

sūtra, T 984;
3. 文殊師利問經 = * Mañjuśrī-paripṛcchā-sūtra, T 468;
4. 度一切諸佛境

界智嚴經, * Sarva-buddha-viṣayāvatāra-jñānalokālaṃkāra-sūtra, T 358 (translated by

“Tripiṭaka Saṅghapāla and others”, 三藏僧伽婆羅等);
5. 菩薩藏經, * Bodhisattva-piṭakasūtra, T 1491;
6. 文殊師利所說般若波羅蜜經 = * Mañjuśrī-nirdeśa-prajnāpāramitā-sūtra (cf.
* Saptaśatikāprajñāpāramitāsūtra);
7. 舍利弗陀羅尼經, * Śāriputra-dhāraṇī-sūtra

98

IntroductIon

Monastery:
[his name means in the] language of Liáng “Saṃgha nourisher”

and also “Saṃgha armour”.
Even as a child, he was exceptionally intelligent and went forth at the age of fifteen.
He inclined to the study of the Abhidharma.
After the full admission [as a bhikṣu], he extensively learnt129

the Vinaya-piṭaka.
Hearing of the country of Qí,130 and [wishing to] spread the Dhamma [there], he took a ship to its capital.
Staying in the Right Contemplation Monastery, he became a disciple of the Indian Śramaṇa Guṇabhadra.
131

(cf.
* Anantamukhanirhāra-dhāraṇī-sūtra, 出生無邊門陀羅尼經), T 1016;
8. 八吉祥經 =

* Aṣṭa-maṅgala-sūtra or * Maṇgalāṣṭaka-sūtra, T 430;
9. 佛說大乘十法經 = * Buddhadesita-mahāyāna-dasadharma-sūtra, T 314;
10. 解脫道論, * Vimuktimārga-śāstra (= Vimuttimagga), T 1648;
and 11. 阿育王傳, * Aśokarājāvadāna.
(This work is lost, the 阿育王傳 at T 2042

is the earlier 4th century translation by An Faqin, 安法欽.
Cf. T 2146:
146a14 which attributes the 阿育王傳 to Saṅghapāla.
)

Three texts are said to be translated by Mandra and Saṅghapāla (at T 2060:
426a24 and T 2151:
364b18–20), i.e., the 寶雲經, * Ratnamegha-sūtra, 法界體性無分別經,

* Dharmadhātu-kāyasvabhāva-avikalpa-sūtra, and 文殊師利說般若波羅蜜經, * Mañjuśrī-

nirdeśa-prajnāpāramitā-sūtra.
The first of these is the 大乘寶雲經 = * Mahāyāna-ratnamegha-sūtra, T 0659. The subtitle of this text says that it was translated by “Tripiṭaka Mandra Ṛsi, Saṅghapāla and others” (三藏曼陀羅仙共僧伽婆羅等).
(At T 0658:
209a03

this sutta — called Buddhadesita-ratnamegha-sūtra in two editions in the footnote — is attributed to Tripiṭaka Mandra Ṛsi, 三藏曼陀羅仙譯, but in the next footnote to T 0658:
209a05 two editions add “and Saṅghapāla” 共僧伽婆羅).
The second work is lost.

According to bibliographies at T2154:
513b04 and T 2157:
810a20, it was extracted from the Ratnakūta ( -sūtra) (法界體性無分別經二卷 與寶積法界體性會同本初出見法上錄), where indeed it is mentioned at T 0310:
150b17 & b20. The third translation is also lost.

In one biography it is said to be a work of one fascicle that was translated by Mandra;
see T 2146:
116b10.

Another work attributed to Saṅghapāla in the subtitle of the work but not anywhere else is the 二十八夜叉大軍王名號, “The names of the commanders of the twenty-eight armies of yakkhas” (?
), X 183;
see X 183:
839c06. * Aṣṭāviṃśati-yakṣasenānaṃ mahāsenāpatīnaṃ-

nāmā?
, X 183. A dhāraṇī or protection told by the Buddha to Ānanda.
It lists the names of the chief commanders of the twenty-eight armies of yakkhas who protect the country in the ten directions.
Cf. the Āṭānāṭiyasutta of the Dīgha Nikāya, esp.
D III 193 & 204.

129 習 means to learn by rote.

130 齊國.
The Southern Chinese Qí dynasty lasted from 479 to 502. This suggests that Saṅghapāla arrived in China before the fall of the Qí dynasty in 502. Thereafter the country was called Liáng, 梁, the name of the new ruling dynasty.
Since Saṅghapāla is said to have been a pupil of Guṇavṛddhi, see next footnote, it seems likely that he was with his teacher for at least a few years.

131 求那跋陀羅 = Gu-na-ba-da-ra.
Guṇabhadra (394–468) was was a Brahmin from central India who became a follower of the Mahāyāna.
He travelled from Sri Lanka to China by ship in 435 CE and translated texts such as the Saṃyukta Āgama and Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra, also with the help of Băo-chàng, etc. See T 2059:
344a0–345a23.

It is impossible that Guṇabhadra and Saṅghapāla could have met each other because Guṇabhadra died in 468, well before Saṅghapāla (who was born in 460) arrived in “China”;
see Bagchi 1927:
416 n.
1 & Heirman 2004:
375. Most probably, Guṇavṛddhi was Saṅghapāla’s teacher since he arrived in China around 479 and built the Right Contemplation monastery where Saṅghapāla first stayed.
Guṇavṛddhi, who died in 502,

IntroductIon

99

He also thoroughly learnt the Vaipulya132 from Bhadra.
[Endowed with]

wide learning and great penetration,133 he was conversant with the languages and scripts of several countries.
134 At the fall of the [Southern] Qi dynasty, when Buddhism was in decline, Pāla, pure of body and of mind, withdrew from the outside world.
In the seclusion of his room, he stayed and worked, taking simple fare.

[Then] the Great Emperor of Liáng called on him for his skills.
In the 5th year of the Tiān Jiān Era (天監, 506 CE), he was appointed135 to three places in the City of Willows — the Long-life and Light Temple, the Right Contemplation Monastery, and the Divine Cloud Resthouse — to translate sūtra s for the Emperor (上), i.e., his own [ sūtra s] and also those which Mandra from the Funan Country came to present as a gift to the Emperor.

[… after finishing … translation.
]136 The Emperor ordered the śramaṇas Băo-chàng, Huì-chāo, Sēng-zhì, Fă-yūn and Yuān-yùn137 to write down

[the translations].
The emperor treated him very cordially and respectfully and installed him as the [royal] family chaplain.
He was in charge of

[monastery?
] funds. He provided to monks and laymen and corrected the customs of the people.
Pāla did not hoard personal wealth.
With the offerings that were made to him [personally] he built monasteries.

[Once] the King of Línchuān,138 [the city of] the chief army commander, asked him a question:
“Dharma teacher, [why] should one eat vegetables

[and] fish?”
139 [Saṅghapāla] answered:
“When one is ill and eats vegetables, then one recovers.”
Furthermore, he asked:
“What about [the food] today?”

was a master of Mahāyāna.
In the earlier Gāo-sēng-zhuān or “Biographies of Eminent Monks” there is no mention of Guṇabhadra being Saṅghapāla’s teacher, and, significantly, Saṅghapāla’s biography is appended to the one of Guṇavṛddhi, not to the one of Guṇabhadra;
see Heirman 2004:
375

132 Vaipulya here likely refers to the great Mahāyāna sūtras such as the Aṣṭasāhasrikā-

prajñāpāramitā.

133 博涉多通.
This passage is cryptic.
T 2060:
426a08, see next biography, has 未盈炎燠

博涉多通.

134 Vaipulya 乃解數國書語, perhaps “he was skilled in the country’s (i.e., China’s) language and script.”

135 被勅徵召.
The character 勅 means an imperial order or appointment;
徵召 means an official appointment.
It probably means that he was appointed/assigned as abbot.

136 陀終沒後羅專事翻譯.
This sentence is incomprehensible.
Perhaps it is related to the parallel below:
“after that he handed it over to the translator to finish the manuscript”, T 2060:
426a16–17, 然後乃付譯人盡其經本.

137 Băo-chàng (= Ratna-ghosa, 寶唱,?
–516), Huī-chāo (= Buddhi-vikrama, 慧超, 475–526) Sēng-zhī (= Saṃgha-jñāna, 僧智) Fă-yūn (= Dharma-megha, 法雲, 467–529) and Yuān-yùn (= ?
-megha, 袁曇).
See the entries on 寶唱, 慧超, and 法雲 in DDB.

138 太尉臨川王.
The city 臨川 was located in modern Linchuan district in Jiangxi province.

太尉 means army commander or general.
王 can mean governor, ruler, prince, king, emperor.
Zürcher (2007:
200) mentions a “King of Linchuan 臨川, Sima Bao 司馬寶

(reigned ca.
373–420).”

139 菜食為當鮭食.
Variant reading:
為當菜食鮭食.

100

IntroductIon

[Saṅghapāla] answered:
“When is the body, which is made of the four elements, not ill?”
The king was very pleased and then arranged the food

[for Saṅghapāla].

The longest biography is in the 續高僧傳 or Xù-gāo-sēng-zhuān-xù, the

“Further Biographies of Eminent Monks” (T 2060:
426a03–26) by Dào Xuān (道宣, 596–667 CE), composed in the mid-7th century.

Saṅghapāla (僧伽婆羅, Sang-ga-pa-la):
[which means in] language of Liáng

“Saṃgha nourisher/protector,” also it is said “Saṃgha armour”.
He was man of the Fūnān country.
140 Even as a child, he was exceptionally intelligent and from an early [age], he was close to the Dhamma and Vinaya.
[After] training for a year [as a layman], he went forth [as a monk].
He inclined to the study-work (業) of the Abhidharma expositions ( nirdeśa, śāstra).
His reputation spread and he was famous in [the lands of] the Southern Sea.
After the full admission [as a bhikṣu], he extensively learnt the Vinaya-piṭaka.

Being courageous and wishing to guide and teach, he considered the area

[where he could do so].
Hearing of the country of Qí, and [wishing to]

spread the Dhamma [there], he took a ship to its capital.
Staying in the Right Contemplation Monastery, he became a disciple of the Indian Śramaṇa Guṇabhadra.
He thoroughly learnt the Vaipulya from Bhadra.
[Endowed with]

depth, brightness, wide learning, and great penetration, he was conversant with the languages and scripts of several countries.

At the fall of the [Southern] Qi dynasty, when Buddhism declined, Pāla, pure of body and of mind, withdrew from the outside world.
In the seclusion 140 Funan (Fūnān, 扶南) was the Chinese name for an maritime kingdom at the Mekong Delta area in modern Cambodia and Southwest Vietnam.
Maritime traders who went from India and Sri Lanka to China and vice versa with spices, silk, etc. , stopped over at its seaport, often waiting for several months for the monsoon winds to shift to continue their journey east or west.
The Funan port was probably located at the present town of Óc-eo in Vietnam.

At the height of its power in the third century CE, the Funan kingdom controlled most of the ports of Southeast Asia, including the Malay Peninsula.
There was considerable Indian cultural influence in Funan.
(See Tarling 1999:
192–196. Ooi 2004:
529–30. Coedès 1968:
57–58. Vickery 2003:
101–143, Gunawardana 1987.)

According to the Book of Liáng (梁書, Liáng Shū), in 484 CE (永明二年) King (Kuaṇḍinya) Jayavarman (闍邪跋摩, 478-514) sent the Indian Buddhist monk Nāgasena (那伽仙) and officials (or subjects, i.e., traders, 臣) with gifts to pay tribute to the Emperor of (Southern) China and to request from him military help against the rebellious king of Champā, who had earlier robbed goods from his officials (臣) and had robbed Nāgasena too of the wealth he had amassed in China.
This happened after their ship going from China to Funan drifted off course and landed in Champā (ZS01n0001:
248a13–49a13). No gifts of manuscripts are mentioned.
In the second year of the Liáng dynasty (503) the same King Kuaṇḍinya Jayavarman (憍陳如闍邪跋摩) sent envoys with a tribute to Emperor Wu of Liang consisting of Buddha images made of coral and other local products too (ZS01

n0001:
402a27–28). (See Pelliot 1903:
248–303.)

Perhaps Mandra (who came at the “beginning of the Liáng Dynasty”, i.e., in or shortly after 502) was sent with this mission in 503 to please the emperor with manuscripts, like Nāgasena had been sent to try to please the emperor 19 years before.

IntroductIon

101

of his room, he stayed and worked, taking simple fare.
[Then] the Great Emperor of Liáng called on him for his skills.
In the 5th year of Tiān Jiān Era (506 CE), by imperial decree he was appointed to five places in the City of Willows:
the Long-life and Light Temple, the Blossom Park (華林園), the Right Contemplation Monastery, the Divine Cloud Resthouse, and the Funan Resthouse (扶南館).
He finished the translations in seventeen years.

All together eleven works [amounting to] forty-eight fascicles, that is, the

* Mahā-aśoka-rāja-sūtra, the * Vimokṣa-mārga-śāstra, etc. On the first day of the translation work at the Long-life and Light Temple,141 the Emperor Wu (武帝) bowed [to him] at the Dhamma seat and wrote down his (i.e., Saṅghapāla’s) words [himself].
After that, he handed it over to the translator to finish his manuscript.
142 [The emperor] ordered the śramaṇas Băo-chàng, Huì-chāo, Sēng-zhì, Fă-yūn and Yuān-yùn to compare and clear up (相對

疏出) [the translations, which] are of fine quality, orderly, and do not let down the tradition of translation.
143 The emperor treated him very cordially and respectfully and installed him as the [royal] family chaplain.
He was in charge of funds.
He provided to monks and laymen and corrected the customs of the people.
Pāla did not hoard personal wealth.
With the offerings that were made to him, he built monasteries.
The king of Línchuān, [the city]

of the chief commander, received him with much pomp.

In the fifth year of the Pù Tōng Era (普通 = 524 CE), due to a sudden disease, [he died] at the Right Contemplation Monastery.
He was sixty-five years old.

At the beginning of the Liáng dynasty144 there was also the Fūnān Śramaṇa Mandra (Màn-tuó-la, 曼陀羅), [which means in] the language of Liáng

“great (and) feeble” (弘弱).
145 With a great gift146 of Buddhist Sanskrit 141 According to Hureau (2010:
753–54), Saṅghapāla worked at an official translation centre in the Hualin Park, i.e., the Blossom Park, where the imperial library was already located, and refers to this passage.
However, here it is said that Saṅghapāla translated at the Long-life and Light Temple, not the Blossom Park.

142 然後乃付譯人盡其經本.
It is not clear whether the emperor handed it over to Saṅghapāla or to someone else.
In the other biographies of Saṅghapāla it is said that Băo-chàng, etc. , were ordered to write down what was said by Saṅghapāla.
The characters 譯人 mean

“translator” or “oral interpreter”.

143 華質有序不墜譯宗.

144 The 古今譯經圖紀 or “Illustrated Record of Translated Scriptures Past and Present”, composed in 664–665 CE, says that he came in the second year of the Liáng dynasty (T 2151:
364b14).

145 弘弱.
If this is the correct reading, his name would correspond to Sanskrit mandāra —

which can mean “large/vast” and “weak/slow” ( manda) — rather than as mandra.
However, at T2034:
098b06, see below, his name is “feeble sound”, 弱聲, corresponding to Skt mandra, which makes better sense.

146 大齎.
Used with sūtra manuscripts presented to kings.
Cf. T 2149:
243a14, (= sūtra s brought by 沙門曇摩羅察 from India), etc. And also with jewellery presented to a king.

T 0200:
253a27:
“… householder tributes and presents a great gift of jewellery to the

102

IntroductIon

Sūtras he came from afar to present [them] as a tribute [to the emperor, who]

ordered him, together with Saṅghapāla, to translate the * Ratnamegha-sūtra,

*Dharmadhātu-kāyasvabhāva-sūtra, and the * Mañjuśrī-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra.
147

His translations amount to three works [which amount to] eleven fascicles.

Although his translations convey the substance, since he was not yet skilled in the Liáng language he produced sūtra texts148 of quite an obscure nature.

Among the things that can be gathered from these accounts is that Saṅghapāla was very learned, especially in the Abhidhamma and Vinaya, that he was skilled in languages, and that the emperor greatly respected him since he appointed him as the family chaplain, as abbot of monasteries, and as translator.
Since the Vimuttimagga is one of the only two works mentioned by title of Saṅghapāla’s eleven translations along with the * Aśoka-rāja-sūtra, it probably was considered an important work.
Consisting of thirteen fascicles, it is also the largest of the works that he translated.
The other large translations of Saṅghapāla are the

* Aśoka-rāja-sūtra, in ten fascicles, and the * Aśoka-rāja-avadāna in five fascicles.

The rest of his translations are small works consisting of only one or two fascicles.

The works he translated with Mandra (see § 8) are all Mahāyāna works.
Of the works he translated by himself (see § 8), two are biographies of King Aśoka, four are Mahāyāna sūtra s, three are protective chants ( dhāraṇi) and two are other types of texts.
The Vimuttimagga stands out in the list of Saṅghapāla’s translations since none of the other works is related to meditation, vinaya, or abhidhamma and none are Theravāda texts.
The * Aśokarājasūtra and

* Aśokāvadāna, containing the legends of Upagupta, are (Mūla) Sarvāstivāda texts.
149 The biography in the “History of the Triple Gem in Successive Dynasties”

says that he translated the sūtra s for the emperor.
The other biographies also imply that he worked for the emperor.

It is not known to which school Saṅghapāla belonged.
In his biography, it is said that he knew several languages and scripts.
One of the languages was Sanskrit since the Mahāyāna texts and two Aśoka biographies that he translated probably were Sanskrit texts and since he sometimes interpreted Pāli words in the king…” (其一長者大齎珍寶貢奉與王).
Cf. T 0203:
488a22. The king of Funan sent tributes to the Emperor of China, see Intro.
fn. 140, and apparently Mandra brought such a tribute from Funan.
The Buddhist monk Nāgasena was also sent by the Funan king with a tribute to the Emperor of China.
Possibly, after it became known in Funan that the Emperor Wu was a Buddhist and was involved in the translation of Buddhist texts, monks and manuscripts were sent as special tributes to him.

147 This passage is also found at T 2151:
364b18–20 in the 古今譯經圖紀 or “Illustrated Record of Translated Scriptures Past and Present”.
The description of the three texts translated by Saṅghapāla is more detailed:
寶雲經, Ratnamegha-sūtra (7 fascicles), 法界

體性無分別經, * Dharmadhātu-kāyasvabhāva-avikalpa-sūtra (2 fcs.
) and 文殊師利說

般若波羅蜜經, Mañjuśrī-nirdeśa-prajnāpāramitā-sūtra (2 fcs.
).

148 文, also “words” see 為齊文 above.

149 See Strong 1992:
9

IntroductIon

103

Vimuttimagga according to the meaning of similar Sanskrit words (see § 4.2).

Saṅghapāla misunderstood the important vinaya term abhisamācārika “what is related to the basic discipline” or “the minor precepts”.
Since this term is also used in the Vinaya of the Mahāsāṃghikas but, as far as can be ascertained, not in the works of other schools of which the vinayas are extant, the Mahāsāṃghika school can also be ruled out.
This could suggest that he was connected to the (Mūla) Sarvāstivāda school, which used Sanskrit and which had a presence in Southeast Asia.
His translation of two Aśoka biographies of the (Mūla) Sarvāstivāda School might also support this.
Moreover, the biographies of Saṅghapāla say that he was inclined to the study of the Abhidharma, of which the Sarvāstivāda and Sthavira schools were the two major exponents, but which in China was often considered the Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma.
150 Since there is no mention of Saṅghapāla studying the Mahāyāna in Funan, while it is said that he learnt the Vaipulya from Guṇabhadra in China, it is likely that he came from a tradition or monastery where the Mahāyāna was not studied.

10 Saṅghapāla or Saṅghabhara?

There is disagreement as to whether the Chinese name of the translator of the Vimuttimagga is a transcription of Saṅghapāla or Saṅghabhara or another name;
see Skilling 1994:
171–72. However, there is no compelling reason for choosing the transliteration Saṅghabhara instead of Saṅghapāla.

The explanation of the translator’s name in the Southern Chinese biographies and catalogues is “Saṅghapāla ( sang-gha-pa-la, 僧伽婆羅):
[In the] language of Liáng [this means]:
Saṃgha-nourisher/protector (僧養, sēng-yăng, = saṃgha-pāla or - poṣa) and also Saṃgha-armour (鎧, kăi, = varma or pāla).”

According to Nanji (1883, § 1293 & Appendix II § 102) sang-gha-pa-la, 僧伽

婆羅, corresponds to Saṅghapāla.
Bagchi (1927:
415), however, disagrees and argues that Saṅghapāla is not justified by the Chinese translation of the name.

According to him, pa for 婆 in 僧伽婆羅 gives the ancient pronunciation b’ uâ/

bha and he justifies the restitution of - bhara for 婆羅 by the Chinese translation

“Saṃgha-nourisher”.
Bagchi says that the other translation Seng-k’ ai for Saṃgha-varman is simply due to a confusion.
151

150 See Willemen 1998:
xvii.

151 “Son nom est transcrit Seng-kia-p’o-lo que Nanjio restitue en Saṅghapāla, un forme pas du tout justifiée par le traductions chinoises du nom.
P’o donne la prononciation ancienne b’uâ (= bha).
On peut donc restituer le nom en Saṅghabhara ( déjà proposé par S.
Lévi, J.
As., 1915:
25). Cette forme est justifiée par la traduction Seng yang ( donnée par LK) et Tchong-yang ( donnée par TK) qui signifie “communauté-nourrir”, Saṅgha-bhara (de la racine bhṛ).
L’autre traduction Seng-k’ai ( Saṅgha-varman) donnée par des sources tardives est simplement due à une confusion.


104

IntroductIon

Bagchi’s reasoning is problematic.
First, the transliteration - bhara does not correspond to the way the character 婆 is used in transliterations of other Indic proper names in the same catalogues.
Secondly, the Chinese translations are only the Chinese meanings of the Indic proper name, not alternative transliterations.

If, as Bagchi suggests 婆羅 in 僧伽婆羅 stands for - bhara instead of - pāla, why then is - bhadra in Guṇabhadra (求那跋陀, Gu-na-ba-da) and Saṃghabhadra (僧伽跋陀羅, sang-gha-ba-da-ra) transliterated as 跋陀 and 跋陀羅 in the same biographies?
Then the transliteration of - bhara would need to be 跋羅, with 跋

for bha instead of 婆.
Usually the characters 婆羅 correspond to pāla in Chinese Buddhist translations.
152 Less commonly, they can also correspond to bala, bāla.
153

婆羅, however, is not mentioned as a transliteration for bhara in dictionaries;
see DDB s.
v. 婆羅.
Individually, the character 婆 was used to transliterate pa,

ba, va, pha, bha, and similar labial sounds, and the character 羅 can correspond to both the la and ra sounds;
see DDB s.
v. 婆 and 羅.

Bagchi says the Chinese translation “nourishing” (養, yăng) does “not at all”

(“pas du tout”) correspond to pāla.
However, according to Monier Williams’

Sanskrit English Dictionary (MW), the root pāl means “… to watch, guard, protect, … to keep, maintain, …”.
For the noun pāla MW gives “guard, protector, keeper”;
and for pālaka:
“… guarding, protecting, nourishing … a guardian, protector … a foster-father … a maintainer …”.
The Pāli meanings given for pāla in PED are “guard, keeper, guardian, protector”.
The character 養, yăng,

corresponds to “to nourish, cultivate, raise, protect, care for, support” (see DDB

s.
v. 養), and thus corresponds to several of the meanings given for pāla and pālaka in MW.
Moreover, the translation “Saṃgha-armour” — with 鎧, kăi,

for Skt varma,“armour” — which according to Bagchi is due to a confusion, makes sense because armour is used for the sake of protection.
Further, if the primary meaning of 婆羅 was “nourishing”, then a transliteration of - poṣa is expected instead of - bhara, which primarily means “bearing, carrying, supporting”;
see MW and PED.

For these reasons the transliteration sang-gha-pa-la corresponding to Saṅghapāla, as proposed by Nanji in his pioneering study, is to be regarded as the most credible transliteration.

152 See 部吼多波羅, Bu-hu-ta-pa-la, Bhūtapāla, at T 1648:
441b13.

153 See DDB s.
v. 波羅:
“… A transliteration of the Sanskrit bāla … [Charles Muller].”

IntroductIon

105

11

How and why the Chinese translation was made

According to his biographies (see § 9), Saṅghapāla’s translations were made on the orders of the Emperor Wu of Liáng.
154 It is also said that the emperor participated in the translation ceremony, although this presumably happened only at the beginning of the translation of one of the works, probably the one on King Aśoka.
Works on King Aśoka would naturally have been of interest to Emperor Wu and might have been the inspiration for his ban of animal sacrifice, etc. The Vimuttimagga, on the other hand, was a work intended for monastics, not for kings;
see § 1. The main reason for the Chinese translation would have been its wealth of information on topics that were of interest to Chinese monastics and meditators — virtue, the ascetic practices, meditation, psychic powers, and wisdom — and its presentation of these topics in a very systematic way.

Earlier translators such as An Shigao, Kumārajīva and Buddhabhadra had already translated several meditation manuals, called Dhyāna Sūtras or Chan Sūtras;
see § 4.9. The interest of the Chinese in meditation is shown by a meditation manual being the first work that Kumārajīva translated after arriving in China.
However, these manuals are not as systematic and comprehensive as the Vimuttimagga;
see § 4.9. The chapter on the ascetic practices ( dhutaguṇa) could also have been a reason for translating the Vim since it is closely connected to the monastic discipline and no other known work contains such detailed instructions on this topic.
A short Mahāyāna sūtra called 十二頭陀經 or “Sūtra on the Twelve Kinds of Asceticism” (T 793:
720b16–722a07) had already been translated into Chinese by the Indian monk Guṇabhadra (394–468), but this sūtra only briefly describes the benefits of the ascetic practices.
The Dhutaguṇaniddesa chapter was the only one that was completely translated into Tibetan as an independent text, probably because of being of particular interest to Tibetan monks who wished to practice the ascetic practices.

Five Chinese scholar monks — Băo-chàng, Huì-chāo, Sēng-zhì, Fă-yūn, and Yuān-yùn — were appointed by the Emperor to assist Saṅghapāla with his translations.
They wrote down what was spoken by Saṅghapāla (according to the 高僧傳 or Gāo-sēng-zhuān) and/or checked and cleaned the text (according to the 續高僧傳 or Xù-gāo-sēng-zhuān-xù).
Team translations were common in China.
During the process of Chinese translations of Buddhist texts, team members undertook different tasks.
The foreign monk, who usually led the team, recited the text by heart or from an Indic manuscript and then translated it into spoken Chinese, with or without the help of an interpreter.
Then a scribe wrote down the translation, and other team members put it into literary Chinese, then revised and polished it.
In later state-sponsored translations, the various tasks were even more clearly defined, with a team member checking the translations 154 For the involvement in, participation in, and control of translations of Buddhist texts by Chinese emperors and other royalty from time of Kumārajīva onwards, see Hureau 2010:
752–755.

106

IntroductIon

against the Sanskrit, and others checking the accuracy of the Chinese ideograms, verifying the meaning, arranging the sentences, polishing the style, etc. 155

The Chinese biographies of Saṅghapāla mention that he knew several languages and scripts.
Since he had translated some texts from Sanskrit into Chinese and sometimes interpreted words in the Vimuttimagga according to the meaning of similar Sanskrit words (see § 9), he probably knew Sanskrit better than Pāli.

Saṅghapāla’s studies of the Abhidharma in Funan would have benefitted him in his translation of the Vimuttimagga.
His translation of the chapter on asceticism shows that he was familiar with Vinaya terminology (e.
g., different kinds of robes and meals, etc. , that are allowable as expediencies, etc. ), and more so than the Tibetan translators of this chapter, who made a few mistakes that are probably due to lack of knowledge of Vinaya terminology, and did not translate some terms.

This confirms the observation in the Chinese biographies that he had extensively studied the Vinaya Piṭaka.

The biographies of Saṅghapāla say that he made the translation of the Vimuttimagga in 515 CE, about 12 years after he had made the first of his fifteen known translations (the first three of which were made together with Mandra).

He therefore was an experienced translator by this time.
The translation of the Vim was made after other translation teams, especially Tao-an and Kumārajīva’s teams, had greatly improved the accuracy, language, and style of Chinese translations of Buddhist texts.
156 According to Saṅghapāla’s biography as given in the Xù-gāo-sēng-zhuān-xù, Saṅghapāla’s translations “are of fine quality, orderly, and do not let down the tradition of translation”;
see § 10. Indeed, Saṅghapāla was a translator who favoured literal translation into Chinese rather than paraphrasing or selecting the essential meaning of Indic Buddhist texts as Kumārajīva did (see Ch’en 1964:
371). With regard to the literalness of Saṅghapāla’s translation, Bapat (1937:
xlvii-xlviii) observes:
“If we look at the mode of translation accepted by Sanghapāla, we find that very often he tries to be quite literal, and naturally the Chinese translation would give no idea unless one knows the technical words in Pali or Sanskrit for which the renderings stand.
Sometimes we find, as in Tibetan translations of Buddhist Sanskrit works, that even the prefixes are translated by corresponding words in Chinese.”

The Chinese translation of the Vimuttimagga is far superior to the partial Chinese translation of the Samantapāsādikā, the Ichi-shan-jian-lu-piposha, 一切善見

律毘婆沙, made in 488/489 CE, about twenty-six years before the translation 155 See Ch‘en 1964:
367–68;
Mizuno 1982:
99–102;
Zürcher 2007:
xxii–xxiii, 31;
Hureau 2010:
751–52;
and Bingenheimer 2010:
27

156 Early translators often used Taoist terms to translate Buddhist concepts out of a lack of other suitable and easily comprehensible terms.
They had difficulties too with rendering the style of writing and the ways of expressing thought in Indian Buddhist texts;
see Ch’en 1964:
370, 372;
Mizuno 1982:
48–55.

IntroductIon

107

of the Vim.
The partial Samantapāsādikā translation, besides being heavily adapted and abridged, contains many mistakes that were due to unfamiliarity with the Pāli on the part of the translator.
Even the simple Pāli term satta anusayā,

“seven latent tendencies” was mistranslated as “latent tendencies of living beings” due to misinterpreting the Pāli numeral satta, “seven”, as Sanskrit sattva,

“being”;
see Bapat 1970:
xlix, lxi–lxii, and Ñāṇatusita 2014–15. Although there are mistakes in Saṅghapāla’s translation too (see § 4.1), they are much less common than in the Ichi-shan-jian-lu-piposha.

12 Quotations from the Vimuttimagga in other works in the Chinese Tripiṭaka

In various works of the Chinese Tripiṭaka (as contained in the CBETA’s digitized Taishō edition), there are quotations of and references to the Vimuttimagga, 解脫道論.
The following twenty-eight quotations and references are found in nineteen works and will be briefly listed according to the order of the Taishō

texts.
Only the page numbers of the corresponding Vimuttimagga passages are listed.
The translations are tentative.

1. In the 金光明最勝王經疏, a commentary on the Suvarṇaprabhāsottama-sūtra, it is said:
“According to the Exposition of the Path to Freedom (= PtF) there are ten perceptions of foulness:
The perception of the bloated … skeleton”;
T1788:
274b18–20 & 333c02–05. This corresponds to the ten perceptions listed at PtF Ch.7 § 2 and described at Ch.8 63–74.

2. Five references and quotations are found in a commentary on the Four-Part Vinaya of Dharmaguptakas — the 四分律刪繁補闕行事鈔 — composed between

626–630:

i.
“In the Chapter on Virtue of the PtF [virtue] is much praised”;
T 1804:
005a02–03.

ii.
“[According to] the PtF the asceticism ( dhutaguṇa) of limiting food is for eliminating unbridled greed.
Therefore one takes at most twenty-one lumps [of food], etc. , as [described] extensively in the chapter on the twelve kinds of asceticism”;
T 1804:
130b11–13 = PtF Ch.3 § 2 (404c07) & Ch.3 § 8

(405b). (“Twelve kinds of asceticism” should be “thirteen kinds of asceticism.”
) There seems to be another reference to the PtF (解脫論中) in connection to eating only twenty-one lumps of food at T 1805:
392c10.

iii.
A mention that the PtF also has the sitter’s asceticism ( nesajjika);
T 1804:
131a03–04.

iv.
“In the PtF there are thirteen kinds of asceticism:
two [connected to] robes, five [connected to] food, five [connected to] places, the thirteenth, the factor of always sitting, is [connected to] energy”;
T 1804:
131a28. This is from PtF Ch.3

§ 2 (404b27–c03).

108

IntroductIon

v.
“In the PtF [the kinds of asceticism] are [taught] sequentially, in detail, and in their entirety.
When right conduct is completed, concentration and wisdom are established, which is discussed extensively, with sequential teachings, and not stated in an abridged manner”;
T 1804:
131b02–04.

3. Three references and quotations are found in another commentary on the Four-Part Vinaya, the 四分律行事鈔資持記:

i.
“The PtF calls it [the asceticism of the state of] the user-of-any-dwelling”;
T 1805:
393b15.

ii.
Again a quotation from PtF Ch.3 § 2 (404b27–c03):
“Two factors [of asceticism] are connected with robes … One kind is connected with energy, namely, the state of the sitter”;
T 1805:
393c22–25.

iii.
Quotations from PtF PtF Ch.3 § 3 (404c24ff) on the ways by which the kinds of asceticism are broken (e.
g., the rubbish-rag-robe-wearer by accepting food of householders, etc. ) and how they are undertaken (by saying “From today onwards I reject …”);
T 1805:
394a20–29.

4. The 瑜伽論記 or Yú-qié-lùn-jì, a collection of commentaries on the Yogacāra-bhūmi-śāstra, quotes the eleven benefits of the practice of loving-kindness from PtF Ch.8 § 140 (435a16–19) at T 1828:
562c17.

5. The 大乘義章 or Dà-chéng-yì-zhāng “Essay on the Mahāyāna System”, a large encyclopaedia of Buddhist concepts and terminology composed by Huiyuan (523–592), refers three times to the PtF:

i.
“In the PtF faith is included in concentration” (解脫道論之中攝信為

定).
This would be based on Ch 11 § 65 (452b25–26):
“the faculty of faith, the power of faith … are included in internal right concentration” (信根

信力 … 成入內正定);
T 1851:
777c13.

ii.
“In the PtF it is said that the four establishments of mindfulness, the faculty of mindfulness, the power of mindfulness and the enlightenment factor of mindfulness and the judgment of mindfulness (念判) are right mindfulness”;
T 1851:
778b01–03. See PtF Ch.11 § 54 (452b25–26):

“The faculty of mindfulness … are included in internal right mindfulness.”

iii.
“The four mindfulnesses of the nature of the body are wisdom.
Why are they taught as mindfulness?
… The PtF teaches [them] as mindfulness.
…”;
T 1851:
778b10–11. See PtF Ch.8 § 119 (432c16):
“The practice of mindfulness of the nature of the body, that which is mindfulness … is called mindfulness of the body.”

6. The Buddhist encyclopaedia 法苑珠林 or Fǎ-yuàn-zhū-lín (completed in 668) has two quotations from the PtF.
The first — T 2122:
951a04–06 — is a quotation of the passage on losing virtue as being comparable to being beheaded, from PtF Ch.2 § 6 (401a17–20). The second — T 2122:
812c09 —

IntroductIon

109

which is also at T 2123:
121c21 is from PtF Ch.8 § 167 (439c01):
“The PtF

says that when broken up until it becomes dust, the earth element in the body of a person will amount to one hū and two shēng.


7. A passage on the four kinds of knowledge that are produced by means of the divine eye, from Ch.9 § 19 (444b13–20), is quoted in the 法華經疏, a Commentary on Lotus Sūtra, at T 2749:
187b25–c02.

8. A commentary on the Saṃdhinirmocana-sūtra, 解深密經疏 or Jiě-shēn-mì-jīng-shū (7th century) has:
“… Being born, there again is ageing and death,

…” as extensively discussed and analysed in the seventh fascicle of the PtF” at X 69:
245a13–14 could refer to Ch.8 § 110, 114.

9. The 天台三大部補注, the “Three Great Commentaries of the Tiantai School Restored”, has:
“In the PtF there are thirteen kinds of asceticism:
two

[connected to] robes … always sitting, is [connected to] energy” at X 586:
206b22–23 and X 586:
385c05–06. This is also referred to at T 1804:
131a28, see above.
= PtF Ch.3 § 2 (404b27–c03).

10. The 四分律隨機羯磨疏正源記, a commentary on the Four-Part Vinaya, also has the quotation of the passage on losing virtue as being comparable to being beheaded from Ch.2 § 6 (401a17–20) at X 726:
876a13–16.

11. Another commentary on the Four Part Vinaya also refers to this at X 728:
272b23–24, c01–02.

12. Again, another commentary on the Four-Part Vinaya, the 7th century 四分律開宗記, quotes Ch.
§ 3 § 18 (406b24–26) at T 1648:
406b25x–26:

“The PtF, second [fascicle], says, ‘By means of this non-greed, one removes greed in thirteen places.
By means of this non-delusion, one removes ignorance in thirteen places’.”
At X 735:
579c05 it is mentioned that “the PtF calls it [the asceticism of the state of] the user-of-any-dwelling” and at X 735:
580a19:
“Therefore the PtF rightly has thirteen kinds of asceticism.”

13. The 四分律鈔批, a summary or transcript of the Four Part Vinaya, quotes from the chapter on the kinds of asceticism, PtF Ch.3 § 8, 405b05–10:
“The PtF

discusses the ascetic practice of limiting food in the explanation of the thirteen kinds of asceticism in the chapter on the kinds of asceticism in the second fascicle.
… ‘If one eats excessively, one increases physical drowsiness …

From today onwards I reject unbridled greed and undertake the state of the food-limiter’.”
It then continues with the definitions of the undertaking of the rag-robe-wearer and the other kinds of asceticism from PtF Ch.3 § 2:

“The PtF says ‘What is undertaking of the state of the rag-robe-wearer?
It is the rejection of householder’s robes.
… What is undertaking of the state of the sitter?

The rejection of lying down [to sleep]’ ”;
X 736:
1018a14–24.

110

IntroductIon

14. The 四分律鈔簡正, a selection (?
) of the Four Part Vinaya, at X 737:
081a02 has:
“The PtF discusses that in the first chapter on Virtue, [by]

various praises”.
At X 737:
434c16 it refers to the PtF in relation to one of the kinds of asceticism connected with eating food.

15. Another commentary on the Four Part Vinaya, at X 744:
625c08–10, quotes the definition of “flattering”, lapanā, 諂曲, of PtF Ch 2 § 39 (403a26–28).

16. The 淨心誡觀發眞 by Yunkan (允堪, CE 1005–1061) quotes 436c13–14

but changes the question and abbreviates the answer due to a reinterpretation or misinterpretation.
Whereas the PtF (Ch.8 § 146) has “Q.
Why then is it said that beings are its object?
A. Owing to the different kinds of faculties, in worldly parlance it is said ‘beings’ ”, Yunkan gives a different question and deletes “beings” at the end of the answer:
“The PtF said Q.
‘What are beings?’

A.
Owing to the different kinds of faculties, in worldly parlance it is said

[beings]”, X 1096:
544b06–07.

17. The same work, at X 1096:
547b11–17, also quotes the parts of the body as given in the reflection on the nature of the body through assemblage at PtF Ch.8

§ 126 (434a18–23):
“The seventh fascicle of the PtF presents the knowledge of three hundred and sixty bones and joints which the PtF subdivides into three hundred bones and eight hundred joints.
It says ‘one should recollect the nature of the body:
There are nine bones of the head … three hundred bones, eight hundred joints … ninety-nine thousand hairs of the body’ .”

18. The 大藏一覽 or Dà-cáng-yī-lǎn, “Tripiṭaka at a Glance”, at J 21nB109:
544c03–12, quotes the definition of sīla, samādhi, paññā and vimutti from Ch.1

§ 2 (399c21–22). Then, from Ch.2 § 5–6 (400b09–17), it quotes the passage on the stains removed by sīla, samādhi, paññā, that one enters upon the path to freedom by means of these three purities, and the passage on the three kinds of goodness.

Finally, it quotes the passage on the things that are abandoned through sīla,

samādhi, and paññā from Ch.2 § 8 (400b25–26).

There may be more quotations and references.
At T 1804:
131a28 (see passage iv above) there is a reference to 解脫道, “Path to Freedom”, instead of 解脫道論,

“Exposition of the Path to Freedom”, but it is not feasible to check the thousands of occurrences of 解脫道 in the Taishō Tripiṭaka.
There may also be passages copied from the Vimuttimagga without attribution.
The Yí-jiào-jīng-lùn (遺教

經論), a commentary on the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra attributed to Paramārtha (499–569) and composed in 57 or 558–569 CE, contains an explanation of the hindrances of sloth and torpor that is very similar to the one in the translation of the Vimuttimagga and contains binomes and character sequences157 that are 157 T 1648:
416b09–20:
懈怠者謂心懶墮, 睡眠者謂身悶重欲得寤寐, 眠有三種, 一從食生, 二從時節生, 三從心生, 若從心生以思惟斷, 若從飲食及時節生, 是羅漢眠不從心生無所

IntroductIon

111

only found together in these explanations.
Apparently, Paramārtha consulted the Vimuttimagga and then copied the passage in an adapted form into his work.
158

The quotations and references from the Vimuttimagga in various works dating from the 6th century onwards show that it was a work read by Chinese scholars.

Most of the quotations, mainly from the chapter on the kinds of asceticism and a few from the chapter on virtue, are found in commentaries on the Four-Part Vinaya of the Dharmaguptakas, showing that the chapter on the ascetic practices was the most popular one, at least among Chinese monastics who were studying the Vinaya.
Perhaps it is no coincidence that this chapter was the only part of the Vimuttimagga that was independently translated into Tibetan.
Other Chinese works, however, quote from the chapters on concentration and wisdom, indicating that other parts of the text were read too.

13 Headings and subheadings in the Chinese text

In the Chinese text of the Vimuttimagga, there are consistent fascicle and chapter headings, but there are only some section or topic headings, from chapter 8 onwards.
From the section on the second jhāna up to the section on the perceptions of the foul, headings are found at the beginning of various topics.

EKS (PoF p.
99) mistook these headings for introductory passages:
“Here I show how to get the second meditation, jhāna.
I consider the tribulation of the first meditation, jhāna, and the benefit of the second meditation, jhāna” instead of:

“This is the explanation of the second jhāna, and the consideration of the disadvantage of the first jhāna and the benefits of the second jhāna” (418a08:
此明求第二禪思惟初禪過患二禪功德, not found in the Sung Dynasty edition).

There are similar introductions, albeit shorter (e.
g., “recollecting the disadvantages of the base of nothingness”, at 421c26, and “definition of the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception”, 422a10) at the beginning of topics in the explanations of the jhānas (except the first) and the immaterial attainments.

These probably were headings, which were incorporated into the text during the translation of the text or when copying it.
Similar headings are found in the Visuddhimagga;
e.g., dutiyajjhānakathā (Vism IV.
139/p. 155). An absence of headings is not unusual in Chinese translations, for example, the Chinese Saṃyuktāgama has no headings at the beginning of the saṃyuktas.

蓋故, 若眠從食及時節生者, 以精進能斷, … 此二種法, 一事一相, 所謂疲懈共為一.

T 1529:
286b11–18:
懈怠者謂心懶墮故, 睡眠者身悶重故, 此二相順共成一苦故, 五種定

障中共說故, 於中起睡眠有三種, 一從食起, 二從時節起, 三從心起, 若從食及時節起者,

是阿羅漢眠以彼不從心生故無所蓋故是三種睡眠中, 初二種以精進對治, 無有時節故,

無始來未曾斷故.

158 On passages copied from earlier Chinese translations into later ones, see Ñāṇatusita 2014–2015.

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IntroductIon

Topic or section conclusions also appear suddenly in Chapter 8, i.e., after the discussion of the base of boundless consciousness at 421c01. The characters 已竟, correspond to “… niṭṭhitaṃ”:
“… is finished”, as found at the end of sections in Pāli texts (e.
g., after each of the rule sections of the Pātimokkha).

In the Visuddhi-magga the section conclusions also appear later in the work, i.e., in the 13th chapter after the explanation of the divine eye (XIII.
7/p.408).

Chapter conclusions are only found in chapters 8, 9, 10 and 12. Chapter 12 has the complete version — “The twelfth chapter of the Path to Freedom, the Exposition of the Truths, is finished”, 解脫分別諦十二品已竟.
The other three chapter conclusions lack the chapter numbers.
The conclusions of other chapters were probably not translated, or were omitted during transmission, since the Tibetan translation of the third chapter has as conclusion:
“ ‘The Exposition of the Ascetic Qualitiesʼ from the Path to Freedom, the third chapter, is finished”:
rnam par grol ba’ i lam las sbyangs pa’ i yon tan bstan pa zhes bya ba ste kun nas btus pa gsum pa rdzogs so.
The chapter conclusions resemble the ones in the Visuddhimagga, e.g., Vism I.
2.41666666666667
“The first chapter called ‘Exposition of Virtueʼ in the Path to Purification composed for the sake of gladdening good people”:
Iti sādhu-janapāmojjatthāya kate visuddhimagge sīlaniddeso nāma paṭhamo paricchedo.

Some terms that are used in the conclusions are not found in the sections themselves but are found in Pāli texts, e.g., in the conclusions of the sections on the insight knowledges the names of the insight knowledges are given — such as 觀滅智, “knowledge of the contemplation of dissolution”, corresponding to bhaṅgānupassanañāṇa.
Since the insight knowledge scheme is only known from the Theravāda tradition, these conclusions cannot have been added later on by Chinese scribes.

It is difficult to account for the inconsistent occurrence of the headings and conclusions.
Possibly the translator did not wish to include them at first but then later changed his mind.

The voluminous fascicle headings and numbers merely refer to the physical division of the manuscript into the equal-sized small volumes that were printed in China.
The fascicle numbers are sometimes referred to in quotations from the Chinese translation of the Vimuttimagga in later Chinese works;
see § 12.

Since thefascicle division has no connection with the logical division of the text into chapters159 it has not been translated into English.
Each fascicle contains a few chapters or a section of a larger chapter (i.e., Chapter 8 and 12 where the fascicle sections abruptly divide topics) and has the same headings as chapter I:

“The Path to Freedom, Fascicle the First, written by the arahant Upatissa, who was called … Funan”.
Beginning from fascicle six there are also fascicle conclusions such as “The sixth fascicle is finished”.
These too have been left untranslated.

159 See Mizuno 1982:
51 and Bapat 1970:
xiii.

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113

For the sake of readability topic headings have been added within the chapters in this translation.
The original chapter headings as in the Chinese are in regular typeface, while the subsidiary topic headings that were added in this English translation are in italics.

14 Editions and manuscripts of the Chinese text

This translation is based on the Taishō Chinese Tripiṭaka edition as digitally available in the CBETA Chinese Electronic Tripiṭaka Collection of the Chinese Buddhist Electronic Text Association (CBETA), Taipei.
The Taishō

Tripiṭaka edition (1924–1934) is mostly based on the second Korean edition or Tripiṭaka Koreana from the thirteenth century, although other editions have been used to collate it.
In the Taishō edition of the Chinese translation of the Vimuttimagga, four other Tripiṭaka editions are referred to in footnotes, namely, 宮, the Old Sung Edition, CE 1104–1148;
宋, the Sung Edition, CE 1239;
元, the Yuan Edition, CE 1290;
and 明, the Ming Edition, CE 1601.160

Unlike some other Taishō editions of texts such as the Chinese translation of the Samantapāsādikā (T 1462), the Chinese Vimuttimagga translation was unfortunately not compared with any of the Japanese manuscripts older than the Tripiṭaka Koreana.
These Japanese manuscripts were researched and digitized by the International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies (ICPBS).
161

In the Zhenyuan Catalogue (貞元録) numbering system as used by the ICPBS, the Vimuttimagga is listed as no.
1088.162

According to the database on the ICPBS website, there is no Vimuttimagga manuscript in the Shōgozō collection, 聖語蔵 (abbreviated as 聖 in the Taishō

edition) of the Imperial Treasure House (Shōsō-in) at Nara.
However, there are old manuscripts preserved elsewhere in Japan.
There is a complete, undamaged manuscript at the Ishiyama-dera monastery, 石山寺, at Ōtsu, founded in the 8th century.
A near-complete (with only the third fascicle missing), undamaged manuscript is at the Kōshōji monastery, 興聖寺, at Uji, founded in the 13th century.
Damaged and incomplete manuscripts are found in the Kongō-zō

Library, 金剛寺, at Tōji Temple, 東寺, Kyoto;
at the Nanatsu-dera temple, 七寺, in Nayoga;
at the Saihō-ji temple, 西方寺, at Kyoto;
and at Shinguji temple 新宮寺.
163 Unfortunately, since copies of these texts can only be viewed at the Library of the ICPBS in Japan, they have not been consulted.

160 See Huimin 2005.

161 See “Old Buddhist Manuscripts in Japanese Collections” at http:
//koshakyo-database.
icabs.

ac.
jp/index_en.html (accessed on 21.10.2013) and, for more detail, Toshinori Ochiai, 2008.

162 See 日本現存八種一切経対照目録(暫定第二版)“A Concordance of Eight Buddhist Manuscript Canons Extant in Japan” at http:
//www.
icabs.ac.jp/frontia/Hachishu.pdf (accessed on 21.10.2013).

163 See the International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies (ICPBS) Database (http:
//

koshakyo-database.
icabs.ac.jp/index_en.html) which lists old Buddhist manuscripts in Japanese collections.

114

IntroductIon

The ICPBS database indicates that the Chinese translation of the Vimuttimagga is not among the manuscripts that were found by Aurel Stein and others in the

“Cave of Scriptures” at Dunhuang in Western China.

15 Translating the Chinese text

Kheminda remarked that “unintelligibility is not an uncommon feature of this Chinese text” (PoF 160 n.
1), and although the passages that EKS did not translate in The Path of Freedom have been translated in this new translation, Saṅghapāla’s translation can indeed be cryptic and terse sometimes.
There are various reasons for this — many of which apply to all Chinese translations of Indic Buddhist texts.

The first reason is that in Chinese the sentence structure is not so clear due to the general absence of declensions and pronouns, non-distinction between singular and plural, etc. 164 Even more problematic, the meaning of Chinese characters can be unclear.
Chinese translators struggled to find appropriate characters to translate Indic terms expressing concepts that were unknown in China, and in the absence of appropriate characters sometimes had to use one character to translate several Indic terms.
These characters have to be interpreted according to the context.

In the Vimuttimagga, for example, depending on context the character 覺 can correspond to bodhi, “understanding” or “enlightenment”, as well as vitakka,

“thought”;
the character 善 corresponds to kusala “wholesome” and kalyāṇa

“good”;
功德 to guṇa “quality” and ānisaṃsa, “benefit”;
and the binome 煩惱, usually corresponding to kilesa, “affliction”,165 also covers other Pāli terms such as upadhi, “acquisition”, and āmisa, “worldliness”.
捨 can correspond to upekkhā “equanimity” or to jahati “to abandon”, cāga, “giving up”, parivajjati

“avoiding/shunning”, and similar terms.
喜 can correspond to pīti, “rapture”, 164 An example of this is in the recollection of deities section at 429c06. EKS’s translation of 生最妙地成妙處心 is, “They are born in excellent realms and are endowed with excellent minds”, while Bapat renders “By dwelling upon excellent states, one’s mind becomes excellent”.
The new translation is:
“Born in the most excellent planes, they have excellent states of mind”.
Unless the context makes it clear — which it fortunately does here —

there is no way of knowing from the Chinese text whether the unexpressed subject in this sentence is “they” or “one”.

165 The binome 煩惱 consists of 煩 “trouble/affliction” + 惱 “vexation/tribulation”.
The Tibetan word used in Sav for kilesa is nyon mongs pa “affliction”.
The explanation of kilesa in the Pāli commentaries also suggests “affliction” as translation rather than the usual “defilement”, e.g., Paṭis-a I 133:
Kilesenti upatāpenti, vibādhenti vā ti kilesā.
ditto 325:
Kilesoti kilissanaṃ,

ditto 270:
Cittaṃ kilissatī ti vipassanānikantisaṅkhātena lobhakilesena cittaṃ kilissati,

tāpīyati bādhīyatī ti attho.
J-a IV 253:
Tattha saṅkamāno kilesoti … evaṃ dubbhāsitaṃ

saṅkamāno kilissati kilamati.
Nidd-a II 347:
Kilesanīye na kilissatī ti upatapanīyasmiṃ

vatthusmiṃ na upatappati.
Ud-a 208:
… taṃ niddahantā viya vibādhenti, tena vuttaṃ

tayome, bhikkhave, aggī rāgaggi, dosaggi, mohaggīti;
yato te cittaṃ kāyañ-ca kilesentī ti kilesā ti vuccanti.

IntroductIon

115

to somanassa, “joy”, muditā, “appreciative joy” or to pāmojja, “gladness”.
定 can correspond to samādhi, “concentration” as well as samāpatti, “attainment”.
禪定

can also correspond to samāpatti, but also to jhānasamāpatti, “jhāna attainment” or jhāna-samādhi, “jhāna concentration”.
空 can correspond to suññatā,

“emptiness” but also to ākāsa “space”.
The character 相 can correspond to lakkhaṇa “characteristic” or nimitta, “sign”.

There may be corruptions in the text too, due to copyists confusing similar Chinese characters, e.g., the Chinese characters 想 “perception” or saññā and 相 “sign” or nimitta 166 are frequently confused, especially in the sections on mindfulness of breathing ( ānāpānasati) and the ten perceptions of the foul ( asubhasaññā).

Therefore, often only comparison with parallels in the Pāli or in the text itself can ascertain the intended meaning, and in the absence of these sometimes only an informed guess can be made.

Although Saṅghapāla was usually consistent in his translations of important and oft-used terms, for less common terms he sometimes used several translations, for example, arati, “dissatisfaction” is translated in five different ways, i.e., 無樂, 不樂, 不著樂, 無可樂, and 無喜樂.
This variation is because Saṅghapāla employed no systematic and consistent translation scheme.
The wording of identical, repeated sentences and phrases also varies.
For example, at the beginning and ending of sections in which related items are described (e.
g., the four jhānas and the ten totalities) the wording can differ in each section.

This inconsistency is not surprising because of the complicated process of team translation through which Indic texts were translated into Chinese.
In the first part of the team translation process, the foreign monk read out the original text and gave a preliminary translation of it in spoken Chinese, which the Chinese team members would write down, convert into literary Chinese, and polish.
The foreign monks had little or no knowledge of classical, written Chinese, while the Chinese team members had little or no knowledge of Sanskrit and Prakrits.
Teiser writes:

“With neither side commanding a view of the whole, the work of translation involved numerous iterations of dialogue, misunderstanding, and revision”;
see Zürcher 2007:
xxii–xxiii.

Due to lack of familiarity with the Indic texts which were translated, and the absence of dictionaries and commentaries, Chinese translation teams sometimes misunderstood obscure terms and knotty passages.
This sometimes happens too in the translation of the Vimuttimagga;
see § 4.2. A comparison of the lists of items that are found in both the Pāli and Tibetan parallels of 166 On the meanings of the characters 相 and 想 in Chinese Buddhist translations, especially in Kumārajīva’s one, see Zacchetti 2015. Unlike Kumārajīva, Saṅghapāla did not use 相 to translate saññā “perception” in Vim, but instead used 想.

116

IntroductIon

the Vimuttimagga shows that Saṅghapāla sometimes did not translate words, or rephrased sentences, probably because he did not understand them well, or could not find satisfactory translations.
This could account for the problem of the number of actual items in a list occasionally being less than the number given in the introductory sentence.
167 Perhaps this also accounts for passages in the Vimuttimagga sometimes being less detailed and more summary in style than the parallel passages in the Visuddhimagga.
168 However, a comparison of the Chinese translation of Chapter 3 (on asceticism) with the Tibetan translation shows that there are no major omissions in the Chinese translation of this chapter and that the translations are often identical.
Since the Tibetan translations of Chapters 10–12 are somewhat abridged, they cannot show fully how much Saṅghapāla did not translate or what was lost.
However, the near-complete Tibetan translation of the “Skill in Dependent Arising” section — of which only one relatively short passage is skipped (i.e., 451a24–b07 in Ch.11 § 52) — shows that there are no major differences between the Tibetan and Chinese translations.

Sometimes the Tibetan translation sheds light on difficult or corrupt passages in the Chinese text;
for example, at the end of the “Inclusion” section (11 § 58/451

c24) the Chinese has the confusing “twelve truths”, but the Tibetan has “twelve elements”.
Sometimes the Chinese sheds light on corruptions or mistranslations in the Tibetan;
for example, in the passage on the result-cause-link in the “Three Links” section (11 § 50/451a07–08). Likewise, the Chinese translation of the chapter on the ascetic practices can shed light on the Tibetan translation of it;
for example, in the section on the expediencies at Ch.3 § 16, the Tibetan translators made a few mistakes in the lists of the kinds of allowable robes and meals and probably did not translate all of the allowable items.
Passages in both versions can also be problematic;
for example, the explanation of the three kinds of (meal) invitation (at Ch.3 § 5) or the three kinds of meal (Tibetan) in the description of the ascetic practice of eating almsfood.

In the “Miscellaneous Topics” section of the “Ten Perceptions of the Foul”, Saṅghapāla probably abridged a passage.
While the Visuddhimagga (VI.
85) links ten types of person to the ten types of perception of the foul, the Vimuttimagga (8 § 73, 426b13) cuts short at the third type of person, stating:
“The others are also to be understood [in the same way]”.
Since the other seven persons are not listed anywhere in the Vimuttimagga, this is the only obvious occurrence of a passage that was probably not translated by Saṅghapāla.

167 The introduction of the list of benefits of the blue totality says that there are 5 benefits, but only 4 are listed.
The introduction to the list of benefits of the white totality says that there are 8 benefits but only 7 are listed since the 7th was not translated.
The introduction of the list of benefits of buddhānussati says that there are 18 benefits, but only 13 are listed.

168 E.
g., the procedure of “reviewing the path come and gone by”, although mentioned, is not defined in the section on the charnel ground contemplations in Vim Ch.8, unlike the detailed description in Vism VI.
24 & 53.

IntroductIon

117

A number of times the text contains abridged passages that would have been marked with repetition indicators or peyyāla in the original Pāli text.
Saṅghapāla, however, did not always indicate these abridgedments in his translation;
for example, when he quotes the dependent arising sequence at Ch.11 § 55.

This absence can be confusing since what could at first appear to be omissions or corruptions are in fact unmarked abridgments;
for example, the explanations of the first, second and seventh supernormal power at Ch.9 § 4, 5, 10 (441b–c) are in the abridged form as given in the Paṭisambhidāmagga.

One more reason for the occasional opacity of the Chinese text, and likewise the Tibetan translations, is that the Vimuttimagga was difficult to read and understand even in its original language.
Modern Pāli scholars consider the commentarial Pāli of its Mahāvihāra successor, the Visuddhimagga, with its peculiar idioms, style, etc. , to be difficult to understand.
169 The language of Buddhaghosa’s other commentaries, as well as Dhammapāla’s, is also difficult and most of them are still to be translated into English.
Because Buddhaghosa used many materials from the same or similar earlier commentarial works (see Appendix III) from which Upatissa also took materials, the language of these earlier commentaries likely was difficult too.
The Peṭakopadesa and Paṭisambhidāmagga, which are quoted several times in the Vimuttimagga, are also considered difficult texts to translate.
Moreover, the manuscript of the text was hard to read since in Indic manuscripts there is no punctuation and no spacing between words;
see Collins 2009:
500–501.

There is no punctuation in pre-modern Chinese texts, just as there is not in South Asian palm leaf manuscripts.
In the modern Taishō edition of the Vimuttimagga, the “punctuation” or division of clauses added by the Taishō editors is frequently incorrect and can be misleading.
170

Given all these difficulties, it is essential to compare obscure passages and phrases in the Vimuttimagga with parallels and related passages in the Pāli texts or, if there are none, at least to try to understand what the Chinese text could correspond to in the original Pāli.
171 Fortunately, some obscure passages in the 169 Malalasekera 1928:
3.54166666666667
“… Visuddhimagga … an extraordinary book written … in lucid style (though at times long words are used and the language is difficult to understand) …”

Collins (2009:
510):
“Both its exegetical scholasticism and its textual-literary qualities make significant demands on the expertise of its users”.
See also Collins 2009:
502

170 E.
g., 457c06–07:
依義。
諸根。
成平等不動義。
力義。
乘義。
菩提分因義。
道分 should

be 依義諸根成平等。
不動義力義。
乘義菩提分。
因義道分。
At T 1648:
449b02 作

意者於意門轉意。
識者速心 should be 作意者於意門轉。
意識者速心.
On absence of

punctuation in earlier editions and erratic punctuation in the Taishō edition, see Chen & Montoneri 2011:
279–281 and Bodiford 2005.

171 See Bucknell 2010 on the importance of translating Buddhist Chinese texts in light of their Indic original or other parallels.

118

IntroductIon

Vimuttimagga can be compared with parallels or related passages in the closely related Visuddhimagga and other Pāli texts.
It is also helpful to compare them with internal parallels, i.e., identical or similar passages elsewhere in the Chinese text.

Sometimes, incorrect assumptions were made by the former translators of the Vimuttimagga due to misunderstanding the Chinese translation.
Bapat argues that the Vimuttimagga was composed in India due to the contempt shown for caṇḍālas or outcasts, which Kheminda disagrees with (see PoF xxxix).
Bapat (1937:
xlvi–xlvii):
“Upatissa says that if a mendicant sees a caṇḍāla on the way, he should cover his alms bowl and may skip over some houses and go further.

…”. However, the correct interpretation of the Chinese in Ch.3 § 16 shows that a bhikkhu who is going on continuous alms-round can skip a house when

“he sees [that is a house of] caṇḍālas, or when [a legal act of] overturning the bowl ( pattanikkujjana, 覆鉢) [is in effect], (3) or when there is a [house of a] family of trainees, or (4) when he accompanies his preceptor, his teacher, or a visiting bhikkhu [on alms-round]”.
A possible reason for a bhikkhu avoiding a caṇḍāla house could be that caṇḍālas were scavengers and butchers who ate dogs.
Therefore they were likely to offer unallowable meat, i.e., meat that could have been from animals that were killed for the sake of making food for bhikkhus or meat from scavenged dead animals such as horses of which the meat is unallowable for bhikkhus (see Vin I 218f). The Tibetan translation does not mention caṇḍālas at all:
“… if the food of a family is unallowable ( akappiya) to be eaten, or [when a legal act of] overturning the alms-bowl ( lhung bzed kha spub pa) [is in effect], or if the family is agreed upon as trainees, or …”.

Bapat (1964:
xxvii–xxviii) asks whether the omission of the dependences ( nissaya) in the benefits sections of the Chinese version of the ascetic practices could have been due to slackening of the monastic rules in the school to which the Chinese version belonged.
However, the third dependency is actually found in the Chinese at Ch.3 § 11 among the benefits of dwelling at the root of a tree, albeit in a difficult to recognize form.
The omission of the first two dependences as benefits is likely due to Saṅghapāla not understanding the difficult compound nissayānurūpapaṭipattisabbhāva;
see fn. 414

119

The Path to Freedom1

Composed by the arahant Upatissa,

who in Liáng is called the “Great Light”.

Translated into Liáng by Tipiṭaka Saṅghapāla of Funan.
2

1

解脫道論, lit.
“Exposition of the Freedom Path”.
The designation 論, “treatise” = nirdeśa/ niddesa, was added by a Chinese librarian or cataloguer.
See Introduction 1.4.

2

三藏僧伽婆羅譯.
Saṅghapāla translated the book while living in the capital of Liáng, called “City of Willows”, Yangdu, 楊都, now called Nanjing ;
see Introduction § 9.

121

1 - CHAPTER 1 Introduction ( Nidāna)

Homage to the Fortunate One, the Worthy One, the Rightly Enlightened One!
1

[399c]

1 Preface

Virtue and concentration,

Wisdom and unexcelled freedom:

These states were understood

By Gotama, the illustrious one.
2

To those who3 are free from the many [worldly] encumbrances, who have obtained seclusion from [worldly] attachments, who are accomplished in the mind partaking of distinction,4 who fear birth, ageing and death, who desire goodness, who desire freedom,5 who [desire] to reach the happiness of nibbāna, the further shore not yet reached, who [desire] to attain perfection, and who inquire in detail as to the meaning of the Suttas, Abhidhamma and Vinaya, I shall now teach the path to freedom.
Listen well!

1

D I 1:
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammāsambuddhassa.
A homage usually given at the start of Pāli Buddhist texts.

2

D II 123;
A II 2;
A IV 105;
Kv 115:
Sīlaṃ samādhi paññā ca vimutti ca anuttarā / anubuddhā

ime dhammā gotamena yasassinā.

3

若人 probably corresponds to ye “those who” or yo “one who”.
人 can correspond to puggala, manussa, purisa, nara, but in this case, as often in Vim, it simply personalizes a pronoun.
Compare the similar preface at Vism I.
4/p.2:
Sudullabhaṃ labhitvāna,

pabbajjaṃ jinasāsane;
/ Sīlādisaṅgahaṃ khemaṃ, ujuṃ maggaṃ visuddhiyā.
/ Yathābhūtaṃ

ajānantā, suddhikāmāpi ye idha;
/ Visuddhiṃ nādhigacchanti, vāyamantāpi yogino.


Visuddhimaggaṃ bhāsissaṃ, taṃ me sakkacca bhāsato;
/ Visuddhikāmā sabbe pi,

nisāmayatha sādhavo ti.

4

已得離諸成就於勝分.
Statements later in this chapter suggest that the mind partaking of distinction ( visesabhāgiya citta), i.e., the jhāna mind (see Ch.8 § 19/p.415c), is still to be reached by those who Upatissa addresses.
When 成就 is put after the word it qualifies, it usually means “endowed with”, but when placed before, it acts as a causative verb.

Compare 成就初禪, “to effect threshold jhāna” at 411a20 where the Visuddhimagga parallel has upacāravahāni, “bringing about threshold concentration”.

5

樂善樂解脫 or “who desire the wholesome happiness of freedom” or “who desire and are well resolved upon freedom”.

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2

Explanation of the preface

Q.
What is “virtue” [etc.
]?

A.
“Virtue” ( sīla) means restraint ( saṃvara).
6 “Concentration” ( samādhi) means undistractedness ( avikkhepa).
7 “Wisdom” ( paññā) means understanding (知覺, pajānana?
). “Freedom” ( vimutti) means detachment ( visaṃyoga).
8 “Unexcelled”

( anuttara) means without contaminations ( anāsava).
“Understood” ( anubuddha) means attained to knowledge.
“These states” means the four noble states ( ariyadhamma).
9 “Gotama” means [the Buddha’s] family name.
“Illustrious one”

( yasassin) means honoured by the world.
10 Through the supreme qualities of virtue, concentration, wisdom, and freedom, he gained supreme, boundless fame.

Q. What is the meaning of “path to freedom”?

A. With regard to freedom, there are five kinds of freedom:
freedom through suspension ( vikkhambhana-vimutti), freedom through the [opposite] factor ( tadaṅga), freedom through eradication ( samuccheda), freedom through tranquillizing ( paṭippassaddha), and freedom through escaping ( nissaraṇa).

Q. What is “freedom through suspension”?

A. The suspension of the hindrances through the practice of the first jhāna —

this is called “freedom through suspension”.

“Freedom through the [opposite] factor”:
freedom from [wrong] views through the practice of concentration partaking of penetration — this is called “freedom through [opposite] factor”.

6

See Ch.2 § 2–3. Cf. Sv I 63:
Sīlavisuddhiyā saṃvaralakkhaṇaṃ.
Cittavisuddhiyā

avikkhepalakkhaṇaṃ.
Diṭṭhivisuddhiyā dassanalakkhaṇaṃ.

7

The word avikkhepa, “undistractedness”, translated as 不亂 and 不散亂 in Vim, can also be translated as “non-scatteredness”, “non-dissipation”.
See Paṭis I 48:
cittassa ekaggatā

avikkhepo samādhi.
Paṭis-a I 310:
Cittassa ekaggatā avikkhepoti ekaggassa bhāvo ekaggatā,

nānārammaṇe na vikkhipati tena cittan-ti avikkhepo, cittassa ekaggatāsaṅkhāto avikkhepoti attho.
Samādhīti ekārammaṇe samaṃ ādhīyati tena cittan-ti samādhi nāmā ti attho.
Paṭis I 49, etc. :
avikkhepaṭṭhena samādhi.
Peṭ 183:
Yo tattha avikkhepo, ayaṃ samādhi.
Dhs 11:
Yā tasmiṃ samaye cittassa ṭhiti … avikkhepo avisāhaṭamānasatā … idaṃ tasmiṃ samaye samādhindriyaṃ hoti.
As 131:
Uddhaccasaṅkhātassa vikkhepassa paṭipakkhabhāvato na vikkhepoti avikkhepo.
Paṭis-a I 36:
vikkhipati tena cittan-ti vikkhepo, uddhaccassetaṃ nāmaṃ.

Na vikkhepo avikkhepo, uddhaccapaṭipakkhassa samādhissetaṃ nāmaṃ.

8 離縛.
Cf. Th-a II 206:
… sabbehi kilesehi sabbehi bhavehi suṭṭhu vimutto visaṃyutto amhī ti.

9

Cf.
D II 122:
Catunnaṃ … dhammānaṃ ananubodhā appaṭivedhā evamidaṃ

dīghamaddhānaṃ sandhāvitaṃ saṃsaritaṃ mamañceva tumhākañ-ca.
… Ariyassa … sīlassa ananubodhā … Ariyassa … samādhissa ….
Ariyāya … paññāya ….
Ariyāya … vimuttiyā

….
tumhākañ-ca. Peṭ 16:
Ariyassa sīlassa samādhino paññāya vimuttiyā.
Tattha yo imesaṃ

catunnaṃ dhammānaṃ ananubodhā appaṭivedhā, ayaṃ samudayo.

10 世尊, also means bhagavant, “blessed”, but see Mp III 73:
Yasassinoti parivārasampannā.

Nidd II 179:
Gotamassa yasassinoti bhagavā yasappattoti yasassī.

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123

“Freedom through eradication”:
the destruction and getting rid of the fetters through the practice of the supramundane path — this is called “freedom through eradication”.
[400a]

“Freedom through tranquillizing”:
the tranquillity and pleasure at the occasion when one attains the fruit in accordance [with the path] — this is called

“freedom through tranquillizing”.

“Freedom through escaping”:
nibbāna without residue ( anupādisesa) — this is called “freedom through escaping”.
11

This path to freedom is for the attainment of freedom.
This path of practice12

is called “the path to freedom” due to [the practice of] virtue, concentration, and wisdom.

I shall now teach the path to freedom.

3

Purpose of teaching the path to freedom

Q.
What is the purpose of teaching the path to freedom?

A. There is a good man who wishes to gain freedom, but who does not hear the teaching of [the path to] freedom, or does not enter upon13 [the path to] freedom or wrongly enters upon [the path to] freedom.
He is like a blind man who travels 11 Cf. Sv II 246, Spk III 209, Ps IV 168:
… Tattha aṭṭha samāpattiyo sayaṃ vikkhambhitehi nīvaraṇādīhi vimuttattā vikkhambhanavimuttī ti saṅkhyaṃ gacchanti.
Aniccānupassanādikā

sattānupassanā sayaṃ tassa tassa paccanīkaṅgavasena pariccattāhi niccasaññādīhi vimuttattā

tadaṅgavimuttī ti saṅkhyaṃ gacchanti.
Cattāro ariyamaggā sayaṃ samucchinnehi kilesehi vimuttattā samucchedavimuttī ti saṅkhyaṃ gacchanti.
Cattāri sāmaññaphalāni maggānubhāvena kilesānaṃ paṭippassaddhante uppannattā paṭippassaddhivimuttī ti saṅkhyaṃ gacchanti.

Nibbānaṃ sabbakilesehi nissaṭattā apagatattā dūre ṭhitattā nissaraṇavimuttī ti saṅkhyaṃ

gacchati.
Cf. Paṭis I 27:
pañca pahānāni:
vikkhambhanappahānaṃ, tadaṅgappahānaṃ,

samucchedappahānaṃ, paṭippassaddhippahānaṃ, nissaraṇappahānaṃ.
Vikkhambhanappahānañ-

ca nīvaraṇānaṃ paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ bhāvayato;
tadaṅgappahānañ-ca diṭṭhigatānaṃ

nibbedhabhāgiyaṃ samādhiṃ bhāvayato;
samucchedappahānañ-ca lokuttaraṃ khayagāmimaggaṃ bhāvayato;
paṭippassaddhippahānañ-ca phalakkhaṇe;
nissaraṇappahānañ-ca nirodho nibbānaṃ.
See also the 5 kinds of viveka at Ch.8 § 15.

12 具足道, paṭipadāmagga?
Cf. Nidd-a I 107:
Maggakkhāyīti paṭipadāmaggakkhāyī.
Paṭis-a III 584:
… etesaṃ catunnaṃ paṭipadānaṃ maggānaṃ ekena vā, paṭipadāmaggena arahattappattaṃ byākarotī ti … Cf. 道具足:
way, practice, paṭipadā, at T 1648:
402b13.

