English
And by the diversity of action, there appears in each destiny of those beings their footlessness, two-footedness, and so on, in each rebirth their highness and lowness, in each existence their beauty and ugliness, and in worldly conditions their gain and loss, and so on. Therefore, all this internal mind, with its distinctions of action, gender, perception, speech, and so on, in the various destinies of gods, humans, hell beings, and animals, should be understood as created by the mind. This is the meaning to be understood by way of this verse not found in the recitals. For it was said: "By the arrangement of the diversity and variety of action, there is the arrangement of the diversity and variety of gender; by the arrangement of the diversity and variety of gender, there is the arrangement of the diversity and variety of perception; by the arrangement of the diversity and variety of perception, there is the arrangement of the diversity and variety of speech; by the arrangement of the diversity and variety of speech, there is the diversity of action." The arising of diverse individual existences occurs. Conditioned by the diversity of actions, the diversity of beings' destinies is discerned – footless, two-footed, four-footed, many-footed, with form, formless, percipient, non-percipient, neither percipient nor non-percipient. Conditioned by the diversity of actions, the diversity of beings' rebirths is discerned – high and low, inferior and superior, fortunate and unfortunate. Conditioned by the diversity of actions, the diversity of beings' individualities is discerned – fair and ugly, well-born and ill-born, well-formed and ill-formed. Conditioned by the diversity of actions, the diversity of beings' worldly conditions is discerned – gain and loss, fame and disgrace, blame and praise, happiness and suffering. Furthermore, it was said – From action and from gender, designations of gender arise; From designation they diverge, as woman or man. "By action the world proceeds, by action beings proceed; Beings are bound by action, like a chariot's axle pin in motion." By action one gains renown and praise, By action, injury, death, and bondage; Knowing this diversity of action, Why say there is no action in the world? "Beings, young man, are owners of their actions, heirs to their actions, born of their actions, related to their actions, have their actions as their refuge; action distinguishes beings, that is to say, by inferiority and superiority." Thus, by this diversity of action, the diversity of mind should be understood. For all these diverse things are done by the mind alone. But the mind that has not obtained opportunity, or that is deficient in remaining conditions, due to the absence of doing some mental actions, that which is said to be the internal mind done by the mind, from that, mind is even more diverse. Therefore, the Blessed One said – "I do not see, monks, even one single entity so diverse as this, that is, monks, the animals gone to the animal realm… even by those animals gone to the animal realm, mind is indeed more diverse." "It arises" – here, Existing, past, future, potential, and ground-obtained, thus named are of various kinds. Therein, all that is born, subject to aging and dissolution, is called existing-born. Having experienced the flavor of an object and ceased, known as experienced-past, is wholesome and unwholesome. Without reaching the three stages of arising, it ceases, known as past, and the remaining conditioned is past-born. "Those deeds that they formerly did," thus, karma stated in this way, though past, is similar. Having made space for its own result, rejecting another's, and the result, though not yet arisen, is similar. Having made space, it certainly arises, thus, potential-born is named. In those various realms, unabandoned unwholesome, is named ground-obtained-born. Here, the difference between ground and ground-obtained should be understood. Ground is the five aggregates of the three realms, objects of insight. Ground-obtained is the defilement capable of arising in those aggregates. Thus, this ground is obtained, therefore, it is called ground-obtained. Among these four kinds of born, here, 'existing-born' is intended. Herein, this is the meaning of the word: arisen, facing arising, etc., from the beginning. This word 'arisen' is seen in many meanings, such as past, regained, arisen, unhindered, unsevered, and existing in the three moments. For example, "Then, monks, at that time, Kakusandha, the Blessed One, Arahant, Perfectly Enlightened One, arose in the world," here it comes in the past. "Venerable Ānanda has an extra robe arisen," here in regained. "Just as, monks, a great cloud having arisen, a great wind immediately blows it away," here in arisen. "A lustful thought having arisen is difficult to remove; evil, unwholesome thoughts having arisen," "He utterly destroys unwholesome states by suppression," here, by non-repression. "Developing and cultivating the Noble Eightfold Path, he utterly destroys arisen unwholesome states by non-uprooting," here, by non-eradication. "Is arising, arisen?" "Yes," here, referring to the three moments. So here too, it should be seen as referring to the three moments. Therefore, 'arisen' here means referring to the three moments, it is present, it is current. This is the condensed meaning. 