善見律毘婆沙

At that time, in the Monastery Garden, together with one thousand bhikkhus, the Venerable Mahinda sat upon a seat facing south, while the Venerable Ariṭṭha sat upon a seat facing north. Mahinda invited Ariṭṭha to serve as Dharma teacher. Ariṭṭha conducted himself in exact accordance with the rite formerly performed by the Venerable Upāli.

Mahinda and the great Sangha of sixty-eight elders surrounded the Dharma seat. The bhikkhu Mattābhaya, the king’s younger brother, together with five hundred bhikkhus who wished to study the Vinaya Piṭaka, all sat around Ariṭṭha’s Dharma seat. The other bhikkhus and the king all sat in their proper order.

The Venerable Ariṭṭha began his exposition: At that time, beneath the Naleru tree, on the grounds of Nalinavatthu, in the village of Verañjā (tena samayena Buddho Bhagavā verañjāyam viharati nalerupucimandamūle), the Buddha gave a general exposition of the Vinaya. After he had taught, deities in the sky raised their voices in praise: “Excellent! Excellent!” Thunder and lightning spontaneously arose; the earth quaked, and wondrous phenomena appeared.

In the Monastery Garden, with sixty thousand bhikkhus surrounding Mahinda and the sixty-eight elders who had exhausted craving, the Venerable Ariṭṭha expounded the virtues of the Tathagata: Out of compassion for sentient beings who perform the three unwholesome kinds of karma, the Tathagata taught the Vinaya Piṭaka to restrain the three kinds of karma of body, speech, and mind. While still in the world, the Tathagata taught the Vinaya Piṭaka for his śrāvaka disciples, and only then entered nirvana without remainder. At that time, the assembly spoke these verses:

Rising above the great assembly,

Were sixty-eight venerable elders,

All thoroughly versed in the Vinaya Piṭaka,

Possessed of supernormal powers and the three higher knowledges.

With unsurpassed wisdom,

They instructed the king of Siṃhala,

Illuminating the land of Siṃhala,

So that their light was seen everywhere.

Like a great mass of fire,

When its fuel was spent, they entered nirvana.

After these venerable elders entered nirvana, their close disciples were named Tissadatta, Kālasumana, and Dīghasumana. These venerable elders were disciples of the Venerable Ariṭṭha. These masters transmitted the lineage successively down to the present day. Therefore, at the Third Council, someone asked: “Who brought the Vinaya Piṭaka to the land of Siṃhala?”

The reply was: “It was Mahinda. After Mahinda came Ariṭṭha, and Ariṭṭha’s disciples successively transmitted and preserved it. They were like a crystal vessel filled with water (manighata), transparent both within and without, yet from which no water leaked.

The venerable Vinaya holders have likewise preserved it down to the present day. If people with faithful hearts, ever mindful of moral shame and moral dread, delight in studying the disciplinary precepts, then the Buddha-Dharma will long endure. Therefore, whoever wishes the Buddha-Dharma to endure must first study the Vinaya Piṭaka.

Why? Because it brings benefit to practitioners. What is this benefit?

For any virtuous man who goes forth with a wholesome aspiration, the Vinaya Piṭaka is his father and mother. Why? Because the Vinaya Piṭaka trains those who have gone forth and brings their deportment to perfection.

If one relies upon the Vinaya Piṭaka and personally observes the precepts, one can dispel the doubts and apprehensions of others. When entering the midst of the Sangha, one has no fear whatsoever. If anyone commits an offense, one adjudicates it according to the Vinaya, thereby causing the true Dharma to endure.” The Dharma teachers said: “The Buddha taught the bhikkhus that whoever receives and preserves this Vinaya gains five benefits.

They are:

1. One is able to preserve one’s own precepts.

2. One dispels the doubts and apprehensions of others.

3. One enters the midst of the Sangha without fear.

4. One establishes the Buddha-Dharma.

5. One causes the true Dharma to endure.

The Buddha taught that the Vinaya holder is the root of merit. By relying upon this root, the teaching is preserved in its entirety.

The Dharma teacher asked: “The Buddha expounded the disciplinary precepts in order to prevent the causes of evil. When evil is prevented, the mind is free from remorse. Because the mind is free from remorse, joy arises.

Because of joy, one experiences ease. Because of ease, right concentration arises. Because of right concentration, the eye of wisdom arises.

Because one possesses the eye of wisdom, disenchantment arises. Because of disenchantment, one attains dispassion. Because of dispassion, one attains liberation.

Because of liberation, one attains the knowledge of liberation. Because of the knowledge of liberation, one enters nirvana in due sequence. For the sake of speaking, for the sake of exposition, for the sake of reliance, and for the sake of hearing this sequence, the mind attains the knowledge of liberation (Etadatthākathā etadatthā mantanā etadatthā upanisā etādattham sotāvadhānam).

Therefore, one must diligently study the Vinaya. This is the fundamental exposition of the Vinaya.” The Dharma teacher said:

One must always receive and preserve the disciplinary precepts,

Wherever one may go or dwell.

(Vuttam yena yadā yasmā dhāritam yena cābhatamyattha ppatitthitam c’etam etam vatvā vidhim tato).

Having explained the meaning of the verse in due sequence, we shall now present the principal section of the Vinaya. (?)

The words “at that time” signify the beginning, not a particular case (Pārājika). I shall now explain the meaning of the Vinaya. As stated in the Vinaya, “At that time, the Buddha was staying at Verañjā” signifies the beginning.

At that time, after emerging from concentration, the Venerable Śāriputra requested the Buddha to establish the disciplinary precepts. The Buddha was then residing at Verañjā. The words “at that time” signify the beginning, while “then” explains that particular event.

Why? As explained in the Vinaya: “At that time, Sudinna engaged in the impure act (methuna) with his former wife. Then, on account of Sudinna’s deed, the Buddha established a precept for the śrāvakas.” This is the meaning of “the beginning.” At that time, the bhikkhu Dhaniya Kumbhakāraputta stole the king’s timber.

Then, in the city of Rājagṛha, the Buddha established a precept—and so forth. The words “at that time” signify both the beginning and the cause. The meaning of the Buddha’s epithet Bhagavā, the Blessed One, will be explained later.

The word “dwelling” means walking, standing, lying down, and sitting. Verañjā is the name of a place. Naleru is the name of a yakṣa.

Because this spirit-yakṣa dwelt in dependence upon that tree, it was so named. Pucimanda refers to a grove of neem trees. “Beneath the tree” means the area shaded by the tree during the daytime; another explanation says it is the ground beneath the tree upon which leaves fall when there is no wind.

Question: “Why did the Buddha stay beneath this tree?”

Answer: “Because this tree had the densest foliage in the grove, was not far from the city, and was convenient to reach.”

Question: “Why is it said that the Tathagata stayed at Verañjā, and also that the Tathagata stayed beneath the tree? The Tathagata could not have stayed in two dwelling places.”

Answer: “Do not raise such a doubt. Verañjā was the area in which he traveled, while beneath the tree was his dwelling place.”

Question: “Why did Upāli say ‘Verañjā’?”

Answer: “Out of compassionate concern for white-robed laypeople.”

Question: “Why did he stay beneath the tree?”

Answer: “So that his disciples might live in accordance with the Dharma of going forth and eliminate sensual desire.”

Question: “Why was it necessary to live near an inhabited place?”

Answer: “For the sake of the four great elements—that is, bodily health.”

Question: “The former statement concerns teaching the Dharma, whereas the latter concerns the Tathagata’s wish to enter a secluded place. The former is guidance born of compassion, whereas the latter is leaving suffering and entering happiness. The former is for the welfare and happiness of sentient beings, whereas the latter is for his own ease.

The former is the gift of Dharma to sentient beings, whereas the latter is his own restraint from an abundance of material gains. The former is to serve as a bridge and ferry for sentient beings, whereas the latter is for the sake of the deities. The former means being together with sentient beings, whereas the latter means not being like sentient beings.

The former means that the Buddha alone is the supremely honored one in the three realms. Because sentient beings attain great happiness by relying upon the Buddha, it is said ‘alone’; the latter means that because the Buddha descended into the grove, he delighted in dwelling beneath the tree.”

The Dharma teacher said: This meaning is extremely profound and extensive; I shall explain it in brief. The phrase “assembled together with the great Sangha of bhikkhus”: “great” is so called in contrast to “small.” Because the merit of the Sangha of bhikkhus is exceedingly great, it is called great. “Great” also has another meaning: even the least among them had attained the path of stream-entry.

It has yet another meaning: because a great assembly of five hundred members had gathered. Sangha means equality in precepts, views, wisdom, and community; therefore it is called Sangha. “Assembled” means that they had gathered together in one place.

