English
At the moment of their arising, only one aggregate of form arises. Having arisen standing, they remain standing; having arisen sitting, they remain sitting; having arisen lying down, they remain lying down. Like a painted form, they remain for five hundred eons. At the end of that time, that body of form disappears, and perception of the sense sphere arises; therefore, it is known that those gods pass away from that body due to the arising of perception here. "Abundant in fruit are these" means Very Fruitful. "They do not decline from their attainment, they do not fall away" means Non-declining. "They do not torment any being" means Non-tormenting. "Beautiful to see, lovely, inspiring confidence" means Beautiful. "They see well, or beautiful is their sight" means Clear-sighted. "They are the eldest in all these qualities and in the attainment of existence, there is no younger here" means Peerless. 1028. "Having reached the sphere of infinite space" means those who have reached the sphere of infinite space. The same method applies to the others. Thus, six sense-sphere realms, nine Brahma realms, five Pure Abodes, four immaterial realms, along with the Unconscious Beings and the Very Fruitful, are twenty-six deva realms; with the human realm, twenty-seven. There, the lifespan in the four woeful states and in the earthbound devas is not determined by the Perfectly Enlightened One when determining the lifespan of humans and devas. Why is that? In hell, karma alone is the measure. As long as karma is not exhausted, n They fall away for that long. Likewise in the remaining woeful states. Even for the earth-dwelling deities, karma is the measure. There, some beings born remain for a week, some for half a month, some for a month, and some even remain for an eon. There, among humans, even while remaining in the householder's life, some become stream-enterers, attain the fruition of once-returners, non-returners, and even arahantship. Among them, stream-enterers and the like remain as long as they live. But those with taints destroyed either attain final Nibbāna or go forth. Why? Arahantship is the highest quality, while the householder's state is inferior; that inferior state cannot hold the supreme quality. Therefore, they desire either to attain final Nibbāna or to go forth. But earth-dwelling deities, even after attaining arahantship, remain as long as they live. In the six sensual heavens, stream-enterers and once-returners remain as long as they live; a non-returner is fit to go to the realm of form, and one with taints destroyed, to attain final Nibbāna. Why? Because there is no place to hide. In the realms of form and the formless realms, all remain as long as they live. There, stream-enterers and once-returners born in the realm of form do not come here again, but attain final Nibbāna there. These are called jhāna-non-returners. But what determines for those who have attained the eight attainments? Mastery of jhāna. Whichever is mastered, one is reborn by that. But among all that are mastered, what determines? Aspiration. Wherever one aspires to be reborn, one is reborn there. If there is no aspiration, what determines? The attainment one is absorbed in at the moment of death. If there is no attainment one is absorbed in at the moment of death, what determines? The attainment of neither perception nor non-perception. For one is certainly reborn in the realm of neither perception nor non-perception. For noble disciples born in the nine Brahma worlds, there is rebirth there and rebirth above, but not rebirth below. But for ordinary people, there is rebirth there, rebirth above, and rebirth below. In the five Pure Abodes and the four formless realms, for noble disciples, there is rebirth there and rebirth above. Born in the first jhāna realm... An Anāgāmī, after being purified in the nine Brahma realms, standing at the summit, attains Nibbāna. Vehapphalā, Akaniṭṭhā, and Nevasaññānāsaññāyatana, these three deva-worlds are called the most excellent existences. Anāgāmīs born in these three places neither go higher nor lower, but attain Nibbāna right there. This is a miscellaneous point here. 7. Description of the Modes Beginning with "To Be Fully Known" 1030. In the seventh mode, "to be fully known" should be understood in terms of the knowledge that grasps characteristics. "To be fully understood" in terms of knowledge, investigating, abandoning, and complete understanding. And that, "the aggregate of form is to be fully known, to be fully understood, not to be abandoned," etc., should be understood only in terms of knowledge and investigating understanding. "The truth of origin is to be fully known, to be fully understood, to be abandoned," etc., in terms of abandoning understanding. In the eighth mode, "with an object" and "without an object" should be understood in terms of forms, etc., as objects, and eye-consciousness, etc. The ninth mode is clear in meaning. In the tenth mode, whatever should be said, all that has already been said in the section on asking questions. The Dhammahadayavibhaṅga Commentary in the Sammohavinodanī Vibhaṅga Commentary is finished. Concluding Remarks Thus far – The Teacher of the Dhamma, showing the Abhidhamma, surrounded by thousands of deva-hosts, to the devas in the city of the devas, endowed with respect for the Dhamma and the Teacher. The Second, the Incomparable Person, the Lord, spoke this Vibhaṅga treatise, adorned with eighteen Vibhaṅgas, possessing a multitude of excellent qualities. For the purpose of revealing its meaning, I, requested by those possessing good qualities, a monk, of unhurried pace, intelligent, named Buddhaghosa, began to compose this commentary, on subtle and profound meanings, named Sammohavinodanī, the dispeller of delusion. Taking the essence of the ancient commentaries, this one has reached completion without interruption, according to the Pāli recitations. Just as forty-one have been completed, so may all others also, pure, reach completion, may the wishes of all beings be fulfilled. And whatever merit I have gained by composing this for the stability of the Good Dhamma, may all beings attain it completely. Not only with the gods is the world. May the Dhamma long endure, may the world always delight in the Dhamma; May the countries always be endowed with constant safety, prosperity, and abundance. By the Elder, whose name was taken up by the teachers as Buddhaghosa, who was of great and pure wisdom, an ornament to the lineage of the dwellers of the Great Monastery, whose minds were well-established in the higher human states, adorned with the various qualities of the six super-knowledges and analytical knowledges, surrounded by different analytical knowledges, a chief among disputants, speaking fitting words, endowed with the beauty of a sweet and noble voice issuing forth from the happiness born of accomplishment, a great poet, with unobstructed light of knowledge in the Teacher's Dispensation, in the variety of the Tipiṭaka with its commentaries, possessing skill in understanding, capable of penetrating the depths of his own and others' doctrines, endowed with the accumulation of virtues such as morality, conduct, uprightness, and gentleness, adorned with supremely pure faith, intelligence, and energy, was made this commentary on the Vibhaṅga, named Sammohavinodanī. So long may it stand in the world, for those who seek deliverance from the world; Showing to sons of good family, the way to purity of wisdom. So long as even the name of the Buddha, of the pure-minded Such One, Of the world-honored, the greatest in the world, of the great sage, continues to exist in the world. The Vibhaṅga Commentary, named Sammohavinodanī, is finished.