It is because of the
slightness
of the ideas in it.
AbhidharmakosabhasyamVol-4VasubandhuPoussinPruden1991
For it
is said in the Sutra that the Four Dhyanas are adhicitta siksa, the
"higher mental learning"; another says that the Four Dhyanas are
the primary element in the purification of the mind (cittaparifud- 10
dhipradhdna).
What is the meaning of the word dhydnaP
n
of upanidhydna. Upanidhyai signifies "to know truly", as it is said
By reason of dhydna the ascetic is "concentrated" and capable 12
in the Sutra, "He who is concentrated knows truly". dhyai is used in the sense of upanidhydna. )
13
(The root
In the School [of the Sarvastivadins], all dhydna is prajna
14
If the Dhyanas are absorptions or samadhis, then are all absorptions,--good, bad, or neutral,--Dhyana?
No. Only absorptions filled with certain excellences are called Dhyanas. So too in the world, it is the sun that is called "the light maker" (bhdskara) (and not the firefly).
[whereas in some other schools, dhydna is cinta or reflection]. ***
The Absorptions 1217
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What are the excellences?
Samadhi is in fact excellent: it is an absorption filled with
"parts" (angasamdyukta, viii. 10), which goes by the means of the
in which calmness and insight are in equilibrium], that is termed in the Sutra "happiness in this world" {drstadharmasukhavihdra, viii. 27) and "the easy path" (sukbapratipad, vi. 66), the path by which one knows better and easily. It is thus the excellent absorptions which are called dhydna.
But if dhydna is an absorption filled with parts, how can a defiled absorption be called dhydna?
Because it is bad upanidhydna.
But this entails false conclusions. [In fact, one cultivates bad upanidhydna with a mind controlled by sensual desire, and this state cannot be a dhydna. ]
No. We give the name of dhydna to the defiled state that
resembles true dhydna, as, in the world, one calls a thing that
resembles a grain, although incapable of germinating, "rotten
grain", and not a pebble, etc. [In the same way one speaks of a
pdrdjika Bhiksu, iv. 39c-d. ] And the Blessed One speaks of bad 16
dhydna.
***
What are the characteristics of the First to the Fourth Dhyana?
yoke of calmness {samatha) and insight (vipasyana) [that is to say, 15
2a. The First is filled with vicdra, priti, and sukha, (parts 17
that the following [Dhyanas] successively abandon).
The First Dhyana is a good concentration filled with vicdra, priti, and sukha [that is to say, associated with a vicdra filled or associated with priti and sukha]. This also says implicitly, "filled
? with vitarka" for vitarka necessarily accompanies vicdra, as smoke
accompanies fire. It does not happen that vicdra is associated with
priti and sukha without at the same time being associated with 1
vitarka. *
2b. Parts that the following (Dhyanas) successively abandon.
The Second, Third, and Fourth Dhyana are characterized by the successive abandoning of each of these three parts; eliminating vicdra, the Second Dhyana is only filled with priti and sukha; eliminating priti, the Third Dhyana is only filled with sukha; and by eliminating sukha, these three parts are absent from the Fourth Dhyana.
***
We have described the Dhyanas. What are the Arupyas?
2c. So too, the Arupyas (which are made up of four
19 skandhas).
a. The Arupyas, that is, the absorptions of, and the rebirths in Arupyadhatu are like the Dhyanas in their number and nature.
There are four Arupyas and each Arupya is twofold, existence and concentration. [The existences have been defined in the Third Chapter, iii. 3]. The concentrations of Arupya, in their nature and in general, are applications of pure minds on a single object.
By reason of this double similarity, the stanza says "So too, the Anipyas" (are like the Dhyanas).
2d. They are made up of four skandhas.
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b. The Dhyanas are accompanied by five skandhas, but the Arupyas are accompanied by only four skandhas, for no rupa or physical matter accompanies it.
2e. It arises out of separation from lower spheres. 20
All the Arupyas are concentration; but there are four Arupyas because the concentration that constitutes each Arupya proceeds from separation from a lower sphere. AkaSunantyayatana is the absorption that proceeds from separation from the Fourth Dhyana; and so on to Naivasamjnanasamjnayatana (or Bhavagra) which proceeds from separation from Akimcanyayatana.
What is separation?
The paths (Anantaryamarga and Vimuktimarga) by which the ascetic is delivered from the lower spheres, because these paths have turned him away from them.
? ? -b. They are called vibhutarupasamjna together with three samantakas. 21
[The basic or maula Arupyas, with the preparatory stages or thresholds, the samantakas of the three higher Arupyas are defined as abodes of "those who have conquered the idea of physical matter/']
The first sdmantaka, the threshold of Akasanantyayatana is not called a sdmantaka because it has the Fourth Dhyana for its object, and so the idea of physical matter is not completely transcended in it.
The Arupyas are so called because there is no rupa or physical matter in them: they are made up of the four skandhas as mentioned above.
? [Hsuan-tsang: 3c. There is no rupa in Arupyadhatu. ]
This should be proved, say some Schools, for we maintain that there is some physical matter, rupa, in the Arupyas.
But then why are the arupyas called arupyas, "absences of physical matter"?
They are called this because their rupa is reduced, in the same way that a little red {tsatpingala) is called "reddish" (apingala, "absence of red") (i. 17, English trans, p. 75).
So be it; but what type of physical matter is in Arupyadhatu?
i. If you say that this physical matter is neither the body nor the voice, but merely the physical matter that constitutes bodily and vocal discipline (kayavaksamvaramatra, the rupa that forms part of the dharmayatana, iv. p. 561), then how can this discipline exist in the absence of body and voice? And how can a rupa derived from the primary elements {bhautika), namely discipline, exist in the absence of these same primary elements (mahabhutas)? If you answer that bodily and vocal discipline exists in Arupyadhatu without the cooperation of primary physical matter, in the same way that pure discipline exists without primary elements of their same, i. e. , pure, nature, then this answer does not hold, for pure discipline has impure primary elements for its support, elements in the sphere in which the Aryan is born (iv. 6).
This proof for the absence of physical matter does not hold only for existence in Arupyadhatu, but also for the absorption of
[in which samvara or discipline, which is rupa, is
ii. If you attribute material organs {rupindriya) to the beings in Arupyadhatu, how can you say that the physical matter of Arupyadhatu is subtle?
Because their dimensions are very small; the beings are therefore of reduced rupa (tsadrupa), so the beings are then
22 also absent].
Arupyadhatu,
The Absorptions 1221
? 1222 Chapter Eight
"without physical matter. "
But if you reason in this way, then the tiny and invisible aquatic animals [of which the Vinaya speaks] would also be "without rupa"
Would you say that the physical matter of Arupyadhatu is
transparent {accha, it. English trans, p. 173)? But intermediate
beings and the beings in Rupadhatu also possess transparent
23 physical matter.
Would you say that the physical matter of Arupyadhatu is more transparent and so merits being called "absence of physical matter"? But then you should only call the highest stage of Arupyadhatu "absence of physical matter/' for bodies will be all the more transparent the more distinguished is the absorption of
24 the stage to which they belong.
Furthermore, the physical matter of Rupadhatu (or of the Dhyanas) cannot be perceived by an eye in a lower sphere, since it is too transparent. How does this differ from the physical matter that you attribute to Arupyadhatu?
Finally it is a gratutitous affirmation to maintain that the name of the first two Dhatus (i. e. , Kamadhatu and Rupadhatu)
25
correspond to their objects (anvarthasamjna) but that this is not
so in the case of Arupyadhatu.
iii. It is maintained that physical matter exists in Arupyadhatu. There are four arguments in favor of this position:
26 1. It is said that life and warmth are interconnected (samsrsta)
2. It is said that ndman (i. e. , the four nonmaterial skandhas) and physical matter support one another, like two bunches of
27 roses.
3. It is said that namarupa (both the material and nonmaterial 2
skandhas) are caused by the consciousenss (vijnana) *
4. It is said that consciousness does not come or go independ- ently of physical matter, sensation, ideas, or the sarhskarasP
? These texts are not decisive, for there is reason to interpret them:
1. The Sutra says that life (ayus) is associated with warmth, which is physical matter. But does this refer to all types of life or
30
2. The Sutra says that ndman and rupa (the nonmaterial and the material skandhas) support one another. But does this refer to all of the Dhatus or only to Kamadhatu and Rupadhatu?
