Chapter 14

(Tape 29 / Ps: 1 – 60)

Now we come to part 3 of the Path of Purification. The author gives us information on three steps - sÊla, samÈdhi and paÒÒÈ. Up through chapter 13 the first two stages of sÊla and samÈdhi are explained. With this chapter the explanation of understanding or paÒÒÈ begins the third stage in spiritual development. “Description of the soil in which understanding grows” - this is the soil of understanding or the soil of paÒÒÈ. Chapter 14 deals with the aggregates. First there is discussion about paÒÒÈ.

“Now concentration was described under the heading of consciousness in the stanza,

‘When a wise man, established well in Virtue,

Develops Consciousness and Understanding’.”

This stanza appeared at the beginning of the book. There we find the word ‘consciousness’. By consciousness is meant samÈdhi or concentration. Concentration has been explained with different kinds of samatha meditation.

Now it is time to talk about paÒÒÈ. “And that has developed in all its aspects by the bhikkhu who is thus possessed of the more advanced development of concentration that has acquired with direct knowledge the benefits. But Understanding comes next. And that has still to be developed.” Up to this point we have not yet developed understanding. We have developed concentration.

“Now that is not easy (the development of paÒÒÈ), firstly even to know about, let alone to develop, when it is taught very briefly. In order, therefore, to deal with the detailed method of its development there is the following set of questions.” These questions will be answered one by one.

“What is understanding? Understanding (paÒÒÈ) is of many sorts and has various aspects.” There are different kinds of paÒÒÈ. “An answer that attempted to explain it all would accomplish neither its intention nor its purpose and would, besides lead to distraction; so we shall confine ourselves to the kind intended here, which is understanding consisting in insight knowledge associated with profitable consciousness.” Here ‘understanding’ means kusala (wholesome or profitable) which accompanies the wholesome consciousness and which consists in insight knowledge. The word ‘vipassanÈ’ in PÈÄi is in fact a synonym for paÒÒÈ. VipassanÈ and paÒÒÈ are synonymously in many places. By paÒÒÈ is meant vipassanÈ, insight knowledge.

“In what sense is it understanding?” It is the definition of the word ‘paÒÒÈ’. “It is understanding in the sense of act of understanding.” These definitions are actually very difficult to translate into any language. Understanding is paÒÒÈ. Understanding is understanding.

“What is this act of understanding? It is knowing in a particular mode separate from the modes of perceiving and cognizing.” There are three kinds of understanding or knowing. There is knowing of paÒÒÈ. There is knowing of saÒÒÈ. And there is knowing of consciousness or viÒÒÈÓa. These three are differentiated here. PaÒÒÈ is said to be called understanding or knowing because it knows in a particular mode separate from (That means different from) the modes of perceiving and cognizing.

“For though the state of knowing is equally present in perception, in consciousness, and in understanding, nevertheless perception is only the mere perceiving of an object as, say, ‘blue’ or ‘yellow’.” Mere perceiving of an object is called ‘perception (saÒÒÈ)’. “It cannot bring about the penetration of its characteristic as impermanent, painful and not-self.” Maybe it is the first reaction to the object.

The next one is consciousness. “Consciousness knows the object as blue or yellow, and it brings about the penetration of its characteristics.” At the consciousness stage it knows the characteristics. “But it cannot bring about, by endeavoring, the manifestation of the [supramundane] Path. Understanding knows the objects in the way already stated - (That means by both mere perception and penetration of characteristics.) it brings about, by endeavoring, the manifestation of the path.” PaÒÒÈ is said to be the best of the three. Only through paÒÒÈ can there be penetration into the nature of things.

Then a simile is given. Suppose there were three people, a child, a villager, and a money-changer or someone who is familiar with coins and money. The understanding of these three persons is different. A child knows that the coin is a round thing. It may not know that is used in exchange for other things. It will know that it is a round thing, that it is yellow or it is white or something like that. But a villager an ordinary knows that it is a round thing made of copper or silver, or gold. He also knows that it can be used as money. The money-changer or the person who is familiar with money know all of what the villager and child know. He also knows that it is a coin, when it was struck, when it was made. He knows the value of the coin and so on. He knows everything there is to know about the coin.

In the same way “perception is like the child without discretion seeing the coin, because it apprehends the mere mode of appearance object.” Consciousness is like the villager seeing the coin. Understanding is like the money-changer seeing the coin and then understanding everything about the coin. This is the difference between kinds of knowing - knowing of saÒÒÈ, knowing of consciousness, knowing of paÒÒÈ.

In these three words there is the root ‘Òa’. In saÒÒÈ there is ‘Òa’. In viÒÒÈÓa there is ‘Òa’. And in paÒÒÈ there is ‘Òa’. The root ‘Òa’ means to know. All these three know the object, but their knowing is different. The knowing of paÒÒÈ is the most penetrating.

“That is why this act of understanding should be understood as ‘knowing in a particular mode separate from the modes of perceiving and cognizing’. For that is what the words ‘it is understanding in the sense of act of understanding’ refer to.”

“However, it is not always to bee found where perception and consciousness are.” There are 89 types of consciousness. Not all are accompanied by paÒÒÈ. Only some are accompanied by paÒÒÈ. Unwholesome types of consciousness are not accompanied by paÒÒÈ. Then among the wholesome and functional consciousness there are some which are not accompanied by paÒÒÈ. “However, it is not always to be found where perception and consciousness are. But when it is, it is not disconnected from those states.” So paÒÒÈ can be found with some types of consciousness, but perception accompanies every type of consciousness. Wherever there is perception and consciousness, there is not necessarily paÒÒÈ. Wherever there is paÒÒÈ, there is also perception and consciousness. When it is found with perception and consciousness, it is not disconnected from these states. That means it arises with these states. It is not mixed up with perception and consciousness - mixed up by way of characteristic and so on.

“And because it cannot be taken as disconnected thus ‘This is perception, this is consciousness, this is understanding’, its difference is consequently subtle and hard to see.” For ordinary people it is very difficult to see, to differentiate, this is perception, this is consciousness, this is understanding, this is contact and so on.

Here Venerable Nagasena said to King Milinda that the Buddha has done a very difficult thing. What is that difficult thing? “Defining of the immaterial states of consciousness and its concomitants which occur with a single object.” That means consciousness and mental concomitants arise at the same time taking the same object. Although they take the same object, they are by characteristic or by nature different.

“The difficult thing, O King, done by the Blessed One was the defining of the immaterial states of consciousness and its concomitants, which occur with a single object, and which he declared thus: This is contact, this is feeling, this is perception, this is volition, this is consciousness.” It is very difficult for ordinary people to see these states clearly, to be able to say this is contact, this is feeling and so on. Following the Buddha’s teachings and through practicing vipassanÈ meditation many of these mental states can be seen, or known, or experienced. Many meditators come to see these mental states clearly through the practice of vipassanÈ meditation.

Then Venerable Nagasena gave a simile. You pick up a handful of water from the ocean. It would be easier that this water is from one river and that water is from another river and so on. It is much more difficult to say that this is contact, this is feeling and so on when consciousness and its concomitants arise taking the same object. PaÒÒÈ when it arises with consciousness and perception is a different dhamma. It is not mixed with the other concomitants. It is like people walking together. Each person is different from the other one. They come together and they do some job together.

“What are its characteristic, function, manifestation and proximate cause?” We have to understand with regard to these four aspects taught in Abhidhamma - characteristic, function, mode of manifestation and proximate cause. You will find these a lot in this chapter and the next chapter.

“Understanding has the characteristic of penetrating the individual essence of states.” That means penetrating the nature of things, penetrating the individual nature or characteristic of things as well as penetrating the common characteristic of things. Each state has its own characteristic. If you watch closely, you will come to see the characteristic of these states. Then there is the common characteristic of all states, of all conditioned states. That is impermanence and so on. That you also see through paÒÒÈ or understanding. The characteristic of paÒÒÈ is penetrating the individual essence of states or the nature of states.

“Its function is to abolish the darkness of delusion.” It is like lightening. When lightening flashes, darkness is dispelled. The dispelling of darkness or here darkness of delusion is its function. It is delusion which conceals the individual essences of states. So delusion or ignorance is compared to darkness. When there is darkness, we cannot see things in this room. If this room is dark, we cannot see things in this room. If there is light, we can see things. Just as darkness hides things from being seen, so ignorance or delusion conceal the individual essences of states. We do not know the individual essence of states because there is ignorance or delusion.

“It is manifested as non-delusion.” When you watch paÒÒÈ itself, it will appear to your mind as non-delusion. “Because of the word ‘One who is concentrated knows and sees correctly’ its proximate cause is concentration.” The paÒÒÈ meant here, that is vipassanÈ paÒÒÈ. Its proximate cause is concentration. That is why I always say concentration is important. When there is no concentration, no paÒÒÈ or penetration into the nature of things can arise.

There are many kinds of paÒÒÈ. PaÒÒÈ is one according to its characteristic of penetrating the individual essence. It is two, paragraph 9 “As regards the twofold section, the mundane is that associated with the mundane path.” ‘Mundane path’ means the factors of Path especially during vipassanÈ meditation. During vipassanÈ meditation the factors of Path arise in your mind - Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration and Right Understanding. So mundane understanding is that associated with the mundane path (That means vipassanÈ meditation.) “And the supramundane is that associated with the supramundane Path.” That is at the moment of enlightenment. At the moment of enlightenment what is called ‘Path consciousness’ arises. PaÒÒÈ accompanying that consciousness is called supramundane paÒÒÈ. So it is of two kinds.

“In the second dyad, that subject to cankers is that which is the object of cankers.” Or we can just say mental defilements, which can be the object of mental defilements. “That free from cankers is not their object”, so which cannot be the object of mental defilements. “This dyad is the same in meaning as the mundane and supramundane.” ‘Subject to cankers’ means mundane. ‘Free from cankers’ means the supramundane. “The same method applies to the dyads, ‘subject to cankers and free from cankers’, and so on.”

“In the third dyad, when a man wants to begin insight, his understanding of the defining of the four immaterial aggregates is understanding as defining of mentality.” ‘Defining of mentality’, that means clearly seeing or clearly understanding mentally. Clearly seeing or clearly understanding materiality is defining of materiality. It is of two kinds. In short it is understanding of mind and understanding of matter.

“In the fourth dyad, understanding belonging to two of the kinds of sense-sphere profitable consciousness, and belonging to sixteen of the kinds of Path consciousnesses with four of the jhÈnas in the fivefold method is accompanied by joy.” Sense-sphere profitable consciousness that is kÈmÈvacara kusala. Two of the kinds, two of them, belonging to 16 kinds of the Path consciousness with four of the jhÈnas in the fivefold method is accompanied by joy. What is sixteen? The four Paths with the first jhÈna and those with the second, third and fourth out of the five. Now the Commentator is using the fivefold method of jhÈnas, not the fourfold method of jhÈnas. The first, second, third, and fourth jhÈnas are accompanied by joy. The fifth is accompanied by equanimity. ‘Accompanied by joy’ means jhÈnas up to the fourth.

“Understanding belonging to two of the kinds of sense-sphere profitable consciousness, and belonging to (the remaining) four kinds of Path consciousness with the fifth jhÈna is accompanied by equanimity.” There is paÒÒÈ accompanied by joy and there is paÒÒÈ accompanied by equanimity. In the sense-sphere consciousness two are accompanied by joy and two are accompanied by equanimity.

“In the fifth dyad, understanding belonging to the first Path is the plane of seeing.” ‘Seeing’ means seeing NibbÈna in the first place or the initial seeing of NibbÈna. ‘Plane of seeing’ means that belonging to the first Path. The first Path is called ‘seeing’ or ‘dassana’ in PÈÄi because it sees NibbÈna first. Understanding belonging to the remaining three Paths, that is the second, third and fourth Paths, is the plane of development (bhÈvanÈ).”

“As regards the triads, understanding acquired without hearing from another is that consisting in what is reasoned.” That means understanding from one’s own thinking. It is understanding which arises from one’s own thinking. It is not heard from others or not from having read books. That is understanding from what is reasoned or from what is thought.

The second one is understanding from what is heard. That means understanding attained through listening to others or through reading books.

The last one is understanding consisting in development. Here ‘development’ means the practice of meditation. So understanding obtained through the practice of meditation is that which consists in development. There are three kinds of paÒÒÈ mentioned.

Then there is a quotation about five lines down. “That concerns ownership of deeds (kamma)” - that means understanding that beings have kamma only as their own. “Or is in conformity with truth” - that just means vipassanÈ because vipassanÈ helps us to see the true nature of things. So ‘in conformity with truth’ here just means vipassanÈ.

Paragraph 15 “The understanding that occurs contingent upon sense-sphere states has a limited object.” That means understanding that takes sense-sphere states as object. That is called ‘understanding which has a limited object’. Then there is understanding that takes the fine-material-sphere states or immaterial sphere states as an object. It is called an exalted object or paÒÒÈ having an exalted object. This is mundane insight. “That which occurs contingent upon NibbÈna has a measureless object. That is supramundane insight.” ‘Insight’ means vipassanÈ and vipassanÈ is mundane, not supramundane. When you reach the enlightenment stage or the enlightenment moment, it becomes supramundane. In fact there is no supramundane insight. Insight is always mundane. Here by supramundane insight the author meant Path understanding, understanding of Path, and not vipassanÈ understanding. So understanding is of three kinds.

“It is increase that is called ‘improvement’. That is twofold as the elimination of harm and the arousing of good. Skill in improvement is skill in these, according as it is said.” This is skill in improvement, skill in development. The next one is skill in detriment. That means taking the diminution of good and the arousing of harm. Then the third one in paragraph 18 “But in either of these cases any skill in means and causes of production” - ‘means and ‘causes of production are the same here. ‘Means’ means just the cause of production. “Of such and such things, which skill occurs at that moment and is aroused on that occasion is what is called ‘skill in means’.” I think you are familiar with the word ‘upÈya’. It is used a lot by people here. ‘UpÈya’ is translated here as means. So skill in means is upÈya kosalla, skill in understanding how to do things in a given moment. “And it is aroused on that occasion.” That means it just pops up when there is some occasion. It is not pre-meditated.

“In the fourth triad, insight understanding initiated by apprehending one’s own aggregates is interpreting the internal.” Here ‘interpreting’ means reflecting upon or paying attention to. That is internal. External is taking other people’s aggregates as object of meditation. That is external. ‘Both’ is interpreting the internal and external. There is a footnote for the word ‘abhinivesa’ in PÈÄi. The author said at the end it is interpretation or misinterpretation and insistence. ‘Interpretation’ means something like a view on a given object.

Then we have tetrads. There are four kinds of knowledge or four kinds of understanding - the understanding of suffering (the First Noble Truth), the understanding of the origin of suffering (the Second Noble Truth), the understanding of the cessation of suffering (the Third Noble Truth), and understanding of the way leading to the cessation of suffering (the Fourth Noble Truth).

Then the next tetrad is the four kinds of discrimination. These four kinds of discrimination are mentioned in the Commentaries very often. Sometimes when the enlightenment of a person is described the books, they would say that he gained enlightenment along with the four discriminations. That is a special knowledge. We do not have to practice in a special way. We just practice vipassanÈ meditation. When you become enlightened, then these four kinds of knowledge automatically come to you. These are called ‘the four discriminations’ or ‘paÔisambhidÈ’. “Knowledge about meaning is the discrimination of meaning. Knowledge about law is the discrimination of law. Knowledge about emancipation of language dealing with meaning and law is the discrimination of language. Knowledge about kinds of knowledge is discrimination of perspicuity.” There are four kinds of discrimination.

“Herein, meaning (attha) is briefly a term for the fruit of a cause.” The PÈÄi word is attha. ‘Attha’ can mean result, or purpose, and also fruit, and meaning. If we just translate it as ‘meaning’, it may create some misunderstanding. It is difficult to translate this word into any language. As we will see the word ‘attha’ here means five things - (1) anything conditionally produced, (2) NibbÈna, (3) the meaning of what is spoken (That means the meaning of words.), (4) result of kamma, (5) functional consciousness. These things should be understood as ‘meaning (attha)’. When we say ‘knowledge about meaning’ or ‘discrimination of meaning’, it means knowledge about these five things. “When any one reviews that meaning any knowledge of his, falling within the category concerned with meaning, is the discrimination of meaning.” So ‘discrimination of meaning’ means understanding of things conditionally produced, understanding of NibbÈna, understanding the meaning of words, understanding of result of kamma, and understanding of functional consciousness.

The next one is law. “Law (dhamma) is briefly a term for condition. For since a condition necessitates whatever it may be, makes it occur or allows it to happen, it is therefore called ‘law (dhamma)’.” ‘Discrimination of law’ means understanding of the condition or understanding of the cause. “But in particular the five things, namely, (1) any cause that produces fruit, (2) the Noble Path (It is the cause of the Fruition.), (3) what is spoken (That means words or language.), (4) what is profitable (kusala), (5) what is unprofitable (akusala), should be understood as law.” By the word ‘dhamma’ these five things are meant. “When any one reviews that law, any knowledge of his, falling within the category concerned with law, is the discrimination of law.” Discrimination of condition or discrimination of causes is law.

“This same meaning is shown in the Abhidhamma by following the following analysis.” There is a quotation from the second book of Abhidhamma.

Let us go to paragraph 25. “Knowledge about enunciation of language dealing with meaning and law: there is language that is individual essence.” The word ‘sabhÈva’ is normally translated as individual essence. But here the meaning of the word ‘sabhÈva’ is explained in the Sub-Commentary as correct or as that which does not change or which does bit deteriorate. That is called ‘sabhÈva nirutti’ in PÈÄi.

