Difference between revisions of "The Anguttara Nikaya"
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The [[Anguttara Nikaya]] offers two further examples of [[Maha Kaccana's]] {{Wiki|exegetical}} skills. In one short [[sutta]] (AN 10:26) in this collection we see how the elder interprets a verse, the meaning of which seems completely explicit as it stands, by transposing it into a figurative mode and then extracting the implicit meaning by mapping it on to a framework of systematic [[doctrine]]. Here a woman lay [[disciple]] named [[Kali]] comes to the elder and asks him to explain in detail a verse from "The Girl's Questions." The reference is to the account of the [[Buddha's]] encounter with [[Mara's]] daughters when they tried to seduce him in the first year after his [[Enlightenment]] (SN 4:25). The daughter [[Tanha]] ([[Craving]]) had asked him why, instead of forming intimate relationships in the village, he squanders his [[time]] [[meditating]] alone in the woods. To this the [[Buddha]] replied: | The [[Anguttara Nikaya]] offers two further examples of [[Maha Kaccana's]] {{Wiki|exegetical}} skills. In one short [[sutta]] (AN 10:26) in this collection we see how the elder interprets a verse, the meaning of which seems completely explicit as it stands, by transposing it into a figurative mode and then extracting the implicit meaning by mapping it on to a framework of systematic [[doctrine]]. Here a woman lay [[disciple]] named [[Kali]] comes to the elder and asks him to explain in detail a verse from "The Girl's Questions." The reference is to the account of the [[Buddha's]] encounter with [[Mara's]] daughters when they tried to seduce him in the first year after his [[Enlightenment]] (SN 4:25). The daughter [[Tanha]] ([[Craving]]) had asked him why, instead of forming intimate relationships in the village, he squanders his [[time]] [[meditating]] alone in the woods. To this the [[Buddha]] replied: | ||
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Nor does intimacy with anyone flourish for me." | Nor does intimacy with anyone flourish for me." | ||
| − | It is this verse that [[Kali]] asks the [[Venerable]] [[Maha Kaccana]] to elucidate. The elder explicates the verse in a way that does not appear to be derivable from the words themselves. His interpretation contrasts the [[Buddha's]] [[attitude]] to the [[kasinas]] — the [[meditations]] on special devices for inducing [[concentration]][21] — with that of other recluses and [[brahmans]]. He explains that some contemplatives, regarding the [[attainment]] of the [[earth]] [[kasina]] as the supreme goal, thereby generate this [[attainment]]. Others may take one of the other [[kasinas]] as supreme — the [[water]] [[kasina]], the [[fire]] [[kasina]], etc. — and reach the corresponding [[meditative]] state. But for each [[kasina]], the [[Blessed One]] has directly understood to what extent it is supreme, and having understood this, he saw its origin, he saw the [[danger]], he saw the escape, and he saw the [[knowledge]] and [[vision]] of the true [[path]] and the wrong [[path]]. Having seen all this, he understood the [[attainment]] of the goal and the [[peace]] of the [[heart]]. It is in this way, the elder concludes, that the meaning of the above verse should be understood in detail. | + | It is this verse that [[Kali]] asks the [[Venerable]] [[Maha Kaccana]] to elucidate. The elder explicates the verse in a way that does not appear to be derivable from the words themselves. His [[interpretation]] contrasts the [[Buddha's]] [[attitude]] to the [[kasinas]] — the [[meditations]] on special devices for inducing [[concentration]][21] — with that of other recluses and [[brahmans]]. He explains that some contemplatives, regarding the [[attainment]] of the [[earth]] [[kasina]] as the supreme goal, thereby generate this [[attainment]]. Others may take one of the other [[kasinas]] as supreme — the [[water]] [[kasina]], the [[fire]] [[kasina]], etc. — and reach the [[corresponding]] [[meditative]] [[state]]. But for each [[kasina]], the [[Blessed One]] has directly understood to what extent it is supreme, and having understood this, he saw its origin, he saw the [[danger]], he saw the escape, and he saw the [[knowledge]] and [[vision]] of the true [[path]] and the wrong [[path]]. Having seen all this, he understood the [[attainment]] of the goal and the [[peace]] of the [[heart]]. It is in this way, the elder concludes, that the meaning of the above verse should be understood in detail. |
