A BUDDHIST MANUAL
Psychological Ethics,
FROM THE PALI
OF THE
DHAMMA-SANGANI
Translated by CAROLINE A. F. RHYS DAVIDS, M.A.
[Chapter II.
The Group on Cause (hetu-gocchakam).p
I.
[1053] Which are the states that are causes ?
(A) The three causes of good (karma).
^ In connexion with the statement (§ 595) that form is
*that which is not a cause,' the Cy. distinguishes, as did
Aristotle, four varieties of cause. The coincidence, how-
ever, scarcely extends beyond the number. H e t u is either
(a) cause as cause (hetu-hetu) ; (b) cause as condition,
or necessary antecedent * wherewithal ' (paccayahetu);
(c) cause as ultimate or supreme (uttama-hetu); and
(d) cause as an attribute held in common (s adhar a na-
il etu). Asl. 303. These distinctions are shown to be
applied as follows : (a) the trinity of threefold cause given
in § 1053. Here the word is always paraphrased by *root,'
root, conversely, standing for productive agent in general
(see the list in note to § 981), and, of course, for moral
agency especially. (b) '
1 have declared, bhikkhu, that
the four great phenomena are the causes, are the condi-
tions of the form-skandha.' When the paccayo is ma-
terial, it may be said to coincide with Aristotle's second
formal principle rj vXij kol ro viroiceiijuevov. Possibly
paccayo was this conception so generalized as to include
the immaterial wherewithal requisite for the effect. Cole-
brooke, however ('Life and Essays,' ii. 419), said that the
Bauddhas distinguish between hetu as proximate cause
and pratyaya (paccayo) as concurrent occasion,
(c) *
When good (karma) takes effect, it is the object ulti-
mately or supremely desired '
—and the opposite, of course,
in the case of bad karma. This may possibly approximate
(B) The three causes of bad (karma).
(C) The three causes of the indeterminate.
The nine causes operative in the sensuous universe.
The six causes operative in the universe of form.
The six causes operative in the universe of the
formless.
(D) The six causes operative in the life that is the Unin-
cluded.
(A) In this connexion,
[1054] Which are the three causes of good karma ?
The absence of lust, hate and dulness.
In this connexion,
[1055] What is the absence of lust ?
The absence of lust, lusting, lustfulness is the absence
of infatuation, of raving, of passionateness ; the absence of
covetousness, that absence of lust which is the root of good
(karma).^
[1056] What is the absence of hate ?
The absence of hate, hating, hatred ; love,^ loving, loving
disposition ;
^ tender care, forbearance, considerateness ;
*
to Aristotle's final cause (to ov eveKo) . (d) '
As the essence
of the elements of earth and water (solid and liquid) are
the condition of sweet or not-sweet, so is ignorance the
common base-element of the syntheses (sanskaras). In
our present connexion the term is said to be used in its
first-named meaning.
^
Cf, § 32. The Pali terms coincide in both answers.
In the following answer, the terms differ considerably from
those in § 33.
^ The printed text has met tarn; the Cy. and K. read
metti.
^ ' The mental condition of one who is possessed by love,
and through love is loosed from clinging.' (Asl. 362.). Cf.
note on p. 66.
* Anudda, anuddayana, anuddayitattam. The
Cy. paraphrases by rakkhati, showing the reference there
is in these terms, usually rendered by '
pity,' '
compassion,'
to the protective, shielding aspect of altruism and benevo-
lence. Cf its use in C. vii. 3, 13 ; S. ii., p. 218, where it
seeking the general good,^ compassion ; the absence of
malice, of malignity ; that absence of hate which is the
root of good (karma) .2
[1057] What is the absence of dulness ?
Knowledge about ill, about the uprising of ill, about the
cessation of ill, and about the way leading to the cessation
of ill ; knowledge about the former things, about the latter
things, about both taken together ; knowledge about the
assignable causation of causally determined states—even
that kind of wisdom which is understanding, search, re-
search, searching the Truth, etc. [continue as in § 34].
These are the three causes of good (karma).
(B) In this connexion,
[1058] Which are the three causes of bad (karma) ?
Lust, hate, dulness.
In this connexion,
[1059] What is lust ?
That which is
passion (rago),
infatuation (sarago),^
fawning (anunayo),*
compliance (anurodho),^
is used to express that attitude of forbearance in the
interests of the weaker brethren recommended by St. Paul
to Eoman and Corinthian adherents.
^ Hitesita. See C. ix. 5, 7.
