But, in fact, the study of the word of
the Buddha alone suffices to achieve the four preparatory exercises.
the Buddha alone suffices to achieve the four preparatory exercises.
AbhidharmakosabhasyamVol-4VasubandhuPoussinPruden1991
?
?
reason of the object, for it has for its object all beings in the Three Dhatus.
4. By reason of its equality, for it is equally concerned with the happiness and benefit of all being.
5. By reason of its excellence, for no other compassion which has arisen surpasses it. 191
How does great compassion differ from ordinary compassion?
33c. It differs from ordinary compassion in eight ways.
1. With respect to its nature: ordinary compassion is absence of hatred, whereas great compassion is absence of ignorance.
2. With respect to its aspect: ordinary compassion takes on the form of one suffering, whereas great compassion takes on the form of threefold suffering.
3. With respect to its object: ordinary compassion is concerned with the beings of one Dhatu, whereas great compassion is concerned with the Three Dhatus.
4. With respect to its sphere: ordinary compassion is of the sphere of the Four Dhyanas,192 whereas great compassion is of the sphere of the Fourth Dhyana.
5. With respect to the personality which serves as its support: ordinary compassion arises in the series of the Sravakas, etc. ,193
? The Knowledges 1145 whereas great compassion arises in the series of the Buddhas.
6. With respect to its acquisition: ordinary compassion is obtained through detachment from Kamadhatu, whereas great compassion is obtained through detachment from Bhavagra.
7. With respect to its protection: ordinary compassion does not
194
8. With respect to compassion: ordinary compassion is an unequal compassion, for it sympathizes only with beings who are suffering, whereas great compassion is an equal compassion, turned towards all beings equally.
***
We have explained the qualities which belong only to the Buddhas and which distinguish them from other beings. Do the Buddhas resemble one another among themselves?
Under certain conditions, yes; under other conditions, no.
34. In sambhara, dharmakdya and their service to beings, the Buddhas are identical; not in their duration of life, their
195 caste, their stature, etc.
The Buddhas are identical in that they have, in their previous existences, equally accumulated merit and knowledge, in that they
196
have realized the same dharmakdya; ' and in that they equally
carry out service to others.
But the Buddhas differ through the difference in the duration of their lives, their caste, their gotra, the dimensions of their bodies, etc. According to the period in which they appear, their life is long or short, they are Ksatriyas or Brahmins, they belong to the Gautamagotra or to the Kasyapagotra, and their bodies are great or small. The word et cetera indicates that the Dharma of the
protect, whereas great compassion protects.
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Buddhas lasts a long or short period of time, accordingly as, at the moment of their appearance, the beings to be converted are straight or crooked. 197
***
All intelligent persons who reflect on the threefold perfecti- on198 of the Tathagatas necessarily produce a profound affection, a profound respect with respect to them. This threefold perfection is the perfection of their causes which consists of the provisions of merit and knowledge; the perfection of the result which consists of the dharmakdya; and the perfection of benefit which consists of service to all beings.
i. The perfection of cause is fourfold: 1. Cultivation of the accumulation of all qualities and all knowledge;199 2. prolonged cultivation;200 3. uninterrupted cultivation; and 4. zealous cultivation.
ii. The perfection of the result is fourfold, for the realization of the dharmakaya includes four perfections, that of knowledge, of abandoning, of power and of material body.
a. The perfection of knowledge is fourfold: 1. untaught knowledge; 2. universal knowledge (that is to say knowledge of all individual characteristics); 3. omniform knowledge,201 (that is to say knowledge of all manners of being); and 4. spontaneous knowledge (knowledge through the simple desire to know).
b. The perfection of abandoning is fourfold: 1. abandoning of all the defilements; 2. definitive abandoning (not susceptible of falling away); 3. abandoning of the defilements with their traces (because no bond remains); and 4. abandoning of the obstacles to samddhi and samdpatti [of such a sort that the Buddha is doubly delivered (vi. 64a)]. 202
? The perfection of power is fourfold: 1. perfection in the mastery of creating, transforming, and maintaining an external
? ^
The Knowledges 1147
object;
203
2. perfection in the mastery of abandoning and
prolonging life;
204
3. perfection in the mastery of movement
through resistant bodies, through space, to very distant location, of
great speed, and mastery in the reduction of a large body to a small
205
volume; and 4. perfection of marvellous qualities, multiple and
206 natural.
d. The perfection of the material body is fourfold: 1. perfection in marks (laksana); 2. perfection in secondary marks (anuvyan- jana)\ 3. perfection in power (that is to say possession of Narayana's power, vii. 31); and (with respect to internal events) perfection of the body whose bones are like diamonds; and (with respect to external events) emissions of rays of light (which exceed
one hundred thousand suns. )
iii. The perfection of service is fourfold: 1-3. to deliver definitively {atyanta) from the suffering of the three painful realms of rebirth; 4. to deliver from the suffering of transmigra- tion; or rather: 1-3. to install into the three vehicles; 4. to install into good realms of rebirth.
Such are, in short, the perfections of the Buddhas. There would be no end of our discussion if we were to speak of them in great detail. Only the Buddhas, the Blessed Ones, if they were to prolong their existence for numbers of asamkhyeyakalpas, would be capable of knowing and speaking of their grandeur. It is enough to know that the Buddhas, endowed with qualities, knowledges, powers, and infinite and extraordinary benefits, are like mines of jewels.
Nevertheless fools {bala = prthagjana), themselves poor in qualities--and judging based upon themselves--have no spiritual aspirations: they understand in vain the extolling of the merits of the Buddha and they do not conceive affection either for the Buddha or his Dharma.
The wise, on the contrary, understand the explanation of the qualities of the Buddha, conceiving, with respect to the Buddha and his Dharma, a mind of faith which penetrates to the marrow of
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their bones. These persons, through this single mind of faith, surmount an infinite mass of actions of unnecessary retribution; they obtain excellent human and divine rebirths; and, finally, they arrive at Nirvana. This is why the Tathagatas are said to be a supreme field of merit; for this field gives forth fruits which are certain, agreeable, abundant, rapid, (experienced in this life), and of excellent issue. The Blessed One, in fact, has proclaimed, "If anyone plants a small root of good in the field of merit which are the Buddhas, he will first possess heavenly realms of rebirth and
209
then he will obtain the Deathless (Ekottara, 24. 15). We have
explained the eighteen qualities unique to the Buddhas.
35a. There are other qualities which the Buddhas have in common with Saiksas
The Buddhas possess innumerable qualities which they have in common either with Sravakas
35b. And Prthagjanas
Or with ordinary persons.
35c. Absence of Contention, Knowledge Resulting from Resolution, the Unhindered Knowledges, the Supernormal Knowledges, etc.
These are: the Samadhi Absence of Contention, the Knowledge Resulting from Resolution, the Four Unhindered Knowledges, the Supernormal Knowledges, the Dhyanas, the Arupyas, the Eight Samapattis, the Three Samadhis, the Four Apramanas, the Eight Vimoksas, the Eight Abhibhvayatanas, the Ten Krtsnayatanas, etc.
207 208
? The first three are common to both the Buddhas and the Aryans; the Supernormal Knowledges, the Dhyanas, etc. , can also belong to ordinary persons.
***
Arand [is the power to hinder the arising of another's
210
defilements].
produced through their defilements; they know that they them- selves are the most worthy field of merit (iv. 103, 117a); they fear that others might generate defilements with respect to them
211
The Arhats know that the sufferings of beings are
[which would be particularly injurious to them];
generate a knowledge of such a nature that no other person will produce, with respect to them, lust, hatred, pride, etc. This knowledge puts an end, in beings, to rana9 or contention, which is a defilement, a cause of torment: it is thus called arand or absence of contention.