13 The meanings of 伏 are “to submit, yield, accept, concede, acknowledge, follow, accord with, go along with”.
A corresponding Sanskrit word is samāruḍha, which can mean “one who has mounted or ascended, riding upon (acc.
, loc., or [ upari]), fallen upon, entered on or in (acc.
) ib. (2) one who has agreed upon (acc.
)”;
see MW.
In Pāli texts the verb samāruhati is also used in the context of “entering upon” or “embarking upon” a path, e.g., J-a V 387:
ariyamaggaṃ samāruha.
Th-a II 2:
vipassanāmaggaṃ samārūḷho.
M I 76–77:
… tañ-ca maggaṃ

samārūḷho, yathākāyassa bhedā paraṃ maraṇā sugatiṃ saggaṃ lokaṃ upapajjissatī ti.

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alone to a distant land without a guide.
He is only troubled by much suffering and cannot gain freedom.
Although he wishes to gain freedom, he is without the

[necessary] causes.
Why? Because there are causes for freedom.
As the Buddha said:
“There are beings who have very little dust [in their eyes].
Not hearing the Dhamma, they will fall away.”
14 The Buddha also said “Bhikkhus, there are two causes, two conditions for the arising of right view.
Which two?
The utterance of another [person] and reasoned attention within oneself.”
15 Therefore I teach [the path to] freedom.

14 Cf. D II 37, M I 168, S I 105–6:
Santi sattā apparajakkhajātikā;
assavaṇatā dhammassa parihāyanti.

15 諸比丘有二因二緣能生正見, 云何為二, 一從他聞, 二自正念.
= AN 2.11.9/A I 87, MN 43/M

I 294 (Ee, Be, Ce, Se):
Dve’ me bhikkhave paccayā sammādiṭṭhiyā uppādāya.
Katame dve?

Parato ca ghoso yoniso ca manasikāro.

A similar passage is found at the start of the Peṭakopadesa:
Duve hetū duve paccayā sāvakassa sammādiṭṭhiyā uppādāya:
parato ca ghoso saccānusandhi, ajjhattañ-ca yoniso manasikāro.

Tattha katamo parato ghoso?
Yā parato desanā ovādo anusāsanī saccakathā saccānulomo.

Cattāri saccāni … imesaṃ catunnaṃ saccānaṃ yā desanā sandassanā … pakāsanā:
ayaṃ

vuccati saccānulomo ghosoti.
Tattha katamo ajjhattaṃ yoniso manasikāro?
Ajjhattaṃ yoniso manasikāro nāma yo yathādesite dhamme bahiddhā ārammaṇaṃ anabhinīharitvā yoniso manasikāro, ayaṃ vuccati yoniso manasikāro.
… Parato ghosena yā uppajjati paññā — ayaṃ

vuccati sutamayī paññā.
Yā ajjhattaṃ yoniso manasikārena uppajjati paññā — ayaṃ vuccati cintāmayī paññā ti.
(Peṭ 1). Nett-a 55:
Tattha paratoti na attato, aññato satthuto sāvakato vā ti attho.
Ghosā ti tesaṃ desanāghosato, desanāpaccayā ti attho.
A-a II 157:
Parato ca ghosoti parassa santikā saddhammasavanaṃ.
Cf. Th-a II 198 on Th 470:
Sa ve ghosena vuyhatī ti so paraneyyabuddhiko bālo ghosena paresaṃ vacanena vuyhati niyyati ….
Sn 701:
Buddhoti ghosaṃ yadi parato suṇāsi.

Bapat (1937:
lv) suggests that the text of the Vimuttimagga is more akin to the Peṭaka here because of ajjhatta preceding yonisomanasikāra (自正念), but this cannot be correct since the Vim quotes the Buddha, not the Peṭaka.
The following passages show that ajjhattaṃ

was lost in the MN and AN — perhaps because it was considered superfluous — but was preserved in the Peṭ and Vim, and also in a few Pāli commentaries and subcommentaries.

Likewise the Peṭ, etc. , preserve dve hetū before dve paccayā.

Quotations of the Sutta passage in two ṭīkās (in CS) include ajjhattaṃ:
Sp-ṭ III 16, Ps-ṭ II 139:
… dve’me … paccayā sammādiṭṭhiyā uppādāya parato ca ghoso ajjhattañ-ca yonisomanasikāro ti.
Cf. Mp II 263, It-a II 147:
Tattha bāhiraṃ sappurisūpanissayo saddhammasavanañ-ca, ajjhattikaṃ pana yoniso manasikāro dhammānudhammapaṭipatti ca.
Nett-ṭ 27:
Paramparāyā ti etena ajjhattaṃ yonisomanasikāro viya na paratoghoso āsannakāraṇaṃ

dhammādhigamassa dhammassa paccattaṃ vedanīyattā ti dasseti.

Ud-a, quoting the AN/MN passage, has paccattaṃ instead of ajjhattaṃ, which is also used in the Netti and Nett-a.
Ud-a 107:
Dve’me … hetū dve paccayā sammādiṭṭhiyā uppādāya parato ca ghoso, paccattañ-ca yoniso manasikāro ti.
Nett 8:
Parato ghosā sutamayī paññā.

Paccattasamuṭṭhitā yoniso manasikārā cintāmayī paññā.
Nett-a 55:
Paccattasamuṭṭhitā

ti paccattaṃ tassa tassa attani sambhūtā.
Yonisomanasikārā ti tesaṃ tesaṃ dhammānaṃ

sabhāvapariggaṇhanādinā yathāvuttena upāyena pavattamanasikārā.

The explanation in the commentary to the M I 294 passage specifies that the yonisomanasikāra is “for/of oneself”, i.e., “attention which is a means for/of/towards oneself”:
Ps II 345:
Parato ca ghoso ti sappāyadhammassavanaṃ.
Yoniso ca manasikāro ti attano upāya-manasikāro.
(Ps-ṭ II 270:
upāyamanasikāro ti kusaladhammappavattiyā kāraṇabhūto

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125

To him who has not [yet] entered upon [the path to] freedom, I teach [the path to] freedom to arouse disenchantment in him.
16 To him who has wrongly entered upon [the path to] freedom, I teach [the path to] freedom to make him give up the wrong path, and to make him attain the jhānas and the path to freedom.
He is like a distant traveller with a good guide.

4

Aggregates of virtue, concentration, wisdom

When one enters upon this path to freedom, three aggregates ( khandha) are fulfilled.

Q. What are the three?

A. The aggregate of virtue, the aggregate of concentration, and the aggregate of wisdom.

Q. What is “aggregate of virtue”?

A. Right speech, right action, right livelihood, and the various states included

[in them].
17 Alternatively, the aggregate of virtue is the accumulation of the diverse qualities of virtue.
18

manasikāro.
) In other commentarial explanations of yonisomanasikāra the word upāyamanasikāro is used without specifying it as attano, which implies that the Majjhima commentator had a Majjhima text with ajjhattaṃ.

The reading with ajjhattaṃ is supported by the Ekottarāgama parallel of the AN 2.11.9:
dve hetū dvau pratyayau samyag-dṛṣṭer utpādāya / parataś ca ghoṣa adhyātmaṃ ca yoniśo manasikāraḥ;
EĀ 28.3, C.
B. Tripāṭhī ed.
, as on GRETIL.

AN 2.11.9 has no known Chinese counterpart.
The Madhyama Āgama parallel of MN

43 has “attention within oneself”, 內自思惟, which corresponds to ajjhatta/ paccatta manasikāra.
(MĀ 211 at T 0026:
791a01–03:
二因二緣而生正見, 云何為二, 一者從他聞, 二者

內自思惟, 是謂二因二緣而生正見.
) The same characters and phrasing of the two causes as in Vim is found in Kumārajīva’s translation of the Tattvasiddhi-śāstra/ Satyasiddhi-

śāstra:
T 1646:
247c13–14:
以二因緣正見得生, 一從他聞, 二自正念.
The Vim, Peṭ, Ud-a, EĀ, MĀ (and the quotation at Paṭis–a II 438) all have dve hetū, “two causes”, before dve paccayā, “two conditions”.

16 Perhaps 厭離corresponds to saṃvega “urgency” here (see DDB s.
v. 厭離 & 厭離心), but at 456c18 it corresponds to nibbidā.
Elsewhere in Vim saṃvega = 厭患.

17 M I 301:
Tīhi ca kho, āvuso visākha, khandhehi ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo saṅgahito.
Yā cāvuso visākha, sammāvācā yo ca sammākammanto yo ca sammāājīvo ime dhammā sīlakkhandhe saṅgahitā.
Yo ca sammāvāyāmo yā ca sammāsati yo ca sammā-samādhi ime dhammā

samādhikkhandhe saṅgahitā.
Yā ca sammādiṭṭhi yo ca sammāsaṅkappo, ime dhammā

paññākkhandhe saṅgahitā ti.
Cf. Peṭ 115, Nett 90. Cf. S I 103:
sīlaṃ samādhi paññañ ca /

maggaṃ bodhāya bhāvayaṃ / patto’ smi paramaṃ suddhiṃ.

18 Sīla-guṇa-gaṇa?
Untraced. Cf. A III 15:
Sīlakkhandhaṃ paripūretvā samādhikkhandhaṃ

paripūressatī ti ṭhānametaṃ vijjati.
Samādhikkhandhaṃ paripūretvā paññākkhandhaṃ

paripūressatī ti ṭhānametaṃ vijjatī ti.

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Q.
What is “aggregate of concentration”?

A. Right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration, and the various states included [in them].
Alternatively, it is the accumulation of diverse qualities of concentration.

Q. What is “aggregate of wisdom”?

A. Right view, right intention, and the various states included [in them].

Alternatively, it is the accumulation of the diverse qualities of wisdom.

Thus, these three aggregates are fulfilled.

One who enters upon the path to freedom should train in three trainings ( sikkhā), namely:
the training in the higher virtue ( adhisīla), the training in the higher mind ( adhicitta), and the training in the higher wisdom ( adhipaññā).

Virtue is the training in the higher virtue;
concentration is the training in the higher mind;
wisdom is the training in the higher wisdom.
19

Furthermore,20 there is virtue, which is the training in virtue and there is virtue, which is the training in the higher virtue.
There is concentration, which is the training in mind and there is concentration which is the training in the higher mind.
There is wisdom, which is the training in wisdom and there is wisdom, which is the training in the higher wisdom.
21

Q.
What is “the training in virtue”?

A. It means virtue partaking of distinction ( visesabhāgiya)22 — this is called

“the training in virtue”.
The virtue partaking of penetration ( nibbedhabhāgiya)

— this is called “the training in the higher virtue”.

19 Cf. A I 235:
Tisso imā … sikkhā.
… Adhisīlasikkhā, adhicittasikkhā, adhipaññāsikkhā.
… Idha

… bhikkhu sīlavā hoti … samādāya sikkhati sikkhāpadesu.
Ayaṃ vuccati … adhisīlasikkhā.

… Idha … bhikkhu vivicceva kāmehi … catutthaṃ jhānaṃ upasampajja viharati.
ayaṃ

vuccati … adhicittasikkhā.
… Idha … bhikkhu idaṃ dukkhan-ti yathābhūtaṃ pajānāti …

Ayaṃ vuccati … adhipaññāsikkhā.
Spk I 27:
Adhisīlañ-ca nāma sīle sati hoti, … Sabbam pi vā lokiyasīlaṃ sīlam eva, lokuttaraṃ adhisīlaṃ.
Cittapaññāsu pi eseva ñāyo ti.
Cf. Mp II 345f., Nidd-a 102, Sp I 244. Paṭis I 46:
… Yo tattha saṃvaraṭṭho, ayaṃ adhisīlasikkhā.
Yo tattha avikkhepaṭṭho, ayaṃ adhicittasikkhā.
Yo tattha dassanaṭṭho, ayaṃ adhipaññāsikkhā.

Sp V 993:
Adhisīle ti pātimokkhasīle.
Adhicitte ti lokiyasamādhibhāvanāya.
Adhipaññāyā ti lokuttaramaggabhāvanāya.

20 This frequently occurring introduction introduces a different or additional version of the teaching on the subject discussed.
The corresponding Tibetan term is yang na, “moreover”,

“alternatively”, “or else”, “in another way” corresponding to Pāli puna c’ aparaṃ, aparaṃ, api ca, atha vā.

21 See Spk I 27 in Ch.1 fn. 19

22 有相 = visesabhāgiya.
Elsewhere in Vim visesa = 勝相, 勝, and 相.
Cf. Vism I.
1.04166666666667
hānabhāgiya-ṭhitibhāgiya-visesabhāgiya-nibbedhabhāgiyavasena.
Cf. visesabhāgiya samādhi

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127

Furthermore, the virtue of the worldling ( puthujjana) — this is called “the training in virtue”.
The virtue of the noble ones — this is called “the training in the higher virtue”.
23

Q.
What is “training in mind ( citta)”?

A. It is the concentration of the sensuous [sphere] ( kāmāvacara).

Q. What is “training in the higher mind ( adhicitta)”?

A Concentration of the material [sphere] ( rūpāvacara) and concentration of the immaterial [sphere] ( arūpāvacara) — this is called the “training in the higher mind”.
24

at Ch.1 fn. 25. There are two main explanations of bhāgiya in the commenataries.
One is koṭṭhāsa “share” or “portion” or “consisting of”.
The other is saṃvattanaka “conducive to”

and “beneficial” hita.
Related senses of this are given by sampayutta, sahita, and pakkhika

“associated with”, “agreeing with” or “siding with”.
Dhammapāla gives both meanings:

“Therein, vāsanā is development of merit.
The part, portion of that is “part of vāsanā”

( vāsanābhāga), the benefit of that is “partaking of vāsanā” ( vāsanābhāgiya) (and so for nibbedhabhāgiya).”
Nett-a 110:
Tattha vāsanā puññabhāvanā, tassā bhāgo koṭṭhāso vāsanābhāgo, tassa hitan-ti vāsanābhāgiyaṃ, suttaṃ.
Nibbijjhanaṃ lobhakkhandhādīnaṃ

padālanaṃ nibbedho, tassa bhāgoti sesaṃ purimasadisam-eva.
Cf. Sv III 1055:
Hānabhāgiyoti apāyagāmiparihānāya saṃvattanako.
Visesabhāgiyoti visesagāmivisesāya saṃvattanako.
Nett-a 268:
saṃkilesa-bhāgiyan-ti saṃkilesakoṭṭhāsasahitaṃ.
Paṭis-a I 122:
Nibbedhabhāgiyaṃ samādhin-ti vipassanāsampayuttaṃ samādhiṃ.
Spk III 149:
nibbedhabhāgiyan-ti nibbijjhana-koṭṭhāsiyaṃ.
Vism-mhṭ I 114:
Nibbedhabhāgiyatā ti saccānaṃ nibbijjhanapakkhikatā vipassanāya saṃvattatī ti attho.

There is also an explanation in the Abhidharmakośabhāṣya:
“Penetrating ( vidha) is in the sense of distinguishing ( vibhāga).
Nir-vedhaḥ means the penetration that is the noble path.

For through it [i.e., the path] there is the abandonment of doubt and the distinguishing of the truths:
‘This is suffering;
up to ‘This is the path’.
A division ( bhāga) of that is a part of the path of vision.
They are partaking of penetration ( nirvedha-bhāgīyāni) because they are favorable to it by being its inducer.”
(Adapted from Dhammajoti 2016:
445).

Abhidh-k-bh VI.
19/346|03–06:
Nirvedhabhāgīyāni ko’ rthaḥ?
Vidha-vibhāge, niścito vedho nirvedhaḥ āryamārgas-tena vicikitsā-prahāṇāt satyānāṃ ca vibhajanād idaṃ duḥkham ayaṃ yāvāt mārga iti.
Tasya bhāgo darśanamārgaikadeśaḥ.
Tasya āvāhakatvena hitatvān nirvedhabhāgīyāni.

23 LC:
“A sentence is missing.
The pattern being used here is:
A = sīla, B = adhisīla.

Then AB = sīla, C = adhisīla.
This is clear for citta and adhicitta and in the commentaries:
Spk I 27;
Mp II 345f.;
Sp I 244. So there should be an initial sentence in which sīla =

kāmāvacara-kusalacitta and adhisīla = rūpāvacara and arūpāvacarakusalacitta.


24 Cf. Vibh 325:
Rūpāvacarārūpāvacarasamāpattiṃ samāpajjantassa yā uppajjati paññā …

ayaṃ vuccati adhicitte paññā.
Sv 1003:
Samāpannā aṭṭha samāpattiyo pi adhicittam-eva.

Mp II 345:
Kāmāvacaracittaṃ pana cittaṃ nāma, taṃ upādāya rūpāvacaraṃ adhicittaṃ

nāma, tam-pi upādāya arūpāvacaraṃ adhicittaṃ nāma.
Apica sabbam-pi lokiyacittaṃ

cittam-eva, lokuttaraṃ adhicittaṃ.

128

Chapter 1:
IntroduCtIon ( Nidāna)

Furthermore, the concentration partaking of distinction25 is “the training in mind”.

Concentration partaking of penetration and concentration of the path — this is called “the training in the higher mind”.
26

Q.
What is “training in wisdom”?
[400b]

A.
Mundane knowledge — this is called “training in wisdom”.

Knowledge in conformity with the truths ( saccānulomika-ñāṇa) and knowledge of the path ( magga-ñāṇa) — this is called “the training in higher wisdom”.

The Fortunate One expounded the training in the higher virtue to one with dull faculties, the training in the higher mind to one with average faculties, and the training in the higher wisdom to one with sharp faculties.
27

Q.
What is the meaning of “training”?

A. The training in the training rules, the training in the higher training, and the training in [becoming a] non-trainee ( asekha) — [these] are called “training”.
28

25 Visesabhāgiya-samādhi.
Vism III.
0.916666666666667
… atthi samādhi hānabhāgiyo, atthi ṭhitibhāgiyo,

atthi visesabhāgiyo, atthi nibbedhabhāgiyo.
Tattha paccanīkasamudācāravasena hānabhāgiyatā, … uparivisesādhigamavasena visesabhāgiyatā, … Peṭ 35:
Tassa rāgānugate suññamānassa paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ saṃkilissati, sace puna uttari vāyāmato jhānavodānagate mānase visesabhāgiyaṃ paṭipadaṃ anuyuñjiyati.
… Ps IV 60:
… upacārena me jhānaṃ

visesabhāgiyaṃ bhaveyya, tiṭṭhatu visesabhāgiyatā, nibbedhabhāgiyaṃ naṃ karissāmī ti vipassanaṃ vaḍḍhetvā arahattaṃ sacchikaroti.

26 Cf. Paṭis I 27:
tadaṅgappahānañ-ca diṭṭhigatānaṃ nibbedhabhāgiyaṃ samādhiṃ bhāvayato.

Paṭis-a I 122:
Nibbedhabhāgiyaṃ samādhin-ti vipassanāsampayuttaṃ samādhiṃ.
Ps II 87:
Tattha adhicittamanuyuttenā ti dasakusalakammapathavasena uppannaṃ cittaṃ cittam-eva, vipassanāpādaka-aṭṭhasamāpatticittaṃ tato cittato adhikaṃ cittan-ti adhicittaṃ.
Sv III 1003:
aṭṭha samāpattiyo cittaṃ, vipassanāpādakajjhānaṃ adhicittaṃ.
Mp II 364:
adhicittaṃ

samathavipassanācittam eva.
Nidd-a I 120;
Sp I 244:
Vipassanāpādakaṃ aṭṭhasamāpatticittaṃ pana adhicittan ti vuccati.
Tañ hi adhisīlaṃ viya sīlānaṃ sabbalokiyacittānaṃ

adhikañ ceva uttamañ ca, buddhuppāde yeva ca hoti, na vinā buddhuppādā.
Tato pi ca maggaphalacittam eva adhicittaṃ, taṃ pana idha anadhippetaṃ.

27 Cf. Nett 101:
Tattha bhagavā tikkhindriyassa adhipaññāsikkhāya paññāpayati,

majjhindriyassa bhagavā adhicittasikkhāya paññāpayati, mudindriyassa bhagavā

adhisīlasikkhāya paññāpayati.

28 學可學學增上學學無學名學.
It is not clear exactly what is meant here since no parallel can be found.
可學 elsewhere in Vim corresponds to sikkhāpada, “training rule”.


上學 presumably refers to the training in higher virtue, concentration and wisdom as discussed in the preceding.
Elsewhere in Vim (e.
g., 402a13) 無學 corresponds to asekha,

“non-learner”, i.e., the arahant, who is beyond training.

Cf. Vibh-a III 29:
Sekkhadhamme atikkamma aggaphale ṭhito tato uttari sikkhitabbābhāvato khīṇāsavo asekkho ti vuccati.
Spk III 273:
Satta hi sekhā sikkhitabbabhāvā sekhā nāma,

khīṇāsavā sikkhitabbābhāvā asekhā nāma, tathāgatā asikkhitabbā asekkhā nāma natthi

Chapter 1:
IntroduCtIon ( Nidāna)

129

Thus, the training in these three trainings is the “entering upon the path to freedom”.

5

Three kinds of purity

By means of the three kinds of training one achieves [the three] purities

( visuddhi), namely, purity of virtue, purity of mind ( citta), and purity of view ( diṭṭhi).

Herein, virtue is purity of virtue, concentration is purity of mind, and wisdom is purity of view.

Virtue cleanses away the stain of poor virtue ( dussīlamala)29 [— this is called

“the purity of virtue”.
] Concentration cleanses away the stain of the obsessions ( pariyuṭṭhāna) — this is called “the purity of the mind”.
Wisdom removes the stain of ignorance — this is called “the purity of view”.
30

Furthermore, virtue removes the stain of evil actions, concentration removes the stain of the obsessions, and wisdom removes the stain of the latent tendencies.
31

Thus, by means of the three purities, one enters upon the path to freedom.
32

6

Three kinds of goodness

One also enters upon the path [to freedom] by means of the three kinds of goodness ( kalyāṇa), namely, the initial, the intermediate, and the final goodness.

By means of virtue, there is the initial goodness;
by means of concentration, there is the intermediate goodness;
and by means of wisdom, there is the final goodness.

tesaṃ sikkhitabbakiccan-ti sikkhitabbābhāvā na vuttaṃ.
Pp-a 188:
Maggasamaṅgino maggakkhaṇe, phalasamaṅgino ca phalakkhaṇe, adhisīlasikkhādikā tisso pi sikkhā

sikkhantiyevā ti sekkhā.
Arahatā pana arahattaphalakkhaṇe tisso sikkhā sikkhitā.


29 Paṭis-a I 106:
Sīlavisuddhīti suparisuddhapātimokkhasaṃvarādicatubbidhaṃ sīlaṃ

dussīlyamalavisodhanato.
Paṭis-a I 127:
Sīlavisuddhīti visuddhiṃ pāpetuṃ samatthaṃ

catupārisuddhisīlaṃ.
Tañ-hi dussīlyamalaṃ visodheti.

30 Paṭis-a I 127:
Cittavisuddhī ti vipassanāya padaṭṭhānabhūtā paguṇā aṭṭha samāpattiyo.
Tā hi kāmacchandādicittamalaṃ visodhenti.
Diṭṭhivisuddhīti sappaccayanāmarūpadassanaṃ.
Tañ-hi sattadiṭṭhimalaṃ visodheti.
Cf. Paṭis-a I 106. A I 61:
Samatho … bhāvito kamatthamanubhoti?

Cittaṃ bhāvīyati.
Cittaṃ bhāvitaṃ …?
Yo rāgo so pahīyati.
Vipassanā …?
Paññā bhāvīyati.

Paññā …?
Yā avijjā sā pahīyati.

31 Cf. Vism I.
13/p.5:
Tathā sīlena kilesānaṃ vītikkamapaṭipakkho pakāsito hoti;
samādhinā

pariyuṭṭhānapaṭipakkho;
paññāya anusayapaṭipakkho.

32 M I 150:
Evam-eva kho, āvuso, sīlavisuddhi yāvadeva cittavisuddhatthā, … ñāṇadassanavisuddhi yāvadeva anupādāparinibbānatthā.

130

Chapter 1:
IntroduCtIon ( Nidāna)

Q.
Why is virtue “the initial goodness”?

A. One who is energetic is endowed with non-remorse;
through non-remorse, there is gladness;
through gladness, there is rapture;
through rapture, there is tranquillity of the body;
through tranquillity of the body, there is pleasure;
and through pleasure, the mind becomes concentrated — this is called “the initial goodness”.
33

“Concentration is the intermediate goodness” means:
Through concentration, there is knowledge and vision according to reality ( yathābhūta-ñāṇadassana) —

this is called “the intermediate goodness”.

“Wisdom is the final goodness” means:
Having known and seen according to reality, there is disenchantment;
through disenchantment ( nibbidā) there is dispassion;
through dispassion ( virāga), there is freedom;
and through freedom, there is personal knowledge ( paccatta ñāṇa).
34

Thus, by achieving the three kinds of goodness, [one enters upon] the path

[to freedom].

33 Cf. Vism VII.
69/p.213:
Sakalo pi sāsanadhammo attano atthabhūtena sīlena ādikalyāṇo,

samathavipassanāmaggaphalehi majjhekalyāṇo, nibbānena pariyosānakalyāṇo.
Cf. Th-a I 13:
Sīlena ca tesaṃ paṭipattiyā ādikalyāṇatā dassitā, … sabbapāpassa akaraṇan-ti ca vacanato sīlaṃ paṭipattiyā ādikalyāṇaṃ va avippaṭisārādiguṇāvahattā.

The text has 不退, which usually corresponds to “non-retrogression”, aparihāna.
However, the original would have had avippaṭisāra, as in the Pāli texts (see next footnote).

Saṅghapāla likely interpreted avippaṭisāra as being based on the root √ sṛ and having the same meaning as apratisṛ “not going back”.
Elsewhere in Vim 不悔 corresponds to avippaṭisāra (at 401a05) and perhaps 不退 is a corruption of 不悔.
At 429a23 and 435b17

there is the same mistranslation.

34 Cf. Ps-ṭ II 235:
Paccattaṃ yeva ñāṇan-ti aparappaccayaṃ attani yeva ñāṇaṃ.
Taṃ pana attapaccakkhaṃ hotī ti āha paccakkhañāṇanti.
Cf. A V 312:
Sīlavato … sīlasampannassa na cetanāya karaṇīyaṃ — avippaṭisāro me uppajjatū ti.
Dhammatā esā … yaṃ sīlavato sīlasampannassa avippaṭisāro uppajjati.
… Dhammatā esā … yaṃ viratto vimuttiñāṇadassanaṃ sacchikaroti.
Cf. A V 2:
… Dhammatā esā … yaṃ sīlavato sīlasampannassa avippaṭisāro uppajjati.
… avippaṭisārissa, … pamuditassa … pītimanassa … passaddhakāyassa

… sukhino… samāhitassa … yathābhūtaṃ jānato passato … nibbinnassa … virattassa na cetanāya karaṇīyaṃ, vimuttiñāṇadassanaṃ sacchikaromī ti.
… Paṭis I 46:
… Evarūpāni sīlāni cittassa avippaṭisārāya … pāmojjāya … pītiyā … passaddhiyā … somanassāya … āsevanāya saṃvattanti … … nibbānāya saṃvattanti.
Nett 66:
Passaddhakāyo sukhaṃ vediyati, …

vimuttasmiṃ vimuttam iti [ v.
l. vimuttamhīti] ñāṇaṃ hoti, khīṇā jāti, ….
Cf. Peṭ 110:
… Yāva vimuttitamiti ñāṇadassanaṃ bhavati.

Chapter 1:
IntroduCtIon ( Nidāna)

131

7

Three kinds of pleasure

When one has entered upon the path to freedom, one attains three kinds of pleasure ( sukha):
the pleasure of blamelessness, the pleasure of stillness ( upasama), and the pleasure of enlightenment.
35 By means of virtue, one attains the pleasure of blamelessness;
by means of concentration, one attains the pleasure of stillness;
and by means of wisdom, one attains the pleasure of enlightenment.

Thus, one achieves and attains three kinds of pleasure.

8

Middle way

When one enters upon the path to freedom, one avoids the two extremes and achieves the middle way ( majjhimā paṭipadā).
36 By means of wholesome virtue, one abandons the pursuit of sense-pleasures.
By means of the pleasure of blamelessness, one arouses the pleasure of gladness.
37 By means of concentration one abandons [the pursuit of] exhausting oneself ( attakilamathānuyoga).

By means of the pleasure of stillness one increases rapture and pleasure.

By means of wisdom one comprehends the four noble truths and the middle way.
Moreover, by means of the pleasure of enlightenment one deeply cherishes and enjoys.
38 Thus, avoiding the two extremes, one achieves the middle way.

35 M I 454:
Idaṃ vuccati nekkhammasukhaṃ pavivekasukhaṃ upasamasukhaṃ sambodhisukhaṃ āsevitabbaṃ bhāvetabbaṃ bahulīkātabbaṃ na bhāyitabbaṃ etassa sukhassā

ti vadāmi.

36 Cf. S IV 330, V 421, Vin I 10, M III 230, Paṭis II 146:
Dve’me … antā pabbajitena na sevitabbā:
yo cāyaṃ kāmesu kāmasukhallikānuyogo …, yo cāyaṃ attakilamathānuyogo

… Ete te … ubho ante anupagamma majjhimā paṭipadā tathāgatena abhisambuddhā…

Vism I.
0.458333333333333
Sīlena ca kāmasukhallikānuyogasaṅkhātassa antassa vajjanaṃ pakāsitaṃ hoti,

samādhinā attakilamathānuyogasaṅkhātassa, paññāya majjhimāya paṭipattiyā sevanaṃ

pakāsitaṃ hoti.
Cf. Vibh-a 122:
… vipassanāyānena kāmasukhallikānuyogaṃ, samathayānena attakilamathānuyogan-ti antadvayaṃ parivajjetvā majjhimapaṭipadaṃ paṭipanno …

It-a II 37:
yathā ca te antadvayarahitāya sīlasamādhipaññākkhandhasahagatāya majjhimāya paṭipadāya nibbānaṃ gatā adhigatā.
Vjb 403 Be:
… kilamathaṃ gamupeti mūḷho;
/ Yo majjhimaṃ paṭipadaṃ paramaṃ upeti, / so khippam-eva labhate paramaṃ

vimokkhan-ti.

37 於無過樂情生欣樂.
Cf. Sv I 183:
Anavajjasukhan-ti anavajjaṃ aninditaṃ kusalaṃ sīla-padaṭṭhānehi avippaṭisārapāmojjapītipassaddhidhammehi pariggahitaṃ kāyikacetasikasukhaṃ paṭisaṃvedeti.

38 於正覺樂深懷愛樂.
Cf. Dhp 269, Dhp 205, J-a III 197:
Pavivekarasaṃ pivaṃ, rasaṃ

upasamassa … dhammapītirasaṃ pivaṃ.
Sn-a I 299:
Dhammapītiraso ti ariyadhammato anapetāya nibbānasaṅkhāte dhamme uppannāya pītiyā rasattā tadeva.
It-a I 14:
Tathā

saccādhiṭṭhānasamudāgamena cassa nekkhammasukhappatti, cāgādhiṭṭhānasamudāgamena pavivekasukhappatti, upasamādhiṭṭhānasamudāgamena upasamasukhappatti,

paññādhiṭṭhānasamudāgamena sambodhisukhappatti dīpitā hoti.

132

Chapter 1:
IntroduCtIon ( Nidāna)

When one enters upon the path to freedom, by means of virtue, one abandons the bad destinations ( duggati);
by means of concentration, one abandons the sensuous sphere ( kāmāvacara);
and by means of wisdom, one abandons all existences.
39

When one much practises virtue and little practises concentration and wisdom, one accomplishes stream-entry or once-returning;
when one much practises virtue and concentration and little practises wisdom, one accomplishes non-returning;
and when one fully practises the three kinds [of goodness], one accomplishes arahantship, the unexcelled freedom.
40

39 Sn 1139:
sabbabhavavātivatto;
Ud 33:
upacagā sabbabhāvāni.
Vism I.
12/p.5:
Tathā sīlena apāyasamatikkamanupāyo pakāsito hoti, samādhinā kāmadhātusamatikkamanupāyo,

paññāya sabbabhavasamatikkamanupāyo.
Cf. Ps III 254:
sotāpattimaggo apāyabhavato vuṭṭhāti, sakadāgāmimaggo sugatibhavekadesato, anāgāmimaggo sugatikāmabhavato,

arahattamaggo rūpārūpabhavato vuṭṭhāti.
Sabbabhavehi vuṭṭhāti yevā ti pi vadanti.

40 Cf. A IV 381:
… idh’ ekacco puggalo sīlesu paripūrakārī hoti samādhismiṃ mattasokārī

paññāya mattasokārī.
So tiṇṇaṃ saṃyojanānaṃ parikkhayā sattakkhattuparamo hoti.

… sīlesu paripūrakārī hoti, samādhismiṃ na paripūrakārī paññāya na paripūrakārī.

So tiṇṇaṃ saṃyojanaṃ parikkhayā rāgadosamohānaṃ tanuttā sakadāgāmī hoti.


sīlesu paripūrakārī hoti, samādhismiṃ paripūrakārī paññāya na paripūrakāri hoti.

So pañcannaṃ orambhāgiyānaṃ saṃyojanānaṃ parikkhayā … akaniṭṭhagāmī.
Cf. A I 232f. … sīlesu paripūrakārī hoti samādhismiṃ paripūrakārī paññāya mattaso kārī.
So yāni tāni khuddānukhuddakāni sikkhāpadāni tāni āpajjatipi vuṭṭhātipi.
Taṃ kissa hetu?
Na hi me’ ttha, bhikkhave, abhabbatā vuttā.
Yāni ca kho tāni sikkhāpadāni ādibrahmacariyakāni brahmacariyasāruppāni tattha dhuvasīlo ca hoti ṭhitasīlo ca, samādāya sikkhati sikkhāpadesu.
So pañcannaṃ orambhāgiyānaṃ saṃyojanānaṃ parikkhayā opapātiko hoti tattha parinibbāyī anāvattidhammo tasmā lokā.
… Pp 37:
Katamo ca puggalo sīlesu paripūrakārī, samādhismiṃ mattasokārī, paññāya mattasokārī?
Sotāpanna-sakadāgāmino … Katamo ca puggalo sīlesu ca paripūrakārī, samādhismiñca paripūrakārī,

paññāya mattasokārī?
Anāgāmī ….
paññāya ca paripūrakārī?
Arahā …

133

2 - CHAPTER 2 Exposition of Virtue (Sīla-niddesa)

1 Introduction

[400c] What is “virtue” ( sīla)?
What is its characteristic ( lakkhaṇa)?
What is its essential function ( rasa)?
What is its manifestation ( paccupaṭṭhāna)?
What is its footing ( padaṭṭhāna)?
What are its benefits ( ānisaṃsa)?
What is the meaning ( attha) of virtue?
What is the difference between virtue and observance ( vata)?

How many kinds of virtue are there?
What is the origin [of virtue]?
What are the initial, intermediate, and final stages of virtue?
How many states are obstacles to progress in virtue?
How many are the causes of virtue?
How many kinds of virtue are there?
What gives rise to purification of virtue?
Because of how many causes does one dwell in virtue?

2 Definition of virtue

Q.
What is “virtue”?

A. It is virtue of volition ( cetanā), virtue of restraint ( saṃvara), and virtue of non-transgression ( avītikkama).

Q. What is “virtue of volition”?

A. [The volition]:
“I will do no evil.
The one who does so will experience it himself”.
1

Q. What is “virtue of restraint”?

A. The refraining from occasions of transgression.

Q. What is “virtue of non-transgression”?

A. The virtuous person’s non-transgression by body and speech.
2

1

Cf.
Dhp 66–67, S I 57:
Caranti bālā dummedhā, amitteneva attanā;
/ Karontā pāpakaṃ

kammaṃ, yaṃ hoti kaṭukapphalaṃ.


2

Vism I.
17–18/p.7;
Paṭis-a I 218:
Tattha cetanā sīlaṃ nāma pāṇātipātādīhi vā viramantassa vattapaṭipattiṃ vā pūrentassa cetanā.
… Iti ayaṃ pañcavidho pi saṃvaro, yā ca pāpabhīrukānaṃ kulaputtānaṃ sampattavatthuto virati, sabbametaṃ saṃvarasīlan-ti veditabbaṃ.
Avītikkamo sīlan-ti samādinnasīlassa kāyikavācasiko avītikkamo.

134

Chapter 2:
exposition of Virtue ( Sīla-niddesa)

Furthermore, “restraint” is in the sense of “abandoning” ( pahānaṭṭha) and

“virtue” is “all wholesome states”.
3 As is said in the Abhidhamma,4 “Virtue is the abandoning of sensual desire by renunciation;
5 virtue is the refraining 3

Cf.
Paṭis-a I 226:
Pahīyate anena pāṇātipātādipaṭipakkho, pajahati vā taṃ paṭipakkhanti pahānaṃ.
Kiṃ taṃ?
Sabbe pi kusalā khandhā.
Aññe pana ācariyā nekkhammādīsu pi veramaṇī sīlan-ti vacanamattaṃ gahetvā sabbakusalesu pi niyatayevāpanakabhūtā virati nāma atthī ti vadanti, na tathā idhā ti.

4

The passage at Vism I.
140/p.49 instead starts with “for this is said in the Paṭisambhidā”.

Paṭis I 46f, as abridged in Vism I.
140/p.49:
Vuttañ-hetaṃ paṭisambhidāyaṃ:
pañca sīlāni pāṇātipātassa pahānaṃ sīlaṃ, veramaṇī sīlaṃ, cetanā sīlaṃ, saṃvaro sīlaṃ, avītikkamo sīlaṃ.
Adinnādānassa, kāmesumicchācārassa, musāvādassa, pisuṇāya vācāya, pharusāya vācāya, samphappalāpassa, abhijjhāya, byāpādassa, micchādiṭṭhiyā, nekkhammena kāmacchandassa, abyāpādena byāpādassa, ālokasaññāya thīnamiddhassa, avikkhepena uddhaccassa, dhammavavatthānena vicikicchāya, ñāṇena avijjāya, pāmojjena aratiyā,

paṭhamena jhānena nīvaraṇānaṃ, dutiyena jhānena vitakkavicārānaṃ, tatiyena jhānena pītiyā, catutthena jhānena sukhadukkhānaṃ, ākāsānañcāyatanasamāpattiyā rūpasaññāya paṭighasaññāya nānattasaññāya, viññāṇañcāyatanasamāpattiyā ākāsānañcāyatanasaññāya,

ākiñcaññāyatanasamāpattiyā viññāṇañcāyatanasaññāya, nevasaññānāsaññāyatanasamā

pattiyā ākiñcaññāyatanasaññāya, aniccānupassanāya niccasaññāya, dukkhānupassanāya sukhasaññāya, anattānupassanāya attasaññāya, nibbidānupassanāya nandiyā, virāgānupassanāya rāgassa, nirodhānupassanāya samudayassa, paṭinissaggānupassanāya ādānassa,

khayānupassanāya ghanasaññāya, vayānupassanāya āyūhanassa, vipariṇāmānupassanāya dhuvasaññāya, animittānupassanāya nimittassa, appaṇihitānupassanāya paṇidhiyā,

suññatānupassanāya abhinivesassa, adhipaññādhammavipassanāya sārādānābhinivesassa,

yathābhūtañāṇadassanena sammohābhinivesassa, ādīnavānupassanāya ālayābhinivesassa,

paṭisaṅkhānupassanāya appaṭisaṅkhāya, vivaṭṭanānupassanāya saññogābhinivesassa,

sotāpattimaggena diṭṭhekaṭṭhānaṃ kilesānaṃ, sakadāgāmimaggena oḷārikānaṃ kilesānaṃ,

anāgāmimaggena aṇusahagatānaṃ kilesānaṃ, arahattamaggena sabbakilesānaṃ pahānaṃ

sīlaṃ, veramaṇī, cetanā, saṃvaro, avītikkamo sīlaṃ.
Evarūpāni sīlāni cittassa avippaṭisārāya saṃvattanti, … nibbānāya saṃvattantī ti.

5

Both Saṅghapāla and Daśabalaśrīmitra misunderstood this difficult passage, which contains unmarked abridgements.
Saṅghapāla misunderstood arahattamaggena sabbakilesānaṃ

pahānaṃ sīlaṃ, veramaṇī sīlaṃ, cetanā sīlaṃ, … as arahattamaggena sabbakilesānaṃ

pahānaṃ, [ taṃ] sīlaṃ viramati [ dus-] sīlaṃ, cetanā sīlaṃ, etc. Probably he wondered why sīlaṃ occurred again and he assumed that the prefix dus- had been lost.
Daśabalaśrīmitra reorganised the passage.
He included the preceding part on the three kinds of virtue — i.e., of volition, restraint, and non-transgression — into the statement from the “Abhidharma of the Noble Sthavira School”, skipping over the explanation of these, and then adding two kinds of virtue that are not in the Pāli and Chinese, i.e., virtue in the sense of restraining and virtue in the sense of abandoning.
The former is subdivided into four kinds — refraining, volition, self-control, and restraint—and the latter into 37 kinds that are then given in a long list.
The Pāli and Chinese, however, apply the virtues of abandoning, refraining, volition, self-control, and restraint to all 37 items, but only give the kinds of virtue at the start and end of the list.
Daśabalaśrīmitra would have gotten confused due to the unmarked abridgements.

The syntactical construction is explained at Paṭis-a I 225:
“And herein, it should be construed as:
‘Virtue is the abandoning of the killing of living beings;
virtue is the refraining from the killing of living beings;
virtue is the volition to oppose the killing of living beings;
virtue is the restraining (oneself) from the killing of living beings;
and virtue is the non-transgression with regard to the killing of living beings’:
” Ettha ca pāṇātipātassa

Chapter 2:
exposition of Virtue ( Sīla-niddesa) 135

from6 [sensual desire by renunciation];
virtue is the volition [to oppose sensual desire by renunciation];
virtue is the self-control ( saṃyama) with regard to

[sensual desire by renunciation];
virtue is the restraint with regard to [sensual desire by renunciation].
[Virtue is] the abandoning of ill will by non-ill will.
7

… [Virtue is] the abandoning of sloth and torpor by the perception of light.


the abandoning of agitation by undistractedness.
… the abandoning of doubt by the defining of states.
… the abandoning of ignorance by knowledge.
… the abandoning of discontent by gladness.
… the abandoning of the five hindrances by the first jhāna.
… the abandoning of thinking and exploring by the second jhāna.
… the abandoning of rapture by the third jhāna.
… the abandoning of pleasure and pain by the fourth jhāna.
8 … the abandoning of the perceptions of matter, impact, and diversity by the attainment of the base of boundless space.

… the abandoning of the perception of the base of boundless space by the attainment of the base of boundless consciousness.
… the abandoning of perception of the base of boundless consciousness by the attainment of the base of nothingness.
… the abandoning of the perception of the base of nothingness by the attainment of the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception.


the abandoning of the perception of permanence by the contemplation of pahānaṃ sīlaṃ, pāṇātipātā veramaṇī sīlaṃ, pāṇātipātassa paṭipakkhacetanā sīlaṃ,

pāṇātipātassa saṃvaro sīlaṃ, pāṇātipātassa avītikkamo sīlan-ti yojanā kātabbā.

The passage at Paṭis I 45–46 is pañca sīlāni pāṇātipātassa pahānaṃ sīlaṃ, veramaṇī sīlaṃ,

cetanā sīlaṃ, saṃvaro sīlaṃ, avītikkamo sīlaṃ.
…. (see Ch.2 fn. 4). The Vim had a slightly different version since both the Chinese and Tibetan include “self-control” ( saṃyama, 護, yang dag par bsdams pa) as the 4th item and both leave out avītikkama.
Cf. Netti-a 187:
Saṃyamato veraṃ na cīyatī ti pāṇātipātā veramaṇiyā sattānaṃ abhayadānaṃ vadati.


Tena ca sīlasaṃyamena sīle patiṭṭhito cittaṃ saṃyameti, tassa samatho pāripūriṃ gacchati.

Evaṃ so samathe ṭhito … ariyamaggena sabbe pi pāpake akusale dhamme jahāti.
… p.
7.875

… evaṃ sabbassa akusalassa, so tato āramati, iminā saṃyamena veraṃ na cīyati.
Saṃyamo nāma sīlaṃ.
Taṃ catubbidhaṃ:
cetanā sīlaṃ, cetasikaṃ sīlaṃ, saṃvaro sīlaṃ, avītikkamo sīlanti.
… Vibh-a 331:
Tadetaṃ saṃyamanavasena saṃyamo, saṃvaraṇavasena saṃvaro.

Ubhayenā pi sīlasaṃyamo ceva sīlasaṃvaro ca kathito.
Vacanattho panettha saṃyameti vītikkamavipphandanaṃ, puggalaṃ vā saṃyameti, vītikkamavasena tassa vipphandituṃ

na detī ti saṃyamo.
Vītikkamassa pavesanadvāraṃ saṃvarati pidahatī tipi saṃvaro.

Paṭis-a I 219:
Idāni yasmā cetanācetasikā saṃvarāvītikkamā yeva honti na visuṃ, tasmā

saṃvarāvītikkame yeva yāva arahattamaggā sādhāraṇakkamena yojento pāṇātipātaṃ

saṃvaraṭṭhena sīlaṃ, avītikkamaṭṭhena sīlan-ti ādim-āha.
Pāṇātipātā veramaṇi ādayo hi yasmā attano attano paccanīkaṃ saṃvaranti, taṃ na vītikkaman-ti ca, tasmā saṃvaraṇato avītikkamanato ca saṃvaraṭṭhena sīlaṃ avītikkamaṭṭhena sīlaṃ nāma hoti.
Cf. Ch.2 fn. 62

6

是戒能離惡, lit.
“that virtue avoids/abstains from unwholesomeness/evil”.
At the end of this list (400c25) 不越戒, avītikkama sīla, “virtue of non-transgression”, 不越戒, is used instead, which probably is a mistake, perhaps due to a scribal confusion with 不越戒 at 400c06. Cf. DDB:
“遠離惡 …:
casting off evil … (Skt dauśilya-virati) …” The character 惡 can correspond to pāpa, akusala and dussīla;
see DDB.
Cf. 447c24 心惡止離, “the mind abstaining from evil” and 止惡不犯 “virtue of refraining from evil” at 401c17.

7

Just as with the Pāli, the Chinese text abridges from here on.

8

In accordance with the Pāli and Tibetan, amend 斷樂 to 斷樂苦.

136

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exposition of Virtue ( Sīla-niddesa)

impermanence.
… the abandoning of the perception of happiness by the contemplation of suffering.
… the abandoning of the perception of self by the contemplation of without self.
9 … the abandoning of delight by the contemplation of disadvantage.
10 … the abandoning of greed by the contemplation of dispassion.
… the abandoning of origination by the contemplation of cessation.

[… the abandoning of grasping by the contemplation of renunciation.
]11 … the abandoning of the perception of solidity by the contemplation of destruction.


the abandoning of the perception of accumulation by the contemplation of falling away.
12 … the abandoning of the perception of stability by the contemplation of rise and fall.
… the abandoning of the sign by the contemplation of the signless.
… the abandoning of desire by the contemplation of the desireless.


the abandoning of adherence13 by the contemplation of emptiness.
… the abandoning of adherence to grasping [of an essence] by the contemplation

[of states] by higher wisdom.
… the abandoning of the adherence to delusion by knowledge and vision according to reality.
…the abandoning of adherence to lodging [in sensuality] by the contemplation of disadvantage.

… the abandoning of non-reflection by the reflection-contemplation.
… the abandoning of adherence to fetters by contemplation of turning away.
14 … the abandoning of afflictions conjoined with views by the path of stream-entry.


the abandoning of the coarse afflictions by the path of once-returning.


[Virtue is] the abandoning of the subtle afflictions by the path of non-returning.

Virtue is the abandoning of all afflictions by the path of arahantship;
virtue is 9

The Taishō edition includes:
“The abandoning of the perception of the beautiful by the contemplation of the foul” = asubhasaññāya asubhasaññāṃ, but according to the footnote this part is not found in the 宋, 元, 明, and 宮 editions.
It is not found in the Tibetan translation or in Vism and Paṭis I 46.

10 Ādīnavānupassanāya.
The characters 過患 correspond to ādīnava, and are used further down in this enumeration in this sense.
Vism & Paṭis as well as the Tibetan have nibbidānupassanāya nandiṃ:
“… by the contemplation of disenchantment”.

11 This item is missing in the text.
The Tibetan and the Paṭis & Vism here have “contemplation of renunciation in the case of grasping,” = paṭinissaggānupassanāya ādānassa.

12 400c19:
以分見斷聚.
The character 分 corresponds to aṅga, “part” but this does not fit here.
The Vism/Paṭis parallel is vayānupassanāya āyūhanassa:
“by the contemplation of falling away with regard to accumulation”.
The Tibetan has “… perception of accumulation by contemplation of falling away”.

The next item is also different.
The Pāli has vipariṇāmānupassanā to which the Tibetan yongs su ’ gyur ba rjes su mthong ba, “contemplation of change” ccorresponds, but the Chinese instead has “contemplation of rise and fall”, 生滅見.

13 The Tibetan (see below) has “adherence to an ‘I’ ”, attābhinivesa, a term used in the Pāli commentaries, e.g., Paṭis-a II 436.

14 Paṭis-a I 133 Saññogābhinivesan-ti kāmayogādikaṃ kilesappavattiṃ.
Sv-ṭ I 134:
Saṃyogābhinivesan-ti saṃyujjanavasena saṅkhāresu abhinivisanaṃ:
“…:
adherence to saṅkhāras in the sense of being fettered [to them]”.
The former interprets in terms of the four yogas while the latter understands rather in terms of the saṃyojanas.

Chapter 2:
exposition of Virtue ( Sīla-niddesa) 137

the refraining from [afflictions by the path of arahantship];
virtue is the volition with regard to [afflictions by the path of arahantship];
virtue is the self-control with regard to [afflictions by the path of arahantship];
virtue is the restraint with regard to [afflictions by the path of arahantship]”.

This is called “virtue”.

3 Characteristic of virtue

Q.
What is the characteristic of virtue?

A. The abandoning of non-restraint by restraint ( saṃvara).

Q. What is “non-restraint”?

A. It is violating the law ( dhamma).
15

There are three kinds of violating:
violating the Pātimokkha law;
violating the requisites law;
and violating the sense-faculties law.

Q. What is “violating the Pātimokkha law”?
[401a]

A.
Consciencelessness and shamelessness ( ahiri and anottappa) due to the forsaking of faith in the Tathāgata.

Q. What is “violating the requisites law”?

A. One’s life being concerned with adornment of the body due to the forsaking of contentment.

Q. What is “violating the sense-faculties law”?

A. Not shielding the six sense doors due to the abandoning of mindfulness and clear knowing ( sati-sampajañña).
16

These three kinds [of violating the law] are non-restraint.
17

This is called “the characteristic of virtue”.

15 No exact parallel can be traced to this passage.
The passage on the characteristic of virtue is quite different in Vism I.
20–21. The character 破 can mean “breaking, violating” ( bhedana, etc. ), while 法 corresponds to dhamma, which can mean “moral law, good conduct, moral habit, virtuous practice”, etc. Elsewhere in Chinese texts 破法 can mean “breaking the law”,

“violating the Dharma”.

16 Cf. J-a VI 293:
Saṃvutindriyoti pihitachaḷindriyo rañño vā aṅgapaccaṅgāni orodhe vāssa na olokeyya.
Mp I 315:
Indriyesu guttadvārānan-ti chasu indriyesu pihitadvārānaṃ.

Mp III 269:
Asaṃvutehi indriyehīti manacchaṭṭhehi indriyehi apihitehi agopitehi.

17 Reading 種 instead of 覆.

138

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4 Function, manifestation and footing of virtue

Q.
What are the essential function, manifestation, and footing [of virtue]?

A. The pleasure of blamelessness ( anavajja-sukha) is its essential function.

Non-sorrow ( asoka) is its manifestation.
The three wholesome actions (i.e., by body, speech, and mind) are its footing.

Furthermore, rejoicing ( abhippamoda) is its essential function.
Non-remorse is its manifestation.
The guarding of the sense-faculties is its footing.

5 Benefits of virtue

Q.
What are the benefits ( ānisaṃsa) of virtue?

A. Non-remorse is the benefit of virtue.
As the Fortunate One told Ānanda:

“Non-remorse is the benefit and purpose of wholesome virtues”.
18

Furthermore, virtue is called “pleasure of blamelessness”, “the highest of all lineages ( gotta)”, “the treasure”, and “wealth”.
It is the ground of the Buddhas.

It is to bathe without water.
19 It is the fragrance that pervades universally.
20 It is like a shadow following the body.
It is like an umbrella that provides cover.
21 It is the noble lineage.
It is the matchless training.
It is the path to a good destination ( sugati).
22

If a man is virtuous, on account of that virtuousness, he is fearless, ennobles his friends, and is dear to the noble ones.
His friends rely on him.
Virtue is his good ornament.
23 It directs his conduct.
It is his field of benefit, field of offerings, and field of respectable fellow practitioners ( sabrahmacārin?
). He is fearless and does not regress with regard to wholesome states.
He will fulfil all 18 A V 1:
Avippaṭisāratthāni kho ānanda kusalāni sīlāni avippaṭisārānisaṃsāni.

19 This means that the interior purity that comes through the practice of virtue is superior to bathing in holy rivers.
See the verses that the Buddha spoke to the Brahmin Sundarikabhāradvāja;
M I 39:
Suddhassa sucikammassa, sadā sampajjate vataṃ;
idheva sināhi brāhmaṇa, sabbabhūtesu karohi khemataṃ.
Cf. Th 613:
Tiṭṭhañ ca sabbabuddhānaṃ

tasmā sīlaṃ visodhaye.

20 Cf. Spk I 205:
… mahākhīṇāsavassa sīlagandhaṃ chadevaloke ajjhottharitvā brahmalokaṃ

upagataṃ ghāyamānassa etaṃ ahosi.
Dhp 54:
Na pupphagandho paṭivātameti, na candanaṃ

tagaramallikā;
/ Satañ-ca gandho paṭivātameti, sabbā disā sappuriso pavāyati.
Dhp 55. …

gandhajātānaṃ, sīlagandho anuttaro.
Dhp-a I 422:
… sappuriso sīlagandhena sabbāpi disā

ajjhottharitvāva gacchati.
Vism I.
158/p.58:
… Avighātī disā sabbā, sīlagandho pavāyati.

21 Mil 415:
Yathā pi chattaṃ vipulaṃ, … Vātātapaṃ nivāreti, … Tatheva buddhaputtopi,

sīlachattadharo suci;
/ Kilesavuṭṭhiṃ vāreti, santāpatividhaggayo ti.
Cf. Th 303:
Dhammo have rakkhati dhammacāriṃ, dhammo suciṇṇo sukhamāvahati.

22 Cf. MN 12.35ff.

23 善莊嚴.
Cf. Th 614:
Sīlaṃ ābharaṇaṃ seṭṭhaṃ.
Sv II 63:
sīlasadiso alaṅkāro natthi.

Chapter 2:
exposition of Virtue ( Sīla-niddesa) 139

mental aspirations due to purity.
24 Even when he dies, he will not be confused.
25

He enters upon [the path to] freedom with agreeable exertion.
26

Thus, there are boundless benefits of virtue.

6 Meaning of virtue

Q.
What is the meaning of virtue?

A. It has the meaning of coolness;
the meaning of higher [practice] ( adhi-

[ sevana]);
the meaning of conduct ( ācāra);
the meaning of nature ( pakati);
27

and the meaning of being connected with the state of pain and pleasure.
28

Furthermore, it has the meaning of [being like a] head ( sira), the meaning of coolness ( sītala), and the meaning of security ( siva).
29

Q.
Why does virtue have the meaning of [being like a] “head”?

A. It is like a man who has been beheaded:
none of the sense-faculties grasp sense objects any longer and he is called “dead”.
Just so, the bhikkhu has virtue as his head:
when his head is cut off, he loses wholesome states.
In the Teaching of the Buddha ( buddhadhamma), this means “death”.
This is the meaning of virtue [being like a] “head”.
30

24 Cf. S IV 302:
Sace paṇidahissati anāgatamaddhānaṃ rājā assaṃ cakkavattī ti, tassa kho ayaṃ ijjhissati, sīlavato cetopaṇidhi visuddhattā dhammiko dhammikaṃ phalaṃ anupassatī

ti.
D III 258–59:
Tañ-ca kho sīlavato vadāmi no dussīlassa.
Ijjhatāvuso, sīlavato cetopaṇidhi visuddhattā.

25 D II 86:
Sīlavā sīlasampanno asammūḷho kālakālaṃ karoti.

26 成伏解脫樂方便.
Cf. 可愛方便, “agreeable exertion/application”, iṭṭhappayoga, T 1648:
410a14.

27 自性義.
Cf. Sn-a I 287:
Adānasīlā ti adānapakatikā.

28 苦樂性相應義, = sukhadukkhabhāvasampayutta?
Cf. Peṭ 132:
Idhekacco sīlaṃ parāmasati,

sīlena sujjhati, sīlena nīyati, sīlena muccati, sukhaṃ vītikkamati, dukkhaṃ vītikkamati,

sukhadukkhaṃ vītikkamati anupāpuṇāti uparimena.
Nidd-a I 121:
… adhisevanaṭṭhena ācāraṭṭhena sīlanaṭṭhena … J-a II 429:
sīlan-ti ācāro.

29 See Vism I.
19/p.8:
Aññe pana sirattho sītalattho ti evam ādinā pi nayen’ ev’ ettha atthaṃ vaṇṇayanti.
Nidd-a I 121, Paṭis-a I 15:
Aññe pana adhisevanaṭṭhena ācāraṭṭhena sīlanaṭṭhena siraṭṭhena sītalaṭṭhena sivaṭṭhena sīlan-ti vaṇṇayanti.
Vism-mhṭ 27:
Aññe pana ācariyā:
siraṭṭho ti yathā sirasi chinne sabbo attabhāvo vinassati, evaṃ sīle bhinne sabbaṃ guṇasarīraṃ vinassati.
Tasmā tassa uttamaṅgaṭṭho sīlaṭṭho.
Siro sīsan-ti vā vattabbe niruttinayena sīlan-ti vuttan-ti adhippāyo.
Sītalaṭṭho pariḷāhavūpasamanaṭṭho.

30 Cf. Vin I 96, Vin III 28:
Seyyathā pi nāma puriso sīsacchinno abhabbo tena sarīrabandhanena jīvituṃ, evam-eva bhikkhu methunaṃ dhammaṃ paṭisevitvā assamaṇo hoti asakyaputtiyo… M II 258, S II 271:
Maraṇañhetaṃ … ariyassa vinaye yo sikkhaṃ

paccakkhāya hīnāyāvattati;
maraṇamattañhetaṃ, sunakkhatta, dukkhaṃ yaṃ aññataraṃ

saṃkiliṭṭhaṃ āpattiṃ āpajjati.

140

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Q.
Why is it said that virtue has the meaning of “coolness”?

A. Just as applying supremely cooling sandalwood31 allays physical heat and produces gladness, just so is virtue like the supremely cooling sandalwood capable of allaying the mental heat due to the fear of breaking the precepts, and gives rise to gladness.
This is the meaning of virtue as “coolness”.

Q. Why is it said that virtue has the meaning of “security”?

A. If a man is virtuous, he has a dignified appearance and does not arouse fear.

This is the meaning of virtue as “security”.
32

Q.
What is the difference [between virtue and observance ( vata)]?
33

A.
The practising of observances, the undertaking of energy ( viriya-samādāna), and the kinds of asceticism — this is observance, not virtue.

[With regard to] “virtue and observance”:
[Pātimokkha] restraint ( saṃvara) is

“virtue” and undertaking [of the training rules] is “observance”.
34

31 Sandalwood is applied to the skin as a paste powder made from the wood of the Indian sandalwood tree ( Santalum album) or as an oil extracted from the wood.
According to the Ayurvedic medicinal system, sandalwood has physically cooling as well as mentally uplifting and soothing qualities.

32 J-a II 429:
Sohaṃ sīlaṃ samādissaṃ, loke anumataṃ sivaṃ … Anumataṃ sivan-ti khemaṃ

nibbhayan-ti evaṃ paṇḍitehi sampaṭicchitaṃ.

33 Vata, vatta.
Cf. Nidd I 66, 92, 104, 188. Vata means ‘(religious) observance’ or ‘vow’.

See the next note and Bodhi 2000:
726 n.
5

34 行何差別者, 修行精進受持頭陀, 是行非戒戒亦名行, 戒名威儀受亦名行.
This passage is corrupt and the translation is tentative.
The Chinese literally is:
“… observance, not virtue.

Virtue is also called ‘observance’, virtue is also called ‘restraint’, undertaking is also called

‘observance’.
.”
The passage is related to one in the Niddesa:
“ ‘Virtue ( sīla) and observance ( vata)’:
There is sīla and there is vata, and there is vata but not sīla.
How is there sīla and vata?
‘Here, a bhikkhu is virtuous:
he dwells restrained with the Pātimokkha restraint … he trains undertaking the training-rules (MN 6)ʼ — the self-control, restraint, non-transgression therein:
this is ‘ sīla’.
Whatever is undertaken ( samādāna) is ‘ vata’.

In the sense of restraint it is sīla;
in the sense of undertaking it is vata.
How is there vata but not sīla?
‘(There are) eight factors of asceticism ( dhutaṅga):
the factor of forest-dwelling …’ This is called ‘ vata’ but not ‘ sīla’.
The undertaking of energy is also ‘ vata’.

‘May only skin, tendons, and bones remain, may the flesh and blood in the body dry up:

… there shall be no abating of energy (MN 70),’ [thus] he exerts and exercises his mind.

Such undertaking of effort:
this is called ‘ vata’ but not ‘ sīla’.”

Nidd I 66–67:
Sīlavatānī ti atthi sīlañceva vatañ-ca, atthi vataṃ na sīlaṃ.
Katamaṃ sīlañceva vatañca?
Idha bhikkhu sīlavā hoti, pātimokkhasaṃvarasaṃvuto viharati, … samādāya sikkhati sikkhāpadesu.
Yo tattha saṃyamo saṃvaro avītikkamo, idaṃ sīlaṃ.
Yaṃ samādānaṃ taṃ vataṃ.

Saṃvaraṭṭhena sīlaṃ;
samādānaṭṭhena vataṃ, idaṃ vuccati sīlañceva vatañ-ca.
Katamaṃ

vataṃ, na sīlaṃ?
Aṭṭha dhutaṅgāni — āraññikaṅgaṃ, … yathāsanthatikaṅgaṃ, idaṃ vuccati vataṃ, na sīlaṃ.
Viriyasamādānam-pi vuccati vataṃ, na sīlaṃ.
Kāmaṃ taco ca nhāru ca aṭṭhi ca avasissatu … bhavissatī ti, cittaṃ paggaṇhāti padahati.
Evarūpaṃ viriyasamādānaṃ —

Chapter 2:
exposition of Virtue ( Sīla-niddesa) 141

Q.
How many [kinds of] virtue are there?

A. There are three kinds of virtue:
wholesome virtue, unwholesome virtue, and indeterminate ( abyākata) virtue.
35

Q.
What is wholesome virtue?

A. It is wholesome bodily and verbal action and right livelihood.
Owing to blamelessness ( anavajja), it has an agreeable result.
36

Q.
What is unwholesome virtue?
37

A.
It is evil ( pāpa) bodily and verbal action and wrong livelihood.
Owing to blameworthiness, it has a disagreeable result.

Q. What is indeterminate virtue?
[401b]

A.
It is bodily and verbal action not subject to the contaminations and pure livelihood.
It is without blameworthiness and without result.

7 Origin of virtue

Q.
From what is virtue produced?

A. Wholesome virtue is produced from a wholesome mind;
unwholesome virtue is produced from an unwholesome mind;
and indeterminate virtue is produced from an indeterminate mind.
38

idaṃ vuccati vataṃ, na sīlaṃ.
Cf. Sn-a II 520, Nidd-a I 194:
Tattha sīlavatānīti pātimokkhādīni sīlāni āraññikādīni dhutaṅgavatāni ca.
Mp II 334:
sīlabbatan-ti sīlañceva vatañ-ca.

35 Paṭis I 44:
Kati sīlānī ti?
Tīṇi sīlāni, kusalasīlaṃ, akusalasīlaṃ, abyākatasīlaṃ.
Cf. Vism I.
38

36 Cf. As 63, Abhidh-av 2:
anavajjasukhavipākalakkhaṇaṃ, akusalaviddhaṃsanarasaṃ,

vodānapaccupaṭṭhānaṃ, yonisomanasikārapadaṭṭhānaṃ.
Vajjapaṭipakkhattā vā

anavajjalakkhaṇam-eva kusalaṃ, vodānabhāvarasaṃ, iṭṭhavipākapaccupaṭṭhānaṃ,

yathāvuttapadaṭṭhānam-eva.
Abhidh-av 2:
Sāvajjāniṭṭhavipākalakkhaṇamakusalaṃ.
Tad ubhayaviparītalakkhaṇamabyākataṃ, avipākārahaṃ vā.
Kv-a 181:
Tattha anavajjam-pi kusalaṃ iṭṭhavipākampi.
Anavajjaṃ nāma kilesavippayuttaṃ.
… Iṭṭhavipākaṃ nāma āyatiṃ

upapattipavattesu iṭṭhaphalanipphādakaṃ puññaṃ.
Cf. A I 190:
ime dhammā kusalā, ime dhammā anavajjā, … ime dhammā samattā samādinnā hitāya sukhāya saṃvattantī ti.

A IV 88, It 15:
Mā bhikkhave puññānaṃ bhāyittha.
Sukhassetaṃ … adhivacanaṃ iṭṭhassa kantassa piyassa manāpassa yadidaṃ puññāni.

37 Sīla does not necessarily have the sense of wholesomeness that “virtue” has in English, and can also mean “moral practice” or “moral conduct” or “moral precept” or simply

“habit”, “custom”, “character”.

38 Paṭis I 44:
Kiṃ samuṭṭhānaṃ sīlan-ti kusalacittasamuṭṭhānaṃ kusalasīlaṃ, akusalacittasamuṭṭhānaṃ akusalasīlaṃ, abyākatacittasamuṭṭhānaṃ abyākatasīlaṃ.

142

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exposition of Virtue ( Sīla-niddesa)

8

Stages in virtue

Q.
What are the initial, intermediate, and final [stages] of virtue?

A. The keeping of the precepts is the initial [stage], non-transgression is the intermediate [stage], and rejoicing is the final [stage] of virtue.

9

Obstacles and causes of virtue

Q.
How many states are the obstacles [to progress in virtue] and how many are the causes of virtue?

A. Thirty-four states are obstacles to progress [in virtue] and thirty-four states are the causes of virtue, namely, (1) wrath ( kodha),39 (2) anger ( āghāta),40

(3) besmirching ( makkha), (4) spite ( paḷāsa),41 (5) selfishness ( macchariya), (6) jealousy ( issā), (7) deceit ( māyā), (8) craftiness ( sāṭheyya), (9) malice ( upanāha),42

(10) argumentativeness ( sārambha), (11) conceit ( māna), (12) overestimation ( atimāna), (13) arrogance ( mada), (14) negligence ( pamāda), (15) idleness ( kosajja), (16) lust ( lobha), (17) non-contentment ( asantuṭṭhi), (18) not following the wise, (19) loss of mindfulness ( muṭṭhasati), (20) evil speech ( dubbacā), (21) evil friends ( pāpamitta), (22) evil wisdom ( duppaññā), (23) evil views ( pāpa-diṭṭhi), (24) impatience ( akkhanti), (25) non-faith ( asaddhā), (26) consciencelessness ( ahiri), (27) shamelessness ( anottappa), (28) indulgence in flavours,43 (29) intimacy ( saṃsagga), (30) closeness to women, (31) not respecting the teacher and the training,44 (32) non-restraint of the sense-faculties, 39 Cf. M I 36f:
Sa kho so … bhikkhu kodho cittassa upakkileso ti … upanāho … makkho …

paḷāso … issā … macchariyaṃ … māyā … sāṭheyyaṃ … thambho … sārambho … māno …

atimāno … mado …pamādo … M I 42:
Pare kodhanā …, mayamettha akkodhanā bhavissāmā

ti sallekho karaṇīyo.
… upanāhī … anupanāhī … makkhī … amakkhī … paḷāsī … apaḷāsī …

issukī … anissukī … maccharī … amaccharī …saṭhā … asaṭhā … māyāvī … amāyāvī …thaddhā

… atthaddhā …atimānī … anatimānī …dubbacā … suvacā … pāpamittā … kalyāṇamittā …

pamattā … appamattā … assaddhā … saddhā … ahirikā … hirimanā …anottāpī … ottāpī …

appassutā … bahussutā … kusītā … āraddhavīriyā … muṭṭhassatī … upaṭṭhitassatī … duppaññā

… paññāsampannā … sandiṭṭhiparāmāsī ādhānaggāhī duppaṭinissaggī … asandiṭṭhiparāmāsī

anādhānaggāhī suppaṭinissaggī bhavissāmā ti sallekho karaṇīyo.

40 The character 惱 corresponds to āghāta elsewhere in Vim.
In similar sequences and compounds ( kodhupanāha) in Pāli texts, and also in the Vim itself (410b10;
435a20ff), kodha is found together with upanāha, “malice”, which is later given in this sequence in the place of the Pāli thambha, “obstinacy”.
See Ch.2 fn. 42. Probably Saṅghapāla misunderstood the meanings of upanāha and thambha.

41 The text has 熱 which corresponds to tapa or pariḷāha, “heat”.
M I 36f & 42, see above have paḷāsa, “spite” here.
Apparently Saṅghapāla misunderstood paḷāsa as pariḷāha.

42 Probably thambha, “obstinacy”, of the Pāli parallels was misunderstood.

43 營身口味, lit.
“concern of the body and mouth [with] flavours” = rasagedha or rasesu gedha?

44 D III 280:
Katame cha dhammā hānabhāgiyā?
Cha agāravā.
Idhāvuso, bhikkhu satthari agāravo viharati appatisso.
Dhamme … saṅghe … sikkhāya … appamāde… paṭisanthāre

Chapter 2:
exposition of Virtue ( Sīla-niddesa) 143

(33) non-moderation with regard to food ( bhojane amattaññutā),45 (34) being indolent in the first and last watches of the night, not practising meditation ( jhāna) and recitation.
46 These thirty-four states are the obstacles to progress.

If one is obstructed by any one of these, then virtue is not perfected.
If virtue is not perfected, one surely declines ( parihāna).

The thirty-four states, which are the opposites of these [obstacles to progress in virtue] are called “the causes of virtue”.

10 Kinds of virtue

Q.
How many kinds of virtue are there?

A. There are two kinds, three kinds, and four kinds.

11 Two kinds of virtue:
1

Q.
What are the two kinds?

A. The virtue of conduct and the virtue of avoidance ( cāritta-sīla & vāritta-sīla).
47

agāravo viharati appatisso.
A IV 122–24:
Yo so, bhante, bhikkhu satthari agāravo dhamme agāravo saṅghe agāravo sikkhāya agāravo samādhismiṃ agāravo appamāde pi so agāravo.

M II 246:
Yo so, ānanda, bhikkhu sandiṭṭhiparāmāsī hoti ādhānaggāhī duppaṭinissaggī so sattharipi agāravo viharati appatisso, dhammepi … saṅghepi … sikkhāyapi na paripūrakārī

hoti.
Cf. A III 330.

45 Cf. Dhp 7:
… indriyesu asaṃvutaṃ;
bhojanamhi cāmattaññuṃ, kusītaṃ hīnavīriyaṃ …

46 Cf. M I 273:
Rattiyā paṭhamaṃ yāmaṃ caṅkamena nisajjāya āvaraṇīyehi dhammehi cittaṃ

parisodhessāma.
Rattiyā majjhimaṃ yāmaṃ dakkhiṇena passena sīhaseyyaṃ kappessāma pāde pādaṃ accādhāya, sato sampajāno uṭṭhānasaññaṃ manasi karitvā.
Rattiyā pacchimaṃ

yāmaṃ paccuṭṭhāya caṅkamena … parisodhessāmā ti, evañ-hi vo … sikkhitabbaṃ.

47 性戒制戒.
The character 性 corresponds to sabhāva “essential” or pakati “natural”, but 性

戒 as pakatisīla is found below at 402b07 = Vism I.
41. The Vism parallel indicates that cāritta, “conduct” or “custom” is intended here.

Vism I.
26/p.11:
Duvidhakoṭṭhāse yaṃ bhagavatā idaṃ kattabban-ti paññattasikkhāpadapūraṇaṃ,

taṃ cārittaṃ.
Yaṃ idaṃ na kattabban-ti paṭikkhittassa akaraṇaṃ, taṃ vārittaṃ.
Tatrāyaṃ

vacanattho.
Caran-ti tasmiṃ sīlesu paripūrakāritāya pavattantī ti cārittaṃ.
Vāritaṃ

tāyan-ti rakkhanti tena ti vārittaṃ.
Tattha saddhāvīriyasādhanaṃ cārittaṃ, saddhāsatisādhanaṃ* vārittaṃ.
*Be Vism reads saddhāsādhanaṃ, but Warren & Kosambi read saddhā-satisādhanaṃ and note that the Burmese MSS omit sati.
The Vim supports the saddhāsati reading.
The omission in Vism could be a very early one since its ṭīkā does not mention sati;
Vism-mhṭ I 32:
Saddhāvīriyasādhanan-ti saddhāya, uṭṭhānavīriyena ca sādhetabbaṃ.
Na hi asaddho, kusīto ca vattapaṭipattiṃ paripūreti, saddho eva satthārā

paṭikkhitte aṇumattepi vajje bhayadassāvī samādāya sikkhati sikkhāpadesūti āha saddhāsādhanaṃ vārittanti.

For cāritta- & vāritta-sīla, see Cp-a 309–11 and Th-a III 20. Cf. DDB s.
v. 二戒, 性戒 and 遮戒.

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The [action] by body and speech of that the Buddha [declared] as “to be done”

— this is the virtue of conduct.

