English
Having entered into the perception of happiness, the perception of a happy abiding, the perception of lightness, and the perception of swift movement in that body born of karma, he goes to another desired destination, and having arrived there in a single moment of consciousness, he abides. This phrase from the discourse, "that person" and so on, is based on a being. This discourse, "these four" and so on, is based on a being and based on a Dhamma. (4) That omniscience, which transcends and overcomes the world, by which the Blessed One is called "Omniscient," there is no decline of that omniscience; that omniscience functions at all times when attention is directed to know. This, "that which" and so on, is called knowledge, because it functions as both expressing and making known the meaning of knowledge. By that wisdom of the path leading to Nibbāna, one understands the destruction of birth and death; that wisdom of the path leading to Nibbāna is superior and praised among all worldly wisdoms. This, "for wisdom" and so on, is called knowledge in the manner stated. "Dhotaka, I will declare your peace," the Blessed One said. "In this very life, in the Dhamma of suffering and so on, or in one's own existence, a meditator, being mindful, endowed with mindfulness such as contemplating impermanence, while walking, having known by the Noble Path that peace, that Nibbāna, should cross over craving, which is clinging and spreading in the world, the world of transmigration." the Blessed One said. Dhotaka said to the Blessed One: "Great Seeker, Gotama, who seeks the great aggregates of virtue and so on, a meditator, being mindful, endowed with mindfulness such as 'all formations are impermanent,' while walking, having known by the Noble Path that supreme peace, that Nibbāna, should cross over craving, which is clinging in the world, the world of transmigration." "That word and that peace, that Nibbāna, I rejoice in, I long for, Great Seeker, you, that which you fully understand." Thus Dhotaka... The Blessed One speaks. Having addressed him as "Dhotaka," the Blessed One said to Dhotaka: "Upward, not yet come; above, below, past; and below, across, and in the middle, present; and all around in the world, the world of transmigration—knowing this craving for becoming and non-becoming, for small existences and great existences, as attachment, as clinging, you, wandering, should not make craving, did not make craving." Thus is the connection: the Blessed One said this to Dhotaka. This, beginning with "I will declare," is called 'knowable' because it proceeds as a speaker and indicator of meaning in the sphere of what is to be known. Because it is to be said, "Only this much," it is said, "Bhikkhus, of the four." Bhikkhus, through not understanding, not comprehending, not penetrating, not piercing the four noble truths, the truths that make one noble, for a long time this running, this wandering, this transmigration has been for me and for you. Bhikkhus, today this suffering, the noble truth, has been understood by me, penetrated... (and so on)... this path leading to the cessation of suffering, the noble truth, has been understood by me, penetrated. My craving for becoming is cut off, the guide to becoming, craving, is exhausted. Now there is no more rebirth for me. Thus, the Blessed One said this, beginning with "of the four." Having said this, beginning with "of the four," the Teacher then said this verse, beginning with "of the four." And in the verse, the same connection should be made. This, beginning with "of the four," is called 'knowable' in the manner stated. (5) "Form is impermanent... (and so on)... consciousness is impermanent." This discourse is called 'knowable' because it proceeds as a speaker and indicator of meaning regarding the knowable phenomena such as form. Thus, knowing in the manner beginning with "form is impermanent," seeing in the manner beginning with "form is impermanent," the noble disciple, the disciple of the noble Blessed One, sees form as "this form is impermanent," sees feeling as "this feeling is impermanent," sees perception as "this perception is impermanent." He sees formations: "These formations are impermanent." He sees consciousness: "This consciousness is impermanent." Thus this discourse, because it proceeds as expressing and making known the knowledge of seeing form, etc., is called knowledge. That noble disciple, seeing in the manner "form is impermanent," etc., is freed from form, from craving for form, ... is freed from consciousness, from craving for consciousness. "He is freed from suffering," so I say, is the connection. This discourse, beginning "he is freed," etc., because it proceeds as expressing and making known both knowledge and the knowable, is both knowledge and the knowable. All five aggregates are formations, because they are conditioned by causes, and because they have a beginning and an end, because they are impermanent, because they are