Dhamma-Sangani - THE GENESIS OF THOUGHTS - Thought engaged upon the Higher Ideal

A BUDDHIST MANUAL
Psychological Ethics,
FROM THE PALI
OF THE
DHAMMA-SANGANI

Translated by CAROLINE A. F. RHYS DAVIDS, M.A.

[Chapter V.
Thought engaged upon the Higher Ideal (lokuttaram
cittam).
I. The First Path (pathamo maggo.)^
The Twenty Great Methods (visati mahanaya).
1. Rapt Meditation (jhanam).
(i.) The Four Modes of Progress in Purification (sud-
dhika-patipada).]
[277] Which are the states that are good ?
When he cultivates the Jhana of the Higher Ideal (the
rapt meditation), whereby there is a going forth and onward,
making for the undoing of rebirth^—and when, that he
^ That is to say, the first stage of the way or course
of life leading to Arahatship or Nirvana. In the answers,
bhumi (Stage) is substituted for Path. And the 'First
Bhumi ' is declared in the Cy. (pp. 214, 215) to be equiva-
lent to the first-fruits (or fruition) of recluseship (c/. D. i.,
second sutta) ; in other words, to the fruit of sotapatti,
or of *
conversion,' as it has been termed.
2 The special kind of Jhana which he who has turned
his back on the three lower ideals of life in the worlds of
sense, form, or the formless, and has set his face steadfastly
toward Arahatship, must '
practise, bring forth and develop,'
is described by Buddhaghosa as being ekacittakkhani-
kam appana-jhan'am—rapt meditation on a concept
induced by the momentary flash of a thought {cf. K. V.,
pp. 620, 458)—and by the text itself as niyyanikam
apacayagamim. The former of these two last terms
is thus commented upon :
'
It is a going forth (down from)
the world, from the cycle of rebirth. Or, there is a going


may attain to the First Stage, he has put away views and
opinions/ and so, aloof from sensuous appetites, aloof
from evil ideas, enters into and abides in the First Jhana,
wherein conception works and thought discursive, which is
born of solitude, is full of joy and ease, progress thereto
being difficult and intuition sluggish—then there is contact,
feeling, perception, thinking, thought, conception, discursive
thought, joy, ease, self-collectedness, the faculties of faith,
energy, mindfulness, concentration, wisdom, ideation, hap-
piness, vitality, and the faculty of believing^
*
I shall come
to know the unhiowUy'^ right views, right intention, right
speech, right action , right livelihood,^ right endeavour, right
forth by means of it. The man who is filled with it, com-
prehending 111, goes forth, putting away the uprising (of
111) goes forth, realizing the cessation (of 111) goes forth,
cultivating the path (leading to that cessation) goes forth.'
And the latter term : This is not like that heaping together
and multiplying of rebirth effected by the good which
belongs to the three worlds of being. This is even as a
man who, having heaped up a stockade eighteen cubits
high, should afterwards take a great hammer and set to
work to pull down and demolish his work. For so it, too,
sets about pulling down and demolishing that potency for
rebirth heaped up by the three-world-good, by bringing
abont a deficiency in the causes thereof.
^ Ditthigatani, lit. resorting to views. All traditions
or speculations adhered to either without evidence or on in-
sufficient evidence, such as are implied in the states called
'
theory of individuality, perplexity, and the contagion of
mere rule and ritual' (Asl. 214; infra, §§ 1002-1005).
2 The italics show those constituents of consciousness
wherein this Jhana differs from that mentioned in § 160,
the constituents of which are identical with those of the
First Type of Good Thought, § 1.
^ These three factors of the '
Eightfold Path,' which were
not explicitly included in the Eight Types of Good Thoughts,
were, according to the Cy., included implicitly in the '
or-
whatever-states.' See above, p. 5, n. 1. Here the Cy. only
remarks that, whereas these three are now * included in the
Pali ' because the Eightfold Path has Nirvana for its goal,


