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B030307Abhidhammatthasaṅgaho(abhidharma summary of meaning)

English

is recollection of devas. Recollecting the qualities of Nibbāna, which is the cessation of all suffering, is recollection of peace. Recollecting death, which is the cutting off of the life faculty, is recollection of death. Mindfulness directed to and present in the body parts like hair and so on, is mindfulness of the body. In-breath and out-breath are ānāpāna, the breaths. Mindfulness with them as object is mindfulness of in-and-out breathing. 9. That which makes one friendly, or makes one affectionate, is mettā. Or, that which exists among friends is mettā. It has the characteristic of bringing welfare and happiness to beings. Compassion has the characteristic of wishing to remove the suffering of others. Sympathetic joy has the characteristic of rejoicing in the prosperity of others. Equanimity has the characteristic of maintaining a neutral attitude towards desirable and undesirable things. Because their objects are immeasurable beings, they are called immeasurables. Because they are excellent abodes, or abodes of excellent ones, they are divine abodes (brahmavihāras). 10. The perception that arises as revulsion towards edible food, by way of reflecting on its going, seeking, consuming, and so on, is the perception of revulsion in food. 11. The discernment of the four elements, earth element and so on, by their own characteristics, and by their composite nature like hair and so on, is the discernment of the four elements. 12. Those that arise with formless objects are the formless attainments. The description of the varieties of signs is finished. Description of the varieties of suitability 13. Now, to show the meditation subjects suitable for each type of person's temperament, he begins with "Among temperaments..." One whose temperament or nature is lust is a lustful person, a person abundant in lust. Because it is a direct opposite of lust, the meditation on foulness is suitable for him. Mindfulness of breathing is suitable for a deluded person and for a discursive person, because it is an object of wisdom, an antidote to delusion, and a stopper of discursive thoughts. The six recollections of the Buddha and so on are suitable for a faithful person, because they are causes for the growth of faith. 17. The meditation subjects of death, peace, perception (of revulsion), and discernment (of elements) are suitable for a wise person, because of their profundity, which is indeed for wisdom. due to being an object. 18. The rest are ten kinds by way of the four earth kasiṇas, space kasiṇa, light kasiṇa, and the four immaterial attainments. And there, among those ten meditation subjects: A large (object) is suitable for one of deluded conduct, because the mind becomes excessively bewildered in a confined space. A small (object) is suitable for one of discursive thought conduct, because a large object causes discursive thought to wander. This is said due to being directly opposite and extremely suitable. However, there is no kasiṇa meditation, etc., that does not suppress lust, etc., or does not assist faith, etc. The description of the types of suitability is finished. Description of the types of development 19. In all forty meditation subjects, there is no absorption, because the qualities of the Buddha, etc., are ultimate realities, manifold, and each one is profound. In the ten meditation subjects such as recollection of the Buddha, etc., since concentration cannot be established by way of absorption, concentration is established by way of access without reaching the state of absorption. However, supramundane concentration, and the second and fourth immaterial concentrations, even in their own nature, attain absorption by way of special development. Indeed, the supramundane attains absorption by way of the sequence of purity development. The immaterial concentration (attains absorption) by way of developing the transcendence of the object. Indeed, only for the fourth jhana concentration that has attained absorption, there is the mere transcendence of the object. 21. They have all five jhanas, or they are associated with them, thus they are called 'five-jhana-related'. 22. Because the meditation on impurity has a repulsive object, just as a boat on a swift-flowing river moves by the power of the rudder, so too the mind there proceeds only by the power of initial application. Therefore, since a jhana without initial application is impossible in the impurity meditation subject, it is called 'first-jhana-related'. 23. Because loving-kindness, compassion, and appreciative joy abandon ill-will, harmfulness, and discontent accompanied by displeasure, it is appropriate that they are accompanied only by joy, as an antidote to displeasure. Thus, loving-kindness and the other two are called 'four-jhana-related'. 