2 By all these words (i.e., from 'love' to '
compassion '),
concludes Buddhaghosa, the advance (upacara) and con-
ception (appana) of love is described. Possibly the pro-
cedure in the induction of Jhana was in his mind in using
these technical terms. Cf. Rhys Davids, * Yogavacara's
Manual,' p. xi.
^ * Meaning strong rago.' Asl. 362,
* This is opposed to patigho or repugnance in Mil. 44 ;
cf. 122 and 322. The comment (Asl. 362)—visayesu
sattanam anunayanat o—may indicate that the fawning
is by way of pandering to the sensual appetites of others.
^ This is opposed to virodho, pativirodho. See
delighting in ( nandi ) /
taking passionate delight in (nandi-rago),^
infatuation of mind (cittassa sarago),^
longing (iccha),
languishing (muccha),
devouring (ajjhosanam),^
greed (gedho),
omnivorous greed (paligedho),
cleaving to (sango),
a slough ( panko ),*
seduction (eja),^
trickery (maya),^
genitrix ( janika ) ,^
§ 1060. The Cy. (ibid.) paraphrases by kameti. Cf.
S. i. Ill ; K. Y. 485.
^ Explained as the recurrence over and over again of
that thirst for some object, the single occurrence of which
constitutes the state called nandi. Asl. 363.
^ Explained as qualifying the '
infatuation ' already
named by emphasizing the reference to a mental state or
psychosis, and not to any personal entity. Ibid.
^ 'I.e., grasping by swallowing, by putting a complete
end to.^ ^Asl. 363, 370. The term is probably formed
from \/ sa, to bind (or to gain), and usually, by its context,
signifies attachment. Cf. M. i. 109, 498; Mil. 74.
Judging by the Commentary, however, there seems to be
a homonym derived from the root a 9, to eat, similar to the
parallel evolution of jhayati, from x/dhya and \/ ksa.
Cf. Ehys Davids, *
Dialogues of the Buddha,' i. 33, note 2.
The passage in A. i. 66, 67, is the only one at present
known to me where the word, occurring as it does in co-
ordination with terms of attachment and also of greed,
may be rendered equally well in either sense.
* Paraphrased by osidanam. Asl. 363.
^ Paraphrased by akaddhanam, used in the Dhp. Cy.
(p. 412) to illustrate the magnetic power of the love of
treasure and of family. Ibid.
^ Paraphrased by vancanam. Ibid.
^ Because lust causes beings to be reborn on the Wheel
(of life). So for the following epithet. As it is written :
Tanha janeti purisam, cittam assa vidhavati.
progenitrix (sanjanani),
seamstress (sibbani),^
she who ensnares (jalini),^
the river (sarita)/^
she who is poisonous (visattika),*
the thread (suttam),^
diffusion (visata),^
she who toils (ayuhani),^
the consort (dutiya),^
hankering (panidhi),
^ The Cy. explains that lob ho sews, or joins beings to
sorrow by way of rebirth, just as a tailor joins one piece of
cloth to another. Ibid.
2 She = tanha, by the suffusion of which the manifold
web of the senses becomes as a net. Ibid.
Yassa jalini visattika
tanha n'atthi kuhinci netave.
S. i. 107; = Dhp., ver. 180.
^ From the swift current of lobho, or else from its glu-
tinous tenacity, according to the Commentator, who quotes :
Saritani sinehitani ca
somanassani bhavanti jantuno.
Dhp., ver. 341.
* See above note 2.
^ By reason of its chaining together destruction and
misfortune as jars are arranged on a cord. Asl. 364.
^ *
In the sense of spreading out over sensuous objects.'
Ibid.
^ *
I.e., she causes beings to toil after (ayuhapeti) this
or that state.' Ibid. On ayuhati, see J. P. T. S., 1885,
pp. 58, 59 ; 1886, pp. 155, 156 ; Mil. 108, 214.
^ Lobho (or tanha) is likened to a dear alter ego, or
wife, or travelling companion. The idea is found in Sutta
Nipata, verse 740, quoted by the Cy.
:
Tanhadutiyo puriso digharn addhanam sam-
saram
Itthabhavannathabhavam samsaram nativat-
tati ti.
she who leads to renewed existence (bhava-
netti),^
the jungle (vanam),
the undergrowth (vanatho),^
intimacy (santhavo),^
unctuous affection ( sineho ),
affection (apekkha),*
connexion (patibandhu),^
craving (asa),
wanting (asimsana),
cupidity (asimsitattam),
craving for visual forms (rupasa, etc.),
craving for sounds,
craving for odours, '
craving for tastes,
craving for the tangible,
craving for getting,
craving for wealth,
craving for children,
craving for life,
mumbling (jappa),^
^ Cy. : Bhavanetti = the cord of existence. For by it
beings are led, as cows by a cord bound about their necks,
wherever they are wanted.
