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as subject to sickness, as subject to death, as subject to sorrow, as subject to lamentation, as subject to despair, as subject to defilement. By these forty modes, "Seeing the five aggregates as impermanent, one attains conformable patience. Seeing the cessation of the five aggregates as the permanent Nibbāna, one enters the fixed course of rightness," and so on, in this manner, By one who expounds the knowledge of conformity, the contemplation of impermanence and so on has been stated in its various aspects. And by means of that, one contemplates these five aggregates. 698. How? Indeed, he contemplates each aggregate: as impermanent, by reason of its not being permanent, and by reason of having a beginning and an end. as suffering, by reason of being oppressed by rise and fall, and by reason of being a basis for suffering. as a disease, by reason of being maintained by conditions, and by reason of being the root of disease. as a boil, by reason of being associated with the dart of suffering, and by reason of oozing defilements and impurities, and by reason of being swollen, ripened, and burst by rise, aging, and dissolution. as a dart, by reason of causing pain, and by reason of piercing within, and by reason of being difficult to extract. as a bane, by reason of being censurable, and by reason of bringing no growth, and by reason of being a basis for evil. as an affliction, by reason of generating lack of freedom, and by reason of being a proximate cause for affliction. as alien, by reason of not being one's own, and by reason of not being subject to control. as perishing, by reason of crumbling away due to sickness, aging, and death. From calamity, because it brings it. From danger, because it brings vast, even unknown harms, and because it is the basis of all dangers. From fear, because it is the source of all fears, and because it is the opposite of the supreme comfort called the cessation of suffering. From affliction, because it is bound up with many harms, because it is afflicted by faults, and like a plague, it is not fit to be endured. From agitation, because it is agitated by sickness, old age, and death, and by worldly conditions like gain and loss. From breaking up, because it is prone to breaking up by effort and by itself. From impermanence, because it falls into all states, and because of the absence of stability. From no protection, because it does not protect, and because it does not afford safety. From no refuge, because it is not fit to cling to, and even for those who cling, it does not act as a refuge. From no shelter, because for those who rely on it, there is no protection from fear. From emptiness, because it is empty of the states imagined as permanent, beautiful, and pleasant. From worthlessness, just because of emptiness, or because of being little; for even what is little is called worthless in the world. From voidness, because of the absence of an owner, inhabitant, doer, feeler, or controller. From non-self, and because it itself is without an owner, etc. From danger, because of the suffering of continuity, and because of the danger of suffering. Or alternatively, "It goes, it proceeds to dangers," this is a designation for a wretched person. And because the aggregates are also wretched, it is like danger. From the nature of change, because it is of the nature to change in two ways: by old age and by death. From essencelessness, because of weakness, and like a pithless tree, it is easily broken for happiness. From the root of distress, because it is the cause of distress. From a killer, because like an enemy in the guise of a friend, it betrays trust. From dissolution, because of the cessation of existence, and because it arises from non-existence. From being defiled, because it is the proximate cause of defilements. From being conditioned, because it is conditioned by causes and conditions. From Mara's bait, because it is the bait for Death-Mara and Defilement-Mara. From the nature of birth, old age, sickness, and death, because it is of that nature. From the nature of sorrow, lamentation, and despair, because it is the cause of sorrow, lamentation, and despair. o. Because of its nature as an object of defilements like craving, wrong view, and misconduct, it is of the nature of defilement. In this way, he contemplates by means of the contemplation of impermanence and so on, which has been described in terms of its distinctions. Here, as impermanent, as perishing, as moving, as breaking up, as unstable, as subject to change, as without essence, as ceasing, as conditioned, as subject to death— making ten for each aggregate, there are fifty contemplations of impermanence. As alien, as empty, as vain, as void, as not-self— making five for each aggregate, there are twenty-five contemplations of not-self. The rest, as suffering, as disease, and so on— making twenty-five for each aggregate, there are one hundred and twenty-five