THE PATH
OF PURIFICATION
(VISUDDHIMAGGA)
BY
BHADANTACARIYA BUDDHAGHOSA
Translated from the Pali
by
BHIKKHU NANAMOLI
FIFTH EDITION
BUDDHIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY
Kandy Sri Lanka
CHAPTER XIII
OTHER DIRECT-KNOWLEDGES
(Abhinna-niddesa)
[(2) THE DIVINE EAR ELEMENT]
1. [407] It is now the turn for the description of the divine ear element.
Herein, and also in the case of the remaining three kinds of direct-knowl-
edge, the meaning of the passage beginning *When his concentrated
mind ... ' (D.i,79) should be understood in the way already stated (Ch.XII,
§13f.); and in each case we shall only comment on what is different.
[The text is as follows: 'He directs, he inclines, his mind to the divine
ear element. With the divine ear element, which is purified and surpasses
the human, he hears both kinds of sounds, the divine and the human,
those that are far as well as near' (D.i,79).]
2. Herein, with the divine ear element: it is divine here because of its
similarity to the divine; for deities have as the divine ear element the
sensitivity that is produced by kamma consisting in good conduct and is
unimpeded by bile, phlegm, blood, etc., and capable of receiving an
object even though far off because it is liberated from imperfections.
And this ear element consisting in knowledge, which is produced by the
power of this bhikkhu's energy in development, is similar to that, so it is
'divine' because it is similar to the divine. Furthermore, it is 'divine'
because it is obtained by means of divine abiding and because it has
divine abiding as its support. And it is an 'ear element' (sota-dhdtu) in
the sense of hearing (savana) and in the sense of being a soulless [ele-
ment]. Also it is an 'ear element' because it is like the ear element in its
performance of an ear element's function. With that divine ear element
... he hears ...
Which is purified: which is quite pure through having no imperfec-
tion. And surpasses the human: which in the hearing of sounds sur-
passes, stands beyond, the human ear element by surpassing the human
environment.
3. He hears both kinds of sounds: he hears the two kinds of sounds.
What two? The divine and the human: the sounds of deities and of
human beings, is what is meant. This should be understood as partially
inclusive. Those that are far as well as near: what is meant is that he
hears sounds that are far off, even in another world-sphere, and those
that are near, even the sounds of the creatures living in his own body.
This should be understood as completely inclusive.
4. But how is this [divine ear element] aroused? The bhikkhu [408]
should attain jhana as basis for direct-knowledge and emerge. Then, with
the consciousness belonging to the preliminary-work concentration,
1
he
should advert first to the gross sounds in the distance normally within
range of hearing: the sound in the forest of lions, etc., or in the monas-
tery the sound of a gong, the sound of a drum, the sound of a conch, the
sound of recitation by novices and young bhikkkhus reciting with full
vigour, the sound of their ordinary talk such as 'What, venerable sir?',
'What, friend?', etc., the sound of birds, the sound of wind, the sound of
footsteps, the fizzing sound of boiling water, the sound of palm leaves
drying in the sun, the sound of ants, and so on. Beginning in this way
with quite gross sounds, he should successively advert to more and more
subtle sounds. He should give attention to the sound sign of the sounds
in the eastern direction, in the western direction, in the northern direc-
tion, in the southern direction, in the upper direction, in the lower direc-
tion, in the eastern intermediate direction, in the western intermediate
direction, in the northern intermediate direction, and in the southern
intermediate direction. He should give attention to the sound sign of
gross and of subtle sounds.
2
5. These sounds are evident even to his normal consciousness; but they
are especially evident to his preliminary-work-concentration conscious-
ness.
3
As he gives his attention to the sound sign in this way, [thinking]
'Now the divine ear element will arise', mind-door adverting arises mak-
ing one of these sounds its object. When that has ceased, then either four
or five impulsions impel, the first three, or four, of which are of the
sense sphere and are called preliminary-work, access, conformity, and
change-of-lineage, while the fourth, or the fifth, is fine-material-sphere
absorption consciousness belonging to the fourth jhana.
6. Herein, it is knowledge arisen together with the absorption con-
sciousness that is called the divine ear element. After that [absorption
has been reached, the divine ear element] becomes merged in that ear [of
knowledge].
4
When consolidating it, he should extend it by delimiting a
single finger-breadth thus, 'I will hear sounds within this area', then two
finger-breadths, four finger-breadths, eight finger-breadths, a span, a ra-
tana (= 24 finger-breadths), the interior of the room, the verandah, the
building, the surrounding walk, the park belonging to the community,
the alms-resort village, the district, and so on up to the [limit of the]
world-sphere, or even more. This is how he should extend it by delim-
ited stages.
7. One who has reached direct-knowledge in this way hears also by
means of direct-knowledge without re-entering the basic jhana any sound
that has come within the space touched by the basic jhana's object. And
in hearing in this way, even if there is an uproar with sounds of conches,
drums, cymbals, etc., right up to the Brahma-world [409] he can, if he
wants to, still define each one thus, 'This is the sound of conches, this is
the sound of drums'.
The explanation of the divine ear element is ended.
