Johansson - Dynamic Psychology Early Buddhism
Johansson - Dynamic Psychology Early Buddhism
Johansson - Dynamic Psychology Early Buddhism
2
and "libido investment" as covering the central meanlng. It 1s
mainly an emotion but also a strong motive, for pleasurc-
seeking activities, for building a pleasure-Iovinq PlOt". n lily
(kamupadana) , for creating a k"iml/-world (i<"im,,-l-/l 'II .lnd pt' -
longing , renewing existence in this world of s0nsudlily.
The motives discussed so far Rre dCHcribel RS fully n-
scious. When we come to IPlllIt./ya. the level of CL'n l'i 1I S
doubtful. The word means literally, "lyinq down with", s n
107
' 1) hi di l l iv('d f! \.)m lhl vorb <UIIHlf'!/ U t. i , "lie down wlth ".
1s us". ,lly 1, .111 5 1.,l d uS "t endency " or " disposition", and
thi t' , ms t o Indi c- Ht., llt ;' t lhls fdctor oper<Jtcs on a deeper ,
c I vel .
YI 's o f ..1 ' " ' ''<11'' are frequently men tioned (e . g .
$ V 0) :
: , "t e nde nc y to desire pleasure "
t+.' -nl<.' I , "t e ndenc y to anger or disgust "
"tendenc y to speculation "
vi "ki "tendenc y to doubt"
"tende ncy to conceit "
bha
l
):ll<i g ant(saya , .. tendency to desire growth "
.. i:j1.1'l!4s ya , "te nde ncy to ignorance ".
In addition to thes e , s ome others are mentioned : ahank al"a-
(e. g . S II 275), " tendency to pride that
produces '1 ' and mine ... sakkaya- ditthanusaya , " tendency to
fOr:!: a cheory about a n individuality ", s i Zabbataparamas anus aya ,
"tendency to cling t o duties and rituals ", byapadanusaya , " ten-
dency to aggressiveness " (M I 433).
All these terms r efer t o undes i rable traits and with one
exception they seem to b elong to the area of consciousness ,
rather than behaviour . As in other similar enumerat i ons , no
distinction is made betwe en different functions of conscious-
ness: .,2-a)";gll , bhava)"aga and byapada seem to belong to the
area of motivation pr oper , patigha and mana are emotional
terms , diet},'-, sakk;:'ya- ditthi and avijja are cognitive terms ,
may to a type of behaviour or attitude ,
and the rest to combi na tions o f the areas . There are few indi -
cations in the texts what types of act i vity a r e produced by
the QnU6aYI. I t ls , f o r instance , said in S II 275 that " the
to pride lha t produces ' 1 ' and ' mine ' have been
f r om he venerabl e Siriputta; therefore a deteriora-
change in the T acher (i . e . the Buddha) wou l d
Q Irlment . suffering , s o rrow and despair".
o f ", , "'lY" w()uld , In this case produ e
Itch,""n . fi J r r. s S <lYs tl "1l " Wh .. ll on(' plilns , in-
t "nrlorH'y t o , t h.,t he,-()m,"; " basts for t he
o f cnn c'1()us npnn " (u aH(t: kl:o . . . i, ' 1 '( i !l l':L' Z
108
pakapprti ya;ea anuaeti arammanam Itam thiti-
later the text cor:ects this and that a
(anusrti) is enough as a basis for the establishment of con-
sciousness. From these passages we can conclude that qnur,qya
will produce activity, at least in the form of conscious ac-
tivity . We can also see that anuseti (the verbal equivalent to
anusaya) was considered as something less obvious and less im-
portant from a karnrnical point of view than the conscious and
purposive intentions behind ceteti and pakappeti . The text
corrects this and says that the tendencies are enough to direct
in the process of rebirth. Anusaya is then karnrnically
active and is also able to produce activity with karnrnical
consequences.
It has been suggested, e.g. by Jayasuriya (1963, p. 108)
and by Padrnasiri de Silva (1973, p. 61) that the cor-
respond to the psychoanalytic concept of the unconscious.
Whether this is realistic or not is difficult to decide on the
basis of the Nikaya texts. The Freudian unconscious consists
of (a) a few basic and inherited drives or instincts, (b) a
great amount of "repressed" or "forgotten" experiences, which
have been conscious but have been repressed and cannot reach
consciousness again because of a "censor", the watchdog of the
ego. Both groups, however, can influence consciousness and
behaviour without themselves becoming conscious. We have seen
that the mainly work through consciousness, but there
is usually no hint that they themselves remain unconscious
while exerting this influence. Our quotation from S II 65
shows that anusaya may influence "consciousness", in
the process of rebirth and is then active, but it
is not said whether this influence can take place without the
person ' s own knowing. Another relevant passage can be found
in M I 432 f: "A small, ignorant boy lying on his back has no
idea of 'individuality': so how could a theory about individu-
ality arise in him? But a disposition to form a about
individuality is latent in him. He is not conscious of 'ideas':
so how could doubt about ideas arise in him? But a dispositi n
to doubt is latent in him. He has no idea of 'duties': so h w
could clinging to duties and rituals arise in him? But
dis-
109
position to cling to duties and rituals is latent in h im. He
has no i de.l of sense-pleasures : so how could a wish for pleas-
ures drisc in him? But a disposition to desire pleasures is
latent in him. He has no idea of 'persons ' : so how could ag-
gressiveness towards persons arise in him? But a disposi t ion
to aggressiveness is latent in him" . . .
I ti pi na hoti , kuLo pan'aBBa
upp anuseti tv-ev ' aasa
nu,'a:<,; ... dh",.,ma ti pi >1a hoti, kuto pan ' assa
anusLt; tv-ev'assa .. .
ti pi na hoti , kuto pan'aBsa uppajjissati elleBu
anus.ti tv-ev'assa sllabbataparamasanusayo; . ..
kaMa ti pi na hoti , kuto pan'assa uppajjisaati kamesu kamac -
chand.; anuBeti tv- ev'aBsa kamaraganuRayo; . .. satta ti pi na
kuto pan ' aBsa uppajjissati sattlsu byapadc; anuseti
tv- , ,'as a The meaning seems to be that the
child's ability to perceive and be conscious is limited . He
has no clear idea of himself as a separate entity , so how coul d
he be an egoist? If he cannot distinguish between severa l al -
ternatives, how can he perceive a conflict , how can he doubt?
If he does not know that he should do anything , how could he
feel that duties and rituals are important? As he does not know
about pleasing objects, he cannot feel desire for them. He does
not know about other people , so he cannot feel aggressive to-
wards them. A baby is innocent: he has no bad intentions and
so cannot perform bad actions (this cecomes clear from a pas-
sage in M II 24 which will be quoted later in this chapter) .
But he has, as >Ie see in the quoted text, :n This must
nean that he has latent dispositions which are dormant and
inactive and will be activated only later. This text proves
that he /2I1U.' 'Jr, ':lay be dormant and unconscious but not that
they can be active and influence activity in this stale . Taken
together the passage quoted from S II 65, we would get
the impression that 1.' 2 could unconsciously influence
v:;. "I y.a"lftlJcally, in the process of rebirth (but it is not
thl5 type of influence that inlerests lhe psychoanalysts) . One
tnxl would seen Tn S III 131 , the venerable
yr'"r'lllk.J ttl)!; It.c simile of a dirty piece of cloth that has
110
been sent to the w,'Hill'l m,)". 110 rubs It 8moo
lr h,
or potdsh 01' cowdung, and r'infiCS it In pure elf> n w
t r. B
"I though it is now <.:lcdn , thpn' h')"()9
.,bouL it tht' sm I J
r,f
sal -earth or potdsh or cowdung. But tho rut it in
sweet-scented coffer, and Lhis smell soon disappc rs. In he
same way, "though a disciple of the noble one has put aNay he
five lower fetters, yet there remains jn his flv" y
factors a subtle remnant of the 'I am ' -conceit, oi he 'I ar.'-
ambition, of the 'I am'-disposition, still not removed
himlt {Ev,p,,: r.va "h \ .. . kir;'12pi al'iy.l.JGV(JW-a3e 7 p"ln raTr' h ".1 ",i
paht.r.ani atha h f ife. t-'l t.(
upadanakkhar;dh,'su anusahagat Aamlt-i man" har. d" J. i
anusayo asa'"1uh,.,to} . This passage shows that ar.u . ya may refer
to a more subtle, less noticeable tendency to think in eqc-
terms. But in what ways will the tendencies affect our
scious life without our knowledge? Not at all? In that case,
there would be no similarity to the Freudian unconscious. Or
in the form of defence mechanisms , dreams, errors, slipS oi
the tongue? In that case there would be a similarity. The B d-
dha did not specify. Anyway, he had no theory about the influ-
ence of repressed drives and forgotten memories on our con-
scious life.
Summing up the evidence, it seems preferable to use the
translations "tendency" and "disposition", by which we mean a
personality trait that is not always showing but is present
and may become operative , when the child has matured or other
conditions become favourable. When active, the tendenCies
ally operate by becoming conscious. In order to perform a bad
action, a conscious intention is needed, because only the in-
tention is wrong and kammically active.
Positive Terms
Motives to good act.lons are, ,'5 above', fr 1u ntly
expressed as negations: "There ar thesn thr (' r ts f kill:
absence of greed , of hatred, lbs n 111u I n"
(m;n{ .. ... :
t
III
m. l\ 1 70 J). Uu t I h 11 pos lli vc c:qu 1 v .. -
used: a which mCdns "r nuncla-
"flicndliness
"
, and
b' d'v loped for the crad-
be developed for the
n of illusion" (.]0,, .. 11 palr"i"ay I mdta bhavetaoba,
Ilz-n"i I I ;;i:;; lhav. t'lob; . l\ III 446). Panna is usu-
escribed as a force. but rather as an intellectual
to 1 f r understanding. But intelligence may very well be ex-
slng. revealing and destructive. and therefore have a dynamic
c This slde of the intellectual function is sometimes
stressed and made use of. In M I 114 f. the Buddha recalls that
during the time before his enlightenment . thoughts about love
( J" could arise in him: "But while I was reflecting .
'It will harm myself'. it subsided" IAttaoyaoadhaya samvatta-
... cbbhatham gacchati) . A V 150 f
, .
mentions ten ways of getting rid of anger. They all consist of
suitable thoughts, for instance: "He has done me harm. what
was the reason?" IA",attham me acal'<, tam kut' ettha ti;
the translation of the last phrase is doubtful ; I have prefer-
red to imply intellectual analysis of the situation . which is
recogn1zed as a realistic method of resolving an emotional
confllct). is not mentioned in these two passages . but
both are concerned with the dynamic component in intellectual
activlty.
We have already quoted a number of positive motives from
- /
I, IV 1'i1: '7itr.a . "faith". h'"I" . "shame". tappa . " remOJ:se "
or ftC"' nsc.1.cnce",
"riya, I' energyl', "will-power". Of these,
, is perhaps the most interesting. In A IV 363 . the power
of rergy is defined: "Such conditions as are unskilful
and known be such - to rid himself of such he generates an
amb ti n. he 5 ruggles. he activates energy. he concentrates
and m rd". And he lries in he same way to pursue
a It
h 1m -; l .1 1
m 1> Ii Y ma
L' '1*- .. 1 r:-
t.) This is R d scription of R
r r. J.
t r I
d Ict of will, We qc'l
1 pu 8 .inn from I p"S5.14' Pol' 1 iI" quol'd t lorn 11 II 91):
112
'The Master warded off that illness Ly will-power".
The mental act requiring the highest degree of planning ,
onsciousness and deliberate effort is in English called deci-
ion, in Pali In D II 312 it is defined with exactly
he same formulation as in 11 IV 363, just quoted, (as
's also pa-lh:;nl , "effort", in DIll 221) . E'tmr,a-v;yarl1 , "right
eCision", is the sixth part of the Eightfold Way. is
a positive sense, but the texts also speak about
, "wrong decision'l.
Neutral Terms
There are a number of neutral words in the field of motivation ,
i.e . words that can be used both for ethical and unethical
motives. We have already seen that a number of typically nega-
tive words occasionally can be used in a positive sense - and
vice versa , as is the case with
Like t'(l!J :"'(2 , ."'1:rlkappa , "intention", is included in the
Eightfold Path but has a wider use . It signifies the cnnscious,
deliberate purpose to do something . Through sankappa one can
pursue good values or false values (rnic chasan -
kUfpa) . Three types of false intentions are usually distin-
guished: and
"the intentions to love , to attack and to harm" III 73).
Their opposites , the intention to renunciate, not to attack,
not to harm avyapadasankappa,
sankappa) are the good intentions. They all give rise to merit
(punnabhagiya) but are still connected with influxes (sasa',) .
A different type o f """,marankapra was more valued among the
Buddha ' s diSCiples, namely the intention to become free from
the influxes a nd follow the Way ariyo
maggana o ) .
A common word for "volition" or "will " is C' "ettla or .'
cetqn; . In 5 II 99 the different types of -;1"1', , " foods", 1.l'.
"bases" , "causes", are discussed. I'The food of mental volition"
is said to be like the mental of a
an being dragged by force towards "" pi t of Clhlt'coa 1, del'pl'r
th n
113
mln is high, fill d with clear, glowing, smokeless char-
Th will (" t of that man would be to be far from
That th results of volltion CDn be both pleasant
sant an be seen from A 11 157 f: "Where there is
lrlses within onese lf pleasure and pain because of
o l'odily .1 tion" ("':1(' .. . . ' 11; ka:ll.:ar",cltl'la/'etu
.. .', ... t' ,": /i,1tki.' zm) ..
Another important word, current in both positive and nega-
"'ontexts is 'OJ i2, "wish", "ambition", which has occurred
frequently in texts quoted already. "Evil deeds are done from
motives of ambition, hatred, illusion and fear"
,,;""1" P .. ' .. -p"lkl .... ..z,., Jo .. ."J ' .. J
!" J ..... , to.., J n Plt 1 F karC
f
7' , 0 III 182). One can
also strive to become an arahant; "but when arahantship is at-
tained, that ambition is calmed" ytl chanda ahasi
.:rzl ... tl,.....lf "J: ratt ... :i' tajJo 'hando so patippassad-
dhc,SV273) ,
The word "htl for "wish" is also neutral. " By wishing the
world is bound, by removing wish it is liberated" (Ic.:haya
1: 2 .. .. ;;.lf-.' 'ok J mUe 1 5 I 40) . The destruction
of the influxes is effected by knowing and seeing ... But if
there should arise this wish in a monk who lives neglectful of
sel:-training : '0 that my mind were freed from the influxes
.'ithout grasping' - that would not lead to freedom (Bhavananu-
!! ... ",'" l'lr,14yutta::of"'2 ... bhikkhunl1 v-ihar'ato k or: 'api evam iccha
",.,"'11:12 ),zi::z "'e anupadaya aravl"hi ::it;ar; v
7
0muaceyyati ;
at,r". k. "Z.1..:' 1 l1l>V' .. c.p1.upadaya citta,; )7"'ucc'1.ti , SIll
152 fl. In the second quotation , icch; refers to the wish to
attain nibbana, and it is stressed that a mere wish is not
SUfficient for attaining this goal.
Habits become invested with a dynamic component that
will influence behaViour. A IV 236 mentions a number of motives
for giving gif s to monks; we have quoted some of these above,
bu one of th<Jse not quoted is family traditions: "one gives
hlnklnq: 'Th t was previously given and done by my ancestors.
I aM no he man 0 let the ancient family tradition fall into
disuse'" r {:"r.upulb-lm "'111/1'1</1 11m hi , ';,1 n'll/Iii,,;
pr"!'H"I h,/-"",M/J'1'" Ii cletn . Cf. also M I 115:
114
"Whatever a monk thinks and reflects on much , to that h10 mind
wLII be inclined" . .. bahulam
,1':1< :" ':;,-{'I.' toztha tath;i ",di hot.i ".-t'lIl' ) . This means ha
thought habits tend to continue without change: if somebody is
used to think much about kama, then he will go on thinking
about kama and avoid thoughts of renunciation (".k"lJamma).
The Origin of Motivation
There are a few references in the texts to the development of
motivation during childhood. A V 203 f implies that at first
the senses are undeveloped and therefore there are no needs
directed towards the five "love-objects". But when
the child has grown older and his senses have ripened
yanam paripakam anvaya) , then he devotes himself to them: "to
objects cognizable through the eye (and other sensations),
objects desirable, agreeable , fascinating, dear, loveable,
attractive itthehi
kamupasamhitehi rajaniyehi) . Objects are, then,
desired only when their desirability is perceived. As the per-
ceptual ability grows , the temptation becomes greater, but
without perception no desires would arise. The child also can
do nothing evil , say nothing bad, have no bad intentions, have
no wrong means of living; for what makes an act bad is the
conscious purpose behind it . And the child is not conscious of
what he is doing . "A small , ignorant boy lying on his back has
no idea of ' body ': so how could he do an evil act with his
body, except for a little kicking about? He has no idea o'
' saying ': so how could he say something bad, except for a lit-
tle crying? He has no idea of ' intention ': so how could h reel
an evil intention , except for a liltle irritation? He h s n
idea of his own support : so how could he support himself by
wrong means , except for taking his mothpr's milk?"
. ut tarla,'j K ,. r' J. t';
kuto pan a kayr'na k.lm"lam Pll:Zl1',:
to; . .. t);;c;; t1' pi n,-, h;)iij ['(HI.l -,'"': 1t "
I'lnnatr
'
a r'odilnmnft;-';; " . . !(Plkdl'l'" tl ri HL ;, t ';
:t I i:lt' 'tt i, It ",1 v/i,t,j,ji' "nat to;
1'21;.' ?rZt,t'rf,t7t,I, ('In-
ti, ; ,: - N 1 I :2.1)
.1 s <'1 the mot iv,Hi.onil] [dCt O)S ilrc in Lhis wily described
d, pcu(\ln<j on pt'rcept ion. In Lhe s Lilndard form of ['Q t .. '(]f'am-
" ..;:,i t "Ct"0vinq", is derived from vf-iann ,
n ex!mple is given in A II 10, where it is said that cravings
may arise in a monk because of robes, alms-food , lodging , suc-
cess or failure i . e. external conditions
which are perceived and appreciated . The reasons for the arising
of desire, hatred and illusion are described in A I 200 : desire
is derived from "the quality of beauty" , i . e . a
quality in things as perceived. Hatred is derived from patigha-
"the disgusting quality" in perceptions . Illusion ,
finally, is said to be conditioned by ay niso " im-
proper attention" . They all have their root in perception .
As we have seen, a child can have no bad intentions , per -
form no bad actions and also have no sense desires , since his
perceptions are undeveloped and he has little experience . Still
he has dispositions (anusaya) to speculation , to doubt , to rit-
ualism, to desire for pleasure, to aggressiveness , as is stated
in 1-1 I 432 f, quoted above. What is then the origin of these
traits? Very little information can be gleaned from the Nikaya
Ii erature, but let us study a passage in MIll 285 . "Visual
consciousness arises because of eye and forms, and the meeting
the three is contact; conditioned by contact , a pleasant or
painful or neutral sensation will arise. Stimulated by a pleas-
an sensation, he will be pleased, welcome it and remain at-
ached to it; a disposition to desire is in him" aa
... rup, <'a uppa,jjati tinnam sangati
phac. uppajja'i
v;. So
dG" alhJVdda'i tittha'i; tarra anuseri) .
Bu if 'he sensa ion 1s unpleasant , he will grieve , mour n,
lampnl, his breas and fall into disillusion; a disposition
is in him . If the sensation is neutral , he will
n0 CQrr clly and Lhe and disappearance of that
"rlsatJon, nor til(! nr p('ri! involved , nor the
116
escape from it ; a disposition to ignorance (I.e. not noticing
or not understanding) is in him . We have here a 6el"les of con-
ditionings as illustrated in Fig . 2 . We find, first, the
ceptual process , building on a contdct betweon obJect, eyo and
visual consciousness; the resulting sensation may be pleasant,
unpleasant or neutral . As a result , the perceiver may elth0r
be pl eased, or unhappy , or unable to understand the nature of
t he sensation . This means that a motivational factor is re-
leased - or a failure to react because of incomprehension. The
i ntroduction of a disposition here should probably not be un-
derstood as a new factor conditioned by the emotional reaction
(or the lack of it) but rather as an explanation. Desire is
produced because a disposition to it is activated. Repugnance
i s released by an unpleasant sensation because a
t o i t was lat ent within and is now released . The meaning and
consequences of a neutral sensation will not be understood
becaus e the l atent tendency to ignorance has been activated.
I t seems that the interpretation of Piyadassi Thera (1964, p.
209) i s correct when he writes : "objects act as stimulants,
a nd no sooner are the latent tendencies thus stimulated than
they r i se to the surface ". The dispositions are then inherent
in the human nature , and Padmasiri de Silva (1973, p . 59) mdY
be r i ght when he says that the dispositions are inborn traits,
produced by the kamma of previous lives .
The quoted passage seems to contribute a little to our
understanding of the perceptual process. We will find all the
three elements in any complicated perception, for instance
when walking in a tropical forest. Some objects we detect quite
easily , like fruits: they give rise to pleasant feelings and u
desire to collect them; the Buddhist explanation is w
have objects, like snakes and some lnsetB,
are also easily detected , since we them as danger us dnd
are look in,:! out for them; this means tl:.lt Wl' htlvc
,
, Co'
But most of the
objects in the forest 4il'e
S C'n only
and vaguely or not at ,,11.
They rcm(1 i n more or 1 S8
<It hlphl",ul
un' ns 1 us
and they mean nothinq to us : most of til t rC'C's ,lnd th ill \'
stones , et.c. This is how ,1)'.1';':"/."1'1 funrtions.
The quoted series is v lid for th oldinary m n, but th r
117
samudayan ea
at thangamaii ea
nappajanaU;
tassa avijjanu-
sayo anuset i
Fig. 2. How the dispositions work.
118
is also a series describillCJ how h,! <1I hant ro-
a-ts: "Visual arises bec.:.tuse of eY'3 nd forms,
and the meeting of the three contact; conditioned by con-
tact, a pleasant or painful or neutral sensation will arise.
Stimulated by a pleasant sensation, he will not be pleased , he
will not welcome it and will not remain attached LO it; no dts-
position to desire is in him" etc .
In a similar passage,S IV 208 f, it is said that the disCiple
of the noble one feels the same three types of sensation as
ordinary people: pleasant, painful and neutral. But when an
ordinary man is touched by a painful sensation, he feels repug-
nance for it : yo anus.ti,
"a disposition to repugnance for painful sensation is in him".
The disciple of the noble one, on the other hand, "has no re-
pugnance for painful sensation; as he has no repugnance for it,
a disposition to repugnance for painful sensation is not
him" (tam enam apatighauantam y
. .
so ti) . would then the disciple
of the noble one perceive the forest? He would see the good
fruits and the dangerous snakes just like other people, but he
would not feel desire and disgust. He would just register the
facts : "a good fruit" , "a dangerous snake" and react appropri -
ately but without interest. Since he is practicing mindfulness,
he will distribute his perceptions more evenly within his chosen
perceptual field - which may be wide or very narrow - and he
will become fully conscious also of impressions that usually
never are perceived . He has no anuaaya and is therefore not
partial : he will try to study and understand all perceived
things arise and disappear .
M II 173 describes the normal way of becoming a Buddhist
disciple . It takes the form of a long series of conditionings
which can be formalized as shown in Fig. 3. The .eneral ss
seems to be this . First comes faith which motivales 1 the r-ti-
cal acquaintance with the doctrine . FIom this, ,1n ,unbill n
to application is born. So follow eXCrelY S rC1lir-
ed for 1 ins ight and ro,d i z.,l ion, amI l hi' i Y f i n;\ lly
achieved through " underst<lndin'J " . '},,'l is lh n l tl n-
attory stage on the way to <1r,1h,1ntshlp; thIS i P >lnt d
119
A householder approaches a monk
and examines him
He
He draws close
He sits down
He listens
He hears the doctrine
rle remem bers it
He tests the
rle approves
Chanda, "amb1 tion", is generated
He makes effort (ussahati)
He examines (tilleti)
He strives
de realites the highest truth and
sees by understanding (panna)
Fig. 3. The development of a Buddhist disciple.
120
out in S V 273: "that ambition which he had previously to at-
tain arahantship has now subsided when arahantship is
_';,J>t!/ also occurs , together with ,a>/lrl!'p. , "intenti on",
in another series of conditionings with a very different pur-
pose (D III 289, see Fig . 4). The series starts from
which refers to the elements [rom which the world is built up;
these are sensed through when occurs; the sen-
sations give rise to full perceptual images If the
perceived situation is satisfactory, there will be a conscious
intention This can be intensified to a need or
ambition (han,}," ; this may become a passion and so stimulate
the person to activity in order to attain his purpose . Finally,
the purpose is won The qualification "varia-
tion", may mean only that if the perceptual situation is com-
plicated, the resulting activity will also become complicated;
if there are many desirable objects, we will try to obtain them
all. In S II 151 we find a similar series with the qualification
a love-object will produce love-perception
love-intention will follow, and
this may become intensified and lead to wrong conduct in deed,
word and thought (l'Ii ' c!:; - -atipaJJ:lti kaypna "1anlsa) .
In these series, the intention is said to originate from
"images", "ideas". This is also stressed in M II 27:
"How do these unskilful intentions arise? It should be answered
that their origination is in ideas (or perception). Which ideas?
For ideas are many . .. : ideas of love , of aggression, of harming"
(ImM 2a ...
ti ' s.'Q va an
7
y arr: . Katar'7a p' ;1; oahu ... : !:'":l.:.:nnl
byapada :111na Since .' ",n,1 I7\ay refer both to per-
ceptual and to subjective images, we do not know exactly how
this is to be understood : perhaps as perception of love or ag-
gressiveness directed towards us, or as subjective ideas of
love etc . Since, in the latter case, it would be difficult to
distinguish between the cognitive image of love and inten-
tion attached to it , the first explanation is the easiest to
understand. It Is a well-known fact that perception of loving
tends to produce a response of love and that per p_
If ion of aggressiveness will provoke an aggressive response.
121
Fig. 4. The generation and satisfaction of needs .
IV
\01" CHI concludl' Lh .. t our n .. ur,&\ w.y 0 r
C<'ptlQIl II1d inl<lg(S j" lo Il'ul d"sir!' oc v
P
,sl0
in'.! 0 p r-
h u
cogni ive b,1Sis, no mollvl!s cOllld ,.ds". We hbV(> dispo i 11)"
for thesc types at reaclion even b,'fOYle ',/C CiJn und"rs lin
world and LIre ablc La perform more lhiln WHY lemen ary ac-
tions. But when mature, Lhese mollvdtional factors arc
causes of all types of of personality bullding
of rebirth . Sometimes, especially in rebirth contex s, it 1s
stressed that desire is a real force, strong enough a r(aliz
its own purpose (tanl'a ja>let.' p""'i.cqm. "craving produces the
man", S I 37). But everything cannot be attained by wishing
alone, especially not arahantship. But since the rrotlves dre
secondary products. just our ways of we can manage
to control them. How this is done is the chief problem of Bu
4
-
dhism , not to be dealt with adequately in a small book like
this. But a short summary will be given in the next
How to Control Motivation
Because of the double standard of Buddhism referred to above,
the attitude to motivation and Motivated activities is
lent . Good activity leads to a good rebirth; but it 1S pr f r -
ble not to be reborn. The motivating forces should therefor
be controlled according to one's own ambitions. Nobody free
from the problem of transforming his motivation, 1f he 1s to
make any amount of progress. But there is no doubt thdt t
n
be done : "Abandon what Is unskIlled! It Cdn be done. If It r
impossible, I would not <lsk you La do so"
hatha. Sakka ... :zktc:inL :zhitl(ro". I\'
uicsa sua?
