§1. Just so, monks, for a monk engaged in higher mentality there are coarse defilements: bad body-conduct, bad speech-conduct, bad mind-conduct. A conscientious and able monk puts them away, drives them out, gets rid of them, brings them to naught. When these are put away and got rid of, then for a monk engaged in higher mentality there are medium defilements: sensual thoughts, angry thoughts, cruel thoughts. A conscientious and able monk puts them away, drives them out, gets rid of them, brings these to naught. When these are put away and got rid of, then for a monk engaged in higher mentality there are fine defilements: thoughts of birth, thoughts of country, thoughts connected with reputation. A conscientious and able monk puts them away, drives them out, gets rid of them, brings them to naught. When these are put away and got rid of, then there remain thoughts about the Nature of Things. There is concentration that is neither peaceful nor exalted nor tranquil nor arrived at unification, that is together with determinations,[1] constrained, obstructed, confined. There comes a time, monks, when that mind is internally steadied, settled, unified, and concentrated. There is concentration that is peaceful, exalted, tranquil, and arrived at unification, that is without determinations, unconstrained, unobstructed, unconfined.
A. III,100 (i, 254-5)
§2.His mind being thus concentrated, purified, cleansed, unblemished, with defilements gone, supple, workable, steady, and unshakeable, he directs it and turns it to the knowledge of recollection of former abodes. He recalls manifold former abodes: that is to say, one birth, two births, three births, four births, five births, ten births, twenty births, thirty births, forty births, fifty births, one hundred births, one thousand births, one hundred thousand births, manifold involutions of aeons; manifold evolutions of aeons, manifold involutions-and-evolutions of aeons: 'There, thus was my name, thus was may clan, thus my appearance (colour), thus my food, thus the pleasure and unpleasure experienced, thus the ending of my life; having fallen away thence, I re-arose here'. Thus he recalls manifold former abodes together with their features and indications.
Just as, Mahārāja, a man might go from his own village to another village, and from that village might go to yet another village, and from that village might come back to his own village; and it might occur to him, 'Indeed, I went from my own village to that village, and there I stood thus, I sat thus, I spoke thus, I was silent thus; and from that village I went to that other village, and there too I stood thus, I sat thus, I spoke thus, I was silent thus; and then I came back to my own village' – just so, Mahārāja, a monk, his mind being thus concentrated, purified, cleansed, unblemished, with defilements gone, supple, workable, steady, and unshakeable, directs it and turns it to the knowledge of recollection of former abodes.[2]
His mind being thus concentrated, purified, cleansed, unblemished, with defilements gone, supple, workable, steady, and unshakeable, he directs it and turns it to the knowledge of falling away and re-arising of creatures. With a purified divine eye, surpassing that of man, he sees creatures falling away and re-arising; he understands the going of creatures according to their actions, debased and exalted, of good colour and of bad colour, well-destined and ill-destined: 'These folk, indeed, are creatures possessed of bad body-conduct, of bad speech-conduct, of bad-mind-conduct, they are revilers of the noble ones, holders of wrong views and performers of actions in accordance with wrong views. They, on the breaking up of the body, after death, have re-arisen in perdition, the ill destiny, the realms of misery, hell. But these folk, indeed, are creatures possessed of good body-conduct, of good speech-conduct, of good mind-conduct, they are non-revilers of the noble ones, holders of right views, and performers of actions in accordance with right views. They, on the breaking up of the body, after death, have re-arisen in the good destiny, in the heavenly world'. Thus with a purified divine eye, surpassing that of man, he sees creatures falling away and re-arising; he understands the going of creatures according to their actions, debased and exalted, of good colour and of bad colour, well-destined and ill-destined.
Just as, Mahārāja, there might be a terrace in the middle of a square, and a man with eyes might stand there and see people entering and leaving houses and wandering about the roads and streets and sitting in the middle of the square; and it might occur to him, 'These people are entering and leaving houses, these are wandering about the roads and streets, these are sitting in the middle of the square' – just so, Mahārāja, a monk, his mind being thus concentrated, purified, cleansed, unblemished, with defilements gone, supple, workable, steady, and unshakeable, he directs it and turns it to the knowledge of falling away and re-arising of creatures.
D. 2 (i, 81-3)
§3. Beginningless, monks, is this running on of existence; a starting point of creatures who are coursing and running on constrained by nescience and attached by craving is not manifest.
How do you conceive this, monks: which is more, the blood that has flowed and streamed from your severed heads in this long stretch of coursing and running on, or the water in the four great oceans?
– According, Lord, to our comprehension of the Teaching (dhamma) set forth by the Auspicious One, the blood that has flowed and streamed from our severed heads in this long coursing and running on is indeed more than the water in the four great oceans.
– Well said, well said, monks: well have you thus comprehended the Teaching set forth by me. The blood that has flowed and streamed from your severed heads in this long coursing and running on is indeed more than the water in the four great oceans. A long time, monks, has the blood flowed and streamed from your severed heads when you were oxen: more than the water in the four great oceans. ...when you were buffaloes ... sheep ... goats ... deer ... chickens ... pigs ... when you were taken as village robbers ... when you were taken as highway robbers ... when you were taken as adulterers.... Why is this? Beginningless, monks, is this running on of existence: a starting point of creatures who are coursing and running on constrained by nescience and attached by craving is not manifest. For so long, monks, have you enjoyed (éprouvé) suffering (dukkha), agony, and misfortune, and swelled the charnel grounds: long enough, monks, for disgust for all determinations, for the fading out of lust for them, for release from them.
Anamatagga Samy. 13 (ii,187-9)
§4. Beginningless, monks, is this running on: a first point of creatures coursing and running on hindered by nescience and attached by craving is not evident. It is not easy, monks, to find that creature who has not formerly been your mother in this long stretch ... your father ... your brother, sister, son, daughter.... Why is this? Beginningless, monks, is this running on: a first point of creatures coursing and running on hindered by nescience and attached by craving is not evident. For so long, monks, have you enjoyed suffering, agony, and misfortune, and swelled the charnal grounds: long enough, monks, for disgust for all determinations, for the fading out of lust for them, for release from them.
Anamatagga Samy. 14-19 (ii, 189-90)
§5.It is through non-discernment and non-penetration of four noble truths that there has been this long stretch of coursing and running on, both for me and for you. Of which four?
It is through non-discernment and non-penetration of the noble truth of suffering (dukkha) that there has been this long stretch of coursing and running on, both for me and for you. It is through non-discernment and non-penetration of the noble truth of the arising of suffering ... the noble truth of the ceasing of suffering ... the noble truth of the way that leads to ceasing of suffering that there has been this long stretch of coursing and running on, both for me and for you.