mindfulness, right concentration; the powers of faith,
energy, mindfulness, concentration, wisdom, conscientious-
ness, the fear of blame ; the absence of lust, hate, dulness,
covetousness and malice, right views, conscientiousness, the
fear of blame, serenity, lightness, plasticity, facility, fitness
and directness in both sense and thought, mindfulness,
intelligence, quiet, insight, grasp and balance.
Now these—or whatever other incorporeal, causally
induced states there are on that occasion—these are states
that are good.
[278-282] *
Contact,' 'feeling,' 'perception,' 'thinking,'
and *
thought ' are described as in §§ 2-6.
[283] What on that occasion is conception ?
The ratiocination, the conception, which on that occasion
is the disposition, the fixation, the focussing, the application
of the mind, right intention, '
Path-component,' '
contained
in the Path '
^ —this is the conception that there then is.
[284] '
Discursive thought ' is described as in § 8.
[285] What on that occasion is joy?
The joy which on that occasion is gladness, rejoicing
at, rejoicing over, mirth, merriment, felicity, exultation,
transport of heart, the joy which is a factor in the Great
Awakening 2—this is the joy that there then is.
'
pity ' and *
sympathy ' are not included because they have
living beings for their object, and not Nirvana.
1 The Path being the 'Eightfold Path,' 'conception'
(vitakko) is reckoned as included in it, in virtue of its
being approximately equivalent to '
intention '
(sankappo).
2 Piti-sambojjhango. The seven Sambojjhangas are
enumerated in A. iv. 23 ; S. v. 110, 111 ; and also in
Mil. 340, where they are termed '
the jewel of the seven-
fold wisdom of the Arahats.' On the state called sam-
bodhi, see Pihys Davids, 'Dialogues of the Buddha,' i.,
pp. 190-192. It is in the Cy. (217) described as the harmony
of its seven constituent states, and as forming the opposite
to the detrimental compound consisting of the accumula-
tions of adhesion (linam) and excitement, indulgence in
the pleasures and satiety of sensuality, and addiction to the
speculations of Nihilism and Eternalism (below, § 1003).


[286] '
Ease ' is described as in § 10.
[287] What on that occasion is self-collectedness ?
The stability, solidity, absorbed steadfastness of thought
which on that occasion is the absence of distraction,
balance, imperturbed mental procedure, quiet, the faculty
and the power of concentration, right concentration, the
concentration which is a factor in the Great Awakening,
a * Path-component,' 'contained in the Path'—this is the
conception that there then is.
[288] '
Faith '
is described as in § 12.
[289] What on that occasion is the faculty of energy ?
The mental inception of energy which there is on that
occasion, the striving and the onward effort, the exertion
and endeavour, the zeal and ardour, the vigour and forti-
tude, the state of unfaltering effort, the state of sustained
desire, the state of unflinching endurance, the solid grip of
the burden, energy, energy as faculty and as power, right
energy, the energy which is a factor in the Great Awaken-
ing, a Path-component, contained in the Path—this is the
energy that there then is.
[290] What on that occasion is the faculty of mindful-
ness ?
The mindfulness which on that occasion is recollecting,
calling back to mind the mindfulness^ which is remember-
ing, bearing in mind, the opposite of superficiality and of
obliviousness ; mindfulness, mindfulness as faculty and as
power, right mindfulness, the mindfulness which is a factor
in the Great Awakening, a Path-component, contained in
the Path—this is the mindfulness that there then is.
[291] *
Concentration ' is described in the same terms as
'self-collectedness,' § 287.
The verb bujjhati is thus paraphrased: He arises from
the slumber of vice, or discerns the four Noble Truths, or
realizes Nirvana.
^ Sati, repeated as in § 14, has dropped out of the
printed text. K. repeats it.


[292] What on that occasion is the faculty of wisdom ?
The wisdom which there is on that occasion is under-
standing, search, research, searching the Truth, discern-
ment, discrimination, differentiation, erudition, proficiency,
subtlety, criticism, reflection, analysis, breadth, sagacity,
leading, insight, intelligence, incitement, wisdom as faculty
and as power, wisdom as a sword, as a height, as light, as
glory, as splendour, as a precious stone; the absence of
dulness, searching the Truth, right views, that searching
the Truth which is a factor in the Great Awakening,^ a
Path-component, contained in the Path—this is the wisdom
that there then is.
[293-295] The faculties of *
ideation,' *
happiness,' and
* vitality ' are described as in §§ 17-19.
[296] What on that occasion is the faculty of be-
lieving, *I shall come to know the unknown' (ananna-
taniiassamitindriyam)?^
The wisdom that makes for the realization of those
Truths^ that are unrealized, uncomprehended, unattained
^ Under the name of Dhammavicayo, searching the
truth, or doctrine, or religion.
2 According to Buddhaghosa (216), the inspiring sense
of assurance that dawns upon the earnest, uncompromising
student that he will come to know the doctrine of the great
truths—that Ambrosial Way unknown in the cycle of
worldly pursuits and consequences where the goal is not
ambrosial—is to him as the upspringing of a new faculty
or moral principle.
^ Tesam dhammanam . . . sacchikiriyaya paiina,
etc., which may more literally be rendered the wisdom (or
understanding, etc.) of, for, or from, the realization of,
etc. '
Bringing right opposite the eyes '
is the paraphrase
(Asl. 218). The student while 'in the First Path' learns
the full import of those concise formulae known as the
Four Noble Truths, which the Buddha set forth in his first
authoritative utterance. Previously he will have had mere
second-hand knowledge of them ; and as one coming to a
dwelling out of his usual beat, and receiving fresh garland
and raiment and food, realizes that he is encountering new


