The Divine Abidings#
1 (1) Loving-Kindness#
§1 291/349 295 The four divine abidings were mentioned next to the recollections as meditation subjects (III.105). They are loving-kindness, compassion, gladness and equanimity. A meditator, who wants to develop firstly loving-kindness among these, if he is a beginner, should sever the impediments and learn the meditation subject. Then, when he has done the work connected with the meal and got rid of any dizziness due to it, he should seat himself comfortably on a well-prepared seat in a secluded place. To start with, he should review the danger in hate and the advantage in patience.
§2 Why? Because hate has to be abandoned and patience attained in the development of this meditation subject, and he cannot abandon unseen dangers and attain unknown advantages.
Now, the danger in hate should be seen in accordance with such suttas as this: “Friends, when a man hates, is a prey to hate and his mind is obsessed by hate, he kills living things, and …” (A I 216). And the advantage in patience should be understood according to such suttas as these:
§3 Thereupon he should embark upon the development of loving-kindness for the purpose of secluding the mind from hate seen as a danger and introducing it to patience known as an advantage.
But when he begins, he must know that some persons are of the wrong sort at the very beginning and that loving-kindness should be developed towards certain kinds of persons and not towards certain other kinds at first. 296
§4 For loving-kindness should not be developed at first towards the following four kinds of persons: an antipathetic person, a very dearly loved friend, a neutral person, and a hostile person. Also it should not be developed specifically (see §49) towards the opposite sex, or towards a dead person.
§5 292/350 What is the reason why it should not be developed at first towards an antipathetic person and the others? To put an antipathetic person in a dear one’s place is fatiguing. To put a very dearly loved friend in a neutral person’s place is fatiguing; and if the slightest mischance befalls the friend, he feels like weeping. To put a neutral person in a respected one’s or a dear one’s place is fatiguing. Anger springs up in him if he recollects a hostile person. That is why it should not be developed at first towards an antipathetic person and the rest.
§6 Then, if he develops it specifically towards the opposite sex, lust inspired by that person springs up in him. An elder supported by a family was asked, it seems, by a friend’s son, “Venerable sir, towards whom should loving-kindness be developed?” The elder told him, “Towards a person one loves.” He loved his own wife. Through developing loving-kindness towards her he was fighting against the wall all the night. [1] That is why it should not be developed specifically towards the opposite sex.
§7 But if he develops it towards a dead person, he reaches neither absorption nor access. A young bhikkhu, it seems, had started developing loving-kindness inspired by his teacher. His loving-kindness made no headway at all. He went to a senior elder and told him, “Venerable sir, I am quite familiar with attaining jhāna through loving-kindness, and yet I cannot attain it. What is the matter?” The elder said, “Seek the sign, friend, [the object of your meditation].” He did so. Finding that his teacher had died, he proceeded with developing loving-kindness inspired by another and attained absorption. That is why it should not be developed towards one who is dead.
§8 First of all it should be developed only towards oneself, doing it repeatedly thus: “May I be happy and free from suffering” or “May I keep myself free from enmity, affliction and anxiety and live happily.”
§9 If that is so, does it not conflict with what is said in the texts? For there is no mention of any development of it towards oneself in what is said in the Vibhaṅga: “And how does a bhikkhu dwell pervading one direction with his heart filled with loving-kindness? Just as he would feel loving-kindness on seeing a dearly loved person, so he pervades all beings with loving-kindness” (Vibh 272); and in what is said in the Paṭisambhidā: “In what five ways is the mind-deliverance of loving-kindness [practiced] with unspecified pervasion? May all beings be free from enmity, affliction and anxiety and live happily. May all breathing things 297 … all who are born … all persons … all those who have a personality be free from enmity, affliction and anxiety and live happily” (Paṭis II 130); and in what is said in the Mettā Sutta: “In joy and safety may all beings be joyful at heart” (Sn 145). [Does it not conflict with those texts?]
§10 293/351 It does not conflict. Why not? Because that refers to absorption. But this [initial development towards oneself] refers to [making oneself] an example. For even if he developed loving-kindness for a hundred or a thousand years in this way, “I am happy” and so on, absorption would never arise. But if he develops it in this way: “I am happy. Just as I want to be happy and dread pain, as I want to live and not to die, so do other beings, too,” making himself the example, then desire for other beings’ welfare and happiness arises in him. And this method is indicated by the Blessed One’s saying:
§11 So he should first, as example, pervade himself with loving-kindness. Next after that, in order to proceed easily, he can recollect such gifts, [2] kind words, etc., as inspire love and endearment, such virtue, learning, etc., as inspire respect and reverence met with in a teacher or his equivalent or a preceptor or his equivalent, developing loving-kindness towards him in the way beginning, “May this good man be happy and free from suffering.” With such a person, of course, he attains absorption.
§12 But if this bhikkhu does not rest content with just that much and wants to break down the barriers, he should next, after that, develop loving-kindness towards a very dearly loved friend, then towards a neutral person as a very dearly loved friend, then towards a hostile person as neutral. And while he does so, he should make his mind malleable and wieldy in each instance before passing on to the next.
§13 But if he has no enemy, or he is of the type of a great man who does not perceive another as an enemy even when the other does him harm, he should not interest himself as follows: “Now that my consciousness of loving-kindness has become wieldy towards a neutral person, I shall apply it to a hostile one.” 298 Rather it was about one who actually has an enemy that it was said above that he should develop loving-kindness towards a hostile person as neutral.
1.1 Getting Rid of Resentment#
§14 If resentment arises in him when he applies his mind to a hostile person because he remembers wrongs done by that person, he should get rid of the resentment by entering repeatedly into loving-kindness [jhāna] towards any of the first-mentioned persons and then, after he has emerged each time, directing loving-kindness towards that person.
§15 But if it does not die out in spite of his efforts, then:
He should admonish himself in this way: “Now, you who get angry, has not the Blessed One said this: ‘Bhikkhus, even if bandits brutally severed limb from limb with a two-handled saw, he who entertained hate in his heart on that account would not be one who carried out my teaching?’” (M I 129). And this:
And this: “Bhikkhus, there are seven things gratifying and helpful to an enemy that happen to one who is angry, whether woman or man. What seven? Here, bhikkhus, an enemy wishes thus for his enemy, ‘Let him be ugly!’ Why is that? An enemy does not delight in an enemy’s beauty. Now, this angry person is a prey to anger, ruled by anger; though well bathed, well anointed, with hair and beard trimmed and clothed in white, yet he is ugly, being a prey to anger. This is the first thing gratifying and helpful to an enemy that befalls one who is angry, whether woman or man. Furthermore, an enemy wishes thus for his enemy, ‘Let him lie in pain!’ … ‘Let him have no fortune!’ … ‘Let him not be wealthy!’ … ‘Let him not be famous!’ … ’Let him have no friends!’ 299 … ’Let him not on the breakup of the body, after death, reappear in a happy destiny in the heavenly world!’ [3] Why is that? An enemy does not delight in an enemy’s going to a happy destiny. Now, this angry person is a prey to anger, ruled by anger; he misconducts himself in body, speech and mind. Misconducting himself thus in body, speech and mind, on the breakup of the body, after death, he reappears in a state of loss, in an unhappy destiny, in perdition, in hell, being a prey to anger” (A IV 94).? And this: “As a log from a pyre, burnt at both ends and fouled in the middle, serves neither for timber in the village nor for timber in the forest, so is such a person as this I say” (A II 95, It 90)?. “If you are angry now, you will be one who does not carry out the Blessed One’s teaching; by repaying an angry man in kind you will be worse than the angry man and not win the battle hard to win; you will yourself do to yourself the things that help your enemy; and you will be like a pyre log.” (Source untraced)
§16 If his resentment subsides when he strives and makes effort in this way, it is good. If not, then he should remove irritation by remembering some controlled and purified state in that person, which inspires confidence when remembered.
