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Studies in the Origins of Buddhism c19: Chapter XIII. The Way to Nirvāṇa

Studies in the Origins of Buddhism c19

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Chapter XIII. The Way to Nirvāṇa

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The Way and the Truth.—Setting out to solve the problem of Suffering, Buddha discovered its answer in that transcendental illusion (Avidyā) under the force of which our minds construct for themselves a stable universe of separate individuals and substances, finite “selves” and objects, where life after life is spent in the unavailing pursuit of phantasms. Depending on a beginningless Ignorance, arise Name-and-Form, a world of individual persons and things, and depending on this arises experience by way of contact, and thence pleasure and pain, love and hate. Craving and striving, ‘we’ lay down the weary burden of one life only to pick up that of another. Thus moves on the impersonal process of Suffering, uncreated, but contingent. It ceases when its basic condition—Avidyā—is removed by Perfect Knowledge (Sambodhi), and Nirvāṇa is thus attained. That knowledge should lead to final deliverance, is in perfect accord with Upaniṣadic ideas.¹ The Way to Nirvāṇa is really the Way to Awakening.²

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¹ See supra, Chap. VIII.

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² Cf. Siddhi. II. pp. 676-7.

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We have seen that the Dharma to which Gotama awoke has a transcendental as well as an immanent aspect.³ As immanent, it stands for the Law which gives order to phenomena, by which they arise and cease. The Law thus provides a way following which we can obtain knowledge and transcend suffering. The way which leads to the cessation of Duḥkha is naturally the reverse (viloma) of that by which Duḥkha arises. Here we must begin by placing restraint over actions, passions, and contacts (Sparśa), and by meditating over the insubstantiality of the empirical world—physical and psychical—attain to Prajñā, which would remove the veil of Avidyā.

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³ See supra, Chap. XI.

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The Buddhist Way and the Upanisads.—Of this view we can, again, notice an anticipation in the Upanisadic thought-world, where at one place, Dharma is declared the Law, following which the sun rises and sets, which is the same to-day as to-morrow (Bṛ. Up. I. 5. 23). In this sense it continues the older conception of Ṛta. But Dharma generally stands in the Upanisads for moral and religious observances,⁴ and in Bṛ. Up. I. 4. 14, it is interpreted as the principle of Well-being which holds society together, the king of kings, the Truth.⁵ In orthodox thought, Dharma came to be used primarily for sacred law governing man’s conduct in society.⁶ In contrast with the Buddhist usage, which is more metaphysical,⁷ the Brahmanical usage of Dharma places greater emphasis on its social and institutional aspect. Besides, the Buddhist usage emphasizes the impersonal and autonomous character of Dharma, while in Vedic usage it is closely connected with the will and ways of gods.⁸ Finally, whereas Buddha based his Dharma on personal intuition (Paccattavedaniya), the orthodox Vedic view bases it on faith and revelation (vide Śabara’s explanation of Dharma as codanālaKṣaṇa).

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⁴ Ch. Up. 7. 2. 1; Ib. 7.7.1; Kaṭh. 1.2.14; Bṛ. 4.4.5; But cf. Kaṭh. 1.2.13; Ib. 1.1.21

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⁵ Cf. Coomarswamy, The Living Thoughts of Gotama Buddha, p. 23, which gives Buddhist parallels.

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⁶ Kane, Hist. of the Dh. Ś. I. pp. 2-3.

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⁷ See above; cf. Bu-ston, I. pp. 18-19.

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⁸ e.g., RS. X. 21.3; Ib. IV. 53.3; Ib. VI. 7.1; Bṛ.. Up. I. 5.23, where mark “Tan devāścakrire dharmam....”

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The Ch. Upaniṣad (VI. 14) compares the seeker after spiritual truth with a man who has been led away blind-folded and seeks to reach his destination by gradually discovering and following the way back home. This is akin to the idea of Buddha who claimed to be only the Guide that indicated the ancient highway which leads to Nirvāṇa.⁹ Although the Upaniṣads emphasize knowledge as the means to salvation, they point out the need of virtuous action and the restraint of passions for the attainment of spiritual knowledge and freedom.¹⁰ The emphasis on Karma in the sense of ritual is changed into the indispensability of ethical discipline as the first step in spiritual life. This tendency is carried over into Buddhism and accentuated to such a degree that some popular accounts confound Buddhism with simple morality.¹¹

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⁹ MN. III. 4-6; SN. IV. 359; SN. III. 108.

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¹⁰ Kaṭh. I. 2.23; Ib. I. 3.7-8; Muṇḍ. III. 1.5; Ib. III. 2.4; Śvet. VI. 21. See above.

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¹¹ See below.

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The Upaniṣads mention meditation and contemplation as means to knowledge.¹² These Yogic practices come to occupy a central place in the way followed and taught by Buddha. The Awakening which dispels Ignorance arises from the practice of Dhyāna.¹³

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¹² See above, Chap. VIII.

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¹³ See above, Chaps. IX, XI, XII, and also below.

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Sila-Samadhi-Prajna.—The way to Nirvāṇa thus falls naturally into three stages. Its first stage consists in the practice of virtue and the avoidance of sin. Then comes the practice of Dhyāna or contemplation. And, finally, comes the attainment of knowledge or intuition of Truth.

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The ancient Sāmaññaphala text describes a course of the monk's spiritual progress which exhibits well the threefold division into Sīla, Samādhi and Paññā. It is expressly so divided at many places in the Nikāyas.¹⁴ Sometimes the scheme is made four-stepped through the addition of Vimutti,¹⁵ or it is made a fivefold through the further addition of "vimutti-ñāṇadassana".¹⁶ The threefold division is the basis of Visuddhimaggo, and is found in Sarvāstivāda works also.¹⁷ The fact is that with variations it belongs to the universal repertoire of Mysticism.¹⁸

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¹⁴ DN. s. 8; Ib. S. 10. cf. AN. II. 183; AN. III. 14. 15; SN. I. 13.

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¹⁵ AN. II Suttas 1, 2, 75; Ib. 239.

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¹⁶ AN. III. 271.

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¹⁷ Thomas—Life—p. 44 fn. Cf. Ab. K. IV. p. 142f.

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¹⁸ Cf. Pratt, The Religious Consciousness, p. 374.

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It will, however, be a mistake to suppose that Buddha taught the Dharma in neat and precise formulae. Like Jesus, Gotama provided his followers with parables and exhortations. The Dhamma which he left behind was an inspiration, not a detailed handbook. He knew that treading the spiritual path is nothing mechanical and formal. His followers as naturally sought to encompass the Dhamma intellectually and create the Abhidhamma out of it. The very breadth of the founder's vision led them to a variety of different and even conflicting conceptions, for the practical teaching of the Buddha varied according to the need and capacity of the individuals whom he addressed.¹⁹ The Buddha pointed to the moon of Truth; his followers were often content to seize the finger.²⁰

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¹⁹ Cf. "Deśanā lokanāthānāṃ sattvāśayavaśānugāḥ". Quoted from Bodhicittavivaraṇa by Vācaspati Miśra in Bhāmatī on BS II. 2. 18. Śaṅkara too refers the diversity of Buddhist doctrine to Pratipattibheda or Vineyabheda. Cf. MM. G. N. Kaviraj in Sarasvati Bhavana Studies I pt. I. p. 33.

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²⁰ Cf. Siddhi II. p. 669.

