English
“Furthermore, great king, with the abandoning of pleasure and pain, and with the prior disappearance of joy and sorrow, the bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the fourth jhāna, which is neither painful nor pleasant, and is purified by equanimity and mindfulness. He sits, having suffused this very body with a pure, bright mind, so that there is no part of his entire body that is not suffused with a pure, bright mind. 233. “Just as, great king, a man might sit, having covered his head with a white cloth, so that there is no part of his entire body that is not suffused by the white cloth; even so, great king, the bhikkhu sits, having suffused this very body with a pure, bright mind, so that there is no part of his entire body that is not suffused by a p By a mind purified, cleansed, it is untouched. This too, great king, is a visible fruit of recluseship, more excellent and more sublime than the former visible fruits of recluseship. Insight Knowledge He, great king, with his mind thus composed, purified, cleansed, without blemish, rid of defilements, soft, pliable, steady, immovable, directs and inclines his mind to the knowledge and vision. He thus understands: ‘This body of mine is material, made of the four great elements, born of mother and father, fed on rice and gruel, subject to impermanence, to rubbing, to massaging, to breaking up, to dissolution; and this consciousness of mine is bound up with it, tied to it.’ Just as, great king, a beryl gem, beautiful, of excellent water, eight-faceted, well-cut, clear, pure, unclouded, perfect in all its aspects. And through it a thread is strung, blue or yellow or red or white or tawny. A man with good sight, taking it in his hand, would examine it thus: ‘This beryl gem is beautiful, of excellent water, eight-faceted, well-cut, clear, pure, unclouded, perfect in all its aspects; and through it this thread is strung, blue or yellow or red or white or tawny.’ Even so, great king, the bhikkhu, with his mind thus composed, purified, cleansed, without blemish, rid of defilements, soft, pliable, steady, immovable, directs and inclines his mind to the knowledge and vision. He thus understands: ‘This body of mine is material, made of the four great elements, born of mother and father, fed on rice and gruel, subject to impermanence, to rubbing, to massaging, to breaking up, to dissolution; and this consciousness of mine is bound up with it, tied to it.’ This too, great king, is a visible fruit of recluseship, more excellent and more sublime than the former visible fruits of recluseship. Mind-made Body Knowledge of psychic power 236. With his mind thus concentrated, purified, cleansed, unblemished, rid of defilements, malleable, workable, steady, and imperturbable, he directs and inclines his mind to creating a mind-made body. He creates from this body another body, having form, mind-made, complete in all its limbs and parts, not lacking in any faculty. 237. Just as, great king, a man might draw a reed from its sheath. He would think: ‘This is the reed, this is the sheath. The reed is one thing, the sheath is another. But the reed has been drawn from the sheath.’ Or just as, great king, a man might draw a sword from its scabbard. He would think: ‘This is the sword, this is the scabbard. The sword is one thing, the scabbard is another. But the sword has been drawn from the scabbard.’ Or just as, great king, a man might draw a snake from a basket. He would think: ‘This is the snake, this is the basket. The snake is one thing, the basket is another. But the snake has been drawn from the basket.’ In the same way, great king, with his mind thus concentrated, purified, cleansed, unblemished, rid of defilements, malleable, workable, steady, and imperturbable, the monk directs and inclines his mind to creating a mind-made body. He creates from this body another body, having form, mind-made, complete in all its limbs and parts, not lacking in any faculty. This, great king, is also a visible fruit of recluseship, more excellent and sublime than the former visible fruits of recluseship. Knowledge of various psychic powers 238. With his mind thus concentrated, purified, cleansed, unblemished, rid of defilements, malleable, workable, steady, and imperturbable, he directs and inclines his mind to various kinds of psychic power. He experiences various kinds of psychic power: being one, he becomes many; being many, he becomes one; he appears and vanishes; he goes unimpeded through walls, through ramparts, through mountains, as if through space. In space. Even in the earth, he dives in and out, just as in water. Even in water, he walks without breaking, just as on earth. Even in the sky, he travels cross-legged, just as a winged bird. Even these moon and sun, so mighty, so powerful, he touches and strokes with his hand. Even up to the Brahma-world, he exercises mastery with his body. 239. Just as, O great king, a skilled potter, or a potter's