58). auL Lhr,rc is no cont",ldicLion l,lw
The cUrtc
Idenl is cl"l11ll",on tor b(1lh til
must hI' 'lUll (. I mpr cc"b 1
(II IV \70
p(>r! ,ct eont tol nve, l h" mullv"Il: "The N IBIt I
M,uJl'r U(,-:, form with llu'l "Y", But thn
and dc.s 1 rI'.
I
Ids.
1-
.\
, kkhl<, Pasuat' "rJH/, una Chan-
'1 ttl,i. ,I.vi",,,,tl "'ill!) 5 IV 16 4 ) . But
"h h s p ss d beyond both good and bad as fetters " (p"nnam ca
t:1 - .': ubll I '1(/1"1 "'paJ Ilia , Dh 412). " For the arahant there
is n'thing more to be done and no accumulation of what is done "
(.'.' "<1 5 III
IbS). For him "there is no need to ' strive earnesti
y
in respect
of the six dimensions of contact " ( ... chaR" phaoRayatanes"
k 5 IV 125). He is " free from desire for
pleasure, from ambition, affection , thirst , distress and crav-
ing" (k:";, ,,{,.ll'a,1(' I:. t:' v':;Gt'?'}'ando vigatap<?m<; vigatapipaso
vigata!J?ho , M I 103) and is therefore said to
be like a dried-up tree (5 IV 161) . Still , " purposeful activity"
Cs m:' . .... ,': 27' .... , SN 351) is said to be one of his characteristics
and he "loves the good" (M I 118) . Moreover, he is living in a
state of emptiness: his consciousness i s neutralized (vinnanam
:,;' ,I'.'Jhzt , SN 1111) and he is "deep , immeasurable and unfath-
omable as the great ocean " (gambhil'o appameyyo d"ppal'iyogaho
pi -:ah23Gm",dd , M I 487) . He has no ego and is identi -
fied ,.;i th nothing : "the brahmin says thus : ' I am nothing of
anything anywhere and in this there is nothing of anything any-
where that is mine ' ... He goes the way of nothingness " (bl'ah -
;ha : kassaci tasmim na aa mama
. . . .
k2
f
:hac: n ' atthl ti ... ; . . _ yeva
. .
hct' , A II 177) . In this state he is com-
pletely calm, happy and free and cannot be born again . But the
texts do not seem to be in perfect agreement . On the whole he
should be "a man of emptiness ", i . e . quite free from motivation,
f or good acti vity as well as for bad activity . But he should be
perfect from a moral point of view, although it is not his task
to walk around and do good. He is more detached than engaged ,
and his perfection is passive and mechanical. Still we have
quoted hints that he has feelings and purposes. He has m, tt; ,
"friendliness" , and "compassion " (but nothing like
Christian love) .
In any case , there are t wo levels of ambition : they do not
con radict each other since the second can be seen as a further
development of the first , but they require different methods :
1.4
t. Th' 1 irst t<lsk 15 Lo curb it! I lind! lit r Ibl , "un I"
m lives, Thi can b' don' by
(,I) r mo\'1n'1 the cognitive basis of lh d SIr' , for InB ne
<IV id looking at tempting objec 5 ,
(b) keeping cognitive processes pure by means of 01 ndfulnCBS
,jus as a gate-keeper guards the gale of d ci ftdpl, A II 110 f),
(c) actively cultivating the opposite mo ive; for InB nee by
developing l'li?tta , "friendliness", "comp,1ss1on", and
IIptkkl,a, "equanimity", as remedy for ;:ql,ata, "mal1ce" CA III
185) ,
(d) unmindfulness, inattention (a.'ati, a'"nrzac 'kal' , hIll 186):
one trains the mind to ignore all thoughts and ima1es
with the unwanted motive ,
(e) intellectual analysis and insight; for instance one ana-
lyses the consequences of immoral habits (0 III 236); one aKes
a close , introspective look at one ' s Own character, just like
somebody looking at his own image in a mirror (A V 92); one
ponders the fact that one's activity is one's character and
one ' s future (A III 186) ,
(f) observing unskilful behaviour in others and its results
and deciding to be different (M I 97),
(g) developing the idea of impermanence ( ,:'. '1 ,;;;-): hlS
will dissolve sensual desire , desire for form, desire for
growth, ignorance and ego- pride , 1. 1,
SIll 155),
(h) activating and concentrating will-power (,' " 1, A IV 3 3
in order to drive out bad tendencies.
2. The second task is to achieve he perfection, 1m an,
emptiness required for arahantship, For this purpcs h full
range of meditative methods is used,
(a) "mindfulness", .:ts 1 b. In
be a continuous habi : "in the seen
seen", etc.
n [1h nt mu
must t
nl)' h
(b) "concentt',ttlon ". inwhl h
ac i"ittr>s ar(' t mpor.lrlly I;U p nded, Inl
mind for final in!;['JhL <Inti II ""tlom 1 ,'om
11
In .Hl,11 jon , IIIHI"I'st"ll<ll l1q (1";;-) mil t I,'
iull Ilnd"r Lclnd!nq 01 CHII" own n. lllll, - I 'tl
1111
tu Ii
125
CHAPTER 8
PERSONALITY
In Western psychol ogy, t he word personality is mainly used as
referring to the organizat ion of individual traits, and to the
dimensions used in orde r t o de scribe an individual person and
distinguish him from other pe rsons. For our purposes we must
first deal with the gener a l a nd ba sic question: what are the
dimensions of personal i ty?
From the I'lestern point of vi ew the answer cannot be quite
clear- cut. But these are the fact ors most generally mentioned:
There is , first, the body . Psychol ogy is mainly concerned with
the sense organs and the nervous system. Then, there is the
mind, i.e. the conscious processes. But since these are diffi-
cult to study objectively, it has become the fashion in Western
psychology to avoid them and s tudy only the corresponding be-
haviour. There are an undefined number of psychological varia-
bles; let us enumerate the most important ones: perception
(and attention) which gives us information about ourselves and
the world around us, feeli ngs through which we evaluate the
information , motivational fac t ors which are the forces behind
all our activities , memory thr ough which we store and reproduce
some of the information we receive, and thinking and imagina-
tion , which are creative ment a l functions. Sometimes will or
volition is distinguished as a special variable, but it is
generally analysed as a combination of needs and cognitive
factors and therefore not a separate factor.
Personality Factors
Early Buddhism has a na lysed human pe r s onality into five factors,
he welJ - known literally "collection
p iles" . Thr.y nrr' the f o llowing five :
8) l'UP'l , It fonn ", but "body"
b ) " nonsa t lon and feeling"
c) .',1;'" I, "ideation " including "perc(,p ion"
d) Nwkhll'a, "creaLive acls"
e) "consciousncssll
All these terms have been fully discussed in earlier chap ers.
A comparison between the Western and the Buddhis analysis of
personality shows similarities but also differences. the
khandha, some factors are missing which we find impor ant, espe-
cially the motivating forces; this field is in a more
way covered by sankhara; there are, however, many specific Pali
terms for "needs" and "desires", but they are included among
the khandha, since they were seen as by-products of perception
and feeling. There is also no term for "memory", which ./as a
rather neglected field in early Buddhism; its home is probably
vinnana . Thinking and imagination are forms of sanna but the
more special equivalents, vitakka and included
among the khandha.
According to the Western idea, personality is an organized
unity of traits and processes. The Buddhist view is similar,
but the process-character, the part-functions and the lack of
real unity are much more stressed. In S IV 196 ff the simile is
told about a king who listens to the sound of a vina for the
first time and is delighted. He is shown the instrument, but he
wants the sound. People tell him that "it speaks because it is
compounded of various parts", but he insists on seeing the part
that is the music and breaks up the vira into small pieces and
finally burns it - but finds no music. "In the same way a monk
investigates the body , sensation, ideation, the creative proc-
esses, consciousness but he finds nothing like 'I' or 'minc'
or 'I am'" (Evam eVa kho ... bhikkhu rupar;' 1t' !17VJta
rupassa gati, vedanam .... sanna,!, ... , ;:;a>zkhar
samanesati ... ti V2 Ma'Q C:
va tam pi tassa na hotii . The vina is, of course, a func ional
unit. Without the correct combination or organization of the
parts there will be no music. The human personality 1s t
be like the music , and the importance of organizali n is
admitted : but the stress is on the purts; lhC' musi' ,'.Inn t b'
found: no real , permiln nL unity, like ,1 soul, i" ,ldOlitl,'l,
nothing to identify on se lf with. In S 1 llS, lh., hUI1\,11\ b"in,
is said to be 1ik a charioL: "thu wOld ' c;:h,II' l nt ' i" II L'<i
the parts a r:e pu t togt'thcr' j In lit f\,lll\\' w'W it I \' 'nv, nt I n,tI
127
'being' when the factors are present" (yatha hi angasam-
I: t, ,).ldde r<ltllo iti; ('va,:, khandhl'SU sante8u, hoti satto
ti ".:r:":llti). "What is only a mass of creative processes, there
no 'being' is found" (suddhasankhal'apunj o yam, nayidha sattu-
rl abl-hatO . This quotation is closer to Western ways of think-
ing than the first: just as a car is a functional unit only
when all the parts are rightly put together, so a human being
is called a 'being' only if the factors are there. It must be
a functional, organized unit just like the car. And we would
also agree that it is only a "mass of processes"; also we have
found no soul, no permanent identity.
The personality factors, or khandha , are then different
types of processes. The same type of analysis is found in
Western psychology, although here a distinction is made be-
tween structural and functional traits; the structural traits
are physiological characteristics. Ultimately, these are also
processes and changing, although sometimes slowly. According
to Buddhism, the personality factors are conditioned processes
kho pan'ime yadidam panc-upadanakkhandha,
M I 191). In 8 III 59 ff, they are clearly defined in process-
terms. The body is "the four elements and the form building on
them ... The body is produced from food" (Cattal'o ca mahabhuta
ca mahabhutanam upadaya vuccati ...
Ahal'a . amudaya l'upasamudayo). "There are six groups of sensa-
tions: sensation produced by contact with the eye (Chay ime ...
vedanakaya; cakkhusamphassaja vedana, 8 III 59), ... with the
ear", etc. In the same way, sanna, sankhal'a and are
defined as sensory processes and classified according to sense
modalities. Vinnana is derived from "name and form" (namal'upa),
the others from "contact" (phassa).
The five factors are not equally important. From 8 I 135,
just quoted, it follows that in the ultimate analysis, all the
khandha are sankhara , "creative processes". The same has been
expressed in this way (8 III 115): "The created body (sensation,
ideation, processes, consciousness) he knows correctly as creat-
ed" rupam l'upan ti pajanati,
etc). This means, as has been pointed out in different contexts,
that the perceptual process really is the world-producer or at
least one essential part of it. Even the body 1s a bundle of
perceptual productions. There 1s no real difference between the
128
"real" body and the perceived body or the body constructed
mentally; they are all there because of the same type of crea-
tive processes Just as a painter with the help of
paints and a well-planed board can produce a picture of a human
being complete in all parts, "even so the untrained layman cre-
ates and recreates his body, sensation, ideation, activities
and consciousness" (evam eva kho ... aasutav; puthujJano
abhinibbattento abhinibbatteti , etc ., 5 III 152). This
passage may mainly refer to the process of rebirth, and we
shall return to it presently, but the processes may ultimately
be the same, both in our ordinary construction of ourselves and
our world, and our creation of our recurrent existence.
has also a special position among the personality
factors. The "body-element", the "sensation-element", the
"ideation-element" and the "activity-element" are said to be
the "home of consciousness" kho ... aka
Vedanadhatu , etc., 5 III 9). "By means of the body, con-
sciousness would be placed, if it is placed. With body for its
object, with body for its platform, seeking a means of enjoy-
ment, it would attain growth, increase, abundance"
...
vepullam apajjeyya, 5 III 54 f;
the same is repeated for vedana, sanna and sankh;r;). This
passage refers to the special part played by in the
process of rebirth: by desire for and attachment to body, sen-
sations, images and activities, the processes are
placed and create the foundation for a new individual. These
"supporting objects" are here mentioned as khandha but .:lre in
other contexts referred to as namarupa . We will come back to
this subject.
The khandh; are then personality factors, defined as con-
ditioned processes. We must, therefore, distinguish between the
isolated process, e.g. an act of perception, like the detect! n
of a flower, and the factor of perception, which is a n.:lme f r
all perceptual processes. The personality factors ar flve dif-
ferent types of conscious processes going on from birth t d th
as illustrated in Fig. 5. Here the personality fa tors ar il-
lustrated by parallel lines, running from birth to d tho Bu
birth
rupa
vedana
sanna
sankhara
vinnana
-
time
Fig. 5. The khandha are personality factors.
death
'"
'"
1 JO
this is of cou,t-se unrcallsUc , 'linc, LlH' hum.w p"I',Qn,111C'I l'
not static. Consider Lhe following "n monk mlqh
think: ' May I obtain such a body In fuLure time; may I have
such sensations, such ideaLions, such activities, con-
sciousness in the future!' In this way there may be d variety
of wish and desire for Lhe five personality factors (Idha
ekaccassa .vam hoti: siyam
.' . .
vedano . . . cvamsanni ., . ...
kho : ..
SIll 101) . This refers to wishes in the
present life; they concern changes to be realized in this life
or the next. "While he, observing the satisfaction, is attach-
ed, bound and infatuated, the five personality factors go on
to accumulation for the future" (M III 287, quoted earlier).
"Suppose I were to collect body , sensation, ideation, activi-
ties, consciousness . Conditioned by that collection, there
would be growth ... " (S III 94 , al'1o quoted above). These quo-
tations indicate that a collecting or building activity goes
on during the present life. But "he is called a disciple of
the noble one who reduces and does not heap up; who abandons
and does not collect; who scatters and does not bind together;
who quenches and does not kindle . And what does he reduce in-
stead of heap up? He reduces body (sensation , etc.) and does
not heap it up" . And further : "He is called a monk
further down qualified as v,:muttacitta, ' with a free mind')
who neither heaps up nor reduces . Having reduced, he remains
without abandoning or collecting. Having abandoned, he remains
wi t hout scattering or gathering" (Ayam vUc'uati . ..
no pajahati na vis"n. ti n. -
neti; na Kinca n' -'in:t". 14-
apacittati no ac-nati; vedanam;t , ttlnn,:,. ... :,
apacinfiti no . . . . . : .. bh'b:IIU 'd'-
na apacinal.i; (,pacinitua IIIit"> 11 .. <", t!u l,plt'J.t';
jahit.ua Chito r/(ua vio'n,tl 111 t/H,',II, ii, S III 8 0)."
have then a descriptJon of three pos>;ibll' in m.m ' s
life . In i1n ordinary l ilyman then, ' i:;; l'xpansic)n and '1I'W h.
This on i1fl d pH'pdl aLi.on COl 1Ill' nl'xl II ft' . III 11, up
kamma-f!f f C'C: I s (nu' r ll <J rl nufl o r n ll"' !' wl,,.,) , htn Ilt'I""Il,i1ltv
131
'h lnq xP,IO<I ,1n<l becom's more and more invo 1 ved in this
w'rll. But thi process is reversed as soon as the Buddhist
traininq h,s b gun . When he attains arahantship , his invol ve-
n,<'nts ,1nd Ill s k "I'1a -accumulations are reduced to a minimum.
His pc!son.lllly factoI"S are still there , but in some way empty
and unsubstantlal. The course of this man ' s life could there-
fore be illustrated as shown in Fig . 6 . This is actually a
description of the possible developments of the upadana-link
the series .
Dependent Origination
We must now consider the relation between the personali t y fac -
tors and the series , in which they al l are
included, explicitly or implicitly . Let us first quote the
standard text from S II 2: AviJjapaccaya .. . sankhapa , sankha-
phasso , phassapaccaya vedana,
;;""=ar.:1ra"",aJa tanhapaccaya upadanam, upadanapaccaya
jati , jatipaccaya 8oka - paride -
sambhavanti , "Conditioned by igno-
rance there are activities , conditioned by activities there is
consciousness, conditioned by consciousness name- and- form,
conditioned by name-and-form the six sense- modalities , condi-
tioned by these there is contact, conditioned by con t act sen-
sation, conditioned by sensation craving, conditioned by
craving collecting , conditioned by collecting there is growth
(lit. becoming) , conditioned by growth birth, and conditioned
by birth old age and death, grief , lamenting , suffering, sor-
row and despair" .
The end result of this series is birth , old age and death .
This 1s usually understood as referring to the coming birth
and the dna r. foll ow! ng upon it. They woul d therefore refer to
prDCeSQS of not continuous streams of processes .
This Intcrprnlation is cer t<linly correct in a sense . It should ,
hO'"cvcr I be notf"tl lhd l lhe quoted cont :. l'am
'OW'" ,'( ,',1', I Jukk/w/ti"i 'mal: /.1.'a .' Im,,/'7lI0 It)t;" , "This is the
l'uthujjana Ariyasavaka Arahant
~
T ~ m e
Fig. 6. The khandha normally develop and expand but
are reduced through the Buddhist training.
Death
133
rigin of this entire mass of suffering". This summary shows
that th m in purpose of the whole series is to explain our
pr s nt situation during the present life, until nibbana is
attained. This suffering is a process of the other type: a
stream of recurring painful experiences. Recurring processes
of a certain type can be called a personality trait (just as
a person who frequently becomes angry is said to have the trait
of aggressiveness). The series has a practical purpose: to show
a way to get rid of suffering in our present life; by eradicat-
ing ignorance we can prevent the creative processes, etc., up
to the last link, suffering. This freedom from suffering is a
lasting condition, not a temporal event. One part of the stream
of suffering is the prospect of a new birth and death, the
terror of these events, the continuous preparation for them.
Most of the links of the series have been analysed al-
ready. Only the first link, avijja , remains to be defined.
Avijja is the negation of vijja, "knowledge". The main
problem in its interpretation seems to be whether it is a mere
negation, a mere absence, or whether it signifies a positive
factor. In the former case , it could not function as the cause
of a process but only as a permissive or directive condition
and we would have to look somewhere else for a positive cause.
The word paccaya , "condition", is vague enough to cover both
cases .
The most common definitions are perhaps purely negative .
"Ignorance concerning suffering, its rise, its cessation and
the way going to its cessation - this is called ignorance" (5
II 4). "The untrained layman does not know body (sensation,
ideation, the activities, consciousness), nor their origin,
their cessation , or the path leading to their cessation. This
is called ignorance" (5 III 162). This seems to be a descrip-
tion of "the ordinary man" (pu thujjana) without knowledge of
the Buddhist teachings. Man is born to this world without
knowledge and without much understanding, and he may grow up
and live his life without much reflecting on the nature of the
world. This ignorance would permit him to follow his natural
impulses, a victim to all the various stimuli from the envi-
ronment. Briefly, it would permit all the
134
factors to function.
In this case, l'anklJal"ii would not be caused by avijJa , but
just permitted to go on. This may also seem reasonable from
the following consideration. Sankhal"a and vinnana are two
streams of processes flowing from birth to death. Since they
are of different type, they can be called dimensions or factors
(but the same words are used for each single process). They
are only in part conditioned within the present life, but they
can be influenced, and they can go on only as long as ignorance
leaves them free to do so. What is, for instance, the active
cause in the following passage: "If an ignorant man performs
a meritorious act, consciousness goes to merit" (5 II 82, quot-
ed earlier). The cause is certainly not his ignorance. But he,
like all the world, has creativity and change as his predomi-
nant quality by nature and therefore he acts; some of the acts
are bound to be good, although the majority are bad if igno-
rance prevails.
There are, however, descriptions of aV'cjja as a more posi -
tive factor. It is called an ogha , "flood" (D III 230), an
asava, "influx", an anusaya, "disposition" (D III 254), a dha -
tu, "element" (5 II 153): all these are positive concepts sug-
gesting an active force or process. The identification with
moha, "illusion", "confusion" (A I 194) would indicate a fac-
tor of positive misunderstanding: "What do you think: does
confusion exist? - Yes. - Well, I call it ignorance; that is
the meaning of that word. Is not this confused man ignorant
enough to kill , steal, go after another's wife, lie and lead
another into a state that is to his loss and suffering for a
long time? -
Eva,. bhante.
kho ayam
Yes." (Ta,;, kim mannatha .. . : a:fh: m,hc ti? -
- Avijja ti kho aham ...
aV.jjagato pi' hanti adin'l.m pi a! '!/It"
dal"am pi gacchati musa pi bhanati pal"om pi tathattauJ
peti ya,;, , 8a hoti d?ghal"at tam' alii dukkha,lG t':' Eo'.1"
bhante). Here moha is as an active motlvatiny
but perhaps combined with an ignorance of consequ n c.. In 0
III 182 we also find it used as an active force: "followin th
course of illusion, he performs bad actions", Active misund r-
8tand1ng 18 implied when the god Brahma Bak is d scrib d s
135
iqn,'rlnt S I 142): "because he says that someth1ng
rmJn nt is that something which is un-
sLlbh' is st,lble; that something which is temporal is eternal;
that somthinq (rom which one is bound to fall , admits of no de-
ce,is,,"". "The unLrained layman, impressed by a sensation which is
produ cd Lhrough contact with ignorance, thinks : " I am", etc .
'" vedayitena putthassa assutavato puthuj-
.i.", . .,,,:, I pisda hoti, SIll 46) . avij{a is given no
active content, but it is used as a positive factor , able to
release a sensation.
Nany of the typical active misunderstanilings are called
ditt/,i, "view", or micchaditthi , "false view" . Vitthi must
therefore be closely related to aVijja, and actually, the for-
mer is often said to come as a direct consequence of the latter .
"Through ignorance of body (sensation , ideation , the activities ,
consciousness), of their origin , their cessation, and the path
leading to their cessation, these different views arise i n the
world" kho ...
imani ane -
kavihitani Zoke uppajjanti, SIll 258) . It should
be noted that the contents of this ignorance are the same as
those mentioned in the definition of avijja quoted above from
5 III 162. False view is a direct consequence of ignorance :
"In the ignorant and foolish man wrong view is produced " (Avij-
{agatasca ... aviddasuno pahoti , 5 V 1) . Avijja
is therefore not identical with ditthi, but its precondition .
Avijja is usually placed as the first link in conditioned
sequences, but not always . In M I 303 , the disposition to ig-
norance is derived from neutral sensations: "A disposition to
ignorance is latent in neutral sensation " (adukkhamasukhaya
anuseti) . This "disposition to ignorance"
was analysed in the last chapter , and it was interpreted as a
tendency not to notice indifferenL things. M I 54 says that
"i9norance arises from the arising of aSQlJa" (but the next
page: "from the arising of ignorance is the arising of
In h V 113 wn find a long series of conditionings ending in
QVi;J; , factor called the "nulrim nt" (iih;ra) of the
nt xl. '( It,! Ilt!r 1 US 1 '5 shown H\ 1'1 q. 7. Th is shOel 1 d probably be
read Mi is Jon (,r il typica l l'Jnorant man . li e <.Ioes not
not following the good man
not listening to the true doctrine
no faith
no proper attention
no mindfulnes and c cmposure
three types of wrong action
five hindrances
ignorance
Fig. 7. The background of ignorance.
Buddhist
not feel
it nd do s not 1 arn the methods of meditation
uld se [or hims If its truth and experi-
ffccts. Because of that , he has no
l his senses and so cannot avoid wrong actions in
.ploch nnd thought . Thes' activities lead to dt-
'nsu,11 des i re dggressi veness
), indifference and laziness anxiety
(. Jh 2' and doubt (vieiki('cha) : These
the five hindrances . By these, ignorance is produced .
From this analYSis it becomes eVident how complicated the
concept ignorance ls. Why does the person described not "fol -
low the good man" and listen to the doctrine? Probably because
he is ignorant. Perhaps he has never heard about the doctrine
or perhaps he knows about it but is not interested? And what
type of ignorance is conditioned by the five hindrances? This
is not ignorance in the sense of lack of information; it must
be something much more active, like "unfavourable attitude ",
"prejudice", etc. An aggressive man would not feel interested
in Buddhist aims, since he is all set on pursuing
his own ends. And a lazy man would have no energy for the
st:renUOLlS eightfold way . In this usage, aJ.' .iJa is a dynamic
term, involving lack of motivation for Buddhist pursuits ,
depending on strong competirg interests , or active rejection
occausc of doubt .
The Buddha was in the same situation as any other teacher ,
and he came in contact with people of many types of ignorance;
theref':>re his concept of is complicated . Why are people
19noran of calculus? Some have never heard of it , others
do not care. Some are too unintelligent to learn , and some
find it distasteful or useless or cannot muster the time or
ercrgy required for prolonged study. Because the reasons for
nr)t ;.nowing arc many, the etluc., ti ve 5i tuation is ccmpl icat.ed
- during h time as now. It is still difficult to
p he m ny ype5 of ignorance npart and adjust the methods
of Q differ nt typOR . It seems that the Buddha
ri d tt) adjullt his methods to many types of ignorance, by
adJnq his m snag a8 widely as posslhlu g ographleally, by
l38
iscussing with all types of people and refuting opposing views
y rational arguments, and by teaching an extens1ve and varied
rogramme aiming at personal experimce of what he meant (as a
prescription against he recommended the noble eightfold
way, M I 54, "a pure life", S II 24,
"the idea of 5 III 155, vipasnana, "insight medita-
tion", A I 61, just to collect a few examples) .
Speaking about the disposition to ignorance, which is de-
rived from neutral sensations, the nun Dhammadinna recommended
the "purification through mindful onlooking" realized in the
fourth level of samadhi (adukkham
catuttham jhanam , M I 304), which is a state of pure neutrality.
. .
After this discussion of aVijja , we will give a short
summary of the remaining terms of the paticcasamuppad7 series.
Sankhara is the creative attitude or creative habit, but
the word is also used for the single creative act. As a person-
ality factor, dankhara is used in the plural form and signifies
the whole stream of creative activities during the whole life;
as a factor the meaning is probably the same.
Sankhara are the building blocks of the personal world, our
whole personal life but also the world around us, as experienc-
ed and created by us. Sankhara are said to be conditioned by
aVijja . This means that misunderstandings and false values lead
to false and unrealistic types of activity. As already pOinted
out , it is not implied that avijja is the full and only cause
of sankhara , only a necessary precondition. When
da is called a causal series, this should not be taken literal-
ly in our sense of the word. What the Buddha meant was only
this: "If this is, that comes to be; from the arising of this,
that arises; if this is not, that does not come to be; from the
stopping of this, that is stopped" (Imasmim a" hcti ;
imaoc 'uppada idam upapajjati; imasmim aAati ria hoti; i
nirodha idam M II 32). motivation
is therefore implied; the force may come from different factors.
Vinnana is consciousness in the sense of a conscious dim a-
slon, a stream of conscious processes, but also a sinql con-
scious act. Since the conscious processes are a form of cr tiv
activity, vinnana is said to be conditioned by
139
5 ,1 P 'rs,>n \1 i ty factor must refer to the total stream of con-
S" u pr and probably the same is true about
as a link in the dynamic series. It is said to be the active
agent in th process of rebirth and to "descend into the moth-
er's womb" (0 II 63, quoted earlier). This does not , however,
imply that the first two links must be pushed back as factors
in the previous life . Sallkhcll'a is , as has been pointed out
earlier, connected with kamma but it is not kammic memory;
this comes in upadallc1. The creative attitude and creative a-
bility is a necessary condition for vinnana to function at all ,
because every act of consciousness is a sankhara, even the very
first act in the moment of the beginning of life . The last
creative conscious process of the dying individual is the spark
on which the new individual is built: this spark will not give
life and development, if ignorance and creativeness are not
present. All our three factors are therefore continuous parallel
streams of processes running on from the beginning of life to
its end. They are continually being fed by other act i vities .
