12. The Ninefold Thread in the Mode of Conveying Ways of Entry to the Truths
351. Herein, what is the Mode of Conveying Ways of Entry? [It is this:]
“Dependent-Rising, Faculties,
Categories, Elements, Bases:
The Mode that by these means gives entry
Is that Conveying Ways of Entry”.352. Above, below, in every way released,
And seeing not at all that “I am this”;
Thus liberated, he has crossed the flood
Not crossed before, for non-renewal of beings.
353.“Above” is the form-element and the formless element. “Below” is the sensual-desire element. “In every way released”: that is the Adept’s deliverance in the triple element [of existence]. That itself is the Adept’s five faculties. This is the way of entry by Faculties.
354. These same Adept’s five faculties are science. With arising of science [there is] cessation of ignorance (nescience); with cessation of ignorance, cessation of determinations; with cessation of determinations, cessation of consciousness; with cessation of consciousness, cessation of name-and-form; with cessation of name-and-form, cessation of the sixfold base; with cessation of the sixfold base, cessation of contact; with cessation of contact, cessation of feeling; with cessation of feeling, cessation of craving; with cessation of craving, cessation of assuming; with cessation of assuming, cessation of being; with cessation of being, cessation of birth; with cessation of birth, ageing and death cease, and [also] sorrow and lamentation, pain, grief, and despair; that is how there is a cessation to this whole category of suffering. This is the way of entry by the [two] aspects of Dependent Arising.
355. Those same Adept’s five faculties are comprised within the three Categories, namely the Virtue Category, the Concentration Category, and the Understanding Category. This is the way of entry by Categories.
356. Those same Adept’s five faculties are included in determinations. These determinations—[in this case] free from taints and not factors of being—are comprised within the idea-element. This is the way of entry by Elements.
357. That idea-element is included in the idea-base, which base is [in this case] free from taints and not a factor of being. This is the way of entry by Bases.
358.“And seeing not at all that ‘I am this’,”: this is the eradication of the embodiment-view. That is the Initiate’s deliverance. That itself is the Initiate’s five faculties. This is the way of entry by Faculties.
359. Those same Initiate’s five faculties are science. With the arising of science … (complete as in 354) … So the whole Dependent Arising. This is the way of entry by the [two] aspects of Dependent Arising.
360. That same science is the Understanding Category. This is the way of entry by Categories.
361. That same science is included in determinations. These determinations—[in this case] free from taints and not factors of being—are comprised within the idea-element. This is the way of entry by Elements.
362. That idea-element is included in the idea-base, which is [in this case] free from taints and not a factor of being. This is the way of entry by Bases.
363. It is one liberated by means of the Initiate’s deliverance and the Adept’s deliverance who “has crossed the flood not crossed before, for non-renewal of being”.
That is why the Blessed One said:
“Above, below, …”.
364. (The supported is liable to dislodgement; the unsupported is not liable to dislodgement. When there is no liability to dislodgement, there is tranquillity. When there is tranquillity, there is no bent-for-naming. When there is no bent-for-naming, there is no coming-and-going. When there is no coming-and-going, there is no decease-and-reappearance. When there is no decease-and-reappearance, there is no here or beyond or in between: this is the end of suffering).
365.“The supported is liable to dislodgement”: support is of two kinds, namely support by craving and support by view. Herein, any choice on the part of one who is lusting is support by craving, and any choice on the part of one who is confused is support by view.
366. Now choice is determinations. It is with determinations as condition that consciousness [has actual being]; with consciousness as condition, name-and-form; … And so with the whole Dependent Arising [down to … with birth as condition, ageing and death have actual being, and [also] sorrow and lamentation, pain, grief, and despair; that is how there is an origin to this whole category of suffering.] This is the way of entry by the [two] aspects of Dependent Arising.
367. Herein any feeling in one who lusts is pleasant feeling, and any feeling in one who is confused is neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling. These feelings belong to the feeling category. This is the way of entry by Categories.
368. Herein, pleasant feeling is two faculties, namely the [bodily] pleasure faculty and the [mental] joy faculty, and the neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling is the onlooking-equanimity faculty. This is the way of entry by Faculties.