§17 For one person may be controlled in his bodily behaviour with his control in doing an extensive course of duty known to all, though his verbal and mental 295/353 behaviour are not controlled. Then the latter should be ignored and the control in his bodily behaviour remembered.
§18 Another may be controlled in his verbal behaviour, and his control known to all—he may naturally be clever at welcoming kindly, easy to talk with, congenial, open-countenanced, deferential in speech, and he may expound the Dhamma with a sweet voice and give explanations of Dhamma with well-rounded phrases and details—though his bodily and mental behaviour are not controlled. Then the latter should be ignored and the control in his verbal behaviour remembered.
§19 Another may be controlled in his mental behaviour, and his control in worshiping at shrines, etc., evident to all. For when one who is uncontrolled in mind pays homage at a shrine or at an Enlightenment Tree or to elders, he does not do it carefully, 300 and he sits in the Dhamma-preaching pavilion with mind astray or nodding, while one whose mind is controlled pays homage carefully and deliberately, listens to the Dhamma attentively, remembering it, and evincing the confidence in his mind through his body or his speech. So another may be only controlled in his mental behaviour, though his bodily and verbal behaviour are not controlled. Then the latter should be ignored and the control in his mental behaviour remembered.
§20 But there may be another in whom not even one of these three things is controlled. Then compassion for that person should be aroused thus: “Though he is going about in the human world now, nevertheless after a certain number of days he will find himself in [one of] the eight great hells or the sixteen prominent hells. [4]” For irritation subsides too through compassion. In yet another all three may be controlled. Then he can remember any of the three in that person, whichever he likes; for the development of loving-kindness towards such a person is easy.
§21 And in order to make the meaning of this clear the following sutta from the Book of Fives should be cited in full: “Bhikkhus, there are five ways of dispelling annoyance whereby annoyance arisen in a bhikkhu can be entirely dispelled” (A III 186–190).
§22 But if irritation still arises in him in spite of his efforts, then he should admonish himself thus:
§23 But if resentment does not subside when he admonishes himself thus, then he should review the fact that he himself and the other are owners of their deeds (kamma).
Herein, he should first review this in himself thus: “Now, what is the point of your getting angry with him? Will not this kamma of yours that has anger as its source lead to your own harm? For you are the owner of your deeds, heir of your deeds, having deeds as your parent, deeds as your kin, deeds as your refuge; you will become the heir of whatever deeds you do (see A III 186). And this is not the kind of deed to bring you to full enlightenment, to undeclared enlightenment or 297/355 to the disciple’s grade, or to any such position as the status of Brahmā or Sakka, or the throne of a Wheel-turning Monarch or a regional king, etc.; but rather this is the kind of deed to lead to your fall from the Dispensation, even to the status of the eaters of scraps, etc., and to the manifold suffering in the hells, and so on. By doing this you are like a man who wants to hit another and picks up a burning ember or excrement in his hand and so first burns himself or makes himself stink.”
§24 Having reviewed ownership of deeds in himself in this way, he should review it in the other also: “And what is the point of his getting angry with you? Will it not lead to his own harm? For that venerable one is owner of his deeds, heir of his deeds … he will become the heir of whatever deeds he does. And this is not the kind of deed to bring him to full enlightenment, to undeclared enlightenment or to the disciple’s grade, or to any such position as the status of Brahmā or Sakka, or to the throne of a Wheel-turning Monarch or a regional king, etc.; but rather this is the kind of deed to lead to his fall from the Dispensation, even to the status of the eaters of scraps, etc., and to the manifold suffering in the hells, and so on. By doing this he is like a man who wants to throw dust at another against the wind and only covers himself with it.” For this is said by the Blessed One:
§25 But if it still does not subside in him when he reviews ownership of deeds in this way, then he should review the special qualities of the Master’s former conduct.
§26 Here is the way of reviewing it: “Now you who have gone forth, is it not a fact that when your Master was a Bodhisatta before discovering full enlightenment, while he was still engaged in fulfilling the perfections during the four incalculable ages and a hundred thousand aeons, he did not allow hate to corrupt his mind even when his enemies tried to murder him on various occasions?
§27 “For example, in the Sīlavant Birth Story (J-a I 261) when his friends rose to prevent his kingdom of three hundred leagues being seized by an enemy king who had been incited by a wicked minister in whose mind his own queen had sown hate for him, he did not allow them to lift a weapon. Again when he was buried, along with a thousand companions, up to the neck in a hole dug in the earth in a charnel ground, he had no thought of hate. And when, after saving his life by a heroic effort helped by jackals scraping away soil when they had come to devour the corpses, he went with the aid of a spirit to his own bedroom and saw his enemy lying on his own bed, he was not angry but treated him as a friend, undertaking a mutual pledge, and he then exclaimed:
§28 298/356 “And in the Khantivādin Birth Story he was asked by the stupid king of Kāsi (Benares), ‘What do you preach, monk?’ and he replied, ‘I am a preacher of patience’; and when the king had him flogged with scourges of thorns and had his hands and feet cut off, he felt not the slightest anger (see J-a III 39).
§29 “It is perhaps not so wonderful that an adult who had actually gone forth into homelessness should have acted in that way; but also as an infant he did so. For in the Cūḷa-Dhammapāla Birth Story his hands and feet were ordered to be lopped off like four bamboo shoots by his father, King Mahāpatāpa, and his mother lamented over him thus:
“Then his father, still not satisfied, commanded that his head be cut off as well. But even then he had not the least trace of hate, since he had firmly resolved thus: ‘Now is the time to restrain your mind; now, good Dhammapāla, be impartial towards these four persons, that is to say, towards your father who is having your head cut off, the man who is beheading you, your lamenting mother, and yourself.’
§30 “And it is perhaps not so wonderful that one who had become a human being should have acted in that way; but also as an animal he did so. For while the Bodhisatta was the elephant called Chaddanta he was pierced in the navel by a poisoned shaft. But even then he allowed no hate towards the hunter who had wounded him to corrupt his mind, according as it is said:
“And when the elephant had spoken thus and was told, ‘Sir, I have been sent by the king of Kāsi’s queen to get your tusks,’ in order to fulfil her wish he cut off his own tusks whose gorgeous radiance glittered with the flashes of the six-coloured rays and gave them to him.
§31 “And when he was the Great Monkey, the man whom he had pulled out of a rocky chasm thought:
Then he took up a stone and dashed it on his head. But the monkey looked at him with eyes full of tears and said:
And with no hate in his mind and regardless of his own pain he saw to it that the man reached his journey’s end in safety.
