English
The two sense bases should be understood as having the qualities of wholesome etc., like the four aggregates in the Aggregate Analysis. For indeed, the four aggregates are conditioned and dependently arisen, but the mind-object base is said to be "may be unconditioned, may be unarisen." And in the object-triplets, the mind-object base, reckoned as subtle form, which is without an object, belongs to the category of "not to be stated." And that, because it is without an object, is not to be stated as having a limited object etc., this is the distinction here. The rest is just the same. Here too, like the four aggregates, the two sense bases, when one is attached, hostile, or deluded towards the fifty-five sense-sphere phenomena, or is restraining, contemplating, or reviewing them, have a limited object, so everything is just as said in the aggregates. Here ends the Āyatanavibhaṅgavaṇṇanā in the Sammohavinodanī Vibhaṅga Commentary. 3. Dhātuvibhaṅga 1. Suttantabhājanīyavaṇṇanā 172. Now, immediately after that, in the Dhātuvibhaṅga, showing the Suttantabhājanīya by condensing all the elements into six elements with six sextets, he said, beginning with "six elements." There, "six" is a numerical limit. "Element" is a designation of a limited phenomenon. In "earth element" etc., the meaning of "element" is the meaning of nature, the meaning of nature is the meaning of emptiness, the meaning of emptiness is the meaning of being without self, thus, by the meaning of nature, emptiness, and being without self, earth itself is an element, earth element. The same method applies to water element etc. Thus, having understood the word combination here, the meaning should be understood thus: earth element is the element of foundation. Water element is the element of cohesion. Fire element is the element of maturation. Air element is the element of support. Space element is the element of non-obstruction. Consciousness element is the element of cognition. 173. "Pathavīdhātudvayanti" means this is the earth element, two. This earth element is not one. But truly, the two elements are only two, by way of internal and external division. Therefore he said, "There is internal, there is external." Therein, internal means included in the continuum of beings, one's own internal. External means included in the continuum of formations, not bound by the senses. Internal, personal, both of these are terms for one's own internal. Now, to show that in terms of its inherent nature, "hard" and so on were said. Therein, hard means stiff. Rough means coarse. Hardness means the state of being hard. The state of being hard means the nature of being hard. Internal, clung to, means called one's own internal, clung to. Clung to means the eight constituents of the body. For the eight constituents of the body, whether arising from karma or not, with reference to that, there is both clung to and not clung to; but to show that all of this is clung to in the sense of being taken, grasped, and touched, he said, "internal, clung to." Now, to show that same earth element in terms of its substance, "that is to say, hair, body hair" and so on were said. Therein, "that is to say" is a particle. Its meaning is: which is that internal earth element? Or what is that which is internal, personal, called hard? "Hair, body hair" and so on is a showing of the divisions of that internal earth element in terms of substance. This is what was said: hair is called internal, clung to, the eight constituents of the body, having the characteristic of hardness, a distinct part in this body. Body hair is called... and so on... feces is called. Here, however, even though not mentioned, bringing in the brain membrane which is included in the text in the Paṭisambhidāmagga, brain membrane is called internal, clung to, the eight constituents of the body, having the characteristic of hardness, a distinct part in this body. In the subsequent descriptions of the water element and so on, the same method applies to bile and so on. What is shown by this? Mindfulness of the elements. But in this mindfulness of the elements, what should one who wishes to attain the highest goal, arahantship, by doing work and establishing insight, do? Four kinds of The morality of precepts should be purified. For one with pure morality, the practice of meditation succeeds. The method of its purification should be understood in the manner described in the Visuddhimagga. Having purified morality, and being established in morality, the ten preliminary impediments should be cut off. The method of cutting them off should also be understood in the manner described in the Visuddhimagga. Having cut off the impediments, the meditation subject of the elements should be learned. The teacher, when teaching the meditation subject of the elements, should explain the sevenfold skill in learning and the tenfold skill in attention. The student, in the presence of the teacher, should make the meditation