temporary, and because they are momentary, they are impermanent. This statement from the discourse, "all formations are impermanent," is called the knowable, in the manner stated. When, at the time of practicing insight, one sees impermanence, etc., with wisdom, with insight-wisdom. This statement from the discourse, "when one sees with wisdom," is called knowledge. Then, at the moment of seeing, the insight practitioner becomes disenchanted with the suffering five aggregates. The person who is disenchanted penetrates the four noble truths by knowing suffering, etc. This penetration of the four truths is the path for purification, for the sake of purity. This statement from the discourse, beginning "then," etc., is both knowledge and the knowable. Soṇa means he addresses Soṇa. Ascetics, external ascetics, brahmins, brahmins by birth, with impermanent form, with suffering form, with form subject to change, they perceive: "I am better, superior to others," or they perceive: "I am equal, similar to others," or they perceive: "I am inferior, low to others." Apart from not seeing things as they are, what other cause could there be? Indeed, there is no other cause for such perception than not seeing things as they are. It should be understood that not seeing things as they are is the only cause. Also in "with impermanent feeling," etc. In this way, the connection should be made according to the method stated. This phrase from the Sutta, beginning with "whatever beings," is to be known as the knowable. The bright side, however, beginning with "whatever beings," should be understood in the opposite way. This phrase from the Sutta, beginning with "whatever beings," is knowledge. This Sutta, beginning with "whatever beings," is both knowledge and the knowable, because it functions as both the speaker and the illuminator of the meaning of knowledge and the knowable. (6) The Sutta on the foundation of the Dispensation, which contains various kinds of knowledge and the knowable, has been determined by the teacher and understood by us. Because it is to be asked "what is vision?", "what is vision there?" and so on is said. "There" means, among those twenty-eight kinds of Suttas on the foundation of the Dispensation, such as the worldly, which Sutta is called vision? he asks. 115. The Noble Truths, well taught by the Buddha, the Omniscient One of profound wisdom, taught thoroughly in various ways, such as in brief and in detail—those Noble Persons who have cultivated these truths, illuminate them with the light of wisdom. Even if those Noble Persons, having reached the state of divine kingship, universal monarchy, and other places of heedlessness, become extremely heedless, nevertheless, those Noble Persons, by the knowledge of the Stream-entry path, by the cessation of the volitional consciousness, and by the cessation of name-and-form that are capable of arising in the eighth existence and so on, do not take up an eighth existence, in the sense of an eighth occasion. This Sutta, beginning with "those Noble Truths," is called vision because it functions as both the speaker and the illuminator of the meaning of vision, which is the knowledge of the first path. Just as an Indakhīla, a strong wooden pillar, is firmly planted in the earth, having dug a pit eight or ten cubits deep in the ground inside the threshold to strengthen the city gate, and is unshakeable by winds, even strong winds, coming from all four directions, so too, the good person who sees the Noble Truths directly, that I say he is like that, because the good person is unshaken by the winds of all sectarian views. This discourse, beginning with "just like an Indakhīla," is called "seeing" in the manner described. Monks, a noble disciple endowed with the four factors of stream-entry, a disciple of the Noble Blessed One, the Perfectly Self-Enlightened One, wishing to declare, should declare himself: "Friends, my self, I am now one whose hellish states are destroyed, whose animal wombs are destroyed... I will make an end to suffering." To show the nature of the four factors, "by which four?" and so on, was said. This, beginning with "by four," is called "seeing." Various kinds of seeing have been defined. Because "what is development?" should be asked, "therein, what is development?" and so on, was said. In this teaching, for which noble disciple the faculties, such as the faculty of faith, are well developed by way of the development of the noble path, by abandoning the lower fetters that cause rebirth in the sense-sphere, and by abandoning the higher fetters that cause rebirth in the form and formless spheres; that developed one, whose path is developed, that tamed noble disciple, having penetrated this world and the other world, having understood and comprehended, desires or longs for the time of death. This Pāli passage, beginning with "whose faculties," is called "development" because it functions as a declarer and indicator of development.