A Manual of Abhidhamma

by Nārada Thera | 80,494 words | ISBN-13: 9789380336510

In the Abhidhammattha Sangaha there is a brief exposition of the Law of Dependent Origination, followed by a descriptive account of the Causal Relations that finds no parallel in any other philosophy. Edited in the original Pali Text with English Translation and Explanatory Notes by Narada Maha Thera....

Arising of Material Phenomena

Rūpapavattikkamo

§ 6.

Sabbāni pan' etāni rūpāni kāmaloke yathāraham anūnāni pavattiyam upalabbhanti. Patisandhiyam pana samsedajānañ c'eva opapātikānañ ca cakkhu sota-ghāna-jivhā-kāya-bhāva-vatthu-dasaka-sankhātāni satta-dasa kāni pātubhavanti, ukkatthavasena. Omakavasena pana cakkhu-sota-ghāna-bhāva-dasakāni kadāci pi na labbhanti. Tasmā tesam vasena kalāpahāni veditabbā.

Gabbhaseyyaka-sattānam pana kāya-bhāva-vatthu-dasaka-sankhātāni tīni dasakāni pātubhavanti. Tathā, pi bhāvadasakam kadāci na labbhati. Tato param pavattikāle kamena cakkhudasakādīni ca pātubhavanti.

Icc' evam patisandhim upādāya kammasamutthānā dutiyacittam upādāya citta-samutthāna thitikālam upādāya utusamutthānā ojāpharanam upādāya āhārasa mutthānā c'āti catusamutthānarūpa-kalāpa-santati-kāmaloke dīpajāla viya nadīsoto viya ca yāvatāyukam abbhocchinnam pavattati.

Maranakāle pana cuti-cittopari sattarasama cittassa thiti kālam upādaāa kammajarūpāni na uppajjanti. Puretaram uppannāni ca kammaja-rūpāni cuticitta-samakālam eva pavattitvā nirujjhanti. Tato param cittajāhāraja-rūpañ ca vocchijjhati. Tato param utusamutthānarūpaparamparā yāva mata-kalebara-sankhātā pavattanti.

Icc' evam matasattānam punad'eva bhavantare

Patisandhim upādāya tathā rūpam pavattati.

Rūpaloke pana ghāna-jivhā-kāya-bhāva-dasakāni ca āharaja-kalāpāni ca na labbhanti. Tasmā tesam patisandhikāle cakkhu-sota-vatthuvasena tīni dasakāni jīvita-navakāni c'ātui cattāro kammasamutthānakalāpā, pavattiyam cittotusamutthānā ca labbhanti.

Asañña-sattānam pana cakkhu-sota-vatthu-saddāni pi na labbhanti. Tathā sabbāni pi cittajarūpāni. Tasmā tesam patisandhikāle jīvitanavakam eva. Pavattiyañ ca saddavajjitam, utusamutthānarūpam atiricchati.

Iccevam kāmarūpāsaññi-sankhātesu tīsu thānesn patisandhi-pavatti-vasena duvidhā rūpappavatti veditabbā.

Atthavisati kāmesu honti tevīsa rūpisu
Sattaras' ev' asaññīnam arūpe natthi kiñci pi.
Saddo vikāro jaratā marañ c' opapattiyam
Na labbhanti pavatte tu na kiñci pi na labbhati.

Ayam' ettha rūpa-pavattikkamo.

 

(translation)

§ 6.

All these material qualities are obtained, with no deficiency, according to circumstances, during lifetime in the kāma-sphere. But at conception, to moisture-born beings and to those of spontaneous birth, there arise at most the seven decads - eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, sex and base. As a minimum sometimes, eye, ear, nose, and sex decads are not obtained. This is how deficiencies of material groups should be understood.

To the womb-born creatures there arise three decads - body, sex and base. Sometimes, however, the sex-decad is not obtained. From the conception and thereafter, during lifetime, gradually there arise eye-decads and so forth.

Thus the continuity of material groups produced in four ways - namely, Kamma-born from the time of conception, mind-born from the second moment of consciousness, season-born from the time of the static stage, food-born from the time of the diffusion of nutritive essence - uninterruptedly flows on in the kāma-sphere till the end of life, like the flame of a lamp, or the stream of a river.

But at the time of death, from the seventeenth moment, reckoned backward from the decease-consciousness starting from the static stage of consciousness, kamma-born material phenomena no longer arise. Kamma-born material qualities that arose earlier exist till the decease-moment and then cease. Following that, the consciousness-born and nutriment-born material phenomena come to cessation. Thereafter a continuity of material qualities produced by physical changes persists while what is called a corpse lasts.

Thus to the dead persons, again in a subsequent life, material qualities similarly arise starting from the conception.

In the rūpa-plane decads of nose, tongue, body, sex and the material groups produced by food do not arise. Therefore to them at the time of rebirth there arise four material groups produced by Kamma, such as the three decads of eye, ear, and base, and the vital nonad. During life material qualities produced by mind and physical changes arise.

But to the mindless beings there do not arise eye, ear, base and sound. Similarly mind-born material qualities do not arise. Therefore at the moment of their rebirth only the vital nonad arises. During lifetime material qualities produced by physical changes, with the exception of sound, continue.

Thus in the three planes of kāma, rūpa and asañña (Mindless) the procedure of material phenomena should be understood in two ways as regards rebirth and lifetime.

In the kāma-sphere are obtained 28 material qualities, 23 in the rūpa-plane, 17 in the asañña-plane, but none in the arūpa-plane.

At the moment of birth, sound, mutation, decay and impermanence are not obtained. During lifetime there is nothing that is not obtained.

Herein this is the way how material qualities arise

 

Notes:

57. Rūpas do not arise singly but collectively in groups. There are 21 such material groups.

As all mental states possess four common characteristics, so rūpas found in the aforesaid groups possess four salient characteristics. For instance, in the 'eye-decad' all the ten associated rūpas arise and cease together (ekuppāda-ekanirodha). The earth-element, which is one of the ten, acts as a basis for the remaining nine (ekanissaya). All these ten coexist (sahavutti). It should be understood that the earth-element of the 'eye-decad' does not serve as a basis for the associated rūpas of the 'ear-decad'. These four characteristics apply only to the associated rūpas of each particular group.

58. This section deals with the manner in which these material groups come into being and how they exist during lifetime, at the moment of conception, and in different states of birth.

According to Buddhism there are four kinds of birth - namely, egg-born beings (andaja), womb-born beings (jalābuja), moisture-born beings (samsedaja), and beings having spontaneous births (opapātika).

Embryos that take moisture as nidus for their growth, like certain lowly forms of animal life, belong to the third class.

Sometimes moisture-born beings lack certain senses and have no sex. They all must possess a consciousness as they are all endowed with the base-decad, that is, the seat of consciousness. Beings having a spontaneous birth are generally invisible to the physical eye. Conditioned by their past Kamma, they appear spontaneously, without passing through an embryonic stage. Petas and Devas normally, and Brahmas belong to this class.

Some of those who have spontaneous birth in the kāma-sphere are asexual. But all beings who are Spontaneously born in the rūpa-sphere are not only asexual but are also devoid of sensitive nose, tongue, and body, though they possess those physical organs. The sensitive material qualities (pasādarūpas) of those particular organs are lost as they are not of any practical use to Brahmas.

Egg-born beings are also included among womb-born beings. At the moment of conception they all obtain the three decads of body, sex, and the seat of consciousness. At times some are devoid of both masculinity and femininity. From this it is seen that even eggs are constituted with a consciousness.

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