to, undiscerned, unknown—the wisdom that is understand-
ing, search, research, searching the Truth, etc.
[Continue as in § 292.]
[297] What on that occasion are right views ?
Anstver as for *
wisdom,' § 292.
[298] * Eight intention ' is described in the same terms as
' conception,' § 283.
[299] What on that occasion is right speech (samma-
Vaca) ?
To renounce on that occasion, abstain and refrain from,
and feel averse to, the four errors of speech,^ to leave them
uncommitted and undone, to incur no guilt, nor to trespass
nor transgress with respect to them, to destroy the causeway-
leading to them^—right speech, a Path-component, contained
in the Path—this is the right speech that there then is.
[300] What on that occasion is right action (samma-
kammanto)?
To renounce on that occasion, abstain and refrain from,
and feel averse to, the three errors of conduct,^ to leave them
uncommitted and undone, to incur no guilt, nor to trespass
nor transgress with respect to them, to destroy the causeway
leading to them—right conduct, a Path-component, contained
in the Path—this is the right conduct that there then is.
[301] What on that occasion is right livelihood (samma-
ajiVo) ?
To renounce on that occasion, abstain and refrain from,
and feel averse to, wrong modes of livelihood, to leave them
experiences, so are these truths, not known hitherto by
him, spoken of as '
unknown '
(Asl. 218).
^ That is, lying, slander, rude speech and frivolous talk.
See the Cula Sila, e.g., in D. i. 4.
^ Setughato, i.e., the cause or condition of evil speak-
ing—namely, lust, hate and dulness (Asl. 219). The
metaphor occurs in A. i. 220, 221, 261 ; ii. 145, 146.
^ That is, murder (of any living thing), theft and un-
chastity. D. i. 4.


unpractised and undone, to incur no guilt, nor to trespass
nor transgress with respect to them, to destroy the cause-
way leading to them—right livelihood, a Path-component,
contained in the Path—this is the right livelihood that
there then is.
[302-304] ' Eight endeavour,' ' right mindfulness,' 'right
concentration,'^ are described as in §§ 289-291.
[305-311] The 'powers' of 'faith,' 'energy,' 'mindful-
ness,' '
concentration ' and '
wisdom ' are described as in
§§ 288-292; those of 'conscientiousness' and 'the fear of
blame' as in §§ 30, 31.
[312-319] 'The absence of lust' and 'the absence of
,hate ' are described as in §§ 32, 33 ;
*
the absence of dulness '
as in § 309 (' wisdom ') ;
'
the absence of covetousness '
and
'the absence of malice' are described as in §§ 35, 36;
'conscientiousness' and 'the fear of blame 'as in §§ 38,
39 ;
* right views '
as in § 292 or 309 (' wisdom ').
[320] What on that occasion is serenity of sense ?
The serenity, the composure which there is on that
occasion, the calming, the tranquillizing, the tranquillity
of the skandhas of feeling, perception and syntheses, the
serenity which is a factor in the Great Awakening—this
is the serenity of sense that there then is.
[321] What on that occasion is serenity of thought ?
The serenity, the composure which there is on that
occasion, the calming, the tranquillizing, the tranquillity
of the skandha of intellect, the serenity which is a factor
in the Great Awakening—this is the serenity of thought
that there then is.
[322-331] The remaining five attributes characterizing both
sense and thought '
on that occasion ' :
—' buoyancy,' 'plas-
ticity,' etc.
—
are described as in §§ 42-51.
[332-337] 'Mindfulness,' 'intelligence," quiet,' 'insight,'
'
grasp ' and '
balance ' are described as in § § 290, 292
(' wisdom '), 291, 292, 289 (' energy ') and 291 respectively.
^ Samadhi, before samboj jhango, has dropped out
of the printed text.


