Abandonment: contemplation of:
patinissaggānupassanā
is one of the 18 chief kinds of insight; see:
vipassanā further
ānāpānasati 16.
Abbhokāsik'anga: 'living in the open air',
is one of the ascetic means to purification
dhutānga.
Aberration: Failure & going wrong in morality
and understanding: see: vipatti
Abhabbāgamana: 'incapable of progressing'.
Those beings who are obstructed by their evil actions
kamma see.
kamma, by their defilements kilesa,
by the result of their evil actions see: vipāka,
or who are devoid of faith, energy and understanding, and unable to enter the
right path and reach perfection in advantageous
things, all those are said to be incapable of progressing
Pug. 13. According to Commentary the
'evil actions' denote the 5 heinous actions with immediate result
ānantarika-kamma ,
whilst the 'defilements' refer to the 'evil views with fixed destiny'
niyata-micchā-ditthi,
see: ditthi.
Ābhassara: The 'Radiant Ones', are a class of
divine beings of the fine-material world
rūpa-loka, cf. deva
Abhibhāyatana: the 8 'stages of mastery',
are powers to be obtained by means of the kasina-exercises see:
kasina. In the
Com. to
M. 77, where
āyatana is explained by 'means' kārana it is said: The
abhibhāyatana through their counteracting may master and suppress their
adverse opposite states, and by means of higher knowledge they may master the
objects of mind. They are means for transcending the sense-sphere.
The stereotype text often met with in the Suttas e.g.
D. 11, 33;
M. 77;
A. VIII, 65; X, 29 is as follows:
1: Perceiving blue..., red..., yellow..., white forms in or on one's own
body, one sees as if external small forms (e.g.: tooth) , beautiful or ugly;
and in mastering these one understands: 'I know, I understand.' This is the
first stage of mastery.
2: Perceiving forms on one's own body, one sees these forms as if external,
yet now also large ones (e.g.: leg-bone=femur). This is the second stage of
mastery.
3: Not perceiving forms on one's own body, one sees forms externally, small
ones (e.g.: pollen inside flower). This is the third stage of mastery.
4: Not perceiving forms on one's own body, one sees forms externally, large
ones (e.g.: planets, galaxies). This is the fourth stage of mastery.
5: Not perceiving forms on one's own body, one sees forms externally, blue
(cobalt, yves-klein, flax, clear & pure) forms, forms of blue color, blue
appearance, blue lustre, and mastering these one understands: 'I know, I understand.
This is the fifth stage of mastery.
6-8: The same is repeated with yellow, red and white forms.
As preparatory kasina-object for the 1st and 2nd exercise one should choose
on one's own body a small or a large spot, beautiful or ugly, and thereon one
should focus one's full undivided concentration, so that this object after
a while in mind is visualized as a mental reflex or image
nimitta and, as if it were, as something
external. Such an exercise, though appearing quite mechanical, if properly
carried out will bring about a high degree of mental concentration and entrance
into the 4 absorptions jhāna. In the
3rd and 4th exercises the Bhikkhu by an external kasina-object gains the mental
reflexes and absorption see: As objects of the remaining exercises, perfectly
clear and radiant colors should be chosen, flowers, cloth, etc.
A kasina-object of small size is said to be suitable for a mentally unsteady
nature, one of a large size for a dull nature, a beautiful object for an angry
nature, an ugly one for a lustful nature.
In Vis.M V it is said: By means of
the earth-kasina one succeeds in reaching the
stage of mastery with regard to small and large objects. By means of
the blue-kasina one succeeds in causing blue
forms to appear, in producing darkness, in reaching the stage of mastery with
regard to beautiful and ugly colours, in reaching 'deliverance through the
beautiful', etc. cf. vimokkha II,
3. The same is also said with regard to the other colour
kasinas.
Abhijjhā: 'covetousness=greediness=acquisitiveness=jealousy
& envy' is a synonym of lobha and
tanhā see:
mūla and is the 8th link of the disadvantageous courses of action
see: kamma-patha I.
Abhinibbatti: a Sutta term for rebirth; see:
punabbhava
Abhiññā: The 6 'higher powers', or supernormal
knowledge's, consist of 5 mundane lokiya
powers attainable through the utmost perfection in mental concentration
samādhi and one supra-mundane
lokuttara power attainable through
penetrating insight vipassanā, i.e.
ceasing of all mental fermentation āsavakkhaya
see: āsava, in other words, realization
of Arahatship or Nobility.
They are: 1: magical powers iddhi, 2:
divine ear dibba-sota, 3: penetration
of the minds of others ceto-pariya-ñāna,
4: remembrance of former existences
pubbe-nivāsānussati, 5: divine eye
dibba-cakkhu, 6: ceasing of all
fermentation āsavakkhaya. The stereotype
text met with in all the 4 Sutta-collections e.g.
D. 34;
M. 4, 6, 77;
A. III, 99; V, 23;
see: XV, 9 and
Pug. 271, 239 is as follows:
1: Now, O Bhikkhus, the Bhikkhu enjoys the various magical powers
iddhi, such as being one he becomes
many, and having become many he again becomes one. He appears and disappears.
Without being obstructed he passes through walls and mountains, just as if
through the air. In the earth he dives and rises up again, just as if in the
water. He walks on water without sinking, just as if on the earth. Cross-legged
he floats & flies through the air, just like a winged bird. With his hand
he touches the sun and moon, so mighty & giant. Even up to the Brahma-world
can he master his body.
2: With the divine ear dibba-sota
he hears sounds both divine and human, whether far or near.
3: He knows the minds of other beings
parassa ceto-pariya-ñāna,
of other persons, by penetrating & embracing them with his own mind. He knows
the greedy mind as greedy and the not-greedy one as not greedy; knows the
hating mind as hating and the not-hating one as not hating; knows the confused
mind as confused and the not-confused one as not confused; knows the contracted
min, the distracted, the developed mind and the undeveloped one, the surpassable
and the unsurpassable mind, the concentrated and the unconcentrated mind,
the freed and the unfreed mind.
4: He remembers many prior existences
pubbe-nivāsānussati,
such as one birth, two, three, four and five births; 10; 100, 1000; hundred
thousand births; remembers many expansions and dissolutions of universes:
'There I was this, such name I had ... and vanishing from there I entered
into existence somewhere else ... and vanishing from there I again reappeared
here.' Thus he remembers, always together with all the details and peculiarities
many former existences.
5: With the divine eye dibba-cakkhu
= yathā-kammūpaga-ñāna
or cutūpapāta-ñāna, the pure
one, he sees beings vanishing and reappearing, low and noble ones, beautiful
and ugly ones, he sees how beings are reappearing according to their actions
(see: kamma) 'These beings, indeed,
followed evil ways in bodily actions, words and thoughts, insulted the noble
ones, held evil & wrong views, and according to their evil views they acted.
At the dissolution of their body, after death, they have appeared in the lower
worlds, in painful states of existence, in the world of suffering, even in
hell. Those other beings, however, who are endowed with good behaviour, have
appeared in happy state of existence, even in a divine world.
6: Through the ceasing of all fermentation
āsavakkhaya even in this very
life he enters into the possession of liberation of mind, liberation through
understanding, after having himself understood and directly realized it.
4-6 appear frequently under the name of the 'threefold higher knowledge'
te-vijjā. They are, however,
not a necessary condition for the attainment of sainthood
arahatta, i.e. of the sixth abhiññā.
Vis.M XI-XIII gives a detailed explanation
of the 5 mundane higher powers, together with the method of attaining them.
In connection with the 4 kinds of progress see:
patipadā, abhiññā means the 'comprehension'
achieved on attainment of the paths and
fruitions
Abhisamācārika-sīla: 'morality consisting
in good behaviour', relates to the external duties of a Bhikkhu such as towards
his senior, etc. abhisamācārika-sīla is a name for those moral rules
other than the 8 ending with right livelihood i.e. 4-fold right speech, 3-fold
right action and right livelihood, as in the 8-fold
path Vis.M
I; see: sacca IV, 3-5. Impossible is
it, o Bhikkhus, that without having fulfilled the law of good behaviour, a
Bhikkhu could fulfill the law of genuine pure conduct
A.V, 21. Cf.
ādibrahmacariyaka-sīla
Abhisamaya: 'breakthrough or penetration to
the realization of the truth', is the full and direct comprehension of the
Four Noble Truths by the Stream-winner sotāpanna
see: ariya-puggala. In the
Com. the term is represented by 'penetration'
pativedha. Frequently occurring
as dhammābhisamaya 'realization of the doctrine' see: XIII
ābhisamaya-samyutta and Pts.M.
ābhisamaya-kathā.
Abhisankhāra: Construction identical with
the 2nd link of the paticca-samuppāda,
sankhāra, under I, 1 or kammic-constructions.
Ability to acquire insight:
cf. ugghatitaññū,
vipacitaññū
Abodes: vihāra
The 4 Divine abodes: brahma-vihāra
The 9 abodes of beings: sattāvāsa
Absence: natthi-Paccaya,
is one of the 24 conditions paccaya,.