“The usage that has no exceptions” - that means that is definite, that is not ambiguous. “And deals with that meaning and that law. And knowledge falling within the category concerned with the enunciation of that, with the speaking, with the utterance of that, concerned with the root-speech of all beings, the Magadhan language that is individual essence” - in TheravÈda Buddhism the Magadhan language is said to be the root speech of all beings, the original language of all beings. So the belief of TheravÈda Buddhists is that the Magadhan language or the PÈÄi language as we know it now is the original language of all beings. After many, many years different people developed different dialects. Then they became different languages. This is the belief of Ancient Teachers.

Student: So the mother language is PÈÄi?

Teacher: Yes, the mother language is taken to be PÈÄi.

Student: Is this true or is it legend?

Teacher: I think the present day PÈÄi is the closest to the language used by the Buddha. It is difficult to say that it is the language of the Buddha because we really don’t know which language the Buddha used. But the Buddha used the language that was current at his time and which was understood by all people, not just by high-class people only. Once two Brahmans who became monks asked him to turn his teachings into Vedic Sanskrit. The Buddha rejected them. The Buddha said “My Dhamma is for all people, not for a select few.” So he used the language which was understood by all people, the common language.

Student: Now there are many languages in India. Buddha traveled great distances in India. Could it be that there was a more common language at that time?

Teacher: We don’t really know. There may be different languages in different parts or different dialects in different parts of the country. The language he spoke may have been understood by all people where he roamed. That language is said to be m|la bhassa (root-speech) of all beings.

“In other words, the language of law as soon as it hears it spoken, pronounced, uttered, knows ‘This is the individual-essence language; this is not the individual-essence language’ - [such knowledge] is discrimination of language.” That means it is the correct language, this is not the correct language, something like that. A person who has this kind of discrimination knows that this is grammatically correct and this is not. Then an example is given here. “one who has reached the discrimination of language knows, on hearing the words ‘phasso, vedanÈ,’ etc., that this is the individual-essence language (That means this is the correct language.) and on hearing ‘phassÈ, vedano’, etc., he knows that this is not the individual-essence language.” It is not the correct word or correct language because the word phassa is masculine gender ands when it is in the nominative case it is phasso. It can never be phassÈ in the nominative case. When phassÈ is said, you know this is wrong. This is grammatically wrong. The word ‘vedanÈ’ belongs to the feminine gender. It is never in the masculine gender. So if you say ‘vedano’, then you put a feminine word into masculine gender and so it is wrong. If you do not know PÈÄi and you try to get enlightenment and get these four kinds of discrimination, then you will automatically understand PÈÄi. That is what is meant here. So PÈÄi language is said to be the root-speech of all beings, of the rest of the languages.

The language that we will call PÈÄi is never mentioned as PÈÄi in the Commentaries. In the Commentaries it is referred to as Magadhan language or root language. The word ‘PÈÄi’ means simply Text as opposed to Commentaries and Sub-Commentaries. Later on since it was the language in which the Texts were recorded, we call it PÈÄi language. The term ‘PÈÄi language’ is of recent origin. The term was not used by the Commentaries or the Sub-Commentaries. What they used were the words ‘m|la bhassa’, or ‘Magadha’, or ‘Magadhi bhassa’ - the language of the Magadhan country. It was like a state in this country. During the time of the Buddha there were what we call ’16 countries’. However they were not countries but states or districts. Magadha was one of them.

“Knowledge about kinds of knowledge” - that is know. This is knowledge of perspicuity. These four kinds of discrimination - we can make them clear, we can make them sharp. We can make ourselves adept in the four kinds of discrimination by five means.

The five means are given in paragraph 28. “And though they come into the categories of the two planes thus, they are nevertheless distinguishable in five aspects, that is to say, as achievement” and so on. Actually they can be brought to perfection by these five things - by achievement (That means by enlightenment.), by mastery of scriptures, by hearing, by questioning, by prior effort.”

“Achievement is the reaching of Arahantship.” It is the best mentioned here. Reaching of the other stages of enlightenment is also meant here. “‘Mastery of scriptures’ is mastery of Buddha’s word. ‘Hearing’ is learning the Dhamma carefully and attentively. ‘Questioning’ is discussion of knotty passages and explanatory passages in the Texts, Commentaries and so on. ‘Prior effort’ is devotion to insight in the dispensation of former Buddhas (So it is like a pÈramitÈ.), up to the vicinity of [the stages of] conformity and change-of-lineage by one who has practiced [the duty of] going [with the meditation subject on alms round] and coming back [with it].”Monks are described as of different kinds. There are monks who take meditation even when they go to the village for alms and also take back meditation to the monastery. That means when they go to the village, they go with meditation and when they come back from the village, they come back with meditation. There are such persons. They have practiced meditation in this way. That is what is meant by ‘going with the meditation subject on alms round and coming back with it’. They may have reached the stage of vipassanÈ just short of enlightenment. If they are enlightened, they don’t have to worry about practicing again to gain enlightenment. So here ‘up to the vicinity of the stages of conformity and change-of-lineage’ simply means just short of enlightenment. ‘Those who have practiced vipassanÈ in the dispensation of former Buddhas’ (That means in their former lives just short of enlightenment.) such endeavor is called ‘prior effort’. Such people may get enlightenment in this life and may get these four kinds of discrimination.

Some others said in a different way, but they are more or less the same. They are prior effort, great learning, knowledge of dialects, knowledge of scriptures, questioning, and achievement.

It was believed that there were only 101 languages during the time of the Buddha. “ ‘Dialects’ means skill in the 101 tongues, particularly in that Magadha.” But even in one country there are more than 100 languages or 100 dialects. It is the stock phrase used in the Commentaries whenever they want to refer to languages, they say 101 languages. It may be something like saying 1001 things, an expression.

“Herein, Buddhas and Undeclared Buddhas (That means Pacceka Buddhas.) reach the discrimination through prior effort and through achievement. Disciples do so through all these means. And there is no special way of developing a meditation subject in order to attain discriminations. But in trainers the attaining of the discriminations comes about next upon the liberation consisting in trainer’s Fruition, and in non-trainers (That means Arahants.) it does so next upon the liberation consisting in non-trainer’s Fruition.” Those who have reached the first, second, and third stages of enlightenment are called ‘trainers’. Those who have reached the fourth stage, the Arahants, are called ‘non-trainers’.

“How is it developed? Now the things classed as aggregates, bases, elements, faculties, truths, dependent origination, etc., are the soil of this understanding ( or the field of this understanding), and the [first] two purifications, namely, Purification of Virtue and Purification of Consciousness, are its roots.” They are called ‘root purification’. The other five are called ‘trunk purification’ or ‘body purification’. There are seven kinds of purification with regard to the practice of vipassanÈ meditation. The first one is called Purification of Virtue. Actually it is not yet vipassanÈ, but preparing for vipassanÈ. Then the second one is Purification of Consciousness or Purification of Mind. That means concentration. Then there is Purification of View. Next is Purification by Overcoming Doubt. Next is Purification of Knowledge and Vision of What is the Path and What is not the Path. Then there is Purification by Knowledge and Vision of the Way. And next there is Purification by Knowledge and Vision. These are the seven stages of purity with regard to the practice of vipassanÈ meditation. This book will describe these purifications one by one beginning with chapter 18. That means Purification of View because Purification of Virtue and Purification of Consciousness are already described.

Now we come to the aggregates, the five aggregates. You are all familiar with the five aggregates, the five khandhas. The first one is r|pa, aggregate of corporeality or aggregate of matter. The second one is aggregate of feeling. The third is the aggregate of perception. The fourth is the aggregate of mental formations. And the fifth is the aggregate of consciousness. In this chapter they are not described in this order. First the aggregate of r|pa is described and then the aggregate of consciousness. Then the aggregate of feeling and so on are described.

The first one is the aggregate of r|pa. R|pa is defined as, in paragraph 34, “that have the characteristic of being molested by cold, etc.” In Myanmar we understand this word as meaning to change. So anything that changes because of cold, heat, hungry, thirst, bite of insects and so on is called ‘r|pa’. ‘Ruppana’ means to change When it is cold, you have one kind of material properties. When it is hot, there is another kind of material property and so on. ‘Change’ here does not mean that something changes into some other thing, but the arising of a different continuity of matter is called ‘change’. According to Abhidhamma materiality only lasts for a few moments, only 17 thought moments. After that they disappear. So ‘change’ here means the arising of a different kind of material property due to heat, cold, etc. That is what we call ‘change’.

And broadly there are two kinds of matter - primary entity and derived material properties. ‘Derived’ does not mean descended from, but it means depending on. I prefer to use the word ‘dependent’ rather than ‘derived’. There are the primary ones and the depending ones.

We need a house in which to live. The house is what we depend upon. In the same way the 24 material properties to be mentioned later depend upon the four primary elements for their arising and for their existence. They are not derived from these four, but they depend upon these four for their existence. For our survival we depend upon buildings, on houses. We are not produced by houses, but we depend upon the houses to live in, to have shelter and protection. In the same way the 24 material properties are not derived from the four great elements, but they depend upon these four for their existence, for their arising. That is why they are called ‘upÈdÈya’ in PÈÄi. That means depending ones.

“Primary materiality is of four kinds as the earth element, water element, fire element, and air element.” We have met with these four elements in chapter 6 of The Manual of Abhidhamma.

“Depending materiality is of 24 kinds as eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, visible datum, sound, odor, flavor, femininity faculty, masculinity faculty, life faculty, heart-basis; bodily intimation, verbal intimation; space element; lightness of matter, malleability of matter, wieldiness of matter, growth of matter, continuity of matter, aging of matter, death of matter, and physical nutriment.” There are 24. 24 plus 4, we get 28. In Abhidhamma there are said to be 28 material properties. 4 are primary and 24 are those depending upon them.

If you look at the list closely, you will notice that there is eye, ear, nose, tongue and body. And corresponding to them there should be five, but there are only four here - visible datum for the eye, sound for the ear, odor for the nose, flavor for the tongue. For the body nothing is mentioned. That is because what we call tangible datum is just the group of three primary elements (earth element, fire element and air element). The combination of these three elements is what we call tangible datum. That is why it is not mentioned here. If it is mentioned, then we would have 25 and there would be confusion. We are not to understand that there is no such thing as tangibility. Corresponding to the bodily sensitivity there must be tangible objects. We have body sensitivity. For example I have body sensitivity in my skin and when I touch something, I have the feeling of touch. I experience the feeling of touch, that tangible object. There is tangible object, but it is not different from the three primary elements mentioned above. That is why it is not mentioned here. There are 24. These 24 are explained in detail . Their characteristic, function, mode of manifestation and proximate cause are all mentioned.

Paragraph 37 towards the end “Its function is to pick up [an object] among visible data.” Actually it is not picking up. The PÈÄi word is ‘ÈviÒchana’. That means to pull, so to pull the mind to the object, to take the mind to the object. It is not like picking up an object, but to pull or maybe push the mind to the object. “It is manifested as the footing of eye consciousness.” I think we should say ‘the basis of eye consciousness’. That is better. That means eye consciousness cannot arise if there is no eye or no eye sensitivity in our bodies. So it is the basis for eye consciousness. “Its proximate cause is primary elements born of kamma sourcing from desire to see.” We have some desire to see. That desire makes kamma and kamma causes the elements. So the primary elements caused by kamma are its proximate cause.

Then we have ear, nose, tongue. They can be understood without much difficulty. Paragraph 42 “Some, however, say that eye is sensitivity of primary elements that have fire in excess” and so on. “ ‘Some’ are certain MahÈsa~ghikas.” MahÈsa~ghikas are those who divided themselves from the original Sa~gha at the second Buddhist Council. Before the second Buddhist Council there was a difference of opinion among monks about the practice of certain Vinaya Rules. They could not come to agreement. So they divided themselves away from the original Sa~gha and they are called ‘MahÈsa~ghikas’. MahÈsa~ghikas have this view. One of them was Vasudhamma. Maybe, I don’t know, in Sanskrit or among the teachers of this sect there is a teacher called Vasubhantu. It may be the same person. The name Vasudhamma was given in the Sub-Commentary to the Visuddhi Magga. This is a difference of opinion.

Let us go to paragraph 46. Even among TheravÈda Buddhists there is a difference of opinion about whether sensitivities take the objects when they come into contact with them or before the objects reach them. Paragraph 46 explains this. “Now among these [sensitivities thus] possessed of difference due to difference of kamma, the eye and the ear apprehend non-contiguous objective fields since consciousness is caused even if the supporting [primaries] of the objective fields do not adhere to the [faculties] own supporting primaries.” The meaning is this: Eye and ear take the object which has not reached them. Before the objects reach them, they take the object. That is what is meant here. It may or may not be correct, but the opinion of Venerable Buddhaghosa and later teachers is that. The eyes and ears take objects which have not reached them. Before the objects reach them, they take the objects, before they come into physical contact with the sensitivities. Eye takes the visible object. ‘Visible object’ just means color. Before it really touches the eye, it takes the object. That is because if you say eye sensitivity only takes the object when it touches it, then the object would have to come an would block the passage of light. The opinion of the later Commentators including the Venerable Buddhaghosa was that these two sensitivities take the objects before the objects reach them. But the other three (nose, tongue and body) only take the object when it comes to them or when the object adheres to the sensitivities. Let us take smell as an example. Unless it adheres to the nose, we do not experience smell. If the smell is some distance away from us and does not come into contact with our nose, then we do not experience smell.

Student: What is the difference between the eyes going out to meet the object and the object coming to the eyes? How would you know which is correct? What is the difference in understanding?

Teacher: That’s right. There are arguments on both sides. Considering sound waves, we may not agree with what Venerable Buddhaghosa said here. Because only when sound waves strike against the ear drum, do we hear sound. Right? So sound must come into physical contact with the ear sensitivity in order to hear. So we may side with later Teachers like Venerable Buddhaghosa or with former Commentators. Venerable Buddhaghosa is said to be a later or new Commentator. Before him there were older Commentators. Those Commentators took it that the eye and ear took objects which came into contact with them. That is the difference of opinion. If you have The Expositor, I will give you the page number for reference. It is explained more fully there. It is in The Expositor, page 410.

The eye sensitivity is described here. It says that it looks like a blue lotus petal. During the time of the Commentators they thought that the black part of the eye was a solid thing, not a window. The black part is like a window, right? It can become small or big. What we gather from the writings of the Commentators is that they take this to be a real thing. So eye sensitivity is supposed to reside in that place - “surrounded by black eyelashes and varied with dark and light circles. The eye [sensitivity as meant] here is to be found in the place in the middle of the black circle surrounded by the white circle in that [feature of the] eye with its accessories” and so on. Eye sensitivity resides on a place that looks like a blue lotus petal. The black part of the eye is compared to a blue lotus petal. It is said that many particles of eye sensitivity pervade that place.

Then we have ear sensitivity. Ear sensitivity resides in a place like a finger-stall. What is a ‘finger-stall’? Is it a ring? Please look at paragraph 49. “The ear [sensitivity] is to be found inside the [feature of the] ear hole with its accessories in the place that is shaped like a finger-stall.” That means a ring. It is something like a ring in the inner ear.

Then the nose is like a goat’s hoof. The tongue is like a lotus petal tip. And the body is like liquid that soaks a layer of cotton. The body sensitivity is found everywhere. The whole of the body is pervaded by the body sensitivity except for the nails and the hair. “In this physical body where there is matter that is clung-to” - I think the footnote is good. “It is vaguely renderable by ‘organic or sentient or living matter’.” That is right. “Technically it is matter of the four primaries that is ‘clung-to’ or ‘derived’ by kamma.” It is not necessarily born of kamma. Everything that is connected with living beings is called ‘upÈdiÓÓa’ in PÈÄi. Something like organic or sentient is better.

Then these are compared to snakes, crocodiles, birds, dogs and jackals. The eyes are compared to snakes, the ears to crocodiles, the nose to birds, the tongue to dogs, and the body to jackals. They gravitate to their own respective resorts. Snakes live in ant-hills. Crocodiles live in water. Birds live in air or space. Dogs live in villages. Jackals live in charnel grounds.

Eye is said to be like a snake. A snake likes to be in a place where there are many things. The eye also wants to see many things. If the wall is plain the eye does not want to see. The eye wants to see different things - intricate patterns, paintings, things like that. The eye is compared to a snake. A snake does not want to be where there is nothing. It wants to be where there is debris. So the sensitivities are compared to these animals. You can read in more detail in The Expositor, page 411.

Then we come to visible datum. That means the visible object or color. Then there is sound, odor, flavor.

Next there is femininity faculty. “The femininity faculty has the female sex as its characteristic. Its function is to show that ‘this is a female’. It is manifested as the reason for the mark, sign, work, and ways, of the female.” Please read The Expositor, page 419. Women have different marks, different signs, different work, and different ways of doing things than men. By looking at them, we know ‘this is a woman’ and ‘this is a man’. That peculiarity in a woman is called ‘femininity’ and in a man it is called ‘masculinity’. Sometimes we may see someone by a silhouette and we know that it is a man or that it is a woman. Or sometimes we know that it is a man or that it is a woman by how they walk. Sometimes we know when they are children by how they play and so on. Boys would play fighting with each other. Girls would play cooking or something like that. These two also extend throughout the whole body, not just in some parts of the body. “But it does not follow that they have to be called either ‘located in the space where body sensitivity is located’ or ‘located in the space where that is not located’.” Body sensitivity pervades the whole body also. And masculinity and femininity pervade the whole body. It does not follow that they have to be located where body sensitivity is located. When there is body sensitivity, then we cannot say that at the same place there is masculinity or femininity.

