English
But these, in one Nikkhepakaṇḍa itself, were brought to a head and distinguished. In the remaining places, up to the Saraṇaduka, the Abhidhamma is distinguished. For the Sammāsambuddha, relying on twenty-two triads in the Anuloma Paṭṭhāna, designated the Tika Paṭṭhāna. Relying on one hundred dyads, designated the Duka Paṭṭhāna. Thereafter, taking the twenty-two triads, and inserting them into the one hundred dyads, the Duka-Tika Paṭṭhāna was shown. Thereafter, taking the one hundred dyads, and inserting them into the twenty-two triads, the Tika-Duka Paṭṭhāna was shown. But inserting triads into triads themselves, the Tika-Tika Paṭṭhāna was shown. And inserting dyads into dyads themselves, the Duka-Duka Paṭṭhāna was shown. Thus – The excellent Tika Paṭṭhāna and the supreme Duka, and the Duka-Tika and the Tika-Duka; and the Tika-Tika and the Duka-Duka, are the six profoundly subtle methods in the Anuloma. In the Paccanīya Paṭṭhāna also, relying on twenty-two triads, is the Tika Paṭṭhāna. Relying on one hundred dyads, is the Duka Paṭṭhāna. Inserting twenty-two triads into one hundred dyads, is the Duka-Tika Paṭṭhāna. Inserting one hundred dyads into twenty-two triads, is the Tika-Duka Paṭṭhāna. Inserting triads into triads themselves, is the Tika-Tika Paṭṭhāna. Inserting dyads into dyads themselves, is the Duka-Duka Paṭṭhāna. Thus, in the Paccanīya also, the Paṭṭhāna is designated by six methods. Therefore, it was said – The excellent Tika Paṭṭhāna and the supreme Duka, and the Duka-Tika and the Tika-Duka; and the Tika-Tika and the Duka-Duka, are the six profoundly subtle methods in the Paccanīya. Thereafter, in the Anuloma-Paccanīya also, six methods were shown by this same means. Therefore, he said – The excellent Tika and Duka with Paṭṭhāna, And Dukatika and Tikaduka also; Tikatika and Dukaduka also, These six profound methods in Anuloma-Paccanīya. Thereafter, in Paccanīya-Anuloma too, it is indicated by these same six methods. Therefore it is said: The excellent Tika and Duka with Paṭṭhāna, And Dukatika and Tikaduka also; Tikatika and Dukaduka also, These six profound methods in Paccanīya-Anuloma. Thus, six Paṭṭhānas in Anuloma, six in Paṭiloma, six in Anuloma-Paccanīya, and six Paṭṭhānas in Paccanīya-Anuloma, this is called the twenty-four-conditioned-relations-comprehension Paṭṭhāna, the great treatise. Now, for the purpose of understanding the profundity of this Abhidhamma, four oceans should be understood: the ocean of Saṃsāra, the ocean of water, the ocean of methods, and the ocean of knowledge. Therein, the ocean of Saṃsāra is: The continuous sequence of aggregates, elements, and sense-bases, Uninterruptedly proceeding, is called Saṃsāra. Thus is spoken the round of Saṃsāra. Since for these beings, the earliest limit of arising is not known, that beings arose at the end of so many hundreds of years, or thousands of years, or hundreds of thousands of years, or hundreds of aeons, or thousands of aeons, or hundreds of thousands of aeons, and before that they did not exist, or that they arose in the time of such and such a king, or arose in the time of such and such a Buddha, and before that they did not exist, this limitation does not exist; "Monks, the earliest limit of ignorance is not known, that before this there was no ignorance, and afterwards it came to be" by this method, the ocean of Saṃsāra is without a discernible beginning. But the great ocean should be understood as the ocean of water. It is eighty-four thousand yojanas deep. Therein, there is no measure of water by hundreds of āḷhakas, or thousands of āḷhakas, or hundreds of thousands of āḷhakas. But it goes to the count as an incalculable, immeasurable mass of great water. This is called the ocean of water. What is the ocean of guidance? The Tipiṭaka, the word of the Buddha. Indeed, for those who reflect on both these threads, for the faithful, for those abounding in serenity, for the sons of good family who are supreme in wisdom, endless joy and gladness arise. Which two? The Vinaya and the Abhidhamma. For the monks who uphold the Vinaya, as they reflect on the Vinaya thread, the pronouncement of training rules according to the offense – "for this offense, for this transgression, this is the name" – is not the domain of others, but the domain of the Buddhas alone. As they reflect on the higher human states, as they reflect on the blue states, as they reflect on the wandering states, endless joy and gladness arise. For the monks of the Abhidhamma too, as they distinguish between aggregates, between sense bases, between elements, between faculties, between powers, enlightenment factors, actions, and results, as they dissect form and formless phenomena, subtle and refined doctrines, as if one were picking out stars in the sky, as they divide and show the form and formless phenomena, section by section, part by part, saying, "Indeed, our teacher has shown us this," as they reflect on the Abhidhamma