These, or whatever other incorporeal, causally induced
states there are on that occasion—these are states that are
good.
[Summary.]
[SSla] Now at that time
the skandhas are four,
the spheres are two,
the elements are two,
the nutriments are three,
the faculties are nine,
the Jhana is fivefold,
the Path is eightfold,
the powers are seven,
the causes are three,
contact, \
feeling,
perception,
thinking,
thought,
the skandhas of
feeling,
perception,
syntheses,
intellect,
the sphere of ideation,
the faculty of ideation,
the element of representative in-
tellection,
the sphere of a [representative]
state,
the element of a [representative]
state.
are each single [factors].
These, or whatever other incorporeal, causally induced
states there are on that occasion—these are states that are
good.


[Here the questions and answers concerning the first two,
of the four skandhas enumc^'ated are to he understood to
follow as in §§ 59-61.]
[338] What on that occasion is the skandha of syn-
theses ?
Contact,
thinking,^
conception,
discursive thought,
joy,
self-collectedness,
the faculties of
faith, concentration,
energy, wisdom,
mindfulness, vitality,
believing *
I shall come to know the unknown ;'
right views, right livelihood,
right intention, right endeavour,
right speech, right mindfulness,
right action, right concentration
;
the seven powers f
the absence of
lust, hate and dulness ;
the absence of
covetousness and malice,
right views
;
conscientiousness, the fear of blame
;
serenity, wieldiness,
buoyancy, fitness,
plasticity, directness
of sense and thought
;
mindfulness and intelligence
;
quiet and insight
;
grasp and balance.
^ The printed text has vedana instead of ce tan a, which
is obviously wrong.
^ These are set out in the original as in § 277.


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.
* -if- -x- -x- * *
[Questions on the remaining items in the *
Summary ' ar^
understood to follow,]
[340]^ Which are the states that are good ?
When he cultivates the Jhana of the Higher Ideal (the
rapt meditation), whereby there is a going forth and onward,
making for the undoing of rebirth—and when, that he
may attain to the First Stage, he has put away views and
opinions, and so, aloof from sensuous appetites, aloof from
evil ideas, enters into and abides in the First Jhana . . .
progress thereto being difficult, but intuition quick . . .
[or] [341] . . . progress thereto being easy, but intuition
sluggish . . .
[or] [342] . . . progress thereto being easy and intuition
quick—then the contact . . . the balance that arises
—
these . . . are states that are good.
[343] Repeat the Four Modes in the case of the 2nd to the
4th Jhana on the Fourfold System, and of the \st to the 5th
Jhana on the Fivefold System,
[Here end] the Modes of Progress in Purification.
[(ii.) The Section on Emptiness (sunnatam).^]
(a and h,)
[344] Which are the states that are good ?
When he cultivates the Jhana of the Higher Ideal (the
^ The answer marked [339] in the text is merely a repeti-
tion of lokuttara-jhanam as dukkhapatipadam dan-
dhabhifinam, i.e., of the first '
Mode of Progress '
given in
[277]. I have therefore omitted it. No repetition is noticed
in this connexion by the Cy. K. has no such repetition.
^ Called in the Cy. (221) sunfiata-varo, with the sub-
sections suddhika-sunnata, or *
Emptiness applied to


rapt meditation), whereby there is a going forth and onward,
making for the undoing of rebirth—and when, that he
may attain to the First Stage, he has put away views and
opinions, and so, aloof from sensuous appetites, aloof from
evil ideas, enters into and abides in the First Jhana,
wherein conception works and thought discursive, which
is born of solitude, is full of joy and ease, and which is
Empty—then the contact . . . the balance that arises
—
these . . . are states that are good.
[345] liepeat the 2nd to the 4th Jhanas on the Fourfold
System, and the 1st to the 5th on the Fivefold System, ivith
the addition in each case of the phrase *
and which is Empty.'
[Here ends] the *
Emptiness '
Section.
the purijfication-formula,' i.e., the group marked (a and h),
and suiinata-patipada, or 'the Modes of Progress taken
in connexion with Emptiness,' i.e., the group marked (c).
On the technical term '
emptiness,' see above, § 121, and
Khys Davids, *
Yogavacara's Manual,' pp. xxvii, xxviii. Of
the three '
riddles ' there discussed—' the empty, the aimless
and the signless'—only the first two are here prescribed
for cultivation. Buddhaghosa argues on the subject at
some length (Asl. 221-225). He explains that the three
terms are so many names for the way to the Ideal
(lokuttara-maggo), each throwing a special aspect of
it into greater relief than the other two, while yet no
advance can be made without all three concepts. The
advent of the Path as a conscious ideal is especially char-
acterized by insight into the fact that the sanskaras are
void of a permanent soul, and of all that conduces to happi-
ness. The virtue or quality of the Path, again, is wholly
emjity of lust, hate and dulness. So also is its object,
namely, Nirvana. But the chief import of * empty '
is said
to relate to the fact first named—the nonentity of any
substratum or soul in anything. The *
aimless ' applies
chiefly to the insight into dukkham, or the nature of pain
or ill. All aspiration or hankering after sanskaras withers
up under the penetration of such insight. By it, too, the
path of the Ideal becomes revealed. The third 'riddle,'
the *
signless '
—
i.e., the path conceived as free from the
three signs or false tenets of Permanence, Sorrow and Soul
—comes up for meditation later (§§ 506, 511, etc.).