What are the characteristics of the so-called Arana Samadhi, the Absorption Absence of Contention?
36a. Absence of Contention is conventional knowledge;
By nature it is conventional knowledge, as it results from its object.
36b. It is of the sphere of the Fourth Dhyana;
It exists in ("has for its support") the Fourth Dhyana, which is the best of the easy paths (vi. 66).
36c. It is produced by a person who is Immovable.
thus they
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It is produced by Immovable Arhats {akopyadharman, vi. 56) and not by others: for others are not capable of radically cutting off their own defilements (they are in fact subject to falling) and so they cannot arrest the defilements of others.
36d. It is produced by humans.
It is produced by humans, for it is only a being in the human realm of rebirth who can cultivate it in the Three Dvipas.
36e. It relates to the defilements of Kamadhatu, is future, and has a real object.
It bears on the defilements of others, in Kamadhatu, in the future, and "has a real object" {savastuka), "May no defilements arise in others with respect to me! " The savastuka defilements are craving, anger, etc. , which are abandoned through Meditation (vi. 58).
The avastuka defilements of others (vi. 58), which are
abandoned through Seeing, are not susceptible of being arrested,
for the universal {sarvatraga) defilements (v. 12), which exist in 212
the totality of their sphere, also exist in the series of another.
As is the Samadhi Absence of Contention,
37a-b. So too the Knowledge Resulting from Resolution; 213
[but it has all for its object].
Like the Samadhi Absence of Contention, the Knowledge Resulting from Resolution is, by nature, conventional knowledge; like Absence of Contention, it exists in the Fourth Dhyana, it is produced in the series of an Immovable One, and it is meditated upon by a being in the human realm of rebirth.
? 37b. But it has all for its object.
But, unlike the Samadhi Absence of Contention, it bears on all the dharmas.
214
Yet
are not known by a direct seeing through the Knowledge Resulting from Resolution--being of the Fourth Dhyana, this knowledge does not bear on a higher sphere. These dharmas are known through inference (anumdna). In fact, one knows 1. the outflowing of Arupyadhatu, namely the extreme calm which follows, in a subsequent existence, from a former existence in Arupyadhatu; 2. the conduct of Arupyadhatu, that is to say the practice of the Arupya Samapattis which will produce an existence in Arupyadha- tu,--and one can infer from a cause to its result and from a result to its cause. As the farmer knows a seed from its fruit and a fruit from its seed, seeing a calm person, one concludes, "He is reborn falling from Arupyadhatu, but he will be reborn in Arupyadhatu. " Such is the opinion of the Vaibhasikas.
Others believe however that the Knowledge Resulting from
Resolution bears on Arupyadhatu, for there is nothing that is not
215 within the mental range of the Buddhas.
One who would produce the Knowledge Resulting from Resolution begins by forming a resolution, holding a certain object in his consciousness; he enters into the Fourth prantakotika Dhyana (viii. 41a): this is the preparatory exercise. As soon as he leaves this absorption, he produces an exact consciousness in
the Vaibhasikas say that the dharmas of Arupyadhatu
conformity with his resolution the sphere of which varies 216
according to the power of his absorption.
***
37c-d. So too the Unhindered Knowledges of dharmas, of 217
objects, of etymological explanations, and of eloquence.
There are Four Unhindered Knowledges: the Unhindered
? Knowledge of dharmas, the Unhindered Knowledge of things {artha), the Unhindered Knowledge of etymological explanations (nirukta), and the Unhindered Knowledge of eloquence (prati- bhana). They are like the Samadhi Absence of Contention in that they belong solely to the Immovable Ones who are humans. But they differ from it with respect to their object, the sphere in which they are acquired, and their nature.
38a-b. The first three are unhindered knowledges bearing,
218 in this order, on name, the thing, speech.
Infallible {avivartya) knowledge of names, phrases, and 219
syllables (ii. 47a) is the Unhindered Knowledge of dharmas. Infallible knowledge of the thing is the Unhindered Knowl-
edge of things.
Infallible knowledge of speech is the Unhindered Knowledge of etymological explanation.
38c-d. The fourth is the knowledge of exact and facile
220
Infallible knowledge which confers the capacity to express
221
oneself in an exact and facile manner and which also confers
never failing attention on a person who is a master in absorption is
222 the Unhindered Knowledge of eloquence.
39a-b. Its object is speech and the Path; [it is made up of
223
Speech and the Path are the object of this Unhindered Knowledge.
expression, and of mastery with respect to the Path.
nine knowledges. ]
? 39b. It is made up of nine knowledges.
Which, in its nature, is made up of nine knowledges with the exception of the knowledge of extinction.
39c. It is of all the spheres.
It can arise in an ascetic who exists in any of the spheres, from Kamadhatu to Bhavagra, since it has for its object either speech or the Path.
39c. Unhindered Knowledge of things (artha) is made up of ten or six.
Artha or thing signifies "all the dharmas": in which case the Unhindered Knowledge of things is, by its nature, the ten knowledges; but if artha signifies Nirvana, then it is made up of six knowledges: the knowledge of dharmas, inferential knowledge, the knowledge of extinction, the Knowledge of Destruction, the Knowledge of Non-Arising and conventional knowledge.
39d. It arises everywhere.
That is to say it can exist in any sphere.
39d. The others are conventional knowledge.
Two Unhindered Knowledges (of the dharmas and of etymo- logical explanation) are conventional knowledge, for they have names, phrases, and syllables, etc. , and speech, for their object.
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40a. The Unhindered Knowledge of dharmas exists in Kamadhatu and the Dhyanas.
It therefore exists in five spheres. Above them, names are
224 absent [and so too phrases and syllables].
40b. The Unhindered Knowledge of speech exists in Kamadhatu and the First Dhyana.
The Unhindered Knowledge of etymological explanation
exists only in Kamadhatu and the First Dhyana, because vitarka is 225
***
According to the Prajnaptipada, the Unhindered Knowledges
are in the following order: 1. the infallible knowledge of name,
phrase, and syllable; 2. the knowledge of the thing (artha)
expressed by its name, etc. ; 3. the knowledge of the expression of
the characteristics of the thing, its number (singular, dual, or
absent above them.
plural), its gender (feminine, masculine, or neuter), the time, 226
etc. ; 4. the knowledge of what is not possible {asaktata) [=which produced the asaktata] either of the expression, or of phrases and syllables. In this way the order of the Unhindered Knowledges is justified.
According to others, nirukti is an etymological explanation
{nirvacanam), for example: rUpyate tasmad rupam (it is physical
matter because it can be crushed), vijanatiti vijrlanam^ (it is
consciousness because it knows or distinguishes), cinotiti cittam (it 227
is mind because it accumulates); pratibhana is the rejoinder.
According to the School, the preparatory exercises of the Four Unhindered Knowledges are, in this order, the study of calculation,
? the word of the Buddha, the study of sounds (sabdavidyd), and the 228
study of causes (hetuvidyd), for a person who has not cultivated these four disciplines is not capable of producing the Four
229
Unhindered Knowledges.
But, in fact, the study of the word of
the Buddha alone suffices to achieve the four preparatory exercises.
40c. One only obtains them together.
If a person obtains one Unhindered Knowledge, he obtains the others; if he does not obtain them all, he does not obtain any of them.
***
The six qualities described above, Absence of Contention, etc.
40d. These six are prantakotika.
They receive this name because they are obtained through the power of the Prantakotika Dhyana (vii. 4la-c).
41a. It is sixfold.
