We had occasion to mention in our very first sermon that the Buddha himself has prophesized that those discourses which deal with voidness would, in time to come, fall into disuse, with their deeper meanings obscured [Note 260]. The interpretations just quoted go to show that the prediction has already come true to a great extent. The phrase we quoted is from the Brahmanimantanika Sutra (MN 49, on the Buddha's debate with the Brahma-god Baka) with its reference to a special kind of consciousness (anidassana viññāṇa) that occurs in a context which has a significance of its own. The relevant paragraph, therefore, deserves some attention:
Viññānaṃ anidassanaṃ anantaṃ... [261]
"Consciousness which makes nothing manifest, infinite and all lustrous, it does not partake of the earthiness of earth, the wateriness of water, the fieriness of fire, the airiness of air, the creature-hood of creatures, the deva-hood of devas, the Pajāpati-hood of Pajāpati, the Brahma-hood of Brahma, the radiance of the Radiant Ones, the Subhakiṇha-hood of the Subhakiṇha Brahmas, the Vehapphala-hood of the Vehapphala Brahmas, the overlord-ship of the overlord, and the all-ness of the all." This peculiar paragraph, listing thirteen concepts, seems to convey something deep about the nature of the non-manifestative consciousness. That consciousness does not partake of the earthiness of earth, the wateriness of water, the fieriness of fire, and the airiness of air. That is to say, the nature of the four elements does not inhere in this consciousness, and they do not manifest themselves in it.
Similarly, the other concepts, like deva-hood, Brahma-hood, and so on, which worldlings take seriously as real, have no applicability or validity here. The special significance of this assertion lies in the context in which it is declared by the Buddha. It is to dispel a wrong view that Baka the Brahma conceived, regarding his Brahma-status as permanent, everlasting, and eternal, which the Buddha made before that Brahma himself in the Brahma world.
The whole point of the discourse, then, is to challenge the wrong view of the Brahma, by asserting that the non-manifestative consciousness of the enlightened disciple (arahant) is above the worldly concepts of elements and divinity and the questionable reality attributed to them. In other words, they do not manifest themselves in it. They are transcended. More>>
- Note 260: S II 267, Āṇisutta; see Sermon 1.
- 25 Sermons on Nirvana (PDF)