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What the Way was not.—The negative aspects of the way are more or less clear. External sacrifice and the superstitious worship of Nature-deities were opposed by Buddha.²¹ Real sacrifice and worship, he held, were internal and consisted in the practice of virtue.²² Similarly he opposed the extreme austerities which contemporary Samaṇa sects like the Nigaṇṭhas and the Ājīvakas practised.²³ This, however, must not be taken to mean that he condemned all austerities indiscriminately.²⁴ He appears to have conceded to asceticism a limited usefulness.²⁵ Further, in as far as the contemporary “mystic” practices were undertaken to attain to this or that Deva world, Buddha considered them unsatisfactory,²⁶ although he himself appears to have taught a “Jhānic”

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²¹ DN. Tevijjasutta, Sigālovāda°; Further ref. in Chap. X.

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²² SN. I. 169, 183; DN Kūṭadanta°, Sigālovāda°.

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²³ MN. I. 156; SN. I. 103; DN. III. p. 6ff; Vin. I. 159; of AN. III pp. 219–20.

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²⁴ DN. I. 162, 167; under certain circumstances even suicide was not opposed—SN. III. 123. The practice may have been originally affiliated to the Nigaṇṭhas. About Tapa, Gotama's was a Vibhajjavāda, not an ekamsavāda. AN. V. 190.

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²⁵ MN. I. s. 45; Ib. II. p. 225.

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²⁶ MN. II. 87; Cf. MN. S. 8. This is opposed to the opinion of Mrs. Rhys Davids who sees in Jhāna, for Buddha, a means for “access” to the Deva-worlds, Sakya, 180. It is hard to agree with this view. Psychic development, including clairaudience and clairvoyance, is certainly claimed in the Nikāyas to be one of the results of Jhānic practice. But there is no reason to suppose that that was the aim for which Buddha engaged in Jhāna. The yogic tradition is opposed to such a utilisation of Jhāna. Further, it sounds not a little strange to hear that the Enlightened One sought enlightenment from converse with the Devas. Moggalāna's instance is of doubtful authenticity here and is isolated. Besides, that he should have felt the need of obtaining “his leader's sanction” is itself significant. AN. II. 184 does not say that one should practise Jhāna for reaching the Devas.

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or contemplative way.²⁷ The precise determination of what Buddha taught positively as spiritual discipline presents difficulties. According to D.s. 16 the dying charge of the Master was what later came to be called the 37 Bodhipakkhiya dhammas.²⁸ Here the order of the various groups in the list is "just a matter of arithmetical progression, as elsewhere; first the fours, then the fives, the sevenfold, the eightfold."²⁹ On the other hand, the order of these very groups in SN. V. is more erratic, and what is more, the eightfold Maggo here occupies the first instead of the last place. This suggests that the report in DN. sutta 16 reflects a later stage, when ordering had become more systematic, and when the importance of the eightfold Path had somewhat receded.³⁰

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²⁷ See above, Chap. on "Buddha's life"; & below.

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²⁸ "(there)....in the Piṭakas themselves they occur very rarely as so-called, are never numbered as 37, and never refer to the 37 as a whole, but only to this or that section of them, or to a practice not included in them" (Mrs. Rhys Davids in K. S. V. v-vi). Cf. MN. II. Mahāsakuludāyi°; SN. IV-360; DN. III. 102 MN. II. 238.

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²⁹ Ib. p. 6.

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³⁰ Cf. Ib. p. 41.

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Atthangiko Maggo.—It is sometimes believed that the Atthangiko Maggo represents an original teaching of Buddha.³¹ Many passages from the Nikāyas, the most important occurring in the First Sermon, can apparently be quoted in support of this view.³² On the other hand, Mrs. Rhys Davids is inclined to see in these the working of later systematizing tendency.³³

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³¹ Winternitz—Ind. Lit. II, Visvabharti Quart. May 1936, 44 Thomas-Life; Keith B. P. 119, who points to the lack of system within the eight-fold scheme as evidence.

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³² DN. Pt. I. p. 182 (Nāg. ed.); Ib. p. 103; Ib. Pt. II. pp. 186-187; Ib-p 228, SN. V. Magga sam°, in general; MN. I. 16; MN. I. 48, 118, Ib. III. 109; Dhp. 273.

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³³ Original Gospel-P. 60; Sakya-89, Cf. JRAS, 1935 p. 723.

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Of the originality of the way-figure there can hardly be any doubt.³⁴ The omission of the eightfold scheme as a titular item from the Aṭṭhaka Nip. of the AN. as well as in the Saṅgīti sutta of the DN. is certainly significant and it has not as yet been satisfactorily explained.³⁵ Perhaps the heaping in of a large number of ‘way-suttas’ in the Magga-Saṃ° may partly explain the silence of the AN.³⁶ The fact, however, that in some apparently early passages the Way is spoken of without any reference to its eightfold character is extremely suggestive.³⁷ Had Buddha himself taught the Aṭṭhaṅgiko Maggo, then, in view of the later fame of the idea, we might have expected that more positive proof of it would have been preserved, and that there would have been less confusion by way of other overlapping and alternative lists.³⁸ In fact it would not seem wise to attribute the formula of the eightfold Path to Buddha himself in the absence of more convincing evidence. It is probable that he spoke only of the middle way between the two extremes of sense-pleasures (Kāmasukha) and austerities (Attakilamatho), while it "crystallized" as eightfold later.³⁹

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³⁴ See Mrs. Rhys Davids; Sakya—103; 321. By referring to the Tevijja sutta Mrs. Rhys Davids has indicated that the idea of the way was current in Buddha’s contemporary Brāhmaṇa circles too. It may be pointed out that the early Jinists also were familiar with it....See Sk. I. 11.

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³⁵ Cf. Original Gospel—App. Winternitz—Visvabharati Quart. loc. cit.; Chap. on the Stratification of the AN.

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³⁶ See Int. to AN. VI.

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³⁷ MN. s. 107; The poem of Migajāla in the Therag. (See Mrs. Rhys Davids’ comm. in Sakya p. 106); SN. V. 6 (the verses do not seem to presuppose the “eightfold” path as the prose implicitly asserts, since the elements they mention do not agree with those of the Aṭṭhaṅgiko Maggo). Sn. Hemavata° v. 24—25 which speak of the Dibba° Ariya-Patha, without giving any hint of its eightfoldness; Ib. Cunda sutta, which is concerned entirely with the Maggo but is silent about the eight “limbs”; Itv. Sutta 35 (the verses); MN. I. 63 speaks of the “Ekāyano Maggo” but defines it as the Four Satipaṭṭhānas (Dhp. verses 281—282).

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³⁸ Thus MN. s. 24 explains a seven-stepped Brahmacariya from Sīla to Nibbāna and implicitly uses the way-simile too; DN. s. 2 explains the whole course of Sāmañña from Sīla to Āsavakkhaya; MN. s. 107 too has seven steps beginning with Pātimokkhasamvara and ending with the Jhānas; the various other sublists comprised in the Bodhipakkhiyas enumerate after

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³⁹ See MN. III. pp. 230-231 and mark the difference between the text (Uddesa) and the gloss (Vibhaṅga). The middle way is at one place explained by means of the illuminative lute-simile. Just as in order to obtain sweet notes one should neither tune too high nor too low, similarly should one avoid extremes in action (Mvg.-see Brewster op. cit. p. 105 f; AN. Nip. 6 Sutta 55; the simile occurs in the Sūtra of the Forty-two Sections which was early translated into Chinese (A. O. 1927 pp. 197-237).

