English
, the gateway to the object. Having obstruction as its characteristic, name and form as its foundation. Contact has the characteristic of touching, the function of impact, manifestation as association, and the six sense bases as its foundation. Feeling has the characteristic of experiencing, the function of enjoying the taste of objects, manifestation as pleasure and pain, and contact as its foundation. Craving has the characteristic of cause, the function of delighting, manifestation as insatiability, and feeling as its foundation. Grasping has the characteristic of seizing, the function of not releasing, manifestation as the firmness of craving and wrong views, and craving as its foundation. Becoming has the characteristic of karma and its result, the function of developing and producing, manifestation as wholesome, unwholesome, and neutral, and grasping as its foundation. The characteristics and so on of birth and the rest should be understood in the same way as stated in the Analysis of the Truths. Thus, here, the determination should be understood even from the characteristics and so on. In "From one kind," ignorance is of one kind in the sense of unknowing, not seeing, delusion, and so on; of two kinds in the sense of wrong practice and non-practice, and also in the sense of conditioned and unconditioned; of three kinds in the sense of association with the three kinds of feeling; of four kinds in the sense of not penetrating the Four Noble Truths; of five kinds in the sense of covering the dangers of the five realms of existence; however, in all immaterial phenomena, six kinds should be understood in terms of the doors and objects. Volitional formations are of one kind in the sense of being associated with defilements, resulting, and having the nature of phenomena; of two kinds in the sense of wholesome and unwholesome, and also in the sense of limited, exalted, inferior, middling, wrong, fixed, and unfixed; of three kinds in the sense of meritorious volitional formations and so on; of four kinds in the sense of leading to the four modes of generation; of five kinds in the sense of leading to the five realms of existence. Consciousness is of one kind in the sense of mundane result and so on; of two kinds in the sense of with and without cause and so on; of three kinds in the sense of being included in the three realms of existence, associated with the three kinds of feeling, and in the sense of without cause, with two causes, and with three causes; of four and five kinds in terms of modes of generation and realms of existence. Name and form are of one kind in the sense of depending on consciousness and having karma as a condition; of two kinds in the sense of having and not having an object; of three kinds in the sense of past, and so on; of four and five kinds in terms of modes of generation and realms of existence. The six sense bases are of one kind in the sense of being the place of assembly and convergence; of two kinds in the sense of material elements, sense faculties, and consciousness; of three kinds in terms of attainment Of one kind, two kinds, three kinds, related to the six sense spheres; of four kinds, because it includes the realms of existence; of five kinds, and so on. In this way, the nature of contact and the rest, as being of one kind and so forth, should be understood. Thus, in this context, the determination should be understood, even from what is of one kind and so forth. 'The establishment of the factors': sorrow and the like are mentioned here to show the unbroken continuity of the wheel of existence. For they arise in the ignorant person struck by old age and death. As it is said: "The uninstructed ordinary person, monks, touched by painful bodily feeling, sorrows, grieves, laments, beats his breast, cries out, and falls into confusion." And as long as their occurrence continues, so long does the wheel of existence remain connected, again, with ignorance as condition for volitional formations. Therefore, even these, by including them in one summary with old age and death, should be understood as only twelve factors of dependent origination. Thus, in this context, the determination should be understood, even from the establishment of the factors. This, for now, is the summary account in terms of the mode of exposition. The description in terms of the mode of exposition is finished. Explanation of the term "Ignorance" 226. Now, in terms of the mode of analysis, there is a detailed account. "With ignorance as condition, volitional formations" is what was said. There, in showing the volitional formations that have ignorance as their condition, since when a son is to be spoken of, the father is spoken of first, for when this is so, the son is well spoken of as 'the son of so-and-so'. Therefore, the Teacher, skilled in teaching, in order to show ignorance, which is like a father in being the generator of volitional formations, says first, "What is