2 The impenetrable, impassable nature of tropical forest
growth often serves to illustrate the dangers of lobho or
tanha. Cf. Dh., p. 283, quoted in the Cy. Ihid.
^ '
Intimacy is of two kinds : it is either carnal {i.e., of
tanha) or friendly. Here the former is meant.' Asl. 365.
^ * Alayakaranavasena apekkhati ti apekkha.
Ihid. The quotation in the Cy. on this word is from the
Mahasudassana Sutta, 229, with which cf. S. iii. 144.
^ '
As being constantly near to living beings there is no
relative (or connexion) like tanha.' Asl. 365.
^ The four following terms are all variants of jap pa.
*
Whenever anything is given to a greedy person, he will
mutter, " This is mine, this is mine ! , This has been
given me by so-and-so!"' Asl. 365. K. repeats jappa
mumbling on,
mumbling over,
muttering,
murmuring,
self-indulgence (loluppam),^
self-indulging,
intemperateness,
agitation (puncikata),^
longing for the agreeable (sadhu kamyata),^
incestuous passion (adhammarago),*
lawless lust (visamalobho),
appetite (nikanti),
hungering for (nikamana),
entreating (patthana),
envying (pihana),
imploring (sampatthana),^
thirst for sensual indulgence (kamatanha),
thirst for existence (bhavatanha),
thirst for non-existence (vibhavatanha),^
thirst for form,^
thirst for formlessness,
thirst for annihilation,
thirst for visible forms,^
after abhijappana. Cf. C. iv. 14, 26: sakanna-
jappakam.
^ See Jat. i. 340 ; iv. 306. Buddhaghosa derives this
from lumpati. Cf. Whitney's 'Boots,' etc., where it
appears as the Intensive of lup, but belonging in meaning
to lubh.
2 The excitement or fluster produced by tanha is here,
according to the Cy., likened to that shown by '
dogs
wagging their tails '
(read sunakha) when seeking to find
something. Ihid.
^ The Cy. and K. read sadhu.
* For a mother, a mother's sister, etc. Asl. 366.
^ I.e., patthana intensified. Ihid.
^ I.e., for a state of annihilation. Ihid.
^ I.e., for a state of pure (suddhe) form. Ihid.
^ Before '
thirst for sounds '
K. inserts rupatanha for
thirst for sounds,
thirst for smells,
thirst for tastes,
thirst for the tangible,
thirst for mental states (dhammatanha),
a flood (ogho),
a yoke (yogo),
trammels (gantho),
attachment (upadanam),
obstruction (avaranam),
hindrance (nivaranam),
counterfeiting (chadanam),^
bondage (bandhanam),^
depravity (upakkileso),
faltering (anusayo),^
pervading (pariyutthanam),*
a creeper (lata),^
avarice (ve viccham),^
root of pain,
source of pain (dukkh a nid ana m),
the second time, the rupani craved for here being pre-
sumably *
sights,' 'perceptions of sight,' as distinguished
from that supersensuous plane of being craved for under
the former rupatanha, and ranking next to the formless
plane. The Cy., on the other hand, only notices between
'
thirst for annihilation '
and '
thirst for sounds,' the word
ditthirago, passion for speculation.
1 *So Asl. and K. Cf. Sutta Nip. i. 5, 7.
^ I.e., 'on the wheel ' (of samsara). Ihid,
^ '
Through loss of strength.' Ihid.
* I.e., the heart becomes possessed by lust, as a road by
highwaymen. Ihid.
^. . . lata ubbhijja titthati. Dhp. 340. Quoted
in the Cy. Greed or lust strangles its victim, as a creeper
strangles a tree.
6 See Sutta Nip. 1033. Buddhaghosa, however, para-
phrases the term as '
multifarious wants,' Vie Ih
a
berei;
'
vividhani vatthuni icchati.' Ihid, At Asl., p. 375,
he has a different explanation. Cf. S. N. ii., s.v. ve-
viccha.
production of pain (dukkhappabhavo),
Mara's trap (marapaso),
Mara's fish-hook (marabalisa m),
Mara's domain (maravisayo),
thirst,
thirst for delight (nanditanha),
the fishing-net of thirst (jalamtanha)/
the leash of thirst (gaddulatanh a),^
the ocean (samuddo)/
covetousness ( abhijjha ) ,^
the lust that is the root of evil
—
this is what is called lust.