subject clear and proficient by repeated recitation. For it was said in the commentary: "A beginner bhikkhu, wishing to be freed from old age and death, should desire the sevenfold skill in learning and the tenfold skill in attention." Here, in this meditation subject of the elements, the 'skill in learning' should be desired in these seven ways: by word, by mind, by color, by shape, by direction, by location, and by delimitation. The 'skill in attention' should be desired in these ten ways: in sequence, not too quickly, not too slowly, by repelling distractions, by transcending concepts, by releasing in sequence, by characteristic, and by the three suttas. Both of these will become clear later in the Satipaṭṭhāna Vibhaṅga. Having learned the meditation subject in this way, one should dwell in a dwelling endowed with the five factors, avoiding the eighteen faults of dwellings mentioned in the Visuddhimagga, and being endowed with the five essential factors oneself, having returned from the alms round after the meal, one should attend to the meditation subject in a secluded place. While attending, having attended to each part of the hairs, etc., in terms of color, shape, direction, location, and delimitation, at the end, attention should be directed thus: "These are called hairs, born in the skin enveloping the skull." There, just as blunt On the grass, the anthill's top does not know, 'On me, coarse grasses have grown.' Nor do the coarse grasses know, 'On the anthill's top, we have grown.' Just so, the scalp does not know, 'On me, hairs have grown.' Nor do the hairs know, 'On the scalp, we have grown.' Devoid of mutual regard and inspection are these things. Thus, hairs, in this body, are a separate part, unconscious, undeclared, empty, without soul, stiff, the earth element. Hairs of the body, grown on the skin. There, as in an empty village site, where dabba grass has grown, the empty village site does not know, 'On me, dabba grass has grown.' Nor does the dabba grass know, 'In the empty village site, we have grown.' Just so, the skin does not know, 'On me, body hairs have grown.' Nor do the body hairs know, 'On the skin, we have grown.' Devoid of mutual regard and inspection are these things. Thus, body hairs, in this body, are a separate part, unconscious, undeclared, empty, without soul, stiff, the earth element. Nails, grown on the tips of the fingers. There, as when boys, piercing honey sticks with rods, play, the rods do not know, 'In us, honey sticks are placed.' Nor do the honey sticks know, 'In the rods, we are placed.' Just so, the fingers do not know, 'On our tips, nails have grown.' Nor do the nails know, 'On the tips of the fingers, we have grown.' Devoid of mutual regard and inspection are these things. Thus, nails, in this body, are a separate part, unconscious, undeclared, empty, without soul, stiff, the earth element. Teeth, grown in the jawbones. There, as when carpenters, having bound pillars with some kind of adhesive, place them in stone sockets, the sockets do not know, 'In us, pillars stand.' Nor do the pillars know, 'In the sockets, we stand.' Just so, the jawbones do not know, 'In us, teeth "Born," but the teeth do not know, "We are born in the jawbones." These things are devoid of mutual enjoyment and reflection. Thus, teeth are called a separate part in this body, unconscious, unmanifested, empty, without essence, stiff, the earth element. Skin, having completely enveloped the entire body, stands. Just as a great lute covered with hide does not know, "I am covered with hide," nor does the hide know, "I cover the great lute," even so, the body does not know, "I am enveloped by skin," nor does the skin know, "I envelop the body." These things are devoid of mutual enjoyment and reflection. Thus, skin is called a separate part in this body, unconscious, unmanifested, empty, without essence, stiff, the earth element. Flesh, having smeared the skeleton, stands. Just as a wall plastered with clay does not know, "I am plastered with clay," nor does the clay know, "I plastered the great wall," even so, the skeleton does not know, "I am plastered with flesh, with nine hundred flesh-muscle divisions," nor does the flesh know, "I plastered the skeleton." These things are devoid of mutual enjoyment and reflection. Thus, flesh is called a separate part in this body, unconscious, unmanifested, empty, without essence, stiff, the earth element. Sinews, binding the bones within the body, stand. Just as in wooden frames bound with creepers, the wooden frames do not know, "We are bound with creepers," nor do the creepers know, "We have bound the wooden frames," even so, the bones do not know, "We are bound by sinews," nor do the sinews know, "We have bound the bones." These things are devoid of mutual enjoyment and reflection. Thus, sinews are called a separate part in this body, unconscious, unmanifested, empty, without essence, stiff, the earth element. The element of support.