Khuddaka Nikaya - Nettippakarana - Specification Section Part 3-7

Khuddaka Nikaya - Nettippakarana ( The Guide ) - Specification Section Part 3-7

ACCORDING TO
KACCANA THERA

TRANSLATED FROM THE PALI BY
BHIKKHU NANAMOLI
Pali Text Society
Mode 7
[The Ninefold Thread in the Mode of Conveying a Conversion]
220. Herein, what is the Mode of Conveying a Conversion ? I t is
this:
'The Mode that, when there is one Footing,
Searches for a footing that remains
•And then converts the opposites
Is that Conveying a Conversion' (§11).
'ill-spoken' and Veil spoken'. See Dhs. 1325 and 1327; also A. v, 90 (suvaca =
khamo padakkhinagdhi anusdsanim). 'Well-spoken' = kalydnavaca {A. v,
155).

221. (Instigat e [yourselves] , launc h out , devot e
[Yourselves ] in th e Enlightene d One' s
Dispensation ;
Scatte r th e armie s of Mortalit y
As doe s an elephan t a hu t of reeds)
(Pe71;S.i , 157).
[The words] Instigate yourselves, launch out' are the footing for
energy. [The words] 'Devote yourselves in the Enlightened One's
Dispensation' are the footing for concentration. [The words]
'Scatter the armies of Mortality as does an elephant a hut of reeds'
are the footing for understanding.
[The words] 'Instigate yourselves, launch out' are the footing for
the energy faculty. [The words] 'Devote yourselves in the Enlight-
ened One's Dispensation' are the footing for the concentration faculty.
[The words] 'Scatter the armies of Mortality as does an elephant
a hut of reeds' are the footing for the understanding faculty.
[41] These footings constitute the teaching [beginning with
'Instigate yourselves'].
222. The instigation is for creatures who are either already devoting
[themselves] or who are not yet devoting [themselves].
223. Herein, those not yet devoting [themselves] do not devote
[themselves] owing to their being rooted in negligence. That
negligence is of two kinds: rooted in craving and rooted in ignorance.
224. Herein, as to that [negligence] rooted in ignorance, such
[negligence] as is shut in by such unknowing that it does not under-
stand how the five categories are inseparable from the idea of arising
and subsidence is rooted in negligence.
Such [negligence] rooted in craving is of three kinds: (i) when
someone seeks for the arising of unarisen properties he falls into
negligence; [and when he seeks] (ii) the sign of preservation, and
(iii) the sign of use, of the arisen properties, he falls into negligence.
These are the four kinds of negligence in the world: one kind due
to ignorance and three kinds due to craving.
225. Herein, the name-body is the footing for ignorance, [and] the
form-body is the footing for craving. Why is that ? In the kinds
of being (existence) having form there is cleaving to them, and in the
formless kinds of being (existence) there is confusion [about them].
226. Herein, the form-body1
is the form category, [and] the name-
body is the four formless categories (cf. §§84 and 445).
226/1 Seen. 84/1.