The [action] by body and speech of that the Buddha rejected as “not to be done”

— this is the virtue of avoidance.
48

Virtue of conduct is effective through faith and effort.
Virtue of avoidance is effective through faith and mindfulness.

12 Two kinds of virtue:
2

Furthermore, there are two kinds of virtue:
the virtue of abandoning and the virtue of achieving.
49

What is “abandoning”?
The elimination of non-virtue.

What is “achieving”?
The achieving of all wholesome states and the abandoning of non-virtues ( dussilyāni).
Just as light dispels darkness, just so one who dispels non-virtue will avoid the bad destinations ( duggati).

By achieving virtue, one goes to a good destination ( sugati).
By abandoning non-virtue, one accomplishes [virtue] partaking of stability ( ṭhitibhāga).

13 Two kinds of virtue:
3

Furthermore, there are two kinds of virtue:
mundane virtue ( lokiya-sīla) and supramundane virtue ( lokuttara-sīla).

What is supramundane virtue?
The virtue that is attained with the noble paths and fruits — this is supramundane virtue.
The other [virtue] is “mundane virtue”.
50

48 The text is corrupt here.
The two clauses are almost identical and both in the negative:
“…

rejected as not to be done”.
以身口所行佛斷不行是名性戒, 身口可行佛斷不行是名制戒.

The translation has been amended according to the Vism parallel;
see preceding note.

49 退戒 & 得戒.
退 usually corresponds to hāna, parihāna, however, in the sentence about the bad destinations and virtue taking of stability below the character 斷 = pahāna, is used instead.
得 = labhati, laddha, patta, samāpanna, etc. The explanation suggests padhāna-sīla.

Perhaps 非戒 rather corresponds to dussīla since it is contrasted with 正戒, “right virtue”

or “virtue”, sīla, 正戒.
However elsewhere in Vim 犯戒 is used for dussīla.
Cf. Nett 48:
Dve sīlāni saṃvarasīlañ-ca pahānasīlañ-ca, ….
Nett-a 110:
Pahānasīlan-ti tadaṅgappahānaṃ, vikkhambhanappahānaṃ, samucchedappahānaṃ, paṭippassaddhippahānaṃ,

nissaraṇappahānan-ti pañcappahānāni.
Tesu nissaraṇappahānavajjānaṃ pahānānaṃ

vasena pahānasīlaṃ veditabbaṃ.
Sv-ṭ II 340:
… sabbaso ekadesena ca tadantogadhabhāvato tadeva padhānasīlaṃ nāmā ti āha uttama-jeṭṭhaka-sīlasaṃvarāyāti.
Cf. A II 16:
Saṃvarappadhānaṃ, pahānappadhānaṃ, bhāvanāppadhānaṃ, anurakkhaṇāppadhānaṃ.

50 Cf. Sv II 425:
Evaṃsīlā ti maggasīlena phalasīlena lokiyalokuttarasīlena evaṃsīlā.
Ud-a 151:
Yathāvidhā te bhagavanto maggasīlena phalasīlena sabbenapi lokiyalokuttarasīlena …

Chapter 2:
exposition of Virtue ( Sīla-niddesa) 145

Due to being endowed with mundane virtue, there is accomplishment of a [superior] existence ( bhavasampatti).
51 Due to being endowed with supramundane virtue, there is freedom.

14 Two kinds of virtue:
4

Furthermore, there are two kinds of virtue:
measurable ( pamāṇa) and immeasurable ( appamāṇa).

The virtue of the one is not fully ordained ( anupasampannasīla) is called

“measurable”.

The virtue of the one who is fully ordained ( upasampannasīla), as declared by the Buddha, is called “immeasurable”.
52

15 Two kinds of virtue:
5

Furthermore, there are two kinds of virtue:
virtue with limitation ( pariyanta) and virtue without limitation.
53

What is “virtue with limitation”?
If a man transgresses a training-rule that he has undertaken for the sake of worldly gain [whether] for the sake of fame, for the sake of relatives and friends, for the sake of the body, or for the sake of life, then his virtue has gain as its limitation, has fame as its limitation,

[has relatives and friends as its limitation,] has the body as its limitation, has life as its limitation.

51 Cf. Vism I.
29/p.12:
… yaṃ imināhaṃ sīlena devo vā bhavissāmi devaññataro vā ti evaṃ

bhavasampattiṃ ākaṅkhamānena pavattitaṃ, ….

52 Read 所說, desita, or 所制, paññatta, instead of 所斷, pahātabba.
Cf. Paṭis I 42:
Anupasampannānaṃ pariyantasikkhāpadānaṃ, idaṃ pariyantapārisuddhisīlaṃ.


Upasampannānaṃ apariyantasikkhāpadānaṃ, idaṃ apariyantapārisuddhisīlaṃ.
Cf. Paṭis-a I 202:
… upasampannasīle patto anupasampannasīlassa avasānasabbhāvato vā pariyanto avasānaṃ assā atthīti pariyantā.
… Anupasampannānan-ti anavasesasamādānavasena sīlasampadāya bhusaṃ sampannā ti upasampannā, na upasampannā anupasampannā.

Tesaṃ anupasampannānaṃ.

53

Cf.
Paṭis I 43–44:
Atthi sīlaṃ pariyantaṃ, atthi sīlaṃ apariyantaṃ.
… Atthi sīlaṃ

lābhapariyantaṃ, atthi sīlaṃ yasapariyantaṃ, atthi sīlaṃ ñātipariyantaṃ, atthi sīlaṃ

aṅgapariyantaṃ, atthi sīlaṃ sīla jīvitapariyantaṃ.
… Idh’ ekacco lābhahetu lābhapaccayā

lābhakāraṇā yathāsamādiṇṇaṃ sikhāpadaṃ vītikkamati — idaṃ taṃ sīlaṃ lābhapariyantaṃ.

… aṅgahetu aṅgapaccayā aṅgakāraṇā yathā samādiṇṇaṃ sikkhāpadaṃ vītikkamāya cittam pi na uppādeti kiṃ so vītikkamissati, idaṃ taṃ sīlaṃ no aṅgapariyantaṃ.
… jīvitapaccayā

jīvitakāraṇā yathāsamādiṇṇaṃ sikkhāpadaṃ vītikkamāya cittam pi na uppādeti, kiṃ so vītikkamissati:
idaṃ taṃ sīlaṃ na jīvitapariyantaṃ.

146

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What is “virtue without limitation”?
Herein, if a bhikkhu does not even give rise to a thought of transgressing a training-rule he has undertaken [whether] for the sake of profit, for the sake of fame, for the sake of the body, or for the sake of life, how will he transgress it?
[401c] This is called “virtue without limitation”.

16 Two kinds of virtue:
6

Furthermore, there are two kinds of virtue:
with dependence and without dependence ( sanissita, anissita).

What is “virtue that is with dependence”?
Virtue that is connected with [the attainment of a superior] existence ( bhavasampatti) is dependent on craving.

The virtue that is connected with holding on to precepts and observances ( sīlabbata)54 is dependent on views.
The virtue that is connected with self-praise and blame of others is dependent on conceit ( māna).
This is virtue with dependence.

If it is the requisite ( sambhāra) for freedom, it is virtue without dependence.
55

Virtue that is with dependence is desired by the unwise.
Virtue that is without dependence is desired by the wise.

17 Two kinds of virtue:
7

Furthermore, there are two kinds of virtue:
[the virtue of] the fundamentals of the holy life and the virtue of the minor training-rules.
56

What is “[virtue of] the fundamentals of the holy life” ( brahmacariya)?

The virtue comprising right action, right speech, and right livelihood — this is called “the virtue of the fundamentals of the holy life”.

54 “Precepts and observances” is explained in Ch.12 § 26/p.457c24.

55 Vism I.
29/p.12:
… dve nissayā taṇhānissayo ca diṭṭhinissayo ca.
Tattha yaṃ imināhaṃ sīlena devo vā bhavissāmi devaññataro vā ti evaṃ bhavasampattiṃ ākaṅkhamānena pavattitaṃ,

idaṃ taṇhānissitaṃ.
Yaṃ sīlena suddhī ti evaṃ suddhidiṭṭhiyā pavattitaṃ, idaṃ diṭṭhinissitaṃ.

Yaṃ pana lokuttaraṃ lokiyañ-ca tasseva sambhārabhūtaṃ, idaṃ anissitan-ti evaṃ

nissitānissitavasena duvidhaṃ.
Cf. Vism I.
1.33333333333333
Tattha lokiyaṃ bhavavisesāvahaṃ hoti bhavanissaraṇassa ca sambhāro.

56 Cf. Vism I.
1.125
… Maggabrahmacariyassa ādibhāvabhūtan-ti ādibrahmacariyakaṃ,

ājīvaṭṭhamakasīlassetaṃ adhivacanaṃ.
… Yāni vā sikkhāpadāni khuddānukhuddakānī ti vuttāni, idaṃ ābhisamācārikasīlaṃ.
Sesaṃ ādibrahmacariyakaṃ.

Chapter 2:
exposition of Virtue ( Sīla-niddesa) 147

The virtue of the other training rules57 is called “virtue of the minor

[training-rules]”.
58

18 Two kinds of virtue:
8

Furthermore, there are two kinds of virtue:
connected with mind and not connected with mind.

What is “virtue connected with mind”?
It means “the virtue of the fundamentals of the holy life”.

What is “virtue not connected with mind”?
The other minor training rules.

As for the training rules that are connected with the fundamentals of the holy life, a disciple ( sāvaka) is one of stable virtue and firm virtue.

As for the minor training rules, he can transgress [these] and can emerge [from them through confession].
Why? The Buddha did not say that [transgressing]

these is a hindrance to [attaining] freedom.
59

19 Two kinds of virtue:
9

Furthermore, there are two kinds of virtue:
virtue that is not transgressed and pure virtue.

What is “virtue that is not transgressed”?
It is the virtue of disciples.

What is “pure virtue”?
It is the virtue of Buddhas and Paccekabuddhas.

57 有餘學戒, avasesa or sāvasesa sikkhāpada?
Cf. Mp II 348:
Khuddānukhuddakānīti cattāri pārājikāni ṭhapetvā sesasikkhāpadāni.
… Ādibrahmacariyakānīti maggabrahmacariyassa ādibhūtāni cattāri mahāsīlasikkhāpadāni.
Cf. Sn-a I 343:
Evaṃ bhagavā āyasmantaṃ

rāhulaṃ ājīvapārisuddhisīle samādapetvā idāni avasesasīle samathavipassanāsu ca samādapetuṃ saṃvuto pātimokkhasmin-ti ādim-āha.

58 輕戒, lit, “minor virtue” or “minor precepts”, however, presumably it is identical to 學微

細戒, “minor training rules”.

59 Cf. A I 231ff:
Adhisīlasikkhā, adhicittasikkhā adhipaññāsikkhā:
imā kho … tisso sikkhā,

yatthetaṃ sabbaṃ samodhānaṃ gacchati.
… Idha pana … bhikkhu sīlesu paripūrakārī

hoti samādhismiṃ paripūrakārī paññāya paripūrakārī, so yāni tāni khuddānukhuddakāni sikkhāpadāni tāni āpajjati pi vuṭṭhāti pi.
Taṃ kissa hetu?
Na hi mettha … abhabbatā vuttā.

Yāni ca kho tāni sikkhāpadāni ādibrahmacariyakāni brahmacariyasāruppāni tattha dhuvasīlo ca hoti ṭhitasīlo ca, samādāya sikkhati sikkhāpadesu.

148

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20 Two kinds of virtue:
10

Furthermore, there are two kinds of virtue:
virtue with a time limit ( kāla-pariyanta) and virtue [undertaken] until the dissolution of the body ( āpāṇa-koṭika).

[Virtue] undertaken for a short time, temporarily, and is not connected with the body and life is “virtue with a time-limit”.

[Virtue undertaken] from the first pledge to the teacher until the end of life60 is the

“virtue practised until the dissolution of the body”.

The result ( vipāka) of virtue with a time limit involves time ( kālika).
The result of virtue [undertaken] until the dissolution of the body is immediate ( akālika).

21 Three kinds of virtue:
1

What are the three kinds?

Namely, the [virtue of] non-transgression ( avītikkama) by refraining from evil,61 non-transgression by undertaking, and non-transgression by abandoning.

What is “non-transgression by refraining from evil”?
Even if one has not yet undertaken [virtue], one undertakes.
Without there being a ground for committing

[a transgression], the mind does not generate transgression.
This is “non-transgression by refraining from evil”.

What is “non-transgression by undertaking”?
When one has undertaken [virtue], and when, from the [initial] undertaking until death, one does not transgress, this is

“non-transgression by undertaking [the precepts]”.

What is “non-transgression by abandoning”?
By the noble path, the noble ones abandon all causes of evil.
This is “non-transgression by abandoning”.
62

60 從師始誓乃至捨壽.
This could also mean “[From the] first pledge of following the teacher up to abandoning life …” or “[From the] apprentice’s first pledge …” Cf. Vism I.
30/p.12:
kālaparicchedaṁ katvā samādinnaṁ sīlaṁ kālapariyantaṁ;
yāvajīvaṁ samādiyitvā

āpāṇakoṭikanti.

61 止惡不犯.
Perhaps 止惡 = viramati + pāpa, corresponds to just virati or viramati.
Cf. 心惡止離 at 447c24;
see Ch.11 fn. 104

62 Cf. Vism I.
17–18/p.7, Paṭis-a I 218 (abridged in Nidd-a I 122, Vibh-a 330):
Tattha cetanā

sīlaṃ nāma pāṇātipātādīhi vā viramantassa vattapaṭipattiṃ vā pūrentassa cetanā.
Cetasikaṃ

sīlaṃ nāma pāṇātipātādīhi viramantassa virati.
Api ca cetanā sīlaṃ nāma pāṇātipātādīni pajahantassa sattakammapathacetanā.
Cetasikaṃ sīlaṃ nāma abhijjhaṃ pahāya vigatābhijjhena cetasā viharatī ti ādinā nayena saṃyuttamahāvagge vuttā anabhijjhābyāpādasammādiṭṭhidhammā.
Saṃvaro sīlan-ti ettha pañcavidhena saṃvaro veditabbo pātimokkhasaṃvaro.


yā ca pāpabhīrukānaṃ kulaputtānaṃ sampattavatthuto virati, sabbametaṃ saṃvarasīlanti veditabbaṃ.
Avītikkamo sīlan-ti samādinnasīlassa kāyikavācasiko avītikkamo.
Ettha ca

Chapter 2:
exposition of Virtue ( Sīla-niddesa) 149

22 Three kinds of virtue:
2

Furthermore, there are three kinds of virtue:
virtue that is held on to ( parāmaṭṭha-sīla), virtue that is not held on to, and virtue that is tranquilized ( paṭippassaddha-sīla).
63

What is “[virtue] that is held on to”?
[The virtue which is] held on to with views and craving [as said] above [at dependent virtue].
64

The virtue of the good worldling that is the requisite for entering upon the path ( magga-sambhāra) — this is “virtue that is not held on to”.

What is “virtue that is tranquilized”?
The virtue of the arahant.

23 Three kinds of virtue:
3

Furthermore, there are three kinds [of virtue], namely, virtue that has the world as its authority, virtue [undertaken] that has oneself as its authority, and virtue that has the Dhamma as its authority.
65

saṃvarasīlaṃ, avītikkamasīlan-ti idam-eva nippariyāyato sīlaṃ.
Cetanāsīlaṃ, cetasikaṃ

sīlan-ti pariyāyato sīlan-ti veditabbaṃ.
Vibh-mṭ 177:
Avītikkamanaviratibhāvato ti avītikkama-samādānabhūtā viratī ti katvā vārittasīlaṃ patvā virati eva padhānan-ti cetanāsīlassa pi pariyāyatā vuttā.
See also Ch.2 fn. 5

63 Paṭis I 42, Vism I.
25/p.11:
Sattannaṃ sekkhānaṃ — idaṃ aparāmaṭṭhapārisuddhisīlaṃ.

… Tathāgatasāvakānaṃ khīṇāsavānaṃ paccekabuddhānaṃ tathāgatānaṃ arahantānaṃ

sammāsambuddhānaṃ — idaṃ paṭippassaddhipārisuddhisīlaṃ.
Vism I.
35/p.14:
Tatiyattike yaṃ dukesu nissitan-ti vuttaṃ, taṃ taṇhādiṭṭhīhi parāmaṭṭhattā parāmaṭṭhaṃ.

Puthujjanakalyāṇakassa maggasambhārabhūtaṃ sekkhānañ-ca maggasampayuttaṃ

aparāmaṭṭhaṃ.
Sekkhāsekkhānaṃ phalasampayuttaṃ paṭippassaddhan-ti evaṃ

parāmaṭṭhādivasena tividhaṃ.
Vism I.
137/p.48:
Sekkhānaṃ pana sīlaṃ diṭṭhivasena aparāmaṭṭhattā, puthujjanānaṃ vā pana rāgavasena aparāmaṭṭhasīlaṃ aparāmaṭṭha-pārisuddhīti veditabbaṃ.
Vism I.
139/p.49:
Arahantādīnaṃ pana sīlaṃ

sabbadarathappaṭippassaddhiyā parisuddhattā paṭippassaddhipārisuddhīti veditabbaṃ.

Cf. A II 56–7:
ariyasāvako ariyakantehi sīlehi samannāgato hoti akkhaṇḍehi …

aparāmaṭṭhehi samādhisaṃvattanikehi.

64 云何為觸,有為相,初,見愛,為觸, lit.
“What is held on to?
The characteristic of the conditioned, first/before (初), views and craving, is held on to.”
This passage is corrupt.

Probably, just as in the Vism parallel ( tatiyattike yaṃ dukesu nissitan-ti vuttaṃ), this refers to the explanation of “dependent virtue”, 有依戒 = sanissitasīla, above in § 15, which is defined as being held on to with craving, views, and conceit.
The character 初, as part of 如初說 or 如初所說 = yathā pubbe vutta, is frequently found in the Vim to refer back to something described earlier.

65 Cf. A I 147, D III 220:
Tīṇi ādhipateyyāni attādhipateyyaṃ, lokādhipateyyaṃ, dhammādhipateyyaṃ.

Vism I.
34/p.14:
… attano ananurūpaṃ pajahitukāmena attagarunā attanigāravena pavattitaṃ

attādhipateyyaṃ.
Lokāpavādaṃ pariharitukāmena lokagarunā loke gāravena pavattitaṃ

lokādhipateyyaṃ.
Dhammamahattaṃ pūjetukāmena dhammagarunā dhammagāravena

150

Chapter 2:
exposition of Virtue ( Sīla-niddesa)

What is “virtue that has the world as its authority”?
If a man with fear dispels evil states out of concern for the world — this is called “virtue that has the world as its authority”.

What is “virtue that has oneself as its authority”?
If a man with fear dispels evil states out of concern for his body and life — this is called “virtue that has oneself as its authority”.

What is “virtue that has the Dhamma as its authority?
If a man with fear dispels unwholesome states out of concern for the True Dhamma — this is called

“virtue that has the Dhamma as its authority”.
[402a]

24 Three kinds of virtue:
4

Furthermore, there are three kinds of virtue, namely:
virtue that is unevenly desired ( visama-paṇihita), virtue that is evenly desired ( sama-paṇihita), and virtue that is desireless ( appaṇihita).
66

What is “virtue that is unevenly desired”?
One undertakes the precepts tormenting others — this is called “virtue that is unevenly desired”.

What is “virtue that is evenly desired”?
One undertakes the precepts for the sake of happiness in the present existence and for the sake of the happiness of freedom in the future — this is called “virtue that is evenly desired”.

What is “virtue that is desireless”?
A man undertakes the precepts without remorse67 and for the benefit of others — this is called “virtue that is desireless”.

pavattitaṃ dhammādhipateyyanti.
Sv III 1005:
Ādhipateyyesu adhipatito āgataṃ

ādhipateyyaṃ.
Ettakomhi sīlena samādhinā paññāya vimuttiyā, na me etaṃ patirūpanti evaṃ attānaṃ adhipattiṃ jeṭṭhakaṃ katvā pāpassa akaraṇaṃ attādhipateyyaṃ nāma.

Lokaṃ adhipatiṃ katvā akaraṇaṃ lokādhipateyyaṃ nāma.
Lokuttaradhammaṃ adhipatiṃ

katvā akaraṇaṃ dhammādhipateyyaṃ nāma.
Cf. Mp II 243. Cf. 447c28 自身依 =

attādhipateyya, and 447c29 世依 = lokādhipateyya.

66 Not in Vism.
Cf. Nidd I 41:
visamāya paṇidhiyā hetu visamaṃ na careyya.
Cf. Nett-a 154:
Tathā sīlesu paripūrakārino khantibahulassa uppannaṃ dukkhaṃ aratiñca abhibhuyya viharato saṅkhārānaṃ dukkhatā vibhūtā hotī ti dukkhānupassanā sīlappadhānā ti āha appaṇihitavimokkhamukhaṃ sīlakkhandho ti.

67 不悔, possibly this originally read 不惱, “not tormenting” as in the definition of unevenly aspired virtue.

Chapter 2:
exposition of Virtue ( Sīla-niddesa) 151

25 Three kinds of virtue:
5

Furthermore, there are three kinds of virtue thus:
pure virtue, impure virtue, and dubious virtue.
68

What is “pure virtue”?
Virtue is pure ( visuddha) for two reasons:
The first is not committing [an offence].
The second is making amends after committing

[an offence] — this is called “pure virtue”.

[What is “impure virtue”?
] Virtue is impure ( avisuddha) for two reasons:
The first is deliberately69 committing [an offence].
The second is not making amends after committing [an offence] — this is called “impure virtue”.

What is “dubious virtue”?
Virtue is dubious ( vematika) for three reasons:
The first is not distinguishing the ground [that constitutes an offence, vatthu].

The second is not distinguishing [the severity of] offence.
The third is not distinguishing the transgression — this is called “dubious virtue”.

If the meditator’s virtue is impure, [then feeling] deeply ashamed, he should make amends [for the offence], and will get the happiness of purity.
If he has doubts, he should inquire about the offence and [having done so] he will get ease ( phāsu).

26 Three kinds of virtue:
6

Furthermore, there are three kinds of virtue:
virtue of the trainee ( sekha-sīla), virtue of the non-trainee ( asekha-sīla), and virtue of the one who is neither-trainee-nor-non-trainee ( nevasekhanāsekha-sīla).
70

What is “virtue of the trainee”?
It is the virtue of the seven persons who are trainees.

What is “virtue of the non-trainee”?
It is the virtue of the arahant.

68 Cf. Vism I.
36/p.14:
Yaṃ āpattiṃ anāpajjantena pūritaṃ, āpajjitvā vā puna katapaṭikammaṃ,

taṃ visuddhaṃ.
Āpattiṃ āpannassa akatapaṭikammaṃ avisuddhaṃ.
Vatthumhi vā āpattiyā

vā ajjhācāre vā vematikassa sīlaṃ vematikasīlaṃ nāma.
Tattha yoginā avisuddhasīlaṃ

visodhetabbaṃ, vematike vatthujjhācāraṃ akatvā vimati paṭivinetabbā iccassa phāsu bhavissatī ti.
Cf. Vism-mhṭ I 35:
Katapaṭikamman-ti vuṭṭhānadesanāhi yathādhammaṃ

katapaṭikāraṃ.


69 The text literally has … due to oneself”, “… on one’s own”, 自故犯.
At 402a27 知而故犯

is used.

70 Cf. Vism I.
37/p.14:
catūhi ariyamaggehi tīhi ca sāmaññaphalehi sampayuttaṃ sīlaṃ

sekkhaṃ.
Arahattaphalasampayuttaṃ asekkhaṃ.
Sesaṃ nevasekkhanāsekkhan-ti evaṃ

sekkhādivasena tividhaṃ.

152

Chapter 2:
exposition of Virtue ( Sīla-niddesa)

What is “virtue of one who is neither-trainee-nor-non-trainee”?
It is the virtue of the worldling.

27 Three kinds of virtue:
7

Furthermore, there are three kinds of virtue:
virtue due to fear ( bhaya), virtue due to sorrow ( soka, domanassa), and virtue due to foolishness ( bālatā, moha).
71

What is “virtue due to fear”?
There is a person who through fear of blame72

does not dare to commit evil — this is called “virtue due to fear”.

What is “virtue due to sorrow”?
There is a person who temporarily becomes sorrowful at the thought of separation from relatives and friends, and owing to this sorrow does not commit evil — this is called “virtue due to sorrow”.

What is “virtue due to foolishness”?
There is a person who observes the virtue of the cow [ascetic observance] or the virtue of the dog [ascetic observance] —

this is called “virtue due to foolishness”.
If a person fulfils the “virtue due to foolishness”, then he will become a cow or a dog.
If he does not fulfil it, then he will fall into hell.
73

28 Three kinds of virtue:
8

Furthermore, there are three kinds of virtue:
inferior ( hīna), middling ( majjhima), and superior ( paṇīta).
74

What is “inferior virtue”?
[Virtue] held on to ( paramaṭṭha) with much greed, excessive greed, great greed, and influenced by discontentment ( asantuṭṭhi) —

this is “inferior virtue”.

What is “middling virtue”?
[Virtue] held on to with subtle greed and influenced by contentment — this is called “middling virtue”.

71 Not found in the Visuddhimagga and other Pāli texts.

72 畏罪, could also mean “fear of offence” or “fear of fault”.
Cf. 畏於細罪, “[seeing] fear in tiny faults”, aṇumattesu vajjesu bhayadassāvī, 402b22.

73 The cow and dog observances were ascetic practices consisting of imitating the behaviour of cows and dogs;
see M I 388–9:
So govataṃ bhāvetvā paripuṇṇaṃ abbokiṇṇaṃ …

kāyassa bhedā parammaraṇā gunnaṃ sahavyataṃ uppajjati.
Sace kho panassa evaṃ diṭṭhi hoti:
iminā ’ haṃ sīlena vā vatena vā tapena vā brahmacariyena vā devo vā bhavissāmi devaññataro vā ti sāssa hoti micchādiṭṭhi.
Micchādiṭṭhikassa kho ahaṃ seniya dvinnaṃ

gatīnaṃ aññataraṃ gatiṃ vadāmi:
nirayaṃ vā tiracchānayoniṃ vā.


74 Vism I.
33/p.13 is different.

Chapter 2:
exposition of Virtue ( Sīla-niddesa) 153

What is “superior virtue”?
[Virtue] not held on to and not influenced by contentment — this is called “superior virtue”.

By the fulfilment of inferior virtue, one is reborn as a human;
by the fulfilment of middling virtue, one is reborn as a deity;
by the fulfilment of superior virtue, one attains freedom.

29 Four kinds of virtue:
1

Furthermore, there are four kinds of virtue.

[Virtue] partaking of falling back ( hānabhāgiya-sīla), partaking of stability ( ṭhitibhāgiya-sīla), partaking of distinction ( visesabhāgiya-sīla), and partaking of penetration ( nibbedhabhāgiya-sīla).
75

What is “[virtue] partaking of falling back”?
When someone does not remove the obstacles on the path;
he is not energetic;
and he deliberately commits

[an offence], and having done so, conceals it — this is called “virtue partaking of falling back”.

What is “partaking of stability” [in virtue]?
When someone is accomplished in virtue and is not heedless, but he does not give rise to the vision of peace76 —

this is called “virtue partaking of stability”.
[402b]

What is [virtue] “partaking of distinction”?
When someone is accomplished in virtue virtue and concentration, is not heedless, but does not give rise to the vision of peace — this is called “virtue partaking of distinction”.

What is [virtue] “partaking of penetration”?
When someone is accomplished in virtue and concentration, is not heedless, and gives rise to the vision of peace —

this is called “virtue partaking of penetration”.

30 Four kinds of virtue:
2

Furthermore, there are four kinds of virtue:
the virtue of the bhikkhu, the virtue of the bhikkhunī, the virtue of the not fully ordained ( anupasampanna), and the virtue of the white-clothed ( odāta-vasana).
77

75 For this classification, see A III 427, Vism I.
39/p.15 and Vism-mhṭ I 36.

76 寂見, santi-dassana or upasama-dassana.
“Peace” refers to nibbāna.
寂見 is not found elsewhere in Vim.

77 Cf. D III 125:
… upāsakā gihī odātavasanā brahmacārino.
A III 296:
… bhagavato sāvikā

gihī odātavasanā sīlesu paripūrakāriniyo, ….

154

Chapter 2:
exposition of Virtue ( Sīla-niddesa)

What is “the virtue of the bhikkhu”?
The Pātimokkha restraint ( pātimokkhasaṃvara) — this is “the virtue of the bhikkhu”.

What is “the virtue of the bhikkhunī”?
The Pātimokkha restraint — this is “the virtue of the bhikkhunī”.

The ten precepts of the male novice and the female novice ( sāmaṇera-sāmaṇerī-

dasa-sīla) and the precepts of the female probationer ( sikkhamānā-sīla) — this is called “the virtue of the not fully ordained”.

The five precepts and the eight precepts of the male lay-follower ( upāsaka) and the female lay-follower ( upāsikā) — these are “the virtue of the white-clothed”.
78

31 Four kinds of virtue:
3

Furthermore, there are four kinds of virtue:
natural virtue ( pakati-sīla), customary virtue ( ācāra-sīla), virtue that is an essential quality ( dhammatā-sīla),79 and virtue due to former causes ( pubbahetuka-sīla).
80

What is “natural virtue”?
The virtue of Uttarakuru81 — this is called “natural virtue”.

What is “customary virtue”?
Conduct conforming to rules of clan, country, religious tradition, and so on — this is called “customary virtue”.

What is “virtue that is an essential quality”?
The virtue [of the mother of] the Bodhisatta when he has entered the womb82 — this is called “virtue that is an essential quality”.

78 Cf. Vism I.
40/p.15:
… Bhikkhuniyo ārabbha paññattasikkhāpadāni, yāni ca tāsaṃ

bhikkhūnaṃ paññattito rakkhitabbāni, idaṃ bhikkhunisīlaṃ.
Sāmaṇerasāmaṇerīnaṃ

dasasīlāni anupasampannasīlaṃ.
Upāsaka-upāsikānaṃ niccasīlavasena pañcasikkhā-

padāni, sati vā ussāhe dasa, uposathaṅgavasena aṭṭhā ti idaṃ gahaṭṭhasīlan-ti ….

79 法志戒.
Dhammatā means “in accordance with the Dhamma”, “general rule”, or “natural”.

80 Cf. Vism I.
41/p.15:
… uttarakurukānaṃ manussānaṃ avītikkamo pakatisīlaṃ.

Kuladesapāsaṇḍānaṃ attano attano mariyādācārittaṃ ācārasīlaṃ.
Dhammatā esā, ānanda,

yadā bodhisatto mātukucchiṃ okkanto hoti na bodhisattamātu purisesu mānasaṃ uppajji kāmaguṇūpasaṃhitan-ti evaṃ vuttaṃ bodhisattamātusīlaṃ dhammatāsīlaṃ.
Mahākassapādīnaṃ

pana suddhasattānaṃ, bodhisattassa ca tāsu tāsu jātīsu sīlaṃ pubbahetukasīlanti.

81 Uttarakuru is a happy realm where people live free from possessiveness and ownership;
see D III 199, A IV 396.

82 Cf. M III 120:
Yadā, ānanda, bodhisatto mātukucchiṃ okkanto hoti, pakatiyā sīlavatī

bodhisattamātā hoti viratā pāṇātipātā viratā adinnādānā viratā kāmesumicchācārā

viratā musāvādā viratā surāmerayamajjapamādaṭṭhānā ti.

Chapter 2:
exposition of Virtue ( Sīla-niddesa) 155

What is “virtue due to former causes”?
The virtue of the Bodhisatta and Mahā

Kassapa — this is called “virtue due to former causes”.

32 Four kinds of virtue:
4

Furthermore, there are four kinds of virtue:
virtue, production of virtue, cessation of virtue, and the way leading to the cessation of virtue.
83

What is “virtue”?
There are two kinds of virtue:
wholesome virtue and unwholesome virtue — this is called “virtue”.

What is “production of virtue”?
Wholesome virtue is produced from a wholesome mind.
Unwholesome virtue is produced from an unwholesome mind.
84

What is “cessation of virtue”?
Unwholesome virtue ceases by the attaining of wholesome virtue;
wholesome virtue ceases by the attaining of arahantship.

What is “the way leading to the cessation of virtue”?
Namely, the four right efforts

— this is called “the way leading to the cessation of virtue”.

The clarification of [this] description is as follows:
These four states [of right effort] are energy ( viriya) and not real undertaking of virtue, [therefore] they are called “right effort”.
85

33 Four kinds of virtue:
5

Furthermore, there are four kinds of virtue:
virtue of the Pātimokkha restraint, virtue of the purity of livelihood, virtue of the restraint of the sense-faculties, and virtue connected with the requisites.

83 In accordance with the following text and variant readings, read 戒集戒滅戒戒滅道具足

戒.
Cf. M II 25–27:
Ime akusalā sīlā …;
itosamuṭṭhānā akusalā sīlā …;
idha akusalā sīlā

aparisesā nirujjhanti …;
evaṃ paṭipanno akusalānaṃ sīlānaṃ nirodhāya paṭipanno hoti

….
…. Evaṃ paṭipanno kho … kusalānaṃ sīlānaṃ nirodhāya paṭipanno hoti.

84 Cf. Paṭis I 44:
Kiṃ samuṭṭhānaṃ sīlanti:
kusalacittasamuṭṭhānaṃ kusalasīlaṃ,

akusalacittasamuṭṭhānaṃ akusalasīlaṃ … Paṭis-a I 219:
Yasmā pana cetanādibhedassa sīlassa sampayuttacittaṃ samuṭṭhānaṃ, tasmā kusalacittasamuṭṭhānaṃ kusalasīlan-ti-

ādim-āha.

85 Vim 402b18–19:
如是分別曉了四法是謂精進非真持戒是名正勤.
This cryptic passage is related to the discussion of the difference between observance and virtue at 401a24–25,

which has a parallel at Nidd I 66–67. See Ch.2 fn. 33

156

Chapter 2:
exposition of Virtue ( Sīla-niddesa)

34 Virtue of the Pātimokkha restraint

Q.
What is “virtue of the Pātimokkha restraint”?

A. Here a bhikkhu dwells restrained by the Pātimokkha restraint, is endowed with [proper] conduct and resort, seeing danger in tiny faults, and he trains himself in the training rules he has undertaken.
86

“Here”:
[means] in this Master’s teaching ( satthu-sāsana).
87

“Bhikkhu”:
[means] the good worldling ( kalyāṇa-puthujjana), and furthermore the trainee ( sekha), and the non-trainee who is unshakable.
88

“Pātimokkha”:
this is virtue, the foundation, the beginning, conduct, self-control, restraint, release, and loosening ( pamokkha);
this is the entrance ( mukha) for the attainment of wholesome states — this is called “Pātimokkha”.
89

“Restraint”:
non-transgression through bodily and verbal action.

“Restrained”:
endowed with the Pātimokkha restraint.
90

“Dwells”:
self-controlled in the four postures.
91

35 Conduct

“Is endowed with [proper] conduct and resort” ( ācāragocara-sampanna).

[Herein,] there is [proper] conduct ( ācāra) and there is misconduct ( anācāra).
92

86 D I 63–70, M I 33, etc. :
Idha … bhikkhu sīlavā hoti, pātimokkhasaṃvarasaṃvuto viharati, ācāragocarasampanno, anumattesu vajjesu bhayadassāvī, samādāya sikkhati sikkhāpadesu, .
..

87 Cf. Vibh § 509:
Idhā ti imissā diṭṭhiyā … imasmiṃ satthusāsane.

88 “Unshakable” = akuppa or añenjadhamma, and qualifies asekha.
Cf. Vibh § 510. Bhikkhū

ti samaññāya bhikkhu … bhinnattā pāpakānaṃ akusalānaṃ dhammānaṃ bhikkhu, …

sekkho bhikkhu, asekkho bhikkhu, nevasekkhanāsekkho bhikkhu, … samaggena saṅghena ñatticatutthena kammena akuppena ṭhānārahena upasampanno bhikkhu.

89 Vibh 245, § 511, Nidd II 365:
Pātimokkhan-ti sīlaṃ patiṭṭhā ādi caraṇaṃ saṃyamo saṃvaro mokhaṃ pamokhaṃ (= Be.
Ee.:
mukhaṃ pamukhaṃ) kusalānaṃ dhammānaṃ samāpattiyā.

Cf. Vin I 102:
Pātimokkhan-ti ādimetaṃ mukhametaṃ pamukhametaṃ kusalānaṃ

dhammānaṃ.
Tena vuccati pātimokkhan-ti.

90 Cf. Vibh § 511:
Saṃvaro ti:
kāyiko avītikkamo, vācasiko avītikkamo, kāyikavācasiko avītikkamo.
Saṃvuto ti:
iminā pātimokkhasaṃvarena upeto hoti samupeto upāgato samupāgato upapanno sampanno samannāgato.
Cf. Vism I.
43/p.16:
Pātimokkham-eva saṃvaro pātimokkhasaṃvaro.

91 Vibh § 512, Viharatī ti iriyati vattati pāleti yapeti yāpeti carati viharati.
Tena vuccati viharatī ti.

92 Cf. Vibh § 513, Vism I.
44/p.17:
Ācāragocarasampanno ti atthi ācāro, atthi anācāro.

Chapter 2:
exposition of Virtue ( Sīla-niddesa) 157

Q.
What is “misconduct”?
[402c]

A.
Here a bhikkhu makes a living by wrong livelihood, giving bamboo staves, or flowers, leaves and fruits, or tooth-sticks and bathing-powder, or courting favour [by speaking] well or ill [of others];
or flirting;
or flattering to promote himself;
or unbridledly running off to far away places in order to call and invite guests:
such kinds of conduct which are censured by the Buddha — this is called

“misconduct”.
93

Furthermore, there are two kinds of “misconduct”:
bodily and verbal misconduct.

Q. What is “bodily misconduct”?

A. There is a rude, conceited bhikkhu who goes into the Saṅgha, jostling the senior monks ( thera);
he stands or sits down in front of them, or goes in front of them, or he sits down on a high seat, pushing away senior monks to a lower place, or he sits down jostling them, or patting them on the shoulder, he laughs at them.
While senior monks go barefoot, he wears sandals.
While senior monks walk on the lower path, he walks on the higher path.
In numerous ways, he slights and troubles them.
He withholds what is superior from juniors and gives what is inferior to seniors.
Without asking [senior monks], he burns firewood in the bathhouse and bolts the door, or when he arrives at the waterside [to bathe], he always enters [the water] before them.
He stretches his body, pats, and twists it in vulgar ways.
When he enters another’s house he intrudes either by the back or by the front, and goes and sits down without permission;
or in screened off [women’s] areas he jokes with the women;
or he strokes the girls’ heads.
Such kinds of wrong doing are called “misconduct of body”.
94

Q.
What is “verbal misconduct”?

A. There is a disrespectful bhikkhu who, without asking permission from the senior monks, teaches the Dhamma or recites the Pātimokkha, or he speaks waving his arms,95 or he enters among the houses [on alms-round] and asks a woman:

“You of such and such a name, is there something to eat or not?
If there is, show it to me as I wish to get food”.
Such kinds of speech are “verbal misconduct”.
96

93 Cf. Vibh 246:
Idhe’ ekacco veḷudānena vā … aññataraññatarena buddhapaṭikuṭṭhena micchā

ājīvena jīvitaṃ kappeti:
ayaṃ vuccati anācāro.
Cf. Th 937, 938:
Mattikaṃ telaṃ cuṇṇañ ca udakāsanabhojanaṃ, gihīnaṃ upanāmenti ākaṅkhantā bahutaraṃ, …

94 Kāyika anācāra.
See Nidd I 228–9:
… Idhekacco saṅghagato acittīkārakato therānaṃ

bhikkhūnaṃ anupāhanānaṃ caṅkamantānaṃ sa-upāhano caṅkamati, … tattha pi sahasā

pavisati kumārakassa pi siraṃ parāmasati.

95 拍肩而語, lit.
“he speaks striking the shoulders”.
This is a mistranslation of bāhāvikkhepako pi bhaṇati “he talks waving his arms”.

96 Vācasika anācāra.
Cf. Nidd I 230:
Idhekacco saṅghagato acittīkārakato there bhikkhū

anāpucchaṃ vā anajjhiṭṭho vā ārāmagatānaṃ bhikkhūnaṃ dhammaṃ bhaṇati, … Idhekacco antaragharaṃ paviṭṭho itthiṃ vā kumāriṃ vā evam-āha:
itthaṃnāme itthaṃgotte kiṃ atthi?


158

Chapter 2:
exposition of Virtue ( Sīla-niddesa)

All immorality ( dussīlya) is misconduct.
97

36 [Proper] conduct

Q.
What is “[proper] conduct”?

A. It is the opposite of “misconduct”.
The bhikkhu is respectful, is endowed with conscience and shame, is endowed with proper deportment, without anything wanting.
He guards the sense-faculties, and is moderate in food and drink.

He never sleeps in the first and last watches of the night.
He is endowed with wisdom, has few wishes, is contented, and does not get involved in wordly affairs.
He endeavours, and deeply respects the minor rules.
98 This is called

“[proper] conduct”.

“Resort” ( gocara):
There is [proper] resort and improper resort ( agocara).

Q. What is “improper resort”?

A. “A certain bhikkhu goes into a prostitute’s dwelling, a widow’s dwelling, an old maid’s dwelling, a eunuch’s dwelling, a bhikkhunī’s dwelling, or a bar;
he is intimate with kings, ministers, heretical ascetics, and immoral companions of the kind that have no faith and devotion, who never benefit the four assemblies,99 and are extremely detestable.
This is called “improper resort”.
100

98 於同學所深生敬重 means “has deep respect for fellow

97 Vism I.
44/p.17:
Sabbam-pi dussīlyaṃ anācāro.
In the Vism this sentence is at the start of this practitioners”.
同學 = sama “equal” + sikkhā “training” and means section of misconduct, i.e., to what corresponds to 402b29. Perhaps it was misplaced here

“fellow students” or “fellow monastics” in Vim (408c05 & c10) by a Chinese copyist.

and in other texts, but this does not fit here.
The Pāli parallel’s 98 於同學所深生敬重 means “has deep respect for fellow practitioners”.
同學 = sama ābhisamācārika, “what is related to the basic discipline” or “the

“equal” + sikkhā “training” and means “fellow students” or “fellow monastics” in Vim minor rules” indicates that Saṅghapāla misunderstood samācārika (408c05 & c10) and in other texts, but this does not fit here.
The Pāli parallel’s ābhisamācārika, in ābhisamācārika as sama-ācārika “fellow practitioner”, but rightly

“what is related to the basic discipline” or “the minor rules” indicates that Saṅghapāla understood the prefix abhi- as 於 “towards”, “for”.

所深生敬重

misunderstood samācārika in ābhisamācārika as sama-ācārika “fellow practitioner”,

“deeply respects” is a translation of garucittīkārabahulo

but rightly understood the prefix abhi- as 於 “towards”, “for”.

“has much respect for”;
cf. Vism-mhṭ I 44:
Garucittīkārabahuloti garuṭṭhāniyesu garukaraṇabahulo.
不狎世務 “does not get involved in 所深生敬重 “deeply respects” is a translation of garucittīkārabahulo “has much respect worldly affairs” is not in the Vism, however, Ud-a and It-a have pavivitto for”;
cf. Vism-mhṭ I 44:
Garucittīkārabahuloti garuṭṭhāniyesu garukaraṇabahulo.
不狎世務

asaṃsaṭṭho “reclusive, not closely associating [with laypeople]”, instead

“does not get involved in worldly affairs” is not in the Vism, however, Ud-a and It-a have of āraddhavīriyo “energetic”.

pavivitto asaṃsaṭṭho “reclusive, not closely associating [with laypeople]”, instead of āraddhavīriyo “energetic”.

Vism I.
48/p.19:
Apica bhikkhu sagāravo sappatisso hirottappasampanno sunivattho supāruto pāsādikena abhikkantena paṭikkantena Vism I.
48/p.19:
Apica bhikkhu sagāravo sappatisso hirottappasampanno sunivattho ālokitena vilokitena samiñjitena pasāritena okkhittacakkhu supāruto pāsādikena abhikkantena paṭikkantena ālokitena vilokitena samiñjitena iriyāpathasampanno indriyesu guttadvāro bhojane mattaññū

pasāritena okkhittacakkhu iriyāpathasampanno indriyesu guttadvāro bhojane mattaññū

jāgariyamanuyutto satisampajaññena samannāgato appiccho santuṭṭho jāgariyamanuyutto satisampajaññena samannāgato appiccho santuṭṭho āraddhavīriyo āraddhavīriyo ābhisamācārikesu sakkaccakārī garucittīkārabahulo ābhisamācārikesu sakkaccakārī garucittīkārabahulo viharati, ayaṃ vuccati ācāro.

viharati, ayaṃ vuccati ācāro.
Ud-a 225, It-a II 129:
Apica yo bhikkhu Ud-a 225, It-a II 129:
Apica yo bhikkhu satthari sagāravo sappatisso sabrahmacārīsu satthari sagāravo sappatisso sabrahmacārīsu sagāravo sappatisso …

sagāravo sappatisso … viharati, ayaṃ vuccati ācārasampanno.

viharati, ayaṃ vuccati ācārasampanno.

99 Catuparisā.
The four assemblies are bhikkhu, bhikkhu, bhikkhunī, upāsakas (laymen) and upāsikās (laywomen).

100 Cf. Vibh 247, Vism I.
1.875
Idh’ edacco vesiyāgocaro vā hoti, … ayaṃ vuccati agocaro.

Chapter 2:
exposition of Virtue ( Sīla-niddesa) 159

As the Buddha declared:
“A bhikkhu [should not] go to an unchaste resort ( abrahmacariya-gocara?
).”

Q.
What is an “unchaste resort”?

A. A brothel.
101

“[Proper] resort” is obvious [in meaning].

Furthermore, there are three kinds of “resort”:
resort as a support ( upanissaya-gocara), resort as a protection ( ārakkha-gocara), and resort as a tether ( upanibandha-gocara).
[403a]

Q.
What is “resort as a support”?

A. It is a good friend endowed with the qualities of the ten topics of speech.
102

Depending on these qualities, a man hears what he has not yet heard and what has been heard is furthered, he overcomes doubt, straightens his view, and makes

[his mind] confident;
and he trains himself according to the Dhamma, has great faith, endeavours, and increases virtue, learning, generosity, wisdom, and mindfulness.
This is called “resort as a support”.

Q. What is “resort as a protection”?

A. There is a bhikkhu who needs to enter among houses or go into the village.

He looks at the ground and does not look further than a yoke length ahead;
his bearing is strict, he has a dignified appearance, and is respected by the people;
he does not look at elephants, at horses, at chariots, or at men and women who walk about and meet, or at the palace, or into streets and lanes.
He does not look up and down, and does not look around in the four directions.
103 This is called

“resort as protection”.

Q. What is “resort as a tether”?

101 販賣女色行處, lit.
“a place where female beauty ( itthirūpa) is sold”.
Untraced.

102 Cf. Vism I.
49/p.19:
Dasakathāvatthuguṇasamannāgato kalyāṇamitto, yaṃ nissāya assutaṃ

suṇāti, sutaṃ pariyodapeti, kaṅkhaṃ vitarati, diṭṭhiṃ ujuṃ karoti, cittaṃ pasādeti.
Yassa vā pana anusikkhamāno saddhāya vaḍḍhati, sīlena, sutena, cāgena, paññāya vaḍḍhati, ayaṃ vuccati upanissayagocaro.
Cf. A IV 357:
… kathā abhisallekhikā cetovivaraṇasappāyā, seyyathidaṃ

appicchakathā santuṭṭhikathā pavivekakathā asaṃsaggakathā viriyārambhakathā sīlakathā

samādhikathā paññākathā vimuttikathā vimuttiñāṇadassanakathā.

103 Vism I.
50/p.19:
Idha bhikkhu antaragharaṃ paviṭṭho vīthiṃ paṭipanno okkhittacakkhu …

na disāvidisaṃ pekkhamāno gacchati, ayaṃ vuccati ārakkhagocaro.

160

Chapter 2:
exposition of Virtue ( Sīla-niddesa)

A.
As the Buddha has said:
“A bhikkhu contemplates his ancestral range,

[namely, the four establishments of mindfulness]”.
This is called “resort as a tether”.
104

This is called “resort”.

Because of being endowed with this [proper] conduct and resort, it is called

“endowed with conduct and resort”.

37 Seeing danger in tiny faults

“Seeing danger in tiny faults”, because of [the thought] “I take on the training rules entirely”105 it is called “seeing danger in tiny faults”.

Furthermore, some say:
“The arising of an unwholesome mind state is called a ‘tiny fault’.
[One should] flee far from the arising of this mind state that is a tiny fault.
Seeing its disadvantage ( ādīnava), one fears it and sees the escape.”

This is called “seeing danger in tiny faults”.

38 Trains himself in the training rules

“Trains himself in the training rules he has undertaken”:
What is “training rule”?

It is the restraint through the seven groups [of offences].
106

“Has undertaken”:
one follows all [the training rules].

This is called “trains himself in the training rules he has undertaken”.

This is called “virtue of the restraint of the Pātimokkha”.

104 Vism I.
50/p.19:
Cattāro satipaṭṭhānā yattha cittaṃ upanibandhati.
Vuttañhetaṃ bhagavatā:

Ko ca … bhikkhuno gocaro sako pettiko visayo?
Yadidaṃ cattāro satipaṭṭhānā ti (= S V

148), ayaṃ vuccati upanibandhagocaro.
Probably the four satipaṭṭhānā were lost from the Chinese translation during transmission.

105 我於所學畢故敢造.
Cf. Vibh–a 343:
Yo pi bhikkhu sabbalahukaṃ dukkaṭadubbhāsitamattaṃ

paṭhamapārājikasadisaṃ katvā daṭṭhuṃ sakkoti — ayaṃ aṇumattāni vajjāni vajjato bhayato passati nāmā ti veditabbo.

106 七聚威儀.
See § 46:
七聚 = sattāpattikkhandhā, the “seven categories of offences” in the Pātimokkha.
Vin V 91:
Tattha katame satta āpattikkhandhā?
Pārājikāpattikkhandho,

saṅghādisesāpattikkhandho, thullaccayāpattikkhandho, pācittiyāpattikkhandho,

pāṭidesanīyāpattikkhandho, dukkaṭāpattikkhandho, dubbhāsitāpattikkhandho.
Cf. Vjb 72:
Sattahi āpattikkhandhehi saṃvaro saṃvaravinayo paññattisikkhāpadam-eva.
Ud-a 253:

Sattannaṃ āpattikkhandhānaṃ avītikkamalakkhaṇo saṃvaro.

Chapter 2:
exposition of Virtue ( Sīla-niddesa) 161

39 Virtue of the purity of livelihood and wrong livelihood

Q.
What is “virtue of purity of livelihood” ( ājīvapārisuddhi-sīla)?

A. It means not to commit an offence involving wrong livelihood.
107

Q.
What is wrong livelihood?

A. Deceiving, fawning, hinting, bullying, and pursuing gain with gain.
108

Q.
What is “deceiving” ( kuhanā)?

[A.] The three bases of deceit [namely] (1) the scheming for, desiring, and wanting to get other requisites;
(2) the pretending of deportment;
and (3) exalting oneself in a roundabout manner.
109

(1) There is a bhikkhu who has evil desires and covets gains.
He declines superior robes and foods as if he does not want to have them and [instead] is seeking coarse, inferior ones.
Then, as if out of compassion for others, he accepts the

[superior] requisites.
This is called the “deceiving by requisites”.

(2) There is a bhikkhu who has evil desires and covets gains.
Desiring to attract gifts, he deceptively displays the deportment of one who attains jhāna and recites the discourses ( sutta).
This is called the “deceiving by deportment”.
110

107 Cf. Vism I.
42/p.16:
Yā pana ājīvahetupaññattānaṃ channaṃ sikkhāpadānaṃ vītikkamassa,

kuhanā lapanā nemittikatā nippesikatā lābhena lābhaṃ nijigīsanatā ti evamādīnañ-ca pāpadhammānaṃ vasena pavattā micchājīvā virati, idaṃ ājīvapārisuddhisīlaṃ.
Vin V 99:
Ājīvavipattipaccayā cha āpattiyo āpajjati ājīvahetu ājīvakāraṇā pāpiccho icchāpakato asantaṃ abhūtaṃ uttarimanussadhammaṃ ullapati, āpatti pārājikassa;


108 See Nidd II 495:
Cīvaraṃ labhitvā piṇḍapātaṃ labhitvā na kuhanāya, na lapanāya,

na nemittikatāya, na nippesikatāya, na lābhena lābhaṃ nijigīsanatāya, na dārudānena …

109 This might be a free translation of a passage found in Vism I.
68/p.24:
Ito paraṃ yasmā

paccayapaṭisevanasāmantajappanairiyāpathasannissitavasena mahāniddese tividhaṃ

kuhanavatthu āgataṃ.
Tasmā tividhampetaṃ dassetuṃ paccayapaṭisevanasaṅkhātena vā ti evamādi āraddhaṃ.
Tattha cīvarādīhi nimantitassa tadatthikasseva sato pāpicchataṃ nissāya paṭikkhipanena, te ca gahapatike attani suppatiṭṭhitasaddhe ñatvā puna tesaṃ aho ayyo appiccho na kiñci paṭiggaṇhituṃ icchati, suladdhaṃ vata no assa sace appamattakam-pi kiñci paṭiggaṇheyyā ti nānāvidhehi upāyehi paṇītāni cīvarādīni upanentānaṃ tadanuggahakāmataṃ

yeva āvikatvā paṭiggahaṇena ca tato pabhuti api sakaṭabhārehi upanāmanahetubhūtaṃ

vimhāpanaṃ paccayapaṭisevanasaṅkhātaṃ kuhanavatthūti veditabbaṃ.
… Cf. Vibh 352, Vism I.
61/p.23:
Lābhasakkārasilokasannissitassa pāpicchassa icchāpakatassa yā

paccayapaṭisevanasaṅkhātena vā sāmantajappitena vā iriyāpathassa vā aṭṭhapanā …

kuhitattaṃ, ayaṃ vuccati kuhanā.
See also Nidd I 224–225 quoted in Vism I.
68–70/p.24–26 .

110 In the Pāli parallel the bhikkhu physically pretends to practice meditation and study.
In the text there is an “I” 我 before “attain jhāna”, 詐現威儀我入禪定, but this must be a corruption.
See Vism I.
70/p.26:
Yathāha katamaṃ iriyāpathasaṅkhātaṃ kuhanavatthu?

Idhekacco pāpiccho icchāpakato sambhāvanādhippāyo evaṃ maṃ jano sambhāvessatī

162

Chapter 2:
exposition of Virtue ( Sīla-niddesa)

(3) There is a bhikkhu who is covetous.
He deceivingly tells people:
“I attain the noble state [by] dwelling in seclusion” as if he practises jhāna.
That which is he says is deep and subtle, and he shows superhuman traits.
Thus, coveting gains, he exalts himself in a roundabout manner to them.
This is called the

“deceiving [by exalting oneself in a roundabout manner]”.
111

“Fawning” ( lapanā):
According to his intent, he puts up a false appearance.

Desiring gains, he praises with nice words and courts favour [by speaking] good or bad [of others].
He puts on a pleasing appearance to attract gains.
This is called “fawning”.

Q. What is “hinting” ( nemittakata)?

A. [Saying:
It is for] one who depends on welfare and [it is] for teaching the Dhamma, he desires gains for himself, not for all.
112 This is called “hinting”.
[403b]

“Bullying” ( nippesikata):
Desiring gains, he scolds others to make them fear him, or he falsely defames, or he lashes out to terrify people.
This is called “bullying”.

Q. What is “pursuing gain with gain” ( lābhena lābhaṃ nijigīsana)?

A. He likes to make small gifts in desire of greater returns.
This is called

“pursuing gain with gain”.

Such evil actions are wrong livelihood.

Furthermore, wrong livelihood is giving [gifts of] wood and bamboo;
or giving flowers, leaves and fruits;
or giving tooth-sticks or baths;
or it is to divine omens;
or to interpret dreams;
or to make astrological predictions;
or to interpret the cries of birds and animals and so on;
or to conjecture about the auspiciousness or inauspiciousness of footsteps;
or to break curses;
or to do fire oblations with ti gamanaṃ saṇṭhapeti, sayanaṃ saṇṭhapeti, paṇidhāya gacchati, … seyyaṃ kappeti,

samāhito viya gacchati, … seyyaṃ kappeti, āpāthakajjhāyīva hoti.


111 In the Pāli version the bhikkhu makes an indirect ( sāmanta), suggestive statement about his attainments.
Saṅghapāla misinterpreted sāmanta as 普 = samanta “all around/

everywhere” in 普自稱說 “publicizing oneself everywhere/widely”, = sāmantajappana,

“talking indirectly/round-about”.
See Vism I.
69/p.26:
Katamaṃ sāmantajappanasaṅkhātaṃ

kuhanavatthu?
Idhekacco pāpiccho icchāpakato sambhāvanādhippāyo evaṃ maṃ jano sambhāvessatī ti ariyadhammasannissitaṃ vācaṃ bhāsati yo evarūpaṃ cīvaraṃ dhāreti, so samaṇo mahesakkho ti bhaṇati;
… Atha vā … kuhakakuhako lapakalapako mukhasambhāvito ayaṃ samaṇo imāsaṃ evarūpānaṃ santānaṃ vihārasamāpattīnaṃ lābhī ti tādisaṃ

gambhīraṃ gūḷhaṃ nipuṇaṃ paṭicchannaṃ lokuttaraṃ suññatāpaṭisaṃyuttaṃ kathaṃ

katheti.
… Vism I.
3.25
Sāmantajappā ti samīpaṃ katvā jappanaṃ.
Vism-mhṭ I 54:
Aññaṃ viya katvā attano samīpe bhaṇanaṃ sāmantajappitaṃ.

112 依有利者而為說法要利為己心不能普.
The text is very cryptic and probably is corrupt.
Cf. Vism I.
3.20833333333333
Nemittikatāniddese nimittan-ti yaṃkiñci paresaṃ paccayadānasaṃyojanakaṃ

kāyavacīkammaṃ.

Chapter 2:
exposition of Virtue ( Sīla-niddesa) 163

flowers [etc.
];
or to peddle [goods] as a travelling merchant;
or to support army officers [by making predictions];
or to sharpen weapons.
113 Such various

[activities] are called “wrong livelihood”.

Not to commit an offence [involving wrong livelihood] is called “virtue of the purity [of livelihood]”.

40 Virtue of the restraint of the sense-faculties

Q.
What is “virtue of the restraint of the sense-faculties” ( indriyasaṃvara-sīla)?

A. If, on seeing a form, hearing a sound, smelling an odour, tasting a flavour, contacting a tangible, thinking a thought, one resolves not to transgress due to the afflictions [that are produced due to] attachment to the signs [of beauty, etc. ].114

This is called “virtue of the restraint of the sense-faculties”.

This virtue of the restraint of the sense-faculties is fulfilled in nine ways:
(1) Through eliminating evil signs [arising] at the sense-faculties;
(2) through opposing ( paṭipakkha);
(3) through non-attending ( amanasikāra);
(4) through not [even] briefly giving up [the practice] like one who extinguishes his burning head;
115 (5) through restraint like that shown by Nanda;
116 (6) through overcoming evil [states of] mind;
(7) through the mind mastering the sign of concentration;
(8) through avoidance of people who do not guard the sense-faculties;
and (9) through association with people who guard the sense-faculties.

113 The exact meaning of some of these items in the text is unclear.
See Nidd II 495:


na lābhena lābhaṃ nijigīsanatāya, na dārudānena, na veḷudānena, na pattadānena,

na pupphadānena, na phaladānena, na sinānadānena, na cuṇṇadānena, na mattikādānena,

na dantakaṭṭhadānena, na mukhodakadānena, na cātukamyatāya, na muggasūpyatāya,

na pāribhaṭyatāya, na pīṭhamaddikatāya, na vatthuvijjāya, na tiracchānavijjāya, na aṅgavijjāya,

na nakkhattavijjāya, na dūtagamanena, na pahiṇagamanena, na jaṅghapesanikena,

na vejjakammena, na piṇḍapaṭipiṇḍakena, na dānānuppadānena dhammena samena laddhā labhitvā adhigantvā vinditvā paṭilabhitvāti — annañ-ca laddhā vasanañ-ca kāle.

Cf. the list of wrong livelihoods at D I 9.

114 … 煩惱相著及受持不犯.
Cf. Vism I.
54/p.20:
Na nimittaggāhīti itthipurisanimittaṃ vā

subhanimittādikaṃ vā kilesavatthubhūtaṃ nimittaṃ na gaṇhāti, diṭṭhamatte yeva saṇṭhāti.

Vism I.
60/p.22:
rūpādīsu kilesānubandhanimittādiggāhaparivajjanalakkhaṇaṃ

indriyasaṃvarasīlan-ti veditabbaṃ.
D I 70:
… bhikkhu cakkhunā rūpaṃ disvā na nimittaggāhī

hoti nānubyañjanaggāhī.
Yatvādhikaraṇamenaṃ cakkhundriyaṃ asaṃvutaṃ viharantaṃ

abhijjhā domanassā pāpakā akusalā dhammā anvāssaveyyuṃ, tassa saṃvarāya paṭipajjati, …

115 Cf. S III 143:
Careyyādittasīso va patthayaṃ accutaṃ padaṃ.
A II 93:
Seyyathā pi

… ādittacelo vā ādittasīso vā tasseva celassa vā sīsassa vā nibbāpanāya adhimattaṃ

chandañ-ca … sampajaññañ-ca kareyya;
evam-evaṃ kho … tena puggalena tesaṃ yeva kusalānaṃ dhammānaṃ paṭilābhāya adhimatto chando … karaṇīyaṃ.

116 Nanda was the disciple foremost in sense-restraint;
see A I 25:
Etad aggaṃ … indriyesu-gutta-dvārānaṃ yadidaṃ Nando.

164

Chapter 2:
exposition of Virtue ( Sīla-niddesa)

41 Virtue connected with the requisites

Q.
What is “virtue connected with the requisites”?

A. In these eight ways one wisely reflects on using alms-food:
(1) One does not use [alms-food] for sport nor for intoxication;
(2) not for the sake of physical appearance nor for beautification;
(3) it is for maintaining and sustaining the body;
(4) for ending hunger and thirst;
(5) for supporting the holy life;
(6) one should reflect “I shall dispel old painful feelings and shall not give rise to new painful feelings;
(7) I shall subsist;
and (8) [shall experience]

blamelessness and a comfortable abiding”.
117

Q.
What is “one does not use for sport or intoxication”?

A. “By desire for food I become strong.
Therefore, I like sport, rough play, competing, and running”.
This is “sport”.

“Intoxication” is haughtiness, self-elevation, and not knowing satisfaction.

It is like an angry man who hits another one.

“Not for the sake of physical appearance nor for beautification”:
[not] for the plumpness of the body and limbs and [not] for a plump, bright complexion, which causes [other] people to delight.
Feeling dissatisfaction, one desires

[the attention of other] people.

“For maintaining and sustaining the body”:
As a wheel [-axle] needs grease,118

so one uses [food] for the maintenance of the body.

“For ending hunger and thirst”:
One should depend on a moderate amount of food.
As one is applying ointment on a sore, so one uses [food].

“For supporting the holy life”:
depending on a moderate amount of food, being strong and happy, one attains the noble path.
Perceiving [food] as if one were eating one’s own child,119 so one uses [food].

“I shall dispel old painful feelings and shall not give rise to new painful feelings”:
One takes neither too little nor too much [food].
As one swallows a decoction, so one uses [food].
120

117 This has been translated in accordance with the terms used in the explanations and the Pāli parallel.
M I 9:
Paṭisaṅkhā yoniso piṇḍapātaṃ paṭisevati neva davāya … phāsuvihāro cāti.

118 如轂須膏.
Cf. Vism I.
91/p32:
akkhabbhañjanamiva ca sākaṭiko kāyassa ṭhitatthaṃ

yāpanatthañcesa piṇḍapātaṃ paṭisevati.

119 S II 98. Also Th 445:
Uppajje ce rase taṇhā puttamaṃsūpamaṃ saro.

120 See Vism I.
93/p.33:
… bhesajjamiva gilāno.
… Sappāyaparimitabhojanena tassā paccayaṃ

vināsento taṃ purāṇañ-ca vedanaṃ paṭihaṅkhāmi …

Chapter 2:
exposition of Virtue ( Sīla-niddesa) 165

“I shall subsist”:
By moderation [in food], one’s body subsists.
As one nurses a patient, so one should use [food].
[403c]

“Blamelessness”:
By subsisting thus, one uses [food] without causing

[discomfort] to one’s body.
It is praised by the wise.
Therefore, it is called

“blamelessness”.

“Comfortable abiding”:
If one eats suitably, one will be without sloth in the first, middle, and last watches of the night and will have comfort.

Thus, in these eight ways, one wisely reflects on using alms-food.

Thus, one should use food.

42 Four reflections

Furthermore, these eight ways can be reduced to four reflections ( paṭisaṅkhā), namely, the reflection on what is to be abandoned ( pahātabba), the reflection on support ( paccaya), the reflection on subsistence, and the reflection on moderation.
121

Q.
What is “reflection on what is to be abandoned”?

A. “Not for sport or intoxication, not for physical appearance or beautification”

— this is called “the reflection on what is to be abandoned”.

“For maintaining and sustaining the body, for ending hunger and thirst, for supporting the holy life” — this is called “the reflection on support”.

“I shall dispel old painful feelings and shall not give rise to new painful feelings”

— this is called “the reflection on subsistence”.

“I shall subsist [and shall experience] blamelessness and a comfortable abiding”

— this is called “the reflection on moderation”.

These are the four reflections.

43 Three reflections

Furthermore, these four reflections can be reduced to three, namely, (1) [the reflection on avoiding ( parivajjana), (2) reflection on what is to be developed ( bhāvetabba), and (3) reflection on using ( paṭisevana)].
122

121 This passage cannot be traced in Pāli texts.

122 This passage is corrupt.
In accordance with the explanation and M I 10f, the three reflections are the reflections on avoiding ( parivajjana), developing ( bhāvanā), and using ( paṭisevana).

166

Chapter 2:
exposition of Virtue ( Sīla-niddesa)

(1) Avoiding the two extremes, one attains the middle way ( majjhima-paṭipadā).

By the reflection on avoiding, one avoids the [extreme of the] pursuit of the happiness of sense-pleasures, i.e., [one uses food] “for ending hunger and thirst”, and “I shall dispel old painful feelings and shall not give rise to new painful feelings”.
Moreover, by this reflection one avoids the [extreme of the]

pursuit of exhausting oneself ( attakilamathānuyoga).

(2) The reflection on the middle way is [the reflection on] what is to be developed.
123

(3) One reflects:
“Robes are [just] for preventing exposure to wind, cold, heat, mosquitoes, gadflies, and ants, and for concealing the private parts”.
124

Thus, the reflection on the [middle] way is [the reflection on] using.
One also reflects that medicines are just for [curing] diseases.
125

Q.
If that is so, when should one reflect?

A. With regard to the eating of alms-food and the taking of medicines, one should reflect each time that one consumes them.

With regard to the robes and lodgings, one should also reflect at the time one first obtains them.

Every day and every hour one should reflect:
“My life depends on others” —

thus one should reflect.
126

Thus, there is reflection all the time.

44 Virtue connected with the use of requisites There are four kinds of use ( paribhoga) taught by former teachers ( pubbācariyā) thus:
use as theft, use as debt, use as inheritance, and use as a master.
127

Q.
What is “use as theft”?

A. Use [of requisites] by an immoral person ( dussīla).

123 The text literally has “remaining/other reflection on middle way is to be developed”, 餘中

具足觀應當修行.

124 M I 10:
… paṭisaṅkhā yoniso cīvaraṃ paṭisevati yāvadeva sītassa paṭighātāya, …

yāvadeva hirikopīnappaṭicchādanatthaṃ.
The Pāli has “creeping animals” ( sarīsapa) or

“snakes” instead of “ants”.

125 M I 10:
Paṭisaṅkhā yoniso gilānappaccayabhesajjaparikkhāraṃ paṭisevati …

abyābajjhaparamatāya.

126 AV 87–88:
Parapaṭibaddhā me jīvikā ti pabbajitena abhiṇhaṃ paccavekkhitabbaṃ.

127 Spk II 199:
Cattāro hi paribhogā theyyaparibhogo iṇaparibhogo dāyajjaparibhogo sāmiparibhogo-ti.
Tattha dussīlassa saṅghamajjhe nisīditvā bhuñjantassā-pi paribhogo theyyaparibhogo nāma.
… Vism I.
125 does not attribute these four to “former teachers”.

Chapter 2:
exposition of Virtue ( Sīla-niddesa) 167

Q.
What is “use as debt”?

A. Use by one who has no conscience and shame, and [practises] wrong livelihood.

Q. What is “use as inheritance”?

A. Use by one who is energetic.

Q. What is “use as a master”?

A. Use by a noble one.

Furthermore, there are two kinds of use, namely, unclean use and clean use.
128

Q.
What is “unclean use”?

A. Use by one who has conscience and shame but who does not reflect — this is called “unclean”.

Q. What is “clean use”?

A. Use by one who has conscience and shame, who reflects, knows moderation and has perception of disenchantment — this is called “clean use”.

One should always use the requisites cleanly.

Thus is it to be understood.

This is called “virtue connected with the requisites”.

45 Miscellaneous topics

Accordingly, virtue of the Pātimokkha restraint is to be accomplished by great faith;
129 virtue of purity of livelihood is to be accomplished by great energy;

[404a] virtue of the restraint of sense-faculties is to be accomplished by great 128 穢污受用清白受用 or “impure use and pure use”.
Untraced in Vism, etc. 穢污 = kiliṭṭha,

duṭṭha;
清白 = parisuddha, pariyodāta.

129 Cf. Vism I.
98/p.36:
Evametasmiṃ catubbidhe sīle saddhāya pātimokkhasaṃvaro sampādetabbo.

Saddhāsādhano hi so, sāvakavisayātītattā sikkhāpadapaññattiyā.
Vism I.
10/p.36:
Yathā ca pātimokkhasaṃvaro saddhāya, evaṃ satiyā indriyasaṃvaro sampādetabbo.
Satisādhano hi so, satiyā adhiṭṭhitānaṃ indriyānaṃ abhijjhādīhi ananvāssavanīyato.
Vism I.
111/p.40:
Yathā

pana indriyasaṃvaro satiyā, tathā vīriyena ājīvapārisuddhi sampādetabbā.
Vīriyasādhanā

hi sā, sammāraddhavīriyassa micchājīvappahānasambhavato.
Vism I.
123/p.43:
Yathā

ca vīriyena ājīvapārisuddhi, tathā paccayasannissitasīlaṃ paññāya sampādetabbaṃ.

Paññāsādhanaṃ hi taṃ, paññavato paccayesu ādīnavānisaṃsadassanasamatthabhāvato.

168

Chapter 2:
exposition of Virtue ( Sīla-niddesa)

mindfulness;
130 and virtue connected with the requisites is to be accomplished by great wisdom.

Herein, virtue of the purity of livelihood follows [virtue of] the Pātimokkha restraint.

Q. Why?

A. Because [virtue] is not for the sake of life, but for abandoning worldly affairs and [for obtaining] quiet, which are to be obtained by the restraint of bodily and verbal actions.
131

These two kinds of virtue follow virtue of the restraint of sense-faculties.

Q. Why?

A. Because if one guards one’s mind well, one can guard one’s bodily and verbal actions well.

Virtue connected with the requisites is [the virtue of] restraint of sense-faculties.

Q. Why?

A. Having understood that the characteristic of origination [of suffering] is dependent on the [physical] basis ( vatthu), one [obtains] disenchantment, right mindfulness, and right concentration.
As the Fortunate One taught:

“When, bhikkhus, solid food is understood, the fivefold sense-pleasures are also understood”.
132

The virtue of the Pātimokkha restraint and purity of livelihood are included in the aggregate of virtue;
virtue of the restraint of sense-faculties is included in the aggregate of concentration;
and virtue connected with the requisites is included in the aggregate of wisdom.

130 The text has 信, “faith”, saddhā, , here, but, as Bapat (1937:
14, n.
2) points out, the text should read 念, “mindfulness”, sati, as in the Visuddhimagga.
See Vism I.
100/p.36:
Yathā

ca pātimokkhasaṃvaro saddhāya, evaṃ satiyā indriyasaṃvaro sampādetabbo.
Satisādhano hi so, satiyā adhiṭṭhitānaṃ indriyānaṃ abhijjhādīhi ananvāssavanīyato.
Vism I.
111/p.40:
Yathā ca vīriyena ājīvapārisuddhi, tathā paccayasannissitasīlaṃ paññāya sampādetabbaṃ.

Paññāsādhanaṃ hi taṃ, paññavato paccayesu ādīnavānisaṃsadassanasamatthabhāvato.

The character 深 in 深信, etc, usually corresponds to gambhīra, “deep”, but it here could correspond to atīva “very much” or uḷāra “great, lofty”;
see the Skt meanings in DDB.

Perhaps it is a mistranslation of sādhana (as in sati-sādhana “accomplishment of mindfulness” and paññā-sādhana in the Vism parallels) or sādhaka, i.e., sādhaka being interpreted as sādhika “excessive”.

131 The text is cryptic:
不為壽命而斷諸事安者所作得身口業威儀.

132 S II 99:
Kabaḷīkāre, bhikkhave, āhāre pariññāte pañcakāmaguṇiko rāgo pariññāto hoti.

Chapter 2:
exposition of Virtue ( Sīla-niddesa) 169

46 Purity of virtue and its characteristic

Q.
How to give rise to purity of virtue?
133

A.
When a bhikkhu first undertakes meditation practice ( jhāna-dhamma?
), he should reflect whether he has in himself [any offence] among the seven groups [of offences].