| − | Interpreted by way of its apparent meaning, the verse seems to be extolling the [[bliss]] of secluded [[meditation]] above the [[pleasures]] of {{Wiki|sensual}} and {{Wiki|social}} [[contact]] — the very enjoyments with which [[Mara's]] daughters have been trying to tempt the [[Enlightened One]]. But the [[Venerable]] [[Maha Kaccana]] gives a different twist to the meaning. For him, the contrast is not merely between [[sensual pleasure]] and [[meditative]] [[bliss]] but between two different attitudes to advanced stages of [[meditative]] absorption. The ordinary recluses and [[brahmans]] understand the [[jhanas]] and other [[extraordinary]] states of [[consciousness]] attainable through the [[kasina]] [[meditations]] to be the final goal of [[spiritual]] endeavor. By doing so, they remain caught in the trap of [[craving]] for becoming and thus fail to find the way to final [[deliverance]]. Because they become [[attached]] to the [[exalted]] [[bliss]] and quiet [[serenity]] of the [[jhanas]], they cannot see that these states too are [[conditioned]] and transient, and thus they cannot relinquish their [[attachment]] to them. They therefore remain within [[Mara's]] domain, vanquished by his {{Wiki|army}} of "agreeable and [[pleasant]] [[forms]]," however [[sublime]] such may be. But the [[Buddha]] has seen the origin (adi)[22] of these attainments, i.e., [[craving]] as the origin of [[suffering]]; he has seen the [[danger]] (adinava), i.e., that they are [[impermanent]], unsatisfactory, and [[subject]] to change; he has seen the escape (nissarana) from them, i.e., [[Nibbana]]; and he has obtained the [[knowledge]] and [[vision]] by which he can distinguish the true [[path]] from the false, i.e., the [[Noble Eightfold Path]] from the wrong [[eightfold path]]. By means of this fourfold [[knowledge]], which in effect is [[knowledge]] of the [[Four Noble Truths]], he has attained the goal, [[Nibbana]], [[experienced]] as the [[peace]] of [[heart]] that can arise only when all [[defilements]] have been [[extinguished]] without residue. | + | Interpreted by way of its apparent meaning, the verse seems to be extolling the [[bliss]] of secluded [[meditation]] above the [[pleasures]] of {{Wiki|sensual}} and {{Wiki|social}} [[contact]] — the very enjoyments with which [[Mara's]] daughters have been trying to tempt the [[Enlightened One]]. But the [[Venerable]] [[Maha Kaccana]] gives a different twist to the meaning. For him, the contrast is not merely between [[sensual pleasure]] and [[meditative]] [[bliss]] but between two different attitudes to advanced stages of [[meditative]] [[absorption]]. The ordinary recluses and [[brahmans]] understand the [[jhanas]] and other [[extraordinary]] states of [[consciousness]] attainable through the [[kasina]] [[meditations]] to be the final goal of [[spiritual]] endeavor. By doing so, they remain caught in the trap of [[craving]] for becoming and thus fail to find the way to final [[deliverance]]. Because they become [[attached]] to the [[exalted]] [[bliss]] and quiet [[serenity]] of the [[jhanas]], they cannot see that these states too are [[conditioned]] and transient, and thus they cannot relinquish their [[attachment]] to them. They therefore remain within [[Mara's]] domain, vanquished by his {{Wiki|army}} of "agreeable and [[pleasant]] [[forms]]," however [[sublime]] such may be. But the [[Buddha]] has seen the origin (adi)[22] of these [[attainments]], i.e., [[craving]] as the origin of [[suffering]]; he has seen the [[danger]] ([[adinava]]), i.e., that they are [[impermanent]], unsatisfactory, and [[subject]] to change; he has seen the escape (nissarana) from them, i.e., [[Nibbana]]; and he has obtained the [[knowledge]] and [[vision]] by which he can distinguish the true [[path]] from the false, i.e., the [[Noble Eightfold Path]] from the wrong [[eightfold path]]. By means of this fourfold [[knowledge]], which in effect is [[knowledge]] of the [[Four Noble Truths]], he has [[attained]] the goal, [[Nibbana]], [[experienced]] as the [[peace]] of [[heart]] that can arise only when all [[defilements]] have been [[extinguished]] without residue. |