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Usually the Nikāyas do not explain the Aṭṭhaṅgiko Maggo beyond bare enumeration.⁴⁰ Its lack of system has been referred to. Sammādiṭṭhi apparently preserves a more ancient use of Diṭṭhi than the usual one in the Nikāyas viz. as a false view, heresy.⁴¹ The next three Aṅgas are the same as the well known triad of good actions-mental, "vocal", physical.⁴² For the explanation of Sammā Ājīva one must go back to D.s.1. Together with the next two, Sammā Vāyāma recurs in the shape of Viriya in Sambojjhaṅgas, Indriyas and Balas.⁴³ It has been explained in terms of the Sammappadhānas.⁴⁴

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⁴⁰ But see SN. V. 8-10.

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⁴¹ In such expressions as Diṭṭhisamyojana, Diṭṭhānusaya, Diṭṭhūpādāna, °samudaya, °ogha, °kantāra °jāla etc.

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⁴² Cf. Ṣaḍviṃśa Brā.-p. 4 ("Trisatyā hi devāḥ") where Sāyaṇa explains "Manovākkāyakarmāṇi Satyāni". Cf. MN. II. 26 which speaks of three Akusalasīlas with reference to Kāyakamma, Vaci° and Ājīva. .

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⁴³ The Maggo is described as 'Nicco' in AN. IV. 285, 289, 322. For its relation to the Truths see SN. V. 23-204; for its relation to the Bojjhaṅgas-Ib. 82; with the Sati-Paṭṭhānas-Ib. 179, 294, with the Iddhipādas-Ib. 254, 276. For its relation with the "Sīla-Samādhi-Paññā classification, see: MN. I. Sutta 44.

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⁴⁴ SN. V. p. 9.

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their own fashion the elements of the Path. And all of these have no essential dependence on the formula of the eightfold Path (Cf. MN. Sutta 39). The formula of the Dasaṅgiko Maggo (see AN. 10. vaggas 13-16) is possibly later still.

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The Importance of Will.—Vāyāma, Viriya, Padhāna, Parakkama, Uṭṭhāna—all these terms entering into the basic vocabulary of the earliest Buddhism emphasize the importance of “will” in spiritual discipline. This emphasis becomes significant if it is remembered that Buddha repudiated the fatalism of teachers like Makkhali Gosāla, as also the independent intervention of a supreme deity. Spiritual progress is neither the “unfolding (Nibbeṭhana) of a predetermined course as the Ājīvakas held, nor is it the result of “grace” as is proclaimed in the Kaṭh. Up. It is the result of man’s own exertion put along the right way.⁴⁵

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⁴⁵ Cf. the vigorous Uṭṭhāna sutta of the Sn., with Kaṭh 3. 14 AB. 34. 3; Sk. 1. 8. The last clearly shows how “viriya” was regarded as different from “kamma”. This distinction, with which may be compared the later Buddhist distinction of Kamma and Kiriyā, has, it will be noticed, far-reaching philosophic implications. It is further noticeable that the Jaina text identifies “Kamma” with “Pamāda” and Viriya with “Appamāda”. Now, the Uṭṭhāna sutta also equates Pamāda to “Raja” and advocates Appamāda, the commendation of which is supposed to have been the “Pacchimā vācā” of the Tathāgata (cf. the Appamāda vaggo of the Dhp.).

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Keith holds this view to be a contradiction to that of universal contingency and Nairātmya.⁴⁶ Mrs. Rhys Davids would answer by saying that Buddha did believe in a self which became better or worse in accordance with its exertions. The principle of contingency was proclaimed for the very purpose of freeing man through knowledge. This is in fact her central contention about the gospel of Buddha. For a solution of the philosophical difficulty involved along more orthodox lines the exposition of Rosenberg may be mentioned.⁴⁷ Only, it must be remembered that these subtle and speculative implications were most probably not present to the ancient Buddhist.

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⁴⁶ B.P. p. 116.

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⁴⁷ Op. Cit. pp. 242–244.

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Sammappadhana.—The scheme of the Sammappadhānas contains no more than the idea of exertion expressed systematically in the four stages of the Saṃvara and Pahāṇa of Akusaladhammas and the Bhāvanā and Anurakkhana of Kusaladhammas.⁴⁸ Padhāna leads to Nibbāna;⁴⁹ depends on Sīla⁵⁰ and destroys the Saṃyojanas.⁵¹

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⁴⁸ Cf. AN. II. 16 where the last two Padhānas are explained in a curious manner cf. Ib. 74.

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⁴⁹ SN. V. 244–’8, IV. 360–364.

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⁵⁰ Ib. V. 246.

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⁵¹ Ib. V. 247–’8.

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“Powers and Faculties”.—The five Indriyas and the Five Balas are exactly identical. The old meaning of the two terms was doubtless the same;⁵² still, the repetition of an identical list under two titles within the same whole needs explanation.

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⁵² Cf. Chap. VIII.

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There is another list of Five Balas, *viz.* Sati, Hirī, Ottappa, Viriya and Paññā.⁵³ A list of seven Balas combines this with the aforementioned and arranges thus—Saddhā, Viriya, Hirī, Ottappa, Sati, Samādhi and Paññā.⁵⁴ In this context another list of Four Balas—Paññā, Viriya, Anavajja, Saṅgha—may also be mentioned.⁵⁵

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⁵³ AN. III. 10

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⁵⁴ AN. IV. 3.

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⁵⁵ Ib. 363.

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Five different senses of “Indriya” may be distinguished in the Nikāyas: (a) Physical faculties in general⁵⁶ (b) Sense-organs in particular,⁵⁷ (c) faculty, mental or moral⁵⁸ (d) stages to Arahatta and⁵⁹ (e) modes of feeling.⁶⁰

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⁵⁶ SN. V. 20f, Ib. II. 2, 42;

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⁵⁷ *Five*. SN. III. 225–’7, 218–’30, IV. 168–’9; MN. I. 295. *Six* Ib. IV. 176, V–74, 205, 230.

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⁵⁸ SN. V. 219-20, III. 96, 153, V. 49, 193ff; 277-'9; MN. I. 479.

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⁵⁹ SN. V. 204.

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⁶⁰ SN. V. 207, 209-'11.

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In the third sense, the usual list of five is the same as that of the Balas viz. Saddhā, Viriya, Sati, Samādhi and Paññā. One passage omits the last, and has only four.⁶¹ Another has only three—Sati, Samādhi and Paññā. These faculties lead to Upasama and Sambodhi,⁶² and to the extinction of the Anusayas and the Saññojanas.⁶³ These five faculties are mentioned in the Yoga-Darśana, also, where they are supposed to be conducive to Samprajñāta Samādhi.⁶⁴

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⁶¹ AN. II. 141.

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⁶² SN. V. 202-3, Cf. Ib. V. 223-'24.

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⁶³ Ib. V. 236.

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⁶⁴ It is sometimes supposed that Śraddhā, Vīrya, Smṛti, Samādhi and Prajñā represent the natural order in the attainment of knowledge. (MM. Gopinath Kaviraj-Kalyāṇa-Yogāṅka-p. 55).

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Their discussion raises at the very outset the problem of Faith in early Buddhism.

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Faith.—According to Professors Keith⁶⁵ and La Vallée Poussin,⁶⁶ faith in the Buddha was essential to the earliest Buddhist belief. An important distinction, however, must be effected. The doctrine as preached by Buddha is not the same thing as understood by his followers later. In Buddha's own realisation faith played but little part. He preached in opposition to established faiths. He criticized believing on faith alone⁶⁷ and claimed to teach a doctrine which anybody could directly realize for himself.⁶⁸ Faith in a sense implying an authoritarian or traditionist position could obviously have no place in his system.⁶⁹

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61a SN. V. 224.