3. The Sutra says "vijndnapratyayam ndmarupam" ("the nonmaterial and material skandhas are conditioned by the
31
only to life in Kamadhatu?
consciousness").
But does this text teach that all consciousness--
either a consciousness caused by the samskdras of Kamadhatu or
Rupadhatu, or a consciousness caused by the samskdras of
Arupyadhatu, (that is, a consciousness caused by actions retributa-
ble by an existence in Kamadhatu . . . )--is a cause of the material
and nonmaterial skandhas? Rather, it teaches that all material and
32 nonmaterial skandhas have consciousness for their cause.
4. The Sutra denies that consciousness comes and goes independently of the four "abodes of consciousness" (vijndnasthiti, iii. 7), that is, independently of rupa, vedand, samjnd, and the samskdras. But should this Sutra be understood as meaning "independently of all of these abodes together"?
We would say that the Sutra expresses itself in a general manner: we do not have to interpret it, and we do not have the right to think that it refers to Kamadhatu, etc.
The answer does not hold, for to hold to the letter of the Sutra, one would come to absurd conclusions:
1. Life would necessarily accompany all warmth, even if it be external warmth.
2. External physical matter would be supported by the nonmaterial skandhas.
3. External physical matter would be caused by consciousness.
The Absorptions 1223
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4. There would be material food (lit. : "food taken by the mouthfuls") in Rupadhatu and Arupyadhatu, for the Sutra says, in a general way, that there are four types of food (iii. 40), in the same way that it says in a general way that there are four "abodes of consciousness": from whence you conclude that the "abode of physical matter" exists in Arupyadhatu.
No, for the Sutra, while expressing itself in a general way concerning the four types of food, formulates exceptions to the rule: it speaks of a being "who surpasses the gods who nourish
33
themselves with material food"; and it speaks of beings "who
34 nourish themselves with joy".
Very well, but does not the Sutra also say, and categorically so,
that there is no physical matter in Arupyadhatu? It says, 1) "One
departs from the rupas through the Arupyas"; 2) "These states of 35
calm deliverance, beyond the rupas, namely the Arupyas . . . "; 3) "There are existences without physical matter, absolutely passing
36
beyond the ideas of physical matter":
were to exist in the existences or the absorptions of Arupyadhatu, beings who are in Arupyadhatu would have ideas of their own physical matter. And the Sutra would not say that an ascetic obtains these existences and absorptions by passing beyond all ideas of physical matter.
Our opponent answers that the Sutra, in these different passages, intends to speak not of physical matter in general, but of gross physical matter of a lower sphere.
We answer that, in this hypothesis, 1. one should understand in the same sense the text relative to material food, which would exist, albeit subtly, in Rupadhatu and Arupyadhatu; 2. one should say that an ascetic leaves the rupas through the Dhyanas, and that the Dhyanas belong to Arupyadhatu, for the Dhyanas are beyond the coarse rupas of a lower sphere, namely Kamadhatu; 3. one should say that, through the Arupyas, the ascetic leaves sensation (vedana), etc. , for the Arupyas are beyond the sensations of lower spheres, and one should call them "without sensation," etc. But the
now, if physical matter
? Sutra does not express itself in this way. We then assume that the Arupyas are beyond any and all physical matter.
[Objection. ] How can the Arupyas be the "leaving" of the
rupas? The Blessed One, in fact, denies that existence (bhava) can
through bhava" The Blessed One expresses himself in this manner with reason, for one cannot leave a certain existence (or mode of existence, bhava) by means of this same existence, and one can neither leave all of the existences nor definitively leave any existence by means of any existence whatsoever.
Finally the Blessed One says that there is rupa, vedand, sarhjnd, the samskdras, and vijndna in the Dhyanas, and that there is vedand . . . and vijndna in the Arupyas. If there were truly rupa in the Arupyas, why did not the Blessed One say that there is rupa in them, as he did for the Dhyanas?
Hence,
3c. There is no rupa in the Arupyas.
[From the two arguments given above, it follows that there is no physical matter in Ampyadhatu. The masters who maintain the existence of physical matter in Ampyadhatu maintain a thesis that is false and in contradiction to reason. ]
If this is the case, then when a being obtains an existence in Ampyadhatu, his series of physical matter is cut off for numerous cosmic periods (iii. 81). When this being is finally reborn in a lower
38
3d. Physical matter arises from the mind (citta).
A cause was formerly produced--a certain action, etc. ,--which should ripen in physical matter; a trace (vdsand) of this cause
be the leaving of existence: "I say that one cannot leave bhava bl
sphere, where does his physical matter come from?
The Absorptions 1225
? 1226 Chapter Eight
remains in the mind: its efficacy now matures;39 the physical
matter that now arises arises from the mind.
But how can a mind in Arupyadhatu exist without being
supported by physical matter, ? ? ? ? ?
Why could it not exist without physical matter?
Because it never happens here below that a mind exists without a body.
But, by virtue of this same reasoning, you should deny that beings in Rupadhatu live on material food. Moreover we have already explained40 how a mind in Arupyadhatu has nikdya ("genre") and fivita ("life") as its support.
***
Do the Arupyas receive their different names,--AkaSanan- tyayatana, etc. ,--from the fact that they have space (dkdsa) etc. , for their objects?
No. The first three,
4a-c. AkaSunantya, Vijnananantya, and Akimcanya are named after their preparatory exercises.
The three lower Arupyas receive their names from the fact that, in their preparatory exercises, one considers space, etc. 41
4c-d. Because of its weakness, the (next) absorption is called Neither-Ideas-Nor-Absence of Ideas (nasamjndndpyasamj- ndkah). 42
The Fourth Arupya receives its name from the fact that samjndf "ideas," is very weak in it. Ideas are not active in it, but neither is it completely without ideas.
? Without doubt, one prepares himself for this Arupya by
43
considering, "Ideas are a sickness! Ideas are an ulcer! Ideas are an
arrow! The absence of ideas (dsamjnika, compare ii. 41b) is 44
stupidity (sammoha)l This is calmness, this is excellent, the Faculty of Neither-Ideas-Nor-Absence of Ideas! " But it is not by reason of this preparatory exercise that the Fourth Arupya receives its name.
And why is the Fourth Arupya conceived of, by the ascetic who
finds himself in the preparatory absorptions, as Neither-Ideas-Nor-
45 Absence of Ideas?
It is because of the slightness of the ideas in it. This is the explanation of its name.
***
5a. There are then eight things that are basic absorptions;
The Four Dhyanas and the Four Arupyas are the eight basic
46 absorptions.
5b. The (first) seven are threefold.
The first seven of these eight are threefold.
5c. Enjoyment, pure, and free from the defilements.
They are associated with enjoyment, are pure, and are free from the defilements.
5d. The eighth is twofold.
Bhavagra is associated with enjoyment and is pure, but it is not
? 1228 Chapter Eight
free from the defilements.
6a. The absorption of enjoyment is associated with thirst; (a pure absorption is of a worldly order of good; it is the object of enjoyment of the first; the absorption free from
47
For enjoyment is itself thirst (=desire).
48 6b. A pure absorption is of a worldly order of good;
Worldly good is also termed "good," because it arises in conjunction with the pure dharmas, such as non-desire, etc. (iv. 9a).
6c. It is the object of enjoyment.
Pure absorption is the object enjoyed by the absorption of
enjoyment. As soon as the pure absorption disappears, the
absorption of enjoyment that enjoys it arises. (The ascetic has then
left the pure absorption that he is enjoying; but he is concentrated
by virtue of the fact of the absorption of enjoyment which he
49 enjoys).
6d. The absorption free from the defilements is trans- worldly.
The absorption free from the defilements is transworldly. (It cannot be the cause of or the object of desire; hence it is not enjoyed).
the defilements is transworldly. )
#*#
? The Dhyanas are filled with "parts'* or items, but not the Arupyas (because calmness and insight are in equal measure in them; below, note 77 ).
50
How many parts
are there in each Dhyana?
