Majjhima Nikaya - Mahavedalla Sutta

MN 43
Mahavedalla Sutta
The Greater Set of Questions-and-Answers
Translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro BhikkhuPTS: M i 292



Source: Transcribed from a file provided by the translator.



Copyright © 2006 Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
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I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying at Savatthi, in
Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Monastery. Then Ven. Maha Kotthita, arising from
his seclusion in the late afternoon, went to Ven. Sariputta and, on arrival,
exchanged courteous greetings with him. After an exchange of friendly greetings
& courtesies, he sat to one side.
Discernment
As he was sitting there, he said to Ven. Sariputta, "Friend, 'One of poor
discernment, one of poor discernment': Thus is it said. To what extent is one
said to be 'one of poor discernment'?"
"'One doesn't discern, one doesn't discern': Thus, friend, one is said to be
'one of poor discernment.' And what doesn't one discern? One doesn't discern,
'This is stress.' One doesn't discern, 'This is the origination of stress.' One
doesn't discern, 'This is the cessation of stress.' One doesn't discern, 'This
is the practice leading to the cessation of stress.' 'One doesn't discern, one
doesn't discern': Thus one is said to be 'one of poor discernment.'"
Saying, "Very good, friend," Ven. Maha Kotthita — delighting in & approving of
Ven. Sariputta's statement — asked him a further question: "Discerning,
discerning': Thus is it said. To what extent, friend, is one said to be
'discerning'?"
"'One discerns, one discerns': Thus, friend, one is said to be 'discerning.' And
what does one discern? One discerns, 'This is stress.' One discerns, 'This is
the origination of stress.' One discerns, 'This is the cessation of stress.' One
discerns, 'This is the practice leading to the cessation of stress.' 'One
discerns, one discerns': Thus one is said to be 'discerning.'"
Consciousness
"'Consciousness, consciousness': Thus is it said. To what extent, friend, is it
said to be 'consciousness'?"
"'It cognizes, it cognizes': Thus, friend, it is said to be 'consciousness.' And
what does it cognize? It cognizes 'pleasant.' It cognizes 'painful.' It cognizes
'neither painful nor pleasant.' 'It cognizes, it cognizes': Thus it is said to
be 'consciousness.'"
"Discernment & consciousness, friend: Are these qualities conjoined or
disjoined? Is it possible, having separated them one from the other, to
delineate the difference between them?"
"Discernment & consciousness are conjoined, friend, not disjoined. It's not
possible, having separated them one from the other, to delineate the difference
between them. For what one discerns, that one cognizes. What one cognizes, that
one discerns. Therefore these qualities are conjoined, not disjoined, and it is
not possible, having separated them one from another, to delineate the
difference between them."
"Discernment & consciousness, friend: What is the difference between these
qualities that are conjoined, not disjoined?"
"Discernment & consciousness, friend: Of these qualities that are conjoined, not
disjoined, discernment is to be developed, consciousness is to be fully
comprehended."1
Feeling
"'Feeling, feeling': Thus is it said. To what extent, friend, is it said to be
'feeling'?"
"'It feels, it feels': Thus, friend, it is said to be 'feeling.' And what does
it feel? It feels pleasure. It feels pain. It feels neither pleasure nor pain.
'It feels, it feels': Thus it is said to be 'feeling.'"
Perception
"'Perception, perception': Thus is it said. To what extent, friend, is it said
to be 'perception'?"
"'It perceives, it perceives': Thus, friend, it is said to be 'perception.' And
what does it perceive? It perceives blue. It perceives yellow. It perceives red.
It perceives white. 'It perceives, it perceives': Thus it is said to be
'perception.'"
"Feeling, perception, & consciousness, friend: Are these qualities conjoined or
disjoined? Is it possible, having separated them one from another, to delineate
the difference among them?"