If one who is fully ordained134 commits an offence entailing disqualification ( pārājika), then he is cut off from the state of being a bhikkhu and stands in the virtue of the not fully ordained one ( anupasampanna-sīla).
If he stands in the virtue of the fully ordained ( upasampanna-sīla), he can attain the supreme dhamma ( aggadhamma).
135 This is what is taught by the former teachers.
136

If he sees that he has committed an offence entailing suspension ( saṅghā-

disesa), then he confesses ( deseti) through a legal act of the Saṅgha ( saṅghakamma).

If he sees that he has committed another offence, then he confesses that offence to another [bhikkhu].

If he sees that he has committed an offence related to wrong livelihood,137

then he makes a confession appropriate to the offence.
Having confessed it

[he resolves]:
“I shall not do so again”.

Likewise, if he sees that he has committed an offence related to restraint of the sense faculties or the use of requisites, he resolves:
“I shall not do so again”.

If he resolves [thus], he will achieve the most excellent [virtue of] restraint.
138

Due to the purity of virtue, he is doing every bodily and verbal action that ought to be done.

133 Read 令戒清淨 in accordance with 400c03–04 and 404a20.

134 Read 具足 instead of 具.

135 勝法, aggadhamma, uttamadhamma see Ch.8 fn. 539. Cf. A III 433:
Chahi …

dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu bhabbo aggaṃ dhammaṃ arahattaṃ sacchikātuṃ.


Nidd II 313:
Sekkhā aggadhammaṃ arahattaṃ patthenti.
Th-a I 206:
Aggadhammo-ti aggo uttamo navavidhalokuttaro dhammo suṭṭhu aviparītaṃ desito paveditoti.

136 This passage cannot be traced in Pāli texts.

137 See above 403a16–b08 and also Ch.2 fn. 163

138 Vism I.
126/p.44:
Saṃvarasuddhi nāma indriyasaṃvarasīlaṃ.
Tañ-hi na puna evaṃ

karissāmī ti cittādhiṭṭhānasaṃvareneva sujjhanato saṃvarasuddhī ti vuccati.


Paccavekkhaṇasuddhi nāma paccayasannissitasīlaṃ.
Tañ-hi vuttappakārena paccavekkhaṇena sujjhanato paccavekkhaṇasuddhī ti vuccati.

170

Chapter 2:
exposition of Virtue ( Sīla-niddesa)

He should reflect on everything, do good [actions], and abandon evil [actions].

He should reflect day and night, and dwell in the purity of virtue.
Doing so, he gives rise to purity of virtue.

Q. What is the characteristic of purity of virtue?

A. Its characteristic is to restrain afflictions,139 not to give rise to remorse, and to

[make one] achieve the fulfilment of concentration — this is the characteristic of purity of virtue.

47 Causes of virtue

Q.
Because of how many causes does one dwell in virtue?
140

A.
By two causes one dwells in virtue:
one considers the disadvantages of immorality ( dussīlya) and one considers the benefits of virtue.

Q. How “does one consider the disadvantages [of immorality]”?

A. If a person is immoral, he gets demerit and [is reborn in one of] the bad destinations ( duggati).
He is frightened and uncertain in the four assemblies.
141

The wise and virtuous reject and avoid him.
He is not taught meditation.

Deities and humans despise him.
He is disdained by all.
Thinking about [his own]

immorality, when he sees people praising the qualities of those who keep virtue, he is remorseful and has no faith.

He is always angry and disputatious in the four assemblies.
He gives rise to much resentment towards his relatives and friends.
142 He turns his back on the virtuous and takes the side of the bad.
He cannot again achieve the states of excellent concentration.
Even if he adorns himself, he looks ugly.
He is like excrement and urine that is abhorred by people.
He is like an inadequate mock-up.
[404b] He is like mud that is of no benefit in the present or the future.

He is always distressed.
If he has done a blameworthy thing, he is pursued by shame and remorse and has no ease, like a thief in prison.
He has no desire for 139 成相應及諸煩惱不起退悔.
The text is corrupt or is mistranslation.
Cf. Paṭis II 23, 243:
sabbakilesasaṃvaraṭṭhena sīlavisuddhi.
Paṭis-a I 210:
Sīlavisuddhiyā saṃvaralakkhaṇaṃ.

140 Read 幾因以是戒住 as at 400c04.

141 The assemblies of noblemen, brahmins, householders, and ascetics, or bhikkhus, bhikkhunīs, upāsakas (laymen), and upāsikās (laywomen).
Cf. D II 85:
Puna ca paraṃ gahapatayo dussīlo sīlavipanno yaṃ yad eva parisaṃ upasaṅkamati yadi khattiya-parisaṃ yadi brāhmaṇa-parisaṃ yadi gahapati-parisaṃ yadi samaṇa-parisaṃ, avisārado upasaṅkamati maṅkubhūto.

142 Or “He arouses much resentment in his relatives and friends”, 於其親友多起嫌怨.

Chapter 2:
exposition of Virtue ( Sīla-niddesa) 171

the Noble [Dhamma], as an outcaste ( caṇḍāla) has no desire for the throne.
143

Although he has wisdom sprung from learning and enjoys teaching on good qualities, people do not honour him.
He is like a dung-fire that is inferior

[to other fires].
144 At the time of death, he is confused and he will go to a bad destination.
145

In this manner, the disadvantages [of immorality] are to be considered.

One has also to consider if he changes, this bad [person] will become one with virtuous qualities.
146 One considers thus:
“The mind of the immoral one is coarse and dejected;
his [good] intentions decline and scatter.
The virtuous one has great energy and increases faith, he is an energetic person, a faithful person.”

One should carefully protect one’s virtue.
“As an ant protects its egg;
147 as a yak protects his tail;
as one protects one’s only child or one’s only eye;
as a wizard protects himself;
as a poor man protects his treasure;
and as a seafaring captain protects his ship — more than these, I should honour and protect the virtue which is to be developed”.

If one resolves in such a manner, one’s mind will be guarded, one will steadily dwell in the jhāna attainments, and one’s virtue will be protected.

143 Vism I.
154/p.54:
Nirāso saddhamme caṇḍālakumārako viya rajje.

144 如糞火生不如.
Perhaps “He is like a dung fire.
[His] rebirth [will be] inferior”.

145 D II 85:
… dussīlo sīlavipanno sammūḷho kālaṅkaroti.
Ayaṃ catuttho ādīnavo dussīlassa sīlavipattiyā.
… kāyassa bhedā paraṃ maraṇā apāyaṃ duggatiṃ vinipātaṃ nirayaṃ upapajjati.


146 若變此惡成戒功德, lit.
“If [he/one] changes, this/these bad [qualities] become good qualities.”

147 Vism I.
98/p.36:
Kikī va aṇḍaṃ camariva vāladhi, piyaṃ va puttaṃ nayanaṃ va ekakaṃ,

tath’ eva sīlaṃ anurakkhamānakā, supesalā hotha sadā sagaravā.
Khp-a 237, Sn-a I 193:
Yathā ca kikī sakuṇikā aṇḍaṃ, camarī migo vāladhiṃ, ekaputtikā nārī piyaṃ ekaputtakaṃ,

ekanayano puriso taṃ ekanayanañ-ca rakkhati, tathā ativiya appamatto attano sīlakkhandhaṃ rakkhati.
J-a III 375:
… kikī vā aṇḍaṃ viya, camarī vā vāladhiṃ viya,

mātā piyaputtaṃ viya, ekacakkhuko puriso cakkhuṃ viya rakkhati, tasmiṃ tasmiṃ

yeva khaṇe uppannakilesaṃ niggaṇhāti.
Cf. Ap 61, v.
16. Cf. Sn-a I 317:
Kikī sakuṇikā

ākāsapatanabhayena aṇḍassa upari uttānā seti:
“The kikī hen lays its egg out in the open due to fearing that it will fall down from [a nest up] in the sky.”
The kikī cannot be the

Coracias benghalensis or the Indian Blue Jay since this is a bird which lays its eggs in the holes of trees.
According to MW, in Sanskrit kikidīvi can mean a “partridge”, in which case the kikī could be the Black Francolin, Francolinus francolinus, a kind of partridge that has a loud “kik-kik” call and lays its eggs in scrapes on bare ground.
Saṅghapāla did not know the word kikī and translated it as “ant”, which does not fit since ants live in large colonies with many eggs.

173

3 - CHAPTER 3 Asceticism 1

1 Introduction

Now, the meditator ( yogāvacara) who has pure virtue and who desires to accomplish superior good qualities, also should desire to obtain the ascetic qualities ( dhutaguṇa).
Why? The meditator should undertake the ascetic qualities2

for various reasons:
for fewness of wishes, for contentment, for effacement,3

1

頭陀品第三, lit.
“Asceticism, Chapter Three”.
In the Tibetan translation this chapter is called sbyangs pa’i yon tan bstan pa, = dhutaguṇaniddesa, “Exposition of the Ascetic Qualities”.
In the Visuddhimagga it is called Dhutaṅganiddesa, “Exposition of the Factors of Asceticism”.
An English translation of the Tibetan translation of the chapter is found in Appendix I.

2

This introduction is corrupt.
At the start of this sentence there is a question marker, 何, followed by an answer marker, 答, i.e.:
“… accomplish.
Question:
Why undertake these ascetic-qualities?
Answer:
For the meditator nature/dwelling [in] various ways …”.

Read 住, “to dwell”, viharati, instead of 性, “nature”?
In Vism and in the Tibetan version there is no question and this passage makes better sense if the question is left out.

Vism II.
1/p.59:
Idāni yehi appicchatāsantuṭṭhitādīhi guṇehi vuttappakārassa sīlassa vodānaṃ hoti, te guṇe sampādetuṃ yasmā samādinnasīlena yoginā dhutaṅgasamādānaṃ

kātabbaṃ.
Evañhissa pāpicchatāsantuṭṭhitāsallekhapavivekāpacayavīriyārambhasubharatādiguṇasalilavikkhālitamalaṃ sīlañceva suparisuddhaṃ bhavissati, vatāni ca sampajjissanti.
Iti anavajjasīlabbataguṇaparisuddhasabbasamācāro porāṇe ariyavaṃsattaye patiṭṭhāya catutthassa bhāvanārāmatāsaṅkhātassa ariyavaṃsassa adhigamāraho bhavissati.

Cf. Vism III.
3.45833333333333
Dhutadhammā veditabbā ti appicchatā, santuṭṭhitā, sallekhatā, pavivekatā,

idamatthitā ti ime dhutaṅgacetanāya parivārakā pañca dhammā appicchataṃ yeva nissāyā

ti-ādivacanato dhutadhammā nāma.
Cf. Bv-a 49–50:
Dhutaguṇe ti ettha kilesadhunanato dhammo dhuto nāma, dhutaguṇo nāma dhutadhammo.
Katamo pana dhutadhammo nāma?

Appicchatā, …, idamaṭṭhikatā ti ime dhutaṅgacetanāya parivārabhūtā pañca dhammā

appicchaṃ yeva nissāyā ti ādivacanato dhutadhammā nāma.
Atha vā kilese dhunanato ñāṇaṃ dhutaṃ nāma, tasmiṃ dhutaguṇe.
Cf. Th-a III 143:
Dhutaguṇe ti kilesānaṃ

dhutena guṇena āraññakādibhāvena apekkhitaguṇe.
Karaṇatthe vā etaṃ bhummavacanaṃ.

Vin III 15:
Acirūpasampanno ca panāyasmā sudinno evarūpe dhutaguṇe samādāyavattati,

āraññiko hoti piṇḍapātiko paṃsukūliko sapadānacāriko.
Mil 352:
Kiṃ dhutaguṇa-varasamādiyanenā ti?
Aṭṭhavīsati kho panime, mahārāja, dhutaṅgaguṇā yathābhuccaguṇā,

yehi guṇehi dhutaṅgāni sabbabuddhānaṃ pihayitāni patthitāni.
Katame aṭṭhavīsati?
Idha,

mahārāja, dhutaṅgaṃ suddhājīvaṃ … sabbadukkhakkhayagamanaṃ, ime … patthitāni.

Ye kho te, mahārāja, dhutaguṇe sammā upasevanti, te aṭṭhārasahi guṇehi samupetā bhavanti.

Katamehi aṭṭhārasahi?
Ācāro tesaṃ suvisuddho hoti, …

3 無疑, lit.
“non-doubt” or “without-perplexity”.
This word occurs in the benefit sections of each of the dhutas.
The Tibetan parallel has yo byad bsnyungs pa, which corresponds to saṃlikhita in Skt (see Yokoyama & Hirosawa, Chinese-Sanskrit-Tibetan Table).

The Chinese translation is based on a misinterpretation of sallekha as a-lekha;
cf. vilekha,

“perplexity”.

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for the destruction of craving, for disaccumulation,4 for the arousal of energy, for having few duties, for being easy to support,5 for dwelling in concentration, and for the abandoning of greed.
6 [They are] the protection of wholesome virtue ( kusala-sīla).
They are the accessories of concentration.
They are the ancient lineage of the noble ones ( ariyavaṃsa).
They are the manifestation of excellent qualities.

2 Thirteen kinds of asceticism

Q.
What are the kinds of asceticism ( dhuta)?

A. There are thirteen qualities ( guṇa).
7

Two qualities are connected with robes, namely, the state8 of the rag-robe-wearer ( paṃsukūlikatta) and the state of the three-robes-wearer ( tecīvarikatta).

Five qualities are connected with food, namely, the state of the almsfood-gatherer ( piṇḍapātikatta), the state of the uninterrupted-alms-round-goer ( sapadānacārikatta), the state of the one-sitting-eater ( ekāsanikatta), the state of the food-limiter ( bhojane mattaññutā?
), and the state of the later-food-denier ( khalupacchābhattikatta).
[404c] Five qualities are connected with lodgings:
the state of the wilderness-dweller ( āraññikatta), the state of the tree root 4

The Chinese translation “freedom from doubt and for the destruction of craving” appears to be based on a combination of two interpretations of sallekha;
cf. vilekha, “perplexity”.

The Tibetan has yo byad bsnyungs pa rgyas pa, “effacement-increase”, but rgyas pa =

upacaya, caya, is a misunderstanding of apacaya (Skt apacaya), “decrease, diminution” as upacaya (Skt upacaya) “increase”.
Saṅghapāla rendered apacaya as 欲增, “increase of zeal/

desire”.
Perhaps the text transmitted to China and Tibet read upacaya instead of apacaya.

5 為自少營不受外施, lit.
“for own little activity/business ( appakicca, appasamārambha), and not accepting the offerings made by others”.
The latter is likely an interpretation of subharatā.

6

Cf.
M I 13:
Tañ-hi tassa … bhikkhuno dīgharattaṃ appicchatāya santuṭṭhiyā sallekhāya subharatāya vīriyārambhāya saṃvattissati.
Vin III 171:
Imāni, bhante, pañca vatthūni anekapariyāyena appicchatāya santuṭṭhiyā sallekhāya dhutatāya pāsādikatāya apacayāya vīriyārambhāya saṃvattanti.
(Also Vin I 305.) Vism II.
1/p.59:
appicchatāsantuṭṭhitā-

sallekhapavivekāpacayavīriyārambhasubharatādiguṇasalilavikkhālitamalaṃ … porāṇe ariyavaṃsattaye patiṭṭhāya ….

7

Of these thirteen, eleven are mentioned at A III 219–20, the other two (rag robes & three-robes) are mentioned at A I 38, M I 213, M III 40, Ud 42, Th 1060, 1123. Nidd I 66 lists eight dhutas.
The Milindapañhā (Mil 359), in a later part (see von Hinüber 1996:
85–86), and the Parivāra (Vin V 192), in its expanded version of A III 219–20, are the earliest works to list all thirteen.

8

There is no “state” here in the text, but the question and explanation below (see Ch.3

fn. 10), and the Tibetan parallel in which all austerities end in nyid, = - tta, “-ness/-state”, indicate that it is required here.

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dweller ( rukkhamūlikatta), the state of the open-air-dweller ( abbhokāsikatta), the state of the charnel-ground-dweller ( sosānikatta), and the state of the user-of-any-dwelling ( yathāsanthatikatta).
One is connected with energy, namely, the state of the sitter ( nesajjikatta).
9

Q. What is [the state of] the rag-robe-wearer?

A. The state ( bhāva) of undertaking ( samādāna) [the wearing of rag robes] that is a “state (- tta?
)”. So for the others.
10

Q.
What is the undertaking of the state of the rag-robe-wearer?

A. The rejection of [robe-] offerings by householders.
11

Q.
What is the undertaking of the state of the rag-robe-wearer?

A. The rejection of extra robes.
12

9

The text has “One kind is connected …” 一勇猛相應有一種, which differs from the preceding usage of “factors”, 法, however, the quotation of this at T 1805:
393c25 leaves out “kind”, 一勇猛相應, which accords with the Tibetan and Pāli parallels.
See Sv III 1013–1016, Mp 50–55:
Cīvarapaṭisaṃyuttāni dhutaṅgāni nāma paṃsukūlikaṅgañ-ceva tecīvarikaṅgañ-ca.
… Piṇḍapātapaṭisaṃyuttāni pana pañca dhutaṅgāni piṇḍapātikaṅgaṃ,

sapadānacārikaṅgaṃ, ekāsanikaṅgaṃ, pattapiṇḍikaṅgaṃ, khalupacchābhattikaṅgan-ti.

… Senāsanapaṭisaṃyuttāni pana pañca dhutaṅgāni āraññikaṅgaṃ, rukkhamūlikaṅgaṃ,

abbhokāsikaṅgaṃ, sosānikaṅgaṃ, yathāsantatikaṅgan-ti.
… Gilānapaccayo pana piṇḍapāte yeva paviṭṭho.
… Nesajjikaṅgaṃ bhāvanārāma-ariyavaṃsaṃ bhajati.
Vuttam-pi cetaṃ:

pañca senāsane vuttā, pañca āhāranissitā;
/ Eko vīriyasaṃyutto, dve ca cīvaranissitā

ti.
Sn-a I 342:
Cīvare taṇhaṃ mākāsīti maṃ bhagavā āhā ti cīvarapaṭisaṃyuttāni dve dhutaṅgāni samādiyi paṃsukūlikaṅgañ-ca, tecīvarikaṅgañ-ca.
… piṇḍapātapaṭisaṃyuttāni pañca dhutaṅgāni samādiyi piṇḍapātikaṅgaṃ, sapadānacārikaṅgaṃ, ekāsanikaṅgaṃ,

pattapiṇḍikaṅgaṃ, khalupacchābhattikaṅgan-ti.
… senāsanapaṭisaṃyuttāni cha dhutaṅgāni samādiyi āraññikaṅgaṃ, abbhokāsikaṅgaṃ, rukkhamūlikaṅgaṃ, yathāsanthatikaṅgaṃ,

sosānikaṅgaṃ, nesajjikaṅgan-ti.

10 答性能受持是謂為性.
This is an explanation of the suffix – tta of paṃsukūlikatta, etc. Saṅghapāla did not add 性 = – tta to the factors listed above, but the Tibetan translator did so by adding nyid, “-state”, “-ness”, “-hood”, after each factor, i.e., phyag dar khrod pa nyid, etc. Tibetan:
“Herein, the state (( sa) bhāvatā) of the factor of the refuse-robe-wearer is the state of the refuse robe wearer”.

Cf. Mp II 39:
Yadidaṃ āraññikattan-ti yo esa āraññikabhāvo.
… Sesapadesupi eseva nayo.

Cf. Kaccāyanabyākaraṇa § 360 (Be p.
194):
Paṃsukūlikassa bhāvo paṃsukūlikattaṃ.
A I 38:
Addhamidaṃ … lābhānaṃ yadidaṃ āraññikattaṃ … piṇḍapātikattaṃ … paṃsukūlikattaṃ …

tecīvarikattaṃ … M I 213:
… bhikkhu attanā ca āraññiko hoti āraññikattassa ca vaṇṇavādī,

attanā ca piṇḍapātiko hoti piṇḍapātikattassa ca vaṇṇavādī, …

11 Vism II.
14/p.63:
Paṃsukūlikaṅgaṃ tāva gahapatidānacīvaraṃ paṭikkhipāmi,

paṃsukūlikaṅgaṃ samādiyāmī ti.
Th-a 54:
Gahapaticīvaraṃ paṭikkhipitvā

paṃsukūlikaṅgasamādānena paṃsukūliko.
Cf. Sp I 206, V 1140.

12 Vism II.
23/p.64:
… tecīvarikaṅgaṃ catutthakacīvaraṃ paṭikkhipāmi, …

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Q.
What is the undertaking of the state of the almsfood-gatherer?

A. The rejection of others’ invitations.
13

Q.
What is the undertaking of the state of the uninterrupted alms-round goer?

A. The rejection of skipping [houses] while begging [for alms].
14

Q.
What is the undertaking of the state of the one-sitting-eater?

A. The not sitting down [to eat] a second time.
15

Q.
What is the undertaking of the state of the food-limiter?

A. The rejection of unbridled greed.

Q. What is the undertaking of the state of the later-food-denier?

A. The rejection of the longing [to eat] afterwards.
16

Q.
What is the undertaking of the state of the wildnerness dweller?

A. The abandonment of dwelling inside a village.
17

Q.
What is the undertaking of the state of the tree-root-dweller?

A. The rejection of dwelling in a house.
18

Q.
What is the undertaking of the state of the open-air-dweller?

A. The rejection of dwelling in any covered place.
19

13 Vism II.
27/p.66:
Piṇḍapātikaṅgam-pi atirekalābhaṃ paṭikkhipāmi, … Th-a III 53:
Saṅghabhattaṃ paṭikkhipitvā piṇḍapātikaṅgasamādānena piṇḍapātiko.

14 Vism II.
31/p.67:
… loluppacāraṃ paṭikkhipāmi, ….
Sn-a I 118:
Sapadānacārīti avokkammacārī anupubbacārī, gharapaṭipāṭiṃ achaḍḍetvā aḍḍhakulañ-ca daliddakulañ-ca nirantaraṃ piṇḍāya pavisamānoti attho.
Sn-a I 174:
Sapadānan-ti anugharaṃ.
Bhagavā hi sabbajanānuggahatthāya āhārasantuṭṭhiyā ca uccanīcakulaṃ avokkamma piṇḍāya carati.

15 Vism II.
35/p.69:
Ekāsanikaṅgam-pi nānāsanabhojanaṃ paṭikkhipāmi …

16 Vism II.
43/p.71:
Khalupacchābhattikaṅgam-pi atirittabhojanaṃ paṭikkhipāmi …

17 Vism II.
47/p.71:
Āraññikaṅgam-pi gāmantasenāsanaṃ paṭikkhipāmi …

18 The text has 屋舍, “house”, but the explanatory section below, and the Tibetan parallel, has 覆處 “roofed place”.
Vism II.
56/p.74:
Rukkhamūlikaṅgam-pi channaṃ paṭikkhipāmi

… Th-a III 53:
Channavāsaṃ paṭikkhipitvā rukkhamūlikaṅgasamādānena rukkhamūliko.

19 Vism II.
60/p.75:
Abbhokāsikaṅgam-pi channañ-ca rukkhamūlañ-ca paṭikkhipāmi… Th-a III 53:
Channarukkhamūlāni paṭikkhipitvā abbhokāsikaṅgasamādānena abbhokāsiko.

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177

Q.
What is the undertaking of the state of the charnel-ground-dweller?

A. The rejection of dwelling in other places.
20

Q.
What is the undertaking of the state of the user-of-any-dwelling?

A. The rejection of greed for lodgings.
21

Q.
What is the undertaking of the sitter?

A. The rejection of lying down [to sleep].
22

3 Rag-robe-wearer

Q.
How is the state of the rag-robe-wearer undertaken?

A. Seeing the disadvantages of seeking and begging, etc. , for householder’s robes and seeing the benefits of undertaking rag robes [one resolves]:
“[From today onwards] I reject [robe] offerings of householders and undertake the state of the rag-robe-wearer.”

Q.
What are the benefits of the undertaking of the state of the rag-robe-wearer?

A. [Wearing rag robes] resembles wearing householders’ robes;
they are not deficient.
They are obtained without depending on others.
One is not distressed when losing them.
The mind is without greed.
They are not stolen by robbers.

There are always enough [rags] to use23 and [they can be obtained] without much work.
It is a practice of good men.
It is an act of effacement.
It is connected with superior goodness.
It is a pleasant dwelling in this life ( diṭṭhadhammasukhavihāra).
It causes gladness and admiration in people, and makes them undertake it.
These are the benefits of the undertaking of rag robes, which are praised by the Buddha.
24

20 Vism II.
64/p.76:
Sosānikaṅgam-pi na susānaṃ paṭikkhipāmi, …

21 Vism II.
69/p.78:
Yathāsanthatikaṅgam-pi senāsanaloluppaṃ paṭikkhipāmi …

22 Vism II.
73/p.78:
Nesajjikaṅgam-pi seyyaṃ paṭikkhipāmi, …

23 足用常用, lit.
“enough use, continuous use”.
Cf. Vism II.
21/p.64:
paṃsukūlacīvaraṃ nissāya pabbajjā ti vacanato nissayānurūpapaṭipattisabbhāvo, paṭhame ariyavaṃse patiṭṭhānaṃ,

ārakkhadukkhābhāvo, aparāyattavuttitā, corabhayena abhayatā, paribhogataṇhāya abhāvo,

samaṇasāruppaparikkhāratā, appāni ceva sulabhāni ca tāni ca anavajjānī ti bhagavatā

saṃvaṇṇitapaccayatā, pāsādikatā, appicchatādīnaṃ phalanipphatti, sammāpaṭipattiyā

anubrūhanaṃ, pacchimāya janatāya diṭṭhānugati āpādanan-ti.

24 Cf. A III 219:
… vaṇṇitaṃ buddhehi buddhasāvakehi āraññiko hoti.
S II 202:
Attano ca diṭṭhadhammasukhavihāraṃ sampassamāno, pacchimañ-ca janataṃ anukampamāno appeva nāma pacchimā janatā diṭṭhānugatiṃ āpajjeyyuṃ.
Ye kira te ahesuṃ buddhānubuddhasāvakā te dīgharattaṃ āraññikā ceva ahesuṃ āraññikattassa ca vaṇṇavādino…

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Q.
How many kinds of rag robes are there?
Who wears rag robes?
How is it broken?

A. There are two kinds of rag robes:
(1) those that are ownerless, and (2) those that are rejected by people.

Those [rag robes] which one picks up in a charnel ground or from a rubbish-heap or in a market or a street, one cuts, dyes, pieces together, sews to completion and wears — this is called “rag robes that are ownerless”.

Left over cuttings, cattle- and mouse-gnawed, or burnt by fire or thrown away by people, offerings [at a shrine], robes covering corpses, and garments of members of other [non-Buddhist] sects — this is called “[rags robes] rejected by people”.

Q. Who wears rag robes?

A. When a bhikkhu refuses [robe] offerings from householders — he is called a “rag-robe-wearer”.

Q. How is it broken?

A. When a bhikkhu accepts the [robe] offerings from householders, it is called

“breaking”.

4 Three-robes-wearer

Q.
How is the state of the three-robes-wearer undertaken?

A. Knowing the disadvantages of the necessary cleaning, protecting and wearing of extra robes and seeing the benefits of the state of the three-robes-wearer,

[one resolves]:
“From today onwards I reject extra robes and undertake the state of the three-robes-wearer.”

Q.
What are the benefits of undertaking of the state of the three-robes-wearer?

A. It is a practice of good men;
25 avoidance of hoarding;
[being able to] travel far [and light];
having little [maintenance] work;
contentment with robes [just enough] for sustaining the body;
being like a bird flying in the sky without longings.
[405a] It is a practice of good men.
It is an act of effacement.

Q. What are the “three robes”?
Who wears three robes?
How is the state of the three robes wearer broken?

25 善人所行.
The second last benefit at 405a01 is saying the same 善人所習.

The corresponding, first benefit in the Tibetan appears to be corrupt:
“possessing the manner of being beginning/foremost”, ’ gor yang pa’ i tshul can nyid.
For the benefits, cf. Vism II.
25/p.65.

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179

A.
The double-robe ( saṅghāṭi), upper-robe ( uttarāsaṅga), and under-robe ( antaravāsaka) — this is called the “three robes”.

Q. Who wears three robes?

A. When a bhikkhu does not hoard extra robes — he is called “three robes wearer”.

If he accepts a fourth robe, this is “breaking”.

5 Almsfood-gatherer

Q.
How is the state of the almsfood-gatherer undertaken?

A. If he accepts a [meal] invitation from another, then he disrupts his own work

[which is] not for the purpose of pleasing people,26 and not [for] meeting and sitting with immoral bhikkhus.

Knowing these disadvantages and seeing the benefits of the state of the almsfood-gatherer [one resolves]:
“From today onwards I reject [meal] invitations and undertake the state of the almsfood-gatherer.”

Q.
What are the benefits of the state of the almsfood-gatherer?

A. Going and staying according to one’s wishes;
independence;
not longing for offered meals;
elimination of indolence;
abandoning of pride;
having no greed for tastes;
helping beings;
always being unobstructed in the four directions.
27

It is a practice of good men.
It is an act of effacement.

Q. How many kinds of [meal] invitations are there?
Who undertakes it?
How is it broken?

A. There are three kinds of [meal] invitations:
(1) the invitation to what is generally considered to be a meal, (2) the invitation to come [at a certain time], and (3) the invitation to meet [at a certain place].
28

26 The Tibetan has “one comes under the influence/sway of another”, gzhan gyi dbang du gyur pa.

27 Cf. Sn 42:
Cātuddiso appaṭigho ca hoti, santussamāno itarītarena;
….
For the benefits, cf. Vism II.
29/p.67. Cf. Spk II 171:
Piṇḍapātiko pana na akālacārī hoti, na turitacāraṃ

gacchati, na parivatteti, apalibuddho va gacchati, tattha ca na bahusaṃsayo hoti.

28 似食請, 就請, 遇請/過請.
It is unclear to which Pāli terms the characters correspond since there is no Pāli parallel.
似 can mean “alike”, “resembling”, sadisa, sarūpa, etc. , which would give “what resembles a meal invitation”.
DDB also lists sammata, “consent, permission, agreement, general opinion” and pratirūpa, which correspond to Pāli paṭirūpa “suitable, befitting”.
就 has a wide range of meanings:
“in consequence, according to;
at once;
then;

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One who rejects these three kinds of invitations undertakes the state of the almsfood-gatherer.

If one accepts these three kinds of invitations, this is breaking the state of the almsfood-gatherer.

6 Uninterrupted alms-round goer

Q.
How is the state of the uninterrupted-alms-round-goer undertaken?

A. If one gets much excellent [alms while going] uninterruptedly to a place, then one should not go there again.
If one goes there again, then one undertakes the normal alms-round.
[However] if there is a doubtful place, then one should avoid it too.
29

Knowing these disadvantages and seeing the benefits of the state of the uninterrupted-alms-round-goer [one resolves]:
“From today onwards I reject the interrupted alms-round and undertake the state of the uninterrupted alms-round goer.”

Q.
What are the benefits of the state of the uninterrupted alms-round goer?

A. One benefits all beings by being impartial.
One abandons dislike, selfishness, and wickedness.
One avoids wandering far [for alms] and the fault of intimacy

[with families].
One does not delight when being called [to come for alms] and does not have desire to speak much.
One keeps a distance from people’s houses.

One abstains from walking hurriedly.
One appears rarely like the moon [when full],30 and people look at one with reverence.
It is a practice of good men.
It is an act of effacement.
31

Q.
What is uninterrupted alms-round?
Who undertakes it?
How is it broken?

to come to or go to;
to complete;
to follow”, etc. 遇 likewise has many meanings:
“to meet;
to encounter;
to happen;
occasionally;
to receive;
to entertain”, etc. The Tibetan version is different:
“There are three factors of a meal, namely, (1) food, (2) which is considered as suitable, and (3) an invitation for a meal today or tomorrow or whenever it pleases one —

this is a meal.”
Cf. Vism III.
27/p.66. Cf. Sp 1267–71.

29 This refers to the expediency that he can skip a house when there is a danger, etc. ;
see the expediency section below.
This sentence is missing from the Tibetan version.

30 Cf. S II 197:
Candūpamā, …, kulāni upasaṅkamatha apakasseva kāyaṃ, apakassa cittaṃ,

niccanavakā kulesu appagabbhā.

31 Cf. Vism II.
33/p.68:
kulesu niccanavakatā, candūpamatā, kulamaccherappahānaṃ,

samānukampitā, kulūpakādīnavābhāvo, avhānānabhinandanā, abhihārena anatthikatā,

appicchatādīnaṃ anulomavuttitāti.

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A.
When a bhikkhu enters a village, he begs for food beginning at the last house

[of the village] and continues to the first one32 [without skipping any house] — this is called “uninterrupted alms-round”.

[One who rejects skipping [houses] undertakes the state of the one who goes on uninterrupted alms-round.
]33

Q.
How is it broken?

A. If one skips [a house] — this is called “breaking”.

7 One-sitting-eater

Q.
How is the state of the one-sitting-eater undertaken?

A. [Eating] in two sittings, repeatedly sitting down [to eat], repeatedly receiving food, and repeatedly washing the alms-bowl — the opposite of these is called

“eating at one sitting”.
34

Knowing the disadvantages [of eating at two sittings, etc. ] and seeing the benefits of the state of the one-sitting-eater, one should undertake:
“From today onwards I reject eating at two sittings and undertake the state of the one-sitting-eater.”

Q.
What are the benefits of the state of the one-sitting-eater?

A. [One takes] neither too much nor too little.
One is not greedy for improper offerings.
One dwells with few ills and ailments, dwells without disruption of one’s work, and in comfort.
It is a practice of good men.
It is an act of effacement.

This has been praised by the Buddhas.
35

32 從最後家以為初次.
Tibetan:
“Going continuously is going for alms to houses [and] going continuously starting from the first house”.

Cf. Sp I 206:
Sapadānacāriko ti loluppacāraṃ paṭikkhipitvā sapadānacārikadhutaṅgavasena sapadānacāriko hoti;
gharapaṭipāṭiyā bhikkhāya pavisati.
Sp-ṭ II 6:
taṇhāvasena gharapaṭipāṭiṃ atikkamitvā bhikkhāya caraṇaṃ, taṃ paṭikkhipitvā ti attho.
Tenāha gharapaṭipāṭiyā bhikkhāya pavisatī ti.
Sn-a I 118:
Sapadānacārī ti avokkammacārī

anupubbacārī, gharapaṭipāṭiṃ achaḍḍetvā aḍḍhakulañ-ca daliddakulañ-ca nirantaraṃ

piṇḍāya pavisamāno ti attho.

33 The answer to the second question is missing.
It has been supplied in accordance with the parallels in the preceding sections and the Tibetan translation;
see Appendix I.

34 The text here adds:
“This is a practice of good men.
This is an act of effacement”, 善人

所行是業無疑, but this belongs in the “benefits” section, and somehow must have been misplaced here.
It is not found in the Tibetan translation.

35 Moved here from 405b04;
see Ch.3 fn. 38

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Q.
Who undertakes eating at one sitting?
36 What are the bounds?
How is it broken?
[405b]

A.
There are three kinds of bounds:
bounded by sitting, bounded by water, and bounded by food.
37

What is “bounded by sitting”?
When, after one has eaten, one [does not] sit again [— this is called “bounded by sitting”.
]

What is “bounded by water”?
When, after one receives water and washes one’s alms-bowl, one does not eat again — this is called “bounded by water”.

What is “bounded by food”?
When, concerning a morsel of food there arises the perception “[this is] the last one”, and one swallows it, one does not eat again

— this is called “bounded by food”.

If a bhikkhu sits twice [to eat] — except for [taking] water and medicines — he breaks the state of the one-sitting-eater — this is called “breaking”.
38

8

Food-limiter

Q.
How is the state of the food-limiter undertaken?
39

36 There is no answer to this question in the Chinese.
The Tibetan indicates that this question and its answers should come after the question on the three kinds of limit.
The Chinese text is corrupt;
see Ch.3 fn. 38

37 Cf. Vism II.
36/p.69:
… Ayañ-hi bhojanapariyantiko nāma hoti.
Muduko yāva āsanā na vuṭṭhāti tāva bhuñjituṃ labhati.
So hi udakapariyantiko vā hoti yāva pattadhovanaṃ na gaṇhāti tāva bhuñjanato, āsanapariyantiko vā yāva na vuṭṭhāti tāva bhuñjanato.

38 諸佛所嘆此謂食邊, literally:
“This has been praised by Buddhas.
This is called “food-limit”.
The first sentence is earlier found at the end of the benefits of the refuse-robe-wearer practice at 404c18 and has been moved accordingly.
The latter sentence is already at the end of the last paragraph.
It can be a corruption of “This is called breaking” as found in the explanations of the other dhutas above and below.
However, judging from the Tibetan, it appears that the answers to the questions “How many kinds of eating at one sitting are there?
Who eats at one sitting?
What is bounded by food?
By what is the state of the one-sitting-eater broken?”
are garbled and partly lost in the Chinese text.

39 The Chinese and Tibetan translations 節量食 and zas chog pa pa do not correspond to the pattapiṇḍika, “bowl-food-eater”, or “one who-eats-from-the-bowl-only”, as found in the Visuddhimagga etc. , although both are found in the same place in the list of dhutaguṇas.

The explanations in the Chinese and Tibetan also indicate this.
At 402c20 節飲食 and at 407b07 節量飲食 correspond to bhojane mattaññū, “moderation with regard to food” or rather “knowing the right measure of food” (cf.
kataññu, “grateful”).
Zas chog pa pa means

“food-contentment” or “food-sufficiency” (perhaps bhojane saṃtuṣṭi or mātrajña) .
Because the emphasis in the explanation is on limiting the amount of food through measuring the right amount, the translation “food-limiter” has been chosen.

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A.
If one eats excessively, one increases physical drowsiness and heaviness.
40

One continuously gives rise to greed, desiring to [fill one’s] stomach, and being without satiety.

Knowing these disadvantages and seeing the benefits of the state of the food-limiter, [one resolves]:
“From today onwards I reject unbridled greed and undertake the state of the food-limiter.”

Q.
What are the benefits of the state of the food-limiter?

A. One limits the amount of what one eats;
one is not unbridled in [filling]

the stomach;
one knows that much eating increases fatigue and therefore does not desire [much food];
one gets rid of greed;
illness subsides;
one abandones indolence;
it is a practice of good men;
and it is an act of effacement.

Q. What is limiting food?
How is it broken?

A. When one takes a meal, one should consider the amount needed.
By always targeting [the right amount] and not taking extra food, knowing well the limit, one eliminates excess.
This is called “limiting food”.

If one does not do so, it is broken.

Cf. Sv III 778:
… catunnaṃ pañcannaṃ ālopānaṃ okāse sati udakaṃ pivitvā yāpanasīlatāya bhojanamattaññuno pi.
Teneva vuttaṃ:
Cattāro pañca ālope, abhutvā udakaṃ pive;

/ Alaṃ phāsuvihārāya, pahitattassa bhikkhuno ti.
(Th 983). Vibh-a 323:
Bhojane mattaññūti idamassa santosādiguṇaparidīpanaṃ.
Nidd-a I 65:
Bhojane mattaññutāyā ti paṭiggahaṇādīsu pamāṇayuttatāya.
Alaṃsāṭakādiṃ muñcitvā mitabhojanatāya.
Paṭis-a 652:
Bhojane mattaññutan-ti paccavekkhitaparibhogavasena bhojane pamāṇaññubhāvaṃ.
Spk III 23–27:
Bhojane mattaññū-ti bhojanamhi pamāṇaññū.
Tattha dve pamāṇāni paṭiggahaṇapamāṇañ-

ca paribhogapamāṇañ-ca.
… Tattha paribhogapamāṇaṃ paccavekkhaṇapayojanaṃ,

idamatthiyaṃ bhojanaṃ bhuñjāmī ti pana paccavekkhitaparibhogasseva payojanattā

paribhogapamāṇaṃ yeva nāma, taṃ idha adhippetaṃ.
Teneva paṭisaṅkhā yoniso ti ādim-āha, itaram-pi pana vaṭṭati yeva.

In correspondence tables of the Mahāvyutpatti, etc, 節量食 is wrongly matched to Skt nāmantika/ nāmatika, “wearing a felt/woollen garment” (e.
g., in Mahāvyutpatti, 翻譯名義

大集, Taipei 2011:
“ … nāmatika ( nāmantika) … 節量食 … ’ phying ba pa …”).
Presumably a list of dhutaguṇa of one school or period was compared with a list of another school or period, and it was wrongly assumed that 節量食 and nāmantika corresponded because they are found in the same place in the lists.
Nāmantika is not mentioned as a dhutaguṇa in Pāli works.
Perhaps it is the wearing of a refuse-robe made of coarse hemp, sāṇa paṃsukūla;
see S II 20.

40 Cf. D III 255:
Tassa evaṃ hoti ahaṃ kho gāmaṃ vā nigamaṃ vā piṇḍāya caranto alatthaṃ

lūkhassa vā paṇītassa vā bhojanassa yāvadatthaṃ pāripūriṃ, tassa me kāyo garuko akammañño, māsācitaṃ maññe, handāhaṃ nipajjāmīti.
So nipajjati na vīriyaṃ ārabhati …

Vism XIV.
145/p.465:
Kāyassa lahubhāvo kāyalahutā.
… Tā kāyacittagarubhāvavūpasamala kkhaṇā, … Vism XIV.
64/p.448:
… rūpassa lahutā, rūpānaṃ garubhāvavinodanarasā …

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9

Later-food-denier

Q.
How is the state of the later-food-denier undertaken?

A. One abandons expectation and avoids extra food.
Knowing the disadvantages

[of expectation, etc. ] and seeing the benefits of the undertaking of the state of the later-food-denier [one resolves]:
“From today onwards I reject leftover food and undertake the state of the later-food-denier.”

Q.
What are the benefits of the state of the later-food-denier?

A. One abandons greed;
desires moderation;
protects his body;
avoids hoarding food;
ceases to search [for food again];
does not have to tell others [to offer food];
one does not follow one’s wishes;
it is a practice of good men;
and an act of effacement.

Q. How many kinds of later [food] are there?
Who undertakes it?
How is it broken?

A. There are two kinds of later [food]:
bounded by immoderation and bounded by taking.

Q. What is “bounded by immoderation”?

A. If one accepts leftover food [when] one gets another invitation [to eat], [one] is blameworthy and one should not eat more.

Q. What is “bounded by taking”?

A. Having eaten twenty-one lumps of food, one should not take more.

The later-food-denier rejects leftover food.
If he takes leftover food, he breaks the state of the later-food-denier.

10

Wilderness-dweller

Q.
How is the state of the wilderness-dweller undertaken?

A. Inside the village there is distraction;
mind-consciousness contacts the five sense-pleasures ( kāmaguṇa) and the mind gives rise to sensual desire.
41

When one dwells in a busy place, there is going and coming [of people], and disorderly movement.
Knowing these disadvantages and seeing the benefits of the state of the wilderness-dweller [one resolves]:
“From today onwards I reject dwelling in the village and undertake the state of the wilderness-dweller.”

41 Cf. Spk II 170:
… diṭṭhadhammasukhavihāro nāma āraññikasseva labbhati,

no gāmantavāsino.
Gāmantasmiñhi vasanto dārakasaddaṃ suṇāti, asappāyarūpāni passati, asappāye sadde suṇāti, tenassa anabhirati uppajjati.
Āraññiko pana gāvutaṃ vā

aḍḍhayojanaṃ vā atikkamitvā araññaṃ ajjhogāhetvā vasanto dīpibyagghasīhādīnaṃ sadde suṇāti, yesaṃ savanapaccayā amānusikāsavanarati uppajjati.

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Q.
What are the benefits of the state of the wilderness-dweller?

A. Outside the village, mind-consciousness [does not] contact the five sense-pleasures and the mind [does not] give rise to sensual desire.
42 One sees [good friends endowed with] the qualities of the ten topics of discussion;
43 [enjoyment of] the supreme beauty [of nature];
deities and humans are pleased;
one does not delight in socializing ( saṃsagga);
one delights in attaining the pleasure of seclusion;
it is congenial to meditation-practice ( yoga) due to little sound [in the wilderness];
44 it is a practice of good men;
and it is an act of effacement.
45

Q.
What are the bounds of a wilderness lodging?
Who undertakes it?
How is it broken?
[405c]

A.
Within [a distance of] five-hundred bow-lengths46 — taking four forearm-lengths of an average man [as a bow-length] — outside the village wall and 42 Amended in accordance with the Tibetan text’s “avoidance of disagreeable sense-objects”.

The Chinese text repeats the sentence from the above paragraph due to a copyist’s error:

“… the mind gives rise to desire … disorderly movement”.
Cf. Vism II.
54/p.73:
Pantasenāsanavāsino cassa asappāyarūpādayo cittaṃ na vikkhipanti.

43 Cf. Vism I.
49/p.19:
Dasakathāvatthuguṇasamannāgato kalyāṇamitto … A V 129:
Dasayimāni

… kathāvatthūni.
Appicchakathā, santuṭṭhikathā, pavivekakathā, asaṃsaggakathā,

vīriyārambhakathā, sīlakathā, samādhikathā, paññākathā, vimuttikathā, vimuttiñāṇadassanakathāti.
A V 15:
Kathañ-ca … senāsanaṃ pañcaṅgasamannāgataṃ hoti?
Idha …

senāsanaṃ nātidūraṃ hoti nāccāsannaṃ gamanāgamanasampannaṃ divā appākiṇṇaṃ

rattiṃ appasaddaṃ appanigghosaṃ appaḍaṃsamakasavātātapasarīsapasamphassaṃ;

tasmiṃ kho pana senāsane viharantassa appakasirena uppajjanti cīvarapiṇḍapātase nāsanagilānapaccayabhesajjaparikkhārā;
tasmiṃ kho pana senāsane therā bhikkhū

viharanti bahussutā āgatāgamā dhammadharā vinayadharā mātikādharā;
te kālena kālaṃ

upasaṅkamitvā paripucchati paripañhati idaṃ, bhante, kathaṃ, imassa ko attho’ ti;
tassa te āyasmanto avivaṭañceva vivaranti anuttānīkatañ-ca uttāniṃ karonti anekavihitesu ca kaṅkhāṭhāniyesu dhammesu kaṅkhaṃ paṭivinodenti.

44 Cf. M III 13:
… veḷuvanaṃ ramaṇīyañceva appasaddañ-ca appanigghosañ-ca vijanavātaṃ

manussarāhasseyyakaṃ paṭisallānasāruppaṃ, yathā taṃ bhavantehi jhāyīhi jhānasīlīhi.

Jhāyino ceva bhavanto jhānasīlino ca.
A IV 87:
Sagahaṭṭhapabbajitehi kho ahaṃ …

saṃsaggaṃ na vaṇṇayāmi.
Yāni ca kho tāni senāsanāni appasaddāni appanigghosāni vijanavātāni manussarāhasseyyakāni paṭisallānasāruppāni tathārūpehi senāsanehi saṃsaggaṃ vaṇṇayāmī ti.
Cf. Sn 340:
Mitte bhajassu kalyāṇe, pantañ-ca sayanāsanaṃ;
/

vivittaṃ appanigghosaṃ, mattaññū hohi bhojane.
Cf. Th 577, Vin I 38, D III 37, A V 15.

Vibh 251:
Appasaddan-ti santike cepi … dūre cepi senāsanaṃ hoti, tañ-ca anākiṇṇaṃ

gahaṭṭhehi pabbajitehi.


45 A III 219:
yvāyaṃ āraññiko appicchataṃ yeva nissāya santuṭṭhiṃ yeva nissāya sallekhaṃ

yeva nissāya pavivekaṃ yeva nissāya idamatthitaṃ-yeva nissāya āraññiko hoti, ayaṃ

imesaṃ pañcannaṃ āraññikānaṃ aggo ….

46 五百弓內.
Vism II.
49/p.72:
Araññaṃ pana vinayapariyāye tāva ṭhapetvā gāmañ-ca gāmūpacārañ-

ca sabbametaṃ araññan-ti (Vin III 46) vuttaṃ.
Abhidhammapariyāye nikkhamitvā bahi indakhīlā,

sabbametaṃ araññan-ti (Vibh 251) vuttaṃ.
Imasmiṃ pana suttantikapariyāye āraññakaṃ

nāma senāsanaṃ pañcadhanusatikaṃ pacchiman-ti (Vin IV 183) idaṃ lakkhaṇaṃ.

Taṃ āropitena ācariyadhanunā parikkhittassa gāmassa indakhīlato aparikkhittassa

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away from the extremities of surrounding habitations — these are the bounds of a wilderness lodging.

The one who avoids dwelling inside a village is called “wilderness-dweller”.

If one dwells inside a village, one breaks the state of the wilderness-dweller.

11 Tree-root-dweller

Q.
How is the state of the tree-root-dweller undertaken?

A. One gives up [dwelling] in a roofed place47 and one does not amass livestock

[etc.
]. The desire to build and maintain and asking [for help to maintain it] —

knowing these disadvantages and seeing the benefits of the state of the tree-root-dweller [one resolves]:
“From today onwards I reject roofed places and undertake the state of the tree-root-dweller.”

Q.
What are the benefits of the state of the tree-root-dweller?

A. [Practising in] conformity with the dependence [of the root of a tree as dwelling];
48 no interaction with the world;
avoidance of delight in work;
paṭhamaleḍḍupātato paṭṭhāya yāva vihāraparikkhepā minitvā vavatthapetabbaṃ.
Kkh 81:
Tattha āraññakānī-ti sabbapacchimāni āropitena ācariyadhanunā gāmassa indakhīlato paṭṭhāya pañcadhanusatappamāṇe padese katasenāsanāni.
Sace pana aparikkhitto gāmo hoti, parikkhepārahaṭṭhānato paṭṭhāya minetabbaṃ.
… Kkh-pṭ 36:
āraññakasenāsanassa āsannagharassa dutiyaleḍḍupātato paṭṭhāya pañcadhanusatantaratā pamāṇan-ti.

Perhaps the original had two alternative explanations, i.e., (1) (everything) outside the village wall and village surroundings, and (2) five-hundred bow-lengths outside the village wall.
But both the Tibetan and Chinese suggest that the limit is five-hundred bow-lengths from the village’s extremities.
Taking 0.6 m for a forearm’s length/cubit, and a bow-length as 4 cubits, this would be 800 metre’s distance from the village.
It is said that a bow’s length should be slightly shorter than the archer’s height, so 1.6 m for a bow-length seems reasonable.
A similar definition for this dhutaṅga is in the Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya at T 1425:
389b04–05:
“The forest-dweller is one who stays inside an uninhabited [area] that is five hundred bow-lengths outside the wall of town [or] village — a bow-length being five forearm-lengths long”.
Cf. T 1425:
323b22–24.

47 Vism II.
56/p.74:
Rukkhamūlikaṅgam-pi channaṃ paṭikkhipāmi … Th-a III 53:
Channavāsaṃ paṭikkhipitvā …

48 The four dependences — rag robes as clothing, alms-food as food, roots of trees as lodging, and fermented urine as medicine — are described at Vin I 58, 96. The reading 依樂可受, lit.

“a dependence happily accepted” instead of 依樂可愛, “a dependence happily delighted in”

is preferable.
In accordance with the Pāli and Tibetan, 依, should refer to nissaya, and 樂可

愛 to anurūpa, of nissayānurūpapaṭipattisabbhāvo.
Bapat (1964:
xxvii–xxviii) conjectures

“… consonance with the (Four) Reliances, mentioned with regard to the practices of wearing dusty rags, of living on alms, and of living under a tree is found only in the Pāli and Tibetan versions.
It is not found in the Chinese version.
… Can we surmise that, in course of time, the Buddhist School to which the Chinese version belonged did not attach much importance to these conditions …?”
Although, indeed, the dependences are missing from

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[dwelling in the] company of deities;
abandoning selfishness on account of dwellings;
avoidance of attachment;
it is a practice of good men;
and it is an act of effacement.

Q. What is the [area below the] tree where one should dwell?
What trees should be avoided?
Who undertakes it?
How is it broken?

A. The area where the tree’s shadow falls during the middle of the day and the area where the leaves of the tree fall when there is no wind — this is [the area]

to be dwelt in.

One avoids dangerous decaying trees, rotten trees with hollows, and trees with spirits.

One who avoids roofed places is the one who undertakes dwelling at the root of a tree.

If one stays in a roofed place, one breaks the state of the tree-root-dweller.

12 Open-air-dweller

Q.
How is the state of the open-air-dweller undertaken?

A. One does not want to dwell in covered places, at roots of trees, and in places with livestock and goods.

Knowing these disadvantages and seeing the benefits of the state of the open-air-dweller [one resolves]:
“From today onwards I reject unwanted lodgings49 and undertake the state of the open-air-dweller.”

Q.
What are the benefits of the state of the open-air-dweller?

A. One does not dwell in unwanted lodgings;
one abandons sloth and torpor;
one is like a forest deer,50 which goes wherever it wishes without being pursued and without longing;
it is a practice of good men;
and it is an act of effacement.

the first two benefit sections as Bapat notes, the third is found in the Chinese.
The reason for the omission of the first two may simply be that Saṅghapāla misunderstood the meaning of the complex Pāli compound and therefore did not translate it.

Vism II.
58/p.74:
rukkhamūlasenāsanaṃ nissāya pabbajjā ti vacanato nissayānurūpa-paṭipatti-sabbhāvo, appāni ceva sulabhāni ca tāni ca anavajjānīti bhagavatā

saṃvaṇṇitapaccayatā, abhiṇhaṃ tarupaṇṇavikāradassanena aniccasaññāsamuṭṭhāpanatā,

senāsanamaccherakammārāmatānaṃ abhāvo, devatāhi sahavāsitā, appicchatādīnaṃ

anulomavuttitāti.

49 斷不樂處.
The Tibetan and the Vism instead have “… I refuse roof-covering and tree-root”.
Vism II.
2.5
… channañ-ca rukkhumūlañ-ca paṭikkhipāmi.
Compare the “Who undertakes … broken?”
section below, which is in accordance with the Tibetan and Vism.

50 Sn 39:
Migo araññamhi yathā abaddho yen’ icchakaṃ gacchati gocarāya.

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Q.
Who undertakes it?
How is it broken?

A. One who rejects dwelling under the coverings of roofs and at roots of trees is one who undertakes dwelling in the open air.

If one dwells under the coverings of roofs and at roots of trees, one breaks the state of the open-air-dweller.

13 Charnel-ground-dweller

Q.
How is the state of the charnel-ground-dweller undertaken?

A. In other places there is much heedlessness and no arising of urgency —

knowing these disadvantages and seeing the benefits of the state of the charnel ground dweller [one resolves]:
“From today onwards I reject other places and undertake the state of the charnel-ground-dweller.”

Q.
What are the benefits of the state of the charnel-ground-dweller?

A. Obtaining of the recollection of death;
obtaining the sign of foulness;
obtaining the respect and esteem of non-humans;
non-arising of heedlessness;
dispelling of sensual-desire;
much urgency ( saṃvega);
not fearing what is fearful;
seeing the [true] nature51 of the body;
eliminating the perception of permanence;
it is a practice of good men;
and it is an act of effacement.

Q. Where should one dwell?
How should one go?
How is it broken?

A. If one desires, at first one should dwell at such a charnel ground where there are always people, always much wailing, always smoke, and fire.

One should inquire beforehand.
Then if there are other quieter places, one may go to dwell there.
52

If a bhikkhu dwells in a charnel ground, he should not build a hut or put a bed and seat.
He should not sit or stand upwind or downwind [from corpses].
53 He should not fall into deep sleep.
54 He should not eat fish, 51 觀身空寂, lit.
“seeing the emptiness of the body”, but the Tibetan quotation and Vism II.
67

have kāyasabhāvadassana.
The characters 空寂 can have the sense of “the reality of the lack of inherent existence of all things”, and also of abhāva, “nullity, non-existence”, see DBB.
Perhaps Saṅghapāla misunderstood kāyasabhāva as kāyassa-abhāva, “the non-existence/emptiness of the body”.

52 Cf. Vism II.
66/p.77. Cf. A III 268:
Asuci, duggandhā, sappaṭibhayā, vāḷānaṃ amanussānaṃ

āvāso, bahuno janassa ārodanā — ime kho … pañca ādīnavā sivathikāya.

53 Cf. 424c26 and 425a29. Vism VI.
26/p.182:
Paṭivātānuvātañ-ca pahātabbaṃ.
Paṭivāte ṭhitassa hi kuṇapagandhena ubbāḷhassa cittaṃ vidhāvati.
Anuvāte ṭhitassa sace tattha adhivatthā amanussā honti, te kujjhitvā anatthaṃ karonti.

54 臥時不熟, “time of lying down/sleeping not completely/ripening”.
The Vism and Tibetan version do not have anything corresponding to this.

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drink milk or buttermilk, eat sesame-flour or touch cooked or raw meat.
[406a]

He should not stay inside a house.
He should not put down55 his alms-bowl.

When people come [for a funeral], he should take his sitting-cloth and other belongings and go [elsewhere].

When he arrives at a charnel ground that is suitable as a dwelling, it is as if he throws his belongings far away.
56 By dawn-rise, he should collect his robes and belongings and return to the monastery, avoiding other dwellings.
This is called “charnel ground [dweller]”.

If he dwells in any other place, it is called “breaking”.

14 User-of-any-dwelling

Q.
How is the state of the user-of-any-dwelling undertaken?

A. One does not wish [for dwellings] that people are greedy for and one does not trouble another by making him shift [from a dwelling] — knowing these disadvantages and seeing the benefits of the state of the user-of-any-dwelling

[one resolves]:
“From today onwards I reject greed for dwelling places and undertake the state of user-of-any-dwelling.”

Q.
What are the benefits of the state of the user-of-any-dwelling?

A. Contentment with the place [one gets];
desire for seclusion;
57 abandoning of greed;
being respected and esteemed by others;
one dwells wholly embracing

[others] with compassion;
it is a practice of good men;
and it is an act of effacement.

Q. Who undertakes it?
How is it broken?

55 不安鉢器, “not put [down]/place the begging bowl”.
The Tibetan has “not give the begging bowl”, lhung bzed sbyin par mi bya.
This might refer to not giving the bowl to a lay person or putting the bowl in a house, perhaps for safekeeping, or it might refer to keeping the bowl with one so that no animals will take it.

56 到塚間當其住處如擲物遠….
Saṅghapāla likely misunderstood the Pāli or the text got corrupted.
Perhaps it means that the monk should not be concerned about his belongings.

The Tibetan version is different:
“When a large crowd of people comes, he should take his seat, robes and utensils and go [to another place] not too far from the burning place.

When he is staying in a charnel-ground enclosed by a wall, and he goes back there again by dawn, he does not have to take his seat, robes and utensils”.
Perhaps the original of this passage said that if the robes are in an enclosed, presumably private and guarded, charnel ground, i.e., a safe place, that he can leave his belongings there as long as he returns before dawn (so that he is not separated from his robes at dawn, which is a nissaggiya pācittiya offence).

57 寂靜, samatha, santi, or viveka, but here would correspond to paṭisallāna, as in the Tibetan parallel.

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A.
The one who rejects greed for lodgings — he is called “user-of-any-dwelling”.

If one goes [to stay in] a place that is wished for, it is called “breaking”.

15 Sitter

Q.
How is the state of the sitter undertaken?

A. Knowing the disadvantages of coming under the sway of58 sloth, torpor, and idleness and seeing the benefits of the state of the sitter [one resolves]:
“From today onwards I reject lying down to sleep59 and undertake the state of the sitter.”

Q.
What are the benefits of the state of the sitter?

A. Abandoning of the grounds for idleness ( kusītavatthu);
60 dispelling selfishness ( macchera) on account of the body;
dispassion for the pleasure of reclining;
61

little attachment to sleep;
always having much calm and being fit for developing distinction in jhāna;
it is a practice of good men;
and it is an act of effacement.

Q. Who undertakes it?
How is it broken?

A. One who rejects lying down to sleep [is one who undertakes the state of the sitter].

If one lies down, it is called “breaking”.

58 於所住處睡眠懈怠 = “in the dwelling-place [of] torpor and sloth”, which does not make sense.
The Tibetan instead has “coming under the sway of sloth, torpor, and idleness”.

Dbang du ’ gro ba = vasagata, vasaṃ gacchati, etc. Probably Saṅghapāla misunderstood vasa-gata as ( ā) vāsa-gata.

59 惛臥, lit.
“stupor of lying down”, but below, at 406a15, 睡臥, “lying down to sleep” is used.

The Tibetan and Vism indicate that just “lying down” is intended.

60 生怠處.
Cf. the eight grounds of laziness, 八懶處, at Ch.11 § 21/448a15–16.

61 染觸樂.
Saṅghapāla misunderstood passasukha, “pleasure of reclining” as phassasukha.

The Tibetan has ’ phres pa’ i bde ba la ma chags pa, “is dispassionate to the pleasure of reclining/reposing”.

Cf. Vism II.
75/p.79:
… seyyasukhaṃ passasukhaṃ middhasukhaṃ anuyutto viharatī ti vuttassa cetaso vinibandhassa upacchedanaṃ, sabbakammaṭṭhānānuyogasappāyatā,

pāsādikairiyāpathatā, vīriyārambhānukūlatā, sammāpaṭipattiyā anubrūhananti.

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16 Expediencies

Q.
What are the expediencies62 regarding the state of the rag-robe-wearer?
63

A.
If, as an expediency, one accepts robes made of hemp, cotton, silk, and wool, etc. ,64 that are offered by house-holders, then one does not break the state of the rag-robe-wearer.

Q. What are the expediencies regarding the state of the three-robes-wearer?

A. The extra robe-cloth that can be stored for ten days at most,65 the month’s-expectation robe-cloth,66 the kaṭhina robe,67 extraordinary robe,68

62 方便 = upāya;
Tibetan skabs phye ba = skabs, “time, occasion, opportunity” + phye ba

“differentiation, distinction:
” perhaps meaning “special occasion” or “abnormal occasion”.

Both Bapat and EKS translated it as “expedience” and this is maintained here.
Vism II.
19/

p.
64, etc. , has some of these “expediencies” in the vidhāna or “directions” sections, but, although vidhāna can mean “expediency” in Sanskrit (see MW), Vism also gives directions that are not expediencies.
Perhaps it corresponds to accāyika, “extraordinary/irregular

[reason]” or “urgent [reason]”?

63 云何離糞掃衣, lit.
“what is exempt from refuse-robes” but the answer, in the Tibetan, and the questions to the other dhutaguṇas (406a21, etc) indicate that it should be 云何

糞掃衣方便.

64 homa, kappāsa, koseyya, kambala.
Cf. Vin I 58:
Paṃsukūlacīvaraṃ nissāya pabbajjā,

tattha te yāvajīvaṃ ussāho karaṇīyo;
atirekalābho khomaṃ, kappāsikaṃ, koseyyaṃ,

kambalaṃ, sāṇaṃ, bhaṅgaṃ.

65 This refers to an extra robe or robe-cloth ( atirekacīvara) that can be kept for ten days at the most outside of the kaṭhina season, as described in the first nissaggiya pācittiya rule in the Pātimokkha;
see Vin III 196:
Niṭṭhitacīvarasmiṃ bhikkhunā ubbhatasmiṃ kathine dasāhaparamaṃ atirekacīvaraṃ dhāretabbaṃ, taṃ atikkāmayato nissaggiyaṃ pācittiyaṃ.

“Extra robe” is any robe (-material) that is not determined or assigned.
Vin III 196:
Atirekacīvaraṃ nāma anadhiṭṭhitaṃ avikappitaṃ.

Tibetan:
“When there is an expectation of a supplement (of robe material), to keep/keeping an extra robe for ten days”.
The first part of this sentence refers to the third nissaggiya pācittiya rule, while the second part to the first rule, see above.
The Tibetan translator misunderstood the original;
see the next footnote.

66 月望:
“month’s-expectation” or “full-moon”.
This refers to the “untimely” robe ( akālacīvara) in the third nissaggiya pācittiya that can be kept for a month at most ( māsaparamaṃ) when there is the expectation ( paccāsāya) that enough cloth will be obtained within that month to finish making the robe.

Vin III 199:
Niṭṭhitacīvarasmiṃ bhikkhunā ubbhatasmiṃ kaṭhine bhikkhuno paneva akālacīvaraṃ uppajjeyya, … no cassa pāripūri, māsaparamaṃ tena bhikkhunā taṃ cīvaraṃ

nikkhipitabbaṃ ūnassa pāripūriyā satiyā paccāsāya.


67 The Tibetan does not mention the kaṭhina robes.
One of the five kaṭhina season benefits is that a bhikkhu can accept as much robe as he needs without having to determine or assign it;
see Vin I 253 and Sp 1106:
Yāvadatthacīvaran-ti yāvattakena cīvarena attho,

tāvattakaṃ anadhiṭṭhitaṃ avikappitaṃ kappissatī ti attho.

68 長衣 = atirekacīvara, “extra-robe” but this type was already mentioned.
Probably this is due to a misunderstanding of acceka of accekacīvara, “urgent/extraordinary robe” as atireka.

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sheets for protecting the lodging ( paccattharaṇa?
), cloth for covering sores ( kaṇḍupaṭicchādi), handkerchiefs ( mukhapuñchana), and the rains bathing cloth ( vassikasāṭika), which are undetermined and unassigned:
69 if one [accepts these]

as an expediency, one does not break the state of the three-robes-wearer.

Q. What are the expediencies regarding the state of the almsfood-gatherer?

A. If as an expediency one accepts a community meal ( saṅghabhatta), a continuous meal ( niccabhatta), a ticket meal ( salākabhatta), a fortnightly meal ( pakkhikabhatta), an observance day meal ( uposathabhatta), a group meal ( gaṇabhatta), or a monastery meal ( vihārabhatta),70 one does not break the state of the almsfood-gatherer.
However, if one sees the disadvantage of these, one should reject them too.
71

Q.
What are the expediencies regarding the state of the uninterrupted alms-round goer?

A. When there is an elephant or horse, etc. ,72 at the gate [of a house], or when there is a quarrel or something shameful [happening], etc. , — when one sees such An accekacīvara can also be stored for 10 days at most (except for the robe-making season when it can be kept for a month) and would fit in this list of exceptions.
For accekacīvara, see Vin III 260:
Dasāhānāgataṃ kattikatemāsikapuṇṇamaṃ bhikkhuno paneva accekacīvaraṃ

uppajjeyya, accekaṃ maññamānena bhikkhunā paṭiggahetabbaṃ, paṭiggahetvā yāva cīvarakālasamayaṃ nikkhipitabbaṃ.
Tato ce uttari nikkhipeyya, nissaggiyaṃ pācittiyaṃ.

69 These are all types of allowable extra robes that can be temporarily used by a tecīvarika if they are not determined or assigned ( anadhiṭṭhitaṃ avikappitaṃ;
see Sp 1106 in Ch.3

fn. 67). The Tibetan has “determined [and] assigned” but these robes cannot be determined or assigned because then ownership is assumed directly or indirectly and then the bhikkhu has more than three robes and thereby breaks this dhutaguṇa.
For the “determination” and

“dual ownership” of robes, see Ṭhānissaro 2007, Chapter 7.1 and 8.6, and Pācittiya 59

(Vin IV 121).

Cf.
Vin I 296:
Anujānāmi … ticīvaraṃ adhiṭṭhātuṃ na vikappetuṃ;
vassikasāṭikaṃ vassānaṃ

cātumāsaṃ adhiṭṭhātuṃ, tato paraṃ vikappetuṃ;
nisīdanaṃ … paccattharaṇaṃ adhiṭṭhātuṃ

na vikappetuṃ;
kaṇḍuppaṭicchādiṃ yāva ābādhā adhiṭṭhātuṃ tato paraṃ vikappetuṃ;

mukhapuñchanacoḷaṃ … parikkhāracoḷaṃ adhiṭṭhātuṃ na vikappetunti.

70 Vin I 95:
Piṇḍiyālopabhojanaṃ nissāya pabbajjā.
Tattha te yāvajīvaṃ ussāho karaṇīyo.

Atirekalābho saṅghabhattaṃ, uddesabhattaṃ, nimantanaṃ, salākabhattaṃ, pakkhikaṃ,

uposathikaṃ, pāṭipadikaṃ.
Vin IV 75:
niccabhattaṃ salākabhattaṃ … Vism II.
27/p.66:
Tena pana piṇḍapātikena saṅghabhattaṃ, uddesabhattaṃ, nimantanabhattaṃ, … vihārabhattaṃ,

dhurabhattaṃ, vārakabhattan-ti etāni cuddasa bhattāni na sāditabbāni.
Sace pana saṅghabhattaṃ

gaṇhathati ādinā nayena avatvā amhākaṃ gehe saṅgho bhikkhaṃ gaṇhātu, tumhepi bhikkhaṃ gaṇhathā ti vatvā dinnāni honti, tāni sādituṃ vaṭṭanti.

71 The Tibetan has:
“Only when seeing the disadvantage of illness (’ hon), they are to be partaken of”, i.e., one may only partake of these meals when one is ill.

72 Cf. M I 10:
… paṭisaṅkhā yoniso caṇḍaṃ hatthiṃ parivajjeti, caṇḍaṃ assaṃ parivajjeti,

caṇḍaṃ goṇaṃ parivajjeti, caṇḍaṃ kukkuraṃ parivajjeti, ahiṃ …

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[things] and others, one can avoid [that house].
73 When one sees [a house of]

outcastes ( caṇḍāla),74 or when [a legal act of] overturning the alms-bowl [is in effect],75 or when there is [a house of] a family of trainees,76 or when one accompanies one’s preceptor, one’s teacher, or a visiting bhikkhu [on alms-round] — when for such and other expediencies one skips [a house], one does not break the state of the uninterrupted alms-round goer.

Q. What are the expediencies regarding the state of the one-sitting-eater?

A. If, in the course of taking a meal at the proper time, one sees an elephant, a horse, a cow, or a snake [coming], or rain [is coming], or if one sees one’s preceptor coming, or one’s teacher, or a visiting bhikkhu, and one stands up77 as 73 Cf. Vism II.
31/p.67:
Tena pana sapadānacārikena gāmadvāre ṭhatvā parissayābhāvo sallakkhetabbo.
Yassā racchāya vā gāme vā parissayo hoti, taṃ pahāya aññattha carituṃ

vaṭṭati.

74 The Tibetan has “a family/house where the food is not suitable/allowable [for a monk] to eat/partake of” ( zas bzar mi rung ba’ i khyim).
This could refer to families who would offer unallowable ( akappiya) meats such as dog-meat and/or meat of an animal killed for the purpose of offering it to monks, such as could be done by a butcher.
In Pāli literature the caṇḍāla is associated with the profession of removing and scavenging animal corpses;
see J-a III 195:
chavachaḍḍakacaṇḍālā and Nidd-a II 293:
caṇḍālo ti chavacaṇḍālo.
They were said to eat meat of dogs and thrown away food;
see Thī 509:
Kāhinti khu taṃ kāmā, chātā

sunakhaṃ va caṇḍālā;
J-a V 450:
chavakasamasadisan-ti sunakha-maṃsa-khāda-caṇḍālena samaṃ sadisaṃ;
J-a IV 380:
… sapāko ti sapāko caṇḍālo … ( sapāka = Skt śvapāka “dog-cooker”);
Ap-a 335:
sunakhocchiṭṭhabhattabhuñjanakacaṇḍālakule jāto ti.

75 The pattanikkujjana is a special disciplinary procedure by which bhikkhus, after having performed a legal act of the Saṅgha ( saṅghakamma) entitling them to do so, can show their disapproval of a misbehaving layperson by turning upside down their alms-bowls when he wants to offer them alms-food.
When the layman’s conduct improves, and a legal act has been performed, the boycott can be cancelled and monks can receive food from him in their alms-bowls.

See Vin II 125–26, A IV 344:
Aṭṭhahi … aṅgehi samannāgatassa upāsakassa ākaṅkhamāno saṅgho pattaṃ nikkujjeyya Katamehi aṭṭhahi?
Bhikkhūnaṃ alābhāya … anatthāya …

avāsāya parisakkati, bhikkhū akkosati paribhāsati, bhikkhū bhikkhūhi bhedeti, buddhassa …

dhammassa … saṅghassa avaṇṇaṃ bhāsati.
Anujānāmi … imehi aṭṭhahaṅgehi samannāgatassa upāsakassa pattaṃ nikkujjituṃ.
Evañ-ca pana … nikkujjitabbo.
Byattena bhikkhunā

paṭibalena saṅgho ñāpetabbo:
Suṇātu me, bhante, saṅgho.
… Yadi saṅghassa pattakallaṃ, saṅgho vaḍḍhassa licchavissa pattaṃ nikkujjeyya, asambhogaṃ saṅghena kareyya.
Esā ñatti.

76 This refers to a rule that forbids monks to accept and eat the food given by overly-generous families that have been declared trainees through a legal act ( saṅghakamma) in order to protect them from giving beyond their means to overly demanding monks.

See Vin IV 180:
Yāni kho pana tāni sekkhasammatāni kulāni, yo pana bhikkhu tathārūpesu sekkhasammatesu kulesu pubbe animantito agilāno khādanīyaṃ vā bhojanīyaṃ vā sahatthā

paṭiggahetvā khādeyya vā bhuñjeyya vā, paṭidesetabbaṃ tena bhikkhunā… Cf. Vin II 208:
agocaro pucchitabbo, sekkhasammatāni kulāni pucchitabbāni.

77 Junior monks have to rise from their seats as a sign of respect to seniors.
Cf. Vism II.
35/p.69:
Sacassa vippakate bhojane ācariyo vā upajjhāyo vā āgacchati, uṭṭhāya vattaṃ kātuṃ vaṭṭati.

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an expediency, and after having stood up, eats again, one does not break the state of the one-sitting-eater.