Therefore, sankhara is mentioned as conditioned by
other factors, e.g. by phassa , "contact" , in 5 I I I 60 , by
"craving", in 5 III 96, and by in 5 II 101 : it
is stimulated and reinforced repeatedly .
, "name and form" (where "form" refers to the
human body), is said to be constituted by the following fac -
tors: V phassa, "sensation ,
ideation, volition, contact and attention" : these are the
nama-factors; and the four elements by which the body is built
up (5 II 3 f). As has been shown earlier , these factors are a
differentiation of the vinnana-activities; therefore , namarupa
is said to be conditioned by vinnana . These two factors are so
closely related as to be nearly which is also indi-
cated in S II 114: "Consciousness is conditioned by name and
body, and name and body by consciousness" ( ...
vinnanam vinn;napaccaya namarupam): "It is just as if there
stood' two of reeds one against the other"
(Seyyathapi ... dve annam lIinnaya
This means that develops into and is differentiated
into the but at the same time builds on, con-
140
sists of these same factors .
Sa!;yafana , " the six sense modalities" , arc n further
differentiation of the and These
are a l l functioning in one or several of these six dimensions:
" the field of eye , ear , nose , tongue , body , the inner sense"
(5 II 3). Th is does not mean that the senses are produced by
namarupa , but only that if the namarupa-functions had not
existed, there would not have been any scope for sense modal-
ities; these are a differentiation of the namarupa-factors;
namarupa needs them as channels for its processes.
Phassa , "contact ", is the factor that puts the psycho-
physio l ogical system in contact with the outer world. Through
cont a ct between (a) the body-component "eye", (b) the visual
consc iousness and (c) external objects, sensa-
tion a nd perception are produced (M I III f). In this way
channe l s are created for a continual inflow of information to
Bu t this inflow had not been possible without the
sense- modalities; again , no complete causal determination is
implied; but the s ense- dimensions offer the possibility for
thes e types of contact .
Vedana is sensation and feeling as has been shown in an
earlie r chapter .
Tanha , "cr aving", is the individual reaction to pleasant
sensations. It is a continuous mode of reaction: whenever a
pleasant piece of information enters into the system through
anyone of the six sense channels, there will be craving.
Upadana is "grasping" , "collecting", "building up".
Through the activity of the psycho- physiological system, fed
by i nformation from the world, experiences and kammic effects
are collected , attachments are formed and a personality is
built up.
Bhauo is the growth resulting from the building aCLivity
in upadano . The personali ty grows lhrough f,'els nd
through the physical and mental activities. If emotional ex-
periences are particularly valued and collected, thlr will b
a of emotional trait9. This emotional lers n llty
will function as the rebirth personallty llhlt will Pl ,hI' th
next l ife; t here wil l be of I'l'Uilth in the k-",-
141
W lId IS Ill). The same passage also mentions and
:lj;, ,:/; J, "growth to form" and "growth to formlessness" ,
to the higher planes of existence populated by cer-
t lin typc>s of gods. The world of "upa corresponds to the first
four levels of ,1 lmadh i and the world of a"upa to levels number
five to eight; they are realized through spending much time in
the respective levels of meditation. In this way , even these
types of bhav refer to a personality development in this life .
See, for instance A I 267: "Here somebody, by completely tran-
scending form images, by the disappearance of the consciousness
of sensory stimulations, by not attending to the consciousness
of diversity, thinks 'space is infinite' and attains and remains
in the sphere of infinite space. He enjoys it, longs for it and
finds happiness therein . Established therein, given thereto ,
generally spending his time therein and not falling away there-
from, when he dies he is reborn among the gods who have reached
the sphere of infinite space" (ldha ... ekaaao puggaLo sabbaso
samatikkama, atthagama , nanatta-
sannanJnI ananto ti upasam-
. .
Fajja v:harati. So tad assadeti tan nikameti tena aa apaj-
jati. Tatra thito tad adhimutto tabbahuLavihari aparihino
kurwmano devanam sahavyatam uppajjati) .
Through this growth, which' takes place through upadana and
probably in vinnana, jati, "birth", is prepared. But the ex-
pectancy of birth, the longing and anxiety for it and its con-
sequences are part of the continuous situation of dukkha , "suf-
fering". Birth is then not only an historic event, it is a
continuous process of preparation and of looking forward to it,
anxiously or expectantly.l
Jati can have a very vague and general meaning as has been
shown eulier . But in this context it certainly refers to re-
birth, since it is defined as "the appearance of the factors
and acquiring of sense-modalities" (5 II 3). There are also
versions of he series where the word punal-
occurs , for instance 5 II 101, where
is .aid: "Where there is 9rowlh of activities there is in
Lho futuro becoming ilncl birth" (10/ tl:a zttlti
vlddhi '1tthi ttlL'ha iill'ltir;, l'lmdl,;,,,-;Ihinilh,ztt).
142
Accordinq to our inLcrpretdtlnn, thc five first IJnks
constitutional factors, in the sense of different dimensiDns 01
activity and experience, but also historically responsible fDr
the beginning and differential growth of our personalitlcs. They
form the productive side of us . and vedana are the re-
ceptive function of personality. forces us to get involv-
ed in the world, to build values and superstructures , to build
up our personalities in good or bad directions (in upadana)
and so to prepare us for prolonged life (bhava) and get more
and more involved in suffering.
Fig. 8 is an attempt to illustrate this interpretation.
It is to be visualized as a solid cylinder , the length of which
corresponds to the individual span of life. The twelve links
are represented as sectors of this cylinder, grouped around an
inner core, corresponding to citta , the core of our personality
around which all personal processes revolve (this location of
citta will be djscussed in a later section) . All the links are
seen to be running parallel in time. The interaction with the
environment is exemplified by just one perceptual act: one ob-
ject outside the system is put in contact with the eye (cakkhu
in and this contact produces a sen-
sation in Not represented in the figure are the devel-
opments that occur during life, for instance the accumu-
lations that take place through the activities of
and A continuous interaction of all the factors
is to be assumed, although the direction of dependence is from
dukkha backwards: dukkha depends on bhava. bhava on
etc. This is important from a practical point of view: in order
to remove dukkha one can concentrate on any of the preceding
factors.
The whole series can be understood and applied in two
ways, one general and one particular. Generally, an ordinary
human being is in a state of suffering, partly because all
pleasures are short-lived and he frequently feels suffering,
partly because he expects birth and death. This present state
of suffering depends ultimately on his psycho-physical c nsti-
tution ( oankhnl"G, v{iiii;:j"G, n:ima ,Ul' <1 , 1'" t"",,) which p rmi ts
him to perceive the worid (I" Wnll., , 'J.'Jn;,n) and m k him int r-
v v daM. "sensation"
S sL9.nna. "ideation"
C "will"
W m,\nnsikara , n,1tten-
tion"
R r\Jpa. "body
cakkhu, "eye" I
"vision"
s seta. "ear",
"hearing"
gh : ghana. "nose".
"smell "
jivh8, "tongue",
ntaste
ll
k kaya. "body",
"touch"
m mana, "inner
Riipa
143
Death
F1g. 8. The factors as
function s of " person" lity In llnle.
144
estcd and involved in it. By getting involved he builds
up (:.piJ:i.,,,) the conditions for prolonged suffering. When he
becomes able Lo sec how he creates his own suffering ('11)".;':;
is expelled), then he can put his constitution out of function
temporarily and generally reduce and control it; so he no
longer renews and maintains the conditions of his suffering.
This is the general interpretation. But each particular
act can be seen as conditioned in a similar way. Let me take a
most commonplace example. I meet a friend who has been more
successful in life than I. My perception of him builds
on the contact (p1:assa) of my eyes (Z'17alJat:ma) and my con-
sciousness (,,';;;;;na) with him as perceptual object. The percep-
tual act takes place as a creation of images and at-
tention in which are a differentiation
of consciousness. But consciousness in its turn functions be-
cause I am alive and have the creative ability; because I am
ignorant (a:[.'ja) my control over this creativeness is imper-
fect. Now because I see the signs of the successfulness of my
friend, I feel envy (tanha). I will remember it and
this memory will be a building block in my personality growth
(bh,,,,,") , which changes my life in this world and prepares me
for prolonged suffering .
The Laws of Rebirth
It is a well-known fact that, according to Buddhism, all living
beings are reborn in accordance with their activities,
This seems like a metaphYSical doctrine outside the domain of
psychology and therefore of no interest in this treatise. But
to the Buddha it was a verifiable, perceptual fact. Actually,
it is said that anybody can, by concp.ntrating his mind, recol-
lect at least one prevjous life (t Itharup 1m ,'ctc.: !'"o-:dJ.i., Flw,:-
ti !fath;; 8amahite dtle !:r,! /,ublrnivG!,a,;, ','a)',)':', 0 iII 321.
It was considered a normal " fruit of life as a recluse"
n,q,ha Za) to be able to rec,l11 many, even a hundr d thous nd I
previous lives after reaching certain levels of (0 I
81). It might , therefore , be relav nt to ask wh th r ny psy-
14'>
1 ,. tOlS work in lhe proccss of rebirth.
b idc,s behind r bi nh sc<'m to be a law of jus-
th of close nffiniLy between all living or-
\,e ,n ohserve the different fates of men: there are
ri-h nd poor, nnd unhappy , good and bild , sick and
lthy, .hart-lived nnd long-lived . very little correlation
is obs rvad between these characteristics , and therefore they
seer:! unfair. But they can be accepted if these two prinCiples
a.re t!..l.!e:
(a: if each individual life is simply the momentary product
of a causal development, running through a long series of
lives,
(b) if the causal development is moral in its nature , which
means that each qct or thought of every individual not only
influences the organic environment but then reverberates on
the indiVidual himself and changes his fate in the future .
To a certain extent, the law of justice works also within the
single life: some evil - doers are punished, and some good men
are and happy . The former robber Angulimala was hit on
his head by a stick and a clod of earth, and when he came back ,
badly wounded, the Buddha said to him: "You are experiencing
here and now the ripening of that kamma , because of which you
wo Id otherwise have to boil in a purgatory for many years ,
many hundreds of years, many thousands of years" (Yassa kho
vipakena bahuni vansani bahuni vassasatani bahuni
niraye pacceyyasi, tasRa . .. kammassa vipa-
ka,; 1itthe va dhflmme M II 104). The law of kamma
then, at work also within the individual life- span . But
this is not always true: "Those who teach and believe that
everybody who kills will suffer pain and grief in this life -
did they speak truth or falsehood? - Falsehood" (Tatra . . . ye
evamditthino Yo koci panam sabbo so
dham domanauram pat 'namverliuatlti -
v; t u - Nun; . .. , IV 34 4). The law of .
)uqtlcc ls valid only In the long run. The individual can verlfy
1 onl'/ b'l d 'Y>lofJlncJ a}/Id;';,(; , "supcl'knowlNlge ", through medi-
ta ion.
Th tlix";y. 11 crillllr is full of cxnmplcn of correspond-
146
ences between actions in one life <lnd their rcsul t in com.!ng
lives. In these examplcs, a luck of precision is of en con-
spicuous, which may be natural because of thr. number of factors
involved in each case, but perhaps also because no absal te
determinism could ever be observed, There is no onc-to-one cor-
respondence between an action and its fULure result: "If anyone
should say: 'Just as this man performs an action, just so
he experience the consequence' - if this were correct , there
would be no pure life and no opportunity would be known for the
stopping of suffering" (Yo .. . evam vadeyya -
pur{so kammam karoti tath; tath; patisamvediyatiti - evam
'" na hoti ' pann;yati
dukkhassa antakiriy;ya , A I 249), "A small offence of one per-
son may take him to a purgatory; but a similar small offence
of another person is to be felt in this life" (, .. idh' ekac-
cassa puggaZassa appamattakam pi tam
upaneti , ldha pana , ., ekaccassa puggaZassa t;disam yeva aPfa-
p;pa,;, kamma,;, kata,:, di hG t i . . . , 1>,
I 250). It would be false to say, as some recluses and brahmins
did: "Whatever pleasure or pain or neutral feeling a person ex-
periences, all that is due to some previous action" (yar
ya,:, purisapuggaZo sukham v; vi adukkhaml -
sukham v; sabbam tam pubbe katah.'u , A I 173) , There is even a
hint at a stochastic variation: "Just as a stick, when thrown
up into the air, falls, now on its butt, now on its middle,
now on its tip, even so beings, hindered by ignorance, fettered
by craving, run on '" from this world to the next and thence
come back again to this world" ." d nd u; 'r v.-
h;som khitto sakim pi nipatati nakim r' t .t'
cakim pi aggena nipatati , eva!'; va kl,r: ... Vl'l ,'.tt:
' " sQkim pZ parz! JZ"/ nt'
sayim pi paro,oma loka imam irk In, ,1,11"';' ,,," , S V 439),
According to A I 223, rebirth is conditioned by thr'c fa'-
tors: "action is the field, consciousness Is the seed, and
craving is the mOisture", Of these It seems lhdt
determines the general level of " person ' s next L'xir,lC-ll'<, L . q .
whether he will be born as an <lnimHl, or in ,I h".I\', n. <'I' ,I" \
human being and , in the latter cast', 011 wh.lt 80L'[0-",',111 mit
147
1 v<1. corresponds to the aspirations of the individual
and <'sp<eL Ily hig last thoughts. links the process to
the 1 I:" ..... "rr;;,11 dynamism and iniliates the building process
lilkes pi.1CC through "I';; is the dependence that
binds us to the world and forces us back to it.
(a) According to A II 230 f, there are four types of kamma:
dark actions wilh a dark result, bright actions with a bright
result, actions that are both dark and bright and have a result
that is both dark and bright, actions that are neither dark nor
bright and have a result that is neither dark nor bright: an
action that leads to the destruction of actions (kammam kanham
rukkam sukkauipakam. kanhasukkam
ammakkhly;;ya samvatiati ). We see that the leading prin-
ciple is similarity: a dark action will produce a dark result
and vice versa. We also see that the system gives room for con-
flicting values: an action may be both dark and bright and will
give a similar, mixed result. The text goes on to define the
different types: Of the first type are all offences against
Buddhist ethics (in A V 264 f summed up into three defilements
of body, namely taking life, stealing, sexual misconduct; fur-
ther, four defilements of speech, namely, lies, slander, harsh-
ness, idle babble; and finally, three defilements of mind: cov-
etous and aggressive thoughts and wrong view) . Actions performed
with the opposite intentions are called bright. The will (aetan;;)
to abandon both the dark and the bright type of action is called
an action that is neither dark nor bright; this type of actions
is further specified (A II 236 f) as following the Buddhist
eightfold way and the seven "links of enlightenment" (samboj -
.f hanga) .
Actions are collected to form a fund or account that will
form the basis or "soil" on which the new personality grows .
This is implied in S I 72:
Ubho punnanca
yam kuruic idha
tam hi ianna oakam hoti
;;dnya . .
Tasm; kar yya
".
148
"Both the good and the bad that man does here, that is his
property, he brings it with him when he goes ... Therefore ,
may he make a nice store the next world!" S I 92 mentions
a case where the old merit was used up and fresh merit was not
accumulated ca punnam parikkhinam navan ca punnam anu-
pacitam) . And 0 III 148 says ;hat a "by the
and of that activity , by the mass and abundance
of it , was reborn in a heavenly world" (so tassa kammasua v.a-
.. , saggam lokam uppaj-
jati).
Through the accumulation of kamma, a new personality is
formed: "This body does not belong to you, nor to anybody else,
It should be regarded as old activity that has been performed
and intended and now to be felt" ' " na
pi annesam, idam '" kammam abhisankhatam abh'sance-
, ,
tayitam vedaniyam datthabbam , S II 64 f), The same is repeated
, ,
for the eye , the tongue and the internal sense (mano) in S IV
132 .
Onl y by means of the Buddhist method of training can these
accumulated actions be worn out and so "he performs
no fresh action and makes an end of former action by touching,
touching (i.e, little by little)" (so navan kammam na karoti
ca phussa phuGsa vyantikaroti, A I 221),
The leading prinCiples are then justice and similarity.
There are two directions of development (and mixtures of the
two and negation of both): there is a positive correlation be-
tween all positive ideas and also between all negative ideas:
we then get two groups of values:
positive : good actions , health , power, wealth, happiness,
long life , etc.
negative: bad actions, illness , powerlessness, poverty,
unhappiness , short life, cLc .
We can call them groups with similar association v,llu'. Th
law of justice demands absolute correlation Within th' groups.
The most important correlation is the correspondenc' between
moral achievements and the life circumstnnces . 'I'her littl
149
gr m nt between the two, but rather, the second
'0 w can visualize the correspondence with the
tempolal curves (Fig. 9) , one, the kamma curve,
and the other one, which we may call the happi-
, funclLonal .
5 e that the man in this theoretical example has per-
ionn<:d meritol"ious actions in his former life and rather few
bad actions. As a consequence, he has been fortunate in the
present life, but at the end of this life he accumulates main-
ly bad Therefore his "happiness-curve" declines already
in the present life, but the curve will decline seriously only
in the next life.
It should be noted that the kamma -curve is not really an
accumulation of actions, as we would understand it, but of
forces . Actions are only results of forces , namely the good or
bad intentions behind : these accumulations are the moral as-
pects of the personality formation in the present life: so
L'iiii:.:lr.a is formed as a rebirth personality . This has to be
pointed out especially, because our Western tradition has a
tendency to externalize everything and if possible completely
disregard and devalue consciousness . In Buddhism, the conscious
processes were considered all-important.
(b) The wish for a certain type of rebirth is said to be
an important factor in the process . If a good man gives gifts
to monks and as a reward wants to be reborn as a wealthy noble ,
then this wish leads to a rebirth of this type : "the mental
aspiration of a moral person succeeds because of its purity"
... DIll 259). If
he prefers to be reborn as a god, this can also be achieved.
1, '''oman 'f/ho has done good (katapuiina) can easily realize five
,,,I shes: to be reborn in a proper family, to be married into a
family, to live in her home without a rival, to have a
son, to continue to have influence over her husband (S IV 249) .
A professional soldIer musL previously have had this thought
(co"ta): "J,'"t hose beings be tortured , bound, destroyed, ex-
crmlnaLf>d!" (S IV 309). The virtuous layman Citta was urged
by gods 0 h 'In thifl aspiration: "May I in future time become
a world-rulin'} king!" (S IV 303). These examples show that
good
kamma
o
bad
kamma
- kamma.-curve
- - - happiness-curve
happy
.....
" \
~ ~ ~ ~ = = = r ~ ~ ~ = ~ ~ ~ o I time
\
,
..... -
former life
present life
next life
Fig. 9. Kamma is illustrated by means of two accumulative
curves, one positive and one negative. Happiness is
correlated with good actions, although there is a delay.
wi h'
1';1
f t hls type Wl'rc thought to be effective , if the per-
qu 11 ICI! Lon. w'rn present and if the mind was properly
t m ittam la/wCi , tam cit tam a,lhitthati , tam
bi:-l' ti , "h.., concentrates on
", 0 III 258). It should be remembered that such aspira-
tions and wishes work through and that thoughts and
mental images according to early Buddhist opinion are dynamic
and redl power to realize themselves . Therefore, vinnana
is the agent of rebirth . It is probably this process that is
referred to in S IV 102: "There are forms cognizable by the
eye (and other sense-objects belonging to the other sense mo-
dalities), forms desirable, pleasant, delightful and dear,
lovable, exciting. If a monk finds pleasure in them, welcomes
them, persists in clinging to them, then consciousness arises,
leaning on them, building on them". If a person can reach the
of infinite space, enjoys it and spends much time
there, he will be reborn among the gods in this sphere (A I
267). Since the are levels of viiiiiana, we have
here another example of the post-mortem realization of a state
of consciousness. The same is the case of a disciple who prac-
tises metta, "friendliness"; this is a type of brahmavihara
and he will therefore be reborn in the Brahma world (A II 129),
(c) It is clear from some of the examples given that it is
difficult to distinguish between and as rebirth-
factors, since the latter works through the former. This third
factor is often called bhavatanha , "craving to become" (cf.,
e.g. S V 432: Ucchinna bhavanettl natthidani
pknabbhavo, "Uprooted is the craving to become, destroyed is
the channel to becoming , now there is no more coming back") .
It is also called chandaraga , "ambition and desire", for in-
stance in MIll 196, which also indicates the relation between
this factor and ';iiinana: "llow does one make the past come back?
lie thinks: Such was eye (car , etc .) in the distant past,
such wpre th0 [arms (and other sense objects) " and his con-
sciouzness is bound to them by ambition and desire; because his
c';n CiOll ness is bound by ambit.:ion and desire, he delights 1n
1 ; d 11gh inq in it he makns his past come back" (Kathaii ea
a.itam an.::jgamlli i? - rti m L'i1kkl/lm "ho;-i ,uit.lrr. ,hfdllanam
152
it' I':pa .r: tatth,1 -1.Cl.:d, I: i/,addha,:, loti tlinnanamj -r.'2n a-
-/>",;ihatt! tliniia'llclllI Ii 'loi:inl'miltij tal atliYlar. 11tJ "
t:" 1m 'roJ,l).l,,:.ti) . 'L'his p"ss ge describes how !l1'y,ii-YI becomes
to a certain situation in the past and wlshes co a -
tain the same type of existence This fondness of he
past will reproduce the same conditions . And , as the luxe goes
on to say, dreaming about a desirable situation in the future
may be equally effective in producjng this situation, if he
"concentrates his mind on it" (citt.lm r lY:;iai:(;.til. The function
of is to bind i.e . to engage consciousness
for a purpose, to produce dynamically loaded thoughts and images
which are forceful enough to realize , materialize
In S II 101 there is another similar passage which has been
briefly referred to in previous contexts but will be quoted
fully here, since it illustrates how 'an;,a cooperates With
in order to effect rebirth: "If there is deSire, delight
and craving with regard to material food (and contact, mental
volition, consciousness), then consciousness becomes planted
there and grows . Then there is descent of name and form, and
where there is descent of name and form, the activities will
grow , Where the act i vities grow, there will be again-becoming
and reproduction in the future . And then birth, old age and
death will follow"
. .. atthi 2tthi ,zanii atthi
tam tattha v'-
atthi
auakkanti atthi tatth.1 c .. rnkh-rall:)m l'udi/, . t"
sankharanam vuddhi atthi ' m "itbwtt,
Yattha atthi G.datim '2tti utthi t rtt}, -: .:t ...
. .
j;t:jaramaranam) . This series is illustrated in Fig. 10. The
process is said to be similar to the painting of a
Thc painter can create his picturc only if he has paints nd
smooth surfacc to paint on. In the samc way we can produ ur
own future form if we havc desire for these four typ s of
i.e . the types of material with which the new p rsonality t
be created . The creation is our own work: it will be d n nly
if we have tanhn.
These three factors d-
craving
for
153
r
material food
contact
mental volition
consciousness
consciousness is planted
name and form descends
the activities grow
again-becoming
birth, old age, death
Fig. 10. How needs activate consciousness
and produce rebirth.
154
ing to three laws: compensation (and retribution) , similarity
and contrast. We will illustrate how they function by means of
a few examples.
Merits accumulated give reward. A person who has followed
the ethical rules may easily attain his wishes (see 5 IV 249
and 303, quoted above) . Cruelty makes the next life short (M
III 203). A person of wrong views will be reborn either in a
purgatory or as an animal (M I 388). One who has faith only
cannot come to a purgatory (5 V 375).
This law of compensation often follows the principle of
similarity. It follows from D II 271 that a woman usually is
reborn as a woman although it is possible to change sex. An
ascetic who has imitated a dog ' s way of life may be rebo rn as
a dog (M I 387 f) . II somebody concentrates on pure light and
practises suffusion of it, he may be reborn among the gods o f
pure light. A person who acts crookedly (samsappati ) with body,
speech and mind, can "be born in the womb of an animal, one
that creeps crookedly along" (A V 289).
A combination of contrast and similarity is found in the
following examples. Pride may lead to birth in a lowly family
(similarity in dimension and contrast in degree). Cruelty makes
the next life short, anger leads to ugliness, stinginess to
poverty, and harming others may produce many illnesses. And the
opposite types of behaviour will lead to the opposite results
(all these examples are found in MIll 203-205) . A man who is
generous with food in this life , will have plenty of food in
the next , and a man who has the habit of asking monks for advice
in this life, will have great wisdom in the next (these and
many other examples can be found in DIll 145-161).
It is unfortunately never stated in detail how the laws
function within the action fields of the three factors to pro-
duce these results . Perhaps the example, quoted above, about
the soldier who has chosen this profeSSion because his disposi-
tion in the former life was of an aggressive nature, gives the
clue. Perhaps the life experiences called the accumulated kl Mma
automatically produce certain wishes and states of mind which
correspond to the coming fate: low desires might produce 1m 9 s
of animals or purgatories as symbols of these deSires, whi h
ISS
t nd t r li2: th ms Ives through the power of the consciolls
im gc. On th oth r hand, good actions give a good conscience
and h P ful images. The laws of rebirth have a certain resem-
blance to the psychological laws of aSSOCiation, of which three
are espccilily well-known: aSSOCiation by similarity , by con-
trast and by contiguity (Woodworth, 1938, p. 340 ff).
This would seem reasonable enough. Our thoughts develop in
associative chains. We feel that each thought causes the next.
If I hear the word "letter", I may think of a certain letter
which I am expecting . Then I think of the writer of this ex-
pected letter, and I remember earlier contacts with him. And
so the chain goes on. A great amount of psychological studies
have been performed regarding association, and standard situa-
tions have been devised for psychological diagnosis (e . g. the
word association test and the incomplete sentences test, see
Bell, 1948, p. 15-53). Associations are extremely varied and
personal, and those relevant for the present discussion would
be only some specific types . Now if we analyse the first link
in the above- mentioned chain:
" letter " expected letter
we find that actually something must have happened in between.
The word "letter" must have given me a pleasant feeling, and
I must have felt a wish to get that particular letter. So in
reality, we get a series as shown in Fig. 11. The sequence
has a striking similarity to the series, and
'"e can wri te it as shown in Fig. 12. The whole process could
be called a rankhara . "a creative act".
We can easily imagine that aSSOCiations like the follow-
ing can be produced by any Western subject:
Stimulus-word
"virtue"
"k ill"
"drunkard"
"murderer"
---)
)
Response
"reward"
"soldier"
Itpi g"
"hell"
"wisdom"
Fig. 11. How an association is developed.
Fig. 12. The association as
157
Th ide "vlrtu" h 8 then produced the new idea "reward", the
ld "drunk rd" has produced the idea "pig", etc. Maybe experi-
nc sIlk thls are behind the doctrine of rebirth. Because if
ideas r linked to each other and produce each other in this
way in our 11fe, why should they not be able to link this life
(i.e. thought; this is the basic meaning of citta) to a new
life? Associations are governed by feelings, desires, character
traits and experiences and therefore produced by causes . The
process of rebirth is governed by its own but perhaps very
similar laws.
The Mind
is one of the important words in early Buddhist psychology
and usually translated by 'mind". The meaning is, however, some-
what unclear, and the concept seems sometimes imperfectly inte-
grated into the Buddhist system. It is sometimes used in a way
that suggests a personal identity from existence to existence.