When, monks, this noble truth of suffering is discerned and penetrated, when this noble truth of arising of suffering is discerned and penetrated, when this noble truth of ceasing of suffering is discerned and penetrated, when this noble truth of the way that leads to ceasing of suffering is discerned and penetrated, craving for being is cut off, what leads to being is exhausted, there is then no more being.
D. 16 (ii, 90)
§6. This indeed, monks, is the noble truth of suffering. Birth is suffering, ageing is suffering, sickness is suffering, death is suffering, union with what is disliked is suffering, separation from what is liked is suffering, not to get what one wants, that too is suffering; in brief, the five holding aggregates [3] are suffering. This indeed, monks, is the noble truth of arising of suffering. This craving leading to more being, conjoined with desire and lust, taking delight here and there, that is to say: sensual craving, craving for being, craving for non-being, This indeed, monks, is the noble truth of ceasing of suffering. The entire fading out and cessation, the giving up, the relinquishment of that same craving, release from it, its abandonment. This indeed, monks, is the noble truth of the way that leads to ceasing of suffering. This noble eightfold path, that is to say, right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.
Sacca Samy. 11 (v, 421-2)
§7. The noble truth of suffering is to be known absolutely. The noble truth of arising of suffering is to be abandoned. The noble truth of ceasing of suffering is to be realized. The noble truth of the way that leads to ceasing of suffering is to be developed.
Sacca Samy. 29 (v, 436)
§8. Because of six elements,[4] monks, there is descent of the embryo; when there is descent there is name-&-matter; with name-&-matter as condition, six bases; with six bases as condition, contact; with contact as condition, feeling; to one who feels, monks, I make known 'This is suffering', I make known 'This is arising of suffering', I make known 'This is ceasing of suffering', I make known 'This is the way that leads to ceasing of suffering'. And which, monks, is the noble truth of suffering? Birth is suffering, ageing is suffering, sickness is suffering, death is suffering, sorrow, lamentation, pain (dukkha), grief, and despair are suffering; not to get what one wants, that too is suffering; in brief, the five holding aggregates are suffering. This, monks, is called the noble truth of suffering.
And which, monks, is the noble truth of arising of suffering? With nescience as condition, determinations; with determinations as condition, consciousness; with consciousness as condition, name-&-matter; with name-&-matter as condition, six bases; with six bases as condition, contact; with contact as condition, feeling; with feeling as condition, craving; with craving as condition, holding; with holding as condition, being; with being as condition, birth; with birth as condition, ageing-&-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair, come into being; thus is the arising of this whole mass of unpleasure (suffering). This, monks, is called the noble truth of arising of suffering.
And which, monks, is the noble truth of ceasing of suffering? With entire fading out and cessation of nescience, ceasing of determinations; with cessation of determinations, ceasing of consciousness; with cessation of consciousness, ceasing of name-&-matter; with cessation of name-&-matter, ceasing of six bases; with cessation of six bases, ceasing of contact; with cessation of contact, ceasing of feeling; with cessation of feeling, ceasing of craving; with cessation of craving, ceasing of holding; with cessation of holding, ceasing of being; with cessation of being, ceasing of birth; with cessation of birth, ageing-&-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair, cease; thus is the ceasing of this whole mass of unpleasure (suffering). This, monks, is called the noble truth of ceasing of suffering.
And which, monks, is the noble truth of the way that leads to ceasing of suffering? This noble eightfold path, that is to say, right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. This, monks, is called the noble truth of the way that leads to ceasing of suffering.
A. III,61 (i, 176-7)
§9.And which, monks, is ageing-&-death? The decay, the ageing, the brokenness, the greying, the wrinkledness, the dwindling of life, the decrepitude of the faculties of creatures of various orders: this is called ageing. The falling away, the breaking up, the disappearance, the death, the coming of the time, the breaking up of the aggregates, the laying down of the corpse of creatures of various orders: this is called death. This is ageing and this is death. This, monks, is called ageing-&-death.
And which, monks, is birth? The birth, the coming to birth, the descent, the appearance, the becoming manifest of the aggregates, the obtaining of the bases, of creatures of various orders: This, monks, is called birth.
And which, monks, is being? There are, monks, these three beings: sensual being, material being, immaterial being. This, monks, is called being.[5]
And which, monks, is holding? There are, monks, these four holdings: sensual holding, holding to view, holding to virtue and duty, holding to belief in self. This, monks, is called holding.[6]
And which, monks, is craving? There are, monks, these six bodies of craving: craving for visible form, craving for sounds craving for smells, craving for tastes, craving for touches, craving for images/ideas (dhammá). This, monks, is called craving.[7]
And which, monks, is feeling? There are, monks, these six bodies of feeling: feeling born of eye-contact, feeling born of ear-contact, feeling born of nose-contact, feeling born of tongue-contact, feeling born of body-contact, feeling born of mind-contact. This, monks, is called feeling.[8]
And which, monks, is contact? There are, wonks, these six bodies of contact: eye-contact, ear-contact, nose-contact, tongue-contact, body-contact, mind-contact. This, monks, is called contact.[9]
And which, monks, are the six bases? The eye-base, the ear-base, the nose-base, the tongue-base, the body-base, the mind-base. These, monks, are called the six bases.[10]
And which, monks, is name-&-matter? Feeling, perception, intention, contact, attention: this is called name. The four great entities and matter held (i.e. taken up by craving) from the four great entities: this is called matter. Thus, this is name and this is matter. This, monks, is called name-&-matter.[11]
And which, monks, is consciousness? There are, monks, these six bodies of consciousness: eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, nose-consciousness, tongue-consciousness, body-consciousness, mind-consciousness. This, monks, is called consciousness.[12]
And which, monks, are determinations? There are, monks, three determinations; body-determination, speech-determination, mind-determination. These, monks, are called determinations.[13]
And which, monks, is nescience? Non-knowledge of suffering, non-knowledge of arising of suffering, non-knowledge of ceasing of suffering, non-knowledge of the way that leads to ceasing of suffering. This, monks, is called nescience.[14]
Nidāna Samy. 12 (ii, 2-4)
§10. An earliest point of nescience, monks, is not manifest: 'Before this, nescience was not; then afterwards it came into being'. Even if that is said thus, monks, nevertheless it is manifest: 'With this as condition, nescience'. I say, monks, that nescience, too, is with sustenance, not without sustenance.[15]
A. X,61 (v, 113)
§11. An earliest point of craving-for-being, monks, is not manifest: 'Before this, craving-for-being was not; then afterwards it came into being'. Even if that is said thus, monks, nevertheless it is manifest: 'With this as condition, craving-for-being'. I say, monks, that craving-for-being, too, is with sustenance, not without sustenance. And what is the sustenance of craving-for-being? 'Nescience' would be the reply.[16]
A. X,62 (v, 116)
§12.Thus I heard. Once the Auspicious One was dwelling among the Kurus: the name of the Kurus' town was Kammasadamma. Then the Venerable Ānanda, approaching the Auspicious One, paying the Auspicious One homage and sitting down at one side, said this to the Auspicious One. – Wonderful it is, Lord, marvellous it is, Lord, how deep is this dependent arising and how deep, Lord, it seems. But to me it appears quite plain.– Say not so, Ānanda, say not so, Ānanda. This dependent arising is deep and deep, Ānanda, it seems. It is, Ānanda, through non-discernment and non-penetration of this Teaching that this generation is as a matted skein, a tangled thread, a heap of grass, and has not overcome perdition, the ill destiny, the realm of misery, the course. Being asked, Ānanda, 'Is there that with which as condition, there is ageing-&-death?', 'There is' would be the reply. If it were asked, 'With what as condition, ageing-&-death?', 'With birth as condition, ageing-&-death' would be the reply. Being asked, Ānanda, 'Is there that with which as condition, there is birth ... being ... holding ... craving ... feeling ... contact ... six bases ... name-&-matter ... consciousness?', 'There is' would be the reply. If it were asked, 'With what as condition, consciousness?', 'With name-&-matter as condition, consciousness' would be the reply.[17] Thus, Ānanda, with name-&-matter as condition, consciousness; with consciousness as condition, name-&-matter; with name-&-matter as condition, contact ... feeling ... craving ... holding ... being ... birth; with birth as condition, ageing-&-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair, come into being; thus is the arising of this whole mass of unpleasure (suffering).
