Dear John,
Today I would like to say something about the benefit of the Commentaries.
The oldest ones which are lost now were rehearsed at the great Councils.
Buddhaghosa was most conscientious to edit them and translate them again
into Pali. But apart from historical arguments, I would rather speak about
the immense benefit of studying them. But, I speak from my limited
experience with the texts.
Some time ago you gave us a beautiful Sutta, John, about five things to be
contemplated daily: old age, sickness, death, all that is dear is subject to
change, separation, we have to receive the result of our own kamma.
You said that you daily meditate on this sutta. I checked the Co I have in
Thai. This does not teach anything other than the sutta, but gives
additional explanations. It stresses that vipassana is taught here, and the
lokuttara magga of the arahat. After reading Co and then going back to the
sutta I find that we come more to the deep meaning that is contained
therein.
When insight is developed the impermanence of nama and rupa is directly
known (but this is a long, long way) and then the truth of dukkha is
penetrated: what falls away is not worth clinging to. We shall be more
convinced of dukkha at this very moment.
Buddhaghosa stresses page after page that the truth about the khandhas, the
dhaatus, the aayatanas is taught. Repeating that vipassana is to be
developed, he reminds us to be aware of them now, since they pertain to
daily life. He stresses that the Buddha taught being in the cycle, va.t.ta,
and being released from the cycle, viva.t.ta. We are in the cycle now,
subject to dukkha.
In each Sutta Abhidhamma and vipassana are implied, and people at the
Buddha's time had no misunderstandings about this. But since we are further
away from the Buddha's time we need the Commentaries which give us more
explanations and reminders about our daily life. We are lost without the
commentaries.
We read in the ³Discourse on the Manifold Elements² (Middle length Sayings,
no 115, P.T.S.edition) that Ånanda asked the Buddha how the monk was skilled
in the elements. The Buddha first spoke about the elements as eighteenfold.
We read:
³There are these eighteen elements, Ånanda: the element of eye, the element
of material shape, the element of visual consciousness..."
This is Abhidhamma in the sutta, and it pertains to our daily life now:
visible object and eyesense are conditions for seeing. We may forget this,
but realizing this will lead to understanding anatta.
We read in the Commentary that for those who consider this Dhamma Discourse,
all these elements appear to him, just as when someone uses a mirror, the
reflection of his face clearly appears. Therefore, the Buddha said to Ånanda
that this Discourse could also be remembered as the ³Mirror of Dhamma².
Again, Abhidhamma and vipassana in the Sutta, and a strong reminder that the
Sutta pertains to our life now, that we should not delay developing insight.
In Dhamma Study Group we are studying the Visuddhimagga, Buddhaghosa's great
Encyclopaedia, and its Tiika. I read Vis. in Pali and the Tiika I partly
translate (no English or Thai text exists). The more I study the greater my
confidence in the Co. I am glad to still have the opportunity to study these
texts, grateful that they were preserved. I find that they should be studied
with due respect.
People today speak of controversies, but I am absolutely sure these can be
solved one by one when concrete examples are given. There may be allusions
to matters we do not understand today, but then we should return to the time
of those ancient teachers, place ourselves in their way of explaining. If we
do not understand, I feel that the fault is with us.
In dsg list we study now ruupakkhandha (Vis Ch XIV), the four factors that
originate rupa: kamma, citta, aahara and tejo dhaatu. All the different
conditions for rupa are explained, they all cooperate to make this
shortlived body function. We try to make the link to daily life all the
time, otherwise study is useless. Bodily intimation and speech are rupas
that play their part when we communicate. We take them for granted, but they
occur because of their own conditions. We shall continue with the
Vissuddhimagga, all the stages of insight up to lokuttara citta. It will
take us years, but very beneficial.
To conclude, I just give an example of part of the Tiika (there are due to
be mistakes, I have no help) :
Vi. XIV, 69.. 'Impermanence of matter' has the characteristic of complete
breaking up. Its function is to make material instances subside. It is
manifested as destruction and fall (cf. Dhs. 645). Its proximate cause
is matter that is completely breaking up.

Pali: 69. paribhedalakkha.naa ruupassa aniccataa, sa.msiidanarasaa,
khayavayapaccupa.t.thaanaa, paribhijjamaanaruupapada.t.thaanaa.

Tiika:
Parito sabbaso ²bhijjanan²ti lakkhitabbaati paribhedalakkha.naa.
The characteristic of complete breaking up should be defined as being
destroyed absolutely and in every respect *.

Nicca.m naama dhuva.m, ruupa.m pana kha.nabha"ngitaaya yena bha"ngena na
niccanti anicca.m, so aniccassa bhaavoti aniccataa.
What is lasting is called permanent, but materiality at the moment of its
falling away is not lasting because of its dissolution, and thus it is
impermanent, and that state of instability is impermanence.

Saa pana yasmaa .thitippatta.m ruupa.m vinaasabhaavena sa.msiidantii viya
hotiiti vutta.m ³sa.msiidanarasaa²ti.
He said that its function is to make (material instances) subside, since
this (impermanence) causes the materiality that has reached (the moments of)
presence ** as it were to subside.

Yasmaa ca saa ruupadhammaana.m bha"ngabhaavato khayavayaakaareneva gayhati,
tasmaa vutta.m ³khayavayapaccupa.t.thaanaa²ti.

And since this (impermanence) because of the state of dissolution of
material phenomena should be taken by way of destruction and fall, he said
that it is manifested as destruction and fall.
______
* The word meaning is partly lost in the translation. The prefix pari of
paribheda, breaking up, reinforces the word. The words parito, completely
and sabbaso, in every respect, are added.
** Origination, upacaya rúpa, and continuity, santati rúpa, are
characteristics indicating the moments rúpa has arisen but not yet fallen
away, whereas decay, jaratå rúpa, indicates the moment close to its falling
away and impermanence, aniccatå rúpa, the moment of its falling away. These
moments are extremely short. Thus, as soon as rupa is present it is already
time for its falling away.
Remark: The short definitions in the Vis. can be easily overlooked, and
therefore I am glad to see the Tiika text which emphasizes more the facts of
decay and impermanence occurring each moment. All rupas of the body are
decaying now and they are on the way to complete destruction. This is dukkha
and a grim reminder of being in the cycle of birth and death.
*****
Nina.
op 26-03-2004 17:24 schreef John Kelly op palistudent@...:

> Also, when I say that I do not consider the Mahaava.msa to be
> Buddhist scripture, I'm using scripture in the sense of "canonical
> scripture". By this definition, all the commentaries are not
> scripture either, and in the same way must be taken with a grain of
> salt.