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B0102051904paṭiniddesavāro (comparative interpretation chapter)

English

go to completion, when the five faculties are developed, the five powers go to completion, when the five powers are developed, the seven factors of enlightenment go to completion, when the seven factors of enlightenment are developed, the Noble Eightfold Path goes to completion, all the qualities conducive to enlightenment, the factors of enlightenment, go to completion. For what reason? Because all the qualities conducive to enlightenment, the factors of enlightenment, have one characteristic, that of leading forth, and because of having one characteristic, they go to completion. In the same way, unwholesome qualities, because of having one characteristic, go to abandonment. When the four foundations of mindfulness are developed, perversions are abandoned, and his nutriment goes to full understanding, he becomes unattached to attachments, he becomes disjoined from yokes, he becomes disassociated from ties, he becomes taintless from taints, he becomes crossed over from floods, he becomes free from darts, and his stations of consciousness go to full understanding, he does not go to wrong destinations due to wrong courses of action, in this way, unwholesome qualities, because of having one characteristic, go to abandonment. Wherever the faculty of form is taught, there also is taught the element of form, the aggregate of form, and the sense-sphere of form. Wherever pleasant feeling is taught, there also is taught the faculty of pleasure, the faculty of joy, and the Noble Truth of the origin of suffering. Wherever painful feeling is taught, there also is taught the faculty of pain, the faculty of displeasure, and the Noble Truth of suffering. Wherever neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling is taught, there also is taught the faculty of equanimity, and the entire Dependent Origination. For what reason? Because ignorance underlies neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling. With ignorance as condition, volitional formations; with volitional formations as condition, consciousness; with consciousness as condition, name-and-form; with name-and-form as condition, the six sense-bases; with the six sense-bases as condition, contact; with contact as condition, feeling; with feeling as condition, craving; with craving as condition, clinging. with clinging as condition, becoming; with becoming as condition, birth; with birth as condition, aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair arise. Thus is the origin of this whole mass of suffering. And that should be abandoned by the side of greed, hatred, delusion, and defilements. It should be abandoned by the noble qualities of freedom from greed, freedom from hatred, freedom from delusion. Thus, those phenomena which have one characteristic in function, in characteristic, in commonality, and in passing away and reappearing, when one of these phenomena is stated, the remaining phenomena are also stated. Therefore, the venerable Mahākaccāyana said: "When one phenomenon is stated..." The assigned characteristic is the method. 6. Analysis of the Four-fold Method 25. What is the four-fold method here? This is "Linguistic meaning and intention." By means of the expression, the linguistic meaning of the Sutta, its intention, its origin, and its connection with what precedes and follows, should be sought. What is linguistic meaning here? It is the collection of terms, the knowledge of phenomena by name. When a bhikkhu knows the name of the meaning and the name of the phenomenon, he applies it accordingly. And this is called skilled in meaning, skilled in phenomena, skilled in expression, skilled in linguistic meaning, skilled in sequence, skilled in exposition, skilled in past terms, skilled in future terms, skilled in present terms, skilled in feminine terms, skilled in masculine terms, skilled in neuter terms, skilled in singular terms, skilled in plural terms. Thus, all local linguistic meanings and all local languages should be made. This is the collection of terms. 26. What is the intention here? "Indeed, Dhamma protects the one who practices Dhamma, like a great umbrella in the rainy season; This is the benefit of Dhamma well-practiced, the Dhamma-practitioner does not go to a bad destination." What is the intention of the Blessed One here? Those who wish to be freed from the lower realms, they will be practitioners of Dhamma—this is the intention of the Blessed One here. "Just as a thief caught at the break-in, by his own deed..." is harmed and bound; Thus this populace, after passing away, in the other world, is harmed and bound by its own deeds.” What is the Buddha’s intention here? “That beings, having performed intentional deeds, accumulated and leading to painful feelings, will experience an unpleasant, disagreeable result.” This is the Buddha’s intention here. “Creatures desiring happiness, who harms them with a stick; seeking his own