[(c) The Modes of Progress, with *
Emptiness ' as the
Basis (sunnata-mulaka-patipada).]
[346] Which are the states that are good ?
When he cultivates the Jhana of the Higher Ideal . . .
and when, that he may attain to the First Stage, he . . .
enters into and abides in the First Jhana . . . progress
thereto being difficult and intuition sluggish, the method
being the concept of Emptiness—then the contact . . .
the balance that arises—these . . . are states that are
good.
[347-349] Repeat the same formula^ substituting in suc-
cession the three remaining Modes of Progress (§§ 176-179),
with the addition in each case of the plirase *
the method
being the concept of Emptiness.'
[350] Repeat the same formula, substituting in succession
the remaining Jhdnas on the Fourfold System and those on
the Fivefold System, and applying in each case the Four
Modes of Progress, ivith the additional phrase on *
Empti-
ness.'
[(ii.) The Aimless (appanihitam).
(a and b)].^
[351] Which are the states that are good ?
When he cultivates the Jhana of the Higher Ideal . . .
and when, that he may attain to the First Stage, he . . .
enters into and abides in the First Jhana . . . which is
born of solitude, is full of joy and ease, and which is
Aimless—then the contact . . . the balance that arises
—
these . . . are states that are good.
[352] Repeat the same formida, substituting the remaining
three, and the five Jhdnas in succession, with the addition in
each case of the phrase '
and which is Aimless.'
^ As in the foregoing, the Cy. {ihid.) co-ordinates this,
and the following section, with the two on *
emptiness,'
calling (a and b) suddhika-appanihita, and the next
group appanihita-patipada.


[(c) The Modes of Progress, with Aimlessness as the
Basis (appanihita-mulaka-patipada).]
[353] When he cultivates the Jhana of the Higher Ideal
. . . and when, that he may attain to the First Stage of
it, he . . . enters into and abides in the First Jhana . . .
progress whereto is difficult and intuition sluggish, the
method being the concept of Aimlessness—then the contact
. . . the balance that arises—these . . . are states that
are good.
[354-356] Repeat the same formula, substituting in suc-
cession the three remaining Modes of Progress, with the
addition in each case of the phrase *
the method being the
concept of Aimlessness.'
[357] Repeat the same formula, substituting in succession
the remaining three, and the five Jhanas, and applying in
each case the Four Modes of Progress, ivith the additional
phrase on *
Aimlessness.'
[2-20. The Eemaining Nineteen Great Methods.]
[358] Which are the states that are good ?
Here folloiv nineteen concepts, each of which can be sub-
stituted for *
the Jhana of the Higher Ideal ' in the precedhig
81 answers [§§ 277-357], as a vehicle in training the mind
for Arahatship. They are as follows
:
2. The Path of the Higher Ideal.
3. The Advance in Mindfulness^ toward the Higher
Ideal.
4. The System of Eight Efforts^ toward the Higher
Ideal.
5. The Series of Mystic Potencies^ applied to the Higher
Ideal.
6. The Faculty relating to the Higher Ideal.
7. The Power relating to the Higher Ideal.
^ Satipatthana. M. i. 56.
^ Sammappadhana. See below, § 1367.
^Iddhipada. See above, § 273 et seq.