Absorption: see:
jhāna
Abstentions: the 3:
virati
Access: Moment of access into one-pointed concentration:
see: javana
Access-concentration: see:
samādhi
Accumulation: of Kamma see:
āyūhana
Ācinnaka-kamma: habitual kamma; see:
kamma
Acinteyya: lit. 'That which cannot not be thought
of', the unthinkable, unimaginable, inconceivable, incomprehensible,
impenetrable, that which transcends the limits of thinking and over which therefore
one should not speculate. The 4 unthinkables are: the potential range of a
Buddha buddha-visaya, the potential range of the meditative absorptions
jhāna-visaya, the potential range
of kammic-result kamma-vipāka,
and speculation over the world loka-cintā,
especially over an absolute first beginning of it , and whether it is infinite
in space and time see: A. IV, 77.
Therefore, o Bhikkhus, do not speculate over the world as to whether it
is eternal or temporal, limited or endless. Such speculation, O Bhikkhus,
is senseless, has nothing to do with genuine pure conduct see:
ādibrahmacariyaka-sīla,
does neither lead to aversion, detachment, ceasing, nor to peace, not to full
comprehension, not to enlightenment or Nibbāna.
S.LVI, 41.
Acquired image: during
concentration: see: nimitta
samādhi
kasina
Action: Kamma
- Right bodily action:
sammā-kammanta
see: sacca IV.4
Adaptability: of body, mental properties and
consciousness: kammaññatā, cf.
khandha materiality and
Tab. II.
Adaptation-knowledge:
anuloma-ñāna
Adherence:
parāmāsa clinging or attachment.
Adherent: upāsaka
disciple.
Adhicitta-sikkhā 'training in higher
mentality'; see: sikkhā
Adhimokkha: 'determination', decision, resolve:
is one of the mental properties cetasika
and belongs to the group of mental constructions
sankhāra-khandha.
In M. 111, it is mentioned together with
other mental properties. See Tab. II,
III.
Adhipaññā-dhamma-vipassanā:
'insight into things based on higher understanding', is one of the 18 chief
kinds of insight see: vipassanā.
Adhipati-paccaya: 'Predominance-condition'
is one of the 24 conditions paccaya,
if developed, it is considered as the fourfold road to force
iddhi-pāda.
Adhisīla-sikkhā: 'training in higher morality':
see: sikkhā
Adhitthāna, as a doctrinal term, occurs chiefly
in two meanings:
1. 'Foundation': four 'foundations or basics' of an Arahat's mentality,
mentioned and explained in M. 140: the
foundation of understanding paññā,
of truthfulness sacca of generosity
cāga and of peace
upasama. See also
D. 33 and
Com.
2. 'Determination', resolution, resolve in:
adhitthāna-iddhi magical power
of determination' see: iddhi,
adhitthāna-pāramī perfection
of resolution' see: pāramī.
Ādibrahmacariyaka-sīla:
'morality of genuine pure conduct', consists in right speech, right bodily
action and right livelihood, forming the 3rd, 4th and 5th links of the 8-fold
path see:
sacca IV.3, 4, 5; cf. Vis.M I.
In A. II, 86 it is said:
With regard to those moral states connected with and corresponding to the
genuine pure conduct, he is morally strong, morally firm and trains himself
in the moral rules taken up by himself. After overcoming the 3 mental chains
ego-belief, skeptic doubt and attachment to mere rules and ritual; see:
samyojana he becomes one who will
be 'reborn 7 times at most' see: sotāpanna
and after only seven times more wandering through this round of rebirths amongst
men and divine beings, he will put an end to suffering.
Ādīnavānupassanā-ñāna: 'knowledge
consisting in contemplation of danger', is one of the 8 kinds of insight
vipassanā that form the 'purification
of the knowledge and vision of the path-progress
see: visuddhi VI. 4. It is further
one of the 18 chief kinds of insight see:
vipassanā.
Adosa: 'hatelessness, is one of the 3 advantageous
roots mūla.
Adukkha-m-asukhā vedanā: 'feeling
which is neither painful nor pleasant', i.e. neutral or indifferent feeling;
see: vedanā-khandha
Advertence: Directing of mind to the object:
āvajjana is one of the functions of
consciousness viññāna-kicca.
Cf. manasikāra
Aeon: kappa
Agati: the 4 'wrong Paths'
are: the path of desire
chanda, the path of hate, the path of
confusion, the path of fear bhaya. One who is freed from these evil
impulses is no longer liable to take any wrong path.
A. IV, 17; IX, 7.
Age: Old: Jarā
Aggregates or clusters:
khandha
Agility: Lahutā
Āhāra: 'nutriment', 'food', is used in the concrete
sense as material food and as such it belongs to derived materiality see:
khandha Summary I. In the figurative
sense, as 'foundation' or sustaining condition, it is one of the 24 conditions
paccaya and is used to denote 4 kinds
of nutriment, which are material and mental: 1: material food
kabalinkārāhāra, 2: sensorial
and mental contact phassa, 3: mental
intention mano-sañcetanā,
4: consciousness viññāna.
1: Material food feeds the 8-fold materiality having nutrient essence as
its 8th factor i.e. the solid, liquid, heat, motion, color, odour, the tastable
and nutrient essence; see: rūpa-kalāpa.
2: Sensorial and mental contact is a condition for the 3 kinds of feeling pleasant,
painful and indifferent; see: paticcasamuppāda
6. 3: Mental intention = kamma feeds rebirth; see:
paticca-samuppāda 2.
4: Consciousness feeds mind and materiality,
nāma-rūpa at the moment of conception
Vis.M XI.
Literature on the 4 Nutriments: M.
9 & Com. tr. in 'R.
Und.', M. 38; see:
S. XII, 11, 63, 64 - The Four Nutriments
of Life, Selected texts & Com.
WHEEL 105
Āhāra-samutthāna-rūpa:
'Food-produced materiality'; see:
samutthāna
Āhāre-patikkūla-saññā:
'reflection on the disgusting aspects of food', fully described in
Vis.M XI, l.
Ahetuka-citta: see: hetu
Ahetuka-ditthi: View or opinion of uncausedness
or randomness
of existence & phenomena; see: ditthi
Ahetu-patisandhika: see:
patisandhi
Ahimsā: see: avihimsā
Ahirika-anottappa: 'lack of moral shame
and fear of wongdoing', are two of the 4 disadvantageous factors associated
with all kammically disadvantageous states of consciousness, the two others
being restlessness uddhacca and confusion
moha. Cf. Tab. II.
The Buddha pointed that: There are two evil things, namely, lack of moral shame and
lack of fear of wongdoing
A. II, 6. Not to be ashamed of what one should
be ashamed of; not to be ashamed of evil, disadvantageous states: this is called
lack of moral shame Pug. 59. Not to
fear
what one should feared... this is called lack of Fear of Wrongdoing
Pug. 60.
Ahosi-kamma: 'ineffective
kamma'; see: kamma.
Ājīva: 'livelihood=job=profession=way-of-living'. About
right and
wrong livelihood., see:
sacca IV. 5 and
micchā-magga 5.
Ājīva-pārisuddhi-sīla: 'morality
consisting in purification of livelihood', is one of the 4 kinds of perfect
morality; see: sīla
Akanittha: the 'Great or Non-junior Ones', i.e. 'Highest Gods',
are the inhabitants of the 5th and highest heaven of the Pure Abodes
suddhāvāsa, cf.
avacara deva
II Anāgāmī
Ākāsa: 'space', is, according to
Com., of two kinds: 1. limited space
paricchinnākāsa or paricchedākāsa, 2. endless space anantākāsa,
i.e. cosmic space.
1. Limited space, under the name of ākāsa-dhātu
space element, belongs to derived materiality see:
khandha Summary I;
Dhs. 638 and to
a sixfold classification of elements see: dhātu
M. 112, 115, 140. It is also an object of kasina meditation. It is defined
as follows: The space element has the characteristic of delimiting matter
or form.
Its function is to indicate the boundaries of matter. It is manifested as
the confines and container of matter or form; or its manifestation consists in being untouched by
the 4 great elements, and in holes and openings. Its proximate cause is the
matter delimited. It is on account of the space element that one can say of
material things delimited that 'this is above. below, around that'
Vis.M XIV, 63.
2. Endless space is in Atthasālini
called
ajatākāsa unentangled', i.e. unobstructed or empty space. It is the
object of the first formless absorption see:
jhāna, the sphere of Infinite space
ākāsānañcāyatana. According
to Abhidhamma philosophy, endless space has no objective reality being purely
conceptual, which is indicated by the fact that it is not included in the
triad of the advantageous kusalatika, which comprises the entire reality.
Later Buddhist schools have regarded it as one of several unconditioned or
uncreated states asankhata dharma
- a view that is rejected in Kath.
see: Guide. p. 70. Theravāda Buddhism
recognizes only Nibbāna as an
unconditioned element asankhata
dhātu see:
Dhs. 1084.
Ākāsa dhātu: 'space element';
see above and dhātu
Ākāsa-kasina: 'space-kasina exercise';
see: kasina
Ākāsānañcāyatana: 'Sphere of Infinite
space', is identical with the 1st formless absorption; see:
jhāna 5.
Ākiñcañña-ceto-vimutti: Possessionless or desireless mental release.
The mental liberation coming from relinquishment of all acquisitions. The
end stage of realizing Dukkha see:
ceto-vimutti
Ākiñcaññāyatana:
The sphere of nothingness; see:
jhāna 7.
