Visuddhimagga - Notes III

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


CHAPTER V
1. Kundika—*a four-footed water pot': not in P.T.S. Diet.
2. English cannot really furnish five words for water.
3. Vanna-dhdtu—* colour element' should perhaps have been rendered simply
by 'paint'. The one Pali word 'riila* has to serve for the English blue, green, and
sometimes black.
4. Pattanga: not in P.T.S. Diet. Asana—'altar': not in this sense in P.T.S. Diet.
5. In the Suttas the first eight kasinas are the same as those given here, and
they are the only ones mentioned in the Dhammasangani (§160-203) and
Patisambhida (Ps.i,6). The Suttas give space and consciousness as ninth and
tenth respectively (M.ii,14-15; D.iii,268; Netti 89, etc.). But these last two ap-
pear to coincide with the first two immaterial states, that is, boundless space and
boundless consciousness. The light kasina given here as ninth does not appear in
the Suttas. It is perhaps a development from the 'perception of light' (dloka-
sanna) (A.ii,45). The limited-space karina given here as tenth has perhaps been
made 'limited' in order to differentiate it from the first immaterial state. The
commentary on the consciousness kasina (MA.iii,261) says nothing on this as-
pect. As to space, Pm. (p. 373) says: 'The attainment of the immaterial states is
not produced by means of the space kasina, and with the words "ending with the
white kasina" (Ch. XXI, §2) the light kasina is included in the white kasina'. For
description of space (dkdsa) see DhsA. 325, Netti 29. Also Pm. (p. 393) defines
space thus: 'Wherever there is no obstruction, that is called space'. Again the
Majjhima-nikaya Tika (commenting on M. Sutta 106) remarks: '[Sense desires]
are not called empty (ritta) in the sense that space, which is entirely devoid of
individual essence, is called empty'.
6. The five kinds of bad kamma with immediate effect on rebirth are, in that
order of priority, matricide, parricide, arahanticide, intentional shedding of a
Buddha's blood, and causing a schism in the Community, all of which cause
rebirth in hell and remaining there for the remainder of the aeon (kappa), what-
ever other kinds of kamma may have been performed (MA.iv,109f.).
7. The no-cause view, moral-inefficacy-of-action view, the nihilistic view that
there is no such thing as giving, and so on (see D. Sutta 2).


CHAPTER VI
1. It is not possible to render such associative and alliterative derivations of
meaning into English. They have nothing to do with the historical development
of words, and their purpose is purely mnemonic.
2. Apavdrita—* opened up': not in P.T.S. Diet.
3. This does not imply what we, now, might suppose. See the description of
'brain' in Ch. VIII, §126 and especially §136. What is meant is perhaps that he
might get a cold or catarrh.
4. Reference back to § 19 requires sabhdvato upalakkhati rather than sabhdvato
vavatthdpeti, but so the readings have it.
5. Vanita—inflated': glossed by Pm. with suna (swollen). Not in P.T.S. Diet,
in this sense.
6. Vipphandana—'wrong kind of excitement': Pm. says here ' Kilesaparipphan-
danass' eva nimittam hoti ti attho (the meaning is, it becomes the sign for inter-
ference by (activity of) defilement' (Pm. 170). Phandati and vipphandati are
both given only such meanings as 'to throb, stir, twitch' and paripphandati is
not in P.T.S. Diet. For the sense of wrong (vi-) excitement (phandana) cf. Ch.
IV, §89, and Ch. XIV, §132 and note. There seems to be an association of
meaning between vipphdra, vydpdra, vipphandana, ihaka, and paripphandana
(perhaps also dbhoga) in the general senses of interestedness, activity, concern,
interference, intervention, etc.
7. The Harvard text has ugghdtita, but Pm. (p. 170) reads 'ugghdnitd (not in
P.T.S. Diet.) pi ti uddhumdtakabhdvappattd pi sabbaso kuthitasarirdpi tiattho\
8. 'Udara-pariyosdnam uparisariram' (Pm. 172). Pariyosdna here means 'in-
tensity' though normally it means 'end'; but see P.T.S. Diet, pariyosita.
9. There is no sense of ajjhottharati given in P.T.S. Diet, that fits here. See
Ch. I, §56.
10. Reading ekarhsena (surely) with Harvard text rather than ekadesena (partly).
11. 'He would come to handle it without disgust as a corpse-burner would'
(Pm. 176.).
