English
Perceiving permanence in the impermanent and self in the non-self is perversion of view. Just as there is perversion of thought in perception and view, there are threefold thoughts: perversion of thought-conception, perversion of perception-conception, and perversion of view-conception. Therein, ignorance is the perversion, the domain, the realm of destiny and mastery. Just as one perceives it, just as one understands it, just as one perceives and understands it. Just as one endures and intends these four Oh, deluded beings! By whom the fourfold basis of existence, which is like a disease, like a boil, is called "self." To call disease "self" – this is a turning. For whatever one perceives, from that it becomes otherwise. One perceives it as beautiful, but it is not so. Thus, perceiving it as pleasant, permanent, self, he otherwise yearns for future existence, for existence itself. Therefore, it is called "craving for existence." He delights in existence itself. What he delights in, that is suffering, as taught in the five aggregates. And whatever sorrow, lamentation, suffering arises from that, he will experience it. To this extent, defilement arises. But for its abandonment, the holy life is lived. The subduing of desire and lust is for the three torments. "Indeed, dependent on acquisitions, this suffering arises." Those who delight in existence itself, whatever they experience, that suffering, its abandonment is declared. "And when there is no clinging at all, there is no arising of suffering." The four perversions are declared as the clinging. Of these, the first perversion is clinging to sensual pleasures, the second is clinging to views, the third is clinging to rites and rituals, the fourth is clinging to the doctrine of self. The destruction of these, when there is no arising of suffering, the cause of acquisitions, is declared as the cessation of suffering. Thus, for one who sees this as it is with right wisdom, there is no craving for non-existence. "He does not delight in non-existence" – this is the stage of insight. He declares the complete destruction of craving as Nibbāna, and the two liberations: liberation from lust and liberation from ignorance. For that monk, he teaches the Nibbāna element without remainder. This is the explanation of the meaning of the discourse. 111. What, then, is investigation? For whom there is burning, for that one who is burning, it is not as it truly is, and he becomes disenchanted. This is investigation and fitness. The burning born of lust is the proximate cause for the faculty of pleasure and the faculty of displeasure. The burning born of hatred is the proximate cause for the faculty of pleasure and the faculty of displeasure. The burning born of delusion is the proximate cause for the faculty of equanimity and the faculty of displeasure. What is the characteristic mode here? Overcome by contact, overcome by feeling, overcome by perception, also overcome by formations, by whatever he perceives, whether by a sign of beauty, or by a sign of pleasure, or by a sign of permanence, or by a sign of self, he perceives the unlovely as lovely. Thus, when all the fevers born of lust are spoken of, four fevers are said to exist. Born of lust, born of hatred, born of delusion, and born of views, he speaks of lust as 'mine'. All fifteen terms are impermanent, suffering. What is the fourfold arrangement here? What is the Blessed One's intention in this discourse? Those who are not pleased by fever do not delight in existence. Those who do not delight in existence will attain final Nibbāna. This is the intention. What is the turning here? By the defilement-part, he points out suffering and its origin. By the penetration-part, the path and its cessation. What is the distinction here? Born of distress, born of sickness, he speaks of sickness as 'mine'. That is not entirely so; due to inattention, one born of distress does not speak of sickness as 'mine'. What is the alternation here? For the purpose of showing the opposing sides, the ground for alternation. What is the synonymous mode here? He speaks of sickness as 'mine', he speaks of the dart as 'mine'. All fifteen terms are to be spoken. What is the designation here? 'Born of distress' is the basis for mental pain. All are designated by verbal designation. Speaking of sickness as 'mine' is a perversion, designated by defilement-designation. That which one does not delight in, that is suffering, designated by perversion-abandonment designation. Those unmade beings, worlds, are designated by the middle, by difference. What is the descent here? 'Born of distress' means the three unwholesome roots, those formations are included in the aggregate of formations, among elements, the dharma-element; among sense-bases, the dharma-sense-base. Among faculties, the female faculty and the male faculty are the basis. What is the purification here? The pure beginning of the discourse. What is the determination mode here? 