“Five hundred bhikkhus”: five hundred is their number. The brahmin of Verañjā was born in the region of Verañjā and was named after that region. “Brahmin” means one who practices purity.

Furthermore, a brahmin is one who understands the Vedic scriptures of the non-Buddhist traditions; “mana” means listening.

The Buddha’s scripture says: “Brahmin” means one who has eradicated the defilements, and “mana” means listening (Assosìti suni), when sound enters the ear; one comes to know the Dharma through what another person says. “The ascetic Gotama”: an ascetic is one who has extinguished evil states (Samitapàpattà samano ti veditobbo); Gotama means that the brahmin addressed the Buddha by his clan name. “The Sakyan clan”: the Sakyan clan denotes a great lineage.

“Having left the Sakyan clan to go forth...” This explains that, through the arising of faith, he delighted in going forth. Some go forth because they are in debt; some because they have lost their country; some because of poverty; and some to evade a royal command. The Tathagata did not go forth for any such reason, and therefore he is said to possess good renown.

The phrase “fully accomplished in this way” means perfect. Being endowed with wholesome qualities expresses his supremacy. “Renown” means a name that is praised; it also implies making someone known to others.

Bhagavā is the foremost designation among the ten epithets of the Tathagata.

In order to inspire beings with faith in the Buddha, the Dharma teacher therefore expounded the virtues of the Tathagata.

Ara means the spokes of the wheel of the three realms. Hata means to shatter the spokes of the wheel of the three realms. Because the Tathagata smashed and shattered the spokes of the wheel of the three realms, he is called an arhat.

Furthermore, ara means “to slay an enemy.” Because the Tathagata slew the enemies that are the defilements, he is called an arhat. Furthermore, ara means all evil karma; hata means being far removed from the wheel of the three realms, in which ignorance and craving-conditioned formations are the spokes, aging and death are the rim, rebirth is the hub, and the defilements are the axle—a wheel that has revolved without cease throughout the worlds since beginningless time.

Beneath the Bodhi tree, the Buddha stood firmly upon the ground-element with the foot of effort and, with the hand of utmost sincerity wielding the axe of wisdom, cut through and shattered the spokes of the wheel of the three realms. It is also said: the world without beginning is the wheel; ignorance is its hub; aging and death are its rim; and the remaining ten unwholesome factors of the twelve links of dependent origination are its spokes.

Why is this so? Because, through ignorance, the truth of suffering is not known. If one is born in the desire realm, ignorance acts as the cause for the creation of all three kinds of karma.

If one is born in the form realm, ignorance produces karma pertaining to the form realm. If one is born in the formless realm, ignorance produces karma pertaining to the formless realm. In the desire realm, with ignorance as condition, there arises resultant consciousness.

In the form realm and the formless realm, consciousness likewise arises with ignorance as its condition. Furthermore, as regards name-and-form in the desire realm, with ignorance as condition, the six sense bases arise. Name-and-form in the desire realm conditions three sense bases in the form realm.

Ignorance in the formless realm conditions one sense base in the form realm. In the desire realm, the six sense bases condition six kinds of contact. In the form realm, three sense bases condition three kinds of contact.

In the formless realm, only one sense base conditions one contact, namely feeling. In the desire realm, six kinds of contact condition six kinds of feeling (vedanā—the feelings of the six faculties). In the form realm, three kinds of contact condition three feelings.

In the formless realm, one contact conditions one feeling. In the desire realm, six feelings give rise to six kinds of craving. In the form realm, three feelings give rise to three kinds of craving.

In the formless realm, one feeling gives rise to one craving (taṇhā). Whatever realm craving inclines toward, into that mode of existence one is born (Tattha tattha sà sà tanhà).

Regarding the five sensual pleasures, if someone thinks, “With the objects of my desire, I shall engage in sensuality and enjoy sensual pleasures,” and consequently completes unwholesome actions of body, speech, and mind, that person falls into a realm of misery (apāya). In hell, with karma as the cause, rebirth follows upon rebirth; this is birth produced by karma. With karma as its cause, the five skandhas arise, and then the five skandhas age.

Aging is the maturation of the aggregates. The disintegration of the five skandhas is called death. Within the three realms, if one wishes to enjoy sensual pleasures in a heavenly realm and performs wholesome deeds, or diligently cultivates goodness, one is born in heaven.

This is rebirth caused by wholesome karma. Another person may wish, “May I enjoy the bliss of the Brahmā realm,” and, based upon pleasant feeling, properly directs mindfulness toward the four qualities: loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. When mindfulness is fully developed, that person is born in the Brahmā realm.

Birth in the Brahmā realm takes karma as its cause; this is called birth produced by karma.

Again, someone may desire birth in the formless realm and think, “Afterward, I shall be born in the Heaven of Neither-Perception-Nor-Non-Perception.” Therefore, by constantly practicing meditation and contemplation, that person is born in this realm. It is through karma that this birth is attained. As for the rest, according to the sequence explained above, you should understand it for yourself.

From the past leading into the future, all three periods of time (yathābhūtaṃ ñatvā) proceed with ignorance as the condition for formations. I shall explain this briefly; you should elaborate upon the rest yourself. Ignorance conditioning formations constitutes one group.

The six consciousnesses, name-and-form, the six sense bases, the six kinds of contact, and the six kinds of feeling constitute one group. Craving, clinging, and birth (or existence?) constitute one group. Existence (or birth?), aging, and death constitute one group.

The first group belongs to the past life. The two middle groups belong to the present life. The final group—aging and death—belongs to the future life.

When ignorance conditions formations, it also encompasses craving, feeling, and clinging, which cannot be separated from one another; thus these five factors belong to the past life. In the middle section, there are the six sense bases: the five factors from consciousness through feeling are results. Beginning with consciousness, and with clinging, craving, and feeling connected to ignorance, these five factors produce karma in this present life.

Aging and death are manifested together with the five factors beginning with consciousness—name-and-form, the six sense bases, contact, and feeling—and these also constitute the future life. Thus, consciousness is present in all four sections mentioned above. If analyzed separately, there are twenty (or twenty-four?) types.

Here, the two factors of formations linked with the six consciousnesses constitute one group; the two factors of craving linked with feeling constitute one group; and the two factors of birth linked with existence constitute one group, making three groups in all. There are four sections, and because each group serves as a cause, twenty types—four sections multiplied by five factors—arise as the basis for the origination of saṃsāra.

The Tathagata saw them, contemplated them, and transcended them. “Knowing as they truly are” (yathābhūtaṃ ñatvā) means knowing through true wisdom; therefore it is called knowing as they truly are. “Seeing” means penetrating them thoroughly; therefore it is called seeing.

“Contemplating” means comprehending all of them completely. Because the Tathagata clearly knew, contemplated, saw, and transcended them, he knew them as they truly are, conceived disenchantment, gave rise to a mind detached from sensual desire, and attained liberation. Having first shattered the axle of the wheel of the three realms, he is therefore called an arhat.

Furthermore, arhat also means “Worthy of Offerings.”

Question: What does “Worthy of Offerings” mean?

Because he receives the offerings of devas and humans, he is called the Worthy One. In former times, Brahma Sahampati offered treasures as abundant as Mount Sumeru (Sineru) to the Blessed One; therefore, he is called the Worthy One. While the Buddha was still in the world, great kings such as King Bimbisara, the king of Kosala, and others made offerings of various kinds; therefore, he is called the Worthy One.

After the Buddha entered nirvana, the great King Asoka of Jambudvipa spent nine hundred and sixty million gold coins to build eighty-four thousand jeweled stupas and convened great assemblies of offerings; therefore, he is called the Worthy One. Moreover, innumerable multitudes made offerings to him, beyond all reckoning. Furthermore, araha, arhat, means “to conceal,” while a means “not”; hence, it means “one who does not conceal.” “One who does not conceal” means that people of the world, when they commit offenses, commonly conceal them, but the Tathagata has no such thing to conceal.

Perfectly Self-Awakened (Sammāsambuddha) means one who fully knows all dharmas. Buddha means that he has fully known the dharmas that should be fully known, abandoned the dharmas that should be abandoned, and departed from the dharmas from which one should depart. Buddha also means that he himself directly discerned all dharmas in due order and, with the eye of wisdom, clearly saw the truths of suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path.

