English
"He is not born, nor will he be" means that self is not born because it is of the nature of non-birth; it always exists. Therefore, in the past, he was not. it was, nor will it be in the future. For whoever is born, he was; and whoever will be born, he will be. Or, 'he was not born, nor did he cease to be,' because he is always existing, he never was not in the past, nor will he ever not be in the future. Eternal means without arising and passing away. Permanent means stable, essential. Everlasting means existing for all time. Of unchanging nature means a quality that does not abandon its inherent state, like a thorn, it does not undergo various transformations. Thus, this is called the 'doctrine of all defilements' (M. i. 17 ff.). The rest is straightforward in meaning everywhere. Explanation of the Sixes. (7.) Explanation of the Sevens 949. In the Sevens, anusayā means tendencies because of their clinging and unabandoned nature. Saṃyojanāni means fetters because they bind and connect beings to the round of existence. Pariyuṭṭhānāni means obsessions because they overwhelm by way of occurrence. Kāmarāgapariyuṭṭhānaṃ means obsession with sensual desire. The same method applies to the rest. 950. Asaddhammā means bad qualities, or qualities that are not good, in the sense of being base. Duccaritāni means misconduct, conduct corrupted by defilements such as greed. Mānā means conceits, thinking in this or that way. 951. In the section on views, rūpī means having form. Cātumahābhūtikoti means made of the four great elements. Mātāpitūnaṃ etanti means belonging to mother and father. What is that? Semen and blood. Mātāpettikasambhavo means born, originated from mother and father. Here, he calls the state of being human, with the head as the chief part of the body, the self. The second rejects that and speaks of the state of being divine. Dibboti means originated in the world of gods. Kāmāvacaroti means included in the six sensual heavens. Kabaḷīkāraṃ bhakkhayatīti means eating solid food. Manomayoti means created by the mind of jhāna. Sabbaṅgapaccaṅgīti means endowed with all parts and limbs. Ahīnindriyoti means with complete faculties; this is said in terms of what exists in the Brahma world, and the rest in terms of their structure. Ākāsānañcāyatanūpagoti means attained to the state of the sphere of infinite space. The same method applies to the rest. The rest is straightforward in meaning everywhere. Section on the Sevens. Explanation. (8.) Aṭṭhaka Commentary 952. In the Aṭṭhaka, defilements are the very objects of defilement. "Objects of sloth" means objects, foundations, causes of laziness for the slothful, the indolent. "There is work to be done" means there is work to be done, such as considering robes. "He does not rouse energy" means he does not rouse energy of either kind. "Of the unattained" means for the attainment of the jhāna, insight, path, and fruition, which are unattained. "Of the unmastered" means for the mastery of that which is unmastered. "Of the unrealized" means for the realization of that which is unrealized. "This is the first" means "Come, now, I will lie down," this sinking down is the first object of sloth. In this way, the meaning should be understood everywhere. But in "thinking it is saturated with moisture," "saturated with moisture" means a wet month; the idea is that just as a wet month is heavy, so it is heavy. "He has recovered from sickness" means having been sick, he has subsequently recovered. 954. In "among the eight worldly conditions," worldly conditions are conditions of the world. There is no one freed from these; even Buddhas have them. Therefore, they are called "worldly conditions." "Repulsion" means the manner of striking against. "Greed in gain" means the greed that arises due to joy rooted in attachment, thinking, "I am gaining gain"; it strikes against the mind. "Opposition in loss" means the opposition that arises due to sorrow, thinking, "I am not gaining gain"; it too strikes against the mind. Therefore, it is called "repulsion." In the case of fame and so on, the arising of these should be understood thus: "I have a large following, I have a small following, I have attained praise, I have attained blame, I have attained happiness, I have attained suffering." "Un-noble discourse" means the discourse of the un-noble. 