"Feeling, perception, & consciousness are conjoined, friend, not disjoined. It
is not possible, having separated them one from another, to delineate the
difference among them. For what one feels, that one perceives. What one
perceives, that one cognizes. Therefore these qualities are conjoined, not
disjoined, and it is not possible, having separated them one from another, to
delineate the difference among them."
The eye of discernment
"Friend, what can be known with the purified intellect-consciousness divorced
from the five [sense] faculties?"
"Friend, with the purified intellect-consciousness divorced from the five
faculties the dimension of the infinitude of space can be known [as] 'infinite
space.' The dimension of the infinitude of consciousness can be known [as]
'infinite consciousness.' The dimension of nothingness can be known [as] 'There
is nothing.'
"With what does one know a quality that can be known?"
"One knows a quality that can be known with the eye of discernment."
"And what is the purpose of discernment?"
"The purpose of discernment is direct knowledge, its purpose is full
comprehension, its purpose is abandoning."
Right view
"Friend, how many conditions are there for the arising of right view?"
"Friend, there are two conditions for the arising of right view: the voice of
another and appropriate attention. These are the two conditions for the arising
of right view."
"And assisted by how many factors does right view have awareness-release as its
fruit & reward, and discernment-release as its fruit & reward?"
"Assisted by five factors, right view has awareness-release as its fruit &
reward, and discernment-release as its fruit & reward. There is the case where
right view is assisted by virtue, assisted by learning, assisted by discussion,
assisted by tranquility, assisted by insight. Assisted by these five factors,
right view has awareness-release as its fruit & reward, and discernment-release
as its fruit & reward."
Becoming
"Friend, how many kinds of becoming are there?"
"Friend, there are these three kinds of becoming: sensual becoming, form
becoming, formless becoming."
"And how is further becoming in the future brought about?"
"The delight, now here, now there, of beings hindered by ignorance & fettered by
craving: That's how further becoming in the future is brought about."
"And how is further becoming in the future not brought about?"
"Through the fading of ignorance, the arising of clear knowing, & the cessation
of craving: That's how further becoming in the future is not brought about."
The first jhana
"What, friend, is the first jhana?"
"There is the case, friend, where a monk — quite withdrawn from sensual
pleasures, withdrawn from unskillful qualities — enters & remains in the first
jhana: rapture & pleasure born from withdrawal, accompanied by directed thought
& evaluation. This is called the first jhana."
"And how many factors does the first jhana have?"
"The first jhana has five factors. There is the case where, in a monk who has
attained the five-factored first jhana, there occurs directed thought,
evaluation, rapture, pleasure, & singleness of mind. It's in this way that the
first jhana has five factors."
"And how many factors are abandoned in the first jhana, and with how many is it
endowed?"
"Five factors are abandoned in the first jhana, and with five is it endowed.
There is the case where, in a monk who has attained the first jhana, sensual
desire is abandoned, ill will is abandoned, sloth & torpor is abandoned,
restlessness & anxiety is abandoned, uncertainty is abandoned. And there occur
directed thought, evaluation, rapture, pleasure, & singleness of mind. It's in
this way that five factors are abandoned in the first jhana, and with five it is
endowed."
The five faculties
"Friend, there are these five faculties each with a separate range, a separate
domain, and they do not experience one another's range & domain: the
eye-faculty, the ear-faculty, the nose-faculty, the tongue-faculty, & the
body-faculty. Now what do these five faculties — each with a separate range, a
separate domain, not experiencing one another's range & domain: the eye-faculty,
the ear-faculty, the nose-faculty, the tongue-faculty, & the body-faculty — have
as their [common] arbitrator? What experiences [all] their ranges & domains?"
"Friend, these five faculties — each with a separate range, a separate domain,
not experiencing one another's range & domain: the eye-faculty, the ear-faculty,
the nose-faculty, the tongue-faculty, & the body-faculty — have the intellect as
their [common] arbitrator. The intellect is what experiences [all] their ranges
& domains."
"Now, these five faculties — the eye-faculty, the ear-faculty, the nose-faculty,
the tongue-faculty, & the body-faculty: In dependence on what do they remain
standing?"