7-8. There are five parts in the First: [yitarka, vicara, joy
\prtii\ happiness [sukha], and samddhi; four in the Second:
faith and joy, etc. ; five in the Third: equanimity, mindful-
ness, awareness (samprajndna), happiness, and samddhi;
and four in the last: mindfulness, equanimity, the sensation
of neither suffering nor happiness [aduhkhdsukha], and 1
52
7b. Vitarka, vicara, joy, happiness, and samddhi.
The teaching of the School is that samddhi or concentration is at one and the same time both Dhyana and a part of this Dhyana, whereas the other parts are only parts of Dhyana, but not Dhyana itself.
But in our opinion, it is the same for the five-part Dhyana as
53
The Second Dhyana contains four parts: joy, happiness, concentration of the mind on a single object {cittaikagrata), and internal purity of faith {adhydtmasamprasdda).
8a. Five in the Third: equanimity, mindfulness, awareness, happiness, and stability {-samddhi).
samddhi]}
There are five parts or items in the First Dhyana.
for a four-part army, which does not exist apart from its parts.
7c. Four in the Second: faith and joy, etc.
? 1230 Chapter Eight
The Third Dhyana possesses five parts: 1) equanimity (not
vedanopeksa, the sensation of indifference, but samskdropeksa),
joy which is free from movement towards any 6b]ect(andbhogala- 54
ksana); 2) mindfulness (that is, not losing sight of the motive or reason [nimitta] for this equanimity, upeksanimittdsampramo-
55
sa); 3) samprajndnam (consciousness or awareness relating to
this mindfulness); 4) happiness; and 5) samddhi: sthiti or stability is a synonym for samddhi, as the Sutra says, "What is right samddhi? It is stability of the mind. "
8b. And four in the last: mindfulness, equanimity, the sensation of neither suffering nor happiness, and samddhi.
The Fourth Dhyana possesses four parts: 1) the sensation of indifference (lit. : the sensation of neither suffering nor happi- ness), 2) pure equanimity (upeksaparisuddhi), 3) pure mindful- ness, and 4) samddhi.
These are the eighteen parts of the Dhyanas: the First and the Third Dhyanas have five parts each, and the Second and the Fourth Dhyanas have four parts each. In respect to their names, there are eighteen parts. (But how many of these eighteen are distinct things? )
56
Regarded as things or substances (dravya), there are eleven parts.
There are five in the First Dhyana, plus 1) internal purity or faith in the Second Dhyana; 3-5) equanimity, mindfulness, awareness and happiness in the Third Dhyana; and 6) the sensation of neither suffering nor happiness in the Fourth Dhyana.
9a. Regarded as things, there are eleven parts.
There are then some parts of the First Dhyana that are not
? parts of the Second Dhyana. There are four alternatives: 1) parts of the First Dhyana that are not parts of the Second Dhyana, namely vitarka and vicdra; 2) part of the Second Dhyana that is not part of the First Dhyana, namely faith; 3) parts common to the First and the Second Dhyanas, namely joy, happiness, and concentration of the mind on a single object (cittaikdgrata); and 4) parts that do not belong to either of the First or the Second Dhyanas, namely all of the other parts.
The correspondance of the parts of the other Dhyanas is established according to the same principles.
***
Why do you say that the happiness of the Third Dhyana constitutes a separate thing?
Because the happiness of the Third Dhyana is agreeable sensation (sukha vedand), whereas
9b. In the first two Dhyanas, happiness {sukha) signifies 1
In the First and Second Dhyana, prasrabdhi ('karmanyata, "aptitude" or well-being," ii, English trans. p. 191) is called happiness: here we have prasrabdhisukha, happiness which consists of prasrabdhi. In the Third Dhyana, there is only the sensation of happiness (sukha vedand). TM
In fact, in the first two Dhyanas, there can be no faculty of happiness (sukhendriya).
The reason for this is: 1) the happiness attributed to these
59
Dhyanas cannot be bodily happiness, in light of the fact that the
five sense consciousnesses are absent in a person who has entered
60 into contemplation;
well-being (prasrabdhi)?
2. the happiness attributed to these Dhyanas cannot be mental
? 1232 Chapter Eight
happiness because these Dhyanas possess joy. Now joy is "satisfaction'' (saumanasya) and it is inadmissible for joy and happiness, even happiness of sensation, to coexist; they cannot even succeed one another, for the First Dhyana possesses five parts, and the Second, only four.
[Thesis of the Darstantikas:]
i. In the first three Dhyanas, there is no mental sensation of happiness, but only a bodily sensation of happiness, which constitutes the part called "happiness" of these Dhyanas (and is
61
Objection: In this hypothesis you should explain how the Sutra could say, "What is the faculty of happiness (sukhendriya)? The bodily and mental sensation of happiness produced by reason of an agreeable contact is what is called the faculty of happiness. "
This reasoning is not authentic, answer the Darstantikas, as the word "mental" (caitasika) has been added. In all the sects the text merely reads "bodily happiness. "
Further, they continue, regarding the part of the Third Dhyana
called happiness, the Sutra says in its own words that, in this
Dhyana the ascetic "experiences happiness through his body"
62
(sukham . . . kdyena sampravedayate). Would one maintain that
the word "through the body" {kdyena) signifies "through the body
of the mind" (manahkdyena = manahsamuddyena, "through the
accumulation which is the mind"), and that one should translate,
"the ascetic experiences happiness through this complex which is
63 the manas"?
ii. [The explanation of the Vaibhasikas,] that the happiness
part of the first two Dhyanas is well-being (prasrabdhi, kar-
manyata) is untenable, for the well-being of the Fourth Dhyana is
certainly greater than the well-being of the first two Dhyanas, and
the Sutra does not attribute a happiness part to the Fourth
64
Dhyana.
[If the Vaibhasikas answer,] "The well-being of the first two
activated in the course of the absorption).
? ; fc
T6g Absorptions 1233
Dhyanas is called happiness because it is favorable to the sensation of happiness, whereas the well-being of the Fourth Dhyana does not have this character," [then the Darstantikas will answer,] "The well-being of the Third Dhyana, like that of the first two, is favorable to the sensation of happiness; why do the Vaibhasikas not attribute prasrabdhisukha, happiness which consists of well-being, to the Third Dhyana, but rather a happiness consisting of an agreeable mental sensation (vedandsukha)? "
[If the Vaibhasikas answer,] "In the Third Dhyana, well-being whose character is karmanyata or aptitude (ii, English trans, p. 91) is opposed by equanimity, whose character is akarmanyatd" [the Darstantikas will deny the truth of this assertation:] for them well-being is accumulated through equanimity, since it results from the fact that the well-being of the Third Dhyana is greater than the well-being of the first two Dhyanas.
65
Finally, the Sutra says,
"When the Noble Sravaka, having
realized the joy born of separation, abides in absorption, then five
dharmas have been abandoned by him, and he has achieved the
cultivation of five dharmas, namely joy, well-being, happiness,
prajna, and samddhi" In this Sutra, well-being is listed separately
from happiness; it should be distinct from happiness in order for
the list of the five dharmas to be complete. Thus, in the first two
66 Dhyanas, happiness is not well-being.
iii. [Objection of the Vaibhasikas:] In order for the happiness of the first two Dhyanas to be agreeable bodily sensation, it is necessary for the person in absorption to produce a consciousness of touch {kdyavijnana). And this is not possible. [Answer of the Darstantikas:] In the state of absorption, the body is penetrated by a wind born of excellent mental concentration (samddhi); this wind is a tangible which is agreeably felt (sukhavedaniya) and is called well-being. Hence there is produced a consciousness of touch
(together with the agreeable sensation associated with this consciousness).
[The Vaibhasikas:] When this consciousness is produced, there is "a distraction of the mind towards an external object*': hence the
? 1234 Chapter Eight
ascetic would fall away from his samadhi.
Answer of the Darstantikas:] No, for agreeable or happy bodily
sensation which arises from samadhi, being internal, is favorable 61
to samadhi.
[The Vaibhasikas:] But would the ascetic fall away from the
samadhi when he produces the consciousness of touch?
