English
Here, even a weak mind Can only achieve momentary existence and activity; It cannot attain the state of "established persistence." In the summary section, the factors of jhāna and the path Are not extracted. Why? Jhāna is that which culminates in initial thought, The path is that which culminates in cause. In a naturally thought-free mind, The factors of jhāna are not found, Nor are the factors of the path in a causeless mind. Therefore, neither is extracted here. The aggregate of formations is divided here Only into four parts. The emptiness section is natural. The sections on ear-consciousness, etc., Should also be understood in this way. Only in eye-consciousness, etc., Is "equanimity" distinguished, And in body-consciousness, "pleasure"; This is the distinction here. And that too should be understood as occurring through impact. For in the four sense-doors, Only conditioned form impacts conditioned form, And the impact is not strong When conditioned form impacts conditioned form. It is like placing four cotton balls On top of four anvils And striking them with cotton balls; There is only a slight touch. Feeling remains in a neutral state. But at the body-door, An external great-element object Impacts the internal body-sensitivity, And the great-elements dependent on the sensitivity are struck. Just as when placing a cotton ball on the head of an anvil And striking it with a hammer, The hammer cuts through the cotton ball And strikes the anvil, The impact is strong, So too the impact is strong. In a desirable object, Body-consciousness arises accompanied by pleasure, In an undesirable object, Accompanied by pain. But for these five types of consciousness, The base, door, and object are fixed; There is no shifting of the base, etc., here. For wholesome-resultant eye-consciousness Takes the eye-sensitivity as its base And sees a four-originated form object That is desirable or moderately desirable. Thus accomplishing, standing at the eye-door, it ripens. Ear-consciousness and the like, making ear-sense-base and the like their object, accomplishing the functions of hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching in agreeable, disagreeable, and neutral sounds and the like, standing at the ear-door and the like, they ripen. Sound here is only of dual origin. 455. In the analysis of mind-element, mind itself is an element in the sense of being devoid of inherent existence, empty, and without self; mind-element has the characteristic of cognizing forms and the like after eye-consciousness and the like, has the function of receiving forms and the like, has the manifestation of suchness, has the proximate cause of the cessation of eye-consciousness and the like. Here, in the section on mental objects, there are twelve terms. With non-grasping and grasping, nine. Of these, seven are without inflections, two are with inflections. Attention and application are the two that determine. The analysis of thought is established after bringing about application. Since this mind is neither wholesome nor unwholesome, therefore, neither right thought nor wrong thought is stated. Even though a factor of absorption is obtainable in the summary, it has fallen into the stream of the five consciousnesses and is gone. But a factor of the path is not obtainable at all, so it is not extracted. The emptiness aspect is natural. The object of this mind is invariably the heart-base itself. The doors and objects are not invariably connected. Although the doors and objects shift, the location is one. This is only the function of receiving. For this, having received in the five doors, in the five objects, it ripens. When eye-consciousness and the like, which are wholesome results, have ceased, immediately after that, it receives those same forms and the like that have attained that location. 469. In the analyses of the mind-consciousness-elements, in the first mind-consciousness-element, the term "joy" is additional. Feeling is also a feeling of "gladness." For this operates only in an agreeable object. The second mind-consciousness-element is in an agreeable and neutral object. Therefore, there, "equanimity" is the feeling. The terms are similar to those in the analysis of the mind-element. In both cases, since they have fallen into the stream of the five consciousnesses and are gone, the factors of absorption are not mentioned. not uplifted. The path factors are not attained. The rest should be understood in the same way as stated everywhere. But from the standpoint of characteristic, etc., these two types of mind-element are both causeless resultant, having the characteristic of cognizing six objects, having the function of investigating, etc., having that state as manifestation, and having the heart-base as support. There, the first ripens in two places. For it, after the wholesome resultant eye-consciousness, etc., at the five doors, after the mind-element, which is resultant, has received that