SN12:33 Cases of Knowledge (1)
- DG BB TBW © Translated from the Pali by Bhikkhu Bodhi. (More copyright information)
1At Sāvatthī. "Bhikkhus, I will teach you forty-four cases of knowledge. Listen to that and attend closely, I will speak."
"Yes, venerable sir," those bhikkhus replied. The Blessed One said this:
2"Bhikkhus, what are the forty-four cases of knowledge? sn.ii.57
Knowledge of aging-and-death, knowledge of its origin, knowledge of its cessation, knowledge of the way leading to its cessation.
Knowledge of birth, knowledge of its origin, knowledge of its cessation, knowledge of the way leading to its cessation.
Knowledge of existence, knowledge of its origin, knowledge of its cessation, knowledge of the way leading to its cessation.
Knowledge of clinging, knowledge of its origin, knowledge of its cessation, knowledge of the way leading to its cessation.
Knowledge of craving, knowledge of its origin, knowledge of its cessation, knowledge of the way leading to its cessation.
Knowledge of feeling, knowledge of its origin, knowledge of its cessation, knowledge of the way leading to its cessation.
Knowledge of contact, knowledge of its origin, knowledge of its cessation, knowledge of the way leading to its cessation.
Knowledge of the six sense bases, knowledge of its origin, knowledge of its cessation, knowledge of the way leading to its cessation.
Knowledge of name-and-form, knowledge of its origin, knowledge of its cessation, knowledge of the way leading to its cessation.
Knowledge of consciousness, knowledge of its origin, knowledge of its cessation, knowledge of the way leading to its cessation.
Knowledge of volitional formations, knowledge of their origin, knowledge of their cessation, knowledge of the way leading to their cessation.
These, bhikkhus, are the forty-four cases of knowledge.
3"And what, bhikkhus, is aging-and-death? … definition as in SN12.2 …
Thus this aging and this death are together called aging-and-death.
4With the arising of birth there is the arising of aging-and-death. With the cessation of birth there is the cessation of aging-and-death.
This Noble Eightfold Path is the way leading to the cessation of aging-and-death; that is, right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.
5"When, bhikkhus, a noble disciple thus understands aging-and-death, its origin, sn.ii.58 its cessation, and the way leading to its cessation, this is his knowledge of the principle.
[n.102] Dhamme ñāṇa. Spk explains the Dhamma here as the Four Noble Truths (catusaccadhamma) or path knowledge (maggañāṇadhamma).
By means of this principle that is seen, understood, immediately attained, fathomed,
[n.103] Iminā dhammena diṭṭhena viditena akālikena pattena pariyogāḷhena. Note that the string of participles here corresponds exactly to the terms used in the standard description of one who has gained "the vision of the Dhamma" (dhammacakkhu): diṭṭhadhammo, pattadhammo, viditadhammo, pariyogāḷhadhammo ("seen the Dhamma, attained the Dhamma, understood the Dhamma, fathomed the Dhamma," e.g., at DN I 110,14–15). This implies that the Dhamma which the stream-enterer has seen is dependent origination, an inference additionally confirmed by the closing passage of the present sutta.
Spk here treats akalikena as an independent adjective qualifying dhammena and explains it to mean that the path yields its fruit immediately after it is penetrated, without passage of time (kiñci kālaṁ anatikkamitvā paṭivedhānantaraṁ yeva phaladāyakena). However, in commenting on SN42.11 (IV 328,21–22), where the same statement is found, Spk explains akalikena as an adverb of manner used in apposition to pattena (see IV, n. 352). I understand akālikena in the present passage in exactly the same way; otherwise it is difficult to see why it should be included amidst a string of past participles. Moreover, since the word here characterizes the relationship between temporal events like birth and aging, the common rendering of it as "timeless" is not entirely satisfactory. The desired sense in this context is "not involving the passage of time," i.e., immediate, which qualifies the knowledge of the conditional relationship between the factors, not the factors themselves. The point is that this knowledge is a matter of direct "ocular" experience rather than of reasoning and inference.
he applies the method to the past and to the future thus:
6‘Whatever ascetics and brahmins in the past directly knew aging-and-death, its origin, its cessation, and the way leading to its cessation, all these directly knew it in the very same way that I do now.