§32 “And while he was the royal nāga (serpent) Bhūridatta, 304 when he had undertaken the Uposatha precepts and was lying on the top of a termite-mound, though he was [caught and] sprinkled with medicinal charms resembling the fire that ushers in the end of an aeon, and was put into a box and treated as a plaything throughout the whole of Jambudīpa, yet he had no trace of hate for that brahman, according as it is said:
§33 “And when he was the royal nāga Campeyya he let no hate spring up in his mind while he was being cruelly treated by a snake charmer, according as it is said:
§34 “And when he was the royal nāga Saṅkhapāla, while he was being carried along on a carrying pole by the sixteen village boys after they had wounded him in eight places with sharp spears and inserted thorn creepers into the wounds’ orifices, and while, after threading a strong rope through his nose, they were causing him great agony by dragging him along bumping his body on the surface of the ground, though he was capable of turning those village boys to cinders with a mere glance, yet he did not even show the least trace of hate on opening his eyes, according as it is said:
§35 “And he performed not only these wonders but also many others too such as those told in the Mātuposaka Birth Story (J-a IV 90). Now, it is in the highest degree improper and unbecoming to you to arouse thoughts of resentment, since you are emulating as your Master that Blessed One who reached omniscience and who has in the special quality of patience no equal in the world with its deities.”
§36 But if, as he reviews the special qualities of the Master’s former conduct, the resentment still does not subside in him, since he has long been used to the slavery of defilement, then he should review the suttas that deal with the beginninglessness [of the round of rebirths]. Here is what is said: “Bhikkhus, it is not easy to find a being who has not formerly been your mother … your father … your brother … your sister … your son … your daughter” (S II 189–190). Consequently he should think about that person thus: “This person, it seems, as my mother in the past carried me in her womb for ten months and removed from me without disgust, as if it were yellow sandalwood, my urine, excrement, spittle, snot, etc., and played with me in her lap, and nourished me, carrying me about on her hip. And this person as my father went by goat paths and paths set on piles, [5] etc., to pursue the trade of merchant, and he risked his life for me by going into battle in double array, by sailing on the great ocean in ships and doing other difficult things, and he nourished me by bringing back wealth by one means or another thinking to feed his children. And as my brother, sister, son, daughter, this person gave me such and such help. So it is unbecoming for me to harbour hate for him in my mind.”
§37 But if he is still unable to quench that thought in this way, then he should review the advantages of loving-kindness thus: “Now, you who have gone forth into homelessness, has it not been said by the Blessed One as follows: ‘Bhikkhus, when the mind-deliverance of loving-kindness is cultivated, developed, much practiced, made the vehicle, made the foundation, established, consolidated, and properly undertaken, eleven blessings can be expected. What are the eleven? A man sleeps in comfort, wakes in comfort, and dreams no evil dreams, he is dear to human beings, he is dear to non-human beings, deities guard him, fire and poison and weapons do not affect him, his mind is easily concentrated, the expression of his face is serene, he dies unconfused, if he penetrates no higher 301/359 he will be reborn in the Brahmā-world’ (A V 342). 306 If you do not stop this thought, you will be denied these advantages.”
§38 But if he is still unable to stop it in this way, he should try resolution into elements. How? “Now, you who have gone forth into homelessness, when you are angry with him, what is it you are angry with? Is it head hairs you are angry with? Or body hairs? Or nails? … Or is it urine you are angry with? Or alternatively, is it the earth element in the head hairs, etc., you are angry with? Or the water element? Or the fire element? Or is it the air element you are angry with? Or among the five aggregates or the twelve bases or the eighteen elements with respect to which this venerable one is called by such and such a name, which then, is it the materiality aggregate you are angry with? Or the feeling aggregate, the perception aggregate, the formations aggregate, the consciousness aggregate you are angry with? Or is it the eye base you are angry with? Or the visible-object base you are angry with? … Or the mind base you are angry with? Or the mental-object base you are angry with? Or is it the eye element you are angry with? Or the visible-object element? Or the eye-consciousness element? … Or the mind element? Or the mental-object element? Or the mind-consciousness element you are angry with?” For when he tries the resolution into elements, his anger finds no foothold, like a mustard seed on the point of an awl or a painting on the air.
§39 But if he cannot effect the resolution into elements, he should try the giving of a gift. It can either be given by himself to the other or accepted by himself from the other. But if the other’s livelihood is not purified and his requisites are not proper to be used, it should be given by oneself. And in the one who does this the annoyance with that person entirely subsides. And in the other even anger that has been dogging him from a past birth subsides at the moment, as happened to the senior elder who received a bowl given to him at the Cittalapabbata Monastery by an almsfood-eater elder who had been three times made to move from his lodging by him, and who presented it with these words: “Venerable sir, this bowl worth eight ducats was given me by my mother who is a lay devotee, and it is rightly obtained; let the good lay devotee acquire merit.” So efficacious is this act of giving. And this is said:
1.2 The Breaking Down of the Barriers—The Sign#
§40 When his resentment towards that hostile person has been thus allayed, then he can turn his mind with loving-kindness towards that person too, just as towards the one who is dear, the very dear friend, and the neutral person. Then he should break down the barriers by practicing loving-kindness over and over again, accomplishing mental impartiality towards the four persons, that is to say, himself, the dear person, the neutral person and the hostile person.
§41 302/360 The characteristic of it is this. Suppose this person is sitting in a place with a dear, a neutral, and a hostile person, himself being the fourth; then bandits come to him and say, “Venerable sir, give us a bhikkhu,” and on being asked why, they answer, “So that we may kill him and use the blood of his throat as an offering;” then if that bhikkhu thinks, “Let them take this one, or this one,” he has not broken down the barriers. And also if he thinks, “Let them take me but not these three,” he has not broken down the barriers either. Why? Because he seeks the harm of him whom he wishes to be taken and seeks the welfare of the other only. But it is when he does not see a single one among the four people to be given to the bandits and he directs his mind impartially towards himself and towards those three people that he has broken down the barriers. Hence the Ancients said:
§42 When he discriminates between
§43 Thus the sign and access are obtained by this bhikkhu simultaneously with the breaking down of the barriers. But when breaking down of the barriers has been effected, he reaches absorption in the way described under the earth kasiṇa without trouble by cultivating, developing, and repeatedly practicing that same sign.
At this point he has attained the first jhāna, which abandons five factors, possesses five factors, is good in three ways, is endowed with ten characteristics, and is accompanied by loving-kindness. And when that has been obtained, then by cultivating, developing, and repeatedly practicing that same sign, he successively reaches the second and third jhānas in the fourfold system, and the second, third and fourth in the fivefold system. 308
1.3 Texts and Commentary#
§44 Now, it is by means of one of these jhānas beginning with the first that he “Dwells pervading (intent upon) one direction with his heart endued with loving-kindness, likewise the second direction, likewise the third direction, likewise the fourth direction, and so above, below, and around; everywhere and equally he dwells pervading the entire world with his heart endued with loving-kindness, abundant, exalted, measureless, free from enmity, and free from affliction” (Vibh 272; D I 250). For this versatility comes about only in one whose consciousness has reached absorption in the first jhāna and the rest.
§45 303/361 And here endued with loving-kindness means possessing loving-kindness. With his heart (cetasā): with his mind (cittena). One direction: this refers to anyone direction in which a being is first discerned and means pervasion of the beings included in that one direction. Pervading: touching, making his object. He dwells (viharati): he causes the occurrence of an abiding (*vihāra—*dwelling or continuation) in postures that is devoted to the divine abidings (see IV.103). Likewise the second: just as he dwells pervading anyone direction among those beginning with the eastern one, so he does with the next one, and the third and the fourth, is the meaning.
§46 So above: in that same way in the upper direction is what is meant. Below, around: so too the lower direction and the direction all round. Herein, below is underneath, and around is in the intermediate directions. So he sends his heart full of loving-kindness back and forth in all directions like a horse in a circus ground. Up to this point specified pervasion with loving-kindness is shown in the discernment of each direction separately.
