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a designation of protection for wholesome states, a designation of persistence for the training in higher mind. Therefore, the Blessed One said: "He who saw suffering, from whence it arises." The world is bound by delusion, it appears as if it were beautiful. The fool is bound by attachments, surrounded by darkness. It appears as if it were without splendor, for one who sees, there is nothing. "The world is bound by delusion" is a designation of teaching for perversions. "It appears as if it were beautiful" is a designation of the world as its opposite. "The fool is bound by attachments" The designation of origin for evil intentions, the designation of function for obsessions. The designation of strength for defilements. The designation of growth for formations. "Enveloped in darkness" is the designation of teaching for the darkness of ignorance, and also a synonym designation. "Appears as if without splendor" is the designation of vision for the divine eye, the designation of abandonment for the eye of wisdom. "For one who sees, there is nothing" is the designation of penetration for beings; greed is something, hatred is something, delusion is something. Therefore the Blessed One said, "The world is bound by delusion." "There is, monks, the unborn, unbecome, unmade, unconditioned. If there were not, monks, this unborn, unbecome, unmade, unconditioned, there would be no escape here from the born, become, made, conditioned. But because, monks, there is the unborn, unbecome, unmade, unconditioned, therefore an escape from the born, become, made, conditioned is discernible." "If there were not, monks, the unborn, unbecome, unmade, unconditioned" is the designation of teaching for Nibbāna, and also a synonym designation. "There would be no escape here from the born, become, made, conditioned" is a synonym designation for the conditioned, and also a designation of bringing near. "But because, monks, there is the unborn, unbecome, unmade, unconditioned" is a synonym designation for Nibbāna, and also a designation of illumination. "Therefore an escape from the born, become, made, conditioned is discernible" – this is a synonym designation for Nibbāna, a designation of leading out for the path, a designation of escape from saṃsāra. Therefore the Blessed One said, "If there were not, monks..." Therefore Venerable Mahākaccāyana said, "The Blessed One teaches one Dhamma with various designations." The designation method is applied. 12. Analysis of the Descent Method 42. What then is the descent method? "And dependent origination." "Above, below, everywhere released" Oh, not perceiving 'I am this'; Thus liberated, he crossed the flood, never crossed before, for no more becoming. 'Upwards' means the form realm and the formless realm. 'Downwards' means the sense-desire realm. 'Completely liberated everywhere' means this unconditioned liberation in the three realms. These same unconditioned five faculties, this is the descent through the faculties. These same unconditioned five faculties are knowledge, with the arising of knowledge, ignorance ceases, with the cessation of ignorance, formations cease, with the cessation of formations, consciousness ceases, with the cessation of consciousness, name-and-form ceases, with the cessation of name-and-form, the six sense bases cease, with the cessation of the six sense bases, contact ceases, with the cessation of contact, feeling ceases, with the cessation of feeling, craving ceases, with the cessation of craving, clinging ceases, with the cessation of clinging, becoming ceases, with the cessation of becoming, birth ceases, with the cessation of birth, old age, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair cease. Thus there is the cessation of this entire mass of suffering. This is the descent through dependent origination. These same unconditioned five faculties are comprised of three aggregates – the aggregate of morality, the aggregate of concentration, the aggregate of wisdom, this is the descent through the aggregates. These same unconditioned five faculties are included in formations, those formations that are taintless, and not life-continuum, those formations are comprised in the element of phenomena. This is the descent through the elements. That element of phenomena is included in the sense-base of phenomena, that sense-base which is taintless, and not life-continuum. This is the descent through the sense-bases. 