English
“Just as, young man, in a pond of blue lotuses, or white lotuses, or red lotuses, some blue lotuses, or white lotuses, or red lotuses, born in the water, grown in the water, remaining submerged, nourished from within, are pervaded, permeated, filled, and suffused from their tips to their roots with cool water, and there is no part of the entire lotus Or of lotuses, or of white lotuses, untouched by cool water. Just so, young man, a monk… And also, young man, a monk, with the fading of rapture… enters and dwells in the third jhana. He pervades, permeates, fills, and suffuses this very body with happiness free from rapture. Not a single part of his whole body is untouched by happiness free from rapture. This is his concentration. Furthermore, young man, a monk, with the abandoning of pleasure and the abandoning of pain, and with the previous disappearance of joy and sorrow, enters and dwells in the fourth jhana, which is neither painful nor pleasant, and is purified by equanimity and mindfulness. He sits pervading this very body with a pure, bright mind; not a single part of his whole body is untouched by that pure, bright mind. Just as, young man, a man might sit wrapped from head to foot in a clean, white cloth; not a single part of his whole body would be untouched by that clean, white cloth. Just so, young man, a monk… And also, young man, a monk, with the abandoning of pleasure and the abandoning of pain, and with the previous disappearance of joy and sorrow, enters and dwells in the fourth jhana, which is neither painful nor pleasant, and is purified by equanimity and mindfulness. He sits pervading this very body with a pure, bright mind; not a single part of his whole body is untouched by that pure, bright mind. This is his concentration. This, young man, is that noble aggregate of concentration of which the Blessed One spoke highly, and in which he encouraged, established, and settled this populace. "And there is still more to be done here." "Wonderful, venerable Ananda, amazing, venerable Ananda! And this noble aggregate of concentration, venerable Ananda, is complete, not incomplete. And I, venerable Ananda, this noble aggregate of concentration, so complete, from this… Outside, among other ascetics and brahmins, I do not perceive it. And if, good Ānanda, other ascetics and brahmins outside this teaching were to perceive such a complete noble aggregate of concentration in themselves, they would be content with just that – ‘Enough is this, done is this, our ascetic goal is attained, there is nothing further for us to do.’ Yet, good Ānanda says this – ‘There is still something further to be done here.’ The Aggregate of Wisdom 472. "But what, good Ānanda, is that noble aggregate of wisdom, of which good Gotama was an advocate, and in which he encouraged, established, and settled this populace?" He, with his mind thus concentrated, purified, bright, unblemished, rid of defilements, pliant, workable, steady, attained to imperturbability, directs and inclines his mind to 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, impermanent, subject to rubbing, massaging, breaking up, and disintegration; and this consciousness of mine is dependent on it, bound to it.’ Just as, young man, a beryl gem, beautiful, of good origin, eight-faceted, well-polished, clear, pure, unclouded, perfect in all its aspects. And in it, a thread might be strung, blue, or yellow, or red, or white, or tawny. A man with good sight, taking it in his hand, would examine it – ‘This beryl gem is beautiful, of good origin, eight-faceted, well-polished, clear, pure, unclouded, perfect in all its aspects. And in it, this thread is strung, blue, or yellow, or red, or white, or tawny.’ Even so, young man, a monk, with his mind thus concentrated, purified, bright, unblemished, rid of defilements, pliant, workable, steady, attained to imperturbability, directs and inclines his mind to knowledge and vision. He thus understands – ‘This body of mine is material, made of the four great elements, born of mother and father... Existence is an accumulation of rice and gruel, a nature of impermanent anointing, rubbing, breaking, and destruction. And this consciousness of mine is here established, here bound. And when, young man, a monk, with his mind thus concentrated, ... having reached imperturbability, directs and inclines his mind to knowledge and vision. He thus understands... ...here bound. This too is his wisdom. 