The Fourth Prantakotika Dhyana is made up of six things: it consists of 1. Absence of Contention, 2. the Knowledge Resulting from Resolution, 3-5. three Unhindered Knowledges (with the exception of the Unhindered Knowledge of etymological explana-
230 tion), and 6. the Prantakotika Dhyana itself.
Even though the Unhindered Knowledge of etymological explanation may be obtained through the power of a Prantakotika Dhyana, it does not arise in the Fourth Dhyana, for it has Kamadhatu and the First Dhyana for its sphere; consequently it is not included within the Fourth Prantakotika Dhyana.
? The Knowledges 1155
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Chapter Seven
What is the Prantakotika Dhyana?
It is the last dhyana in the Fourth Dhyana.
4lb-c. It is the last dhyana, in a series with all the spheres
232
a. The Fourth Dhyana is "in a series with all the spheres" when one cultivates it in the following manner: from a good mind of Kamadhatu, one enters into the First Dhyana; from the First Dhyana, into the Second, and so on up to naivasamjnandsarhjnaya- tana (= the Fourth Dhyana); then, one redescends to a good mind of Kamadhatu; finally, from this mind, one ascends again to the Fourth Dhyana.
b. One cultivates the Fourth Dhyana; after having cultivated in
an inferior manner, one cultivates in a medium manner; after
having cultivated in a medium manner, one cultivates in a superior
manner. Each one of these three categories is divided into three.
The Fourth Dhyana is therefore made up of nine categories. The
highest category of the Fourth Dhyana is called "carried to the
maximum" (vrddhikdspdgata). The Dhyana which possesses these
and carried to its maximum.
two qualities is called prantakotika, because its end (koti) has been 2bb
traversed (pragatd) to the extreme (antam).
Koti signifies both "type" (prakdra) and "summit, apex," as
one says: cdtuskopika prasna, that is, a fourfold question; or as one
234
4Id. With the exception of the Buddha, acquired through effort.
With the exception of the Buddha, the other Aryans acquire these six qualities, the Samadhi Absence of Contention, etc. , only through effort, and not through detachment, since all do not
says: bhutakopi, "the limit of existence. " These qualities of the Buddha are
231
? 235
possess them.
detachment, for the Buddha obtains all his qualities in a single stroke, from the beginning, at the moment of the Knowledge of
The Buddha alone acquires them through
236
his will, without effort; for the Buddha is the master of all the
Destruction, through detachment. dharmas that he possesses.
Later, he actualizes them at
***
We have explained the three categories, Absence of Conten-
tion, Knowledge Resulting from Resolution, the Unhindered
Knowledges, which are common to the Aryans. Among the
2bl qualities which also belong to ordinary persons {prthagjanas)
we must explain the Supernormal Knowledges.
42a-d. Realization of the knowledge of supernormal power, of ear, of the mind, of past existences, of death and rebirth, of the destruction of the cankers; this is the sixfold
238
There are six supernormal knowledges: 1. the supernormal
knowledge which consists of the realization of the knowledge of
the sphere of rddhi or supernormal power (that is to say,
supernormal knowledge.
239
which consists of the realization of the knowledge of divine
displacement and creation);
2. the supernormal knowledge
240
realization of the knowledge or consciousness of the mind of
hearing;
3. the supernormal knowledge which consists of the
another;
241
4.
242
the supernormal knowledge which consists of the 243
realization of the knowledge of the memory of past existences;
5. the supernormal knowledge which consists of the realization of
the knowledge of divine sight (of the death and birth of all
245
cankers.
Even though the sixth supernormal knowledge belongs only to
244
the realization of the knowledge of the destruction of the
beings);
and 6. the supernormal knowledge which consists of
The Knowledges 1157
? 1158 Chapter Seven
the Aryans, since the first five are also possessed by ordinary persons, and by reason of the characteristics of the greatest number of supernormal knowledges, here all of the supernormal knowledges are considered as common to the Aryans and to
246 ordinary persons.
247 42d. They are prajnd of deliverance.
They are by their nature the prajnd of the Path of Deliverance, 248
like the results of the religious life.
249 43a. Four are conventional knowledge.
Four, with the exception of the supernormal knowledge of the minds of others and the supernormal knowledge of the destruction of the cankers, are conventional knowledges (vii. 2).
43b. The knowledge of the mind of another is made up of five knowledges.
The fifth supernormal knowledge is by nature the knowledge
of dharmas, inferential knowledge, a knowledge of the Path,
conventional knowledge, and the knowledge of the mind of
250 another.
43c. The supernormal knowledge of the destruction of the
251 cankers is similar to the power.
Exactly like the power of the knowledge of the destruction of the cankers, this supernormal knowledge is made up of six or ten knowledges. So too, it can exist in all of the spheres and relates to all objects.
? 43d. Five exist in the Four Dhyanas. 252
The first five supernormal knowledges exist in the Four Dhyanas, that is to say, they are obtained by an ascetic in any of these Dhyanas.
***
Why do they not exist in the non-material absorptions, the Arupyas?
a. The first three have rupa for their object (see p. 1162, line 14). Thus one cannot produce them in the arupyas.
b. The knowledge of the mind of another is prepared through the gate of physical matter (rupa), that is to say through a path which has color and shape for its object. 253 Now the non-material absorptions do not have physical matter for their object.
? As for the memory of previous existences, the ascetic prepares for this by going over again and again the course of successive states {anupurvavasthantarasmaranat)\2bA now the non-material absorptions do not have the dharmas of Kamadhatu for their object, and when a memory of past existences is actualized, it bears, as the Sutra says, on the place, the gotta, etc. , and on material dharmasPb
d. In fact the ascetic who wishes to know the mind of another first considers, in his own series, the characteristics of his body and mind, "Such is my body, such is my mind. " As he has considered his own body and mind, in this same way, envisioning the series of another, he takes into consideration the characteristic of the body and mind of another: thus he knows the mind of another and the supernormal knowledge arises. When the supernormal knowledge is realized, the ascetic no longer considers the rupa of the body; he directly knows the mind. 256
e. The ascetic who wishes to remember his past existences, begins by grasping the characteristic of the mind which has just perished; from this mind, he again considers the states which it immediately succeeds in the present existence up to the mind at
? I: . ? /emembers one moment of mind of his llpantarabhava), this supernormal knowl- ^der for him to remember the previous
? preliminary exercise is the same. #eginner in the practice of this supernor- pse existences onlyintheir chronological
Lee is acquired, heremembers them by ' existences.
|'ly that which has been experienced
low can there be remembrance of the /; do not return here, the ascetic does not Ld he has not experienced them in their j p n s a r e n o t b o r n in this h e a v e n .
? ecause he has experienced them through [^ho remembers themunderstands, "The ? are such. " The experience, in fact, is
/Mid hearing.
H p m Arupyadhatu, arise here produce this f/>>y means of the seriesof another.
i\/ ? which consists of the memory of past ? re of a Dhyana, and one cannot, through [Wind which is in Arupyadhatu.
"yn by means of theirown series. 258
W the first three supernormal knowled- jlJpwledge of the sphereof rddhi, of divine h/jsht,--consists of the observation of |, fft. 259 W h e n this preparation is achieved,
)\\,(<? in each case.
e supernormal knowledges do not exist lypyadhatu260
? 44a. They have their own sphere or a lower sphere for their
261
domain.
Through the Supernormal Knowledge of magical power of a certain sphere, acquired in a certain dhydna (vii. 43d), one possesses the powers of displacement and creation (vii. 48) in this sphere or in a lower sphere, but not in a higher sphere.
So too, through the Supernormal Knowledge of divine hearing, one understands the sounds of the sphere to which the Supernor- mal Knowledge belongs, or the sounds of a lower sphere, but not the sounds of a higher sphere.
