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This here is the profundity of penetration. 660. Because here there are four ways of meaning: the way of oneness, the way of diversity, the way of non-action, and the way of suchness; therefore, this wheel of becoming should be understood according to the distinction of these ways. Here, from ignorance, formations; from formations, consciousness. Thus, like a seed becoming a sprout and then a tree, the unbroken continuity is called the way of oneness. One who rightly sees this, by understanding the unbroken continuity through cause-and-effect, abandons the annihilation view. One who wrongly sees this, by grasping the oneness of the unbroken continuity that proceeds through cause-and-effect, adopts the eternalist view. But the distinct establishment of the characteristics of ignorance and so on, each in its own way, is called the way of diversity. One who rightly sees this, by seeing the arising of new and new things, abandons the eternalist view. One who wrongly sees this, by grasping the diversity of what falls into a single continuum as if it were a broken continuum, adopts the annihilation view. Formations by ignorance are to be produced by me Ah, the non-doing method is when there is no such activity as "consciousness is ours, or of formations." One who sees this rightly abandons the view of self, understanding the absence of a doer. One who sees it wrongly, not grasping the naturally established causal state of ignorance and so on, even when there is no doing, adopts the view of non-action. But the method of such-ness is that formations and so on arise only from causes like ignorance and so on, just as curd and so on arise from milk and so on, and not from others. One who sees this rightly abandons the view of no cause and the view of non-action, understanding the fruit according to the cause. One who sees it wrongly, not grasping the arising of the fruit according to the cause, and grasping the non-arising of anything from anywhere for anyone, adopts the view of no cause and the view of determinism. Thus, this wheel of becoming, From the arising of truths, from duties, And from similes of prevention; And from profound divisions of methods, Should be understood appropriately. 661. For this is exceedingly profound, unfathomable. It is difficult to cross due to the thicket of various methods. Sharpened well on the excellent rock of concentration with the sword of knowledge, Having split the wheel of becoming, Like a thunderbolt-wheel, a constant grinding; No one exists, even in a dream, Who has gone beyond the fear of transmigration. And this was said by the Blessed One: "Profound is this dependent co-arising, Ānanda, and profound in its appearance. And because of not understanding, not penetrating this Dhamma, Ānanda, this generation has become entangled like a tangled skein, like a knotted ball of thread, like muñja grass and pabbaja grass, and does not escape the states of woe, the bad destinations, the downfall, transmigration" (Mahāva. 95; Saṃ. Ni. 2.60). Therefore, one who is devoted to the welfare and happiness of oneself or others, abandoning the remaining duties, Here, the wise one, in the profound divisions of the causal process; Should always diligently practice, mindful, So that he may indeed find footing. Thus, in the Visuddhimagga, made for the joy of good people, In the section on the development of wisdom, The description of the stages of wisdom, Is the seventeenth chapter. 18. Description of the Purity of View The Account of Discerning Mind-and-Matter 662. Now, that which "in these stages..." Having made an acquaintance with knowledge by way of learning and questioning about the phenomena that have come into being, it was said that “purity of virtue and purity of mind— these two fundamental purities— should be accomplished.” Therein, purity of virtue is the perfectly pure fourfold virtue, such as that of the Pātimokkha restraint, and that has been elaborated in the section on virtue. Purity of mind is the eight attainments with access concentration, and these too have been fully elaborated in the section on concentration, spoken of under the heading of mind. Therefore, they should be understood in the way they are elaborated there. But as for what was said: “purity of view, purity by overcoming doubt, purity of knowledge and vision of the path and not-path, purity of knowledge and vision of the way, and purity of knowledge and vision— these five purities are the body,” therein, the true seeing of name-and-form is called purity of view. 663. One who wishes to accomplish this, if a tranquility-yāna practitioner, having arisen from any of the jhānas of the form and formless realms, except for the neither-perception-nor-non-perception sphere, should comprehend the jhānic factors such as initial application, and the phenomena associated with them, by way of their characteristics and functions. Having comprehended them, all of this should be determined as name, in the sense of inclining, because it inclines towards the object. Then, just as a man, having seen a snake inside the house, pursues it and sees its lair, even so this yogi, examining that name, and searching, “what does this name depend on to arise?” sees its support, the heart-base. Then he comprehends form, which consists of the supports of the heart-base, and the remaining derived material phenomena that are dependent on the great elements. He determines all of this as form, in the sense of being afflicted. Then he briefly determines name-and-form: name, having the characteristic of inclining, and form, having the characteristic of being afflicted. 