English
taken from various passages in the suttas, come to sixty-five phenomena. However, since those specifically mentioned, in terms of the factors of jhāna, faculties, factors of the path, powers, roots, etc., are repeatedly taken to show the manifold functions of a single thing, and described in sixty-six ways by way of synonyms, they are only the aforementioned forty-seven phenomena, by non-overlapping inclusion. These are of two kinds: with inflections and without inflections. There, the eighteen, beginning with contact, are single entities without inflections. The twelve phenomena, beginning with feeling, are with inflections, divided appropriately into thirty-eight kinds. The "but also," however, are without inflections. Therefore, all of them, without synonyms, are only thirty-nine phenomena. They exist. They exist here – The five beginning with contact, the five jhana factors, the eight faculties; The five path factors, the seven strengths, and also the three roots. The three courses of action, likewise the pair of world guardians; The six pairs beginning with tranquility, the three pairs in the background. With seventeen categories, fifty-six indeed in the text; Thirty by nature are stated, qualities not grasped by grasping. Contact, life, perception, volition, joy; The six pairs beginning with bodily tranquility, eighteen in total. Mind, thought, faith, shame and fear of blame; Non-greed and non-hatred, seven are distinguished in two ways. Feeling is threefold, energy, mindfulness are considered fourfold; Concentration is sixfold, wisdom is distinguished sevenfold. Abstinences, immeasurables, attention, desire and equanimity; Conviction and application, these nine in the first mind. In sixty-five ways, described by way of explanation; Thirty-nine qualities, indeed are ultimate realities. Here, the thirty qualities that come by way of essence, and the four among the applications, thus thirty-four qualities are invariably found in one moment, but the remaining ones, such as compassion, are impermanent, either as preliminary compassion or preliminary joy, or as abstaining from bodily misconduct, verbal misconduct, and wrong livelihood, arising only at times when the mind is active and not otherwise. And since they do not arise together because of their individually distinct objects, either in terms of suffering or happy beings, or in terms of the three types of misconduct, therefore, in the five moments of consciousness that occur in the preliminary stages of compassion, thirty-four are constant, and one of compassion, thus thirty-five qualities arise, but it should be understood that only the thirty-four constant qualities arise in the activity of giving and so on. This is the determination from the enumeration of qualities. The division by characteristic and so on: thus the determination of the qualities that have been enumerated should be understood from the characteristic, function, and so on. It touches, therefore it is contact. This has the characteristic of touching, the function of collision, the manifestation of convergence, the object is accessible to the senses. It has no standing place. Though it is an immaterial phenomenon, it occurs by way of contacting the object, thus having contacting as its characteristic, and its occurrence by way of contacting should be known by the production of saliva etc. when seeing sour things etc. But, in one aspect, even without clinging, like the eye with form, and like sound with the ear, it collides the mind with the object, thus having colliding as its function. However, due to the condition of its own cause, known as the triad's convergence, it has convergence as its manifestation, but by way of manifestation as a result, it is called having feeling as its manifestation. And because it arises without interruption in the object encompassed by its own range and by the sense faculty, it is called having the object within range as its proximate cause. But because it is the basis of feeling, it should be seen like a cow without skin. And among the characteristics etc., the inherent nature or commonality of those phenomena is called characteristic, the function or accomplishment is called function, the mode of manifestation or the result is called manifestation, the proximate cause is called proximate cause. Thus, above, the diversity of the characteristics etc. should be understood everywhere. Feeling feels, thus feeling has feeling as its characteristic, but due to the difference in nature, it is fivefold – pleasure, pain, joy, sorrow, and equanimity. Therein, pleasure has experiencing agreeable tangible objects as its characteristic, invigorating the associated states as its function, physical satisfaction as its manifestation, and the body sense faculty as its proximate cause. Pain has experiencing disagreeable tangible objects as its characteristic, withering the associated states as its function, physical affliction as its manifestation, and the body sense faculty as its proximate cause. Joy has experiencing agreeable objects as its characteristic, enjoying the agreeable aspect in whatever way, invigorating the associated states as its function, mental satisfaction as its manifestation, and seeing the agreeable aspect as its proximate cause. Sorrow has experiencing disagreeable objects as its characteristic, enjoying the disagreeable aspect in whatever way, withering the associated states as its function, mental affliction as its manifestation, and exclusively the heart-base as its proximate cause. Equanimity has the characteristic of feeling neutral, has the function of neither excessively strengthening nor weakening associated states, has the manifestation of peacefulness, and has the proximate cause of a mind devoid of joy. Here, pleasure and pain are exclusively indeterminate, displeasure is exclusively unwholesome, but joy and equanimity can be wholesome, unwholesome, or indeterminate. Here, however, wholesome joy is intended. Perception cognizes an object distinguished by blue, etc. It has the characteristic of cognizing, has the function of recognition, or the function of making a sign for future recognition, like carpenters, etc., with wood, has the manifestation of focusing according to the sign as grasped, like the blind men describing the elephant, or has the manifestation of briefly lasting due to not deeply engaging with the object, like lightning, and has the proximate cause of the object as it appears, like the perception that arises in young animals of a man in a scarecrow. Volition intends, that is, it directs itself and its associated states towards the object. That volition has the characteristic of intending, has the function of conation, and it exists only in wholesome and unwholesome states. In the others, however, it has the manifestation of organizing, being similar to them, like a senior student, a master builder, etc., who accomplish their own tasks and the tasks of others. But in recalling urgent actions, etc., it becomes clear, functioning as encouragement in the associated states. The mind thinks about an object, that is, consciousness. But its detailed meaning will become clear in the section on the mind. That mind has the characteristic of cognizing, has the function of leading, has the manifestation of connecting due to continuous occurrence, and has name and form as its proximate cause. Thinking, pondering, or simply the act of thinking is initial application. It has the characteristic of directing the mind towards the object, has the function of striking and binding, and has the manifestation of bringing the mind to the object. The mind wanders in the object through it, or simply the act of wandering is sustained application. It has the characteristic of repeatedly engaging with the object, has the function of applying associated states there, and has the manifestation of continuously binding the mind. Initial application Like the first striking of a bell, the mind's initial application is thought, gross and subtle in order of application. Like the echo of the bell, the sustained application is investigation. Here, thought is like the flapping of a bird's wings, wanting to fly up into the sky. Investigation is like the spreading of the wings, of a bird that has flown up into the sky. But their distinction is clear, in the first and second jhānas. Yet both have associated states as their foundation. Gladdening is joy. It has the characteristic of delighting, the function of invigorating body and mind, or the function of pervading, manifestation as elation, and proximate cause as mental concomitants accompanied by gladness. The state of heroes, or their action, is effort, or it should be aroused, set in motion by various means, thus effort. It has the characteristic of striving, the function of supporting co-nascent states, manifestation as non-dejection, and proximate cause as agitation, because it is said, "Being agitated, he strives wisely," or proximate cause as the basis for initiating effort. This is the proximate cause in the wholesome side, but on the unwholesome side, etc., the proximate cause is generally, or in whatever way, the desire to remove suffering, or the proximate cause is associated states. It should be seen that when it is rightly undertaken, it is the root of all attainments. One point is its object, thus one-pointed, the mind, its state is one-pointedness, the one-pointedness of the mind is concentration, this is its name, samādhi. It has the characteristic of non-distraction, the function of consolidating co-nascent states, like water for bath powder, manifestation as tranquility, or manifestation as knowledge, proximate cause as happiness, but here too, in the unwholesome side, etc., generally, the manifestation and proximate cause, should be understood by applying them in the manner stated. It should be seen as the mind's stability,