Introduction

Thus I heard: At one time the Gracious One was living near Rājagaha at the Squirrel’s Feeding Place in Bamboo Wood.

The devotee Visākha approached the nun Dhammadinnā, and after approaching and worshipping the nun Dhammadinnā, he sat on one side. While sitting on one side the devotee Visākha said this to the nun Dhammadinnā:

Q1. Embodiment

“ ‘Embodiment, embodiment,’ is said, Noble Lady. What, Noble Lady, is said to be embodiment by the Gracious One?”

“These five constituents (of mind and body) that provide fuel for attachment, friend Visākha, are said to be embodiment by the Gracious One, as follows:

the form constituent that provides fuel for attachment, the feelings constituent that provides fuel for attachment, the perceptions constituent that provides fuel for attachment, the (mental) processes constituent that provides fuel for attachment, the consciousness constituent that provides fuel for attachment.

These are the five constituents (of mind and body) that provide fuel for attachment, friend Visākha, that are said to be embodiment by the Gracious One.”

“Well said, Noble Lady,” said the devotee Visākha, and after greatly rejoicing and gladly receiving this word of the nun Dhammadinnā, he asked a further question to the nun Dhammadinnā:

Q2. Arising of Embodiment

“ ‘The arising of embodiment, the arising of embodiment,’ is said, Noble Lady. What, Noble Lady, is said to be the arising of embodiment by the Gracious One?”

“It is that craving which leads to continuation in existence, friend Visākha, which is connected with enjoyment and passion, greatly enjoying this and that, as follows: craving for sense pleasures craving for continuation craving for discontinuation.

This, friend Visākha, is said to be the arising of embodiment by the Gracious One.

Q3. Cessation of Embodiment

“ ‘The cessation of embodiment, the cessation of embodiment,’ is said, Noble Lady. What, Noble Lady, is said to be the cessation of embodiment by the Gracious One?”

“It is the complete fading away and cessation without remainder of that craving, friend Visākha, liberation, letting go, release and non-adherence.

This, friend Visākha, is said to be the cessation of embodiment by the Gracious One.”

Q4. The Path Leading to the Cessation of Embodiment

“ ‘The path leading to the cessation of embodiment, the path leading to the cessation of embodiment,’ is said, Noble Lady. What, Noble Lady, is said to be the path leading to the cessation of embodiment by the Gracious One?”

“It is this noble path with eight factors, friend Visākha, as follows: right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right endeavour, right mindfulness, right concentration.”

Q5. Attachment and the Five Constituents

“Is this attachment, Noble Lady, (the same as) these five constituents (of mind and body) that provide fuel for attachment, or is attachment different from the five constituents (of mind and body) that provide fuel for attachment?”

“This attachment, friend Visākha, is not (the same as) these five constituents (of mind and body) that provide fuel for attachment, nor is attachment different from the five constituents (of mind and body) that provide fuel for attachment. But whatever desire and passion there is for the five constituents (of mind and body) that provide fuel for attachment, that is the attachment right there.”

Q6. Embodiment View

“But what, Noble Lady, is embodiment view?”

“Here, friend Visākha, an unlearned worldling, one who doesn’t meet the Noble Ones, who is unskilled in the Noble Dhamma, untrained in the Noble Dhamma, one who doesn’t meet Good People, who is unskilled in the Good People’s Dhamma, untrained in the Good People’s Dhamma, views bodily form as self, or self as endowed with bodily form, or bodily form as in self, or self as in bodily form.

Views feeling as self, or self as endowed with feeling, or feeling as in self, or self as in feeling.

Views perception as self, or self as endowed with perception, or perception as in self, or self as in perception.

Views (volitional) processes as self, or self as endowed with (volitional) processes, or (volitional) processes as in self, or self as in (volitional) processes.

Views consciousness as self, or self as endowed with consciousness, or consciousness as in self, or self as in consciousness.

This, friend Visākha, is embodiment view.”