664. A pure insight-yāna practitioner, or this same tranquility-yāna practitioner, should comprehend the four elements, either briefly or extensively, by way of any of those methods of comprehending the elements mentioned in the determination of the four elements. He comprehends. Then, in the elements that have become manifest according to their true nature and characteristics, in the hair, for instance, arisen from kamma, there are ten forms: "four elements, color, odor, taste, nutritive essence, life, body-sensitivity"— thus, ten forms as a body-decad. Right there, due to the existence of gender, ten forms as a gender-decad. Right there, the nutritive-essence octad arisen from food, that arisen from season, that arisen from mind— these are another twenty-four. Thus, in the twenty-four constituents from the four origins, there are forty-four, forty-four forms. But in these four: sweat, tears, saliva, mucus, arisen from season and mind, by means of two nutritive-essence octads, there are sixteen, sixteen forms. In these four: stomach contents, feces, pus, urine, arisen from season, by means of the nutritive-essence octad arisen from season itself, eight, eight forms become manifest. This is the method regarding the thirty-two aspects. But when these thirty-two aspects are manifest, another ten aspects become manifest. There, in the kamma-born element of heat that digests food and so on, there are nine forms: the nutritive-essence octad and life. Similarly, in the mind-born element of in-breaths and out-breaths, there are nine forms: the nutritive-essence octad and sound. In the remaining eight of the four origins, there are thirty-three forms: the life-nonad and three nutritive-essence octads, which become manifest. When these primary and secondary forms, manifest in forty-two aspects in this detailed way, have arisen, by way of bases and doors, five eye-decads and so on, and the heart-base decad— another sixty forms become manifest. He, having unified all of them by the characteristic of being afflicted, sees them as "this is form." When form has been thus comprehended, formless phenomena become manifest by way of doors. Namely: the two five-fold consciousnesses, the three mind-elements, the sixty-eight mind-consciousness elements— thus, eighty-one mundane consciousnesses. And without distinction, contact co-arisen with these consciousnesses, feeling, perception, volition, life, mental one-pointedness, attention. Thus, these seven, seven mental factors. But supramundane consciousnesses are not grasped by one who is a pure vipassanā practitioner, nor by one who is a samatha vehicle, because they are not yet attained. He, having gathered all those formless phenomena by the characteristic of bending, sees them as "this is mind." Thus, one person classifies mind-and-matter extensively by way of the four elements. 665. Another, by way of the eighteen elements. How? Here, a monk, having reflected on the elements "there is in this being the eye element... and so on... the mind-consciousness element," not taking that which the world perceives as "eye" — a mass of flesh, varied with white and black circles, long and broad, bound in the eye socket by sinews and threads — but classifies the eye-sensitivity, as described in the section on aggregates among the derived material qualities, as "the eye element." But the four elements that are its basis, the four attendant material qualities of color, smell, taste, and nutritive essence, and the life faculty that sustains it — these nine co-arisen material qualities; and the twenty kamma-born material qualities present there, by way of the body-decad and the sex-decad; and the twenty-four ungrasped material qualities by way of the three nutritive-essence-octads arising from food and so on — thus, the remaining fifty-three material qualities; these are not classified as "the eye element." This method applies to the ear element and so on. In the body element, however, there are forty-three remaining material qualities. But some say forty-five, making nine each with sound, arising from temperature and consciousness. Thus, these five sensitivities, and their five objects — visible form, sound, smell, taste, and tangible — make ten material qualities, which are ten elements. The remaining material qualities