12. Reading manussa with Sinhalese ed.
13. Aparisanthita—'turbulent'. Parisanthati (to quiet) is not in P.T.S. Diet.
Aparisanthita is not in T.C.P. Diet.
CHAPTER VII
1. The word dhamma—perhaps the most important and frequently used of Pali
words—has no single equivalent in English because no English word has both a
generalization so wide and loose as the word dhamma in its widest sense (which
includes 'everything' that can be known or thought of in any way) and at the
same time an ability to be, as it were, focussed in a set of well-defined specific
uses. Roughly dhamma = what-can-be-remembered or what-can-be-borne-in-mind
(dharetabba) as kamma = what-can-be-done (katabba). The following two prin-


cipal (and overlapping) senses are involved here: (i) the Law as taught, and (ii)
objects of consciousness, (i) In the first case the word has either been left un-
translated as 'Dhamma' or 'dhamma' or it has been rendered as 'Law' or 'law'.
This ranges from the loose sense of the 'Good Law', 'cosmic law', and 'teach-
ing' to such specific technical senses as the 'discrimination of law', 'causality',
'being subject to or having the nature of. (ii) In the second case the word in its
looser sense of 'something known or thought of has either been left untranslated
as 'dhamma' or rendered by 'state' (more rarely by 'thing' or 'phenomenon'),
while in its technical sense as one of the twelve bases or eighteen elements
'mental object' and 'mental datum' have been used. The sometimes indiscrimi-
nate use of 'dhamma', 'state' and 'law' in both the looser senses is deliberate.
The English words have been reserved as far as possible for rendering dhamma
(except that 'state' has sometimes been used to render bhdva, etc., in the sense of
'-ness'). Other subsidiary meanings of a non-technical nature have occasionally
been otherwise rendered according to context.
In order to avoid muddle it is necessary to distinguish renderings of the
word dhamma and renderings of the words used to define it. The word itself is a
gerundive of the verb dharati (caus. dhdreti—'to bear') and so is the literal
equivalent of '(quality) that is to be borne'. But since the grammatical meanings
of the two words dharati ('to bear') and dahati ('to put or sort out', whence
dhdtu—'element') sometimes coalesce, it often comes very close to dhdtu (but
see Ch.VIII, n.68 and Ch. XI, §104). If it is asked, what bears the qualities to be
borne?, a correct answer here would probably be that it is the event (samaya), as
stated in the Dhammasangani (§1, etc.), in which the various dhammas listed
there arise and are present, variously related to each other. The word dhammin
(thing qualified or 'bearer of what is to be borne') is a late introduction as a
logical term (perhaps first used in Pali by Pm., see p. 534).
As to the definitions of the word, there are several. At DA.i,99 four mean-
ings are given: moral (meritorious) special quality (guna), preaching of the Law
{desana)y scripture (pariyatti), and 'no-living-being-ness' (nissattata). Four mean-
ings are also given at DhsA. 38: scripture (pariyatti), cause (of effect) as law
(hetu)y moral (meritorious) special quality (guna), and 'no-living-being-nes$ and
soullessness' (nissatta-nijjivata). A wider definition is given at MA.i,17, where
the following meanings are distinguished: scriptural mastery (pariyatti—A.iii,86),
truth (sacca—Vin.i,12), concentration {samadhi—D.ii,54), understanding (panna—
Ja.i,280), nature (pakati—M.i,162), individual essence (sabhava—Dhs.l), void-
ness (sunnatd—Dhs. 25), merit (punna—Sn.182), offence (apatti—-Vin.iii,187),
what is knowable (neyya—Ps.ii,194), 'and so on' (see also Ch.VIII n.68).
2. ' "Absolute confidence'* is the confidence afforded by the noble path. De-
velopment of the recollection comes to success in him who has that, not in any
other' (Pm. 181). 'Absolute confidence' is a constituent of the first three 'factors
of stream-entry' (see S.v,196).
3. Cf. derivation of the word ariya ('noble') at MA.i,21.
4. 'Because of the words, "Also all dhammas of the three planes are sense
desires (kama) in the sense of being desirable (kamaniya)" (?), greed for becom-


ing is sense-desire clinging* (Pm. 184). See Ch. XXII, §72. For the 'way to the
Brahma-world' see M.ii,194-96; 207f.).