Student: I heard once that the first thing we notice about somebody is their sex, whether they are a man or a woman. That’s the first thing we notice. That’s what you are saying.

Teacher: Yes. We may not see a person, but we hear them talk and we know ‘this is a woman’ or ‘this is a man’. There are marks or signs of feminine sex or masculine sex. Femininity or masculinity reside in the whole of the body.

Next is the life faculty. This is jÊvita in PÈÄi. In this paragraph instead of ‘occur’ we should say ‘exist’. “Its function is to make them occur.” It is not ‘to make them occur’, but ‘to make them to continue to exist’. They occur by some other causes. After they arise this life faculty maintains them or protects them. Its characteristic is not to make them occur, but to make them to continue to exist for a very short moment. So instead of ‘occur’ we should use ‘exist’. About the middle of the paragraph “And it occurs itself only through its connection with the states that occur, like a pilot.” Here also “It exists itself only through its connection with the states that it maintains.”

It is said that life faculty maintains the conascent material properties. JÊvita is the one that maintains them, that keeps them from dissolving. If life faculty maintains others, then what maintains the life faculty? That is the problem here. If you are the protector of others, who is the protector of you? The answer is that it protects itself. In protecting others it protects itself too. It is like a boatman. When a boatman takes you to the other shore, he takes himself too. That is the point here, but it is not so clear reading this sentence. The meaning is just this. If life faculty protects others, what protects it? It protects itself. ‘Like a pilot’ means like a man who rows the boat, a boatman. It is important to understand this correctly.

“It does not cause occurrence after dissolution, because of its own absence and that of what has been made to occur. It does not prolong presence at the moment of dissolution (There are three moments -arising, presence and dissolution.) because it is itself dissolving, like the flame of a lamp when the wick and the oil are getting used up. But it must not be regarded as destitute of power, to maintain, make occur (We should say ‘make exist’.), and make present, because it does accomplish each of these functions at the moments stated.”

Then we come to the heart-base. I have talked about heart-base many times. So I think you understand about the heart-base. There is a discussion of the heart-base in footnote 26. In brief the heart-base is not mentioned in the first book of Abhidhamma. Even in the last book of Abhidhamma, the PaÔÔhÈna, it is not mentioned by name. Buddha just said “Depending upon a certain material property mind element and mind element consciousness arise.” That ‘certain material property’ is interpreted to mean the heart-base. The question is how that is to be known, how do you know that it is heart-base. Two lines of argument are given. One is from the scriptures and one is from logical reasoning. ‘Logical reasoning’ means by the method of elimination. Buddha said that there is a certain material property which is the basis of mind element and mind element consciousness. That basis cannot be the eye, cannot be the ear and so on. Eliminating one after the other, there is something remaining and that is the heart-base. So when the Commentators say that is the heart-base, it is somewhat arbitrary.

These two arguments are given. There is this argument and also one from the scriptures. From the scriptures also I said that no where in the scriptures is the heart-base mentioned by name by the Buddha. They say that the Buddha did not mention the hearÔ-base in the first book of Abhidhamma because Buddha had to conform to a certain way of preaching, a certain way of teaching, for unity of his method of teaching. In order not to break the unity of teaching he left the heart-base out when he described the material properties. That is the argument in brief. The second one is arrived at by the method of elimination. So the Commentators at last arrive at saying heart-base is what is meant by the Buddha. Please read footnote 26. It may be a little difficult to understand.

OK. Please read up to consciousness aggregate for next week, up to page 518.

SÈdhu! SÈdhu! SÈdhu!

(Tape 30 / Ps: 61 – 124)

We haven’t finished the first aggregate yet. We are in the middle of the aggregate of matter. Paragraph 61 deals with bodily intimation and paragraph 62 deals with verbal intimation. There is a long footnote which is very difficult to understand. Part of the translation is incorrect.

“Bodily intimation is the mode (conformation) and the alteration (deformation) in the consciousness originated air element that causes the occurrence of moving forward, etc., which mode and alteration are a condition for the stiffening, upholding, and moving, of the conascent material body.” What is bodily intimation? After reading this definition, you don’t know what it is. So I will tell you. We let other people know our intentions by bodily gestures. That bodily gesture is what we call ‘bodily intimation’ in the language of the books. Bodily intimation is one of the 28 material properties. Bodily intimation is not air element. That is because if air element were bodily intimation, then wherever there is air element there would be intimation and there is not. So air element cannot be bodily intimation. Then is citta born matter bodily intimation? There are other citta born material properties too. They are not intimation. They do not help us to know the intention of people. Therefore citta born matter is also not bodily intimation. Is movement bodily intimation? If it were, there would be intimation in the movement of trees, in the movement of inanimate things. There is no intimation from these things. So bodily intimation is a particular mode of air element which is caused by citta, citta which causes going forward, going back and so on. This mode is the condition for there to be stiffening or upholding of the limbs of the body and so on. That particular mode is what is meant by bodily intimation. We cannot pick up bodily intimation and show you this is bodily intimation. It is just a particular mode of the air element. Here the air element is predominate. Where there is movement, there is this air element. Movement is caused by the air element. This air element is caused by citta here. Bodily intimation means just a particular mode of the air element which is caused by citta. That citta can cause the arising of moving, of going forward, stretching, bending and others. But there is not intimation in all movements, it is only in the movements of beings, especially human beings. If we want to let someone know that he should come, we use a kind of gesture. In this country you use this gesture. If he sees this gesture, then he knows that we want him to come. That particular mode in the movement of the hand is what we mean by bodily intimation.

Verbal intimation means a particular mode of earth element. For bodily intimation it is air element, but here it is earth element, a particular mode of earth element which is caused by citta which causes speech. When we want to say something, then there is citta or the intention. That citta cause the earth element in the place where voice is made in the vocal chords. ‘Vocal chords’ is not the word used in the books, but let us say vocal chords. In these vocal chords there is matter caused by kamma. There is kamma born matter in the vocal chords along with other kinds of material properties. When we want to say something, our mind produces the earth element, many particles of earth element. These come together - the earth elements caused by citta and the material properties in the vocal chords. There is something like friction. That friction causes the voice to arise. So there is the voice. So verbal intimation is not just the voice. It is not just the earth element. It is not just kamma born matter, but it is a particular mode in the earth element which causes voice or speech. Through speech we understand what the other person intends or what the other person wants us to know. You hear my voice. It is not just the voice. These are words. Through these words you understand the meaning. For the sake of convenience we can say that the articulation of words is what we call verbal intimation, but actually it is a particular mode of the earth element caused by citta coming together with the kamma born matter in the vocal chords. That is called verbal intimation. For convenience we can just say speech is verbal intimation. Through speech, through word we make people understand.

In order to understand other people’s intention or the meaning of words we need two conditions. First we must hear the words. Second we must have known the meaning of the words before. Only when these two conditions are met, will there be understanding. That is why when you speak quickly, I do not understand you. That is because I do not hear the words distinctly. Sometimes you may use a word which I do not know the meaning. Then I will not understand you. There are two conditions. The words or voice must come into the avenue of the ear and you must hear clearly. The other condition is that you must have known the meaning of the words before. Then you understand. Otherwise you do not understand. If I say a word in PÈÄi, then you may not understand although you hear the word distinctly. You may not know this word, so you do not understand. So just by being present a sound or a voice cannot make us understand.

The verse in the second part in footnote 27 is not translated correctly. The first two lines are correct.

“Sounds that have entered no objective field

Do not awaken any kind of meaning.”

Sounds which we do not hear will not make us understand any meaning at all. The third and fourth lines are not correct. Venerable ©ÈÓamoli misunderstood one word in the PÈÄi original. That word is sattÈ with the second ‘A’ as a long ‘Œ’. The word ‘satta’ with a short ‘A’ means a being, like Bodhisatta. ‘Satta’ means a being. ‘SattÈ’ with the second ‘Œ’ long means the state of being or the state of being present, being existent, being present. That is the word used in this verse, not satta. That means ‘not just by being present will these sounds or words make us understand’. That means we may hear the words, but if we have not learned the meaning of the words before, we will not understand. This is verbal intimation. The others are not so difficult to understand. These two (bodily intimation and verbal intimation) are said to be caused by citta.

Student: so in the last two lines of the verses, it would be ‘words merely recognized’ or something like that?

Teacher: ‘If their meaning is not known before-hand, by their presence they cannot make us understand’. It should be something like that. Let me see. “They will not show any meaning just by their presence.” That is if their meaning is not known before-hand.

The next material property is space element or just space. In paragraph 63 “The space element has the characteristic of delimiting matter.” ‘Delimiting matter’ really means delimiting a group of matter, not just one material property, but a group of material properties. Material properties arise in groups. There are eight material properties that arise together, or nine, or ten and so on. This space element is said to be between these groups. Between one group and another there is what we call space. That is delimiting - this is one group, this is another group, this is still another group. That is called space. So ‘delimiting matter’ does not mean delimiting one material property from another, but delimiting one grouping of materiality from another.

Then come three - lightness of matter, malleability of matter, and wieldiness of matter. These are actually some qualities of the material properties - lightness, malleability and wieldiness. They are explained in paragraph 65. “Lightness of matter is alteration of matter such as any light state in material instances, as in one who is healthy.” So when you are healthy, your body is something like light or agile. That is this lightness of matter in the body.

Malleability of matter is compared to a well-pounded hide. When you want to make leather, you soak the hide in salt water, and then you pound it again and again so that it will become soft and malleable. Then you can do with it whatever you may want. Something like that is called malleability of matter.

The third one (wieldiness) is compared to well-refined gold. People make some ornaments out of gold. First the gold is refined. When gold is well-refined, that is when it is without any other impurity, it becomes easy to make into anything you want. Something existing in the body or in matter is called wieldiness of matter.

These three always arise together. At the beginning of paragraph 65 it says “These three, however, are not found apart from each other.” When there is one, there are the other two. These three are actually qualities of the material properties.

Next we have growth of matter and continuity of matter. You are familiar with the three phases of existence. Right? Arising, continuation and death or disappearing. The phase, arising, is described here in two parts, as growth of matter and continuity of matter. It is called rebirth here. It is just the arising of matter. This arising of matter is divided into two. One is growth of matter. The other is continuity of matter. Growth of matter is first arising. Continuity of matter as the word says is ‘continuing’. “Continuity of matter has the characteristic of occurrence.” It is not occurrence. It is continuing. Is there such a word as continuance? (Yes, there is.) Or we can just say continuing. It has the characteristic of continuing, of continuing to exist, not just occurrence. The PÈÄi word can mean to occur, as well as to continue after arising. “Its function is to anchor.” That means to join one with the other.

“Both of these are terms for matter at its birth.” The birth or the arising of matter is called here both the growth of matter and the continuity of matter. Just one birth or arising is described here with the two names because it is owing to difference of mode. There is a little difference between the growth of matter and the continuation of matter. This is also “according to [different persons’] susceptibility to instruction.” That means there are some beings who will understand better when birth is described as growth of matter and continuity of matter.

It plays an important role at least in explaining why the Buddha taught in this way or why the Buddha taught in that way. The Buddha always had in mind the susceptibility of the minds of the listeners. That means he thought “If I use this word will they understand?” If they were not going to understand, he might use another word. That’s why there are many kinds of teachings in the teachings of the Buddha. Sometimes he taught by way of the five aggregates. Sometimes he taught by way of twelve bases. Sometimes he taught by way of eighteen elements. Actually they are all the same things. They are different names given to one and the me thing. Sometimes we may be familiar with one word but not the other. When a familiar word is spoken to us, we readily understand. If we are not familiar with the word, then we don’t understand. If we do not understand, we cannot penetrate into the nature of things. Buddha always exercised this -

Student: Buddha took into consideration if people were sharp or fast learners.

Teacher: That’s right, and their likes and dislikes. This is one ability that is not shared even by his disciples. Even Venerable SÈriputta did not have this ability to enter into the minds of listeners and find out what would be suitable for them. Once Venerable SÈriputta gave the wrong meditation subject to his young student. Here Buddha wanted to teach so that the teaching is susceptible to the listener’s ability.

“The teaching in the Summary (Uddesa) in the DhammasaÓganÊ is given as ‘growth and continuity’; but since there is here no difference in meaning (That means no difference in reality.), consequently in the Description (That means a detailed description.) of these words ‘the setting up of the sense-bases is the growth of matter’ and ‘the growth of matter is the continuity of matter’.” This is said in the DhammasaÓganÊ.

“And in the Commentary, after saying ‘It is genesis that is called “setting up”, increase that is called “growth”, occurrence that is called “continuity”.’” So here three terms are given - setting up, growth and continuity. Then a simile is given here. “Genesis as setting up is like the time when water comes up in a hole dug in a river bank (So when water comes up that is genesis.); increase as continuity is like the time when it fills [the hole]; occurrence or continuity is like the time when it overflows.” These are just similes to understand the two phases of one arising or one birth of material property - growth of matter and continuity of matter.

According to this there will be four kinds of matter which will be called characteristic matter. Actually they are different phases of matter - the arising, the continuance and disappearing. These two (growth and continuity) are called arising.

Next we have aging in paragraph 68. “Aging has the characteristic of maturing (ripening) material instances.” This is getting old. This is the continuing phase of existence - arising, continuing and disappearing. It corresponds to the second phase. “This is said with reference to the kind of aging that is evident through seeing alteration in teeth, etc., as their brokeness, and so on.” Three kinds of aging are given - evident aging, hidden aging, and incessant aging. Evident again is aging which is evident like when we see someone with broken teeth or someone with eyeglasses maybe. Then we know that person has aged. For the immaterial states there is no such evident aging. We cannot see the brokeness of cittas and cetasikas. For them it is called hidden aging, that is aging which cannot be seen by the eyes, but which is seen through wisdom or the mind. “And that in earth, water, rocks, the moon, the sun, etc., is called incessant aging.” ‘Incessant aging’ is also a hidden aging. This book looks new for one month, two months, or even for a year if you don’t use it much. There is aging going on, but we do not see it getting old or aged. So the aging in earth, water and so on is also hidden aging, but here it is called incessant aging. There is no visible difference between one stage and another. Here by aging is meant the aging of material properties, not of immaterial states. The last one is impermanence of matter. That means the death of matter, the disappearance of matter. “Impermanence of matter has the characteristic of complete breaking up.”

The last one is physical nutriment. “Physical nutriment has the characteristic of nutritive essence.” And then “Its proximate cause is a physical basis that must be fed with physical food.” Here also the translation is a little inaccurate. The PÈÄi word is kabilÊkÈra. ‘Kabala’ means a morsel. ‘KabilÊkÈra’ means making a morsel. That means before you eat you make a morsel if you eat with your hands. You make a morsel and then put it in the mouth and eat it. Food is called kabilÊkÈra in PÈÄi. Food which is eaten after making it into a morsel is the meaning. “Its proximate cause is a physical basis” - here ‘basis’ is not a good word. The PÈÄi word is vatthu. ‘Vatthu’ can mean a base, like eye-base, ear-base and so on. But ‘vatthu’ can also mean a thing, just something. Here ‘physical basis’ just means a material thing which must be swallowed after being made a morsel. This is the word used in PÈÄi. It is simply just what you eat, the food. The food itself is not the physical nutriment that is meant. Physical nutriment is something in the food, something which helps us destroy hunger and so on. That nutritive essence is what is meant here as physical nutriment, not the food itself. The proximate cause is the food we eat because we get that nutriment from the food that we eat.

These are all together the 28 material properties. If you count them, you will get 28. There are 4 primary elements and 24 dependent ones, so all together 28. “These, firstly, are the material instances that have been handed down in the Texts. But in the Commentary others have been added as follows: matter as power, matter as procreation, matter as birth, matter as sickness: and in the opinion of some, matter as torpor.” Sloth and torpor are two mental factors included in the formation aggregate. But there were some teachers who took it to be matter. So it is mentioned here. “In the first place, matter as torpor is rejected as non-existent by the words:

‘Surely thou art a sage enlightened,

There are no hindrances in thee’.”

The common opinion is that torpor is not matter. There were some teachers belonging to another school within the TheravÈda sect who took torpor to be matter. That is rejected as non-existent. There is no torpor as matter. The proof that they show is the Buddha’s words:

“Surely thou art a sage enlightened,

There are no hindrances in thee.”

These two lines state that there are no hindrances in the mind of the Buddha. Torpor is included in the hindrances. In other places especially in Abhidhamma it is said that material properties cannot be abandoned or cannot be destroyed. Only the mental defilements can be destroyed. When a person becomes enlightened, he eradicates mental defilements. Only the mental defilements can be eradicated and not the material properties. Here it says that the Buddha had no hindrances and torpor is included among the hindrances. So torpor can be eradicated. If it can be eradicated, it is not r|pa. It is not a material property.

“As to the rest, matter as sickness is included by aging and by impermanence; matter as birth by growth and continuity; matter as procreation, by the water-element (because when there is water element something grows); and mother as power by the air element. So taken separately not even one of these exists: this was the agreement reached.” This was the agreement of the majority of teachers.

“So this derived (dependent) matter of 24 parts and the aforesaid matter of the primary elements which is of four sorts, together amount to 28 sorts, neither more nor less.” These are the 28 material properties.

Then they are described as of one kind, two kinds and so on. “And all that [matter of 28 sorts] is of one kind as ‘not-root-cause, root-cause-less, dissociated from root-cause, with conditions, mundane, subject to cankers.” According to this there is only one kind of material property. Although we are all different people, as human beings we are one. It is like that. Although there are 28 material properties as having no root cause, or as having conditions, or as being mundane, then there is only one r|pa, one material property.