Through the Supernormal Knowledge of the mind of another, one does not know the mind of another when it is of a sphere higher than that of the Supernormal Knowledge.
Through the Supernormal Knowledge of the memory of past existences, one does not obtain the memory of existences in a sphere higher than that of the Supernormal Knowledge.
Consequently, a mind in Arupyadhatu cannot be attained either through the Supernormal Knowledge of the knowledge of the mind of another, nor through the Supernormal Knowledge of the memory of past existences, because this mind in Arupyadhatu is of
262
a sphere higher than that of the Supernormal Knowledges.
***
How are the Supernormal Knowledges acquired?
If they have not been acquired in a past life, they are acquired only through effort.
44b. Already cultivated, they are acquired through detach- ment.
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When they have been cultivated in a past life, they are acquired through detachment. [The ascetic takes possession of them through the sole fact that he detaches himself from Kumadhatu and enters a Dhyana]. Nevertheless, intense, they are acquired only through effort. Their manifestation always supposes an effort, except in the case of the Buddha, who acquires any of the Supernormal Knowledges through simple detachment, and actualized them at will (ii. 44a, vii. 41d).
44c. The third is made up of three applications of mindful-
263 ness.
The supernormal knowledge of the mind of another contains three applications of mindfulness,--vedand, citta, and dharma (vi. 14)--because it has the mind and its mental states for its object.
44d. Supernormal power, hearing, and sight make up the
264 first application of mindfulness.
The supernormal knowledges of supernormal power, divine
hearing, and divine sight, make up the first application of
mindfulness, that is, the body as an application of mindfulness, for
they have rupa, color and shape, for their object. The supernormal
knowledge of supernormal power has four external dyatanas, with 265
the exception of sound, for its sphere. And divine hearing and divine sight have both sound and rupa for their domain.
If this is the case, how can the Supernormal Knowledge of the
266
divine sight know, as the Sutra explains,
endowed with bad physical actions, with bad vocal actions, deniers (apavddaka) of the Aryans, produce false views, attach themselves to views and to wrong actions, because of which, at the end of their lives, they fall into bad realms of rebirth. . /?
The Supernormal Knowledge of divine sight does not know
that "These beings
? that a being is endowed with a mental action, that a being has
conceived a false view, etc. But there is another knowledge which
267 accompanies the Supernormal Knowledge of divine sight, which
arises in the series of the Aryan, and which knows mental action, etc. As this knowledge is produced through the power of the Supernormal Knowledges of divine sight, it receives, together with this Supernormal Knowledge, the name of "Knowledge of death and rebirth. "
***
As their natures are not determined in the Karika, it follows in and of itself that the two Supernormal Knowledges of memory of past existences and the destruction of the cankers have for their
268 nature the four applications of mindfulness.
45a-b. The Supernormal Knowledges of hearing and sight
269 are neutral; the others are good.
The Supernormal Knowledges of divine hearing and divine sight are morally neutral, for, by nature, they are prajnd associated with auditory and visual consciousness.
If this is the case, how can one say that they are of the sphere of the Four Dhyanas? In fact, there is no visual or auditory consciousness in the Second Dhyana and above (146).
There is no contradiction here, for we express ourselves in this way by consideration of the organs. The organs, the ears and eyes, which are the support of the Supernormal Knowledges, are produced through the power of the Four Dhyanas and belong to their sphere: they therefore exist in the four spheres. The Supernormal Knowledge, being supported on the organ, is therefore said to be supported on (= exist in) the Four Dhyanas.
Or rather, we express ourselves in this way because we consider
? 1164 Chapter Seven
the dnantaryamdrga (or preparation, above p. 1160, line 25) of the Supernormal Knowledge; in fact the dnantaryamdrga of the Supernormal Knowledge of divine hearing and divine sight is
270
The other supernormal knowledges are good.
If this is the case, why does the Prakaranapdda say, "What is supernormal knowledge? It is good prajnd"?
This definition refers to the greater number of cases (bdhulika) or to the essential (prddhanika). The supernormal knowledges are, in the greater number of cases, good; and the good supernormal knowledges are the most essential.
#*#
According to the Sutra, there are three Asaiksa Wisdoms
211
(vidyd). To which supernormal knowledges do these wisdoms
correspond?
45c-d. Three supernormal knowledges are wisdom, [because they bring about the cessation of non-wisdom relative to
272
The three wisdoms,--the Asaiksa wisdom which consists of the realization of the knowledge of past lives, the Asaiksa wisdom which consists of the realization of the knowledge of the death and birth of all beings, and the Asaiksa wisdom which consists of the realization of the knowledge of the destruction of the cankers,-- are, in the order of the Sutra, the fifth, the second, and the sixth supernormal knowledges.
Why are these three supernormal knowledges called wisdoms
supported on four spheres, the Four Dhyanas.
(vidyd)?
the past, etc. ]
? 45d. Because they bring about the cessation of non-wisdom (ignorance) relating to the past, etc.
It is because the memory of past existences (=the fourth supernormal knowledge) brings about the cessation of error relating to the past, the knowledge of death and birth (=the fifth supernormal knowledge) brings about the cessation of error relating to the future, and the knowledge of the destruction of the cankers (=the sixth supernormal knowledge) brings about the
273
Which of these three supernormal knowledges really belongs to the Asaiksas?
46a. The last belongs to the Asaiksas.
The knowledge of the destruction of the cankers belongs only to the Arhat.
46a-b. The two others are said to belong to the Asaiksas
274 when they arise in the series of an Asaiksa.
The other two supernormal knowledges are said to belong to an Asaiksa when they arise in the series of an Asaiksa: by nature however, they are neither-Saiksa-nor-Asaiksa. (ii. 38a)
If this is so, why not admit that these two supernormal knowledges are, when they are produced in a Saiksa, the wisdom of a Saiksa.
46c-d. We admit that they exist in the Saiksa, but then they
are not called wisdoms because the series of the Saiksa is
cessation of error relating to the present.
associated with non-wisdom.
275
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In fact the Buddha did not say that these two supernormal knowledges are Saiksa dharmas.
Why?
When a series is associated with non-wisdom (avidyd, ignor- ance) it is not correct to give the name of wisdom (vidya) to the supernormal knowledge which is produced in this series, for the
276
277 The Sutra says that there are three methods of conversion.
To which supernormal knowledges do they correspond?
47a-b. The first, the third and the sixth are the methods of
278
The supernormal knowledges of rddhi, of the knowledge of the mind of another, and of the destruction of the cankers, are, in this order the three methods of conversion (prdtihdrya)'. "to carry off" {bar), that is, to convert, through miracles (rddhiprdtihdrya), through reading the mind of someone (ddesandprdtihdrya), and through the Teaching (anusasantpratiharya).
The prefix pra~ signifies ddikarman (initial action), and the prefix ^'-signifies bhrsam (forceful): these three supernormal knowledges are called prdtihdrya because, thanks to them, the work of conversion (harana) is begun (pra-) and done in an intense manner (ati-).
Through them, one carries away (haranti) the mind of persons to be converted, from the very first (dditas) and very forcefully (ati bhrdm).
supernormal knowledge is obscured by the non-wisdom.
***
conversion.
Or rather, they receive the name of prdtihdrya, for through
? them one first or forcefully makes oneself a master of persons who 279
hate {pratihata) the Good Law, or of those who are indifferent. Through them, one makes persons of hostile, unbelieving, or non-zealous mind, produce a mind of refuge, a mind of faith, or a
280 mind of practice.
47b. Conversion through the Teaching is the best. 281
Among the three methods of conversion, conversion through the Teaching is the best.
