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A Buddhist Manual of Psychological Ethics of the Fourth Century B.C - Caroline A. F. Rhys Davids, 1900 - Complete Book

English

When, that he may attain to the heavens of Form, he cultivates the way thereto, and further, through the waning of all passion for joy,^ holds himself unbiassed,^ the while, mindful and self-possessed,^ he experiences in his sense-con- sciousness* that ease whereof the Noble Ones^ declare : ' He that is unbiassed and watchful dwelleth at ease ' — and so, by earth-gazing, enters into and abides in the Third Jhana — then the contact, the feeling, the perception, the thinking, the thought, the ease, the self-collectedness, the faculties of faith, energy, mindfulness,^ concentration, wisdom, ideation, happiness and vitality, the right views, right endea- vour,^ etc. . . . the grasp, the balance that arises^ — these, or whatever other incorporeal, causally induced states that there are on that occasion — these are states that are good. ^ Pitiya ca viraga, 'meaning either distaste for joy or the transcending of it.' The ca indicates the progressive continuity from the preceding to the present Jhana (Asl. 171). ^ Upekkhako, or disinterested. He looks on from the standpoint of one who has arrived, says the Cy. (172). As we might say : *E terra magnum alterius spectare laborem.' Buddhaghosa expatiates here on the ten kinds of upek- kha enumerated in Hardy, 'Man. Buddhism,' 505. ^ Sampajano. Intelligently aware of his own pro- cedure. * Kayo, see Introduction ; supra, p. 43, n. 3. 5 See infra, § 1003, n. 6. ^ Omitted in the text, but not so in K. The context requires its insertion. ^ Sammasati, inserted in the text, but not in the right order, is of course required by the context, but is, here and in K., assumed in the * etc' s § 157, to which the reader is referred in the text, is obviously wrong. § 1 would be nearer the mark. 49 [Summary.] [1636i] Now, on that occasion the skandhas are four, the spheres are two, the elements are two, the nutriments are three, the faculties are eight, the Jhana is twofold,^ the Path is fourfold,- the powers are seven, the causes are three, contact counts as a single factor, etc., etc. [Continue as in § 58.] [164] What on that occasion is the skandha of syn- theses ? Contact, thinking, self-collectedness ; the faculties of faith, concentration, energy, wisdom, mindfulness, vitality ; right views, right endeavour, etc., etc. [Continue as in § 62.] ^ ' Ease ' remains and ' self-collectedness.' 2 Cf. § 16P n. 2. 50 [165] Which are the states that are good ? When, that he may attain to the heavens of Form, he cultivates the way thereto, and, by the putting away of ease and by the putting away of ill, by the passing away of the happiness and of the misery^ he was wont to feel, he thus, by earth-gazing, enters into and abides in the Fourth Jhana (the fourth rapt meditation) of that utter purity of mindfulness which comes of disinterestedness,^ where no ease is felt nor any ill — then the contact, the feeling, the perception, the thinking, the thought, the disinterested- ness, the self-collectedness, the faculties of faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration, wisdom, ideation, disinterested- ^ *Ease' and *ill,' according to the Cy., are kayikam, or relating to the three skandhas of feeling, etc. — relating to sense-consciousness. ' Happiness ' and ' misery ' (soman- assarn, domanassam) relate to the intellect, or ideational consciousness. ' Happiness ' is the last of these to be trans- cended ; the others have been expelled in the course of the previous stages of Jhana (Asl. 175, 176). But all four are here enumerated, as if all were only in this Fourth Jhana transcended, in order to show more clearly, by the method of exhaustive elimination, what is the subtle and elusive nature of that third species of feeling termed ' neutral ' (adukkham-asukha), or * disinterested ' (upekkha) — the zero point, or line, as we should say, of hedonic quantity. The Cy. then gives the simile of selecting heads of cattle by elimination of the rest of the herd, which Hardy cites {ibid., 177; East. Monachism, 270). ^ Upekkha-satiparisuddhim. According to the Vibhanga, the mindfulness that is made pure stands for all the other elements present in consciousness, which have also been brought into clear relief, as it were, by the calm medium of equanimity. The simile is then adduced, given also in Hardy (op. cit, 271), of the moon by day and by night. Upekkha is latent in consciousness in the other stages of Jhana, but rendered colourless by the radiance of intellectual and emotional exercise, as the crescent moon during the day, though present in the sky, is dimmed by the sun's splendour (Asl. 178). 