happiness, after passing away, he finds no happiness.” What is the Buddha’s intention here? “Those who wish for happiness will not commit evil deeds.” This is the Buddha’s intention here. “When one is sluggish, and a great eater, a sleeper, lying down and rolling about; like a great pig fed on slop, that dull one repeatedly enters a womb.” What is the Buddha’s intention here? “Those who wish to be free from old age and death will be moderate in food, guarded in their sense doors, devoted to wakefulness in the first and last parts of the night, discerning, respectful of wholesome states, and respectful of their fellow practitioners, whether elders, new monks, or those in between.” This is the Buddha’s intention here. “Mindfulness is the path to the Deathless, heedlessness is the path to death; the mindful do not die, the heedless are as if dead.” What is the Buddha’s intention here? “Those who wish to seek the Deathless will dwell mindfully.” This is the Buddha’s intention here. This is the intention. 27. What is the cause here? As that cowherd Dhaniya said to the Buddha – “The one with sons rejoices in sons, the one with cattle rejoices in cattle; attachments are indeed a man’s joys, he who has no attachments does not rejoice.” The Buddha said – “The one with sons grieves for sons, the cowherd he grieves for his cows. Attachment is indeed sorrow for a person, he who is without attachment does not grieve. From this matter, from this cause, it is thus known: "Here the Blessed One spoke of external possessions as attachment." And just as Māra the Evil One hurled a large rock from Vulture Peak, the Blessed One said: Even if you were to shake the entire Vulture Peak, There is no tremor in the Buddhas, the rightly liberated. The sky might split, the earth might quake, all beings might tremble; Even if a dart were to pierce their chest, the Buddhas do not seek refuge in attachments. From this matter, from this cause, it is thus known: "Here the Blessed One spoke of the body as attachment." And just as he said: "That is not a strong bond, say the wise, which is made of iron, wood, or grass; But the longing, intensely attached, for jewels and earrings, for sons and wives." From this matter, from this cause, it is thus known: "Here the Blessed One spoke of craving for external things." And just as he said: "This is a strong bond, say the wise, leading downwards, loose, hard to release; Even cutting this, they wander forth, without longing, abandoning sensual pleasures." From this matter, from this cause, it is thus known: "Here the Blessed One spoke of the abandonment of craving for external things." And just as he said: "Sick, impure, putrid, foul-smelling, dependent on the body; Flowing day and night, delighted in by fools." From this matter, from this cause, it is thus known: "Here the Blessed One spoke of the abandonment of craving for internal things." And just as he said: "Cut off your own affection, like an autumn lotus with the hand; Cultivate only the path to peace, Nibbāna taught by the Well-farer." From this matter, from this cause, it is thus known: "Here the Blessed One spoke of internal things..." the abandoning of craving is the food.” This is the origin. Among these, what is the connection between the preceding and the succeeding? As it is said: “Blinded by desires, covered by the net, shrouded by the cloak of craving; Bound by the bonds of heedlessness, like fish in the mouth of a net; They follow old age and death, like a calf its mother for milk.” This refers to craving for sensual pleasures. With what preceding and succeeding does it connect? As it is said: “One who is impassioned knows not the good, one who is impassioned sees not the Dhamma; Then there is blinding darkness, when passion overwhelms a person.” Thus, by blindness and by being covered, that very craving is spoken of. And what is said: “Blinded by desires, covered by the net, shrouded by the cloak of craving.” And what is said: “One who is impassioned knows not the good, one who is impassioned sees not the Dhamma,” by these terms and by these obsessions, that very craving is spoken of. That darkness is the origin of suffering, and that craving is productive of rebirth, and what is said “desires” refers to these defilement-desires. And what is said “covered by the net” shows the obsession through the application of those very desires, therefore the bond of craving is spoken of in terms of defilement and in terms of obsession. Those who are like this follow old age and death; this is shown by the Blessed One through the power of the verse as it was uttered: “they follow old age and death.” “He who has no proliferations and no standpoints, who has overcome the fetter and the bolt; That craving-free sage, wandering, even the world with its deities does not know.” Proliferations are craving, views, and conceit, and the formations conditioned by them. Standpoints are latent tendencies. The fetter is the obsession of craving, which wanders in the thirty-six nets of craving. The bolt is delusion.