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Like people depend on a king, even if they see his faults, for their livelihood. For this realm of neither perception nor non-perception, even though it sees the fault in the realm of nothingness, saying, "This attainment is the enemy of the adjacent realm of consciousness," it still takes it as an object, because there is no other object. Like what? "Like people depend on a king, even if they see his faults, for their livelihood." Just as people, unable to find a livelihood elsewhere, depend on a king who is unrestrained, harsh in body, speech, and mind, a ruler of all lands, even though they see his faults, saying, "He is harsh in his conduct," so too, this realm of neither perception nor non-perception, unable to find another object, takes that realm of nothingness as an object, even though it sees its faults. And as it does so, Like one who has climbed a long ladder, clinging to the ladder's rungs, or like one who has climbed a mountain peak, reaching the mountain's summit, Or like one who has climbed a mountain, using one's own knees, it slips down; so too, this jhāna slips down and continues. The discussion of the formless realm wholesome deeds is finished. Description of the Wholesome Deeds of the Three Realms 269. Now, since all these previously mentioned wholesome deeds of the three realms are expressed with distinctions of inferior and so on, therefore, to show that distinction, the passage beginning "Which qualities are wholesome?" is started again. There, "inferior" means base. That should be understood in terms of effort. "Intermediate" is what exists in the middle of inferior and superior. "Excellent" means brought to prominence, that is, superior. Those too should be understood in terms of effort. For when the effort is made, if one's desire is weak, or one's energy, or one's mind, or one's investigation, that is called inferior. If those And the middling qualities, and the excellent, And that which is both middling and excellent. But that which, with the desire to do, Having made zeal the yoke, zeal the chief, zeal the forerunner, Is exerted, that, because it comes from zeal as sovereign, Is called sovereignty of zeal. In the case of sovereignty of effort and so on, this is the same method. But here, standing in this place, methods are to be reckoned. First of all, divided is one method, inferior is one, middling is one, excellent is one, sovereignty of zeal is one. These are five methods in sovereignty of zeal. Thus in sovereignty of effort and so on, four sets of five make twenty. Or the former is one pure method, inferior and so on are three, sovereignty of zeal and so on are four, sovereignty of zeal inferior and so on are twelve, thus also there are twenty methods. Where are these twenty great methods divided? In the Great Treatise (Paṭṭhāna 2.14.1), they are divided in the triad of inferior. But here, having taken the middling aggregate from the triad of inferior, three sections should be made in terms of inferior, middling, and excellent. From that, having set aside the middling aggregate, having taken the inferior and excellent, nine sections should be made. For in the inferior itself there is inferior, there is middling, there is excellent. And in the excellent also there is inferior, there is middling, there is excellent. Thus in inferior-inferior there is inferior, in inferior-inferior there is middling, in inferior-inferior there is excellent. In inferior-middling there is inferior, in inferior-middling there is middling, in inferior-middling there is excellent. In inferior-excellent there is inferior, in inferior-excellent there is middling, in inferior-excellent there is excellent, this is one set of nine. In excellent-inferior also there is inferior, in excellent-inferior there is middling, in excellent-inferior there is excellent. Thus in excellent-middling there is inferior, in excellent-middling there is middling, in excellent-middling there is excellent. In excellent-excellent there is inferior, in excellent-excellent there is middling, in excellent-excellent there is excellent. This is the second set of nine, two sets of nine are eighteen. These eighteen are called gateways of action. Influenced by the clouds, through their power, eighteen nobles, eighteen brahmins, eighteen merchants, eighteen laborers, forty-eight clan lineages are to be known. And among these three-planed wholesome states, wholesome states of the sense-sphere can be both with and without roots, depending on association or dissociation with knowledge. But wholesome states of the form and formless spheres are only with three roots and only associated with knowledge. Here, wholesome states of the sense-sphere can arise both with and without dominance. Wholesome states of the form and formless spheres arise only with dominance. In wholesome states of the sense-sphere, both object-dominance and co-arising