Then they can be two. “It is of two kinds as internal and external, gross and subtle, far and near, produced (produced by four causes - kamma, consciousness, temperature, nutriment) and unproduced, sensitive matter and insensitive matter, faculty and non-faculty, clung-to and not-clung-to, and so on.” ‘Clung-to’ means caused by kamma. ‘Not-clung-to’ means not caused by kamma. Then the detailed explanation of internal and external and so on is given. They are not difficult if you have a list ready at hand. Read this paragraph with that list and you will understand easily.

At the end of paragraph 73 “What we shall later describe as ‘kamma-born’ is clung-to because that is ‘clung-to’, [that is, acquired], by kamma.” I think instead of saying ‘acquired’, we should say ‘caused by kamma’. Literally it is clung-to by kamma. ‘Clung-to by kamma’ or ‘grasped by kamma’ means taken by kamma and its object. That simply means caused by kamma.

“Again, all matter is of three kinds according to the ‘Visible (sanidassana)’ triad, the kamma-born triad etc. Herein, as regards the gross, a visible datum is visible with impact; the rest are invisible with impact; all the subtle kinds are invisible without impact.” There are three kinds of material properties - visible with impact, invisible with impact and invisible without impact. Visible with is only one which is visible datum, that is visible object. The rest are all invisible with impact. All the subtle kinds are invisible without impact. ‘Gross’ and ‘subtle’ are explained in paragraph 73 above.

“According to the ‘kamma-born’ triad, etc., however, that born from kamma is kamma-born.” So this is not difficult to understand - kamma-born, not kamma-born, neither-kamma-born-nor-not-kamma-born. The same is true for consciousness, nutriment and temperature.

Paragraph 76 “Herein, the visible-data base is seen because it is the objective field of seeing.” It is the object of seeing. Visible-data base is called seeing. “The sound base is heard because it is the objective field of hearing. The three, that is to say, odors, flavors, and tangible data, are sensed (literally contacted) because they are the objective fields of faculties that take contiguous [objective fields]. The rest are cognized because they are the objective field of consciousness only. So firstly it is of four kinds according to the ‘seen’, etc., tetrad.”

In footnote 32 there is a discussion of whether the water element can be touched. “Is not cold apprehended by touching?” Do you think so? “And is that the water element? Certainly it is apprehended, but it is not the water element. What is it then? It is just the fire element (or temperature). For there is the sensation of cold when heat is sluggish.” When there is little temperature we say that it is cold. When the temperature rises, we say that it is hot. Cold and hot are just variations in temperature. That is not the water element.

“There is no quality that is called cold; there is only the assumption of coldness due to the sluggishness of the state of the sensation of cold, like ‘’.” ‘Beyond and not beyond’ is not a correct rendering. It should be ‘this bank and the other bank’. When we are on this bank, we call the other, ‘the other bank’. When we cross over to the other bank, this bank becomes ‘the other bank’ and the other bank becomes ‘this bank’. When the temperature is low, we call it cold. When the temperature has risen, we call it hot. So hot and cold are relative terms. “For in hot weather while those who stand in the sun and go into the shade have the sensation of cold, yet those who go to the same place from an underground cave have the sensation of heat.”

“And if coldness were the water element it would be found in a single group along with heat: but it is not so found.” If coldness is water element then it must co-exist with heat. But heat and cold do not co-exist. Cold is not water element because there are four elements everywhere. “That is why it may be known (Actually we ought to say ‘it should be known’) that coldness is not water element. And that is conclusive for those who agree in the inseparable existence of the primary elements; and it is conclusive too even for those who do not agree because it is disproved by associate existence” and so on. That is difficult to understand. “It is conclusive too for those who say that coldness is the characteristic of the air element; for if coldness were the air element, coldness would be found in a single group along with heat, and it is not so found.” It is the same argument.

“But those who hold the opinion that fluidity is the water element and that that is apprehended by touching should be told: That fluidity touched is merely the venerable ones’ assumption as is the case with shape.” We think that we see the shape. We see something and we think that we see the shape. What we see is the visible object there. Shape we do not see, but we think that we see. In other words we see the shape in our minds and not with our eyes. What we see is just visible data.

“Three elements coexisting with fluidity

Together form what constitutes a tangible;

That I succeed in touching this fluidity

Is a common misconception in the world.”

So you put your hand in the water and you say that it is cold. Then you think that you can touch cold.

“And as a man who touches elements,

And apprehends a shape then with his mind,

Fancies ‘I really have been touching shape’,

So too fluidity is to be understood.”

So you pick up a pencil and you think that you touch the shape of the pencil. What you touch is not the shape of the pencil, but the material properties of the pencil. So water element cannot be touched. What we touch and think of as water element is not actually water element, but is the fire element (heat or cold).

Paragraph 78, one word is missing in my book. “Here, however, what is called the materiality of the heart is physical basis, not door.” Heart-base is basis but not door. “The two intimations are door, but not physical basis.” The two intimations are said to be doors because they are those through which we do kamma, kamma by body and kamma by speech. So bodily intimation and verbal intimation are said to be doors of kamma. You may read this in the fifth chapter of The Manual of Abhidhamma. They are doors, but not physical basis, not vatthu. We should say that they are doors, but not physical basis. “Sensitive matter is both physical basis and door (like eye sensitivity, ear sensitivity and so on); the rest are neither physical basis nor door.” So there are four kinds. Then there are five kinds, born of one, born of two and so on.

At the beginning of paragraph 80 “That is all the rest except ‘matter as characteristic’. But ‘matter as characteristic’ is called not born of anything.” ‘Matter of characteristic’ means the four mentioned in paragraph 66 - growth of matter, continuity of matter, aging and impermanence of matter. These four are said to be not born of anything, not caused by anything. “Why? Because there is no arising of arising and the other two are the mere maturing and breaking up of what has arisen.” That means they are just the different phases of the material properties which have arisen. Actually they are not separate material properties. So they are not said to be caused by anything. ‘Anything’ refers to kamma, consciousness, temperature and nutriment.

“Though in the passage ‘The visible data base, the sound base, the odor base, the flavor base, the tangible data base, the space element, the water element, lightness of matter, malleability of matter, wieldiness of matter, continuity of matter, and physical food - these states are consciousness originated’.” This is from an Abhidhamma Text. In the Abhidhamma it is said that the growth of matter and the continuity of matter are caused by or are originated by consciousness. Likewise in other passages where they are said to be caused by kamma and so on.

So what about that? The answer is that they are not caused by anything, but they are evident when the functions of kamma and so on are said to still be existing. Suppose there is relinking or rebirth. At the first sub-moment of rebirth there is kamma-born matter. Kamma is always concerned about producing something. Only after it has produced something will it give up this concern . It is concerned with producing results. At the very moment of arising its concern has not yet disappeared. And birth or these two (growth of matter and continuity of matter) are seen at that moment. That is why they are said to be caused by kamma, citta and so on, although, in fact, they are not caused by anything. They are said to be caused by kamma because the exercising of the function of kamma is still there. Kamma’s concern for producing material property is still exercised at the moment of genesis or at the moment of arising. That is why they are said to be caused by kamma. With regard to citta it is the same thing.

Then we come to consciousness aggregate (viÒÒÈÓa khandha). “Among the remaining aggregates, however, whatever has the characteristic of being felt should be understood all taken together, as the feeling aggregate.” It is not ‘being felt’, but ‘feeling’. He misunderstood the word. The PÈÄi word is ‘vedayita’. It looks like a passive past participle here. It is something like a verbal noun. It is not ‘that which is felt’, but ‘that which feels’ or just ‘feeling’. Here the word ‘vedayita’ means feeling. If you know a little PÈÄi, you will understand that. The suffix ‘TA’ is added to mean the passive. So here ‘vedayita’ could mean which is felt, but here it is used in the sense of just ‘feeling’, not ‘being felt’. So it should be “The characteristic of feeling should be understood, all taken together, as the feeling aggregate.” Because feeling aggregate is that which has feeling as characteristic and not that which is felt. If it is felt, there must be another feeling. Feeling is explained here in the Sub-Commentary as experiencing the taste of objects. That is what we call feeling. We can say enjoying the taste of objects.

Now we have the aggregate of consciousness. The aggregate of consciousness is described in this book in the order given in the original Abhidhamma Texts. This order is different from the order we are familiar with because we are familiar with the order given in The Manual of Abhidhamma. The order in The Manual of Abhidhamma is different from the order given in the original Abhidhamma Texts. The Visuddhi Magga follows the order given in the original Abhidhamma Texts. That is why I have made these notes. This chart is the same as the dots, but just the numbers are given so you can pinpoint it. There is also a handout showing the number of the citta in The Path of Purification and in The Manual of Abhidhamma.

Student: Thank you.

Teacher: The numbers given in the book are different from the numbers given in The Manual of Abhidhamma. Let us read paragraph 83. “Herein, 1-8 that of the sense-sphere is eightfold, being classified according to joy, equanimity, knowledge, and prompting; that is to say: (1)” - this # 1 given in this book is # 31 in this chart. Now you can identify it. Then # 2 in The Path of Purification is # 32 in this chart. It can help you to identify the cittas.

The plan of the types of consciousness given in The Path of Purification is done according to the pattern of the original Abhidhamma Texts. They are classified in this way: First there is kusala. Second there is akusala. Third there is abyÈkata. There are these three major divisions - kusala (wholesome), akusala (unwholesome), and abyÈkata (indeterminate). Then kusala is divided into kÈmÈvacara (belonging to sense-sphere), r|pÈvacara (belonging to form-sphere), ar|pÈvacara (belonging to immaterial sphere), and lokuttara (supramundane). Akusala is divided into three - lobham|la (That is cittas accompanied by lobha or attachment), dosam|la (cittas accompanied by dosa or having dosa as a root), and moham|la. You can find the English translation in The Path of Purification. On the handout I gave the paragraph numbers, so you can find them easily in the book. AbyÈkata is the most comprehensive. AbyÈkata is divided into vipÈka (resultant) and kiriya (functional). Then vipÈka is subdivided into kÈmÈvacara vipÈka, r|pÈvacara vipÈka, ar|pÈvacara vipÈka, lokuttara vipÈka. KÈmÈvacara vipÈka is divided into kusala vipÈka and akusala vipÈka. Then kusala vipÈka is divided into ahetuka (without root) and sahetuka (with root). This is the plan. Then kiriya is divided into kÈmÈvacara, r|pÈvacara, ar|pÈvacara. KÈmÈvacara kiriya is divided into ahetuka and sahetuka. This is the order given in The Path of Purification.

There are all together 89 types of consciousness explained in this chapter, not 121. 89 and 121 are the same because the 8 types of supramundane consciousness when we multiply by the 5 jhÈnas, we get 40 for the supramundane. Then the number of cittas becomes 121. If we take supramundane consciousness as just 8, then we get 89 types of consciousness. These 89 types of consciousness are described in this book.

In footnote 35 there is a discussion about the words nÈma, viÒÒÈÓa, mano, citta and ceto. These are synonyms. “While their etymology can be looked up in the dictionary, one or two points need noting here. NÈma (rendered by ‘mentality’ when not used to refer to a name) is almost confined in the sense considered to the expression nÈma-r|pa (mentality-materiality) as the fourth member of the Dependent Origination, where it comprises the three mental aggregates of feeling, perceptions, and formations, but not that of consciousness (viÒÒÈÓa).” I cannot agree with the word ‘almost’ here. ‘NÈma’ means the three mental aggregates, as it says here, only when it is used in the Dependent Origination. If it is used as a link in Dependent Origination, ‘nÈma’ means feeling, perception and mental formations. In other places ‘nÈma’ means citta and cetasikas both, not cetasikas only. So I do not like ‘almost’ here. Maybe ‘is sometimes confined’ is better, not ‘almost’ but ‘sometimes’. Only when given as a link of Dependent Origination (is this true). If you go to Chapter 18 paragraph 8 it says “the immaterial states”. ‘Immaterial states’ just means nÈma. It is described as: “That is to say, the 81 kinds of mundane consciousness consisting of the two sets of five consciousness” and so on. ‘NÈma’ means both consciousness and mental factors. In another Abhidhamma Text it is said that ‘nÈma’ also means includes NibbÈna. NibbÈna is also called ‘nÈma’ although it is not mental. NibbÈna is something different than mentality and materiality. In PÈÄi it is called nÈma. If you do not want to get confused, just leave it alone. Let us take it that ‘nÈma’ mostly means consciousness and mental factors together, but in the Dependent Origination, as the fourth member of Dependent Origination, there is the word ‘nÈma-r|pa’. There ‘nÈma’ means only the mental factors. Do you know why? Because there is consciousness above it. Depending on ignorance there are mental formations. Depending on mental formations there is consciousness. And depending on consciousness there is nÈma-r|pa. When we say nÈma depends on consciousness, then nÈma cannot include consciousness. That is why nÈma is made to mean only feeling, perception and mental formations in the Dependent Origination. Outside Dependent Origination ‘nÈma’ always means citta and cetasikas together. So nÈma, viÒÒÈÓa, mano, citta and ceto are all synonyms. They just mean citta. ViÒÒÈÓa means citta. Mano means citta. Citta means citta. And ceto sometimes also means citta.

In footnote 36 there is an explanation of kÈmÈvacara (sense-sphere). Here there are two kinds of sense-desire. It is not that there are two kinds of sense-desire. Let us say there are two kinds of kÈma. Please not the PÈÄi word ‘kÈma’. There are two kinds of kÈma. Do you see the word ‘vatthu-kÈma’ there? One is vatthu-kÈma and the other is kilesa-kÈma. ‘Vatthu-kÈma’ means objects of desire - sights, sounds, smells, taste and touch. Those are called vatthu-kÈma. ‘Vatthu’ here means the thing which is desired. When it means these five things, then the word ‘kÈma’ is to be known, in the passive sense, as desired. Something which is desired is called ‘kÈma’. When we mean kÈma to mean kilesa-kÈma - ‘kilesa’ means mental defilement - that kÈma is used in the active sense. It is something that desires. So sense-desire is defilement (kilesa-kÈma). There are two kinds of kÈma. Whenever we use the word ‘kÈma’, we must be sure that we mean vatthu-kÈma or kilesa-kÈma. So whenever we find the word ‘kÈma’, we cannot always translate it as sense-desire. Sometimes I prefer the word ‘sense-objects’, the objects of the senses, the objects of desire actually. So there are two kinds of kÈma - vatthu-kÈma and kilesa-kÈma. “Of these, sense-desire as [objective] basis (That means just the objects.) particularized as the five cords of sense-desire.” They are called five cords of sense- objects. They are simply sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. “Sense-desire is defilement, which is craving, desire.” Here it is the active meaning. “The sense-sphere is where these two operate together.” ‘Sense-sphere’ means the world of human beings, the four woeful states, and the worlds of lower celestial beings. Those planes of existence are the sense-sphere. Both vatthu-kÈma and kilesa-kÈma operate here. “But what is that? It is the elevenfold sense-desire becoming i.e., hell, Asura demons, ghosts, animals, human beings, and six sensual-sphere [heavens]. So too with the fine material sphere and the immaterial sphere, taking ‘fine material’ as craving for the fine material sphere” and so on. These are the explanations of r|pÈvacara and ar|pÈvacara. Lokuttara is explained as something that crosses over from the world. So it is called ‘lokuttara’ (supramundane). When we find the word ‘kÈma’, we must be careful not to always translate it as sense-desire. Sometimes it means sense-desire. Sometimes it means sense-objects or objects of desire.

In paragraph 85 there is an explanation of the word ‘sa~khÈra’. “For in this sense ‘prompting’ is a term for a prior effort exerted by himself, or others.” When we describe consciousness, we use the word ‘sa~khÈra’. It is with sa~khÈra or it is without sa~khÈra. The word ‘sa~khÈra’ here means effort, a prior effort before doing something. So it has a special sense here. I think you are familiar with the word ‘sa~khÈra’. ‘Sa~khÈra’ means those that are conditioned and also those that condition. But in this particular context ‘sa~khÈra’ means just prior effort. So with effort and without effort - that means with prompting and without prompting. This is the definition of the word ‘sa~khÈra’. We should note this for explanation when we teach Abhidhamma. “In this sense ‘prompting’ is a term for a prior effort exerted by himself or others.” Then examples of the different kinds of consciousness are given. They are not difficult to understand.

At the end of paragraph 86 “The fifth is associated with equanimity.” ‘Equanimity’ here means neutral feeling. You know there are pleasant feeling, unpleasant feeling and neither pleasant nor unpleasant feeling. The third one is called ‘neutral feeling’ (upekkhÈ). The word ‘upekkhÈ’ can mean neutral feeling or equanimity. Here ‘upekkhÈ’ means neutral feeling, neither somanassa nor domanassa.

The numbers are given here. When you see the numbers, you can check with the handouts. You may go to that sheet if you are already familiar with the dots.

Paragraph 91 “When a man is happy and content in placing wrong view foremost of the sort beginning ‘There is no danger in sense-desire’” and so on. I want to strike out the word ‘in’. He is not happy in placing wrong view foremost. He is happy and he is content, and he places wrong view foremost in his mind. That means with wrong view he does something. It should be “When a man is happy and content, and placing wrong view foremost” and so on. The word ‘in’ is not needed here. Towards the bottom of the paragraph “But when the consciousnesses are devoid of joy in these four instances through encountering no excellence in the sense-desires” - here it should be sense-objects, not sense-desires. It should be sense-objects or objects of sense-desire.