He fully understood such dharmas as form, sound, odor, taste, touch, and mental objects; eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, nose-consciousness, tongue-consciousness, body-consciousness, and mind-consciousness; eye-contact, ear-contact, nose-contact, tongue-contact, body-contact, and mind-contact; feeling born of the eye, feeling born of the ear, feeling born of the nose, feeling born of the tongue, feeling born of the body, and feeling born of the mind; perception associated with the eye, perception associated with the ear, perception associated with the nose, perception associated with the tongue, perception associated with the body, and perception associated with the mind;

craving for sights, craving for sounds, craving for odors, craving for tastes, craving for tangible objects, and craving for mental objects; volition associated with the eye, volition associated with the ear, volition associated with the nose, volition associated with the tongue, volition associated with the body, and volition associated with the mind;

the five skandhas, the ten kasinas, the ten recollections, the ten perceptions beginning with the perception of a bloated corpse, the thirty-two parts of the body beginning with head hair, the twelve ayatanas, the eighteen dhatus, the nine kinds of existence beginning with sensual existence, the four jhanas beginning with the first jhana, the four immeasurable states beginning with loving-kindness, and the four formless attainments (Pancakkhandhā, dasakasināni, Dasaannussatiyo, Uddhumātakasannādivasena dasasannā, kesādayo dvattimsākārā—the thirty-two kinds—dvādasāyatanāni, atthārasadhātuyo,

kāmabhavādayo navabhavā—sensual existence at the head of the nine kinds of existence—pathamādīni cattāri jhānāni—the four jhanas with the first jhana at their head—mettābhāvanādayo catasso appamannā—the cultivation of loving-kindness at the head of the four immeasurable states—catasso arūpasamāpattiyo); the twelve links of dependent origination; contemplation in reverse order, from aging and death, sorrow and lamentation, back to ignorance; and contemplation in forward order, successively from ignorance to aging, illness, death, suffering, and distress.

Aging and illness are the truth of suffering. Birth (Jāti) is the truth of its origin. Liberation from suffering and its origin is the truth of cessation. Clearly knowing the method for bringing suffering to cessation is the truth of the path. Because the Tathagata has completely known all the foregoing dharmas, he is called the Perfectly Self-Awakened One.

Knowledge means the three kinds of knowledge, and also the eight kinds of knowledge (vijjā ti tisso vijjā attha pi vijjā). As stated in the Bhayabherava Sutta (M.i, 22), there are three kinds of knowledge; you should consult it yourselves. In the Ambattha Sutta (D.i, 100), eight kinds of knowledge are taught: knowledge of samadhi, knowledge of supernormal powers, and knowledge of the six higher knowledges (cha abhinnā), making eight.

Conduct (carana) consists of observing the precepts, guarding the six sense faculties, knowing moderation in eating (pannarasadhammā), maintaining clear awareness regarding sleep, possessing the seven true dharmas—the seven noble treasures—and the four form-realm jhanas. He fully knows these fifteen dharmas (Bhojane mattannutā). Through these practices, the Tathagata is called Accomplished in Knowledge and Conduct (Vijjācaranasampanna).

Through this practice, the Tathagata attained nirvana; therefore, he is called Accomplished in Knowledge and Conduct. This is true not only of the Tathagata but also of the sravakas. Because the Tathagata has perfected both knowledge and conduct, he is called Accomplished in Knowledge and Conduct.

Because he clearly knows characteristics, the Tathagata attained omniscience. Because he possesses conduct, the Tathagata is called the Great Compassionate One. The Tathagata fully knows how all sentient beings, through accumulation, are led to suffering and distress.

With great compassion, he clearly knows the sufferings of sentient beings and skillfully teaches so that they may escape suffering and attain happiness. He is also called the Well-Gone One (one who has gone well—Sugata), because his well-spoken words lead to wholesome conduct, not to unwholesome conduct. Furthermore, because he has gone to the place of complete goodness, he is called the Well-Gone One.

Furthermore, because he walks and stands properly, fully endowed with dignified deportment and free from fault, he is called the Well-Gone One. Furthermore, because he has gone beyond forever and will not return, he is called the Well-Gone One. Because he has transcended by means of the path of arhatship, he is called the Well-Gone One.

From the time Buddha Dīpankara—the Lamp-Lighter—gave him the prediction of future Buddhahood, he cherished sentient beings and brought them happiness, until he awakened beneath the Bodhi tree (bodhimanda); because his conduct was completely wholesome in this way, he is called the Well-Gone One. He does not follow the view of annihilationism (uccheda), does not follow the view of eternalism (sassata), does not practice self-mortifying austerities, and does not cling to either annihilationism or eternalism; therefore, he is called the Well-Gone One.

He always teaches the Dharma to all sentient beings at the proper time; therefore, he is called the Well-Gone One. He teaches the Dharma only to sentient beings who wish to hear it; otherwise, he refrains. Therefore, he is called the Well-Gone One.

The words he teaches possess true meaning and no false meaning; all sentient beings who hear them rejoice greatly. Therefore, he is called the Well-Gone One. He does not speak meaningless words; his speech is meaningful and beneficial (atthasamhita).

Therefore, he is called the Well-Gone One.

Knower of the Worlds (Lokavidū) means that he fully knows all worldly dharmas. He clearly knows the truth of origin, the truth of cessation, and the method leading to the truth of cessation. Because he understands the world in this way, he is called the Knower of the Worlds.

As taught in the sutra: There is a place where there is no birth, no aging, no death, no falling away, and no remaining; yet I do not say that one can reach that liberated world by traveling. Therefore, he is called the Knower of the Worlds. The Buddha told the bhikkhus: “If I do not reach the end of the world, I do not proclaim the ending of suffering.

Bhikkhus, within this fathom-long body called an ascetic, there are the arising of the world, the cessation of the world, and the method leading to the cessation of the world. Yet I do not say that, without going to the end of the world, one can reach what has not been reached and escape suffering.” Furthermore, there are three worlds: the world of formations (Sankhāraloka), the world of sentient beings (sattaloka), and the world of space and location (okāsaloka).

Question: What is the world of formations?

Answer: All sentient beings subsist by means of food and drink; this is the world of formations.

Question: What is the world of sentient beings?

Answer: Statements that the world is eternal or that the world is impermanent refer to the world of sentient beings.

Question: What is the world of space and location?

Answer: The verse is as follows:

The sun and moon move in their courses,

Their radiance without bound,

Illuminating the entire world,

Unhindered by any obstruction.

This is the world of space and location. Furthermore, there are said to be one world, two worlds, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, and so forth, up to eighteen worlds.

Question: What is the one world?

Answer: Because all sentient beings subsist by means of food and drink, it is called the one world.

Question: What are the two worlds?

Answer: Name and form are the two worlds.

Question: What are the three worlds?

Answer: Suffering, happiness, and neutrality are the three worlds.

Question: What are the four worlds?

Answer: The four kinds of nutriment are the four worlds.

Question: What are the five worlds?

Answer: The five skandhas.

Question: What are the six worlds?

Answer: The six sense bases.

Question: What are the seven worlds?

Answer: The seven consciousnesses.

Question: What are the eight worlds?

Answer: The eight worldly dharmas.

Question: What are the nine worlds?

Answer: The nine abodes of sentient beings.

Question: What are the ten worlds?

Answer: The ten sense bases.

Question: What are the twelve worlds?

Answer: The twelve ayatanas.

Question: What are the eighteen worlds?

Answer: The eighteen dhatus.

Because the Tathagata clearly knows all worlds together with these formations, he is called the Knower of the Worlds.

He clearly knows the afflictions of sentient beings, the formations of sentient beings, the thoughts of sentient beings, and the minor and major afflictions of sentient beings. He knows those who are intelligent and those who are slow to understand; those who possess wholesome conditions and those who possess unwholesome conditions; those who are easy to instruct and those who are difficult to instruct; and he clearly knows those who have or do not have innate understanding. Because he clearly knows everything concerning the sentient beings of the worlds, he is called the Knower of the Worlds.

Question: What is the world as a physical domain?

Answer: Mount Cakkavala measures twenty-three thousand four hundred and fifty yojanas across and three hundred seventy thousand three hundred and fifty yojanas in circumference. Its foundation of earth, four nahutas and twenty thousand yojanas thick, rests upon water. The water, eight nahutas and forty thousand yojanas deep, rests upon wind. The wind is six hundred ninety thousand yojanas thick. This is the world as a physical domain. Furthermore, the foot of Mount Sumeru descends eighty-four thousand yojanas into the sea. Mount Sumeru (Sineru) rises to the same height and is encircled by seven ranges of mountains made of the seven precious substances, as expressed in the verse:

Yugandhara, (yugandhara)

Isadhara, (Isadhara)

Karavika, (karavìka)

Sudassana, (sudassana)

Nemindhara, (Nemindhara)

Vinataka, (Vinataka)

Assakanna, (asskanna)

Are the seven great mountains.

They encircle Sumeru,

The realm of the Four Heavenly Kings,

And the realm of the Yama devas,

Rising one hundred yojanas high.