369. Those same faculties are included in determinations. These determinations—[in this case] affected by taints and factors of being—are comprised within the idea-element. This is the way of entry by Elements.
370. That idea-element is included in the idea-base, which base is [in this case] affected by taints and a factor of being. This is the way of entry by Bases.
371.“The unsupported is not liable to dislodgement”: unsupported by craving and in virtue of quiet, and unsupported by view and in virtue of insight.
372. Any insight is science. With arising of science [there is] cessation of ignorance; with cessation of ignorance, cessation of determinations; with cessation of determinations, cessation of consciousness; … and thus the whole Dependent Arising. This is the way of entry by the [two] aspects of Dependent Arising.
373. That same insight is the understanding category. This is the way of entry by Categories.
374. That same insight is two faculties, namely the energy faculty and the understanding faculty. This is the way of entry by Faculties.
375. That same insight is included in determinations. These determinations—[in this case] free from taints and not factors of being—are comprised within the idea-element. This is the way of entry by Elements.
376. That idea-element is included in the idea-base, which base is [in this case] free from taints and not a factor of being. This is the way of entry by Bases.
377.“When there is tranquillity”: tranquillity is of two kinds, namely bodily and mental. Any bodily pleasure is bodily tranquillity, and any mental pleasure is mental tranquillity. One who has bodily tranquillity feels pleasure. When he is pleased, his cognizance is concentrated. One who is concentrated understands how [things] are. When he understands how [things] are, he finds dispassion. Finding dispassion, his lust fades. With the fading of lust he is liberated. There is the knowledge “I am liberated”. He understands “Birth is exhausted, the divine life has been lived out, what was to be done is done, there is no more of this beyond”.
378. He has “no bent-for-naming” in regard to forms or sounds or odours or flavours or tangibles or ideas because of the exhaustion of lust, because of the exhaustion of hate, because of the exhaustion of delusion.
379. He is liberated in the complete exhaustion of form owed to the exhaustion, fading, ceasing, giving up, and relinquishing, of such form as that whereby he might describe a Perfect One as standing or walking. He does not take for granted that “there is a Perfect One”; and he does not take for granted that “there is not”; he does not take for granted that “there is and there is not”; he does not take for granted that “there neither is nor is not”; but rather [he knows] that he comes to be calculated as profound, immeasurable, incalculable, quenched, because of exhaustion of lust, because of exhaustion of hate, because of exhaustion of delusion.
380. He is liberated in the complete exhaustion of feeling …
381.… of perception …
382.… of determinations …
383. He is liberated in the complete exhaustion of consciousness owed to the exhaustion, fading, ceasing, giving up, and relinquishing, of such consciousness as that whereby he might describe a Perfect One as standing or walking. He does not take for granted that “there is a Perfect One”; and he does not take for granted that “there is not”; he does not take for granted that “there is and there is not”; he does not take for granted that “there neither is nor is not”; but rather [he knows] that he comes to be calculated as profound, immeasurable, incalculable, quenched, because of extinction of lust, because of extinction of hate, because of extinction of delusion.
384.“Coming” is coming here. “Going” is any being (existence) after passing away [from this life]. Both the coming and the going are no more.
385.“Nor here”: [he sees no self] in the six bases in oneself.
386.“Nor beyond”: [he sees no self] in the six external bases.
387.“Nor in between” he sees no self in the ideas aroused by contact.
388.“This is the end of suffering” is Dependent Arising. That is of two kinds, namely belonging to worlds and disjoined from worlds. Herein, that belonging to worlds is [that beginning] (With ignorance as condition, determinations) down as far as (ageing and death). That disjoined from worlds is [that beginning] (A virtuous man has no remorse) down as far as (There is no more of this beyond).
That is why the Blessed One said “The supported is liable to dislodgement, the unsupported is not liable to dislodgement … this is the end of suffering”.
389. Whatever sorrows, lamentations, pains
Of many kinds, are found here in the world,
That they exist is owed to something dear;
With naught held dear they never come to be.
So they are blissful, free from sorrowing,
That nothing in the world hold dear at all.
So would you sorrowless and stainless be,
Hold nothing dear whatever in the world.