Akiriya-ditthi: The false view or
opinion of the inefficacy
of action: That neither moral good nor moral evil action
have any delayed consequences for anyone. This wrong view was taught by
Pūrana-Kassapa; see: ditthi
Akuppā-ceto-vimutti:
Unshakeable release of mind; see
ceto-vimutti
Akuppa-dhamma: The unshakeable state; is
that of one who
has attained full mastery over the absorptions
jhāna. In Pug. 4 it is said: What person is unshakable? If a person gains the meditative attainments
of the fine-material and formless sphere
rūpāvacara-arūpāvacara;
and he gains them at his wish, without any problem or strain with free
choice of place, object and duration, and enters them and emerges from
them effortlessly, then it is impossible that in such a person the attainments may become
shaken through negligence. This person is unshakeable.
Akusala: Disadvantageous, are all those kammic
intentions kamma-cetanā
see: cetanā and all consciousness and
mental properties associated therewith, which are accompanied either by greed
lobha, hate
dosa or confusion
moha or derivatives thereof. All these
mental states are causing disadvantageous kamma-results and contain the
initiating seeds of unhappy & painful future, destiny and
rebirth. Cf. kamma, paticca-samuppāda
1, Tab. II.
Akusala-sādhārana-cetasika:
Universal, general or primary
disadvantageous mental properties associated with all disadvantageous intentions:
These are four; 1: Lack of moral shame ahirika, 2:
Lack
of fear of wrongdoing anottappa,
3: Restlessness uddhacca, 4: Confusion
moha. For 1 and 2 see:
ahirika-anottappa; for 3 see:
nīvarana; for 4
see:
mūla see also the
Appendix. The corresponding
opposite term designating advantageous (beautiful) mental property is
sobhana-sādhārana-cetasika see: sobhana.
Akusala-vitakka: Disadvantageous thoughts
as defined under akusala In
M. 20, five methods of overcoming them
are given: by changing the object, thinking of the evil results, paying no
attention to them, analyzing them, suppressing them.
M. 20 is translated in: The Removal of Distracting Thoughts
WHEEL
21.
See also:
How to remove recurring Disadvantageous Distracting Thoughts?
Alcohol restriction: see:
surāmeraya-majja-ppamādatthānā.
The 5th training rule.
Alms-Fooder: Vow of going for
alms-food without omitting any house: see:
dhutānga 3, 4.
Alms-Food-bowl eater: the practice
of the: see: dhutānga
6.
Alms-Food-giving:
dāna
Alms-Food-goer: the practice of the; see:
dhutānga 3.
Alobha: Greedlessness is one of the
3 kammically advantageous roots mūla.
Āloka-kasina: Light-kasina-meditation
on bright light or the white color;
see: kasina
Āloka-saññā: Perception of light. The recurring
canonical passage reads: Here the Bhikkhu contemplates the perception of light.
He fixes his-mind to the experience of the daylight; as at day-time so at night,
and as at night, so in the day. In this way, with a clear and unclouded mind,
he develops the stage of mind that is full of brightness. It is one of the methods
of overcoming drowsiness, recommended by the Buddha to
Mahā-Moggallāna
A. VII, 58. According to
D. 33, it is conducive to the development
of 'knowledge and vision' see: visuddhi
VI+VII,
and it is said to be helpful to the attainment of the 'divine eye' see:
abhiññā 5.
Altruistic Mutual Joy:
muditā is one of the 4 sublime
& divine abodes
brahma-vihāra.
Amata: Sanskrit amrta Not to
die = Deathlessness, immortality, is a name for
Nibbāna the final liberation from
the wheel of rebirths samsāra, and therefore also from the ever-repeated deaths,
since the unborn cannot die...
Amoha: Non-confusion = understanding,
is one of the 3 kammically advantageous roots
mūla.
Anabhijjhā: Freedom from covetousness,
jealously and envy =
unselfishness; see: kamma-patha
II. 8.
Anabhirati-saññā:
Disgustes with the entire world; see:
sabba-loke
anabhirati-sañña.
Anāgāmī:
The Non-Returner
is a Noble Disciple Ariya-puggala
on the 3rd stage of Nobility. There are 5 classes of Non-Returners, as it is
said e.g. Pug. 42-46:
A being, through the disappearing of the 5 lower mental chains
samyojana, reappears in a higher
world amongst the devas of the Pure Abodes,
suddhāvāsa, and without returning from that world into the sense-sphere,
he there reaches
Nibbāna.
1: He may, immediately after appearing there in the Pure Abodes or
before half of the life-time, attain the Noble
path for the overcoming of the higher mental
chains. Such a being is called one who reaches
Nibbāna within the first
half of the life antarā-parinibbāyī.
2: Or, while living more than half of the lifetime there, or at the
moment of death, he attains the Noble path for the overcoming
of the higher mental chains. Such a being is called one who reaches
Nibbāna after crossing half
the life-time
upahacca-parinibbāyī.
3: Or, with effort he attains the Noble path
for the overcoming of the higher mental chains. Such a being is called one
who reaches Nibbāna with
exertion
sasankhāra-parinibbāyī.
4: Or, without effort he attains the Noble
path for the overcoming of the higher mental chains. Such a being is called
one who reaches Nibbāna
without exertion
asankhāra-parinibbāyī.
5: Or, after vanishing from the heaven of the
Aviha-gods see:
suddhāvāsa, he appears in the heaven
of the unworried atappa gods. After
vanishing from there he appears in the heaven of the clearly-visible
sudassa gods, from there in the heaven
of the clear-visioned sudassī gods,
from there in the heaven of the highest
akanittha gods. There he attains the Noble
path for the overcoming of the higher mental
chains. Such a being is called one who passes up-stream to the highest
gods
uddhamsota-akanittha-gāmī.
Analysis of the 4 primary elements:
dhātu-vavatthāna
Analytical doctrine:
vibhajja-vāda
Analytical knowledge: the
4 kinds of: patisambhidā
Anaññātañ-ñassāmīt-indriya:
is one of the 3 supra-mundane mental abilities; see:
indriya 20.
Anantara-paccaya: Proximity,
is one of the 24 conditional relations paccaya.
Ānantarika-kamma: the 5 heinous
'actions with immediate destiny' are: Killing father, killing
mother, killing an Arahat, wounding a Buddha so he bleeds, creating schism
in the Bhikkhu-Sangha. In
A.V., 129 it is said:
There are 5 hateful and incurable humans destined to the lower world and
to hell, namely: the parricide, etc. About the 5th see
A. X., 35, 38. With regard to the first crime,
it is said in D. 2 that if
King Ajātasattu
had not killed his father, he would have reached entrance into the
path of
Stream-entry see also:
Appendix.
Ānantariya: Immediacy, is a name
for that concentration of mind which is associated with the profound and
shocking insight
vipassanā that is present in any one
of the 4 kinds of supra-mundane path consciousness
see: ariya-puggala, and which
therefore is the cause of the immediately following fruition phala
consciousness. According to the Abhidhamma, this path-moment of the
Stream-enterer
sotāpanna & the other
Nobles is generated by the insight
into the impermanence,
misery and impersonality
of all existence, reaching a certain threshold at that very moment and thus
instantly transforming and ennobling the individual nature forever. It is mentioned under the name of ānantarika-samādhi
in the Ratana Sutta Sn. v. 22 and in
Pts.M. 1, Ñānakathā.
Ānāpāna-sati:
Awareness or mindfulness on & by
in-and-out-breathing, is one of the most important trainings for reaching
mental concentration and the 4 absorptions jhāna. In the Satipatthāna Sutta M. 10,
D. 22 and elsewhere, 4 methods of practice
are given, which may also serve as basis for insight meditation. The speech
on Awareness by Breathing' Ānāpānasati Sutta,
M. 118 and other texts have 16 methods
of practice, which divide into 4 groups of four. The first three apply to
both calm samatha and insight-meditation,
while the fourth refers to pure insight praxis only. With attentive mind he breathes in, with attentive mind he breathes out.
I. First Tetrad:
1: When making a long inhalation he understands: I make a long inhalation; when
making a long exhalation he understands: I make a long exhalation.
2: When making a short inhalation he understands: I make a short inhalation;
when making a short exhalation he understands: I make a short exhalation.
3: Clearly perceiving the entire body I will breathe in, thus he
trains himself; clearly perceiving the entire breath-body I will breathe
out, thus he trains himself.
4: Calming all bodily activity I will breathe in, thus he trains himself;
calming all bodily activity I will breathe out, thus he trains himself.
II. Second Tetrad:
5: Experiencing joy pīti I will breathe
in, thus he trains himself; Experiencing joy I will breathe out, thus he trains
himself.
6: Experiencing a pleasurable happiness I will breathe in, thus he trains himself; Experiencing
a pleasurable happiness I will breathe out, thus he trains himself.
7: Experiencing the mental construction
citta-sankhāra I will breathe
in, thus he trains himself, Experiencing the mental construction I will breathe
out, thus he trains himself.
8: Calming the mental construction I will breathe in, thus he trains himself;
calming the mental construction I will breathe out, thus he trains himself.
III. Third Tetrad:
9: Experiencing the mind & mood citta
I will breathe in, thus he trains himself; clearly perceiving the mind &
mood I will
breathe out, thus he trains himself.
10: Gladdening the mind I will breathe in, thus he trains himself; gladdening
the mind I will breathe out, thus he trains himself.
11: Concentrating the mind I will breathe in, thus he trains himself; concentrating
the mind I will breathe out, thus he trains himself.
12: Releasing the mind I will breathe in, thus he trains himself;
releasing
the mind I will breathe out, thus he trains himself
IV. Fourth Tetrad:
13: Reflecting on impermanence
anicca I will breathe in, thus he trains
himself; reflecting on impermanence I will
breathe out, thus he trains himself.
