English
Is of exalted object when knowing action in the form and formless spheres. The fourth of "Divine Eye Knowledge" Is entirely of limited object, since its object is form. The fourth of "Knowledge of Past Lives" Is of limited, exalted, and immeasurable objects, and of unspecifiable object. How? When recollecting aggregates in the sense sphere, it is of limited object. When recollecting aggregates in the form and formless spheres, it is of exalted object. When recollecting the path cultivated in the past by oneself or others, and the fruit realized, it is of immeasurable object. When reviewing the path, fruit, and Nibbana, in terms of the cutting off of the round, thinking, "In the past, Buddhas cultivated the path, realized the fruit, and were extinguished in the Nibbana element," it is also of immeasurable object. When recollecting in the past, "There was a Blessed One named Vipassi," "His city was named Bandhumati, his father was a king named Bandhuma, his mother was named Bandhumati," and so on, in terms of name, clan, earth, and sign, it is of unspecifiable object. The same method applies to the fourth of "Knowledge of the Future." That too, when knowing, "In the future, he will be reborn in the sense sphere," it is of limited object. When knowing, "He will be reborn in the form sphere or the formless sphere," it is of exalted object. When knowing, "He will cultivate the path, realize the fruit," "He will be extinguished in the Nibbana element," it is of immeasurable object. When knowing in the future, "A Blessed One named Metteyya will arise, a Brahmin named Subrahma will be his father, a Brahmin woman named Brahmavati will be his mother," and so on, in terms of knowing name and clan, it is of unspecifiable object. The fourth of the formless sphere and the fourth of the destruction of the āsavas, however, Are in accordance with the meaning that comes in the Pāli. I will speak of the causes. The mind-element of functional consciousness, accompanied by indifference, is the forerunner of all these wholesome, unwholesome, and functional cittas. Its distinction of object should be understood in the same way as stated above. But in its occurrence as determination at the five doors, it has exclusively a limited object. The four fine-material rūpāvacara jhānas, beginning with the third, having arisen in dependence on a non-assertible dhamma in the sense of limited etc., have a non-assertible object. Here, the rūpāvacara jhānas occur in dependence on earth kasina etc., the ākāsānañcāyatana in dependence on the space that has been freed, the ākiñcaññāyatana in dependence on the cessation of consciousness. 1429. In the triad of path-object, the eight ñāṇa-associated citta-occurrences mentioned at the beginning, at the time of reviewing the paths realized by themselves by the learners and non-learners, have the path as object, but not being co-nascent with the path, they are not path-caused. At the time of reviewing the path realized by themselves, having made the path important, by way of object-dominance, they are path-dominant. At the time of having another dhamma as object, it should not be said that they are path-object or that they are path-dominant. The four noble paths, because of the existence of the path-associated or the path-designated cause, are exclusively path-caused. But at the time of developing the path, having made energy or investigation the chief, by way of co-nascent dominance, they may be path-dominant. At the time of having desire or citta as the chief, they may be, it should not be said that they are path-dominant. The nine jhānas, beginning with the fourth jhāna which is the basis of everything in the twelve kinds of rūpāvacara fourth jhāna, are neither path-object, nor path-caused, nor path-dominant. But the fourths of clairvoyance, recollection of past lives, knowledge of the future, at the time of knowing the path citta of the noble ones, are path-object, but not being co-nascent with the path, they are not path-caused. Having made the path important, not occurring much, they are not path-dominant. Why do they not make the path important? Because of their greatness. Just as the whole world makes the king important, but the mother and father do not. They do not rise from their seat upon seeing the king. They do not perform acts of reverence, such as folding their hands, and speak in the same way as they did when they were young. Thus, even these, due to their own greatness, do not respect the path. The mind-consciousness element caused by action, too, is focused on the path during the review of the path by the noble ones, because it precedes the review, but it is not caused by the path because it does not arise together with the path, and it is not dominant over the path because it does not occur by respecting the path. Why does it not respect it? Because it is uncaused, inferior, and dull. Just as the whole world respects a king, but his own attendants, such as hunchbacks, dwarfs, and servants, do not respect him much like wise men, due to their own ignorance, just so, this mind, too, does not respect the path because it is uncaused, inferior, and dull. Wholesome states and others unaccompanied by knowledge do not attain the state of having the path as their object, etc., due to the absence of knowledge and because they have mundane phenomena as their object; they should be understood as having only mentionable objects. 