[Answer of the Darstantikas:] No, and for this same reason:
this consciousness is favorable to samadhi. Immediately after the
68
[The Vaibhasikas:] How can the body (kdyendriya), which is in Kamadhatu, give rise to a touch consciousness (i. e. , prasrabdhi), which is, according to you, a type of wind in Rupadhatu (i. 47c)?
[The Darstantikas:] This criticism does not hold, for this
69
consciousness of touch is produced by reason of well-being.
[The Vaibhasikas:] There is a difficulty in regarding well-being
70
as a tangible.
transworldly, undefiled Dhyana: the tangible (well-being) and the consciousness of touch (kdyavijnana) which he has will be undefiled, for some of the parts of defiled Dhyana cannot be undefiled, while the others are defiled. [Now the Sutra says that "All eyes . . . all tangibles are defiled". ]
[The Darstantikas:] There is no contradiction here. In fact physical well-being {kdyasya karmanyatd) is defined as "a part of
71
appearance of this consciousness, the samadhi is taken up again.
Bodhi. "
If the Vaibhasikas answer, "Even though it is not a part
Let us suppose that the ascetic is in possession of
of Bodhi, it is so defined because it is favorable to the part of Bodhi
called well-being and which is mental well-being," we would say
that, for the same reason, one can consider bodily well-being as
undefiled. [If the Vaibhasikas answer,] "Bodily well-being cannot
be undefiled, for the Siitra declares that all tangible things are
72
defiled,"
and refers to all tangible things with the exception of physical well-being, to the consciousnesses of touch with the exception of the consciousness of touch which cognizes well-being.
we would say that this Sutra is of intentional meaning
? [The Vaibhasikas:] Do you admit that certain parts of undefiled dhyana are undefiled, and that certain parts are not undefiled?
[The Darstantikas:] The undefiled part is not simultaneous to the non-undefiled part; we know indeed that (bodily) happiness does not exist at the same time as (mental) joy.
[The Vaibhasikas:] Then the First Dhyana will not have five parts, and the Second Dhyana will not have four parts.
[The Darstantikas:] If Scripture attributes the parts of happpiness and joy to the first two Dhyanas, this is because these Dhyanas are susceptible, successively, to happiness and joy; in the same way Scripture attributes vitarka and vicdra--which can only exist successively--to the First Dhyana.
[The Vaibhasikas:] We affirm that vitarka and vicdra coexist; but the example that you cite to prove the non-coexistence of the parts is not proved.
[The Darstantikas:] This example is proved; for vitarka, which is a coarse mental state, and vicdra, which is a subtle mental state,
73
are contradictory and cannot coexist. And you did not say what
74 harm there is in their not coexisting.
Let us consider the theory of the "parts": one determines the specific features of the Second Dhyana and of those following by eliminating two, three, or four parts: it is for this reason that the First Dhyana is said to contain five parts, because the other Dhyanas are defined by the elimination, successively and in order, of the first four of these parts. This is why ideas (samjnd) and the other dharmas of the First Dhyana are not considered as parts, for they are not cut off in the following Dhyanas. If you do not accept this explanation, then why does the First Dhyana have only five parts?
But, [say the Vaibhasikas,] the five parts are only called parts because they are useful to the Dhyana. No, this cannot be the case, [answer the Darstantikas,] since mindfulness and prajitd are more
? 1236 Chapter Eight
useful to the Dhyana than are vitarka and vicdra.
75
presented, but the ancient masters (purvdcdryas) are not in
A certain school
agreement on this.
77 examined.
76
maintains the system that has been Consequently the point should be further
***
What is the dharma called "internal purity (or faith)" 78
When the agitation of vitarka and vicdra has come to an end, the series flows calmly and clearly: this is what is called internal purity. As a river agitated by waves, so too the series, by reason of the agitation of vitarka and vicdra, is not calm or clear. [This is the explanation of the Sautruntikas. ]
But if we admit this explanation, then internal purity is not a thing in and of itself. Thus there will not be eleven things in the Dhyanas. Then one must say
79 9c. Purity is faith.
Purity (prasdda) is a thing in and of itself, namely faith
(fraddbd). When the ascetic acquires the Second Dhyana, he
produces a profound faith: he admits that the spheres of
absorption themselves can be abandoned. This faith is called
internal purity. Faith, having purity (prasdda, vi. 75) for its
characteristic, is called purity. Having abandoned externals, it
(adhydtmasamprasdda)?
flows equally and so prasdda is internal and equal; hence it is 0
termed "internal purity" or adhydtmasamprasdda. *
According to other masters [the Sautrantikas], vitarka, vicdra,
? samadhi, and internal purity are not separate things.
[The Sarvastivadins:] If these are not separate things, how can
one say that they are mental dharmas?
[The Sautrantikas:] Some special states of mind receive the
81
name of mental states because they arise in the mind.
But the system of the Abhidharma does not admit this theory.
[Objection of the Sautrantikas:] You have said that joy is satisfaction (saumanasya), a happy or agreeable mental sensation. How would you establish this definition?
If joy is not satisfaction, then what is the dharma that is called joy?
83
We follow another school.
exists a dharma distinct from satisfaction, a mental state called joy. The hapiness of the three Dhyanas is satisfaction; hence joy, which is distinguished from happiness, is distinct from satisfaction. It is not admissible that happiness, in the Dhyanas, is satisfaction.
84
5
The Blessed One says in the Viparitasutra,* "In the Third
Dhyana the faculty of satisfaction {saumanasyendriya) which has previously arisen is destroyed without remnant; in the Fourth Dhyana, the faculty of happiness (sukhendriya) is destroyed without remnant. "
86
He says in another Sutra,
faculty of happiness and the faculty of suffering, and by reason of the previous disappearance of the faculty of dissatisfaction (daurmanayendriya) and the faculty of satisfaction. "
9c-d. Joy is satisfaction. This is proved by two texts.
The Absorptions 1237
According to this school, there
"By reason of the abandoning of the
82
? 1238 Chapter Eight
These two texts prove that there is no faculty of satisfaction in the Third Dhyana. Hence joy is satisfaction, and not happiness.
***
Does defiled dhyana possess the parts that we have just studied?
No.
What are the parts that are absent in each defiled dhyana?
lOa-c. In the defiled Dhyanas there is no joy, happiness, faith, sampradhih (=awareness, samprajanya), mindfulness, pure equanimity nor pure mindfulness.
When it is defiled, the First Dhyana does not contain joy and happiness "arisen from separation", because it is not separated from the defilements of Kamadhatu (see Vibhdsa, TD 27, p. 8l4a23).
The Second Dhyana does not contain internal purity (=faith), because it is troubled by the defilements; the defilements cause it to be unclear.
The Third Dhyana does not contain mindfulness and aware- ness, because it is confused by a defiled happiness.
The Fourth Dhyana does not contain the purity of equanimity or the purity of mindfulness, because it is soiled by the defilements.
That is what some say.
lOd. According to some, (there is no) well-being and equanimity.
According to others, there is no 1) well-being in the first two
? Dhyanas, and 2) no equanimity in the last two, because well-being and equanimity are dharmas that are only found in a pure mind (kusalamahabhilmika, ii. 25).
***
The Blessed One teaches that three Dhyanas are "disturbed"
7 (sa-injita) because of "faults" (apaksdlas)*
lla-b. As it is free from the eight faults, the Fourth is undisturbed.
What are the eight faults?
llc-d. Vitarka and vicdra, the two breaths, and the four of which happiness is the first.
The eight faults are vitarka, vicdra, happiness, suffering,
satisfaction, dissatisfaction, inbreathing, and outbreathing. None
of these eight is found in the Fourth Dhyana: this is why it alone is
termed "undisturbed. " It is true that the Sutra says that the Fourth
Dhyana is undisturbed because it is not agitated by vitarka and
88
vicdra, by joy and happiness.
not to attribute the breaths, etc. , to the Fourth Dhyana; the Sutra is merely noting its difference from the other Dhyanas. )
According to others, the Fourth Dhyana is "undisturbed'' (anenjyarn) because it is like a lamp which, in a sealed place, is not agitated by the wind.
***
Do the arisings of dhyana existences (dhydnopapattayah) or existences in Rupadhatu, possess the same sensations (vedands) as
The Absorptions 1239
(But the intention of this passage is
? 1240 Chapter Eight
do the absorption of the Dhyanas? No, they do not.
