A BUDDHIST MANUAL
Psychological Ethics,
FROM THE PALI
OF THE
DHAMMA-SANGANI
Translated by CAROLINE A. F. RHYS DAVIDS, M.A.
[Summary.]
[410a] Now at that time
the skandhas are four,
etc.,
the faculties are five,
the Jhana is fourfold,
the Path is threefold,
etc.
[Continue as in § 397a.]
X- -X- -X- -X- -x- ^
[411] What on that occasion is the skandha of syn-
theses ?
Ansiver as in § 398, omitting both '
joy ' and '
wrong
views.'
:!« H< ^c ;- * >:c
VIII.
[412] Which are the states that are bad ?
Ansiver as in Thought VII., with the additional Jactor,
inserted as in Thoughts II,, IV., VI., of '
prompted by a
conscious motive.'^
IX.
[413] Which are the states that are bad ?
When a bad thought has arisen which is accompanied
by melancholy and associated with repugnance,"^ and which
has as its object a sight, a sound, a smell, a taste, a touch,
a mental state, or what not, then there is
contact,
feeling,
perception,
^ The Cy. gives no illustrations of this or the three pre-
ceding types of thought.
^ Pa tig ho, used (§ 1060) to describe do so, and again
(§ 597 et seq.) in connexion with sense-stimulation, as
*
reaction.'
thinking,
thought,
conception,
discursive thought,
distress,
self-collectedness
;
the faculties of
energy,
concentration,
ideation,
melancholy,
vitality
;
wrong intention,
wrong endeavour,
wrong concentration ;
the powers of
energy,
concentration,
unconscientiousness,
disregard of blame
;
hate,
dulness
;
malice
;
unconscientiousness,
disregard of blame,
quiet,
grasp,
balance.
These, or whatever other incorporeal, causally induced
states there are on that occasion—these are states that are
bad.
[414] The question arid answer on '
contact,' § 2.
[415] What on that occasion is feeling ?
The mental pain, the mental distress (dukkham),
which, on that occasion, is born of contact with the appro-
priate element of representative intellection ; the painful,
distressful sensation which is born of contact with thought;
the painful, distressful feeling which is born of contact with
thought—this is the distress that there then is.
[416, 417] What on that occasion is distress (dukkham)
. . . the faculty of melancholy (domanassindriyam)?
Ansivers as for * feeling ' in § 415, omitting *
with the
appropriate element of representative intellection.'
[418] What on that occasion is hate ?
The hate, hating, hatred which on that occasion is a
disordered temper, the getting upset,^ opposition, hostility,
churlishness,^ abruptness,^ disgust of heart—this is the
hate that there then is.
[419] What on that occasion is malice ?
Answer as for *
hate.'
•-;< '\- * * :!c 'Ai
Or whatever other incorporeal, causally induced states
there are on that occasion—these are states that are bad.
^ Vyapatti, vyapajjana. Cf. § 1060, n. 5. Here
the comment is pakatibhava-vijahanatthena = throw-
ing off a normal state (Asl. 258). *Like gruel that has
gone bad ' (Sum., 1. 211).
2 Candikkam. See J. P. T. S., 1891, p. 17 ; P. P. ii. 1
( = ii. 11). Smp. 297. Morris thinks candittam is the
right spelling. I incline to hold that the lectio difficilior
is more likely to be correct. The Cy. in four passages
spells with kk. K., by an oversight, has candittam in
the present passage, but kk in §§ 1060, 1314.
^ Asuropo. Eefers, according to the Cy. (258), to the
broken utterance of a man in a rage.
It is not a little curious that such constituents as * self-
collectedness,' '
quiet ' and '
balance ' should not be found
incompatible with hate as described above. *
Concentra-
tion '
is less incompatible, and it must be remembered that
all three states are described in the same terms. Hence,
if one stands, the others cannot fall. But see under
Thoughts X. and XII.
[Summary.]
[419a] Now, on that occasion
the skandhas are four,
etc.,
the faculties are five,
the Jhana is fourfold,
the Path is threefold,
the powers are four,
the causes are two,^
etc.
[Continue as in §§ 58-61.]
[420] What on that occasion is the skandha of syn-
theses ?
Contact,
, thinking,
conception,
discursive thought,
self-coUectedness
;
the faculties of
energy,
concentration,
vitality
;
wrong intention,
wrong endeavour,
wrong concentration
;
the powers of
energy,
concentration,
unconscientiousness,
disregard of blame
;
hate,
dulness
;
^ Namely, doso and moho.
malice
;
unconscientiousness,
disregard of blame,
quiet,
grasp,
balance.