object and ceased, while accomplishing the function of investigating in that same object, stands and ripens at the five doors. But at the six doors, when the object is strong, it becomes that object and ripens. How? Just as in a swift current, when a boat is going across, the water, having been cut off, follows the boat for a short distance and goes just as the current does, even so, at the six doors, when a strong object is enticing, a javanā arises in the range of perception. When that javanā has arisen, it is the turn of the life-continuum. But this consciousness, without giving way to the life-continuum, having taken the object grasped by the javanā, having occurred for one or two thought-moments, subsides into the life-continuum. Even when crossing a river with a herd of cows, the simile should be elaborated in the same way. In this way, because it has grasped the object grasped by the javanā, it becomes named as "that object" and ripens. But the second ripens in five places. How? In the human world, at the time of conception of those born blind, born deaf, born dumb, born mad, hermaphrodites, and neuters, it ripens by becoming rebirth-linking. When the rebirth-linking has passed, it ripens by becoming life-continuum for as long as life lasts. In a pleasant or neutral five-object process, it ripens by becoming investigating, at the six doors, when the object is strong, it ripens by becoming that object, and at the time of death, it ripens by becoming death-consciousness. Thus, it ripens in these five places. The two mind-elements are finished. Description of the Eight Great Resultant Consciousnesses 498. Now, to show the eight great resultant consciousnesses, again, which are the phenomena that are ab Beginning with "that which is suitable." There, in the text, only the method is shown, but all the variations are summarized. Their meaning should be understood in the same way as stated below. To show what difference there is here, "non-greed is an indeterminate root," etc., is stated. And what is not stated should be understood thus: the distinction of karma-doors, karma-paths, and meritorious deeds that was stated in the sense-sphere wholesome, that is not here. Why? Because it does not generate intimation, it is not a result-producing phenomenon, and it does not occur in that way. Also, the compassion and joy that were stated among those very diversions, because they have beings as their object, they are not present in the results. For sense-sphere results have exclusively limited objects. And not only compassion and joy, but also abstinences are not present here. For it is stated, "The five precepts are wholesome indeed." The distinction of unprompted and prompted should be understood here both from the wholesome and from the difference in conditions. For the result of an unprompted wholesome is unprompted, and of a prompted one, prompted. And the unprompted arises from strong conditions, and the other from the others. Even in the distinction of inferior, etc., these are not called inferior, middling, or excellent because they are not produced by inferior, middling, or excellent desire, etc. But the result of an inferior wholesome is inferior, of a middling one, middling, of an excellent one, excellent. Dominant conditions are not present here. Why? Because they are not produced by taking desire, etc., as the burden. The rest is all just like what was stated in the eight wholesomes. Now, the place of fruition of these eight great result-cittas should be understood. For these ripen in four places: at rebirth, in the life-continuum, at death, and as registration. How? In humans and sense-sphere deities, for the meritorious, both the two-rooted and three-rooted, at the time of taking rebirth, they ripen by becoming rebirth. When rebirth has passed, in the course of sixty or eighty years, or an immeasurable lifetime, by becoming the life-continuum, with a strong object, by becoming registration at the six doors, and at the time of death, by becoming death. ripen in four places. There, all omniscient Bodhisattas, at the final rebirth-linking, take rebirth with the first joyful, unprompted, tri-hetuka great resultant consciousness. That is the result of the preliminary-compassion consciousness. By that rebirth-linking, the lifespan is immeasurable. It transforms according to time. But Mahāsīva Thera said: 'Consciousness accompanied by equanimity is stronger than that accompanied by joy. They take rebirth with that. Those who take rebirth with that have great intentions. They are not fickle even in divine objects, like Tipiṭaka Cūḷanāga Thera and others.' But in the commentary, it is said: 'This is the Thera's wish,' rejecting 'this is not so,' 'the helpfulness of the omniscient Bodhisattas is strong, therefore, they take rebirth with joyful, unprompted, tri-hetuka, sense-sphere wholesome resultant consciousness, preceded by loving-kindness.' The Discourse on the Extraction of Results