English
Immediately after that consciousness the path, namely, con- sciousness discerning the fact of ill, expelling the fact of its cause, realising the fact of its cessation, cultivating the fact of the way to cessation, descends into the avenue of ecstatic thought. After that Path-Consciousness, two or three states of con- sciousness of fruition take their course, two in case of less in- telligent and three in highly intelligent people. This is the method of attaining the Path from Jhana.^ The states of con- sciousness described above as 'preparation,' 'approximination' and 'qualification' just prior to 'insight leading to emergence' constitute the Jhana factors and the Path is attained therefrom. The Path and Fruits bear the same factors of Jhana as those from which they are attained. Out of the three salient marks, only one is realised by the Ariyas obtaining the Paths and Fruits, whereas the Buddhas realise all the three at one and the same time and progressively reach, from the path of stream-attainment, the path of Arahat- ship and fruits of same. All the different types of wisdom such as omniscience, enlightenment and so on, are ingrained m the Path-consciousness of Arahatship. 146 EMANCIPATION When the Path leading to Arahatship is attained, the mental property of insight contemplating soiil-lessness and letting go the firm belief in a soul is a channel of emancipation, called the contemplation of emptiness. Insight associated with the Path, Fruits and Nibbana also bear the same name of 'emptiness.* Another Ariya contemplating the three salient marks realises the mark of 'signless.' In this case the mental property of insight contemplating impermanence and letting go the sign ol hallu- cination is a channel of emancipation called the 'contemplation' of the signless.' Insight associated with the Path. Fruits and Nibbana bear the same name of 'signless'. Another Ariya contemplating the three salient marks realises the mark of the "Not-hankered-after." In this case the mental property of insight contemplating ill or sorrow and letting go that 'hankering-after' which is craving is a channel of emanci- pation called the 'contemplation of the Not-hankered-after.' Insight associated with the Path, Fruits and Nibbana bear the same name of 'Not-hankered-after.' The Path receives three names according to the course taken by 'Insight leading to emergence,' namely, when that insight discerns all conditioned phenomena as without soul, the Path is called "empty release;" when it discerns all conditioned phenomena as impermanent, the Path is called "signless release;" when it discerns all conditioned phenomena as evil, the Path is called "Not-hankered-after release." The Fruit likewise receives these three names according to the three ways of coming into the Path along the avenues of the Path. Just as the mental property of insight associated with the moment of consciousness known as the 'qualification' in the thought process of the Path receives the names of 'Insight leading to emergence,' 'knowledge of things as something con- cerning which to feel indifference,' 'Knowledge by which one qualifies oneself for the Path, 'Knowledge by which one iiualifies for realising the truths,' so do the three channels of emancipation called the 'contemplation of emptiness,' 'contemplation of the signless' and the 'contemplation of the not-hankered-aker,' 47 give the Paths, Fruits and Nibbana the names of ' empty release*^ ' signless release ' and ' Not-hankered-after release.' ATTAINMENT OF PATH FROM CONTEMPLATION OF JHANA FACTORS The sub-commentary states " yan yan jhanan sammasantassa sa pavatta tan sammasitajjhanan." (oOd cOo S^3?S3o 00 S'®- 20G3C2C2 0C3 C©ty3)9 t55o W^eSOJC^. 02S5o) that is, when an individual, who has developed any of the five Jhanas, without maintaining it contemplates the factors of the Jhana as imperman- ent, sorrowful and soul-less, and insight leading to emergence" arises, he is called an Ariya who has attained the paths and Fruits from contemplation of the Jhana factors, because the necessary insight for attaining the Paths and Fruits was attained by contemplation of the Jhana factors. ATTAINMENT OF PATH ACCORDING TO ONE'S DESIRES The sub-commentary states " Aho ! vata me pathamaj jhana sadis5 rnagg5 pancangiko dutiyajjhanadisuva annatarasadisd caturangikadi bhedo maggo bhaveyyati " Evan y5gavacarassa uppannajjhasayo puggalajjhasayo nama " ("qpeODJ f ©ts> (s® 5(5X55(5 ::J^306®a6a 2533® "). When any meditator who has cultivated the tour Rupaloka and the four Arupaloka Jhanas contemplates any particular state as impermanent and so on, and hopes " Oh ! it would be excellent if I could attain the Path with the five factors resembling that of first Jhana, or with those of the 2nd, ^rd, 4th or 5th Jhana, ' and as desired by the meditator attains the Path with factors resembling those of any of the Jhanas he hoped for, then he is called one who has attained the Path according to his desires. When an individual who has cultivated the Jhanas, maintains any one he desires and after awaking contemplates all conditioned phenomena in the Triple-planed universe under the Three 148 Salient Marks of impermanence and so on and obtains any of the Paths as stream-attainment and so on, then that Path would be associated with such factors as were present in the Jhana from which he attained the Path. When an individual attains the Path without maintaining any of the Jhanas but by contemplatmg as impermanent and so on any of the Jhanas, then that Path would be associated with factors resembling those of the Jhanas which he contemplated as impermanent and so on. When a meditator, who has cultivated Jhanas, maintains any of them as he desires, and after awakmg contemplates as imperman- ent and so on any of the other Jhanas he desires, and attains any of the Paths, then that Path would be associated with factors resembling either, as desired by the individual, those of the Jhana from which he attained the Path or from those of the Jhanas he contemplated as impermanent and so on. When one who has no such desires maintains each of the lower Jhanas and after awaking from each contemplates each of the higher Jhanas as impermanent and so on, then the Path that he obtains would be associated with factors resembling those of the Jhanas he contem- plated as impermanent and so on. When one maintains each of the higher Jhanas and after awaking from each contemplates each of the lower ones as impermanent and so on, then that Path he obtains would be associated with factors resembling those of the Jhanas from which he attained the Path. Whether one has cultivated the Jhanas or not, when he desires to attain the Paths and Fruits, he contemplates all conditioned phenomena in the Triple-planed universe as impermanent and so on, and thereby attains the Paths and Fruits, then they would be associated with factors resembling those of the first Jhana. Again, one may attain the Path of stream attainment by way of the Jhanas, the Path of once-returning by way of the contem- plation of the factors of Jhana and the Path of Never-returning by way of the manner in which he desires to attain the Path, and the Path of Arahatship by not attaining any Jhana and merely by contemplation of one of the three marks as impermanent and 50 on. 149 Again, an Ariya can attain one Path by way of one channel of emancipation called *' Emptiness, " another Path by another channel called " Signless " and another by the other channel called ** Not-hankered-after." Again, the Ariyas who have attained the Paths and Fruits, when they develop full fruition, (^O CC^QOt^J^ phala samapatti) could obtain all the three channels of emancipation. An Ariya can one day enjoy full fruition by way of the channel of emancipation called " Emptiness, " on the second day by way of the channel of emancipation called the " Signless " and on the third day by way of the channel of emancipation called the " Not-hankered-after." Or, if one desires to enjoy full fruition three times during a day, he could do so through the three channels of emancipation.