8. The Great Awakening to the Higher Ideal.
9. The Truth of the Higher Ideal.
10. The Peace! ^f the Higher Ideal.
11. The Doctrine of the Higher Ideal.
12. The Skandha related to the Higher Ideal.
13. The Sphere of the Higher Ideal.
14. The Element of the Higher Ideal.
15. The Nutriment of the Higher Ideal.
16. Contact with the Higher Ideal.
17. Feeling relating to the Higher Ideal.
18. Perception relating to the Higher Ideal.
19. Thinking relating to the Higher Ideal.
20. Thought relating to the Higher Ideal.
[The Dominant Influences in the Modes of Progress
(adhipati).]
[359] Which are the states that are good ?
When he cultivates the Jhana of the Higher Ideal
. . . and when, that he may attain to the First Stage,
he . . . enters into and abides in the First Jhana . . .
progress whereto is painful and intuition sluggish, and the
dominant influence in which is desire, energy, a thought,
or investigation, then the contact . . . the balance that
arises—these are states that are good.
[360] Repeat this formula in the case of the remaining
three and five Jhanas.
[361] Repeat the foregoing [§§ 359, 360] in the case of
each of the nineteen remaining *
Great Methods.'
[Here ends] the First Path.
II. The Second Path.
[362] Which are the states that are good ?
When he cultivates the Jhana of the Higher Ideal (the
rapt meditation), whereby there is a going forth and onward,
making for the undoing of rebirth—and when, that he may
! Samatho. See above, § 54.


attain to the Second Stage, he has diminished the strength
of sensual passions and of maKce,^ and so, aloof from
sensuous appetites, aloof from evil ideas, enters into and
abides in the First Jhana . . . progress whereto is difficult
and intuition sluggish—then the contact . . . the faculty
of knowledge made perfect^ . . . the balance that arises
—
these . . . are states that are good.
•X- * * * * -x-
[Here ends] the Second Path.
m. The Third Path.
[363] Which are the states that are good ?
When he cultivates the Jhana of the Higher Ideal (the
rapt meditation), whereby there is a going forth and onward,
making for the undoing of rebirth—and when, that he
may attain to the Third Stage, he has put away the
entire residuum of sensual passions and of malice,^ and so,
1 Cf. D. i. 156 and M. P. S. 16, 17. It is striking that
here and in the following answer no diminution of moho
(dulness) is included. Cf., however, below, § 1134. Ignor-
ance ( = dulness) is only really conquered in the Fourth Path.
The diminution is described (Asl. 238) as coming to pass
in two ways : vicious dispositions arise occasionally and no
longer habitually, and when they do arise it is with an
attenuated intensity. They are like the sparse blades of
grass in a newly-mown field, and like a flimsy membrane
or a fly's wing.
2
Cf. § 296. The faith and hope of the Sotiipatti, or
student of the First Path, while struggling with the limita-
tions of his stage of knowledge (natamariyadam, the
Cy. calls them, p. 239), are now rewarded by his attain-
ment, as a Sakadagami, of that deepening philosophic
insight into the full implication of the * Four Truths
'
termed anna, or knowledge j^ar excellence, and applied,
in Buddhist writings, only to evolving or evolved Arahat-
ship. Cf. below, § 555.
^ These, which the Cy., in connexion with the Second
Path, termed collectively kilesa, are now referred to as
sannojanani. See § 1229 et scq. and § 1113 et seq.


aloof from sensuous appetites, aloof from evil ideas, enters
into and abides in the First Jhana . . . progress whereto
is difficult and intuition sluggish—then the contact . . .
the faculty of knowledge made perfect . . . the balance
that arises—these . . . states that are good.
[Here ends] the Third Path.
IV. The Fourth Path.
[364] Which are the states that are good ?
When he cultivates the Jhana of the Higher Ideal (the
rapt meditation), whereby there is a going forth and onward,
making for the undoing of rebirth, and when, that he may
attain the Fourth Stage, he has put away absolutely and
entirely all passion for Form, all passion for the Formless,
all conceit, excitement and ignorance, and so, aloof from
sensuous appetites, aloof from evil ideas, enters into and
abides in the First Jhana . . . progress whereto is difficult
and intuition sluggish—then the contact . . . the faculty of
knowledge made perfect . . . the balance that arises—these
. . . are states that are good.
[364a] What on that occasion is the faculty of knowledge
made perfect (annindriyam) ?
The wisdom that makes for the realization of those
truths that have been realized, comprehended, attained
to, discerned and known—the wisdom that is understand-
ing, search, research, searching the Truth, etc.
[Continue as in § 292.]
* * -x- * * *
These, or whatever other incorporeal, causally induced
states there are on that occasion, these are states that are
good.
[Here ends] the Fourth Path.
[Here ends] Thought engaged upon the Higher Ideal.