47c-d. Because it does not exist without supernormal knowledge, and because it confers the fruits of salvation and of well-being.
Conversion through miracles and conversion through reading
282 someone's mind can be produced by means of wisdom. There is
283
a wisdom called Gandharl: the person who possesses it can fly
284
through space.
4. By reason of its equality, for it is equally concerned with the happiness and benefit of all being.
5. By reason of its excellence, for no other compassion which has arisen surpasses it. 191
How does great compassion differ from ordinary compassion?
33c. It differs from ordinary compassion in eight ways.
1. With respect to its nature: ordinary compassion is absence of hatred, whereas great compassion is absence of ignorance.
2. With respect to its aspect: ordinary compassion takes on the form of one suffering, whereas great compassion takes on the form of threefold suffering.
3. With respect to its object: ordinary compassion is concerned with the beings of one Dhatu, whereas great compassion is concerned with the Three Dhatus.
4. With respect to its sphere: ordinary compassion is of the sphere of the Four Dhyanas,192 whereas great compassion is of the sphere of the Fourth Dhyana.
5. With respect to the personality which serves as its support: ordinary compassion arises in the series of the Sravakas, etc. ,193
? The Knowledges 1145 whereas great compassion arises in the series of the Buddhas.
6. With respect to its acquisition: ordinary compassion is obtained through detachment from Kamadhatu, whereas great compassion is obtained through detachment from Bhavagra.
7. With respect to its protection: ordinary compassion does not
194
8. With respect to compassion: ordinary compassion is an unequal compassion, for it sympathizes only with beings who are suffering, whereas great compassion is an equal compassion, turned towards all beings equally.
***
We have explained the qualities which belong only to the Buddhas and which distinguish them from other beings. Do the Buddhas resemble one another among themselves?
Under certain conditions, yes; under other conditions, no.
34. In sambhara, dharmakdya and their service to beings, the Buddhas are identical; not in their duration of life, their
195 caste, their stature, etc.
The Buddhas are identical in that they have, in their previous existences, equally accumulated merit and knowledge, in that they
196
have realized the same dharmakdya; ' and in that they equally
carry out service to others.
But the Buddhas differ through the difference in the duration of their lives, their caste, their gotra, the dimensions of their bodies, etc. According to the period in which they appear, their life is long or short, they are Ksatriyas or Brahmins, they belong to the Gautamagotra or to the Kasyapagotra, and their bodies are great or small. The word et cetera indicates that the Dharma of the
protect, whereas great compassion protects.
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Buddhas lasts a long or short period of time, accordingly as, at the moment of their appearance, the beings to be converted are straight or crooked. 197
***
All intelligent persons who reflect on the threefold perfecti- on198 of the Tathagatas necessarily produce a profound affection, a profound respect with respect to them. This threefold perfection is the perfection of their causes which consists of the provisions of merit and knowledge; the perfection of the result which consists of the dharmakdya; and the perfection of benefit which consists of service to all beings.
i. The perfection of cause is fourfold: 1. Cultivation of the accumulation of all qualities and all knowledge;199 2. prolonged cultivation;200 3. uninterrupted cultivation; and 4. zealous cultivation.
ii. The perfection of the result is fourfold, for the realization of the dharmakaya includes four perfections, that of knowledge, of abandoning, of power and of material body.
a. The perfection of knowledge is fourfold: 1. untaught knowledge; 2. universal knowledge (that is to say knowledge of all individual characteristics); 3. omniform knowledge,201 (that is to say knowledge of all manners of being); and 4. spontaneous knowledge (knowledge through the simple desire to know).
b. The perfection of abandoning is fourfold: 1. abandoning of all the defilements; 2. definitive abandoning (not susceptible of falling away); 3. abandoning of the defilements with their traces (because no bond remains); and 4. abandoning of the obstacles to samddhi and samdpatti [of such a sort that the Buddha is doubly delivered (vi. 64a)]. 202
? The perfection of power is fourfold: 1. perfection in the mastery of creating, transforming, and maintaining an external
? ^
The Knowledges 1147
object;
203
2. perfection in the mastery of abandoning and
prolonging life;
204
3. perfection in the mastery of movement
through resistant bodies, through space, to very distant location, of
great speed, and mastery in the reduction of a large body to a small
205
volume; and 4. perfection of marvellous qualities, multiple and
206 natural.
d. The perfection of the material body is fourfold: 1. perfection in marks (laksana); 2. perfection in secondary marks (anuvyan- jana)\ 3. perfection in power (that is to say possession of Narayana's power, vii. 31); and (with respect to internal events) perfection of the body whose bones are like diamonds; and (with respect to external events) emissions of rays of light (which exceed
one hundred thousand suns. )
iii. The perfection of service is fourfold: 1-3. to deliver definitively {atyanta) from the suffering of the three painful realms of rebirth; 4. to deliver from the suffering of transmigra- tion; or rather: 1-3. to install into the three vehicles; 4. to install into good realms of rebirth.
Such are, in short, the perfections of the Buddhas. There would be no end of our discussion if we were to speak of them in great detail. Only the Buddhas, the Blessed Ones, if they were to prolong their existence for numbers of asamkhyeyakalpas, would be capable of knowing and speaking of their grandeur. It is enough to know that the Buddhas, endowed with qualities, knowledges, powers, and infinite and extraordinary benefits, are like mines of jewels.
Nevertheless fools {bala = prthagjana), themselves poor in qualities--and judging based upon themselves--have no spiritual aspirations: they understand in vain the extolling of the merits of the Buddha and they do not conceive affection either for the Buddha or his Dharma.
The wise, on the contrary, understand the explanation of the qualities of the Buddha, conceiving, with respect to the Buddha and his Dharma, a mind of faith which penetrates to the marrow of
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their bones. These persons, through this single mind of faith, surmount an infinite mass of actions of unnecessary retribution; they obtain excellent human and divine rebirths; and, finally, they arrive at Nirvana. This is why the Tathagatas are said to be a supreme field of merit; for this field gives forth fruits which are certain, agreeable, abundant, rapid, (experienced in this life), and of excellent issue. The Blessed One, in fact, has proclaimed, "If anyone plants a small root of good in the field of merit which are the Buddhas, he will first possess heavenly realms of rebirth and
209
then he will obtain the Deathless (Ekottara, 24. 15). We have
explained the eighteen qualities unique to the Buddhas.
35a. There are other qualities which the Buddhas have in common with Saiksas
The Buddhas possess innumerable qualities which they have in common either with Sravakas
35b. And Prthagjanas
Or with ordinary persons.
35c. Absence of Contention, Knowledge Resulting from Resolution, the Unhindered Knowledges, the Supernormal Knowledges, etc.
These are: the Samadhi Absence of Contention, the Knowledge Resulting from Resolution, the Four Unhindered Knowledges, the Supernormal Knowledges, the Dhyanas, the Arupyas, the Eight Samapattis, the Three Samadhis, the Four Apramanas, the Eight Vimoksas, the Eight Abhibhvayatanas, the Ten Krtsnayatanas, etc.
207 208
? The first three are common to both the Buddhas and the Aryans; the Supernormal Knowledges, the Dhyanas, etc. , can also belong to ordinary persons.
***
Arand [is the power to hinder the arising of another's
210
defilements].
produced through their defilements; they know that they them- selves are the most worthy field of merit (iv. 103, 117a); they fear that others might generate defilements with respect to them
211
The Arhats know that the sufferings of beings are
[which would be particularly injurious to them];
generate a knowledge of such a nature that no other person will produce, with respect to them, lust, hatred, pride, etc. This knowledge puts an end, in beings, to rana9 or contention, which is a defilement, a cause of torment: it is thus called arand or absence of contention.