5. Reading 'tarn hdtatthena nanam? with Pm.
6. See Ch. XVII, §253-54. The word bhava is rendered here both by 'exis-
tence' and by 'becoming'. The former, while less awkward to the ear, is inaccu-
rate if it is allowed a flavour of staticness. 'Becoming' will be more frequently
used as this work proceeds. Loosely the two senses tend to merge. But techni-
cally, 'existence' should perhaps be used only for atthitd, which signifies the mo-
mentary existence of a dhamma 'possessed of the three instants of arising, pres-
ence, and dissolution'. 'Becoming' then signifies the continuous flow or flux of
such triple-instant moments; and it occurs in three main modes: sensual, fine-
material, and immaterial. For remarks on the words 'being' and 'essence' see
Ch. VIII, note 68.
7. 'Is not unobstructed knowledge (andvarana-ndna) different from omnis-
cient knowledge (sabbannuta-ndna)l Otherwise the words "Six kinds of knowl-
edge unshared [by disciples]" (Ps.i,3) would be contradicted? [Note: The six
kinds are: knowledge of what faculties prevail in beings, knowledge of the
inclinations and tendencies of beings, knowledge of the Twin Marvel, knowl-
edge of the attainment of the great compassion, omniscient knowledge, and
unobstructed knowledge (see Ps.i,133).] — There is no contradiction, because
two ways in which a single kind of knowledge's objective field occurs are
described for the purpose of showing by means of this difference how it is not
shared by others. It is only one kind of knowledge; but it is called omniscient
knowledge because its objective field consists of formed, unformed, and conven-
tional (sammuti) [i.e. conceptual] dhammas without remainder, and it is called
unobstructed knowledge because of its unrestricted access to the objective field,
because of absence of obstruction. And it is said accordingly in the Patisambhida:
"It knows all the formed and the unformed without remainder, thus it is omnis-
cient knowledge. It has no obstruction therein, thus it is unobstructed knowl-
edge" (Ps.i,131), and so on. So they are not different kinds of knowledge. And
there must be no reservation, otherwise it would follow that omniscient and un-
obstructed knowledge had obstructions and did not make all dhammas its object.
There is not in fact a minimal obstruction to the Blessed One's knowledge: and if
his unobstructed knowledge did not have all dhammas as its object, there would
be presence of obstruction where it did not occur, and so it would not be unob-
structed.
'Or alternatively, even if we suppose that they are different, still it is omnis-
cient knowledge itself that is intended as "unhindered" since it is that which
occurs unhindered universally. And it is by his attainment of that that the Blessed
One is known as Omniscient, All-seer, Fully Enlightened, not because of aware-
ness (avabodha) of every dhamma at once, simultaneously (see M.ii,127). And it
is said accordingly in the Patisambhida: "This is a name derived from the final
liberation of the Enlightened Ones, the Blessed Ones, together with the acquisi-
tion of omniscient knowledge at the root of the Enlightenment Tree; this name
'Buddha' is a designation based on realization" (Ps.i,174). For the ability in the


Blessed One's continuity to penetrate all dhammas without exception was due to
his having completely attained to knowledge capable of becoming aware of all
dhammas.
'Here it may be asked: But how then? When this knowledge occurs, does it
do so with respect to every field simultaneously, or successively? For firstly, if it
occurs simultaneously with respect to every objective field, then with the simul-
taneous appearance of formed dhammas classed as past, future and present,
internal and external, etc., and of unformed and conventional (conceptual) dham-
mas, there would be no awareness of contrast (patibhdga), as happens in one
who looks at a painted canvas from a distance. That being so, it follows that all
dhammas become the objective field of the Blessed One's knowledge in an
undifferentiated form (anirupita-rupana), as they do through the aspect of not-
self to those who are exercising insight thus "All dhammas are not-self" (Dh. 279;
Thag. 678; M.i,230; ii,64; S.iii,132; A.i,286; iv,14; Ps.ii,48, 62; Vin.i,86. Cf.
also A.iii,444; iv,88, 338; Sn.1076). And those do not escape this difficulty who
say that the Enlightened One's knowledge occurs with the characteristic of pres-
ence of all knowable dhammas as its objective field, devoid of discriminative
thinking (vikappa-rahita), and universal in time (sabba-kdla) and that is why
they are called "All-seeing" and why it is said, "The Naga is concentrated walk-
ing and he is concentrated standing" (?). They do not escape the difficulty since
the Blessed One's knowledge would then have only a partial objective field,
because, by having the characteristic of presence as its object, past, future and
conventional dhammas, which lack that characteristic, would be absent. So it is
wrong to say that it occurs simultaneously with respect to every objective field.