14: Reflecting on disillusion virāga I will breathe in, thus he trains himself;
reflecting on disillusion I will breathe out, thus he trains himself.
15: Reflecting on ceasing nirodha
I will breathe in, thus he trains himself; reflecting on ceasing I will breathe
out, thus he trains himself.
16: Reflecting on relinquishment
patinissagga I will breathe
in, thus he trains himself; reflecting on relinquishment I will breathe out,
thus he trains himself.
In M 118 it is further shown how these 16 exercises bring about the 4
foundations of awareness satipatthāna,
namely: 1-4 contemplation of the body, 5-8 contemplation of feeling, 9-12 contemplation
of mind, 13-16 contemplation of mental states. Then it is shown
how these 4 foundations of awareness or mindfulness bring about the 7 factors
of enlightenment bojjhanga, and then
how these again produce release of mind ceto-vimutti
and release through understanding
paññā-vimutti.
Literature: Ānāpānasati Samyutta see: LIV. -
Pts.M. Ānāpānakathā - Full explanation
of practice in Vis.M VIII, 145ff. -
For a comprehensive anthology of canonical and commentarial texts, see:
Mindfulness of Breathing,
by Nānamoli Thera Kandy:
BPS, 1964-98.
Anattā: No-self, egolessness,
soullessness,
impersonality, absence of identity, is the last of the 3
universal characteristics
of existence ti-lakkhana. This
anattā doctrine, which
only is taught by a Buddha, teaches that neither
within the bodily, material and mental phenomena of existence, nor outside of them, can
be found anything at all, that in the ultimate sense could be regarded as a self-existing,
real & same, ego-entity, identity, soul, self or independently existing
substance. This is the central core doctrine
of Buddhism, crucial for understanding the message & method of Buddhism. It is the only really specific Buddhist doctrine, with which the
entire structure of the Buddhist teaching stands or falls. All the remaining
Buddhist doctrines may, more or less, be found in other philosophic systems
and religions, but the anattā doctrine
has been clearly and unreservedly taught only by the Buddha, wherefore the
Buddha is known as the anattā-vādi
or 'Teacher of impersonality'. Whosoever has
not penetrated this universal impersonality of all existence,
and does not comprehend that in reality there exists only this continually
self-consuming & self-referring process of arising and passing away of bodily,
material and mental phenomena,
and that there is no separate ego-entity or stable and same core neither within
nor outside this process, he
will not be able to understand Buddhism, i.e. the teaching of the 4 Noble Truths
sacca, in the right light. He will think
that it is his ego, his personality, that experiences suffering, his personality
that performs good and evil actions and will be reborn according to these actions,
his personality that will enter into Nibbāna, his personality that walks on
the 8-fold path. This is the fatal 'personalist-view'
sakkāya-ditthi and
self-deception māna 'I Am' that keep
beings wandering in Samsāra. Thus it is said in
Vis.M XVI:
Mere suffering exists, no sufferer is found;
Actions are, but no actor is ever found;
Nibbāna is, but no
being exists that
enters it;
The path is, but no traveler is seen.
Whosoever does not understand the origin of conditionally arisen phenomena,
and does not comprehend that all the actions are conditioned by ignorance,
greed and hate, he thinks that it is an ego or self that understands or does not understand,
that acts or causes to act, and that comes into existence at rebirth. He
believes there exists an identity 'I' that
has the sense-contact, that feels, desires, becomes attached, continues and
at rebirth again enters a new existence as the same being... Vis.M
XVII, 117.
While in the case of the first two characteristics it is stated that all
constructions sabbe sankhārā are impermanent
and subject to suffering, the corresponding text for the third characteristic
states that all states, all phenomena are no-self sabbe dhammā
anattā M. 35,
Dhp. 279. This is for emphasizing
that the common false view of an abiding, same, constant, identical self or substance is neither applicable to
any 'construction', whether internal or external, whether physical
or mental nor to any conditioned phenomenon, nor to
Nibbāna, the only Unconditioned Element
asankhatā-dhātu.
The Anattā-lakkhana Sutta, the 'Discourse on the Characteristic of No-self',
was the second discourse after Enlightenment, preached by the Buddha to his
first five disciples, who after hearing it attained to perfect Nobility
Arahatta.
The contemplation of no-self anattānupassanā
leads to the emptiness liberation
suññatā-vimokkha see. vimokkha.
Herein the ability of understanding paññindriya is outstanding, and
one who attains in that way the path of
Stream-entry
is called a Dhamma-devotee dhammānusāri see:
ariya-puggala, at the next two
stages of sainthood he becomes a vision-attainer
ditthippatta; and at
the highest stage, i.e. Nobility, he is called 'liberated by understanding'
paññā-vimutta.
For further details, see paramattha-sacca,
paticca-samuppāda,
khandha,
ti-lakkhana,
nāma-rūpa,
patisandhi
Literature: Anattā-lakkhana Sutta, Vinaya I, 13-14; see: XXII, 59; tr. in Three Cardinal
Discourses of the Buddha WHEEL
17. - Another important text on Anattā is the Discourse on the Snake
Simile Alagaddūpama Sutta, M. 22;
tr. in WHEEL
48/49. Other texts in path. - Further:
Anattā and Nibbāna, by Nyanaponika Thera
WHEEL
11; The Truth of Anattā, by Dr. G. P. Malalasekera
WHEEL
94; The Three Basic Facts of
Existence III: Egolessness WHEEL
202/204
Anattānupassanā:
Contemplation of no-self is one of the 18 chief kinds of insight see:
vipassanā. See also above.
Anattā-saññā: Perception of no-self;
of impersonality see
A. VI, 104; A.
VII, 48; A.X, 60;
Ud. IV, 1.
Anattā-vāda: The doctrine of
impersonality; see:
anattā
Āneñja: Static imperturbability,
denotes the mental state of being(s) in the formless
sphere arūpāvacara
avacara, see:
sankhāra cf.
M. 106.
Anger: Diluted derivative
of Hate, which is a root condition; see:
mūla
Anicca: Impermanent, transient or, as abstract noun,
aniccatā impermanence or change is the first of the
three universal characteristics of existence tilakkhana, which
is easily observable and thus obvious. It is from this all-embracing fact of impermanence that the other two
universal characteristics, suffering
dukkha and no-self
anattā, are derived
see: S. XXII, 15;
Ud. IV, I
impermanence of things is the arising,
passing and changing of things, or the disappearance of things that have
emerged & become into being. The meaning is that these things never persist in the same
static state,
but that they are changing, decaying, dissolving, and vanishing from moment to moment
Vis.M VII, 3.
impermanence is a basic feature of all conditioned
phenomena, be they material or mental, coarse or subtle, one's own or
other's, internal or external:
All these compounded constructions are impermanent sabbe sankhārā aniccā
M. 35,
Dhp. 277. That the totality of existence
is impermanent is also often stated in terms of the five aggregates or clusters
khandha, the twelve internal
and external sense sources āyatana. Only
Nibbāna,
which is unconditioned and not a construction
asankhata, is permanent, stable,
still, static, lasting and constant nicca
dhuva.
The insight leading to the first stage of deliverance: Stream-entry
sotāpatti
see:
ariya-puggala, is often expressed
in terms of impermanence: Whatever is subject
to origination, is also subject to ceasing see:
Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta,
see: S. XLVI, 11. In his last exhortation,
before his Parinibbāna, the Buddha reminded his Bhikkhus of the
inevitable
impermanence of all existence as a spur to earnest
effort: Bhikkhus, I tell you: All constructions are bound to vanish.
Strive enthusiasticly! Vayadhammā sankhārā, appamādena sampādetha;
D. 16.
Without this deep insight into the impermanence
and insubstantiality of all phenomena of existence there is no mental
release, no relinquishment, no attainment of
deliverance. Hence comprehension of impermanence
gained by direct meditative experience heads two lists of insight knowledge:
1: Contemplation of impermanence
aniccānupassanā is the first
of the 18 chief kinds of insight, 2: Contemplation of arising and vanishing
udayabbayānupassanā-ñāna
is the first of 9 kinds of knowledge which lead to the purification by knowledge
and vision of the path-progress see:
visuddhi VI. Contemplation of
impermanence leads to the signless deliverance
animitta-vimokkha; see:
vimokkha. As herein the ability of
confidence saddhindriya is
outstanding, he who attains in this way the
path of Stream-entry is called a faith-devotee
saddhānusārī see. ariya-puggala
and at the seven higher stages he is called faith-liberated
saddhā-vimutta, See also:
anicca-saññā.
See The Three Basic Facts of Existence I: Impermanence WHEEL
186/187
Aniccānupassanā:
Contemplation of impermanence, is one
of the 18 chief kinds of insight development see: vipassanā.
Anicca-saññā: Perception of
impermanence, is defined in the
Girimananda
Sutta A.X. 60 as meditation on the
impermanence of the five clusters of
clinging:
Though, with a faithful heart, one takes refuge in the Buddha, his
Dhamma-Teaching
and the Sangha Community of Bhikkhus; or with a faithful heart observes the rules
of morality, or develops a mind full of loving-kindness, far more
advantageous is it if one cultivates the perception of impermanence,
be it only for a moment A.X. 20. See A. VI, 102;
A. VII, 48; Ud.
IV, 1; S. XXII, 102.