The Great Snow Mountain (Himavant)

Measures one thousand yojanas,

Equal in height and breadth;

Its summit has eighty-four thousand

Beautiful peaks,

Each adorning the others.

There stands the Jambu tree,

Two thousand miles high,

Two hundred in circumference;

The diameter of its canopy

Covers one hundred yojanas.

Because of this tree,

The continent is called Jambudipa.

The Great Cakkavala Mountain,

Its foot submerged in the sea,

Descends to a depth of eighty-two thousand

Yojanas;

Its height is likewise the same,

Ever abiding, firm and stable.

Traveling throughout the world,

The moon, sovereign of the stars,

Has a diameter of forty-nine

Yojanas;

The radiant, round sun

Measures fifty yojanas.

Furthermore, the palace of Sakka, Lord of the Devas, measures ten thousand yojanas across. The palace of the asuras (asurabhavana), the Avici great hell (avìcimahànitaya), and the land of Jambudipa are likewise of the same extent. Western Aparagoyana measures seven thousand yojanas across. Eastern Pubbavideha is likewise. Northern Uttarakuru measures eight thousand yojanas across. Each continent is surrounded by five hundred smaller islands. In the spaces between the central Cakkavala Mountains and the outer encircling iron mountains are innumerable iron hells, surrounded by iron; thus there are exceedingly many worlds. With his boundless wisdom-eye, the Buddha clearly sees them all and is therefore called the Knower of the Worlds.

Unsurpassed One (Anuttara): Because his merit and virtues surpass those of all devas and humans, he is called the Unsurpassed One. Because he has perfected morality, concentration, wisdom, liberation, and the knowledge and vision of liberation, he is called the Unsurpassed One. Concerning unsurpassedness and equality with the unsurpassed, the Buddha told the bhikkhus: “In this world, I see no Brahma, Mara, ascetic, or brahmin whose morality, concentration, and wisdom equal those of the Awakened One.” Furthermore, no one is any longer my teacher; therefore, he is called Unsurpassed.

Trainer of Persons to Be Tamed (purisadammasàrathin): He tames those who ought to be tamed. Why is this so? Just as unruly elephants and horses are first struck with a goad and then trained, so too the Tathagata is capable of taming all sentient beings and is therefore called the Trainer.

In ancient times, the Buddha subdued animals: the male Dragon King named Apalala (Apalàla); the male elephants named Thuần-Chữ, Ma-hủ-đà-bỉ, A-kỳ-tử, Khu-thu-ma-tử-khu-tử, and Khu-đà-na (Cùludara, Mahodara, Aggisikha, Dhùmasikha, Dhanapàla). All these males were tamed by the Blessed One through wholesome Dharma, led into the true Dharma, and caused to undertake the Three Refuges and Five Precepts. There was also the man named Xà-bạt, son of Ny-Kiền-Ðà (Saccakaniganthaputta), the brahmin Bốc-Kha-La-Bà, Angulimala, and others (Pokkharasàti, Angulimàlà); there were innumerable people such as these.

There was also the male yaksha named Alavaka (Àlavaka), and other male yakshas such as Suciloma and Kharaloma (Suciloma, Kharaloma). There was also Sakka, Lord of the Devas (Sakkadevaràjan), and innumerable other devas. All of them were tamed by him through the true Dharma.

It is said in the sutra: The Buddha told Kesi (whose name is translated into Chinese as “elephant trainer”): “I am the trainer of persons. I teach and transform all sentient beings with gentle methods. If they do not submit, I teach and transform them with stern methods.

If they still do not submit, I teach and transform them with methods both gentle and stern. If they still do not submit, I keep away from them.” The Dharma teacher said: According to this sutra, the complete and proper designation is “the Unsurpassed Trainer of Persons, the Teacher of Devas and Humans.” A teacher (satthà) is like a caravan leader (satthavàha) who clearly knows the perils (kantàra).

Question: What are the perils?

Answer: First is the peril of bandits (corakantàra); second is the peril of tigers, wolves, and lions (vàlakantàra); third is the peril of famine (dubbhikkhankantara); fourth is the peril of lacking water (nirùdakakantàra). In the face of these perils, the leader enables everyone to cross them all and reach a place of peace and happiness; therefore, he is called a teacher. The Tathagata is likewise. Why? The Tathagata leads sentient beings beyond all perils. What perils are these? They are the peril of birth, the peril of illness, the peril of aging, and the peril of death. The Tathagata enables them to cross beyond all such perils and reach a place of peace and happiness; therefore, he is called the Teacher.

Question: Why is the Buddha called only the Teacher of Devas and Humans and not the teacher of animals? While the Tathagata was in the world, he also taught the Dharma to animals. Why, then, is he called only the Teacher of Devas and Humans? The sutra says: At that time, in the land of Campa (Campànagara), on the shore of Lake Gaggara (gaggarà), the Buddha taught the Dharma to the people of Campa. In the lake there was a frog (manduka). Hearing the sound of the Buddha teaching the Dharma, it rejoiced, emerged from the pond, and entered beneath a clump of grass.

Seeing the people gathered around the Buddha to hear him teach the Dharma, a cowherd (vacchapàlaka) approached the Buddha. Wishing to hear the Dharma, the man planted his staff upon the ground and accidentally struck the frog on the head. The frog died and was reborn in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three (Tàvatimsabhavana) as a deva there.

As the fruit of that meritorious deed, he dwelt in a celestial palace twelve yojanas in height and breadth. As though just awakening from sleep, he saw celestial maidens delighting in music, and the frog-deva thought: “Formerly I was an animal. By what cause was I reborn in this celestial palace?” Examining the matter with his divine eye, he saw that formerly, beside the lake, he had heard the sound of the Buddha teaching the Dharma, and that through this merit he had obtained this result.

The frog-deva then rode in his celestial palace to meet the Buddha and bowed with his head at the Buddha’s feet.

Knowing this clearly, the Buddha nevertheless asked:

“Who are you, possessing such an exceedingly beautiful appearance and such radiant spiritual power illuminating everywhere, who have suddenly bowed at My feet?”

The frog deva spoke this verse:

Formerly, I had the body of a frog,

Seeking food within a pond.

Hearing the Buddha teaching the Dharma,

I went beneath a clump of grass.

There was a cowherd

Who came leaning on his staff to hear the Dharma.

He planted it upon my head;

When I died, I was reborn in heaven.

Taking up the verse spoken by the frog deva, the Buddha taught the Dharma to the four assemblies. At that time, eighty-four thousand people in the assembly attained realization of the Dharma (dhammābhisamaya), and the frog deva attained the fruit of stream-entry (sotāpattiphala). After attaining the path and its fruit, the frog deva rejoiced, smiled, and took his leave. Because of this event, the Buddha is honored as the Teacher of devas and human beings.

Buddha, the Blessed One (Bhagavant): He is called Buddha because “Buddha” means one who awakens himself and awakens others. Furthermore, He is also called the Knower; because He clearly knows the truth, He is called Buddha. Furthermore, because He awakened to the world through His own understanding by means of the three higher knowledges, He is called Buddha. Bhagavā (the Blessed One) has the following meanings:

1. Beneficial.

2. Supreme.

3. Worthy of homage.

4. Worthy of reverence.

Why is He called worthy of homage and reverence? Because He is worthy of the homage and reverence of the world. In the world, there are four ways of giving names: according to circumstance, characteristic, cause, and spontaneous designation (Avatthika, liṅgika, nemittika, adhiccasamuppanna).

Question: What does “according to circumstance” mean?

Answer: Just as people call a small bovine a calf, when it is older they call it a young ox, and when older still they call it an old ox. Such names are not fixed but are given according to the stage of life.

Question: What does “characteristic” mean?

Answer: One who carries a parasol or a staff is called a parasol-bearer or a staff-bearer; hence this is called designation by characteristic.

Question: What does “cause” mean?

Answer: Suppose a poor person, through serving as a slave, obtains precious things; that slave is then given the name “Many Treasures.”

Bhagavā is a designation. Why? This designation was not given by King Suddhodana, nor was it given by His eighty thousand relatives, nor by Sakka, the devas of Tusita, Brahmā, Māra, or others.

Why? The Buddha told Śāriputra: “My designation was not given by My parents or My eighty thousand relatives, nor by Sakka, the devas of Tusita, Brahmā, Māra, devas, or others...” (the explanation continues in due sequence) “...because, through true contemplation beneath the Bodhi tree, I realized omniscience, I came to be called the Blessed One.” Therefore, this designation was proclaimed by the Buddha Himself; no one else would dare bestow it upon Him.