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⁶⁵ Op. Cit. p. 122.

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⁶⁶ Dogme p. 10, 54.

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⁶⁷ See DN. I. Tevijja°. MN. II. Caṅki°. A frequently occurring passage reports Buddha as asserting that belief based on Saddhā, Ruci, Anussava, Ākāraparivitakka and Diṭṭhinijjhānak-khanti is as liable to be erroneous as right (MN. II. 218, 234; AN. I. 189 etc.). Just as Buddha criticized the Brāhmaṇas for accepting on faith and tradition alone, so did he criticize the Nigaṇṭhas—MN. s. 101. In the later sūtra on the Four Pratisaraṇas this very attitude is reflected, as also in the well known quotation from the Ghana sūtra (see Stcherbatsky Buddh. Logic I. pp. 76–77).

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⁶⁸ In the famous formula for Dhamma—“Sand’ṭṭhiko akāliko ehipassiko opanayiko paccattaṃ veditabbo viññūhi” e.g. DN. II. 222).

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⁶⁹ MN. I. 320 distinguishes faith based on sight (dassana-mūlikā Saddhā) from ordinary—“blind”—faith; cf. the controversy between Citta and Nātaputta in SN. IV. 298.

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On the other hand, it is quite clear that “Saddhā” was early considered essential.⁷⁰ Saddhā, however, appears to be not simply believing on authority, but has reference also to heartfelt enthusiasm for a cause.

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⁷⁰ Thus Saddhā (which, it may be noted, does not form part of the eightfold path) is one of the five Indriyas, is likened to a seed (SN. I. 172), forms a part of the chariot of salvation (Ib. V. 6) and is the great helper (dutiyā) of man (SN. I. 25, 38, IV. 70). It is the best treasure of a man (SN. I. 214), through it one crosses the “flood” (Ib). For those who had faith was the gateway to immortality open (Ib. 138).

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“Mindfulness”.—The importance of Sati is apparent from the fact that five out of the seven lists included in the Bodhipakkhiyas stress it, one being devoted entirely to it. Several suttas are concerned with its detailed

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This comes out in the usage “Saddhāya vatamhi agārasmā anagāriyaṃ pabbajito” (Ud. p. 36) Cf. Vyāsa ad Yoga sūtra I. 20 “Śraddhā cetasaḥ samprasādaḥ”. Tattvavaiśāradī says “sa hi cetasaḥ samprasādobhiruciraticchā śraddhā”. The Vāritka explains more clearly “Samprasādaḥ prītiḥ yogo me bhūyādityabhilāṣaḥ.”

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exposition and it has been called "Ekāyano Maggo". The details of the Kāyagatā Sati,⁷¹ Ānāpāna sati⁷² and the four satipaṭṭhānas⁷³ may represent a later development, but the fundamental idea—the necessity of a constant mindfulness—certainly appears to have been very ancient. From the very start Buddhism appears to have, "in its earnest hopeful system of self-culture, set itself strenuously against a distrait habit of the mind, calling it tatra-tatrābhinandinī—'the there-and-there-dalliance'; as it were of the butterfly."⁷⁴ It therefore urged the cultivation of Sati-sampajañña—the psychological state of prepared and pre-adjusted sense or voluntary attention.⁷⁵

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⁷¹ MN. I. 266 explains Kāyasati as alertness with respect to the senses; Ib. s. 119 describes a number of ways in which it may be practised. Kāyagatā sati appears here equivalent to the Ānāpāna sati as applied to body only and elaborately considered.

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⁷² MN. III. 82–84; AN. V. III. f.

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⁷³ MN. Satipaṭṭhāna°; DN. Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna°; SN. V. Satipaṭṭhāna Sam. Cf. a curious list of Tayo Satipaṭṭhānā in MN. III. 221. The four Satipaṭṭhānas are essentially exercised in introspection-paccavekkhaṇa, on which vide MN. Ambalaṭṭhikārāhulovāda°.

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⁷⁴ B. P. E. LXIX.

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⁷⁵ Ib. LXVIII.

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The function of Sati was conceived as that of a protective censor.⁷⁶ It was a faculty higher than mind, and leading to emancipation.⁷⁷ It is mentioned in close connection with Samādhi, and reached its perfection in the fourth Jhāna.⁷⁸

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⁷⁶ "Satārakkhena cetasā" AN. V. 30; (Sati) Parivāraṇaṃ SN. I. 33, as Ārakkhasārathi, V. 6, as cetaso ārakkho iv. 27; as Dovāriko 194; Satādhipateyya AN. II. 243–4; Lokasmim jāgaro SN. I. 44.

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⁷⁷ SN. V. 218.

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⁷⁸ MN. I. 90, 357. This "Sati-parisuddhi" appears to be quite different from its namesake mentioned in the YS. It may be noted that Smṛti is used in a sense different from that

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The Bojjhaṅgas appear to have been meant as an enumeration of the factors tending towards Bodhi. They seem to have been considered especially effective against the Nīvaraṇas,⁷⁹ but all of them were not to be cultivated in all states of the Citta. Thus "Viriya" alone is the antidote to "Līnatta", not "Passaddhi".⁸⁰ The Sambojjhaṅgas depended for their perfection on the Satipaṭṭhānas and in turn perfected "Vijjāvimutti".⁸¹

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⁷⁹ SN. V. Bojjhaṅgasaṃ°.

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⁸⁰ SN. V. 13-14. Cf. Buddhaghosa's advice on Indriyasamatā. Vm. p. 87.

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⁸¹ SN. V. 329, 331-'5, 337-'40; MN. III. 82.

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Iddhipadas.—The most natural interpretation of the Iddhipādas would be to regard them as practices tending to bring about "Iddhis" or supernormal powers.⁸² So much indeed is at places explicitly asserted.⁸³ On the other hand, the Iddhipādas are also described as leading to Nibbāna⁸⁴ and to be essential to Vimutti.⁸⁵ The detailed description of the Four Iddhipādas is not perfectly clear. It is couched in more or less vague and general terms.⁸⁶

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⁸² Buddhaghosa, following Paṭisam°, describes the following types of iddhis: Adhiṭṭhānā, vikubbanā, manomayā, ñāṇavipphārā, samādhivipphārā, ariyā, kammavipākajā, puññāvato, and vijjāmāyā. (Vm. p. 262f Nāg. ed.) With this may be compared YS. IV. 1.

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⁸³ SN. V. 276; Ib. 259-60; 264-6, 271-4.

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⁸⁴ Ib. 253, 290.

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⁸⁵ Ib. 257, 276.

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⁸⁶ The four Iddhipādas are Chandasamādhipadhānasaṅkhāra-Samannāgata Iddhipāda, Viriya°, Citta° and Vīmaṃsā°. They are thus described in the Janavasabha° of the DN. The following is the not very enlightening explanation offered in

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of just memory in the Ch. Up. (7, 26, 2) and the BG. (18, 73, cf. 2, 63). The close relation existing between "recollection" and "contemplation" is noted in Christian literature too—see—ERE. IV. p. 694; The Practice of the Presence of God (Brother Lawrence) p. 36, (Pub. Samuel Bagster & Sons Ltd.).

