Dhr. Seven (ed.) based on Ajahn Thanissaro (trans.), Samadhanga Sutta: "The Factors of Absorption" (AN 5.28 PTS: A iii 25), Wisdom Quarterly
Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One (the Buddha) was staying at Savatthi, Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's monastery.
There he addressed the practicing wandering ascetics: "Meditators, I will teach the five factors of noble (enlightened) right absorption. Listen, pay close attention, and I will speak."
"As you say, venerable sir," they replied.
"Now what, meditators, are the five factors of noble right absorption? A meditator — withdrawn from sensuality, withdrawn from unskillful things — enters and abides in the first absorption with rapture and bliss (supersensual pleasure) born of withdrawal, accompanied by applied and sustained attention.
"One suffuses and saturates, soaks and fills the body with rapture and bliss born of withdrawal. There is no part of the body that remains unpervaded by rapture and bliss born of withdrawal.
"It is just as if a skilled bath attendant or apprentice were to pour bath powder into a basin and knead it, sprinkling it with water so that a ball — moistened and saturated through and through — would not drip but be soaked. Even so, a meditator suffuses, saturates, and fills the body with rapture and bliss born of withdrawal. No part of the body remains unpervaded by rapture and bliss born of withdrawal.
"This is the first development of the five factors of noble right absorption.
"Furthermore, with the stilling of applied and sustained attention, one enters and abides in the second absorption born of rapture and bliss born of stillness (coherence, composure, consolidation of mind and mental factors), unification of consciousness free of applied and sustained attention with internal assurance.
"One suffuses and saturates, soaks and fills the body with rapture and bliss born of coherence. There is no part of the body that remains unpervaded by rapture and bliss born of coherence.
"It is just as if a lake were filled with spring water welling up from inside, without inflow from the east, west, north, or south, with skies periodically supplying abundant rain so that a cool fount of water would well up from inside the lake, suffuse and saturate, soak and fill it with cool water, there being no part of the lake that would remain unpervaded by cool water. Even so, a meditator suffuses and saturates, soaks and fills the body with rapture and bliss born of coherence. There is no part of the body that remains unpervaded by rapture and bliss born of coherence.
"This is the second development of the five factors of noble right absorption.
"Furthermore, with the fading of rapture, one remains equanimous, mindful, and alert, experiencing supersensual pleasure in the body. One enters and abides in the third absorption of which the noble ones (ariya) declare:
"'Equanimous and mindful, one enjoys a pleasant abiding.' One suffuses and saturates, soaks and fills the body with pleasure free of rapture so that no part of the body remains unpervaded by pleasure free of rapture.
"It is just as if in a blue lotus pond, or a white or red one, there might be some blue, white, or red lotuses that, born and growing in water, remain immersed in water and flourish without rising above the water so that they are suffused and saturated, soaked and filled with cool water from the roots to the petals, and no part of those blue, white, or red lotuses remain unpervaded by cool water. Even so, a meditator suffuses and saturates, soaks and fills the body with pleasure free of rapture. There is no part of this body that remains unpervaded by pleasure free of rapture.
"This is the third development of the five factors of noble right absorption.
"Furthermore, with the abandoning of pleasure and pain — as with the earlier disappearance of elation and distress — one enters and abides in the fourth absorption born of purity of equanimity and mindfulness, no more experiencing pleasure or pain. One sits, pervading the body with pure, bright light (of consciousness) so that there is no part of the body that remains unpervaded by pure, bright light.
"It is just as if a person were sitting wrapped from head to toe with a white cloth so that there were no part of the body to which the white cloth did not extend. Even so, a meditator sits, pervading the body with pure, bright light. There is no part of the body that remains unpervaded by pure, bright light.
"This is the fourth development of the five factors of noble right absorption.
"Furthermore, a meditator reflects on the subject of [one-pointed] attention, well-attended to, well-considered, well-penetrated by means of wisdom.
"It is just as if a person were to reflect on another person, or a standing person were to reflect on a sitting one, or a sitting person were to reflect on one lying down. Even so, meditators, a meditator reflects well, attends well, ponders well, penetrates well by means of wisdom.
"This is the fifth development of the five factors of noble right absorption.
"When a meditator has developed and pursued these five factors of noble right absorption in this way, then whichever of the six higher knowledges one turns one's mind to penetrate and realize, one can witness them whenever there is an opening.
"Suppose there were a water jar set on a stand, brimming with water so that even a crow could easily drink from it. If a strong person were to tip it [in any way at all], would water spill from it?"