See especially the following passages : "Though this former body
of his be devoured by crows (or other animals), - yet his citta,
if for a long time practised in faith, virtue, learning and re-
nunciation, moves upward and goes to distinction" (tassa yo hi
khvayam kayo rup ... tam idheva kaka va khadanti ".; yanca
cittam dgharattam saddhaparibhavitam sla-suta-caga-
paribhavitam,'tam hoti visesagami, ' S v 369 f). "With-
out understanding the thoughts of his inner sense he runs with
restless citta from existence to existence" (Auidua manaso vi-
takke hurahuram dhavati bhantacitto, U 37). "My citta is not of
such nature that it will return to the plane of sense-pleasures
- knowing this, his citta is well provided with understanding"
me kamabhavaya-ti pannaya supa-
ricitam hoti, A IV 402). In these cases citta seems to signify
a surviving entity.
This is one end of the spectrum. In the other , citta is
clearly used for thought processes. See, for instance, the
passages quoted above from S IV 309 and DIll 258. See also D
II 299 where aitta i8 called "something that comes to be
(",I1",l,YI-.jllll,1,"i,l) dnt! "sonl'th.tnCj th,lL p"sHer; "'NUY" (v-z1l1 dhamml).
This is s.lid in a context wh 'Ie eX"relses In mindfulness dlrf"etcd
towards ,j'ta ilre described . These imply rln .m,dytlc,"! LI lltud
towards its objects . In the same con ext , S V 184. a'ttl 15 de-
rived from ,'llat.Jt:l ,'lmul,.lYo, il["ifta,
i . e . thought. arises as a result of Lhe arising of ond
fOl-m") - the only context in which <:itta is said to arise from
a cause.
Most typically, uitta has a meaning between these extremes,
referring to a personal psychological factor responsible for the
unity and continuity of the human being but without any sugges-
tion of permanent SUbstance. To know a person's citta is to know
his individual characteristics: "The recluse Gotama knows my
citta " (a,:ttam me samano Gotamo {anati, 5 I 178). "Here a monk
tells the citta of other beings , of other individuals ... say-
ing : ' so is your citta '" (Tdha ... bhikkhu pal'apuJ-
cittam pi adisati ... iti pi to aittan ti, D I 213) .
"Although a monk be not skilled in (knowing) other people's
aitta , he can decide : 'I will be skilled in (knowing) my own
citta '" (No ce ... bhikkhu pal'acittapal'iyayakusaZo hoti,
's acittapal'iyayakusaZo A V 92).
A man may lose his citta , which is a way of describing
mental disturbance : "If you do not reply, I will either throw
out your citta (cittam khipissami) or split your heart" (5 I
207). "If we had approached after this fashion any recluse or
brahmin who had not extirpated desire. either his heart would
have burst , or hot blood had flowed from his mouth or he had
become crazy or had lost his aitta"
II
phaZeyya , unham Zohitam fflukhltJ l(,lga
va s I 125 f). To "loose one's
oitta " is probably an expression for loosing lhe nOlmdl unity
of mind and atlention .
According to M 1206 it ls pm,slbl Lo qive up 01) '. t.
and adopt thl' ("it.La of olh(,'rs: "I t1 my own oJ
am 11vJn
r
J on ly dccordin(j to Llw ,":' /.,) 'll tht'SL v, nt'" bl<'
For we hilvr, clifr""'nl bodjlOs bUl <;",l.llnly only 'n, .,
kho ahmf/
.. (
,.:-i .' It t j ,\':1;; hi kh. M! '" r kiln ('ri panrl
.' '. ,,' t -), A WlllMn has II u1 fforent type of ci L La from that
men. Thin Is lmplied 1n a passage found 1n D II 271 : "She
,1b.\I\ k'ne I lhl flnhllC' 'H I ,lnd uevelopl!u a m sculine c' itta and
... was Ilhorn into 90nshlp wilh us " itLhieittam
Ih-v. tl':; ... lmhakam CiLta
h.-t", seems m.linly to refer to the purposeful organization of
"hls unity of purpose is normally a characteristi c
of the human individual, but it is also possible to submit mor e
or less completely to the will or purposes of others ; this is
early Buddhism expressed as a function of citta .
The lnd1vidual's identification with his citta is far from
complete . There is frequently a clear distinction between "me"
and "my c': ta": "For a long time indeed I have been defrauded ,
deceived and cheated by this citta , for I have been collecting
body, sensation, ideation, activities and conscious ness . Con-
ditioned by this collection there was growth for me ... "
vata ... aham cittena nikato
dho, hi ... vedanam ... . . . . ..
. . .
:J r.r.a.:an: "eVa upadiyamano upadiyim; tassa me upadanapaccaya
chavo ... , M I 511). Here citta is made responsible for a l l the
false values and activities that keep the paticoasamuppada-
development going. "I" am something different . " I " can see that
all this is false. But "a monk has power over his citta , he is
not the slave of his oitta" (bhikkhu oittam vasam vatteti, no
ca ftitta88a vasena vattati, M I 214) . The method of
getting one's c"i t ta under control is samadhi, according to A
IV 34. Cit:a is "difficult to guard " and dunnivaraya,
"difficult to hold back" (Dh 33) . It is a difficult but impor-
tant task to train citta , because "when oitta is unguarded,
bodily action is also unguarded , speech and mental action are
also unguarded" (citte .. . arakkhite k;yakammam pi
h.," ')11 'lIa"l"''1m pi /zoti manokammam pi
hot;, " I 261) .
it is necessary to distinguish between the un-
dnd th' trained citta. The "natural " citta is the centre
of all unduslr hIe qUdlities . The " influxes ", are at-
rib ted t<.> '-il ttl (I) II 81) , further ";;(1(1, doe,', m(lila , "desire ,
IbO
hatred, illusion" (D III 270) , abhiJ,iha, VI/aralia. th?Yia-/YI"ddha.
!4ddilthL
t
a-kkkklu.:t'tl" V'Ztikit..' -ha, "covet ousness ,
torpor and languor. restlessness and worry. and doubt" (0171),
t,ml.a , "craving" (Dh 154), upanaiza, makkha, pa{c18(}, illlla, ma"-
m:iya , mana, ai"mana, mada. "malice,
hypocrisy, spite, envy, stinginess , deceit, treachery, selfish-
ness, arrogance. pride, conceit" (M I 36).
50 far, there seems to be great similarity between
and the Freudian concept of "ego", the centre of conscious
needs and conscious behaviour . Just as we ordinarily identify
ourselves with the ego, so citta is the "natural self" in a
functional sense. But just as there, according to Freud, is a
superego, that is sometimes critical of the ego, so there is in
Buddhism an "I" who may be critical of ciita and may want to
subjugate it and change it by means of the Buddhist train1p.g.
Citta also reminds us of the Freudian ego in its function
as a centre of perceptual and cognitive activity. "Ideation and
sensation are mental processes dependent on cit a; therefore
they are called activity of citta" (Sanna ea ?a c e t a oi k Ci
ete dhamma cittapatibaddha, tasma sanna-a vedana ca eitt-lI'!2n-
kharo ti , 5 IV 293). In 5 IV 125 we find that forms touch
(phassati) citta , and only a trained citta can avoid being 1n-
fluenced . Citta can be directed and is then an instrument of
attention . In A IV 423 the phrases cittam "he turns
his citta away from", and c-ittam upasamharati, "he concentrates
his citta on", are used in this sense. Cf. the opposites
sankhitta - vikkhitta , "attentive - inattentive", used about
citta in 5 II 122 and D I 80. Citta is further an instrument
for the recollection of former existences which is made possible
through training . 5ee M I 22, "I directed my ,'tta to the kno;.-l-
edge and recollection of former habitations"
tinanaya C'ittam abh::ninnaml'sim ). The higher knowledge which i
abhinna ' is attributed to ,-Itta (A IV 421, A J 254). e
ideas are a function of ritta , according Lo A V 107, where t.
is said to be provided with ("a/'idia) idc,lS (,'ail;;;) f 1"'1'<'1"-
manence, not-self, danger, diSinterestedness and so on. ."
is also a centre of understanding. In A I sl n
161
phr s
itt ti, "he applies his citta to under-
st nding" 1s oft n used, e.g. A III 437 . In A IV 402 pannaya
$U;,lr'ta, "well provided with Wisdom" is said about citta.
is then mainly a centre for conscious activity.
is oJ,' }Oil','? yuhaoayam (Oh 37), " i ncorporeal , dwelling in
cave". It has also the mobility , the independence of time
locality, characteristic of consciousness: it is durangamam
,k "ra'," "travelling far, alone" (Oh 37) , "light" ,
"quick" (Oh 35), "atthakamal1ipati, "wandering at will" (Oh 35).
In disputes, some participants "let their citta go far away"
(a-'c';- hi tc .. , gamenti dura , SN 390) . A passage in S 175
says that we "roam in all directions with ceto" (sabba disanu-
cBtasa); here c.to is used instead of citta , but these
words are nearly synonymous . These passages probably refer to
our ability to dream about and think of distant places and
events,
Summing up the evidence so far collected, we can say that
cir:ta corresponds fairly closely to "mind" , being a ma i nly con-
scious stream of processes, organized and purposeful , individ-
ually formed, but no real entity . It is not the same as "per-
sonality", rather a centre within personality , a conscious
centre of activity, purposiveness, continuity and emotionality .
We can translate by "mind", although citta is a somewhat wider
concept, including as it does not only the momentarily consci ous
processes, but also the continuous, unconscious background , e.g .
all the moral traits which are not manifest in every moment
but are latent, to influence thoughts and behaviour
as soon as an opportunity is given.
Citta is not usually brought in relation to the paticcasa-
series . From all the passages quoted above , it is, how-
ever, clear that it has many connections with it. Since the
are attributes of citta, avijja and bhava are connected
with it. Sanna (one of the nama-factors of namal'upa) and v.dana
are activities of citta (M I 301) . Tanha is also one of the
attributes of citee . And we have quoted M I 511 where citta is
made responsible for the activity of upadarla. Since citta is
conscious activity , it must be closely related to But
all the "handh; are seen as factors outside cit.ta even though
162
closely attached to it, as can be [rom SIll 46: "his
( itt., det.1chcs itself from the body, sensation , ideation, ac iv-
ities, consciousness, and is freed from the wi hout
(further) collecting" ( ... vedan;ya,
rFSU, cittam virajjati ;cav.hi) .
. . .
It seems therefore realistic to put citta in the centre of the
revolving processes as has been done in Fig. 8.
Citta i.s the basis carrying the personality factors and the
processes. By means of the Buddhist training
citta becomes free and the become reduced. The paticca -
processes are the waves on the surface of eitta; the
task is to calm them and neutralize them. When this is done,
cit+a can break its shell and become stable and unlimited.
Ways of improving and purifying citta are often described
in the Nikayas. Frequently formulations are chosen which remind
us of some instrument that has to be improved, sharpened or
cleaned in order to become more effective . "The ambition and
desire in the eye (and other senses) is a defilement of c i tt:z".
When these impurities are got rid of and "c1:tta is fortified
with renunciation, then it appears to be pliable for penetrat-
ing those things that are to be realized" (Yo ... cakkhl<smi ...
cittasseso upakkiZeso ... ;
S III 232). Citta must be cleaned (citta,;, parisodhet., D I 71),
made straight (cittam attano ujukam akamsu, S I 26; u: .. r.l k l'ot:,
Dh 33) like a bow, and made luminous cittan
ti , "creates a luminous citta", DIll 223; I 10).
Citta is made luminous by means of the form of
in which one "attends to the visualization of light "
manal'ikaroti) and which may lead to "the attainment of
knowledge and vision" Cittl is the
component of personality which practices and attains" 'na hi :
"Happy is he whose body is tranquilli zed; he happy m.ln I t
is concentrated" (l'acnaddlzakl!1a:';la ,'ukll m Izeli; "14k!: ";0 . t t
nam;jdhiyati , s V 69) . Samadld is called <"itta,,:' k :.'.1<lta, "
pointedness of cilia" (D 11217). "Oy <]L'tlin</ tld If '\'11 un-
skilled intentions, nam('ly C()VplOUfinL'fin , n,'m.; ,'He!
destructiveness, my (itf. a will b('c()rnl' unllmll<'d,
163
and we ll d e ve loped" ( t<! 8am pa lr;:;n;:; apari t tan ca me ci t tam blra-
I ' <It i . ll pa .. Rublr;:;v i tam, M II 262), Exercises in mind-
fulness are also used for the development of cit t a: "Remain
with ' ittl well established in the four applications of mind-
fulness!" (Cat u.: z(
I' 1 t 1"1 , S V 184),
The trained will attain pan;;;:; , and
free dom from the aD /Va (D II 81). The monk can direct his c i tta
and he "brings it towards the deathless element" (amat aya dha-
t:. y" <'L' '''':' "p.waml;arat i, A IV 423) . This is the same as saying
that ,' tt" at tains nibbina: "If a monk's citta is unattached
t o the fo rm- e l e ment (sensation, ideation, the activities, con-
scio usne ss) a nd is detached and free from the influxes without
buildi ng up - t hen it is steadfast by its freedom, content by
its s t e adfas tness, a nd by being content it does not crave fur-
t he r: a nd fre e from c raving it by itself attains to parinibbana"
. . . vcdanadhatuya ... aa;;;;;dh;;tuy ; ... sankhara-
n,atuya ... ce ... bhikkhuno "itta,:, v'irattam
r. .....
S.Pl:;u.:::.:i,. - :rrr1.J n(:< li-'_71'it:1; -Sil; pa..: -
P:(Y'"u "c.b;;'yat .', SIll 4 5) .
The t r a ined ci,ta is unemotional and stable:
"calmed " ( D I 71 ), ar:ejjappat-a , "impe rturbable" (D I 76),
avcra , "free from anger" (D I 247), danta Jut . rakkhita sam-
vuta , " tamed , c o ntrolled, guarded, restrained" (A I 7), anaviZa ,
"untroub l ed" (A I 9) . Instead of the emoti o ns, m "frie nd-
liness", has been developed (M I 18). Although the d e sires have
go ne, t here ma y still be motivatio n to acti v i t y: "That - i:ta
which i s fre e from deSire , hatred and illusion - originating
from this the re a r e skilled moral habits" ( .'1'" ... ' ttam vZt .. 71 ag"m
v7tnmoham - itosamutthana M II 27).
Citta may "incline towards devotion , perseverance and
exertio n" (na."lati a tappaya anuyo,;a:/R " a /a .. ; y., p ;dl:(i,, ;; ya , D III
239) . As a result of the training, we find then a development
from and desire to will and determination, from
immaturity to maturity , from fickleness to character.
After attaining nibbana, the arahant still has his conscious
life, which is the same as saying that he still has " itt .1 (see,
JG4
e.g. S IV 164, "the Master has a
liberated 'itta"). It is a very much transformed tta, char-
acterized by stability, reduction, freedom from dependence.
Host of the activities contained in t:he series
have ceased. Only activities and thoughts that do not produce
kammic effects remain. All expansiveness and external engage-
ment has disappeared. But citta has not lost its individual
character, although stability and "emptiness" prevail .
The Ego-Illusion
When we introspect, we never find "ourselves". We only find a
flow of processes, perceptions, feelings, memory fragments,
dreams and imaginations, desires. None of these is permanent
but every state changes and is soon replaced by something else.
But at the same time, we find recurrent themes and a continuity.
We have certain wishes and purposes which we pursue for a long
time. We have memory . We have built up an ego-image, i.e. a
number of ideas and images that keep recurring and by which we
maintain our identity.
In Buddhism, the continuity and basic unity of a person is
not denied, although rarely stressed. It is a function of citta ,
especially of the trained citta; the untrained citta has also
continuity but is as unstable and easily distracted as the or-
dinary person usually is. But the value of determined effort
and systematic striving towards the Buddhist goal is frequently
stressed.
The Buddha, however, denied the existence of an ego. "The
goal is told, but the ego is not mentioned" (Attho 01 vu,to
ca anupanito , A III 359). "Who touches? - Not a fit ques-
tion, said the Master. I do not say that (somebody) touches"
(Ko nu kho phusatiti? - No kano pa;ihoti F!il1(lLlVa n'
Phuoatiti aham na uadami , S II 13). The kind of stolt'mcnt h
wanted to make was ralher: "conditioned by the sixfold s",ns
modalities there is conlact" . "The eye is ot an ,qO lr
anything belonging lo an ego" ( ('akklllllll .kllo ... "<lii".:"/ tt '.
attaniyenrl S IV 54). lind formu: v[su,1l 'onset \I"n,""'.
165
visual 'ontact, and further all the other senses, their objects
,lnd the ,-,onsc iousncss of them are in the same manner said to be
empty of an ego. "The untrained ordinary man .. . looks upon his
body (sensation, ideation , activities, consciousness) as the
ego, or the ego as having body, or the body as being in the ego,
or the ego as being in the body" ( ... assutava puthujjano ...
attato damanupassati , va attanam attani va
va there are equivalent passages for
the four khandha , 5 III 138).
What exactly is meant by "ego" in early Buddhism? One of
the Pali equivalents is atta which by the Buddha was used to
express an unchangeable component in the human personality . "Is
it fitting to view that which is impermanent and unstable as
I this is mine I, I this is I I, or I this is my ego'? - Surely not!"
(Yam panan,:('cam dukkham vipa1'inamadhammam kalZam nu tam samanu-
. .
passitum Etam mama eso ham asmi eso me atta ti? - No hetam . . . ,
5 III 49). A consequence of this would be that no illness would
be possible: "If the body were the ego, then the body could not
be involved in sickness" ca atta abhavissa nayidam
abadhaya samvatteyya, 5 III 66). 50 far, the translation
"soul" would seem most suitable , but the passage just quoted
goes on: "and one could say about the body: 'may my body become
such'" (labbhetha ca Evam me 1'upam hotu ... ) , and the same
is repeated for each of the personality factors. "When you say :
' the body is my ego' - have you then power over this body of
yours .. . ?"(Yam tvam evam vadesi: 1'upam me atta ti, vattati te
vaso? M I 231).
It seems that the doctrine of a self prevalent at the time
of the Buddha and criticized by him was a combination of several
conflicting ideas, based on typical human ambitions: the real
self must be a permanent, undying essence and must have charac-
teristics like perfection, happiness and unlimited power. 5ince
everyday reality evidently does not correspond to these ambitions,
man is forced to assume a hidden agent within, which is so pure,
eternal and powerful as he wants to be . The Buddha pOinted out
that the unity of personality depends on the composition of the
part functions and therefore does not exist. Also none of the
corresponds to the specifications: they are all imperma-
nent, liable to sickness and unhappiness and beyond our power.
166
Actually the body belter meels Lhe criteria of an ego than he
mental factors (S II 94) !
what we really possess can be changed according to our
wish . But we have only impersonal processes, and what is im-
personal cannol be possessed . And there is no possessor!
In his criticism of the ego doctrine , the Buddha used very
radical formulations aiming at a demolition of all ideas of an
essence, a unity and ownership . "The noble disciple reflects
thus: 'I am nothing of anything anywhere, and there is nothing
of mine in anything anywhere'" (apiyao;vako ito
kvacani kassac
i
na ca mama kvacani
k';n('anam na ' tthiti , M II 263 f). This is the most radical de-
struction possible of any personal entity and any claim to con-
cernedness or ownership. The same radical alienation from eve-
rything is expressed in A II 177: "Again the brahmin says so:
' I am nothing of anything anywhere, and herein nothing anywhere
is mine ' - and so saying the brahmin speaks truth, not false-
hood . Because of that he does not imagine himself to be 'rec-
luse', or ' brahmir.', or think 'I am better' or 'I am equal' or
'I am inferior '. But having in this way understood the truth,
his way is nothingness" {Puna ca param . .. br;hmuno eva", ah-:::
n;ham kvaci kassaci kincanam tasmim na ca mama kattha'i
n ' atthf. t
i
, iti aha no m:,sa. " to
tena na samano ti na ti n1
na aadiso 'ham asmlti 1iQ
miti Api ca yad eva tattha tad
yeva patipanno hotil . This is a description of
a man baSing his life on a null hypothesis : there is no indi-
vidual unity , only impersonal processes, there is no self-asser-
tion, not even a comparison with others, no social role to play,
no function to fill. There are no expectations, no demands and
no attachment.
Still, we have quoted many texts where Lhe function of 'on-
tinuity is expressed through the word
The explanation seems to be lhat the diffen'nl onte.ls
serve different purposes. Where tho ego idea is refuted,
to destroy an unrealistic ambition is referred to. It hould b'
noted that the statement first quoted is pre cd d by: "Th
167
,\ ,,'11
1
1,11 'I. tim ". (Ind 111L second Is introduced in a sim-
I . I I'll It I. d h 'rlh, I III n W.1Y of an, tl yslnq o nescl f and
I """Y ot mdst<,rln<J . making Innocuous , cxpcl-
11n toml In'J .
til, .go. 16 Lhal wlLh which we identify ourselves ,
thlt I\i('h ... k> s>rlollsly/ iltLach ourselves to , remember
and build on. MIll 188 hds it good xpressjon for that : paccup-
;' tt h S "one is drawn into , or caught among
thlngs that hdl:e dl'isen t This is done by regarding the body
e C./ as the ego. The phrase is further explained in MIll 197 :
"bcc,1use his consciousness is bound fast by ambition and desire ,
he delights in them; delighting in them, he is drawn into the
arisen things" ('ha'lia1'aJapa t ibaddhatta viiiiianassa tad abhinan -
p'. 2Jh'n ndlnto By
this interest and attachment , a certain personality development
is aChieved; certain views are built up : "by collecting body
(etc.) comes the view 'I am ' / not without collecting " (Rupam
:.,.'::.1a.!<1 smf. hot; "0 a>!upadaya , S III 105). By means of this
collecting preparations for a new bi r th a r e
The real enemy of the Buddhist is also in this connection
the prospect of new birth, old age and death and the suffering
contained in this situation. This connection can be seen from
the series of conditioning5 given in SIll 46 (cf . Fig . 13) :
"Touched by the sensation born of contact with ignorance , there
cones to the untrained ordinary man the view ' I am ' , there come
the vie',,"s I am this', 'I shall be' , ' I shall not be ', ' I shall
have body', '1 shall be bodyless' , ' I shall be ideating ', ' I
shall be free from ideation ' , ' 1 shall neither have nor be
',Iithout ideas'''. Here, the ego-belief ' 1 am ' is coordinated
th the rebirth-expectation '1 shall be ' ; this indicates a
real affinIty be ween the two . By identifying ourselves wi t h
a basis for continued existence is created, actually
a force that learls to self-perpetuation , a misunderstood unity
tat w 11 lead a n w suffering .
This Is then lh/' connecl.ion bclween this use of attc1 as a
''''Jed for "ego" and alt in ttl!' compounds al./1",,11'17 and,attal'a:,'-
labhK ' '''/lieh "'''In f 0 IInv,' .1 lot.J! I y diffC'renL meaning / "devolop-
m r. '>f ndlvl(l'J oJl y", ""(''1ul<1ILJOI1 01 i ndividuali t y ", 1. <' .
I avij ja
J
I ' vedayl. ta 1
l phassal
"asmi"
ttayam aham asmi"
"bhavissam"
tina bhavissS1!l1l
"riipI bhavissaJP"
"arii pi bhavissam"
"sanii! bhavissarp"
Itasanni bhavissW?"
"nevasanninasanni bhavissam"
Fig . 13 . The sense of being and becoming as derived from
ignorance .
1&9
"rebirth". b l i f i n a n e go is a force towards the produc-
tion f .111 eqo , i . c . the imag ine d e go o f a ne w individual. This
is the reason why it i s so impo rtant that eve ry trace of iden-
tifi dtion and ego-be l ief has t o be a na lysed into pieces and
eradicated .
The ego-illusion can be s mashe d by me ans of a number of
methods :
(a) We can consci o us ly de vel op a nd kee p in mind a number
of ideas that sooner or l ate r wi l l influe nce o ur way of per-
ceiving the world and o ur s e lve s . One i s the idea of imperma-
nence, as is pointed out i n A IV 353: "The idea of impermanence
must be developed to upr o ot the conceit 'I am'" (aniccasanna
bhauetabba asnimanasamugghataya) . Basic to all pride is the
idea of permanence . I f we d iscover that our e go consists of
rapidly changing processes , the e go-idea will be less strong.
Another six ideas to be deve l oped are briefly enumerated in
A III 444: "If a monk can vi sua lize six excellent ideas, it is
enough to establish , wi t hou t reserve, the ide a of no ego in
all things. What six? I n a l l the wor ld I sha ll not be part of
it; all that will produce a n 'I' in me s ha ll be de stroyed; all
that will produce somethi ng t ha t i s 'mine' in me shall be de-
stroyed; I shall attain unique knowledge ; the cause shall be
rightly discerned by me; phe nomena a re pro duce d by a cause"
(Cha ... anisamse sampassamanena aZam eva bhikkhuna sabbadham-
mesu anodhim anattasannam upatthapetum. Katame cha ?
. . . .
Sabbaloke ca atammayo bhavissami , ahankara ca me upar ujjhi s-
santi, mamankara ca me uparujjhissanti , ca
samannagato bhavissami, hetu ca me bhavissati , hetu-
samuppanna ca dhamma) . The f irs t po int perhaps expresses the
alienation from the world already referred t o , refusal to take
part in it , or perhaps refus a l to be bo rn into it again. The
next lYlO points express refusa l t o identify o nese l f with any-
thing in the wor l d a nd cons i d e ring anything as one's own. By
not identifying, all processes , i nte rna l and ext e rnal, are seen
as impersonal , produced b ut witho ut r e l a tion t o me and without
interest: this is the i mper sona l at ti t ude t o be c ultivated.
Thp. last points concern a causal a na lys i s ; the y are ex-
amined 1n nex section.
170
(bl By subjecting the world and all experienccs to caus 1
analysis, we will see that they are neutral and impcrsonal proc-
esses . "The noble disciple has by right insight well seen eVBh
as they really are both this dependent origination and these
processes that have been produced"
ime ca ammapannaya
S II 271. "The man who does not resort to this system-
building, this mental fixation, this leaning to prejudice, and
who does not construct them or insist upon them - he will not
say: ' It is my ego'" cetaso
na upeti na atta na
ti , S II 17). "What do you think about this: is the body per-
manent or impermanent? - Impermanent! - But the impermanent -
is it painful or pleasant? - Painful! - Is it fitting to regard
that which is impermanent, painful, liable to change, as: 'this
is mine, this am I, this is my ego'? - No" (Tam kim ....
niccam aniccam ti? - Aniccam ... - Yam
'" ..
dukkham tam sukham ti? - Dukkham ... - auk -
kaLLan nu nama,
eso 'ham asmi, eBO me ti? - No h 'et am "., M I 138). "As
he remains contemplating the rise and fall of the five person-
ality factors, then that residuum in the five personality fac-
tors of the conceit 'I am', of the ambition 'I am', of the dis-
position 'I am' that was not removed, is now completely got rid
of" (Tassa imesu
viharato yo pissa hoti anusahaJato
Asmlti Asmlti chando anusayo so pi
gacchati , SIll 131). These quotations show how intel-
lectual and causal analyses were used to get rid of egO-involve-
ment in perceptions and thought-constructions .
(c) Another approach was used in the application of mind-
fulness . As described in the Maha-satipatthana Suttanta,
exercises could consist in simply following mental or physio-
logical processes with attention and trying to be aware of
change and observe , for i nstance , how "the body is "omllthinq
that comes to be or something that passes away" (0 II 2Q2). "In
gOing , standing , Sitting , sleeping , watchinq, t,\lklnq, <I'
ing silence he knows what he 1s doinq". This type L,f ,'x,'r'i."