What are the characteristics of the so-called Arana Samadhi, the Absorption Absence of Contention?
36a. Absence of Contention is conventional knowledge;
By nature it is conventional knowledge, as it results from its object.
36b. It is of the sphere of the Fourth Dhyana;
It exists in ("has for its support") the Fourth Dhyana, which is the best of the easy paths (vi. 66).
36c. It is produced by a person who is Immovable.
thus they
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It is produced by Immovable Arhats {akopyadharman, vi. 56) and not by others: for others are not capable of radically cutting off their own defilements (they are in fact subject to falling) and so they cannot arrest the defilements of others.
36d. It is produced by humans.
It is produced by humans, for it is only a being in the human realm of rebirth who can cultivate it in the Three Dvipas.
36e. It relates to the defilements of Kamadhatu, is future, and has a real object.
It bears on the defilements of others, in Kamadhatu, in the future, and "has a real object" {savastuka), "May no defilements arise in others with respect to me! " The savastuka defilements are craving, anger, etc. , which are abandoned through Meditation (vi. 58).
The avastuka defilements of others (vi. 58), which are
abandoned through Seeing, are not susceptible of being arrested,
for the universal {sarvatraga) defilements (v. 12), which exist in 212
the totality of their sphere, also exist in the series of another.
As is the Samadhi Absence of Contention,
37a-b. So too the Knowledge Resulting from Resolution; 213
[but it has all for its object].
Like the Samadhi Absence of Contention, the Knowledge Resulting from Resolution is, by nature, conventional knowledge; like Absence of Contention, it exists in the Fourth Dhyana, it is produced in the series of an Immovable One, and it is meditated upon by a being in the human realm of rebirth.
? 37b. But it has all for its object.
But, unlike the Samadhi Absence of Contention, it bears on all the dharmas.
214
Yet
are not known by a direct seeing through the Knowledge Resulting from Resolution--being of the Fourth Dhyana, this knowledge does not bear on a higher sphere. These dharmas are known through inference (anumdna). In fact, one knows 1. the outflowing of Arupyadhatu, namely the extreme calm which follows, in a subsequent existence, from a former existence in Arupyadhatu; 2. the conduct of Arupyadhatu, that is to say the practice of the Arupya Samapattis which will produce an existence in Arupyadha- tu,--and one can infer from a cause to its result and from a result to its cause. As the farmer knows a seed from its fruit and a fruit from its seed, seeing a calm person, one concludes, "He is reborn falling from Arupyadhatu, but he will be reborn in Arupyadhatu. " Such is the opinion of the Vaibhasikas.
Others believe however that the Knowledge Resulting from
Resolution bears on Arupyadhatu, for there is nothing that is not
215 within the mental range of the Buddhas.
One who would produce the Knowledge Resulting from Resolution begins by forming a resolution, holding a certain object in his consciousness; he enters into the Fourth prantakotika Dhyana (viii. 41a): this is the preparatory exercise. As soon as he leaves this absorption, he produces an exact consciousness in
the Vaibhasikas say that the dharmas of Arupyadhatu
conformity with his resolution the sphere of which varies 216
according to the power of his absorption.
***
37c-d. So too the Unhindered Knowledges of dharmas, of 217
objects, of etymological explanations, and of eloquence.
There are Four Unhindered Knowledges: the Unhindered
? Knowledge of dharmas, the Unhindered Knowledge of things {artha), the Unhindered Knowledge of etymological explanations (nirukta), and the Unhindered Knowledge of eloquence (prati- bhana). They are like the Samadhi Absence of Contention in that they belong solely to the Immovable Ones who are humans. But they differ from it with respect to their object, the sphere in which they are acquired, and their nature.
38a-b. The first three are unhindered knowledges bearing,
218 in this order, on name, the thing, speech.
Infallible {avivartya) knowledge of names, phrases, and 219
syllables (ii. 47a) is the Unhindered Knowledge of dharmas. Infallible knowledge of the thing is the Unhindered Knowl-
edge of things.
Infallible knowledge of speech is the Unhindered Knowledge of etymological explanation.
38c-d. The fourth is the knowledge of exact and facile
220
Infallible knowledge which confers the capacity to express
221
oneself in an exact and facile manner and which also confers
never failing attention on a person who is a master in absorption is
222 the Unhindered Knowledge of eloquence.
39a-b. Its object is speech and the Path; [it is made up of
223
Speech and the Path are the object of this Unhindered Knowledge.
expression, and of mastery with respect to the Path.
nine knowledges. ]
? 39b. It is made up of nine knowledges.
Which, in its nature, is made up of nine knowledges with the exception of the knowledge of extinction.
39c. It is of all the spheres.
It can arise in an ascetic who exists in any of the spheres, from Kamadhatu to Bhavagra, since it has for its object either speech or the Path.
39c. Unhindered Knowledge of things (artha) is made up of ten or six.
Artha or thing signifies "all the dharmas": in which case the Unhindered Knowledge of things is, by its nature, the ten knowledges; but if artha signifies Nirvana, then it is made up of six knowledges: the knowledge of dharmas, inferential knowledge, the knowledge of extinction, the Knowledge of Destruction, the Knowledge of Non-Arising and conventional knowledge.
39d. It arises everywhere.
That is to say it can exist in any sphere.
39d. The others are conventional knowledge.
Two Unhindered Knowledges (of the dharmas and of etymo- logical explanation) are conventional knowledge, for they have names, phrases, and syllables, etc. , and speech, for their object.
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40a. The Unhindered Knowledge of dharmas exists in Kamadhatu and the Dhyanas.
It therefore exists in five spheres. Above them, names are
224 absent [and so too phrases and syllables].
40b. The Unhindered Knowledge of speech exists in Kamadhatu and the First Dhyana.
The Unhindered Knowledge of etymological explanation
exists only in Kamadhatu and the First Dhyana, because vitarka is 225
***
According to the Prajnaptipada, the Unhindered Knowledges
are in the following order: 1. the infallible knowledge of name,
phrase, and syllable; 2. the knowledge of the thing (artha)
expressed by its name, etc. ; 3. the knowledge of the expression of
the characteristics of the thing, its number (singular, dual, or
absent above them.
plural), its gender (feminine, masculine, or neuter), the time, 226
etc. ; 4. the knowledge of what is not possible {asaktata) [=which produced the asaktata] either of the expression, or of phrases and syllables. In this way the order of the Unhindered Knowledges is justified.
According to others, nirukti is an etymological explanation
{nirvacanam), for example: rUpyate tasmad rupam (it is physical
matter because it can be crushed), vijanatiti vijrlanam^ (it is
consciousness because it knows or distinguishes), cinotiti cittam (it 227
is mind because it accumulates); pratibhana is the rejoinder.
According to the School, the preparatory exercises of the Four Unhindered Knowledges are, in this order, the study of calculation,
? the word of the Buddha, the study of sounds (sabdavidyd), and the 228
study of causes (hetuvidyd), for a person who has not cultivated these four disciplines is not capable of producing the Four
229
Unhindered Knowledges.
But, in fact, the study of the word of
the Buddha alone suffices to achieve the four preparatory exercises.
40c. One only obtains them together.
If a person obtains one Unhindered Knowledge, he obtains the others; if he does not obtain them all, he does not obtain any of them.
***
The six qualities described above, Absence of Contention, etc.
40d. These six are prantakotika.
They receive this name because they are obtained through the power of the Prantakotika Dhyana (vii. 4la-c).
41a. It is sixfold.
The Fourth Prantakotika Dhyana is made up of six things: it consists of 1. Absence of Contention, 2. the Knowledge Resulting from Resolution, 3-5. three Unhindered Knowledges (with the exception of the Unhindered Knowledge of etymological explana-
230 tion), and 6. the Prantakotika Dhyana itself.