Animitta-ceto-vimutti:
see: ceto-vimutti
Animittānupassanā: see:
vipassanā
Animitta-vimokkha: see:
vimokkha
Añña: Other, being of the opposite category.
Aññā: 'highest knowledge', gnosis, refers to the
perfect knowledge of the Arahat Saint; see:
ariya-puggala. The following
passage occurs frequently in the Suttas, when a Bhikkhu indicates his attainment
of Nobility arahatta: He makes known
the highest knowledge aññam
vyākaroti, in exactly this way: 'Rebirth has ceased, fulfilled is this
Noble life, done is what should be done, and there is no more of this to come.'
The 'ability of highest knowledge' aññindriya =
aññā-indriya;
see: indriya, however, is present in
six of the eight stages of Nobility, that is, beginning with the fruition of
Stream-Winning sotāpatti-phala
up to the path of Nobility
arahatta-magga.
See Dhs.
PTS 362-364, 505, 553; Indriya Vibhanga;
path 162.
Aññāmañña-paccaya:
Mutuality-condition,
is one of the 24 conditions paccaya.
Aññātāvindriya:
The ability
of one who knows; see: indriya
22.
Aññindriya: The ability of highest
knowledge; see: aññā and
indriya 21.
Anottappa: see:
ahirika
Answering questions:
4 ways of: see: pañhā-byākarana
Antarā-parinibbāyī: is one
of the 5 kinds of Non-Returners or Anāgāmī.
Antinomies: see:
ditthi
Anuloma-citta: 'adaptation-moment
of consciousness', denotes the third of the 4 moments of impulsion
javana flashing up immediately before
either reaching the absorptions jhāna
or the supra-mundane paths see:
ariya-puggala. These 4 moments
of impulsion are: the preparation parikamma,
access upacāra, adaptation anuloma
and change-of-lineage gotrabhū moments.
For further details see: javana
gotrabhū
Anuloma-ñāna: 'adaptation-knowledge'
or conformity-knowledge, is identical with the 'adaptation-to-truth knowledge',
the last of 9 insight-knowledges vipassanā-ñāna
which constitute the purification of knowledge and vision of the
path-progress' see:
visuddhi VI, 9. Cf.
Vis.M XXI.
Anupādisesa-nibbāna: see
Nibbāna
&
upādi
Anupassanā: Contemplation, deep
reflection, profound consideration:
The 4 fold: see:
satipatthāna.
The 18 fold: see:
vipassanā.
The 7 fold: The seven contemplations:
1: Contemplating constructions as impermanent, one leaves behind the perception
of permanence.
2: Contemplating them as painful, one leaves behind the perception of
happiness.
3: Contemplating them as not self, one leaves behind the perception of
ownership.
4: Becoming disillusioned, one leaves behind delighting.
5: Causing fading away of lust, one leaves behind greed.
6: Causing ceasing, one leaves behind creating.
7: Relinquishing, one leaves behind clinging.
Pts.M. I, p. 58. - See also
Vis.M XXI, 43; XXII, 114.
Anupubba-nirodha: The 9 'successive ceasings',
are the 8 ceasings reached through the 8 absorptions
jhāna and the ceasing of feeling and
perception' see: nirodha-samāpatti,
as it is said in A. IX, 31 and
D. 33:
In him who has entered the 1st absorption, the sensual-perception
kāma-saññā
are extinguished. Having entered the 2nd absorption, thought-conception and
discursive thinking vitakka-vicāra
are extinguished. Having entered the 3rd absorption, joy
pīti is extinguished. Having entered the
4th absorption, in-and-out breathing
assāsa-passāsa are extinguished. Having entered the sphere of Infinite
space ākāsānañcāyatana, the
perception of forms rūpa-saññā
are extinguished. Having entered the sphere of Infinite consciousness
viññānañcāyatana, the perception
of the sphere of Infinite space is extinguished. Having entered the sphere
of nothingness ākiñcaññāyatana,
the perception of the sphere of Infinite consciousness is extinguished. Having
entered the sphere of neither-perception-nor-non-perception
neva-saññā-nāsaññāyatana
the perception of the sphere of nothingness is extinguished. Having entered
the ceasing of perception and feeling
saññā-vedayita-nirodha
perception and feeling are extinguished. For further details, see:
jhāna
nirodha-samāpatti
Anupubba-vihāra: the 9 'successive
abodes', are identical with the 9
anupubba-nirodha see: above.
In A. IX, 33 they are called successive attainments
anupubba-samāpatti.
Ānupubbī-kathā: 'gradual instruction',
progressive teaching; given by the Buddha when it was necessary to
first prepare
the listener's mind before speaking to him on the advanced teaching of the
Four Noble Truths. The stock passage e.g. D.
3; D 14; M. 56 runs as follows:
Then the Blessed One gave him a gradual instruction - that is to say,
he spoke on generosity dāna,
on morality sīla and on the heavens
sagga, he explained the danger, the
loss
and the depravity of sensual pleasures, and the advantage of renunciation. When the Blessed One perceived that the listener's mind
was prepared, pliant, free from obstacles, elevated and lucid; then he explained
to him that exalted teaching particular to the Buddhas Buddhānam
sāmukkamsikā, that is: Suffering, its cause, its ceasing, and the path.
Anurakkhana-padhāna:
the
'effort to maintain' advantageous states; see:
padhāna
Anusaya: The 7 'latent tendencies',
hidden inclinations,
or latent liabilities are:
1: The latent tendency to sense-greed kāma-rāga
samyojana,
2: The latent tendency to aversion
patigha,
3: The latent tendency to speculative opinion
ditthi,
4: The latent tendency to skeptical doubt
vicikicchā,
5: The latent tendency to conceit & pride
māna,
6: The latent tendency to craving for continued existence
bhava-rāga,
7: The latent tendency to ignorance
avijjā
D. 33; A. VII, 11, 12.
These things are called 'latent tendencies' since, in consequence of their
endurance, they ever and again - life after life- tend to become the
conditions for the arising of ever new sense-greed, etc. Vis.M
XXII, 60.
Yam. VII, first determines in which
beings such and such latent tendencies exist, and which latent tendencies,
and with regard to what, and in which sphere of existence. Thereafter it gives
an explanation concerning their overcoming, their penetration, etc. Cf.
Guide VI vii. According to
Kath. several ancient Buddhist schools
erroneously held the opinion that the anusayas as such, meant merely
latent, hence kammically neutral qualities, which however contradicts the Theravāda
conception. Cf. Guide V, 88, 108,
139.
Anussati: 'recollection',
reflection, meditation, contemplation. The six recollections often described
in the Suttas e.g. A. VI, 10, 25;
D. 33 are:
1: Recollection of the Buddha,
buddhānussati
2: Recollection of his Doctrine, The Dhamma, dhammānussati
3: Recollection of his Sangha Community of Noble Disciples,
sanghānussati
4: Recollection of Morality, sīlānussati
5: Recollection of Generosity, cāgānussati
6: Recollection of divine beings, devatānussati.
1: The Noble Disciple, Mahānāma, recollects thus: Worthy, honourable
and perfectly self-Enlightened is the
Buddha! Consummated in knowledge and
behaviour, totally transcended, expert in all dimensions, knower of all
worlds, unsurpassable trainer of those who can be tamed, both teacher and
guide of gods as well as of humans, blessed, exalted, awakened and
enlightened is the Buddha !!!
2: Perfectly formulated is this Buddha-Dhamma,
visible right here and now, immediately effective, timeless, inviting each
and everyone to come and see for themselves, inspect, examine and
verify. Leading each and everyone through progress towards
perfection. Directly observable, experiencable and realizable by
each intelligence...
3: Perfectly training is this Noble
Sangha community of
the Buddha's disciples; the right way, the true way, the good way, the
direct way! Therefore do these eight kinds of individuals, the four Noble
pairs, deserve both gifts, self-sacrifice, offerings, hospitality and
reverential salutation with joined palms, since this Noble Sangha
community of the Buddha's Noble Disciples, is an unsurpassable and forever
unsurpassed field of merit, in the world, for the world, to honour, and
give to ...
4: The Noble Disciple further recollects his own morality
sīla, which is
unbroken, without any breach, unspotted, untarnished, conducive to liberation,
praised by the wise, independent of craving & opinion, leading to concentration.
5: The Noble Disciple further recollects his own generosity
cāga thus: Blessed truly am
I, highly blessed am I who, amongst beings defiled with the filth of
stinginess, live with heart free from stinginess, liberal, open-handed,
rejoicing in giving, ready to give anything asked for, glad to give and
share with others.
6: The Noble Disciple further recollects the divine beings
devatā: There are the divine beings of
the retinue of the Four Great Kings, the divine beings of the World of the
Thirty-Three, the Yāma-devas... and there are divine beings besides see:
deva. Such faith, such morality, such
knowledge, such generosity, such insight, possessed of which those divine
beings, after vanishing from here, are reborn in those worlds, such things
are also found in me. A. III,70; VI,10;
XI,12.
At the time when the Noble Disciple recollects the Perfect One... at such
a time his mind is neither possessed of greed, nor of hate, nor of confusion.
Quite upright at such a time is his mind owing to the Perfect One... With upright
mind the Noble Disciple attains understanding of the meaning, understanding of
the law of Dhamma, and attains to joy through the law of Dhamma. In the joyous one rapture arises. With
heart enraptured, his whole being becomes stilled. Stilled within his being,
he feels happiness; and the mind of the happy one becomes firm. Of this Noble Disciple it is said that amongst those gone astray, he walks on the right
path, among those suffering he abides free from
suffering. Thus having reached the stream of the law, he develops and
expands this recollection
of the Enlightened One. A. VI, 10.