Then secondly, if we say that it occurs successively with respect to every objec-
tive field, that is wrong too. For when the knowable, classed in the many differ-
ent ways according to birth, place, individual essence, etc., and direction, place,
time, etc., is apprehended successively, then penetration without remainder is not
effected since the knowable is infinite. And those are wrong too who say that the
Blessed One is All-seeing owing to his doing his defining by taking one part of
the knowable as that actually experienced (paccakkha) and deciding that the rest
is the same because of the unequivocalness of its meaning, and that such knowl-
edge is not inferential (anumdnika) since it is free from doubt, because it is what
is doubtfully discovered that is meant by inferential knowledge in the world.
And they are wrong because there is no such defining by taking one part of the
knowable as that actually experienced and deciding that the rest is the same
because of the unequivocalness of its meaning, without making all of it actually
experienced. For then that "rest" is not actually experienced; and if it were
actually experienced, it would no longer be "the rest".
* All that is no argument.—Why not?—Because this is not a field for ratioci-
nation; for the Blessed One has said this: "The objective field of Enlightened
Ones is unthinkable, it cannot be thought out; anyone who tried to think it out
would reap madness and frustration" (A.ii,80). The agreed explanation here is
this: Whatever the Blessed One wants to know—either entirely or partially—
there his knowledge occurs as actual experience because it does so without
hindrance. And it has constant concentration because of the absence of distrac-


tion. And it cannot occur in association with wishing of a kind that is due to
absence from the objective field of something that he wants to know. There can
be no exception to this because of the words, "All dhammas are available to the
adverting of the Enlightened One, the Blessed One, are available at his wish, are
available to his attention, are available to his thought" (Ps.ii,195). And the Blessed
One's knowledge that has the past and future as its objective field is entirely
actual experience since it is devoid of assumption based on inference, tradition
or conjecture.
'And yet, even in that case, suppose he wanted to know the whole in its
entirety, then would his knowledge not occur without differentiation in the whole
objective field simultaneously? And so there would still be no getting out of that
difficulty?
'That is not so, because of its purifiedness. Because the Enlightened One's
objective field is purified and it is unthinkable. Otherwise there would be no
unthinkableness in the knowledge of the Enlightened One, the Blessed One, if it
occurred in the same way as that of ordinary people. So, although it occurs with
all dhammas as its object, it nevertheless does so making those dhammas quite
clearly defined, as though it had a single dhamma as its object. This is what is
unthinkable here. "There is as much knowledge as there is knowable, there is as
much knowable as there is knowledge; the knowledge is limited by the know-
able, the knowable is limited by the knowledge" (Ps.ii,195). So he is Fully
Enlightened because he has rightly and by himself discovered all dhammas to-
gether and separately, simultaneously and successively, according to his wish'
(Pm. 190-91).
8. A possessor of 'the seven' has faith, conscience, shame, learning, energy,
mindfulness, and understanding (see D.iii,252). P.T.S. Diet, traces saddhamma
(as 'the true dhamma', etc.) to sant + dhamma; but it is as likely traceable to
srad + dhamma = (good ground) for the placing of faith (jsaddha).
9. 'Here the Master's possession of vision shows the greatness of understand-
ing, and his possession of conduct the greatness of his compassion. It was through
understanding that the Blessed One reached the kingdom of the Dhamma, and
through compassion that he became the bestower of the Dhamma. It was through
understanding that he felt revulsion for the round of rebirths, and through com-
passion that he bore it. It was through understanding that he fully understood
others' suffering, and through compassion that he undertook to counteract it. It
was through understanding that he was brought face to face with nibbana, and
through compassion that he attained it. It was through understanding that he
himself crossed over, and through compassion that he brought others across. It
was through understanding that he perfected the Enlightened One's state, and
through compassion that he perfected the Enlightened One's task.