7Whatever ascetics and brahmins in the future will directly know aging-and-death, its origin, its cessation, and the way leading to its cessation, all these will directly know it in the very same way that I do now.’
This is his knowledge of entailment.
[n.104] Anvaye ñāṇa. Spk: The knowledge (that follows) as a consequence of the knowledge of the principle; this is a name for reviewing knowledge (see n. 68). It is not possible to apply the method to the past and future by means of the dhamma of the four truths or the dhamma of path knowledge, but when the four paths have been penetrated by path knowledge, reviewing knowledge subsequently occurs, and one applies the method by means of that.
This explanation is difficult to square with the account of reviewing knowledge at Vism 676 and elsewhere as knowledge of the path and fruit attained, the defilements abandoned, those remaining, and Nibbāna. What is meant here, rather, is an inference extended to past and future, based on the immediate discernment of the conditionality operative between any given pair of factors.
The following paragraph is also at SN12.27, 28. Spk says that the arahant's (prior) plane of traineeship (khiṇāsavāssa sekhabhūmi) is being discussed, on which Spk-pṭ remarks: the moment of the supreme path (aggamaggakhaṇa).
8"When, bhikkhus, a noble disciple has purified and cleansed these two kinds of knowledge—knowledge of the principle and knowledge of entailment—he is then called a noble disciple who is accomplished in view, accomplished in vision, who has arrived at this true Dhamma, who sees this true Dhamma, who possesses a trainee's knowledge, a trainee's true knowledge, who has entered the stream of the Dhamma, a noble one with penetrative wisdom, one who stands squarely before the door to the Deathless.
9"And what, bhikkhus, is birth? … definitions as in SN12.2
existence …
clinging …
craving …
feeling …
contact …
the six sense bases …
name-and-form …
consciousness …
What are the volitional formations? sn.ii.59
There are these three kinds of volitional formations:
the bodily volitional formation,
the verbal volitional formation,
the mental volitional formation.
These are called the volitional formations.
10With the arising of ignorance, there is the arising of volitional formations; with the cessation of ignorance, there is the cessation of volitional formations.
This Noble Eightfold Path is the way leading to the cessation of volitional formations; that is, right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.
11"When, bhikkhus, a noble disciple thus understands volitional formations, their origin, their cessation, and the way leading to their cessation, this is his knowledge of the principle.
By means of this principle that is seen, understood, immediately attained, fathomed, he applies the method to the past and to the future.
12‘Whatever ascetics and brahmins in the past directly knew volitional formations, their origin, their cessation, and the way leading to their cessation, all these directly knew it in the very same way that I do now.
13Whatever ascetics and brahmins in the future will directly know volitional formations, their origin, their cessation, and the way leading to their cessation, all these will directly know it in the very same way that I do now.’
This is his knowledge of entailment.
14"When, bhikkhus, a noble disciple has purified and cleansed these two kinds of knowledge—knowledge of the principle and knowledge of entailment—
he is then called a noble disciple who is accomplished in view, accomplished in vision, who has arrived at this true Dhamma, who sees this true Dhamma, who possesses a trainee's knowledge, a trainee's true knowledge, who has entered the stream of the Dhamma, a noble one with penetrative wisdom, one who stands squarely before the door to the Deathless."
1Sāvatthiyaṁ … "Catucattārīsaṁ vo, bhikkhave, ñāṇavatthūni desessāmi, taṁ suṇātha, sādhukaṁ manasi karotha, bhāsissāmī"ti.
"Evaṁ, bhante"ti kho te bhikkhū bhagavato paccassosuṁ. Bhagavā etadavoca:
2"Katamāni, bhikkhave, catucattārīsaṁ ñāṇavatthūni?
