English
These four words are answered by these four words, the first by the first, the second by the second, the third by the third, the fourth by the fourth. To the question “By what is the world enveloped?” the answer is “The world is enveloped by ignorance.” The world is enveloped by hindrances, for all beings are hindered by ignorance. As the Blessed One said, “Of all beings, monks, for all beings, for all creatures, in a certain way, I declare there is only one hindrance, which is ignorance. Indeed, all beings are hindered by ignorance. But, monks, with the complete cessation, abandonment, and relinquishment of ignorance, I declare there is no hindrance for beings. And thus, the explanation for the first verse is fitting. To the question, "By what is it not revealed?" the answer is, "By vacillation and heedlessness it is not revealed." The person who is covered by hindrances, he vacillates. Vacillation is called doubt. Doubting, he does not have faith; not having faith, he does not arouse energy for the abandonment of unwholesome states and for the realization of wholesome states. He dwells here devoted to heedlessness, heedless, he does not produce pure states; for him, those unproduced states are not revealed, as the Blessed One said: "Far away, the good shine forth, like the Himalayas, a mountain; Here, the bad are not seen, like arrows shot at night; They shine forth by their virtues, by their fame and glory." And thus, the explanation for the second verse is fitting. To the question, "What do you call an anointing?" the answer is, "We call craving an anointing." Craving is called thirst. How does it anoint? As the Blessed One said: "One who is impassioned does not know the goal, one who is impassioned does not see the Dhamma; Then there is blinding darkness, when passion overwhelms a person." This craving, for a person full of attachment, makes the world "thus craving," and thereby the world is anointed, and thus the explanation for the third verse is fitting. To the question, "What is its great fear?" the answer is, "Suffering is its great fear." Suffering is of two kinds: bodily and mental. That which is bodily is pain, that which is mental is displeasure. Indeed, all beings are terrified of suffering; there is no fear equal to suffering, how much more so... What is beyond that? Three kinds of suffering – suffering as pain, suffering as formations, suffering as change. There, the world, in part, sometimes, is freed from suffering as pain. So too from suffering as change. For what reason is that? There are in the world those who are free from illness and long-lived. But from suffering as formations, the world is freed by the Nibbāna element without remainder, therefore, considering suffering as formations to be the world's suffering, suffering is its great fear. And by that, the explanation of the fourth verse is fitting. Therefore, the Blessed One said, "The world is enveloped by ignorance." Streams flow everywhere, What is the dam for the streams? Tell me the restraint of the streams, By what are the streams stopped? These four lines were asked. They are two questions. Why? They were asked with this meaning. For a world thus afflicted, thus defiled, what is the world's purification, its emergence? Thus it is said. "Streams flow everywhere." They flow for one who is not composed, who is abundant in covetousness, ill-will, and heedlessness. There, what is covetousness, that is greed, a root of unwholesome states. What is ill-will, that is hatred, a root of unwholesome states. What is heedlessness, that is delusion, a root of unwholesome states. For such an uncomposed one, craving flows in the six sense bases: craving for forms, craving for sounds, craving for smells, craving for tastes, craving for tangibles, craving for mental objects, as the Blessed One said – "Flowing," monks, is indeed a designation for these six internal sense bases. The eye flows with agreeable forms, it is obstructed by disagreeable ones. The ear... etc.... the nose... the tongue... the body... the mind flows with agreeable mental objects, it is obstructed by disagreeable ones. Thus it flows everywhere, and in every way. Therefore it is said, "Streams flow everywhere." "What is the dam for the streams?" asks about the suppression of obsessions; this is purification. "Tell me the restraint of the streams, by what are the streams stopped?" asks about the underlying tendencies He asks about uprooting, this is emergence. Therein the answer: “Whatever streams there are in the world, Mindfulness is their prevention; I declare the restraint of streams, By wisdom are these covered.” When mindfulness of the body is developed and cultivated, the eye does not grasp at agreeable forms, nor is it repelled by disagreeable ones; the ear… the nose… the tongue… the body… the mind does not grasp at agreeable mental objects, nor is it repelled by disagreeable ones. For what reason? Because the faculties are restrained and