'Or it was through compassion that he faced the round of rebirths as a
Bodhisatta, and through understanding that he took no delight in it. Likewise it
was through compassion that he practised non-cruelty to others, and through
understanding that he was himself fearless of others. It was through compassion
that he protected others to protect himself, and through understanding that he
protected himself to protect others. Likewise it was through compassion that he


did not torment others, and through understanding that he did not torment him-
self; so of the four types of persons beginning with the one who practises for his
own welfare (A.ii,96) he perfected the fourth and best type. Likewise it was
through compassion that he became the world's helper, and through understand-
ing that he became his own helper. It was through compassion that he had
humility [as a Bodhisatta], and through understanding that he had dignity [as a
Buddha]. Likewise it was through compassion that he helped all beings as a
father while owing to the understanding associated with it his mind remained
detached from them all, and it was through understanding that his mind remained
detached from all dhammas while owing to the compassion associated with it
that he was helpful to all beings. For just as the Blessed One's compassion was
devoid of sentimental affection or sorrow, so his understanding was free from
the thoughts of "I" and "mine" ' (Pm. 192-93).
10. The following renderings have been adopted for the most widely-used epi-
thets for the Buddha. Tathdgata (Perfect One—for definitions see MA.i,45f.),
Bhagavant (Blessed One), Sugata (Sublime One). These renderings do not pre-
tend to literalness. Attempts to be literal here are apt to produce a bizarre or
quaint effect, and for that very reason fail to render what is in the Pali.
11. Gadati—'to enunciate': only noun gada in P.T.S. Diet.
12. Bhanti—'they shine': this form is not given in P.T.S. Diet, under bhdti.
13. To take what is not self-evident in this paragraph, three kinds of feeling are
pleasant, painful and neither-painful-nor-pleasant (see M. Sutta 59). Four kinds
of nutriment are physical nutriment, contact, mental volition, and consciousness
(see M.i,48, and MA.i,207f.). The seven stations of consciousness are: (1) sense
sphere, (2) Brahma's Retinue, (3) Abhassara (Brahma-world) Deities, (4)
Subhakinna (Brahma-world) Deities, (5) base consisting of boundless space, (6)
base consisting of boundless consciousness, (7) base consisting of nothingness
(see D.iii,253). The eight worldly states are gain, fame, praise, pleasure, and their
opposites (see D.iii,260). The nine abodes of beings: (l)-(4) as in stations of con-
sciousness, (5) unconscious beings, (6)-(9) the four immaterial states (see
D.iii,263). The ten bases are eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, visible object, sound,
odour, flavour, tangible object.
14. Cakkavdla (world-sphere or universe) is a term for the concept of a single
complete universe as one of an infinite number of such universes. This concept
of the cosmos, in its general form, is not peculiar to Buddhism, but appears to
have been the already generally accepted one. The term loka-dhdtu (world-ele-
ment), in its most restricted sense, is one world-sphere, but it can be extended to
mean any number, for example, the set of world-spheres dominated by a particu-
lar Brahma (see M. Sutta 120).
As thus conceived, a circle of * world-sphere mountains' 'like the rim of a
wheel' (cakka—Pm. 198) encloses the ocean. In the centre of the ocean stands
Mount Sineru (or Meru), surrounded by seven concentric rings of mountains
separated by rings of sea. In the ocean between the outermost of these seven
rings and the enclosing 'world-sphere mountain' ring are the 'four continents'.
'Over forty-two thousand leagues away' (DhsA. 313) the moon and the sun


circulate above them inside the world-sphere mountain ring, and night is the
effect of the sun's going behind Sineru. The orbits of the moon and sun are in the
sense-sphere heaven of the Four Kings (Catumaharaja), the lowest heaven, which
is a layer extending from the world-sphere mountains to the slopes of Sineru.
The stars are on both sides of them (DhsA. 318). Above that come the successive
layers of the other five sense-sphere heavens—the four highest not touching the
earth—and above them the fine-material Brahma-worlds, the higher of which
extend over more than one world-sphere (see A.v,59). The world-sphere rests on
water, which rests on air, which rests on space. World-spheres 'lie adjacent to
each other in contact like bowls, leaving a triangular unlit space between each
three' (Pm.199), called a 'world-interspace' (see too MA.iv,178). Their numbers
extend thus in all four directions to infinity on the supporting water's surface.