Paragraph 96 “Herein, eye-consciousness has the characteristic of being supported by the eye and cognizing visible data. “Herein, eye consciousness has the characteristic of being supported by the eye and cognizing visible data. Its function is to have only visible data as its object.” That means eye consciousness just sees the visible object. When it sees, it just sees it. It does not see it as blue or that it is red or whatever. The eye consciousness sees the object just as a visible object. We know that it is blue, that it is green, by manodvÈra (by mind -door), by mind-door thought process, not by eye-door thought process. That’s why it is said that it sees only visible data and not shape and so on. “It is manifested as occupation with visible data.” Let us go to paragraph 107 “It is manifested as confrontation of visible data.” The same words are used. Here it does not say ‘occupation’. It is being faced with visible data or confronted with visible data, not occupation with visible data. “Its proximate cause is the departure of (That means the disappearance of.) the functional mind-element that has visible data as object.”

In order to understand these passages you have to understand at least the thought process. During the Abhidhamma class I talked about the thought processes. If you have notes from that class, please look at the first thought process. Then read these passages. Because here the eye consciousness its proximate cause is the departure of the functional mind-element that has visible data as its object. That means that immediately before consciousness is paÒcadvÈrÈvajjana. The disappearance of that functional mind-element or that five-door-adverting is the proximate cause for eye consciousness. If the functional mind-element does not disappear, then the eye consciousness cannot arise. Functional mind-element disappears so that eye consciousness can arise. Functional mind-element disappears so that eye consciousness can arise. Therefore the disappearance of functional mind-element is the proximate cause for eye consciousness. It is something like you being in a line. The disappearance of the man before is the proximate cause for your being there.

Then there is the mind-element as receiving or accepting and so on. And then beginning in paragraph 110 the 14 modes or the 14 kinds of functions are explained. These 89 types of consciousness have different functions. Some kinds of consciousness have one function only, but others may have two functions, five functions and so on. These 14 functions performed by different types of consciousness are explained beginning with paragraph 110. To understand these functions also you need to have a diagram of the thought process. Looking at that diagram of the thought process, you may read these passages and you will understand them.

In paragraph 111 about seven lines down “entering upon the state of eunuchs” - that means being reborn as eunuchs. ‘Entering upon the state of’ means being reborn as.

Then in footnote 42 the third line “ ‘Sign of kamma’ is the gift to be given that was the condition for the volition” and so on. After ‘given’ please add ‘etc.’. “The gift to be given, etc., that was a condition for the volition.”

Footnote 44 “ ‘With that same object’: if kamma is the life-continuum’s” - it is a mistake. It should be relinking’s, not life-continuum’s. It is relinking or rebirth. “If kamma is the relinking’s object, then it is that kamma” and so on.

These 14 modes or 14 functions are explained one by on. In paragraph 123 there is a saying “For the last life-continuum consciousness of all in one becoming is called ‘death (cuti)’ because of falling from that [becoming].” In one given life relinking, life-continuum and death are all the same type of consciousness. Actually relinking consciousness is a resultant consciousness. This consciousness repeats itself all through the life. After the first moment of arising as relinking, it is called ‘life-continuum’. At the end of life also that type of consciousness arises. We call that ‘death consciousness’ or ‘cuti’. In one given life the relinking, life-continuum and death consciousness are all the same types of consciousness. That is why it is said here “For the last life-continuum consciousness of all in one becoming is called ‘death’.” The last life-continuum is what we call ‘death’. These three kinds of consciousness are just one and the same kinds of consciousness.

OK. When I taught Abhidhamma the chapter on citta took me how many talks? Six or seven talks. Today we are doing in one hour. Next week we will go to about paragraph 185. Do you have the notes from the Abhidhamma class. Next week we will have the description of the mental states. If you have those notes with you, it is good.

SÈdhu! SÈdhu! SÈdhu!

(Tape 31 / Ps: 125 – 184)

Last week we finished consciousness aggregate. Today we begin with feeling aggregate. Paragraph 125 “Now it was said above, ‘Whatever has the characteristic of being felt (Here also ‘being felt’ should be corrected to feeling.) should be understood, all taken together, as the feeling aggregate’.” I told you last week that Venerable ©ÈÓamoli misunderstood the word ‘vedayita’. He took it as a passive past participle, but it is not a passive past participle. It is a verbal noun here. The word ‘vedayita’ simply means feeling. Whenever you see the words ‘being felt’ or ‘felt’ change to feeling. “And here, too, what is said to have the characteristic of feeling (not ‘being felt’) is feeling itself, according as it is said ‘It feels’ (not ‘is felt’), friend, that is why it is called ‘feeling’.” We have to take the active voice. In the next paragraph also “But though it is singlefold according to its individual essence as the characteristic of feeling, it is nevertheless threefold as to kind” and so on.

They are profitable, unprofitable and indeterminate. This is the division found in the first book of Abhidhamma. The Commentator, the Venerable Buddhaghosa, is following that division. Since consciousness is divided into profitable, unprofitable, and indeterminate, feeling too is so divided. “Herein, it should be understood that when associated with the profitable consciousness described in way beginning ‘That of the sense-sphere is eightfold, being classified according to joy, equanimity, knowledge and prompting is profitable.” Then we find a footnote. “This should be regarded as a secondary characteristic of profitable feeling.” Here also there is a misunderstanding of the word ‘upalakkhaÓa’. ‘LakkhaÓa’ means characteristic and ‘upa’ can mean secondary or subordinate. But here ‘upalakkhaÓa’ means something like stating of the fact. The statement that ‘when it is associated with profitable consciousness, it is called profitable’ is just a statement of fact; it is not giving a reason for it being profitable. It is described in the Sub-Commentary by the word ‘upalakkhaÓa’. Sometimes ‘upalakkhaÓa’ means something like saying - you say only one thing but other things are meant. We may say that the president visited San Francisco. The president does not come alone. He comes with other people too, but we just say that the president visited the city. It is something like that. It is called ‘upalakkhaÓa’. It is not a secondary characteristic. It is a kind of figure of speech often used especially by Commentators. Here it is not an explanation of feelings being profitable, but it is just stating the fact. As is stated in the footnote, its being profitable or unprofitable is determined by right reflection or wrong reflection. “That associated with unprofitable consciousness is unprofitable; that associated with indeterminate consciousness is indeterminate.” Feeling always accompanies consciousness. Every type of consciousness is accompanied by feeling. Since consciousness is divided into three (profitable, unprofitable, and indeterminate), feeling is also divided accordingly.

“It is fivefold according to the analysis of its individual essence into [bodily] pleasure, [bodily] pain, [mental] joy, [mental] grief, and equanimity.” Here there are five kinds of feelings. The first one is sukha (bodily pleasure). Bodily pain is dukkha. Mental joy is somanassa. Mental grief is domanassa. And equanimity is upekkhÈ. There are five kinds of feelings.

“Herein, pleasure is associated with profitable resultant body consciousness and pain with unprofitable body consciousness” and so on. If you have the chart for consciousness from last week, you may look at that and read it. The numbers given here are different than those on the chart for cittas. You may look at the other handout and determine what they are. It will take much time if we check every statement with these charts. So you have to do it yourself.

“Joy is associated with 62 kinds of consciousness.” That means somanassa 62, in our chart the red dots. They are “namely as to sense-sphere, with 4 kinds of profitable, with 4 resultant with root-cause, with one resultant without root-cause, with 4 functional with root-cause, with one functional without root-cause, and with 4 unprofitable; and as to fine material sphere, with 4 kinds of profitable, 4 resultant, and 4 functional, leaving out that of the fifth jhÈna in each case.” The fifth jhÈna is accompanied by upekkhÈ (equanimity or indifferent) feeling. The fifth jhÈna is left out of these 62.

“But there is no supramundane without jhÈna and consequently the [eight] kinds of supramundane multiplied by the five jhÈnas make forty.” This is where the 40 types of supramundane consciousness are mentioned. In the description of the consciousness aggregate the Commentator did not say that there are 40 types of supramundane consciousness. The Commentator mentions 8 - 4 Path consciousness and 4 Fruit consciousness. Here he mentions 40 types of supramundane consciousness. There are 8 supramundane consciousness and each one is multiplied by the 5 jhÈnas. So they become 40. Among the 40 the first, second, third and fourth jhÈna consciousness are accompanied by joy. The fifth jhÈna is accompanied by equanimity or indifferent feeling.

Grief is associated with two kinds of unprofitable consciousness. That the dosam|la, those accompanied by dosa among the akusala cittas (the unwholesome consciousness).

Equanimity is associated with the remaining 55 types of consciousness, that is the blue dots on the chart. If you have a chart with color, then it is easy. Red dots represent somanassa. Blue dots represent upekkhÈ. The crosses - the red cross represents bodily pleasure and the blue cross represents bodily pain. The green dots represent mental grief.

Now we come to the characteristic, etc., of these five kinds of feeling paragraph 128. “Pleasure has the characteristic of experiencing a desirable tangible datum (That is something that can be touched.).” Its function is to intensify associated states. It is manifested as bodily affliction. Its proximate cause is the body faculty.” ‘Body faculty’ simply means body sensitivity. From when we studied the corporeality aggregate I think you remember there are five sensitivities - eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body sensitivity. Body sensitivity is here called ‘body faculty’. It is the same thing.

“Pain has the characteristic of experiencing an undesirable tangible datum.” That is when you have pain in the body. When you hit yourself with something or when someone hits you, there is pain in the body. “Its function is to intensify associated states.” When there is pain, your mind and your mental states become withered. They are not happy. “It is manifested as bodily affliction.” When you look at it through meditation, then you see it as bodily affliction. Its proximate cause again is the body sensitivity.

“Joy has the characteristic of experiencing a desirable object.” This is somanassa. It is in the mind. It is mental joy. “Its function is to exploit in one way or another the desirable aspect.” I want to know whether or not the word ‘exploit’ has a bad meaning or does it also have a good meaning?

Students: In modern times it mostly has a bad meaning. It means that someone takes advantage unfairly. But it also can mean to make good use of.

Teacher: It is used in the good sense here, not the bad sense. So it fully enjoys. “It is manifested as mental affliction. Its proximate cause is tranquillity.” Joy comes from tranquillity.

“Grief has the characteristic of experiencing an undesirable object. Its function is to exploit in one way or another the undesirable aspect.” Undesirable aspect - we cannot use the word ‘enjoy’ here, right? It experiences the undesirable aspect thoroughly. “It is manifested as mental affliction. Its proximate cause is invariably the heart-basis.” These two types of consciousness associated with domanassa only arise in beings of the sensual sphere. So it always depends on the heart-base.

Equanimity - ‘equanimity’, here means neutral feeling or indifferent feeling. “Equanimity has the characteristic of feeling neutral”, not ‘being felt as neutral’. Not feeling pleasure, not feeling displeasure, feeling the middle feeling is what is meant. “Its function is not to intensify or wither associated states. It is manifested as peacefulness. Its proximate cause is consciousness without happiness.” That is because if there is happiness there can be no indifferent feeling. Its proximate cause is consciousness that is not accompanied by somanassa.

In footnote 56 it is explained why the dvipaÒcaviÒÒÈÓa other than those associated with bodily feeling have only indifferent feeling accompanying them and the others that are associated with bodily feeling are accompanied by pleasure and displeasure. This is a good explanation when you talk about the ahetuka (rootless) consciousness. “Just as when a man places a piece of cottonwool on an anvil and strikes it with an iron hammer, and his hammer goes right through the cotton and hits the anvil, the violence of the blow is great, so too because the violence of the impact’s blow is great, body consciousness is accompanied by pleasure when the object is desirable or desirable-neutral one, and by pain when the object is an undesirable or an undesirable-neutral one.” Here there is an anvil, cottonwool and a hammer. So there are three things here. When someone hits you, there are the great elements. What shall I say? There is body sensitivity and tangible data or those that can be touched. Those that can be touched, what are they? The three great elements. The three great elements are what we call ‘touch’. When these hit against the body sensitivity, which is like the cottonwool here, because of the impact, the great elements upon which the body sensitivity depends - there are great elements. On these great elements body sensitivity depends. There are great elements, body sensitivity and tangible data which is the combination of the three great elements. When the tangible data strikes against body sensitivity, it goes through bodily sensitivity and reaches the great elements beneath it. It is like great elements hitting great elements. It is like the hammer hitting the anvil. The impact is strong. And so when the object is pleasurable or pleasurable-neutral, there is sukha. When the object is displeasurable or displeasurable-neutral, there is dukkha. There can be no upekkhÈ here with regard to bodily sensitivity. With regard to seeing consciousness and so on there is only upekkhÈ. You may remember that seeing consciousness and so on are accompanied by indifferent feeling and not by pleasurable or displeasurable feeling. That is at the very moment of seeing, hearing and so on. That is because the visible object and so on are depending r|pa. Visible object is not one of the great elements. So when visible object strikes against eye sensitivity which is again a depending one, it is like a ball of cotton striking another ball of cotton. The impact is not so great. It does not go through the cotton ball to the anvil. So here it is a soft object striking a soft sensitivity. The impact is not so great. Whether the object is desirable or undesirable the feeling is always indifferent feeling. This explanation is given by the Sub-Commentary here.

The next aggregate is the perception aggregate. There is nothing difficult here about perception aggregate. We have talked about perception. “whatever has the characteristic of perceiving should be understood, all taken together, as the perception aggregate” and so on. It is also divided into profitable, unprofitable and indeterminate. Perception accompanies all types of consciousness. Wherever there is consciousness, there is perception. Its characteristic, etc., are given. What is its characteristic? Perceiving. “Its function is to make a sign as a condition for perceiving again that ‘this is the same’, as carpenters, etc.’, do in the case of timber, and so on. It is manifested as the action of interpreting by means of the sign as apprehended.” That means it may be apprehended rightly or wrongly. If it is apprehended wrongly, then that interpretation will depend upon that wrong apprehension and so the conclusion will be wrong, like the blind men seeing the elephant. “Its proximate cause is an objective field in whatever way that appears, like the perception that arises in fawns that see scarecrows as men.” These animals think they are seeing men when in fact they are seeing scarecrows.

Then we come to the formation aggregate. The formation aggregate is important and has many divisions. The PÈÄi word is sa~khÈra khandha (formation aggregate). ‘Sa~khÈra’ here means just that which makes. Its characteristic is forming that which has the characteristic of agglomerating. It is just forming or putting together. “What is that? It is formations themselves, according as it is said ‘They form the formed, bhikkhu, that is why they are called ‘formations’.”

“They have the characteristic of forming. Their function is to accumulate. They are manifested as intervening.” It may be better to say ‘activeness’ instead of ‘intervening’. You will see the PÈÄi word ‘vipphÈra’ in footnote 58. VipphÈra is explained in the Sub-Commentary by vyÈpÈra. ‘VyÈpÈra’ means activeness, being active. ‘Intervening’ really means being active. They are manifested as those that are active. “Their proximate cause is the remaining three [immaterial] aggregates.” That is because they arise with the other three immaterial aggregates (consciousness aggregate, feeling aggregate, perception aggregate).

Please bear in mind that consciousness is always accompanied by mental factors. These four immaterial aggregates always arise together, that is consciousness aggregate, feeling aggregate, perception aggregate and some of the formation aggregate. When one is taken as the principle thing, then the others become its proximate cause. ‘Cause’ here means condition. They are profitable, unprofitable and indeterminate.

Then the 52 cetasikas are mentioned here following the order given in the first book of Abhidhamma. In the Dhammasa~gaÓÊ first consciousness is mentioned. Buddha said that with this consciousness such mental factors arise - contact arises, volition arises and so on. Following that, the description is given in this book.

First we find kusala here, right? “Herein, firstly, those associated with the first sense-sphere profitable consciousness (That means the first kÈmÈvacara kusala.) amount to 36, that is to say, the constant ones, which are 27 given in the Texts as such, and the 4 ‘or-whatever-states’, and also the 5 inconstant ones.” We have to understand these three - constant ones, or-whatever-states, and inconstant ones. ‘Constant ones’ mean the ones that always accompany the consciousness assigned to them. The most obvious one is contact. When we say contact accompanies this type of consciousness, it always accompanies that type of consciousness, invariably. Such mental states are called ‘constant’. ‘Inconstant’ means they may or may not associate or arise with a certain consciousness. For example let us say compassion. Compassion accompanies some kinds of consciousness, but only when you practice compassion will compassion arise in your mind, not at other times. When you arouse compassion, it will arise in your mind. If you do not arouse it, then it will not arise. Such mental factors are called ‘inconstant’. Although they are said to accompany a certain type of consciousness, they do not accompany that type of consciousness every time it arises, only sometimes. Envy (issa) is said to be inconstant. Only when you envy other people’s success is there envy in you. Otherwise it will not accompany that type of consciousness. Such mental factors are called ‘inconstant’. Do you remember the words used in The Manual of Abhidhamma? Fixed adjuncts and unfixed adjuncts. In the manual you will find fixed adjuncts and unfixed adjuncts. Here the words ‘constant’ and ‘inconstant’ are used. They mean the same thing.

The other one, or-whatever-states, is important. When the Buddha described the mental states accompanying a certain type of consciousness, he did not give all the mental states. He gave most of the mental stated, one by one, by name. Let us say the consciousness is accompanied by 36 mental states. He would mention 32 mental states one by one, by name. Then he would say there are some others also that accompanied that consciousness. All those are called kusala or all those are called akusala and so on. The words used in the Dhammasa~gaÓÊ are in footnote 59. “Ye vÈ pana tasmim samaye aÒÒe pi atthi paÔicca-samuppanÈ ar|pino dhammÈ” and so on. Some of those mental states are not mentioned by name, but they are mentioned by the words ‘ye vÈ pana’. They are called ‘yevÈpanaka’ in PÈÄi. It is translated as ‘or-whatever-states’. I don’t like the word ‘or’ here. Although there is ‘vÈ’ in PÈÄi, it does not mean ‘or’ here. It means ‘also’. As I said, there are 36 mental states accompanying the first kÈmÈvacara kusala citta. After describing 32 by name let us say, the Buddha said that there are others also. So here the PÈÄi word ‘vÈ’ means ‘also’, not ‘or’. Maybe ‘also other states’ is good. They may be given by name in the list.