1432. In the triad of past objects, consciousness, the sphere of nothingness, and the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception, which arise in relation to a past attainment below, are exclusively past objects. 1433. There are no future objects by necessity, meaning that there is no single mind that has a future object by rule. But isn't knowledge of the future exclusively a future object, and doesn't telepathic knowledge arise in relation to the future? No, it does not arise. However, there is no such thing as a single mind. Because it is included in the fourth jhāna of the form realm, it is mixed with other exalted minds. Therefore, it is said, "There are no future objects by necessity." 1434. The five pairs of sense-consciousnesses and the three mind-elements are called present objects because they occur in relation to present forms, etc. In "ten mind-moments," eight of them, being with cause, are past objects because they occur in the process of taking rebirth for gods and humans, in relation to action or a sign of action. The same method applies during the moments of life-continuum and death. However, rebirth in relation to a sign of destiny At the moment of grasping and in the subsequent moment of subconsciousness, the object is present. Likewise, at the five doors, it functions with a present object due to the stage of retention. But at the mind door, having taken the object of past, future, and present objects, it functions, thus having past, future, and present objects. The same method applies to the 'wholesome resultant, causeless, accompanied by indifference, mind-element consciousness.' The only difference is that it serves as rebirth consciousness for the congenitally blind and others among humans. At the five doors, it also has a present object in the mode of investigating-consciousness; this is the distinction here. However, the 'accompanied by joy' has a present object at the five doors in the mode of investigating-consciousness and in the stage of retention. At the mind door, it should be understood as having past, future, and present objects, like the rooted resultant. The 'unwholesome resultant, causeless, mind-element consciousness' is of the same nature as the wholesome resultant, causeless, accompanied by indifference. The only difference is that it functions as rebirth, subconsciousness, and death consciousness for beings in the lower realms. The 'functional, rooted, mind-element consciousness' accompanied by joy, when a perfected one makes a delighted expression at the five doors, has a present object. At the mind door, when functioning in the mode of producing a smile, having taken objects of past, etc., it has past, future, and present objects. Among the wholesome of the sense-sphere, etc., firstly, the four consciousness-productions associated with knowledge. For trainees and ordinary people, when contemplating and reviewing aggregates, elements, and sense-bases of past, etc., they have past, future, and present objects. When reviewing concepts and Nibbāna, they have no specific object. The same method applies to those dissociated from knowledge. The only difference is that they do not review the path, fruition, and Nibbāna. This is the distinction here. Among the unwholesome, the four consciousness-productions associated with views, at the time of savoring, delighting in, and clinging to aggregates, elements, and sense-bases of past, etc., have past, etc., objects. For one who savors and delights in a concept, grasping it by clinging to it, saying "a being, a being," They have objects that are not to be specified. The same method applies to those dissociated from wrong view. For in them, there is only the non-grasping of clinging. Two consciousnesses associated with aversion, when feeling displeasure regarding past and other types of phenomena, have past and other types of objects; when feeling displeasure regarding concepts, they have objects that are not to be specified. Consciousnesses associated with doubt and restlessness, in those same phenomena, due to their nature of being undesirable and due to their being restless, have past, future, present, and objects that are not to be specified. Functionally, the eight rooted consciousnesses have the same range of objects as wholesome consciousnesses. The functionally rooted mind-element, accompanied by equanimity, when functioning as determining at the five doors, has only present objects.