Why is this?
is said in the Sutra that the Four Dhyanas are adhicitta siksa, the
"higher mental learning"; another says that the Four Dhyanas are
the primary element in the purification of the mind (cittaparifud- 10
dhipradhdna).
What is the meaning of the word dhydnaP
n
of upanidhydna. Upanidhyai signifies "to know truly", as it is said
By reason of dhydna the ascetic is "concentrated" and capable 12
in the Sutra, "He who is concentrated knows truly". dhyai is used in the sense of upanidhydna. )
13
(The root
In the School [of the Sarvastivadins], all dhydna is prajna
14
If the Dhyanas are absorptions or samadhis, then are all absorptions,--good, bad, or neutral,--Dhyana?
No. Only absorptions filled with certain excellences are called Dhyanas. So too in the world, it is the sun that is called "the light maker" (bhdskara) (and not the firefly).
[whereas in some other schools, dhydna is cinta or reflection]. ***
The Absorptions 1217
? 1218 Chapter Eight
What are the excellences?
Samadhi is in fact excellent: it is an absorption filled with
"parts" (angasamdyukta, viii. 10), which goes by the means of the
in which calmness and insight are in equilibrium], that is termed in the Sutra "happiness in this world" {drstadharmasukhavihdra, viii. 27) and "the easy path" (sukbapratipad, vi. 66), the path by which one knows better and easily. It is thus the excellent absorptions which are called dhydna.
But if dhydna is an absorption filled with parts, how can a defiled absorption be called dhydna?
Because it is bad upanidhydna.
But this entails false conclusions. [In fact, one cultivates bad upanidhydna with a mind controlled by sensual desire, and this state cannot be a dhydna. ]
No. We give the name of dhydna to the defiled state that
resembles true dhydna, as, in the world, one calls a thing that
resembles a grain, although incapable of germinating, "rotten
grain", and not a pebble, etc. [In the same way one speaks of a
pdrdjika Bhiksu, iv. 39c-d. ] And the Blessed One speaks of bad 16
dhydna.
***
What are the characteristics of the First to the Fourth Dhyana?
yoke of calmness {samatha) and insight (vipasyana) [that is to say, 15
2a. The First is filled with vicdra, priti, and sukha, (parts 17
that the following [Dhyanas] successively abandon).
The First Dhyana is a good concentration filled with vicdra, priti, and sukha [that is to say, associated with a vicdra filled or associated with priti and sukha]. This also says implicitly, "filled
? with vitarka" for vitarka necessarily accompanies vicdra, as smoke
accompanies fire. It does not happen that vicdra is associated with
priti and sukha without at the same time being associated with 1
vitarka. *
2b. Parts that the following (Dhyanas) successively abandon.
The Second, Third, and Fourth Dhyana are characterized by the successive abandoning of each of these three parts; eliminating vicdra, the Second Dhyana is only filled with priti and sukha; eliminating priti, the Third Dhyana is only filled with sukha; and by eliminating sukha, these three parts are absent from the Fourth Dhyana.
***
We have described the Dhyanas. What are the Arupyas?
2c. So too, the Arupyas (which are made up of four
19 skandhas).
a. The Arupyas, that is, the absorptions of, and the rebirths in Arupyadhatu are like the Dhyanas in their number and nature.
There are four Arupyas and each Arupya is twofold, existence and concentration. [The existences have been defined in the Third Chapter, iii. 3]. The concentrations of Arupya, in their nature and in general, are applications of pure minds on a single object.
By reason of this double similarity, the stanza says "So too, the Anipyas" (are like the Dhyanas).
2d. They are made up of four skandhas.
? 1220 Chapter Eight
b. The Dhyanas are accompanied by five skandhas, but the Arupyas are accompanied by only four skandhas, for no rupa or physical matter accompanies it.
2e. It arises out of separation from lower spheres. 20
All the Arupyas are concentration; but there are four Arupyas because the concentration that constitutes each Arupya proceeds from separation from a lower sphere. AkaSunantyayatana is the absorption that proceeds from separation from the Fourth Dhyana; and so on to Naivasamjnanasamjnayatana (or Bhavagra) which proceeds from separation from Akimcanyayatana.
What is separation?
The paths (Anantaryamarga and Vimuktimarga) by which the ascetic is delivered from the lower spheres, because these paths have turned him away from them.
? ? -b. They are called vibhutarupasamjna together with three samantakas. 21
[The basic or maula Arupyas, with the preparatory stages or thresholds, the samantakas of the three higher Arupyas are defined as abodes of "those who have conquered the idea of physical matter/']
The first sdmantaka, the threshold of Akasanantyayatana is not called a sdmantaka because it has the Fourth Dhyana for its object, and so the idea of physical matter is not completely transcended in it.
The Arupyas are so called because there is no rupa or physical matter in them: they are made up of the four skandhas as mentioned above.
? [Hsuan-tsang: 3c. There is no rupa in Arupyadhatu. ]
This should be proved, say some Schools, for we maintain that there is some physical matter, rupa, in the Arupyas.
But then why are the arupyas called arupyas, "absences of physical matter"?
They are called this because their rupa is reduced, in the same way that a little red {tsatpingala) is called "reddish" (apingala, "absence of red") (i. 17, English trans, p. 75).
So be it; but what type of physical matter is in Arupyadhatu?
i. If you say that this physical matter is neither the body nor the voice, but merely the physical matter that constitutes bodily and vocal discipline (kayavaksamvaramatra, the rupa that forms part of the dharmayatana, iv. p. 561), then how can this discipline exist in the absence of body and voice? And how can a rupa derived from the primary elements {bhautika), namely discipline, exist in the absence of these same primary elements (mahabhutas)? If you answer that bodily and vocal discipline exists in Arupyadhatu without the cooperation of primary physical matter, in the same way that pure discipline exists without primary elements of their same, i. e. , pure, nature, then this answer does not hold, for pure discipline has impure primary elements for its support, elements in the sphere in which the Aryan is born (iv. 6).
This proof for the absence of physical matter does not hold only for existence in Arupyadhatu, but also for the absorption of
[in which samvara or discipline, which is rupa, is
ii. If you attribute material organs {rupindriya) to the beings in Arupyadhatu, how can you say that the physical matter of Arupyadhatu is subtle?
Because their dimensions are very small; the beings are therefore of reduced rupa (tsadrupa), so the beings are then
22 also absent].
Arupyadhatu,
The Absorptions 1221
? 1222 Chapter Eight
"without physical matter. "
But if you reason in this way, then the tiny and invisible aquatic animals [of which the Vinaya speaks] would also be "without rupa"
Would you say that the physical matter of Arupyadhatu is
transparent {accha, it. English trans, p. 173)? But intermediate
beings and the beings in Rupadhatu also possess transparent
23 physical matter.
Would you say that the physical matter of Arupyadhatu is more transparent and so merits being called "absence of physical matter"? But then you should only call the highest stage of Arupyadhatu "absence of physical matter/' for bodies will be all the more transparent the more distinguished is the absorption of
24 the stage to which they belong.
Furthermore, the physical matter of Rupadhatu (or of the Dhyanas) cannot be perceived by an eye in a lower sphere, since it is too transparent. How does this differ from the physical matter that you attribute to Arupyadhatu?
Finally it is a gratutitous affirmation to maintain that the name of the first two Dhatus (i. e. , Kamadhatu and Rupadhatu)
25
correspond to their objects (anvarthasamjna) but that this is not
so in the case of Arupyadhatu.
iii. It is maintained that physical matter exists in Arupyadhatu. There are four arguments in favor of this position:
26 1. It is said that life and warmth are interconnected (samsrsta)
2. It is said that ndman (i. e. , the four nonmaterial skandhas) and physical matter support one another, like two bunches of
27 roses.
3. It is said that namarupa (both the material and nonmaterial 2
skandhas) are caused by the consciousenss (vijnana) *
4. It is said that consciousness does not come or go independ- ently of physical matter, sensation, ideas, or the sarhskarasP
? These texts are not decisive, for there is reason to interpret them:
1. The Sutra says that life (ayus) is associated with warmth, which is physical matter. But does this refer to all types of life or
30
2. The Sutra says that ndman and rupa (the nonmaterial and the material skandhas) support one another. But does this refer to all of the Dhatus or only to Kamadhatu and Rupadhatu?