'With birth as condition, ageing-&-death'. Thus it was said; how it is, Ānanda, that with birth as condition, ageing-&-death, should be seen in this manner. Were there, Ānanda, no birth at all in any way whatsoever of anything anywhere, that is to say, of deities as deities, of fairies as fairies, of spirits as spirits, of entities as entities, of men as men, of animals as animals, of birds as birds, of reptiles as reptiles, – were there no birth, Ānanda, of any of these creatures as such –, were birth altogether absent, with cessation of birth, would ageing-&-death be manifest?
– No indeed, Lord.
– Therefore, Ānanda, just this is the reason, this is the occasion, this is the arising, this is the condition of ageing-&-death, that is to say, birth.
'With being as condition, birth'. Thus it was said; how it is Ānanda, that with being as condition, birth, should be seen in this manner. Were there, Ānanda, no being at all in any way whatsoever of anything anywhere, that is to say, sensual being, material being, or immaterial being, were being altogether absent, with cessation of being, would birth be manifest?
– No indeed, Lord.
– Therefore, Ānanda, just this is the reason, this is the occasion, this is the arising, this is the condition of birth, that is to say, being.
'With holding as condition, being'. Thus it was said; how it is, Ānanda, that with holding as condition, being, should be seen in this manner. Were there, Ānanda, no holding at all in any way whatsoever of anything anywhere, that is to say, sensual holding, holding to view, holding to virtue and duty, holding to belief in self, were holding altogether absent, with cessation of holding, would being be manifest?
– No indeed, Lord.
– Therefore, Ānanda, just this is the reason, this is the occasion, this is the arising, this is the condition of being, that is to say, holding.
'With craving as condition, holding'. Thus it was said; how it is, Ānanda, that with craving as condition, holding, should be seen in this manner. Were there, Ānanda, no craving at all in any way whatsoever of anything anywhere, that is to say, craving for visible forms, craving for sounds, craving for smells, craving for tastes, craving for touches, craving for images/ideas, were craving altogether absent, with cessation of craving, would holding be manifest?
– No indeed, Lord.
– Therefore, Ānanda, just this is the reason, this is the occasion, this is the arising, this is the condition of holding, that is to say, craving.
'With feeling as condition, craving'. Thus it was said; how it is, Ānanda, that with feeling as condition, craving, should be seen in this manner. Were there, Ānanda, no feeling at all in any way whatsoever of anything anywhere, that is to say, feeling born of eye-contact, feeling born of ear-contact, feeling born of nose-contact, feeling born of tongue-contact, feelingg born of body-contact, feeling born of mind-contact, were feeling altogether absent, with cessation of feeling would craving be manifest?
– No indeed, Lord.
– Therefore, Ānanda, just this is the reason, this is the occasion, this is the arising, this is the condition of craving, that is to say, feeling.
But, Ānanda, dependent upon this feeling, craving; dependent upon craving, seeking, dependent upon seeking, gain; dependent upon gain, anticipation; dependent upon anticipation, desire-&-lust; dependent upon desire-&-lust, attachment; dependent upon attachment, possession; dependent upon possession, jealousy; dependent upon jealousy, guarding; dependent upon guarding, taking up of clubs and knives, fights, disputes, quarrels, contention, slander, lying, and various evil unprofitable things come to be.
'Because of guarding, taking up of clubs and knives, fights, disputes, quarrels, contention, slander, lying, and various evil unprofitable things come to be'. Thus it was said; how it is, Ānanda, that with guarding, taking up of clubs and knives, fights, disputes, quarrels, contention, slander, lying, and various evil unprofitable things come to be should be seen in this manner. Were there no guarding at all in any way whatsoever of anything anywhere, guarding being altogether absent, with cessation of guarding, would taking up of clubs and knives, fights, disputes, quarrels, contention, slander, lying, and various evil unprofitable things come to be?
– No indeed, Lord.
– Therefore, Ānanda, just this is the reason, this is the occasion, this is the arising, this is the condition of taking up of clubs and knives, fights, disputes, quarrels, contention, slander, lying, and various evil unprofitable things, that is to say, guarding.
'Dependent upon jealousy, guarding'. Thus it was said; how it is, Ānanda, that with jealousy, guarding, should be seen in this manner. Were there, Ānanda, no jealousy at all in any way whatsoever of anything anywhere, would guarding be manifest?
– No indeed, Lord.
– Therefore, Ānanda, just this is the reason, this is the occasion, this is the arising, this is the condition of guarding, that is to say, jealousy.
'Dependent upon possession ... attachment ... desire-&-lust ... anticipation ... gain ... seeking ... craving, seeking'. Thus it was said; how it is, Ānanda, that with craving as condition, seeking, should be seen in this manner. Were there, Ānanda, no craving at all in any way whatsoever of anything anywhere, that is to say, craving for visible forms, craving for sounds, craving for smells, craving for tastes, craving for touches, craving for images/ideas, were craving altogether absent, with cessation of craving, would seeking be manifest?