contemplations of suffering. Thus, for him who contemplates the five aggregates by means of this two-hundred-fold contemplation of impermanence and so on, that contemplation of impermanence, suffering, and not-self, which is called insight according to method, becomes firm. This, then, is the method for commencing contemplation according to the Pāli method. Discourse on the nine reasons for sharpening the faculties 699. But if, for someone, even while practicing insight according to method, insight does not arise, then by him, the faculties should be sharpened by means of the nine ways thus stated: "The faculties become sharp in nine ways – he sees only the destruction of formations as they arise; he accomplishes it with careful effort; he accomplishes it with continuous effort; he accomplishes it with suitable effort; by grasping the sign of concentration; by not letting the factors of awakening cease; by establishing non-attachment to body and life; by overcoming with renunciation; and by not stopping in between." Having sharpened the faculties by means of these nine ways, avoiding the seven unsuitable things and cultivating the seven suitable things, in the manner stated in the description of the earth kasina, at times form should be contemplated, at times formless. By one contemplating form, the arising of form should be seen. Discourse on the manner of seeing the arising of form 700. Namely – this thing called form arises from four causes, such as kamma. There, for all beings... This form, when arising, first arises from kamma. Indeed, at the moment of rebirth-linking, for those in the womb, thirty forms arise, reckoned as three tens of bases, bodies, and states. And these, indeed, at the very moment of the arising of the rebirth-linking consciousness. And as at the moment of arising, so too at the moment of presence, and at the moment of dissolution. Therein, form has slow cessation, it changes heavily. Consciousness has swift cessation, it changes lightly. Therefore it is said: "Monks, I do not discern any other single phenomenon that changes so lightly as this consciousness, monks." (A.N. 1.48) Indeed, while form endures, the life-continuum consciousness arises and ceases sixteen times. The moment of arising of consciousness, the moment of presence, and the moment of dissolution are all alike. But for form, the moments of arising and dissolution are light, similar to those. But the moment of presence is great; it endures until sixteen consciousnesses arise and cease. Relying on the pre-arisen base, which has reached its state, and arose at the moment of the rebirth-linking consciousness, the second life-continuum arises. Relying on the pre-arisen base, which has reached its state, and arose together with that, the third life-continuum arises. In this manner, the continuity of consciousness throughout life should be understood. But for one near death, sixteen consciousnesses arise relying on only one pre-arisen base that has reached its state. The form that arose at the moment of the rebirth-linking consciousness ceases together with the sixteenth consciousness after the rebirth-linking consciousness. That which arose at the moment of presence ceases together with the arising moment of the seventeenth (consciousness). That which arose at the moment of dissolution ceases upon reaching the moment of presence of the seventeenth (consciousness). As long as there is continuity, it proceeds in this very way. For spontaneously arisen beings too, seventy forms, reckoned as seven tens, proceed in this very way. 701. Therein, kamma, kamma-originated, kamma-conditioned, kamma-conditioned and consciousness-originated, kamma-conditioned and nutriment-originated, kamma- The division concerning origination from season, etc., should be understood. Therein, kamma means wholesome and unwholesome volitions. Origination from kamma means the resultant aggregates, and the eye-decad, etc., the thirty-seven kinds of equal rūpa. Kamma as condition means that very same thing; for kamma is also a supporting condition for the origination from kamma. Origination from consciousness conditioned by kamma means rūpa originating from resultant consciousness. Origination from nutriment conditioned by kamma means the nutriment (ojā) that has attained a position among the rūpas originating from kamma generates other octads with nutriment; therein, too, the nutriment, having attained a position, generates others, and so on, thus producing four or five generations. Origination from season conditioned by kamma means the heat-element (tejodhātu) born of kamma, having attained a position, generates octads with season as origin; therein, too, the season generates other octads with season as origin, and so on, thus producing four or five generations. In this way, the arising of rūpa born of kamma should be observed. 702. In the case of those born of consciousness, consciousness, origination from consciousness, consciousness as condition,