The southern continent of Jambudlpa is the known inhabited world (but see
e.g. D. Sutta 26). Various hells (see e.g. M. Sutta 130; A.v,173; Vin.iii,107) are
below the earth's surface. The lowest sensual-sphere heaven is that of the Deities
of the Four Kings (Cdtumahdrdjika). The four are Dhatarattha Gandhabba-raja
(King of the East), Virulha Kumbhanda-raja (King of the South), Virupaka Naga-
raja (King of the West), and Kuvera or Vessavana Yakkha-raja (King of the
North—see D. Sutta 32). Here the moon and sun circulate. The deities of this
heaven are often at war with the Asura demons (see e.g. D.ii,285) for possession
of the lower slopes of Sineru. The next higher is Tavatimsa (the Heaven of the
Thirty-three), governed by Sakka, Ruler of Gods (sakka-devinda). Above this is
the heaven of the Yama Deities (Deities who have Gone to Bliss) ruled by King
Suyama (not to be confused with Yama King of the Underworld—see M.iii,179).
Higher still come the Deities of the Tusita (Contented) Heaven with King San-
tusita. The fifth of these heavens is that of the Nimmanarati Deities (Deities who
Delight in Creating) ruled by King Sunimmita. The last and highest of the sen-
sual-sphere heavens is the Paranimmitavasavatti Heaven (Deities who Wield
Power over Others' Creations). Their king is Vasavatti (see A.i,227; for details
see VbhA. 519f.). Mara (Death) lives in a remote part of this heaven with his
hosts, like a rebel with a band of brigands (MA.i,33f.). For destruction and
renewal of all this at the end of the aeon, see Ch. XIII.
15. 'Sineru is not only 84,000 leagues in height but measures the same in width
and breadth. For this is said: "Bhikkhus, Sineru king of mountains is eighty-four
thousand leagues in width and it is eighty-four thousand leagues in breadth"
(A.iv,100). Each of the seven surrounding mountains is half as high as that last
mentioned, that is, Yugandhara is half as high as Sineru, and so on. The great
ocean gradually slopes from the foot of the world-sphere mountains down as far
as the foot of Sineru, where it measures in depth as much as Sineru's height.
And Yugandhara, which is half that height, rests on the earth as Isadhara and the
rest do; for it is said: "Bhikkhus, the great ocean gradually slopes, gradually
tends, gradually inclines" (Ud. 53). Between Sineru and Yugandhara, and so on,
the oceans are called "bottomless" (sidanta). Their widths correspond respec-
tively to the heights of Sineru and the rest. The mountains stand all round Sineru,
enclosing it, as it were. Yugandhara surrounds Sineru, then Isadhara surrounds
Yugandhara, and likewise with the others' (Pm. 199).


'The moon's disk is below and the sun's disk above. It is because it is
nearer that the moon's disk appears deficient [when new] owing to its own
shadow. They are a league apart and circulate in space at the height of Yugan-
dhara's summit. The asura realm is beneath Sineru. Avici is beneath Jambudlpa.
Jambudipa is the shape of a cart. Aparagoyana is the shape of an adasa [bird].
Pubbavideha is the shape of a half-moon. Uttarakuru is the shape of a chair. And
they say that the faces of the people who inhabit each of these and who inhabit
the small islands belonging to each have respectively those shapes' (Pm. 200).
16. For the commentarial description of Himavant (Himalaya) with its five
peaks and seven great lakes, see MA.iii,54.
17. AA. commenting on A.i,35 ascribes the Simbali Tree to the Supannas or
winged demons. The commentary to Udana v.5, incidentally, gives a further
account of all these things, only a small portion of which are found in the Suttas.
18. See note 14.
19. The rendering of sadevamanussdnarh by 'with its princes and men' is sup-
ported by the commentary. See MA.ii,20 and also MA.i,33 where the use of
sammuti-deva for a royal personage, not an actual god, is explained. Deva is the
normal mode of addressing a king. Besides, the first half of the sentence deals
with deities and it would be out of place to refer to them again in the clause
relating to mankind.
20. The references are these: Apalala (Mahavamsa, p. 242, 'Dwelling in the
Himalayas'—Pm. 202), Cujodara and Mahodara (Mahavamsa, pp. 7-8 ; Dipavarhsa,
pp. 21-23), Aggisikha and Dhumasikha ('Inhabitant of Ceylon'—Pm. 202),
Aravala and Dhanapalaka (Vin.ii, 194-96; Ja.v,333-37), Saccaka (M. Suttas 35
and 36), Ambattha (D. Sutta 3), Pokkharasati (D.i,109), Sonadanda (D. Sutta 4),
Kutadanta* (D. Sutta 5), Alavaka (Sn., p. 31), Suciloma and Kharaloma (Sn., p.
47f.), Sakka (D.i,263f.).