171
will Jrvrlop a new direction to attention. We arc used to at-
tt'lh! t h pUrpO!H' of our movements . Usually we want to achieve
s 'Old il i n<J U\O l'Xfw't that our organism wi 11 function automatl-
,Illy to helF us altain what we deSire . Mindfulness turns the
att otion from the goals, from our desires , from the con-
tinuity in ou r lives towards the details , the particular move-
m0nts or p,rticular ideas. Consciousness is split up into atoms ,
in a way that resembles the theoretical analysis that the early
European associationist psychologists tried in the nineteenth
century. But in early Buddhism, the purpose was practical : by
attending to the atoms of behaviour and consciousness , the
sense of purpose was lost and so ego- involvement was lost: the
ega-illusion could be conquered .
Other types of meditation can serve the same purpose , for
instance "It is possible that a monk can acqui re such
concentration that in this body with its consciousness he has
no disposition to pride that produces ' I ' or ' mine '" ...
bhikkhuno yatha imasmin ca savinna-
;aye ahankara - mamankara-mananusaya nassu , A I l32). The
higher levels of samadhi are states of emptiness , and naturally
all ideas of "I" or identification disappear; the experience is
completely impersonal. But there is also a meditation on empti -
ness, called sunnata cetovimutti : a monk goes, for instance ,
"to a forest and reflects : ' this is empty of ego or of what be-
longs to an ego '" (bhikkhu arannagato .. . iti patisancikkhati:
3unnam idam attena va attaniyena va ti , M I 297) .
The Reduced Personality
In Fig. 6 the personality of the arahant was represented as re-
duced and staLic. We must briefly investigate what thi s means .
An arahant has still his senses : "The Master has eye; he
Sf:es form with the eye . .. He has tongue : he feels taste with
th'" longue . . . lie has an inner sense; he experiences images
through he Inner sense" .. . pha -
8Q i lU.(I[Jflva ca""hun;; f.uram; . . . :;'lmvij,iati .,. BiJagQvato .ii.-vlla;
jivh;ya
172
manas; dhammam, S IV 164). The five personality
factors are still present. The arahant Samidatta says in Ta 90:
"The five factors are well understood; they still remain al-
though their roots are cut off". There is no doubt that an
arahant looked like and could function like an ordinary human
being.
Still, it is clear from the texts that the factors have
changed somehow : "If one should try to define the Tathagata by
the body, that body of the Tathagata is abandoned . The Ta -
thagata is free from definition by body . He is deep, boundless,
unfathomable, like the great ocean" (Ye na l"upena tathagatam
pannapayamano pannapeyya , tam l"u pam tathagatassa pahinam ...
Rupasankhaya vimutto ., . tathagato' gambhi l"o appameyyo duppal"i -
yogaho seyyathapi mahasamuddo , S IV 376) . The same passage i s
repeated for the other factors. "If gods and men looked for
him they did not find him, here or in the other world" (pal"i -
yesamana na ca ajjhagamum deva manus s a idha va hUl"am va, S I
. .
23). "In this very life a Tathagata is not to be regarded as
existing in truth, in reality" (di t theva dhamme saccato thetato
tathagato anupaZabbhiyamano , S III 112) . "I say that in this
very life a Tathagata is untraceable" (Di tthe vaham . .. dhamme
ananuvejjo ti vadami , M I 140). These quo tati ons
seem to show that, in the arahant , the perso nality factors
have become less substantial and real, more impersonal, mo r e
fleeting and formless.
2
There are a number of factors to be considered if we wa nt
to understand the significance of this transparency and un-
reality of the liberated personality.
(a) First, it should not be forgotten that the who le ma-
terial world was at that time not conceived as so substant i al
as we are accustomed to believe . As we have pointed o ut in
earlier chapters, there are only processes and a display of
forces, not substance . Things were never see n as hard and def-
inite , they were always in a fluctuating psycho-physical sta t e .
"Body is like a lump of foam" (Phcn,'pi ndupamam l'u pam , S III
142). But with ordinary people, always subst n-
ttal enough to be perceived and recognized.
(b) In the arahant, the body. and tha othe r .ra
173
ut d wn t th root, made like II palm-tree stump" , since all
d sire f r th m has gone. If you no longer depend on the fac-
tors r want their continuation and regeneration , there will
be no fate(' b ... hind them and they wi 11 wither and die like a
cut-down tree. The faclors are like the head and feet of a
tortolse protruding from under its shell : " take out the tor-
toise, get rid of the five factors !" (ukkh' pa kummam, pajaha
M 1144).
(c) The case of the arahant Upasena (S IV 40 f) is worth
referring to again. He had for a long time eradicated " t he
dispositions to pride that produces ' I ' or ' mine' " {ahankara-
":c.:-l1.kal'a-l'1allallU,aya ) , and when he died from a snake- bi te and
was carried out, "his body was scattered like a handful of
chaff" . It seems that the ega- illusion is the glue or , rather,
the structural tension that keeps the person together in a
certain form. It gives a feeling of unity . A person wi t hout
this feeling of identity or a wish to keep his identity or
assert it will easily get a sense of unreality and of fa lli ng
apart. h'e know that this is valid for the psychological side
of a person, but according to the Nikaya way of thinking , there
was no real difference between the psychological and physical
sides of a person.
(d) This is also the background of another passage: when
the Tathagata concentrates body in mind and mind in body, his
body will easily rise up from the ground , " just like a ball of
thistle-down" (S V 284) . This shows that the body can be influ-
enced by psychological factors like concentration . Samadhi will
produce a number of psychological changes . In the higher levels
of there will be an experience of thinness and bound-
lessness. In the sphere of infinite space , the meditating monk
"has become invisible to the evil one " ( a (Jot? papi -
l'1at'7, A IV 434). This probably means that he has become one
with the infinite splice , liS undifferentiaLed , thin and unlimit-
ed as space; thllt is his experience , such he has become,
and ho cunnot be seen . experiences of this type prob-
ably n permanent aWllreness of vllgueness and unsubstan-
tall Ly.
(e) in mindfulness were analytical but also im-
I'J 4
pll"d ,1 ch:tnql',l .1CCl'nLlIilLlon: In rn.1ny 'dti-'x rc.1sf I.e: pUr-
post' of I'CI'C'ptl.on is no 10nrJer 0 recl-ive Information bu 0
prevent the mind from qeLtinq involved. The objec of atten-
tion is the perceptuill proccss itself. The result of such exer-
cises must be a sense of unreality . The world will
look more and more "like a mirage".
The result of all these factors combined will be a red'ccd
feeling of identity. The whole person will feel eroded and
without substance. And since the personal feeling was
ed as identical with an objective fact, the result was that
"the Tathigata is not to be regarded as existing in truth, in
reality" .
A question that was sometimes asked the Buddha himself is
this : what will happen to the arahant when he dies? He always
denied all the four possibilities: "he will be after dedth"
(80t' param D II 68), "he will not be", "he
both will and will not be", "he neither will nor will not be".
This excludes both rebirth and annihilation. But it is not
certain that also simply prolonged existence in one form or
another is excluded : the verb used here is hot i-, "becomes",
and in M I 487 the corresponding verb is "arises";
they both seem to refer to rebirth. The descriptions of the
arahant as he is in the present life are, however, suggestive
and may permit an hypothesis . Many of the relevant texts have
been quoted already. "The Tathigata is free from definition by
body (and the remaining factors). He is deep, immeasurable,
unfathomable, like the great ocean" (5 IV 376) . "This state
has been realized by the Tathigata, namely to reach and stay
in an internal emptiness , by not attending to any signs" (AYJ'
kho pana ... na abilisami'uddho, 1'a tida <: :l'l'.1-
amanacik;,';; ajjhatta"! "I'a:'o'p :,'a t'ih l'itu ,
M I II lll). " By my getting rid of unskilled evil intentiolls. m}'
mind will become unlimited , inuneasurable dnd well-dE'vE'l pt:)"
MIl 262} .
In order to understand th i>1 we must try t <' 10110101 t h, B 1,\-
dha on his own terms and fOl'qet our h .. bltu,1l W.1YS of think n .
This means especially that we must forqot nIl .. blllt n 1011-
.d9
8
and think of ourselves and tIl<' wholt' world l!l kn wn
175
thr ugh dir ct perc ption . An arahant has stopped building up
hi p rs n lity; this means that he has few conscious proces-
s s. II" is familiar with the empty , undifferentiated , unlimited
Stdtc of mind, which is produced in This is an imper-
sonal Slate, free from consciousness of onc ' s own personality .
This state of is felt to be stable and unchanging. But
can we say nbout something quile undifferentiated , endless and
impct:sonal that it exists or does not exist? "In this very life
a Tathagata is not to be regarded as existing in truth , in re-
ality"(S III 112}. Because the arahant feels impersonal , he
cannot be reborn: only persons with a conscious personal iden-
tity and the personality- tension of tanha can be reborn . All
conscious experience has process-nature. But what can be said
about a conscious process that has stopped? It has not ceased
to "exist", because he is still conscious; but nothing moves -
so it will never end? Will death change anything here? Something
unlimited is not anywhere because it is everywhere . What is
empty does not exist at all , because emptiness is nothing; but
is empty and still conscious. But this stable , empty ,
unlimited consciousness was the only stable state that was
known to the Buddha: nibbana is a permanent state (it is called
dhuva , "permanent" in S IV 370; one of the main purposes of
training is to make it "steady" , thita, and "calm" ,
Nibbana has got its name from its similarity to an
extinguished fire; this is , according to the ancient Indian
view, not annihilated but withdrawn and evenly and diffusely
distributed in the matter .
3
177
CIIAPTER 9
THE INFLUXES
was a very central concept in the early Buddhism. It is
intimately linked with the concept of nibbana , and the convic-
tion that the as a v a have been eradicated is usually described
as the very moment of liberation. "When he knows and sees this,
his mind is set free from the asava of love, of becoming, of
ignorance, and as he is freed he knows it: 'Birth is destroyed.
The pure life has been fulfilled . What had to be done is done.
There will be nothing more of this'" (Tassa evam janato evam
. .
passato kamasav a pi vimuccati bhavasava pi vimuc-
ca ti avijjasava pi cit tam vimuccati, ' vimuttasmim vimuttam' iti
hoti , ' Kh l na jat i
napa r am itthatt a ya t i ' p a janat i , D I 84). But with the death of
the concepts of nibbana and arahant as attainable ideals, also
the word a sava has fallen into oblivion, and the word is rarely
used in modern Buddhism.
The word does not occur in the standard version of the
series. It is, however, in many ways connected
with it. According to the text just quoted, avijja , "ignorance",
is one of the a s ava, and another asava , bhava, is the tenth
link. Kama , "love", occurs as one of the subdivisions of upa-
dana, just as di tt hi, "view", which is also frequently mentioned
as a fourth type of asava. The cessation of ignorance is the
cessation of a s ava, according to A III 414, which shows that
avijja was considered the most basic and important of all the
asava . These are said to be conditioned by ignorance (M I 55)
but also to give rise to ignorance (M I 54): this also shows
the special importance of avijja.
The literal meaning of aBava is "influx", and the idea of
flowing was alive at the time of the composition of the Nikaya
literature: In A II 196, the question is asked whether there
is any reason why the aoava "would flow into a man at some
future time" (purioam ... aBava if
he has attained knowicdge (vijja). And in S II 54, the Buddha
178
says: "by the dLstruction of all collecting r live so mindful
that the :i"",,:; no longer flow inLo me" ( ... ... o'll.Lupa-
1 v:haf'ami
J
yathacata,,! GC17va
'111J""ava.lti ... ). The word og"a , "flood", is sometlmcs used
with a very similar meaning . . In 5 IV 256 f we find one passage
about and then the identical passage with replaced
by oJha. The types of ogha are said to be
d'tthogha and avijjogha, that is the same as the types of
are said to arise from a cause, and "their causal
origin should be known" veditabbo,
A III 410) . The important Sabbasavasutta, M I 6-12, shows that
we must seek their origin in perception: "from improper atten-
tion arise that had not arisen" (Ay /11:80 . manacikal'oto
c'eva uppajjanti). Improper attention is to
misunderstand sense information, draw wrong conclusions from
it , permit oneself to get emotionally involved in it, build
superstructures on i .t in the form of theories, an inflated
ego-image, etc. The sutta is mainly devoted to the problem how
to get rid of the and we shall return to these methods.
But from them some further information about the nature of the
can be collected. Some asava can be expelled by control:
by control is here meant guarding the sense channels, to keep
the information free from undue reactions. Asava may also arise
if clothes are not used only for protection or almsfood is col-
lected for other purposes than just keeping the body alive.
So all personal vanity, all interest in pleasure, comfort or
prestige would belong to this class of To sum up this
sutta , asava seems to be a word for a personal, unrealistic
superstructure , built on the sense impressions, wrong habits
of perception and thought , wrong attitudes to external condi-
tions , unrealistic view on one ' s own nature, theoretical spec-
ulations . The main feature seems to be emotional and th oreU-
cal involvement , building on and leading to (M I 54, 55) 19nO-
ranee or misunderstanding .
Other texts confirm this. 0 III 240 dislinguiahes IVu
roots of Geava : love ( 1/ <"11 k;;ma-l'.-lc,Qya ',prI/.ie/ntl I n',l
vionata " those a/l'IVa , troubles .Ind fev('I"S th.lt "1"1:"
conditioned by love ") , aggressiveness (vy
179
Itl d Indlvldll Illy These are
n.l l nvo lv mO'nl, nlmply emotions , C'oncern
11'\ 1 on ' own flllllr . In " IV 161 ,) ,-aV'l
lack of
(lIM. " al ;Ur'l ,
l'lKkll' 1 , pat.ic.:('1zJl.;j , T';;"am ' ttrd:i ) . Most
involvement in , and
th r f r It .ching undue i mpor t ance Lo per sona l inte rests and
I'\SI A I 85 5 ys hn L grow , wh e n a person is
.... at what should not wor r y him, a nd the r e ve rse, and
also w; n h ts a wr ong i dea a bout what i s proper (kappiya ) ,
what 15 'If Itti) , what is the right doctrine (dhamma )
and wh ar tl'e rulC's (JiIlGJa ) _ In thes e cases it is the wrong
judg that gives rise to ar also not t o worry when worry
is motivated . Th1S is probabl y the proper meaning of avijjasava ,
"the I:: of ignorance o r mi s understanding" . A II 197 mentions
that are conditioned by activities of body , speech and
mind (.; aSl e t c .), but no further details are
qi;en.
The sen,se channe;; should be kept "pure" in the Buddhist
way of liff. : "when trngs a r e seen, heard, cognlzed ,
you will have only the seen; in what is heard
you will have tl\e heard" e tc . (Yato kho te ___ dit t ha-
sutz-.-;<ta - ',ni'I"'e
o
;, dhammeru ditthe ditthama t tam bhavissa ti ;
e:.t ,
m
"1Ia')';C1':at,; . _., S IV 73) . "There will be just
the eye but no sensing o f f orms and the visual modality; there
will be Just the ear but no sensing of sounds and the auditory
etC'. (tad eva C'aky.hum bhavissa t i , te 1'upa tan
n" pq. ' camvedissati ; tad eva sotam bhavi s s at i,
te no A IV'426 f) . "When
a monY. sees a form with the eye, he is not entranced by the
general o r t he details of it, but sets himself to
res' r ain hat wh i ch might give occasion for bad , unskilled
processes , cove ous n" ' ;s , d('jection to [low into him, were he
' 0 d' ...... l1 unrcs r ai n,'rJ "0; to th' vi s ual sense . .. " (bhkkJr" cak-
/': 1,1<,,; 1'U".l';' ditJva n 1 nim; Lt n-J,:/(i h1. /t o l i nii""vyan, i arIQII(liii11..
Y'l&V; l' nam tam ahhiJ-
okll n'l l ;; d lwM,;(i nnl'Qyrr- enal
l
!lll1l';" t ORa
180
raMParaya ratipaJjali , DIll 225 f. The text is repeated for
the other senses) .
The last passage describes how the "inflow" takes place.
If the sense channels are not guarded , you will not be satis-
fied by simply receiving , registering , and using the informa-
tion given through the senses, but you will get personally
involved: you will be pleased or dissatisfied , anxious or ag-
gress ive . You will feel desire or disgust . You will build up
expectations and ambitions for the future . You will try to
i nterpret your experiences by means of speculation and theoret-
ical conclusions . You will become self-conscious and build up
an ego image; vanity and frustrations will follow.
All these are subjective superstructures built on the sense
i mpressions , and they will result in an unrealistic structure
of values, an unrealistic ego image, a misunderstanding of one's
own nature . During the whole life of the "ordinary man" (puthu,i-
jana) , a personality i s built up from these types of material
that "flow i n", "pil e up " and grow: "When ignorant, one creates
just the appropr i ate personality, meritorious or not meritori-
ous : this is called the fruit of the asava" (Yam kho . ..
jagato abhinibbatteti
va va: vuccati .. . vipako , A III
414) . This is of course a growth and creation within the present
l ife , but it forms at the same time the platform for a renewed
life .
It has by now become evident that asava and u are
closel y rel ated and have similar functions . There is a
dana and a ditthupadana just as there is a and a Jit-
thacava. Both are factors in the development of a personality
a s pr eparation for rebirth . The difference would be that
represents certain attitudes and activities as building stones,
while upadana refers to the building activity itself .
The close cooperation of the two factors can be in
SIll 47: " Every body be it past , future or
inward or outward , gross or subtle , low or lofty, far 01
is connected with a;:ava and (110 'Qhlm :'1'-dat 7!,., , P s-
sibly: "i n flated and col l ected " ) . Th is statcm nt is r d
for all the personality factors ("" 2IIdha) , and it sh ws h w
181
1 s ly r 1 t d .,tada .. a is to aoava and how the development of
the f ctors was thought to depend on them. But a realistic and
insi9htful view of the same factors will cause the ;sav; to
dlsapp ar: "Such is body etc.), such is the origin of
b ly, such is the ceasing of body - in one who knows and sees
this, the will be destroyed" (Iti iti samu-
':!' t:ti 2':;1 l.l;'a ... : kho ... {anato eVam paa-
SIll 152). Through a starkly real-
istic attitude and analysis the whole egocentric, illusory and
theoretical superstructures will be conquered: all the misun-
derstandings will flow out and complete independence will fol-
low. tat ion was practised as a method to keep the incoming
sense information controlled; the passage quoted above from
A IV 426 shows how, in the higher levels of samadhi , even the
sense-organs themselves were prevented from functioning, al-
though consciousness was still present.
It seems impossible to find a satisfactory translation to
the word asava. Dozens of translations have been suggested but
all fail to express all the ideas converging into this concept,
both the temptations inherent in the perceptions and our yield-
ing to them, both the ignorance leading to misinterpretation
and speculation and the ego interests which produce identifica-
tion with external things and unrealistic hopes for the future.
It might be preferable to keep the literal rendering "influx",
although I would suggest the psychological term "inflation" as
possible . This word signifies any tendency for a mental content
to attain exaggerated importance to the individual. It is mainly
used as "ego-inflation" or "inflated ego-values", meaning an
exaggerated egocentrism. This is referred to as a type of ;sava
in M I 8, where belief in a soul, interest in one's former and
future lives and constructing theories about one's own nature
are called aoava resulting from lack of attention. These are
ypical examples of egO-inflation in the modern sense, but
"inflation" as translation of asava must be understood in a
much wider would mean "inflation of unrealism",
i.c. a tendency to see personal references in external things
and find an ego within oneself. As a result, things like
jewels and adornments are seen as valuable, one feels proud of
1!l2
success and gains, one becomes sensitive Lo the judg D of
others and feels flattered or abused. or "infldtion
of sensuality" would mean a tendency to react emotionally to
things, find pleasure in beauty and sense and
develop an aesthetic attitude to life. &I:avac,v'l, the "infla-
tion of growth and would signify a desire to
live in and for the future, to dream about immortality and to
plan for a better existence in this or a future life.
sava, the "inflation of speculation", would be the tendency
to avoid realities and escape to theoretical speculations and
also taking pride in winning debates. Doubt (vicikiccha) is
called an asava (M I 9), just as analytic thought activity
(vitakka, MIll).
These are then the chief types of asava. In all of them,
things of the external world are used in order to inflate the
ego and make it feel important. Unrealistic attitudes and ex-
pectations are formed and used as an escape from realities.
This tendency to self-assertion seems to be the most basic
idea expressed through the word asava. With this interpreta-
tion we can understand why the asava were considered so ex-
tremely difficult to overcome: they are the chief forces behind
the ego illusion. As long as the personality is kept focussed
by egoistic ambitions, there will be a unity that can be reborn
(the asava are ponobhavika, "leading to rebirth", M I 250). In
order to destroy this artificial and illusory unity, the aSQva
must be dissolved.
Several different methods to attain this are described in
the Nikaya literature. The Sabbasavasutta mentions the follow-
ing seven :
(a) dassana , "vision ", by which is meant proper attention
but also insight. If sense information is accepted with a re-
alistic attitude , it is properly understood, and theoretical
constructions are avoided. In this case a chang' of attitude
and an act of insight may be most important and that would ex-
plain, why it Is sometimes pointed out Lhilt freedoJll from -.' It'i
is attained suddenly : "When lhis instruction Wil S qivcn,
venerable Rahula's mind Wil S fn'C'd from lh, inrl"t ion:' wUhout
qrasping" (S IV 107). One somC'times gets tilt' n Uh,t
183
thl insluht by producing vivid visual images:
"\o;h,1l h" kIlOW, ,llld se s thus, his mind is freed from the love-
inflation ... It is like ,1 pure, limpid, serene pool of water
in which mnn wilh vision slanding on the bank might see
and shells, also qravels and pebbleR, and shoals of
fish moving about and keeping still. It might seem to him:
"this pool of willer is pure ... " (M I 279) .
(b) , "control" : the sense channels are guarded and
kept free from improper reactions .
(c) "use": things are used only for their
strictly functional purpose, and all ego-purposes are avoided .
(d) adhiuis"na , "endurance": all difficult or unpleasant
circumstances are faced and endured without self- pity or other
ego-involved reactions.
(e) "avoidance" : dangerous objects or situa-
tions are avoided.
(f) vin Jdana , "elimination": sensual , malevolent and ag-
gressive thoghts are expelled from the mind .
(g) "application". This is here explained as the
seven "limbs of enlightenment" . Mainly is used about
meditation. How meditation is used in order to eradicate asava
is described very frequently in the literature . By means of
sati, "mindfulness", the sense-channels are continuously watched
and no unrealistic reactions are admitted: "Having destroyed
all building activity I live so mindful that the inflations
flow no more into me" (S II 54, quoted above) . is also
practised for the same purpose, and the emptiness achieved is
meant to become an habitual state of mind or at least one easi-
ly attained at will . It is realized "by not attending to any
signs, by entering on and abiding in an inward emptiness" (sab-
bar. 'mi' aJ,'hatta".' suiiiiata".' upasampajja vihap1: -
M III Ill). The arahant who has destroyed the inflations
(khi:naaava) is called pUGgaZa appameyya (A I 266) , "an immeas-
urable person" , which perhaps means that he is not self-centred
or confined to his own narrow interests but has expelled all
unraallstic superstructures and has become open and impersonal .
184
[ C'l K.<'oU J
1
I
1
1
1
1
I
I
Fig. 14. Associative thinking and daydreaming.
' IiAPTt: R 10
" 11 1:; 1 NTELLEt: 'I'UAL SUPERSTRUCTURE
"\ 'isu111 - ns-iousn'ss arises because o f ey e a nd of forms ; the
01 the three i s cont ac t; conditioned by contact sensa-
what one senses o ne perceives ; what o ne pe rce ives
one thinks about , what o ne thinks about o ne splits up (papan-
.ti); what one splits up is the orig in of the
("chains of variegated images") which assail a man in
l-egard to forms cognizabl e by the e ye , past , future, present"
(M I 111, see Fig. 14) . This is a purely cognitive series ,
starting from perception (all s e nses, here only exemplified by
visual perception) and p r oceedi ng through perceptual images
and thoughts to papanca , which is a type of mental activity
not compatible with the state o f nibbana.
In 0 II 276 f we f ind a series that starts from papanca -
san;;a- sankha: Thes e are a condi tio n o f vitakka , "thought",
which in its turn gives rise t o chanda , "ambition"; from chanda
come pleasant and unpleasant feelings and from
these arise envy and selfis hness The two
series serve different purposes and therefo re do not agree with
each other . We can in a ny case see that papanca and vitakka are
closely related and that the y bo th work with material given
through the They bo th f o rm some kind of intellectual
s perstructure on the perceptua l info rmation . They are a danger
in themselves but can gi ve rise t o further unskilled processes
by producing emotional i nvolvement and its sequels .
Though
Vitakka is usual l y t r a ns l a t e d by "tho ug ht". It is often found
ogether with a nd the PTS dictionary defines the com-
bination by "f i x i ng o ne ' s atte ntio n a nd rea s o ning out".
rarely occurs alone I n the Sutt a lite r a ture; v itakka is more
common and occu r s i n conditional series , and we shall therefore
186
concentrate our efforts on a closer definition of this term.
A number of examples are quoted in the Nikayas. "What
shall I eat, or where shall I eat? I slept badly; where shall
I sleep today? - these plaintive thoughts a homeless disciple
should expel" ('kim su kuvam ar
i
8sam; dukkham
. ...
vata settha, kuv ' ajJa sessam ' - ete vitakk,
vinay{,tha sekilo SN 970). "When you think (vitak-
ken you should think thus: ' This is suffering. This is the
arising of suffering. This is the end of suffering. This is
the way leading to the end of suffering'" (S V 418). "As I was
meditating alone, this thought arose rarivit.akko
'Three sensations have been mentioned by the Master:
pleasant, painful and neutral sensation' (S IV 216). "This
thought occurred (evam cetaso parivitakko udar;di) : 'This
doctrine is for one who wants little, not for one who wants
much. This doctrine is for the contented, not for the dis-
contented'" etc. (A IV 228 f).
In M I 114 the Buddha distinguishes between two types of
vitakka : (a) kamavitakka,
(thoughts of love, of aggression, of harming), (b) nekkhanma-
vitakka, (thoughts of renun-
ciation, of non-malevolence, of not harming). The former group
is called akusaZa , "unskilful", in DIll 215, the second group
kusala , "skilful". A I 254 adds "certain subtle impurities
which cling to him, such as thoughts about his birth, his dis-
trict, his reputation" (sukhumasahagata
janapadavitakko vitakko): When these
are expelled, there still remain ihamma - vitakka (thoughts about
mental events). A monk may be assaulted by "reckless thoughts
sprung from darkness (vitakka pagabbha kanhato , S I 185), when
his hermitage is visited by women. Or thoughts about worldly
life gehanissita) may trouble him (S I 197).
An analysis with regard to sense-modalities is to be found
in D II 309 : sadda-,
dhamma-vitnkka : visual , auditory , olfactory , gustatory;' tactual
and ideational thought. On the other hand , M I 301 calls both
vitakka and vi,,ira speech activity (va<,i'llankhara) j for " h,wing
first had thought and reflection , one subsequently utters
speech"
187
It I In tho conditiona l series quoted
I III 1 bov'. no spccid l motivdtional factor. for in-
I included. Only cognitive terms are given. The
pi of motivuLion is lndiCdtcd in D II 276 f. in a series
',hich st,ll ts from then includes oitakka.
whl'h 1s to produce h"'lda . "ambition"; this marks then
tha from cognitive Lo motivational factors. The ac-
tivities of thought. association and imagination which these
sequences are seen as natural outgrowths of sense
perception. One could feel tempted to conclude that nothing
personal is involved in the whole process.
This conclusion would. however. be false. There are. as
we have seen. "thoughts of love. of malevolence. of harming".
Since is a type of vocal activi ty. we can consult the
conditional series in A V 113 (quoted earlier) and find that
if the perceptual process is not watched properly. the three
types of wrong actions. of which wrong speech is one. will be
produced. Further. vitakka is closely related to sankappa.