Why? The Buddha Himself contemplated the majestic virtue and wisdom of the Buddha-body and, wishing to make sentient beings understand them clearly, called Himself by this designation. Bhagavā, the Blessed One: bhaga means “surpassing,” and vā means “possessing.” Because He possesses that which surpasses all, He is called Bhagavā.

Furthermore, greed, hatred, delusion, distorted mind, shamelessness, lack of moral dread, anger, resentment, disparagement, domineeringness, envy, stinginess, deceit, fraudulence, obduracy, rivalry, conceit, excessive conceit, intoxication, heedlessness, craving, ignorance, the three unwholesome roots, unwholesome conduct, defilement, impurity, wrong perception and thought, the four inversions, taints, bonds, floods, yokes, courses of existence, craving, arising and clinging, the five mental barrennesses, the five mental bondages, hindrances, delight, the six roots of contention, the body of craving, the seven latent tendencies, the eight wrong states, the nine roots of craving, the ten unwholesome courses of action, the sixty-two wrong views, the 108 forms of craving,

and the hundreds of thousands of defilements comprising all distress and fever born of intense craving—in brief, these five aggregates of defilements (Lobha, dosa, moha, viparitamanasikāra, ahirikānottappakodhūpanahā, makkhapa, lāsa, issāmacchariya, māya, sātheyya, thambhasarambha, mānātimāna, madappamāda, taṇhāvijjātividhākusalamūla, duccaritasaṅkilesamala, visamasaññā, vitakkapapañca, catubbidhavipariyesa, āsavagantha, oghāyogagati, taṇhuppādupādāca, pañcacetokhila, vinibandhani, varanābhinandāna, chavivādamūla, taṇhākāya, sattānusaya, atthamicchata, navataṇhāmūlaka, dasākusalakammapatha, dvāsaṭṭhidiṭṭhigata, aṭṭhasatataṇhāvicaritappabheda, sabbadarathapariḷāhakilesasatasahassāni, saṅkhepato vā pañca kilesakhandha) belonging to beings such as devas, humans, Māras,

and Brahmās cannot overcome the Tathagata; therefore, He is called Bhagavā.

Furthermore, the Tathagata destroys the currents of sensual desire, hatred, delusion, defilements, evil qualities, and so forth; therefore, He is called Bhagavā. Furthermore, the Tathagata possesses the thirty-two marks of a Great Man and the eighty minor characteristics of beauty. He is incomparably majestic and entirely separated from all defilements, and devas and humans always wish to behold Him. When they come, the Buddha examines their minds and teaches the Dharma according to their inclinations; therefore, He is called Bhagavā. Furthermore, according to worldly usage, Bhagavā has six aspects: mastery, Dharma, fame, beauty, wish, and recollection.

Question: What is mastery?

Answer: He has mastered His own mind.

Question: What is Dharma?

Answer: The Tathagata’s Dharma-body (dhammakāyasampatti) is complete in every respect.

Question: What is fame?

Answer: The Buddha’s pure renown spreads everywhere.

Question: What is beauty?

Answer: The Buddha’s body possesses every form of beauty and can be gazed upon without weariness.

Question: What is wish?

Answer: Whatever the Buddha wishes, He attains according to His intention, such as benefiting Himself and benefiting others.

Question: What is recollection?

Answer: All sentient beings think of making offerings to Him; therefore, He is called Bhagavā. Furthermore, Bhagavā means “one who analyzes.”

Question: What does “one who analyzes” mean?

Answer: He is foremost in the virtuous power of analyzing all dharmas: the five skandhas, the twelve ayatanas, the eighteen dhatus, the Four Noble Truths, the six consciousnesses, and the twelve links of dependent origination. He clearly knows and analyzes every dharma. Oppression, change, and so forth constitute the truth of suffering; attachment without relinquishment and accumulation constitute the truth of the origin of suffering; the cessation of suffering is the truth of cessation; and the methods for escaping suffering are called the truth of the path.

Because He analyzes them in this way, He is called Bhagavā. Furthermore, in Bhagavā, “bhaga” means the three realms, and “vā” means to cast away. Because He has cast away the defilements of the three realms, He is called Bhagavā.

It is called “the world” because it includes devas, humans, Brahmās, Māras, śramaṇas, and brahmins. “Devas and humans” refers to the devas of the six heavens of the desire realm and human beings; “Māra” refers to the sixth heaven; “Brahmā” refers to the Phú-lầu heaven; and “śramaṇas and brahmins” refers to those who oppose the Buddha-Dharma. Furthermore, devas, human beings, and the kings and rulers of the world are also included among devas and humans.

Furthermore, “devas and humans” includes both devas and humans within the desire realm. “Māra” includes the realm of the celestial Māra. “Brahmā” includes the Brahmā heavens belonging to the formless realm.

“Śramaṇas and brahmins” includes the fourfold assembly in the world. Why? By the power of His virtues, the Tathagata fully comprehends these realms from the highest to the lowest and penetrates them all.

He Himself knows how to teach the Dharma and how to employ skillful means; therefore, He is called “one who knows by himself” (Sayam abhiññā). Because He sees with the eye of wisdom, He is called one who knows. It is also said that “to know” means to know clearly and without obstruction; therefore, He is called one who knows.

“To teach” means that, having understood clearly, He speaks so that others may know; this is called teaching. Furthermore, because He expounds all dharmas, it is called teaching.

Question: Why does the Buddha teach all sentient beings?

Answer: Because He had great compassion for all sentient beings, He attained unsurpassed bliss in order to teach them the Dharma in a single sentence, a single verse, or in passages of greater or lesser length. Therefore, it is said that His teaching is wholly excellent in the beginning, the middle, and the end; beautiful in meaning; pure and unmixed; complete in every respect; and possessing but a single flavor. It is also said that the opening portion is excellent in the beginning, the middle portion is excellent in the middle, and the concluding portion is excellent in the end.

It is also said: virtue is excellent in the beginning, concentration and attainment of the Path are excellent in the middle, and nirvana is excellent in the end. It is also said: virtue and concentration are excellent in the beginning, meditative concentration and the Path are excellent in the middle, and fruition and nirvana are excellent in the end. The Buddha is fully awakened and is therefore called excellent in the beginning; the Dharma is the excellent teaching and is therefore called excellent in the middle; the Sangha follows what is excellent and is therefore called excellent in the end.

Question: Why is the Sangha called excellent in the end?

Answer: One who, having heard the Dharma, remains unshaken obtains the benefit of the noble ones and is therefore called excellent in the end. The Buddha’s supreme awakening (Abhisambodhi) is excellent in the beginning. The supreme awakening of a Pratyekabuddha (Paccekabodhi) is excellent in the middle.

The supreme awakening of a disciple (Sāvakabodhi) is excellent in the end. Those who, immediately upon hearing the excellent teachings, become free from the five hindrances are excellent in the beginning; those who hear and then practice accordingly are excellent in the middle; and those who, having practiced, progressively attain the Path are excellent in the end. Thus, whether the Tathagata teaches the Dharma at length or in brief, within that teaching, whether extensive or concise, there is excellence in the beginning, the middle, and the end, and complete excellence in both meaning and expression.

Why is this so? The Tathagata expounds the Dharma of the holy life and the path of the holy life by many methods, enabling sentient beings to understand clearly. Because this exposition possesses meaning, it is called wholly excellent in meaning.

Furthermore, excellent speech means speech composed of sentences and phrases; it is also called instruction, analysis, and disclosure without concealment. Because its sentences follow one another without disjunction, it is called excellent in meaning. Excellence in wording means that it possesses profound meaning and reveals profound meaning; it is therefore called wholly excellent in expression.

Furthermore, the teaching is complete in doctrine, meaning, terminology, and exposition. Only the wise can understand its principles; ordinary fools cannot understand them. Its meaning is profound and can be discerned only by the wise; therefore, it is called excellent in wording.

Entirely complete (kevalaparipunna): “complete” means perfect in meaning; “entirely” means that, being perfect in meaning, it borrows nothing and lacks nothing, and is therefore called entire.

Question: In the expression “instruction in the holy life” (Brahmacariya), what is the holy life?

Answer: Because Brahmā practices this Dharma, it is called the holy life. Why? “He reveals the holy life” (Brahmacariyam pakāseti): it is excellent in the beginning; its causal conditions are excellent in the middle; and its meaning, being free from error, is excellent in the end. When listeners rejoice and practice accordingly, this is called instruction in the holy life.

Question: What is completeness?