Q7. No Embodiment View

“But how, Noble Lady, is there no embodiment view?”

“Here, friend Visākha, a learned noble disciple, one who meets the Noble Ones, who is skilled in the Noble Dhamma, trained in the Noble Dhamma, one who meets Good People, who is skilled in the Good People’s Dhamma, trained in the Good People’s Dhamma, doesn’t view bodily form as self, or self as endowed with bodily form, or bodily form as in self, or self as in bodily form.

Doesn’t view feeling as self, or self as endowed with feeling, or feeling as in self, or self as in feeling.

Doesn’t view perception as self, or self as endowed with perception, or perception as in self, or self as in perception.

Doesn’t view (volitional) processes as self, or self as endowed with (volitional) processes, or (volitional) processes as in self, or self as in (volitional) processes.

Doesn’t view consciousness as self, or self as endowed with consciousness, or consciousness as in self, or self as in consciousness.

Thus, friend Visākha, there is no embodiment view.”

Q8. Eightfold Noble Path

“But what, Noble Lady, is the Eightfold Noble Path?”

“It is this noble path with eight factors, friend Visākha, as follows: right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right endeavour, right mindfulness, right concentration.”

Q9. Path Conditioned

“But is the eightfold Noble Path, Noble Lady, conditioned or unconditioned?” “The eightfold Noble Path, friend Visākha, is conditioned.”

Q10. Constituents of the Path

“Are the three constituents comprised within the eightfold Noble Path, Noble Lady, or is the eightfold Noble Path comprised within the three constituents?”

“The three constituents are not comprised within the eightfold Noble Path, friend Visākha, but the eightfold Noble Path is comprised within the three constituents.

Whatever is right speech, friend Visākha, and whatever is right action, and whatever is right livelihood, these things are comprised within the virtue constituent.

Whatever is right endeavour, and whatever is right mindfulness, and whatever is right concentration, these things are comprised within the concentration constituent.

Whatever is right view, and whatever is right thought, these things are comprised within the wisdom constituent.

Q11. Concentration

“But what, Noble Lady, is concentration, what are the causes of concentration, what are the accessories to concentration, what is the development of concentration?”

“Whatever is one-pointedness of mind, friend Visākha, that is concentration, the four ways of attending to mindfulness are the causes of concentration, the four right endeavours are the accessories to concentration, whatever repetition of these things there is, their development, being made much of, this is the development of concentration herein.”

Q12. Processes

“But what, Noble Lady, are the processes?” “There are these three processes, friend Visākha: the bodily process, the speech process, the mental process.”

Q13. Processes Definitions

“But what, Noble Lady, is bodily process, what is speech process, what is mental process?”

“In-breathing and out-breathing, friend Visākha, is bodily process, thinking and reflection is speech process, perception and feeling is mental process.”

Q14. Explanation of Definitions

“But why is in-breathing and out-breathing, Noble Lady, bodily process, why is thinking and reflection speech process, why is perception and feeling mental process?”

“In-breathing and out-breathing, friend Visākha, are bodily, these things are bound up with the body, therefore in-breathing and out-breathing is a bodily process.

Having thought and reflected beforehand, friend Visākha, he afterwards breaks forth with a word, therefore thinking and reflection is a speech process.

Perception and feeling are mental factors, these things are bound up with the mind, therefore perception and feeling are mental processes.”

Q15. The Attainment of Cessation

“But how, Noble Lady, is the cessation of perception and feeling attained?”

“A monastic who is attaining the cessation of perception and feeling, friend Visākha, does not think: ‘I will attain the cessation of perception and feeling,’ or ‘I am attaining the cessation of perception and feeling,’ or ‘I have attained the cessation of perception and feeling.’ But previously his mind has been developed so that it leads to that state.”

Q16. Processes that Cease First during Cessation

“But for a monastic who has attained the cessation of perception and feeling, Noble Lady, which things cease first: bodily process, or speech process, or mental process?”

