The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha
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The Majjhima Nikāya. 3 vols. Rangoon: Buddhasāsana Samiti, 1954. Burmese-script edition published in connection with the Sixth Buddhist Council held in Burma, 1954–56.
The Majjhima Nikāya. 3 vols. Sri Lanka: Lanka Buddha Mandalaya, 1964–74. Sinhala-script edition published in the Buddha Jayanti Tripitaka Series; Sinhala translation on facing pages.
Majjhima Nikāya Aṭṭhakathā (Papañcasūdanı̄). 4 vols. Rangoon: Buddhasāsana Samiti, 1957. Burmese-script edition of Ācariya Buddhaghosa’s commentary to the Majjhima Nikāya.
Majjhima Nikāya Ṭı̄kā. 3 vols. Rangoon: Buddhasāsana Samiti, 1961. Burmese-script edition of Ācariya Dhammapāla’s subcommentary to the Majjhima Nikāya.
B. TRANSLATIONS AND STUDIES
Basham, A.L. History and Doctrines of the Ājı̄vikas. 1951. Reprint. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1981. Study of a philosophical school to which several of the Buddha’s contemporary rivals belonged.
Bodhi, Bhikkhu, trans. The Discourse on the All-Embracing Net of Views: The Brahmajāla Sutta and Its Commentaries. BPS, 1978. Translation of the first sutta in the Dı̄gha Nikāya, a parallel to MN 102.
______, trans. The Discourse on the Fruits of Recluseship: The Sāmaññaphala Sutta and Its Commentaries. BPS,1989. Translation of the second sutta in the Dı̄gha Nikāya; clarifies views of the six heterodox teachers often mentioned in the Majjhima Nikāya.
_______, trans. The Discourse on the Root of Existence: The Mūlapariyāya Sutta and Its Commentaries. Translation of MN 1, commentary, portions of subcommentary.
Geiger, Wilhelm. A Pāli Grammar. Oxford: PTS, 1994.
Horner, I.B., trans. The Book of the Discipline. 6 vols. London: PTS, 1949–66. Translation of the complete Vinaya Piṭaka.
_______ , trans. The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings. 3 vols. London: PTS, 1954–59. Long-standing translation of the complete Majjhima Nikāya.
_______ . Early Buddhism and the Taking of Life. BPS Wheel No. 104, 1967.
Kloppenborg, Ria. The Paccekabuddha: A Buddhist Ascetic. BPS Wheel No. 305/307, 1983. Study of the figure extolled in MN 116.
Ñāṇamoli, Bhikkhu, trans. The Greater Discourse on Voidness. BPS Wheel No. 87, 1965. Translation of MN 122 and commentary.
_______ . The Life of the Buddha According to the Pali Canon. BPS, 1972. Biography of the Buddha constructed from canonical texts.
_______ , trans. Mindfulnessof Breathing. 2nd ed. BPS,1964. Includes translation of MN 118 and related texts.
_______, trans. The Minor Readings and The Illustrator of Ultimate Meaning. London: PTS, 1960. Appendix contains discussion of translator’s understanding of Pali technical terms.
________ , trans. The Path of Purification (Visuddhimagga), 4th ed. BPS, 1980. Encyclopaedic work on Buddhist doctrine and meditation, by Ācariya Buddhaghosa. “Cornerstone” of the commentaries.
________ , trans. A Treasury of the Buddha’sWords. Bangkok: Mahāmakutarājavidyālaya, 1980. Ninety Majjhima suttas, selected and edited by Bhikkhu Khantipālo.
Ñāṇananda, Bhikkhu. Concept and Reality in Early Buddhism. BPS, 1971. Includes exposition of MN 18.
________, trans. Ideal Solitude. BPS Wheel No. 188, 1973. Translation of MN 131 with introduction and notes.
Norman, K.R. Collected Papers, II. Oxford: PTS, 1991.
________ . Elders’ Verses I: Theragāthā. London: PTS, 1969.
______ . Elders’ Verses II: Therı̄gāthā. London: PTS, 1971.
______ . The Group of Discourses II. Oxford: PTS, 1992.
Nyanaponika Thera, trans. The Discourse on the Snake Simile. BPS Wheel No. 48/49, 1962. Translation of MN 22 with introduction and notes.