These, or whatever other incorporeal, causally induced
states there are on that occasion, exclusive of the skandhas
of feeling, perception and intellect—these are the skandha
of syntheses.
X.
[421] Which are the states that are bad?
When a bad thought has arisen which is accompanied
by melancholy, associated with repugnance, and prompted
by a conscious motive, and which has as its object a sight
... or what not, then there is contact, etc.
[Continue as in Thought IX.]
XI.
[422] Which are the states that are bad ?
When a bad thought has arisen which is accompanied
by disinterestedness and associated with perplexity, and
which has as its object a sight, a sound, a smell, a taste,
a touch, a mental state, or what not, then there is
contact,
feeling,
perception,
thinking,
thought,
conception,
discursive thought,
disinterestedness,
self-collectedness
;
the faculties of
energy, disinterestedness,
ideation, vitality
;
wrong intention,
wrong endeavour
;
the powers of
energy,
unconscientiousness,
disregard of blame
;
perplexity
;
dulness
;
unconscientiousness,
disregard of blame,
grasp.
These, or whatever other incorporeal, causally induced
states there are on that occasion—these are states that are
bad.
[423] What on that occasion is contact ?
The usual formula.
[424] What on that occasion is self-collectedness ?
The sustaining of thought which there is on that occa-
sion^—this is the self-collectedness that there then is.
1 Buddhaghosa says on this passage (Asl. 259) :
*
Inas-
much as this weak form of thought has only the capacity
of keeping going, or persisting (pavatti thitimatta-
kam'), none of the other features of 'self-collectedness'
are here applied to it. It is clear, therefore, that the
'. . . pe . . .' after thiti in the text is a mistake.
And cf. K. * Concentration,' it will be noticed, as well as
'quiet' and *
balance,' are entirely omitted.
[425] What on that occasion is perplexity (vici-
kiccha)?!
The doubt, the hesitating, the dubiety, which on that
^ It is tempting to render vicikiccha by *
doubt.' It
would not be incorrect to do so. The dual state of mind
which is the etymological basis of dou-bt is shown in two
of the terms selected to describe the word. Again, the
objects of vicikiccha, as given in § 1004, are those to
which the term *
doubt,' in its ethico-religious sense, might
well be applied. But there are features in which the
Buddhist attitude of vicikiccha does not coincide with
doubt as usually understood in the West. Doubt is
the contrary of belief, confidence, or faith. Now, the
approximate equivalents of the latter — saddha and
pas ado—are not alluded to in the answer, as they might
be, for the purpose of contrast. Again, though this by
itself is also no adequate ground for not matching the
two terms in question, the etymology of the words is very
different. There is nothing of the dual, divided state of
mind in the structure of vicikiccha as -there is in that
of *
doubt.' Cikit is the desiderative or frequentative of
cit, to think; vi, the prefix, indicating either intensive or
distracted thinking. Thus, the etymology of the Indian
word lays stress on the dynamic rather than the static,
on the stress of intellection rather than the suspense of
inconclusiveness. When the term recurs (§ 1004), Buddha-
ghosa refers it to kiccho—to '
the fatigue incurred through
inability to come to a decision '
—a position nearer, psycho-
logically, to *
perplexity ' than to * doubt.' It is quite true
that, on etymological ground, neither is kankha a match
for our term 'doubt.' Kanks is to desire. The word
would seem to give the emotional and volitional comple-
ment of the intellectual state implied in vicikiccha, the
longing to escape into certainty and decision attendant on
the anxious thinking. Kankha, however, is not one of
any important category of ethical terms, as is vicikiccha;
besides, its secondary meaning—namely, of a matter sub
judice, or of the state of mind connected therewith (see Jat.
i. 165 ; M. i. 147)—seems to have superseded the primary
meaning, which is retained in akankhati (cf. Akan-
kheyya Sutta, M. i. 33). Hence, it can be fairly well
rendered by '
doubt.' I do not, then, pretend that *
per-
occasion is puzzlement/ perplexity ; distraction, standing
at cross-roads f collapse,^ uncertainty of grasp ; evasion,
hesitation f incapacity of grasping thoroughly,^ stiffness
of mind,^ mental scarifying^—this is the perplexity that
there then is.
plexity' is etymologically the equivalent of vicikiccha,
but I use it (1) to guard against a too facile assimilation
of the latter to the implications of *
doubt ' as used by us,
and (2) to throw emphasis on the *
mortal coil ' and tangle
of thought in one who, on whatever grounds, is sceptically
disposed.