[1060] What is hate ?
When annoyance springs up at the thought : he has done
me harm, is doing, will do me harm ; he has done harm,
is doing harm, will do harm to someone dear and precious
to me ; he has conferred a benefit, is conferring, will confer a
benefit on someone I dislike and object to ; or when annoy-
ance springs up groundlessly^ :
—all such vexation of spirit,^
resentment, repugnance, hostility;^ ill-temper, irritation.
^ Spread out like a net over the river. Asl. 367.
^ Cf. J at. ii. 246; iii. 204. Tan ha drags its victims
about as dogs are drawn by a leash (Asl. 367).
^ The thirst of lust is hard to satiate. Ibid. Cf. above,
p. 175, note 4.
* See § 391.
^*Atthane va pana aghato ti akarane kopo.
E.g., when one is vexed because it rains too much, or
because it doesn't rain, or because the sun is too hot, or
not hot enough, or because there is too much or too little
wind, or because one cannot sweep away the Bo-tree-leaves,
or because the wind prevents one from putting on one's
robe, or because one has fallen over a tree - stump.'
Asl. 367.
^ Cittassa aghato. Aghato is rendered above by
annoyance. The two next terms are patighato and
patigham. The latter is the word used to express action
and reaction in sense-activity. § 597 et seq.
7 Pativirodho. Cf. Mil. 203, 402.
indignation ;^ hate, antipathy, abhorrence f mental dis-
order,^ detestation ;* anger, fuming, irascibility ; hate,
hating, hatred ; disorder, getting upset, derangement ;
opposition, hostility ;^ churlishness, abruptness, disgust of
heart—this is what is called hate.
[1061] What is dulness ?
Lack of knowledge about 111, lack of knowledge about the
uprising of 111, lack of knowledge about the cessation of 111,
lack of knowledge about the way leading to the cessation of
111 ; lack of knowledge about the former things, about the
latter things and about both taken together ; lack of know-
ledge about the assignable causation of causally determined
states—even all that kind of lack of knowledge which is
lack of insight, of understanding, of wakefulness, of en-
lightenment, of penetration, of comprehension, of sounding,
of comparing, of contemplation, of perspicacity ; impurity,
childishness, unintelligence, the dulness that is stupidity,
obtuseness, ignorance, a flood of ignorance, the yoke of
ignorance, the dependence of ignorance, the being possessed
by ignorance, the barrier of ignorance, the dulness that is
the root of evil—this is called dulness.^
These are the three causes of bad [karma].
(C) In this connexion,
[106'^] Which are the three causes of the indeter-
minate ?
The absence of lust, hate and dulness coming to pass as
^ Kopo, pakopo, sampakopo.
^Padoso, sampadoso.
^Cittassa vyapatti; paraphrased as a houleversement,
or cataclysm of mind. Vyapatti is used for the wreck-
ing of a ship in Jat. iv. 107. Cf. above, § 418.
^Manopadoso. Cf. Jat. iv. 29; M. i. 377, where it
means apparently curse or execration—the original sense of
'
detesting.'
^ See § 418.
^ According to Asl. 368, this is '
thoroughly set out in the
Commentary on -the Vibhanga,'
the result of good states, or as the indeterminate states
known as kir iy a-thoughts.^
[1063] Which are the nine causes operative in the sen-
suous universe (kamavacarahetu)?
The three causes of good [karma], the three causes of
bad [karma], the three causes of indeterminate [states]
—
these are the nine.
[1064] Which are the six causes operative in the universe
of form ?
The three causes of good [karma], the three causes of
indeterminate [states]—these are the six.
[1065] Which are the six causes operative in the universe
of the formless ?
The three causes of good [karma], the three causes of
indeterminate [states]—these are the six.
[1066] Which are the six causes operative in the Unin-
cluded ?
The three causes of good [karma], the three causes of
indeterminate [states]—these are the six.
In this connexion,
[1067] Which are the three causes of good [karma] ?
The absence of lust, hate and dulness.
In this connexion,
[1068-1070] What is the absence of lust ... of hate
... of dulness ?
Answers as in §§ 1055-1057, but omitting in § 1056, from
* hatred '
to * the absence of malice,' exclusively.^
These are the three causes of good [karma].
(D) In this connexion,
^ Kiriyavyakatesu dhammesu. See above, § 566
et seq. The Cy. here is silent.
2 Adoso has been inadvertently omitted in the text.
[1071] Which are the three causes of indeterminate
[states]
?
