Insight (4): Knowledge of Danger

[Full title: Insight: The Eight Knowledges (4): Knowledge of Danger]

35. As he repeats, develops and cultivates the knowledge of appearance as terror he finds no asylum, no shelter, no place to go to, no refuge in any kind of becoming, generation, destiny, station, or abode. In all the kinds of becoming, generation, destiny, station, and abode there is not a single formation that he can place his hopes in or hold on to. The three kinds of becoming appear like charcoal pits full of glowing coals, the four primary elements like hideous venomous snakes (S IV 174), the five aggregates like murderers with raised weapons (S IV 174), the six internal bases like an empty village, the six external bases like village-raiding robbers (S IV 174–75), the seven stations of consciousness and the nine abodes of beings as though burning, blazing and glowing with the eleven fires (see S IV 19), and all formations appear as a huge mass of dangers destitute of satisfaction or substance, like a tumour, a disease, a dart, a calamity, an affliction (see M I 436). How?

36. They appear as a forest thicket of seemingly pleasant aspect but infested with wild beasts, a cave full of tigers, water haunted by monsters and ogres, an enemy with raised sword, poisoned food, a road beset by robbers, a burning coal, a battlefield between contending armies appear to a timid man who wants to live in peace. And just as that man is frightened and horrified and his hair stands up when he comes upon a thicket infested by wild beasts, etc., and he sees it as nothing but danger, so too when all formations have appeared as a terror by contemplation of dissolution, this meditator sees them as utterly destitute of any core or any satisfaction and as nothing but danger.

37. “How is it that understanding of appearance as terror is knowledge of danger? [648]

“(1.a.) Understanding of appearance as terror thus, ‘Arising is terror,’ is knowledge of danger. Understanding of appearance as terror thus, ‘Occurrence is terror’ … ‘The sign is terror’ … ‘Accumulation is terror’ … ‘Rebirth-linking is terror’ … ‘Destiny is terror’ … ‘Generation is terror’ … ‘Re-arising is terror’ … ‘Birth is terror’ … ‘Ageing is terror’ … ‘Sickness is terror’ … ‘Death is terror’ … ‘Sorrow is terror’ … Understanding of appearance as terror thus, ‘Lamentation is terror,’ is knowledge of danger. Understanding of appearance as terror thus, ‘Despair is terror,’ is knowledge of danger.

“(1.b.) Knowledge of the state of peace is this: ‘Non-arising is safety.’ Knowledge of the state of peace is this: ‘Non-occurrence is safety’ … (etc.) … Knowledge of the state of peace is this: ‘Non-despair is safety.’

“(1.c.) Knowledge of the state of peace is this: ‘Arising is terror; non-arising is safety.’ Knowledge of the state of peace is this: ‘Occurrence is terror; nonoccurrence is safety’ … (etc.) … Knowledge of the state of peace is this: ‘Despair is terror; non-despair is safety.’

“(2.a.) Understanding of appearance as terror thus, ‘Arising is suffering,’ is knowledge of danger. Understanding of appearance as terror thus, ‘Occurrence is suffering’ … (etc.) … ‘Despair is suffering’ is knowledge of danger.

“(2.b.) Knowledge of the state of peace is this: ‘Non-occurrence is bliss’ … (etc.) … Knowledge of the state of peace is this: ‘Non-despair is bliss.’

“(2.c.) Knowledge of the state of peace is this: ‘Arising is suffering; nonarising is bliss.’ Knowledge of the state of peace is this: ‘Occurrence is suffering; non-occurrence is bliss’ … (etc.) … Knowledge of the state of peace is this: ‘Despair is suffering; non-despair is bliss.’

“(3.a.) Understanding of appearance as terror thus, ‘Arising is worldly,’ is knowledge of danger. Understanding of appearance as thus, ‘Occurrence is worldly’ … (etc.) … ‘Despair is worldly’ is knowledge of danger.

“(3.b.) Knowledge of the state of peace is this: ‘Non-arising is unworldly.’ Knowledge of the state of peace is this: ‘Non-occurrence is unworldly’ … (etc.) … Knowledge of the state of peace is this: ‘Non-despair is unworldly.’

“(3.c.) Knowledge of the state of peace is this: ‘Arising is worldly; non-arising is unworldly.’ Knowledge of the state of peace is this: ‘Occurrence is worldly; non-occurrence is unworldly’ … (etc.) … Knowledge of the state of peace is this: ‘Despair is worldly; non-despair is unworldly.’