"intention". "Right intention" (sammasankappa) is defined in
t!lis way: "Whatever reasoning. thought. intention. focussed
and distributed attention. concentration of the mind . speech
activity is to be found in somebody who has a noble and unin-
flated mind and who follows and cultivates the noble method -
this is right intention " (Yo kho ... ariyaeittassa anasavacit-
tassa bhavayato takko vitak-
ko clnklPPO appanavyappana "taeo vacasankharo ,
... cammanankappo ... MIll 73) . Right intention involves
right thought activity . In A IV 385 san kappa and vitakka
are combined to "purposeful thoughts" . which are said to be
based on name and form (namar-upa). conditioned by contact. sub-
divided according to elements and joined in sensation.
EVen if a special motivational factor is not always men-
tioned speaking about thought. the Buddha always meant it
to be and purposeful. a natural result of the leading
moti of person. M I 119 mentions "thoughts associated
with hatred and wilh illusion".
builds on as we have seen in the quotation
from M I 111 f (just as ca"k'll'l a . sec D III 289 and S II 151,
188
both quoted earlier; the latter is given in order to explain
how undesirable thoughts are produced). It is also closely re-
lated to memory. See for instance S V 67, where we find he
combination dhammam anuvitakk e ti, "remembers and
thinks about the doctrine", which discloses an affinity between
thought and memory .
Vitakka is sometimes used to express a means to some pur-
pose . See for instance S 139: Nandi aamyoj an loko , ' ass a
"Joy is the fetter of the world, thought is its ex-
plorer" . DIll 103 f mentions four ways of getting information
about another person; the third of them is de-
fined thus: vitakkayato s u t -
"having thought and explored, and having heard a
thought-expressing sound, he announces ... ". The "sound" in
this case should be meaningful words uttered by the person whose
state of mind is being explored.
Having collected all this material, let us risk a summary
and definition. Vitakka in the Sutta-language seems to be a
word for purposeful chains of association. It therefore corre-
sponds better to "thought" in the popular meaning than to
"thought" in the psychological or logical sense of problem
solving by conceptual, logical or analytical reasoning. But it
is a meaningful, purposeful (closely related to s ankappa), need-
ful activity . The units are mainly verbal, although concrete
and pictorial images are certainly included, since a subdivision
according to sense modalities is also found. The purposes are
mainly three: The first is to clarify factual relations to one-
self and formulate the facts in words. To this category we can
refer the type of thought mentioned in DIll 103 f. The second
purpose is to give expression to needs and wishes aimed at real-
izing good or bad intentions. To this category belong the emo-
tional and the aggressive and
vitakka. The third purpose is to express insecurity and
All the types of thought are built on sensc data, memories,
mental images and ideas .
Thought activity leads to certain conscqucn es. It may
lead to emotional engagement (tal/lin, 0 II 309, ,-/1 -:.1,1, 0 II
271) or it may go astray into ctivlty 1M 1 112). On
189
rding to vh t on
on th
"the t lk of the Indlvld-
m t rl I things of the world follows a
rd
with which h
th.t - Se ,'tt2 would be disturbed and aamadhi could not be
in-
in
(M I 116). "Without proper attention you get intoxi-
ated by your thoughts manasikara, bho vitakkehi
s' , 5 1203).
Thoughts may have good effects also. If a monk has pas-
s10n-free, non-malicious and harmless thoughts, then he is
f1t to resort to lonely spots and solitary lodging in a forest
(A II 252). The type of thoughts quoted above f rom 5 V 418
C'This is suffering" etc . ) "are useful and ... lead to dispas -
sion, cessation, tranquillity , full understandi ng , perfect
wisdom, nibbana". And especially nekkhammavitakka (thought s
of renunciation) lead to a growth of wisdom and to nibbana
(M 1116).
So only the neutral , paSSion-free, non- aggressive types
of thought should be cultivated in ordinary life. But for
successful meditation, all types of thought should be aban-
doned. There are in this case several levels of attainment .
Through training in mindfulness a monk may become composed
then: clearly seen thoughts arise , clearly seen
they are present, clearly seen they disappear " (Vidita vi-
takka uppajjanti, vidita upatthahanti, vidita abbhattham gac-
char.ti , 5 V lSI). In order the first level of ' samadlzi
one has to abandon the three unskilled types of thought (A III
428). The difficulties in realizing this are wel l described
in M I 119 ff. If there arise" evil unskilled thoughts associ-
ated with ambition, or with hatred , or with illusion" (pipaka
akuBaZa vitakka pi pi
hita pi), then the monk attend to opposite sign .
(7nnam nimittam and concentrate on good
hough s: then'he can attain (citt.a,:, . .. aamadl.iyat1) .
Is .aid to be the same principle as the one used by a car-
p nter when he want. to drive out large peg and for the pur-
1<)0
POSt' usc,; a sm.1110r pcq . In f,'Ct, this is " l',-,d
o
Jlloylc 1 prin-
ciple stUI hnltlin<) (Jonel: to cultiv .. te 'Iood h"bi s lnst(>ar.i ,.,C
trying to rcpress th,) b .. t! ones. (;),,1tiu,tlly .,nd Im1"'rccptlbl,
the desLr .. ble habit or WdY of thought will rcpl<Jce h"ir "'Pl'o-
sites, without producing the dangerolls sid(>-cffec s by
repression . However, our text admits the method is not
always successful and that the undesirable thoughts CQme back;
then other, and stronger, methods may be use& visualizing the
bad effects of these tl10ughts, or trying to forget hE:Ill (,. 1 -
dMdndsikiral , or observing "the halting of thought creation"
manaRik;tabblm) - just as a
man slows down his pace, stops , sits down and finally lies dO<ln
on the ground - or finally, as a last resort, he may use force
and , "with his teeth clenched and his tongue pressed aga1nst
his palate, by his mind subdue, restrain and dominate his mind"
By one of these methods , the monk may be able to get rid of the
unprofitable types of thought, and then "he can think whatever
thought he wishes; he will not think any thought that he does
not wish" .
On the first level of there is still vit and
(D I 182) , but already the second is free from
them both. MIll 136 specifies: "Persist in observing body in
body, but do not apply yourself to a train of thought connected
with body!" And so on, regarding sensations, mind and mental
processes (iJedan;, dhamma) . So, the monk may meditate
free from thought (aui t ad'-",,' h;y-:' , 5 I 126), and then "he is not
agitated and does not remember " (IW kUr.rHi "C ,;al'u' 'I, BlIt he
is still fully conscious : "I am free from thought and
tion, but inwardly mindful and happy" (Au:-a kkc -n' 'v 'ar( 2:-
jhattam s2tima Gukham 2,om ', 5 V 1561 ,
Imagination
is not one of the most In ' .. rly Ru _
dhlsm but it is of interesl <IS ant' of the S<'I1l,ml ic neiqhb llt s
of vitakka and as the end link in n !J.lrtlcullr VOL 1 n ,f th
series . The word is lh' SIn. krlt
191
'a, tt XI llnsi n" I "manlfoldness".
S IV 203 Jives th following examples of "I am" ,
"Thi 1m I", "I shall be", "I shall not be" , "I shall not be
f rm i (embodi d)", "I shall be formless (disembodied)", "I
Sh,111 b Id> ling (,1.1;;;,7)", "I shall be free from ideas ", "I
shall neithdr have nor be without ideas" . All this is said to
bd fQP which is perfect participle of the verb
"split up", "imagine". Another text (A IV 68 f) calls the fol-
lowing questions "Does the Tathigata exist after
death?" "Does he not exist after death? " "Does he both exist
and not exist after death?" "Does he neither exist nor not
exist after death?" Still another enumeration of controversial
views is given in A II 161: "After the end of the six fields
of contact there is something left (atth'annam kinei) ", " . . .
there is nothing left", " ... there both is and is not something
left", " ... there neither is nor is not something left". In
pronouncing anyone of these views , one "splits up what should
not be split up" (appapaneam papaneeti) .
These examples and the close association to vitakka seem
to bind the concept of papanea to the psychological area of
associative and analytical thought . Bhikkhu has there-
fore suggested the translation "conceptual proliferation" (1971 ,
p . 4) . It seems to imply a breaking down of an issue into alter-
natives, sometimes all that seem logically possible. The loose
associations of v"takka give way to a systematical analysis .
A number of associated concepts can be collected which fur-
ther elucidate the meaning . There is, for instance, some affinity
between and "speculation" : whoever does not un-
derstand as they really are the rise and fall ... of the view of
becoming and the view of annihilation , ... they find pleasure in
are devoted to papanea papanearatino, M I
65). The text quoted above from A IV 68 is preceded by exactly
the same analYSis of the problem into four alternatives, but
these are here called view-issues They are also
called issues of craving, of ideation ; ' of imagination, of
collectinq (t'1nhngatam, aniiiin!/ntam, man,litam, upadanagatam) .
Simi lilr tes of' pnpanea are ' found in 5 IV 203 , also ' quot-
ed ab()ve, where the same ideas ("1 am" , etc.) are said to be
1')2
Th' r&nslatlon of
some of these offers difficulties, but th following per-
haps possible: imagined , twisted, feared, boa sted abou . In
this context, could mean "multiplied", "split up".
A III 293 mentions a monk who "finds pleasure in is
devoted to papanca and gets e ngrossed in the delight of it" ,
and further to work (kamma) , talk, sleep , company and compan-
ionship . This context also admits an interpretation of
as "analytical discussions" of the "splitting" type referred
to earlier .
But more seems to be implied in this word. To the text
just quoted there is a poetical summary, beginning: Yo papar. -
anuyutto viradhayi so nibbanam ... ,
"Who is given to papanca , like a deer enjoying papanca , he
will fail to reach nibbana" (A III 294) . In what way is a deer
"enjoying papanca "? The enumeration of alternatives in S IV
203 is not really an example of analytical reasoning, rather
a number of wishful thoughts, perhaps daydreaming. And our
quotation from S IV 203 continues: ... raga papar. -
citam gando papancitam "What is split up is desire, a
boil , an arrow". This may mean either that papanca is an emo-
tionally involved activity or gives rise to desires and harm-
ful efforts.
Papanca is never defined in terms of verbal thought but
is much closer to concrete sense experience and concrete imag-
ining. "By the passionless ending without remainder of the six
modes of contact, there is ending of papanca , calming down of
papanca " . .. asesaviraganirodha pa-
pancanirodho papancavupasamo , A II 162). Even the alternative
questions quoted above from A IV 68 are said to be
but also issues of ideation and craving t "haJ -
tam) , but not of abstract reasoning. "All men who have prolifi
image-production go on associating wh n perceiving; but he
drives out everything that is mind-made and WI h Y
life and goes on to a life of renunci Lion" (1' <11' ,ii(,l .' ii;;- .
rltara nara upaya"ti y m
tanca aabba,;, panu,j,ia >1, kkhommallitam il,iuat , S IV 71) . 1'1 'm
this it is clear that is a conscious aetlvily of . n-
19
1 l tm'l f rmntton ( UI1 ;;;;:1): it is sununed up by the word
"ml ncl - m ,de ". Th following stanza from SN also con-
n< t wi th
t:r:r .. tr. vi bho t i l"uT' am
J
. :/i';-'.i lana hi papa nLa"anki,a .
(SN 874)
"Who is conscious o f nei the r an image nor a false image and is
not unconscious and not conscious of a disappeared image - to
the one in this state form disappears; for the chain of asso-
ciations is cnused by imag e forma tion " . The first two lines
probably refer to the higher l evel s of samadhi . in which rupa .
"ideas of form", disappear s ; wha t is disturbing the meditator
and prevents form from d i sappearing is therefore papanaa; if
disappears , also papanaa will go ; and so pu pa disappears .
is theref o r e in this case a sequence of form-
images .
The meaning of sankha in the combination papanaas ankh a
is somewhat doubtful . I have translated by "sequence ", "chain" ,
which is an attempt to sti ck t o the literal meaning of "enu-
meration", "number" , as c l o sely as possible . But many other
attempts may be found in t he literature (Bhikkhu Nanananda
has proposed "concept " ) . I thi nk, however, that sanghata ,
"collection", in Ta 519 is mea nt as an equivalent: papanaa-
san9hatadukkhadhivahanim tanham , "craving bri ng i ng the s u f -
o 0
fering of collecting papanaa ". Further, "concept " is not com-
patible with canna , which i s a concrete image.
The compound papanaacannasankha is found in some condi-
tioned series , al r eady q uo ted . In order to throw light on its
meaning we wJll refer to M I 109 f: "Whatever is the origin
of the which a ssail a man, if there is
nothing to rejoice at , to we l c ome , to catch hold of, this is
itself an end of disposi tio ns (anunaya ) t o desire, to repug-
nance , to views , to doubt , t o pride, to desire for becoming,
to ignor ance .. . .. This is given a s a reply to a question, why
8anna do not ob sess (n;nune nti ) the Buddha. Sa nn a is therefore
the main pa r o f t he c ompound; the reply is intended to explain
1')4
h.\ L t he Pill' iCllln' type 01 1m.HJes , in wh. ny, 1 'II'1Y I h 'J 'Te
pr dllC<'d, ghOllld no be ,ln ob Jec L of tks i t'("l. r f h (II 1 !J I
La them is completely neutral , the In Jny of h"
seYen directions will not arise , CE , U 77 : "Whon h
Muster saw thal he had abandoned the 1 al'an 1n
himself , he gave utterance to this solemn verse: In whom ther0
1S no f.J ,j" and -J!,," , him the world docs not knoII."
Probably 1 l{",i', ., h' . arc meant as opposi es , rhe forIl'er
meaning something changeable and the latter something fixed.
This discussion has shown a certain change in the seman-
tic climate . According to M I 111 and 0 II 279, P"P n' is
closely associated with and some of the examples of
its use (especially A IV 68 f and A II l6l) make a translation
like "splitting argument" or "analytical discussion" seem rea-
sonable . Other examples seem rather to imply instances of
Wishful thinking , fo r instance in 5 IV 203, where the emphasis
still seems to lie on the activity of splitting up : one splits
u p what should not be split up (appapelr 'am " Li) .
All quotations discussed in the latter half of this chap-
ter seem rather to imply a close connection with concrete men-
tal
images ,
something
like
sequences (this is the "split" I
"multiple " ,
side of it)
of attentive
states or mental
images.
The
deer that
in A III 294 is said to enjoy
plpcnca has no
analytical reason i ng , but may be a very sensitive animal en-
joying impreSSions and variety , running from object to Object .
l
Fickleness of this type is contrary to the Buddhist way of life
a nd may be i mplied i n this use of the word 'P'M 'a . Activities
l ike daydreami ng or split attentiveness may be referred to in
several other texts quoted. "All men who have prolific image-
production go on associaling when perceiving" (5 IV 71),
ever is Lhe origin of chains of variegated images , if there
nothing to rejoice at , the dispOSitions will dis.1ppe.,r" (Y 1
109) . "Who hilS no imagination and no riqidily '" h1m til
worl1 do('s nOl kno,, " (U 77) .
A pro l ific tendency is Ch. l ldCLL' ) i.sLle ('I .1 11 men 11 lif
IIny fl "rception or I d '<1 I\ldy 1><, t Iw S L>I "L i nq po t n L I.'f 1 1 11 J
snr i o f 'l bSOC i tlli o ns , I>l o no Ull CCtl ill till' f l"m )l
dt-rdrrd nrJ . I1lc l Y I H..! mO i l' 0 1 (,' \)n tl o ll "d .
try Lo s olvC' d pl o bl l' ll1, YOll nhl y s l , IIL hy t' y in" t o 1\ 1\ 1, ' , ; [, \1 \ 1
195
vi u liz th difficult polnt and to remember
f r th t you for Ideas come and
nt d wi h rlain crltoria; most of them may be dis-
c ml 1)lng with your criteria. This is a type of
I 'a, which can result in an hair-
In, ll'qum nt. nut more common is the loose flight of
id thlt q .s on during most of our free time . The purpose
of this typa of activity is usually to produce images that
pleJse the go, defend it and justify its actions; the contents
are 0 ton sensual or aggressive vihim-
All these multiplying tendencies are called paranca
in Bu:idhism. \,e have seen from our quotations that the word
h S A very wide and general application . The wideness of its
meaning is illustrated in SN 530, where it is compounded with
.t name and form":
C2
pamutto .. .
"Having understood the prolific name and form, the root of ill -
ness internally and externally , he is released from bondage to
the root of all illness .. . " We have seen that name and form
is itself a proliferation of but this verse probably
refers to the specific tendency to let forms, images and feel -
ings multiply in an uncontrolled fashion . The combination of
pa;-:; and la,.,arura should also remind us of the fact that no
clear distinction is made between physical and mental reality :
perhaps then rZflnc2 may mean also external activities and
productiveness, the uncontrolled and disorganized efforts of
some people. But this is only one aspect of what really
stands for, namply the prolific growth of internal and external
factors in the prescnt life as n preparation for the next : these
are the in ernal and external illness which the verse refers to .
Pzp"';;'" i6 then a w'lrd for a vaguely defined prolific ten-
dency, In lhp fields of imdgination, thought and action . It is
the tendency tn produce aSBociations, wishful dreams and ana-
ly Ie hought. It is an ego-related activity, which gives sat-
lafac Ion to human vanity and pride: "May the wise man break up
196
every thought ' I am' which is the rooL of lhc associaLi'lc chilin"
... mant; 'acml 'ti uabbam upapundhe,
SN 916; cf. S IV 203, quoted above) . As such it tay.es part in
the personality-forming ambitions which dominate most people's
lives. To get rid of is therefore one of the problems
of the Buddhist disciple .
Little is said about the ways to control this prolific
tendency, but the most important method seems to be samadhi ,
in which vitakka and finally all types of sanna, on which papan-
ca builds, can be brought to disappear. This becomes clear from
SN 874 . A II 162 agrees by saying that proliferation is stopped
and calmed by completely losing interest in the six modalities
of contact and putting them out of function. In D II 279 two
types of equanimity (upekha) are distinguished: one accompanied
by vitakka and vicapa and one without; the latter is preferable.
And this is the way to make the "chain of prolific images" dis-
appear . We know from D I 183 that equanimity is a characteristic
of the third and fourth level of samadhi. It is probably on
these levels, with their equanimity free from thoughts, that
papanca is eradicated. But this freedom from papanca should be
a permanent state in those who have attained the goal, as is
often pointed out in Dharomapada (v. 195 and 254) and Sutta
Nipata (e . g . v. 8 and 530).
197
CHAPTER 11
UNDERSTANDING
P n;j:, usually rendered as "wisdom", "understanding", "knowl-
edge", is not mentioned in the standard version of the patic-
series but has many relations to it. The whole
series can be understood only by means of panna: "The noble
disciple has by right panna well seen as they really are this
dependent origination and these processes that have been pro-
duced" (5 II 27). The whole conditioned series rests on igno-
rance, and this can be eradicated only through the development
of "If paona is deve l oped , what result will it lead to?
All ignorance is abandoned " (Panna bhavita kam attham anubhoti?
Ya avijja sa pahiyati , A I 61) . The ultimate is to
eradicate the inflations; the proper instrument is also in this
case panna: "The destruction of the inflations should be seen
through panna" (ii savanam khayo pannaya sacchikal'ar:iyo , D III
230) .
An Intellectual Tool
Panna is frequently described as an instrument used for attain-
ing ends. It is like yoke and plough (5 I 172), like
a surgeon's knife (sattha , M II 260), and like a weapon (avu dha ,
DIll 219). It is a power (baZa , DIll 229) and a faculty
(indl'iya, M I 479). By means of the sharp sword, "made of pan-
na" , the creeper of craving (tanna-Zata) can be cut off and
Mara and his army can be disper sed (Ta 1094 f). To possess or
develop is therefore never a n end in itself; it is rather
a tool to be used , for good purposes or bad.
Basically , 'u.;,a seems to be a wo rd for an intellectual
function. M I 176 refers to people "skilled in hair-splitting,
wh0 go about brclking views to pieces with their it
seems" (vohi in'ianta mm",e ' ar'1>lti rOn ii ?gllLoza
is hen cleverness in discussion; modern psychology would
l'lll
call lhis an aspecl of theoretical inLclligcnce. M 1 111 mak 3
" clear distincLion belween knowl .dCJc and inUdl19 orr. Lr-drn-
ing by heart will nol necessarily lead to "Som
foolish people learn the doctrine by heart ... ; they do not
investigale the meaning of these doctrines by and there-
fore the doctrines never become understood"
... ; pann;ya na
upap<1l",':kkhant7', tel'am tf! dlz",mma ... na ni,ijh;;'nam khamantn.
Knowledge is then not enough; more important is it to examine
and understand . Panna refers to a conscious, especially visual
clarification of facts, laws, and doctrines. To understand is
to see relations and connections.
Panna is often described in terms of these types. The fol-
lowing words are sometimes mentioned as synonyms of pann;:
khu, n;na, vijja, aZoka, "vision, understanding, knowledge,
light" (e. g. D II 33). "There is no light (;bl,a) like panna"
(S I 6). Panna is one of the four "lamps" (pajjota) , together
with the moon, the sun and the fire, and is the most important
of them (A II 140). It is "penetrating" (nibbedhika, D III 237).
The attributes used to express high degrees of panna point in
the same direction. Most of them are collected in A I 45: maha,
"great", puthu, "wide", vipula , "extensive", yambhira, "deepll,
bhuT'i I "wide II, s:t.gha I "quick II I lahu , "light" I "quick", hasu,
"bright" , javana, "alert", tikkhc: , "sharp". These adjectives
seem to describe intellectual lucidity and effectiveness; the
ability to solve rapidly many types (puthu) of difficult prob-
lems; and the power to penetrate even to hidden
causal relations.
In Buddhist psychology , understanding mainly takes the
f orm of visual images. To "see and understand" is a very conunon
combination in Pali: e.g . pann;ya pasl'at ' (M II 112), "he sees
by pann;"; Bhagavat; ja/lata parcata ... (N II llO),
"it was said by the MasLer who knows and sees" . This most im-
portant process of understanding is often described in pictur-
esque images; see for insLance M I 279: "IL is likp pUre,
limpid, serene pool of waler in which man wi h vis10n
ing on the bank might sec oystl'l'S dnd sho11s, .)1so 1 IIhl
pebbles, and shoals of mavin'] .. bout .Inti k('l'pinq sli1 \
199
F\'lll Sl' " ml'llk l"omplt'hemh; ') as it really is : 'This
is sull'I"lml ... '". Modern psychology has also recognized the
ImpnrtnnC"e or visu::ll imagery for understanding; complicated
relations call ue visualized in pictorial form , either t hrough
a C"oncrcle image Of an abstracl diagram, and then directly
"seen" . Spatial visualization is recognized as a special fac-
tor of intelligence (Thurstone and Thurstone, 1941 , p . 21).
In Western psychology , intelligence is usually described
as working by means of thought . This is not pointed out so
frequently in Buddhist psychology . It is , however , said in M I
116 that good thoughts may promote unde rstanding : "This thought
of renunciation ... leads to growth of undersLanding ... to
( .. , nekkhammavitakko .. . niL-
On the whole, is much closer to in-
trospective perception than to thought in our sense of the
word.
Panna is mainly used to s ignify a permanent trait , not a
separate act . Traits cannot be observed directly , and this is
well pOinted out in the with regard to "Under-
standing shines forth in behaviour" sol,/:ati A
I 102). It is by observing a person's behaviour or by discuss-
ing something with him that we are able to appraise his degree
of understanding. "Just as a man with good eyesight , standing
on the bank of a pool of water, were to see a small fish rising,
he would think: Judging by the uprise of this fish , judging by
the size of the ripple it makes, judging by its speed , this is
a small fish , it is not a big fish; - in the same way , a person
by conversing with another knows of him: Judging by this elder's
approach to a question , judging by his way of acting , judging
by his conversation , he is weak in understanding , he is not
intelligent" ( ... evam eva kho ... puggalo puggalena
aakacchayamano evam yatha kho imasoa ayasmato ummagpo
yatha ea yatha ea
ayaama ayanma p nnaua , A II 189) . " It is by conversation
that a man ' s understanding is to be known; and then on l y after
a long Lime , if we afe attentive and not inattentive, intelli -
']<:!nt, not uninlr'lligent" . (."aka,,,;!!,? kh" . . . V( '7'tabla ,
r.c.. ' 1',1 kho addhuna na i ttlT'(lm, no .lmnnae i-
200
k 11', ta, [,anti,lVII t;; I'" h'/'liziiL'II(J , 5 I 79) . A person ' s pann::Z 1s
therefore something hidden ; It hns to be inferred by observing
beh,lViotle anLl wilyS of reasoninCj and talkin,]; nd even then 1
can be done only by one who is himself intelli,]ent. These
principles for intelligence testing still hold good .
Basically , p""na seems Lo be a pure theoretical function
of understanding , without a motivational power of its own. In
M I 92, the Buddha recalls that before his enlightenment he
could think that sense pleasures (kama) give rise to much suf-
fering and little satisfaction , but "although this came to be
well seen thus , as it really is , through right understanding,
I did not attain any joy or happiness apart from sense pleas-
ures " (euam etam ahoci,
so oa annatr'eua kamehi . . . So thiS
. .
theoretical insight that sense pleasures are not ultimately
satisfying had no power to make him free from them . Only when
panna was combined with another type of joy and happiness
could it help him. Especially causal relations are to be un-
derstood by panna. See 5 II 27 , quoted above, and M I 260:
"If somebody sees with right understanding as it really is,
that ' this has come to be ' - will he then get rid of doubt?
- Yes ! - If he sees with right understanding as it really is,
that ' this has come to be because of nutriment ' - will he chen
get rid of doubt? - Yes" (5hutam ician - ti . .. yath::ibhut .. m .:;,,,--
mappannaya passato ya ca pahlyat
7
ti? - Fuam .. . -
Tadahara.gambhavan-ti .. . yathQbhuta,', ,'l''1m 'fT pa,',' 1 y,
vicikicoha aa pahiyatiti . - Eva": .. : ) . Here p,lnn"i is referred
to as a purely intellectual tool, clearly distinguishable from
motivational and emotional factors . This type of delimitntion
can also be inferred from A II 92, where the relations between
two factors are described, one emotional fuetor , t " ''' .. '/ I,
"mental calm" , and arj; irc1niia Ih Hntr/a 'il 2.' It insiqht intc
things by meRns of p.n;jz". types of pc'plc arc
distin'Juished; those who hdv,' uoth , neither, .1nd one r th r
of them . Since "II comlJln.,tlons nrc po Sible , we an ' n'lu
that there 15 no cun 'lution the tw j und rst.lnling
quite Indep ndent of calm.
This discussion s'emu to show th t th
201
.. -
tr IOsl. 1I '1\ a l I 1>111 in '1l!nernl should be "understandi ng ", It
, fIt> t "" .Ibillty 01 lh' hum,ln pcrson.l l ity reminding us of
th. Oint 111genc0" of modern psychology. The intel ligence fac-
t, 'f is (l g0ner.l1 capacity to understand relations ,
t c pc with novel sltu.ltions, to think and solve problems .
person has his characteristic level of intelligence , which
only to a limited degree can be raised by learning and environ-
mental influences . The ability to learn from experience is i t -
self a function of intelligence . Intelligence is probably to a
great extent inherited .
But although there is a basic similarity between panna and
intelligence it would not be correct to propose the latter as
translation of the former.
l
For intelligence is a well - defined
scientific term and should be used only when the term to be
translated has exactly the same semantic content . This is not
the case with There are complications and differences ,
and the rest of this chapter will be devoted to them,
One concerns the age factor . I t is said in M I 82 that ,
according to some people, only young men have pannaveyyattiya ,
"high degree of understanding"; when a man gets old, his u nder-
standing will decrease . The Buddha objects that it is not al -
ways so. "I might have four disciples here who are a hundred
years old and still endowed with the highest degree of mindful -
ness, progress , resolution and understanding" . The conte x t
seems to show that clarity of thought and ability to u nderstand
and draw conclusions were referred to. From the modern point
of view it would seem that both the Buddha and his opponents
"ere right . In general, the level of intelligence in the new-
born child grows rapidly at first and reaches a peak at the
of about thirty-five years . After that it will decline very
slowly , although maturity a nd experience will continue to grow.