So ’27 given as such’ means 27 are given in the Texts by name. Then there are the 4 whatever-states and also the 5 inconstant ones. If you look at the list, they are well divided. The 4 whatever-states are zeal or desire, resolution, attention and specific neutrality. The 5 inconstant ones are compassion, gladness, abstinences from bodily misconduct, abstinence from verbal misconduct and abstinence from wrong livelihood. These five are called ‘inconstant’ and the 4 above ‘whatever-states’. The others are constant ones. Then the author describes the characteristic, function, mode of manifestation and proximate cause of each one of them.

The first one is phassa (contact) in paragraph 134. It is contact which is born of convergence of three, that is visible object, the eye and seeing consciousness. When these three arise, contact also arises. In the books it says because of the convergence of these three contact arises. Contact is seen as something which comes out of the convergence of these three, the coming together of these three. Its characteristic is touching. ‘Touching’ means mentally touching. “Its function is the act of impingement. It is manifested as concurrence. Its proximate cause is an objective field that has come into focus.”

“Although this is an immaterial state, yet it occurs with respect to an object as the act of touching too.” It is not ‘too’ here. We can leave out ‘too’ all together or we may substitute ‘only’. It is immaterial, so it does not really touch anything. It really does not come into contact with anything. When it arises, it arises as the act of touching. That is why it is called ‘phassa’ in PÈÄi.

In footnote 60 “As the act of touching (not ‘too’): by this he shows that this is its individual essence even though it is immaterial.” The examples given here are very good. We experience phassa more clearly when we come across these instances - “watering of the mouth in one who sees another tasting vinegar or a ripe mango.” When one sees another eating something sour, water is produced in our mouth. “The bodily shuttering in a sympathetic person who sees another being hurt, the trembling of the knees in a timid man standing on the ground when he sees a man precariously balances on a high tree branch” - if you watch the circus, you get that feeling when the performers are on the high wire. “The loss of power of the legs in one who sees something terrifying such as a pisÈca (goblin)” - so when you are afraid, you cannot run. Your feet are like frozen. That happens to dogs when they have the smell of leopards or when they see leopards. They cannot run away. They are too afraid. That is the manifestation of phassa (contact).

“And [as to its function] although it is not adherent on any one side as eye-cum-visible-object and ear-cum-sound are, yet it is what makes consciousness and the object impinge.” I do not understand this and it is not quite what the original means. What it means here is: although it is not adherent on any one side, it impinges on consciousness and object as does visible object on the eye and sound on the ear. Remember the eye and the ear are said to take objects before they reach them. Like them phassa is not stuck to any object at all. It impinges on consciousness and the object, like visible object and eye, and like sound on the ear.

“It is said to be manifested as concurrence because it has been described as its own action.” Here he also misunderstood one word. “Because it has been described by way of its cause, namely, the occurrence of the three.” You know sometimes there is a difference between a short vowel and a long vowel. Then you get a different meaning. You just mispronounce or you read a short vowel for a long vowel, or a long vowel for a short vowel, then you get a different meaning. Here the PÈÄi word used is ‘karanÈ’. ‘KaranÈ’ means a cause. When you read it as karana instead of karanÈ, it means doing. So here he translated it as ‘its own action’. ‘Karana’ means doing or action. This is not a correct reading. The correct reading is karanÈ.

‘The concurrence of the three’ is actually the cause for contact to arise. Concurrence itself is not contact. Contact arises through the concurrence of these three, that is the eye, the visible object and eye consciousness. Here it is said to be manifested as concurrence. Actually it comes about with the concurrence of these three. When these three come together, it arises also.

“And it is said to have as its proximate cause an objective field that has come into focus because it arises automatically through the appropriate [conscious] reaction and with a faculty when the objective field is presented.” So here ‘appropriate reaction’ really means appropriate adverting, turning towards the object. ‘Faculty’ here means the eye faculty. So it arises on the object without obstruction prepared by, it is as though the object is prepared by the adverting and eye faculty. When you see something, there is the seeing thought process. Before seeing consciousness there is five-sense-door adverting. The seeing consciousness takes the object which is prepared by or which is made ready by the five-sense-door adverting. That means the five-sense-door adverting turns the mind towards the object. So it is said to prepare the object for the next moment of consciousness. So it is prepared by appropriate adverting and faculty.

I think I will have to get rid of the ‘buts’ today. “It should be regarded as like a hideless cow because it is the habitat of feeling.” We do not need a ‘but’ here in this statement. This simile is described in the SaÑyutta NikÈya. The Buddha said that phassa should be viewed as a hideless cow. When the hide of the cow is removed, it is a place for flies, or mosquitoes, or insects to come. In the same way when there is phassa there is vedanÈ (feeling). It is the place for vedanÈ or feeling. That is why it is regarded as like a hideless cow. If you want to read the Sutta, it is Kindred Sayings, volume 2, page 69.

The next one is cetanÈ (volition). Here also we need to get rid of ‘but’. In the fifth line of paragraph 135 “It is evident when it occurs in the marshaling (driving) of associated states in connection with urgent work, remembering and so on.”

“What should be said about applied thought, sustained thought and happiness, has already been said in the commentary on the first jhÈna in the description of the earth kasiÓa.” They are explained in chapter 4.

Then we come to viriya (energy). “Its characteristic is marshaling (driving). Its function is to consolidate conascent states. It is manifested as non-collapse. Because of the words “Bestirred, he strives ‘wisely’” its proximate cause is a sense of urgency; or its proximate cause is grounds for the initiation of energy.” I think we have not met with it before. If you want to read about all these grounds, please read Dialogues of the Buddha, part 3, page 239 for the grounds for the initiation of energy.

I will tell you only two. There is something you have to do. You have to do something. Before doing that, you say to yourself, when I am doing that work, I will not get the opportunity to practice meditation. So I must practice now before I get to that work. In this way you initiate energy. You make effort and practice meditation. Then after the work you practice meditation saying to yourself, I did not have the opportunity then to practice, so now I will practice. This way you arouse energy in yourself. With regard to work there are two. With regard to traveling there are two - before traveling and after coming back from traveling. Then there is sickness. Before you get sickness you practice meditation. And after sickness you practice meditation. Then there is going for alms. Before going for alms and after going for alms you practice meditation. Actually every time you have to arouse energy in order to practice. These are called the grounds for the initiation of energy. “When rightly initiated, it should be regarded as the root of all attainments.”

Then the next one is jÊvita. JÊvita is like jÊvita for corporeality. Next is samÈdhi. “It puts consciousness evenly on the object, or it puts it rightly on it.” In the word ‘samÈdhi’ there is the prefix ‘sam’. That prefix, ‘sam’, can mean evenly (samaÑ) or rightly (sammÈ), so evenly or rightly. “Or it is just the mere collecting of the mind, thus it is concentration. Its characteristic is non-wandering, or its characteristic is non-distraction.” That is with regard to conascent states. It does not let the conascent states be distracted and it itself is non-wandering. “Its function is to conglomerate conascent states as water does bath powder.” So it keeps them together. “It is manifested as peace. Usually its proximate cause is bliss.” It is not always the cause. Therefore it says ‘usually’. SamÈdhi can be without sukha in the fifth jhÈna. “It should be regarded as steadiness of the mind, like the steadiness of a lamp’s flame when there is no draught.” So steadiness of mind, that is samÈdhi. SamÈdhi is a mental state which puts the mind on an object evenly and rightly. ‘Evenly’ means keeping the conascent states together. ‘Rightly’ means not being itself distracted. That is what we call ‘samÈdhi’. It is on the object and it also keeps the other mental factors together, keeps them from being scattered. That is what is called ‘samÈdhi’.

The next one is saddha (faith or confidence). With regard to its function it “is to enter into, like the setting out across a flood.” The reference is given. I will give you another reference - The Expositor, page 158. That will give you the meaning of setting out across a flood. In brief a brave man could take the people across a flood or across a river, crossing in a boat or by themselves. In the same way saddha, when you have faith or confidence, you can plunge into things and you can accomplish. So saddha is compared to crossing the flood, or one who crosses the flood himself and who takes others with him. That is what we call ‘saddha’. “It should be regarded as a hand [because it takes hold of profitable things], as wealth, and as seed.” For regarding faith as a hand please read Gradual Sayings, volume 3, page 245. If you have a hand you can pick up things that are profitable for you, that are good for you. In the same way if you have faith, if you have confidence, you can get kusala. That is why it is compared to a hand. Sometimes it is compared to wealth and sometimes to a seed.

Then we have sati (mindfulness). All of you about mindfulness. “It has the characteristic of not wobbling.” That means not floating on the surface. “Its function is not to forget.” ‘Not to forget’ means not to lose the object. “It is manifested as guarding” and so on. “Its proximate cause is the foundations of mindfulness.” Here ‘the foundations of mindfulness’ really means the objects of the foundations of mindfulness - the body, feelings, consciousness and dhamma objects. “It should be regarded, however, as like a pillar because it is firmly founded, or like a door-keeper because it guards the eye door, and so on.”

Then there are two things, hiri and ottappa. Hiri is translated as conscience and ottappa is translated as shame. I do not think this is quite correct. Ottappa is fear or dread. Hiri is shame. I think we should translate hiri as shame or conscience and ottappa as fear or dread. ‘Fear’ here means moral fear. We are ashamed to do what is morally wrong. That is hiri or moral shame. We are afraid to do what is wrong because we do not want to get the painful consequences of these actions. “This is a term for an anxiety about evil. Herein, conscience (hiri) has the characteristic of disgust at evil, while shame (ottappa) has the characteristic of dread of it.” Right. So shame and dread or shame and fear are these two things. “a man rejects evil through conscience (hiri) out of respect for himself, as the daughter of a good family does; he rejects evil through fear (not shame) out of respect for another, as a courtesan does. These two states (We will strike out the ‘but’.) should be regarded as the Guardians of the World.” They are described as the guardians of the world will go on. When these two leave the minds of beings, the world will become undifferentiated. Beings will not act according to conscience. There will be no moral restrictions. Human beings will become like animals. That is why they are called the Guardians of the World. Moral shame and moral fear - that means shame to do immoral things and the fear to do these things.

The next ones are alobha (non-greed), adosa (non-hate) and amoha (non-delusion). Amoha (non-delusion) means what? PaÒÒÈ (wisdom). Amoha and paÒÒÈ are the same. About the middle of paragraph 143 “Its function is not to lay hold, like a liberated bhikkhu. It is manifested as a state of not treating as a shelter like that of a man who has fallen into filth.” It means not attached to or not adhering to, or something like that. When you fall into filth, you are not attached to the filth. You want to get rid of it as soon as possible. So it is not being attached. Two or three lines down “Its (adosa) function is to remove annoyance, or its function is to remove fever as sandlewood does.” That means to remove heat, not necessarily fever. When people are hot, people use sandlewood. They apply sandlewood paste to their bodies and then they become cool. It is a very familiar thing in Myanmar. You may have seen Burmese girls with something like a paste on their cheeks. It is only used in Myanmar. It is like makeup, something you apply on your face. So when it is not, they apply that kind of thing, especially sandlewood. They make sandlewood into a paste. They apply it to the face or other parts of the body and it keeps them cool.

“Non-delusion has the characteristic of penetrating [things] according to their individual essences” and so on. This is paÒÒÈ. “It has the characteristic of sure penetration.” So it will never miss. If it is real paÒÒÈ, it will never miss, “like the penetration of an arrow shot by a skillful archer. Its function is to illuminate the objective field, like a lamp.” If this room is dark, we cannot see things in this room. When there is light, we see things clearly. In the same way when there is no paÒÒÈ, we do not see things as they are. When paÒÒÈ enters our mind, we see things as they are. So it is like a lamp. “It is manifested as non-bewilderment, like a guide in the forest.” You may be lost in the forest, but if you have a guide you will not get lost. “The three should be regarded as the roots of all that is profitable.”

Now there is tranquillity of body, tranquillity of consciousness and so on. There are pairs. Here ‘body’ does not mean the material body. Here ‘body’ means the three mental aggregates (feeling, perception and mental formations). They are called here in PÈÄi ‘kÈya’.

The next pair is lightness of the body and lightness of consciousness. There are several material qualities among the mental properties. The next pair is malleability of body and malleability of consciousness. The next pair is wieldiness of body and wieldiness of consciousness. The next pair is proficiency of body and proficiency of consciousness. And then there is rectitude of body and rectitude of consciousness.

Now we come to zeal (chanda). Chanda is just the desire to act, the mere will. “So that zeal has the characteristic of desire to act. Its function is scanning for an object (searching for an object). It is manifested as need for an object. That same [object] is its proximate cause. It should be regarded as the extending of the mental hand in the apprehension of an object.” That means if you want to pick up something, you put out your hand. It is not attachment. It is just the mere will-to-do, the desire-to-do.

The next one is resolution. “It has the characteristic of conviction. Its function is not to grope. It is manifested as decisiveness. Its proximate cause is a thing to be convinced about. It should be regarded as like a boundary-post (or it is a gate-post) owing to its immovableness with respect to the object.”

The next one in PÈÄi is manasikÈra. “ It is the maker of what is o be made, it is the maker in the mind.” This definition is difficult to translate. The PÈÄi is manasi and kÈra. ‘KÈra’ means doing, making. ‘Manasi’ means mind. So ‘manasikÈra’ means doing in the mind or making the mind. That is one meaning. That means paying attention. The other meaning is making the mind. That means making the mind different. “It makes the mind different from the previous [life-continuum] mind, thus it is attention.” After the word ‘thus’ we should put the word ‘also’. We need to put the word ‘also’ because it is a different definition than the first one. The first one says it is making in the mind. The second one says making the mind. Here ‘making the mind’ means making the mind different. This definition refers to the second and third kind of attention described later towards the end of the paragraph.

There are three kinds of manasikÈra - controller of objects, controller of cognitive series (That means controller of thought process.), controller of impulsions. ‘Controller of cognitive series’ means controller of five-door-adverting. Five-door-adverting is called of thought process because the real thought process begins with that moment of consciousness. ‘Controller of impulsions’ means mind-door-adverting because after the mind-door-adverting come impulsionss. But they are not meant here. What is meant is just attention which is called ‘controller of objects’. So there are three kinds of manasikÈra - controller of objects, controller of cognitive series and controller of impulsions. The last two are not meant here. The first one, the controller of objects is what is meant here. That means paying attention.

The next one is specific neutrality. It is often called upekkhÈ. The PÈÄi is tatramajjhattatÈ, neutrality in regard thereto - that means being in the middle, not falling into liking or disliking. “It has the characteristic of conveying consciousness and consciousness concomitants evenly. Its function is to prevent deficiency and excess, or its function is to inhibit partiality. It is manifested as neutrality. It should be regarded as like a conductor (driver) who looks with equanimity on thoroughbreds progressing evenly.” I compare this to cruise control in a car. You put on the cruise control and you don’t have to worry about speed. When horses are drawing the cart evenly, you don’t have to worry about them. You just look on.

The compassion (karunÈ) and gladness (muditÈ) are described in the section on divine abodes. The only difference is that there they belong to jhÈnas and here they belong to kÈmÈvacara. In paragraph 154 “That should not be admitted for, as to meaning” - instead of ‘as to meaning’ we should say ‘in reality’. So “that should not be admitted for, in reality, non-hate itself is loving-kindness, and specific neutrality itself is equanimity.”

Then we have the three abstinences. I think you understand about them.

Then the mental states that arise with the different kinds of consciousness are described. It may be confusing for you if you do not have the 89 types of consciousness and the 52 mental factors in mind. You may study The Manual of Abhidhamma or during the Abhidhamma class here I distributed handouts. You may look at those handouts and read these passages.

Then we come to the unprofitable (akusala) in paragraph 159. There are, as regards the unprofitable, constants, inconstants and or-whatever states. They are clearly mentioned here.

Beginning in paragraph 160 we have consciencelessness and shamelessness. Here we may say that the first one is shamelessness and the second one is fearlessness. Ahirika is shamelessness and anottappa is fearlessness.

Lobha and moha are described in paragraph 161 and 162. Greed is compared to bird lime or monkey lime. The explanation or the description of greed being like monkey lime can be read in Kindred Sayings, book 5, page 127. When a monkey is stuck to that lime it cannot get itself free from that lime, from that sticky substance. In the same way when you have greed, when you have attachment, you cannot get away from it. You are stuck to the object.

In paragraph 163 “It is manifested as the absence of right theory.” What is theory? Is it understanding?

Student: It is an idea that has not been proven yet.

Teacher: I see. The word used here is paÔipatti. It means understanding or knowing. So here it is the absence of right understanding. Then wrong view, agitation and so on are described. I think that they are not difficult to understand.

I brought these two sheets. The cetasikas are given in the order as in The Manual of Abhidhamma. The Roman numerals are those given in this book. If you look at the end of paragraph 166, you will find stiffness and torpor given only one number, 43, the Roman numeral. For ekaggatÈ it gives two numbers here in this book. Actually that should have only one number. Steadiness of consciousness is the same as concentration which is #8. It should not be given a separate number because it is the same mental factor as concentration. Stiffness and torpor should each be given a number. So there may be some corrections to be made. As it is you may look at this sheet and then find out what is meant in The Manual of Abhidhamma. In this book the mental states are not given in the groups in which they belong. They are given as accompanying different types of consciousness. For example contact is repeated in paragraphs 170, 176, 179 and so on.

