Visuddhimagga - Concentration—Conclusion: Nutriment and the Elements - Definition of the four elements I

THE PATH
OF PURIFICATION
(VISUDDHIMAGGA)
BY
BHADANTACARIYA BUDDHAGHOSA
Translated from the Pali
by
BHIKKHU NANAMOLI
FIFTH EDITION
BUDDHIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY
Kandy Sri Lanka


[DEFINING OF THE ELEMENTS: WORD DEFINITIONS]
27. Now comes the description of the development of the definition of
the four elements, which was listed as the 'one defining' next to the
perception of repulsiveness in nutriment (Ch. III, §105).
Herein, 'defining' (vavatthana) is determining by characterizing in-
dividual essences.
19
[The compound] catudhdtuvavatthdna ('four-element
defining') is [resolvable into] catunnam dhdtunarh vavatthanam ('defin-
ing of the four elements'). 'Attention given to elements', 'the meditation
subject consisting of elements' and 'defining of the four elements' all
mean the same thing.
This is given in two ways: in brief and in detail. It is given in brief
in the MahAsatipatthAna Sutta (D.ii,294), and in detail in the MahA-
hatthipadopama Sutta (M.i,185), the Rahulovada Sutta (M.i,421) and the
Dhatuvibhanga Sutta (M.iii,240).
[TEXTS AND COMMENTARY IN BRIEF]
28. It is given in brief in the MahAsatipatthAna Sutta, for one of quick
understanding whose meditation subject is elements, as follows:
'Bhikkhus, just as though a skilled butcher or butcher's apprentice had
killed a cow and were seated at the cross-roads [348] with it cut up into
pieces, so too, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu reviews this body however placed,
however disposed, as consisting of elements: In this body there are the
earth element, the water element, the fire element, and the air element'
(D.ii,294).20
29. The meaning is this: just as though a clever butcher, or his appren-
tice who worked for his keep, had killed a cow and divided it up and
were seated at the cross-roads, reckoned as the intersection of the main
roads going in the four directions, having laid it out part by part, so too a
bhikkhu reviews the body, however placed because it is in some one of
the four postures and however disposed because it is so placed, thus: In
this body there are the earth element, the water element, the fire ele-
ment, and the air element.


30. What is meant? Just as the butcher, while feeding the cow, bringing
it to the shambles, keeping it tied up after bringing it there, slaughtering
it, and seeing it slaughtered and dead, does not lose the perception 'cow'
so long as he has not carved it up and divided it into parts; but when he
has divided it up and is sitting there, he loses the perception 'cow' and
the perception 'meat' occurs; he does not think 'I am selling cow* or
'They are carrying cow away', but rather he thinks 'I am selling meat'
or 'They are carrying meat away'; so too this bhikkhu, while still a
foolish ordinary person—both formerly as a layman and as one gone
forth into homelessness— does not lose the perception 'living being' or
'man' or 'person' so long as he does not, by resolution of the compact
into elements, review this body, however placed, however disposed, as
consisting of elements. But when he does review it as consisting of
elements, he loses the perception 'living being' and his mind establishes
itself upon elements. That is why the Blessed One said: 'Bhikkhus, just
as though a skilled butcher ... were seated at the cross-roads ... so too,
bhikkhus, a bhikkhu ... air element'.
[IN DETAIL]
31. In the Mahahatthipadopama Sutta it is given in detail for one of not
over-quick understanding whose meditation subject is elements—and as
here so also in the Rahulovada and Dhatuvibhanga Suttas—as follows:
'And what is the internal earth element, friends? Whatever there is
internally in oneself that is hard, harsh,
21
and clung to (acquired through
kamma), that is to say, head hairs, body hairs, teeth, nails, skin, flesh,
sinews, bones, bone marrow, kidney, heart, liver, midriff, spleen, lungs,
bowels, entrails, gorge, dung, or whatever else there is internally in one-
self that is hard, harsh, and clung to—this is called the internal earth ele-
ment' (M.i,185). [349]
And: 'What is the internal water element, friends? Whatever there is
internally in oneself that is water, watery, and clung to, that is to say,
bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tears, grease, spittle, snot, oil of the
joints, and urine, or whatever else there is internally in oneself that is
water, watery, and clung to—this is called the internal water element'
(M.i,187).
And: 'What is the internal fire element, friends? Whatever there is
internally in oneself that is fire, fiery, and clung to, that is to say, that
whereby one is warmed, ages, and bums up, and whereby what is eaten,
drunk, chewed and tasted gets completely digested, or whatever else
there is internally in oneself that is fire, fiery, and clung to—this is
called the internal fire element' (M.i,188).
And: 'What is the internal air element, friends? Whatever there is


internally in oneself that is air, airy, and clung to, that is to say, up-going
winds, down-going winds, winds in the belly, winds in the bowels, winds
that course through all the limbs, in-breath and out-breath, or whatever
else there is internally in oneself that is air, airy, and clung to—this is
called the internal air element' (M.i,188).
32. Here is the commentary on the words that are not clear. Internally in
oneself (ajjhattarh paccattam): both these words are terms for what is
one's own (niyaka), since what is one's own is what is produced in one's
own self (attani jdtam); the meaning is, included in one's continuity
(sasantati-pariydpanna). This is called internal' (ajjhattarh = adhi + attd,
lit. 'belonging-to-self) because it occurs in self (attani—locative case)
just as in the world, speech among women (itthisu—loc. case) is called
'[speech] belonging-to-women' (adhitthi). And it is called 'in oneself
(paccattam) because it occurs owing to self (attdnarh paticca)
22
33. Hard: rigid. Harsh: rough. Herein, the first is a word for the charac-
teristic, while the second is a word for the mode; for the earth element is
characterized as hard, but its mode is rough, which is why it is called
'harsh'. Clung to: taken firmly [by kamma]; the meaning is, firmly taken,
seized, adhered to, as T, 'mine' (see §89f.).
34. That is to say: the word seyyathidarh ('that is to say') is a particle;
its meaning is 'What is that?'. Next, showing what that is, 'head hairs,
body hairs', etc., is said. And here the brain must be added since it has
to be understood that the earth element needs to be described in twenty
modes. Or whatever else: the earth element included in the remaining
three portions.
35. [350] It flows (appoti), flows on (pappoti), to such and such a place
as a state of streaming, thus it is water (dpo). The watery (dpo-gata) is
what is gone (gata) among such various kinds of water (dpo) as the
kamma-originated, and so on. What is that? It is what has the water
element's characteristic of cohesion.
36. Fire (tejo) [is definable] as heating (tejana). The fiery (tejo-gata) is
what is gone (gata\ in the way already described, among the kinds of
fire (tejo). What is that? It is what has the characteristic of heat. Whereby:
by means of which fire element, when excited, this body is warmed* be-
comes heated by the state of one-day fever,
23
and so on. Ages: whereby
this body grows old, reaches the decline of the faculties, loss of strength,
wrinkles, greyness, and so on. Burns up: whereby, when excited, it causes
this body to burn, and the person cries out 'I am burning, I am burning!'
and longs for ghee a hundred times washed and for gosisa sandalwood
ointment, etc., and for the breeze of a fan. And whereby what is eaten,
drunk, chewed and tasted gets completely digested: whereby the boiled
rice, etc., that is eaten, or the beverage, etc., that is drunk, or the hard


food consisting of flour biscuits, etc., that is chewed, the mango fruit,
honey, molasses, etc., that is tasted, gets completely cooked; gets its
juice, etc., extracted, is the meaning. And here the first three kinds of fire
element [that is to say, *is warmed', 'ages', and 'bums up'] are of four-
fold origination (Ch. XX, §27ff.), while the last is only kamma-origi-
nated.
37. Air (ydyo) [is definable] as blowing (vdyana). The airy (vdyo-gata)
is what is gone (gata), in the way already described, among the kinds of
air. What is that? It is what has the characteristic of distension.
24
Up-
going winds: winds (forces) mounting upwards that cause the occurrence
of vomiting, belching, and so on. Down-going winds: winds (forces) de-
scending downwards that expel excrement and urine. Winds in the belly:
winds (forces) outside the bowels. Winds in the bowels: winds (forces)
inside the bowels. Winds that course through all the limbs: winds (forces)
that produce flexing, extending, etc., and are distributed over the limbs
and the whole body by means of the network of veins (nerves). In-
breath: wind in the nostrils entering in. Out-breath: wind in the nostrils
issuing out. And here the first five are of fourfold origination. In-breath
and out-breath are consciousness-originated. [351]
In each instance the phrase or whatever else comprises respectively
the water element, the fire element, or the air element, included in the
other three portions.
38. So the four elements have been detailed in forty-two aspects, that is
to say, the earth element in twenty aspects, the water element in twelve,
the fire element in four, and the air element in six.
This, firstly, is the commentary on the texts here.
[METHOD OF DEVELOPMENT IN BRIEF]
39. As regards the method of development here, however, to discern the
elements in detail in this way, 'The head hairs are the earth element, the
body hairs are the earth element', appears redundant to a bhikkhu of
quick understanding, though the meditation subject becomes clear to him
if he gives his attention to it in this way: 'What has the characteristic of
stiffenedness is the earth element, what has the characteristic of cohesion
is the waiter element, what has the characteristic of ripening (maturing) is
the fire element, what has the characteristic of distending (supporting) is
the air element'. But when one of not over-quick understanding gives his
attention to it in this way, it appears obscure and unevident, and it only
becomes plain to him if he gives his attention to it in the first-mentioned
way. Why?
40. Suppose two bhikkhus are reciting a text with many elided repeti-
tions, then the bhikkhu with the quicker understanding fills out the elided


repetitions once or twice, after which he goes on doing the recital with
only the two end parts of the elisions. Here the one of less quick under-
standing says, 'What is he reciting? Why, he does not even give one time
to move one's lips! If the recitation is done like this, when shall we ever
get familiar with the text?', and so he does his recitation filling out each
elision as it comes. Then the other says, 'What is he reciting? Why, he
never lets one get to the end of it! If the recitation is done like this; when
shall we ever get to the end of it?'. So too, the detailed discerning of the
elements by head hairs, etc., appears redundant to one of quick under-
standing, though the meditation subject becomes clear to him if he gives
his attention to it in brief in this way, 'What has the characteristic of
stiffenedness is the earth element', and so on. But when the other gives
his attention to it in this way, it appears obscure and unevident, and it
only becomes plain to him if he gives his attention in detail by head hairs
and so on.
41. So firstly, one of quick understanding who wants to develop this
meditation subject should go into solitary retreat. Then he should advert
to his own entire material body and discern the elements in brief in this
way: 'In this body what is stiffenedness or harshness is the earth ele-
ment, what is cohesion or fluidity25
[352] is the water element, what is
maturing (ripening) or heat is the fire element, what is distension or
movement is the air element'. And he should advert and give attention to
it and review it again and again as 'earth element, water element', that is
to say, as mere elements, not a living being, and soulless.
42. As he makes effort in this way it is not long before concentration
arises in him, which is reinforced by understanding that illuminates the
classification of the elements, and which is only access and does not
reach absorption because it has states with individual essences as its
object.
43. Or alternatively, there are these four [bodily] parts mentioned by the
General of the Dhamma [the Elder Sariputta] for the purpose of showing
the absence of any living being in the four great primary elements thus:
'When a space is enclosed with bones and sinews and flesh and skin,
there comes to be the term "material form" (rupaY (M.i,190). And he
should resolve each of these [as a separate entity], separating them out
by the hand of knowledge, and then discern them in the way already
stated thus: 'In these what is stiffenedness or harshness is the earth
element'. And he should again and again advert to them, give attention
to them and review them as mere elements, not a living being, not a soul.
44. As he makes effort in this way, it is not long before concentration
arises in him, which is reinforced by understanding that illuminates the
classification of the elements, and which is only access and does not