227. With assumption in virtue of what is it that the five are
categories of assumption ? In virtue of craving and ignorance.
228. Herein, craving is two kinds of assumption, namely sensual-
desire assumption and virtue-and-duty assumption, while ignorance
is two kinds of assumption, namely view assumption and self-
doctrine assumption.
1
229. Any categories of assumption (see M. iii, 16) [so called] in
virtue of these four kinds of assumption, are suffering. The Blessed
One teaches the True Idea for the [respective] diagnosis and aban-
doning of them: for the diagnosis of suffering and the abandoning
of its origin.
230. Herein, any one of the three kinds of negligence rooted in
craving (1) seeks for the arising of unarisen properties, and (2) works
for the preservation, and (3) the sign of use of the arisen properties.
231. Quiet guards against and prevents that [negligence] by means
of full penetration. How is that ? When one knows, in the case
of sensual desires, the gratification as gratification, the disappoint-
ment [42] as disappointment, the escape as escape, and also de-
gradation, corruption, and cleansing, and the benefits of renuncia-
tion, then any inquiry, any scrutiny, therein is insight. These two
ideas come to fulfilment through keeping in being, that is to say
quiet and insight. When these two ideas are kept in being, two
ideas are abandoned, namely craving and ignorance. When these
two ideas are abandoned the four kinds of assuming cease; with
cessation of assuming, cessation of being; with cessation of being,
cessation of birth; with cessation of birth, ageing and death cease,
and also sorrow and lamentation, pain, grief and despair; that is
how there is a cessation to this whole category of suffering.
232. So there are the first two truths, namely Suffering and Origin;
and quiet and insight are the Path; and cessation of being is
Extinction. These are the four Truths. That is why the Blessed
One said 'Instigate yourselves, launch out, . . .'.
233. (Jus t as a tree , thoug h felled , sprout s up agai n
As long as firm it s roo t is an d intact ,
So too thi s pai n spring s eve r an d ano n
Wit h tendenc y to cravin g unimpaired) (Dh. 338).
228/1 For 'assumption (assuming)' see n. 164/9. Here and at §257 the
4 kinds are the same as in the Suttas (e.g., M. i, 67), but at §§484-7 and 678
silabbatupaddna is replaced by bhavupdddna. Does the latter appear outside
this work except at Pe 94?

This is the underlying-tendency to craving. To what kind of
craving ? To craving for being (existence). The condition for that
idea is ignorance; for it is with ignorance as condition that there is
craving for being (existence). These are the two defilements
namely craving and ignorance. And these are the four kinds of
assumption (see §228).
234. Any categories of assumption [so called] in virtue of these
four kinds of assumption are Suffering. The four kinds of assump-
tion are Origin, while the five categories are the suffering. The
Blessed One teaches the True Idea for their [respective] diagnosis
and abandoning: for the diagnosis of Suffering and the abandoning
of Origin.
235. [43] That whereby one eradicates the underlying-tendency to
craving is quiet; that whereby one shuts off ignorance, the condition
for the underlying-tendency to craving, is insight. These two ideas
come to fulfilment through keeping in being, namely quiet and
insight.
236. Herein, the fruit of quiet is the heart-deliverance due to fading
of lust; the fruit of insight is the understanding-deliverance due to
fading of ignorance.
237. So there are the first two truths, namely Suffering, and its
Origin; and quiet and insight are the Path; and the two kinds of
deliverance are Cessation. These are the four Truths. That is
why the Blessed One said 'Just as a tree . . .' (§233).
*
238. (No doin g an y kin d of evil ,
Perfectin g profitabl e skill ,
And purifyin g one' s own heart :
Thi s is th e Buddhas ' Dispensatio n
(Pc 54, 91; DA. 183; D. ii, 49).
What is called 'any kind of evil' is the three kinds of misconduct,
namely bodily misconduct, verbal misconduct, and mental mis-
conduct. These are the ten unprofitable courses of action, namely
killing breathing things, taking what is not given, and misconduct
in sensual-desires; false speech, malicious speech, harsh speech, and
gossip; and covetousness, ill will, and wrong view.
1
238/1 The 1st 3 are known as bodily, the next 4 as verbal, and the last 3 as
mental, unprofitable action.