473. He, with his mind thus concentrated, purified, cleansed, spotless, rid of defilements, pliant, workable, steady, having reached imperturbability, directs and inclines his mind for the creation of a mind-made body. He creates another body from this body, having form, mind-made, complete in all its parts, with unimpaired faculties. Just as, young man, a man might draw a reed from its sheath. He would think thus: ‘This is the sheath, this is the reed; the sheath is one, the reed is another; but the reed has been drawn from the sheath.’ Or again, young man, a man might draw a sword from its scabbard. He would think thus: ‘This is the sword, this is the scabbard; the sword is one, the scabbard is another; but the sword has been drawn from the scabbard.’ Or again, young man, a man might draw a snake from a basket. He would think thus: ‘This is the snake, this is the basket; the snake is one, the basket is another; but the snake has been drawn from the basket.’ Just so, young man, a monk... ... And when, young man, a monk, with his mind thus concentrated, purified, cleansed, spotless, rid of defilements, pliant, workable, steady, having reached imperturbability, directs and inclines his mind for the creation of a mind-made body... ... This too is his wisdom. 474. He, with his mind thus concentrated, purified, cleansed, spotless, rid of defilements, pliant, workable, steady, having reached imperturbability, directs and inclines his mind for the various kinds of supernormal powers. He experiences various kinds of supernormal powers. Being one, he becomes many; being many, he becomes one. He appears and vanishes, goes unhindered through walls, through ramparts, through mountains... He goes unhindered, as if in space. He emerges and submerges in the earth, as if in water. He goes through water unhindered, as if on earth. He walks cross-legged in the sky, as if a winged bird. He touches and strokes these sun and moon, so mighty, so powerful, with his hand. He exercises mastery with his body, even up to the Brahma-world. Just as, young man, a skillful potter or a potter's apprentice, with well-prepared clay, would make and produce whatever kind of vessel he desires. Or just as, young man, a skillful ivory carver or an ivory carver's apprentice, with well-prepared ivory, would make and produce whatever kind of ivory carving he desires. Or just as, young man, a skillful goldsmith or a goldsmith's apprentice, with well-prepared gold, would make and produce whatever kind of gold ornament he desires. Even so, young man, a bhikkhu… And when, young man, a bhikkhu, with his mind thus concentrated, purified, bright, unblemished, rid of defilements, pliant, workable, steadfast, attained to imperturbability, directs and inclines his mind to the various kinds of psychic power. He experiences various kinds of psychic power: being one, he becomes many… he exercises mastery with his body, even up to the Brahma-world. This is also his wisdom. With his mind thus concentrated… attained to imperturbability, he directs and inclines his mind to the divine ear element. With the divine ear element, purified and surpassing that of humans, he hears both kinds of sounds, divine and human, those far and those near. Just as, young man, a man traveling on a road, might hear the sound of a drum, the sound of a tabor, the sound of a conch, a cymbal, and a kettle-drum. He would think: "This is the sound of a drum, this is the sound of a tabor, this is the sound of a conch, a cymbal, and a kettle-drum." Even so, young man, a bhikkhu... And further, young man, a bhikkhu, with his mind thus concentrated, purified, cleansed, without blemish, rid of defilements, malleable, wieldy, steady, attained to imperturbability, directs and inclines his mind to the divine ear element. With the divine ear element, purified and surpassing that of humans, he hears both kinds of sounds, divine and human, those far and those near. This too is a matter of his wisdom. 476. With his mind thus concentrated, purified, cleansed, without blemish, rid of defilements, malleable, wieldy, steady, attained to imperturbability, he directs and inclines his mind to the knowledge of the minds of others. He comprehends with his mind 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 ‘a mind with delusion’, he knows a mind without delusion as ‘a mind without delusion’, he knows a constricted mind as ‘a constricted mind’, he knows a distracted mind as ‘a distracted mind’, he knows an exalted mind as ‘an exalted mind’, he knows an unexalted mind as ‘an unexalted mind’, he knows a surpassable mind as ‘a surpassable mind’, he knows an unsurpassable mind as ‘an unsurpassable mind’, he knows a concentrated mind as ‘a concentrated mind’, he knows an unconcentrated mind as ‘an unconcentrated mind’, he knows a liberated mind as ‘a liberated mind’, he knows an unliberated mind as ‘an unliberated mind’.