reach absorption because it has states with individual essences as its
object.
This is the method of development when the definition of the ele-
ments is given in brief.
[METHOD OF DEVELOPMENT IN DETAIL]
45. The method given in detail should be understood in this way. A
meditator of not over-quick understanding who wants to develop this
meditation subject should learn the elements in detail in the forty-two
aspects from a teacher, and he should live in an abode of the kind
already described. Then, when he has done all the duties, he should go
into solitary retreat and develop the meditation subject in four ways thus:
(1) with constituents in brief, (2) with constituents by analysis, (3) with
characteristics in brief, and (4) with characteristics by analysis.
[(1) WITH CONSTITUENTS IN BRIEF]
46. Herein, how does he develop it with constituents in brief! Here a
bhikkhu does his defining in this way, 'In twenty of the parts what has
the stiffened mode is the earth element', and he does his defining thus,
*In twelve parts the liquid called water with the mode of cohesion is the
water element', [353] and he does his defining thus, 'In four parts what
matures (what has the mode of ripening) is the fire element', and he does
his defining thus, 'In six parts what has the mode of distending is the air
element'. As he defines them in this way they become evident to him. As
he again and again adverts to them and gives his attention to them,
concentration arises as access only.
[(2) WITH CONSTITUENTS BY ANALYSIS]
47. However, if his meditation subject is not successful while he devel-
ops it in this way, then he should develop it with constituents by analy-
sis. How? Firstly, the bhikkhu should carry out all the directions given
for the thirty-two-fold aspect in the description of mindfulness occupied
with the body as a meditation subject (Ch. VIII, §§48-78), namely, the
sevenfold skill in learning and the tenfold skill in giving attention, and
he should start with the verbal recitation, in direct and reverse order, of
the skin pentad and so on, without omitting any of it. The only differ-
ence is this: there, after giving attention to the head hairs, etc., as to
colour, shape, direction, location, and delimitation, the mind had to be
fixed by means of repulsiveness (Ch. VIII, §83), but here it is done by
means of elements. Therefore at the end of each part after giving atten-
tion to head hairs, etc., each in the five ways beginning with colour
(Ch. Vm, §83), attention should be given as follows.


48. These things called head hairs grow on the inner skin that envelops
the skull. Herein, just as when kuntha grasses grow on the top of an ant-
hill, the top of the ant-hill does not know ''Kuntha grasses are growing
on me', nor do the kuntha grasses know 'We are growing on the top of
an ant-hiir, so too, the inner skin that covers the skull does not know
'Head hairs grow on me', nor do the head hairs know 'We grow on inner
skin that envelops a skull'. These things are devoid of mutual concern
and reviewing. So what are called head hairs are a particular component
of this body, without thought, [morally] indeterminate, void, not a living
being, rigid (stiffened) earth element.
49. Body hairs grow on the inner skin that envelops the body. Herein,
just as, when dabba grasses grow on the square in an empty village, the
square in the empty village does not know ''Dabba grasses grow on me',
nor do the dabba grasses know 'We grow on the square in an empty
village', so too, the inner skin that envelops the body does not know
'Body hairs grow on me', nor do the body hairs know 'We grow on
inner skin that envelops a body'. These things are devoid of mutual
concern and reviewing. So what are called body hairs are a particular
component of this body, without thought, indeterminate, void, not a
living being, rigid earth element.
50. Nails grow on the tips of the fingers and toes. Herein, just as, when
children play a game by piercing madhuka-fruit kernels with sticks, the
sticks [354] do not know 'Madhuka-fmil kernels are put on us', nor do
the madhuka-fruit kernels know 'We are put on sticks', so too, the fin-
gers and toes do not know 'Nails grow on our tips', nor do the nails
know 'We grow on the tips of fingers and toes'. These things are devoid
of mutual concern and reviewing. So what are called nails are a particu-
lar component of this body, without thought, indeterminate, void, not a
living being, rigid earth element.
51. Teeth grow in tjie jaw bones. Herein, just as, when posts are plaped
by builders in stone sockets and fastened with some kind of cement,
26
the
sockets do not know 'Posts are placed in us', nor do the posts know 'We
are placed in sockets', so too, the jaw bones do not know 'Teeth grow in
us ', nor do the teeth know 'We grow in jaw bones'. These things are de-
void of mutual concern and reviewing. So what are called teeth are a
particular component of this body, without thought, indeterminate, void,
not a living being, rigid earth element.
52. Skin is to be found covering the whole body. Herein, just as, when a
big lute is covered with damp ox-hide, the lute does not know 'I am
covered with damp ox-hide', nor does the damp ox-hide know 'A lute is
covered by me', so too, the body does not know 'I am covered by skin',
nor does the skin know *A body is covered by me'. These things are


devoid of mutual concern and reviewing. So what is called skin is a
particular component of this body, without thought, indeterminate, void,
not a living being, rigid earth element.
53. Flesh is to be found plastered over the framework of bones. Herein,
just as, when a wall is plastered with thick clay, the wall does not know
'I am plastered with thick clay', nor does the thick clay know 'A wall is
plastered with me', so too, the framework of bones does not know 'I am
plastered with flesh consisting of nine hundred pieces of flesh', nor does
the flesh know 'A framework of bones is plastered with me'. These
things are devoid of mutual concern and reviewing. So what is called
flesh is a particular component of this body, without thought, indetermi-
nate, void, not a living being, rigid earth element.
54. Sinews are to be found in the interior of the body binding the bones
together. Herein, just as, when withies and sticks are bound together
with creepers, the withies and sticks do not know [355] 'We are bound
together with creepers', nor do the creepers know 'Withies and sticks are
bound together by us', so too, the bones do not know 'We are bound by
sinews', nor do the sinews know 'Bones are bound together by us'.
These things are devoid of mutual concern and reviewing. So what are
called sinews are a particular component of this body, without thought,
indeterminate, void, not a living being, rigid earth element.

Visuddhimagga - Concentration—Conclusion: Nutriment and the Elements - Perception of repulsiveness in nutriment

THE PATH
OF PURIFICATION
(VISUDDHIMAGGA)
BY
BHADANTACARIYA BUDDHAGHOSA
Translated from the Pali
by
BHIKKHU NANAMOLI
FIFTH EDITION
BUDDHIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY
Kandy Sri Lanka


CHAPTER XI
CONCENTRATION—CONCLUSION:
NUTRIMENT AND THE ELEMENTS
(Samadhi-niddesa)

[PERCEPTION OF REPULSIVENESS IN NUTRIMENT]
1. [341] Now comes the description of the development of the percep-
tion of repulsiveness in nutriment, which was listed as the 'one percep-
tion'
1
next to the immaterial states (Ch. III, §105).
Herein: it nourishes (dharati, lit. brings on), thus it is nutriment
(dhdra, lit. bringing on). That is of four kinds as physical nutriment,
nutriment consisting of contact, nutriment consisting of mental volition,
and nutriment consisting of consciousness.
2
2. But what is it here that nourishes (brings on) what? Physical nutri-
ment (kabalihkdrdhdra) nourishes (brings on) the materiality of the oc-
tad that has nutritive essence as eighth.
3
Contact as nutriment nourishes
(brings on) the three kinds of feeling. Mental volition as nutriment nour-
ishes (brings on) rebirth-linking in the three kinds of becoming. Con-
sciousness as nutriment nourishes (brings on) mentality-materiality at
the moment of rebirth-linking.
3. Now when there is physical nutriment there is attachment, which
brings peril; when there is nutriment as contact there is approaching,
which brings peril; when there is nutriment as ntental volition there is
rebirth-linking, which brings peril.
4
And to show how they bring fear
thus, physical nutriment should be illustrated by the simile of the child's
flesh (S.ii,98), contact as nutriment by the simile of the hideless cow
(S.ii,99), mental volition as nutriment by the simile of the pit of live
coals (S.ii,99), and consciousness as nutriment by the simile of the hundred
spears (S.ii,100).
4. But of these four kinds of nutriment it is only physical nutriment,
classed as what is eaten, drunk, chewed, and tasted, that is intended here
as 'nutriment' in this sense. The perception arisen as the apprehension of
the repulsive aspect in that nutriment is 'perception of repulsiveness in
nutriment'.
5. One who wants to develop that perception of repulsiveness in nutri-
ment should learn the meditation subject and see that he has no uncer-
tainty about even a single word of what he has learnt. Then he should go
into solitary retreat and [342] review repulsiveness in ten aspects in the
physical nutriment classified as what is eaten, drunk, chewed, and tasted,


that is to say, as to going, seeking, using, secretion, receptacle, what is
uncooked (undigested), what is cooked (digested), fruit, outflow, and
smearing,
6. 1. Herein, as to going: even when a man has gone forth in so
mighty a dispensation, still after he has perhaps spent all night reciting
the Enlightened One's word or doing the ascetic's work, after he has
risen early to do the duties connected with the shrine terrace and the En-
lightenment-tree terrace, to set out the water for drinking and washing,
to sweep the grounds and to see to the needs of the body, after he has sat
down on his seat and given attention to his meditation subject twenty or
thirty times
5
and got up again, then he must take his bowl and [outer]
robe, he must leave behind the ascetics' woods that are not crowded with
people, offer the bliss of seclusion, possess shade and water, and are
clean, cool, delightful places, he must disregard the noble ones' delight
in seclusion, and he must set out for the village in order to get nutriment,
as a jackal for the charnel ground.
7. And as he goes thus, from the time when he steps down from his
bed or chair he has to tread on a carpet
6
covered with the dust of his feet,
geckos' droppings, and so on. Next he has to see the doorstep,
7
which is
more repulsive than the inside of the room since it is often fouled with
the droppings of rats, bats,
8
and so on. Next the lower terrace, which is
more repulsive than the terrace above since it is all smeared with the
droppings of owls, pigeons,
9
and so on. Next the grounds,
10
which are
more repulsive than the lower floor since they are defiled by old grass
and leaves blown about by the wind, by sick novices' urine, excrement,
spittle and snot, and in the rainy season by water, mud, and so on. And
he has to see the road to the monastery, which is more repulsive than the
grounds.
8. In due course, after standing in the debating lodge
11
when he has fin-
ished paying homage at the Enlightenment Tree and the shrine, he sets
out thinking, 'Instead of looking at the shrine that is like a cluster of
pearls, and the Enlightenment Tree that is as lovely as a bouquet of
peacock's tail feathers, and the abode that is as fair as a god's palace, I
must now turn my back on such a charming place and go abroad for the
sake of food'; and on the way to the village, the view of a road of stumps
and thorns and an uneven road broken up by the force of water awaits
him.
9. Next, after he has put on his waist cloth as one who hides an ab-
scess, and tied his waist band as one who ties a bandage on a wound, and
robed himself in his upper robes as one who hides a skeleton, and taken
out his bowl as one who takes out a pan for medicine, [343] when he
reaches the vicinity of the village gate, perhaps the sight of an elephant's