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Mrs. Rhys Davids rightly pleads for a more careful and sympathetic treatment of the whole subject of Iddhi (Sakya. p. 235). The connection of some of the Iddhis with the subject of psychical research is doubtless apparent, although those forming part of the formula for the “iddhividhās” are altogether more “wonderful”. Of miracles (Pāṭihāriya) Iddhi is only a part. In DN.-s-11 Buddha is made to distinguish between Iddhipāṭihāriya, ādesana°87 and anusāsani°. All these belong to the class of the supernormal (Uttarimanussa Dhammā) Buddha points out that the first two may also be the result of Gandhārī vijjā (magic) or crystal-gazing (maṇikā nāma vijjā). It is the third which alone is truly spiritual, and is consequently advocated. The hostile attitude of Buddha towards ‘Iddhi’ as commonly understood comes out also in DN. III. (1st sutta).88

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It appears that in Buddha’s times the claim to miraculous powers was common among the samaṇas. Buddha taught a way which incidentally gave to the monk such powers also;89 but this aspect of the discipline was not encouraged overmuch by Buddha.90

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the SN. (V. 268 f.). “Chandaṃ....nissāya labhati samādhiṃ.. cittassa ekaggataṃ ayaṃ vuccati chandasamādhi (here the 4 sammapadhānas are described) ime vuccanti padhānasaṅkhārā. iti ayaṃ ca chando ayaṃ ca chandasamādhi ime ca Padhānasaṅkhārā ayaṃ-vuccati chandasamādhipadhānasaṅkhārasamannāgato iddhipādo” and so about the other Iddhipādas. Cf. also SN. V. 263f; 277–8.

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Mrs. Rhys Davids concludes “Much insight into the nature of iddhi is neither to be found in, nor expected from the fourfold formula “(Sakya 250). Her interpretation of Chanda as Mantra is interesting but unconvincing.

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⁸⁷ Cf. DN. III. 104. 88 DN. III. 112 which distinguishes between “Ariya” and “No-Ariya” Iddhis. 89 This is apparent from the Sāmaññaphalā. 90 The Suttas just referred to viz. DN. s. 11; DN. III. s. 1.

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The Bodhipakkhiya Dhammas: conclusion.—The Bodhipakkhiya dhammas, thus, seem to form a list of lists containing qualities and practices found useful by early Buddhists. Some of these, like good conduct (Sammāsankappo etc.), cultivation through will (Padhāna, Viriya etc.), mindfulness (Sati), and concentration (Samādhi)⁹¹ were already emphasized in the earliest Gospel. It must, however, be remembered that the meaning of those terms, as for instance of Sati, was then probably simpler than in later times. The place and significance in the oldest Gospel of other qualities, like Saddhā, and of practices, like the Iddhipādas, are not so certain.⁹²

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⁹¹ See below. So also for Paññā.

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⁹² According to SN. V. 108 “other” teachers also claimed to teach the destruction of the Five Nīvaraṇas through the Seven Bojjhaṅgas. These lists were, thus, not supposed to be distinctively Buddhist.

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Moral culture.—The regulation of conduct was thus prescribed in many ways, although it will be a grave error to regard ancient Buddhism as just a simple ethical system—as merely Sīla. Moral formalism (Sīlabbataparāmāsa) was condemned. In spite of the negative form of the list of the Sīlas,⁹³ the actual spirit of the Suttas regarding the problem of moral discipline is remarkably positive.⁹⁴ What is condemned is immoderation and a lazy slavery to sense impressions and impulses.⁹⁵ Sīla is essentially moderation (Majjhimā Paṭipadā, Mattañ- ñutā), and “the student was not . . . to ignore sense experience, but to break it up into constituent processes and resultants so as to divert the complex impacts of the external world from kindling delusion and passion, and convert them into the cool judgments of the intellect.”⁹⁶ Into the cultivation of conduct the will necessarily entered by way of “Bhāvanā” and the intellect by way of “Yoniso manasikāra”, or, in other words the factors of “Viriya” and “Paññā”.

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⁹³ The ten Sīlas as well as the Sikkhāpadas appear to be a development out of the five Sīlas (see Pali Dictionary, PTS). Of the three Sīla texts in DN. s. I, the first which is the shortest, is possibly on that account the earliest.

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⁹⁴ See Mrs. Rhys Davids in E. R. E. on Buddh. Asceticism; cf. Vm. p. 5.

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⁹⁵ Cf. MN. Sutta 152 where Buddha criticizes Pārāsariya Brāhmaṇa’s way of Indriyabhāvanā.

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⁹⁶ Mrs. Rhys Davids J. R. A. S. 1902 p. 481.

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Compassion.—Generally there is not much difference between the particular virtues admired in early Buddhism from those admired in its contemporary non-Buddhist literature.⁹⁷ In this respect the most distinctive feature of Buddhism is the emphasis it places on compassion.⁹⁸ A Brāhmaṇa is reported to have told Buddha that the following virtues were sufficient for the attainment of the good, viz., truth (sacca), austerities (tapa), celibacy (Brahmacariya), study (ajjhena) and liberality (cāga).⁹⁹ The last was asserted to be the most important. Buddha, inter alia, pointed out that liberality was impossible without compassion (anukampā) which would thus be the sixth cardinal virtue.¹⁰⁰ Out of compassion (Kāruññatā) Buddha agreed to preach his gospel.¹⁰¹ He is called “compassionate towards all beings"¹⁰² and with the lapse of centuries his followers emphasized this aspect of his teaching more and more.

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⁹⁷ Cf. DN. III. 48–49; Keith B. P. p. 116 who remarks that the main tenets taken over from Brahmanical tradition are expanded and deepened. For illustration vide loc. cit.

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⁹⁸ See Winternitz-Visvabharati Quart. May. 1936 p. 50 f.

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⁹⁹ Cf. Tait up. 1.9. which contains a discussion about the relative merit of the following—Satya, tapas, svādhyāyapravacana.

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¹⁰⁰ MN. II. 204–'5.

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¹⁰¹ SN. I. 138. The form “Kāruñña” occurs in SN. II. 199.

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¹⁰² Sabbabhūtānukampī—SN. I. 25; Lokānukampako—Ib. 50–1.

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The Brahmaviharas.—This "compassion" included but was something more than mere non-injury (Ahiṃsā).¹⁰³ Even under the direct provocation and harm one must not retaliate.¹⁰⁴ More, the earnest Buddhist must engage in the active cultivation of universal sympathy,¹⁰⁵ friendliness¹⁰⁶ and "Mitfreude". This, of course, does not amount to saying that the practice was an original teaching of Buddha.¹⁰⁷ In fact, in the Bojhanga Saṃ (No. 46—S. V. 346) the doctrine is described as held in common with the heretics. Makhādeva, king of Mithilā, is made to practise it.¹⁰⁸ So the Brāhmaṇa minister of yore, Mahāgovinda, is supposed to have reached the Brahman-world, through the practice of Karuṇā-vihāra.¹⁰⁹ The Vihāras themselves are called Brahma-vihāras and are described as the way to Brahma-Sahavyatā and °Patti.¹¹⁰ The use of the term Vimutti in connection with them is also perhaps not without significance. Finally, the Yoga-sūtras too mention them in fact, though there the practices have shrunk to an individualistic cultivation, and the idea of suffusion (Pharitvā viharati) is lost. All this, however, only suggests that the doctrine of the Four Vihāras originated in an atmosphere full of Brāhmaṇic ideas, and that at one period of its history it became a common possession of many different sects. Its actual origins are obscure, but it appears to have been a feature of original Buddhism, if not an original feature of Buddhism. It must, however, be remembered that apart from the late reference in the Yogasūtras, the Brāhmaṇa and Jinist works are generally quite silent about the doctrine, which finds absolutely no mention in later Vedic literature.¹¹¹