______ . The Five Mental Hindrances. BPS Wheel No. 26, 1961. Includes translation of commentary on similes in MN 39.
______ . The Four Nutriments of Life. BPS Wheel No. 105/106, 1967. Explicates the nutriments mentioned in MN 9 and MN 38.
______, trans. The Greater Discourse on the Elephant-Footprint Simile. BPS Wheel No. 101, 1966. Translation of MN 28 with introduction and notes.
______ . The Heart of Buddhist Meditation. London: Rider and Co., 1962; BPS, 1992. Includes translation of MN 10 with modern commentary.
______ . The Roots of Good and Evil. BPS Wheel No. 251/253, 1978. Canonical study of the unwholesome roots and their antidotes.
______ , trans. The Simile of the Cloth and The Discourse on Effacement. BPS Wheel No. 61/62, 1964. Translation of MN 7 and MN 8 with introduction and notes.
______ . The Threefold Refuge. BPS Wheel No. 76, 1965. Includes commentary on refuge formula often met with in the Majjhima Nikāya.
Piyadassi Thera. The Seven Factors of Enlightenment. BPS Wheel No. 1, 1957.
Skilling, Peter. Mahāsūtras II, Parts 1 and 2. Oxford: PTS, 1997.
Soma Thera, trans. The Removal of Distracting Thoughts. BPS Wheel No. 21, 1960. Translation of MN 20 with commentary and subcommentary.
______ , trans. The Way of Mindfulness,5th ed. BPS , 1981. Translation of MN 10 and its commentary and subcommentary.
Thittila, Sayadaw U, trans. The Book of Analysis (Vibhanga). London: PTS, 1969.Includes explanation of Tathāgata’s powers (MN 12), elements and bases (MN 115).
Walshe, Maurice, trans. Thus Have I Heard: Long Discourses of the Buddha. London: Wisdom Publications, 1987. Recent translation of the complete Dı̄gha Nikāya.
Watanabe, Fumimaro. Philosophy and its Development in the Nikāyas and Abhidhamma. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1983. Chapters on Abhidhamma elements in the Nikāyas and on the Codes (m̄tik̄).
Wijesekera, O.H. de A. Buddhist and Vedic Studies. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1994.
List of Abbreviations
AN Anguttara Nikāya
BBS Burmese-script Buddhasāsana Samiti edition of the Majjhima Nikāya
BPS Buddhist Publication Society of Kandy, Sri Lanka
CPD Critical Pāli Dictionary
Cv Cū˘avagga (Vinaya Piṭaka)
Dhp Dhammapada
DN Dı̄gha Nikāya
Jāt Jātaka
Kh Khandhaka (Vinaya Piṭaka)
MA Majjhima Nikāya Aṭṭhakathā
Miln Milindapañha
MLS Middle Length Sayings (see Bibliography, Horner)
MN Majjhima Nikāya
Ms Ven. Ñā˚amoli’s manuscript translation of the Majjhima Nikāya
Ṃ Majjhima Nikāya Ṭı̄kā
Mv Mahāvagga (Vinaya Piṭaka)
Ñm Bhikkhu Ñā˚amoli
Pāc Pācittiya
Pār Pārājika
PED Pali-English Dictionary (Pali Text Society)
PTS Pali Text Society
Pṭs Paṭisambhidāmagga
Pug Puggalapaññatti
SBJ Sinhala-script Buddha Jayanti Tripitaka Series edition of the Majjhima Nikāya
SN Saṁyutta Nikāya
Sn Sutta Nipāta
Thag Theragāthā
Ud Udāna
Vbh Vibhanga
Vin Vinaya Piṭaka
Vsm Visuddhimagga
In the case of references containing two figures separated by a slash, the figure to the right of the slash is the volume and page number of the PTS edition of the Pali text. Of the figures to the left of the slash, references to the Saṁyutta Nikāya and the Udāna indicate chapter and sutta number; those to the Anguttara Nikāya indicate division and sutta number; those to the Dı̄gha Nikāya indicate the sutta, section, and verse number assigned in Maurice Walshe’s translation, Thus Have I Heard (see Bibliography). References to the Visuddhimagga are to chapter and section number of Bhikkhu Ñā˚amoli’s translation, The Path of Purification. All references to the Majjhima Nikāya are to the sutta and section number of the present work.