The states of the food-limiter and the later-food-denier are without expediencies.

[406b]

Q.
What are the expediencies regarding the state of the wilderness-dweller?

A. If one lives inside a village ( gāmanta) as an expediency for [attending a legal act of] full admission ( upasampadā), for confession of offences, for hearing the Dhamma, for the observance-day ceremony ( uposatha), for the invitation ceremony ( pavāraṇā), when oneself is ill, or looking after one who is ill,78

for inquiring about points of a discourse that one is uncertain about — for such and other reasons, one does not break the state of the wilderness-dweller.

Q. What are the expediencies regarding the state of the tree-root-dweller?

A. If one would enter a covered place because of encountering rain and returns again by dawn-rise, one does not break the state of the tree-root-dweller.

The state of the open-air-dweller, charnel-ground-dweller, and user-of-any-dwelling have the same expediencies [as the wilderness-dweller and tree root dweller].
In such cases, they can also dwell in other dwelling-places.

The state of the sitter is without expediencies.
Yet certain ones say that when one

[lies down] as an expediency to pour [medicine] into the nose,79 one does not break the state of the sitter.

17 Eight and three kinds of asceticism

These thirteen kinds of asceticism can be further [combined to] eight.
80 As is taught in the Abhidhamma:
“There are eight kinds of asceticism.”
81

78 Cf. Vism II.
52/p.72–73.

79 No such expedience is mentioned in Pāli texts.
It refers to the “nose treatment” or natthukamma allowed in Vin I 204, and consisting of the pouring of medicinal oil into the nose (D-a I 98) while lying down.
The Dhammapada Commentary (Dhp-a I 9–12) tells the story of a monk who had taken up the sitter’s practice.
Although he subsequently suffered an eye ailment, he refused to folllow the advice of his physician to pour the medicinal oil into his nose while lying down.
He stubbornly did so while sitting, and therefore went blind.

80 Cf. 412a29:
“The six persons may through analysis be reduced to three.”

81 Nidd I 66:
Aṭṭha dhutaṅgāni:
āraññikaṅgaṃ, piṇḍapātikaṅgaṃ, paṃsukūlikaṅgaṃ,

tecīvarikaṅgaṃ, sapadānacārikaṅgaṃ, khalupacchābhattikaṅgaṃ, nesajjikaṅgaṃ, yathā-

santhatikaṅgaṃ — idaṃ vuccati vataṃ, na sīlaṃ.

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The state of the food-limiter and one-sitting-eater are included in the state of the later food denier.
[Why?] Because that which is received is of one kind.
82

The state of the tree-root-dweller, open-air-dweller, and the charnel-ground-dweller are included in the state of the wilderness-dweller.
Why? If one builds a hut, one delights in work, one accumulates and stores up much [things], and has attachment towards the dwelling place, which are not agreeable to the

[quality of] mind.
Considering thus, one dwells in purity under a tree, in a charnel ground or in the open air.

Therefore, there are eight.

These eight kinds of asceticism can be further [combined to] three:
the state of the wilderness-dweller, rag-robe-wearer and almsfood-gatherer.
If these three are pure, the kinds of asceticism are fulfilled.
Therefore, the Buddha said to Nanda:

“When shall I see you as wilderness-dweller, rag-robe-wearer, and later food denier, not nursing body and life, not longing for sense-pleasures?”
83

18 Miscellaneous topics

Q.
What are the factors of asceticism?
How many kinds of ascetic states are there?
Which persons of the three temperaments practise the kinds of asceticism?

How many kinds of asceticism have a season?
Who is an ascetic and who is a proponent of the kinds of asceticism?

A. There are thirteen kinds of asceticism, which were taught by the Buddha and are virtues declared by the Buddha84 — this is called “factors of asceticism”.

82 I.e., all three receive food.
The Tibetan version has a different explanation here;
see Appendix I.

83 S II 281:
Kadāhaṃ nandaṃ passeyyaṃ, āraññaṃ paṃsukūlikaṃ;
/ aññātuñchena yāpentaṃ,

kāmesu anapekkhinanti.

“One who is refusing later food, not nursing body and life” is not in the Tibetan and Pāli and is due to a misunderstanding of aññātuñchena yāpentaṃ, “sustaining himself by scraps of strangers”.

84 佛所制戒 = buddha-paññattāni sīlāni / sikkhāpadāni.
Compare 制諸戒, “declares training-rules”, sikkhāpadāni paññāpeti, at 428a12. The Tibetan translation (see Appendix I § 17) is quite different:
“Those [factors] which remove ( dhunāti?
) the thirteen grounds ( vatthu)

[of afflictions] are the factors of asceticism.”
This is closer to the parallel in the Vism:

“All these, however, are the practices ( aṅga) of a bhikkhu who is ascetic ( dhuta) because he has shaken off ( dhuta) defilement by undertaking one or other of them.
Or the knowledge that has got the name “ascetic” ( dhuta) because it shakes off ( dhunana) defilement is a practice belonging to these, thus they are ‘ascetic practices’ ( dhutaṅga).
Or alternatively, they are ascetic ( dhuta) because they shake off ( niddhunana) opposition, and they are practices because they are a way ( paṭipatti).”
(Translation by Ñāṇamoli 2010:
57.) Vism II.
11/p.61;
Vism II.
78/p.80:
Sabbāneva panetāni tena tena samādānena dhutakilesattā dhutassa

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These [kinds of asceticism] are not to be spoken of ( navattabba) as wholesome, unwholesome or indeterminate.
Why? Because there are bad persons with evil wishes, who do not abandon the evil wishes that arise together with the immoral greed for gain, therefore there are unwholesome kinds of asceticism.
85

Q.
How many kinds of ascetic states are there?

A. There are two ascetic states:
non-greed and non-delusion.
As the Buddha said:

“If a bhikkhu who wears rag robes does so dependent on fewness of wishes, contentment, enjoyment of solitude, effacement, and dependent on freedom, then he is called ‘one who undertakes [the state of] rag-robe-wearer’.”
86

bhikkhuno aṅgāni, kilesadhunanato vā dhutan-ti laddhavohāraṃ ñāṇaṃ aṅgaṃ etesan-ti dhutaṅgāni.
Atha vā dhutāni ca tāni paṭipakkhaniddhunanato aṅgāni ca paṭipattiyātipi dhutaṅgāni.

The part on virtue in the Chinese does not fit since sīla is usually distinguished from vata

“observance”, in which the dhutaguṇa are included (see Ch.2 § 6).

85 Navattabba means that the dhutaṅgas cannot be spoken of in terms of the Dhammasaṅgaṇī’s

“wholesome triad”, kusalattika — i.e., kusalā, akusalā & avyākatā dhammā.
The Vism refers to this as kusalattikavinimutta “free from the wholesome triad”.
This entails that the dhutaṅgas are paññatti, “designation”, and indeed Upatissa lists dhutaṅga as the 6th kind of paññatti at Ch.11.36/p.449a28;
see Ch.11 fn. 195. The Vism-mhṭ rejects this idea of the Abhayagirivāsins, arguing that then “due the non-existence of it (i.e., the dhutaṅga) in the highest sense, there would also not be the sense of shaking off ( dhunanaṭṭho) of the defilements”.
Cf. Bapat 1937:
xxxviiif;
81.8333333333333
xxviiif and Mori 1988:
6

Cf.
Vism II.
78f:
Tattha kusalattikato ti sabbāneva hi dhutaṅgāni sekkhaputhujjanakhīṇāsavānaṃ

vasena siyā kusalāni, siyā abyākatāni, natthi dhutaṅgaṃ akusalanti.
Yo pana vadeyya pāpiccho icchāpakato āraññiko hotī ti (A III 219) ādivacanato akusalam-pi dhutaṅgan-ti.

So vattabbo na mayaṃ akusalacittena araññe na vasatī ti vadāma.
Yassa hi araññe nivāso,

so āraññiko.
So ca pāpiccho vā bhaveyya appiccho vā, imāni pana tena tena samādānena dhutakilesattā dhutassa bhikkhuno aṅgāni, kilesadhunanato vā dhutan-ti laddhavohāraṃ

ñāṇaṃ aṅgametesan-ti dhutaṅgāni.
… Yesam-pi kusalattikavinimuttaṃ dhutaṅgaṃ, tesaṃ

atthato dhutaṅgam-eva natthi.
Asantaṃ kassa dhunanato dhutaṅgaṃ nāma bhavissati.

Dhutaguṇe samādāya vattatī ti vacanavirodho pi ca nesaṃ āpajjati, tasmā taṃ na gahetabban-ti ayaṃ tāva kusalattikato vaṇṇanā.
Vism-mhṭ I 103:
Akusalam-pi dhutaṅgan-ti akusalacittenā pi dhutaṅgasevanā atthī ti adhippāyo.
Taṃ na yuttaṃ, yena akusalacittena pabbaji-tassa āraññikattaṃ, taṃ dhutaṅgaṃ nāma na hoti.
Kasmā? Lakkhaṇābhāvato.
Yaṃ

hidaṃ kilesānaṃ dhunanato dhutassa puggalassa, ñāṇassa, cetanāya vā aṅgattaṃ, na taṃ

akusaladhammesu sambhavati.
… Yesan-ti abhayagirivāsike sandhāyāha, te hi dhutaṅgaṃ

nāma paññattī ti vadanti.
Tathā sati tassa paramatthato avijjamānattā kilesānaṃ dhunanaṭṭho pi na siyā, samādātabbatā cā ti tesaṃ vacanaṃ pāḷiyā virujjhatī ti dassetuṃ kusalattika-vinimuttan-ti ādi vuttaṃ.
… Cf. Nidd I 66–67 (in Ch.2 fn. 34) on the distinction between sīla and vata.

不善人 literally means “unwholesome person” = akusala-puggala, but this word is not found elsewhere in the Vim nor in Pāli texts.

86 A III 219:
….
appicchataṃ yeva nissāya santuṭṭhiṃ yeva nissāya sallekhaṃ yeva nissāya pavivekaṃ yeva nissāya idamatthitaṃ yeva nissāya paṃsukuliko hoti, ayaṃ imesaṃ pañcannaṃ

paṃsukulikānaṃ aggo … Cf. Vism II.
84/p.81:
Dhutadhammā veditabbā ti appicchatā, …,

idamatthitā ti ime dhutaṅgacetanāya parivārakā pañca dhammā appicchataṃ yeva nissayati

Chapter 3:
asCetiCism

197

Likewise, the other kinds of asceticism are also [states of] non-greed and non-delusion.

By this non-greed, one removes ( dhunāti) greed in thirteen grounds ( vatthu).

By this non-delusion, one removes ignorance in thirteen grounds.
87

Furthermore, by this non-greed, which the Buddha sanctioned, he can give rise to disenchantment.
In conformity with effacement, he removes the deception of

[the pursuit of] sense-pleasures.
In conformity with non-delusion, he removes the deception of [the pursuit of] exhausting oneself ( attakilamatha).
88

These are the two ascetic states:
non-greed and non-delusion.

Q. Which persons of the three temperaments practise the kinds of asceticism?

A. The one with a greed temperament and the one with a delusion temperament, these [persons] can practise the kinds of asceticism.
[406c] The person with a hate temperament cannot practise the kinds of asceticism.

Why can the person with a greed temperament and the person with a delusion temperament practise the kinds of asceticism?

The person with a greed temperament [who undertakes the kinds of asceticism in dependence upon painful practice]89 becomes heedful.
If he is heedful, greed is arrested.

ādivacanato dhutadhammā nāma, tattha appicchatā ca santuṭṭhitā ca alobho.
Sallekhatā

ca pavivekatā ca dvīsu dhammesu anupatanti alobhe ca amohe ca.
Idamatthitā ñāṇam-eva.

Cf. Sp III 607:
Dhutā sallekhavuttinoti yā paṭipadā kilese dhunāti, tāya samannāgatattā

dhutā.
Yā ca kilese sallikhati, sā etesaṃ vuttī ti sallekhavuttino.

Saṅghapāla didn’t understand idamatthitā/ idamatthikatā/ idamaṭṭhikatā:
“ ‘this-is-sufficient’- ess”, “ ‘this-is-enough-for-the-purpose’-ness” and instead translated it as “freedom”

(- matthitā > *- muttitā/ muktatva?
). The Tibetan translator understood it properly.

See Th 984:
Kappiyaṃ taṃ ce chādeti, cīvaraṃ idamatthikaṃ;
alaṃ phāsuvihārāya,

pahitattassa bhikkhuno.
Th-a III 99:
Idamatthikan-ti idaṃ payojanatthaṃ satthārā

vuttapayojanatthaṃ yāvadeva sītādipaṭighātanatthañ-ceva hirīkopīnapaṭicchādanatthañ-

cā ti attho.
Etena kāyaparihāriyaṃ cīvaraṃ tattha itarītarasantosañ-ca vadati.

87 Cf. Vism II.
84/p.81:
Tattha ca alobhena paṭikkhepavatthūsu lobhaṃ, amohena tesveva ādīnavapaṭicchādakaṃ mohaṃ dhunāti.
The Tibetan version has this at the end of this “two states” section.

88 Cf. Vism II.
3.5
… amohena tesveva ādīnavapaṭicchādakaṃ mohaṃ dhunāti.
Alobhena ca anuññātānaṃ paṭisevanamukhena pavattaṃ kāmasukhānuyogaṃ, amohena dhutaṅgesu atisallekhamukhena pavattaṃ attakilamathānuyogaṃ dhunāti.
Mp-ṭ 151:
Paṭikkhepavatthūsūti dhutaṅgasevanāya paṭikkhipitabbavatthūsu pahātabbavatthūsu.
Vism-mhṭ 105:
Paṭikkhepavatthūsū ti gahapaticīvarādīsu tehi tehi dhutaṅgehi paṭikkhipitabbavatthūsu.


Tesveva vā ti paṭikkhepavatthūsu eva.

89 至愛, “is craving” or “under the influence of craving”, which does not make sense.

The Pāli and Tibetan parallels instead have “dependent upon painful practice”,

198

Chapter 3:
asCetiCism

The person with a delusion temperament who undertakes the kinds of asceticism in dependence upon effacement becomes heedful.
If he is heedful, delusion is arrested.
That is why the person with a greed temperament and the person with a delusion temperament can practise the kinds of asceticism.

The person with a hate temperament [who practises] a painful practice ( dukkhapaṭipadā) does even more harm to himself, just as a someone afflicted with a bile disorder by taking hot drinks increases [for the worse] his disorder.
90

It is also said:
91 “A person with a hate temperament should dwell in a wilderness or under a tree.
Why should he dwell in a wilderness [or under a tree]?
Because there is no worldly suffering there.”
92

Q.
How many kinds of asceticism have a season ( utu)?

A. Three kinds of asceticism have an eight-month season, namely, the state of the tree-root-dweller, the state of the open-air-dweller, and the state of the charnel-ground-dweller.
The Buddha allowed a covered [dwelling] place in the rainy season ( vassāna).
93

dukkhāpaṭipadañ-ca nissāya.
Saṅghapāla or a copyist might not have understood this, or did not agree with it.
Below, at 406c05, 受苦更, “undertaking a painful practice” is used.

Possibly 至愛 is a corruption of 苦更.

Tibetan:
’ dod chags spyod pa bsgrub dka’ ba la brten nas ’ dod chags rnam par gnon par ’ gyur.
Vism II.
86/p.81:
Kassa dhutaṅgasevanā sappāyā ti rāgacaritassa ceva mohacaritassa ca.
Kasmā? Dhutaṅgasevanā hi dukkhāpaṭipadā ceva sallekhavihāro ca.

Dukkhapaṭipadañ-ca nissāya rāgo vūpasammati.
Sallekhaṃ nissāya appamattassa moho pahīyati.
Cf. Nett-a 87:
… tibbakileso rāgacaritoti adhippeto.
Tassa dukkhāya paṭipadāya bhāvanā samijjhati.
Yassa ca dukkhāya paṭipadāya bhāvanā samijjhati, tassa garutarā

asubhadesanā sappāyā, …

90 痰, mkhris pa, pitta.
Cf. Ps III 57:
Tassa hi pittajararogo bhavissati.
Tenassa uṇhodakaṃ

pivituṃ vā hatthapādādidhovanatthāya vā gattaparisiñcanatthāya vā upanetuṃ na vaṭṭati,

rogo balavataro hoti.
Sītodakaṃ vaṭṭati, rogaṃ vūpasameti.
Mil 135:
Pittaṃ, mahārāja,

kuppamānaṃ tividhena kuppati sītena uṇhena visamabhojanena.

91 復說, see Introduction § 4.8. Tibetan:
gzhan dag na re, “others say”.
The Tibetan probably corresponds to apare vadanti because it ends with the quotation marker zhes zer ro.

92 Vism II.
86/p.81:
Āraññikaṅgarukkhamūlikaṅgapaṭisevanā vā ettha dosacaritassā-pi sappāyā.
Tattha hissa asaṅghaṭṭiyamānassa viharato doso pi vūpasammatī ti ayaṃ

dhutādīnaṃ vibhāgato vaṇṇanā.

93 The rainy season lasts four months, three of which have to be spent in a covered dwelling place.
See Vin I 137:
Anujānāmi … vassāne vassaṃ upagantun-ti.
Vin I 152f.:
Tena kho pana samayena bhikkhū rukkhasusire vassaṃ upagacchanti.
… rukkhaviṭabhiyā vassaṃ

upagacchanti.
… ajjhokāse vassaṃ upagacchanti.
… asenāsanikā vassaṃ upagacchanti.

Sītenapi kilamanti, uṇhenapi kilamanti.
Bhagavato etamatthaṃ ārocesuṃ.
Na … asenāsanikena vassaṃ upagantabbaṃ.
Yo upagaccheyya, āpatti dukkaṭassā ti.

Chapter 3:
asCetiCism

199

Q.
Who is ascetic and who is a proponent of the kinds of asceticism?
94

A.
There is one who is an ascetic and who also propounds the kinds of asceticism.

There is one who is ascetic who does not propound the kinds of asceticism.

There is one who is not ascetic and who only propounds the kinds of asceticism.

There is one who is not ascetic and who does not propound the kinds of asceticism.
95

Q.
Who is one who is ascetic who also propounds the kinds of asceticism?

A. The arahant who has undertaken the kinds of asceticism and is endowed with them.
96

Q.
Who is one who is ascetic who does not propound the kinds of asceticism?

A. The arahant who has undertaken the kinds of asceticism but is not endowed with them.

Q. Who is one who is not ascetic and who only propounds the kinds of asceticism?

A. The trainee or the worldling who has undertaken the kinds of asceticism and is endowed with them.

Q. Who is one who is not ascetic and who does not propound the kinds of asceticism?

A. The trainee or the worldling who has [not] undertaken the kinds of asceticism and is not endowed with them.

94 It is not possible to give a literal translation of this passage.
Dhuta means “one who has shaken off (defilements)” or “one who is an ascetic”, while dhutavāda means “one who propounds the dhuta/kinds of asceticism”.

95 Vism II.
80–81:
Kassa dhutaṅgasevanā sappāyā ti veditabbaṃ.
Tattha dhuto ti dhutakileso vā

puggalo kilesadhunano vā dhammo.
Dhutavādo ti ettha pana atthi dhuto na dhutavādo, atthi na dhuto dhutavādo, atthi neva dhuto na dhutavādo, atthi dhuto ceva dhutavādo ca.
Tattha yo dhutaṅgena attano kilese dhuni, paraṃ pana dhutaṅgena na ovadati, nānusāsati bākulatthero viya, ayaṃ dhuto na dhutavādo.
Yathāha, tayidaṃ āyasmā bākulo dhuto na dhutavādo ti.

Yo pana na dhutaṅgena attano kilese dhuni, kevalaṃ aññe dhutaṅgena ovadati anusāsati upanandatthero viya, ayaṃ na dhuto dhutavādo.
Yathāha, tayidaṃ āyasmā upanando sakyaputto na dhuto dhutavādo ti.
Yo ubhayavipanno lāḷudāyī viya, ayaṃ neva dhuto na dhutavādo.

Yathāha, tayidaṃ āyasmā lāḷudāyī neva dhuto na dhutavādo ti.
Yo pana ubhayasampanno dhammasenāpati viya, ayaṃ dhuto cevadhutavādo ca.
Yathāha, tayidaṃ āyasmā sāriputto dhuto ceva dhutavādo cā ti.

96 Cf. Th-a II 246:
Arahattaṃ pana patvā sayam-pi sabbe dhutaṅgadhamme samādāya vattati,

aññepi tadatthāya samādapeti.

200

Chapter 3:
asCetiCism

Q.
What is the characteristic of the kinds of asceticism?
What is their essential function?
What is their manifestation?

A. Fewness of wishes is their characteristic.
Contentment is their essential function.
Effacement is their manifestation.
Furthermore, non-attachment is their characteristic.
Blamelessness ( anavajja) is their essential function.
Non-remorse ( avipaṭissāra) is their manifestation.
97

Q.
What are the beginning, middle, and end of the kinds of asceticism?

A. Undertaking is the beginning, practice is the middle, and rejoicing is the end.

97 無所著為相無過為味不退為起.
This could also be translated as “Not being sullied ( anupalitta, etc. ) is their characteristic.
Non-disadvantage ( anādīnava) is their function.
…”

There is no parallel.

Cf. Mil 351:
Idha mahārāja dhutaṅgaṃ suddhājīvaṃ sukhaphalaṃ anavajjaṃ na paradukkhāpanaṃ abhayaṃ … sabbadukkhakkhayagamanaṃ …

201

4 - CHAPTER 4 Exposition of Concentration (Samādhi-niddesa)

1

Introduction

Q.
Now, what should the meditator who has pure virtue and has undertaken the kinds of asceticism do to accomplish superior good states?
1

A. He should give rise to concentration.

Q. What is concentration?
What are its characteristics, essential function, manifestation, and footing?
Who undertakes it?
What are the differences between jhāna, liberation, concentration, and attainment?
How many are the causes for concentration?
How many are the benefits of concentration?
How many are the obstacles to concentration?
2 How many are the [aids and] requisites of concentration?
How many kinds of concentration are there?

2

Definition of concentration

Q.
What is concentration?

A. “Concentration” means that one has a pure mind, wholly endeavours, has the benefits of calm, etc. , and has an upright and undistracted dwelling [of the mind]

— this is called “concentration”.
3

Furthermore, it means that the mind is not swayed by the strong winds of the afflictions.
It is like the unflickering flame of a lamp inside a palace.
4

1

已行頭陀受成就勝善處當何所作.
Since 成就 comes before 勝善處 it has the causative meaning “to accomplish, to effect”.
At the start of the previous chapter there instead is

“whose mind desires to accomplish superior good qualities”, 心欲成就勝善功德.

2

In the text the obstacles are put before the benefits.
However, in the explanation below they come afterwards.

3

Paṭis-a I 230:
Samādhīti ekārammaṇe samaṃ ādhīyati tena cittan-ti samādhi nāmā ti attho.

4

This means that when the flame is in a secluded place it cannot be moved by wind.

This simile for concentration is also found at Ch.11 § 21/ 447c22, and is also found in the Bhagavadgīta VI.
0.791666666666667
“Like a lamp in a windless place does not flicker, so is considered the yogi of restrained mind who is meditating on the union with the Self”, yathā dīpo nivātastho neṅgate sopamā smṛitāyogino yatachittasya yuñjato yogam ātmanaḥ.
On this simile and its use in Tibetan Buddhism, see Wayman 1955. Cf. As 118:
… ayaṃ cittassekaggatāsaṅkhāto samādhi nāma … nivāte dīpaccīnaṃ ṭhiti viya cetaso ṭhitī ti daṭṭhabbo.
Vism XIV.
5.79166666666667
samādhānamattam-eva vā etaṃ cittassā ti samādhi … nivāte ….
Cf. Sv I 42:
nivāte padīpasikhā

viya niccalā sannisinnāva ahosi.

202

Chapter 4:
exposition of ConCentration ( Samādhiniddesa) As is said in the Abhidhamma:
“That which is steadiness of mind, stationariness, steadiness, non-perturbedness, undistractedness, non-dissipatedness, calm, right concentration, the faculty of concentration, the power of concentration — this is called ‘concentration’.”
5 [407a]

3

Characteristics, essential function, manifestation and footing of concentration

Q.
What are its characteristics, essential function, manifestation, and footing [of concentration]?

A. Steadiness of mind ( cittassa ṭhiti) is its characteristic;
the removing of opposition ( paccanīka) is its essential function;
6 calm ( samatha, viveka) is its manifestation;
7 the freedom of mind due to the fading away of greed ( rāgavirāgā-cetovimutti) is its footing.
8

4

Undertaking of concentration

Q.
Who undertakes concentration?

5

Vibh 217, Dhs §11, Paṭis I 191, Nidd I 365:
Yā cittassa ṭhiti saṇṭhiti avaṭṭhiti avisāhāro avikkhepo avisāhaṭa-mānasatā samatho samādhindriyaṃ samādhibalaṃ sammāsamādhi:

ayaṃ vuccati samādhi.
Cf. Peṭ 122. As elsewhere in translations of similar lists of synonyms, some terms and phrases were not translated accurately.
Instead of cittassa ṭhiti saṇṭhiti,

“steadiness of mind, stationariness”, there is “mental right establishment”.
And instead of

“steadfastness” for avaṭṭhiti there is “non-dependence” ( anālamba) or “without object”

( anārammaṇa), 無所攀緣, misunderstanding the a- in ava- for a negative.
And instead of

“calm due to non-distractedness” for avisāhaṭa-mānasatā samatho there is “calm that is not grasped” ( aparāmaṭṭha), 寂靜無著.

6

Paṭis-a I 237:
Appanāvīthiyañ-hi samādhi paccanīkadhammavigamena santattā.
Cf. Mp II 363:
[ Samādhi] santo ti ādīsu paccanīkakilesavūpasamena santo.

7

Cf.
Vism III.
0.166666666666667
avikkhepalakkhaṇo samādhi, vikkhepaviddhaṃsanaraso, avikampana-paccupaṭṭhāno.
Sukhino cittaṃ samādhiyatī ti vacanato pana sukhamassa padaṭṭhānaṃ.

8

於染不著心得解脫是名為處 literally:
“[Due to] dispassion towards passion, the mind attains freedom — this is called its footing”.
Cf. A I 61:
Samatho … bhāvito kimatthamanubhoti?
Cittaṃ bhāvīyati.
Cittaṃ bhāvitaṃ kimatthamanubhoti?
Yo rāgo so pahīyati.
… Rāgupakkiliṭṭhaṃ vā … cittaṃ na vimuccati, avijjupakkiliṭṭhā vā paññā bhāvīyati.

Iti kho … rāgavirāgā cetovimutti, avijjāvirāgā paññāvimuttī ti.
A- a II 120:
Rāgavirāgā

cetovimuttī ti rāgassa khayavirāgena cetovimutti nāma hoti.
Phalasamādhissetaṃ nāmaṃ.

Nett-ṭ 40:
Sīlakkhandho, samādhikkhandho ca samathassa padaṭṭhānaṃ, paññākkhandho vipassanāya padaṭṭhānaṃ.
Samatho rāgavirāgacetovimuttiyā padaṭṭhānaṃ, vipassanā

avijjāvirāgapaññāvimuttiyā padaṭṭhānan-ti.
Peṭ 173:
Sīlañ-ca cāgo ca rāgavirāgāya cetovimuttiyā padaṭṭhānaṃ.
Cf. Peṭ 10:
Dvemā vimuttiyo, rāgavirāgā ca cetovimutti;

avijjāvirāgā ca paññāvimutti — ayaṃ nirodho.
Cf. Paṭis-a 588:
Rāgavirāgā ti rāgassa virāgo samatikkamo etissā atthī ti rāgavirāgā.
Nett-a 51:
Tattha rañjanaṭṭhena rāgo.
So virajjati etāyā ti rāgavirāgā, tāya rāgavirāgāya, rāgappahāyikāyā ti attho.
On the two different senses of rāga, dispassion and fading away, see Anālayo 2012a:
46

Chapter 4:
exposition of ConCentration ( Samādhiniddesa) 203

A.
Namely, the one who maintains the mind and mental properties ( cetasika) evenly,9 and undertakes concentration evenly, like the hand which holds a pair of scales;
the one who gives rise to the mind and mental properties evenly, like

[one who walks evenly while carrying] a bowl with oil;
10 the one who evenly

[balances the faculties of] energy [and concentration, and faith and wisdom] with mindfulness,11 for the purpose of concentration, just like four horses of equal strength pulling a chariot;
the one who contemplates [an object] evenly for the purpose of concentration, like a master archer who fixes his mind [on the target]

when pointing [the arrow].
12

Because it removes opposition ( paccanīka), [concentration] is like a medicine that counteracts poison.
As is said in the Abhidhamma:
“Concentration has the meaning of ‘embracing,’ concentration has the meaning of ‘encompassing’ and concentration has the meaning of ‘fulfilling’.
”13

9

I take 等 here to correspond to samatta, “evenness” or samaṃ “evenly” rather than to

“etcetera” or a demarcator of the plural since 心心數 are not followed by 等 elsewhere in Vimuttimagga.

10 令心心數等如鉢中油.
The character 令 is usually followed by another character expressing a verb, which might have been lost here.
At S V 169 the simile of the man carrying a bowl filled with oil while being followed by a man with a sword who will kill him if he spills a drop is found:
… samatittiko telapatto ti kho … kāyagatāya etaṃ satiyā

adhivacanaṃ.

11 I.e., the four faculties of mindfulness, faith, energy, and wisdom, which together with concentration are the five faculties, indriya.

12 如彼箭師注心調直.
This can also be interpreted as “Like the fletcher (= arrow-maker) who fixes his mind to straighten [the arrow shaft]”, Mil 418:
Yathā, mahārāja, issāso sare pātayanto

… nimittaṃ ujuṃ karoti, hāsamuppādeti vijjhissāmī ti, evam-eva kho, mahārāja, yoginā

yogāvacarena … sati upaṭṭhapetabbā, hāsamuppādetabbaṃ sabbakilese ñāṇanārācena vijjhissāmī ti.
… Puna caparaṃ, mahārāja, issāso āḷakaṃ pariharati vaṅkajimhakuṭilanārācassa ujukaraṇāya.
Evam-eva kho, mahārāja, yoginā yogāvacarena imasmiṃ kāye satipaṭṭhāna-āḷakaṃ pariharitabbaṃ vaṅkajimhakuṭilacittassa ujukaraṇāya.
Cf. Dhp 33:
Phandanaṃ capalaṃ cittaṃ, … ujuṃ karoti medhāvī, usukāro va tejanaṃ.

13 This passage on the meaning of samādhi rather belongs to § 2. Cf. Paṭis I 49:
pariggahaṭṭhena samādhi, parivāraṭṭhena samādhi, paripūraṭṭhena samādhi, ekaggaṭṭhena samādhi, avikkhepaṭṭhena samādhi, avisāraṭṭhena samādhi, anāvilaṭṭhena samādhi.
Cf. Nidd-a 57:
Sahajātāni sammā ādhīyati ṭhapetī ti samādhi.
So pāmokkhalakkhaṇo avikkhepalakkhaṇo vā, sahajātānaṃ dhammānaṃ ārammaṇe sampiṇḍanaraso nhāniyacuṇṇānaṃ udakaṃ viya, upasamapaccupaṭṭhāno, ñāṇapaccupaṭṭhāno vā.
Samāhito yathābhūtaṃ pajānāti passatī ti hi vuttaṃ.
Ps I 83–4:
Samādhānato samādhi.
So avikkhepalakkhaṇo, avisāralakkhaṇo vā, cittacetasikānaṃ sampiṇḍanaraso, cittaṭṭhitipaccupaṭṭhāno.

204

Chapter 4:
exposition of ConCentration ( Samādhiniddesa) 5

Differences between jhāna, liberation, concentration and attainment

[Q.
What are the differences between jhāna, liberation, concentration, and attainment?
]14

[A.
] “Jhāna” is the four jhānas, namely, the first jhāna, etc. 15

“Liberation” is the eight liberations, namely:
“One who is percipient of forms internally, sees forms externally”, etc. 16

“Concentration” is the three kinds of concentration, namely:
“[Concentration]

with thinking and exploring”, etc. 17

“Attainment” is the nine successive attainments.
18

6

Causes of concentration

Q.
What are [the causes] of [concentration]?
19

A.
Jhāna, liberation, [concentration,] and attainment are due to meditating on the object, due to meditating [that burns up] opposition,20 due to mental rapture and 14 The question is missing here, but found in the introduction at 406c23. Part of the question appears to have been misplaced in the next section, § 6;
see Ch.4 fn. 19

15 Vibh 342:
Jhānan-ti.
Cattāri jhānāni:
paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ, … catutthaṃ jhānaṃ.
Samādhī ti.

16 Vibh 342:
Vimokkho ti.
:
aṭṭha vimokkhā — rūpī rūpāni passati — ayaṃ paṭhamo vimokkho.

… Cf. D II 70f.;
A IV 306:
Ajjhattaṃ rūpasaññī eko bahiddhā rūpāni passati parittāni suvaṇṇadubbaṇṇāni.

17 Vibh 342:
Samādhī ti:
tayo samādhī — savitakkasavicāro samādhi, avitakkavicāramatto samādhi, avitakka-avicāro samādhi.

18 The four material and four immaterial concentration attainments plus the attainment of cessation.
Vibh 343:
Samāpattī ti.
Nava anupubbavihārasamāpattiyo — paṭhamajjhānasamāpatti, … saññāvedayitanirodhasamāpatti.
Cf. A IV 410.

19 The text is corrupt.
In the introduction of this chapter at 406c23–24 the question is:

“How many causes for concentration can be seen?”
幾定因可見.
But here the text literally has “What is of/for jhāna?
Due to meditating … due to the motivation to arouse concentration, there are attainment and liberation”, 云何為禪思惟事故… 起定故解脫

正受者.
The characters 禪 and 解脫正受者 likely belong together as 禪解脫[定]正受 and were part of the missing question at the start of § 6. In the introduction of this chapter at 406c23, the question is 禪解脫定正定受何差別, “What are the differences between jhāna, liberation, concentration, and attainment?”

20 思惟怨.
Cf. 思惟對治 at 416a27. = ( upa) nijjhāyati + paṭipakkha/ paccanīka.
A mistranslation of paccanīkajhāpana, “burning up opposition”, due to jhāpana being taken in the same sense as upanijjhāna.
Cf. Vism IV.
119/p.150:
Ārammaṇūpanijjhānato paccanīkajhāpanato vā

jhānaṃ.
Vism-mhṭ I 175:
Pathavīkasiṇasaṅkhātassa attano attano ārammaṇassa rūpaṃ viya cakkhunā upanijjhāyanato.
Paccanīkajhāpanato ti nīvaraṇādīnaṃ paccanīkadhammānaṃ

dahanato vikkhambhanavasena pajahanato.
Nidd-a I 129, Paṭis-a I 183, etc. :
… aṭṭha samāpattiyo

Chapter 4:
exposition of ConCentration ( Samādhiniddesa) 205

pleasure, due to seclusion from and freedom from the hindrances, due to evenness

[of mind], due to skill in producing concentration, due to achieving mastery, due to dwelling in and establishment in unity, and due to the wish to arouse concentration.
21

7

Benefits of concentration

Q.
How many benefits are produced by concentration?

A. Four benefits are produced by concentration.

Q. What are the four?

A. Pleasant dwelling in this life ( diṭṭhadhammasukhavihāra);
contemplation by means of a pleasant object;
realization of the direct knowledges ( abhiññā);
and the accomplishment of a [superior] existence ( bhavasampatti).

Q. What is “a pleasant dwelling in this life”?

A. One who attains concentration gives rise to the mind without contamination, enjoys the taste of gladness, experiences supramundane happiness, and has a pleasant dwelling in this life.
22 Therefore, the Fortunate One said:
“When there is tranquillity of the body due to the arising of rapture, one has coolness

[of mind], and gradually brings about fulfilment, perfection, accomplishment and so on”.
23 As the Buddha said to the bhikkhus:
“At first, Nigaṇṭhas, not moving my body nor speaking a word, [sitting] silently for seven days and seven nights I dwelt experiencing only pleasure.”
`24

pathavīkasiṇādi ārammaṇaṃ upanijjhāyantī ti ārammaṇūpanijjhānan-ti saṅkhyaṃ gatā.

Vipassanāmaggaphalāni pana lakkhaṇūpanijjhānaṃ nāma.
… Tasmā ārammaṇūpanijjhānato ca lakkhaṇūpanijjhānato ca paccanīkajhāpanato ca jhānan-ti veditabbaṃ.

21 This is related to a passage in Paṭis I 49:
anāvilaṭṭhena samādhi, aniñjanaṭṭhena samādhi,

vimuttaṭṭhena samādhi, ekattupaṭṭhānavasena cittassa ṭhitattā samādhi, samaṃ esatī ti samādhi, … samaṃ jhātattā samādhi, visamaṃ jhāpitattā samādhi, samo ca hito ca sukho cā ti samādhi.

22 Cf. Paṭis-a I 297:
… diṭṭheva dhamme paccakkhe attabhāve sukho vihāro diṭṭhadhammasukhavihāro.
Mp II 119:
diṭṭhadhammasukhavihāran-ti lokiyalokuttaraṃ phāsuvihāraṃ.

Ps I 161:
… rūpāvacarajjhānānametaṃ adhivacanaṃ.
Tāni hi appetvā nisinnā jhāyino imasmiṃ yeva attabhāve asaṃkiliṭṭhaṃ nekkhammasukhaṃ vindanti, tasmā diṭṭhadhammasukhavihārānī ti vuccanti.
Cf. Dhp 205. Pavivekarasaṃ pitvā, rasaṃ upasamassa ca;

niddaro hoti nippāpo, dhammapītirasaṃ pivaṃ.

23 Untraced.
Cf. D I 73, A III 21, V 2, Paṭis I 85, etc. … pamuditassa pīti jāyati, pītimanassa kāyo passambhati, passaddhakāyo sukhaṃ vedeti, sukhino cittaṃ samādhiyati.


24 Cf. M I 94, Kv 458:
Ahaṃ kho, āvuso nigaṇṭhā, pahomi aniñjamāno kāyena abhāsamāno vācaṃ, satta rattindivāni ekantasukhaṃ paṭisaṃvedī viharituṃ.
Cf. Ud 1–3:


206

Chapter 4:
exposition of ConCentration ( Samādhiniddesa) This is called in the Teaching of the noble one ( ariya-dhamma) a “pleasant dwelling in this life”.

“Contemplation by means of a pleasant object” means that when the meditator’s mind attains a concentration object, is free from the hindrances and obsessions, and is soft and malleable, contemplating the aggregates, the sense bases, the elements, and so on,25 he is in a state of ease ( phāsu-bhāva).
26 Therefore, the Fortunate One taught:
“Bhikkhus, you should develop [concentration of mind].

Dependent upon [concentration of] mind everything is known as it really is.”
27

“Realization of the direct knowledges” means that one who has attained concentration can, by means of it, realize the five direct knowledges, namely, supernormal power, the divine ear, knowledge of others’ minds, recollection of past existences, and the divine eye.
28 Therefore, the Fortunate One said:
“Having attained concentration of mind one is capable of miraculous transformation ( vikubbana)”.
Likewise, one is able to obtain all supernormal powers ( iddhipāda).
29

“Accomplishment of a [superior] existence”:
30 One who has attained concentration, who has not yet become a non-trainee ( asekha), and does not fall paṭhamābhisambuddho.
Tena kho pana samayena bhagavā sattāhaṃ ekapallaṅkena nisinno hoti vimuttisukhapaṭisaṃvedī.
Ud-a 32:
Vimuttisukhapaṭisaṃvedī ti vimuttisukhaṃ

phalasamāpattisukhaṃ paṭisaṃvediyamāno nisinno hotī ti attho.

The first part of this quotation, 我先作尼乾, literally means:
“I at first/before do/practice nigaṇṭha” suggesting that the Buddha sat for seven days like this as a nigaṇṭha, which is a misunderstanding of the quotation from the Majjhima Nikāya.

25 Cf. Paṭis I 101:
Kathaṃ sabbadhammānaṃ sammā samucchede nirodhe ca anupaṭṭhānatā

paññā samasīsaṭṭhe ñāṇaṃ?
Sabbadhammānan-ti — pañcakkhandhā, dvādasāyatanāni,

aṭṭhārasa dhātuyo, kusalā dhammā, … Sammā samucchedeti nekkhammena kāmacchandaṃ

sammā samucchindati.


26 Cf. Dhp 373–74:
Suññāgāraṃ paviṭṭhassa, santacittassa bhikkhuno / Amānusī rati hoti,

sammā dhammaṃ vipassato.
Yato yato sammasati, khandhānaṃ udayabbayaṃ;
/ Labhatī

pītipāmojjaṃ, amataṃ taṃ vijānataṃ.

27 This might be a free translations of the sutta at S III 13 that is quoted in the parallel in Vism XI.
5.04166666666667
Bhagavā etadavoca:
samādhiṃ, bhikkhave, bhāvetha;
samāhito, bhikkhave, bhikkhu yathābhūtaṃ pajānāti.
Kiñca yathābhūtaṃ pajānāti?
Rūpassa … viññāṇassa samudayañ-ca atthaṅgamañ-ca.

28 For the five;
see Chapter 9.

29 Cf. D I 77:
So evaṃ samāhite citte parisuddhe pariyodāte anaṅgaṇe vigatūpakkilese mudubhūte kammaniye ṭhite āneñjappatte iddhividhāya cittaṃ abhinīharati abhininnāmeti.

So anekavihitaṃ iddhividhaṃ paccanubhoti eko pi hutvā bahudhā hoti, …

30 While the Vism parallel has bhavavisesa, the Vim has bhavasampatti.
Cf. Vism I.
1.20833333333333
Tattha yaṃ imināhaṃ sīlena devo vā bhavissāmi devaññataro vā ti evaṃ bhavasampattiṃ

ākaṅkhamānena pavattitaṃ, idaṃ taṇhānissitaṃ.
Cf. Vism XI.
123/p.372:
Ye aparihīnajjhānā

brahmaloke nibbattissāmā ti brahmalokūpapattiṃ patthentā apatthayamānā vā pi puthujjanā samādhito na parihāyanti, tesaṃ bhavavisesāvahattā appanāsamādhibhāvanā

Chapter 4:
exposition of ConCentration ( Samādhiniddesa) 207

back from it, attains a material or immaterial existence as a result of attaining concentration.
As the Buddha declared:
“Those who practise the first jhāna a little, such ones all gain birth in the company of [the deities in] the assembly of Brahmā.”
[407b]

Thus, all of these four benefits are produced by concentration.
It will produce each of them.

8

Obstacles to concentration

Q.
How many states are obstacles ( paripantha) to concentration?

A. Namely, eight states:
sensual desire, ill will, sloth and torpor, agitation, doubt, ignorance, boredom, and all evil unwholesome states — these are the obstacles.

9

Aids and requisites of concentration

Q.
How many are the aids to concentration?

A. Namely, eight states are aids:
renunciation, non-ill will, perception of light, undistractedness, defining of states, knowledge, gladness, and all wholesome states — these are the aids to concentration.
31

Q.
How many are the requisites ( parikkhāra) of concentration?
32

A.
There are seven, namely:
virtue, contentment with the requisites ( parikkhāra),33 guarding of the sense-faculties, moderation in food, not sleeping bhavavisesānisaṃsā hoti.
Tenāha bhagavā paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ parittaṃ bhāvetvā kattha upapajjanti.
Brahmapārisajjānaṃ devānaṃ sahabyataṃ upapajjantī ti ādi (= Vibh 424, cf. A II 126).

31 Cf. Paṭis I 162:
Katamāni aṭṭha paripanthe ñāṇāni, aṭṭha ca upakāre ñāṇāni?
Kāmacchando samādhissa paripantho, nekkhammaṃ samādhissa upakāraṃ.
Byāpādo … abyāpādo …

Thinamiddhaṃ … ālokasaññā … Uddhaccaṃ … avikkhepo … Vicikicchā … dhammavavatthānaṃ

… Avijjā … ñāṇaṃ … Arati … pāmojjaṃ … Sabbe pi akusalā dhammā samādhissa paripanthā,

sabbe pi kusalā dhammā samādhissa upakārā.
Cf. Vism I.
5.83333333333333
… nekkhammena kāmacchandassa, … pāmojjena aratiyā, paṭhamena jhānena nīvaraṇānaṃ …

32 Cf. M I 301:
cattāro sammappadhānā samādhiparikkhārā.
D II 216:
satta samādhiparikkhārā

sammāsamādhissa paribhāvanāya sammāsamādhissa pāripūriyā.
Katame satta?
Sammādiṭṭhi sammāsaṅkappo sammāvācā sammākammanto sammāājīvo sammāvāyāmo sammāsati.

A IV 40:
Sattime … samādhiparikkhārā.
Katame satta?
Sammādiṭṭhi, … sammāsati.
Yā kho …

imehi sattahaṅgehi cittassekaggatā parikkhatā, ayaṃ vuccati … ariyo sammāsamādhi sa-upaniso iti pi saparikkhāro iti pī ti.
Mp IV 28:
samādhiparikkhārā ti maggasamādhissa sambhārā.

33 Cf. A V 24:
… bhikkhu santuṭṭho hoti itarītaracīvarapiṇḍapātasenāsanagilānapaccayabhesa jjaparikkhārena.
Cf. A II 143, III 134, 434, IV 233.

208

Chapter 4:
exposition of ConCentration ( Samādhiniddesa) in the first and last watches of the night,34 being constantly mindful and clearly knowing ( sati-sampajaññā), and dwelling in a secluded place.

10 Kinds of concentration:
two kinds

Q.
How many kinds of concentration are there?

A. There are two kinds of concentration:
mundane concentration and supramundane concentration.
35

[The concentration] that is attained with the noble [paths and] fruits36 is called

“supramundane concentration”;
the other [concentration] is called “mundane concentration”.

Mundane concentration is subject to contaminations, is subject to fetters, ties,37 torrents, yokes, hindrances, subject to holding, to clinging, and to affliction.
38 This is called “mundane concentration”.
The opposite of this is called

“supramundane concentration”.

Furthermore, there are two kinds of concentration:
wrong concentration and right concentration.

34 The text has “not sleeping in the first, middle, and last [watches of] the night”, but this is a misunderstanding since in the Pāli it is said that there should be devotion to wakefulness in the first and last watches of the night, but that in the middle one can lay down mindfully, e.g., M I 273:
Jāgariyaṃ anuyuttā bhavissāma, … Rattiyā paṭhamaṃ yāmaṃ caṅkamena …

parisodhessāma.
Rattiyā majjhimaṃ yāmaṃ dakkhiṇena passena sīhaseyyaṃ kappessāma pāde pādaṃ accādhāya, sato sampajāno uṭṭhānasaññaṃ manasi karitvā.
Rattiyā pacchimaṃ

yāmaṃ paccuṭṭhāya caṅkamena … parisodhessāmā ti.
The 7 requisites are given at M I 273–75:
… hirottappenamha samannāgatā, parisuddho no kāyasamācāro … vacīsamācāro

… manosamācāro, … ājīvo, indriyesumha guttadvārā, bhojane mattaññuno, jāgariyaṃ

anuyuttā, satisampajaññena samannāgatā;
… vivittaṃ senāsanaṃ bhajati … abhijjhāya cittaṃ parisodheti;
… vicikicchāya cittaṃ parisodheti.
… paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ upasampajja viharati.
Cf. Vibh 243–44:
… samādāya sikkhati sikkhāpadesu, indriyesu guttadvāro, bhojane mattaññū, pubbarattāpararattaṃ jāgariyānuyogamanuyutto, sātaccaṃ ….
sampajānakārī

hoti, … So vivittaṃ senāsanaṃ bhajati … paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ upasampajja viharati ….

35 Paṭis I 48. Cf. Nett 77.

36 聖果所得.
Read 聖道果 instead of 聖果 in accordance with the “mundane & supramundane virtue” section at 401b21:
聖道果之所得.
Cf. “mundane & supramundane wisdom” at 445a05:
聖道果相應慧.
Cf. Ud-a 151:
Yathāvidhā te bhagavanto maggasīlena phalasīlena sabbenapi lokiyalokuttarasīlena, maggasamādhinā phalasamādhinā sabbenapi lokiyalokuttara-samādhinā, maggapaññāya phalapaññāya sabbāyapi lokiyalokuttarapaññāya ….

37 The text puts what corresponds to ganthaniyaṃ before saṃyojaniyaṃ, 有結有縛, but at 447b07 it follows the same saṃyojaniyaṃ ganthaniyaṃ, 有縛有結, order as in the Pāli.

38 See Dhs 584:
lokiyaṃ, sāsavaṃ, saṃyojaniyaṃ, ganthaniyaṃ, oghaniyaṃ, yoganiyaṃ,

nīvaraṇiyaṃ, parāmaṭṭhaṃ, upādāniyaṃ, saṃkilesikaṃ.
Cf. Vibh 17. LC:
“Sāsava skilful citta is not citta which has āsavas.
It is citta which is subject to āsavas.
In other words, jhāna or vipassanāñāṇa do not have āsavas, but they can give rise e.g., to subsequent attachment or aversion which are āsavas.
The same is the case with all the other terms in the list.”

Chapter 4:
exposition of ConCentration ( Samādhiniddesa) 209

Q.
What is wrong concentration?

A. Unwholesome one-pointedness of mind is called “wrong concentration”.

Wholesome one-pointedness of mind is called “right concentration”.
Wrong concentration is to be abandoned;
right concentration is to be developed.

Furthermore, there are two kinds of concentration:
threshold concentration ( upacāra-samādhi) and absorption concentration ( appaṇā-samādhi).

The antecedent ( pubbabhāga) of any concentration ( samādhi or samāpatti)

— this is called “threshold concentration”.
The change of lineage ( gotrabhu) immediately subsequent [to that] — this is called “absorption concentration”.
39

11 Three kinds of concentration

Furthermore, there are three kinds of concentration:
concentration that is with thinking and exploring;
concentration that is without thinking and with a slight degree of exploring;
concentration that is without thinking and exploring.
40

Q.
What is [concentration] with thinking and exploring?

A. The first jhāna is with thinking and exploring.
The second jhāna is without thinking, but with a slight degree of exploring.
The other jhānas are without thinking and exploring.

Furthermore, there are three kinds of concentration.
Namely, the concentration that is accompanied by rapture ( pīti-sahagata);
the concentration accompanied by pleasure;
the concentration that is accompanied by equanimity.
41

39 See also the description of these two kinds at Ch.8 § 11. Cf. Vism III.
0.25
… catudhātuvavatthānassā ti imesaṃ vasena laddhacittekaggatā, yā ca appanāsamādhīnaṃ pubbabhāge ekaggatā, ayaṃ upacārasamādhi.
Paṭhamassa jhānassa parikammaṃ paṭhamassa jhānassa anantarapaccayena paccayo ti ādivacanato pana yā parikammānantarā ekaggatā,

ayaṃ appanāsamādhī ti.
Cf. Sp II 429:
Tassevaṃ anuyuttassa viharato idāni appanā

uppajjissatī ti bhavaṅgaṃ vicchinditvā nimittārammaṇaṃ manodvārāvajjanaṃ uppajjati.

Tasmiñca niruddhe tadevārammaṇaṃ gahetvā cattāri pañca vā javanāni, yesaṃ paṭhamaṃ

parikammaṃ, dutiyaṃ upacāraṃ, tatiyaṃ anulomaṃ, catutthaṃ gotrabhu, pañcamaṃ

appanācittaṃ.
Paṭhamaṃ vā parikammañ-ceva upacārañ-ca, dutiyaṃ anulomaṃ, tatiyaṃ

gotrabhu, catutthaṃ appanācittan-ti vuccati.

40

Paṭis I 48, D III 219:
Tayo samādhi.
Savitakko savicāro samādhi, avitakko vicāramatto samādhi, avitakko avicāro samādhi.
Cf. M III 162:
Handa dānāhaṃ tividhena samādhiṃ

bhāvemi ti’ So kho ahaṃ, anuruddhā, savitakkam-pi savicāraṃ samādhiṃ bhāvesiṃ, ….

Ps IV 206:
Avitakkam-pi vicāramattan-ti pañcakanaye dutiyajjhānasamādhiṃ.
Avitakkam-pi avicāran-ti catukkanayepi pañcakanaye pi jhānattayasamādhiṃ.

41 Cf. Vism III.
12. Cf. M III 206:
Handa dānāhaṃ tividhena samādhiṃ bhāvemī ti.

So kho ahaṃ, … sappītikam-pi samādhiṃ bhāvesiṃ, nippītikam-pi samādhiṃ bhāvesiṃ,

sātasahagatam-pi samādhiṃ bhāvesiṃ, upekkhāsahagatam-pi samādhiṃ bhāvesiṃ.

Ps IV 209:
Sappītikan-ti dukatikajjhānasamādhiṃ.
Nippītikan-ti dukajjhānasamādhiṃ.

210

Chapter 4:
exposition of ConCentration ( Samādhiniddesa) The first jhāna and the second jhāna are accompanied by rapture, the third jhāna is accompanied by pleasure, and the fourth jhāna is accompanied by equanimity.

Furthermore, there are three kinds of concentration:
wholesome concentration, resultant concentration, and functional concentration.

Q. What is wholesome concentration?

A. The noble paths, and the material and immaterial attainments42 developed by the trainee and the worldling — this is called “wholesome concentration”.

The noble fruits and the material and immaterial spheres into which the trainee and the worldling are reborn — this is called “resultant ( vipāka) concentration”.

The material and the immaterial attainments entered upon by the non-trainee ( asekha) is called “functional ( kiriya) concentration”.
43

Sātasahagatan-ti tikacatukkajjhānasamādhiṃ.
Upekkhāsahagatan-ti catukkanaye catutthajjhānasamādhiṃ pañcakanaye pañcamajjhānasamādhiṃ.

42 色無色定 could also be translated as “material and immaterial concentrations”, rūpārūpasamādhi, however, these are not listed as two kinds of concentration above.

The term rūpārūpasamādhi is only found once in Pāli texts (in Nett-a), āruppasamādhi thrice (Nett-a, Abhidh-s, Sv-ṭ) and rūpasamādhi not at all.
The terms rūpārūpasamāpatti,

rūpasamāpatti, and arūpasamāpatti/ āruppasamāpatti are commonly found in Pāli.

The character 定 corresponding to samāpatti is identical with the one corresponding to samādhi;
see Ch.4 fn. 52

43 Paṭṭh I 157:
Vipākābyākatāni kiriyābyākatāni jhānaṅgāni sampayuttakānaṃ khandhānaṃ

cittasamuṭṭhānānañ-ca rūpānaṃ jhānapaccayena paccayo.
Abhidh-av-pṭ I 268:
§ 62.

… Atha vā kiriyājhānabhūtā samāpattiyo kiriyāpattiyo, kusalabhūtā pana samāpattiyo akiriyāpattiyo, … As 295, § 577. Tattha khīṇāsavassa puthujjanakāle nibbattitā samāpatti yāva na naṃ samāpajjati tāva kusalāva samāpannakāle kiriyā hoti.
Khīṇāsavakāle panassa nibbattitā samāpatti kiriyāva hoti.
Mp III 274:
Sīlaṃ panettha khīṇāsavasīlam-eva, …

jhānāni pi kiriyajjhānāneva kathitānī-ti veditabbāni.
Paṭis-a I 301:
Tatrūpapannassā ti vipākavasena brahmaloke upapannassa paṭisandhibhavaṅgacutivasena vattamānāni cattāri vipākajjhānāni.
Rūpārūpāvacarajjhānasamāpattīsu kiriyābyākatāni na vuttāni.
Kiñcāpi na vuttāni, atha kho kusalehi samānapavattittā kusalesu vuttesu vuttāneva hontī ti veditabbāni.

LC:
“See Vibh 269 where the four jhānas are stated to be either vipākā or vipākadhamma or neither ( nevavipākanavipākadhammadhamma).
This is based upon the third triplet of the Abhidhamma- mātikā.
For jhāna which is kiriya, see Dhs §§ 577–82 and cp.
Dhs §§

1280–85 = Vibh 421, where the terms samāpannassa, upapannassa and diṭṭhadhammasukhavihārin correspond to the same distinction.
The notion of kiriyacitta is not accepted in the Sarvāstivādin abhidharma.”

Chapter 4:
exposition of ConCentration ( Samādhiniddesa) 211

12 Four kinds of concentration

Furthermore, there are four kinds of concentration:
concentration of [the sphere of] sense-pleasures;
concentration of the material [sphere];
concentration of the immaterial [sphere];
and concentration that is unincluded ( apariyāpanna).
44

Any practice ( paṭipadā), undertaking ( samādāna) of practice — this is called

“concentration of [the sphere of] sense-pleasures”.
45

The four jhānas are called “concentration of the material [sphere]”.

The four immaterial attainments and [rebirth in the immaterial sphere which is]

the result of wholesome kamma — this is called “concentration of the immaterial

[sphere]”.

The concentration of the four paths and the four fruits — this is called

“concentration that is unincluded ( apariyāpanna)”.

Furthermore, there are four kinds of practice of concentration:
painful practice and slow direct knowledge;
painful practice and quick direct knowledge;
pleasant practice and quick direct knowledge;
and pleasant practice and slow direct knowledge.
46

44 Vism III.
23/p.88:
kāmāvacaro samādhi, rūpāvacaro samādhi, arūpāvacaro samādhi,

apariyāpanno samādhīti evaṃ cattāro samādhī.

45 彼彼行正受行.
Cf. Vism III.
23/p.88:
Tattha sabbā pi upacārekaggatā kāmāvacaro samādhi:
“Herein all one-pointedness of threshold (-concentration) is sensuous sphere concentration”.
正受行 probably corresponds to samādāna.
In the Vim 正受 can stand for samādāna, samāpatti, adhiṭṭhāna, saṇṭhapeti, upasampadā, upasampajja.
Perhaps this passage is related to Vism III.
0.625
Tattha paṭhamasamannāhārato paṭṭhāya yāva tassa tassa jhānassa upacāraṃ uppajjati, tāva pavattā samādhibhāvanā paṭipadā ti vuccati.
Paṭis-a II 474:
Paṭipadāvisuddhi nāma sasambhāriko upacāro.

46 A II 149:
Dukkhāpaṭipadā dandhābhiññā, dukkhāpaṭipadā khippābhiññā, sukhāpaṭipadā

dandhābhiññā, sukhāpaṭipadā khippābhiññā.
Katamā ca … dukkhā paṭipadā

dandhābhiññā?
Idha … ekacco pakatiyāpi tibbarāgajātiko … tibbadosajātiko … tibbamohajātiko hoti, abhikkhaṇaṃ mohajaṃ dukkhaṃ domanassaṃ paṭisaṃvedeti.
Tassimāni pañcindriyāni mudūni pātubhavanti — saddhindriyaṃ, vīriyindriyaṃ, satindriyaṃ, samādhindriyaṃ,

paññindriyaṃ.
So imesaṃ pañcannaṃ indriyānaṃ muduttā dandhaṃ ānantariyaṃ pāpuṇāti āsavānaṃ khayāya.


212

Chapter 4:
exposition of ConCentration ( Samādhiniddesa)

[Herein,] there are these four kinds of men:
those with strong afflictions;
those with weak afflictions;
47 those with dull faculties, and those with swift faculties.
48 [407c]

A man of strong afflictions and dull faculties gains concentration with painful practice and slow direct knowledge.
49

A man of strong afflictions and sharp faculties gains concentration with painful practice and quick direct knowledge.

A man of weak afflictions and dull faculties gains concentration with pleasant practice and slow direct knowledge.

A man of weak afflictions and sharp faculties gains concentration with pleasant practice and quick direct knowledge.

Because of the strength of the afflictions, a man with strong afflictions overcomes afflictions with difficulty.
Therefore, his practice is painful.

47 The text literally has “thick/dense defilements” 密煩惱 and “thin/sparse/few defilements”

者疎煩.
The character 密 corresponds to ghana.

48 This passage is corrupt and has been amended in accordance with the explanation and the Vism parallel.
EKS, in accordance with the Taishō edition, translated:
“[Here] the first of these four kinds of men has dense passion, and the second, rare passion;
the third has keen faculties, and the fourth, dull faculties”.
This is in contradiction with the subsequent explanations, which state that the first two men have strong defilements and the other two weak defilements, and that the third has dull faculties and the fourth sharp faculties.

The other editions — see fn in Taishō ed.
— rightly read that the third man has sluggish knowledge and the fourth swift knowledge.

Vism II.
18–19, As 183:
Tibbakilesassa hi mudindriyassa dukkhā paṭipadā hoti dandhā ca abhiññā, tikkhindriyassa pana khippā abhiññā.
Mandakilesassa ca mudindriyassa sukhā

paṭipadā hoti dandhā ca abhiññā, tikkhindriyassa pana khippā abhiññā ti.
Iti imāsu paṭipadā-

abhiññāsu yo puggalo dukkhāya paṭipadāya dandhāya abhiññāya jhānaṃ pāpuṇāti, tassa taṃ jhānaṃ dukkhapaṭipadaṃ dandhābhiññan-ti vuccati.
Sesesu pi eseva nayo.
Cf. Peṭ 243:
Tattha ye diṭṭhicaritā sattā, … te cetasikena dukkhena anajjhositā.
Tena vuccati sukhā

paṭipadā ti.
Ye pana taṇhācaritā sattā, te kāmesu ajjhositā, … te piyarūpaṃ dukkhena paṭinissajjanti.
Tena vuccati dukkhā paṭipadā ti.
Iti ime sabbasattā dvīsu paṭipadāsu samosaraṇaṃ gacchanti dukkhāyañ-ca sukhāyañ-ca.
Tattha ye diṭṭhicaritā sattā,

te dvidhā mudindriyā ca tikkhindriyā ca.
Tattha ye diṭṭhicaritā sattā tikkhindriyā sukhena paṭinissajjanti, khippañ-ca abhisamenti, tena vuccati khippābhiññā sukhā paṭipadā ti.

Tattha ye diṭṭhicaritā sattā mudindriyā paṭhamaṃ tikkhindriyaṃ upādāya dandhataraṃ

abhisamenti, te sukhena paṭinissajjanti, dandhañ-ca abhisamenti.
Tena vuccati sukhā

paṭipadā dandhābhiññā ti.
Tattha taṇhācaritā sattā dvidhā tikkhindriyā ca mudindriyā ca.

Tattha ye taṇhācaritā sattā tikkhindriyā dukkhena paṭinissajjanti, khippañ-ca abhisamenti.

Tena vuccati dukkhā paṭipadā khippābhiññā ti.
Tattha ye taṇhācaritā sattā mudindriyā

paṭhamaṃ tikkhindriyaṃ upādāya dandhataraṃ abhisamenti, te dukkhena paṭinissajjanti,

dandhañ-ca abhisamenti.
Tena vuccati dukkhā paṭipadā dandhābhiññā ti.

49 Cf. Vism III.
19/p.87:
Iti imāsu paṭipadā abhiññāsu yo puggalo dukkhāya paṭipadāya dandhāya ca abhiññāya samādhiṃ pāpuṇāti, tassa so samādhi dukkhāpaṭipado dandhābhiñño ti vuccati.

Chapter 4:
exposition of ConCentration ( Samādhiniddesa) 213

Because of the dullness of faculties, a man of dull faculties has to practise jhāna for a long time to rouse slow direct knowledge, therefore, he is called

[a man of] dull faculties.
In this way, all [the others] should be analysed.

Furthermore, there are four kinds of concentration, namely, (1) restricted concentration with a restricted object ( paritta-ārammaṇa);
(2) restricted concentration with an immeasurable object ( appamāṇa-ārammaṇa);
(3) immeasurable concentration with a restricted object;
(4) immeasurable concentrationwith an immeasurable object.

Q. What is “restricted concentration with a restricted object”?

A. The concentration that is not gained at will and has an object that has been little increased50 — this is called “restricted concentration with a restricted object”.

Q. What is “restricted concentration with an immeasurable object”?

A. The concentration that is not gained at will and has an object that has been greatly increased — this is called “restricted concentration with an immeasurable object”.

50 Read 事 ”object”, instead of 定 ”concentration” since the next answers all have 事.

The characters 精進 usually correspond to viriya but here might correspond to śūra,

“powerful, strong”.
Perhaps Saṅghapāla interpreted vaḍḍhita “increased, extended” as Sanskrit vṛddha in the sense of “becoming stronger”, see MW s.
v. vṛddha.

The passage seems to be related to a passage on the four objects in the Vibhaṅga, which has

“to suffuse”, pharati, which refers to the increasing of the sign of the kasiṇa.
Vibh 332:


cattāri ārammaṇāni:
parittā parittārammaṇā paññā, parittā appamāṇārammaṇā paññā,

appamāṇā parittārammaṇā paññā, appamāṇā appamāṇārammaṇā paññā.
… Samādhissa na nikāmalābhissa ārammaṇaṃ thokaṃ pharantassa yā uppajjati paññā … sammādiṭṭhi:

ayaṃ vuccati parittā parittārammaṇā paññā.
… na nikāmalābhissa ārammaṇaṃ vipulaṃ

pharantassa yā … parittā appamāṇārammaṇā paññā.
… nikāmalābhissa ārammaṇaṃ

thokaṃ pharantassa yā … appamāṇā parittārammaṇā paññā.
… nikāmalābhissa ārammaṇaṃ

vipulaṃ pharantassa yā … appamāṇā appamāṇārammaṇā paññā.
Vibh-a 419:
Ārammaṇaṃ

thokaṃ pharantassā ti paritte suppamatte vā sarāvamatte vā ārammaṇe parikammaṃ

katvā tattheva appanaṃ patvā taṃ avaḍḍhitaṃ thokam-eva ārammaṇaṃ pharantassā ti attho.
… Avaḍḍhitārammaṇapaṭipakkhato ca vaḍḍhitārammaṇaṃ vipulan-ti vuttaṃ.
Paṭis-a I 298:
Cattāri ārammaṇānī ti ( Paṭis I 84) parittaṃ parittārammaṇaṃ, … appamāṇaṃ

appamāṇārammaṇan-ti … Kasiṇādi ārammaṇānaṃ avavatthāpetabbato ārammaṇavantāni jhānāni vuttānī ti veditabbāni.
Vism III.
0.833333333333333
Tattha yo samādhi appaguṇo uparijhānassa paccayo bhavituṃ na sakkoti, ayaṃ paritto.
Yo pana avaḍḍhite ārammaṇe pavatto, ayaṃ

parittārammaṇo.
Yo paguṇo subhāvito, uparijhānassa paccayo bhavituṃ sakkoti, ayaṃ

appamāṇo.
Yo ca vaḍḍhite ārammaṇe pavatto, ayaṃ appamāṇārammaṇo.
…. Vism-mhṭ I 113:
Appaguṇo ti na subhāvito vasībhāvaṃ apāpito.
…. Avaḍḍhite ti ekaṅguladvaṅgulamattam-pi na vaḍḍhite yathāupaṭṭhite ārammaṇe.
Ekaṅgulamattam-pi hi vaḍḍhitaṃ appamāṇamevā

ti vadanti.
… iminā yathā paguṇo pi uparijhānassa paccayo bhavituṃ asakkonto samādhi paritto yeva hoti, na appamāṇo.
M III 161:
yasmiṃ kho me samaye paritto samādhi hoti,

parittaṃ me tasmiṃ samaye cakkhu hoti.
Sohaṃ parittena cakkhunā parittañceva obhāsaṃ

sañjānāmi, parittāni ca rūpāni passāmi.
Yasmiṃ pana me samaye appamāṇo samādhi hoti,

appamāṇaṃ m’ etasmiṃ samaye cakkhu hoti.

214

Chapter 4:
exposition of ConCentration ( Samādhiniddesa) Q.
What is “immeasurable concentration with a restricted object”?

A. The concentration that is gained at will and has an object that has been little increased — this is called “immeasurable concentration with a restricted object”.

Q. What is “immeasurable concentration with an immeasurable object”?

A. The concentration that is gained at will and has an object that has been greatly increased — this is called “immeasurable concentration with immeasurable object”.

Furthermore, there are four kinds of concentration:
concentration due to motivation ( chanda-samādhi);
concentration due to energy ( viriya);
concentration due to mind ( citta);
and concentration due to examination ( vīmaṃsa).
51

That which is attained by the development of motivation is “concentration due to motivation”;
that which is attained by [the development] of effort is “concentration due to energy”;
that which is attained by the development of the mind is

“concentration due to mind”;
and that which is attained by the development of examination is “concentration due to examination”.

Furthermore, there are four kinds of concentration:
the concentration that Buddhas attain, but not disciples ( sāvaka);
the concentration that disciples attain, but not Buddhas;
the concentration that both Buddhas and disciples attain;
the concentration that neither Buddhas nor disciples attain.

The attainment52 of great compassion ( mahākaruṇā-samāpatti) and the attainment of the double miracle ( yamaka-pāṭihāriya) are concentrations that Buddhas attain but not disciples.
53

The fruition attainments of the trainee ( sekhiya-phala-samāpatti) are concentrations that disciples attain but not Buddhas.

The nine successive attainments ( anupubba-samāpatti)54 and the fruition attainment of the non-trainee are concentrations that both Buddhas and disciples attain.

51 These are the four iddhipāda or “bases of supernormal power”;
see explanation at 441c.

52 The character 定, corresponding to samāpatti is the same as the one used for samādhi so one can only infer from the context and the Pāli parallels which sense is intended.
In Pāli texts only mahākaruṇā-samāpatti and anupubba-samāpatti are found, so this is likely what the original had here.
The Pāli commentators explain that eight samāpattis can also be called samādhi because of the presence of one-pointedness of mind;
see Vibh-a 463, Nett-a 167:
Samāpattīsu hi paṭipāṭiyā aṭṭhannaṃ samāpattīnaṃ samādhī ti pi nāmaṃ samāpattī ti pi.

Kasmā? Cittekaggatāsabbhāvato.
Nirodhasamāpattiyā tadabhāvato na samādhī ti nāmaṃ.

53 These are two of the six knowledges not shared by disciples, but particular to Buddhas;
see Paṭis I 3, 125.

54 The four material and four immaterial concentration attainments plus the attainment of cessation.
The usual form is anupubba-vihāra-samāpatti;
see D III 265, A IV 409ff.;
cf. M III 25ff. In the Peṭakopadesa and some commentaries anupubba-samāpatti is

Chapter 4:
exposition of ConCentration ( Samādhiniddesa) 215

The attainment of non-perception ( asaññā-samāpatti)55 is a concentration that neither Buddhas nor disciples attain.

Furthermore, there are four kinds of concentration:
there is concentration that is leading to origination ( samudaya) and not to cessation ( nirodha);
there is concentration that is leading to cessation and not to origination;
there is concentration that is leading to both origination and cessation;
and there is concentration that is leading neither to origination nor cessation.
56

Q.
What is [concentration that is] “leading to origination and not to cessation”?

A. The wholesome and unwholesome sensuous sphere concentration — this is called “[concentration that is] leading to origination and not to cessation”.

The concentration of the fourfold noble path — this is “[concentration that is]

leading to cessation and not to origination”.

The wholesome material [sphere] and immaterial [sphere] concentration of the trainee and the worldling — this is “[concentration that is] leading to origination and cessation”.
[408a]

All the fruition attainments57 and functional ( kiriya) attainments — this is

“[concentration that is] leading neither to origination nor to cessation”.

Furthermore, there are four kinds of concentration:
the first jhāna;
the second jhāna;
the third jhāna;
and the fourth jhāna.
58

sometimes found;
e.g., Peṭ 136:
Tattha katamāyo nava anupubbasamāpattiyo?
Cattāri jhānāni catasso ca arūpasamāpattiyo nirodhasamāpatti ca.

55 The concentration that causes rebirth among the deities who are beings without perception ( asaññasattā devā);
see D I 28, Sv I 118.

56 LC:
“This passage is an expansion of the 10th triplet of the Abhidhamma- mātikā:
ācayagāmino dhammā, apacayagāmino dhammā and neither of these.
Apacayagāmin

‘bringing about disaccumulation’ refers to the magga as here.
Ācayagāmin ‘bringing about accumulation’ is given here as kāmāvacara akusalacitta and kusalacitta, whereas in Dhs it includes all sāsava kusalacitta and kusalacitta;
see Dhs §§1013–15 and §§1397–99.

Similarly, in the neither category, there is phala and kiriya concentration.
Cf. Kv 356.”

為起, 為滅.
Usually 起 and 滅 correspond to samudaya/ uppāda and nirodha/ vaya and the like.
Elsewhere in Vim the binomes 令聚 and 不令聚 as well as 聚 and 不聚 correspond to ācaya and apacaya.

57 一切果定及事定.
果定= phalasamādhi or phalasamāpatti.
Cf. Mp-ṭ II 48:
phalasamādhī ti catūsu pi ariyaphalesu samādhi & Sv III 1007:
Idha phalasamāpattijhānāni, khīṇāsavassa aparabhāge nibbattitajhānāni ca kathitāni.
事定 = kiriyasamādhi or kiriyasamāpatti.

Only the latter is found in Pāli works (Paṭṭh I 147:
Arahā maggaṃ upanissāya anuppannaṃ

kiriyasamāpattiṃ uppādeti, uppannaṃ samāpajjati, saṅkhāre aniccato dukkhato anattato vipassati), but事定 is given as a concentration at 407b25. Since the plural is used, samāpatti makes more sense here.

58 See Vibh 263:
Cattāri jhānāni paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ, dutiyaṃ jhānaṃ, tatiyaṃ jhānaṃ,

catutthaṃ jhānaṃ.
Tattha katamaṃ paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ?
Idha bhikkhu yasmiṃ samaye

216

Chapter 4:
exposition of ConCentration ( Samādhiniddesa) When secluded from the five hindrances and endowed with thinking, exploring, rapture, pleasure, and one-pointedness of mind — it is called “the first jhāna”.

When secluded from thinking and exploring and endowed with the other three factors — it is called “the second jhāna”.