Bu' in some people the deterioration by age will progress more
slowly than in .lnu may indeed be more than compensated
for by gro',,1n'1 kno'"ledge , bet ter habits of thought, etc .
Tn nfoTo '''0 find old pcople wiLh very high intellectual vigour
ana l('t.! VI menl , ,JithOllgh Lhey (lTC [cwo This distinction be-
'"'' r in ell igcnc
p
.. nd f'x[>01'iencc , knowledge etc . is not made
in the l'a 11 texts,
202
of the BuddhisL Doctrines
The chief function of ramc1 t.o ilchirve unclers nnd.ing of
Buddha's teachings : the doctrine of dependent originaLlon (S
II 27, guo ed above) , the four Lruths (M I 292) , thB doctrino
thaL there is no ego or anything personal in the five personal-
ity factors (M III 19) , the doctrine that the sense organs are
impermanent and therefore painful and impersonal (5 IV 1), the
insight that "the utter passionless ceasing of ignorance, of
this body of darkness, is this calm state, this excellent state,
namely the calming down of all activities, the giving up of all
foundations , the destruction of craving, dispassion, cessation,
(avijj;ya tveva tamok;yassa asesavir;ganirodho
etam padam etam yad
sabbupadhipatinissaggo tanhakkhayo vir;go nirodho nibb;nam,
o 0
5 V 226) 0 Pann; also helps to distinguish what is skilful and
unskilful (kusa la-akusa la) , blameless and blameworthy (anava;;-
ja-s;vajja) , bright and dark (sukka-kanha) , desirable and un-
desirable (sevitabba-asevitabba) , truly noble and not truly
noble (alamariya-n;lamariya).
In some contexts it is clear that only a theoretical un-
derstanding is meant, as for instance in M I 92 which was quot-
ed earlier . And in 5 II 118 we read about who made this
confession : "The ceasing of growth is I have well seen
this by right understanding as it really is, and yet I am not
an arahant who has destroyed the inflations"
b;nanti kho me sammapann;ya Rudittham no aamhf
araham khn;savo). A disciple who has faith, energy, mindful-
ness, concentration and understanding but has not yet experi-
enced the stages of liberation (vimokh;) and is not yet free
from inflations , is called "follower of the doctrine" (dl;,:-ro;:i-
nU8ar , M I 479) . In M II 174 an interesting distinction is
made between aaccanubodha , "insight into truth", which is a-
chieved through panna , and r,a"canupatti, "attainment of tr\lth":
"there is attainment of truth by following, applying ilnd on-
tinually practislng these principles " (T,-",m yep" U, rf/.,,'"-
manam anevana bahulfkamm"m 11,l('('arlllf':lf ti 1:,1t').
, .
Theoretical understanding is then not s\lffici nt for th
203
Buddhist disciple . The doctrine is a special view of life, a
special interpretation of the world as we experience it , and
it should be understood by analysing one ' s own mind and by ap-
plication in one ' s own life. This transcendence of the merely
intellectual plane is well expressed in A IT 189: a man is
wise, if "he can utter a deep, meaningful statement, which is
true, rich in meaning , beyond speculation (i.e . more than the-
oretical, built on personal experience), subtle, understandable
to the wise" (gambhiram atthapadam ud;harati santam pan!tam
The practicalverifi-
cation of the doctrines by means of observations and exercises
is also sometimes attributed to "The faithful disciple
of the Buddha, thus striving and striving again, again and
again practising mindfulness and concentration, again and again
understanding, gains utter confidence, when he considers: 'As
to those things which I had only heard about, now I continually
experience them with my own person . I see them as I have pene-
trated them by understanding'" (Saddho $0 ... ariyas;vako eVam
padahitp; padahitv; evam sari tv; saritv; evam
. .
evam evam abhisaddahati: Ime kilo
te dhamma ye me pubbe ahesum, te danaham etapahi k;yena
ca pilusitv; viilarami, atiuJJjha pa.s;mi, S V 226).
The development of a disciple is often described as running
through a number of stages, including listening, faith, examin-
ing, meditation, understanding and liberation. Although these
series of stages vary (see, e.g. M II 173, which will be quoted
later, D II 217, M II 262), pann; always comes at the end, not
in the beginning; panna can therefore not refer to a superficial
theoretical understanding , but rather to a realization based on
an analysiS and observation of the processes within oneself.
The ultimate achievement is an act of understanding.
But as an instrument for the ultjmate achievement, the con-
cept of understanding should not be conceived too narrowly . What
is required is a process of katharsis, or personal purification
and transformation . Nibbana is not only a state of consciousness ,
and also not only the possession of a certain type of knowledge,
but also and mainly a state of personality (Johansson , 1969 , p.
Ill) . The transformed state should be characterized by moral
204
perfection, freedom from desire, hatred and everything that
binds us to the world, freedom from ega-involvement, a s a e
of independence, realism and peace. Since the attainment of
this state to a great extent involves elimination of undesira-
ble habits, attitudes and traits, katharsis seems to be a
suitable designation.
Pan;,'; may have a purifying effect : "One is purified through
understanding" (paniiaya parisujjhati , 5 I 214). "What is under-
standing for? - Understanding is for superknowledge, for thor-
ough insight, for getting rid of" (Panna pana ... kimatthiya
ti? - Panna kho . . . abhinnattha parinnattha pahanattha ti, M I
293). The last word, pahana, means getting rid of undesirable
traits, Le. katharsis . This is exemplified in A V 39 f: "Greed,
hatred, illusion, anger, enmity, hypocrisy, malice, selfishness
and wrongful envy are to be abandoned, neither by body nor by
speech , but by seeing with understanding again and again should
they be abandoned" (Lobho . .. Doso ... Moho ... Kodho ... Upa -
naho ... Makkho . . . Pataso .. , Macchariyam ... Papika issa r.eva
. .
kayena pahatabba no vacaya , pannaya diBva disva pahatabba). The
text continues by an interesting enumeration of the "wrongful
desires" which should be eradicated by panna, among others that
an unbeliever longs to be known as a believer; that an immoral
person wants to pose as virtuous; and that a man of little un-
derstanding wants to be known as intelligent (duppan;o samano
'pannava ti mam janeyyun ' ti icchati) . These are examples of
false values that are frequently used as defence mechanisms in
order to build up a desirable ego-image . They are a type of
anava according to the Buddhist terminology. Mechanisms of this
type are usually not conscious and therefore not understood .
They can be expelled only by a realistic self-analysis. If the
Buddhist disciple is informed through the ih<.lm"!a that he shaul
look out for unrealistic attitudes of these and other types, he
may be able to detect them, understand them and eradicate thl'm.
This is then a process of purification through r d ~ ~ a Under-
standing is like the butcher ' s sharp knife, by which one can
cut off defilement , fetter and bond (Id lc . o.l, "GI:IIC'j,lPl1, ba'IJI I-
na , M III 275). M III 240 points out that p.ln;la should n t bC'
neglected. This is further explained s meaning that n sh uld
205
n t identify oneself with the six elements: earth, water , fire ,
wind, space and consciousness , but see them as they are by
means of and purify one ' s mind from them.
Unde rstanding and Perception
The ultimate katharsis of the Buddhist is the eradication of
the inflatio ns (asava ), the superstructure of false values and
ego-involvement. This is usually said to be achieved by the
a id o f pa na : pannaya a ' assa disva asava pa r ikkhina honti ,
" having see n by means of panna the inflations are"completely
des t royed " (M I 477). Pa nna is the instrument of the mind
(..,itt:: ) f or the expulsion of the inflations (D II 123). "I at-
t ained (t he level of concentration called) the cessation of
idea t i on and sensation and dwelt therein , and as I saw by un-
d er s tand i ng , my inflations were eradicated" (sannavedayit a-
upasampaj j a pannaya aa me disv a as ava par ik-
khaya,;, agama,:,su , A IV 448) . The highest form of panna is "the
knowledge o f the cessation of all suffering" (sabbadukkhakhaye
M Ill 245 ) " Panna is directed towards coming and going
pannaya , DIll 237) . When a monk compre-
he nd s t he four Buddhist truths and can see them as clearly as
a man s tand ing on the bank of a pure pool can see oysters and
shel l s , gr a ve l and pebbles etc., then his mind (aitta ) is freed
from t he inflations (M I 279 , partly quoted earlier) . "The de-
struct i o n of the inflations should be seen (saaahi kar aniy a ) by
means o f panna " (D III 230) "
If these quotations are compared, a difficulty seems to
appea r. In D II 123, panna is said to be an instrument of puri -
f i cation; this agrees well with the analysis of panna given
a bove . But the quotation from DIll 230 seems to suggest that
fanna is a perceptual process, a process of introspective ob-
serva tio n. The latter usage would correspond to one of the most
common quotation-verbs introducing the so- called arahant-formu-
las , by means of which disciples used to declare that they had
attained the ultimate goal , e . g. khina jat i . . . ti
we know: ' birth is exhausted '" . In both cases it seems that
206
the goal has been attained by means of meditation and other
exercises; after that an introspective observation is made and
the transformation j s reg istered through a l/r r'('I'p I U'll. act. In
this case would stand for perception of a psychological
fact.
This perceptual meaning of can be found also in
other contexts. According to A IV 402, a person's mind is ',Iell
fortified by panna when he sees that "my mind is free from de-
sire, from hatred , from illusion" etc. When seeing a form >lith
the eye, one should know, seeing by whether one still
has desire, hatred and illusion or not (5 IV 139). The mental
act seems , in cases like these, mainly to be one of introspec-
tion, self-observation. It must, of course, be admitted that
no clear border - line can be drawn: most perceptions also in-
volve an understanding, since we usually immediately understand
what we see . But a perception may be correct or wrong; the Bud-
dhist texts always stress the necessity of correct perception.
Panna may therefore stand for an intelligent perception, free
from illusion . It must also not be forgotten that the impuri-
ties of the mind, which should be removed, according to the
Buddhist interpretation originally are impurities of perception.
If perceptions are kept free from personal involvement, the
asava will not flow in and desires are not stimulated. The pu-
rifying process, referred to earlier, must be directed towards
perception and other personal processes; its success or failure
may very well also be observed by means of panna. One more quo-
tation will show this: MIll 108 describes how a monk attains
different levels of samadhi and what he learns in the different
levels. So he attains "the signless concentration of mind"
(an'nitt2 and his mind is pleased with it. "H0
understands : th1s signless concentration of mind is created And
intended; but what is created and intended, thnt is impermanent
and liable to destruction. When he and sees this, his
mind is freed from the inflations" (:
kho anirrit-to .of2fc..lar.11Ihi ,;zLir1:aCI';/d;.l!" ,':/-J,T',! lnCe -'m -01.
pana k1'nf!i ... alh'[:(l;:{!t,;'iJ.:I1" tr.n:, t. :n :,0' ,"" t. " ..... -
ti P<l,j;;r:;; t i. eva':1 J:;11u f (' p.l. :"l" ') it l.,lt',l
pi cittal'l v':"'ZH!wzU .. . ). Then he understands: "thls m nt 1
207
imag Ls empty of the inflations" idam
etc.). The function of understanding in this
and experience that even the level of namadhi
and cherished is something created and therefore a
whi h has to be transcended . This understanding puri-
fies the act of perceiving or imaging , so that the inflations
disappear and only the experience of emptiness remains; a per-
ception free from is a perception free from personal as-
sociations. seems in this case to work by gradual abstrac-
tion, i.e. the image becomes more and more comprehensive, and
more and more of its concrete contents and personal associations
are expelled. is katharsis of perception the mind by
understanding the nature of the processes and transcending them
by abstraction and exclusion . Although the understanding here
is produced by meditation, it is used to purify the meditational
states themselves .
Understanding and Motivation
We have pOinted out earlier that the texts sometimes make a
clear distinction between understanding and motivational fac -
tors. This is in good agreement with modern views . Intelligence
is usually said to have no motivating force of its own: we all
do stupid things although we can their consequences
in advance. This is , however, not the whole truth . A person
,.,ho is informed and completely understands that his smoking
habits may make him susceptible to illness, will perhaps not
stop smoking in spite of his knowledge . But still, his percep-
tual processes in connection with smoking will have changed .
CLgarettes are no longer altogether attractive as they used to
b0 - hey are rather ambivalent. The Buddha would have said
that dn illusion been dissolved by And the npw in-
sight perhaps stimulates a counter-force . The smoker could use
this f'reB in order to "guard his senses " either by not looking
at CigHcnttcs all or by looking at them more objectively and
realistically and not permitting them to create a desire (this
Is done by means of ,"II ' ). A Colse of this type is found in A I
208
264 f, where two situations are described , one resulting in
action and the other in no action (klll'll'la). They can be con-
densed into two series of conditionings , as shown in Fig. 15.
When a person thinks about things that he has desired earlier,
he is again interested. He cannot stop thinking about these
things, and so action is produced . This is how human action
is motivated, according to the Buddhist analysis: pleasant
experiences lead to attempts to get in contact with tha ob-
ject again. But if he knows the future result of ac-
tivities based on desire, then he is deterred; i.e. the knowl-
edge stimulates a counter-desire, as we perhaps would prefer
t o say . This would neutralize the first desire, and if the two
are equally strong , no action would be released. The passage
referred to seems, however, to introduce one more idea: the
person tries to strengthen the counterforce by understanding,
which here is given a penetrating effect. This perhaps means
that by understanding he consciously analyses the desired ob-
ject, visualizes its worthlessness and dire consequences and
tries to eradicate all thought of it .
A similar development is described in A V 3: "A man who
knows and sees as it really is, has no need to decide: 'I will
feel distaste and lose interest ' . It follows naturally that a
man who knows and sees feels distaste and loses interest"
.. . passato na 'nib in-
'ti. . yam :an_n
. .
nibbindati virajjati). "The monk who is freed by under-
standing is freed by distaste of body, by disinterest in it,
by destruction of it , by not building it up : he is called
freed by understanding " (Bhikkhu pi . .. r;pJ ,':
vimutto ti
S Ill 65). By understanding the true nature of the personality
factors , their impermanence and instability, negative values
are stimulated; these function as forces towards repudiation.
But just as understanding can produce disgust, it may
produce joy which can support a similar decision. "When n
has known the impermanence of forms , their ch nge, f ding w y,
disappearance , then he sees with right understanding s
really is: ' Formerly as well as now all th s
1.
. e thinks about things
formerly desired
(Atite
jhamme arabbha cetasa
anuvitakketi
An ambition (chanda) is
produced
?reoccucation with these
things (tehi
saiiiiutto hoti)
are pronuced
samudaya)
21l1J
2 .
He understands the future
results of things based en
desire (aya t ill> vi pakaJII
pajaniiti)
He turns
(aohlnivaHeti)
He looses interest
(cetasa abhivirajetva)
1
He penetrates it by under-
standing and sees
ativijjha
No acti on is pr oduced J
Fig . 15. Action or no action?
210
painful and liable to changc' , and then joy arises.
Joy such as this is called joy connected with renunciation"
(Rupanam aniccatam viditv;
ca 8abbs te
ti svam etam panoat?
uppajjati vuccati
I:ekkhammasitam somanassam, MIll 217) . Understanding can,
therefore, stimulate both negative and positive forces, and
this makes its transforming effect easier to understand. A
similar development is desribed in greater detail in 5 II 29
f: "What does a person know and see when his become de-
stroyed? He knows: 'this is body, this is the origin of body,
this is its passing away ... ' Now in extinction there is
knowledge about extinction: this I say is caused (Yam pissa
tam ... khaye no anu-
panisam) . And what is the cause of the knowledge about extinc-
tion? One should answer: Liberation". The text continues by
giving a causal series, the first part of which is condensed
in Fig. 16. is not mentioned in this series but is im-
plied in khaye "the knowledge about the extinction (of
the This knowledge is conditioned by liberation, evi-
dently just registering the fact. But liberation is a natural
result of the detachment produced by repulsion. And repulsion
is caused by the true knowledge pro-
duced by samadhi (concentration): then gives a personal
experience of the impermanent, unsubstantial, unreal and imper-
sonal process-nature of the world: the serenity and emptiness
of provides the contrasting background which accentu-
ates the repulsive nature of the world. The series goes on to
say that is a natural continuation of the happy feel-
ings produced by the faith that the disciple feels when listen-
ing to dhamma . But he would not listen, nor feel convinced,
without the feeling of suffering produced by his conditioned
eXistence. The series gocs on reproducing the standard series
of conditionings (paticcanamurr;da).
II
I suffering (d ukkha)
I
.L
I faith (saddha)
I
.L
I joy (pamojja)
I
J.
I rapture (pIt i)
I
J.
I serenity (passaddhi )
I
,L
I happi ness (sulcha )
I
J,
I samadhi
I
J,
I true knowledge
I
.L
I repulsion (nibb1da)
J
J,
r detachment (viraga )
J
J.
T liberation (vimutti)
I
J,
r
knowledge abou t I
extinction (khaye n a ? ~
Fig. 16 . A way to nibbana .
212
he Origin of understanding
'here is a hint in 0 III 157 f that understanding may come as
1 result of actions in former lives (having asked a recluse
or brahmin: "what is good, what is bad? What is right, what
is wrong?" etc.); this would be a kind of inherited intelli-
gence. But it is more commonly stated that panna can be ac-
quired and developed by certain methods during the present
life . 0 III 284 ff enumerates "eight causes, eight conditions
which lead to attaining the so far unattained understanding
that forms part of the good life and to ... developing ...
that which has been attained" (Attha hetu attha paccaya adi-
brahmacariyakaya pannaya
dhaya .. . bhavanaya . .. to live close to the
Master; to ask teachers: "How is this? What does this mean?";
to attain serenity of body and of mind; to train oneself in
moral behaviour; to remember what has been heard; to activate
energy for the elimination of bad qualities; to be mindful
and remember what has been done and said after a long time;
to observe the rise and fall of the five personality factors.
Understanding can certainly be developed by asking questions,
by learning, observing and thinking, but it is evident that
panna here refers to the personal katharsis described above.
In M II 173, panna is incorporated into a dynamic series
(see Fig . 3), showing the typical development of a disciple
of the Buddha. The disciple must first test the teacher, then
listen to the teaching, remember and understand. When he has
investigated the meaning of it and found it true, he will be
motivated to make the final integrating and synthesising ef-
fort, and then he sees by panna the truth of the doctrine.
Many texts imply that it is possible to acquire panna .
One of the "best of good deeds" (a ggam attha ariyanam) is "the
. .
inciting, instilling, establishing the attainment of under-
standing in the unwise" ti
nivese ti pati A IV 364). "Only by knowing the true
norm of the good is understanding acquired" (r..: ;,1"1
annaya, panna labblzati naiinato, S I 56). Four conditions c n-
tribute to the attainment of understanding ( C(lt t:il" dh " . ,-
213
p ;i:p I "fo llowing the good, listening
t lru' doctrine , s y s t e ma tic atte ntion and living in ac-
l-ianCQ with the precepts o f the doc trine " (sapp u1'is as amsevo
,dll '-'<:.I''''a': I';' yonisomanaoika1'o dhammanudhammapatipatt i , S V
411) . conduct (sila ) is important f o r understanding :
"Where there is moral cond uct, the re is also understanding" ( D
I 124). Different types of med itatio n a re also important : sati
(mindfulness with regard to the body, kayagat asati , A I 45) ,
("If introspect ion i s cultivated, what will it lead
to? - Pa"n:; is developed ", A I 61) and samadhi ( "Great becomes
the fruit, great the advant age o f panna when it is supported
by s<lmadhi", samadhipa1'ibhavita panna mahapphaZa hoti mahani -
D II 123) .
The Results of Understanding
We have found that panna has three main functions . It may mean
intellectual understandi ng , e f f ected t h r ough reasoning and men-
tal effort to see relations . Or it ma y produce a pe rsonal ex-
perience, a personal convi ct i o n that s ome thing i s true . Or,
finally, the result may be a personal purification . These types
seem largely to correspond to t he t hree types disting uished in
DIll 219: 'nra-maya panna , suta- maya panna, bhavana- maya panna ,
"Understanding produced by thought, by what is heard, by appli-
cation" . The first refers to pur e l y intellec t ual r easoning; the
second probably refers to the guidanc e t o unders t and ing whic h
is offered by the Buddhis t doc trines; a nd the third type is
produced through meditati on: this c an, as we have seen , r e sult
1n both personal experience o f t he truth o f the Buddhist
eachings, and in liberating effects .
The goal is vimutti , " freedom" . Thi s i s some time s said to
be of two types , (!(>tovimutti , " f reedom o f mind", a nd paii navi -
"frnedom through unders t anding ". A I 61 , conde n sed in
Fig. 17 , ezplaLns how the two are developed . The f igure shows
that r tooimutti is Lhe as freedom f rom d esi r e a nd that
1 18 d by prf')cttSing "c.:n l m", 1 . c . tlamndh .
mans fr dom fr0m i<jnorilncc ilnd i s a l til inc d throug h vira.lva,,;; ,
Vlpassana bhAvlta,
"introspection is cultivated"
Panna bhivlyati,
"understanding is developed"
Avijjii pahiyati,
"ignorance is expelled"
Panna-v imut ti
Fig. 17. Two types of freedom.
21S
i i nt rospective observations of the impermanence, imperson-
lity, s u ffering etc. of a ll processes.
Ot h r d ef initions of are found. "A monk who
is freed by understanding is freed by distaste of body (and the
other factors ), by disinterest in them, by destruction of them,
by not b u ildi ng them up: he is called freed by understanding"
(S III 65 , quoted be fore). "Somebody lives without having ex-
perienced personally those peaceful deliverances which are
formle ss hav i ng transcended forms; but since he has seen by
understanding, his i nflations are destroyed; he is called a
man freed by understa nding" (ekacco ye t e sant a vimok ha
pupe te na kayena phas sit va vi hara t i , pannaya
c'assa disva asava parikkhina hont i. Ay am . . .
M I 477 ) . vi mokha, are levels
of meditation par tl y identical with the levels of s amadhi , and
therefore these d e f initions do not contradict the one given
befor e. "A ma n fr e ed by understanding has no illusions" (panna-
na santi moha , SN 847). "How does one become well
f r eed by unde rstanding? He understands: 'Desire, hatred and
illusion are d rive n out from me, cut off at the root, become
like a palmtree s tump, annihilated, unable to grow again in the
future'" (Kathan ca ... suvimutt a-panno hoti? ldha ...
'Rago ... Doso ... . Moho me pahino ucchi nnamu Zo taZa-
vatthukato anabhavam gato ayatim anuppada - dhammo ' ti pajanati ,
o III 270) . Si nce is defined as closely relat-
ed to moha , the s t a t e ment quoted from SN is natural. In the
next quotation the knowl edge of the eradication of raga is said
to characteri ze pannavimutti , no t as in A I 61 cetovimutti . D
II 70 says that "when a monk has understood as they really are
the coming to be a nd pa ssing away, the pleasures and miseries
of , and the wa y o f esc a pe from these seven stations o f conscious-
ness and these t wo sphe res, he becomes free through not building;
this monk is ca lle d fr eed by understa nding" (Yato kho ... bhikkhu
iMasan ca sattannam vinnanatthitinam imesan ca
samudayan ca adinavan ca ca
yathabhutam vidit va anupada vi mu tto hoti , vuccati . . . bhi k-
Lh -'. tto ) The "se ve n stations of consciousness"
u
o the kama -wor l d , Borne of the heave ns and some of the lower
216
levels of 'amadhi where rebirth is possible, and the "two
spheres" refer to two of the highest levels of oamadhi. This
passage presupposes at least a theoretical knowledge of the
levels of samadhi and probably more than that, since the point
is to understand the true nature, transitoriness and meaning-
lessness of these worlds of existence. Also A IV 452 seems to
imply knowledge of all the nine levels of "a" .. , in this
case described as levels of concentration, not worlds of re-
birth. Then comes a parallel description of a man who is
ubhatobhagavimutta, "freed both ways", the only difference
being that the person freed by understanding "experiences
through understanding", but the one freed both ways "continues
to feel it by his person and experiences it through understand-
ing" (nam kayena phassitva vihapati, pannaya ca nam pajanati) .
Possibly the difference here is that in the former case the
acquaintance with samadhi is more theoretical, but in the
second based on ?ersonal experience.
In so far as it is possible to integrate these texts, it
would seem that the person freed by understanding is one who
has understood by introspection, and therefore by experience,
if perhaps not by practice, the conditioned and transitory
nature of the world, one's own personality, the rebirth-worlds
and even the levels of samadhi; since illusion is the root of
the series as well as the asava, he has got
a tool with which he can master both. And so the personal
katharsis is completed.
217
SUMMARY
A short formulation of the main ideas in this book may be use-
ful.
1. The world according to early Buddhism is a perceived , con-
scious It is therefore a personal creation, impermanent
and dynamic, i.e. of the same nature as the perceptual proces-
ses through which it is constituted and which are a necessary
part of it. There are no "things" in Buddhism, only processes.
2. Ordinary human life is a stream of dynamic processes flow-
ing in twelve channels, corresponding to the twelve links in
the standard formulation of "dependent ori-
gination". There is a relation of dependence between the chan-
nels, but every process is also conditioned by another pr ocess .
3. All processes can be broken down into acts (sankh;r;) which
are dynamic, psychophysical, personal and have a moral aspect
(often called kamma when the moral aspect is to be stressed).
Each sankh;ra is an act of the human mind (citta): it is con-
scious (vinn;na) , can be one of several types (n;marupa) and
belong to one or several of the six sense- modalities (saZ;ya-
There could be no sense- modalities without a conscious
differentiation (n;marupa); the conscious differentiation would
not exist without a conscious dimension; and since conscious-
ness is dynamic and functions in the form of processes, it
would be impossible without sankh;r; . Because the human con-
stitution is such, impressions (phassa) can be received , sensa-
tions and feelings (vedan;) can be experienced and cravings
(tanr.;) can be felt. By engaging in and accumulating material
through the sense channels (upadana) , a personality
is bujlt up (bhava) , and preparations for a new birth (j;ti)
go on continually . The expectations of rebirth and preparations
for it form (together with the expectations of illness, old age
and death and together with life's frustrations generally) the
Buffering (dukkha) that is the chief characteristic of life.
But he sequence of processes goes on only as long as
ign0rance and false attitudes prevent the individual
from Beeing the causdl connection and the methods to be applied
tor elimination.
218
4. The mind (citta) can be seen as the carrier of all these
processes. The Buddhist training aims at making the mind pure
and stable. This means that all the paticcaeamuppada-processes
are "calmed" or disappear . . But the mind has also no substance
and is not an ego.
5. Since ignorance (avijja ) is found at the bottom of most
undesirable states, the chief remedy should be knowledge. It
is actually called panna, which is not exactly knowledge but
understanding, a clear understanding of the Buddhist view of
suffering and its background, especially an understanding
based on personal experience, won through meditation and pure
perception, and forming part of a personal katharsis.
6. Ignorance (avijja) is one of the asava, lit. "influxes",
although here the translation "inflations" is preferred. The
inflations are four very basic personality traits, here called
(a) inflation of unrealism (avijjasava ), (b) love-inflation
(kamasava), (c) growth-inflation (bhavaeava), (d) theory-
inflation They express tendencies to inflate the
ego with four types of contents: unrealistic values, sensual-
ity, preparations for the future, theoretical constructions.