'Not perceiving "I am this"' means the uprooting of personality view, that is conditioned liberation, these same conditioned five faculties. This is the descent through the faculties. These same conditioned five faculties are knowledge, with the arising of knowledge, ignorance ceases, with the cessation of ignorance, formations cease, thus the entire dependent origination. This is the descent through dependent origination. That same knowledge is the aggregate of wisdom. This is the descent through the aggregates. That same knowledge is included in formations... Included in the noble ones, those formations are taintless, and not of the life-continuum, those formations are included in the Dharma-element; this is the descent by way of elements. That Dharma-element is included in the Dharma-sphere, which sphere is taintless, and not life-continuum; this is the descent by way of spheres. By the liberation of the trainee and by the liberation of the accomplished one, the liberated one has crossed over the flood never crossed before, for no more rebirth. Therefore the Blessed One said, "Up and down." 43. "For one who relies, there is wavering, for one who relies not, there is no wavering, when there is no wavering, there is tranquility, when there is tranquility, there is no inclination, when there is no inclination, there is no coming and going, when there is no coming and going, there is no passing away and reappearing, when there is no passing away and reappearing, there is neither here nor beyond nor in between the two, this indeed is the end of suffering." "For one who relies, there is wavering" – reliance is of two kinds: reliance on craving and reliance on views. Therein, the volition of one who is attached, this is reliance on craving; the volition of one who is deluded, this is reliance on views. Volition, moreover, is formations, from formations, consciousness, from consciousness, name-and-form, thus is the entire dependent origination. This is the descent by way of dependent origination. Therein, the feeling of one who is attached, this is pleasant feeling. The feeling of one who is utterly deluded, this is neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling; these two feelings are the aggregate of feeling. This is the descent by way of aggregates. Therein, pleasant feeling is two faculties: the faculty of pleasure and the faculty of joy; neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling is the faculty of equanimity. This is the descent by way of faculties. Those very faculties are included in formations, those formations are with taints, are life-continuum, those formations are included in the Dharma-element. This is the descent by way of elements. That Dharma-element is included in the Dharma-sphere, which sphere is with taints, is life-continuum; this is the descent by way of spheres. "For one who relies not, there is no wavering" – by way of tranquility, one relies not on craving, or by way of insight, one relies not on views. That insight is knowledge, from the arising of knowledge, there is the cessation of ignorance, from the cessation of ignorance, formations... cessation, with the cessation of formations, there is the cessation of consciousness. Thus is the entire dependent origination. This is the descent through dependent originations. That very insight is the aggregate of wisdom. This is the descent through aggregates. That very insight is the two faculties— the faculty of energy and the faculty of wisdom. This is the descent through faculties. That very insight is included in formations, those formations that are taintless, and not of the life-continuum, those formations are included in the element of phenomena. This is the descent through elements. That element of phenomena is included in the sense-base of phenomena, that sense-base which is taintless, and not of the life-continuum. This is the descent through sense-bases. "Mindfulness with tranquility"— tranquility is twofold: bodily and mental. That bodily pleasure, this is bodily tranquility. That mental pleasure, this is mental tranquility. With a tranquil body, one feels pleasure, the mind of one who is happy becomes concentrated, one who is concentrated knows things as they are, knowing things as they are, one becomes disenchanted, becoming disenchanted, one becomes dispassionate, through dispassion, one is liberated, in the liberated one, there is the knowledge "liberated," one knows: "Destroyed is birth, lived is the holy life, done is what was to be done, there is no more for this state of being." He does not incline towards forms, nor towards sounds, nor towards odors, nor towards tastes, nor towards tactile objects, nor towards mental phenomena, due to the destruction of lust, due to the destruction of hatred, due to the destruction of delusion. By whatever form one might describe the Tathāgata as standing or moving, with the destruction, dispassion, cessation, relinquishment, and letting go of that form, liberated in the cessation of form, the Tathāgata does not come to be described as existing, nor does he come to be described as not existing, nor does he come to be described as both existing and not existing, nor does he come to be described as neither existing nor not existing. Rather, he is reckoned as profound, immeasurable, uncountable, and extinguished, due to the destruction of lust, due to the destruction of hatred, due to the destruction of delusion. By whatever feeling... by whatever perception. By whatever formations. By whatever consciousness