§47 Everywhere, etc., is said for the purpose of showing unspecified pervasion. Herein, everywhere means in all places. Equally (sabbattatāya): to all classed as inferior, medium, superior, friendly, hostile, neutral, etc., just as to oneself (attatā); equality with oneself (atta-samatā) without making the distinction, “This is another being,” is what is meant. Or alternatively, equally (sabbattatāya) is with the whole state of the mind; not reserving even a little, is what is meant. 309 Entire (sabbāvant): possessing all beings (sabbasattavant); associated with all beings, is the meaning. World is the world of beings.
§48 Endued with loving-kindness is said again here in order to introduce the synonyms beginning with abundant. Or alternatively, endued with loving-kindness is repeated because the word likewise or the word so is not repeated here as it was in the case of the [preceding] specified pervasion. Or alternatively, it is said as a way of concluding. And abundant should be regarded here as abundance in pervading. But it is exalted in plane [from the sensual-sphere plane to the fine-material-sphere plane], measureless through familiarity and through having measureless beings as its object, free from enmity through abandonment of ill will and hostility, and free from affliction through abandonment of grief; without suffering, is what is meant. This is the meaning of the versatility described in the way beginning, “With his heart endued with loving-kindness.”
§49 And just as this versatility is successful only in one whose mind has reached absorption, so too that described in the Paṭisambhidā should be understood to be successful only in one whose mind has reached absorption, that is to say: “The mind-deliverance of loving-kindness is [practiced] with unspecified pervasion in five ways. The mind-deliverance of loving-kindness is [practiced] with specified pervasion in seven ways. The mind-deliverance of loving-kindness is [practiced] with directional pervasion in ten ways” (Paṭis II 130).
§50 And herein, the mind-deliverance of loving-kindness is [practiced] with unspecified pervasion in these five ways: “May all beings be free from enmity, affliction and anxiety, and live happily. May all breathing things … all creatures 304/362 … all persons … all those who have a personality be free from enmity, affliction and anxiety, and live happily” (Paṭis II 130).
§51 The mind-deliverance of loving-kindness is [practiced] with specified pervasion in these seven ways: “May all women be free from enmity, affliction and anxiety and live happily. May all men … all Noble Ones … all not Noble Ones … all deities … all human beings … all in states of loss be free from enmity, affliction and anxiety, and live happily” (Paṭis II 131).
§52 The mind-deliverance of loving-kindness is [practiced] with directional pervasion in these ten ways: “May all beings in the eastern direction be free from enmity, affliction and anxiety, and live happily. May all beings in the western direction … northern direction … southern direction 310 … eastern intermediate direction … western intermediate direction … northern intermediate direction … southern intermediate direction … downward direction … upward direction be free from enmity, affliction and anxiety, and live happily. May all breathing things in the eastern direction … May all creatures in the eastern direction … May all persons in the eastern direction … May all who have a personality in the eastern direction … [etc.] … in the upward direction be free from enmity, affliction and anxiety, and live happily. May all women in the eastern direction … May all men in the eastern direction … May all Noble Ones in the eastern direction … May all not Noble Ones in the eastern direction … May all deities in the eastern direction … May all human beings in the eastern direction … May all those in states of loss in the eastern direction … [etc.] … be free from enmity, affliction and anxiety, and live happily” (Paṭis II 131).
§53 Herein, all signifies inclusion without exception. Beings (satta): they are held (satta), gripped (visatta) by desire and greed for the aggregates beginning with materiality, thus they are beings (satta). For this is said by the Blessed One: “Any desire for matter, Rādha, any greed for it, any delight in it, any craving for it, has held (satta) it, has gripped (visatta) it, that is why ‘a being’ (satta) is said” (S III 190). But in ordinary speech this term of common usage is applied also to those who are without greed, just as the term of common usage “palm fan” (tālavaṇṭa) is used for different sorts of fans [in general] even if made of split bamboo. However, [in the world] etymologists (akkhara-cintaka) who do not consider meaning have it that it is a mere name, while those who do consider meaning have it that a “being” (satta) is so called with reference to the “bright principle” (satta). [6]
§54 Breathing things (pāṇa): so called because of their state of breathing (pāṇanatā); the meaning is, because their existence depends on in-breaths and out-breaths. Creatures (bhūta): so called because of being (bhūtatta = becomeness); the meaning is, because of their being fully become (sambhūtatta), because of their being generated (abhinibbattatta). Persons (puggala): “puṃ” is what hell is called; they fall (galanti) into that, is the meaning. Personality (attabhāva) is what the physical 305/363 body is called; or it is just the pentad of aggregates, since it is actually only a concept derived from that pentad of aggregates [7] [What is referred to is] included (pariyāpanna) in that personality, thus it “has a personality” (attabhāva-pariyāpanna). “Included in” is delimited by; “gone into” is the meaning.
§55 And all the remaining [terms] should be understood as synonyms for “all beings” used in accordance with ordinary speech as in the case of the term “beings.” Of course, 311 there are other synonyms too for all “beings,” such as all “folks,” all “souls,” etc.; still it is for clarity’s sake that “The mind-deliverance of loving-kindness is [practiced] with unspecified pervasion in five ways” is said and that only these five are mentioned.
§56 Those who would have it that there is not only a mere verbal difference between “beings,” “breathing things,” etc., but also an actual difference in meaning, are contradicted by the mention of unspecified pervasion. So instead of taking the meaning in that way, the unspecified pervasion with loving-kindness is done in any one of these five ways.
And here, may all beings be free from enmity is one absorption; free from affliction is one absorption—free from affliction (abyābajjha) is free from afflictedness (byābādha-rahita); [8] free from anxiety is one absorption—free from anxiety is free from suffering; may they live happily is one absorption. Consequently he should do his pervading with loving-kindness according to whichever of these phrases is clear to him. So with the four kinds of absorption in each of the five ways, there are twenty kinds of absorption in unspecified pervasion.
§57 In specified pervasion, with the four kinds of absorption in each of the seven ways, there are twenty-eight kinds of absorption. And here “woman” and “man” are stated according to sex; “Noble Ones” and “not Noble Ones” according to Noble Ones and ordinary people; “deities” and “human beings” and “those in states of loss” according to the kind of rebirth.
§58 In directional pervasion, with twenty kinds of absorption in each of the directions beginning with “all beings in the eastern direction,” there are two hundred kinds of absorption; and with twenty-eight kinds in each of the directions beginning with “all women in the eastern direction” there are two hundred and eighty kinds; so these make four hundred and eighty kinds of absorption. Consequently all the kinds of absorption mentioned in the Paṭisambhidā amount to five hundred and twenty-eight.
§59 306/364 So when this meditator develops the mind-deliverance of loving-kindness through any one of these kinds of absorption, he obtains the eleven advantages described in the way beginning, “A man sleeps in comfort” (§37).
§60 Herein, sleeps in comfort means that instead of sleeping uncomfortably, turning over and snoring as other people do, he sleeps comfortably, he falls asleep as though entering upon an attainment.
§61 He wakes in comfort: instead of waking uncomfortably, groaning and yawning and turning over as others do, he wakes comfortably without contortions, like a lotus opening. 312
§62 He dreams no evil dreams: when he sees dreams, he sees only auspicious ones, as though he were worshipping a shrine, as though he were making an offering, as though he were hearing the Dhamma. But he does not see evil dreams as others do, as though being surrounded by bandits, as though being threatened by wild beasts, as though falling into chasms (see XIV, n. 45).
§63 He is dear to human beings: he is as dear to and beloved by human beings as a necklace worn to hang on the chest, as a wreath adorning the head.