thread, endless joy and gladness arise. Now, regarding its origin, this story should be known: it seems that a certain Elder Mahāgatigamiyatissadatta, while going to the other shore to worship the Great Bodhi Tree, sat on the upper deck of a ship and looked out at the great ocean. At that time, neither the other shore appeared, nor the near shore, but the great ocean appeared like a spread of silver cloth, like a scattering of jasmine flowers, filled with the spray of the rising waves. He thought, "Which is stronger, the force of the ocean's waves, or the opening of the method in the twenty-four relations of the all-embracing Paṭṭhāna?" Then a limit to the great ocean appeared to him – "Indeed, it is bounded below by the great earth, above by the sky, on one side by the Cakkavāḷa mountains, and on one side by the shore; but the all-embracing Paṭṭhāna has no "No break is apparent," Contemplating the subtle, refined Dhamma, A strong joy arose. He suppressed the joy, Developed insight, And, remaining as he sat, Destroyed all defilements, Established in the highest fruit, Arahantship, He uttered this exclamation: "Profound is this state, hard to see, Attained by self-knowledge, with cause and origin; As taught successively, completely, By the Great Sage, seeing as if embodied." This is called the "Ocean of Reasoning." What is the "Ocean of Knowledge?" The knowledge of omniscience is called the "Ocean of Knowledge." "This is called the 'Ocean of Samsara,' This is called the 'Ocean of Water,' This is called the 'Ocean of Reasoning,'" For it cannot be known by another, But only by the knowledge of omniscience, Therefore, the knowledge of omniscience is called the "Ocean of Knowledge." Among these four oceans, In this place, the "Ocean of Reasoning" is intended. For only the all-knowing Buddhas penetrate this. This Blessed One, too, Sitting at the foot of the Bodhi tree, "Having penetrated this, 'Indeed, for me, seeking and searching for this Dhamma, Four incalculable periods, plus a hundred thousand aeons, have passed, And now, sitting on this seat, Having destroyed one and a half thousand defilements, This Dhamma has been penetrated,'" Contemplating the Dhamma he had penetrated, He sat for seven days in one posture. Then, rising from that seat, "'On this seat, indeed, the knowledge of omniscience was penetrated,'" With unblinking eyes, He stood gazing at the seat for seven days. Then, to the deities, "Surely, Siddhartha still has duties to perform, For he does not abandon attachment to the seat," Such a thought arose. The Teacher, knowing the deities' thought, Immediately, to calm their thought, Ascending into the sky, Performed the Twin Miracle. The miracle performed at the Great Bodhi seat, The miracle performed at the gathering of relatives, The miracle performed at the gathering in Pataliputta, All were like the Twin Miracle performed at the foot of the Gandamba tree. Having performed the Twin Miracle in this way, And in the space between that place of standing, he descended from the sky and walked for seven days. And in these twenty-one days, not even on one day did rays emanate from the body of the Teacher. In the fourth week, however, he sat in the Jewel House in the northwest direction – the Jewel House, it should be known, was not a dwelling made of the seven precious things. But the place where the seven treatises were contemplated is to be understood as the Jewel House – even while contemplating the Dhammasaṅgaṇi there, rays did not emanate from his body. Even while contemplating the Vibhaṅga treatise, the Dhātukathā, the Puggalapaññatti, the Kathāvatthu treatise, and the Yamaka treatise, rays did not emanate from his body. But when he descended to the great treatise and began contemplating, "Hetupaccayo, ārammaṇapaccayo…pe… avigatapaccayo," then, while contemplating the twenty-four conditions of the Paṭṭhāna, the knowledge of omniscience found its opportunity entirely in the great treatise itself. Just as the great Timirapiṅgala fish finds its opportunity only in the great ocean eighty-four thousand yojanas deep, so too, the knowledge of omniscience found its opportunity entirely in the great treatise. As the Teacher, with the knowledge of omniscience thus obtained, contemplated the subtle and refined Dhamma at his pleasure, six-colored rays emanated from his body in the form of blue, yellow, red, white, crimson, and radiant. From the blue places of the hair of the head and body, and the eyes, blue rays emanated, by which the surface of the sky was as if strewn with collyrium powder, as if covered with Umā flowers and blue lotus petals, like a rotating jewel ornament, and like a spread-out dark blue cloth. From the skin and the yellow places of the eyes, yellow rays emanated; by which the regions of the directions shone as if being bathed in streams of molten gold, as if spread with golden cloth, and as if strewn with particles of saffron powder and Kanikāra flowers.