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....

Mixed Categories

Missaka-Sangaho

§ 3.

  1. Missaka-sangahe cha hetu - lobho, doso, moho, alobho, adoso, amoho
  2. Sattajhānangani-vitakko, vicāro, pīti, ekaggatā, somanassam, domanassam, upekkhā.
  3. Dvādasamaggangani - sammāditthi, sammāsankappo, sammāvācā, sammākammanto, sammājīvo, sammāvāyāmo, sammāsati, sammāsamādhi, micchāditthi, micchāsankappo, micchāvāyāmo, micchāsamādhi.
  4. Bāvīsatindriyāni - cakkhundriyam, sotindriyam, ghānindriyam, jivhindriyam, kāyindriyam, itthindriyam, purisindriyam, jīvitindriyam, manindriyam, sukhindriyam, dukkhindriyam, somanassindriyam, domanassindriyam, upekkhindriyam, saddhindriyam, viriyindriyam, satindriyam, samādhindriyam, paññindriyam, anaññātassāmītindriyam, aññindriyam, aññātāvindriyam.
  5. Navabalāni - saddhābalam, viriyabalam, satibalam, samādhibalam, paññābalam. hiribalam, ottappabalam, ahirikabalam, anottappabalam.
  6. Cattāro adhipati - chandādhipati, viriyādhipati, cittādhipati, vimamsādhipati.
  7. Cattāro āhārā - kabalīkāro āhāro, phasso dutiyo, manosañcetanā tatiyo, viññānam catuttham.

Indriyesu pan' ettha sotāpattimaggañānam anaññatassāmītindriyam, arahattaphalañānam aññātāvindriyam, majjhe cha ñānani aññindriyānī 'ti pavuccanti. Jīvitindriyañ ca rūpārūpavasena duvidham hoti. Pañcaviññanesu jhānangāni, aviriyesu balāni, ahetukesu maggarigāni na labbhanti. Tathā vikicchācitte ekaggatā maggindriyabalabhāvam na gacchati. Dvihetuka tihetukajavanesv' eva yathāsambhavam adhipati eko' va labbhati.

Cha hetu pañca jhānanga maggangā nava vatthuto
Solasindriyadhammā ca baladhamma nav' eritā.
Cattārodhipati vuttā tathāhāra' ti sattadhā
Kusalādisamākinno vutto missakasangaho.

 

(translation)

§ 3.

In the compendium of mixed categories (13):

  1. There are six Roots (14):
    1. Greed,
    2. Aversion,
    3. Delusion,
    4. Non-attachment,
    5. Goodwill,
    6. and Wisdom.
  2. There are seven constituents of jhāna (15):
    1. Initial Application,
    2. Sustained Application,
    3. Joy,
    4. One-pointedness,
    5. Pleasure,
    6. Displeasure,
    7. and Equanimity or Indifference.
  3. There are twelve constituents of the Path (16):
    1. Right Understanding,
    2. Right Thoughts,
    3. Right Speech,
    4. Right Action,
    5. Right Livelihood,
    6. Right Effort,
    7. Right Mindfulness,
    8. Right Concentration,
    9. Wrong Views,
    10. Wrong Thoughts,
    11. Wrong Effort,
    12. Wrong one-pointedness.
  4. There are twenty-two Faculties (17):
    1. Eye,
    2. Ear,
    3. Nose,
    4. Tongue,
    5. Body,
    6. Femininity,
    7. Masculinity,
    8. Vitality,
    9. Mind,
    10. Happiness,
    11. Pain,
    12. Pleasure,
    13. Displeasure,
    14. Equanimity,
    15. Confidence,
    16. Effort,
    17. Mindfulness,
    18. Concentration,
    19. Wisdom,
    20. The thought: 'I will realize the unknown',
    21. Highest Realization,
    22. The Faculty of him who has fully realized.
  5. There are nine Powers (18):
    1. Confidence,
    2. Energy,
    3. Mindfulness,
    4. Concentration,
    5. Wisdom,
    6. Moral shame,
    7. Moral dread,
    8. Moral Shamelessness,
    9. Moral Fearlessness.
  6. There are four Dominating Factors (19):
    1. Intention (or Wish-to-do),
    2. Energy (or Effort),
    3. Mind (or Thought) (20),
    4. and Reason (or Intellect).
  7. There are four kinds of Food (21):
    1. Edible Food,
    2. Contact (or sense-impact),
    3. Volitional activities, and
    4. (Rebirth) Consciousness.


Now, amongst the Faculties, the thought, 'I will realize the unknown' means the knowledge of the Path of the Stream-Winner (Sotāpanna). The Faculty of him who has fully realized, means the knowledge of the Fruit of Arahatship. Highest Realization means the intermediate six kinds of knowledge. The controlling Faculty of vitality is twofold, physical and mental.

The jhāna constituents (22) are not obtained in the five kinds of sense-cognition; 'Forces', in effortless states (23); 'the Path Constituents', in the Rootless(24). Similarly in the consciousness accompanied by Doubts (25), one-pointedness does not attain to the state of a 'Path Constituent', 'Controlling Faculty' or a 'Force'. Only one 'Dominating Power' (26) is obtained at a time, according to circumstances, and only in the javana consciousness, accompanied by two or three moral roots.

Summary

In reality six roots, five jhāna constituents, nine Path constituents, sixteen controlling factors, nine powers have been described (27).

Likewise four dominant factors, and four kinds of food have been told. Thus in seven ways has the compendium of mixed categories, consisting of moral and immoral states, been enumerated.