carcase, a horse's carcase, a buffalo's carcase, a human carcase, a snake's
carcase, or a dog's carcase, awaits him, and not only that but he has to
suffer his nose to be assailed by the smell of them.
Next, as he stands in the village gateway, he must scan the village
streets in order to avoid danger from savage elephants, horses, and so on.
10. So this repulsive [experience] beginning with the carpet that has to
be trodden on and ending with the various kinds of carcases that have to
be seen and smelt, [has to be undergone] for the sake of nutriment: 'Oh,
nutriment is indeed a repulsive thing!'.
This is how repulsiveness should be reviewed as to going.
11. 2. How as to seeking! When he has endured the repulsiveness of
going in this way, and has gone into the village, and is clothed in his
cloak of patches, he has to wander in the village streets from house to
house like a beggar with a dish in his hand. And in the rainy season
wherever he treads his feet sink into water and mire up to the flesh of the
calves.
12
He has to hold the bowl in one hand and his robe up with the
other. In the hot season he has to go about with his body covered with
the dirt, grass and dust blown about by the wind. On reaching such and
such a house door he has to see and even to tread in gutters and cess-
pools covered with blue-bottles and seething with all the species of
worms, all mixed up with fish washings, meat washings, rice washings,
spittle, snot, dogs' and pigs' excrement, and what not, from which flies
come up and settle on his outer cloak of patches and on his bowl and on
his head.
12. And when he enters a house, some give and some do not. And when
they give, some give yesterday's cooked rice and stale cakes and rancid
jelly, sauce and so on.
13
Some, not giving, say 'Please pass on, venerable
sir', others keep silent as if they did not see him. Some avert their faces.
Others treat him with harsh words such as 'Go away, you bald-head'.
When he has wandered for alms in the village in this way like a beggar,
he has to depart from it.
13. So this [experience] beginning with the entry into the village and
ending with the departure from it, which is repulsive owing to the water,
mud, etc., that has to be trodden in and seen and endured, [has to be
undergone] for tfre sake of nutriment: 'Oh, nutriment is indeed a repul-
sive thing!'.
This is how repulsiveness should be reviewed as to seeking. [344]
14. 3. How as to using! After he has sought the nutriment in this way
and is sitting at ease in a comfortable place outside the village, then so
long as he has not dipped his hand into it he would be able to invite a
respected bhikkhu or a decent person, if he saw one, [to share it]; but as
soon as he has dipped his hand into it out of desire to eat he would be


ashamed to say Take some'. And when he has dipped his hand in and is
squeezing it up, the sweat trickling down his five fingers wets any dry
crisp food there may be and makes it sodden.
15. And when its good appearance has been spoilt by his squeezing it
up, and it has been made into a ball and put into his mouth, then the
lower teeth function as a mortar, the upper teeth as a pestle, and the
tongue as a hand. It gets pounded there with the pestle of the teeth like a
dog's dinner in a dog's trough, while he turns it over and over with his
tongue; then the thin spittle at the tip of the tongue smears it, and the
thick spittle behind the middle of the tongue smears it, and the filth from
the teeth in the parts where a tooth-stick cannot reach smears it.
16. When thus mashed up and besmeared, this peculiar compound now
destitute of the [original] colour and smell is reduced to a condition as
utterly nauseating as a dog's vomit in a dog's trough. Yet, notwithstand-
ing that it is like this, it can still be swallowed because it is no longer in
range of the eye's focus.
This is how repulsiveness should be reviewed as to using.
17. 4. How as to secretion! Buddhas and Paccekabuddhas and Wheel-
turning Monarchs have only one of the four secretions consisting of bile,
phlegm, pus and blood, but those with weak merit have all four. So when
[the food] has arrived at the stage of being eaten and it enters inside,
then in one whose secretion of bile is in excess it becomes as utterly
nauseating as if smeared with thick madhuka oil; in one whose secretion
of phlegm in in excess it is as if smeared with the juice of ndgahald1
*
leaves; in one whose secretion of pus is in excess it is as if smeared with
rancid buttermilk; and in one whose secretion of blood is in excess it is
as utterly nauseating as if smeared with dye. This is how repulsiveness
should be reviewed as to secretion.
18. 5. How as to receptacle! When it has gone inside the belly and is
smeared with one of these secretions, then the receptacle it goes into is
no gold dish or crystal or silver dish and so on. On the contrary, if it is
swallowed by one ten years old, it finds itself in a place like a cesspit
unwashed for ten years. [345] If it is swallowed by one twenty years old,
thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety years old, if it is swal-
lowed by one a hundred years old, it finds itself in a place like a cesspit
unwashed for a hundred years. This is how repulsiveness should be re-
viewed as to receptacle.
19. 6. How as to what is uncooked {undigested)! After this nutriment
has arrived at such a place for its receptacle, then for as long as it
remains uncooked it stays in that same place just described, which is
shrouded in absolute darkness, pervaded by draughts,
15
tainted by vari-
ous smells of ordure and utterly fetid and loathsome. And just as when a


cloud out of season has rained during a drought and bits of grass and
leaves and rushes and the carcases of snakes, dogs and human beings
that have collected in a pit at the gate of an outcaste village remain there
warmed by the sun's heat until the pit becomes covered with froth and
bubbles, so too, what has been swallowed that day and yesterday and the
day before remains there together, and being smothered by the layer of
phlegm and covered with froth and bubbles produced by digestion through
being fermented by the heat of the bodily fires, it becomes quite loath-
some. This is how repulsiveness should be reviewed as to what is un-
cooked.
20. 7. How as to what is cooked? When it has been completely cooked
there by the bodily fires, it does not turn into gold, silver, etc., as the
ores
16
of gold, silver, etc., do [through smelting]. Instead, giving off
froth and bubbles, it turns into excrement and fills the receptacle for
digested food, like brown clay squeezed with a smoothing trowel and
packed into a tube, and it turns into urine and fills the bladder. This is
how repulsiveness should be reviewed as to what is cooked.
21. 8. How as to fruit? When it has been rightly cooked, it produces the
various kinds of ordure consisting of head hairs, body hairs, nails, teeth,
and the rest. When wrongly cooked it produces the hundred diseases
beginning with itch, ring-worm, smallpox, leprosy, plague, consumption,
coughs, flux, and so on. Such is its fruit. This is how repulsiveness
should be reviewed as to fruit.
22. 9. How as to outflow? On being swallowed, it enters by one door,
after which it flows out by several doors in the way beginning 'Eye-dirt
from the eye, ear-dirt from the ear' (Sn.197). And on being swallowed it
is swallowed even in the company of large gatherings. But on flowing
out, now converted into excrement, urine, etc., it is excreted only in
solitude. [346] On the first day one is delighted to eat it, elated and full
of happiness and joy. On the second day one stops one's nose to void it,
with a wry face, disgusted and dismayed. And on the first day one swal-
lows it lustfully, greedily, gluttonously, infatuatedly. But on the second
day, after a single night has passed, one excretes it with distaste, ashamed,
humiliated and disgusted. Hence the Ancients said:
23. 'The food and drink so greatly prized—
The crisp to chew, the soft to suck—
Go in all by a single door,
But by nine doors come oozing out.
'The food and drink so greatly prized—
The crisp to chew, the soft to suck—
Men like to eat in company,
But to excrete in secrecy.


'The food and drink so greatly prized—
The crisp to chew, the soft to suck—
These a man eats with high delight,
And then excretes with dumb disgust.
'The food and drink so greatly prized—
The crisp to chew, the soft to suck—
A single night will be enough
To bring them to putridity'.
This is how repulsiveness should be reviewed as to outflow.
24. 10. How as to smear ingi At the time of using it he smears his
hands, lips, tongue and palate, and they become repulsive by being
smeared with it. And even when washed, they have to be washed again
and again in order to remove the smell. And, just as, when rice is being
boiled, the husks, the red powder covering the grain, etc., rise up and
smear the mouth, rim and lid of the cauldron, so too, when eaten it rises
up during its cooking and simmering by the bodily fire that pervades the
whole body, it turns into tartar, which smears the teeth, and it turns into
spittle, phlegm, etc., which respectively smear the tongue, palate, etc.;
and it turns into eye-dirt, ear-dirt, snot, urine, excrement, etc., which re-
spectively smear the eyes, ears, nose and nether passages. And when
these doors are smeared by it, they never become either clean or pleasing
even though washed every day. And after one has washed a certain one
of these, the hand has to be washed again.
17
And after one has washed a
certain one of these, the repulsiveness does not depart from it even after
two or three washings with cowdung and clay and scented powder. This
is how repulsiveness should be reviewed as to smearing.
25. As he reviews repulsiveness in this way in ten aspects and strikes at
it with thought and applied thought, physical nutriment [347] becomes
evident to him in its repulsive aspect. He cultivates that sign18
again and
again, develops and repeatedly practises it. As he does so, the hindrances
are suppressed, and his mind is concentrated in access concentration, but
without reaching absorption because of the profundity of physical nutri-
ment as a state with an individual essence. But perception is evident here
in the apprehension of the repulsive aspect, which is why this meditation
subject goes by the name of 'perception of repulsiveness in nutriment'.
26. When a bhikkhu devotes himself to this perception of repulsiveness
in nutriment, his mind retreats, retracts and recoils from craving for fla-
vours. He nourishes himself with nutriment without vanity and only for
the purpose of crossing over suffering, as one who seeks to cross over
the desert eats his own dead child's flesh (S.ii,98). Then his greed for the
five cords of sense desire comes to be fully understood without difficulty
by means of the full understanding of the physical nutriment. He fully


understands the materiality aggregate by means of the full-understanding
of the five cords of sense desire. Development of mindfulness occupied
with the body comes to perfection in him through the repulsiveness of
'what is uncooked* and the rest. He has entered upon a way that is in
conformity with the perception of foulness. And by keeping to this way,
even if he does not experience the deathless goal in this life, he is at least
bound for a happy destiny.
This is the detailed explanation of the development of the perception
of repulsiveness in nutriment.