In A. I, 21
PTS: I, xvi and
A. I, 27 PTS:
xx. 2 another 4 recollections are added:
7: Recollection of death
maranānussati,
8: Awareness of
the body kāyagatā-sati,
9: Awareness of
breathing
ānāpāna-sati,
10: Recollection
of Peace upasamānussati.
The first six recollections are fully explained in
Vis.M VII, the latter four in
Vis.M VIII.
Aparāpariya-vedanīya-kamma:
'kamma bearing fruits in later births'; see:
kamma.
Aparihāna-dhamma: 'incapable of relapse',
or 'of falling away', namely, with regard to deliverance from some or all mental
chains of existence see: samyojana.
Thus all Noble Disciples are called, i.e. all those who have attained any of
the 4 noble paths to Nobility see:
ariya-puggala. With regard to the
absorptions jhāna, anyone is called 'unrelapsable'
who has attained full mastery over the absorptions. See
A. VI, 62;
Pug. 6. Cf. akuppa-dhamma
Aparihāniya-dhamma: 'conditions
of welfare' lit. of non-decline, for a nation. Seven such conditions are mentioned
in the Mahā-Parinibbāna Sutta D. 16.
They are followed by five sets of 7, and one set of 6 conditions, conducive
to the welfare of the Community of Bhikkhus, the Sangha. Identical texts at
A. VII, 20-25. To be distinguished from
the preceding term.
Apāya: The 4 'lower worlds'. are: the animal world,
ghost world, demon-world, hell. See Vis.M
XIII, 92f.
Āpo-dhātu:
Water-element, macroscopic fluidity, microscopic cohesion; see:
dhātu
Appamāda: Alertness, attentiveness,
carefulness, non-laxity, earnestness,
diligence, vigilance, is considered as the foundation of all advantageous progress.
Just as all the footprints of living beings are surpassed by the
footprint of the elephant, and the footprint of the elephant is considered
as the mightiest amongst them, just so have all the meritorious qualities
alertness as their foundation, and alertness is considered as the mightiest
of these qualities
A. X, 15.
Cf. the Chapter on alertness
Appamāda Vagga in
Dhp., and the Buddha's last exhortation:
Transient are all constructions. Be Alert & Train! appamādenasampādetha
D. 16 - In the commentaries, it is
often explained as the presence lit. 'non-absence' of awareness
satiyāavippavāsa.
Appamānābha: a kind of
divine being; see: deva II.
Appamāna-ceto-vimutti:
Infinite mental release
see:
ceto-vimutti
Appamāna-subha: a kind of divine being: see:
deva II.
Appamaññā: The 4 'Infinite States', identical
with the 4 brahma-vihāra
Appanā-samādhi:
Absorption concentration
or full concentration from apeti to fix, is the concentration existing
during absorption jhāna, whilst the neighbourhood
or access-concentration upacāra
samādhi only approaches the 1st absorption
without attaining it; see: samādhi
Appanihita-vimokkha: Desireless
mental release
see:
vimokkha
Appanihitānupassanā:
Contemplation of desirelessness see:
vipassanā
Appendants: The 3 sticky mental glues:
kiñcana
Appicchatā: Having only few wishes, contentedness,
is one of the indispensable virtues of the monk; cf.
A. X. 181-190, and
ariya-vamsa
Apuññābhisankhāra: see:
sankhāra
Arahat: and Arahatta-magga,
Arahatta-phala: see:
ariya-puggala
Ārammana: Object. There are six: visible object,
sound, odour, taste, body-contact, mental-object. The mental-object dhammārammana
may be physical or mental, past, present or future, real or imaginary. The
5 sense-objects belong to the materiality-group
rūpa-khandha see:
khandha. They form the external foundations
for the sense-perceptions, and without them no sense-perception or sense-consciousness
seeing, hearing, etc. can ever arise. Cf. āyatana
paccaya.
Ārammanādhipati,
Predominance Conditional Relation. see:
paccaya
Ārammanupanissaya:
Decisive Support Conditional Relation. see:
paccaya
Āraññikanga: The training of
living in the forest,
is one of the ascetic purification-exercises
dhutānga.
Arising and vanishing: of things.
The knowledge consisting in the contemplation of; see:
visuddhi VI.1.
Ariya-iddhi: Noble Force
see:
iddhi
Ariya-magga: see: The following.
Ariya-puggala: or simply
Ariya: Noble Ones, noble persons:
The 8, Ariya = Noble Ones are those who have realized
one of the 8 stages of Nobility, i.e. the 4 supra-mundane
paths magga
and the 4 supra-mundane fruitions phala
of these paths. There are thus these 4 pairs:
A1. The one realizing the path of Stream-winning
sotāpatti-magga.
A2. The one realizing the fruition of Stream-winning
sotāpatti-phala.
A3. The one realizing the path of Once-return
sakadāgāmi-magga.
A4. The one realizing the fruition of Once-return sakadāgāmi-phala.
A5. The one realizing the path of Non-return
anāgāmi-magga.
A6. The one realizing the fruition of Non-return anāgāmi-phala.
A7. The one realizing the path of Nobility
arahatta-magga.
A8. The one realizing the fruition of Nobility arahatta-phala.
Summed up, there are 4 noble individuals
ariya-puggala:
1: The Stream-winner
Sotāpanna,
2: The Once-Returner
Sakadāgāmi,
3: The Non-Returner
Anāgāmī,
4: The Worthy One Arahat.
In A. VIII,10 and
A. IX, 16 the
gotrabhū is listed as the 9th noble individual.
According to the Abhidhamma, the supra-mundane path,
or simply path
magga, is a designation of the moment of entering into one of these
4 stages of Nobility with Nibbāna being
the object, produced by intuitional insight
vipassanā into the impermanence,
misery and impersonality
of existence, flashing forth and forever transforming one's life and nature.
By fruition phala is meant those moments
of consciousness which follow immediately thereafter as the result of the
path, and which in certain circumstances may
repeat for innumerable times during the life-time.
I: Through the path of Stream-winning
sotāpatti-magga
one becomes free whereas in realizing the fruition, one is freed from the
first 3 mental chains samyojana,
which bind beings to existence in the sense-sphere, to wit:
1: Personality-belief
sakkāya-ditthi, see.
ditthi,
2: Skeptical doubt
vicikicchā,
3: Clinging
upādāna to mere rules
and rituals sīlabbata-parāmāsa.
One has maximally 7 rebirth rounds before Awakening and cannot be reborn
as animal, ghost, demon or hell-being.
II: Through the path of Once-return
sakadāgāmi-magga
one becomes nearly freed from the 4th and 5th mental chains, to wit:
4: Sense-desire
kāma-cchanda =
kāma-rāga
rāga, and
5: Ill-will
vyāpāda =
dosa see:
mūla.
III: Through the path of Non-return
anāgāmi-magga
one becomes fully freed from the above-mentioned 5 lower mental chains.
IV: Through the path of Nobility arahatta-magga
one furthermore becomes free from the 5 higher mental chains, to wit:
6: Craving
for fine material existence rūpa-rāga,
7: Craving for formless existence. arūpa-rāga,
8: Conceit and pride māna,
9: Restlessness
uddhacca, and
10: Ignorance
avijjā.
The stereotype Sutta text runs as follows:
Stream-enterer:
I: After the disappearance of the three mental chains, the Bhikkhu has won
the stream to Nibbāna and is no more
subject to rebirth in the lower worlds, is firmly established, bound for full
enlightenment.
Once-returner:
II: After the disappearance of the three mental chains and the reduction of
greed, hatred and confusion, he will return only once more; and having once
more returned to this world, he will put an end to suffering.
Non-returner:
III: After the disappearance of the five mental chains he appears in a higher
world, and there he reaches Nibbāna
without ever returning from that world to the sense-sphere worlds.
Arahat:
IV: Through the ceasing of all mental fermentations
āsava-kkhaya he reaches already in this very life the deliverance
of mind, the deliverance through understanding, which is free from fermentations,
and which he himself has understood and directly realized.
For the various classes of Stream-winners and Non-Returners, see:
Sotāpanna,
Anāgāmī.
B: The sevenfold grouping of the Noble Disciples is as follows:
1: The faith-devotee
saddhānusārī,
2: The faith-liberated one
saddhā-vimutta,
3: The body-witness kāya-sakkhī,
4: The both-ways-liberated one
ubhato-bhāga-vimutta,
5: The Dhamma-devotee dhammānusārī,
6: The vision-attainer ditthippatta,
7: The one liberated by understanding
paññā-vimutta.
This group of seven Noble Disciples is thus explained in Vis.M
XXI, 73:
1-2: He who is filled with determination
adhimokkha and, in considering the constructions as impermanent
anicca, gains the ability of faith,
he, at the moment of the path to Stream-winning
A1 is called a faith-devotee
saddhānusārī;
2: at the seven higher stages A2-A8 he is
called a faith-liberated one
saddhā-vimutta.
3: He who is filled with tranquillity and, in considering the constructions
as miserable dukkha, gains the ability
of concentration, he in every respect is considered as a body-witness
kāya-sakkhī.
4: He who after reaching the absorptions of the formless sphere
has attained the highest fruition of Nobility, he is a both-ways-liberated
one ubhato-bhāga-vimutta.