51 ness and vitality, the right views, the right endeavour, etc. . . . [Contmue as in § 163.] * * * * ♦ ♦ [Summary.] [165a] Now, on that occasion the skandhas are four, the spheres are two, the elements are two, the nutriments are three, the faculties are eight, the Jhana is twofold,^ the Path is fourfold, the powers are seven, the causes are three, contact counts as a single factor, etc., etc. [Continue as in § 58, etc.] [166] What on that occasion is the skandha of syn- theses ? Answer as in § 164.'^ [Here ends] the Fourfold System of Jhana. ^ Namely, * disinterestedness ' and * self-collectedness ' (Asl. 179). Else one would have looked to find ekangi- kam Jhanam. 2 The printed text omits satindriyam, though it is explicitly required by the context. K. gives it. 4—2 52 (b) The Fivefold System of Jhana (p a ii c a k a n a y o) .]^ [167] The First Jhana. Question and answer as in the fourfold course, § 160. [168] Which are the states that are good ? When, that he may attain to the heavens of Form, he cultivates the way thereto, and so, by earth-gazing, enters into and abides in the Second Jhana (the second rapt medi- tation) wherein is no working of conception, but only of thought discursive — which is born of concentration, and is full of joy and ease — then the contact, the feeling, the per- ception, the thinking, the thought, the discursive inquiry, the joy, the ease, the self-collectedness, etc. . . . [Continue as for the Second Jhana in § 161.] [Summary.] [168a] Now, on that occasion the skandhas are four, the spheres are two, the elements are two, the nutriments are three, the faculties are eight, ^ Jhana is usually alluded to in the Pitakas in the four- fold order. The fivefold division is obtained by the suc- cessive, instead of simultaneous, elimination of vitakko and vicaro. According to the Cy., it was optional to the teacher, after the example of the Buddha, to use either at his discretion, adapting himself to the particular mental state of his pupils, or having a view to the effectve flow of his discourse. A passage is quoted from the Pitakas — probably S. iv. 363 or A. i. 299, n. 2 {cf K V. 413 ; Mil. 337) — where samadhi is distinguished as (1) having vitakko and vicaro, (2) having only the latter, (3) having neither. 53 the Jhana is fourfold, the Path is fourfold, etc., etc. [Continue as in § 58.] [169] What on that occasion is the skandha of syn- theses ? Contact, thinking, discursive thought, joy, etc. . . . [Contimie as in § 162.] [170-175] The Third, Fourth and Fifth Jhanas. [These are identical in formulation with the Second, Third and Fourth Jhanas of the Fourfold System, Questions and answers as in §§ 161-166.] [Here ends] the Fivefold System of Jhana. [(c) The Four Modes of Progress (catasso pati- pada).]^ ^ It has been seen that, before the several stages of Jhana could be attained to, the student had to purge and discipline himself in specific ways — elimination of all attention to mundane matters, elimination of discursive cogitation, and so on. The special stage of Jhana super- vened after each act of self-control and intensified ab- straction. In these processes there was an earlier and a subsequent stage called — at least in the later books — upacara and appana respectively. The effective cogni- tion linking these two was an exercise of paiina which, in the text, is known as abhifina (* intuition '), probably the intuitive or subconscious fetch of the mind to compass the desired appana, or conception. Now, whether the preparatory abstraction was easy or difficult, and whether the constructive generalizing effort was sluggish or vigorous, depended on the moral temperament and the mental ability 54 [176] Which are the states that are good ?