prevented. By what are they restrained and prevented? By the guard of mindfulness. Therefore the Blessed One said: “Mindfulness is their prevention.” By wisdom, latent tendencies are abandoned; when latent tendencies are abandoned, their manifestations are abandoned. Why? Because the latent tendency is abandoned. Just as when the roots of a tree with a trunk are completely pulled out, the continuity of flowers, fruits, leaves, and sprouts is cut off. So too, when latent tendencies are abandoned, the continuity of their manifestations is cut off, covered, concealed. By what? By wisdom. Therefore the Blessed One said: “By wisdom are these covered.” “Both wisdom and mindfulness, And name-and-form, dear sir; Tell me, when asked this, Where does this cease?” “That question which you asked me, Ajita, I will tell you; Where name and form, Completely cease; With the cessation of consciousness, there does this cease.” This question asks about continuity. Asking about continuity, what does it ask? The Nibbāna element without remainder. And three truths are conditioned, subject to cessation: suffering, origin, path; cessation is unconditioned. Therein, origin is abandoned in two stages: the stage of seeing and the stage of development. By seeing, three fetters are abandoned: personality view, doubt, adherence to rites and rituals; by development, seven fetters are abandoned. Lust, ill-will, lust for form, lust for formlessness, conceit, restlessness, and the remainder of ignorance. These are the ten fetters in the three realms: five lower fetters, five upper fetters. 12. Therein, three fetters— personality view, doubt, adherence to rites and rituals— cease by establishing the faculty of "I shall know the unknown." Seven fetters— lust, ill-will, lust for form, lust for formlessness, conceit, restlessness, and the remainder of ignorance— cease by establishing the faculty of knowing. But that which thus knows, "My birth is destroyed," this is the knowledge of destruction. It discerns, "There is no further state of being," this is the knowledge of non-arising. These two knowledges are the faculty of having known. Therein, both the faculty of "I shall know the unknown" and the faculty of knowing, these cease for one attaining the highest fruit, Arahantship. Therein, both the knowledge of destruction and the knowledge of non-arising, these two knowledges are one wisdom. Moreover, by way of the object's designation, two names are obtained: for one discerning, "My birth is destroyed," the name "knowledge of destruction" is obtained; for one discerning, "There is no further state of being," the name "knowledge of non-arising" is obtained. That discernment is wisdom by way of discerning, mindfulness by way of not forgetting what has been seen. 13. Therein, the five aggregates of clinging, this is name-and-form. Therein, the phenomena with contact as the fifth, this is name. The five faculties that are material, this is form. Both of these, name-and-form, conjoined with consciousness, concerning their cessation, Venerable Ajita thus spoke to the Blessed One in the Parayana: "Wisdom and mindfulness, and name-and-form, O friend; Answer me this question, where do these cease?" Therein, mindfulness and wisdom are four faculties: mindfulness is two faculties— the faculty of mindfulness and the faculty of concentration; wisdom is two faculties— the faculty of wisdom and the faculty of energy. The conviction, the firm belief, in these four faculties, this is the faculty of faith. Therein, the one-pointedness of mind dominated by faith, this is the concentration of desire. Concentration. When the mind is concentrated, for the suppression of defilements, by the power of reflection or by the power of development, this is abandonment. Therein, what are in-breaths and out-breaths, initial application and sustained application, perceptions and feelings, and thoughts of self, these are formations. Thus, the former concentration of desire, and the abandonment by suppression of defilements, and these formations, that duality, the basis of psychic power endowed with concentration of desire and predominant formations, one develops, based on seclusion, based on dispassion, based on cessation, culminating in relinquishment. Therein, what is the one-pointedness of mind dominated by effort, this is concentration of effort. Therein, what is the one-pointedness of mind dominated by investigation, this is concentration of investigation. When the mind is concentrated, for the suppression of defilements, by the power of reflection or by the power of development, this is abandonment. Therein, what are in-breaths and out-breaths, initial application and sustained application, perceptions and feelings, and thoughts of self, these are formations. Thus, the former concentration of investigation, and the abandonment by suppression of defilements, and these formations, that duality, the basis of psychic power endowed with concentration of investigation