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Homage to the Blessed One, the Worthy One, the Perfectly Enlightened One. In the Abhidhamma Piṭaka The Dispeller of Delusion, Called The Commentary on the Vibhaṅga 1. The Khandha Vibhaṅga 1. Description of the Suttanta Division The lord, the decade of the Four Noble Truths, The Buddha, having revealed the fourfold Dhamma Saṅgaṇi, Immediately thereafter, Endowed with the Buddha-qualities, the leader, eighteen in number, According to the division of the eighteen aggregates, etc., The Teacher expounded the Vibhaṅga, the order of its commentary; Now, since it has arrived, therefore the explanation of its meaning. Having thoroughly examined the ancient commentary style, I will do it; Having respect for the true Dhamma, listen to it attentively. 1.The five aggregates – the aggregate of form…pe… the aggregate of consciousness, this is called the Suttanta Division in the Khandha Vibhaṅga, which is the beginning of the Vibhaṅga treatise. Therein, "five" is a numerical determination. It shows that it is neither less nor more than that. "Aggregates" is an indication of defined phenomena. Here, this word "aggregate" is seen in many places – as a heap, as a quality, as a concept, and as a convention. "Just as, monks, in the great ocean it is not easy to take a measure of the water – whether so many water-āḷhakas, or so many hundreds of water-āḷhakas, or so many thousands of water-āḷhakas, or so many hundreds of thousands of water-āḷhakas, but it goes by the reckoning, 'an incalculable, immeasurable great mass of water'," etc. (A.N. 4.51; 6.37), here "aggregate" means a heap. For a small amount of water is not called a water-aggregate, only a large amount is. Similarly, a small amount of dust is not a dust-aggregate, nor a small number of cows a cow-aggregate, nor a small amount of strength a strength-aggregate, nor a small amount of merit a merit-aggregate. Indeed, a large amount of dust is a dust-aggregate, and many cows, etc., are called a cow-aggregate, a strength-aggregate, a merit-aggregate. But in "the aggregate of virtue, the aggregate of concentration," etc. (D.N. 3.355), "aggregate" is from the aspect of quality. Dho by name. "The Blessed One saw a large log being carried along by the current of the Ganges River" (SN 4.241). Here, "khandha" means a trunk by designation. In passages like, "Whatever is citta, mano, mānasa...pe... viññāṇa, viññāṇakkhandha" (Dhs. 63, 65), "khandha" is a term of common usage. Here, it is intended as an aggregate. For this "khandha" means a heap, a mass, a collection, a pile, an accumulation. Therefore, "khandhas are characterized by aggregation" should be understood. It is also fitting to say it means a portion; for in the world, when someone borrows money and is pressed for repayment, they say, "I will pay in two installments, I will pay in three installments." Thus, it is also fitting to say, "khandhas are characterized by portions." In this way, here, rūpakkhandha means an aggregate of rūpa, a portion of rūpa; vedanākkhandha means an aggregate of vedanā, a portion of vedanā; in this manner, the meaning of saññākkhandha, etc., should be understood. Thus far, the Perfectly Enlightened One has shown that the aggregate of rūpa, which is divided into eleven occasions such as past, future, and present, as "the four great elements and rūpa derived from the four great elements," and which has such distinctions as "twenty-five portions of rūpa" and "ninety-six portions of rūpa," all that, having gathered it together, is called rūpakkhandha. But this aggregate of vedanā in the four realms, which is divided into those same eleven occasions as "pleasant feeling, painful feeling, neither-pleasant-nor-painful feeling," all that, having gathered it together, is called vedanākkhandha. But this aggregate of saññā in the four realms, which is divided into those same eleven occasions as "saññā born of eye-contact...pe... saññā born of mind-contact," all that, having gathered it together, is called saññākkhandha. But this aggregate of cetanā in the four realms, which is divided into those same eleven occasions as "cetanā born of eye-contact...pe... cetanā born of mind-contact," all that, having gathered it together, is called saṅkhārakkhandha. But this, "eye-consciousness, ear-nose-tongue-body-consciousness, mind-element..." That is, the mind-element and the mind-consciousness-element, thus showing that the entire collection of four-plane consciousness, divided into these eleven instances, is collectively called the aggregate of consciousness. Furthermore, all four-cause-produced form is the aggregate of form; the feeling that arises together with the eighty-nine or ninety-one consciousnesses, beginning with the eight wholesome consciousnesses of the desire realm, is the aggregate of feeling; perception is the aggregate of perception; phenomena such as contact are the aggregate of mental formations; and the eighty-nine or ninety-one consciousnesses are the aggregate of consciousness. Thus, the classification of phenomena into the five aggregates should be understood. 