“For a monastic who is attaining the cessation of perception and feeling, friend Visākha, first speech process ceases, then bodily process ceases, then mental process ceases.”

Q17. The Emergence from Cessation

“But what, Noble Lady, is the emergence from the cessation of perception and feeling?”

“A monastic who is emerging from the cessation of perception and feeling, friend Visākha, does not think: ‘I will emerge from the cessation of perception and feeling,’ or, ‘I am emerging from the cessation of perception and feeling,’ or, ‘I have emerged from the cessation of perception and feeling,’ But previously his mind has been developed so that it leads to that state.”

Q18. Processes that Arise First during Emergence

“But for a monastic who has emerged from the cessation of perception and feeling, Noble Lady, which things arise first: bodily process, or speech process, or mental process?”

“For a monastic who is emerging from the cessation of perception and feeling, friend Visākha, first mental process arises, then bodily process arises, then speech process arises.”

Q19. Contacts after Emergence

“Having emerged from the cessation of perception and feeling, Noble Lady, how many contacts touch that monastic?”

“Having emerged from the cessation of perception and feeling, friend Visākha, three contacts touch that monastic: emptiness contact, desirelessness contact, signlessness contact.”

Q20. Inclination after Emergence

“For a monastic who has emerged from the cessation of perception and feeling, Noble Lady, what does his mind incline towards, what does it slope towards, what does it slant towards?”

“For a monastic who has emerged from the cessation of perception and feeling, friend Visākha, his mind inclines towards seclusion, it slopes towards seclusion, it slants towards seclusion.”

Q21. Number of Feelings

“But how many feelings are there, Noble Lady?”

“There are three feelings, friend Visākha: pleasant feeling, unpleasant feeling, and neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant feeling.”

Q22. Types of Feelings

“But what, Noble Lady, is pleasant feeling, what is unpleasant feeling, what is neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant feeling?”

“Whatever, friend Visākha, is bodily or mentally pleasant and agreeable feeling: that is pleasant feeling. Whatever, friend Visākha, is bodily or mentally unpleasant and disagreeable feeling: that is unpleasant feeling. Whatever, friend Visākha, is bodily or mentally neither agreeable nor disagreeable feeling: that is neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant feeling.”

Q22. Definition of Feelings

“But regarding pleasant feeling, Noble Lady: what is pleasant, what is unpleasant, regarding unpleasant feeling: what is pleasant, what is unpleasant, regarding neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant feeling: what is pleasant, what is unpleasant?”

“Pleasant feeling, friend Visākha, is pleasant when it persists, unpleasant when it changes, unpleasant feeling is unpleasant when it persists, pleasant when it changes, neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant feeling is pleasant when known, and unpleasant when unknown.”

Q23. Tendencies underlying Feelings

“But for pleasant feeling, Noble Lady, what tendency underlies it, for unpleasant feeling what tendency underlies it, for neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant feeling what tendency underlies it?”

“For pleasant feeling, friend Visākha, the tendency to passion underlies it, for unpleasant feeling the tendency to repulsion underlies it, for neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant feeling ignorance underlies it.”

Q24. Range of Tendencies

“But for all pleasant feeling, Noble Lady, does the tendency to passion underlie it, for all unpleasant feeling does the tendency to repulsion underlie it, for all neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant feeling does the tendency to ignorance underlie it?”

“Not for all pleasant feeling, friend Visākha, does the tendency to passion underlie it, not for all unpleasant feeling does the tendency to repulsion underlie it, not for all neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant feeling does the tendency to ignorance underlie it.”

Q25. Abandonment of Tendencies

“But for all pleasant feeling, Noble Lady, what should be abandoned, for all unpleasant feeling what should be abandoned, for all neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant feeling what should be abandoned?”

“For pleasant feeling, friend Visākha, the tendency to passion should be abandoned, for unpleasant feeling the tendency to repulsion should be abandoned, for neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant feeling the tendency to ignorance should be abandoned.”