– No indeed, Lord.
– Therefore, Ānanda, just this is the reason, this is the occasion, this is the arising, this is the condition of seeking, that is to say, craving,
Thus, Ānanda, these two things, as a dyad, have a meeting place in feeling.
'With contact as condition, feeling'. Thus it was said: how it is, Ānanda, that with contact as condition" feeling, should be seen in this manner. Were there, Ānanda, no contact at all in any way whatsoever of anything anywhere, that is to say, eye-contact, ear-contact, nose-contact, tongue-contact, body-contact, mind-contact, were contact altogether absent, with cessation of contact, would feeling be manifest?
– No indeed, Lord.
– Therefore, Ānanda, just this is the reason, this is the occasion, this is the arising, this is the condition of feeling, that is to say, contact.
'With name-&-matter as condition, contact'. Thus it was said; how it is, Ānanda, that with name-&-matter as condition, contact, should be seen in this manner. Those tokens, Ānanda, those marks, those signs, those indications by which the name-body is described, – they being absent, would designation-contact be manifest in the matter-body?
– No indeed, Lord.[18]
– Those tokens, Ānanda, those marks, those signs, those indications by which the matter-body is described, – they being absent, would resistance-contact be manifest in the name-body?
– No indeed, Lord.[19]
– Those tokens, Ānanda, those marks, those signs, those indications by which the name-body and the matter-body are described, – they being absent, would either designation-contact or resistance-contact be manifest?
– No indeed, Lord.
– Those tokens, Ānanda, those marks, those signs, those indications by which name-&-matter is described, – they being absent, would contact be manifest?
– No indeed, Lord.
– Therefore, Ānanda, just this is the reason, this is the occasion, this is the arising, this is the condition of contact, that is to say name-&-matter.
'With consciousness as condition, name-&-matter'. Thus it was said; how it is, Ānanda, that with consciousness as condition, name-&-matter, should be seen in this manner. If, Ānanda, consciousness were not to descend into the mother's womb, would name-&-matter be consolidated in the mother's womb?[20]
– No indeed, Lord.
– If, Ānanda, having descended into the mother's womb, consciousness were to turn aside, would name-&-matter be delivered into this situation?
– No indeed, Lord.
– If, Ānanda, consciousness were cut off from one still young, from a boy or a girl, would name-&-matter come to increase, growth, and fullness?
– No indeed, Lord.
– Therefore, Ānanda, just this is the reason, this is the occasion, this is the arising, this is the condition of name-&-matter, that is to say, consciousness.
'With name-&-matter as condition, consciousness'. Thus it was said; how it is, Ānanda, that with name-&-matter as condition, consciousness, should be seen in this manner. If, Ānanda, consciousness were not to obtain a stay in name-&-matter, would future arising and coming-into-being of birth, ageing, death, and unpleasure (suffering), be manifest?[21]
– No indeed, Lord.
– Therefore, Ānanda, just this is the reason, this is the occasion, this is the arising, this is the condition of consciousness, that is to say, name-&-matter.
Thus far, Ānanda, may one be born or age or die or fall or arise, thus far is there a way of designation, thus far is there a way of language, thus far is there a way of description, thus far is there a sphere of understanding, thus far the round proceeds as manifestation in a situation, – so far, that is to say, as there is name-&-matter together with consciousness.[22]
How far, Ānanda, does one consider self? One considers self, Ānanda, in regard to feeling: 'My self is feeling. My self is not in fact feeling, my self is devoid of feeling.[23] My self is not in fact feeling but neither is my self devoid of feeling, my self feels, it is the nature of my self to feel'.[24]
Herein, Ānanda, to one who says 'My self is feeling' this would be the reply: 'There are, friend, these three feelings, pleasant feeling, unpleasant feeling, neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant feeling: which of these three feelings do you consider to be self?' Whenever, Ānanda, one feels a pleasant feeling, at that time one neither feels an unpleasant feeling, nor does one feel neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant feeling; at that time one feels only a pleasant feeling. Whenever, Ānanda, one feels an unpleasant feeling, at that time one neither feels a pleasant feeling nor does one feel neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant feeling. Whenever, Ānanda, one feels neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant feeling, at that time one neither feels a pleasant feeling, nor does one feel an unpleasant feeling.
A pleasant feeling, Ānanda, is impermanent, determined, dependently arisen, it has the nature of exhaustion, of dissolution, of fading out, of cessation. An unpleasant feeling, Ānanda, is impermanent, determined, dependently arisen, it has the nature of exhaustion, of dissolution, of fading out, of cessation. A neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant feeling, Ānanda, is impermanent, determined, dependently arisen. It has the nature of exhaustion, of dissolution, of fading out, of cessation.
In one to whom it occurs, when feeling a pleasant (unpleasant, neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant) feeling, 'This is my self', it will also occur, when that same pleasant (unpleasant, neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant) feeling ceases, 'My self has dissolved'.
Thus, one who says 'My self is feeling' is considering self to be something that is here and now impermanent, a mixture of pleasure and unpleasure, and that has the nature of rising and falling. Therefore, Ānanda, it will not do to consider 'My self is feeling'.
Herein, Ānanda, to one who says 'My self indeed is not feeling; my self is devoid of feeling', this would be the reply: 'But where, friend, there is no feeling at all, would there be any saying "I am"?'
– No indeed, Lord.
– Therefore, Ānanda, it will not do to consider 'My self indeed is not feeling, my self is devoid of feeling'.
Herein, Ānanda, to one who says 'My self, indeed, is not feeling, nor yet is my self devoid of feeling; my self feels; to feel is the nature of my self', this would be the reply: 'Were all feeling, friend, in every way whatsoever to cease without remainder, were feeling altogether absent, with cessation of feeling would there be any saying "It is this that I am"?'
– No indeed, Lord.
– Therefore, Ānanda, it will not do to consider 'My self, indeed, is not feeling, nor yet is my self devoid of feeling; my self feels; to feel is the nature of my self'.
When, Ānanda, a monk does not consider self to be feeling, nor considers self to be void of feeling, nor considers 'My self feels, to feel is the nature of my self', he, not so considering, holds to nothing in the world; not holding, he is not anxious; not being anxious, he individually becomes extinct; 'Birth is exhausted, the life of purity is fulfilled, what was to be done is done, there is no more of this existence to come', so he understands.