1. Exposition of the Aggregate of Form 2. Now, to explain those aggregates of form, etc., by dividing them, he begins with "What is the aggregate of form?" Here, "there" means among those five aggregates. "What is" is a question expressing the intention to speak. "The aggregate of form" indicates the phenomenon being asked about. Now, dividing it, he begins with "Whatever form..." Here, "whatever" means without exception. "Form" restricts excessive application. Thus, even with these two words, the entire extent of form is encompassed. Here, in what sense is it "form"? It is "form" in the sense of being afflicted. This was said by the Blessed One: "But what, monks, do you call form? It is afflicted, monks, therefore it is called form. By what is it afflicted? It is afflicted by cold, it is afflicted by heat, it is afflicted by hunger, it is afflicted by thirst, it is afflicted by the touch of flies, mosquitoes, wind, sun, and creeping things. It is afflicted, monks, therefore it is called form" (SN 3.79). Here, "what" is a question of cause; what cause do you call form, what cause is it called form? "It is afflicted" here, "it is" indicates the cause. Because it is afflicted, therefore it is called form, is the meaning. "It is afflicted" means it is disturbed, struck, oppressed, broken. Thus, by this much, form is said to be form in the sense of being afflicted. It is also fitting to say that form is characterized by being afflicted. This is its characteristic of being afflicted. Now, among "it is afflicted by cold, etc.," first, affliction by cold... Suffering from cold is evident in the Lokantarika hell. In the space between three sets of world-systems, there is a Lokantarika hell, about eight thousand yojanas in extent, which has neither earth below nor the light of the moon, sun, or stars above; it is perpetual darkness. The beings born there have bodies three gavutas in size. Like bats, they cling head downward to the foot of the mountain with their long, thick nails. When, crawling, they come within reach of each other, thinking, "We have found no food," they turn around and fall into the water in the crevice of the world, and even as the cold wind strikes them, they break apart in the water like ripe madhuka fruits. As soon as they fall, they dissolve in the extremely bitter cold water, their skin, tendons, flesh, and bones breaking apart, crackling like balls of dough thrown into hot oil. Thus, suffering from cold is evident in the Lokantarika hell. It is also evident in places with snowfall and cold weather, such as the Mahiṃsa country. There, beings with bodies broken and torn by the cold meet their end. Suffering from heat is evident in the Avīci great hell. There, beings experience great suffering when they are laid down on the hot iron ground and subjected to the fivefold binding and other tortures. Suffering from hunger is evident in the realm of ghosts and during times of famine. In the realm of ghosts, beings do not even get to take a tiny morsel of food in their hand and put it in their mouth for two or three Buddha-intervals. Their insides are like a hollow tree on fire. During famine, there is no measure to the number of those who die without even getting a drop of gruel. Suffering from thirst is evident among the Kālakañjika ghosts. There, beings are unable to obtain even a drop of water to moisten their heart or tongue for two or three Buddha-intervals. Even when they go to a river thinking, "We will drink water," the river turns into a sandy plain. Even when they go to the great ocean, the great ocean... It becomes stone. They wander, withered, afflicted by great suffering. It is said that a Kālakañjika demon, unable to endure thirst, descended into the great Ganges, a league deep and wide. Wherever he stepped, the water vanished, smoke rose, it was like walking on a hot stone slab. Hearing the sound of the water, as he wandered here and there, the night dawned. Then, in the morning, about thirty monks on their alms round saw him and asked, "Who are you, good sir?" "I am a hungry ghost, venerable sirs." "What are you seeking?" "Water, venerable sirs." "This Ganges is full, do you not see it?" "It is not suitable for me, venerable sirs." "Then lie down on the bank of the Ganges, and we will pour water into your mouth." He lay down on his back on the sandy shore. The monks took out about thirty bowls, brought water, and poured it into his mouth. As they were doing this, the time for their meal approached. Then they said, "It is time for us to go on alms round, good sir; have you received even a little satisfaction?" The hungry ghost said, "If even half a sesame seed of the water poured by thirty venerable sirs with thirty bowls goes down my throat, may I not be released from this state of being a hungry ghost." Thus, suffering from thirst is evident in the realm of hungry ghosts.