Q26. Necessity of Abandonment

“But for all pleasant feeling, Noble Lady, (is there) a tendency to passion that should be abandoned, for all unpleasant feeling (is there) a tendency to repulsion that should be abandoned, for all neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant feeling (is there) a tendency to ignorance that should be abandoned?”

“Not for all pleasant feeling, friend Visākha, (is there) a tendency to passion that should be abandoned, not for all unpleasant feeling (is there) a tendency to repulsion that should be abandoned, not for all neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant feeling (is there) a tendency to ignorance that should be abandoned.

Here, friend Visākha, a monastic, quite secluded from sense desires, secluded from unwholesome things, having thinking, reflection, and the happiness and rapture born of seclusion, dwells having attained the first absorption. On that basis passion is abandoned, and herein there is no more underlying tendency to passion.

Here, friend Visākha, a monastic considers thus: ‘When will I dwell having attained that sphere that the Noble Ones now dwell in having attained that sphere?’ Thus a longing to give attendance towards that unsurpassed freedom arises and with longing as condition sorrow (arises). On that basis repulsion is abandoned, and herein there is no more underlying tendency to repulsion.

Here, friend Visākha, a monastic, having given up pleasure, given up pain, and with the previous disappearence of mental well-being and sorrow, without pain, without pleasure, and with complete purity of mindfulness owing to equanimity, dwells having attained the fourth absorption. On that basis ignorance is abandoned, and herein there is no more underlying tendency to ignorance.”

Q27. Complement of Unpleasant Feeling

“But for pleasant feeling, Noble Lady, what is the complement?” “For pleasant feeling, friend Visākha, the complement is unpleasant feeling.”

Q28. Complement of Pleasant Feeling

“But for unpleasant feeling, Noble Lady, what is the complement?” “For unpleasant feeling, friend Visākha, the complement is pleasant feeling.”

Q29. Complement of Neither-Unpleasant-nor-Pleasant Feeling

“But for neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant feeling, Noble Lady, what is the complement?”

“For neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant feeling, friend Visākha, the complement is ignorance.”

Q30. Complement of Ignorance

“But for ignorance, Noble Lady, what is the complement?”

“For ignorance, friend Visākha, the complement is understanding.”

Q31. Complement of Understanding

“But for understanding, Noble Lady, what is the complement?”

“For understanding, friend Visākha, the complement is freedom.”

Q32. Complement of Freedom

“But for freedom, Noble Lady, what is the complement?”

“For freedom, friend Visākha, the complement is Nibbāna.”

Q33. Complement of Nibbāna

“But for Nibbāna, Noble Lady, what is the complement?”

“You are not able to grasp, friend Visākha, answers to questions that are beyond your limits, like immersion in Nibbāna, friend Visākha, the spiritual life that ends in Nibbāna, that conclusion in Nibbāna.

Desiring this, friend Visākha, approach the Gracious One and you can ask him about this matter, and just as the Gracious One explains, so you should bear it in mind.”

Interview with the Gracious One

Then the devotee Visākha, after greatly rejoicing and gladly receiving this word of the nun Dhammadinnā, having worshipped and circumambulated the nun Dhammadinnā, approached the Gracious One, and after approaching and worshipping the Gracious One, he sat down on one side. While sitting on one side the devotee Visākha related the whole conversation he had had with the nun Dhammadinnā to the Gracious One.

That being said, the Gracious One said this to the devotee Visākha: “Wise, Visākha, is the nun Dhammadinnā, having great wisdom, Visākha, is the nun Dhammadinnā, if you were to ask me, Visākha, the same matter, I would answer it in the same way, in the way the nun Dhammadinnā has answered, for this is indeed the meaning, and so should you bear it in mind.”

The Gracious One said this, and the devotee Visākha was uplifted and greatly rejoiced in what was said by the Gracious One.

The Small Discourse giving an Elaboration is Finished