For one, Ānanda, to say of a monk whose mind is thus released that his view is 'After death the Tathāgata is (the Tathāgata is not; the Tathāgata both is and is not; the Tathāgata neither is nor is not)' – that would not be proper. Why is this? In however far, Ānanda, there is designation, in however far there is mode of designation, in however far there is expression, in however far there is mode of expression, in however far the is description, in however far there is mode of description, in however far there is understanding, in however far there is the sphere of understanding, in however far there is the round, in however far there is the coursing on – it is by directly knowing this that a monk is released. To say of a monk released by directly knowing this, that he does not know, that he does not see, that his views are thus – that would not be proper.
D. 15 (ii, 55-68)
§13. This consciousness turns back from name-&-matter; it does not go further; thus far one may be born or age or die or fall away or arise; that is to say, with name-&-matter as condition, consciousness. With consciousness as condition, name-&-matter. With name-&-matter as condition six bases... thus is the arising of this whole mass of unpleasure (suffering).[25]
Nidāna Samy. 65 (ii, 104)
§14.– What the Venerable Sāriputta said just now we comprehend thus: Not, friend Kotthita, 'Name-&-matter is made by oneself'. Not, friend Kotthita, 'Name-&-matter is made by another'. Not, friend Kotthita, 'Name-&-matter is made both by oneself and by another'. Not, friend Kotthita, 'Name-&-matter is made neither by oneself nor by another but arises by chance'; but with consciousness as condition, name-&-matter.
But also what the Venerable Sāriputta said just now we comprehend thus: Not, friend Kotthita, 'Consciousness is made by oneself'. Not, friend Kotthita, 'Consciousness is made by another'. Not, friend Kotthita, 'Consciousness is made both by oneself and by another'. Not, friend Kotthita, 'Consciousness is made neither by oneself nor by another but arises by chance'; but with name-&-matter as condition, consciousness.
How, friend Sāriputta, should the meaning of these sayings be seen?
– Then, friend, I shall give you a simile; for through a simile some intelligent men comprehend the meaning of a saying. Suppose, friend, there were two bundles of reeds standing leaning against each other; just so, friend, with name-&-matter as condition, consciousness; with consciousness as condition, name-&-matter; with name-&-matter as condition, six bases... thus is the arising of this whole mass of unpleasure (suffering).
Nidāna Samy. 67 (ii, 114)
§15. What, monks, one intends and what one projects and what one tends to, that is the support for the standing of consciousness; when there is increase of consciousness supported thereby, there is descent of name-&-matter; with name-&-matter as condition, six bases... this whole mass of unpleasure (suffering).
Nidāna Samy. 39 (ii, 66)
§16. What, monks, one intends and what one projects and what one tends to, that is the support for the standing of consciousness; when there is increase of consciousness supported thereby, there is inclination; when there is inclination there is coming and going; when there is coming and going there is falling away and arising; when there is falling away and arising, further birth, ageing-&-death... this whole mass of unpleasure (suffering).
Nidāna Samy, 40 (ii, 67) [26]
§17. By means of matter, monks, consciousness will stand; supported by matter, established in matter, pursuing delight, it will come to increase, growth, and fullness. Supported by feeling... Supported by perception... Supported by determinations, established in determinations, pursuing delight, it will come to increase, growth, and fullness.
That anyone should (truly) say 'Apart from matter, apart from feeling, apart from perception, apart from determinations, I shall show the coming or the going or the falling away or the arising or the increase or the growth or the fullness of consciousness' – that is not possible.[27]
Khandha Samy. 53 (iii, 53)
§18. Action, monks, I say is intention; intending one does action by body, by speech, by mind.[28]
A. VI,59 (iii, 415)
§19. And which, monks, is matter? ...And which, monks, is feeling? ...And which, monks, is perception? There are, monks, these six bodies of perception: perception of visible forms, perception of sounds, perception of smells, perception of tastes, perception of tangibles, perception of images/ideas. This, monks, is called perception. And which, monks, are determinations? ...And which, monks, is consciousness?
Khandha Samy. 56 (iii, 59-61)
§20. And what, monks, do you say is matter?... And what, monks, do you say is feeling?... And what, monks, do you say is perception?... And what, monks, do you say are determinations? 'They determine the determined': that, monks, is why they are called 'determinations'. And what is the determined that they determine? Matter as matter is the determined that they determine, feeling as feeling is the determined that they determine, perception as perception is the determined that they determine, determinations as determinations are the determined that they determine, consciousness as consciousness is the determined that they determine. 'They determine the determined': that indeed, monks, is why they are called 'determinations'. And what, monks, do you say is consciousness?...[29]
Khandha Samy. 79 (iii, 87)
§21. Matter, monks, is impermanent, feeling is impermanent, perception is impermanent, determinations are impermanent, consciousness is impermanent; matter, monks, is not-self, feeling is not-self, perception is not-self, determinations are not-self, consciousness is not-self; all determinations are impermanent, all things are not-self. (dhammá: ideas (of things) –> (ideas of) things)
M. 44 (i, 301)
§22. That, friend, which is feeling, that which is perception, that which is consciousness, – these things are associated, not dissociated, and it is not possible to show the distinction between these things having separated them one from another. For what, friend, one feels that one perceives, what one perceives that one cognizes, – that is why these things are associated, not dissociated, and it is not possible to show the distinction between these things having separated them one from another.
M. 43 (i, 293)
§23. A stupid/intelligent man, monks, constrained by nescience and attached by craving, has thus acquired this body. So there is just this body and name-&-matter externally: in that way there is a dyad. Dependent upon this dyad, contact – just six bases, contacted by which, or by one of which, the stupid/intelligent man experiences pleasure and unpleasure.[30]
Nidāna Samy. 19 (ii, 24)
§24.'Not by going, monks, do I say that the end of the world is to be known or seen or reached; but neither, monks, do I say that without reaching the end of the world there is a making an end of suffering.' The expanded meaning, friends, of this brief indication and outline of the Auspicious One's, whose expanded meaning he did not explain, I comprehend thus.