^ Vimati, almost an exact parallel to vicikiccha, con-
noting as it does either intense or distraught mind-action.
2 Dvelhakam, dvedhapatho. Here we get to the
etymological idea in our own '
doubt.' The Cy. has, for
the one, *
to be swayed or shaken to and fro '
; for the
other, '
as a path branching in two, this being an obstacle
to attainment ' (259).
^ Samsayo, -the etymological equivalent of *
collapse.'
To succumb to one's inability to be persistently carrying
on such problems as, Is this permanent or impermanent ?
etc., says the Cy. (ibid.).
* Asappana, parisappana. According to the Cy.,
these mean, respectively, '
to relinquish ' (or slip down
from—osakkati; cf. Trenckner's 'Miscellany,' p. 60)
'
an object of thought through inability to come to a
decision,' and *to slip' (or run—sappati [vide sarp])
'
about on all sides from inability to plunge in.' Asl. 260.
^ Apariyogahana, employed to describe moho. See
§ 390.
^ I should not have hesitated to adopt, for thambhi-
tattam, chambhitattarn (vacillation), the alternate
reading in the Cy. (Asl. 260), were it not that the latter
])araphrases the term by saying 'the meaning is a con-
dition of denseness (or rigidity, thaddho). For when per-
plexity arises, one makes one's mind stiff (stubborn, dense,
thaddham).' K. also reads thambhitattam. Both
terms, however, though opposed in connotation, are derived
from the root stambh, to prop; and both are used to
[Summary.]
[425a] Now, at that time
the skandhas are four,
etc.,
the faculties are four,
the Jhana is fourfold,
the Path is twofold,
the powers are three,
the cause is one,^
etc.
[Continue as in § 58.]
[426] What on that occasion is the skandha of syn-
theses ?
Contact,
thinking,
conception,
discursive thought,
self-collectedness
;
the faculties of
energy,
vitality
;
describe the gaseous element, which, though it is vacil-
lating, holds solids apart. See below, § 965. There is the
further comment (AsL, ibid.) that, '
in respect of certainty,
inability to carry on the idea in the mind is meant.' Vici-
kiccha, then, though it implies active racking of the
brain, impedes progress in effective thinking, and results
in a mental condition akin to the denseness and apariyo-
gahana of moho.
^ Manovilekho. 'When perplexity arises, seizing the
object of thought, it scratches the mind, as it were ' (ibid.).
When the term is used to describe kukkuccam, or worry
(§ 1160), it is illustrated in the Cy. by the scaling of a
copper pot with an awl (araggam). Asl. 384,
^ Namely, moho.
wrong intention,
wrong endeavour
;
the powers of
energy,
unconscientiousness,
disregard of blame
;
perplexity,
dulness
;
unconscientiousness,
disregard of blame,
grasp.^
Or whatever other, etc.
[Continue as in § 420.]
XII.
[427] Which are the states that are bad ?
When a bad thought has arisen which is accompanied
by disinterestedness and associated with excitement, and
which has as its object a sight, a sound, a smell, a taste,
a touch, a mental state, or what not, then there is
contact,
feeling,
perception,
thinking,
thought,
conception,
discursive thought,
disinterestedness,
self-collectedness,
the faculties of
energy,
concentration,
ideation,
On the omission of '
balance,' c/. below, § 429, n.
disinterestedness,
vitality
;
wrong intention,
wrong endeavour,
wrong concentration
;
the powers of
energy,
concentration,
unconscientiousness,
disregard of blame
;
excitement
;
dulness
;
unconscientiousness,
disregard of blame,
quiet,
grasp,
balance.
These, or whatever other incorporeal, causally induced
states there are on that occasion—these are states that are
bad.
[428] Usual question and answer on '
contact.'
X- -5^ -X- if -X- -X-
[429] What on that occasion is excitement (uddhac-
cam)?
The excitement of mind which on that occasion is dis-
quietude, agitation of heart, turmoil of mind—this is the
excitement that there then is.^
^ Yam cittassa uddhaccarn avupasamo, cetaso
vikkhepo, bhantattam cittassa —idam vuccati
uddhaccarn. It seems clear that, whether or no ud-
dhaccarn can elsewhere be rendered by terms indicative
of a puffed-up state of mind (see Rhys Davids, 'Buddhism,'
p. 109; Warren, 'Buddhism in Translations,' p. 365 ; Neu-
mann, ' Die Eeden,' etc., 1., passim) , the specific meaning in
this connexion (Tattha katamam uddhaccarn) is the
antithesis of vupasamo, and the equivalent of vikkhepo.