"These five faculties — the eye-faculty, the ear-faculty, the nose-faculty, the
tongue-faculty, & the body-faculty — remain standing in dependence on
vitality."2
"And vitality remains standing in dependence on what?"
"Vitality remains standing in dependence on heat."
"And heat remains standing in dependence on what?"
"Heat remains standing in dependence on vitality."
"Just now, friend Sariputta, we understood you to say, 'Vitality remains
standing in dependence on heat.' And just now we understood you to say, 'Heat
remains standing in dependence on vitality.' Now how is the meaning of these
statements to be seen?"
"In that case, friend, I will give you analogy, for there are cases where it is
through an analogy that an intelligent person understands the meaning of a
statement. Suppose an oil lamp is burning. Its radiance is discerned in
dependence on its flame, and its flame is discerned in dependence on its
radiance. In the same way, vitality remains standing in dependence on heat, and
heat remains standing in dependence on vitality.
Vitality-fabrications
"Friend, are vitality-fabrications3 the same thing as feeling-states? Or are
vitality-fabrications one thing, and feeling-states another?"
"Vitality-fabrications are not the same thing as feeling-states, friend. If
vitality-fabrications were the same thing as feeling-states, the emergence of a
monk from the attainment of the cessation of feeling & perception would not be
discerned. It's because vitality-fabrications are one thing and feeling-states
another that the emergence of a monk from the attainment of the cessation of
perception & feeling is discerned."
"When this body lacks how many qualities does it lie discarded & forsaken, like
a senseless log?"
"When this body lacks these three qualities — vitality, heat, & consciousness —
it lies discarded & forsaken like a senseless log."
"What is the difference between one who is dead, who has completed his time, and
a monk who has attained the cessation of perception & feeling?"
"In the case of the one who is dead, who has completed his time, his bodily
fabrications have ceased & subsided, his verbal fabrications ... his mental
fabrications have ceased & subsided, his vitality is exhausted, his heat
subsided, & his faculties are scattered. But in the case of a monk who has
attained the cessation of perception & feeling, his bodily fabrications have
ceased & subsided, his verbal fabrications ... his mental fabrications have
ceased & subsided, his vitality is not exhausted, his heat has not subsided, &
his faculties are exceptionally clear. This is the difference between one who is
dead, who has completed his time, and a monk who has attained the cessation of
perception & feeling."
Awareness-release
"Friend, how many conditions are there for the attainment of the
neither-pleasant-nor-painful awareness-release?"
"Friend, there are four conditions for the attainment of the
neither-pleasant-nor-painful awareness-release. There is the case where a monk,
with the abandoning of pleasure & stress — as with the earlier disappearance of
elation & distress — enters & remains in the fourth jhana: purity of equanimity
& mindfulness, neither-pleasure-nor-pain. These are the four conditions for the
attainment of the neither-pleasant-nor-painful awareness-release.
"How many conditions are there for the attainment of the theme-less
awareness-release?"
"There are two conditions for the attainment of the theme-less
awareness-release: lack of attention to all themes and attention to the
theme-less property. These are the two conditions for the attainment of the
theme-less awareness-release."
"And how many conditions are there for the persistence of the theme-less
awareness-release?"
"There are three conditions for the persistence of the theme-less
awareness-release: lack of attention to all themes, attention to the theme-less
property, and a prior act of will. These are the three conditions for the
persistence of the theme-less awareness-release."
"And how many conditions are there for the emergence from the theme-less
awareness-release?"
"There are two conditions for the emergence from the theme-less
awareness-release: attention to all themes and lack of attention to the
theme-less property. These are the two conditions for the emergence from the
theme-less awareness-release."
"The limitless awareness-release, the nothingness awareness-release, the
emptiness awareness-release, the theme-less-awareness-release: Are these
qualities different in meaning & different in name, or are they one in meaning
and different only in name?"