239. These are two kinds of action, namely choice and concomitant
of cognizance (cf. Pe 35-6).
1
240. Herein, killing breathing things, malicious speech and harsh
speech are moulded by hate; taking what is not given, misconduct in
sensual-desires, and false speech are moulded by greed; and gossip is
moulded by delusion. These seven kinds of acting are action as
choice.
1
241. Covetousness is greed as a root of the unprofitable; ill will is
hate as a root of the unprofitable; wrong view is the wrong path.
These three kinds of acting are action as concomitant of cognizance.
That is why it was said 'action as choice and action as concomitant
of cognizance' (see §239).
242. When a root of the unprofitable comes to [expression by] the
means [consisting of body or speech], it comes to [expression as]
one [of the four] bad ways, namely those through will, hate, fear, or
delusion.
243. [44] Herein, when it comes to [expression as] the bad way
through will, it is moulded by greed; when it comes to [expression
as] the bad way through hate, it is moulded by hate; when it comes
to [expression as] the bad ways through fear and delusion, it is
moulded by delusion.
244. Herein, greed is abandoned by means of [contemplating]
ugliness, hate by means of loving kindness, and delusion by means
of understanding. Likewise, greed is abandoned by means of
onlooking-equanimity, and hate by means of loving kindness and
compassion, and delusion is abandoned and disappears by means of
sympathetic-gladness. That is why the Blessed One said 'No doing
any kind of evil, . . .' (§243).
245. And what is called 'any kind of evil' is the eight wrongnesses,
namely wrong view, wrong intention, wrong speech, wrong action,
wrong livelihood, wrong effort, wrong mindfulness, and wrong
239/1 This twofold division seems peculiar to this work and the Pe. From
the following paragraphs, the first obviously stands for bodily and verbal
action together and the second fo» mental.
240/1 The analysis of action here is more easily grasped if the following
distinctions are kept in mind. A 'course of action' (kammapatha) is a com-
pleted 'historical act ' regarded as continuing from the first planning of i t
down to the carrying of it out, which 'course' involves body and/or speech.
The 'choice' (cetand) here is the momentary mental 'willing' (or 'affirmation')
at each and every stage of the 'course'. 'Mental action'—'action as con-
comitant of cognizance' here—is simply covetousness, ill will, and wrong
view, and their respective profitable opposites. See DhsA. 82fi°.

concentration. These are called 'any kind of evil'. Any non-
effecting, non-doing, non-practising, of these eight wrongnesses is
called 'no doing any kind of evil'.
246. When the eight wrongnesses are abandoned, the eight Tight-
nesses reach excellence (sampajjanti). Any effecting of, producing
excellence in (sampadana), the eight Tightnesses is called 'perfecting
(upasampada) profitable skill'.
247. 'And purifying one's own heart' is the effecting, keeping in
being, of the (Ancient Path) (S. ii, 105),
1
it is mindfulness of that.
When the heart is purified, the categories become purified. That
is why the Blessed One said (BMkkhus, a divine life is lived under a
Perfect One for the purpose of purification of the heart) ( )
248. The purifying is of two kinds, namely the abandoning of
hindrances and the eradication of underlying-tendencies. Also
there are two planes of purifying, namely the plane of seeing and
the plane of keeping-in-being.
249. Herein, that by the penetration of which one purifies is
Suffering. That from which one purifies is the Origin. That by
which one purifies is the Path. And that which is purified is
Cessation (cf. Pe 91). These are the four Truths. Hence the
Blessed One said 'No doing any kind of evil . . .' (§238).
*
250. (The Tru e Ide a guard s him tha t walk s
therein ,
As doe s a big umbrell a in time of rain .
[45] The Ideal' s rewar d when walke d in righ t
is this :
Who walk s therei n ha s no ba d destinatio n
(§37).
What is called 'the True Idea' is of two kinds, namely (1) faculty-
restraint and (2) the Path. A 'bad destination' is of two kinds, as
follows: compared with gods and human beings, the states of unease
247/1 The 'Ancient Path' does not refer to a path other than the 'Noble
Path' as suggested by note 1 at PTS Netti, p. 222. The alternative (vd) in
the commentary seems to wish to refer the word 'ancient' (atita) either to
'the ancient noble path discovered by former Buddhas including the Buddha
Vipassi' or to 'the noble path discovered by the ancient Buddha Vipassi'.
I t is the same path that all Buddhas discover.