3. The Sutra says "vijndnapratyayam ndmarupam" ("the nonmaterial and material skandhas are conditioned by the
31
only to life in Kamadhatu?
consciousness").
But does this text teach that all consciousness--
either a consciousness caused by the samskdras of Kamadhatu or
Rupadhatu, or a consciousness caused by the samskdras of
Arupyadhatu, (that is, a consciousness caused by actions retributa-
ble by an existence in Kamadhatu . . . )--is a cause of the material
and nonmaterial skandhas? Rather, it teaches that all material and
32 nonmaterial skandhas have consciousness for their cause.
4. The Sutra denies that consciousness comes and goes independently of the four "abodes of consciousness" (vijndnasthiti, iii. 7), that is, independently of rupa, vedand, samjnd, and the samskdras. But should this Sutra be understood as meaning "independently of all of these abodes together"?
We would say that the Sutra expresses itself in a general manner: we do not have to interpret it, and we do not have the right to think that it refers to Kamadhatu, etc.
The answer does not hold, for to hold to the letter of the Sutra, one would come to absurd conclusions:
1. Life would necessarily accompany all warmth, even if it be external warmth.
2. External physical matter would be supported by the nonmaterial skandhas.
3. External physical matter would be caused by consciousness.
The Absorptions 1223
? 1224 Chapter Eight
4. There would be material food (lit. : "food taken by the mouthfuls") in Rupadhatu and Arupyadhatu, for the Sutra says, in a general way, that there are four types of food (iii. 40), in the same way that it says in a general way that there are four "abodes of consciousness": from whence you conclude that the "abode of physical matter" exists in Arupyadhatu.
No, for the Sutra, while expressing itself in a general way concerning the four types of food, formulates exceptions to the rule: it speaks of a being "who surpasses the gods who nourish
33
themselves with material food"; and it speaks of beings "who
34 nourish themselves with joy".
Very well, but does not the Sutra also say, and categorically so,
that there is no physical matter in Arupyadhatu? It says, 1) "One
departs from the rupas through the Arupyas"; 2) "These states of 35
calm deliverance, beyond the rupas, namely the Arupyas . . . "; 3) "There are existences without physical matter, absolutely passing
36
beyond the ideas of physical matter":
were to exist in the existences or the absorptions of Arupyadhatu, beings who are in Arupyadhatu would have ideas of their own physical matter. And the Sutra would not say that an ascetic obtains these existences and absorptions by passing beyond all ideas of physical matter.
Our opponent answers that the Sutra, in these different passages, intends to speak not of physical matter in general, but of gross physical matter of a lower sphere.
We answer that, in this hypothesis, 1. one should understand in the same sense the text relative to material food, which would exist, albeit subtly, in Rupadhatu and Arupyadhatu; 2. one should say that an ascetic leaves the rupas through the Dhyanas, and that the Dhyanas belong to Arupyadhatu, for the Dhyanas are beyond the coarse rupas of a lower sphere, namely Kamadhatu; 3. one should say that, through the Arupyas, the ascetic leaves sensation (vedana), etc. , for the Arupyas are beyond the sensations of lower spheres, and one should call them "without sensation," etc. But the
now, if physical matter
? Sutra does not express itself in this way. We then assume that the Arupyas are beyond any and all physical matter.
[Objection. ] How can the Arupyas be the "leaving" of the
rupas? The Blessed One, in fact, denies that existence (bhava) can
through bhava" The Blessed One expresses himself in this manner with reason, for one cannot leave a certain existence (or mode of existence, bhava) by means of this same existence, and one can neither leave all of the existences nor definitively leave any existence by means of any existence whatsoever.
Finally the Blessed One says that there is rupa, vedand, sarhjnd, the samskdras, and vijndna in the Dhyanas, and that there is vedand . . . and vijndna in the Arupyas. If there were truly rupa in the Arupyas, why did not the Blessed One say that there is rupa in them, as he did for the Dhyanas?
Hence,
3c. There is no rupa in the Arupyas.
[From the two arguments given above, it follows that there is no physical matter in Ampyadhatu. The masters who maintain the existence of physical matter in Ampyadhatu maintain a thesis that is false and in contradiction to reason. ]
If this is the case, then when a being obtains an existence in Ampyadhatu, his series of physical matter is cut off for numerous cosmic periods (iii. 81). When this being is finally reborn in a lower
38
3d. Physical matter arises from the mind (citta).
A cause was formerly produced--a certain action, etc. ,--which should ripen in physical matter; a trace (vdsand) of this cause
be the leaving of existence: "I say that one cannot leave bhava bl
sphere, where does his physical matter come from?
The Absorptions 1225
? 1226 Chapter Eight
remains in the mind: its efficacy now matures;39 the physical
matter that now arises arises from the mind.
But how can a mind in Arupyadhatu exist without being
supported by physical matter, ? ? ? ? ?
Why could it not exist without physical matter?
Because it never happens here below that a mind exists without a body.
But, by virtue of this same reasoning, you should deny that beings in Rupadhatu live on material food. Moreover we have already explained40 how a mind in Arupyadhatu has nikdya ("genre") and fivita ("life") as its support.
***
Do the Arupyas receive their different names,--AkaSanan- tyayatana, etc. ,--from the fact that they have space (dkdsa) etc. , for their objects?
No. The first three,
4a-c. AkaSunantya, Vijnananantya, and Akimcanya are named after their preparatory exercises.
The three lower Arupyas receive their names from the fact that, in their preparatory exercises, one considers space, etc. 41
4c-d. Because of its weakness, the (next) absorption is called Neither-Ideas-Nor-Absence of Ideas (nasamjndndpyasamj- ndkah). 42
The Fourth Arupya receives its name from the fact that samjndf "ideas," is very weak in it. Ideas are not active in it, but neither is it completely without ideas.
? Without doubt, one prepares himself for this Arupya by
43
considering, "Ideas are a sickness! Ideas are an ulcer! Ideas are an
arrow! The absence of ideas (dsamjnika, compare ii. 41b) is 44
stupidity (sammoha)l This is calmness, this is excellent, the Faculty of Neither-Ideas-Nor-Absence of Ideas! " But it is not by reason of this preparatory exercise that the Fourth Arupya receives its name.
And why is the Fourth Arupya conceived of, by the ascetic who
finds himself in the preparatory absorptions, as Neither-Ideas-Nor-
45 Absence of Ideas?
It is because of the slightness of the ideas in it. This is the explanation of its name.
***
5a. There are then eight things that are basic absorptions;
The Four Dhyanas and the Four Arupyas are the eight basic
46 absorptions.
5b. The (first) seven are threefold.
The first seven of these eight are threefold.
5c. Enjoyment, pure, and free from the defilements.
They are associated with enjoyment, are pure, and are free from the defilements.
5d. The eighth is twofold.
Bhavagra is associated with enjoyment and is pure, but it is not
? 1228 Chapter Eight
free from the defilements.
6a. The absorption of enjoyment is associated with thirst; (a pure absorption is of a worldly order of good; it is the object of enjoyment of the first; the absorption free from
47
For enjoyment is itself thirst (=desire).
48 6b. A pure absorption is of a worldly order of good;
Worldly good is also termed "good," because it arises in conjunction with the pure dharmas, such as non-desire, etc. (iv. 9a).
6c. It is the object of enjoyment.
Pure absorption is the object enjoyed by the absorption of
enjoyment. As soon as the pure absorption disappears, the
absorption of enjoyment that enjoys it arises. (The ascetic has then
left the pure absorption that he is enjoying; but he is concentrated
by virtue of the fact of the absorption of enjoyment which he
49 enjoys).
6d. The absorption free from the defilements is trans- worldly.
The absorption free from the defilements is transworldly. (It cannot be the cause of or the object of desire; hence it is not enjoyed).
the defilements is transworldly. )
#*#
? The Dhyanas are filled with "parts'* or items, but not the Arupyas (because calmness and insight are in equal measure in them; below, note 77 ).
50
How many parts
are there in each Dhyana?