Jarāmaraṇe ñāṇaṁ, jarāmaraṇasamudaye ñāṇaṁ, jarāmaraṇanirodhe ñāṇaṁ, jarāmaraṇanirodhagāminiyā paṭipadāya ñāṇaṁ;
jātiyā ñāṇaṁ, jātisamudaye ñāṇaṁ, jātinirodhe ñāṇaṁ, jātinirodhagāminiyā paṭipadāya ñāṇaṁ;
bhave ñāṇaṁ, bhavasamudaye ñāṇaṁ, bhavanirodhe ñāṇaṁ, bhavanirodhagāminiyā paṭipadāya ñāṇaṁ;
upādāne ñāṇaṁ, upādānasamudaye ñāṇaṁ, upādānanirodhe ñāṇaṁ, upādānanirodhagāminiyā paṭipadāya ñāṇaṁ;
taṇhāya ñāṇaṁ, taṇhāsamudaye ñāṇaṁ, taṇhānirodhe ñāṇaṁ, taṇhānirodhagāminiyā paṭipadāya ñāṇaṁ;
vedanāya ñāṇaṁ, vedanāsamudaye ñāṇaṁ, vedanānirodhe ñāṇaṁ, vedanānirodhagāminiyā paṭipadāya ñāṇaṁ;
phasse ñāṇaṁ … pe …
saḷāyatane ñāṇaṁ …
nāmarūpe ñāṇaṁ …
viññāṇe ñāṇaṁ …
saṅkhāresu ñāṇaṁ, saṅkhārasamudaye ñāṇaṁ, saṅkhāranirodhe ñāṇaṁ, saṅkhāranirodhagāminiyā paṭipadāya ñāṇaṁ.
Imāni vuccanti, bhikkhave, catucattārīsaṁ ñāṇavatthūni.
3Katamañca, bhikkhave, jarāmaraṇaṁ? Yā tesaṁ tesaṁ sattānaṁ tamhi tamhi sattanikāye jarā jīraṇatā khaṇḍiccaṁ pāliccaṁ valittacatā āyuno saṁhāni indriyānaṁ paripāko, ayaṁ vuccati jarā. Yā tesaṁ tesaṁ sattānaṁ tamhā tamhā sattanikāyā cuti cavanatā bhedo antaradhānaṁ maccu maraṇaṁ kālakiriyā khandhānaṁ bhedo kaḷevarassa nikkhepo. Idaṁ vuccati maraṇaṁ.
Iti ayañca jarā, idañca maraṇaṁ; idaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, jarāmaraṇaṁ.
4Jātisamudayā jarāmaraṇasamudayo; jātinirodhā jarāmaraṇanirodho;
ayameva ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo jarāmaraṇanirodhagāminī paṭipadā, seyyathidaṁ – sammādiṭṭhi … pe … sammāsamādhi.
5Yato kho, bhikkhave, ariyasāvako evaṁ jarāmaraṇaṁ pajānāti, evaṁ jarāmaraṇasamudayaṁ pajānāti, evaṁ jarāmaraṇanirodhaṁ pajānāti, evaṁ jarāmaraṇanirodhagāminiṁ paṭipadāṁ pajānāti, idamassa dhamme ñāṇaṁ. So iminā dhammena diṭṭhena viditena akālikena pattena pariyogāḷhena atītānāgatena yaṁ neti.
6Ye kho keci atītamaddhānaṁ samaṇā vā brāhmaṇā vā jarāmaraṇaṁ abbhaññaṁsu, jarāmaraṇasamudayaṁ abbhaññaṁsu, jarāmaraṇanirodhaṁ abbhaññaṁsu, jarāmaraṇanirodhagāminiṁ paṭipadāṁ abbhaññaṁsu, sabbete evameva abbhaññaṁsu, seyyathāpāhaṁ etarahi.