7. Three versions of the paticcasamuppada series have percep-
tion as their starting point, with its four constituting fac-
tors: stimulus, sense-organ, consciousness and contact:
(a) One explains "the origin of the world", i.e. percep-
tion as it usually is (see Fig. 1), with elements of feeling,
distorting desires and subjective additions.
(b) A second sequence (Fig. 2) explains how latent dis-
positions ( anusaya ) are activated by certain characteristics
of perceived things.
(c) The third sequence (Fig. 14) shows how the cognitive
process itself easily goes astray and ends in associative
thought or imaginative daydreaming ( papanca ).
All these series show how perception is influenced by
distorting elements or lead to undesirable activities. Without
these impurities, the process may rather lead to understanding
(panna) .
219
NOTES
1.
1 M re about the subjecLive constructions in ordinary , nor-
m 1 p rception can be read in e.g . Hochberg (1964) and
81 ke and Ramsey (1951, chapter 5 and 6).
2. The One Reality
I therefore think that Govinda (1961, p. 54) is right when
he writes : It is our will, our ardent desire which cre-
ates the world in which we live, and the organism which
corresponds to it.
2 Cf. Govinda (1961, p. 142): Thus the anicca-idea does not
make the world less real, but it shows, on the contrary,
that the world exclusively consists in action. Nowhere is
stagnation, nowhere limitation. Nothing exists for itself
or separately in itself . There is nothing constant; but
instead of a world filled with dead things, there is a
Ziving cosmos which finds its counterpart in the conscious-
ness of each individual ...
3 Sarathchandra (1958, p. 103) observes, referring to this
text: is not interpreted as mere matter, but as or-
ganic sensations. The individual is thus reduced to a
bundle of sensations , these sensations including his
entire knowledge of the external world as well.
4 Shikkhu Nanananda (1974, p . 31) writes in a discussion of
h same texL: Thi s complex character of name-and-form
In rql. Ion 0 contact indicates that Buddhism does not
dichotomy between mind and matter.
220
5 This ha s also be en obs e r ve d by sarathc ha ndra (1958 , p .
11): n there is no diffe r e nce between the impression ,
the awa reness o f the external wo rl d , a nd the external
world itself. The world e xists as l ong as the senses
continue to function. It ha s no i ndependent reality ."
3. The Dynamic Act
1 "Things" is a favourite wo rd with translators of Buddhist
texts. It is used for bo th sankhapa and dhamma quite fre-
quently and is also often added in contexts where there
is no equivalent in the Pali t ext, for instance in the
common phrase yathabhutananadassana , "knowledge and vi -
sion of things as they r e ally are ", and in kamupadana,
"grasping at the things o f s e nse ". I n this way , an un-
realistic adaptation to We ste rn ways of thinking has been
performed. The word may s ometimes be convenient, but
strictly speaking there are no "th i ngs " i n the Western
sense in Buddhism. There a r e only the fleeting, changing,
conditioned conscious processes. They are "produced by
the inner sense" (manomaya, Dh 1) .
2 This has been observed a lso by Schumann (1957, p . 49).
4 . Consciousness
1 I a ssume that this is the meaning and that something to
thi s effect has been l e f t o u t i n t he text . The PTS edi-
tio n goes on: Nimittarsadagadhi"am va bhikkhavc vinnina-
tIm v-, "(But)
if j 5 f irml y bound by the satisfaction either of
the ma rks or the details , then it mighL be established
and he ma y be bo rn i n a purgatory or as an animal".
The text as t rans l a t e d by Woodward i s l ncomprlhrnsiblr.
221
5 . Gr wth ,mu Dcvclopme>nt
The e ffect is by S . P. de Silva (1 969 , p . 99)
a t r ibutcd t o bhapa : "Both the active process of action
and the passive process of accumulation
IUpapa t t i blrat'a ) are categorized together under becoming
(Bh-va )".
7 . Motivat ion
1
This transl a t ion will be resented by many who are used to
"love " as t he equivalent to metta. There are, however ,
several r eas ons f or the proposed change: 1) Mett a means
"friendlines s ", a n adequate word that should be kept , 2)
"Love" i s, i n a l l i ts meanings , a strong word , suggesting
emotional invol vement - this is not a Buddhist ideal . Even
"Christia n l ove " is an emotional sentiment far removed
from mezta . 3) "Love" has recently been subject to a se-
mantic t r ansformation in the sensual direction which makes
it impossibl e a s equivalent to mett a . So why accept two
quite opposi t e meanings of the word "love "?
2 Cf. Padmasiri de Silva, 1973, p. 95 .
8 . Personality
1 Lama Anagarika Govinda has also observed this (1961 , p. 50) :
" Birth ' (.jati) i n t he Buddhist sense i s not merely a par-
ticular single mome nt in e ach life , not only the physical
process of being bor n or c oncept ion (okkanti ) in
tho physiological sense , but the 'conception ' , the 'con-
cnlving ' that is cal led f orth co ntinually through the
!:CI.sr.s , which af f ec t s the appe arance or manife station of
the "ggr c9iJtcs o f ex i s t e nce l'at.u l>havo ) , the
sni z jng o f t he sens e-domains the
cont inuous materialization and new karmic entanglement"M
222
2 SN 874, which will be discussed in a later chapter, says:
"Who is conscious of neither an image nor a false
image and is not unconscious and not conscious of a dis-
appeared image - to one in this state form (rupa) disap-
pears" . Probably a state of is described. In this
state all images disappear , and therefore form in the
sense of perceptions and images . But probably rupa is
meant to include even the meditator ' s own body .
3 In the Svetasvatara Upanisad, the supreme god Brahman is
said to be like an extinguished fire (Radhakrishnan, 1953,
p . 717) .
10. The Intellectual Superstructure
1 Sarathchandra (1958, p. 10) has the following interpreta-
tion: "The natural associations of this image would be
those of a deer following a mirage in the belief that it
is a pool of water. The deer is thirsty for water, and is
deluded by the wrong thing, just as a man is thirsty for
happiness and seeks to attain it by following the things
of the senses". Bhikkhu Nanananda (1971, p. 22) translates
by "fool".
11. Understanding
1 Although it has been used by Filliozat (in Renou et Fil-
liozat, 1953, p. 546) : "L' intelligence ... ) est Ie
discernement des chases , la de prise de conscience
des
Til
h,'" b" n t).ISl'tl on th following Pali works, as pub-
l.h by th- Pall T xt Society. The abbreviations used arc
glv n within br ck ts.
Digha Nikaya (D)
Ma j)hlma Nlkaya (M)
Samyutta Nlkaya (S)
Anguttara Nlkaya (A)
Dhammapada (Dh)
Sutta Nipata (SN)
Udana (U)
Thera-gatha (Ta)
TherI-ga tha (Ti)
References are always to pages in the PTS editions; only Dh,
S , Ta and Ti are referred to by the number of the quoted
stanza. The trans lations of the same works, also published
by PTS, have been consulted but are usually not quoted
literally .
Other works referred to:
Allport, G.W., Vernon,p., and Lindzey, G. , A study of
(Houghton Mifflin, Boston , 1951) .
Bell, J.E. , PI', ,'eetive t.,;chniques (Longmans, Green & Co; New
York , 1948) .
Blake, and Ramsey, G.V., Pfl'<"ption , an appl'oach to
pCI' onali y (Ronald Press, New York, 1951) .
Buddhad sa , Bhlkkhu , Tho Jall'7 " of "I " (Buddhist Missionary
Society , Kuala Lumpur, 1974).
P'rr d , '\nn , N
9" a,.d I j" mil /irmi.I'I, of d / en<' , (Hogarth
Pross, r,ondon,
Gavin , L m ... I\n."J "r J ka, Tit r ,'Y'1I JO:li'" l (I t' i tu It or ,'al'>!/
lJu tdl i t "hi. (Hid 'r & Co ., Lontion, 19(1).
Hoehb"rg, Julian [.;., I'()''''-'I'tiotl (l'n.!nlicc-Iltlll, J:nr]In""r,rj
Cliffs , New J fSC!Y , 1964).
Jayasul',iya, 1'1 . 1" . , The l'oyc'hol.oOIJ and /,hflororhy of ElAddftic'"
(Y.M. B.A. Press , colombo , 1963) .
Johansson, Rune E. A., Citta, mono, - (I
(University of Ceylon Review, Vol . XXIII,
Nos. 1 & 2, 1965 , p. 165 - 215).
0/
',.),,,. J (George Allen and Unwin Ltd,
London, 1969).
Nanananda . Bhikkhu , COII<!lj t a>. I /'",a; i til (Buddhist Pub 1 ication
Society, Kandy, 1971) .
The magic of the mind in Buddhist perspective (Buddh1st
Publication Society, Kandy, 1974).
Nyanatiloka Mahathera, The significanee of dependent origina-
tion in Thepavada Buddhism (The Wheel publication No.
140, Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, 1969).
Padmasiri de Sil va , M. W. , B1<ddhic t and Fz'eudian psycho logy
(Lake House Investments Ltd . Publishers, Colombo, 1973).
Piaget , Jean , The child ' s conception of the world (Littlefield,
Adams & Co ., Totowa, New Jersey, 1965) .
Piyadassi Thera , The Buddha's ancient path (Rider & Co., London,
1964) .
Radhakrishnan, S., The ppincipal Upanisads (Allen & Unwin,
London , 1953) .
Renou, L., et Filliozat, J. , L'Inde clascique, II (Ecole
Fran9aise d ' Extreme-Orient , Hanoi, 1953) .
Rhys Davids, T . W., Buddhist India (Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi,
1 971) .
Sarathchandra, E . R. , Buddhist pSyChology of (Ceylon
University Press , Colombo, 1958) .
Schumann, Hans Wolfgang, Bedeutung ulld BedelAtungsentlJi,'kl:.ll,
des Tepminus Samkhcu'a im fl'Uhen Buddhi'mu:- (Inaugur<ll
Dissertation, Bonn , 1957) .
Silva,S, P. De, A cienti[ic l'nt;onaUsntiOll of F,,,./ :I:i"'n
(Colombo, 1969) .
Thurstone , L . L., and 1'hursLone, 'I'.G., r'ad"l'i,l: Ii .1 ,r
intf,zI.':lJ"",N' (UnivC'fSiLy oj Chic,lgO 1'I"S'<, hi':-Ml(\,
1941) ,
22 5
Vernon , M.D., ':.>:1" rimUli 3 in visual pel'ception (Pe ng ui n Books,
Harmondsworth , 1966) .
(Penguin Books , Harmonds -
wor t h , 1962) .
Werner, Heinz , Comrarotiva paychology of mental development
(International Universities Press , Inc ., New York ,
1948) .
Woodworth , R. S ., Experimental psyohology (Henry Holt & Co . ,
New York, 1948) .
tNll l X OF TI:CII NIClI l, Tl.ltMS
)\' 1'1 , 'la , 97 , i.l '; , l LO, 20 4
11Ic) Crt ,It ion , 45
(cf . upa./a".-!)
v:,;;paic) , 95, 107 , 112 , 186
or -m.n the dispositi on t o pride t hat
produces 'I' and ' mine ', 38 , 107 , 171 , 173
1'., food, cause, 30, 57 , 11:: . 135
see .Ionda
2 J, erdency, dispOSition , 38 , 61f , 106 - 110 . 11 5- 118 ,
170f, 173, 193
application, see cf.
arahan , 53. 95. 118. 123 , 163 , 171[ , 174f
1n:lux, inflation, 52, 73 , 95 , 112 , Ill - l8S , 197 ,
210
(tapas), 19, 23
ego-pride , 94 , 110, 124, 169f
association, Ivt, 188 , 191 , 19 4f
association value, 148
a ego, sel:, soul , 164- 167
oet2bholl'l, development of individuality , 17 , 167
attention, 101, 124, 160 , 170 , 189 (cf . manasikara )
olliJja, ignorance, 94 , 107, 116 , 133 - 138 , 181
ay tana, scnse-modality , 74, 140 , leve l of concentration, 36f ,
141
oyu- I1fe-intentJon, 54- 56
bh'lIlQ, bccoming , growth , 57, 68 , 72-74, 140 , 182
-lon , 183 , 213
bil' h, lie'! .!a!i
oo(ly , 30 J7f , 43, 70 , 127 , 172
br'l'ma-IIiAir'l , divlnn SLaLe , 37 , 151
b/l;jpad'l . 8.lv n, fl , 107 , 16 6
a"""' , '/' . vision , 27 , 35 , c r. IIc nSCB
vi CO" pcIOUSnPH9 , 27, 80, 85
, unl n 1,/"1 , 170
226
causality, 136, moral c., 145
".'t.llla, will, volition, 31 , 44, 11::, 139, 147
"h(lIlda, wish, ambition, 46, 66, 101[, 105, 110f, 1 1 ~ 118-120,
123, 151, 185, 167-169
childhood, mentality in, 106f, 114
citta , mind, 26, 29, 36, 6'0, 94, 102, 142, 157-161 , 175, 189f,
205
cognition, 102, 124, 165, 187
compensation as kammic law, 154
concentration, see samadhi
conditioning, 136
consciousness, 53, 58f, see vinnana
contact, see phassa
contrast as kammic law, 154
craving, see tanha
creation, 48, 51, 71, 101, see sankhara
decision, see vayama
defence mechanisms, 96, 99f, 110, 204
density, 17, 29, 37f, 59
desire, see raga; as real force, 122
development, 73, 76
dhamma, mental image, mental process, phenomenon, 30, 44, 59,
84 , 93
dimension, 59, 125, 134, 140; cf. ayatana; d. of personality,
125f
disposition, 58, see anusaya
distortion, 79, 95f
d i ~ ~ h i view, speculation, 22, 24, 27, 70, 73, 107, 135, 177,
182, 191
domanassa , grief, sorrow, 87, 131
doubt, see vicikiccha
dynamic processes , 28 , 49 , 101, see rJllkhara
ego, 13, 160, 164 - 1 71 , l7 3
ego image, 164, 180
egO-inflation , 18lC
ego involvement, 170, 179, 205
elements: rlhut,u , 56; mrt}"11>huf,7, 30f
emotion, 104, 106f, 140,178,182
22'l
22f
Bb-89, 116 (cf . vedana )
6:8 t see 'rl-;pa
23, 29, 34, 95
gro,,t.h, 72-74, see bhava
habits, 113
happiness, 101, 148-150
niri, shame, 101, III
0" wish, 113
i 'dhi , magic power, 17, 20 , 45f
ideation, 29, 93 (cf . sanna)
identification, 71, 123 , 167 - 169 , 171 , 174
ignorance, see avijja
illusion, 29, see moha
imagination, 26, 190- 196 (cf . papanca)
53, 93 , 124, 169
sense organ, 21
inflation (asava) , 181, 197
influxes, see Qsava
sense, see mana
intellectual analysis , 111 , 124
intelligence, Ill, 198 , 201 , 212
intention, sankappa
introspection, see vipassana
:ati , birth, 34, 74-76, 131, 141
level of concentration , 34, 52 , 88
.. ;1 '7, soul, 22
a , lQve, ficnsua1i y, 69f, 74 , 95 , 103 , 105f , I11f, 120,
182, 186, 200
, i.e. sense-field , 28 , 82 , 88 , 106 , 114
k mma, C ion, work, 44 , 46f , 57 , 61 , 68 , 89 , 106 , 130f, 142 ,
14'> , 147-149, 1:'4
230
kammic memory (or accumulation), 67 , 148f
katharsis, 203, 205, 207
kiya, body, 26, 84
kh andha , personality factor, 31, 44, 53, 57, 62, 67 , 91,
125-130, 172, 180
knowl edge , 94, 198
ku saZa , good , skilful activity, 101, 110
Zoka , world, 27- 29 , 31, 76, 80-82
love (kima) , 105
magic, 12, 15, 45 (cf. i ddhi )
manasi kira, attention, 31, 124, 139, 189f
mano, the inner sense, 30, 33, 41, 83f , 93
manomaya , mind-made, 17, 35, 37, 84, 193
meditation, 20, 31, 34-37, 183 (cf. samidhi and sati)
memory, 26 , 61, 67 , 160
meri t (pu,;,;a) , 112, 154
metti, friendliness, Ill, 124, 163
mind, see citta
mindfulness, 91, 97f, 124, 170, 189; see further sati
mind-reading, 12, 20
moha, illuSion, 115, 134 , 189, 215
morality, 12, 15, 19, 23, 46, 100, 123 (cf. siZa)
motivation, 99, in childhood, 108, 114
nama-rupa, name and form, psyche and body, 31 , 69, 139 , 187,
195
need, 13, 99f
nekkhamma, renunciation, 112, 114, 189, 192, 199, 210
nibbina, 29, 52, 163, 175, 203
nirodha, cessation, 103
ogha , flood, 178
ottappa , remorse, conscience, 101, III
panni, understanding, wisdom, 29, Ill, 124, 197 - 216
papanca , prolific tendency, aSSOCiation, 185, 188, 190-196
papanca-san;;i-sankhi , chain of aSSOCiated ideas, 185, 193f, 1qb
pa:iccasamuppida , dependent origination, 7, 138
pa:igha , anger, disgust, 107, 115f
perception, 12-14, 27-29,31,79,82[, .92 - 98 , 116-118, 174, ~ b
(distortions of p., 9S)
231
n lity, 49, 69, 125f
n lity f tor, 67, 125-131, 138f (cf. khandha)
, -a nt ct, 27, 31f, 45, 51f, 86-8?, 91, 140
( " 'I. d, 88
15 , 18, 23
Fr ss, 34, 41, 47f, 60 r, 59, 68, 64f, 93, 126[
prOJection, 14, 29, 35f, 49, 63, 100
desire, 66, 104, 115, 215
ratio nalization, 100
realism, 161
reality, 25, 36-41
rebirth, 33, 36, 47, 57, 65, 69, 70, 74, 139, 141, 144-157, 162
(worlds of r., 34-36, 74, 141)
renunciation nekkhamma) , 111, 199
repreSSion, 100, 106, 190
repulsion, 210
ritual , 16, 23
form, 22, 27, 29-J4, 74, 63, 103, 127, 141, 171f, 160f
sacrifice, 12, 15, 16, 23
saddha , faith, 101, 111, 116f
the six sense modalities, 140
concentration, 20, 29f, 34-36, 36, 42, 52, 54, 57,
63, 71, 73, 66, 66, 90, 95, 96, 124, 136, 141, 144,
151, 162, 171, 173, 175, 163, 169f, 193, 196, 206, 210,
213, 216
(levels of s., 42; s. as rebirth worlds, 34, 141)
sancetana , will, 44, 112
ankappa , intention, 44, 105, 11 2 , 115, 120, 167
eankha , sequence, 193f
sankhara , creation, activity, 4 1-56, 73, 63, 127, 134, 136,
207
ideation (perception, mental image), 29, 33, 41, 49,
59f, 66, 120, 169, 167, 192f, 196
made from ideation, 17, 35, 37,95
mindfulness, 52, 91, 97f, 124, 163, 170 , 174, 163, 207,
213
8atlpat tnana, application of mindfulness, 27, 163
being, 126
2 l2
scl[, 43, 96 (cf. ego <lnd ILta)
self-assertion, 182
sensation (v<dalla), 31 , 8C-31 , 115, 118
senses, 28, 30, 59, 62, 79[ , 83[, 140
moral conduct, 213
similarity as kammic law, 154
joy, 87, 210
soul, 15, 22 (jtva) , 24, 165 (aLLa), 181 (cf. ego)
speculation, see ditthi
spell, 18, 24
suffering (dukkha) , 133, 142
superego, 160
tanha , thirst, craving, 52 , 57, 67 , 96f, 103, 115, 140, 151f
thought, 49, 158 (cf. vitakka)
trait, 125, 133
unconscious motivation, 100, 108, 116
understanding, see panna
upadana, grasping, collection, building, 50, 65-71, 73, 82, 97,
130, 140, 180 (types of u., 69f)
upadanakkhandha , see khandha
values, 77, 99
vayama , deCision, 112
vedana, sensation, feeling, 52 , 59, 87-91
vicara , reasoning, 43, 185
vicikiccha, doubt, 107, 182
vihimsa, harmfulness, 95, 112, 186
vimutti , freedom, 213-215
vinnana, conSCiousness, 26, 31-33, 50 , 57-64 , 68f, 85, 92, 128,
138, 151f
vipassana , introspection, 138, 213
viriya , energy, Will-power, 101, 111, 124
viSions , 21f, 36 , 85, 94
visualization , 21, 35f, 59 , 93[, 100, 199
vitakka , thought , 42 , 49, 111 , 182, 18[,-190, 199 (typo:' of
186)
vyapada , aggressiveness , 95, 112
Will, 54, 100 ,111-113 ,124 (cf. "'Ialla, .'0>: 'l. "" .)
wish, 37 , 47. 65-67 , 113 , 130, 149 (cf. io('h.i . "/:,:>1 .)
wishful thinking , 194
2)3
INllI:X OF QUO'('!\TIONS FROM NIKi\YI\ TEXTS
ThC' main PU1-pose of this index is Lo help the reader find
quot.1tions discussed in more than one context , but all impor-
tant ~ l i quotations have been included, Numerals refer to
pages in th Pali editions published by the Pali Text Society ,
except for Dh, SN and Ta where they refer to number of stanza.
,umerals within brackets refer to pages in this book.
A"!luttal'a Nikaya
A I 10 (102,162) ,11 ( 8 4), 32 (46),58 (122),61 (197, 213),
102 (199) , 132 (171) , 136 (101) , 173 (146), 194 (134),
203 (llOf) , 216 (104), 221 (148), 223 (47, 57, 68, 72,
146) , 249 (146) , 254 (186), 261 (159) , 267 (141), 269 (27,
80),278 (17)
A II 23 (97), 48 (28 , 41, 80), 49 (29, 80, 82), 52 (96),
137 (26), 149 (104), 1 55 (54), 157 (113), 161 (191),
162 (192), 177 (123, 166), 189 (199, 203), 196 (177),
230 (147)
A III 47 (23), 202 (95), 294 (192), 359 (164), 402 (103f),
410 (178), 411 (106), 414 (180), 415 (44), 444 (169),
446 (111)
A IV 68 (191) , 70 (73), 100 (42), 180 (44), 236 (105 , 113),
262 (21), 353 (10lf, 169), 363 (111), 364 (212), 402 (157,
161 ,206) , 423 (160, 163), 426 (62, 179), 430 (28,82) ,
434 (173) , 448 (205), 452 (216)
A V 3 (208), 7 (98), 20 (102), 39 (204), 86 (101), 88 (56),
92 (158), 107 (94, 160) , 113 (135), 150 (111), 203 (114),
292 (G8f), 343 (104)
(jJ,ammapq,da
IJh 1 (84) , 148 (30), 277f (42), 383 (49), 412 (123)
234
D'lgha Nikay a
o I 9 (24), 71 (160, 162f), 77 (84), 84 (177) , 124 (213) ,
183 (59), 195 (35), 213 (158), 220 (35), 223 (63)
OIl 62 (32),63 (33,57),68 (174),70 (215),99 (54) ,
106f (54), 108 (20), 110 (30), 123 ( 213) , 157 (89),
217 (162), 271 (159), 276 (185), 279 (196), 328 (79f),
329 (35), 338 (85)
o III 27 (21, 36), 32 (144), 86 (38), 103 (188), 133 (105),
134 (61), 147 (72), 148 (148), 182 (101, 113, 134),
211 (48),217 (46),223 (94,162),225 (179f), 228 (61),
230 (134, 197, 205), 239 (163), 240 (178), 258 (151),
259 (149), 260 (83), 270 (215), 284 (212), 289 (120)
Majjhima Nikaya
M I 22 (160), 54 (135), 65 (191), 92 (200), 103 (123),
109 (193), 111 (185), 114 (111, 186) , 115 (113f, 189),
116 (27, 199), 119 (187, 189), 120 (49), 127 (30),
133 (198), 138 (170), 139 (75), 140 (172), 144 (173),
161 (75), 176 (197), 190 (30),191 (84,127),206 (158),
214 (159), 228 (44), 231 (165), 260 (200), 279 (183,
198), 293 (60, 63, 92, 204), 296 (55), 297 (171), 301 (43,
186), 303 (135), 304 (138), 305 (105), 329 (63) 389 (46),
400 (88), 432 (108), 477 (205, 215), 487 (123), 507 (79),
511 ( 159)
M II 17 (26), 20 (75), 24 (114f), 27 (120, 163), 32 (138),
104 (145), 110 (198), 173 (118, 212) , 174 (202), 223 (44),
237 (70), 262 (163, 174) , 263f (57, 166), 265 (71)
M III 16 (66f), 18 (62), 73 (44, 112, 187), 99 (47), 100 (36),
108 (206), 111 (174, 183), 157 (30), 188 (167), 1<16 (bO,
151), 197 (167), 217 (210 ), 223 ( 62) , 233 (lOS), 244 (73),
259 (73), 260 (92), 261 (68, 70), 266 (70), 285 (115),
287 (33, 66)
235
"'1 lott I N:' /.::1y
S 1 2 (72),23 (172),26 (162),37 (122),39 (29, 188),
40 (113 ), 56 (212), 72 (147), 75 (161), 79 (199f),
92 (148), 125 (158), 126 (190), 135 (44, 126), 144 (20),
178 (158), 203 (189), 214 (204)
S II 2 (131), 3 (31, 69, 72, 74, 103, 139f, 141), 4 (59, 133),
13 (164) ,17 (27,170),27 (170,197),29 (210),
54 (177f) , 64 (148), 65 (62, 107), 73 (31, 76, 80),
82 (53 , 61, 134), 97 (86), 101 (45, 74, 141, 152),
114 (139 ), 118 (202), 151 (120), 266 (45), 275 (20, 107)
S III 9 (61, 128), 14 (66), 45 (163), 46 (135, 162, 167),
47 (50,180) ,49 (165),53 (61),54 (128), 59 (127),
60 (44, 86), 62 (30), 65 (208), 66 (166), 86 (32),
S IV
87 (48, 60), 89 (66, 130), 94 (67), 96 (42f, 45) ,
100 (67),101 (130),105 (71,167),112 (172, 174),
115 (127), 131 (109f, 170), 138 (165), 142 (94, 172),
14 4 (42), 152 (113, 128, 181), 155 (94, 124), 162 (13 3) ,
168 (123), 232 (162), 258 (135)
16
68
95
158
207
232
303
(90, 97) , 23 (72), 26 (75), 40 (38, 98), 54 (164),
(86) , 71 (192), 73 (98, 179), 74 (97), 93 (82),
(28), 102 (68, 151), 104 (90), 114 (89), 125 (123),
(89), 164 (122f, 164, 171f), 196 (126), 203 (19lf) ,
(90), 208 (118), 209 (90), 217 (42, 95), 230 (89),
(87), 233 (88), 249 (149), 289 (45), 293 (160),
(149 ), 309 (149), 344 (145), 376 (172, 174), 400 (65)
S V 1 (135) , 67 (188), 69 (162), 74 (91), 156 (190),
181 (189) , 184 (158, 163), 226 (202f), 254 (46), 273 (113,
120) , 282 (37), 283 (38), 284 (20, 173), 304 (27),
319 (91) , 369 (157), 411 (213), 418 (186), 432 (151),
439 (146) , 449 (47)
Suttll Nt1':1t((
SN 169 (28) , 390 (161) , 472 (73) , 530 (195) , 734 (62) ,
847 (215) , 867 (72) , 870 (72) , 874 (193) , 916 (1 ':If,) ,
970 (186) , 984 (45 )
Thel'agatha
Ta 90 (53, 172), 519 (193)
Udana
U 37 (157), 77 (194), 80 (52), 93 (53)