Notes
SUTTA 1
1 For a fuller treatment of this important and difficult sutta, see Bhikkhu Bodhi, Discourse on the Root of Existence. This work contains, besides a translation of the sutta,
a lengthy analytical study of its philosophical significance and copious extracts from the very helpful commentarial literature that has accumulated around it. Ñm’s rendering of this sutta in Ms was highly conjectural; thus, while I have retained most of his terminology, I have substituted my own rendering of the syntax to bring out the meaning that accords with the traditional interpretation and that seems warranted by the original Pali text as well. The key passages as Ñm rendered them will be given in the Notes.
2 MA explains that the Buddha delivered this sutta to dispel the conceit that had arisen in five hundred bhikkhus on account of their erudition and intellectual mastery of the Buddha’s teachings. These bhikkhus were formerly brahmins learned in the Vedic literature, and the Buddha’s cryptic utterances may well have been intended to challenge the brahmanic views to which they may still have adhered.
3 Sabbadhammamūlapariyāya. Ṃ explains that the word “all” (sabba) is being used here in the restricted sense of the “all of personal identity” (sakk̄yasabba), that is, with reference to all states or phenomena (dhamm̄) comprised within the five aggregates affected by clinging (see MN 28.4). Supramundane states—the paths, fruits, and Nibbāna—are excluded. The “root of all things”—that is, the special condition that maintains the continuity of the process of repeated existence—Ṃ explains to be craving, conceit, and views (which are the underlying springs of “conceiving”), and these in turn are underlaid by ignorance, suggested in the sutta by the phrase “he has not fully understood it.”
4 The “untaught ordinary person” (assutav̄ puthujjana) is the common worldling, who possesses neither learning nor spiritual accomplishment in the Dhamma of the noble ones, and allows himself to be dominated by the multitude of defilements and wrong views. See Bodhi, Discourse on the Root of Existence, pp. 40–46.
5 Paṭhaviṁ paṭhavito sañjānāti. Although perceiving “earth as earth” seems to suggest seeing the object as it really is, the aim of Buddhist insight meditation, the context makes it clear that the ordinary person’s perception of “earth as earth” already introduces a slight distortion of the object, a distortion that will be blown up into full-fledged misinterpretation when the cognitive process enters the phase of “conceiving.” MA explains that the ordinary person seizes upon the conventional expression “it is earth,” and applying this to the object, perceives it through a “perversion of perception” (saññ̄vipall̄sa). The latter is a technical expression explained as perceiving the impermanent as permanent, the painful as pleasurable, what is not self as self, and what is foul as beautiful (AN 4:49/ii.52). Ñm reads the ablative suffix -to of the Pali as signifying derivation and translates the phrase: “From earth he has a percept of earth.”
6 The Pali verb “conceives” (maññati), from the root man, “to think,” is often used in the Pali suttas to mean distortional thinking—thought that ascribes to its object characteristics and a significance derived not from the object itself, but from one’s own subjective imaginings. The cognitive distortion introduced by conceiving consists, in brief, in the intrusion of the egocentric perspective into the experience already slightly distorted by spontaneous perception. According to the commentaries, the activity of conceiving is governed by three defilements, which account for the different ways it comes to manifestation—craving (taṇh̄ ) , conceit (m̄na ), and views (dị̣hi).MA paraphrases this text thus: “Having perceived earth with a perverted perception, the ordinary person afterwards conceives it—construes or discriminates it—through the gross proliferating tendencies (papañca) of craving, conceit, and views, which are here called ‘conceivings. ’…He apprehends it in diverse ways contrary [to reality].”
The four ways of conceiving (maññan̄): The Buddha shows that the conceiving of any object may occur in any of four ways, expressed by the text as a fourfold linguistic pattern: accusative, locative, ablative, and appropriative. The primary significance of this modal pattern—enigmatic in the Pali as well—seems to be ontological. I take the pattern to represent the diverse ways in which the ordinary person attempts to give positive being to his imagined sense of egohood by positing,below the threshold of reflection, a relationship between himself as the subject of cognition and the perceived phenomenon as its object. According to the fourfold pattern given, this relationship may be one either of direct identification (“he conceives X”), or of inherence (“he conceives in X”), or of contrast or derivation (“he conceives from X”), or of simple appropriation (“he conceives X to be ‘mine’”).