Answer: Because virtue stands at the head of the five aggregates of qualities, it is called complete. Because its meaning is pure and unmixed, it is called pure (Parisuddha). When teaching the Dharma to sentient beings, the Tathagata does not do so out of desire for offerings; therefore, it is called the pure holy life. The conduct of Buddhas, Pratyekabuddhas, and disciples of the Buddha (Buddha, Paccekabuddha, Buddhasāvaka) is called the holy life. “Excellent” (sādhu) indicates that, given such characteristics of conduct, one ought to go and pay a visit.

Question: What does “excellent” mean?

Answer: Because it leads to wholesome things, it is called excellent. It is also said that because it leads to happiness, it is called excellent. Such is the statement in brief. “Conduct and characteristics”: conduct means actions surpassing those of ordinary people, while characteristics means completeness of bodily marks. “One ought to go and pay a visit” means that one ought to go and see the Buddha.

Question: What is meant by seeing or observing (dassanamhoti)?

Answer: To look carefully with both eyes is called observing.

After the brahmin Verañja had reflected in this way, he went to see the Buddha and respectfully inquired whether His body was well, whether His disciple-hearers suffered little illness, whether they were physically comfortable, and whether they lived at ease. This is called inquiring after one’s health. The Buddha Himself and the brahmin exchanged greetings in due order and with meaningful words, rejoicing inwardly and keeping them in mind without forgetting.

After exchanging greetings, he withdrew and sat to one side. “Withdrew” means that he moved aside as the sun moves across the sky. “Sat” means that his body became settled upon the ground.

“To one side” means in a place off to one side. When a wise person goes to see a venerable one and wishes to sit down, he sits only after avoiding six faults. The six faults are: being too far away, too near, upwind (uparivāta), on higher ground, directly in front, or behind.

Question: What is the fault in sitting too far away?

Answer: If one wishes to converse, one cannot hear the voice.

Question: What is the fault in sitting too near?

Answer: One makes disrespectful bodily contact with the venerable one.

Question: What is the fault in sitting upwind?

Answer: One’s bodily odor is carried toward him.

Question: What is the fault in sitting higher?

Answer: It is disrespectful.

Question: What is the fault in sitting in front?

Answer: One causes the discomfort of being continually stared at.

Question: What is the fault in sitting behind?

Answer: When speaking with him, the venerable one must turn his head around.

When sitting down, the brahmin avoided these six faults; therefore, the Vinaya says that he withdrew and sat to one side. An ascetic (samana) is one who subdues the defilements; this is also called removing the defilements and restraining the mind. According to worldly convention, a brahmin of pure lineage is one whose father and mother are both of the same brahmin class.

An elder (mahallaka) means one who is large in body and advanced in age. A person of great authority or wealth is also called an elder. “Aged” means that the hair on one’s head has turned white and fallen out; sometimes it refers to one who already has grandchildren through both sons and daughters.

“Declining” means that the skin has become dry and wrinkled and one’s speech confused. “Advanced in years” means that one has lived through the reigns of two or three kings and is still alive. “Long-lived” means that one has lived more than a hundred years.

“Having reached the final stage of life” (vayo anuppatta) means having entered the last years of one’s life. “Master Gotama (Bho Gotama), why does an ascetic behave in this manner?” These were the brahmin’s words.

When he came to see the Buddha, he observed that the Buddha neither rose to pay homage nor spread out a seat and invite him to sit. He therefore said, “It is just as I had heard; only now have I seen for myself that the Tathagata seeks merely to exalt Himself and to look down upon others.” Out of compassion, the Buddha replied to the brahmin: “From the very moment of the Buddha’s birth in the grove, when He descended to the ground, walked seven steps northward, and surveyed the hundreds of billions of devas, humans, brahmās, Māras, ascetics, and brahmins, I have seen no one worthy of receiving homage from Me.

Having surveyed them in this way, I proclaimed aloud: ‘I am foremost in the world, I am eldest in the world, I am supreme in the world (Aggo’ham asmi lokassa, jettho’ham asmi lokassa, settho’ham asmi lokassa—Above heaven and beneath heaven, I alone am the World-Honored One).’ Hearing the bodhisattva make this declaration, Śakra, lord of the devas, and Brahmā immediately joined their palms and said: ‘In the three realms, the bodhisattva is supreme; none is his equal.’ Hearing this, the bodhisattva proclaimed with a lion’s roar: ‘I alone am supreme.’”

The Buddha told the brahmin: “Even before I attained the Path, I was already supreme in the three realms. How much more so now, when My virtues are wholly perfected and I have attained awakening! Why, then, should I pay homage to you? If anyone were to receive homage from Me, his head would fall to the ground. Therefore, do not hope that the Buddha will pay homage to you.”

It was only because the brahmin was deluded and did not understand that he spoke to the Buddha in this way. The brahmin then said: “If that is so, perhaps You are merely one whose outward form is devoid of flavor and without true substance (arasarūpa—a material form without flavor). Why? Because there is only outward form, but no true essence.”

Wishing to instruct the Brahmin, the Buddha replied:

“You say that I am without taste; indeed, I am without taste. Why is this? People of the world take forms, sounds, odors, flavors, and tangible objects as tastes. The Tathagata has severed these things, just as when the crown of a palmyra tree is cut off, it can never grow again.”

The Brahmin replied:

“Such a person is truly arrogant.”

The Buddha said:

“It is you yourself who consider this arrogance; why then do you call Me arrogant? The Buddhas of the three times do not pay homage to worldly people. I am likewise; does that make Me arrogant?”

The Brahmin said:

“If that is so, then You do nothing at all (Akiriya).”

The Buddha said:

“It is just as you say: indeed, I do not act. I do not commit theft, false speech, deception, sexual misconduct, or any other evil karma of body, speech, and mind. I do none of these things whatsoever; therefore, I am called one who does not act.”

The Brahmin said:

“Has this person destroyed (uccheda) his own lineage?”

The Buddha replied:

“Indeed! Why is this? I have destroyed every kind of affliction within the three realms; therefore, I am called one who has destroyed his lineage.”

Hearing this, the Brahmin was bewildered and distressed. Not knowing how to respond, he obstinately argued:

“Then this person is contemptible and impure.”

The Buddha replied:

“In My understanding, there truly are those who are impure. Whoever acts heedlessly and commits evil with body and speech is truly contemptible and impure.”

The Brahmin angrily said:

“This person hears my words and then refutes each matter in turn.”

The Buddha replied:

“I have utterly destroyed all afflictions within the three realms.”

The Brahmin said:

“One should remember this person and refrain from speaking with him.”

The Buddha replied:

“If there are such people, I too remember them. Those foolish people are truly worthy of compassion, for they constantly commit evil and never think of cultivating goodness.”

Still angry, the Brahmin reviled Him:

“This person will remain awake throughout the day and night, thinking and seeking the welfare of people throughout the world.”

The Buddha replied:

“Indeed! Why is this? I do not enter into sleep in the womb, nor do I enter into sleep in the heavenly realms; therefore, I am called one who does not sleep.”

After the Brahmin had disparaged the Buddha in eight ways, the Tathagata, the Dharma King, out of compassion, wished to cure the disease of his eyes with the ambrosial flavor of the Dharma, and therefore taught the Dharma.

Upon hearing the Dharma, the Brahmin’s mind became pure, like the sky when the clouds have dispersed and like the radiance of the sun and moon dispelling darkness. By various methods, the Tathagata instructed him and enabled him to understand clearly. He Himself declared, “I have attained unsurpassed wisdom and constantly abide in nirvana,” and said to the Brahmin:

“You are old and near death, yet by encountering Me you have gained the fruit. Why is this? It is like having eight, ten, or twelve eggs.”

Question:

“Why is the number divided into three alternatives?”

Answer:

“This makes the statement complete and also renders the wording elegant.”

The mother hen incubates them, turning these eggs from time to time.

To incubate means to cover the eggs with both wings until they are about to hatch. When it sees the light, the chick uses its beak to peck through the eggshell; after emerging, it flaps its wings and cries aloud. Is the chick that first emerges from its shell strong or weak?

The Brahmin replied:

“The one that emerges first is strong.”

The Buddha replied:

“I am likewise. Why is this? The shell of ignorance enclosed the entire three realms. With the beak of wisdom, I broke through the shell of ignorance and was the first to escape the three realms. Who, then, is strong, and who is weak?”

He replied:

“Gotama is strong.”

The following passages have no different meaning; one should understand them accordingly. “Foremost in the world” means that there is no second; it refers to the Perfectly and Completely Awakened One, the Unsurpassed Awakened One.

Question:

“What is unsurpassed awakening?”

Answer:

“If one abiding at the stage of the path of stream-entry asks about the fruit of stream-entry, He immediately answers; and so on, even if one at the stage of the path of arhatship asks about the fruit of arhatship, He immediately answers. Concerning the path of the shravaka, the path of the pratyekabuddha, and the path of the Buddha, He likewise immediately answers whatever question is asked. Therefore, it is called unsurpassed awakening. For this reason, He is exceedingly great.”