When secluded from rapture and endowed with the other two factors — it is called “the third jhāna”.

When secluded from pleasure and endowed with equanimity and one-pointedness of mind — it is called “the fourth jhāna”.

13 Five kinds of concentration

Furthermore, there are five kinds of concentration, namely, the first jhāna;
the second jhāna;
the third jhāna;
the fourth jhāna;
and the fifth jhāna.

There are five jhānas in accordance with the five jhāna factors of thinking, exploring, rapture, pleasure, and one-pointedness of mind.

When secluded from the five hindrances and endowed with five factors — it is called “the first jhāna”.

When secluded from thinking and endowed with four factors — it is called

“the second jhāna”.

When secluded from thinking and exploring, and endowed with three factors —

it is called “the third jhāna”.

When secluded from rapture and endowed with two factors — it is called

“the fourth jhāna”.

When secluded from pleasure, and endowed with two factors — equanimity and one-pointedness of mind — it is called “the fifth jhāna”.
59

rūpūpapattiyā maggaṃ bhāveti vivicceva kāmehi … paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ upasampajja viharati pathavīkasiṇaṃ, tasmiṃ samaye pañcaṅgikaṃ jhānaṃ hoti — vitakko, vicāro, pīti, sukhaṃ,

cittassekaggatā.


59 The text is corrupt.
Although five jhānas are listed in the introduction, only four are explained.
The fourth jhāna is wrongly said to be “seclusion from pleasure” and then only

“which is called equanimity and one-pointedness of mind” follows, 離樂成就二分謂

第四禪所謂捨一心.
The translation has been amended in accordance with the Vibhaṅga parallel and the quotation in the Tibetan Sav (see Appendix II).
Vibh 264f:
Idha bhikkhu yasmiṃ samaye rūpūpapattiyā maggaṃ bhāveti vivicceva kāmehi … paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ

upasampajja viharati pathavīkasiṇaṃ, tasmiṃ samaye pañcaṅgikaṃ jhānaṃ hoti, vitakko,

vicāro, pīti, sukhaṃ, cittassekaggatā.
Idaṃ vuccati paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ.
Avasesā dhammā

jhānasampayuttā.
Idha bhikkhu … avitakkaṃ vicāramattaṃ vivekajaṃ pītisukhaṃ dutiyaṃ

jhānaṃ upasampajja … caturaṅgikaṃ jhānaṃ hoti, vicāro, pīti, sukhaṃ, cittassekaggatā.

… Idha … vitakkavicārānaṃ vūpasamā … tatiyaṃ jhānaṃ … tivaṅgikaṃ jhānaṃ hoti,

pīti, sukhaṃ, cittassekaggatā.
… Idha … pītiyā ca virāgā … catutthaṃ jhānaṃ …

Chapter 4:
exposition of ConCentration ( Samādhiniddesa) 217

Q.
Why are four and five jhānas taught?

A. Because two [kinds of] men are taken into account,60 there are two kinds of second jhāna, namely, [one] without thinking and exploring, and [the other]

without thinking but with a slight degree of exploring.

There is a meditator who gives rise to the first jhāna with mastery, and [then]

gives rise to the second jhāna.
61 He recollects and considers the coarseness of thinking and exploring, and he knows the disadvantages of thinking and exploring.
He gives rise to the second jhāna, which is without thinking and exploring.
He practises the four jhānas successively.

Furthermore, there is another one who has already given rise to the first jhāna with mastery and is now giving rise to the second jhāna.
He recollects and considers the coarseness of thinking, and he knows the disadvantages of thinking.

He discerns [the state] without thinking, which has a slight degree of exploring ( vicāramatta), and gives rise to the second jhāna.
He practises the five jhānas successively.

Therefore, the five jhānas are taught.
62

Furthermore, there are five kinds of concentration, namely, the five-factored right concentration:
63 pervading with rapture ( pharaṇa), pervading with pleasure, pervading of mind, pervading with light and the reviewing-sign.
64

Here in the first and the second jhānas there is “pervading with rapture”.

In the third jhāna there is “pervading with pleasure”.
The knowledge of others’

minds is called “pervading of mind”.
The knowledge of the divine eye is called

“pervading with light”.
The reviewing-knowledge of one who emerges from any concentration is the “reviewing-sign”.
65

duvaṅgikaṃ jhānaṃ hoti, sukhaṃ, cittassekaggatā.
… Idha … sukhassa ca pahānā … pañcamaṃ

jhānaṃ … duvaṅgikaṃ jhānaṃ hoti, upekkhā, cittassekaggatā.
Idaṃ vuccati pañcamaṃ

jhānaṃ.
Cf. Dhs § 176ff, Vism III.
21 & 25/p.88.

60 The variant reading in the Taishō edition is translated here:
答由二人執故:
“Because the result (報) depends on two [kinds of] men.”

61 This is put as a question and answer but it does not fit and appears to be an addition.

“Q. Who is the meditator who gives rise to the first jhāna with mastery, and [then] gives rise to the second jhāna?
A. He comprehends …”

62 As 178:
Sannisinnadevaparisāya kira ekaccānaṃ devānaṃ vitakko eva oḷārikato upaṭṭhāsi,

vicārapītisukhacittekaggatā santato.
Tesaṃ sappāyavasena satthā caturaṅgikaṃ avitakkaṃ

vicāramattaṃ dutiyajjhānaṃ nāma bhājesi.

63 Read 正定 instead of 正受, as at 408a21.

64

Instead of 觀想 read 觀相.

65 Cf. Vibh 334 § 804. Tattha katamo pañcaṅgiko sammāsamādhi?
Pītipharaṇatā, sukhapharaṇatā,

cetopharaṇatā, ālokapharaṇatā, paccavekkhaṇānimittaṃ.
Dvīsu jhānesu paññā

pītipharaṇatā.
Tīsu jhānesu paññā sukhapharaṇatā.
Paracitte ñāṇaṃ cetopharaṇatā.

218

Chapter 4:
exposition of ConCentration ( Samādhiniddesa) Furthermore, there are five kinds of concentration, namely, the five knowledges of right concentration:

(1) The personal knowledge arises:
“This concentration is pleasant in the present and is of pleasant result in the future.”

(2) [The personal knowledge arises:
] “This concentration is practised by the noble ones and is unworldly ( nirāmisa).”

(3) [The personal knowledge arises:
] “This concentration is practised by wise men.”

(4) [The personal knowledge arises:
] “This concentration is peaceful and excellent, it is gained by tranquillizing, attained by singleness;
it is not blocked by forceful suppression.”
66

(5) The personal knowledge arises:
“I mindfully enter upon this concentration and mindfully emerge from it.”
67

Furthermore, when analysing the meditation subjects ( kammaṭṭhāna), analysing the objects ( ārammaṇa) of [meditation] practice, and what is inferior, middling, or superior [in them], then concentration is of many kinds;
yet each of all of these kinds of concentration is to be understood as being included in the four kinds of concentration.

Dibbacakkhu ālokapharaṇatā Tamhā tamhā samādhimhā vuṭṭhitassa paccavekkhaṇāñāṇaṃ

paccavekkhaṇānimittaṃ.
Cf. Vibh-a 420f, Paṭis I 48, Paṭis-a I 125f, D III 277, Sv 1059, Nett 89.

66 非伏生死, lit.
“it is not overcome by saṃsāra” or “it does not overcome/suppress saṃsāra”, which must be due to a misunderstanding of the difficult compound na sasaṅkhāra-niggayha-vāritavata (“not blocked and checked by forceful suppression”;
Bodhi 2000:
117 and 371 n.
88) as na saṃsāra-niggayha.

The 4th knowledge is given twice, with some different characters for the same Indic terms:
此定寂寂快樂猗所得成就無二不伏生死, 此定寂寂最樂猗成一性所得非伏生死.

This duplication might be due to an additional explanation or interpretation spoken by Saṅghapāla that the Chinese scribe mistakenly copied into the text (for this type of mistake, see Toru 2006:
39–41), or, more likely, it is an intrusion due to a copyist copying into the text a reader’s marginal note with a retranslation in different Chinese characters.

The punctuation in the Taishō edition is also confusing, e.g., the “I” (我) in the last part belongs to the fifth knowledge.

67 Vibh 334 § 804, A III 24, D III 278:
Ayaṃ samādhi paccuppannasukho ceva āyatiñca sukhavipāko ti paccattaññeva ñāṇaṃ uppajjati.
Ayaṃ samādhi ariyo nirāmiso ti ….

akāpurisasevito ti … santo paṇīto paṭippassaddhaladdho ekodibhāvādhigato na sasaṅkhāraniggayha-vāritagato ti ….
So kho panāhaṃ imaṃ samādhiṃ sato samāpajjāmi sato vuṭṭhahāmī ti paccattaññeva ñāṇaṃ uppajjati.
Ayaṃ pañcañāṇiko sammāsamādhi.

Evaṃ pañcavidhena ñāṇavatthu.

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5 - CHAPTER 5 The Search for a Good Friend

1

Introduction

Q.
Now, how does one give rise to concentration?

A. If a beginner meditator wishes to give rise to the jhāna attainments, he should search for a good friend.
[408b] Why?
When a beginner meditator who wishes to give rise to the jhāna attainments and attain the excellent concentration1 is apart from a good friend, he will not accomplish [the concentration] partaking of steadiness ( ṭhitibhāgiya).
As is said in the Suttas:
“Meghiya Bhikkhu partakes of falling back ( hānabhāgiya)”.
2 It is like a man who sets out alone on a distant journey with no companion to guide him.
Going by himself as he wishes, he is like an elephant that is not guided by a goad.

If a meditator who [desires to] practise, goes and finds a good friend, who expounds the Dhamma to him and teaches him the Discipline ( vinaya), and makes him accept it, showing him how to abandon faults and afflictions, and how to attain wholesome states, he should follow his instructions and practise and endeavour arduously to attain the excellent concentration.

2

Qualities of the good friend

The good friend is like a wealthy merchant chief3 respected by all.
He is like a kind, good-hearted person.
He is like a kind parent.
He is like one who chains an elephant to make it immovable.
He is like a royal chariot driver who makes the

[horses] comply to go forward or stand still.
He is like a [helms] man who takes the helm [of a ship] in order to take the right course.
He is like a physician who 1

最勝定 or “supreme concentration”, 最勝定 can correspond to * aggasamādhi, *aggasamāpatti,

visesasamādhi or varasamāpatti.
In Vim, 定 can correspond to samāpatti “attainment” as well as samādhi “concentration”.
Cf. Bv 17:
Kassaci varasamāpattiyo, aṭṭha deti narāsabho, …

2

Untraced.
Meghiya was the Buddha’s attendant monk who went to meditate alone in a grove contrary to the Buddha’s advice and then was troubled by unwholesome thoughts.

The Buddha explained that this was due to his immaturity, and that this could be solved by having a good friend, etc. See A IV 357, Ud 34f.:
Idha Meghiya bhikkhu kalyāṇamitto hoti kalyāṇasahāyo kalyāṇasampavaṅko.
Aparipakkāya Meghiya cetovimuttiyā ayaṃ paṭhamo dhammo aparipakkāya saṃvattati.

3

The binome 商主 can correspond to śreṣṭhin (Pāli:
seṭṭhi) “guild chief”, “eminent merchant”

or sārthavāha (Pāli:
satthavāha) “caravan leader”.

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cures a disease to eliminate suffering.
He is like the rain from the sky that moistens and benefits seeds.
He is like a mother who nurses her child.
He is like a father who guides his son.
He is like a reliable relative.
4 He is like a friend who helps.
Moreover, he is like a teacher who instructs [his pupils].
All wholesome states depend on him for their fulfilment.
Therefore, the Fortunate One taught to Ānanda:
“Good friendship is the whole of the holy life”.
5 Therefore, one should search for a good person,6 for a good friend.

Q. Who is a good friend?

A. He is “one who is accomplished to some extent”;
one who clearly understands the Suttas, Abhidhamma, and Vinaya.
He is “one who is fully accomplished”;
one who clearly understands the different kinds of kamma, has skill in the direct knowledges ( abhiññā), and has attained vision ( dassana) of the four noble truths.
7

These are the two kinds of men accomplished in virtuous qualities.
They should be searched for.
If these two kinds of men accomplished in virtuous qualities cannot be found, a good friend endowed with seven factors should be searched for.

Q. What are the seven factors?

A. He is loveable, respectable, venerable, he is one who speaks and can bear speech, he is a speaker of profound talk, and is not committed to unsuitable conditions.
8

Q. What is “loveable”?

4

如親無難, lit.
“like a relative without peril/danger” or “… relative who is secure”.
What is intended is that the relative is dependable and gives safety.

5

The text has 難陀, Nanda, instead of Ānanda, 阿難.
No passages can be traced in Pāli texts in which the Buddha gives this advice to Nanda;
see below.
In the same passage in the translations of the Saṃyukta Āgama at T 99 195b13, 200 c06, 339b01 and T 100 396a 24 and in the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya at T 1451:
398c03–05, the Buddha addresses Ānanda, 阿難/

阿難陀.
In the Tibetan translation of the Kalyāṇamitrasevanasūtra at Dergé 301 (p.
304b.3-305a.7) the advice is also addressed to Ānanda or kun dga’ bo.
Cf. S I 87–8, S V 2:
Sakalam eva hidaṃ ānanda brahmacariyaṃ yad idaṃ kalyāṇa-mittatā kalyāṇa-sahāyatā kalyāṇasampavaṅkatā.
Cf. A IV 351–52:
… bhikkhu kalyāṇamitto hoti kalyāṇasahāyo kalyāṇasampavaṅko.

Sambodhipakkhikānaṃ, āvuso, dhammānaṃ ayaṃ paṭhamā upanisā bhāvanāya.
….

6

Sn-a I 331:
… tasmā have sappurisaṃ bhajetha.
Kīdisaṃ sappurisaṃ bhajetha?
Medhāvinañ-

ceva bahussutañ-ca, paññāsampattiyā ca medhāvinaṃ vuttappakārasutadvayena ca bahussutaṃ.

7

Two persons are intended:
The first person is the one who has theoretical knowledge, but not full practical knowledge, and is therefore “accomplished to some extent (有所成就)”.

The second is the arahant, who is “fully accomplished” (所得成就).
Cf. Vism III.
62–65.

8

A IV 32:
Sattahi bhikkhave dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu mitto sevitabbo … Piyo hoti manāpo ca, garu ca, bhāvanīyo ca, vattā ca, vacanakkhamo ca, gambhīrañ ca kathaṃ kattā

hoti, no ca aṭṭhāne niyojeti.
Cf. Vism 98;
Nett 164.

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A.
This is dependent on two kinds of conduct:
[he speaks] wholesome speech to those he dwells together with, and gladly explains [things to them] without difficulty — this is called “loveable”.

“Respectable” means that he is of virtuous conduct, is serene, guards [his sense-faculties], is endowed with mindfulness, and has no desire to speak much — this is called “respectable”.

“Venerable” means that he is very learned, is endowed with good qualities, knows meditation, and is revered — this is called “venerable”.

“One who speaks”:
He thinks:
“Let my words be loveable, respectable, venerable and fruitful”.
In order to benefit others and out of esteem for the Dhamma, he restrains [others from doing things] that ought not to be done and helps

[them] to the utmost without giving up.
This is called “one who speaks”.
9

“One who can bear speech” means that he is able to let go without hesitation of frivolous speech, and that all his speech has the characteristics of that of a noble one.
This is called “one who can bear speech”.
10

“A speaker of profound talk” means that he penetrates the meditation subjects ( kammaṭṭhāna).
When he analyses, perceives, recollects, attends, fixes, pursues, all of these are due to the grasping the sign ( nimitta, lakkhaṇa) of what is spoken well in accordance with the Dhamma.
When he, in accordance with the Dhamma, does not grasp the sign of the afflictions, he is able to cause cessation [of the afflictions].
This is called “a speaker of profound talk”.
11 [408c]

9

Nett-a 250:
Vattā ti kālena vakkhāmī ti ādipañcadhamme attani upaṭṭhāpetvā

sabrahmacārīnaṃ ullumpanabhāve ṭhatvā vattā.
Spk I 123:
Vattā ti odhunanavattā.

Bhikkhūnaṃ ajjhācāraṃ disvā ajja kathessāmi, sve kathessāmī ti kathāvavatthānaṃ na karoti, tasmiṃ tasmiṃ yeva ṭhāne ovadati anusāsatī ti attho.
Spk II 241:
Vattā ti pare yadicchakaṃ vadati yeva.
Cp-a 288:
… codako pāpagarahī vattā …

10 The text is cryptic.
Cf. Nett-a 250:
Vacanakkhamo ti dhammaṃ saṃvaṇṇento parehi asaṃhīro hutvā tesaṃ pucchāvacanakkhamatāya vacanakkhamo.
Spk I 123:
Vacanakkhamoti vacanaṃ khamati.
Eko hi parassa ovādaṃ deti, sayaṃ pana aññena ovadiyamāno kujjhati.

… Mp IV 24:
Vacanakkhamoti vacanaṃ khamati, dinnaṃ ovādaṃ karoti.

11 The text is cryptic.
For the sign of the defilements, kilesanimitta, see Ch.11 § 9/p.454c04.

Cf.
Cp-a 288:
… sutasampattiyā sattānaṃ hitasukhāvahaṃ gambhīraṃ dhammakathaṃ

kattā hoti, cāgasampattiyā appiccho hoti santuṭṭho pavivitto asaṃsaṭṭho, vīriyasampattiyā

āraddhavīriyo hoti sattānaṃ hitapaṭipattiyaṃ, satisampattiyā upaṭṭhitasati hoti anavajja-dhammesu, samādhisampattiyā avikkhitto hoti samāhitacitto, paññāsampattiyā aviparītaṃ

pajānāti, so satiyā kusalākusalānaṃ dhammānaṃ gatiyo samanvesamāno paññāya sattānaṃ hitāhitaṃ yathābhūtaṃ jānitvā samādhinā tattha ekaggacitto hutvā vīriyena ahitā

satte nisedhetvā hite niyojeti.
Nett-a 251:
Gambhīrañ-ca kathaṃ kattā ti saccapaṭiccasamuppādādiṃ, aññaṃ vā gambhīrakathaṃ kattā.
Mp IV 24:
Gambhīran-ti guyhaṃ

rahassaṃ jhānanissitaṃ vipassanāmaggaphalanibbānanissitaṃ.
Abhidh-av-pṭ II 215:
Gambhīrañ-ca kathaṃ kattā ti tiracchānakathaṃ akathetvā dasakathāvatthupaṭisaṃyuttaṃ

gambhīram-eva kathaṃ kattā.

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“Not committed to unsuitable conditions” means that he avoids and does not live in unsuitable conditions ( aṭṭhāna) such as families, dwelling places, building work, groups [of students], recitation, and writing.
12 But if he practises in a place adequate for the goal and which makes him gain ease ( phāsu), then he should stay in that dwelling place.
This is “not committed towards unsuitable conditions”.

The good friend endowed with these seven qualities can be searched for.

3

How to search for a good friend

Q.
How should one search?

A. If one knows that in such and such a monastery there is one who has these qualities and is respected, and if he is a teacher of meditation, one should go to him.
If one does not know of such a person, but a fellow practitioner ( sabrahmacārin?
) knows, then one should go to visit him in person.

At the proper time, and in accordance with the rules, [one approaches the fellow practitioner] and not yet stating one’s intentions, one salutes him respectfully, asks about his day-to-day life, and then consults him about where to go:

“In which country and in which monastery are there numerous quiet dwelling places?
Are there communities ( saṅgha) of meditators there?
Is there a meditation teacher there?
If so, for what practices and for what qualities is he honoured by all”?
Thus, one should ask.

The fellow practitioner should answer:
“In such and such a country, in such and such a monastery, there are such numerous [quiet dwelling places and communities of] meditators and there is such a meditation teacher who is honoured by all.”

When one has heard this, and has deeply considered it, one rejoices and should go to that place to visit him in person and undertake [a meditation subject].

Adjusting one’s robes, one should go to one’s preceptor ( upajjhāya) and tell him about one’s desire:
“O preceptor, listen to me.
I will go and visit that meditation teacher in person.”

12 Ten obstructions, pāḷibodha, are given at Vism III.
29/p.90:
Āvāso ca kulaṃ lābho, gaṇo kammañ-ca pañcamaṃ;
/ Addhānaṃ ñāti ābādho, gantho iddhīti te dasāti.
In Pāli the terms niyojeti and niyojaka have the sense of urging others, see Cp-a 288 in the preceding footnote, but here the explanation indicates that it refers to the good friend.
Cf. Nett-a 251:
Na caṭṭhāne niyojako ti dhammavinayādiṃ adhammāvinayādivasena avatvā dhammavinayādivaseneva dīpanato na ca aṭṭhāne niyojako.
Abhidh-av-pṭ II 215:
No caṭṭhāne niyojakoti appavattitabbaṭṭhānabhūte ahite na niyojako.

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223

The preceptor should listen and reply:
“Very well!
I too rejoice.
[The visiting of] that good man is what is to be done.
13 This is called ‘associating with a good man’.
The following of a good man is practising in accordance with the Dhamma.

When one sees and hears him, one obtains great benefit, let alone when associating with him.
You should go to him.
Having gone there, be careful and do not be negligent.

“If one can diligently practise and train with the good man, at one time or all the time, one [should] increase faith, respect, and sincerity [towards him].

One should speak wholesome words, guard the body and the mouth, awaken understanding, and practise.
One will [then] attain perfection.
14

“All depends on the teacher.
One must not give rise to contempt towards him.

Just as a newly wed bride going to serve her father-in-law and mother-in-law, one should give rise to conscience and shame towards him.
One should listen to him and accept his instructions and admonishments.

“If one sees that his pupils lack robes or medicines, when one goes, one arranges

[what is lacking] according to the rule.”

[While the preceptor] speaks [this] Dhamma discourse with wholesome teachings, he sits until he is dismissed [by the teacher].
Then the meditator adjusts his robes, circumambulates the preceptor, and bows at his feet.
15

When he is going on the journey [to the monastery where the meditation teacher lives], and there is a bathing site in an orchard outside [the village near the monastery], he should go to that spot, and place his robes, alms-bowl, sandals, water-jar and meditation-mat on a high place that is not near the water.

He should bathe without making noise.
After bathing, he tidies and adjusts his robes, puts on the upper-robe, and places the [strap of the] alms-bowl [-bag] and his meditation mat on top of his right shoulder, folds the double-robe ( saṅghāṭi) and places it on top of his shoulder.

13 The text is unclear, but presumably 善人, sappurisa, refers to the good friend, kalyāṇamitta, not to the monk who is on a search.
In Pāli texts, sappurisa and kalyāṇamitta are used alongside each other, e.g., Dhp-a II 111:
… kalyāṇamittā ceva sappurisā ca, te bhajetha payirupāsethāti;
Th-a II 109 on Th 264:
Pāpamitte vivajjetvā, bhajeyyuttamapuggalaṃ;

Ovāde cassa tiṭṭheyya, patthento acalaṃ sukhaṃ.
… Tattha pāpamitteti akalyāṇamitte asappurise hīnavīriye.
… Bhajeyyuttamapuggalan-ti sappurisaṃ paṇḍitaṃ kalyāṇamittaṃ

ovādānusāsanīgahaṇavasena seveyya.
Th-a III 61:
… tādise sappurise kalyāṇamitte bhajantu sevantu.

14 This section is often unclear as to whom is being referred to, etc. , and it appears to be corrupt.
See next footnote.

15 This passage could be part of the preceding instruction by the preceptor, i.e., it describes how one should conduct oneself with regard to the meditation teachers’ teachings, or it could mark the end of the instruction.
師 means “teacher” but can also mean “preceptor”.

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On entering a monastery, he lowers his umbrella and circumambulates the stupa.
16

If he sees any bhikkhu, he should go to him and ask:
“Is there a meditator in this place?
[If there] is not, is there a rag-robe-wearer?
Is there an almsfood-gatherer?
Is there a teacher of the Discipline?
Where does he dwell?
How does one go to his dwelling?
[409a] If there is one, I will go to him.
If there is none, but there is a teacher of the Discipline, then I will go to him.
If there is no teacher of the Discipline, who is the senior monk ( thera)?
I will go to him.”

If the bhikkhu who receives one is more senior [than oneself], one should not hand him one’s alms-bowl and robe, but if he is junior, one should.
If there is no one to receive one, one places one’s alms-bowl and robe on the ground.

When one sees the senior monk, one bows at his feet and sits at one side.

According to the duties ( vatta) [for resident monks],17 a resident bhikkhu provides one with a seat and water, and [shows one] the bathing-place.
He gives information;
puts away one’s alms-bowl and robe and shows one the toilet.

One should ask [him] about the community protocols.
18

Before sunset, one should go around the monastery.
If one sees a teacher of Discipline, one should talk with him and ask him about doubtful points, offences, and non-offences.
If one sees a teacher of Abhidhamma, one should inquire about wisdom sprung from practice, about the aggregates, sense bases, elements, and about kamma.
If one sees one who practises the kinds of asceticism, one should inquire about wisdom associated with the ascetic qualities ( dhuta-guṇa).
If he lives there, one should go daily to make inquiries.

If one wishes to leave [the monastery], one folds and piles up the bedding [in the lodging] and [after going to the senior monk,] bows at the senior monk’s feet and informs him that one is leaving.
These are the rules for visiting bhikkhus.

In the monastery, the meditator should live in close association with the meditation teacher.
When the meditation teacher arrives, one should take his alms-bowl and robe even if he is junior.
19

16 The placing of the robe on the shoulder and the lowering of the umbrella on entering a monastery are a few of the duties of a visiting monk in Vin II 207 (see next footnote) but the circambulating of the stupa is not mentioned there, nor in the Vism and other Pāli texts.

17 Described here are the duties for visiting monks and resident monks ( āgantukavatta and āvāsikavatta), given in detail in the Vattakkhandhaka at Vin II 207–209;
cf. Vism VI.
60/

p.
188

18 Vin II 208:
… saṅghassa katikasaṇṭhānaṃ pucchitabbaṃ:
kaṃ kālaṃ pavisitabbaṃ, …?

19 禪師若至雖小亦代取衣鉢, lit.
“The meditation teacher, if arrives, although junior, also instead/for takes bowl and robe.”
From the traditional viewpoint of Vinaya, this sign of respect from a senior to a junior is quite inappropriate and this passage is likely due to overlooking the na “not” in the Pāli, as found in the Vism parallel.
Vism (III.
68/p.100)

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225

If [something is to be practised of] the teachings of the teacher, [one should immediately practise it] or if one should not practise [something], one immediately should not practise it and should let go of it.
This is the first of what is to be done and it must be practiced.

If he (i.e., the teacher) wishes to teach [other] people, one lets them learn first.

When the meditator has already [heard and] practised the teachings before,20

he should look after the [teacher’s] dwelling-place and arrange his alms-bowl and robe.
After some time has passed by, knowing the right time, one should approach the teacher of meditation, worship him respectfully, and sit silently for a little while.
If the meditation teacher asks what one wants, one should speak about one’s wish.
If he does not ask, then one should not speak.
Thereupon should he ask for tooth-sticks and water for washing, etc. , one should prepare and serve these in the proper way.

When the time for going on alms-round arrives, one should go to the teacher and ask, in accordance with the rule,21 what should be done.
When it is mealtime, one should wash the teacher’s feet, arrange his seat, give him his alms-bowl, and ask the teacher to take as much as he wants from one’s own alms-bowl.
Having put down one’s own alms-bowl, one takes out [the food one does not need] and shares it with [his other] disciples.
Thus, one helps and has no difficulties.
After finishing the meal, one takes the teacher’s alms-bowl, washes it thoroughly, and puts it in its place.

Knowing the right time, one approaches the teacher of meditation, worships him respectfully, and should sit silently for a little while.
Should the teacher ask, then one should speak about one’s wish.
Should the teacher not ask, one worships him respectfully and requests him to listen:
“I shall now say what I wished to say from the beginning.
If I am permitted, I would like to ask”.
Should the teacher permit, one says everything.
Should the teacher not ask, one should worship him.

When one has found the right time, one should say:
“I have come for a reason.

Please, teacher, listen to what I say”.
If the teacher listens, one should tell him everything that one wishes.
The teacher says:
“Very well!
I shall instruct you according to the rule and you should accept it.”

Therefore, the Fortunate One spoke these verses:
22 [409b]

instead has “If the teacher is junior, he [i.e., the meditator] should not consent to the teacher receiving his bowl and robe, and so on,” sace ācariyo daharataro hoti, pattacīvarapaṭiggahaṇādīni na sāditabbāni.

20 若欲教人先取覺坐禪人先已行法.
The text is cryptic.

21 This refers to duties such as giving the robes, bowl, etc, as part of the duties towards the preceptor, upajjhāyavatta, at Vin II 222.

22 These verses cannot be traced in any Pāli texts.

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By [going] at the right time and serving [the teacher],

And by making his mind free from arrogance,

One who leads the holy life can protect the Dhamma.

Like a tree that is not [swayed by the] wind,

He recollects the Dhamma and practices

Until the joy of Dhamma becomes his own happiness.

Established in the Dhamma, comprehending the Dhamma,

He should speak on the Dhamma as it really is,

He should not defame the Dhamma

[By] frivolous talk, sorrowing, and merriment.

Anger, indolence, wrath, greed, pride, delusion,

Craving, passion, obstinacy, and so on —

Are all overcome by practicing [the Dhamma].

He guards his welfare ( attha), not his pride,

Understanding goodness, his words are truthful.

For the sake of [attaining] concentration,

He sincerely understands and learns.

If a man is always heedless,

Wisdom sprung from learning does not grow;

But if a man understands the True Dhamma,

He is respected by deities and humans,

Being respected, he is confident of mind.

One who has much learning protects the Dhamma,

And it makes him attain the happiness of learning.

Thus, practicing the qualities

That are in accordance with the Dhamma

He gives rise to the supreme liberation

That is achieved by the wise person.

If he has such a kind of teacher,

He should practice heedfully.

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6 - CHAPTER 6 Exposition of Temperaments (Caritaniddesa)

1

Introduction

Now, when the teacher on whom one depends has observed one’s temperament1

for some days, he should teach a meditation subject ( kammaṭṭhāna) suitable to one’s temperament.

2

Fourteen kinds of temperament

Herein, temperament means the fourteen kinds of temperament:

1. greed temperament ( rāga-carita),

2. hate temperament ( dosa-carita),

3. delusion temperament ( moha-carita),

4. faith temperament ( saddhā-carita),

5. intelligence temperament ( buddhi-carita),

6. thinking temperament ( vitakka-carita),

7. greed and hate temperament ( rāga-dosa-carita),

8. greed and delusion temperament ( rāga-moha-carita),

9. hate and delusion temperament ( dosa-moha-carita),

10. [greed, hate and delusion] in-equal-parts temperament ( rāga-dosa-mohasamabhāga-carita),2

11. faith and intelligence temperament ( saddhā-buddhi-carita),

1

行 = carita or cariya, which can also be translated as “behaviour” or “disposition”.

2

Cf.
Peṭ 140:
Tattha yāni cha puggalamūlāni tesaṃ nikkhipetvā rāgacarito, dosacarito,

mohacarito, rāgadosacarito, rāgamohacarito, dosamohacarito, samabhāgacarito, ….
Peṭ

6
Tattha rāgadosamohasamabhāgacaritassa puggalassa visesabhāgiyaṃ jhānaṃ hoti,

….
Vism III.
74/p.101 mentions (and rejects) this classification with the in-equal-parts types ( samabhāga):
Keci pana rāgādīnaṃ saṃsaggasannipātavasena aparā pi catasso, tathā

saddhādīnan-ti imāhi aṭṭhahi saddhiṃ cuddasa icchanti.
This Śrāvakabhūmi (Yogasthāna II) also mentions the samabhāgacarita among the seven types, i.e., greed, hatred, delusion, conceit, thinking, in-equal-parts, and dull-witted.
Śbh Ms.
68a2M:
tatra caritaprabhedena saptānāṃ pudgalānāṃ vyavasthānam / yo ’ yaṃ rāgotsadaḥ pudgalaḥ sa rāgacaritaḥ

/ yo dveṣotsadaḥ sa dveṣacaritaḥ / yo mohotsadaḥ sa mohacaritaḥ / yo mānotsadaḥ sa mānacaritaḥ / yo vitarkotsadaḥ sa vitarkacaritaḥ / yaḥ samaprāptaḥ sa samabhāgacaritaḥ /

yo mandarajaskaḥ sa mandacarito veditavyaḥ.

228

Chapter 6:
exposition of temperaments ( Caritaniddesa)

12. faith and thinking temperament ( saddhā-vitakka-carita),

13. intelligence and thinking temperament ( buddhi–vitakka-carita),

14. [faith, intelligence and thinking] in-equal-parts temperament ( saddhā-buddhi–

vitakka-samabhāga-carita).

Furthermore, various other temperaments are known, [such as] craving, views, and conceit ( māna), etc. Thus, the greed temperament, the inclination towards greed ( lobha), and the nature of being attached to pleasure — these do not differ in meaning.
3 [409c]

3

Fourteen persons by way of temperament

By way of temperament, there are fourteen kinds of persons:

1. the person with a greed temperament,

2. the person with a hate temperament,

3. the person with a delusion temperament,

4. the person with a faith temperament,

5. the person with an intelligence temperament,

6. the person with a thinking temperament,

7. the person with a greed and hate temperament,

8. the person with a greed and delusion temperament,

9. the person with a hate and delusion temperament,

10. the person with a [greed, hate and delusion] in-equal-parts temperament, 11. the person with a faith and intelligence temperament,

12. the person with a faith and thinking temperament,

13. the person with an intelligence and thinking temperament,

14. the person with a [faith, intelligence and thinking] in-equal-parts temperament.

Thus, the person with a greed temperament, the person with a greed [and delusion] temperament, and the person with greed, [hate and delusion]

temperament are inclined to greed and have the nature of desiring pleasure — this is called “persons with a greed temperament”.
4

3

The text is cryptic.
The end of the next section is similar.
Cf. Vism III.
74/p.101:
Evaṃ pana bhede vuccamāne rāgādīnaṃ saddhādīhi pi saṃsaggaṃ katvā anekā cariyā honti, tasmā

saṅkhepena chaḷeva cariyā veditabbā.
Cariyā, pakati, ussannatā ti atthato ekaṃ.
Vism III.
78/p.102:
Apare taṇhāmānadiṭṭhivasena aparā pi tisso cariyā vadanti.
Tattha taṇhā rāgo yeva, māno ca taṃsampayutto ti tadubhayaṃ rāgacariyaṃ nātivattati.
Mohanidānattā ca diṭṭhiyā diṭṭhicariyā mohacariyam-eva anupatati.

4

See preceding footnote.

Chapter 6:
exposition of temperaments ( Caritaniddesa) 229

When his greed is constantly active and greed is predominant ( adhika) — this is called a “greed temperament”.
5

Thus, all [temperaments] should be explained.

4

Seven persons

Now, when these fourteen persons are combined they become seven persons:
the person with a greed temperament and the person with a faith temperament are a unity;
the person with a hate temperament and the person with an intelligence temperament are a unity;
the person with a delusion temperament and the person with a thinking temperament are a unity;
the person with a greed and hate temperament and the person with a faith and intelligence temperament are a unity;
the person with a greed and delusion temperament and the person with a faith and thinking temperament are a unity;
the person with a hate and delusion temperament and the person with an intelligence and thinking temperament are a unity;
the two in-equal-parts temperaments are a unity.
6

Q. How are the person with a greed temperament and the person with a faith temperament a unity?

A. In the person with a greed temperament, faith on the side of the wholesome ( kusalapakkha) is predominant due to its qualities being near to greed.
7

Furthermore, in three ways greed and faith are a unity:
in the sense of mind ( citta) of liking,8 in the sense of seeking for qualities ( guṇa), and in the sense of non-shunning.

5

Cf.
Nett-a 273:
Rāgacarito ti rāgasahitaṃ caritaṃ etassā ti rāgacarito.
Rāgena vā carito pavattito rāgacarito, rāgajjhāsayo rāgādhiko ti attho.
Esa nayo sesesu pi.

6

Rāga = saddhā;
dosa = buddhi;
moha = vitakka;
rāga-dosa = saddhā-buddhi;
rāga-moha

Err:509
dosa-moha = buddhi–vitakka.
The two “in-equal-part temperaments”

are the person with a greed, hate, and delusion temperament and the person with a faith, intelligence, and thinking temperament.

7

Vism III.
75/p.102:
Tattha yasmā rāgacaritassa kusalappavattisamaye saddhā balavatī

hoti, rāgassa āsannaguṇattā.
Vism-mhṭ I 121:
Saddhā balavatī hoti rāgussanne santāne tadanuguṇassa dhammassa niyogato adhikabhāvasambhavato.
Tenāha rāgassa āsannaguṇattāti, sinehapariyesanāpariccajanehi sabhāgadhammattā ti attho.
Sabhāgo hi dūrepi āsanneyevā ti sabhāgatālakkhaṇam-idha āsannaggahaṇaṃ.
Yathā hi akusalapakkhe rāgo siniddho nātilūkho, evaṃ kusalapakkhe saddhā.

8

愛念 elsewhere in Vim corresponds to piya, “dear” and iṭṭha, “agreeable”.

The Visuddhimagga has siniddha “affection, love, liking” and, in the case of the dosacarita, nissineha, “non-liking, non-affection”;
see next footnote.

230

Chapter 6:
exposition of temperaments ( Caritaniddesa)

Herein, greed is a mind of liking;
9 faith is a mind of wholesomeness ( kusalacitta).

Greed seeks for sensual qualities;
faith seeks for wholesome qualities.
Greed has non-abandoning of the harmful as characteristic;
faith has non-abandoning of the beneficial as characteristic.
10 Therefore, the person with a greed temperament and the person with a faith temperament are a unity [because of commonality].

Q. How are the person with a hate temperament and the person with an intelligence temperament a unity?

A. In a person with a hate temperament, wisdom on the side of the wholesome is predominant due to its qualities being near to hate.

Furthermore, in three ways hate and intelligence are a unity:
thought of dislike, seeking for faults, and shunning.

Herein, just as a person with a hate temperament does not stick to a thought of dislike, so a person with an intelligence temperament does not stick to the thought of formations.
Just as a person with a hate temperament seeks for faults

[in others], so a person with an intelligence temperament seeks for the faults of formations.
Just as a person with a hate temperament shuns [others], so a person with an intelligence temperament shuns the formations.
Therefore, the person with a hate temperament and the person with an intelligence temperament are a unity because of commonality ( sabhāga).
11

Q.
How are the person with a delusion temperament and the person with a thinking temperament a unity?

9

欲者念欲:
“greed is a mind/thought of lust/desire”.
欲 = kāma, rāga, chanda.
Given that the preceding sentence says that “greed and faith are one in the sense of a mind of liking”, and that the dosacarita passage below has 非安愛念, “mind/thought of non-liking/

disliking”, it is likely that the original read 欲者念愛, “greed is a mind of liking”.

10 Vism III.
75/p.102:
Tattha yasmā rāgacaritassa kusalappavattisamaye saddhā balavatī hoti,

rāgassa āsannaguṇattā.
Yathā hi akusalapakkhe rāgo siniddho nātilūkho, evaṃ kusalapakkhe saddhā.
Yathā rāgo vatthukāme pariyesati, evaṃ saddhā sīlādiguṇe.
Yathā rāgo ahitaṃ na pariccajati, evaṃ saddhā hitaṃ na pariccajati, tasmā rāgacaritassa saddhācarito sabhāgo.
可愛 corresponds to iṭṭha elsewhere in the Vim, not to hita of the Vism parallel.

However, if 可愛 is taken to correspond to iṭṭha then this would give:
“Greed has non-giving up of the disagreeable as characteristic … ,” which does not make sense.
Probably Saṅghapāla understood hita as “agreeable”, a sense it can have in Sanskrit;
see MW

s.
v. “hita”.

11 Vism III.
76/p.102:
Yasmā pana dosacaritassa kusalappavattisamaye paññā balavatī

hoti, dosassa āsannaguṇattā.
Yathā hi akusalapakkhe doso nissineho na ārammaṇaṃ

allīyati, evaṃ kusalapakkhe paññā.
Yathā ca doso abhūtam-pi dosam-eva pariyesati, evaṃ

paññā bhūtaṃ dosam-eva.
Yathā doso sattaparivajjanākārena pavattati, evaṃ paññā

saṅkhāraparivajjanākārena, tasmā dosacaritassa buddhicarito sabhāgo.

Chapter 6:
exposition of temperaments ( Caritaniddesa) 231

A.
In a person with a delusion temperament, [obstructive] thinking about obtaining wholesomeness is predominant due to its qualities being near to delusion, and [they are a unity] due to movement and separation of faith from wisdom.
12

Furthermore, in two ways delusion and thinking are a unity:
instability and vacillation.
Thus, just as delusion is unstable because of perplexity, so thinking is unstable because of various modes of thinking.
Just as delusion vacillates because of non-penetration, so thinking vacillates because of lightness ( lahutā).

Therefore, the person with a delusion temperament and the person with a thinking temperament are a unity because of commonality.
13

The other temperaments can [also] be analysed by these methods.
Thus, these

[fourteen persons] are combined as seven persons.

5

Quick and slow practice

Q.
Which persons among the seven are of quick practice and which are of slow practice?
[410a]

A.
The person with a greed temperament is of quick practice, because of being easily guided, because of the strength of faith, and because of the weakness of delusion and thinking.

The person with a hate temperament is of quick practice, because of being easily guided, because of the strength of intelligence, and because of the weakness of delusion and thinking.

The person with a delusion temperament is of slow practice, because of being guided with difficulty, because of the strength of delusion and thinking, and because of the weakness of faith and intelligence.

The person with a greed and hate temperament is of quick practice, because of being easily guided, because of the strength of faith and intelligence, and because of the weakness of delusion and thinking.

12 Lit.
:
“due to movement (and) separation (of) faith (and/from) wisdom” (信慧動離故).

This has no parallel in the Vism.
Perhaps 離, “separation”, stands for “non-stability”, as given in the next paragraph.
Cf. “non-stability of faith” (不安信) and “non-stability of intelligence” (不安意) at 410a06–07.

13 Vism III.
77/p.102:
Yasmā pana mohacaritassa anuppannānaṃ kusalānaṃ dhammānaṃ

uppādāya vāyamamānassa yebhuyyena antarāyakarā vitakkā uppajjanti, mohassa āsannalakkhaṇattā.
Yathā hi moho paribyākulatāya anavaṭṭhito, evaṃ vitakko nānappakāravitakkanatāya.
Yathā ca moho apariyogāhaṇatāya cañcalo.
Tathā vitakko lahuparikappanatāya, tasmā mohacaritassa vitakkacarito sabhāgoti.

232

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exposition of temperaments ( Caritaniddesa)

The person with a greed and delusion temperament is of slow practice, because of being guided with difficulty, because of instability of faith, and because of the strength of delusion and thinking.

The person with a hate and delusion temperament is of slow practice, because of being guided with difficulty, because of instability of intelligence, and because of the strength of delusion and thinking.

The in-equal-parts temperaments are of slow practice, because of being guided with difficulty, because of instability of intelligence, and because of the strength of delusion and thinking.

6

Three persons

Now, these seven persons become three by way of their fundamental afflictions ( mūlakilesa):
the person with a greed temperament, the person with a hate temperament, and the person with a delusion temperament.

Q. What are the causes of these three temperaments?
How is it to be known:

“This person has a greed temperament;
this person has a hate temperament;
and this person has a delusion temperament”?
How may they be distinguished through wearing robes, begging for food, sitting and lying down, resort and postures?

A. Former habits are causes of the temperaments;
the elements are causes of the temperaments;
and the humours ( dosa) are causes of the temperaments.
14

Q.
How are former habits causes of the temperaments?

A. One who formerly did [many] agreeable undertakings and much beautiful kamma becomes a person with a greed temperament, and so one who is reborn here after passing away from heaven.

One who formerly did the inimical kamma of killing, injuring, and torturing, becomes a person with a hate temperament, and so one who has concealed his disagreeable kamma,15 and so one who is reborn here after passing away from a hell or from a nāga birth.

14 Cf. Vism III.
80/p.102:
Tatra purimā tāva tisso cariyā pubbāciṇṇanidānā dhātudosanidānā cā ti ekacce vadanti.
Pubbe kira iṭṭhappayogasubhakammabahulo rāgacarito hoti;

saggā vā cavitvā idhūpapanno.
Pubbe chedanavadhabandhanaverakammabahulo dosacarito hoti;
nirayanāga yonīhi vā cavitvā idhūpapanno.
Pubbe majjapānabahulo sutaparipucchāvihīno ca mohacarito hoti, tiracchānayoniyā va cavitvā idhūpapanno ti.

Vism-mhṭ 123:
Ekacce ti upatissattheraṃ sandhāyāha.
Tena hi vimuttimagge tathā vuttaṃ.

Cf. Mori 1988:
6–7.

15 不愛業所覆.
This clause is not found in the Vism.
It could refer to the concealing of offences, i.e., not confessing and revealing them to others.
See Ud 56, Th 447,

Chapter 6:
exposition of temperaments ( Caritaniddesa) 233

One who formerly drunk much intoxicating drink and was devoid of learning16

becomes a person with a delusion temperament, and so one who is reborn here after passing away from an animal birth.

Thus, former habits are causes of the temperaments.

Q. How are the elements causes of the temperaments?

A. Because of the prominence of two elements one becomes a person with a delusion temperament, namely, the earth element and the water element.

Because of the prominence of two elements, one is a person with a hate temperament, namely, the fire element and the wind element.

Because of the equality of the four elements, one is a person with a greed temperament.

Thus, the elements are causes of the temperaments.

Q. How are the humours causes of the temperaments?

A. One who has phlegm in predominance is a person with a greed temperament.

One who has bile17 in predominance is a person with a hate temperament.
One who has wind in temperament.”

Thus, the humours are the causes [of the temperaments].
18

7

Seven ways of knowing temperament

Q.
How can it be known that a person has a greed temperament, a hate temperament, or a delusion temperament?

A. It can be known in seven ways, namely, through object, through afflictions, through gait, through robing, through eating, through work, and through lying down.
19

Channamativassati, vivaṭaṃ nātivassati … Sn 235:
Kiñcāpi so kammaṃ karoti pāpakaṃ,

kāyena vācā uda cetasā vā;
abhabbo so tassa paṭicchadāya, abhabbatā diṭṭhapadassa vuttā;


16 Read 離聞 instead of 離間.

17 Read 膽 instead of 瞻.

18 Cf. Vism III.
81/p.103:
Dvinnaṃ pana dhātūnaṃ ussannattā puggalo mohacarito hoti pathavīdhātuyā ca āpodhātuyā ca.
Itarāsaṃ dvinnaṃ ussannattā dosacarito.
Sabbāsaṃ

samattā pana rāgacaritoti.
Dosesu ca semhādhiko rāgacarito hoti, vātādhiko mohacarito;

semhādhiko vā mohacarita, vātādhiko rāgacaritoti.
Evaṃ dhātudosanidānā ti vadanti.

19 Cf. Vism III.
87/p.104.

234

Chapter 6:
exposition of temperaments ( Caritaniddesa)

8

Object

Q.
How can it be known “through object” ( ārammaṇato)?

A. When a person with a greed temperament sees some object, whether not yet seen or already seen, he never sees and attends to its genuine faults.
He has no problems with [even an object of] inferior quality.
When departing from [a place], he does not desire to let go of it, and he goes longingly ( apekkha).
[410b]

Towards other [sense-] objects [he behaves] in the same way.
20 Thus, it can be known that he is a person with a greed temperament.

When a person with a hate temperament sees some object, he cannot look long at it, just like someone who is tired.
Finding fault, he blames people much.
He has problems [even with objects of] great quality.
When departing from [a place, he desires to let go of it, and he goes] without longing.
Only through [finding]

fault, he obtains relief.
21 Towards other [sense] objects, he behaves in the same way.
Thus, it can be known that he is a person with a hate temperament.

When a person with a delusion temperament sees some object, he trusts others as to its [positive] qualities and negative qualities.
Because he does not know for himself, when he hears others blaming, he also blames, and when he hears others praising, he also praises.
Towards other [sense] objects, he behaves in the same way.
Thus, it can be known that he is a person with a delusion temperament.
22

Thus, it can be known “through object”.

9

Afflictions

Q.
How can it be known “through afflictions”?

A. In a person with a greed temperament, five afflictions occur a lot:
jealousy, selfishness, deceitfulness, craftiness, and greed23 — these are the five.

20 Read 如 instead of 知.

21 唯以過患得已便.
It is uncertain what is meant with 已便.
This clause is not in the Pāli parallel;
see next footnote.

22 Cf. Vism III.
95/p.106:
Dassanādito ti rāgacarito īsakam-pi manoramaṃ rūpaṃ disvā

vimhayajāto viya ciraṃ oloketi, paritte pi guṇe sajjati, bhūtam-pi dosaṃ na gaṇhāti,

pakkamanto pi amuñcitukāmova hutvā sāpekkho pakkamati.
Dosacarito īsakam-pi amanoramaṃ rūpaṃ disvā kilantarūpo viya na ciraṃ oloketi, paritte pi dose paṭihaññati,

bhūtam-pi guṇaṃ na gaṇhāti, pakkamanto pi muñcitukāmova hutvā anapekkho pakkamati.

Mohacarito yaṃ kiñci rūpaṃ disvā parapaccayiko hoti, paraṃ nindantaṃ sutvā nindati,

pasaṃsantaṃ sutvā pasaṃsati, sayaṃ pana aññāṇupekkhāya upekkhako va hoti.
Esa nayo saddasavanādīsu pi.
Saddhācaritādayo pana tesaṃyevānusārena veditabbā, taṃsabhāgattā ti.

23 嫉慳幻諂欲 = issā, macchariya, māyā, sāṭheyya, rāga.
Cf. Vism III.
95/p.106–107:
Dhammappavattito cevā ti rāgacaritassa ca māyā, sāṭheyyaṃ, māno, pāpicchatā,

Chapter 6:
exposition of temperaments ( Caritaniddesa) 235

In a person with a hate temperament, five afflictions occur a lot:
anger, malice, besmirching, spite, and hatred24 — these are the five.

In a person with a delusion temperament, five afflictions occur a lot:
laziness, sloth, doubt, worry, and ignorance — these are the five.
25

Thus, it can be known “through afflictions”.

10 Gait

Q.
How can it be known “through gait”?

A. When a person with a greed temperament walks in his usual manner, he lifts his feet up gently and he walks evenly.
He lifts his feet up evenly and does not bring them down flat.
When he walks, he lifts his feet up in an agreeable manner.

Thus, a person with a greed temperament can be known through gait.
26

When a person with a hate temperament walks in his usual manner, he lifts his feet up forcefully and puts them down forcefully.
His feet strike the ground halfway as if going into it.
Thus, a person with a hate temperament can be known through gait.

When a person with a delusion temperament walks in his usual manner, he lifts his feet up closely and he puts them down closely.
His feet graze against each other while walking.
Thus, a person with a delusion temperament can be known through gait.
27

Thus, it can be known “through gait”.

mahicchatā, asantuṭṭhitā, siṅgaṃ, cāpalyan-ti evamādayo dhammā bahulaṃ pavattanti.

Dosacaritassa kodho …

24 忿恨覆惱瞋 = kodha, upanāha, makkha, paḷāsa, dosa.

25 懶懈怠疑悔無明 = ālāsa, thīna, vicikicchā, kukkucca, avijjā.

26 The Vism parallel has “he walks carefully, puts his foot down slowly, puts it down evenly, lifts it up evenly, and his step is springy”;
see next footnote.

27 The translator probably didn’t understand the Pāli here.
The Vism parallel has “… delusion temperament walks with a disordered/confused ( parivyākula) gait, puts the foot down hesitantly ( chambhita), lifts it up hesitantly.”

Vism III.
88/p.104:
Tattha iriyāpathato ti rāgacarito hi pakatigamanena gacchanto cāturiyena gacchati, saṇikaṃ pādaṃ nikkhipati, samaṃ nikkhipati, samaṃ uddharati,

ukkuṭikañcassa padaṃ hoti.
Dosacarito pādaggehi khaṇanto viya gacchati, sahasā

pādaṃ nikkhipati, sahasā uddharati, anukaḍḍhitañcassa padaṃ hoti.
Mohacarito paribyākulāya gatiyā gacchati, chambhito viya padaṃ nikkhipati, chambhito viya uddharati,

sahasānupīḷitañcassa padaṃ hoti.

236

Chapter 6:
exposition of temperaments ( Caritaniddesa)

11 Wearing robes

Q.
How can it be known “through wearing robes”?

A. When a person with a greed temperament wears his robes in his usual manner, he wears them neither too tightly nor too loosely, nor very low, and level all around, and in various ways agreeable to see.

When a person with a hate temperament wears his robes in his usual manner, he wears them hurriedly, very high and not level all around, and in various ways disagreeable to see.

When a person with a delusion temperament wears his robes in his usual manner, he wears them loosely, not level all around, and in various ways disagreeable to see.

Thus, it can be known “through robing”.

12 Eating

Q.
How can it be known “through eating”?

A. The person with a greed temperament likes oily and sweet [foods].

A person with a hate temperament likes sour [foods].
A person with a delusion temperament has no settled liking.

The person with a greed temperament, at the time of eating, takes lumps of food that are measured, appropriate, and that fit inside [his mouth].
He savours its taste and does not eat hurriedly.
[Even] if he gets food with an inferior taste, he enjoys it greatly.

When a person with a hate temperament eats, he takes big lumps of food and fills his mouth.
If he gets food with an inferior taste, he becomes very angry.

When a person with a delusion temperament eats, he takes badly rounded lumps of food that do not fit inside [his mouth].
Even when he takes a little food, he smears his face with it.
Half of the lump goes into his mouth and half falls back into the dish.
[410c] He eats with a scattered mind, and does not think of the food.

Thus, it can be known “through eating”.

Chapter 6:
exposition of temperaments ( Caritaniddesa) 237

13 Work

Q.
How can it be known “through work”?

A. The person with a greed temperament who sweeps the ground holds the broom evenly,28 and sweeps unhurriedly.
Not scattering29 the sand, he [sweeps]

cleanly.

A person with a hate temperament who sweeps the ground holds the broom strongly and he [sweeps] hurriedly, throwing up sand on both sides and making a harsh noise.
[He sweeps] cleanly but unevenly.

A person with a delusion temperament who sweeps the ground holds the broom loosely.
Turning over and jumbling30 [the sand], he depletes it here and there.

He does not [sweep] cleanly and [sweeps] unevenly.

Likewise when washing, dyeing, sewing, etc. :
the person with a greed temperament does all work evenly and attentively;
a person with a hate temperament does all work unevenly but attentively;
and a person with a delusion temperament does many things incompletely31 and with a scattered mind.

Thus, it can be known “through work”.
32

14 Lying down

Q.
How can it be known “through lying down”?

A. A person with a greed temperament does not fall asleep quickly.

Before sleeping, he arranges his sleeping place, making it level all over.
Calmly he reclines and arranges his body.
He sleeps bending his limbs.
When called in the middle of the night, he rises promptly and answers promptly, although somewhat uncertainly.

28 平身, lit.
“with even body”, samakāya, samarūpa.

29 Read 不散 instead of 不知.

30 看, lit.
“to look at”.
Saṅghapāla misunderstood āḷolayamāno as ālokayamāno.

31 Or “unsuccessfully”, 不成.

32 Cf. Vism III.
91–92/p/105:
Kiccā ti sammajjanādīsu ca kiccesu rāgacarito sādhukaṃ

sammajjaniṃ gahetvā ataramāno vālikaṃ avippakiranto sinduvārakusumasantharamiva santharanto suddhaṃ samaṃ sammajjati.
Dosacarito gāḷhaṃ sammajjaniṃ gahetvā

taramānarūpo ubhato vālikaṃ ussārento kharena saddena asuddhaṃ visamaṃ sammajjati.

Mohacarito sithilaṃ sammajjaniṃ gahetvā samparivattakaṃ āḷolayamāno asuddhaṃ

visamaṃ sammajjati.
Yathā sammajjane, evaṃ cīvaradhovanarajanādīsupi sabbakiccesu nipuṇamadhurasamasakkaccakārī rāgacarito.
Gāḷhathaddhavisamakārī dosacarito.
Anipuṇ

abyākulavisamāparicchinnakārī mohacarito.

238

Chapter 6:
exposition of temperaments ( Caritaniddesa)

A person with a hate temperament falls asleep quickly.
He settles in any place he gets.
[He sleeps] with his body thrown down, and his face frowning.

When called in the middle of the night, he rises promptly and answers [as if]

annoyed.

A person with a delusion temperament does not arrange his sleeping place nor does he make it level all over.
He lies with his body in disarray, with his hands and feet sticking out.
When called in the middle of the night, he responds with a long drawn-out humming sound and then answers.

Thus, it can be known “through lying down”.
33

15 Which practice is suitable for which temperament?

Q. Which is the suitable practice for which temperament with respect to wearing the robes, alms-food, sitting, and lying down?
What should be the resort?

[What should be the posture?
]

A. The person with a greed temperament [should wear] robes which are coarse, not [hanging] low, and not of a colour that is pleasing.
Thus should he wear his robes.

A person with a hate temperament [should wear] robes which are fine, clean, of a nice colour, [hanging] low, and agreeable.
Thus should he wear his robes.

A person with a delusion temperament should wear whatever robes he gets.

A person with a greed temperament [should eat] alms-food that is coarse, unclean, without a fine fragrance and taste.
He should beg little.

A person with a hate temperament [should eat] alms-food that is sumptuous, fine, clean, nicely fragrant and tasty, and can eat as much as he likes.

A person with a delusion temperament [should eat] whatever alms-food he gets in moderation.

A person with a greed temperament should have his dwelling place ( sayanāsana, senāsana) under the shade of a tree away from water, a place remote from the village, or in an unfinished monastery-residence ( vihāra), in a place where there is no bedding.
Thus should he lie down and sit.

33 Cf. Vism III.
89/p/105:
Rāgacarito ca ataramāno samaṃ seyyaṃ paññapetvā saṇikaṃ

nipajjitvā aṅgapaccaṅgāni samodhāya pāsādikena ākārena sayati, vuṭṭhāpiyamāno ca sīghaṃ avuṭṭhāya saṅkito viya saṇikaṃ paṭivacanaṃ deti.
Dosacarito taramāno yathā

vā tathā vā seyyaṃ paññapetvā pakkhittakāyo bhākuṭiṃ katvā sayati, vuṭṭhāpiyamāno ca sīghaṃ vuṭṭhāya kupito viya paṭivacanaṃ deti.
Mohacarito dussaṇṭhānaṃ seyyaṃ

paññapetvā vikkhittakāyo bahulaṃ adhomukho sayati, vuṭṭhāpiyamāno ca huṅkāraṃ

karonto dandhaṃ vuṭṭhāti.

Chapter 6:
exposition of temperaments ( Caritaniddesa) 239

A person with a hate temperament should have his dwelling place in a level place under the shade of a tree by the water’s edge, or in a finished monastery-residence, in a place where there is bedding.
Thus should he lie down and sit.

A person with a delusion temperament should live in dependence on his teacher, living near him and consulting him.

The resort ( gocara) of a person with a greed temperament should be a place with coarse rice, food, and drink.
When he enters the village [for alms], he should do so with the sun in front of him, and should enter an area with bad people.

This should be his resort.

The resort of a person with a hate temperament should be a place with perfect rice, water, food, and drink.
When he enters the village for alms, he should do so with the sun behind him, and should enter an area where there are people with great faith.
This should be his resort.

A person with a delusion temperament should go to any place where he gets

[alms-food].

A person with a greed temperament [should practise by means of] the posture of standing or walking up and down;
34 a person with a hate temperament should

[practise] by means of [the posture of] sitting or lying down;
and a person with a delusion temperament should [practise] by means of walking up and down.

[411a]

16 Miscellaneous topics

The miscellaneous topics are:

One with a greed temperament depends on agreeable sense objects ( visaya)

[as cause] for [gaining] faith.
One with a hate temperament depends on disagreeable sense objects for faith.
One with a delusion temperament has not-seeing as cause [for faith].
35

34 行人威儀多行脚處.
Lit.:
“… posture of much walking up and down place ( vatthu, ṭhāna)”.

See Vism III.
97/p.107:
Rāgacaritassa … iriyāpathopissa ṭhānaṃ vā caṅkamo vā vaṭṭati.

The posture of the mohacarita is 行處 “walking-place” instead of 行脚處.
Saṅghapāla misunderstood caṅkama as “place for walking up and down”, rather than the action of walking up and down.
Presumably 多 is a corruption of 住.
Cf. Vism III.
100–101/p.109:
Dosacaritassa … iriyāpatho pissa seyyā vā nisajjā vā vaṭṭati.
… Mohacaritassa …

iriyāpathesu caṅkamo vaṭṭati.

35 不觀為因.
Literally “not seeing/contemplation as cause [of faith]”.
Perhaps it rather means that no cause for his faith can be seen.
One edition reads 可 instead of 不.

240

Chapter 6:
exposition of temperaments ( Caritaniddesa)

One with a greed temperament is like a slave.
One with a hate temperament is like a master.
One with a delusion temperament is like a poison.

One with a greed temperament has few humours ( dosa) and does not remove passion.
36 One with a hate temperament has many humours and is not afflicted by passion.
37 One with a delusion temperament has many humours and does not remove passion.

One with a greed temperament delights in forms ( rūpa, vaṇṇa).
One with a hate temperament delights in dispute.
One with a delusion temperament delights in indolence.

36 斷無染, lit.
“removes dispassion/without passion”, which does not make sense.

37 使無染, lit.
“afflicted without passion”.
Elsewhere in Vim 無染 corresponds to virāga,

“dispassion”.

241

7 - CHAPTER 7 Exposition of the Meditation Subjects

( Kammaṭṭhānaniddesa)

1

Introduction

Now, when the teacher has observed one’s temperament, he should teach the thirty-eight meditation subjects ( kammaṭṭhāna)1 and he should also teach the two associated meditation subjects.
2

2

Thirty-eight meditation subjects

Q.
What are the thirty-eight meditation subjects?

A. Namely, (1–10) the ten totalities — the earth, water, fire, wind, blue, yellow, red, white, space, and consciousness totalities;
3 (11–20) the ten perceptions of 1

The Visuddhimagga (e.
g., Vism III.
103/p.110) has 40 kammaṭṭhānas instead of 38. In the Pāli Canon the meditation subjects are not listed together.
In the Pāli Commentaries they are enumerated, and called “38 meditation subjects” aṭṭhatiṃsa kammaṭṭhāna or “38 meditation objects”, aṭṭhatiṃsārammaṇa.
Therefore the enumeration with 38 is certainly not particular to the Vimuttimagga;
see Bapat 1937:
xxx and 38–39 n.
1. The Sāratthadīpanī-ṭīkā explains the difference:
“Since the light totality has been included in the white totality and the limited space totality in the ‘totality of the space-left-by-the-removal-of-the-totality,’* in the

[canonical] text only eight totalities are stated by way of their individual nature, namely, those beginning with the earth totality that are objects of the material jhānas.
Therefore, having excluded the space totality and the light totality, it is said ‘in thirty-eight objects’, in strict accordance with the method handed down in the [canonical] text.
But according to the method of the commentaries, wherein the space totality and the light totality are taken separately, there are forty meditation subjects”.
Sp-ṭ II 202:
Odātakasiṇe ālokakasiṇaṃ,

kasiṇugghāṭimākāsakasiṇe paricchinnākāsakasiṇañ-ca antogadhaṃ katvā pāḷiyaṃ

pathavīkasiṇādīnaṃ rūpajjhānārammaṇānaṃ aṭṭhannaṃ yeva kasiṇānaṃ sarūpato vuttattā

ākāsakasiṇaṃ ālokakasiṇañ-ca vajjetvā aṭṭhatiṃsārammaṇesū ti pāḷiyaṃ āgatanayeneva vuttaṃ.
Aṭṭhakathānayena pana ākāsakasiṇe ālokakasiṇe ca visuṃ gahite cattālīsaṃ yeva kammaṭṭhānāni.
*Cf. Vism X.
8. Vism-mhṭ I 197 has ākāsakasiṇa instead of kasiṇugghāṭim-

ākāsakasiṇa.

2

Cf.
Sv-ṭ 21:
Kammaṭṭhānāni sabbāni ti pāḷiyaṃ āgatāni aṭṭhatiṃsa, aṭṭhakathāyaṃ dve ti niravasesāni yogakammassa bhāvanāya pavattiṭṭhānāni.

3

A I 41 lists paṭhavī, āpo, tejo, vāyo, nīla, pīta, lohita, odāta, ākāsa, viññāṇa.
For the last two totalities, Vism substitutes the āloka and paricchinnākāsa totalities.
In Vim, the light totality, ālokakasiṇa, is discussed in detail in Ch.8 § 58 (424a01–16), but is not included in the ten totalities.
The limited space totality, paricchinnākāsakasiṇa, is also not included but is mentioned at Ch.7 § 7 (411b14).

242

Chapter 7:
exposition of the Meditation subjeCts ( Kammaṭṭhānaniddesa) the foul ( asubhasaññā) — the perception of the bloated, the perception of the livid, the perception of the festering, the perception of the cut up, the perception of the gnawed, the perception of the scattered, the perception of the slain and scattered, the perception of the blood-smeared, the perception of the maggot-infested, and the perception of the skeleton;
4 (21–30) the ten recollections ( anussatiyo) — recollection of the Buddha ( buddhānussati), recollection of the Dhamma ( dhammānussati), recollection of the Saṅgha ( saṅghānussati), recollection of virtue ( sīlānussati), recollection of generosity ( cāgānussati), recollection of deities ( devatānussati), recollection of death ( maraṇānussati), mindfulness of the body ( kāyagatāsati), mindfulness of breathing ( ānāpānasati), recollection of stillness ( upasamānussati);
(31–34) the four immeasurables ( appamāṇāni)5 — loving kindness, compassion, appreciative gladness, equanimity;
6 (35) the defining of the four elements ( dhātu-vavatthāna);
(36) the perception of repulsiveness of food ( ahāre paṭikkūlasaññā);
(37) the base of nothingness ( ākiñcaññāyatana), and (38) the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception ( nevasaññānāsaññāyatana).

These are the thirty-eight meditation subjects.

3

Nine ways of knowing the differences

The differences between these thirty-eight meditation subjects should be known in nine ways:
(1) through jhāna, (2) through transcending, (3) through extending, (4) through condition, (5) through object, (6) through specialness, (7) through plane, (8) through grasping, and (9) through person.
7

4

Jhāna

Q.
How [should the differences be known] through jhāna ( jhānato)?

A. Ten meditation subjects are connected to the threshold-jhāna ( upacāra-jhāna);
8 eleven meditation subjects are connected to the first jhāna;
three meditation subjects are connected to the threefold jhāna ( tikajjhānika);
4

Paṭis I 49:
Dasa samādhī:
… uddhumātakasaññāvasena … vinīlakasaññāvasena …

vipubbakasaññāvasena… vicchiddakasaññāvasena … vikkhāyitakasaññāvasena …

vikkhittakasaññāvasena… hatavikkhittakasaññāvasena… lohitakasaññāvasena …

puḷavakasaññāvasena … aṭṭhikasaññāvasena cittassa ekaggatā avikkhepo samādhi.

5

The text has 無量心, appamāṇa-cittāni, “immeasurable thoughts”, but in the explanation in chapter 8 (e.
g., 438a08) it simply has 無量, appamāṇāni, as in the Pāli.

6

Cf.
D III 223–4:
Catasso appamaññāyo:
Mettā, karuṇā, muditā, upekkhā.
A I 39, Sn 73.

7

Cf.
Vism III.
103ff/p.110ff.

8 禪外行, corresponds to “threshold jhāna”, upacārajjhāna, a term commonly found in Pāli commentarial texts.
外定, “threshold concentration”, upacārasamādhi, is only used a few times in Vim.

Chapter 7:
exposition of the Meditation subjeCts ( Kammaṭṭhānaniddesa) 243

one meditation subject is connected to the fourfold jhāna ( catukkajjhānika);
nine meditation subjects are connected to the fourfold jhāna and the fivefold jhāna ( pañcakajjhānika);
and four meditation subjects are connected to the four immaterial jhānas.

Q. Which ten meditation subjects are connected to the threshold jhāna?

A. Except for mindfulness of breathing and mindfulness of the body, the other eight recollections, the defining of the four elements, and the perception of the repulsiveness of food — these are the “ten [meditation subjects connected to the] threshold [jhāna]”.
9

Q. Which of the eleven meditation subjects are connected to the first jhāna?

A. The ten perceptions of the foul and mindfulness of body are connected to the first jhāna.

Q. Which three meditation subjects are connected to the threefold jhāna?
10

A.
Loving-kindness, compassion, and appreciative gladness.

Q. Which meditation subject is connected to the fourfold jhāna?

A. Equanimity.
11

9

Cf.
Vism III.
106/p.111:
Upacārappanāvahato ti ṭhapetvā kāyagatāsatiñca ānāpānassatiñca avasesā aṭṭha anussatiyo, āhāre paṭikūlasaññā, catudhātuvavatthānan-ti imāneva hettha dasakammaṭṭhānāni upacāravahāni.
Pm-vn v.
38.5
Dve ca saññāvavatthānā,

aṭṭhānussatiyoti ca;
/ Sesā dasa pavuccanti, upacārasamādhikā.

10 See Dhs § 251–62 and Vibh p.
277ff & 283.

11 It is unclear why Upatissa applies the fourfold jhāna scheme to the fourth immeasurable, and not the fivefold jhāna scheme, as he does in the next paragraph with ānāpānasati and the 8 totalities.
The Vism and Abhidh-av use the fourfold jhāna scheme, while the Abhidh-s the fivefold one.

Vism IX.
118-119/p.323:
Jhānappabhedato ti appanāvahesu cettha ānāpānassatiyā saddhiṃ

dasa kasiṇā catukkajjhānikā honti.
Kāyagatāsatiyā saddhiṃ dasa asubhā paṭhamajjhānikā.

Purimā tayo brahmavihārā tikajjhānikā.
Catutthabrahmavihāro cattāro ca āruppā

catutthajjhānikā ti evaṃ jhānappabhedato.
Vism-mhṭ I 130:
Catukkajjhānikā ti catubbi dharūpāvacarajjhānavanto, tesaṃ ārammaṇabhūtā ti attho.
Catukkanayavasena cetaṃ

vuttaṃ.
Tikacatukkajjhānikesū ti tikajjhānikesu purimesu brahmavihāresu, catukkajjhānikesu ānāpānakasiṇesu.
Abhidh-s 60:
… Tatthā pi dasa kasiṇāni ānāpānañ-ca pañcakajjhānikāni.

Dasa asubhā kāyagatāsati ca paṭhamajjhānikā.
Mettādayo tayo catukkajjhānikā.
Upekkhā

pañcamajjhānikā ti chabbīsati rūpāvacarajjhānikāni kammaṭṭhānāni.
Cattāro pana āruppā āruppajjhānikāti.
Abhidh-s-ṭ 261:
Pañcapi jhānāni etesam-atthi, tattha niyuttānī

ti vā pañcakajjhānikāni.
… Abhidh-av 817–19:
Appanāyāvahesvettha, kasiṇāni dasāpi ca;

Ānāpānasatī ceva, catukkajjhānikā ime.
Asubhāni dasa cettha, tathā kāyagatāsati;
Ekādasa ime dhammā, paṭhamajjhānikā siyuṃ.
Ādibrahmavihārāti, tikajjhānavahā tayo;
Catutthā

pi ca āruppā, catutthajjhānikā matā.
Abhidh-av-pṭ II 221:
Evaṃ upacārappanāvahato dassetvā idāni jhānappabhedato dassetuṃ appanāyāvahesū ti ādivuttaṃ.
Catukkajjhānikā

244

Chapter 7:
exposition of the Meditation subjeCts ( Kammaṭṭhānaniddesa) Q.
Which nine meditation subjects are connected to the fourfold jhāna and the fivefold jhāna?
[411b]

A.
Except for the space totality and the consciousness totality,12 the other eight totalities, and mindfulness of breathing.

Q. Which four meditation subjects are connected to the four immaterial [jhānas]?

A. The space totality, the consciousness totality, the base of nothingness, the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception — these are the four meditation subjects [connected to the four immaterial jhānas].

Thus should these be known through jhāna.

5

Transcending

Q.
How through transcending ( samatikkamato)?

A. The [immaterial] totality meditation subjects are for transcending matter.

Except for the immaterial totalities,13 the other eight totalities and the other thirty meditation subjects are not for transcending matter.

Furthermore, three meditation subjects are for transcending the object ( ārammaṇa):
the two immaterial totalities and the base of nothingness.
The other thirty-five meditation subjects are not for transcending the object.

Furthermore, one meditation subject transcends perception and feeling, namely, the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception.
The other thirty-seven meditation subjects do not transcend perception and feeling.

Thus should these be known through transcending.

ti catukkanayavasena catubbidharūpāvacarajjhānavanto, tesaṃ ekekasseva ārammaṇabhūtā

ti attho.
Pañcakanayavasena pana pañcakajjhānikā ti veditabbā.
Paṭhamajjhānikā

ti paṭhamajjhānasseva ārammaṇabhūtā, … Tikajjhānavahā ti catukkanayena tikajjhānavahā, pañcakanayena pana catukkajjhānavahā, … so upekkhābhāvanāvasena catutthajjhāniko.
Tatthā pi mettādivasena paṭiladdhajjhānacatukkassevetaṃ appeti,

netarassa.
Kasmā? Mettādīnaṃ nissandattā.
Yathā hi kasiṇānaṃ nissandā āruppā, yathā

ca samathavipassanānissandā nirodhasamāpatti, evaṃ mettādinissandā upekkhā.