dominance are found. In wholesome states of the form and formless spheres, object-dominance is not found, only co-arising dominance is found. There, the mind's dominance over the mind is said in terms of associated phenomena. But since two minds do not occur together, there is no mind that is a dominant mind of an associated mind. Likewise, desire and so on have desire-dominance and so on. But some say, "If there is a wholesome state for one with a mind, thinking 'It will be mine,' the mind that takes on the burden, that makes it the chief, and cultivates another wholesome mind, that former mind is called mind-dominance, because this mind-dominance comes from that." Thus, they desire dominance in terms of coming. But this method is seen neither in the Pāli nor in the commentary. Therefore, dominance should be understood in the manner stated. And in these nineteen great methods, in the first purification method, only the number of minds and the nava-groups and the path-turns are mentioned. Therefore, in those associated with knowledge, the variety of mind-nava-group-turns should be understood as twenty times the number stated, and in the four dissociated from knowledge, sixteen times. This is called the miscellaneous talk on the three-planed wholesome states. Three-planed wholesome states. Description of Supramundane Wholesome States 277. Having shown the wholesome states that produce the wealth of the three existences, now, to show the supramundane wholesome states for transcending all existences, again... What are wholesome states? - thus it begins. There, what is supramundane in meaning supramundane? Because it crosses the world, it is supramundane. Because it transcends the world, it is supramundane. Because it stands surpassing and overcoming the world, it is supramundane. He cultivates jhāna: he cultivates, generates, and increases the jhāna of absorption, which lasts for a single moment of consciousness. Because it leads out from the world, it leads out from the round of existence, it is leading out. Or, because one goes out by it, it is leading out. For the person endowed with that, understanding suffering, goes out. Abandoning origin, goes out. Realizing cessation, goes out. Cultivating the path, goes out. Just as the wholesome of the three planes accumulates and increases rebirth-linking in the round of existence, it is called leading to accumulation. But this is not like that. But just as when one man builds an eighteen-cubit wall, and another, taking a great hammer, goes along destroying and demolishing the places built, just so, by causing a deficiency of conditions, it goes along destroying and demolishing the rebirth-linking accumulated by the wholesome of the three planes, thus it is leading to decline. For the abandoning of views, here, views themselves are view-positions, like "gone to excrement," "gone to urine," and so on. Or, because they are included in the sixty-two views, view-positions are those gone into views. Or, that by which one goes to views, that is view-positions. Meaning, having a similar course to views, having a similar tendency to views. But what are those? The unwholesome states associated with them: personality-belief, doubt, clinging to rites and observances, and the greed, hatred, and delusion that lead to the woeful states. For as long as the first path is not cultivated, they are called having a similar course to views, because they have the nature of occurring. Thus, views and view-positions are view-positions. For the abandoning of those view-positions. For the purpose of abandoning by way of complete destruction. First: in the sense of counting, in the sense of first arising, first. Of the stage: as in "by a stage without interruption," so far. That which is called the great earth, the ground. "In the realm of sensual pleasure, the happy ground," and so on, refers to the arising of consciousness. But here, the fruit of asceticism is intended. For, because those states are the support of associated factors, those states exist on this ground. Or, since even in the state of being supramundane, it itself exists and arises, not like Nibbāna, which is non-manifest, therefore it is called ground; of that first ground. For the attainment means for the sake of attaining, for the sake of gaining the first fruit of asceticism, which is reckoned as the fruit of stream-entry, thus the meaning here should be understood. Having secluded means having secluded by way of severance-seclusion, having become without. Now, although even mundane absorption is not accomplished without practice, even so, here, setting aside the method of purification, and greatly honoring supramundane absorption together with practice, he says "painful practice, slow in comprehension," and so on. Therein, he who from the beginning suppresses the defilements, suppressing with difficulty, with effort, with application, for him there is painful practice;