are a bad destination; but compared with extinction, all kinds of
reappearance are a bad destination.
251. (1) Herein, in the case of virtue as restraint, there is the keeping
of it untorn (see A. iv, 53, and §299 below), and this True Idea
when walked in right guards one from the states of unease.
Accordingly the Blessed One said (Bhikkhus, there are two kinds
of destination for one who is virtuous: the gods and human beings )
( )•
And accordingly the Gamani Asibandhakaputta said to the
Blessed One in the town of Nalanda (c
Venerable sir, there are Divines
of the West Country (?)} who use a kamandalu (ascetic's drinking-
vessel),
2
who wear water-weed garlands, who [morning and evening] go
down to the water, and who worship fires. When someone is deceased
and dead they cajole and coerce
3
him, trying to get him a footing in4
"
heaven. Now, venerable sir, is the Blessed One capable of so doing that
all the world, on the dissolution of the body, after death, reappears in a
good destination, in the heavenly world V—'As to that, Gamani, I shall
ask you a question in return; answer it as you like. How do you
conceive this, Gamani ? Here a man might be a killer of breathing
things, a taker of what is not given, misconducted in sensual desires, a
speaker of falsehood, a malicious speaker, a harsh speaker, a gossip,
covetous, with ill will in his heart, and wrong in his view. Then a
large body of people met and foregathered, and they begged and implored
and beseeched with hands extended palms together "Oh let this man, on
the dissolution of the body, after death, reappear in a good destination,
in the heavenly world", how do you conceive this, Gamani, because of
that large body of people's begging, because of their imploring, because
of their beseeching with hands extended palms together, would that man,
on the dissolution of the body, after death, reappear in a happy destina-
tion in the heavenly world V—c
No, venerable sir.'—'Gamani, suppose a
261/1 See SA. iii, 104.
251/2 Kamandalukd — Kundikd (Abhp. 443). SA has only 'sakamarida-
luno\
l
Kassa jalassa mando pasannabhdvo kamando, tarn lati ti kamandalu9
(Abhp. Tlka).
251/3 NettiA glosses uyydpenti ('urge') by upari ydpenti (= SA. iii, 104),
and sanndpenti ('coerce') by sammd ydpenti (p. 92; SA: sammd ndpenti—
a misspelling?). So sanndpenti appears as a spelling of samydpenti (cf.
safinojana for samyojana), and both words are causatives fm. \/yd with
prefixes u(d) and sam respectively. Neither is in PED. (Sanndpeti is also
a possible causative form of sanjdndti, but that is not meant here.)
251/4 NettiA has uggamenti for okkamenti, supported by C; Ba and Bb
support PTS.

man threw a big solid stone into a deep pool of water, and then a large
body of people [46] met and foregathered, and they begged and they
implored and they beseeched ivith hands extended palms together "Oh
sirs, let the solid stone emerge, oh sirs, let the solid stone float up, oh
sirs, let the solid stone float to dry land", how do you conceive this,
Gamani, because of their begging, because of their imploring, because of
their beseeching with hands extended palms together, would thai solid
stone emerge, would it float up, would it float to dry land V—'No,
venerable sir.'—'So toe, Gamani, when a man is a killer of breathing
things, . . . and wrong in his view, for all that a large body of people
might meet and foregather and might beg and implore and beseech with
hands extended palms together "Oh let this man, on the dissolution of
the body, after death, reappear in a good destination, in the heavenly
world", yet that man, on the dissolution of the body, after death, might
reappear in a state of unease, in a bad destination, in perdition, in hell.
How do you conceive this, Gamani ? Here a man might have abstained
from killing breathing things, . . . right in his view. Then a large body
of people met and foregathered and they begged and implored cmd
beseeched with hands extended palms together "Oh let this man, on the
dissolution of the body, after death, reappear in a state of unease, in a
bad destination, in perdition, in hell", how do you conceive this,
Gamani, because of that large body of people's begging, because of their
imploring, because of their beseeching with hands extended palms
together, would that man, on the dissolution of the body, after death,
reappear in a state of unease, in a bad destination, in perdition, in
hell V—'No, venerable sir.'—'Gamani, suppose a man sank a ghee-pot
or an oil-pot in a deep water-pool and fixed it so that any sand or gravel
there might be in it would go to the bottom and any ghee or oil there
might be in it would go to the top, and then a large body of people met
and foregathered and they begged and implored and beseeched with
hands extended palms together "Oh sirs, let the ghee, the oil, sink; oh
sirs, let the ghee, the oil, go down", how do you conceive this, Gamani,
[47] because of that large body of people's begging, because of their
imploring, because of their beseeching with hands extended palms
together, would that ghee, that oil, sink down, go down V—'No, venerable
sir.' 'So too, Gamani, when a man abstains from killing breathing
things, . . . right in his view, for all that a large body of people might
meet and foregather and might beg and implore and beseech with hands
extended palms together "Oh let this man, on the dissolution of the
body, after death, reappear in a state of unease, in a bad destination, in
perdition, in hell", yet that man, on the dissolution of the body, after