§64 He is dear to non-human beings: he is just as dear to non-human beings as he is to human beings, as in the Elder Visākha’s case. He was a landowner, it seems, at Pāṭaliputta (Patna). While he was living there he heard this: “The Island of Tambapaṇṇi (Sri Lanka), apparently, is adorned with a diadem of shrines and gleams with the yellow cloth, and there a man can sit or lie wherever he likes; there the climate is favourable, the abodes are favourable, the people are favourable, the Dhamma to be heard is favourable, and all these favourable things are easily obtained there.”
§65 He made over his fortune to his wife and children and left his home with only a single ducat (kahāpaṇa) sewn into the hem of his garment. He stopped for one month on the sea coast in expectation of a ship, and meanwhile by his skill in trading he made a thousand during the month by buying goods here and selling them there in lawful enterprise.
§66 Eventually he came to the Great Monastery [(Mahāvihāra) at Anurādhapura], and there he asked for the going forth into homelessness. When he was being conducted to the chapter house (sīmā) for the going-forth ceremony, the purse containing the thousand pieces dropped out from under his belt. When asked “What is that?” he replied, “It is a thousand ducats, venerable sirs.” They told him, “Lay follower, it is not possible to distribute them after the going forth. Distribute them now.” Then he said, “Let none who have come to the scene of Visākha’s going forth depart empty-handed,” and opening [the purse] he strewed them over the chapter house yard, after which he received the going forth and the full admission.
§67 When he had acquired five years’ seniority and had become familiar with the two Codes (Pātimokkha; see III.31) he celebrated the Pavāraṇā at the end of the Rains, took a meditation subject that suited him, and set out to wander, living for four months in each monastery and doing the duties on a basis of equality with the residents. While he was wandering in this way:
§68 On his way to Cittalapabbata he came to a road fork and stood wondering which turn to take. Then a deity living in a rock held out a hand pointing out the road to him.
§69 He came to the Cittalapabbata Monastery. After he had stayed there for four months he lay down thinking, “In the morning I depart.” Then a deity living in a maṇila tree at the end of the walk sat down on a step of the stair and burst into tears. The elder asked, “Who is that?”—“It is I, Maṇiliyā, venerable sir.”—“What are you weeping for?”—“Because you are going away.”—“What good does my living here to you?”—“Venerable sir, as long as you live here non-human beings treat each other kindly. Now, when you are gone, they will start quarrels and loose talk.” [9] The elder said, “If my living here makes you live at peace, that is good,” and so he stayed there another four months. Then he again thought of leaving, but the deity wept as before. And so the elder lived on there, and it was there that he attained Nibbāna.
This is how a bhikkhu who abides in loving-kindness is dear to non-human beings.
§70 Deities guard him: deities guard him as a mother and father guard their child.
§71 Fire, poison and weapons do not affect him: they do not affect, do not enter into, the body of one who abides in loving-kindness, like the fire in the case of the lay woman devotee Uttarā (see XII.34 and Dhp-a III 310), like the poison in the case of the Saṃyutta reciter the Elder Cūḷa-Siva, like the knife in the case of the novice Saṅkicca (see Dhp-a II 249); they do not disturb the body, is what is meant.
§72 And they tell the story of the cow here too. A cow was giving milk to her calf, it seems. A hunter, thinking “I shall shoot her,” flourished a long-handled spear in his hand and flung it. It struck her body and bounced off like a palm leaf—and that was owing neither to access nor to absorption, but simply to the strength of her consciousness of love for her calf. So mightily powerful is loving-kindness.
§73 His mind is easily concentrated: the mind of one who abides in loving-kindness is quickly concentrated, there is no sluggishness about it. 314
§74 The expression of his face is serene: his face has a serene expression, like a palmyra fruit loosed from its stem.
§75 308/366 He dies unconfused: there is no dying deluded for one who abides in loving-kindness. He passes away undeluded as if falling asleep.
§76 If he penetrates no higher: if he is unable to reach higher than the attainment of loving-kindness and attain Arahantship, then when he falls from this life, he reappears in the Brahmā-world as one who wakes up from sleep.
This is the detailed explanation of the development of loving-kindness.
2 (2) Compassion#
§77 One who wants to develop compassion should begin his task by reviewing the danger in lack of compassion and the advantage in compassion.
And when he begins it, he should not direct it at first towards the dear, etc., persons; for one who is dear simply retains the position of one who is dear, a very dear companion retains the position of a very dear companion, one who is neutral retains the position of one who is neutral, one who is antipathetic retains the position of one who is antipathetic, and one who is hostile retains the position of one who is hostile. One of the opposite sex and one who is dead are also not the field for it.
§78 In the Vibhaṅga it is said: “And how does a bhikkhu dwell pervading one direction with his heart endued with compassion? Just as he would feel compassion on seeing an unlucky, unfortunate person, so he pervades all beings with compassion” (Vibh 273). Therefore first of all, on seeing a wretched man, unlucky, unfortunate, in every way a fit object for compassion, unsightly, reduced to utter misery, with hands and feet cut off, sitting in the shelter for the helpless with a pot placed before him, with a mass of maggots oozing from his arms and legs, and moaning, compassion should be felt for him in this way: “This being has indeed been reduced to misery; if only he could be freed from this suffering!”
But if he does not encounter such a person, then he can arouse compassion for an evil-doing person, even though he is happy, by comparing him to one about to be executed. How?
§79 Suppose a robber has been caught with stolen goods, and in accordance with the king’s command to execute him, the king’s men bind him and lead him off to the place of execution, giving him a hundred blows in sets of four. Then people give him things to chew and eat and also garlands and perfumes, unguents and betel leaves. Although 315 he goes along eating and enjoying these things as though he were happy and well off, still no one fancies that he is really happy and well off. On the contrary people feel compassion for him, thinking, “This poor wretch is now about to die; every step he takes brings him nearer to the presence of death.” So too a bhikkhu whose meditation subject is compassion should arouse compassion for an [evil-doing] person even if he is happy: “Though this poor wretch is now happy, cheerful, enjoying his wealth, still for want of even one good deed done now in any one of the three doors [of body, speech and mind] he can come to experience untold suffering in the states of loss.”
§80 309/367 Having aroused compassion for that person in that way, he should next arouse compassion for a dear person, next for a neutral person, and next for a hostile person, successively in the same way.
§81 But if resentment towards the hostile person arises in the way already described, he should make it subside in the way described under loving-kindness (§§14–39).
And here too when someone has done profitable deeds and the meditator sees or hears that he has been overtaken by one of the kinds of ruin beginning with ruin of health, relatives, property, etc., he deserves the meditator’s compassion; and so he does too in any case, even with no such ruin, thus “In reality he is unhappy,” because he is not exempt from the suffering of the round [of becoming]. And in the way already described the meditator should break down the barriers between the four kinds of people, that is to say, himself, the dear person, the neutral person and the hostile person. Then cultivating that sign, developing it and repeatedly practicing it, he should increase the absorption by the triple and quadruple jhāna in the way already stated under loving-kindness.
§82 But the order given in the Aṅguttara Commentary is that a hostile person should first be made the object of compassion, and when the mind has been made malleable with respect to him, next the unlucky person, next the dear person, and next oneself. That does not agree with the text, “an unlucky, unfortunate person” (§78).Therefore he should begin the development, break down the barriers, and increase absorption only in the way stated here.
§83 After that, the versatility consisting in the unspecified pervasion in five ways, the specified pervasion in seven ways, and the directional pervasion in ten ways, and the advantages described as “He sleeps in comfort,” etc., should be understood in the same way as given under loving-kindness.