957. "Faults of men" means faults of men. "I do not remember" means he evades and escapes with a lack of mindfulness, thinking, "I do not remember, I do not notice the place where this action was done by me." "He only retorts to the accuser" means he opposes and speaks back, standing as if he has retorted. What now is your... "What good is your talk, you foolish, incompetent one?" Thus he shows that you know neither the object of the offense, nor the accusation. "You, knowing nothing, think you should speak?" Thus he overwhelms him. He rebuts, saying, "You too are like that," and so on, he rebuts. "Make amends," meaning, teach what leads to confession, rise from what leads to rehabilitation, then, established in purity, you may accuse another. He covers one thing with another, meaning, he conceals one reason or statement with another reason or statement. When told, "You have committed an offense," he says, "Who has? What offense? How did I commit it? In what did I commit it? Whom are you talking about? What are you talking about?" When told, "Something like this was seen by you," he pretends not to hear, closing his ear. How does he divert the talk outside? When asked, "You committed such and such an offense," he says, "I went to Pāṭaliputta." When told again, "We are not asking about your going to Pāṭaliputta," he says, "Then I went to Rājagaha." "Go to Rājagaha or a brahmin's house; you have committed an offense!" "There I got some pork," and so on, he scatters the talk outside. Anger means the state of being angry. Hatred means the state of being wicked. Both of these are names for anger. Displeasure means a state of dissatisfaction; this is a name for dejection. He makes it appear, meaning he shows it, he reveals it. He speaks waving his arms, meaning he waves his arms and speaks shamelessly. He harasses, meaning he torments, he oppresses. Not paying attention, meaning not taking it to heart, not regarding it, despising it; it means being disrespectful. Excessively, meaning very firmly, excessively. Engaged in me, meaning involved with me. Having returned for the sake of a lower state, meaning having returned for the sake of the lower state of a householder; it means having become a householder. Be glad, meaning be of joyful mind, he speaks with the intention, "Obtain what should be obtained by me, live in the place where I should live, a comfortable dwelling has been made for you by me." 958. Unconscious, meaning the prevailing doctrine is unconscious. Firstly; those who have that exist are the Unpercipient-being proponents. For one who has attained, taking a meditation-device-form as self, the view arises that self is formed; for one who has not, merely by reasoning, like the Ājīvakas. But only for one who has attained, taking the sign of a formless attainment as self, the view arises that self is formless; for one who has not, merely by reasoning, like the Nigaṇṭhas. Here, in the state of Unpercipient-being, a single cause should not be sought. For one gone to views, like a madman, grasps whatever. And 'formed and formless' is said by way of grasping a mixture of form and formless. This view arises for one who has attained form-sphere and formless-sphere attainments, and also for a reasoner. But 'neither formed nor formless' is entirely a view of reasoners. 'Finite' is the view of one grasping a limited meditation-device as self. 'Infinite' is an unlimited meditation-device. 'Finite and infinite' is the view arising from grasping a meditation-device as self, upwards, downwards, bounded, and across, unbounded. 'Neither finite nor infinite' is entirely a view of reasoners. The rest is everywhere of obvious meaning. Explanation of the Eights. (9.) Explanation of the Nines. 960. In the Nines, the nine grounds for resentment are spoken of only in terms of arising in beings. 'Defilements of men' are human defilements. 'Ninefold' means nine divisions or nine kinds. 963. 'Conditioned by craving' means relying on craving. 'Seeking' is seeking objects such as forms. For that exists when there is craving. 'Gain' is obtaining objects such as forms. For that exists when there is seeking. But 'deciding' is fourfold, in terms of knowledge, craving, view, and thought. Therein, "One should know a pleasant decision, and knowing a pleasant decision, one should pursue inner happiness" this is a decision of knowledge. "Deciding means two decisions - a decision of craving and a decision of view" thus come the eight hundred craving-dominated wanderings, a decision of craving. The sixty-two views are a decision of view. "Desire, O Sakka, is a thought." Now, in this sutta (Dīgha Nikāya 2.358), the "decision" mentioned here refers to thought itself. For having obtained gain, one decides what is desirable and undesirable, beautiful and ugly, through thought: "This much will be for the sake of visual objects, this much for the sake of sounds and other objects, this much will be for me, this much for others, this much I will enjoy, this much I will store away." Therefore, it is said, "Decision arises dependent on gain." Desire and lust arise in the object thought about through such unwholesome thought, both weak lust and strong lust. Here, "desire" is a term for weak lust. "Attachment" means a strong conviction of "I" and "mine." "Grasping" means taking hold in the way of craving and wrong view. "Avarice" is the inability to bear others sharing something.