apprentice, with well-prepared clay, whatever kind of vessel he wishes, that he would make and accomplish. Or just as, O great king, a skilled ivory carver, or an ivory carver's apprentice, with well-prepared ivory, whatever kind of ivory object he wishes, that he would make and accomplish. Or just as, O great king, a skilled goldsmith, or a goldsmith's apprentice, with well-prepared gold, whatever kind of gold ornament he wishes, that he would make and accomplish. Even so, O great king, a monk, with his mind thus concentrated, purified, cleansed, unblemished, rid of defilements, supple, workable, firm, and imperturbable, directs and inclines his mind to the various kinds of psychic power. He experiences various kinds of psychic power: being one, he becomes many; being many, he becomes one; he appears and vanishes; he goes unhindered through walls, through ramparts, through mountains, as if through space. Even in the earth, he dives in and out, just as in water. Even in water, he walks without breaking, just as on earth. Even in the sky, he travels cross-legged, just as a winged bird. Even these moon and sun, so mighty, so powerful, he touches and strokes with his hand. Even up to the Brahma-world, he exercises mastery with his body. This too, O great king, is a visible fruit of recluseship, more excellent and more sublime than the previous visible fruits of recluseship. Divine Ear Knowledge 240. He, with his mind thus concentrated, purified, bright, unblemished, rid of defilements, pliable, workable, steady, unshakable, directs and inclines his mind to the divine ear element. With the divine ear element, purified and surpassing human hearing, he hears both kinds of sounds, divine and human, those far and those near. 241. Just as, great king, a man on a journey might hear the sound of a drum, the sound of a tabor, the sound of a conch, a kettle-drum, a tom-tom. He would know: ‘That is the sound of a drum,’ ‘That is the sound of a tabor,’ ‘That is the sound of a conch, a kettle-drum, a tom-tom.’ Even so, great king, the bhikkhu, with his mind thus concentrated, purified, bright, unblemished, rid of defilements, pliable, workable, steady, unshakable, directs and inclines his mind to the divine ear element. With the divine ear element, purified and surpassing human hearing, he hears both kinds of sounds, divine and human, those far and those near. This too, great king, is a visible fruit of recluseship, more excellent and sublime than the previous visible fruits of recluseship. Knowledge of Penetrating the Minds of Others 242. He, with his mind thus concentrated, purified, bright, unblemished, rid of defilements, pliable, workable, steady, unshakable, directs and inclines his mind to the knowledge of penetrating the minds of others. He, by his own mind, encompasses and knows the minds of other beings, other persons: He knows a mind with lust as ‘a mind with lust’. He knows a mind without lust as ‘a mind without lust’. He knows a mind with hatred as ‘a mind with hatred’. He knows a mind without hatred as ‘a mind without hatred’. He knows a mind with delusion as… He knows a deluded mind as 'a deluded mind', or a mind free from delusion as 'a mind free from delusion', or a constricted mind as 'a constricted mind', or a distracted mind as 'a distracted mind', or an exalted mind as 'an exalted mind', or an unexalted mind as 'an unexalted mind', or a surpassable mind as 'a surpassable mind', or an unsurpassable mind as 'an unsurpassable mind', or a concentrated mind as 'a concentrated mind', or an unconcentrated mind as 'an unconcentrated mind', or a liberated mind as 'a liberated mind', or an unliberated mind as 'an unliberated mind'. 243. Just as, great king, a woman or a man, young, youthful, fond of adornment, looking at their own face-image in a clean, pure mirror or in a clear bowl of water, would know a blemish as 'a blemish', or no blemish as 'no blemish'; even so, great king, a bhikkhu, with his mind thus concentrated, purified, cleansed, without defilement, rid of corruptions, pliable, workable, steady, attained to imperturbability, directs and inclines his mind to the knowledge of others' minds. He understands the minds of other beings, other persons, having encompassed them with his own mind: He knows a mind with lust as 'a mind with lust', or a mind free from lust as 'a mind free from lust', or a mind with hatred as 'a mind with hatred', or a mind free from hatred as 'a mind free from hatred', or a mind with delusion as 'a mind with delusion', or a mind free from delusion as 'a mind free from delusion', or a constricted mind as 'a constricted mind', or a distracted mind as 'a distracted mind', or an exalted mind as 'an exalted mind', or an unexalted mind as 'an unexalted mind'. Or a mind with a higher state, 'a mind with a higher state' he understands. Or a mind unsurpassed, 'a mind unsurpassed' he understands. Or a concentrated mind, 'a concentrated mind' he understands. Or an unconcentrated mind,