'Mind is arisen' is the essence of the teaching. But mind does not arise alone. Therefore, just as when it is said, "The king has arrived," it is understood that he has not come alone leaving his retinue, but has come together with the royal retinue, so too, this should be understood as arisen together with the fifty or so associated wholesome states. However, due to being pre-eminent, it is said, "Mind is arisen." For, having attained mundane states, mind is the chief, mind is the burden, mind is the pre-eminent. Having attained supramundane states, wisdom is the chief, wisdom is the burden, wisdom is the pre-eminent. Therefore, the Blessed One, having attained the discipline discourse, when asking a question, does not ask, 'What contact are you, what feeling are you, what perception are you, what volition are you,' but asks, "What is your mind, bhikkhu?" making mind the burden. And when it is said, "I am of a mind without theft, Blessed One," he does not say, 'There is no offense for one with contact without theft,' etc., but says, "There is no offense, bhikkhu, for one with a mind without theft." And not only in the discipline discourse, but also when teaching any mundane teaching, he teaches making mind the burden. As he said, "Whatever states, bhikkhus, are unwholesome, partaking of the unwholesome, on the side of the unwholesome, all those are mind-preceded. Mind arises first for those states." "Mind precedes all conditions, mind is their chief, mind-made are they; If with a corrupted mind one speaks or acts or speech; Then suffering follows him, like the wheel the foot of the draught ox. "Mind precedes all mental states, mind is their chief, mind-made are they. If with a pure mind one speaks or acts, Then happiness follows him, like a shadow that never departs." "By the mind is the world led, by the mind is it drawn about; All beings are under the sway of the mind, of the mind alone." "When the mind is defiled, monks, beings become defiled; when the mind is purified, they become purified." "Luminous, monks, is this mind, but it is defiled by adventitious defilements." "When the mind is unguarded, householder, bodily action is unguarded, verbal action is unguarded, mental action is unguarded; when the mind is guarded...pe... when the mind is afflicted, householder...pe... when the mind is unafflicted, householder...pe... when the mind is free from outflows...pe... when the mind is free from outflows, householder, bodily action is free from outflows, verbal action is free from outflows, mental action is free from outflows." Thus, having attained mundane states, it should be understood that the mind is chief, the mind is the burden, the mind is foremost. But in these suttas, it should be understood that all are taken for the sake of protecting the suttas, not taking one or two. But when inquiring about supramundane states, without asking, 'What contact have you attained, what feeling, what perception, what volition, what consciousness?' he asks, 'What wisdom have you attained, monk? Have you attained the first path wisdom, or the second...pe... the third...pe... the fourth path wisdom?' making wisdom chief, making wisdom the burden. All wholesome states with wisdom as their superior do not decline. But what is wisdom for? "For a wise noble disciple, monks, faith is established accordingly, energy is established accordingly, Thus, "mindfulness is established, accordingly concentration is established" (SN 5.515) and other such suttas should be understood here. Thus, having attained the supramundane state, wisdom is chief, wisdom is the burden, wisdom is the forerunner, it should be understood. But this is mundane teaching. Therefore, teaching by making the mind the burden, he says, "mind has arisen." Accompanied by joy means having attained a state of co-arising with joy, which is reckoned as a pleasant and sweet feeling. Now, this word 'accompanied' is seen in these meanings: in that state, scattered, dependence, object, associated. Therein, "this craving for renewed existence, accompanied by delight and attachment" (Vibh. 203) should be understood in that state; meaning being delight and attachment. "Whatever, monks, investigation is accompanied by sloth and torpor, associated with sloth and torpor" (SN 5.832) should be understood as scattered; meaning being scattered by sloth and torpor arising intermittently. "He develops the mindfulness factor of enlightenment accompanied by the perception of a skeleton" (SN 5.