Even though the Unhindered Knowledge of etymological explanation may be obtained through the power of a Prantakotika Dhyana, it does not arise in the Fourth Dhyana, for it has Kamadhatu and the First Dhyana for its sphere; consequently it is not included within the Fourth Prantakotika Dhyana.
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Chapter Seven
What is the Prantakotika Dhyana?
It is the last dhyana in the Fourth Dhyana.
4lb-c. It is the last dhyana, in a series with all the spheres
232
a. The Fourth Dhyana is "in a series with all the spheres" when one cultivates it in the following manner: from a good mind of Kamadhatu, one enters into the First Dhyana; from the First Dhyana, into the Second, and so on up to naivasamjnandsarhjnaya- tana (= the Fourth Dhyana); then, one redescends to a good mind of Kamadhatu; finally, from this mind, one ascends again to the Fourth Dhyana.
b. One cultivates the Fourth Dhyana; after having cultivated in
an inferior manner, one cultivates in a medium manner; after
having cultivated in a medium manner, one cultivates in a superior
manner. Each one of these three categories is divided into three.
The Fourth Dhyana is therefore made up of nine categories. The
highest category of the Fourth Dhyana is called "carried to the
maximum" (vrddhikdspdgata). The Dhyana which possesses these
and carried to its maximum.
two qualities is called prantakotika, because its end (koti) has been 2bb
traversed (pragatd) to the extreme (antam).
Koti signifies both "type" (prakdra) and "summit, apex," as
one says: cdtuskopika prasna, that is, a fourfold question; or as one
234
4Id. With the exception of the Buddha, acquired through effort.
With the exception of the Buddha, the other Aryans acquire these six qualities, the Samadhi Absence of Contention, etc. , only through effort, and not through detachment, since all do not
says: bhutakopi, "the limit of existence. " These qualities of the Buddha are
231
? 235
possess them.
detachment, for the Buddha obtains all his qualities in a single stroke, from the beginning, at the moment of the Knowledge of
The Buddha alone acquires them through
236
his will, without effort; for the Buddha is the master of all the
Destruction, through detachment. dharmas that he possesses.
Later, he actualizes them at
***
We have explained the three categories, Absence of Conten-
tion, Knowledge Resulting from Resolution, the Unhindered
Knowledges, which are common to the Aryans. Among the
2bl qualities which also belong to ordinary persons {prthagjanas)
we must explain the Supernormal Knowledges.
42a-d. Realization of the knowledge of supernormal power, of ear, of the mind, of past existences, of death and rebirth, of the destruction of the cankers; this is the sixfold
238
There are six supernormal knowledges: 1. the supernormal
knowledge which consists of the realization of the knowledge of
the sphere of rddhi or supernormal power (that is to say,
supernormal knowledge.
239
which consists of the realization of the knowledge of divine
displacement and creation);
2. the supernormal knowledge
240
realization of the knowledge or consciousness of the mind of
hearing;
3. the supernormal knowledge which consists of the
another;
241
4.
242
the supernormal knowledge which consists of the 243
realization of the knowledge of the memory of past existences;
5. the supernormal knowledge which consists of the realization of
the knowledge of divine sight (of the death and birth of all
245
cankers.
Even though the sixth supernormal knowledge belongs only to
244
the realization of the knowledge of the destruction of the
beings);
and 6. the supernormal knowledge which consists of
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the Aryans, since the first five are also possessed by ordinary persons, and by reason of the characteristics of the greatest number of supernormal knowledges, here all of the supernormal knowledges are considered as common to the Aryans and to
246 ordinary persons.
247 42d. They are prajnd of deliverance.
They are by their nature the prajnd of the Path of Deliverance, 248
like the results of the religious life.
249 43a. Four are conventional knowledge.
Four, with the exception of the supernormal knowledge of the minds of others and the supernormal knowledge of the destruction of the cankers, are conventional knowledges (vii. 2).
43b. The knowledge of the mind of another is made up of five knowledges.
The fifth supernormal knowledge is by nature the knowledge
of dharmas, inferential knowledge, a knowledge of the Path,
conventional knowledge, and the knowledge of the mind of
250 another.
43c. The supernormal knowledge of the destruction of the
251 cankers is similar to the power.
Exactly like the power of the knowledge of the destruction of the cankers, this supernormal knowledge is made up of six or ten knowledges. So too, it can exist in all of the spheres and relates to all objects.
? 43d. Five exist in the Four Dhyanas. 252
The first five supernormal knowledges exist in the Four Dhyanas, that is to say, they are obtained by an ascetic in any of these Dhyanas.
***
Why do they not exist in the non-material absorptions, the Arupyas?
a. The first three have rupa for their object (see p. 1162, line 14). Thus one cannot produce them in the arupyas.
b. The knowledge of the mind of another is prepared through the gate of physical matter (rupa), that is to say through a path which has color and shape for its object. 253 Now the non-material absorptions do not have physical matter for their object.
? As for the memory of previous existences, the ascetic prepares for this by going over again and again the course of successive states {anupurvavasthantarasmaranat)\2bA now the non-material absorptions do not have the dharmas of Kamadhatu for their object, and when a memory of past existences is actualized, it bears, as the Sutra says, on the place, the gotta, etc. , and on material dharmasPb
d. In fact the ascetic who wishes to know the mind of another first considers, in his own series, the characteristics of his body and mind, "Such is my body, such is my mind. " As he has considered his own body and mind, in this same way, envisioning the series of another, he takes into consideration the characteristic of the body and mind of another: thus he knows the mind of another and the supernormal knowledge arises. When the supernormal knowledge is realized, the ascetic no longer considers the rupa of the body; he directly knows the mind. 256
e. The ascetic who wishes to remember his past existences, begins by grasping the characteristic of the mind which has just perished; from this mind, he again considers the states which it immediately succeeds in the present existence up to the mind at
? I: . ? /emembers one moment of mind of his llpantarabhava), this supernormal knowl- ^der for him to remember the previous
? preliminary exercise is the same. #eginner in the practice of this supernor- pse existences onlyintheir chronological
Lee is acquired, heremembers them by ' existences.
|'ly that which has been experienced
low can there be remembrance of the /; do not return here, the ascetic does not Ld he has not experienced them in their j p n s a r e n o t b o r n in this h e a v e n .
? ecause he has experienced them through [^ho remembers themunderstands, "The ? are such. " The experience, in fact, is
/Mid hearing.
H p m Arupyadhatu, arise here produce this f/>>y means of the seriesof another.
i\/ ? which consists of the memory of past ? re of a Dhyana, and one cannot, through [Wind which is in Arupyadhatu.
"yn by means of theirown series. 258
W the first three supernormal knowled- jlJpwledge of the sphereof rddhi, of divine h/jsht,--consists of the observation of |, fft. 259 W h e n this preparation is achieved,
)\\,(<? in each case.
e supernormal knowledges do not exist lypyadhatu260
? 44a. They have their own sphere or a lower sphere for their
261
domain.
Through the Supernormal Knowledge of magical power of a certain sphere, acquired in a certain dhydna (vii. 43d), one possesses the powers of displacement and creation (vii. 48) in this sphere or in a lower sphere, but not in a higher sphere.
So too, through the Supernormal Knowledge of divine hearing, one understands the sounds of the sphere to which the Supernor- mal Knowledge belongs, or the sounds of a lower sphere, but not the sounds of a higher sphere.
Through the Supernormal Knowledge of the mind of another, one does not know the mind of another when it is of a sphere higher than that of the Supernormal Knowledge.