This is the detailed explanation of the development of compassion. 316
3 (3) Gladness#
§84 One who begins the development of gladness [10] should not start with the dear person and the rest; for a dear person is not the proximate cause of gladness merely in virtue of dearness, how much less the neutral and the hostile person. One of the opposite sex and one who is dead are also not the field for it.
§85 However, the very dear companion can be the proximate cause for it—one who in the commentaries is called a “boon companion,” for he is constantly glad: he laughs first and speaks afterwards. So he should be the first to be pervaded with gladness. Or on seeing or hearing about a dear person being happy, cheerful and glad, gladness can be aroused thus: “This being is indeed glad. How good, how excellent!” For this is what is referred to in the Vibhaṅga: “And how does a bhikkhu dwell pervading one direction with his heart endued 310/368 with gladness? Just as he would be glad on seeing a dear and beloved person, so he pervades all beings with gladness” (Vibh 274).
§86 But if his boon companion or the dear person was happy in the past but is now unlucky and unfortunate, then gladness can still be aroused by remembering his past happiness and apprehending the glad aspect in this way: “In the past he had great wealth, a great following and he was always glad.” Or gladness can be aroused by apprehending the future glad aspect in him in this way: “In the future he will again enjoy similar success and will go about in gold palanquins, on the backs of elephants or on horseback, and so on.”
Having thus aroused gladness with respect to a dear person, he can then direct it successively towards a neutral one, and after that towards a hostile one.
§87 But if resentment towards the hostile one arises in him in the way already described, he should make it subside in the same way as described under loving-kindness (§§14–39).
He should break down the barriers by means of mental impartiality towards the four, that is, towards these three and himself. And by cultivating that sign, developing and repeatedly practicing it, he should increase the absorption to triple and quadruple jhāna in the way already stated under loving-kindness.
Next, the versatility consisting in unspecified pervasion in five ways, specified pervasion in seven ways, and directional pervasion in ten ways, and also the advantages described as “He sleeps in comfort,” etc., should be understood in the same way as stated under loving-kindness.
This is the detailed explanation of the development of gladness.
4 (4) Equanimity#
§88 One who wants to develop equanimity must have already obtained the triple or quadruple jhāna in loving-kindness, and so on. He should emerge from the third jhāna [in the fourfold reckoning], after he has made it familiar, and he should see danger in the former [three divine abidings] because they are linked with attention given to beings’ enjoyment in the way beginning “May they be happy,” because resentment and approval are near, and because their association with joy is gross. And he should also see the advantage in equanimity because it is peaceful. Then he should arouse equanimity (upekkhā) by looking on with equanimity (ajjhupekkhitvā) at a person who is normally neutral; after that at a dear person, and the rest. For this is said: “And how does a bhikkhu dwell pervading one direction with his heart endued with equanimity? Just as he would feel equanimity on seeing a person who was neither beloved nor unloved, so he pervades all beings with equanimity” (Vibh 275).
§89 Therefore he should arouse equanimity towards the neutral person in the way already stated. Then, through the neutral one, he should break down the barriers in each case between the three people, that is, the dear person, then the 311/369 boon companion, and then the hostile one, and lastly himself. And he should cultivate that sign, develop and repeatedly practice it.
§90 As he does so the fourth jhāna arises in him in the way described under the earth kasiṇa.
But how then? Does this arise in one in whom the third jhāna has already arisen on the basis of the earth kasiṇa, etc.? It does not. Why not? Because of the dissimilarity of the object. It arises only in one in whom the third jhāna has arisen on the basis of loving-kindness, etc., because the object is similar.
But after that the versatility and the obtaining of advantages should be understood in the same way as described under loving-kindness.
This is the detailed explanation of the development of equanimity.
5 General#
§91 Now, having thus known these divine abidings
5.1 Meanings#
§92 Now, as to the meaning firstly of loving-kindness, compassion, gladness and equanimity: it fattens (mejjati), thus it is loving-kindness (mettā); it is solvent (siniyhati) is the meaning. Also: it comes about with respect to a friend (mitta), 318 or it is behaviour towards a friend, thus it is loving-kindness (mettā).
When there is suffering in others it causes (karoti) good people’s hearts to be moved (kampana), thus it is compassion (karuṇā). Or alternatively, it combats (kiṇāti) [11] others’ suffering, attacks and demolishes it, thus it is compassion. Or alternatively, it is scattered (kiriyati) upon those who suffer, it is extended to them by pervasion, thus it is compassion (karuṇā).
Those endowed with it are glad (modanti), or itself is glad (modati), or it is the mere act of being glad (modana), thus it is gladness (muditā).
It looks on at (upekkhati), abandoning such interestedness as thinking “May they be free from enmity” and having recourse to neutrality, thus it is equanimity (upekkhā).
5.2 Characteristic etc.#
§93 As to the characteristic, etc., loving-kindness is characterized here as promoting the aspect of welfare. Its function is to prefer welfare. It is manifested as the removal of annoyance. Its proximate cause is seeing loveableness in beings. It succeeds when it makes ill will subside, and it fails when it produces (selfish) affection.
§94 312/370 Compassion is characterized as promoting the aspect of allaying suffering. Its function resides in not bearing others’ suffering. It is manifested as non-cruelty. Its proximate cause is to see helplessness in those overwhelmed by suffering. It succeeds when it makes cruelty subside and it fails when it produces sorrow.
§95 Gladness is characterized as gladdening (produced by others’ success). [12] Its function resides in being unenvious. It is manifested as the elimination of aversion (boredom). Its proximate cause is seeing beings, success. It succeeds when it makes aversion (boredom) subside, and it fails when it produces merriment.
§96 Equanimity is characterized as promoting the aspect of neutrality towards beings. Its function is to see equality in beings. It is manifested as the quieting of resentment and approval. Its proximate cause is seeing ownership of deeds (kamma) thus: “Beings are owners of their deeds. Whose [13] [if not theirs] is the choice by which they will become happy, or will get free from suffering, or will not fall away from the success they have reached?” It succeeds when it makes resentment and approval subside, and it fails when it produces the equanimity of unknowing, which is that [worldly-minded indifference of ignorance] based on the house life.
5.3 Purpose#
§97 The general purpose of these four divine abidings is the bliss of insight and an excellent [form of future] existence. That peculiar to each is respectively the warding off of ill will, and so on. For here loving-kindness has the purpose of warding off ill will, while the others have the respective purposes of warding off cruelty, aversion (boredom), and greed or resentment. And this is said too: “For this is the escape from ill will, friends, that is to say, the mind-deliverance of loving-kindness … For this is the escape from cruelty, friends, that is to say, the mind-deliverance of compassion … For this is the escape from boredom, friends, that is to say, the mind-deliverance of gladness … For this is the escape from greed, friends, that is to say, the mind-deliverance of equanimity” (D III 248).
5.4 The Near and Far Enemies#
§98 And here each one has two enemies, one near and one far.
The divine abiding of loving-kindness 319 has greed as its near enemy, [14] since both share in seeing virtues. Greed behaves like a foe who keeps close by a man, and it easily finds an opportunity. So loving-kindness should be well 313/371 protected from it. And ill will, which is dissimilar to the similar greed, is its far enemy like a foe ensconced in a rock wilderness. So loving-kindness must be practiced free from fear of that; for it is not possible to practice loving-kindness and feel anger simultaneously (see D III 247–248).