7-8. There are five parts in the First: [yitarka, vicara, joy
\prtii\ happiness [sukha], and samddhi; four in the Second:
faith and joy, etc. ; five in the Third: equanimity, mindful-
ness, awareness (samprajndna), happiness, and samddhi;
and four in the last: mindfulness, equanimity, the sensation
of neither suffering nor happiness [aduhkhdsukha], and 1
52
7b. Vitarka, vicara, joy, happiness, and samddhi.
The teaching of the School is that samddhi or concentration is at one and the same time both Dhyana and a part of this Dhyana, whereas the other parts are only parts of Dhyana, but not Dhyana itself.
But in our opinion, it is the same for the five-part Dhyana as
53
The Second Dhyana contains four parts: joy, happiness, concentration of the mind on a single object {cittaikagrata), and internal purity of faith {adhydtmasamprasdda).
8a. Five in the Third: equanimity, mindfulness, awareness, happiness, and stability {-samddhi).
samddhi]}
There are five parts or items in the First Dhyana.
for a four-part army, which does not exist apart from its parts.
7c. Four in the Second: faith and joy, etc.
? 1230 Chapter Eight
The Third Dhyana possesses five parts: 1) equanimity (not
vedanopeksa, the sensation of indifference, but samskdropeksa),
joy which is free from movement towards any 6b]ect(andbhogala- 54
ksana); 2) mindfulness (that is, not losing sight of the motive or reason [nimitta] for this equanimity, upeksanimittdsampramo-
55
sa); 3) samprajndnam (consciousness or awareness relating to
this mindfulness); 4) happiness; and 5) samddhi: sthiti or stability is a synonym for samddhi, as the Sutra says, "What is right samddhi? It is stability of the mind. "
8b. And four in the last: mindfulness, equanimity, the sensation of neither suffering nor happiness, and samddhi.
The Fourth Dhyana possesses four parts: 1) the sensation of indifference (lit. : the sensation of neither suffering nor happi- ness), 2) pure equanimity (upeksaparisuddhi), 3) pure mindful- ness, and 4) samddhi.
These are the eighteen parts of the Dhyanas: the First and the Third Dhyanas have five parts each, and the Second and the Fourth Dhyanas have four parts each. In respect to their names, there are eighteen parts. (But how many of these eighteen are distinct things? )
56
Regarded as things or substances (dravya), there are eleven parts.
There are five in the First Dhyana, plus 1) internal purity or faith in the Second Dhyana; 3-5) equanimity, mindfulness, awareness and happiness in the Third Dhyana; and 6) the sensation of neither suffering nor happiness in the Fourth Dhyana.
9a. Regarded as things, there are eleven parts.
There are then some parts of the First Dhyana that are not
? parts of the Second Dhyana. There are four alternatives: 1) parts of the First Dhyana that are not parts of the Second Dhyana, namely vitarka and vicdra; 2) part of the Second Dhyana that is not part of the First Dhyana, namely faith; 3) parts common to the First and the Second Dhyanas, namely joy, happiness, and concentration of the mind on a single object (cittaikdgrata); and 4) parts that do not belong to either of the First or the Second Dhyanas, namely all of the other parts.
The correspondance of the parts of the other Dhyanas is established according to the same principles.
***
Why do you say that the happiness of the Third Dhyana constitutes a separate thing?
Because the happiness of the Third Dhyana is agreeable sensation (sukha vedand), whereas
9b. In the first two Dhyanas, happiness {sukha) signifies 1
In the First and Second Dhyana, prasrabdhi ('karmanyata, "aptitude" or well-being," ii, English trans. p. 191) is called happiness: here we have prasrabdhisukha, happiness which consists of prasrabdhi. In the Third Dhyana, there is only the sensation of happiness (sukha vedand). TM
In fact, in the first two Dhyanas, there can be no faculty of happiness (sukhendriya).
The reason for this is: 1) the happiness attributed to these
59
Dhyanas cannot be bodily happiness, in light of the fact that the
five sense consciousnesses are absent in a person who has entered
60 into contemplation;
well-being (prasrabdhi)?
2. the happiness attributed to these Dhyanas cannot be mental
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happiness because these Dhyanas possess joy. Now joy is "satisfaction'' (saumanasya) and it is inadmissible for joy and happiness, even happiness of sensation, to coexist; they cannot even succeed one another, for the First Dhyana possesses five parts, and the Second, only four.
[Thesis of the Darstantikas:]
i. In the first three Dhyanas, there is no mental sensation of happiness, but only a bodily sensation of happiness, which constitutes the part called "happiness" of these Dhyanas (and is
61
Objection: In this hypothesis you should explain how the Sutra could say, "What is the faculty of happiness (sukhendriya)? The bodily and mental sensation of happiness produced by reason of an agreeable contact is what is called the faculty of happiness. "
This reasoning is not authentic, answer the Darstantikas, as the word "mental" (caitasika) has been added. In all the sects the text merely reads "bodily happiness. "
Further, they continue, regarding the part of the Third Dhyana
called happiness, the Sutra says in its own words that, in this
Dhyana the ascetic "experiences happiness through his body"
62
(sukham . . . kdyena sampravedayate). Would one maintain that
the word "through the body" {kdyena) signifies "through the body
of the mind" (manahkdyena = manahsamuddyena, "through the
accumulation which is the mind"), and that one should translate,
"the ascetic experiences happiness through this complex which is
63 the manas"?
ii. [The explanation of the Vaibhasikas,] that the happiness
part of the first two Dhyanas is well-being (prasrabdhi, kar-
manyata) is untenable, for the well-being of the Fourth Dhyana is
certainly greater than the well-being of the first two Dhyanas, and
the Sutra does not attribute a happiness part to the Fourth
64
Dhyana.
[If the Vaibhasikas answer,] "The well-being of the first two
activated in the course of the absorption).
? ; fc
T6g Absorptions 1233
Dhyanas is called happiness because it is favorable to the sensation of happiness, whereas the well-being of the Fourth Dhyana does not have this character," [then the Darstantikas will answer,] "The well-being of the Third Dhyana, like that of the first two, is favorable to the sensation of happiness; why do the Vaibhasikas not attribute prasrabdhisukha, happiness which consists of well-being, to the Third Dhyana, but rather a happiness consisting of an agreeable mental sensation (vedandsukha)? "
[If the Vaibhasikas answer,] "In the Third Dhyana, well-being whose character is karmanyata or aptitude (ii, English trans, p. 91) is opposed by equanimity, whose character is akarmanyatd" [the Darstantikas will deny the truth of this assertation:] for them well-being is accumulated through equanimity, since it results from the fact that the well-being of the Third Dhyana is greater than the well-being of the first two Dhyanas.
65
Finally, the Sutra says,
"When the Noble Sravaka, having
realized the joy born of separation, abides in absorption, then five
dharmas have been abandoned by him, and he has achieved the
cultivation of five dharmas, namely joy, well-being, happiness,
prajna, and samddhi" In this Sutra, well-being is listed separately
from happiness; it should be distinct from happiness in order for
the list of the five dharmas to be complete. Thus, in the first two
66 Dhyanas, happiness is not well-being.
iii. [Objection of the Vaibhasikas:] In order for the happiness of the first two Dhyanas to be agreeable bodily sensation, it is necessary for the person in absorption to produce a consciousness of touch {kdyavijnana). And this is not possible. [Answer of the Darstantikas:] In the state of absorption, the body is penetrated by a wind born of excellent mental concentration (samddhi); this wind is a tangible which is agreeably felt (sukhavedaniya) and is called well-being. Hence there is produced a consciousness of touch
(together with the agreeable sensation associated with this consciousness).
[The Vaibhasikas:] When this consciousness is produced, there is "a distraction of the mind towards an external object*': hence the
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ascetic would fall away from his samadhi.
Answer of the Darstantikas:] No, for agreeable or happy bodily
sensation which arises from samadhi, being internal, is favorable 61
to samadhi.
[The Vaibhasikas:] But would the ascetic fall away from the
samadhi when he produces the consciousness of touch?