But care is needed in interpreting these phrases. The Pali does not supply any direct object for the second and third modes, and this suggests that the process at work in conceiving proceeds from a deeper and more general level than that involved in the forming of an explicit view of self, as described for example at MN 2.8 or MN 44.7. The activity of conceiving thus seems to comprise the entire range of subjectively tinged cognition, from the impulses and thoughts in which the sense of personal identity is still inchoate to elaborate intellectual structures in which it has been fully explicated.
Ñm, however, understands the implicit object of conceiving to be the percept itself, and accordingly translates: “having had from earth a percept of earth, he conceives [that to be] earth, he conceives [that to be] in earth, he conceives [that to be apart] from earth,” etc.
The fifth phrase, “he delights in X,” explicitly connects conceiving with craving, which is elsewhere said to “delight here and there.” This, moreover, hints at the danger in the worldling’s thought processes, since craving is pointed to by the Buddha as the origin of suffering.
MA gives prolific examples illustrating all the different modes of conceiving, and these clearly establish that the intended object of conceiving is the misplaced sense of egoity.
7 MA states that one who fully understands earth does so by the three types of full understanding: the full understanding of the known (ñātapariññā)—the definition of the earth element by way of its unique characteristic, function, manifestation, and proximate cause; the full understanding by scrutinization (tı̄raṇapariññā)—the contemplation of the earth element by way of the three general characteristics of impermanence, suffering, and non-self; and the full understanding of abandonment (pahānapariññā)—the abandoning of desire and lust for the earth element through the supreme path (of arahantship).
8 Bhūtā. MA says that “beings” here signifies only living beings below the heaven of the Four Great Kings, the lowest of the sense-sphere heavens; the higher grades of living beings are covered by the terms to follow. MA exemplifies the application of the three types of conceiving to this situation as follows: When a person becomes attached to beings as a result of sight, hearing, etc., or desires rebirth in a certain class of beings, this is conceiving due to craving. When he ranks himself as superior, equal, or inferior to others, this is conceiving due to conceit. And when he thinks, “Beings are permanent, stable, eternal,” etc., this is conceiving due to views.
9 MA: The gods of the six sense-sphere heavenly worlds are meant, except for Māra and his retinue in the heaven of the gods who wield power over others’ creations. See the account of Buddhist cosmology in the Introduction, pp. 45–48.
10 Prajāpati, “lord of creation,” is a name given by the Vedas to Indra, Agni, etc., as the highest of the Vedic divinities. But according to MA, Pajāpati here is a name for Māra because he is the ruler of this “generation” (paj̄) made up of living beings.
11 Brahmā here is Mahābrahmā, the first deity to be born at the beginning of a new cosmic cycle and whose lifespan lasts for the entire cycle. The Ministers of Brahmā and the Assembly of Brahmā—the other deities whose position is determined by attainment of the first jhāna—are also included.
12 MA: By mentioning these, all beings occupying the plane of the second jhāna—the gods of Limited Radiance and the gods of Immeasurable Radiance—should be included, for all these occupy a single level.
13 MA
: By mentioning these, all beings occupying the plane of the third jhāna—the gods of Limited Glory and the gods of Immeasurable Glory—should be included.
14 These are divinities on the plane of the fourth jhāna.
15 Abhibhū. MA says this term is a designation for the non-percipient realm, called thus because it vanquishes (abhibhavati) the four immaterial aggregates. The identification sounds contrived, especially because the word “abhibh̄ū” is a masculine singular noun. Elsewhere (MN 49.5) the word appears as part of Baka the Brahmā’s claim to theocratic hegemony, yet MA rejects identifying the Abhibhū with Brahmā here as a redundancy.
16 This and the next three sections deal with conceiving in relation to the four immaterial planes of existence—the cosmological counterparts of the four immaterial meditative attainments. With §18 the division of conceiving by way of planes of existence is completed.
17 In these four sections the phenomena comprising personal identity are considered as objects of perception classified into the four categories of the seen, heard, sensed, and cognized. Here, sensed (muta) signifies the data of smell, taste, and touch, cognized (viññata) the data of introspection, abstract thought, and imagination. The objects of perception are “conceived” when they are cognized in terms of “mine,” “I,” and “self,” or in ways that generate craving, conceit, and views.