[429a] Now, at that time
the skandhas are four,
etc.,
the faculties are five,
both of which are expressions about the meaning of which
there is little or no uncertainty. In Sanskrit auddhatya
is only found twice in later works, one of them Buddhist
{v. Bothl. and Both., s.v,), and there means wrestlings
a word used by ourselves for certain agitated, perfervid
mental states. That the term should be yoked with kuk-
kuccam (worry) in the Nivaranas (see §§ 1158-1160; and
cf. the cognate meaning in another allied pair, th ma-
mid dh am, §§ 1155-1157) goes far to rob it of implica-
tions of vanity or self-righteousness. (In 'Dialogues of
the Buddha,' i. 82, the former pair are rendered '
flurry
and worry.') Buddhaghosa gives little help ; but he dis-
tinguishes uddhaccam, as a struggling over one object of
thought (ekarammane vipphandati), from perplexity
as a struggling over divers objects of thought. The Bud-
dhists were apparently seeking for terms to describe a state
of mind antithetical to that conveyed by the designation
thinamiddham—stolidity and torpor. In the latter
there is excessive stability—the immobility not of a finely-
adjusted balance of faculties and values, but of an inert
mass. In the former (uddhacca-kukkuccam) there is
a want of equilibrium and adjustment. From some cause
or another the individual is stirred up, agitated, fussed;
in American idiom, 'rattled.'
What I have rendered 'turmoil' (bhantattam; more
literally, wavering, rolling, staggering) Buddhaghosa calls
vibhanti-bhavo {sic lege), bhantayana-bhantagon-
adinam viya (Asl. 260).
Whatever the exact meaning of uddhaccam may be,
there is enough to show that it is in great part antithetical
to some of the other constituents enumerated under the
Bad Thought in question—at least, when these are taken
in their full intention. I refer to the approximately
synonymous group :
'
self-collectedness,' '
concentration,'
'quiet' and 'balance.' The last, indeed (avikkhepo),
is a contradiction in terms to the phrase which describes
uddhaccam as cetaso vikkhepo! The text actually
omits it, but this is through mere inadvertence {cf. § 430).
the Jhana is fourfold,
the Path is threefold,
the powers are four,
the cause is one,
etc.
[Continue as in § 58.]
It is given in K., and the Cy. 'explicitly states (p. 260) that
there are twenty-eight constituents enumerated, fourteen
of them being described in terms of one or other of the
other fourteen. (If the reader will compare § 427 with
the corresponding descriptions given in §§ 2-57, he will
prove this to be correct.) Nor is there a word to comment
on, or explain away any apparent incongruity in the in-
clusion. There is only a short discussion, alluded to
already, on the relation of uddhaccam and vicikiccha.
Thoughts XI. and XII., as departing from the symmetrical
procedure of I. to IX., are said to be miscellaneous items,
and to be concerned with persistent attending to the idea
(arammane pavattanaka-cittani). And just as, if a
round gem and a tetragonal gem be sent rolling down an
inclined plane, the former's motion is uniform, while that
of the latter is from one position of rest to another, so
vicikiccha connotes a continual working of thought,
while uddhaccam works on one given basis at a time.
There being, then, as it would appear, this fairly close
analogy between *
perplexity ' and '
excitement,' it is fair
to assume that '
self-collectedness ' and its synonyms are
to be understood in Thought XII., as present in the feeble
degree to which they, or at least the first of them, is
present in Thought XI. (see § 424, n.). The compilers
were thus between two fires as to their logic. Either
avikkhepo must go to admit of the use of vikkhepo
—
in which case the synonyms of avikkhepo (samadhi,
etc.) must go too—or it and its synonyms must be re-
tained with a highly attenuated import. Possibly the
subject was conceived as agitated on some one point only,
but calm as to things in general.
[430] What on that occasion is the skandha of syn-
theses ?
Contact,
thinking,
conception,
discursive thought,
self-collectedness
;
the faculties of
energy, ,
concentration,
vitaUty;
wrong intention,
wrong endeavour,
wrong concentration
;
the powers of
energy,
concentration,
unconscientiousness,
disregard of blame
;
excitement
;
dulness
;
unconscientiousness,
disregard of blame,
quiet,
grasp,
balance.
Or whatever other, etc.
[Continue as in § 62.]
****** [Here end] the Twelve Bad Thoughts.
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