12 This exception is because the space totality and the consciousness totality are the objects of the base of boundless space and the base of boundless consciousness respectively;
see Ch.8 § 59 & 60. The space totality is divided into two types:
The first has as object “space separate from matter” and in turn is the object of the base of boundless space.
The second one has as object “space not separate from matter”, i.e., the “limited space totality”

( paricchedākāsakasiṇa).
The latter can produce the four and five jhānas;
see Ch.8 § 59.

13 That is, the space totality and consciousness totality;
see preceding note.

Chapter 7:
exposition of the Meditation subjeCts ( Kammaṭṭhānaniddesa) 245

6

Extending

Q.
How through extending ( vaḍḍhanato)?

A. Fourteen meditation subjects should be extended, namely, the ten totalities and the four immeasurables.
14 The other twenty-four should not be extended.

Thus should these be known through extending.

7

Condition

Q.
How through condition ( paccayato)?

A. Nine meditation subjects are conditions for the direct knowledges ( abhiññā), namely — except for the immaterial totalities — the eight totalities and the limited space totality ( paricchinnākāsa-kasiṇa).
15 The other thirty meditation subjects are not conditions for the direct knowledges.

Thirty-seven meditation subjects are conditions for insight, namely, [all] except the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception.
16

Furthermore, one meditation subject is not a condition for insight, namely, the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception.

Thus should these be known through condition.

14 According to the Mahāvihāra school the sign of the immeasurables should not be extended.

See Ps IV 200:
Ettha hi appamāṇā ti vuttānaṃ brahmavihārānaṃ nimittaṃ na vaḍḍhati.

Vism III.
113/p.112:
… Brahmavihārā sattārammaṇā, tesaṃ nimittaṃ vaḍḍhayato sattarāsiyeva vaḍḍheyya, na ca tena attho atthi, tasmā tam-pi na vaḍḍhetabbaṃ.

Yaṃ pana vuttaṃ mettāsahagatena cetasā ekaṃ disaṃ pharitvā ti ādi, taṃ pariggahavaseneva vuttaṃ.
Ekāvāsadvi āvāsādinā hi anukkamena ekissā disāya satte pariggahetvā

bhāvento ekaṃ disaṃ pharitvā ti vutto.
Na nimittaṃ vaḍḍhento.
Paṭibhāganimittam-eva cettha natthi.
Yadayaṃ vaḍḍheyya, paritta-appamāṇārammaṇatāpettha pariggahavaseneva veditabbā.

15 In the description of the “space totality” in Chapter 8, space is said to be of two types:

“space separated from matter” and “space not separated from matter” (424a27–28).

Although not mentioned by name, the first gives rise to the base of infinite space, and in the subcommentaries is called the “ ‘totality of the space-left-by-the-removal-of-the-totality”

( kasiṇugghāṭimākāsakasiṇa, see Ch.7 fn. 1);
the latter is the “delimited space totality”

( paricchinnākāsa-kasiṇa, 分別虛空一切入), which is only mentioned here in the Vim.

Cf. Vism III.
120/p.114:
Paccayato ti imesu pana kammaṭṭhānesu ṭhapetvā ākāsakasiṇaṃ

sesā nava kasiṇā āruppānaṃ paccayā honti, dasa kasiṇā abhiññānaṃ, … sabbāni pi sukhavihāravipassanābhavasampattīnan-ti evaṃ paccayato.

16 A IV 426:
iti kho bhikkhave yāvatā saññāsamāpatti, tāvatā aññāpaṭivedho.

246

Chapter 7:
exposition of the Meditation subjeCts ( Kammaṭṭhānaniddesa) 8

Object

Q.
How through object ( ārammaṇato)?

A. Twenty-one meditation subjects have a counterpart object ( paṭi-bhāgārammaṇa).
Twelve meditation subjects have an existent object.
17 Five meditation subjects are not to be spoken of ( navattabba) as having a counterpart object or an existent object.

Q. Which twenty-one meditation subjects have a counterpart object?

A. Except for the consciousness totality, the other nine totalities, the ten perceptions of the foul, mindfulness of breathing, and mindfulness of the body.
18

Q.
Which twelve [meditation subjects] have an existent object?

A. The consciousness totality, the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception, and the ten threshold jhānas.
19

Q.
Which five are not be spoken of as having a counterpart object or an existent object?

A. The four immeasurables and the base of nothingness.
20

17 實事 = bhūtārammaṇa.
Elsewhere in Vim, the character 實 correlates exclusively to bhūta and tatha, “real, existent”.
Cf. 勝真實事, “special existent object” at 411c25.

18 Paḷim-pṭ II 380:
3137. Tattha tesu kammaṭṭhānesu dasa kasiṇā ca dasa asubhā ca kāyagatāsati, ānāpānasatī ti ime bāvīsati kammaṭṭhānāni paṭibhāgārammaṇānīti yojanā.

This ṭīkā includes 10 kasinas and therefore comes to 22 meditation subjects instead of the 21 of Vim.
The system of 40 meditation subjects includes the light and delimited space totalities among the 10 totalities, but not the consciousness totality.

19 The 10 recollections minus mindfulness of breathing and mindfulness directed to the body, plus the definining of the four elements and perception of repulsiveness of food.

20 The four immeasurables and the base of nothingness have a concept ( paññatti) as object.

See Vism-mhṭ I 407:
… sabbaso ākiñcaññāyatanadhammārammaṇatāya jhānassa ākiñcaññaṃ ākiñcaññan-ti manasikāre ākiñcaññāyatanatā vā siyā, abhāvārammaṇatā vā.

Ps II 353:
… appamāṇā cetovimutti bhūmantarato mahaggatā eva hoti rūpāvacarā;

ārammaṇato satta paññatti-ārammaṇā.
Ākiñcaññā bhummantarato mahaggatā

arūpāvacarā;
ārammaṇato na vattabbārammaṇā.
Moh 375:
Pathavīkasiṇādisamāpattiyo paramatthato avijjamāne paññattārammaṇe pavattattā viparītañāṇan-ti pavattā viparītakathā.
… Sammutivisayam-pi ñāṇaṃ bhūtārammaṇamevā ti pavattā sammutiñāṇakathā.

Abhidh-av-pṭ II 202:
Nimitta-ggahaṇena bahiddhā pathavīmaṇḍalādikaṃ, ajjhattikañ-ca bhāvanāvisesaṃ upādāya paññāpiyamānaṃ kasiṇanimittādikaṃ dasseti.
Abhāva-ggahaṇena bhāvanābalena appavattanasabhāvaṃ ākāsānañcāyatanajhānaṃ upādāya pavattaṃ

ākiñcaññāyatanajhānārammaṇaṃ abhāvapaññattiṃ dasseti.
Nirodha-ggahaṇena bhāvanābalena niruddhaṃ nevasaññānāsaññāyatanaṃ nissāya paññattaṃ nirodhapaññattiṃ dasseti.

Chapter 7:
exposition of the Meditation subjeCts ( Kammaṭṭhānaniddesa) 247

Furthermore, two meditation subjects have an internally developed21 object and an internal object.

Furthermore, two meditation subjects have an internally developed object and an external object.

Furthermore, one meditation subject has an externally developed object and an internal object.

Furthermore, twenty-one meditation subjects have an externally developed object and an external object.

Furthermore, four meditation subjects have an internally developed object and an internal object or22 an external object.

Furthermore, four meditation subjects have an internally developed object, an externally developed object, or an external object.

Furthermore, two meditation subjects have an internally developed object or an externally developed object and an internal object or an external object.

Furthermore, one meditation subject has an internal-external developed object and an internal object.
[411c]

Furthermore, one meditation subject has an internally developed object and an internal object and external object that are not to be spoken of ( navattabba).

Herein, two meditation subjects have an internally developed object and an internal object, namely, the consciousness totality and the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception.

Furthermore, two meditation subjects have an internally developed object and an external object, namely, mindfulness of breathing and mindfulness of the body.

Furthermore, one meditation subject has an externally developed object and an internal object, namely, the recollection of death.

Furthermore, twenty-one meditation subjects have an externally developed object and an external object, namely, the ten perceptions of the foul, the four immeasurables, the four colour totalities, the space totality, the recollection of the Buddha, and the recollection of the Saṅgha.

21 營 usually means “engaged in” or “concerned with” (cf.
無經營:
“unconcern, inactivity”, abyāpāra, 419b06ff.) or “to perform, build, construct”;
see DDB s.
v. 營.
At 404c16 經營

corresponds to samārambha, “undertaking”.
Cf. ajjhattikañ-ca bhāvanāvisesaṃ upādāya paññāpiyamānaṃ, etc. , in Abhidh-av-pṭ quoted in the preceding footnote.

22 設 here corresponds to 或, “or”, vā, not paññāpeti, paññatta, paññatti, “to prepare, set up, establish”.

248

Chapter 7:
exposition of the Meditation subjeCts ( Kammaṭṭhānaniddesa) Furthermore, four meditation subjects have an internally developed object and an internal object or an external object, namely, the recollection of virtue, the recollection of generosity, the defining of the four elements, and the perception of the repulsiveness of food.

Furthermore, four meditation subjects have either an internally developed object or an externally developed object and an external object, namely, the four colour totalities.

Furthermore, two meditation subjects have an internally developed object or an externally developed object and an internal object or an external object, namely, the recollection of the Dhamma and the recollection of stillness.

Furthermore, one meditation subject has an internal-external object and an internal object, namely, the recollection of deities.

Furthermore, one meditation subject has an internally developed object and an internal object and external object that are not to be spoken of, namely, the base of nothingness.

Furthermore, two meditation subjects have a past object, namely, the consciousness totality and the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception.

Furthermore, one meditation subject has a future object, namely, the recollection of death.

Furthermore, one meditation subject has a present object, namely, the recollection of deities.

Furthermore, six meditation subjects have a past object, a future object, or a present object, namely the recollection of the Buddha, the recollection of the Saṅgha, the recollection of virtue, the recollection of generosity, the defining of the four elements, and the perception of the repulsiveness of food.

Furthermore, two meditation subjects have a past object, a present object, or a not to be spoken of past and future [object];
namely, the recollection of the Dhamma and the recollection of stillness.

Furthermore, twenty-six subjects of meditation have not to be spoken of objects of the three worlds, namely, the nine totalities, the ten perceptions of the foul, the four immeasurables, mindfulness of breathing, mindfulness of the body, and the base of nothingness.

Furthermore, four meditation subjects have unsteady ( calita) objects, namely, the fire totality, wind totality, the perception of the maggot-infested, and mindfulness of breathing.
Their object is unsteady, [but] their counterpart-sign is steady.
All the other thirty-four [meditation subjects] have steady objects.

Chapter 7:
exposition of the Meditation subjeCts ( Kammaṭṭhānaniddesa) 249

Thus should these be known through object.

9

Specialness

Q.
How through specialness23 ( visesato)?

A. Because the eight totalities24 and the four immaterial attainments are called

“special, existent objects”,25 because the eight totalities are called “special attainments”, and because the fourth jhāna attains a special plane26 ( visesa-bhūmi), the four immaterial attainments are special.

The ten perceptions of the foul and the perception of the repulsiveness of food are called “special perceptions”, because of colour, shape, location,27 direction, delimitation, combination and cohering, and because of the perception-of-the-foul-object.

The ten recollections are called “special recollections”, because of subtlety and because of recollection.
[412a]

The four immeasurables are called “special”, because of being faultless28 and because of giving benefit.

The defining of the four elements is called “special wisdom” because of the connection to emptiness ( suññatā).

Thus should these be known through specialness.

23 The character 勝 corresponds to the Pāli noun visesa, “distinction, difference, eminence, special”, and its adjective visiṭṭha, “special, distinguished, distinct”.

24 The ten totalities minus the space totality and consciousness totality, see above “through jhāna” section.

25 勝真實事.
At 411b22 the consciousness totality and the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception are said to have an existent object, 實事.
The sentence is somewhat unclear and might be corrupt since the sentence structure is the opposite of the following ones, which have “… are called ‘…,’ because of …”.
If this structure is applied here then the first

“because” has to be deleted, which would give:
“The eight totalities and the four immaterial attainments are called ‘special, existent objects,’ because the eight totalities …”

26 彼第四禪得勝地故.
Perhaps “… because the fourth jhāna is the attainment of a special plane…”

27 以空, lit.
“through emptiness/space”, but the parallel at 425a02 and 425a11 has 以處 and 以

光明處, “through location”, okāsato or avakāsato.
Saṅghapāla misunderstood okāsato or avakāsato as ākāsato, “through space”.

28 無過 can correspond to anavajja, “blameless” or “without fault” or anādīnava, “without disadvantage”.

250

Chapter 7:
exposition of the Meditation subjeCts ( Kammaṭṭhānaniddesa) 10 Plane

Q.
How “through plane” ( bhūmito)?

A. Twelve meditation subjects do not occur among the deities,29 namely, the ten kinds of foulness, mindfulness of body, and the perception of the repulsiveness of food.

Furthermore, thirteen meditation subjects do not occur in material existence.
30

Namely, the first twelve [meditation subjects] and mindfulness of breathing do not occur in material existence.

No meditation subjects, except the four immaterial [ones], occur in immaterial existence ( arūpabhava).

Thus should these be known through plane.

11 Grasping

Q.
How through grasping ( gahaṇato)?

A. The signs of seventeen meditation subjects are to be grasped through the seen,31 that is — except for the wind totality and the immaterial totalities — the other seven totalities and ten perceptions of the foul.

Furthermore, the sign of one meditation subject is to be grasped through the touched, namely, mindfulness of breathing.

Furthermore, the sign of one meditation subject is to be grasped through the seen or the touched, namely, the wind totality.
The signs of the other nineteen meditation subjects are to be grasped through the heard and the analysed.
32

29 不生於天上, lit.
“not reborn in heaven”.
Vism III.
118/p.113 has devesu:
“… among the deities”;
so Vin-vn 3140.

30 Rūpabhava/ rūpaloka.
According to Vism III.
118/p.113 they do not occur in the brahmaloka.

31 LC:
“Diṭtḥena means ‘through what has been seen’.
In other words, the sign e.g., of an external totality arises because one has been looking at that, but not necessarily at the exact moment of looking.
Similarly in the other cases”.

32 聞分別.
This combination does not occur elsewhere in Vim.
The character 聞 correspond to suta, and the characters 分別 usually correspond to vibhaṅga, but also to “delimitation”, pariccheda, “comprehension”, abhisamaya, and “examination”, vīmaṃsā.
The Vism parallel, which is otherwise close in content, only has sutena.
The 19 are the 4 immaterial totalities, 10 recollections, 4 immeasurables, definition of elements, and repulsiveness of nutriment.
Vism III.
119/p.114:
Gahaṇato ti diṭṭhaphuṭṭhasutaggahaṇatopettha vinicchayo veditabbo.
Tatra ṭhapetvā vāyokasiṇaṃ sesā nava kasiṇā, dasa asubhā ti imāni ekūnavīsati diṭṭhena gahetabbāni.
Pubbabhāge cakkhunā oloketvā nimittaṃ nesaṃ gahetabban-ti attho.

Kāyagatāsatiyaṃ tacapañcakaṃ diṭṭhena, sesaṃ sutenā ti evaṃ tassā ārammaṇaṃ

Chapter 7:
exposition of the Meditation subjeCts ( Kammaṭṭhānaniddesa) 251

Furthermore, five meditation subjects are not to be practised by the beginner meditator, namely, the immaterial [attainments] and equanimity.
The other thirty-three33 [meditation subjects] can be grasped by the beginner meditator.

Thus should these be known through grasping.

12 Person

Q.
How through person ( puggalato)?

A. The person with a greed temperament should not practise the four immeasurables due to their beautiful sign ( subha-nimitta).
Why? For a person with a greed temperament, the attending to a perception of beauty is not

[suitable] for his temperament, just as [the eating of] much fatty food is not suitable for a man affected by a phlegm ( semha) disorder.

The person with a hate temperament should not practise the ten perceptions of the foul.
[Why?] For a person with a hate temperament, the attending to a perception of ill will ( vyāpāda- or paṭigha-saññā) is not [suitable] for his temperament, as the partaking of hot drinks and food is not suitable for a man with a bile ( pitta) disorder.
34

A person with a delusion temperament, who has not yet increased knowledge ( ñāṇa), should not practise any meditation subject due to lack of skill ( kosalla).

When he lacks skill, his efforts will be fruitless, like a man who rides an elephant without a goad.

A person with a greed temperament should practise the perceptions of the foul and mindfulness of the body, because these overcome sensual desire.

A person with a hate temperament should practise the four immeasurables, because these overcome hatred.
Alternatively, he should practise the colour totalities, because the mind is attracted to them.

A person with a faith temperament should practise the six recollections beginning with recollection of the Buddha for the establishing of faith.

diṭṭhasutena gahetabbaṃ.
Ānāpānassati phuṭṭhena, vāyokasiṇaṃ diṭṭhaphuṭṭhena, sesāni aṭṭhārasa sutena gahetabbāni.
Upekkhābrahmavihāro, cattāro āruppā ti imāni cettha na ādikammikena gahetabbāni.
Sesāni pañcatiṃsa gahetabbānīti evaṃ gahaṇato.

33 The Taishō edition has the number 23 here, three earlier editions (宋, 元, 明) have 32, while the Sung edition (宮) reads 33. Since 38 subjects are listed elsewhere in Vim, 33 is the correct number.

34 Semha, pitta and vāya are the three humours, dosa (Skt doṣa) of the body.

252

Chapter 7:
exposition of the Meditation subjeCts ( Kammaṭṭhānaniddesa) A person with an intelligent temperament should practise the defining of the four elements, the perception of the repulsiveness of food, recollection of death, and recollection of stillness because these are profound subjects.

Furthermore, a person with an intelligent temperament is not debarred from any meditation subject.

A person with a thinking temperament should practise mindfulness of breathing since it eliminates thinking.
35

A person with a delusion temperament should increase wisdom by making inquiries about the Dhamma, by listening to expositions of the Dhamma at the right time, by carefully [listening to] the Dhamma,36 and by living with a teacher.

He can practise whichever [subject] he wishes of the thirty-eight meditation subjects.
Recollection of death and the defining of the four elements are especially suitable for him.
37

35 For references on eliminating thinking through ānāpānasati;
see Ch.8 fn. 681. In the Śrāvakabhūmi a similar recommendation is given:
The greed temperament should practice foulness;
the hate temperament, loving-kindness;
the thinking temperament, mindfulness of breathing;
and the equal-parts temperament and dull-witted ( mandara) temperament, whatever subject is pleasing.
See Śrāvakabhūmi, Yogasthāna III:
katamānurūpaprayogatā

( ca)| saced rāgacarito’ śubhāyāṃ cittamupanibaghnāti| dveṣacarito maitryāṃ,

yāvadvitarkacarita ānāpānasmṛtau, samabhāgacaritaḥ mandarajaskaḥ punaḥ

yatrālambane priyārohatā bhavati| tena prayujyate| iyamanurūpaprayogatā.

36 以時聞法以恭敬法, or “…, by respecting the Dhamma” but see Ps II 89:
Garūsaṃvāso uddeso, uddiṭṭhaparipucchanaṃ;
/ Kālena dhammassavanaṃ, ṭhānāṭṭhānavinicchayo;
/

pañca dhammūpanissāya, mohadhātu pahīyatī ti.
Ime pañca dhammā upanissitabbā.
Garuṃ

upanissāya viharanto … Kālena dhammasavanaṭṭhānaṃ gantvā sakkaccaṃ dhammaṃ

suṇantassā-pi tesu tesu ṭhānesu attho pākaṭo hoti, evampissa moho pahīyati.


37 Cf. A III 445:
Rāgassa pahānāya asubhā bhāvetabbā, dosassa pahānāya mettā bhāvetabbā,

mohassa pahānāya paññā bhāvetabbā.
Nidd I 360, 453, II 359:
Rāgacaritassa bhagavā

puggalassa asubhakathaṃ katheti;
dosacaritassa … mettābhāvanaṃ ācikkhati;
mohacaritassa

… uddese paripucchāya kālena dhammassavane kālena dhammasākacchāya garusaṃvāse niveseti;
vitakkacaritassa … ānāpānassatiṃ ācikkhati;
saddhācaritassa … pasādanīyaṃ

nimittaṃ ācikkhati buddhasubodhiṃ dhammasudhammataṃ saṅghasuppaṭipattiṃ sīlāni ca attano;
ñāṇacaritassa … ācikkhati vipassanānimittaṃ aniccākāraṃ dukkhākāraṃ

anattākāraṃ.
Cf. Sv III 1053:
Satthā tesaṃ cariyavasena rāgacaritassa asubhakammaṭṭhānaṃ

deti.
Dosacaritassa mettākammaṭṭhānaṃ.
Mohacaritassa uddeso paripucchā kālena dhammassavanaṃ, kālena dhammasākacchā, idaṃ tuyhaṃ sappāyan-ti ācikkhati.

Vitakkacaritassa ānāpānassatikammaṭṭhānaṃ deti.
Saddhācaritassa pasādanīyasuttante buddhasubodhiṃ dhammasudhammataṃ saṅghasuppaṭipattiñca pakāseti.
Ñāṇacaritassa aniccatādipaṭisaṃyutte gambhīre suttante katheti.
Khp-a 232, Sn-a I 193:
Tatra sudaṃ bhagavā rāgacaritānaṃ saviññāṇaka-aviññāṇakavasena ekādasavidhaṃ

asubhakammaṭṭhānaṃ, dosacaritānaṃ catubbidhaṃ mettādikammaṭṭhānaṃ, mohacaritānaṃ

maraṇassatikammaṭṭhānādīni, vitakkacaritānaṃ ānāpānassatipathavīkasiṇādīni,

saddhācaritānaṃ buddhānussatikammaṭṭhānādīni, buddhicaritānaṃ catudhātuvavatthānādīnī ti.
Nett 24:
bhagavā rāgacaritassa puggalassa asubhaṃ desayati,

Chapter 7:
exposition of the Meditation subjeCts ( Kammaṭṭhānaniddesa) 253

It is also said:
“By analysing the meditation subjects, I see their differences.

The six persons may through analysis be reduced to three.”
[412b]

Q.
If that is so, is there not a conflict ( virodha?
) in the beginning?
38

A.
There are two kinds of persons with a greed temperament, namely, one with dull faculties ( mudindriya) and one with sharp faculties ( tikkhindriya).

A person with a greed temperament who has dull faculties should practise the perceptions of the foul to oppose that sensual desire.
He should practise according to the instructions to dispel sensual desire.

A person with a greed temperament who has sharp faculties should, at first, increase faith.
He should practise the recollection meditation subjects.
39

He should practise according to the instructions to dispel sensual desire.

There are two kinds of persons with a hate temperament, namely, one with dull faculties and one with sharp faculties.

A person with a hate temperament who has dull faculties should practise the four immeasurables to oppose that hatred.
He should practise according to the instructions to dispel hatred.

A person with a hate temperament who has sharp faculties should, by increasing knowledge ( ñāṇa), practise the special meditation subjects.
40 He should practise according to the instructions to dispel hatred.

There are two kinds of persons with a delusion temperament, namely, one without faculties ( anindriya) and one with dull faculties.
41

dosacaritassa … mettaṃ …, mohacaritassa … paṭiccasamuppādaṃ ….
LC:
“Upatissa (or his predecessors) created the list of fourteen character types by combining this list of six character types with the set of seven combinations in the Peṭaka (Peṭ 144).

The combinatorial method is of course characteristic of the Peṭaka.
Later writers (e.
g., Vism-mhṭ) refer to more elaborate combinations up to 63 or 64. They are listed in full in Abhidh-av-ṭ II in verses ascribed to Upananda”.

38 若然於初有妨.
Perhaps the question about ‘conflict/difficulty at the beginning,’ refers to the first 3 cases in the list of 9, who are advised not to take up certain practices.

39 Supposedly the eight anussati, starting with buddhānussati.

40 勝處, visesa-kammaṭṭhāna.
They are also mentioned at the end of this section, and are there said to be the totalities and mindfulness of breathing.

41 The term anindriya does not occur anywhere in the Pāli in connection with the spiritual faculties.
Since the preceding two temperaments in this section are clearly classified as of dull faculties and sharp faculties, the introduction of a new class of faculty does not seem to be a haphazard corruption in the text.
Perhaps Upatissa or his tradition could not conceive of a deluded man with sharp faculties?

254

Chapter 7:
exposition of the Meditation subjeCts ( Kammaṭṭhānaniddesa) A person with a delusion temperament and without faculties should not practice any meditation subject.

A person with a delusion temperament who has dull faculties should practise mindfulness of breathing in order to eliminate thinking ( vitakka).

Thus, by means of reducing, there are only three persons and there is no conflict

[at the beginning].

According to this teaching, the totalities and mindfulness of breathing, by increasing knowledge, are accomplished by all temperaments and there is no conflict.
Having already attained special qualities, all temperaments can practise the special meditation subjects and there is no conflict.
42

As indriya here refers to the spiritual faculties (see Nett 100–101), anindriya would refer to the commoner ( puthujjana).
In the Indriyasaṃyutta (S V 202) it is stated that the only the eight ariyapuggalas have attained the five indriya, with the saddhānusarin in the weakest degree, but the puthujjana not at all:
… tato mudutarehi sotāpanno hoti, tato mudutarehi sotāpattiphalasacchikiriyāya paṭipanno hoti.
Yassa kho … imāni pañcindriyāni sabbena sabbaṃ sabbathā sabbaṃ natthi, tamahaṃ bāhiro puthujjanapakkhe ṭhito’ ti vadāmī ti.
There is also a person with upahatindriyā (“impaired faculties”) mentioned in M I 507, which the commentary explains as upahatpaññindriyā, “impaired wisdom faculties”.

42 Read 智, “knowledge” instead of 空, “space”, in accordance with 412a27 令智增長 and 412b07 以智增長, “through increasing knowledge”.
Roderick Bucknell (private correspondence):
“The meditation subjects for the 6 types from greed-dull to delusion-dull correspond almost completely with the subjects for types 4 to 9 in the nine-membered list.
The only exception is that delusion-none is assigned no meditation subject, while the 9th of the 9 (the walker in delusion) should study the Dhamma and then practise what pleases him”.

255

8 - CHAPTER 8 The Way to Practise [the Meditation Subjects]1

 Vimt-N 8 - CHAPTER 8 The Way to Practise [the Meditation Subjects]1
    Vimt-N 8.0 - A. Earth Totality
    Vimt-N 8.1 - B. First Jhāna
    Vimt-N 8.2 - C. Second Jhāna
    Vimt-N 8.3 - D. Third Jhāna
    Vimt-N 8.4 - E. Fourth Jhāna
    Vimt-N 8.5 - F. Base of Boundless Space
    Vimt-N 8.6 - G. Base of Boundless Consciousness
    Vimt-N 8.7 - H. Base of Nothingness
    Vimt-N 8.8 - I. Base of Neither-perception-nor-non-perception
    Vimt-N 8.9 - J. Other Totalities
    Vimt-N 8.10 - K. Ten Perceptions of the Foul
    Vimt-N 8.11 - L. Ten Recollections
    Vimt-N 8.12 - M. Four Immeasurables
    Vimt-N 8.13 - N. Defining of the Four Elements
    Vimt-N 8.14 - O. Perception of Repulsiveness of Food
    Vimt-N 8.15 - P. Base of Nothingness and Base of Neither-perception-nor-non-perception
    Vimt-N 8.16 - Q. Chapter Conclusion

8.0 - A. Earth Totality

1

Introduction

Q.
What is the earth totality?
2 How is it practised?
What is its characteristic?

What is its essential function?
What is its footing?
What are its benefits?
What is the meaning of “totality”?
How many kinds of earth are there?
What is the sign of earth?
How to make a disc?
What is the method of practising the earth [totality]?

2

Definition, practice, characteristic, function, footing, benefits, and meaning

A.
The mind ( citta) that is produced dependent on the sign of earth — this is called “earth totality”.
3 The undistracted dwelling of the mind [on it] — this



1

行門, caraṇa/ cariyā/ kamma( ṭṭhāna) + mukha:
“gate(s) to the practice(s)”, “entrance(s) into the practice”, and “ways to the practice”.
行 corresponds to several Pāli terms.

2

The binome 一切入 corresponds to kasiṇāyatana:
“totality-base”.
In Pāli texts the kasiṇāyatana denote the 10 totalities as a group (e.
g., D II 14, M II 15, A V 45–6) but āyatana is not suffixed to the names of the individual totalities.
The binome 一切 usually means “all”.

3

Paṭis I 48:
Aṭṭha samādhī pathavīkasiṇavasena cittassa ekaggatā avikkhepo samādhi,

āpokasiṇavasena… Paṭis-a I 128:
Dasa kasiṇāyatanānī ti:
Pathavīkasiṇameko sañjānā ti uddhaṃ adho tiriyaṃ advayaṃ appamāṇaṃ, … viññāṇakasiṇameko sañjānā ti … appamāṇan-ti (D III 268, M II 14, A V 46, 60) evaṃ vuttāni dasa.
Etāni hi sakalapharaṇaṭṭhena kasiṇāni,

tadārammaṇānaṃ dhammānaṃ khettaṭṭhena adhiṭṭhānaṭṭhena vā āyatanāni.
Paṭis-a I 80:
Kasiṇan-ti sakalapharaṇavasena kasiṇamaṇḍalam-pi tasmiṃ upaṭṭhitanimittam-pi tadārammaṇaṃ jhānam-pi vuccati.
Sv 1047:
… sakalaṭṭhena kasiṇāni.
… Cf. Sv-pṭ III 344f. As 167/Vism IV.
4.95833333333333
Pathavīkasiṇan ti ettha pathavīmaṇḍalam pi sakalaṭṭhena pathavīkasiṇan ti vuccati.
Taṃ nissāya paṭiladdhaṃ nimittam pi.
Pathavīkasiṇanimitte paṭiladdhajjhānam pi.
Tattha imasmiṃ atthe jhānaṃ pathavīkasiṇan ti veditabbaṃ.
Mp II 276:
Pathavīkasiṇaṃ bhāvetī ti ettha pana sakalaṭṭhena kasiṇaṃ, pathavī eva kasiṇaṃ

pathavikasiṇaṃ.
Parikammapathaviyā pi uggahanimittassā pi paṭibhāganimittassā pi taṃ nimittaṃ ārammaṇaṃ katvā uppanna-jjhānassā-pi etaṃ adhivacanaṃ.
Idha pana pathavikasiṇārammaṇaṃ jhānaṃ adhippetaṃ.
Taṃ hesa bhāveti.
Nett-a 153:
Pathavīkasiṇan ti kataparikammaṃ pathavīmaṇḍalam pi, tatthapavattaṃ uggahapaṭibhāganimittampi,

tasmiṃ nimitte uppannajjhānam pi vuccati.
Cf. Vism V.
38–39/p.176f.:
Appamāṇan-ti idaṃ

tassa tassa pharaṇa-appamāṇavasena vuttaṃ.
Tañ-hi cetasā pharanto sakalam-eva pharati,

na ayamassa ādi, idaṃ majjhan-ti pamāṇaṃ gaṇhātī ti.

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is called “practice”.
Being well resolved on the perception of earth4 is its characteristic.
Non-abandoning [of the perception of earth] is its essential function.
Undivided attention is its footing.
5

Q. What are its benefits?

A. Twelve are its benefits,6 namely, (1) the sign of the earth totality is easily attained;
(2) [one is able to do this] at all times;
and (3) in all actions;
(4) one’s mind goes unimpeded;
7 (5) [one attains] supernormal powers and direct knowledges;
(i.e.,) (6) [one is able to] walk on water;
(7) go through the air as on the ground;
(8) take on various physical appearances;
(9) the recollection of past lives;
(10) the divine ear-element;
[412c] (11) one is destined for a good destination;
and (12) one is destined for the deathless.



4 The text has 想, saññā, here, but the parallel sections below (422b21, etc. ) have 相, nimitta.
The characters 想 and 相 are often confused.
善樂著 might correspond to [ cittaṃ]

svādhiṭṭhitā, “[the mind is] well steadied/resolved”, (樂著 corresponds to tadadhimuttatā

elsewhere), cf. Paṭis II 38:
Idhekacco ajjhattaṃ paccattaṃ nīlanimittaṃ manasikaroti, nīlasaññaṃ

paṭilabhati.
So taṃ nimittaṃ suggahitaṃ karoti, sūpadhāritaṃ upadhāreti, svāvatthitaṃ

avatthāpeti.
However, the parallel sections at the other totalities have 入專意 and 放意

(422b22 於水一切入專意 & 422c14:
火相巧於放意) which would correspond to cittaṃ

pakkhandati:
“the mind leaps into”.
Cf. M I 186:
Tassa dhātārammaṇam-eva cittaṃ

pakkhandati pasīdati santiṭṭhati adhimuccati:
“His mind leaps into that very element-object and becomes confident, steady, and resolved in it”.
Cf. M III 105:
… pathavīsaññaṃ paṭicca manasikaroti ekattaṃ.
Tassa pathavīsaññāya cittaṃ pakkhandati pasīdati santiṭṭhati adhimuccati.
Ps IV 153:
Pathavīsaññaṃ paṭicca manasikaroti ekattan-ti kasiṇapathaviyaṃ

yeva paṭicca sambhūtaṃ ekaṃ saññaṃ manasikaroti.

5

意無異念為處, lit.
:
“the mind ( mano) without different recollection/thought ( sati) as/for/

to object/place ( vatthu, ṭhāna)”.
In the same section in the next totality, at 422b23, this is phrased differently:
心不作二意是處, “mind ( citta) not doing two thoughts ( mano) [to]

that object/place” and then at 422c15, etc. , it is 作意無雙為處:
“attending ( manasikāra) without pair/duality to object”.
This probably refers to advaya as one of the qualifications of kasiṇa in Pāli texts (D III 268, M II 14, A V 46, 60). Cf. Ps III 260, Sv III 1047, Paṭis-a I 128, Vism V.
39/p.177:
Advayan-ti disāanudisāsu advayaṃ.
* Idaṃ pana ekassa aññabhāva-anupagamanatthaṃ vuttaṃ.
Yathā hi udakaṃ paviṭṭhassa sabbadisāsu udakam-eva hoti na aññaṃ, evam-eva pathavīkasiṇaṃ pathavīkasiṇam-eva hoti, natthi tassa aññakasiṇa-sambhedo ti.
(* These 2 words are only in Ps).
Spk-ṭ II 206:
Advayan-ti dvayatārahitaṃ,

vaṇṇameva accī ti gahetvā acciṃ vā vaṇṇo evā ti tesaṃ ekattaṃ passanto viya yathātakkitaṃ attānaṃ rūpan-ti, yathādiṭṭhaṃ vā rūpaṃ attā ti gahetvā tesaṃ ekattaṃ

passanto daṭṭhabbo.

6

It is unclear how the items are to be divided.
The text appears to be corrupt.
Cf. Vism V.
28/175:
imesu hi pathavīkasiṇavasena eko pi hutvā bahudhā hotī ti ādi-bhāvo, ākāse vā

udake vā pathaviṃ nimminitvā padasā gamanaṃ, ṭhānanisajjādikappanaṃ vā, paritta-appamāṇanayena abhibhāyatanapaṭilābho ti evam ādīni ijjhanti.

7

心行無礙.
There is a variant reading in several editions:
心無行無礙:
“without mental activity/effort, without obstruction”.
Cf. Paṭis I 99–100:
Paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ yatthicchakaṃ

yadicchakaṃ yāvaticchakaṃ āvajjati;
āvajjanāya dandhāyitattaṃ natthī ti —

āvajjanavasī.


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Q.
What is the meaning of “totality” ( kasiṇa)?

A. It means pervading all over.
8

As the Buddha taught in verses:

When one recollects the Buddha’s qualities,

Rapture is produced that fills the entire body.

Likewise when one watches the earth totality

Pervading the Jambu Continent entirely,9

This watching, dependent upon the earth,

Gives rise to rapture [that fills the] mind.
10

Practising thus one sees the disc pervading everywhere.

3 Kinds of earth to be used

Q.
How many kinds of earth are there?
In which [kind of] earth should one grasp the sign and practise?

A. There are two kinds of earth:
earth as specific characteristic ( salakkhaṇa) and prepared earth.
11



8

Cf.
Ps IV 148:
Kasiṇapharaṇaṃ nāma lokadhātusahasse kasiṇapattharaṇaṃ.
Paṭis-a I 80:
Kasiṇan-ti sakalapharaṇavasena kasiṇamaṇḍalam-pi …

9

In the Mahābhārata, the Jambudvīpa is the known or inhabited world — the earth;
see Wujastyk 2004:
288. It is used in the sense of the (planet) earth or world here;
i.e., the totality pervades the entire earth.
Cf. Th 18:
kevalaṃ aṭṭhisaññāya aphari pathaviṃ imaṃ:

“who pervades this earth, entirely with the skeleton-perception”, quoted at 426b24 below.

The Jambu is Eugenia jambolana — an indigenous Indian tree with black plum-like fruits.

It is not the Rose-apple Tree, Eugenia jambos, from Southeast Asia;
see Wujastyk 2004.

10 Not traced.
This refers to pervading rapture or pharaṇāpīti, see Ch.8 § 20. Cf. Paṭis-a II 450:
Tattha pathavīkasiṇan-ti pathavīmaṇḍalaṃ nissāya uppāditaṃ paṭibhāganimitta-saṅkhātaṃ sakalapharaṇavasena pathavīkasiṇaṃ:
“Therein the earth totality is the earth totality — that is reckoned as the counterpart-sign because of entirely pervading — that has been produced dependent upon the earth disc”.
Cf. Th 382:
Buddhaṃ appameyyaṃ

anussara pasanno pītiyā phuṭasarīro hohisi satataṃ udaggo.

11 自相地 does not mean “non-prepared earth” but earth as a specific characteristic of the earth element.
The juxtaposition with “prepared” could give the impression that it means

“non-prepared”, but the characters 自相 are used to denote the “specific characteristic” or

“property”, salakkhaṇa, of the four elements at Ch.8 § 160. If “natural earth” was intended, the characters 自性地 (cf.
439b05) would be expected.
In the “How is its sign grasped?”

sections in the explanations of the other totalities (e.
g., 423a27), “natural place” is consistently used in opposition to “prepared place”:
若作處若自然處.
(自然 corresponds to svāyaṃbhū.
) The Pāli confirms salakkhaṇa, see below, and so the following explanation (412c07–8), which closely corresponds to the explanation of the characteristic of earth in the element contemplation section at 440a01:
堅相地界:
“The characteristic of the earth element is hardness”.

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“The earth element has solidity as its specific characteristic” — this is “earth as specific characteristic”.
That which is made from [earth that] one digs up oneself or [earth that one] instructs someone to dig up — this is “prepared earth”.

Earth is of four colours, namely, white, black, red, and the colour of dawn.

Herein, the meditator should not attend to the specific characteristic of earth and he should exclude white, black,12 and red colour.
Why? If he contemplates the specific characteristic of earth, then he does not give rise to the counterpart sign.
13

If he grasps the white, black, or red colour, then he practises a colour totality.

Thus, whether the sign that is grasped is in prepared or non-prepared [earth], he should [only] grasp it when it appears as the colour of dawn.
14

Q.
What is “non-prepared earth”?

A. Wherever it is level, free from grass and bushes, without any tree stumps, within the range of vision, and adequate to induce the mind towards the perception of earth15 — this is called “non-prepared earth”.



Cf. Vism IV.
3.5
tena salakkhaṇasaṅkhepato bhāvetabbaṃ.
Kathaṃ? Vīsatiyā koṭṭhāsesu thaddhalakkhaṇaṃ pathavīdhātū ti vavatthapetabbaṃ.
(Cf. XI.
85.) Vism IV.
1.20833333333333
na vaṇṇaṃ

paccavekkhitabbaṃ na lakkhaṇaṃ manasikātabbaṃ … Vism-mhṭ I 145 (on Vism IV.
29):
Na vaṇṇo paccavekkhitabbo ti yo tattha pathavīkasiṇe aruṇavaṇṇo, so na cintetabbo.
Cakkhuviññāṇena pana gahaṇaṃ na sakkā nivāretuṃ.
Tenevettha na oloketabbo ti avatvā

paccavekkhaṇaggahaṇaṃ kataṃ.
Na lakkhaṇaṃ manasikātabban-ti yaṃ tattha pathavīdhātuyā thaddhalakkhaṇaṃ, taṃ na manasi kātabbaṃ.
Disvā gahetabbattā vaṇṇaṃ

amuñcitvā ti vatvā pi vaṇṇavasen’ ettha ābhogo na kātabbo, so pana vaṇṇo nissayagatiko kātabbo ti dassento āha nissayasavaṇṇaṃ katvā ti.
Nissayena samānākārasannissito so vaṇṇo tāya pathaviyā samānagatikaṃ katvā, vaṇṇena saheva pathavī ti manasi kātabban-ti attho.
(See Ñāṇamoli’s translation in PoP, IV.
29 fn. 8.) Cf. Vism IV.
24ff.

12 The character 黑 corresponds to kaṇha, kāla, “black”, e.g., 黑白, kaṇhasukka at 447b17.

In the context of the colour totality 青, nīla, “dark-blue, blue-black, black” is expected, but because nīla can mean “black” and earth does not have a blue colour, 黑 fits the colour range of the nīlakasiṇa.

13 If he attends to the specific characteristic of earth, then he practices the defining of the four elements, which gives rise to threshold concentration;
see Ch.8 § 164 and § 170.

14 The text has a question almost identical to the preceding one, which does not fit the answer:

“Why contemplate the specific characteristic of earth and exclude white, black, or red?”

Perhaps the question is an erroneous duplication of the preceding one or perhaps it was an alternative translation of the question that was amended by a copyist.

15 當令起心是名地想.
The characters 地想 could mean “sign of earth”, as 想 and 相 are often confused in Vim.

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The meditator with previous practice,16 whether he is in pleasure or in pain,17

promptly sees the counterpart-sign of earth [in non-prepared earth] and dwells without falling back.

The beginner meditator18 grasps the sign in a disc made of prepared earth.

He should not watch non-prepared earth.



16 Lit.
“previous meditator”, i.e., the “meditator with previous practice”, 舊坐禪人.

This corresponds to pubbayogāvacara, lit.
“previous [life] meditator” .
In the Pāli commentaries this term is explained as a meditator who has practised in previous lives and can therefore make quick progress in the present life.
He is the topic of the (apocryphal?
) Pubbayogāvacara Sutta quoted at Sn-a I 47, Th-a I 12, and Ap-a 139, but not found in the Sutta Piṭaka.
Cf. Paṭis-a 653 (on Paṭis II 202):
“previous practice is meritorious practice in past births that is the cause for the attainment of the discriminations,”:
pubbayogoti atītajātīsu paṭisambhidāppatti hetubhūto puññapayogo.
Cf. Spk-ṭ 144, Moh 389, Sv-ṭ 130.

The Vism (V.
2/p.170, as well as Sn-a II 248, Th-a I 63, Khp-a 73, 133) instead uses the term pubbe katādhikāra, “one with practice in previous [lives]” in contrast to the akatādhikāra,

“one with no [previous practice”.
In the Vism it is found along with “who has merit”, puññavant, and similarly in Khp-a 133 with “whose wholesome root is prominent”, pubbe katādhikāro ussanna kusalamūlo.
This type of meditator is described in Vism IV.
0.958333333333333

“when, in a previous existence, someone has gone forth in the Dispensation or [outside of it]

in the going forth as a Rishi and has previously produced the jhāna tetrad or pentad on the earth kasiṇa, for one who has such merit and is endowed with the support [of past practice of jhāna], the sign arises in him on earth that is not prepared, on a ploughed area or on a threshing floor ….
But one who has not practised, … should make a kasiṇa …” :
Tattha yena atītabhave pi sāsane vā isipabbajjāya vā pabbajitvā pathavīkasiṇe catukkapañcakajjhānāni nibbattitapubbāni, evarūpassa puññavato upanissayasampannassa akatāya pathaviyā

kasitaṭṭhāne vā khalamaṇḍale vā nimittaṃ uppajjati … Yo panevaṃ akatādhikāro hoti, …

kasiṇaṃ kātabbaṃ.

In the Vim and Vism, this experienced meditator is contrasted with the “beginner meditator”, 初坐禪人, ādikammika-yogāvacara,who is not necessarily someone who has never meditated before but rather someone who is new to a certain meditation subject.
Cf, Vism-mhṭ II 4:
Abhāvitabhāvano jhānābhiññāsu akatādhikāro.
Tattha upanissayarahito pī ti keci.
Ādibhūtaṃ yogakammaṃ ādikammaṃ, taṃ etassa atthī ti ādikammiko, pubbe akataparicayo bhāvanaṃ anuyuñjanto.
Tenāha yogāvacaro ti

17 隨樂不樂.
However, in the parallel sections in the following totalities it is found.
At 422c23

或自樂不樂 is used instead;
at 423a18 若自樂不樂;
at 423a29–b01 隨若樂若不樂;
and from then onwards at 423b17, 423c04, 423c23, 424a09, and 424b07 隨樂不樂.
It is only mentioned in the parallel section in the water totality at 422c. This phrase cannot be traced in Pāli texts.
Supposedly it refers to the meditator seeing the sign all the time, regardless of whether he has physical comfort or not.

18 The text is corrupt here, 新學初禪, “one who is new and trains for the first jhāna”, should read 新坐禪人 or 初坐禪人, as used elsewhere in contrast to the meditator with previous practice.

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4

Making a disc

Q.
How to make a disc?

A. If the meditator wishes to make a disc on the ground, he should at first select a secluded place in a hut ( kuṭi), in a rock-abode ( leṇa), or at the root of a tree.

It should not be in a dim, dark place without sunlight,19 or in a haunt of non-humans, or on a path that is in use.
In such a place he should wash and sweep clean the ground entirely as far as one fathom [around] (一尋 = 1.8 m) and let it dry.

There he should select earth of the colour of dawn for obtaining the arising of the sign in natural earth.
Taking an appropriate amount [of it] carefully and reverentially into a vessel, he should mix it with water and remove grass, roots, and dirt.
Squeezing it through a piece of cloth, he should strain the mud and dregs.

On clean ground in a screened and covered place, he should make a place for sitting.
He should screen it from sunlight and arrange a meditation seat.
He should make a disc according to the rule, neither too near nor too far.
The disc should be flat and full and without markings on the inside.
After that, he should apply muddy clay, unmixed with any other colour, unmixed with different colours.

It should be covered and protected until it is dry.
[413a] When it is dry, it should be edged with another colour as a boundary.
20 It should be as large as a rice-sifter or a plate21 and should be circular, square, triangular, or rectangular.
The former teachers22 taught that a circular disc is the best.

The disc may be made on a cloth, on a board, or on a wall.
The former teachers taught that it is best on the ground.

5

Method of practice:
mental preparation

Q.
What is the method of practising the earth [totality]?

A. The meditator who wishes to develop the earth totality should at first consider the disadvantage ( ādīnava) of sense-pleasures,23 and the benefit ( ānisaṃsa) of renunciation ( nekkhamma).



19 不住幽闇無日光處.
A similar section for the water totality at 422c0–06 has:
“not a dark place nor a place scorched by sunlight” (是處不闇不日光炙).

20 以異色界其外, could perhaps also mean “… edged with another colour or element”.
色界 =

“colour element ( dhātu) / boundary ( sīmā)”.

21 Supposedly 搔牢, sao-lao is a transliteration of sarāva.
At 414b11 the size is said to be a span and four fingerwidths wide, vidatthi-caturaṅgula, which is about 30 cm/12 in;
see Ch.8 fn. 79

22 本師 = pubbācāriyā.
Cf. 427b01.

23 The type of kāma meant here are vatthukāmā, “kāma that are objects”, not kilesakāma,

“kāma that are defilements”.
See the discussion of this at the start of the exposition of the first jhāna below.

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Q.
How should one consider the disadvantage of sense-pleasures?

A. (1) Sense-pleasures are of little satisfaction and of much grief and suffering;
herein the disadvantage is greater.
24

(2) Sense-pleasures are similar to a bone because they are of little satisfaction.

(3) Sense-pleasures are similar to a piece of flesh because they are shared by many.

(4) Sense-pleasures are similar to a torch carried against the wind because they subsequently burn one.

(5) Sense-pleasures are similar to [a pit of] glowing embers because they greatly scorch.
25

(6) Sense-pleasures are similar to a dream because they swiftly vanish.

(7) Sense-pleasures are similar to borrowed goods because their influence is not lasting.



Cf. A III 428:
Cha … dhamme pahāya bhabbo paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ upasampajja viharituṃ.

… Kāmacchandaṃ … vicikicchaṃ, kāmesu kho panassa ādīnavo na yathābhūtaṃ

sammappaññāya sudiṭṭho hoti.
Mp III 411:
na yathābhūtaṃ sammappaññāya sudiṭṭho hotī ti vatthukāmakilesakāmesu ādīnavo na yathāsabhāvato jhānapaññāya sudiṭṭho hoti.

24 The first 11 similes are at A III 97:
Appassādā, āvuso, kāmā vuttā bhagavatā bahudukkhā

bahūpāyāsā, ādīnavo ettha bhiyyo.
Aṭṭhisaṅkhalūpamā kāmā … Maṃsapesūpamā … Tiṇukkūpamā

… Aṅgārakāsūpamā … Supinakūpamā … Yācitakūpamā … Rukkhaphalūpamā … Asisūnūpamā

… Sattisūlūpamā … Sappasirūpamā kāmā ….
Cf. Thī 490ff, MN 22.6/M I 132, and MN

54.15–21. Simile 15 = A III 63:
Kāmacchando bhikkhave āvaraṇo nīvaraṇo.
Simile 18 = D I 245:
Kāmaguṇā ariyassa vinaye andū ti pi vuccanti, bandhanan-ti pi vuccanti.

Cf. Ps II 103 on M I 132:
Aṭṭhikaṅkalūpamā ti ādīsu aṭṭhikaṅkalūpamā appassādaṭṭhena.

Maṃsapesūpamā bahusādhāraṇaṭṭhena.
Tiṇukkūpamā anudahanaṭṭhena.
Aṅgārakāsūpamā

mahābhitāpanaṭṭhena.
Supinakūpamā ittarapaccupaṭṭhānaṭṭhena.
Yācitakūpamā tāvakālikaṭṭhena.

Rukkhaphalūpamā sabbaṅgapaccaṅgapalibhañjana-aṭṭhena.
Asisūnūpamā adhikuṭṭanaṭṭhena.

Sattisūlūpamā vinivijjhanaṭṭhena.
Sappasirūpamā sāsaṅkasappaṭibhayaṭṭhena.
Nidd-a I 31–32:
Tattha aṭṭhikaṅkalūpamā kāmā ti sunikkantaṃ nikkantaṃ nimmaṃsaṃ lohitamakkhitaṃ

aṭṭhikaṅkalaṃ upamā etesaṃ kāmānan-ti aṭṭhikaṅkalūpamā kāmā.
Appassādaṭṭhenā ti appaṃ

parittaṃ sukhassādaṃ ādīnavo ettha bhiyyo ti dassanaṭṭhena.
… Gijjhādīhi sādhāraṇā maṃsapesi upamā etesan-ti maṃsapesūpamā.
Bahūnaṃ sādhāraṇaṭṭhena bahusādhāraṇā.
Ādittaṃ tiṇukkaṃ

upamā etesan-ti tiṇukkūpamā.
Anudahanaṭṭhenā ti hatthādijhāpanaṭṭhena.
Sādhikaporisappamāṇā

vītaccikānaṃ vītadhūmānaṃ aṅgārānaṃ pūrā aṅgārakāsu upamā etesan-ti aṅgārakāsūpamā.

Mahāpariḷāhaṭṭhenā ti mahantaparitāpanaṭṭhena.
Ārāmarāmaṇeyyādikaṃ supinaṃ upamā etesan-ti supinakūpamā.
Ittarapaccupaṭṭhānaṭṭhenā ti appatvā, na upagantvā tiṭṭhanaṭṭhena.
Yācitena laddhaṃ yānādibhaṇḍaṃ upamā etesan-ti yācitakūpamā.
Tāvakālikaṭṭhenā ti anibandhanaṭṭhena.

Sampannaphalarukkho upamā etesan-ti rukkhaphalūpamā.
Sambhañjanaparibhañjanaṭṭhenā

ti sākhābhañjanaṭṭhena ceva samantato bhañjitvā rukkhapātanaṭṭhena ca.
Asi ca sūnā ca upamā etesan-ti asisūnūpamā.
Adhikuṭṭanaṭṭhenā ti chindanaṭṭhena.
Sattisūlaṃ upamā

etesan-ti sattisūlūpamā.
Vinivijjhanaṭṭhenā ti nipatetvā gamanaṭṭhena.
Bhayajananaṭṭhena sappasiraṃ upamā etesan-ti sappasirūpamā.
Sappaṭibhayaṭṭhenā ti saha abhimukhe bhayaṭṭhena.
Dukkhajananaṃ aggikkhandhaṃ upamā etesan-ti aggikkhandhūpamā.

Mahābhitāpanaṭṭhenā ti mahanta-abhitāpakāyapīḷā-uppādanaṭṭhenā ti kāmaṃ parivajjetī ti.

25 大小故 means “because of the great and small”.
The Pāli parallel (Nidd-a, see preceding note) has mahanta- paritāpanaṭṭhena, “in the sense of great scorching”.
Saṅghapāla misunderstood this as mahanta-paritta-aṭṭhena or his manuscript was corrupt.

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(8) Sense-pleasures are similar to [the branches of] a tree with fruits because they are broken off by people.

(9) Sense-pleasures are similar to a knife [and butcher’s block] because they chop.

(10) Sense-pleasures are similar to a spear because they pierce.

(11) Sense-pleasures are similar to the head of a venomous snake because they are fearful.

(12) Sense-pleasures are similar to a tuft of cotton wool blown about by the wind because they cannot be maintained.

(13) Sense-pleasures are similar to a deception ( māyā) because they deceive the fool.
26

(14) Sense-pleasures are blinding because they prevent vision.
27

(15) Sense-pleasures are hindrances because they obstruct wholesome states.
28

(16) Sense-pleasures are deluding because they cause the loss of right mindfulness.
29

(17) Sense-pleasures are similar to ripe [fruits] because they go bad.

(18) Sense-pleasures are fetters because they tie one up.

(19) Sense-pleasures are thieves because they steal beneficial things.

(20) Sense-pleasures are enemies because they provoke quarrels.

(21) Sense-pleasures are suffering because they create disadvantages.

Having considered the disadvantage of sense-pleasures in this manner, he should consider the benefit of renunciation.
“Renunciation” means [developing] the first jhāna after first going forth or developing all that is wholesome ( kusala).
This is called “renunciation”.
30



26 M II 261:
Aniccā … kāmā tucchā musā mosadhammā.
Māyākatame taṃ … bālalāpanaṃ.

Cf. Ps IV 56:
Mosadhammā ti nassanasabhāvā, khettaṃ viya vatthu viya hiraññasuvaṇṇaṃ

viya ca na paññāyittha, katipāheneva supinake diṭṭhā viya nassanti na paññāyanti, tena vuttaṃ mosadhammā ti.
Māyākatametan-ti yathā māyāya udakaṃ maṇi ti katvā dassitaṃ,

badaripaṇṇaṃ kahāpaṇo ti katvā dassitaṃ, aññaṃ vā pana evarūpaṃ dassanūpacāre ṭhitasseva tathā paññāyati, upacārātikkamato paṭṭhāya pākatikam-eva paññāyati.
Evaṃ

kāmā pi ittarapaccupaṭṭhānaṭṭhena māyākatan-ti vuttā.
Yathā ca māyākāro udakādīni maṇi-

ādīnaṃ vasena dassento vañceti, evaṃ kāmā pi aniccādīni niccādisabhāvaṃ dassentā

vañcentī ti vañcanakaṭṭhenapi māyākatan-ti vuttā.
Bālalāpanan-ti mayhaṃ putto, mayhaṃ

dhītā, mayhaṃ hiraññaṃ mayhaṃ suvaṇṇan-ti evaṃ bālānaṃ lāpanato bālalāpanaṃ.

27 Lit “are without seeing”.
Cf. Nett-a 124:
Upadhibandhano bālo, tamasā parivārito ti tassa pana bālassa tathā dassane sammohatamasā parivāritattā kāmaguṇesu anādīnavadassitāya kilesābhisaṅkhārehi bandhattā.

28 Cf. Nidd-a I 62:
Kusaladhamme nīvaratī ti nīvaraṇaṃ.

29 欲者是癡失正念故.
Cf. Nidd I 26:
Yebhuyyena devamanussā pañcasu kāmaguṇesu muyhanti sammuyhanti sampamuyhanti, mūḷhā sammūḷhā sampamūḷhā avijjāya andhīkatā

āvutā nivutā ovutā pihitā paṭicchannā paṭikujjitā, taṃ kāraṇā mohanā vuccanti pañca kāmaguṇā.

30 Cf. Iti-a II 170:
Paṭisoto ti kho bhikkhave nekkhammassetaṃ adhivacanan-ti ettha pabbajjā

saha upacārena paṭhamajjhānaṃ vipassanāpaññā ca nibbānañ-ca nekkhammaṃ nāma.

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263



Q.
What is the benefit of renunciation?

A. One is free from the [five] hindrances;
has mastery of one’s mind ( cetovasi);
and dwells in the pleasure of seclusion.
31 One can endure suffering and abides in pleasure;
one is not forgetful ( asammosa, satimuṭṭha);
one obtains much good, a plane of great fruit;
32 one is fit to receive gifts and one benefits two grounds ( vatthu, khetta).
33 This [renunciation] is profound wisdom.
This is a completely wholesome state.
This is called “going beyond the three worlds”.

Furthermore, “renunciation” is the renunciation of sensual desire.
34 This is seclusion from all hindrances.
This is stainless happiness.
This state is the supreme plane.
This path is for obtaining the supreme.
This cleans away the stains of the mind.
This is the practice for creating benefit.
This is the practice for internal pleasure.



Sabbe pi kusalā dhammā nekkhammaṃ nāma.
Vuttañhetaṃ:
Pabbajjā paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ,

nibbānañ-ca vipassanā;
/ Sabbe pi kusalā dhammā, nekkhamman-ti pavuccare ti.
Paṭis -a I 329.

Nekkhamman-ti paṭhamajjhānasamādhi, paṭhamajjhānaṃ vā, sabbe eva vā kusalā dhammā

nekkhammaṃ.
It-a II 41:
Nekkhamman-ti paṭhamajjhānaṃ.
Vibh 86:
Nekkhammapaṭisaṃyutto takko vitakko … pe … sammāsaṅkappo, ayaṃ vuccati nekkhammadhātu.
Sabbe pi kusalā

dhammā nekkhammadhātu.
Ps II 82:
Nekkhamman-ti ca kāmehi nissaṭaṃ sabbakusalaṃ,

ekadhamme saṅgayhamāne nibbānam-eva.
Cp-a 315:
… aṭṭhikaṅkalūpamāti ādinā ca nayena ādīnavaṃ sallakkhetvā tabbipariyāyena nekkhamme ānisaṃsaṃ passantena nekkhammapaviveka-upasamasukhādīsu ninnapoṇapabbhāracittena nekkhammapāramiyaṃ

paṭipajjitabbaṃ.
Yasmā pana nekkhammaṃ pabbajjāmūlakaṃ, tasmā pabbajjā tāva anuṭṭhātabbā.
Mp II 152:
Nekkhammasukhan-ti nekkhammaṃ vuccati pabbajjā, taṃ ārabbha uppajjanakasukhaṃ.
Nidd-a II 134:
nekkhammasukhan-ti pabbajjāsukhaṃ.
Th-a II 192:
Nekkhammaṃ daṭṭhu khemato ti kāmehi bhavehi ca nikkhantabhāvato nekkhammaṃ,

pabbajjaṃ, nibbānañ-ca, khemato, anupaddavato, daṭṭhu, disvā.
Cf. Mp IV 203. Nidd II (on Sn 426):
Nekkhamman ti sammāpaṭipadaṃ … ariyaṃ aṭṭhaṅgikaṃ maggaṃ nibbānañ-ca nibbānagāminiñca paṭipadaṃ …

31 答無蓋心自在住寂寂樂.
Perhaps:
“Due to the mind being free from the hindrances, one dwells in the pleasure of seclusion.”

32 曠濟眾事得大果地.
The first part of this sentence is obscure.
Literally:
“wide, various good ( attha) obtains great fruit plane”.
EKS took “plane of great fruit” to be the vehapphala-bhūmi, however, this plane is attained through developing the fourth jhāna (Vibh § 1027).

“Great fruit” (大果), is used in the recollection of the Saṅgha section as “Worthy of offerings:
One acquires great fruit by gifting various things to it.
It is fit to receive offerings.”
(Vim 428c27:
成大果堪受供養), of which the last part is also found as a benefit here.
The word used for vehapphala elsewhere in Vim (e.
g., Vim 420c05) is 果實, lit.

“real fruit” or “full fruit”.

33 The giver and oneself, the receiver?
Cf. A II 80:
Atthi bhikkhave dakkhiṇā dāyakato c’ eva visujjhati paṭiggāhakato ca.

34 Paṭis-a III 702:
Kāmacchandassa nekkhammaṃ nekkhamman-ti.
Paṭis I 27;
II 244;
D III 275;
It 61:
nekkhamman ti kāmānam etaṃ nissaraṇaṃ, yadidaṃ nekkhammaṃ.
A III 245:
Idha bhikkhave bhikkhuno kāmaṃ manasikaroto kāmesu cittaṃ na pakkhandati, nappasīdati na santiṭṭhati na vimuccati, nekkhammaṃ kho panassa manasikaroto nekkhamme cittaṃ …

vimuccati.
Tassa taṃ cittaṃ sukataṃ subhāvitaṃ suvuṭṭhitaṃ suvimuttaṃ suvisaṃyuttaṃ

kāmehi, ye ca kāmapaccayā uppajjanti āsavā vighātapariḷāhā, mutto so tehi, na so taṃ

vedanaṃ vediyati.
Idam akkhātaṃ kāmānaṃ nissaranaṃ.

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Sense-pleasures are coarse ( oḷārika);
renunciation is refined ( sukhuma).
35

Sense-pleasures are subject to affliction ( sakilesa);
renunciation is not subject to affliction ( nikkilesa).
Sense-pleasures are inferior;
renunciation is superior.

Sense-pleasures are defective ( sadosa);
36 renunciation is not defective.
[413b]

Sense-pleasures have a disagreeable result ( aniṭṭhaphala);
37 renunciation has an agreeable result.
Sense-pleasures are subject to fear;
renunciation is not subject to fear.

Having considered in this manner the disadvantages of sensual desire and the benefits of renunciation, dependent on renunciation, motivation ( chanda) is born, the mind gives rise to faith and reverence and considers what ought be done and what ought not to be done.

6

Physical preparation

After having taken a moderate meal and put away one’s robe and alms-bowl, one should take a short walk to dispel sluggishness of the body and indolence of the mind.
After the short walk, one should wash one’s hands and feet and sit down.
Then one should recollect the Buddha and his Enlightenment ( bodhi),38

the Dhamma and the Saṅgha.
Having recollected the [the Buddha and the Saṅgha’s] practice of good deeds, one should rejoice [and think]:
“I can attain success like them, but not unless I renounce and not unless I exert prolonged effort.
Therefore, I must endeavour.”



35 Unlike for the following jhānas, where the contemplation on the coarse versus the more refined are also given in Pāli works, no corresponding parallel contemplation can be found in Pāli with reference to the contemplation of the coarseness of sense-pleasures against the refinedness of the first jhāna.
The passage on the preliminary contemplation in the Vism IV.
27/p.124 is very brief.
In the Śrāvakabhūmi, detailed contemplations are given to see the characteristic of coarseness ( audārika) of sense-pleasures and the characteristic of peacefulness ( śānta-) of the first dhyāna, see the translation and Sanskrit text in Deleanu 36 有嗔恚, “with anger”, corresponds to Pāli sadosa.
However, the 2006:
447–49 and 317–324;
e.g., Śrāvakabhūmi 3.28.2.1.2.1–2:
… yena manaskāreṇa Pāli word sadosa,

kāmānām audārikalakṣaṇaṃ pratisaṃvedayate, prathame ca dhyāne śāntalakṣaṇaṃ.


can have two quite different meanings.
Apart from this, “with

yā eṣu kāmeṣu bahvādīnavatā yāvad vahūpasargatā, ayam audārikārthaḥ …;
Deleanu anger” (Skt sa-dveṣa), e.g.,

83.5833333333333
319

at D I 80, sadosa can also mean “with defect” (Skt sa-doṣa);
e.g., 36 有嗔恚

as sadosattā at A I 112.

, “with anger”, corresponds to Pāli sadosa, which was misunderstood as Skt Cf. Dhp 357 dosadosa, “the defect of anger” = doṣadoṣa at Patna sa-dveṣa by Saṅghapāla, but in Pāli sadosa can also mean “with defect”, i.e., Skt.
sa-doṣa.

Dhammapada 153 and dveṣadoṣa at Udānavarga 16.17. Cf. Ps Cf. sadosattā at A I 112 and the wordplay dosadosa, “the defect of anger” at Dhp 357 =

III 447:
yatheva hi tiṇakaṭṭhupādānaṃ paṭicca jalamāno aggi doṣadoṣa at Patna Dhammapada 153 and dveṣadoṣa at Udānavarga 16.17. Cf. Ps III 447:
dhūmachārikaṅgārānaṃ atthitāya sadoso hoti, evam-evaṃ pañca yatheva hi tiṇakaṭṭhupādānaṃ paṭicca jalamāno aggi dhūmachārikaṅgārānaṃ atthitāya kāmaguṇe paṭicca uppannā pīti jātijarābyādhimaraṇasokādīnaṃ

sadoso hoti, evam-evaṃ pañca kāmaguṇe paṭicca uppannā pīti jātijarābyādhimaraṇa-atthitāya sadosā.

sokādīnaṃ atthitāya sadosā.

37 非可愛果 and 可愛果, Aniṭṭhaphala and iṭṭhaphala.
Lit. “disagreeable fruition and agreeable fruition”.
Cf. Kv 434:
Sīlaṃ acetasikanti?
Āmantā. Aniṭṭhaphalanti?
Na hevaṃ

vattabbe …pe… nanu iṭṭhaphalanti?
Āmantā. Hañci iṭṭhaphalaṃ, no ca vata re vattabbe sīlaṃ acetasikanti.
Saddhā iṭṭhaphalā …

38 Or “the Buddha’s enlightenment”.

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One places the sitting mat neither too far from the disc nor too near it;
a yoke’s length or fathom length39 away.
One should sit facing the disc, with legs crossed and body erect, and arouse mindfulness internally.
One closes the eyes for a short while, dispels distraction of body and mind, concentrates the mind completely, and unifies it.
Then, opening the eyes a little, one should slightly watch the disc.

7

Three ways of grasping the sign

Observing the appearance40 of the disc, the meditator grasps the sign in three ways:
through looking evenly, through skills, and through abandoning distraction.

8

Looking evenly

Q.
How [is the sign grasped] through looking evenly ( sama ālocana)?

A. When the meditator watches the disc, he should not open his eyes too wide nor too narrowly.
41 In this manner should he watch it.
Why? If he opens his eyes



39 如軛如尋遠, “a yoke length, a fathom length (= 1.8 m.
)”. 軛 = yuga, a yoke, about four hattha or cubits / forearm-lengths.
At 403a06 尋仞 corresponds to yugamatta, a “yoke length”.

40 The character 形 can mean appearance, shape, figure, body and in Vim corresponds to saṇṭhāna, kāya, vaṇṇa, liṅga.
In the explanation of the three ways, it is said that if he practices the 3 ways he “sees his sign of concentration arise by means of the disc”

(413b20:
觀曼陀羅見其定相依曼陀羅起) and that “he can see at will the appearance of the disc” (413c18:
成隨意得見曼陀羅形).

There is some variation in the wording of this phrase in the explanations of the other totalities.
In the explanation of the water-totality it is said that “he should attend to (作意) the perception (想, saññā) of water” (422c09:
處作意水想).
Fire:
“he attends (作) to the perception of fire” (422c29:
於聚焰中現作火想).
Wind:
“attends to the perception of wind” (423a11:
彼已見作風想).
Blue:
“he attends to the sign of blue” (423b05:
作青相), and so for the other three colour totalities.
Light:
“he sees the sign of light”

(424a14:
見光明相). Space:
“he attends to the perception of space” (424b10:
作虛空想).

The usage of sign (相) instead of perception (想) in the four colour totalities probably is a corruption.
The Vism says that one should first attend to the concept “water” and that then the sign arises.
Vism V.
3–4/p.179:
“… having set the mind on the state of the [name]

concept as [most] prominent, and using among the [various] names for water such as “rain”,

…, etc. , he should practise [the totality] by means of the plain [name] “water, water”.

As he develops it in this way, the two signs eventually arise in him …” (… ussadavasena paṇṇattidhamme cittaṃ ṭhapetvā ambu, udakaṃ, vāri, salilan-ti ādīsu āponāmesu pākaṭanāmavaseneva āpo āpo ti bhāvetabbaṃ.
);
Vism V.
13/p.173:
“… he should attend to it as ‘blue, blue’ …” ( nīlaṃ nīlan-ti manasikāro pavattetabbo).

41 Vism IV.
28–29:
Ati-ummīlayato hi cakkhu kilamati, maṇḍalañ-ca ativibhūtaṃ hoti, tenassa nimittaṃ nuppajjati.
Atimandaṃ ummīlayato maṇḍalamavibhūtaṃ hoti, cittañ-ca līnaṃ hoti,

evam-pi nimittaṃ nuppajjati.
Tasmā ādāsatale mukhanimittadassinā viya samenākārena cakkhūni ummīletvā nimittaṃ gaṇhantena bhāvetabbaṃ.
Na vaṇṇo paccavekkhitabbo,

na lakkhaṇaṃ manasikātabbaṃ.
… Vism-mhṭ I 145:
Samena ākārenā ti ati-ummīlana

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too wide, they will become weary, seeing the nature ( sabhāva) of the disc too clearly,42 and the counterpart-sign will not arise.
If he faces the disc opening the eyes too narrowly, he will not see the sign because of darkness, and then he will give rise to sluggishness.
Therefore, he should avoid opening his eyes too wide or too narrowly, but just enough for focussing his mind and establishing it on the disc.
To establish the mind, he should watch as if he were a man who sees the reflection ( paṭibimba) of his face in a mirror.
By means of the mirror, he sees his face;
the [reflection of his] face is produced from the mirror.
43 [In the same way,]

the meditator who is watching the disc sees his sign of concentration arise by means of the disc.
Therefore, to establish his mind, he should grasp the sign through looking evenly.

Thus, one grasps the sign through looking evenly.

9

Skills

Q.
How [is the sign grasped] through the skills ( kosalla)?

A. There are four skills in attending ( manasikāra-kosalla):
(1) inner demarcating ( pariccheda);
(2) pervading the directions ( disāpharaṇa);
(3) urging ( pavattana?
);
and (4) pervading all over ( parippharaṇa?
).

When he sees the sign go away and scatter, [becoming] without demarcation, then he should attend to inner demarcating.
44



atimandālocanāni vajjetvā nāti-ummīlananātimandālocanasaṅkhātena samena ālocanākārena.

42 Vim 413b–16:
曼陀羅自性現見自性, lit.
“disc’s nature seeing nature”.
Vism IV.
28

has maṇḍalaṃ ativibhūtaṃ hoti:
“the disc is too bright/mighty”, which Vism-mhṭ I 145

explains as:
Ativibhūtaṃ hoti attano sabhāvāvibhāvato.
Tathā ca vaṇṇato vā lakkhaṇato vā

upatiṭṭheyya:
“It becomes too bright due to its nature becoming too clear and thus he would [instead] attend to the colour or characteristic.”
Saṅghapāla probably misunderstood sabhāvavibhāvato.

43 Spk II 308:
Mukhanimittan-ti mukhapaṭibimbaṃ.
Tañ-hi parisuddhaṃ ādāsamaṇḍalaṃ

paṭicca paññāyati.
… ādāsaṃ pana nissāya nibhāsarūpaṃ nāma taṃ paññāyatī ti vadanti.

Vism-mhṭ I 145:
Ādāsatale mukhanimittadassinā viyā ti yathā ādāsatale mukhanimittadassī

puriso na tattha atigāḷhaṃ ummīlati, nāpi atimandaṃ, na ādāsatalassa vaṇṇaṃ

paccavekkhati, nāpi lakkhaṇaṃ manasi karoti.
Atha kho samena ākārena olokento attano mukhanimittam-eva passati, evam-eva ayam-pi pathavīkasiṇaṃ samena ākārena olokento nimittaggahaṇappasuto yeva hoti, tena vuttaṃ samena ākārenā ti ādi.

44 時見相出散無隔是時當作內隔作意.
Cf. Paṭis-a 233:
Keci pana ācariyā … Gocarakusalatā

ti ārammaṇassa paricchedaṃ kātuṃ jānāti, disāpharaṇaṃ kātuṃ jānāti, vaḍḍhetuṃ jānāti.

… Paṭis-gp 126:
“Demarcating:
cutting off all around what is not part of the edge, ….”

Paricchedan-ti visabhāga-lekhāya parito chindanaṃ, nimittārammaṇassa vā vaḍḍhanakālaṃ

aṅganādi pacchedaṃ vā.

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When he sees a small sign or sees half a disc, then, having made the disc full, he should attend to pervading the directions [with it].
45

When the mind is distracted or indolent, then he should urge it, like [a potter propels] a potter’s wheel.

When the mind attains stability, then he should observe the disc pervading all over46 without deficiency,47 and he should observe it equanimously.

Thus should “through the skills” be understood.