We find another theory in paragraph 179. “It should be regarded as obstructive of theory.” Here again I think we should say “It should be regarded as obstructive of understanding.” In Myanmar we understand this as meaning obstructive of practice. If you have doubt, then you do not practice. So it obstructs your practice. You have doubt about the teaching. You have doubt about the efficacy of this method. Then you will not practice. So it is obstructive to practice. We interpret the word as practice in Myanmar.

Then the book describes which mental factors accompany which kinds of consciousness. As I said, it may be confusing if you do not have the 89 types of consciousness in mind. It is better to read The Manual of Abhidhamma to find out which types of consciousness accompany which cetasikas.

Now there is one thing. At the beginning of paragraph 133 it is said that the first type of consciousness is accompanied by 36 mental factors. “Herein, firstly, those associated with the first sense-sphere profitable consciousness amount to 36.” Is that correct? Yes. Why 36 and not 38? Actually there must be 38. Why 36? I will give you a hint.

Student: Feeling and perception are in other aggregates.

Teacher: That’s right. We are talking about formation aggregate here. So vedanÈ and saÒÒÈ are not counted here. But in The Manual of Abhidhamma vedanÈ and saÒÒÈ are counted because they are mental factors. In The Manual of Abhidhamma you will find 38 mental factors accompanying this consciousness. They are both correct. Here the author is describing the mental formations aggregate. That is why the two are missing here.

Student: I thought there were 52.

Teacher: There are 52 mental factors, but for sa~khÈra aggregate there are only 50, not 52. This chapter is like The Manual of Abhidhamma. You are really studying Abhidhamma. With these I think you can find out which is which. That is why there are no numbers for vedanÈ and saÒÒÈ. The asterisks are for or-whatever states and the plus signs are for inconstants. ‘Inconstant’ means these mental factors do not always accompany the consciousness. They accompany that type of consciousness sometimes only. For example #25 (thina) and #26 (middha) on this handout accompany the five kinds of prompted consciousness, not every type. Suppose a person is stealing something, actively stealing. His consciousness may not be accompanied by thina and middha. Only when there is sleepiness or something similar is the consciousness accompanied by thina and middha. Otherwise they do not arise. So they are called inconstants, unfixed adjuncts.

Next week we will go up to the end of bases, up to chapter 15, paragraph 16. We have come to the end of the five aggregates. Next week there will be some more to know about the five aggregates. The detailed treatment of five aggregates is complete now. What are the five aggregates? Aggregate of matter, aggregate of feeling, aggregate of perception, aggregate of mental formations, aggregate of consciousness. Here the aggregate of consciousness is given before the three other aggregates. The usual order given in the Suttas is matter, feeling, perception, mental formations and consciousness. These five can be reduced to two, nÈma and r|pa. Corporeality aggregate is r|pa. The other four are nÈma. When we say nÈma and r|pa, we mean these five aggregates. They mean the same thing actually.

SÈdhu! SÈdhu! SÈdhu!

(Tape 32 / Ps: 185 – 230)

We are on page 535, paragraph 185, the classification of the five aggregates under eleven heads. With the help of the handouts you can locate the cittas and the cetasikas in the Path of Purification. The order in The Path of Purification is different than that in The Manual of Abhidhamma. We are primarily acquainted with the order in The Manual of Abhidhamma, so we always go from that reference. Today is the classification of the five aggregates. We have finished the five aggregates in detail.

“The foregoing section, firstly, is that of the detailed explanation of the aggregates according to the Abhidhamma BhÈjaniya.” That is one treatment of the aggregates in the second book of Abhidhamma. Vibha~ga is the second book of Abhidhamma.

“But the aggregates have been given in detail by the Blessed One [in the Suttanta BhÈjaniya] in this way.” In the Vibha~ga when the Buddha treated the aggregates and also other subjects, he treated first the Suttanta exposition and then Abhidhamma exposition. Then there was an exposition of questions and answers. In these expositions he treated the aggregates. Here the author of The Path of Purification took the first method of exposition, that is Suttanta BhÈjaniya.

“Any materiality whatever, whether past, future or present, internal and external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near: all that together in the mass and all that together in the gross is called the materiality aggregate” and so on. This can be found in the other parts of the canon, the Majjjhima NikÈya, and in other Suttas also.

Then the author explains the words ‘whatever’ and ‘materiality’. “Herein, the word whatever includes without exception.” In PÈÄi the word is yaÑ kiÒci. ‘YaÑ kiÒci’ means whatever or it can mean all. The word ‘whatever’ or ‘yaÑ kiÒci’ includes everything. When we say, let us say ‘all materiality’, if we just say ‘all’ we have to take all materiality as well as mentality. The word ‘all’ or ‘whatever’ includes without exception everything. But to limit its scope the word ‘materiality’ is put. So materiality prevents overgeneralization, overextension. When we say ‘all’, it covers both mind and matter. When you say ‘all matter’, then you take only matter, but not mind. So the word ‘materiality’ prevents overextension of the word ‘whatever’ or ‘all’. With these two words we just mean materiality, all kinds of materiality - past, present, future and so on.

The PÈÄi word here is patisanga for overgeneralization. ‘Pasanga’ actually means to stick. So when you say something, it extends to this thing, that thing and so on. In order to restrict the extension of the word ‘materiality’ is put here. Here ‘all materiality’ means all materiality and not mentality. “Thus materiality is comprised without exception by the two expressions.” So all materiality is included or taken by these two words. “Then he undertakes its exposition as past, future and present, etc.’

Here the Commentator explains past, future and present in the fourfold way - according to extent, according to continuity, according to period and according to moment. So he explains as extent past, continuity past, period past, moment past, like that.

“Herein, firstly, according to extent: in the case of a single becoming (That is one life.) of one [living being], previous to rebirth-linking is past, subsequent to death is future, between these two is present.” The present life is present. The life before it is past. The life after it is future. That is according to extent.

According to continuity that means a series of matter or a series of mind. “That [materiality] which has like or single origination by temperature and single origination by nutriment, though it occurs successively, is present.” Here it is not single origination but origination by single temperature. So you can say “That [materiality] which has origination by single temperature and origination by single nutriment.” ‘Single temperature’ here means just one kind of temperature. For example you are in the sun. Then there is hot temperature, heat. You go into the shade. Then the temperature changes to cold. That one series of hot temperature is said to be present. Then before that there was some dissimilar temperature and that is past. And another dissimilar temperature after that is future. So here we have origination by single temperature and originated by single nutriment.

“That which, previous to that, was of unlike origination by temperature and nutriment. That is origination by unlike temperature and unlike nutriment is past. That which is subsequent is future. That which is born of consciousness and has its origination in one cognitive series, in one impulsion, in one attainment, is present.” This is with regard to materiality born of consciousness. ‘Has its origination in one cognitive series’ that means thought processes of five-door. ‘In one impulsion’ really means mind-door thought process. In the mind-door thought process there is only adverting and impulsions or javanas. So it is just called ‘javana’. So origination in one impulsion means origination in one thought process belonging to mind-door. ‘In one attainment’ - that is attainment of jhÈna.

“Previous to that is past. Subsequent to that is future. There is no special classification into past continuity, etc., of that which has its origination in kamma (That which is caused by kamma.).” So with regard to materiality caused by kamma there is no classification into past continuity, present continuity or future continuity. “But its pastness, etc., should be understood according as it supports those which have their origination through temperature, nutriment and consciousness.” Although kamma does not produce, it supports the materiality caused by other causes (temperature, nutriment and consciousness). So in reality there is no classification into past, present and future continuity with regard to matter born of kamma. But they can be said to be past, present and future because they support the materiality caused by temperature, caused by nutriment and caused by consciousness.

Footnote 74 is in fact for this passage. Even in the Sub-commentary it is a little confusing. The footnote is for this passage. It looks like it is explaining the word ‘cause’ and ‘condition’ in paragraph 191. The subsequent paragraph in the footnote that begins “Because there is similarity” and so on refers to this sentence. “There is no special classification into past continuity, etc., of that” and so on.

In footnote 74 about three lines down “Just as the seed’s function is to arouse the sprout and that of the earth, etc., is to consolidate it, and just as kamma function is to arouse result as matter that is due to kamma performed,” - there are some words missing. ‘And resultant consciousness’ - we have to put these words after ‘performed’. That is because the result of kamma is not only matter but also consciousness. You know at the moment of relinking, there is relinking consciousness which is the result of kamma. Along with this relinking consciousness there are material properties caused by kamma that arise. Kamma produces not only kamma-born matter but also consciousness. So here we should say “to arouse result as matter that is due to kamma performed and resultant consciousness.”

“And that of nutriment, etc., (Etcetera is missing there.), is to consolidate it” and so on. There are two kinds of causes or whatever we may call it - one that produces and the other that supports or that consolidates. There are two kinds of conditions. With regard to a seed becoming a tree or a plant, the seed is the producing cause of the tree. Earth, water and temperature are the supporting conditions of the tree.

With regard to those that are born of kamma we cannot say this belongs to the past, this belongs to the present, this belongs to the future. “Because there is similarity or dissimilarity in temperature, etc., in the way stated the pastness, etc., of material instances originated by it are stated according to continuity. But there is no such similarity and dissimilarity in the kamma that gives birth to a single becoming, so instead of stating according to continuity the pastness, etc., of material instances originated by that, it is stated according to what consolidates.” With regard to what it consolidates the matter born of kamma is said to belong to past, present or future.

Then the Sub-Commentator added his own observation with the words beginning “However when there comes to be reversal of sex” and so on. It may not please the ladies. Especially in the Vinaya there are instances where people have their sex change. It is changed by kamma, not by surgery. There are instances of change of sex in the Vinaya Pitaka. You know men are supposed to be superior to women. “The male sex disappears owing to powerful unprofitable kamma (akusala).” As a result of akusala the male sex disappears. “The female sex appears owing to weak profitable kamma.” It is due to kusala kamma, but it is weak kusala kamma. If it is strong kusala kamma, then it will be male sex and not female sex and so on. It is the addition of the Sub-commentator. According to the Visuddhi Magga there can be no classification into past continuity, etc., with regard to kamma-born matter. But here it is said there can be past, present and future even with regard to kamma-born matter because of sex change. Before the change it was past. The change is the present. Then maybe in the future there is change to the previous sex. So there can be classification into past, present and future even with regard to kamma-born matter. This addition was made by the Sub-Commentator.

“According to period: any period among those such as one minute, morning, evening, day and night, etc., that occurs as a continuity, is called present.” This minute is present. The past minute is past. The future minute is future and so on.

“According to moment: what is included in the trio of moments [that is to say, arising, presence, and dissolution, (the three sub-moments),] beginning with arising is called present.” So this is the real present. “At a time previous to that it is future. At a time subsequent to that it is past.”

“Furthermore, that whose functions of cause and condition have elapsed is past.” Here ‘cause’ means producing and ‘condition’ means supporting. “That whose function of cause is finished and whose function of condition is unfinished is present.” That means something is caused by some other thing. Something which is caused is in existence now. Its origination is over, but its continuation or its being supported is still going on. That’s why it says “whose function of cause is finished, and whose function of condition is unfinished is present.”

“That which has not attained to either function is future. Or alternatively, the moment of the function is present.” That means when a certain matter or mind is doing its own function, then that is the present moment. At the time previous to that it is the past and subsequent to that is the future. That is division according to moment.

Next is the division into internal and external. “The division into internal and external is as already stated. Besides, it is internal in the sense of one’s own that should be understood here as internal and that of another person as external.” In the footnote the four kinds of internal are given. “Niyak-ajjhatta - internally in the sense of one’s own: four kinds of ajjhatta (internal, lit. ‘belonging to oneself’) are mentioned in the Commentaries and Sub-Commentaries.” The first one is gocarajjhatta. Gocarajjhatta is internally as range or resort. Then ajjhattajjhatta is internally as such. Niyakajjhatta is internal in the sense of one’s own. And visayajjhatta is internally as objective field. Do you understand? The first one, gocarajjhatta, is simply any internal object. Any internal object is called ‘gocarajjhatta’. The next one, ajjhattajjhatta, means very internal because the word ajjhatta is repeated, ajjhattajjhatta (internal, internal). By that is meant the five senses - eye, ear, nose, tongue and body sensitivity. They are called ajjhattajjhatta. In the section on matter they are called internal, in PÈÄi ajjhattika. The third one here is niyakajjhatta. That means anything which arises in one’s own continuity. That is called niyakajjhatta. The last one, visayajjhatta, is really the attainment of Fruition or samÈpatti. It is not internally as objective field. We can say ‘internally as scope’. Because when the Buddha is in the Phala attainment, he has mastery over it. So it is called visayajjhatta. So there are four kinds of ajjhatta. Sometimes we are not sure which ajjhatta is meant and so we have to find out.

The first division into internal and external is just as stated in paragraph 73. Another way of explaining it is internal in the sense of one's own. That means everything in me is internal and everything in you is external. For you everything in you is internal and everything in others is external.

“Gross and subtle are also as already stated.”

“Inferior and superior are twofold, namely, figurative (relative) and absolutely literal. Herein, the materiality of the Sudassin deities is inferior to the materiality of the AkaniÔÔha deities.” You may remember the 31 planes of existence. He is referring to that. AkaniÔÔha is the highest of the form-brahmÈs. That is the most superior. Sudassin is one stage below the AkaniÔÔha. “The same materiality [of the Sudassin deities] is superior to the materiality of the Sudassa deities. Thus, firstly, should inferiority and superiority be understood figuratively down as far as the denizens of hell.” One is superior to the next below it and so on until you reach hell.

“But absolutely literally it is inferior where it arises as unprofitable result, and it is superior where it arises as profitable result.” Absolutely or in the ultimate sense inferior arises as the result of unprofitable kamma (akusala kamma). That which arise as the result of kusala kamma (profitable kamma is superior.

“Far and near, this is also as already described.” That which is difficult to see is far. That which is not difficult to see or which is easy to see is near. “Besides, relative farness and nearness should be understood here according to location.” According to location we may say this is near and that is far.

“All that together in the mass and in the gross: by making all that materiality separately described by the words ‘past’, etc., into a collection by understanding its oneness, in other words, its characteristic of being molested, it comes to be called materiality aggregate.” This shows why they are called ‘aggregates’. “Materiality, separately described by the words ‘past’, etc.” - so it is described as past, present, future, internal, external, gross, subtle, far, near and so on. That materiality described in that way is made “into a collection by understanding in its oneness.” I think the word ‘in’ is missing there. ‘In its oneness’, in other words , its characteristic of being molested or its characteristic of change. The characteristic of r|pa is change or being molested. With regard to this characteristic all the matter described as past, present and future are collected by understanding. That is why it is called an aggregate. ‘By understanding’ should go with ‘making a collection’. ‘making a collection’ means you collect them up in your mind with understanding. Past, present and future cannot exist at the same time. We can only have the present matter here. The past is already past and we cannot collect and we cannot take it and put it here. And we cannot take the future and put it with the present physically. But in our minds we can group them together. ‘By understanding’ means by our minds we group them together and we call it an ‘aggregate’.

‘Aggregate’ does not necessarily mean a group of different material properties. There are 28 kinds of material properties. These 28 are also called ‘the aggregate of matter’. Each one of the material properties can be called an ‘aggregate of matter’. This is true not only when they are taken together. Let us say the eye sensitivity. Only one eye sensitivity is called an ‘aggregate’. That is because there is eye sensitivity which is past, which is present, which is future, which is gross, which is subtle, which is inferior, which is superior, which is far, which is near. We group these different kinds of eye sensitivity together and call it a group or call it an aggregate. Aggregate or group does not necessarily mean that there must be a real group of matter. Even one material particle, one feeling, one perception is called an ‘aggregate’. This explains why they are called ‘aggregates’. ‘By understanding’ should go with ‘making into a collection’. So it is making into a collection in the mind. In its oneness that is its characteristic. Here it is with regard to matter being molested or changed. With regard to feeling it is with regard to its characteristic of feeling. With regard to perception it is with regard to its characteristic of perception. With regard to consciousness it is with regard to its knowing the object and so on. This is the reason why even one particle of matter or even one mental factor is called an ‘aggregate’.

“By this, too, it is shown that the materiality aggregate is all materiality, which all comes into the collection with the characteristic of being molested; for there is no materiality aggregate apart from materiality.” Feeling and the others are the same. It is the classification of the first aggregate, r|pa aggregate, into eleven headings.

Now we have the feeling aggregate. “In the classification into past, etc., the past, future and present state of feeling should be understood according to continuity and according to moment and so on.” It is the same as in the material aggregate. ‘According to continuity - that included in a single cognitive series - that means five-door thought process. ‘A single impulsion’ means mind-door thought process. “A single attainment, and that occurring in association with objective field of one kind (one object) is present. Before that is past. Subsequent is future.”

“According to moment, etc.; that feeling included in the trio of moments (three moments), which is in between the past time and the future time, and which is performing its own function (which is doing its own function, so it is really present now), is present. Before that is past. Subsequent is future. Then there is internal and external.

Next there is gross and subtle. Gross and subtle should be understood according to kind, according to individual essence, according to person, and according to mundane and supramundane. “According to kind: the unprofitable feeling is a state of disquiet, because it is the cause of reprehensible actions and because it produces burning of defilement.” That means defilement that is burning, not the burning away of defilement. ‘Burning of defilement’ means defilements that are called burning. So it is gross.

