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B0102052102sāsanapaṭṭhānadutiyabhūmi (teachings origin second stage)

English

being mental, is an internal action. The Tathāgata thus understands: "By this being, of such an element, such an action was done. In the past, for this reason, such a result ripened for him, or will ripen now, or in the future." Thus he understands the present time: "This person, of such an element, does this action." "Due to craving and wrong view, for this reason, its result will not arise in this very life, or in another state of existence." Or in another way, he thus understands: "This person will do such an action in the future. For this reason, such a result will arise for him. For this reason, among the four kinds of actions, this action is pleasant in the present and has a pleasant result in the future." ... Thus he understands the diversity of results of past, future, and present undertakings of action, with their causes and conditions, their high and low, inferior and superior qualities. This is called the knowledge of the ripening of action, the fifth power of the Tathāgata. Similarly, when beings undertake any undertaking of action, he thus understands: "For this person, inclined to action, of a lustful nature, the fulfillments of the elements of renunciation are attained. For him, whose mind is empty due to following lust, the first jhāna is defiled. If, however, through further effort, he practices a path leading to distinction in the purification of jhāna, for him, while abiding in the first jhāna, which is conducive to jhāna, the second jhāna becomes purified. And when he desires to attain the third jhāna, the faculty of joy overwhelms his mind and remains. That joy of his remains, indicating an undifferentiated third jhāna. If he understands its escape as it really is, the Tathāgata's fourth jhāna becomes purified. The decline of the fourth jhāna... These are the states, and these states where they arise, by which the purification of the fourth jhāna is seen. Thus, by the attainment of intention, the four attainments, the three doors to liberation, the eight jhāna-liberations— these four jhāna-liberations. And the eight liberations, and the three doors to liberation. Concentration means the four concentrations— concentration of desire, concentration of energy, concentration of mind, concentration of investigation. The attainments are the four attainments of intention. Thus, for these jhāna-liberations, such defilement belongs to a person of lustful temperament. Likewise, for a person of hateful temperament. For a person of deluded temperament. For a person of lustful temperament, such purification is that knowledge here which is as it truly is, uncommon to all beings. This is called the sixth power of the Tathāgata. There, the Tathāgata thus understands: worldly states, supramundane states, receive the name "faculty" as conducive to development. They receive the name "power" by virtue of being a dominant condition, a mind that has reached strength, the mind-faculty, by virtue of that. They receive the name "energy" by virtue of the element of exertion. Thus, for him, O devas, such knowledge, and by these states, these individuals are endowed. He also taught the Dhamma in terms of aspects and distinctions, for those endowed with inclination and intention. This is called the knowledge of the diversity of faculties, powers, and energy of other beings, other individuals— the seventh power of the Tathāgata. And there, the Tathāgata understands the destiny of beings and of trainees with two powers in the realms of the world and so forth: by recollection of past lives, in past existences, and now in the present, by the divine eye, their passing away and reappearance. Thus, these two powers are derived from the divine eye. That past time is the range of the divine eye, that present time is the range of mindfulness. Thus, the knowledge of past lives, of oneself and others, is manifold and various. The present time is known by the divine eye. These are the two powers of the Tathāgata: the eighth is recollection of past lives, the ninth is the divine eye. And further, the Tathāgata knows the jhāna, the purification, the penetration-part of noble persons: "This person, by this path, by this practice, through the destruction of the taints, having realized and attained the taintless liberation of mind and liberation by wisdom in this very life, dwells." Thus, the knowledge of the destruction of his own taints, a direct perception, based on the four planes, up to the destruction of taints of the nine Arahants, is limited for trainees, unlimited for Arahants. Therein, liberation of mind is taintless from two taints: the taint of sensual desire and the taint of becoming. Liberation by wisdom is taintless from two taints: the taint of views and the taint of ignorance. The knowledge of these two liberations as they truly are, this is called the knowledge of the destruction of taints. The tenth power of the Tathāgata. 