21. For the breaking up of this compound cf. parallel passage at MA.i,10.
22. Avatthika—'denoting a period in life' (from avatthd, see Ch. IV, §167); not
in P.T.S. Diet.; the meaning given in P.T.S. Diet for lingika—'describing a par-
ticular mark', is hardly adequate for this ref.; nemittika—'signifying a particular
acquirement' is not in this sense in P.T.S. Diet. For more on names see DhsA.390.
23. The commentarial name for the Elder Sariputta to whom the authorship of
the Patisambhida is traditionally attributed. The Ps. text has 'Buddha', not
'Bhagava'.
24. 'The Niddesa method is this: "The word Blessed {bhagava) is a term of
respect. Moreover, he has abolished (bhagga) greed, thus he is blessed (bhagavd)\
he has abolished hate, ... delusion, ... views, ... craving, ... defilement, thus he
is blessed.
' "He divided (bhaji), analysed (vibhaji), and classified (pativibhaji) the
Dhamma treasure, thus he is blessed (bhagava). He makes an end of the kinds of
becoming (bhavdnam antakaroti), thus he is blessed (bhagava). He has devel-
oped (bhavita) the body and virtue and the mind and understanding, thus he is
blessed (bhagava).


' "Or the Blessed One is a frequenter (bhaji) of remote jungle-thicket rest-
ing places with little noise, with few voices, with a lonely atmosphere, where one
can lie hidden from people, favourable to retreat, thus he is blessed (bhagavd).
' "Or the Blessed One is a partaker (bhdgi) of robes, alms food, resting
place, and the requisite of medicine as cure for the sick, thus he is blessed
(bhagavd). Or he is a partaker of the taste of meaning, the taste of the Law, the
taste of deliverance, the higher virtue, the higher consciousness, the higher un-
derstanding, thus he is blessed (bhagavd). Or he is a partaker of the four jhanas,
the four measureless states, the four immaterial states, thus he is blessed: Or he is
a partaker of the eight liberations, the eight bases of mastery, the nine successive
attainments, thus he is blessed. Or he is a partaker of the ten developments of
perception, the ten kasina attainments, concentration due to mindfulness of breath-
ing, the attainment due to foulness, thus he is blessed. Or he is a partaker of the
four foundations of mindfulness, the four right endeavours, the four roads to
power, the five spiritual faculties, the five powers, the seven enlightenment
factors, the Noble Eightfold Path, thus he is blessed. Or he is a partaker of the
ten powers of Perfect Ones (see M. Sutta 12), of the four kinds of perfect
confidence (same ref.), of the four discriminations, of the six kinds of direct-
knowledge, of the six Enlightened Ones' states [not shared by disciples (see note
7)], thus he is blessed. Blessed One (bhagavd): this is not a name made by a
mother ... This name, Blessed One, is a designation based on realization" '
(Pm.207).
25. Here are explanations of those things in this list that cannot be discovered
by reference to the index: The pairs, * anger and enmity1
 to 'conceit and negli-
gence' (M.i,16). The 'three roots' are greed, hate and delusion (D.iii,214). The
* three kinds of misconduct' are that of body, speech and mind (S.v,75). The
'three defilements' are misconduct, craving and views (Ch. I. §9, 13). The 'three
erroneous perceptions' (visama-sanna) are those connected with greed, hate and
delusion (Vbh. 368). The three 'applied thoughts' are thoughts of sense-desire,
ill will and cruelty (M.i,114). The 'three diversifications' (papanca) are those
due to craving, conceit and [false] views (see Ch. XVI, n.17). 'Four
perversenesses': seeing permanence, pleasure, self, and beauty, where there is
none (Vbh. 376). 'Four cankers', etc. (Ch. XXII, §47ff.). 'Five wildernesses' and
'shackles' (M.i,101). 'Five kinds of delight': delight in the five aggregates (Ch.
XVI, §93). 'Six roots of discord': anger, contempt, envy, fraud, evilness of
wishes and adherence to one's own view (D.iii,246). 'Nine things rooted in
craving' (D.iii,288-89). 'Ten courses of unprofitable action': killing, stealing,
sexual misconduct, lying, slander, harsh speech, gossip, covetousness, ill will,
wrong view (M.i,47, 286f.). 'Sixty-two kinds of view': (D.i,12ff.; M. Sutta 102).
'The hundred and eight ways of behaviour of craving' (Vbh. 400).