Visuddhimagga - THE IMMATERIAL STATES - General

THE PATH
OF PURIFICATION
(VISUDDHIMAGGA)
BY
BHADANTACARIYA BUDDHAGHOSA
Translated from the Pali
by
BHIKKHU NANAMOLI
FIFTH EDITION
BUDDHIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY
Kandy Sri Lanka


[GENERAL]
56. Thus has the Peerless Helper told
The fourfold immaterial state;
To know these general matters too
Will not be inappropriate.
57. For these immaterial states:
While reckoned by surmounting of
The object they are four, the wise
Do not admit surmounting of
Factors that one can recognize.
58. Of these [four], the first is due to surmounting signs of materiality,
the second is due to surmounting space, the third is due to surmounting
the consciousness that occurred with that space as its object, and the
fourth is due to surmounting the disappearance of the consciousness that
occurred with that space as its object. So they should be understood as


four in number with the surmounting of the object in each case. [339]
But the wise do not admit any surmounting of [jhana] factors; for there
is no surmounting of factors in them as there is in the case of the fine-
material-sphere attainments. Each one has just the two factors, namely,
equanimity and unification of mind.
59. That being so:
They progress in refinement; each
Is finer than the one before.
Two figures help to make them known:
The cloth lengths, and each palace floor.
60. Suppose there were a four-storied palace: on its first floor the five
objects of sense pleasure were provided in a very fine form as divine
dancing, singing and music, and perfumes, scents, garlands, food, couches,
clothing, etc., and on the second they were finer than that, and on the
third finer still, and on the fourth they were finest of all; yet they are still
only palace floors, and there is no difference between them in the matter
of their state (essence) as palace floors; it is with the progressive refine-
ment of the five objects of sense pleasure that each one is finer than the
one below;—again suppose there were lengths of cloths of quadruple,
treble, double and single thickness, and [made] of thick, thin, thinner,
and very thin thread spun by one woman, all the same measure in width
and breadth; now although these lengths of cloth are four in number, yet
they measure the same in width and breadth, there is no difference in
their measurement; but in softness to the touch, fineness, and costliness
each is finer than the one before;—so too, although there are only the
two factors in all four [immaterial states], that is to say, equanimity and
unification of mind, still each one should be understood as finer than the
one before with the progressive refinement of the factors due to success-
ful development.
61. And for the fact that each of them is finer than the last [there is this
figure:]
One hangs upon a tent that stands
On filth; on him another leans.
Outside a third not leaning stands,
Against the last another leans.
Between the four men and these states
The correspondence then is shown,
And so how each to each relates
Can by a man of wit be known.
62. This is how the meaning should be construed. There was a tent in a
dirty place, it seems. Then a man arrived, and being disgusted with the


dirt, he rested himself on the tent with his hands and remained as if hung
or hanging on to it. Then another man came and leant upon the man
hanging on to the tent. Then another man came and thought, 'The one
who is hanging on to the tent and the one who is leaning upon him are
both badly off, and if the tent falls they will certainly fall. I think I shall
stand outside'. [340] So instead of leaning upon the one leaning upon the
first, he remained outside. Then another arrived, and taking account of
the insecurity of the one hanging on to the tent and the one leaning upon
him, and fancying that the one standing outside was well placed, he
stood leaning upon him.
63. Herein, this is how it should be regarded. The space from which the
kasina has been removed is like the tent in the dirty place. The [con-
sciousness of the] base consisting of boundless space, which makes space
its object owing to disgust with the sign of the fine-material, is like the
man who hangs on to the tent owing to disgust with the dirt. The [con-
sciousness of the] base consisting of boundless consciousness, the occur-
rence of which is contingent upon [the consciousness of] the base con-
sisting of boundless space whose object is space, is like the man who
leans upon the man who hangs on to the tent. The [consciousness of the]
base consisting of nothingness, which instead of making the [conscious-
ness of the] base consisting of boundless space its object has the non-
existence of that as its object, is like the man who, after considering the
insecurity of those two, does not lean upon the one hanging on to the
tent, but stands outside. The [consciousness of the] base consisting of
neither perception nor non-perception, the occurrence of which is contin-
gent upon [the consciousness of] the base consisting of nothingness,
which stands in a place outside, in other words, in the non-existence of
[the past] consciousness, is like the man who stands leaning upon the
last-named, having considered the insecurity of the one hanging on to
the tent and the one leaning upon him, and fancying that the one stand-
ing outside is well placed.
04. And while occurring in this way:
It takes this for its object since
There is no other one as good,
As men depend upon a king,
Whose fault they see, for livelihood.
65. For although this [consciousness of the] base consisting of neither
perception nor non-perception has seen the flaw in the base consisting of
nothingness in this way, 'This attainment has the base consisting of
boundless consciousness as its near enemy', notwithstanding that fact it
takes it as its object in the absence of any other. Like what? As men for


the sake of livelihood depend on kings whose faults they see. For just as,
for the sake of livelihood and because they cannot get a livelihood else-
where, people put up with some king, ruler of all quarters, who is unre-
strained, and harsh in bodily, verbal and mental behaviour, though they
see his faults thus, 'He is harshly behaved', so too the [consciousness of
the] base consisting of neither perception nor non-perception takes that
base consisting of nothingness as its object in spite of seeing its faults in
this way, and it does so since it cannot find another [better] object.
66. As one who mounts a lofty stair
Leans on its railing for a prop,
As one who climbs an airy peak
Leans on the mountain's very top,
As one who stands on a crag's edge
Leans for support on his own knees—
Each jhana rests on that below;
For so it is with each of these.
The tenth chapter called *The Description of
the Immaterial States' in the Treatise on the De-
velopment of Concentration in the Path of Purifi-
cation composed for the purpose of gladdening
good people.

Visuddhimagga - THE IMMATERIAL STATES - The base consisting of boundless nothingness, neither perception nor non-perception

THE PATH
OF PURIFICATION
(VISUDDHIMAGGA)
BY
BHADANTACARIYA BUDDHAGHOSA
Translated from the Pali
by
BHIKKHU NANAMOLI
FIFTH EDITION
BUDDHIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY
Kandy Sri Lanka


[(3) THE BASE CONSISTING OF NOTHINGNESS]
32. When he wants to develop the base consisting of nothingness, he
must first achieve mastery in the five ways in the attainment of the base
consisting of boundless consciousness. Then he should see the danger in
the base consisting of boundless consciousness in this way: 'This attain-
ment has the base consisting of boundless space as its near enemy, and it
is not as peaceful as the base consisting of nothingness'. So having
ended his attachment to that, he should give his attention to the base con-
sisting of nothingness as peaceful. He should give attention to the [pres-
ent] non-existence, voidness, secluded aspect, of that same [past] con-
sciousness belonging to the base consisting of boundless space which
became the object of [the consciousness belonging to] the base consist-
ing of boundless consciousness. How does he do this?
33. Without giving [further] attention to that consciousness, he should
[now] advert again and again in this way, 'there is not, there is not', or
'void, void', or 'secluded, secluded', and give his attention to it, review
it, and strike at it with thought and applied thought.
34. As he directs his mind on to that sign thus, the hindrances are
suppressed, mindfulness is established, and his mind becomes concen-
trated in access. He cultivates that sign again and again, develops and


repeatedly practises it. As he does so, consciousness belonging to the
base consisting of nothingness arises in absorption, making its object the
void, secluded, non-existent state of that same [past] exalted conscious-
ness that occurred in pervading the space, just as the [consciousness be-
longing to the] base consisting of boundless consciousness did the [then
past] exalted consciousness that had pervaded the space. And here too
the method of explaining the absorption should be understood in the way
already described.
35. But there is this difference. Suppose a man sees a community of
bhikkhus gathered together in a meeting hall or some such place and
then goes elsewhere; then after the bhikkhus have risen at the conclusion
of the business for which they had met and have departed, the man
comes back, and as he stands in the doorway looking at that place again,
he sees it only as void, he sees it only as secluded, he does not think 'So
many bhikkhus have died, so many have left the district', but rather
[334] he sees only the non-existence thus, This is void, secluded'—so
too, having formerly dwelt seeing with the jhana eye belonging to the
base consisting of boundless consciousness the [earlier] consciousness
that had occurred making the space its object, [now] when that con-
sciousness has disappeared owing to his giving attention to the prelimi-
nary work in the way beginning 'There is not, there is not', he dwells
seeing only its non-existence, in other words, its departedness when this
consciousness has arisen in absorption.
[Text and Commentary]
36. And at this point it is said: 'By completely surmounting the base
consisting of boundless consciousness, [aware that] "There is nothing",
he enters upon and dwells in the base consisting of nothingness'
(Vbh. 245).
37. Herein, completely is as already explained. By ... surmounting the
base consisting of boundless consciousness: here too the jhana is called
the 'base consisting of boundless consciousness' in the way already
stated, and its object is so-called too. For the object too is 'boundless
consciousness' (vinnanancam) in the way already stated, and then, be-
cause it is the object of the second immaterial jhana, it is its 'base' in the
sense of habitat, as the 'deities' base' is for deities, thus it is the 'base
consisting of boundless consciousness'. Likewise it is 'boundless con-
sciousness', and then because it is the cause of the jhana's being of that
species, it is its 'base' in the sense of locality of the species, as Kamboja
is the 'base' of horses, thus it is the 'base consisting of boundless con-
sciousness' in this way also. So it should be understood that the words
'By ... surmounting the base consisting of boundless consciousness'


include both [the jhana and its object] together, since this base consisting
of nothingness is to be entered upon and dwelt in precisely by surmount-
ing, by causing the non-occurrence of, by not giving attention to, both
jhana and its object.
38. There is nothing (natthi kinci): what is meant is that he gives his
attention thus, 'there is not, there is not', or 'void, void', or 'secluded,
secluded'. It is said in the Vibhariga: ' "There is nothing": he makes that
same consciousness non-existent, makes it absent, makes it disappear,
sees that "there is nothing", hence "there is nothing" is said' (Vbh. 262),
which is expressed in a way that resembles comprehension [by insight]
of liability to destruction, nevertheless the meaning should be under-
stood in the way described above. For the words 'He makes that same
consciousness non-existent, makes it absent, makes it disappear' are said
of one who does not advert to it or give attention to it or review it, and
only gives attention to its non-existence, its voidness, its secludedness;
they are not meant in the other way (cf. Ch. XXI, §17).
39. He enters upon and dwells in the base consisting of nothingness: it
has no owning (kincana),
9
thus it is non-owning (akincana); what is
meant is that it has not even the mere act of its dissolution remaining.
The state (essence) of non-owning is nothingness (akincanna). This is a
term for the disappearance of the consciousness belonging to the base
consisting of boundless space. [335] That nothingness is the 'base' in the
sense of foundation for that jhana, as the 'deities' base' is for deities,
thus it is the 'base consisting of nothingness'. The rest is as before.
This is the detailed explanation of the base consisting of nothingness
as a meditation subject.

[(4) THE BASE CONSISTING OF NEITHER PERCEPTION NOR
NON-PERCEPTION]
40. When, however, he wants to develop the base consisting of neither
perception nor non-perception, he must first achieve mastery in the five
ways in the attainment of the base consisting of nothingness. Then he
should see the danger in the base consisting of nothingness and the
advantage in what is superior to it in this way: 'This attainment has the
base consisting of boundless consciousness as its near enemy, and it is
not as peaceful as the base consisting of neither perception nor non-
perception', or in this way: 'Perception is a boil, perception is a dart ...
this is peaceful, this is sublime, that is to say, neither perception nor non-
perception' (M.ii,231). So having ended his attachment to the base con-
sisting of nothingness, he should give attention to the base consisting of
neither perception nor non-perception as peaceful. He should advert again
and again to that attainment of the base consisting of nothingness that