Through the Supernormal Knowledge of the memory of past existences, one does not obtain the memory of existences in a sphere higher than that of the Supernormal Knowledge.
Consequently, a mind in Arupyadhatu cannot be attained either through the Supernormal Knowledge of the knowledge of the mind of another, nor through the Supernormal Knowledge of the memory of past existences, because this mind in Arupyadhatu is of
262
a sphere higher than that of the Supernormal Knowledges.
***
How are the Supernormal Knowledges acquired?
If they have not been acquired in a past life, they are acquired only through effort.
44b. Already cultivated, they are acquired through detach- ment.
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When they have been cultivated in a past life, they are acquired through detachment. [The ascetic takes possession of them through the sole fact that he detaches himself from Kumadhatu and enters a Dhyana]. Nevertheless, intense, they are acquired only through effort. Their manifestation always supposes an effort, except in the case of the Buddha, who acquires any of the Supernormal Knowledges through simple detachment, and actualized them at will (ii. 44a, vii. 41d).
44c. The third is made up of three applications of mindful-
263 ness.
The supernormal knowledge of the mind of another contains three applications of mindfulness,--vedand, citta, and dharma (vi. 14)--because it has the mind and its mental states for its object.
44d. Supernormal power, hearing, and sight make up the
264 first application of mindfulness.
The supernormal knowledges of supernormal power, divine
hearing, and divine sight, make up the first application of
mindfulness, that is, the body as an application of mindfulness, for
they have rupa, color and shape, for their object. The supernormal
knowledge of supernormal power has four external dyatanas, with 265
the exception of sound, for its sphere. And divine hearing and divine sight have both sound and rupa for their domain.
If this is the case, how can the Supernormal Knowledge of the
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divine sight know, as the Sutra explains,
endowed with bad physical actions, with bad vocal actions, deniers (apavddaka) of the Aryans, produce false views, attach themselves to views and to wrong actions, because of which, at the end of their lives, they fall into bad realms of rebirth. . /?
The Supernormal Knowledge of divine sight does not know
that "These beings
? that a being is endowed with a mental action, that a being has
conceived a false view, etc. But there is another knowledge which
267 accompanies the Supernormal Knowledge of divine sight, which
arises in the series of the Aryan, and which knows mental action, etc. As this knowledge is produced through the power of the Supernormal Knowledges of divine sight, it receives, together with this Supernormal Knowledge, the name of "Knowledge of death and rebirth. "
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As their natures are not determined in the Karika, it follows in and of itself that the two Supernormal Knowledges of memory of past existences and the destruction of the cankers have for their
268 nature the four applications of mindfulness.
45a-b. The Supernormal Knowledges of hearing and sight
269 are neutral; the others are good.
The Supernormal Knowledges of divine hearing and divine sight are morally neutral, for, by nature, they are prajnd associated with auditory and visual consciousness.
If this is the case, how can one say that they are of the sphere of the Four Dhyanas? In fact, there is no visual or auditory consciousness in the Second Dhyana and above (146).
There is no contradiction here, for we express ourselves in this way by consideration of the organs. The organs, the ears and eyes, which are the support of the Supernormal Knowledges, are produced through the power of the Four Dhyanas and belong to their sphere: they therefore exist in the four spheres. The Supernormal Knowledge, being supported on the organ, is therefore said to be supported on (= exist in) the Four Dhyanas.
Or rather, we express ourselves in this way because we consider
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the dnantaryamdrga (or preparation, above p. 1160, line 25) of the Supernormal Knowledge; in fact the dnantaryamdrga of the Supernormal Knowledge of divine hearing and divine sight is
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The other supernormal knowledges are good.
If this is the case, why does the Prakaranapdda say, "What is supernormal knowledge? It is good prajnd"?
This definition refers to the greater number of cases (bdhulika) or to the essential (prddhanika). The supernormal knowledges are, in the greater number of cases, good; and the good supernormal knowledges are the most essential.
#*#
According to the Sutra, there are three Asaiksa Wisdoms
211
(vidyd). To which supernormal knowledges do these wisdoms
correspond?
45c-d. Three supernormal knowledges are wisdom, [because they bring about the cessation of non-wisdom relative to
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The three wisdoms,--the Asaiksa wisdom which consists of the realization of the knowledge of past lives, the Asaiksa wisdom which consists of the realization of the knowledge of the death and birth of all beings, and the Asaiksa wisdom which consists of the realization of the knowledge of the destruction of the cankers,-- are, in the order of the Sutra, the fifth, the second, and the sixth supernormal knowledges.
Why are these three supernormal knowledges called wisdoms
supported on four spheres, the Four Dhyanas.
(vidyd)?
the past, etc. ]
? 45d. Because they bring about the cessation of non-wisdom (ignorance) relating to the past, etc.
It is because the memory of past existences (=the fourth supernormal knowledge) brings about the cessation of error relating to the past, the knowledge of death and birth (=the fifth supernormal knowledge) brings about the cessation of error relating to the future, and the knowledge of the destruction of the cankers (=the sixth supernormal knowledge) brings about the
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Which of these three supernormal knowledges really belongs to the Asaiksas?
46a. The last belongs to the Asaiksas.
The knowledge of the destruction of the cankers belongs only to the Arhat.
46a-b. The two others are said to belong to the Asaiksas
274 when they arise in the series of an Asaiksa.
The other two supernormal knowledges are said to belong to an Asaiksa when they arise in the series of an Asaiksa: by nature however, they are neither-Saiksa-nor-Asaiksa. (ii. 38a)
If this is so, why not admit that these two supernormal knowledges are, when they are produced in a Saiksa, the wisdom of a Saiksa.
46c-d. We admit that they exist in the Saiksa, but then they
are not called wisdoms because the series of the Saiksa is
cessation of error relating to the present.
associated with non-wisdom.
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In fact the Buddha did not say that these two supernormal knowledges are Saiksa dharmas.
Why?
When a series is associated with non-wisdom (avidyd, ignor- ance) it is not correct to give the name of wisdom (vidya) to the supernormal knowledge which is produced in this series, for the
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277 The Sutra says that there are three methods of conversion.
To which supernormal knowledges do they correspond?
47a-b. The first, the third and the sixth are the methods of
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The supernormal knowledges of rddhi, of the knowledge of the mind of another, and of the destruction of the cankers, are, in this order the three methods of conversion (prdtihdrya)'. "to carry off" {bar), that is, to convert, through miracles (rddhiprdtihdrya), through reading the mind of someone (ddesandprdtihdrya), and through the Teaching (anusasantpratiharya).
The prefix pra~ signifies ddikarman (initial action), and the prefix ^'-signifies bhrsam (forceful): these three supernormal knowledges are called prdtihdrya because, thanks to them, the work of conversion (harana) is begun (pra-) and done in an intense manner (ati-).
Through them, one carries away (haranti) the mind of persons to be converted, from the very first (dditas) and very forcefully (ati bhrdm).
supernormal knowledge is obscured by the non-wisdom.
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conversion.
Or rather, they receive the name of prdtihdrya, for through
? them one first or forcefully makes oneself a master of persons who 279
hate {pratihata) the Good Law, or of those who are indifferent. Through them, one makes persons of hostile, unbelieving, or non-zealous mind, produce a mind of refuge, a mind of faith, or a
280 mind of practice.
47b. Conversion through the Teaching is the best. 281
Among the three methods of conversion, conversion through the Teaching is the best.
47c-d. Because it does not exist without supernormal knowledge, and because it confers the fruits of salvation and of well-being.
Conversion through miracles and conversion through reading
282 someone's mind can be produced by means of wisdom. There is
283
a wisdom called Gandharl: the person who possesses it can fly
284
through space.