§99 Compassion has grief based on the home life as its near enemy, since both share in seeing failure. Such grief has been described in the way beginning, “When a man either regards as a privation failure to obtain visible objects cognizable by the eye that are sought after, desired, agreeable, gratifying and associated with worldliness, or when he recalls those formerly obtained that are past, ceased and changed, then grief arises in him. Such grief as this is called grief based on the home life” (M III 218). And cruelty, which is dissimilar to the similar grief, is its far enemy. So compassion must be practiced free from fear of that; for it is not possible to practice compassion and be cruel to breathing things simultaneously.
§100 Gladness has joy based on the home life as its near enemy, since both share in seeing success. Such joy has been described in the way beginning, “When a man either regards as gain the obtaining of visible objects cognizable by the eye that are sought … and associated with worldliness, or recalls those formerly obtained that are past, ceased, and changed, then joy arises in him. Such joy as this is called joy based on the home life” (M III 217). And aversion (boredom), which is dissimilar to the similar joy, is its far enemy. So gladness should be practiced free from fear of that; for it is not possible to practice gladness and be discontented with remote abodes and things connected with the higher profitableness simultaneously.
§101 Equanimity has the equanimity of unknowing based on the home life as its near enemy, since both share in ignoring faults and virtues. Such unknowing has been described in the way beginning, “On seeing a visible object with the eye equanimity arises in the foolish infatuated ordinary man, in the untaught ordinary man who has not conquered his limitations, who has not conquered future [kamma] result, who is unperceiving of danger. Such equanimity as this does not surmount the visible object. Such equanimity as this is called equanimity based on the home life” (M III 219). And greed and resentment, which are dissimilar to the similar unknowing, are its far enemies. Therefore equanimity must be practiced free from fear of that; 320 for it is not possible to look on with equanimity and be inflamed with greed or be resentful [15]simultaneously.
5.5 The Beginning, Middle and End, Etc.#
§102 Now, zeal consisting in desire to act is the beginning of all these things. Suppression of the hindrances, etc., is the middle. Absorption is the end. Their 314/372 object is a single living being or many living beings, as a mental object consisting in a concept.
5.6 The Order in Extension#
§103 The extension of the object takes place either in access or in absorption. Here is the order of it. Just as a skilled ploughman first delimits an area and then does his ploughing, so first a single dwelling should be delimited and loving-kindness developed towards all beings there in the way beginning, “In this dwelling may all beings be free from enmity.” When his mind has become malleable and wieldy with respect to that, he can then delimit two dwellings. Next he can successively delimit three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, one street, half the village, the whole village, the district, the kingdom, one direction, and so on up to one world-sphere, or even beyond that, and develop loving-kindness towards the beings in such areas. Likewise with compassion and so on. This is the order in extending here.
5.7 The Outcome#
§104 Just as the immaterial states are the outcome of the kasiṇas, and the base consisting of neither perception nor non-perception is the outcome of concentration, and fruition attainment is the outcome of insight, and the attainment of cessation is the outcome of serenity coupled with insight, so the divine abiding of equanimity is the outcome of the first three divine abidings. For just as the gable rafters cannot be placed in the air without having first set up the scaffolding and built the framework of beams, so it is not possible to develop the fourth (jhāna in the fourth divine abiding) without having already developed the third jhāna in the earlier (three divine abidings).
5.8 Four Questions#
§105 And here it may be asked: But why are loving-kindness, compassion, gladness, and equanimity, called divine abidings? And why are they only four? And what is their order? And why are they called measureless states in the Abhidhamma?
§106 It may be replied: The divineness of the abiding (brahmavihāratā) should be understood here in the sense of best and in the sense of immaculate. For these abidings are the best in being the right attitude towards beings. And just as Brahmā gods abide with immaculate minds, so the meditators who associate themselves with these abidings abide on an equal footing with Brahmā gods. So they are called divine abidings in the sense of best and in the sense of immaculate. 321
§107 Here are the answers to the questions beginning with “Why are they only four?”:
§108 315/373 For among these, loving-kindness is the way to purity for one who has much ill will, compassion is that for one who has much cruelty, gladness is that for one who has much aversion (boredom), and equanimity is that for one who has much greed. Also attention given to beings is only fourfold, that is to say, as bringing welfare, as removing suffering, as being glad at their success, and as unconcern, [that is to say, impartial neutrality]. And one abiding in the measureless states should practice loving-kindness and the rest like a mother with four sons, namely, a child, an invalid, one in the flush of youth, and one busy with his own affairs; for she wants the child to grow up, wants the invalid to get well, wants the one in the flush of youth to enjoy for long the benefits of youth, and is not at all bothered about the one who is busy with his own affairs. That is why the measureless states are only four as “due to paths to purity and other sets of four.”
§109 One who wants to develop these four should practice them towards beings first as the promotion of the aspect of welfare—and loving-kindness has the promotion of the aspect of welfare as its characteristic; and next, on seeing or hearing or judging [16] that beings whose welfare has been thus wished for are at the mercy of suffering, they should be practiced as the promotion of the aspect of the removal of suffering—and compassion has the promotion of the aspect of the removal of suffering as its characteristic; and then, on seeing the success of those whose welfare has been wished for and the removal of whose suffering has been wished for, they should be practiced as being glad—and gladness has the act of gladdening as its characteristic; but after that there is nothing to be done and so they should be practiced as the neutral aspect, in other words, the state of an onlooker—and equanimity has the promotion of the aspect of neutrality as its characteristic; therefore, since their respective aims are the aspect of welfare, etc., their order should be understood to correspond, with loving-kindness stated first, then compassion, gladness and equanimity.
§110 All of them, however, occur with a measureless scope, for their scope is measureless beings; and instead of assuming a measure such as “Loving-kindness, etc., should be developed only towards a single being, or in an area of such an extent,” they occur with universal pervasion.
That is why it was said: 322
5.9 As Producing Three Jhānas and Four Jhānas#
§111 Though they have a single characteristic in having a measureless scope, yet the first three are only of triple and quadruple jhāna [respectively in the fourfold and fivefold reckonings]. Why? Because they are not dissociated from 316/374 joy. But why are their aims not dissociated from joy? Because they are the escape from ill will, etc., which are originated by grief. But the last one belongs only to the remaining single jhāna. Why? Because it is associated with equanimous feeling. For the divine abiding of equanimity that occurs in the aspect of neutrality towards beings does not exist apart from equanimous [that is to say, neither-painful-nor-pleasant] feeling.
§112 However, someone might say this: “It has been said by the Blessed One in the Book of Eights, speaking of the measureless states in general: ‘Next, bhikkhu, you should develop the concentration with applied thought and sustained thought, and you should develop it without applied thought and with sustained thought only, and you should develop it without applied thought and without sustained thought, and you should develop it with happiness, and you should develop it without happiness, and you should develop it accompanied by gratification, and you should develop it accompanied by equanimity’ (A IV 300). Consequently all four measureless states have quadruple and quintuple jhāna.”
§113 He should be told: “Do not put it like that. For if that were so, then contemplation of the body, etc., would also have quadruple and quintuple jhāna. But there is not even the first jhāna in the contemplation of feeling or in the other two. [17] So do not misrepresent the Blessed One by adherence to the letter. The Enlightened One’s word is profound and should be taken as it is intended, giving due weight to the teachers.”
