Re: Saddasattha

Dear Ole,

Thanks for the useful reply. With the kind help of Lance and a few
others, I am working on a revised edition of the Path of Freedom. Trying
to figure out what the text originally meant seems like solving a jigsaw
puzzle. For example, what to make of the definition of "joy arising from
faith": "A. The joy of a man of great faith and the joy produced on
seeing a potter." ?

And what of the following passage, which seems to be based on some
causal sequence similar to ones found in the Pa.tisambhidaamagga or Pe.taka:
"Twenty-five qualities are accomplished" in the first jhaana: initial
and sustained application of thought, joy, happiness and unification of
mind are accomplished; faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration and
wisdom are accomplished; the initial, medial and final stages [of
goodness] are accomplished; mental inclusion (sa"nkhepa-sa"ngaha?) is
accomplished; development (bhaavanaa) of the practice is accomplished;
solitude (viveka) is accomplished; the supporting basis (nissaya) is
accomplished; the inclusion (sa"ngaha) is accomplished; the entourage
(?) is accomplished; investigation (vipassanaa?) is accomplished;
development is practiced (sevanaa?); power (bala) is accomplished;
freedom (vimutti) is accomplished; purity (visuddhi) is accomplished,
and the super-excellent purity (paramavisuddhi) is accomplished. Thus a
man dwells endowed with the twenty-five qualities.”

If you, or any other members, know what the first passage about the
potter, could mean, or know of any parallel to the causal sequence which
could shed light on some of the unclear terms, please let me know.

Bh. Nyanatusita



>
> Dear Nyanatusita,
>
> saddasattha usually refers to Paninian grammar as I have shown in my
> published articles. The quotations seem to presuppose grammatical
> discussions concerning prak.rti. Kaa.sikaa on paa.n vi 1 115 glosses the
> term as = svabhaava, which resurfaces in the quotation above as
> sabhaava. So
> dhamma is what defines the essential nature (= prak.rti) of something.
>
> Kind regards,
>
> Ole Pind
>
>