Knowledge of Rise and Fall—I

93. Having purified his knowledge in this way by abandoning the perceptions of permanence, etc., which oppose the contemplations of impermanence, etc., he passes on from comprehension knowledge and begins the task of attaining that of contemplation of rise and fall, which is expressed thus: “Understanding [630] of contemplating present states’ change is knowledge of contemplation of rise and fall” (Paṭis I 1), and which comes next after comprehension knowledge.

94. When he does so, he does it first in brief. Here is the text: “How is it that understanding of contemplating present states’ change is knowledge of contemplation of rise and fall? Present materiality is born [materiality]; the characteristic of its generation is rise, the characteristic of its change is fall, the contemplation is knowledge. Present feeling … perception … formations … consciousness … eye … (etc.) … Present becoming is born [becoming]; the characteristic of its generation is rise, the characteristic of its change is fall, the contemplation is knowledge” (Paṭis I 54).^[1]

95. In accordance with the method of this text he sees the characteristic of generation, the birth, the arising, the aspect of renewal, of born materiality, as “rise,” and he sees its characteristic of change, its destruction, its dissolution, as “fall.”

96. He understands thus: “There is no heap or store of unarisen mentalitymateriality [existing] prior to its arising. When it arises, it does not come from any heap or store; and when it ceases, it does not go in any direction. There is nowhere any depository in the way of a heap or store or hoard of what has ceased. But just as there is no store, prior to its arising, of the sound that arises when a lute is played, nor does it come from any store when it arises, nor does it go in any direction when it ceases, nor does it persist as a store when it has ceased (cf. S IV 197), but on the contrary, not having been, it is brought into being owing to the lute, the lute’s neck, and the man’s appropriate effort, and having been, it vanishes—so too all material and immaterial states, not having been, are brought into being, and having been, they vanish.”

97. Having given attention to rise and fall in brief thus, he again [does so in detail according to condition and instant by seeing those characteristics] as given in the exposition of that same knowledge of rise and fall thus: “(1) He sees the rise of the materiality aggregate in the sense of conditioned arising thus: With the arising of ignorance there is the arising of materiality; (2) … with the arising of craving … (3) … with the arising of kamma … (4) he sees the rise of the materiality aggregate in the sense of conditioned arising thus: With the arising of nutriment there is the arising of materiality; (5) one who sees the characteristic of generation sees the rise of the materiality aggregate. One who sees the rise of the materiality aggregate sees these five characteristics.

“(1) He sees the fall of the materiality aggregate in the sense of conditioned cessation thus: With the cessation of ignorance there is the cessation of materiality; (2) … with the cessation of craving … (3) … with the cessation of kamma … (4) he sees the fall of the materiality aggregate in the sense of conditioned cessation thus: With the cessation of nutriment there is the cessation of materiality; [631] (5) one who sees the characteristic of change sees the fall of the materiality aggregate. One who sees the fall of the materiality aggregate sees these five characteristics” (Paṭis I 55f.).

Likewise: “(1) He sees the rise of the feeling aggregate in the sense of conditioned arising thus: With the arising of ignorance there is the arising of feeling; (2) … with the arising of craving … (3) … with the arising of kamma … (4) he sees the rise of the feeling aggregate in the sense of conditioned arising thus: With the arising of contact there is the arising of feeling; (5) one who sees the characteristic of generation sees the rise of the feeling aggregate. One who sees the rise of the feeling aggregate sees those five characteristics.

“(1) He sees the fall of the feeling aggregate in the sense of conditioned cessation thus: With the cessation of ignorance there is the cessation of feeling; (2) … with the cessation of craving … (3) … with the cessation of kamma … (4) he sees the fall of the feeling aggregate in the sense of conditioned cessation thus: With the cessation of contact there is the cessation of feeling; (5) one who sees the characteristic of change sees the fall of the feeling aggregate. One who sees the fall of the feeling aggregate sees these five characteristics” (Paṭis I 55f.).

And as in the case of the feeling aggregate, [that is, substituting “contact” for the “nutriment” in the case of materiality,] so for the perception and formations aggregates. So also for the consciousness aggregate with this difference, that for the phrases containing “contact” there are substituted “with the arising of mentality-materiality” and “with the cessation of mentality-materiality.”

So there are fifty characteristics stated with the ten in the case of each aggregate by seeing rise and fall, by means of which he gives attention in detail according to condition and according to instant (moment) in this way: “The rise of materiality is thus; its fall is thus; so it rises, so it falls.”

98. As he does so his knowledge becomes clearer thus: “So, it seems, these states, not having been, are brought into being; having been, they vanish.”

When he thus sees rise and fall in the two ways, according to condition and according to instant, the several truths, aspects of the dependent origination, methods, and characteristics become evident to him.

99. When he sees the arising of aggregates with the arising of ignorance and the cessation of aggregates with the cessation of ignorance, this is his seeing of rise and fall according to condition. When he sees the rise and fall of aggregates by seeing the characteristic of generation and the characteristic of change, this is his seeing of rise and fall according to instant. For it is only at the instant of arising that there is the characteristic of generation, and only at the instant of dissolution that there is the characteristic of change.