§114 And the intention here is this: The Blessed One, it seems, was asked to teach the Dhamma thus: “Venerable sir, it would be good if the Blessed One would teach me the Dhamma in brief, so that, having heard the Blessed One’s Dhamma, I may dwell alone, withdrawn, diligent, ardent and self-exerted” (A IV 299). But the Blessed One had no confidence yet in that bhikkhu, since although he had already heard the Dhamma he had nevertheless gone on living there instead of going to do the ascetic’s duties, [and the Blessed One expressed his lack of confidence] thus: “So too, some misguided men merely question me, and when the Dhamma is expounded [to them], they still fancy that they need not follow me” (A IV 299). However, the bhikkhu had the potentiality for the attainment of Arahantship, and so he advised him again, 323 saying: “Therefore, bhikkhu, you should train thus: ‘My mind shall be steadied, quite steadied internally, and arisen evil unprofitable things shall not obsess my mind and 317/375 remain.’ You should train thus” (A IV 299). But what is stated in that advice is basic concentration consisting in mere unification of mind [18] internally in the sense of in oneself (see Ch. XIV, n. 75).
§115 After that he told him about its development by means of loving-kindness in order to show that he should not rest content with just that much but should intensify his basic concentration in this way: “As soon as your mind has become steadied, quite steadied internally, bhikkhu, and arisen evil unprofitable things do not obsess your mind and remain, then you should train thus: ‘The mind-deliverance of loving-kindness will be developed by me, frequently practiced, made the vehicle, made the foundation, established, consolidated, and properly undertaken.’ You should train thus, bhikkhu” (A IV 299–300), after which he said further: “As soon as this concentration has been thus developed by you, bhikkhu, [19] and frequently practiced, then you should develop this concentration with applied thought and sustained thought … and you should develop it accompanied by equanimity” (A IV 300).
§116 The meaning is this: “Bhikkhu, when this basic concentration has been developed by you by means of loving-kindness, then, instead of resting content with just that much, you should make this basic concentration reach quadruple and quintuple jhāna in other objects by [further] developing it in the way beginning ‘With applied thought.’”
§117 And having spoken thus, he further said: “As soon as this concentration has been thus developed by you, bhikkhu, and frequently practiced, then you should train thus: ‘The mind-deliverance of compassion will be developed by me …’ (A IV 300), etc., pointing out that “you should effect its [further] development by means of quadruple and quintuple jhāna in other objects, this [further] development being preceded by the remaining divine abidings of compassion and the rest.”
§118 Having thus shown how its [further] development by means of quadruple and quintuple jhāna is preceded by loving-kindness, etc., and having told him, “As soon as this concentration has been developed by you, bhikkhu, and frequently practiced, then you should train thus: ‘I shall dwell contemplating the body as a body,’” etc., he concluded the discourse with Arahantship as its culmination thus: “As soon as this concentration has been developed by you, bhikkhu, completely developed, then wherever you go you will go in comfort, wherever you stand you will stand in comfort, wherever 324 you sit you will sit in comfort, wherever you make your couch you will do so in comfort” (A IV 301). From that it must be understood that the [three] beginning with loving-kindness have only triple-quadruple jhāna, and that equanimity has only the single 318/376 remaining jhāna. And they are expounded in the same way in the Abhidhamma as well.
5.10 The Highest Limit of Each#
§119 And while they are twofold by way of the triple-quadruple jhāna and the single remaining jhāna, still they should be understood to be distinguishable in each case by a different efficacy consisting in having “beauty as the highest,” etc. For they are so described in the Haliddavasana Sutta, according as it is said: “Bhikkhus, the mind-deliverance of loving-kindness has beauty as the highest, I say … The mind-deliverance of compassion has the base consisting of boundless space as the highest, I say … The mind-deliverance of gladness has the base consisting of boundless consciousness as the highest I say … The mind-deliverance of equanimity has the base consisting of nothingness as the highest, I say” (S V 119–121). [20]
§120 But why are they described in this way? Because each is the respective basic support for each. For beings are unrepulsive to one who abides in loving-kindness. Being familiar with the unrepulsive aspect, when he applies his mind to unrepulsive pure colours such as blue-black, his mind enters into them without difficulty. So loving-kindness is the basic support for the liberation by the beautiful (see M II 12; M-a III 256), but not for what is beyond that. That is why it is called “having beauty as the highest.”
§121 One who abides in compassion has come to know thoroughly the danger in materiality, since compassion is aroused in him when he sees the suffering of beings that has as its material sign (cause) beating with sticks, and so on. So, well knowing the danger in materiality, when he removes whichever kasiṇa [concept he was contemplating], whether that of the earth kasiṇa or another, and applies his mind to the space [that remains (see X.6)], which is the escape from materiality, then his mind enters into that [space] without difficulty. So compassion is the basic support for the sphere of boundless space, but not for what is beyond that. That is why it is called “having the base consisting of boundless space as the highest.”
§122 When he abides in gladness, his mind becomes familiar with apprehending consciousness, since gladness is aroused in him when he sees beings’ consciousness arisen in the form of rejoicing over some reason for joy. Then when he surmounts the sphere of boundless space that he had already attained in due course and applies his mind to the consciousness that had as its object the sign of space, 325 his mind enters into it without difficulty. So gladness is the basic support for the base consisting of boundless consciousness, but not for what is beyond that. That is why it is called “having the sphere of boundless consciousness as the highest.”
§123 319/377 When he abides in equanimity, his mind becomes skilled [21] in apprehending what is (in the ultimate sense) non-existent, because his mind has been diverted from apprehension of (what is existent in) the ultimate sense, namely, pleasure, (release from) pain, etc., owing to having no further concern such as “May beings be happy” or “May they be released from pain” or “May they not lose the success they have obtained.” Now his mind has become used to being diverted from apprehension of [what is existent in] the ultimate sense, and his mind has become skilled in apprehending what is non-existent in the ultimate sense, (that is to say, living beings, which are a concept), and so when he surmounts the base consisting of boundless consciousness attained in due course and applies his mind to the absence, which is non-existent as to individual essence, of consciousness, which is a reality (is become—see M I 260) in the ultimate sense, then his mind enters into that (nothingness, that non-existence) without difficulty (see X.32). So equanimity is the basic support for the base consisting of nothingness, but not for what is beyond that. That is why it is called “having the base consisting of nothingness as the highest.”
§124 When he has understood thus that the special efficacy of each resides respectively in “having beauty as the highest,” etc., he should besides understand how they bring to perfection all the good states beginning with giving. For the Great Beings’ minds retain their balance by giving preference to beings’ welfare, by dislike of beings’ suffering, by desire for the various successes achieved by beings to last, and by impartiality towards all beings. And to all beings they give gifts, which are a source a pleasure, without discriminating thus: “It must be given to this one; it must not be given to this one.” And in order to avoid doing harm to beings they undertake the precepts of virtue. They practice renunciation for the purpose of perfecting their virtue. They cleanse their understanding for the purpose of non-confusion about what is good and bad for beings. They constantly arouse energy, having beings’ welfare and happiness at heart. When they have acquired heroic fortitude through supreme energy, they become patient with beings’ many kinds of faults. They do not deceive when 320/378 promising “We shall give you this; we shall do this for you.” They are unshakably resolute upon beings’ welfare and happiness. Through unshakable loving-kindness they place them first [before themselves]. Through equanimity they expect no reward. Having thus fulfilled the [ten] perfections, these [divine abidings] then perfect all the good states classed as the ten powers, the four kinds of fearlessness, the six kinds of knowledge not shared [by disciples], and the eighteen states of the Enlightened One. [22] This is how they bring to perfection all the good states beginning with giving.
The ninth chapter called “The Description of the Divine Abidings” in the Treatise on the Development of Concentration in the Path of Purification composed for the purpose of gladdening good people.
Footnotes