The absence of lust, hate and dulness coming to pass as
the effect of good states—these are the three.
These are the six causes operative in the Unincluded.
These are the states which are causes.
[1072] Which are the states that are not causes ?
Every state, good, bad and indeterminate, whether
related to the worlds of sense, of form, of the formless, or
to the life that is Unincluded, except the states enumerated
above; in other words, the four skandhas; all form also
and uncompounded element.
[1073] Which are the states that have causes as con-
comitants ?^
^ Sahetuka. The Cy. (p. 47) on this term has : Samp a-
yogato pavattena saha hetuna ti sahetuka, and on
the opposite : ahetukath Tath'eva pavatto n'atthi
etesam hetu ti. This maybe rendered: 'Sahetuka
means, union in continuance with a cause.' And '
ahetuka
means, there is for them no continuance of a cause.' The
sustamiiig of a cause in concomitance with a given state is
so much harped upon by the Cy. that one is tempted to
surmise that the mediaeval controversy, known by the
formula, Cessante causa cessat et effectus, was not unfami-
liar to Buddhist scholastics. Have we here the categorizing
of certain states, for the maintenance of which, as effects,
the continuance of the cause is required ? In that case the
Buddhist would have agreed (see § 1075, n.) with a modern
logician (J. S. Mill) that, in some cases only, '
The con-
tinuance of the condition which produced an effect is
necessary to the continuance of the effect.' The coinci-
dence, however, is extremely doubtful. The Pali even
leaves it vague as to whether the concomitant cause is the
cause of the state in question ; sometimes, indeed, this is
evidently not the case. E.g., in § 1077 *
dulness ' is a
hetu-dhammo, but not therefore the cause of the con-
comitant states, lust and hate. The compilers were, as
usual, more interested in the psychology than in the logic
of the matter, and were inquiring into the factors in cases
of mental association.
Those states, to wit, the four skandhas, which have as
concomitant causes the states enumerated above.^
[1074J Which are the states that have not concomitant
causes ?
Those states, to wit, the four skandhas, all form also,
and uncompounded element, which have not as concomi-
tant causes the states enumerated above.
[1075] Which are the states that are associated with a
cause ?2
The states, to wit, the four skandhas, which are asso-
ciated with those states enumerated above.
[1076] Which are the states that are not associated with
a cause ?
The states, to wit, the four skandhas, all form also, and
uncompounded element, which are not associated with the
states enumerated above.
[1077] Which are the states that both are causes and
have causes as their concomitants ?
Lust with dulness is both. Dulness with lust is both.
Hate with dulness is both. Dulness with hate is both.^
The absence of lust, the absence of hate, the absence of
dulness—these also, taken one with the other, both are
causes and have causes as their concomitants.
^ Tehi dhammehi, i.e., with one or other of the six
causes of good or bad effects. Asl. 368.
'^
Hetu-sampayutta. On the import of the term
sampayutto, see p. 1, n. 4. This pair of opposites is
further declared to be not different in meaning from the
preceding pair (atthato nanattam natthi), and the
formulae only differentiated for the purpose of adaptation
to the various dispositions (ajjhasayavasena) of the
hearers. Asl. 48. This coincidence of meaning seems,
however, to be applicable only in the sphere of hetu. In
the next gocchakam, the attribute of asavavippayutta
is allowed to be compatible with the attribute sasava,
§ 1111, and so for subsequent gocchakas.
^ Dulness when accompanied by perplexity and excite-
ment (uddhaccam) is said to be a cause, but to have no
cause as its concomitant. Asl. 368.
[1078] Which are the states that have causes as their
concomitants, but are not causes ?
The states, to wit, the four skandhas, which have as
their concomitant causes those states [enumerated above
as causes], the latter states themselves excepted.
[1079] Which are the states that are both causes and
associated with a cause ?
[1080] Which are the states that are associated with a
cause, but are not causes ?
Answers identical iviih those in the foregoing pair}
[1081] Which are the states that are not causes, but
have a cause as their concomitant ?^
The states, to wit, the four skandhas, which are not the
causes of those states enumerated above, but which have
any of them as their concomitants.
[1082] Which are the states that are not causes and
have not causes as their concomitants ?
The states, to wit, the four skandhas, all form also, and
uncompounded element, which neither are the causes of
those states enumerated above, nor have any of them as
their concomitants.
1 Cf. § 1075, n. 2.
^ Supplementary questions, says the Cy., dealing with
the na-hetu states. Asl. 47.
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