"Yes, venerable sir."
"In the same way, when a meditator has developed and pursued the five factors of noble right absorption in this way, then whichever of the six higher knowledges one turns one's mind to penetrate and realize, one can witness them whenever there is an opening.
"Suppose there were a rectangular water tank — enclosed and set on level ground — brimming with water so that even a crow could easily drink from it. If a strong person were to loosen the enclosure anywhere at all, would water spill from it?"
"Yes, venerable sir."
"In the same way, when a meditator has developed and pursued the five factors of noble right absorption in this way, then whichever of the six higher knowledges one turns one's mind to penetrate and realize, one can witness them whenever there is an opening.
"Suppose there were a chariot on level ground at four crossroads, harnessed to thoroughbred steeds, waiting with whips lying at the ready so that a skilled driver, a trainer of horses able to be tamed, might mount and — taking the reins in one hand and the whip in the other — drive out and back, to whatever place and by whichever road. In the same way, when a meditator has developed and pursued the five factors of noble right absorption in this way, then whichever of the six higher knowledges one turns one's mind to penetrate and realize, one can witness them whenever there is an opening.
"If one wants, one wields manifold supernormal powers.
- Having been one, one becomes many.
- Having been many, one becomes one again.
- One appears.
- One disappears.
- One goes unimpeded through walls, ramparts, and mountains as if through space.
- One dives in and out of the earth as if it were water.
- One walks on water without sinking as if it were dry land.
- Sitting crosslegged one flies through the air like a winged bird.
- With one's own hand one touches and strokes even the sun and moon, so mighty and powerful.
- One wields influence with this body even as far as the brahma worlds.
- One can witness this whenever there is an opening.
"If one wants, one knows the mind (heart) of other beings, other individuals, having encompassed mind with mind. One knows a mind with passion as a mind with passion, a mind free of passion as a mind free of passion. One knows a mind with aversion as a mind with aversion, a mind free of aversion as a mind free of aversion. One knows a mind with delusion as a mind with delusion, a mind free of delusion as a mind free of delusion. One knows a contracted mind as a contracted mind, a scattered mind as a scattered mind. One knows an expanded mind as an expanded mind, an unexpanded mind as an unexpanded mind. One knows an excelled mind [one not yet at the most excellent level] as an excelled mind, an unexcelled mind as an unexcelled mind. One knows a still (concentrated) mind as a still mind, a distracted mind as a distracted mind. One knows a released mind as a released mind, an unreleased mind as an unreleased mind. One can witness this whenever there is an opening.
"If one wants, one recollects manifold past lives [existences, previous abodes], that is, one birth, two births, three births, four, five, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 100, 1,000, 100,000, many aeons of galactic/cosmic contraction, many aeons of galactic/cosmic expansion, many aeons of contraction and expansion, [recollecting]:
"'There I had such a name, belonged to such a clan, had such an appearance. Such was my food, such my experience of pleasure and pain, such the end of my life. Passing away from that state, I rearose there. There, too, I had such a name, belonged to such a clan, had such an appearance. Such was my food, such my experience of pleasure and pain, such the end of my life. Passing away from that state, I rearose here.' Thus, one remembers manifold past lives in general and in detail. One can witness this whenever there is an opening.
"If one wants, one sees — by means of the divine eye that is purified and surpasses the human — other beings passing away and reappearing and knows how they are inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate in accordance with their deeds (karma):
"'These beings of unskillful conduct of body, speech, and mind, who reviled the noble ones, held wrong views, and undertook actions under the influence of wrong views — with the breakup of the body, after death — have reappeared in an unfortunate plane of deprivation, the downfall, in lower realms, even in a hell.
"These other beings of skillful conduct of body, speech, and mind, who abstained from reviling the noble ones, who held right views and undertook actions under the influence of right views — with the breakup of the body, after death, have reappeared in fortunate destinations, even in a heavenly world.'
"Thus, by means of the divine eye that is purified and surpasses the human, one sees beings passing away and reappearing [dying and being reborn] and knows how they are inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate in accordance with their deeds. One can witness this whenever there is an opening.
"If one wants, by putting an end to the mental defilements (taints, corruptions, cankers, effluents), one remains in that defilement-free knowing-and-seeing, having known and made them manifest here and now. One can witness this whenever there is an opening."
That is what the Blessed One said. Gratified, the wandering ascetics delighted in the Blessed One's words.
No comments:
Post a Comment