Finally, towards the end of the massive [[Anguttara Nikaya]], we find one more [[sutta]] [[constructed]] on the same pattern as the three [[Majjhima Nikaya]] [[suttas]]. This [[sutta]] (AN 10:172) opens with a short statement of the [[Buddha]]: | Finally, towards the end of the massive [[Anguttara Nikaya]], we find one more [[sutta]] [[constructed]] on the same pattern as the three [[Majjhima Nikaya]] [[suttas]]. This [[sutta]] (AN 10:172) opens with a short statement of the [[Buddha]]: | ||
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Having said this, the [[Blessed One]] rose from his seat and entered his dwelling. | Having said this, the [[Blessed One]] rose from his seat and entered his dwelling. | ||
| − | The [[monks]] then approach the [[Venerable]] [[Maha Kaccana]] to request an explanation. Following the stock [[formulas]] of protest and insistence, [[Maha Kaccana]] interprets the [[Buddha's]] injunction by way of the ten [[unwholesome]] and ten [[wholesome]] courses of [[kamma]]: taking [[life]] is non-[[dhamma]], abstaining from taking [[life]] is [[dhamma]]; the numerous [[evil]] [[unwholesome]] states that arise on account of taking [[life]] — this is harm; the numerous [[wholesome]] states that arise [[conditioned]] by abstinence from taking [[life]] and that go to fulfillment by development — this is [[benefit]]. The same pattern is applied to [[stealing]], {{Wiki|sexual}} misconduct, lying, slander, harsh [[speech]], and gossip. Finally, covetousness, [[ill will]], and [[wrong view]] are non-dhamma, and the [[evil]] states that arise from them are harm; non-covetousness, goodwill, and [[right view]] are [[dhamma]], and the [[wholesome]] states [[conditioned]] by them that go to fulfillment by development are [[benefit]]. | + | The [[monks]] then approach the [[Venerable]] [[Maha Kaccana]] to request an explanation. Following the stock [[formulas]] of protest and insistence, [[Maha Kaccana]] interprets the [[Buddha's]] injunction by way of the ten [[unwholesome]] and ten [[wholesome]] courses of [[kamma]]: taking [[life]] is non-[[dhamma]], abstaining from taking [[life]] is [[dhamma]]; the numerous [[evil]] [[unwholesome]] states that arise on account of taking [[life]] — this is harm; the numerous [[wholesome]] states that arise [[conditioned]] by [[abstinence]] from taking [[life]] and that go to fulfillment by [[development]] — this is [[benefit]]. The same pattern is applied to [[stealing]], {{Wiki|sexual}} {{Wiki|misconduct}}, {{Wiki|lying}}, [[slander]], harsh [[speech]], and {{Wiki|gossip}}. Finally, covetousness, [[ill will]], and [[wrong view]] are [[non-dhamma]], and the [[evil]] states that arise from them are harm; non-covetousness, [[goodwill]], and [[right view]] are [[dhamma]], and the [[wholesome]] states [[conditioned]] by them that go to fulfillment by [[development]] are [[benefit]]. |
</poem> | </poem> | ||
{{R}} | {{R}} | ||
[http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/wheel405.html www.accesstoinsight.org] | [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/wheel405.html www.accesstoinsight.org] | ||
[[Category:Maha Kaccana]] | [[Category:Maha Kaccana]] | ||
Latest revision as of 21:57, 10 February 2024
The Anguttara Nikaya offers two further examples of Maha Kaccana's exegetical skills. In one short sutta (AN 10:26) in this collection we see how the elder interprets a verse, the meaning of which seems completely explicit as it stands, by transposing it into a figurative mode and then extracting the implicit meaning by mapping it on to a framework of systematic doctrine. Here a woman lay disciple named Kali comes to the elder and asks him to explain in detail a verse from "The Girl's Questions." The reference is to the account of the Buddha's encounter with Mara's daughters when they tried to seduce him in the first year after his Enlightenment (SN 4:25). The daughter Tanha (Craving) had asked him why, instead of forming intimate relationships in the village, he squanders his time meditating alone in the woods. To this the Buddha replied:
"Having conquered the army of the pleasant and agreeable,
Meditating alone I discovered bliss —
The attainment of the goal, the peace of the heart.