That by which, friend, in the world, one is a perceiver and conceiver of the world, that, in the Noble discipline, is called the world. And by what, friends, in the world, is one a perceiver and conceiver of the world? By the eye (ear, nose, tongue, body, mind), friends, in the world, is one a perceiver and conceiver of the world. That by which, friends, one is a perceiver and conceiver of the world, that, in the Noble discipline, is called the world.[31]
Salāyatana Samy. 116 (iv, 95)
§25. 'With entire fading out and cessation, friend, of the six contact-bases, there is something else' – saying thus, one diversifies non-diversification. 'With entire fading out and cessation, friend, of the six contact-bases, there is not something else ... there both is and is not something else ... there neither is nor is not something else' – saying thus, one diversifies non-diversification. So long, friend, as the six contact-bases continue, so long diversification continues; so long as diversification continues, so long the six contact-bases continue. With entire fading out and cessation of the six contact-bases, ceasing and subsidence of diversification.[32]
A. IV,174 (ii, 161-2)
§26. Dependent upon eye and forms, eye-consciousness arises; the coming together of the three is contact; with contact as condition, feeling... this whole mass of unpleasure (suffering). This is the arising of the world. Dependent upon ear and sounds... Dependent upon nose and smells.... Dependent upon tongue and tastes... Dependent upon mind and images/ideas... the arising of the world.[33]
Salāyatana Samy. 107 (iv, 87)
§27. There are, friend, these five faculties with various provinces and various pastures, and they do not enjoy (éprouver) one another's pasture and province; that is to say, eye-faculty, ear-faculty, nose-faculty, tongue-faculty, body-faculty. These five faculties with various provinces and pastures, that do not enjoy one another's pasture and province, mind is the association, mind enjoys their pasture and province.[34]
M. 43 (i, 295)
§28. What is impermanent is suffering; what is suffering is not-self.
Salāyatana Samy. 4 (iv, 3)
§29. All determinations are impermanent. All determinations are unpleasurable (suffering). All things are not-self.[35]
Dhammapada xx,5-7 (Dh. 277-9)
§30.There are, monks, these three determined-characteristics of what is determined, Which are the three? Arising (appearance) is manifest; disappearance is manifest; change while standing is manifest. These, monks, are the three determined-characteristics of what is determined.
There are, monks, these three undetermined-characteristics of what is undetermined, Which are the three? Arising (appearance) is not manifest; disappearance is not manifest; change while standing is not manifest. These, monks, are the three undetermined-characteristics of what is undetermined.[36]
A. III,47 (i, 152)
§31. Attention to the foul should be developed to put away lust; amity should be developed to put away anger; mindfulness of breathing should be developed for the cutting off of thoughts; perception of impermanence should be developed to remove the conceit 'I am'. In one who perceives impermanence, Meghiya, perception of not-self becomes steady (santháti); one who perceives not-self reaches removal of the conceit 'I am' and extinction (nibbāna) here and now.
Udāna 31 (Ud. 37)
§32. But when 'I am' is not done away with, then there is descent of the five faculties: of the eye-faculty, of the ear-faculty, of the nose-faculty, of the tongue-faculty, of the body-faculty. There is mind, monks, there are images/ideas, there is the nescience element. To the uninstructed commoner, monks, contacted by feeling born of nescience-contact, it occurs '(I) am', it occurs 'It is this that I am', it occurs 'I shall be', it occurs 'I shall not be'....[37]
Khandha Samy. 45 (iii, 46)
§33.Suppose, friends, there was a fragrant lotus, blue or red or white. Were one to say 'The fragrance belongs to the petals or the colour or the filaments', would one be speaking rightly?
– No indeed, friend.
– But how, friends, would one be speaking rightly?
– 'The fragrance belongs to the flower', thus indeed, friend, would one be speaking rightly.
– Just so, friends, I do not say 'I am matter (feeling, perception, determinations, consciousness)', nor do I say 'I am other than matter (feeling, perception, determinations, consciousness)'. And yet, friends, with regard to the five holding aggregates, 'I am' occurs to me, but I do not consider 'This am I'. Although, friends, the five lower fetters may be put away in a noble disciple, yet there is still a remnant for him, regarding the five holding aggregates, of the desire 'I am', of the aroma 'I am', that is not removed. At a later time he dwells contemplating arising and dissolution of the five holding aggregates: 'Thus matter (feeling, perception, determinations, consciousness), thus arising of matter (...consciousness), thus passing away of matter (...consciousness). For him, contemplating arising and dissolution of these five holding aggregates, the remnant regarding the five holding aggregates, of the desire 'I am', of the aroma 'I am', that was not removed, comes to be removed.[38]
Khandha Samy. 89 (iii, 130-1)
§34. At present, indeed, I am devoured by matter (...consciousness); in the past too I was devoured by matter (...consciousness), just as I am at present devoured by presently arisen matter (...consciousness); and indeed, if I were to delight in future matter (...consciousness), in the future too I should be devoured by matter (...consciousness), just as I am at present devoured by presently arisen matter (...consciousness).[39]
Khandha Samy. 79 (iii, 87-8)
§35. Matter (...consciousness), monks, is not-self. For if, monks, matter (...consciousness) were self, then matter (...consciousness) would not lead to affliction, and one would obtain of matter (...consciousness) 'Let my matter be thus, let my matter not be thus'. As indeed, monks, matter (...consciousness) is not-self, so matter (...consciousness) leads to affliction, and it is not obtained of matter (...consciousness) 'Let my matter be thus, let my matter not be thus'.[40]
Khandha Samy. 59 (iii, 66)
§36.Might there be anxiety about subjective absence, lord?
– There might be, monk, the Auspicious One said. Here, monk, someone holds this view: 'The world is self; and when I have departed I shall be permanent, enduring, eternal, not having the nature of change; and like this shall I remain for ever and ever'. He listens to the Tathāgata or his disciple setting forth the Teaching for the destroying of all tendencies to views, assertions, obsessions, and insistencies, for the calming of all determinations, for the relinquishing of all foundations, for the destroying of craving, for fading out, for ceasing, for extinction. It occurs to him 'I shall surely be annihilated! I shall surely perish! I shall surely be no more!' He sorrows, is distressed, and laments, and, beating his breast and bewailing, he falls into confusion. Thus indeed, monks, there is anxiety about subjective absence.[41]
M. 22 (i, 136-7)
§37. There is, monks, a non-born, non-become, non-made, non-determined; for if, monks, there were not that non-born, non-become, non-made, non-determined, an escape here from the born, become, made, determined, would not be manifest.
Udāna viii,3 (Ud. 80)
§38. There is, morks, that base where there is neither earth nor water nor fire nor air nor the base of endless space nor the base of endless consciousness nor the base of nothingness nor the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception nor this world nor another world, neither sun nor moon; there, monks, I say that there is neither coming nor going nor standing nor falling away nor arising; that is without establishment, without procedure, without basis; that is just the ending of unpleasure (suffering).
