Venerable Bhante Yuttadhammo,
Thank you for the translations.
I would just like to make a few observations about saññaa.
op 07-03-2005 04:18 schreef Ven. Yuttadhammo op
buffer@...:
> Please see "The Path of Purification", XIV, 81, along with the
> footnotes (page 506 in my edition). "and whatever has the
> characteristic of perceiving, all taken together, as the perception
> aggregate" and the footnote says this: "characteristic of perceiving
> means that it has as its characteristic the perceiving of an object
> classed as blue, etc., and the knowing, the apprehending, of it by
> arousing the perception of it as blue, yellow, long, short, and so
> on."
N: Very appropriate that you quote the Vis. Here we come to the basic
meaning of saññaa we should consider first of all.
Saññaa marks and remembers the object that is experienced by citta. Saññaa
cetasika accompanies each citta and thus, it is different as it marks¹ and
remembers different objects, it can be of different jaatis or classes
(kusala, akusala, vipaaka or kiriya) and of different planes of citta,
namely of the sensuous plane, of the plane of ruupa-jhaanacitta, of
aruupa-jhaanacitta or of lokuttara citta.
The object saññaa marks and remembers may be citta, cetasika, ruupa and
nibbaana, and also concepts, paññatti. Whatever object citta cognizes,
saññaa marks and remembers it.
I would mostly translate it as recognition or remembrance.
But in the suttas and commentaries saññaa is also used in different ways. It
is treated under different headings.
You quote here as follows:
Bhante: Also, please see the Girimananda Sutta (AN 10.07.10) with ten kinds
of
> sa~n~naa. I prefer perception for all of them, because it has to do
> with one's perception of the world. Doesn't it also fit with the
> translation of "memory" as in sa~n~naa khandha? Recognition of
> something as something is one's perception of it, like a rope as a
> snake... for example, if you perceive the five khandhas as permanent,
> this is niccasa~n~naa. I could be mislead here, of course.
N: Perception has the advantage that it is in agreement with more meanings
in different contexts. Also, I think of perversion of saññaa, saññaa
vipallaasa and the opposite: right perception, which can also stand for
insight.
Quote from the Co to the Mahaaraahulovaadasutta:
<aniccasa~n~nanti aniccaanupassanaaya sahajaatasa~n~na.m.
As to the expression, perception of impermanence, this refers to perception
that arises together with contemplation of impermanence.
vipassanaa eva vaa esaa asa~n~naapi sa~n~naasiisena sa~n~naati vuttaa.
Or, just insight; although this is not perception, it is called perception
because it is under the heading of perception. >
So, to translate a word we have to know under what heading, siisa, it is. So
is your example above, it is actually vipassanaa.
Because of wrong view one has wrong remembrance of self, attaa-saññaa, or
one takes realities for permanent, and that is niccaa-saññaa. Saññaa
accompanies each citta, and when it accompanies wrong view it is conditioned
by wrong view. One may think of persons or things, there is the association
of different impressions into a whole¹; one takes persons and things for
permanent and self¹. Seeing or hearing seem to be lasting. One fails to
understand that there are only impersonal elements which arise and fall
away. Saññaa follows¹ wrong view. Whereas, when saññaa accompanies right
understanding, it is conditioned by paññaa and thus, it is completely
different. It follows or complies with paññaa.
More meanings of saññaa: it can even stand for citta:
We read in the ³Suma.ngalavilåasiníi ², Commentary to the Dialogues of the
Buddha, Mahå-nidåna sutta, an explanation of the following words of the
Mahå-nidåna sutta (translated by Ven. Bodhi): ³Beings who are diverse in
body and diverse in perception, such as human beings, some gods, and some
beings in the lower realms.²
The Commentary states:
³ ¹And some gods¹ (ekkacce ca): the gods of the six sense-sphere heavens.
For these may have bodies that are blue, yellow, etc., and their perception
may be triple-rooted or double rooted, though not rootless.>
Thus, this refers to pa.tisandhicitta.
Also: the asaññaasatta plane: no naamakkhandhas.
And: nevasannñaan'aasaññaayatana: referring to all naamakkhandhas.
As to "kaamasa~n~naa", "byaapaadasa~n~naa", vihi.msasa~n~naa", I looked at
M. 19 for the types of vitakka: Ven. Bodhi's translation: vyaapada: illwill,
the opposite of metta. vihi.msa: cruelty, the opposite of karu.na, he
suggests.
Bhante: It seems to me that vihi.msa corresponds more to ill-will, the will
to
> harm, and byaapaada as mentioned in the PED can refer to anger, as in
> an angry thought. So, here I put:
> byaapaada=hatred
> vihi.msa=ill-will
N: I looked at the Thai. byaapaada is rendered as having an intention to
harm. I am more inclined to transl this as ill-will.
vihi.msa seems stronger, an action of cruelty or violence.
As Stephen writes: < Again, vihi.msa seems to correspond to "harm". This
suggests that vyaapaada is a preceding condition for vihi.msa to occur.>
With respect,
Nina.