10 Abandoning of distraction

Q.
How [is the sign grasped] through abandoning of distraction?
48

A.
There are four kinds of distraction to be abandoned:
(1) overly exerted energy;

[413c] (2) overly lax energy;
(3) elation;
and (4) depression.
49

Q.
What is overly exerted energy?

A. It means attending hastily [to the meditation subject], not staying [with it all] the time.
He sits [to meditate] in the morning, but by the evening, he ceases

[to exert] because of fatigue of the body.
This is “overly exerted energy”.

Q. What is “overly lax energy”?

A. It means absence of skill in attending.
Even though he sees the disc, he does not attend to it with reverence.
Frequently he gets up;
frequently he lies down.



45 … 是時作令滿曼陀羅已方滿令作意.
Or:
“then, having made the disc pervasive, he makes

[the mind] attend to it as pervading the directions”.
On pervading the directions, disāpharaṇa — i.e., pervading the four cardinal directions, four intermediate directions and above and below — see the section on loving-kindness at Ch.8 § 145 (p.
436b24:
令滿一方).
Cf. Paṭis-a 232:
Atha vā tasmiṃ tasmiṃ disābhāge kasiṇapharaṇavasena evaṃ

phuṭṭhassa kasiṇassa ciraṭṭhānavasena ca samādhissa gocaresu chekabhāvo.
Cf. Ps III 260, etc. :
… disāanudisāsu advayaṃ ….
Yathā hi udakaṃ paviṭṭhassa sabbadisāsu udakam-eva hoti na aññaṃ, evam-eva pathavīkasiṇaṃ pathavīkasiṇam-eva hoti, … in Ch.8 fn. 5

46 See 412c02–06. 遍滿, can correspond to parippharati, but also to sabbāvant “everywhere”

or “all over”.

47 無虧.
Variant reading = 無戲, “without merriment” ( hāsa).
The character 虧 is not used elsewhere in Vim.
Cf. Abhidh-s 258:
Tappaṭibhāgaṃ vaṇṇādikasiṇadosarahitaṃ nimittaṃ

upacārappanānaṃ ārammaṇattā ti paṭibhāganimittaṃ.

48 亂 = Tibetan yeng ba = vikkhepa, Skt vikṣepa:
“distraction”, or “dissipation”, “scattering”, or

“disturbance”.
Paṭis-a II 470:
Vikkhipati anena cittan-ti vikkhepo.
Cf. Khp-a 69–70:
anupubbato,

nātisīghato, nātisaṇikato, vikkhepappahānato, paṇṇattisamatikkamanato, anupubbamuñcanato,

lakkhaṇato, tayo ca suttantā ti evaṃ dasavidhaṃ manasikārakosallaṃ vuttaṃ.

49 These four are also mentioned in the explanation of “freeing the mind”, step 12 of mindfulness of breathing, at 431a21–23.

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If he overly exerts energy, his body is fatigued and his mind declines.
Due to the mind going away [from the disc], agitation arises.

If he overly relaxes energy, his body and mind become indolent and slothful, and torpor arises.
50

“Elation” ( uppila?
):
When the mind declines through the arising of agitation, he becomes bored with the meditation subject.
If there is boredom ( arati), his mind becomes elated due to desire ( rāga, chanda) at the first pleasant thought.
51

Furthermore, if he attains the sign of the meditation subject, because of the desire for rapture and pleasure, the mind becomes elated.

“Depression” ( duṭṭhulla?
):
Owing to decline [of the mind] due to agitation, he does not delight in the meditation subject.
If he does not delight in the meditation subject from the beginning, a state of anger ( dosa) is created.
Because of anger, the mind becomes dejected.
52

Furthermore, when his mind is fatigued due to thinking and exploring, it falls away from distinction and, because of feelings of distress ( domanassa), becomes dejected.

If the meditator’s mind overly exerts, and declines and falls into a state of agitation, he should, by means of the faculty of mindfulness and the faculty of concentration, control, overcome, and abandon the agitation.

If the mind overly relaxes energy and declines and falls into a state of indolence, he should, by means of the faculty of mindfulness and the faculty of energy, control, overcome, and abandon the indolence.

If the elated mind declines and falls into a state of desire, on becoming aware of it he should abandon the desire.



50 A III 375:
Accāraddhaviriyaṃ uddhaccāya saṃvattati atilīnaviriyaṃ kosajjāya saṃvattati.

Tasṃā ti ha tvaṃ soṇa viriyasamataṃ adhiṭṭhaha indriyānañ ca samataṃ paṭivijjha tattha ca nimittaṃ gaṇhātī ti.
Vism IV.
3
… eko bhikkhu uppanne nimitte sīgham-eva appanaṃ

pāpuṇissāmīti gāḷhaṃ vīriyaṃ karoti, tassa cittaṃ accāraddhavīriyattā uddhacce patati,

so na sakkoti appanaṃ pāpuṇituṃ.
Eko accāraddhavīriyatāya dosaṃ disvā kiṃ dānime appanāyā ti vīriyaṃ hāpeti, tassa cittaṃ atilīnavīriyattā kosajje patati, so pi na sakkoti appanaṃ pāpuṇituṃ.
Ps IV 208 (on M III 60):
Accāraddhavīriyan-ti mama vīriyaṃ sithilaṃ

karoto duṭṭhullaṃ uppannan-ti puna vīriyaṃ paggaṇhato accāraddhavīriyaṃ udapādi.


Atilīnavīriyan-ti mama vīriyaṃ paggaṇhato evaṃ jātan-ti puna vīriyaṃ sithilaṃ karoto atilīnavīriyaṃ udapādi.

51 於初戲笑言語以由欲心成高.
戲笑言語 literally means “merry word/speech”.
Cf. Ps IV 208:
Uppilan-ti mayā diṭṭhabhayaṃ pakatiyā olokiyamānaṃ natthi.
Adiṭṭhe kiṃ nāma bhayan-ti cintayato uppilāvitattaṃ udapādi.

52 Cf. Ps IV 208:
Duṭṭhullan-ti mayā vīriyaṃ gāḷhaṃ paggahitaṃ, tena me uppilaṃ

uppannan-ti vīriyaṃ sithilamakāsi, tato kāyadaratho kāyaduṭṭhullaṃ kāyālasiyaṃ udapādi.

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If the dejected mind declines and falls into a state of anger, on becoming aware of it he should abandon the anger.

[When abandoning distraction] in these four instances [of distraction], he accomplishes purity of mind and one-pointedness of mind.

Clearly understanding these three ways of [grasping the sign and] concentrating the mind, he can see at will the appearance of the disc.
53

11 The sign

When he perceives [the disc] with a one-pointed mind, the sign arises, which is of two kinds, namely, the grasping-sign ( uggaha-nimitta)54 and the counterpart-sign ( paṭibhāga-nimitta).

Q. What is “grasping-sign”?

A. When the meditator is watching the disc with an undistracted mind, the sign arises from the disc and it is seen as if it were in space, sometimes far and sometimes near, sometimes to the left and sometimes to the right, sometimes big and sometimes small, sometimes ugly and sometimes beautiful, sometimes

[multiplied] many [times] and sometimes few [times].
55 It is not due to watching the disc with the eyes, but due to skill in attending, that the grasping-sign arises.
56

This is called “grasping-sign”.

After much practising of that [grasping-sign], the counterpart-sign arises.

“Counterpart-sign” means that when he attends [to the sign], it appears at will and promptly:
[even when] not seeing the disc, it arises when the mind recollects it.

It is seen as before, but it is now mind-made, and [it is seen] with the eyes closed.
If he attends to it as far away, he promptly sees it as far away;
and [when he attends to it as] near, to the left or to the right, in front or behind, inside or outside, above or below, it appears so at will and promptly.
This is called

“counterpart-sign”.

Q. What is the meaning of “sign”?



53 This sentence is not found in most editions according to a footnote in the Taishō edition.

54 取相.
Uggaha has a double meaning:
grasping in the sense of “taking hold of” and in the sense of “understanding/comprehending/learning”.
Ñāṇamoli, PoP IV.
29, renders uggahanimitta as “learning sign”.

55 或時多或時少, perhaps “sometimes more/greater, sometimes less/lesser/inferior”.

The characters 多 and 少 usually correspond to bahula and appa, but 多 can also correspond to bhiyyo, mahant and 少 to paritta, hīna, thoka, ūna.

56 不以眼觀曼陀羅以作意方便取相起.
This means that just watching the disc is not enough, but that skill has to be used.

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A.
“Cause” ( kāraṇa) is the meaning of “sign”.
57 [414a] As the Buddha taught:

“Bhikkhus, all evil unwholesome states arise with a sign.”
58 This is the meaning of “cause”.

It is also said:
“The meaning of ‘perceiving’ ( sañjānana) is the meaning of

‘sign’ ”.
59 As the Buddha said:
“Through perceiving one will abandon.”
60 This is the meaning of “perceiving”.

It is also said:
“ ‘Reflectionʼ ( paṭibimba) is the meaning of ‘signʼ.
It is like seeing the reflection of one’s own face;
perceiving the reflection.”
61

“Counterpart” ( paṭibhāga) is not different in meaning.
62

When he obtains the sign, the meditator should, with a reverential mind towards his teacher, protect that excellent sign.
If he does not protect it, he will lose it.

Q. How should he protect it?

A. He should protect the sign through three kinds of practice:
through avoiding unwholesomeness, through the practising of wholesomeness, and through constant practice.



57 Cf. Mp IV 24:
Nimittan-ti kāraṇaṃ.
Mp II 153:
sanimittā ti sakāraṇā.
Cf. Ap-a 424, Net-a 256.

58 Mp I 32:
Subhanimittan ti rāgaṭṭhāniyaṃ ārammaṇaṃ.
Sanimittā, bhikkhave, uppajjan-ti pāpakā

akusalā dhammā, no animittā ti (A I 82) ettha nimittan ti paccayassa nāmaṃ.
Adhicittam anuyuttena … bhikkhunā pañca nimittāni kālena kālaṃ manasikātabbānī ti ettha kāraṇassa.

So taṃ nimittaṃ āsevati bhāvetī ti ettha samādhissa.
Yaṃ nimittaṃ āgamma yaṃ nimittaṃ

manasikaroto anantarā āsavānaṃ khayo hotī ti ettha vipassanāya.
Idha pana rāgaṭṭhāniyo iṭṭhārammaṇadhammo subhanimittan ti adhippeto.
Cf. D I 70.

59 The character 智 is elsewhere in Vim corresponding to ñāṇa.
Judging from the usage of saññā, 作想 (lit.
“to do/make perception”) in the untraced quotation, and the Pāli parallels, probably the original text had sañjānana here.
Cf. As 321:
Nimittan-ti sañjānanaṃ.
Ps III 38:

gihibhāvassa sañjānananimittatāya nimittā ti vuttā.
Cf. Sv II 500, Mp II 252.

60 義相義如佛說以作想當捨.
Untraced. Probably this passage is corrupt.
The intended meaning seems to be that through developing perception of the right sign, perception of the wrong sign is abandoned;
e.g., through the perception of impermanence the sign of permanence is abandoned and through the perception of the sign of light, sloth and torpor are abandoned.
Cf. D I 181:
Sikkhā ekā saññā uppajjanti, sikkhā ekā saññā nirujjhanti.
M I 424:
Aniccasaññañ-hi te, rāhula, bhāvanaṃ bhāvayato yo asmimāno so pahīyissati.
Paṭis I 31:
Thinamiddhaṃ pajahato ālokasaññāvasena.
Paṭis-a I 102:
Ālokasaññā ti thīnamiddhassa paṭipakkhe ālokanimitte saññā.
Peṭ 127:
Aniccasaññāya niccasaññaṃ samugghāteti, …

61 Or “perceptual-reflection”;
如自見面像想像.
The character 像 corresponds to paṭibimbaṃ

or bimba in the sense of “reflected image” or “mirror image” or “image”.
Cf. Ps II 67, Spk II 308:
Mukhanimittan-ti mukhapaṭibimbaṃ.
Vism-mhṭ II 355:
Mukhanimittan-ti mukhassa paṭibimbaṃ.
Vism XVIII.
16/p.591:
Yathā hi cakkhumato purisassa aparisuddhe ādāse mukhanimittaṃ olokentassa nimittaṃ na paññāyati …

62 I.e., it is not different in meaning than “reflection”, paṭibimba.
Cf. Abhidhān 44:
22.0416666666667
Paṭimā

paṭibimbañ-ca, bimbo paṭinidhīrito;
Tīsu samo paṭibhāgo, sannikāso sarikkhako.
Nidd-a 90:
Appaṭibhāgan-ti attano paṭibimbavirahitaṃ.
A-ṭ II 91:
Paṭibhāga-upamā ti paṭibimba-upamā.

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Q.
How does one avoid unwholesomeness?

A. One should avoid delight in work, delight in various kinds of frivolous talk, delight in sleeping, delight in company, delight in close contact, not guarding the doors of the sense-faculties,63 lack of moderation with regard to food, not rising to practice meditation ( jhāna) in the first and last watches of the night, irreverence for the training, luxuriousness,64 bad friends,65 and frequenting improper resorts ( agocara).
One should avoid unsuitable climate, food, and dwelling places.
66

The opposing of these is wholesome and should be constantly practised.

Q. What is the meaning of “constant practice”?

A. The meditator grasps the sign well and always contemplates its qualities as if he would perceive a gem.
He always practices gladly, practises constantly, and practices much.
He practises much by day and by night.
Whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, his mind desires the object ( ārammaṇa);
everywhere his mind is resolved to grasp the sign.
Having grasped it, he causes it to appear.
Having caused it to appear, he contemplates it.
Having contemplated it, he develops it.
Having developed it, from time to time he contemplates the disc.



Thus, through constant practice, he sees the sign, guards the sign, and achieves 63 A IV 331:
Aṭṭhime … dhammā sekhassa bhikkhuno parihānāya saṃvattanti.
Katame aṭṭha?

Kammārāmatā, bhassārāmatā, niddārāmatā, saṅgaṇikārāmatā, indriyesu aguttadvāratā,

bhojane amattaññutā, saṃsaggārāmatā, papañcārāmatā.
Cf. Mp III 348:
Kammārāmo ti ādīsu āramaṇaṃ ārāmo, abhiratī ti attho.
Vihārakaraṇādimhi navakamme ārāmo assā ti kammārāmo.
Tasmiṃ yeva kamme rato ti kammarato.
Tadeva kammārāmataṃ punappunaṃ

yutto ti anuyutto.
Esa nayo sabbattha.
Ettha ca bhassan-ti ālāpasallāpo.
Niddā ti soppaṃ.

Saṅgaṇikā ti gaṇasaṅgaṇikā.
Sā ekassa dutiyo hoti, dvinnaṃ hoti tatiyako ti ādinā nayena veditabbā.
Saṃsaggo ti dassanasavanasamullāpasambhogakāyasaṃsaggavasena pavatto saṃsaṭṭhabhāvo.
Cf. A III 116, 293.

64 M I 32:
… indriyesu aguttadvārā, bhojane amattaññuno, jāgariyaṃ ananuyuttā, sāmaññe anapekkhavanto, sikkhāya na tibbagāravā, bāhulikā, sāthalikā, okkamane pubbaṅgamā, paviveke nikkhittadhurā … A III 70, 300:
… indriyesu aguttadvāro, bhojane amattaññū, jāgariyaṃ

ananuyutto, avipassako kusalānaṃ dhammānaṃ, pubbarattāpararattaṃ bodhipakkhiyānaṃ

dhammānaṃ bhāvanānuyogaṃ ananuyutto … Cf. S IV 103.

65 Cf. A I 13:
… pāpamittatā.
Pāpamittassa … anuppannā ceva akusalā dhammā uppajjanti uppannā ca kusalā dhammā parihāyantī ti.
Vibh 380:
Kammārāmatā, bhassārāmatā,

niddārāmatā, saṅgaṇikārāmatā, dovacassatā, pāpamittatā ime cha parihāniyā dhammā.

66 At 414b25 the three suitable ( sappāya, 調適) conditions are food, climate, and postures.

Here, however the unsuitable ( asappāya, 不好) condition of 臥坐 (= sayana/ seyya

+ āsana) rather could correspond to sayanāsana/ senāsana.
Cf. Mp II 363:
ettha samayo nāma utusappāyaṃ āhārasappāyaṃ senāsanasappāyaṃ puggalasappāyaṃ

dhammassavanasappāyan-ti imesaṃ pañcannaṃ sappāyānaṃ paṭilābhakālo.
Sp I 291:
utusappāyaṃ bhojanasappāyaṃ puggalasappāyaṃ senāsanasappāyaṃ dhammassavanasappāyañ-ca.
Paṭis-a 233:
Kallatākusalatā ti cittaphāsutāya sarīraphāsutāya āhāraphāsutāya senāsanaphāsutāya puggalaphāsutāya ca samādhissa kallatā hotī ti jānāti.

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mastery.
67 When the sign [appears] at will, he attains threshold jhāna.
When there is threshold [jhāna], his mind, depending on that, attains absorption ( appanā).

12 Threshold jhāna and jhāna

Q.
What is “threshold jhāna”?

A. The mind closely follows the object68 and attends without distraction through the suspension of the hindrances.
However, it does not yet practise [the jhāna factors of] thinking and exploring, rapture, pleasure, and one-pointedness of mind, and the five faculties of faith, etc. Even though [the mind] obtains the power of concentration ( samādhibala), it only arises momentarily.
This is called

“threshold jhāna”.

As for absorption:
it follows upon threshold.
This state causes the mind to obtain the power of practice ( bhāvanābala).
69 The states of thinking, faith, etc. , are [established] immovably on the object70 — this is called “absorption”.

Q. What is the difference between threshold and absorption?

A. When one is overcoming the five hindrances, there is threshold.
When one has overcome these five, there is absorption.

Through threshold jhāna, one will attain distinction in concentration.
When one has attained distinction in concentration, it is called “absorption”.
71

When one has not yet attained to seclusion of body and mind, then in threshold concentration the mind moves like a boat on waves.
When one has attained to seclusion of body and mind, then in absorption [the mind stays] immovably on the object, like a boat on windless water.



67 Cf. Vism IV.
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Nimittakosallaṃ nāma pathavīkasiṇādikassa cittekaggatānimittassa akatassa karaṇakosallaṃ, katassa ca bhāvanākosallaṃ, bhāvanāya laddhassa rakkhaṇakosallañ-ca, taṃ idha adhippetaṃ.

68 此事從心, lit.
“this object from/following mind”.

69 Paṭis II 170:
Kāmacchandaṃ pajahanto nekkhammaṃ bhāvetī ti:
bhāvanābalaṃ.


Nīvaraṇe pajahanto paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ bhāvetī ti bhāvanābalaṃ ….

70 Cf. Vibh-a 313:
Samādhiyatī ti sammā ādhiyati, niccalaṃ hutvā ārammaṇe ṭhapīyati,

appanāppattaṃ viya hoti.

71 Cf. Vism IV.
32/p.126:
Duvidho hi samādhi upacārasamādhi ca appanāsamādhi ca.
Dvīhākārehi cittaṃ samādhiyati upacārabhūmiyaṃ vā paṭilābhabhūmiyaṃ vā.
Tattha upacārabhūmiyaṃ

nīvaraṇappahānena cittaṃ samāhitaṃ hoti.
Paṭilābhabhūmiyaṃ aṅgapātubhāvena.

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Due to the faculties72 not being powerful, threshold jhāna does not stand long on the object, like a small boy [does not stand long].
Due to the faculties being powerful, absorption stands long on the object, like a strong man [stands long].
73

Because of non-mastery of practice, in threshold jhāna there is non-collectedness (不和合, asamāhitatā?
). [414b] It is like a discourse-reciter who has long neglected [reciting] and therefore forgets.
74 Because of mastery of practice, in absorption there is collectedness.
It is like a discourse-reciter who persistently repeats and does not forget.

If one does not overcome the hindrances well, one is just like a blind man:
there is blindness in threshold jhāna.
75 Thus, it is taught as being equivalent to impurity.

If one overcomes the hindrances well, [one is just like a man who is not blind]:
there is non-blindness in absorption concentration.
Thus, it is taught as being equivalent to purity.

Beginning at the mastery of the sign and as far as change of lineage ( gotrabhu) it is called “threshold”.
Immediately after change of lineage it is called

“absorption”.
76

Q.
What is the meaning of “threshold”?

A. Because it is near jhāna, it is called “threshold”.
It is like a path near a village, which is called a “village path”:
the meaning is the same, though the names differ.
77



72 Indriya.
At 414a20 at the start of this section on threshold jhāna, the “five faculties of faith, etc”, are mentioned as being absent in threshold and being immovable in absorption.

73 Cf. Vism IV.
33/p.126:
Dvinnaṃ pana samādhīnaṃ idaṃ nānākāraṇaṃ, upacāre aṅgāni na thāmajātāni honti, aṅgānaṃ athāmajātattā, yathā nāma daharo kumārako ukkhipitvā

ṭhapiyamāno punappunaṃ bhūmiyaṃ patati, evam-eva upacāre uppanne cittaṃ kālena nimittamārammaṇaṃ karoti, kālena bhavaṅgamotarati.
Appanāyaṃ pana aṅgāni thāmajātāni honti, tesaṃ thāmajātattā, yathā nāma balavā puriso āsanā vuṭṭhāya divasam-pi tiṭṭheyya,

evam-eva appanāsamādhimhi uppanne cittaṃ sakiṃ bhavaṅgavāraṃ chinditvā kevalam-pi rattiṃ kevalam-pi divasaṃ tiṭṭhati, kusalajavanapaṭipāṭivaseneva pavattatī ti.

74 Dhp 241, A IV 195:
Asajjhāyamalā mantā.
A V 135:
asajjhāyakiriyā bāhusaccassa paripantho.
Cf. S V 121.

75 Cf. S V 97:
Pañcime bhikkhave nīvaraṇā andhakaraṇā acakkhukaraṇā.

76 Cf. Ch.4 § 10, Vim 407b15:
“The antecedent of any concentration — this is called threshold concentration.
The change of lineage immediately subsequent [to that] — this is called absorption concentration”.
Cf. Abhidh-s 257:
Nīvaraṇavikkhambhanato paṭṭhāya gotrabhūpariyosānā kāmāvacarabhāvanā upacārabhāvanā nāma.
Vism XII.
58/p.387:
appanācittamiva gotrabhu-anantaraṃ ekam-eva uppajjati rūpāvacaracatutthajjhānikaṃ.

77 如路近村是謂村路義一名異.
Perhaps this is misunderstanding of the Pāli gāmūpacāra.

The Vism has “they are also called ‘threshold/vicinity’ because of their nearness to absorption because they happen in its neighbourhood, just as the words ‘village threshold/

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Q.
What is the meaning of “absorption”?

A. “Absorption” has the meaning of “unifying”;
it is as if [the mind] absorbs into the disc [of the earth totality].
78

There is no difference in meaning between renunciation, jhāna, and absorption.

13 Extending of the totality

Now, the meditator who is dwelling in threshold or absorption or the first jhāna should extend the totality.

Q. How should he extend it?

A. It is said that at the beginning, the sign [of the totality disc], which is a span and four finger widths ( vidatthicaturaṅgula) [wide],79 should be extended gradually.
Thus, attending and thus achieving mastery, he should gradually extend it to as large as a wheel, a canopy,80 the shadow of a tree, a field, a neighbourhood, a village, a village boundary, and a town boundary.
Gradually he extends it all over this whole earth.
He should not attend to any uneven and protruding things such as rivers and mountains, heights and depths, trees, stumps, and thorny bushes.
He should attend to the earth as if he would perceive vicinity’ and ‘city threshold/vicinity’ are used for a place near to a village, etc.”



Vism IV.
74/p.138:
yathā gāmādīnaṃ āsannapadeso gāmūpacāro nagarūpacāro ti vuccati, evaṃ

appanāya āsannattā samīpacārattā vā upacārānītipi.
Vism-mhṭ I 108:
… Tathā tassa anuppattiṭṭhāna-bhūte parittajhāne upacāravohāro.
Gāmādīnaṃ samīpaṭṭhāne gāmūpacārā-

disamaññā viyā ti āha.
Abhidh-s 257:
Appanāya samīpacārittā gāmūpacārādayo viya.

Upacāra has two senses:
(1) The weak or momentary concentration close to the jhāna, i.e., the vicinity or threshold of it, wherein the hindrances are suspended but there are no jhāna factors and the faculties are not strong so that the mind does not remain long on the object.

(2) When the actual jhāna is attained then upacāra becomes the threshold or access to it, as in “seclusion … is the threshold to the first jhāna” at Ch.8 § 19. 外行 = bāhira + cāra

“outside” + “moving/going”.

78 Or “Fixedness:
means “coming together”;
it is as if [the mind] fixes onto the [totality] disc”, 安為和合義如到曼陀羅.
The binome 和合 corresponds to saṅgati, sannipāta, samūha,

saṃyoga in Vim.
Ps IV 132:
Ekaggo hutvā ārammaṇe appetī ti appanā.
Vism-mhṭ I 108:
Sampayuttadhamme ārammaṇe appento viya pavattatī ti vitakko appanā.
Vism III.
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… yā ca appanāsamādhīnaṃ pubbabhāge ekaggatā, ayaṃ upacārasamādhi … yā parikammānantarā

ekaggatā, ayaṃ appanāsamādhī ti.
Spk-ṭ II 134:
Ārammaṇe cittaṃ appetī ti appanā.

79 This size refers to the size of the disc rather than the counterpart sign.
At 414b12 the size of the totality disk is said to be as large as a rice-sifter or a plate.
A vidatthi is 12 aṅgula, which is about 9 inches (see MW s.
v. vitasti), so the size of the disc is about 12 inches or 30 centimetres.
See Vism IV.
25/p.124:
… vidatthicaturaṅgulavitthāraṃ vaṭṭaṃ kātabbaṃ.

Etadeva hi pamāṇaṃ sandhāya suppamattaṃ vā sarāvamattaṃ vā ti vuttaṃ.

80 蓋 = chatta, an umbrella, sunshade, or royal canopy.

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the ocean as far as [he can].
81 When extending it thus as far as the mind can go, he attains to excellent concentration.
82

14 Skill in absorption concentration

If the meditator attains to threshold jhāna but is unable to obtain absorption concentration, he should give rise to skill in absorption concentration in two ways:
the first, through means ( kāraṇa, upakāra);
the second, through resolve ( adhiṭṭhāna).

Through ten means he gives rise to skill in absorption concentration:
(1) through the cleansing of the physical basis;
(2) giving rise to the faculties evenly;
(3) skill in the sign;
(4) controlling and subduing the mind;
(5) subduing indolence;
(6) and listlessness of mind;
(7) encouraging the mind;
83 (8) concentrating the mind and looking on equanimously;
(9) avoidance of persons who do not practise concentration and associating with persons who practise concentration;
and (10) intentness upon absorption concentration.
84



81 Similar instructions are found in the Cuḷasuññattasuttanta, MN 121, at M III 105:
Seyyathā

pi, ānanda, āsabhacammaṃ saṅkusatena suvihataṃ vigatavalikaṃ;
evam-eva kho, ānanda,

bhikkhu yaṃ imissā pathaviyā ukkūlavikkūlaṃ nadīviduggaṃ khāṇukaṇṭakaṭṭhānaṃ

pabbatavisamaṃ taṃ sabbaṃ amanasikaritvā pathavīsaññaṃ paṭicca manasikaroti ekattaṃ.

Tassa pathavīsaññāya cittaṃ pakkhandati pasīdati santiṭṭhati adhimuccati.
Ps IV 153, Dhs-a 142:
Pathavīsaññaṃ paṭicca manasikaroti ekattan-ti kasiṇapathaviyaṃ yeva paṭicca sambhūtaṃ ekaṃ saññaṃ manasi karoti.
Cf. Vism IV.
129. Compare the Anuruddhasuttanta, MN 127, with reference to the mahaggata citta:
M III 146–47. Idha … bhikkhu yāvatā

ekaṃ rukkhamūlaṃ … dve vā tīṇi vā rukkhamūlāni … ekaṃ gāmakkhettaṃ … dve vā tīṇi vā

gāmakkhettāni … ekaṃ mahārajjaṃ … dve vā tīṇi vā mahārajjāni … samuddapariyantaṃ

pathaviṃ mahaggatan-ti pharitvā adhimuccitvā viharati.
Ayam-pi vuccati, gahapati,

mahaggatā cetovimutti.
M-a IV 200:
… ekarukkhamūlapamāṇaṭṭhānaṃ kasiṇanimittena ottharitvā tasmiṃ kasiṇanimitte mahaggatajjhānaṃ pharitvā adhimuccitvā viharati.


Mahaggatā ti vuttānaṃ pana kasiṇajjhānānaṃ nimittaṃ vaḍḍhati, ….

82 最勝定, perhaps corresponding to aggasamādhi, varasamāpatti.
See Ch.5 fn. 1

83 Cf. A III 435:
Chahi … dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu bhabbo anuttaraṃ sītibhāvaṃ

sacchikātuṃ.
… Idha … bhikkhu yasmiṃ samaye cittaṃ niggahetabbaṃ tasmiṃ samaye cittaṃ niggaṇhāti, yasmiṃ samaye cittaṃ paggahetabbaṃ tasmiṃ samaye cittaṃ paggaṇhāti,

yasmiṃ samaye cittaṃ sampahaṃsitabbaṃ tasmiṃ samaye cittaṃ sampahaṃseti, yasmiṃ

samaye cittaṃ ajjhupekkhitabbaṃ tasmiṃ samaye cittaṃ ajjhupekkhati, paṇītādhimuttiko ca hoti, nibbānābhirato ca.
Nidd I 508:
Kāle paggaṇhati cittaṃ, niggaṇhati punāpare /

Sampahaṃsati kālena, kāle cittaṃ samādahe.
/ Ajjhupekkhati kālena, so yogī kālakovido … /

Līne cittamhi paggāho, uddhatasmiṃ viniggaho;
/ Nirassādagataṃ cittaṃ, sampahaṃseyya tāvade.
/ Sampahaṭṭhaṃ yadā cittaṃ, alīnaṃ bhavatinuddhataṃ;
/ Samathassa ca so kālo,

ajjhattaṃ ramaye mano.
/ Etena mevupāyena, yadā hoti samāhitaṃ;
/ Samāhitacittamaññāya,

ajjhupekkheyya tāvade.
/ Evaṃ kālavidū dhīro, kālaññū kālakovido;
/ Kālena kālaṃ cittassa,

nimittamupalakkhayeti.

84 See Vism IV.
42/p.128 and Vibh-a 283:
Api ca ekādasa dhammā samādhi-sambojjhaṅgassa uppādāya saṃvattanti:
vatthuvisadakiriyatā, indriyasamattapaṭipādanatā, nimittakusalatā,

samaye cittassa paggahaṇatā, samaye cittassa niggahaṇatā, samaye sampahaṃsamatā,

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(1) What is the cleansing of the physical basis?
85 In three ways, there is the cleansing of the physical basis, namely, by using suitable ( sappāya), agreeable food, living in an agreeable climate, and keeping agreeable postures.
86

(2) Giving rise to the faculties evenly:
The five faculties of faith, etc. , are not interrupted and there is no indolence.
It is like swift horses [pulling a] chariot.
87

(3) Skill in the sign:
One grasps well the mental sign, i.e., neither too hastily nor too slowly.
88 It is like a skilled carpenter who attends without haste and lets go the inked string well, and thereby marks an even, undeviating line.
89



samaye ajjhupekkhanatā, asamāhitapuggalaparivajjanatā, samāhitapuggalasevanatā,

jhānavimokkha-paccavekkhanatā, tad-adhimuttatā ti.

85 In the Pāli commentaries “cleansing of the basis/site”, 作分明處, is explained quite differently, as cleaning the body and the surroundings, while here it is explained as suitable conditions, sappāya.
See Sv III 793:
Apica satta dhammā passaddhisambojjhaṅgassa uppādāya saṃvattanti paṇītabhojanasevanatā utusukhasevanatā iriyāpathasukhasevanatā

majjhattapayogatā sāraddhakāyapuggalaparivajjanatā passaddhakāyapuggalasevanatā

tadadhimuttatāti.
Paṇītañ-hi siniddhaṃ sappāyabhojanaṃ bhuñjantassāpi, sītuṇhesu ca utūsu ṭhānādīsu ca iriyāpathesu sappāya-utuñca iriyāpathañ-ca sevantassā-pi passaddhi uppajjati.
(≠ Vism IV 60). Vism IV 35/p.127:
Āvāso gocaro bhassaṃ, puggalo bhojanaṃ utu,

iriyāpathoti sattete, asappāye vivajjaye.
Spk I 787, Ps I 290, Vibh-a 276:
Vatthuvisadakiriyā

ti ajjhattikabāhirānaṃ vatthūnaṃ visadabhāvakaraṇaṃ.
Yadā hissa kesanakhalomāni dīghāni honti, sarīraṃ vā ussannadosañceva sedamalamakkhitañ-ca, tadā ajjhattikaṃ

vatthu avisadaṃ hoti aparisuddhaṃ.
Yadā pana cīvaraṃ jiṇṇaṃ kiliṭṭhaṃ duggandhaṃ hoti,

senāsanaṃ vā uklāpaṃ, tadā bāhiravatthu avisadaṃ hoti aparisuddhaṃ.
… Visade pana ajjhattikabāhire vatthumhi uppannesu cittacetasikesu ñāṇam-pi visadaṃ hoti parisuddhāni dīpaka-pallavaṭṭitelāni nissāya uppannadīpasikhāya obhāso viya.
… Cf. Paṭis-a 233:
Kallatākusalatā ti cittaphāsutāya sarīraphāsutāya āhāraphāsutāya senāsanaphāsutāya puggalaphāsutāya ca samādhissa kallatā hotī ti jānāti.

86 These three, in the negative sense and with dwelling places instead of postures, are also at

§ 11 (414a11, see Ch.8 fn. 66), as things to be avoided.

87 遍起諸根觀, lit.
“everywhere giving rise to the faculties of contemplation”.
Apparently Saṅghapāla misunderstood samatta “evenly” in indriyasamattapaṭipādanaṃ as samanta,

“everywhere”.
The Vism has a much longer explanation, which Saṅghapāla might have summarised.
Vism IV.
45–49:
Indriyasamattapaṭipādanaṃ nāma saddhādīnaṃ indriyānaṃ

samabhāvakaraṇaṃ.
Sace hissa saddhindriyaṃ balavaṃ hoti itarāni mandāni, tato vīriyindriyaṃ paggahakiccaṃ, … The equalising of the faculties and the simile of the horse chariot is also found at 407a05:
“the one who evenly [balances the faculties of] energy

[and concentration, and faith and wisdom] with mindfulness, for the purpose of concentration, just like four horses of equal strength pulling a chariot.”

Cf.
S I 26:
… Sārathīva nettāni gahetvā, indriyāni rakkhanti paṇḍitā.
Cf. Dhp 94. Cf. S IV

176;
M III 97;
A III 28.

88 Cf. Th-a I 192:
Tattha cittanimittassa kovido ti bhāvanācittassa nimittaggahaṇe kusalo,

imasmiṃ samaye cittaṃ paggahetabbaṃ, imasmiṃ sampahaṃsitabbaṃ, imasmiṃ

ajjhupekkhitabban-ti evaṃ paggahaṇādiyogyassa cittanimittassa gahaṇe cheko.

89 The ink line is a traditional Asian carpenter’s technique to mark a straight line to be followed by the saw on long pieces of timber that are about to be sawn.
First a string is

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(4) Controlling and subduing90 the mind are [both] of two kinds.

In two ways, one controls ( paggaṇhāti) the mind:
through arousing much energy ( viriya);
[414c] and through controlling excessiveness;
otherwise, the mind goes towards coarseness ( duṭṭhulla?
) or to a different sign, and thus mental distraction is increased.
If the meditator arouses much energy, excessiveness is to be controlled.
91

In two ways, one subdues ( niggaṇhāti) the mind:
through arousing energy and through equalizing [effort] with equipoise.
92 If the mind goes towards coarseness or to a different sign, one increases control over the mind.
One subdues it in two ways:
through considering the numerous kinds of suffering and through considering the results of evil kamma.

(5–7) Subduing indolence ( kosajja) of mind:
in two ways there is indolence of mind:
through not attaining distinction in concentration [and through] causing mental listlessness ( nirassāda) there is indolence.
If there is much indolence, then there is desire to sleep.
If the meditator does not attain distinction in concentration, because of mental listlessness there is indolence.
93

In two ways, one should subdue [indolence]:
namely, through the reflection on the benefits [of concentration] and through the arousing of energy.

wetted with ink and stretched taut about a centimetre above the timber by fastening its ends.
The string is then pulled up and let gone of.
The inked string strikes against the wood below it, leaving a neat, straight marker line.
Western carpenters usually use chalk instead of ink.
In Japan ink lines are called sumi-tsubo.



90 The following methods are related to the Visuddhimagga’s fourfold scheme of exerting the mind, paggaṇhāti, restraining it, niggaṇhāti, encouraging it, sampahaṃseti, and being equanimous to it, ajjhupekkhati.

Vism IV.
5.33333333333333
yasmiṃ samaye cittaṃ paggahetabbaṃ tasmiṃ samaye cittaṃ paggaṇhāti,

yasmiṃ samaye cittaṃ niggahetabbaṃ tasmiṃ samaye cittaṃ niggaṇhāti, yasmiṃ samaye cittaṃ sampahaṃsitabbaṃ tasmiṃ samaye cittaṃ sampahaṃseti, yasmiṃ samaye cittaṃ

ajjhupekkhitabbaṃ tasmiṃ samaye cittaṃ ajjhupekkhati.
Mp III 413:
Yasmiṃ samaye cittaṃ niggaṇhitabban-ti ādīsu uddhaccasamaye cittaṃ samādhinā niggahetabbaṃ

nāma, kosajjānupatitakāle vīriyena paggahetabbaṃ nāma, nirassādagatakāle samādhinā

sampahaṃsitabbaṃ nāma, samappavattakāle bojjhaṅgupekkhāya ajjhupekkhitabbaṃ nāma.

91 This is related to the upakkilesa and to the passage at 413c on overly exerted energy;
overly lax energy;
elation;
and depression.
Cf. Ps IV 208 (on M III 157 ff.
):
Duṭṭhullan-ti mayā vīriyaṃ gāḷhaṃ paggahitaṃ, tena me uppilaṃ uppannan-ti vīriyaṃ sithilamakāsi,

tato kāyadaratho kāyaduṭṭhullaṃ kāyālasiyaṃ udapādi.
Accāraddhavīriyan-ti mama vīriyaṃ

sithilaṃ karoto duṭṭhullaṃ uppannan-ti puna vīriyaṃ paggaṇhato accāraddhavīriyaṃ

udapādi.

92 每中調適.
See Ch.8 fn. 97

93 Probably this passage is corrupt or a mistranslation.

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If there are indolence, sleepiness, and idleness, these should be subdued in four ways.
If one has eaten [too] much [and] grasps the sign of indolence, one changes to practising the four postures;
attends to the sign of light;
94 dwells in the open;
and encourages the mind without becoming further attached.

In three ways, there is listlessness:
through lack of skill, dullness of wisdom, and not attaining the pleasure of stillness.

Hence, if the meditator’s mind is listless, he encourages it in these two ways:
through frightening and through gladdening.
If he considers birth, ageing, death, and the four bad destinations ( duggati), then seeing what is fearful, [his] mind gives rise to urgency.
95

If he practises the recollections of the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Saṅgha, virtue, generosity, and deities, then seeing the benefits of these six ways

[of recollection], his mind gives rise to gladness.

(8) By concentrating the mind and looking on equanimously:

In two ways [the mind becomes concentrated]:
By the abandoning of the hindrances, the mind becomes concentrated in the plane of threshold jhāna.

By the manifestation of the jhāna factors, the mind becomes concentrated in the plane of attainment ( paṭilābhabhūmi).
96

There are two ways [of practice] for the meditator whose mind is concentrated:
He should look on equanimously, without there being stagnation, and [he should]

equalize effort with equipoise.
97



94 Paṭis-a I 102:
Ālokasaññā ti thīnamiddhassa paṭipakkhe ālokanimitte saññā.
Mp III 357:
Ālokasaññan-ti ālokanimitte uppannasaññaṃ.

95 心生愁惱.
The Vism parallel indicates that 愁惱, normally soka-upāyāsa, here corresponds to saṃvega, “urgency”.
Vism IV.
63/p.135:
Kathaṃ yasmiṃ samaye cittaṃ

sampahaṃsitabbaṃ, tasmiṃ samaye cittaṃ sampahaṃseti?
Yadāssa paññāpayogamandatāya vā upasamasukhānadhigamena vā nirassādaṃ cittaṃ hoti, tadā naṃ aṭṭhasaṃvegavatthup accavekkhaṇena saṃvejeti.
Aṭṭha saṃvegavatthūni nāma jātijarābyādhimaraṇāni cattāri,

apāyadukkhaṃ pañcamaṃ, … Buddhadhammasaṅghaguṇānussaraṇena cassa pasādaṃ janeti.

Nidd I 371:
Jātibhayaṃ jarābhayaṃ byādhibhayaṃ maraṇabhayaṃ … duggatibhayaṃ.

96 Cf. Vism IV.
32/p.126:
Dvīhākārehi cittaṃ samādhiyati upacārabhūmiyaṃ vā

paṭilābhabhūmiyaṃ vā.
Tattha upacārabhūmiyaṃ nīvaraṇappahānena cittaṃ samāhitaṃ

hoti.
Paṭilābhabhūmiyaṃ aṅgapātubhāvena.

97 中方便調適故 = payogamajjhatta-samatāya?
Cf. 每中調適 at Vim 414c04 and 以方便不平

at 422b09. Cf. Spk III 121:
Ayañ-hi tatramajjhattupekkhā cittuppādassa līnuddhaccabhāvaṃ

haritvā payogamajjhatte cittaṃ ṭhapeti.
Spk III 155:
Idam-pi upekkhāsambojjhaṅgaratanaṃ

cittuppādaṃ līnuddhaccato mocetvā payogamajjhatte ṭhapayamānaṃ appossukkataṃ karotī

ti pariṇāyakaratanasadisaṃ hoti.
S-ṭ II 398:
Payogamajjhatteti vīriyasamatāya.
Paṭis-a II 475:
Samathabhāvūpagamanena samathapaṭipannassa puna samādāne byāpāraṃ akaronto samathapaṭipannaṃ ajjhupekkhati nāma.

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(9) Avoidance of persons who do not practice concentration:
One should not follow, practise with, and serve persons who do not have absorption concentration, threshold concentration, or restraint concentration.
98

Association with persons who practise concentration:
One should follow, practise with, and serve persons who have absorption concentration, threshold concentration, or restraint concentration.

(10) By intentness upon absorption [concentration]:
The meditator is always intent upon and reveres [absorption concentration] and practises it much, he inclines to it, leans to it, and tends to it.
99

These ten methods are the means for effecting skill in absorption concentration.

Q. How does one give rise to skill in absorption concentration through resolve ( adhiṭṭhāna or adhimokkha)?

A. The meditator who knows well the conditions for the arising [of absorption concentration] goes into seclusion.
[With] the sign upon which he is resolved ( adhimutta), he develops concentration at will and with mastery.
Motivation ( chanda) arises, which causes the mind to become resolved.
100 Due to this

[motivation], the body and mind are able and fit ( kammanīya), which causes

[the mind] to become resolved.
Due to this [fitness], there arises gladness, which causes the mind to become resolved.
Due to [gladness] arises pleasure, which causes the mind to become resolved.
[415a] Due to [pleasure] arises brilliance ( obhāsa), which causes the mind to become resolved.
Due to [brilliance] arises urgency ( saṃvega), which causes the mind to become resolved.
Due to that urgency, the mind becomes calm.
Well exerting that calm mind, the mind becomes resolved.
Thus, well exerting, he looks on equanimously [toward the exertion], which causes the mind to become resolved.
Due to [equanimity,] the mind becomes free from the manifold afflictions and becomes resolved.
Because of the freedom, those [states] accomplish a single essential function.
Because of that single essential function, the mind becomes resolved.
Because of developing that [single essential function], the mind turns away from that [threshold concentration] towards what is [more] excellent.
101



98 威儀定.
Probably this refers to a person who has sense restraint, indriyasaṃvara, or is restrained in conduct.
Cf. Sn-a I 262:
“concentration of postures”, iriyāpathasamādhi.

99 The text has “The meditator, like a deep spring, like a fountain spring and like a low tree,

…”, 如彼深源如彼奔泉如彼低樹, which is a misinterpretation or poetic rendering of samādhininna-samādhipoṇa-samādhipabbhāratā;
see Vism IV.
65/p.135:
Tadadhimuttatā

nāma samādhi-adhimuttatā samādhigaru-samādhininna-samādhipoṇa-samādhipabbhāratā

ti attho.

100 Instead of 令心得起 read 令心得受持.

101 This is based on Paṭis II 23–25, Vism IV.
118/p.149:
Kathaṃ adhimattaṭṭhena indriyāni daṭṭhabbāni?
Saddhindriyassa bhāvanāya chando uppajjati — chandavasena saddhāvasena

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When established in resolve in this manner, he gives rise to skill in absorption concentration.
When he knows well the conditions for the arising [of absorption concentration through] resolve of mind in this manner, before long he will give rise to [absorption] concentration.

8.1 - B. First Jhāna

15 Factors of the first jhāna

The meditator, secluded from sense-pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, dwells having entered upon the first jhāna, which is with thinking and exploring and with rapture and pleasure born of seclusion.
102

This is a benefit of the earth totality.
103



saddhindriyaṃ adhimattaṃ hoti.
Chandavasena pāmojjaṃ uppajjati ….
Pāmojjavasena pīti uppajjati ….
Passaddhivasena sukhaṃ uppajjati ….
Sukhavasena obhāso uppajjati ….

Obhāsavasena saṃvego uppajjati ….
Saṃvejetvā cittaṃ samādahati ….
Tathā samāhitaṃ

cittaṃ sādhukaṃ paggaṇhā ti ….
Tathāpaggahitaṃ cittaṃ sādhukaṃ ajjhupekkhati ….

Upekkhāvasena nānattakilesehi cittaṃ vimuccati ….
Vimuttattā te dhammā ekarasā honti—

ekarasaṭṭhena bhāvanāvasena saddhāvasena saddhindriyaṃ adhimattaṃ hoti.
Bhāvitattā tato paṇītatare vivaṭṭanti.
… Kathaṃ adhiṭṭhānaṭṭhena indriyāni daṭṭhabbāni?
Saddhindriyassa bhāvanāya chando uppajjati chandavasena saddhāvasena saddhindriyaṃ adhiṭṭhāti.

… Vism-mhṭ I 319:
Chando uppajjatī ti bhāvanāya pubbenāparaṃ visesaṃ āvahantiyā

laddhassādattā tattha sātisayo kattukāmatālakkhaṇo kusalacchando uppajjati.
Chandavasenā

ti tathāpavattachandassa vasena savisesaṃ bhāvanamanuyuñjantassa kammaṭṭhānaṃ

vuddhiṃ phātiṃ gamentassa.
Ps-ṭ II 487:
… chandavasenā ti kattukāmatākusalacchanda-vasena saddhādīnaṃ uppādetukāmatākārappavattassa chandassa vasena.

In the last sentence, 修行是故從此勝妙心得增長, Saṅghapāla misunderstood vivaṭṭati

“turns away” as Sanskrit vivardhati, “grows”, 得增長:
“Because of developing that, from this excellence, the mind has growth”.
Cf. Paṭis-a III 546:
Bhāvanāvasenā ti ekarasabhāvanāvasena.
Tato paṇītatare vivaṭṭantī ti tena kāraṇena vipassanārammaṇato paṇītatare nibbānārammaṇe vivaṭṭanānupassanāsaṅkhātena gotrabhuñāṇena chandādayo dhammā

nivattanti, …

102 This quotation has been translated in accordance with the individual words preceding the explanations below and the Pāli parallel at A III 25:
Idha bhikkhave bhikkhu vivicc’ eva kāmehi vivicca akusalehi dhammehi savitakkaṃ savicāraṃ vivekajaṃ pītisukhaṃ paṭhamajjhānaṃ

upasampajja viharati.

In the following pages, the meaning of all the words and phrases as found in the above formulation of the first jhāna will be explained.
The words and phrases such as “Secluded from sense-pleasures” will first be given and then explained.

103 This refrain is found after the definition of each of the four jhānas.
Cf. Vibh 263:
Idha bhikkhu yasmiṃ samaye rūpūpapattiyā maggaṃ bhāveti vivicceva kāmehi … paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ

upasampajja viharati pathavīkasiṇaṃ, tasmiṃ samaye pañcaṅgikaṃ jhānaṃ hoti:
vitakko,

vicāro, pīti, sukhaṃ, cittassekaggatā.


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16 Seclusion from sense-pleasures

“Secluded from sense-pleasures”:
There are three kinds of seclusion ( viveka), i.e., seclusion of the body, seclusion of the mind, and seclusion from the acquisitions.
104

Q.
What is “seclusion of the body”?

A. To be secluded from troubles one departs and dwells on a mountain or in a wilderness.
105

Q.
What is seclusion of the mind?

A. When one attains a superior, wholesome state through purifying the mind.
106

Q.
What is seclusion from acquisitions?

A. When one dwells free from bondage, free from birth and death.
107

Furthermore, there are five kinds of seclusion, namely, seclusion through suspension, seclusion through the [opposite] factor, seclusion through eradication, seclusion through tranquillizing, and seclusion through escaping.
108

Q.
What is seclusion through suspension?

A. Namely, the suspension of the hindrances through the practice of the first jhāna.



104 Nidd I 26:
Vivekā ti tayo vivekā, kāyaviveko, cittaviveko, upadhiviveko.

105 Nidd I 26:
Katamo kāyaviveko?
Idha bhikkhu vivittaṃ senāsanaṃ bhajati araññaṃ

rukkhamūlaṃ pabbataṃ kandaraṃ giriguhaṃ susānaṃ vanapatthaṃ abbhokāsaṃ

palālapuñjaṃ.
Kāyena vivitto viharati.
So eko gacchati, eko tiṭṭhati…

106 Nidd I 27:
… cittaviveko ca parisuddhacittānaṃ paramavodānappattānaṃ … Nidd I 26:
Katamo cittaviveko?
Paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ samāpannassa nīvaraṇehi cittaṃ vivittaṃ hoti.

Dutiyaṃ jhānaṃ … Arahato rūpārūparāgā mānā uddhaccā avijjāya mānānusayā

bhavarāgānusayā avijjānusayā, tadekaṭṭhehi ca kilesehi bahiddhā ca sabbanimittehi cittaṃ

vivittaṃ hoti.
Nidd-a 103:
Cittaviveko ti mahaggatalokuttaracittānaṃ kilesehi suññabhāvo,

tucchabhāvoti attho.
Ud-a 230:
Aṭṭha samāpattiyo pana cittaviveko nāma.

107 Nidd I 27:
Katamo upadhiviveko?
Upadhi vuccanti kilesā ca khandhā ca abhisaṅkhārā ca.

Upadhiviveko vuccati amataṃ nibbānaṃ.
Cf. Sn-a I 298:
Tattha paviveko ti kilesavivekato jātattā aggaphalaṃ vuccati.

108 Paṭis II 220:
Sammādiṭṭhiyā katame pañca vivekā?
Vikkhambhanaviveko tadaṅgaviveko samucchedaviveko paṭippassaddhiviveko nissaraṇaviveko.
Vikkhambhanaviveko ca nīvaraṇānaṃ paṭhamajjhānaṃ bhāvayato, tadaṅgaviveko ca diṭṭhigatānaṃ nibbedhabhāgiyaṃ samādhiṃ bhāvayato, samucchedaviveko ca lokuttaraṃ khayagāmimaggaṃ

bhāvayato, paṭippassaddhiviveko ca phalakkhaṇe, nissaraṇaviveko ca nirodho nibbānaṃ.

See also the five kinds of vimutti at 399c26ff, Ch.1 § 2.

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Q.
What is seclusion through the [opposite] factor?

A. Namely, the suspension of [wrong] views through the practice of concentration partaking of penetration.

Q. What is seclusion through eradication?

A. Namely, the abandoning of afflictions by the practice of the supramundane path.

Q. What is seclusion through tranquillizing?

A. It is the happiness [experienced] at the time when one attains the fruit.

Q. What is seclusion through escaping?

A. Namely, nibbāna.

There are two kinds of sense-pleasures:
sense-pleasures as bases ( vatthu-kāma) and sense-pleasures as afflictions ( kilesa-kāma).

Lovely forms, odours, flavours, and tangibles, heavenly and human — this is called “sense-pleasures as bases”.
The arising of greed for sense-pleasures and [greedy] intentions towards these sense-pleasures as bases — this is called

“sense-pleasures as afflictions”.
109

Hence, the seclusion from these sense-pleasures through seclusion of the mind and seclusion through suspension, the relinquishing of them, the escape from them, the freedom from them, the detachment ( visaṃyoga) from them — this is called “seclusion from sense-pleasures”.

17 Seclusion from unwholesome states

Q.
What is “secluded from unwholesome states”?

A. The three roots of unwholesomeness ( akusalamūla) — greed, hatred, and delusion — the feelings, perceptions, formations, and consciousness associated therewith, and the actions of body, speech, and mind [produced thereby] — these are “unwholesome states”.
110



109 Nidd I 1–2:
Dve kāmā, vatthukāmā ca kilesakāma ca.
Katame vatthukāmā?
Manāpikā rūpā,

… saddā, … gandhā, … rasā, … phoṭṭhabbā;
… dibba kāmā;
… ime vuccanti vatthukāmā.

Katame kilesakāmā?
Chando kāmo … rāgo … chandarāgo … saṅkapparāgo kāmo;
yo kāmesu kāmacchando kāmarāgo … kāmacchandanīvaraṇaṃ … ime vuccanti kilesakāmā.
Mp III 13:
Kāmarāgoti kāme ārabbha uppannarāgo.
Cp. Vism IV.
83

110 Cf. Dhs 179, Vibh 208:
Tīṇi akusalamūlāni:
lobho, doso, moho;
tadekaṭṭhā ca kilesā;

taṃsampayutto vedanākkhandho, … viññāṇakkhandho;
taṃsamuṭṭhānaṃ kāyakammaṃ,

vacīkammaṃ, manokammaṃm ime dhammā akusalā.

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It is said that there are three kinds of unwholesomeness:
(1) intrinsic ( sabhāva);
(2) associated ( sampayutta);
and (3) producing-condition ( janakapaccaya).
111

The three roots of unwholesomeness — that is, greed, hatred, and delusion —

this is called “intrinsic”.

The feelings, perceptions, formations, and consciousness associated therewith

— this is called “associated”.

The actions of body, speech, and mind produced thereby — this is called

“producing-condition”.

The seclusion from these three unwholesome states, the relinquishing of them, the escape from them, the freedom from them, and the detachment from them

— this is called “secluded from unwholesome states”.

Furthermore, “secluded from sense-pleasures” means seclusion from the hindrance of sensual desire ( kāmacchanda).
“Secluded from unwholesome states” is seclusion from the other hindrances.
112 [415b]

Q.
Since seclusion from unwholesome states has already been taught, and sense-pleasures ( kāma), being unwholesome states, are covered by it, why should seclusion from sense-pleasures be taught separately?

A. The opposite of sensual desire is renunciation.
113 What the Buddha said about sense-pleasures can also [be said] of abandoning the afflictions.
The Buddha said:

“Seclusion from sense-pleasures is renunciation”.
114 Likewise:
“For one who



111 生緣性 = janaka-paccaya.
生緣 = janakapaccaya, “producing-condition” elsewhere in Vim.
緣性 can correspond to paccaya and in the explanation below just 緣性 is used.
Cf. Vism-mhṭ I 455:
Janakapaccayo ti samuṭṭhāpakataṃ sandhāya vuttaṃ, paccayo pana kammapaccayova.
Vuttaṃ hi kusalākusalā cetanā vipākānaṃ khandhānaṃ kaṭattā ca rūpānaṃ kammapaccayena paccayo ti.
Paṭṭh 1.1.13:
Kammapaccayo ti kusalākusalaṃ

kammaṃ vipākānaṃ khandhānaṃ kaṭattā ca rūpānaṃ kammapaccayena paccayo.
Cetanā

sampayuttakānaṃ dhammānaṃ taṃsamuṭṭhānānañ-ca rūpānaṃ kammapaccayena paccayo.

(Cf. Vism XVII.
87/p.538.)

112 Vibh 256:
Vivicc’ eva kāmehi vivicca akusalehi dhammehī ti:
tattha katame kāmā?
Chando kāmo, … saṅkapparāgo kāmo:
ime vuccanti kāmā.
Tattha katame akusalā dhammā?

Kāmacchando vyāpādo thīnamiddhaṃ uddhaccakukkuccaṃ vicikicchā:
ime vuccanti akusalā dhammā.
Cf. Vism IV.
87/p.141:
Vivicca akusalehi dhammehī ti iminā pañcannam pi nīvaraṇānaṃ, agahitaggahaṇena pana paṭhamena kāmacchandassa, dutiyena sesanīvaraṇānaṃ.

113 Peṭ 160:
Tattha kāmacchandassa nekkhammavitakko paṭipakkho.
Paṭis-a I 103:
Nekkhamman-ti kāmacchandassa paṭipakkho alobho.

114 D III 275;
It 61;
Paṭis I 27;
II 244:
kāmānam-etaṃ nissaraṇaṃ yad-idaṃ nekkhammaṃ.

Cf. A III 245:
… nekkhammaṃ kho panassa manasikaroto nekkhamme cittaṃ pakkhandati

… vimuccati.
Tassa taṃ cittaṃ sukataṃ … suvisaṃyuttaṃ kāmehi, ye ca kāmapaccayā

uppajjanti āsavā vighātapariḷāhā, mutto so tehi, na so taṃ vedanaṃ vediyati.
Idam akkhātaṃ

kāmānaṃ nissaranaṃ.

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obtains the first jhāna, perception and attending connected to sense-pleasures occurs — this is a state partaking of falling back”.
115 Therefore, sense-pleasures are connected with afflictions.
If there is seclusion from sense-pleasures, there is also seclusion from all afflictions.
Therefore, “secluded from sense-pleasures” is taught separately.

Furthermore, “secluded from sense-pleasures” means:
Having gained escape,116

there is seclusion from sense-pleasures.

“Secluded from unwholesome states”:
When one gains non-ill will, there is seclusion from ill will;
when one gains the sign of light, there is seclusion from sloth and torpor;
when one gains undistractedness, there is seclusion from agitation ( uddhacca);
when one gains non-remorse, there is seclusion from worry ( kukkucca);
117 when one gains absorption concentration,118 there is seclusion from doubt;
when one gains wisdom, there is seclusion from ignorance;
when one gains right intention, there is seclusion from wrong mindfulness;
when one gains gladness, there is seclusion from boredom;
when one gains pleasure of mind, there is seclusion from suffering;
when one gains all wholesome states, there is seclusion from all unwholesomeness.
119



115 Paṭis I 35:
Paṭhamassa jhānassa lābhiṃ kāmasahagatā saññāmanasikārā samudācaranti

—hānabhāgiyo dhammo.
S IV 262:
So khvāhaṃ, āvuso, vivicceva kāmehi vivicca …

paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ upasampajja viharāmi.
Tassa mayhaṃ, āvuso, iminā vihārena viharato kāmasahagatā saññāmanasikārā samudācaranti.
… Mā, brāhmaṇa, paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ pamādo,

paṭhame jhāne cittaṃ saṇṭhapehi, ….
Spk III 89:
Kāmasahagatā ti pañcanīvaraṇasahagatā.

Tassa hi paṭhamajjhānavuṭṭhitassa pañca nīvaraṇāni santato upaṭṭhahiṃsu.
Tenassa taṃ

paṭhamajjhānaṃ hānabhāgiyaṃ nāma ahosi.

116 已得出成離欲.
The character 出 could correspond to nikkhamana, “departing, leaving, renouncing”, nekkhamma, “renunciation” or nissaraṇa, “departure, escape”.
Cf. Mp III 371:
Kāmehi nekkhammaratan-ti duvidhehi kāmehi nikkhantattā pabbajjā aṭṭha samāpattiyo cattāro ca ariyamaggā kāmehi nekkhammaṃ nāma, … Nidd-a I 103:
Nekkhamma-abhiratānan-ti nekkhamme kāmādito nikkhante paṭhamajjhānādike abhiratānaṃ ….
Cf. Paṭis II 244:
Nekkhamman-ti kāmānametaṃ nissaraṇaṃ, yadidaṃ nekkhammaṃ.

117 Perhaps “when one gains non-worry (不悔), there is seclusion from worry (悔)”.
悔 can correspond to kukkucca as well as avippaṭisāra.
In the Pāli Canon the meaning of the two is close;
e.g., A I 237:
ahudeva kukkuccaṃ ahu vippaṭisāro:
alābhā vata me ….
Cf. Peṭ 138:
… uddhaccaṃ samathato nivārayati, kukkuccaṃ avippaṭisārato nivārayati,

vicikicchā paññāto paṭiccasamuppādato nivārayati.

118 安定 = appanā or appanā-samādhi.
The Paṭisambhidāmagga parallel — see next note —

instead has “definition of states”, dhammavavatthānena.

119 Cf. Paṭis I 100:
… nekkhammena kāmacchandaṃ sammā samucchindati.
Abyāpādena byāpādaṃ ….
Ālokasaññāya thīnamiddhaṃ … Avikkhepena uddhaccaṃ … Dhammavavatthānena vicikicchaṃ … Ñāṇena avijjaṃ … Pāmojjena aratiṃ … Paṭhamena jhānena nīvaraṇe …

arahattamaggena sabbakilese sammā samucchindati.

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As is taught in the Peṭaka:
120 “By fulfilling non-greed, there is seclusion from sense-pleasures.
By fulfilling non-hatred and non-delusion, there is seclusion from unwholesome states”.
121

Furthermore, seclusion from sense-pleasures is taught as seclusion of the body, and seclusion from unwholesome states is taught as the seclusion of the mind.

Furthermore, seclusion from sense-pleasures is taught as the abandoning of sensual thoughts ( kāma-vitakka), and the seclusion from unwholesome states is taught as the abandoning of thoughts of hate and harm ( byāpāda and vihiṃsa).

Furthermore, seclusion from sense-pleasures is taught as the shunning of sensual-pleasure ( kāmasukha), and seclusion from unwholesome states is taught as the shunning of the pursuit of exhausting oneself ( attakilamathānuyoga).
122

Furthermore, seclusion from sense-pleasures is taught as the abandoning of the six kinds of joy and pleasure dependent upon worldly enjoyment.
Seclusion from unwholesome states is taught as the abandoning of the [six kinds of] distress and pain dependent upon worldly enjoyment;
also it is taught as the abandoning of the [six kinds of] equanimity dependent upon worldly enjoyment.
123



120 On the Peṭaka or Peṭakopadesa;
see Introduction § 6.

121 Peṭ 141:
Tattha alobhassa pāripūriyā vivitto hoti kāmehi.
Tattha adosassa pāripūriyā

amohassa pāripūriyā ca vivitto hoti pāpākehi akusalehi dhammehi.

122 Cf. S IV 330, V 420:
Dve’me … antā pabbajitena na sevitabbā:
yo cāyaṃ kāmesu kāmasukhallikānuyogo hīno gammo pothujjaniko anariyo anatthasaṃhito, yo cāyaṃ

attakilamathānuyogo dukkho anariyo anatthasaṃhito.
Ete te … ubho ante anupagamma …

123 斷於六戲笑及歡喜樂 … 斷戲覺及憂苦等 … 斷於戲笑及捨, lit.
“abandoning dependent on/towards six merriment(s) and (及) joy(s) and pleasure(s) … abandoning merriment, thought and distress and pains (等 = plural) … abandoning dependent on merriment and equanimity”.
The binome 戲笑 elsewhere corresponds to pahāsa, “merriment”, but given the Pāli parallels, here it appears to be an interpretation of gehasita “dependent on the household life/worldliness”.
See also Ch.11 § 18 and Ch.11 fn. 74

S IV 232. M III 217:
Cha gehasitāni somanassāni, cha nekkhammasitāni somanassāni,

cha gehasitāni domanassāni, cha nekkhammasitāni domanassāni, cha gehasitā

upekkhā, cha nekkhammasitā upekkhā.
Spk III 82:
Cha gehasitāni somanassānī ti ādīsu cakkhuviññeyyānaṃ rūpānaṃ iṭṭhānaṃ … lokāmisapaṭisaṃyuttānaṃ paṭilābhaṃ vā paṭilābhato samanupassato pubbe vā paṭiladdhapubbaṃ atītaṃ niruddhaṃ vipariṇataṃ samanussarato uppajjati somanassaṃ.
Yaṃ evarūpaṃ somanassaṃ, idaṃ vuccati gehasitaṃ somanassan-ti.
Evaṃ chasu dvāresu vuttakāmaguṇanissitāni somanassāni cha gehasitasomanassāni nāma.
… Cakkhuviññeyyānaṃ rūpānaṃ iṭṭhānaṃ … appaṭilābhato samanupassato …

vipariṇataṃ samanussarato uppajjati domanassaṃ.
Yaṃ evarūpaṃ domanassaṃ, idaṃ vuccati gehasitaṃ domanassanti.
Evaṃ chasu dvāresu iṭṭhārammaṇaṃ nānubhavissāmi nānubhavāmī ti vitakkayato uppannāni kāmaguṇanissitadomanassāni cha gehasita-domanassāni nāma.
… Cakkhunā rūpaṃ disvā uppajjati upekkhā bālassa mūḷhassa puthujjanassa … Yā evarūpā upekkhā, rūpaṃ sā nātivattati, tasmā sā upekkhā gehasitā ti vuccatī ti …

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Furthermore, seclusion from sense-pleasures is obtaining the pleasure of going beyond sense-pleasures,124 and seclusion from unwholesome states is obtaining the pleasure of blamelessness of mind.

Furthermore, seclusion from sense-pleasures is to go beyond the torrent of sense-pleasures ( kāmogha) entirely.
Seclusion from unwholesome states is the transcending of all other afflictions that give rise to rebirth in sensuous existence ( kāmabhava), and [instead there is] rebirth in the material sphere.
125

[This is called “secluded from unwholesome states”.
]

18 Thinking and exploring

“With thinking and exploring”:

Q.
What is “thinking”?

A. The diverse kinds of thinking, intention ( saṅkappa), fixing ( appanā), considering ( cintana), implanting ( abhiniropana), and right intention — this is called “thinking”.
126

Because of being endowed with thinking, the first jhāna is with thinking.

Furthermore, when one who has entered upon the earth totality [attainment]

depending on the sign of earth, there is continuous ( anantara) thought and intention, which is called thinking.
127 It is like mentally reciting a discourse.

Q. What are the characteristic, essential function, manifestation, and footing of thinking?



124 Ud 10:
Sukhā virāgatā loke, kāmānaṃ samatikkamo.

125 所餘煩惱應生欲有而生色界.
This could mean that the seclusion from unwholesome states prevents rebirth in the sensuous realm, and instead leads to rebirth in the material sphere.

Cf. Paṭis I 84:
… kāmāvacare dhamme kusalato vavattheti, akusalato vavattheti, abyākatato vavattheti.
Kathaṃ rūpāvacare dhamme kusalato vavattheti, abyākatato vavattheti?

Idhaṭṭhassa cattāri jhānāni kusalato vavattheti, tatrūpapannassa cattāri jhānāni abyākatato vavattheti ….
Vibh 266:
… paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ upasampajja viharati pathavīkasiṇaṃ, tasmiṃ

samaye phasso hoti … pe … avikkhepo hoti.
Ime dhammā kusalā.
Tasseva rūpāvacarassa kusalassa kammassa katattā upacitattā vipākaṃ vivicceva kāmehi … pe… paṭhamaṃ

jhānaṃ upasampajja viharati ….

126 心不覺知入正思惟 literally is “the mind not thinking [and] knowing enters upon right thought”.
Saṅghapāla probably misunderstood abhiniropana as a-viniropana.

Vibh 257, Dhs § 7:
Yo takko vitakko saṅkappo appanā vyappanā cetaso abhiniropanā

sammāsaṅkappo—ayaṃ vuccati vitakko.
Cf. M III 73.

127 無間成覺思惟, or “immediate thinking and mentation”.

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A.
[…]128 Developing tranquil perception [of the sign] is its essential function.

The inclining of the mind’s attention [to the sign] is its manifestation.
The sign is its footing.

Q. What is “exploring”?

A. Roaming, exploring, reflection, investigation, mental connecting, and contemplating — this is called exploring.
129

Due to being endowed with this, the first jhāna is with exploring.
[415c]

Furthermore, when one who has entered upon the earth totality attainment due to developing the sign of earth, the mind reaches the state of exploring.
Like contemplating the meaning [of what is recited], so is exploring.
130

Q.
What are the characteristic, essential function, manifestation, and footing of exploring?

A. Exploring has reflection ( anuvicāra) as its characteristic.
Causing mental tranquillity ( cittapassaddhi) is its essential function.
The contemplation of thinking is its footing.
131

19 The difference between thinking and exploring

Q.
What is the difference between thinking and exploring?

A. It is like the striking of a bell:
The first sound is thinking;
the after sound

[i.e., reverberation] is exploring.
132



128 The explanation of the “characteristic” is missing in the Chinese.
Cf. Vism IV.
88/p.142:

Svāyaṃ ārammaṇe cittassa abhiniropanalakkhaṇo, āhananapariyāhananaraso.


Ārammaṇe cittassa ānayanapaccupaṭṭhāno.
“The implanting of the mind on the object is its characteristic, the striking and knocking against [the object] is its essential function.


The directing of the mind to the object is its manifestation.”
In the text the footing is 想

“perception”, saññā, but this character is often confused with 相, “sign”, nimitta.
No footing is given in the Pāli.
Cf. Hayashi, 1999:
35

129 於修觀時隨觀所擇心住隨捨.
The Chinese could literally be translated as “by practising exploring, consequently to the exploring, the mind dwells following equanimously that

[sign] which it has selected …” but the passage is a translation of Vibh 256 & Dhs § 8:
Yo cāro vicāro anuvicāro upavicāro cittassa anusandhanatā anupekkhanatā — ayaṃ vuccati vicāro.

130 如觀諸義為觀.
Presumably exploring the meaning of Suttas (as mentioned above in the simile of vitakka).

131 Cf. Vism IV.
88 / p.
5.91666666666667
Svāyaṃ ārammaṇānumajjanalakkhaṇo, tattha sahajātānuyo-janaraso, cittassa anuppabandhanapaccupaṭṭhāno.

132 Cf. Vism IV.
89/ p.
5.91666666666667
… oḷārikaṭṭhena pubbaṅgamaṭṭhena ca ghaṇḍābhighāto viya cetaso paṭhamābhinipāto vitakko.
Sukhumaṭṭhena anumajjanasabhāvena ca ghaṇḍānuravo viya anuppabandho vicāro.

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Furthermore, it is like the mind’s object ( ārammaṇa):
first there is thinking

[about the object];
afterwards there is exploring [the object].

Furthermore, seeking jhāna is thinking;
guarding it is exploring.

Furthermore, to recollect is thinking;
not to abandon [what is recollected] is exploring.

Furthermore, the retaining of a coarse mind is thinking and the retaining of a refined mind is exploring.

Where there is thinking, there is exploring, but where there is exploring, there may or may not be thinking.

As is taught in the Peṭaka:
133 “The first directing ( abhinipāta) of the mind to an object is thinking.
The investigation of what is obtained [by] thinking is exploring.
134 Thinking is like seeing a person coming from the distance, without knowing whether it is a man or woman and then [when the person has arrived]

knowing that it is a male or a female with such a colour and such a shape.

Exploring is when thereafter one investigates whether [the person] is virtuous or unvirtuous, is rich or poor.
135 Thinking seeks [a thing], draws it, and brings it near.

Exploring keeps it, holds it, and goes after it.”
136

“Like a bird which takes off into the sky from a mound exerts its wings, so is thinking;
like the gliding [of the bird in the sky] so is exploring.
Like the first spreading [of the wings], so is thinking;
like the continued spreading [of the wings], so is exploring.”
137



133 三藏, = Tipiṭaka, i.e., the Peṭakopadesa abbreviated as Peṭaka;
see Introduction § 6.

What follows is a long quotation from Peṭ 142–43.

134 得覺未定是觀.
Lit.:
“obtained thought not yet fixed/settled is …”.
This is a mis-interpretation of the passage in the Peṭaka parallel, see below:
Tattha paṭhamābhinipāto vitakko, paṭiladdhassa vicaraṇaṃ vicāro.
Ñāṇamoli’s translation, (1964:
190):
“Herein, ‘thinking’ is the first instance while ‘exploring’ is the exploration of what is got thus”.

135 Read 富貴貧賤.

136 Peṭ 142:
Tattha paṭhamābhinipāto vitakko, paṭiladdhassa vicaraṇaṃ vicāro.
Yathā puriso dūrato purisaṃ passati āgacchantaṃ na ca tāva jānāti — eso itthi ti vā puriso ti vā.
Yadā

tu paṭilabhati:
itthi ti vā puriso ti vā evaṃvaṇṇo ti vā evaṃsaṇṭhāno ti vā, ime vitakkayanto uttari upaparikkhanti:
kiṃ nu kho ayaṃ sīlavā udāhu dussīlo aḍḍho vā duggato ti vā?

Evaṃ vicāro vitakke apeti vicāro cariyati ca anuvattati ca.
Cf. Vism IV.
89/p.142 above.

137 Peṭ 142:
Yathā pakkhī pubbaṃ āyūhati pacchā nāyūhati yathā āyūhanā evaṃ vitakko,

yathā pakkhānaṃ pasāraṇaṃ evaṃ vicāro.
Vism IV.
89/p.142:
Vipphāravā cettha vitakko

… ākāse uppatitukāmassa pakkhino pakkhavikkhepo viya ….
Santavutti vicāro … ākāse uppatitassa pakkhino pakkhappasāraṇaṃ viya, ….

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“Through thinking one ma