has occurred making non-existence its object, adverting to it as 'peace-
ful, peaceful', and he should give his attention to it, review it and strike
at it with thought and applied thought.
41. As he directs his mind again and again on to that sign in this way,
the hindrances are suppressed, mindfulness is established, and his mind
becomes concentrated in access. He cultivates that sign again and again,
develops and repeatedly practises it. As he does so, consciousness be-
longing to the base consisting of neither perception nor non-perception
arises in absorption, making its object the four [mental] aggregates that
constitute the attainment of the base consisting of nothingness, just as
the [consciousness belonging to the] base consisting of nothingness did
the disappearance of the [previous] consciousness. And here too the
method of explaining the absorption should be understood in the way
already described.
[Text and Commentary]
42. And at this point it is said: 'By completely surmounting the base
consisting of nothingness he enters upon and dwells in the base consist-
ing of neither perception nor non-perception' (Vbh. 245).
43. Herein, completely is as already explained. By ... surmounting the
base consisting of nothingness: here too the jhana is called the 'base con-
sisting of nothingness' in the way already stated, and its object is so
called too. For the object too is 'nothingness' (dkincannam) in the way
already stated, and then, because it is the object of the third immaterial
jhana, it is its 'base' in the sense of habitat, as the 'deities' base' is for
deities, thus it is the 'base consisting of nothingness'. Likewise: it is
'nothingness', and then, because it is the cause of the jhana's being of
that species, it is its 'base' in the sense of locality of the species, as
Kamboja is the 'base' of horses, thus it is the 'base consisting of noth-
ingness' in this way also. [336] So it should be understood that the
words 'By ... surmounting the base consisting of nothingness' include
both [the jhana and its object] together, since the base consisting of nei-
ther perception nor non-perception is to be entered upon and dwelt in
precisely by surmounting, by causing the non-occurrence of, by not giv-
ing attention to, both the jhana and its object.
44. Base consisting of neither perception nor non-perception: then there
is he who so practises that there is in him the perception on account of
the presence of which this [attainment] is called the 'base consisting of
neither perception nor non-perception', and in the Vibhahga, in order to
point out that [person], firstly one specified as 'neither percipient nor
non-percipient', it is said, 'gives attention to that same base consisting
of nothingness as peaceful, he develops the attainment with residual


formations, hence "neither percipient nor non-percipient" is said' (Vbh.
263).
45. Herein, he gives attention ...as peaceful, means that he gives atten-
tion to it as 'peaceful' because of the peacefulness of the object thus:
'How peaceful this attainment is; for it can make even non-existence its
object and still subsist!'.
If he brings it to mind as 'peaceful' then how does there come to be
surmounting? Because there is no actual desire to attain it. For although
he gives his attention to it as 'peaceful', yet there is no concern in him or
reaction or
1
attention such as 'I shall advert to this' or 'I shall attain this'
or 'I shall resolve upon [the duration of] this'. Why not? Because the
base consisting of neither perception nor non-perception is more peace-
ful and better than the base consisting of nothingness.
46. Suppose a king is proceeding along a city street with the great pomp
of royalty,
10
splendidly mounted on the back of an elephant, and he sees
craftsmen wearing one cloth tightly as a loin-cloth and another tied
round their heads, working at the various crafts such as ivory carving,
etc., their limbs covered with ivory dust, etc.; now while he is pleased
with their skill, thinking 'How skilled these craft-masters are, and what
crafts they practise!', he does not, however, think, 'Oh that I might aban-
don royalty and become a craftsman like that!'. Why not? Because of the
great benefits in the majesty of kings; he leaves the craftsmen behind
and proceeds on his way. So too, though this [meditator] gives attention
to that attainment as 'peaceful', yet there is no concern in him or reac-
tion or attention such as 'I shall advert to this attainment' or 'I shall
attain this' or 'I shall resolve upon [the duration of] it' or 'I shall emerge
from it* or 'I shall review it'.
47. As he gives attention to it as 'peaceful' in the way already de-
scribed, [337] he reaches the ultra-subtle absorbed perception in virtue of
which he is called 'neither percipient nor non-percipient', and it is said
of him that 'He develops the attainment with residual formations'.
The attainment with residual formations is the fourth immaterial
attainment whose formations have reached a state of extreme subtlety.
48. Now in order to show the meaning of the kind of perception that has
been reached, on account of which [this jhana] is called the 'base con-
sisting of neither perception nor non-perception', it is said: ' "Base con-
sisting of neither perception nor non-perception": states of consciousness
or its concomitants in one who has attained the base consisting of neither
perception nor non-perception or in one who has been reborn there or in
one who is abiding in bliss there in this present life' (Vbh. 263). Of
these, what is intended here is the states of consciousness and its con-
comitants in one who has attained.


49. The word meaning here is this: that jhana with its associated states
neither has perception nor has no perception because of the absence of
gross perception and the presence of subtle perception, thus it is 'neither-
perception-nor-non-perception' (n'eva-sanna-nasannam). It is 'neither-
perception-nor-non-perception' and it is a 'base' (ayatana) because it is
included in the mind base (manayatana) and the mental-object base
(dhammayatana), thus it is the 'base consisting of neither perception nor
non-perception' (nevasannanasannayatana).
50. Or alternatively: the perception here is neither perception, since it is
incapable of performing the decisive function of perception, nor yet non-
perception, since it is present in a subtle state as a residual formation,
thus it is 'neither-perception-nor-non-perception'. It is 'neither-percep-
tion-nor-non-perception' and it is a 'base' in the sense of a foundation
for the other states, thus it is the 'base consisting of neither perception
nor non-perception'.
And here it is not only perception that is like this, but feeling as well
is neither-feeling-nor-non-feeling, consciousness is neither-consciousness-
nor-non-consciousness, and contact is neither-contact-nor-non-contact,
and the same description applies to the rest of the associated states; but it
should be understood that this presentation is given in terms of percep-
tion.
51. And the meaning should be illustrated by the similes beginning with
the smearing of oil on the bowl. A novice smeared a bowl with oil, it
seems, and laid it aside. When it was time to drink gruel, an elder told
him to bring the bowl. He said, 'Venerable sir, there is oil in the bowl'.
But then when he was told, 'Bring the oil, novice, I shall fill the oil
tube', he replied, 'There is no oil, venerable sir'. Herein, just as 'There is
oil' is in the sense of incompatibility with the gruel because it has been
poured into [the bowl] and just as 'There is no oil' is in the sense of
filling the oil tube, etc., so too this perception is 'neither perception'
since it is incapable of performing the decisive function of perception
and it is 'nor non-perception' because it is present in a subtle form as a
residual formation. [338]
52. But in this context what is perception's function? It is the perceiving
of the object, and it is the production of dispassion if [that attainment
and its object are] made the objective field of insight. But it is not able to
make the function of perceiving decisive, as the heat element in tepid11
water is not able to make the function of burning decisive; and it is not
able to produce dispassion by treatment of its objective field with insight
in the way that perception is in the case of the other attainments.
53. There is in fact no bhikkhu capable of reaching dispassion by com-
prehension of aggregates connected with the base consisting of neither


perception nor non-perception unless he has already done his interpret-
ing with other aggregates (see Ch. XX, §2f. and XXI, §23). And further-
more, when the venerable Sariputta, or someone very wise and naturally
gifted with insight as he was, is able to do so, even he has to do it by
means of comprehension by groups (Ch. XX, §2) in this way, 'So it
seems, these states, not having been, come to be; having come to be,
they vanish' (M.iii,28), and not by means of [actual direct] insight into
states one by one as they arise. Such is the subtlety that this attainment
reaches.
54. And this meaning should be illustrated by the simile of the water on
the road, as it was by the simile of the oil-smearing on the bowl. A
novice was walking in front of an elder, it seems, who had set out on a
journey. He saw a little water and said, *There is water, venerable sir,
remove your sandals'. Then the elder said, *If there is water, bring me
the bathing cloth and let us bathe', but the novice said, 'There is none,
venerable sir'. Herein, just as 'There is water' is in the sense of mere
wetting of the sandals, and 'There is none' is in the sense of bathing, so
too, this perception is 'neither perception' since it is incapable of per-
forming the decisive function of perception, and it is 'nor non-percep-
tion' because it is present in a subtle form as a residual formation.
55. And this meaning should be illustrated not only by these similes but
by other appropriate ones as well.
Enters upon and dwells in is as already explained.
This is the detailed explanation of the base consisting of neither per-
ception nor non-perception as a meditation subject.

Visuddhimagga - THE IMMATERIAL STATES - The base consisting of boundless space & consciousness

THE PATH
OF PURIFICATION
(VISUDDHIMAGGA)
BY
BHADANTACARIYA BUDDHAGHOSA
Translated from the Pali
by
BHIKKHU NANAMOLI
FIFTH EDITION
BUDDHIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY
Kandy Sri Lanka


CHAPTER X
THE IMMATERIAL STATES
(Aruppa-niddesa)

[(1)THE BASE CONSISTING OF BOUNDLESS SPACE]
1. [326] Now as to the four immaterial states mentioned next to the
divine abidings (Ch. HI, §105), one who wants firstly to develop the
base consisting of boundless space sees in gross physical matter danger
through the wielding of sticks, etc., because of the words: ' "It is in
virtue of matter that wielding of sticks, wielding of knives, quarrels,
brawls and disputes take place; but that does not exist at all in the
immaterial state", and in this expectation he enters upon the way to
dispassion for only material things, for the fading and cessation of only
those' (M.i,410); and he sees danger in it too through the thousand
afflictions beginning with eye disease. So in order to surmount that he
enters upon the fourth jhana in any one of the nine kasinas beginning
with the earth kasina and omitting the limited-space kasina.
2. Now although he has already surmounted gross physical matter b^
means of the fourth jhana of the fine-material sphere, nevertheless he
still wants also to surmount the kasina materiality since it is the counter-
part of the former. How does he do this?
3. Suppose a timid man is pursued by a snake in a forest and flees from
it as fast as he can, then if he sees in the place he has fled to a palm leaf
with a streak painted on it or a creeper or a rope or a crack in the ground,
he is fearful, anxious and will not even look at it. Suppose again a man is
living in the same village as a hostile man who ill-uses him, and on
being threatened by him with a flogging and the burning down of his
house, he goes away to live in another village, then if he meets another
man there of similar appearance, voice and manner, he is fearful, anx-
ious and will not even look at him.
4. Here is the application of the similes. The time when the bhikkhu
has the gross physical matter as his object is like the time when the men
were respectively threatened by the snake and by the enemy. [327] The
time when the bhikkhu surmounts the gross physical matter by means of
the fourth jhana of the fine-material sphere is like the first man's fleeing
as fast as he can and the other man's going away to another village. The
bhikkhu's observing that even the matter of the kasina is the counterpart
of that gross physical matter and his wanting to surmount that also is like
the first man's seeing in the place he had fled to the palm leaf with a
streak painted on it, etc., and the other man's seeing the man who


resembled the enemy in the village he had left, and their unwillingness
to look owing to fear and anxiety.
And here the similes of the dog attacked by a boar and that of the
pisdca goblin and the timid man1
should be understood too.
5. So when he has thus become disgusted with (dispassionate towards)
the kasina materiality, the object of the fourth jhana, and wants to get
away from it, he achieves mastery in the five ways. Then on emerging
from the now familiar fourth jhana of the fine-material sphere, he sees
the danger in that jhana in this way: This makes its object the material-
ity with which I have become disgusted', and 'It has joy as its near
enemy', and 'It is grosser than the peaceful liberations'. There is, how-
ever, no [comparative] grossness of factors here [as in the case of the
four fine-material jhanas]; for the immaterial states have the same two
factors as this fine-material [jhana].
6. When he has seen the danger in that [fine-material fourth jhana] in
this way and has ended his attachment to it, he gives his attention to the
base consisting of boundless space as peaceful. Then, when he has spread
out the kasina to the limit of the world-sphere, or as far as he likes, he
removes the kasina [materiality] by giving his attention to the space
touched by it, [regarding that] as 'space' or 'boundless space'.
7. When he is removing it, he neither folds it up like a mat nor with-
draws it like a cake from a tin. It is simply that he does not advert to it or
give attention to it or review it; it is when he neither adverts to it nor
gives attention to it nor reviews it, but gives his attention exclusively to
the space touched by it, [regarding that] as 'space, space', that he is said
to 'remove the kasina'.
8. And when the kasina is being removed, it does not roll up or roll
away. It is simply that it is called 'removed' on account of his non-
attention to it, his attention being given to 'space, space'. This is concep-
tualized as the mere space left by the removal of the kasina [materiality].
Whether it is called 'space left by the removal of the kasina' or 'space
touched by the kasina' or 'space secluded from the kasina', it is all the
same.
9. He adverts again and again to the sign of the space left by the
removal of the kasina [328] as 'space, space', and he strikes at it with
thought and applied thought. As he adverts to it again and again and
strikes at it with thought and applied thought, the hindrances are sup-
pressed, mindfulness is established and his mind becomes concentrated
in access. He cultivates that sign again and again, develops and repeat-
edly practises it.
10. As he again and again adverts to it and gives attention to it in this
way, consciousness belonging to the base consisting of boundless space