death, might reappear in a good destination, in the heavenly world' )
(8. iv, 312ff.).
So it is this True Idea that, when walked in right, guards one
from the states of unease.
252. (2) Herein, it is the keenness, the outstandingness, of the Path
that is the 'True Idea' which, when walked in right, guards one from
all kinds of reappearing. Accordingly the Blessed One said:
(So let his cognizance be guarded,
1
Having for pasture right intention,
Giving right view first place through knowing
Rise and fall; transcending drowsing
And lethargy, the bhikkhu may
Abandon all bad destinations) (Ud. 38).
253. Herein, the cause of the bad destinations is craving and
ignorance. These are the four kinds of assuming (see §228).
254. Any categories of assuming [so called] in virtue of these four
kinds of assuming are Suffering. The four kinds of assuming are
Origin, while the five categories are Suffering. The Blessed One
teaches the True Idea for their [respective] diagnosis and aban-
doning : for the diagnosis of Suffering and for the abandoning of its
Origin.
255. Herein, the five faculties that have form are the footing for
craving while the mind-faculty is the footing for ignorance.
256. One who guards the five faculties that have form keeps con-
centration in being and deters craving, while one who guards the
mind-faculty keeps insight in being and deters ignorance.
257. With the deterrence of craving two kinds of assuming are
abandoned, namely sensual-desire assuming and virtue-and-duty
assuming, while with the deterrence of ignorance two kinds of
assuming are abandoned, namely view assuming and self-doctrine
assuming.
258. [48] When the four kinds of assuming are abandoned, two ideas
come to fulfilment through keeping in being, namely quiet and
insight: this is called the Divine Life.
259. Herein, the fruit of the Divine Life is the four fruits of the
monk's state, namely the fruit of Stream-Entry, fruit of Once-
Return, fruit of Non-Return and the highest fruit which is Arahant-
ship. These are the four fruits of the Divine Life (cf. Pe 130, 135).
252/1 Resolving rakkhitacittassa into rakkhitacitto assa.

260. So there are the first two Truths, namely Suffering and its
Origin (§254); and quiet and insight and the Divine Life are the
Path; and the fruits of the Divine Life and the Undetermined
Element, which is the object of these,
1
are Cessation. These are
the four Truths. That is why the Blessed One said 'The True Idea
guards . . .' (§250).
261. Herein, that by the penetration of which it guards is Suffering.
That from which it guards is Origin. That by which it guards is the
Path. And that which guards is Cessation (cf. §249). These are
the four Truths.
262. That is why the venerable Maha-Kaccana said:
'The Mode that, when there is one Footing,
Searches for a footing that remains
And then converts the opposites
Is that Conveying a Conversion' (§11).
The Mode Conveying a Conversion k ended.