English
But since the eightfold livelihood is fulfilled only by one who abandons the four kinds of verbal misconduct and the three kinds of bodily misconduct and fulfills both kinds of good conduct, and not by another, therefore right livelihood was stated immediately after those two. Having a pure livelihood, one should not be content with merely thinking, "My livelihood is pure," and live negligently, but rather, to show that this effort should be aroused in all postures, right effort was stated immediately after that. Then, to show that even with aroused effort, mindfulness should be well established in the four objects beginning with the body, right mindfulness was taught immediately after that. But since mindfulness, thus well established, is able to investigate the courses of the helpful and unhelpful things for concentration and to concentrate the mind on a single object, therefore it should be understood that right concentration was taught immediately after right mindfulness. In the exposition of right view, the four truths as the basis of action are shown by "knowledge of suffering" and so on. There, the first two truths are the round of existence, the latter are the escape from it. Among them, a bhikkhu has application to the basis of action in the round of existence, but there is no application to the escape from it. For the first two truths, "the five aggregates are suffering, craving is the origin," thus briefly, and "what are the five aggregates? The aggregate of form," and so on, having learned from the teacher in detail and repeatedly reciting the words, the yogi does the work; but in the other two truths, he does the work merely by hearing "the truth of cessation is desirable, lovely, pleasing, the truth of the path is desirable, lovely, pleasing." Thus, doing this work, he penetrates the four truths with one penetration, comprehends with one comprehension; he penetrates suffering with penetration of understanding, origin with penetration of abandoning, cessation with penetration of realization, path with penetration of cultivation; he comprehends suffering with comprehension of understanding… …the path with comprehension of cultivation. Thus, in the prior part, there is learning, questioning, hearing, retention, reflection, and penetration regarding the two truths; in the two, there is only hearing and penetration; in the latter part, there is penetration of three according to function, in cessation, penetration of object. There, all penetration-knowledge is supramundane, hearing, retention, and reflection-knowledge is mundane, belonging to the sense-sphere, but reviewing is of the attained truth. And this is a beginner. Therefore, that is not mentioned here. And for this monk, before the grasp, there is no preliminary application, attention, or reviewing, thinking, 'I understand suffering, I abandon origin, I realize cessation, I cultivate path,' it exists from the beginning of the grasp; but in the latter part, suffering is already understood… …the path is already cultivated. There, two truths are profound because they are difficult to see, two are difficult to see because they are profound. For the truth of suffering is evident from its arising; even the expression 'alas, suffering' occurs in instances of thorn pricks and blows. The origin, too, is evident from its arising in terms of the desire to eat, the desire to enjoy, and so on. But in terms of penetration of characteristic, both are profound. Thus, those are profound because they are difficult to see. But for the sake of seeing the other two, effort is like extending a hand to grasp the peak of existence, like extending a foot to touch the Avīci hell, like placing the tip of a hair split into a hundred pieces on the tip of another. Thus, those are difficult to see because they are profound. Thus, regarding the four truths, which are profound because they are difficult to see and difficult to see because they are profound, referring to the arising of prior-part knowledge in terms of learning and so on, this is "knowledge of suffering." Thus, it is said. But at the moment of penetration, there is only one knowledge. In the explanation of right thought, "gone forth from sensual desire" means the thought of renunciation. "Gone forth from ill-will" means the thought of non-ill-will. "Gone forth from harmfulness" means the thought of non-harmfulness. There, the thought of renunciation arises, making a strike, a cut at the root of sensual thought, the thought of non-ill-will arises against the thought of ill-will, the thought of non-harmfulness arises against the thought of harmfulness. And the thought of renunciation arises as an opponent of sensual thought, the thoughts of non-ill-will and non-harmfulness as opponents of the thoughts of ill-will and harmfulness. There, the yogi, for the purpose of striking at the root of sensual thought, reflects on sensual thought or some other conditioned thing. Then, at the moment of insight, thought associated with insight arises, making a strike, a cut at the root of sensual thought in the manner of temporary suppression, urging on insight, leading to the path. Then, at the moment of the path, thought associated with the path arises, making a strike, a cut at the root of sensual thought in the manner of complete eradication; for the purpose of striking at the root of ill-will thought, he reflects on ill-will thought or some other conditioned thing; for the purpose of striking at the root of harmful thought, he reflects on harmful thought or some other conditioned thing. Then, "at the moment of insight," everything should be connected in the same way as before. However, among the thirty-eight objects in which sensual thought and the others are distinguished in the Pāli, there is not even a single meditation subject that is not an opponent. But, exclusively, for sensual thought, foulness is the opponent, only the first jhāna, for ill-will thought, loving-kindness is the opponent, the triple and quadruple jhānas, for harmful thought, compassion is the opponent, the triple and quadruple jhānas. Therefore, having performed preliminary work on foulness, and attained jhāna, at the moment of attainment, thought associated with jhāna arises, as an opponent of sensual thought in the manner of suppression. For one establishing insight, having made jhāna the basis, at the moment of insight, thought associated with insight... It arises as an opponent to sensual thought by way of suppression. At the moment of the path, when insight is aroused and leads to the path, the thought associated with the path arises as an opponent to sensual thought by way of eradication. Thus, it should be understood that what arises is called the thought of renunciation. Moreover, having performed preliminary work with loving-kindness, having performed preliminary work with compassion, one attains absorption; all this should be connected in the same way as before. Thus, it is to be understood that what arises is called the thought of non-ill-will, and it is also called the thought of non-harming. Thus, these thoughts of renunciation and so on are diverse in the preliminary stage due to the difference in their arising based on insight and absorption; but at the moment of the path, in these three instances, a single wholesome thought arises, fulfilling the path factor by preventing the arising of unwholesome thought by cutting off its foothold. This is called right thought. Also, in the explanation of right speech, since one abstains from false speech with one mind, and from malicious speech and so on with another, therefore, these four abstinences are diverse in the preliminary stage; but at the moment of the path, a single wholesome abstinence called right speech arises, fulfilling the path factor by preventing the arising of the fourfold unwholesome misconduct of speech by cutting off its foothold. This is called right speech. Also, in the explanation of right action, since one abstains from killing with one mind, from stealing with another, and from sexual misconduct with another, therefore, these three abstinences are diverse in the preliminary stage; but at the moment of the path, a single wholesome abstinence called right action arises, fulfilling the path factor by preventing the arising of the threefold unwholesome misconduct of action by cutting off its foothold. This is called right action. In the explanation of right livelihood, "here" means in this dispensation. "Noble disciple" means a disciple of the noble Buddha. "Having abandoned wrong livelihood" means having given up evil livelihood. "By right livelihood" means by a wholesome livelihood praised by the Buddha. He lives. He makes one livelihood, he keeps life going. Here also, because with one mind he abstains from bodily transgression, with another from verbal transgression, therefore in the preliminary stage it arises in diverse moments; but in the moment of the path, with regard to the seven courses of action arising in the two doors, the wrong livelihood of evil conduct, by way of non-occurrence of the break, fulfilling the path-factor, only one right livelihood arises, called wholesome abstinence. This is called right livelihood. The exposition of right effort will appear in the analysis of right exertion by way of the description without interruption. But this is obtained in diverse minds in the preliminary stage. For with one mind he makes effort for the non-arising of unarisen evil unwholesome states, with another for the abandoning of arisen ones; and with one he makes effort for the arising of unarisen wholesome states, with another for the maintenance of arisen ones; but in the moment of the path it is obtained in one mind only. For only one energy associated with the path, by way of accomplishing four functions, obtains four names. The exposition of right mindfulness also will appear in the analysis of the foundations of mindfulness