arises in absorption with the space [as its object], as the consciousness
belonging to the fine-material sphere did in the case of the earth kasina,
and so on. And here too in the prior stage there are either three or four
sensual-sphere impulsions associated with equanimous feeling, while the
fourth or the fifth is of the immaterial sphere. The rest is the same as in
the case of the earth kasina (Ch. IV, §74).
11. There is, however, this difference. When the immaterial-sphere con-
sciousness has arisen in this way, the bhikkhu, who has been formerly
looking at the kasina disk with the jhana eye, finds himself looking at
only space after that sign has been abruptly removed by the attention
given in the preliminary work thus 'space, space'. He is like a man who
has plugged an opening in a [covered] vehicle, a sack or a pot
2
with a
piece of blue rag or with a piece of rag of some such colour as yellow,
red or white and is looking at that, and then when the rag is removed by
the force of the wind or by some other agency, he finds himself looking
at space.
[Text and Commentary]
12. And at this point it is said: 'With the complete surmounting (sama-
tikkama) of perceptions of matter, with the disappearance of perceptions
of resistance, with non-attention to perceptions of variety, [aware of]
"unbounded space", he enters upon and dwells in the base consisting of
boundless space' (Vbh. 245).
13. Herein, complete is in all aspects or of all [perceptions]; without ex-
ception, is the meaning. Of perceptions of matter: both (a) of the fine-
material jhanas mentioned [here] under the heading of 'perception', and
(b) of those things that are their object. For (a) the jhana of the fine-
material sphere is called 'matter' in such passages as 'Possessed of vis-
ible matter he sees instances of matter' (D.ii,70; M.ii,12), and (b) it is its
object too [that is called 'matter'] in such passages as 'He sees instances
of visible matter externally ... fair and ugly' (D.ii,l 10; M.ii,13).
3
Conse-
quently here the words 'perceptions of matter' (rupa-sahnd—lit. 'matter-
perceptions'), in the sense of 'perceptions about matter', are used (a) for
fine-material jhana stated thus under the heading of 'perceptions'. [Also]
(b) it has the label (sanna) 'matter' (rupa\ thus it (the jhana's object) is
'labelled matter' (rupa-sanna); what is meant is that 'matter' is its name.
So it should be understood that this is also a term for (b) what is classed
as the earth kasina, etc., which is the object of that [jhana].
4
[329]
14. With the surmounting: with the fading away and with the cessation.
What is meant? With the fading away and with the cessation, both be-
cause of the fading away and because of the cessation, either in all
aspects or without exception, of these perceptions of matter, reckoned as


jhana, which number fifteen with the [five each of the] profitable, resul-
tant and functional,
5
and also of these things labelled matter, reckoned as
objects [of those perceptions], which number nine with the earth kasina,
etc. (§1), he enters upon and dwells in the base consisting of boundless
space. For he cannot enter upon and dwell in that without completely
surmounting perceptions of matter.
15. Herein, there is no surmounting of these perceptions in one whose
greed for the object [of those perceptions] has not faded away; and when
the perceptions have been surmounted, their objects have been surmounted
as well. That is why in the Vibhahga only the surmounting of the percep-
tions and not that of the objects is mentioned as follows: * Herein, what
are perceptions of matter? They are the perception, perceiving, per-
ceivedness, in one who has attained a fine-material-sphere attainment or
in one who has been reborn there or in one who is abiding in bliss there
in this present life. These are what are called perceptions of matter.
These perceptions of matter are passed, surpassed, surmounted. Hence,
"With the complete surmounting of perceptions of matter" is said' (Vbh.
261). But this commentary should be understood to deal also with the
surmounting of the object because these attainments have to be reached
by surmounting the object; they are not reached by retaining the same
object as in the first and subsequent jhanas.
16. With the disppearance of perceptions of resistance: perceptions of
resistance are perceptions arisen through the impact of the physical base
consisting of the eye, etc., and the respective objects consisting of visible
objects, etc.; and this is a term for perception of visible objects (rupa)
and so on, according as it is said: 'Here, what are perceptions of resis-
tance? Perceptions of visible objects, perceptions of sounds, perceptions
of odours, perceptions of flavours, perceptions of tangible objects—these
are called "perceptions of resistance"' (Vbh. 261); with the complete
disappearance, the abandoning, the non-arising, of these ten kinds of per-
ceptions of resistance, that is to say, of the five profitable-resultant and
five unprofitable-resultant;
1
causing their non-occurrence, is what is meant.
17. Of course, these are not to be found in one who has entered upon the
first jhana, etc., either; for consciousness at that time does not occur by
way of the five doors. Still [330] the mention of them here should be
understood as a recommendation of this jhana for the purpose of arous-
ing interest in it, just as in the case of the fourth jhana there is mention of
the pleasure and pain already abandoned elsewhere, and in the case of
the third path there is mention of the [false] view of personality, etc.,
already abandoned earlier.
18. Or alternatively, though these are also not to be found in one who
has attained the fine-material sphere, still their not being there is not due


to their having been abandoned; for development of the fine-material
sphere does not lead to fading of greed for materiality, and the occur-
rence of those [fine-material jhanas] is actually dependent on materiality.
But this development [of the immaterial] does lead to the fading of greed
for materiality. Therefore it is allowable to say that they are actually
abandoned here; and not only to say it, but to maintain it absolutely.
19. In fact it is because they have not been abandoned already before
this that it was said by the Blessed One that sound is a thorn to one who
has the first jhana (A.v,135). And it is precisely because they are aban-
doned here that the imperturbability (see Vbh. 135) of the immaterial
attainments and their state of peaceful liberation are mentioned (M.i,33),
and that Alara Kalama neither saw the five hundred carts that passed
close by him nor heard the sound of them while he was in an immaterial
attainment (D.ii,130).
20. With non-attention to perceptions of variety: either to perceptions
occurring with variety as their domain or to perceptions themselves vari-
ous. For 'perceptions of variety' are so called [for two reasons]: firstly,
because the kinds of perception included along with the mind element
and mind-consciousness element in one who has not attained—which
kinds are intended here as described in the Vibhahga thus: *Herein, what
are perceptions of variety? The perception, perceiving, perceivedness, in
one who has not attained and possesses either mind element or mind-
consciousness element: these are called "perceptions of variety"'
(Vbh. 261)—occur with respect to a domain that is varied in individual
essence with the variety classed as visible-object, sound, etc.; and sec-
ondly, because the forty-four kinds of perception—that is to say, eight
kinds of sense-sphere profitable perception, twelve kinds of unprofitable
perception, eleven kinds of sense-sphere profitable resultant perception,
two kinds of unprofitable-resultant perception, and eleven kinds of sense-
sphere functional perception—themselves have variety, have various in-
dividual essences, and are dissimiliar from each other. With the com-
plete non-attention to, non-adverting to, non-reaction to, non-reviewing
of, these perceptions of variety; what is meant is that because he does
not advert to them, give them attention or review them, therefore ...
21. And [two things] should be understood: firstly, that their absence is
stated here in the two ways as 'surmounting' and 'disappearance' be-
cause the earlier perceptions of matter and perceptions of resistance do
not exist even in the kind of existence produced by this jhana on rebirth,
let alone when this jhana is entered upon and dwelt in that existence;
[331] and secondly, in the case of perceptions of variety, 'non-attention'
to them is said because twenty-seven kinds of perception—that is to say,
eight kinds of sense-sphere profitable perception, nine kinds of func-


tional perception, and ten kinds of unprofitable perception—still exist in
the kind of existence produced by this jhana. For when he enters upon
and dwells in this jhana there too, he does so by non-attention to them
also, but he has not attained when he does give attention to them.
22. And here briefly it should be understood that the abandoning of all
fine-material-sphere states is signified by the words with the surmount-
ing of perceptions of matter, and the abandoning of and non-attention to
all sense-sphere consciousness and its concomitants is signified by the
words with the disappearance of perceptions of resistance, with non-
attention to perceptions of variety.
23. Unbounded space: here it is called 'unbounded' (ananta, lit. end-
less) because neither its end as its arising nor its end as its fall are made
known.
7
It is the space left by the removal of the kasina that is called
'space'. And here unboundedness (endlessness) should be understood as
[referring to] the attention also, which is why it is said in the Vibhanga:
'He places, settles, his consciousness in that space, he pervades un-
boundedly (anantam), hence "unbounded (ananto) space" is said
(Vbh. 262).
24. He enters upon and dwells in the base consisting of boundless space:
it has no bound (anta)y thus it is unbounded (ananta). What is spatially
unbounded (akasam anantam) is unbounded space (akdsdnantam). Un-
bounded space is the same as boundless space (akasanancam—lit. space-
boundlessness). That 'boundless space' is a 'base' (ayatana) in the sense
of habitat for the jhana whose nature it is to be associated with it, as the
'deities' base' is for deities, thus it is the 'base consisting of boundless
space' (akasanancayatana). He enters upon and dwells in: having reached
that base consisting of boundless space, having caused it to be produced,
he dwells (viharati) with an abiding (vihara) consisting in postures that
are in conformity with it.
This is the detailed explanation of the base consisting of boundless
space as a meditation subject.

[(2) THE BASE CONSISTING OF BOUNDLESS CONSCIOUSNESS]
25. When he wants to develop the base consisting of boundless con-
sciousness, he must first achieve mastery in the five ways in the attain-
ment of the base consisting of boundless space. Then he should see the
danger in the base consisting of boundless space in this way: 'This
attainment has fine-material jhana as its near enemy, and it is not as
peaceful as the base consisting of boundless consciousness'. So having
ended his attachment to that, he should give his attention to the base
consisting of boundless consciousness as peaceful, adverting again and
again as 'consciousness, consciousness' to the consciousness that oc-


curred pervading that space [as its object]. He should give it attention,
review it, and strike at it with applied and sustained thought; [332] but
he should not give attention [simply] in this way 'boundless, bound-
less'.
8
26. As he directs his mind again and again on to that sign in this way,
the hindrances are suppressed, mindfulness is established, and his mind
becomes concentrated in access. He cultivates that sign again and again,
develops and repeatedly practises it. As he does so, consciousness
belonging to the base consisting of boundless consciousness arises in
absorption with the [past] consciousness that pervaded the space [as its
object], just as that belonging to the base consisting of boundless space
did with the space [as its object]. But the method of explaining the
process of absorption here should be understood in the way already
described.
[Text and Commentary]
27. And at this point it is said: 'By completely surmounting (samati-
kamma) the base consisting of boundless space, [aware of] "unbounded
consciousness", he enters upon and dwells in the base consisting of
boundless consciousness' (Vbh. 245).
28. Herein, completely is as already explained. By ... surmounting the
base consisting of boundless space: the jhana is called the 'base consist-
ing of boundless space' in the way already stated (§24), and its object is
so called too. For the object, too, is 'boundless space' (akasanancam) in
the way already stated (§24), and then, because it is the object of the first
immaterial jhana, it is its 'base' in the sense of habitat, as the 'deities'
base' is for deities, thus it is the 'base consisting of boundless space'.
Likewise: it is 'boundless space', and then, because it is the cause of the
jhana's being of that species, it is its 'base' in the sense of locality of the
species, as Kamboja is the 'base' of horses, thus it is the 'base consisting
of boundless space' in this way also. So it should be understood that the
words 'By ... surmounting the base consisting of boundless space' in-
clude both [the jhana and its object] together, since this base consisting
of boundless consciousness is to be entered upon and dwelt in precisely
by surmounting, by causing the non-occurrence of, and by not giving at-
tention to, both the jhana and its object.
29. Unbounded consciousness: What is meant is that he gives his atten-
tion thus 'unbounded consciousness' to that same consciousness that oc-
curred in pervading [as its object the space] as 'unbounded space'. Or
'unbounded' refers to the attention. For when he gives attention without
reserve to the consciousness that had the space as its object, then the
attention he gives to it is 'unbounded'.