While incubating, the mother hen turns the eggs from time to time. This is like the Buddha, beneath the Bodhi tree, contemplating the Dharma of the Four Noble Truths—suffering, emptiness, and impermanence. The Buddha told the Brahmin:

“Through right effort and diligence, I attained the supreme fruit; it was not through a mind of indolence or heedlessness. With courage, right effort, and diligence beneath the Bodhi tree, I practiced the four qualities of exertion—being upright, neither hasty nor slack, and never ceasing—and thereby attained the unsurpassed path and fruit.”

“Not feeble” means never ceasing. “The mind is active” means cultivating in accordance with the object of contemplation. “Not retreating” means not becoming weary. “A concentrated mind” (samāhitaṃ cittaṃ) means one-pointedness. It is also said that when the mind is skillfully established in concentration, one-pointedness is accomplished and there is no error or heedlessness. This is the first wholesome Dharma. By relying upon this Dharma, one attains the first jhana. Proceeding successively from the first jhana, one attains the culmination of the three knowledges. By becoming free from sensual desire, the Buddha realized the unsurpassed Dharma. Therefore, the Vinaya says: The Buddha said, “Brahmin, I have been purified of sensual desires, and I have also been purified of evil.”

Question:

“What is sensual desire (kāma)?”

Answer:

“Desire and craving for sensory objects, desire for sexual pleasure, and desire that thinks upon sensual pleasures (channa kāma, rāga kāma, chandarāga kāma): these are called sensual desire.”

Question:

“What are evil dharmas?”

Answer:

“Sensual desire and doubt are evil dharmas. The Tathagata has become entirely quiescent with respect to these two dharmas.”

Question:

“What does it mean to be purified of sensual desire?”

Answer:

“Seclusion from sensual desire is also called abandoning sensual desire. Why is this? When a person first enters the first jhana, ignorance is the companion of sensual desire, while sensual desire is the adversary (paṭipakkhabhūta?) of meditative concentration.

By casting aside sensual desire, one attains meditative concentration; therefore, sensual desire is called its adversary. When one is secluded from sensual desire and evil, meditative concentration is present. When sensual desire and evil are extinguished, meditative concentration immediately arises.

The meaning of these two statements should be understood in this way. There are also three kinds of seclusion: bodily seclusion, mental seclusion, and seclusion through suppression (kāyaviveka, cittaviveka, vikkhambhanaviveka). These three kinds of seclusion are also included within the two kinds of seclusion mentioned above.”

Question:

“What is sensual desire?”

Answer:

“There are two kinds of sensual desire: the objects of sensual desire (vatthukāma) and sensual desire as an affliction (kilesakāma).”

Question:

“What are the objects of sensual desire and sensual desire as an affliction?”

Answer:

“The objects of sensual desire are those visible objects to which the mind becomes attached; sensual desire as an affliction causes people to seek out sensual pleasures.”

In explaining the next two statements, the first refers to abandoning delight in sensual desire, and the second to becoming free from the affliction of sensual desire. Therefore, the mind is entirely purified of both kinds of sensual desire mentioned above. Furthermore, the first statement refers to eliminating the objects of sensual desire, while the second refers to eliminating sensual desire as an affliction. The first eliminates the causes and conditions of agitation; the second eliminates the mark of delusion. The first is accomplished through purification; the second brings sensual desire to an end. The sequence should be understood in this way.

Question:

“In the expression ‘desire and craving,’ is craving itself sensual desire, or is it something distinct from sensual desire?”

Answer:

“They converge in one place. Why is this? In principle, all evil dharmas tend toward one place, although their distinctions differ. Furthermore, the Vinaya says that craving is an affliction, while sensual desire consists of the objects of sensual desire. Just as desire and craving are the adversary of meditative concentration, joy is the adversary of ill will, applied thought is the adversary of sloth and torpor, bliss is the adversary of restlessness and remorse, and sustained thought (vicāra) is the adversary of doubt. Thus desire and craving are the adversary of the first jhana. Desire and craving belong to the five hindrances (pañca nīvaraṇāni), and the evil dharmas likewise belong to the hindrances.”

Question:

“What are the hindrances?”

Answer: They are the three fundamental poisons—greed, hatred, and delusion—the five sensual desires relating to the five sense objects, and wrongful craving. The latter phrase means attachment to realms of experience: through discriminating among sense objects, anger, ill will, and delusion arise. The former phrase refers to the flood of sensual desire, attachment to sensual desire, the whirlpool of sensual desire, clinging to sensual desire, the mind of killing and harming, and the fetter of sensual desire.

The latter phrase refers to floods, currents, grasping, and attachment. The former phrase refers to the various forms of craving.... The latter phrase refers to ignorance....

The former phrase refers to greed... and the eight consciousnesses accompanied by feeling. The latter phrase gives rise to four unwholesome states of consciousness. Thus there is purification from sensual desires and unwholesome states.

Question: What are applied thought and sustained thought?

Answer: Applied thought (vitakka) means movement; it is directing the mind straight toward the object of contemplation. Sustained thought (vicāra) means that the meditator places the mind upon the object of contemplation, concentrates upon it, and adheres to it. Furthermore, sustained thought means that the mind gathers together, remains attached, and continues, like the sound of a bell, which is loud at first and then gradually diminishes.

The initial loud sound is like applied thought; its subsequent gradual fading is like sustained thought. When a bird flies, its wings move at first and afterward become steady. The movement is like applied thought, and the steadiness is like sustained thought.

It is also like a bee seeking a flower: first arriving at the flower is like applied thought, while selecting the flower is like sustained thought. The first jhāna has five factors: applied thought, sustained thought, rapture, bliss, and concentration (vitakka, vicāra, pīti, sukha, and one-pointedness). Just as flowers and fruit come from a tree, so too the applied thought and sustained thought of the first jhāna are both born of tranquility.

Question: What is tranquility?

Answer: Separation from the five hindrances is tranquility.

Rapture (pīti) means fullness. Fullness means that body and mind are filled with rejoicing and that joy overflows. Bliss is the complete cessation of bodily and mental suffering. Bliss is adherence to the sweetness of perception.

Question: What is bliss (sukha)?

Answer: It is the mind being filled with beautiful thoughts. Bliss arises from the experience of rapture. Furthermore, these two qualities are inseparable: where there is rapture, there is bliss, and conversely. Rapture belongs to the skandha of formations; bliss belongs to the skandha of feeling. Suppose a traveler is thirsty. Upon hearing that water is available, joy arises in his mind; this is called rapture. When he arrives and is able to drink the water and bathe, this is called bliss. As for the concentration of the first jhāna, “first” means the first jhāna, while “jhāna” means completely burning away (paccanikadhamme jhāpetīti jhānaṃ); it is also so called because it is the meditator’s object of contemplation.

Question: What does “completely burning away” mean?

Answer: It is the power to burn away all the hindrances; it is also called the eradication of afflictions. It is likewise called seeing. Seeing means contemplating and perceiving the characteristics of phenomena and clearly apprehending the signs of the eight kinds of concentration.

Why is this so? Because these are the signs of kasiṇārammaṇa (rendered in Chinese as the thirty-eight kinds of concentration—kasiṇārammaṇa, the totality spheres). Contemplation of these signs is called meditative concentration.

This is the fruit of the path of seeing. Why? Because one contemplates the characteristics.

Contemplating the characteristics means contemplating impermanence. Through contemplation, one attains the path, and by means of this fruit one contemplates the truth of cessation. Therefore, meditative concentration is called contemplation of the characteristics.

Question: What is the first jhāna?

Answer: It means the presence of applied thought, sustained thought, rapture, bliss, and concentration. It is like calling someone a person possessed of wealth and relatives. If that person abandons the wealth and relatives, can that designation still remain?

Answer: It cannot.

Meditative concentration is the same: if applied thought, sustained thought, rapture, bliss, and concentration are removed, that designation no longer remains. Similarly, a military host is called an army because it contains people, soldiers, elephants, horses, and implements of war. If all the people, soldiers, elephants, horses, and implements of war are removed, it can no longer be called an army. Meditative concentration is the same: if the five qualities above are removed, it cannot be called meditative concentration. “Entering” means reaching and is also called attainment. “Dwelling” means abiding in meditative concentration beneath the Bodhi tree (bodhimaṇḍa).

Question: Beneath the Bodhi tree, what did the Buddha contemplate?

Answer: He contemplated the in-breath and the out-breath.

Question: Are there other forms of meditation?

Answer: There are.