Therefore I do not make friends with people,
Nor does intimacy with anyone flourish for me."
It is this verse that Kali asks the Venerable Maha Kaccana to elucidate. The elder explicates the verse in a way that does not appear to be derivable from the words themselves. His interpretation contrasts the Buddha's attitude to the kasinas — the meditations on special devices for inducing concentration[21] — with that of other recluses and brahmans. He explains that some contemplatives, regarding the attainment of the earth kasina as the supreme goal, thereby generate this attainment. Others may take one of the other kasinas as supreme — the water kasina, the fire kasina, etc. — and reach the corresponding meditative state. But for each kasina, the Blessed One has directly understood to what extent it is supreme, and having understood this, he saw its origin, he saw the danger, he saw the escape, and he saw the knowledge and vision of the true path and the wrong path. Having seen all this, he understood the attainment of the goal and the peace of the heart. It is in this way, the elder concludes, that the meaning of the above verse should be understood in detail.
Interpreted by way of its apparent meaning, the verse seems to be extolling the bliss of secluded meditation above the pleasures of sensual and social contact — the very enjoyments with which Mara's daughters have been trying to tempt the Enlightened One. But the Venerable Maha Kaccana gives a different twist to the meaning. For him, the contrast is not merely between sensual pleasure and meditative bliss but between two different attitudes to advanced stages of meditative absorption. The ordinary recluses and brahmans understand the jhanas and other extraordinary states of consciousness attainable through the kasina meditations to be the final goal of spiritual endeavor. By doing so, they remain caught in the trap of craving for becoming and thus fail to find the way to final deliverance. Because they become attached to the exalted bliss and quiet serenity of the jhanas, they cannot see that these states too are conditioned and transient, and thus they cannot relinquish their attachment to them. They therefore remain within Mara's domain, vanquished by his army of "agreeable and pleasant forms," however sublime such may be. But the Buddha has seen the origin (adi)[22] of these attainments, i.e., craving as the origin of suffering; he has seen the danger (adinava), i.e., that they are impermanent, unsatisfactory, and subject to change; he has seen the escape (nissarana) from them, i.e., Nibbana; and he has obtained the knowledge and vision by which he can distinguish the true path from the false, i.e., the Noble Eightfold Path from the wrong eightfold path. By means of this fourfold knowledge, which in effect is knowledge of the Four Noble Truths, he has attained the goal, Nibbana, experienced as the peace of heart that can arise only when all defilements have been extinguished without residue.
Finally, towards the end of the massive Anguttara Nikaya, we find one more sutta constructed on the same pattern as the three Majjhima Nikaya suttas. This sutta (AN 10:172) opens with a short statement of the Buddha:
"Bhikkhus, non-dhamma should be understood, and so too dhamma
should be understood. Harm should be understood, and benefit
should be understood. Having understood all this, one should
practice in accordance with dhamma, in accordance with benefit."
Having said this, the Blessed One rose from his seat and entered his dwelling.
The monks then approach the Venerable Maha Kaccana to request an explanation. Following the stock formulas of protest and insistence, Maha Kaccana interprets the Buddha's injunction by way of the ten unwholesome and ten wholesome courses of kamma: taking life is non-dhamma, abstaining from taking life is dhamma; the numerous evil unwholesome states that arise on account of taking life — this is harm; the numerous wholesome states that arise conditioned by abstinence from taking life and that go to fulfillment by development — this is benefit. The same pattern is applied to stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, slander, harsh speech, and gossip. Finally, covetousness, ill will, and wrong view are non-dhamma, and the evil states that arise from them are harm; non-covetousness, goodwill, and right view are dhamma, and the wholesome states conditioned by them that go to fulfillment by development are benefit.