“And because it is accompanied by interestedness (That means activeness.) and drive and result, and because of the burning of the defilements (because they are burning), and because it is reprehensible, it is gross compared with resultant indeterminate” and so on. So here one is described as gross or subtle relative to other kinds of feeling. There is kusala feeling, akusala feeling, indeterminate (abyÈkata) feeling and so on.

Then we have according to individual essence. “Painful feeling, is gross compared with the others because it is without enjoyment, it involves intervention.” ‘Intervention’ really means shakiness or non-peacefulness. “It causes disturbance, creates anxiety, and is overpowering. The other two are subtle compared with the painful because they are satisfying, peaceful, and superior, and, respectively agreeable, and neutral.” This is the reason for their being subtle and gross. Also their states of subtleness and grossness are relative.

“According to person: feeling in one who has no attainment” - I would say ‘feeling in one who is not in attainment’. A person may have attainment but if he is not in attainment at the moment his feeling could be gross. So “According to person: feeling in one who is not in attainment, is gross compared with that in one (SayÈdaw corrected in the same manner.) who is in attainment, because it is distracted by a multiple object. In the opposite sense the other is subtle. This is how grossness and subtlety should be understood according to person.” When a person is in attainment (in attainment of jhÈna or in attainment of phala). The feeling is said to be subtle. If the person is not in attainment, the feeling is said to be gross.

“According to the mundane and supramundane: feeling subject to cankers is mundane (‘Subject to cankers’ means object of cankers, which can be the object of Èsavas or just mental defilements.), and that is gross compared with that free from cankers, because and that is gross compared with that free from cankers, because it is the cause for the arising of cankers, is liable to floods, liable to the bonds, liable to the ties, liable to the hindrances, liable to the clingings, defilable, and shared by ordinary men.” These floods, bonds, ties, hindrances, clingings and the defilable can be understood by referring to The Manual of Abhidhamma, chapter 7. In the fact the mental defilements are given different names. The same mental defilements are given different names. For example lobha is a mental defilement. Lobha is given the name of canker, flood, bond, hindrance, clinging and so on. Buddha described these in different ways to suit the susceptibility to understanding of his listeners. They are taught in Abhidhamma as well as in the Suttas. To understand them the best place to go is The Manual of Abhidhamma. In chapter 7 of The Manual of Abhidhamma they are described. Almost or towards the end of the book we will find them again when how these defilements are eradicated by Path consciousness is described. The first path consciousness eradicates two or three of the defilements. That comes later almost at the end of the book. ‘Shared by ordinary men’ means those that arise in puthujjanas. “The latter, in the opposite sense, is subtle compared with that subject to cankers.” Those that are not subject to cankers, those that are not the object of cankers are subtle. “This is how grossness and subtlety should be understood according to the mundane and supramundane.”

Then there is a warning. “One should beware of mixing up” - because if you mix them up, you will be confused. Beware of - the PÈÄi word actually means avoid. So one should avoid mixing up the classifications according to kind and so on. So just do according to one, say according to kind or to some other thing, but do not mix them together. If you mix them together, then there will be contradiction. According to one it may be subtle and to another it may be gross. That is what the Commentary gives here.

“It is said “Indeterminate feeling is subtle, painful feeling is gross. The feeling in one with an attainment is subtle.” This is a passage from the Viba~ga. “And like painful feeling, so also pleasant, etc., is gross according to kind and subtle according to individual essence.” Let us say there is dukkha (pain). Pain is gross according to its individual essence because it afflicts us. It is indeterminate, it is abyÈkata in another sense. It is neither kusala nor akusala. It is abyÈkata. So it is subtle because abyÈkata is described as subtle. If we mix these two, we will get nowhere. According to one it is subtle and according to another it is gross. Do not mix them up. “For instance, [when it is said] ‘The indeterminate according to kind is subtle compared with the profitable and the unprofitable’, the individual essence class, etc., must not be insisted upon like this: ‘Which kind of indeterminate’?” You don’t ask the questions. “Is it the painful? Is it the pleasant? Is it that one with an attainment? Is it that one with no attainment? Is it subject to cankers? Is it that free from cankers?’, and so in each instance.” So you cannot ask these questions.

“Furthermore, because of the words ‘Or feeling should be regarded as gross or subtle in comparison with this or that feeling’, among the unprofitable, etc., feeling accompanied by hate, too, is gross compared with that accompanied by greed because it burns up its own support, like a fire; and that accompanied by greed is subtle. Also that accompanied by hate is gross when the hate is constant, and subtle when it is inconstant." I wonder whether you understand that. In order to correctly understand it, you have to understand Abhidhamma. You have to go to the first book of Abhidhamma. The words ‘constant’ and ‘inconstant’ do not mean the same as what we had before. Formerly ‘constant’ and ‘inconstant’ referred to cetasikas. cetasikas that are constant go along with a given citta all the time. Every time that citta arises, that cetasika also arises. That is called ‘constant’. There are some cetasikas that do not arise every time that a citta arises. These are called ‘inconstant’. So cetasikas may be constant or inconstant. But here although the PÈÄi word is the same, the meaning is very different. You have to have a knowledge of the first book of Abhidhamma to understand this. ‘Constant’ here actually means fixed as to giving results in the next life. They are sure to give results in the next life. Such kamma, or hate, or anger is called ‘constant’. ‘Inconstant’ means not fixed as to giving results in the next life. Examples are killing one’s own mother, killing one’s own father and so on. When you kill your own father or mother, there is dosa. That dosa is called ‘fixed’ because it will invariably give results in the next life. That means you will go to hell. There is no way of avoiding that. Now you may kill an animal. There also you have dosa. That dosa will give you results in woeful states but not necessarily in the next life. You may get the result of killing that animal in other lives or you may get the result in the next life. So that is not fixed. Killing one’s own mother, or killing one’s own father, killing an Arahant, wounding the Buddha, causing schism in the Sa~gha are called ‘grievous sins’ in Buddhism. If you do one of these, you will surely go to hell in the next life. There is no way of avoiding that. Such kamma is called ‘constant’ here.

“And subtle when it is inconstant. And the constant is gross when giving result that lasts for the eon, while the other is subtle.” Among the fixed as to giving results there are two subdivisions - those whose results last for the eon and those whose results do not last for the eon. I will give an example. You know AjÈtasattu and Devadatta. AjÈtasattu was the son of King BimbisÈra. Devadatta was Buddha’s cousin and brother-in-law. AjÈtasattu killed his own father at the instigation of Devadatta. Devadatta wanted to become the Buddha himself. So he thought “Nowadays people live long lives. We cannot wait until they die. You kill your own father and be a king and I will kill my brother-in-law and be a Buddha.” So he instigated AjÈtasattu to kill his own father. AjÈtasattu did kill his own father. Among the five grievous sins Devadatta did two. He wounded the Buddha. In fact he tried to kill the Buddha, but he was not successful. So the Buddha was wounded when he pushed the rock onto the Buddha as he was walking up and down. That was one. The other one was causing division in the Sa~gha or schism in the Sa~gha. He did two of the grievous sins. It is said that he is now in the lowest hell. He will be there for the rest of this eon, for the rest of this world cycle. That is what is meant here by ‘that which lasts for the eon’. AjÈtasattu also went to hell immediately after his death. He will not suffer in hell for the rest of the eon. That is the difference. The constant is gross when giving result that lasts for the eon, and it is not gross, it is subtle, when the result lasts not for the eon.

“And of those giving result lasting for the eon the unprompted is gross, while the other is subtle.” This is their relative subtlety and grossness. “But that accompanied by greed is gross when associated with [false] view, while the other is subtle” and so on.

Student: Devadatta instigated all these things. Would he go to hell on account of instigating the death of King BimbisÈra?

Teacher: His instigation can be taken as killing a being. But for AjÈtasattu that being was his father. AhÈtasattu’s akusala was grosser that that of Devadatta for this action.

Student: So it only counts as this heavy kamma if one kills or instigates someone to kill one’s own father.

Student: I’m not recommending any of these.

Teacher: “furthermore, the profitable of the sense-sphere is gross; that of the fine-material sphere is subtle.” They are just relative.

“Then according to location, painful feelings in hell are gross, while in the animal generation (kingdom) they are subtle.. Those among the Paranimmitavasavatti deities (That is the highest of the lower celestial realms.) are subtle only. And the pleasant should be construed throughout like the painful where suitable.” By planes also there can be subtlety and grossness.

“And according to physical basis, any feeling that has an inferior physical basis is gross, while one with a superior physical basis is subtle.”

“What is gross should be regarded as inferior in the inferior - superior classification, and what is subtle superior.”

Then we have far and near. “The unprofitable is far from the profitable and indeterminate and the word near in the way beginning ‘Unprofitable feeling is near to unprofitable feeling’. Therefore unprofitable feeling is far from profitable and the indeterminate because of dissimilarity, unconnectedness, and non-resemblance. The profitable and the indeterminate are likewise far from the unprofitable.” Kusala and abyÈkata are far from akusala. “And so in all instances. But unprofitable feeling is near to unprofitable feeling because of similarity and resemblance.” This is the detailed explanation dealing with the past, etc. Perception, formations and consciousness should be understood similarly.

Next is the classes of knowledge of the five aggregates. That is the order of the five aggregates, then distinction and so on. There are different kinds of order that we find in the Abhidhamma and in the Suttas. He describes all the orders. The first is what? The order of arising. Sometimes things are described in the order of arising. “First there comes to be the fetus in the first stage, then there comes to be the fetus in the second stage” and so on. That is the order of arising. The first stage arises first, then the second stage arises, and the third stage arises and so on. If it is described in this way, then it is described in the order of arising.

“Things to be abandoned by seeing, things to be abandoned by development (This comes from Abhidhamma.) etc., is the order of abandoning.” ‘Things to be abandoned by seeing’ means mental defilements abandoned by the first Path (SotÈpatti Magga). ‘Things to be abandoned by development’ means those defilements by the upper three Maggas. So it is in the order of abandoning. “Purification of virtue: purification of consciousness, etc., is order of practice.” You know there are seven purifications or seven stages of purity in the practice of vipassanÈ - purity of morals (here virtue), purity of consciousness, purity of view, purity of overcoming doubt, and so on. These are described in the order of practice. With regard to these stages of purity you cannot skip. You cannot practice purification of consciousness before you practice purification of virtue. You practice one after the other in this order. It is the order of practice.

Sometimes they are described in order of plane. That means the sense-sphere, the fine-material sphere and so on (kÈmÈvacara, r|pavacara, ar|pÈvacara). This is in order of plane. Sometimes things are just given in the order of teaching. That means in teaching the Buddha gave this first, the other second, and the other third. There is no particular merit in putting this first and the other second and so on. “The four foundations of mindfulness, the four right efforts, etc., Dhamma talk on giving, Dhamma talk on virtue, etc., is order of teaching.” There are four foundations of mindfulness. The first is contemplation on the body, the second is feelings, the third is on consciousness and the last is on dhamma objects. They are not to be practiced one after the other. It is not meant that you must practice body contemplation first and then go to feeling contemplation, and then go on to contemplation of consciousness. It is not to be done in this way. The description here is not according to the order of practice, but it is just the order of teaching.

Student: The practice of giving and virtue are the first two of the pÈramitÈs in MahÈyÈna. Where does this come from?

Teacher: Here it is a stock phrase that we often come across in the Suttas. When the Buddha’s teaching is mentioned in summary, it is mentioned in this way. Buddha would talk first about giving, then about virtue, then about the celestial worlds, then about getting dispassioned about sensual things and so on. It is Buddha’s way of teaching people was to first talk about giving. Then he would talk about sÊla and so on.

Student: The others don’t follow?

Teacher: No, just the first two. You can find it in the Majjhima NikÈya, but such passages are scattered throughout the whole of the PÈÄi Canon.

“Of these, firstly, order of arising is not applicable here.” Here we have first r|pa, then vedanÈ (feeling), saÒÒÈ (perception), then sa~khÈra (mental formations) and consciousness. This order is not in the order of arising. We are not to understand that r|pa arises first, then feeling arises, then perception arises and so on. This order of arising is not applicable here.

What about the order of abandoning? No because r|pa in fact cannot be abandoned. Then is an order of practice? No. Is it an order of plane? No. Only one remains, that is the order of teaching. Buddha happens to teach in this way, in this order. The order of teaching is explained in paragraph 213.

‘As to distinction’ - that means there are two kinds of aggregates, just the aggregates and then aggregates as objects of clinging. Buddha taught under two names. Sometimes he taught just as aggregates and sometimes he taught as aggregates of clinging. What is the difference between these two? When the Buddha said aggregates he meant all that there is: For example the aggregate of feeling here means both mundane feeling and supramundane feeling. When he says aggregate of clinging, he means only the mundane, those that are the object of cankers. That is the difference.

Further down paragraph 214 you will see “Any kind of materiality whatever,..far or near, that is subject to cankers and liable to the clingings: this is called the materiality aggregate [as object] of clinging.” That is the explanation of why they are called ‘the aggregates of clinging’. ‘Aggregates of clinging’ means aggregates which are subject to cankers which are liable to clinging. Briefly they are aggregates that are objects of clinging, that are objects of mental defilements.

When the Buddha explained the First Noble Truth, at the end of that explanation, he said that in brief the five aggregates of clinging are dukkha. He used the words ‘five aggregates of clinging’. That means that he meant the mundane cittas and cetasikas and r|pa. That is the difference. ‘Aggregates’ means all. ‘Aggregates of clinging’ means only those that are the objects of clinging or that are the objects of cankers.

In paragraph 215 about the middle of the paragraph “But feeling, etc., are only mentioned among the [simple] aggregates when they are free from cankers.” What do you think about that? Can you agree with that? There are simple aggregates and aggregates of clinging. ‘Aggregates’ means all. ‘Aggregates of clinging’ means only those that are the objects of clinging. Now here “Feeling, etc., are only mentioned among the aggregates when they are free from cankers.” I think that is all right.

Student: Because when they are not free of cankers -

Teacher: They are mentioned when they are free from cankers. When they are not free from cankers, they are included in the aggregates of clinging. I think that is correct. In PÈÄi the word ‘only’ is to be after ‘simple aggregates’ and not before ‘mentioned’. “But feeling, etc., are mentioned among the [simple] aggregates only when they are free from cankers.” When they are not, they are included in the aggregates of clinging.

As to neither less nor more - why are there only five aggregates, neither less nor more? “Because all formed things that resemble each other fall into these groups” and so on. This is the explanation of why there are five and not four or six.

Paragraph 220 “As to simile: the materiality aggregate [as object] of clinging is like a sick-room because it is the dwelling-place, as physical basis, door, and object, of the sick man, namely, the consciousness aggregate as object of clinging. The feeling aggregate as object of clinging is like the sickness because it afflicts.” Feeling is like sickness. Perception is like what? “The provocation of the sickness.” That means actually the cause of the sickness. The causes of sickness are said to be blood, or bile, or wind, or phlegm. This is traditional Indian medicine’s understanding of the causes of diseases. It is accepted in the PÈÄi Commentaries too. The ‘provocation of sickness’ really means the cause of sickness, the root cause of sickness. The formation aggregate is like what? “Recourse to what is unsuitable.” That means doing things that are not suitable for your health, like eating bad food. So eating bad food is like sa~khÈra. The cause of the disease, like blood or phlegm, is saÒÒÈ. “The formations aggregate as object of clinging is like having recourse to what is unsuitable.” So it is like eating unsuitable food, staying in the cold for a long time. It is something like that. “Because it is the source of feeling, which is sickness; for it is said ‘Feeling as feeling is the formed that they form’ and likewise ‘Because of unprofitable kamma having been performed and stored up, resultant body consciousness has arisen accompanied by pain: the consciousness aggregate as the object of clinging is like the sick man because it is never free from feeling, which is the sickness.” So we have the sick dwelling-place, the sickness, the cause of the sickness, then another cause of the sickness, and the sick man. These five aggregates are compared to this. They are also compared to a prison, punishment, the offense, the punisher, and the offender. They are also compared to the dish, food, curry sauce poured over the food, the server and the eater. These are all similes to be understood.

Twice as to how to be seen - this is how we should view them. “The exposition should be known twice as to how to be seen, namely, in brief and in detail.” So they should be seen as “an enemy with drawn sword, in the snake simile, as a burden according to the Burden Sutta, as a devourer according to the To-Be-Devoured Discourse, and as impermanent, painful, not-self, formed, and murderous, according to the Yamaka Sutta” and so on. According to these Suttas we should view them as being the enemy and so on.

Paragraph 225 “As to good for one seeing thus: good comes to be accomplished in one who sees in the two ways thus in brief and in detail. And the way of definition should be known according to that, that is to say, firstly, one who sees the five aggregates as objects of clinging in the form of an enemy with drawn sword, etc., is not worried by the aggregates, but one who sees materiality, etc., in detail as a lump of froth, etc., is not one who sees a core in the coreless.”

“And in particular one who sees internal materiality as foul (ugly) fully understands nutriment.” ‘Fully understands’ really means not having akusala with regard to that thing. So ‘fully understands nutriment’ means one does not get akusala with regard to nutriment, with regard to ÈhÈra and so on. Whenever we find the word ‘fully understands’, we have to understand in that way.

“He abandons the perversion [of perceiving] beauty in the foul (ugly), he crosses the flood of sense desire, he is loosed from the bond of sense desire.” So floods, bonds, and all these come again. “He becomes canker-free as regards the cankers of sense desire, he breaks the bodily tie of covetousness. He does not cling with sense desire clinging” and so on.

“One who sees feeling as pain fully understands nutriment consisting of contact.” You know that there are four kinds of nutriment. There are real food, contact, volition and consciousness. The description is according to that. So we come to the end of this chapter.