The Dharma Master said: The teaching on meditative concentration accords with the Visuddhimagga. If I were to explain it fully, its meaning would be extremely profound and extensive, and the discussion exceedingly complicated. You should investigate it yourselves in the Abhidharma Vibhāṣā. The preceding exposition is based on the authoritative Vinaya Vibhāṣā treatise; the other portions have been stated in summary. This concludes the first jhāna.

With the subsiding of sustained and applied thought (vitakkavicārānaṃ vūpasamā), one passes beyond these two qualities and enters the second jhāna. When the second jhāna arises, those two qualities are no longer present. Why?

Because one has passed beyond those two major factors, it is called the second meditative concentration. Furthermore, the qualities of the first jhāna are no longer present in the second meditative concentration, but other qualities are present. The first meditative concentration begins with the quality of contact; when the second jhāna has passed beyond the two preceding qualities, one enters the qualities of the second jhāna.

Therefore, the Vinaya says that with the subsiding of applied and sustained thought, one enters the second meditative concentration, and the inner quality (ajjhatta) becomes manifest.

Question: What does “becomes manifest” mean?

Answer: “Becomes manifest” means arising from the body. Purity (sampasādana) means freedom from defilement. Jhāna is also called pure. Why? Just as a robe is called a blue robe because it is blue, so too, because jhāna possesses the quality of purity, it is called pure jhāna.

Question: Why is it called pure concentration?

Answer: Applied thought and sustained thought are the roots of agitation. Because applied thought and sustained thought are no longer present, it is called purity, and the state of unification (ekodibhāva) arises.

Question: What is this state of unification that arises?

Answer: Because one no longer attends at all to applied thought or sustained thought, it is called the state of unification. It is also called unsurpassed and also called the single characteristic. Having become free from applied thought and sustained thought, it is called nondual and the single characteristic.

Question: Why is it called the single characteristic?

Answer: It is right concentration.

Question: What is right concentration?

Answer: It is one-pointed and nondual; it is also called concentration and immovability. This is the single characteristic of the second jhāna.

Question: Why is it called “name”?

Answer: Because it is neither a self nor a living being, it is called “name.”

Question: Is there no purity in the first jhāna?

Answer: There is.

Question: If so, the first jhāna should also be called the single characteristic. Why is only the second jhāna called the single characteristic?

Answer: Applied thought and sustained thought agitate the water and cause waves to arise, so that its surface cannot be seen clearly. Likewise, in the first jhāna, applied thought and sustained thought render the mind impure; therefore, it is not called the single characteristic. Why? Because right concentration is not clearly manifest.

Question: Why is only the concentration of the second jhāna clearly manifest?

Answer: Because the mind is pure. “Rapture and bliss born of concentration” means that rapture and bliss arise from the concentration of the first jhāna; this is the second jhāna. “Second” indicates its numerical sequence. The first jhāna has five factors; the second jhāna has four factors: purity, rapture, bliss, and one-pointedness. Explained fully, there are four; stated briefly, there are three, as taught in the sutra.

Question: When do the three factors of rapture, bliss, and one-pointedness arise together?

The Dharma Master answered: I establish that they occur within a single moment; as for the other aspects, you should understand them yourselves. This concludes the second jhāna.

Separation from rapture.

Question: What is separation from rapture?

Answer: It is the exhaustion of rapture, also called transcending rapture and also called the cessation of rapture. Because rapture arises after applied thought and sustained thought have ceased, only rapture needs to be brought to cessation.

Question: According to the treatise, in the second jhāna, rapture is present after applied thought and sustained thought have ceased. Why, then, is applied thought mentioned again?

Answer: It is stated in this way in order to praise the third jhāna. Why? It is like the path leading to the third stage: wrong views have not yet been eliminated, but are eliminated only upon attaining the path of stream-entry. Now this is stated again in connection with this third path. Why is it called praise? Because it is the third path. It is the same here: one dwells in equanimity (upekkhako ca vihāsiṃ).

Question: What is equanimity?

Answer: Equanimity means regarding things impartially, without bias or partisanship, and remaining ever steadfast; this is the third jhana. Furthermore, there are ten kinds of equanimity: first, equanimity pertaining to the six sense faculties; second, equanimity pertaining to the four Brahma abodes—loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity; third, equanimity as a factor of awakening; fourth, equanimity regarding energy; fifth, equanimity regarding formations; sixth, equanimity as feeling; seventh, equanimity regarding insight; eighth, equanimity as neutrality; ninth, equanimity in jhana;

and tenth, equanimity of purification (chalangupekkhà,brahmihàrupekkhà, bojjhangupekkhà, viriyupekkhà, sankharupekkhà, vedanupekkhà, vipassanupekkhà, majjhattupekkhà, jhànupekkhà, pàríuddhiupekkhà).

These ten kinds of equanimity arise because the mind contemplates a single characteristic in the differing circumstances of others. This is only a brief explanation. They are explained clearly in the Sa-lỵ-da (Atthasàlini), the Ðàm-ma-tăng-già-ha-ny-da (Dhammassangahatthakathà), and the Path of Purification (Visuddhimagga); investigate them for yourself.

In this Vinaya, if I were to explain too much, it would only introduce further complications.

Question: Of these ten kinds of equanimity, which one is intended here?

Answer: Equanimity as neutrality.

Question: What is equanimity as neutrality?

Answer: It is remaining unconcerned with matters arising from joy.

Question: Do the first and second jhanas possess equanimity as neutrality, or is it found only in the third jhana?

Answer: The first two jhanas also possess it, but it is subtle and therefore does not manifest clearly. Why is this? Because it is obscured by applied thought, sustained thought, and joy. In the third jhana, applied thought, sustained thought, and joy have been abandoned, and therefore equanimity manifests clearly. This concerns right mindfulness and clear comprehension.

Question: What is mindfulness?

Answer: Because the mind has many thoughts, it is called mindfulness. Comprehension means thorough understanding.

Question: What is right mindfulness?

Answer: Right mindfulness means not forgetting. It is also called consciousness and is further called clearly knowing the arising of characteristics.

Question: What is comprehension?

Answer: It is selection, gathering together, and expansiveness. This is only a brief explanation. Review the eighth kind, equanimity as neutrality, and you will understand clearly.

Question: Does the first jhana possess mindfulness and clear comprehension?

Answer: Certainly. Why? If it did not, by what means could the first state arise?

Question: Why, then, do mindfulness and clear comprehension not appear in the first jhana?

Answer: They are present, but they are too coarse. It is like sharpening a knife: it is blunt at first and sharp afterward. Mindfulness and clear comprehension are the same. In the first jhana they are still too coarse and therefore do not manifest. It is also like a person who drives a calf away to obtain its milk, yet before long the calf returns. Likewise, the bliss of the third jhana is separated from joy, but before long, if it is not guarded by mindfulness and clear comprehension, it will immediately reunite with joy. Because strong mindfulness and clear comprehension restrain it, it remains apart. This bliss is unsurpassed bliss, supreme bliss. Why? Because it is guarded by mindfulness and clear comprehension. Such is the meaning of this passage; understand it for yourself.

Question: What is the body?

Answer: The body is name-and-form. Through the body of name-and-form, bliss is known. Why? Because bliss is conjoined with the body of name-and-form; when the two are most fully united, they produce exquisite savor. Knowing and exquisite savor are joined together, and thus feeling is known. Therefore, bliss is known through the body. The virtuous say: “Possessing equanimity and right mindfulness, one dwells in bliss.”

Question: Who are “the virtuous”?

Answer: They are Buddhas, Pratyekabuddhas, shravakas, and those who have attained the third jhana. Because they speak of the causes and conditions of this jhana, they are called “the virtuous who speak.”

Question: What does “speak” mean?

Answer: To instruct is to speak; to analyze is also called praise.

Question: Why is it said that one who possesses equanimity and mindfulness dwells in bliss?

Answer: Because one is about to enter the third jhana.

Question: How does one enter it?

Answer: It is supreme bliss, and because it is supreme bliss, it is consummate. In the third jhana, because of equanimity toward bliss, joy no longer arises; this is called possessing mindfulness. Why? Because the mindfulness and bliss of virtuous persons constitute pure and unmixed bliss, and are therefore praised by the virtuous. This is the meaning of the statement that one who possesses equanimity and mindfulness dwells in bliss and is praised by the virtuous. Dwelling in the third jhana is similar to entering the first and second jhanas, but there is this difference: the first jhana possesses all five factors, the second possesses four factors, and the third possesses two factors, as stated in the scripture cited above.

Question: Which two factors manifest in the third jhana?

Answer: Bliss and one-pointedness of mind. This concludes the third jhana.

The Samantapasadika Vinaya Commentary

– Volume Four -