[(3) PENETRATION OF MINDS]
8. As to the explanation of knowledge of penetration of minds, [the
text is as follows: 'He directs, he inclines, his mind to the knowledge of
penetration of minds. He penetrates with his mind the minds of other
beings, of other persons, and understands them thus: he understands [the
manner of] consciousness affected by greed as affected by greed, and
understands [the manner of] consciousness unaffected by greed as unaf-
fected by greed; he understands consciousness affected by hate as
affected by hate, and consciousness unaffected by hate as unaffected
by hate; he understands consciousness affected by delusion as affected
by delusion, and consciousness unaffected by delusion as unaffected
by delusion; he understands cramped consciousness as cramped, and
distracted consciousness as distracted; he understands exalted conscious-
ness as exalted, and unexalted consciousness as unexalted; he under-
stands surpassed consciousness as surpassed and unsurpassed conscious-
ness as unsurpassed; he understands concentrated consciousness as
concentrated and unconcentrated consciousness as unconcentrated; he
understands the liberated [manner of] consciousness as liberated, and the
unliberated [manner of] consciousness as unliberated' (D.i,79)]. Here, it
goes all found (pariydti), thus it is penetration (pariya); the meaning
is that it delimits (paricchindati). The penetration of the heart (cetaso
pariyarh) is 'penetration of minds' (cetopariya). It is penetration of hearts
and that is knowledge, thus it is knowledge of penetration of minds
(cetopariyandna). [He directs his consciousness] to that, is what is
meant.
Of other beings: of the rest of beings, himself excluded. Of other
persons: this has the same meaning as the last, the wording being varied
to suit those susceptible of teaching [in another way], and for the sake of
elegance of exposition. With his mind the minds: with his [manner of]
consciousness the [manner of] consciousness of other beings. Having
penetrated (paricca): having delimited all round. He understands: he un-
derstands them to be of various sorts beginning with that affected by
greed.
9. But how is this knowledge to be aroused? That is successfully done
through the divine eye, which constitutes its preliminary work. Therefore
the bhikkhu should extend light, and he should seek out (pariyesitabba)
another's [manner of] consciousness by keeping under observation with
the divine eye the colour of the blood present with the matter of the
physical heart as its support.
5
For when [a manner of] consciousness
accompanied by joy is present, the blood is red like a banyan-fig fruit;
when [a manner of] consciousness accompanied by grief is present, it is
blackish like a rose-apple fruit; when [a manner of] consciousness ac-
companied by serenity is present, it is clear like sesamum oil. So he
should seek out another's [manner of] consciousness by keeping under
observation the colour of the blood in the physical heart thus
4
This
matter is originated by the joy faculty; this is originated by the grief fac-
ulty; this is originated by the equanimity faculty', and so consolidate his
knowledge of penetration of hearts.
10. It is when it has been consolidated in this way that he can gradually
get to understand not only all manner of sense-sphere consciousness but
those of fine-material and immaterial consciousness as well by tracing
one [manner of] consciousness from another without any more seeing
the physical heart's matter. For this is said in the Commentary: 'When
he wants to know another's [manner of] consciousness in the immaterial
modes, whose physical-heart matter can he observe? Whose material
alteration [originated] by the faculties can he look at? No one's. The
province of a possessor of supernormal power is [simply] this, namely,
wherever the [manner of] consciousness he adverts to is, there he knows
it according to these sixteen classes'. But this explanation [by means of
the physical heart] is for one who has not [yet] done any interpreting.
6
11. As regards [the manner of\ consciousness affected by greed, etc., the
eight [manners of] consciousness accompanied by greed (see Table HI,
nos.(22)-(29)) [410] should be understood as [the manner of] conscious-
ness affected by greed. The remaining profitable and indeterminate [man-
ners of] consciousness in the four planes are unaffected by greed. The
four, namely, the two consciousnesses accompanied by grief (nos. (30)
and (31)), and the two consciousnesses [accompanied respectively by]
uncertainty (32) and agitation (33) are not included in this dyad, though
some elders include them too. It is the two consciousnesses accompanied
by grief that are called consciousness affected by hate. And all profitable
and indeterminate consciousnesses in the four planes are unaffected by
hate. The remaining ten kinds of unprofitable consciousnesses (nos. (22)-
(29) and (32) and (33)) are not included in this dyad, though some elders
include them too. Affected by delusion ... unaffected by delusion: here
only the two, namely, that accompanied by uncertainty and that accom-
panied by agitation, are affected by delusion simplicitur [without being
accompanied by the other two unprofitable roots]. But [all] the twelve
kinds of unprofitable consciousnesses (nos. (22)-(33)) can also be under-
stood as [the manner of] consciousness affected by delusion since delu-
sion is present in all kinds of unprofitable consciousnesses. The rest are
unaffected by delusion.
12. Cramped is that attended by stiffness and torpor. Distracted is that
attended by agitation. Exalted is that of the fine-material and immaterial
spheres. Unexalted is the rest. Surpassed is all that in the three [mun-
dane] planes. Unsurpassed is the supramundane. Concentrated is that
attained to access and that attained to absorption. Unconcentrated is that
not attained to either. Liberated is that attained to any [of the five kinds
of] deliverance, that is to say, deliverance by substitution of opposites
[through insight], by suppression [through concentration], by cutting off
[by means of the path], by tranquillization [by means of fruition], and by
renunciation [as nibbana] (see Ps.i,26 under 'abandoning'). Unliberated
is that which has not attained to any of the five kinds of liberation.
So the bhikkhu who has acquired the knowledge of penetration of
hearts understands all these [manners of consciousness, namely, the man-
ner of] consciousness affected by greed as affected by greed ... [the
unliberated manner of] consciousness as unliberated.
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