30. For it is said in the Vibhanga: * "Unbounded consciousness": he
gives attention to that same space pervaded by consciousness, he per-
vades boundlessly, hence "unbounded consciousness" is said' (Vbh. 262).
But in that passage (tam yeva akasam vinnanena phutam) the instrumen-
tal case *by consciousness' must be understood in the sense of accusa-
tive; for the teachers of the commentary explain its meaning in that way.
What is meant by 'He pervades boundlessly' is that 'he gives attention to
that same consciousness which had pervaded that space' {tam yeva akasam
phutam vinnanam).
31. He enters upon and dwells in the base consisting of boundless con-
sciousness: [333] it has no bound (anta, lit. end), thus it is unbounded
(ananta). What is unbounded is boundless (ananca, lit. unboundedness),
and unbounded consciousness is called 'boundless consciousness', that
is, 'vinnanancam' [in the contracted form] instead of 'vinnananancam'
[which is the full number of syllables]. This is an idiomatic form. That
boundless consciousness (vinnananca) is the base (ayatana) in the sense
of foundation for the jhana whose nature it is to be associated with it, as
the 'deities' base' is for deities, thus it is the 'base consisting of bound-
less consciousness' (vinnanancayatana). The rest is the same as before.
This is the detailed explanation of the base consisting of boundless
consciousness as a meditation subject.

Visuddhimagga - THE DIVINE ABIDINGS - General

THE PATH
OF PURIFICATION
(VISUDDHIMAGGA)
BY
BHADANTACARIYA BUDDHAGHOSA
Translated from the Pali
by
BHIKKHU NANAMOLI
FIFTH EDITION
BUDDHIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY
Kandy Sri Lanka


[GENERAL]
91. Now having thus known these divine abidings
Told by the Divine (brahma) One supremely [wise],
There is this general explanation too
Concerning them that he should recognize.
[Meanings]
92. Now as to the meaning firstly of lovingkindness, compassion, glad-
ness and equanimity: it fattens (mejjati), thus it is lovingkindness (metta);
it is solvent (siniyhati) is the meaning. Also: it comes about with respect
to a friend (mitta), [318] or it is behaviour towards a friend, thus it is
lovingkindness (metta).
When there is suffering in others it causes (karoti) good people's
hearts to be moved (kampana), thus it is compassion (karuna). Or alter-
natively, it combats (kinati)
11
others' suffering, attacks and demolishes
it, thus it is compassion. Or alternatively, it is scattered (kiriyati) upon
those who suffer, it is extended to them by pervasion, thus it is compas-
sion (karuna).
Those endowed with it are glad (modanti), or itself is glad (modati),
or it is the mere act of being glad (modana), thus it is gladness (mudita).
It looks on at (upekkhati), abandoning such interestedness as think-
ing 'May they be free from enmity' and having recourse to neutrality,
thus it is equanimity (upekkha).
[Characteristic, Etc.]
93. As to the characteristic, etc., lovingkindness is characterized here as
promoting the aspect of welfare. Its function is to prefer welfare. It is
manifested as the removal of annoyance. Its proximate cause is seeing
lovableness in beings. It succeeds when it makes ill will subside, and it
fails when it produces (selfish) affection.
94. Compassion is characterized as promoting the aspect of allaying
suffering. Its function resides in not bearing others' suffering. It is mani-
fested as non-cruelty. Its proximate cause is to see helplessness in those
overwhelmed by suffering. It succeeds when it makes cruelty subside
and it fails when it produces sorrow.
95. Gladness is characterized as gladdening (produced by others' suc-


cess).
12
Its function resides in being unenvious. It is manifested as the
elimination of aversion (boredom). Its proximate cause is seeing beings'
success. It succeeds when it makes aversion (boredom) subside, and it
fails when it produces merriment.
96. Equanimity is characterized as promoting the aspect of neutrality to-
wards beings. Its function is to see equality in beings. It is manifested as
the quieting of resentment and approval. Its proximate cause is seeing
ownership of deeds (kamma) thus: 'Beings are owners of their deeds.
Whose
13
[if not theirs] is the choice by which they will become happy, or
will get free from suffering, or will not fall away from the success they
have reached?'. It succeeds when it makes resentment and approval sub-
side, and it fails when it produces the equanimity of unknowing, which
is that [worldly-minded indifference of ignorancp] based on the house
life.
[Purpose]
97. The general purpose of these four divine abidings is the bliss of
insight and an excellent (form of future) existence. That peculiar to each
is respectively the warding off of ill will, and so on. For here lovingkind-
ness has the purpose of warding off ill will, while the others have the
respective purposes of warding off cruelty, aversion (boredom), and greed
or resentment. And this is said too: Tor this is the escape from ill will,
friends, that is to say, the mind-deliverance of lovingkindness ... For this
is the escape from cruelty, friends, that is to say, the mind-deliverance of
compassion ... For this is the escape from aversion (boredom), friends,
that is to say, the mind-deliverance of gladness ... For this is the escape
from greed, friends, that is to say, the mind-deliverance of equanimity
(D.iii,248X
[The Near and Far Enemies]
98. And here each one has two enemies, one near and one far.
The diving abiding of lovingkindness [319] has greed as its near
enemy,
14
since both share in seeing virtues. Greed behaves like a foe
who keeps close by a man, and it easily finds an opportunity. So lov-
ingkindness should be well protected from it. And ill will, which is
dissimilar to the similar greed, is its far enemy like a foe ensconced in a
rock wilderness. So lovingkindness must be practised free from fear of
that; for it is not possible to practise lovingkindness and feel anger si-
multaneously (see D.iii, 247-48).
99. Compassion has grief based on the home life as its near enemy,
since both share in seeing failure. Such grief has been described in the
way beginning, 'When a man either regards as a privation failure to ob-


tain visible objects cognizable by the eye that are sought after, desired,
agreeable, gratifying and associated with worldliness, or when he recalls
those formerly obtained that are past, ceased and changed, then grief
arises in him. Such grief as this is called grief based on the home life'
(M.iii,218). And cruelty, which is dissimilar to the similar grief, is its far
enemy. So compassion must be practised free from fear of that; for it is
not possible to practise compassion and be cruel to breathing things
simultaneously.
100. Gladness has joy based on the home life as its near enemy, since
both share in seeing success. Such joy has been described in the way
beginning, 'When a man either regards as gain the obtaining of visible
objects cognizable by the eye that are sought ... and associated with
worldliness, or recalls those formerly obtained that are past, ceased, and
changed, then joy arises in him. Such joy as this is called joy based on
the home life' (M.iii,217). And aversion (boredom), which is dissimilar
to the similar joy, is its far enemy. So gladness should be practised free
from fear of that; for it is not possible to practise gladness and be discon-
tented with remote abodes and things connected with the higher profita-
bleness simultaneously.
101. Equanimity has the equanimity of unknowing based on the home
life as its near enemy, since both share in ignoring faults and virtues.
Such unknowing has been described in the way beginning, 'On seeing a
visible object with the eye equanimity arises in the foolish infatuated
ordinary man, in the untaught ordinary man who has not conquered his
limitations, who has not conquered future [kamma] result, who is unper-
ceiving of danger. Such equanimity as this does not surmount the visible
object. Such equanimity as this is called equanimity based on the home
life' (M.iii,219). And greed and resentment, which are dissimilar to the
similar unknowing, are its far enemies. Therefore equanimity must be
practised free from fear of that; [320] for it is not possible to look on
with equanimity and be inflamed with greed or be resentful15 simultane-
ously.
[The Beginning, Middle and End, Etc.]
102. Now zeal consisting in desire to act is the beginning of all these
things. Suppression of the hindrances, etc., is the middle. Absorption is
the end. Their object is a single living being or many living beings, as a
mental object consisting in a concept.
[The Order in Extension]
103. The extension of the object takes place either in access or in absorp-
tion. Here is the order of it. Just as a skilled ploughman first delimits an


area and then does his ploughing, so first a single dwelling should be de-
limited and lovingkindness developed towards all beings there in the
way beginning 'In this dwelling may all beings be free from enmity'.
When his mind has become malleable and wieldy with respect to that, he
can then delimit two dwellings. Next he can successively delimit three,
four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, one street, half the village, the
whole village, the district, the kingdom, one direction, and so on up to
one world-sphere, or even beyond that, and develop lovingkindness to-
wards the beings in such areas. Likewise with compassion and so on.
This is the order in extending here.
[The Outcome]
104. Just as the immaterial states are the outcome of the kasinas, and the
base consisting of neither perception nor non-perception is the outcome
of concentration, and fruition attainment is the outcome of insight, and
the attainment of cessation is the outcome of serenity coupled with in-
sight, so the divine abiding of equanimity is the outcome of the first
three divine abidings. For just as the gable rafters cannot be placed in the
air without having first set up the scaffolding and built the framework of
beams, so it is not possible to develop the fourth (jhana in the fourth
divine abiding) without having already developed the third jhana in the
earlier (three divine abidings).
[Four Questions]
105. And here it may be asked: But why are lovingkindness, compassion,
gladness, and equanimity, called divine abidings? And why are they only
four? And what is their order? And why are they called measureless
states in the Abhidhamma?
106. It may be replied: The divineness of the abiding (brahmaviharata)
should be understood here in the sense of best and in the sense of
immaculate. For these abidings are the best in being the right attitude
towards beings. And just as Brahma gods abide with immaculate minds,
so the meditators who associate themselves with these abidings abide on
an equal footing with Brahma gods. So they are called divine abidings in
the sense of best and in the sense of immaculate. [321]
107. Here are the answers to the questions beginning with 'Why are they
only four?*:
Their number four is due to paths to purity
And other sets of four; their order to their aim
As welfare and the rest. Their scope is found to be
Immeasurable, so 'measureless states' their name.