ignorance there? Lack of knowledge of suffering," and so on. There, since this ignorance does not allow one to know, see, or penetrate the true characteristic of the truth of suffering, but conceals, envelops, and binds it, therefore it is called "lack of knowledge of suffering." Similarly, since it does not allow one to know, see, or penetrate the true characteristic of the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the path leading to the cessation of suffering, but conceals, envelops, and binds them, t This is called ignorance, regarding the path leading to the cessation of suffering. In these four instances, ignorance is spoken of as lack of knowledge, according to the Suttanta method. However, in the Nikkhepa section (Dhs. 1067), ignorance is included in four more instances, according to the Abhidhamma method, as "ignorance of the past." There, "past" means past time, past aggregates, elements, and sense bases. "Future" means future time, future aggregates, elements, and sense bases. "Past and future" means both of those. "Conditionality" means the causes of formations, the factors such as ignorance. "Dependently arisen phenomena" means formations and other phenomena, produced by ignorance and other factors. Here, this ignorance, since it does not allow one to know, see, or penetrate the characteristics of the past aggregates, etc., as they really are, but obscures, envelops, and binds them, therefore, it is called "ignorance of the past." Similarly, since it does not allow one to know, see, or penetrate the characteristics of the future aggregates, etc., of the past and future aggregates, etc., and of conditionality and dependently arisen phenomena, as they really are, but obscures, envelops, and binds them, therefore, it is called ignorance of conditionality and dependently arisen phenomena. In these eight instances, ignorance is spoken of as lack of knowledge, according to the Abhidhamma method. Thus, what is spoken of? Ignorance is spoken of in terms of its function and its nature. How? This ignorance, since it does not allow one to know, see, or penetrate these eight instances, is spoken of in terms of its function; and since it arises in these eight instances when it arises, it is also spoken of in terms of its nature. Having spoken thus, then, the twenty-five terms beginning with "whatever such ignorance, lack of seeing," etc., are taken to show the characteristic of ignorance. There, since this ignorance, even though spoken of in these eight terms, is not well spoken of unless its characteristic is spoken of in the twenty-five terms, but is well spoken of only when its characteristic is spoken of, Just as a man, searching for a lost ox, would ask people, "Have you seen a white ox, sirs? Have you seen a red ox?" And they might say, "In this region, there's no end to white and red oxen, what are the ox's markings?" Then, if he said "a packsaddle" or "a plough," the ox would be well described. Just so, since this ignorance, though described with eight terms, is not well described until its characteristics are stated with twenty-five terms, it is well described only when its characteristics are stated. Therefore, twenty-five terms have been stated to show the characteristics of the vehicle, and they should be understood in that way. Namely: Knowledge is wisdom. It makes the meaning, the purpose, the cause, the Four Noble Truths known and clear. But this ignorance, arising, does not allow that to be known and clear, so, being the opposite of knowledge, it is unknowing. Seeing, too, is wisdom. It sees that aspect. But ignorance, arising, does not allow that to be seen, so it is not-seeing. Understanding, too, is wisdom. It understands that aspect. But ignorance, arising, does not allow that to be understood, so it is non-understanding. Comprehension, perfect knowledge, penetration, too, are wisdom. It comprehends, perfectly knows, penetrates that aspect. But ignorance, arising, does not allow that to be comprehended, perfectly known, penetrated, so it is non-comprehension, imperfect knowledge, non-penetration. Grasping, too, is wisdom. It takes hold of that aspect, rubs it, grasps it. But ignorance, arising, does not allow that to be taken hold of, rubbed, grasped, so it is non-grasping. Investigating, too, is wisdom. It plunges into that aspect, sits down in it, grasps it. But ignorance, arising, does not allow that to be plunged into, sat down in, grasped, so it is non-investigating. Considering equally, too, is wisdom. It considers that aspect equally and rightly. But ignorance, arising, does not allow that to be considered equally and rightly, so it is non-equal consideration. Wisdom is also investigation. It investigates that form. But when ignorance arises, it does not allow one to investigate it, hence non-investigation. It has no action that is directly apparent, and the action done without investigating is non-apparent action. Being foolish, it is dullness.