100. So when he sees rise and fall in the two ways, according to condition and according to instant thus, the truth of origination becomes evident to him through seeing rise according to condition owing to his discovery of the progenitor. [632] The truth of suffering becomes evident to him through seeing rise according to instant owing to his discovery of the suffering due to birth. The truth of cessation becomes evident to him through seeing fall according to condition owing to his discovery of the non-arising of things produced by conditions when their conditions do not arise. The truth of suffering becomes evident to him too through seeing fall according to instant owing to his discovery of the suffering due to death. And his seeing of rise and fall becomes evident to him as the truth of the path thus: “This is the mundane path” owing to abolition of confusion about it.

101. The dependent origination in forward order becomes evident to him through seeing rise according to condition owing to his discovery that “When this exists, that comes to be” (M I 262). The dependent origination in reverse order becomes evident to him through seeing fall according to condition owing to his discovery that “When this does not exist, that does not come to be” (M I 264). Dependentlyarisen states become evident to him through seeing rise and fall according to instant owing to his discovery of the characteristic of the formed; for the things possessed of rise and fall are formed and conditionally arisen.

102. The method of identity becomes evident to him through seeing rise according to condition owing to his discovery of unbroken continuity in the connection of cause with fruit. Then he more thoroughly abandons the annihilation view. The method of diversity becomes evident to him through seeing rise according to instant owing to his discovery that each [state] is new [as it arises]. Then he more thoroughly abandons the eternity view. The method of uninterestedness becomes evident to him through seeing rise and fall according to condition owing to his discovery of the inability of states to have mastery exercised over them. Then he more thoroughly abandons the self view. The method of ineluctable regularity becomes evident to him through seeing rise according to condition owing to his discovery of the arising of the fruit when the suitable conditions are there. Then he more thoroughly abandons the moral-inefficacy-of-action view.

103. The characteristic of not-self becomes evident to him through seeing rise according to condition owing to his discovery that states have no curiosity and that their existence depends upon conditions. The characteristic of impermanence becomes evident to him through seeing rise and fall according to instant owing to his discovery of non-existence after having been and owing to his discovery that they are secluded from past and future. The characteristic of pain becomes evident to him [through that] too owing to his discovery of oppression by rise and fall. And the characteristic of individual essence becomes evident to him [through that] too owing to his discovery of delimitation [of states] by rise and fall.^[2] And in the characteristic of individual essence the temporariness of the characteristic of what is formed becomes evident to him [through that] too owing to his discovery of the non-existence of fall at the instant of rise and the nonexistence of rise at the instant of fall.^[3]

104. When the several truths, aspects of the dependent origination, methods, and characteristics have become evident to him thus, then formations appear to him as perpetually renewed: “So these states, it seems, being previously unarisen, critic, and being arisen, they cease.” [633] And they are not only perpetually renewed, but they are also short-lived like dew-drops at sunrise (A IV 137), like a bubble on water (S III 14 I), like a line drawn on water (A IV 137), like a mustard seed on an awl’s point (Nidd I 42), like a lightning flash (Nidd I 43). And they appear without core, like a conjuring trick (S III 141), like a mirage (Dhp 46), like a dream (Sn 807), like the circle of a whirling firebrand (source untraced), like a goblin city (source untraced), like froth (Dhp 46), like a plantain trunk (S III 142), and so on.

At this point he has attained tender insight-knowledge called contemplation of rise and fall, which has become established by penetrating the fifty characteristics in this manner: “Only what is subject to fall arises; and to be arisen necessitates fall.” With the attainment of this he is known as a “beginner of insight.”

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

“The interpreting of rise and fall must be done on a state that is present according to continuity or present according to instant but not on one that is past or future, which is why ‘of present states’ is said” (Vism-mhṭ 808). “Present materiality is called born materiality; it is included in the trio of instants [of arising, presence and dissolution], is what is meant. But that is hard to discern at the start, so the interpreting by insight should be done by means of presence according to continuity” (Vism-mhṭ 808). For the elision represented by “… (etc.) …” see XX.9. In this case, however, the last two members of the dependent origination are left out. “Although states possessed of aging-and-death are mentioned under the heading of birth and of agingand-death in comprehension by groups, etc., nevertheless here in the description of knowledge of rise and fall, if it were said ‘present birth is born; the characteristic of its generation is rise, the characteristic of its change is fall,’ etc., it would be tantamount to an affirmation and approval of the proposition that birth and aging-and-death were possessed of birth and of aging-and-death. So the text ends with ‘becoming’ in order to avoid that” (Vism-mhṭ 808).

[2]:

“With the seeing of rise and fall not only the characteristics of impermanence and pain become evident, but also the characteristics, in other words, the individual essences, of earth, contact, etc., termed hardness, touching, etc., respectively, become clearly evident and discrete (avacchinna) in their individual essences” (Vism-mhṭ 814).

[3]:

“The inclusion of only rise and fall here is because this kind of knowledge occurs as seeing only rise and fall, not because of non-existence of the instant of presence” (Vism-mhṭ 814). See Introduction, note 18.