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¹⁰³ Cf. MN. 61 on the importance of taking into account "Parabyābādhā". On the growth of the idea of compassion in the Brāhmaṇas consider—Ś. B. I. p. 186: "Sarvasya vā ayam brāhmaṇo mitram na vā ayam kañcana hinastīti" Ib. 279. "akrodho hyeva dikṣitaḥ" Ib. 380: "Tadyatkrūrīkurvanti yadāsthāpayanti śantirāpastadabhiḥśāntyā śamayatastadabhiḥ sandhattaḥ....". Ib. 384 "Krūrī vā etatkurvanti yat sañjñapayanti" Ib. 433–4: Mitra refuses to strike Vṛtra—soma saying "Sarvasya vā aham mitramasmi" but later agrees to do so out of the fear of expulsion from sacrifice; Ib. 393; "Sarvasya hi.... mitro mitram"; Ib. II. 1195—against anger.

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¹⁰⁴ See the famous Kakacūpamovāda of the MN.

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¹⁰⁵ Cf. AN. III. 189 which equates Karuṇā to Anukampā and Anudayā. Āmisānukampā and Dhammā° are distinguished in AN. I. 92.

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¹⁰⁶ Cf. the Mettāsuttas in the Sn. and the Itv.

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¹⁰⁷ According to Mrs. Rhys Davids it was founded by an ex-Brāhmaṇa Paribbājaka—see JRAS 1928, 271f.

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¹⁰⁸ MN. II. 76.

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¹⁰⁹ DN. II.

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¹¹⁰ DN. I. Tevijjasutta.

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¹¹¹ Quite in contrast to Karuṇā is the position accorded to Pema—AN. II. 213—which is supposed to involve its correlate hatred or dislike (Dosa). But contra SN. I. 6 (with which cf. the famous verse from the Mallikā sec. of the Kosala saṃ). "Pīti"....usually translated "rapture"—was held to be twofold as arising from sense-pleasures (Kāmaguṇa) and as arising in some of the Jhānic levels—MN. II. 204..

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Concentration and Meditation.—Jhāna was the other most important feature of the most ancient Buddhist practice; like Karuṇā, it has retained its chief position in Buddhism.

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The Importance of Jhana in Ancient Buddhism.—Having abandoned asceticism, Gotama is said to have fallen back on his childhood experience of Jhāna,¹¹² and it was that which led him to success. It would be only natural to expect that Jhāna should play a prominent part in his teachings. He is more than once described as Jhāyin,¹¹³ as engaged in Paṭisallāna,¹¹⁴ as earnestly advocating Jhāna.¹¹⁵ In several descriptions of the Way, Jhāna is accorded the chief place.¹¹⁶ ‘Samādhi’ figures importantly in more than one list.¹¹⁷ Prominent disciples are praised for their ability in Jhāna.¹¹⁸ An early Jinist text ridicules the upholders of Jhāna, meaning probably the Buddhists.¹¹⁹

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¹¹² M. Bodhirājakumāra°; Nidānakathā,—Jātaka I, 58; Lalita-vistara I. 263, Sakya-p. 162.

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¹¹³ See reference in Sakya p. 178. *Another ref.* A Brāhmaṇa narrates to Ānanda that he had once been to see Gotama and found him sermonising on Jhāna. His memory of Gotama was that “Jhāyī ceva so bhavam Gotamo ahosi jhānasīlī ca”, (MN. III. p. 13). With the Magadha Mahāmatta Vassakāra’s statement to Ānanda “Jhāyino ceva bhavanto jhānasīlino ca” (loc. cit.) may be compared the malicious observations of Māra “seyyathāpi nāma kotthu nadītīre macche magayanāno jhāyati pajjhāyati, nijjhāyati apajjhāyati, evamevime muṇḍakā samaṇakā ibbhā kiṇhā bandhupādāpaccā jhāyino’ smā jhāyino’ smā ti paṭṭakkhandhā adhomukhā madhurakajātā jhāyanti pajjhāyanti nijjhāyanti apajjhāyanti” (MN. I. p. 334), cf. Sk. I. 11, 27. Jahā dhaṅkā ya kaṅkā ya kulalā maggukā sihī. Macchesaṇaṃ jhiyāyanti jhāṇaṃ te kalusādhamam.” The reference is probably to the Buddhists see Ib. Vv. 25–6. Sakka (Sakko Devānam Indo) says to Pañcasikha: Durupasaṅkamā kho tāta Pañcasikha Tathāgatā mādisena jhāyī jhānaratā tadanantaraṃ paṭisallīnā” (DN. II. p. 196 Nāg. Ed.). (Is a distinction intended here between jhāna and Paṭisallāna?)

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¹¹⁴ On the identity of Jhāna and Paṭisallāna—MN. loc. cit.; Itv. s. 45; Sn. p. 7; on Buddha and Paṭisallāna—SN. V. 12ff.

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¹¹⁵ In the forceful ending to several suttas “etāni bhikkhave rukkhamūlāni etāni suññāgārāni jhāyatha. Ma pamādattha. Mā pacchā vippaṭisārino ahuvattha. Ayaṃ kho vo amhākam anusāsanīti” (e.g. SN. IV. 359f.).

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¹¹⁶ The Sāmaññaphala° the contents of which are repeated more than once; Gaṇakamoggallāna° (MN); Gopakamoggallāna° (Ib.) where Ānanda explaining the Dhamma to a Brāhmaṇa enquirer shortly after Buddha’s death says that the Master did not admire all Jhāna but only some. He condemned a man who overcome with the Nīvaraṇas engaged in brooding “jhāyati pajjhāyati nijjhāyati apajjhāyati” (cf. the Aṭṭa and Rudda Jhānas mentioned in the Tattvārthādhigama). ‘ But Buddha admired the Four Jhānas; the Aṭṭhaṅgiko Maggo itself culminates in Samādhi which is equated to the four Jhānas (SN. V. p. 10; MN. III. 252); Sn. pp. 20, 22, 43; Dhp. vv. 23–27; On the frequency with which Jhāna is mentioned in the Sutta piṭaka see Sakya p. 171 where statistics are given; on the comparative silence of Vin. (Lco. cit.) see below. Sometimes the eightfold path is represented as Samādhi together with seven “Parikkhāras” (AN. IV. 40). Cf. La Vallée Poussin—Opinions. Avant propos VIII.

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¹¹⁷ It forms part of the list of Balas, Indriyas and Sambojjhaṅgas. In the first two it is equated to the 4 Jhānas—AN. III. II. 12; SN. V. 196. As a Sambojjhaṅga it is defined "Samathanimittam avyagganimittam" SN. V. 66; "Samādhipamukhā sabbe Dhammā" AN. IV. 339; Ib. V. 107. Buddhaghosa defines Samādhi as Kusalacittekaggatā (Vm. p. 47; the def. occurs without the qualification in the Nikāyas: MN. I. 30). The role of interest in concentration was fully recognized—DN. I. 73. "Sukhino cittaṃ samādhiyati"; so "sukhaṃ samādhattham samādhānisamsaṃ" AN. V. 2ff. 311f.

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¹¹⁸ See Sakya loc. cit.

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¹¹⁹ SK. Maggajjahayaṇa, verses 25f.