390.“Whatever sorrows, lamentations, pains Of many kinds, are found here in the world, That they exist is owed to something dear”: this is painful feeling. “With naught held dear they never come to be”: this is pleasant feeling. Feelings are the feeling category. This is the way of entry by Categories.
391. With feeling as condition, craving; with craving as condition, assuming; with assuming as condition birth; with birth as condition, ageing and death … and so all the rest. This is the way of entry by the [two] aspects of Dependent Arising.
392. Herein, pleasant feeling is two faculties, namely the pleasure faculty and the joy faculty. Painful feeling is two faculties, namely the pain faculty and the grief faculty. This is the way of entry by Faculties.
393. Those same faculties are included in determinations. These determinations—[in this case] affected by taints and factors of being—are comprised within the idea-element. This is the way of entry by Elements.
394. That idea-element is included in the idea-base, which base is [in this case] affected by taints and a factor of being. This is the way of entry by Bases.
395.“So they are blissful, free from sorrowing, That nothing in the world hold dear at all. So would you sorrowless and stainless be, Hold nothing dear whatever in the world”: this is the abandoning of craving. With cessation of craving, cessation of assuming; with cessation of assuming, cessation of being; … and so all the rest. This is the way of entry by the [two] aspects of Dependent Arising.
396. That same abandoning of craving is quiet. That quiet is of two kinds, namely the mindfulness faculty and the concentration faculty. This is the way of entry by Faculties.
397. That same quiet is the concentration category. This is the way of entry by Categories.
398. That same quiet is included in determinations. These determinations—[in this case] free from taints and not factors of being— are comprised within the idea-element. This is the way of entry by Elements.
399. That idea-element is included in the idea-base, which is [in this case] free from taints and not a factor of being. This is the way of entry by Bases.
400. When a mortal desires, if his desire is fulfilled,
He is sure to be happy by getting what he wanted.
Desire-born and wilful, if his desire fails him,
He becomes as deformed as if pierced by a barb.
Who shuns desires as a snake’s head with his foot,
And is mindful, evades this attachment to the world.
401. Herein, the “happiness” is approval. What is stated by “he becomes as deformed as if pierced by a barb” is resistance. Now approval and resistance are sides of craving. The ten bases having form are the footing for craving. This is the way of entry by Bases.
402. Those same bases having form are the form-body associated with name. Both together are name-and-form. With name-and-form as condition, the sixfold base; with the sixfold base as condition, contact; with contact as condition, feeling; with feeling as condition, craving; … and so all the rest. This is the way of entry by the [two] aspects of Dependent Arising.
403. That same name-and-form is the five categories. This is the way of entry by Categories.
404. That same name-and-form is the eighteen elements. This is the way of entry by Elements.
405. Herein, the form-body is the five faculties having form, and the name-body is the five formless faculties. These are ten faculties. This is the way of entry by Faculties.
406. Herein, what is stated by “Who shuns desires, as a snake’s head with his foot, And is mindful, evades this attachment to the world” is the element of extinction with trace left. This is the way of entry by Elements.
407. That same extinction element with trace left is science. With arising of science, cessation of ignorance (nescience); with cessation of ignorance, cessation of determinations; … and so all the rest. This is the way of entry by the [two] aspects of Dependent Arising.
408. That same science is the understanding category. This is the way of entry by Categories.
409. That same science is two faculties, namely the energy faculty and the understanding faculty. This is the way of entry by Faculties.
410. That same science is included in determinations. These determinations—[in this case] free from taints and not factors of being—are comprised within the idea-element. This is the way of entry by Elements.
411. That idea-element is included in the idea-base, which base is [in this case] free from taints and not a factor of being. This is the way of entry by Bases.
That is why the Blessed One said “When a mortal desires …”.
412. At this point the [formula of] Dependent [Arising], the Faculties, the Categories, the Elements, and the Bases, have come to be made ways of entry and meeting-places. That is how Dependent [Arising], Faculties, Categories, and Bases, can be made ways of entry.
413. That is why the venerable Mahā-Kaccāna said:
“Dependent-Rising, Faculties,
Categories, Elements, Bases:
The Mode that by these means gives entry
Is that Conveying Ways of Entry”.
The Mode of Conveying Ways of Entry is ended.