24. "May all beings be happy, may they be free from suffering, may they not be deprived of the happiness and prosperity they have attained, (Thinking) "Let them go," abandoning the three activities arising from loving-kindness and so on, by seeing that beings own their kamma, for the arising of meditation that proceeds with impartiality towards beings, because the impartiality and equanimity there is stronger, and because the Brahmavihāra of equanimity cannot be accompanied by pleasure, it is said, "equanimity is of the fifth jhāna." The description of the kinds of meditation is finished. The description of the kinds of objects. 26. "As is fitting" means according to each respective object. Because some objects are not distinct, it is said "by implication." 27. Indeed, only in kasiṇa, foulness, body-parts, and mindfulness of breathing is the distinct sign possible. 28. "For one grasping the sign in earth-discs and so on" means: First, having purified the fourfold purity of virtue, having cut off the ten kinds of impediments, having approached a good friend endowed with qualities like being beloved, respected, and worthy of veneration, having taken a meditation subject suitable for one's temperament, having abandoned the eighteen kinds of unsuitable abodes, while dwelling in a suitable abode endowed with five factors, having cut off minor impediments like cutting hair and nails, having placed kasiṇa-discs and so on in front, having placed the mind on mindfulness of breathing, body-parts, and so on, having sat down, by the sequence of each respective meditation, saying "earth, earth," and so on, for one grasping the sign in earth-kasiṇa and so on, in those respective objects. This is the summary here. But the meditation in detail should be taken from the Visuddhimagga (Visuddhi. 1.54 onwards). Indeed, both kinds of meditation methods are stated here by the teacher very briefly, and if brought forth in detail to show their meaning, it would be too elaborate, so we too will not elaborate on it. "When that sign is grasped by the mind" means: when that preliminary sign is well grasped by the mind through such a gradually progressing meditation. "It has come to the mind-door's range" means: for one closing the eyes, or going elsewhere and attending to it, having become just like the kasiṇa-disc, it has come into the range of the mind-door impulsion. 29. "It becomes concentrated" means specifically... By the mindful one attaining one-pointedness of mind, it becomes concentrated. 30. By way of the mind's concentration, it is said that even the person is concentrated, as in "of one thus concentrated." "That counterpart (sign)" is similar to the learning sign, for that very reason it is called the "counterpart sign." But that is exceedingly pure compared to the learning sign. "Freed from material phenomena" means freed from ultimate reality, or freed from material phenomena, or freed from the kasiṇa faults present in the kasiṇa disc. Because it is produced by development, it is "made of development." "Well-applied" means very well applied. 31. "From then onwards" means from the arising of the counterpart sign onwards. 33. In the five jhāna factors, after the arising of advertence to each object, without going beyond four or five impulsion moments and a few life-continuum moments, the ability to repeatedly advert to the jhāna factors is called mastery in advertence. After the desire to enter (jhāna), without going beyond a few life-continuum moments, after the arising of advertence, the ability to enter (jhāna) is called mastery in entering. Like a dam cutting off the flood of a swift-flowing river, the ability to establish the jhāna for a predetermined time, suitability for protection from falling into the life-continuum, is called mastery in determination. The ability to emerge from jhāna without exceeding the predetermined time is called mastery in emerging. Or alternatively, the ability to establish it without allowing it to go beyond the predetermined time is called mastery in determination. The ability to emerge only at the proper time, without emerging before the predetermined time, is called mastery in emerging—and enough of this excessive elaboration. But mastery in reviewing is accomplished by mastery in advertence itself. For indeed, the impulsion moments immediately following advertence are called reviewing impulsion moments. "For the abandoning of the gross factors like initial application" means for the non-arising of the gross factors like initial application at the moment of jhāna, by the second jhāna and so on. "Striving" means of one performing preliminary work. But for him, access development is said to be accomplished from the moment of suppressing the craving for initial application and so on, it should be understood. As It removes that which is suitable for the respective jhana-kasiṇa object. 36. Because it is impossible to open up the space kasiṇa, it is said: "among those excluding space." Kasiṇa means the counterpart sign of the kasiṇa. "Having opened" means having removed by not attending. "For one doing preparatory work by way of infinity" means