'Fever' means those beings, worlds, by unity-designation are designated, those uncreated worlds are designated by the middle way of diversity. What is the preparation there? "Born of distress" – unwise attention is the cause, and perversion is the condition. There, by two things the self is obsessed: both mind and mental factors, grasping them perversely. Another way: by mental factors the perception of self and non-self is eradicated. Another way. The perception of impermanence in mental factors, but not the perception of self. This is called mind, or thought, or consciousness; this has arisen for a long time: "This is mine, this I am, this is my self." There, the contemplation of mental factors, this too is the perception of phenomena. What is its cause, what is its condition? "I-making" is the cause, "mine-making" is the condition. What is the imputation there? "This world is born of distress," he thinks unskillfully: "consciousness is the condition for name-and-form, up to old age and death" – this is the imputation. 112. Thus, this as it truly is, he sees with right wisdom the abandoning of unskillful roots. There, the cessation of ignorance, from the cessation of ignorance up to the cessation of old age and death – this is the imputation. Four types of persons: one who goes with the stream, one who goes against the stream, one who stands firm, one who has crossed over, gone to the far shore, stands on dry land, a brahmin. There, he who goes with the stream, he indulges in sensual pleasures. And he does evil deeds as long as he indulges in sensual pleasures. This is greed, an unskillful root, that very craving; he is carried away by those sensual pleasures, he is called one who goes with the stream. The person who is led by them, because of that, for that reason, he does unskillful deeds by body and by speech; this one is called one who does evil deeds. His three streams are: self-view, doubt, adherence to rites and rituals. By these three streams he arises in the three realms: in the sense-desire realm, the form realm, the formless realm. By the opposite of that, he who does not indulge in sensual pleasures. He who does not cling to rites and rituals. He who, for the abandoning of self-views, sees the danger in sensual pleasures as they truly are. By which and he practices those qualities. And because of that, he stands as a brahmin, an Arahant, it is said. There, an Arahant is one who has gone to the other shore. For one who has gone to the other shore, the Nibbāna element with residue remains on solid ground. "Going with the stream" means the non-abandonment of the fetters to be abandoned by insight. "Going against the stream" means the abandonment of defilements when the fruit is seen as one, and by standing firm, the abandonment of the five lower fetters. There, "going with the stream" refers to the path-form. "Going against the stream" and "standing firm" refer to the measure of the path. By "gone to the other shore," disciples, Asekhas, and Sammāsambuddhas are spoken of. By "going with the stream," the path leading to the origin of self-view is spoken of. By "going against the stream" and "standing firm," the path leading to the cessation of self-view is spoken of. By "gone to the other shore," the ten Asekha Arahant qualities are spoken of. This is the meaning of the Sutta. 113. There, what is the teaching? In this Sutta, the four Noble Truths are taught, and the transcendence of the three realms. There, what is the analysis method? "Whoever practices sensual pleasures commits evil" means, "whoever does not practice sensual pleasures will not commit evil," and "whoever has transcended these two states has gone to the other shore" — this investigation is the analysis. "Suitability" means what is suitable in the Suttas, and what is not suitable — this investigation is suitability. "Basis" means by "going with the stream," the basis of the seven fetters. The doing of unwholesome deeds is the basis of unwholesome roots. By "going against the stream," the basis of seeing things as they are. By "standing firm," the basis of unshakeability. By "gone to the other shore," sometimes the basis of the ground. There, what is the characteristic method? Whoever goes with the stream, goes by way of craving. He goes by way of all defilements. Whoever strives against the stream, he strives against craving, against all defilements. Whoever stands firm by himself, he stands firm in body, he stands firm in speech and mind. This is the characteristic method. There, what is the fourfold arrangement? Here in the Sutta, the Blessed One's what? What is the meaning? Those who will not delight in the downstream path, they will strive against the stream, as long as they are on earth, this is the meaning. "Āvaṭṭa" means that in this discourse four discourses are taught. Among these, what is the division method? One who indulges in sensual pleasures and performs evil deeds. He is a downstream-goer,