 

Notes:

13. Missakasangaho - This is so called because moral (kusala), immoral (akusala), and indeterminate (avyākata), are mixed in this section.

14. Hetu - See Chapter 1, p. *.

15. Jhānanga - Jhāna is explained as that which burns up the opposing conditions of Hindrances, or that which closely perceives the object. Both these meanings are applicable to the ecstasies, gained by mental concentration. The six constituents of jhāna are used in these two senses. When the same factors appear in a moral or immoral consciousness and 'displeasure' appears in an immoral consciousness, they are termed jhānangas in the second general sense. Only displeasure is immoral; the rest are moral, immoral, and indeterminate. See Chapter 1.

16. Maggangāni - Here magga is used in its general sense namely, that which leads to the presence of blissful states, woeful states, and Nibbāna (sugati-duggatīnam nibbānassa ca abhimukham pāpanato maggā - Comm.). Of the twelve constituents the last four lead to woeful states; the rest, to the blissful states and Nibbāna.

Strictly speaking, by these twelve constituents are meant nine mental states found in different types of consciousness. Of the four evil constituents, wrong views mean the immoral ditthi cetasikā; wrong thoughts, wrong effort, and wrong one-pointedness mean the vitakka, vāyāma, and ekaggatā cetasikās respectively found in the immoral types of consciousness.

Right Understanding means the paññā cetasika; right thoughts, right effort, right mindfulness, and right one-pointedness mean the vitakka, vāyāma, sati and ekaggatā cetasikas respectively, found in the moral and indeterminate types of consciousness. Right speech, right action, and right livelihood are the three Abstinences (virati) found collectively in the supramundane consciousness and separately in mundane moral types of consciousness. The first eight are collectively found only in the eight types of supramundane consciousness. By the noble Eightfold Path are meant these eight specific mental states.

17. Indriya - So called because they possess a controlling power in their respective spheres. The first five are the sensitive organs described earlier. The sixth and seventh are collectively called bhāvindriya. Vitality is both physical and mental. 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 represent five kinds of feeling. 15,16,17,18, and 19 are treated both as Faculties and Powers as they influence their co-adjuncts and as they overcome their opposing forces. The last three Faculties are very important and they pertain to the supramundane. By anaññātam is meant the Nibbāna never seen before. It is at the first stage of Sainthood (sotāpatti) that the four Truths are realized for the first time. Hence the knowledge of the sotāpatti Path is technically called anaññātam ñassāmi't' indriyam. The intermediate six kinds of knowledge from the sotāpatti Fruit to the Arahatta Path are termed aññā (derived from ā = perfect + Ö ñā, to know), highest knowledge. As the wisdom found in all these seven types of supramundane consciousness controls the coexisting 37 Factors of Enlightenment, it is termed indriya. An Arahat is called an aññātāvī because he has fully realized the four Noble Truths. The last Faculty refers to the highest knowledge of the Arahat in the Fruit stage.

18. Balāni - These nine Powers are so called because they cannot be shaken by the opposing forces and because they strengthen their co-adjuncts. The first seven are moral; the last two, immoral. The first seven, in order, are opposed to faithlessness, laziness, heedlessness, restlessness, ignorance, moral shamelessness, and moral fearlessness. The last two immoral Powers are found only in the immoral twelve types of consciousness and they consolidate their co-adjuncts.

19. Adhipati, lit., supremacy, or lordship therein. The difference between adhipati and indriya should be clearly understood. Adhipati may be compared to a king who, as the sole head of the State, lords over all his ministers. Indriyas are compared to the king's ministers who control only their respective departments without interfering with the others. The Faculty of eye, for instance, controls only its coexisting rūpas without any interference with the controlling faculty of the ear. In the case of adhipati, one dominates all the other coexisting factors with no resistance from any. No two adhipatis can exercise supreme authority simultaneously. Indriyas can have their compeers.

20. Here citta refers to the javana thought-process and vimamsā to the faculty of wisdom (paññindriya).

21. āhāra, in this connection, is used in the sense of sustenance. Edible food (kabalīkārāhāra) sustains the material body. Phassāhāra or contact or sense-impact sustains the five kinds of feeling. By manosamcetanāhāra are meant the different kinds of volitions present in the 29 types of moral and immoral mundane consciousness. They sustain or produce rebirth in the three spheres. Viññānāhāra signifies the rebirth-consciousness that sustains the mental states and material phenomena (nāma-rūpa) which arise simultaneously. There are 19 such types of rebirth-consciousness. In the case of Mindless Spheres they sustain only rūpa; in the case of Formless Spheres they sustain only nāma. In the existences where the five Aggregates are present they sustain both mind and matter.

22. No jhāna constituents are present in the 10 types of sense-cognitions because the sense-impressions are weak, and close perception of the object is absent.

23. Effortless states are the sixteen types of consciousness, namely, ten sense-cognitions, two sampaticchanas, three santīranas, and the sense-door consciousness (pañcadvārāvajjana). One-pointedness present in them is not very strong.

24. The Rootless are the 18 ahetuka-cittas.

25. The one pointedness present in the vicikicchā-citta serves only to stabilize the mind. It is not powerful.

26. There are no adhipatis in the ahetuka and ekahetuka cittas.

27. Strictly speaking, there are five jhāna constituents because the three kinds of feeling could be treated as one; path constituents are nine, since wrong thoughts, effort, and one-pointedness are included in vitakka, viriya and ekaggatā respectively. Indriyas are sixteen when the five kinds of feelings are grouped in one, and the three supramundane in paññā.

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