5: He who is filled with understanding and, in considering the constructions
as no-self anattā, gains the ability
of understanding, he is at the moment of Stream-winning A1 a Dhamma-devotee
dhammānusārī,
6: At the later stages A2-A7 a vision-attainer
ditthippatta,
7: At the highest stage A8 a understanding-liberated one
paññā-vimutta.
Further details about the body-witness => kāya-sakkhī, the both-ways-liberated one
=> ubhato-bhāga-vimutta and
the understanding-liberated one => paññā-vimutta Cf. also
M. 70;
A. IX, 44; see:
XII, 70; Pts.M. II, p. 33,
PTS.
Ariya-sacca: The Four
'Noble Truths'; see: sacca
Ariya-vamsa: The four Noble Usage's,
are:
1: Contentedness of the Bhikkhu with any robe,
2: Contentedness with any
Alms-food,
3: Contentedness with any dwelling,
4L Delight in meditation and detachment.
In the Ariya-vamsa Sutta, A. IV, 28 and
similarly in D. 33, it is said :
Now the Bhikkhu is contented with any robe, with any alms-food, with any
dwelling, finds pleasure and enjoyment in mental training and detachment. But
neither is he haughty on that account, nor does he look down upon others. Now,
of a Bhikkhu who herein is fit and indefatigable, who remains aware and clearly comprehending, of such a Bhikkhu it is said that he is firmly established in
the ancient lineage of Noble Usage known as the most lofty one. Full
translation of the
Ariya-vamsa Sutta.
Ariya-vihāra:
Noble dwelling see:
vihāra
Arūpa-bhava: Formless
becoming see: Becoming
bhava, and worlds
loka.
Arūpa-jjhāna:
Formless mental absorption see:
jhāna
Arūpa-khandha: The four formless immaterial groups of
sentient existence are: feeling,
perception, mental constructions, and consciousness; see:
khandha
Arūpāvacara: Formless
spheres
see:
avacara
Āruppa: Formless mental absorption
see: jhāna
Asankhāra-parinibbāyī: The one
reaching Nibbāna without effort,
is one of the five classes of Non-Returners anāgāmī
Asankhārika-citta: An Abhidhamma term
signifying a 'state of consciousness arisen spontaneously, i. e. without previous
deliberation, preparation, or prompting by others; hence: 'unprepared, unprompted'.
This term and its counterpart sasankhārikacitta, probably go back to
a similar distinction made in the Suttas A.
IV, 171; path 184. See
Tab. I; examples in Vis.M XIV, 84f.
Asankhata: The Unformed, Unoriginated, Unconditioned,
Uncreated & Unconstructed
is a name for Nibbāna, the beyond of all becoming and conditionality.
Asañña-satta: The unconscious beings, are
a class of divine beings in the fine-material world; see:
deva II. There are, Bhikkhus, divine
beings known as the unconscious ones. As soon, however, as in those beings
consciousness arises, those beings will vanish from that world. Now,
Bhikkhus, it may happen that one of those beings after vanishing from that
world, may reappear in this world. D. 24. Further
details, see: Kath.,
Yam.
Guide, pp. 68, 79, 96 ff..
Āsava: lit: fermentations,
taints, corruptions, intoxicant biases. There is a list of four as in
D. 16,
Pts.M.,
Vibh.:
1: The mental fermentation of sense-desire
kāmāsava,
Ex: 'All is pleasant'
2: The mental fermentation
of desiring existence bhavāsava,
Ex: 'Being is good'
3: The mental fermentation
of wrong views
ditthāsava, Ex: 'My opinion is best'
4: The mental fermentation of ignorance avijjāsava. Ex:
'Suffering exists not'
A list of three, omitting
the fermentation of views, is possibly older and is more frequent in the Suttas,
e.g. in M. 2,
M. 9,
D. 33; A. III, 59, 67;
A. VI, 63. In
Vibh. Khuddakavatthu
Vibh. both the 3-fold and 4-fold division
are mentioned. The fourfold division also occurs under the name of floods
ogha and yokes
yoga.
Through the path of Stream-Entry, the fermentation
of views is destroyed;
Through the path of Non-Returning,
the fermentation of sense-desire;
Through the path
of Arahatship, the fermentations of existence and ignorance.
M. 2 shows how to overcome the
fermentations, namely, through insight, sense-control, avoidance, wise use
of the necessities of life. For a commentarial exposition, see
Atthasālini Tr. I, p. 63f: II, pp.
475ff.
khīnāsava
= one whose fermentations
are eliminated, or one who is fermentation-free, is a name for the Arahat or
Noble One. The state of Arahatship is frequently called
āsavakkhaya the destruction of
the fermentations. Suttas concluding with the attainment of Arahatship by
the listeners, often end with the words: During this utterance, the minds
of the Bhikkhus were freed from the mental fermentations through absence of
clinging anupādāya āsavehi cittāni vimuccimsū'ti.
Āsavakkhaya: see above.
Ascending insight: see:
vutthāna-gāminī-vipassanā
Ascetic purification practices:
see: dhutānga
Asekha: lit.: Learned = not-anymore-learner see:
sekha, a disciple perfected in training,
one beyond training, an adept. This is a name for the Arahat, the Noble One
see: ariya-puggala, since he
has reached the perfection in higher moral training, higher mental training and
higher understanding see: sikkhā
and needs no longer to train himself therein.
Āsevana-paccaya: repetition,
is one of the 24 conditional relations paccaya.
Asmi-māna: lit.: 'I am'-conceit, 'ego-conceit',
may range from the coarsest pride and self-assertion to a subtle feeling of
one's distinctiveness or superiority that persists, as the 8th fetter
samyojana, until the attainment of
Arahatship or Nobility. It falsely assumes an entity 'I' the be real and
existent. It is based upon the comparison of oneself with others,
and may, therefore, manifest itself also as a feeling of inferiority or the
claim to be equal see: māna. It has to
be distinguished from 'ego-belief' sakkāya-ditthi
which implies a definite belief or view ditthi
concerning the assumption of a self, personality or soul, and, being the 1st of the mental
chains, which disappears at attainment of Stream-Entry
sotāpatti. Even when
the five lower mental chains have vanished in a Noble Disciple, there is
still in him, with regard to the five groups of clinging, a slight
remaining measure of the conceit 'I am', of the desire 'I am', of the
latent tendency
'I am' see: S. XXII, 89.
māna This is the root
assumption of Egoism.
Assāsa-passāsa: In-and-out-breathing,
are bodily constructions
kāya-sankhāra,
while directed thought and sustained thinking
vitakka and
vicāra are called verbal
constructions
vacī-sankhāra, see:
sankhāra 2. In-and-out-breathing forms
one of the 6 aspects of the wind-element see:
dhātu. Cf. M. 62.
Association:
sampayutta-paccaya is
one of the 24 conditional relations paccaya.
Asubha: Impurity, loathsomeness, foulness, disgust. - In
Vis.M VI, it is the cemetery contemplations
sīvathika that are called
meditation-subjects on impurity asubha-kammatthāna;
see. bhāvanā. In the Girimananda Sutta
A. X., 50, however, the perception of impurity
asubha-saññā refers to the contemplation
of the 32 parts of the body see: kāya-gatā-sati.
The contemplation of the body's impurity is an effective antidote against the hindrance
of sense-desire see: nīvarana and
the mental distortion vipallāsa,
which sees what is truly impure as pure and beautiful. See XLVI, 51;
A. V. 36, Dhp.
7, 8; Sn. 193ff. - The Five Mental
Hindrances WHEEL
26, pp. 5ff.
It is the single-most important tool to counteract sensual and sexual
greed.
Asura: Demons, goblin, evil
spirit or titan inhabiting one of the lower worlds
apāya.
Atappa: The unworried, is the name
of a class of deities see: deva inhabiting
the first of the five Pure Abodes suddhāvāsa,
in which the Anāgāmī has his last rebirth.
Atimāna: Superiority-conceit;
arrogance see:
māna
Attā: Self, ego, personality, soul, is in Buddhism a mere
conventional expression vohāradesanā, and not
a designation for anything
really existing; see: paramattha-desanā,
anattā, puggala,
satta, jīva.
Attachments: see:
parāmāsa
Atta-ditthi: -vāda : 'ego-belief',
'personality-belief', see: ditthi
Attainment-concentration:
appanā-samādhi, see:
samādhi
Attainments: The 8 Attainments see:
samāpatti
Atta-kilamatha: Self-mortification =
self-torture, is
one of the two extremes to be avoided, the other extreme being addiction to
sensual pleasures kāma-sukha,
whilst the Noble 8-fold path constitutes the
Middle path majjhima-patipadā.
See the Buddha's first sermon, The Establishment of the Realm of Dhamma:
Dhamma-cakkappavattana-Sutta.
Atta-saññā: Atta-citta
& atta-ditthi: perception, thought,
& view of an ego, self or soul is one of the 4 perversions
vipallāsa.
Atta-vādupādāna:
Attachment to the belief or view in a constant ego, self or soul,
is one of the 4 kinds of clinging upādāna.
Attention: see:
manasikāra
Attentiveness: Attention, awareness or mindfulness;
see: sati
satipatthāna.
Atthangika-magga: The Noble 8-Fold
Path see: Magga.
Attha-patisambhidā: The 'analytical
knowledge of meaning', is one of the 4 kinds of analytical knowledge
patisambhidā.