108. For among these, lovingkindness is the way to purity for one who
has much ill will, compassion is that for one who has much cruelty,
gladness is that for one who has much aversion (boredom), and equa-
nimity is that for one who has much greed. Also attention given to
beings is only fourfold, that is to say, as bringing welfare, as removing
suffering, as being glad at their success, and as unconcern, [that is to say,
impartial neutrality]. And one abiding in the measureless states should
practise lovingkindness and the rest like a mother with four sons, namely,
a child, an invalid, one in the flush of youth, and one busy with his own
affairs; for she wants the child to grow up, wants the invalid to get well,
wants the one in the flush of youth to enjoy for long the benefits of
youth, and is not at all bothered about the one who is busy with his own
affairs. That is why the measureless states are only four as 'due to paths
to purity and other sets of four'.
109. One who wants to develop these four should practise them towards
beings first as the promotion of the aspect of welfare—and lovingkind-
ness has the promotion of the aspect of welfare as its characteristic; and
next, on seeing or hearing or judging16
that beings whose welfare has
been thus wished for are at the mercy of suffering, they should be prac-
tised as the promotion of the aspect of the removal of suffering—and
compassion has the promotion of the aspect of the removal of suffering
as its characteristic; and then, on seeing the success of those whose
welfare has been wished for and the removal of whose suffering has
been wished for, they should be practised as being glad—and gladness
has the act of gladdening as its characteristic; but after that there is
nothing to be done and so they should be practised as the neutral aspect,
in other words, the state of an onlooker—and equanimity has the promo-
tion of the aspect of neutrality as its characteristic; therefore, since their
respective aims are the aspect of welfare, etc., their order should be un-
derstood to correspond, with lovingkindness stated first, then compas-
sion, gladness and equanimity.
110. All of them, however, occur with a measureless scope, for their
scope is measureless beings; and instead of assuming a measure such as
'Lovingkindness, etc., should be developed only towards a single being,
or in an area of such an extent', they occur with universal pervasion.
That is why it was said: [322]
Their number four is due to paths to purity
And other sets of four, their order to their aim
As welfare and the rest. Their scope is found to be
Immeasurable, so "measureless states" their name'.


[As Producing Three Jhanas and Four Jhanas]
111. Though they have a single characteristic in having a measureless
scope, yet the first three are only of triple and quadruple jhana [respec-
tively in the fourfold and fivefold reckonings]. Why? Because they are
not dissociated from joy. But why are their aims not dissociated from
joy? Because they are the escape from ill will, etc., which are originated
by grief. But the last one belongs only to the remaining single jhana.
Why? Because it is associated with equanimous feeling. For the divine
abiding of equanimity that occurs in the aspect of neutrality towards
beings does not exist apart from equanimous [that is to say, neither-
painfiil-nor-pleasant] feeling.
112. However, someone might say this: 'It has been said by the Blessed
One in the Book of Eights, speaking of the measureless states in general:
"Next, bhikkhu, you should develop the concentration with applied thought
and sustained thought, and you should develop it without applied thought
and with sustained thought only, and you should develop it without
applied thought and without sustained thought, and you should develop
it with happiness, and you should develop it without happiness, and you
should develop it accompanied by gratification, and you should develop
it accompanied by equanimity" (A.iv,300). Consequently all four meas-
ureless states have quadruple and quintuple jhana'.
113. He should be told: 'Do not put it like that. For if that were so, then
contemplation of the body, etc., would also have quadruple and quin-
tuple jhana. But there is not even the first jhana in the contemplation
of feeling or in the other two.
17
So do not misrepresent the Blessed One
by adherence to the letter. The Enlightened One's word is profound
and should be taken as it is intended, giving due weight to the teachers'.
114. And the intention here is this: The Blessed One, it seems, was asked
to teach the Dhamma thus: 'Venerable sir, it would be good if the Blessed
One would teach me the Dhamma in brief, so that, having heard the
Blessed One's Dhamma, I may dwell alone, withdrawn, diligent, ardent
and self-exerted' (A.iv,299). But the Blessed One had no confidence yet
in that bhikkhu, since although he had already heard the Dhamma he had
nevertheless gone on living there instead of going to do the ascetic's
duties, [and the Blessed One expressed his lack of confidence] thus: 'So
too, some misguided men merely question me, and when the Dhamma is
expounded [to them], they still fancy that they need not follow me'
(A.iv,299). However, the bhikkhu had the potentiality for the attainment
of Arahantship, and so he advised him again, [323] saying: 'Therefore,
bhikkhu, you should train thus: "My mind shall be steadied, quite stead-
ied internally, and arisen evil unprofitable things shall not obsess my


mind and remain". You should train thus' (A.iv,299). But what is stated
in that advice is basic concentration consisting in mere unification of
mind18
internally in the sense of in oneself (see Ch. XIV, n.75).
115. After that he told him about its development by means of lovingkind-
ness in order to show that he should not rest content with just that much
but should intensify his basic concentration in this way: *As soon as your
mind has become steadied, quite steadied internally, bhikkhu, and arisen
evil unprofitable things do not obsess your mind and remain, then you
should train thus: "The mind-deliverance of lovingkindness will be de-
veloped by me, frequently practised, made the vehicle, made the founda-
tion, established, consolidated, and properly undertaken". You should
train thus, bhikkhu' (A.iv,299-300), after which he said further: * As soon
as this concentration has been thus developed by you, bhikkhu,
19
and fre-
quently practised, then you should develop this concentration with ap-
plied thought and sustained thought... and you should develop it accom-
panied by equanimity' (A.iv,300).
116. The meaning is this: 'Bhikkhu, when this basic concentration has
been developed by you by means of lovingkindness, then, instead of
resting content with just that much, you should make this basic concen-
tration reach quadruple and quintuple jhana in other objects by [further]
developing it in the way beginning "With applied thought" '.
117. And having spoken thus, he further said: *As soon as this concentra-
tion has been thus developed by you, bhikkhu, and frequently practised,
then you should train thus: "The mind-deliverance of compassion will be
developed by me ..."' (A.iv,300), etc., pointing out that 'you should
effect its [further] development by means of quadruple and quintuple
jhana in other objects, this [further] development being preceded by the
remaining divine abidings of compassion and the rest*.
118. Having thus shown how its [further] development by means of quad-
ruple and quintuple jhana is preceded by lovingkindness, etc., and hav-
ing told him, 'As soon as this concentration has been developed by you,
bhikkhu, and frequently practised, then you should train thus: "I shall
dwell contemplating the body as a body" ', etc., he concluded the dis-
course with Arahantship as its culmination thus: 'As soon as this concen-
tration has been developed by you, bhikkhu, completely developed, then
wherever you go you will go in comfort, wherever you stand you will
stand in comfort, wherever [324] you sit you will sit in comfort, wher-
ever you make your couch you will do so in comfort' (A.iv,301). From
that it must be understood that the [three] beginning with lovingkindness
have only triple-quadruple jhana, and that equanimity has only the single
remaining jhana. And they are expounded in the same way in the
Abhidhamma as well.


[The Highest Limit of Each]
119. And while they are twofold by way of the triple-quadruple jhana
and the single remaining jhana, still they should be understood to be
distinguishable in each case by a different efficacy consisting in having
'beauty as the highest', etc. For they are so described in the Haliddavasana
Sutta, according as it is said: 'Bhikkhus, the mind-deliverance of lov-
ingkindness has beauty as the highest, I say ... The mind-deliverance of
compassion has the base consisting of boundless space as the highest, I
say... The mind-deliverance of gladness has the base consisting of bound-
less consciousness as the highest I say ... The mind-deliverance of equa-
nimity has the base consisting of nothingness as the highest, I say'
(S.v,119-21).
20
120. But why are they described in this way? Because each is the respec-
tive basic support for each. For beings are unrepulsive to one who abides
in lovingkindness. Being familiar with the unrepulsive aspect, when he
applies his mind to unrepulsive pure colours such as blue-black, his
mind enters into them without difficulty. So lovingkindness is the basic
support for the liberation by the beautiful (see M.ii,12; MA.iii,256), but
not for what is beyond that. That is why it is called 'having beauty as the
highest'.
121. One who abides in compassion has come to know thoroughly the
danger in materiality, since compassion is aroused in him when he sees
the suffering of beings that has as its material sign (cause) beating with
sticks, and so on. So, well knowing the danger in materiality, when he
removes whichever kasina [concept he was contemplating], whether that
of the earth kasina or another, and applies his mind to the space [that re-
mains (see Ch. X, §6)], which is the escape from materiality, then his
mind enters into that [space] without difficulty. So compassion is the
basic support for the sphere of boundless space, but not for what is
beyond that. That is why it is called 'Having the base consisting of
boundless space as the highest'.
122. When he abides in gladness, his mind becomes familiar with appre-
hending consciousness, since gladness is aroused in him when he sees
beings' consciousness arisen in the form of rejoicing over some reason
for joy. Then when he surmounts the sphere of boundless space that he
had already attained in due course and applies his mind to the conscious-
ness that had as its object the sign of space, [325] his mind enters into it
without difficulty. So gladness is the basic support for the base consist-
ing of boundless consciousness, but not for what is beyond that. That is
why it is called 'having the sphere of boundless consciousness as the
highest'.


123. When he abides in equanimity, his mind becomes skilled21
in appre-
hending what is (in the ultimate sense) non-existent, because his mind
has been diverted from apprehension of (what is existent in) the ultimate
sense, namely, pleasure, (release from) pain, etc., owing to having no
further concern such as 'May beings be happy' or 'May they be released
from pain' or 'May they not lose the success they have obtained'. Now
his mind has become used to being diverted from apprehension of (what
is existent in) the ultimate sense, and his mind has become skilled in
apprehending what is non-existent in the ultimate sense, (that is to say,
living beings, which are a concept), and so when he surmounts the base
consisting of boundless consciousness attained in due course and applies
his mind to the absence, which is non-existent as to individual essence,
of consciousness, which is a reality (is become—see M.i,260) in the
ultimate sense, then his mind enters into that (nothingness, that non-
existence) without difficulty (see Ch. X, §32). So equanimity is the basic
support for the base consisting of nothingness, but not for what is be-
yond that. That is why it is called 'having the base consisting of nothing-
ness as the highest*.
124. When he has understood thus that the special efficacy of each re-
sides respectively in 'having beauty as the highest', etc., he should be-
sides understand how they bring to perfection all the good states begin-
ning with giving. For the Great Beings' minds retain their balance by
giving preference to beings' welfare, by dislike of beings' suffering, by
desire for the various successes achieved by beings to last, and by impar-
tiality towards all beings. And to all beings they give gifts, which are a
source a pleasure, without discriminating thus: 'It must be given to this
one; it must not be given to this one'. And in order to avoid doing harm
to beings they undertake the precepts of virtue. They practise renuncia-
tion for the purpose of perfecting their virtue. They cleanse their under-
standing for the purpose of non-confusion about what is good and bad
for beings. They constantly arouse energy, having beings' welfare and
happiness at heart. When they have acquired heroic fortitude through su-
preme energy, they become patient with beings' many kinds of faults.
They do not deceive when promising 'We shall give you this; we shall
do this for you'. They are unshakably resolute upon beings' welfare and
happiness. Through unshakable lovingkindness they place them first [be-
fore themselves]. Through equanimity they expect no reward. Having
thus fulfilled the [ten] perfections, these [divine abidings] then perfect
all the good states classed as the ten powers, the four kinds of fearless-
ness, the six kinds of knowledge not shared [by disciples], and the eight-
een states of the Enlightened One.
22
This is how they bring to perfection
all the good states beginning with giving.


The ninth chapter called 'The Description of
the Divine Abidings' in the Treatise on the Devel-
opment of Concentration in the Path of Purifica-
tion composed for the purpose of gladdening good
people.