26. Abhigamaniya—'fit to be relied on': abhigacchati not in P.T.S. Diet.
27. Pm. says the word 'etc' includes the following six: mahimd, patti, pakamma,
isita, vasita, and yatthakamavasayita. 'Herein, animd means making the body
minute (the size of an atom—anu). Laghima means lightness of body; walking
on air, and so on. Mahima means enlargement producing hugeness of the body.


Patti means arriving where one wants to go. PAkaMMA means producing what
one wants by resolving, and so on. ISITA means self-mastery, lordship. V^ASITA
means mastery of miraculous powers. YATTHAKAMAVASAYITA means attainment of
perfection in all ways in one who goes through the air or does anything else of
the sort' (Pm. 210). Yogabhashya 3.45.
28. The three 'abidings' are these: heavenly abiding = kasina jhana, divine
abiding = lovingkindness jhana, etc., noble abiding = fruition attainment. For the
three kinds of seclusion, see Ch. IV, note 23.
29. Mehana is not in P.T.S. Diet.
30. Pm. adds seven more plays on the word bhagava, which in brief are these:
he is bhagava (a possessor of parts) because he has the Dhamma aggregates of
virtue, etc. (bhaga = part, vant = possesser of). He is bhatavd (possessor of what
is borne) because he has borne (bhata) the perfections to their full development.
He has cultivated the parts (bhage vani), that is, he has developed the various
classes of attainments. He has cultivated the blessings (bhage vani), that is, the
mundane and supramundane blessings. He is bhattavd (possessor of devotees)
because devoted (bhatta) people show devotion (bhatti) to him on account of his
attainments. He has rejected blessings (bhage vami) such as glory, lordship, fame
and so on. He has rejected the parts {bhdge vami) such as the five aggregates of
experience, and so on (Pm. 241-46).
As to the word 'bhattavd': at Vis. Ch. VII, §63, it is explained as 'one who
has frequented (bhaji) attainments'. In this sense the attainments have been
'frequented' (bhatta) by him. Pm. (p. 214-5) uses the same word in another sense
as 'possessor of devotees', expanding it as bhatta dalhabhattikd assa bahu atthi
('he has many devoted firm devotees'—Skr. bhakta). In P.T.S. Diet, under bhat-
tavant (citing also Vis. 212) only the second meaning is given. Bhatta is from the
same root (bhaj) in both cases.
For a short exposition of this recollection see commentary to A., Ekanipata,
XVI, 1.
31. Anusandhi—'sequence of meaning': a technical commentarial term signify-
ing both a particular subject treated in a discourse, and also the way of linking
one subject with another in the same discourse. At MA.i,175 three kinds are
distinguished: sequence of meaning in answer to a question (pucchdnusandhi—
e.g. M.i,36), that to suit a personal idiosyncrasy (ajjhdsaydnusandhi—e.g. M.i,
23), and that due to the natural course of the teaching (yathdnusandhi—e.g. the
whole development of M. Sutta 6).
32. Vyatti (byatti)—'particular distinction' (n. fm. vi + ahj)\ not so spelt in P.T.S.
Diet, but see viyatti. Glossed by Pm. with veyyatti.
33. These 'five aggregates' are those of virtue, concentration, understanding,
deliverance, and knowledge and vision of deliverance.
34. Vatthika—'clothable': not in P.T.S. Diet.
35. Pakattha—-'distant'; not in P.T.S. Diet. (= dura—Pm. 297).
36. This passage is only loosely renderable because the exegesis here is based
almost entirely on the substitution of one Pali grammatical form for another (pada-


siddhi). The reading opaneyyiko (for opanayika) does not appear in any Sinhalese
text (generally the most reliable); consequently the sentence 'opanayiko va opa-
neyyiko' (see Harvard text) is absent in them, being superfluous. Pm.'s explana-
tions are incorporated. This paragraph depends on the double sense of upaneti
(upa + neti, to lead on or induce) and its derivatives as (1) an attractive induce-
ment and (2) a reliable guide, and so the word induce is stretched a bit and
inducive coined on the analogy of conducive. Upanaya (inducement) is not in
P.T.S. Diet., nor is upanayana (inducing) in this sense (see also Ch. XIV §68).
Upanayana means in logic * application', 'subsumption'; and also upanetabba
means 'to be added'; see end of §72. For alliyana ('treating as one's shelter') see
refs. in Glossary.
37. 'In the Sarvastivadin school and so on ' (Pm. 230).