“(4.a.) Understanding of appearance as terror thus,’Arising is formations,’ is knowledge of danger. Understanding of appearance as terror thus, Occurrence is formations’ … (etc.) … ‘Despair is formations’ is knowledge of danger.

“(4.b.) Knowledge of the state of peace is this: ‘Non-arising is Nibbāna.” Knowledge of the state of peace is this: ‘Non-occurrence is Nibbāna’ … (etc.) … Knowledge of the state of peace is this Non-despair is Nibbāna.’

“(4.c.) Knowledge of the state of peace is this: ‘Arising is formations; nonarising is Nibbāna.’ Knowledge of the state of peace is this: ‘Occurrence is formations; non-occurrence is Nibbāna’ … (etc.) … Knowledge of the state of peace is this: ‘Despair is formations;non-despair is Nibbāna.’ [649]

“He contemplates as suffering
Arising, occurrence, and the sign,
Accumulation, rebirth-linking—
And this his knowledge is of danger.

“He contemplates as bliss no arising,
And no occurrence, and no sign,
No accumulation, no rebirth-linking—
And this his knowledge is of peace.

“This knowledge about danger has
Five sources for its origin;
Knowledge of peace has also five—
Ten knowledges he understands.

“When skilled in these two kinds of knowledge
The various views will shake him not.

“Knowledge is in the sense of that being known and understanding is in the sense of the act of understanding that. Hence it was said: ‘Understanding of appearance as terror is knowledge of danger’” (Paṭis I 59f).

38. Herein, arising is appearance here [in this becoming] with previous kamma as condition. Occurrence is the occurrence of what has arisen in this way. The sign is the sign of all formations. Accumulation is the kamma that is the cause of future rebirth-linking. Rebirth-linking is future appearance. Destiny is the destiny in which the rebirth-linking takes place. Generation is the generating of aggregates. Re-arising is the occurrence of kamma-result stated thus, “In one who has attained [to it] or in one who has been reborn [in it]” (Dhs §1282). Birth is birth with becoming as its condition, itself a condition for ageing and so on. Ageing, sickness, death, etc., are obvious.

39. And here only the five beginning with arising are mentioned as actual objects of knowledge of danger; the rest are synonyms for them. For the pair, generation and birth, are synonyms both for arising and for rebirth-linking. The pair, destiny and re-arising, are synonyms for occurrence. Ageing, etc., are synonyms for the sign. Hence it was said:

“He contemplates as suffering
Arising, occurrence, and the sign,
Accumulation, rebirth-linking—
And this his knowledge is of danger.”

And:

“This knowledge about danger has
Five sources for its origin” (§37).

40. Knowledge of the state of peace is this: “Non-arising is safety,” etc.: this, however, should be understood as said for the purpose of showing the opposite kind of knowledge to knowledge of danger. Or when it is stated in this way, that there is safety without terror and free from danger, it is for the purpose of comforting those who are upset in their hearts by seeing danger through appearance as terror. Or else, when arising, etc., have clearly appeared to a man as terror, his mind inclines towards their opposites, and so this is said [650] for the purpose of showing the advantages in the knowledge of danger established by the appearance as terror.

41. And here (1.a.) what is terror is certainly (2.a) suffering, and what is suffering is purely (3.a.) worldly since it is not free from the worldliness of the rounds [of becoming], of the world, and of defilements,^[1] and what is worldly consists solely of (4.a) formations. Therefore it is said that (2.a) understanding of appearance as terror thus, “Arising is suffering,” is knowledge of danger, and so on. And while this is so, still there is a difference to be understood here in the way these things [beginning with “arising”] occur, since there is a difference in their mode with the mode of terror, the mode of suffering, and the mode of worldliness.

42. Ten knowledges he understands: one who understands knowledge of danger understands, penetrates, realizes, ten kinds of knowledge, that is, the five based on arising, etc., and the five on non-arising and so on. When skilled in these two kinds of knowledge: with skill in the two, that is, knowledge of danger and knowledge of the state of peace. The various views will shake him not: he does not vacillate about views that occur such as “The ultimate Nibbāna is here and now.” The rest is clear.

Knowledge of contemplation of danger is ended.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Vism-mhṭ defines the three kinds of worldliness (āmisa) as follows: Worldliness of the round (vaṭṭāmisa) is that of the threefold round of past, future and present becoming; worldliness of the world (lokāmisa) is the five cords of sense desire (i.e. objects of sense desire including food, etc.) because they are accessible to defilements; worldliness of defilement (kilesāmisa) is the defilements themselves (see Vism-mhṭ 836).