Re: ditthi-nijjhana-kkhanti

Here, the prefix nir does not mean "without," jhāna does not refer to the meditative state of jhāna—though the word is the same, but in the original sense of “to consider, to examine”—and khanti does not mean “patience” in the usual sense. Khanti here has a different nuance, that of acceptance or cognitive assent. One who has khanti, in the sense of patience, is patient because he can accept pain and hardship, and thus the sense of “acceptance” underlies khanti in both its meanings—patience and cognitive assent.

I understand diṭṭhinijjhānakkhanti as “the cognitive assent to (khanti = acceptance of) a view (diṭṭhi) through reflection on it (nijjhāna).” The Anguttara Commentary, commenting on the line in the Kālāma Sutta, “Do not rely on diṭṭhinijjhānakkhanti,” says: Mā diṭṭhinijjhānakkhantiyā ti amhākaṃ nijjhāyitvā khamitvā gahitadiṭṭhiyā saddhiṃ sametītipi mā gaṇhittha (Ee II 306; in the VRI E-version, §66). Translation: “Do not rely on diṭṭhinijjhānakkhanti: Do not adopt [a statement] thinking, ‘It agrees with a view already adopted by us after examining it and accepting it.’ ”

In contrast with diṭṭhinijjhānakkhanti, which is an attitude to be avoided, the texts mention its positive counterpart, dhammanijjhānakkhanti. Here, it seems that dhamma should be a singular referring to the Buddha’s teaching, but sometimes this is preceded by a phrase indicating that we have the plural dhammā, which can mean either “principles” or “teachings” (the doctrines that elucidate those principles). Thus in MN 95 (Ee I 479; VRI §182) we find the definition of a dhammānusāri includes the phrase: tathāgatappaveditā c’assa dhammā paññāya mattaso nijjhānaṃ khamanti, “to him, the dhammas made known by the Tathagata are, through wisdom, accepted to some extent [as a result of] his examination.” On mattaso nijjhānaṃ khamanti the commentary says only, mattāya olokanaṃ khamanti. The accusative case in relation to khamanti seems problematic, but I would understand it as simply a Pali (or Middle Indo-Aryan) expression that doesn’t translate into English with exact reproduction of cases.

A little further down in the same sutta (at Ee I 480; VRI §183) we find the phrase dhammanijjhānakkhanti occurring in a description of the stages culminating in realization of the “supreme truth” (paramasacca). The relevant stage is described thus: atthaṃ upaparikkhato dhammā nijjhānaṃ khamanti, dhammanijjhāna­kkhantiyā sati chando jāyati … kāyena c'eva paramasaccaṃ sacchikaroti, paññāya ca naṃ ativijjha passati; “As he is investigating the meaning, dhammas are accepted to his examination (or: as a result of examination). When there is acceptance of dhammas/the Dhamma/through examination, desire arises … he realizes by body the supreme truth and, having pierced through it, he sees it with wisdom.”

I hope this is helpful.

With best wishes,

Bhikkhu Bodhi

 

Hi,

How do you translate this?

ditthi-nijjhana-kkhanti

ditthi - views
ni - without
jhana - jhana
khanti - patience

Thanks,
Jo Wee

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