The Purpose of Jhana.

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In some form Jhānic practice was already current in the times of Buddha.¹²⁰ It was essentially a method of mental discipline which could be utilized for a diversity of purposes—for attaining to this or that divine world,¹²¹ for the sake of supernormal powers,¹²² for the sake of enjoyable experience,¹²³ for communion with the true self or the inner reality.¹²⁴ In the case of Buddha it served as a footstep to the realization of higher learning (Vijjā) culminating in Bodhi.¹²⁵ And this is the sense in which Jhāna is advocated in many Nikāya texts.¹²⁶

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¹²⁰ In the Kaṭh, Muṇḍ and Śvet. Upaniṣads there are clear references to "Jhānic" practice. In the Br. Up. the Ātman is called "Nididhyāsitavya". The Jhānas are mentioned in connection with heretic belief and practice in the Brahmajāla° (DN) and Sallekha Sutta (MN).

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¹²¹ MN. II. 37; AN. II. 184. It is interesting to note that in this context the word used in MN. s. 16 is "Paṇidhāna" (MN. I. 103—"Aññātaraṃ devanikāyaṃ paṇidhāya brahmacariyaṃ carati"), cf. "Dvidvidhaṃ dhyānaṃ Bhāvanā praṇidhānañca tatrāḍyaṃ siddhaṃ kalpitaṃ vā viṣayamadhikṛtya pravartate na vastutattvamavaśyamapekṣate Praṇidhānaṃ Vastutattvaviṣayam......" (Nilakaṇṭha on Mbh. ŚP. 195-15). Such a distinction between Bhāvanā and Praṇidhāna is not to be found in the Nikāyas.

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¹²² DN. I. Mahāli.° From Buddhaghosa's treatment of Adhiṭṭhānā Iddhis (Vm. loc. cit.) it is clear that Adhiṭṭhāna (resolve) was effective in this wise only if coupled with Jhāna. In the Y. S. also a class of Iddhis originate in "Samyama". Such attainments are clearly the powers of the mind which has been purified through Jhāna. On the power of mind vide Buddha's remark in the Upāli°—(MN) that forests like Daṇḍakāraṇya may be reduced to ashes by the power of the mind.

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¹²³ Diṭṭhadhammanibbāna (DN. Pt. I. Nāg. ed. p. 44f); Diṭṭhadhamma Sukhavihāra— (MN. I. 40-41). According to AN. II. 44-45 Samādhibhāvanā may be practised for "diṭṭhadhamma sukhavihāra", "ñāṇadassanapaṭilābha", "sati-sampajañña" and for "Āsavakkhaya"; in the first case alone are the 4 Jhānas spoken of.

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¹²⁴ This is the purpose in the Upaniṣadic texts. See above. [^125], [^126]: See the texts quoted and ref. to in connection with Sambodhi in the Chap. on Nirvāṇa.

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Jhāna was valued because it led to Aññā. Normally the citta is covered over with impurities, is distracted and unsteady. Jhāna serves a cathartic function. It renders the citta pure and receptive which sets the stage for the on-come of illumination.¹²⁷

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¹²⁷ The Jhānas are described as "Cittasampadā" in DN. pt. I. p. 200ff (Nāg. ed.), as "Cittaparisuddhiyaṅga" in AN. II. 195. cf. AN. III. 93. Their function was to free the mind from its "impurities (Upakkilesas) which are variously described and listed. Sometimes they are the "Nivaraṇas"—"cittaṃ imehi pañca upakkilesehi vimuttaṃ....mudu ca kamanīyaṃ ca pabhasaraṃ ca na ca pabbaṅgu sammā samādhiyati āsavānaṃ khayāya...." (AN. III. pp. 16-17) The simile of the purification of gold is used in this connection (AN. I. 253, 257) Cf. AN. III. 186, "cetaso vivaraṃ cetaso pasādaṃ" Ib. 323 "iti vivaṭena cetasā apariyonaddhena sappabhāsaṃ cittaṃ bhāveti. "SN. V. 92 is similar to AN. I. III. 15-6. On the psychological conditions of the origin of the Nivaraṇas see AN. I. 3-4—Sometimes a long list of the Upakkilesas is given as in MN. I. 36. Frequently the basic impurities that have to be destroyed are called the Āsavas. The term occurs in early Jinist literature (in the sense of "flowing in" rather than of "what flows in" which is the Buddhist meaning). This suggests the age of the term, as does also the fact that it is used in early texts in connection with Cetovimuti. At first three, the Āsavas were later increased to four (see Pali Dictionary, PTS). Sometimes the origin of Avijjā was sought in them (see Vm. p. 368;

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The Four Jhanas.—If we seek to inquire into the precise content of Jhāna, we find ourselves invariably faced with a neat systematic analysis of the progressive simplification of mental processes and content of the Jhāyin, which culminates in a state of entire recollectedness, a state of lucid and one-pointed awareness possessing hedonically a neutral tone.¹²⁸ This analysis may

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¹²⁸ "Athāparā upekkhā yeva avasissati parisuddhā pariyodātā mudu ca kammaññā ca pabhassarā ca".

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cf. MN. I. 55). It was necessary to "cleanse" the mind from them (pariyodapana—MN. pt. I. p. 9. Nāg ed;. Ib. 10. cittaṃ parisodheti). The second sutta of the MN. explains in detail the various ways to be adopted in fighting them. "Bhāvanā" is one of the ways (Bhāvanā is here equivalent to the Sambojjhaṅgas); on the Āsavas cf. Itv. s. 56–57.

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(MN. III. 243) cf. "it was a state of attention, more akin to that of the boy Samuel in the Herbrew scriptures; 'speak, lord, for thy servant heareth.' "It was an attitude for coming to know (Sakya. p. 37)" "What is stated to be left is sati coupled with emotional indifference (Upekkhā). Now sati was just lucid, introspective awareness, the very state needed by the listner who is purged of preconceptions, has made his mind a tabula rasa and is waiting to learn" (Ib. 166). On the "simplification" of psychic process and contents cf. Laignel Lavastine. op. cit. pp. 98–99.

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In the first Jhāna, the subject is freed from Kāma and the Akusala dhammas though in possession of thought and a pleasant feeling (vivicceva kāmehi vivicca akusalehi dhammehi savitakkaṃ savicāraṃ vivekajaṃ pītisukhaṃ paṭhamajhānaṃ upasampajja viharati").

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Vitakka and Vicāra are in later literature at least distinguished as initial and sustained applications of thought. Cf. Vm. p. 95. Buddhaghosa distinguishes five types of Pīti and seeks to indicate the precise relation between Pīti and Sukha—Ib. 96-97.

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In the second Jhāna, "Bhikkhu vitakkavicārānaṃ vūpasamā ajjhattaṃ sampasādanaṃ cetaso ekodibhāvaṃ avitakkaṃ avicāraṃ samādhijjaṃ pītisukhaṃ dutiyajjhānaṃ upasampajja viharati". Sukha is now samādhija not vivekaja (DN. Pt. I. p. 85. Nāg. ed.).

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In the third "Bhikkhu pītiyā ca Virāgā ca upekkhako viharati sato ca sampajāno sukhañca kāyena paṭisaṃvedeti yaṃ taṃ ariyā ācikkhanti upekkhako satimā sukhavihārīti tatiyajjhānaṃ upasampajja viharati". Pīti disappears here as "thought" had in the second jhāna.