Udāna viii,1 (Ud. 80)
§39. Since herein for you (i.e, as, within, or without any or all of the five aggregates), friend Yamaka, here and now the Tathāgata actually and in truth is not to be found, is that explanation of yours proper: 'As I comprehend the Teaching set forth by the Tathāgata, at the breaking up of the body of a monk whose cankers are destroyed, he is annihilated, he perishes, after death he is not'?[42]
Khandha Samy. 85 (iii, 112)
Footnotes:
[1] In mental concentration there is progressive subsidence of speech-determination (second jhāna), body-determination (fourth jhāna), and mind-determination (attainment of cessation of perception and feeling). Majjhima 44. See footnote 21.[Back to text]
[2] 'For finally the foetus was me; it represents the factual limit of my memory but not the theoretical limit of my past. There is a metaphysical problem concerning birth in that I can be anxious to know how I happen to have been born from that particular embryo; and this problem is perhaps insoluble.' Being and Nothingness [B&N], p. 139. [Back to text]
[3] The five holding aggregates: matter (or substance), feeling, perception, determinations, consciousness. [Back to text]
[4] Six elements: earth, water, fire, air, space, consciousness. [Back to text]
[5] Being: être. [Back to text]
[6] Holding: maniere d'être. 'The desire of being is always realized as the desire of a mode of being.' B&N, p. 567. [Back to text]
[7] Craving: manque d'être. 'Freedom is precisely the being which makes itself a lack of being. But since desire, as we have established, is identical with lack of being, freedom can arise only as being which makes itself a desire of being...' B&N, p. 567. [Back to text]
[8] Feeling: appectivité. 'It is this original relation which subsequently allows the empirical establishment of particular lacks as lacks suffered or endured.' B&N, p. 199. [Back to text]
[9] Contact: liberté en situation. [Back to text]
[10] The six bases: le corps pour soi. [Back to text]
[11] Name-&-matter: signification-et-existent-brut/l'objet transcendant/l'être-en-soi/la chose-ustensile/ceci. 'There is an unchangeable element in the past... and an element which is eminently variable. But since, on the other hand, the meaning of the past fact penetrates it through and through... it is finally impossible for me to distinguish the unchangeable brute existence from the variable meaning which it includes.' B&N, p. 497-8. [Back to text]
[12] Consciousness: conscience/l'être-pour-soi, etc. [Back to text]
[13] Determinations: néatisation. [Back to text]
[14] Nescience can perhaps be regarded as the tacit assumption (Project) that there is permanance, failing which there can be no néatisation. See footnote 31. 'The first potentiality of the object as the correlate of the engagement, an ontological structure of the negation, is permanence...' B&N, p. 193 [Back to text]
[15] 'There cannot be "nothingness of consciousness" before consciousness.' B&N, p. lv. Cf. A NOTE ON PATICCASAMUPPĀDA §§24 & 25. 'Consequently it is impossible at any particular moment when we consider a For-itself, to apprehend it as not-yet-having a Past.' B&N, p. 138. '...there can be no consciousness without a past.' B&N, p. 138. [Back to text]
[16] 'Fundamentally man is the desire to be, and the existence of this desire is not to be established by an empirical induction; it is the result of an a priori description of the being of the for-itself, since desire is a lack and since the for-itself is the being which is to itself its own lack of being.' B&N, p. 565. [Back to text]
[17] 'The for-itself arises as the nihilation of the in-itself and this nihilation is defined as the project towards the in-itself. Between the nihilated in-itself and the projected in-itself the for-itself is nothingness.' B&N, p. 565. [Back to text]
[18] 'It is by its very surpassing of the given towards its end that freedom causes the given to exist as this given here (previously there was neither this nor that nor here) and the given thus designated is not formed in any way whatsoever; it is a brute existence, assumed in order to be surpassed.' B&N, p. 508. The fact that designation-contact affects matter – i.e. adaptation of the body or senses, appearance of a/the future state of the world, defining the present state, but whose presumed effects (always 'magical') are manifest objectively as bodily disturbances after emotion, for example, or as bodily movement or as psychokinetic phenomena etc. – would seem to account for the various supernormal accomplishments (iddhi) obtainable by the practice of mental concentration (Dīgha 2), and also for obtaining a fresh body after death. This text and 27 appear to require that ideas (dhammā) – 'What are cognized by the mind' – be regarded as 'matter' (or existence brut) along with visible forms, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches. In other words, ideas are images. See footnote 33. [Back to text]
[19] 'The In-itself is what the For-itself was before.' B&N, p. 139. '...since the for-itself is the being which always lays claim to an "after" there is no place for death in the being which is for-itself.' B&N, p. 540. See 17. [Back to text]
[20] 'Thus at the end of this account sensation and action are rejoined and become one.' B&N, p. 325. [Back to text]
[21] 'The result is that the psychic form contains two coexisting contradictory modalities of being, since it is already made and appears in the cohesive unity of an organism and since at the same time it can exist only through a succession of "nows", each one of which tends to be isolated in an in-itself.' B&N, pp. 165-6. [Back to text]
[22] This double 'movement', name –> matter, matter –> name, calls to mind the 'feedback' characteristic of end-seeking machines. Cf. also B&N, pp. 126-7. Cf. also A NOTE ON PATICCASAMUPPĀDA §19, NĀMA, PHASSA (a), SANKHĀRA. [Back to text]
[23] 'It is precisely my being-for-others, this being which is divided between two negations with opposed origins and opposite meanings.' B&N, p. 286. [Back to text]
[24] 'Pleasure is the being of self-consciousness and this self-consciousness is the law of being of pleasure.' B&N, p. 286 [Back to text]
[25] '...it is the very nature of consciousness to exist "in a circle".' B&N, p. liii, Cf. also A NOTE ON PATICCASAMUPPĀDA §17. [Back to text]
[26] 'The project of being or desire of being or drive towards being ... in fact ... is not distinguished from the being of the for-itself.' B&N, pp. 564-5. [Back to text]
[27] Thus it seems that the first four aggregates – matter, feeling, perception, determinations – are equivalent to name-&-matter, though the Suttas never say so specifically – a fact that is unusually significant. See 12. [Back to text]
[28] 'Besides, if the act is not pure movement, it must be defined by an intention.' B&N, p. 477. Cf. A NOTE ON PATICCASAMUPPĀDA §4. [Back to text]
[29] Note that in this passage the description of matter, feeling, perception, and consciousness are not as in 9 and 19: 'Matter' is afflicted by heat, cold, hunger, thirst, insects, etc.; 'feeling' is pleasant, unpleasant, and neither-pleasant-nor-unpleasant; 'perception' is of blue, yellow, red, etc.; 'consciousness' is of sour, bitter, etc. Cf. A NOTE ON PATICCASAMUPPĀDA §14, 14. [Back to text]