20. Standing in these ten powers, the Tathāgata teaches a fivefold doctrine: the part leading to defilement, the part leading to purification, the part of insight, the part of development, the part of the Arahant. Therein, whatever defilement is craving, for this, non-greed is the escape. Whatever defilement is wrong view, for this, non-delusion is the escape. Whatever defilement is misconduct, for this, the three wholesome actions are the escape. What is the cause? These are the three mental misconducts: covetousness, ill-will, wrong view. Therein, covetousness, a mental misconduct, gives rise to bodily action, taking what is not given, and all that is connected with it. It gives rise to verbal action, false speech, and all that is untrue, all unwholesome speech, all denigration, all disparagement, for covetousness is a root of unwholesome action. Good conduct is good conduct. False speech, taking what is not given, and the intention of covetousness. Therein, ill-will, a mental misconduct, gives rise to bodily action, killing living beings, and all that is connected with it, drawing, pulling, binding, delighting. It gives rise to verbal action, divisive speech, harsh speech. Wrong view, a mental misconduct, employs covetousness, ill-will, and wrong view. Whatever abandonment of wrong view, whether born of greed or born of hatred, wrong view is entirely... A being, for this reason, establishes wrong view, establishes wrong conduct in sensual pleasures, establishes frivolous talk as speech. These three are evil actions, roots of unwholesome deeds. What is covetousness, that is greed. What is ill-will, that is hatred. What is wrong view, that is delusion. Those establish the eight wrongnesses. When those three roots of unwholesome action are taken, the ten kinds of roots of unwholesome action become complete. And the discourse on the part of latent tendencies is the escape from that threefold defilement of bad conduct. There, the much-relied-upon explanation, just as greed, hatred, and delusion, there, not relying, here greed is excessive. For that reason, greed is designated among those phenomena. There, this delusion, this unwholesome delusion, this is ignorance. It is fourfold, established in form: one perceives form as self, or the self as having form, or form in the self, or the self in form, gone into ignorance. There, which statement speaks of the cutting off of personality view? "That is the soul, that is the body" is the annihilation view, and the accidentalist view: one does, another experiences. For the sixty-three kappas, three statements adhere to eternalism in personality view: "The soul is one thing, the body is another." And non-action, desiring that suffering, and falling without cause, and the non-existence of deeds, and all is believed. There, "this alone is truth, anything else is delusion." The Ajivakas proclaim eighty-six (views) of purity through transmigration. Just as in form, personality view is fourfold, so in the five aggregates, it is twentyfold. Personality view adheres to eternalism. And other Ajivakas and eternalists adhere to rites and rituals, they grasp at: "By this I shall become a god or some other deity." This is the grasping at rites and rituals. There, by personality view, he perceives form as self, "that is the soul, that is the body." He doubts that, he is perplexed, he does not resolve, he is not confident in the past, in the future, in the past and future... thus in the parts of latent tendencies. This defilement is present in the one who stands. 21. Therein, by the faculty of faith, one abandons all doubt; by the faculty of wisdom, one sees rise and fall; by the faculty of concentration, one unifies the mind; by the faculty of energy, one makes an effort. He, with these five faculties, devoted to faith, delighting in unwavering confidence, produces immediate concentration. With pure faculties, devoted to the Dhamma, through non-dependence, he produces immediate concentration. He understands "this is suffering" as it really is. This discourse pertains to the vision-part of the Truths. Of the five lower fetters, three fetters are to be abandoned by vision, completely abandoned, two are due to the notion of a person. Therein, the three unwholesome roots, to be abandoned by development, are piled up, giving rise to six existences. Therein, when covetousness and ill-will are attenuated, six existences reach their limit of destruction, two existences remain. His covetousness and ill-will are completely destroyed. One existence remains. And that arises by way of Māra. Although here, four other defilements— desire for form, desire for existence, ignorance, restlessness— being like a banner of conceit, are not able to remove self-conceit, all of them begin the abandonment of self-conceit. When they are exhausted, and in these five trainees, three on the path, and two who have attained the fruit, this is the discourse pertaining to the development-part in this higher vision-stage. Beyond that, the discourse pertaining to the Arahant-part,