THE PATH
OF PURIFICATION
(VISUDDHIMAGGA)
BY
BHADANTACARIYA BUDDHAGHOSA
Translated from the Pali
by
BHIKKHU NANAMOLI
FIFTH EDITION
BUDDHIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY
Kandy Sri Lanka
[IF THE IMMATERIAL FAILS TO BECOME EVIDENT]
15. [591] But if he has discerned materiality in one of these ways, and
while he is trying to discern the immaterial it does not become evident to
him owing to its subtlety, then he should not give up but should again
and again comprehend, give attention to, discern, and define materiality
only. For in proportion as materiality becomes quite definite, disen-
tangled and quite clear to him, so the immaterial states that have that
[materiality] as their object become plain of themselves too.
16. Just as, when a man with eyes looks for the reflexion of his face in a
dirty looking-glass and sees no reflexion, he does not throw the looking-
glass away because the reflexion does not appear; on the contrary, he
polishes it again and again, and then the reflexion becomes plain of itself
when the looking-glass is clean,—and just as, when a man needing oil
puts sesamum flour in a basin and wets it with water and no oil comes
out with only one or two pressings, he does not throw the sesamum flour
away; but on the contrary, he wets it again and again with hot water and
squeezes and presses it, and as he does so clear sesamum oil comes
out,—or just as, when a man wanting to clarify water has taken a katuka
nut and put his hand inside the pot and rubbed it once or twice but the
water does not come clear, he does not throw the katuka nut away; on
the contrary, he rubs it again and again, and as he does so the fine mud
subsides and the water becomes transparent and clear,—so too, the
bhikkhu should not give up, but he should again and again comprehend,
give attention to, discern and define materiality only.
17. For in proportion as materiality becomes quite definite, disentangled
and quite clear to him, so the defilements that are opposing him subside,
his consciousness becomes clear like the water above the [precipitated]
mud, and the immaterial states that have that [materiality] as their object
become plain of themselves too. And this meaning can also be explained
in this way by other analogies such as the [pressing of] sugarcane, [the
beating of] criminals [to make them confess], [the taming of] an ox, the
churning of curds [to produce butter], and [the cooking of] fish.
[HOW THE IMMATERIAL STATES BECOME EVIDENT]
18. When he has quite cleared up his discerning of materiality, then the
immaterial states become evident to him through one of three aspects,
that is, through contact, through feeling, or through consciousness. How?
19. I. (a) When he discerns the [four primary] elements in the way be-
ginning 'The earth element has the characteristic of hardness' (Ch. XI,
§93), contact becomes evident to him as the first conjunction. Then the
feeling associated with that as the feeling aggregate, the associated per-
ception as the perception aggregate, the associated volition together with
the aforesaid contact as the formations aggregate, and the associated
consciousness as the consciousness aggregate.
I. (b) [592] Likewise [when he has discerned them in this way,]
'In the head hair it is the earth element that has the characteristic of
hardness ... in the in-breaths and out-breaths it is the earth element that
has the characteristic of hardness' (Ch. XI, §31), contact becomes evi-
dent as the first conjunction. Then the feeling associated with it as the
feeling aggregate, ... the associated consciousness as the consciousness
aggregate.
This is how immaterial states become evident through contact.
20. 2. (a) To another [who discerns the four primary elements in the
way beginning] 'The earth element has the characteristic of hardness',
the feeling that has that as its object and experiences its stimulus [as
pleasant, etc.,] becomes evident as the feeling aggregate, the perception
associated with that as the perception aggregate, the contact and the
volition associated with that as the formations aggregate, and the con-
sciousness associated with that as the consciousness aggregate.
2. (b) Likewise [to one who discerns them in this way] 'In the head
hair it is the earth element that has the characteristic of hardness ... in
the in-breaths and out-breaths it is the earth element that has the charac-
teristic of hardness', the feeling that has that as its object and experi-
ences its stimulus becomes evident as the feeling aggregate ... and the
consciousness associated with that as the consciousness aggregate.
This is how the immaterial states become evident through feeling.
21. 3. (a) To another [who discerns the four primary elements in the
way beginning] 'The earth element has the characteristic of hardness',
the consciousness that cognizes the object becomes evident as the con-
sciousness aggregate, the feeling associated with it as the feeling aggre-
gate, the associated perception as the perception aggregate, and the asso-
ciated contact and volition as the formations aggregate.
3. (b) Likewise [to one who discerns them in this way] 'In the head
hair it is the earth element that has the characteristic of hardness ... in
the in-breaths and out-breaths it is the earth element that has the charac-
teristic of hardness', the consciousness that cognizes the object becomes
evident as the consciousness aggregate ... and the associated contact and
volition as the formations aggregate.
This is how the immaterial states become evident through conscious-
ness.
22. In the case of [the ways of discerning materiality as consisting of]
the 42 aspects of the elements beginning with the head hairs [that is, 32
aspects of the body, 4 aspects of the fire element and 6 aspects of the air
element,] either by these same means given above or by means of the
method beginning 'In the kamma-originated head hairs it is the earth
element that has the characteristic of hardness'—and also in the case of
the methods of discerning materiality as consisting of the eye, etc.—by
means of the four primary elements in each, the construing should be
done by working out all the differences in each method.
23. Now it is only when he has become quite sure about discerning
materiality in this way that immaterial states become quite evident to
him in the three aspects. Therefore he should only undertake the task of
discerning the immaterial states after he has completed that, not other-
wise. If he leaves off discerning materiality when, say, one or two
material states have become evident in order to begin discerning the
immaterial, then he falls from his meditation subject like the mountain
cow already described under the Development of the Earth Kasina
(Ch. IV,§130). [593] But if he undertakes the task of discerning the im-
material after he is already quite sure about discerning materiality thus,
then his meditation subject comes to growth, increase and perfection.
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