Atthi-paccaya: Presence, is one of the
24 conditional relations
paccaya.
Auditory organ: Ear, ability to hear
see:
āyatana.
Avacara: Sphere, realm,
level or dimension.
The 3 levels of existence are: the sense-level
kāmāvacara,
the fine-material level
rūpāvacara,
the formless level
arūpāvacara.
Which things are of the sense-level kāmāvacara? Whatever
things exist within the interval bounded beneath by the
Avīci hell and above by the paranimmitavasavatti
heaven (see: deva), being therein
included, to wit: the groups of existence, the elements, sources (see: khandha
dhātu
āyatana),
form, feeling, perception, mental
constructions and consciousness, all these things are of the sense-level.
But which things are then of the fine material level
rūpāvacara? Whatever things exist
within the interval bounded beneath by the Brahma-world and above by the
akanittha world (see:
deva), having therein their level, and
being therein included... and also consciousness and mental properties in one
who has entered the fine-material absorptions, or who has been reborn at
that level, or who already during his life-time is living in happiness of the absorptions,
all these things are of the fine-material level. Which things are of the
formless level arūpāvacara? Consciousness
and mental properties arising within the interval bounded beneath by the beings
reborn in the level of unbounded space and above by the beings reborn at the
level of neither-perception-nor-non-perception (see:
jhāna 5-8), and the consciousness and
mental properties in one who has entered the formless absorptions, or who has been reborn
at that level, or who already during his lifetime is living in happiness of
the formless absorptions, all these things are of the formless level. Cf.
Dhs. see: 1280, 1282, 1284;
Vibh. XVIII.
App.
Āvajjana: Directing of the mind towards the
object, is the first stage in the process of consciousness see:
viññāna-kicca. If an object of
the 5 physical senses is observed, it is called 'five-door directing'
= pañca
dvārāvajjana, in the case of a mental object, an idea or
mental state then it is called 'mind-door directing'
mano-dvārāvajjana.
Aversion: Towards all existence, contemplation of: see:
vipassanā 4.
Avīci: is the name of one of the most frightful
hells niraya.
Avigata-paccaya: Non-disappearance, is
one of the 24 conditional relations paccaya.
Aviha: Non-falling, immovable yet derivation
is uncertain; Sanskrit avrha
is one of the five Pure Abodes suddhāvāsa
in the fine-material level. For details, see: under
Anāgāmī
Avihimsā,
ahimsā, avihesā: harmlessness,
nonviolence, absence of cruelty. The thought of harmlessness or non-cruelty;
avihimsā-vitakka is one of
the three constituents of right motivation
sammā-sankappa,
i.e. the 2nd factor of the 8-fold path see:
magga. In the several lists of
elements
dhātu appears also an
element of harmlessness
avihesā-dhātu, in the sense of
an irreducible elementary quality of Noble thought, speech & behaviour. See
Dhp. 225, 261, 270, 300.
Avijjā: Ignorance, nescience,
the blindness of not knowing, is synonymous with confusion moha
(see mūla), is the primary &
deepest root of all evil
and suffering in the world, veiling man's mental eyes and preventing him from
seeing the true nature of things. It is the confusion that fools beings by making
life appear to them as permanent, happy, substantial and beautiful and preventing
them from seeing that everything in reality is impermanent, liable to suffering,
void of 'I' and 'mine', and basically impure see:
vipallāsa. Ignorance is defined as
not knowing the Four Noble Truths, namely,
suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the way to its ceasing see:
S. XII,
4.
As ignorance is the foundation of all life-maintaining actions, and the
root of all evil
and suffering, it therefore stands first in the formula of Dependent Origination
paticca-samuppāda.
But for that reason, says Vis.M XVII,
36f ignorance should not be regarded as the causeless root-cause of the world,
since is not causeless. The cause of it is stated thus: With the arising of
mental fermentations āsava
there is the arising of ignorance M. 9. But there is a figurative
way in which it can be treated as a root-cause; namely, when it is made to
serve as a starting point in an exposition of the Round of Existence... As
it is said: No first beginning of ignorance can be perceived, Bhikkhus, before
which ignorance was not, and after which it came to be. But it can be perceived
that ignorance has its specific causal condition idappaccaya
A. X, 61. The same statement is made
A. X, 62 about the craving for existence
bhava-tanhā
(see
tanhā). Craving and ignorance are called
the outstanding causes or creators of the kamma that lead to unhappy and happy destinies
Vis.M XVII, 38.
As ignorance still exists though in a very refined way until the attainment
of Arahatship, it is counted as the last of the 10 mental chains
samyojana, which bind beings to the cycle of rebirths. As the first two roots
of evil, greed and hate (see: mūla), are
on their part rooted in ignorance, consequently all disadvantageous states
of mind are inseparably bound up with ignorance. Ignorance or confusion is the most
obstinate , dense, deep, subtle, hidden and fearsome of the three roots of evil.
Ignorance is one of the fermentations āsava
and latent tendencies anusaya. It is
often called a hindrance nīvarana
e.g. in S.XV, 3;
A.X, 61 but does not appear together with
the usual list of five hindrances. It is however immanent in them all, yet
especially dominant in doubt & uncertainty
vicikicchā.
Avikkhepa: Undistractedness, is a synonym
of concentration samādhi, one-pointedness
of mind citt'ekaggatā and
calm tranquillity
samatha, further see:
samatha-vipassanā.
Avoidance: see:
Cāritta-sīla - The effort to avoid
all evil states,
see: padhāna 1.
Avyākata: Indeterminable - i.e. neither
determined as kammically advantageous nor as disadvantageous - are the
kammically neutral or inert, i.e. amoral, states of consciousness and mental
properties.
They are either 1: Mere kamma-results vipāka,
as e.g. all the sense perceptions and the mental properties associated therewith,
or they are 2: Kammically independent & inert functions
kiriya-citta, i.e. neither
kammic nor kamma-resultant. See Tab. I.
App.
Avyāpāda: Hatelessness, non-ill-will,
good-will, amity, goodness;
is one of the three kinds of right
motivation (see:
sacca IV. 2), or advantageous thoughts
vitakka and is the
9th of the 10 advantageous courses of actions
kamma-patha
II. The most frequently used synonyms are adosa
(see: mūla) and
mettā (see:
brahma-vihāra).
Awakening: see:
Bodhi
Āyatana:
1: Spheres, is a name for the four
formless absorptions; see: jhāna 5-8.
2: The 12 sources or bases on which depend the mental processes, consist
of five physical sense-organs and consciousness, being the six
internal
ajjhattika sources; and the six objects, the so-called external bāhira
sources - namely:
- eye, or visual organ and visible object
- ear, or auditory organ and sound, or audible object
- nose, or olfactory organ and odour, or olfactive object
- tongue, or gustatory organ and taste, or gustative object
- body, or tactile organ and body-contact, or tactile object
- mind-base, or consciousness and idea or mental-object
manāyatana dhammāyatana
By the visual organ cakkhāyatana
is meant the sensitive part of the eye cakkhu-pasāda
(retina)
built up of the four elements... responding to sense-stimuli sa-ppatigha.
Vibh. II. Similar is the explanation
of the four remaining physical sense-organs.
The source-of-mind manāyatana is a
collective term for all consciousness whatsoever, and should therefore not be
confounded with the mental-element mano-dhātu
see: dhātu II, 16, which latter performs
only the functions of directing āvajjana
attention
to the sense-object, and of receiving
sampaticchana the data of
the sense-object.
On the functions of the mind, see: viññāna-kicca
The visible object rūpāyatana
is described in Vibh. II as that phenomenon
which is built up of the four primary elements and appears as color and
form.
What is seen by-visual perception, i.e. by visual-consciousness
cakkhu-viññāna are
only colors and
different intensities of light, but not three dimensional bodily things,
which are interpretations.
The thinkable mental-object-source dhammāyatana
is identical with 'mental-object-element'
dhamma-dhātu, dhātu II-17 and
dhammārammana see: ārammana.
It may be physical or mental, past, present or future, real or imaginary.
The 5 physical sense-organs are also called abilities
indriya, and of these abilities it
is said in M. 43: Each of the five abilities
owns a different domain, and none of them partakes of the domain of another
one;... they have mind as their support... are conditioned by mental
vitality (neural metabolic activity).
The 12 sense-source are fully discussed in
Vis.M XV. In Yam III see:
Guide, p 98f. are
the 12 terms are subjected
to a logical investigation The six internal bases form the 5th link of dependent
origination paticca-samuppāda
5.
Āyūhana: Kammic accumulation, is a
name used in the commentarial literature for the advantageous and disadvantageous
intentional activities kamma or kammic-constructions
sankhāra (see:
paticca-samuppāda
2),
being the causes of future rebirth. Accumulation, is a name for the past
kammic-constructions, and signifies those intentions
cetanā, which arised at the performance
of a kamma, first while thinking 'I will give food', and then while actually
giving the food or any other object. The intention, however, at the time
when one is handing the food over to the recipient is called kamma-making
or kamma-becoming kamma-bhava see.
Vis.M XVII, IX, X. Or, the intentions
during the first six impulse-moments javana
depending on one and the same state of directing
āvajjana (see.
viññāna-kicca), these are called
the kammic-constructions, whilst the 7th impulse moment is called the kamma-making
kamma-bhava. Or, each moment
of intention is called kamma-making and the accumulation connected with it, kamma-construction. Vis.M XVII.
Cf. paticca-samuppāda
2, 10 - App.