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not be very early, but then we are entirely in the dark about what may have been the ideas relating to Jhāna earlier.¹²⁹

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¹²⁹ Sn. Udayamāṇavapucchā—vv. 2-3 seem to describe the state of the fourth Jhāna but are not identical with the usual formula.

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The four Jhānas are apparently referred to in the Mbh. Śānti Parvan¹³⁰ and a somewhat similar division is to be discovered in the Yoga sūtras¹³¹ and later Jaina works.¹³² In the Abhidhamma-stage the four Jhānas were turned, for the sake of greater system, into a five-fold.¹³³ A detailed and remarkably clear account of the Jhānas is given by Buddhaghosa in his Visuddhimaggo.¹³⁴

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¹³⁰ Adhy. 195. Here it is promised to describe the “fourfold dhyānayoga” (Dhyānayogaṃ caturvidham) through which the Yogins reach “Nirvāṇa”.

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¹³¹ YS. I. 17: Vitarkavicārānandāsmitārūpānugmāt Saṃprajñātaḥ”.

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¹³² Tattvārthādhigama, IX. 27ff.

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¹³³ Dhs. pp. 48-51.

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¹³⁴ Dr. N. Dutt follows it in detail in his Early Monastic Buddhism I. p. 212f.

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In the fourth “sukhassa ca pahānā dukkhassa ca pahānā pubbēva somanassadomanassānaṃ atthaṅgamā adukkhaṃ asukhaṃ upekkhāsatiparisuddhiṃ catutthajjhānaṃ upasampajja viharati”. Sukha also disappears. According to SN. IV. 225-8 Sukha increases through all the Jhānas and even the Āruppas. Sukha is here apparently used in a peculiar sense. Only lucid mindfulness (Parisuddhā sati) remains; the Bhikkhu is now just pure mind (so imameva kāyaṃ parisuddhena cetasā pariyodātena pharitvā nisinno hoti, nāssa kiñci sabbāvato kāyassa parisuddhena cetasā pariyodātena apphuṭaṃ hoti—op. cit. p. 86). The citta is now concentrated, clear, pure, pliant, efficient and motionless (Evaṃ samāhite citte parisuddhe pariyodāte anaṅgaṇe vigatūpakkilese mudubhūte kammaniye ṭhite āneñjappatte....” Ib. 87, MN. I. 22).

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The stillness of the citta (Āneñja) in the 4th Jhāna is referred to more than once—AN. III. 98. 100; MN. III. 111-112; (according to the Vijñānavādins the Asaṃskṛta dharma called “Acala” was attained in the 4th Jhāna—Upādhyāya. op. cit. p. 292). Contra—AN. II. 184 where the attainment of Āneñja is referred to the Nevasaññānāsaññāyatanaṃ; AN. III. 377-8 calls the Khīṇāsava “Āneñjapatta”; MN. 106 describes a whole series of Āṇañjas!

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The Nature of Jhanas.—Jhānic practice, it is apparent, does not aim at producing a state of auto-suggested hypnosis or of coma.¹³⁵ Vitality in the sense of mental energy and lucidity is not lowered but enhanced. On the other hand, Jhāna, as has been pointed out, is not “meditation”.¹³⁶ A suspension of “thought” as of ‘feeling’ was of its essence.¹³⁷ What resulted was not a state akin to sleep or coma, but rather of the mind stilled or hushed before leaping into a far-reaching intuition. The theory was that in the depth of the still and even consciousness reality mirrored itself as in unruffled waters.¹³⁸ Transcendental knowledge (Paññā)¹³⁹ was not the result of the discursive efforts of the mind; it revealed itself spontaneously.

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¹³⁵ Rhys Davids, Pali Dictionary (P.T.S.); Thomas—Hist. of Buddh. Thought. p. 74fn.; Cf. JPTS—1906-’7 (Suzuki)—p. 36; Stcherbatsky, Nirvāṇa p. 8f.

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¹³⁶ Sakya p. 166.

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¹³⁷ Of Vitakka—Vicāra, Sukha—Dukkha, Somanassa—Domanassa, & Piti—see the Jhāna formulae. Bhagavadgītā (VI. 24-25) sums up the technique of Yoga which culminates in “not thinking” (Na Kiñcidapi cintayet). On this Śaṅkara says “Eṣa Yogasya paramo vidhiḥ.”

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¹³⁸ SN. IV. 143, 144—“Samādhim bhāvetha. Samāhitassa bhikkhuno yathābhūtamokkhāyatīti; “Ib. 144-5. as above, Paṭisallāna for Samādhi; SN. IV. 79 “Samāhite citte dhammā pātubhavanti”; SN. V. 414—“Samādhim bhāvetha...Samāhito yathābhūtam pajānāti” AN. III. 230-’33: when under the influence of the Nīvaraṇas (the citta is like disturbed water in which nothing can be seen as it is (yathābhūtam); after Āsavakkhaya the Citta is like a clear pool (Sāmaññaphala 82 Nag. ed) Cf. AN. Nip. I. vg. 5; the slightest “dust” must be removed from the Citta as from a mirror (AN. V. 12) cf. the treatment of Vijñāna-vāda origins in the Chap. on Nirvāṇa. The likening of Citta to a mirror which when pure reflects all knowledge is found in other systems of thought also Cf. JPTS. 1906-’7 pp. 40-41.

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¹³⁹ See chap. on Nirvāṇa; Thomas—Life. p. 186; cf. JPTS 1906-’7 p. 28f.

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Jhanas, Aruppas and Nirvana.—Frequently, however, the Jhanas are treated as coordinate to the Āruppas.¹⁴⁰ The four Jhānic levels here belong entirely to the Rūpa-world. "Jhāna" thus ceases to be a way to Nirvāṇa since the latter is beyond both Rūpa and Arūpa.¹⁴¹ However, some texts would equate Nirvāṇic

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¹⁴⁰ Which is the usual treatment in the Abhidhamma (vide Sakya pp. 168-'69), in the last Nipātas of the AN., and in many suttas of the MN. The four Jhānas correspond to the Rūpa-worlds, after which come the four Āruppas corresponding to the Arūpa worlds. The latter can only follow the former, and within them each succeeding stage is realizable only in correlation to the preceding. This is the result of increasing abstraction, till at last perception (Saññā) is so subtle as to be unnoticeable. While the Jhānas are described as Diṭṭhadhammasukhavihāra, the Āruppas are called Santavihāras (MN. S. 8). At one place it is stated that the Jhānas are Abhicetasika, while "Ye te santā vimokkhā atikkamma rūpe āruppā te kāyena phassitvā (vihareyyanti)" (MN. s. 6). This is curious. The non-material realms should have been the less accessible bodily.

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¹⁴¹ Cf. AN. III. 393-8. While Heiler considers the 4th Jhāna the immediate threshold of full deliverance, Keith and Mrs. Rhys Davids are inclined to disagree (B. P. 126-127; Sakya, 167f). Heiler appears to be right for the earlier stratum of texts, since these show the enlightenment of Buddha as following on the 4th Jhāna. The Sāmaññaphalasutta has a similar implication. It may also be noted that Buddha is in D. s. 16 made to enter the Parinibbāna, not in the Saññāvedayitanirodha, but in the 4th Jhāna. Philosophically too, the 4th Jhāna seems to be nearest the state of mind in which Enlightenment might be expected. Mrs. Rhys Davids herself admits as much indirectly. It may be remembered that according to Zen Buddhism, it is in the "balanced" and "dustless" mind that Mahāprajñāpāramitā is revealed (see Suzuki—JPTS—1906-'7).

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