7Yepi hi keci anāgatamaddhānaṁ samaṇā vā brāhmaṇā vā jarāmaraṇaṁ abhijānissanti, jarāmaraṇasamudayaṁ abhijānissanti, jarāmaraṇanirodhaṁ abhijānissanti, jarāmaraṇanirodhagāminiṁ paṭipadāṁ abhijānissanti, sabbete evameva abhijānissanti, seyyathāpāhaṁ etarahīti.
Idamassa anvaye ñāṇaṁ.
8Yato kho, bhikkhave, ariyasāvakassa imāni dve ñāṇāni parisuddhāni honti pariyodātāni – dhamme ñāṇañca anvaye ñāṇañca. Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, ariyasāvako diṭṭhisampanno itipi, dassanasampanno itipi, āgato imaṁ saddhammaṁ itipi, passati imaṁ saddhammaṁ itipi, sekkhena ñāṇena samannāgato itipi, sekkhāya vijjāya samannāgato itipi, dhammasotaṁ samāpanno itipi, ariyo nibbedhikapañño itipi, amatadvāraṁ āhacca tiṭṭhati itipīti.
9Katamā ca, bhikkhave, jāti …
katamo ca, bhikkhave, bhavo …
katamañca, bhikkhave, upādānaṁ …
katamā ca, bhikkhave, taṇhā …
katamā ca, bhikkhave, vedanā …
katamo ca, bhikkhave, phasso …
katamañca, bhikkhave, saḷāyatanaṁ …
katamañca, bhikkhave, nāmarūpaṁ …
katamañca, bhikkhave, viññāṇaṁ …
katame ca, bhikkhave, saṅkhārā? Tayome, bhikkhave, saṅkhārā – kāyasaṅkhāro, vacīsaṅkhāro, cittasaṅkhāroti.
Ime vuccanti, bhikkhave, saṅkhārā.
10Avijjāsamudayā saṅkhārasamudayo; avijjānirodhā saṅkhāranirodho;
ayameva ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo saṅkhāranirodhagāminī paṭipadā, seyyathidaṁ – sammādiṭṭhi … pe … sammāsamādhi.
11Yato kho, bhikkhave, ariyasāvako evaṁ saṅkhāre pajānāti, evaṁ saṅkhārasamudayaṁ pajānāti, evaṁ saṅkhāranirodhaṁ pajānāti, evaṁ saṅkhāranirodhagāminiṁ paṭipadāṁ pajānāti, idamassa dhamme ñāṇaṁ.
So iminā dhammena diṭṭhena viditena akālikena pattena pariyogāḷhena atītānāgatena yaṁ neti.
12Ye kho keci atītamaddhānaṁ samaṇā vā brāhmaṇā vā saṅkhāre abbhaññaṁsu, saṅkhārasamudayaṁ abbhaññaṁsu, saṅkhāranirodhaṁ abbhaññaṁsu, saṅkhāranirodhagāminiṁ paṭipadāṁ abbhaññaṁsu, sabbete evameva abbhaññaṁsu, seyyathāpāhaṁ etarahi.
13Ye hipi keci anāgatamaddhānaṁ samaṇā vā brāhmaṇā vā saṅkhāre abhijānissanti, saṅkhārasamudayaṁ abhijānissanti, saṅkhāranirodhaṁ abhijānissanti, saṅkhāranirodhagāminiṁ paṭipadāṁ abhijānissanti, sabbete evameva abhijānissanti, seyyathāpāhaṁ etarahi.
Idamassa anvaye ñāṇaṁ.
14Yato kho, bhikkhave, ariyasāvakassa imāni dve ñāṇāni parisuddhāni honti pariyodātāni – dhamme ñāṇañca anvaye ñāṇañca.
Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, ariyasāvako diṭṭhisampanno itipi, dassanasampanno itipi, āgato imaṁ saddhammaṁ itipi, passati imaṁ saddhammaṁ itipi, sekkhena ñāṇena samannāgato itipi, sekkhāya vijjāya samannāgato itipi, dhammasotaṁ samāpanno itipi, ariyo nibbedhikapañño itipi, amatadvāraṁ āhacca tiṭṭhati itipī"ti.
Tatiyaṁ.