"The limitless awareness-release, the nothingness awareness-release, the
emptiness awareness-release, the theme-less-awareness-release: There is a way of
explanation by which these qualities are different in meaning & different in
name, and there is a way of explanation by which these qualities are one in
meaning and different only in name.
"And what is the way of explanation by which these qualities are different in
meaning & different in name? There is the case where a monk keeps pervading the
first direction4 — as well as the second direction, the third, & the fourth —
with an awareness imbued with good will. Thus he keeps pervading above, below, &
all around, everywhere & in every respect the all-encompassing world with an
awareness imbued with good will: abundant, expansive, limitless, free from
hostility, free from ill will.
"He keeps pervading the first direction — as well as the second direction, the
third, & the fourth — with an awareness imbued with compassion ... an awareness
imbued with appreciation....
"He keeps pervading the first direction — as well as the second direction, the
third, & the fourth — with an awareness imbued with equanimity. Thus he keeps
pervading above, below, & all around, everywhere & in every respect the
all-encompassing world with an awareness imbued with equanimity: abundant,
expansive, limitless, free from hostility, free from ill will.
"This is called the limitless awareness-release.
"And what is the nothingness awareness-release? There is the case where a monk,
with the complete transcending of the dimension of the infinitude of
consciousness, [perceiving,] 'There is nothing,' enters & remains in the
dimension of nothingness. This is called the nothingness awareness-release.
"And what is the emptiness awareness-release? There is the case where a monk,
having gone into the wilderness, to the root of a tree, or into an empty
dwelling, considers this: 'This is empty of self or of anything pertaining to
self.'5 This is called the emptiness awareness-release.
"And what is the theme-less awareness-release? There is the case where a monk,
through not attending to all themes, enters & remains in the theme-less
concentration of awareness.6 This is called the theme-less awareness-release.
"This is the way of explaining by which these qualities are different in meaning
& different in name.
"And what is the way of explaining whereby these qualities are one in meaning
and different only in name?
"Passion, friend, is a making of limits. Aversion is a making of limits.
Delusion is a making of limits. In a monk whose fermentations are ended, these
have been abandoned, their root destroyed, like an uprooted palm tree, deprived
of the conditions of existence, not destined for future arising. Now, to the
extent that there is limitless awareness-release, the unprovoked
awareness-release is declared the foremost. And this unprovoked
awareness-release is empty of passion, empty of aversion, empty of delusion.
"Passion is a something. Aversion is a something. Delusion is a something. In a
monk whose fermentations are ended, these have been abandoned, their root
destroyed, like an uprooted palm tree, deprived of the conditions of existence,
not destined for future arising. Now, to the extent that there is nothingness
awareness-release, the unprovoked awareness-release is declared the foremost.
And this unprovoked awareness-release is empty of passion, empty of aversion,
empty of delusion.
"Passion is a making of themes. Aversion is a making of themes. Delusion is a
making of themes. In a monk whose fermentations are ended, these have been
abandoned, their root destroyed, like an uprooted palm tree, deprived of the
conditions of existence, not destined for future arising. Now, to the extent
that there is theme-less awareness-release, the unprovoked awareness-release is
declared the foremost. And this unprovoked awareness-release is empty of
passion, empty of aversion, empty of delusion.
"This, friend, is the way of explaining whereby these qualities are one in
meaning and different only in name."
That is what Ven. Sariputta said. Gratified, Ven. Maha Kotthita delighted in
Ven. Sariputta's words.



Notes
1. Discernment is to be developed because it is part of the fourth noble truth,
the path of practice leading to the end of suffering. Consciousness is to be
fully comprehended because, as an object of clinging, it is part of the first
noble truth, the truth of suffering & stress. See SN 56.11.
2. Vitality (aayu) is the force that determines the length of one's life.
3. Vitality-fabrications are the intentions to continue living. The Buddha
entered total nibbana three months after abandoning his vitality-fabrications.
See DN 16.
4. The east.
5. See MN 106.
6. See MN 121.
See also: MN 44; MN 122; SN 22.23; SN 22.79