[Answer of the Darstantikas:] No, and for this same reason:
this consciousness is favorable to samadhi. Immediately after the
68
[The Vaibhasikas:] How can the body (kdyendriya), which is in Kamadhatu, give rise to a touch consciousness (i. e. , prasrabdhi), which is, according to you, a type of wind in Rupadhatu (i. 47c)?
[The Darstantikas:] This criticism does not hold, for this
69
consciousness of touch is produced by reason of well-being.
[The Vaibhasikas:] There is a difficulty in regarding well-being
70
as a tangible.
transworldly, undefiled Dhyana: the tangible (well-being) and the consciousness of touch (kdyavijnana) which he has will be undefiled, for some of the parts of defiled Dhyana cannot be undefiled, while the others are defiled. [Now the Sutra says that "All eyes . . . all tangibles are defiled". ]
[The Darstantikas:] There is no contradiction here. In fact physical well-being {kdyasya karmanyatd) is defined as "a part of
71
appearance of this consciousness, the samadhi is taken up again.
Bodhi. "
If the Vaibhasikas answer, "Even though it is not a part
Let us suppose that the ascetic is in possession of
of Bodhi, it is so defined because it is favorable to the part of Bodhi
called well-being and which is mental well-being," we would say
that, for the same reason, one can consider bodily well-being as
undefiled. [If the Vaibhasikas answer,] "Bodily well-being cannot
be undefiled, for the Siitra declares that all tangible things are
72
defiled,"
and refers to all tangible things with the exception of physical well-being, to the consciousnesses of touch with the exception of the consciousness of touch which cognizes well-being.
we would say that this Sutra is of intentional meaning
? [The Vaibhasikas:] Do you admit that certain parts of undefiled dhyana are undefiled, and that certain parts are not undefiled?
[The Darstantikas:] The undefiled part is not simultaneous to the non-undefiled part; we know indeed that (bodily) happiness does not exist at the same time as (mental) joy.
[The Vaibhasikas:] Then the First Dhyana will not have five parts, and the Second Dhyana will not have four parts.
[The Darstantikas:] If Scripture attributes the parts of happpiness and joy to the first two Dhyanas, this is because these Dhyanas are susceptible, successively, to happiness and joy; in the same way Scripture attributes vitarka and vicdra--which can only exist successively--to the First Dhyana.
[The Vaibhasikas:] We affirm that vitarka and vicdra coexist; but the example that you cite to prove the non-coexistence of the parts is not proved.
[The Darstantikas:] This example is proved; for vitarka, which is a coarse mental state, and vicdra, which is a subtle mental state,
73
are contradictory and cannot coexist. And you did not say what
74 harm there is in their not coexisting.
Let us consider the theory of the "parts": one determines the specific features of the Second Dhyana and of those following by eliminating two, three, or four parts: it is for this reason that the First Dhyana is said to contain five parts, because the other Dhyanas are defined by the elimination, successively and in order, of the first four of these parts. This is why ideas (samjnd) and the other dharmas of the First Dhyana are not considered as parts, for they are not cut off in the following Dhyanas. If you do not accept this explanation, then why does the First Dhyana have only five parts?
But, [say the Vaibhasikas,] the five parts are only called parts because they are useful to the Dhyana. No, this cannot be the case, [answer the Darstantikas,] since mindfulness and prajitd are more
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useful to the Dhyana than are vitarka and vicdra.
75
presented, but the ancient masters (purvdcdryas) are not in
A certain school
agreement on this.
77 examined.
76
maintains the system that has been Consequently the point should be further
***
What is the dharma called "internal purity (or faith)" 78
When the agitation of vitarka and vicdra has come to an end, the series flows calmly and clearly: this is what is called internal purity. As a river agitated by waves, so too the series, by reason of the agitation of vitarka and vicdra, is not calm or clear. [This is the explanation of the Sautruntikas. ]
But if we admit this explanation, then internal purity is not a thing in and of itself. Thus there will not be eleven things in the Dhyanas. Then one must say
79 9c. Purity is faith.
Purity (prasdda) is a thing in and of itself, namely faith
(fraddbd). When the ascetic acquires the Second Dhyana, he
produces a profound faith: he admits that the spheres of
absorption themselves can be abandoned. This faith is called
internal purity. Faith, having purity (prasdda, vi. 75) for its
characteristic, is called purity. Having abandoned externals, it
(adhydtmasamprasdda)?
flows equally and so prasdda is internal and equal; hence it is 0
termed "internal purity" or adhydtmasamprasdda. *
According to other masters [the Sautrantikas], vitarka, vicdra,
? samadhi, and internal purity are not separate things.
[The Sarvastivadins:] If these are not separate things, how can
one say that they are mental dharmas?
[The Sautrantikas:] Some special states of mind receive the
81
name of mental states because they arise in the mind.
But the system of the Abhidharma does not admit this theory.
[Objection of the Sautrantikas:] You have said that joy is satisfaction (saumanasya), a happy or agreeable mental sensation. How would you establish this definition?
If joy is not satisfaction, then what is the dharma that is called joy?
83
We follow another school.
exists a dharma distinct from satisfaction, a mental state called joy. The hapiness of the three Dhyanas is satisfaction; hence joy, which is distinguished from happiness, is distinct from satisfaction. It is not admissible that happiness, in the Dhyanas, is satisfaction.
84
5
The Blessed One says in the Viparitasutra,* "In the Third
Dhyana the faculty of satisfaction {saumanasyendriya) which has previously arisen is destroyed without remnant; in the Fourth Dhyana, the faculty of happiness (sukhendriya) is destroyed without remnant. "
86
He says in another Sutra,
faculty of happiness and the faculty of suffering, and by reason of the previous disappearance of the faculty of dissatisfaction (daurmanayendriya) and the faculty of satisfaction. "
9c-d. Joy is satisfaction. This is proved by two texts.
The Absorptions 1237
According to this school, there
"By reason of the abandoning of the
82
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These two texts prove that there is no faculty of satisfaction in the Third Dhyana. Hence joy is satisfaction, and not happiness.
***
Does defiled dhyana possess the parts that we have just studied?
No.
What are the parts that are absent in each defiled dhyana?
lOa-c. In the defiled Dhyanas there is no joy, happiness, faith, sampradhih (=awareness, samprajanya), mindfulness, pure equanimity nor pure mindfulness.
When it is defiled, the First Dhyana does not contain joy and happiness "arisen from separation", because it is not separated from the defilements of Kamadhatu (see Vibhdsa, TD 27, p. 8l4a23).
The Second Dhyana does not contain internal purity (=faith), because it is troubled by the defilements; the defilements cause it to be unclear.
The Third Dhyana does not contain mindfulness and aware- ness, because it is confused by a defiled happiness.
The Fourth Dhyana does not contain the purity of equanimity or the purity of mindfulness, because it is soiled by the defilements.
That is what some say.
lOd. According to some, (there is no) well-being and equanimity.
According to others, there is no 1) well-being in the first two
? Dhyanas, and 2) no equanimity in the last two, because well-being and equanimity are dharmas that are only found in a pure mind (kusalamahabhilmika, ii. 25).
***
The Blessed One teaches that three Dhyanas are "disturbed"
7 (sa-injita) because of "faults" (apaksdlas)*
lla-b. As it is free from the eight faults, the Fourth is undisturbed.
What are the eight faults?
llc-d. Vitarka and vicdra, the two breaths, and the four of which happiness is the first.
The eight faults are vitarka, vicdra, happiness, suffering,
satisfaction, dissatisfaction, inbreathing, and outbreathing. None
of these eight is found in the Fourth Dhyana: this is why it alone is
termed "undisturbed. " It is true that the Sutra says that the Fourth
Dhyana is undisturbed because it is not agitated by vitarka and
88
vicdra, by joy and happiness.
not to attribute the breaths, etc. , to the Fourth Dhyana; the Sutra is merely noting its difference from the other Dhyanas. )
According to others, the Fourth Dhyana is "undisturbed'' (anenjyarn) because it is like a lamp which, in a sealed place, is not agitated by the wind.
***
Do the arisings of dhyana existences (dhydnopapattayah) or existences in Rupadhatu, possess the same sensations (vedands) as
The Absorptions 1239
(But the intention of this passage is
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do the absorption of the Dhyanas? No, they do not.
Why is this?