[30] 'All that there is of intention in my actual consciousness is directed toward the outside, toward the table; all my judgments or practical activities, all my present inclinations transcend themselves; they aim at the table and are absorbed in it.' B&N, pp. li-lii. 'What the world makes known to me is only "worldly".' B&N, p. 200. 'It is the instrumental-things which in their original appearance indicate our body to us. The body is not a secret between things and ourselves; it manifests only the individuality and the contingency in our original relation to instrumental-things.' B&N, p. 325. 'It would be useless to look there (in the body for-me) for traces of a physiological organ, of an anatomical and spatial constitution. Either it is the center of reference indicated emptily by the instrumental-objects of the world or else it is the contingency which the for-itself exists. More exactly, these two modes of being are complementary.' B&N, p. 339. Cf. NĀMA. [Back to text]
[31] 'Thus it is the upsurge of the for-itself in the world by which the same stroke causes the world to exist as the totality of things and causes senses to exist as the objective mode in which the qualities of things are presented.' B&N, p. 319. 'In this sense we defined the senses and the sense organs in general as our being-in-the-world in so far as we have to be it in the form of being-in-the-midst-of-the-world.' B&N, p. 325. Cf. MANO. [Back to text]
[32] 'It is through human reality that multiplicity comes into the world...' B&N, p. 137. [Back to text]
[33] 'If the situation is neither subjective nor objective, this is because it does not constitute a knowledge nor even an affective comprehension of the state of the world by a subject. The situation is a relation of being between a for-itself and the in-itself which the for-itself nihilates. The situation is the whole subject (he is nothing but his situation) and it is also the whole "thing"...' B&N, p. 549. 'Six internal/external (subjective/objective) bases' are sometimes spoken of (e.g. Dīgha 22 (ii, 292-304)). The external bases – visible forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, images/ideas – are existence brut and appear to correspond to the 'matter' of name-&-matter or rather, the 'matter' of name-&-matter is (at any level) the discrepancy between the external bases and the internal bases as (bodily) adaptation ('...the glass-drunk-from haunts the full glass as its possible and constitutes it as a glass to be drunk from' B&N, p. 104). The internal bases – eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind – have name-&-matter as condition; and they may perhaps be thought of as a field (in the mathematical sense) defined by name-&-matter (cf. 'The "this" always appears on a ground; that is, on the undifferentiated totality of being inasmuch as the For-itself is the radical and syncretic negation of it.' B&N, p. 182). But since every name-&-matter, every ceci, that is to say, is itself a project to change a ceci of lower order ('But at the same time that freedom is a surpassing of this given, it chooses itself as this surpassing of the given. Freedom is not just any kind of surpassing of any kind of given. By assuming the brute given and by conferring meaning on it, freedom has suddenly chosen itself; its end is exactly to change this given, just as the given appears as this given in the light of the end chosen.' B&N, p. 508), every field (of whatever order) is a field of field-changes. It is perhaps significant that there is a Sutta passage (A. IV,171 (ii, 158) where 'field (khetta) and 'ground' (vatthu) are synonyms for 'base'(āyatana). [Back to text]
[34] 'In fact the lemon is extended throughout its qualities and each of its qualities is extended throughout each of the others.' B&N, p. 186. '...it is this total inter-penetration which we call the this.' B&N, p. 186. The word 'faculty' (indriya) aprears to be used when the senses are spoken of without reference to the situation, and may refer either to one's own senses (as here) or to the sensee d'autrui, sometimes in the same passage. The word 'six bases' (salāyataná) is never, it seems, used of other' senses. [Back to text]
[35] 'The revelation of the table as table requires a permanence of table which comes to it from the future and which is not a purely established given, but a potentiality.' B&N, p. 193. 'The being of human reality is suffering because it rises in being as perpetually haunted by a totality which it is without being able to be it; precisely because it could not attain the in-itself without losing itself as for-itself.' B&N, p. 90. Why is this of necessity a condition for suffering? 'The possible is that which a For-itself lacks in order to be itself or, if you prefer, the appearance of what I am – at a distance.' B&N, p. 125. 'The eternity which man is seeking is not the infinity of duration, of that vain pursuit after the self for which I am myself responsible; man seeks a repose in self, the atemporality of the absolute coincidence with himself.' B&N, p. 141-2. Cf. A NOTE ON PATICCASAMUPPĀDA §12 et seq. [Back to text]
[36] 'The "thing" exists straightway as a "form"; that is, a whole which is not affected by any of the superficial parasitic variations which we can see on it. Each this is revealed with a law of being which determines its threshold, its level of change where it will cease to be what it is in order simply not to be.' B&N, pp. 205-6. [Back to text]
[37] 'In order for value to become the object of a thesis, the for-itself which it haunts must also appear before the regard of reflection.' B&N, p. 95. Cf. DHAMMA (b). [Back to text]
[38] 'Pure reflection is never anything but a quasi-knowledge....' B&N, p. 162. '...everywhere and in whatever manner it affects itself, the for-itself is condemned to be-for-itself. In fact, it is here that pure reflection is discovered.' B&N, p. 160. [Back to text]
[39] 'My attitude ... is ... a pure mode ... of causing myself to be drunk in by things as ink is by a blotter...' B&N, p. 259. [Back to text]
[40] '...a being which would be its own foundation could not suffer the slightest discrepancy between what it is and what it conceives, for it would produce itself in conformance with its comprehension of being and could conceive only of what it is.' B&N, p. 80. Cf. PARAMATTHA SACCA §6, DHAMMA. [Back to text]
[41] 'Yet at each moment I apprehend this initial choice as contingent and unjustifiable; at each moment therefore I am on the site suddenly to consider it objectively and consequently to surpass it and to make-it-past by causing the liberating instant to arise. Hence my anguish, the fear which I have of being suddenly exorcized (i.e., of becoming radically other); but hence also the frequent upsurge of "conversions" which cause me totally to metamorphose my original project.' B&N, p. 475. Cf. SAÑÑĀ. [Back to text]
[42] 'It is impossible to conceive of a consciousness which would not exist in these three dimensions.' B&N, p. 137. It is clear from the Suttas that extinction is attained in this very lifetime and that this does not entail immediate death. The question might be asked how it is that an arahat (the Buddha himself, for example) while he still lives can walk and talk and eat and drink, even though consciousness (Pour-soi) has ceased. But since a living arahat cannot actually and in truth be said to exist, except by another who is not himself an arahat, it seems hardly reasonable to look to ontology for an answer. The question, however, is invalid, since it assumes the arahat's existence: where name-&-matter and consciousness have ceased, what conceivable mode of designation, expression, or description can there be? In 37 and 38 the Buddha asserts that release is possible. I see no way of showing that assertion to be false, but without individually attaining release, I see no way of showing it to be true. Cf. PARAMATTHA SACCA §4. [Back to text]
